Edward Tiffin (June 19, 1766 – August 9, 1829) was an American politician who served as the first

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

and later as a

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

as a member of the

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

party.

Biography

Sources indicate that he was born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

; however he may have been born in or near

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

— also in the then county of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Tiffin attended the Latin school in Carlisle, and became an apprentice to a student of medicine in 1778. Six years later he completed his apprenticeship. His family emigrated to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in 1783, and he began practicing medicine at the age of seventeen. In 1789, he married Mary Worthington of Berkeley County, sister of future Governor of Ohio

Thomas Worthington Thomas or Tom Worthington may refer to: *Thomas Worthington (Douai) (1549–1627), English Catholic priest and third President of Douai College *Thomas Worthington (Dominican) (1671–1754), English Dominican friar and writer *Thomas Worthington (g ...

. She died, childless, in 1808. A year after their marriage, the Tiffins joined the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

church after hearing the preaching of Thomas Scott, who would be their neighbor and friend for many years. Bishop Asbury ordained Tiffin a deacon of the Methodist church November 19, 1792, authorizing him to preach. Tiffin and Worthington inherited sixteen slaves when Worthington's father died. They each decided to

manumit Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves by their owners. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that the most wi ...

their slaves and move to the Northwest Territory, where slavery was outlawed. Tiffin headed westward, along with

, in 1798, settling in

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in Ross County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 22,059 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, ...

Northwest Territory

Tiffin became the first doctor in Chillicothe, traveling on horseback, day and night, to treat the afflicted. He arrived with a letter addressed to the governor of the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

, Arthur St. Clair from

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, recommending him for public office. Tiffin served as the Speaker of the Territorial House of Representatives from 1799 to 1801 and as president of the 1802 Constitutional Convention, where he cast a tie-breaking vote to deny the voting franchise to the new state's 337

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

residents. He was a leader of the Chillicothe Junto, a group of Chillicothe

politicians who brought about the admission of Ohio as a state in 1803 and largely controlled its politics for some years thereafter. Among his colleagues in the faction were

and Nathaniel Massie. Tiffin was the obvious choice for the governorship when Ohio was admitted to the Union. He was elected almost without opposition to a first term and re-elected by similarly overwhelming numbers two years later. Tiffin acted promptly to stop the

Burr conspiracy The Burr conspiracy of 1805-1807, was a treasonous plot alleged to have been planned by American politician and former military officer Aaron Burr (1756-1836), in the years during and after his single term as the third Vice President of the Unite ...

in his second term. Tiffin was elected to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

in 1806 and resigned the governorship in March 1807 to take his seat. He served only two years, however, resigning after the death of his wife. "He was ever faithful to the interests of the West and diligent in seeking the welfare of its inhabitants. He procured an appropriation of public money for the improvement of the Ohio River. He secured better and speedier transportation of the mails; a better and more rapid system for the surveys of western lands; and urged such modifications of the laws regarding sales of western land as would, to use his own words, 'guard the purchasers of them from unnecessary embarrassments and frequent ruin.' " He also voted for the expulsion of the other Ohio Senator, John Smith, who had been implicated in the Burr conspiracy. He spent only a few months at home, however, before being elected to the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

, where he served as speaker from 1809 to 1811. Tiffin remarried April 16, 1809, to Mary Porter, originally from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, and then of Ross County. Tiffin became the first commissioner of the

United States General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government responsible for Public domain (land), public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 ...

, which managed allocations of Federal lands. He quickly helped remove the Federal records from Washington before it was sacked during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. In 1814, he became the Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory, exchanging positions with

Josiah Meigs Josiah Meigs (August 21, 1757 – September 4, 1822) was an American academic, journalist, and government official. He was the first acting president of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, Athens, where he implemented the university's f ...

so that he might spend more time near his home in Chillicothe. Tiffin served in the post until his death.

Death

Tiffin was buried in Grandview Cemetery,

Ross County, Ohio Ross County is a county in the Appalachian region of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 77,093. Its county seat is Chillicothe, the first and third capital of Ohio. Established on August 20, 1798, ...

. His death was reported in the newspapers, such as this notice in the Brattleboro Messenger (Brattleboro, VT), Sep. 18, 1829, p. 3: At Chillicothe, Doct. Edward Tiffin, formerly Governor of Ohio, and late Surveyor General of the United States, aged 64 years.

Legacy

The city of

Tiffin Tiffin is a South Asian English word for a type of meal. It refers to a light breakfast or a light tea-time meal at about 3 p.m., consisting of typical tea-time foods. In certain parts of India, it can also refer to the midday luncheon or ...

in northwestern Ohio was named in honor of Tiffin in 1822.

Notes

References

* *Russian version:

Edward Tiffin Edward Tiffin (June 19, 1766 – August 9, 1829) was an American politician who served as the first governor of Ohio and later as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Ohio as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Democratic-R ...

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiffin, Edward 1766 births 1829 deaths 18th-century American legislators American surveyors Burials at Grandview Cemetery (Chillicothe, Ohio) Commissioners of the United States General Land Office Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from Ohio English emigrants to the United States Governors of Ohio Madison administration personnel Members of the Northwest Territory House of Representatives Methodists from Ohio Ohio Constitutional Convention (1802) Physicians from Virginia Politicians from Chillicothe, Ohio Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives Surveyors General of the Northwest Territory People from Carlisle, Cumbria 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly