Josiah Scott (politician)

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Josiah Scott
Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
In office
November 29, 1856 – February 9, 1872
Appointed bySalmon P. Chase
Preceded byRufus P. Ranney
Succeeded byWilliam H. West
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
from the Delaware & Crawford Counties district
In office
December 7, 1840 – December 5, 1841
Serving with Emer Moore
Preceded byAndrew H. Patterson
Succeeded byJames Griffith, Thomas W. Powell, George W. Sharp
Personal details
Born(1803-12-01)December 1, 1803
Washington County, Pennsylvania, US
DiedJune 15, 1879(1879-06-15) (aged 75)
Bucyrus, Ohio, US
Resting placeOakwood Cemetery, Bucyrus
Political partyRepublican
Other political
affiliations
Whig
Spouse(s)Elizabeth McCracken
Susan Elizabeth Moffit
Childrenfive
Alma materJefferson College

Josiah Scott (December 1, 1803 – June 15, 1879) was a Republican politician in the U.S. State of Ohio who was in the Ohio House of Representatives, and was an Ohio Supreme Court Judge 1856–1872.

Josiah Scott was born at Washington County, Pennsylvania, not far from Cannonsburg, where he graduated from Jefferson College (now Washington & Jefferson College) in 1823.[1] He returned to Jefferson College as a tutor from 1827 to 1829.[1] He studied law and in 1830 he moved to Bucyrus, Crawford County, Ohio, where he practiced law.[2]

In 1840, Scott was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives for the 39th General Assembly as a Whig.[1][3] Presidential elector in 1844 for Clay/Frelinghuysen.[4]

In 1856, Scott was nominated by the Republican Party for Judge of the Ohio Supreme Court, and he defeated incumbent Democrat Rufus P. Ranney and a third party candidate with a plurality of the votes in the General Election.[5] Ranney resigned the seat soon after the election, and Scott was seated late in 1856.[2] He was re-elected in 1861, and again in 1866, but declined re-nomination in 1871.[2]

In 1870, Scott developed a method to construct magic squares.[6]

In 1872, Scott returned to Crawford County, and private practice. In 1876, Governor Hayes appointed him to the Supreme Court Commission of Ohio, and he resigned at the end of a three-year term in 1879.

Scott married Elizabeth McCracken on February 8, 1838. They had five children before she died in 1844. Scott married again May 4, 1846, to Susan Elizabeth Moffit, who had no children and died in 1891.[1] He died June 15, 1879, from kidney disease and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Bucyrus.[1][7]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Josiah Scott". The Supreme Court of Ohio & The Ohio Judicial System. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20.
  2. ^ a b c Smith 1898 : 66–67
  3. ^ Ohio 1917 : 271
  4. ^ Taylor 1899 : 255
  5. ^ Smith 1898 : 65
  6. ^ Clark, James (December 1870). "Magic Squares". The Maine Journal of Education. 4: 446–449.
  7. ^ Supreme Court of Ohio : Supplement 5

References[edit]