10 Average Questions about Famous Ohioans

Answer: Gen.Ulysses S. Grant

All four generals were born in Ohio, but Gen. Grant, who after the Civil War became the eighteenth president, was born in a small town in southern Ohio called Point Pleasant. His family later moved to another small town in Ohio called Georgetown. To this day Georgetown holds U.S. Grant days at the end of April.

These days celebrate Gen. Grant and a mock raid, representing Morgan's raid, is played at the end of the celebration, with Gen. Grant riding away victorious after saving his hometown from the raiders.

Answer: Gen. Thomas L. Hamer

Gen. Thomas L. Hamer practiced law in Georgetown, Ohio, the same Georgetown, Ohio that Gen. Grant was from. (Remember there are six Georgetown, Ohios. Although this Georgetown is the biggest and the county seat of Brown County.)

Gen. Hamer was a great influence in Ohio, becoming an Ohio state representative. Upon Gen. Hamer's death in 1846, he was buried in Georgetown, where a monument was raised in his honor, and the nearby town was renamed Hamersville. For anyone who would like to know, Gen. Hamer's grave is still in Georgetown and his monument is still standing. His grave lies in the old cemetery by the Brown County Fair Grounds in Georgetown.

Answer: William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison became president in 1841. He served exactly one month in office before dying of pneumonia. President Harrison was the ninth president. Virginia is known as "the mother of presidents" although many say that Ohio is giving Virginia a run for its title. By the end of the twentieth century, Ohio had had seven presidents come from the state and Virginia had had eight.

Answer: Rutherford B. Hayes

President Hayes was the nineteenth president. He was born in Delaware, Ohio and educated at Kenyon College and Harvard Law School. He served in the military and after his term as president, he returned to Ohio and began work on behalf of humanitarian causes. Hayes died in 1893 in Fremont, Ohio.

Answer: Lucy Webb Hayes

Lucy Webb Hayes was born in Chillicothe, Ohio and married Rutherford B. Hayes. She was the first lady of the United States from 1877-1881. Lucy earned her nickname because she refused to allow alchol to be brought into the White House.

Answer: John Glenn

John Herschel Glenn Jr. was born in Cambridge, Ohio. He was a U.S. politician who became the third person in space and the first American to orbit the Earth, in 1962, aboard Friendship 7. Glenn was born on July 18, 1921.

Answer: Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe was born on June 14, 1811 in Litchfield, CT. She taught at the Western Female Institute in Cincinnati. Her book was seen as one of the major instigators for the Civil War. Before Uncle Tom's Cabin, Northerners did not fully understand what Southerners were doing to their slaves. Some of the stories in Uncle Tom's Cabin are believed to have been told to Harriet Beecher Stowe by Reverend Rankin, who lived on the highest hill in Ripley, Ohio and helped many slaves obtain their freedom.

The Rankin House is still in Ripley and has been redecorated to look just like it did when Reverend Rankin lived in it. It costs two dollars to go into the home and look around. If you stand in the back yard of the home, you can see all of the town of Ripley and where the Ohio River bends in both directions. It is a magnificent site and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the history of slavery.

Answer: Victoria Woodhull

Victoria Woodhull was born on September 23, 1838 in Homer, Ohio. Victoria was the first woman to run for President, running in 1892 against Grover Cleveland and then President Benjamin Harrison.

Answer: James Mastronardo

Ohio's official motto is "With God All Things Are Possible." Ohio's motto was adopted on October 1,1959. This biblical quote was suggested as Ohio's motto by James Mastronardo, a twelve-year-old boy. Ohio is one of five states that mentions God in their mottos. Ohio's unofficial motto can be seen when entering the state and Ohio is often refered to as "The Heart of it All".

Many people have said that Ohio is the heart of the nation because whatever Ohio leans toward is generally what the entire nation is leaning toward. Thus giving Ohio it's unofficial motto.

Answer: John Eisemann

The Ohio state flag was adopted in 1902 and was designed by John Eisemann. The pennant shaped flag is one of only two pennant shaped flags used as an official state flag in the world.