Byron Foster Ritchie (January 29, 1853 – August 22, 1928) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Ohio from 1893 to 1895. He was the son of

James Monroe Ritchie James Monroe Ritchie (July 28, 1829August 17, 1918) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1881 to 1883. He was the father of Byron Foster Ritchie. Biography Born in Dunfermline, S ...

, who also served one term in Congress.

Biography

Born in Grafton, Ohio, Ritchie moved with his parents to Toledo, Ohio, in 1860. He graduated from the Toledo High School in 1870. He studied law with his father, was admitted to the bar in 1874 and commenced practice in Toledo.

Congress

Ritchie was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

Fifty-third Congress The 53rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1893, ...

(March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895). He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1894 to the

Fifty-fourth Congress The 54th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1895, ...

. He resumed the practice of law in Toledo.

Later career and death

Ritchie was elected judge of the court of common pleas of Lucas County, Ohio, in 1914. He was re-elected in 1916 and again in 1922, and served until his death in Toledo on August 22, 1928. He was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Private life

Ritchie married Kate I. Taylor on April 11, 1878. They had a daughter named Violet. Ritchie was a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Byron Foster 1853 births 1928 deaths People from Lorain County, Ohio Politicians from Toledo, Ohio Ohio lawyers Lawyers from Toledo, Ohio 19th-century American lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio