Harrison Gray Otis Blake (March 17, 1818 – April 16, 1876) was 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. Born in Newfane, Vermont, Blake moved to

Salem, New York Salem is a town in eastern Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 2,702 at the 2000 census. The town of Salem contains a hamlet also named Salem, formerly ...

, and in 1830 to

Guilford, Ohio Guilford Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northeastern Hanover Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. It surrounds the eponymous Guilford Lake reservoir. The population was 1,188 at the 2020 census ...

. He received his education at public schools, later studying medicine at Seville for one year. In 1836, he moved to Medina, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits and studied law. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Medina. From 1846 to 1847, he served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, and was elected to the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

in 1848, serving as that chamber's president. Blake was elected as a Republican to the

36th United States Congress The 36th 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, 1859 ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Cyrus Spink, formerly Representative for Ohio's 14th congressional district. He was reelected to that Congress, serving from October 11, 1859, to March 3, 1863. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1862 to the Thirty-eighth Congress, but instead, with the Civil War raging, entered the United States Army in 1864. He served as colonel of the 166th Ohio Infantry, a Hundred Days Regiment. Blake was mayor of Medina from 1870 to 1872. After the war, he declined the appointment of Governor of

Idaho Territory The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho. History 1860s The territory w ...

, resuming the practice of law and maintaining an interest in banking and mercantile pursuits. He served as delegate to the Loyalist Convention at Philadelphia in 1866, and died ten years later in

Medina, Ohio Medina ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Medina County, Ohio, United States. The population was 26,094 at the 2020 Census. It lies about 33 miles (53 km) south of Cleveland and 23 miles (37 km) west of Akron within the Clevelan ...

, on April 16, 1876. He was interred in Spring Grove Cemetery.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Harrison Gray Otis 1818 births 1876 deaths People from Newfane, Vermont Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio People from Medina, Ohio Presidents of the Ohio Senate Republican Party Ohio state senators People from Salem, New York 19th-century American legislators