Background
David Tod was born on February 21, 1805 near Youngstown in Trumbull, later Mahoning, County, Ohio. He was the son of George Tod and Sarah (Isaacs) Tod.
David Tod was born on February 21, 1805 near Youngstown in Trumbull, later Mahoning, County, Ohio. He was the son of George Tod and Sarah (Isaacs) Tod.
Reared on his father's farm, "Brier Hill" he went to the neighborhood schools and later to Burton Academy in Geauga County.
He read law in the office of Powell Stone of Warren and was admitted to the bar in 1827. From 1830 to 1838 he was Democratic postmaster at Warren, though his father was affiliated with the Whig party. For one term, 1838-40, he represented in the state Senate a district normally Whig.
He became the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor in 1844 and again in 1846. Accepting an appointment as minister to Brazil in 1847, he remained there until 1851. His tact and good sense soon cleared away the misunderstandings with that government; but his efforts to stop the African slave trade to Brazil, largely in the hands of Americans, ended in failure because his own government would take no action.
Amassing a fortune in the coal and iron business, he was an important figure in the business affairs of Youngstown; and business interests, rather than politics, occupied his attention through the 18506. He began to ship coal to Cleveland by canal from his "Brier Hill" mines in 1841 after having personally convinced steamboat owners of its value as fuel. He soon became interested in iron manufacturing and was one of the founders of Youngstown's great iron industry.
He was also one of a group of six promoters who built the Cleveland and Mahoning Valley Railroad, and he served as president of the road from 1859 to his death.
In the Democratic convention of 1860 he appeared as a Douglas delegate, was elected first vice-president of the convention, and after Caleb Cushing withdrew assumed the chair. When the Civil War began, his active espousal of the Union cause led to his nomination for the governorship by the Union party, and he was easily elected.
He had to deal with such matters as draft evasion and resistance, the activities of the Peace Democrats, the excitement over the Vallandigham arrest, the defense of Cincinnati against Kirby-Smith's threatened invasion in September 1862, and the raid of John H. Morgan across the Ohio in July 1863.
His vigorous actions and forceful utterances gave offense in some quarters but stamped him as an executive of energy and decision.
He was especially watchful over the welfare of the disabled and wounded soldiers, but in making promotions of officers he incurred some criticism. However, the system, rather than the governor, was principally at fault. When he was defeated for renomination by John Brough, he supported the ticket, though deeply disappointed at the result. He was inclined to blame the national administration for his defeat, and perhaps this was a consideration in causing him to refuse Lincoln's offer of the secretaryship of the treasury in 1864 after Chase's resignation, though he gave the condition of his health and his business affairs as reasons.
He was chosen as one of the Republican presidential electors in 1868 but died soon after the election from a stroke of apoplexy.
(Excerpt from Annual Message of the Governor of Ohio, to t...)
A Democrat who supported the war effort, Tod helped to maintain a fragile alliance between the state's Republicans and War Democrats and took steps to secure Ohio's borders. In 1863, the state's pro-Union party failed to nominate Tod for a second term because of his tepid support for the abolition of slavery and his unpopularity among the state's myriad political factions.
After completing his two-year term as Ohio governor, Tod turned down an invitation to serve in the government of President Abraham Lincoln as Secretary of the Treasury, citing poor health.
Quotes from others about the person
As Delmer J. Trester wrote: "His administration was characterized by intense patriotism, devotion to duty, administrative ability, and unflagging energy. Ohio was fortunate to have David Tod as one of its war governors".
He was survived by his widow, Maria (Smith) Tod, to whom he had been married on June 4, 1832, and by six of his seven children.
