Rufus Putnam Ranney (October 30, 1813 – December 6, 1891) was a

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

politician in the U.S. State of

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 ...

who helped write the second Ohio Constitution, and was a judge on 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 ...

in 1851–1856 and 1863–1865.

Early life

Rufus Putnam Ranney was born at

Blandford Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and ...

Hampden County, Massachusetts Hampden County is a non-governmental county located in the Pioneer Valley of the state of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, Hampden County's population was 465,825. Its traditional county seat is Springfield, the Co ...

. The family moved to Portage County, Ohio in 1824. He earned enough money chopping firewood to enter Western Reserve College then at Hudson, but not enough to complete the college course. At age 21 Neff 1921 : 218–221 or 22 Randall 1912 Volume 5 : 147–150 he began the study of law at the office of

Joshua Reed Giddings Joshua Reed Giddings (October 6, 1795 – May 27, 1864) was an American attorney, politician and a prominent opponent of slavery. He represented Northeast Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1838 to 1859. He was at first a member of ...

and

Benjamin Wade Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade (October 27, 1800March 2, 1878) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator for Ohio from 1851 to 1869. He is known for his leading role among the Radical Republicans.

, and was admitted to the bar in 1836.

Legal

The firm of Wade and Ranney was formed because Giddings was elected to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. In 1845, Wade became judge of the Common Pleas before entering the

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

in 1851. In 1846, Ranney moved to

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

Trumbull County Trumbull County is a county in the far northeast portion of U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 201,977. Its county seat is Warren, which developed industry along the Mahoning River. Trumbull County is part of th ...

. The Democrats nominated him for Congress in 1846 and 1848, in a district "hopelessly in the minority".

Political

In 1850, in heavily Whig Trumbull and Geauga counties, Ranney was elected to the second State Constitutional Convention. He served on the committees on the judiciary, on revision, and on amendments. Also on the judiciary committee were

Henry Stanbery Henry Stanbery (February 20, 1803 – June 26, 1881) was an American lawyer from Ohio. He was most notable for his service as Ohio's first attorney general from 1846 to 1851 and the United States Attorney General from 1866 to 1868. A native of N ...

, Joseph Rockwell Swan, William S. Groesbeck, and William Kennon, Sr. In 1892, a committee of the Ohio Bar, including Allen G. Thurman,

Jacob Dolson Cox Jacob Dolson Cox, Jr. (October 27, 1828August 4, 1900), was a statesman, lawyer, Union Army general during the American Civil War, Republican politician from Ohio, Liberal Republican Party founder, educator, author, and recognized microbiologist ...

, F.E. Hutchins, and Samuel E. Williamson had this to say of Ranney's work at the convention:

Judicial

In March, 1851, under the old constitution, the General Assembly elected Ranney to the Supreme Court to succeed Judge Avery. Later that year, he was elected by the public, under the new Constitution, to a five-year term on the Supreme Court. In 1856, Josiah Scott defeated Ranney and a third party candidate for the seat. Ranney resigned shortly after the election, and Scott was seated late in 1856. Ranney began law practice at

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

in the firm Ranney, Backus, and Noble. In 1857 he was United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. In 1859, Ranney was nominated the Democratic candidate for

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 ...

, but lost to Republican William Dennison. In 1862, the Democrats nominated Ranney for Supreme Court again, and the Republicans nominated his law partner

Franklin T. Backus Franklin Thomas Backus (6 May 1813 – 14 May 1870) was an American lawyer and politician. He was a defense attorney in the Oberlin–Wellington Rescue case and the Case Western Reserve University School of Law was once named for him. Life Ba ...

. Ranney won, was seated February 1863, and resigned February 23, 1865 to return to private practice in Cleveland. In 1874, he was appointed an Ohio Commissioner of the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

in Philadelphia Gilkey 1901 : 770 The

Ohio State Bar Association The Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Ohio. History OSBA was founded on March 6, 1880 when the Cleveland Bar Association issued a call other Ohio local bar associations to meet at Case Hall in Cle ...

was organized in 1881. Ranney was selected the first president of the association. Ranney died at home in Cleveland December 6, 1891. He was buried at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gil ...

.The Supreme Court of Ohio and The Ohio Judicial System - Rufus P. Ranney
/ref> Ranney was married to Adeline W. Warner, and had four sons and two daughters.

Notes

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranney, Rufus Putnam Ohio lawyers Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court Ohio Democrats Politicians from Cleveland Case Western Reserve University alumni 1813 births 1891 deaths Ohio Constitutional Convention (1850) Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland United States Attorneys for the Northern District of Ohio People from Blandford, Massachusetts 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers