Samuel Medary (February 25, 1801 – November 7, 1864) was an American newspaper owner and politician.

Biography

Born and raised in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, he settled in Bethel, Ohio, in 1825. After a term in the Ohio House of Representatives (1834) and the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

(1836–38) as a Jackson Democrat, he purchased a newspaper in Columbus that became the ''Ohio Statesman'', which he edited until 1857. He was active at the National Democratic Conventions at

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

in 1844, where he was instrumental in the nomination of James K. Polk; and at Cincinnati in 1856, where he was the President pro tem. President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

appointed him as the third Territorial Governor of Minnesota from April 23, 1857, to May 24, 1858. Minnesota became a state on May 11, 1858, and elected Henry Hastings Sibley as the state's first governor. Samuel Medary was also Governor of

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

from December 1858 to December 1860.

William F. Wheeler William Fletcher Wheeler (July 6, 1824 – June 24, 1894) was the third U.S. Marshal for the Montana Territory. Wheeler was born in Warwick (town), New York, Warwick, New York, the son of a Methodist minister who moved frequently. At the age of ...

was territory Librarian and the Governor's Secretary while in office. Returning to Columbus, Ohio, he established a newspaper he named '' The Crisis''. While living in Columbus, Medary resided at his estate, Northwood Place, located along the Worthington Pike, now North High Street, near Northwood Avenue. Medary was indicted by a federal

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

in 1864 for conspiracy against the government and was arrested. He was released on bond, but died in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

before he could be tried.

Legacy

One of the first townsites in Dakota Territory is named after Medary. The town of Medaryville, Indiana was also named after him. In North Columbus, Ohio (annexed to the city of Columbus in the late 1800s) a street dating back to the early 1900s Medary Avenue was named for him. Because Columbus Public Schools names its schools for the street on which they are located, Medary Elementary School also carried his surname. Medary was buried at Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medary, Samuel 1801 births 1864 deaths 19th-century American newspaper editors Burials at Green Lawn Cemetery (Columbus, Ohio) Governors of Kansas Territory Governors of Minnesota Territory Minnesota Democrats Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio state senators Politicians from Columbus, Ohio Kansas Democrats American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians Journalists from Ohio People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania People from Bethel, Ohio