SEASONGOOD

SEASONGOOD, U.S. family prominent in Cincinnati, Ohio, during the second half of the 19th and the 20th centuries. LEWIS SEASONGOOD (1836–1914), who was born in Burgenstadt, Bavaria, immigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1851. He worked in the dry goods business and subsequently became a partner in the firm of Heidelbach, Seasongood & Co. Long prominent in city and state public life, Seasongood was a founder and treasurer (1872) of the Cincinnati Exposition, served as one of the four U.S. commissioners to the Vienna Exposition (1873), and was a Cincinnati sinking-fund commissioner (1875). He was appointed quartermaster general and commissary general of Ohio (1880). Seasongood was also active in Jewish communal affairs, and was a longtime executive board member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. His brother ALFRED SEASONGOOD (1844–1909), who was also born in Burgenstadt, immigrated to the U.S. in 1860. He also worked in the dry goods firm of Heidelbach, Seasongood & Co. In 1868 he became a full partner in the firm of J. & L. Seasongood. Alfred, who became a staunch anti-slavery Republican soon after his arrival in Cincinnati, reputedly exercised great influence in that party, though he held neither elective nor appointive office. Lewis' son MURRAY SEASONGOOD (1878–1983), who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a lawyer and mayor of Cincinnati. Seasongood was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1903, and practiced law privately for several years. He was active in the political reform movement, which fought and finally destroyed the power of the Cox machine in Cincinnati and introduced the council-manager form of municipal government, elected by proportional representation, in 1924. Seasongood was elected mayor of Cincinnati by the nine-man council in 1926, serving two terms until 1930. He was a capable, well-respected mayor who expanded numerous services while reducing costs. During this period, he also headed the Cincinnati City Planning Commission. Seasongood's other public posts included chairman of the Ohio Commission for the Blind (1915–25); member of the U.S. Civil Service Commission's Loyalty Review Board (1947–53); and security counsel to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's Personnel Clearance Security Board (1954–59). From 1925 to 1959 he lectured in law at the University of Cincinnati. He established the Hamilton County Good Government League and served for many years as national president of the Legal Aid Society. President Herbert Hoover appointed him to a national commission to investigate housing conditions. In 1974 he was named one of the 100 Greatest Ohio Citizens. Seasongood, who lived to be 104, practiced law into his nineties at the law firm of Paxton & Seasongood. Long active in Jewish affairs, Seasongood served as a member of the Hebrew Union College's board of governors (1913–42); board member of the Joint Distribution Committee; and executive committee member of the American Jewish Committee (1938–47). His books include Local Government in the United States, A Challenge and an Opportunity (1933; 19342); Cases on Municipal Corporations (1934; third edition (1953) with C.J. Antieau); and Selections from Speeches: 1900–1959 of Murray Seasongood (1960).