Earl Griffith

Who was Earl Griffith?

Harry Earl Griffith was a newspaper publisher who served as the Secretary of the State of Ohio from 1939-1940.

Griffith was born in Centerburg, Ohio in Knox county. He was the son of Nellie Myrtle and Harry Saiger Griffith. He attended Mount Gilead public schools. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio.

He married Mary Clara Terry in April 17, 1912. He was the publisher of the newspaper the Morrow County Sentinel, which he took over after the death of his father, Harry Saiger Griffith. The paper was started by his grandfather John W. Griffith in 1858. He served as the Post Master of Morrow County from 1928-1934. He was a prominent Republican in Morrow county and the state of Ohio. He served as an alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio in 1924. In 1936, he ran an unsuccessful bid for the Secretary of the State of Ohio. He ran again for the same post in 1938 and won. He served as the Secretary of the State of Ohio from 1939 until his death in 1940. Governor John W. Bricker appointed George Neffner to complete the rest of Griffith's term as Secretary of State.

Griffith died in Columbus, Ohio on March 30, 1940. He is buried at River Cliff Cemetery, Mount Gilead, Ohio.