Othniel Looker

Fifth Governor of Ohio (1757–1845)

Othniel Looker

5th Governor of Ohio
In office
March 24, 1814 – December 8, 1814
Preceded by| Return J. Meigs Jr.
Succeeded by| Thomas Worthington
Speaker of the Ohio Senate
In office
December 6, 1813 – December 4, 1814
Preceded by| Thomas Kirker
Succeeded by| Thomas Kirker
Ohio Senate
from Hamilton County
In office
1810 – 1812
1813–1817
Preceded by| Hezekiah Price(1810)
Stephen Wood (1810)
John Jones (1813)
Francis McCormick (1813)
Succeeded by| John Jones (1812)
Francis McCormick (1812)
Ephraim Brown (1817)
George P. Torrence (1817)
Ohio House of Representatives
from Hamilton County
In office
1807–1810
New York State Assembly
In office
1803–1804
Personal details
Born| (1757-10-04)October 4, 1757
New York or New Jersey
Died| July 23, 1845(1845-07-23) (aged 87)
Palestine, Illinois

Othniel Looker (October 4, 1757 – July 23, 1845) was a Democratic-Republican Party politician from Ohio. He served briefly as the fifth governor of Ohio.

## Biography

[edit]

Sources vary on Looker's birth location. He was born either in Morris County, New Jersey,[1] or on Long Island, New York.[2][3] His gravestone was engraved with the Morris County location.[4]

Looker moved with his mother to Hanover Township, New Jersey, when he was two-years-old, after the death of his father.[5] He enlisted with the New Jersey militia in 1776, and served out the remainder of the American Revolutionary War as a private.

In 1779, Looker married Pamela Clark, and circa 1788 Looker moved to Vermont and then to New York, working as a school teacher.[2]

## Career

[edit]

He served in the New York State Assembly from 1803 to 1804. After receiving a land grant for his war services, Looker moved to Hamilton County, Ohio in 1804, and served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1807 to 1810. He served in the Ohio Senate from 1810 to 1817.[2]

While serving as Speaker of the Ohio Senate from 1813 to 1814, Looker was concurrently elevated to the governorship, after then-Governor Return J. Meigs Jr. resigned to become Postmaster General.[2] Looker sought re-election, but was badly defeated by the far more well-known Thomas Worthington. He continued to live in Ohio until his wife's death, and later moved to Palestine, Illinois, to be with his daughter Rachel Kitchell, and he is buried there in Kitchell Cemetery. Looker was the Ohio presidential elector in 1816 for James Monroe.[6]

## Legacy

[edit]

Looker's home

The Village Historical Society, in Harrison, Ohio, has restored the home of former Ohio Governor Othniel Looker. The Othniel Looker House is open to the public, free of charge, on a few dates during each year, and special tours can be arranged for school groups. The Othniel Looker House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Sons of the Revolution Ohio Society (1893). The constitution of the Society of Sons of the Revolution and by-laws and articles of incorporation of the Ohio Society incorporated May 2, 1893, instituted May 9, 1893. Cincinnati. p. 41\. hdl:2027/hvd.hx4mch. OCLC 893936261 – via Google Books.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
2. ^ a b c d Othniel Looker at Ohio History Central
3. ^ "Former Governors' Bios: Ohio Governor Othneil Looker". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016.
4. ^ MacAlpine, Heath (October 18, 2008). "Memorial ID 21701 photo 21701_122434695349". Find a Grave (Photograph). Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
5. ^ "Othniel Looker". Ohio Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 13, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
6. ^ Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 ... Vol. 1\. State of Ohio. p. 102.
7. ^ "Gov. Othniel Looker House". Oxford Visitor's and Convention Bureau. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2012.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Othniel Looker at Wikimedia Commons
* Othniel Looker at Find a Grave

Offices and distinctions

| Political offices

Preceded by

Thomas Kirker

|  Speaker of the Ohio Senate
1813–1814  | Succeeded by

Thomas Kirker

Preceded by

Return J. Meigs Jr.

|  Governor of Ohio
1814  | Succeeded by

Thomas Worthington

Ohio House of Representatives
Preceded by

John Jones
Hezekiah Price
Ethan Stone

|  Representative from Hamilton County
1807–1810
Served alongside: Zebulon Foster, John Jones (1807–1808)
James Clark, William Perry (1808–1809)
James Clark, William Ludlow (1809–1810) | Succeeded by

Peter Bell
John Jones
Samuel McHenry

Ohio Senate
Preceded by

Hezekiah Price
Stephen Wood

|  Senator from Hamilton County
1810–1812
Served alongside: Aaron Goforth, Elnathan Stone, Stephen Wood | Succeeded by

John Jones
Francis McCormick

Preceded by

John Jones
Francis McCormick

|  Senator from Hamilton County
1813–1817
Served alongside: Ephraim Brown (1816–1817), John Jones (1813–1816) | Succeeded by

Ephraim Brown
George P. Torrence

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Governors and lieutenant governors of Ohio

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