Othniel Looker

Othniel Looker
5th Governor of Ohio
In office
March 24, 1814 – December 8, 1814
Preceded by Return J. Meigs, Jr.
Succeeded by Thomas Worthington
Speaker of the Ohio Senate
In office
December 6, 1813 – December 4, 1814
Preceded by Thomas Kirker
Succeeded by Thomas Kirker
Ohio Senate
from Hamilton County
In office
1810 – 1812
1813-1817
Preceded by Hezekiah Price(1810)
Stephen Wood (1810)
John Jones (1813)

Francis McCormick (1813)

Succeeded by John Jones (1812)
Francis McCormick (1812)
Ephraim Brown (1817)
George P. Torrence (1817)
Ohio House of Representatives
from Hamilton County
In office
1807–1810
New York State Assembly
In office
1803–1804
Personal details
Born October 4, 1757
Long Island, New York
Died July 23, 1845 (aged 87)
Palestine, Illinois

Othniel Looker (October 4, 1757 – July 23, 1845) was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio. He served briefly as the fifth Governor of Ohio.

Biography

Looker was born on Long Island, New York, and moved with his mother to Hanover Township, New Jersey when he was two years old after the death of his father.[1] He enlisted with the New Jersey militia in 1776 and served out the remainder of the Revolutionary War as a Private.

In 1779, Looker married Pamela Clark, and circa 1788 Looker moved to Vermont and then to New York, working as a school-teacher.[2]

Career

He served in the New York State Assembly from 1803 to 1804. After receiving a land grant for his war services, Looker moved to Hamilton County, Ohio in 1804, and served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1807 to 1810. He served in the Ohio State Senate from 1810 to 1817.[2]

While serving as Speaker of the Ohio Senate from 1813 to 1814, Looker was concurrently elevated to the governorship after Governor Return J. Meigs, Jr. resigned to become Postmaster General.[2] Looker sought re-election but was badly defeated by the far more well-known Thomas Worthington. He continued to live in Ohio until his wife's death, and later moved to Palestine, Illinois to be with his daughter Rachel Kitchell, and is buried there in Kitchell Cemetery. Looker was the Ohio Presidential elector in 1816 for James Monroe.[3]

Legacy

Looker's home

The Village Historical Society in Harrison, Ohio, has restored the home of Ohio Governor Othniel Looker. The Othniel Looker House is now open to the public, free of admission, on a few dates during the year, and special tours can be arranged for school groups. The Othniel Looker House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Othniel Looker". Ohio Historical Society. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Othniel Looker". Ohio History Central. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  3. ↑ Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 ... 1. State of Ohio. p. 102.
  4. ↑ "Gov. Othniel Looker House". Oxford Visitor's and Convention Bureau. Retrieved 2012-11-07.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Othniel Looker.