Beman Gates Dawes (January 14, 1870 – May 15, 1953) was a politician and oil executive who served two terms as a Republican

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivale ...

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 ...

from 1905 to 1909.

Biography

Dawes, a descendant of

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

hero William Dawes and the son of

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

Brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

Rufus R. Dawes Rufus R. Dawes (July 4, 1838August 1, 1899) was a military officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He used the middle initial "R" but had no middle name. He was noted for his service in the famed Iron Brigade, particularly duri ...

, was born in

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, M ...

. Three brothers also gained international prominence in politics and business: Charles G. Dawes, Rufus C. Dawes, and

Henry May Dawes Henry May Dawes (April 22, 1877 – September 29, 1952) was an American businessman and banker from a prominent Ohio family. He served as a United States Comptroller of the Currency from 1923 to 1924 and also worked as an executive in the oil in ...

. Beman attended the public schools of Marietta and graduated from

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, a ...

with the Class of 1890. He married Bertie Burr on October 3, 1894. Dawes engaged in agriculture and engineering, and became interested in public utilities. He was President of The Ohio River Bridge & Ferry Company in 1903 when the Williamstown - Marietta Bridge was constructed. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 15th District from 1905 to 1909, the Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth United States Congresses. After his retirement from Congress, Dawes became interested in the production of oil and the building of electric railways. Along with his wife, he founded the

Dawes Arboretum The Dawes Arboretum is a nonprofit arboretum located in Newark, Ohio. It includes nearly of plant collections, gardens and natural areas. The site includes approximately 12 miles (19 km) of hiking trails and roadways for a four-mile (6&nbs ...

, an endowed institution dedicated to the education of youth. In 1914, he was elected president and chairman of the board of directors of the

Pure Oil Pure Oil Company was an American petroleum company founded in 1914 and sold to what is now Union Oil Company of California in 1965. The Pure Oil name returned in 1993 as a cooperative (based in Rock Hill, South Carolina since 2008) which has gr ...

Company.

Death

Beman Gates Dawes died 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 ...

. His body was entombed in a mausoleum at the Dawes Arboretum.

References

Retrieved on 2008-12-29 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawes, Beman Gates 1870 births 1903 deaths Politicians from Marietta, Ohio People from Newark, Ohio Marietta College alumni 19th-century American politicians Dawes family Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio