Ethan Stone

Ethan Stone (1767–1852) was an American lawyer, banker, politician, and philanthropist from Cincinnati, Ohio. A major property investor, he became influential in state politics, but his fortunes waxed and waned with the local property market. His considerable wealth at the time of his death produced the first elections open to local women as part of the longest trust case in state history.

Career Stone originally lived in Massachusetts. In 1802, he arrived in Cincinnati by covered wagon and established a legal practice. and as clerk of council in 1810. From 1805 to 1806, he represented Hamilton County in the Ohio House of Representatives as a member of the Federalist Party. Though she was known as Mrs. Ethan Stone, he named Storrs Township after her maiden name.

His nephew, Dan Stone, served in the Illinois General Assembly and as an Illinois circuit court judge.

Death and legacy Stone derived considerable profit from subletting ministerial land in Storrs Township, which was subject to a provision that proceeds from the sale or sublease of land were to be used for the funding of Christian churches and schools in the township. At his death in 1852, the proceeds were valued at over $32,000 annually. His will, drafted by Alphonso Taft, directed the money to the Cincinnati Orphan Asylum, an elderly care facility, Storrs Township churches, and Cincinnati College. After the college declined to use the funds for training Episcopal priests, the funds were instead directed to the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio, later the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. In 1893, the Probate Court ordered that trust funds be disbursed to a church chosen in an election every ten years. The elections were open to Protestants at least 15 years of age. These were the only elections open to local women until the Nineteenth Amendment took effect in 1920. The last election, in 1993, awarded the funds to Price Hill United Methodist Church.