Tobias Avery Plants (March 17, 1811 – June 19, 1887) was an American lawyer, newspaperman, and politician who served two terms as a

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

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 ...

from 1865 to 1869.

Biography

Born at

Sewickley, Pennsylvania Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 3,907 at the 2020 census. The Sewick ...

, Plants apprenticed to a saddler at the age of twelve. He received a limited common school education. He attended Beaver College,

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,050 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Meadville is withi ...

. He taught school, and while teaching studied law with

Edwin M. Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. secretary of war under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...

in the office of Judge David Powell at

Steubenville, Ohio Steubenville ( ) is a city in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Ohio River west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Weirton–Steubenville m ...

. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and commenced practice in

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city in Athens County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 United States census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Athe ...

, in 1846, but soon moved to

Pomeroy, Ohio Pomeroy ( ) is a village in Meigs County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the Ohio River about south of Athens. The population was 1,573 at the 2020 census. History Pomeroy was founded in 1804 and named for landowner S ...

. He served as member of the State house of representatives 1858–1861. He was owner and publisher of the Pomeroy ''Weekly Telegraph'' about 1860.

Congress

Plants was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses (March 4, 1865 - March 3, 1869). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1868.

Later career and death

He served as Common Pleas Judge in Meigs County from 1873 to 1875, when he resigned to resume the practice of law. 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

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

in 1880, Smith 1898 : 431-432 he served as president of the First City Bank of Pomeroy from 1878 until his death in Pomeroy on June 19, 1887. He was interred in Beech Grove Cemetery.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plants, Tobias Avery 1811 births 1887 deaths People from Sewickley, Pennsylvania Ohio lawyers 1880 United States presidential electors 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives People from Pomeroy, Ohio 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American lawyers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly