H. Ross Ake

H. Ross Ake
circa 1920
33rd Ohio State Treasurer
In office
February, 1929 – November, 1930
Appointed by Myers Y. Cooper
Preceded by Bert B. Buckley
Succeeded by Edwin A. Todd
Member of the Ohio Senate
from the 21st district
In office
January 6, 1919 – January 2, 1921
Preceded by Adam W. Oberlin
Personal details
Born September 22, 1878
Osnaburg Township, Stark County, Ohio
Died February 11, 1954 (aged 75)
East Canton, Ohio
Resting place Mapleton Cemetery, Mapleton, Ohio
40°44′54″N 81°14′27″W / 40.74833°N 81.24083°W
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Hannah Roxanne Dager
Children three
Alma mater Mount Union College

Howard Ross Ake (September 22, 1878 – February 11, 1954) was a Republican politician and banker from the U.S. State of Ohio. He was elected to the Ohio State Senate, appointed as Ohio State Treasurer, and ran unsuccessfully for Congress.

Biography

H. Ross Ake was born September 22, 1878 on a farm in Osnaburg Township, Stark County, Ohio.[1] His parents, John Ake, and Cora Shearer Ake were both born in Stark County. He attended the country schools and Mount Union College.[1] He was a banker in Canton, Ohio,[2] and was secretary-treasurer and manager of the Canton, Ohio Morris Plan Bank from its founding in 1916. He also was on the Board of Governors of the National Association of Morris Plan Bankers.[1]

Ake served two terms as County Treasurer of Stark County, before being elected to the Ohio State Senate in 1918. He served during 1919 and 1920. This was during the period of anti-German sentiment due to the war with Germany in World War I.[3] The legislature passed the “Ake Law”, which in 1919 outlawed the teaching of the German language below the eighth grade in all schools, both public and private. The United States Supreme Court, in Meyer vs. Nebraska (1921), determined the law and ones like it were unconstitutional, because the state did not have the authority to ban German in private schools.[3] Ake also was favorable toward labor in the legislature.[4]

In February 1929, Ohio State Treasurer Bert B. Buckley was convicted of bribery, and forced to resign rather than be impeached.[5] His two-year term had just started, and would not expire until January 1931. Ohio Governor Myers Y. Cooper appointed Ake to finish the term. He resigned in November, 1930.

H. Ross Ake was the Republican nominee for Ohio's 16th congressional district in 1936. He ran as an isolationist,[4] and lost to incumbent Democrat William R. Thom.

Ake was married to Hannah Roxaine Dager in 1904.[6] They had three children.[1] Ake was a member of the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Loyal Order of Moose, and the Jr. O.U.A.M.[1]

H. Ross Ake died February 11, 1954 in East Canton, Ohio. He is buried at the cemetery in Mapleton, Ohio.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Halley, W E; Maynard, John P. (1920). Manual of Legislative Practice in the General Assembly 1919-1920. Columbus: State Bindery. p. 65.
  2. ↑ Halley 1920 : 40
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Ake Law", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005 Ohio Historical Society
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Massillon Evening Independent, May 9, 1938 page three
  5. ↑ Kokomo Daily Tribune, Feb. 6, 1929
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 H. Ross Ake at Find a Grave