Tobias Avery Plants (March 17, 1811 – June 19, 1887) was an American lawyer, newspaperman, and politician who served two terms 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
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 ...
from 1865 to 1869.
Biography
Born at
Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 according to the 2010 census. The Sewickley Bridge crosses the Ohio ...
, Plants apprenticed to a saddler at the age of twelve.
He received a limited common school education.
He attended Beaver College,
Meadville, Pennsylvania.
He taught school, and while teaching studied law with
Edwin M. Stanton
Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...
in the office of Judge David Powell at
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a ...
.
He was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
and commenced practice in
Athens, Ohio, in 1846, but soon moved to
Pomeroy, Ohio
Pomeroy ( ) is a village in and the county seat of Meigs County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River 21 miles south of Athens. The population was 1,852 at the 2010 census.
History
Pomeroy was founded in 1804 and named for landowner Samuel ...
.
He served as member of the State house of representatives 1858–1861.
He was owner and publisher of the Pomeroy ''Weekly Telegraph'' about 1860.
Congress
Plants was elected as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
to the
Thirty-ninth and
Fortieth Congresses (March 4, 1865 - March 3, 1869). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1868.
Later career and death
He served as
Common Pleas Judge in Meigs County from 1873 to 1875, when he resigned to resume the practice of law. A
presidential elector
The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...
for
Garfield
''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his hum ...
/
Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
in 1880,
[ Smith 1898 : 431-432] he served as president of the First City Bank of Pomeroy from 1878 until his death in Pomeroy on June 19, 1887. He was interred in Beech Grove Cemetery.
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plants, Tobias Avery
1811 births
1887 deaths
People from Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Ohio lawyers
1880 United States presidential electors
19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives
People from Pomeroy, Ohio
19th-century American journalists
American male journalists
19th-century American male writers
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American lawyers
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio