George Bliss (Congressman)

George Bliss (January 1, 1813 – October 24, 1868) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio.

George Bliss
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 18th district
In office March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855
Preceded by	David K. Cartter
Succeeded by	Benjamin F. Leiter
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 14th district
In office March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865
Preceded by	Harrison G. O. Blake
Succeeded by	Martin Welker
Personal details
Born	January 1, 1813 Jericho, Vermont
Died	October 24, 1868 (aged 55) Wooster, Ohio
Resting place	Oak Hill Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Sarah J. Fish
Alma mater	Granville College

Bliss was born in Jericho, Vermont. He attended Granville College. Moved to Ohio in 1832, studied law with David Kellogg Cartter, was admitted to the bar in 1841 and became Cartter's law partner in Akron, Ohio.[1]

Bliss was Mayor of Akron in 1850.[1] In 1850 he was appointed the presiding judge of the eighth judicial district and continued in that role until the office was discontinued after a constitutional change.

He was elected to the Thirty-third Congress (4 March 1853 – 3 March 1855) as a Democrat. Bliss subsequently withdrew his nomination for re-election. He continued practising law in Wooster, Ohio. In 1858, he was principal counsel and attorney in the Oberlin–Wellington Rescue case, assisting George Belden of Canton, the United States District Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, in the prosecution. Both conspirators were found guilty by the jury in the court of judge Hiram V. Willson, and punished.[2]

Bliss was elected to the Thirty-eighth congress (4 March 1863 – 3 March 1865) and was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1864. He was a delegate to the Union National Convention at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1866.

George Bliss died in Wooster, Ohio on 24 October 1868 and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Married Sarah J. Fish of Williamstown, New York, and they had five children. After Bliss died, his family moved to Brooklyn, New York.[1]

Sources

• United States Congress. "George Bliss (id: B000559)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

1. Lane, Samuel A. (1892). Fifty years and over of Akron and Summit County. Akron: Beacon Job Department. p. 551.
2. Douglas, Ben (1900). History of the lawyers of Wayne County, Ohio, from 1812 to 1900. Clapper Printing. p. 241.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.