Gov. Mordecai Bartley

About

MORDECAI BARTLEY, the eighteenth governor of Ohio, was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania on December 16, 1783. His education was attained in the common schools of his native state. Around 1809 he moved to Mansfield, Ohio, where he became a merchant and a farmer. During the War of 1812, he served as a captain, and later was promoted to the rank of adjutant. Bartley first entered politics as a member of the Ohio State Senate, a position he held from 1817 to 1818. He also served as the register of the Virginia Military’s District school land office from 1818 to 1823; and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1823 to 1831. Bartley next secured the Whig gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in the 1844 general election. During his tenure, the states “black laws” were contested; and the Kelley bank act, as well as the Kelley revenue act was sanctioned. After declining to run for a second term, Bartley retired from political life. Governor Mordecai Bartley passed away on October 10, 1870, and was buried in the Mansfield Cemetery in Mansfield, Ohio.

Source

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 3, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

Ohio Biographies

The Ohio Historical Center

• Son of Ohio  Governor Thomas Welles Bartley