A SOLDIER’S STORY: OTHNIEL LOOKER

A SOLDIER’S STORY: OTHNIEL LOOKER https://morriscounty250.morristourism.org/wp-content/themes/fildisi/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg 150 150 Morris County 250th Morris County 250th https://morriscounty250.morristourism.org/wp-content/themes/fildisi/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg November 19, 2025 November 19, 2025

A SOLDIER’S STORY: OTHNIEL LOOKER

While it’s always nice to learn the stories of the high profile military commanders during the Revolution, I also like to learn of the lowly Privates who went on to greatness. The story of Morris County soldier Othniel Looker (6 Oct 1757 – 23 Jul 1845, DAR ancestor A071415) is exactly this kind of story. He was a military Private here in Morris County, who went on to become an influential politician in the Democratic-Republican party and Governor of Ohio.

Othniel Looker was born in Hanover NJ. His father John died when he was two years old, and his mother Elizabeth (Mapps) supported the family by teaching school.

Looker enlisted in the Army on 1 May 1776 and served the duration of the war as a Private under Captains Obadiah Kitchell, James Ward, and David Bates, and Colonels Jacob Ford, Ephraim Martin, and Matthias Ogden. We know for sure that he served in battles at Long Island and White Plains, and he probably served in a lot more given his lengthy service.

As a young man Looker trained to be a weaver, but instead followed in his mother’s footsteps and turned to school teaching as his profession after the war. He taught for 30 years.

In 1788 Looker, his wife Pamela (Clark) and their family moved to Vermont for a year, then to Saratoga County New York for 15 years. While in New York, Looker was elected a representative in the New York State Assembly in 1803-1804.

Having received a land grant for his military service, Looker moved his family to Hamilton County Ohio after his political term in New York concluded in 1804. He soon became widely known and respected, and by 1807 he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives where he served until 1809. He moved on to serve in the Ohio State Senate from 1810 to 1817, serving as Speaker of the Senate in 1813-1814. While he was Speaker of the Senate and second in line to the Governorship, Governor Return Meigs left office to become Postmaster General. Looker took over the role of Governor and became the 5th Governor of Ohio, serving from March-Dec 1814. He holds the distinction of being the only Governor of Ohio to serve in the American Revolution.

At the end of his Senate service, he returned to his home in Hamilton County Ohio in 1817, where he became a judge on the Court of Common Pleas. Looker’s house in Harrison Ohio is still standing (picture below), listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and owned and operated as a museum by the Village Historical Society. Click here for more information about it and a picture:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othniel_Looker_House

As an 87-year-old widower, in 1844 Looker moved in with his daughter Rachel and her husband Joseph Kitchell in Palestine Illinois and quickly became a highly respected member of the Illinois community. His last public address was on 4 July 1845, when he dressed in his Continental Army uniform and, overcome with emotion, he contrasted the early history of the country with its splendid destinies. His final public act was to reflect on his time as a soldier here in Morris County.

Governor Othniel Looker died 19 days later, and is buried at the Kitchell cemetery in Palestine Illinois.