Gibson Atherton (January 19, 1831 – November 10, 1887) was a U.S. Representative from

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

Early life

He was the son of John Trueman Atherton (1799-1882) and Clarissa Ackley (1796-1883). He attended

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

Granville, Ohio Granville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,646 at the 2010 census. The village is located in a rural area of rolling hills in central Ohio. It is east of Columbus, the state capital, and west of Newa ...

. He graduated from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

, in 1853. He served as Principal of the local academy at

Osceola, Missouri Osceola is a city in St. Clair County, Missouri, St. Clair County, Missouri, United States. The population was 909 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of St. Clair County. During the American Civil War, Osceola was ...

, in 1853 and 1854. Later he studied law, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1855 and commenced practice in

Newark, Ohio Newark ( ) is a city serving as the county seat of Licking County, Ohio, United States, east of Columbus, at the junction of the forks of the Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 census, which makes it the 15th largest city in O ...

where he also served as president of the board of education of Newark for fifteen years.

Career

Atherton was elected prosecuting attorney of

Licking County Licking County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. At the 2020 census, the population was 178,519. Its county seat is Newark. The county was formed on January 30, 1808, from portions of Fairfield County. ...

in 1857 and reelected in 1859 and 1861. While serving as mayor of Newark 1860–1864, he was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the State senate in 1863. He ran for judge of the court of common pleas in 1866, but was unsuccessful. Other local and national political service included time as member of the city council of Newark for two years and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention at St. Louis in 1876. Atherton was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883), but afterwards chose not to seek renomination. Gibson Atherton-cwpbh

Atherton was appointed to the

Ohio Supreme Court The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Hoadly August 20, 1885 to fill a vacancy created by the death of John W. Okey. He lost

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

for the remaining two years of Okey's term that autumn to his Republican opponent, and resigned December 16 of that year.The Supreme Court of Ohio and The Ohio Judicial System - Gibson Atherton
/ref> After retiring from the bench, he resumed the practice of law until his death in

Personal

Atherton married Margaret A. E. Kumler in

Butler County, Ohio Butler County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 390,357. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 during St. Clair' ...

on November 18, 1856. They had four children and all were born in Ohio. His eldest daughter, Clara B. Atherton (1858-1939) was an accomplished linguist who worked for the War Department in Washington DC. In 1885 she toured Europe with her parents. It was in Italy where she met her future husband, Emil Reidel. They married in Malta on Mar 17, 1886 and had 2 children. His other three children were Charles E Atherton (born 1860), Della M Atherton (born 1865) and Anna V Atherton (born 1867). He died on November 10, 1887. He was interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Ancestry

His grandfather, Thomas Atherton (1765-1848) moved from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

to Ohio. He descended from

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

; his great grandfather Caleb Atherton (1736-1776), being a Quaker who was “outed” on Oct 4, 1764 at the Uwchlan Monthly Quaker Meeting for not following their principles and for marrying "out of their Society. Caleb died in the revolutionary war at the

Battle of Wyoming The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militiamen and a mixed force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois raiders. The clash took place in the Wyom ...

. He is related to historian,

Lewis Eldon Atherton Lewis Eldon Atherton (1905–1989) was an American historian and academic from Missouri. He taught at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri for over 30 years. Early life Atherton was born on March 1st, 1905, in the small town of Boswo ...

. The next generation back had emigrated to Pennsylvania from Farnworth,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

in the 1700s. He a direct descendant of Gawain Atherton. His distant Atherton relatives include Bobby Atherton and Tommy Atherton.

References

External Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atherton, Gibson 1831 births 1887 deaths Politicians from Newark, Ohio Miami University alumni Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court Denison University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Mayors of places in Ohio Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Newark, Ohio 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges