WADE, EDWARD

WADE, EDWARD (22 Nov. 1802-13 Aug. 1866), lawyer and member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1853-61), was born in W. Springfield, Mass., son of James and Mary Upham Wade. He was educated locally and admitted to the bar in 1827. Wade practiced in Jefferson, Ashtabula County, Ohio and in 1831 became Justice of the Peace for the county for 1 year. He moved to Unionville in 1832 and worked as a prosecuting attorney. In 1837 Wade came to Cleveland, continuing his law practice and becoming one of the area's leading abolitionists. In 1837 he became president of the CUYAHOGA COUNTY ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY, often defending fugitive slaves in court. In 1842 he organized the Liberty party. Wade's reputation as an abolitionist gained him a seat in Congress as a Free-Soiler in 1853, a position he held until 1855, when he was again elected, but on the Republican ticket. He remained a congressman until 1861. Wade was on the first boards of trustees of the Homeopathic Hospital College (1849) and CLEVELAND UNIVERSITY. Wade married twice. His first wife, Sarah Louise Atkins, died shortly after their marriage in 1832. His second marriage was to Mary P. Hall. Wade had no children from either marriage. He died in East Cleveland and was buried in WOODLAND CEMETERY.


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