Dr. Harvey Willard Curtiss (February 22, 1824 – April 30, 1902) was 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 ...

legislator from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

who, as the

president of the Ohio Senate The president of the Ohio State Senate is the leader of the Ohio State Senate. Under Ohio's first constitution, in effect from 1803 to 1851, the presiding officer of the senate was called the speaker. Starting in 1851, when the second constitution ...

, became the 13th

lieutenant governor of Ohio The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve a ...

1877–1878 when the governor resigned, and the previous lieutenant governor succeeded to the governorship.

Biography

Harvey Willard Curtiss was born at Charlestown Township,

Portage County, Ohio Portage County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,791. Located in Northeast Ohio, Portage County is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cleveland–Akr ...

February 22, 1824, Annals of Cuyahoga County : 512 Proceedings Homeopathic : 24-26 Brennan 1880 : 420 or perhaps 1823. Crabb 1872 : 67-68 He graduated from the Grand River Institute, and began study of medicine in 1849. He graduated from the Cleveland Medical College, or Western College of Homeopathy in 1851, and located in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

to practice medicine for a short time before locating in

Chagrin Falls, Ohio Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and is a suburb of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio's Cleveland-Akron-Canton metropolitan area, the 19th-largest Combined Statistical Area nationwide. The village was established and h ...

, where lived the rest of his life. H. W. Curtiss married Olive B. Rood of Charlestown in 1845.

Career

Curtiss was an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, and his home was a stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

. He was among the first in

Cuyahoga County, Ohio Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.-Canada maritime border. As of the 2020 U ...

to join the newly formed Republican Party. He was on the City Council of Chagrin Falls, and was mayor from 1861 to 1865. Curtiss was elected to the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

in 1869 and 1871, and 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 1873, 1875 and 1877. In the spring of 1877,

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...

resigned as

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

to become President of the United States.

Lieutenant Governor of Ohio The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve a ...

Thomas L. Young Thomas Lowry Young (December 14, 1832July 20, 1888) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. Young, a Republican, served as the 33rd governor of Ohio from March 2, 1877, to January 14, 1878. Early life Young was born in Killyleag ...

became governor, and Curtiss, as President pro tem of the Senate, became acting lieutenant governor. Curtiss was also a school board member for eighteen years, and was president of the Western Reserve Pioneer Association for twenty years. After he retired from politics, he practiced medicine until about 1900.

Death

Curtiss died at Chagrin Falls on April 30, 1902. His wife, Olive, survived him with three children. Another son died at age thirteen.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtiss, Harvey Willard 1824 births 1902 deaths 19th-century American physicians American homeopaths Lieutenant Governors of Ohio Mayors of places in Ohio Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives People from Chagrin Falls, Ohio People from Portage County, Ohio Presidents of the Ohio State Senate Republican Party Ohio state senators Underground Railroad people Activists from Ohio 19th-century American politicians