Governor Jeremiah Morrow

JEREMIAH MORROW, the ninth governor of Ohio, was born near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on October 6, 1771. His education was attained in the public schools of his native state. In 1795 he moved to Warren County, Ohio, where he worked as a schoolteacher, a surveyor, and a farmer. Morrow first entered politics as a member of the Ohio Territorial House of Representatives, a position he held from 1801 to 1802. In 1803 he served in the Ohio State Senate; and from 1803 to 1813 he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also served in the U.S. Senate from 1813 to 1819; and was a state canal commissioner in 1822. Morrow next secured the Democratic-Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in the 1822 general election. He went on to win reelection to a second term in 1824. During his tenure, a property tax system was initiated; construction on the Erie Canal was completed; and a state supported public school system was established. After leaving the governorship, Morrow won reelection to the Ohio State Senate, an office he held from 1827 to 1828. He also won reelection to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1829 and 1835. In his last position, he served again in the U.S. House of Representatives, an office he held from 1840 to 1843. Governor Jeremiah Morrow passed away on March 22, 1852 and was buried in the Union Cemetery in Warren County, Ohio.