Robert Murphy Nevin (May 5, 1850 – December 17, 1912) was an

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

and three-term member of the

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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 1901 to 1907.

Biography

Robert M. Nevin was born in

Danville, Ohio Danville is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,044 at the 2010 census. History Modern Danville had its start in 1923 by the merging of two neighboring villages called Buckeye City and Rosstown (Rossville). The or ...

, the son of Robert and Frances E. (Eakin) Nevin. His father was a

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and the first

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Highland County, Ohio Highland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,317. Its county seat is Hillsboro. The county is named for the topography which is hilly and divides the watersheds of the Little Mia ...

. He attended the public schools in Hillsboro, Ohio and was graduated from the

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

in June 1868. After graduation, Robert M. Nevin moved to

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

, where he pursued the study of law under the tutelage of Thomas O. Lowe. When Lowe was elected to the bench of the superior court, Nevin entered the office of Conover & Craighead, well-known attorneys, where he completed his study of law until admitted to the bar in

Montgomery County, Ohio Montgomery County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 537,309, making it the fifth-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat is Dayton. The county was named in honor ...

in 1871. In November 1871, Robert Murphy Nevin was united in marriage to Miss Emma Reasoner of Dresden, Ohio. They had four children. In 1876, Robert Nevin entered into professional partnership with Alvin W. Kumler, and the firm of Nevin & Kumler was maintained until the election of Kumler as judge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, by which time it was the oldest continuous law partnership in south central Ohio. R. M. Nevin was a distinguished criminal lawyer and occupied a prominent place at the Ohio bar as counsel for the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

for thirty years (1882–1912). Robert M. Nevin was a lifelong Republican, very active in state and local politics, and served as chairman of the Republican county committee of Montgomery County. He was a

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to 14 Republican state

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in 15 years, his name being put in nomination for Secretary of State and

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at different times. In 1893, he nominated

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

for Governor of Ohio at the state convention in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Nevin was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1892. R. M. Nevin was elected as a Republican as prosecuting attorney of Montgomery County and served from 1887 to 1890. He was narrowly defeated for Congress from Ohio's third district in 1896. In 1900, he was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-seventh, and re-elected to the Fifty-eighth and Fifty-ninth Congresses. He declined renomination in 1906, resuming the practice of law in Dayton. He was a

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, Knight Templar and Scottish Rite, an

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, a Knight of Pythias and a member of the society of Elks. Robert Murphy Nevin died in Dayton in 1912 and was interred in

Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum (200 acres), located at 118 Woodland Avenue, Dayton, Ohio, is one of the oldest garden cemeteries in the United States. Woodland was incorporated in 1842 by John Whitten Van Cleve, the first male child born in D ...

Sources

* History of the Republican Party in Ohio. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1898, 1579 pgs. * Gilkey, Elliot Howard, The Ohio Hundred Year Book. Columbus: F.J. Heer, state printer, 1901, 779 pgs. * Conover, Frank, editor. Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and of Montgomery County, Ohio Logansport, IN: A. W. Bowen & Co. (Press of Wilson, Humphreys & Co.), 1897, 1310 pages. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nevin, Robert Murphy 1850 births 1912 deaths Politicians from Dayton, Ohio People from Highland County, Ohio People from Danville, Ohio Burials at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum Ohio Wesleyan University alumni County district attorneys in Ohio 19th-century American politicians Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio