John Clark Ketcham (January 1, 1873 – December 4, 1941) was a politician 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 ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Ketcham was born in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, and moved with his parents to Maple Grove, Michigan near

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, the same year. He attended the

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary o ...

s of Barry County and high school at Nashville. He taught in rural and high schools from 1890 to 1899. Ketcham was county commissioner of schools for Barry County, 1899-1907, and chairman of the

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 ...

county committee, 1902-1908. He was postmaster of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, 1907-1914; master of the Michigan State Grange, 1912-1920; and lecturer of the

National Grange The Grange, officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and ...

, 1917-1921. Ketcham was elected as a

from Michigan's 4th congressional district to the

67th United States Congress The 67th 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, 192 ...

and to the five succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1921, to March 3, 1933. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1932, losing in the general election to

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 ...

George E. Foulkes. Ketcham was president of the National Bank of Hastings, 1933-1937; State commissioner of insurance, 1935-1937; and counsel for the Michigan Chain Store Bureau, 1938-1941. He died in Hastings and was interred there in Riverside Cemetery. He was the son-in-law, of Samuel Azariah Shelton, U.S. Representative from Missouri's 16th congressional district, 1921-1923.

References

John C. Ketcham
at The Political Graveyard * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ketcham, John Clark 1873 births 1941 deaths Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan People from Toledo, Ohio People from Barry County, Michigan People from Hastings, Michigan State insurance commissioners of the United States