05/22/2026
Alonzo Pease was born in Massachusetts in 1820, to Hiram and Lydia Pease. The family would move to Ohio, following in the footsteps of Hiram’s brother, Peter Pindar Pease. By 1831, the family was living in Lorain County. At the age of 12, Alonzo Pease was helping his father and uncle clear land for the new Oberlin colony, including the construction of the first buildings.
Attending Oberlin Preparatory School from 1840-1841, Pease only studied occasionally as he was more interested in pursuing his love of painting. Being self-taught, Pease spent the next twenty years of his life developing his skills as an artist. He spent time working in various capacities, lent his skills to the colorization of photographs. His portraits garnered the most praise out of all his work. Portrait commissions included Oberlin College presidents Charles Grandison Finney, Asa Mahan, and James Harris Fairchild.
In the 1850’s Pease joined the Ohio Militia and became commander of a company in Lorain County. At the start of the Civil War, Pease formed a military unit. In September 1861, Pease and 52 men headed to Cleveland’s Camp Wood. From there, the newly formed “Lorain Guards” became Company H of the 41st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. With Pease elected Captain, Company H soon found itself in Kentucky. The abolitionist sentiments of Pease and many of his men were challenged when two freedom seekers entered the 41st’s camp and Pease was directed to hand them over. He did so, but the event stuck with him, and by early 1862, he had resigned. Pease’s story for resigning struck a chord with Oberlinians, but there is evidence to suggest that Pease was not fit for military life, nor for being an officer.
After the war, Pease continued painting. He died in 1881 and is buried in Westwood Cemetery with a grave marker made of granite, depicting a large vase with flowers and leaves. An artist’s palette is carved into the base. His obituary reads, “Alonzo was a painter from his youth…All efforts to make a student of him were in vain.”
