History

The office of the Clerk of Courts of Common Pleas traces its origin to the medieval cleric. They maintained the records, were responsible for correspondence and had various powers to issue writs or other processes ordered by the Court. The cleric was generally one of the few educated persons in the community.

In creating a state judicial system, the 1802 Ohio Constitution provided for the appointment of a Clerk of Courts for each county. The judges of the Common Pleas Court made the appointments for a seven-year term.

Under the 1851 Constitution the office became elective for a three-year term which was extended to four years in 1936. The official title is Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas.

Many prominent Ohioans have served as Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas. For example, William Henry Harrison, ninth President of the United States, was a Clerk of Courts when he was elected President in 1840.

7 year appointment by Judiciary

1829	Christopher Stark Wood
1830	John Ward
1842	John Alexander, Jr.
1848	Richard Metheany

3 year Elected Term commenced

1851	Joseph H. Richardson
1854	James Cunningham, Sr.
1857	John Meily
1863	Ormund E. Griffith
1869	Robert Mehaffey
1875	Daniel L. Crites
1881	Eugene Mackenzie
1887	David H. Tolan
1893	U.M. Shappell
1900	M.J. Sullivan
1903	Thomas J. Edwards
1908	Charles A. Graham
1912	D.A. Bowsher
1916	Ira F. Clem
1920	John T. Cotner
1925	Waldo H. Rose
1933	J. Herman Ruhlin

4 year Elected Term commenced

1938	J. Leonard Schnabel
1941	A. Earnest Mills
1944	Clarence N. Breese
1953	Frank E. McClain
1965	Robert "Herb" Dunlap
1986	Raymond E. Coleson
1994	Anne E. Geiger
2005	Gina C. Staley-Burley
2010	Margie J. Miller