Michael Daniel Harter (April 6, 1846 – February 22, 1896) was a two-term

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

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 1891 to 1895. He was the grandson of Robert Moore.

Biography

Born in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes ...

, Harter attended the public schools. He engaged in mercantile pursuits and banking. He moved to

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The c ...

, in 1869. At the age of twenty-three became treasurer and manager of the Aultman & Taylor Co. upon its organization. He established the Harter Bank in 1866. He established the Isaac Harter Milling Company in Fostoria, the largest producer of flour in the state. Harter was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895). He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1894. In congress, he was strongly in favor of the Gold Standard, and against

free silver Free silver was a major economic policy issue in the United States in the late 19th-century. Its advocates were in favor of an expansionary monetary policy featuring the unlimited coinage of silver into money on-demand, as opposed to strict adhe ...

, views in opposition to his own party. His views won out during the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pre ...

, when congress, in special session, repealed the

Sherman Silver Purchase Act The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was a United States federal law enacted on July 14, 1890.Charles Ramsdell Lingley, ''Since the Civil War'', first edition: New York, The Century Co., 1920, ix–635 p., . Re-issued: Plain Label Books, unknown date, ...

. He moved to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, but spent his summers in Mansfield.

Death

He killed himself in

Fostoria, Ohio Fostoria (, ) is a city located at the convergence of Hancock, Seneca, and Wood counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is approximately south of Toledo and north of Columbus. The city is known for its railroads, as a ...

, February 22, 1896. He was interred in Mansfield Cemetery,

Family life

Harter was married to Mary L. Brown in 1869, and they had three sons and two daughters. His wife and children, except one daughter survived him.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harter, Michael Anthony 1846 births 1896 deaths American Lutherans Politicians from Canton, Ohio Politicians from Mansfield, Ohio Suicides by firearm in Ohio American politicians who died by suicide 19th-century American politicians 19th-century Lutherans 1890s suicides Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio