Description: This image is a photographic reproduction of a portrait of Charles Hammond (1779-1840). In this portrait Hammond is portrayed in the later years of his life. The intensity of his magnetic gaze belies his age. The portrait is encased in a paper frame with an oval cut-out whose lower border bears the name "Bennet & McLaren, Diamond Gallery, Marietta, O." Charles Hammond (1779-1840) was an attorney, journalist, and early Ohio political leader. He was born in Baltimore County, Maryland. When he was six years old, his father moved the family to a farm in Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia and began practicing law in Wellsburg, Virginia, in 1801. In 1803, Hammond moved to Ohio and was admitted to the Ohio bar. He became interested in the state’s political issues. Between 1813 and 1822, he was elected first to the Ohio Senate and then to the Ohio House of Representatives. His greatest interest was in judicial matters, and from 1823 to 1838 Hammond served as the reporter for the Ohio Supreme Court. During his tenure as court reporter, he published the first nine volumes of "Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Ohio." Hammond continued to practice law for the rest of his life. He became well known for his position defending the state in the United States Supreme Court case, Osborn v. Bank of the United States (1824). Hammond argued that Ohio had the authority to tax the National Bank of the United States because it was a business that competed with other businesses in the state. Although Ohio lost the case, Hammond was recognized as an excellent lawyer. Chief Justice John Marshall complemented Hammond's "remarkable acuteness and accuracy of mind." Hammond also had an interest in journalism. Living in St. Clairsville, he edited the Ohio Federalist from 1812 to 1818. After moving to Cincinnati in 1826, Hammond was the editor of the Cincinnati Gazette. He continued to manage the newspaper and write editorials about constitutional law until his death on April 3, 1840. William P. Bennet and Peter McLaren were the proprietors of a photography studio in Marietta, Ohio, from 1868-1873. Bennet is listed as the proprietor of Diamond Gallery from 1873-1884. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05829
Subjects: Hammond, Charles, 1779-1840; Lawyers--Ohio; Journalists; Legislators--Ohio; Ohio History--Presidents and Politics
Places: Charles Hammond