George Washington Geddes (July 16, 1824 – November 9, 1892) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served 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 ...

for four terms from 1879 to 1887.

Early life and career

Born in

Mount Vernon, Ohio Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. It is located northeast of Columbus. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. History The community was platted in 1805, and named after M ...

, Geddes attended the common schools. He studied law under

Columbus Delano Columbus Delano (June 4, 1809 – October 23, 1896) was a lawyer, rancher, banker, statesman, and a member of the prominent Delano family. Forced to live on his own at an early age, Delano struggled to become a self-made man. Delano was electe ...

. 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 ...

in July 1845 and practiced. He served as judge of the court of common pleas of the sixth judicial district in 1856. He was reelected in 1861. Geddes was again elected in 1868, and served until 1873. He resumed the practice of law. He was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1871. He resumed the practice of law in Mansfield.

Congress

Geddes 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 Forty-sixth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1887). He served as chairman of the Committee on War Claims ( Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses). He declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1886 to the Fiftieth Congress. He resumed the practice of his profession.

Family life

Married Nancy Lennon of

Ashland County, Ohio Ashland County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,447. Its county seat is Ashland. The county is named for " Ashland", the home of Senator Henry Clay near ...

in 1848, and had three sons, Samuel, James and George. Nancy died in 1878, and Geddes married Amelia Gass, December 1880. Geddes was a trustee of Ohio Wesleyan University and

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 ...

. He was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Death

He died in

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The ci ...

, November 9, 1892. He was interred in Mansfield Cemetery.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geddes, George Washington 1824 births 1892 deaths People from Mount Vernon, Ohio Ohio lawyers Politicians from Mansfield, Ohio 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio