Charles Hodge Ealy (January 25, 1884 – November 8, 1947) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

from 1927 to 1944 and as

Senate president pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

from 1941 through 1944. A conservative Republican, Ealy represented Pennsylvania's 36th District, which then comprised

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Fulton Fulton may refer to: People * Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship * Fulton (surname) Given name * Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer * Fult ...

, and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

counties.

Early life and education

Ealy was born in the borough of Schellsburg in Bedford County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, to parents Taylor Filmore Ealy, a physician, and Mary (Ramsey) Ealy. His parents worked as Presbyterian medical missionaries to the

Zuni people The Zuni ( zun, A:shiwi; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni are a Federally recognized tribe and most live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Lit ...

in the Southwestern United States. Ealy attended Pittsburgh's

Bedford Academy Bedford Academy (formerly John Bunyan Upper School) is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in the Kingsbrook area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The school mainly attracts pupils from the Kingsbrook, Cauldwell and Newnham ar ...

and went on to receive his BA and MA degrees from

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

and his

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He was admitted to the Somerset County bar in 1908.

Career and conservatism

Ealy established a private law practice in

and tried cases before state appellate courts, district courts, and the US Supreme Court. From 1916 to 1919, he served as Somerset County solicitor. Elected to the state senate in 1926, he served five consecutive terms, including four years as president pro tempore, through 1946, when he retired and returned to Somerset to resume his practice. Ealy's four-year term as president pro tempore was the longest continuous term since William Marks in 1825. He chaired the senate's judiciary, elections, appropriations, and county government committees and served on the Joint State Government Commission from 1939 to 1947, serving as the commission's vice president from 1943 to 1947. He served three years as president of the Somerset Chamber of Commerce and was a deacon of the Presbyterian Church of Somerset. Ealy was a conservative Republican who adamantly opposed the federal government's

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

as well as ramped-up state government spending on social welfare and public projects during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. He led the opposition to Governor George Earle's Little New Deal. As president pro tempore during World War II, Ealy was responsible for passage of the state's defense and security laws, wartime manufacturing bills, federal compliance legislation, and veterans' job assistance bills.

Personal life and death

Ealy married Edna May Pritts circa 1908; the couple had three daughters. He died from a heart attack at his Somerset home within a year of his retirement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ealy, Charles H. 1884 births 1947 deaths People from Somerset, Pennsylvania 20th-century American legislators Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Presidents pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate Pennsylvania lawyers Presbyterians from Pennsylvania 20th-century Pennsylvania politicians