Frank Hatton (April 28, 1846 – April 30, 1894) was an American politician and newspaperman. He was a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to t ...

veteran of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, served as

United States Postmaster General The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

, and later edited ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''.

Early life

Hatton was born in

Cambridge, Ohio Cambridge is a city in and the county seat of Guernsey County, Ohio, United States. It lies in southeastern Ohio, in the Appalachian Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains 74 miles east of Columbus. The population was 10,635 at the 2010 census. I ...

on April 28, 1846, a son of Richard Hatton and Sarah (Green) Hatton. He was raised and educated in

Cadiz, Ohio Cadiz ( ) is a village in Cadiz Township, Harrison County, Ohio, United States located about 20 miles from Steubenville. The population was 3,353 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Harrison County. History Cadiz was founded in 1803 ...

and apprenticed to his father, who was a printer and newspaper publisher.

Civil War

Though he was only 16 years old, in 1862 Hatton enlisted for the

as a private in Company C, 98th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. His unit served primarily with the

Army of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

, and Hatton took part in numerous engagements including the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Un ...

. In 1864, he was commissioned as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

and he served with the

184th Ohio Infantry The 184th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 184th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 184th OVI) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 184th Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio Sep ...

before being mustered out at the end of the war. After the war, Hatton was an original member of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

. In addition, he was also one of the organizers of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

in Ohio.

Early career

After the war, Hatton worked in the newspaper business in

Mount Pleasant, Iowa Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa, Henry County, Iowa. The population was 9,274 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 8,668 in the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. It was founded ...

and later in

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000 United States ...

. A Republican who was active as a member of the Stalwart faction, he served as Burlington's Postmaster, and held several party positions, including Chairman of the Iowa Republican Party's Central Committee.

Political career

In 1881, Hatton was a candidate for several federal appointments at the start of the James A. Garfield administration. Garfield died that summer and in October, Hatton was appointed First Assistant Postmaster General during Chester A. Arthur's presidency. In 1884 he was promoted to

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

when incumbent Walter Q. Gresham became

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

. Hatton worked unsuccessfully to nominate President Arthur for a full term at the

1884 Republican National Convention The 1884 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Exposition Hall in Chicago, Illinois, on June 3–6, 1884. It resulted in the nomination of former House Speaker James G. Blaine from Maine for presid ...

. The nomination was won by

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representativ ...

, who went on to lose the general election to Democrat

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

. Hatton left office at the end of Arthur's term and returned to the newspaper business.

Later career

Hatton was part-owner and editor of ''

'' until April 24, 1894, when he was stricken with a massive

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop funct ...

while working at his desk. Hatton experienced complete paralysis, and was transported to a hospital, where his condition continued to decline.

Death and burial

He died on April 30, 1894, a week after his stroke and two days after his 48th birthday. He was interred in

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stree ...

in Washington, D.C.

Family

In 1867, Hatton married Elizabeth J. Snyder (1844-1944) of Mount Pleasant Iowa. They were the parents of a son, Richard Hatton (1872-1939).

Legacy

The town of Hatton, North Dakota was founded in 1882, and is named for Frank Hatton.

References

External links

Frank Hatton
a
American President: A Reference Resource
by The Miller Center
Frank Hatton
at ''

Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography ''Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography'' is a six-volume collection of biographies of notable people involved in the history of the New World. Published between 1887 and 1889, its unsigned articles were widely accepted as authoritative ...

'', Volume 3 *
North Dakota: A Guide to the Northern Prairie State
', by

Federal Writers' Project The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) was a federal government project in the United States created to provide jobs for out-of-work writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program. It wa ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatton, Frank (US politician) 1846 births 1894 deaths Union Army officers 19th-century American newspaper editors Politicians from Burlington, Iowa People from Cambridge, Ohio People from Cadiz, Ohio United States Postmasters General The Washington Post people Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery Arthur administration cabinet members Ohio Republicans Iowa Republicans American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians Journalists from Ohio