William Gordon (Ohio politician)

William Gordon (December 15, 1862 – January 16, 1942) was a lawyer, politician, businessman, and three-term U.S. Representative from Ohio.

William Gordon
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio's 20th district
In office
March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1919
Preceded byL. Paul Howland
Succeeded byCharles A. Mooney
Personal details
Born(1862-12-15)December 15, 1862
Oak Harbor, Ohio
DiedJanuary 16, 1942(1942-01-16) (aged 79)
Cleveland, Ohio
Resting placeOak Harbor Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Gernhard
Childrentwo
Alma materUniversity of Michigan Law School

Biography

Gordon was born on a farm near Oak Harbor in Ottawa County, Ohio. He attended the public schools and Toledo (Ohio) Business College, and then taught school. Entering politics, he was the deputy county treasurer from 1887 to 1889 and a member of the board of school examiners of Ottawa County 1890–1896.

He graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1893. Gordon was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Oak Harbor. He was the prosecuting attorney for Ottawa County from 1895 to 1901 and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1896. He was a member of the Democratic State committee in 1903 and 1904.[1]

Entering private business, he founded the Gordon Lumber Company. In 1906, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and reentered politics shortly afterward. Gordon was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1910 to the Sixty-second Congress, but was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-third, Sixty-fourth, and Sixty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1919). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1918 to the Sixty-sixth Congress.

Gordon reengaged in the practice of law until his death in Cleveland in 1942. He was interred in Oak Harbor Cemetery, Oak Harbor, Ohio.

Gordon was married September 12, 1893 to Elizabeth Gernhard, daughter of the sheriff of Ottawa County. They had two children.[2]

Gordon was Knights Templar.[2] He resigned from the Knights Templar in the late 1920s over their anti-Catholic stance versus Democratic Presidential candidate Al Smith.

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References

Notes
  1. United States Congress. "GORDON, William (id: G000317)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  2. Neff, William B, ed. (1921). Bench and Bar of Northern Ohio History and Biography. Cleveland: The Historical Publishing Company. p. 421.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
L. Paul Howland		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio's 20th congressional district
1913-1919		 Succeeded by
Charles A. Mooney
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