John Bigger was a politician in the early history of the U.S. state of

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 ...

. He served eight terms in 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 ...

and thirteen in the Ohio State Senate, including one term as Speaker of the House. John Bigger was a native of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and an early immigrant to 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 ...

. He contracted with

John Cleves Symmes John Cleves Symmes (July 21, 1742February 26, 1814) was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey, and later a pioneer in the Northwest Territory. He was also the father-in-law of President William Henry Harrison and, thereby, the ...

to purchase land northwest of the current site of

Lebanon, Ohio Lebanon is a city in Warren County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,841 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Lebanon is in the Symmes Purchase. Th ...

. This land fell outside of

Symmes Purchase The Symmes Purchase, also known as the Miami Purchase, was an area of land totaling roughly in what is now Hamilton, Butler, and Warren counties of southwestern Ohio, purchased by Judge John Cleves Symmes of New Jersey in 1788 from the Contine ...

, and Bigger could not claim title to his land until Congress passed an act for relief of people in his position. Bigger was elected to the

in the

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

General Assembly, (1803), when his home was still in Hamilton County. Warren County was erected during this legislative session, and included Bigger's home. They also gave a charter to the "Miami Exporting Company", the first bank in the state. Bigger was named a member of the first directorate of that bank on June 16, 1803. In 1803, Bigger was elected to the Ohio State Senate from a district that included his new county, and served in the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

through 4th General Assemblies, (1803–1806). He returned to the Senate for the 6th through 10th General Assemblies, (1807–1812), and 12th through 14th General Assemblies, (1813–1816). Bigger served in the

during the 18th through 21st General Assemblies, (1819–1823). He was elected Speaker of the House for the 20th General Assembly, (1821–1822). During that session, the legislature elected a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and apportioned congressional districts. In 1824, Bigger was a

Presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

for

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

. He also returned to the House for the 23rd and 24th General Assemblies, (1824–1826). He was elected to the First State Board of Equalization of 1825–1826, and was selected chairman of the board. In 1826, Bigger ran for Ohio Governor. He finished fourth of four contestants, with five percent of the vote. Bigger returned to the State Senate for the 29th and 30th General Assemblies, (1830–1832), and to the House for the 32nd General Assembly, (1833–1834). John Bigger died June 18, 1840, at his Warren County Farm. He was the father of Indiana Governor Samuel Bigger. Bigger was also a trustee of

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bigger, John 1824 United States presidential electors Miami University trustees 1840 deaths People from Warren County, Ohio Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio state senators Ohio Whigs 19th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly