| William Trevitt | |
| Signature: | William Trevitt signature.jpg |
| Order: | 6th |
| Office: | Ohio Secretary of State |
| Appointer: | Wilson Shannon |
| Term Start: | June 1840 |
| Term End: | 1841 |
| Preceded: | Carter B. Harlan |
| Succeeded: | John Sloane |
| Order2: | 10th |
| Office2: | Ohio Secretary of State |
| Term Start2: | January 12, 1852 |
| Term End2: | January 13, 1856 |
| Governor2: | Reuben Wood William Medill |
| Preceded2: | Henry W. King |
| Succeeded2: | James H. Baker |
| State House3: | Ohio |
| District3: | Perry County |
| Term Start3: | December 5, 1836 |
| Term End3: | December 1, 1839 |
| Preceded3: | Joshua Brown |
| Succeeded3: | James J. Wilson |
| Birth Date: | 7 February 1809 |
| Birth Place: | Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, US |
| Death Place: | Columbus, Ohio, US |
| Resting Place: | Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Spouse: | Lucinda Butler |
| Children: | Six |
| Alma Mater: | Dartmouth Medical School |
William Trevitt (February 7, 1809 – February 8, 1881) was a medical doctor, politician, diplomat, and newspaper publisher in 19th century Ohio. He served two times as Ohio Secretary of State, three years in the Ohio House of Representatives, was a surgeon in the Mexican–American War, and was a diplomat in South America.
William Trevitt was born February 7, 1809, in Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, youngest son of Henry and Jane Trevitt.[1] He graduated as a doctor of medicine in the Class of 1830 from Dartmouth Medical School,[2] and moved to Baltimore, Fairfield County, Ohio, where he practiced medicine.[3]
Trevitt moved to Thornville, Perry County, Ohio,[3] where he was elected to serve 1836–1839 in the Ohio House of Representatives.[4]
Ohio Secretary of State Carter B. Harlan died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 9, 1840.[5] Governor Shannon appointed Trevitt to the position on a temporary basis until the Ohio General Assembly met early in 1841 to elect a successor.[6]
During the Mexican–American War, Trevitt was a surgeon with the Second Ohio Infantry.[2] [7] In 1851, a new constitution in Ohio made the Secretary of State an elective position, and Trevitt defeated the Free Soil Party incumbent and a Whig, and was re-elected in 1853. He lost to a Republican for re-election in 1855, and served January 1852 to January 1856.
From 1857 to 1860, Trevitt was consul to Valparaíso, Chile, and 1860–1861 to Callao, Peru, by appointment of President Franklin Pierce. He returned to Columbus, Ohio, where he entered the newspaper business. He established the Sunday Morning News in November 1867, and published it until selling in 1870.[8]
Trevitt died in Columbus on February 8, 1881. He was interred at Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.[9] He had married Lucinda Butler in Columbus, and had six children.