Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Tod, George

TOD, George, lawyer, b. in Suffield, Conn., 11 Dec., 1773; d. in Warren county, Ohio, 11 April, 1841. He was graduated at Yale in 1795, and settled in Georgetown, Ohio in 1800. He was elected state senator in 1804, served as judge of state supreme court from 1806 till 1809, was presiding judge of the 3d judicial circuit of Ohio from 1815 till 1834, and was afterward prosecuting attorney for Warren county. He was appointed lieutenant-colonel in the war of 1812, and served with credit in the defence of Fort Meigs in May, 1813. - His son, David, statesman, b. in Youngstown, Mahoning co., Ohio, 21 Feb., 1805; d. there, 13 Nov., 1868, was educated by his father and admitted to the bar in 1827. He practised his profession in Warren for fifteen years, was elected to the state senate in 1838, and canvassed the state for Martin Van Buren in 1840. He was nominated for governor in 1844, but was defeated by 1,000 votes. He was appointed by President Polk minister to Brazil in 1847, and represented the United States there till 1852, when he returned, and took part in the canvass which resulted in the election of Franklin Pierce. In 1860 he was elected a delegate to the Charleston convention, was made first vice-president of that body, and presided over it when the southern wing of the Democratic party withdrew. He was an advocate of compromise at the opening of the civil war, but was a firm supporter of the government, and in 1861 was nominated for governor of Ohio by the Republicans, and elected by a majority of 55,000. During his term of two years, beginning 1 Jan., 1862, he gave much aid to the National administration.