Alphonso Hart

Alphonso Hart (July 4, 1830 – December 23, 1910) was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Ohio who was a U.S. Representative, an Ohio state senator, and the 11th lieutenant governor of Ohio. He was born in Vienna Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, on July 4, 1830. His early life was marked by hardship; his father died when he was twelve years old, and he was bound out to work for a farmer for three years. After about seven months in that arrangement, he left and set out on his own, supporting himself while pursuing his education and professional ambitions.

Hart attended the common schools of Ohio and later enrolled at the Grand River Institute in Austinburg, Ohio, an academy known for its preparatory and classical curriculum. He subsequently studied law in Warren, Ohio, where he read law in the traditional manner under established practitioners. On August 12, 1851, he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law. In 1856 he married Phebe Peck of Warren, Ohio. The couple had a son and a daughter. Phebe Hart died in 1868, leaving Hart a widower with two children.

Shortly after his admission to the bar, Hart moved to New Lisbon, Ohio, where he remained for about two years and began to establish himself in public life. He was elected Assistant Clerk of the Ohio House of Representatives, gaining early experience with legislative procedure and state politics. He later moved to Ravenna, Portage County, Ohio, where he purchased the Democratic newspaper the Portage Sentinel. Although he would later become a prominent Republican, he edited this Democratic paper until he sold it in 1857, while simultaneously building a legal practice in Ravenna. Hart’s legal career advanced when he was elected prosecuting attorney for Portage County, serving from 1861 until his resignation in 1864, a period that coincided with the Civil War.

Hart’s formal legislative career began in the Ohio General Assembly. He served as a member of the Ohio Senate in 1865, representing his district during the immediate post–Civil War period. He returned to the state senate in 1872 and again in 1874, participating in debates over reconstruction-era policies and state development. In the 1872 presidential election he served as a presidential elector on the Republican ticket for Ulysses S. Grant and Henry Wilson, reflecting his established alignment with the Republican Party by that time. In 1874 he was elected the 11th lieutenant governor of Ohio and served from 1874 to 1876, acting as the presiding officer of the state senate and playing a visible role in state executive affairs.

During these years Hart also changed his place of residence several times within Ohio. In 1874 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he continued his legal and political activities in one of the state’s principal urban centers. In 1878 he relocated to Hillsboro, Ohio. In 1880 he was nominated as the Republican candidate for the Forty-seventh Congress from Ohio’s seventh congressional district, but he was defeated by Democrat John P. Leedom. Undeterred, Hart remained active in party affairs and legal practice, positioning himself for another run for federal office.

Hart was elected as a Republican to the Forty-eighth Congress from Ohio’s twelfth congressional district and served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1885. As a member of the Republican Party representing Ohio, he contributed to the legislative process during this single term in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during a significant period in American history marked by industrial expansion and post-Reconstruction national politics. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Forty-ninth Congress, which ended his tenure in the House after one term.

After leaving Congress, Hart continued his public service at the federal level. He was appointed Solicitor of Internal Revenue in the United States Department of the Treasury, serving from 1888 to 1892. In this capacity he was responsible for important legal questions involving the administration and enforcement of federal internal revenue laws, a role that required substantial expertise in statutory interpretation and federal taxation. Following his service in the Treasury Department, he resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C., where he remained engaged in legal work and maintained connections with national political and governmental circles.

Alphonso Hart died on December 23, 1910. He was interred in Maple Grove Cemetery in Ravenna, Portage County, Ohio, returning in death to the community where he had long practiced law and begun his rise in public life.