Representative Matthew Rombach Denver - Contact Information

Matthew Rombach Denver (December 21, 1870 – May 13, 1954) was a three-term Democratic Representative from Ohio who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1907 to 1913. He was born at Rombach Place in Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio, and was the son of James William Denver, a prominent Democratic politician who had served as a member of Congress from California in the mid-19th century and for whom the city of Denver, Colorado, was named. Growing up in a politically engaged family, Matthew Denver was exposed early to public affairs and the workings of government.

Denver attended the public schools of Wilmington, Ohio, receiving his primary and secondary education locally. He later enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he pursued higher education and graduated in 1892. His time in the nation’s capital, combined with his family background, helped shape his interest in politics, finance, and public service, and provided him with connections and experience that would prove influential in his later career.

After completing his education, Denver returned to Ohio and engaged in a variety of business pursuits. He became involved in agriculture, banking, and manufacturing, reflecting the diversified economic base of his home region at the turn of the twentieth century. By 1902 he had assumed a leading role in local finance as president of the Clinton County National Bank & Trust Co. in Wilmington, a position he would hold for more than half a century, until his death. His prominence in banking and business made him a well-known figure in his community and in Ohio’s financial circles.

Denver’s political activity developed alongside his business career. A committed Democrat, he served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1896, marking the beginning of a long record of participation in national party affairs. He was a member of the Democratic State committee of Ohio from 1896 to 1908, helping to shape party strategy and organization during a period of significant political realignment. Over the ensuing decades he remained a regular presence at Democratic National Conventions, serving as a delegate in 1896, 1908, 1912, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, and 1936, and he was again elected to the Democratic State committee for the 1926–1928 term.

Denver was elected as a Democrat to the Sixtieth, Sixty-first, and Sixty-second Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1907, to March 3, 1913. As a member of the House of Representatives from Ohio, Matthew Rombach Denver contributed to the legislative process during three terms in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during a significant period in American history that included the Progressive Era reforms and debates over economic regulation. A member of the Democratic Party, he worked within the minority and then shifting political coalitions of the time to advance his party’s positions and the concerns of his district. He declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1912 to the Sixty-third Congress, choosing instead to return his primary focus to his business and financial interests in Ohio.

Following his departure from Congress, Denver resumed his banking career in Wilmington. His leadership in the financial sector was recognized statewide when he served as president of the Ohio Bankers’ Association in 1918 and 1919, a period that encompassed the end of World War I and the economic adjustments that followed. In addition to this statewide role, he continued as president of the Clinton County National Bank & Trust Co. from 1902 until his death, overseeing its growth and stability through periods of prosperity, depression, and war.

In his later years, Denver remained active in both civic and party affairs, maintaining his influence in Democratic politics through his repeated service as a national convention delegate and his continued engagement in state party leadership. He lived his entire life closely tied to Wilmington, Ohio, where his business, political, and community activities were centered. Matthew Rombach Denver died in Wilmington on May 13, 1954. He was interred in Sugar Grove Cemetery in Wilmington, leaving a legacy as both a public servant and a long-serving community banker who bridged the worlds of politics and finance over more than half a century.