Rufus P. Ranney
Encyclopedia
Rufus Putnam Ranney was a Democratic politician in the U.S. State
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 who helped write the second Ohio Constitution, and was a judge on the Ohio Supreme Court 1851–1856 and 1863–1865.

Rufus Putnam Ranney was born at Blandford
Blandford, Massachusetts
Blandford is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,233 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the home of the Blandford Ski Area.- History :...

, Hampden County, Massachusetts
Hampden County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2004, there were 461,228 people, 175,288 households, and 115,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 738 people per square mile . There were 185,876 housing units at an average density of 301 per square mile...

. The family moved to Portage County, Ohio
Portage County, Ohio
Portage County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 152,061 at the 2000 Census and 161,419 at the 2010 Census. Its county seat is Ravenna. Portage County is named for the portage between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers...

 in 1824. He earned enough money chopping firewood to enter Western Reserve College
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...

 then at Hudson
Hudson, Ohio
Hudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 22,262 at the 2010 census. It is an affluent exurban community and is part of the Akron, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, but not enough to complete the college course. At age 21 or 22 he began the study of law at the office of Joshua Reed Giddings
Joshua Reed Giddings
Joshua Reed Giddings was an American statesman and a prominent opponent of slavery. He represented Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1838-59. He was at first a member of the Whig Party and was later a Republican.-Life:He was born at Tioga Point, now Athens, Bradford County,...

 and Benjamin Wade
Benjamin Wade
Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade was a U.S. lawyer and United States Senator. In the Senate, he was associated with the Radical Republicans of that time.-Early life:...

, and was admitted to the bar in 1836.

Legal

The firm of Wade and Ranney was formed because Giddings was elected to Congress
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

. In 1845, Wade became judge of the Common Pleas before entering the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 in 1851. In 1846, Ranney moved to Warren
Warren, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...

, Trumbull County
Trumbull County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 225,116 people, 89,020 households, and 61,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 365 people per square mile . There were 95,117 housing units at an average density of 154 per square mile...

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

Political

In 1850, in heavily Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 Trumbull and Geauga
Geauga County, Ohio
Geauga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 93,389. It is named for a Native American word meaning "raccoon". The county seat is Chardon...

 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
Henry Stanbery was an American lawyer and Presidential Cabinet member.Born in New York, he was the son of Jonas Stanbery, a physician. The family moved to Zanesville, Ohio in 1814. Henry Stanbery graduated from Washington College in Washington, Pennsylvania and studied law...

, Joseph Rockwell Swan
Joseph Rockwell Swan
Joseph Rockwell Swan was a Republican politician in the U.S. State of Ohio who was a judge on the Ohio Supreme Court 1855–1860.-Biography:...

, William S. Groesbeck
William S. Groesbeck
William Slocum Groesbeck was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.Born in Kinderhook, New York, Groesbeck moved with his parents to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1816.He attended the common schools and Augusta College....

, and William Kennon, Sr..

In 1892, a committee of the Ohio Bar, including Allen G. Thurman
Allen G. Thurman
Allen Granberry Thurman was a Democratic Representative and Senator from Ohio, as well as the nominee of the Democratic Party for Vice President of the United States in 1888.-Biography:...

, Jacob Dolson Cox
Jacob Dolson Cox
Jacob Dolson Cox, was a lawyer, a Union Army general during the American Civil War, and later a Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the 28th Governor of Ohio and as United States Secretary of the Interior....

, 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
Edward Avery
Edward Avery was an English publisher of pornography. His notable publications include The Whippingham Papers, including poems by Algernon Charles Swinburne, and a pirated edition of Sir Richard Burton's Kama Sutra...

. 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, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 in the firm Ranney, Backus, and Noble.

In 1859, Ranney was nominated the Democratic candidate for Governor, 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. 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
Centennial Exposition
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair 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 Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...

in Philadelphia

The Ohio Bar Association was organized in 1881. Ranney was selected the first president of the association. Ranney died at home in Cleveland December 6, 1891.

Ranney was married to Adeline W. Warner, and had four sons and two daughters.
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