50 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. Jeremiah L. Carpenter. THE Eighth District, Lawrence, Gallia, Meigs and Vinton counties, sends to the Senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly a man with much experience in legislative business. Senator J. L. Carpenter was a Representative from Meigs county in the ,Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth and a Senator from the Eighth District in the Sixty-ninth, Seventieth and Seventy-third General Assemblies. He was born and reared on the farm, Lawnfield, where he now resides, in Columbia township, Meigs county, received a common school and mercantile education and is a farmer by occupation. From early boyhood he has taken a deep interest in the various branches of agriculture, but has given especial care and attention to the breeding and improvement of live stock. He also has always been earnest and active in advancing the educational interests of his section. He is an aggressive Republican, and has frequently been a member of the State Central Committee. The Convention which nominated Senator Carpenter for the Seventy-third General Assembly was in duration over three months and reached a nomination on the 3687th ballot. The Democrats put up no candidate, and Senator Carpenter was elected without opposition. He is Chairman of the Committees on Agriculture and Penitentiary, and a member of Finance, Labor, Common Schools and School Lands and other committees. In the 70th General Assembly he was Chairman of the Finance Committee, and a member of the Committees on Privileges and Elections, Benevolent Institutions, Agriculture, Rules, Labor, etc. He is a Mason and Knight Templar. 52 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. John J. Sullivan. JOHN J. SULLIVAN, the senator from the Twenty-third District, counties of Trumbull and Mahoning, was born in New York, October 25, 1860. His parents died while he was at an early age, and he was taken west by the Children's Aid Society and adopted when about ten years old by Mr. and Mrs. Louis Pelton, of Gustavus, Trumbull county, Ohio. He was raised on a farm in that county and went to the common schools. He later graduated at the Gustavus Academy and taught school for about five years. On October 26, 1885, he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio, standing high in his class. He immediately began the practice of law at Warren, Ohio, which practice has grown to be lucrative and extensive. He was Prosecuting Attorney of Trumbull county in 1890 and 1893, which office he resigned in 1895 upon receiving the unanimous nomination as State Senator upon a Republican platform. He served with distinction in the Seventy-second and Seventy-third General Assemblies. In the former, by the request of ex-Governor J. B. Foraker, he placed his name in nomination before the State Senate for U. S. Senator from Ohio, in a speech that has been characterized as the most brilliant and able effort ever delivered in the Ohio Senate, and stamped him throughout Ohio as an orator without a peer. In the Seventy-third General Assembly, at the request of M. A. Hanna, he presented his name as a candidate for the same high office, and his speech is a model unexcelled. He has thus had the distinction of having placed in nomination two distinguished members of the Senate. In 1897 he was unanimously nominated President of the Ohio Republican League, and held that office for one year. 54 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. James R. Garfield. FOR two terms has Senator James Rudolph Garfield been one of the two senators to which the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-sixth districts are entitled. The counties are Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga, Portage and Summit. Senator Garfield comes from Lake county, Mentor being his present address. He was born at Hiram, Portage county, October 17, 1865. He attended the school at St. Paul's, Concord, New Hampshire, and later Williams College, from which he graduated in 1885. He chose the law as his profession, attended the law school of Columbia College, New York, studied in the office of Boynton & Hale, in Cleveland, and was admitted to the bar in 1888. He then formed a law partnership with his brother, Harry A. Garfield, which still continues. He was elected to the Senate of the Seventy-second and Seventy-third General Assemblies as a Republican by tremendous majorities. Senator Garfield is a hard and earnest worker, a finished parliamentarian, and a speaker of recognized ability. He placed Senator M. A. Hanna in nomination before the Joint Assembly in January, 1898, in a brilliant and thoughtful address. His deep knowledge of law forms makes him an almost indispensable man in preparing bills for passage so that they will stand the test of the courts. 56 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK Hon. George S. Long   THE Twelfth district, counties of Dark, Miami and Shelby, are represented in the Senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly by George S. Long, of Troy. Senator Long was born in Troy, February 22, 1856, and has made that place his home ever since. After a common school education in his native town, he completed his education at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H., graduating in June, 1879, He then taught two years in the high schools of Portsmouth, Ohio ; returning to Troy he began the practice of law, in which profession he has since been engaged. He was elected Mayor of Troy in 1886 and has also been a member of the School Board of that city. He is a sterling and unflinching Democrat, and as such was elected by his party in 1897 to the Senate by 1331 plurality. Senator Long at once took a prominent part in organization and leadership, being Chairman of the Democratic caucus, in which a union of the anti-Hanna forces almost defeated Mr. Hanna for United States Senator. He was made Chairman of the Committee on Taxation, and is a member of the Judiciary, Railroads and Telegraphs, County Affairs, Rules, and several other important committees. He is one of the best speakers on the Democratic side, and his influence is to be seen in much of the legislation of the Assembly. Senator Long was married June 2, 1887, to Miss Lina Weller, and has one son. 58 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. Oscar Sheppard. OSCAR SHEPPARD, of West Alexandria, Ohio, who represents the Third District, Montgomery and Preble counties, was born in Muskingum county, July 15, 1845. He lived on a farm until sixteen years old, when he enlisted in Company C, Twenty-seventh 0 V. I. He participated in all the campaigns and battles of the Army of the Tennessee; was mentioned for distinguished gallantry at Ruff's Mills, July 4, 1864 ; was desperately wounded before Atlanta on July 22, 1864, but recovered and was present at the surrender of Johnston ; participated in the Grand Review at Washington ; was mustered out in July, 1865, as sergeant-major of his regiment. After his return home, he engaged in teaching until 1877, when he began the practice of law. In 1881 and again in 1883 he was elected to the legislature. His service in the lower house was marked by great conscientiousness and ability, as is also characteristic of him in the senate. In 1897 he was unanimously chosen as Republican candidate for the senate and received more votes than any other candidate on the ticket. This popularity is justified by the work he has done. He is chairman of the Committee on Geological Survey, and member of Judiciary, Municipal Corporations No. 2, and others of the highest importance. His work is thoroughly done, he is an able debater and a lover of justice. His views are always given close attention and carry great weight. He has held several important positions of trust by appointment of the Governor and others. Senator Sheppard was married in 1878 to Miss Alice Cary Gale, and his family consists of one son and two daughters. 60 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK Hon. John C. L. Pugh. FRANKLIN AND PICK AWAY counties are represented in the Senate by John C. L. Pugh, a rising young attorney of Columbus. Sen. Pugh is distinctively a product of Columbus, having been born and having received his early education here. His education was completed at Princeton College, and Senator Pugh returned to his native city to practice his profession. He united his fortunes to the Democratic party and was by them elected to his present position. His great legal ability has been widely recognized, his opinion often being taken on pending bills even by his political opponents. Senator Pugh has been in the Ohio National Guard, 14th regiment, for over eight years. He is a member of Junia Lodge, 474, I. O. O. F. ; Champion Lodge, No. 581, K. P.; Columbus Lodge No. 37, B. P. O. E ; Opecancanough, I. O. R. M. and Fidelity Lodge K. & L. of H. He is a widower with one daughter and one son. In church affairs he is a Presbyterian. Much of the legislation of the Seventy-third General Assembly will bear the impress of Senator Pugh's hand. He is essentially a committee worker being Chairman of Corporations other than Municipal, and member of Judiciary, Claims, Taxation and others of like importance. It is only on matters of great importance that he makes a speech, but his work in the preparation and editing of bills makes him one of the most useful men in the Ohio Senate. 62 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. William G. Brorein. THE Thirty-Second Senatorial District, consisting of Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Mercer, Paulding, Van Wert and Williams counties, and entitled to two senators, has in Senator W. G. Brorein an able and vigilant representative. Senator Brorein was born near Marion, Ohio, October 31, 1861, but five years later removed with his parents to Auglaize county. His education was received at the common schools and the Ohio Normal University, which he entered in 1879. He engaged in teaching during the winter months, and for three years was superintendent of the Cridersville schools. In 1886 he engaged in mercantile business at Buckland, where he now operates a wood stirrup factory, a saw mill, and a drain tile and brick factory. He was Buckland's first mayor, and while mayor was elected to the Seventy-first General Assembly. Two years later he was reelected, both times by decisive majorities. In both of these terms in the house he served on the important Committee on Finance. In 1897 he was one of the Democratic candidates for the State Senate and was elected by 5916 plurality. He at once took his place as one of the hard workers and strong members of the Seventy-third General Assembly, was made chairman of the Committee on Public Works and Public Lands, and member of eight other committees, among them Finance, Municipal Corporations, County Affairs, Manufactures and Commerce, and Common Schools and School Lands. 64 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. J. Park Alexander. ONE of the most rugged figures on the Republican side of the Senate is J. Park Alexander. He was born near Bath, Summit county, Ohio, August 7, 1834, and spent the first twenty years of his life on the old homestead. He received his education in the county schools, at the Richfield Academy, and Holbrook's Normal Engineering School. He was engaged in the manufac turing business until 1894, when, having acquired a competency, he retired. But being prominent in politics, he was too active and aggressive a man to withdraw from that field. This is his fourth term in the General Assembly and his third term as a Senator. He has been Councilman in Akron sixteen years, President and Secretary of Summit County Agricultural Society fourteen years, and Treasurer State Board of Agriculture four years. For two years, 1896-7, he was a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Feeble-Minded Youth, but resigned therefrom owing to difference of political opinions with the Governor. Senator Alexander was married September 4, 1860, to Martha D. Wright, and his family consists of six daughters and one son. His sterling honesty and fighting qualities make him the terror of all questionable legislation, and many a smooth deal has shipwrecked upon his sharp judgment and scathing tongue. He is Chairman of the Committee on Municipal Corporations No. 2, and member of County Affairs, Fees and Salaries, Taxation and other important committees. 66 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. C. D. Wightman. AMONG the younger members on the Republican side of the Ohio Senate is Charles D. Wightman, of Medina. He is the representative of the Twenty-seventh and Twenty-ninth Senatorial Districts, which consist of the counties of Ashland, Lorain, Richland and Medina. In Lafayette township, in the latter county, he was born on November 25, 1866. He spent the first eighteen years of his life on a farm, afterward attending the Medina High School. After his course at that place, he finished at Adrian College, Adrian, Michigan, graduating therefrom in 1889. He embarked in the practice of law, which profession he has since followed with singular success and recognition. He has been President of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Association of Ohio. a position made possible by holding four years the office of Prosecuting Attorney of Medina county. Indeed, he resigned that position to accept his present seat in the senate. Senator Wightman has taken a prominent part in Republican political circles, and was Chairman of the Republican Executive Committee of Medina county in 1895 and 1896. In 1897, he was a delegate to the National Convention of Republican League Clubs held in Detroit. In the organization of the Senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly he was made Chairman of the Committees on Enrollment and Sanitary Laws and Regulations, and a member of the Judiciary, County Affairs, Labor and other important committees. 68 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. Hugh L. Nichols. ONE of the hardest workers to be found in the senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly is H. L Nichols, of Batavia, Clermont county. He represents the second and fourth senatorial districts, Butler, Warren, Clermont, and Brown counties, having been elected as a Democrat over J. M. Ayers, Republican, by 3,128 majority. Senator Nichols was born March 25, 1865, at New Richmond, Ohio, and received his education in the Batavia public schools. The law was his chosen profession, and in 1886 he graduated from the Cincinnati Law School and was admitted to the bar. Since then he has been in active practice and has built up a large and remunerative business, and at the same time a high reputation as an earnest and capable attorney. Senator Nichols is one of the men who move the wheels of legislation. He is Chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, and a member, among others, of such important committees as Judiciary, Municipal Corporations No. 1, Corporations other than Municipal, etc., and in these responsible posts his influence is felt and appreciated. His legislative ability and deep knowledge of legal forms make him especially valuable in shaping legislation so it will pass the gauntlet of the courts. Senator Nichols was married March 2, 1887, to Miss Louisa D. Stirling, and his family consists of one daughter, adopted. He is a member of I. O. O. F. and K. of P. In religion he is a Presbyterian. 70 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. Vernon H. Burke. VERNON H. BURKE, of Cleveland, is one of Cuyahoga county's three senators in the Seventy-third General Assembly. He was born in Saybrook, Ashtabula county, December 22, 1866, and after a common school education in that county, took a further course in the University of Notre Dame at South Bend, Ind. He is a lawyer by profession and was admitted to the bar in 1887. Senator Burke is a Republican, and as such was elected to the Senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly in the memorable campaign of 1897. He made the speech both in the Senate and the Joint Assembly placing R. E. McKisson in nomination for U. S. Senator, and his speech, though extemporaneous, is considered one of the finest oratorical efforts of the session. Senator Burke is a member of the two most important committees of the Senate, Finance and Judiciary, and also of Municipal Corporations No. 1, Railroads and Telegraphs, Insurance, and Universities and Colleges. He is an earnest worker, and at the same time a fine speaker, fluent and convincing. He has been Vice President of the First Corn-mittee of Fifteen in Cuyahoga county. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Foresters. On December 21, 1893, he was married to Miss Tillie B. Hahn, and they have one child, a son. 72 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. William G. Leet. ONE of the three senators who represent the Thirty-third District, comprising Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Putnam and Wood counties, is William G. Leet. Mr. Leet was born September 6, 1867, in Courtland, Trumbull county, Ohio, claimed residence in Ashtabula county between the ages of two and twenty-one, and since January 30, 1888, has been a resident of Toledo. His father died when his son was fifteen, and the boy, though having a turn for sociological subjects and being intended for the law, was forced to make his own living. He contrived during other work to learn telegraphy, secured a position with the L. S & M. S. R. R., and while stationed at Andover finished his academic course in the Andover high school. He rose rapidly in his vocation, and in 1893 became dispatcher of the Toledo Division of the Lake Shore Railroad. Senator Leet read law for two years, but political duties have interfered with the prosecution of his studies. Though originally a Democrat, he was out of sympathy with that party through the weakness of their tariff views until the adoption of the Chicago platform, since which time he has been an ardent and widely known champion of it. He was elected to the senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly by 1770 majority, and in it is chairman of the Committees on Public Expenditures and Manufactures and Commerce, and member of Judiciary, Railroads and Telegraphs, Labor, Taxation and other important committees. Senator Leet was married in 1890 to Miss Laura Mason, and they have an interesting family of three daughters. 74 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. H. Walter Doty. FULTON, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Putnam and Wood counties form the thirty-third senatorial district and are entitled to three senators, one of whom is H. Walter Doty, of Findlay, Hancock county. Senator Doty was born August 15, 1860, at Houcktown and received his early education in the common schools. In 1882 he graduated from the scientific course in the National Normal University at Lebanon. Thereafter he taught school for several years, but his natural inclination for the law induced him to begin its study, and in 1886 he was admitted to the bar, since which time he has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. Senator Doty is a stalwart Democrat, but aside from two terms as Mayor of McComb,. Hancock county, he has never held office before the present year. He is chairman of the Committees on Mines and Mining and on Military Affairs, and is a member of several important committees, among them Judiciary, Finance, County Affairs, Municipal Corporations No. 2, and Fees and Salaries. He is also a speaker of unquestioned merit, his views being expressed in clear and forcible language and received with the closest attention by his colleagues. Senator Doty was married September 12, 1883, to Miss Ida L. Cooper and has a family of four daughters. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Mystic Circle. 76 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. Elias Crandall. A STRANGER in looking over the senate of the 73rd General Assembly of Ohio would select the Senator from Jackson county as one of the most striking members of that body. Coming to the senate of the 72nd General Assembly absolutely without legislative experience, Senator Crandall has made an enviable record as a wise and conservative legislator. He was born in Angelica, Allegheny county, New York, May 25, 1829. He had no educational advantages except the district school at Newport, Ohio, three months in the year. His early life was spent at his birthplace, in Warren county, Pennsylvania, and in Washington county, Ohio. He early engaged in the manufacture of pig iron and carried on that business for a period of forty-five years. He has been a member of the City Council of Jackson, and for fifteen years a member of the Republican Executive Committee of Jackson county. He was elected, 1895, in the 7th District, Adams, Pike, Scioto and Jackson counties, as a Republican to the General Assembly over J. S. Thomas, Democrat, and in 1897, re-elected over D. D. Edwards. Senator Crandall is Chairman of the Committees on Roads, Highways and Turnpikes, and on Fish Culture and Game, and is a member of Agriculture, County Affairs, Labor, and others of no less importance. He is a strong man both in shaping the legislation and in the councils of his party. He was married January 1, 1858, to Miss Nan. F. Forsythe, and they have a family of two daughters. 78 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. John H. Riley. SENATOR John H. Riley is one of the two men elected to the senate of the 73d General Assembly from the 9th and 14th Districts, consisting of Athens, Fairfield, Hocking, Morgan, Washington and parts of Noble and Monroe counties. He is a native Virginian, Jackson county being his birthplace. At the formation of West Virginia, Senator Riley's county was incorporated in the new state, a thing not unpleasing to him, as he had borne arms in defense of the Union and hence was not in sympathy with the majority of Virginians. He held several public offices in West Virginia, having been County Treasurer, Prosecuting Attorney, and for three sessions a member of the State Legislature. He was delegate-at-large to the National Convention which nominated Garfield for President. Removing to Ohio fifteen years ago, he at once took a prominent part in politics, was Chairman of the Republican Executive Committee of Washington county in 1891, and also a delegate to the Convention which re-nominated President Harrison. In the State Senate he is member of the Committees on Judiciary, Common Schools and School Lands, Printing, Military Affairs, Privileges and Elections, Benevolent Institutions, and others of like importance where his work is in the highest degree satisfactory. By profession he is a lawyer, but he resides on a farm in which he takes much interest and delight. 80 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. Henry J. May. THE Thirteenth Senatorial District, comprising Hardin, Logan, Marion and Union counties, sends to the senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly an earnest Republican in the person of H. J. May, of Kenton, Hardin county. Senator May was born in Kenton, July 16, 1863, and received his education in the common schools and in the Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1881. He chose the law for his profession and read law with the firm of Johnson & Crane, at Kenton, and October 3, 1889, was admitted to the bar, since which time he has been in active practice in Kenton. Senator May is a strong Republican, and as such was elected to the State Senate over George B. Christian, Democrat, in 1897, after a hard fight, by a plurality of 437 votes. He is Chairman of the Committee on Universities and Colleges, and a member of Judiciary, Privileges and Elections, Insurance, Public Expenditures, and other committees of importance. He is a careful and conservative man, and one of the most serviceable in the Ohio Senate. On July 17, 1882, Senator May was married to Miss Belle Neville, and they have one daughter. Senator May is Captain of Company I, Second Infantry, Ohio National Guard, and is Major of the Second Battalion, First Regiment, Uniformed Rank, Knights of Pythias. 82 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. William E. Finck, Jr. THE Fifteenth and Sixteenth Senatorial Districts, Licking, Delaware, Muskingum and Perry counties, send to the senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly as one of their Senators W. E. Finck, Jr., a young and rising Democrat of Perry county. Senator Finck was born January 8, 1858, at Somerset, Ohio, the home of Phil Sheridan, and was educated in the common schools and at the St. Louis University, of which he is a graduate. He is a lawyer and has a large practice in the northern part of Perry county, requiring constant care and disinclining him to hold office. He never allowed his name to be used until 189(3, when he ran for Congress against Gen. Grosvenor. The district is normally about 10,000 Republican ; but Senator Finck made 171 speeches, and despite the presence of Republicans of national reputation, he cut the majority to about 4000. Coming to the State Senate, he was made Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, member of Committees on Revision, Rules, Public Expenditures and others of like importance, and was chosen leader of the Democratic side. He is an aggressive fighter, a capable general, and equally effective in committee as a worker or on the floor as a debater. His plans are thorough and successful, and at the same time are statesmanlike. Personally, he is very popular. He is suave in speech, a courteous though a dangerous opponent, avoids all personalities or captious criticisms, is logical and just, recognizes merit in an opponent and gives him credit for pure motives, while he has never broken faith or word with any living man. Senator Finck is a Catholic ; he was married May 4, 1891, to Miss Orpha E. Helser. 84 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. Horace E. Valentine. THE thirty-first senatorial district, Crawford. Seneca and Wyandot counties, is represented in the General Assembly the second time by Horace E. Valentine, of Bucyrus. Senator Valentine was born in the first mentioned county April 8, 1859, and has spent his whole life as a resident of that place. His education was received at the O. N. U., Ada, Ohio, from which institution he graduated in 1887. The following year he was elected to the office of Surveyor of Crawford county, a position which he held until 1896. Asa civil engineer Senator Valentine ranks very high, and no less so as an able and conservative legislator. He was first chosen to the State Senate in 1895, and was reelected in 1897 over P. H. Keifer by 4,035 plurality. In politics he is a staunch Democrat, and was made chairman of the Committee on Fees and Salaries, and member of Committees on Finance, Judiciary, Enrollment, Geological Survey, Labor, Insurance, and Penitentiary. He is a hard worker and an efficient one, while his probity is sufficient guarantee for the character of any bill which he may espouse. Senator Valentine was married December 15, 1888, to Miss Joie Nedry and has a family of one boy and one girl. 86 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. H. W. Wolcott, ONE of the three senators of Cuyahoga county, and by no means the least efficient on the Republican side of the house is Herbert Walter Wolcott, of Cleveland. Senator Wolcott is of New England descent but was born in Chicago. His father was Rev. Samuel Wolcott, D. D., a Congregational minister. His early life was spent in Cleveland, his first education being received at the public schools of that city. Later he attended Phillip's Academy, Andover, Mass., and Yale College, from which he graduated with the class of 1884. He then attended the Columbia Law School, New York City, and having been admitted to the bar, he returned to Cleveland to practice his profession. He is associated with James Mathers under the firm name of Wolcott & Mathers. From this city which constitutes the 25th Senatorial District, he was elected to the legislature in 1897. Senator Wolcott at once took a prominent part in the senate. He can always be found on the side of Republican principle and honest and fearless legislation, believing they are synonymous. He is chairman of the Committee on Revision, and a prominent member of such important committees as Judiciary, Public Works and Public Lands, Insurance, Claims, and Federal Relations, where his earnest work is highly appreciated by his colleagues. He is one of the safest and most useful legislators in the 73d General Assembly. 88 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. William E. Decker. W. E. DECKER is one of the brotherhood of newspaper men who occupy seats in the 73d General Assembly. He is the editor of the Paulding Democrat, one of the best free-silver papers in the great Northwest. He was born in Franklin county, Ohio, August 18, 1850, and when fourteen removed to Napoleon, Henry county, where he received his education. He became a teacher and followed that vocation for ten years, several of which he was Superintendent of the Holgate school. He then embarked on the tempestuous sea of journalism, and has escaped shipwreck for thirteen years. He is a Democrat of a pronounced type, fertile and aggressive, and his publication has been a bulwark of strength to the Democracy of his section. He was a member of the State Central Committee of his party for 1894, 1895 and 1896, and was an alternate delegate-at-large to the Chicago Convention. Aside from being Mayor and City Clerk of Holgate, Senator Decker never held office until the Democrats of the 32nd district, Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Mercer, Paulding, VanWert and Williams counties, sent him to the 73d General Assembly as one of its two senators. He was made Chairman of the Committee on Public Printing, and member of Railroads, and Telegraphs, Insurance, Fees and Salaries, Claims, and other important committees. Senator Decker was married March 5, 1882, to Miss Nettie M. Mann and has two daughters and one son. 90 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. D. C. Kennon. THE counties of Coshocton, Tuscarawas, Guernsey, and parts of Noble and Monroe, forming the eighteenth and nineteenth districts, are represented in the Senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly by David C. Kennon, a Democrat of Guernsey county. Senator Kennon was born April 21, 1843, near Barnesville, and has spent his life in that region. He has been engaged in farming, but is also a surveyor and civil engineer of note, and some of his drawings are in the office of the Canal Commissioners and will well repay inspection. He surveyed the Ohio canal from Newark to Cleveland, and the private secretary of Gov. McKinley made it a point to say the work was done with the greatest rapidity and thoroughness. Senator Kennon is high in the councils of the Democracy, and ran once for Representative and once for Congress. In both cases, though defeated, he ran far ahead of his ticket. He was elected to the State Senate in 1897 by nearly 2,000 majority. He is chairman of the Committee on County Affairs, and among other important committees a member of Agriculture, Privileges and Elections, Mines and Mining, Fees and Salaries, and Federal Relations. He is an earnest and conscientious worker, and brings to the consideration of public affairs a mind trained by long experience and careful observation. Senator Kennon was married November 2, 1869, to Miss Mary R. Grier, and they have five children living, three girls and two boys. 92 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. Byron Lutz. AFTER two terms of service in the General Assembly of Ohio, Seventieth and Seventy- second, as representative from Ross county, Byron Lutz was sent to the senate of the Seventy-third from the Fifth and Sixth Districts, Clinton, Fayette, Greene, Highland and Ross counties, by a Republican plurality of 5470. Senator Lutz was born in Ross county, May 19, 1846, worked on the farm and attended common schools until August 7, 1862, when he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth O. V. I. He was desperately wounded and captured at Chickamauga, but was paroled and recovered. After his exchange, he rejoined his regiment, fought through the campaigns to Atlanta, to the sea, and through the Carolinas, and was mustered out at the age of nineteen at Washington, D. C., after the Grand Review. He has since been engaged in farming at his old home. He has filled many minor offices, among them Justice of the Peace for eighteen years. He is a rock-ribbed and unfaltering Republican, and his services in the General Assembly have been of great value, both to his party and to the people of the state. He is a member of the Committees on Finance, Rules, Claims, Sanitary Laws and Regulations, and others of like responsibility, where his work is well done and highly appreciated. Senator Lutz was married March 10, 1868, to Miss Martha E. Thompson, and they have twc sons and two daughters, both married. 94 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. John L. Plummer. J. L. PLUMMER, though born in Henry county, Illinois, has been a resident of Ohio since his early youth, receiving his first education in her common schools. He then took a course at Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and completed his scientific course in 1882 and his classical in 1885 at the Normal University, Lebanon, Ohio. The law was his chosen profession and he had read diligently on that subject. He was admitted to the bar in 1885 and opened an office in Springfield where he has not only built up a large and lucrative practice but established a wide reputation for deep and thorough legal acumen. Though an ardent Republican, Senator Plummer has never held office until in 1897 he was unanimously endorsed as the Republican candidate of the 11th District, Clark, Champaign and Madison counties, for the State Senate. He was elected by 2512 majority. In the senate he was made chairman of the Committee on Common Schools and School Lands, and member of Judiciary, Municipal Corporations No. 2, Fees and Salaries, Enrollment and other important committees. Besides being an earnest worker, he is a speaker of no mean ability. He is forcible but logical, his views are received with close attention, and his advice carries great weight. Senator Plummer was married in 1889 to Miss Anna B. Willard. 96 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. Hon. Charles D. Robertson. THE Hamilton county delegation in the senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly consists of four members, Senators Harper, Voight, Cohen, and the subject of this sketch, Charles D. Robertson. Senator Robertson is a familiar figure about Cincinnati. He has been judge of the Common Pleas Court one term or five years. His residence is in Avondale, which, before its incorporation in the city of Cincinnati, was the largest and wealthiest village in Ohio. Judge Robertson has long been prominent in the councils of the Democratic party, and as a Democrat was elected on the fusion reform ticket in 1897 to the senate of the Seventy-third General Assembly. In the organization of the senate he was made Chairman of the Committee on Library and on Medical Colleges and Universities, and he is also a member of Judiciary, Finance, Municipal Corporations No. 1, Railroads and Telegraphs, Insurance, Public Expenditures, Taxation and Soldiers' and Sailors' Home. His work in these committees and on the floor of the house has been of a very high order. Judge Robertson is associated with Judge Bookwalter, of Cincinnati, in a law partnership, under the firm name of Robertson & Bookwalter, with office in the Carew building. He is a Mason, a member of Avon Lodge. 98 - THE OHIO BLUE BOOK. > D. O. Castle. THE senate of the 73d General Assembly chose for its Clerk, Mr. D. O. Castle, of Galion, O. Mr. Castle was born January 13, 1845 on a farm one mile west of Leesville in Crawford county, and when one year old removed with his parents to Leesville where in the common schools he received his early education. At the age of seventeen, on August 4, 1862, he enlisted in Co. E. 101, O. V. I. He served through the campaigns and battles of that regiment and was wounded at Chickamauga. In December. 1863, he was granted a sick furlough, and before its expiration reported at the hospital at Nashville, Tennessee. He was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps and served in Co. I, 11th V. R. C. until the close of the war. He was mustered out July 20, 1865, at Plattsburg, N. Y. He returned to Leesville and has lived in Crawford county ever since. He engaged in mercantile business, and also interested himself in politics, holding several minor offices, among them Justice of the Peace. From 1878 to 1884 he was County Recorder, and at the expiration of his second term moved to Galion. Here he served on the council three years and was again made Justice of the Peace ; an office which he held when he was chosen Clerk of the senate, Mr. Castle is a life-long Democrat, believing firmly in the principles of that party, but is yet broad minded enough to see good in all parties and recognize merit wherever found. His present position came to him wholly unsolicited, a great tribute to his worth and popularity, while the way in which he has performed his manifold duties has earned him the commendation of all. Mr. Castle is a married man. He is a charter member of Encampment 143, Union Veteran Legion of Galion.