George Barnsedale Cox was a political boss

Political boss

A boss, in politics, is a person who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency. Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control appointments, and wield considerable influence in other political processes. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves...

 in Cincinnati, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, a member of the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, and associate of William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...

. Cox was the son of British immigrants. As a teen during the Civil War years, he supported his widowed mother as an errand boy. Later he drove a delivery wagon. Finally, he assisted his brother-in-law by operating the keno

Keno

Keno is a lottery or bingo gambling game often played at modern casinos, and is also offered as a game in some state lotteries. A traditional live casino keno game uses a circular glass enclosure called a "bubble" containing 80 balls which determine the ball draw result. Each ball is imprinted...

 portion of the latter's casino

Casino

In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

. In these days he was already noted for being a physically strong and closed-mouthed man.

As a young man, he acquired a saloon at the corner of Longworth and John, "Dead man's corner", and was elected to the city council in 1879, serving two terms. He served most notably on the Decennial Equaliztion Board where he was able to fix the tax rate for prominent properties like the Shubert Theater, in which he became an investor. He also served significantly on the Board of Public Affairs in this turbulent era of the notorious Court House Riots.

Known as a ward boss who delivered his delegation as promised, he became the executive chairman of the local chapter of the Republican Party. He ran unsuccessfully for Hamilton County

Hamilton County, Ohio

As of 2000, there were 845,303 people, 346,790 households, and 212,582 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,075 people per square mile . There were 373,393 housing units at an average density of 917 per square mile...

 Clerk in 1884 and 1888, being the only candidate on his party's ticket to lose in the latter year.

This did not prevent his ongoing rise to local dominance. During his heyday, his chief lieutenants were Deputy County Treasurer Rud K. Hynicka and the President of the Board of the New Water works Commissioners, August Herrmann

August Herrmann

August Garry Herrmann was an American executive in Major League Baseball.-Biography:He was born on May 3, 1859. He served as president of the Cincinnati Reds of the National League from 1902 to 1927...

. Herrmann became President of the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

 from 1902 to 1927 and is known as the Father of the World Series.

The George B. Cox House at the corner of Brookline and Jefferson Avenue was listed #73001456 on the National register of Historic Places on November 6, 1973.

Sources

• Miller, Zane N. Boss Cox's Cincinnati, Urban Politics in the progressive era. Oxford University Press 1968 LC #68-29722
• Boyden, H.P. "Cincinnati's Battle With the Boss System", New York Times, August 24, 1903
• Society for Baseball Research

External links

• "Henry T. Hunt and civic reform in Cincinnati, 1903-1913" - Landon Warner's scholarly article published in Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.