D. C. Badger
Distinguished at home and honored abroad is D. C. Badger. He was born in this county in 1857, attended the public schools, and the Bloomingburg (Fayette county) Academy, and Mt. Vernon College in Stark county. While teaching school he read law, and in 1879, was admitted to the bar. Served one term as prosecuting attoney, and was twice elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Removing to Columbus, political honors followed him, and in 1902, he was elected a member of the National Congress, and in 1905, Mayor of Columbus, which high office he filled with honor. He refused another nomination and resumed the practice of law.
Judge Badger may be said to possess a drawing personality, and a very keen perception. Always approachable, he is ever popular. His friends in Madison county are legion. They are proud of his record and rejoice in his fame and prosperity. He has fulfilled their expectations, and often surpassed them. As a lawyer and a citizen he stands high with the Bar and with the public.
From Madison Democrat 50th Anniversary - Published by the Madison Democrat, 1908
D. C. Badger, Prosecuting Attorney of Madison County, was born in Range Township, this county, August 7, 1857. His father, Benjamin Badger, is a native of Fayette County. Penn. He came to Ohio about 1827, locating in Fayette County, and to Madison County in 1845; he bought a farm in Range Township, where he has since resided; he owns 110 acres of land, and is one of the prominent farmers of Southern Madison. He married Martha, daughter of Levin Willoughby, an honored pioneer of Range Township. Our subject is the second of five children, four of whom are living. He grew up on the farm and when between fifteen and sixteen years of age, taught school in his native township. He subsequently attended the academy at Bloomingburg, Fayette County, and Mount Vernon College, Stark County, Ohio. He afterward resumed teaching in Range Township for nearly four years. During this time, he read law and was admitted to practice November 4, 1879, and has since been located at London. Mr. Badger is still a young man, but his energy and perseverance bid fair to win him a place among the legal lights of the State. He is Secretary of the Madison County Bar Association, and connected by membership with the Masonic and Odd Fellow fraternities. Politically, Mr. Badger is an ardent Democrat, and in the summer of 1882 was nominated for the office of Prosecuting Attorney of Madison County, and in October was elected by 520 majority, which was one of the largest majorities ever given in this county.
From HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY - W. H. Beers [Chicago, 1883]