John Anderson McDowell (September 25, 1853 – October 2, 1927) was for two terms 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 Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

for two terms from 1897 to 1901.

Biography

Born in

Killbuck, Ohio Killbuck is a village in Holmes County, Ohio, United States, along Killbuck Creek. The population was 817 at the 2010 census. Local tradition states the name is derived from an incident when a deer was killed near the town site. According to a l ...

, McDowell attended the common schools, the Millersburg High School, and Lebanon (Ohio)

Normal College A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

. He graduated from the

Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduate ...

Alliance, Ohio Alliance is a city in eastern Stark County, Ohio, United States. With a small district lying in adjacent Mahoning County, the city is approximately northeast of Canton, southwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 21 ...

, in 1887. He taught in rural schools 1870-1877. Following this he served as principal of Millersburg High School 1877-1879. Superintendent of Millersburg schools 1879-1896. County school examiner for twenty years. Instructor in the summer school of the

College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...

from 1896 to 1917 and in the summer school of

Ashland College Ashland University is a private university in Ashland, Ohio. The university consists of a main campus and several off-campus centers throughout central and northern Ohio. Ashland was founded in 1878 as Ashland College. It is affiliated with The ...

, Ohio in 1918.

Congress

McDowell 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-fifth and Fifty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1901). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1900. Superintendent of public instruction of the Ashland city schools 1908-1927. Trustee of the State normal college at

Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 Census. The city is counted as pa ...

from 1911 to 1922.

Later career and death

He served as president of Northeastern Ohio Teachers' Association in 1921 and of Ohio State Teachers' Association in 1926. He was also interested in agricultural pursuits. He died in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, October 2, 1927. He was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery,

Millersburg, Ohio Millersburg is a village and the county seat of Holmes County, Ohio, United States located south of Cleveland. The population was 3,025 at the 2010 census. Holmes County Airport, located two miles southwest of Millersburg, serves the county. ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDowell, John A. 1853 births 1927 deaths People from Holmes County, Ohio National Normal University alumni College of Wooster faculty University of Mount Union alumni Kent State University people Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio