H. W. Curtiss

Dr. Harvey Willard Curtiss (February 22, 1824 – April 30, 1902) was a Republican legislator from the U.S. state of Ohio who, as President of the Ohio Senate, became Lieutenant Governor of Ohio 1877–1878 when the Governor resigned, and the Lieutenant Governor was promoted.[1]

Harvey Willard Curtiss
13th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
In office March 2, 1877 – January 14, 1878
Governor	Thomas L. Young
Preceded by	Thomas L. Young
Succeeded by	Jabez W. Fitch
Member of the Ohio Senate from the 25th district
In office January 5, 1874 – January 4, 1880 Serving with William Bingham (1874-75) J. C. Schenck (1876-77)
Preceded by	Benjamin R. Bevis Allen T. Brinsmade
Succeeded by	Peter Hitchcock Thomas J. Carson
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the Cuyahoga County district
In office January 3, 1870 – January 4, 1874
Personal details
Born	February 23, 1824 Charlestown Township, Portage County, Ohio
Died	April 30, 1902 (aged 78) Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Olive B. Rood
Children	four
Alma mater	Grand River Institute Western College of Homeopathy, Cleveland

Biography

Harvey Willard Curtiss was born at Charlestown Township, Portage County, Ohio February 22, 1824,[2][3][4] or perhaps 1823.[5] He graduated from the Grand River Institute, and began study of medicine in 1849.[2][5] He graduated from the Cleveland Medical College,[2][5] or Western College of Homeopathy[3] in 1851, and located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to practice medicine for a short time before locating in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where lived the rest of his life.[2][3][5] H. W. Curtiss married Olive B. Rood of Charlestown in 1845.[5]

Career

Curtiss was an abolitionist, and his home was a stop on the Underground Railroad.[3] He was among the first in Cuyahoga County, Ohio to join the newly formed Republican Party.[3] He was on the City Council of Chagrin Falls, and was mayor from 1861 to 1865.[5] Curtiss was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1869 and 1871, and to the Ohio State Senate in 1873, 1875 and 1877.[2] In the spring of 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes resigned as Governor of Ohio to become President of the United States. Lieutenant Governor of Ohio Thomas L. Young became governor, and Curtiss, as President pro tem of the Senate, became acting lieutenant governor.[2] Curtiss was also a school board member for eighteen years, and was president of the Western Reserve Pioneer Association for twenty years.[3] After he retired from politics, he practiced medicine until about 1900.[2]

Death

Curtiss died at Chagrin Falls on April 30, 1902.[2][3] His wife, Olive, survived him with three children.[2] Another son died at age thirteen.[4]

References

1. "Lieutenant Governors of the State of Ohio: 1852 - present". Ohio Secretary of State. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
2. Annals of Cuyahoga County : 512
3. Proceedings Homeopathic : 24-26
4. Brennan 1880 : 420
5. Crabb 1872 : 67-68

External links

• Annals of the Early Settlers Association of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 4. Cleveland. p. 512.
• Beckwith, D H (1903). "Necrologist's Report". Proceedings of the Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of Ohio. 39: 24–26.
• Crabb, W Darwin (1872). Biographical sketches of the state officers, and of the members of the 60th General Assembly of the State of Ohio. Columbus: Ohio State Journal. pp. 67–68.
• Brennan, J. Fletcher, ed. (1880). The portrait gallery and cyclopedia of the distinguished men of Ohio. 2. Cincinnati: John C. Yorston & Company. p. 420.
• H. W. Curtiss at Find a Grave