Edward Tiffin
| Edward Tiffin | |
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| 4th Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory | |
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In office 1815 – August 9, 1829 |
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| Preceded by | Josiah Meigs |
| Succeeded by | William Lytle II |
| 1st Commissioner of the General Land Office | |
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In office May 7, 1812 – October 11, 1814 |
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| Preceded by | Inaugural Holder |
| Succeeded by | Josiah Meigs |
| 8th Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives | |
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In office December 4, 1809 – December 1, 1811 |
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| Preceded by | Alexander Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Matthias Corwin |
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United States Senator from Ohio |
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In office March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1809 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas Worthington |
| Succeeded by | Stanley Griswold |
| 1st Governor of Ohio | |
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In office March 3, 1803 – March 4, 1807 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Willing Byrd (as Governor of Northwest Territory) |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Kirker |
| 1st Speaker of the Northwest Territory House of Representatives | |
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In office September 16, 1799 – January 23, 1802 |
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| Preceded by | Inaugural holder |
| Succeeded by | Michael Baldwin (as Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 19, 1766 Carlisle, Cumbria, England |
| Died | August 9, 1829 (aged 63) Chillicothe, Ohio, U.S. |
| Resting place |
Grandview Cemetery Chillicothe, Ohio |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Worthington |
| Signature |  |
Edward Tiffin (June 19, 1766 – August 9, 1829) was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio, and first Governor of the state.
No man who has occupied the gubernatorial chair of Ohio has possessed a greater genius for the administration of public affairs than Edward Tiffin, its first governor. He appeared upon the scene of action in the Northwest Territory in its creative period, when the work of moulding the destinies of a future commonwealth was committed to the care of a very few men. Head and shoulders above them all stood Edward Tiffin. His official life displayed a better general average of statesmanship than that of any of his successors. ... His work in advancing and developing Ohio has not been equalled by any man in its history.
Sources indicate that he was born in Carlisle; however he may have been born in or near Workington — also in the then county of Cumberland, England. Tiffin attended the Latin school in Carlisle, and became an apprentice to a student of medicine in 1778. Six years later he completed his apprenticeship. His family emigrated to Virginia in 1783, and he began practicing medicine at the age of seventeen.
In 1789, he married Mary Worthington of Berkeley County, sister of future Governor of Ohio Thomas Worthington. She died, childless, in 1808. A year after their marriage, the Tiffins joined the Methodist church after hearing the preaching of Thomas Scott, who would be their neighbor and friend for many years. Bishop Asbury ordained Tiffin a deacon of the Methodist church November 19, 1792, authorizing him to preach. Tiffin and Worthington inherited sixteen slaves when Worthington's father died. They each decided to manumit their slaves and move to the Northwest Territory, where slavery was outlawed. Tiffin headed westward, along with Thomas Worthington, in 1798, settling in Chillicothe, Ohio.
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Wikipedia