“A recent visit paid to the grave of the Honorable Joshua R Giddings found it located in a secluded nook of the village cemetery at Jefferson, Ohio. By his side are the remains of his partner, who survived him but a few months. Over his grave the broad branches of the chestnut and other forest trees wave their green leaves. Nothing has yet been placed at this grave to designate it.”1
Joshua Reed Green, son of Joshua Giddings and Elizabeth Pease, was born on October 6, 1795, in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. After serving in the War of 1812, he taught school, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1821. He commenced his legal practice in Jefferson, Ohio, the same year.
He later was a member of the Ohio State House of Representatives, and in 1826 was elected as a Whig to the 25th Congress to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Elisha Whittlesey. In 1842 he was reelected as a Whig to the 28th Congress and served through the 30th Congress. As a Free-Soil candidate, he served from the 31st to 33rd Congress and was elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the 34th Congress. He was finally re-elected to the 35th Congress as a Republican and served until 1859. After declining to be a candidate for re-election, he was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as consul general to the British North American Provinces Canada, in 1861, a position to which he held until his death at age 68 on May 27, 1864, at Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
