Skip to main content

Full text of "The Biographical record of Knox County, Ohio : to which is added an elaborate compendium of national biography"

See other formats


Gc  m: 

977.101 
K77b  (' 

1195030 


GENEALOGY  COLLECTION 


Oei^J 


ALLEN  COUNTY  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

3  1833  02480  8575 


THE 

Biographical  Record 

OS 

KNOX  COUNTY. 
OHIO 

To    Which    is   Added    an    Elaborate    Compendium 
OF  National  Biography 


ILLUSTRATED 


'A  people  that  take  no  pride  in  the  noble  achievements  of  remote  ancestors  will  never 

achieve  anything  worthy  to  be  remembered  with  pride  by 

remote  generations." — Macaulay 


^ 


CHICAGO 
THE  LEWIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


1195030 

PART  I. 


KNOX  COUNTY. 


PREFACE. 


UT  of  the  depths  of  his  mature  wisdom  Carlyle  wrote, 
"History  is  the  essence  of  innumerable  biographies.  " 
Believing  this  to  be  the  fact,  there  is  no  necessity  of 
advancing  any  further  reason  for  the  compilation  of 
such  a  work  as  this,  if  reliable  history  is  to  be  the 
ultimate  object. 

Kno.x  County,  Ohio,  has  sustained  within  its  confines  men  who  have 
been  prominent  in  the  history  of  the  State  for  almost  a  century.  The  annals 
teem  with  the  records  of  strong  and  noble  manhood,  and,  as  Sumner  has 
said,  "the  true  grandeur  of  nations  is  in  those  qualities  which  constitute  the 
greatness  of  the  individual."  The  final  causes  which  shape  the  fortunes  of 
individuals  and  the  destinies  of  States  are  often  the  same.  They  are  usually 
remote  and  obscure,  and  their  influence  scarcely  perceived  until  manifestly 
declared  by  results.  That  nation  is  the  greatest  which  produces  the  greatest 
and  most  manly  men  and  faithful  women;  and  the  intrinsic  safety  of  a  com- 
munity depends  not  so  much  upon  methods  as  upon  that  normal  develop- 
ment from  the  deep  resources  of  which  proceeds  all  that  is  precious  and 
permanent  in  life.  But  such  a  result  may  not  consciously  be  contemplated 
by  the  actors  in  the  great  social  drama.  Pursuing  each  his  personal  good 
by  exalted  means,  they  work  out  as  a  logical  result. 

The  elements  of  success  in  life  consist  in  both  innate  capacity  and  determi- 
nation to  e.xcel.  Where  either  is  wanting,  failure  is  almost  certain  in  the  out- 
come. The  study  of  a  successful  life,  therefore,  serves  both  as  a  source  of 
information  and  as  a  stimulus  and  encouragement  to  those  who  have  the 
capacity.  As  an  important  lesson  in  this  connection  we  may  appropriately 
quote  Longfellow,  who  said:  "We  judge  ourselves  by  what  we  feel  capa- 
ble of  doing,  while  we  judge  others  by  what  they  have  already  done.  "  A 
faithful  personal  history  is  an  illustration  of  the  truth  of  this  observation. 


PREFACE. 

In  this  biographical  history  the  editorial  staff,  as  well  as  the  publishers, 
have  fully  realized  the  magnitude  of  the  task.  In  the  collection  of  the  ma- 
terial there  has  been  a  constant  aim  to  discriminate  carefully  in  regard  to  the 
selection  of  subjects.  Those  who  have  been  prominent  factors  in  the  public, 
social  and  industrial  development  of  the  county  have  been  given  due  recog- 
nition as  far  as  it  has  been  possible  to  secure  the  requisite  data.  Names 
worthy  of  perpetuation  here,  it  is  true,  have  in  several  instances  been  omit- 
ted, either  on  account  of  the  apathy  of  those  concerned  or  the  inability  of 
the  compilers  to  secure  the  information  necessary  for  a  symmetrical  sketch; 
but  even  more  pains  have  been  taken  to  secure  accuracy  than  were  promised 
in  the  prospectus.  Works  of  this  nature,  therefore,  are  more  reliable  and 
complete  than  are  the  "standard"  histories  of  a  country. 

THE  PUBLISHERS. 


INDBX. 


Adams,  William  B.,  289 
Adrian,   M.   H.,   79 
Ames,    Benjamin,   95 
Anderson,  Alice  B.,  .372 
Anderson,   Robert   C,   173 
Armentrout,  Lyman  W.,  141 


Baker,  Oliver  P.,  277 
Baldwin,   William   F.,  255 
Ball,  Fanny  B.,  76 
Banning,  Anthony,  128 
Banning,   Henry    B.,    170 
Banning,  William  D.,  72 
Baxter,  John  K.,  221 
Bechtel,  Andrew,   181 
Beckley,  Calvin  W.,  108 
Beers,  Aaron  D.,  158 
Beggs,  Edward  C,  222 
Bell,  Isaac,  ,^jq 
Bell,  James,  29^; 
Bennett,   George   S..  213 
Benson,  Edward  C,   139 
Berry,  James   M.,  270 
Berry,   Patrick   A.,   2ig 
Best,  David  T.,  2^=; 
Beum,  R.  T.  291 
Bishop,   Clayton   H.,  230 
Bixby,  Eli,  347 
Black,  Albert  G.,  190 
Black,   Lyman   W.,   115 
Blackford,  Michael,  294 
Blair,    Clarena,   21 
Blair,  W.  Roscoe,  21 
Blubaugh,  John  J.,  116 
Blubaugh,   Joseph   F.,    ill 
Blubaugh,  Stephen,  357 
Blyston,  David  K.,  204 
Body,  William  R.,  205 


Bone,  Moses  C,  85 
Bottenfield.  William  L.,  223 
Bradfield,   Charles  R..   loi 
Breckler,  John  P.,  163 
Britton,  Lewis,  224 
Brown,  Joseph   C,   122 
Bulyer,  David,  245 
Burke,  George  W.,  355 
Buttles,  Levi,  134 


Campbell,  Edivvin  J.,  297 
Canning,   George   F-,   218 
Cannon,  James  M.,  180 
Cassell,  Arthur  C,  60 
Cassil,  Alexander,  112 
Cassil,  John  A.,  319 
Cassil,  Robert,  318 
Cavin,  Edw^ard  A.,  272 
Caywood.  Leander,  368 
Cochren,  John,  268 
Coe,  Charles  H.,  207 
Co?,   C.   W.,  209 
Coe,  James  W.,  45 
Collins,  James  P.,  88 
Colopy,  Jonathan  A..  342 
Colwill,  Simon  A.,  91 
Cooper,  Charles,  14 
Cooper,  Williami  C,  32 
Cover,  William  H.,  22 
Craig,  Stephen,  92 
Crippen,  Henry  A.,  86 
Critchiield,  Alexander,  35 
Critchfield,   Charles   E.,  248 
Critchfield,  Joseph,   124 
Critchfield,  Nathaniel,  147 
Critchfield,  Roland,  .^oo 
Cunningham,  Milton  AL,  65 
Curtis,  Henrv  B.,  18 
Curtis,  Henrv  L.,  262 
Curtis,  L.  B.,  262 
Curtis,   Walter   C,  262 


Darling,  Adam  H.,  46 
Davis,  James  W.,  266 
Davis,  Joseph  S.,  67 
Debolt,  Harmon  J.,  194 
Debolt,  William  I.,  310 
Deeley,  Stanton  E.,  199 
Delano,   Columbus.   184 
DeLong,  Jacob  H.,  234 
Dennis,  Lureston  W.,  13S 
Devin,  He..rv  C,  59 
Devin,  Joseph  C,  58 
Dickson,    James,    59 
Donahey,  Parmenis  N.,  8 
Drake.  Judson  R.,  126 
Durbin,  Benjamin,  233 
Durbin.  Charles  W.,  294 
Durbin,  Henry  P.,  41 
Durbin,   John   C,    149 
Durbin,  Raphael,  274 
Dutt,  George  M.,  269 


Earlywine,  Isaac,  124 
Eastman,  William  H.,  249 
Ebersole,  William,  38 
Elliott,  David  B.,  167 
Elliott,  Henry  R.,  260 
Ely,  William  L.,  256 
Ewalt,  Colum-bus,  62 
Ewers,  James  F.,  325 


Fairchild,  Frank  L..  88 
Fawcett,  John  M.,  100 
Ferris,  Harrison,  254 
Fish,  Alfred.  251 
Fish,  Joseph  A.,  162 
Fowler,  John,  350 


INDEX. 


Frasher,  William  H.,  53 

Jackson.  Isaac  L..  182 

McKinley,   John    L.,    120 

Fry,  W.  H.,  350 

Jackson.  Sylvadore.  215 

McKinney,   George   E..   283 

V 

Jeppesen.  John.   199 

Merriman.   W.    B.,    133 
Morningstar.    Abraham,   63 

G. 

Johnson.  Belle  C.   171 

Jones.  Fred  W..  176 

Motz,  John  M.,  345 

Gantt.  Samuel  0.,  198 

Jones.  Goshorn  A.,  212 

Mulhane,  L.  W.,  56 

Gilmor,  William.  77 

Murphy,  George  T.,   191 

Gilmore,  John.  285 

K. 

Murray.  Charles.  362 

Gilmore.   John   C.   279 

Mj'ers.  Jacob  B..   151 

Graham.  E.  S.,  ,326 

Kaylor,  Michael.  117 

Myers,  Joseph,  73 

Grant,  William  E..  220 

Kerr,  Benjamin.  136 

Green.  Hugh  L..   178 

Kerr,  Wilson  S..   1.36 

N. 

Green.  William  H..  378 

King.  Lawrence.  301 

Greer,  Alexander  W.,  319 

Kirk.  DeSault  B..  29 

Nixon.  Daniel,  31-1 

Greer,  Henry  H..  9 

Kirk.  Robert  C,  27 

Norrick,  John   H.,  271 

Griffith,  Benjamin  L.,  146 

Kirkpatrick.  Albert  S.,  252 

Nyhart,  David  L.,  332 

Grubb,  Levi.  145 

Knox.  Robert  A.,  153 

Nyhart,  Noah,  202 

Grubb.  C.  M.,  246 

L. 

0. 

H. 

Lanning.  Israel,  363 

Owen.  Frank  V..  64 

Hamilton.  Joseph  H..  211 

Larimore,  Isaac  P..  ig.i 

P. 

-Harper,   Franklin.  61 

Leedy,  Eugene  R.,  334 

Harris.  Henry  C,  140 

Leedy.  Isaac,  96 

Parsons,  Abraham,   118 

Harris,  John   O.,  71 

Leedy.  Joseph,  139 

Parsons,   Lanning,    119 

Harter,  George   S.,  344 

Leonard.  John.  43 

Parsons,  Nathan,  119 

Hawn.  William,  305 

Lepley.  Marvin.  106 

Phillips,  Thomas  S..  93 

Harden.   J.    K..   311 

Lepley.  Simon   C.   103 

Phillips,  W.  0.,  196 

Hayes,   Telford  F.,  371 

Levering.  Frank  0..   130 

Pitkin  Theodore  S..  228 

Hays.   Jacob,  82 

Levering.  Homer  B..  iji 

Ponterfield.  George  W..  65 

Hays,  Leander,  81 

Levering.   Milton   G..   374 

Potter.  S.  B.,  154 

Hays,  Morgan,  177 

Lewis,    Leander   H..    12 

Pumphrey,  Josiah  M..  136 

Head,  Thomas  R..   164 

Lindley,  John  W..  335 

Purdy,  Richard  D..  68. 

Henley,    Charles    W..    52 

Lockwood.  Eliakim  E..  321 

Putnam,  Robert,  282 

Henwood,  George  E.,  330 

Loney,  J.  Calvin.   160 

Putnam.  Walter  S.,  2S2 

Hervey.  George  E.,  375 

Long,  John   R..   195 

Hibbets,  Henry,  288 

I.osh.  John  J.,  341 

R. 

Hickman,  Thomas  C..  104 

Lybarger.   INIarvin.   105 

Honey,  James,  167 

Ramey.  E.  M..  339 

Horn,  Martin  J.,  94 

M. 

Republican   Pub.    Co..   259 

Horn,  R.  D.,  370 

Rice,  C.  F.,  333 

Houck,  Lewis  B.,  312 

Martin,   Clay  D.,   160 

Rice,  Clinton  M..  107 

Hunt.  LeRoy  G.,  168 

Martin,  James.  373 

Rice.  Oscar.  159 

Hyatt.  John  J..  331 

McCament.  Leander.  50 

Richert,  John,  174 

Hyatt.  Luther  L.,  239 

McCamment,  William,  348 

Robertson,  Amasa  P..  229 

McCluer.  William,  ,307 

Robertson,  H.   H..  232 

L 

McDaniel,   David,  280 

Robertson,  John  T.,  250 

McDaniel,  John.  299 

Roof,  Perry.  123 

lams.  Charles  C.  259 

McDermott.  William.  360 

Rush,  John  L,.  37 

Inks.  Thomas  A.,  70 

McFadden.   William.   2,7 

S. 

McParland,  Joseph   A.,  241 

J. 

McGinley.  James.  143 

Sapp,  Dwight  E..  48 

McGinley.  Wilson  S..  304 

Sapp.  George.   114 

Jackson.  Charles  C,  261 

McGugin.  Daniel.  327 

Scholes,  Allen,  377 

INDEX. 


Schroeder.  William  L.,  2S 
Scott,  Joseph,  322 
Scott,  Lewis  B.,  366 
Searl,   Otis,   150 
Sellers,  Delphos  S.,  74 
Sellers.  George,  309 
Severns,    French   W.,   99 
Severns,   Samuel,   104 
Shaffer,  David,  80 
Sherwood,  Hauphrey,  264 
Shipley,   George  W.,   365 
Shuff,  George  W.,  84 
Shults,  George  W.,  203 
Simmons,   Nathan,   343 
Simons,  Fred  D..  .so 
Simons,  Monroe  J.,  298 
Sim-pson,  John,   292 
Smith,   Benjamin,   127 
Smith,  John  H.,  353 
Smith.  William  H.,  39 
Snively,  John,  346 
Snyder,  James   L.,   276 
Spry,  George  H,,  36 
Staats,  Joseph,  275 
Stahl,    Daniel   W.,   287 
Stillwell,    Francis    M.,    157 
Strong,  Norman  M.,  337 


Sutton,  J'.   S.,  324 
Swank,   George.  307 
Swingle,  Chris,  244 


Taylor,   Eli  John   P.,  47 
Taylor,  George  H.,  87 
Thayer,  George  E.,  221 
Thayer,  Walter  H.,  221 
Toland,  Nicholas  S.,  igi 
Trimble,   Thomas   IT.,  296 
Tulloss,  John  J.,  165 


Vance,  Joseph  W.,  352 
Vannatta,  Samuel  T.    144 

W. 

Wagner,  Henrv,  328 
Walkey,   William   W.,  303 
Wander,  Michael,  no 
Watkins,  Frank,  217 
Watson,  A.  G.,  291 
Waus-h,  John.  71 


Weider,  Adam  C.,  323 
Welker,  George  A.,  179 
Welsh,  Mathew,  242 
White,   Harmon,   277 
Whitworth,  John  T.,  281 
Williams,  L.  L.,  173 
Willits,  David,  24 
Wilson,  James  P.,  286 
Wineland,  Enhraim  M.,  51 
Wolfe,  Albert  I.,  314 
Wolfe,  Gary  E.,  210 
Wolfe,   Eli   A.,  42 
Wolfe,  Frederick  C.,  354 
Workman,   Andrew   J.,   359 
Workman,  Barnett  B..  367 
Workman,  Elisha,  129 
Workman,  James,  340 
Workman,  Joseph  T,,  201 
Workman,  Mark,  243 
Workman,   Uriah   C,   156 
Wright,  Albert,  265 


Yauger,  George  W.,  31 
Yearley,  William  H.,  90 
Young,   Silas,  78 


M.  ^  ^^m^ 


A  CENTENNIAL  BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY 

OF 

KNOX  COUNTY,  OHIO 


HENRY  H.  GREER. 

Ohio  has  always  been  distinguished  for 
the  high  rank  of  her  bench  and  bar.  Many 
of  her  jurists  and  attorneys  have  been  men 
of  national  fame,  and  among  those  whose 
lives  have  been  passed  on  a  quieter  plane 
there  is  scarcely  a  town  or  city  in  the  state 
but  can  boast  of  one  or  more  lawyers  capable 
of  crossing  swords  in  forensic  combat  with 
any  of  the  distinguished  legal  lights  of  the 
United  States.  In  Mr.  Greer  we  find  united 
many  of  the  rare  qualities  which  go  to  make 
up  the  successful  lawyer.  He  possesses, 
perhaps,  few  of  those  brilliant,  dazzling  me- 
teoric qualities  which  have  sometimes 
flashed  along  the  legal  horizon,  riveting  the 
gaze  and  blinding  the  vision  for  the  moment, 
then  disappearing,  leaving  little  or  no  trace 
behind,  but  rather  has  those  solid  and  more 
substantial  qualities  which  shine  with  a  con- 
stant luster,  shedding  light  in  the  dark 
places  with  steadiness  and  continuity.  Mr. 
Greer  has  in  an  eminent  degree  that  rare 
ability  of  saying  in  a  convincing  way  the 


right  thing  at  the  right  time.  His  mind  is- 
analytical,  logical  and  inductive.  With  a. 
thorough  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
the  fundamental  principles  of  law,  he  com- 
bines a  familiarity  with  statutory  law  and  a. 
sober  clear  judgment  which  makes  him  a 
formidable  legal  adversary. 

Mr.  Greer  is  one  of  the  native  residents 
of  Knox  county,  his  birth  having  here  oc- 
curred on  the  22d  of  July,  1837.  He  is  a 
descendant  of  Revolutionary  ancestry,  two 
of  his  great  uncles  holding  office  in  the  Co- 
lonial Army  in  the  war  for  independence, 
one  being  a  colonel.  Both  were  in  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill  and  at  the  siege  of  Valley 
Forge.  The  family  has  ever  been  celebrated 
for  its  patriotism,  loyalty,  endurance  and  de^ 
termination.  Major  Alexander  Greer,  the 
great-grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  a  na- 
tive of  County  Antrim,  Ireland,  and  crossed 
the  zA.tlantic  to  the  new  world  in  1785.  He 
was  a  most  successful  man  of  affairs,  his  en- 
terprise enabling  him  to  conduct  a  prosper- 
ous business.  Colonel  John  Greer,  the 
grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  born  near 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


Belfast,  Ireland,  and  came  to  America  in 
the  year  1800.  He  was  a  man  of  unusual 
strength  of  mind,  a  thoughtful  and  scholarly 
gentlaiian,  well  educated  and  was  of  a  patri- 
otic spirit,  earnestly  attached  to  the  institu- 
tions and  forms  of  government  of  his  adopt- 
ed country,  which  he  served  as  a  soldier  in 
the  war  of  18 12.  A.  Banning  Norton,  in 
his  History  of  Knox  county,  says  of  him : 
"The  Greers  are  mainly  descended  from  that 
noble  old  patriarch,  John  Greer,  who  was  a 
native  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  and  was  what 
is  called  'an  Irish  patriot.'  "  Being  pos- 
sessed of  a  powerful  constitution  and  strong, 
Tigorous  intellect,  he  took  a  prominent  posi- 
tion among  the  pioneers,  and  being  particu- 
larly efficient  in  military  matters  he  did 
much  to  promote  the  formation  of  com- 
panies in  the  eastern  townships.  From  1812 
to  181 7  he  served  as  collector  of  taxes  and 
in  1830  was  elected  to  represent  his  district 
in  the  state  legislature. 

Major  Alexander  Greer,  the  father  of 
H.  H.  Greer,  was  born  in  Washington  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  in  1805,  and  when  five 
^ears  of  age  accompanied  his  parents  to 
Ohio,  the  family  locating  amid  the  first  set- 
tlers of  the  eastern  district  of  Knox  county. 
He  was  a  man  of  high  character  and  sterling 
integrity,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem.  He 
tilled  a  number  of  positions  of  trust,  early 
engaged  in  promoting  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion and  used  his  influence  to  further  all 
that  was  best  for  his  fellow  men.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  successful  farmers  in  the 
county,  industrious  and  capable  and  possess- 
ing the  highest  integrity.  He  was  largely 
instrumental  in  laying  broad  and  deep  the 
foundation  for  the  present  prosperity  and 
progress  of  the  county  and  was  honored  and 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him.   He  married 


Alargaret  Robinson,  a  daughter  of  William 
Robinson,  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Knox  county,  coming  from  Mary- 
land in  1809.  He  represented  Knox  county 
in  the  legislature  in  the-  years  1826-7.  ^J^^s. 
Greer  was  a  lady  of  great  worth,  of  strong 
mentality  and  gentle  influence. 

From  the  foregoing  ancestral  history  it 
will  be  seen  that  Henry  Harrison  Greer 
sprang  from  sturdy  pioneer  stock  and  in- 
herited patriotic  spirit.  His  early  years 
were  spent  in  a  manner  not  unlike  that  of 
most  farm  boys  of  the  period.  He  attended 
the  common  school  and  worked  on  the  farm, 
but  later  better  educational  facilities  were 
afforded  his  in  the  schools  of  Millwood  and 
Haysville  and  in  Dennison  University.  Pro- 
fessional life  attracted  him  and  desiring  to 
become  a  member  of  the  bar  he  began  read- 
ing law  in  the  office  of  Delano,  Sapp  & 
Smith.  Upon  the  dissolution  of  the  firm  he 
continued  his  studies  under  the  direction  of 
Walter  H.  Smith,  and  in  May,  i860,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  He  did  not,  however, 
immediately  enter  upon  practice  for  he  ac- 
cepted the  position  of  leading  deputy  in  the 
office  of  his  father,  who  was  county  treas- 
urer of  Knox  county.  The  following  year 
Mr.  Greer  was  elected  to  succeed  his  father 
in  the  position,  which  he  filled  until  1864, 
v.hen,  declining  a  re-election,  he  entered 
into  a  law  partnership  with  Hon.  W.  R. 
Sapp,  a  relation  that  was  maintained  from 
1865  until  April,  1869.  At  that  time  he 
succeeded  to  the  practice  and  law  office  of 
Hon.  W.  H.  Smith,  upon  the  latter's  accept- 
ance of  the  solicitorship  of  the  bureau  of  in- 
ternal revenue  in  the  treasury  department, 
to  which  he  was  appointed  by  President 
Grant  and  from  which  he  was  promoted  to 
the  position  of  assistant  attorney  general. 


3  1833  02480  8575 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


It  is  the  theory  of  the  law  that  the  coun- 
sel who  practice  are  to  aid  the  court  in  the 
administration  of  justice  and  such  has  been 
the  aim  of  the  professional  career  of  Air. 
Greer.  He  has  been  most  careful  to  conform 
his  practice  to  a  high  standard  of  profes- 
sional ethics.  He  has  never  sought  to  lead 
the  court  astray  in  a  matter  of  fact  or  law. 
Calm,  dignified,  free  from  passion  or  preju- 
dice and  overflowing  with  kindness,  he  gives 
to  his  clients  the  service  of  great  talent,  un- 
wearied industry  and  rare  learning,  but  he 
never  forgets  that  there  are  certain  things 
due  tO'  the  court,  to  his  own  self-respect  and 
above  all  to  justice  and  a  righteous  adminis- 
tration of  the  law,  which  neither  the  zeal  of 
an  advocate  nor  the  pleasure  of  success  will 
permit  him  to  disregard. 

Mr.  Greer  continued  to  practice  alone 
until  1889,  when  he  admitted  his  son,  Rob- 
ert M.  Greer,  to-  a  partnership.  The  son 
was  graduated  in  Kenyon  at  the  age  of 
twenty,  read  law  with  his  father,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  June,  1889,  and  imme- 
diately thereafter  became  a  member  of  the 
law  firm  of  H.  H.  and  R.  M.  Greer,  a  style 
then  adopted  and  still  preserved.  The  jun- 
ior member  possesses  ai  good  intellectual 
equipment,  a  fine  collegiate  education,  is 
well  grounded  in  the  general  principles  of 
law,  is  apt  in  discrimination  of  decisions  of 
courts  and  is  already  well  established  in 
practice.  As  a  counselor  Henry  H.  Greer 
stands  pre-eminent  in  the  estimation  of  the 
local  bar,  in  the  disposition  and  manage- 
ment of  really  large  and  important  affairs. 
Well  informed  in  the  law,  he  is  further  forti- 
fied by  quick  and  clear  perceptions  of  the 
points  involved  in  a  controversy,  a  mental 
grasp  that  comprehends  all  details  and  a 
capacity  for  reasoning  that  enables  him  to 


arrive  at  correct  conclusions.  In  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  law  to  the  court  he  is  strong, 
clear,  exhaustive  and  forceful.  In  the  argu- 
ment of  facts  to  the  jury  he  also  has  great 
power  and  he  occupies  a  foremost  place  at 
the  bar.  It  is  his  aim  to  be  just,  fair  and 
considerate  of  the  proof  to  such  an  extent 
that  juries  have  great  confidence  in  his  state- 
ments. For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cent- 
ury he  has  been  connected  with  the  most  im- 
portant litigation  of  the  county. 

In  matters  appertaining  to  the  adminis- 
tration and  settlements  of  large  estates,  the 
adjustments  of  conflicting  interests  requiring 
tact  and  diplomacy  as  well  as  legal  knowl- 
edge, Mr.  Greer  is  employed  very  frequent- 
ly. For  many  years  he  has  been  intimately 
connected  with  affairs  of  the  community  de- 
manding enterprise  and  public  spirit.  He 
has  also  given  much  attention  to  business 
and  corpo^ration  matters.  In  1888  he  accept- 
ed the  position  of  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Knox  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance 
Company,  which  is  the  oldest  mutual  com- 
pany in  Ohio.  Its  incorporators  were 
men  of  great  prominence,  high  commer- 
cial standing  and  personal  responsibility, 
the  number  including  the  Hon.  Colum- 
bus Delano,  who  in  his  lifetime  was 
the  peer  of  the  ablest  men  in  the 
state.  This  company,  under  the  careful 
and  wise  management  of  the  secretary,  has 
been  successful  as  a  corporation  and  gained 
wide  popularity  by  its  promptness  in  paying 
losses.  Unusually  liberal  in  the  treatment 
of  its  patrons  by  accepting  a  small  percent- 
age rate  for  insurance,  the  company  has 
paid  losses  aggregating  over  a  million  dol- 
lars. Regarding  it  as  a  foster  child  Mr. 
Greer  has  guarded  and  protected  and  pro- 
moted its  interests  without  in  the  least  neg- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


lecting  his  law  business  or  other  duties.  At 
this  time  the  company  is  one,  if  not  the  very 
strongest,  mutual  insurance  company  in  the 
state,  resting  upon  a  financial  basis  of  en- 
during strength. 

For  the  last  fourteen  years  Mr.  Greer 
has  served  as  a  member  of  the  Columbus 
State  Hospital  board  of  trustees,  receiving 
his  appointment  two  out  of  the  three  times 
from  the  late  lamented  President  William 
McKinley,  who  was  then  governor  of  Ohio, 
and  with  whom  iie  was  intimately  associated. 
In  the  past  six  years  Mr.  Greer  has  been  the 
president  of  the  board  and  during  all  these 
years  large  sums  of  money  have  passed  un- 
der the  management  and  control  of  this 
board  without  the  loss  of  a  single  dollar, 
showing  a  scrupulous  honesty  and  care  of 
the  interests  of  the  state  and  that  of  its  un- 
fortunate wards.  The  estimated  value  of 
his  official  services  is  fairly  inferable  from 
these  circumstances.  He  has  not  been  a 
candidate  for  political  office  and  has  even 
refused  to  stand  for  nomination  for  the  ju- 
dicial office.  He)  had  formidable  and  in- 
fluential support  for  appointment  to  the 
high  and  honorable  position  of  judge  of  the 
United  States  court  of  appeals.  His  name 
was  considered  by  President  Harrison  at  the 
request  of  men  of  great  prominence  in  the 
party  and  the  profession,  both  in  central 
Ohio  and  Cleveland.  Among  those  who 
visited  Washington  and  called  upon  the 
president  in  his  behalf  was  Columbus  Bel- 
ano.  Although  the  candidates  for  the  place 
were  numerous  he  was  second  only  to 
Judge  Taft  in  the  favor  of  the  appointing 
ixiwer,  and  second  to  none  in  qualifications 
and  endorsements.  He  had  always  been 
connected  with  the  Republican  party  and 
has  long  been  a  trusted  advisor  in  its  coun- 


cils. Whatever  he  has  done  to  direct  politi- 
cal policy  or  to  promote  partisan  success 
had  not  its  inspiration  in  self-interest,  but  in 
the  conviction  that  the  policy  of  the  party 
to  which  he  belongs  would  better  conserve 
the  interests  of  the  people.  He  has  been 
absolutely  free  from  political  ambition  in 
a  personal  sense.  A  native  of  the  county 
which  has  been  his  home  during  the  sixty- 
five  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Greer  has  become 
thoroughly  identified  with  the  people  and  the 
welfare  of  the  community.  His  life  has 
been  open  and  more  than  ordinarily  prom- 
inent. He  is  well  known  to  his  fellow  citi- 
zens and  his  reputation  is  safe  in  their  hands. 
He  is  of  good  report  among  them.  If  any 
antagonisms  have  been  aroused  they  are 
only  such  as  a  man  of  force  and  activity  is 
liable  tO'  encounter  in'  the  performance  of 
his  duty.  He  is  a  leader  in  the  affairs  of  the 
municipality  and  is  relied  upon  as  the  friend 
and  champion  of  policies  and  measures  best 
adapted  to  the  wants  oif  a  progressive  com- 
munity. His  daily  life  illustrates  the  spirit 
of  Qiristianity  without  the  badge  of  public 
profession  or  church  membership.  He  is 
charitable,  hospitable,  kind  and  true-hearted. 
He  has  a  secure  place  in  the  confidence  and 
the  affection  of  his  neighbors,  as  well  as- 
an  honorable  position  in  the  profession. 


LEANDER  PI.  LEWIS. 

One  of  the  most  widely  known  and 
popular  citizens  of  Knox  county  is  Leander 
Head  Lewis,  who  is  now  living  a  retired 
life  in  Mount  Vernon.  He  has  been  actively 
and  prominently  connected  with  mercantile 
interests  in  Fredericktown  and  Mount  Ver- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


non,  has  been  honored  with  pubHc  office  and 
now  has  put  aside  business  cares  to  enjoy  a 
well-earned  rest.  The  circle  of  his  friends 
is  almost  coextensive  with  the  circle  of  his 
acquaintances,  and  his  life  history  will  be 
gladly  received  by  many  of  our  readers. 

Mr.  Lewis  is  one  of  Ohio's  native  sons, 
his  birth  having  occurred  in  Huron  county, 
on  the  23d  of  August,  1843.  He  represents 
one  of  the  oldest  families  of  America,  tracing 
his  ancestry  back  to  one  of  five  brothers, 
who  came  from  Wales  in  early  colonial  days. 
One  settled  at  Whitestown,  Long  Island, 
one  at  Pawtucket,  one  at  Puilmore, 
another  at  Exeter,  and  Daniel  became  a 
resident  of  Connecticut.  It  is  from  him 
that  our  subject  is  descended.  Daniel 
Lewis  was  the  father  of  seven  sons 
and  a  number  of  daughters.  His  son,  Enn- 
iel,  settled  in  Westerly  and  had  seven  -hil- 
dren,  namely:  Jasper,  Waitstill,  Poene- 
nagh,  William,  Mary  and  two  whose  names 
are  not  remembered. 

The  line  of  descent  is  brought  on  down 
to  Joseph  Lewis,  wIto  was  born  in  1720 
and  in  1752  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary 
Bliven,  who  was  born  in  1734.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Edward  Bliven,  whose  parents 
were  Edward  and  Freelove  (Baker)  Bliven. 
He  was  a  native  of  Somerset,  England  and 
married  Ereelove  Baker,  whose  father,  Pe- 
ter Baker,  was  a  Baptist  minister.  Their 
son,  Edward  Bliven,  Jr.,  was  married  and 
his  children  were  Joseph,  Edward,  Peter, 
Mabel,  Patience,  John,  Nathan,  Mary  and 
Sarah.  Of  this  number  Mary  Bliven  be- 
came the  wife  of  Joseph  Lewis.  He  died  in 
1799  and  she  survived  until  1813,  when  she, 
too,  passed  away.  Their  children  were  as 
follows:  Freelove,  born  in  1753;  Sylves- 
ter, in   1754;  Wealthy,  in   1755;  Mary,  in 


1757;  Sylvia,  in  1759;  Hannah,  in  1760; 
Joseph,  in  October,  1762;  John,  in  1767; 
Sarah,  in  1770;  Abigail,  in  1772;  and  Elias, 
in  1775. 

Of  this  family  Joseph  Lewis  Jr.,  who 
was  born  in  October,  1762,  was  the  grand- 
father of  our  subject.  He  wedded  Mary 
Gilbert  and  their  children  were  Jasper,  Gil- 
bert, Becky,  Mary,  Elias,  Jonathan,  Charles 
and  James  B.  After  the  death  of  his  first 
wife  the  father  married  Susan  Clark.  James 
B.  Lewis  a  son  of  the  first  marriage,  and  the 
father  of  our  subject,  was  born  September 
10,  1802,  and  after  arriving  at  years  of  ma- 
turity was  married,  on  the  14th  of  July, 
1825,  to  Miss  Louisa  White,  who  died  Sep^ 
teniber  11,  1840.  On  the  24th  of  June, 
1 84 1,  he  was  again  married,  his  second 
union  being  with  Susain  Head,  who  was 
born  June  2,  1812.  Unto  them  were  born 
two  sons.  Leander  Head  and  James  S. 

The  former,  the  subject  of  this  reveiw, 
was  reared  to  manhood  under  the  parental 
roof  and  in  the  public  schools  of  Huron 
county  pursued  his  education  .  When  a 
young  man  of  twenty  years  he  came  to  Knox 
county,  settling  in  Fredericktown,  where 
he  was  employed  as  a  shipping  clerk  in  the 
service  of  C.  R.  Hooker.  After  a  few 
years  he  began  business  on  his  own  account 
as  a  merchant,  dealing  in  dry  goods  and 
clothing.  His  patronage  steadily  increased 
and  he  became  one  of  the  leading  merchants 
of  the  town,  doing  a  large  and  profitable  bus- 
iness until  1888,  when  he  sold  his  entire 
stock,  after  being  appointed  deputy  treas- 
urer of  Knoix  county  under  W.  H.  Ralston. 
In  1889  he  removed  his  family  to  Mount 
Vernon,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home. 
He  served  as  deputy  treasurer  for  four  years 
and  at  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  re- 


A    CEXTEXXIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


sunied  merchandising,  establishing  a  store, 
which  he  stocked  with  groceries,  boots  and 
shoes.  He  was  not  long  in  securing  a  lib- 
eral patronage  and  successfully  carried  on 
the  store  until  April,  1901,  when  he  sold 
out  and  retired  to  private  life.  His  toil, 
capable  management  and  enterprise  in  form- 
er years  brought  to  him  a  handsome  com- 
petence which  now  enables  him  to  rest  from 
his  labors  and  yet  enjoy  many  of  the  com- 
forts and  luxuries  of  life. 

On  the  4th  of  September,  1867,  Mr. 
Lewis  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  M.  Aker, 
a  daughter  of  Bowman  and  Rebecca  (Cas- 
sel)  Aker.  She  was  born  March  8,  1847, 
and  died  on  the  8th  of  April,  1872.  Mr. 
Lewis  has  since  again  married,  his  second 
union  being  with  Mansoneta  (Braddock) 
Durbin.  Her  sister,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Dur- 
bin)  Cattle,  died  July  17,  1890,  while  an- 
other sister,  Mrs.  Olive  Baker,  passed  away 
in  October,  1891.  Her  half  brother.  Pro- 
fessor C.  W.  Durbin,  died  December  25, 
1895,  and  Mrs.  Samantha  (Durbin)  Gran- 
din,  died  February  21,  1890.  Unto  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lewis  were  born  two  children.  The 
son,  George  Durbin  Lewis,  was  born  Jan- 
uary 20,  187S,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Ohio  state  militia.  When  war  was  declared 
against  Spain  he  enlisted  in  Company  L, 
Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  under  Col- 
onel Coyt  and  was  made  first  duty  sergeant. 
After  three  weeks  spent  in  camp  at  Colum- 
bus the  regiment  went  with  General  Miles  to 
Porto  Rico,  where  it  was  stationed  at  the 
time  peace  was  declared.  Mr.  Lewis  then 
returned  with  his  command,  was  honorably 
discharged  and  mustered  out  of  the  ser\-ice 
January  20,  1899.  He  dien  became  em- 
ployed in  the  INIount  Vernon  postoffice, 
where  he  remained   until  August   6,    1901, 


when  he  went  to  Denver,  Colorado, 
where  he  is  now  located.  Iva  Browning, 
the  only  daughter  of  ]\Ir.  and  I\Irs.  Lewis, 
was  born  August  27,  1882.  She  is  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Mount  Vernon  high  school  and 
is  now  taking  a  special  course  as  an  elocu- 
tionist in  the  Northwestern  University,  at 
Evanston,  Illinois. 

The  family  occupy  a  commodious  and  el- 
egant residence  on  North  Main  street.  It 
is  surrounded  by  a  large  and  shady  lawn 
and  is  most  attractive,  being  celebrated  for 
its  gracious  and  pleasing  hospitality.  Mrs. 
Lewis  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  and  politically  he  is  a  strong  Re- 
publican. He  is  one  of  the  best-known  men 
of  the  county  and  his  many  excellencies  of 
character  have  gained  for  him  a  host  of 
warm  friends. 


CHARLES   COOPER. 

The  history  of  a  country  is  chiefly  the 
chronicle  of  the  lives  and  deeds  of  those  who 
have  conferred  honor  and  dignity  upon  so- 
ciety. The  world  judges  the  character  of  a 
community  by  that  of  its  representative  cit- 
izens, and  yields  its  tribute  of  admiration  and 
respect  to  the  genius,  learning  or  virtues  of 
those  whose  works  and  actions  constitute 
the  record  of  a  country's  prosperity  and 
pride;  and  it  is  in  their  character,  as  exem- 
plified in  probity  and  benevolence,  kindly 
virtues  and  integrity  in  the  affairs  of  life, 
are  ever  affording  worthy  examples  for  em- 
ulation and  valuable  lessons  of  incentive. 

To  a  student  of  biography  there  is  noth- 
ing more  interesting  than  to  examine  the 
life  history  of  a  self-made  man  to  detect  the 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


elements  of  character  which  have  enabled 
him  to  pass  on  the  highway  of  life  many  of 
the  companions  of  his  youth  who  at  the  out- 
set of  their  careers  were  more  advantageous- 
ly equipped  or  endowed.  The  subject  of 
this  review  through  his  own  exertions  at- 
tained an  honorable  position  and  marked 
prestige  among  the  representative  men  of 
his  state,  and  with  signal  consistency  it  may 
be  said  that  he  was  the  architect  of  his  own 
fortunes,  having  builded  wisely  and  well. 

Charles  Cooper,  who  during  his  life 
time  as  a  resident  of  Mount  Vernon  and 
was  the  founder  of  the  C.  &  G.  Cooper  En- 
gine Works,  was  born  in  Clinton  township, 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  on  the  2d  of  January, 
iSii.  He  was  a  son  of  Cary  and  Elizabeth 
(Ruple)  Cooper.  The  father,  born  in  Mor- 
ris county.  New  Jersey,  on  the  29th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1 78 1,  came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  in 
1806,  and  here  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  passing  away  in  1831.  His  wife,  also  a 
native  of  New  Jersey,  born  in  March,  1784, 
passed  away  in  death  in  this  county  in  1868, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  Their  mar- 
riage was  celebrated  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1803,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  six  sons  and  three  daughters. 
Their  son,  Charles,  was  reared  to  manhood 
on  the  home  farm,  and  about  1831  he  re- 
moved tO'  Zanesville,  Ohio,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  coal  mining  on  a  moderate  scale 
for  two  and  a  half  years.  Business,  how- 
ever, did  not  prosper  to  the  extent  desired 
by  our  subject,  and  one  day,  in  a  discouraged 
condition,  he  threw  himself  upon  the  grass 
and  while  engaged  in  thought  observed  the 
smoke  issuing  from  a  cupola. of  an  old-time 
Zanesville  foundry.  The  thought  at  once 
flashed  through  his  mind  that  he  would  es- 
tablish   a  foundry    in  !Mount    Vernon    and. 


springing  to  his  feet,  resolved  to  make  this 
inspiration  a  reality.  A  rapid  and  firm  de- 
cision and  instantianeous  and  effective  action 
were  the  qualities  most  uppermost  in  Mr. 
Cooper's  business  character,  and  these  won 
for  him  his  remarkable  success.-  In  1833 
he  and  his  brother,  Elias,  erected  their 
foundry  and  began  the  manufacture  of 
plows,  hallO'W-ware  and  such  castings  as 
were  demanded  in  Mount  Vernon  and  the 
surrounding  country.  This  enterprise  grew 
rapidly,  and  Mr.  Cooper  delighted  to  relate 
to  his  family  and  intimate  friends  the  cir- 
cumstances which  led  to  the  establishment  of 
this  successful  concern.  On  one  other  oc- 
casion was  he  similarly  influenced  by  some 
unforseen  force.  Bowed  down  and  dis- 
heartened by  business  losses  during  the  panic 
of  1857,  while  crossing  the  Mount  Vernon 
square  he  experienced  a  renewel  of  determin- 
ation and  strength  in  answer  to  a  prayer, 
and  this  prepared  him  lo  successfully  weath- 
er the  financial  storm  which  was  so  keenly 
felt  throughout   the   country. 

In  1840  the  firm  began  the  manufacture 
of  threshing  machines,  this  proving  a  profit- 
able addition  to  their  already  extensive  bus- 
iness. Elias  Cooper  died  in  1848,  and  in 
the  following  year  T.  L.  Qark  purchased  a 
third  interest  in  the  plant,  business  being 
then  conducted  under  the  firm,  name  of  Coo- 
per &  Clark  until  1850,  when  John  Cooper, 
a  brother  of  our  subject,  also  purchased  a 
third  interest,  the  firm  being  then  known  as 
Coopers  &  Clark.  In  1853  Mr.  Clark  re- 
tired, the  business  style  then  becoming  C. 
&  J.  Cooper.  In  January,  1868,  F.  L.  Fair- 
child  purchased  an  interest  and  the  business 
was  then  conducted  under  the  firm  name  of 
C.  &  J.  Cooper  &  Co.  In  January,  1869,  the 
works  of  C.  &  J.  Cooper  &  Co.  and  Coopers 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


&  Rogers  were  consolidated  and  C.  G.  Coop- 
er, a  son  of  Elias  Cooper,  and  Colonel 
George  Rogers  were  admitted  to  the  partner- 
ship, the  business  continuing  under  the  firm 
name  of  C.  &  J.  Cooper  &  Co.  In  November, 
1869,  John  Cooper  retired,  and  the  business 
was  thereafter  conducted  under  the  firm, 
name  of  C.  &  G.  Cooper  &  Co.  In  188 1  Col- 
onel George  Rogers  retired  from  the  busi- 
ness and  D.  B.  Kirk  and  C.  F.  Cooper,  a  son 
of  Charles  Cooper,  became  interested  in  the 
business.  Colonel  George  Rogers'  business 
career  was  ended  in  death  in  1882. 

In  1853  C.  &  J.  Cooper  built  one  of  the 
first  locomotives  constructed  west  of  the 
Allegheny  Mountains,  which  was  used  on 
the  Ohio  Central  Railroad  for  many  years. 
They  constructed  a  number  of  locomotives, 
but  the  original  plant  has  been  lost  in  the 
rapid  growth  and  development  of  this  im- 
portant concern.  The  plant  now  covers  an 
area  of  several  acres.  For  a  number  of  years 
the  company  have  confined  their  efforts  to 
the  manufacture  of  Corliss  engines,  and  in 
this  line  they  have  established  a  reputation 
second  to  none  in  the  United  States,  their 
products  being  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the 
world. 

In  1895  the  business  was  incorporated 
under  the  name  and  style  of  The  C.  &  G. 
Cooper  Company,  and  the  following  officers 
elected :  Charles  Cooper,  chairman  of  the 
board  of  directors,  which  position  he  held 
until  the  time  of  his  death;  F.  L.  Fairchild, 
president  oi  the  company ;  C.  G.  Cooper,  sec- 
retary; D.  B.  Kirk,  treasurer.  The  same 
officers  have  continued  up  to  the  present 
time. 

Charles  Cooper  had  a  remarkable  record, 
and  from  the  study  of  his  life  history  one 
may  learn  valuable  lessons.     It  illustrates 


in  no  uncertain  manner  what  is  possible  to 
accomplish  when  perseverance  and  deter- 
mination form  the  keynote  to  a  man's  life. 
Depending  upon  his  own  resources  he  arose 
from  comparative  obscurity  to  a  place  of 
prominence  in  the  business  and  social  world, 
and  the  town  of  Mount  Vernon  owes  much 
to  him  on  account  of  his  connection  with 
her  business  interests. 

In  politics  Mr.  Cooper  was  a  Whig,  with 
strong  anti-slavery  sentiments,  and  he  as- 
sisted many  a  slave  to  continue  his  march 
toward  freedom,  the  colored  population  of 
Mount  Vernon  always  finding  in  him  a 
friend.  In  1856,  on  the  formation  of  the 
Republican  party,  he  joined  its  ranks,  and 
in  1868  he  was  the  Republican  candidate 
for  congress.  He  was  also  a  friend  to  the 
poor  and  needy,  but  his  gifts  were  without 
ostentation.  Oberlin,  Kenyon  and  other  ed- 
ucational institutions  were  the  recipients  of 
his  generous  gifts,  and  he  was  always 
greatly  interested  in  local  charities,  the  Chil- 
dren's Home  having  been  an  object  of 
special  interest  to  him  and  of  which  he  was 
the  founder  and  constant  benefactor.  He 
was  for  several  years  and  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death  the  president  of  the  Knox  National 
Bank,  of  Mount  Vernon,  president  of  the 
Mount  Vernon  Gas  Company,  and  was  also 
president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Mound 
View  cemetery.  The  public  library  also  re- 
ceived his  financial  support.  In  his  relig- 
ious views  he  was  a  worthy  and  zealous 
member  of  the  Congregational  church,  the 
cause  of  Christianity  ever  finding  in  him  a 
warm  friend  and  active  worker. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  1833,  Mr.  Cooper 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Almeda,  a 
daughter  of  John  Murphy,  but  after  a  few 
years  of  happy  married  life  the  wife  was 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


called  to  the  home  beyond,  leaving  one  child, 
who  is  now  the  wife  of  A.  F.  Seeberger,  of 
Chicago,  Illinois.  On  the  loth  of  March, 
184G,  Mr.  Cooper  was  a  second  time  mar- 
ried. Miss  Isabel  Weaver  becoming  his  wife. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Mary  (Rog- 
ers) Weaver,  of  Mount  Vernon,  but  form- 
erly of  Connellsville,  Pennsylvania.  Unto 
this  union  were  born  the  following  children : 
Alice,  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  J.  W.  Stamp, 
of  Mount  Vernon,  and  they  had  two  chil- 
dren, Charles  Marcus  and  Jane;  Mae,  who 
married  Desault  B.  Kirk,  of  Mount  Vernon, 
whose  history  also  appears  in  this  work,  and 
her  death  occurred  on  the  30th  of  March, 
1887;  Adel,  who  married  X.  L.  Otis,  a  son 
of  Judge  L.  B.  Otis,  of  Chicago,  but  form- 
erly of  Fremont,  Ohio,  and  they  have  one 
daughter,  Louise;  Cora,  who  married  Gen- 
eral C.  C.  Howell,  of  Knoxville,  Tennessee, 
but  formerly  of  Colorado,  and  they  have 
two  children,  Helen  C.  and  Cornelia  C. 
Charles  F.,  the  only  son  of  the  family,  was 
born  in  Mount  Vernon,  in  1858,  and  his 
death  occurred  on  the  ist  of  September, 
1894,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six  years.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  in  Oberlin  College,  and 
after  completing  his  studies  he  became  a. 
member  of  the  C.  &  G.  Cooper  Company. 
Outside  of  his  business  interests  his  chief 
pleasure  was  found  in  travel  and  study,  and 
he  thus  became  a  well  informed  man.  His 
friends  were  many  and  on  the  list  were  num- 
bered many  of  the  representative  men  of  the 
locality.  His  death  was  the  cause  of  wide- 
spread regret,  while  the  community  mourned 
the  loss  of  one  of  its  truest  and  best  citi- 
zens. He  married  Miss  Amelia  Sturges,  of 
Mount  Vernon,  a  daughter  of  F.  D.  Sturges, 
president  of  the  First  National  Bank,  of  this 


city.  Their  union  was  blessed  with  the  fol- 
lowing children :  Charles,  who  was  named 
in  honor  of  his  father  and  grandfather ;  Isa- 
bel, Ethel,  James  Sturges  and  Eunice. 

Charles  Cooper's  life's  labors  were  ended 
in  death  on  the  7th  of  February,  1901,  pass- 
ing away  at  his  home  on  West  Sugar  street, 
having  reached  the  ninety-first  milestone  on 
the  journey  of  life.  His  path  was  ever  up- 
ward both  in  a  spiritual  and  temporal  sense. 
As  this  review  shows  he  was  distinctively  a 
self-made  man — one  of  nature's  noblemen 
whom  no  force  of  circumstances  could  pros- 
trate or  draw  into  obscurity.  He  indeed  de- 
serves mention  among  Ohio's  representative 
citizens,  and  should  find  a  place  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  men  of  business  and  enterprise 
whose  force  of  character,  sterling  integrity, 
control  of  circumstances  and  whose  marked 
success  in  establishing  great  industries  have 
contributed  in  such  an  eminent  degree  to  the 
solidity  and  progress  of  the  entire  country. 
His  life  was  manly,  his  actions  sincere,  his 
manner  unaffected  and  his  example  is  well 
worthy  of  emulation.  On  the  occasion  of 
Mr.  Cooper's  death  one  of  the  Mount  Ver- 
non papers  truthfully  said  of  him:  "Death 
ends  the  labors  of  man.  The  passing  of  Mr. 
Cooper  from  the  scenes  of  his  earthly  activ- 
ities and  usefulness  is  sincerely  mourned  by 
all  who  have  had  the  honor  of  a  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  Mount  Vemon's  'grand  old 
man,'  or  whoi  have  appreciated  the  extent 
and  unostentatiousness  of  his  benefactions  to 
the  community  and  to  individuals.  Nor  will 
the  magnificent  engine  works,  which  he  de- 
veloped through  sixty-seven  years  from  an 
insignificant  shop  be  his  most  enduring 
monument,  but  in  each  heart  that  has  felt  his 
benevolent  influence  will  be  reared  a  ceno- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


taph  that  shall  endure  forever.  His  career 
was  intensely  human,  and  an  the  book  of  life 
his  name  is  enrolled  as  one  who  loved  his 
fellow  men.    May  he  rest  in  peace." 


HENRY  B.  CURTIS. 

It  was  in  1885  that  Henry  B.  Curtis 
passed  from  this  life — full  of  years  and  of 
honors,  but  the  result  and  influence  of  his 
life  work  still  ling'ers.  There  has  been  no 
resident  of  Mount  Vernon  who  has  taken  a 
more  active  or  helpful  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare and  progress  of  the  city  and  for  years 
he  was  numbered  among-  its  distinguished 
lawyers  and  capitalists.  He  was  born  near 
the  village  of  Champlain,  New  York,  No- 
vember 28,  1799,  a  son  of  Zarah  and  Phal- 
ley  (Yale)  Curtis.  The  former  was  born 
in  Litchfield  county,  Connecticut,  in  1762, 
and  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  loyally  fighting  for  independence.  His 
wife  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  Aaron  and 
Anna  (Hosmer)  Yale  and  was  born  in 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  in  1762.  They  were 
married  in  1785  and  removed  to  Charlotte, 
Vermoint,  where  some  of  their  daughters 
were  born,  while  Hosmer  Curtis,  an  older 
brother  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Litch- 
field, Connecticut.  His  death  occurred  in 
Keokuk,  Iowa,  in  1874,  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eig'hty-five  years.  From  Charlotte,  Ver- 
mont, the  family  removed  to  a  farm  on  the 
west  side  of  Lake  Champlain,  near  the  vil- 
lage of  that  name,  where  they  resided  until 
1809.  when  they  went  to  Newark,  Licking 
county,  Ohio.  A  few  years  later  the  father 
purchased  a  farm  at  the  South  fork  of  the 
Licking  river,  where  the  family  were  living 


when  Henry  Barnes  Curtis  started  out  in 
life  on  his  own  account.  That  property  was 
afterward  sold  and  another  farm  purchased, 
on  which  the  father  died  in  1849,  i'^  ^^""^ 
eighty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  beloved  and 
respected  as  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church. 

'Henry  B.  Curtis  was  a  lad  of  only  nine 
years  when  he  came  to  Ohio.  At  that  time 
Newark  was  a  village  of  but  fifty  or  sixty 
rude  houses,  mostly  log  cabins.  The  oppor- 
tunities for  a  thorough  education  were  some- 
what limited,  yet  the  private  schools  of  Ros- 
well  Mills  and  Amos  H.  Coffee  gave  to  the 
diligent  and  faithful  students  facilities  for 
an  education,  not  only  in  the  common  school 
studies,  but  also  in  the  higher  English 
branches.  Under  these  faithful  teachers  and 
some  private  instructors  in  a  partial  classical 
course  Mr.  Curtis,  by  hard  study,  gained  a 
liberal  education.  During  the  whole  period 
he  assisted  his  father  in  the  farm  work  and 
even  after  leaving  home  he  continued  to  pay 
his  parents  all  his  wages  except  what  was 
necessary  for  his  expenses  until  he  was  twen- 
ty years  of  age.  When  a  youth  of  seven- 
teen he  left  the  farm  and  came  to  Mount 
Vernon,  where  his  brother,  Hosmer,  was 
then  practicing  law.  With  his  assistance  he 
obtained  a  position  in  the  clerks  office,  where 
his  assiduity  and  ready  skill  soon  secured 
him  the  appointment  of  deputy  clerk.  Tims 
he  became  acquainted  with  the  distinguished 
lawyers  of  that  day  and  won  their  friendship. 
Familiarized  with  courts  and  legal  forms 
of  proceedings  in  this  way,  he  was  naturally 
directed  to  the  law  as  a  life  work.  In  the 
fall  of  1820  he  became  a  law  student  in  his 
brother's  office  and  on  the  9th  of  December, 
1822,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  kindly  estimation 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


in  which  he  was  held  by  the  judges  of  the 
court,  after  he  had  retired  from  the  deputy 
clerkship  and  while  yet  a  student,  the  four 
judges  on  the  bench  appointed  him  recorder 
of  the  county,  a  position  which  he  filled  for 
seven  years.  This  advancement  in  the  out- 
set of  life  was  a  material  aid  to  him.  It 
gave  him  position  and  with  the  g'eneral  ac- 
quaintance he  had  previously  secured,  his 
familiarity  with  the  forms  of  legal  proceed- 
ings, a  well-read  knowledge  of  the  law  and  a 
diligent  application  to  the  study  of  his  cases 
and  preparation  of  his  briefs,  he  soon  fell 
into  a  large  and  profitable  practice.  When 
he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  the  law  there 
were  but  two  other  resident  lawyers  in  the 
county,  but  others  soon  came — men  of  abil- 
ity and  prominence — and  it  was  the  capable 
lawyer  that  held  a  foremost  position  at  the 
bar,  as  did  Mr.  Curtis.  In  the  earlier  years 
of  his  practice  his  professional  circuit  em- 
braced besides  Knox  the  counties  of  Licking, 
Richlamd,  Delaware  and  Coshocton,  with 
frequent  extension  in  special  cases  to  more 
remote  courts.  On  the  9th  of  January, 
1863,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the 
United  States  supreme  court  in  Washington 
and  at  different  times  his  practice  took  him 
to  this  court  as  well  as  to  the  supreme  court 
of  the  state  and  the  United  States  circuit 
and  district  courts.  In  December,  1872, 
he  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his 
admission  to  the  bar  by  giving  a  supper  at 
his  residence,  "Round  Hill,"  to  the  resident 
members  of  the  profession  and  many  old 
time  friends.  He  announced  on  that  occa- 
sion that  he  would  decline  all  new  retainers 
thereafter,  and  leave  the  field  to  his  younger 
brethren  and  thenceforward  he  would  try  to 
give  better  attention  to  his  private  business. 
Mr.  Curtis  never  deserted  his  profession  to 


seek  political  preferment.  In  view  of  the 
success  that  crowned  his  career  it  is  evident 
that  in  the  choice  of  his  profession  he  acted 
wisely. 

On  the  2d  of  July,  1823,  Mr.  Curtis  mar- 
ried Miss  Elizabeth  Hogg,  daughter  of  Per- 
cival  and  Elizabeth  Hogg,  of  Monnt  Pleas- 
ant, Jefiferson  county,  Ohio<.  Her  family 
had  but  recently  arrived  in  this  country  from 
Durham,  England,  w-here  she  was  born^ 
June  22,  1863.  She  died  in  Mount  Vernon 
July  17,  1878.  They  had  six  daughters  and 
two  sons,  but  only  one  is  living,  Ella,  the 
wife  of  Joseph  C.  Devin,  a  lawyer  of  Mount 
Vernon,  who  at  one  time  was  state  senator 
from  Knox  county. 

In  politics  a  Republican,  Mr.  Curtis  was 
present  and  took  part  in  the  convention  in 
which  the  party  was  organized  in  Ohio.  Al- 
though he  believed  firmly  in  the  principles  of 
the  party  and  always  voted  therefor  he 
would  never  become  a  candidate  for  office, 
save  in  1840,  when  he  accepted  the  Whig 
nomination  for  congress  and  succeeded  in 
reducing  his  opponent's  previous  majority 
by  overdone  thousand.  Although  he  desired 
not  political  office  he  was  honored  with  many 
public  trusts.  He  represented  Knox  county 
in  the  state  board  of  equalization  in  the  win- 
ter of  1840-41,  a  body  legislative  in  form 
of  organization  and  in  which  many  vital  and 
important  question  in  regard  to  the  material 
interests  of  the  state  were  discussed  and  set- 
tled. For  twelve  years  preceding  the  disso- 
lution of  the  board  he  held  the  office  of  trus- 
tee of  the  Central  Lunatic  Asylum.  At  the 
time  of  the  transfer  of  its  powers  to  three 
commissioners  of  the  building,  and  for  soine 
time  previous,  he  was  acting  president  of  the 
board.  This  trust  involved  the  care  of  over 
five  hundred  insane,  the  administration  and 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


general  government  of  its  affairs,  and  after 
the  burning  of  the  old  buildings  the  carrj'- 
ing  forward  the  construction  of  the  immense 
new  edifice  for  the  institution. 

About  the  summer  of  1823  Bishop 
Chase  first  visited  Mount  Vernon  with  a 
view  of  finding  a  suitable  location  for  a  pro- 
posed institution,  now  known  as  Kenyon 
■College.  Tlirough  the  influence  of  Mr.  Cur- 
tis, a  tract  of  about  eight  thousand  acres 
was  purchased.  He  gave  all  the  aid  he 
•could  toward  b'lilding  up  and  advancing 
the  interests  of  the  school,  and  in  1881  he 
received  from  the  institution  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws.  He  served  for  a  long 
period  as  a  member  of  its  board  of  trustees 
and  in  1881  he  made  it  a  munificent  dona- 
tion, by  the  terms  of  which  he  established 
and  endowed  a  perpetual  and  growing  fund 
for  free  scholarships,  and  tO'  aid,  when 
needed,  deserving  students. 

When  Mr.  Curtis  became  a  member  of 
the  bar  the  court  docket  was  full  of  cases 
against  the  Owl  Creek  Bank,  of  Mount  Ver- 
non, or  rather  against  its  members,  for  it 
had  no  corporate  existence.  The  subject 
was  finally  referred,  after  many  judgments 
had  been  rendered  and  bills  filed,  to  a  special 
commissioner  and  receiver,  to  which  honora- 
ble position  Mr.  Curtis  was  appointed  by  the 
supreme  court.  After  years  of  investigation 
and  arduous  labor  the  intricate  affairs  of 
the  bank  were  brought  to  a  satisfactory  con- 
clusion. Every  dollar  of  outstanding  lia- 
bihty  was  paid  and  the  losses  adjusted  and 
equalized  among  the  several  members  of  the 
unfortunate  association.  Ion  acknowledged 
principles  of  equity  and  justice.  Mr.  Cur- 
tis' proceedings  and  their  results  were  fully 
approved  and  confirmed  by  the  court,  with 
flattering  commendations.     In  1848  he  or- 


ganized and  established  the  Knox  County 
Bank,  of  Mount  Vernon,  a  branch  of  the 
State  Bank  of  Ohio,  its  capital  stock  being 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  He  was  its 
president  during  its  existence,  nearly  twenty 
years,  and  for  about  the  same  period  was  an 
active  member  of  the  state  board  of  control. 
In  1865  he  organized  the  Knox  County  Na- 
tional Bank,  of  Mount  Vernon,  capitalized 
for  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
and  continued  as  its  president  until  his  death. 

During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Curtis  was  ac- 
tive in  raising  volunteers  and  assisting  in 
forming  companies  and  regiments  that  were 
organized  in  the  county.  He  gave  pecuni- 
ary aid  freely  as  well  as  his  personal  influ- 
ence, and  often  presided  at  the  public  meet- 
ings called  forth  by  the  various  successes  or 
disasters  of  the  Union  forces.  Holding  at  the 
period  of  the  war  the  appointment  of  United 
States  commissioner  for  the  northern  dis- 
trict of  Ohio,  his  judicial  services  were  often 
required  in  disposing  of  cases  connected 
with  the  military  movements  and  restraining 
the  outbreaks  of  those  who,  sympathizing 
with  the  south,  would  sometimes  venture  to 
obstruct  the  operations  of  the  laws  for  rais- 
ing and  organizing  troops  for  the  public 
service. 

Mr.  Curtis  was  acti\-e  in  every  enterprise 
for  the  improvement  of  Knox  county  and  es- 
pecially of  Mount  Vernon.  He  drew  up  its 
charter,  secured  its  passage  through  the  leg- 
islature and  filled  its  various  municipal  of- 
fices, including  those  of  councilman  and 
mayor.  His  taste  and  study  of  architecture 
enabled  him  to  give  shape  to  many  oi  the 
public  buildings,  and  especially  to  two  suc- 
cessive court  houses,  and  to  encourage  a  more 
tasteful  style  of  private  residences.  Dur- 
ing his  life  he  constructed  many  new  houses. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


now  among  the  most  ornamental  and  pleas- 
ant residences  of  the  city.  He  was  active 
in  forwarding  every  railroad  enterprise  of 
his  city  and  was  a  director  of  the  first  rail- 
road that  entered  the  city.  He  was  a  direc- 
tor in  the  Lake  Erie  division  of  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio  Railroad  at  the  time  of  his 
death. 

In  the  spring  of  1873  he  was  appointed 
by  President  Grant  a  member  of  the  board 
of  visitors  at  West  Point.  The  board  held 
daily  sessions  from  the  28th  of  May  until 
the  1 2th  of  June.  While  in  this  service  Mr. 
Curtis  learned  that  some  eighty  children  of 
professors,  Oifficers  and  employes  at  West 
Point  were  destitute  of  the  usual  means  o-f 
common  school  education,  except  as  a  few 
had  the  advantage  of  private  instruction. 
Being  on  a  military  reserve  the  jurisdiction 
of  which  belonged  to  the  United  States,  it 
was  held  that  the  residents  were  not  included 
within  the  provisions  for  the  benefits  of  the 
common  school  system  of  the  state.  He 
therefore  introduced  and  advocated  a  reso- 
lution in  the  board  recommending  congress 
to  make  provision  for  this  want  by  a  suitable 
appropriation  for  maintaining  at  the  Point 
a  common  school  for  the  benefit  o-f  the  chil- 
dren. The  resolution  was  unanimously 
adopted  and  incorporated  in  the  report. 

Mr.  Curtis  was  a  man  of  pronounced 
views,  possessed  of  social  and  genial  quali- 
ties and  ever  accessible  to  the  poorest  mem- 
ber of  the  community.  His  beautiful  home, 
Round  Hill,  was  the  seat  of  elegant  refine- 
ment and  hospitality.  The  habit  of  self- 
control  and  the  genial  disposition  which  he 
ever  cultivated  made  his  life  a  serene  and 
happy  one.  Naturally  of  quick  and  warm 
impulses,  he  has  clearly  demonstrated  that 
"he  who  governs  himself  is  better  than  he 


who  takes  a  city."  He  reached  the  age  of 
eighty-five,  a  venerable  man,  honored  and 
respected,  for  his  had  been  an  unblemished 
character. 


W.  ROSCOE  AND  CLARENA  BLAIR.. 

W.  Roscoe  Blair  and  his  sister,  Clar- 
ena,  occupy  one  of  the  fine  country  resi- 
dences of  Middlebury  township.  It  is 
a  very  attractive  residence,  standing  in 
the  midst  of  an  excellent  farm  and  the 
interior  indicates  the  skill  and  systematic 
neatness  of  the  sister,  while  the  fields 
of  waving  grain  tell  to  the  passer  by  the 
story  of  the  brother's  thrift  and  capabilities 
as  a  farmer. 

Mr.  Blair  was  born  on  the  farm  where 
he  now  lives  August  29,  1858.  The  family 
is  of  Scotch  lineage  and  was  founded  in 
America  at  an  early  day.  The  grandfather, 
William  Blair,  Sr.,  was  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  became  one  of  the  earliest  settlers, 
of  Morrow  county,  his  eldest  son,  John,  be- 
ing the  first  white  child  born  in  or  near  Wat- 
erford.  Morrow  county.  His  wife,  Mary,, 
was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  wilderness  of  the  west  they  estab- 
lished a  good  home  and  reared  their  family. 
William  Blair,  Jr.,  the  father  of  our  subject,, 
was  born  and  reared  in  Morrow  county  and 
after  arriving  at  years  of  maturity  married 
Miss  Sarah  Stackhouse,  a  native  of  the 
Keystone  state,  where  heir  girlhood  days 
were  passed.  Her  father,  Benjamin,  was 
also  born  there.  Aboiit  1857  William  and 
Sarah  Blair  came  to  Knox  county,  locating 
on  the  farm  where  their  son  and  daughter 
now  reside,  and  there  the  father  died  in 
1883,  when  sixty-six  years  of  age,  his  birth 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


having  occurred  in  1817.  His  wife,  who 
was  born  in  1820,  passed  away  in  1893. 
They  were  consistent  members  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  and  took  an  active  part  in  its 
work,  while  in  his  pohtical  affiliations  Mr. 
Blair  was  a  Republican.  Their  many  sterl- 
ing traits  of  character  won  for  them  the 
warm  regard  of  friends  and  neighbors.  They 
had  five  children,  four  sons  and  a  daughter, 
but  two  of  the  sons  died  in  infancy.  W. 
Roscoe  is  the  youngest  of  the  family.  Orrin 
Blair,  the  surviving  brother,  is  a  mechanic 
in  Chicago,  Illinois. 

W.  Roscoe  Blair  resides  with  his  sister, 
Clarena,  upon  the  old  family  homestead, 
where  they  were  reared  and  in  the  schools 
of  the  neighborhood  they  were  educated,  the 
brother  also  pursuing  his  studies  for  a 
time  in  Butler  University,  at  Irvington,  a 
suburb  of  Indianapolis,  and  to  some  extent 
engaged  in  teaching  school.  He  has  since 
since  been  engaged  in  general  farming,  cul- 
tivating twoi  valuable  tracts  of  land,  the  old 
homestead  of  one,  hundred  and  thirty  acres 
in  Aliddlebury  township  and  a  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Franklin  town- 
ship. Morrow  county,  which  was  the  family 
home  when  the  Blairs  resided  in  the  latter 
county.  Each  of  the  farms  have  a  valuable 
sugar  maple  orchard,  from  which  Mr.  Blair 
annually  produces  several  hundred  pounds  of 
the  choicest  grade  of  syrup  and  cake 
sugar.  His  farming  is  of  a  general  char- 
acter, though  special  attention  is  given 
to  the  growing  and  feeding  of  stock, 
of  which  he  keeps  a  full  supply  of 
high  grade  animals.  He  is  energetic,  prac- 
tical and  progressive  in  his  fanning  meth- 
ods and  his  labors  bring  to  him  handsome 
returns.  In  1892  he  erected  a  modern  res- 
idence at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  dollars.    It 


is  one  of  the  most  attractive  homes  of  this 
part  of  the  county  and  is  tastefully  furnished 
and  \\ell-impro'ved  with  modern  conveni- 
ences, J\Ir.  Blair  is  unswendng  in  his  advo- 
cacy of  its  principles  of  the  Republican  party 
but  does  not  seek  office,  preferring  to  gi\-e 
his  undivided  attention  to  his  farm.  Both 
are  active  and  influential  members  of  the 
Christian  church  and  for  years  both  have 
taught  classes  in  the  Sunday-school.  Ever 
living  in  closest  filial  relation,  neither  has 
yielded  to  the  attentions  of  others,  being 
content  to  retain  the  unadulterated  respect  of 
a  wide  circle  of  stanch  friends,  than  whom 
no  citizens  have  more. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  COVER. 

On  a  fine  farm  of  two  hundred  and  fif- 
teen acres  in  Middlebury  township,  William 
H.  Cover  resides.  He  is  accounted  one  of 
the  leading  agriculturists  of  Knox  county 
and  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  was  exten- 
sively and  successfully  engaged  in  stock 
raising,  feeding  and  shipping.  He  was  born 
in  Perry  township,  Richland  county.  Janu- 
ary 15,  1841,  and  is  of  German  lineage,  the 
family  having  been  founded  in  America  by 
two  brothers  John  and  Jacob  Cover.  The 
latter  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  while  the 
former,  who  was  the  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  took  up  his  abode  in  Frederick  coun- 
ty, Maryland. 

It  was  there  that  Daniel  Cover,  the  father 
of  our  subject,  was  born,  on  the  15th  of 
January,  1802.  He  grew  to  manhood  there 
and  there  wedded  Miss  Lydia  Stephenson, 
also  a  native  of  Frederick  county,  and  of 
English  parentage,   who,   upon  coming  to 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


23 


America,  settled  in  IMaryland.  Her  father 
was  a  slaveholder,  but  at  death  liberated  all 
of  his  slaves.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were 
members  of  the  Methodist  church.  Airs. 
Cover  was  educated  in  a  Catholic  convent, 
where  she  acquired  a  superior  education,  and 
was  a  lady  of  culture  and  vmusual  intelli- 
gence. About  1820  Rev.  Daniel  Cover 
brought  his  family  to  Ohio,  which  was 
then  just  emerging  from  conditions  of 
a  wilderness  of  streams  and  forest.  He 
secured  land  in  Perry  township,  Rich- 
land county,  where  he  engaged  in  farming 
throughout  his  remaining  days,  his  death 
occurring  when  he  was  fifty-five  years 
of  age.  He  was  a  minister  of  the  United 
Brethren  church  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
arduous  duties  of  the  farm  found  time 
to  devote  to  the  cause  of  the  church,  preach- 
ing in-  log  school  houses  and  churches 
throughout  northwest  Ohio,  thus  spreading 
the  gospel  among  the  pioneer  settlers.  His 
influence  was  widely  felt,  the  world  being 
made  better  by  his  having  lived.  His  wife, 
a  most  estimable  lady,  long  survived  her  hus- 
band, dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-two.  Of 
their  ten  children,  all  were  married  and  five 
are  still  living,  namely:  Upton  A.,  of  Fred- 
ericktown;  William  H. ;  John  W. ;  Perry  D., 
of  Riverside,  California;  and  Mary,  the  wife 
of  George  Biddle,  of  Morrow  county,  Ohio'. 
Those  who  have  passed  away  are :  Jason  J., 
who  was  a  merchant  of  Johnsville,  Ohio; 
Josiah,  who  had  extensive  vineyards  in  Cal- 
ifornia, but  lived  retired  in  his  later  years; 
Thomas  W.,  who  was  a  prosperous,  popular 
and  widely-known  citizen  of  California  and 
who  was  probably  lost  in  the  great  American 
desert  in  that  state;  Martha  and  Eliza  Jane. 
Like  the  other  members  of  the  family 
William  H.  Cover  was  reared  upon  his  fa- 


ther's farm  of  eighty  acres  in  Perry  town- 
ship, Richland  county,  Ohio,  early  became 
familiar  with  the  work  of  the  fields;  and  be- 
tween the  ages  of  fifteen  and  twenty-five 
3ears  managed  the  farm  and  its  cultivation. 
During  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  in  Company 
B,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-third  Ohio  In- 
fantry, and  served  four  months. 

On  the  28th  of  December,  1S65,  Mr. 
Cover  was  united  in  marriage  toi  Miss  Mary 
E.  Coursen,  who  was  born  in  Jefferson 
township,  Richland  county,  and  was  the  only 
daughter  O'f  William  and  Matilda  (Walters) 
Coursen.  Her  father  was  born  in  Genesee 
county,  New  York,  and  became  a  prominent 
pioneer  farmer  and  stock  dealer  of  Richland 
county,  Ohio.  He  went  to  that  county  when 
fourteen  years  of  age  and  located  on  Clear 
Fork,  in  Jefferson  township,  where  he  won 
a  place  among  the  leading  and  influential 
citizens  of  the  community.  He  died  in 
1897,  ^t  the  age  of  eighty-two  years,  and 
his  wife  passed  away  in  March,  1901,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-three.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  two  sons,  and  Mrs.  Cover  was  their 
only  daughter. 

For  two  years  after  his  marriage  Mr. 
Cover  remained  in  Richland  county  and  in 
1867  came  to  Knox  county,  settling  on  the 
farm  where  he  now  lives.  He  made  most 
of  the  improvements  upon  the  place  and  was 
the  first  man  to  engage  in  breeding  and  deal- 
ing in  draft  horses  and  sheep,  a  business  in 
which  he  has  retained  an  interest  to  the 
present,  upward  of  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
His  farm  contains  two  hundred  and  fifteen 
acres  of  valuable  land,  and  he  owns  also  a 
tract  of  sixty  acres  in  Richland  county  and 
is  interested  financially  in  a  farm  in  Mor- 
row county. 

In  1 90 1  Mr.  Cover  was  called  upon  to 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


mourn  the  loss  of  his  wife,  who  died  on  the 
30th  of  April  of  that  year.  They  were  then 
living  in  Bellville,  whither  they  had  gone 
that  she  might  care  for  her  aged  mother, 
who  passed  away  on  the  30th  of  March, 
1901,  only  a  month  before  her  daughter's 
death.  Mrs.  Cover  was  a  most  devoted  wife 
and  was  a  faithful  working  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  taking  an  ac- 
tive interest  in  its  various  departments. 
Her  youth  was  passed  in  luxury',  her  father 
having  been  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  of 
his  community.  She  took  a  keen  interest 
in  all  business  in  which  her  husband  en- 
gaged, her  practical  common  sense  being  a 
desirable  balance  wheel  to  his  more  venture- 
some spirit.  She  delighted  in  fine  stock,  be- 
ing an  excellent  judge  of  their  good  points 
and  took  keen  enjoyment  in  driving  behind 
a  spirited  team.  Ever  actuated  by  the  most 
exalted  ideas  of  a  true  Christian  life,  she 
was  alert  to  the  distress  of  those  less  fav- 
ored, her  constant  acts  of  kindness  and  un- 
ostentatious charity  winning  the  warmest 
affection  of  all  with  whom  she  was  brought 
in  contact.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cover  having  no 
children  of  their  own  they  reared  an  adopted 
daughter,  Ola  May  Williams,  who  came  to 
them  when  but  four  years  old.  She  is  now 
the  wife  of  Jay  Stillwell  and  has  three  chil- 
dren, Cover,  Mary  E.  and  Silvie. 

The  intimacy  existing  between  her  and 
her  foster  parents  has  been  of  the  closest 
and  most  sympathetic  character,  a  mutual 
appreciation  being  manifest  upon  all  occa- 
sions. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Cover  is  a 
stanch  Republican  and  has  served  as  town- 
ship trustee.  His  life  has  been  a  busy  and 
useful  one  and  through  his  own  efforts  he 


has  gained  prosperity,  placing  his  depend- 
ence on  the  substantial  qualities  of  industry,, 
perseverance  and  honorable  dealing. 


DAVID  WILLITS. 


Death  often  removes  from  our  midst 
those  whom  we  can  ill  afford  to  lose,  but  the 
regret  is  not  without  some  softening  influ- 
ence when  the  life  that  is  ended  has  been  an 
honorable  one,  leaving  behind  it  a  memory 
of  much  that  was  true,  noble  and  commenda- 
ble. Such  was  the  career  of  David  Willits, 
whose  business  career  was  crowned  with 
success  and  whose  genuine  worth  gained  for 
him  the  unqualified  regard  of  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  He  was  born  in 
Knox  county  and  when  a  boy  was  left  an 
orphan,  after  which  he  was  reared  by  his 
uncle,  Eli  Willits.  The  success  he  gained 
was  the  outcome  of  his  own  industry  and 
business  management.  He  pursued  his  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools  near  his  home 
and  afterward  continued  his  studies  in  Del- 
aware College.  Later  he  engaged  in  teach- 
ing in  Butler  township  and  was  ever  a  warm 
friend  of  education,  realizing  how  import- 
ant is  broad  mental  training  in  the  active 
and  practical  affairs  of  life. 

In  the  house  where  his  widow  is  now  liv- 
ing Mr.  Willits  was  married,  the  lady  of  his 
choice  being  Lucy  M.  Markley,  who  was 
bom  in  a  log  cabin  upon  her  present  farm 
November  6,  1827.  Her  father,  Henry 
Markley,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and 
his  father  became  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers 
of  Knox  county,  where  he  owned  many  acres 
of  land  in  Berlin  township,  entering  much  of 
this  from  the  government.     He  gave  farms 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


to  all  of  his  children  and  performed  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  early  development  of  the 
county  and  in  laying  broad  and  deep  the 
foundation  for  its  present  prosperity  and 
progress.  His  son,  Henry  Markley,  was  a 
young  man  when  he  came  from  the  Key- 
stone state  to  Ohio,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
wilderness  cleared  and  improved  the  farm 
which  is  nO'W  occupied  by  Mrs.  Willits. 
There  he  kept  bachelor's  hall  until  his  mar- 
riage, to  Miss  Sally  Norton,  who  was  born 
in  Connecticut  and  in  early  girlhood  came 
with  her  parents  to  Ohio.  After  long  iden- 
tification with  the  agricultural  interests  of 
Knox  county,  Mr.  Markley  was  called  to 
his  final  rest,  passing  away  when  about  six- 
ty-three years  of  age.  His  wife,  surviving 
him  some  time,  was  more  than  seventy  years 
of  age  at  the  time  of  her  death.  They  had 
two  daughters,  but  Cordelia,  the  elder,  is 
now  deceased,  so  that  Mrs.  Willits  is  now 
the  only  member  of  the  family  in  the  county. 
She  was  reared  in  Berlin  township  and  gave 
her  hand  in  marriage  first  to  James  Hender- 
son, becoming  the  wife  of  Mr.  Willits  after 
the  death  of  her  first  husband.  Throughout 
her  entire  life  she  has  lived  upon  one  farm 
with  the  exception  of  two  years  spent  in 
Fredericktown.  She  still  owns  the  old 
homestead,  comprising  ninety-two  acres 
which,  under  a  system  of  cultivation,  has 
been  made  a  very  valuable  property. 

Mr.  Willits  was  also  twice  married.  He 
first  wedded  Martha  Jane  Dennis,  and  unto 
them^  were  born  two  children :  Harriet  EI- 
ma,  the  wife  of  George  Foote,  by  whom  she 
has  five  children^ — Herbert,  Lucy,  Anna,  Da- 
vid and  Wilber;  and  Walter  W.,  who  mar- 
ried Flora  Algire.  They  also  have  five  chil- 
dren— Bernard,  Ray,  Willie,  Earl  and  Ho- 
bart. 

2 


Throughout  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
Mr.  Willits  followed  agricultural  pursuits 
and  his  industry  and  capable  management 
resulted  in  the  production  of  good  crops.  In 
politics  he  was  a  stanch  Republican,  voting 
for  Lincoln  in  i860  and  1864,  and  for  every 
candidate  of  the  party  since  that  time.  He 
was  serving  as  township  appraiser  at  the 
time  of  his  death  and  previously  he  had 
served  as  township  trustee,  was  twice  as- 
sessor and  filled  other  local  positions  in  a 
prompt  and  faithful  manner.  He  held  mem- 
bership in  the  Presbyterian  church  and 
served  as  one  of  its  deacons,  and  his  Chris- 
tian faith  permeated  his  entire  life.  He 
died  February  18,  1900,  in  his  sixty-seventh 
year,  leaving  behind  him  the  priceless  herit-^ 
age  of  an  untarnished  name,  which  is  rather 
to  be  chosen  than  great  riches.  His  widow 
still  resides  upon  the  farm  where  she  was 
born.  Having  always  lived  in  Knox  county 
she  is  widely  known.  She  is  one  of  the  oldest 
residents  of  the  township  in  years  of  continu- 
ous connection  therewith  and  has  witnessed 
much  of  the  growth  and  development  which 
has  wrought  such  a  wonderful  transforma- 
tion in  the  county.  She  has  a  large  circle  of 
friends  and  in  the  annals  of  her  native  local- 
ity well  deserves  mention. 


WILLIAM  L.  SCHROEDER. 

Horticultural  pursuits  are  successfully 
followed  in  central  Ohio,  excellent  peach 
and  apple  orchards  showing  how  well 
adapted  is  soil  and  climate  to  the  production 
of  these  as  well  as  other  fruits.  Among 
those  who  are  now  devoting  their  energies  to 
the  raisins:  of  fruit  as  well  as  the  cultivation 


26 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


of  grain  in  Knox  county  is  William  L. 
Schroeder,  who  resides  in  Middlebury  tOAvn- 
ship.  Year  by  year  he  is  adding  to  his  cap- 
ital as  the  result  of  his  diligence  and  business 
ability,  and  well  deserves  mention  among 
the  self-made  men  of  the  locality. 

Mr.  Schroeder  is  a  native  son  of  Knox 
county,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Fredericktown  August  31,  1846. 
His  father,  Israel  Scliroeder,  was  a  native  of 
York  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  when  a 
young  man  he  left  the  Keystone  state  for 
Ohio,  where  he  met  and  married  Susan 
Wagner,  a  sister  of  Henry  Wagner,  an  en- 
ierprising  farmer  of  this  community.  She 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  lived  to  be 
thirty-five  years  of  age,  dying  when  Will- 
iam was  a  child  of  eighteen  months.  After 
iher  death  the  father  wedded  Nellie  Mc- 
Millen.  He  was  a  chair-maker  by  trade  and 
carried  on  that  business  for  a  number  of 
years  in  Fredericktown,  but  after  his  sec- 
ond marriage  he  located  on  a  small  farm  in 
Middlebury  township.  His  last  days,  how- 
'Cver,  were  passed  in  Richland  county,  where 
lie  died  at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Disciples  church  and  took 
an  active  part  in  church  work,  doing  all  in 
liis  power  to  extend  the  influence  of  the 
cause.  He  voted  with  the  Danocracy  and 
his  career  was  one  of  the  highest  respectabil- 
ity. In  his  family  were  three  sons  and  four 
■daughters,  of  whom  two  died  in  infancy, 
-while  four  are  still  living,  namely :  Daniel, 
Wadey,  Charlotte  and  William  L. 

The  last  named  is  the  yotmgest  of  the 
living  children  and  was  only  eighteen 
months  old  when  his  mother  died.  He  then 
went  to  live  with  his  uncle,  Henry  Wagner, 
■with  whom  he  remained  until  twenty-two 
years'   of    age.      He    attended    the   district 


schools,  thereby  acquiring  knowledge  that 
fitted  him  for  the  practical  and  responsible 
duties  of  life  and  his  practical  training  at 
farm  work  well  qualified  him  for  carrying 
on  agricutural  pursuits  when  he  started  out 
upon  an  independent  career.  When  attend- 
ing schools  among  the  students  in  the  same 
district  was  a  little  girl  named  Louisa  Al- 
verson.  The  acquaintance  of  their  child- 
hood was  continued  after  they  put  aside 
their  text-books  and  eventually  ripened  into 
love,  which  was  consummated  by  their  mar- 
riage March  30,  1869.  The  lady  is  a  native 
of  Middlebury  township  and  a  daughter  of 
Tliomas  and  Lucinda  Alverson.  The  father 
was  a  native  of  Vermont,  but  was  reared  in 
Essex  county.  New  York,  and  came  to 
Knox  coimty  in  an  early  day. 

They  began  their  domestic  life  upon  a 
rented  farm  in  Middlebury  township,  where 
they  remained  for  seventeen  years,  on  the 
expiration  of  which  period  Mr.  Schroeder 
purchased  his  present  place,  on  which  he  has 
since  resided.  He  has  made  most  of  the  im- 
provements thereon,  cleared  most  of  the 
land  and  has  transformed  it  into  a  very  val- 
uable property.  He  carries  on  general  farm- 
ing but  makes  a  specialty  of  horticultural 
pursuits  and  has  upon  his  farm  about  four- 
teen hundred  peach  trees,  which  in  1901 
bore  a  crop  estimated  at  two  thousand  bush- 
els, while  other  fruit  trees  produced  pro- 
portionately. His  is  one  of  the  leading  fruit 
farms  of  this  part  of  the  state.  He  has 
made  a  close  study  of  the  best  methods  of 
cultivating  fruit,  and  his  knowledge,  put  to 
the  practical  test  in  his  care  of  his  orchards 
has  resulted  in  making  this  branch  of  his 
business  quite  profitable. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schroeder  were  born 
five  children :    Cora,  the  wife  of  Louis  Vale, 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


by  whom  she  has  five  children — Bert,  Jesse, 
Samuel,  Evis  and  Nellie;  Charles  William, 
who  married  Sadie  Rowley;  George,  de- 
ceased; Glenn  Thomas,  who  wedded  Mattie 
Vance;  and  Mary  Lucinda,  who^  is  at  home 
with  her  parents  upon  the  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred acres,  which  has  for  a  number  of  years 
been  the  property  of  Mr.  Schroeder.  He 
votes  with  the  Republican  party  and  never 
has  wavered  in  his  allegiance  to  its  princi- 
ples and  platform.  For  three  years  he 
served  as  township  trustee  and  for  the  long 
period  of  twenty-eight  years  was  road  su- 
pervisor. He  has  always  held  some  local 
office  in  the  township,  for  his  fellow  towns- 
men, recognizing  his  ability  and  fidelity, 
continually  keep  him  in  a  place  of  public 
trust.  He  belongs  to  the  Waterford  Grange 
at  Batemantown  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Such  in  brief 
is  the  history  of  one  who  throughout  his 
entire  career  has  been  an  active,  energetic 
business  man,  a  trusted  public  servant  and 
a  faithful  friend — worthy  of  the  regard  of 
his  associates. 


ROBERT  C.  KIRK. 

An  enumeration  of  the  men  of  Ohio  who 
have  won  honor  and  public  recognition  for 
themselves  and  at  the  same  time  have  hon- 
ored the  state  to  which  they  belong  would  be 
incomplete  were  there  failure  to  make  prom- 
inent reference  to  the  Hon.  Robert  Crothers 
Kirk.  He  held  distinctive  precedence  in 
Republican  circles  and  became  a  co-worker 
and  counsellor  of  some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished representatives  of  the  party  in  the 
nation.  He  held  positions  of  prominence,  in 
all  of  which  his  course  was  characterized  by 


a  masterful  understanding  of  the  problems 
presented  and  by  a  patriotic  devotion  to 
those  measures  which  he  believed  conducive 
to  the  public  good.  His  public  career  cov- 
ered a  long  period  and  he  was  ever  fearless 
in  conduct,  faultless  in  honor  and  stainless 
in  reputation. 

Mr.  Kirk  was  numbered  among  Olrio's 
native  sons,  his  birth  having  occurred  in 
Mount  Pleasant,  Jefferson  county,  on  the 
26th  of  February,  1S21.  His  father,  Eli 
Kirk,  was  a  native  of  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  like  many  residents  of 
that  state  was  connected  with  the  Society  of 
Friends.  His  business  was  that  of  farming, 
and  he  died  in  1838.  His  wife,  who  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Martha  Crothers,  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  and 
a  native  of  Washington  county,  where  her 
people  had  located  in  pioneer  days,  her  fam- 
ily being  one  of  prominence  there. 

In  the  common  schools  Robert  C.  Kirk 
began  his  education,  which  was  continued  in 
the  Ohio  University,  at  Athens.  Later  he 
took  up  the  study  of  medicine  under  Dr. 
William  Hamilton,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  and 
subsequently  entered  the  medical  department 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Phil- 
adelphia, completing  the  course  at  the  age 
of  twenty  years.  Locating  in  Fulton  county, 
Illinois,  he  practiced  there  for  a  short  time, 
but  in  1843  returned  to  Ohio  and  abandoned 
the  profession.  In  1844  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  T.  W.  Rogers  and  engaged 
in  the  dry  goods  business  in  Mount  Vernon, 
the  relation  being  maintained  until  Mr.  Rog- 
ers' death,  when  Mr.  Kirk  formed  a  part- 
nership with  his  father-in-law,  John  Hogg, 
thus  carrying  on  business  until  1853,  when 
they  sold  out.  In  1857  Mr.  Kirk  went  to 
Winona,  Minnesota,  where  he  followed  the 


28 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


real-estate  business  in  partnership  with  his 
brother,  Timothy  Kirk,  but  after  a  year  he 
once  more  came  back  to^  his  native  state  and 
continuously  resided  in  Mount  Vernon,  ex- 
cepting only  the  period  when  he  was  abroad 
as  the  representative  of  the  government, 
from  1858  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
189S,  when  he  was  seventy-seven  years  of 
age. 

Mr.  Kirk's  political  career  was  one  of 
unqualified  honor  because  of  his  marked  fi- 
delity to  duty  and  the  important  work  which 
he  accomplished  for  the  nation.  In  1856  he 
was  elected  on  the  Republican  ticket  to  the 
Ohio  state  senate,  where  he  served  for  one 
term.  In  1859  he  was  elected  lieutenant 
governor  with  William  Dennison  at  the  head 
of  the  ticket,  and  in  1862  he  was  appointed 
by  President  Lincoln  minister  to  the  Argen- 
tine Republic,  Paraguay  and  Uruguay.  Dur- 
ing his  residence  at  Buenos  Ayres  he  suc- 
cessfully collected  the  old  claims,  dating 
from  1 8 14,  due  to  American  citizens  and 
amounting  to  over  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  claims  which  former  ministers  had 
abandoned.  He  was  alsO'  instrumental  in 
having  over  nineteen  thousand  dollars  raised 
in  Buenos  Ayres  and  sent  to  Mr.  BelloAvs, 
president  of  the  sanitary  commission  for 
the  benefit  of  Union  soldiers.  In  1866  he 
resigned  and  returned  to  Ohio,  but  in  1869 
he  was  reappointed  by  President  Grant,  as 
minister  to  the  Argentine  Republic  and  filled 
the  position  until  1871,  when  he  once  more 
resigned.  His  course  awakened  greater 
honor  and  respect  for  his  country  than  had 
ever  been  felt  in  that  part  of  South  America, 
for  he  fully  sustained  the  dignity  of  his  na- 
tive land  while  at  the  same  time  promoting 
its  interests  in  every  way  possible.  His  di- 
plomacy, his  thorough  understanding  of  the 


questions  affecting  the  relation  of  the  two 
governments,  his  tactful  skill  in  handling 
foreign  relations  all  won  for  him  the  favora- 
ble comment  of  the  South  American  nation 
as  well  as  of  his  own  countrymen  and  re- 
flected-credit  upon  the  land  which  he  rep- 
resented. On  the  5th  of  February,  1871, 
Mr.  Kirk  was  appointed  by  President  Grant 
■collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  thir- 
teenth district  of  Ohio-  and  thus  served  until 
the  office  was  abolished  by  consolidation 
with  the  district  of  Columbus.  Mr.  Kirk 
then  lived  in  retirement  until  his  death,  su- 
perintending his  property  interests. 

In  Mount  Pleasant,  Ohio,  Mr.  Kirk  was 
married  to  Eleanor  Hogg,  daughter  of  John 
Hogg,  of  that  city.  Her  father  was  a  very 
successful  merchant  and  business  man  and 
in  many  towns  made  judicious  and  profitable 
investments  in  real  estate  so  that  he  accu- 
mulated a  large  fortune.  He  was  born  on 
Chesterly  street,  near  Newcastle  on  the 
Tyne,  England.  He  had  six  sisters :  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Curtis,  wife  of  Henry  B.  Curtis; 
Mrs.  Timothy  Rogers;  Mrs.  Updegraff; 
Mrs,  Susan  Rogers;  Mrs.  Margaret  Sher- 
man, the  wife  of  John  Shennan,  of 
Mount  Vernon;  and  Mrs.  Isabel  Mo- 
zier,  the  wife  of  the  celebrated  Amer- 
ican sculptor.  William  Hogg,  an  uncle 
of  John  Hogg,  sold  to  Gambler  Col- 
lege eight  thousand  acres  of  land  for  twen- 
ty-four thousand  dollars  and  gave  to^  the 
college  six  thousand  dollars.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Kirk  were  the  jiarents  of  four  sons,  John  E. 
(deceased),  Desault  B. ;  William  H.  and 
Gersham  P.,  twins,  the  former  now  deceased. 
When  very  young  John  E.  joined  the  Nine- 
ty-sixth Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  and  served 
with  great  gallantry  throughout  the  war  and 
was  mustered  out  as  a  second  lieutenant. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


He  is  now  deceased.  The  second  marriage 
of  ]\Ir.  Kirk  occurred  August  31,  1893,  when 
Miss  Ahce  V.  Hutchinson  became  his  wife. 
In  his  social  relations  Mr.  Kirk  was  a 
Mason  and  attained  the  Knight  Templar 
degree  in  that  fraternity.  He  was  also  iden- 
tified with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  and  held  membership  in  the  Epis- 
copal church.  He  recognized  his  obliga- 
tions to  his  fellow  men  and  met  them.  His 
strong  mentality  gave  him  a  clear  conception 
of  his  duty  in  every  relation  of  life,  and  it 
\vas  faithfully  discharged.  Men  of  learning, 
including  those  who  guided  the  ship  of  state, 
recognized  his  ability,  his  value  and  his  pa- 
triotism and  honored  and  trusted  him  ac- 
cordingly and  thus  he  left  the  impress  of  his 
individuality  upon  the  welfare  of  state  and 
nation. 


DESAULT  B.  KIRK. 

With  the  business,  professional  and  in- 
tellectual activities  which  push  forward  the 
wheels  of  progress  in  Mount  Vernon  and 
Knox  county  Desault  B.  Kirk  is  connected, 
and  while  his  efiforts  have  contributed  to 
his  own  prosperity  they  have  also  been  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  further  advance  the  gen- 
eral welfare.  Throughout  almost  his  entire 
life  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Mount  Vernon, 
which  is  his  native  city.  He  is  a  graduate 
of  Kenyon  College,  and  after  completing 
his  literary  course  he  took  up  the  study  of 
law  in  the  Harvard  Law  School,  being  thus 
prepared  for  active  work  at  the  bar.  He 
chose  a  profession  in  which,  his  father's 
prominence  and  position  would  avail  him 
naught,  for  in  no  calling  does  advancement 
depend  so  largely  upon  individual  effort  and 


merit  as  in  the  field  of  jurisprudence.  He 
completed  his  law  studies  with  the  firm  of 
Scribner  &  Hurd,  of  Toledo,  and  for  a  short 
time  was  in  partnership  with  them.  He  also 
entered  into  partnership  with  A.  R.  Mcln- 
tire,  and  with  the  passing  years  his  experi- 
ence in  legal  work  secured  him  a  creditable 
position  as  a  practitioner.  He  next  became 
interested  in  the  firm  of  C.  &  G.  Cooper  & 
Company  and  upon  the  organization  of  the 
C.  &  G.  Cooper  Company  he  became  treas- 
urer and  has  since  served  in  that  capacity. 
He  is  also  one  of  its  directors,  but  his  busi- 
ness relations  do  not  end  here  for  he  is  the 
vice-president  of  the  Mount  Vernon  Gas 
Company  and  vice-president  and  trustee  of 
the  Knox  National  Bank. 

Mr.  Kirk  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mae  Cooper,  a  daughter  of  Charles  Cooper, 
and  unto  them  have  been  born  the  following 
children :  Isabel  Cooper,  the  wife  of  Ben- 
jamin Ames,  a,  grandson  of  Columbus  De- 
lano; Eleanor  Hogg,  wife  of  Professor  I. 
Griffith  Ames,  professor  of  English  in  the 
Illinois  College,  of  Jacksonville,  that  state, 
and  also  a  grandson  of  Columbus  Delano; 
Robert  C,  now  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  who  is 
a  graduate  of  Kenyon  Preparatory  School 
and  Military  Academy ;  and  Charles  Cooper, 
a  student  in  Shattuck  School.  The  mother 
died  in  1887. 

Mr.  Kirk  is  a  trustee  of  Kenyon  College 
and  since  its  organization  he  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  public  library  of  Mount  Ver- 
non, whose  interests  have  been  greatly  pro- 
moted through  his  efiforts.  He  is  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  welfare  of  all  measures  and 
movements  tending  to  promote  the  general 
progress  and  his  native  city  finds  him  one 
of  its  most  helpful  sons.  He  is  identified 
with  the  vario'US  bodies  of  Masonrv,   also 


30 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity  and 
belongs  to  the  Episcopalian  church,  in  which 
he  is  the  senior  warden  and  vestryman.  De- 
pending not  upon  the  prestige  which  his 
fathers  name  and  position  would  have  given 
him  Desault  B.  Kirk  has  relied  upon  the 
more  substantial  qualities  of  earnest  pur- 
pose, untiring  effort  and  careful  preparation 
for  his  life  work  and  has  accomplished 
much  in  the  business  world. 


FRED  D.  SIMONS. 


Fred  D.  Simons  is  one  of  the  most  ac- 
tive, enterprising  and  prosperous  business 
men  of  Knox  county.  Success  comes  not  to 
the  man  who  idly  waits,  but  to  the  faithful 
toiler  whose  work  is  characterized  by  intelli- 
gence and  force;  it  comes  only  to  the  man 
who  has  the  foresight  and  keenness  of  men- 
tal vision  to  know  when  and  how  and  where 
to  exert  his  energies,  and  thus  it  happens 
that  but  a  small  proportion  of  those  who 
enter  the  "world's  broad  field  of  battle" 
come  off  victors  in  the  struggle  for  wealth 
and  position,  but  with  marked  ability  to  im- 
prove his  opportunities  Mr.  Simons  has 
steadily  advanced  to  a  foremost  position 
among  substantial  citizens  in  his  part  of  the 
county. 

He  was  born  in  Fredericktown  February 
8,  i860,  and  belongs  to  one  of  the  old  fam- 
ilies of  the  state.  His  father, '  Monroe  J. 
Simons,  was  a  native  of  Homer,  Licking 
county,  Ohio'.  born  July  6,  1832,  and  was  a 
son  of  Horton  J.  and  Elizabeth  (Dill)  Si- 
mons. He  was  reared  in  his  native  town, 
where  his  father  was  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits.     On  starting  out  upon  his  business 


career  Monroe  J.  Simons  was  employed  for 
a  few  months  in  a  store  in  Newark,  Ohio, 
and  then  came  to  Fredericktown,  where  he 
was  employed  as  a  salesman  in  the  store  of 
C.  E.  Hooker.  His  aptitude  for  business 
and  his  trustworthiness  soon  gained  his  em- 
ployer's confidence  and  after  a  short  time 
he  was  admitted  tO'  a  partnership.  Before 
he  had  attained  the  age  oi  thirty  he  was  sole 
proprietor  of  the  enterprise  and  for  thirty- 
three  years  successfully  conducted  the  store, 
enjoying  a  very  liberal  and  profitable  pat- 
ronage. In  the  later  years  of  his  life  he 
was  engaged  in  the  grain  trade  until,  on  the 
8th  of  September,  1897,  he  was  smothered 
in  a  wheat  bin.  He  had  long  been  accounted 
one  of  the  most  valued  residents  of  the  com- 
munity and  his  death  was  deeply  mourned. 
His  political  support  was  given  the  Repub- 
lican party  and  he  stanchly  advocated  its 
interests.  Although  not  a  politician  in  the 
sense  of  office-seeking,  his  fellow  townsmen 
frequently  solicited  him  to  accept  office  and 
he  served  as  township  treasurer  and  as  a 
member  of  the  town  council  and  of  the 
school  board.  Fraternally  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  Masonic  order  and  attained 
the  thirty-second  degree  of  the  Scottish  Rite 
in  Ohio  Consistory.  His  religious  faith 
was  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the 
Presbyterian  church.  His  wife,  who  bore 
the  niaiden  name  of  Alice  Smith,  still  sur- 
vives her  husband.  She  was  born  in  Cana- 
da in  1836  while  her  parents  were  natives 
of  England.  Her  father  died  when  she  was 
only  tw"o  years  old  and  she  was  then  reared 
by  C.  R.  Hooker  and  was  usually  known  by 
the  name  of  Alice  Hooker.  She  is  a  most 
estimable  lady  and  makes  her  home  in  Fred- 
ericktown. In  the  family  are  three  children 
living:     Fred  D.,  Charles  and  John  B. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


,  In  his  parents  home  Fred  D.  Simons 
spent  the  period  of  his  minority  and  in  his 
early  youth  attended  the  pubHc  schools,  but 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  put  aside  his  text- 
books and  entered  his  father's  store,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  clerking  for  six  years. 
After  his  marriage  he  located  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  resides — a  tract  of  land  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres — and  there  for 
a  number  of  years  he  was  extensively  and 
successfully  engaged  in  farming,  but  about 
three  years  ago  he  abandoned  agricultural 
pursuits  and  has  since  given  his  attention 
to  dealing  in  horses.  In  1892  he  became  a 
partner  in  his  father's  grain  business,  becom- 
ing sole  owner  after  the  latter's  death,  but 
later  disposed  of  it.  He  has  carefully  con- 
ducted his  varied  interests  and  his  sound 
business  judgment  has  brought  to  him  very 
gratifying  prosperity.  In  1896  he  erected 
upon  his  farm  a  very  fine  residence,  hardly 
surpassed  in  the  county,  and  there  his  fam- 
ily reside,  surrounded  with  all  the  comforts 
that  gO'  to  make  life  worth  the  living. 

On  the  22d  of  March,  1882,  Mr.  Simons 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Jennie  E. 
Lyon,  a  native  of  this  town  and  a  daughter 
of  Isaac  A.  and  Harriet  (Craven)  Lyon, 
both  natives  of  Knox  county.  The  Craven 
family  is  one  of  the  oldest  here,  the  grand- 
father and  the  great-grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Simons  both  having  resided  in  this  county. 
Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simons  have  been  born 
two  children  :  Alice  G.,  who  was  born  April 
16,  1883,  and  Hoy  Orton,  born  November 
I,  1884.  The  mother  and  daughter  hold 
membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr. 
Simons  belongs  to  Thrall  Lodge  No.  170, 
F.  &  A.  M.  and  he  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  Ann  Hill  Chapter,  No.  81,  0-.  E.  S.  The 
family  is  one  of  prominence  in  the  commun- 


ity and  the  hospitality  of  the  best  homes  of 
this  part  of  the  county  is  freely  extended  to 
them.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Simons 
is  a  Republican  and  keeps  well  informed  on 
the  issues  of  the  day,  but  has  never  aspired 
to  office,  preferring  to  devote  his  time  and 
energies  to  his  business  interests,  which  have 
been  managed  so  ably  that  they  have  been 
crowned  with  a  high  degree  of  prosperity. 


GEORGE  W.  YAUGER. 

The  most  enduring  monument  which 
can  be  erected  to  the  memory  of  loved  ones 
is  not  made  of  marble  or  granite,  for  time 
crumbles  these  away;  and  precious  as  are 
the  cherished  memories  in  the  heart  s  of 
friends,  within  a  few  years  these  associates 
will  be  sleeping  in  the  silent  churchyard. 
Naught  endures  save  the  written  record,  the 
pages  glowing  with  the  records  of  the  noble 
life  and  kindly  deeds — these  alone  hand 
down  to  generations  of  the  future  the  his- 
tory of  the  past,  of  the  hardy  pioneers  whose 
brave  patriotism  and  undaunted  hearts  paved 
the  way  to  prosperity  and  civilization. 

One  of  the  manly,  respected  citizens  of 
Knox  county  was  George  W.  Yauger,  whose 
birth  occurred  in  Morris  county,  New  York, 
October  2^,  1832.  He  was  one  of  five  chil- 
dren of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Wolf)  Yau- 
ger. The  father,  who  was  of  German  de- 
scent, was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and 
came  with  his  family  to  Ohio  about  1839, 
living  for  one  year  on  the  old  Delaware 
road,  six  miles  from  Mount  Vernon.  After- 
ward they  removed  to  Hilliar  township,  two 
miles  north  of  Centerburg.  The  father  was 
a  carpenter  by  trade  and  spent  much  of  his 


32 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


time  engaged  at  that  occupation,  while  his 
sons  conducted  the  farm.  In  1850  the  fam- 
ily removed  to  Clinton  township,  purchasing 
thirty  acres  of  the  present  homestead,  two 
rtiiles  west  of  Mount  Vernon,  where  both 
passed  away  in  death.  After  his  parents' 
death  our  subject  came  into  possession  of 
this  tract,  while  his  brother,  Garrison,  in- 
herited the  farm  in  Hilliar  township.  In 
subsequent  years  Mr.  Yauger,  of  this  re- 
view, became  one  of  the  well-known  and 
leading  men  of  Mount  Vernon.  He  in- 
creased his  realty  holdings  to  two  hundred 
acres,  and  later  in  life  he  made  a  specialty  of 
the  raising  of  celery,  finding  a  ready  sale  for 
this  product  at  Mount  Vernon. 

On  the  5th  oi  February,  1862,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  T.  Lha- 
rfion,  of  Pleasant  township,  Kno'X  county, 
and  a  daughter  of  William  and  Esther 
(Melker)  Lhamon,  who  came  from  Vir- 
ginia to  the  Buckeye  state  at  a  time  when  the 
country  south  of  Mount  Vernon  was  an  un- 
broken wilderness.  On  the  loth  of  July, 
1879,  the  loving  companion  and  helpmate 
was  called  to  her  final  rest,  leaving  seven 
children  :  Augustus  W. ;  George  E. ;  Samuel 
W. ;  Nora  E.,  the  wife  of  Norman  C.  Hook- 
w^ay ;  Sarah  A.,  the  wife  of  Fred  Ball;  Clara 
E.,  the  wife  of  William  S.  Gaff;  and  Rev. 
Frank  A.,  of  the  Congregational  ministry. 

In  August.  1 88 1,  Mr.  Yauger  married 
Miss  Lydia  Lhamon.  a  sister  of  his  former 
wife,  who  still  survives  him.  Mr.  Yauger 
was  a  Democrat  in  his  political  views,  and 
from  early  manhood  was  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  church.  On  the  21st  of  April,  1900, 
he  answered  the  summons  to  the  better  land. 
His  kindness  of  heart  was  shown  not  only 
by  words  of  sympathy  but  by  acts  of  unos- 
tentatious benevolence.     In  business  circles 


he  was  noted  and  respected  for  his  great  in- 
dustry, energy,  punctuality  and  his  honor- 
able and  systematic  methods — all  of  which 
contributed  to  a  large  success,  which  he 
richly  deserved. 

Jennie  Bowden,  now  a  young  lady,  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Yauger  family  since 
a  child  of  nine  years  coming  to  them  at  her 
mother's  death.  Charles  M.  Porter  has  also 
for  some  years  been  an  important  factor  in 
the  operation  of  the  home  farm. 


COL.  WILLIAM  C.  COOPER. 

William  C.  Cooper  is  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  figures  in  the  history  of  juris- 
prudence in  Knox  count)^,  nor  is  his  repu- 
tation limited  by  its  boundaries,  for 
throughout  the  state  he  has  won  distinction 
by  reason  of  marked  ability.  He  entered 
upon  practice  more  than  thirty-five  years 
ago  and  his  success  came  soon  because  his 
equipment  was  unusually  good,  he  having 
been  a  close  and  earnest  student  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  law.  Nature 
endowed  him  with  strong  intellectual  pow- 
ers and  he  has  acquired  that  persistent  en- 
ergy and  close  application  without  which 
there  is  no  success.  A  man  of  sound  judg- 
ment he  manages  his  cases  with  masterly 
skill  and  tact;  is  a  logical  reasoner  and  has 
a  ready  command  of  English.  His  powers 
as  an  advocate  have  been  demonstrated  by 
his  success  on  many  occasions  and  he  is  an 
able  lawyer  of  large  and  varied  experience 
in  all  the  courts.  Thoroughness  character- 
■izes  all  his  eflorts  and  he  conducts  all  his 
business  with  a  strict  regard  to  a  high 
standard  of  professional  ethics. 


^  ■  Ce.  ■    ^  ^^—rr^.^ 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


The  ancestral  history  of  Mr.  Cooper  in 
the  paternal  line  is  purely  American  for 
many  generations  remote,  while  on  the  ma- 
ternal side  he  is  of  Scotch-Irish  lineage. 
Prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  family  in 
Ohio  his  grandfather,  Daniel  Cooper,  and 
his  father,  Thompson  Cooper,  resided  in 
Pennsylvania,  both  being  natives  of  Butler 
county,  that  state,  whence  they  came  to 
Mount  Vernon  in  the  year  1806.  Daniel 
Cooper  entered  the  army  in-  the  war  of  18 12 
and,  holding  the  rank  of  captain,  rendered 
valuable  service  to  his  country  in  her  sec- 
ond war  with  England.  He  continued  his 
residence  in  Knox  county  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1841.  Thompson  Coop- 
er, the  father  of  our  subject,  was  but  a 
boy  when  the  family  came  to  Ohio,  and 
therefore  was  reared  amid  the  wild  scenes 
and  circumstances  of  pioneer  life.  As  the 
years  progressed  he  took  his  place  among 
the  leaders  of  thought  and  action  in  the 
county  and  was  very  prominent  and  influen- 
tial in  public  affairs.  For  thirty  years  he 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  for  eight 
yearsi  was  mayor  of  Mount  Vernon,  his 
long  continuance  in  office  indicating  unmis- 
takably the  high  place  which  he  occupied  in 
the  public  regard.  His  career  was  above  re- 
proach, his  public  faithfulness  being 
equalled  by  the  probity  and  uprightness  of 
his  private  life.  He  was  serving  as  mayor 
at  the  time  o^f  his  death  in  1863,  and  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  no  citizen  of  Mount  Vernon 
has  been  more  widely  or  deeply  mourned. 
He  married  Rebecca  Craig,  a  native  of 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  who 
possessed  the  strong  traits  of  character  of 
her  Scotch  ancestry,  thrift,  perseverance,  un- 
faltering honesty  and  conscientiousness. 
She  endeavored  tO'  impress  upon  the  minds 


of  her  children  lessons  of  industry  and 
truth,  thus  preparing  them  with  the  fortifi- 
cations of  an  upright  character  to  meet  the 
battles  of  life. 

During  his  youth  Mr.  Cooper  enjoyed 
instruction  in  private  schools  and  in  Mount 
Vernon  Academy,  and  through  the  months 
of  summer  assisted  in  the  work  of  the  home 
farm,  developing  thereby  the  strong  phys- 
ical powers  which  have  formed  the  basis  of 
his  work,  enabling  him  to  carry  on  the  men- 
tal activity  so  necessary  to  success  at  the 
bar.  In  early  life  it  became  his  strong  de- 
sire to  enter  the  legal  profession  and  to  this 
end  he  began  study  under  the  direction  of 
Joseph  W.  Vance  and  James  Smith,  Jr. 
When  twenty-two  years  of  age  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  and  soon  afterward  en- 
tered into  partnership  with  his  former  pre- 
ceptor, Mr.  Vance,  this  relation  being  main- 
tained until  the  death  of  Mr.  Vance,  who 
was  killed  on  the  field  of  battle.  Soon  after 
the  inauguration  of  the  Civil  war  they 
closed  their  office  and  entered  their  coun- 
try's service,  Mr.  Vance  becoming  a  colonel. 
He  was  commanding  his  regiment  at  the 
t'ime  he  was  killed.  Mr.  Cooper  was  among 
the  first  to  enlist  in  defense  of  the  starry 
banner  of  the  nation,  becoming  first  lieuten- 
ant of  Company  B,  Fourth  Ohio  Infantry, 
with  which  he  continued  in  active  service 
until  the  following  January,  when  he  re- 
signed in  order  to  attend  to  the  business  of 
the  firm  and  important  personal  matters. 
Early  in  1864,  however,  he  returned  to  the 
service  for  one  hundred  days  as  colonel  of 
the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-sceond  Ohio 
Volunteers,  with  which  he  particiipated  in 
the  Petersburg  campaign. 

At   the   conclusion   of  his   second   term 
j  Mr.  Cooper  returned  home  and  resumed  the 


34 


A    CEXTEXXIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


practice  of  law  alone.  Later  he  was  for 
two  years  in  partnership  with  Henry  T. 
Porter  and  for  eight  years  was  at  the  head 
of  the  firm  of  Cooper,  Porter  &  Mitchell. 
He  is  remarkable  among  lawyers  for  the 
wide  research  and  provident  care  with 
which  he  prepares  his  cases.  In  no  instance 
has  his  reading  ever  been  confined  to  the 
limitations  of  the  questions  at  issue;  it  has 
gone  beyond  and  compassed  every  contin- 
gency and  provided  not  alone  for  the  ex- 
pected, but  for  the  unexpected,  which  hap- 
pens in  the  courts  quite  as  frequently  as  out 
of  them.  His  logical  grasp  of  facts  and 
principles  of  the  law  applicable  to  them 
has  been  another  potent  element  in  his  suc- 
cess, and  a  remarkable  cleverness  of  expres- 
sion, an  adequate  and  precise  diction,  which 
enables  him  to  make  others  understand  not 
only  the  salient  points  of  his  argument,  but 
his  every  fine  gradation  of  meaning,  may 
be  accounted  one  of  his  most  conspicuous 
gifts  and  accomplishments.  He  is  quick  to 
master  all  the  intricacies  in  a  case  and  grasp 
all  details,  'at  the  same  time  losing  sight  of 
none  of  the  essential  points  upon  which  the 
decision  of  every  case  finally  turns.  His 
fidelity  to  his  clients'  interests  is  proverbial, 
yet  he  never  forgets  that  he  owes  a  higher 
allegiance  to  the  majesty  of  the  law.  His 
diligence  and  energy  in  the  preparation  of 
his  cases,  as  well  as  the  earnestness,  tenacity 
and  courage  with  which  he  defends  the 
right  as  he  understands  it,  challenges  the 
highest  admiration  of  his  associates.  Yet  he 
scorns  the  glittering  chaplet  of  forensic  tri- 
umph if  it  must  be  gained  by  debasing  him- 
self, debauching  public  morality  or  degrad- 
ing the  dignity  of  his  profession. 

The  name  of  Mr.  Cooper  figures  promi- 
nently in  connection  with  the  history  of  the 


Republican  party  in  Ohio,  for,  though  he 
has  never  been  a  politician  in  the  sense  of 
office  seeking,  his  opinlions  carry  weight  in 
the  councils  of  his  party  and  he  is  a  director 
of  public  thought  and  feeling.  Prior  to  the 
Civil  war  Colonel  Cooper  held  the  office  of 
prosecuting  attorney  for  four  years.  In 
i860  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Mount  Ver- 
non and  served  for  two  consecutive  terms. 
In  1 87 1  he  was  chosen  to  represent  his  dis- 
trict in  the  state  legislature  and  at  the  close 
of  the  term  declined  a  second  election.  He 
was  for  six  years  president  of  the  board  of 
education  of  Mount  Vernon  and  for  five 
years  was  advocate  general  of  the  state  of 
Ohio.  These  are  the  only  civil  offices  held 
by  him  until  he  was  elected  to  the  Forty- 
ninth  congress  in  1884.  In  1886  and  again 
in  1888  he  was  re-elected.  His  reputation 
as  a  lawyer  gave  him  a  standing  which  was 
maintained  and  advanced  by  the  wisdom  of 
his  counsel  in  the  committee-room  and  his 
power  in  debate  on  the  floor.  He  was  not 
only  a  very  able,  but  also  a  very  useful  mem- 
ber and  he  served  on  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant committees  of  the  house.  During 
his  first  term  the  bill  providing  for  the  or- 
der of  succession  in  the  office  of  president 
was  passed  and  he  was  a  member  of  the 
committee  in  charge  of  the  bill.  His  argu- 
ment on  the  subject  was  masterly  and  patri- 
otic. He  was  influential  on  the  committees 
on  elections,  on  territories,  on  banking  and 
on  currency.  He  managed  several  cam- 
paigns as  chairman  of  the  Republican  state 
central  committee  and  was  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Republican  party  in  Ohio  in  the 
national  committee  from  1876  until  1884, 
during  the  period  of  greatest  contention  in 
the  party,  and  was  a  defegate  to  the  national 
convention  in  1872  and  1880. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


1195030 


In  January,  1864,  Mr.  Cooper  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Eliza  Russell,  a 
daughter  of  Dr.  John  W.  Russell,  a  phj^sii- 
cian  of  prominence,  who'  for  sixty  years 
practiced  his  profession  in  Mount  Ver- 
non. TwO'  daughters  were  born  unto 
them.  Mr.  Cooper's  social  relations  con- 
nect him  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  and  he  has  twice  represented 
his  state  in  the  national  encampment. 
His  citizenship  has  ever  been  charac- 
terized by  unswerving  loyalty  to  the  best 
interests  of  city,  state  and  nation  and 
by  mastery  of  every  subject  upon  which  his 
actions  could  have  direct  or  indirect  bear- 
ing; socially  he  is  most  popular,  for  he  is 
genial,  courteous  and  kindly,  and  true  merit 
can  always  win  his  friendship;  profession- 
ally he  is  most  talented  and  prominent,  his 
comprehensive  understanding  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  jurisprudence,  combined  with  his 
logic  and  power  in  argument,  rendering  him 
one  of  the  most  able  members  of  the  Ohio 
bar.  Such  is  the  life  record  of  one  who  for 
seventy  years  has  been  an  honored  resident 
of  Mount  Vernon. 


I        ALEXANDER  CRITCHFIELD. 

Throughout  his  entire  life  Alexander 
Critchfield  has  been  a  resident  of  Knox 
county,  and  has  been  identified  with  many 
of  the  interests  that  have  contributed  tO'  its 
substantial  development  and  improvement. 
His  probity,  fidelity  and  sterling  worth  have 
won  him  the  unqualified  confidence  O'f  his 
fellow  townsmen,  and  his  pathway  is  now 
brightened  by  the  love  and  respect  which 
should  ever  follow  an  upright  career. 


Mr.  Critchfield  was  born  upon  the  farm 
where  he  now  resides,  September  11,  1845. 
His  father,  Jesse  Critchfield,  claimed  Penn- 
sylvania as  the  state  of  his  nativity,  but  in. 
an  early  day  he  came  to  Knx>x  county,  Ohio, 
where  his  death  occurred  when  he  was  yet 
in  the  prime  of  life,  passing  away  at  the  age 
of  fifty-eight  years.  The  mother  of  our  sub- 
ject bore  the  maiden  name  of  Elizabeth 
Mowrey,  and  she,  too,  was  born  in  the  Key- 
stone state.  She  reached  the  ripe  old  age 
of  eighty-nine  years.  This  worthy  couple 
became  the  parents  of  thirteen  children,  of 
whom  our  subject  was  the  eleventh  in  order 
of  birth.  His  youth  was  spent  in  the  usual 
manner  of  farmer  lads  of  the  period,  de- 
voting his  time  during  the  summer  months 
to  the  work  of  the  farm  and  in  the  winter 
season  he  attended  the  common  schools  of 
the  neighborhood.  In  1862,  when  but  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  he  enlisted  for  service  in 
the  Civil  war,  entering  Company  F,  One 
Hundred  and  Twenty-first  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry,  in  which  he  served  until  the  close 
of  hostilities.  During  his  career  as  a  soldier 
he  took  part  in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  was 
with  Sherman  on  his  celebrated  march  to 
the  sea,  and  took  part  in  the  last  battle 
fought  at  'Bentonville,  North  Carolina. 
From  that  place  they  went  to  Richmond  and 
then  on  to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  they 
participated  in  the  grand  review,  the  grand- 
est military  pageant  ever  witnessed  on  the 
western  hemisphere.  Receiving  an  honora- 
ble discharge  at  Camp  Dennison,  Ohio,  on 
the  22d  of  July,  1865,  Mr.  Critchfield  then 
returned  tOi  his  home  and  again  took  up  the 
quiet  duties  of  farm  life.  After  his  father's 
death  he  purchased  the  interest  of  the  other 
heirs  in  the  old  homestead,  and  has  there  re- 
sided throughout  his  entire  life.     He  now 


36 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTOR\' 


owns  one  hundred  acres  of  fertile  and  well 
improved  land,  on  which  he  has  erected  com- 
modious and  substantial  buildings,  and  his 
is  now  one  of  the  most  valuable  homesteads 
of  its  size  in  the  locality.  He  is  engaged 
in  the  raising  of  the  cereals  best  adapted  to 
this  soil  aaid  climate,  and  his  efforts  in  the 
line  of  his  chosen  vocation  are  bringing  to 
him,  a  high  and  well  merited  degree  of  pros- 
perity. 

January  12,  1867,  Mr.  Critchfield  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Tilda  Humbert,  a  na- 
tive of  Howard  to^vnship,  Knox  county,  and 
they  have  one  daughter,  Emma,  the  wife  of 
Frank  Mavis.  They  make  their  home  upon 
the  old  family  homestead  with  her  parents. 
Mrs.  Critchfield's  parents,  John  and  Susanna 
Humbert,  came  from  Pennsylvania,  their 
native  state,  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  in  a  very 
early  day,  and  they  became  prominent  and 
leading  citizens  of  their  locality.  They  were 
the  parents  of  thirteen  children,  Mrs.  Critch- 
field  being  the  seventh  in  order  of  birth.  Our 
subject  maintains  pleasant  relations  with 
his  old  army  comrades  through  his  member- 
ship with  LeRoy  Baker  Post,  No.  120,  G. 
A.  R;,  in  which  he  is  now  serving  as  senior 
vice  commander.  His  political  support  is 
given  to  the  Republican  party,  and  at  all 
times  he  is  a  progressive  and  public-spirited 
citizen  who  takes  a  deep  interest  in  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munitv. 


GEORGE  H.  SPRY. 


George  H.  Spry  has  almost  reached  the 
eightieth  milestone  on  life's  journey  and 
throughout  the  long  period  has  resided  in 
Knox  county,  being  to-day  one  of  its  hon- 


ored and  respected  citizens,  enjoying  the  re- 
gard of  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor.  He 
was  born  in  Monroe  township,  August  12, 
1822,  his  parents  being  Perry  and  Mary 
(Chadwick)  Spry,  who  were  pioneer  set- 
tlers of  the  county,  where  the  father  fol- 
lowed farming  at  an  early  day. 

It  was  upon  the  old  family  homestead 
that  the  subject  of  this  review  spent  the  days 
of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  working  in  the 
fields  and  meadows,  early  becoming  an  ac- 
tive factor  in  the  development  and  cultiva- 
tion 'of  his  father's  land.  His  labor  in  this 
direction,  however,  brought  to  him  the  prac- 
tical experience  which  enabled  him  to  carry 
on  the  business  successfully  when  he  started 
out  upon  an  independent  career.  Like  most 
young  men  who  begin  work  for  themselves 
he  desired  a  home  of  his  own  and  on  the 
30th  of  October,  1851,  he  completed  his  ar- 
rangements for  one  by  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Polly  Jackson,  with  whom  he  lived  for  more 
than  twenty-one  years,  when  they  were  sep- 
arated by  the  hand  of  death,  the  lady  being 
called  to  her  final  rest  on  the  22d  of  Febru- 
ary, 1873.  On  the  28th  of  September,  1876, 
Mr.  Spry  was  again  married,  his  second 
union  being  with  Miss  Wealthy  Almira  Os- 
born,  -who  was  born  in  Ca},-uga  county.  New 
York,  February  16,  183 1,  a  daughter  of 
Isaac  and  Lois  Osborn.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  she  began  teaching  school  in  Craw- 
ford county,  Ohio,  and  successfully  followed 
that  profession  for  eleven  terms,  her  last 
school  being  in  Monroe  tOAvnship,  Knox 
county.  By  his  first  marriage  Mr.  Spry 
had  the  following  named  children :  Henry, 
who  is  living  in  Fredericktown,  Ohio;  Na- 
than Albert,  who  follows  farming  in  Pike 
township;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Oakly  Marion, 
of  IMorris  township:  and  a  son  who  died 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


37 


when  only  one  year  old,  having  been  born 
the  14th  of  September  and  died  the  15th  of 
the  following  September. 

Almost  a  half  century  ago  Mr.  Spry  took 
up  his  abode  upon  his  present  farm,  which 
has  been  his  home  continuously  since.  The 
place  comprises  one  hundred' and  thirty-one 
acres  of  the  rich  land  of  Pike  township  and 
he  has  devoted  his  entire  attention  to  the 
cultivation  and  improvement  of  his  land,  the 
years  bringing  to  him  excellent  crops,  and 
from  their  sale  he  has  added  each  year  to 
his  income.  In  political  views  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat, but  has  no  desire  for  office.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Methodist  church,  and  although 
his  life  has  been  quietly  passed,  unmarked 
by  any  event  of  exciting  interest,  it  has  ever 
been  characterized  by  fidelity  to  duty,  by 
honor  in  his  relations  with  his  fellow  men 
and  by  straightforward  dealings  in  all  trade 
transactions. 


JOHN  LORA  RUSH. 

•  No  other  resident  of  Morris  township 
has  for  so  long  a  period  been  located  within 
its  borders  as  John  L.  Rush  and  his  active 
connection  with  the  affairs  of  the  county 
through  many  decades  would  render  this 
work  incomplete  if  the  record  of  his  life  was 
omitted.  His  memory  forms  a  connecting 
link  between  the  primitive  past  and  the 
progressive  present,  between  pioneer  condi- 
tions and  the  advanced  civilization  of  to-day. 
It  IS  therefore  meet  that  he  should  be  men- 
tioned in  this  volume,  for  not  alone  because 
of  the  fact  that  he  was  an  early  settler,  but 
also  because  of  his  sterling  worth  and  his 
active  connection  with  business  and  public 
affairs  should  his  history  form  a  part  of  this 
volume. 


Mr.  Rush  was  born  in  Morris  township, 
October  6,  1818,  and  on  the  paternal  side  is 
of  German  lineage,  for  his  grandfather  came 
from  Germany  to  the  new  world.  Peter 
Rush,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in 
New  Jersey,  and,  making  his  way  to  Knox 
cotmty,  he  here  entered  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  from  the  government, 
which  is  still  in  possession  of  his  descend- 
ants. From  the  government  he  secured  a 
large  tract  of  land,  which  was  then  w-ild  and 
unimproved,  but  offered  excellent  possibili- 
ties to  the  man  of  determination  and  energy. 
Those  characteristics  in  Mr.  Rush  enabled 
him  to  transform  his  place  into  a  valuable 
farm,  upon  which  he  spent  his  remaining 
days.  He  wedded  Clarissa  Upson,  whose 
parents  were  natives  of  Long  Island  and 
after  their  marriage  emigrated  to  KnO'X 
county,  where  they  became  prosperous  and 
well  known.  Mr.  Rush,  passed  away  in 
death  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years. 

On  the  old  family  homestead  Mr.  Rush 
of  this  review  was  reared  amid  the  wild 
scenes  of  frontier  life.  There  were  no  pub- 
lic schools  at  the  time  and  he  pursued  his 
education  in  a  subscription  school,  which 
was  held  in  an  old  frame  building,  supplied 
with  slab  seats,  while  boards  hung  to  the 
wall  served  as  writing  desks.  The  floor  was 
also  made  of  slabs,  and  one  entire  end  of  the 
room  was  taken  up  by  an  immense  fireplace. 
Although  his  educational  privileges  were 
somewhat  meager  his  training  at  farm  labor 
was  not  limited.  He  aided  in  the  arduous 
task  of  clearing  and  cultivating  new  land, 
and  throughout  his  entire  life  he  has  carried 
on  agricultural  pursuits.  He  has  never  lived 
outside  the  boundaries  of  Morris  township 
and  is  the  oldest  resident  within  its  borders 
born  in  the  township.     He  has  engaged  in 


38 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


a  limited  extent  in  carpenter  work  and  alsO' 
manufactured  coffins  for  the  burial  of  the 
dead  in  an  early  day,  but  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  his  energies  have  been  de- 
voted to  the  tilling  of  the  soil,  whereby  he 
has  secured  a  good  living. 

On  the  30th  of  September,  1841,  Mr. 
Rush  secured  as  a  companion  and  helpmate 
for  the  journey  of  life  Miss  Ann  Eliza  Lev- 
eridge,  a  daughtei  of  James  and  Anna 
(Douglass)  Leveridge.  They  had  two  chil- 
dren, but  one  died  in  infancy.  The  surviv- 
ing son  is  Alfred,  who  married  Emma  Mer- 
rin,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Ludima  (Irv- 
ine) Merrin,  and  he  now  operates  the  home 
farm.  For  many  years  Mr.  Rush  was  very 
prominent  in  public  affairs.  He  held  a  num- 
ber of  township  offices,  including  those  of 
supervisor  and  trustee,  and  he  has  ever  been 
a  warm  advocate  of  the  Republican  party 
since  its  organization.  His  public  duties 
were  ever  discharged  with  promptness  and 
fidelity  and  his  upright,  honorable  career 
won  for  him  the  confidence  and  respect  of 
all  with  whom  he  has  been  associated.  With 
the  consciousness  of  a  life  well  spent  and 
with  pleasant  memories  of  good  deeds  per- 
formed for  his  fellow  men  Mr.  Rush  is  near- 
ing  the  end  of  the  journey  of  life,  but  his 
influence  on  his  generation  cannot  be  calcu- 
lated nor  his  value  as  a  pioneer  be  meas- 
ured. 


WTLLIAM  EBERSOLE. 

In  the  death  of  William  Ebersole  Knox 
county  lost  cue  of  its  citizens  whom  it  had 
learned  to  value  by  reason  of  his  sterling 
worth,  his  business  honesty  and  his  upright 
life.     He  was  a  valiant  soldier  of  the  Civil 


war  and  throughout  the  remainder  of  his 
life  was  actively  identified  with  farming  in- 
terests in  Knox — his  native  county.  His 
birth  occurred  in  Wayne  township,  July  26, 
183 1,  his  parents  being  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Krider)  Ebersole.  His  father  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  war  of  1812  and  devoted  his 
energies  to  agricultural  pursuits,  so  that  our 
subject  was  reared  upon  a  farm,  where  he 
early  became  familiar  with  the  work  of  the 
field  and  meadow  and  with  all  the  labors 
that  make  up  the  sum  of  the  day's  toil  for  the 
agriculturist.  In  the  schools  of  Frederick- 
town  he  mastered  the  common  branches  of 
learning  and  then  pursued  his  chosen  occu- 
pation until  the  ist  of  September,  1862, 
when  feeling  that  his  duty  was  to  his  coun- 
try he  offered  his  services  to  the  government 
and  was  enrolled  among  the  boys  in  blue  of 
Company  G,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
first  Ohio  Infantry.  He  was  mustered  into 
service  at  Camp  Chase  and  remained  at  the 
front  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  war. 
Being  taken  ill  he  lay  in  the  army  hospital 
for  a  long  time,  but  nevertheless  he  rendered 
active  and  efficient  service  to  the  Union 
cause  in  a  number  of  hotly  contested  battles. 
He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Chicka-  ; 
mauga  and  Perryville,  the  siege  if  Atlanta  1 
and  after  the  fall  of  that  city  went  with  i 
Sherman  on  his  celebrated  march  to  the  i 
sea,  which  proved  that  the  strength  of  the 
Confederacy  was  almost  spent.  \Mien  the 
active  hostilities  had  ceased  he  participated 
in  the  grand  review  in  W^ashington,  D.  C, 
where  "wave  after  wave  of  bayonet  crested 
blue"  swept  by  the  stand  from  which  the 
president  watched  the  return  of  the  victori- 
ous army.  He  was  then  discharged  and 
mustered  out  of  service  in  April.  1S65. 

With  a  creditable  militarv  record  Will- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


39 


iam  Ebersole  returned  to  his  home,  and  on 
the  isth  of  October  of  the  following  year 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Matilda  Eber- 
sole, a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Ann 
(Johnson)  Ebersole.  Her  paternal  grarid- 
father,  Jacob  Ebersole,  came  to  Knox  coun- 
ty from  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1812,  and  therefore  was  one  of  the  pioneer 
settlers,  for  the  work  of  improvement  and 
civilization  had  scarcely  been  begun  at  the 
time  of  his  arrival.  He  married  Magdalene 
Whitmore,  and  they  had  six  children :  John 
the  father  of  Mrs.  Ebersole  of  this  review; 
Elizabeth,  who  became  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Wise;  Nancy,  who  married  John  Baugh- 
man;  Jacob;  Catherine;  and  Joseph.  The 
first  of  this  family,  John  Ebersole,  married 
Mary  Ann  Johnson,  a  daug'hter  of  Jacob  and 
Elizabeth  Johnson,  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  three  children:  Floretta  E.,  the  wife 
of  Edward  Coe;  Mrs.  Matilda  Ebersole  of 
this  sketch ;  and  Rebecca  Ann,  who  married 
David  Studer. 

William  Ebersole  and  his  wife  began 
their  domestic  life  on  the  farm  where  she  is 
now  living.  He  devoted  his  energies  to 
agricultural  pursuits  from'  the  time  of  his 
return  from  the  army  until  his  death,  and 
his  labors  brought  to  him  success,  for  he 
was  energetic,  capable  and  systematic — qual- 
ities..which  always  contribute  largely  to  pros- 
perity. His  fellow  townsmen  knew  him  for 
an  honorable  man,  reliable  and  trustworthy, 
and  his  friends  found  him  genial  and  kindly, 
but  his  loss  is  most  greatly  felt  in  the  home 
where  he  was  a  devoted  husband  and  where 
he  is  survived  only  by  his  widow,  they  never 
having  had  any  children.  He  passed  away 
November  14,  1893,  but  his  memory  is  still 
enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  many  who  knew 
him.     Mrs.  Ebersole  is  living  alone  on  the 


farm,  which  she  superintends.  It  is  pleas- 
antly and  conveniently  located  only  a  mile 
from  Fredericktown,  and  she  has  one  of  the 
finest  residences  in  the  township.  Her  land 
is  seventy-three  acres  in  extent  and  returns 
to  her  annually  a  good  income  in  reward  for 
the  care  and  labor  which,  under  her  direc- 
tion, is  bestowed  upon  it.  In  the  community 
where  she  has  so  long  resided  she  has  many 
warm  friends  who  will  be  glad  to  read  this 
history  of  her  and  her  husband. 


WILLIAM  H.  SMITH. 

On  the  roster  of  county  officials  in  Knox 
county  appears  the  namje  of  William  H. 
Smith,  who  is  now  serving  the  second  term 
as  county  recorder.  A  well-known  states- 
man has  said,  "You  may  fool  all  of  the 
American  people  some  of  the  time :  some  of 
the  people  all  of  the  time,  but  you  can't  fool 
all  of  the  American  people  all  of  the  time." 
The  truth  of  this  is  continually  manifest  in 
political  life.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
men  by  unworthy  methods  sometimes  gain 
public  office,  but  a  discriminating  public 
does  not  retain  them'  there,  and  when  one  is 
re-elected  to  office  it  is  very  good  evidence 
that  he  is  deserving  and  trustworthy.  Such 
is  certainly  the  case  with  Mr.  Smith,  who  is 
now  capably  serving  in  the  position  of  coun- 
ty recorder  for  a  second  term. 

He  is  one  of  Knox  county's  native  sons, 
his  birth  having  occurred  in  Milford  town- 
ship in  1836,  and  his  ancestry  may  be  traced 
back  to  one  of  the  Revolutionary  heroes,  for 
his  grandfather,  Captain  Henry  Smith,  com.- 
manded  a  company  in  the  war  for  independ-. 
ence  and  was  at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia, 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


when  the  place  was  surrounded  by  Indians. 
He  wedded  Mary  Irisli,  who  was  born  in 
Ireland,  and  among  their  children  was  Will- 
iam H.  Smith,  the  father  of  our  subject.  He 
was  born  in  Ohio  county,  Virginia,  in  1799 
and  in  18^3  emigrated  to  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  locating  on  a  farm  in  Alilford 
township,  where  he  successfully  carried 
on  agricultural  pursuits  until  1866.  A 
recognized  leader  in  public  thought  and 
opinion,  he  was  called  upon  to  serve 
in  many  positions  of  trust  and  respon- 
sibility. He  acted  as  township  trustee 
and  in  other  local  offices  and  in  1843  ^"^  in 
1845  "^^'^s  elected  to  the  state  legislature. 
Later  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  state  senate. 
His  pohtical  belief  was  that  of  the  Demo- 
ocratic  party.  He  took  an  active  part  in  try- 
ing to  defeat  the  Walhondig  canal  and  this 
caused  his  political  defeat  on  one  occasion, 
but  time  proved  that  his  course  was  a  wise 
one  and  that  the  people  again  placed  confi- 
dence in  his  political  work  was  shown  by  the 
fact  that  he  was  again  elected  to  the  legisla- 
ture. He  left  the  impress  of  his  individual- 
ity upon  many  measures  which  came  up  for 
settlement  in  the  house  when  he  occupied  a 
scat  therein,  and  he  ever  commanded  the  re- 
spect of  his  colleagues  by  reason  of  his  fidel- 
ity to  his  honest  convictions.  For  many 
years  he  was  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  Milford  township, 
and  with  every  movement  that  had  for -its 
object  the  general  welfare  he  was  in  sym- 
pathy. 

Hon.  William  H.  Smith  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Esther  Dill,  whow-as  born 
near  Columbus,  Ohio,  a  daughter  of  Andrew 
Dill,  who  served  as  a  captain  in  the  war  of 
181 2  under  General  Mc Arthur  and  was 
present  at  the  time  of  Hull's  surrender.    Mr. 


Smith  died  in  Mount  Vernon,  in  1871,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-two  years  and  the  com- 
munity thereby  lost  one  of  its  honored  and 
valued  citizens.  His  wife  survived  until 
1 89 1  and  died  in  Tennessee  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one.  The  members  of  the  family 
were:  Henry,  of  Kossuth  county,  Iowa; 
Mary,  deceased  wife  of  Morris  Mahan,  of 
Grand  Rapids,  Michigan;  William  H. ; 
James,  who  served  as  sergeant  major  in  the 
Civil  war  and  is  now  living  in  Tiffin,  Ohio; 
Harriet,  of  Knoxville,  Tennessee;  and 
Thomas  and  Adalaide,  who  are  also  living 
in  Knoxville. 

In  the  common  schools  of  this  county 
William  H.  Smith  pursued  his  education" 
and  throughout  his  business  career  he  has 
carried  on  general  farming  and  stock-rais- 
ing, following  those  pursuits  on  an  extensive 
scale  in  Liberty  township.  His  enterprise 
and  industry,  combined  with  good  judg- 
ment, made  him  one  of  the  leading  and  pros- 
perous farmers  of  the  community  and  every- 
thing about  his  place  indicated  his  care  and 
supervision.  In  1897,  however,  he  put  aside 
the  work  of  the  farm  to  enter  upon  the  duties 
of  county  recorder,  to  which  office  he  had 
been  elected  in  the  fall  of  the  previous  year, 
for  a  three-years'  term.  In  1900  he  was 
again  chosen  for  the  same  position — -the 
election  being  a  comment  upon  his  efficiency 
and  trustworthiness.-  For  twelve  years  he 
had  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  in  Milford 
township  and  was  assessor  both  in  Liberty 
and  Milford  townships.  He  has  been  a  life- 
long Democrat,  very  active  in  behalf  of  the; 
party. 

Mr.  Smith  married  Miss  Hannah  J. 
iVIilligan,  of  Miller  township,  a  daughter  of 
George  Milligan,  who  came  from  Ohio 
countv,    \'irginia,    to    the    Buckeve    state.      I 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


Their  children  are  William  H. ;  Elizabeth, 
at  home;  George,  of  Columbus;  Esther,  who 
assists  her  father  in  the  recorder's  office; 
Louisa,  the  wife  of  John  Keys,  of  Liberty 
township;  Hervey  and  Frances,  who  assist 
in  the  recorder's  office.  The  family  is  wide- 
ly known  in  the  county  and  its  members 
enjoy  the  warm  regard  of  many  friends. 


HENRY  P.  DURBIN. 

Tlie  name  of  Durbin  is  closely  inter- 
woven with  the  history  of  Knox  county,  for 
at  an  early  day  its  representatives  came  to 
this  part  of  Ohio^  and  since  that  time  mem- 
bers of  the  family  have  been  actively  indenti- 
fied  with  the  line  of  work  that  leads  to  the 
substantial  development  and  improvement 
of  a  community.  From  pioneer  times  down 
to  the  present  they  have  been  associated  with 
agricultural  interests — and  it  is  the  work  of 
the  farm  that  forms  the  basis  of  all  business 
activity.  Henry  Patterson  Durbin  is  now 
engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  upon 
an  excellent  farm  in  Morris  township.  His 
ancestry  on  both  the  paternal  and  maternal 
sides  may  be  traced  back  to  Germany,  but 
in  the  primitive  period  of  American  settle- 
ment those  from  whom  he  traces  his  descent 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world.  Sam- 
uel Durbin,  his  grandfather,  was  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania  and  in  that  state  was  reared 
and  married.  Li  1810,  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  he  came  to  Knox  county  and  entered 
a  large  tract  of  land  from  the  government, 
developing  therefrom  a  farm  which  is  still 
owned  by  his  descendants.  Since  that  time 
the  Durbins  have  been  classed  among  the 
leading  citizens  of  Knox  county  on  accoimt 
of  their  sterling  worth  and  the  efficient  aid 


they  have  given  to  all  measures  and  move- 
ments for  the  general  good. 

Henry  Patterson  Durbin  was  born  in 
Mount  Vernon,  June  7.  1838,  and  to  its  pub- 
lic schools  system  he  is  indebted  for  the  edu- 
cational privileges  he  enjoyed.  Early  in  life 
he  went  to  Paris,  Illinois,  where  he  was  mar- 
ried, on  the  20th  of  December,  1864,  to  Miss 
]\Iary  Chilcoat,  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
and  Mary  (Swoise)  Chilcoat.  Seven  chil- 
dren have  been  born  unto  them,  as  follows : 
Emery,  who  is  operating  the  old  home  farm 
with  his  father;  Jessie  E.,  the  wife  of  James 
Parish,  by  whom  she  had  four  children — 
Ethel  Adel,  Frances  Marie,  Tina,  deceased, 
and  Minnie;  Lizzie,  who  died  in  1893,  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  years;  William  R.,  who 
lives  in  Mount  Vernon;  Miles,  at  home;  one 
who  died  in  infancy ;  and  Grace,  wife  of 
Ellsworth   Johnson. 

Mr.  Durbin  has  for  a  number  of  years 
resided  in  Morris  township,  where  he  owns 
and  operated  a  valuable  tract  of  land  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  The  industry 
which  has  ever  been  characteristic  of  his  bus- 
iness career  has  enabled  him  to  overcome  all 
the  obstacles  and  difficulties  in  his  path  and 
steadily  advance  on  the  high  road  to  success. 
Tliomas  Emery  Durbin,  his  son,  who  is 
associated  with  him  in  the  management  and 
cultivation  of  the  home  farm,  was  born  in 
Paris.  Illinois,  January  23,  1866,  but  during 
his  infancy  was  brought  by  his  parents  to 
Knox  county.  He  pursued  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  and  then  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  pursuit  to  which  he  had  been 
reared — that  of  farming.  Experience  and 
careful  consideration  have  taught  him  the 
best  methods  of  tilling  the  soil  so  as  to  pro- 
duce good  crops  and  annually  his  rich  har- 
vests add  to  his  financial  resources. 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


On  the  1 6th  of  February,  1898,  Thomas 
E.  Durbin  was  married  to  Miss  Birdie  E. 
Hess,  who  was  born  July  7,  1878,  and  they 
are  now  the  parents  of  two  interesting  httle 
sons,  Dwig-ht  Russell  and  Floyd  Hess.  Mr. 
Durbin  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pyth- 
ias fraternity,  belonging  to  Timon  Lodge, 
No.  4,  and  also  to  the  Uniformed  Rank.  He 
was  also  at  one  time  associated  with  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  his  re- 
ligious faith  he  is  a  Methodist  and  in  his  po- 
litical views  is  a  strong  Republican,  unwav- 
ering in  his  allegiance  to  the  party  which  he 
thinks  best  conserves  the  public  welfare. 


ELI  A.  WOLFE. 


Eli  A.  Wolfe  now  ranks  as  the  leading 
business  man  of  Howard  and  is  classed 
among  the  most  energetic  and  progressive 
citizens  O'f  Knox  county,  where  he  has  spent 
his  entire  life.  An  analyzation  of  his  char- 
acter shows  that  he  owes  his  success  not  to 
inheritance  or  the  aid  of  influential  friends, 
but  to  his  own  well-directed  efforts.  Realiz- 
ing that  in  America  "labor  is  king,''  with 
resolute  purpose  he  set  to  work  to  achieve 
prosperity  and  earnest  toil  has  secured  his 
steady  advancement. 

Mr.  Wolfe  is  a  native  of  Harrison  town- 
ship, this  county,  December  30.  1857,  and 
comes  of  a  family  of  German  lineage,  which, 
however  was  planted  on  American  soil  at  an 
early  period  in  the  development  of  this  coun- 
try. His  grandfather,  John  Wolfe,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  and  became  one  of  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  Knox  county,  where  he 
followed  his  chosen  occupation  of  farming. 
His  son,  Jacob  Wolfe,  the  father  of  our  sub- 


ject, was  born  in  Harrison  township  and 
when  he  had  attained  to  man's  estate  fol- 
lowed the  occupation  to  which  he  had  been 
reared — that  of  cultivating  the  soil.  His 
death  occurred  in  1861..  His  wife,  who  in 
her  maidenhood  was  Mary  A.  McArtor,  vvas 
born  and  reared  in  Howard  township.  Her 
father,  Jonathan  McArtor,  was  a  native  of 
Virginia,  and  became  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Knox  county.  He  was  oi  Irish  descent 
and  provided  for  his  family  by  following  the 
plow.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Wolfe,  is  still 
living  and  makes  her  home  with  her  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  Holmes,  in  Mount  Vernon.  By 
her  marriage  she  became  the  mother  of  two 
sons  and  a  daughter,  all  of  whom  are  living: 
Cary  E.,  a  resident  farmer  of  Harrison 
township;  Eli  A.;  and  Celesta,  the  wife  of 
Harry  Holmes,  of  Mount  Vernon. 

On  his  father's  farm  in  his  native  town- 
ship Eli  Wolfe  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood 
and  youth  and  began  his  education  in  the 
home  district.  After  mastering  the  common 
branches  of  English  learning  he  became  a 
student  in  the  Normal  at  Utica,  Ohio,  where 
he  completed  a  three-years'  course  and  was 
graduated  in  1881.  He  then  engaged  in 
teaching  school  for  a  year  in  the  village  of 
Bladensburg,  and  on  the  4th  of  July,  1882, 
he  began  dealing  in  general  merchandising  in 
Howard,  where  he  has  since  conducted  a 
store,  carrying  a  large  and  well-selected 
stock  of  goods.  His  reasonable  prices,  his 
straightforward  business  methods  and  his 
earnest  desire  to  please  have  secured  to  him 
a  liberal  patronage  and  made  the  business 
profitable.  Since  1891  he  has  been  associ- 
ated with  J.  G.  Critchfield  in  the  undertak- 
ing business  and  since  1897  has  been  an  act- 
ive representative  to  the  grain  trade.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  his  efforts  have  not 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


been  confined  to  one  line.  He  is  a  man  of 
resourceful  business  ability  and  his  capable 
management,  enterprise  and  laudable  ambi- 
tion have  won  him  prosperity.  It  is  true 
that  like  other  business  men  he  may  not  have 
found  all  the  days  equally  bright.  Indeed, 
in  his  commercial  experience  he  has  seen  the 
gathering  of  clouds  that  threaten  disaster, 
but  his  rich  inheritance  of  energy  and  pluck 
has  enabled  him  to  turn  defeats  into  victory 
and  promised  failures  into  brilliant  svic- 
cesses.  His  strict  integrity,  business  con- 
servatism and  judgment  have  been  so  uni- 
formly recognized  that  Mr.  Wolfe  has  en- 
joyed public  confidence  to  an  enviable  de- 
gree and  naturally  this  has  brought  him 
such  a  lucrative  patronage  that  through 
times  of  general  prosperity  and  general  ad- 
versity alike,  he  has  witnessed  a  steady  in- 
crease in  his  business  until  to-day  it  is  one 
of  the  most  flourishing  in  this  part  of  Knox 
county. 

Mr.  Wolfe  has  been  twice  married.     In 

1 88 1  he  wedded  Blanch  McKee,  who  died 

leaving  one  son,  Frank  L.     In  1895  he  was 

again  married,  his  second  union  being  with 

Edna  Ellis.    He  has  filled  some  local  offices, 

has  been  notary  public  since   1885   and  in 

that    year    was    appointed    postmaster    and 

again  in    1892   under  President   Cleveland. 

i       Altogether  his  service  as  postmaster  and  as- 

[       sistant    postmaster    has    covered     fourteen 

[       years,  and  his  public  service,  like  the  record 

1       of  his  business  career  and  his  private  life,  is 

I       alike  above  reproach.   For  nine  years  he  was 

I       township  clerk  and  in  his  political  views  he 

I       is  a  stanch  Democrat.     Fraternally  he  is  a 

;       member  of  Danville  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and 

is  also  identified  with  the  Modern  Woodmen 

[       Camp  at  Howard.     He  holds  membership 

i       with  the  Christian  church,  in  which  he  is 


serving  as  clerk,  and  is  a  gentleman  of  up- 
right principles,  unfailing-  honor  in  business, 
of  uniform  kindness  and  courtesy  and  one 
who  has  high  regard  for  the  amenities  of 
life. 


JOHN  LEONARD. 

John  Leonard,  now  deceased,  was  one  of 
the  honored  pioneers  of  Knox  county,  where 
he  located  when  this  portion  of  the  state  was 
a  wild  frontier  region  in  which  the  work  of 
progress  and  development  had  scarcely  been 
begun.  His  labors  added  to  the  general  ad- 
vancement and  improvement,  and  in  the 
passing  of  the  years  he  was  acknowledged 
to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable  representa- 
tives of  the  farming  interests  of  the  county. 

Mr.  Leonard  was  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, his  birth  having  occurred  in  Wash- 
ington county,  of  the  Keystone  state,  on  the 
28th  of  March,  1814.  His  education  was 
there  obtained  in  the  primitive  schools  of  the 
time,  and  through  the  summer  months  the 
work  oi  the  home  farm  claimed  his  attention. 
He  was  but  thirteen  years  of  age  when  he 
came  to  Knox  county  with  his  parents,  Sam- 
uel and  Phebe  (Logan)  Leonard,  who  en- 
tered a  large  tract  of  land  in  Morris  town- 
ship and  there  began  the  development  of  a 
farm.  Our  subject  shared  with  his  family  in 
all  the  hardships  and  trials  of  pioneer  life 
and  bore  his  share  in  the  arduous  task  of  re- 
claiming wild  land  for  purposes  of  civiliza- 
tion. Throughout  his  entire  life  he  carried 
on  general  farming  and  at  his  death  was  the 
owner  of  a  very  valuable  and  richly  improved 
tract  of  land  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  1866,  Mr.  Leonaid 
married  Miss  Harriet  Boudinot,  who  repre- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


sented  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  America, 
tracing  her  ancestry  back  to  the  French 
Huguenots,  who  sought  freedom  from  per- 
secution in  America  in  the  early  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  Three  brothers,  Elisha, 
Elias  and  John  Boudinot,  it  is  believed, 
crossed  the  Atlantic  in  the  Mayflower  in 
1620,  and  the  first  named  was  the  grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Leonard  four  times  removed. 
Her  grandfather  also  bore  the  name  of  Elias. 
The  family  became  very  prominent  in  public 
afifairs  and  representatives  of  the  name  were 
associated  with  events  which  went  to  frame 
the  policy  of  the  nation.  An  uncle  of  Mrs. 
Leonard  was  Elias  Boudinot,  LL.  D.,  who 
was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  May 
2,  1740.  He  became  an  eminent  lawyer  and 
was  an  advocate  of  colonial  liberty.  In  1777 
congress  appointed  him  commissary  general, 
having  charge  of  provisions  for  the  army, 
and  the  same  year  he  was  elected  to  congress. 
He  becamie  president  of  that  body  in  1782 
and  the  following  year,  in  his  official  capac- 
ity, he  signed  the  treaty  of  peace  which  ended 
the  eight  years'  struggle  that  brought  inde- 
pendence to  the  nation.  Washington  made 
him  superintendent  of  the  mint  in  1796,  and 
he  filled  that  position  until  1805,  when  he 
resigned  and  retired  fro'm  public  life,  after 
a  career  of  public  usefulness  and  honor  that 
extended  over  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury. He  was  a  trustee  of  Princeton  College, 
to  which  he  gave  a  cabinet  of  natural  history 
specimens.  In  181 2  he  was  a  member  of  the 
American  board  of  commissioners  for  for- 
eign afifairs  and  missions,  and  in  18 16  was 
the  first  president  of  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciety, to  which  he  gave  very  liberal  dona- 
tions. He  was  one  of  the  first  writers  to 
favor  the  idea  that  American  Indians  were 
c  f  Jewish  origin,  to  which  end  he  published 


the  Star  of  the  West,  or  An  Effort  to  Dis- 
cover the  Lost  Tribes  of  Israel.  He  also 
published  the  Age  of  Infidelity,  and  other 
works  which  awakened  the  interest  of  the 
scientific  world.     He  died  in  1821. 

The  parents  of  Mrs.  Leonard  were  John 
and  Margaret  (Williams)  Boudinot.  Their 
daughter  was  born  in  Athens  county  May  3, 
184 1,  and  when  ten  years  old  accompanied 
her  parents  on  their  removal  to  Morris 
township,  Knox  county,  where  she  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools.  Her  maternal 
grandfather  was  William  Williams,  a  sol- 
dier of  the  Revolutionary  war,  who  enlisted 
from  Virginia,  in  which  state  Mrs.  Boudinot 
was  born.  John  Boudinot  was  born  in  New 
Jersey  in  1771  and  enlisted  from  Oneida 
county,  N.  Y.,  for  service  in  the  war  of  1812, 
under  Captain  John  Whitney.  In  181 7  he 
removed  to  Ohio  and  there  he  and  his  wife 
spent  their  remaining  days.  They  became 
the  parents  of  ten  children,  namely:  Will- 
iam, deceased ;  Elias  R. ;  Tobias,  who  has 
also  passed  away ;  James,  deceased ;  Eliza, 
the  deceased  wife  of  Jacob  Walter;  John, 
who  has  been  called  to  his  final  rest ;  Sarah, 
the  wife  of  Josiah  Walter,  and  a  resident  of 
St.  Joseph,  Missouri;  George,  deceased; 
Henrietta,  the  wife  of  J.  E.  Fritz,  of  War- 
saw, Indiana;  and  Harriet,  who  completes 
the  family,  and  is  now  well  known  in  Knox 
county  as  the  honored  wife  of  Mr.  Leonard. 

At  the  time  of  her  marriage  she  went  to 
her  husband's  home  in  Morris  township  and 
there  they  lived  happily  for  many  years.  Mr. 
Leonard  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to 
general  farming  and  owned  and  operated' 
three  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land, 
constituting  a  valuable  and  highly  im- 
proved tract.  He  was  industrious  and 
energetic,     and    his    capable    management 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


45 


made  him  one  of  the  pro-sperous  farmers 
of  his  locaUty.  His  fehow  townsmen, 
recognizing"  his  worth  and  abihty,  fre- 
quently cahed  him  to  pubHc  office.  He 
served  as  township  trustee  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  terms  was  supervisor,  discharging  his 
duties  in  a  manner  that  won  him  the  com- 
mendation of  ah  concerned.  He  co-operated 
in  all  movements  which  he  believed  would 
prove  of  general  good,  and  in  matter  oi  bus- 
iness and  private  concern  he  was  ever 
straightforward  and.  honorable,  command- 
ing the  respect  of  his  fellow  men  in  a  high 
measure.  He  passed  away  October  28,  1893, 
and  the  community  mourned  the  loss  of  one 
of  its  best  citizens,  while  in  the  household 
his  place  can  never  be  filled.  Mrs.  Leonard 
is  still  living  on  the  old  homestead,  where 
she  went  as  a  bride  many  years  ago.  Her 
excellent  qualities  have  gained  her  many 
friends. 


JAMES  WESLEY  COE. 

James  W.  Coe,  the  late  efficient  county 
infirmary  director,  is  descended  from  good 
old  Revolutionary  ancestry,  and  the  family 
has  long  been  one  of  prominence  in  this 
state.  His  paternal  great-grandfather,  Phil- 
ip Coe.  served  throughout  the  struggle  for 
independence,  and  he  also  assisted  in  throw- 
ing overboard  the  tea  into  the  Boston  har- 
bor. He  became  a  prominent  land  owner 
and  agent  in  Marshall  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  there  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  days.  He  became  the  father  of  two 
sons,  Isaac  and  Philip,  and  the  former  be- 
came the  grandfather  of  onr  subject.  He 
reared  a  family  of  fifteen  children,  who  set- 
tled over    different    parts    of    the    United 


States,  and  during  the  Civil  war  they  were 
represented  in  both  the  Confederate  and 
Federal  armies.  John  Coe,  the  father  of 
him  whose  name  introduces  this  review, 
served  with  distinction  throughout  the 
struggle  between  the  north  and  the  south, 
as  did  also  three  of  his  sons.  As  a  compan- 
ion for  the  journey  of  life  he  chose  Matilda 
a  daughter  of  John  Newland,  and  the  latter 
married  a  Van  Rensaellaer,  of  Wellington, 
Delaware. 

James  Wesley  Coe,  a  son  of  this  worthy 
couple,  removed  from.  West  Virginia  to 
Ohio  in  1866.  When  the  Civil  war  was 
inaugurated  he  was  then  but  a  lad  of  sev- 
enteen years,  but  he  nobly  offered  his  ser- 
vices to  his  country,  and  for  three  years  he 
was  a  brave  and  gallant  defender  of  the 
cause  which  he  esposed.  He  became  a 
member  of  Company  A,  Twelfth  West  Vir- 
ginia Infantry,  enlisting  for  service  in  1862, 
and  during  his  military  career  he  partici- 
pated in  twelve  regular  battles,  among  them 
being  the  battle  of  Appomattox.  For  a  time 
he  was  confined  as  a  prisoner  of  war  at  Lib- 
by  and  Belle  Island,  and  also  participated 
in  the  taking  of  Fort  Craig,  which  was  the 
last  fort  taken  during  the  war.  Mr.  Coe  is 
no'W  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  of  Mount  Vernon,  in  which  he 
maintains  pleasant  relations  with  his  old 
army  comrades. 

After  hostilities  had  ceased  Mr.  Coe  re- 
turned to  his  home  with  a  most  creditable 
military  record,  and  once  more  took  up  the 
quiet  duties  of  civil  life.  In  1870  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  Jackson  township,  Knox 
county,  where  he  made  his  home  until  1886, 
and  in  that  year  he  came  tO'  Mount  Vernon, 
which  has  ever  since  been  his  home.  For 
twenty-two  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  op- 


46 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


eration  of  a  sawmiU,  on  the  expiration  of 
which  period,  in  1892,  he  was  elected  to  the 
position  of  director  of  the  county  infimiary, 
and  so  well  did  he  discharge  the  duties  rest- 
ing upon  him  in  that  office  that  in  1898  he 
was  again  elected,  and  has  but  recently 
closed  his  connection  with  that  institution. 
He  has  also'  filled  other  offices  of  trust  and 
responsibility,  having  been  the  choice  of  his 
party  for  the  position  of  trustee  of  Jack- 
son township  in  1884,  and  in  the  following 
year  he  was  made  constable  and  assessor  of 
that  township,  while  for  four  years  he 
served  as  school  director.  In  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life  he  has  been  found  true  to  every 
trust  rei.)OSfd  in  him,  and  he  merits  and  re- 
ceives the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  who 
know  him. 

In  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  was  cele- 
brated the  marriage  of  IMr.  Coe  and  Miss 
Sarah  Fry,  then  a  young  lady  of  twenty 
years,  and  two  years  his  junior.  She  is  a 
native  of  that  county  and  a  daughter  of 
William  Fry,  who  came  to  this  state  from 
Pennsylvania.  This  union  has  been  blessed 
with  three  children:  William,  a  mechanic 
of  Mount  Vernon,  and  whose  wife  was  Sa- 
rah Krumlauf ;  Alvaretta,  the  wife  of  Bruce 
Gleason,  also  of  this  city;  and  lonJt,  the  wife 
of  Bryant  Mann,  of  Mount  Vernon.  The 
family  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
church. 


ADAM   HIDER   DARfLING. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  about 
the  sterling  stock  of  the  Old  Dominion  and 
its  influence  upon  the  settlement  and  devel- 
opment of  all  parts  of  the  United  States; 
but  the  half  has  never  been  told  and  nothing 
like  a  complete  story  ever  will  be  told  except 


in  the  aggregate  of  accounts  of  the  lives 
and  achievements  of  representatives  of  Vir- 
ginian families  in  every  state  of  the  Union. 
Ohio,  because  of  its  proximity  to  the  grand 
old  state  which  has  become  known  as  the 
"mother  of  presidents,"  has  received  a  gen- 
erous share  of  virile  Virginian  blood  and 
her  citizens  have  reason  to  congratulate 
themselves  because  of  that  fact.  Knox 
county  received  many  Virginian  pioneers 
and  among  them  was  the  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch. 

Adam  H.  Darling,  a  retired  farmer,  of 
Bladensburg,  Jackson  township,  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  was  born  in  Knox  county  on 
Christmas  day,  oi  1821,  a  son  of  Abrara 
Darling,  who  was  born  in  Virginia  March 
29,  1780,  and  came  to  Knox  county  with  his 
father,  William  Darling,  the  grandfather  of 
Adam  H.  Darling,  in  1806.  William  Darl- 
ing was  born  in  Virginia  in  1756  and  served 
the  cause  of  the  colonies  during  the  entire 
period  of  the  Revolutionary  war  as  a  gal- 
lant and  devoted  soldier,  participating  in 
many  historic  engagements,  including  those 
at  Cowpens  and  King's  Mountain. 

Abram  Darling,  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  bought  land  in  Butler  town- 
ship in  1806  and  when  he  became  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  Knox  county.  He  was  married 
in  1808  to  Rhoda  Shrimplin,  who  was  born 
and  reared  in  Maryland  and  who  bore  him 
fourteen  children,  three  of  whom  died  in 
infanc}'  and  three  are  yet  living,  of  whom 
Adam  H.  is  the  third  in  order  of  nativity. 
These  children  were  named  as  follows : 
Sophia,  Patrick  M.,  Margaret,  William, 
Jane,  Lydia,  Adam  H.,  Mary,  Milan,  An- 
gus, Jackson,  Walter,  Amos  and  Caroline. 
Those  who  are  living  are  William,  Jackson 
and  Adam  H. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


Adam  H.  Darling  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  Butler  township,  and  on  February 
25,  1843,  married  Martha  Strong,  who  was 
born  in  Maryland  August  i,  1824,  and  had 
been  brought  from  her  native  state  by  her 
parents,  who  were  among  the  early  settlers 
in  Knox  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darling 
have  had  born  to  them  twelve  children,  one 
of  whom  died  in  infanc)'.  The  names  of 
the  others  are  as  follows :  Telitha,  Thurza, 
Sullivan,  Grace,  Nink,  Patience,  Shrimplin, 
Charles,  Jackson,  Perry  and  George  W. 

In  1897  Mr.  Darling  sold  his  farm  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  retired 
from  active  life.  As  a  Democrat  he  has 
taken  a  leading  part  in  public  affairs  and 
for  six  years  filled  the  office  of  trustee  of 
Jackson  township. 


ELI  JOHN  P.  TAYLOR. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  who  is  of  Eng- 
lish and  Scotch-Irish  aiicestry,  and  who  is 
an  old  and  respected  citizen  of  Clay  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  was  born  in  Del- 
aware July  20,  1832.  Abraham-  Taylor,  his 
father,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  his 
ancestors  came  over  to  America  with  Will- 
iam Penn.  Mary  Murtick,  whoi  married 
Abraham  Taylor  and  was  Eli  John  P.  Tay- 
lor's mother,  was  born  of  Scotch-Irish  par- 
entage at  Wilmington,  Deleware.  She  was 
early  orphaned  and  was  reared  and  educated 
by  a  Mr.  Franklin,  of  Wilmington.  Abra- 
ham and  Mary  (Murtick)  Taylor  came  to 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  in  1837,  and  to 
Knox  county  about  1843,  locating  in  Jack- 
son township.  They  were  the  parents  of 
five  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  two 


sons  and  the  daughters  are  living  at  this 
time.  Eli  John  P.  Taylor,  who  is  their 
youngest  son,  was  five  years  old  when  his 
parents  removed  from  Delaware  to  Coshoc- 
ton county,  Ohio,  and  eleven  years  old  when 
they  settled  in  Jackson  township,  Knox 
county.  His  father  died  in  his  seventy- 
fifth  year,  his  mother  in  her  ninety-second 
year. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  reared  in  Jackson  town- 
!  ship  and  educated  in  the  public  schools  near 
his  home.  He  was  married  June  2,  1864, 
to  Miss  Louisa  Fry,  who  was  born  in 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  September  9,  1844, 
a  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Huff- 
man) Fry.  Her  parents,  who  were  natives 
of  Pennsylvania,  were  earlv  settlers  in  Ohio. 
After  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tay- 
lor lived  in  Jackson  township  until  1881, 
when  they  located  on  their  present  farm  in 
Clay  township,  which  consists  of  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-two  acres,  well  equipped  in 
every  way  and  devoted  to  general  farming. 
Mr.  Taylor,  who  is  a  Democrat,  has  held 
several  local  offices  and  has  been  prominent 
as  a  member  of  the  township  board  of  edu- 
cation. His  religious  belief  led  him  to 
form  a  membership  with  the  Presbyterian 
church,  in  which  he  is  an  elder  and  in  the 
work  of  which  he  has  been  active  and  effi- 
cient. 

Eli  John  P.  and  Elizabeth  (Fry)  Taylor 
are  the  parents  of  six  children,  who  are 
here  named  in  the  order  of  their  nativity: 
Laura  V..  who  married  Alonzo  Blue,  and 
resides  near  Mount  Vernon ;  Benjamin  F., 
who  married  Miss  Zora  Scott,  of  Jackson 
township;  Mary  E.,  who  married  Charles 
Blackburn,  residing  in  Clay  township;  Will- 
iam H.,  who  married  Felicia  Scott,  of  Perry 
township,    Coshocton    county ;    and    Abra- 


48 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


ham  Leroy  and  Allen,  who'  are  assisting  in 
the  operation  of  the  honie  farm.  WilUam 
H.  Taylor  now  owns  the  John  Trimble 
farm  in  Coshocton  county,  which  was  se- 
cured under  the  administration  of  James 
Madison. 


DWIGHT  E.  SAPP. 

Dwight  E.  Sapp  is  a  typical  representa- 
tive Qif  the  progressive  American  spirit 
which  has  wrought  such  a  rapid  and  won- 
derful development  in  this  country.  En- 
ergy, industry  and  a  laudable  ambition  form 
the  basis  of  his  career  and  have  proved  a 
strong  foundation  upon  which  to  rear  the 
superstructure  of  his  success.  He  is  not 
only  well-known  as  an  able  practicing  at- 
torney at  Mount  Vernon,  but  is  connected 
with  many  corporations,  which  not  only  re- 
turn good  dividends  to  the  stockholders  but 
are  also  of  value  to  the  communities  with 
which  they  are  connected. 

Mr.  Sapp  was  born  in  Mount  Vernon  in 
1863  and  is  a  son  of  William  C.  Sapp,  a 
retired  merchant  of  this  city.  His  paternal 
grandfather.  Levi  Sapp.  was  a  native  of 
Maryland  and  from  that  stale  emigrated 
westward  in  1805,  continuing  his  journey 
until  he  reached  Knox  county,  Ohio.  Here 
he  secured  a  tract  of  land  in  L'nion  town- 
ship, whereon  he  continued  to  engage  in  ag- 
ricultural pursuits  until  his  retirement  from 
business  life.  He  then  removed  to  Mount 
Vernon,  where  throughout  his  remaining 
days  he  enjoyed  a  well-earned  rest.  He  was 
an  active  pioneer  who  took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  early  development  and  improvement 
of  the  county,  doing  all  in  his  power  to  ad- 
vance its  interests.     In  his  business  afifairs 


he  was  also  energetic  and  resolute  and  be- 
came one  of  the  prosperous  farmers  of  the 
community.  He  wedded  Mary  Colopy,  of 
Union  township,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Colo- 
py, one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Knox 
county.  Unto  Levi  and  Mary  (Colopy) 
Sapp  were  born  ten  children,  namely  :  Will- 
iam C,  the  father  of  our  subject;  L.  W.,  a 
successful  practicing  physician  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio;  J.  A.,  who  served  as  a  surgeon  in 
the  Civil  war  and  is  now  a  physician  of  Sa- 
lina,  Ohio;  Julius  B.,  who  was  a  soldier 
in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  and  is  now  prac- 
ticing dentistry  in  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Solo- 
mon, who  was  also  a  soldier  in  the  same 
war,  and  was  long  identified  with  the  United 
States  postal  service,  serving  as  postmaster 
of  Mount  Vernon  during  the  Harrison  and 
Cleveland  administrations ;  Amanda,  the 
wife  of  Dr.  F.  W.  Wernette,  of  Coshocton, 
Ohio;  Martha  P.,  wife  of  Colonel  L.  G. 
Hunt,  of  Mount  Vernon ;  Liicinda.  the  wid- 
ow of  John  Durbin,  a  prosperous  farmer  of 
Union  township,  Knox  county;  Sarah  A., 
widow  of  J.  W.  Bradfield.  an  ex-commis- 
sioner O'f  Knox  county:  and  George  Sapp, 
who  lives  on  the  old  home  place  in  Union 
township. 

William  C.  Sapp,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  on  the  old  family  homestead 
in  Union  township  in  1828  and,  leaving  the 
farm,  became  identified  with  mercantile  in- 
terests in  Mount  Vernon  prior  to  i860.  He 
gave  close  attention  to  business  and  his  hon- 
orable policy  and  earnest  desire  to  please  se- 
cured to  him  a  liberal  patrongae,  which  he 
enjoyed  until  his  retirement  to  private  life 
in  1880.  He  was  married,  in  1861,  to  Miss 
Francis  P.  Sapp,  daughter  of  Dr.  Enoch 
Sapp,  who  for  many  years  was  a  practicing 
physician  of  Coshocton,  Ohio.     He  married 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


Ruth  Shaw,  a  daughter  of  one  oi  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  Ohio,  who  came  from  Maryland. 
The  Doctor  was  a  son  of  Daniel  Sapp.  who 
laid  out  the  town  of  Danville,  Knox  county, 
which  was  named  in  his  honor.  He  was  a 
magistrate  of  the  county  for  many  years  and 
was  a  leading  and  influential  citizen  in  local 
affairs,  his  opinion  being  a  potent  force  in 
molding  public  thought  and  action.  In  ad- 
dition to  Dr.  Enoch  Sapp  his  children  were 
as  follows:  Major  William  R.  Sapp,  now 
deceased,  who  for  many  years  was  a  promi- 
nenty  attorney  of  the  count)^  and  also  held 
many  offices  of  public  trust,  being  internal 
revenue  collector  through  a  long  period, 
while  for  several  terms  he  also  represented 
his  district  in  congress;  John,  of  Knox 
coimty,  now  deceased,  who  was  the  father 
of  Colonel  William  F.  Sapp,  who  com- 
manded a  regiment  in  the  Civil  war  and  was 
afterward  for  several  terms  prosecuting  at- 
torney of  Knox  county,  whence  with  his 
wife,  a  daughter  o-f  Colonel  Brown,  he  re- 
moved to  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  where  for 
many  years  he  successfully  practiced  law 
and  for  a  number  of  terms  represented  his 
district  in  congress.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  on  both  the  paternal  and  maternal  sides 
the  Sapps  have  been  prominent  people  in 
whatever  communities  they  Lave  resided  and 
have  won  distinguished  honors  in  both  mili- 
tary and  professional  circles.  Dwight  E. 
Sapp  was  an  only  son,  but  has  a  sister,  Es- 
telle,  the  wife  of  William  E.  Fisher.  They 
formerly  resided  in  Mount  Vernon,  but  are 
now  living  in  London,  England. 

After     leaving     the     common     schools 
Dwight  E.  Sapp  continued  his  education  in 
i       Kenyon    College,    where    he    was    a    mem- 
ber of  the  class  of  1884.     Leaving  college 
he  began  the  study  of  law  under  Colonel  W. 


C.  Cooper,  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  later  was 
a  student  in  the  law  office  of  the  firm  of  Mc- 
Clelland &  Culbertson,  attorneys  of  this  city. 
In  1887  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  the 
same  year  was  appointed  county  recorder, 
to  which  position  he  was  afterward  elected 
for  two  subsequent  terms,  serving  from  1888 
until  1894.  In  the  latter  year  he  began  the 
practice  of  law  alone  in  Mount  Vernon  and 
in  April,  1900,  he  entered  into  partnership 
with  H.  C.  Devin,  under  .the  firm  name  of 
Sapp  &  Devin.  They  have  a  large  clientage 
of  an  important  character  and  rank  high  at 
the  bar  of  Knox  county.  Mr.  Sapp  is  also 
connected  with  many  important  business 
concerns.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Knox  Na- 
tional Bank,  of  Mount  Vernon,  president  of 
the  Coshocton  Gas  Company,  counsel  for 
and  director  of  the  Millersburg,  Wooster 
and  Orrville  Telephone  Company,  director 
of  the  Hillsboro  Light  ,  Fuel  and  Power 
Company,  secretary  of  the  Central  Ohio 
Electric  Railway  Company  and  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  Sunbury  &  Galena 
Telephone  Company.  He  has  done  much 
toward  the  development  of  the  gas  and  tele- 
phone industries  in  this  portion  of  the  state 
— two  branches  of  business  which  are 
widely  acknowledged  to  be  of  signal  import- 
ance and  benefit  to  the  communities  with 
which  they  are  connected. 

In  1895  Mr.  Sapp  married  Miss  Alice 
Evelyn  Thompson,  of  Mount  Auburn,  Cin- 
cinnati, a  daughter  of  Frank  and  Anna 
(Reakirt)  Thompson.  Her  father  was  for 
many  years  engaged  in  a  wholesale  business 
in  Cincinnati  and  during  his  life  occupied 
many  positions  of  public  trust.  He  was  one 
of  the  first  residents  of  Mount  Auburn.  His 
widow  is  still  living  and  is  a  representative 
of  an  old  and  prominent  family  of  that  por- 


so 


A    CEXTEXXIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


tion  of  the  state.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  and 
LIrs.  Sapp  has  been  blessed  with  one  child, 
Allen.  The  warm-hearted  and  cordial  hos- 
pitality of  their  home  is  enjoyed  by  their 
many  friends  in  Mount  Vernon,  where  they 
are  widely  and  favorably  known.  In  his 
political  views  Mr.  Sapp  is  an  active  and 
earnest  Republican  and  socially  he  is  iden- 
tified with  the  IMasonic  fraternity.  Varied 
and  important  are  the  business  interests  to 
which  he  has  given  his  attention  and  the 
number  of  these  is  indicative  of  the  ability 
and  character  of  the  man — resolute,  deter- 
mined, far-sighted  and  with  strict  regard  to 
the  ethics  of  business  life.  He  is  a  valued 
factor  in  the  community  and  ranks  among 
the  leading  and  influential  citizens  of  the 
county  with  which  his  ancestors  have  been 
identified  from  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth centurv. 


LEAXDER  McCA:\IEXT. 

The  Masonic  order  has  many  members 
of  long  standing  in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and 
there  is  none  o^f  them  who  is  more  widely 
known  or  more  highly  esteemed  than  Lean- 
der  ]\kCament,  an  undertaker  and  farmer 
of  Bladensburg,  Jackson  township,  who  by 
twenty-one  years  membership  may  be  said  to 
have  attained  to  his  majority  as  a  Mason. 
He  has  been  a  Knight  of  Pythias  since  1890, 
when  he  became  a  charter  member  of  his 
lodge.  He  is  not  without  considerable  local 
influence  politically  and  for  some  time  he 
ably  filled  the  office  of  constable  of  Clay 
township.  He  is  also  quite  well  known  in 
connection  with  the  work  of  the  Disciple 
church,  of  wliich  he  has  long  been  a  member. 


Leander  McCament  was  born  in  Jackson 
I  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  May  25, 
1850,  a  son  of  William  McCament,  a  mem- 
ber of  a  pioneer  family  in  Knox  county  and 
a  native  also  of  Jackson  township  who  was 
was  born  in  1824.  Samuel  McCament,  father 
of  William  and  grandfather  of  Leander  Mc- 
i  Cament,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  but 
^  settled  in  Jackson  township  while  he  was 
]  yet  a  very  young  man.  William  McCament 
married  Marjory  VanWinkle,  who  was  born 
in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  in  1828,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Moses  VanWinkle,  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, who  bore  her  husband  nine  children, 
of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the 
second  in  order  oi  birth,  and  who  were 
named  as  follows :  George  H. ;  Leander ; 
Christian  W. ;  Martha  L. ;  Ella;  Mary; 
Lucy;  and  two  others  who  died  in  infancy. 
With  the  exception  of  Leander,  Martha  and 
Mary  are  the  only  ones  now  living. 

Leander  McCament  remained  with  his 
father  until  the  latter's  death  and  since  that 
time  has  been  farming  independently.     To 
his  farming  he  added,  in  1891,  the  business 
of  undertaking,  in  which  he  has  been  increas- 
ingly successful.     He  was  married  Decem- 
ber 22,  1873,  to  Miss  Hester  Murphy,  who 
was  burn  in  Ireland  January  29,  1854,  and 
who,  her  father  having  died  in  her  native 
land  was   brought  to  this   country  by  her 
grandparents  when  she  was  three  years  old. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCament  have  had  ten  chil-       j 
dren,  who  are  here  mentioned  in  the  order  of        I 
their  birth :  Alberta,  Lena,  Vincent,   Glen-       j 
ville,  Alonzo,  Blaine,  Nellie,  Claire  V.,  Anita       ; 
and  George.    Of  these  Anita  died  at  the  age       ' 
of  five  years ;  Alberta  is  the  wife  of  George       ; 
W.  Hays,  of  near  Gambler;  Lena  is  the  wife       j 
of  William  Hall,  of  Utica;  Vincent  is  with 
his  father;  Glenville  is  a  street  car  conduc-      , 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


tor  in  Cleveland;  Alonzo  is  a  student  in 
the  Valparaiso  Normal  School ;  Elaine  is  a 
bookkeeper  with  Swift  &  Company,  of  Chi- 
cago; and  Nellie  is  a  high  school  student 
and  is  at  home. 


EPHRAIM  M.  WINELAND. 

With  the  building  interests  of  Knox 
county  Ephraim  M.  Wineland  was  long  and 
actively  associated  and  in  many  of  the  sub- 
stantial buildings  of  the  community  are.  seen 
evidences  of  his  thrift  and  handwork.  He 
has  also  to  some  extent  followed  farming, 
but  now  he  is  living  a  retired  life,  enjoy- 
ing the  rest  which  should  come  to  one  as 
the  shadows  of  life's  evening  lengthens. 

Mr.  Wineland  was  born  in  Bedford  coun- 
ty, now  Blair  county,  Pennsylvania,  July 
27,  1827.  His  father,  Jacob  Wineland,  was 
born,  reared  and  married  in  that  locality  and 
about  1842  came  to  Kno-x  county,  locating 
in  Pike  township,  where  he  died  when  about 
forty  years  of  age.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Mock,  a  native  oi  Bedford  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  died  in  Knox  county.  They  were 
the  parents  of  four  daughters  and  two  sons 
that  grew  to  mature  years  and  they  also  lost 
two  children  in  early  life.  In  taking  up  the 
personal  history  of  Ephraim  M.  Wineland 
we  present  to  our  readers  the  life  record  of 
one  who  is  widely  and  favorably  known  in 
this  county,  for  he  was  only  about  six 
months  old  when  brought  by  his  parents  to 
Ohio,  where  he  has  since  lived.  When  a  boy 
he  pursued  his  education  in  a  log  school 
house  in  Pike  township  and  there  mastered 
the  common  English  branches  of  learning. 
He  remained  at  home  until  he  had  attained 


his  majority  and  assisted  in  the  work  of  the 
fields,  early  becoming  familiar  with  all  de- 
partments of  farm  labor.  On  starting  out 
in  life  for  himself  he  served  an  apprentice- 
ship to  the  carpenter's  trade,  his  term  of  in- 
denture covering  three  years,  during  which 
time  he  was  engaged  in  building  barns  and 
houses.  For  two  years  after  the  expiration 
oi  his  term  of  apprenticeship  he  remained 
with  his  employer  as  a  journeyman,  and  then 
began  contracting  and  building  on  his  own 
account.  He  was  then  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  and  he  followed  that  pursuit  for  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century,  during  which  time  he  erect- 
ed many  barns  and  residences  in  Fike  and 
other  townships.  In  1848  he  took  his  first 
contract — for  the  erection  of  a  house  for  Da- 
vid Long.  It  was  a  frame  structure  and  is 
still  standing  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
Pike  township,  being  occupied  by  Daniel 
Keller.  He  then  took  and  executed  a  con- 
tract for  the  building  of  a  house  for  George 
Wolford,  of  Brown  township.  H6  has 
erected  more  houses  and  barns  than  any 
other  contractor  in  Knox  county  and  is 
numbered  among  the  pioneer  carpenters 
here.  He  built  two  school  houses,  one  in 
Berlin  and  the  other  in  Pike  township  and 
during  the  most  of  the  time  he  employed  men 
to  assist  him  in  his  work.  To  a  limited  ex- 
tent he  yet  follows  his  chosen  vocation  but 
is  now  largely  living  retired.  He  also  en- 
gaged in  farming  in  connection  with  carpen- 
tering and  owns  the  land  upon  which  he 
now  resides.  He  has  always  remained  in 
this  county,  with  the  exception  oi  the  time 
he  has  spent  in  travel.  He  has  visited  many 
of  the  western  states,  going  as  far  as  the 
Black  Hills,  in  South  Dakota,  and  for  a 
short  time  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  Omaha, 
Nebraska,  and  in  other  places  in  the  west. 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


About  1848  Mr.  Wineland  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Harriet  Hedges,  and  of 
this  union  seven  children  have  been  born, 
namely:  Jane,  the  wife  of  Robert  Shira; 
Amanda,  who  married  Amsey  Horn;  Hir- 
am, who  is  living  in  Nodaway  county,  Mis- 
souri ;  Jefferson,  who  was  killed  when  about 
sixteen  years  of  age;  and  three  who  died  in 
childhood. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Wineland  has 
been  a  life  long  Democrat,  and  has  done  all 
in  his  power  to  promote  the  growth  and  in- 
sure the  success  of  his  party.  He  was  at 
one  time  township  treasurer,  serving  for 
seven  years,  and  has  also  been  elected  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  but  refused  to  qualify.  He 
has  been  road  supervisor  and  has  ever  been 
found  a  faithful  public  officer,  prompt  and 
reliable  in  the  dicharge  of  his  duties.  He 
holds  membership  in  the  Methodist  church 
and  his  has  ever  been  an  honorable  career. 
For  almost  seventy-five  years  he  has  lived 
in  Knox  county,  has  witnessed,  therefore, 
the  greater  part  of  its  development  as  it 
has  merged  from  the  wilderness  and  takes 
a  just  pride  in  what  has  been  accomplished 
here. 


CHARLES  W.  HENLEY. 

Charles  \V.  Henley  has  for  many  years 
resided  in  Knox  county,  where  he  is  well- 
known  as  a  leading  and  enterprising  farmer, 
his  home  being  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
Jefferson  township.  He  was  born  in  Ta}'- 
lorsville,  Muskingum,  county,  Ohio,  Febru- 
ary 3,  1848.  His  father,  Gregory  Henley, 
was  a  native  of  Germany  and  when  seven- 
teen years  of  age  came  alone  to  America, 
landing  at  New  York.     He  made  his  way 


to  Buft'alo  and  thence  to  Muskingum  coun- 
ty, where  he  was  married  and  took  up  his 
abode  in  Taylorsville.  He  was  a  cooper 
by  trade  and  also  learned  the  shoemaker's 
trade  in  Germany.  The  year  1852  witnessed 
his  arrival  in  Knox  county  and  he  located 
on  the  farm  where  our  subject  now  resides. 
His  death  there  occurred  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Cath- 
olic church,  being  identified  during  his  last 
years  with  Saint  Luke's  parish,  his  remains 
being  interred  in  Saint  Luke's  cemetery,  near 
Danville.  His  political  support  was  given 
the  Democracy,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
he  served  as  township  trustee.  He  married 
Barbara  Bosehart,  also  a  native  of  the  fath- 
erland, her  birth  having  occurred  on  the 
river  Rhine  in  the  kingdom  of  Baden.  She 
was  fourteen  years  of  age  when  she  came  to 
Amercia  with  her  parents,  who  located  in 
Taylorsville,  Ohio,  and  at  the  age  of  forty 
years  she  was  called  to  her  final  rest.  This 
worthy  couple  were  the  parents  of  seven 
children  who  are  now  living  and  seven  who 
have  passed  away. 

Charles  W.  Henley  was  the  sixth  of  this 
family  and  is  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth 
among  the  surviving  children.  He  was  only 
four  years  of  age  when  brought  to  Knox 
county  and  upon  the  home  farm  where  he 
now  resides  he  was  reared.  His  education 
was  obtained  in  the  common  schools  and 
from  the  time  he  was  old  enough  to  handle 
the  plow  he  was  an  active  worker  in  the 
fields,  assisting  in  the  planting  and  in  the 
harvests.  Throughout  his  entire  life  he  has 
carried  on  agricultural  pursuits.  He  was 
married  February  8,  1872,  to  Miss  Frances 
E.  Giffen,  who  was  born  near  New  Castle, 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  April  26,  1849,  ^ 
daughter   of   Calvin   and   Lydia    (Darling) 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


53 


Giffen.  For  six  months  after  their  mar- 
riag-e  they  resided  on  the  Jacob  Ross  farm 
in  Union  townsliip,  and  while  tliere  Mr. 
Henlc}'  aided  in  digging  the  tirst  ceUar  in 
Buckeye  City.  He  afterward  removed  to  the 
John  Statts  farm  in  Jefferson  township, 
where  he  Hved  for  one  year  and  then  pur- 
chased forty- four  acres  adjoining  the  old 
homestead.  On  the  tract  which  he  bought 
he  made  his  home  until  his  father's  death, 
when  by  purchase  he  became  the  owner  O'f 
the  old  place  upon  which  his  childhood  days 
had  been  passed.  He  has  here  two  hundred 
and  two  acres,  all  under  cultivation,  and  is 
successfully  engaged  in  general  farming.  For 
about  thirty  years  he  followed  school  teach- 
ing through  the  winter  seasons  in  Hanover 
township,  Ashland  county,  and  in  Howard 
and  Jefferson  townships  in  Knox  county 
He  was  well  known  as  an  educator  of  abil- 
ity, being  able  not  only  to  maintain  discipline 
but  to  impart  clearly  and  concisely  to  others 
the  knowledge  he  had  acquired. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henley  were  born 
nine  children,  of  whom  seven,  five  sons  and 
two  daughters,  are  yet  living,  namely  :  Ber- 
tha M.,  who  married  Joseph  Peters,  of  Rich- 
land county,  Ohio:  Gregory  P.,  who  resides 
with  his  wife,  Nora  Peters,  in  Howard  town- 
ship, Knox  county;  John  O.,  who  married 
Elizabeth  Doup,  who  is  now  deceased ;  Ber- 
nard, who  married  Nellie  Wolfe;  William 
and  Leo  F. ;  and  Florence,  at  home.  Two 
others  died  in  infancy,  a  son  and  a  daugh- 
ter. 

In  his  political  afiiliations  Mr.  Henley 
has  always  been  a  stanch  Democrat  and  for 
many  years  has  served  as  school  director, 
the  cause  of  education  finding  in  him  a 
warm  friend.  He  and  his  family  are  mem- 
bers of  Saints  Peter's  and  Paul's  Catholic 


church,  in  Loudenville,  Ohio,  and  through- 
out the  community  where  they  reside  they 
are  widely  and  favorably  known,  having 
many  warm  friends. 


WILLIAM  HARRISON  FRASHER. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  representa- 
tives of  insurance  interests  in  Knox  county, 
is  William  H.  Frasher,  yet  his  efforts  have 
not  been  confined  alone  to  his  business  af- 
fairs, for  he  has  ever  been  accounted  one  of 
those  progressive  citizens  whose  labors  are 
of  marked  benefit  to  the  communities  with 
which  they  are  connected.  He  endorses  ev- 
ery measure  advanced  for  the  general  good 
and  his  influence  in  behalf  of  education,  of 
material  and  moral  improvements  has  been 
most  marked. 

JMr.  Frasher  was  born  in  Brown  town- 
ship, this  county,  on  the  loth  of  June,  1854. 
On  the  paternal  side  he  is  of  Scotch  lineage, 
his  ancestors  having  come  to  America  at  an 
early  period  in  our  country's  history.  His 
grandfather,  Randolph  Frasher,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Pennsylvania,  whose  mother  was  a 
sister  of  John  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  one  of 
the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. Randolph  Frasher  resided  near  Mer- 
cer, Pennsylvania,  and  emigrating  westward 
cast  in  his  lot  with  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
Holmes  county,  Ohio,  and  there  engaged  in 
farming.  His  son,  Henry  Frasher,  the  father 
of  our  subject,  was  a  native  of  Middletown, 
Holmes  county,  Ohio-,  where  his  childhood 
and  youth  were  passed.  In  early  manhood, 
however,  he  came  to  Kuolx  county  and  took 
up  his  abode  in  Jelloway,  which  was  then 
known   as   Brownsville.      He   established   a 


54 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


tannery,  which  he  conducted  successfully 
from  1850  until  1864,  when  his  life's  labors 
were  ended  in  death.  He  passed  away  at 
the  age  of  forty-two  years.  He  was  a  pub- 
lic-spirited citizen,  doing  everything  in  his 
power  for  the  general  good,  yet  he  never 
sought  or  desired  political  office  as  a  re- 
ward for  party  fealty.  He  was  a  stanch 
Republican  who  warmly  endorsed  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  organization,  but  left  office 
seeking  to  others.  In  Ashland  county  he 
wedded  Miss  Mary  Buzzard,  a  native  of 
Nashville,  Holmes  county.  She  was  of 
Irish  and  German  descent  and  in  the  prim- 
itive schools  of  her  native  township  she  pur- 
sued her  education  and  afterward  engaged 
in  teaching  in  a  log  school  house,  such  as 
was  common  at  that  early  time.  She  died  at 
the  age  of  sixty-six  years,  leaving  many 
friends  to  mourn  her  loss.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Frasher  became  the  parents  of  two  sons  and 
four  daughters,  all  of  whom  are  yet  living, 
the  eldest  being  W.  H.  Frasher,  of  this  re- 
view. The  other  members  of  the  family 
are:  Jubilee,  a  resident  of  Ashland,  who 
married  Sarah  Long,  a  daughter  of  Francis 
Long;  Dora,  the  wife  of  George  Rogers^  of 
Licking  county,  Ohio;  Ella,  the  wife  of  J. 
D.  Swacick,  of  Canton,  Ohio;  Celesta,  wife 
of  George  Watson,  of  Brown  township;  and 
Henrietta,  who  resides  with  her  brother,  W. 
H.  Frasher.  All  were  born  in  Jelloway, 
Brown  township,  and  the  members  of  the 
family  have  become  important  citizens  of 
various  communities. 

William  H.  Frasher,  of  this  review,  was 
reared  and  educated  in  Jelloway,  where  he 
still  resides.  No  event  of  special  importance 
occurred  to  vary  the  routine  of  his  life  dur- 
ing the  period  of  his  minority.  He  became 
identified   with    the    insurance    business   in 


1876,  as  a  representative  of  the  Farmers' 
Home  Insurance  Company  at  Jelloway  and 
has  since  continued  in  this  line  of  activity. 
He  acted  as  local  agent  until  1880,  and  the 
following  }-ear  was  made  general  agent  for 
the  company,  serving  in  that  capacity  until 
1885.  During  the  three  succeeding  years  he 
resided  in  Van  Wert,  Ohio,  where  he  was  in 
partnership  with  J.  O.  Augustine,  in  the  in- 
surance business,  representing  fourteen  dif- 
ferent companies,  including  one  life,  two 
accident  and  eleven  fire  insurance  companies. 
In  1889  he  returned  tO'  Jelloway  on  account 
of  ill  health,  and  he  now  represents  the  Co- 
lumbia Insurance  Company,  of  Dayton;  the 
Insurance  Company  of  the  State  of  Illinois; 
The  Central  Manufacturing  Mutual  Com- 
pany, of  Van  Wert;  the  Ohio  Farmers  In- 
surance Company;  the  American  Accident, 
of  Chicago ;  and  is  district  agent  of  the 
Aetna  Life.  He  has  written  a  large  amount 
of  insurance  and  his  business  in  this  direc- 
tion is  annually  increasing.  He  has  the  en- 
tire confidence  of  the  companies  which  he 
represents  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  their 
most  capable  and  trusted  representatives  in 
this  portion  of  Ohio.  He  also  has  charge 
of  two  farms,  one  in  Brown  township,  Knox 
county,  and  the  other  in  Ashland  county, 
aggregating  two  hundred  acres  and  consti- 
tuting the  Frasher  estate. 

Mr.  Frasher  is  classified  among  the  lead- 
ing citizens  of  his  native  county  and  is  es- 
pecially prominent  in  behalf  of  the  best  in- 
terests in  Jelloway,  where  he  is  now  serving 
as  a  member  of  the  school  board.  In  con- 
nection with  Mr.  Hyatt,  he  was  instrumen- 
tal in  establishing  the  public  school  system 
at  this  place  and  has  ever  taken  an  active 
part  in  advancing  the  cause  of  education 
here.      He  is    a    charter    member    of    the 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


Knights  of  Maccabees  in  Jelloway,  and  in 
his  poHtical  views  he  is  a  stanch  Republican. 
His  value  as  a  man  and  citizen  is  widely  ac- 
knowledged, and  in  many  ways  he  has  left 
the  impress  of  his  individuality  for  good 
upon  the  public  welfare  of  his  native  town. 


MILTON  M.  CUNNINGHAM. 

M.  M.  Cunningham  is  a  prominent  old 
settler  of  central  Ohio  now  living  on  section 
12,  Pike  township,  Knox  county.  The  fam- 
ily is  of  Irish  lineage  and  was  founded  in 
America  by  Mathew  Cunningham,  who  was 
born,  reared  and  married  in  the  Emerald 
Isle,  after  which  he  made  a  home  in  the  new 
world.  His  son,  Mathew  Cunningham,  Jr., 
the  father  of  our  subject,  was  also  born  in 
Ireland  and  when  a  small  boy  accompanied 
his  parents  on  the  voyage  across  the 
broad  sea,  the  family  locating  in  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  was  reared.  When 
a  yoimg  man  he  removed  tO'  \\'"a)'ne 
county  and  there  wedded  Ary  Minta  Glas- 
gow, a  native  of  the  Keystone  state,  who 
with  her  parents  removed  to  Wayne  county. 
Both  the  husband  and  wife  were  born  in 
the  same  year  and  died  in  the  same  year,  at- 
taining the  age  of  seventy-five.  They  began 
their  domestic  life  on  the  farm  in  Wayne 
county,  and  about  1840  removed  to  Holmes 
county,  locating  near  Nashville.  Subse- 
quently they  came  to  Knox  county  and  set- 
tled upon  the  farm  where  our  subject  now 
lives,  there  spending  their  remaining  days. 
They  were  consistent  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  taking  an  active  part  in  its 
work,  and  Mr.  Cunningham  served  as  one 
of  its  elders.     Politically  he  was  a  life-long 


Demi)crat,  and  for  twenty-one  years  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace  in  Knox  township, 
Holmes  county.  While  in  Knox  county  he 
filled  the  same  ofiice,  discharging  his  duties 
in  a  most  faithful  and  impartial  manner — 
a  fact  thus  indicated  by  his  long  continu- 
ance in  the  position.  He  was  also  township 
trustee  and  assessor,  and  over  the  record  of 
his  public  career  and  his  private  life  there 
fell  nO'  shadow  of  wrong  or  suspicion  of 
evil.  His  wife,  in  the  more  quiet  circles  of 
home  life,  exercised  an  influence  no'  less  po- 
tent for  good.  She  reared  her  family  of 
three  sons  to-  become  honorable  and  upright 
men.  They  are :  Eli,  who  now  resides  in 
Pike  township;  Allen,  w^ho  is  living  in  Mar- 
ion county,  Iowa;  and  the  Squire,  who  was 
the   second   in    order   oif   birth. 

Squire  Cunningham  was  only  five  years 
of  age  when  the  family  removed  to  Holmes 
county,  and  when  a  young  man  he  came  with 
his  parents  to  Knox  county.  His  prelimin- 
ary education,  acquired  in  the  district 
schools,  was  supplemented  by  study  in  the 
Nashville  select  school,  and  at  the  time  of 
his  marriage  he  located  on  the  farm  where 
he  now  lives  and  where  he  has  since  de- 
voted his  energies  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil.  He  has  one  hundred  and  forty-two 
acres  of  rich  land  and  annually  the  fields 
return  to  him  a  golden  tribute  in  reward  for 
his  care  and  labor.  In  his  farming  meth- 
ods he  is  progressive  and  enterprising,  and 
his  efforts  have  gained  for  him  a  richly 
merited  competence. 

Mr.  Cunningham  was  married  Novem- 
ber 3,  1861,  to  Miss  Jane  Armstrong,  a  na- 
tive of  Brown  township,  Knox  county,  and 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Ann  (Dunbar) 
Armstrong.  Their  daughter  is  Ary  Minta, 
the  wife  of    Squire  Fletcher,  a    prominent 


56 


A    CEXTEXXIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


farmer.  They  reside  upon  a  part  of  her 
father's  farm  and  they  now  ha\-e  four  inter- 
esting children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cunningham  hold  member- 
ship in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  fratern- 
ally he  is  identified  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Democrat  where  state  and  national  ques- 
tions are  involved,  but  at  local  elections,  he 
supports  the  man  whom  he  thinks  best  quali- 
fied for  office  regardless  of  party  affiliations. 
In  1891  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace 
and  has  since  served  in  that  capacity.  He  is 
most  true  and  loyal  to  the  public  interests 
reposed  in  him,  and  his  official  record  is  one 
without  blemish.  For  almost  forty  years  he 
has  resided  upon  the  farm  which  is  yet  his 
home,  and  throughout  the  community  he  is 
widely  known  as  a  gentleman  of  sterling 
worth  and  unimpeachable  integrity. 


REV.  L.  \V.  ^lULHAXE. 

Rev.  Lawrence  William  Mulhane  is  the 
pastor  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's  Catholic 
church,  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  during  the 
si.xteen  years  of  his  connection  with  the 
parish  his  labors  have  resulted  greatly  to 
the  benefit  of  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his 
parishioners  and  to  the  growth  of  the 
church  and  the  extension  of  its  influence. 
A  native  of  Massachusetts,  he  was  born 
February  21,  1856,  and  is  the  eldest  child  of 
Dennis  and  Mary  Mulhane.  He  was  but  a 
boy  when  his  parents  removed  to  Ohio,  lo- 
cating in  Marietta,  where  the  family  have 
since  resided.  He  pursued  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  until  twelve  years  of 
age  and  then  entered  Marietta  Academv  in 


order  to  prepare  for  admission  to  Marietta 
College.  He  was  but  fourteen  years  of 
age  when  he  matriculated  in  the  latter  in- 
stitution, being  the  youngest  student  that 
ever  entered  the  freshman  class  of  that  his- 
toric college.  In  1871  and  again  in  1872 
he  was  honored  by  a  place  upon  the  list  of 
public  declaimers,  receiving,  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  the  second  college  prize  for  oratory. 
Rev.  ]Mulhane  began  preparation  for  the 
Catholic  ministry  in  September,  1872.  when 
on  the  invitation  of  the  late  Bishop  Rose- 
crans  he  entered  St.  Aloysius  Seminary,  in 
Columbus,  Ohio,  then  presided  over  by  Dr. 
Gallagher,  now  bishop  of  Galveston.  Here 
he  remained  for  four  years,  taking  a  one 
year's  course  in  philosophy  and  three  in 
theology-.  In  1876  he  became  a  member 
of  Bishop  Rosecrans'  household,  and  by 
private  study  began  to  prepare  for  admis- 
sion to  the  famous  college.  Propaganda  de 
Fide,  in  Rome,  Italy.  The  death  of  his 
friend,  the  bishop,  changed  his  plans  and 
not  being  yet  of  the  required  age  for  the 
priesthood  he  remained  at  the  Episcopal 
house,  in  the  meantime  writing  for  the 
Catholic  Columbian  until  X^ovember  7, 
1879,  when  he  was  ordained  to  the  Catholic 
priesthood  by  the  late  Archbishop  Purcell. 
He  was  immediately  assigned  to  duty  as 
assistant  rector  of  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral, 
in  Broad  street,  Columbus.  The  following 
year,  1880,  when  Bishop  Watterson  was  ap- 
pointed bishop  of  Columbus,  Father  Mul- 
hane was  chosen  by  him  as  secretary  and 
chancellor  of  the  diocese,  a  position  of  much 
care  and  responsibility.  He  held  this  office 
for  five  years.  On  the  ist  of  October,  1885, 
he  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  St.  Vin- 
cent de  Paul's  parish  of  Mount  Vernon. 
He   found  the  finances  of  the  parish   in  a 


jC.)l-.^^cMicU.t 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


critical  condition  and  at  once  began  the  task 
of  paying  off  the  debt.  This  he  accom- 
plished by  the  generous  aid  of  the  parish- 
ioners in  exactly  seven  years.  On  the  ist  of 
October,  1892,  all  of  the  old  debt,  incurred 
previous  to  his  coming,  amounting  to  nearly 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  was  wiped  out. 
Besides  this  he  improved  the  church  to  the 
value  of  three  thousand  dollars  and  has  car- 
ried on  the  work  untiringly  along  many 
lines,  so  that  it  has  become  a  very  strong 
church,  taking  a  leading  position  in  the 
diocese. 

The  town  of  Mount  Vernon  was  found- 
ed in  the  year  1805  and  four  years  later  the 
first  Catholic  resident  took  up  his  abode 
here.  The  first  mass  ever  said  in  Mount 
Vernon  was  celebrated  by  Bishop  Purcell, 
May  23,  1834,  at  the  house  of  David  Mor- 
ton, a  zealous  advocate  of  the  faith.  The 
next  visit  of  the  bishop  was  made  in.  the 
year  1836  and  was  held  in  what  was  known 
as  the  Banning  church.  Judge  Anthony 
Banning,  who  was  also  a  Protestant  minis- 
ter, erected  a  small  chapel  or  church  on  his 
land.  He  was  an  extremely  liberal  man 
and  while  he  held  tenaciously  to  his  religious 
views  he  accorded  to  others  the  same  right, 
and  when  the  churches  and  even  the  court- 
house of  the  town  was  closed  tO'  Bishop  Pur- 
cell he  offered  his  church,  and  Catholic  ser- 
vices were  therein  held  and  the  first  Catholic 
sermon  preached  in  the  town.  For  many 
years  after  this  mass  was  said  in  the  home 
of  David  Morton  by  the  priest  who  occasion- 
ally visited  the  growing  flock.  The  number 
of  Catholic  families  here  steadily  increased, 
and  priests  who  visited  Danville  also  came 
to  Mount  Vernon  until  Father  Lamy  was 
appointed  pastor  of  St.  Luke's  in  Danville, 
in  the  fall  of  1839,  with  charge  of  Mount 


Vernon,  and  was  urged  by  the  Bishop  to 
begin  a  church  here  as  soon  as  feasible.  In 
July,  1842,  the  telegraph  announced  "that 
the  church  at  IMount  Vernon  is  in  course  of 
erection,  Rev.  Lamy  in  charge."  It  was  a 
small  brick  edifice  and  had  been  roofed  and 
plastered  when  a  fire  broke  out  there,  de- 
stroying everything  but  the  bare  walls, 
which  were  partially  damaged.  After  ai 
time  work  was  resumed,  and  the  new  church 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  was  dedicated  Sun- 
day, October  14,  1849.  The  pastor  at  Dan- 
ville also  had  charge  of  the  church  of  Mount 
Vernon  until  September,  185 1,  when  Rev. 
Julius  Brent  was  given  charge  of  the  mis- 
sions of  Knox  county  and  here  he  labored 
until  his  death,  a  period  of  nearly  thirty 
years.  He  was  pastor  of  both  Danville  and 
Mount  Vernon  until  1874,  at  which  time 
he  gave  up  St.  Luke's  church  and  devoted 
his  remaining  years  to  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's. 
In  1855  the  present  brick  parochial  residence 
was  built,  in  1862  an  addition  was  made  to 
the  church  and  in  1872  a  neat  two-story 
frame  school  house  was  erected  and  a  par- 
ochial school  opened  there  in  September, 
1873.  From  the  death  of  Father  Brent  in 
1880  until  September,  1885,  Father  Lane 
was  pastor  and  was  then  succeeded  by 
Father  Mulhane,  whose  service  here  now 
covers  more  than  sixteen  years,  takings 
charge  on  the  ist  of  October,  1885.  His 
work,  carried  on  unceasingly,  has  been  of 
a  nature  that  has  greatly  extended  the  in- 
fluence of  the  church.  In  addition  to  the 
material  improvements  he  has  made  in  the 
church  property  that  have  already  been  men- 
tioned, he  erected,  in  1890,  the  new  school' 
building  at  a  cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars,, 
complete  with  all  modern  equipments  and 
having  an  enrollment  of  more  than  two  hun- 


S8 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


dred  pupils.  There  are  over  one  thousand 
parishioners,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
families  and  seven  hundred  communicants. 
The  different  societies  of  the  church  are  in 
good  working  order  and  Father  Mulhane 
has  the  love  and  co-operation  of  his  par- 
ishioners in  an  unusual  degree.  As  a 
speaker  he  is  clear  and  logical  and  his  pow- 
ers of  oratory  are  of  a  high  order.  He  is 
also  a  writer  of  merit  and  ability  and  has 
contributed  largely  to  church  and  periodi- 
cal publications.  Over  fifteen  years  he  has 
made  a  study  of  leprosy  and  the  work  of  the 
church  in  behalf  of  those  afflicted  people. 
In  1896  he  published  a  book  on  the  subject, 
which  attracted  wide  attention.  He  has  la- 
ibored  earnestly  to  induce  congress  to  es- 
tablish a  national  home  for  lepers  and  in 
January,  1900,  he  visited  Cuba  and  spent 
a  month  there,  making  a  special  study  of 
leprosy.  The  result  of  his  investigations 
'  was  given  to  the  world  in  an  article  in  Don- 
ohue's  Magazine,  which  was  largely  re'ad' 
and  commended.  He  has  also  written  works 
■on  the  life  of  General  Rosecrans  and  also 
•of  Hon.  Frank  Hurd,  a  native  of  Mount 
Vernon  and  a  distinguished  Ohio  states- 
man. 


HON.  JOSEPH  C.  DEVIN. 

On  the  judicial  and  political  history  of 
Knox  county  Joseph  Chambers  Devin  has 
carved  his  name  deeply  and  it  is  interwoven 
with  records  which  indicate  the  high- 
minded  and  patriotic  statesman,  the  loyal 
citizen,  the  capable  lawyer  and  the  man  of 
upright  principles.  More  than  half  a  cen- 
tury has  passed  since  he  arrived  in  Mount 
Vernon  and  for  fifty  years  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  bar  of  Knox  countv. 


Mr.  Devin  was  born  in  Waterford, 
Washington  county,  Ohio,  a  son  of  Michael 
and  Harriet  (Chambers)  Devin,  the  former 
a  native  of  Maryland  and  the  latter  of  Penn- 
sylvania. His  mother  was  a  sister  of  Da- 
vid Chambers,  who  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
years  carried  dispatches  from  General  Lee  to 
General  Washington  in  the  Revolutionary 
war.  He  afterward  resided  at  Zanesville, 
Ohio.  In  the  year  1830  the  parents  of  our 
subject  removed  to  McConnellsville,  Mor- 
gan county,  this  state,  where  he  attended 
school  until  1836,  when  the  family  went  to 
Medina  county.  When  a  youth  of  fifteen  he 
entered  Norwalk  Academy,  at  Norwalk, 
Ohio,  where  he  pursued  his  studies  for  two 
years,  after  which  he  entered  his  father's 
store  and  served  there  as  salesman  for  two 
years.  In  1846  he  matriculated  in  the  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University,  at  Delaware,  the 
school  being  then  under  the  presidency  of 
Bishop  Edward  Thompson,  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church.  In  1848  he  was 
graduated  in  Tundry's  Commercial  College, 
in  Cincinnati,  and  in  the  winter  of  1849  ^H" 
g^aged  in  teaching  a  commercial  college  in 
Seville,  Ohio. 

It  was  in  the  year  1849  that  Mr.  Devin 
began  the  study  of  law  in  Mcamt  Vernon, 
under  the  direction  of  Columbus  Delano  and 
William  R.  Sapp,  and  after  continuing  his 
reading  for  about  two  years  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1851.  The  following  year  he 
began  practice  in  this  city,  in  partnership 
with  Hosmer  Curtis,  a  pioneer  legal  prac- 
titioner at  this  place,  with  whom  he  was  con- 
nected until  1857,  when  Mr.  Curtis  removed 
to  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  the  relationship  was 
accordingly  terntjnated.  In  1858  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  Samuel  Israel.  At  a 
later  date  he  was  associated  with  his  brother- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


in-law,  Henry  L.  Curtis,  and  the  firm  gained 
marked  prestige  among  the  leading  lawyers 
at  the  Knox  county  bar. 

Mr.  Devin  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the 
Whig  party,  his  father  being  an  advocate  of 
its  principles,  and  as  he  neared  his  majority, 
he,  too,  endorsed  its  platform,  but  when  its 
strength  was  on  the  wan  and  new  issues  gave 
rise  to  the  Republican  party  he  joined  its 
ranks,  became  one  of  its  leading  represent- 
atives in  Ohio  and  was  a  delegate  to  the 
national  Republican  convention  in  Philadel- 
phia, which  nominated  Fremont  for  the 
presidency  in  1856.  In  1863  he  was  elected 
to  represent  his  district  in  the  state  senate. 
In  1862  this  district,  comprising  Knox,  Mor- 
row, Wayne  and  Holmes  counties,  had  given 
a  majority  of  thirty-two  hundred  against  the 
Republican  party,  but  in  the  interval  which 
had  elapsed  its  strength  had  been  greatly 
augmented  and  the  personal  popularity  and 
the  confidence  reposed  in  the  ability  of  Mr. 
Devin  were  also  strong  elements  in  the  vic- 
tory of  1863.  He  served  on  a  number  of 
important  committees  in  the  senate  and  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  benevolent 
institutions.  A  ripe  scholar,  a  good  speaker 
and  above  all  a  patriotic  citizen,  he  proved 
a  very  valuable  member  of  the  upper  house 
of  the  Ohio  assembly.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  advocated  on  the  public  platform 
his  party's  interests  in  Knox  and  other  coun- 
ties during  each  campaign. 

In  1859  Mr.  Devin  was  married  to  Miss 
Ella  I.  Curtis,  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Henry 
B.  Curtis,  now  deceased,  whose  sketch  ap- 
pears elsewhere  in  this  volume.  They  have 
two  surviving  children,  Henry  C,  a  well- 
known  attorney  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  Eliz- 
abeth D.,  the  wife  of  William  H.  Pratt, 
general  manager  of  the  structural  depart- 


ment   of    the    Illinois    Steel    Company,    in 
Chicago. 

Such  is  the  brief  history  of  one  whose 
career  has  been  a  long  and  useful  one.  Mr. 
Devin  is  now  the  oldest  living  member  of 
the  Knox  county  bar,  but  he  lias  retired  from 
the  active  practice  of  his  profession. 


HENRY  CURTIS  DEVIN. 

Much  has  been  written  concerning  the 
power  of  environment  and  of  hereditv  in 
shaping  the  course  of  the  individual  and 
while  both  may  have  had  their  effect  upon 
the  career  oif  Mr.  Devin  in  his  choice  of  the 
legal  profession  as  a  life  work,  yet  no  mat- 
ter what  one's  inherited  tendencies  or  tal- 
ent, such  at  best  is  merely  a  latent  element 
and  must  feel  the  awakening  touch  of  eft'ort 
to  be  of  avail  in  this  busy  world.  Although 
surrounded  by  a  legal  atmosphere  and  with 
the  example  of  an  illustrious  grandfather 
and  father  to  stimulate  him,  Henry  Curtis 
Devin  has  nevertheless  had  to  place  his  de- 
pendence upon  his  intellectual  power,  stead- 
fast application  and  unremitting  study  to 
secure  success — and  he  has  secured  it,  being 
now  recognized  as  one  of  the  strong  mem- 
bers of  the  Knox  county  bar. 

He  was  born  in  Mount  Vernon,  March 
27,  1868,  a  son  of  Joseph  Chambers  and 
Ella  I.  (Curtis)  Devin,  oif  whom  mention 
is  made  on  a  preceding  page.  In  the  pub- 
lic schools  he  obtained  his  preliminary  edu- 
cation, which  was  supplemented  by  a  course 
in  Kenyon  College,  in  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philoso- 
phy in  1888,  and  after  taking  post  graduate 
work  his  alma  mater  conferred  upon  him 


6o 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


the  degree  of  ]\Iaster  of  Arts.  He  read  law 
under  the  guidance  of  his  father,  and  in 
1893  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  The  follow- 
ing year  he  began  practice  in  his  native  city, 
entering  into  partnership  with  the  Hon.  H. 
D.  Critchfield,  who  was  appointed  general 
counsel  for  the  United  States  and  Federal 
Telephone  Companies,  at  Cleveland  in 
1900.  at  which  time  their  business  relation 
was  terminated.  Mr.  Devin  then  became 
a  partner  of  D.  E.  Sapp,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Sapp  &  Devin  and  thus  the  firm 
stands  to-day.  He  is  enjoying  a  large  law 
practice  and  is  also  connected  with  several 
important  business  enterprises,  being  secre- 
tary of  the  Mount  Vernon  Telephone  Com- 
pany, vice-president  of  the  Millersburg  Elec- 
tric Light  Company,  a  director  of  the  Mount 
Vernon  Gas  Light  Company  and  a  direc- 
tor of  the  Sunbury  &  Galena  Telephone 
Company.  His  business  ability  proves  a 
desired  factor  in  the  successful  control  of 
these  organizations. 

Mr.  Devin  was  united  in  marriage  to 
iNIiss  Fannie  E.  Marsh,  of  Indianapolis,  In- 
diana, a  daughter  of  Major  F.  E.  Marsh, 
vice-president  of  the  Interstate  Life  Insur- 
ance Company.  They  have  two  children — 
Fletcher  M.  and  Elizabeth  Curtis,  aged  re- 
spectively five  and  two  years.  Mr.  Devin 
is  a  very  prominent  Mason  and  has  filled  the 
presiding  chair  in  all  the  Masonic  bodies  in 
Mount  Vernon,  with  the  exception  of  the 
,  commandery,  in  which  he  is  now  serving  as 
generalissimo.  He  is  also  connected  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Benevolent, 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.  His  life  is  in 
harrruony  with  the  fraternal  teachings  of 
those  orders.  He  is  also  a  high  type  of  the 
business  man  of  the  times — alert,  enterpris- 
ing and  progressive,  quick  to  note  and  im- 


prove an  opportunity  and  with  laudable  am- 
bition advancing  his  interests  along  legiti- 
mate lines. 


ARTHUR  C.  CASSELL. 

The  prominent  citizen  of  Morris  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose  name  is  the 
title  of  this  sketch,  is  one  of  the  leading 
farmers  in  his  vicinity.  He  was  bom  on 
the  farm,  where  he  now  lives,  in  Morris 
township,  March  15,  185 1,  a  son  of  Bascom 
S.  and  Emeline  Augusta  (Norton)  Cassell 
and  a  grandson  of  George  and  Sarah  (Nel- 
son) Cassell.  George  Cassell  was  a  son  of 
John  Cassell,  who  was  born  in  Maryland 
and  died  there  at  a  ripe  old  age.  He  mar- 
ried Sarah  Nelson  and  they  had  children, 
as  follows :  Bascom'  S. ;  Sarah,  who  mar- 
ried John  Lamb ;  and  John  Nelson,  who  mar- 
ried Jennie  Staggers  and  lives  at  Aurora, 
Nebraska.  Captain  John  Nelson  Cassell 
raised  a  company  for  the  Twentieth  Regi- 
ment of  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  and  was 
in  nearly  every  engagement  in  which  that 
body  participated.  Bascom  S.  Cassell  was 
born  in  Maryland  October  9,  1824,  and  was 
brought  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  at  the  age 
of  twelve  years,  and  during  the  remainder 
of  his  life  lived  on  the  farm  on  which  he 
died  January  10,  190 1.  He  was  an  enter- 
prising farmer  and  business  man  and  was 
well  versed  in  the  living  topics  of  his  day. 
Politically  he  was  a  strong  Republican  and 
he  wielded  much  influence  in  his  community 
and  held  numerous  township  offices.  He 
was  an  ardent  member  of  the  Mount  Ver- 
non Congregational  church.  In  the  closing 
years  of  his  life  he  often  referred  to  the 
primitive  schools  of  Knox  county,  in  which 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


he  received  his  early  education,  and  in  which 
he  was  a  teacher  for  several  terms.  He  mar- 
ried Emeline  Augusta  Norton,  who  bore 
him  the  following  named  children:  Ar- 
thur Charles;  Mary,  at  home;  and  Gertrude, 
who  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Knox  county  and  at  Oberlin  College,  at 
which  institution  she  was  graduated  with 
high  honors.  She  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  New- 
ton W.  Bates,  a  Congregational  minister, 
her  classmate  in  Oberlin,  and  now  located 
at  West  Bloomfield,  New  York.  The 
mother  died  February  7,  1897. 

Arthur  Charles  Cassell  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  also  at  Mount  Vernon 
College  and  at  Oberlin.  He  chose  agricul- 
tural pursuits  for  his  vocation  and  soon  de- 
veloped into  a  progressive,  up-to-date  farm- 
er. He  is  an  active  member  of  Green  Val- 
ley Lodge  of  Grangers,  in  which  he  has 
taken  a  deep  interest  since  his  identification 
with  that  body.  As  a  Republican  he  takes 
a  leading  part  in  local  politics.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Congregational  church  of 
Mount  Vernon.  December  2,  1892,  he  mar- 
ried Eva,  a  daughter  of  Frederick  William 
and  Sarah  Jane  (Hoke)  Vohl,  who  has 
borne  him  three  children,  whom  they  named 
GeoTge  Leland,  Charles  Howard  and  Dor- 
othy Anetta.  Frederick  William  Vohl  was 
born  in  Germany  November  5,  1832.  When 
he  was  nineteen  years  of  age  he  set  sail  for 
American  soil  and  in  1851  settled  in  Knox 
county,  Ohio.  He  was  a  butcher  by  trade, 
which  he  followed  for  many  years  in  Mount 
Vernon.  Early  in  life  he  became  a  Mason, 
and  later  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Red 
Men.  He  is  past  grand  in  Lodge  No.  20, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of 
Mount  Vernon,  and  represented  that  body  in 
the  grand  lodge  of  the  state.     He  now  lives 


on  a  farm  in  Clinton  township.  The  Cas- 
sell farm,  now  consisting  of  two  hundred 
and  fourteen  acres,  was  secured  by  George 
Cassell,  who  owned  several  hundred  acres, 
and  here  spent  his  life,  dying  at  about  the 
age  of  seventy-five  years.  He  built  the  pres- 
ent basement  barn  about  sixty  years  ago. 
The  old  residence  erected  by  Bascom  Cassell 
was  burned  some  years  since,  after  which 
he  erected  the  present  one.  Sarah  J.  Hoke, 
who  became  his  wife,  was  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  died  when  Mrs.  Cassell  was  a 
small  child. 


FRANKLIN  HARPER. 

Franklin  Harper,  who  has  long  been  a 
representative  of  the  journalistic  interests  of 
Knox  county,  was  born  in  Mount  Vernon 
April  18,  1858.  His  father,  the  Hon.  Lecky 
Harper,  was  for  forty  years  editor  of  the 
Mount  Vernon  Banner.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  learned  the  printing  business  in  his 
father's  office  and  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Mount  Vernon,  being  gradu- 
ated in  1877.  He  read  law  in  the  office  of 
Colonel  W.  C.  Cooper  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1879.  The  following  year  he 
opened  an  office  for  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, but  in  June,  1882,  an  opportunity 
was  offered  him  to  enter  the  newspaper  bus- 
iness, a  strong  taste  for  which  he  inherited, 
and  he  went  to  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  where  he 
became  a  partner  of  George  F.  Hunter  in 
the  publication  o-f  the  Chillicothe  Advertiser. 

While  residing  there,  on  the  5th  of  June, 
1890,  Mr.  Harper  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Bertha  Hanby,  of  Chillicothe,  by 
which  union  two  sons  have  been  born,  Don- 
ald and  Kenneth. 


62 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


Upon  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1895, 
Mr.  Harper  sold  his  interest  in  the  Chilh- 
cothe  Advertiser  and  returned  to  Mount 
Vernon  in  November  of  that  year,  forming 
a  partnership  with  his  brother,  William  H. 
Harper,  in  the  publication  of  The  Banner, 
which  partnership  was  terminated  in  June, 
1896,  by  the  retirement  of  his  brother.  The 
Banner  had  been  published  as  a  weekly  paper 
until  June  20,  1898,  when  Mr.  Harper  be- 
gan the  issue  of  daily  and  semi-weekly  pa- 
pers, which  have  so  continued. 

Mr.  Harper  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
bodies  and  the  Elks,  being  a  past  exalted 
ruler  of  the  latter  and  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  Masonic  Temple 
Company.  He  is  also  a  trustee  of  the  Mount 
Vernon  Board  of  Trade.  In  politics  Mr. 
Harper  is  a  Democrat  and  has  taken  an  ac- 
tive and  prominent  part  in  the  councils  of 
his  party,  but  has  never  held  a  public  office. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Democratic 
state  committee  of  Ohio  several  times,  and 
was  a  delegate  from  the  fourteenth  Ohio 
district  to  the  Democratic  national  conven- 
tion in  1896. 


COLUMBUS  EWALT. 

In  professional  career  advancement  must 
depend  largely  upon  individual  merit.  The 
aid  of  wealth  or  influential  friends  availeth 
little  or  naught,  for  success  much  rest  upon 
broad  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  science  which  the  individual  rep- 
resents in  his  professional  life.  When  ad- 
vancement is  secured,  it  is  therefore  evidence 
of  ability  of  earnest  effort  and  of  strong 
purpose.  These  qualities  have,  during  the 
years  of  his  connection  with  the  bar  won  for 


Columbus  EwaJt  a  creditable  position  among 
the  lawyers  of  Knox  county  and  will  gain 
for  him  still  greater  importance  in  the  fu- 
ture. He  is  now  serving  his  second  term  as 
prosecuting  attorney  for  the  county  and  his 
re-election  is  an  indication  of  the  trust  re- 
posed in  him. 

Mr.  Ewalt  was  born  in  Liberty  township, 
Knox  county,  in  1865,  and  is  a  representa- 
tive of  one  of  the  oldest  families  in  this  part 
of  the  state,  almost  ninety  years  having 
passed  since  his  great-grandfather,  John 
Ewalt,  sought  a  home  here.  The  family  is 
of  German  lineage  and  was  founded  in 
America  in  colonial  days.  John  Ewalt  was 
born  in  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1760,  and  there  resided  until  1813,  when 
with  his  family  he  started  westward,  travel- 
ing in  the  slow  manner  of  the  times  until 
he  arrived  in  Clinton  township,  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio.  Here  he  took  up  his  abode  just 
west  of  Mount  Vernon.  He  brought  with 
him  his  eleven  children,  whose  descendants 
are  now  largely  scattered  over  the  west.  His 
death  occurred  in  this  locality.  His  son, 
Richard  Ewalt,  the  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  one  of  the  numerous  family,  and 
in  Knox  county  he  aided  in  the  arduous 
task  of  reclaiming  wild  land  for  purposes 
of  civilization  and  also  shared  in  the  various 
hardships  and  trials  of  frontier  life.  He 
married  Miss  Phoebe  Douglas  and  among 
their  children  was  William  D.  Ewalt.  The 
last  named  was  the  father  of  our  subject  and 
was  born  in  Morris  township,  this  county, 
in  1828.  He  married  Rizpah  Moxley,  a 
daughter  of  Stephen  Moxley,  who  came  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  from  Hagerstown, 
Maryland,  in  1833,  and  located  in  Liberty 
township,  where  he  spent  his  remaining  days. 
The  latter  married  Miss  Watkins  who  was 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


63 


also  a  native  of  Maryland  and  died  soon 
after  her  arrival  in  the  Buckeye  state.  He 
then  wedded  Miss  Brown,  of  Liberty  town- 
ship. Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  D.  Ewalt  be- 
came the  parents  of  six  sons  older  than  our 
subject  and  three  daughters  younger,  mak- 
ing ten  children  in  all.  One  son,  Clement 
v.,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years,  and 
a  daughter,  Cora,  passed  away  at  the  age  of 
fourteen.  The  others  are :  Cassius  R.,  a 
farmer  of  Liberty  township,  Knox  county; 
Stephen  D.,  of  Bucyrus,  Ohio;  Frank  L., 
who  is  also  living  in  Bucyrus;  Dallas  R., 
a  contractor  of  Chicago,  Illinois;  Allan  M., 
a  resident  farmer  of  Liberty  township;  Co- 
lumbus, of  this  review;  Flora,  who  resides 
in  Liberty  township ;  and  Hattie  M.,  a  teach- 
er of  Olympia,  Washington. 

In  the  public  schools  of  this  county  Co- 
lumbus Ewalt  obtained  his  early  education, 
which  was  supplemented  by  study  in  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University,  at  Delaware,  and  at 
Ada,  Ohio.  For  five  years  he  successfully 
engaged  in  teaching  in  this  county,  but  this 
was  merely  a  preliminary  business  step.  Af- 
ter reading  law  with  Judge  Adams,  of 
Mount  Vernon,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
and  for  nine  years  has  been  a  practitioner 
at  Mount  Vernon,  winning  prominence  as 
the  years  have  passed  by  reason  of  his  fa- 
miliarity with  legal  principles,  his  careful 
preparation  of  cases  and  a  mind  which  read- 
ily determines  the  salient  point  in  litigation. 

Mr.  Ewalt  was  united  in  marriage,  in 
Mount  Vernon,  to  Miss  Emma  Blair,  a 
daughter  of  William  H.  Blair,  formerly  a 
well-known  citizen  of  this  place  but  now 
deceased.  The  lady  for  several  prior  to  her 
marriage  taught  school  in  Mount  Vernon, 
and,  like  her  husband,  ranks  high  in  social 
circles  where  true  worth  and  intelligence  are  | 


at  par.  He  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  Masonic  fraternities  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
His  political  support  is  given  the  Democ- 
racy and.  on  its  ticket  he  was  elected  pros- 
ecuting attorney  for  Knox  county  in  1897 
and  again  in  1900  and  his  present  term  will 
conclude  an  incumbency  of  six  years.  There 
has  been  nothing  sensational  in  his  career, 
every  step  has  been  thoughtfully  and  delib- 
erately made  and  every  advance  has  been  at 
the  cost  of  hard  and  self-denying  labor.  He 
stands  to-day  a  strong  man — strong  in  the 
consciousness  of  well  spent  years,  strong  to 
plan  and  perform  and  strong  in  his  credit 
and  good  name. 


ABRAHAM   MORNINGSTAR. 

The  honored  subject  of  this  review  has 
spent  his  entire  life  in  Knox  county,  where 
he  has  lived  and  labored  to  goodly  ends,  and 
it  is  with  gratification  that  we  offer  in  this 
publication  a  brief  review  of  his  genealogy 
and  personal  career.  Mr.  Morningstar  was 
born  in  Butler  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  on  the  27th  of  May,  1852,  and  in  the 
county  of  his  nativity  he  was  reared  to  the 
life  of  a  farmer  boy,  while  the  common 
schools  of  his  locality  afforded  him  his  edu- 
cational privileges.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  he  began  the  battle  of  life  for  him- 
self, working  on"the  shares  on  the  home 
farm  until  his  marriage,  which  occurred  on 
the  7th  of  August,  1 88 1,  Miss  Nellie  Purdy 
becoming  his  wife.  Soon  after  their  mar- 
riage Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morningstar  removed  to 
a  farm  of  sixty-seven  acres,  which  he  had 
previously  purchased  and  where  they  made 


154 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


their  home  for  one  year,  on  the  expiration 
of  which  period  they  sold  that  tract  and  pur- 
chased one  hundred  and  sixty-one  acres  in 
Butler  township.  At  that  time  the  land  was 
in  its  primitive  condition,  but  Mr.  Morning- 
star  placed  his  fields  under  a  fine  state  of 
cultivation,  erected  good  and  substantial 
buildings,  and  in  many  other  ways  added  to 
the  value  and  attractive  appearance  of  the 
place.  In  1892,  however,  he  left  that  farm 
and  purchased  the  land  on  which  he  now  re- 
sides, located  in  College  township  and  ad- 
joining the  village  of  Gambler.  It  com- 
prises thirty-one  acres,  and  has  been  placed 
under  an  excellent  state  of  improvement; 
and  he  still  retains  possession  of  his  farm  in 
Butler  township,  thus  making  him  one  of  the 
leading  and  influential  agriculturists  of  the 
county. 

In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  exerting  his 
right  of  franchise  in  support  O'f  the  men  and 
measures  of  that  party.  In  his  social  rela- 
tions he  is  a  member  of  the  Grange.  Mr. 
Morningstar  is  one  of  the  well-known  men 
of  Knox  county,  and  all  who  are  at  all  famil- 
iar with  his  record  admire  and  respect  him 
for  all  he  has  accomplished.  His  life  his- 
tory contains  many  lessons  which  may  well 
be  heeded,  for  it  illustrates  what  can  be  ac- 
complished through  energy,  enterprise  and 
earnest  purpose.  He  is  to-day  the  owner  of 
valuable  land,  and  all  his  possessions  stand 
as  monuments  to  his  thrift  and  enterprise. 


FRANK  V.  OWEN. 


From-  a  very  early  period  in  the  develop- 
ment of  Knox  county  the  name  of  Owen  has 
been  associated  with  its  historv.  for  War- 


ren Owen,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject, 
leaving  his  home  in  the  Green  Moimtain 
state,  emigrated  to  Ohio  when  this  locality 
was  an  almost  uninhabited  region.  Here 
he  aided  in  reclaiming  the  wild  land  for  pur- 
poses of  civilization  and  for  a  number  of 
years  was  a  leading  farmer  here,  but  died 
in  Delaware  county,  Ohio,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety-four  years.  His  son,  Gilbert 
R.  Owen,  the  father  of  Frank  V.,  was  born 
on  the  ol-d  family  homestead  in  Middleberry 
township,  Knox  county,  and  there  spent  his 
entire  life,  devoting  his  energies  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  As  a  companion  and  help- 
mate for  the  journey  of  life  he  chose  Miss 
Elizabeth  Green,  a  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Green,  who  came  from  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, to  Ohio,  and  died  in  Perry  township, 
i  Morrow  county.  Mr.  Owen  died  in  1863, 
at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  years. 

Frank  V.  Owen  was  born  in  Middle- 
berry  township,  Knox  county,  in  1857,  and 
at  the  usual  age  entered  the  public  schools, 
therein  mastering  the  usual  branches  of 
knowledge  that  constitute  the  curriculum  in 
such  institutions.  His  law  studies  were  pur- 
sued in  the  office  and  under  the  direction 
of  the  firm  of  Cooper  &  Moore,  and  in  1884 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  since  which  time 
he  has  maintained  an  office  in  Mount  Ver- 
non and  now  has  a  very  extensive  clientage 
of  a  distinctively  representative  character. 
He  has  tried  many  personal  injury  cases  and 
engages  in  general  practice.  On  his  admis- 
sion to  the  bar  he  did  not  consider  his  stud- 
ies finished,  but  is  continually  adding  to  his 
knowledge  and  in  tlie  preparation  of  cases 
reviews  every  authority  bearing  upon  the 
points  in  issue. 

In  this  county,  in  1S94,  was  celebrated 
the  marriaee  of  Mr.  Owen  and  Miss  Bessie 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


65 


Johnson,  of  Mount  Vernon,  a  daughter  of 
Scott  Johnson.  They  have  two  children, 
EHzabeth  and'  Isabella,  and  by  a  former 
marriage  Mr.  Owen  had  two  sons — Charles, 
who  is  a  graduate  of  the  high  school  of 
Mount  Vernon  and  of  Kenyon  College  and 
is  now  in  Dayton;  and  Robert,  who  is  a  stu- 
dent in  the  Mount  Vernon  schools.  So- 
cially Mr.  Owen  is  connected  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  lodge,  and  politically  he 
is  a  Republican.  In  1887  he  was  elected 
to  the  state  legislature  and  served  on  some 
of  the  most  important  committees,  and  at 
once  became  an  active  and  earnest  advocate 
of  those  measures  that  were  of  most  worth 
and  importance  to  the  citizens  oi  the  state, 
proving  himself  a  capable  member.  In  1888 
he  introduced  in  the  house  a  measure  re- 
quiring all  saloons  to  be  closed  on  Sunday 
and  it  became  a  law  and  is  now  on  the  stat- 
ute books,  not  only  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  but 
many  other  states  have  copied  from  it.  The 
law  bears  the  name  of  its  author  and  is 
known  as  the  "Owen  Sunday  Closing  Law." 
At  the  end  of  his  first  term  he  declined  a 
second  nomination,  preferring  to  devote  his 
entire  time  to  his  law  practice,  which  had 
grown  to  large  proportions.  Mr.  Owen 
is  distinctively  a  self-made-man,  having 
climbed  from  the  bottom,  round  by  round, 
imtil  to-day  his  capability  as  a  lawyer  is 
widely  recognized  and  is  attested  by  the 
many  favorable  verdicts  which  he  gains  for 
his  clients. 


GEORGE  W.   PORTERFIELD. 

The  value  of  good  Irish  blood  as  a  fac- 
tor in  American  civilization  has  been  dem- 
onstrated in  all  parts  of  our  country.     In 


his  paternal  line  of  descent  George  W.  Por- 
terfield,  who  is  a  successful  farmer  on  sec- 
tion 2,  Clay  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
is  of  Irish  extraction.  He  was  born  on  the 
farm  on  which  he  now  lives  April  3,  1835, 
a  son  of  Samuel  C.  Porterfield,  who  was 
born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  was  reared  and  married  in  Venango 
county  in  the  same  state.  In  18 15  Samuel 
C.  Porterfield  emigrated  from  his  old  Penn- 
sylvania home  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and 
located  in  the  woods  on  section  2  in  Clay 
township.  The  forests  were  full  of  wild 
game,  and  Indians  roamed  at  will  in  con- 
siderable numbers.  He  made  a  little  clear- 
ing, on  which  he  built  a  small  log  house,  and 
there  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
twenty  years  later,  and  thus  began  his  career 
as  a  pioneer  in  the  Ohio  wilderness. 

Samuel  C.  Porterfield  was  in  religion  an 
adherent  of  the  Presbyterian  faith  and  dur- 
ing his  active  years  took  a  helpful  part  in  the 
work  of  his  church,  in  which  he  held  im- 
portant offices.  Originally  a  Whig  in  poli- 
tics, he  naturally  became  a  Republican  upon 
the  organization  of  that  party.  He  was  in- 
fluential in  local  affairs  and  for  some  years 
filled  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  and 
at  different  times  was  elected  to  other  town- 
ship offices.  He  was  a  charter  member  of 
the  Masonic  lodge  at  Bladensburg,  and  was 
prominent  in  many  affairs  throughout  the 
county.  He  died  in  1865.  Samuel  Porter- 
field, father  of  Samuel  C.  Porterfield,  and 
grandfather  of  George  W.  Porterfield,  was 
born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  his  father,  the  great-grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  and  reared 
in  the  Emerald  Isle. 

Eliza  Stevenson,  who  married  Samuel 
C.  Porterfield,  and  was  the  mother  of  George 


66 


A    CENTEXXIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


W.  Porterfield,  was  born  and  passed  her 
early  life  in  Virginia  and  lived  to  be  sev- 
enty-two years  old.  George  Stevenson,  her 
father,  was  a  soldier  in  the  American  army 
in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  at  one  time 
was  captured  by  Indians,  making  his  es- 
cape only  after  an  exciting  experience.  The 
Stevensons  were  of  Scotch-Irish  extraction. 
Samuel  C.  Porterfield  saw  active  service  in 
the  war  of  1812-14,  which  was  afterward 
recognized  by  the  government  in  a  substan- 
tial way.  His  wife  bore  him  ten  children, 
named  as  follows,  in  the  order  of  their  na- 
tivity: Nancy,  William,  Sarah,  Samuel, 
James,  John,  Robert,  Elizabeth,  George  W. 
and  Catharine.  Of  these  only  George  W. 
and  Elizabeth  are  living. 

George  W.  Porterfield,  the  ninth  in  or- 
der of  birth  of  the  children  of  Samuel  C. 
and  Eliza  (Stevenson)  Porterfield,  passed 
his  boyhood  and  youth  on  the  farm  which 
is  now  his  homestead.  His  school  days  were 
spent  in  an  old-fashioned  log  school  house, 
with  puncheon  floor  and  slab  benches  and 
desks,  which  stood  near  his  home,  and  at 
the  Martinsburg  Academy,  at  which  he  was 
a  student  about  a  year.  After  completing 
his  educational  course  he  taught  school  in 
Kno'X  county  four  years,  when  failing  health 
compelled  him  to  abandon  the  school  room 
and  seek  outdoor  life  on  the  farm.  He  was 
married  September  29,  1859,  to  Priscilla 
Hughes,  who  resided  a  mile  and  a  half  south 
of  Martinsburg,  Clay  township,  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio'.  She  was  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Mary  A.  (Haver)  Hughes,  who  were  early 
settlers  in  the  county.  Mrs.  Hughes,  who 
was  the  third  in  order  of  birth  oi  her  par- 
ents family  of  five  children,  also  finished  her 
education  at  the  Martinsburg  Academy.  She 
has  borne  her  husband  nine  children,  named 


as  follows,  and  of  whom  seven  are  living : 
Mary  E.,  who  married  J.  M.  Porterfield; 
Jessie  S.,  who  married  Henry  Rice;  Eliza 
O.,  who  married  William  Melick;  Estrella, 
who  married  E.  L.  Wolfe;  Charles  G.,  who 
was  born  on  the  night  of  the  day  on  which 
General  Grant  was  elected  president,  and 
married  Violla  Wolfe;  Ida,  who  is  a  mem- 
ber of  her  father's  household ;  Thomas,  who 
assists  his  father  in  the  management  of 
his  farm;  Libbie,  who  became  a  successful 
teacher  at  the  age  of  sixteen  and  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty-three;  and  Minnie  B.,  who 
died  in  childhood. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Porterfield 
bought  the  old  Porterfield  homestead  of  his 
father  and  has  since  been  engaged  quite  ex- 
tensively in  the  wool  and  stock  trade.  His 
farm,  which  consists  of  four  hundred  acres, 
is  supplied  with  good  buildings  and  ade- 
quate equipments  of  all  kinds,  also  liberally 
stocked  with  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  swine. 
For  a  time  Mr.  Porterfield  was  engaged  in 
merchandising  at  Bladensburg.  He  is  a 
man  of  much  enterprise  and  a  public-spir- 
ited and  patriotic  citizen.  A  strict  Re- 
publican, he  wields  considerable  influence 
in  his  party,  and  has  ably  served  his  fellow 
townsmen  in  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace.  He  is  not  a  member  of  any  church, 
but  is  liberal  in  his  contributions  toward  the 
support  of  all  the  churches  near  his  home, 
especially  the  Presbyterian  church,  at  the 
services  of  which  he  and  his  family  are  at- 
tendants. He  is  a  life-long  resident  of  the 
township,  and  the  sixty-seven  years  he  has 
lived  here  have  not  been  lived  in  vain,  for 
not  only  has  he  prospered  financially,  but  he 
has  gained  a  reputation  as  an  upright,  pro- 
gressive citizen  of  which  any  man  might  be 
proud. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


67 


JOSEPH  S.  DAVIS. 

By  the  death  of  this  honorable  and  up- 
right citizen  the  community  sustained  an 
irreparable  loss  and  was  deprived  of  the 
presence  of  one  whom  it  had  come  to  look 
-upon  as  a  benefactor  and  friend.  Death 
often'  removes  from  our  midst  those  whom 
we  can  ill  afford  to  spare,  whose  lives  have 
been  all  that  is  exemplary  of  the  true  and 
thereby  really  great  citizen.  Such  a  one  was 
Mr.  Davis,  whose  whole  career,  business, 
political  and  social,  served  as  a  model  to  the 
young  and  an  inspiratiom  to  the  aged.  He 
honored  the  city  which  honored  him  with 
many  positions  of  public  trust.  His  labors 
proved  of  great  benefit  to  the  public  and  by 
hisi  usefulness  he  created  a  memory  whose 
perpetuation  does  not  depend  upon  brick  and 
stone,  but  upon  the  spontaneous  and  freewill 
offering  of  a  great  and  enlightened  people. 

Mr.  Davis  was  born  in  Pickaway  county, 
Ohio,  November  21,  1812,  a  son  of  Henry 
and  Avis  Davis.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  Cornish,  New  Hampshire,  and  was  mar- 
ried in  Wilkesbarre,  Luzerne  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, to  Avis  Townsend,  who  was  born 
in  that  place.  Subsequently  they  removed 
to  Ohio,  locating  in  Ross  county  in  1808, 
while  in  181 1  they  went  to  Pickaway  coun- 
ty and  in  18 15  took  up  their  abode  in  Hills- 
boTO',  Highland  county,  where  the  parents 
of  our  subject  spent  their  remaining  days. 
The  father  was  a  merchant  of  Chillicothe, 
and  through  the  conduct  of  his  commercial 
pursuits  provided  for  his  family.  He  had 
four  sons :  Dr.  Edwin  Davis,  of  New  York 
city,  now  deceased;  Rev.  Werter  Rennick 
Davis,  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  who  spent  most  of  his  life  in  Bald- 
win City,  Kansas,  where  he  was  president 


of  the  Baldwin  University;  Dr.  William 
Davis,  of  Peru,  Ohio;  and  the  subject  of 
this  review,  who  was  the  second  in  order  of 
birth.  All  were  students  in  Gambier  Col- 
lege, in  Knox  county,  were  Episcopalians, 
with  the  exception  of  one,  in  religious  faith 
and  all  have  now  passed  away. 

Joseph  Slocumi  Davis,  whose  name  in- 
troduces this  review,  spent  his  youth  in  his 
parents'  home  and  in  early  life  assisted  his 
father  in  the  store.  His  preliminary  educa- 
tion, acquired  in  the  common  schools,  was 
supplemented  by  a  preparatory  course  in 
Gambier,  Ohio,  where  he  began  his  studies 
in  1829.  He  afterward  entered  Kenyon 
College,  in  which  he  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1835,  and  then,  having  determined 
to  make  the  practice  of  law  his  life  work,  he 
began  reading  in  the  law  office  of  Benjamin 
S.  Brown,  of  Mount  Vernon.  In  1836-37 
he  was  a  student  in  the  Cincinnati  Law 
School  and  in  the  latter  year  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  He  began  practice  in  connection 
with  Hon.  Columbus  Delano,  but  owing  to 
a  severe  illness  was  obliged  to  retire  after 
some  years  O'f  practice.  An  analytical  mind, 
strong  reasoning  powers  and  keen  intellectu- 
ality made  him  a  powerful  lawyer  at  the 
Knox  county  bar.  He  became  identified 
with  journalistic  interests  in  1848,  being  the 
first  editor  of  the  Line  Whig,  which  paper 
advocated  the  election  of  General  Zachary 
Taylor  as  president.  In  1850  he  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  United  States  marshal  and 
took  the  census  of  Knox  county,  while  in 
1849,  1850,  185 i>  1866,  1868,  1870  and 
1871  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Mount 
Vernon.  It  is  certainly  an  indication 
of  his  ability  and  the  confidence  re- 
posed in  him'  that  he  tvas  several  times 
recalled     to    the     office     after     retirement 


68 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


therefrom.  Hisi  administration  was  ever 
practical  and  progressive.  He  supported 
all  measures  which  he  believed  would 
prove  of  public  benefit  which  were  not  of  an 
extravagant  nature  and  was  always  found 
on  the  side  of  reform  and  improvement.  His 
labors  proved  very  helpful  and  acceptable  to 
the  city  and  well  did  he  deserve  the  honor  of 
being  seven  times  called  to-  be  the  chief  ex- 
ecutive of  his  city.  He  was  twice  elected 
probate  judge  of  Knox  county,  his  last  term 
expiring  in  1861.  In  1864  he  was  appointed 
by  President  Lincoln  a  paymaster  in  the 
army  and  for  a  quarter  of  a  centeury  he  was 
a  member  of  the  school  board  of  Mount  Ver- 
non, acting  as  its  president  for  nine  years. 
The  cause  of  education  found  in  him  a  warm 
friend  and  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  raise 
the  standard  of  intellectual  attainment  in 
the  city.  In  1869  the  directors  of  the  Cleve- 
land, Mount  Vernon  &  Delaware  Railroad 
Company  elected  him  secretary  and  he  held 
that  position  for  quite  a  number  of  years. 

Mr.  Davis  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Sarah  Moore,  of  Connellsville,  Penn- 
sylvania, a  daughter  of  Dr.  Robert  Moore, 
who  came  to  Ohio  at  an  early  day,  but  after- 
ward returned  to  Connellsville,  following 
the  failure  of  the  Owlcreek  Bank.  There 
he  soon  died.  His  family  later  again  came 
to  Ohio  and  here  his  daughter  became  the 
wife  of  Joseph  S.  Davis.  By  the  marriage 
were  born  four  children :  Henry,  who 
served  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil 
war  as  captain  of  Company  H,  Twentieth 
Ohio  Regiment,  afterward  located  in  Santa 
Fe,  New  Mexico.  He  was  a  very  prominent 
Mason  and  died  January  i,  1901,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-four  years.  Mary  Davis  died  in 
1886.  RoUin  H.  Davis,  the  second  son, 
learned  the  jewelry  business  with  William 


Brown  of  Mount  Vernon  and  afterward  lo- 
cated in  Warren,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
conducted  a  jewelry  store  until  his  death. 
The  daughter,  Anna  Davis,  is  now  the 
widow  of  John  W.  Hall,  late  of  Columbus, 
Ohio,  in  which  city  he  owned  and  edited  the 
Industrial  Union.  They  had  two  sons,  Rol- 
lin  Davis  and  Joseph  John,  who  are  now  in 
business  in  Mount  Vernon.  Their  mother, 
Mrs.  John  W.  Hall,  is  now  living  in  this 
city  in  her  father's  old  homestead. 

The  death  of  Joseph  H.  Davis  occurred 
in  Mount  Vernon  in  December,  1884,  when 
he  was  seventy-two  years  of  age  and  his 
wife  passed  away  May  3,  1879.  They 
ranked  among  the  most  prominent  citizens 
of  Mount  Vernon.  Mr.  Davis  was  a  man 
of  firm  convictions  and  was  prompt  and  con- 
scientious in  the  discharge  of  public  and  pri- 
vate trusts.  His  was  a  sturdy  American 
character  and  a  stalwart  patriotism  and  he 
had  the  strongest  attachment  for  our  free 
institutions  and  was  ever  willing  to  make 
any  personal  sacrifice  for  their  preservation. 
He  was  of  stern  integrity  and  honesty  of 
purpose  and  despised  all  unworthy  or  ques- 
tionable means  to  secure  success  in  any  un- 
dertaking or  for  any  purpose  or  to  promote 
his  own  advancement  in  any  direction, 
whether  political  or  otlierwise.  Not  even 
the  tongue  of  calumny  ever  uttered  a  word 
to  the  contrary  nor  did  the  malevolence  of 
detraction  dare  to  assail  his  good  name. 


RICHARD  D.  PURDY. 

The  well-known  citizen  of  Clay  township, 
Knox  county,  whose  name  is  the  title  of  this 
sketch  and  who  lives  in  section  seven  in  the 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


69 


township  mentioned,  is  one  of  the  leading 
farmers  in  his  vicinity.  His  homestead  farm 
contains  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  and 
he  has  already  divided  two  hundred  and 
thirty-four  acres  among  his  sons.  He  is 
locally  prominent  as  a  Democrat,  and  for 
nine  years  held  the  office  O'f  justice  of  the 
peace  in  Harrison  township  and  was  also 
trustee  of  that  township.  In  many  ways  he 
is  one  of  the  influential  men  of  Knox 
county. 

Richard  D.  Purdy  was  born  in  Holmes 
couniy,  Ohio',  November  9,  1833,  a  son  of 
Elijah  Purdy,  a  native  of  Wayne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  who  settled  in  Holmes  coun- 
ty when  he  was  eighteen  years  old  and  there 
married.  He  began  life  in  the  woods  on 
government  land  which  he  purchased,  and 
improved  a  large  farm,  on  which  he  died  in 
his  seventy-second  year.  He  was  a  life-long 
member  of  the  old-school  Baptist  church  and 
often  preached  the  gospel  to^  his  fellow  pio- 
neers. A  Democrat  in  politics,  he  was  active 
in  local  affairs  and  filled  the  office  of  town- 
ship trustee,  also  discharged  other  import- 
ant official  duties.  Ephraim  Purdy,  father 
of  Elijah  and  grandfather  of  Richard  D., 
was  born  and  lived  out  his  entire  life  in 
Wayne  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was 
a  well-to-do  farmer.  Clarinda  Babcock, 
who  married  Elijah  Purdy,  and  was  the 
mother  of  Richard  D.  Purdy,  was  born  and 
reared  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  and  lived 
to  be  seventy-four  years  old.  Her  father, 
Richard  Babcock,  was  a  pioneer  and  be- 
came a  prominent  farmer  in  Coshocton 
county,  where  he  died  at  about  the  age  of 
sixty  years.  By  his  marriage  with  Miss 
Babcock,  Elijah  Purdy  became  the  father  of 
ten  children,  six  sons  and  four  daughters,  all 
of  whom  lived    to    maturitv  and  married, 


bringing  toi  grandfather  and  grandmother 
Purdy  two  hundred  and  six  descendants. 
The  subject  oi  this  sketch  was  the  sixth 
child  and  third  son  of  his  parents.  He  was 
reared  under  the  parental  roof  and  educated 
in  the  common  schools,  and  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  years  began  a  three  years'  appren- 
ticeship at  the  carpenter's  trade  and  for  one 
year  thereafter  worked  as  a  journeyman 
carpenter. 

February  8,  1854,  Richard  D.  Purdy 
married  Rachel  Purdy,  a  native  of  Holmes 
county,  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  oif  Nathaniel 
and  Chloe  (Nicholson)  Purdy.  Mrs.  Pur- 
dy's  parents  were  born  and  reared  in  Wayne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  Mrs.  Purdy  was 
the  thirteenth  in  order  of  birth  of  their  fam- 
ily of  fourteen  children,  five  sons  and  seven 
daughters  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and 
womanhood  and  married.  Mrs.  Purdy,  who 
was  their  sixth  daughter,  passed  her  girlhood 
in  her  native  county.  In  1854,  shortly  after 
his  marriage,  Mr.  Purdy  located  at  Spencer- 
ville,  Allen  county,  Ohio,  where  he  carried 
on  a  carpenter  business  for  ten  years.  In 
June,  1864,  he  removed  to  Jefferson  county, 
Kansas,  and  bought  a  farm  near  Rising 
Sun,  where  he  remained  for  three  years. 
During  that  time  he  was  employed  at  four 
dollars  per  day  in  building  railway  bridges 
and  depots  on  the  line  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  between  its  eastern  ter- 
minus land  Denver.  In  1867  failing 
health  compelled  him  to  relinquish  act- 
ive work  as  a  carpenter  and  he  sold 
his  farm  in  Kansas  and  located  in  Knox 
county,  a  few  miles  east  of  Gambler,  where 
he  bought  a,  farm  and  there  lived  un- 
til 1876,  when  he  purchased  and  removed  to 
his  present  farm  in  Clay  township.  On 
this  farm,  while  continuing  carpenter  work 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


in  a  general  way,  he  made  many  improve- 
ments, including  the  erection  of  a  good  resi- 
dence, ample  barns  and  out  buildings.  About 
eight  years  ago  he  practically  retired  from 
active  life. 

Richard  D.  and  Rachel  (Purdy)  Purdy 
have  seven  children  and  eleven  grandchil- 
dren. Their  five  sons  and  two  daughters 
are  here  mentioned  in  the  order  of  their 
birth :  Julia  Ann,  who  married  Simon 
Dudgeon,  of  Gambler,  Ohio;  Clarinda  V., 
who  married  Abe  Morningstar,  of  Gambler, 
Ohio;  Jasper  M.,  who  married  Hattie  Moch- 
wart,  of  Allen  county,  Ohio;  Emery  E.,  who 
married  Samantha  Lepley  and  lives  at  Ches- 
terv-ille,  Morrow  count}-,  Ohao;  John  C, 
who  married  Lesta  Oldaker  and  assists  his 
father  in  the  management  of  the  home  farm ; 
Chauncey  V.,  who  married  Emma  Kerr  and 
lives  in  Pleasant  township,  Knox  county; 
and  Henry  D. 


THOMAS  A.  INKS. 


The  prominent  citizen  of  Fredericktown, 
Ohic,  whose  name  is  above,  is  no  less 
well  known  as  a  mason  than  as  a  farm- 
er, and  he  is  an  active  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  A  son  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  (Seiner)  Inks,  he  was  bom 
in  Clinton  township,  this  county,  No- 
vember 3,  1846,  and  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  in  this  county.  He  has  lived 
in  Wayne  township  since  November  4,  1851, 
when  his  parents  took  up  their  residence 
there.  All  of  his  active  years  have  been  de- 
voted to  farming,  in  which  he  has  won  sat- 
isfactory success.  He  has  given  his  atten- 
tion to  the  affairs  of  his  township  and  has 


ably  filled  the  office  of  township  trustee  and 
discharged  other  important  obligations. 

Mr.  Inks  was  married  December  22, 
1875,  to  Araminta  Pernina  Lyon,  and  they 
have  five  children,  named  Edward  Newton, 
Hattie  L.,  John  William,  Mary  Elizabeth 
and  Lewis.  John  Inks,  the  father  of 
Thomas  A.  Inks,  was  born  in  Shropshire, 
England.  Emigrating  to  America,  he  locat- 
ed at  ]\Iount  Vernon,  Ohio,  and  became  a 
farmer  there.  Elizabeth  Seiner,  whom  he 
married,  was  born  in  Berks  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  died  in  1876.  Araminta  Pernina 
Lyon,  who  married  Thomas  A.  Inks,  was 
born  in  Wayne  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  July  17,  1850,  a  daughter  of  William 
and  Louisa  (Keyes)  Lyon.  She  received 
her  education  in  the  public  schools  near  her 
childhood  home  and  early  identified  herself 
with  the  Presb}'terian  church,  of  which  she 
is  an  active  member. 

\\'illiam  Lyon,  father  of  Mrs.  Inks,  was 
born  in  ^^'ayne  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  August  14,  181 1,  and  was  a  life-long 
farmer.  In  religion  his  parents  affiliated 
with  the  Methodist  church  and  in  politics  he 
was  a  Democrat.  He  married  Louisa  Keyes, 
October  6,  1838,  and  she  bore  him  seven 
children,  all  of  whom  are  living:  Newton, 
Marion,  Mary  Elizabeth,  Sarah  Clotilda, 
Araminta  Pernina,  Mertie  Jane  and  Harriet 
R.  William  Lyon,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Inks, 
was  a  son  of  Simeon  Lj-on,  who  came  to 
Ohio  from  New  Jersey.  Simeon  Lyon  was 
born  August  22,  1767,  and  married  Hannah 
Serring,  who  was  born  October  14,  1772. 
They  had  eleven  chilciren,  none  of  whom 
survive:  Mehetabel,  Abigail,  Pernina,  Dan- 
iel, Benjamin,  Eliza,  William,  Jane,  Asher, 
Phcebe  Ann  and  Caroline.  Simeon  Lyon 
was  a  son  of  Ephraim  Lyon,  a  Revolution- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


ary  soldier.  He  (Simeon)  settled  in  Wayne 
township,  KnoQc  county,  Ohio,  in  1806,  on 
land  purchased  by  his  father,  who  always 
resided  in  New  Jersey. 


JOHN  O.  HARRIS. 

In  these  days  of  up-to-date  farming  it  is 
a  pleasure  to  note  the  essential  facts  in  the 
career  of  a  farmer  who  is  in  some  ways  a 
leader  in  his  class  in  the  community  in  which 
he  lives.  Such  a  farmer  is  John  O.  Harris, 
of  Clay  township,  KnO'X  county,  Ohio,  who 
is  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  eight  acres 
of  land  comprising  his  homestead  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  constituting  an 
independent  farm  in  Harrison  township. 

Mr.  Harris  was  born  in  Jackson  town- 
ship. Knox  county,  Ohio,  March  29,  1849,  ^ 
son  of  Samuel  Harris,  a  native  of  Ohio, 
who  was  an  early  settler  in  the  county.  Eli- 
jah Harris,  father  of  Samuel  Harris  and 
grandfather  of  John  O.  Harris,  was  also 
a  pioneer  in  Knox  county.  Sarah  Hill,  who 
married  Samuel  Harris  and  became  the 
mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a 
native  of  Knox  county.  Samuel  Harris 
died  a  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years;  his 
wife  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  one  daughter  and  two 
sons,  and  our  subject  was  the  youngest  of 
their  three  children. 

John  O.  Harris  was  reared  in  Clay  town- 
ship and  educated  in  the  common  schools  in 
his  vicinity.  He  has  become  prominent  as  a 
farmer,  is  an  active  member  of  the  Disci- 
ple church,  and  is  locally  influential  in  the 
Democratic  party.  He  was  married  in 
June,   1876,  to  Miss  Lydia  Cochren,  a  na- 


tive of  Morrow  county,  Ohio,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Delia  A.  (Walker)  Cochren. 
A  biographical  sketch  of  her  father  appears 
on  another  page  of  this  work.  She  was 
reared  in  Howard  township,  Knox  county, 
and  is  an  accomplished  woman,  highly  es- 
teemed by  all  who  know  her.  She  has  borne 
her  husband  a  son  and  a  daughter  named 
Vincie  Craig  and  Sallie. 


JOHN  WAUGH. 

For  many  years  this  gentleman  has  been 
actively  identified  with  the  business  interests 
of  Knox  county,  and  is  one  of  its  honored 
and  highly  esteemed  citizens.  His  posses- 
sions have  been  principally  acquired  through 
his  own  efforts,  and  as  the  result  of  his  con- 
secutive endeavor  he  has  won  a  place  among 
the  substantial  men  of  his  community. 

Mr.  Waugh  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Maryland,  on  the  25th  of  December, 
1816.  His  father  died  before  his  birth,  and 
his  mother  afterward  married  Timothy 
Downing,  by  whom  she  had  two  children. 
By  her  first  marriage  she  became  the  mother 
of  two  children  also, — Lewis  and  John. 
When  the  latter  was  but  six  years  of  age  he 
was  bound  out  to  Joseph  Brown,  with  whom 
he  remained  for  one  year,  and  he  then  came 
to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  with  Philip  H. 
Brown,  the  latter  purchasing  a  farm  in  Mon- 
roe township,  and  our  subject  remained  with 
that  gentleman  until  his  fifteenth  year.  After 
reaching  his  fifteenth  year  Mr.  Waugh  went 
to  Mount  Vernon,  where  he  entered  upon  a 
five  years'  apprenticeship  at  the  tailor's 
trade,  and  during  that  entire  time  he  re- 
ceived only  his  board  and  clothes  in  compen- 


72 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


sation  for  his  services.  After  completing 
his  apprenticeship  he  came  to  Gambier  and 
embarked  in  the  tailoring  business  on  his 
own  account,  forming  a  partnership  with 
a  Mr.  Williams,  which  relationship  was  con- 
tinued for  seven  years,  and  from  that  time 
until  1896  he  carried  on  the  business  alone. 
He  has  ever  been  upright  and  honorable  in 
all  his  dealings,  his  word  at  all  times  being 
considered  as  good  as  his  bond,  and  his  well- 
directed  efforts  have  been  crowned  with  a 
high  degree  of  success.  He  now  owns  a 
valuable  farm  of  two  hundred  and  forty 
acres  in  College  township,  Knox  county,' 
and  also  has  a  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
acre  tract  in  Story  county,  Iowa. 

Mr.  Waugh  married  Miss  Minerva  Law- 
rence, who  was  a  prominent  member  and 
active  worker  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  died  in  1889.  Mr.  Waugh  is 
a  worthy  representative  ^l  that  class  of  citi- 
zens who  lead  ciuiet,  industrious,  honest  and 
useful  lives  and  constitute  the  best  portion 
of  a  community.  Wherever  known  he  is 
held  in  high  regard,  and  is  certainly  deserv- 
ing of  honorable  mention  in  the  history  of 
the  county  where  almost  his  entire  life  has 
been  passed. 


WILLIAM  D.  BANNING. 

The  name  of  Banning  has  been  so  close- 
ly conn-ected  with  the  history  of  Knox  coun- 
ty through  almost  a  century  that  a  mem- 
ber of  the  family  needs  no  introduction  to 
the  readers  of  this  volume,  especially  if  he 
be  as  widely  and  favorably  known  as  is  Will- 
iam>  D.   Banning,  who  is  now  living  a  re- 


tired life  in  Mount  Vernon.  He  was  born 
in  this  city  and  is  a  grandson  of  Judge  An- 
thony Banning,  who  came  to  the  county  in 
1812.  His  father,  James  S.  Banning  was 
a  leading  and  influential  resident  of  the 
county  for  many  years  and  died  in  1867,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-seven.  He  married  Eliza 
Blackstone,  who  was  born  in  Connelsville, 
Lafayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  the  only 
daughter  of  James  and  Sarah  (Rogers) 
Blackstone.  The  Blackstone  family  was  of 
English  lineage,  and  her  great-great-grand- 
father of  William  Blackstone,  an  uncle  of 
Governor  William  Blackstone,  the  famous 
author  of  the  celebrated  treatise  on  real  es- 
tate law,  which  has  become  a  text-book  in 
all  law  colleges  throughout  the  country. 
Mrs.  Eliza  (Blackstone)  Banning  received 
superior  educational  advantages  and  was  a 
lady  of  marked  culture  and  refinement.  She 
brought  the  first  piano  to  Mount  Vernon 
and  took  great  pleasure  in  teaching  the 
young  people  of  this  then  pioneer  town  mu- 
sic and  other  accomplishments.  She  was 
one  of  the  charter  members  of  St.  Paul's 
Episcopal  church  and  her  whole  life  was  one 
of  beneficence  to  her  family  and  to  the  com- 
munity. Her  influence  was  that  of  a  cul- 
tured, refined  lady,  and  her  memory  remains 
as  a  blessed  benediction  to  all  who  knew  her. 
Unto  James  and  Eliza  Banning  were 
born  the  following  named :  Sarah  D.  died 
at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years;  James  Black- 
stone, who  made  his  home  in  Clinton  town- 
ship, married  Miss  Mary  Prentiss  Williams, 
who  survives  her  husband,  and  lives  in 
Mount  Vernon;  Anthony,  of  Banning, 
Pennsylvania,  married  Catherine  Torrence, 
of  Connelsville,  that  state;  Priscilla  became 
the  wife  of  J.  D.  Thompson,  of  Mount  Ver- 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


73 


non,  but  both  are  now  deceased;  William  D. 
is  the  next  of  the  family;  Henry  B.  died  in 
Cincinnati  and  his  sketch  is  given  on  an- 
other page  of  this  volume;  Eliza  is  the  wife 
of  William'  Brown,  ex-mayor  of  Mount 
Vernon;  Thomas  D.  resides  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Mount  Vernon;  and  Mary  is 
the  wife  of  Frank  Watkins. 

William  D.  Banning,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  review,  spent  his  youth  in  acquir- 
ing his  education  in  the  public  schools  and 
in  Sloan's  Academy  in  Mount  Vernon,  and 
since  putting  aside  his  text-books  he  has  de- 
voted his  energies  to  farming  and  to  the 
management  of  his  property  interests.  He 
wedded  Miss  Mary  Lake,  of  Wooster,  Ohio, 
a  daughter  of  Constance  and  Eleanor 
(Jones)  Lake.  Her  father  was  a  prominent 
merchant  and  banker  at  Wooster,  while  the 
Jones  family  were  prominent  in  Wayne 
county.  Her  grandfather  Jones  was  for 
two  terms  a  member  of  congress  and  was  a 
recognized  leader  of  public  thought  and  feel- 
ing. Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Banning  were 
born  six  children,  but  they  lost  three.  Those 
yet  living  are:  Priscilla,  the  wife  of  Harry 
Sanderson,  of  Mount  Vernon ;  Anna,  at 
home ;  and  Lake,  who  is  attending  school. 
The  family  is  one  of  prominence  in  the  com- 
munity, enjoying  the  warm  regard  of  a  very 
large  circle  of  friends.  Their  home  is  noted 
for  its  gracious  and  pleasing  hospitality  and 
its  social  functions  are  always  regarded  as 
among  the  most  enjoyable  of  the  season. 
Mr.  Banning  represents  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  honored  families  of  the  county  and 
is  a  worthy  scion  of  his  race,  upholding  the 
untarnished  name  which  has  ever  been  a 
synonym  of  loyal  citizenship  and  upright 
conduct. 


JOSEPH  MYERS. 

In  Democratic  circles  in  Knox  county 
Joseph  Myers  is  a  recognized  leader  and  that 
to  a  high  degree  he  enjoys  the  confidence 
and  trust  oi  his  fellow  men  is  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  he  is  now  filling  the 
responsible  position  of  president  of  the 
board  of  county  commissioners.  His  per- 
sonal popularity  is  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  at  the  election  of  1900  he  ran  more 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  votes  ahead  o£ 
his  ticket,  his  support  coming  from  many 
who  voted  for  the  Republican  nominees  for 
other  offices.  His  loyal  citizenship,  his 
practical  yet  progressive  administration  of 
the  affairs  of  the  office  and  his  earnest  ef- 
forts to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  county — 
these  are  some  of  the  strong  characteristics 
of  the  man. 

Mr.  Myers  was  born  in  Liberty  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  four  miles  west  of 
Mount  Vernon,  on  the  3d  of  May,  1844,  his 
parents  being  William  and  Sarah  (Dietrich) 
Myers,  in  whose  family  of  four  daughters- 
and  two  sons  he  was  the  youngest  child  and 
the  only  survivor.  Upon  the  home  farm  he 
was  reared  and  his  work  in  the  fields  was. 
alternated  by  period  O'f  attendance  at  the 
public  schools.  At  the  age  of  eighten  he 
was  drafted  for  service  in  the  army,  enlisting 
as  a  member  of  Company  F,  Sixty-fifth 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  served  under 
the  command  of  General  Rosecrans  and  par- 
ticipated in  the  battle  of  Stone  River.  He 
was  drafted  for  nine  months,  but  was  with 
his  command  at  the  front  for  eleven  months. 

After  receiving  an  honorable  discharge 
Mr.  Myers  returned  home  and  remained  on 
the  farm  until  his  father's  death.     The  old 


74 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


home  place  was  willed  to  him  and  his 
brother,  Jacob,  and  the  latter,  having  mar- 
ried and  removed  to  another  locality,  our 
subject  operated  the  land  which  they  had 
purchased  from  the  other  heirs.  Upon 
Jacob's  death  Joseph  Myers  purchased  his 
interest  in  the  property  and  soon  after  sold 
the  entire  amount  and  bought  his  father-in- 
law's  farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  in  Clinton 
township,  two  miles  west  of  Mount  Vernon. 
There  he  lived  for  a  number  of  years,  but 
eventually  sold  the  place  and  invested  his 
money  in  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  acres 
of  land  in  Monroe  township,  three  miles 
northeast  of  Mount  Vernon,  upon  which  he 
yet  resides.  Throughout  his  entire  life  he 
has  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  and  his 
farming  methods  are  in  harmony  with  the 
advancement  of  the  times. 

Mr.  Myers  was  united  in  mariage  to 
Miss  Clementine  Rinehart,  a  native  of  Knox 
county  and  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Rinehart 
■who  came  from  New  Jersey  to  this  county 
with  his  parents  in  1816.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Myers  have  been  born  seven  children : 
Emma,  who  is  the  wife  of  Foster  Tulloss, 
of  Clinton  township,  by  whom  she  has  six 
children:  Joseph;  James;  Charles;  Anna; 
Fay  and  Margaret ;  Samuel  deceased ;  Will- 
iam at  home;  Victoria,  the  wife  of  Harry 
Patterson,  of  Morris  township;  Mary,  Me- 
lissa and  Ralph,  all  yet  under  the  parental 
roof. 

Since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Myers 
has  been  a  supporter  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  in  1897  was  elected  on  that  ticket 
to  the  position  of  a  member  of  the  board  of 
county  commissioners.  He  served  so  capa- 
bly that  on  the  expiration  of  his  three-years' 
term  he  was  re-elected  in  1900  by  a  majority 
of  sixty-five,   although   a  majority   of   two 


hundred  was  given  the  head  of  the  Repub- 
lican ticket.  He  was  then  chosen  president 
of  the  board  and  is  therefore  at  the  head  of 
the  business  affairs  of  the  county,  which 
come  under  the  province  of  this  board.  For 
several  terms  he  was  trustee  of  Liberty 
township  and  at  all  times  has  exercised  his 
official  prerogatives  in  support  of  such 
meagures  as  he  believes  most  conducive  to 
the  public  good.  Mr.  Myers  belongs  to  the 
Methodist  Protestant  church,  and  frater- 
nally he  is  connected  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  his  membership  be- 
ing in  Mount  Vernon  Lodge,  No.  316;  Co- 
ko'sing  Encampment  and  also  with  the  Uni- 
formed Rank  of  the  Order.  Few  men  in  the 
county  are  better  known,  for  he  has  always 
lived  in  Knox  county,  has  successfully  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  has  proved  himself  a 
worthy  public  officer. 


DELPHOS   SHERWOOD   SELLERS. 

The  prominent  farmer  of  Morgan  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose  name  is 
mentioned  above,  traces  his  lineage  to  old 
Pennsylvania  stock.  Christian  Sellers,  his 
great-grandfather,  lived  in  Greene  county, 
Pennsylvania.  Jacob  Sellers,  a  son  of  Chris- 
tian Sellers,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  that  count}-  in 
1785,  and  came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  in 
1806,  and  bought  three  hundred  acres  of 
land  in  Morgan  township.  Returning  to 
Pennsylvania  in  1807  he  married  Mary 
Beam,  and  in  1808  began  to^  can-e  out  a 
home  on  his  land.  Setting  up  four  posts, 
with  cross  poles,  the)^  were  covered  with 
bark,  thus  securing  shelter  till  a  log  cabin 
could  be  made.  With  two  other  men  he 
worked  two  whole  days  to  place  the  heavy 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


logs  in  position,  only  to  realize  the  necessity 
for  more  help.  Ha\-ing  no  near  neighhors 
to  ask,  he  set  out  to  see  those  some  miles 
distant.  Meeting  "Old  Tusco,"  chief  of  the 
Delaware  Indians,  he  made  known  his  plight, 
and  the  chief  sent  him  four  stalwart  braves, 
who.  "'working  like  heroes,"  completed  his 
cabin  in  one  day.  They  were  fed  upon 
"cush-cush"  and  "dormin"  for  dinner,  that 
being  their  expression  for  roast  pork  and 
corn  bread.  His  cabin  stood  on  the  site  of 
the  present  premises.  His  large  tract  of  land 
was  covered  with  a  dense  forest  and  he  grad- 
ually cleared  it  and  improved  it  and  added 
to  its  acreage  until  at  the  time  of  his  death 
he  was  the  owner  of  about  one  thousand  and 
five  hundred  acres,  and  was  one  of  the 
prominent  land-owners  of  Knox  county. 
Some  of  his  land  he  bought  of  the  govern- 
ment for  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
an  acre,  and  other  portions  of  it  were  origin- 
ally school  lands.  About  half  of  his  original 
purchase  is  now  owned  by  his  descendants. 
His  possessions  were  included  in  Knox, 
Putnam,  Allen  and  Licking  counties. 

Politically  he  was  a  Jacksonian  Demo- 
crat, and  he  was  a  man  of  public  spirit  who 
had  the  best  interests  of  the  community  at 
heart.  He  died  in  1846,  and  his  wife,  who 
was  born  in  Virginia,  December  18,  1790, 
died  August  6,  1878.  They  had  eleven  chil- 
dren, named  as  follows:  William;  Susan, 
who  married  James  Honey,  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia;  Sarah,  who  married  John  Clutter; 
Christian,  Jr. ;  Jacob,  Jr. ;  Isaac ;  David  W. ; 
George ;  John ;  Jackson ;  and  Mary,  who 
married  Joseph  Bolwine.  None  of  their 
children  are  living. 

Jacob  Sellers,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Morgan 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  March  2, 
1 816,  and  died  May  12,  1894.     He  received 


a  scanty  education  in  subscription  schools. 
His  first  teacher  was  Ziba  Leonard,  who 
taught  in  a  little  floorless  log  structure  with 
slab  seats  and  benches  and  windows  of 
greased  paper,  and  a  large  fireplace  at  one 
end,  which  in  the  winter  months  was  kept 
full  of  blazing  logs.  His  second  teacher, 
James  Kirkland,  taught  him  to  read,  write 
and  figure  a  little,  and  in  that  locality  at 
that  time  those  meager  accomplishments 
were  popularly  believed  to  amply  equip 
their  possessor  to  battle  for  supremacy  in 
the  business  world.  Near  the  end  of  the 
boy's  school  days  the  old  Owl  Creek  Baptist 
church  was  turned  into  a  school-house  and 
for  a  time  he  studied  under  its  roof.  He 
was  early  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  land 
clearing  and  cultivation  and  obtained^  a 
practical  knowledge  how  the  Ohio  wilder- 
ness could  be  developed  into  fertile  farms. 
A  man  of  strong  personality,  sound  judg- 
ment and  clear  business  foresight,  he  made 
a  practical  success  of  life,  never  in  all  his 
career  running  counter  to  the  law,  suing  a 
man  or  being  sued.  Late  in  life  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Owl  Creek  Baptist  church. 
He  served  successfully  in  several  of  the  va- 
rious township  offices.  He  was  married  June 
3,  1858,  to  Miss  Cynthia  Cannon,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Zephaniah  and  Matilda  (Painter) Can- 
non, who'  was  born  in  Monongalia  county, 
Virginia  (now  West  Virginia),  September 
3,  1837,  and  was  brought  to  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  by  her  parents  when  she  was  about 
two  years  old.  Her  father  prior  to  coming 
to  Ohio  was  an  old-time  schoolmaster,  and 
a  well-to-do  farmer.  He  directed  her  edu- 
cation, which  to  considerable  extent  was  ob- 
tained in  such  subscription  schools  as  have 
been  described.  Her  great-grandfather, 
John  Cannon,  and  his  brother  Richard,  who 


76 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


came  to  America  to  escape  conscription  m 
the  British  army,  were  the  first  of  her  fam- 
ily in  the  United  States,  and  they  settled  in 
Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  lived  out 
their  days  there.  They  became  active  in 
opposition  to  their  mother  country  during 
the  Revolution. 

Jacob  and  Cynthia  (Cannon)  Sellers 
were  the  parents  of  four  children,  named  in 
the  following  statements :  Their  daughter, 
Ida  May,  married  Joseph  C.  Stinson  and 
lives  in  Burlington  township,  Licking  coun- 
ty, Ohio ;  Delphos  Sherwood,  born  April  22, 
1861,  is  the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch ; 
Jessie  H.  married  Frank  E.  Bone  and  lives 
in  Miller  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio; 
and  James  Morgan  died  in  infancy.  Del- 
phos Sherwood  Sellers  is  a  native  of  Mor- 
gan township  and  has  lived  there  all  his 
life  and  his  career  has  been  marked  with 
such  success  that  he  is  well  known  through- 
ovit  Knox  and  adjacent  counties.  He  was 
educated  in  district  schools  near  his  home 
and  at  the  Utica  high  school.  He  lives  with 
his  mother  on  one  hundred  and  forty-five 
and  a  half  acres  of  the  original  Sellers  pur- 
chase in  Morgan  township.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Owl  Creek  Baptist  church  and  has 
served  in  the  various  official  positions  of  the 
church  and  Sunday-school.  Politically  he 
is  a  Republican  and  has  ably  filled  the  office 
of  assessor  and  been  elected  to  fill  other  of- 
ficial positions  by  his  townsmen,  who  repose 
full  confidence  in  him  and  regard  him  as  an 
especially  patriotic  and  public-spirited  man. 


FANNY  BERRY  BALL. 

Mrs.    Fanny    Berry    Ball,    daughter    of 
John  Adams  and  Eleanora  E.    (Andrews) 


tor  of  heavy  burdens  of  debt  and  placed 
Berry,  was  born  in  Danville,  Ohio,  Novem- 
ber 3,  1846,  and  is  a  prominent  resident  of 
Fredericktown  and  one  of  the  well  known 
women  of  Knox  county,  Ohio.  She  re- 
ceived her  primary  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  in  1861  became  a  student  at 
the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University.  After  leav- 
ing school,  on  the  death  of  her  father,  she 
taught  until  her  marriage,  January  15,  1867, 
to  Edgar  Addison  Ball,  who  was  born  Au- 
gust 29,  1836,  and  died  June  12,  1890.  Mr. 
Ball  was  a  successful  farmer  and  a  public 
spirited  citizen.  November  9,  1892,  Mrs. 
Ball  married  Schuyler  Ball,  a  brother  of  her 
first  husband  who  was  born  April  12,  1840, 
and  died  September  i,  1899. 

John  Adams  Berry,  the  father  of  Fanny 
(Berry)  Ball,  was  born  in  Pike  township, 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  January  21,  1821.  He 
was  educated  at  Baltimore,  Marjiand,  and 
became  a  teacher.  He  graduated  in  med- 
icine at  Willoughby  Medical  College  in 
1 84 1,  and  practiced  his  profession  until 
1854,  when  he  entered  the  ministry  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  labored 
earnestly  for  the  salvation  of  souls  for  some 
years,  principally  at  East  Union,  Rosco, 
Chesterville  and  Fredericktown,  Ohio,  and 
was  then  appointed  agent  for  the  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University,  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  a 
position  which  was  offered  him  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  his  health  had  visibly  failed. 
His  physical  condition  having  improved,  he 
was  in  1862  appointed  pastor  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  at  Mount  Gilead, 
Ohio.  He  died  November  8,  1863,  and  is 
remembered  as  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and 
extraordinary  ability,  especially  as  a  finan- 
cier.    It  is  a  matter  of  record  that  he  re- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


lieved  all  the  churches  of  which  he  was  pas- 
them  upon  a  substantial  foundation,  lie 
married  Eleanora  E.  Andrews,  March  17, 
1842,  and  she  bore  him  seven  children: 
Clementine  C,  who  married  Edward  L. 
Buchwalter,  of  Springfield,  Ohio;  Rosalie 
H.,  who  married  Dr.  J.  T.  Condon,  of  Paw- 
nee, Nebraska;  Fanny;  John  A.,  now  dead; 
Eugene;  Clara  L.,  who  married  John 
Wyker,  of  Decatur,  Alabama;  and  Edward 
A.,  an  electrician  of  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Eleanora  E.  (Andrews)  Berry,  the 
mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  in  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  January  6, 
1824,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Brown  An- 
drews, a  native  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and 
a  Revolutionary  soldier  who  did  gallant 
service  in  defense  of  American  liberty.  She 
was  educated  at  Wooster,  Ohio,  and  before 
her  marriage  was  a  successful  teacher.  She 
is  now  living  with  a  daughter  in  Decatur, 
Alabama.  James  Berry,  the  father  of  Rev. 
John  Adams  Berry,  was  a  farmer  in  Pike 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio. 


WILLIAM  GILMOR. 

Among  the  successful  and  reliable  farm- 
ers of  Qay  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
none  is  held  in  higher  esteem  by  his  fellow 
citizens  than  William  Gilmor,  an  old  settler, 
who  was  born  in  Ohio  county,  Virginia, 
November  8,  1824,  and  possesses  many  of 
those  traits  which  have  made  Virginians 
honored  in  all  parts  of  our  country. 

William  Gilmor,  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  and  brought  up  in 
Maryland,  and  was  taken  to  Ohio  county, 
Virginia,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  by  his  par- 


ents. He  was  married  in  Washington  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  and  soon  afterward  lo- 
cated on  a  part  of  his  father's  farm,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming  and  milling.  He  built 
a  saw  and  a  grist  mill  and  acquired  other 
property,  and  in  a  general  way  was  a  pros- 
perous man.  Politically  he  was  a  Whig  and 
later  a  Republican.  He  was  a  religious  man 
and  a  church  member  and  lived  a  good  life, 
which  terminated  when  he  was  within  one 
months  of  being  eighty-two  years  old.  Will- 
iam Gilmor,  father  of  the  William  Gilmor 
just  mentioned  and  grandfather  of  the  Will- 
iam Gilmor  of  this  sketch,  was  born  and 
reared  in  Maryland  and  was  a  farmer  there. 
Eventually  he  settled  in  Ohio  county,  Vir- 
ginia, on  a  farm  of  four  hundred  acres,  on 
which  he  lived  out  his  days.  His  parents 
were  natives  of  Ireland,  and  they  settled 
early  in  Maryland. 

Nancy  Scott,  who  married  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  and  who  lived  to 
be  seventy-two  years  old,  was  bom  and 
passed  her  early  life  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania.  Her  father,  Arthur  Scott, 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  of  Scotch-Irish 
parentage,  and  became  a  farmer,  but  for 
some  time  was  engaged  in  teaming  over  the 
mountains  between  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio, 
via  ihe  old  National  road,  and  was  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  development  of  Ohio. 
William  and  Nancy  (Scott)  Gilmor  were 
the  parents  of  four  sons  and  three  daughters, 
all  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  woman- 
hood and  of  whom  William  Gilmor  and  his 
brother,  John  S.  Gilmor,  of  New  York,  are 
the  only  survivors.  William  Gilmor,  who 
was  the  second  child  and  eldest  son  of  his 
parents,  was  reared  at  the  place  of  his  na- 
tivitv,  on  the  line  of  the  old  National  road. 


78 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


and  began  his  education  in  subscription 
schools,  completing  it  in  what  were  later 
known  as  public  schools.  March  28,  1854, 
he  married  Sarah  Monninger,  who  was  born 
in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  June 
4,  1827,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Susan 
(Haas)  Monninger,  natives  of  Maryland 
and  who  had  ten  children,  nine  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity,  of  whom  Mrs.  Gilmor  is 
the  ninth  in  order  of  birth. 

Soon  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Gilmor  set- 
tled in  Jackson  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  bought  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-six  acres,  on  which  he  lived 
.nine  years,  then  disposed  of  it  and  pur- 
chased his  present  farm  at  Martinsburg,  in 
Clay  township,  on  which  he  has  made  many 
improvements.  It  consists  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy  acres,  and  he  also  owns  another 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  acres  within 
the  borders  of  Clay  township.  Pie  is  a  man 
of  social  and  political  influence  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lives,  and  besides  hold- 
ing other  local  offices  has  for  many  years 
been  a  member  of  the  township  school  board. 
Brought  up  in  the  political  faith  of  the 
Whigs,  he  naturally  became  a  Republican, 
and  voted  for  Abraham  Lincoln  for  the  pres- 
idency of  the  United  States  in  i860  and 
again  in  1864,  and  has  since  voted  for  every 
Republican  nominee  for  the  presidency.  He 
has  long  been  an  active  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  in  which  he  has  held  the  of- 
fices of  deacon  and  trustee.  William  and 
Sarah  (Monninger)  Gilmor  have  had  born 
to  them  six  children,  who  are  here  men- 
tioned in  the  order  of  their  birth :  Florence, 
who  is  dead  ;  Lizzie,  who  is  a  member  of  her 
parents'  household ;  John,  who  married 
Mary  Hart,  of  Ashland  county,  Ohio,  and 


lives  on  a  part  of  his  father's  home  farm; 
and  Belle,  Franklin  and  Agnes,  who  are 
dead. 


SILAS  YOUNG. 


The  farming  interests  of  Knox  county 
are  well  represented  by  Silas  Young,  who 
owns  a  valuable  and  well  cultivated  place 
in  Monroe  township.  He  was  born  in  Mid- 
dlefield,  Geauga  county,  Ohio,  October  19, 
1 82 1.  His  father,  Reese  C.  Young,  claimed 
Pennsylvania  as  the  state  of  his  nativity,  his 
birth  having  occurred  in  Washington  coun- 
ty in  1799.  He  subsequently  removed  to 
Geauga  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  mar- 
ried, and  in  1838  he  took  up  his  abode  in 
Knox  county,  locating  on  a  farm  in  Monroe 
township,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  days.  His  political  support  was  given 
the  Democracy,  and  religiously  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church. 
For  his  wife  he  chose  Eliza  Gates,  who  was 
born  in  the  Empire  state,  and  was  a  member 
of  an  old  and  prominent  family,  whose  his- 
tory is  traced  back  through  many  genera- 
tions to  a  passenger  on  the  Mayflower.  Tlie 
union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Young  was  blessed 
with  fifteen  children,  nine  of  whom  are  now 
living,  namely:  Silas,  the  subject  of  this 
review ;  Elvira,  the  wife  of  Martin  Robinson, 
of  California ;  Mary  A.,  the  widow  of  Will- 
iam Downs  and  a  resident  of  Mount  Vernon ; 
Carrie,  wife  of  Stephen  Craig,  of  Knox 
county;  Emma,  wife  of  Robert  Coleman,  of 
Mount  Vernon ;  Eva,  the  widow  of  Thomas 
Williams,  and  she  makes  her  home  with  her 
sister,  Mrs.  Craig;  Jane,  wife  of  Elias  Leon- 
ard, of  Missouri ;  Abigail,  widow  of  Sam- 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


uel  Bartlett  and  a  resident  of  ]\'Iount  Ver- 
non; and  Susan,  the  wife  of  John  M. 
Scott,  of  Knox  county. 

Silas  Young  remained  under  the  parental 
roof  until  his  fifteenth  year,  when  he  began 
the  battle  of  life  on  his  own  account,  and 
for  the  following  twelve  years  he  was  en- 
gaged at  various  occupations,  but  his  time 
was  principally  given  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. In  the  fall  of  1839  he  came  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  soon  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  Mr.  Jacob  Davis,  and  on  the  20th 
of  August,  1848,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
to  his  daughter  Catherine.  Shortly  after 
his  marriage  our  subject  rented  the  farm 
where  his  brother-in-law,  James  W.  Davis, 
now  resides,  where  he  made  his  home  for 
two  years,  on  the  expiration  of  which  period 
he  purchased  a  tract  of  sixty-six  acres  on 
the  Wooster  road,  there  making  his  home 
until  1870.  For  the  following  two  years 
he  rented  a  farm  of  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  acres  of  the  Lefever  heirs  in  Clinton 
township,  and  at  the  end  of  that  period  the 
residence  there  was  burned  and  Mr.  Young 
then  moved  to  Mount  Verncm.  After  an- 
other year  had  passed  by  he  purchased  his 
present  farmi  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  acres  in  Monroe  township,  and  on  this 
place  he  has  ever  since  made  his  home.  He 
has  a.  fine  farm,  a  mile  east  of  Mount  Ver- 
non, and  thereon  he  is  successfully  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits. 

The  union  of  our  subject  and  wife  has 
been  blessed  with  ten  children,  six  of  whom 
survive, — Jacob  R.,  who  is  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  Springfield,  Illinois;  Augusta,  the 
wife  of  C.  A.  Lefever,  of  Clinton  township ; 
John  Shannon,  a  resident  of  Tallula,  Illi- 
nois; Mary,  the  wife  of  Walter  S.  Steele, 


who  is  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  in 
Minneapolis,  Minnesota;  Charles,  at  home; 
and  Catherine,  the  wife  of  Walter  Spittle, 
of  ^Vashington,  Indiana.  Mr.  Young  gives 
his  political  support  to  the  Democratic  party, 
and  his  religious  views  connect  him  with  the 
Methodist  Protestant  church. 


M.  H.  ADRIAN. 


Success  comes  as  the  legitimate  result  of 
well  apphed  energy,  unflagging  determina- 
tion and  perseverance  in  a  course  of  action 
that  has  once  been  decided  upon.  She  smiles 
not  upon  the  idler  or  dreamer,  and  only  the 
man  who  has  won  her  favor  justly  and  by 
unflagging  effort  does  she  deign  to  crown 
with  blessings.  In  tracing  the  history  of 
Mr.  Adrian  it  is  plainly  seen  that  the  success 
he  enjoys  has  been  won  by  the  commendable 
qualities  just  mentioned,  together  with  many 
others  which  have  gained  him  the  high  es- 
teem of  all  who  know  him.  He  is  the  larg- 
est landholder  in  Jefferson  township,  and 
ranks  among  the  leading  agriculturists  of 
this  part  of  Ohio,  where  his  labors  have 
been  so  well  directed  that  he  is  now  most 
prosperous. 

Mr.  Adrian  is  a  native  of  Knox  county, 
his  birth  having  occurred  in  Harrison  town- 
ship, on  the  14th  of  August,  1855.  His 
father,  Isaac  Adrian,  was  born  in  Jefferson 
county,  this  state,  and  coming  to  this  coun- 
ty at  an  early  day  took  up  his  abode  in 
Harrison  township,  where  throughout  his' 
active  business  career  he  carried  on  farming." 
His  death  occurred  when  he  was  seventy- 
seven  years  of  age,  and  thus  terminated  a. 


8o- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


busy  and  useful  career.  He  married  Cyn- 
thia Harrod,  who  was  born  in  Harrison 
township  upon'  the  farm  which  is  yet  her 
home.  She  is  no w-_, eighty-one  years  of  age. 
She  has  performed  a  noble  work  in  the 
world,  having  reared  a  family  of  ten  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  reached  adult  age,  while 
nine  are  yet  living  and  are  a  credit  to  their 
loved  and  venerated  mother. 

The  sixth  child  and  third  son  of  this 
family  is  M.  H.  Adrian,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  sketch.  In  the  usual  manner  of 
farmer  lads  of  the  period  he  spent  the  days 
of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  and  when  the 
farm  work  was  over  in  the  autumn  he  en- 
tered the  public  school  of  his  neighborhood 
and  there  acquired  a  good  English  educa- 
tion. He  was  married  in  Union  township, 
November  19,  1879,  the  lady  of  his  choice 
being  Miss  Delia  May  Parsons,  a  sister  of 
Dr.  Parsons,  of  Brinkhaven.  The  young 
couple  began  their  domestic  life  at  Democ- 
racy, Ohio,  and  he  engaged  in  farming  in 
Pike  township  for  five  years,  on  the  expira- 
tion of  which  period  he  removed  to  Union 
township,  there  remaining  for  two  years. 
He  then  purchased  the  farm  upon  which  he 
now  resides  and  which  comprises  two  hun- 
dred acres  of  rich  and  arable  land,  which 
when  placed  under  the  plow  yields  excellent 
harvests  in  return  for  his  labor.  He  also 
owns  another  tract  of  eighty  acres  one  mile 
north  of  his  hom'e  place,  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty-six  and  a  half  acres  in  Union 
township,  known  as  the  Parsons  farm,  so 
that  his  landed  possessions  aggregate  four 
hundred  and  six  and  a  half  acres,  making 
him  the  most  extensive  landholder  in  Jeffer- 
son township.  Throughout  the  greater  part 
of  his  life  he  has  followed  stock-raising  in 


connection  with  the  tilling  of  the  soil,  and 
for  two'  years  he  was  engaged  in  merchan- 
dising at  Buckeye  City,  and  for  one  year  at 
Brinkhaven.  Energy  is  one  of  his  marked 
characteristics,  and  has  been  an  excellent 
foundation  upon  which  to  rear  the  super- 
structure of  his  success. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adrian  has 
been  blessed  with  five  children :  Lauris  N., 
Lewis  I.,  Ivan  L.,  Virgil  H.  and  Leila  O. 
M.  Mr.  Adrian  and  his  family  have  a  wide 
acquaintance  in  the  county  where  they  have 
always  resided  and  their  circle  of  friends  is 
quite  extensive.  He  votes  with  the  De- 
mocracy, and  socially  is  connected  with  the 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  with  which  he 
has  been  identified  for  five  years,  and  in 
which  he  has  filled  all  the  offices.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Tiverton 
township,  Coshocton  county,  in  which  he  is 
serving  as  a  deacon,  a  position  he  has  filled 
for  eight  years,  and  in  its  work  he  has  taken 
an  active  part.  He  is  well  known  in  the 
county  as  a  respected  citizen,  whose  word 
is  thoroughly  reliable,  whose  business  is 
conducted  along  lines  of  the  strictest  hon- 
esty, and  whose  worth  is  widely  acknowl- 
edged by  his  fellow  men. 


DAVID  SHAFFER,  D.  D.  S. 

A  large  patronage  indicates  Dr.  Shaf- 
fer's standing  in  professional  circles,  for  as 
a  dental  practitioner  of  Danville  he  is  well 
and  favorably  known.  He  was  born  in 
Holmes  county,  Ohio,  July  15,  1853.  His 
father,  John  Shaffer,  was  a  native  of  the 
Old  Dominion,  but  when  only  four  years 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


of  age  he  came  with  his  parents,  Jacob  Shaf- 
fer and  wife,  to  Ohio.  The  paternal  grand- 
parents of  our  subject  were  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  removed  from^  that  state  to 
Virginia,  coming  thence  to  Ohio.  The 
mother  of  him  whose  name  introduces  this 
review  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Priscilla 
Hoger,  and  was  born  in  Holmes  county, 
Ohio.  Her  death  occurred  in  Wayne  coun- 
ty, this  state,  when  she  had  reached  the  age 
of  fifty-eight  years.  She  is  still  survived  by 
her  husband,  who  now  makes  his  home  in 
Wooster,  Wayne  county.  This  worthy 
couple  became  the  parents  of  ten  children, 
nine  oi  whom  grew  to  years  of  maturity. 
Dr.  Shaffer,  the  third  child  in  order  of 
birth  in  the  above  family,  was  but  eight 
years  of  age  when  he  left  the  county  of  his 
nativity  and  with  his  parents  located  in 
Wayne  county,  where  he  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools.  After  attain- 
ing to  years  of  maturity  he  was  tor  hve  years 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business  at  Freder- 
icksburg, Ohio,  v/hile  for  the  following  two 
years  he  was  a  resident  of  Latty,  Paulding 
county,  this  state,  where  he  found  employ- 
ment at  the  carpenter's  trade.  While  thus 
employed  he  spent  his  leisure  hours  engaged 
in  the  study  of  dentistry  under  the  preceptor- 
ship  of  Dr.  E.  P.  Cunningham,  of  Fred- 
ericksburg, and  so  thoroughly  did  he  master 
the  principles  of  dentistry  that  in  1880  he 
was  enabled  to  begin  the  practice  of  that 
profession,  opening  an  office  at  Danville. 
He  is  now  numbered  among  the  leading  rep- 
resentatives of  that  calling  in  Knox  county, 
and  has  built  up  a  large  and  constantly  in- 
creasing patronage.  He  has  ever  been  a 
close  student,  and  does  all  in  his  power  to 
perfect  himself  in  his  chosen  profession. 


On  the  2d  of  July,  1882,  Dr.  Shaffer 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Letitia  Mil- 
ler, and  they  had  seven  children,  four  now 
living, — Mary  B.,  Kent  D.,  Homer  V.  and 
Chauncey.  The  wife  and  mother  was  called 
from  this  earth  September  27,  1894,  and 
our  subject  was  wedded  to  Miss  Lona  Belle 
Workman,  July  23,  1896.  This  union  has 
been  blessed  with  one  son,  John  B.  The 
Doctor  and  his  wife  and  children-  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in 
which  he  has  long  held  the  office  of  trustee. 
Politically  his  views  are  in  harmony  with 
the  Prohibition  party,  often  serving  as  a 
delegate  to  conventions  and  has  been  named 
as  candidate  of  the  party  for  representative 
to  the  legislature.  His  manner  is  ever 
courteous  and  kindly,  qualities  which  pro- 
mote his  success  in  a  professional  way.  His 
life  has  been  one  of  industry  and  benevolence 
and  the  systematic  and  honorable  business 
methods  which  he  has  followed  have  won  fo-r 
him  the  support  and  confidence  of  his  fel- 
low men. 


LEANDER  HAYS. 


All  that  is  conducive  to  good  citizenship, 
all  that  tends  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the 
county  receives  the  support  and  co-operation 
of  Leander  Hays,  now  one  of  the  county 
commissioners  of  Knox  county,  as  well  as  a 
leading  and  representative  farmer.  He  was 
born  in  Harrison  township  January  6,  1851, 
and  is  a  son  of  Morgan  and  Deborah  A. 
(Breece)  Hays.  The  former  was  bom  in 
Clay  township,  this  county.  May  21,  1820, 
and  was  a  son  o-f  James  Hays,  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  who  became  one  of  the 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


early  settlers  of  Knox  county.  Morgan 
Hays  spent  his  youth  upon  a  farm,  and, 
through  the  summer  months  worked  in  the 
fields  from  the  time  of  early  planting  until 
crops  were  harvested.  In  the  winter  sea- 
son, when  the  work  of  the  farm  was  prac- 
tically over  for  the  year  he  pursued  his 
studies  in  the  pioneer  log  schoolhouse  of  the 
times.  He  was  married,  in  October,  1849. 
He  had  previously  worked  as  a  farm  hand, 
making  his  home  with  his  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, and  after  his  marriage  he  settled  in 
Harrison  township,  where  he  had  purchased 
one  hundred  acres  of  land.  This  he  sold  in 
1853,  and  then  bought  a  quarter-section  in 
the  same  township,  making  his  home  thereon 
until  1866,  when  he  sold  that  property  and 
invested  his  money  in  two  hundred  and 
ninety-seven  acres  of  land  in  Pleasant  town- 
ship. After  engaging  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  fields  upon  that  place  he  rented  that 
farm  and  purchased  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-eight acres  in  Clay  township,  to  which 
he  removed  and  upon  which  he  made  his 
home  until  his  life's-  labors  were  ended  in 
death,  April  22,  1900.  He  never  would 
consent  to  become  a  candidate  for  public  of- 
fice, but  devoted  his  energies  to  his  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  thus  providing  comfort- 
ably for  his  family,  consisting  of  wife  and 
two  children,  the  latter  being  Leander,  of 
this  review,  and  Elizabeth  A.,  now  the 
widow  of  Marcus  Workman,  of  Gambler, 
Ohio. 

The  childhood  and  youth  of  Leander 
Hays  were  not  unlike  that  of  other  boys  of 
the  period  who  were  required  upon  the  farm. 
As  early  as  his  twelfth  year  he  began  work- 
ing as  a  farm  hand  in  the  neighborhood,  in 
order  to  gain  "spending  money,"  and  since 


that  time  agricultural  pursuits  have  claimed 
his  attention.     At  the  time  of  his  marriage 
he  took  his  bride  to  the  old  home  farm, 
which  had  become  his  property,  and  here  he 
has  since  lived,  the  well  tilled  fields  yield- 
ing to  him  a  golden  tribute  in  return  for  the 
care  and  labor  he  has  bestowed  upon  them. 
In   1880  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Hays  and  Miss  Carrie  M.  Robinson,  a  na- 
tive of  this  county  and  a  daughter  of  L.  ■ 
W.  Robinson,  now  deceased,  who  was  also         I 
born  in  this  county,  where  his  parents  lo-         1 
cated  during  an  early  epoch  in  its  develop- 
ment.   Their  home  is  blessed  with  two  chil- 
dren. Bertha  B.  and  Howard  R.,  who  are         j 
with  their  parents.     Mr.  Hays  exercises  his  I 
right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the  men 
and  measures  of  the  Democrac}-,   and  on         J 
that  ticket  he  was  elected  county  commis- 
sioner in  1898.    He  belongs  to  the  Disciples' 
church,  in  which  he  is  now  serving  as  dea- 
con,  and   is   widely   recognized   as   one  of 
the  leading  and  influential  men  of  his  com- 
munitv. 


JACOB  HAYS. 


In  the  life  of  the  well  known  citizen  of 
Morgan  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
whose  name  appears  above  are  exemplified 
all  those  oft-praised  qualities  of  honesty,  in- 
dustry and  integrity  which  since  American 
civilization  began  have  contributed  to  the 
success  of  self-made  men.  Jacob  Hays  was 
born  in  Knox  county,  September  25,  1826, 
a  son  of  James  B.  and  Jemima  (Biggs) 
Hays,  and  was  reared  to  the  hard  and  use- 
ful work  of  the  fann.  He  helped  to  clear 
and  improve  land  and  put  it  under  cultiva- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


tion  and  all  through  his  childhood  and 
youth  was  thus  employed  during  each  suc- 
cessive spring,  summer  and  fall,  and  in  the 
winter  months  he  attended  the  schools  near 
his  home  to  such  good  purpose  that  in  time 
he  became  a  teacher  of  district  schools,  and 
did  successful  educational  work  for  six 
terms  in  Knox  county  and  one  term  in 
Illinois. 

In  religious  belief  Mr.  Hays  is  a  Uni- 
versalist.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat,  and 
his  first  presidential  vote  was  cast  for  James 
K.  Polk.  He  has  ably  filled  the  offices  of 
supervisor  and  township  trustee,  and  has 
held  other  important  township  offices,  not- 
ably that  of  justice  of  the  peace,  in-  which  he 
has  officiated  for  eighteen  years  to-  the  en- 
tire satisfaction  of  his  fellow  citizens  of  all 
classes.  He  has  been  land  appraiser  also, 
and  in  that  capacity  showed  great  judgment 
and  fairness  during  a  period  of  service  cov- 
ering six  years.  He  has  been  many  times 
a  member  of  juries  which  have  had  tO'  do 
with  important  cases,  and  in  many  other 
ways  was  long  and  almost  constantly  in  pub- 
lic life.  During  recent  years  he  has  been  in 
the  enjoyment  of  a  well  earned  retirement 
and  rest  from  public  responsibility. 

Mr.  Hays  was  married,  April  19,  1854, 
to  Matilda  Lauderbaugh,  daughter  of  John 
and  Catharine  (Ream)  Lauderbaugh.  She 
was  born  February  24,  1836,  in  College 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  some  of  the  old-fashioned  subscrip- 
tion schools  kept  near  her  home.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hays  have  had  children  as  follows: 
Drusilla  F.,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  Wolf; 
George,  who  is  a  member  of  his  father's 
household;  Canada  A.  L.,  who  married 
Minnie  Arrington  and    lives    in   Harrison 


township;  Ida  May,  who  married  Qiarles 
Brown  and  lives  in  Pleasant  township;. 
Meeker  E.,  who  died  aged  eighteen  years, 
January  i,  1883;  John  B.,  who  died  Jan- 
uary 16,  1880,  aged  twelve  years;  Charles- 
W.,  who  married  Hattie  Squires  and  lives- 
at  Brandon,  Knox  county ;  Clement  D.,  who 
married  Addie  Haines  and  lives  at  Utica, 
Ohio;  Eddie,  who  is  a  member  of  his  fa- 
ther's household;  Tillie  E.,  who  married' 
Charles  A.  Clutter  and  lives  jn  Licking- 
county,  Ohio;  and  Amelia  C,  who  is  also 
at  home. 

James  Hays,  grandfather  of  Jacob  Hays,, 
came  to  Knox  county  from  Greene  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  18 15,  and  settled  on  the 
farm  now  the  home  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  and  lived  there  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  January  22,  1843.  He  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  September  23,  1772,  and  mar- 
ried Sarah  Bell,  who  bore  him  children  as 
follows:  Anna,  James  B.  (father  of  Jacob), 
Mary,  John,  William,  Harlan,  Benjamin, 
Elizabeth,  Isaac,  Morgan  and  David.  Of 
these  only  Isaac  is  living.  James  Hays'  sec- 
ond wife,  who  was  Sarah  Mills,  bore  him 
a  son  who  was  named  Silas.  James  B.  and 
Jemima  (Biggs)  Hays  had  children  as  fol- 
lows: Jacob,  the  immediate  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Mary,  Sarah,  William  Canada,  Eliz- 
abeth, Lindsay  and  Amelia.  Jacob,  William, 
and  Lindsay  are  living  at  this  time.  Mr. 
Hays  is  descended  from  Revolutionary 
stock.  His  ancestor,  William  Hays,  not 
only  did  gallant  service  as  a  soldier  in  de- 
fense of  American  liberty,  but  furnished  con- 
siderable supplies  to  the  Continental  army. 
He  was  married  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, April  4,  1759,  and  had  children  as 
follows:  John,  William,  Jane,  George,  Mary 


S4 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


Ann,  Ann,  Isabel,  James,  Robert,  Solomon 
and  Elizabeth. 

Mr.  Hays'  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  acres,  one  hundred  of  which  is 
under  cultivation,  is  located  in  Morgan 
township,  about  three  miles  from  Utica,  and 
is  well  provided  with  barns  and  all  other 
necessary  outbitildings  and  well  equipped 
for  successful  cultivation.  Mr.  Hays  gives 
attention  to  both  general  farming  and  stock 
raising. 


PARMENIS  N.  DONAHEY. 

Pennsylvania  has  furnished  to  the  mid- 
dle west  and  indeed  to  all  parts  of  the 
United  States  west  of  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween itself  and  Ohio  an  element  of  popula- 
tion that  in  all  localities  has  made  for  en- 
lightenment and  material  prosperity.  Ohio 
■owes  not  a  little  to  pioneers  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Knox  county  received  many  such 
■whose  influence  has  been  potent  toward  her 
settlement  and  development.  One  such  was 
John  Donahey,  who  was  born  in  the  Key- 
stone state  July  ii,  1799,  and  at  the  age 
of  ten  years  was  brought  by  his  parents  to 
Jackson  township,  where  he  was  reared 
and  educated,  and  where  he  married  Matilda 
Ross,  a  native  of  Virginia. 

Parmenis  N.  Donahey,  a  merchant  of 
Bladensburg,  Jackson  township,  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  was  born  in  that  township 
June  4,  1843,  the  third  son  of  John  and 
Matilda  (Ross)  Donahey,  who  had  ten  chil- 
dren. His  mother,  who  was  of  Virginian 
parentage,  was  at  the  time  of  her  marriage 
to  Mr.  Donahey  the  widow  of  John  Craft, 
■whom  she  bore  two  children,  half-sisters  of 


the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Young  Donahey 
was  reared  and  educated  at  Bladensburg, 
and  began  his  active  career  in  1866  as  a 
clerk  in  the  dry  goods  store  of  S.  L.  Rolley, 
in  whose  employment  he  remained  for  two 
years.  Afterward  he  taught  school  at 
Bladensburg  for  three  years,  and  after  that 
in  Illinois  until  in  1880,  when  he  estab- 
lished himself  in  Bladensburg  as  a  grocer. 
A  year  later  he  removed  his  store  to  Utica, 
Ohio,  where  he  traded  successfully  until 
1888,  when  he  again  returned  to  Bladens- 
burg and  has  since  managed  a  general  store 
and  achieved  a  reputation  as  a  popular  mer- 
chant. Politically  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  as 
such  was  elected  to  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace,  which  he  fills  with  much  ability 
and  discretion.  He  is  an  active  member  of 
the  Disciples'  church. 

August  29,  1869,  Mr.  Donahey  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Sophia  M.  Houck,  who  was 
born,  reared  and  educated  at  Bladensburg, 
and  whose  parents  were  natives  of  Ohio. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Donahey  have  two  children, 
William  J.  and  Leota  L.  The  former  is  a 
hospital  steward  at  Fort  Morgan,  Alabama, 
in  connection  with  the  regular  army  service. 
Leota  L.  is  the  wife  of  Calvin  McClelland, 
of  Licking  county,  Ohio. 


GEORGE   WESLEY   SHUFF. 

This  well  known  citizen  of  Miller  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  who  is  a  pros- 
perous farmer,  owning  two  hundred  acres 
of  fertile  land,  is  regarded  by  his  fellow  citi- 
zens with  the  honors  due  to  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil   war,   and  was  iborn  in   Shenandoah 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


county,  Virginia,  September  30,  1835,  a  son 
of  William  and  Margaret  (Glenn)  Shuff. 
He  located  in  Ohio  March  4,  i860,  the  day 
on  which  Abraham  Lincoln  was  first  inaug- 
urated president  of  the  United  States,  and 
there  and  then  began  his  life  work  as  a 
farmer.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  he 
enlisted  in  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-ninth  Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry,  for  nine  months'  service,  aiid  was 
mustered  in  at  Camp  Qiase,  Columbus, 
Ohio.  He  leturned  home  at  the  expiration 
of  his  term  of  service,  and  in  1864,  in  or- 
der to  he)p  fill  the  quota  of  his  township,  he 
re-enlisted  in  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and 
Ninety-seventh'  Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry.  With  this  he  saw  continuous 
service  until  the  close  of  the  war,  most  of 
the  time  in  the  hospital  corps.  He  was  at 
Cumberland  Gap  when  it  was  surrendered 
to  the  Union  forces  by  the  Confederates,  and 
was  finally  mustered  out  of  the  service  at 
Baltimore,  Maryland.  He  has  kept  alive 
recollections  of  his  army  days  by  member- 
ship with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 
Mr.  Shuff  has  prospered  as  a  farmer, 
and  his  fine  farm  is  provided  with  good 
buildings  and  all  necessary  modem  improve- 
ments. September  8,  1868,  he  married 
Mary  Oldaker,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren, named  W^alter  Andrew,  Rollin  Ernest 
and  Jessie  Maud.  William  Shuff,  father  of 
George  W.  Shuff,  was  born  in  Maryland  in 
1806  and  settled  in  Shenandoah  county, 
Virginia,  where  he  died.  Margaret  Glenn, 
who  became  his  wife,  was  born  in  Page 
county,  Virginia,  June  6,  181 3,  and  is  living 
in  Shenandoah  county,  Virginia:  She  bore 
her  husband  eleven  children — Thomas  J., 
who  was  killed  in  the  first  battle  of  Bull 


Run;  George  Wesley;  Martha  A.;  Jessie; 
Isabel ;  Caroline ;  Jane ;  William  A. ;  Emma ; 
and  two  whO'  died  in  infancy.  Mary  (Old- 
aker) Shuff  is  a  daughter  of  Andrew  and 
Jaiie  (Sillins)  Oldaker.  Her  father  was 
born  September  28,  181 2,  and  died  in  Lick- 
ing county,  Ohio,  March  18,  1868;  her 
mother  was  born  in  Virginia  October  4, 
181 2,  and  died  December  6,  1891.  Henry 
Oldaker,  father  of  Andrew  Oldaker  and 
grandfather  of  Mrs.  Shuff,  was  born  July 
22,  1777,  and  died  July  i,  1829.  He  mar- 
ried Ann  Thompson,  who  was  born  July 
19,  1785,  a  daughter  of  Andrew  Thompson, 
who  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1750.  Anna 
Colville,  the  great-grandmother  of  Mary 
(Oldaker)  Shuff,  was  born  in  Ireland  in 
1743,  and  died  November  14,  1813. 


MOSES  COLWELL  BONE. 

In  this  age  of  scientific  farming  there 
is  probably  no  farmer  in  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  who  could  more  justly  be  termed  an 
agricultural  expert  than  the  well  known 
citizen  of  Miller  township  whose  name  is 
above.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  of 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres,  which 
is  cultivated  by  up-to-date  methods  and  is 
one  of  the  most  desirable  properties  of  its 
kind  within  the  limits  of  the  county. 

Moses  Colwell  Bone,  son  of  John  and 
Mary  Ann  (Colwell)  Bone,  was  born  in 
Cornwall,  England,  May  11,  1833,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years.  For  a  time  he  lived  at  Gambier, 
Ohio,  at  which  place  he  worked  at  his  trade 
of  wagon-making,  and  from  there  he  went 


^6 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


to  Lock,  Ohio.  About  two  years  after  this 
last  removal  he  located  in  Miller  township, 
Knox  county,  where  he  soon  established 
himself  upon  a  farm.  Later  he  acquired  the 
White  homestead,  and  he  has  added  to  his 
holdings  until  he  is  recognized  as  one  of 
the  leading  farmers  in  his  part  of  the  coun- 
ty. In  the  course  of  events  he  was  appointed 
one  of  the  infirmary  directors  of  Knox  coun- 
ty, and  he  was  afterward  elected  to  that 
office,  in  which  he  served  six  successive 
years  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  at  Fairview.  Mr.  Bone  mar- 
ried Miss  Martha  White  March  i8,  1858, 
and  has  had  an  interesting  family  of  nine 
children  :  John,  the  eldest,  was  born  January 
15,  1859;  Lovilla  C.  was  born  August  6, 
i860;  Bumello  M.  was  born  February  29, 
1864,  and  died  December  29,  1877;  Mary 
Jane  was  born  August  11,  1866;  Frank  E. 
was  born  July  23,  1868;  Alta  A.  was  born 
July  29,  1871 ;  Charley  C.  was  born  April 
17,  1873;  Anna  Delle  was  born  February 
12,  1875;  and  Martha  A.  was  born  Septem- 
ber 20,  1878. 

John  Bone,  father  of  Moses  Colwell  Bone, 
was  born  and  passed  his  entire  life  in  Eng- 
land, surviving  his  wife  about  nine  years. 
They  left  seven  children,  named  Mary,  Sam- 
uel, John,  Heni-y,  William,  Eliza  and  Moses 
Colwell,  of  whom  Eliza  is  dead.  Miss 
Martha  White,  wife  of  Moses  Colwell  Bone, 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  November  9, 
1838,  and  in  1847  was  brought  by  her 
mother  to  Ohio,  her  father  having  died  in 
Pennsylvania.  Mrs'.  White  settled  on  what 
Is  now  the  Bone  farm,  and  died  there  Jan- 
uary 3,  1880.  Two  sisters  of  Mrs.  Bone 
are  living:  Sarah,  wife  of  David  Porter- 
field,   of    Columbus,   Ohio;   and   Mary    C, 


wife  of  George  Lemon,  of  Advance,  Illi- 
nois. One  brother,  David  White,  resided 
in  Mercer  county,  Ohio,  where  he  died  at 
about  the  asfe  of  thirtv-five  vears. 


HENRY  ALLEN  CRIPPEN. 

The  well  known  citizen  of  Miller  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose  name  is 
the  title  of  this  article  achieved  success  first 
as  a  railroad  man  and  afterward  as  a  fann- 
er, and  attained  prominence  as  a  citizen  by 
virtue  of  his  high  character  and  his  unpre- 
tentious but  substantial  achievements. 

Henry  Allen  Crippen  was  born  in  Mil- 
let township,  KnO'X  county,  Ohio,  Septem- 
ber 30,  1837,  a  son  of  Alanson  and  Eunice 
(Brooks)  Crippen.  Alanson  Crippen  was 
born  in  the  state  of  New  York  in  1798.  He 
came  to  Ohio  in  1836  and  remained  at 
Mount  Vernon  until  1837,  when  he  moved 
to  Miller  township,  Knox  county;  he  died 
in  1840,  in  New  York,  while  there  on  a 
visit.  Eunice  Brooks,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Alanson  Crippen  and  the  mother  of 
Henry  Allen  Crippen,  was  born  in  the  state 
of  New  York  October  22,  1799.  She  was 
a  life-long  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  and  a  woman  who  in  every  way 
exemplified  a  Christian  character.  She  died 
at  the  home  of  her  son  in  Miller  township, 
and  her  remains  are  buried  in  the  cemetery 
at  Brandon. 

Henry  Allen  Crippen  began  his  railroad 
career  as  a  fireman  with  the  old  Sandusky, 
Mansfield  &  Newark  Railroad  Company  in 
1854,  there  continuing  for  six  years.  In 
1862  he  was  given  charge  of  an  engine  on 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


87 


what  is  now  the  Panhandle  Railroad,  serv- 
ing in  that  capacity  until  1870.  His  run 
was  from  Steubenville  to  Newark,  and  he 
attained  the  reputation  of  being  an  efficient 
engineer  who  could  be  relied  upon  in  any 
emergency.  In  the  year  last  mentioned  he 
retired  to  a  farm,  which  he  has  since  man- 
aged successfully.  He  was  married  May  i, 
1865,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Clarkson,  who  was 
born  in  England,  but  reared  in  Ohio.  She 
bore  him  two  children  :  Hattie  and  Martin 
Clarkson ;  the  last  named  died  in  early  child- 
hood. Hattie  is  the  wife  of  Hugh  D.  Jones, 
a  painter,  and  lives  with  her  parents.  They 
have  one  daughter,  Grace. 

Elizabeth  (Clarkson)  Crippen  is  a 
daughter  of  Martin  and  Maria  (Smith) 
Clarkson,  who  were  married  in  England  and 
came  to  Plymouth,  Ohio,  in  1839.  Later 
they  lived  at  Mansfield,  Ohio,  and  still  later 
at  Sandusky,  Ohio,  where  Martin  Clarkson 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years,  he  hav- 
ing long  survived  his  wife,  Maria  (Smith) 
Clarkson,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight 
years. 


GEORGE  H.  TAYLOR. 

George  H.  Taylor,  superintendent  of  the 
Mount  Vernon  Gas  Light  &  Coke  Company, 
lias  held  the  important  position  which  he 
now  so  ably  fills  for  twenty-three  years,  and 
liis  entire  life  has  been  spent  in  this  city. 
His  paternal  grandfather,  George  Taylor, 
^\'as  born  in  England  and  was  there  engaged 
as  a  contractor  for  gas  works.  In  1849  h^ 
came  from  his  native  land  to  the  United 
States,  locating  first  in  Portsmouth,  Ohio, 
and  in  that  city,  Dayton,  Sandusky  and  New 


York  he  was  employed  in  the  erection  of 
gas  works.  In  company  with  a  Mr.  Bar- 
ringer  he  received  the  contract  to  erect  the 
Mount  Vernon  gas  works,  and  in  1856  he 
removed  to  this  city,  where  he  remained  for 
several  years,  and  on  East  Front  street  he 
erected  the  fine  homestead  which  his  grand- 
son now  occupies.  In  1867  he  returned  to 
his  native  land  on  a  visit,  and  in  Manchester, 
that  country,  his  life's  labors  were  ended  in 
death  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine  years.  His 
wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Olive  Neild, 
and  her  death  occurred  in  Mount  Vernon 
in  1862.  Their  son,  Hugh  Neild  Taylor, 
was  born  in  Manchester,  England,  in  1833, 
and  when  eighteen  years  of  age  he  accom- 
panied his  parents  on  their  removal  to  this 
country.  For  twenty  years  he  served  as 
superintendent  of  the  Mount  Vernon  Gas 
Light  &  Coke  Company,  holding  that  posi- 
tion until  the  time  of  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred on  the  2d  of  March,  1880,  at  the 
ag€  of  forty-nine  years.  He  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Emma  Price,  a  native  of  Bing- 
ham, England.  She  accompanied  her  par- 
ents on  their  removal  to  this  country,  locat- 
ing in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  They  became 
the  parents  of  two  sons,  and  the  younger, 
Harry  P.,  is  now  a  resident  of  Akron,  Ohio. 
George  H.  Taylor,  the  elder  son  and  the 
immediate  subject  of  this  review,  was  born 
in  the  city  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  the  edu- 
cational advantages  which  he  enjoyed  in  his 
youth  were  those  afforded  by  the  public 
schools  of  the  city.  In  1880,  when  twenty 
years  of  age,  he  succeeded  his  father  as  su- 
perintendent oif  the  Mount  Vernon  Gas 
Light  &  Coke  Company,  and  for  the  past 
twenty-three  years  he  has  filled  this  import- 
ant position  with  credit  to  himself  and  to 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  His 
entire  life  having  been  passed  in  Knox  coun- 
ty, he  is  widely  known  in  the  community, 
and  the  fact  that  many  of  his  friends  are 
numbered  among  those  who  have  been  ac- 
quainted with  him'  from  boyhood  is  an  in- 
dication that  his  career  has  ever  been  an 
honorable  and  upright  one. 


JAMES  PERRY  COLLINS. 

James  Perry  Collins,  farmer  and  stone 
mason  of  Miller  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  is  one  of  the  most  widely  known  brick 
and  stone  contractors  in  Knox  and  adjoin- 
ing counties.  He  is  a  son  of  Washington 
and  Susan  (Hunter)  Collins,  and  was  born 
at  Brinkhaven,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  Feb- 
ruary- 2,  1853. 

Washington  Collins,  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Guernsey 
county,  Ohio,  1826.'  He  served  four 
years  in  the  Civil  war  as  a  member  of  Com- 
pany G,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-first 
Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  is 
now  residing  with  his  son,  James  P.  By 
his  marriage  with  Susan  Hunter  he  became 
the  father  of  five  children,  named  as  fol- 
lows in  the  order  of  their  birth:  James 
Perry;  Jackson,  of  Newcastle,  Ohio;  and 
George,  Edward  and  Adaline,  who  are  dead. 
Mrs.  Collins  died  at  about  the  age  of  seventy 
years. 

James  Perry  Collins  is  a  member  of  Mt. 
Zion  Lodge,  No.  9,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, of  Mount  Vernon,  and  is  also  a  Chap- 
ter Mason  there,  and  is  a  member  of  Syca- 
more Valley  Lodge,  No.  553,  Independent 


Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  married  Miss 
Angeline  Dripps  June  14,  1876,  and  she  has 
borne  him  two  children,  Minnie,  wife  of 
Benjamin  Wright,  of  Miller  township,  and 
Gertrude,  at  home.  Mrs.  Collins  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Harrison  and  Rachel  (McFarland) 
Dripps,  and  was  born  in  Mil  ford  township, 
Knox  county. 

Mr.  Collins  is  a  citizen  of  public  spirit, 
who  has  the  best  interests  of  his  township 
and  coimty  at  heart,  and  hi9  fellow  citizens 
have  learned  that  they  may  safely  depend 
upon  him  to  encourage  earnestly  and  sub- 
stantially any  movement  for  the  general 
good.  His  patriotic  inclinations  cause  him 
to  feel  a  deep  interest  in  all  national  af- 
fairs, and  he  is  an  intelligent  observer  of  all 
passing  events. 


FRANK   LOUIS    FAIRCHILD. 

Mr.  Fairchild  makes  his  home  in  Mount 
Vernon,  but  his  influence  is  felt  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  his  home  community,  owing  to 
his  broad  business  relations  and  many  per- 
sonal  friendships  throughout   the  country. 

The  Fairchild  family  came  to  this  coun- 
try from  England  about  1639,  when  Thom- 
as Fairchild  took  up  a  township  of  land  in 
Stafford,  Connecticut,  and  since  its  founda- 
tion on  American  soil  its  members  have  ever 
taken  an  active  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
state  and  nation.  Mr.  Fairchild's  father, 
Charles  G.  Fairchild,  came  with  his  father, 
Grandison  Fairchild,  from  Stockbridge, 
Massachusetts,  to  Lorain  county,  Ohio, 
where  they  were  among  the  very  early  set- 
tlers.     The    cause    oi    education    has    also 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


found  in  the  members  of  this  representative 
family  warm  and  active  friends,  and  three 
uncles  of  our  subject  became  presidents  of 
colleges, — James  H.,  of  Oberlin,  Ohio;  E. 
H.,  of  Berea,  Kentucky;  and  George  T.,  of 
the  State  Agricultural  College  of  Manhattan, 
Kansas.  Charles  G.  Fairchild  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Emily  Culver,  of  Lee,  Berk- 
shire county,  Massachusetts.'  They  were 
people  of  sterling  worth,  and  in  the  com- 
munity where  they  made  their  home  they 
were  loved  and  honored  for  their  many  no- 
ble characteristics. 

Frank  L.  Fairchild  was  born  at  Brown- 
helm,  Lorain  county,  Ohio.  His  elementary 
education  was  received  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  locality,  but  later  he  entered 
Oberlin  College,  where  he  enjoyed  superior 
advantages.  He  was  reared  to  the  quiet 
pursuits  of  the  farm,  and  after  having  had 
some  experience  in  the  dry  goods  business, 
in  1865  he  came  tO'  Mount  Vernon,  Knox 
county,  where  he  at  once  became  identified 
with  The  C.  &  G.  Cooper  Company,  becom- 
ing an  active  partner  in  the  concern  about 
three  years  later.  After  a  residence  of  some 
years  in  this  city  he  went  to  Chicago,  where 
from  February,  1869,  until  May,  1878,  he 
had  charge  of  the  company's  interests  in  that 
city.  Since  its  organization  the  business  has 
steadily  grown  in  volume  and  importance, 
and  it  now  extends  to  all  parts  of  the  com- 
mercial world.  The  plant  was  founded  by 
Charles  Cooper  in  1833  and  was  conducted 
as  a  co-partnership  company  until  1895, 
when  it  was  incorporated  and  Mr.  Fairchild 
was  then  elected  its  president.  The  present 
officers  of  The  C.  &  G.  Cooper  Company  are : 
Frank  L.  Fairchild,  president ;  C.  G.  Cooper, 
secretary;  D.  B.  Kirk,  treasurer;  who  with 
Charles  M.  Stamp  and  Edward  Henry  Fair- 


child,  all  of  Mount  Vernon,  constitute  the 
board  of  directors.  When  this  establish- 
ment was  first  organized  it  manufactured  in 
a  small  way  agricultural  implements,  but  be- 
fore many  years  it  became  extensively  en- 
gaged in  building  engines  and  boilers.  Now, 
liowever,  the  Company  builds  Corliss  en- 
gines exclusively  and  in  this  field  it  has- 
gained  a  wide  reputation.  The  works  cover 
an  extensive  area  of  ground,  and  employ- 
ment is  given  to-  about  five  hundred  work- 
m.en. 

Although  the  business  of  this  establish- 
ment claims  much  of  his  time,  Mr.  Fairchild 
has  been  actively  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
the  city  in  which  he  lives.  For  nineteen 
years  he  served  as  trustee  of  the  Water 
Works  of  Mount  Vernon,  assuming  the  du- 
ties of  that  position  in  1881.  He  served  on 
the  preliminary  committee  that  determined 
the  plan  and  selected  the  site  of  the  Water 
Works,  and  had  charge,  with  the  other  trus- 
tees, during  the  period  of  construction.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Public  Li- 
brary and  has  ever  since  served  as  its  trus- 
tee, while  during  much  of  the  time  he  has-- 
also  acted  as  its  president.  He  was  one  of 
the  incorporators  and  directors  of  the  Home- 
Building  &  Loan  Association,  which  was; 
organized  twenty  3'ears  agO'  and  has  ever 
since  enjoyed  a  high  degree  of  success.  The 
cause  of  education  has  also  found  in  him  a 
warm  friend,  and  for  eighteen  years  he  was 
;>  member  of  the  board  of  education,  enter- 
ing upon  the  duties  of  that  office  in  1882-,. 
and  served  as  president  for  seventeen  years* 
Since  1865  Mr.  Fairchild  has  been  an  active 
member  of  the  Congregational  church,  and 
for  many  years  has  held  office  therein,  hav- 
ing served  as  deacon,  trustee  and  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday-school.      Religious; 


90 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


social  and  political  matters  have  ever  found 
in  him  a  willing-  worker  and  he  has  always 
done  what  he  could  for  the  welfare  of  his 
fellow  men. 

On  the  14th  of  September,  1871,  oc- 
curred the  marriage  of  Mr.  Fairchild  and 
Aliss  Sarah  E.  Thatcher.  Mrs.  Fairchild  is 
a  native  of  Litchfield,  Medina  county,  Ohio, 
and  a  daughter  of  Buckley  Thatcher,  for- 
merly of  Lee,  Massachusetts.  The  Thatcher 
family  became  residents  of  that  locality  as 
early  as  1635,  when  Thomas,  a  son  of  Rev. 
Peter  Thatcher,  came  to  this  country  froin 
England.  He  was  born  in  England  in  1620. 
The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fairchild  con- 
sists of  a  daughter,  Amy  Frances,  now  the 
wife  of  B.  B.  Williams,  of  Mount  Vernon, 
and  an  adopted  son,  Edward  Henry  Fair- 
child,  associated  with  his  father  in  The  C.  & 
'G.  Cooper  Company.  Both  were  educated 
in  the  schools  of  Oberlin. 

Such  is  the  record  of  one  of  the  most 
successful  men  of  Mount  Vernon.  His  life 
has  indeed  been  crowned  with  prosperity, 
but  all  his  achievements  are  the  result  of  pa- 
tient effort,  unflagging  industry  and  self- 
reliance.  For  many  years  this  city  has  been 
his  home,  and  during  all  this  time  he  has  so 
deported  himself  that  as  a  citizen,  as  a  man 
of  business  and  as  an  honorable  Christian 
gentleman  no  man  has  a  cleaner  record  or  is 
n^ore  highly  respected  than  he. 


WILLIAM  H.  YEARLEY. 

The  educator  is  as  useful  a  man  as  there 
is  or  can  be  in  any  community  and  his  work 
is  more  comprehensive  and  far  reaching 
than  any  other  man's,  for  it  is  as  broad  as 


humanity  and  its  influence  is  endless.  There 
are  in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  few  educators 
better  known  or  more  highly  esteemed  than 
the  subject  of  this  brief  notice,  a  native  of 
Zanesville,  Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  born 
November  6,  1862,  a  son  of  Henry  A.  and 
Adeline  (Evans)  Yearley. 

Professor  Yearley's  father,  Henry  A. 
Yearley,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland, 
and  learned  and  worked  at  the  cooper's 
trade.  He  was  married  at  Newark,  Ohio, 
to  Adeline  Evans,  of  Welsh  parentage,  who 
was  born  and  reared  at  Newark.  After 
their  marriage  they  located  at  Zanesville, 
and  they  now  live  on  the  National  road, 
west  of  that  cit3\  They  became  the  parents 
of  three  daughters  and  two  sons,  all  of 
whom  survive.  William  H.  Yearley.  the 
eldest  of  these  children,  attended  public 
school  at  Zanesville,  and  after  preparing  for 
college  at  Madison  Academy  entered  Woos- 
ter  University,  in  which  institution  he  was 
graduated  after  a  due  course  of  study  in 
1886.  He  located  at  Danville,  Knox  county, 
that  year,  and  for  five  years  thereafter  filled 
one  of  the  chairs  in  the  central  Ohio  state 
normal  school.  Later  he  was  for  four  years 
principal  of  the  Savannah  Academy  at  Ash- 
land, Ohio,  and  taught  one  year  in  Ashland 
College.  For  the  past  six  years  he  has  ably 
filled  the  office  of  superintendent  of  the  Dan- 
ville and  Buckeye  City  union  school. 

Professor  Yearley  was  married,  in  July, 
1886,  to  Miss  Jennie  Cain,  a  native  of  Kirk- 
ersville.  Licking  county,  Ohio,  who  was  edu- 
cated at  the  Ohio  state  normal  school  at 
Ada  and  at  Wooster  University,  and  who 
was  for  some  years  a  successful  teacher. 
Professor  and  Mrs.  Yearley  have  three  sons 
and  three  daughters,  as  follows:     Arthur, 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


George  W.,  Bernard  C,  Mary,  Adelia  and 
Grace. 

Politically  Professor  Yearley  is  a  Re- 
publican, and  that  he  is  a  man  of  influence 
in  local  affairs  is  attested  by  the  fact  that 
he  has  served  his  fellow  citizens  as  council- 
man and  township  clerk  and  in  other  re- 
sponsible official  positions.  In  religious 
views  he  is  a  Presbyterian,  but  at  this  time 
he  affiliates  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 


SIMON  A.  COLWILL. 

Simon  Augustus  Colwill  has  spent  his 
entire  life  in  Knox  county  and  is  among 
the  honored  citizens  who  have  aided  in  erect- 
ing the  superstructure  of  the  county's  pres- 
ent prosperity  and  progress.  He  was  born 
on  the  farm  on  which  he  now  resides,  on  the 
20th  of  October,  1855,  a  son  of  Simon  and 
Ann  (Hurd)  Colwill.  The  father  was  born 
in  the  county  of  Cornwall,  England,  in  1810. 
In  1835,  soon  after  his  marriage,  he  came 
to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Gambier, 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  where  he  followed  his 
trade  of  a  wheelwright  and  carpenter.  After 
some  years  spent  in  that  city,  however,  he 
removed  to  Massillon,  where  he  worked  at 
his  trade  for  a  time  and  then  returned  to 
Gambier.  Some  time  in  the  early  '40s  he 
purchased  the  place  on  which  our  subject 
now  resides,  consisting  of  a  tract  of  ninety 
acres,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  un- 
til his  life's  labors  were  ended,  passing  away 
on  the  7th  of  September,  1884.  He  was  a 
Republican  in  his  political  views,  and  relig- 
iously was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church.     His  wife  was  also  born  in  County 


Cornwall,  England,  in  18 12,  and  she  now 
makes  her  home  with  her  son,  Simon  A., 
having  reached  her  ninetieth  year.  Unto 
this  worthy  couple  were  born  ten  children, 
seven  of  whom  are  now  living,  namely : 
John  T.,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Monroe 
township;  Charles,  of  Knox  county;  Simon 
A.,  the  subject  of  this  review;  Mary,  the 
wife  of  Augustus  Barker,  of  Boone  county, 
Iowa;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Robert  Hall,  a 
farmer  of  Pleasant  township,  Knox  county ; 
Emma,  the  wife  of  Ross  Pumphrey,  of  Clay 
township,  Knox  county;  and  Fannie,  the 
wife  of  Dr.  A.  D.  Welker,  of  Gambier. 

Simon  Augustus  Colwill  acquired  his 
early  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Knox  county,  with  a  preparatory  course  at 
Harcourt  grammar  school,  and  his  studies 
were  completed  in  Kenyon  College,  of  Gam- 
bier, Ohio.  In  1876  he  entered  the  school- 
room as  an  instructor,  following  that  pro- 
fession for  six  years  during  the  winter 
months,  while  in  the  summer  seasons  he 
was  employed  in  the  work  of  the  fields.  In 
1880  he  assumed  charge  of  the  old  home 
place,  which  he  farmed  on  shares  until  his 
father's  death,  and  he  then  conducted  the 
same  for  his  mother.  In  1889  he  purchased 
a  tract  of  thirty-seven  and  a  half  acres  ad- 
joining the  homestead  on  the  east,  and  he 
has  since  carried  on  the  work  of  both  places. 
His  efforts  along  the  line  of  his  chosen  vo- 
cation have  been  attended  with  a  high  de- 
gree of  success,  and  he  is  now  classed 
among  the  leading  and  representative  agri- 
culturists of  the  township. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Colwill  was  cele- 
brated on  the  2d  of  October,  1882,  when 
Miss  Emma  McKee  became  his  wife.  She 
is  a  native  daughter  of  Knox  county,  and 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


her  father,  Charles  McKee,  is  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Harrison  township.  The  union 
of  our  subject  and  wife  has  ben  blessed 
with  five  children, — Pearl  B.,  who  is  attend- 
ing the  high  school  at  Gambler;  Everett, 
who  is  also  a  student  in  that  city;  Ernest,  at 
home;  Harold,  deceased;  and  Burton,  at 
home.  The  Republican  party  receives  Mr. 
Colwiirs  active  support  and  co-operation, 
and  for  about  eight  years  he  has  served  as 
a  member  of  the  school  board,  the  cause  of 
education  ever  finding  in  him  a  firm  friend. 
His  religious  preference  is  indicated  by  his 
membership  in  the  Episcopal  church,  while 
his  wife  is  identified  with  the  Christian 
church. 


STEPHEN  CRAIG. 

Numbered  among  the  veterans  of  the 
Civil  war  is  Stephen  Craig,  one  of  the  na- 
tive sons  of  Knox  county  and  a  representa- 
tive of  one  of  its  old  and  honored  pioneer 
families.  His  birth  occurred  September  27, 
1 83 1,  on  the  farm  on  which  he  now  resides, 
his  parents  being  Jonathan  and  Polly 
(Kiser)  Craig,  whose  family  numbered 
eight  children,  although  only  two  are  now 
living,  the  brother  of  our  subject  being 
James  S.  Craig,  who  also  lives  in  Monroe 
township.  The  fatlier  was  bom  in  New 
Hampshire  about  1780,  and  there  spent  his 
youth,  learning  the  shoemaker's  trade  during 
that  period.  About  1805  he  emigrated  west- 
ward, and  when  he  had  reached  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  took  up  his  abode  in  the  Stilly  set- 
tlement, one  mile  west  of  Mount  Venion,  in 
Clinton  township.  There  he  purchased  fifty 
acres  of  land,  and  in  connection  with  farm- 
ing worked  at  his  trade,  doing  considerable 


in  that  line  for  the  pioneer  settlers  who  were 
far  removed  from  the  manufactories  of  the 
east.  In  1816  he  sold  his  first  property  and 
purchased  a  quarter-section  of  land  where 
his  son  Stephen  is  now  living.  Taking  up 
his  residence  there,  he  continued  to  superin- 
tend the  cultivation  of  his  land  until  death 
ended  his  labors  in  1850,  when  he  was  sev- 
enty years  of  age.  He  was  a  veteran  of  the 
war  of  1 812,  and  was  the  first  coroner  ever 
elected  in  Knox  county,  being  chosen  for 
that  office  when  there  were  only  forty  votes 
polled  in  the  entire  county.  In  politics  he 
was  a  stanch  Whig,  and  of  the  Christian 
church  he  was  an  active  and  zealous  mem- 
ber, his  life  being  in  harmony  with  its  teach- 
ings. His  wife  was  born  in  Rockingham 
county,  Virginia,  in  1793.  Her  father  was 
a  native  of  Germany  and  was  the  son  of  a 
wealthy  miller  there.  When  he  was  refused 
permission  to  come  to  this  country  he  ran 
away  from  home  and  crossed  the  broad  At- 
lantic, taking  up  his  abode  in  Virginia, 
where  he  followed  the  trade  of  milling. 
When  the  colonists  aroused  by  the  oppres- 
sive taxation  of  England  resolved  to  sever 
all  connection  with  the  British  crown,  he 
joined  the  American  anny  and  fought  for 
the  independence  of  the  colonies.  His  death 
occurred  in  Virginia  in  1810,  after  which 
his  widow,  with  her  son  John  and  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Craig,  came  to  Knox  county, 
settling  in  Mount  Vernon.  From  that  time 
forward  Mrs.  Craig  was  a  resident  of  this 
locality,  and  here  her  death  occurred  in  Jan- 
uary, 1886,  when  she  was  more  than  ninety- 
two  years  of  age. 

It  is  only  through  imagination  that  we  ! 
can  realize  the  conditions  which  existed  in  i 
Knox  county  at  the  time  of  the  boyhood  of        ' 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


93 


of  our  subject,  for  great  changes  have  oc- 
curred since  then  transforming  this  region 
into  l^eautiful  homes  and  farms,  thriving 
villages  and  enterprising  cities.  It  was  in  a 
log  schoolhouse  that  he  pursued  his  educa- 
tion, while  his  training  at  farm-  labor  was 
received  in  the  fields  on  the  home  farm, 
where  he  began  work  almost  as  soon  as  he 
was  old  enough  to  reach  the  plow  handles. 
He  was  only  nineteen  j^ears  of  age  at  his 
father's  death,  after  which  he  and  his  broth- 
ers conducted  the  place,  but  when  the  Civil 
war  was  inaugurated  his  patriotic  spirit  was 
aroused,  and  putting  aside  all  personal  con- 
siderations he  entered  his  country's  service, 
enlisting  on  the  loth  of  October,  1861,  as 
a  member  of  Company  A,  Sixty-fifth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  which  became  a  part  of 
Sherman's  Brigade  and  was  assigned  tO'  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland.  When  the  com- 
pany was  organized  Mr.  Craig  was  ap- 
pointed sergeant.  In  July,  1862,  he  was  dis- 
charged on  account  of  illness,  but  in  1864 
he  re-enlisted  in  response  to  the  call  for  men 
to  serve  one  hundred  days,  and  became  a 
member  of  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and 
Forty-second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  He 
was  discharged  in  September  of  that  year, 
by  reason  of  the  expiration  of  his  term. 

Returning  to  his  home,  Mr.  Craig  re- 
sumed work  upon  the  farm,  and  as  his  finan- 
cial resources  permitted  he  purchased  the  in- 
terests of  the  other  heirs  in  the  home  place 
until,  in  1875,  he  became  sole  owner.  He 
has  since  continued  its  cultivation  and  the 
neat  and  thrifty  appearance  of  the  place  in- 
dicates his  careful  supervision.  In  his  work 
he  is  uniformly  successful,  and  the  many 
improvements  upon  his  farm  add  to  its  value 
and  attractive  appearance. 


On  the  1 2th  of  December,  1880,  was 
celebrated  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Craig  and 
Mrs.  Caroline  Ouinn,  nee  Young,  the  widow 
of  Thompson  Ouinn.  She  was  born  in 
Geauga  county,  Ohio,  a  daughter  of  Reese 
C.  Young,  who  came  to  Knox  county  in 
1839.  Mr.  Craig  is  an  earnest  advocate  of 
Republican  principles,  and  on  that  ticket  in 
1880  was  elected  county  commissioner  of 
Knox  county.  In  1883  he  was  an  unsuc- 
cessful candidate.  In  1886,  however,  he 
was  a  second  time  elected,  so  that  his  in- 
cumbency in  that  office  covered  six  years. 
He  is  a  member  of  Monroe  Grange,  Patrons 
of  Husbandry  and  of  Joe  Hooker  Post,  No. 
21,  G.  A.  R.,  and  is  as  true  and  loyal  to 
his  country  in  times  of  peace  as  when,  robed 
in  the  blue  uniform  of  the  army,  he  followed 
his  countr_y's  flag  on  southern  battlefields. 


THOMAS   S.    PHILLIPS. 

One  of  the  widely  known  and  esteemed 
residents  of  Wayne  township,  Knox  county, 
is  Thomas  S.  Phillips.  He  was  born  on  the 
farm  on  which  he  now  resides,  on  the  27th 
of  January,  1835,  a  son  of  Richard  and 
Sarah  (Denna)  Phillips.  The  father  was 
born  in  Sussex,  England,  about  1800,  and 
was  there  reared  and  educated.  During  his 
boyhood  days  he  studied  navigation,  and  for 
some  time  thereafter  followed  a  sailor's  life. 
He  was  married  in  his  native  land,  and  in 
1 82 1  came  with  his  bride  to  the  United 
States,  locating  in  Clinton,  Knox  county, 
where  he  worked  at  farm  labor  for  a  time 
and  later  opened  and  operated  a  distillery. 
In   later  years  he  purchased   the   farm  on 


94 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


which  oiir  subject  now  resides,  and  there  he 
remained  until  within  eight  years  of  his 
death,  when  he  removed  to  Mount  Vernon. 
He  was  a  stanch  Republican  in  his  polit- 
ical views,  and  was  an  active  and  worthy 
member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  having 
been  one  of  the  founders  and  active  spirits 
in  the  erection  of  the  house  of  worship  at 
Mount  Vernon,  while  for  a  number  of  years 
he  held  office  therein.  His  wife  departed 
this  life  in  1866.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phil- 
lips were  born  ten  children,  four  of  whom 
still  survive,  namely :  Benjamin  W.,  a 
farmer  of  Wa}-ne  township,  this  county; 
Thomas  S.,  of  this  review;  William  A.,  of 
Paulding  county,  Ohio ;  and  Richard  W.,  of 
Wayne  township,  Knox  county. 

Thomas  S.  Phillips  has  spent  nearly  his 
entire  life  on  the  farm  on  which  he  now 
resides,  and  during  his  youth  he  enjoyed 
the  educational  advantages  afforded  by  the 
common  schools  of  his  locality.  In  1856 
he  went  by  the  water  route  to  California, 
where  he  followed  mining  for  a  short  time, 
and  was  then  engaged  in  the  commission 
business  and  in  freighting  into  the  mining 
districts.  In  1863,  after  seven  years  spent 
in  the  Golden  state,  he  returned  to  his  old 
Ohio  home  on  a  visit,  but  he  was  persuaded 
by  his  friends  and  relatives  to  remain  in 
Knox  county,  and  accordingly  he  pur- 
chased the  old  home  farm  on  which  he  was 
born  and  reared  and  which  was  endeared 
to  him*  through  recollections  of  his  boy- 
hood days.  Here  he  is  engaged  in  general 
farming,  and  for  the  past  few  years  has  also 
operated  a  thresher,  meeting  with  a  high 
degree  of  success  in  both  branches  of  his 
business.  In  1890  Mr.  Phillips  returned  on 
a  visit  to  California. 

His  marriage  was  celebrated    in   1864, 


when  Miss  Elizabeth  Bonner  became  his 
wife.  They  became  the  parents  oi  four  chil- 
dren, only  one  of  whom  is  living,  Charles 
M.  Mrs.  Phillips  has  also  answered  the 
summons  to  the  home  beyond,  passing  away 
in  1876.  For  his  present  wife  our  subject 
chose  Miss  Emma  Ewalt.  The  Republican 
party  receives  Mr.  Phillips'  hearty  support 
and  coK>peration,  and  for  three  years  he 
served  as  trustee  of  his  township,  refusing 
longer  to  continue  in  office,  although  he  has 
often  been  solicited  to  accept  the  nomina- 
tion for  county  commissioner.  Religiously 
he  is  a  worthy  and  acceptable  member  of  the 
Episcopal  church. 


MARTIN  J.  HORN. 


Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  fur- 
nished many  pioneers  to  Ohioi,  and  they 
were  men  of  the  highest  character  and  abil- 
ity and  their  descendants  are  leaders  in  vari- 
ous communities  at  the  present  time.  The 
old  Pennsylvania  family  of  Horn  is  repre- 
sented in  Harrison  township,  Knox  county, 
and  perhaps  no  one  who  bears  the  name  is 
better  known  than  Martin  J.  Horn,  long  a 
successful  farmer  and  who  is  now  living  in 
well  earned  retirement. 

Martin  J.  Horn  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  July  22,  1822,  a  son 
of  John  Horn,  who  was  born  in  the  same 
county,  within  six  miles  of  the  seat  of  jus- 
tice, in  1799.  John  Horn  was  reared  to  be 
a  fanner  and  miller,  and  on  his  farm  of 
three  hundred  and  forty-five  acres  he  owned 
a  mill.  He  was  in  all  sense  a  man  of  suc- 
cess and  prominence.  He  was  a  Whig  and 
Republican  and  an  active  and  liberally  help- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


9S 


ful  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Martin 
Horn,  father  of  John  Horn  and  grandfa- 
ther of  Martin  J.  Horn,  was  born  on  the 
same  farm  in  Washington  county  which  was 
the  birthplace  of  John  Horn,  and  he  Hved 
to  be  eighty-four  years  old.  Hartman 
Horn,  father  of  Martin  Horn  and  great- 
grandfather of  Martin  J.  Horn,  was  born 
in  Germany,  and  was  an  early  settler  in 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
purchased  public  land  and  was  in  his  time 
a  well  known  farmer. 

John  Horn  married  Mary  Gantz,  who 
was  born  at  Ten  Mile  Creek,  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  1799,  and 
she  died  in  1866.  John  Gantz,  her  father, 
who  was  a  farmer,  miller  and  distiller,  was 
a  native  of  Germany,  as  was  also  his  wife. 
He  achieved  success  in  his  'time  and  lo- 
cality as  a  man  of  affairs.  John  and  Mary 
(Gantz)  Horn  had  children  as  follows: 
Martin  J.,  the  first  born,  is  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  sketch.  Mary  Ann  is  dead. 
George  lives  on  the  old  family  homestead 
in  ^^'ashington  county,  Pennsylvania.  Mar- 
garet is  dead.  Jacob  died  in  the  service  of 
his  country  in  the  Civil  war.  Elizabeth, 
who  is  the  widow  of  James  Price,  lives  in 
California.  Hugh  is  engaged  in  farming  in 
Henry  county,  Iowa.  Hannah  lives  in  Iowa. 
John  is  dead.  William  owns  and  lives  on 
a  part  of  the  old  Horn  property  in  Penn- 
sylvania. Maria  is  the  wife  of  George 
Coogle,  of  Washington  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Isaac  is  a  prominent  farmer  and 
stock-raiser  of  Moultrie  county,  Illinois. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared 
at  the  old  family  home  of  Horn  in  Wash- 
ington county,  Pennsylvania,  as  a  farmer 
and  miller,  but  eventually  engaged  in  team- 
ing   between    Wheeling,    West    Virginia; 


Cumberland,  Maryland ;  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania; and  other  points  with  six-horse 
teams,  of  which  from  time  to  time  he  owned 
several.  He  came  to  Knox  county  in  1847 
and  began  farming  in  Harrison  township. 
In  May,  1848,  in  Butler  township,  he  was- 
married  to  Miss  Sarah  Eley,  who  was  also 
born  there,  a  daughter  of  Michael  and  Cath- 
arine Eley.  They  were  early  settlers  in  that 
part  of  the  county.  Immediately  after  his 
marriage  Mr.  Horn  brought  his  wife  to  the 
farm  on  which  he  now  lives,  and  where  he 
had  "bached"'  it  for  a  time.  He  has  been 
successful  in  his  business  affairs,  and  at 
one  time  owned  four  hundred  acres  of  excel- 
lent land.  He  is  regarded  not  only  as  a 
progressive  farmer  but  as  an  influential  citi- 
zen. In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  in 
religion  he  affiliates  with  the  Christian 
church.  His  wife,  who  died  July  16,  1891, 
bore  him  four  children, — Mary  R.,  who  is 
now  Mrs.  Jacob  Black,  and  lives  with  her 
father;  and  Hugh,  John  and  Eley,  all  of 
whom  live  in  Harrison  township,  near  their 
father.  Mr.  Horn  has  given  or  sold  to  each 
of  his  children  on  favorable  terms  a  good 
farm,  and  they  have  all  entered  upon  active 
life  with  excellent  prospects. 


BENJAMIN  AMES. 

That  the  plentitude  of  satiety  is  seldom 
attained  in  the  affairs  of  life  is  to  be  con- 
sidered a  most  grateful  and  beneficial  de- 
privation, for  where  ambition  is  satisfied  and 
every  ultimate  aim  realized — if  such  is  pos- 
sible— there  must  follow  individual  apathy. 
Effort  will  cease,  accomplishment  be  pros- 
trate and  creative  talent  waste  its  energies 
in  supine  inactivity.     The  men  who    have 


96 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


pushed  forward  the  wheels  of  progress  have 
been  those  to  whom  satiety  lay  ever  in  the 
future,  and  they  have  labored  consecutively 
and  have  not  failed  to  find  in  each  transition 
stage  incentive  for  further  effort.  Although 
in  his  youth  Mr.  Ames  did  not  meet  that 
laborious  struggle  which  falls  to  the  lot  of 
many  men  who  later  win  success,  his  energy 
and  resolution  has  not  been  less  marked  than 
theirs,  and  in  the  successful  control  of  vari- 
ous business  interests  of  magnitude  he  has 
displayed  marked   business   ability. 

Mr.  Ames  was  born  in  the  family  home 
■on  High  street,  Mount  Vernon,  in  1870,  a 
son  of  the  Rev.  John  G.  and  Elizabeth  (De- 
lano) Ames.  The  former,  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, devoted  many  years  of  his  life  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry  as  a  representative  of 
the  Episcopal  clergy,  but  is  now  living  re- 
tired in  Washington,  D.  C.  He  married 
a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Columbus  Delano, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  lawyers  and 
citizens  that  Ohio  has  produced.  Their  son, 
Benjamin  Ames,  pursued  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  and  in  the  Columbian 
Preparatory  School  in  Washington,  D.  C, 
and  afterward  matriculated  in  Princeton 
University,  in  which  institution  he  was  grad- 
uated in  1892.  He  then  took  charge  of  the 
estate  and  affairs  of  his  maternal  grandfa- 
ther, capably  controlling  the  extensive  busi- 
ness associated  therewith.  He  is  now  the 
president  of  the  Republican  Publishing  Com- 
pany and  the  Mount  Vernon  Milling  Com- 
pany, and  is  a  director  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Mount  Vernon.  He  is  also 
carrying  on  extensive  farming  interests  in 
this  county,  and  he  resides  at  his  beautiful 
country  seat,  Lakehome,  in  Clinton  town- 
ship. 

In  1896  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of 


Mr.  Ames  and  Miss  Isabel  Kirk,  a  daugh- 
ter of  D.  B.  Kirk,  of  Mount  Vernon,  who 
is  treasurer  of  the  C.  O.  Cooper  Company. 
They  now  have  two  children.  Kirk  Delano 
and  Elizabeth  Delano.  Fraternally  Mr. 
Ames  is  a  Mason,  and  has  taken  all  of  the 
degrees  of  the  York  rite,  while  of  the  Mys- 
tic Shrine  he  is  likewise  a  representative. 
He  holds  membership  with  the  Knights  of 
P}'thias  and  in  politics  he  is  quite  promi- 
nent, being  a  stanch  advocate  of  Republican 
principles  and  a  member  and  treasurer  of 
the  county  committee.  He  does  all  in  his 
power  to  promote  the  growth  and  insure 
the  success  of  his  party  and  actively  co-op- 
erates in  many  movements  and  measures 
calculated  to  advance  the  material  and  in- 
tellectual interests  of  his  native  county.  In 
his  business  afifairs  he  displays  marked  abil- 
ity in  not  only  planning  but  in  successfully 
directing  important  enterprises,  and  his  un- 
assailable reputation  in  commercial  and  in- 
dustrial circles  has  gained  for  him  a  fore- 
most position  among  the  leading  citizens  of 
Knox  county,  although  he  is  yet  a  young 
man. 


.  REV.  ISAAC  LEEDY. 

From  an  early  period  in  the  development 
and  improvement  of  Knox  county  Rev. 
Isaac  Leedy  has  resided  within  its  bor- 
ders and  has  had  marked  influence  upon 
its  material  and  moral  development.  He 
is  the  minister  of  the  Brethren  church  in 
Berlin  township  and  is  a  man  of  no 
restricted  influence,  his  labors  having 
had  marked  benefit  in  uplifting  moral 
standards.  He  was  born  in  Bedford 
county,  Pennsylvania,  December  23,   1827, 


Q^^Jui^cu2^       oZ!ke-c^ 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


and  traces  his  ancestry  back  tO'  the  land  of 
the  Alps,  for  his  great-great-grandfather, 
Abraham  Leedy,  came  from  Switzerland  to 
America,  taking  up  his  abode  in  the  Key- 
stone state.  The  grandfather,  who  bore  the 
same  name,  was  supposed  to  be  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania  and  there  he  spent  his  entire 
life.  The  father  of  our  subject  was  the 
fourth  Abraham  Leedy  and  was  born  in 
Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  5, 
1787.  After  arriving  at  years  of  ma- 
turity he  married  Elizabeth  Zook,  who 
was  born  in  Bedford  county  March 
26,  1 79 1.  The  wedding  was  celebrated 
February  2^,  1812,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  eleven  children,  nine  sons 
and  two  daughters,  namely :  John,  Cath- 
erine, Samuel,  Jacob,  Abraham,  David, 
Daniel  and  Joseph,  all  of  whom  have  passed 
away;  Isaac,  of  this  review;  Susanna,  t'.ie 
widow  of  S.  P.  Dyer;  and  Aaron,  who  lives 
in  Richland  county.  In  1829  the  parer:ts 
reuioved  with  their  family  to  Knox  county, 
locating  in  Berlin  township,  near  the  present 
site  of  Ankenytown,  which  was  built  upon 
the  land  that  Mr.  Leedy  owned.  He  died 
March  8,  i860,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of 
his  age.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Dunkard 
church  and  his  earnest  Christian  life  was  an 
example  well  worthy  of  emulation.  His 
wife  passed  away  June  24,  1865,  in  her  sev- 
enty-seventh year. 

Isaac  Leedy,  whose  name  introduces  this 
review,  was  only  about  two  years  old  when 
brought  by  his  parents  to  Knox  county  in 
the  year  1829.  His  environments  were 
those  of  the  frontier  and  with  the  family  he 
experienced  hardship  and  trials  incident  to 
pioneer  life,  also  enjoying  pleasures  which 
are  otherwise  unknown  save  in  frontier 
settlements.     He  began  his  education  in  a 


little  log  school  house  which  stood  on  the 
present  site  of  Ankenytown.  He  was  an 
earnest  and  thorough  student  and  has  al- 
V.  ays  been  a  deep  thinker  and  close  reasoner. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  put  aside  all  his 
text-books  in  order  to  give  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  the  work  of  the  home  farm. 

As  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  the 
journey  of  life  Mr.  Leedy  chose  Miss  Nancy 
Bostater,  the  wedding  being  celebrated  De- 
cember 25,  1851.  She  was  born  in  Mary- 
land September  30,  1828,  a  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Susanna  Bostater,  who  came  to 
Knox  county  during  her  early  girlhood. 
They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children  and 
when  the  mother  died,  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1866,  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight  years,  she 
left  a  little  babe  only  four  days  old.  The 
other  children  of  the  family  are:  Elias, 
who  was  born  October  10,  1852,  and  died 
December  26,  of  the  same  year;  William, 
who  v.as  born  December  15,  1853,  and  is 
deceased ;  an  infant  daughter  deceased ;  Eliz- 
abeth, who  was  born  October  15,  1856,  and 
is  the  wife  of  C.  D.  Martin,  of  Berlin  town- 
ship; Martha,  who  was  born  October  28, 
1857,  and  died  January  6,  1858;  Caleb,  who 
was  born  November  21,  1858,  and  is  now 
a  farmer  of  Berlin  township;  Hannah,  who 
was  born  Januarj^  i,  1861,  and  is  the  wife 
of  Charles  O.  Miller,  of  Berlin;  Emily,  who 
was  born  June  17,  1863,  and  died  March  3, 
1865;  Joshua,  who  was  born  September  12, 
1864,  and  died  March  7,  1865  ;  and  Susanna, 
who  was  born  March  i,  1866,  a  babe  at  her 
mother's  death,  and  is  the  wife  of  B.  C. 
Debolt,  of  Berlin  towhship.  After  the 
death  of  his  first  wife  Mr.  Leedy  was  again 
married,  on  the  23d  of  October,  1866,  his 
second  union  being  with  Miss  Lovina 
Wolfe,    who    was     born     in    this    county 


98 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


March  i6,  1838,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Margaret  Wolfe.  Seven  children 
were  born  of  this  union:  Minerva,  who 
was  born  October  27,  1867,  and  is 
the  wife  of  J.  C.  Hess,  of  Ankenytown ; 
Noah,  who  was  born  October  2,  1870, 
and  died  May  16,  1873;  Mary  E.,  who  was 
born  December  5,  1872,  and  is  the  wife  of 
Fred  ^vlerrin,  justice  of  the  peace  in  Morris 
township ;  Normanda,  who  was  born  June 
II,  1875,  ^"d  "ii^d  November  20,  1879;  a 
son  who  was  born  April  15,  1878,  and  died 
unnamed ;  Samuel  Alva,  who  was  born  July 
14,  1879,  and  is  at  home;  and  Verda  A., 
who  was  born  April  8,  1882,  and  is  still 
under   the  parental   roof. 

After  his  first  marriage  Rev.  Leedy  lo- 
cated on  the  old  homestead  and  lived  in  the 
upper  story  of  the  old  milk  house,  which 
was  a  log  building.  In  1865  he  removed 
to  what  was  known  as  the  old  Trayer  farm, 
and  made  his  home  thereon  until  1885,  when 
he  moved  to  his  present  place  of  residence 
in  Berlin  township.  He  has  erected  all  of 
the  buildings  upon  this  place  and  he  also 
constructed  buildings  upon  the  Trayer  farm, 
including  the  house  and  barn.  In  his  farm 
work  he  is  systematic,  persevering  and  in- 
dustrious, and  thus  has  become  the  pos- 
sessor of  a  desirable  propertv,  but  in  the 
midst  of  his  business  cares  he  has  found 
time  to  devote  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
In  the  spring  of  1859  he  was  called  to  the 
ministry  of  the  Brethren  church,  and  at  once 
began  to  equip  himself  for  the  work,  up- 
held in  all  his  labors  by  his  strong  faith  and 
unwavering  purpose  to  exercise  his  talents 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Master's  cause.  Rev. 
Samuel  Leedy,  a  brother  O'f  our  subject,  was 
a  minister  of  the  Dunkard  church  at  An- 
kenytown, but  taught  views  more  nearly  in 


accord  with  the  New  Testament  in  observ- 
ance of  some  of  the  ordinances,  which  re- 
sulted in  his  own  disfellowship  being  ac- 
companied by  Isaac  and  several  others.  A 
new  society  was  organized  in  1859,  gener- 
ally known  as  "Leedyites,"  of  which  the 
two  brothers  were  the  principal  ministers. 
Others  who  held  similar  views  soon  joined 
them,  and  several  societies  were  organized  in 
western  Ohio  and  in  Indiana.  For  upwards 
of  twenty-four  years  Isaac  Leedy  continued 
as  pastor  of  the  local  society,  in  the  mean- 
time giving  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the 
propagating  of  the  faith.  Much  dissatis- 
faction developed  among  those  who  had 
remained  in  fellowship  with  the  old  church 
and  steps  were  taken  to  again  unite  the  three 
branches  of  the  church.  At  a  conference 
held  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  in  1883,  the  "Leedy- 
ites," the  Progressive  Brethren  and  the 
Congregational  Brethren  affected  a  consoli- 
dation. 

Not  long  after  this  event  Rev.  Samuel 
Leedy  removed  tO'  Vernon  county,  ^Missouri, 
where  he  organized  a  society  at  Montevallo, 
of  which  he  became  pastor,  so  remaining  un- 
til his  death,  on  November  17,  1889,  in  his 
seventy-fourth  year.  His  son,  Rev.  Simon 
Leedy,  succeeded  him,  and  so  remains. 
Since  retiring  from  active  pastoral  work 
Rev.  Isaac  Leedy  has  continued  occasional 
work  in  the  cause  of  the  Master,  his  chosen 
field  being  mainly  of  an  evangelical  nature, 
and  his  services  are  also  widely  sought  to 
officiate  at  marriage  and  funeral  services. 
Reared  under  the  strictest  rules  of  the  old 
Tunker  society,  he  accepted  all  the  teach- 
ings and  observances  as  authorized  by  the 
Gospels  until  he  united  with  the  church. 
He  soon  began  careful  investigation  and 
study  and  became  a  deep  and  careful  Bible 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


99 


student.  He  has  since  seldom  taken  things 
for  granted,  but  has  demanded  substantial 
proof  for  support  of  any  propositions.  He 
has  held  to  that  principle  in  his  own  preach- 
ing, presenting  onlj^  such  arguments  as  were 
substantiated  by  abundant  testimony.  With 
no  pretensions  at  elegance  or  finished  ora- 
tory, he  possesses  such  pleasing  address, 
combined  with  forceful  and  vigorous  lan- 
guage, that  few  men  have  exerted  more  in- 
fluence in  Christian  growth  and  development 
of  the  community,  and  his  work  has  resulted 
in  great  good.  He  resides  upon  his  farm  in 
Berlin  township,  comprising  seventy-seven 
acres.  At  one  time  he  had  a  quarter  section 
of  land,  but  he  has  rendered  substantial  as- 
sistance to  his  children.  He  has  served  as 
township  trustee  and  was  school  director  for 
a  number  of  years  but  refused  other  local  po- 
sitions. His  life  has  been  one  ever  actuated 
by  the  strictest  fidelity  to  duty  and  in  the 
work  of  the  church  his  labors  have  been  of 
wide  spread  benefit.  His  straightforward 
principles  and  genuine  worth  have  made  his 
example  well  worthy  of  emulation  and  thus 
to  know  Rev.  Leedy  is  to  honor  and  respect 
him. 


FRENCH   W.   SEVERNS. 

French  W.  Severns,  who  is  now^  serving 
as  county  treasurer  of  Knox  county,  is  a 
native  of  Cochocton  county,  Ohio,  born  in 
1863.  When  a  little  lad  of  eight  years  he 
came  to  this  county  with  his  parents,  Isaac 
D.  and  Elizabeth  (Mills)  Severns,  who'  are 
still  residing  upon  a  farm  in  Pleasant  townr. 
ship.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Samuel 
Severns,  son  of  Joseph  Severns,  was  born  in 
Westmoreland  county,  Virginia,  and  served 


in  the  war  of  181 2  with  the  rank  of  first 
sergeant.  He  was  at  Detroit  at  the  time  of 
Hull's  surrender  and  after  the  war  he  walked 
from  that  place  to  Coshocton  county,  Ohio. 
There  he  located  lands  in  Newcastle  town- 
ship, and  upon  the  farm  which  he  there  de- 
veloped and  improved  he  made  his  home 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1884,. 
when  in  his  eighty-fourth  year.  He  was  a 
very  active  and  influential  citizen  there  at 
an  early  day,  served  as  county  commissioner 
and  filled  other  offices  of  public  trust.  He 
was  married  in  Co-shocton  county  to  Miss 
Mary  Darling,  a  representative  of  one  of 
the  honored  pioneer  families  of  the  locality. 
Her  father  was  a  leading  stock-raiser  and 
his  nephews  now  have  the  largest  herds  of 
shorthorn  cattle  in  central  Ohio. 

Isaac  D.  Severns,  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
Mary  (Darling)  Severns,  came  to  Knox 
county  with  his  family  in  1871,  and  has 
since  been  identified  with  its  farming  inter- 
ests. He,  toO',  is  active  and  influential  in 
county  affairs,  and  has  always  given  a  stal- 
wart support  to  the  principles  of  the  De- 
mocracy. He  wedded  Elizabeth  Mills,  and 
their  son,  French  W.,  is  now  the  only  one 
of  their  children  living  in  this  county.  The 
others  are  Edgar  C,  a  dentist  practicing  in 
Chicago,  Illinois;  Mrs.  Thomas  Hagerman, 
of  Huron  county,  Ohio;  and  Mrs.  Charles 
Hagerty,  of  Dodge  City,  Kansas. 

In  the  public  schools  of  Knox  county 
our  subject  pursued  his  early  education,  and 
later  attended  the  Northwestern  University, 
at  Ada,  Ohio.  Later  he  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  Michigan,  but  subsequently  he  re- 
turned to  Knox  county  and  took  charge  of 
his  father's  farm,  which  he  continued  to  op- 
erate until  1899,  making  a  specialty  of  the 
cultivation  of    fruit  and    of    stock-raising- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTOR\^ 


The  work  was  carried  on  along  progressive 
lines  and  his  labors  brought  a  good  finan- 
cial return. 

In  this  county  Mr.  Severns  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Olive  Hagaman,  of 
Mount  Vernon,  a  daughter  of  John  Haga- 
man, of  that  city.  They  have  two  children, 
Edna  Mildred  and  Robert  Baning.  Tlie 
parents  hold  membership  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  are  people  of  the  high- 
est respectability,  enjoying  the  merited  es- 
teem of  many  friends.  Socially  Mr.  Severns 
is  connected  with  the  various  Masonic 
bodies  in  Mount  Vernon,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  I^odge  and  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows.  The  fraternal  spirit  of 
these  orders  he  exemplifies  in  his  daily  life, 
and  is  therefore  accounted  one  of  the  loyal 
representatives  of  the  different  societies  with 
■which  he  is  identified.  He  gives  the  greater 
part  of  his  attention  now  to  his  official  duties 
and  his  course  indicates  that  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him  by  his  constituents  is  well 
merited. 


JOHN  M.  FAWCETT. 

Ireland  has  furnished  to  America  an  ele- 
ment of  population  which  has  been  influen- 
tial in  the  advancement  of  civilization, 
patriotism  and  prosperity  and  for  which  our 
country  ought  to  be  and  is  duly  grateful. 
Ohio  was  the  objective  point  of  many  Irish 
immigrants  of  the  better  class,  and  Knox 
county  received  her  quota  of  such  pioneers. 
One  of  the  prominent  Irish  names  in  Harri- 
son township  is  Fawcett,  and  of  the  family 
to  which  it  belongs  John  M.  Fawcett  is  a 
most  worthy  representative. 

John  M.  Fawcett,  who  is  one  of  the  larg- 


est land  owners  in  Harrison  township  and 
whose  home  farm  is  in  section  12,  was  born 
in  that  township  May  i,  1831,  a  son  of 
Arthur  Fawcett,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who 
came  to  America  when  about  twenty  years 
old  and  locating  at  Steubenville,  Ohio.  He 
began  life  in  the  land  of  liberty  by  working 
willingly  at  whatever  his  hands  found  to  do. 
He  came  to  Knox  county  while  yet  a  young 
man,  found  a  wife  in  Pleasant  township  and 
began  housekeeping  in  the  woods  in  Harri- 
son towniship  in  a  house  of  round  logs,  but 
this  in  time  gave  place  to  a  house  of  hewed 
logs,  from  which  he  moved  to  a  frame  house 
on  the  farm  which  is  now  the  home  of  his 
son,  John  M.  Fawcett.  This  was  built  in 
1852,  and  there  he  died  in  his  eighty-second 
year.  He  was  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the 
term  a  self-made  man,  for  he  was  orphaned 
in  his  childhood,  and,  left  literally  to  shift 
for  himself,  made  a  success  in  life  in  every 
way.  When  he  grew  to  manhood  he  es- 
poused the  principles  of  the  old  Whig  party, 
and  he  was  one  of  the  original  members  of 
the  Republican  party.  He  wielded  a  marked 
influence  in  public  affairs,  was  well  known 
throughout  the  county  and  his  death  was 
widely  regretted. 

Arthur  Fawcett  married  Susannah 
Smith,  who  was  brought  by  her  parents 
when  a  cliild  to  Knox  county.  She  died  at 
the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  She  bore  her 
husband  five  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  of 
whom  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood, 
and  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
the  eighth  child  and  fourth  son  in  order  of 
birth.  John  M.  Fawcett  gained  his  educa- 
tion in  one  of  Harrison  township's  old  log 
school  houses  and  established  himself  as  a 
farmer,  being  thus  employed  until  1861, 
when  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Forty-third 


OF    KXOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  in 
which  he  served  as  a  private  for  ten  months. 
He  was  then  honorably  discharged  on  ac- 
count of  disability  and  returned  to  his  home. 
He  was  married,  January  14,  1858,  to  Miss 
Hannah  Workman,  who  was  born  in  Brown 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohioi  October  19, 
1839,  and  died  in  October,  1874,  leaving  the 
following  named  children :  Workman,  Ellen 
Jane,  Annie,  Frank,  Henry  and  Dora,  all 
of  whom  are  living.  Ellen  Jane  is  the  wife 
of  George  Lepley;  Annie  is  the  wife  of 
Marvin  Purdy;  Dora  married  Benjamin 
Bebout ;  Workman  married  Rena  O.  Daniel ; 
Frank  married  Bertha  McKee;  and  Henry 
married  Alice  Lamson.  April  11,  1875,  Mr. 
Fawcett  married  Miss  Nancy  J.  Workman, 
a  native  of  Brown  township  and  a  sister  of 
his  deceased  wife.  Her  parents  were  John 
J.  and  Lucretia  (De  Witt)  Workman,  early 
settlers  of  Knox  county,  Ohio.  By  his  sec- 
ond marriage  he  has  two  daughters, — Mat- 
tie,  who  married  Thomas  Bebout,  and  Ida 
May,  who  is  still  a  member  of  her  father's 
household. 

Mr.  Fawcett  has  lived  his  life  in  Harri- 
son township  with  the  exception  of  three 
years  which,  when  a  young  man,  were  spent 
in  McLain  county,  Illinois.  He  gradually 
acquired  land  until  at  one  time  he  owned 
four  hundred  and  twenty-two  acres.  He  has 
divided  two  hundred  and  forty-two  acres 
among  his  children,  and  devotes  his  home 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  acres 
to  general  farming.  He  is  a  Democrat  and 
is  proud  of  the  fact  that  he  voted  twice  for 
William  Jennings  Bryan  for  the  presidency. 
He  has  been  treasurer  and  trustee  of  his 
township  and  has  held  other  important  local 
offices.  He  is  a  member  of  Leroy  Baker 
Post,    Grand    Army    of    the    Republic,  of 


Alount  Vernon,  and  takes  pleasure  in  recall- 
ing army  experiences  by  frequent  com- 
munion with  old  comrades-in-arms.  In 
township  affairs  he  wields  considerable  in- 
fluence, and  his  public  spirit  has  been  many 
times  put  to  the  test,  but  has  never  been 
found  wanting. 


CHARLES  R.  BRADFIELD,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Charles  R.  Bradfield  is  a  prominent 
physician  of  Danville,  and  has  that  love  for 
and  devotion  to  his  profession  which  has 
brought  to  him  success  and  won  him  a  place 
among  the  ablest  representatives  of  the  med- 
ical fraternity  in  Knox  county,  his  practice 
being  large  and  remunerative.  The  Doctor 
was  born  in  Brown  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  on  the  31st  of  May,  1846.  His  pa- 
ternal grandfather,  James  Bradfield,  was  a 
native  of  the  Old  Dominion,  and  there  spent 
his  entire  life.  He  was  a  member  of  a 
prominent  Quaker  family  and  was  of  Eng- 
lish descent.  His  son,  James  W.  Bradfield, 
the  father  of  our  subject,  also  claimed  Vir- 
ginia as  the  state  of  his  nativity,  where  he 
was  reared  to  the  quiet  duties  of  the  farm. 
Some  time  in  the  '30s  he  came  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  locating  in  Union  township, 
where  he  remained  for  a  short  time,  and 
then  took  up  his  abode  in  Howard  town- 
ship. His  next  place  of  residence  was  at 
Danville,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  life  in  quiet  retirement,  enjoying  the 
rest  which  he  had  so  truly  earned  and  richly 
deserved.  He  passed  away  in  death  at  the 
age  of  seventy-three  years,  honored  and  re- 
spected by  all  who  had  the  pleasure  of  his 
acquaintance.     Prior  to  the  Civil   war  he 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


gave  his  political  support  to  the  Democracy, 
but  later  in  life  he  became  identified  with 
the  Republican  party,  and  on  its  ticket  was 
elected  to  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust. 
For  nine  years  he  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace  of  his  township,  and  for  eight  years 
w-as  the  efficient  commissioner  of  Knox 
county,  and  he  also  held  the  position  of 
notary  public.  During  the  last  ten  years  of 
his  life  he  was  engaged  in  settling  estates, 
and  it  is  often  said  that  he  did  more  busi- 
ness in  that  line  than  any  other  man  in  this 
part  of  the  county. 

As  a  companion  for  the  journey  of  life 
Mr.  Bradfield  chose  Miss  Sarah  Sapp,  a  na- 
tive of  Union  township,  Knox  couny,  where 
she  was  reared,  educated  and  married,  and 
there  her  death  occurred  when  she  had 
reached  the  seventy-fifth  milestone  on  the 
journey  of  life.  Her  father,  Levi  Sapp,  was 
a  native  of  the  state  of  Maryland.  In  1809 
he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal 
to  Knox  county,  where  they  were  among 
the  early  pioneers,  and  there  his  father, 
George  Sapp,  became  a  prominent  farmer 
of  Union  township.  He  was  of  Dutch  de- 
scent, and  was  a  Catholic  in  his  religious 
belief.  In  this  county  Levi  Sapp  was  reared 
and  educated,  and  his  death  occurred  in 
Mount  Vernon.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bradfield  was  blessed  with  eleven 
children,  nine  of  whom  grew  to  years  of  ma- 
turity, and  all  were  born  in  Knox  county. 
Those  who  still  survive  are:  Charles  R., 
the  subject  of  this  review;  Lydia,  the  wife 
of  William  Body,  a  resident  of  Jefferson 
township;  L.  S.,  who  makes  his  home  in 
Liberty  township,  Knox  county;  William, 
also  of  Liberty  township;  Thomas  J.,  of 
Holmes  county;  and  Mary,  the  wife  of  Al- 
bert Moor,  of  Canton,  Ohio. 


Drw  Bradfield,  the  eldest  child  in  the 
above  family,  obtained  his  elementary  edu- 
catimi  in  the  common  schools  of  his  town- 
ship, and  later  enjoyed  superior  advantages 
along  that  line  in  the  academy  at  Danville. 
When  nineteen  years  of  age  he  began  the 
study  of  medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Calvin 
Sapp,  of  Danville,  who  continued  as  his  pre- 
ceptor for  the  following  four  years,  on  the 
expiration  of  which  period,  in  1870,  our 
subject  entered  the  old  Cleveland  Medical 
College.  He  subsequently  matriculated  in 
the  Detroit  Medical  College,  graduating  at 
that  institution  with  the  class  of  1871.  With 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  science  of  med- 
icine. Dr.  Bradfield  then  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  his  chosen  profession  in  Danville, 
where  he  remained  for  one  year,  and  for 
the  following  seventeen  years  he  was  a 
prominent  medical  practitioner  of  Mount 
Liberty.  For  the  past  thirteen  years  he  has 
made  his  home  in  Danville.  His  skill  and 
ability  soon  became  recognized,  and  he  was 
not  long  in  building  up  an  excellent  practice 
in  this  city.  His  life  has  been  characterized 
by  energy,  perseverance  and  hard  work,  and 
to  these  principles  his  success  is  due,  and 
he  now  enjoys  the  honor  of  being  conceded 
the  acknowledged  peer  of  any  physician  in 
Knox  county. 

The  Doctor  was  married,  January  5, 
1868,  to  Miss  Sarah  Dunlap,  a  native  of 
Butler  township,  Knox  county,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  Salathiel  and  Ann  (Burkholder)  Dun- 
lap,  early  pioneers  of  this  locality.  The 
Doctor  and  wife  have  had  three  children,-7- 
James  D.,  at  home;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of 
Lieutenant  Lanning  Parsons,  who  served  in 
the  Cuban  war  in  the  Philippines,  returning 
home  as  first  lieutenant  of  the  Fourth  United 
States  Cavalry,  and  now  located  at    Fort 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


103 


Leavenworth;  and  Estella,  deceased.  They 
also  have  two  grandchildren, — Harriet  E. 
and  Isabelle.  In  political  matters  the  Doc- 
tO'r  gives  his  support  to  the  Republican 
party,  and  religiously  he  is  a  member  of  the 
IMethodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he 
has  long  served  as  a  trustee.  In  his  social 
relations  he  is  a  member  of  the  State  ]\Ied- 
ical  Society,  the  County  Medical  Society, 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity,  and  of 
Mount  Zion  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Mount 
Vernon.  As  a  citizen  he  ever  stands  ready 
to  discharge  any  duty  devolving  upon  him, 
but  his  extensive  practice  requires  the 
greater  part  of  his  time  and  attention. 


SIMON  C.  LEPLEY. 

The  well  known  representative  of  the 
honored  family  of  Lepley  whose  name  is 
the  title  of  this  sketch  is  an  old  citizen  of 
Harrison  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio', 
having  been  born  on  the  farm  on  which  he 
now  lives  February  12,  1832.  His  father, 
George  Lepley,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  at  the  age  of  eleven  years  brought  to 
Knox  county  by  his  parents,  who  were 
among  the  early  pioneers.  He  was  reared 
in  Harrison  township  and  lived  there  the 
industrious  and  useful  life  of  a  progressive 
farmer,  dying  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
four  years. 

George  Lepley,  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  married  Barbara  Baughman. 
who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  brought 
to  Knox  county  by  her  parents.  She  lived 
to  be  ninety-five  years  of  age.  George  and 
Barbara  (Baughman)  Lepley  had  eight  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Simon  C.  Lepley  was    the 


seventh  in  order  of  birth.  The  boy  was 
reared  to  a  practical  experience  of  the  work 
of  clearing,  improving  and  cultivating  land 
and  developed  into  a  resourceful  and  suc- 
cessful farmer.  Such  educational  advant- 
ages as  were  available  to  him  he  obtained  in 
subscription  schools  taught  in  log  houses  of 
primitive  construction,  with  slab  seats  and 
benches,  puncheon  floors,  big  open  fire- 
places and  windows  of  greased  paper.  He 
remained  with  his  father,  assisting  him  in 
carrying  on  the  home  farm,  operations  until 
he  was  thirty-two  years  old. 

In  1864  Mr.  Lepley  married  Sarah  Bean, 
a  native  of  Jo'  Daviess  county,  Illinois.  Miss 
Bean,  who  was  reared  and  educated  in  her 
native  county,  was  at  the  time  of  her  mar- 
riage temporarily  in  Wisconsin,  where  she 
met  Mr.  Lepley,  who  was  there  on  business 
and  who  brought  her  back  to  Knox  county 
as  his  wife.  They  began  housekeeping  in  a 
log  house  on  the  farm  on  which  Mr.  Lepley 
now  lives,  which  later  gave  place  to  a  more 
commodious  and  better  appointed  residence. 
In  1884  they  removed  to  Mount  Vernon, 
where  for  four  years  Mr.  Lepley  was  en- 
gaged in  the  bakery  business  and  where  Mrs. 
Lepley  died  in  1890.  After  the  death  of  his 
wife  he  went  to  Lima,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
m'ained  about  four  months,  going  thence  to 
Columbus,  Ohio-,  from  which  city  he  re- 
turned a  month  later  to  his  farm,  and  he  has 
since  devoted  himself  to  its  management  and 
to  blacksmithing.  His  farm  consists  of 
ninety-five  acres,  well  improved  and  under 
cultivation  and  equipped  with  a  good  resi- 
dence and  adequate  barns  and  other  out- 
buildings. 

Mr.  Lepley  is  not  without  influence  in 
township  affairs  and  has  twice  been  elected 
to  the  office  of  assessor.     In  politics  he  is 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


independent,  voting  always  for  the  man  who 
he  regards  as  best  qualified  for  the  place  to 
which  he  aspires.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Dis- 
ciples' church,  has  filled  some  of  its  official 
positions  and  been  active  in  its  work.  He  is 
honored  not  only  as  an  old  citizen  of  his 
township,  but  as  a  man  of  prominence  and 
public  spirit.  Simon  C.  and  Sarah  (Bean) 
Lep'ley  had  three  children,  named  Lawrence 
K.,  Lee  and  Jeanette.  Lawrence  K.  married 
Effie  M.  Farmer  and  operates  the  home- 
stead; Lee  married  Anna  Colgin,  who  re- 
sides on  a  near-by  farm;  and  Jeanette  re- 
sides with  her  brother  and  devotes  herself 
to  teaching  music. 


SAMUEL  SEVERNS. 

Samuel  Severns  has  passed  the  sev- 
enty-fifth milestone  on  the  journey  of  life, 
and  having  put  aside  the  more  arduous  cares 
of  business  is  now  quietly  living  retired  at 
his  home  in  Mt.  Vernon,  enjoying  a  well 
merited  rest.  He  is  a  native  of  Virginia, 
his  birth  occurring  in  Botetourt  county  on 
the  14th  of  January,  1827,  his  parents  be- 
ing Jonathan  and  Sarah  (McNare) Severns. 
When  he  was  five  years  of  age  his  parents 
left  the  Old  Dominion  and  removed  toi  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  and  in  1836  the  father  entered 
land  from  the  government  and  began  the 
development  of  a  farm.  The  son  assisted  in 
the  arduous  task  of  clearing  and  improving 
the  new  farm  as  his  age  and  strength  woiild 
permit,  and  in  the  subscription  schools  he 
pursued  his  education,  for  there  were  no 
public  schools  at  that  time.  On  entering 
business  life  for  himself  he  followed  the  oc- 
cupation to  which  he  was  reared,  but  later 
he  abandoned  farming  and  secured  a  posi- 
tion   in    a   boiler   yard.      Subsequently   he 


drove  a  team  for  a  Mr.  Norton,  and  was 
thus  engaged  for  eleven  years. 

On  the  24th  of  November,  1853,  Mr. 
Severns  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Sarah  Jane  Hickman,  a  daughter  of  Thom- 
as C.  and  Catherine  (Fox)  Hickman.  Unto 
them  were  born  six  children,  namely :  Thom- 
as W.,  a  brick  mason  residing  in  Mount 
Vernon ;  William  Bryant,  a  boilermaker  who 
resides  in  Columbus;  Robert  E.,  who  fol- 
lows the  same  line  of  business  and  makes 
his  home  in  Mount  Vernon;  Iva  May,  as- 
sistant librarian  in  Mount  Vernon;  Frank 
Marion,  a  paperhanger  and  painter  of  this 
city;  and  Fred  G.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Mount  Vernon  school  and  noiw  employed  as 
a  salesman  in  Mount  Vernon. 

In  his  political  faith  Mr.  Severns  is  a 
Republican,  but  while  he  has  kept  well  in- 
formed on  the  issues  of  the  day  and  stanchly 
supports  the  principles  of  the  party  he  neyer 
sought  office  as  a  reward  for  party  fealty. 
He  holds  membership  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  and  his  life  is  in  harmony  with 
its  teachings.  He  was  ever  straightforward 
and  reliable  in  business,  faithful  to  his  duties 
of  citizenship  and  honorable  in  all  life's  re- 
lations. 


THOMAS  C.  HICKMAN. 

Thomas  Chaney  Hickman  became  one 
of  the  honored  pioneers  of  Knox  county  and 
was  deeply  interested  in  its  work  and  devel- 
opment, doing  what  he  could  to  promote  its 
welfare.  He  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania 
and  was  a  representative  of  an  old  Quaker 
family  of  that  state.  His  parents  were 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Frame)  Hickman,  also 
natives  of  the  Keystone  state,  and  the  father 
was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.     When 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


105 


eighteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  Ohio  and 
engaged  in  teaching  school  in  Waj'ne  coun- 
ty. He  also  studied  survej'ing  and  he  came 
to  Mount  Vernon  to  do  clerical  work  for 
Mr.  Kinton,  one  of  the  first  officials  of  the 
county.  He  also  did  similar  work  for  Audi- 
tor Ben  Smith  and  a  Mr.  Herred,  and  thus 
he  became  widely  known  to  many  of  the 
leading  citizens.  His  worth  and  ability  be- 
ing recognized,  he  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  county  surveyor  and  held  that  position 
for  several  terms,  discharging  his  duties  in 
a  most  commendable  manner,  owing  to  his 
skill  in  the  line  of  his  profession.  He  con- 
tinued to  engage  in  surveying  for  many 
years. 

Mr.  Hickman  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Catharine  Fox,  a  daughter  of  William  • 
and  Mary  Fox,  and  unto  them  were  born 
eight  children:  Robert  M.  and  George 
Washington,  both  of  whom  are  now  de- 
ceased ;  Sarah  Jane ;  Robert  Marion,  who  is 
living  in  Warsaw,  Indiana ;  Mary  E. ;  Will- 
iam W.,  deceased:  Catharine,  deceased;  and 
Thomas  J.,  of  Springfield,  Ohio.  The  fa- 
ther died  in  1869  and  his  loss  was  deeply 
felt  throughout  the  community.  In  his  work 
as  county  surveyor  he  had  formed  a  wide 
acquaintance,  and  his  genuine  worth,  genial 
disposition  and  honor  won  him  many 
friends.  He  was  an  active  factor  in  the 
early  development  of  the  county,  and  did 
much  of  the  surveying  during  the  period  of 
the  pioneer  settlement  here. 


MARVIN  LYBARGER. 

Reference  has  been  made  in  these  pages 
to  the  value  of  Pennsylvania  stock  as  an 
influence  in  western  civilization  and  tD'  the 


prevalence  of  Pennsylvania  blood  in  Knox 
county,  Ohio.  A  representative  of  an  old 
Pennsylvania  family  in  Harrison  township 
is  Marvin  Lybarger,  a  prominent  farmer 
in  section  11.  and  the  son  of  a  pioneer.  He 
was  born  there  May  2,  1838. 

Andrew  Lybarger,  father  of  Marvin  Ly- 
barger, was  born  and  reared  in  the  Key- 
stone state  and  came  a  single  man  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio.  He  bought  a  farm  in  Har- 
rison township,  on  which  he  located  after 
his  marriage  in  a  house  of  round  logs,  which 
as  soon  as  possible  he  replaced  with  a  house 
of  hewed  logs,  the  latter  serving  its  purpose 
until  it  was  superceded  by  a  commodious 
modern  residence.  He  cleared  and  put  his 
land  under  cultivation  and  improved  a  good 
farm,  successfully  continuing  its  work  un- 
til his  death,  which  occurred  before  he  was 
sixty  years  old.  He  is  honored  as  having 
been  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Knox  county, 
and  he  is  remembered  as  a  well  educated, 
affable  man  who  had  been  a  school  teacher 
in  Pennsylvania.  Long  after  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  Knox  county,  the  woods  about 
him  abounded  in  bear,  deer  and  other  va- 
rieties of  wild  game,  and  roving  Indians  fre- 
quently appeared  in  the  Ohio  settlements. 
His  ancestors  came  from  Germany,  and  in 
Pennsylvania  were  men  of  substantial  worth- 
Andrew  Lybarger  married  Catharine 
Lybarger,  also  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  who 
had  been  brought  as  a  child  to  Knox  coun- 
ty by  her  parents,  Frederick  Lybarger  and 
wife,  who  were  early  settlers  in  Harrison 
township.  She  died  before  she  attained  the 
age  of  seventy  years.  She  bore  her  hus- 
band five  sons  and  four  daughters,  two  of 
whom  died  young  and  only  four  sons  are 
now  living.  Of  these  children,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch   was   the  seventh  child   and 


jo6 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


fourth  son  in  order  of  birth.  He  \vas  reared 
in  Harrison  township  and  gained  a  prac- 
tical common  school  education  in  the 
log  school  houses  in  his  vicinity,  mean- 
time gaining  a  good  knowledge  of  farm- 
ing, in  which  he  has  been  actively  en- 
gaged until  the  present  time.  He  was 
married  on  January  17,  1861,  to  Cleora 
Lepley,  a  native  of  Harrison  township,  born 
June  19,  1838,  a  daughter  of  William  and 
Densey  (Purdy)  Lepley,  of  an  old  family  in 
Knox  county.  Her  parents  were  both  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania  and  something  of  their 
history  is  given  in  a  biographical  sketch  of 
her  brother,  Marvin  Lepley,  which  appears 
in  this  work.  Mrs.  Lybarger,  who  was  the 
third  in  order  of  birth  of  her  parents'  family 
of  nine  children,  was  reared  and  educated  in 
Harrison  township.  After  his  marriage  Mr. 
Lybarger  located  on  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Uncle  Jake  Welker  farm  in  Harrison 
township  and  lived  upon  it  until  1868,  when 
he  bought  the  farm  known  as  the  old  Devore 
farm,  in  the  same  township,  which  was  his 
home  until  1890,  when  he  moved  to  his 
present  homestead,  still  retaining  ownership 
of  the  Devore  farm.  The  two  farms  aggre- 
gate two  hundred  and  nine  acres  and  both 
are  under  a  good  state  of  cultivation  and 
well  equipped  for  modern  farming.  Mr. 
Lybarger  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  pro- 
gressive farmers  of  Knox  county.  He  is  de- 
voted to  the  general  principles  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  but  is  so  independent  of  po- 
litical bondage  that  he  makes  it  a  rule  to 
vote  for  men  rather  than  measures.  He  is 
widely  known  as  a  stockman  and  has  for 
years  made  a  specialty  of  sheep,  of  which  he 
has  raised  and  handled  large  numbers,  each 
year  fattening  a  flock  of  from  seventy-five 
to  one  hundred  head. 


Marvin  and  Cleora  (Lepley)  Lybarger 
have  had  four  children.  Their  son  Silas 
married  Savilla  Witt  and  has  a  daughter 
named  Clorah.  They  live  near  his  father. 
John  A.  died  at  the  age  of  seven  months. 
Their  son,  Emanuel  S.,  who  is  a  partner  of 
his  father,  as  is  also  Silas,  married  Bertha 
Eley.  By  his  first  wife,  Ollie  Henwood,  he 
has  a  daughter  named  Lula  M.,  and  by  his 
present  wife  has  two  sons,  named  A\"alter 
Henry  and  Clarence  Dewey.  Alfred  Dean 
Lybarger,  a  young  man  of  twenty,  is  still 
at  home  with  his  father. 


MARVIN  LEPLEY. 

No  eastern  state  furnished  to  the  west 
a  more  \-aluable  part  of  its  pioneer  popula- 
tion that  Pennsylvania,  and  no  state  in  the 
west  is  more  greatly  indebted  to  Pennsyl- 
vania than  is  Ohio.  Prominent  among  the 
names  of  Pennsylvania  settlers  in  Knox 
county  is  that  of  Lepley,  which  belongs  to 
a  family  now  well  represented  in  Harrison 
township  and  in  its  various  branches  in  other 
parts  of  the  county. 

Marvin  Lepley,  who  is  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Harrison  township,  was  born 
there  October  26,  1847,  ^  son  of  William 
Lepley,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  In  boy- 
hood the  latter  came  to-  Knox, county  and 
lived  there  until  he  was  about  fifty  years 
old,  when  he  was  killed  by  an  accident  in  a 
sawmill.  Jacob  Lepley,  father  of  William 
Lepley  and  grandfather  of  Marvin  Lepley, 
was  also  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
the  original  pioneer  of  this  particulai:  fam- 
ily of  Lepleys  in  Knox  county.  Densey 
Purdy,  who  married  William  Lepley  and  be- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


107 


came  the  mother  of  Alarvin  Lepley,  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania  and  was  brought  by  her 
parents  to  Ohio  when  she  was  two  years  old 
and  later  came  with  them  to  Knox. county. 
^Ir.  and  Mrs.  William  Lepley  had  nine  chil- 
dren, the  eldest  of  whom  died  in  childhood, 
the  youngest  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years. 
Marvin  Lepley  was  their  seventh  child  and 
fourth  son  in  order  of  birth.  The  recollec- 
tions of  his  childhood  cluster  around  a  little 
log  house  in  the  woods,  which  was  the 
humble  home  of  the  family,  and  about  a 
primitive  school  house,  in  which  he  attended 
an  old-fashioned  subscription  school. 

]\Ir.  Lepley  was  a  member  of  his  father's 
household  until  he  was  twenty-three  years 
old.  He  was  married  November  14,  1869, 
to  Lydia  Shellman,  a  native  of  Wayne  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  who  was  brought  to  Knox  county 
at  the  age  of  three  years  by  her  parents, 
William  and  Susan  (Freeman)  Shellman, 
early  settlers  in  Wayne  county.  Mrs.  Lep- 
ley's  mother  died  at  the  age  of  sixty;  her 
father  died  two  years  ago.  They  had  two 
sons  and  three  daughters,  of  whom  she  was 
the  fourth  in  order  of  nativity.  After  his 
marriage  Mr.  Lepley  located  on  the  farm  on 
which  he  now  lives,  building  upon  it  a  log 
house,  which  was  his  home  until  he  could 
replace  it  with  a  better  one.  His  present 
comfortable  residence  was  built  in  1894. 
His  farm  consists  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  and  one-half  acres  and  is  devoted  to  gen- 
eral farming  and  the  raising  of  cattle  and 
hogs.  Mr.  Lepley  was  reared  in  the  Demo- 
cratic faith,  and  has  since  majority  voted 
the  Democratic  ticket  persistently  and  con- 
sistently. His  influence  in  local  political  af- 
fairs is  recognized  by  his  fellow  townsmen, 
whom  he  served  six  years  in  the  office  of 
constable,  and  he  has  filled  other  local  of- 


fices of  trust  and  responsibility.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Mount  Zion  Lutheran  church, 
in  which  he  has  been  called  to  imporant  of- 
ficial positions. 

Marvin  and  Lydia  (Shellman)  Lepley 
have  had  born  to  them  three  children  :  Ella, 
who  died  unmarried  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  years,  and  Charles  and  Dessie,  who  are 
members  of  their  parents'  household.  The 
family  are  well  known  not  only  thoughout 
the  township,  but  in  more  remote  parts  of 
the  county,  and  the  name  is  everjnvhere  re- 
spected. Mr.  Lepley's  career  has  been  one 
which  has  demonstrated  the  value  of  hon- 
esty, integrity  and  perseverance  to  one  who 
would  succeed  in  life,  and  those  who  know 
him  best  know  that  his  success  is  well  de- 
served. 


CLINTON  M.  RICE. 

Clinton  M.  Rice,  one  of  the  representa- 
tive citizens  and  leading  attorneys  of  Knox 
county,  is  a  native  son  of  the  Buckeye  state, 
his  birth  having  occurred  in  Brown  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  November  7,  1857,  and 
is  a  worthy  representative  of  a-  prominent 
old  family  of  the  Keystone  state.  His  pater- 
nal grandfather  was  born,  reared  and  mar- 
ried in  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  but 
his  death  occurred  in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  to 
which  place  he  .had  removed  in  an  early  day. 
He  was  a  farmer  and  blacksmith  bv  occupa- 
tion. Ephraimi  Rice,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  a  native  of  Bedford  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, but  in  1829  he  came  to  this  state, 
locating  on  a  farm  in  Union  township,  Knox 
county.  He  afterward  took  up  his  abode  in 
Brown  township,  and  there  his  death  oc- 
curred at  the  age  of  sixty-two  vears.     He 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


was  a  Democrat  in  his  political  views,  and 
for  many  years  served  as  township  trustee, 
while  for  twenty-two  years  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  board.  A  sincere  Chris- 
tian gentleman,  he  long  held  membership  in 
the  ^Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Tlie  moth- 
er of  our  subject  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Mary  M.  Porter,  and  she  was  bom  on  the 
same  farm  which  our  subject  claims  as  the 
place  of  his  nativity.  She  still  survives  her 
husband,  and  has  now  reached  the  age  of 
sixty-seven  years.  Her  father,  John  Porter, 
was  a  native  of  Maryland,  but  he  early  be- 
came a  resident  of  the  Buckeye  state,  and  for 
many  years  was  recognized  as  one  of  the 
foremost  citizens  of  Knox  county.  Unto 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rice  were  born  seven  chil- 
dren, four  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of 
whom  make  their  home  in  this  county  and 
are  an  honor  to  an  honored  famih'  name. 

Clinton  M.  Rice,  the  immediate  subject 
of  this  review,  attended  the  district  schools 
of  Brown  township  in  his  early  life,  while 
later  he  became  a  student  in  the  Danville 
Normal  School,  and  his  education  was  com- 
pleted in  Kenyon  College.  For  twelve  years 
after  leaving  the  schoolroom  as  a  pupil  he 
followed  the  profession  of  teaching  in  Knox 
county.  He  is  a  ripe  scholar  and  assiduous 
student,  and  his  work  as  a  teacher  was  at- 
tended with  a  high  degree  of  success.  Dur- 
ing this  time  Mr.  Rice  also  pursued  the 
study  of  law,  and  in  1888  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Mount  Vernon.  In  the  same 
year  he  came  to  Danville  and  at  once  entered 
upon  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession, 
his  worth  and  ability  soon  becoming  recog- 
nized, and  he  now  enjoys  a  large  and  con- 
stantly growing  clientage.  For  ten  years  he 
was  engaged  in  the  banking  business  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  Wolfe,  but  he  then  retired 


from  that  industry  in  order  to  give  his  en- 
tire time  to  his  lan'ge  law  practice.  During 
his  residence  in  Danville  he  has  also  become 
an  important  factor  in  the  public  life  of  the 
town,  and  has  served  his  fellow  townsmen 
in  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust.  ;  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  school  board  since 
1888,  and  in  Brown  township,  in  1882,  he 
was  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace,  receiving 
everv  vote  cast  in  the  township  for  that  of- 
fice.' 

On  the  4th  of  No\-ember,  1886.  was  cele- 
bTated  the  marriage  of  ^Ir.  Rice  and  Miss 
Osena  M.  Gillmore,  a  native  of  Knox  coun- 
ty and  a  daughter  of  Francis  and  M.  J. 
(Loney)  Gillmore,  prominent  early  settlers 
of  this  county.  A  daughter  has  come  to 
brighten  and  bless  the  home  of  our  subject 
and  wife,  Mary  C,  who  is  the  light  and 
life  of  the  household.  Mr.- 'Rice  is  a  worthy 
and  acceptable  member  of  the  Masonic  or- 
der, holding  membership  in  Danville  Lodge, 
No.  546,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Maccabees.  Religiously  he  is  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  pohtically  he  is  identified  with 
the  Democracy.  He  stands  on  the  side  of 
progress,  advancement  and  civilization,  fa- 
voring education,  religion,  law  and  order, 
and  whatever  makes  for  the  good  of  the 
people  as  individuals  and  as  communities. 


CALVIN  WEBSTER  BECKLEY. 

In  reveiwing  this  history  of  Calvin 
Webster  Beckley  one  is  reminded  of  the 
words  of  a  great  New  York  financier,  "If 
you're  not  a  success  don't  blame  the  times 
you  live  in,  don't  blame  the  place  you  oc- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


109 


cupy,  don't  blaaiie  the  circumstances  with 
which  you  are  surrounded — lay  the  blame 
where  it  belongs — to  yourself.  If  you  want 
success  you  must  pay  the  price."  Realizing 
the  truth  of  this,  Mr.  Beckley  has  paid  the 
price — which  is  willingness  to  work,  con- 
tinued effort  and  indefatigable  energy,  and 
thus  he  come  to  be  classed  among  the  sub- 
stantial agriculturists  of  his  native  county. 
He  is  a  native  of  Clinton  township,  born 
March  4,  i860,  his  parents  being  Josiah  and 
Elizabeth  (Veach)  Beckley.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  George  Beckley,  was  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania  and  wedded  Nancy  Watson, 
who  was  boTn  in  Maryland.  Soon  after- 
Avard  they  emigrated  westward,  settling  near 
East  Union,  Ohio,  and  subsequently  they  re- 
moved to  Pleasant  township,  Knox  county, 
where  the  grandfather  died  at  the  age  of 
eighty-eight  years,  having  been  born  in  1804, 
while  his  wife,  who'  was  born  in  1803, 
reached  the  very  advanced  age  of  ninety-two 
3-ears.  Their  son,  Josiah  Beckley,  the  fa- 
ther of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Coshocton 
county,  Ohio,  and  there  remained  until  sev- 
enteen ;years  of  age,  spending  the  days  of  his 
childhood  and  youth  upon  the  home  farm. 
He  was  then  married  to  Elizabeth  Veach, 
and  with  his  bride  came  to  Knox  county, 
where  he  lived  until  his  life's  labors!  were 
ended  in  death.  Unto  M'r.  and  Mrs.  Beck- 
ley were  born  twelve  children,  namely  :  Cal- 
vin; Lorin  Edgar;  William  L. ;  Louisa  El- 
len, the  deceased  wife  of  Douglas  Wilson; 
Sarah  Ann,  who  married  Milton  Strieker; 
George  W. ;  Nancy  L.,  deceased ;  Mamie ; 
Grace,  who  passed  away;  Mina  Bell,  the 
wife  of  Frank  Woods ;  Daisy  M. ;  and  Ellis 
J.  The  .father  died  in  1894,  but  the  mother 
is  still  living  on  the  oW  homestead  in  Jack- 
son township.     She  was  born  in  Harrison 


township  and  her  entire  life  has  betn  passed 
in  Knox  county. 

Under  the  parental  roof  Calvin  W.  Beck- 
ley was  reared.  During  his  minority  his 
parents  lived  first  in  Pleasant  and  then  in 
Jackson  township,  and  in  the  common 
schools  near  his  home  he  pursued  his  educa- 
tion, pursuing  his  studies  through  the  win- 
ter months  until  nineteen  years  of  age,  when 
he  left  the  schoolroom  in,  order  to  give  his 
entire  attention  tO'  agricultural  pursuits. 
From  the  time  that  he  was  old  enough  to 
handle  the  plow  he  has  worked  tO'  a  greater 
or  less  extent  in  the  fields,  and  his  labors 
have  resulted  in  bringing  to  him  a  good  an- 
nual income.  He  now  cultivates  a  good  tract 
of  land.  Tlie  well  tilled  fields  surround  sub- 
stantial improvements,  including  good  out- 
buildings and  a  comfortable  residence. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1889,  occurred 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Beckley  and  Miss  Anna 
F.  M'iller,  a  daughter  of  Charles  H.  and 
Sarah  Ann  (Cavin)  Miher,  and  a  grand- 
daughter of  Jonathan  Miller,  a  native  of 
Maryland.  Mrs.  Beckley  was  born  in  Mount 
Vernon  March  24,  1863,  and  represents  one 
of  the  early  families  of  the  county.  Two 
children  grace  the  union  of  our  subject  and 
his  wife :  Warner  Miller,  who  was  born 
August  16,  1890,  and  Robeirt  J.  C,  born 
February  16,  1899.  ^^-  Beckley  and  his 
family  attend  the  services  of  the  Disciples' 
church,  of  which  both  are  members.  His 
political  views  are  in  harmony  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Democracy,  and  in  1896  he  was 
elected  as  one  of  the  trustee  of  Morris  town- 
ship, serving  continuously  in  this  capacity  up 
to  the  present  time  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  all  concerned.  He  is  one  of  the  best 
posted  men  on  county  affairs  in  Knox  coun- 
ty, and  is  a  public-spirited  man,  giving  his 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


aid  and  co-operation  to  all  measures  for  the 
general  good.  He  has  gained  many  friends 
in  this  part  of  the  state  and  therefore  his 
history  cannot  fail  to  prove  of  interest  to 
many  of  our  readers. 


MICHAEL  \\^\NDER. 

Michael  Wander,  a  prominent  early  set- 
tler and  farmer  of  Knox  county,  was  born  in 
Alsace,  France,  noAv  a  province  of  Germany, 
on  the  14th  of  February,  1829,  a  son  of 
Benjamin  and  Margaret  (Oswald)  Wander, 
natives  of  the  same  province,  but  of  Ger- 
man origin.  In  1829,  soon  after  the  birth  of 
our  subject,  they  left  their  French  home 
and  crossed  the  broad  Atlantic  to  the  United 
States,  locating  in  Yates  county,  New  York. 
In  1837  they  removed  from  that  locality  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  a  settlement  being  made 
in  Jefferson  township,  where  the  father 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years. 
The  mother  reached  the  ripe  old  age  of 
eighty-four  years.  This  worthy  couple  be- 
came the  parents  of  seven  children,  five  of 
whom  were  born  in  France,  and  three  of 
the  family  died  before  the  removal  to  the 
new  world.  Only  three  of  the  seven  chil- 
dren are  now  living :  Michael ;  Benjamin,  of 
Danville;  and  George,  of  Perrysville,  Ash- 
land County,  Ohio.  Frederick  died  in  Owen 
county,  Indiana,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two 
years. 

Michael  Wander,  the  eldest  son  and  the 
fourth  child  in  order  of  birth,  was  only  about 
four  months  old  ^\•hen  he  was  brought  by 
his  parents  to  America,  and  when  he  was 
eight  years  of  age  he  accompanied  them  on 
their  removal  'to  Knox  countv,  Ohio.     Dur- 


ing his  youth  he  enjoyed  but  limited  educa- 
tional advantages,  and  he  was  first  taught 
the  German  language,  having  been  a  lad  of 
thirteen  years  when  he  first  began  to  learn 
to  speak  and  write  English.  He  assisted 
his  father  in  the  fields  during  the  day,  and 
in  the  evenings  he  would  devote  his  time 
to  study,  using  every  opportunity  to  secure 
an  education.  He  remained  with  his  parents 
until  his  marriage,  when  twenty-six  years 
of  age,  after  which  he  located  on  a  farm  in 
Jefferson  township,  secured  by  the  assist- 
ance of  his  father,  where  he  remained  until 
his  removal  to  Union  township,  in  1883, 
purchasing  the  farm  which  he  now  owns. 
His  home  place,  adjoining  the  village  of 
Danville,  consists  of  one  hundred  and  four- 
teen acres  of  excellent  land,  all  of  which  is 
under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  im- 
proved with  many  and  valuable  improve- 
ments, and  there  he  is  extensively  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  also  owns 
a  tract  of  fifty-eight  acres  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship. At  one  time  his  landed  possessions 
consisted  of  five  hundred  and  ninety  acres, 
but  he  has  since  divided  his  land  among  his 
children. 

On  the  13th  of  May,  1855,  Mr.  Wander 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Catherine  Stillin- 
ger,  by  whom  he  had  five  children, — John 
B.,  Susana,  Charlie,  Mary  and  Peter.  The 
last  named  died  when  seven  years  of  age. 
The  wife  and  mother  was  also  called  to  her 
final  rest  after  a  married  life  of  about  fifteen 
years,  and  after  her  death  Mr.  Wander  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Sarah  (Baltner)  Arnholt,  the 
widow  of  George  Arnholt,  and  by  her  mar- 
riage with  our  subject  she  became  the  mother 
of  one  son,  Edwin.  She  died  after  a  com- 
panionship with  her  husband  of  seventeen 
vears.    For  his  third  wife  Mr.  Wander  chose 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


I\Iiss  Catherine  Maple,  of  Berlin,  Holmes 
county,  Ohio,  their  wedding  being  cele- 
brated November  29,  1892.  They  also  have 
one  son,  Clinton,  seven  years  of  age.  Our 
subject  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for 
Lincoln  in  i860,  but  he  is  independent  in  his 
political  views,  voting  for  the  men  whom  he 
regards  as  best  qualified  for  public  positions. 
He  served  as  trustee  of  Union  and  Jefferson 
township,  was  treasurer  of  the  latter  town- 
ship, and  was  there  elected  to  the  office  of 
justice  of  the  peace,  but  this  occurring  just 
at  the  time  of  his  removal  to  Union  town- 
ship he  therefore  could  not  accept  the  honor. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  in  which  he  has  served  as  a  trus- 
tee. The  family  occupy  a  pleasant  and  com- 
modious residence,  where  their  hospitality  is 
enjoyed  by  their  many  friends.  Their  home 
is  one  of  the  most  desirable  in  this  part  of 
Knox  county. 


JOSEPH  F.  BLUBAUGH. 

This  well  and  favorably  known  citizen 
of  Danville  is  extensively  engaged  in  the 
timber  business.  He  was  born  in  Jefferson 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  September 
22,  1852.  His  grandfather,  John  Blubaugh, 
was  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  1  this  coun- 
ty, having  located  in  this  section  when  it 
was  inhabited  principally  by  Indians  and 
wild  animals.  Benjamin  Blubaugh,  his  son 
and  the  father  of  our  subject,  claimed  Penn- 
sylvania as  the  state  of  his  nativity,  but 
when  a  boy  he  came  witb  hisi  parents  to 
Ohio,  securing  the  eighty  acres  of  land 
which  our  subject  now  owns.  He  spent  most 
of  his  life  upon  this  farm.  In  Knox  coun- 
ty, in  1835,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 


Shorten  Heckler,  a  native  of  Hamburg, 
Germany,  but  when  a  child  she  came  to 
Knox  county.  This  worthy  couple  became 
the  parents  of  nine  children,  all  of  whom 
grew  to  years  of  maturity  and  are  still 
living.  ' 

Joseph  F.  Blubaugh,  the  fifth  child  and 
third  son  in  order  of  birth  in  the  above  fam- 
ily, was  reared  to  farm  Jife  in  Jefferson 
township,  Knox  county,  and  he  received  an 
excellent  common-school  education  in  his  lo- 
cality. For  twenty  years  after  leaving  the 
schoolroom  as  a  pupil  he  followed  the  teach- 
er's profession,  and  with  the  exception  of 
three  terms  spent  in  Holmes  county,  Ohio, 
he  taught  continuoush'  in  Knox  county. 
Throughout  this  period,  however,  he  worked 
in  the  fields  during  the  summer  months.  In 
1882  he  went  to  Harper  county,  Kansas, 
where  he  purchased  a  farm,  but  one  year 
later  he  sold  his  possessions  there  and  re- 
turned to  the  place  of  his  nativity,  where  he 
resumed  his  farming  and  teaching.  In  1892 
he  abandoned  the  work  of  the  schoolroom, 
and  from  that  time  until  1899  ^^  gave  his 
undivided  time  and  attention  to  the  work 
of  the  farm.  In  the  latter  year,  however,  he 
took  up  his  abode  in  Danville  and  engaged 
in  the  timber  business,  buying  and  shipping 
timber  to  Buffalo  and  Cleveland.  As  a  busi- 
ness man  he  is  practical  and  progressive, 
and  his  efforts  in  his  chosen  endeavor  are 
bringing  to  him  handsome  financial  returns. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Blubaugh,was  cele- 
brated in  1875,  when  Lillias  J.  Smith  be- 
came his  wife.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Rebecca  Smith,  prominent  residents  of 
Jefferson  township,  Knox  county.  Unto 
this  union  have  been  born  four  children, — 
Edwin  Gu}',  a  popular  and  successful  teach- 
er; Elna  Varonica,  at  home;  Estella;  and 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


Ida.  On  questions  of  national  importance 
Mr.  Blubaugh'  casts  his  ballot  in  favor  of 
the  Democracy.  For  ten  years  he  held  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace  in  Jefferson 
township,  but  on  his  removal  to  Danville 
he  resigned  that  position,  and  in  1901  he 
was  again  elected  to  the  office,  being  the 
present  incumbent.  For  many  years  he  has 
served  as  a  school  director,  the  cause  of  ed- 
ucation ever  finding  in  him  a  warm  and 
faithful  firiend.  The  family  are  prominent 
and  active  members  of  St.  Luke's  Catholic 
church,  Mr.  Blubaugh  having  been  onei  of 
the  builders  of  that  church  in  Danville,  and 
the  stone  used  in  its  erection  was  secured 
from  his  land.  He  has  long  served  as  a 
steward  of  the  church,  and  has  ever  taken 
an  active  part  in  promoting  its  progress  and 
upbuilding. 

4  «  » 

ALEXANDER  CASSIL. 

For  more  than  two-thirds  of  a  century 
Colonel  Alexander  Cassil  has  resided  in 
Knox  county  and  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  period  since  he  attained  his  majority  he 
has  been  in  the  public  service.  His  record 
is  one  characterized  by  unfaltering  al- 
legiance to  duty  and  his  fidelity  and  trust- 
worthiness have  at  all  times  gained  him  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  his  fellow  men. 
When  the  Union  was  imperilled  by  Rebel- 
lion in  the  south  he  was  among  those  who 
stood  in  defense  of  the  stan-y  banner  and 
the  cause  it  represented  and  at  all  times  he 
has  been  a  loyal  and  patriotic  citizen. 

The  Colonel  is  a  native  of  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  his  birth  oc- 
curred in  1825,  his  parents  being  John  and 
Nancy  (Welsh)  Cassil.  On  the  paternal 
side  the  family  is  of  Irish  -lineage,  Alexander 


Cassil,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  hav- 
ing been  a  native  of  county  Armagh,  Ire- 
land, whence  he  emigrated  to  America,  and 
when  the  colonies  attempted  to  throw  off  the 
yoke  of  British  oppression  he  joined  the 
American  forces  and  aided  in  winning  inde- 
pendence for  this  republic.  His  son,  John 
Cassil,  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
thus  in  the  various  important  wars  of  the 
country  the  Cassil  family  has  always  been 
represented  by  patriotic  defenders  of  the 
right.  In  1834  John  Cassil  brought  his  fam- 
ily to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  locating  in  How- 
ard township,  where  he  developed  and  cul- 
tivated a  farm,  upon  which  he  lived  until  his 
death,  in  1847,  when  he  was  seventy-four 
years  of  age.  His  wife  passed  away  in  1869, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-five.  They  were  con- 
sistent Christian  people,  Mr.  Cassil  belong- 
ing to  the  Presbyterian  church,  his  wife  to 
the  Disciple  church.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Robert  Welsh  and  was  of  Scotch  descent. 
By  her  marriage  she  became  the  mother  of 
eight  children :  William,  whoi  served  as 
township  treasurer,  and  died  in  Millwood, 
this  county,  in  1867;  Mary,  who  was  the 
wife  of  John  Mcllroy,  of  Howard  town- 
ship, and  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years ; 
John,  who  died  in  Howard  township,  in 
1868;  Nancy,  who  married  Nelson  Critch- 
field  and  died  in  Ringgold  county,  Iowa, 
near  Mount  Ayr,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one; 
James,  who  is  living  in  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-six;  Robert,  a  farmer 
of  Howard  to-wnship,  Knox  county,  now 
eighty-four  years  of  age;  Esther,  who  be- 
came the  wife  of  Nathaniel  Critchfield,  of 
Howard  township,  this  county,  and  died  at 
the  age  of  seventy-nine  years ;  and  Alexan- 
der, of  this  review,  who  is  the  youngest  of 
the  family. 


^ 


ALEXANDER  CASSIL. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


113 


When  only  nine  j-ears  of  age  Colonel 
Cassil  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Knox 
county,  where  he  has  since  resided.  His 
youth  was  spent  upon  the  home  farm  and 
his  education  was  acquired  in  the  common 
schools  and  in  the  Sloan  Academy,  in  Mount 
Vernon.  He  studied  civil  engineering  and 
surveying  and  became  quite  proficient  in 
those  branches  but  remained  upon  the  farm 
until  the  country  became  involved  in  civil 
-war.  He  had  watched  with  interest  the 
progress  of  events  in  the  south  and  when 
a  blow  was  struck  against  the  Union  he  of- 
fered his  services  in  its  defense  and  raised 
Company  A  of  the  Sixty-fifth  Ohio  Infan- 
try, of  which  he  was  commissioned  captain. 
He  served  in  that  capacity  until  1862,  when 
he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant 
colonel  of  his  regiment,  acting  in  that  capac- 
ity until  wounds  sustained  at  the  battle  of 
Stone  River  forced  him  to  resign  in  March, 
1863.  During  his  service  as  lieutenant  col- 
onel he  had  entire  command  of  the  regiment, 
while  Colonel  C.  H.  Harper  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  brigade.  In  the  battle  of  Stone 
River  his  horse  was  shot  and  fell  upon  him. 
He  participated  in  the  engagements  at  Shi- 
loh,  Perry ville  and  other  battles  and  his  own 
bravery  and  loyalty  inspired  his  men  to 
deeds  of  valor. 

On  leaving  ihe  service  Colonel  Cassil  re- 
turned to  his  home  and  in  1864  was  elected 
county  auditor  of  Knox  county,  serving  for 
two  terms,  or  until  1868.  He  then  went  into 
railroad  work  as  a  civil  engineer  on  the 
Cleveland,  Akron  &  Columbus  Railroad,  but 
later  was  again  called  to  public  office,  being 
elected  county  auditor  in  1875  ^"d  again  in 
1877,  so  that  he  served  until  1880,  covering 
altogether  four  terms'  service  in  that  posi- 
tion.    From  1880  until  i88s  he  was  asso- 


ciated with  his  son,  Austin,  in  the  book  bus- 
iness in  Mount  Vernon  and  from  1885  un- 
til 1890  he  followed  his  profession.  He 
was  then  appointed  city  engineer  of  Mount 
Vernon  and  has  since  occupied  that  posi- 
tion, covering  an  incumbency  of  eleven 
years. 

In  1850  Mr.  Cassil  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Mary  Jane  Vincent,  who  died 
in  1859,  leaving  two  children:  Austin  A., 
an  attorney-at-law  of  Mount  Pleasant,  Iowa, 
who  has  a  daughter,  Mary  Cassil,  now  in 
Mount  Vernon;  and  W.  R.,  who  died  in 
Mount  Vernon  in  1881,  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-three years.  In  1874  the  Colonel  was 
again  married,  his  second  union  being  with 
Miss  Jennie  E.  Hunter,  a  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel Hunter,  of  Wayne  county,  Ohio.  Their 
children  are  Harvey  H.  and  Hurd  Alexan- 
der. The  former  is  now  legal  and  statistical 
clerk  in  the  office  of  the  state  school  com- 
missioner, with  headquarters  in  Columbus, 
Ohio;  while  Hurd  A.  is  a  civil  engineer  in 
the  employ  of  the  Pere  Marquette  Railroad 
Company,  at  Saginaw,  Michigan.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Mabel  Putt,  of  Mount  Vernon, 
and  they  have  one  son,  Armond  H. 

The  Colonel  belongs  to  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic  and  is  a  prominent  Mason, 
having  taken  the  various  degrees  of  the 
York  rite,  while  in  the  Scottish  rite  he 
has  attained  the  thirty-second  degree.  He 
is  a  past  master  of  the  lodge,  past  high  priest 
of  the  chapter,  past  illustrious  master  of 
the  council  and  eminent  commander  of  the 
commandery.  He  also  is  identified  with 
the  Knights  of  Honor,  and  since  twenty-five 
years  of  age  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Disciple  church.  His  life  has  been  a  busy 
and  useful  one  and  in  the  public  offices  which 
he  has  been  called  upon  to  fulfill  he  has  ren- 


114 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


dered  efficient  and  faithful  service,  therein 
showing  himself  as  loyal  to  his  country  as 
when  he  wore  the  soldier's  suit  of  blue  upon 
the  battlefields  of  the  south. 


GEORGE  SAPP. 


George  Sapp,  a  member  of  an  honored 
pioneer  family  of  the  Buckeye  state,  was 
born  on  the  farm  on  which  he  now  resides 
on  the  loth  of  April,  1826.  His  grandfa- 
ther, George  Sapp,  was  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, but  became  one  of  the  early  pioneers 
of  Knox  county.  He  built  the  first  Cath- 
olic church  in  Union  township,  also  donat- 
ing the  ground  upon  which  it  was  erected 
and  the  St.  Luke's  cemetery  lot.  The  church 
was  a  small  one-room  log  building.  He 
reached  the  eighty-fifth  milestone  on  the 
journey  of  life,  and  throughout  his  long  and 
useful  career  he  soi  lived  as  tO'  win  and  retain 
the  respect  and  esteem  of  his  fellow  men. 
Levi  Sapp,  his  son  and  the  father  of  our 
subject,  also  claimed  Maryland  as  the  state 
of  his  nativity,  but  when  a  babe  he  was 
brought  by  his  parents  to  this  state,  his 
mother,  who  made  the  journey  on  horseback, 
carrying  him  in  a  sack,  while  the  father 
walked  and  led  the  horse.  He  was  reared 
to  the  quiet  pursuits  of  the  farm,  and  his 
marriage  was  celebrated  in  Somerset,  Ohio, 
to  which  place  he  rode  on  horseback,  and 
after  his  marriage  he  located  on  the  farm 
on  which  his  son  George  now  resides,  where 
he  made  his  home  for  a  number  of  years. 
In  1882  he  removed  to  Mount  Vernon,  and 
there  spent  his  remaining  days,  passing 
away  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years.  He, 
too,  was  a  prominent  member  of  St.  Luke's 


Catholic  church.  The  lady  who  became  his 
wife  bore  the  name  of  Mary  Colopy.  Her 
father,  Timothy  Colopy,  came  to  this  coun- 
try from  Ireland  and  her  mother  from  Ger- 
many, and  they  became  prominent  early  set- 
tlers of  Knox  county,  their  deaths  occurring 
in  Mount  Vernon,  where  they  had  resided 
for  many  years.  The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sapp  was  blessed  with  ten  children,  eight 
of  whom  still  survive,  the  eldest  child  in  or- 
der of  birth  being  Sarah',  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Bradfield,  of  Danville;  another  daughter, 
Lucinda,  resides  in  Union  township,  and  is 
the  widow  of  John  Durbin. 

George  Sapp,  the  second  child  and  eld- 
est son  in  .the  above  family,  has  spent  his 
entire  life  in  Knox  county,  and  during  his 
3'outh  he  attended  a  log  schoolhouse,  which 
was  furnished  with  slab  seats  and  desks. 
Since  his  marriage  he  has  engaged  in  farm- 
ing the  old  Sapp  homestead,  which  consists 
of  two  hundred  and  seventy  acres  of  land, 
all  of  which  is  under  an  excellent  state  of 
culti\-ation  and  improved  with  good  and  sub- 
stantial buildings,  everything  about  the  place 
indicating  the  supervision  of  a  thrifty  and 
progressive  owner.  In  matters  of  national 
interest  he  gives  an  intelligent  support  to 
the  Democracy,  but  at  local  election  he  votes 
for  the  men  whom  he  regards  as  best  qual- 
ified to  fill  positions  of  public  trust  and  re- 
sponsibility. 

On  July  24,  1853,  Mr.  Sapp  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Delia  A.  White,  also 
a  native  of  Knox  county,  born  September  27, 
1832,  and  a  daughter  of  Anthony  and 
Keziah  (Wade)  White,  early  pioneers  of 
this  portion  of  the  Buckeye  state.  Seven 
children  have  been  born  unto  this  union, 
namely :  Flora,  the  wife  of  John  P.  Breck- 
ler,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Howard  town- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


"5 


ship;  Mary  Keziali,  wife  of  M.  P.  Ham- 
mond, also  a  farmer  of  Howard  township; 
Ella,  the  wife  of  Patrick  Percel,  of  Moimt 
Vernon;  Julian,  who  married  Cassie  Wig- 
gins and  makes  his  home  in  Howard  town- 
ship; Jennie,  wife  of  P.  J.  Matingly,  of 
Licking  county,  Ohio;  Lucy,  wife  of  B.  R. 
Parker,  of  Cleveland ;  and  Bertha,  who  lives 
with  her  uncle.  Dr.  L.  W.  Sapp,  of  Cleve- 
land. The  family  were  all  born  on  the 
farm  on  which  Air.  Sapp  also^  opened  his 
eyes  to  the  light  of  day,  and  they  are  all 
members  of  St.  Luke's  Catholic  church  at 
Danville,  Mr.  Sapp  having  assisted  largely 
in  the  erection  of  the  house  of  worship.  His 
genial  manner  makes  him  popular  in  all  cir- 
cles, and  his  friends  in  the  community  are 
almost   as  many  as   his   acquaintances. 


LYMAN  W.  BLACK. 

Lyman  Wright  Black,  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil  war  and  a  well-knoiwn  farmer  of  Union 
township,  residing  on  section  24,  has  spent 
his  entire  life  in  Knox  county,  his  birth  hav- 
ing occurred  in  Union  township  October  2, 
1835.  The  family  is  of  German  descent,  and 
was  founded  in  America  at  an  early  day. 
The  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania,  where  also  occurred  the 
birth  of  Andrew  Black,  the  father  of  Ly- 
man, who  was  reared  and  educated  in  the 
Keystone  state,  whence  he  emigrated  to 
Knox  county  at  an  early  period  in  the  de- 
velopment of  this  part  of  tlie  state.  Here 
he  located  upon  a  farm,  which  he  conducted 
throughout  his  remaining  days.  His  polit- 
ical support  was  given  the  Whig  party  until 
its  dissolution,  when  he  joined  the  ranks  of 


the  new  Republican  party,  continuing  one 
of  its  warm  advocates  throughout  his  re- 
maining days.  For  many  years  he  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace  and  his  decisions 
were  distinguished  by  marked  equity  and 
freedom  from  personal  bias.  He  held  mem- 
bership in  the  Methodist  church,  and  was 
active  in  its  work.  His  death  occurred 
when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  seventy-five 
years.  Before  leaving  Pennsylvania  he  mar- 
ried Sarah  A.  Huff,  who  spent  her  girl- 
hood days  in  that  state,  where  she  was  born. 
She  too,  was  of  German  lineage,  and  her 
death  occurred  when  she  was  about  sixty 
years  of  age.' 

Lyman  Wright  Black  was  the  fifth  child 
and  second  son  in  a  family  of  six  sons  and 
two  daughters  born  unto  his  parents.  He- 
acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools 
and  in  his  youth  worked  in  the  fields  through 
the  summer  months.  When  the  country  be- 
came involved  in  Civil  war  he  offered  his 
services  tO'  the  government  and  enlisted  in 
Company  B,  Ninety-sixth  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry,  in  1862.  For  three  years  he  was 
numbered  among  the  defenders  of  the  Union, 
and  participated  in  the  battles  of  Arkansas 
Post  and  Vicksburg,  together  with  many 
lesser  engagements.  For  a  time  he  was  in 
the  hospital  at  Vicksburg  and  was  then  sent 
to  St.  Louis.  He  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge in  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  after  three 
years'  service,  and  at  once  returned  to  his 
home  in  Union  township,  where  he  has  since 
been  engaged  in  farming.  He  is  to-day  the 
owner  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres. 
of  good  land,  all  of  which  is  under  cultiva- 
tion, and  in  the  line  of  general  farming  he  is 
meeting  with  good  success. 

Mr.  Black  has  been  twice  married.  In 
1869  he  wedded  Fanny  Straight,  and  after 


Ii6 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


her  death  he  married  Mrs.  Anna  Moore,  the 
widow  of  WilHam  Moore.  She  was  born  in 
Liberty  township,  Knox  county,  and  is  a 
daughter  of  WilHam  and  EHzabeth  (Houck) 
Woodruff.  Mr.  Black  belongs  to  Leroy 
Baker  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  for  seventeen 
years  has  been  identified  with  Danville 
Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.  He  has  lived  a  quiet 
life,  devoted  to  agriculture,  but  at  all  times 
Tias  commanded  the  confidence  and  trust  of 
his  fellow  men,  and  his  circle  of  friends  has 
been  extended  as  the  number  of  his  acquaint- 
-ances  has  increased. 


JOHN  J.  BLUBAUGH. 

For  more  than  seventy  years  John  J. 
131ubaugh  has  been  a  resident  of  Knox  coun- 
ty and  has  therefore  witnessed  the  greater 
part  of  its  growth  and  development.  He 
"has  seen  its  wild  lands  transformed  into 
beautiful  homes  and  farms,  while  commer- 
cial and  industrial  enterprises  have  been  es- 
tablished, contributing  to  the  growth  of  vil- 
lage and  city,  and  churches  and  schools 
have  been  buflt  indicating  the  intellectual 
and  moral  status  of  the  community.  In  all 
the  work  of  progress  Mr.  Blubaugh  has 
borne  his  part  and  is  justly  accounted  one 
■of  the  honored  pioneers  of  the  community, 
to  whom  the  county  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude 
for  what  he  accomplished  in  opening  up  this 
region  to  civilization. 

Our  subject  was  born  near  Cumberland, 
Maryland,  January  lo,  1828,  and  is  of  Ger- 
man descent,  his  grandfather  having  come 
from  Germany  to  America  and  thus  founded 
the  family  in  the  new  world.  Benjamin 
Blubaugh,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was 


born,  reared  and  married  in  Maryland,  wed- 
ding Onora  Logsdon,  and  in  1828  he  came 
with  his  family  to  Knox  county,  locating 
in  Brown  township,  upon  the  farm  now 
owned  by  John  Coleman.  He  built  a  log 
cabin,  made  various  other  improvements, 
and  after  a  number  of  years  sold  the  farm 
to  Samuel  Durbin.  Unto  Benjamin  and 
Onora  Blubaugh  were  born  six  children,  of 
whom  John  J.  was  the  youngest  and  the 
only  son.  He  was  but  seven  months  old 
when  his  mother  died,  she  having  lived  but 
a  few  weeks  after  reaching  this  county,  after 
which  the  father  married  Eliza  Durbin,  by 
whom  he  had  seven  children,  five  of  whom 
are  still  living.  In  his  political  views  Ben- 
jamin Blubaugh  was  a  Whig  and  afterward 
a  Democrat,  and  in  his  community  was 
called  to  serve  in  several  local  offices.  He 
held  membership  in  St.  Luke's  Catholic 
church  at  Danville,  and  died  in  that  faith 
wlicn  about  eighty-eight  years  of  age,  his 
last  days  being  spent  in  the  home  of  our 
subject.  He  was  a  stone  mason  by  occupa- 
tion, and  helped  lay  the  foundation  for  the 
old  St.  Luke's  church. 

John  J.  Blubaugh  was  only  six  months 
old  when  brought  by  his  parents  to^  Knox 
county,  and  here  amid  the  wild  scenes  of 
frontier  life  he  was  reared,  pursuing  his  ed- 
ucation in  a  log  schoolhouse,  which  was 
heated  by  an  immense  fireplace  and  lighted 
by  greased  paper  windows.  The  other  fur- 
nishings were  equally  crude  and  the  instruc- 
tion was  somewhat  primitive  in  character. 
His  training  at  farm  work,  however,  was  not 
meager,  and  he  assisted  his  father  until  he 
had  attained  his  majority,  when  he  started 
out  upon  an  independent  business  career, 
being  employed  for  two  years  by  the  day  or 
by  the  job  at  hard   farm  work,   clearing, 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


117 


grubbing,  making  rails  and  cradling  in  the 
harvest  field. 

In  1852  as  a  companion  and  helpmate 
for  life's  journey  he  chose  Miss  Mary  Dial, 
a  native  of  this  county  and  a  representative 
of  one  of  its  honored  pioneer  families.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  William  and  Rebecca  (Ar- 
nold) Dial.  They  began  their  domestic  life 
in  Brown  township,  Mr.  Blubaugh  building 
a  house  upon  part  of  his  father's  land  and 
about  forty-five  years  ago  they  came  to  their 
home  in  Jefferson  township,  where  they 
have  since  lived.  Here  he  purchased  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  the  midst 
of  the  forest.  Not  a  tree  had  been  cut  upon 
the  place,  but  with  characteristic  energy  he 
began  to  clear  the  farm,  and  soon  the  wood- 
man's ax  awakened  the  echoes  of  the  forest. 
As  the  trees  were  hewn  down  and  the  brush 
cleared  away  he  began  plowing  and  planting, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  had  a  well 
developed  farm.  When  the  first  home  which 
he  built  was  destroyed  by  fire,  he  immedi- 
ately erected  another  one  and  added  other 
modern  improvements,  while  his  successful 
cultivation  of  the  fields  brought  to  him  a 
comfortable  competence. 

Unto  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Blubaugh  were  born 
eleven  children,  of  whom  three  sons  and  four 
daughters  are  now  living:  Maria,  the  wife 
of  James  wSmith,  of  Jefferson  township; 
Jane,  deceased ;  James  A. ;  Basil ;  Ellen,  the 
wife  of  Joseph  Fritz,  of  Loudonville,  Ash- 
land county;  Isabel,  who  has  also  passed 
away;  William.  S. ;  Ida,  wife  of  Joseph  Har- 
lett;  Victoria,  wife  of  Frank  Sapp;  Agnes, 
deceased ;  and  Margaret  T.,  who'  died  when 
about  two  months  old.  James  A.  Blubaugh, 
who  operates  the  home  farm,  married  Sarah 
Agnes  Hess  and  has  nine  children :     Anna, 


Rosa,  Cosmos,  Bernard,  Julius,  John,  Ag- 
nes, Monica  and  Samuel. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Blubaugh  was 
first  a  Whig,  and  in  i860  he  voted  for 
Abraham  Lincoln,  but  since  that  time  has 
adhered  to  the  principles  of  the  Democracy, 
save  in  local  affairs,  when  he  votes  inde- 
pendently. He  and  his  family  are  members 
of  St.  Luke's  Catholic  church  in  Danville, 
which  he  liberally  assisted  in  building,  and 
much  of  the  brown  stone  used  in  its  con- 
struction came  from  his  farm,  and  which 
he  and  his  sons,  James  A.  and  William  Sher- 
man, quarried  and  donated.  He  also'  do- 
nated a  memorial  window  as  well  as  one  of 
the  stations.  His  life  has  been  one  of  un- 
faltering industry,  in  which  earnest  labor 
and  honesty  in  all  business  transactions  has. 
brought  to  him  success. 


MICHAEL  KAYLOR. 

The  career  of  Michael  Kaylor  has  been  a 
successful  one  and  entirely  through  his  own 
efforts,  as  the  result  of  his  industry,  perse- 
verance and  capable  control  of  his  affairs, 
he  became  one  of  the  most  extensive  land 
owners  of  the  county.  His  home  is  now  on 
section  9,  Jefferson  township,  and  there  he 
is  passing  the  evening  of  life  quietly,  for  he 
can  look  back  over  the  past  without  regret 
and  forward  to  the  future  confident  that  all 
will  be  well. 

Mr.  Kaylor  was  born  December  20, 
1 8 18,  in  Alsace,  France — a  province  now 
belonging  to  Germany — and  was  ten  years 
of  age  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on 
their  emigration  to  New  York  city,  where 


ii8 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


they  landed  on  the  completion  of  an  ocean 
voyage  that  was  made  in  a  sailing  vessel. 
They  took  up  their  abode  in  the  state  of 
New  York,  where  they  remained  seven 
years,  and  then  came  to  Ohio,  settling  first 
in  Holmes  county.  It  was  there  that  Michael 
Kaylor  was  united  in  marriage,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-eight  years,  to  Elizabeth  Wander, 
and  in  Holmes  county  they  began  their  do- 
mestic life,  there  remaining  for  seven  years. 
When  he  attained  his  majority  his  father 
gave  him  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
which  was  all  the  help  he  had  in  starting  out 
in  the  world.  Taking  this  sum  to  Zanes- 
ville,  he  entered  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  along  the  east  line  of  Knox 
county  and  gave  a  man  an  eight-year  lease 
of  the  property,  in  return  for  which  the  man 
w'as  to  clear  forty  acres  of  the  land.  On 
coming  to  this  county  Mr.  Kaylor  took  up 
his  abode  in  Jefferson  township  and  pur- 
chased the  farm  upon  which  he  now  lives 
of  Arthur  Greer.  Here  he  has  since  re- 
mained, and  through  a  long  period  devoted 
Tiis  energies  to  the  cultivation  of  crops, 
whereby  he  gained  a  very  desirable  com- 
petence. As  his  financial  resources  increased 
he  added  to  his  original  place  of  oiie  hundred 
and  sixty-five  acres,  and  eventually  became 
the  owner  of  seven  hundred  and  six  acres. 
He  has  since  given  a  good  farm  to  each  of 
his  sons,  also  one  to  a  daughter  and  an 
equivalent  in  money  to  another  daughter,  so 
that  his  children  have  been  well  provided 
for  by  a  considerate  father. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kaylor  have  been 
born  ten  children :  Sarah,  the  widow  of 
Samuel  Brown ;  George,  of  Morrow  county, 
Ohio;  Mary,  deceased;  Benjamin,  of  Jef- 
ferson township;  William,  who  is  at  home 
with  his  father;  Philip,  of  Jefferson  town- 


ship; Simon,  at  the  old  homestead;  Charles 
M.,  of  Jefiferson  township;  and  a  son  and 
daughter  who  died  in  infancy.  The  mother 
died  in  1894,  after  a  long  and  happy  mar- 
ried life.  The  homestead  is  now  conducted 
by  William  Kaylor,  whose  wife  was  Ida 
LeFevre,  and  has  four  living  children: 
Elfie  E.,  Elmer  J.,  Ethel  E.  and  Edwin  M. 
Mr.  Kaylor  still  holds  a  life  lease  upon 
the  old  homestead,  which  is  the  visible  evi- 
dence of  his  active  and  useful  career.  His 
example  is  certainly  well  worthy  of  emula- 
tion, demonstrating  what  can  be  accom- 
plished by  strong  purpose  and  untiring  labor. 
In  politics  he  was  formerly  a  Democrat,  but 
for  many  years  has  been  a  stalwart  Repub- 
lican. He  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  but  has  long  been  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  \A'esleyan  Methodist 
church  at  Greersville,  and  as  an  honored 
pioneer,  an  upright  business  man,  a  consid- 
erate husband  and  father  and  a  sincere  Chris- 
tian gentleman  he  well  deserves  mention  in 
the  history  of  the  county  which  has  been 
his  home  for  so  manv  vears. 


ABRAHAM  PARSONS.  M.  D. 

Dr.  Abraham  Parsons,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing physicians,  is  descended  from  an  old  and 
highly  respected  family  in  the  Old  Dominion. 
They  trace  their  ancestry  in  that  state  to 
Baldwin  Parsons,  the  great-great-grandfa- 
ther of  our  subject,  who  was  born  there  at 
about  the  time  the  state  first  became  settled. 
His  son,  Jonathan  Parsons,  was  a  native  of 
that  commonwealth,  and  became  the  father 
of  Isaac  Parsons,  who  also  claimed  Virginia 
as  the  state  of  his  nativity.    The  latter,  how- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


ever,  became  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of 
Holmes  county,  Ohio,  where  he  followed 
agricultural  pursuits.  He  was  three  times 
married,  his  first  union  being  with  a  Miss 
Hyatt,  by  whom  he  had  six  children.  For 
his  second  wife  he  chose  Rachel  Connor,  and 
six  children  were  also  born  of  that  union, 
while  for  his  third  wife  he  wedded  Miss 
Christian  Darrah.  Three  sons  and  a  daugh- 
ter were  born  of  that  union. 

Nathan  Parsons,  the  third  son  of  the 
first  marriage,  was  born  in  Holmes  county, 
Ohio,  and  on  the  paternal  side  he  was  de- 
scended from  English  ancestry,  while  on  the 
maternal  side  he  was  of  German  descent. 
He  was  reared  and  received  his  education 
in  the  county  of  his  nativity,  there  remaining 
imtil  1856,  when  he  located  on  a  farm  near 
Danville,  Union  township,  Knox  county, 
where  he  spent  his  remaining  days,  passing 
away  in  death  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  years. 
For  a  companion  on  the  journey  of  life  he 
chose  INIaria  Workman,  a  native  of  Coshoc- 
ton county,  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  Abra- 
ham ^^^;>rkman,  who  was  born  in  the  state 
of  Maryland.  In  a  very  early  day,  how- 
ever, he  removed  with  his  father,  Stephen 
Workman,  also  a  native  of  Maryland,  to 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  where  they  were 
among  the  first  settlers.  Tire  Workman 
family  in  America  is  descended  from  seven 
brothers  who  came  to  this  country  from 
Germany  in  a  very  early  day.  Unto  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Parsons  were  born  seven  children, 
four  sons  and  three  daughters,  namely : 
Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Edith,  Grace,  Delia 
•and  Ida  J. 

Dr.  Parsons,  the  eldest  child  in  the  above 
family,  was  but  eight  years  of  age  when  he 
accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to 
Knox  county,  and  nearly  his  entire  life  has 


been  passed  in  this  locality,  the  early  educa- 
tional privileges  which  he  enjoyed  being 
those  afforded  by  the  neighborhood  schools. 
He  subsequently  entered  Haysville  Acad- 
emy, in  Ashland  county,  in  which  institu- 
tion he  was  graduated  in  1866,  and  immedi- 
ately afterward  he  entered  upon  the  study 
of  medicine  under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr. 
I.  Putnam,  of  Brinkhaven,  with  whom  he 
remained  until  the  spring  of  1870,  and  in  the 
meantime  he  had  graduated  in  Charity  Hos- 
pital Medical  College,  of  Cleveland.  Thus 
with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  science 
of  the  medical  profession  he  began  practice 
in  Brinkhaven,  where  he  has  even  since  re- 
mained, having  built  up  an  excellent  practice 
and  established  a  reputation  as  an  able  and 
skillful  practitioner. 

May  29,  1869,  the  Doctor  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Salena  Lanning,  a  native 
of  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  Israel  and  Susan  (McCoy)  Lanning. 
They  have  four  children, — Lanning;  Gladys, 
wife  of  Dr.  ^V.  E.  Purdy,  a  practicing  physi- 
cian of  Akron,  Ohio,  and  who  has  two  sons, 
Frederick  and  Meriwether;  and  Beryl  and 
Harriet,  at  home.  The  Doctor  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  order  at  Danville,  Ohio,  ex- 
emplifying its  beneficent  principles  in  his 
everyday  life. 

Lanning  Parsons,  the  eldest  son  of  our 
honored  subject,  was  born  in  Black  Creek, 
Ohio.  April  24,  1870,  but  was  reared  and 
educated  in  Brinkhaven,  also  attending  Ob- 
erlin  College,  in  which  he  was  a  student  for 
two  years.  In  1892  he  entered  West  Point, 
in  which  he  was  graduated  in  1896,  and  was 
afterward  made  second  lieutenant  of  the 
Ninth  United  States  Cavalry,  serving  at  Fort 
Robinson,  Nebraska,  for  about  two  years. 
On  the  expiration  of  that  period  his  regi- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


ment  was  ordered  to  Cuba,  thence  to  Fort 
McPherson,  Georgia,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  drilling  recruits.  He  was  next  stationed 
at  Fort  Apache,  Arizona,  from  1899  '•"''til 
1900,  and  in  the  latter  year  was  sent  to  the 
Philippines,  where  he  remained  until  his 
regiment  was  ordered  home.  On  the  2d  of 
February,  1901,  Lieutenant  Parsons  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant  of 
the  Fourth  United  States  Cavalry,  which 
position  he  still  retains,  and  is  now  stationed 
with  his  regiment  at  Fort  Leavenworth, 
Kansas.  In  1897  he  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  Bradfield,  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  C.  R.  and  Sarah  (Dunlap)  Bradfield,  of 
Danville,  and  they  have  two  children, — Har- 
riet E.  and  Isabel. 


JOHN  L.  McKINLEY. 

John  L.  McKinley,  one  of  the  well- 
known  and  highly  respected  citizens  of 
Knox  county,  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  February  25,  1848, 
a  son  of  Jackson  and  Elizabeth  (Atkins) 
McKinley.  His  father  was  born  in  Chester 
county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  3d  of  August, 
1 82 1,  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (McDonald) 
McKinley,  both  natives  of  Belfast,  Ireland. 
They  were  married  in  their  native  land,  and 
immediately  thereafter  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  locating  in  Chester  county, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  resumed  the  voca- 
tion of  teaching,  having  devoted  his  energies 
to  that  profession  in  his  native  land,  and 
continuing  in  that  occupation  until  his  sev- 
entieth year. 

Jackson  McKinley,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, spent  his  youth  and  early  manhood  un- 


der the  parental  roof,  during  which  time  he 
received  excellent  advantages,  graduating 
from  college  with  the  honors  of  his  class. 
His  marriage  was  celebrated  in  1850,  and 
shortly  afterward,  leaving  his  wife  in  her 
father's  home  in  Jo  Daviess  county,  lUi- 
nois,  he  crossed  the  plains  to  California, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  mining  for  about 
three  years.  In  the  spring  of  1853  ^^  ^^~ 
turned  to  Jo  Daviess  county,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  At  the  first  call 
for  volunteers  he  put  aside  all  personal  con- 
siderations and  nobly  offered  his  services  as 
a  defender  of  the  stars  and  stripes.  At  the 
close  of  his  three  months'  term  of  enlist- 
ment he  re-enlisted  in  the  Twenty-first  Illi- 
nois Infantry,  under  General  Grant,  in  which 
he  served  until  hostilities  had  ceased  and  the 
country  no  longer  needed  his  services.  Dur- 
ing his  army  career  he  was  promoted  from 
the  ranks  of  a  private  to  first  duty  sergeant 
of  Company  E.  He  underwent  many  hard- 
ships and  privations  during  his  experience 
as  a  soldier,  having  lost  his  hearing  through 
the  cannonading,  and  during  the  remainder 
of  his  life  he  was  almost  entirely  deaf.  After 
returning  from  the  war  he  found  his  farm 
had  been  sold  and  his  family  had  removed 
to  Jones  county,  Iowa,  in  which  place  he 
soon  joined  them,  and  there  he  remained  un- 
til 1868.  In  that  year  he  removed  to  New- 
ton county,  Missouri,  but  after  a  short  resi- 
dence there  he  sold  his  possessions  and  went 
to  Cass  county,  that  state,  where  his  death 
occurred  in  1887.  He  became  very  promi- 
nent in  the  public  life  of  the  localities  in 
which  he  made  his  home,  and  while  residing 
in  Jo  Daviess  county,  Illinois,  he  served  for 
two  terms  as  assessor  and  collector,  while 
for  the  same  length  of  time  he  also  served 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


as  county  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion. He  was,  however,  never  an  aspirant 
for  political  honors,  preferring  to  give  his 
time  principally  to  liis  business  duties.  For 
five  years  he  was  a  worthy  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

For  his  wife  ^Ir.  ]\IcKinley  chose  Eliza- 
beth Atkins,  who  was  a  native  of  north- 
eastern Kentucky  and  a  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Hannah  (Ball)  Atkins,  natives  of 
^Maryland  and  of  Welsh  descent.  For  a 
number  of  years  the  father  was  employed  as 
a  boatman  on  the  Ohio  river,  running  from 
Allegheny  City  to  Cairo,  Illinois.  The 
union  of  Mr.  and  ]Mrs.  McKinley  was 
blessed  with  eight  children,  five  of  whom  still 
survive,  namely :  John  L.,  the  subject  of 
this  review;  Robert  P.,  a  resident  of  Kan- 
sas City ;  Frances,  who  has  been  employed 
as  a  teacher  in  a  high  school  in  Kansas  City 
for  nineteen  years;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Clar- 
ence \\'resler,  who  is  a  merchant  at  Kan- 
sas City ;  and  Alonzo,  cashier  of  the  Santa 
Fe  &  Mexico  Railway  Company.  The 
mother  of  this  family  is  still  living,  and  now 
makes  her  home  in  Kansas  City,  Missouri. 

John  L.  }tIcKinley,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  review,  remained  in  his  father's 
home  until  his  fifteenth  year,  when  he  be- 
gan to  earn  his  own  living,  and  for  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  employed  by  a  neighboring 
farmer.  When  the  trouble  between  the 
north  and  south  precipitated  the  country  into 
civil  war  our  subject  loyally  ofifered  his  serv- 
ices to  his  country's  cause,  enlisting  in  1863 
in  Company  E.  Seventeenth  Illinois  Cavalry, 
but  before  his  company  left  for  the  field  of 
action  he  was  taken  home  by  his  Grandfa- 
ther Atkins.  But  he  still  persisted  in  becom- 
ing a  soldier  boy,  and  later  he  ran  away  from 
his  home  and  went  to  Galena,  Illinois,  where 


with  a  schoolmate  he  again  enlisted  for 
service.  He  then  returned  to  his  home  to 
gain  the  consent  of  his  parents,  and  on  the 
24th  of  December,  1863,  he  donned  the  blue 
as  a  defender  of  the  starry  banner,  serving 
as  a  true  and  loyal  soldier  until  November 
14,  1865,  when  hostilities  had  ceased.  At 
the  battle  of  Arcada,  Tennessee,  his  horse 
was  shot  under  him  and  he  was  wounded  in 
the  knee.  During  his  military  career  he 
took  part  in  many  hard-fought  battles  and 
skirmishes,  took  part  in  Price's  raid  and  was 
engaged  in  warfare  against  Ouantrell  in 
Missouri. 

Returning  to  his  home  with  a  military 
record  of  which  he  has  every  reason  to  be 
proud,  Mr.  McKinley  then  went  to  Galena, 
Illinois,  but  on  the  21st  of  May,  following, 
he  returned  to  Jones  county,  Iowa.  On  the 
6th  of  May,  1865,  with  a  two-horse  wagon, 
he  started  alone  for  the  Indian  Territory, 
where  he  joined  a  schoolmate  who  was  en- 
gaged in  trading  with  the  Indians,  arriving 
at  the  latter's  place  on  the  9th  of  the  fol- 
lowing June.  On  the  25th  of  that  month  he 
went  to  Humboldt,  Kansas,  where  he  re- 
mained for  a  time  with  friends,  and  in  July 
secured  a  position  as  driver  on  the  stage 
line,  his  route  being  from  Humboldt  to  Ot- 
tawa, which  position  he  continued  to  fill  for 
fourteen  months.  From  the  following  Sep- 
tember until  February  he  was  at  Baxter 
Springs,  Kansas,  for  the  next  two  and  a  half 
years  was  engaged  in  driving  cattle  from 
Texas  into  Kansas,  and  in  1870  he  jour- 
neyed to  Denver,  thence  to  Colorado  Springs 
and  Trinidad,  on  to  Bait's  Ranch,  New  Mex- 
ico, Virginia  City,  Montana,  and  next  to 
Montgomery  county,  Kansas,  where  he  se- 
cured a  claim  and  was  also  employed  by  a 
mill  company  receiving  a  dollar  and  a  half 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


per  day.  Mr.  McKinley's  next  employment 
was  as  overseer  of  a  ranch  belonging  to  a 
civil  engineer,  which  occupation  claimed  his 
time  until  1874,  and  in  that  year  he  pur- 
chased a  threshing  outfit  and  continued  its 
operation  for  the  following  two  years,  hav- 
ing operated  the  first  threshing  machine  in 
Montgomery  county,  Kansas.  The  year 
1876  witnessed  his' arrival  in  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  in 
Howard  township  until  the  spring  of  1889, 
when  he  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  su- 
perintendent of  the  county  infirmary,  con- 
tinuing to  fill  that  oflice  for  ten  consecutive 
years,  when  he  resigned,  but  in  the  following 
year  he  was  reappointed,  and  is  the  present 
incumbent. 

In  Montgomery  county,  Kansas,  Mr. 
McKinley  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Barbara  Workman,  a  native  of  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  Amos  Work- 
man, a  prominent  farmer  of  Howard  town- 
ship. He  came  to  the  Buckeye  state  from 
Maryland,  and  was  among  the  very  early 
pioneers,  his  death  here  occurring.  Tlie 
union  of  our  subject  and  wife  has  been 
blessed  with  one  child,  Clinton,  who  is  now 
a  prominent  farmer  of  Liberty  township. 
They  have  also  reared  an  adopted  daughter 
from  the  age  of  three  months,  Miss  Maud 
McKinley.  Mr.  McKinley  exercises  his 
right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the  meri  and 
measures  of  the  Republican  party,  and  for 
three  terms  he  served  as  trustee  of  his  town- 
ship. Socially  he  is  a  member  of  Danville 
Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  Sycamore  Valley  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F. :  and  Joe  Hooker  Post,  G.  A.  R. 
In  manner  he  is  courteous  and  genial,  and 
among  the  people  with  whom  he  has  been 
so  long  connected  he  is  very  popular. 


JOSEPH  C.  BROWN. 

As  a  young  man  this  gentleman  came 
to  America,  and  without  capital  started  out 
in  a  strange  land  to  overcome  the  difficulties 
and  obstacles  in  the  path  to  prosperity.  His 
youthful  dreams  have  been  realized,  and  in 
their  happy  fulfillment  he  sees  the  fitting  re- 
ward of  his  earnest  toil.  He  is  now  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  leading  and  successful 
agriculturists  of  Knox  county. 

Mr.  Brown  was  born  in  county  Cork, 
Ireland,  on  the  15th  of  November,  183 1,  and 
was  reared  on  a  farm  in  his  native  land. 
In  1856,  in  company  with  his  parents,  he 
left  the  land  of  his  birth,  and  on  a  sailing 
vessel  crossed  the  broad  Atlantic  tO'  the  new 
world,  spending  thirty-nine  days  on  the  voy- 
age. After  their  arrival  here  the  family  lo- 
cated in  Clermont  county,  Ohio,  where  our 
subject  was  engaged  at  farm  labor  by  the 
month  for  the  following  six  years.  On  the 
expiration  of  that  period  he  located  in  Col- 
lege township,  Knox  county,  where  he  pur- 
chased twenty  acres  of  land  and  immedi- 
ately set  about  the  task  of  making  a  home. 
He  cleared  and  improved  his  land,  and 
thereon  erected  a  small  log  cabin,  but  in  1865 
he  sold  that  place  and  purchased  fifty-eight 
acres  of  partially  improved  land  in  Pleasant 
township,  remaining  there  until  1894.  In 
that  year  he  came  to  his  present  homestead, 
which  consists  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land,  all  of  which  is  under  a  fine 
state  of  cultivation,  improved  with  good 
and  substantial  buildings  and  everything 
about  the  place  indicates  the  care  and  super- 
vision of  a  practical  and  progressive  owner. 
The  marriage  oi  Mr.  Brown  was  celebrated 
on  the  31st  of  March,    1861,   when   Maj-y 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


Clark  became  his  wife.  Seven  children  have 
brightened  and  blessed  their  home,  namely : 
Mary  E.,  v\'ho  is  still  with  her  parents ; 
Martha  J.,  the  wife  of  John  R.  Seymour,  of 
Mcnroe  township,  Knox  county;  John  T., 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Brown  Brothers, 
prominent  liverymen  of  Gambler;  Clark  G., 
who  is  engaged  in  business  with  his  brother 
John;  Margaret  C,  deceased;  Alice,  who  is 
conducting  a  millinery  store  in  Mount  Ver- 
non ;  and  Joseph  H,,  at  home.  The  Democ- 
racy receives  Mr.  Brown's  hearty  support 
snd  co-operation,  and  religiously  he  is  a 
member  of  tJ^e  Episcopal  church.  His  course 
in  life  has  ever  been  such  as  to  command  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  all  with  whom  he 
has  come  in  contact,  and  he  justly  merits 
the  high  regard  in  which  he  is  held  by  his 
fellow  men. 


PERRY  ROOF. 


One  of  the  boys  in  blue  of  the  Civil  war 
and  at  all  times  a  loyal  citizen,  true  to  the 
interests  of  county,  state  and  nation.  Perry 
Roof  is  numbered  among  the  representative 
farmers  of  Knox  county.  The  Roof  family 
was  one  of  the  first  founded  in  this  locality, 
and  its  members  took  an  active  part  in  its 
development  through  the  pioneer  epoch  in 
its  history.  Our  subject's  grandfather, 
Jacob  Roof,  was  a  native  of  the  Old  Do- 
n^inion,  but  in  a  very  early  day  he  came  to 
Knox  county,  where  he  was  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  in  Union  township.  He 
was  of  German  descent. 

Jacob  Roof,  Jr.,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  Rocking'ham  county,  Vir- 
ginia. When  a  young  man  he  left  the  place 
of  his   nativitv   and   came   to   the   Buckeye 


state,  locating  at  Danville,  Knox  county. 
Shortly  afterward  he  entered  the  land  on 
which  our  subject  now  resides,  which  was 
then  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  timber, 
but  he  immediately  began  the  arduous  task 
of  clearing  his  place,  erected  a  small  log 
cabin,  and  soon  his  fields  were  made  to  pro- 
duce abundant  harvests.  He  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  on  this  farm,  passing 
away  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years.  In 
political  matters  he  was  first  a  Whig,  but 
after  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party  he  joined  its  ranks  and  was  ever  after- 
ward a  loyal  supporter  of  its  principles.  Mr. 
Roof  was  married  at  Danville,  Ohio,  to  Miss 
Mary  Baker,  who'  was  born  in  the  Keystone 
state,  but  she,  too,  was  numbered  among 
the  early  pioneers  of  Knox  county,  whither 
her  parents  removed  when  she  was  a  small 
child.  She  reached  the  age  of  seventy-six 
years.  This  worthy  couple  became  the  par- 
ents of  ten'  children,  seven  of  whom  grew 
to  years  of  maturity,  and  Mr.  Roof,  of  this 
review,  was  the  seventh  child  in  order  of 
birth. 

During  his  boyhood  days  he  attended  the 
log  school  house  near  his  home,  and  in  early 
years  he  was  also  taught  the  value  of  indus- 
try and  honesty  as  a  preparation  for  the 
active  duties  of  life.  When  the  trouble  be- 
tween the  north  and  the  south  threw  the 
country  into  civil  war  Mr,  Roof  nobly  put 
aside  all  personal  considerations  and  ofifered 
his  services  as  a  defender  of  the  starry  baia- 
ner,  enlisting  in  Company  E,  Sixty-fifth 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  in  October,  1862. 
During  his  military  career  he  took  part  in 
many  of  the  hard-fought  battles  of  the  war, 
including  that  of  Murfreesboro,  and  during 
that  t'me  he  was  never  seriously  wounded. 
Receiving  his  discharge  at  Hillsboro,  Ten- 


124 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


nessee,  he  returned  to  his  liome  with  an  hon- 
orable mihtary  record,  and  at  once  took  up 
tlte  quiet  pursuits  of  the  farm.  He  has 
spent  his  entire  hfe  upon  the  old  homestead 
which  his  father  entered,  and  the  place  now 
consists  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  all 
of  which  is  under  an  excellent  state  of  cul- 
tivation and  contains  all  the  accessories  and 
improvements  necessary  for  a  well  regulated 
farm.  Mr.  Roof's  social  relations  connect 
him  with  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  and 
with  Leroy  Baker  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Dan- 
ville, in  which  he  maintains  pleasant  rela- 
tions with  his  old  army  comrades  of  the  blue. 


ISAAC  EARLYWINE. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  of  that 
sterling  old  Pennsylvania  stock,  w^iich  in 
every  state  in  the  Lhiion  has  made  for  edu- 
cation, commercial  and  financial  advance- 
ment. Adam  Earlywine,  his  father,  a  native 
of  the  Keystone  state,  married  Susan  Wolfe, 
also  of  Pennsylvania  nativity,  and  she  bore 
him  eight  children.  Not  long  after  their 
marriage  they  came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
and  located  in  Jackson  township  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  their  son,  Isaac  Earlywine, 
and  on  which  he  was  born  August  5,  1818. 
The  elder  Earlywine  cleared  land  and  put  it 
under  cultivation  and  improved  it  until  it 
was  a  profitable  agricultural  property.  He 
served  his  country  as  a  soldier  in  the  war 
of  1812  and  was  a  man  of  influence  in  the 
community,  and  he  and  his  wife  were  com- 
municants of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Isaac  Earlywine  early  became  familiar 
with  all  the  details  of  clearing  and  improv- 
ing land  and  carrying  on  successful  farm- 


ing, and  during  all  his  younger  years  w^as  a 
valuable  assistant  to  his  father.  In  1840 
he  married  Miss  Lizzie  Nichols,  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  Susan  (Hendricks)  Nichols, 
who  were  natives  of  he  Old  Dominion  and 
were  well-to-do  farmers.  Mr.  Nichols  was 
also  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  His  wife 
bore  him  eight  children,  of  whom  Mrs.  Ear- 
lywine was  the  second  in  order  of  nativity. 
By  his  marriage  with  Miss  Nichols,  who 
was  brought  toi  Knox  county  when  she  was 
nine  years  old,  Mr.  Earlywine  has  had  four 
children,  who  were  named  as  follows  in  the 
order  of  their  birth  :  Susan  M.,  Lizzie  Ann, 
Thomas  J.  and  Mary  D.,  but  the  last  men- 
tioned is  now  deceased.  Susan  M.  is  the 
wife  of  Robert  Voost,  of  Harrison  town- 
ship; Lizzie  A.  is  the  wife  of  Jackson  Mc- 
Cament,  of  Clay  county ;  and  Thomas  J. 
married  Mary  Hallabaugh,  and  operates  the 
old  farm. 

Politically  Mr.  Earlywine  is  a  Democrat 
and  he  wields  considerable  influence  in  his 
township,  which  he  served  as  township  trus- 
tee five  years.  He  has  also  been  entrusted 
with  other  public  responsibilities,  and  in  his 
capacity  as  private  counsellor  is  frequently 
called  upon  to  give  advice  in  much  business 
of  importance.  He  is  a  progressive  man  and 
a  friend  to  public  education,  and  his  fellow 
citizens  have  come  to  know  that  his  public 
spirit  is  equal  to  all  reasonable  demands 
upon  it. 


JOSEPH  CRITCHFIELD. 

Joseph  Critchfield,  the  efficient  and  pop- 
ular postmaster  of  Howard,  is  one  of  the 
leading  and  representative  citizens  of  his  lo- 
cality.    He  was  born  in  Howard  township. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


125 


Knox  county,  Ohio,  on  the  nth  of  October, 
1838,  a  son  of  Lewis  Critchfield,  also  a  na- 
tive of  this  county.  The  '\la;tter's  father, 
Joseph  Critchfield,  claimed  Pennsylvania  as 
the  state  of  his  nativity,  and  after  his  mar- 
riage he  and  his  wife  made  the  journey  from 
that  state  to  Ohio  on  horseback,  locating  in 
the  dense  woods  of  Howard  township,  Knox 
county.  They  made  their  home  for  many 
years  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Daniel 
McGuigan,  Jr.,  and  Mr.  Critchfield  was  sub- 
sequently killed  by  a  horse.  His  son,  Lewis 
C,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  reared  to 
years  of  maturity  on  his  father's  farm,  and 
upon  taking  up  the  active  duties  of  life  on 
his  own  account  he  chose  the  occupation  to 
which  he  had  been  reared,  and  throughout 
his  active  buginess  career  he  followed  the 
tilling  of  the  soil  in  Knox  county.  His  life's 
labors  were  ended  in  death  when  he  had 
reached  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years.  In 
early  life  he  gave  his  political  support  to  the 
Whig  party,  but  after  the  organization  of 
the  Republican  party  he  joined  its  ranks  and 
was  ever  afterward  a  loyal  supporter  of  its 
principles.  He  held  membership  in  the 
Christian  church,  in  which  he  took  an  active 
and  helpful  interest,  having  greatly  assisted 
in  the  organization  of  the  church  at  Mil- 
wood,  and  for  many  years  he  was  an  officer 
therein.  For  his  wife  he  chose  Mary  J. 
Dawson,  who  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  but  when  a  young 
lady  she  accompanied  her  parents  on  their 
removal  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  her 
death  occurred  when  she  had  reached  the 
age  of  sixty-six  years.  Her  father.  Dr. 
John  Dawson,  followed  the  tilling  of  the 
soil  in  the  Keystone  state  and  was  also  a 
physician  by  profession,  following  both  oc- 
cupations after  his  removal  to  Howard  town- 


ship. The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Critch- 
field was  blessed  with  a  family  of  six  chil- 
dren, of  which  our  subject  was  the  eldest 
in  order  of  birth.  Two  of  the  number  died 
in  infancy,  and  a  son,  John  Dawson  Critch- 
field, who  was  a  prominent  attorney  of 
Mount  Vernon,  was  called  to  his  final  rest 
in  1900.  The  two  surviving  daughters  are: 
Lienor,  the  wife  of  Matthew  Welsh,  of 
Howard ;  and  Mary  ].,  the  wife  of  J.  Thorn- 
ton Whitworth,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Mon- 
roe Mills. 

Joseph  Critchfield,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  review,  has  spent  his  entire  life  in 
the  place  of  his  nativity,  and  the  educational 
privileges  which  he  enjoyed  in  his  youth 
were  those  afforded  by  the  log  school  house 
of  his  neighborhood.  In  October,  1861,  in 
response  to  his  country's  call  for  aid,  he  en- 
listed as  a  private  in  Company  A,  Sixty- 
fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  in  Jan- 
uary, 1863,  he  was  made  a  musician  of  his 
regiment,  serving  in  that  position  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  His  military  career  cov- 
ered a  period  of  four  years,  two  months  and 
eighteen  days,  and  during  that  time  he  par- 
ticipated in  the  battles  of  Shiloh,  Corinth, 
Stone  River,  Chickamauga,  Missionary 
Ridge  and  many  others  equally  important. 
On  the  1st  of  January,  1864,  he  veteranized 
at  Blain's  Cross  Roads,  in  East  Tennessee, 
and  on  the  following  March  he  received  a 
thirty  days  furlough,  but  during  his  stay  at 
home  he  was  sick  with  the  measles.  Re- 
joining his  command  on  the  5th  of  April,  he 
took  part  in  the  battles  of  Jonesborough, 
Spring  Hill,  Franklin,  and  in  all  the  battles 
of  the  Atlanta  campaign.  During  his  entire 
career  as  a  soldier  he  was  never  wounded  or 
captured,  but  he  suffered  greatly  from  sick- 
ness, and  at  the  close  of  hostilities,  on  the 


126 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


26th  of  December,  1865,  he  received  an  hon- 
orable discharge  at  Cokimbus,  Ohio,  retiring 
from  the  service  with  the  rank  of  first  Heu- 
tenant. 

Returning  to  his  home  in  Knox  county, 
Mr.  Critchfield  v>as  for  a  time  engaged  in 
mercantile  pursuits  with  his  father-in-law, 
Jonathan  Hammond,  which  relationship  was 
maintained  for  seven  years,  on  the  expira- 
tion of  which  period  our  subject  sold  his 
interest  to  his  partner  and  for  the  following 
nine  years  was  engaged  in  farming  in  Union 
township.  He  then  took  up  his  abode  in  Lan- 
caster, Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
made  his  home  until  October,  1883,  when  he 
came  to  Howard  and  again  turned  his  at- 
tention to  mercantile  pursuits,  in  partner- 
ship with  Eli  Wolfe,  thus  continuing  for 
about  ten  years.  Mr.  Critchfield  then  sold 
his  interest  to  his  partner,  since  which  time 
he  has  been  engaged  in  superintending  his 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  acres 
in  Howard  township,  located  one  and  a  half 
miles  southeast  of  the  village  of  Howard. 

In  1864,  during  his  absence  from  the 
army  on  his  thirty  days'  furlough,  our  sub- 
ject was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary  E. 
Hammond,  who  was  born  in  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Hannah 
(Lybarger)  Hammond.  Two  daughters 
have  been  born  unto  this  union, — Lulu,  the 
wife  of  George  A.  Cheney,  station  agent  for 
the  Chicago,  Akron  &  Columbus  Railroad 
at  Mount  Vernon;  and  Keturah,  the  wife  of 
Charles  Cheney,  who  is  engaged  in  the  livery 
business  in  Danville,  Ohio.  The  Repub- 
lican party  receives  Mr.  Critchfield's  active 
support  and  co-operation,  and  during  Presi- 
dent Harrison's  administration  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  office  of  postmaster  of  How- 
ard and  was  reappointed  in  1901,  by  Presi- 


dent McKinley.  In  LeRoy  Baker  Post,  G. 
A.  R.,  he  maintains  pleasant  relations  with 
his  old  army  comrades,  and  of  the  Methodist 
'Episcopal  church  he  is  «  worthy  and  hon- 
ored member. 


JUDSON  ROBERT  DRAKE. 

The  efforts  that  lead  to  success  have  been 
manifest  in  the  business  career  of  J.  R. 
Drake,  who  is  an  enterprising  farmer  in 
Howard  township.  He  was  born  in  this 
township  October  20,  1867.  His  grandfa- 
ther. Dr.  George  Drake,  came  to  Knox  coun- 
ty in  1847,  and  here  devoted  his  energies  to 
agricultural  pursuits.  Smith  Drake,  the  fa- 
ther of  our  subject,  was  a  native  of  Wash- 
ington county,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  year 
1847  took  up  his  abode  in  Howard  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  upon  the  farm  where  his 
son,  J.  R.  Drake,  now  resides.  He  erected 
one  of  the  first  sawmills  in  the  township  and 
furnished  much  of  the  lumber  used  in  build- 
ing bridges  in  the  early  days.  Throughout 
his  entire  Hfe  he  conducted  a  sawmill,  and 
his  business  record  was  one  of  strict  hon- 
esty and  fair  dealing.  In  his  political  views 
he  was  a  Republican  and  religiously  was  con- 
nected with  the  Jelloway  Christian  church, 
taking  an  active  part  in  its  work.  He  held 
a  number  of  offices  in  the  church,  contribut- 
ing generously  to  its  support  and  did  all  in 
his  power  for  the  cause  of  Christianity.  He 
married  Florence  McNutt,  a  native  of  Wash- 
ington county,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  McNutt,  who  was  also'  born 
in  the  Keystone  state  and  died  in  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  about  1883.  The  father  of 
our  subject  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


127 


and  his  wife  passed  away  at  the  age  of  six- 
ty-seven. They  had  three  sons  and  three 
daughters,  aU  of  whom  reached  mature 
years. 

J.  R.  Drake  is  the  fifth  member  and  sec- 
ond son  in  the  family.  His  childhood  days 
were  passed  upon  the  farm,  and  in  the  prim- 
itive schools  of  the  neighborhood  he  pursued 
his  education,  which  was  supplemented  by 
study  in  the  Danville  high  school  and  by 
one  year's  course  in  Hiram  College.  Much 
of  his  life  has  been  devoted  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  but  for  four  years  he  was  associ- 
ated with  Barbar  &  Company,  wholesale 
grocers  of  Mount  Vernon.  He  remained  in 
the  house  for  three  years  and  then 
went  upon  the  road  as  a  traveling  salesman, 
continuing  in  that  service  for  one  year. 
With  this  exception  he  has  always  followed 
farming,  and  to-day  he  is  the  owner  of  one 
hundred  acres  of  valuable  land,  rich  and 
arable  and  well  improved,  and  which  was  a 
part  of  the  Drake  homestead.  He  also  has 
other  business  interests,  being-  part  owner  in 
a  grocery  store  at  Zuch  and  also  in  the  Zuch 
flouring  mill.  He  possesses  excellent  busi- 
ness ability,  strong  judgment  and  keen  dis- 
crimination, and  his  untiring  industry,  sup- 
plemented by  the  qualities  just  mentioned, 
have  made  him  quite  successful. 

March  3,  1892,  occurred  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  Drake  and  Miss  Bertha  Johnson,  a  na- 
tive of  Pike  township,  Knox  county.  Her 
parents,  Marshall  and  Mary  Johnson,  died 
when  she  was  about  a  year  old,  and  she  was 
then  reared  by  her  grandparents,  B.  C.  and 
Esther  (Pealer)  Harris.  The  marriage  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Drake  has  been  blessed  with 
one  son,  Gordon.  Our  subject  and  his  wife 
have  a  wide  acquaintance  in  the  county  and 
enjoy  the  high  regard  of  many  friends.     He 


is  a  stalwart  Republican,  unswerving  in  his 
advocacy  of  the  principles  of  the  party  and 
at  one  time  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  in 
Howard  township.  He  is  an  exemplary 
member  of  Mount  Zion  Lodge,  No.  9,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  of  Mount  Vernon,  is  also  identified 
with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and 
belongs  to  the  Christian  church  of  Jello- 
way.  His  salient  characteristics  afe  his  en- 
ergy and  straightforward  methods  in  busi- 
ness, his  co-operation  with  all  measures 
which  he  believes  of  public  benefit,  his  loy- 
alty in  citizenship  and  his  fidelity  to  every 
duty. 


BENJAMIN  SMITH. 

The  late  lamented  citizen  of  Morgan 
tcAvnship,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose  hon- 
ored name  appears  above,  has  a  place  in  his- 
tory as  the  man  who  entered  the  last  one- 
hundred-and-twenty-five-acre  tract  of  gov- 
ernment land  in  that  township,  and  as  one 
who  lived  longer  within  the  borders  of  the 
township  than  any  other  of  its  citizens. 

Benjamin  Smith,  son  of  James  Harring- 
ton and  Martha  (Davis)  Smith,  was  born 
in  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  27, 
1807,  and  was  brought  by  his  parents  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  in  181 1.  Such  educa- 
tion as  was  available  to  him  he  acquired  near 
his  home  in  an  old  log  school  house  with  slab, 
seats  and  benches,  and  a  big  fireplace  and 
greased-paper  windows,  and  entirely  desti- 
tute of  anything  like  a  floor.  He  was 
brought  up  toi  farming  and  lived  in  the 
township  continuously  from  181 1  until  his 
death,  March  9,  1900,  during  the  long  period 
of  eighty-nine  years.  He  improved  his  farm 
and  added  to  its  acreage  until  it  comprised 


128 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


one  hundred  and  forty-six  acres.  In  early 
life  he  was  a  Whig  and  later  he  was  a  Re- 
publican, and  he  was  influential  in  local  af- 
fairs, and  was  frequently  called  to  places  of 
trust  and  responsibility,  though  he  was  in 
no  sense  an  office-seeker.  He  was  a  devout 
and  consistent  member  of  the  Baptist  church, 
always  generously  helpful  to  its  various  in- 
terests. 

Mr.  Smith  married  Sarah  Brown  Jan- 
uary ly,  1833.  INIrs.  Smith,  who  was  born 
in  Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  March  4, 
1809,  bore  her  husband  two  daughters: 
Martha  Jane,  who  was  born  March  31,  1834, 
and  died  unmarried  in  1855 ;  and  Sarah 
Ann,  who  was  born  October  19,  1836,  on 
the  farm  on  which  she  now  lives  and  which 
she  successfully  manages. 


HON.  ANTHONY  BANNING. 

In  pioneer  days  Anthony  Banning  came 
to  Ohio  and  was  actively  identified  with  the 
development  and  improvement  of  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state  when  it  was  a  frontier 
region.  He  was  associated  with  agricultural 
and  industrial  interests  and  was  also  active 
in  promoting  the  intellectual  and  moral 
growth  of  the  community.  He  was  born  in 
Talbott  cotinty,  Maryland,  May  13,  1768, 
and  his  full  name  was  James  Mansfield 
Anthony  Banning.  He  was  the  only  son 
of  James  Banning,  a  landed  proprietor  of 
large  influence  in  that  locality.  The  only 
sister  oi  our  subject  became  the  wife  of 
Benjamin  Chew,  a  most  intimate  friend  and 
associate  of  George  Washington.  He  be- 
came chief  justice  of  the  state  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  resided  in  Philadelphia. 


When  our  subject  was  quite  young  his 
father  died,  and  his  uncle,  Henry  Banning, 
a  sea  captain,  became  his  guardian.  He 
took  him  on  several  sea  voyages  and  pro- 
vided him  with  good  educational  privileges, 
intending  him  for  the  priesthood,  for  the 
family  were  Catholics,  but  in  his  fourteenth 
year  Anthony  Banning  left  the  church  of 
his  fathers  and  joined  the  Methodist  church, 
a  course  which  cut  him  off  from  his  own 
people,  who  regarded  him  as  lost  on  account 
of  his  abandonment  of  the  Romish  church. 
However,  a  long  life  of  usefulness  lay  before 
him,  and  he  accomplished  great  good  in  the 
world.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  began 
preaching  as  a  circuit  rider  in  Greenbriar 
county  and  the  mountainous  districts  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  his  zeal  and  earnestness  in  pre- 
senting the  cause  of  Christianity  gained  to 
his  Master's  cause  many  followers. 

Mr.  Banning  was  married,  July  30, 
1 79 1,  to  Mrs.  Sarah  Pierce,  a  daughter  of 
Jacob  Murphy,  who  became  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Redstone,  Pennsylvania,  near 
Uniontown.  She  was  born  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  Maryland  and  was  reared  near  El- 
licotts  Mills,  that  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ban- 
ning became  the  parents  of  eight  children. 
Sarah  married  Daniel  S.  Norton,  and  re- 
sided in  Knox  county.  Jacob  M.  wedded 
Miss  Sophia  Zimmerman,  daughter  of  Gott- 
lieb Zimmerman,  of  Mount  Vernon.  With 
her  children  she  removed  to  Hardin  county, 
and  one  of  her  family  is  no>v  in  Los  Ange- 
les, California.  Rachel  became  the  wife  of 
Rev.  Elnathan  Raymond  and  their  daughter, 
Mrs.  George  K.  Norton,  is  living  in  Mount 
Vernon.  James  S.  has  a  son  who  is  repre- 
sented on  another  page  of  this  work.  Mary 
became  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Caswell.  Betsy 
married  a  Mr.  Bronson,  of  Mount  Vernon. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


129 


Priscilla.  who  was  born  May  i,  1801,  was 
married  to  Sewell  Gray,  of  Massachusetts, 
whose  birth  occurred  April  9,  1806.  He 
died  at  Mount  Vernon  in  May,  1862,  and  her 
death  occurred  in  1891.  Anthony  Banning, 
the  youngest  of  the  family,  married  Jane 
Dudley,  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  their  chil- 
dren are  William  B.  and  Frank  Banning  and 
Mrs.  Errett,  of  Mount  Vernon. 

In  1 79 1  Anthony  Banning  was  ordained 
to  the  Methodist  ministry  by  Bishop  Asbury. 
While  residing  in  Pennsylvania,  near  Mount 
Braddock  and  Connelsville,  he  engaged  in 
preaching  in  those  places,  also  conducted 
a  tan  yard  and  a  general  store.  He  like- 
wise served  as  justice  of  the  peace  from 
1 79 1  until  1799,  and  was  a  prominent  fac- 
tor in  the  business,  political  and  moral  life 
of  the  community.  Between  1808  and  1812 
he  made  several  trips  up  the  Muskingtmi 
river  with  goods,  and  on  some  of  these  trips 
purchased  land  in  Knox  county,  whither  he 
removed  in  1812.  He  traded  tanned  leather 
and  saddlery  goods  to  Samuel  Kratzer  for 
an  interest  in  the  site  of  Mount  Vernon,  and 
during  the  long  period  of  his  residence  in 
this  city  he  engaged  in  many  pursuits,  pros- 
pering in  all,  for  he  was  a  man  of  marked 
enterprise,  determination  and  business  abil- 
ity. He  conducted  general  stores  at  Mount 
Vernon,  Tymochtree  and  Danville,  and  was 
the  proprietor  of  a  mill  at  Clinton,  also  con- 
ducted a  tan  yard  and  extensively  engaged  in 
farming.  Though  his  business  pursuits 
were  so  extensive  and  varied  he  yet  found 
time  to  devote  to  his  Christian  work,  and 
was  much  of  the  time  engaged  in  preaching 
on  Sundays  and  at  all  times  exerted  his  in- 
fluence, which  was  strongly  felt  in  behalf  of 
the  moral  advancement  of  the  community  in 
which  he  made  his  home.    His  political  sup- 


port was  given  the  Whig  party,  and  he 
served  as  associate  justice  of  the  county  from 
1827  until  1834.  He  was  active  in  every 
movement  for  the  benefit  of  the  county  and 
town,  and  was  the  promoter  of  many  meas- 
ures for  the  general  good.  He  built  a  church 
upon  his  own  land  just  at  the  time  Bishop 
Purcell  was  denied  the  use  of  all  the  otlier 
churches,  whereon  Mr.  Banning  placed  his 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Catholics,  and  the  first 
Catholic  sermon  delivered  in  Mount  Vernon 
was  in  the  Banning  church,  as  it  was  called. 
He  held  to  his  own  religious  views  tenaci- 
ously, but  accorded  to  others  the  same  priv- 
ilege. In  the  month  of  February,  1844, 
Judge  Banning  was  accidentally  drowned 
while  crossing  the  ice  west  of  Mount  Ver- 
non while  going  to  his  farm.  He  was  hon- 
est and  conscientious,  resolute  yet  liberal, 
and  was  most  kind-hearted  and  generous. 
Knox  county  profited  by  his  citizenship,  and 
the  world  is  better  for  his  having  lived. 


ELISHA  WORKMAN. 

Many  are  the  representative  farmers  of 
Knox  county  who  have  spent  their  entire 
lives  in  this  portion  of  the  state,  a  fact  which 
indicates  unmistakably  the  excellence  of  the 
country  and  the  advantages  offered  to  its 
citizens.  Among  this  number  is  Mr.  Work- 
man, who  was  born  in  Brown  township, 
December  17,  1849,  being  the  fourth  son  and 
sixth  child  of  the  Rev.  John  J.  and  Lucretia 
(De  Witt)  Workman.  His  childhood  and 
youth  were  passed  upon  the  home  farm,  and 
the  district  schools  of  the  neighborhood  af- 
forded him  his  educational  privileges. 
Through  the  summer  months  he  worked  in 


[30 


A    CENTEXXIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


the  fields  and  thus  became  familiar  with 
farm  labor  in  all  of  its  departments.  He  re- 
mained with  his  parents  until  his  marriage, 
which  important  event  in  his  life  was  cele- 
brated June  12,  1878,  the  lady  of  his  choice 
being  Mary  C.  Pryor,  a  native  of  Brown 
township,  and  a  daughter  of  Hammond  and 
Elizabeth  (Lydic)  Pryor,  who  came  from 
Belmont  county,  Ohio,  to  Knox  county,  the 
ancestn,-,  however,  being  Irish.  Mrs.  Work- 
man is  the  eldest  daughter  in  her  parents' 
family,  and  the  second  among  nine  children, 
all  of  whom  were  born  in  this  county.  She 
was  reared  in  Brown  township  and  educated 
in  the  -district  schools.  After  their  marriage 
our  subject  and  his  wife  began  their  domes- 
tic life  on  the  old  homestead  where  they  still 
reside,  and  their  union  has  been  blessed  with 
three  children:  Charlie  H.,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  one  year  and  five  days ;  Ada  G.  and 
Ora  D.,  both  at  home. 

Mr.  Workman  has  always  carried  on 
general  farming  and  in  the  home  place  he 
owns  and  operates  one  hundred  and  forty- 
six  acres  of  rich  land.  He  also  raises  fine 
stock,  including  hogs,  sheep,  cattle  and 
horses,  and  has  a  large  number  of  fine  chick- 
ens, which  enabled  him  to  sell  sixteen  hun- 
dred dozen  eggs  in  the  year  1900.  His  busi- 
ness is  managed  with  excellent  skill  and 
ability,  and  its  various  departments  re- 
turns to  him  a  good  income.  In  addition  to 
his  other  interests  he  is  agent  for  the 
Eureka  Fertilizer  Company,  of  Sandusky, 
Ohio.  He  carries  on  his  work  in  accord  with 
progressive  spirit  and  methods  of  the  twen- 
tieth century,  and  his  labors  are  bringing 
to  him  a  creditable  prosperity.  He  has  been 
a  life-long  Democrat  in  nationel  affairs,  but 
at  local  elections  votes  for  the  candidate  re- 
gardless of  party  affiliations.    With  the  Ger- 


man Baptist  church  he  holds  membership, 
taking  an  active  part  in  its  work,  and  his 
life  has  ever  been  in  consistent  harmony  with 
his  professions. 


FRANK  O.  LEVERING. 

The  Levering  family  is  so  well  known 
in  Knox  county  that  its  representatives  need 
no  introduction  to  the  readers  of  this  vol- 
ume. When  the  Buckeye  state  was  almost 
an  unbroken  wilderness  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  land  was  still  in  possession  of  the 
government  the  family  was  founded  here, 
and  those  who  have  borne  the  name  since 
that  time  have  faithfully  carried  forward 
the  work  of  upbuilding  and  improvement  be- 
gun by  their  ancestors.  It  was  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century  that  the  fam- 
ily was  first  planted  on  American  soil  by 
Gerhard  Levering  and  his  brother  Wigard. 
They  were  sons  of  Rosier  Levering,  who 
was  born  in  Holland  of  English  or  Anglo- 
Saxon  parentage,  his  father  and  mother  hav- 
ing been  exiled  from  England  on  account  of 
their  religious  belief.  Rosier  Levering  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Vandewalle,  of  Westphalia, 
Germany,  and  their  son,  Gerhard  Levering, 
was  born  in  Gamen,  Germany,  ni  1660.  In 
1685,  accompanied  by  his  brother  Wigard, 
he  braved  the  dangers  incident  to  an  ocean 
voyage  at  that  day  and  crossed  the  Atlantic 
to  America.  He  married,  and  among  his 
children  was  Daniel  Levering,  who  was  born 
December  2,  1704,  and  on  the  12th  of  May, 
1735,  was  married,  in  Christ  church,  in 
Philadelphia  to  Margaret  Beane.  Tliey  re- 
sided upon  a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  in 
Whiteplain  township,  Montgomery  county, 
New  Jersey. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


Upon  that  farm,  on  the  loth  of  June, 
1738,  there  was  born  unto  them  a  son,  to 
whom  they  gave  the  name  of  Henry  Lever- 
ing and  who  was  the  great-great-grandfa- 
ther of  our  subject.  For  many  years  he  re- 
sided at  the  Durham  Iron  Works  in  New 
Jersiey,  but  in  1785  removed  from  there  to  a 
large  farm  in  Belfast  township,  Bedford 
county,  Pennsylvania.  He  wedded  Ann 
Wynn,  and  their  son,  Daniel  Levering,  the 
great-grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  born 
in  New  Jersey,  February  3,  1764.  In  1785 
he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  re- 
moval to  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  married  Mary  Karney.  In  181 1 
he  visited  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  pur- 
chased a  large  tract  of  land  from  the  gov- 
ernment in  Owl  Creek  valley,  whereon  he 
located  with  his  family,  and  there  spent  his 
remaining  days,  his  death  occurring  in  1820. 
His  widow  died  October  24,  1846,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty- four.  They  were 
prominent  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  leading  citizens  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Noah  Levering,  the  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, November  7,  1802,  and  in  1813 
came  with  his  parents  to  Knox  county.  He 
was  married  here,  March  25,  1828,  to 
Armanella  Cook,  daughter  of  John  and  Ann 
Cook,  who  came  to  Ohio  from  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  about  1805.  Their 
daughter  was  born  in  1809  and  died  June 
13,  1879,  while  Noah  Levering  passed  away 
March  4,  1881.  They  were  farming  people, 
and  the  town  of  Levering  was  laid  out  upon 
their  land. 

John  Cook  Levering,  their  son,  and  the 
father  of  Frank  O.,  was  born  on  the  old 
family  homestead,  in  INIiddlebury  township. 


September  11,  1829,  and  was  the  eldest  son 
in  a  family  of  ten  children.  His  youth  was 
spent  in  the  usual  manner  of  farmer  lads  of 
that  period,  and  as  the  years  passed  he  as- 
sisted his  father  in  the  control  and  manage- 
ment of  the  farm.  When  twenty-one  years 
of  age  he  purchased  eighty  acres  from,  his 
father  and  began  farming  on  his  own  ac- 
count. As  a  companion  and  helpmate  for 
the  journey  of  life  he  chose  Miss  Carrie 
Richardson,  and  they  were  married  in  i860. 
Her  parents  were  Daniel  and  Thankful 
(Camp)  Richardson,  the  former  a  well 
known  lumber  merchant  of  New  York  for 
many  years.  Mr.  Levering  and  his  wife  be- 
gan their  domestic  life  on  the  land  which  he 
had  purchased,  and  as  the  years  passed  their 
financial  resources  increased  so  that  he  was 
enabled  to  purchase  other  land  and  became 
one  of  the  wealthy  farmers  of  the  county. 
He  has  been  very  prominent  in  agricultural 
circles,  and  his  influence  has  been  felt 
throughout  the  entire  country  in  behalf  of 
the  best  interests  of  the  farmer  and  stock- 
raiser.  His  stock  has  won  many  first  prizes 
in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  he  did  much 
to  improve  the  grade  of  domestic  animals 
raised  in  this  part  of  the  state.  In  1866  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Knox  County  Ag- 
ricultural Society,  of  which  he  has  since  been 
a  representative,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
he  was  honored  with  the  presidency.  But 
other  honors  of  a  less  local  character  have 
been  conferred  upon  him.  In  1881  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Ohio  State  Board  of 
Agriculture.  He  assisted  in  the  purchase 
and  improvement  of  the  now  beautiful  state 
fair  grounds  and  buildings  at  Columbus, 
Ohio.  For  six  years  he  was  a  member  of 
the  state  board,  was  treasurer  in  1885  and 
j  president  in  1886.     In  1883  he  represented 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


Ohio  in  the  National  Agricultural  Conven- 
tion in  Washington.  In  1887  the  goveror 
of  Ohio  appointed  him  a  member  of  the 
state  centennial  board,  and  he  took  an  active 
part  in  managing  the  Ohio  Centennial  cele- 
bration held  in  Columbus  in  1888.  In  1890, 
at  the  Ohio  Annual  Agricultural  Conven- 
tion, at  the  request  of  the  state  secretary  of 
agriculture,  he  read  a  paper  on  the  Farmers 
Horse  and  Horse  Breeding.  This  led  to  the 
formation  of  the  Ohio  State  Draft  and 
Coach  Horse  Association  in  1891,  and  of 
this  Air.  Levering  was  elected, president  and 
served  for  three  successive  years.  In  1871 
he  was  elected  county  commissioner  of  Knox 
county,  and  by  re-election  in  1874  filled  the 
position  for  six  consecutive  years.  It  was 
in  1874  that  iron  bridges  were  built  in  the 
county,  an  improvement  to  which  he  gave 
his  support.  He  was  also  instrumental  in 
building  the  county  infirmary  at  a  cost  of 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  his  po- 
litical views  he  has  been  a  life-long  Demo- 
crat, and  in  1886  was  the  nominee  of  his 
party  for  congress  in  the  ninth  Ohio  con- 
gressional district.  He  has  ever  been  most 
painstaking  and  conscientious  in  the  dis- 
charge of  all  public  duties  devolving  upon 
him,  regarding  an  office  as  a  public  trust 
which  must  not  be  betrayed.  Early  in  life 
he  united  with  the  Presbyterian  church,  in 
which  he  has  since  been  an  active  and  zeal- 
ous member.  When  a  history  of  the  Lever- 
ing family  was  being  prepared  in  1891  he 
acted  as  corresponding  secretary.  Both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Levering  now  reside  at  Levering, 
Knox  county,  Ohio.  They  have  the  follow- 
ing children  :  Noah  C,  of  Richland  county, 
Ohio;  Lloyd  D.,  of  Knox  county;  John  Clif- 
ton, of  Toledo;   Mrs.   Nettie    Barnhill,  of 


Mansfield,  Ohio;  and  Frank  O.,  of  this  re- 
view. 

Frank  O.  Levering  was  born  on  the  old 
family  homestead  in  Middlebury  township, 
Knox  county,  September  29,  1862,  and  pur- 
sued his  early  education  in  the  district 
schools,  while  through  the  period  of  vaca- 
tions he  assisted  his  father  in  the  work  of 
fields  and  meadows.  He  afterward  en- 
gaged in  teaching,  and  later  was  graduated 
with  honors  in  Eastman's  Commercial  Col- 
lege, in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York.  Not  de- 
siring to  follow  the  pursuit  to  which  he  had 
been  reared,  he  determined  to  enter  the  mer- 
cantile field,  and  in  1885  established  a  store 
in  the  town  of  Levering,  but  this  did  not 
prove  entirely  congenial,  and  in  1890  he  took 
up  the  study  of  law  in  Mount  Vernon,  in 
the  oflice  of  Hon.  Frank  V.  Owen,  who  di- 
rected his  reading  until  his  admission  to  the 
bar  in  1892.  He  has  since  engaged  in  prac- 
tice and  has  secured  a  very  desirable  client- 
age. In  1883  he  was  appointed  a  member 
of  the  board  of  electors  of  the  county  and 
was  twice  reappointed,  while  in  1896  he  was 
elected  probate  judge  for  a  term  of  three 
years.  Since  his  retirement  from  that  of- 
fice he  has  given  his  attention  to  his  private 
practice,  which  often  partakes  of  a  very  im- 
portant character,  as  he  is  retained  as  coun- 
sel on  many  of  the  prominent  cases  tried  in 
the  courts  of  the  district. 

The  Judge  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Byrdess  E.  Leiter,  of  Shelby,  Ohio,  a 
daughter  of  Captain  C.  P.  Leiter,  who  was 
mayor  of  that  city  for  a  number  of  years. 
Their  union  has  been  blessed  with  six  chil- 
dren: Howard  A.,  Russell  Edgar,  John 
Collin,  Nina  May,  Carlos  and  Ada.  In  his 
political  views  Judge  Levering  is  a  Demo- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


133 


crat  and  attended  the  national  convention 
of  his  party  as  a  delegate  in  1900.  He  is  a 
valued  representative  of  several  fraternal  or- 
ganizations, belongs  to  the  lodge,  chapter, 
council  and  commandery  in  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity, and  of  the  last  named  has  served  as 
eminent  commander.  He  also  belongs  to 
the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  a  past  chancellor 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge ;  past  grand 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  has  filled  many  other  offices  in  these 
organizations.  Like  his  ancestors,  he  has 
ever  taken  a  deep  interest  in  everything  per- 
taining to  the  progress  and  welfare  of  the 
county,  and  is  an  honored  representative  of 
a  worthy  pioneer  family. 


W.  B.  MERRIMAN,  M.  D. 

For  twenty-two  years  Dr.  Merriman  has 
been  engaged  in  practice  in  Centerburg  as  a 
skillful  physician  and  surgeon.  He  was  born 
in  Bloomfield  township,  Monroe  county, 
Ohio,  March  20,  1854,  and  is  the  youngest 
of  three  children  of  James  and  Emily 
(Carey)  Merriman.  The  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  New  York,  although  his  parents 
were  Vermont  people.  He  learned  the  car- 
penter's trade  in  early  life  and  when  a 
young  man  came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  married  and  began  his  do- 
mestic life.  Later,  however,  he  removed  to 
Morrow  county,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-eight  years.  His  wife,  who'  was  a  na- 
tive of  Knox  county  and  here  spent  her  girl- 
hood days,  long  survived  her  husband,  and 
passed  away  when  in  her  eighty-first  year. 

Dr.  Merriman  pursued  his  literary  edu- 
cation in  the  district  and  graded  schools  of 
Knox    county,  and    having    determined    to 


make  the  practice  of  medicine  his  life  work 
began  reading  the  usual  text-books  on  that 
subject  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Russell, 
of  Mount  Vernon.  Subsequently  he  entered 
the  Long  Island  College  Hospital,  in  Brook- 
lyn, where  he  was  graduated  with  the  class 
of  1878,  and  for  one  year  thereafter  he 
practiced  in  Marengo,  Morrow  county.  The 
following  year,  1879,  he  came  to  Center- 
burg, where  he  has  since  remained,  his  ar- 
rival antedating  that  of  any  other  physician 
now  actively  connected  with  the  profession 
here.  He  has  long  maintained  a  position 
among  the  leading-  and  capable  members  of 
the  medical  fraternity  in  the  county,  for  he 
has  always  kept  in  touch  with  the  advanced 
thought  and  investigation  which  is  daily  car- 
rying on  the  work  toward  perfection. 

In  1878  Dr.  Merriman  married  Miss  Eva 
Bird,  a  daughter  of  Milton  and  Melissa 
(Robertson)  Bird,  who  came  to  Knox  coun- 
ty from  Connecticut  about  1823.  Here  Mrs. 
Merriman  was  born,  and  by  her  marriage 
she  became  the  mother  of  one  daughter, 
Zola  B.,  who  is  now  a  graduate  nurse  of 
the  Grant  Hospital  in  Columbus.  In  his  po- 
litical views  the  Doctor  is  a  stanch  Repub- 
lican, believing  that  the  principles  of  that 
party  are  most  conducive  to  the  welfare  of 
the  nation.  He  does  all  he  can  to  secure 
Republican  successes,  but  has  never  been  an 
aspirant  for  political  honors.  He  belongs 
to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  in 
Centerburg  and  to  the  American  Medical 
Society,  through  which  means  he  keeps 
abreast  with  the  advancement  made  in  the 
science  of  medicine.  Close  study,  earnest 
investigation  and  a  sympathetic  spirit  have 
enabled  him  to  carry  on  his  work  most  suc- 
cessfully, both  from  a  financial  and  profes- 
sional standpoint. 


134 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


LEVI  BUTTLES. 

Levi  Buttles  is  descended  from  an  old 
and  highly  respected  family,  the  name  be- 
ing formerly  spelled  Buttolph.  His  pater- 
nal great-grandfather,  John  Buttolph,  was 
born  in  1724  and  was  a  captain  in  the  Co- 
lonial army  during  the  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence. In  the  latter  half  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  two  of  his  sons,  Jonathan  and 
Levi  Buttolph,  lived  in  Granby,  Connecticut. 
The  former's  eldest  son,  Elihu,  moved  to 
Massachusetts,  and  while  a  member  of  the 
legislature  of  that  state  had  the  spelling  of 
the  name  changed  from  Buttolph  to  Buttles. 
This  change  seems  to  have  been  made  to 
conform  to  a  corruption  of  the  pronuncia- 
tion which  had  been  slowly  taking  place, 
transforming  Buttolph  to  Buttol,  then  to 
Buttle,  and  finally,  by  a  very  common  change 
in  the  history  of  names,  adding  an  "s." 
The  younger  son,  Levi  Buttolph,  became 
the  grandfather  of  our  subject.  He  was 
born  in  1763,  at  Granby,  and  his  death  oc- 
curred in  1805.  He  removed  to  Worthing- 
ton,  Ohio,  in  1803,  where  he  became  one  of 
the  early  pioneers,  and  there  he  purchased 
land  of  the  Connecticut  Land  Company. 

Unto  Levi  and  Sarah  Buttolph  was  born 
in  Granby,  September  6,  1791,  a  son,  who 
was  named  Roderick.  After  the  removal  of 
the  family  to  Worthington,  Ohio,  in  the 
autumn  of  1803  the  son  was  baptized,  and 
at  that  time,  disliking  the  name  of  Roderick, 
and  having  always  been  called  by  the  nick- 
name "Rory,"  he  prefixed  an  "A"  to  the  lat- 
ter and  chose  Arora  as  his  baptismal  name. 
At  the  same  time  he  adopted  the  spelling  of 
the  family  name  which  his  cousin  Elihu  had 
introduced,  and  thenceforth  signed  his  name 
Arora  Buttles.     But  the  four  sons  of-  our 


subject  have  decided,  with  the  full  approval 
of  their  father  and  mother,  to  restore  the 
old  spelling  of  the  family  name.  Their  chief 
reason  for  the  change  is  that  the  name 
Buttolph,  in  the  earlier  English  records  also 
spelled  Botolf,  Botolph  and  Butolph,  is  the 
historic  surname,  and  that  the  modern  cor- 
ruption is  greatly  regretted  by  most  if  not 
all  members  of  the  family.  Two  or  three 
branches  of  the  family  in  America  have 
steadily  preserved  the  old  spelling  of  the 
name.  Some  of  the  branches  which  adopted 
the  corrupted  spelling  have  died  out  in  the 
male  line,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  change 
now  made  will  materially  aid  in  the  effort  to 
discard  entirely  the  spelling  Buttles  in  all 
branches  of  the  family  of  Buttolph. 

Judge  Arora  Buttles  married  Harriet 
Kilbourne,  a  daughter  of  Colonel  James  Kil- 
bourne  and  Lucy,  nee  Fitch,  the  daughter 
of  John  Fitch,  the  inventor  of  the  steamboat. 
He  is  a  representative  of  Thomas  Kilbourne, 
one  of  the  original  settlers  at  Wether sfield, 
Connecticut.  Colonel  James  Kilbourne  set- 
tled at  Worthington,  Ohio,  in  1803  ;  was  one 
of  the  most  prominent  men  of  early  days 
of  Ohio;  was  a  member  of  congress  and 
identified  with  all  the  early  public  life  of  this 
state.  He  came  to  Scioto  county  and  was 
instrumental  in  settling  a  colony  at  JVorth- 
ington.  He  also  founded  Bucyrus,  Ohio, 
and  his  grandson,  Colonel  James  Kilbourne, 
was  lately  a  Democratic  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor. 

Judge  Arora  Buttles,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  became  a  prominent  contractor  and 
builder  in  Columbus,  and  was  also  engaged 
in  the  pork-packing  business  in  that  city, 
and  there  served  the  public  as  probate  judge 
for  a  time.  In  1847  li^  removed  to  Cleve- 
land, where  he  was  engaged  in  the  wholesale 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


lumber  business  until  he  retired  from  the 
active  duties  of  life  and  removed  to  Gambler, 
where  he  spent  his  remaining  days,  passing 
away  on  the  2d  of  April,  1864. 

Levi  Buttles,  whose  name  introduces  this 
review,  was  graduated  at  Kenyon  College 
in  the  class  of  1847,  and  on  putting  aside 
his  text-books  to  engage  in  the  active  duties 
of  life  he  entered  upon  a  business  life  with 
his  father  in  Cleveland.  In  1858,  in  com- 
pany with  S.  N.  Sanford,  he  assumed  con- 
trol of  the  Cleveland  Female  Seminary,  be- 
coming one  of  its  proprietors,  and  so  contin- 
uing until  1880.  Three  years  later  he  became 
identified  with  the  Cleveland  Window  Glass 
Company  as  its  vice-president,  this  concern 
being  one  oi  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  that 
city.  He  was  a  wide-awake,  energetic  busi- 
ness man  of  known  reliability,  and  carried 
forward  to  successful  completion  whatever 
he  undertook;  but  his  life's  labors  were 
ended  in  death  on  the  nth  of  June,  1891. 
For  many  years  prior  to  his  death  he  made 
his  home  in  Gambler,  and  was  a  prominent 
figure  in  the  social  life  of  the  town.  He  was 
chosen  by  the  alumni  a  trustee  of  Kenyon 
College,  so  serving  from  1873  to  1881,  and 
as  such  superintended  the  construction  of 
Delano  Hall. 

On  the  i8th  of  August,  1858,  occurred 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Buttles  and  Miss  Jane 
E.  Wright,  who  was  born  in  Portage  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Aaron  K.  and 
Helen  M.  (Ashmun)  Wright.  She  was  a 
cousin  of  Senator  Ashmun,  of  Massachu- 
setts, who'  nominated  Lincoln  for  the  presi- 
dency in  the  Chicago  convention.  His  grand- 
father, Dr.  Amos  C.  Wright,  was  an  early 
pioneer  of  Tallmadge,  Ohio,  his  eldest  diild 
having  been  the  first  white  child  born  in  that 
township.    The  Doctor  was  also  one  of  the 


first  trustees  of  Western  Reserve  College, 
and  for  many  years  he  was  a  prominent  and 
well  known  physician  of  his  locality.  The 
union  of  our  subject  and  wife  was  blessed 
with  six  children.  The  eldest,  Edwin  K.  But- 
tolph,  received  his  education  in  Hobart  Col- 
lege, and  in  1881  he  went  to  China  as  a 
missionary,  and  after  his  arrival  there  he 
became  an  employe  of  Tong-Kin-Sin,  an 
electrician  in  the  first  coal  mine  opened  in 
that  country.  While  there  Mr.  Buttolph 
built  with  liis  own  hands  a  telephone  line 
of  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  length,, 
which  was  the  first  telephone  ever  built  in 
China.  He  returned  to-  accept  the  chair  of 
Chemistry  in  Hobart  College,  resigning  to 
engage  in  silver  mining  in  Colorado,  being 
an  expert  assayer  there  and  manager  of 
mines  in  Equador,  South  America.  The  sec- 
ond child  in  order  of  birth,  Mary,  is  the 
widow  of  Wolcott  E.  Newberry  and  a  resi- 
dent of"  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  Helen 
A.  Buttles  is  at  home.  Alfred  passed  away 
in  death  in  April,  1891,  aged  twenty-three 
years.  He,  too,  was  educated  in  Hobart 
College.  Guy  H.  Buttolph  graduated  in 
Kenyon  College  with  the  class  of  1892,  and 
is  now  mining  in  Equador,  South  America. 
Henry  W.,  also  a  graduate  of  Kenyon  Col- 
lege, in  same  class  and  who  was  valedictor- 
ian, is  now  actuary  of  the  Inter  State  Life 
Assurance  Company,  of  Indianapolis,  In- 
diana. Mr.  Buttles,  of  this  review,  was  a 
Knight  Templar  Mason,  and  for  many  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  in 
whicli  he  was  a  very  active  worker.  He  was 
treasurer  of  the  diocese  of  Ohio  from  1873 
till  his  death.  This  was  one  of  the  most  es- 
sential and  responsible  ofSices  of  the  diocese. 
His  widow  and  family  are  also  identified 
with  the  same  religious  denomination. 


136 


A    CEiNTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


JOSIAH  AI.  PUMPHREY. 

Tlie  late  Josiah  AI.  Pumphrey,  of  Clay 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  was  one 
whose  life  in  many  ways  demonstrated  the 
value  of  high  character  and  should  serve 
as  a  guide  to  young  men  who  would  succeed 
along  legitimate  lines.  Air.  Pumphrey  was 
born  in  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  June  4,  1821, 
and  died  at  his  home  in  Clay  township  De- 
cember 16,  1894.  His  parents  were  John 
and  Martha  (Milligan)  Pumphrey,  and  he 
was  their  third  child  in  order  of  nativit}'. 
He  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native 
county  and  came  to  Knox  county  in  1846. 
He  was  married,  February  24,  1849,  in  Clay 
township  and  removed  to  Hartford,  Licking 
county,  where  he  remained  seven  years.  Re- 
turning thence  to  Clay  township,  he  fol- 
lowed farming  there  until  his  death.  He 
was  a  member  and  for  many  years  an  elder 
of  the  Christian  church,  of  which  he  was 
an  active  supporter  and  to  whose  Sunday- 
school  work  he  was  much  devoted.  In  pol- 
itics he  was  a  Republican  from  the  organiza- 
tion of  that  party.  He  served  a  short  time 
during  the  Civil  war  as  a  soldier  in  the 
Union  army,  and  was  an  honored  member  of 
Emerson  Lpdyke  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  of  Martinsburg.  In  many  direc- 
tions he  was  prominent  in  local  afifairs,  and 
he  was  well  known  throughout  the  county. 

Mr.  Pumphrey  married  Miss  Celia  Ross, 
who  was  born  in  Clay  township,  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  July  4,  1830,  a  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel and  Charity  (Montgomery)  Ross,  he  a 
native  of  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania.  Mr. 
Ross  was  married  in  his  native  county,  and 
was  a  pioneer  settler  in  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
coming  here  about  1820,  and  locating  in  the 
woods  in  Qay  township,  where  he  built  a 


log  cabin.  This  was  afterward  replaced  by 
a  better  residence,  and  he  cleared  land  and 
improved  a  fine  farm,  on  which  he  lived  un- 
til his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  in 
his  seventy-sixth  year.  The  old  homestead 
is  still  owned  by  Mrs.  Pumphrey.  He  Avas 
a  devoted  member  of  the  Christian  church, 
and  in  politics  was  first  a  Whig  and  later  a 
Republican.  His  father,  Timothy  Ross,  was 
a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  Charity  Mont- 
gomery, who  became  the  wife  of  Samuel 
Ross,  was  born  and  reared  in  Maryland  and 
lived  to  the  age  of  fifty-four  years.  She 
bore  her  husband  three  sons  and  three 
daughters,  five  of  whom  grew  to  manhood 
and  womanhood  and  of  whom  Mrs.  Pumph- 
rey, the  eldest  daughter,  was  the  second  in 
order  of  birth. 

Mrs.  Pumphrey  was  reared  in  Clay  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  though  she 
attended  other  schools  in  the  township  of 
a  later  date  she  has  a  vivid  recollection  of 
the  old  log  school  houses  in  which  the  prim- 
itive subscription  schools  were  taught.  She 
was  married  to  Mr.  Pumphrey  September 
24,  1849,  s"d  has  a  son,  Ross  Pumphrey, 
a  farmer  in  Clay  township.  He  married 
Emma  Caldwell,  and  their  children  are 
Leigh,  Merton,  Fay  and  Celia  A.  Mrs. 
Pumphrey  has  three  great-grandsons,  Fran- 
cis Burdette  and  Horace  Pumphrey  and  an 
infant.  One  of  her  sisters,  Mrs.  Nancy  In- 
gersoll,  lives  in  Bates  county,  Missouri. 
Airs.  Pumphrey  is  the  only  representative  of 
the  family  in  Knox  county. 

WILSON  S.  KERR. 

One  of  the  leading  representatives  of  ag- 
ricultural and  commercial  interests  in 
Frederickstown  and  Knox  countv  is  Wilson 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


137 


S.  Kerr.  "Through  struggles  to  success"  is 
the  epitome  of  his  business  record.  He  is 
possessed  of  marked  determination  and  un- 
faltering purpose  and  has  steadily  advanced, 
brooking  no  obstacles  that  could  be  over- 
come by  unfaltering  industry  and  capable 
management.  He  has  spent  his  entire  life 
in  this  county,  his  birth  occurring  in  Pleas- 
ant township  on  the  nth  of  May,  1839. 

His  father,  Benjamin  Kerr,  who  was  a 
farmer  of  Pleasant  township,  was  born  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  Scioto  river  in  what  is 
now  Franklin  county,  Ohio,  April  14,  1800. 
In  1803  he  was  brought  by  his  parents  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  a  location  being  made 
in  Fredericktown,  where  he  remained  with 
his  parents  until  1827,  when  he  assisted  in 
the  erection  of  a  mill,  now  gone  to  decay, 
known  as  the  Kerr  or  Miller  mill.  In  about 
1826  he  sank  the  first  well  in  Gambier,  on 
the  public  square,  for  Bishop  Chase.  On 
the  30th  of  October,  1827,  Mr.  Kerr  mar- 
ried Rosa  Elliott,  a  daughter  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  (Eaton)  Elliott,  who  came  to 
Knox  county  in  1806.  This  union  resulted 
in  the  birth  of  seven  children :  Sarah  A., 
John  B.,  William  E.,  Eliza  J.,  Chambers, 
Wilson  S.  and  Rose  E.  After  his  marriage 
Mr.  Kerr  settled  on  a  homestead  farm  in 
Pleasant  township  and  remained  there  until 
1838,  when  he  sold  the  mill  property  and 
bought  a  farm  in  the  same  township,  and  for 
four  score  years  milling  and  farming  was  his 
principal  vocation.  He  was  truly  a  remark- 
able man,  upright  and  honest,  and  in  all  his 
dealings  he  proved  to  the  world  he  was  in 
all  respects  a  true  man. 

In  the  district  schools  Mr.  Kerr,  of  this 
revie^v,  pursued  his  education  until  twenty 
years  of  age,  and  in  the  meantime  had  be- 
come familiar  with  all  departments  of  farm 


work,  being  employed  in  the  fields  on  his 
father's  farm  through  the  periods  of  vaca- 
tion. The  occupation  to'  which  he  was 
reared  he  has  made  his  life  work,  and  to-day 
he  is  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  acres  of  valuable  land,  which  is  rich  and 
arable  and  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 
He  carries  on  general  farming  and  in  return 
for  his  care  and  cultivation  the  well  tilled 
fields  yield  to  him  rich  harvests.  His  meth- 
ods are  modem  and  progressive  and  every- 
thing about  his  place  indicates  his  careful 
supervision.  In  addition  to  farming  he  is 
interested  in  the  business  of  the  exportation 
of  hard  wood  lumber  and  logs,  to  which 
much  of  his  attention  has  been  devoted  for 
twenty  years.  His  trade  has  reached  credit- 
able proportions  and  thereby  materially  in- 
creases his  general  income. 

On  the  27th  of  January,  1877,  Mr.  Kerr 
was  united  in  marriage  tO'  Miss  Hattie  Cog- 
gins,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Louisa 
(Marquind)  Coggins,  by  whom  he  had 
two  children :  Sarah,  who  married  Royal 
Bartlett,  and  Hattie,  the  wife  of  Elcer  Sli- 
ger.  The  mother  died  in  1882  and  Mr. 
Kerr  was  again  married,  his  second  union 
being  with  Miss  Hattie  Hogle,  a  daughter 
of  Langdon  and  Amanda  (Disney)  Hogle. 
Four  children  grace  this  union :  Bunyan, 
Helen,  Hazel  and  Dewitt,  all  of  whom  are 
still  under  the  parental  roof. 

Many  years  ago  Mr.  Kerr  became  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  being  initiated  into  Mount  Vernon 
Lodge,  but  later  he  transferred  his  member- 
ship to  Fredericktown  Lodge,  with  which 
he  is  now  connected.  He  exercises  his  right 
of  franchise  in  support  of  the  men  and  meas- 
ures of  the  Democracy,  and  in  1900  he  was 
elected  trustee  of  Morris  township,  in  which 


138 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


capacity  he  is  now  serving.  He  is  one  of 
the  best-known  men  of  his  community  and 
enjoys  the  unqualified  regard  of  his  fellow 
citizens.  He  is  straightforward  and  reliable 
in  business,  faithful  in  public  office  and 
meets  his  fraternal  obligations  with  con- 
scientious earnestness.  Industry  is  the  foun- 
dation upon  which  he  has  secured  a  success 
which  now  classes  him  among  the  substantial 
citizens  of  this  portion  of  Knox  county. 


LURESTON  WILLARD  DENNIS. 

L.  W.  Dennis  is  associated  with  both 
the  industrial  and  agricultural  interests  of 
Berlin  township,  where  he  is  now  following 
carpentering  and  farming.  He  was  born 
in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  March  12,  1862, 
and  is  one  of  ten  children  born  to  William 
H.  and  Lydia  (Perkins)  Dennis.  His  fa- 
ther was  a  native  of  Maryland  and  when 
young  became  a  resident  of  Washington 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  reared  and  ed- 
ucated. There  he  learned  the  millwright's 
trade,  which  he  followed  through  much  of 
his  active  life.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Perkins,  who  was 
bom  in  Ohio.  Both  died  in  Guernsey  coun- 
ty, and  of  their  children  one  died  in  in- 
fancy, while  nine  reached  mature  years. 

Abram  Dennis,  the  father  of  William 
was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  in  1865 
came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  where  he  died 
in  i8/'4,  aged  eighty-two  years.  His  four 
children  were  William  H.,  Martha,  Laura 
and  Philip  H.  Martha  was  never  married, 
and  her  death  occurred  when  she  was  about 
fifty  years  of  age.  She  had  been  a  teacher 
for  some  years,  ever  taking  a  deep  interest 
in  education,  and  much  of  her  life  was  de- 


voted to  those  she  loved.  Laura  also  has 
never  married,  and  although  well  advanced 
in  years  she  is  still  living  with  her  nephew, 
whose  tender  years  were  passed  under  her 
personal  direction.  Philip  is  a  retired  citi- 
zen of  Maumee,  Ohio,  and  his  daughter 
Ella  is  now  and  has  been  for  nearly  twenty 
years  our  subject's  housekeeper. 

The  parents  of  Lureston  W.  Dennis,  of 
this  review,  passed  from  life  but  a  few 
weeks  apart,  and  soon  after  their  death  he 
became  a  member  of  his  grandfather's  fam- 
ily in  Knox  county,  being  then  but  a  lad 
of  four  years.  When  he  was  twelve  years 
of  age  his  grandfather  also  died,  and  he 
was  then  carefully  trained  by  his  two  aunts, 
but  the  future  they  planned  for  him  was 
somewhat  changed  by  the  death  of  the  elder 
aunt,  who  passed  away  about  one  year  after 
her  father's  death.  She  had  decided  that  he 
should  have  a  thorough  collegiate  training, 
an  idea  which  was  abandoned  when  she  was 
taken  from  the  family.  Inheriting  a  natural 
tendency  toward  mechanics,  Mr.  Dennis 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  an  occupation 
to  which  much  of  his  energy  has  since  been 
devoted,  though  he  also  looks  after  the  work 
of  the  farm.  Ever  maintaining  a  full  appre- 
ciation for  those  whose  love  had  done  so 
much  for  him,  he  resolved  to  assume  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  caring  for  them  when  age 
had  made  him  their  natural  protector. 

In  his  social  relations  Mr.  Dennis  is  a 
member  of  Theall  Lodge,  No.  170,  F.  &  A. 
'M.,  at  Fredericktown,  also  of  Clinton  Chap- 
ter, R.  A.  M.,  and  Clinton  Commandery, 
both  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  of  the  Supreme 
Council,  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite 
in  Cincinnati.  He  devotes  considerable  at- 
tention to  lodge  work,  and  attends  the  state 
and  national  conclaves  of  Knight  Templars. 


OF    KNOX   COUNTY,    OHIO. 


139 


PROFESSOR  EDWARD  CLOSE  BEN- 
SON, D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

The  name  above  is  that  of  one  who  has 
long  been  identified  with  education  in  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  and  who  in  his  work  year  by 
year  has  exempHfied  all  those  abilities  and 
attainments  which  have  made  educators  hon- 
ored in  all  parts  of  our  country.  Professor 
Edward  C.  Benson  was  born  in  Thorne, 
Yorkshire,  England,  April  26,  1823,  a  son 
of  John  Benson,  a  barrister,  who  was  in 
turn  the  son  of  a  barrister.  Soon  after  the 
birth  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  John  Ben- 
son moved  to  a  country  residence,  and  in 
1832  he  brought  his  family  to  the  United 
States,  settling  at  Peoria,  Illinois.  He  was 
killed  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  gun, 
and  his  wife,  nee  Harriet  Coupland,  started 
to  return  to  England,  but  at  New  York  sick- 
ened and  died  and  was  buried  in  old  Trinity 
churchyard. 

In  1840  Edward  C.  Benson  entered 
Knox  College,  Galesburg,  Illinois.  After 
the  completion  oi  his  freshman  course  he 
taught  one  term  oi  public  school  and  then 
went  to  the  parish  of  West  Baton  Rouge, 
Louisiana,  where  he  became  a  private  tutor 
in  the  families  of  large  planters.  In  1846 
he  entered  Kenyon  College,  at  Gambier,  in 
accordance  with  plans  long  held,  in  which 
institution  he  was  duly  graduated  in  1849 
with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  and  as  the  valedic- 
torian of  his  class.  In  1850-51  he  was  Latin 
tutor  in  his  alma  mater  and  during  this  time 
began  his  theolo(]'icaI  studies  in  Baxley  Hall 
and  in  1853  was  ordained  a  deacon  Ijy 
Bishop  Mcllvaine.  Rev.  Dr.  Alfred  Blake 
established  Harcourt  School  ni  1851,  in 
connection  with  whom  E.  C.  Benson  labored 
successfullv  for  sixteen  vears.     In  1867  he 


was,  without  solicitation  or  knowledge  on 
his  part,  elected  a  member  of  the  faculty  of" 
Kenyon  College,  at  Gam.bier,  in  which  he 
has  served  as  Professor  of  Latin  and  lan- 
guage and  literature.  Filling  this  chair  with 
honor  for  thirty-one  years,  owing  to  ill- 
health  he  resigned  and  was  made  professor 
emeritus. 

September  26,  1854,  Professor  Benson 
was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  White,  daughter 
of  Mardenbro  White,  who  came  to  Gam- 
bier with  Bishop  Mcllvaine  from  Brooklyn, 
New  York,  in  1832,  and  had  charge  of  the 
college  store,  and  who  in  1843  ^^'''s  elected 
agent  and  treasurer  of  the  college,  a  position 
he  filled  almost  continuously  until  his  death 
in  1882. 

Politically  Mr.  Benson  has  been  a  stanch 
Republican  since  the  organization  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  His  labors  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  cause  of  education  have  been 
unceasing  and  always  efifectual,  he  ever  be- 
ing in  the  van  in  every  movement  intended 
to  promote  mental,  moral  and  spiritual 
growth. 


JOSEPH  LEEDY. 

Throughout  his  active  business  career 
Joseph  Leedy  was  prominently  connected 
with  the  agricultural  interest  of  Berlin 
township  and  as  an  honorable  business  man 
and  public-spirited  citizen  he  was  widely 
known  in  Knox  county,  commanding  uni- 
form respect  by  his  sterling  worth. 

Mr.  Leedy  was  born  in  Pennsyl\-ania, 
December  5,  1825,  a  son  of  Abram  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Zook)  Leedy,  who  with  their  family 
emigrated  westward  to  Ohio  when  our  sub- 
ject was  but  four  years  old.     They  located 


140 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


on  a  farm  on  which  Ankenytown  has  since 
been  built,  and  there  the  Httle  son  grew  and 
developed  into  manhood,  pursuing  liis  edu- 
cation in  tlie  district  schools,  while  in  the 
summer  months  he  gained  practical  experi- 
ence in  farming  from  work  in  the  fields.  He 
was  thus  well  prepared  to  carry  on  agricul- 
tural pursuits  on  his  own  account  when  he 
married  and  began  life  for  himself.  He  be- 
came the  O'wner  of  a  valuable  property,  the 
well  tilled  fields  annually  returning  to  him 
golden  harvests.  Upon  the  place  were  seen 
substantial  barns  and  outbuildings,  good 
grades  of  stock,  the  latest  improved  machin- 
ery and  well  kept  fences  which  divided  the 
place  into  fields  of  convenient  size.  Every- 
thing about  the  place  indicated  the  supervi- 
sion of  a  progressive  owner. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  1854,  Mr.  Leedy 
married  Miss  Elizabeth  Keiser,  who  was 
bom  in  Richland  county,  Ohio,  May  12, 
1834,  daughter  of  Jacob  Keiser,  who  was  a 
native  of  the  Keystone  state  and  became  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Richland  county.  He 
wedded  Elizabeth  Worst  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  twelve  children,  of  whom  Mrs. 
Leedy  was  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth.  Her 
girlhood  days  were  spent  in  the  county  of 
her  nativity  and  she  was  trained  to  the  duties 
of  the  household.  At  their  marriage  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Leedy  took  up  their  abode  upon 
the  farm  which  is  now  the  home  of  the 
widow,  and  eleven  children  were  there  born 
unto  them :  Nancy,  the  wife  of  Seth  Con- 
rad; George;  Sylvester;  Josephus ;  Caleb; 
Dennis;  Sada,  the  wife  of  C.  V.  Humph- 
rey; Cerelda,  the  wife  of  W.  H.  Cocanour; 
Lenora,  the  wife  of  John  Fry ;  William  ;  and 
Cora  May,  the  wife  of  V.  A.  Merrin.  All 
are  married  and  the  family  circle  yet  re- 
mains unbroken  as  far  as  the  children  are 


concerned,  but  the  husband  and  father  was 
called  away,  leaving  behind  him  a  large  cir- 
cle of  sorrowing  friends  as  well  as  his  im- 
mediate family,  among  whom  his  place  can 
never  be  filled. 

Mr.  Leedy  was  very  reliable  in  all  busi- 
ness transactions,  and  his  honesty,  as  well 
as  his  industry  and  perseverance,  was  a 
salient  feature  in  his  career.  His  success  as 
a  farmer  enabled  him  to  leave  his  family  in 
comfortable  financial  circumstances.  In  his 
political  views  he  was  a  Democrat,  but  never 
aspired  to  office.  He  held  membership  in 
the  Progressive  Brethren  church  and  his 
wife  also  belongs  there.  She  is  still  living 
upon  the  home  farm,  which  comprises  three 
hundred  acres  of  the  rich  land  of  Knox 
county.  The  family  is  one  of  prominence 
in  the  community  and  well  deserves  mention 
among  the  representative  citizens  of  this 
portion  of  Ohio. 


CAPTAIN  HENRY  CLAY  HARRIS. 

The  well  known  farmer  of  Miller  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose  name  is 
above  has  an  enviable  record  as  a  soldier 
and  as  a  judicial  officer,  and  his  standing  as 
a  citizen  is  deservedly  high.  Therefore 
some  account  of  his  creditable  career  is  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  the  completeness  of 
this  work. 

Henry  Clay  Harris,  son  of  Emor  and 
Sarah  (Sweet)  Harris,  was  born  in  the  house 
in  which  he  now  lives,  one  of  the  oldest  brick 
residences  in  the  county,  September  29, 
1832,  and  it  may  be  said  that  he  practically 
has  had  no  business  except  farming  during 
all  his  active  years.    His  father,  Emor  Har- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


t4i 


ris,  was  born  in  Rhode  Island,  in  1792,  and 
early  connected  himself  with  the  minute  men 
of  his  day  and  locality,  who  were  ever  ready 
to  act  instantly  in  defense  of  our  then  young 
nation.  The  fact  that  there  is  nO'  record 
that  he  was  ever  called  into  active  service 
does  not  dim  the  luster  of  his  patriotic  inten- 
tions. He  emigrated  to  Ohio  in  18 16  and 
located  on  land  now  owned  by  H.  Grant 
Harris,  which  he  secured  as  military  land. 
He  was  a  man  of  influence  in  the  com- 
munity. He  married,  in  1813  Miss  Sarah 
Sweet,  who  bore  him  eight  children :  Caro- 
line born  in  Rhode  Island;  and  Emor  B. ; 
Sarah,  May,  Bessie,  Lydia,  Emily  and  Henry 
Clay,  born  in  Ohio..  Of  this  family  of  chil- 
dren only  Emor  B.,  of  Red  Oak,  Iowa,  Car- 
oline of  Galena,  Delaware  county,  Ohio,  and 
Henry  Clay  are  living.  Sarah  (Sweet) 
Harris  was  a  daughter  of  Philip  and  An- 
fillis  (Brown)  Sweet,  natives  of  Rhode  Is- 
land, and  her  father  was  a  soldier  in  the 
war  for  independence. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  charter 
member  of  Syramore  Valley  Lodge,  No. 
553,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and,  having  passed  all  its  chairs,  is  one  of  its 
honored  past  noble  grands.  He  has  been 
once  elected  treasurer  of  Miller  township 
and  has  by  successive  re-election  filled  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  four  suc- 
cessive terms.  His  military  career  began 
early  in  1864,  when  he  recruited  a  company 
for  the  United  States'  service  in  Pleasant 
and  Miller  townships,  which  became  Com- 
pany C,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-second 
Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  and  of 
which  he  was  elected  captain  at  its  organia- 
tion,  May  13,  1864.  The  organization  was 
mustered  into  the  service  at  Camp  Chase, 
Columbus,  and  at  once  left  for  Fort  Lvon 


and  was  under  fire  almost  daily  in  Grant's 
line  advancing  on  Richmond  until  it  was 
mustered  out  at  Camp  Chase  in  September, 
1864.  He  is  a  member  of  Fry  Post,  No. 
706. 

When  twenty- four  years  of  age  Captain 
Harris  married  Miss  Dorcas  Gates,  who  has 
borne  him  four  children:  Mary  W.,  Cyrus 
G.,  Carrie  A.  and  Grant.  Mary  W.  mar- 
ried A.  E.  Lockwood  and  died  in  1891. 
Carrie  A.  died  in  1893,  tinmarried.  Cyrus 
G.  is  a  teacher  of  Brandon.  Grant  Harris 
was  born  April  21,  1867,  and  was  married 
December  7,  1892,  to  Miss  Ella  Barker,  a 
daughter  of  George  W.  and  Rachal 
(Moody)  Barker,  of  Brandon.  Five  years 
ago  he  bought  his  father's  old  homestead, 
which  was  secured  by  his  grandfather  in 
18 16.  It  comprises  sixty-seven  acres  and 
devoted  to  general  farming.  Is  a  Repub- 
lican in  his  political  views.  On  his  twenty- 
first  birthday  he  was  made  an  Odd  Fellow, 
and  has  passed  the  chairs  of  Sycamore 
Lodge,  and  Lyman  lodge  of  Rebeccas  was 
organized  under  his  jurisdiction  as  Noble 
Grand. 


LYMAN  W.  ARMENTROUT,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Lyman  Wright  Armentrout,  who  is 
successfully  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine in  Mount  Vernon,  where  he  located  in 
1887,  was  born  in  Pike  township,  Knox 
county,  September  14,  1844,  and  traces  his 
ancestry  back  to  Germany,  where  occurred 
the  birth  of  Henry  Armentrout,  his  great- 
grandfather. Leaving  Germany  he  crossed 
the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world  and  took  up 
his  abode  in  Virginia.  When  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  was  inaugurated  he  espoused 


142 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


the  cause  of  the  colonies  and  fought  for  the 
freedom  of  the  American  people.  Philip 
Armentrout,  the  grandfather  of  the  Doctor, 
was  born  in  the  Old  Dominion  and  after  ar- 
riving at  years  of  maturity  wedded  Mary 
Fluke,  also  a  native  of  that  state  and  of 
Holland  lineage.  Emigrating  westward 
they  settled  upon  a  farm  in  Pike  township, 
Knox  coimty,  Ohio,  where  the  wife  died  at 
the  age  of  fifty  years,  while  Philip  Armen- 
trout passed  away  in  1859,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-five.  Among  their  children 
was  Simon  Armentrout.  the  Doctor's  father. 
He  was  born  in  Rockingham  county,  Vir- 
ginia, in  1810,  and  was  brought  to  this 
county  by  his  parents  when  only  seven  years 
of  age.  Amid  the  wild  scenes  of  frontier 
life  he  was  reared  and  upon  the  home  farm 
he  early  became  familiar  with  all  the  duties 
incident  to  the  life  of  the  agriculturist.  He 
married  Rachel  Phillips,  .  whose  paternal 
grandfather  was  a  native  of  England  and 
sailed  thence  to  the  United  States,  taking 
up  his  abode  in  Maryland.  He  married  a 
Miss  Frizzel  and  among  their  children  was 
William  Phillips,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Ar- 
mentrout. He  was  about  eleven  years  of 
age  when  with  his  parents  he  removed  from 
Maryland  to  Cadiz,  Ohio.  He  was  married 
in  Knox  county  to  Miss  Polly  Walker,  who 
also  came  from  Alaryland. 

Unto  the  Doctor's  parents  were  born  the 
following  children ;  William,  a  resident  of 
Mansfield,  Richland  county,  Ohio;  George 
W.,  a  resident  farmer  of  Shelbyville,  Mis- 
souri; Simon,  who  resides  near  Valparaiso, 
Indiana;  Olive,  wife  of  Cyrus  Hunter,  of 
Pike  township,  Knox  county;  Samantha, 
the  wife  of  George  Mahaflfy,  formerly  of 
Knox  county,  but  now  of  Shelbyville,  Mis- 
souri;  and  Lucinda,  the  wife  of  John  Mc- 


Ginley,  who  was  at  one  time  a  resident  of 
Knox  county  but  is  now  living  near  Val- 
paraiso, Indiana. 

Dr.  Armentrout,  the  other  member  of 
this  family,  was  reared  upon  his  father's 
farm  in  the  usual  manner  of  farmer  lads  of 
the  period,  his  time  being  devoted  to  the 
work  of  the  fields,  to  the  duties  of  the  school 
room  and  the  pleasures  of  the  playground. 
After  leaving  the  common  schools  he  deter- 
mined to  make  the  practice  of  medicine  his 
life  work  and  continued  his  education  in  the 
University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  for 
a  time,  completing  his  professional  prepara- 
tion in  the  Detroit  Medical  College,  in 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1871.  He  then 
located  for  practice  in  Belleville,  Richland 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  until  1882, 
when  he  took  up  his  abode  upon  a  farm  in 
this  county,  remaining  there  until  1887, 
when  he  removed  to  Mount  Vernon.  Since 
his  graduation  he  has  given  his  attention 
entirely  to  his  professional  duties  with  the 
result  that  he  is  well  qualified  for  his  work 
and  receives  a  large  and  lucrative  patronage. 

The  Doctor  married  Miss  Maria  Tulloss, 
a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Tulloss, 
of  Morgan  township,  who  has  devoted  much 
of  his  life  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  as  a 
preacher  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  was 
born  in  this  county.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Armen- 
trout now  have  two  children,  L.  Vance  and 
Lina.  The  son  is  a  graduate  of  the  high 
school  of  Mount  Vernon  and  spent  two  years 
in  the  Ohio  State  University.  In  1898  he 
enlisted  for  service  in  the  Spanish-American 
war  in  Company  L,  Fourth  Ohio  Regiment, 
which  company  was  formed  in  Alount  Ver- 
non, and  saw  service  in  Porto  Rico,  He  is 
now  reading  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Wait, 
of  ]Mount  \^ernon. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


143 


In  his  political  views  the  Doctor  is  a 
Democrat,  but  has  never  aspired  to  public 
office.  Socially  he  is  connected  with  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  and  his  religious  faith  is 
indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  Baptist 
church.  Not  only  in  Mount  Vernon  but  in 
the  adjoining  country  the  Doctor  is  known 
as  a  skillful  physician  and  surgeon,  one  who 
has  given  years  of  thought  and  painstaking 
preparation  to  his  profession  and  who  is 
thoroughly  qualified  for  his  practice.  Na- 
ture endowed  himi  with  the  qualities  neces- 
sary for  success  as  a  practitioner,  for  he  is 
sympathetic,  patient  and  thoughtful,  and  in 
the  hour  of  extremity  cool  and  courageous. 
Though  his  practice  engrosses  much  of  his 
attention  he  still  finds  time  to  keep  posted 
upon  the  practical  details  in  the  improve- 
ments of  the  science  and  avail  himself  o-f 
every  development  in  remedial  agencies,  thus 
maintaining  his  place  among  the  leading 
physicians  and  surgeons  of  his  native 
county. 


JAMES  McGINLEY 


Throughout  his  entire  life  James  McGin- 
ley  has  resided  in  Knox  county,  and  his 
career  has  been  honorable  and  straightfor- 
ward, a  fact  which  is  indicated  by  the  friend- 
ship which  is  accorded  him  by  those  who 
have  known  hlim  from  eajriy  youth.  He 
lives  on  section  19,  Pike  township,  and  it 
was  upon  this  farm  that  he  was  born  Jan- 
uary 16,  i846..  His  father,  Robert  McGin- 
ley,  was  a  native  of  Westmoreland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  born  in  1804.  The  ancestry 
is  traced  back  to  the  Emerald  Isle  for  the 
great-grandfather  of  our  subject,  RobertMc- 


Ginley,  was  a  native  of  that  land  and  after 
crossing  the  broad  Atlantic  and  residing 
for  some  time  in  the  east,  he  became  one  of 
the  pioneer  settlers  of  Knox  county.  His 
son,  Samuel  McGinley,  the  grandfather  of 
our  subject,  spent  his  entire  life  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. When  a  young  man  Robert  McGin- 
ley came  to  this  county  and  was  here  mar- 
ried in  1827  to  Eve  Lindsey.  Her  mother 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Reed  and  her  father 
was  a  colonel  under  General  Washington  in 
the  Revolutionary  War.  He  was  a  most 
valiant  officer,  and  on  the  8th  of  October, 
1901,  in  commemoration  of  his  able  services, 
a  monument  was  unveiled  to  him  at  Morris- 
town,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  McGinley  was  a 
native  of  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  was  brought  by  her  parents  to  this  coun- 
ty when  only  six  years  of  age.  Her  birth 
occurred  in  1806.  The  parents  of  our  sub- 
ject located  upon  the  farm  where  James  Mc- 
Ginley now  resides,  the  tract  of  land  having 
been  entered  from  the  government  by  Rob- 
ert Strain.  There  the  father  engaged  in 
farming  throughout  his  remaining  days. 
His  death  occurred  in  1867,  while  his  wife, 
who  long  survived  him,  passed  away  at  the 
age  of  eighty-six  years.  She  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  Lindsey,  a  native  of  the  Key- 
stone state,  who  on  casting  his  lot  with  the 
early  settlers  of  Knox  county  established  his 
home  in  Pike  township,  where  Mrs.  McGin- 
ley was  reared.  By  her  marriage  she  be- 
came the  mother  of  ten  children,  three 
daughters  and  seven  sons,  of  whom  all  but 
one  reached  mature  years.  One  son  died  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  years. 

In  taking  up  the  pt^rsonal  history  of 
James  McGinley  we  present  to  our  readers 
the  life  record  of  one  who  is  widely  and 
favorably  known  in  Knox  county.     He  was 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


the  youngest  of  ten  children  in  his  parents' 
family,  and  was  reared  upon  the  farm  where 
he  still  resides.  In  the  midst  of  his  farm 
duties  he  was  allowed  time  in  which  to  at- 
tend the  district  schools,  and  thus  he  became 
familiar  with  the  work  of  the  fields  and  with 
the  English  branches  of  learning,  which 
fitted  him  to  cope  with  the  practical  and  re- 
sponsible duties  of  life.  After  his  marriage 
he  brought  his  bride  to  the  old  homestead, 
where  he  has  since  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing. Here  he  owns  ninety-four  acres  of 
good  land,  and  in  connection  with  the  culti- 
vation of  cereals  best  adapted  to>  this  climate 
he  is  extensively  and  successfully  engaged  in 
the  breeding  and  raising  of  draft  horses. 

On  the  27th  of  December,  1867,  Mr.  Mc- 
Ginley  wedded  Elizabeth  Braddock,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Joshua  and  Margaret  (Durbin)  Brad- 
dock,  who  were  early  settlers  in  Knox  coun- 
ty, and  who'  has  had  a  family  of  seven  chil- 
dren, Mrs.  McGinley  being  the  fourth  in 
order  of  birth.  She  was  born  in  Morris 
township,  October  30,  1846,  and  by  her  mar- 
riage she  has  become  the  mother  of  four 
children,  namely:  Kit  Estella,  of  Freder- 
icktown;  Walter,  who  is  engaged  in 
the  provision  business  in  Fredericktown ; 
Pearl,  who  is  the  wife  of  Howard 
Huntsberger,  a  teacher  of  the  same  place, 
and  Rollin  B.,  who  is  teaching  in  the  home 
district  school.  Mr.  McGinley  and  his  fam- 
ily occupy  a  prominent  position  in  social 
circles  and  he  has  been  honored  with  public 
oiificcs,  serving  both  as  trustee  of  the  town- 
ship and  as  justice  of  the  peace,  occupying 
the  latter  position  for  nine  years.  He  was 
also  nominee  at  one  time  for  sheriff  on  the 
Democrat  ticket.  Socially  he  is  identified 
with  Barthollow  Lodge,  No.  692,  I.  O.  O. 
F.,  which  he  joined  on  its  organization  and 


in  which  he  has  filled  all  the  offices,  taking 
an  active  part  in  its  work  and  exemplify- 
ing in  his  life  its  helpful  and  beneficent  prin- 
ciples. He  also  is  identified  with  North 
Liberty  Tent,  No.  256,  K.  O.  T.  M.  In  pub- 
lic and  private  life  his  many  estimable  char- 
acteristics have  gained  for  him  the  confi- 
dence, regard  and  friendship  of  his  fellow 
men,  and  as  one  of.  the  leading  and  influen- 
tial citizens  of  Pike  township  he  well  de- 
serves mention  in  the  history  of  his  native 
count}'. 


SAMUEL  T.  VANNATTA.     ' 

Samuel  T.  Vannatta^  who  is  extensively 
engaged  in  the  garden  seed  business,  was 
born  in  New  Jersey  in  1835.  His  maternal 
grandfather  came  to  this  state  from  War- 
ren coimty,  New  Jersey,  where  he  became 
a  wealthy  and  influential  citizen,  and  his 
death  occurred  in  Miller  township,  Knox 
county,  in  1863,  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine 
years.  His  father  was  a  Revolutionary 
hero.  Peter  Vannatta,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  wasi  born  in  Warren  county,  New 
Jersey,  and  his  death  occurred  in  1836.  One 
of  his  brothers,  Aaron  Vannatta,  left  home 
and  was  never, heard  from  afterward,  and 
his  sister,  Mrs.  Philip  Case,  is  a  resident  of 
New  Jersey.  Her  husband  is  the  oldest 
commission  merchant  in  New  York  city,  be- 
ing now  eighty-two  years  of  age,  but  he 
still  attends  to  his  business  interests.  The 
mother  of  our  subject  was  called  to  her  final 
rest  in  1882,  having  reached  the  seventy- 
third  milestone  on  the  journey  of  life.  She 
was  an  active  worker  in  the  Christian  church 
and  was  loved  and  honored  for  her  many 
noble  characteristics. 


o/'^t^^^Z^. 


<:a-<j<>->^  ^^^/A^i^ 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


145 


Samuel  T.  Vannatta,  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  review,  came  with  his  mother 
to  this  localit}'  in  1841,  locating-  on  a  farm 
in  Miller  township,  and  the  educational  ad- 
vantages which  he  enjoyed  in  his  youth, 
were  those  afforded  by  the  common  schools 
of  the  neighborhood.  After  laying  aside 
his  text-books  preparatory  to  embarking  on 
an  active  business  career  he  engaged  in 
farming  on  land  belonging  to  his  grand- 
father, Philip  Weller,  and  after  remaining 
there  for  a  time  he  removed  to  the  farm  pur- 
chased by  himself  and  mother.  In  1895  he 
abandoned  the  tilling  of  the  soil  and  removed 
to  South  Vernon,  Clinton  township.  In 
1888  he  was  elected  one  of  the  county  com- 
missioners, having  been  re-elected  tO'  that 
position  in  .1892,  and  during  both  terms  he 
served  as  president  of  the  board.  While  fill- 
ing that  responsible  position  he  was  instru- 
mental in  securing  the  erection  of  the  via- 
duct at  the  foot  of  Main  street,  and 
many  other  needed  improvements  were 
added  during  his  incumbency.  For  nine 
years  he  served  as  trustee  of  Miller 
township  and  for  one  term  was  land 
appraiser  and  for  two  terms  appraiser 
of  personal  property.  Although  he  does 
not  engage  actively  in  farm  labor,  Mr. 
Vannatta  is  a  large  land  owner,  having  five 
hundred  acres  in  Miller  township,  which  is 
improved)  with  excellent  buildings  and  is 
under  a  fine  state  of  cultivation,  and  also 
has  a  farm  in  Monroe  township.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  valuable  property  he  owns  resi- 
dence property  in  South  Vernon,  Dayton 
and  Findlay. 

The  year  1862  witnessed  the  marriage 
of  Mr.  Vannatta  and  Miss  Lovina  Hawkins, 
of  Mount  Liberty,  the  eldest  daughter  of 
Isaac   Hawkins,   a  prominent   stock   dealer 


and  wealthy  farmer  of  Knox  county.  He 
came  to  this  locality  fromi  Rockingham 
county,  Virginia,  in  a  very  early  day,  and 
he  has  now  reached  the  ripe  old  age  of 
eighty  years.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Hudles- 
ton  before  her  marriage,  and  was  also  from 
Rockingham  county,  Virginia.  Three  chil- 
dren have  blessed  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Vannatta.  The  eldest,  F.  A.  Vannatta,  is  a 
successful  farmer  of  Miller  township.  He 
married  Miss  Belle  West,  a  daughter  of  Jay 
West,  also  of  Miller  township,  and  they 
have  three  children — Blanche,  Samuel  and 
Charles.  The  second  son,  C.  O.  Vannatta, 
resides  on  the  old  home  in  Miller  township. 
He  married  Miss  Maud  Sperry,  a  daughter 
of  Newton  Sperry,  of  Miller  township,  and 
they  also  have  three  children — Olive,  Enos 
and  Anna.  The  only  daughter  of  the  fam- 
ily, Emeline.,  is  nowi  the  wife  of  Calvin 
Forey,  of  Pleasant  township,  Knox  county, 
and  they  have  one  child,  Isabelle.  In  his 
social  relations  Mr.  Vannatta  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  politically  he 
casts  his  ballot  in  favor  of  the  men  and 
measures  of  the  Republican  party. 


LEVI  GRUBB. 

Levi  Grubb  was  born  in  Pike  township 
April  14,  1843,  and  died  on  the  14th  of 
July,  1 90 1.  He  always  resided  in  Knox 
county  and  his  many  excellencies  of  char- 
acter won  for  him  the  trust  and  respect  of 
his  fellow  men.  He  was  reared  in  the  place 
of  his  nativity  and  during  his  youth  became 
familiar  with  farm  work  in  its  various  de- 
partments. The  public  schools  afiforded 
him  his    educational    privileges    and  when 


146 


A    CENTENNIAL    EIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


young  he  also  learned  the  carpenter's  trade, 
his  knowledge  of  this  business  proving  a 
value  to  him  as  he  carried  on  his  work  in 
later  life,  enabling  him  to  keep  everything 
about  his  place  in  excellent  repair.  In  his 
farming  he  was  progressive,  practical  and 
enterprising,  and  yearly  his  labors  brought 
to  him  a  good  income. 

February  i,  1871,  Mr.  Grubb  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Hannah  Cole,  a  native 
of  Knox  county,  born  June  i,  1854.  Her 
father,  Isaac  Cole,  was  a  native  of  Connecti- 
cut and  when  a  young  man  came  tO'  Ohio, 
where  he  met  and  married  Mrs.  Rachel 
Brown,  who  was  also  reared  in  Knox  coun- 
ty, her  people  being  early  settlers  here.  Mrs, 
Grubb  spent  her  girlhood  days  in  Berlin 
township  and  there  obtained  her  education. 
She  was  only  seventeen  years  of  age  when 
she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  "  to  him 
whose  name  introduces  this  review.  They 
became  the  parents  of  three  children  :  Nettie, 
the  wife  O'f  Wilson  Yanger,  a  business  man 
of  Bellville,  Ohio,  and  they  have  one  child, 
Paul ;  Bertie,  the  wife  of  John  Spohn,  a 
resident  farmer  of  Berlin  township,  and  op- 
erating the  home  farm;  and  Clarence,  who 
is  living  with  his  mother.  She  is  the  owner 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  acres  of 
good  land,  and  to  its  improvement  she  gives 
her  attention,  supervising  the  work  which 
annually  results  in  good  harvests.  She  is  a 
most  estimable  lady  and  her  circle  of  friends 
is  almost  co-extensive  with  her  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances. Mr.  Grubb  was  a  prominent 
and  influential  citizen.  In  his  business  meth- 
ods he  was  straightforward  and  honorable. 
He  belonged  to  the  Grange,  gave  his  po- 
litical support  to  the  Democracy,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  German  Baptist  church. 
One  ef  his  marked  characteristics  was  his 


fidelity  to  principle,  and  in  all  life's  relations 
he  commanded  the  warm  regard  and  con- 
fidence of  his  fellow  men. 


BENJAMIN  L.  GRIFFITH. 

A  valuable  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  in  Pike  township  is  the  property 
of  Benjamin  L.  Griffith,  one  of  the  worthy 
citizens  that  Pennsylvania  has  furnished  to 
the  Buckeye  state.  He  was  born  in  Ches- 
ter county,  October  19,  1839,  alnd  is  of 
Welch  lineage.  His  parental  grandfather 
was  Abel  Griffith  and  the  father  of  our 
subject  was  Morris  Griffith,  the  latter  also 
a  native  of  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  by  occupation  a  carpenter.  In  1855  he 
came  with  his  family  to  Ohio,  locating  in 
Wayne  county,  but  after  a  year's  residence 
removed  to  Pike  township,  Knox  county, 
settling  upon  the  farm  which  is  now  the 
home  of  our  subject  and  which  he  made  his 
place  of  residence  until  his  death.  He  had 
passed  the  seventy-eighth  milestone  on  life's 
journey  when  called  to  his  final  rest.  In 
politics  he  was  a  stanch  Republican,  and  his 
religious  faith  was  indicated  by  his  member- 
ship in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church. 
His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Elizabeth  Sparr,  was  born  in  Chester  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  and  there  remained  until 
with  her  husband  she  came  to  Ohio,  where 
she  died  in  her  eighty-seventh  year.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Frederick  Sparr,  who 
was  of  German  lineage.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Griffith  were  born  three  sons,  of  whom 
our  subject  is  the  eldest,  the  second,  Nathan, 
is  now  deceased,  while  ^^'illiam  M.  resides 
four  miles  south  of  Mansfield,  Ohio. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


147 


Benjamin  L.  Griffith  is  now  the  only  liv- 
ing representative  of  the  family  in  Knox 
county.  He  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age 
when  his  parents  came  tO'  this  locality.  He 
had  previously  attended  school  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  in  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  and  here 
he  continued  his  education  in  the  schools  of 
Pike  township.  Upon  the  home  farm  he  be- 
came familiar  with  all  the  work  of  an  agri- 
culturist and  remained  with  his  parents  until 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  but  in  the  fall  of 
1864  he  left  home,  going  to  Whiteside  coun- 
ty, Illinois,  where  he  remained  from  the  ist 
of  September  of  that  year  until  September, 
1S65.  Through  the  eleven  succeeding  years 
he  resided  in  Knox  county,  and  in  1866 
again  went  to  the  Prairie  state,  where  he 
worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade;  later  he  re- 
moved to  Iowa,  s'pending  about  three  years 
in  Tama  and  Benton  counties,  where  he  fol- 
lowed farming  and  threshing,  and  was  also 
identified  wath  the  building  interests  of  those 
localities.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period 
he  returned  to  Ohio  and  located  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  lives,  but  his  residence  here 
has  not  been  continuous,  for  once  more  he 
returned  to  Whiteside  county,  Illinois,  where 
he  spent  five  years.  Since  1875,  however, 
he  has  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  the 
improvement  of  the  old  farm  homestead  and 
now  has  a  valuable  tract  of  land  comprising 
a  quarter  section.  He  follows  general  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising  and  his  place  is  an  in- 
dication that  his  efforts  are  meeting  with 
prosperity. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  1867,  Mr.  Grif- 
fith Avedded  Rachel  Hiner,  who  was  born  in 
Ashland  county,  Ohio,  February  17,  1844, 
and  is  a  daughter  of  Leonard  and  Mary 
(Spahr)  Hiner,  who  were  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  former  born  in  Lancaster  coun- 


ty and  the  latter  in  Chester  county.  They 
were  married  in  the  Keystone  state,  and  af- 
terward removed  to  Wayne  county,  Ohio, 
subsequently  to  Ashland  county.  In  their 
family  were  five  daughters  and  two  sons, 
Mrs.  Griffith  being  the  fifth  child  and  the 
fourth  daughter.  She  was  reared  in  Mer- 
cer county,  Pennsylvania,  until  four  years 
of  age,  after  which  she  spent  seven  years  in 
Whiteside  county,  Illinois,  and  then  went  to 
Benton  county,  Iowa,  where  she  gave  .her 
hand  in  marriage  to  our  subject.  They 
have  two  sons,  William  M.,  who  wedded 
Grace  Banks,  by  whom  he  has  a  daughter, 
Annie  I.,  and  Calvin  Jay  who  married  Villa 
O'Brien.  They  also  have  a  daughter,  Flor- 
ence L. 

On  questions  of  national  importance  Mr. 
Griffith  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  but  at  local 
elections  he  considers  only  the  capability  of 
the  candidate  and  feels  himself  not  bound 
by  party  ties.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  is  serv- 
ing as  class-leader.  He  takes  an  active  part 
and  contributes  liberally  to  its  support  and 
does  all  in  his  power  for  the  promotion  of 
the  cause.  There  is  much  in  his  career  that 
is  commendable,  including  loyalty  in  citi- 
enship,  truthworthiness  in  business  and  hon- 
or in  all  the  relations  of  private  life. 


MAJOR  NATHANIEL  CRITCHFIELD. 

Major  Nathaniel  Critchfield,  one  of  the 
prominent  early  settlers  of  Knox  county,  an 
ex-soldier  of  the  Civil  war  and  at  all  times 
a  loyal  citizen,  is  numbered  among  the  lead- 
ing farmers  of  his  locality.  He  is  a  native 
son  of  Howard  township,  his  birth  having 
here  occurred  on  the  25th  of  February,  1834, 


148 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


and  he  is  of  German  descent.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  Nathaniel  Critchfield,  was  a  na- 
tive of  the  state  of  Maryland,  but  in  a  very 
early  day  he  came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
entering  eight  hundred  acres  of  land  in 
Howard  township,  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  passing  away  in  death  at 
a  ripe  old  age.  He  became  a  very  prominent 
man  in  his  locality,  and  for  many  years  he 
held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  The 
father  of  our  subject,  Benjamin  Critchfield, 
was  also  a  native  of  Maryland,  but  when  on- 
ly seven  years  of  age  he  was  brought  by  his 
parents  to  the  Buckeye  state.  After  his  mar- 
riage he  located  on  a  farm  in  Howard  town- 
ship, where  he  followed  farming  and  black- 
smithing  for  many  years.  His  life's  labors 
were  ended  in  death  when  he  had  reached 
the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  In  early  life 
he  gave  his  political  support  to  the  Democ- 
racy, but  after  the  organization  of  the  Re- 
publican party  he  joined  its  ranks,  voting  for 
Abraham  Lincoln. 

Mr.  Critchfield  was  married  in  Howard 
township,  Knox  county,  to  Mary  Welker, 
who  also  claimed  Maryland  as  the  state  of 
her  nativity,  as  did  her  father, .  Abraham 
Welker,  and  the  family  was  of  German  de- 
scent. Unto  this  worthy  couple  were:  born 
nine  children,  but  only  two  of  the  number 
grew  to  mature  years.  The  mother  was 
called  to  her  final  rest  when  she  had  reached 
the  age  of  eighty-two  years. 

Nathaniel  Critchfield,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  review,  was  reared  to  manhood  on 
his  father's  farm  in  this  locality,  and  the  ear- 
ly educational  advantages  which  he  enjoyed 
were  those  afforded  by  the  primitive  schools 
of  the  neighborhood,  which  he  was  only  per- 
mitted to  attend  during  a  few  months  of  the 
year.     Later,  however,  he  attended  a  select 


school  in  Mount  Vernon,  which  was  taught 
by  R.  R.  Sloan.  In  1856,  when  a  young 
man,  he  undertook  the  long  and  tedious  jour- 
ney across  the  plains,  but  after  reaching 
Iowa  the  company  of  wdiich  he  was  a  mem- 
ber disbanded,  and  he  then  returned  to  his 
old  home  in  Knox  county.  The  year  fol- 
lowing his  marriage  the  Civil  war  was  in- 
augurated, and  on  the  17th  of  October,  1861, 
Mr.  Critchfield  became  a  member  of  Com- 
pany A,  Sixty-fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, entering  the  ranks  as  a  private,  but 
he  soon  received  his  commission  as  principal 
musician  of  his  regiment,  serving  in  that 
capacity  for  seventeen  months.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  which 
continued  for  eight  days,  was  in  the  battle 
of  Shiloh  and  also'  took  part  in  many  of  the 
other  important  engagements  of  the  war.  On 
three  occasions  he  was  slightly  wounded, 
but  never  seriously,  and  after  the  close  of 
hostilities,  with  an  honorable  military  career, 
he  returned  to  his  home  to  again  take  up  the 
duties  of  civil  life.  He  has  ever  since  de- 
voted his  attention  to  general  farming.  He 
follows  advanced  and  progressive  methods 
of  agriculture,  and  his  place  is  neat  and 
thrifty  in  appearance,  owing  to  his  diligent 
labors  and  careful  supervision. 

In  October,  i860,  occurred  the  marriage 
of  Mr.  Critchfield  and  Miss  Ellen  E.  Cassil, 
who  was  born  in  Howard  township,  October 
14,  1836,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Matilda 
(Critchfield)  Cassil.  The  father  came  from 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  to  the 
Buckeye  state  in  a  very  early  day,  locating 
in  Howard  township,  Knox  county,  and 
here  his  remaining  days  were  passed,  dy- 
ing at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  The 
mother  was  a  native  daughter  of  Knox  coun- 
ty, and  she  reached  the  ripe  old  age  of  eigh- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


ty-four  years.  She  was  an  earnest  Christian 
woman,  and  was  a  worthy  and  valued  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  church,  in  which  Mr. 
Critchfield  also  holds  membership.  Mr.  and 
]\Irs.  Cassil  became  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren, two  daughters  and  a  son,  as  follows: 
Mrs.  Critchfield;  James  R.,  deceased;  and 
Nancy  J.,  who  has  also  passed  to  her  final 
rest.  The  union  of  our  subject  and  wife 
was  blessed  with  two  children,  but  both  have 
now  passed  away, — Johanna  B.,  whO'  died 
in  her  twenty-sixth  year,  and  one  who  died 
in  infancy.  Mr.  Critchfield  is  a  member  of 
LeRoy  Baker  Post,  No.  150,  G.  A.  R.,  of 
Danville,  in  which  he  has  held  many  of  the 
offices,  and  for  thirty-five  years  he  has  also 
been  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  his 
membership  being  with  the  lodge  at  Dan- 
ville. 


JOHN  C.  DURBIN. 

Many  years  have  passed  since  John  C. 
Durbin  became  a  resident  of  Knox  county 
and  he  has  therefore  witnessed  much  of  its 
development  and  progress  as  it  emerged 
from  a  frontier  settlement  to  a  co^mty  rank- 
ing with  the  best  in  this  great  common- 
wealth. He  feels  just  pride  in  what  has 
been  accomplished  and  in  the  work  of  im- 
provement he  has  borne  his  part  as  a  loyal 
and  progressive  citizen. 

Mr.  Durbin  was  born  in  Allegheny 
county,  Pennsylvania,  April  27,  1839,  and 
is  the  fifth  son  of  ten  children  born  to  John 
A.  and  Margaret  (Logston)  Durbin.  He 
was  only  five  years  of  age  when  the  parents 
came  with  their  children  to  Knox  county 
and  there  amid  the  wild  scenes  of  pioneer 


life  was  reared.  He  lived  in  Howard  town- 
ship and  attended  the  district  schools  of  the 
neighborhood,  and  in  the  summer  months 
worked  in  the  fields  planting,  plowing  and 
harvesting.  Here  he  resided  until  his  mar- 
riage, which  occurred  on  the  20th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1863,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being 
Miss  Margaret  Colopy,  a  native  of  Coshoc- 
ton county,  Ohio,  born  August  22,  1838, 
her  parents  being  Thomas  and  Margaret 
(Bowman)  Colopy.  They  were  natives  of 
Ireland,  were  married  in  the  Emerald  Isle 
and  one  child  was  born  to  them  ere  their 
emigration  to  America.  Mrs.  Durbin  is 
their  fourth  daughter  and  seventh  child. 
She  was  reared  in  Linton  township,  Cochoc- 
ton  county,  the  days  of  her  girlhood  being 
passed  as  that  of  most  of  the  girls  of  that 
period.  She  attended  the  public  schools  and 
became  familiar  with  the  different  depart- 
ments of  housework  under  the  direction  of 
her  mother. 

At  the  time  of  their  marriage,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Durbin  began  their  domestic  life  in 
Howard  township,  Knox  county,  and  upon 
their  first  farm  remained  for  six  years,  after 
which  they  spent  thirteen  years  upon  an- 
other farm  in  the  same  township.  They 
next  removed,  in  March,  1883,  to  the  farm 
which  has  since  been  their  home.  Here  Mr. 
Durbin  owns  and  operates  ninety-seven  acres 
of  land,  all  of  which  is  under  cultivation. 
There  are  good  buildings,  including  a  new 
and  commodious  barn,  upon  the  place,  and 
the  farm  is  divided  intO'  fields  of  various 
sizes  by  well  kept  fences.  His  is  one  of  the 
most  attractive  homes  in  the  county.  The 
cultivation  bestowed  upon  his  land  results  in 
securing  for  him  rich  harvests  and  annually 
his  income  increases. 


50 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Durbin  have  been 
born  eight  children  :  Thomas  B.,  who  mar- 
ried Mary  Jane  Durbin,  a  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin Durbin;  Francis  J.,  who  wedded 
Agatha  Swingle,  a  daughter  of  Christ 
Swingle;  Mary  C,  the  wife  of  Clement  E. 
Durbin;  Elizabeth  B.,  the  wife  of  Joseph 
Grassbaugh ;  Peter,  Ludjer,  Raymond  and 
Sylvester,  all  of  whom  are  still  with  their 
parents.  The  family  circle  is  yet  unbroken 
by  the  hand  of  death  and  the  youngest  child 
is  now  twenty-one  years  of  age.  All  have 
been  well  educated  and  three  of  the  numl^er 
have  been  successful  school  teachers,  while 
one  of  the  sons  is  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  in  Mount  Vernon.  The  family  are 
all  communicants  of  St.  Luke's  Catholic 
church  at  Danville  and  Mr.  Durbin  took  an 
active  part  in  erecting  the  new  house  of 
worship  there.  He  has  usually  given  his  po- 
litical support  to  the  Democracy  but  has 
never  sought  or  desired  political  offices,  be- 
lieving that  it  would  interfere  with  his  busi- 
ness whereby  he  is  winning  a  comfortable 
competence. 


OTIS  SEARL. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  one  to 
whorn  the  words  of  the  poet  are  particularly 
applicable :  "A  frrend  to  truth,  of  soul  sin- 
cere ;  in  action  thoughtful  and  in  honor  clear, 
who  broke  no  promise,  served  no  private 
end;  who  gained  no  title  and  who  lost  no 
friend."  He  was  ennobled  by  himself  and 
the  approval  of  his  own  conscience,  and  in 
his  death,  on  the  12th  of  February,  1901, 
Knox  county  lost  one  of  its  honored  pioneer 
citizens  and  one  whose  life  has  been  one  of 
signal    usefulness    and    honest    worth.     He 


came  to  the  county  in  an  early  day  and  lo- 
cated on  the  farm,  where  his  death  occurred, 
having  made  that  place  his  home  for  more 
than  half  a  century,  and  having  ever  com- 
manded the  unequivocal  confidence  and  es- 
teem of  the  community.  It  is  signally  con- 
sistent that  a  memorial  tribute  to  him  be  in- 
corporated in  this  publication. 

Mr.  Searl  was  born  in  the  town  of  Low- 
ville,  Levi-is  county,  New  York,  on  the  28th 
of  March,  1819,  and  was  reared  on  a  farm 
in  that  immediate  locality.  In  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  county  he  secured  that 
preliminary  training  which  so  effectively 
served  as  the  basis  of  that  broad  fund  of 
knowledge  which  he  later  gained  by  person- 
al application  extensive  and  judicious  read- 
ing and  by  long  association  with  the  prac- 
tical affairs  of  life.  He  was  a  man  of  dis- 
tinct individuality  and  marked  intellectual 
strength,  and  these  attributes  naturally  gave 
him  an  influential  position  in  the  commun- 
ity. In  the  year  1849  M*"-  Searl  came  to 
Ohio  and  located  in  Wayne  township,  Knox 
county,  on  the  farm  which  thereafter  con- 
tinued to  be  his  abiding  place  until  death 
placed  its  seal  upon  his  mortal  lips.  He 
first  purchased  a  tract  of  fifty  acres,  and  he 
later  added  to  the  same  until  he  at  one  time 
owned  an  estate  of  nearly  two  hundred  acres. 
Upon  the  homestead  he  made  improvements 
of  admirable  order,  including  the  fine  resi- 
dence where  his  widow  still  resides,  making 
the  farm  one  of  the  best  in  this  section  of 
the  state.  He  developed  the  farm  from 
what  was  practically  a  sylvan  wild,  and  here 
gave  his  attention  to  general  agricul- 
ture, stock-raising  and  dairying",  having 
had  a  well-equipped  cheese  dairy,  in 
which  he  continued  to  manufacture  the 
highest   grade   of  products   for   more   than 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  was  a 
man  of  initiative  power,  and  thus  ever 
took  advantage  of  new  and  improved  ap- 
pliances and  methods  in  the  conducting-  of 
his  business  enterprises,  thus  conserving  a 
success  above  the  average.  His  homestead, 
which  now  comprises  eighty  acres,  may  well 
be  pointed  out  as  a  model  farm,  and  it  will 
ever  remain  a  memorial  to  his  ability  and 
progressive  methods. 

In  his  political  adherency  Mr.  Searl  was 
stanchly  arrayed  in  suppo-rt  of  the  principles 
and  policies  of  the  Republican  party,  his  con- 
victions in  this  line  being  well  fortified,  as 
were  they  on  all  other  matters  of  import, 
and  his  eligibility  for  public  office  was  thor- 
oughly appreciated  in  the  community,  as  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  he  was  called 
upon  to  serve  as  township  trustee  and  in 
other  local  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility. 
He  passed  away  in  the  fulness  of  years  and 
well  earned  honors,  and  his  memory  will  be 
held  in  lasting  veneration  by  those  who  came 
within  the  sphere  of  his  influence.  His  com- 
plete conversion  to  the  Christian  faith  was 
an  incident  of  the  last  year  of  his  life,  in 
January,  1900.  He  also  became  a  great 
reader  of  the  Bible,  and  thus  continued  until 
his  eyesight  failed,  after  which  his  wife  con- 
tinued to  read  to  him  from  the  blessed  book. 
He  would  often  repeat  the  Lord's  prayer. 
On  account  of  feeble  health  be  never  became 
a  member  of  a  church,  and  his  last  days  were 
peacefully  passed  and  were  brightened  by 
his  deep  trust  in  his  divine  Master. 

Mr.  Searl  was  twice  married.  On  the 
6th  of  June,  1849,  Miss  Pamelia  Livingston 
became  his  wife  and  she  passed  away  on  the 
1 8th  of  October,  1891,  there  having  been  no 
children  of  this  union.  On  the  8th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1893.  was  solemnized  his  marriage  to 


Miss  Lena  Howard,  who  was  born  in  Mor- 
row county,  Ohio,  the  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Ann  Howard,  both  of  whom  now  make 
their  home  with  Mrs.  Searl,  each  being  eigh- 
ty-two years  of  age  at  the  time  of  this  writ- 
ing (March,  1902).  Mrs.  Searl  resides  on 
the  beautiful  homestead  farm,  taking  a 
prominent  part  in  the  social  life  of  the  com- 
munity and  being  held,  in  the  highest  esteem 
bv  a  large  circle  of  devoted  friends. 


JACOB  B.  MYERS. 


Among  the  worthy  citizens  that  Penn- 
sylvania has  furnished  to  Ohio  is  Jacob  Ben- 
jamin Myers,  who  for  many  years  has  car- 
ried on  general  farming  in  Knox  county, 
but  is  now  living  retired  in  Mount  Vernon, 
enjoying  a  well  merited  rest.  He  was  born 
in  Bedford  county,  of  the  Keystone  state, 
July  24,  1828,  a  son  of  Jesse  and  Eleanor 
(Louderbaugh)  Myers.  The  family  is  of 
German  lineage  and  was  founded  in  Amer- 
ica by  the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  who 
sailed  from  Germany  and  took  up  his  abode 
in  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  when  that 
region  was  just  being  opened  up  to  civiliza- 
tion. There  he  spent  his  remaining  days, 
but  his  wife  afterward  died  in  Knox  county, 
Ohio. 

Jesse  Myers,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Bedford  county,  and  after  ar- 
riving at  years  of  maturity  he  wedded  Elean- 
or Louderbaugh,  also  a  native  of  the  same 
county.  In  1837,  accompanied  by  their  fam- 
ily, they  started  westward  and  took  up  their 
abode  in  Clinton  township,  Knox  county, 
but  afterward  removed  to  Pleasant  town- 
ship, where  they  remained  until  called  to  the 


152 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


home  beyond.  The  father  passed  away  in 
1869,  but  the  mother  long  survived  him  and 
died  in  1897.  Mr.  Myers  was  a  farmer  and 
also  engaged  in  digging  wells.  He  dug 
many  of  the  early  wells  of  Alount  Vernon 
and  was  an  active  factor  in  reclaiming  the 
wild  land  for  purposes  of  civilization,  carry- 
ing on  his  farming  operations  quite  exten- 
sively. His  industry,  his  honorable  business 
methods  and  his  capable  management  made 
him  one  of  the  leading  agriculturists  of  the 
community  and  he  became  widely  and  favor- 
ably known.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Myers 
were  born  seven  children :  Mary  Ann,  the 
deceased  wife  of  Lloyd  McDonald;  Eliza- 
beth Ann,  the  wife  of  Harvey  Branyan; 
Catharine ;  Jacob,  the  subject  of  this  review  ; 
John,  who  was  the  treasurer  and  county 
recorder  of  Knox  county,  and  was  for  many 
years  very  prominent  in  public  affairs ;  Eliza, 
who  resides  in  Mount  Vernon;  and  Jesse 
F.,  who  is  foreman  in  the  paint  shops  of  the 
Cleveland,  Akron  &  Columbus  Railroad,  in 
Mount  Vernon. 

In  the  public  schools  near  his  home  Jacob 
Benjamin  Myers,  whose  name  begins  this 
record,  pursued  his  education,  and  upon  the 
home  farm  he  was  trained  to  the  work  of  the 
fields.  Like  most  young  men  when  starting 
out  upon  an  independent  career  he  desired  a 
companion  and  helpmate  for  the  journey  of 
life  and  chose  J\Iiss  Martha  Ann  Young,  the 
wedding  being  celebrated  on  the  29th  of  No- 
vember, 1855.  The  lady  was  a  daughter  of 
Reese  and  EJiza  (Gates)  Young,  and  died 
May  14,  1885.  For  his  second  wife  Mr. 
Myers  married  Margaret,  the  daughter  of 
Reuben  and  Sarah  (Good)  Dutt.  She  was 
born  April  19,  1850,  and  was  married  No- 
vember 18,  1884.  Her  father  was  a  native 
of  Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 


her  mother  was  born  in  New  Jersey.  In 
1870  they  removed  to  Marshallville,  ^^'ayne 
county,  Ohio>  and  later  went  to  Medina 
county,  this  state,  where  the  mother  died 
June  15,  1876.  Subsequently  the  father  be- 
came a  resident  of  Gibson,  Kansas,  where 
his  life's  labors  were  ended  on  the  i8th  of 
April,  1882.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine 
children :  Eliza,  deceased ;  Cortland  B., 
who  lives  in  Akron,  Ohio;  Anna,  the  widow 
of  Oscar  Carr  and  a  resident  of  Akron ; 
Sarah,  who  is  the  widow  of  Jacob  Hess  and 
makes  j-icr  home  in  Cleveland;  Margaret, 
now  Mrs.  Myers;  George,  deceased,  late  of 
Mount  Vernon;  Nathan,  who  is  a  resident 
of  Kansas;  Reuben,  who  makes  his  home 
in  Akron:  and  Mary,  the  wife  of  George 
Drisback,  of  Bangor,  Pennsylvania.  The 
father  of  this  family  was  a  blacksmith  and 
carriage-maker  and  his  life  was  one  of  in- 
dustry and  honest  toil.  For  ten  years  he 
was  postmaster  at  jlia,s  old  Pennsylvania' 
home.  His  son,  Cortland,  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Civil  war,  and  during  his  service  was 
taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  Andersonville, 
where  he  was  incarcerated  for  eighteen 
months. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Myers  are  members 
of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in 
Mount  Vernon.  Politically  Mr.  Myers  is  a 
life-long  Democrat,  and  has  served  many 
years  in  important  public  capacities. 
Throughout  the  years  of  his  active  business 
career  he  was  connected  with  agricultural  in- 
terests in  Knox  county.  He  was  only  about 
ten  years  of  age  when  brought  by  his  par- 
ents to  Ohio,  and  during  his  youth  he  shared 
with  the  family  in  many  of  the  hardships  in- 
cident to  life  on  the  frontier.  He  has  done 
much  to^vard  clearing  and  developing  his 
portion  of  the  county  and  lived  in  his  present 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


neighborhood  wiien  there  was  nothing  but  a 
great  wilderness  aU  aronnd  him,  there  being 
but  two  other  liouses  on  the  Gambier  road 
between  him  and  tlie  city,  which  then  con- 
sisted of  one  store.  In  addition  to  tlie  home 
he  also  owns  what  is  known  as  the  old  In- 
dian field,  adjoining  the  city,  npoii  which 
for  many  years  the  tribe  maintained  an  In- 
dian village.  As  the  years  have  passed  he 
has  aided  in  pushing  forward  the  wheels  of 
progress  and  his  labors  have  been  very  bene- 
ficial m  developing  this  portion  of  the  state. 
He  has  taken  just  pride  in  what  has  been 
accomplished  in  the  county  and  well  does  he 
deserve  to  be  numbered  among  its  leading 
and  influential  citizens. 


ROBERT  A.  KXOX. 


Among  the  most  competent  and  success- 
ful educators  of  central  Ohio  is  Robert  A. 
Kno.x,  who  for  a  number  of  years  has  been 
an  active  representative  of  the  schools  of 
Fredericktown.  He  was  born  in  Holmes 
connty,  Ohio,  December  lo,  1856,  and  is  a 
son  of  Christian  and  Elizabeth  (Jarvis) 
Kno.x.  On  the  paternal  side  he  is  of  Scotch 
and  Spanish  descent.  His  grandparents. 
John  and  IMary  (  Bitner)  Knox,  were  both 
natives  of  Center,  county,  Pennsylvania, 
whence  they  removed  to  Holmes  county, 
Ohio,  at  an  early  day.  the  former  bringing 
with  him  seventy-five  dollars  with  which  he 
purchased  eighty  acres  of  land.  Locating 
thereon  he  devoted  his  remaining  days  to  its 
cultivation,  making  additional  purchases  un- 
til he  was  the  owner  of  eight  hundred  acres 
of  land,  he  and  his  wife  winning  for  them- 
selves a  place  among  the  representative  pio- 


neers of  the  comnnuiitv.  Their  son.  Chris- 
tian Knox,  was  born  in  Holmes  county,  in 
February,  1829,  and  there  grew  to  man- 
hood, assisting  in  the  cultivation  of  the  fields 
from  a  youthful  age.  In  1853  he  was  mar- 
ried io  Miss  Elizabeth  Jarvis,  a  daughter  of 
John  Jarvis  and  a  granddaughter  of  John 
Jarvis.  The  latter  was  of  English  descent 
and  fought  for  the  cause  of  liberty  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  while  the  former  de- 
fended his  country's  rights  in  the  War 
of  1812.  He  was  a  native  of  Virginia  and 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation. 

Mr.  .-ind  Mrs.  Knox  resided  in  Holmes 
county  until  1865,  when  they  came  tc  this 
county,  settling  upon  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  acres  in  Morris  township. 
As  his  financial  resources  increased  he  added 
to  his  property  until  he  became  the  owner, 
of  three  hundred  and  seventy-three  acres 
of  valuable  land,  but  seventy-seven  acres  of 
this  now  belongs  to  our  subject.  He  is  an 
enterprising  farmer  whose  long  connection 
with  this  department  of  labor  has  well  quali- 
fied him  for  successfully  carrying  on  this 
work.  During  the  Civil  war  he  was  a  strong 
anti-slavery  man  and  took  an  active  part  in 
raising  funds  for  the  prosecution  of  hos- 
tilities which  were  to  result  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Union  upon  a  firmer  basis  than 
ever  before.  He  now  votes  with  the  Democ- 
racy and  has  served  as  trustee  of  his  town- 
ship. He  belongs  to  the  Christian  church, 
and  is  a  man  of  genuine  worth  of  character. 
His  wife  is  also  living  and  like  her  husband 
enjoys  the  warm  regard  of  many  friends. 
They  had  but  two  children,  Robert  A.,  of 
this  review  ;  and  Martha,  the-  wife  of  Joseph 
Hall,   of   Berlin  township. 

Mr.  Knox  of  this  review  was  surrounded 
by  the  invigorating  influence  of  nature  in  his 


154 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


youth  for  he  was  reared  upon  the  farm  and 
the  free,  untrammeled  life  brought  to  him 
a  vigorous  physique.  His  preliminary  edu- 
cation, acquired  in  the  district  schools,  was 
supplemented  by  study  in  the  high  school 
of  Fredericktown  and  by  one  term's 
attendance  at  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, at  Delaware.  Ohio.  In  1876  he 
began  teaching  in  the  district  schools  and 
was  thus  engaged  for  ten  years,  when  he  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  teacher  in  the  gramniiar 
room  of  the  schools  of  Fredericktown,  and 
has  since  sensed  in  this  capacity,  his  labors 
proving  highly  satisfactory  to  the  citizens  O'f 
the  place  as  well  as  to  the  pupils.  He  is 
particularly  thorough  in  his  instruction  and 
requires  good  work  from  his.  pupils,  realiz- 
ing that  in  their  school  days  they  are  laying 
in  habits  and  knowledge,  the  foundation  for, 
the  success  or  failure  of  their  later  lives,  so 
that  he  endeavors  to  equip  them  well  for 
subsequent  duties. 

In  June,  1880,  he  wedded  Miss  Effie  C. 
Irwin,  a  native  of  Berlin  township  and  a 
daughter  of  George  Irwin,  now  deceased. 
She  also  was  a  teacher  for  some  years.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church,  his 
wife  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  in  his 
political  views  he  is  a  stalwart  Democrat. 
Their  iiome  is  celebrated  for  its  gracious 
hospitality  and  they  are  welcomed  into  the 
circles  of  society  where  worth  and  intelli- 
gence are  the  passports. 


S.  B.  POTTER,  M.  D. 

To  minister  to  the  sick  and  suffering,  to 
carry  cheer,  sympathy  and  aid  to  those  in 
pain  and  affliction — can  a  nobler  field  of  use- 
fulness be  found  ?    Perhaps  no  one  can  quite 


fill  the  place  of  the  Christian  physician  as 
he  goes  from  home  to  home  in  a  com- 
munity, carrying  with  him  an  atmos- 
phere of  strength,  helpfulness  and  hope. 
The  loved  and  venerated  family  physician 
in  many  a  household  in  Fredericktown  and 
the  surrounding  country  is  Dr.  S.  B.  Potter, 
who  has  attained  distinction  and  wide- 
spread celebrity  for  his  skill  and  research 
during  the  forty-eight  years  of  his  practice 
here,  and  who  is  a  valued  member  of  several 
medical  associations. 

The  Doctor  was  born  in  South  Bloom- 
field,  Morrow  county,  November  7,  1828, 
one  of  the  thirteen  children  of  Lemuel  and 
Anna  (Terry)  Potter.  His  grandfather, 
Jeremiah  Potter,  was  a  native  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  at  the  time  the  colonists  at- 
tempted to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  British  op- 
pression he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  Amer- 
ican army,  and  with  his  sons,  Jeremiah  and 
Fisher,  rendered  valiant  service  for  the 
cause  of  liberty.  He  married  a  Miss  Wind- 
sor and  for  many  years  they  resided  in 
Rhode  Island,  but  in  1781,  after  the  war 
was  practically  ended,  they  removed  to 
Herkimer  county.  New  York,  where  they 
spent  their  remaining  days. 

Among  their  children  was  Lemuel  Pot- 
ter, the  Doctor's  father.  He  was  born  in 
Rhode  Island  in  1776 — the  year  in  which 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  writ- 
ten. When  the  country  became  engaged  in 
a  second  war  with  England  in  1812,  he  be- 
came a  captain  in  the  American  anny,  and 
was  stationed  at  Sackett's  Harbor.  In  Herki- 
mer county  he  was  married  to  Miss  Anna 
Terry,  and  in  1814  they  started  for  Ohio, 
spending  one  year  in  the  town  of  Clinton, 
Knox  county,  after  which  they  removed  to 
Sparta.     There  the  mother's  death  occurred 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


155 


in  1849,  ^"d  ii^  1862  the  father  removed 
to  a  farm  three  miles  south  of  Frederick- 
town,  where  he  died  in  i860.  He  made 
farming  his  Hfe  occupation  and  acquired  a 
comfortable  competence.  In  politics  he  was 
a  Democrat,  and  socially  he  was  connected 
with  the  Masonic  fraternity.  He  belonged 
to  the  Baptist  church,  in  which  he  held  of- 
fice for  a  number  of  years,  and  he  was  ever 
a  man  of  the  highest  respectability.  Of  his 
thirteen  children,  four  yet  survive:  T.  R., 
who  is  a  practicing  physician  of  Oletha,  Kan- 
sas; J.  W.,  a  resident  of  Licking  county, 
Ohio:  Samantha  J-,  the  widow  of  Seaman 
Wright,  of  Wayne  township;  and  the  Doc- 
tor, who  is  the  youngest. 

Dr.  Potter,  of  this  review,  was  reared  in 
his  parents'  home,  and  in  the  common 
schools  beg"an  his  education,  which  was  con- 
tinued in  Corlett's  Academy  in  Frederick- 
town,  and  in  Norwalk  College.  The  ele- 
mental strength  of  his  character  was  early 
manifest  in  the  fact  that  he  paid  his  own 
way  through  college.  He  began  teaching  at 
the  age  of  twenty  and  thus  he  laid  the  foun- 
dation for  his  later  advancement  in  profes- 
sional life.  In  1850  he  began  reading  med- 
icine with  his  brother,  Dr.  T.  R.  Potter,  and 
in  the  winter  season  he  taught  school  in  or- 
der to  meet  his  expenses.  In  the  fall  of  1852 
he  entered  the  Jefiferson  Medical  College,  at 
Philadelpjliia,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
1854.  and  in  the  same  spring  he  opened  an 
office  in  Fredericktown,  wiiere  for  forty- 
eight  years  he  has  continuously  engaged  in 
practice,  his  patronage  being  large  and 
Ir.crative.  An  innate  desire  to-  do  his  best, 
to  reach  jterfection  as  near  as  possible,  has 
ever  been  manifest  in  his  professional  ca- 
reer, making  him  a  student  of  the  books  and 
magazines    that  set    forth    the    discoveries 


made  each  year  and  giving  the  advanced 
thought  and  improved  methods  which  have 
led  to  the  present  proficiency  and  skill  of 
medical  practitioners.  In  1872  he  took  a 
post-graduate  course  in  Jefferson  Medical 
College. 

On  the  1st  of  April,  1855,  Dr.  Potter 
married  Miss  Ellen  B.  Leonard,  a  native  of 
Knox  county  and  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Byron 
Leonard,  who  was  at  one  time  the  repre- 
sentative from  his  district  in  the  state  legis- 
lature and  later  was  warden  of  the  state 
penitentiary.  He  was  a  very  influential  and 
prominent  citizen  and  was  widely  and  fa- 
■\'o-rably  known.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Abbie  Lewis.  For  sixteen  years 
Dr.  Potter  and  his  wife  lived  happily  to- 
gether and  were  then  separated  by  the  hand 
of  death,  the  wife  being  called  to  the  home 
beyond.  She  left  two  children:  Anna,  the 
wife  of  T.  W.  Galleher,  chief  freight  agent 
of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company, 
at  Baltimore,  Maryland;  and  Nellie  A.,  at 
home.  In  1872  the  Doctor  was  again  mar- 
ried, his  second  union  being  with  Mrs.  Delia 
M.  Burns,  the  widow  of  Dr.  Alfred  Burns 
and  a  daughter  of  Dr.  A.  W.  Sweatland. 
Her  death  occurred  Januarv  27,    1901. 

Dr.  Potter  has  always  exercised  his  right 
of  franchise  in  support  of  the  men  and  meas- 
ures of  the  Democracy.  For  eighteen  years 
he  served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board, 
and  the  cause  of  education  found  in  him 
a  warm  friend,  ever  ready  to  ad\-ance  the  in- 
terests of  the  schools.  Other  than  this  iie 
has  always  refused  public  office.  Socially 
he  is  identified  with  Wayne  Lodge,  No.  303, 
K.  of  P.,  and  in  the  line  of  his  profession 
with  the  Northern  Ohio  Medical  Associa- 
tion and  the  American  Medical  Association. 
He  belongs  to  the  Baptist  church,  and  for  a 


'56 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


number  of  years  has  held  office  therein.  His 
life  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  usefulness 
to  his  fellow  men,  and  has  been  characterized 
by  unflagging  devotion  to  his  professional 
duty.  He  has  the  strictest  regard  for  the 
ethics  of  the  profession,  and  as  a  man  and 
citizen  his  life  is  above  reproach. 


URIAH  C.  WORKMAN. 

This  prominent  citizen  of  Buckeye  City, 
Union  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  is  a 
reputable  and  successful  undertaker  and  fur- 
niture dealer,  and  has  served  his  townsmen 
ably  as  mayor  and  in  other  official  capacities. 
He  was  born  in  Howard  township,  Knox 
county,  November  i8,  1851,  a  son  of  J-ames 
AVorkman,  who'  was  born  in  Union  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  jNIarch  26,  1828, 
and  married  there. 

Joseph  Workman,  father  of  James  and 
grandfather  of  Uriah  Workman,  was  born 
in  Maryland  and  came  to  Knox  county  about 
181 3  and  located  in  Union  township,  where 
he  owned  a  tract  of  land  which  embraced  the 
present  site  of  Buckeye  City.  He  died  in 
1852,  and  is  buried  in  the  Workman  cem- 
etery, which  is  on  sections  6  and  7,  Union 
township.  He  was  of  German  ckscent,  and 
his  first  American  ancestor  was  one  of  three 
brothers  who  came  early  from  Germany  to 
Maryland.  Four  settlers  of  the  name  came 
to  Union  township  about  1813.  two  broth- 
ers named  Stephen  and  Joseph  antl  two 
brothers  of  another  family  named  David  and 
Abraham.  Joseph  and  Stephen  remained  in 
Union  township,  David  went  to  Howard 
township.  Knox  county,  and  .Abraham  set- 
tled   finallT    in    Coshocton    countv.    Ohio. 


James  Workman,  son  of  Joseph  Workman, 
married  Mary  A.  Rolston,  a  native  of  Har- 
rison township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose 
parents  came  from  Virginia.  She  died  in 
1S74.  Rev.  James  Workman  is  living  in 
Brown  township,  Knox  county.  They  had 
five  sons  and  a  daughter,  all  of  whom  grew 
up,  married  and  had  children.  Frank,  the 
youngest,  was  accidentally  killed.  Silas  H. 
and  J.  C.  live  in  Berlin  township.  Knox 
county.  Alonzo  R.  lives  in  Brown  town- 
ship, Knox  county.  Alice  married  A.  Helser 
and  lives  in  Brown  township. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  the  eldest  of 
his  father's  family,  was  only  a  year  old  when 
his  parents  settled  in  Brown  township,  where 
he  was  reared  and  educated  in  public  schools. 
His  educational  proficiency  was  so  satisfac- 
tory that  he  was  early  in  life  employed  to 
teach  two  terms  of  school  in  Brown  town- 
ship. He  remained  under  his  father's  roof 
until  September  21,  1873:  he  married  Bar- 
bara Workman,  daughter  of  Stephen  and 
granddaughter  of  David  Workman,  who  has 
been  referred  to  as  a  pioneer.  Mrs.  Work- 
man was  born,  reared  and  educated  in  How- 
ard township,  Knox  county. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  \\orkman  lo- 
cated in  BroAvn  township,  where  he  remained 
three  years,  devoting  himself  to  farming. 
He  removed  thence  tO'  Pike  township,  where 
he  bought  a  farm,  on  which  he  lived  three 
years  or  until  he  came  to  Buckeye  City,  then 
known  as  Roseville,  and  embarked  in  the 
hardware  trade,  in  which  he  continued  suc- 
cessfully for  twenty  years.  Eventually  he 
bought  out  an  old  established  undertaking 
business,  which  he  conducted  in  connection 
with  his  hardware  store  until  two  years  ago, 
when  he  disjXJsed  of  his  hardware  interest 
and  ]nit  in  a  line  of  furniture.     In  1892  he 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


157 


took  lessons  in  embalming-  and  holds  a  di- 
ploma as  an  expert  in  that  art.  His  trade 
is  large  and  lucrative  and  as  a  business  man 
he  enjoys  the  confidence  of  the  entire  com- 
munity. During-  the  first  administration  of 
President  Cle\-eland  he  filled  the  office  of 
postmaster.  He  was  elected  mayor  of  Buck- 
eye City  in  1894  and  by  re-election  has  held 
the  office  continuously  since.  He  has  been 
called  to  other  important  local  offices,  and 
has  filled  them  all  with  ability,  discretion 
and  the  strictest  integrity.  Politicallly  he  is 
a  Democrat.  He  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  German  Baptist  church,  in  wbich  his 
father  is  a  minister  and  in  which  his  grand- 
father Workman  was  also  a  minister.  His 
son,  Clifford  A.  Workman,  born  July  7, 
1882,  assists  him  in  his  business  and  is  a 
young  man  of  much  ability  and  promise. 


FRANCIS  M.  STILLWELL. 

Francis  Marion  Stillwell,  who  is  engaged 
in  the  livery  business  in  Fredericktown,  was 
for  many  years  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits in  Kno^x  county,  and  is  widely  and  fa- 
vorably known.  He  is  one  of  Ohio's  native 
sons,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Perry 
township,  jMorrow  county,  on  the  27th  of 
January,  1836.  He  represents  one  of  the 
oldest  families  of  this  state.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  Obediah  Stillwell,  came  to 
Ohio  from  Virginia  and  entered  land  from 
the  government.  He  then  gave  his  attention 
to  its  in-iprovement  and  developed  a  good 
farm.  He  died  April  8,  1850,  while  his 
wife,  Mrs.  Sarah  (\\'arford)  Stillwell,  lived 
to  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  two  years,  six 
months  and  nineteen  days.   She  was  a  highly 


respected  A\oman  and  \\-as  widely  known  in 
Knox  county. 

Their  son,  Joseph  Stillwell,  was  born  in 
Virginia,  and  with  his  parents  came  to  the 
Buckeye  state  when  fourteen  years  of  age. 
Here  he  was  reared  amid  the  wild  scenes  of 
pioneer  life,  and  to  farm  work  he  always 
devoted  his  energies.  As  a  companion  and 
helpmate  for  the  journey  of  life  he  chose 
Mrs.  Mary  (Markey)  Wilhelm,  who  was 
born  near  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  in  early 
womanhood  married  a  Mr.  Jacob  Wilhelm. 
After  his  death  she  became  the  wife  of  Jo- 
seph Stillwell,  and  untO'  them  were  born  five 
children :  Melvina,  Jeremiah,  Jacob,  Elias 
and  Francis  Marion. 

The  last  named  pursued  his  education  in 
the  district  school  near  his  home,  where  he 
mastered  the  common  branches  of  English 
learning.  His  training  at  farm  work  was 
not  meager,  for  at  an  early  age  he  began 
work  in  his  father's  fields  and  assisted  there 
from  the  time  of  spring  plantiiag  until  crops 
were  harvested  in  the  autumn,  but  this  ex- 
perience proved  of  value  to  him  when  he 
began  farming  on  his  own  account.  He  fol- 
lowed that  pursuit  for  many  years,  and  suc- 
cessfully tilled  the  soil,  his  labors  bringing 
to  him  good  harvests.  In  the  spring  of  1,901, 
however,  he  abandoned  farming  and  locat- 
ing in  Fredericktown  established  a  livery 
stable,  which  he  is  now  successfully  conduct- 
ing.   - 

On  the  24th  of  January,  1855,  Mr.  Still- 
well was  united'  in  marriage  to  Miss  Cath- 
erine Shell,  a  daughter  of  Christian  and 
Margaret  (Weaver)  Shell,  who  came  to 
America  from  Wurtcmberg,  Germany. 
Eight  children  have  been  born  unto  our  sub- 
ject and  his  wife:  John  V.:  Wilbert  E. ; 
Sarah ;    Lot    C. ;    Herma,    now    deceased ; 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


Obie:  ^laggie  C. :  and  Effie,  deceased.  Of 
this  family.  Lot  C.  is  now  a  successful  at- 
torney. He  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  in  the  Mount  Vernon  high  school 
and  then  engaged  in  teaching  for  three  years. 
In  the  meantime  he  read  law  at  home  under 
the  direction  of  the  Hon.'W.  M.  Koons,  and 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  1891,  while  in 
1899  he  was  licensed  to  practice  in  the 
United  States  courts.  He  had  become  a  very 
capable  lawyer,  and  has  a  distinctively  repre- 
sentative clientage.  He  was  married  No- 
vember 21,  1 89 1,  to  Miss  Gertrude  Blair, 
and  they  now  have  three  interesting  chil- 
dren, Wendall,  Madeline  and  Ruth.  ]\Ir. 
Stilhvell,  of  this  review,  having  spent  his 
entire  life  in  Ohio  and  much  of  it  in  Knox 
county,  is  widely  known,  and  his  upright 
manhood  has  gained  for  him  uniform  re- 
gard. 


AARON  DOUGLASS  BEERS. 

The  well  known  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
farmer  and  Odd  Fellow  whose  name  appears 
above,  and  who  is  a  resident  of  Frederick- 
town,  ^^'ayne  township,  was  born  at  that 
place  May  15,  1852,  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
jane  (Douglass)  Beers.  He  was  educated 
in  the  high  schools  and  early  in  life  gave 
attention  to  agriculture,  to  which  he  has  de- 
voted all  his  active  years.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Ellicott  Lodge,  No.  267,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  one  of  its  past 
grands,  having  filled  all  its  official  chairs. 
He  is  a  member  also  of  Knoix  Encampment, 
No.  211,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
of  which  he  is  past  chief  patriarch.  In  re- 
ligion he  affiliates  with  the  Presbyterian 
church,  in  the  work  of  which  he  is  active  and 


efficient.  He  is  a  citizen  of  recognized  influ- 
ence, which  is  always  exerted  in  l>ehalf  of 
the  best  interests  of  his  township  and 
county. 

Joseph  Beers,  father  of  Aaron  Douglass 
Beers,  -was  born  in  Wayne  township,  Decem- 
ber 15,  181 1,  a  son  of  Jabez  and  Mafy 
(Loveridge)  Beers.  After  acquiring  a  lim- 
ited education  in  the  common  schools  he  be- 
gan at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  the  mason's  trade  at  Mount 
Vernon,  Ohio,  and  he  was  employed  as  a 
brick  mason  and  plasterer  the  most  of  his 
life.  He  purchased  the  present  farm  in  1864, 
and  in  1879  erected  the  present  residence 
and  resided  here  till  his  death,  October  30, 
1890.  He  had  survived  his  wife,  who  died 
June  3,  1881.  He  early  identified  himself 
with  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he 
was  called  to  fill  several  important  offices. 
He  married  Miss  Jane  Douglass  on  Decem- 
ber 14,  1841,  and  about  two  years  later  built 
the  house  in  which  he  lived  for  thirty-six 
years  or  until  coming  to  the  one  in  which 
A.  D.  Beers  now  resides.  They  had  two 
sons,  Theodore  Leroy  and  Aaron  Douglass 
Beers.  Theodore  Leroy  Beers  became  a 
dentist  and  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession at  Hudsonville,  Illinois,  whence  he 
removed  to  .Vincennes,  Indiana  .  Later  he 
lived  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Iowa,  and  he  is  now 
located  at  Los  Angeles,  California. 

Jabez  Beers,  father  of  Joseph  Beers  and 
grandfather  of  Aaron  Douglass  Beers,  was 
born  in  New  Jersey,  March  25,  1781.  He 
married  Mary  Loveridge  November  3,  1803, 
and  in  1805  they  located  in  Alorris  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio.  Mrs.  Beers,  who 
was  born  November  13,  1782,  bore  her  hus- 
band six  children,  who  were  named  as  fol- 
lows :    Sarah,  Samuel  Smith,  William  Love- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


159 


ridge,  Joseph,  George  O.  and  Mary,  all  of 
whom  are  dead.  Aaron  Douglass  and  John, 
a  son  of  Samuel  and  a  resident  of  Clinton 
township,  are  the  only  representatives  of  the 
family  left  in  Knox  county. 

Aaron  Douglass  Beers  married  Rebecca 
Cook,  June  17,  1884,  and  their  only  child  is 
a  daughter,  Stella,  a  high  school  student. 
Rebecca  (Cook)  Beers  died  just  eighteen 
months  after  her  marriage,  on  December 
17,  1885.  She  was  a  daughter  of  William 
Cook,  of  Aliddlebury  township,  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  where  she  was  born.  February  22, 
1894,  Mv.  Beers  was  married  to  Miss  Jessie 
Burnett,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Helen  Bur- 
nett, and  they  have  one  daughter,  Helen 
Jane,  a  child  of  six  years.  Mr.  Beers  owns 
one  hundred  acres  of  land  just  outside  the 
corporation  of  Fredericktown,  and  this  was 
a  part  of  his  father's  homestead.  Here  he  has 
resided  since  the  age  of  twelve  years,  and  the 
work  of  the  farm  has  devolved  upon  him 
from  boyhood.  He  has  here  made  such  im- 
provements as  are  needed  on  an  up-to-date 
farm,  and  is  directing  his  attention  princi- 
pally to  general  farming,  also'  giving  some 
attention  to  the  line  of  sheep-raising. 


OSCAR  RICE. 


Oscar  Rice,  who  follows  farming  on  sec- 
tion II,  Brown  township,  Knox  county,  was 
born  in  Jefferson  township,  near  the  village 
of  Greensville,  on  the  28th  of  July,  185 1,  a 
son  of  Frederick  Rice,  who  was  born  in 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1822. 
The  latter's  father,  Isaac  Rice,  claimed 
Maryland  as  the  state  of  his  nativity.  Soon 
after  his  marriage  he  removed  to  the  Key- 


stone state,  and  in  1 829  he  took  up  his  abode 
in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  entering  a  farm  in 
Jefferson  township,  where  he  spent  his  re- 
maining days,  passing  away  at  the  age  of 
fifty-five  years.  On  that  place  his  son  Fred- 
erick was  reared  from  the  age  of  seven  years, 
and  he  was  there  married  to  Nancy  Jane 
WithrO'W,  a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  James 
Withrow,  who  came  to  this  locality  from 
Carroll  county,  Ohio.  During  the  year  1840 
he  represented  his  district  in  the  legislature 
and  was  a  very  prominent  and  influential 
citizen.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rice  passed 
away  in  Jefferson  township,  the  father  dyiag 
in  1875,  and  the  mother  survived  until  1879. 
Th<y  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  four 
of  whom  are  now  living,  namely  :  Oscar,  the 
subject  of  this  review ;  C.  F.,  whose  sketch 
will  be  found  on  another  page  of  this  vol- 
ume; and  Charles  P.  and  Byron  L.,  who  are 
engaged  in  the  implement  business  at 
Greensville,  Ohio'. 

Oscar  Rice  was  reared  and  educated  in 
the  place  of  his  nativity,  and  after  attaining 
his  eighteenth  year  he  began  the  profession 
of  teaching,  following  that  occupation  until 
1895,  during  which  time  he  taught  in  both 
Indiana  and  Ohio.  However,  he  followed 
his  profession  principally  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship, and  in  the  task  of  instructing  the  young 
along  lines  of  metal  advancement  his  efforts 
proved  very  effective.  Since  abandoning  the 
teacher's  profession  Mr.  Rice  has  devoted  his 
time  and  attention  tO'  his  farming  and  stock- 
raising  interests,  in  which  he  is  meeting  with 
an  equally  high  degree  of  success. 

In  1887  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Sa- 
rah Young,  a  native  of  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
and  a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Yoiing. 
Mr.  Rice  gives  his  political  support  to  the 
Democracv,  and  on  its  ticket  he  was  elected 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


to  the  position  of  assessor  of  Brown  town- 
ship. He  is  kind  and  benevolent,  charitable 
in  his  opinions  of  others,  _\-et  firm  and 
positive  in  his  convictions,  and  in  the  lo- 
cality in  which  he  has  so  long  made  his 
liome  he  has  a  large  circle  of  friends  and 
acquaintances. 


CLAY  D.  MARTIN. 

Clay  D.  ]\Iartin,  who  is  engaged  in  gen- 
eral farming  in  Berlin  township,  was  born  in 
Fayette  county.  Missouri,  November  24, 
1863,  and  is  the  youngest  of  the  three  chil- 
dren of  John  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Lloyd) 
Martin.  The  father  was  born  and  reared 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  removing  to  Missouri 
there  engaged  in  farming.  His  wife  was  a 
native  of  Kentucky,  and  there  spent  her  girl- 
hood days.  She  was  afforded  excellent  ed- 
ucational pri\'ileges  and  was  graduated  from 
Louisville  College.  She  belonged  to  a  very 
prominent  family  of  that  state  and  was  a 
lady  of  marked  culture  and  refinement.  She 
died  in  Kansas  when  about  sixty-eight  years 
of  age.  In  the  family  were  two-  sons  and  a 
daughter,  the  latter  being  Laura,  the  wife 
of  Sterling  Curry,  a  farmer  of  Vernon  coun- 
ty, Missouri. 

Mr.  Martin,  of  this  review,  was  reared  in 
the  west  and  imbibed  the  progressive  spirit 
which  has  led  to  the  wonderful  development 
of  that  portion  of  the  country.  His  youth 
was  passed  in  Mi.'^souri  and  Kansas,  and  his 
education  was  acquired  in  the  Montevallo 
schools  in  Vernon  county,  Missouri.  In 
1889  he  came  to  Ohio,  making  his  way  direct 
to  Berlin  township,  Knox  county.  Here  he 
has  a  small  farm  and  is  successfully  en- 
gaged in  the  cultivation  of  the  cereals  best 


adapted  to  'this  climate.  In  summer  the 
green  fields  give  promise  of  golden  harvests 
and  the  neat  and  thrifty  air  which  pervades 
the  place  indicates  the  careful  superT.ision  of 
the  owner. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  1887,  in  Missouri, 
Mr.  Ivlartin  led  to  the  marriage  altar  Miss 
Elizabeth  Leedy,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Isaac 
and  Nancy  (Bostater)  Leedy.  Their  union 
has  been  blessed  with  four  living  children : 
Cora,  Pearl.  Ollie  and  Martha.  They  also 
lost  one  child  in  infancy.  They  have  a  pleas- 
ant home  in  Berlir,  township  and  delight  to 
entertain  their  many  friends.  They  hold 
membership  in  the  Brethren  church,  and  Mr. 
Martin  belongs  to  the  Grange.  He  has  al- 
ways been  a  Democrat,  and  on  that  ticket  he 
was  elected  township  trustee  in  190 1.  There 
have  been  no  exciting  chapters  in  his  life 
history,  but  his  career  illustrates  what  can 
be  accomplished  through  determination  and 
strong  purjxjse.  Depending  on  his  own  re- 
sources he  has  gained  a  place  among  the 
substantial  and  leading  young  farmers  of  his 
adopted  county. 


J.  CALVIN  LONEY. 

The  reward  of  a  well  spent  life  is  an 
honorable  retirement  from  labor,  and  it  is 
meet  that  after  years  of  industry  and 
strightforward  dealing  one  should  enjoy  rest 
from  business  cares.  This  has  Deen  vouch- 
safed to  Mr.  Loney,  who  is  now  located  in 
North  Liberty,  but  who  through  a  long  pe- 
riod was  identified  with  farming  interests  in 
Pike  township.  He  was  born  in  this  town-  I 
ship  January  29,  1835,  and  is  a  representa- 
tive of  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  Vir- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


ginia.  His  grandfather,  John  Loney,  was 
born  in  the  Old  Dominion  and  emigrated 
westward,  settHng  in  Harrison  county,  Ohio, 
Avhere  he  engaged  in  fanning.  Subsequent- 
!}•  he  came  with  his  familj-  to  Knox  county, 
and  here  he  entered  alxiut  five  eighty-acre 
tracts  of  Ian(h  afterward  giving  one  to  each 
of  his  sons.  He  also  assisted  his  daughters 
in  starting  in  life.  In  his  family  were  four 
sons  and  two  daughters,  the  third  child  and 
second  son  being  John  Loney,  the  father  of 
our  subject.  His  birth  occurred  in  Harri- 
son county,  Ohio,  and  there  he  was  reared 
until  his  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one  years, 
when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Knox 
county.  He  afterward  returned  to  Harrison 
county  and  was  there  married,  following 
which  he  brought  his  bride  to  this  county. 
He  wedded  Miss  Elizabeth  Kirkpatrick,  a 
native  of  the  former  county,  and  through  a 
long  period  they  were  representative  farm- 
ing people  of  Pike  township.  They  had 
three  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  J. 
Calvin  Loney  was  the  second.  The  father 
gave  his  political  support  to  the  Democracy, 
and  held  nearly  all  the  township  offices.  He 
had  a  very  wide  acquaintance  and  the  salient 
characteristics  in  his  career  commended  him 
to  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all  with 
whom  he  was  associated.  He  died  in  his 
eighty-seventh  year. 

A  life-long  resident  of  Knox  county,  J. 
Calvin  Loney  first  opened  his  eyes  to  the 
light  of  day  in  a  little  log  cabin  which  had 
been  built  by  his  father,  and  when  si.x  years 
of  age  he  began  his  education  in  a  log  school 
house,  walking  two  miles  in  order  tO'  attend 
school.  Throughout  the  period  of  his  youth 
he  pursued  his  studies  for  about  three 
months  during  the  winter  season,  and  dur- 
ing the  summer  months  he  aided  in  farm 


work.  On  the  13th  of  December,  1855,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  C. 
Ridenour,  a  native  of  Washington  count}', 
Maryland,  who  when  about  fifteen  years  of 
age  came  to  Pike  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  with  iier  parents,  Daniel  and  Sarah 
(Bene)  Ridenour.  They,  too,  were  natives 
of  Maryland,  and  in  their  family  were  eight 
children.  On  making  their  way  westward 
they  established  their  new  home  in  a  log 
cabin  and  experienced  the  toil  and  hardships 
and  also  the  pleasures  of  pioneer  life. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Loney  began  their  do- 
mestic life  upon  the  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  which  was  owned  by  his  fa- 
ther and  on  which  they  lived  for  thirteen 
years,  when  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land  on 
section  3,  Pike  township,  continuing  there 
to  make  his  home  until  1892,  when  he  built 
his  present  residence  in  North  Liberty.  In 
the  meantime  he  had  added  to  his  original 
tract  of  land  and  had  become  the  OAraer  of 
six  hundred  acres,  but  as  his  children 
started  out  in  life  he  divided  with  them,  thus 
enabling  them  to  secure  goc*d  homes.  He  is 
now  living  retired,  leaving  the  development 
of  his  farm  to  others,  the  rented  farm  bring- 
ing to  him  a  good  income. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Loney 
was  blessed  with  six  children,  three  sons  and 
three  daughters,  namely:  Clarence,  who 
married  Louisa  ^^■ood  and  is  living  in  Pike 
township;  John  Alvin,  who  married  Sylvia 
Hibbitts  and  also  resided  in  Pike  township; 
Daniel  W.,  a  graduate  of  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  state  university  of  Michigan, 
who  married  Hallie  Fulchs  and  is  now  prac- 
ticing medicine  in  Norwalk,  Ohio;  Annie, 
the  wife  of  George  Ridenour,  a  cousin,  of 
Wayne  township:  Alice  Belle,  the  wife  of 
R.  D.  Horn,  M.  D.,  of  Butler,  Ohio;  and 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


Bernice,  wife  of  Charles  M.  Leedy,  a  prom- 
inent farmer  of  Pike  township.  They  also 
have  lost  three  children  in  infancy.  They 
have  twenty-one  grandchildren  and  these  and 
the  children  of  our  subject  were  all  born  in 
Pike  township  with  the  exception  of  the  two 
children  of  Dr.  Loney.  The  family  is  one 
of  prominence,  and  its  representatives  enjoy 
the  hospitality  of  the  best  homes  of  this  sec- 
tion of  the  county.  Mr.  Loney  is  and  has 
been  one  of  the  leading  men  of  Pike  town- 
ship, and  in  his  political  views  he  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat. He  has  held  local  offices  and  has 
ever  discharged  his  duties  in  a  prompt  and 
capable  manner,  betraying  no  political  trust 
in  the  slightest  degree.  Industry  formed 
the  foundation  upon  which  he  reared  the  su- 
perstructure of  his  success.  His  name  in 
business  dealings  is  synonymous  with  hon- 
esty and  in  all  life's  relations  he  has  been 
found  true  to  upright  principles. 


JOSEPH   A.   FISH. 

It  is  most  fitting  that  many  years  of  use- 
ful and  honorable  labor  should  be  crowned 
with  a  well  earned  rest,  that  retirement  from 
toil  should  ofifer  opportunity  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  life  unharrassed  by  business  cares 
or  responsibilities,  and  such  has  been  vouch- 
safed to  Mr.  Fish,  who  after  many  years 
of  connection  with  agricultural  interests  is 
living  quietly  at  his  pleasant  home  in  Lever- 
ing. He  was  born  in  Congress  township, 
Monroe  county,  Ohio,  September  29,  1838. 
His  father,  Henry  Fish,  was  a  native  of 
Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  and  there  spent 
tke  days  of  his  youth.  He  wedded  Mary 
A.  Burson,  also  a  native  of  the  game  coun- 
ty, and  about   1831    they  emigrated  west- 


ward, taking  up  their  abode  in  Richland 
county,  Ohio,  whence  they  afterward  went 
to  Morrow  county  about  1832.  There  the 
parents  spent  their  remaining  days.  The  fa- 
ther was  a  Whig  in  early  life,  and  when  the 
Repubhcan  party  was  formed  he  joined  its 
ranks,  giving  to  it  his  loyal  support  through- 
out his  remaining  days.  For  about  forty 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  United 
Brethren  church,  and  his  wife  also  held 
membership  in  that  denomination.  He 
passed  away  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three  years,  for  his  birth  occurred  in  1801. 
His  wife,  who  was  born  in  1815,  died  in 
1892.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine  chil- 
dren, six  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of 
whom  grew  to  mature  years  and  were  mar- 
ried with  one  exception. 

Upon  the  homestead  farm  in  Morrow 
county  Joseph  Albert  Fish  remained  through 
the  period  of  his  minority.  He  acquired  his 
education  in  the  district  schools,  and  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  began  learning  the  plasterer's 
trade,  which  he  followed  for  abont  nineteen 
years.  After  his  marriage  he  located  in 
Congress  township,  Morrow  count}-,  where 
they  lived  for  thirteen  years,  and  then  came 
to  Middlebury  township,  Knox  county,  lo- 
cating on  the  farm  where  they  resided  un- 
til 1901,  when  he  erected  their  present  home 
in  the  village  of  Levering. 

On  the  13th  of  October,  1859,  Mr.  Fish 
was  united  in  marriage  to^  Miss  Mary  Fine- 
frock,  a  native  of  Richland  county,  Ohio, 
born  June  11,  1840.  Her  father,  Peter  Fine- 
frock,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  when  a 
young  man  removed  to  Richland  county,  this 
state,  where  he  met  and  married  Elizabeth 
Wirick,  a  native  of  Guernsey  county,  Ohio. 
Mrs.  Fish  is  their  only  child,  and  was  reared 
in  the  county  of  her  nativity.     Her  father 


OF    KNOX    COUNl"Y,    OHIO. 


163 


died  in  1859,  at  the  age  of  forty-two  years, 
but  her  mother  lived  to  be  ninety-three  years 
of  age,  dying  on  the  anniversary  of  her 
birth,  October  6,  1900.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fish  have  been  born  two  sons.  John  Frank- 
Hn,  the  elder,  married  Emma  Bayer,  and 
they  had  one  son,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
eight  and  a  half  years.  Miles  Jefferson 
wedded  Glenn  V.  Killen,  and  their  only  child, 
a  son,  died  at  the  age  of  six  and  a  half 
years. 

Although  Mr.  Fish  now  resides  in  Lev- 
ering he  is  yet  the  owner  of  a  valuable  tract 
of  land  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
which  is  located  in  Knox,  Morrow  and  Rich- 
land counties,  and  which  returns  to  him  a 
good  rental.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat 
and  served  as  trustee  of  Middlebury  town- 
ship and  as  school  director.  He  has  also 
filled  other  local  offices,  and  no  trust  re- 
posed in  him  has  ever  been  betrayed.  So- 
cially he  is  identified  with  Owl  Creek  Lodge, 
No.  686,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  has  filled  all  of 
the  chairs,  acting  as  treasurer  of  the  lodge 
since  its  organization.  He  has  taken  a  very 
active  part  in  its  work  and  exemplifies  in  his 
life  its  fraternal  and  charitable  principles. 
He  also  belongs  to  the  Grange  at  Bateman- 
town.  The  success  he  has  achieved  in  life  is 
the  reward  of  his  own  labors.  He  entered 
upon  his  business  career  without  capital  and 
has  steadily  worked  his  way  upward,  gain- 
ing a  comfortable  competence  through  un- 
remitting labor  and  capable  management. 


JOHN  P.  BRECKLER. 

In  Howard  township  resides  John  P. 
Breckler  and  the  farming  interests  of  the 
community  are  well  represented  by  him,  for 


he  is  energetic  and  progressive,  carrying  on 
his  work  along  modern  lines.  His  birth  oc- 
curred in  Jeft'erson  township  January  24, 
1848.  His  father,  Francis  Breckler,  was  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania  and  in  early  man- 
hood came  to  Knox  county,  where  he  mar- 
ried Catherine  Heckler,  who  was  born  in 
the  fatherland  and  came  to  America  when  a 
maiden  of  fourteen  years.  Mr.  Breckler 
died  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  after  which 
his  widow  became  the  wife  of  Stephen  Blu- 
baugh,  and  her  death  occwrred  when  she  was 
sixty-five  years  of  age.  By  her  first  mar- 
riage she  had  five  children,  of  whom  our 
subject  is  the  youngest. 

John  P.  Breckler  spent  the  first  eight 
years  of  his  life  in  his  native  township,  and 
then  removed  to  Brown  township.  His 
youth  was  one  of  toil,  for  at  the  early  age 
of  ten  years  he  began  to  earn  his  own  liv- 
ing, residing  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Stephen  Blubaugh.  There  he  raadie  his 
home  until  his  marriage,  which  occurred 
September  11,  1871.  Miss  Laura  A.  Sapp 
became  his  wife.  She  was  born  in  this  coun- 
ty and  is  a  daughter  of  George  and  Delia 
A.  (White)  Sapp.  Two  children  grace  this 
union,  Stephen  J.  and  Charlie  C.  Mr. 
Breckler  includes  in  his  family  an  orphan 
boy  of  sixteen  years,  Henry  Francis  Davis, 
who  was  taken  by  them  when  a  ckild,  and 
has  received  the  same  advantages  as  his  own 
children. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Breckler  lo- 
cated in  Brown  township,  but  subsequently 
removed  to  Union  township,  and  in  1875 
came  to  Howard  township,  locating  on  the 
farm  where  he  now  resides.  Here  he  has 
one  hundred  and  four  acres  of  good  land, 
much  of  it  being  excellent  botton  land,  and 
from  the  time  of  early  spring  planting  un- 


164 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


til  the  crops  are  gatheretl  in  the  autumn  he 
is  usually  busy  in  the  fields  and  the  result 
of  his  labors  is  seen  in  abundant  harvests. 
He  realizes  that  there  is  no  royal  road  to 
wealth  and  that  untiring  labor  must  prove 
the  foundation  for  success.  He  voted  for 
General  Grant  at  one  time,  but  has  with  this 
exception  always  gi\-en  his  support  to  the 
Democratic  party,  and  in  his  religious  faith 
he  is  allied  with  St.  Luke's  Catholic  church 
in  Danville.  His  entire  life  has  been  spent 
in  Knox  county,  and  as  his  career  has  ever 
been  an  honorable  one  he  has  many  friends 
within  its  borders. 


THOAIAS  RANDOLPH  HEAD. 

Labor  forms  the  foundation  of  all  pros- 
perity, and  it  is  to  his  enterprising  and  well 
directed  efforts  that  our  subject  owes  his 
position  as  a  leading  and  representative 
farmer  of  College  township,  Knox  county. 
He  was  born  in  Hampshire  county,  Vir- 
ginia, on  the  5th  of  August,  1823,  a  son  of 
Nathan  and  Penelope  (Wennan)  Head,  na- 
tives, respectively,  of  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia. This  worthy  couple  became  the  par- 
ents of  the  following  children,  namely  :  Mary 
A.,  the  widow  of  Joseph  Dull ;  Nathan,  de- 
ceased; Thomas  Randolph,  the  subject  of 
this  review ;  Joseph  and  Hannah,  twins,  both 
of  whom  are  now  deceased;  Sarah  A.,  John 
ait'd  Penelope,  deceased;  and  Franklin,  who 
makes  his  home  in  Missouri. 

Thomas  Randolph  Head  received  but 
meager  educational  advantages  during-  his 
youth,  attending  for  a  time  a  primitive  log 
school  house  in  Virginia,  to  which  he  was 
obliged  to  walk  a  distance  of  two  miles.     In 


1835  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their 
removal  to  Pleasant  township,  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  the  family  making  the  journey  in 
a  one-horse  wagon,  and  on  the  trip  they  were 
accompanied  by  another  family,  making  a 
party  of  eighteen.  In  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  the  Head  family  took  up  their  abode 
in  Gambler,  and  our  subject  at  that  time  was 
but  twelve  years  of  age.  Until  his  twenty- 
second  year  he  remained  on  his  father's  farm 
and  Ije  then  began  working  for  neighboring 
farmers  by  the  month,  continuing  thus  until 
1849,  ■when  he  embarked  in  the  butchering 
business  in  Gambier,  continuing  that  occu- 
pation for  twelve  years.  His  next  vocation 
was  that  of  buying  and  shipping  cattle,  hogs 
and  sheep,  which  he  fotmd  a  profitable 
source  of  investment,  but  in  1898  he  aban- 
doned that  occupation,  since  which  time  he 
has  devoted  his  attention  to  looking  after 
his  extensive  landed  interests.  He  now 
owns  a  fine  farm  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty-four  acres  of  excellent  and  well  cul- 
tivated land,  on  which  may  be  found  all  the 
necessary  improvements  of  a  well  regulated 
homestead.  For  a  time  Mr.  Head  ser\-ed 
as  agent  for  Kenyon  College,  looking  after 
its  farms,  houses  and  other  property,  and  for 
a  number  of  years  he  served  as  trustee  and 
assessor  of  College  township,  discharging 
his  public  duties  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
all  concerned.  All  his  trade  transactions  are 
carried  on  with  the  strictest  regard  for  the 
ethics  of  commercial  life,  and  in  busi- 
ness circles  his  reputation  for  honesty  is 
above  question. 

On  the  2 1st  of  October,  1849,  was  cele- 
brated the  marriage  of  Mr,  Head  and  ^liss    j 
Angeline  Darby,  born  July  17,  1826,  and  for 
just  half  a  century  were  they  permitted  the 
privilege  of  closest  communion,  each  being   | 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


165 


a  full  complement  to  the  other.  On  the  21st 
of  October,  1899,  just  fifty  years  after  their 
troths  were  plighted,  was  the  companion- 
ship broken,  she  being  called  in  advance, 
there  to  await  a  reunion  that  shall  know  no 
severance.  She  had  been  a  patient  sufferer 
for  years,  but  for  only  a  few  months  had 
friends  feared  the-  result.  Hers  was  a  noble 
life,  filled  with  womanly  love  and  devotion. 
Her  loss  was  deply  mourned  not  only  by 
her  immediate  family,  but  by  a  large  circle 
of  friends. 

The  Republican  party  receives  Mr. 
Head's  hearty  support  and  co-operation, 
while  in  his  social  relations  he  has  1>een  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  order  for  the  past 
fortv  years,  exemplifying  its  ennobling  prin- 
ciples in  his  erery-day  life,  and  he  is  now  a 
member  of  the  thirty-second  degree.  Relig- 
iously he  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church  and  takes  a  leading  part  in  its  work, 
doing  all  in  his  power  to  promote  its  growth 
and  success.  ^Ir.  Head  contributes  liberally 
of  his  time  and  means  to  all  worthy  enter- 
prises, withholding  not  his  support  from  any 
public  movement  or  measure  which  he  be- 
lieves will  prove  of  benefit  to  the  commu- 
nitv. 


JOHN  JA^IES  TULLOSS. 

The  man  whose  name  is  mentioned  above 
has  been  identified  with  Alorgan  township, 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  for  eighty-two  years, 
and  during  that  long  period  has  been  not 
only  a  living  witness  of  the  development  of 
its  history  and  prosperity,  but  a  vital  factor 
in  its  progress.  John  James  Tulloes,  son 
of  John  James  and  Elizabeth  (Honey)  Tul- 
loss.  was  born  in  ^Morgan  township  Septem- 


ber II,  1820,  was  educated  in  its  old  sub- 
scription schools  and  has  been  an  independ- 
ent farmer  since  he  attained  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one years  except  during  four  }-ears,  and 
has  passed  his  entire  life  in  the  township, 
having  his  home  always  on  the  same  piece 
of  ground.  In  religious  affiliation  he  is  a 
Primitive  Baptist.  Politically  he  has  been 
a  Democrat  during  all  the  years  of  his  man- 
hood, and  he  has  always  been  influential  in 
local  affairs  and  for  six  years  held  the  of- 
fice of  township  trustee. 

October  24,  1844,  Mr.  Tulloss  married 
Caroline  Campnett  Smith,  daughter  of 
James  Harrington  and  Martha  (Davis) 
Smith,  who  was  born  in  the  township  April 
8,  1826,  and  who  has  borne  him  children  as 
follows :  Emily,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  years.  Byron  Leonard,  a  druggist 
at  Columbus,  Ohio.  He  married  Josephine 
Van  Buskirk  and  had  four  children,  three 
of  whom  died  in  infancy  and  one  of  whom, 
Clyde  E.,  survives.  His  second  wife  was 
Sarah  E.  Dennis,  who  left  one  child  li\-ing, 
Josephine  R. ;  and  for  his  third  wife  he  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Maggie  Carpenter.  The  next  in 
order  of  birth  of  John  J.  Tulloss'  children 
was  named  John  James,  who  died  at  thirty- 
one.  Reese  P.,  who  died  at  thirty-four  of 
an  accident,  a  ball  from  a  rifle  which  he 
picked  up  carelessly  by  the  muzzle  and  which 
was  discharged  by  the  hammer  coming  in 
contact  with  a  nail,  penetrating  his  heart. 
Almina  \\'eaver  became  his  wife  and  bore 
him  three  children,  named  Reese  Edgar,  De 
Sylvia  and  Freddie  Wayne.  Benjamin 
Franklin  went  to  Texas  and  was  last  heard 
from  twenty  years  ago  through  a  letter 
which  he  wrote  announcing  his  intention  of 
going  up  in  the  mountains  with  a  large  herd 
of  cattle.    George  Washington  married  Rilla 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


Boner,  and  lives  in  Wayne  township,  Knox 
county.  He  is  a  minister  of  the  Primitive 
Baptist  church.  Cynthia  Almeda  and  Caro- 
Hne  Campnett  are  members  of  their  father's 
household. 

Captain  John  James  Tulloss,  Sr.,  was 
born  in  Fauquier  county,  Virginia,  Septem- 
ber, 1784,  and  was  married  in  March,  1815, 
to  Elizabeth  Honey,  also  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, born  about  1778.  They  had  children 
as  follows :  Ann,  who  married  Benjamin 
Seymour  and  lives  in  Kansas;  Elizabeth, 
who  married  Charles  Stevens  and  lives  in 
]\Iiller  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio';  Will- 
iam, who  married  Cynthia  Smith  and  after 
her  death  Felicia  Scott,  of  Mount  Vernon; 
Richard  S.,  who  was  born  in  1819,  was  for 
twenty  years  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Mor- 
gan township,  where  he  was  a  lifelong  resi- 
dent, was  a  member  of  the  Ohio  state  con- 
stitutional convention  in  1870,  and  at  his 
death,  in  -1892,  left  a  farm  of  six  hundred 
acres;  he  never  married;  John  James,  who 
was  next  in  order  of  birth;  Benjamin,  who 
married  Margaret  Campbell,  and  is  living 
in  retirement  at  Mount  Vernon ;  and  Susan, 
who  died  March  28,  1899;  and  Rodham, 
who  married  Betsy  Harris ;  she  died  in  1873, 
he  passing  away  two  years  later.  The  fa- 
ther of  these  children  came  tO'  Licking  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  in  1807,  and  returned  to  Vir- 
ginia in  1 8 14,  and  was  there  married  in 
181 5.  He  was  the  captain  of  a  Knox  coim- 
ty  company  in  the  war  of  181 2.  He  bought 
five  hundred  acres  of  military  land  in  Knox 
county  and  improved  it  into  valuable  prop- 
erty, which  has  since  been  divided  into 
smaller  tracts,  and  is  still  held  by  the  Tul- 
loss family.  While  a  resident  of  Licking 
county  he  made  the  first  brick  ever  manu- 
factured in  Newark.     After  his  location  in 


Knox  county  he  was  a  farmer  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  fifty- 
seven  years  old. 

Azariah  Davis,  the  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Tulloss,  was  born  in  Greene  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, of  Welsh  descent,  and  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  married 
Elsie  Van  Meter,  a  daughter  of  Henry  Van 
Meter  and  a  native  of  Virginia,  v^^ho  had 
come  on  horseback  to  Greene  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  in  1799  they  went  to  Loudoun 
county,  Virginia.  James  Harrington 
Smith,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Tulloss,  was  born 
near  Hagerstown,  Maryland.  When  quite 
young  he  was  taken  to  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  subsequently  married.  He  settled  in 
Ohio  in  181 1  and  sensed  his  country  in  the 
war  of  1812.  He  was  the  father  of  children 
named  Azariah,  Benjamin,  Mary  (Tst), 
John,  Mary  (2d),  Sarah,  Rebecca,  James, 
Henry,  Rachel,  Caroline  and  Reese.  Of 
this  family  of  children  Mrs.  Tulloss  is  the 
only  one  living.  Azariah  was  a  citizen  of 
Knox  co'unty.  Benjamin  lived  in  Morgan 
township  eighty-nine  years.  Their  daugh- 
ter lives  on  their  old  home  farm  on  the  New- 
ark road  in  that  township.  Mary  married 
Reese  McClellon  and  she  and  her  husband 
both  are  now  dead.  John  died  of  yellow 
fever  at  New  Orleans,  Louisiana.  Sarah 
married  Wesley  McCune  and  had  seven  chil- 
dren, named  Harrington,  Charles,  Henry, 
Margaret,  Etwinna,  Alexander  and  Charles, 
all  now  being  deceased.  Rebecca  married 
Henry  Crumley  and  they  had  children 
named  Oscar,  Sarah,  Margaret  and  Sarah 
Adeline.  James  married  Harriet  Todd  and 
she  lives  in  Putnam  county,  Ohio.  Their 
children  were  named  Lafayette,  Louisa, 
Julia,  Kossuth,  Jefi^erson  and  Ammie  Caro- 
line.    Henrv  married  Sarah  McVev  for  his 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


[67 


first  wife  and  his  second  wife  was  Han- 
nah Harris,  who  also  has  passed  away. 
Martha,  his  daughter,  lives  in  Licking  cotm- 
ty,  Ohio.  His  children  by  his  second  mar- 
riage were  Elzie,  Emma,  Frank,  Carrie; 
George,  Reese  and  Mammie.  The  latter 
married  Xewton  jMcVey  and  lives  in  Carth- 
age, Missouri.  Caroline  married  John 
James  Tulloss.  Reese,  who  married  Alice 
Fly,  was  killed  by  Indians  in  Arizona. 
Their  children  were  named  Cornelius,  Reese 
and  Cornelia.  Benjamin  Tulloss,  a  brother 
of  our  subject,  was  born  December  25,  1768, 
and  became  one  of  the  pioneers  in  Ohio 
some  time  after  his  brother.  He  married 
Mary  Marshall  and  died  in  February,  1847, 
and  his  wife  February  14,  1846. 


DAVID  BRTCKKR   ELLIOTT. 

The  well-known  farmer  of  Morgan 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose  name 
is  above,  and  some  account  of  whose  useful 
life  should  be  included  in  this  work,  was 
born  in  Knox  county,  August  30,  1856,  a 
son  of  Samuel  and  Anna  Belle  (Bricker) 
Elliott.  He  was  e'ducated  in  the  public 
schools  near  his  home  and  at  Utica.  He 
has  been  a  farmer  since  he  was  twenty  years 
of  age,  and  has  made  a  success  in  his  chosen 
field  of  labor. 

David  Bricker  Elliott  was  reared  in  the 
Presbyterian  faith  and  carefully  instructed 
in  everything  tending  to  make  him  a  good 
Democrat.  He  has  for  years  been  influential 
in  his  township,  and  for  a  decade  and  a  half 
has  filled  the  office  of  school  director.  He 
was  married  December  12,  1878,  to  Miss 
Mary  Warner,  daughter  of  Jack  and  Emily 


(Arven)  Warner,  who  was  born  April  13, 
1859,  and  who  has  borne  her  husband  chil- 
dren as  follows :  Belle,  born  October  14, 
1879;  Samuel  Arthur,  born  June  6,  1883; 
Emily  M.,  born  September  10,  1886,  and 
died  when  five  years  old;  Nellie,  born  Oc- 
tober 12,  1888;  Tressa,  June  26,  1892; 
Helen,  February  2,  1895;  Florence,  Novem- 
ber 20,  1896;  Wilbur,  November  3,  189S; 
and  James,  April  15,   18.90. 

Samuel  Elliott,  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Clay  township, 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  December  25,  1839,  and 
was  educated  in  subscription  schools  near  his 
boyhood  home,  which  were  taught  in  log 
school  houses  with  puncheon  floors  and  slab 
seats  and  writing  benches.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  a  lifelong 
Democrat,  and  several  times  filled  the  ofiice 
O'i  township  trustee.  Anna  Belle  (Bricker) 
Elliott  was  born  in  Knox  countv,  Ohio,  in 
1837- 

Patrick  Elliott,  grandfather  of  David 
Bricker  Elliott,  was  born  in  Ireland,  and 
when  a  mere  child  was  brought  by  his  par- 
ents tO'  America.  The  family  made  the  voy- 
age in  a  sailing  vessel  and  located  in  Penn- 
sylvania, whence  Patrick  Elliott  came  to 
Knox  countv,  Ohio,  at  an  earlv  date. 


JAMES  HONEY. 

One  of  those  old  and  honored  pioneers 
who  came  early  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and 
assisted  literally  "to  make  a  wilderness 
bloom  like  a  rose"  and  who  influenced  and 
participated  in  all  its  later  developments  was 
the  late  James  Honey,  who  was  born  in 
1799  and  died  in  1885. 


1 68 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


James  Honey  was  a  son  of  William  and 
Nancy  iLathram)  Honey,  and  tirst  saw  the 
light  of  day  in  Fauquier  county,'  Virginia, 
and  was  there  educated  in  the  public  schools. 
His  father  died  when  he  was  quite  young, 
leaving  a  family  of  twelve  children,  named 
as  follows:  John,  Elizabeth.  George,  Will- 
iam, Susan,  Margaret,  Allen.  Ann.  Lucinda. 
Frank,  James  and  Frances,  the  last  men- 
tioned of  whom  died  in  infancy.  When 
about  nineten  years  old  he  came  with  his 
mother  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  bought 
one  hundred  and  forty-six  acres  of  military 
land  in  Morgan  township,  which  he  devel- 
oped into  a  good  farm,  on  which  his  daugh- 
ter, Caroline,  now  lives,  and  which  she  man- 
ages with  much  ability.  In  politics  he  was 
a  Democrat  of  the  stanchest  type.  In  re- 
ligion he  was  an  old-school  Baptist.  He 
was  a  man  of  much  energy  and  exerted  a 
good  inlluence  upon  the  comnnmity  in  which 
he  lived,  and  in  his  later  years  he  took  a 
pardonable  pride  in  the  fact  that  he  had 
cleared  a  farm  in  the  midst  of  a  A-eritable 
forest  and  developed  it  into  a  valuable  ag- 
ricultural property.  His  oldest  brother. 
John,  then  quite  young,  rendered  service  in 
the  war  of   1812. 

Mr.  Honey  was  married  in  1829  to 
Susan  Sellers,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Mary 
(Beam)  Sellers,  who  bore  him  children  as 
follows :  William,  a  farmer  who  li\-es  at 
Red  Oak,  Iowa :  Nancy,  who  married  Will- 
iam Mercer  and  died  in  March.  1901  ;  Mary 
Elizabeth,  who  died  at  thirteen ;  Caroline 
M.,  who  lives  on  her  father's  homestead; 
and  Margaret  Jerusha,  who  is  the  wife  of 
James  Cooksey,  living  on  part  of  the  old 
homestead.  The  mother  of  these  children 
died  in  1876. 


LEROY  G.   HUNT. 

Almost  continuously  through  the  last 
decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  Colonel  Le- 
roy  G.  Hunt  was  in  public  office  in  Mount 
Vernon  and  no  one  has  ever  more  capably, 
efficiently  and  faithfully  served  his  fellow 
townsmen  than  he.  For  four  years  he  was 
a  member  of  the  city  council  and  for  four 
years  mayor,  and  throughout  the  period  he 
exercised  his  official  prerogatives  in  support 
of  all  measures  of  practical  utility,  of  re- 
form and  substantial  progress. 

Mr.  Hunt  is  numbered  among  the  na- 
tive residents  of  Knox  county,  his  birth  hav- 
ing occurred  at  Hunt  Station  in  1843.  I" 
the  first  decade  of  the  century  the  family 
was  founded  in  this  county  by  Jonathan 
Hunt,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  who 
came  from  Maryland  to  Ohio  about  1806. 
Here  he  began  the  development  of  a  home 
upon  the  wild  western  frontier  and  aided 
in  reclaiming  this  district  for  purposes  of 
civilization.  When  the  country  became  in- 
volved in  a  second  war  with  Great  Britain 
he  joined  the  army  and  fought  for  the  rights 
of  the  nation.  He  married  Honor  Wells, 
who  resided  near  Wellsville,  Ohio,  and 
among  their  children  was  Thomas  Hunt, 
who  was  born  in  181 1  upon  the  same  farm 
where  cxcurred  the  birth  of  our  subject,  and 
where  he  died  in  1852,  being  killed  by  the 
falling  of  a  tree.  He  wedded  Miss  Mary 
Baxter,  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  Pleasant  township,  Knox  county. 
In  addition  to  our  subject  their  children 
were :  Thomas,  who  is  now  living  in  Mount 
Vernon;  Honor  J.,  the  wife  of  J.  J.  Phiffer, 
of  this  city;  Richard  C.  who  was  a  member 
of  Company  G.  Twentieth  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry,  and  is  living  in  Los  Angeles.  Cali- 


Le/lxrt^i^^ 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


169 


fornia;  and  John  D.,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty  second  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  is  living  in  Petos- 
key,  Michigan.  One  son,  Ezra  Hunt,  died 
in  1893. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  majority 
of  men  who  become  prominent  in  the 
various  important  walks  of  life  come 
from  the  farm.  Our  subject  was  thus 
reared  amid  the  beauties  of  nature, 
growing  vigorous  and  strong  in  mind 
and  body,  nourished  by  healthful  coun- 
try food,  breathing  pure  air  and  from  his 
infancy  feeling  that  freedom  and  independ- 
ence which  comes  to  the  fanner  above  all 
others.  He  pursued  his  education  in  the 
common  schools,  and  in  1861  he  offered  his 
services  to  the  government,  becoming  one 
of  the  boys  in  blue  of  Company  G,  Twenti- 
eth Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  which 
he  served  until  1865,  when,  the  war  having 
ended,  he  received  an  honorable  discharge. 
He  was  under  Grant  in  the  seige  of  Vicks- 
burg,  was  with  Sherman's  army  in  the  At- 
lanta campaign  and  went  with  him  on  the 
celebrated  march  to  the  sea,  being  a  member 
of  the  Seventeenth  Army  Corps  under  Gen- 
eral McPherson.  He  was  never  known  to 
falter  before  duty  and  with  loyal  courag- 
eous spirit  defended  the  Union  cause  until 
the  supremacy  of  the  national  government 
at  Washington  was  established. 

After  his  return  to  Knox  county  Mr. 
Hunt  was  connected  with  the  building  trade 
for  a  time  and  afterward  conducted  an  om- 
nibus line  for  sixteen  years.  For  thirty 
years  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  livery  bus- 
iness in  Mount  Vernon  and  has  a  good  es- 
tablishment, well-equipped  with  a  large  line 
of  fine  vehicles  and  many  excellent  horses. 
His  earnest  desire  to  please  his  customers 


and  his  reasonable  prices  have  secured  for 
him  a  liberal  patronage. 

Mr.  Hunt  was  married  to  Miss  Martha 
F.  Sapp,  a  daughter  of  Levi  Sapp,  deceased, 
formerly  of  Mount  Vernon.  Socially  he  is 
connected  with  the  Royal  Arcanum,  the 
National  Union,  the  Junior  Order  of  United 
American  Mechanics  and  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  being  the  first 
exalted  ruler  of  the  lodge  in  this  place.  He 
likewise  belongs  to  the  Grand  Army  Post, 
of  Mount  Vernon,  has  served  as  Its  com- 
mander, and  was  on  the  staff  of  the  state 
department  commander  and  for  one  term  on 
the  staff  of  the  national  commander.  He 
belongs  to  the  Loyal  Legion  and  is  quarter- 
master general  on  the  staff  of  General  T. 
W.  Minshell,  of  the  Ohio  Brigade  of  the 
Uniformed  Rank  of  Knights  of  Pythias,  and 
he  commanded  the  Fifth  Regiment  of 
Knights  of  Pythias  in  Ohio  for  over  six 
years.  He  also  served  as  signal  officer  on 
the  stafif  of  General  Howe  of  the  Ohio  Bri- 
gade of  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  his  polit- 
ical views  he  is  a  stanch  Republican,  unwav- 
ering in  his  allegiance  to  the  principles  of 
the  party.  He  served  as  deputy  sheriff 
for  one  year  under  Sheriff  Steele  and 
in  1891  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
city  council,  serving  in  that  office  for 
four  successive  years.  In  1896  he  was 
elected  mayor  and  continued  in  that  posi- 
tion for  four  years,  during  which  time 
he  demonstrated  that  his  loyalty  to  the 
best  interests  of  his  city  was  as  great  as  that 
which  he  displayed  toward  the  Union  cause 
during  the  Civil  war.  He  studied  closely 
public  needs  and  demands  and  endorsed 
every  measure  which  he  believed  would 
prove  of  public  good.  His  course  was  such 
as  to  continue  him  in  the  warm  regard  of  his 


I70 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


fellow  men  which  he  had  long  enjoyed,  and 
as  a  representative  citizen  of  Knox  county 
he  well  deserves  mention  in  this  volume. 


HENRY  B.  BANNING. 

Knox  county  has  produced  many  men 
who  in  various  important  walks  of  life  have 
honored  their  native  county  and  prominent 
among  these  was  General  Henry  B.  Ban- 
ning. An  enumeration  of  the  men  of  the 
present  generation  who  have  attained  to  em- 
inent positions  and  at  the  same  time  have 
reflected  credit  upon  the  state  to  which  they 
belong  would  be  incomplete  were  there  fail- 
ure to  make  reference  of  him  whose  name 
initiates  this  paragraph.  He  held  distinc- 
tive precedence  as  a  member  of  the  bar  and 
also  in  Democratic  circles  in  the  state.  He 
won  distinction  and  glory  upon  the  field  of 
battle  and  throughout  his  useful  public  ca- 
reer he  so  conducted  himself  as  to  win  the 
encomiums  of  even  those  who  were  opposed 
to  him  politically. 

General  Banning  was  the  sixth  child  of 
James  S.  and  Eliza  (Blackstone)  Banning, 
and  was  bom  in  Mount  Vernon  November 
10,  1836.  He  pursued  his  education  in  the 
Clinton  school,  in  Hull  Rigsby's  private 
school  and  in  Sloan's  Academy,  in  Mount 
Vernon.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  took  up 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  and  under  the 
direction  of  Hosmer  Curtis  and  Joseph  De- 
vin  and  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  became 
a  partner  of  William  Dunbar,  but  his  con- 
nection with  the  legal  fraternity  had  contin- 
ued only  a  few  years  when  the  Civil  war  was 
inaugurated.  He  had  watched  with  interest 
the  progress  of  events  in  the  south  and  had 
determined  that  if  an  attempt  was  made  to 


overthrow  the  Union  he  would  aid  in  its 
preservation.  Accordingly  he  enlisted  in 
1 86 1  as  a  member  of  the  Fourth  Ohio  In- 
fantry, which  was  one  of  the  most  gallant 
regiments  upon  the  field  of  action  through- 
out the  war.  He  was  elected  captain  of 
Company  B  and  later  he  was  recommended 
by  General  Shields  for  the  position  of  major 
of  the  Fifty-second  Ohio,  but  he  never 
joined  that  regiment,  being  placed  in  com- 
mand of  the  Eighty-seventh,  a  regiment  en- 
listed for  three  months'  service.  On  the 
expiration  of  that  period  he  became  lieuten- 
ant-colonel of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twen- 
ty-fifth Ohio  and  served  as  such  until  the 
spring  of  1863,  when  he  became  colonel  of 
the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-first  Ohio 
Volunteers.  This  regiment  was  at  Chicka- 
mauga  and  was  led  by  Colonel  Banning  in  a 
charge  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the 
colors  of  the  Twenty-second  Alabama — the 
only.  Rebel  colors  captured  in  that  sanguin- 
ary engagement.  At  Kenesaw  Mountain 
Colonel  Banning  and  his  brave  men  also 
won  other  laurels,  but  the  victory  cost  them 
dear,  over  thirty-three  per  cent,  being  killed 
or  wounded.  The  Colonel  gave  the  order 
for  his  men  to  lie  down  and  not  retire  a 
single  inch  until  he  commanded  them  to 
do  so.  They  obeyed  and  for  four  hours 
they  lay  there,  unsupported  and  exposed  to 
a  galling  fire  of  artiller}'  and  small  arms, 
upon  both  flanks  and  in  front.  In  1S65 
Colonel  Banning  was  promoted  brevet  brig- 
adier general  for  gallant  and  meritorious 
conduct  during  the  Atlanta  campaign.  His 
regiment  was  with  Thomas  at  Nashville  and 
participated  in  many  of  the  important  en- 
gagements of  the  great  war  which  at  length 
brought  salvation  to  the  imperilled  Union. 
He  was  ever  brave  and  loyal  in  the  discharge 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


of  his  duty  and  his  own  courage  inspired 
his  men  to  deeds  of  valor.  In  the  spring  of 
1865  he  was  given  command  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Ninety-fif'th  Ohio  Regiment 
and  served  in  the  valley  of  Virginia.  He 
was  commander  of  the  post  at  Alexandria 
and  in  December,  1865,  he  was  mustered 
out  as  brevet  major  general. 

General  Banning  put  aside  military  hon- 
or merely  to  receive  those  of  civil  life,  for 
in  1865  he  was  elected  by  Knox  county  to 
the  state  legislature.  In  1868  he  removed 
to  Cincinnati,  where  he  opened  an  office  and 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  his  compre- 
hensive knowledge  of  jurisprudence,  his 
ability  in  the  court  room  and  his  careful 
preparation  of  cases  gaining  for  him  a  large 
and  important  clientage.  In  1872  he  was 
again  called  to  public  life  being  elected  to 
congress  on  the  Democratic  ticket  over 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  and  later  for  the  same 
office  he  defeated  Job  Stevenson  and  Stan- 
ley Mathews.  He  was  twice  re-elected  and 
his  work  in  the  council  chambers  of  his  na- 
tion was  of  an  important  character.  His 
loyalty  was  above  question  and  with  unfal- 
tering purpose  he  supported  the  measures 
which  he  believed  would  advance  the  coun- 
try's welfare.  His  death  occurred  Decem- 
ber 10,  1 88 1,  and  Ohio  lost  a  citizen  whose 
career  (reflected  credit  upon  her  military, 
legal  and  political  history.  On  the  politi- 
cal stage  such  was  his  personal  popularity 
and  such  his  personal  magnetism  that  his 
appearance  to  address  the  people  was  the 
signal  for  tumultuos  enthusiasm.  His  was 
a  sturdy  American  character  and  a  stalwart 
patriotism,  and  he  had  the  strongest  attach- 
ment for  our  free  institutions  and  was  e\er 
willing  to  make  any  personal  sacrifice  for 
their  preservation. 


In  1868  Mr.  Banning  married  Julia 
Kirby,  a  daughter  of  Timothy  Kirby,  of  Cin- 
cinnati. They  had  four  children:  Kirby, 
deceased;  Harry  B. ;  Ella  K. ;  and  Clin- 
ton K. 


MRS.  BELLE  C.  JOHNSON. 

Mrs.  Belle  C.  Johnson  was  born  on  the 
farm  adjoining  the  one  on  which  she  now  re- 
sides, and  is  a  daughter  of  George  W.  and 
Margaret  (Morton)  Davis.  She  was  one 
of  four  children,  three  of  whom  still  sur- 
vive. Her  sister  Emma  became  the  wife  of 
Earl  Squires,  of  Granville,  Knox  county, 
and  her  brother,  John,  is  a  resident  of  Mount 
Vernon,  Illinois.  The  father,  George  W. 
Davis,  who  was  born  on  the  farm-  in  Clin- 
ton township  on  which  Mr.  John  S.  Abbott 
now  resides,  January  9,  182 1,  wasi  a  son  of 
Alexander  and  Isabelle  (Beam)  Davis.  The 
Davis  family  is  of  German  descent,  and 
George  Davis,  the  father  of  Alexander, 
came  to  this  state  from  Culpepper  Court 
House,  Virginia,  about  the  year  1800  and 
settled  on  the  land  now  owned  by  M.  M. 
Kelly,  which  place  at  the  time  of  the  form- 
er's death  descended  to  his  son  Alexander. 
Alexander  Davis  was  a  soldier  in  the  war 
of  18 12,  receiving  for  services  rendered 
land  warrants,  which  he  aftefrward  located 
in  Iowa,  taking  up  military  lands  in  that 
state. 

His  wife  came  with  her  parents  from 
New  Jersey  to  the  Buckeye  state,  and  their 
marriage  was  celebrated  in  Knox  county. 
Their  original  homestead  now  constitutes 
the  farms  owned  by  John  S.  Abbott,  M.  M. 
Kelly,  Ransom  Shinabury  and  C.  C.  Abbott, 
but  later  they  sold  their  holdings  here  and 


172 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


went  tO'  Warren  county,  Ohio,  where  Mr. 
Davis  purchased  large  tracts  of  land  in  the 
Little  Miami  bottoms,  near  Morrow  and 
there  his  death  occurred.  George  W.  Davis, 
the  father  of  our  subject,  spent  the  days  of 
his  boyhood  and  youth  in  Knox  county,  and 
after  reaching  mature  years  he  was  given  the 
old  home  farm,  where  he  spent  his  entire  life 
with  the  exception  of  three  years  when  he 
made  his  home  near  the  town  in  order  that 
his  children  might  enjoy  the  advantages  of 
the  city  schools.  At  his  death  he  owned  one 
hundred  and  eight  acres  of  land  at  Hunt's 
Station,  which  was  afterward  sold  to  E. 
Hamilton.  Eighty  acres  south  of  Mount 
Vernon  was  sold  to  Dr.  Pumphrey,  while 
his  home  farm  of  ninety-two  acres  is  still  in 
possession  of  his  wife,  Margaret  Davis. 

His  life's  labors  were  ended  in  death  in 
1865,  when;  he  had  reached  the  age  of  forty- 
four  years.  He  was  a  Republican  in  his 
political  views,  and,  although  never  an  as- 
pirant for  political  honors,  he  took  an  active 
interest  in  the  issues  and  questions  of  the 
day,  and  was  at  all  times  a  public-spirited 
and  wide-awake  citizen.  Although  not  a 
member  of  any  religious  denomination,  he 
attended  the  services  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  did  whatever  he  could  to  spread 
the  cause  of  Christianity  among  his  fellow 
men.  His  wife,  who  was  born  in  Washing- 
ton county,  Pennsylvania,  was  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Margaret  (Welsh)  Morton,  who 
came  to  the  Buckeye  state  in  1835,  locating 
in  Clinton  township,  Knox  county.  The 
Morton  family  is  of  Irish  extraction. 

Mrs.  Belle  C.  Johnson,  whose  name  in- 
troduces this  review,  was  reared  to  mature 
years  in  the  county  of  her  nativity,  and  was 
educated  in  the  Mount  Vernon  High  School. 
In  1879  she  was  united  in  marriage  to  Isaac 


Johnson,  and  he,  too,  v>as  a  native  of  Clin- 
ton township,  born  on  the  20th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1818,  a  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Isabelle 
(Adams)  Johnson.  He  received  his  ele- 
mentary education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Knox  county  and  Mount  Vernon,  after 
which  he  became  a  student  in  the  Dennison 
University.  After  his  marriage,  which  oc- 
curred in  his  sixtieth  year,  he  located  on 
the  farm  on  which  his  widow  now  resides. 
He  was  very  successful  in  his  farming  and 
stock  raising  interests,  and  at  the  time  of 
his  death  his  landed  property  in  this  county 
and  western  states  comprised  thirteen  hun- 
dred acres.  He  gave  his  political  support 
to  the  Democracy,  but  was  never  a  politi- 
cian in  any  sense  of  the  word,  preferring  to 
give  his  time  to  his  business  affairs.  So- 
cially he  was  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  closed  his  eyes 
in  death  at  his  old  home  in  Clinton  township 
on  the  2 1  St  of  October,  1893.  The  entire 
community  mourned  his  loss,  for  he  was  a 
man  of  incalculable  worth  to  his  locality. 
His  career  was  that  of  an  honorable,  en- 
terprising and  progressive  business  man, 
whose  well-rounded  character  also  enabled 
him  toi  take  an  active  interest  in  educational, 
social  and  moral  affairs.  In  all  life's  rela- 
tions he  commanded  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence of  those  with  whom  he  came  in  con- 
tact, and  the  memory  of  his  upright  life 
is  an  inspiration  to  the  many  friends  who 
knew  him  well  and  were  familiar  with  his. 
virtues. 

Three  children  blessed  the  union  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Johnson,  namely :  Alice,  who  is  a 
graduate  of  Harcourt  Place  Seminary,  and 
attended  school  at  the  Granville  Female 
College,  is  at  home;  Isaac  Sterling  is  at- 
tending school  at  the  Pennsvlvania  Military 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


f73 


College,  of  Chester,  Pennsylvania ;  and  Har- 
old C.  is  attending  the  Doane  Academy,  of 
Granville.  Mrs.  Johnson  and  her  daughter 
are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 


L.  L.  WILLIAMS,  M.  D. 

For  ten  years  Dr.  L.  L.  Williams  has 
been  numbered  among  the  medical  practi- 
tioners of  Mount  Vernon.  He  is  a  native 
of  Licking  county,  Ohio,  his  birth  having 
there  occurred  in  1858.  His  father,  John 
W.  Williams,  was  born  in  Fairfield  county, 
Ohio,  and  at  an  early  day  removed  to  Lick- 
ing county,  where  he  died  many  years  ago. 
His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sarah  J. 
Scott,  and  was  a  daughter  of  James  Scott, 
who  removed  from  Pennsylvania,  where  his 
daughter  was  born,  t®  Milton  township, 
Knox  county,  Ohio. 

Under  the  parental  roof  the  Doctor  spent 
the  days  of  his  childhood  and  youth  and  in 
the  public  schools  acquired  his  education. 
When  the  time  came  for  him  tO'  make  choice 
of  a  vocation  which  he  wished  to  follow  as 
a  life  work  he  determined  to  give  his  time 
and  energies  to  the  practice  of  the  healing 
art  and  to  the  alleviation  of  liviman  suffer- 
ing. As  a  preparation  for  the  profession  he 
entered  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  of 
Philadelphia  and  on  the  completion  of  his 
course  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1882. 
He  then  established  an  office  and  practiced 
in  Reedtown,  Seneca  county,  until  1891, 
when  he  removed  to  Mount  Vernon  to  suc- 
ceed Dr.  Robinson,  deceased.  Here  he  has 
since  been  an  active  practitioner.  He  was 
not  long  in  demonstrating  his  ability  and  a 
liberal  patronage  was  therefore  accorded 
him. 


The  Doctor  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Emma  Crumley,  of  Mount  Vernon,  a 
daughter  of  Samuel  Crumley,  of  Coshocton 
county.  The  hospitality  of  the  best  homes 
of  this  city  is  extended  to  them  and  the  cir- 
cle of  their  friends  is  constantly  widening 
as  their  acquaintances  increased.  Dr.  Will- 
iams is  a  member  of  the  board  of  education 
of  Mount  Vernon,  to  which  position  he  was 
appointed  in  1899  for  a  three  years'  term. 
The  schools  find  in  him  a  warm  friend  and 
he  also  co-operates  heartily  in  any  movement 
which  he  believes  will  be  for  the  general 
good  along  any  line  of  progress.  He  is 
well  known  in  Masonic  circles,  is  connected 
with  the  commandery  of  Mount  Vernon  and 
belongs  to  the  mystic  shrine  in  Columbus. 
He  is  justly  regarded  as  one  oi  the  skillful 
physicians  of  his  locality.  His  knowledge 
and  ability  in  medical  and  surgical  science 
and  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  health  of 
the  body,  his  intelligence  in  other  lines  of 
study  and  his  manly  character  alike  entitle 
him  to  esteem,  and  he  is  regarded  with  the 
highest  respect  in  this  and  other  communi- 
ties. 


ROBERT  C.  ANDERSON. 

Robert  C.  Anderson,  a  prominent  con- 
tractor and  builder  of  Mount  Vernon,  was 
born  in  Clinton  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  in  1850,  a  son  of  David  McCord  and 
Hannah  (Hamill)  Anderson.  Robert  An- 
derson, the  grandfather,  became  a  very  early 
settler  of  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  there  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life, 
passing  away  in  1823.  His  wife  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Jane  Hay.  Our  subject's 
paternal  great-grandfather  married  a  Miss 


174 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


McCord,  in  whose  honor  McCord's  Fort, 
in  Pennsylvania  was  named.  Her  family 
was  killed  by  Indians  but  she  was  saved  by 
being  placed  between  two  ticks.  David  Mc- 
Cord Anderson,  the  father  of  him  whose 
name  forms  the  caption  of  this  article,  was 
born  in  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1814,  and  when  twenty-eight  years  of  age 
he  left  the  place  of  his  nativity  and  came 
to  KnO'X  county,  Ohio,  locating  on  a  fann 
in  Clinton  township.  There  he  made  his 
home  until  he  was  called  to  his  final  rest, 
dying  in  1897,  when  nearly  eighty-fonr 
years  of  age.  He  held  many  positions  of 
honor  and  trust  in  his  township,  and  was 
one  of  the  leading  and  influential  residents 
of  his  locality.  As  a  companion  on  the 
journey  of  life  he  chose  Hannah  J.  Hamill, 
who  was  also  born  in  1814,  a  daughter  of 
John  C.  and  Nancy  (Stewart)  Hamill,  who 
removed  from  near  Parkesburg,  Chester 
county,  Pennsylvania,  to  Clinton  townships 
Knox  county,  about  1820.  The  maternal 
grandfather  of  our  subject  participated  in 
the  war  of  1812,  and  his  older  brothers  took 
part  in  the  struggle  which  brought  independ- 
ence to  the  American  colonies.  The  Ham- 
ills  were  among  the  first  and  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  Upper  Octorara  Presbyterian 
church  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania, 
which  was  established  in  1720  by  Scotch- 
Irish  settlers.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ander- 
son were  born  five  children,  namely :  Anna 
Adeline,  of  Mount  Vernon;  John  H.,  who, 
with  his  wife,  has  had  charge  of  the  chil- 
dren's home  in  this  city  since  its  inception; 
Thomas  M.,  of  Clinton  township,  Knox 
county;  Robert  C,  the  subject  of  this  re- 
view; and  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  G.  W. 
Bell,  of  Bangs,  Ohio. 

Robert  C.  Anderson  was  reared  to  man- 


hood on  his  fathers  farm  in  Clinton  town- 
ship, and  after  taking  up  the  battle  of  life 
on  his  own  account  he  engaged  in  contract- 
ing and  building  in  Mount  Vernon,  which 
occupation  has  claimed  his  time  and  atten- 
tion for  thirty-one  years.  In  his  chosen  line 
of  endeavor  he  has  indeed  met  with  flatter- 
ing success,  and  many  of  the  finest  buildings 
of  the  city  and  surrounding  country  stand 
as  monuments  to  his  thrift  and  ability.  For 
his  wife  he  chose  Miss  Alice  E.  Wilkins,  of 
Clinton  township,  a  daughter  of  Francis 
and  Emeline  (Williams)  Wilkins,  also  of 
this  township.  Both  the  Williams  and  Wil- 
kins families  were  among  the  early  pioneer 
settlers  of  Knox  county.  The  union  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Anderson  has  been  blessed  with 
three  children,  Walter  Stewart,  Clarence 
Hamill  and  Stella  May.  Mr.  Anderson  is 
recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  contractors 
and  one  of  the  reliable  business  men  of  hi,s 
locality  and  enjoys  the  high  regard  of  all 
with  whom  he  has  been  brought  in  contact. 


JOHN  RICHERT. 

John  Richert  is  a  prominent  farmer  of 
Brown  township  and  the  property  which 
he  owns  stands  in  visible  evidence  of  his  life 
industry  and  enterprise.  He  was  born  in 
Stark  county,  Ohio,  Augiist  23,  1839.  His 
father,  George  Richert,  was  a  native  of  Al- 
sace, France,  now  a  province  of  Germany, 
and  when  eighteen  years  of  age  he  came  to 
America,  settling  in  Stark  comity,  Ohio, 
whence  he  removed  to  Brown  township, 
Knox  county,  where  he  is  still  living,  at  the 
ripe  old  age  of  eighty-six  years.  He  mar- 
ried  Barbara   Limmans,    a    native   of   Ger- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


'75 


many,  and  who  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the 
new  world  when  about  twelve  years  of  age. 
She  has  now  passed  the  eighty-second  mile- 
stone o<n  life's  journey  and  this  venerable 
couple  enjoy  in  a  high  degree  the  warm  re- 
gard of  friends  and  neighbors.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  eleven  children,  all  ofj 
whom  reached  mature  years  and  were  mar- 
ried, while  ten  of  them  are  yet  living. 

John  Richert,  the  eldest  of  the  family, 
was  but  a  year  old  when  he  came  to  Knox 
county.  He  was  reared  in  Brown  town- 
ship, amid  the  wild  scenes  of  frontier  life 
and  pursued  his  education  in  the  log  school 
house,  furnished  after  the  primitive  man- 
ner of  the  times.  In  1859  he  went  to  Cali- 
fornia, making  the  journey  by  way  of  New 
York,  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  Mexico. 
At  length  he  arrived  at  San  Francisco, 
whence  he  went  to  the  mountains,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  mining  for  four  years.  He 
was  at  Virginia  City  at  the  time  of  the  first 
great  mining  excitement  in  that  town  and 
for  a  year  was  engaged  in  the  butchering 
business  there.  In  1864  he  returned  to 
Knox  county,  but  the  following  year  again 
went  to  the  "Golden  State,"  making  the 
journey  by  way  of  Graytowm.  After  reach- 
ing the  Golden  Gate  he  once  more  proceeded 
into  the  mountainous  districts  and  was  em- 
ployed as  a  salesman  in  a  dry  goods  store  at 
Holland  Fleet  for  about  one  year. 

On  the  expiration  of  that  period  Mr. 
Richert  returned  to  this  county  and  pur- 
chased one  hundred  acres  of  land,  upon 
which  he  now  resides,  paying  four  thousand 
dollars  for  the  place.  There  were  no  build- 
ings upon  the  tract,  but  with  characteristic 
energy  he  began  to  improve  his  farm  and 
cultivate  the  fields.  He  has  erected  a 
modern    residence,    substantial    barns    and 


out-buildings  and  added  all  the  acces- 
sories which  are  found  upon  a  model 
farm,  which  indicate  the  progressive  spirit 
of  the  owner.  As  his  financial  resources 
have  increased  he  has  added  to  the  property 
until  he  now  has  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  acres,  constituting  one  of  the  best 
farms  in -the  township.  His  life  has  been 
one  of  continuous  industry.  He  has  placed 
his  dependence  in  the  substantial  qualities 
of  earnest  labor  and  perseverance  and  thus 
he  has  continually  advanced  until  he  now 
occupies  a  position  among  the  best  agricul- 
turists of  his  community. 

February  8,  1866,  Mr.  Richert  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  Sarah  Oswalt,  a 
native  of  Jefferson  township,  Knox  county, 
and  their  home  has  been  blessed  with  five 
living  children,  namely :  Sarah  L.,  the  wife 
of  W.  A.  Lifert;  George,  of  Akron,  Ohio, 
who  has  been  connected  with  the  Goodrich 
Rubber  Works  for  over  seven  years ;  Ed- 
ward, who  for  five  years  has  been  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  same  company  in  Akron ;  Wal- 
ter, a  resident  farmer  of  Brown  township; 
and  Arthur,  at  home.  They  also  lost  one 
child,  Curtis  S.  All  were  born  in  Brown 
township,  and  the  family  is  a  creditable  one 
to  the  parents.  Mr.  Richert  has  served  as 
treasurer  of  his  township  for  seven  years 
and  was  trustee  for  nine  years,  his  long  con- 
tinuance in  these  offices  indicating  unmistak- 
ably his  faithfulness  to  duty  and  his  capa- 
bility. He  votes  with  the  Democracy  and 
does  all  in  his  power  for  its  advancement. 
His  religious  belief  is  indicated  by  his  mem- 
bership in  the  Lutheran  church.  Almost  his 
entire  life  has  been  spent  in  Knox  county 
and  therefore  he  has  witnessed  much  of  its 
development  as  it  has  been  transformed 
from  a  wild  region  into  one  of  the  populous 


176 


A   CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


counties  of  the  state.  He  has  ever  borne  his 
part  in  the  work  of  progress  and  improve- 
ment and  is  a  loyal  citizen,  enterprising- 
farmer  and  an  upright  man  he  is  widely  and 
favorably  known. 


FRED   W.   JONES. 


Fred  W.  Jones,  a  prominait  railroad 
contractor  and  builder  of  Mount  Vernon, 
is  a  native  son  of  this  city.  After  attend- 
ing the  public  schools  here  he  matriculated  in 
the  academy  at  Denmark,  Iowa,  where  he 
received  excellent  educational  advantages. 
In  1867  he  became  identified  with  railroad 
work,  first  as  a  brakenian,  and  later  served 
as  a  baggage  master,  conductor  and  express 
agent.  In  1869  he  came  to  Mount  Vernon, 
entering  the  office  of  the  Cleveland,  Akron 
&  Columbus  Railroad  with  his  father,  Gos- 
horn  A.  Jones,  who  was  manager  of  the 
road,  and  our  subject  was  thus  engaged  un- 
til 1 87 1,  when  he  took  his  first  contract  in 
railroad  building.  He  was  employed  to 
build  an  extension  of  the  road  from  near 
Millersburg  to  Black  Creek,  a  distance  of 
ten  miles,  and  in  the  following  year  he  was 
put  in  charge  of  the  main  survey  department 
of  the  road,  having  charge  of  the  road  bed, 
bridges  and  construction  on  the  northern 
division  of  the  Cleveland,  Akron  &  Colum- 
bus Railroad.  After  remaining  with  that 
company  for  a  time  he  became  identified 
with  the  Cleveland,  Mount  Vernon  &  Co- 
lumbus road,  now  a  part  of  the  former  sys- 
tem. 

In  1875  the  headquarters  of  that  road 
was  removed  to  Mount  Vernon  from  Ak- 
ron, where  it  had  been  located  since  1869, 
and  Mr.  Jones  was  put  in  charge  of  the  en- 


tire road,  which  position  he  continued  to  fill 
until  1882,  and  in  that  year  his  father  was 
made  receiver  of  the  road.  Since  retiring 
from  that  position  our  subject  has  been  en- 
gaged in  railroad  contracting  and  in  this 
undertaking  he  has  indeed  met  with  a  very 
high  degree  of  success.  He  is  a  wide-awake, 
progressive,  active  and  energetic  business 
man,  and  his  name  is  closely  associated  with 
advancement  along  the  line  of  his  chosen 
occupation. 

Mr.  Jones  was  married,  in  Holmes 
county,  Ohio,  to  Miss  Mira  Wholf,  a  daugh- 
ter of  David  Wholf,  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
the}^  have  five  children,  namely  :  Carrie,  the 
wife  of  O.  Patterson,  of  Denison,  Iowa;  G. 
A.,  a  prominent  railroad  builder  and  con- 
tractor of  Mount  Vernon;  Mary  B.,  at 
home;  Fred  R.,  who  is  engaged  in  business 
with  his  brother,  G.  A.  Jones,  business  being 
carried  on  under  the  name  of  Jones  Broth- 
ers; and  Frank  B.,  who  is  attending  school. 
The  family  enjoy  the  hospitality  of  the  best 
homes  of  the  city,  and  their  own  pleasant 
residence  is  the  center  of  a  cultured  society 
circle. 


JAMES    DICKSON. 


Any  work  purporting  to  include  the  bi- 
ographical and  genealogical  data  pertaining 
to  the  history  of  Wayne  township,  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  would  be  incomplete  if  it  did 
not  contain  adequate  mention  of  that  sterl- 
ing citizen  and  successful  farmer,  James 
Dickson,  and  his  antecedents  and  family 
connections. 

James  Dickson,  son  of  Samuel  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Rood)  Dickson,  was  born  on  the 
farm  where  he  now  lives  in  Wavne  town- 


OF   KNOX   COUNTY,    OHIO. 


ship,  April  ii,  1845.  After  obtaining  an 
education  in  the  public  schools  he  gave  his 
time  wholly  to  farming,  in  which  he  has 
been  proficient  and  successful.  He  joined 
Thrall  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
No.  170,  about  1881,  and  is  well  known  in 
Masonic  circles  throughout  Knox  county. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church,  of  Fredericktown,  and  as  such  has 
done  everything  in  his  power  to  advance 
its  spiritual  and  material  interests.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Bricker  December  14,  1870, 
and  their  only  child,  Ray  B.,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 14,  1879,  '^"'i  remains  with  his  father 
on  the  farm.  Mrs.  Dickson  died  in  July, 
1898. 

Samuel  Dickson,  father  of  James  Dick- 
son, was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York 
August  19,  1794.  On  coming  to  Ohio  he 
located  in  Clinton  township,  Knox  county, 
and  later  he  removed  to  Wayne  township, 
where  he  proved  himself  a  progressive  farm- 
er and  citizen  and  did  much  to  clear  up  and 
improve  the  country  and  to  enhance  its  gen- 
eral prosperity.  That  he  was  a  man  of  much 
innate  patriotism  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  when  a  mere  youth  he  becanae  a  soldier 
under  the  stars  and  stripes  and  served  his 
country  admirably  in  the  war  of  1812. 
Elizabeth  Rood,  whom  he  married,  was 
born  January  12,  1807,  a  daughter  of  Noah 
and  Mary  (Merrick)  Rood.  She  was  a 
devoted  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
and  her  life,  which  terminated  July  i,  1875, 
was  in  every  way  worthy  of  emulation. 

Noah  Rood,  grandfather  of  James  Dick- 
son in  the  maternal  line,  came  to  Ohio 
from  Redstone,  Pennsylvania,  at  an  early 
date,  and  was  the  father  of  seven  children, 
named  William,  Samuel,  Elizabeth.  Mary, 
Mariah,  James  and  Anna. 


MORGAN  HAYS. 

One  of  several  citizens  of  Clay  township, 
Knox  count}',  Ohio,  who  were  especially 
conspicuous  for  their  sterling  worth  and 
who  have  passed  away  during  recent  years 
was  Morgan  Hays,  who  was  born  May  21, 
1821,  and  died  April  22,  1900. 

Morgan  Hays  was  a  native  of  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  and  was  the  youngest  son  of 
James  Hays,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
and  married  a  Miss  Bell,  who  was  also  a  na- 
tive of  that  state.  When  he  was  a  small  boy 
death  visited  his  family  and  made  him  moth- 
erless, and  he  went  to  Coshocton  county, 
Ohio,  and  for  a  time  lived  with  a  brother 
and  with  his  sister  Elizabeth,  who  had  be- 
come a  Mrs.  Boggs.  His  educational  advan- 
tages were  limited  to  such  as  were  afforded 
by  the  public  schools  in  vogue  in  his  local- 
ity at  the  time  of  his  youth.  He  was  mar- 
vied  October  16,  1849,  when  he  was  about 
twenty-eight  years  old,  and  located  in  Har- 
rison township,  Knox  county,  where  he  lived 
on  one  farm  for  six  years  and  on  another 
farm  for  eleven  years  thereafter.  He  then  re- 
moved to  Pleasant  township  and  afterward 
to  Clay  township,  where  he  farmed  until 
1889  when  he  retired  from  active  life  and 
bought  the  homestead  in  the  village  of  Mar- 
tinsburg,  upon  which  Mrs.  Hays  now  lives. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat  and  as  a 
man  of  influence  and  enterprise  he  was  well 
known  throughout  the  county. 

Deborah  A.  (Breece)  Hays,  widow  of 
Morgan  Hays,  was  born  in  Virginia  May 
18,  1828,  a  daughter  of  Abraham  and  Eliza 
(Ward)  Breece.  Both  of  her  parents  died 
in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  when  she  was 
so  young  that  she  had  little  knowledge  of 
their  family  history,  the  youngest  child  hav- 


178 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


ing-  been  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  her 
mother  only  three  months  old.  They  left 
thirteen  children,  of  whom  she  was  the 
eighth  in  order  of  birth,  and  they  found 
homes  with  different  families,  she  at  the  age 
of  twelve  years,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ezekiel 
Boggs,  with  whom  she  lived  six  years.  Af- 
ter leaving  their  roof  she  supported  herself 
two  years  at  Mount  Vernon.  She  bore  her 
late  husband  a  son  and  a  daughter — Leander 
Hays,  county  commissioner  of  Knox  coun- 
ty, a  biographical  sketch  of  whom  appears 
in  this  work,  and  Elizabeth,  of  Gambier, 
Ohio,  who  is  the  widow  of  Mark  Workman. 
Mrs.  Hays  has  three  grandchildren.  Bertha 
Hays,  Howard  Hays  and  Estella  Workman. 
The  last  named  is  the  wife  of  Lewis  Horn. 
Mrs.  Hays,  who  is  a  member  of  the  Dis- 
ciples' church,  is  a  woman  of  high  character 
and  many  accomplishments  and  her  circle  of 
acquaintances  is  large  and  extremely  loyaJ 
to  her.  She  is  one  of  the  well-to-do  women 
of  Knox  county,  owning  a  fine  fann  of 
eighty  acres,  which,  since  her  husband's 
death  she  has  managed  with  much  ability. 


HUGH  L.   GREEN. 


If  there  is  a  farmer  in  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  who  may  fittingly  be  termed  a  man 
of  public  affairs  it  is  the  gentleman  whose 
name  is  above  and  who  was  born  on  the 
farm  on  which  he  now  lives,  on  section 
eighteen,  Harrison  township,  April  29,  1854. 

Daniel  Green,  father  of  Hugh  L.  Green, 
was  born  in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  and  at 
the  age  of  six  years  was  brought  to  Harri- 
son township  by  his  parents,  William  Green 
and  wife.     That  was  as  long  ago  as  1825,. 


and  he  grew  up  and  prospered,  and  died  in 
the  township  in  1895,  in  the  seventy-seventh 
year  of  his  age.  As  a  Whig  he  voted  for 
William  Henry  Harrison  in  1840  and  as  z 
Republican  he  cast  his  last  vote  for  Will- 
iam McKinley  for  governor  of  Ohio  in  1893. 
William  Green,  his  father,  was  a  native  of 
Maryland,  and  located  in  Harrison  town- 
ship seventy-seven  years  ago,  taking  up  his 
residence  in  the  log  house  in  which  he  ended 
his  days. 

Daniel  Green  married  Lydia  Bowman,  a 
native  of  Virginia,  who  at  the  age  of  twelve 
years  was  brought  to  Knox  county  by  her 
mother  and  stepfather,  named  Whitmer. 
She  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-six' years.  Dan- 
iel and  Lydia  (Bowman)  Green  were  the 
parents  of  nine  children,  all  of  whom  are 
living,  the  youngest  being  now  a  little  more 
than  forty  years  old.  Hugh  L.  Green  wa.s 
the  sixth  of  these  children  in  order  of  birth. 
He  was  reared  on  the  farm  which  is  now 
his  home  and  attended  the  common  school 
in  the  district  in  which  it  is  included.  Later 
he  was  a  student  in  the  normal  school  at 
Liscomb,  Marshall  county,  Iowa,  and  fin- 
ished his  studies  at  Delaware,  Ohio.  He 
taught  school  in  Harrison  and  adjoining 
townships  for  eighteen  years,  or  until  1892, 
since  which  time  he  has  given  his  attention 
to  other  matters.  In  1880  he  was  appointed 
to  a  clerical  position  in  the  census  depart- 
ment at  Washington,  in  which  he  ranained 
but  a  few  months,  and  in  1890  he  was  made 
census  enumerator.  In  1899  he  was  a  can- 
didate for  a  member  of  the  Ohio  state  leg- 
islature. He  is  a  Republican  of  the  stanch- 
es t  type,  always  alert  and  active  in  political 
work,  always  devoted  to  the  principles  of  the 
party  of  Lincoln,  of  Garfield  and  of  Mc- 
Kinley, always    patriotically    solicitous    for 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


the  progress  and  prosperity  of  his  township, 
county,  state  and  country,  and  is  often  found 
as  a  delegate  to  the  party  conventions.  He 
is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  199,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  of  Bladensburg,  and  is 
identified  with  the  Disciples'  church  in  which 
he  fills  the  office  of  deacon.  He  was  also  a 
member  and  was  chairman  of  its  finance 
committee  in  1898  at  the  time  of  the  erec- 
tion of  the  house  of  worship  at  "the  grove." 
His  home  farm  consists  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  and  he  owns  another  farm  of 
fifty-three  acres  in  Clay  township. 

Mr.  Green  was  married  August  21,  1888, 
to  Miss  Luella  Martin,  a  daughter  of  George 
R.  and  Agnes  P.  (Shiply)  Martin,  and  a 
native  of  Clinton  township,  Knox  county. 
Mrs.  Green  was  the  seventh  born  of  a  fam- 
ily of  nine  children,  all  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity  excepting  one,  who  died  in  infancy. 
She  has  borne  her  husband  three  children, 
named  Helen  Lee,  Ruth  Elda  and  Ronald 
Martin. 

The  family  of  Green,  Oif  which  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  is  a  representative,  is  of 
Welsh  descent  and  for  many  generations  has 
been  prominent  in  its  native  land.  Daniel 
Green,  father  of  Hugh  L.  Green,  was  the 
oldest  of  the  family  of  ten  children.  In  all 
generations  the  Greens  have  given  attention 
to  public  affairs  and  Mr.  Green's  counsel  is 
sought  on  important  matters  of  many  kinds 
by  his  fellow  townsmen. 


GEORGE  A-  WELKER,  M.  D. 

Dr.  George  A.  Welker  is  a  prominent 
f)hysiciaM  of  Ankenytown,  for  his  careful 
preparation,  his  broad  knowledge  of  the  sci- 


ence of  medicine  and  his  practical  skill  in 
applying  it  to  the  needs  of  suffering  hu- 
manity, have  gained  him  precedence  in  his 
chosen  calling.  He  was  born  in  Union 
township,  Kno'X  county,  December  10,  1839, 
and  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  oldest 
families  in  this  portion  of .  the  state.  His 
great-grandfather  came  to  Knox  cotmty  in 
1807,  bringing  with  him  his  family,  but  he 
was  not  long  permitted  to  enjoy  his  new 
home  as  death  came  to  him.  He  was  of 
German  descent.  His  son,  David  Welker, 
was  a.  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  a 
young  and  single  man  when  with  his  par- 
ents he  came  to  the  Buckeye  state.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  McMillan,  who  was  of  Irish  de- 
scent and  their  son  was  Paul  Welker,  the 
father  of  our  subject,  who  was  born  in 
Union  township,  Knox  county,  in  1813. 
After  arriving  at  mature  years  he  was 
there  married  to  Christina  Ankeny,  a  native 
of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
whence  she  came  to  Knox  county  at  about 
the  age  of  fifteen  years.  She  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Hon.  George  Ankeny,  one  of  the  hon- 
ored early  settlers  of  Berlin  township,  in 
whose  honor  the  village  of  Ankeny  was^ 
named.  By  trade  he  was  a  blacksmith  and 
there  carried  on  business  with  creditable  suc- 
cess. A  man  of  strong  character,  he  was 
recognized  as  a  leading  and  influential  citi- 
zen of  the  community  and  was  prominent  in 
politics,  serving  as  a  micmber  of  the  state 
legislature  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His 
political  support  was  given  tO'  the  Democ- 
racy and  his  labors  contributed  largely  to 
its  growth  and  success.  He  passed  away 
when  about  fifty-five  years  of  age.  The  fam- 
ily from  which  he  sprung  was  of  Dutch  line- 
age. 

After  his  marriage  Paul  Welker  began 


i8o 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


farming  on  his  own  account  in  Union  town- 
ship and  there  devoted  his  energies  to  agri- 
cuUural  pursuits  throughout  his  remaining 
days.  For  about  thirty  years  he  served  as 
justice  of  the  peace,  proving  a  most  capable 
officer  and  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  years 
he  was  called  to  his  final  rest.  His  wife  long 
survived  him  and  died  when  about  eighty 
years  of  age.  They  were  the  parents  of 
four  children,  of  whom  the  Doctor  is  the 
eldest,  the  others  being  David,  Sylvester 
and  Mary  B. 

Dr.  Welker  was  only  four  years  old 
when  he  was  taken  tO'  Howard  township 
and  there  he  was  reared  and  educated,  at- 
tending the  district  schools  and  also  the 
academy  in  Millwood.  He  began  the  study 
of  medicine  at  the  age  of  nineteen  under  the 
direction  of  the  firm  of  McMann  &  Camp- 
bell at  Millwood.  They  directed  his  read- 
ing for  two  years  and  after  attaining  his 
majority  he  became  a  student  in  the  medical 
department  of  the  State  University  of  Mich- 
igan, at  Ann  Arbor,  continuing  in  that  in- 
stitution for  six  months.  He  then  began 
practice,  which  he  successfully  followed  for 
twelve  years,  when  he  entered  the  medical 
department  of  the  University  of  Wooster,  in 
which  he  was  graduated.  In  September, 
1866,  he  came  to  Ankenytown,  but  for  two 
years  previously  he  practiced  at  Greersville, 
and  for  two'  and  one-half  years  at  Millwood. 
He  has  been  established  in  his  profession  in 
this  place  for  thirty-five  years  and  is  one  of 
the  oldest  practicing  physicians  of  the  coun- 
ty. He  has  kept  in  touch  with  modern  meth- 
ods of  progress  and  has  ever  enjoyed  a  large 
and  growing  patronage.  He  owns  a  good 
farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  which  is  well  im- 
proved and  his  interest  in  agricultural  pur- 


suits is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the 
Grange,  of  which  he  is  treasurer. 

The  Doctor  was  married  in  1863  to  Miss 
Emma  Giffin,  a  native  of  Berlin  township 
and  a  daughter  of  Lauriston  and  Lucia 
Gifiin.  They  now  have  twoi  children :  Nan- 
nie B.,  the  wife  of  Henry  B.  Adams;  and 
Harry  B.,  who  married  Minnie  Martin,  and 
resides  upon  his  father's  farm. 

At  one  time  the  Doctor  was  a  member  of 
the  North  Central  Medical  Society.  He  is 
now  associated  with  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
belonging  to  the  lodge  in  Fredericktown.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Christian  church  and 
is  serving  as  one  of  its  trustees  and  is  active 
and  influential  in  its  work.  Of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  he  is  a  supporter  and  for  two 
terms  he  served  as  coroner  of  the  county, 
while  for  one  term  he  was  treasurer  of  his 
township.  As  a  citizen,  friend  and  member 
of  the  medical  profession  he  ranks  high.  His 
work  has  been  of  great  benefit  to  his  fellow 
men  and  his  success  is  a  merited  reward  of 
thorough  equipment  and  conscientious 
ability. 


JAMES  M.  CANNON. 

James  Madison  Cannon  a  son  of  Zeph- 
aniah  and  Matilda  (Painter)  Cannon,  was 
born  in  Clay  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
May  15,  1843,  3-"d  resided  with  his  parents 
until  nineteen  years  of  age,  when,  at  a  call 
by  Abraham  Lincoln  for  troops  his  patri- 
otism became  fully  aroused  and  he  enlisted 
in  Company  E,  Twelfth  Ohio  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, commanded  by  Captain  Aaron  Chan- 
nell.  Captain,  now  General,  Otis  succeeded 
to  the  command  after  the  death  of  Channell, 


OE  KNOX   COUNTY,   OHIO. 


and  they  were  immediately  sent  to  the  front, 
the  company  forming  a  part  of  Colonel 
White's  regiment.  Mr.  Cannon  took  part 
in  about  twenty-two  battles  and  skirmishes, 
the  more  important  ones  being  Antietam, 
Clpyd  Mountain,  Winchester,  Cedar  Creek 
and  Lynchburg.  He  was  with  Colonel  Av- 
ery for  a  year  in  front  of  Petersburg  or  until 
the  surrender  and  evacuation  of  that  place. 
He  was  also  present  at  Appomattox  Court 
House  when  the  middle  section  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland  surrendered  to  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

Returning  home  at  the  close  of  the  war 
Mr.  Cannon  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret 
Painter,  on  January  i,  1867.  She  was  bom 
in  Fallsburg  township.  Licking  county, 
Ohio,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  eleven 
children,  namely:  Melissa;  William,  de- 
ceased in  infancy ;  Edna  Elnora ;  Jacob  E. ; 
Gertrude  A.,  deceased;  John  Wesley;  Sadie; 
Callie ;  Anna  F. ;  Zephaniah  M. ;  and  Charles 
Albert.  Politically  Mr.  Cannon  is  a  Repub- 
lican and  is  highly  respected  by  all  who 
know  him. 


ANDREW  BECHTEL. 

Andrew  Bechtel,  who  is  now  serving  as 
township  trustee  in  Berlin  township  and  is 
there  engaged'  in  farming,  is  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  his  birth  having  occurred  in 
Huntington  county,  on  the  20th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1829.  He  is  the  eldest  of  the  ten  chil- 
dren of  Peter  and  Elizabeth  (Snowbarger) 
Bechtel,  who  were  also  natives  of  the  Key- 
stone state,  the  father  having  been  born  in 
Huntington  county,  while  the  mother's  birth 
occurred  in  Bedford  county.  They  had  six 
sons  and  four  daughters.     The  father  was 


a  farmer  by  occupation  and  followed  that 
pursuit  throughout  his  entire  life.  He  died 
in  the  place  of  his  nativity  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-eight years,  while  his  wife  passed  way 
at  the  age  of  eighty-six. 

In  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  An- 
drew Bechtel  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood, 
his  time  being  ocupied  with  play  and  work 
and  the  duties  of  the  schoolroom.  He  re- 
mained at  home  until  his  marriage,  which 
important  event  in  his  life  occurred  in  1852, 
Miss  Elizabeth  Brumbaugh  becoming  his 
wife.  She  was  born  in  Bedford  county  and 
died  in  1861.  Of  her  four  children,  three 
are  living — Simon,  Jackson  and  Nancy  Jane, 
while  Mary  Ann-  is  now  deceased.  For  his 
second  wife  Mr.  Bechtel  chose  Elizabeth 
Frederick  and  unto  them  have  been  born 
four  children,  the  living  being  Lewis  F., 
Sarah  E.  and  Minnie  C.  They  lost  one  son, 
Isaac. 

In  1853,  Mr.  Bechtel  arrived  in  Berlin 
township,  Knox  county,  locating  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  township,  where  he  remained 
for  twenty  and  a  half  years.  He  then  came 
to  his  present  residence  and  here  he  owns 
and  operates  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
acres  of  rich  land,  which  yields  to  him  good 
harvests  in  return  for  the  care  and  labor  he 
bestows  upon  the  fields.  He  erected  his  res- 
idence here  and  has  made  many  other  sub- 
stantial improvements,  which  add  both  to 
the  value  and  attractive  appearance  of  the 
place.  He  follows  general  farming  and 
stock  raising  and  upon  his  place  are  seen 
excellent  grades  of  stock. 

In  his  political  affiliations  Mr.  Bechtel 
has  always  been  a  Republican,  never  failing 
to  cast  his  ballot  for  the  men  and  measures 
of  that  party.  His  fellow  townsmen,  rec- 
ognizing his  worth  and  ability,  elected  him 


I82 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


township  trustee  in  1900  for  a  term  of  three 
years.  He  belongs  to  the  German  Baptist 
church,  is  one  of  it»  trustees  and  in  its  work 
is  deeply  interested,  as  is  evidenced  by  his 
co-operation  therein.  A  public-spirited  cit- 
izen he  accords  his  support  to  all  measures 
which  he  believes  will  be  for  the  general 
good  and  as  a  man  and  citizen  he  is  ac- 
knowledged to  be  one  of  the  most  worthy 
representatives  of  the  community. 


ISAAC  LYON  JACKSON. 

Almost  an  octogenarian,  Isaac  L.  Jack- 
son has  spent  his  entire  life  on  the  farm 
where  he  is  now  living,  his  birth  having 
there  occurred  on  the  25th  of  March,  1823. 
He  has  since  been  identified  with  the  work 
of  agriculture,  which  Washington  said  "is 
the  most  honorable  as  well  as  the  most  use- 
ful business  to  which  man  can  devote  his 
energies."  He  is  of  English  and  Scotch 
extraction  and  is  descended  from  good  old 
Revolutionary  stock.  His  paternal  grand- 
father, Benjamin  Jackson,  was  a  native  of 
Morris  county,  New  Jersey,  and  when  the 
colonists  fought  for  freedom  he  became  a 
major  in  the  American  army  and  valiantly 
aided  in  the  cause  of  independence.  He 
was  a  bloomer  by  trade,  and,  living  near 
Valley  Forge  at  the  time  the  American 
troops  were  there  encamped,  he  was  em- 
ployed in  making  chevaux  de  frise,  a  large 
pronged  iron  to  cast  in  the  river  in  order  to 
obstruct  the  stream  and  render  it  unnavi- 
gable.  He  married  Abigail  Mitchell,  who 
was  also  a  native  of  Morris  coimty,  New 
Jersey,  and  some  years  after  the  removal 
of  his  son  Ziba  to  Ohio   he    also   came    to 


Knox  county  and  settled  in  Morris  town- 
ship. 

Ziba  Jackson,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Morris  county.  New  Jersey, 
February  2,  1777,  and  spent  his  boyhood 
and  youth  in  his  native  state.  He  began  his 
business  career  there  as  a  farmer,  and  for 
a  companion  and  helpmate  on  the  journey 
of  life  he  chose  Miss  Phoebe  Lyon,  who 
was  born  in  Sussex  county,  that  state,  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1782,  her  parents  being  Abraham 
and  Phoebe  (Kitchen)  Lyon,  who  were  also 
natives  of  Sussex  county  and  belonged  to  an 
old  family  there,  the  ancestors  coming  from 
England  at  an  early  epoch  in  American  his- 
tory. Abraham  Lyon  was  a  captain  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  his  sword,  now  in 
possession  of  Judson  Trowbridge,  of  Michi- 
gan, was  sent  to  the  family  reunion  recently 
held  in  this  county.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
L>x>n  died  in  New  Jersey. 

Two  of  their  children  were  born  to  Ziba 
and  Phoebe  Jackson  in  the  state  of  their 
nativity,  and  with  his  little  family  he  started 
westward  in  1805.  Being  a  poor  man  he 
had  to  remain  in  Pennsylvania  for  eighteen 
months  in  order  to  earn  the  funds  necessary 
for  the  completion  of  the  journey.  In  1807 
he  again  turned  his  face  toward  the  setting 
sun,  arriving  in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  in  the 
spring  of  that  year.  We  of  the  twentieth 
century  can  scarcely  realize  what  were  the 
conditions  of  the  country  at  that  time. 
Nearly  all  of  the  land  was  still  in  possession 
of  the  government  and  was  largely  cov- 
ered with  a  dense  growtli  of  timber.  There 
were  marshy  districts  and  here  and  there, 
at  rare  intervals,  a  blue  line  of  smoke  rising 
from  amid  the  trees  indicated  that  a  settle- 
ment had  been  made  by  some  brave  frontier- 
man  and  the  work  of  improvement  had  been 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


183 


begun.  Mr.  Jackson  purchased  a  small 
place  near  the  Salem  church  in  Wayne 
township,  and  the  first  year  cleared  a  little 
patch  of  ground  and  planted  some  corn. 
Steadily  he  continued  the  work  of  develop- 
ment, planted  an  orchard  and  made  other 
improvements,  but  later  he  sold  that  prop- 
erty and  removed  to  what  is  now  known  as 
the  old  David  Ball  farm,  also  in  Wayne 
township.  In  1814  he  traded  that  property 
for  the  present  Jackson  homestead  upon 
which  our  subject  now  resides.  He  there 
built  a  log  cabin  and' in  the  spring  of  1815 
removed  his  family  to-  his  new  home,  where 
he  resided  up  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1848,  when  he  was  in  his 
seventy-second  year.  During  the  year  of 
18 1 2  he  served  his  country  as  first  sergeant, 
and  in  the  paths  of  peace  he  also  performed 
an  active  work  for  his  native  land  by  carry- 
ing civilization  to  the  frontier  and  aiding  in 
reclaiming  the  wild  land  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  white  race.  He  was  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics  and  for  several  years  he  was 
trustee  of  his  township,  proving  a  very 
capable  officer.  His  wife  passed  away  July 
II,  1836. 

Isaac  L.  Jackson  was  one  of  a  family  of 
se\-en  children  born  tO'  this  worthy  and  hon- 
ored pioneer  couple,  but  only  two  of  the 
number  are  now  living,  the  other  being 
Chalon,  of  Lynn  county,  Missouri,  now  in 
his  eighty-seventh  year.  Amid  the  wild 
scenes  of  frontier  life  Isaac  L.  Jackson  was 
reared,  sharing  with  the  family  in  the  hard- 
ships and  trials  which  are  the  inevitable  lot 
of  pioneer  people,  but  there  were  certain 
pleasure  to  be  enjoyed  that  are  unknown  at 
the  present  time,  and  thus  the  years  were 
checkered  with  work  and  happiness.  In  the 
pr.milive  schools  of  the  time  he  pursued  his 


education,  and  on  the  13th  of  April,  1848, 
there  occurred  an  important  event  in  his  life 
— his  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Jackson, 
a  native  of  Knox  county  and  a  daughter  oi 
Ephraim  and  Nancy  Jackson,  and  who  was 
formerly  his  pupil.  They  began  their 
domestic  life  on  a  part  of  his  father's  farm, 
of  which  he  had  charge  from  his  twenty- 
first  year,  receiving  a  share  of  the  crops. 
Upon  his  father's  death  he  purchased  the 
place  from  the  other  heirs  and  has  since 
made  his  home  thereon,  through  all  the 
years  keeping  his  land  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation  and  making  many  improve- 
ments, so  that  the  property  has  ever  been 
valuable  and  attractive. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jackson 
was  blessed  with  seven  children,  of  whom 
five  are  yet  living:  Mary  E.,  the  deceased 
wife  of  Theodore  Haines;  Sarah  E.,  the 
wife  of  William  H.  Gordon,  of  Miorris 
township;  George  F.,  of  Oklahoma;  Nancy 
S.,  the  wife  of  Dr.  M.  F.  Cole,  a  practicing 
physician  of  Columbus;  Albert  M.,  de- 
ceased; Amanda  Anna,  the  wife  of  G.  M. 
Sipe,  an  attorney  of  Utica,  Ohio;  and  Eva 
B.,  who'  married  C.  K.  Conrad,  oi  Mount 
Vernon.  The  mother  died  in  1877,  and  Mr. 
Jackson  was  afterward  married,  in  Dela- 
ware, Ohio,  in  1878,  to  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Con- 
verse, nee  Douglass.  Her  death  occurred 
in  1890,  and  February  16,  1892,  Mr.  Jack- 
son wedded  Miss  Anna  Moffit,  a  native  of 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  and  daughter  of 
Rev.  A.  S.  Moffit,  of  the  Northern  Ohio 
Conference. 

Mr.  Jackson  has  been  very  successful  in 
his  farming  operations  and  is  now  the  owner 
of  three  farms,  aggregating  three  hundred 
and  twenty-five  acres  of  land.  He  still 
gives  his  personal  supervision  to  the  culti- 


1 84 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


vation  of  the  home  farm,  and  the  rental 
from  his  place  and  the  harvests  garnered 
here  in  Morris  township  supply  him  with 
an  excellent  income  wh'ich  furnishes  him 
with  all  the  comforts  of  life.  He  is  a  stanch 
Republican,  and  though  he  has  never  been 
a  politician  in  the  sense  of  office  seeking,  he 
has  served  for  thirty  years  as  justice  of  the 
peace  and  has  "won  golden  opinions  from 
all  sorts  of  people"  by  his  absolute  fairness 
and  impartiality.  He  has  served  for  several 
terms  as  trustee,  assessor,  clerk  and  con- 
stable. These  offices  have  been  conferred 
upon  him  from  time  to  time  without  his 
solicitation  by  his  fellow  citizens,  who  rec- 
ognize his  worth  and  ability.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in 
which  he  has  for  many  years  held  office. 
No  trust  reposed  in  him  has  ever  been  be- 
trayed in  the  slighest  degree.  He  has  ever 
been  found  true  and  faithful  and  his  life 
has  been  characterized  by  marked  fidelity 
to  duty.  In  the  long  years  of  his  residence 
here  he  has  become  widely  known  and  his 
friends  are  numbered  among  the  rich  and 
the  poor,'  the  old  and  the  young. 


HON.  COLUMBUS  DELANO. 

True  biography  has  a  nobler  purpose 
than  mere  fulsome  eulogy.  The  historic 
spirit  faithful  to  the  record,  the  discerning 
judgment  unmoved  by  prejudice  and  uncol- 
ored  by  enthusiasm,  are  as  essential  in  giv- 
ing the  life  of  the  individual  as  in  writing  the 
history  of  a  people.  Indeed,  the  ingenuous- 
ness of  the  former  picture  is  even  more  vital, 
because  the  individual  is  the  national  unit; 
and  if  the  unit  be  justly  estimated  the  com- 


plex organism  will  become  correspondingly 
intelligible.  The  world  to-day  is  what  the 
leading  men  of  the  last  generation  have 
made  it  From  the  past  has  come  the  legacy 
of  the  present.  Art,  science,  statesmanship 
and  government  are  accumulations.  They 
constitute  an  inheritance  upon  which  the 
present  generation  have  entered,  and  the 
advantages  secured  from  such)  a  vast  be- 
queathment  depend  entirely  upon  the  fidel- 
ity with  which  is  conducted  the  study  of 
the  lives  O'f  the  principal  actors  who  have 
transmitted  the  legacy.  This  is  especially 
true  of  those  whose  influence  has  passed 
beyond  the  confines  of  locality  and  per- 
meated the  national  character. 

To  such  a  careful  study  are  the  life,  char- 
acter and  services  of  Columbus  Delano  pre- 
eminently entitled,  not  only  by  the  student 
of  biography  but  by  every  citizen  who, 
guided  by  the  past,  would  in  the  present 
wisely  build  for  the  future.  To  have  at- 
tained to  the  extreme  fulness  of  years  and 
to  have  one's  ken  broadened  to  a  compre- 
hension of  all  that  has  been  accomplished 
within  the  flight  of  many  days,  is  of  itself 
sufficient  to  render  a  detailed  consideration 
of  such  a  life  in  a  work  of  this  order;  but  in 
the  case  at  hand  there  are  more  pertinent, 
more  distinguished  elements — those  of  use- 
fulness in  positions  of  high  public  trust  and 
confidence,  of  marked  intellectual  ability,  of 
exalted  honor,  of  broad  charity — which  lift 
high  in  reverence  the  subjective  personality 
of  this  veteran  statesman,  who  in  his  de- 
clining days  rested  secure  in  the  esteem  of 
those  among  whom  so  many  years  of  his 
life  had  been  passed,  his  beautiful  country- 
seat,  Lakehome,  near  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio, 
being  a  most  fit  abiding  place  for  one  who 
thus  sought  release  from  the  pressing  cares 


M 


'0^ 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


and  responsibilities  attending  a  long  and 
distinguished  career  as  an  eminent  lawyer, 
an  able  business  man  and  one  intimately 
identified  with  the  governmental  affairs  of 
both   state  and   nation. 

As  the  name  implies,  the  lineage  of  the 
Delano  family  traces  to  French  origin, 
through  the  original  American  representa- 
tive. Philip  Delano,  who  came  hither  from 
Holland  in  the  Fortune,  the  first  vessel  that 
landed  at  Plymouth  Rock  after  the  ]\Iay- 
flower,  and  thus  the  family  have  been  identi- 
fied with  the  annals  of  the  nation  from  the 
early  colonial  epoch,  contributing  true  and 
noble  men  and  women  to  each  successive  gen- 
eration through  the  long  intervening  years. 

Columbus  Delano  was  born  in  Shore- 
ham,  Vermont,  on  the  5th  of  June,  1809,  be- 
ing the  son  of  James  and  Lucinda  (Bate- 
man)  Delano.  His  father  died  when  he 
was  about  six  years  of  age,  and  thereupon 
he  was  committed  to  the  care  of  his  uncle. 
Luther  Bateman,  with  whom  he  removed 
to  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio,  in  the  year  1817. 
It  will  thus  be  noted  that  Air.  Delano  was 
but  a  lad  of  eight  years  when  he  came  to 
the  locality  which  afterward  continued  to 
be  his  home  and  to  whose  development  and 
substantial  upbuilding  he  contributed  in  so 
large  a  measure.  Here  was  his  home  for 
more  than  a  half  a  century,  and  these  years 
w^ere  to  him  full  of  ceaseless  toil  and  en- 
deavor and  of  distinguished  honors.  Very 
early  in  life  Mr.  Delano  was  thrown  upon 
his  own  resources,  and  even  then  did  he  rise 
to  the  exigencies  of  the  situation  with  that 
same  self-reliance  and  self-respect  which 
have  been  characteristic  of  his  entire  career. 
He  made  good  use  of  such  educational  fa- 
cilities as  were  available,  and  his  keen  and 
alert  mentalitv  enabled  him  to  derive  more 


from  little  than  perhaps  the  average  person 
could  accomplish.  Before  attaining  his  ma- 
jority he  had  given  definition  to  the  course 
which  he  should  pursue  in  life,  having  de- 
termined to  adopt  the  profession  of  law, 
and  bent  every  energy  toward  preparing 
himself  for  the  practice  of  the  same.  In 
the  meantime  he  was  compelled  to  find  such 
incidental  occupation  as  would  enable  him 
to  meet  the  current  expenses,  so  that  his 
time  was  fully  filled  and  his  leisure  moments 
few  and  far  between.  In  1830  he  became 
a  student  in  the  law  office  of  Hosmer  Cur- 
tis, of  Mount  Vernon,  and  under  the  effec- 
tive preceptorage  implied  continued  until 
183 1,  when  he  realized  his  ambition  in  be- 
ing admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  state.  As 
has  been  said  of  him  by  another  biographer : 
"His  ambition,  talents,  excellent  habits  and 
exemplary  deportment  gave  assurance  of 
success  and  distinction  in  his  chosen  profes- 
sion, and  his  early  promise  as  a  lawyer  was 
fully  realized  in  later  years.  He  became 
eminent  as  an  advocate  and  criminal  lawyer, 
and  no  less  so  as  a  criminal  prosecutor,  for 
soon  after  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  he  be- 
came, by  popular  election,  the  prosecuting 
attorney  of  Knox  county.  The  prosecuting 
attorney  became  an  elective  officer  by  act 
of  the  legislature  in  1832,  and  Mr.  Delano, 
although  a  Whig,  or  rather  a  National  Re- 
publican, was  elected  to  that'  office  in  a 
county  then  decidedly  and  strongly  Demo- 
cratic, which  shows  that  he  was  then  very 
popular   with   both   parties." 

The  safety  of  the  republic  depends  not 
so  much  upon  the  methods  and  measures  as 
upon  the  manhood  from  whose  deep 
sources  all  that  is  precious  and  permanent 
in  life  must  at  least  proceed.  Throughout 
his  entire  career  Air.  Delano  showed  himself 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


to  be  of  stern  integrity  and  honesty  of  pur- 
pose, despising  all  unworthy  or  questiona- 
ble means  of  securing  success  in  any  under- 
taking or  for  any  purpose,  or  of  promoting 
his  own  advancement  in  any  direction, 
whether  political  or  otherwise.  The  tongue 
of  calumny  has  been  perforce  silenced  and 
the  malvolence  of  detraction  has  not  as- 
sumed to  assail  his  private  reputation.  It 
is  our  duty  to  mark  our  appreciation  of  such 
a  man — a  man  true  in  every  relation  of  life, 
faithful  to  every  trust,  a  statesman  diligent 
in  the  service  of  his  country  and  seeking 
only  the  public  good.  His  character  was 
of  the  sturdy  American  sort,  and  his  patriot- 
ism was  stalwart,  and  he  had  the  strongest 
attachment  to  our  free  institutions  and  was 
ever  willing  to  make  any  personal  sacrifice 
for  their  preservation. 

Continuing  the  tracing  of  his  public  ca- 
reer, we  find  that  after  a  three  years'  service 
as  prosecuting  attorney  of  Knox  county  he 
was  elected  as  his  own  successor,  but  that 
he  resigned  the  position  shortly  after  enter- 
ing his  second  term,  finding  that  his  increas- 
ing and  important  civil  practice  placed  ex- 
acting demands  on  his  undivided  attention. 
His  devotion  to  the  profession,  his  thor- 
oughness and  integrity  as  a  lawyer  and  his 
uniform  success  as  an  advocate  soon  placed 
him  in  a  foremost  position  as  a  member  of 
the  Ohio  bar,  then  justly  distinguished  for 
the  great  ability  of  its  personnel.  It  was 
but  to  be  expected  that  such  a  man  would 
be  uncompromising  in  his  opposition  to  hu- 
man slavery,  and  one  who  would  bring  to 
bear  the  full  force  of  his  strong  individu- 
ality when  this  institution  threatened  the 
integrity  of  the  nation.  In  the  troublous 
days  attending  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he 
was  a  stalwart  exponent  of  the  views  of  the 


Whig  party,  and,  while  seeking  no  official 
preferment,  his  influence  was  thrown  act- 
ivel}'  intO'  supporting  the  principles  and  poli- 
cies of  this  organization.  As  has  been  said 
in  this  connection,  "surrounded  by  a  cordon 
of  Democratic  constituencies  in  the  immedi- 
ate vicinity  of  his  congressional  district, 
there  seemed  but  little  hope  of  his  popular 
preferment,"  However,  in  the  year  1844, 
without  solicitation  on  his  part,  Mr.  Delano 
was  placed  in  nomination  as  the  Whig  can- 
didate for  congress  from  his  district.  The 
contest  was  vigorous,  and  the  personal 
strength  and  popularity  of  our  subject  were 
most  clearly  shown  in  the  results  of  the 
election,  since  he  secured  a  majority  of 
twelve  votes  over  the  Hon.  Caleb  J.  McNul- 
ty,  a  Deinocratic  politician  of  marked  pop- 
ularity and  extensive  resurces  and  power. 
The  emphatic  endorsement  thus  accorded 
Mr.  Delano  is  evinced  by  no  one  fact  more 
perfectly  than  in  that  at  the  same  election 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  governor  car- 
ried the  identical  district  by  six  hundred 
majority.  The  original  Whig  candidate 
from  the  district  comprising  the  counties  of 
Knox,  Licking  and  Franklin  was  Hon.  Sam- 
uel White,  of  Licking,  who  had  effected  the 
canvass  of  a  portion  of  the  district  when  a 
sudden  illness  finally  terminated  in  his 
death.  He  had  been  considered  the  ablest 
and  most  popular  Whig  in  the  district,  and 
he  and  his  opponent  were  well  matched  as 
orators  before  promiscuous  assemblies.  The 
death  of  Mr.  White  demanded  a  careful  de- 
liberation on  the  part  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Whig  forces  in  the  district,  since  the  emer- 
gency was  somewhat  difficult  to  meet.  ]\Ir. 
Delano  was  complimented  as  being  finally 
selected  as  the  most  eligible  man  in  the  dis- 
trict to  conduct  the  campaign  against  Col- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


[87 


onel  McNulty.  Each  of  the  opposing  candi- 
dates feh  that  he  had  a  foeman  worthy  of 
his  steel,  and  the  canvass  was  a  most  spir- 
ited one  and  the  issue  one  of  doubt,  as  is 
manifest  in  the  fact  that  the  election  was 
so  close  that  the  result  was  not  known  until 
returns  had  been  received  from  the  last 
township  in;  the  district,  when  the  vic- 
tory was  found  to  be  Mr.  Delano's,  who 
thus  took  his  seat  as  a  member  of  the 
twenty-ninth  congress.  In  this  congress 
he  served  with  signal  fidelity  to  the 
interests  of  his  state  and  his  constitu- 
ents, recognizing  the  important  charac- 
ter of  the  trust  conferred  and  assum- 
ing the  duties  involved  with  all  the  poten- 
tiality of  his  sterling  and  resourceful  nature. 
He  served  as  a  member  of  the  committee  on 
invalid  pensions,  and  his  speech  depreciat- 
ing the  Mexican  war  policy  was  a  most  vig- 
orous one  and  so  cogent  in  its  argument  as 
to  demand  the  consideration  of  all,  without 
regard  to  party  lines.  This  speech  was 
widely  circulated  and  did  much  to  establish 
his  reputation  throughout  the  nation.  In 
the  Whig  convention  of  1846  Mr.  Delano 
was  a  candidate  for  governor  of  Ohio,  but 
failed  of  nomination  by  two  votes,  his  suc- 
cessful! competitor  for  this  position  being 
Seabury  Ford. 

In  1850  JMr.  Delano  retired  from  ac- 
ti\-e  practice  of  the  legal  profession,  in 
which  he  had  attained  to  so  signal  priority, 
and  thereupon  removed  to  the  city  of  New 
York,  where  he  became  a  member  of  the 
banking  firm  of  Delano,  Dunlevy  &  Com- 
pany, and  where  he  was  concerned  in  the 
conducting  of  a  very  successful  business  for 
a  term  of  five  years,  after  which  he  returned 
to  his  old  and  cherished  home  at  Mount  Ver- 
non, and  here  turned  his  attention  to  exten- 


sive agricultural  operations  a. id;  to  other 
business  interests  of  important  character. 

The  interest  which  Mr.  Delano  had 
shown  in  matters  political  hid  shown  no 
signs  of  waning,  and  he  was  rery  naturally 
soon  brought  into  prominence.  His  politi- 
cal adherency  had  continued  with  the  Re- 
publican party,  the  normal  successor  of  the 
Whig  organization,  and  in  i860  he  was  a 
delegate  to  the  national  convention,  in  Chi- 
cago, which  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln 
for  the  presidency ;  and  he  rendered  valiant 
service  in  behalf  of  the  martyred  president, 
seconding  his  nomination  in  a  speech  alive 
with  pajtriotic  utterances  and  earnest  en- 
dorsement of  "the  man  who  could  split  rails 
and  maul  Democrats."  He  took  an  active 
part  in  the  ensuing  campaign.  In  1861,  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  a 
recognition  of  Mr.  Delano's  stalwart  patriot- 
ism and  marked  executive  ability  was  ac- 
corded in  his  appointment  as  commissary 
general  of  Ohio,  in  which  office  he  served 
with  signal  efficiency  until  the  time  when  the 
general  government  assumed  the  subsistence 
of  the  state  troops.  In  the  succeeding  year 
he  became  a  candidate  in  convention  for 
the  United  States  Senate,  and  on  one  ballot 
lacked  but  two  votes  of  the  nomination.  In 
1863  official  preferment  again  came  to  Mr. 
Delano  in  his  election  to  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives in  the  Ohio  legislature,  in  which 
body  he  became  prominent  through  his  well 
directed  efforts  in  shaping  the  important 
legislation  of  the  state  during  the  last  two 
years  of  the  war,  having  been  chairman  of 
the  committee  which  determined  upon  the 
question  relative  to  the  voting  of  the  sol- 
diers in  the  field. 

Mr.  Delano  was  chairman  of  the  Ohio 
delegation  in  the  national  Republican  con- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


vention  held  at  Baltimore  in  1864,  and  here 
again  it  was  his  to  render  a  zealous  support 
to  President  Lincoln,  for  whose  nomination 
he  labored  earnestly.  Within  the  same  year 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  thirty-ninth 
congress,  in  which  he  served  as  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  claims.  He  was  nomin- 
ated as  his  own  successor  in  the  fortieth 
congress,  but  refused  to  become  again\  a 
candidate  from  his  district.  Of  his  work 
in  congress  we  can  not  do  better  than  to  in- 
corporate a  summing  up  which  has  hitherto 
been  made.  "As  a  legislator  he  was  op- 
posed to  free  trade,  and  advocated  a  pro 
tective  tariff.  He  was  strongly  opposed  to 
the  extravagant  claims  of  railroad  compan- 
ies for  land  grants  and  government  subsi- 
dies. His  views  were  regarded  as  most  im- 
portant on  questions  of  tariff,  of  taxes  and 
of  public  debt.  To  his  speech  of  July  24, 
1866,  was  given  the  credit  of  carrying  the 
tariff  bill  of  that  session  against  what  has 
been  considered  ^the  sense  of  the  house." 

When  President  Grant  became  president 
of  the  United  States-  he  conferred  upon  our 
honored  subject  the  appointment  as  com- 
missioner of  internal  revenue,  and  in  his 
administration  O'f  the  affairs  of  this  offfce 
he  showed  the  same  fidelity  and  the  same 
disregard  for  fear  or  favor  as  derogating 
against  such  fidelity  that  had  ever  been  typ- 
ical of  his  services  in  positions  of  public 
trust.  It  demanded  fortitude  and  inflexi- 
bility of  principle  to  bring  about  the  needed 
reforms  in  this  department  of  public  service, 
and  it  will  stand  tO'  the  perpetual  credit  of 
Mr.  Delano  that  he  effected  a  thorongh  re- 
organization of  the  department  and  cor- 
rected many  abuses  which  had  been  held  as 
privileges  by  certain  powerful  organizations 
which  preyed  upon  the  nation.     In  the  year 


1870  there  came  to>  Mr.  Delano  a  fit- 
ting crown  to  his  zealous  endeavors  in 
the  service  of  his  country,  since  in  that 
year  he  became  a  member  of  the  cabi- 
net of  President  Grant,  succeeding  Gov- 
ernor J.  D.  Cox  as  secretary  of  the 
interior.  This  conspicuous  and  import- 
ant office  he  filled  with  signal  ability  for 
a  termi  of  five  years,  when  he  tendered  his 
resignation  in  order  to  devote  his  attention 
to  private  pursuits,  doubtless  feeling  that  he 
was  entitled  to>  respite  from  public  service 
after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years.  This  res- 
ignation was  accepted  by  the  president  with 
expressions  of  satisfaction  with  the  manner 
in  which  Mr.  Delano  had  performed  the 
duties  devolving  upon  him  in  the  incum- 
bency, and  with  manifestations  of  regret  in 
view  of  his  desire  to  retire  from  public  life. 
After  his  retirement  from  the  dignified 
cabinet  office  of  secretary  of  the  interior, 
Mr.  Delano  returned  to  the  place  which  for 
more  than  seventy  years  he  had  delighted  to 
call  his  home.  His  beautiful  country  seat, 
Lakehome,  situated  about  one  mile  south 
of  Mount  Vernon,  is  one  of  the  finest  in 
the  entire  state,  and  tO'  its  cultivation  and 
improvement  he  devoted  his  attention  with 
that  energy  which  was  so  characteristic  of 
the  man.  A  more  ideal  home  than  this  can 
scarcely  be  imagined,  and  thei  stately  de- 
mesne, with  its  fifteen  acres  of  lawn,  with 
its  noble  trees,  winding  drives  and  opulence 
of  floral  tributes,  can  not  fail  to  appeal  to 
the  sentiment  of  any  beholder,  while  the 
utilitarian  aspect  is  equally  insistent  in  com- 
manding attention,  the  great  area  of  five 
hundred  acres  of  well  tilled  fields  or  far- 
stretching  meadows  adding  to  the  pastoral 
charms  of  Lakehome,  while  the  improve- 
ments and  modern  accessories  are  of  such 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


189 


extent  and  character  as  to  make  the  place 
a  veritable  model.  Mr.  Delano  did  much 
to  advance  the  agricultural  and  stock  rais- 
ing interests  of  the  locality,  and  in  his  ven- 
erable age  he  did  not  abate  his  active  con- 
cern. Another  has  written  as  follows 
touching  the  declining  years  of  the  hon- 
ored subject  of  this  memoir:  "There,  amid 
the  elegance,  the  quiet,  the  contentment  of 
a  well  ordered  home,  among  cherished 
friends  of  earlier  and  later  times,  he  en- 
joyed the  philosophic  composure,  the  sage- 
like dignity,  the  leisure,  the  retirement  be- 
coming one  whose  years  of  activity,  of  suc- 
cess, of  honor  have  so  largely  outnumbered 
those  of  mankind  generall}',  whose  ways  of 
life  ha\-e  been  such  that  his  retrospections 
would  be  pleasurable,  be  recalled  with  de- 
light and  cherished  with  complacency."  So 
noble  and  well  spent  a  life  manifestly  mer- 
its immunity  from  all  that  is  implied  in 
the  beautiful  litany  words,  "In  any  way 
affected  the  mind,  body  or  estate,"  and  Co- 
lumbus Delano,  the  veteran  statesman,  the 
patriot,  the  noble  citizen,  commanded  the 
respect  and  veneration  of  all  who  had  cog- 
nizance of  his  fruitful  and  worthy  life. 

In  all  that  concerned  the  well  being  and 
the  advancement  of  his  fellow  men  Mr.  De- 
lano maintained  an  abiding  interest,  and  this 
was  an  interest  not  only  of  words  but  of 
deeds.  As  success  attended  his  efforts  he 
had  recognition  of  the  higher  duties  which 
were  imposed  upon  him  in  its  attaining  and 
the  practical  philanthropy  which  he  showed 
stands  in  evidence  of  the  sympathetic  na- 
ture, the  charity  of  judgment  and  the  earn- 
est devotion  of  the  man.  Temperate  and  the 
friend  of  temperance  in  all  things,  the  sup- 
porter of  education  and  good  morals,  the 
schools,  colleges  and  churches  always  found 


in  him  an  advocate.  A  zealous  churchman, 
he  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  wardens 
of  St.  Paul's  Protestant  Episcopal  church 
in  Mount  Vernon,  being  such  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  and  to  his  beneficence  the  pres- 
ent prosperity  of  the  parish  is  in  a  large 
measure  due.  He  always  maintained  a 
lively  interest  in  the  well-known  church  in- 
stitution, Kenyon  College,  at  Gambler, 
Ohio,  and  was  for  many  years  a  member  of 
its  board  of  trustees.  To  this  school  he  gave 
a  munificent  bequest  in  a  fund  for  the  en- 
dowment of  the  grammar  department,  and 
the  institution  conferred  upon  him'  the  hon- 
ary  degree  of  doctor  of  laws.  He  also  pro- 
vided for  the  erection  of  Delano  Hall  at 
this  school. 

After  retiring  from  public  life  Mr.  De- 
lano did  not  abate  his  interest  in  the  issues 
and  affairs  of  the  day,  but  kept  closely  in 
touch  with  all  questions  touching  the  pros- 
perity of  the  nation.  His  advice  was  sought 
in  regard  tO'  the  provisions  of  the  McKinley 
tariff  bill,  and  incidentally  he  devoted  much 
time  and  labor  to  the  interest  of  protection, 
especially  on  wool,  and  until  within  a  few 
years  past  was  president  of  the  National 
Wool  Growers'  Association. 

On  the  14th  of  July,  1834,  was  solemn- 
ized the  marriage  of  Columbus  Delano  and 
Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  M.  Martin  and 
Clara  (Sherman)  Leavenworth,  of  Mount 
Vernon,  Ohio.  Of  their  children  one  is  liv- 
ing, Elizabeth,  who  was  born  in  1839,  and 
who  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  John  G.  Ames,  of 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

On  Friday  morning,  October  23,  1896, 
amid  the  scenes  hallowed  by  long  and  ten- 
der associations,  came  the  final  summons 
to  one  of  nature's  noblemen,  for,  full  of  years 
and  well  earned  honors,  Columbus  Delano 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


entered  into  that  eternal  rest  to  which  he 
had  looked  in  triumphant  faith.  The  silver 
cord  of  life  was  loosed  suddenly  and  at  a 
time  when  he  was  giving-  directions  in  re- 
gard to  his  affairs  and  preparing  for  the  du- 
ties of  the  day.  The  life  infinite  took  on  a 
new  glory  when  thus  was  set  the  seal  upon 
the  mortal  lips.  The  cause  of  death  was 
heart  failure,  superinduced  by  advanced  age. 
Columbus  Delano  lived,  labored  and  died 
like  the  truly  great  man  that  he  was,  and 
the  solemn  strains  of  the  Nunc  Dimittis  was 
never  intoned  as  a  requiem  to  a  more  faith- 
ful and  noble  servant.  His  work  was  done, 
and  the  merging  of  the  mortal  into  immor- 
tality was  but  the  consistent  end — thus  bear- 
ing its  measure  of  reconciliation  and  conso- 
lation to  those  most  deeply  bereaved. 


ALBERT  G.   BLACK. 

Albert  G.  Black,  who  wore  the  blue  in 
the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war,  is  now 
successfully  engaged  in  farming  on  section 
17,  Jefiferson  township.  His  entire  life  has 
been  passed  in  Knox  county,  his  birth  hav- 
ing occurred  in  Union  township,  October 
16,  1840.  He  is  the  seventh  child  and 
fourth  son  of  Andrew  and  Sarah  (Huff) 
Black,  under  whose  roof  his  boyhood  days 
were  happily  passed.  He  acquired  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood and  was  trained  in  the  work  of 
the  fields  and  meadows,  assisting  in  the  la- 
bors of  the  home  farm  until  1862,  when  he 
could  no  longer  content  himself  with  farm 
work  and  enlisted  in  Company  H,  Twen- 
tieth Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  which 
he  remained  for  three  years  as  a  private. 
He  took  part  in  a  number  of  very  important 


engagements,  including  the  battles  of  Fort 
Donelson,  Shiloh,  Corinth,  luka  and  the 
siege  of  Vicksburg,  being  present  when  the 
Confederates  surrendered  that  city.  He 
was  never  wounded  or  taken  prisoner  and 
through  his  three  years'  service  was  only  off 
duty  for  one  week.  His  was  indeed  a  cred- 
itable military  record,  marked  by  unfalter- 
ing fidelity  to  the  cause  he  espoused. 

When  the  war  was  over  Mr.  Black  re- 
turned to  his  home  and  engaged  in  general 
farming  in  Union  township.  He  has  also 
taught  school  in  the  same  township,  has  op- 
erated a  threshing  machine  and  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  cider,  but  all  these  have 
been  supplemental  tO'  his  principal  work  of 
tilling  the  soil.  In  1900  he  took  up  his 
abode  on  his  present  farm  in  Jefferson 
township,  where  he  owns  and  operates 
eighty  acres  of  rich  land,  and  the  thrifty  ap- 
pearance of  the  place  indicates  tO'  the  passer- 
by his  cai'eful  supervision. 

On  the  7th  of  December,  1872,  Mr. 
Black  was  married  to  Miss  Nancy  J. 
Slaight,  a  native  of  Knox  county,  born  in 
Union  township,  and  a.  daug"hter  of  Henry 
G.  and  Lovina  (Statlar)  Slaight,  who  were 
early  settlers  of  Knox  county,  emigrating 
from  New  York  to  the  Buckeye  state. 
They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  of 
whom  Mrs.  Black  was  the  second  in  order 
of  birtli.  By  her  marriage  she  has  become 
the  mother  of  five  children :  Nellie  M.,  the 
wife  of  Charles  Snow,  of  Danville,  by 
whom  she  has  one  son,  Harold  G. ;  Henry 
E.,  Ida  C,  H.  ^^•endall  P.  and  Willard  B., 
all  at  home  excepting  H.  Wendall  P.,  who 
is  in  California.  In  his  political  views  Mr. 
Black  has  always  been  a  Republican,  and 
warmly  advocates  the  principles  of  the 
party,  although  he  has  never  sought  or  de- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


191 


sired  public  office.  His  attention  has  mainly 
been  given  tO'  his  business  affairs,  and  his 
enterprise  and  unflagging  industry  have 
made  him  the  owner  of  a  desirable  prop- 
ertv. 


NICHOLAS  St.  CLAIR  TOLAXD,  M.  D. 

It  is  not  probable  that  many  physicians 
in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  more  fully  realize 
the  popular  conception  of  the  duties  of  the 
family  doctor  than  Nicholas  St.  Clair  To- 
land,  of  Martinsburg,  Clay  township,  who 
has  ministered  to  the  medical  and  surgical 
necessities  of  the  people  of  that  vicinity 
since  1S67. 

Doctor  Toland  was  born  in  Carroll 
county,  Ohio,  December  8,  1832.  Benja- 
min F.  Toland,  his  father,  was  born  in 
Maryland,  and  was  of  Irish  descent.  He 
married  Martha  Denbow,  also  a  native  of 
Maryland,  but  of  English  extraction,  and 
soon  afterward  removed  to  Ohio.  Doctor 
Toland,  the  youngest  of  his  parents'  chil- 
dren, was  reared  in  his  native  county  and 
received  his  primary  education  in  the  dis- 
trict school  near  his  home,  later  attending 
a  special  school  at  Oldtown,  Ohio.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  years  he  went  to  Tuscarawas 
county,  Ohio,  and  three  years  later  he  be- 
gan teaching  school,  and  thus  he  obtained 
means  with  which  tO'  pay  for  his  medical 
education.  He  began  his  professional  stud- 
ies in  the  fall  of  1856  at  Ncav  Philadelphia, 
Ohio,  and  in  due  course  of  events  attended 
lectures  at  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  Wooster.  He  began  active 
practice  at  Bakerville,  Coshocton  county, 
Ohio,  in  the  spring  of  1858  and  remained 
there  with  considerable  success  until  the  fall 


of  1864,  when  he  removed  to  Gnadenhut- 
ten,  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
cruited a  company  which  became  known  as 
Company  E,  One  Hundred  and  Ninety- 
fourth  Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry, 
in  which  he  did  creditable  service  as  first 
lieutenant  until  the  close  of  the  war,  having 
been  mustered  out  with  that  rank.  In  1867 
he  resumed  his  professional  work  at  Mar- 
tinsburg, KnO'x  county,  where  he  has  prac- 
ticed continuously  to  the  present  time.  He 
is  the  oldest  practicing  physician  in  his 
vicinity  and  perhaps  the  oldest  in  the  county 
in  point  of  unbroken  service. 

Doctor  Toland  in  ,1858  married  Miss 
Rosana  Simmons,  now  deceased,  who'  bore 
him  eight  children,  but  only  one  is  now  liv- 
ing— Efiie  J.,  the  wife  of  J.  Mitchell,  of 
Falls  City,  Nebraska.  Doctor  Toland's 
present  wife  was  Miss  Martha  Mozelle 
Ewart.  The  Doctor  keeps  alive  recollec- 
tions of  his  experiences  of  war  by  member- 
ship with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
he  having  filled  all  the  chairs  in  Updyke 
Post,  No.  486,  of  Martinsburg,  which  he 
has  served  as  post  surgeon  since  its  organi- 
zation. He  is  a  member  of  the  Disciples' 
church,  of  Martinsburg,  and  is  well  known 
throughout  Knox  county  as  a  prominent 
and  influential  Republican. 


GEORGE  T.  MURPHY. 

George  T.  Murphy,  who  is  engaged  in 
the  insurance  business  in  Batemantown,  is 
an  honored  veteran  of  the  Civil  war  and  has 
been  a  prominent  factor  in  public  affairs, 
holding  several  of-ficial  positions,  in  which 
he  manifested  the  same  loyalty  to  duty  and 


■192 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


the  right  that  characterized  his  army  Ufe 
when  he  followed  the  starry  banner  of  the 
nation  upon  southern  battlefields.  He  lis 
numbered  among  Knox  county's  native 
sons,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Middle- 
bury  township,  April  7,  1844.  His  grand- 
father, Abner  Murphy,  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  at  a  very  early  epoch  in  the 
development  of  central  Ohio  located  in  Mid- 
dlebury  township,  his  home  being  in  the 
midst  of  the  vernal  forest.  There  he  cleared 
a  tract  of  land,  developed  a  good  farm  and 
reared  his  family  of  Iten  children,  all  of 
w^hom  reached  adult  age.  Only  one,  how- 
ever, is  now  living,  Enos,  of  Middlebury 
township.  The  fifth  of  the  family  was 
Bazil  ]vlurphy.  the  father  of  our  subject. 
He  was  born  in  the  Keystone  state  in  18 12 
and  with  his  parents  came  to  Knox  county 
in  his  boyhood.  He  was  reared  and  mar- 
ried in  Middlebury  township  and  located  on 
a  farm  within  its  borders,  devoting  his  en- 
tire life  to  the  raising  of  the  cereals  best 
adapted  to  this  climate.  His  political  views 
in  early  life  were  in  accord  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Whig  party,  and  when  new 
issues  arose  before  the  people  he  became  a 
Republican.  He  was  a  helpful  and  zealous 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  held  the  offices  of  steward  and  class- 
leader.  The  greater  part  of  his  life  was 
passed  in  Middlebury  township,  and  he  died 
in  1896,  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 
In  early  manhood  he  had  married  Abigal 
Johnson,  a  native  of  Middlebury  township 
and  a  daughter  of  James  Johnson,  a  pioneer 
settler  here.  Among  his  children  Mrs. 
Murphy  was  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth, 
and  her  childhood  days  were  passed  in  her 
native  township.  She  is  still  living  and  is 
now  in  her  eighty-seventh  year. 


L'nto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  ]\Iurphy  were  born 
four  sons  and  four  daughters :  Samantha, 
the  wife  of  William  Burkholder;  Albert  and 
Sarah,  both  deceased ;  Elmer,  deceased ;  Lu- 
cretia,  the  widow  of  Samuel  Poorman,  of 
jMiddlebury  township;  James  F.,  of  Mid- 
dlebury township;  George,  of  this  review; 
and  Ella,  the  widow  of  Frank  Thompson, 
of  Middlebury  township. 

George  T.  Murphy  began  his  education 
in  the  district  schools  and  later  continued 
his  education  in  Fredericktown.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen,  his  patriotic  spirit  thor- 
oughly aroused,  he  offered  his  services  to 
the  government,  and  in  1862  donned  the 
blue  uniform  as  a  member  of  Company  A, 
Twentieth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  serv- 
ing for  three  years.  He  participated  in  many 
important  engagements,  including  the 
battles  of  Raymond,  \'icksburg.  Champion 
Hill  and  the  siege  of  Vicksburg.  In  the  win- 
ter of  1863-4  he  was  with  his  command  at 
Meridian  and  then  returned  to  Vicksburg, 
and  in  [March,  1864.  went  home  on  a  fur- 
lough. On  the  expiration  of  his  leave  of 
absence  he  joined  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land, participated  in  the  Atlanta  campaign 
and  was  with  Sherman  on  the"  celebrated 
mafch  to  the  sea,  whioh  proved  thajt 
the  Confederate  strength  was  almost  ex- 
pended. After  the  capture  of  Savannah 
he  participated  in  the  Carolina  campaign, 
proceeded  to  Washington,  and  when  the 
victorious  hosts  were  marshalled  in  Wash- 
ington, he,  too,  participated  in  the  grand 
review,  the  most  celebrated  military  page- 
ant ever  seen  on  the  western  hemisphere. 
On  the  15th  of  June,  1865,  he  was  honor- 
ably discharged  in  Columbus,  and  with  a 
most  creditable  military  record  returned  to 
his  home. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


t93 


Mr.  Murphy  then  resumed  his  education 
and  for  two  years  was  a  student  in  Fred- 
ericktown,  after  which  he  engaged  in  teach- 
ing for  a  year.  He  haS'  been  honored  with 
pubhc  office,  being  appointed  by  President 
Harrison  storekeeper  and  ganger  for  what 
is  known  as  the  Lost  Run  distillery,  serving 
in  that  capacity  for  four  years.  In  1896  he 
was  elected  county  commissioner  and  filled 
that  position  for  a  similar  period.  He  is 
now  engaged  in  the  insurance  business  in 
Batemantown,  in  company  with  C.  C.  Jack- 
son, ex-county  recorder  of  Mount  Vernon, 
and  represents  a  number  of  the  old  reliable 
companies. 

In  1868  Mi'r.  Murphy  was  married  to 
Miss  Alice  Van  Buskirk.  and  unto  them 
have  been  born  two  children :  Lillie,  the 
wife  of  William  Alguire;  and  Inez,  the  wife 
of  Otho  McCarroo.  After  the  death  of  his 
first  wife  Mr.  Murphy  wedded  Sarah 
Lynde,  a  native  of  Middlebury  township  and 
a  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Mary  (Fowler) 
Lynde,  who  had  seven  children,  Mrs.  Mur- 
phy being  the  third.  Her  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  Vermont,  her  mother  of  Connecti- 
cut. Mr.  Murphy  is  identified  with  a  num- 
ber of  fraternal  orders,  belonging  to  Fred- 
ericktown  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  to  Jacob 
Young  Post,  No.  192,  G.  A.  R..  of  Fred- 
ericktown.  In  politics  he  has  always  been 
a  stanch,  Republican  and  is  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  success  of  his  party  and  in  all 
measures  pertaining  to  the  public  good. 


COL.  ISAAC  P.  LARIMORE. 

Colonel  Isaac  P.  Larimore  is  one  of  the 
old  settlers  of  Hilliar  township,  where  for 
many  years  he  has  engaged  in  farming.    He 


was  born  in  Hampshire  county,  Virginia, 
now  \\'est  Virginia,  Alarch  10,  1821,  and  is 
of  Irish  lineage,  for  his  grandfather, 
James  Larimore,  was  a  native  of  the  Emer- 
ald Isle  and  when  a  young  man  crossed  the 
Atlantic  to  America,  settling  in  Hampshire 
county,  where  he  became  acquainted 
with  and  married  Susan  Brown,  a  Ger- 
man lady.  Among  their  children  was  James 
Larimore,  Jr.,  also  a  native  of  Hampshire 
county,  where  he  spent  his  entire  life.  He 
was  educated  in  its  schools,  reared  within 
its  border,  pursued  his  business  career 
there,  and  when  death  claimed  him  he  was 
still  a  resident  of  the  county,  being  then 
about  seventy  years  of  age.  In  his  political 
affiliations  he  was  an  old-line  Whig,  and  in 
religious  faith  was  a  Presbyterian.  At  all 
times  he  was  firm  in  support  of  his  con- 
victions, and  Wis  many  excellent  character- 
istics commended  him  to  the  respect  and 
trust  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
He  married  Naomi  Wolverton,  a  native  of 
New  Jersey,  who  became  a  resident  of 
Hampshire  county.  West  Virginia,  when 
only  three  years  old,  there  spending  her  re- 
maining days.  Her  father  was  Joe  Wolver- 
ton, of  New  Jersey.  Unto  the  parents  of 
our  subject  were  born  fourteen  children,"  of 
whom  he  was  the  second  son  and  seventh 
child.  Of  the  family  of  seven  sons  and 
seven  daughters  but  five  daughters  and  two 
sons  reached  mature  years. 

Isaac  P.  Larimore  spent  the  first  twenty- 
three  years  of  his  life  in  the  county  of  his 
nativity  and  then  determined  to  try  his  for- 
tune in  the  west.  With  all  his  earthly  pos- 
sessions in  a  small  parcel,  he  traveled  on 
horseback  through  forests  and  o\-er  moun- 
tains, and  on  the  night  of  November  17, 
1844,  slept  for  the  first  time  in  Knox  county. 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


where  he  was  destined  tO'  spend  so  many 
years,  his  residence  here  covering  ahiiost  six 
decades. 

For  a  year  Mr.  Larimore  worked  by  the 
month  as  a  farm  hand  and  then  married 
Miss  Mary,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary 
(Black)  Mantonya.  Her  father  was  born 
in  Loudoun  county,.  Virginia,  while  her 
mother's  birth  occurred  in  what  '  is  now 
Hampshire  county.  West  Virginia.  Mrs. 
Larimore,  their  only  child,  was  born  in 
Licking  county,  Ohio,  May  i,  1829,  but 
from  the  age  of  five  years  was  reared  in 
Knox  county  amid  primitive  surroundings 
and  pioneer  conditions.  She  attended  a  log 
school  house  and  was  trained  in  all  the  work 
of  the  household,  so  that  she  was  vvcll  quali- 
fied to  take  charge  of  a  home  of  her  own. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Larimore  began  their  domes- 
tic life  upon  a  farm  in  Milford  township, 
where  they  lived  from  1844  until  1875, 
when  they  came  to  their  present  home  in 
Hilliar  township.  Here  Mr.  Larimore 
owns  two  hundred  and  sixteen  acres  of  rich 
land,  arable  and  productive.  Through  a 
long  period  he  engaged  in  its  cultivation, 
but  he  is  now  living  retired,  the  income 
from  his  farm,  together  with  the  comfort- 
able competence  he  acquired  in  former 
years,  being  amply  sufficient  to  supply  him 
with  all  the  necessities  and  many  of  the  lux- 
uries of  life. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Larimore  were  born 
eleven  children,  of  whom  five  are  living: 
Joseph;  Harriet,  the  wife  Oif  Elmer  Hol- 
lister;  James;  William;  and  Rose,  who 
married  Frank  Sutton.  Among  those  who 
have  passed  away  three  died  in  infancy; 
Sarah  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years ;  Vir- 
ginia departed  this  life  at  the  age  of  twenty- 


one;  and  Emma  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven.  Mr.  Larimore  and  his  family  attend 
the  Methodist  church,  of  which  he  has  been 
a  member  for  fifty  years  and  a  local  min- 
ister nearly  all  that  time.  He  has  also  been 
a  life-long  Democrat  in  his  political  affili- 
ations and  has  held  a  number  of  local  offices. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  agricultural  board 
of  the  county  for  ten  years,  and  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  advancing  its  interests  and  its 
influence.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Hart- 
ford Central  Agricultural  Society  for  thir- 
ty-fi-i-e  years,  wrote  its  constitution  and  was 
its  president  and  vice-president  through  a 
long  period,  while  for  nearly  twenty  years 
he  served  as  its  marshal.  He  has  done  every- 
thing in  his  power  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
the  farmer  and  to  introduce  improved  meth- 
ods which  will  lead  to  better  results.  He 
formerly  took  an  active  interest  in  military 
affairs,  his  popularity  as  the  fair  marshal 
causing  him  to  be  selected  as  colonel  in  the 
Ohio  State  Militia,  his  commission  being 
signed  by  the  old  war  governor  Todd. 
Progress  and  advancement  have  ever  been 
watchwords  with  him,  and  in  all  lines  of  life 
with  which  he  has  been  connected  he  has 
sought  improvement  both  for  himself  and 
others.  No  man  in  the  community  has  done 
more  to  promote  agricultural  interests,  and 
his  fellow  townsmen  recognize  his  worth 
and.  honor  him  for  what  he  has  accom- 
plished. 


HARMON  J.   DEBOLT. 

i 
Harmon  J.  Debolt  is  one  of  the  exten- 
sive land  owners  of  Knox  county,  his  pos- 
sessions   aggregating    three    hundred    and 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


1 95 


ninety-six  acres,  constituting  one  of  the 
finest  farms  in  this  portion  of  the  state.  It 
is  supplied  with  all  modern  conveniences 
and  the  well-tilled  fields  annually  return  a 
golden  tribute  for  the  care  and  labor  be- 
stowed upon  them  by  our  subject  who  is  ac- 
counted a  most  progressive  and  enterpris- 
ing farmer. 

It  was  upon  this  farm  in  Hilliar  town- 
ship that  Mr.  Debolt  w'as  born  on  the  9th 
of  April,  1857,  and  since  pioneer  times  in 
this  portion  of  Ohio  the  family  history  has 
been  interwoven  with  the  annals  of  Knox 
county,  for  Absolom  Debolt,  the  grand- 
father of  our  subject,  purchased  this  farm 
from  the  government.  He  performed  the 
arduous  task  of  reclaiming  the  wild  land  for 
purposes  of  civilization  and  succeeded  in 
making  it  a  very  productive  and  desirable 
tract.  William  T.  Debolt,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  NeAvark,  Licking  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  and  was  a  youth  of  nine  years 
when  he  came  to  Knox  county.  Here  he 
assisted  in  the  work  of  clearing  the  land 
and  cultivating  the  fields,  and  throughout 
his  remaining  days  he  resided  upon  the  old 
family  homestead  and  in  Centerburg,  suc- 
cessfully carrying  on  agricultural  pursuits 
after  he  had  attained  to  man's  estate.  He 
married  Sarah  Hollister,  a  native  of  Knox 
county,  who  died  when  about  fifty-six  years 
of  age.  Their  only  daughter,  Mary  E.,  is 
now  the  wife  of  W.  B.  Pelter,  of  Center- 
burg. 

Harmon  J.  Debolt  pursued  his  education 
in  the  district  schools,  and  in  the  fields  he 
assisted  in  planting  crops  and  caring  for 
them  through  the  months  of  summer,  while 
in  the  autumn  he  aided  in  garnering  the 
harvests.  He  has  never  left  the  old  home- 
stead, which  is  now  his  property,  and  to-day 


he  has  one  of  the  best  farms  in  this  part  of 
the  state,  supplied  Avith  all  modern  access- 
ories and  conveniences.  In  connection  with 
the  raising  of  the  cereals  best  adapted  to  this 
climate  he  also  engaged  in  raising  and  feed- 
ing stock,  and  this  branch  of  his  business 
adds  materially  to  his  income. 

In  1878  w^as  celebrated  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  Debolt  and  Miss  Emma  Dally,  a 
daughter  of  Ephraim  Dally.  They  now 
have  four  children — Clarence  L.,  William, 
Ephraim  and  Lelia,  all  of  whom  are  yet  un- 
der the  parental  roof.  The  friends  of  the 
family  in  this  community  are  many  and  the 
hospitality  of  the  best  homes  is  extended  to 
them.  Mr.  Debolt  votes  with  the  Democ- 
racy, but  while  he  warmly  endorses  its  prin- 
ciples he  has  never  been  a  politician  in  tire 
sense  of  office  seeking.  He  holds  member- 
ship with  Centerburg  Lodge,  No.  228,  K. 
P.,  and  not  only  enjoys  the  regard  of  his 
brethren  of  that  fraternity  but  of  the  ma- 
jority of  those  with  whom  business  or  so- 
cial relations  have  brought  him  in  contact. 


JOHN   RANDOLPH  LONG. 

At  the  time  when  the  nation  was  in- 
volved in  Civil  war  John  R.  Long  joined  the 
northern  army  and  proved  himself  a  loyal 
and  devoted  soldier.  He  is  numbered 
among  the  early  settlers  of  Knox  county 
and  is  a  representative  citizen  of  Hilliar 
township.  His  birth  occurred  in  Milford 
township,  KnO'X  county,  March  29,  1844, 
and  he  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old 
families  of  this  state.  His  grandfather, 
Solomon  Long,  came  from  Pennsylvania  to 
Ohio,  and  it  was  in  the  Keystone  state  that 
Rollins  Long,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was 


196 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


born.  He  was  only  about  two  years  of  age 
when  his  parents  emigrated  westward,  tak- 
ing tip  their  abode  near  Newark.  He  was 
reared  and  educated  in  Bennington  town- 
ship. Licking  county,  and  after  arriving  at 
years  of  maturity  was  married  in  Knox 
county  to  Miss  EUzabeth  Conaway,  a  native 
of  this  county,  whither  her  parents  came 
from  Maryland,  being  numbered  among  the 
early  settlers  here.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Long  be- 
gan their  domestic  life  in  Milford  township 
and  throughout  his  business  career  he  car- 
ried on  farming.  His  death  occurred  in 
Hilliar  township  in  his  se\'enty-ninth  year, 
and  his  wife  lived  to  be  about  sixty  years  of 
age.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children, 
all  of  whom  reached  years  of  maturity. 

The  second  child  was  the  subject  of  this 
review,  and  under  the  parental  roof  he  spent 
his  youthful  days.  Although  but  a  boy 
when  the  Civil  war  was  in  progress,  be  r&. 
sponded  to  his  country's  call  in  1864  for  aid 
and  enlisted  in  Company  B,  One  Hundred 
and  Forty-second  Ohio  Infantry,  with 
which  he  served  for  four  months.  Rettini- 
ing  to  his  home,  he  resumed  farm  work,  and 
in  1869  he  made  preparations  for  a  home  of 
his  own  by  his  marriage  to  Rachel  E. 
Wenger,  who  was  born  in  Licking  county, 
Ohio,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Levi  and  Abbey 
(Harrison)  Wenger.  She  spent  her  girl- 
hood days  in  her  native  county  and  there  ob- 
tained a  common-school  education.  Two 
children  have  been  born  of  this  union: 
Rensselaer,  who  attended  the  Kaiyon  Col- 
lege and  graduated  at  the  Union  Christian 
College  at  Merom,  Indiana,  in  1896,  is  a 
minister  of  the  Christian  church,  and 
preached  three  years  in  Michigan  and  is 
now  serving  the  church  at  Utica  and  Sparta, 
Ohio.    He  married  Maud  Hoover,  of  Mich- 


igan, and  they  have  a  little  daughter.  Mar- 
guerite. Carrie  E.  is  the  wife  of  Bliss  AVil- 
lis,  of  Centerburg,  and  they  have  one  son, 
Elmo  Lee. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Long  reside  in  Hilliar 
township,  which  has  been  their  place  of 
abode  since  1880.  He  has  one  hundred  and 
one  acres  of  excellent  land,  and  as  the  soil 
usually  returns  rich  han^ests  he  is  annually 
adding  to  his  jncome  and  is  accounted  one 
of  the  prosperous  farmers  of  the  commun- 
ity. In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Populist. 
Religiously  he  is  identified  with  the  Chris- 
tian church  at  Centerburg.  Firm  in  his  con- 
victions, he  earnestly  espouses  the  cause 
which  he  believes  to  be  right  and  just,  and 
at  all  times  merits  the  high  regard  in  which 
he  is  uniformly  held. 


\V.  O.  PHILLIPS,  AI.  D. 

In  tracing  the  career  of  the  successful 
physician  it  is  usually  found  that  he  pos- 
sesses certain  marked  characteristics  in  ad- 
dition to  having  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  healing  art  and  good  financial  ability. 
There  must  be  a  ready  sympathy  and  a 
power  of  entering  into  the  feelings  of  others, 
united  to  that  self-poise  and  conscious 
strength  which  naturally  emanates  from  a 
strong,  self-reliant  nature.  Dr.  Phillips  is 
fortunate  in  being  gifted  with  many  of  the 
qualities  of  the  successful  physician,  and  his 
cheer}',  helpful  optimism  is  a  source  of  hope 
and  comfort  in  many  a  home  shadowed  by 
sickness  and  suffering.  He  is  now  the  old- 
est resident  physician  of  Centerburg, 
where  since  1883  he  has  followed  his  pro- 
fession. 

The  Doctor  was  born  in  Morrow  county. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


197 


Ohio,  September  8,  1855.  His  grandfa- 
ther, W.  O.  Phihips,  for  whom  he  was 
named,  Avas  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  be- 
came one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Knox  coun- 
ty. His  son,  James  S.  Phillips,  the  Doc- 
tor's father,  was  born  in  Greene  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  accompanied  his  parents 
on  their  emigration  westward.  After  ar- 
riving- at  years  of  maturity  he  married  Miss 
Rebecca  Ewalt,  a  daughter  of  Richard 
Ewalt,  one  of  the  honored  pioneers  of  Knox 
county,  who  took  up  his  abode  in  Hilliar 
township,  where  his  daughter  was  bom. 
Mr.  Phillips  died  in  1868,  at  the  age  of 
forty-five  years.  Of  his  three  children  the 
Doctor  is  the  eldest.  The  only  daughter 
died  in  infancy  and  R.  D.  Phillips  is  now  a 
resident  of  the  state  of  Washington. 

Dr.  Phillips  was  only  about  four  years 
of  age  when  he  became  a  resident  of  Knox 
county,  and  in  1863  he  took  up  his  abode  in 
Centerburg.  He  pursued  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  schools  of  Mount  Liberty  and 
Liberty  township,  and  later  became  a  student 
in  the  Nomral  School  at  Lebanon,  Ohio. 
For  six  years  he  engaged  in  teaching  in  the 
district  schools  of  Centerburg-  and  vicinity, 
but  this  was  only  a  means  to  an  end — a  step 
which  made  possible  his  desire  to  fit  himself 
for  the  medical  profession.  In  1879  he  be- 
came a  student  in  the  office  of  Dr.  B.  F. 
Jackson,  of  Chesterville,  Ohio,  and  was 
graduated  in  the  Cleveland  Homeopathic 
College,  in  February,  1883.  In  June  of  the 
same  year  he  opened  his  office  in  Center- 
burg, v>'here  he  has  since  remained  and  to- 
day he  is  the  oldest  physician  in  }'ears  of 
continuous  connection  with  the  town.  His 
skill  was  early  manifest  in  the  desirable  re- 
sults which  followed  his  ministrations  and 
in    consec|uence    his    patronage    constantly 


grew  until  the  demands  made  for  his  pro- 
fessional aid  leave  him  little  leisure  time. 
The  Doctor  is  also  identified  with  the  busi- 
ness interests  of  the  town  as  treasurer  of 
the  Building  &  Loan  Association. 

In  May,  1878,  occurred  the  marriage 
of  Dr.  Phillips  and  Miss  S.  A.  McCracken, 
a  daughter  of  S.  S.  and  Antoinette  (Ayres)- 
McCracken.  She  was  born  in  Chesterville, 
Ohio,  September  19,  1857,  and  in  its 
schools  acquired  her  education.  She  is  a 
lady  of  culture  and  refinement  and  presides 
with  gracious  hospitality  over  her  pleasant 
home.  By  this  marriage  five  children  have 
been  born,  but  the  eldest  died  in  infancy 
and  the  third,  Karl  W.,  died  in  October, 
1895,  at  the  age  of  nine  years.  The  others 
are  Clarence  D.,  Hulah  May  and  Harry  S. 
M.  The  Doctor  is  a  very  prominent  Repub- 
lican and  has  served  as  delegate  to  various 
conventions.  He  takes  an  active  interest  in , 
political  work,  does  all  in  his  power  to  pro- 
mote the  growth  and  insure  the  success  O'f 
his  party  and  keeps  well  informed  on  the 
issues  of  the  day.  He  is  president  of  the 
board  of  pension  examiners  of  Knox  county 
and  for  thirteen  years  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  education  of  Centerburg,  retiring 
from  that  office  in  1890.  He  endorses 
every  measure  which  he  believes  will  pro- 
mote the  intellectual,  material,  social  and 
moral  advancement  of  the  community  and 
his  efforts  in  this  direction  have  not  been 
-without  result.  He  is  an  active  and  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  is  an  exemplary  representative 
of  the  ilasonic  and  Knights  of  P^-thias 
fraternities.  The  qualities  of  an  upright 
manhood  are  his  and  added  to  his  profes- 
sional skill  make  him  one  of  the  most  valua- 
ble citizens  of  Centerburg.     The  success  to 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


whicli  the  Doctor  has  attained  has  come  only 
as  the  result  of  adhering  tenaciously  to  a 
well  thought-out  course,  and  by  the  exercise 
of  indomitable  determinations  of  the  will, 
supplemented'  by  willing  hand  (and  active 
brain.  The  lesson  o-f  self-reliance  was  early 
learned,  whatever  honor  in  the  profession 
or  standing  in  business  circles  he  now  holds 
coming  as  the  result  of  the  intrinsic  quali- 
ties of  the  boy  developed  tO'  mature  ripeness 
in  the  man. 


SAMUEL  ORLIN  GANTT,  M.  D. 

Although  Dr.  Gantt  has  been  engaged  in' 
the  practice  of  medicine  in  Centerburg  for 
only  the  brief  period  of  three  years  he  is 
already  enjoying  a  large  business,  which  is 
indicative  of  the  confidence  and  trust  re- 
posed in  him  by  the  public.  He  was  born 
in  Hilliar  township  September  14,  1861,  and 
is  a  son  of  Stephen  H.  and  Emily  (Barker) 
Gantt.  His  father  wa;  born  in  Virginia  in 
1 818,  and  in  1836  accompanied  his  parents 
on  their  removal  to  this  county,  the  journey 
being  made  across  the  moimtains,  through 
the  forests  and  over  the  plains  with  teams 
in  the  primitive  style  of  the  times,  for  no 
railroads  had  then  been  built.  Mr.  Gantt 
was  first  married  in  Mount  Vernon  to  Miss 
Eliza  Loveridge,  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  six  children.  The  mother  died  about 
1857  and  Mr.  Gantt  was  again  married,  in 
1859,  his  second  union  being  with  Miss  Em- 
ily Barker,  a  native  of  England,  who  was 
brought  to  America  by  her  parents  when 
only  two  years  old.  The  family  located  in 
Gambler,  Knox  county,  where  she  was 
reared,  and  in  Hilliar  towaiship  she  gave  her 
hand  in  marriage  to  Mr.  Gantt.     His  death 


occurred  in  1896,  but  the  mother  of  our  sub- 
ject is  still  living.    They  had  five  children. 

Dr.  Gantt  is  the  oldest  son  and  second 
child  of  the  second  marriage  and  in  his  par- 
ents' home  he  was  surrounded  by  a  refining 
influence  and  taught  the  value  of  industry 
and  perseverance  in  the  busy  affairs  of  life. 
In  the  district  schools  he  obtained  his  pre- 
liminary education,  which  was  supplemented 
by  study  in  the  Utica  Normal  School.  For 
a  time  after  completing  his  school  course  he 
engaged  in  farming,  but  preferring  a  profes- 
sional career  he  began  the  study  of  medicine 
with  Dr.  B.  F.  Humber  in  1887.  Later  he 
matriculated  in  the  medical  department  of 
the  Western  Reser\'e  University,  at  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  and  was  graduated  from  the 
Starling  Medical  College,  in  Columbus,  with 
the  class  of  1890.  He  then  located  for  prac- 
tice in  Martinsburg,  where  he  remained  for 
nine  years,  and  in  1899  he  came  to  Center- 
burg, where  his  ability  as  a  physician  and 
surgeon  has  enabled  him  to  quickly  gain  a 
large  and  lucrative  practice. 

September  13,  1883,  the  Doctor  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Teagar- 
den,  a  native  of  Milford  and  a  daughter  of 
D.  L.  and  Lucy  (Jennings)  Teagarden,  who 
had  two  daughtei",  Mrs.  Gantt  being  the  el- 
der. Three  sons  and  a  daughter  have  been 
born  unto  the  Doctor  and  his  wife;  Dale  B., 
Edith  M.,  Orlin  Lowell  and  Stephen  Bryant. 
In  his  political  vieAvs  the  Doctor  is  an  in- 
flexible Republican,  unfaltering  in  his  ad- 
vocacy of  the  principles  in  which  he  bel!e\'es 
so  strongly.  For  some  time  he  has  served 
as  a  member  of  the  school  board  and  is 
now  acting  as  its  clerk.  His  entire  life  has 
been  spent  in  Knox  county  and  his  business 
has  been  of  such  a  nature  as  to  gain  to  him 
a  wide  acquaintance,  while  the  sterling  traits 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


199 


of  his  character  have  won  from  among  them 
many  warm  friends.  His  practice  extends 
into  adjoining  counties  and  he  may  well 
be  classed  among  the  leading  physicians  and 
surgeons  of  the  locality. 


STANTON  E.  DEELEY,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Stanton  E.  Deeley,  one  oi  the  well- 
known  and  successful  physicians  of  Mount 
Vernon,  located  here  in  1897,  and  has  ever 
since  been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  medicine  and  surgery.  A  native  of  the 
city  of  Sandusky,  Ohio,  he  was  there  reared, 
receiving  his  elementary  education  in  its  pub- 
lic schools.  He  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  E. 
Deeley,  who  was  also'  born  and  reared  in 
Sandusky  and  has  there  spent  his  entire  life, 
having  reached  the  sixtieth  milestone  on  the 
journey  of  life.  He  is  a  well-known  and 
active  citizen  of  that  city,  and  was  formerly 
engaged  in  contracting  but  is  now  living  re- 
tired, enjoying  the  rest  which  he  so  richly 
deserves.  The  grandfather  of  our  subject, 
William  Deeley,  came  to  this  country  from 
London,  England,  and  in  the  '40s  he  located 
in  Sandusky,  Ohio,  where  he  also  became  a 
prominent  and  influential  citizen.  He  there 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  passing  away 
at  the  venerable  age  of  eighty-nine  years. 
He  established  the  first  fish  house  in  that 
city,  and  became  very  prominent  in  that  line 
of  trade.  Sandusky  has  now  the  largest  fish 
house  in  the  world,  owned  by  Booth,  of  Chi- 
cago. Mr.  Deeley  also  established  a  fish 
house  in  Toledo,  Ohio.  The  mother  of  our 
subject,  who  was  a  native  of  Erie  county, 
Ohio,  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Jennie  Steen, 
and  was  a  daughter  of  Robert  Steen,  who 
was  the  first  public  school  teacher  in  Erie 


county.  He  came  from  the  north  of  Ireland 
and  was  a  member  of  a  prominent  and  in- 
fluential family  of  that  locality. 

Stanton  E.  Deeley,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  review,  has  for  a  number  of  years 
been  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  mem- 
bers of  the  medical  fraternity  in  Knox  coun- 
ty, having  attained  high  distinction  in  the 
line  of  his  chosen  calling.  He  was  a  student 
in  the  Cleveland  University  of  Medicine  and 
Surgery,  graduating  in  that  institution  with 
the  class  of  1896,  and  in  the  following  year 
he  located  in  Mount  Vernon,  where  he  has 
achieved  an  enviable  success  and  won  the 
favorable  criticism  of  his  pro'fessional  breth- 
ren as  well  as  of  the  public.  He  has  made  a 
specialty  of  the  practice  of  surgery.  For  a 
number  of  years  Dr.  Deeley  served  as  physi- 
cian and  surgeon  in  the  Huron  Street  Hos- 
pital, at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  many  of  the  eminent  medical 
practitioners  of  that  city,  and  for  twO'  years 
he  was  associated  in  practice  with  H.  F. 
Beggar,  of  Cleveland.  His  knowledge  of 
the  medical  science  is  comprehensive  and  ac- 
curate, for  he  has  always  been  a  close  student 
of  the  profession  and  has  kept  in  touch  with 
the  progress  and  improvement  which  mark 
its  adK-ancement  at  present.  His  life  has 
been  characterized  by  devotion  to  every  duty 
and  he  commands  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  all. 


JOHN   JEPPESEN. 

What  splendid  success  has  been  won  by 
mien  of  foreign  birth,  as,  taking  advantage 
of  the  excellent  opportunity  furnished  in  this 
land  where  "labor  is  king"  and  where  merit 
and  industrv  form  the  high  road  to  fortune. 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


they  have  steadily  worked  their  way  upward 
and  have  gained  rich  reward  for  their  toiL 
Such  is  the  history-  of  JNIr.  Jeppesen,  who  is 
now  proprietor  of  the  Centerburg  Creamery 
and  whose  investments  in  business  interests 
and  real  estate  here  have  been  cjuite  exten- 
sive and  profitable. 

A  native  of  Denmark,  he  was  born  July 
19,  1855,  and  was  reared  in  that  kingdom 
which,  though  small,  has  played  an  import- 
ant part  in  the  world's  history.  After  at- 
tending the  common  schools  he  continued 
his  education  in  the  Abe  high  school  and 
in  the  agricultural  schools  at  SeaJiolt.  Later 
he  became  overseer  on  a  large  estate,  occu- 
pying that  position  for  four  years  at  \Mn- 
tersburg,  and  for  a  year  and  a  half  he  was 
the  manager  of  another  estate  at  Boerumup. 
For  eighteen  months  he  engaged  in  militaiw 
service,  holding  the  rank  of  coriX)ral.  his 
army  life  covering  portions  of  the  year  1878 
and  1879  3t  Copenhagen. 

]\Ir.  Jeppesen  then  engaged  in  the  cream- 
ery business  in  his  native  land  until,  believ- 
ing that  he  could  better  his  financial  condi- 
tion in  America,  he  sailed  for  the  new  world, 
arriving  at  New  York  on  the  3d  of  June, 
1890.  Proceeding  westward  to  Chicago  he 
there  remained  for  some  time,  working  for 
a  dollar  and  a  half  per  day.  He  was  first 
employed  in  Kirk's  Soap  Factoiy  and  in 
the  spring  of  1891  he  took  a  po.=:tion  as  but- 
ter maker  in  the  employ  of  the  Fox  River 
Butter  Company,  at  Oswego,  Illinois,  with 
whom  he  remained  until  the  following  fall, 
when  he  returned  to  Chicago,  forming  a 
lousiness  connection  with  the  firm  of  Davis 
&  Rankin.  He  was  employed  by  them  to  op- 
erate creameries  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  one  in  Indiana,  one  in  Iowa  and  a 
third     in     Centerburg,     taking     charge     in 


1892.  He  continued  to  conduct  the  last  in 
the  interest  of  the  firm  for  five  years,  and  on 
the  1st  of  November,  1900,  he  purchased 
the  plant,  which  he  has  since  conducted  with 
excellent  success.  He  has  a  thorough  and 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  business, 
keeps  informed  concerning  the  latest  im- 
provements in  this  line  and  adopts  all  that 
he  believes  will  facilitate  the  business  and 
enable  him  to  supply  his  patrons  with  better 
grades  of  creamery  products.  The  superior 
excellence  of  his  output  has  secured  to  him 
a  very  large  patronage.  Much  of  the  suc- 
cess of  Mr.  Jeppesen  may  be  attributed  to 
the  fact  of  his  having  been  the  inventor  and 
patentee  of  creamery  machinery,  such  as 
cream  separators,  milk  elevators,  etc.  The 
milk  elevator  is  being  manufactured  by  the 
Elgin  Manufacturing  Company  and  used  in 
the  Sharpless  creameries,  returning  to  its 
inventor  a  handsome  royalty. 

Mr.  Jeppesen  is  a  man  of  unflagging  en- 
ergy- and  resourceful  business  ability  and 
has  extended  his  activities  into  other  fields 
where  his  labors  have  also  brought  good  re- 
sults. For  a  year  and  a  half  he  was  pro- 
prietor of  a  lumber  yard  and  was  in  the  im- 
plement business  for  a  year.  He  erected  a 
large  store  building  occupied  by  Hick  & 
Company,  also  the  one  now  owned  by  C. 
L.  Bishop.  Thus  he  has  been  closely  con- 
nected with  the  business  activity  of  Center- 
burg, his  labors  proving  of  benefit  to  the 
community  while  also  promoting  his  indi- 
vidual  prosperity. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  1897,  ]\Ir.  Jeppesen 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Mildred  R.  Rob- 
inson, a  daughter  of  John  and  Victoria 
(^^'hitney)  Robinson,  of  Buckeye  City, 
Ohio.  Prior  to  her  marriage  she  was  a 
teacher  in  the  high  school  of  Centerburg  for 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


two  years  and  is  a  lady  of  superior  intelli- 
gence and  culture.  By  her  marriage  she 
has  become  the  mother  of  one  son,  Frederick 
F.  N.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jeppesen  are  members 
of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal  church  and  he 
belongs  to  the  Masonic  order  and  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  On  politi- 
cal questions  he  holds  views  independent  of 
party  ties  and  at  local  elections  supjwrts  the 
man  whom  he  thinks  best  qualified  for  office. 
He  has  been  a  resident  of  the  country  for  lit- 
tle more  than  eleven  years  and  what  he  has 
accomplished  in  this  comparatively  brief 
space  of  time  seems  almost  phenomenal,  for 
he  only  had  five  dollars  when  he  arrived  in 
Chicago  and  all  that  he  now  possesses  has 
been  won  since.  Brooking  no  obstacles  that 
could  be  overcome  by  detennined  purpose, 
through  industry,  perseverance,  capable 
management  and  honorable  dealing  he  has 
gradually  added  to  his  financial  resources 
until  he  is  now  one  of  the  substantial  citizens 
of  Centerburg. 


REV.  JOSEPH  T.  WORKMAN. 

Rev.  Joseph  T.  Workman  is  a  minister 
of  the  German  Baptist  church  and  is  also 
identified  with  the  farming  interests  of 
Knox  county.  He  is  numbered  among  its 
native  sons,  for  his  birth  occurred  in  Brown 
township,  on  the  15th  of  October,  1847. 
Flis  father  was  also  a  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel. He  was  the  Rev.  John  J.  Workman 
and  well  known  in  connection  with  Chris- 
tian activity  in  Knox  county.  His  wife  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Lucretia  De  Witt. 
They  maintained  their  home  in  Brown 
township,  and  under  the  parental  roof  the 
subject  of  this  review  was  reared.  He  at- 
tended  the  district  schools   for  some  time 


and  afterward  spent  four  and  one-half 
months  as  a  student  in  a  select  school.  He 
then  returned  home  and  for  some  time  fol- 
lowed the  profession  of  teaching  in  the  win- 
ter months,  while  in  the  summer  season  he 
assisted  in  the  further  development  and  cul- 
tivation of  the  home  farm.  After  his  mar- 
riage he  located  upon  a  farm,  where  he  yet 
resides,  and  has  since  conducted  agricult- 
ural pursuits,  his  thorough  understanding 
of  the  business,  combined  with  knowledge 
and  perseverance,  making  his  labors  of  ex- 
cellent financial  benefit.  He  began  his  min- 
isterial work  in  189 1,  and  as  pastor  of  the 
German  Baptist  church  at  Danville  he  is 
exercising  an  excellent  influence  over  the 
moral  development  and  religious  welfare  of 
his  community. 

On  the  5th  of  November,  1873,  Rev. 
Workman  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Lucinda  Grubb,  who.  is  the  tenth  in  a  fam- 
ily of  twelve  children  born  unto  Daniel  H. 
and  Elizabeth  (Brumbaugh)  Grubb,  who 
were  early  settlers  of  Pike  township.  There 
Mrs.  Workman  was  born,  reared  and  edu- 
cated. By  her  marriage  she  has  become  the 
mother  of  three  children,  Cora  A.,  Eliza- 
beth and  Walter  D.,  all  at  home.  The  fam- 
ily reside  upon  the  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
eleven  acres  in  Brown  township  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Workman  enjoy  the  hospitality  of 
the  best  homes  of  the  neighborhood.  He 
votes  with  the  Democracy  and  is  interested 
in  the  welfare  of  the  party  whose  principle 
he  endorses.  Every  movement  which  he- 
believes  to  be  of  benefit  to  the  community 
receives  his  endorsement  and  his  work  and 
influence  are  of  no  restricted  order.  He  is 
most  earnest  and  zealous  in  behalf  of  the 
church,  and  by  example  as  well  as  by  pre- 
cept is  extending  the  power  of  the  denomi- 
nation which  he  represents. 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


NOAH  NYHART. 

Noah  Nyhart,  who  is  engaged  in  farm- 
ing on  section  7,  Jefferson  township,  is 
numbered  among  the  representatives  of  an 
early  pioneer  family  of  Knox  county.  Lit- 
tle is  known  concerning  the  ancestral  his-- 
tory  of  the  subject,  for  his  grandfather  died 
when  in  the  service  of  his  country  in  the  war 
of  18 1 2,  at  which  time  Jacob  Nyhart,  the 
father  of  Noah,  waj  a  small  boy.  He  came 
from  New  Jersey  tO'  the  Buckeye  state  at  an 
early  period  in  its  development  and  cast  in 
his  lot  with  the  pioneer  settlers  of  this  coun- 
ty. Jacob  Nyhart  was  born  in  New  Jersey, 
and  in  his  youth  and  early  manhood  ex- 
perienced all  the  hardship  and  privation  in- 
cident to  establishing  a  home  upon  the  fron- 
tier. Throughout  his  business  career  he 
was  identified  with  the  agricultural  inter- 
ests of  the  community,  and  his  last  years 
w^ere  spent  in  quiet  retirement  from  labor. 
He  was  more  than  ninety-one  years  of  age 
when  called  to  his  final  rest.  He  always 
gave  his  political  support  to  the  Democratic 
party  and  served  as  township  treasurer  and 
in  other  offices.  He  w^as  widely  and  favor- 
ably known  in  the  county  and  was  a  de- 
voted member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  He  wedded  Mary  Smith,  who  was 
also  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  when  a 
young  lady  came  to  Knox  county.  Her  fa- 
ther, William  Smith,  who  was  also  born  in 
New  Jersey,  took  up  his  abode  in  Licking 
county  upon  his  arrival  in  Ohio,  but  sub- 
sequently removed  to  Knox  county,  where 
his  last  days  were  passed.  His  attention 
was  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits 
throughout  his  business  career.  Unto  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Nyhart  were  born  nine  children. 


all  of  whom  reached  adult  age,  and  six  are 
yet  living. 

Noah  Nyhart,  the  youngest  of  this  fam- 
ily, was  born  and  reared  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship, his  natal  day  being  March  28,  185 1. 
He  attended  the  district  schools  near  his 
home  and  when  school  was  not  in  session 
assisted  in  the  work  of  the  fields  and  mead- 
ows. He  remained  at  home  until  his  mar- 
riage, which  occurred  in  1874.  Miss  Aman- 
da Ella  Hall  becoming  his  wife.  They  had 
two  sons  who  reached  maturity,  John  J. 
and  Charles  C,  residents  of  Brown  town- 
ship. After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  in 
1882,  Mr.  Nyhart  was  again  married,  his 
second  union  beiftg  with  Miss  Mary  Kay- 
lor,  who  died  June  20,  1896,  leaving  four 
daughters  and  a  son,  namely :  Elizabeth, 
Jennie,  Moniia,  Edna  and  Jesse,  all  of 
whom  are  at  home. 

At  the  time  of  his  first  marriage  Air. 
Nyhart  located  upon  the  farm  where  he  yet 
resides,  and  has  since  engaged  in  the  culti- 
vation of  the  fields  and  the  raising-  of  stock. 
He  owns  two  hundred  and  seventeen  and  a 
half  acres  in  the  home  farm  and  in  Brown 
township  he  had  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine  acres,  which  he  has  given  to  his  son. 
He  carries  on  his  work  along  progressive 
lines,  and  his  fann,  with  its  rich  soil,  yields 
to  him  a  good  return  for  his  labors.  In 
1884  he  erected  a  modern  two-story  resi- 
dence, at  a  cost  of  about  two  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  in  1883  he  built  a  barn,  thirty-six 
by  sixty  feet.  He  also  has  another  house 
and  barn  on  this  place,  north  of  his  own 
home,  and  the  dwelling  is  occupied  by  the 
family  of  the  man  who  is  employed  to  assist  I 
in  the  farm  work.  In  his  political  vie^vs  ' 
Mr.  Nyhart  is  a  Republican,  but  while  he 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY;   OHIO. 


203 


keeps  well  informed  on  the  issues  of  the  day 
and  earnestly  supports  his  party's  principles, 
he  has  never  sought  or  desired  office,  his 
time  being  fully  occupied  with  his  farm 
work,  which  is  bringing  to  him  success. 


GEORGE  W.  SHULTS. 

George  W.  Shults  is  oiie  of  the  direc- 
tors of  the  county  infirmary  of  Knox  county 
and  an  enterprising  agriculturist  who  lives 
on  section  7,  Jefferson  township.  This  w^as 
also  his  birthplace,  and  his  natal  day  was 
October  8,  1846.  His  father,  Jacob  Shults, 
was  born  and  reared  in  Pennsylvania  and 
about  1820  left  the  Keystone  state  for  Ohio, 
taking  up  his  abode  in  Knox  county.  He 
resided  for  a  time  in  Danville  and  then  set- 
tled on  the  farm,  then  in  woods,  which  is 
now  the  home  of  our  subject.  There  he 
spent  his  remaining  days,  passing  away  at 
the  venerable  age  of  eighty-three  years.  He 
was  numbered  among  the  honored  pioneers 
of  the  county,  and  experienced  many  of  the 
hardships  and  trials  of  frontier  life  at  the 
time  when  he  assisted  in  reclaiming  the  wild 
land  for  purposes  of  civilization.  His  politi- 
cal allegiance  was  first  given  the  Whig 
party  and  later  he  joined  the  Republican 
ranks.  He  was  a  member  of  the  German 
Baptist  church  and  commanded  the  respect 
of  all  who  knew  him.  He  had  a  sister, 
Sarah,  who  became  Mrs.  George  Witt,  and 
she  also  came  to  Knox  county.  Mr.  Shults 
was  twice  married,  having  by  the  first  union 
nine  children.  For  his  second  .wife  he 
chose  Elizabeth  Coleman,  and  by  this  mar- 
riage there  were  six  children,  all  of  whom 
reached  mature  years,  while  five  are  yet 
living. 


George  W.  Shults,  who  was  the  second 
child  and  son,  spent  his  youthful  days  in 
the  usual  manner  of  farmer  lads  of  the 
period,  and  like  most  young  men  starting 
out  in  life  for  themselves,  he  sought  a  com- 
panion and  helpmate  for  the  journey.  On 
the  23d  of  February,  1871,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Melvira  J.  Doty,  a  native  of 
Knox  county,  and  a  daughter  of  Lot  and 
Nancy  (Elliott)  Doty.  Their  union  f^^as 
been  blessed  with  the  following  named: 
Elmer  O.,  .who  married  Ufa  N3diart,  a 
daughter  of  William  Nyha.rt;  and  Bertha 
E.,  who  is  still  with  her  parents. 

For  a  few  years  after  his  marriage  Mr. 
Shults  resided  upon  land  belonging  to  his 
father-in-law,  and  then  took  up'  his  abode 
on  the  old  Shults  homestead.  He  to-day 
owns  in  this  tract  ninety-six  acres,  and,  in 
addition,  one  hundred  acres  in  the  northerii 
part  of  the  township.  His  land  is  well 
cultivated  and  improved,  and  year  by  year 
rich  fields  return  to  him  a  good  income.  He 
exercises  his  right  of  franchise  in  support 
of  the  rrien  and  measures  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  in  1899  was  elected  to  the  im- 
lX)rtant  position  of  a  director  of  the  county 
infirmary,  which  office  he  is  still  holding. 
For  several  years  he  was  a  trustee  of  Jeffer- 
son township,  and  in  all  public  offices  he  has 
discharged  his  duties  with  promptness  and 
fidelity.  Socially  he  is  connected  with  the 
Knights  of  the  GoWen  Eagle,  with  the 
Maccabees  and  with  the  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry. He  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in 
its  work  and  in  the  Sunday-school,  and  has 
served  as  trustee  and  steward.  His  life  has 
ever  been  actuated  by  honorable  and  manly 
principles  and  he  has  gained  the  unqualified 
regard  and  confidence  of  his  fellow  towns- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


whence  he  removedi  in  1849  to*  Gambier, 
men.  He  has  always  lived  in  this  com- 
munity, and  the  fact  that  his  warmest 
friends  are  numbered  among  those  who 
have  known  him  from  boyhood  is  an  indi- 
cation that  his  record  has  ever  been  one 
worthy  of  high   commendation. 


DAVID  K.  BLYSTON. 

Of  that  good  old  Pennsylvania  stock 
which  for  many  generations  has  everywhere 
in  America  stood  for  patriotism  and  pros- 
perity is  the  prominent  resident  of  Clay 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose  name 
is  above. 

David  K.  Blyston,  who  is  living  a  life 
of  retirement  at  Bladensburg,  in  the  county 
and  township  above  mentioned,  was  born 
one  mile  north  of  that  village,  October  10, 
1838. 

His  grandfather,  John  Blyston,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  located  in  Clay 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  in  1824. 
Later  he  removed  to  Jackson  township, 
where  he  died  in  1846.  He  was  a  wagon- 
maker  by  trade,  but  gave  his  attention 
largely  to  farming.  His  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Frances  Foster,  was  a 
daughter  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Foster,  in 
command  of  a  Pennsylvania  regiment  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  dying  in  the  service; 
and  Colonel  Crawford,  who  was  burned  at 
the  stake  near  Upper  Sandusky  by  Indians, 
was  her  first  cousin.  She  died  in  1861,  on 
the  old  homestead  in  Jackson  township, 
where  they  had  settled  in  1831. 

Henry  Blyston,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  Washington  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, March   i,   1803,  and  early  in  life 


was  brought  to  Harrison  county  by  his  par- 
ents. Later  he  returned  to  Clarion  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  was  there  married.  Re- 
turning to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  in  1825,  he 
located  on  the  farm  on  which  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  no-w  lives,  making  a  clearing  in 
the  woods,  011  which  he  built  a  humble  log 
cabin.  After  he  cleared  and  improved  his 
farm  he  removed  to  Licking  county,  Ohio, 
where  for  some  years  he  was  engaged  in 
milling  and  merchandising.  In  185 1,  how- 
ever, he  returned  to  his  farm  in  Knox  coun- 
ty, where  he  died  in  1879.  He  was  suc- 
cessful as  a  business  man  and  prominent 
and  popular  as  a  citizen,  and  in  politics  was 
a  Whig  and  later  a  Republican.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  A.  Ritter,  who  was  born  in  ClarT 
ion  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  July,  181 1, 
a  daughter  of  Thomas  Ritter,  also  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  she  died  in  her 
fifty-third  year.  Henry  and  Mary  A.  (Rit- 
ter) Blyston  were  the  parents  of  four  sons 
and  three  daughters,  of  whom  two  sons  and 
one  daughter  grew  to  manhood  and  woman- 
hood. David  K.  Blyston,  the  fifth  of  his 
parents'  children  in  order  of  birth,  is  the 
only  one  of  them  now  living.  He  was 
reared  in  Jackson  township  and  educated  in 
the  common  schools  taught  near  his  home. 
In  1862,  after  having  established  himself 
as  a  farmer,  he  enlisted  in  Company  I, 
Eighty-fifth  Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, with  which  he  saw  active  service  in 
the  Civil  war  for  four  months.  He  then  en- 
listed in  the  Eighty-seventh  Regiment,  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  but  that  regiment  was 
consolidated  with  another  to  form  the  One 
Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Regiment,  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  he  was  a  member  of 
Company  F  of  that  organization,  with 
which  he  served  two  years  and  eight  months. 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


205 


He  was  made  fifth  sergeant  of  Company  F, 
and  early  in  1864  he  was  made  second  Heti- 
tenant  of  Company  C,  and  in  August, 
1864,  first  Heutenant  of  Company  A.  He 
had  charge  of  an  ambulance  corps  during  a 
portion  of  the  Atlanta  campaign.  At  the 
battle  of  Chickamauga,  September  20,  1863, 
he  was  wounded  in  the  right  shoulder  by  a 
ball  fired  by  a  Confederate  sharpishooter. 
At  the  fight  at  Franklin,  Tennessee,  No- 
vember 30,  1864,  he  was  shot  through  the 
left  lung  while  in  command  of  his  company, 
and  was  senior  officer  in  line  in  command 
of  his  regiment.  In  that  memorable  battle, 
which  was  fought  in  a  short  time,  the  total 
Union  and  Confederate  loss  was  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  sixty  killed  and 
about  four  thousand  wounded.  The  Union 
loss  was  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
killed  and  about  two  thousand  wounded  'and 
taken  prisoners.  After  remaining  thirty 
days  in  Hospital  No.  i,  at  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee, Lieutenant  Blyston  rejoined  his  regi- 
ment at  Strawberry  Plain,  East  Tennessee. 
He  afterward  saw  memorable  service  at 
Knoxville,  Tennessee,  after  which  he  re- 
turned to  Nashville,  where  he  remained  un- 
til May  I,  1865.  After  he  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service  he  returned  to  his  old 
home  in  Ohio. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Blyston  farmed  until 
1869,  when  he  removed  to  Bladensburg, 
and  there  conducted  a  general  store  until 
1 88 1,  when  he  retired  from  active  business. 
He  was  a  charter  member  of  Emerson  Up- 
dyke  Post,  No.  486,  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  which  was  named  in  honor  of  its 
first  commander,  and  he  has  passed  more 
years  as  its  commander  than  any  other  of 
its  members.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Joe 
Hooker   Post  of  the  Grand   Army  of   the 


Republic,  and  has  been  active  in  all  the  work 
of  the  organization,  having  several  times 
been  a  delegate  to  state  encampments,  and 
once,  in  1901,  a  delegate  to  the  national  en- 
campment held  at  Cle\'eland,  Ohio.  He  has 
attained  prominence  as  a  Mason,  being  a 
member  of  Ohio  Lodge,  No.  199,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  of  Bladensburg;  Clinton 
Chapter,  No.  9,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  of 
Mount  Vernon;  and  Clinton  Commandery, 
No.  5,  Knights  Templars,  of  Mount  Ver- 
non. He  was  formerly  a  member  of  the 
Odd  Fellows  Lodge,  No.  316,  of  Mount 
Vernon,  and  of  the  lodge  of  Knights  of 
Pjthias,  of  Bladensburg.  He  is  an  active 
member  of  the  Christian  church  and  is  an 
elder  in  the  Bladensburg  organization  of 
that  body,  in  which  he  fills  the  office  of  sec- 
retary. In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and 
as  such  he  has  been  called  to  several  local 
offices,  among  them  that  of  township  trus- 
tee. 

M!r.  Blyston  married  Miss  Esther  A. 
Jacobs,  November  16,  1863.  Mrs.  Blys- 
ton was  a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Nancy 
(Melton)  Jacobs  and  was  born  in  Pleasant 
township,  Knox  county,  Oliio.  She  was 
educated  in  the  schools  near  her  home  and 
is  an  admirable  woman  of  the  highest  char- 
acter and  of  many  graces  and  accomplish- 
ments, highly  esteemed  in  a  large  circle  of 
acquaintances. 


WILLIAM  R.  BODY. 

William  R.  Body  is  numbered  among 
the  native  sons  of  Knox  county,  and  is  a 
progressive  agriculturist  whose  active  and 
well-spent  life  has  won  him  success  in  his 
business  career.     He  resides  on  section  17, 


20$ 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


Jefferson  township,  where  he  has  a  farm  of 
eighty  acres  well  cultivated  and  improved. 
Mr.  Body  was  born  in  this  township, 
June  22,  1 85 1.  His  father,  Col.  John  Body, 
was  a  native  of  England  and  when  foiirteen 
years  of  age  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  Canada, 
Knoix  county,  Ohio.  He  was  a  shoemaker 
by  trade  and  there  followed  that  pursuit, 
making  boots  and  shoes  for  the  students  in 
the  college  for  about  two  years.  On  the  ex- 
piration of  that  period  he  removed  to  Dan- 
ville, where  he  followed  the  same  calling, 
and  after  three  years  he  went  to  New  Castle, 
Ohio,  where  he  worked  at  shoemaking  until 
his  removal,  in  1855,  to  the  farm  upon 
which  our  subject  now  resides.  He  then  de- 
voted his  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits 
until,  prompted  by  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  he 
offered  his  services  to  the  government  as  a 
defender  of  the  Union  and  joined  the  boys 
in  blue  of  Company  A,  Sixty-fifth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry.  He  entered  the  serv- 
ice as  a  private  but  was  soon  promoted  to 
sergeant,  afterward  becoming  second  lieu- 
tenant, and  when  honorably  discharged  was 
captain  of  Company  A.  He  served  for 
three  years  and  was  ever  a  loyal  soldier, 
valiantly  defending  the  old  flag  and  the 
cause  it  represented.  Physical  disability 
necessitated  his  retirement  from  the  field, 
preventing  him  from  serving  until  the  close 
of  hostilities,  as  he  wished  to  do.  He  is  now 
familiarly  known  as  Colonel  Body,  and  has 
a  war  record  of  which  he  lias  every  reason 
to  be  proud,  for  he  displayed  valor  on  many 
a  hotly-contested  battlefield.  He  took  part 
in  the  engagements  at  Stone  River,  Chick- 
amauga.  Missionary  Ridge  and  many 
others.  He  is  still  living  in  Danville,  and 
commands  the  respect  of  all  with  whom  he 
has  been  associated. 


John  Body  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mary  Greer,  who'  was  born  in  Union  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  and  is  a  sister  of  H.  H. 
Greer,  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  of  J.  T.  Greer, 
of  Toledo.  The  family  was  one  of  promi- 
nence in  this  part  of  Ohio  and  was  estab- 
lished in  Knox,  county  during  the  days  of 
its  early  development.  Her  father,  Alex- 
ander Greer,  was  born  in  Virginia  and  came 
to  Knox  county  with  his  father,  Colonel 
John  Greer,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  and 
who,  at  the  time  of  the  second  war  with 
England,  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Ameri- 
can armies,  commanding  a  regiment  in  the 
struggle.  Emigrating"  tO'  Ohio,  he  settled 
in  the  midst  of  the  dense  forest  in  Jeffer- 
son township,  Knox  county,  and  built  a  log 
house,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneers  of  this 
locality.  Mrs.  Body,  a  most  estimable  lady, 
died  when  about  sixty-eight  years  of  age, 
leaving  her  husband  and  a  son  and  daughter 
to  mourn  her  loss.  The  daughter  is  Vic- 
toria L.,  the  wife  of  H.  C.  Biggs,  of  Dan- 
ville. 

William  R.  Body;  the  only  son,  was 
reared  upon  the  farm  which  is  now  his 
home,  and  his  early  education  was  acquired 
in  the  common  schools,  suipplemenited  by 
study  in  the  Danville  high  school.  He  after- 
ward engaged  in  teaching  in  the  district 
schools  of  Jefferson,  Howard  and  Brown 
townships  through  five  successive  winter 
seasons,  and  in  the  summer  months  he  de- 
voted his  energies  to  farming.  Since  that 
time  his  entire  attention  has  been  given  to 
the  work  of  the  fields,  and  success  has  at- 
tended his  eft'orts,  which  have  brought  to 
him  a  comfortable  competence. 

In  1874  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  Body  and  ]\Iiss  Lydia  A.  Bradfield,  a 
sister  of   Dr.    C.    R.    Bradfield,    and    their 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


union  has  been  blessed  with  seven  children, 
as  follows :  Charles  A.  who  married  Nellie 
Blair,  and  who  is  a  railroad  employe  with 
the  Cleveland,  Akron  &  Columbus  Rail- 
road; Mary  Edith,  who  is  living  at  home; 
J.  Harry  and  Robert,  both  at  home;  Nora, 
the  wife  of  Herbert  Whitney,  of  Brown 
township ;  James  W.,  assisting  his  father  on 
the  farm ;  and  Herbert,  who  resides  with  his 
parents.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Body  is 
a  stanch  Republican  and  has  been  honored 
with  several  local  offices,  including  that  of 
justice  of  the  peace,  in  which  he  served  for 
three  years.  His  life  has  been  quiet  and 
uneventful,  yet  has  been  marked  by  fidelity 
to  duty  in  every  public  and  private  relation. 
He  is  widely  known  for  his  sterling  worth 
and  is  an  estimable  representative  of  an  hon- 
ored pioneer  family. 


CAPTAIN  CHARLES  HENRY  COE. 

Among  the  valiant  men  that  Ohio  sent 
10  the  front  to  aid  in  the  preservation  of  the 
Union  in  the  Civil  war  was  Captain  C.  H. 
Coe  who  is  now  living  a  retired  life  upon  his 
farm  in  Hilliar  township,  Knox  county. 
With  love  for  his  native  land,  reverence  for 
its  institutions  and  its  government  and  with 
a  courageous  spirit  that  enabled  him  to 
bravely  face  danger,  he  rendered  to  his 
country  effective  service  and  all  through  the 
years  of  his  life,  whether  in  times  of  peace 
or  war.  he  has  been  a  patriotic  and  public 
spirited  citizen. 

The  Captain  was  born  near  Frederick- 
town,  Maryland,  November  5,  1823.  His 
father,  Joshua  Coe,  was  also  boni  in  that 
state  and  was  reared  and  married  there. 
By  occupation    he  was  a  farmer,  following 


that  pursuit  throughout  his  business  career. 
In  1825  he  emigrated  westward  to  Licking 
county,  Ohio,  settling  near  Utica.  In  early 
life  he  had  learned  the  brickmaker's  trade 
and  after  coming  to  Ohio  he  manufactured 
all  of  the  first  brick  used  in  the  construction 
of  buildings  in  Utica.  Subsequently  he  re- 
moved to  Knox  county,  where  he  died  in 
1841,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years.  He 
was  a  Whig  in  his  political  affiliations  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  in  the  work  of  which  he  took  an  ac- 
tive and  helpful  part.  He  held  a  number  of 
its  offices  and  also  filled  political  positions. 
His  wife,  who  in  her  maidenhood  was  Mary 
Burgoon,  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  a 
daughter  of  Francis  Burgoon,  who  died  in 
Somerset,  Perry  county,  Ohio,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-nine  years.  Mrs.  Coe 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-three. 
She  was  the  mother  of  eight  children,  but 
the  eldest,  a  son,  died  in  infancy.  The 
others  were  Katharine,  Mary,  Francis,  Da- 
vid, Charles  H.,  Thomas  D.  and  William. 

Captain  Coe  was  only  two  years  of  age 
when  taken  by  his  parents  to  Licking  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  in  1825.  His  childhood  days  were 
spent  in  a  manner  not  unusual  to  farmer  lads 
of  the  period.  He  worked  in  the  fields 
through  the  summer  months  and  in  the  win- 
ter season  he  pursued  his  education  in  an 
old-time  log  school  house.  When  seven- 
teen years  of  age  he  was  apprenticed  to  learn 
the  trade  of  a  tanner  and  currier,  and  fol- 
lowed that  pursuit  until  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  On  the  27th  of 
July,  1 86 1,  he  went  to  Camp  Chase,  where 
he  was  offered  the  position  of  quartermaster 
by  Colonel  Fuller,  but  this  he  declined  and 
was  thereupon  commissioned  adjutant  by 
General  Buckingham  to  recruit  soldiers.     In 


208 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


1862,  however,  he  resigned  that  position 
and  took  the  place  of  Elmer  McNaiighton, 
one  of  the  drafted  men,  as  a  private.  In 
September,  1862,  when  in  camp  at  Zanes- 
ville  he  was  appointed  by  Adjutant  General 
George  B.  Wyatt  to  recruit  for  independent 
sharpshooters,  securing  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  men.  and  with  these  went  to 
Cleveland  to  be  tested,  eighty-two  of 
the  number  standing  the  test  .  as 
marksmen.  On  the  i6th  of  October 
of  that  year  Mr.  Coe  was  commissioned  as 
captain  of  the  Sixth  Company  of  Ohio  In- 
pedendent  Volunteer  Sharpshooters,  com- 
posed of  his  own  recruits,  who  were  the  first 
soldiers  armed  with  the  Spencer  rifle,  the  in- 
ventor visiting  them  and  giving  the  officers 
a  dinner  at  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee.  Cap- 
tain Barber,  who  served  as  commander  of 
the  battalion,  was  disabled  at  Murfreesboro 
and  as  Captain  Coe  was  the  next  oldest  com- 
manding officer,  he  took  charge  of  the  bat- 
talion. On  the  24th  of  June,  1863  they 
started  on  the  Chattanooga  campaign  and 
Captain  Coe,  with  his  command,  was  in  all 
of  the  engagements  with  General  Rosecrans 
and  was  made  quartermaster  general. 
Captain  Coe  was  with  the  forces  of  General 
Thomas,  wheii  the  latter  succeeded  Rose- 
crans. In  1864,  he  was  pronounced  disabled 
b)-  the  surgeons,  and  on  accoimt  of  his  disa- 
bility resigned  his  position  and  returned 
home. 

On  the  loth  of  November,  1844.  Captain 
Coe  had  been  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Ann 
Conard,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Conard,  of 
Utica,  the  oldest  settler  of  Knox  county, 
having  taken  up  his  abode  within  its  bor- 
ders in  1805  from  Fredericktown,  Virginia. 
Fredericktown,  Ohio,  was  named  by  him 
and  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  pioneer 


development  of  this  part  of  the  state.  His 
daughter,  Mrs.  Coe,  died  December  7,  1873, 
leaving  four  children:  Alice  Filenia, 
Charles  Wesley,  Jennie  Eliza  and  Judson 
Conard.  On  the  13th  of  December,  1875, 
the  Captain  was  again  married,  his  second 
union  being  with  Miss  Sarah  E.  Mills,  the 
daughter  of  Samuel  Mills.  By  this  mar- 
riage there  is  one  daughter.  Lelia  Pearl,  at 
home  and  a  graduate  of  the  Harcourt  Semi- 
nar}-. 

In  his  early  manhood  Captain  Coe  voted 
the  Whig  ticket  and  on  the  organization  of 
the  Republican  party  joined  its  ranks  and 
has  since  been  one  of  its  stalwart  supporters. 
In  185 1  he  was  nominated  on  the  Whig 
ticket  to  represent  his  district  in  the  state 
legislature  and  was  everywhere  known  as 
the  "boy  candidate."  Although  there  was 
a  usual  Democratic  majority,  such  was  his 
popularity  and  personal  worth  that  he  suc- 
ceeding in  reducing  the  Democratic  vote  un- 
til he  was  defeated  by  only  forty-one  major- 
ity by  John  Bell.  He  has  since  declined  the 
nomination  for  county  treasurer  and  also 
that  of  state  senator,  but  has  held  all  the 
local  township  offices,  including  that  of  land 
appraiser,  while  for  thirteen  years  he  was 
assessor.  Socially  he  is  identified  with  the 
Masonic  order  and  also  belongs  to  Debolt 
Post,  G.  A.  R.  in  which  he  has  filled  part  of 
the  offices.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church,  and  upright  principles 
have  ever  actuated  his  life  and  shaped  his 
dealings  with  his  fellow  men.  He  is  now 
living  retired  but  he  still  makes  his  home 
upon  his  farm,  which  comprises  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  acres  of  valuable  land  in 
Hilliar  township,  in  addition  to  which  he 
owns  property  at  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas. 
As  a  soldier  on  the  field  of  battle,  as  an  en- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


209 


terprising  agriculturist,  as  a  representative 
of  fraternal  and  church  relations  he  has  ever 
conamanded  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his 
fellow  men. 


C.  W.  COE. 

Through  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury C.  W.  Coe  was  a  representative  of  the 
farming  interests  of  Knox  county  and  is 
now  actively  associated  with  his  financial  in- 
terests as  president  of  the  Building  &  Loan 
Association  of  Centerburg  and  as  a  stock- 
holder and  director  of  the  Centerburg  Bank. 
He  was  born  in  Washington  township. 
Licking  county,  Ohio,  December  25,  1848, 
and  is  the  second  child  of  Captain  C.  H.  and 
Eliza  A.  (Conard)  Coe.  His  father,  a  na- 
tive of  Maryland,  emigrated  westward  to 
the  Buckeye  state  and  after  residing  for  a 
time  in  Licking  county  became  a  prominait 
farmer  of  Hilliar  township,  Knox  county. 
Mrs.  Coe  was  born  on  the  same  farm  where 
occurred  the  birth  of  their  son,  C.  W.  Coe, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  forty-nine  years. 
Her.  children  are:  Alice  P.,  the  wife  of 
George  T.  Rinehardt,  of  Hilliar  township; 
C.  W.,  of  this  review ;  Jennie,  the  wife  of  J. 
S.  Sutton,  a  resident  of  Hilliar  township ; 
and  Judson,  who  is  also  living  in  Center- 
burg. 

C.  W.  Coe  was  but  fourteen  years  of  age 
when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their 
removal  to  Knox  county  and  much  of  his 
boyhood  previously  spent  had  been  in  work- 
ing in  a  tan  yard.  Here  he  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools  and  his  advanced  education  was 
obtained  by  one  year's  study  in  the  Lebanon 
Normal,  one  year  in  the  Ohio  Wesleyan 
University,  and  one  year  in  the  pharmacy 


department  of  the  L'niversity  of  Michigan. 
He  clerked  for  a  while  in  a  drug  store  at 
Springfield,  Ohio,  and  then  located  on  the 
old  homestead,  where  he  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  and  stock  raising  for  twenty- 
seven  years.  He  placed  the  land  under  a 
high  state  of  cultivation  and  the  well  tilled 
fields  annually  returned  to  him  golden  har- 
vests. In  1893  he  took  up'  his  residence  in 
Centerburg,  but  he  still  superintends  a  fine 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  acres, 
situated  in  Licking  county  and  which  was 
once  the  property  of  his  grandfather,  Joseph 
Conard,  who  came  from  Virginia  to  Ohio 
and  secured  this  tract  of  land,  from  which 
•he  developed  the  first  farm  in  Washington 
township.  On  coming  to  Centerburg  Mr. 
Coe  took  his  place  as  a  prominent  factor  in 
financial  circles  and  is  now  the  president  of 
the  Building  &  Loan  Association,  the  affairs 
of  which  are  conducted  on  such  a  safe  and 
systematic  basis  that  the  stockholders  an- 
nually receive  a  satisfactory  dividend  on 
their  investments,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
association  is  of  vast  benefit  to  the  commun- 
ity, enabling  many  to  obtain  homes  through 
the  facilities  thus  afforded. 

Dec.  25,  1880,  Mr.  Coe  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Bell  Riley,  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Susan  (Curtis)  Riley,  who  were 
early  settlers  of  Knox  county,  and  who  had 
a  family  of  twelve  children,  all  natives  of 
this  county.  Mrs.  Coe,  who  is  the  youngest, 
spent  her  girlhood  days  here  and  after  at- 
tending the  district  schools  was  for  one  year 
a  student  in  a  seminary  in  Delaware.  Since 
1893  our  subject  and  his  wife  have  occu- 
pied a  very  pleasant  home  in  Centerburg. 
Socially  he  is  connected  with  the  Masonic 
order,  being  a  member  of  the  blue  lodge  at 
Centerburg,  Clinton  Chapter,  No.  26,  and 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


Clinton  Commandery,  No.  5,  K.  T.,  of 
]\Iount  Vernon.  In  politics  he  is  unfalter- 
ing in  his  advocacy  of  Republican  principles 
and  religiously  he  is  connected  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  is 
now  serving  as  trustee.  He  has  a  business 
record  which  is  unassailable  and  his  social 
qualities  and  upright  nature  have  gained 
hinT  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  many 
warm  friends. 


CARY  E.  WOLFE. 


x-\merica  has  so  many  self-made  men 
that  often  it  is  hard  to  point  one  out  as  es- 
pecially deserving  of  notice.  Self-made  men 
vary  in  kind  as  widely  as  in  the  sum  total 
of  their  individual  achievements,  and  if  there 
is  any  representative  of  the  class  who  should 
receive  attention  in  a  work  of  this  kind  it  is 
the  man  whose  childhood  was  marked  with 
misfortune  and  poverty  and  who  in  spite  of 
numerous  obstacles  and  discouragements  has 
made  his  way  to  noteworthy  and  respectable 
success.  Such  a  man  is  Cary  E.  Wolfe,  a 
prominent  farmer  on  section  19,  Harrison 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio. 

Mr.  Wolfe  may  be  said  to  be  a  product 
of  Harrison  township,  having  been  born 
there  May  9,  1856.  He  is  a  brother  of  Eli 
A.  Wolfe,  of  Howard  township,  a  bio- 
graphical sketch  of  whom  appears  in  this 
work.  Mr.  Wolfe,  who  is  the  eldest  of  his 
parents'  family  of  two  sons  and  a  daughter, 
was  reared  in  Harrison  township,  where  he 
received  scanty  schooling  in  the  Dudgeon 
district.  When  his  father  died  he  was  only 
six  years  old,  and  being  the  oldest  of  the 
family  the  care  of  the  farm  and  a  great  deal 
of  hard  work  devolved  upon  him  in  his  ef- 


fort to  keep  their  little  household  together 
and  place  the  family  on  a  substantial  foot- 
ing. He  developed  into  a  practical  and  suc- 
cessful farmer,  and  he  is  now  the  owner  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-six  acres  of  good 
land,  which  is  under  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion, is  well  provided  with  buildings  and  is 
in  every  way  well  equipped  for  successful 
operations.  He  is  a  breeder  of  thorough- 
bred American  Delaine  sheep,  of  which  he 
has  a  fine  herd,  more  than  twenty-fivQ  of  his 
sheep  being  registered. 

February  7,  1878,  Mr.  Wolfe  married 
Miss  Mary  J.  Ulery,  daughter  of  Valentine 
and  Lydia  Ann  (Uhl)  Ulery.  Mrs.  Wolie, 
who  was  the  second  of  the  five  children  of 
her  parents,  was  born  at  Killbuck,  Holmes 
county,  Ohio,  but  was  reared  in  Harrison 
township,  Knox  county,  where  she  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wolfe  began  housekeeping  in  a  log  house 
on  the  site  of  their  present  residence.  The 
latter  was  built  in  1881  and  is  a  substantial 
frame  structure  in  every  way  adequate  and 
comfortable.  Mr.  Wolfe,  who  is  an  ardent 
Democrat,  has  filled  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace  for  more  than  six  years  and  has 
for  many  years  been  a  member  of  the  town- 
ship school  board,  in  which  capacity  he  was 
influential  in  improving  the  standard  of  the 
schools  of  the  township  and  in  erecting  mod- 
ern school  buildings.  He  was  received  as 
an  Entered  Apprentice,  passed  the  Fellow 
Craft  degree  and  raised  to  the  sublime  de- 
gree of  Master  Mason  in  Ohio  Lodge,  No. 
199,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Bladens- 
burg;  is  a  member  of  the  order  of  Wood- 
men of  America,  and  is  actively  identified 
with  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  He  haS- 
long  affiliated  with  the  Christian  church,  in 
which  for  many  years  he  has  filled  the  of- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


fice  of  deacon,  and  in  the  good  work  of  the 
church  he  has  participated  most  helpfully. 
Gary  E.  and  Mary  J.  (Ulery)  Wolfe 
have  two  daughters — Cordia  May,  who  mar- 
ried Walter  Earlywine,  a  contractor  and 
builder  in  Harrison  township,  and  Estella 
M.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Willis  Beboutt,  and 
has  a  daughter  named  Mary  Elizabeth,  who 
is  the  only  grandchild. 


JOSEPH  H.  HAMILTON. 

Rev.  Joseph  H.  Hamilton  is  a  super- 
annuated minister  of  the  Methodist  Protest- 
ant church,  residing  ii;  Mount  Vernon.  For 
more  than  a  half  century  he  devoted  his  life 
to  the  work  of  the  Christian  ministry  and 
the  influence  of  his  labors  has  been  incalcul- 
able. He  came  to  Knox  county  in  1855,  and 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  time  since  that 
year  his  time  and  talents  have  been  given 
to  the  work  of  uplifting  his  fellow  men  in 
this  portion  of  Ohio,  spreading  the  gospel 
among  those  with  whom  he  has  been  asso- 
ciated and  thus  developing  characters  that 
exemplify  all  that  is  highest  and  best  in  life. 
Rev.  Joseph  Hamilton  was  born  in  Mus- 
kingum township,  Muskingum  county,  Ohio, 
July  23,  1826,  and  is  of  Scotch  lineage,  for 
his  grandfather  William  Hamilton  was  a 
native  of  Scotland  and  founded  the  family 
in  America.  In  West  Virginia  occurred  the 
birth  of  the  Rev.  William  Hamilton,  the 
father  of  him  whose  name  introduces  this 
record.  He,  too,  became  a  preacher  of  the 
Methodist  Protestant  church,  and  as  early 
as  1828  and  1829  he  was  engaged  in  pro- 
claiming the  gospel  to  the  pioneer  settlers 
of  this  locality.     He  lived  to    be  seventy- 


eight  years  of  age  and  left  behind  him  the 
memory  of  a  noble  hfe  which  remains  as  a 
blessed  benediction  to  all  who  knew  him. 
His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Lydia  Springer,  was  a  daughter  of  John 
Springer  and  a  granddaughter  of  Chris- 
topher Springer,  who  settled  in  Wilmington, 
Delaware,  before  the  Revolutionary  war. 
Mrs.  Hamilton  died  at  the  age  of  seventy 
years.  She  was  the  mother  of  ten  sons  and 
two  daughters,  and  all  of  the  former  aver- 
aged six  feet  in  height.  Four  of  the  num- 
ber served  as  soldiers  in  the  Union  army,  in- 
cluding Captain  H.  C.  Hamilton,  of  Rich- 
wood,  Union  county,  Ohio,  who  commanded 
a  company  of  the  Ninety-sixth  Ohio  Infan- 
try. Another  brother.  Dr.  Isaac  Newton 
Hamilton,  of  Marysville,  Ohio,  was  a  sur- 
geon in  the  army,  while  a  third.  Dr.  Thoma'S 
Benton  Hamilton,  was  a  surgeon  with  an 
Illinois  regiment  and  died  in  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee. Another  member  of  the  family  was 
Dr.  John  W.  Hamilton,  of  Columbus,  Ohio, 
professor  of  surgery  in  the  Starling  Medical 
College,  and  his  sons  are  now  eminent 
physicians  in  Columbus.  One  of  his 
nephews  was  Governor  John  M.  Hamilton, 
of  Illinois. 

In  the  common  schools  Rev.  Joseph  H. 
Hamilton  pursued  his  education,  and  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  began  to  preach.  His 
time  and  talents  have  ever  been  devoted  to 
the  service  of  the  Master  and  he  has  been 
instrumental  in  turning  many  from  the  er- 
rors of  their  ways  to  walk  in  the  straight 
and  narrow  path  which  leads  unto  life  ever- 
lasting. For  five  years  he  was  pastor  of 
the  church  in  Steubenville,  Ohio,  and  for 
two  years  in  Gircleville.  He  also  spent  two 
3-ears  in  Lancaster  and  for  three  years  oc- 
cupied the  pulpit  of  the  Methodist  Protestant 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


church  in  Brownsville,  Licking  county.  In 
1855  he  came  to  Knox  county,  locating  at 
Fredericktown,  where  he  preached  for  the 
church  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1865  he 
cnme  to  Mount  Vernon  and  was  pastor  of 
the  church  in  this  place  for  twelve  years. 
He  had  been  connected  with  the  Mount  Ver- 
non circuit  for  five  years,  and  in  his  min- 
isterial capacity  has  traveled  extensively 
throughout  this  county,  preaching  and  labor- 
ing for  the  upbuilding  of  the  cause  of  Chris- 
t-anity.  During  his  long  connection  with 
the  ministry  he  has  attended  over  fifteen 
hundred  funerals  and  has  performed  twelve 
hundred  and  seventy-two  marriage  cere- 
monies in  Knox  county.  After  fifty  years 
of  active  work  in  the  ministry  he  was  re- 
tired in  1894  to  a  superannuated  position, 
and  his  rest  is  well  deserved,  for  with  un- 
tiring zeal  and  in  the  most  self-sacrificing 
manner  he  has  labored  for  the  church,  whose 
interests  have  from  his  early  life  been  most 
dear  to  him. 

Rev.  Hamilton  was  united  in  the  holy 
bonds  of  matrimony,  in  Muskingum  county, 
to  jMiss  Charlotte  M.  Rodman,  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  Rodman,  a  native  of  Bucks  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  and  a  representative  of 
one  of  the  old  families  of  that  state.  Unto 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  have  been  born  two 
sons  and  a  daughter,  the  eldest  being  Ed- 
ward C,  a  printer  of  Mount  Vernon.  The 
second  was  Mrs.  George  Turner,  of  Mount 
Vernon,  who  is  now  deceased.  She  and  her 
husband  were  of  great  assistance  in  church 
work  and  her  loss  throughout  the  commu- 
nity was  deeply  felt.  Mary  L.,  the  young- 
est, is  the  wife  of  W.  E.  Jackson,  of  Mount 
Vernon.  She  is  a  graduate  of  Adrian  Col- 
lege, of  Adrian,  Michigan,  and  is  a  teacher 
of  music. 


For  fifty-five  years  Rev.  Hamilton  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  and  for  fifty-three  years  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  has  been  a  most 
worthy  representative  of  the  fraternal  spirit 
of  these  orders,  whose  beneficent  teachings 
are  founded  upon  the  instruction  which  was 
given  by  Him  who  came  to  minister  and  not 
to  be  ministered  unto.  He  is  also  identified 
with  the  Soils  of  Temperance,  has  been  rep- 
resentative to  the  grand  lodge  and  for  years 
served  as  its  grand  chaplain.  Whatever  tends 
to  advance  kindliness,  benevolence,  tolerance, 
the  good,  the  just,  the  true  and  the  right 
has  received  his  endorsement  and  his  co-op- 
eration as  far  as  it  lay  in  his  power  to  give. 
His  church  grew  and  prospered  under  his 
labors,  and  the  influence  of  his  life  cannot 
be  measured  by  any  of  the  known  standards 
of  this  life. 


GOSHORN  A.  JONES. 

General  Goshorn  Alexander  Jones  has 
passed  the  eighty-ninth  milestone  on  the 
journey  of  life,  yet  is  still  actively  concerned 
with  business  interests,  managing  his  exten- 
sive realty  holdings.  His  has  been  an  active, 
industrious,  useful  and  honorable  career,  and 
through  more  than  two-thirds  of  a  century 
he  has  resided  in  Mount  Vernon,  identified 
with  the  business  affairs  of  the  city  and  with 
all  movements  for  the  general  welfare.  He 
was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1812.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  born 
m  the  little  rock-ribbed  country  of  Wales, 
and,  deciding  to  try  his  fortune  in  America, 
became  the  founder  of  this  branch  of  the 
Jones  family.  His  son,  Jacob  Jones,  the 
father  of  our  subject,  was  also  a  native  of 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


213 


Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  whence  he 
removed  to  Washington  county,  that  state, 
his  death  occurring  near  Pittsburg.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Goshorn,  also  a  native  of 
Franklin  county. 

In  the  state  of  his  nativity  General  Jones 
pursued  his  education  in  the  primitive 
schools  of  the  times.  It  was  in  1834  that 
he  determined  to  leave  Pennsylvania  and 
seek  his  fortune  in  a  district  further  west. 
Accordingly  he  made  his  way  to  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  and  for  sixteen  years  was  con- 
nected with  the  mercantile  interests  of 
Mount  Vernon,  meeting  with  good  success 
in  that  undertaking.  In  1850,  however,  he 
turned  his  attention  to  contracting,  and  has 
since  been  engaged  in  that  business.  He  has 
contributed  in  large  measure  to  the  upbuild- 
ing and  improvement  of  the  city  as  the  years 
have  passed  by  and  now  owns  a  large 
amount  of  property  here,  which  he  still  man- 
ages, although  he  is  now  eighty-nine  y.ears 
of  age.  Such  a  history  of  continued  useful- 
ness should  put  to  shame  many  a  man  of 
much  younger  years,  who,  grown  weary  of 
the  struggle  and  trials  of  business  life,  would 
relegate  to  others  the  burdens  tliat  he  should 
bear. 

In  this  city  General  Jones  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Raymond,  a 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Nathan  Raymond,  a 
}>Iethodist  Episcopal  minister  who  resided 
in  this  city  for  a  number  of  years,  coming 
to  the  west  from  New  York.  'Sir.  and  Mrs. 
Jones  have  two  children,  Fred,  who  takes 
railroad  contracts  and  makes  his  home  in 
Mount  Vernon,  and  Ida,  the  wife  of  James 
Israel. 

The  General  has  been  c|uite  prominent  in 
public  affairs  aside  from  his  business  rela- 
tions.    In  1840  he  joined  the  Ohio  militia 


as  a  member  of  the  cavalry,  was  elected  bri- 
gade general  of  the  district  and  served  with 
that  rank  for  nine  years,  on  the  expiration  of 
which  period  he  withdrew  from  military 
service.  For  two  terms  he  served  as  United 
States  marshal  under  President  Zachary 
Taylor,  and  for  many  years  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council  of  Mount  Vernon. 
He  was  born  during  the  first  administration 
of  President  Madison  and  has  therefore  lived 
during  the  rule  of  twenty-three  of  the  twen- 
ty-six presidents  of  the  United  States.  He 
has  witnessed  the  wonderful  development  of 
the  country  from  a  period  long  remote  to 
that  seen  by  many  men  who  are  now  prom- 
inent in  business  and  at  all  times  he  has  kept 
in  touch  with  the  universal  progress.  His 
life  has  been  one  of  beneficial  activity  and  in 
the  evening  of  his  pilgrimage  he  receives  the 
honor  and  respect  which  should  e\-er  be  ac- 
corded to  one  of  advanced  years. 


GEORGE  SYLVANUS  BENNETT. 

Dr.  George  S.  Bennett  is  a  native  son  of 
this  citv,  and  his  early  education  was  ob- 
tained in  its  public  schools.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  Sylvanus  Bennett,  was  born  on 
Long  Island,  but  when  a  young  man  re- 
moved to  a  farm  adjoining  the  fort  of  Ticon- 
deroga.  He  was  a  gallant  soldier  during  the 
war  of  1812.  His  father,  John  Bennett,  was 
killed  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  He 
was  a  resident  of  Long  Island,  where  the 
family  had  been  established  at  a  very  early 
date,  they  having  come  to  America  from 
England  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

Clark  Lester  Bennett,  the  father  of  our 


214 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


subject,  resided  on  his  father's  farm  at  Fort 
Ticonderoga  for  a  number  of  years,  and  the 
property  is  still  owned  by  members  of  the 
family.  In  1824  he  came  to  Mount  Vernon, 
Ohio,  where  he  became  well  and  favorably 
known.  In  an  early  day  he  served  his  local- 
ity as  a  constable  and  as  city  marshal.  As  a 
companion  and  helpmate  on  the  journey  of 
life  Mr.  Bennett  chose  Nancy  Jones,  the  eld- 
est child  of  James- Jones,  who  came  from 
Essex  county.  New  York,  tO'  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  in  1824,  where  he  became  a  prominent 
and  leading  farmer.  His  death  occurred  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  Mrs.  Ben- 
nett's maternal  grandfather,  Thomas  Pat- 
terson, died  in  Essex  county.  New  York,  at 
the  age  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 
years.  Her  brother,  Lorenzo  Jones,  was  a 
brave  soldier  throughout  the  Texan  war. 
Six  children  blessed  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
and  ;\Irs.  Bennett,  and  the  brothers  of  our 
subject  are:  Captain  Henry  P.,  of  Mount 
Vernon ;  Murr}^  J.,  who'  died  in  Columbus, 
Ohio,  in  1888,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years; 
and  J.  Burr,  who  died  at  Columbus,  Ohio, 
in  1890,  at  the  age  of  fifty-one  years.  The 
first  named.  Captain  Henry  P.  Bennett, 
sen-ed  in  the  Mexican  war  as  a  member  of 
the  Second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  while 
during  the  Civil  war  he  was  first  lieutenant 
of  Company  B,  Ninety-sixth  Ohio'  Volun- 
teer Infantr>%  and  subsequently  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  captain  of  Company  A,  of  the 
same  regiment.  He  died  in  Mount  Vernon, 
November  2.  1901.  J.  B.  Bennett  was  a 
member  of  Company  E,  Twentieth  Ohio 
\^olunteer  Infantry,  during  that  memorable 
struggle.  The  daughters  of  the  family  were : 
Elizabeth,  who  married  J.  P.  Snook,  and 
both  he  and  his  wife  are  now  deceased ;  and 
Eliza,  deceased.     She  became  the  wife  of  B. 


A.  F.  Greer,  of  Knox  county,  Ohio.  He 
also  offered  his  services  to  his  country  when 
the  trouble  arose  between  the  north  and  the 
south,  becoming  a  member  of  the  Twentieth 
Ohio  Infantry,  and  after  three  years  of 
faithful  service  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  colonel,  serving  in  a  regiment  in  Han- 
cock's Corps.  He  became  very  prominent 
in  the  public  life  of  this  county,  and  from 
1873  until  1875  served  as  probate  judge, 
and  was  also  a  prominent  attorney  of  Mount 
Vernon.  His  death  occurred  in  this  city  in 
1880,  at  the  age  of  forty-six  years.  The 
mother  of  our  subject  passed  away  in  death 
m  October,  1880,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years, 
and  in  the  following  year  her  husband  joined 
her  in  the  spirit  world,  dying  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one  years. 

George  S.  Bennett,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  review,  enlisted  for  service  in  the 
Civil  war  when  eighteen  years  of  age,  be- 
coming a  member  of  the  Twentieth  Ohio  In- 
fantry%  Company  E,  with  Captain  George 
Rogers  in  command.  After  one  years'  ser- 
vice therein  he  was  made  a  member  of  the 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-second  Ohio  In- 
fantry, in  which  he  remained  until  hostilities 
had  ceased  and  the  country  no  longer  needed 
his  services.  After  his  army  career  was 
ended  Mr.  Bennett  took  up  the  study  of 
medicine  under  Dr.  Matthew  Thompson,  re- 
maining under  his  able  instruction  for  a 
time,  after  which  he  entered  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  Western  Reserve  College, 
of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1868.  After  leaving  that  institution 
he  followed  his  chosen  profession  at  Chester- 
ville.  Morrow  county,  Ohio,  for  three  years, 
and  then  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Mount 
Vernon,  since  which  time  he  has  been  en- 
easred  in  the  liverv  business.     He  has  met 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


with  success  in  this  Hne  of  trade,  and  his  is 
one  of  the  best  equipped  and  leading  barns 
of  the  city.  As  a  result  of  his  straightfor- 
ward dealing  and  close  attention  to  his  busi- 
ness he  is  now  enjoying  a  liberal  patronage, 
and  he  has  not  only  secured  a  handsome 
competence  but  has  materially  advanced  the 
interests  of  the  community  with  which  he  is 
associated. 

The  lady  who  now  bears  the  name  of 
Mrs.  Bennett  was  in  her  maidenhood  Miss 
Olive  Long.  Her  father,  Thomas  Long, 
was  a  resident  of  Mount  Vernon,  but  his 
death  occurred  many  years  ago.  The  family 
came  originally  from  Pennsylvania.  In  his 
social  relations  Mr.  Bennett  is  a  member  of 
Joe  Hooker  Post,  No.  21,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Mount 
Vernon,  in  which  he  maintains  pleasant  re- 
lations with  his  old  army  comrades  who 
wore  the  blue.  In  politics,  he  is  a  true  Re- 
publican. 


SYLVADORE    JACKSON. 

If  there  is  one  characteristic  that  stands 
out  more  strongly  than  others  in  the  history 
of  the  Jackson  family  it  is  that  of  loyalty — a 
loyalty  which  has  been  manifest  by  active 
service  in  the  different  important  wars  of  the 
country  and  by  absolute  fearlessness  in  the 
performance  of  duty.  Sylvadore  Jackson 
has  this  characteristic  of  his  ancestors  and  in 
his  life  record  there  is  much  that  indicates  a 
most  lofty  patriotism.  The  country  owes  to 
him  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  what  he  accom- 
plished in  its  behalf,  and  his  name  should  be 
placed  high  on  the  roll  of  those  whose  loyalty 
to  the  Union  in  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil 
war  resulted  in  active  and  beneficial  service. 

The    Jackson    family    was    founded    in 


America  in  1625  by  ancestors  who  came 
from  Scotland  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania. 
Joseph  Jackson,  the  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  the  Keystone  state  in  1761, 
and  in  1775,  when  only  fourteen  years  of 
age,  ran  away  from  his  home — in  the  sub- 
urbs O'f  Philadelphia — in  order  to  enlist  in 
the  Continental  army.  He  served  through- 
out the  war,  giving  valiant  aid  to  the  cause 
of  freedom,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender 
of  Comwallis,  His  brothers,  James  and 
Isaac,  were  both  officers  in  the  American 
army,  one  serving  as  captain,  the  other  as 
lieutenant.  Joseph  Jackson,  many  years 
after  the  freedom  of  the  colonies  had  been 
won,  emigrated  westward,  taking  up  his 
abode  in  Newark  township,  Licking  county, 
Ohio,  in  1805.  There  he  spent  his  remain- 
ing days,  passing  away  in  1818,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-eight  years. 

His  son,  Joseph  Jackson,  Jr.,  the  father 
of  our  subject,  was  also  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  in  the  war  of  1S12  he  served  his 
country  as  a  member  of  a  Virginia  reg'iment. 
In  1 81 5  he  went  to  Licking  county,  taking 
up  his  abode  in  Newark  township,  where  he 
became  identified  with  industrial  interests. 
He  was  caught  in  a  fulling  mill  and  was  thus 
scalded  to  death  in  1837,  when  forty-three 
years  of  age.  Mrs.  Jackson,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Mollie  Cummins,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Licking  county,  and  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  Cummins,  who  came  to  this  state 
from  Union  county,  Pennsylvania. 

Sylvadore  Jackson,  familiarly  known  as 
Saint  Jackson,  whose  name  introduces  this 
review,  was  born  in  Licking  county,  in  1832, 
and  there  was  reared  to  manhood,  pursuing  _ 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  and  work- 
ing at  baker's  and  confectioner's  trades  in 
his  vouth.    From  1856  until  1859  he  was  en- 


2l6 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


gaged  in  business  in  the  city  of  Newark,  but 
previous  to  this  time  he  had  rendered  effec- 
tive sen-ice  in  the  cause  of  freedom  in  Kan- 
sas. In  the  fall  of  1855  he  went  to  that  por- 
tion of  the  country,  and  was  allied  with  the 
"free  state"  men,  being  connected  with  the 
forces  of  Montgomery.  He  aided  in  driving 
out  the  border  men  and  was  twice  wounded 
in  one  night — the  night  he  rode  forty  miles 
to  assist  in  the  rescue  of  Lawrence.  In  1856 
he  visited  Omaha  and  Council  Bluffs  and  in 
twelve  days  walked  from  Council  Bluffs  to 
Iowa  City.  He  then  returned  home  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  Fremont  cam- 
paign, earnestly  championing  the  first  stand- 
ard bearer  of  the  new  Republican  party 
which  was  formed  to  prevent  the  further  ex- 
tension of  slavery.  While  in  Kansas  he  had 
known  and  acted  with  John  Brown. 

In  November,  1859,  Mr.  Jackson  came 
to  Mount  Vernon  and  established  a  bakery 
and  grocery,  which  he  conducted  for  two 
years.  He  then  disposed  of  his  business  and 
in  December,  1861,  went  to  the  south,  but 
was  taken  with  rheumatism  and  for  ten 
months  lay  in  the  hospital  at  Nashville  be- 
fore he  could  do  anything.  Unable  for  field 
service  he  soon  returned  to  the  north  where 
the  work  which  he  performed  for  the  govern- 
ment was  of  the  most  important  character. 
Prior  to  1863  several  provost  marshals  had 
been  appointed  for  Knox  county  but  had 
failed  to  keep  down  the  spirit  of  rebellion  by 
not  arresting  the  deserters  and  rebels.  At 
length  the  county  became  overrun  with  such 
men.  In  1863  Major  Hadley  spent  the  entire 
day  of  June  17th  in  the  streets  trying  to  find 
a  man  who  would  carry  dispatches  to  the 
commander  in  Holmes  county,  but  the  dan- 
ger of  such  a  mission,  owing  to  the  presence 


of  many  southern  sympathizers,  was  very 
great,  and  no  one  would  volunteer.  At 
length  the  Alajor  was  told  that  Mr.  Jackson 
would  carry  the  dispatches.  The  whole 
county  was  picketed  by  the  rebels,  but  Mr. 
Jackson  got  Major  Cooper  to  give  him  a  fic- 
titious warrant  for  a  horse  thief  and  he  start- 
ed. He  was  stopped  by  two  rebels  but  he 
told  them  he  was  after  a  horse  thief  and  that 
the  man  was  an  abolitionist,  so  they  let  him 
pass.  At  length  he  reached  his  destination 
and  delivered  the  messages  in  safety.  This 
was  reported  to  the  government  and  Mr. 
Jackson  was  immediately  reported  provost 
marshal  for  Knox  county,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  ar- 
rested altogether  over  three  hundred  desert- 
ers in  this  county  and  its  borders,  and  no 
man  that  he  was  after  ever  got  away.  He 
was  here  and  heard  Valandingham  make  the 
speech  for  which  he  was  arrested  and  tried. 
He  also  went  on  special  duty  a  number  of 
times  to  Holmes  county,  which  was  the  hot- 
bed of  copperheads  in  this  state.  Seven 
times  he  was  shot  at  during  the  period  of  his 
service  as  provost  marshal  and  on  one  occa- 
sion while  arresting  a  deserter  in  Mount  Ver- 
non he  was  so  injured  that  he  eventually 
lost  the  sight  of  his  eyes.  For  thirty  years 
he  has  been  unable  to  recognize  any  one  and 
for  five  years  has  been  totally  blind.  Thus 
great  has  been  the  sacrifice  which  he  made 
for  his  country,  but  he  counted  not  the  cost 
when  engaged  in  the  performance  of  his 
duty.  He  never  wavered  or  faltered  no  mat- 
ter what  the  risks,  and  no  greater  bravery 
was  manifest  on  the  field  of  battle.  On  one 
occasion  three  men  lay  all  night  by  the  side 
of  the  road  where  they  expected  him  to  pass, 
intending  to  kill  him,  but  his  horse  wandered 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


217 


off  intoi  the  wrong  road  and  he  was  thereby 
saved.  In  1865-66  he  served  as  deputy 
sheriff. 

Mr.  Jackson  was  married  in  Licking 
county  to  Miss  Martha  Jane  Smith,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  A.  Smith,  a  native  O'f  Mary- 
land. He  served  in  the  war  of  1812  and 
soon  afterward  came  to  Licking  county, 
where  he  died  in  1883,  at  the  very  venerable 
age  of  ninety-two  years.  His  wife,  who 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Elizabeth  Mitchell, 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  eighty-five.  Her 
people  came  from  Washington  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, to  Ohio.  By  the  marriage  ol  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Jackson  was  born  one  son,  Charles 
Ellsworth,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Cincin- 
nati College  of  Music  and  is  now  located  in 
Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Such  in  brief  is 
the  history  of  one  of  Knox  county's  most 
honored  and  respected  citizens, — a  man  who 
in  every  relation  of  life  has  been  true  to  what 
he  believed  to  be  his  duty,  who  has  consci- 
entiously met  every  obligation  and  whose 
sterling  worth  of  character  has  gained  for 
him  many  warm  friends. 


FRANK  WATKINS. 

Frank  Watkins  is  numbered  among 
Ohio's  native  sons,  his  birth  having  occurred 
in  Steubenville  fifty-seven  years  ago,  his  pa- 
rents being  Edwin  and  Eliza  (Brown)  Wat- 
kins.  The  former  was  born  in  England,  but 
came  to  the  United  States  many  years  ago, 
and  died  in  Steubenville.  The  latter  was  a 
daughter  of  General  Harvey  Brown,  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  served  in  the  Civil  war 
as  a  brave  and  gallant  officer.  Both  the 
Watkins  and  Brown  families  were  of  Eng- 


lish lineage.  The  subject  of  this  review  is 
a  cousin  of  Williami  Dean  Howells,  the 
noted  American  writer  of  fiction,  whose  sto- 
ries, representing  the  highest  type  of  the 
realism  in  art,  have  found  favor  with  a 
broader  reading  public  than  those  of  any 
other  American  writer.  Mr.  Watkins  is  also 
an  uncle  of  Paul  and  Vaughn  Kester,  sons 
of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Hattie  Kester.  Both  gen- 
tlemen were  born  in  Mount  Vernon  and 
have  become  distinguished  in  literary  cir- 
cles. Paul  Kester  is  the  author  of  a  most  in- 
teresting work.  The  Life  of  the  Gypsies,  and 
also  dramatized  the  book  When  Knighthood 
Was  in  Flower.  He  also  wrote  the  play 
which  is  now  being  presented  by  Ada  Re- 
han,  Sweet  Nell  of  Old  Drury,  and  is  the 
author  of  several  plays  used  by  Salvini. 
Vaughn  Kester  has  recently  completed  and 
published  a  work  entitled,  The  Manager  of 
the  B.  &  O.,  which  promises  to  be  very  pop- 
ular. Both  brothers  attended  the  schools 
of  Alount  Vernon  and  of  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
and  Vaughn  Kester  is  now  in  the  office  of 
his  cousin,  William  Dean  Howells.  They 
now  reside  at  a  beautiful  home  on  the  Po- 
tomac, seven  miles  below  Washington  and 
in  the  literary  world  they  have  already  at- 
tained prominence  which  promises  to  be- 
come greater  as  the  years  pass  by. 

Mr.  Watkins,  of  this  review,  spent  his 
youthful  days  in  Delaware  county,  Ohio, 
and  was  educated  at  the  Delaware  College. 
About  1874  he  came  to  Mount  Vernon, 
where  he  has  since  made  his  home  with  the 
exception  of  ten  years  passed  in  the  city  of 
Boston,  and  for  the  past  twenty-nine  j^ears 
he  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Tabor  Art 
Company,  which  is  now  located  at  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts.  He  was  married  here 
in  1876  to  Miss  Mary  Blackstone  Banning, 


21.8 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


youngest  daughter  of  James  S.  Banning, 
and  a  grand-daughter  of  the  Rev.  Anthony 
Banning,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  citi- 
zens of  Knox  county  at  an  early  day.  He 
became  identified  with  the  pioneer  develop- 
ment of  the  state  and  was  not  only  promi- 
nent in  business  but  left  the  impress  of  his 
strong  individuality  for  good  upon  the  pub- 
lic policy  of  the  district  and  had  marked 
influence  in  shaping  public  thought  and  ac- 
tion. The  Bannings  have  also  been  leaders 
in  the  social  life  of  Mount  Vernon  from  the 
earliest  days  and  Mrs.  Eliza  (Blackstone) 
Banning,  the  mother  of  ]\Irs.  \\'atkins,  did 
much  toward  raising  the  standard  of  culture 
and  refinement  when  in  her  early  married 
life  she  came  to  Knox  county,  which  was 
then  just  emerging  from  frontier  conditions. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watkins  have  one  daughter, 
Lila.  They  are  widely  known  in  Knox 
county  and  the  circle  of  their  friends  is  al- 
most coextensive  with  the  circle  of  their  ac- 
quaintance. Mr.  Watkins  gives  his  political 
support  to  the  Republican  party. 


GEORGE  E.  CANNING. 

In  a  review  of  a  list  of  those  who  are 
occupying  public  positions  of  trust  in  ]\Iount 
Vernon  appears  the  name  of  George  E. 
Canning,  who  is  administering  the  business 
of  the  post  office  in  the  same  straightfor- 
ward and  energetic  manner  that  rendered 
him  a  prominent  factor  in  commercial  circles 
in  this  city  for  fifteen  years.  He  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  by  President  McKinley 
in  1898  and  through  the  intervening  period 
he  has  won  high  encomiums  from  the  public 
for  his  reliability  and  efiiciencv. 


]\Iount  Vernon  is  ]\Ir.  Canning's  native 
city  and  to  its  public  school  system  he  is  in- 
debted for  the  educational  privileges  which 
he  enjoyed.  His  father,  William  Canning, 
a  native  of  England,  is  still  residing  in 
Mount  Vernon  and  for  many  years  was  en- 
gaged in  wheat  buying,  acting  as  general 
manager  for  the  Norton  Mills,  but  now  he 
is  living  retired  from  business  cares.  He 
married  Rebecca  Stinchcomb,  a  native  of 
JMaryland,  and  a  daughter  of  Enoch  Stinch- 
comb, who  formerly  resided  in  Pike  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  but  is  now  deceased. 

In  his  parents'  home  Mr.  Canning,  of  this 
review,  spent  his  childhood  days,  and  after 
arriving  at  man's  estate  embarked  in  the 
meat  market  business  in  Mount  Vernon, 
conducting  his  store  for  fifteen  years,  during 
which  time  he  enjoyed  a  good  trade.  He 
became  well  known  as  a  reliable  and  trust- 
worthy citizen  and  therefore  received  the 
endorsement  of  the  majority  of  his  fellow 
townsmen  when  he  was  spoken  of  for  post- 
master. The  appointment  came  in  1898, 
and  in  discharging  the  duties  of  the  ofiice  he 
has  displayed  the  same  energetic  business 
like  methods  that  characterized  his  conduct 
of  his  store. 

Mr.  Canning  was  married  in  Mount 
Vernon  to  Miss  Lulu  Maude  Gordon,  a  rep- 
resentative of  one  ai  the  pioneer  families  of 
the  county.  Her  grandfather,  Silas  Gordon, 
resided  in  Wayne  township  and  was  an  ac- 
tive and  influential  citizen,  well  known 
throughout  this  portion  of  the  state.  Her 
father.  Dr.  J.  C.  Gordon,  was  a  physician 
who  located  in  IMount  Vernon  after  the 
Civil  war  and  practiced  here  for  a  number  of 
years,  but  is  now  deceased.  The  marriage 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Canning  has  been  blessed 
with  one  son,  George  Edward.    Our  subject 


OF    KXOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


219 


has  always  been  a  stalwart  Republican  in 
politics  and,  keeping  well  informed  on  the 
issues  of  the  day,  is  able  to  support  his  posi- 
tion by  intelligent  argument.  For  several 
years  he  has  served  on  the  Republican  county 
executive  committee,  and  his  efforts  have 
contributed  largely  to  his  party's  advance- 
ment. He  has  been  identified  with  the  mili- 
tary interests  of  the  state,  having,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  become  a  member  of 
Company  C,  Seventeenth  Regiment  of  Ohio 
National  Guard,  in  which  he  served  as  sec- 
ond lieutenant  for  ten  months,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  was  elected  captain,  act- 
ing in  that  capacity  until  1886,  when  he  re- 
signed. He  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Pyth- 
ias fraternity,  of  which  he  is  a  past  chancel- 
lor and  for  several  years  was  captain  of  the 
Uniformed  Rank.  He  also  belongs  to  the 
jVIasonic  fraternity,  in  which  he  has  attained 
to  the  rank  of  Knight  Templar.  His  up- 
right manhood,  loyal  citizenship  and  genial 
nature  render  him  a  popular  and  valued  res- 
ident of  his  native  citv. 


HON.  PATRICIv  A.  BERRY. 

Hon.  Patrick  Austin  Berry,  who  is  now 
representing"  Knox  county  for  the  second 
time  in  the  state  legislature  is  one  of  the  lead- 
ing and  influential  young  men  of  this  part  of 
the  state,  being  a  recognized  leader  in  poli- 
tical circles  as  well  as  in  professioiral  ranks, 
for  he  is  a  well  known  and  capable  mem- 
ber of  the  bar.  He  was  born  in  Howard 
township,  this  county,  December  23,  1869, 
and  on  the  parental  side  is  of  Irish  lineage. 
His  grandfather,  James  Berry,  was  born  in 
county  Tipperary,  Ireland,  and  on  coming 


to  America  located  in  Belmont  county,  Ohio. 
There  he  was  married  to  Lucy  Harding, 
whose  people  were  closely  connected  with 
the  Masons  of  the  Old  Dominion.  John 
Berry,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born 
in  St.  Clairsville,  Belmont  county,  Oct.  11, 
1824,  but  came  with  'his  parents  to  Knox 
county  in  1836,  where  he  has  since  made  his 
"home.  He  has  been  prominent  in  township 
affairs,  serving  as  trustee  and  in  other  local 
offices,  and  wherever  he  is  known  commands 
the  respect  and  confidence  he  so  richly  mer- 
its. He  wedded  Mary  A.  Critchfield,  a 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Cle- 
ments) Critchfield.  Her  father  came  to  this 
county  in  pioneer  days  and  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Howard  township.  His 
father,  William  Critchfield,  was  one  of  the 
very  early  pioneers  who  emigrated  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  from'  Maryland. 

In  taking  up  the  personal  history  of  Pat- 
rick A.  Berry  we  present  to  our  readers  the 
life  record  of  one  who  is  well  known  in 
this  portion  of  Ohio,  for  he  has  always  lived 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  this  locality 
and  his  worth  is  widely  recognized.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  county,  in  the  Danville  Normal  Acad- 
emy, in  Bethany  College,  West  Virginia,  and 
in  the  University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Ar- 
bor, graduating  from  the  latter  institution 
in  June,  1892,  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B. 
Immediately  after  graduating  he  took  up  the 
practice  of  the  law  in  Atlanta,  Georgia,  but 
at  the  end  of  five  years,  on  account  of  the  cli- 
mate, was  compelled  to  abandon  practice 
there.  Returning  to  his  old  home,  he  took  up 
the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Mount  Ver- 
non where  he  has  practiced  continually  since. 

Mr.  Berry  was  united  in  marriage  Au- 
gust 17,  1899,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Kirk  Cam- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


eron,  a  daughter  of  Robert  M.  and  Rachel 
(Mayers)  Cameron,  of  Millersburg,  Holmes 
county,  Ohio.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Berry  hold  mem- 
bership in  the  Christian  church,  and  socially 
he  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  Masonic  fraternity.  His  political  support 
is  unwaveringly  given  the  Democracy,  and 
on  its  ticket  he  was  elected  to  represent  Knox 
county  in  the  state  legislature  in  1899,  and 
re-elected  in  1901,  although  the  county  us- 
ually give  a  Republican  majority.  His  elec- 
tion was  therefore  a  proof  of  his  personal 
popularity  and  the  confidence  reposed  in  him 
by  his  fellow  citizens,  and  neither  was  this 
confidence  abused,  for  his  course  in  the 
house  was  marked  by  conscientious  fidelity 
to  whatever  he  believed  to  be  beneficial 
measures  for  the  general  welfare.  At  the 
bar  he  is  continually  giving  evidence  of  in- 
creased power  and  ability  as  experience  and 
study  add  to  his  knowledge  and  he  imdoubt- 
edly  has  a  very  successful  future  before  him. 


WILLIAM  E.  GRANT. 

Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1888  ^^'illiam  E. 
Grant  has  since  been  a  member  of  the  legal 
fraternity  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  by  merit 
and  determination  has  arisen  to  an  enviable 
position  among  the  members  of  his  profes- 
sion in  Knox  county.  He  was  born  in  the  city 
wliich  is  still  his  home,  his  natal  day  being 
in  1862.  The  family  is  of  Scotch  lineage 
and  was  early  founded  in  New  England. 
Peters  Grant,  his  great-great-grandfather, 
was  captain  of  a  company  of  the  Connecti- 
cut militia  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and 
with  patriotic  valor  aided  in  overthrowing 
British  supremacy  on  this  continent.     The 


grandfather  of  our  subject  was  Isaac 
Grant  and  his  father,  Benjamin  Grant.  The 
latter  was  born  in  Vermont  and  with  a  hope 
of  bettering  his  financial  condition  in  the 
west  he  emigrated  to  Ohio  in  1854,  taking 
up  his  abode  in  Mount  Vernon,  where  he  es- 
tablished a  dry-goods  store.  In  i860  he  was 
appointed  revenue  assessor  for  this  district 
and  for  fifteen  years  he  was  deputy  collector 
of  internal  revenue,  resigning  that  position 
in  1875.  He  was  very  active  in  Republi- 
can circles  and  his  long  continuance  in  office 
indicated  unmistakably  his  capable  and  effi- 
cient service.  His  death  occurred  in  1894, 
when  he  had  attained  the  age  of  seventy-two 
years.  He  married  Elizabeth  Ann  Willey, 
of  Lancaster,  Ohio,  a  daughter  of  William 
Willey,  an  early  resident  of  that  portion  of 
the  state.  Our  subject  is  now  the  only  rep- 
resentative of  the  Grant  family  in  the  male 
line.  His  brother,  Charles  H.  Grant,  died 
in  Mount  Vernon,  January  i,  1898,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-one  years.  He  had  completed 
his  education  in  Kenyon  College  and  for 
several  years  was  engaged  in  the  men's  furn- 
ishings business,  while  for  three  years  prior 
to  his  death  he  was  the  city  editor  of  the 
Mount  Vernon  Republican.  There  is  one 
living  sister,  Miss  Ella  Grant,  a  resident  of 
this  city. 

At  the  usual  age  William  E.  Grant  en- 
tered the  public  schools  of  his  native  city 
and  later  continued  his  studies  in  tiie  Kenyon 
Military  Academy  and  Kenyon  College.  He 
then  began  prepartion  for  the  bar  in  the 
office  of  Hon.  H.  H.  Greer  and  in  1888  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  Immediately  after- 
ward he  opened  his  office  in  his  native  city, 
and  his  career  sets  at  naught  the  old  adage 
that  a  prophet  is  never  without  honor  save 
in  his  own  countrv,  for  in  his  native  citv. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


where  he  is  so  well  known,  he  has  continual- 
ly advanced,  industriously  pursuing  a  prac- 
tice which  is  yearly  increasing  in  volume  and 
importance. 

Mr.  Grant  is  quite  prominent  in  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  being  identilied  with  its 
various  bodies  and  with  the  Mystic  Shrine. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pyth- 
ias. A  social,  genial  manner  has  made 
him  popular  and  his  circle  of  friends  is  al- 
most co-extensive  with  the  circle  of  his  ac- 
quaintances. 


WALTER  H.  AND  GEORGE  E.  THAYER 

The  name  of  Thayer  has  long  been  as- 
sociated with  the  history  of  the  promotion  of 
industrial  interests  in  Mount  Vernon,  and 
the  brothers  are  now  actively  engaged  in  the 
grocery  business  on  Sandusky  street.  They 
are  native  sons  of  this  city,  and  during  their 
long  residence  in  this  locality  they  have  won 
and  retained  the  friendship  of  all  with  whom 
they  have  had  business  or  social  intercourse. 
Their  father,  Alford  Thayer,  came  to  the 
Buckeye  state  from  Lowell,  Massachusetts, 
and  during  the  Civil  war  he  nobly  served  his 
country  as  a  defender  of  the  stars  and 
stripes. 

For  the  past  two  and  a  half  years  the 
Thayer  Brothers  have  been  engaged  in  the 
grocery  business  in  Mount  Vernon,  and  they 
now  have  six  wagons  upon  the  road  engaged 
in  gathering  produce  among  the  farmers  of 
the  surrounding  country.  They  carry  a  large 
and  complete  line  of  fancy  and  staple  grocer- 
ies, and  the  firm  are  progressive  and  enter- 
prising men  who  well  merit  the  success 
which  crown  their  efforts.     Before  entering 


the  grocery  trade,  however,  the  brothers 
were  anployed  as  barbers  for  thirteen  years. 
Walter  H.  Thayer  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Nellie  Stanton,  a  daughter  of 
James  B.  Stanton,  one  of  the  early  pioneers 
of  Stanton,  West  Virginia.  The  youngest 
brother,  George  E.,  chose  Miss  Casey 
Pierce  as  a  life  companion.  She  is  a  native 
of  Washington  county,  Ohio.  The  brothers 
are  identified  with  the  Republican  party,  and 
from  1895  until  1897  Walter  H.  Thayer  was 
a  member  of  the  city  council.  In  his  social 
relations  he  is  a  member  of  the  Uniformed 
Rank  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity, 
while  his  brother  is  identified  with  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  The  Thay- 
er Brothers  are  indeed  successful  business 
men,  whose  resolute  purpose  and  determina- 
tion have  enabled  them  to;  overcome  many 
obstacles  and  work  their  way  steadily  up- 
ward to  success,  and  as  a  result  of  their  well 
directed  labors  and  straightforward  business 
methods  they  are  now  enjoying  a  large  and 
lucrative  patronage. 


JOHN   KIRK  BAXTER. 

John  Kirk  Baxter,  superintendent  of  the 
Mount  Vernon  schools,  is  a  native  of  West 
Liberty,  Muscatine  county,  Iowa,  a  son  of 
William  A.  Baxter,  a  native  of  Columbiana 
county,  Ohio.  The  latter  owned  and  oper- 
ated mills  at  East  Rochester,  at  West  Lib- 
erty, Iowa,  and  in  many  other  places.  His 
death  occurred  in  1889,  when  he  had  reach- 
ed the  fifty-ninth  milestone  on  the  journey 
of  life.  His  father,  Harvey  Baxter,  was  a 
native  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  the  latter's  father  came  to  this 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


country  from  the  Emerald  Isle.  The  mother 
of  our  subject  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Hannah  Ball  and  was  a  daughter  of  James 
and  Mary  (Baum)  Ball,  formerly  of  Colum- 
biana county,  Ohio.  They  afterwards  re- 
moved to  Iowa,  and  there  they  passed  to 
their  final  rest.  The  father  was  a  very  prom- 
inent man  in  Muscatine  county,  Iowa,  where 
he  served  as  postmaster  and  also  held  other 
positions  of  honor  and  trust. 

John  Kirk  Baxter,  the  subject  of  this  re- 
view, was  taken  to  Columbiana  county, 
Ohio,  when  a  child,  but  afterward  removed 
to  Trumbull  county,  and  next  took  up  his 
abode  in  Carroll  county.  At  the  early  age 
of  sixteen  years  he  took  up  the  profession  of 
teaching,  which  he  followed  in  the  common 
schools  of  Carroll  county  and  in  the  gram- 
mar schools  of  Malvern,  that  county,  having 
also  for  five  years  served  as  superintendent 
of  schools  at  the  latter  city.  He  subsequent- 
ly became  a  student  in  Hiram  College,  grad- 
uating in  that  institution  with  the  class  of 
1890,  and  from'  that  year  until  1898  he 
served  as  principal  of  the  high  school  of 
Mount  Vernon.  During  his  incumbency  the 
school  grew  in  attendance  from  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  pupils,  with  three  teachers, 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty  pupils,  with  seven 
teachers.  A  new  building  has  also  been 
erected,  which  is  used  exclusively  f.or  high 
school  purposes  and  contains  ten  rooms.  It 
also  contains  an  auditorium,  which  has  a 
seating  capacity  for  seven  hundred  persons. 
In  1898  Mr.  Baxter  was  appointed  to  the 
responsible  position  of  superintendent  of 
the  Mount  Vernon  schools,  succeeding  the 
Hon.  L.  D.  Bonebrake,  who  filled  the  posi- 
tion for  nine  years  and  is  now  state  commis- 
sioner of  schools.  Mr.  Baxter  has  devoted 
m.any  years  of  his  life  to  the  task  of  instruct- 


ing the  young  along  lines  of  mental  advance- 
ment, and  in  the  line  of  his  chosen  profes- 
sion he  has  met  with  a  high  and  well  merited 
degree  of  success.  He  now  has  under  his 
immediate  supervision  seven  school  build- 
ings, containing  one  thousand  four  hundred 
and  fifty  pupils  and  thirty-two  teachers. 

The  lady  who  bears  the  name  of  Mrs. 
Baxter  was  in  her  maidenhood  Miss  Jose- 
phine Ross,  of  Malvern,  Carroll  county,, 
Ohio.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Samuel  I.  Ross, 
a  member  of  a  prominent  and  honored  pio- 
neer family  of  that  locality  who  have  resided 
here  for  two  or  three  generations.  Mr.  Ross 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  local  affairs  of 
his  community,  and  was  recognized  as  a  wor- 
thy and  representative  citizen.  In  his  social 
relations  Mr.  Baxter  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic and  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternities, 
and  religiously  he  holds  membership  in  the 
Christian  church,  in  which  he  is  serving  as 
an  elder  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  official 
board. 


EDWARD  CONWAY  BEGGS,  D.  D.  S. 

Dr.  Edward  Conway  Beggs,  the  leading 
dentist  of  Mount  Vernon,  is  a  native  son  of 
the  Buckeye  state,  his  birth  occurring  in  Gal- 
lia county.  His  father,  George  W.  Beggs, 
also  a  native  of  that  county,  was  promi- 
nently engaged  in  the  newspaper  business  in 
Gallipolis,  Ohio,  and  in  Charleston,  West 
Virginia.  He  was  an  active  worker  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Republican  party,  and  during 
the  Civil  war  he  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Thirty-sixth  Ohio  Regiment,  in  which  he 
rendered  efficient  service  to  the  Union  army. 
His  father,  James  Beggs,  was  one  of  the 
early  pioneers  of  Gallia  county,   Ohio,   re- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


223 


moving  to  that  place  from  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  mother  of  our  subject  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Taphena  McAIillen  and  was 
a  native  of  Gallia  county,  her  father,  Ed  T. 
McMillen,  also  claiming  that  county  as  the 
place  of  his  nativity.  He  served  as  the  first 
sheriff  of  the  county  and  also  held  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace.  The  McMillens  or- 
iginally came  from  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
maternal  grandmother  of  our  subject,  Laura 
Holcomb,  was  a  member  of  one  of  the  lead- 
ing eastern  families  of  Gallia  county.  The 
great-grandfather  of  our  subject.  General 
Ansel  T.  Holcomb,  was  a  paymaster  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  was  one  of  the  early 
abolitionists  of  Gallia  county,  Ohio.  Our 
subject  now  has  three  brothers,  namely : 
Frank  Leslie,  a  chemist  of  Newark,  Ohio; 
Qiarles  T.,  a  prominent  salesman  of  Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  and  W.  J.,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  the  insurance  business  in  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  in  company  with  Hon.  William 
Hahn,  of  Mansfield,  and  Colonel  Fletcher, 
of  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Dr.  Beggs,  the  immediate  subject  of  this 
review,  received  his  professional  training  in 
the  Ohio  College  of  Dental  Surgery,  at  Cin- 
cinnati, In  1891  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Co- 
lumbus, Ohio,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
practice  for  three  years,  on  the  expiration  of 
which  period  he  came  to  Mount  Vernon, 
where  he  has  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative 
patronage,  his  patrons  coming  to  him  from 
all  parts  of  the  state.  As  a  companion  on 
the  journey  of  life  he  chose  Miss  Martha 
Niewvahner,  of  Jackson  county,  Ohio,  and 
a  daughter  of  H.  Niewvahner,  who  came  to 
this  country  from  Germany.  One  child  has 
blessed  this  union,  Mary  Taphena.  Dr. 
Beggs  is  a  prominent  and  active  member  o.f 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  in  his  social 


relations  he  is  a  member  of  nearly  all  the 
bodies  of  the  Masonic  order,  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  of  the  Maccabees.  He  is 
nO'W  serving  as  recorder  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  fraternity.  The  Doctor  occupies  a 
high  position  in  the  ranks  of  the  dental  fra- 
ternity, and  is  also  recognized  as  one  of  the 
leading  and  influential  citizens  of  Knox 
county. 


WILLIAAI  L.  BOTTEXFIELD. 

The  subject  of  this  review  is  a  well- 
known  farmer  of  Milford  township,  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  whose  skill  and  ability  in  his 
chosen  calling  are  plainly  manifest  in  the 
well  tilled  fields  and  neat  and  thrifty  appear- 
ance of  his  place.  He  was  born  in  Greene 
county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  2d  of  May, 
1839.  His  grandfather,  John  Bottenfield, 
was  a  native  of  the  Old  Dominion,  of  Ger- 
man descent.  He  subsequently  left  the  state 
of  his  nativity  and  removed  to  Pennsylvania, 
and  in  Greene  county,  that  state,  his  son, 
John  Bottenfield,  Jr.,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born.  In  October,  1839,  the  latter 
came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  locating  in  Mil- 
ford  township,  where  he  passed  away  in 
death  in  his  seventy-third  year.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  cooper  by  trade,  and  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  his  political  views,  having  on  its 
ticket  been  elected  to  many  positions  of 
trust  and  responsibility.  For  his  wife  he 
chose  Mary  Woodruft',  a  native  also  of  New 
Jersey,  and  she,  too,  was  reared  and  educated 
in  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania.  Her  death 
occurred  when  she  had  reached  the  seventy- 
fourth  milestone  on  the  journey  of  life.  Her 
father,  Abial  Woodruff,  of  English  ancestry, 
claimed  New  Jersey  as  the  state  of  his  nativ- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


ity,  living  near  Newark,  but  in  an  early  day 
he  located  near  Zollarsville,  Greene  county, 
Pennsylvania. 

William  L.  Bottenfield,  the  youngest  of 
ten  children  in  his  parents'  family,  was  but 
six  months  old  when  he  was  brought  by  his 
parents  to  Knox  county,  and  the  educational 
advantages  which  he  enjoyed  in  his  youth 
were  those  afforded  by  the  district  schools 
of  Milford  township.  During  his  early  years 
he  assisted  his  father  with  the  labors  of  the 
farm,  and  he  continued  to  care  for  his  par- 
ents during  their  declining  years.  After  his 
marriage  he  purchased  and  removed  to  the 
farm  which  he  yet  owns,  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  rich  and  excellent 
land,  and  there  he  is  successfully  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising.  In  addition  to 
this  valuable  homestead  he  also  owns  resi- 
dence property  in  Newark,  Ohio. 

September  ii,  1872,  in  Milford  town- 
ship, occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Botten- 
field and  Miss  Clamana  L.  Stevens,  a  native 
of  this  township,  and  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Emeline  (Terrell)  Stevens.  Her  father 
came  from  Vermont  to  the  Buckeye  state, 
after  his  marriage,  locating  in  Milford  town- 
ship. The  mother  was  born  in  Milford 
township,  her  parents  being  Curtis  and 
Phebe  (Knowles)  Terrell,  who  in  18 16, 
came  from  Milford,  Connecticut,  and  was 
the  second  family  to  become  permanent  resi- 
dents of  this  Milford  township,  which  was 
named  injionor  of  their  old  eastern  home. 
Their  old  homestead  is  still  owned  by  a  sister 
of  Mrs.  Bottenfield,  Linda  M.  Higgins.  One 
son  has  blessed  the  marriage  of  our  subject 
and  wife,  Lee  M.,  who  is  at  home,  assisting 
in  the  operation  of  the  farm.  The  Democ- 
racy receives  Mr.  Bottenfield's  hearty  sup- 
port and  co-operation,  and  on  its  ticket  in 


1893  he  was  nominated  for  the  position  of 
county  commissioner,  and,  although  he  re- 
ceived the  highest  number  of  votes  of  any 
man  on  the  ticket,  he  was  defeated  with  the 
entire  ticket.  He  has  held  the  position  of 
treasurer  of  his  township,  and  in  the  locality 
in  which  he  has  spent  nearly  his  entire  life 
he  is  honored  and  respected  by  all  who  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance.  Active 
in  all  that  advances  the  interest  of  the  farm 
he  served  for  years  as  a  director  and  as  vice- 
president  and  president  of  the  Hartford 
Agricultural  Society. 


LEWIS  BRITTON. 


Lewis  Britton,  who  for  many  years  was 
one  of  the  leading  and  representative  agri- 
culturists of  Howard  township,  Knox  coun- 
ty, passed  away  in  death  on  the  28th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1901.  He  was  the  first  white  child 
born  in  Millwood,  his  natal  day  being  Jan- 
uary 29,  1828.  His  father,  James  Britton, 
was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  but  when  a 
child  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Knox 
county  and  was  reared  in  Amity.  His  fath- 
er, Samuel  Britton,  was  also  a  native  of 
New  Jersey,  but  became  one  of  the  early 
pioneers  of  this  county.  He  was  a  black- 
smith by  trade  and  was  said  to  have  been 
a  most  excellent  workman.  The  son,  James, 
spent  his  youth  and  early  manhood  under 
the  parental  roof,  often  accompanying  his 
father  to  mill,  to  which  they  were  obliged 
to  journey  on  horseback  a  distance  of  twen- 
ty-five miles.  After  his  marriage  he  lo- 
cated at  Millwood,  Knox  county,  having 
erected  the  first  house  in  the  village.  This 
was  a  hewed  log  structure  and  is  still  stand- 


LEWIS  BRITTON. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


225 


ing,  although  it  has  been  considerably  trans- 
formed. He  also  became  a  blacksmith,  fol- 
lowing that  occupation  for  many  years,  but 
about  1850  he  removed  to  Iowa,  locating 
on  a  farm  in  Johnson  county,  not  far  from 
Iowa  City,  where  he  made  his  home  until  his 
death,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  For  many 
years  he  was  a  faithful  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  was  an 
active  worker  and  an  officer.  His  political 
faith  was  exemplified  by  the  principles  of 
the  Whig  and  the  Republican  parties. 

Mr.  Britton's  first  wife  and  the  mother 
of  our  subject,  Hannah  Porter,  was  a  na- 
ti\-e  of  Pennsylvania,  but  was  brought  by 
her  parents  when  a  child  to  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  where  she  died  in  1844.  Mr.  Brit- 
ton  was  again  married  in  this  county,  and 
after  his  removal  to  Iowa  he  was  twice  mar- 
ried, and  children  were  born  of  each  union 
with  the  exception  of  the  last,  there  being 
eight  to  attain  mature  years. 

Lewis  Britton,  the  eldest,  was  reared  to 
years  of  maturity  in  Millwood,  the  place  of 
his  nativity,  receiving  his  mental  discipline 
in  the  old  log  school  house  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. When  yet  a  boy  he  began  to  work 
at  the  blacksmith's  trade,  but  in  his  seven- 
teenth-year opened  a  grocery  store  in  Mill- 
wood, which  he  conducted  for  about  two 
years.  During  the  following  year,  in  part- 
nership with  Dillen  Brook,  he  conducted  the 
"Tavern''  and  was  then  employed  in  the 
general  store  of  William  Dillen,  at  Mill- 
wood, removing  the  stock  for  his  employer 
to  Marengo,  Iowa,  where  he  sold  it  to  the 
Indians.  After  one  year  spent  in  that  state, 
however,  he  returned  to  Millwood  and 
clerked  in  the  general  store  O'f  George  Shaw 
for  a  year  and  for  four  years  in  that  of 
Jonathan   Hammond.      He   then   purchased 


the  business  of  Mr.  Hammond  and  was  en- 
gaged in  its  conducti  for  several  years,  a 
part  of  the  time  having  Christian  Peterman 
as  a  partner.  During  those  years  Millwood 
was  the  principal  trading  point  in  Knox 
county,  draw'ing  a  large  trade  from  an  ex- 
tensive territory.  Under  the  administration 
of  President  Buchanan  the  postoffice  was 
established  there  and  Mr.  Britton  was  the 
first  incumbent  O'f  the  office.  For  some  years 
also  he  was  a  partner  with  George  B.  Pot- 
w^in  in  selling  goods  at  Mount  Vernon,  while 
the  venerable  John  Pouting,  now^  retired, 
was  his  associate  and  business  partner  over 
an  extended  period.  Probably  no  man  had 
a  more  extended  business  acquaintance  in 
Knox  and  the  surrounding  counties  than 
Mr.  Britton,  and  certainly  no  man  held 
more  exalted  ideas  of  business  honesty  and 
probity,  his  every  transaction  having  been 
characterized  by  open  frankness  and  can- 
dor. In  the  midst  of  a  wide  and  remunera- 
tive commercial  activity  the  death  of  his 
father-in-laAv  demanded  that  personal  at- 
tention be  given  to  the  operation  of  his  es- 
tate, Mr.  Britton  yielding  to  the  demands  to 
the  extent  of  removing,  in  1862,  to  the  farm 
in  Howard  township,  where  the  remainder 
of  his  life  was  passed.  For  thirty-five  years 
his  attention  was  more  especially  given  to 
agriculture,  in  which  he  soon  became  as 
much  interested  and  of  which  he  made  as 
great  a  success  as  he  had  done  in  merchan- 
dising. 

During  all  this  time  he  was  constantly 
being  urged  to  accept  some  local  office,  the 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  all,  regard- 
less of  party  affiliation,  being  unbounded, 
and  he  often  served  as  trustee,  treasurer  or 
assessor,  discharging  all  public  duties  with 
that  fidelitv  and  exactness  demanded  bv  his 


226 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


private  business.  While  yet  in  his  minor- 
ity he  was  defeated  for  coroner  of  the  coun- 
ty by  but  a  small  majority-,  and  in  1868  was 
the  Democratic  nominee  for  auditor,  lacking 
but  thirty-seven  votes  at  a  time  when  the 
county  was  considered-  largely  Republican. 
In  1876  he  was  chosen  treasurer  of  the 
county,  residing  in  Mount  Vernon  during 
his  incumbency  of  that  position,  to  the  du- 
ties of  which  he  brought  a  clear  mind,  thor- 
oughly trained  through  a  long  career  of  suc- 
cessful private  business,  his  conduct  of  the 
office  reflecting  credit  upon  himself  and 
bringing  honor  to  the  county.  While  thor- 
oughly imbued  with  the  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party  and  an  influential  mem- 
ber of  the  party,  many  of  his  warmest 
friends  were  found  among  the  Republicans, 
who  recognized  in  him  a  man  of  sterling 
character  and  undoubted  honesty  of  pur- 
pose. While  his  later  years  were  passed 
upon  the  farm,  he  ever  kept  in  close  touch 
with  the  public  life  of  the  county,  seldom 
a  week  passing  that  did  not  see  him  mingling 
among  his  old  friends  and  associates  in 
Mount  Vernon.  His  interest  in  the  public 
welfare!  never  flagged,  he  ever  bemg  an 
advocate  of  every  measure  intended  tO'  pro- 
mote the  progress  of  the  community.  His 
"homestead  consists  of  one  hundred  and  sev- 
ent}--five  acres  of  rich  and  productive  mnd, 
the  well  cultivated  fields  annually  returning 
rich  harvests,  while  the  buildings  which 
adorn  the  place  are  among  the  most  desira- 
ble in  the  locality. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Britton  was  cele- 
brated on  the  i2th  of  March,  1855,  when 
Miss  Elizabeth  Critchfield  became  his  wife. 
She  was  born  on  the  19th  of  October,  1834, 
a  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Sarah  (Barkus) 
Critchfield,  who  were  among  the  early  pi- 


oneers of  Howard  township,-  Knox-  county, 
their  old  homestead  being  the  present  Brit- 
ton farm.  Here  she  was  reared  to  woman- 
hood and  here  her  parents  lived  and  died, 
Isaac  Critchfield  on  the  15th  of  March, 
1862,  and  Sarah,  January  7,  1872.  They 
were  among  the  highly  respected  citizens  of 
Howard  township,  contributing  in  many 
ways  to  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
county  as  well  as  to  the  temporal,  moral  and 
spiritual  welfare  of  neighbors  and  friends. 
Five  children  were  born  to  them,  Elizabeth 
being  the  youngest.  Her  two  brothers,  Ba- 
sil and  Nelson,  are  deceased,  while  Melinda 
is  the  wife  of  Vincent  Miller  and  Mahala  is 
the  wife_  of  Noah  Boynton.  The  union  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Britton  was  blessed  with  four 
children  who  reached  mature  years,  two 
sons  and  two  daughter,  namely:  LeGrand, 
at  home;  Samuel  H.  Britton,  M.  D.,  who 
graduated  with  honors  at  Kenyon  College 
and  is  now  a  prominent  physician  of  Marion, 
Ohio;  Eva  L.,  the  wife  of  James  M.  Berry, 
of  Howard;  and  Nannie  Alice,  the  wife  of 
Columbusi  D.  McCullough,  identified  with 
the  commercial  interests  of  Mount  Vernon. 
April  17,  1897,  after  traveling  hand  in  hand 
for  more  than  forty  years  Mr.  Britton  was 
called  upon  to  part  with  the  companionship 
of  her  whose  wholesome  advice  and  sound 
judgment  often  proved  a  true  support,  and 
from  that  time  his  interest  in  temporal  af- 
fairs seemed  to  yield  to  the  longings  for  that 
final  rest  and  consolation  thai  would  come 
when  he  was  once  more  united  for  eternity 
with  her  whose  love  and  devotion  to  him 
and  his  children  had  so  much  to  do  in  shap- 
ing- his  own  course.  Typhoid  fever  laid  its 
burning  and  devastating  hand  upon  him, 
only  to  end  in  freeing  the  soul  from  its 
earthly  body,  the  last  hour  coming  on  the 


OFJKNOX  COUNTY,  OHIO. 


227 


28th  of  September,  1901,  after  upwards  of 
a  month's  distress.  On  Tuesday,  the  ist 
of  October,  his  body  was  followed  by  a  large 
concourse  of  friends  and  laid  in  the  Valley 
church  cemetery  beside  her  whose  love  had 
sustained  him  in  many  an  hour  of  trial.  In 
his  social  relations  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Honor.  In  all  positions  which 
he  was  called  upon  to  fill  he  was  highly  suc- 
cessful ;  as  a  business  man  he  was  upright, 
reliable  and  honorable;  in  all  places  and  un- 
der all  circumstances  he  was  loyal  to  truth, 
honor  and  right ;  and  in  those  finer  traits  of 
character  which  attract  and  endear  man  to 
man  in  ties  of  friendship  he  was  royally  en- 
dowed. Few  men  had  more  devoted  friends 
than  he  and  none  excelled  him  in  unselfish 
devotion  and  unswerving  fidelity  to  the 
worthy  recipients  of  his  confidence  and 
friendship. 

LeGrand  Britton  was  born  at  Millwood 
Augxist  28,  1856,  and  from  the  age  of  six 
was  reared  on  the  present  home  farm,  re- 
ceiving such  education  as  the  country  and 
village  schools  afforded.  His  marriage  oc- 
curred August  24,  1876,  when  he  had  just 
passed  his  twentieth  year,  to  Miss  Ella 
Critchfield,  a  daughter  of  Harris  and  Sarah 
(McCarty)  Critchfield.  In  1890  Mr.  Brit- 
ton became  a  partner  with  George  W.  Mc- 
Nabb  in  a  general  store  at  Howard,  remov- 
ing after  two  years  to  Adelaide,  Marion 
county,  where  for  five  years  he  conducted 
the  only  store.  Suffering  a  serious  loss  by 
the  destruction  of  his  store  and  stock  by 
fire,  he  returned  to  assume  the  management 
of  the  homestead  for  his  father,  and  from 
that  time  his  attention  has  been  \yholly  cen- 
tered upon  the  requirements  of  such  an  es- 
tate. Like  his  father  he  early  became  identi- 
fied with  political  work,  being  elected  as  a 


trustee  when  quite  young,  a  position  in 
which  he  was  retained  for  thirteen  years,  re- 
signing only  when  he  removed  from  the 
county.  He  was  chosen  postmaster,  under 
Qeveland's  administration,  at  Adelaide, 
where  he  also  served  as  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  being  the  only  Democrat  placed  in 
office  in  that  township.  In  1881  he  was  de- 
feated for  infirmary  director  by  a  small  ma- 
jority by  his  old  teacher  and  life-long 
friend.  He  was  chosen  by  the  court  as  the 
Democratic  member  of  the  committee  to  ex- 
amine the  annual  report  of  the  county  com- 
missioners for  1 90 1,  and  was  later  named 
for  a  similar  place  to  examine  the  report  of 
the  county  treasurer.  He  is  generally  se- 
lected as  a  delegate  to  the  various  conven- 
tions of  his  party,  in  the  work  of  which  he  is 
an  important  factor,  few  men  in  Knox  coun- 
ty having  a  wider  acquaintance  with  public 
men  or  greater  familiarity  with  practical 
politics  than  he.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Woodmen,  be- 
ing one  of  the  most  active  local  workers 
in  the  latter  society.  His  children  are: 
Bertha,  wife  of  James  Mitchell,  of  Marion, 
Ohio;  Lewis  H.,  a  student  in  the  Starling 
Medical  college,  Columbus,  Ohio;  Tamsy, 
a  student  in  the  Gambler  schools;  and  Carl 
H.,  a  student  in  the  Howard  high  school. 

Columbus  Delano  McCullough  was  born 
on  the  old  homestead  known  as  the  Colum- 
bus Delano  farm,  near  Mount  Vernon,  on 
the  7th  of  November,  1872,  and  is  a  son  of 
Robert  and  Ellen  (Miller)  McCullough, 
who  soon  thereafter  removed  to  Howard 
township,  where  he  grew  to  maturity.  At 
the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  engaged  as 
a  clerk  in  a  general  store  at  Howard,  an  oc- 
cupation he  has  since  followed  with  the  ex- 
ception of  about  five  years  in  which  he  sold 


228 


A    CENTfeNNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


insurance  and  worked  in  a  factory  in  Akron. 
For  about  one  year  he  has  been  associated  as 
salesman  with  the  Stadler  Clothing  Com- 
pany, at  Mount  Vernon,  where  he  is  con- 
sidered a  capable  and  enterprising  gentle- 
man. He  was  married  January  19,  1897, 
to  Miss  Nannie  Alice,  the  youngest  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Lewis  Britton,  and  they  have 
one  child,  Robert,  born  July  14,  1901. 


THEODORE  S.  PITKIN. 

When  the  tocsin  of  war  sounded  and 
from  the  workshops,  the  fields  and  the  office 
men  flocked  to  the  standard  of  the  nation, 
the  patriotic  spirit  of  Theodore  S.  Pitkin 
was  aroused  and  when  only  seventeen  years 
of  age  he  donned  the  blue  as  a  defender  of 
the  Union.  On  the  field  of  battle  he  dis- 
played valor  and  resolution  which  equalled 
that  of  veterans  of  more  than  twice  his  years 
and  not  until  the  war  ended  and  the  flag  of 
the  Union  floated  triumphantly  over  the 
capitol  of  the  confederacy  did  he  leave  the 
army.  From  that  time  forward  he  has  been 
an  actice  factor  in  business  and  public  af- 
fairs in  Knox  county  and  is  ever  found  sup- 
porting the  cause  which  he  believes  to  be 
right  and  the  measures  which  he  thinks  will 
promote  the  general  welfare. 

Mr.  Pitkin  was  born  in  Milford  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  July  2,  1846,  a  son  of 
the  Rev.  John  Pitkin,  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  Vermont.  The  latter's  father  died 
when  the  son  was  only  eight  years  of  age 
and  largely  from'  that  time  he  depended  up- 
on his  own  resources.  In  early  manhood  he 
came  to  Ohio  and  studied  for  the  ministry 
in  Chillicothe,  Ohio.     He  also  attended  col- 


lege in  Cannonsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and 
throughout  his  remaining  days  he  devoted 
his  time  and  talents  to  the  Master's  service 
as  a  preacher  of  the  Presbyterian  denomin- 
ation. In  Chillicothe  he  married  Eliza  Wil- 
son, a  native  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina. 
Her  father,  Rev.  Robert  Wilson,  was  also  a 
Presbyterian  minister  and  for  some  time 
president  of  Athens  College.  Rev.  John 
Pitkin  served  in  the  war  of  181 2  and 
his  country  and  her  institutions  were  ever 
dear  to  him.  He  reached  a  very  advanced 
age,  dying  at  his  ninety-ninth  year,  while  his 
wife  passed  away  in  her  sixty-first  year. 
They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  six 
sons  and  four  daughters,  and  four  of  the 
sons  were  soldiers  in  the  Civil  war — John, 
Samuel,  Ebenezer  and  Theo.  S.  John  and 
Ebenezer  both  died  in  the  service.  The 
former  served  Company  G,  Twentieth  Ohio 
and  Ebenezer  was  a  member  of  Company  A, 
Ninety-sixth  Ohio.  Samuel  served  three 
years  in  the  First  Minnesota  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. He  was  wounded  by  a  bayonet  thrust 
at  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and  he  par- 
ticipated in  many  other  important  engage- 
ments including  those  of  Bull  Run,  Antie- 
tam,  Gettysburg  and  others.  He  is  now  liv- 
ing in  Portland,  Oregon.  The  other  brothers 
of  the  family  are  Robert  Pitkin,  who  was  a 
merchant  in  Iowa  and  is  now  deceased ;  and 
Rev.  Paul,  who  is  a  teacher  of  languages  at 
Springfield,  Masachusetts.  The  sisters  were : 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Camp  and  Mrs.  Mary  -Smith, 
both  deceased;  Emily,  of  Mount  Vernon; 
and  Mrs.  Sarah  Hookway,  who^  is  als<j  de- 
ceased. 

Mr.  Pitkin  of  this  review  is  the  youngest 
of  the  family.  The  days  of  his  childhood 
and  youth  were  passed  in  Milford  township, 
where  he  attended  the  district  schools. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


229 


In  1863,  he  donned  the  bkie  uniform  of 
lis  country  and  became  a  member  of  Com- 
)any  G,  Twentieth  Ohio  Vohmteer  Infant- 
"y,  the  same  in  which  his  brother  had  served 
ind  in  which  he  continued  as  a  private  until 
he  close  of  the  war.  He  participated  in 
he  Meridian  raid  and  the  engagements  of 
he  Atlanta  campaign.  At  Atlanta  he  was 
vounded  in  the  right  breast  by  a  gun  shot 
md  was  sent  to  the  Marietta  hospital.  Later 
le  was  in  the  hospital  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
;uck;y,  and  from:  there  was  transferred  to 
he  Covington  hospital.  After  an  absence 
)f  six  months  he  was  sent  to  Hilton 
riead,  South  Carolina,  rejoining  his  regi- 
nent  at  Raleigh  and  participated  in  the 
jrand  Review  in  Washington,  receiving  an 
lonorable  discharge  at  Columbus.  Mr.  Pit- 
cin  returned  to  his  home  in  Milford  town- 
ihip,  Knox  county,  and  resumed  farming. 
He  was  married  November  30,  1871,  to 
Miss  Mary  F.  Walton,  a  native  of  Greene 
;ounty,  Pennsylvania,  whence  she  came  to 
:his  county  when  seventeen  years  of  age. 
For  six  years  she  successfully  engaged  in 
:eaching,  following  that  profession  until  her 
carriage.  She  has  become  the  mother  of 
:ight  children :  Edith  Estelle,  who  was  a 
leacher  in  the  Mount  Vernon  schools  and 
ivhile  taking  a  drive  in  company  with  an- 
Dther  teacher  and  pupils,  was  killed  at  Ball's 
Crossing  on  the  B.  &  O.  Railroad,  as  was 
ilso  one  of  her  pupils,  Henry  Rosenthal. 
Harry  W.,  who  is  a  graduate  of 
Wooster  College,  of  the  class  of  1900,  and 
is  now  a  student  in  the  Columbia  Law 
School  in  New  York  city:  Robert  W.,  Mary 
F.,  Walter  G.,  Eva  S.,  Ethel  E.  and  Ruth 
E.,  all  yet  at  home.  Several  of  the  children 
tiave  had  the  advantages  of  the  High  school 
and   Normal  or  College  training,   it  being 


their  parents'  desire  to  afford  each  such  thor- 
ough educational  advantages  as  will  amply 
fit  them  for  any  responsible  position. 

Since  his  marriage  Mr.  Pitkin  has  re- 
sided upon  his  present  farm  in  Milford 
township,  where  he  owns  and  operates  two 
farms  of  two  hundred  acres  of  rich  land, 
which  he  has  placed  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation.  He  also  has  property  in  Mount 
Vernon.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church  in  Lock,  is  serving  as  one  of 
its  deacons  and  takes  an  active  part  in  its 
work.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  Republi- 
can and  he  has  been  a  member  of  Yager 
Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Mount  Liberty,  since  its 
organization. 


AMASA  P.  ROBERTSON,  M.  D. 

The  qualities  which  insure  success  to  the 
representatives  of  the  medical  fraternity  are 
possessed  in  large  measure  by  Dr.  Robertson, 
who  is  now  a  prominent  physician  of  Mount 
Liberty.  He  was  born  near  Cambridge,  in 
^Vashington  county.  New  York,  January  3. 
1843.  His  father,  Ezra  S.  Robertson,  was 
a  native  of  the  same  locality,  born  September 
6,  1809.  In  early  life  he  learned  the  trade  of 
carriage  and  wagon  making,  and  throughout 
his  entire  life  he  followed  those  pursuits.  On 
the  1st  of  October,  1835,  he  married  Miss 
Sarah  Pratt,  who  was  born  December  11. 
1812,  in  Washington  county.  New  York. 
In  1844  they  came  to  Knox  county,  locating 
in  Mount  Liberty,  where  they  spent  their  re- 
maining days,  the  father  passing  away  in 
1880,  while  his  wife  died  in  1889.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  while 
she  belonged  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.     In  his  political  views  Ezra  Robert- 


230 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


son  was  a  stalwart  Republican  and  at  all 
times  he  was  loyal  in  support  of  his  honest 
convictions.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  of 
Scotch  descent  and  they  were  people  of  the 
highest  respectability,  their  upright  lives  en- 
titling them  to  the  warm  regard  of  all  with 
whom  they  were  associated.  They  were  the 
parents  of  six  sons  and  three  daughters, 
seven  of  whom  are  now  living. 

The  Doctor  had  a  twin  brother,  Jesse, 
who  lived  to  be  twenty  years  of  age.  They 
were  only  a  year  and  a  half  old  when  brought 
to  Knox  county,  and  in  Centerburg  and 
Mount  Liberty  Dr.  Robertson  spent  his 
youth.  He  began  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  and  in  the  high  school  of  Mount 
Vernon  continued  his  studies.  He  was  grad- 
uated in  the  Bryan  &  Tomlinson  Commercial 
College  at  Columbus  in  1866,  and  soon  after- 
ward began  the  study  of  medicine.  While 
thus  engaged  he  taught  school  in  order  to 
meet  his  expenses  while  pursuing  his  studies, 
which  were  directed  by  Dr.  T.  H.  Van  Kirk. 
Later  he  entered  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute in  Cincinnati  and  was  there  graduated 
with  the  degree  of  M.  D.,  with  the  class  of 
1873.  He  then  began  practice  at  Mount 
Liberty,  where  he  has  since  remained,  and 
his  practice  has  continually  grown  until  the 
multiplicity  of  his  professional  duties  leaves 
him  little  leisure  time.  He  receives  the  pat- 
ronage of  many  of  the  best  families  of  the 
town  and  surrounding  county,  and  his  suc- 
cess is  an  indication  of  his  skill  and  ability. 

In  November,  1873,  the  Doctor  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Thomp- 
son, a  native  of  Morrow  county,  Ohio,  and 
a  daughter  of  John  Thompson  of  that  coun- 
ty, who  removed  to  Mount  Liberty  during 
her  early  girlhood.    By  her  marriage  she  has 


become  the  mother  of  one  daughter,  Olive, 
who  is  now  a  student  in  Otterbein  Univer- 
sity, where  she  is  devoting  special  attention 
to  music.  Fraternally  the  Doctor  is  a  Mason 
and  in  the  line  of  his  profession  is  connected 
with  the  Ohio  Medical  Association.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and 
in  his  political  views  is  an  earnest  and  zeal- 
ous Republican.  He  belongs  to  the  school 
board  and  the  cause  of  education  finds  in 
him  a  warm  friend.  As  a  citizen  he  is  ever 
loyal  to  the  best  interests  of  county,  state 
and  nation,  and  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war 
he  manifested  his  patriotic  spirit  bv  enlist- 
ing, on  the  1st  of  September.  1862,  as  a 
member  of  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-first  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  with 
which  he  served  until  the  close  of  hostilities, 
being  promoted  from  the  ranks  to  the  office 
of  sergeant  major.  He  took  part  in  a  num- 
ber of  battles,  went  with  Sherman  on  the 
march  to  the  sea,  and  also  participated  in 
the  grand  review  in  Washington,  the  most 
celebrated  military  pageant  ever  seen  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere.  He  was  only  away 
from  his  company  thirty  days  in  three  years. 
Always  found  at  his  post  of  duty,  he  faith- 
fully defended  the  cause  he  espoused  and 
was  a  valiant  soldier.  The  same  fidelity  has 
characterized  him  through  life  and  has  been 
one  secret  of  his  success  as  a  member  of  the 
medical  profession. 


CLAYTON  H.  BISHOP. 

Among  the  most  enterprising  and  in- 
fluential citizens  of  Centerburg  and  Knox 
county  is  Clayton  H.  Bishop,  the  present  effi- 
cient  postmaster   and    insurance    and    loan 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


231 


agent.  Starting  out  upon  his  business  career 
without  capital,  he  has  steadily  and  persist- 
ently overcome  all  difficulties  and  advanced 
to  a  prominent  position  in  commercial  circles. 
He  has  a  wide  acquaintance  in  the  county, 
for  he  is  one  of  her  native  sons,  his  birth 
having  occurred  in  Milford  township,  on 
the  nth  of  June,  i860.  His  father,  Allen 
Bishop,  was  born  in  the  same  township  and 
is  a  farmer  by  occupation.  There  he  yet 
makes  his  home — one  of  the  highly  respect- 
ed citizens  of  that  community.  His  wife, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Nettie  Way- 
land,  was  born  in  South  Bloomfield  town- 
ship. Morrow  county,  Ohio,  and  was  there 
reared  when  that  locality  was  within  the 
borders  of  Knox  county.  By  her  marriage 
she  became  the  mother  of  six  sons  of  whom 
Clayton  H.  Bishop  is  the  eldest. 

On  the  family  homestead  in  Milford 
township  the  subject  of  this  review  spent  his 
boyhood  days  and  the  work  of  the  farm 
early  became  familiar  to  him  through  the 
channels  of  practical  experience.  He  at- 
tended the  district  schools  and  continued  his 
education  in  Mount  Liberty.  When  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  he  started  out  in  life  for 
himself  without  capital  and  chose  as  the  field 
of  his  labors  the  insurance  business,  with 
which  he  has  since  been  connected.  In  1884, 
when  twenty-four  years  of  age,  he  opened 
an  office  on  his  own  account  and  purchased 
the  agency  of  Critchfield  &  Ashley.  He  has 
long  been  well  established  in  this  line  of 
work  and  is  now  representing  the  Ohio 
Farmers"  Insurance  Company,  the  Royal  of 
New  York,  the  Underwriters,  the  Franklin 
of  Columbus,  the  National,  the  Hartford  of 
Hartford,  the  Milwaukee  Mechanics',  the 
German  of  Freeport,  Fire  Association  of 
Philadelphia,    the   Philadelphia    Underwrit- 


ers' Insurance  Company  of  North  America 
and  many  other  reliable  companies.  He  an- 
nually writes  a  large  amount  of  business 
and  he  has  three  employes  in  his  office. 

Mr.  Bishop  is  a  man  of  excellent  busi- 
ness ability  and  executive  force  and  his 
sound  judgment  has  proven  a  valuable  fac- 
tor in  the  successful  control  of  other  import- 
ant enterprises.  He  is  secretary  of  the  Cen- 
terburg  Building  &  Loan  Association,  is  one 
of  the  stockholders  and  directors  in  the  Cen- 
terburg  Bank,  and  has  a  farm  of  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres  in  Milford  township,  in- 
cluding the  old  family  homestead,  to  which 
he  has  added  until  it  has  reached  its  present 
extensive  proportions.  This  property  yields 
to  him  a  good  income.  Added  to  the  man- 
agement of  his  other  interests  he  is  now 
capably  and  acceptably  serving  as  postmaster 
to  which  position  he  was  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent McKinley  in  June,  1897,  and  on  the 
expiration  of  his  first  term,  in  June,  1901, 
he  was  again  appointed,  so  that  his  incumb- 
enc}'  will  continue  until  1905.  In  his  ad- 
ministration of  the  affairs  of  the  office  he  is 
prompt  and  notably  reliable  and  has  there- 
fore won  the  unqualified  support  of  the 
public. 

A  free  delivery  was  started  from  this 
office  in  December,  1900,  and  since  Febru- 
ary I,  1902,  three  others  have  been  establish- 
ed, the  four  routes  now  serving  all  the  sur- 
rounding territory.  One  office,  that  of  Lock> 
has  been  closed. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1882,  oc- 
curred the  marriage  of  Mr.  Bishop  and  Miss 
Lizzie  Bennington,  a  native  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, in  which  state  she  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated. Prior  to  her  marriage  she  was  a 
successful  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of 
Centerburg.      Mr.    and    Airs.    Bishop    now 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


have  two  sons.  Ray  B.  and  Guy  C.,  both  at 
home.  He  is  a  stanch  Republican  in  his 
political  affiliations  and  warmly  endorses  the 
principles  of  the  party.  Socially  he  is  con- 
nected with  the  ]\Iasonic  and  Kniglits  of 
Pythias  fraternities  and  religiously  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  is 
now  serving  as  trustee.  The  Cjualities  of  an 
upright  manhood  are  his,  and  though  his  life 
history  contains  no  startling  or  exciting 
chapters  there  is  much  in  his  career  that  is 
worthy  of  emulation,  notably  his  fidelity  to 
duty  and  the  determination  and  energy  with 
which  he  has  advanced  in  business. 


H.  H.  ROBERTSON. 

One  of  the  boys  in  blue  of  the  Civil  war, 
and  at  all  times  a  loyal  citizen,  true  to  the  in- 
terests of  county,  state  and  nation,  H.  H. 
Robertson  is  numbered  among  the  represen- 
tative business  men  of  Mount  Liberty.  He 
was  born  in  Washington  county.  New  York, 
on  the  4th  of  September,  1840,  and  is  a 
brother  of  Dr.  A.  P.  Robertson,  whose 
sketch,  containing  the  family  history,  will  be 
found  on  another  page  of  this  volume.  Our 
subject  is  the  third  child  in  order  of  birth  in 
his  parents'  family,  and  his  twin  brother, 
John  T.,  is  now  a  resident  of  Hilliar  town- 
ship, Knox  county. 

When  only  about  four  years  of  age  the 
subject  of  this  review  accompanied  the  fam- 
ily on  its  removal  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and 
^e  was  reared  in  Mount  Liberty  and  Center- 
burg,  also  spending  about  fourteen  years  on 
a  farm  in  Hilliar  township.  During  his 
youth  he  attended  the  district  schools  of  his 
neighborhood,  and-  completed  his  education 


in  the  high  school  of  Alount  Vernon.  \\'hen 
the  Civil  war  was  inaugurated  he  went  to 
the  front  as  a  defender  of  the  Union  cause, 
enlisting-  on  the  5th  of  June,  1861,  in  Com- 
pany B.  Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry. 
During  his  army  career  he  participated  in 
twenty-seven  battles,  among  them  being 
those  of  Winchester,  Chancellorsville  and 
Gettysburg,  and  although  he  took  part  in 
many  hard-fought  engagements  during  the 
contest  he  was  never  wounded,  but  for  three 
months,  on  account  of  disability,  he  was  con- 
fined in  a  hospital.  After  a  faithful  service 
of  three  years  and  fifteen  days  he  was  hon- 
orably discharged,  returning  to  his  home 
with  a  most  creditable  military  record.  After 
the  close  of  his  army  experience  Mr.  Robert- 
son was  engaged  in  farming  near  ]\Iount 
Liberty  for  the  following  three  years,  but  on 
the  expiration  of  that  period  he  abandoned 
the  tilling  of  the  soil  tO'  embark  in  mercantile 
life,  opening  a  general  store  at  Mount  Lib- 
erty, and  he  is  now  the  oldest  merchant  in 
years  of  continuous  service  in  the  village. 
He  first  began  business  here  in  a  small  way, 
but  as  time  has  passed  by,  success  has  re- 
warded his  efforts  and  he  is  now  the  propri- 
etor of  a  large  and  well  stocked  store.  His 
success  is  largely  due  to  his  capable  manage- 
ment, splendid  executive  ability,  untiring- 
efforts  and  firm  purpose,  and  his  reputation 
in  commercial  circles  is  above  question. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Robertson  was  cele- 
brated in  1866,  when  ^liss  C.  Scarborough 
became  his  wife.  She  is  a  native  daughter 
of  Knox  county,  her  parents,  James  and 
Eliza  (Breckenridge)  Scarborough,  having 
been  among  the  early  pioneers  of  this  local- 
ity, locating  in  Liberty  township  as  early  as 
1838.  Three  children  have  been  born  unto 
this  union :    Josephine.  William  N.  and  Ar- 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


233 


thur  E.,  the  latter  attending  school  at  Mount 
Vernon.  The  daughter  is  a  graduate  of 
music  at  the  Boston  Musical  Conservatory, 
and  her  husband,  the  Rev.  A.  E.  Winter,  is 
a  minister  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
at  Sandusky,  Ohio.  Rev.  William  N.  Rob- 
ertson is  a  graduate  of  the  Ohio  Western 
University,  and  is  also  a  minister  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  being'  now  lo- 
cated at  Wakeman,  Huron  county,  Ohio. 
He  married  Miss  Daisy  McLellan.  Mr.  Rob- 
ertson, of  this  review,  is  a  stanch  Republi- 
can in  his  political  views,  and  socially  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
and  the  Knights  of  Honor.  His  religious 
views  are  in  harmony  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  has  long  held 
membership,  and  for  many  years  has  served 
as  a  steward  therein.  His  friends  have  the 
highest  appreciation  of  his  many  excellent 
qualities,  and  all  esteem  him  for  a  life  over 
which  there  falls  no'  shadow  of  wrong  or 
suspicion  of  evil. 


BENJAMIN  DURBIN. 

Benjamin  Durbin,  who  is  now  living  re- 
tired at  his  pleasant  home  in  Danville,  en- 
joying the  fruits  of  his  former  toil,  was  born 
in  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  on  the  8th  of  May, 
1828,  a  son  of  Baptist  and  a  grandson  of 
John  Durbin,  both  natives  of  Maryland.  In 
early  life  the  latter  was  employed  as  a  dis- 
tiller, but  he  was  a  weaver  by  trade  and  fol- 
lowed that  occupation  after  coming  to  Ohio. 
His  death  occurred  in  Howard  township 
when  he  had  reached  the  eighty-second  mile- 
stone on  the  journey  of  life.  He  was  of  Ger- 
man descent.    His  son  and  the  father  of  our 

15 


subject  left  his  native  state  when  a  young 
man  and  removed  to  Belmont  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  farming  until  1832, 
the  year  of  his  arrival  in  Knox  county.  Lo- 
cating in  Howard  township,  he  there  carried 
on  agricultural  pursuits  during  the  remaind- 
er of  his  life,  passing  to  the  home  beyond 
when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  seventy-four 
years.  In  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Catherine  King,  a  na- 
tive of  that  county,  and  she  passed  away  in 
death  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty- 
four  years.  Her  father,  John  King,  came  to 
this  country  from  Ireland,  his  native  land- 
Unto  this  union  fourteen  children  were  born,, 
eleven  of  whom  grew  to  years  of  maturity. 
After  the  death  of  the  mother  of  these  chil- 
dren the  father  was  again  married,  but  there 
were  no  children  by  the  second  union. 

Benjamin  Durbin,  the  second  of  his  par- 
ents' fourteen  children,  was  but  three  years 
of  age  when  he  was  brought  to  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  and  his  education  was  obtained  in  the 
district  schools  of  Howard  township.  Re- 
maining with  his  father  until  his  twenty-first 
year,  he  then,  in  1S50,  went  to  Wyandot 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  for  the  fol- 
lowing three  years,  on  the  expiration  of 
which  period  he  again  went  tO'  Howard 
township.  From  that  time  until  his  mar- 
riage he  remained  with  his  father  on  the  old 
homestead,  and  about  1863  he  came  to  Union 
township,  purchasing  and  locating  on  the 
farm  which  he  still  owns.  His  home  place 
consists  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of 
excellent  land,  all  of  which  is  under  a  fine 
state  of  cultivation,  and  everything  about  the 
place  bears  evidence  of  a  progressive  and 
thrifty  owner.  Success  has  abundantly  re- 
warded the  well  directed  efforts  of  Mr.  Dur- 
bin, securing  for  him  an  excellent  compe- 


234 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


tence,  and  in  1898  he  was  able  to  put  aside 
the  active  duties  of  a  business  Hfe  and  spend 
the  remainder  of  his  days  in  quiet  retirement, 
removing  to  Danville. 

Mr.  Durbin  has  been  twice  married.  In 
1857  he  wedded  Margaret  McXaman,  and 
tliey  had  the  following  children,  name- 
ly: William  B.,  deceased;  Alice,  de- 
ceased; Clement,  a  prominent  fanner  of 
Union  township;  Salora,  the  wife  of 
Albert  Loysdon,  of  Wyandot  county, 
Ohio;  Mary  J-,  wife  of  Thomas  Dur- 
bin, of  Howard  township;  and  Bertha, 
wife  of  William  Grassbaugh,  who  resides  on 
a  farm  belonging  to  our  subject  in  Union 
township.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Durbin 
chose  Elizabeth  Porter,  the  widow  of  Francis 
McNamara.  He  cast  his  first  presidential 
vote  for  Scott,  and  his  ballot  was  afterward 
cast  in  favor  of  Whig  and  Republican  can- 
didates until  he  supported  Buchanan  in  1856, 
and  he  also  voted  for  Bryan  at  both  elec- 
tions. For  six  years  he  served  as  trustee  of 
Union  township.  Religiously  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  St.  Luke's  Catholic  church,  and  has 
assisted  in  the  erection  of  its  three  houses  of 
worship  in  this  township,  the  last  one  having 
been  erected  in  1895. 


JACOB  H.  DELONG. 

Jacob  H.  Delong  is  numbered  among  the 
native  sons  of  Knox  county,  his  birth  having 
occurred  in  Jefferson  township,  August  21, 
1839,  and  since  he  has  arrived  at  years  of 
maturity  he  has  been  an  important  factor  in 
agricultural  circles.  As  a  progressive  citi- 
zen he  has  aided  in  the  work  of  development 
and   improvement   in   the  county   and   well 


does  he  deserve  representation  among  the 
leading  farmers  here.  His  father,  John  De- 
long,  was  also  a  farmer  by  occupation  and 
entered  land  from  the  government  in  Jeffer- 
son township.  The  latter's  father  was  a 
sailor,  but  John  Delong  always  devoted  his 
energies  to  the  work  of  tilling  the  soil,  and 
upon  the  original  homestead  in  this  county 
he  passed  away  at  the  age  of  forty-five  years. 
His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary 
Ann  Schultz  and  was  born  in  Union  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  her  parents  being  hon- 
ored pioneers  of  this  locality,  whither  they 
came  from  Pennsylvania.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Delong  were  born  ten  children,  all  na- 
tives of  Knox  county.  One  of  the  number 
is  B.  F.  Delong,  a  twin  brother  of  our  sub- 
ject and  now  a  resident  of  Butler  township, 
Knox  county.  One  brother,  Louis,  enlisted 
in  the  Union  army  and  died  in  the  service 
of  his  country.  The  daughters  of  the  fam- 
ily were  Martha,  tlie  wife  of  M.  Simpson, 
of  Jefferson  township;  Elizabeth,  the  wife 
of  George  Stockman,  of  Shelby,  Ohio;  and 
Rose,  who  married  Felty  Derr,  of  Ashland 
county. 

On  the  old  family  homestead,  J.  H.  De- 
long was  reared,  and  in  his  early  youth  he 
pursued  his  education  in  a  log  school  house 
of  the  neighborhood.  Very  early  in  life 
he  started  out  on  his  own  account,  working 
by  the  month  or  day  as  a  farm  hand  in  the 
district  in  which  his  parents  resided,  ^^'hen 
he  had  attained  to  man's  estate  he  chose  as 
a  companion  and  helpmate  for  the  journey 
of  life  Miss  Louisa  Horn,  the  wedding  being 
celebrated  in  Jefferson  township  January  15, 
1863.  She  was  born  in  this  township,  a 
daughter  of  Abram  and  Rebecca  (Staats) 
Horn,  who  were  early  settlers  of  Knox 
countv.     Their  union  has  been  blessed  with 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


235 


five  children,  three  sons  and  two  daughters, 
namely:  Benjamin  F.,  who  married  Edith 
Pinkley  and  resides  in  Brinkhaven;  Eldora, 
the  wife  of  Porter  Matthews,  of  Brown 
township ;  Rebecca,  the  wife  of  Emmerson 
Kunkel,  also  of  Brown  township;  Abram  J., 
Avho  married  Delia  Yarger,  and  is  a  farmer 
of  Brown  township;  and  Eldon  Roy,  at 
home.  IMr.  and  Mrs.  Belong  began  their 
domestic  life  upon  a  rented  farm  in  Jefifer- 
son  township,  there  residing  for  about  fif- 
teen years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  period 
Mr.  Belong  purchased  the  farm  which  is 
now  their  home  and  to  the  cultivation  of 
which  he  has  since  devoted  his  time  with 
excellent  results.  He  owns  one  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  acres  in  this  tract,  fifty  acres 
adjoining  the  home  place  and  one  hundred 
and  forty  acres  in  Jefiferson  township,  so^ 
that  his  landed  possessions  aggregate  three 
hundred  and  sixteen  acres.  For  about  thirty 
years  he  was  also  engaged  in  the  shipping 
business,  buying  and  selling  stock  in  con- 
nection with  farming.  He  is  well  known 
throughout  the  county  as  a  reliable  business 
man,  and  well  has  he  earned  the  title  of  a 
self-made  man,  for  his  prosperity  is  the  out- 
come of  his  own  earnest  and  honorable  ef- 
forts. His  political  allegiance  is  given  the 
Bemocracy  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  of  Jelloway,  in 
which  he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  its 
work  and  upbuilding,  and  is  a  member  of 
its  board  of  trustees.  In  1861  he  manifested 
his  loyalty  to  the  government  by  enlisting 
in  the  Sixty-fifth  Ohio  Regiment,  with 
which  he  went  to  Columbus,  but  there  he 
was  rejected  on  account  of  physical  disa- 
bility. At  home,  however,  he  did  all  in  his 
power  to  advance  the  Union  cause  and  the 
same  determined  spirit  has  ever  marked  the 


discharge  of  his  duties  of  citizenship.  Hav- 
ing spent  his  entire  life  in  Knox  county  his 
fellow  citizens  are  familiar  with  his  record, 
which  at  all  times  has  been  worthy  of  com- 
mendation and  those  who  have  known  him 
from  boyhood  are  among  his  stanchest 
friends. 


BAVIB  T.  BEST. 

The  celebrated  English  historian  has 
said:  "A  people  that  take  no  pride  in  the 
noble  achievements  of  remote  ancestors  will 
never  achieve  anything  worthy  to  be  remem- 
bered with  pride  by  remote  generations." 
A  published  family  history,  however,  is 
proof  that  those  who  bear  the  name  of  Best 
are  interested  in  the  ancestral  history  as  far 
as  it  is  known  and  as  through  several  gener- 
ations members  of  the  family  have  resided  in 
Knox  county  and  have  borne  an  important 
and  honorable  part  in  its  development  and 
progress  it  is  expedient  that  mention  be 
made  of  their  work  in  this  volume,  contain- 
ing the  records  of  the  prominent  citizens 
of  the  community  from  pioneer  times  down 
to  the  present  period  of  modern  achievement. 
Bavid  Best  has  for  six  decades  resided  in 
Knox  county.  He  was  born  in  New  Jersey, 
January  5,  1832,  and  is  the  sixth  of  the 
eleven  children,  nine  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters of  Peter  and  Mary  (Trimmer)  Best. 

It  is  believed  that  the  Best  family  is  of 
Scotch  lineage,  but  when  it  was  founded  in 
America  is  not  known.  There  is  only  a 
traditional  histor_y  back  of  the  grandparents 
of  our  subject,  for  in  the  midst  of  busy  lives 
the  ancestors  did  not  pause  to  think  tha^ 
their  work  and  records  would  some  day  be 
valued  by  their  posterity.     John  Best,  the 


236 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


grandfather,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  June 
15,  1759,  and  his  brothers  were  Jaines,  Will- 
iam, Cornelius  and  Michael,  and  a  half- 
brother,  Daniel.  John  Best  wedded  Mary 
Haas,  who  was  born  May  10,  1767,  and 
was  of  a  Holland  Dutch  family,  but  her  an- 
cestral history  is  even  more  obscure  than 
that  of  the  Best  family.  The  marriage, 
which  occurred  November  2,  1784,  was 
blessed  with  the  following  children :  Mary, 
who  was  born  June  6,  1788,  and  became 
Mrs.  Rush;  John,  born  April  3,  1791; 
James,  born  April  23,  1794;  Peter,  born 
May  13,  1797;  William,  bom  March  27, 
1800;  Mrs.  Eleanor  Bond,  born  Decem- 
ber 7,  1802;  and  Jacob,  born  April  11,  1804. 
The  children  became  widely  scattered  as 
they  married  and  left  home.  The  parents 
both  died  in  Pennsylvania,  the  mother  April 
24,  1822,  the  father  in  April,  1839,  when  he 
was  laid  by  her  side  in  the  Chillisauqua 
graveyard  in  Northumberland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Peter  Best,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
though  born  in  New  Jersey,  was  reared  just 
across  the  Delaware  river  in  Northumber- 
land county,  Pennsylvania.  At  German 
Valley,  in  the  former  state,  however,  he  was 
married,  January  2,  1823,  to  Mary  Trim- 
mer, who  made  for  him  a  happy  home  and 
was  a  loving  and  devoted  mother  to  their 
children.  She  was  born  June  5,  1802,  the 
eldest  daughter  of  John  and'  Elizabeth  (Lan- 
terman)  Trimmer,  who  were  married  in 
New  Jersey,  September  12,  1801.  The 
father  was  of  German  descent,  born  in  1781, 
and  the  mother's  birth  occurred  March  12, 
1779.  Leaving  their  two  married  daughters 
in  the  east  they  removed  with  their  younger 
children  to  McLean  county.  Illinois,  and 
there  secured  from  the  government  a  home- 


stead, but  the  father  was  not  long  permitted 
to  enjoy  his  new  home,  his  death  there  oc- 
curring October  3,  1826.  In  that  frontier 
region  the  mother  then  reared  her  children 
in  a  manner  that  made  her  memory  revered 
and  honored  by  them.  She  died  April  7, 
1847. 

Peter  Best  and  his  wife  began  their  do- 
mestic life  on  a  rented  farm  near  Hacketts- 
town.  New  Jersey,  the  young  husband 
sturdily  tilling  the  soil  through  the  first  year 
with  the  aid  of  only  one  horse,  but  the  little 
home  was  blessed  by  the  presence  of  a  son, 
their  first  born.  They  afterward  returned 
to  German  Valley  and  during,  their  eight 
years'  residence  there  four  more  children 
were  added  to  the  household  and  still  four 
others  were  born  in  New  Germantown,  that 
state.  The  following  is  the  record  of  their 
family:  John,  born  October  3,  1823;  Will- 
iam, June  9,  1825;  Jesse,  January  7,  1827; 
Jacob,  January  14,  1829;  Mary  E.,  October 
25,  1830;  David  T.,  January  5,  1832;  Lydia 
E.,  May  20,  1834;  Ananias,  July  10,  1836; 
Peter,  September  5,  1838;  James,  October 
25,  1840;  and  Sylvester,  January  30,  1843. 
The  last  two  were  born  in  Ohio.  Of  this 
number  Peter  died  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
and  William  died  September  12,  1877.,  It 
was  in  the  fall  of  1839  that  Peter  Best  with 
his  wife  and  children  started  westward  in 
the  manner  of  "movers"  of  that  period  and 
on  the  3d  of  October  crossed  the  Ohio  river 
into  this  state,  making  their  way  to  Gambler 
where  lived  David  Trimmer,  an  uncle  of 
Mrs.  Best.  The  mother  and  children  re- 
mained at  his  home  while  the  father  sought 
a  favorable  location.  He  finally  purchased 
one  hundred  acres  of  land  near  Centerburg, 
in  Hilhar  township,  afterward  known  as  the 
Best  homestead.     The  familv  moved  into  a 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,,  OHIO. 


log-  cabin,  which,  about  1846,  was  replaced 
by  a  more  commodious  and  comfortable 
frame  residence.  Peter  Best,  with  the  aid 
of  his  sons,  performed  the  arduous  task  of 
clearing  the  land  for  the  plow  and  cultivat- 
ing the  first  crops,  but  in  course  of  time  the 
farm  returned  to  himi  a  good  living.  His 
wife  aided  in  the  establishment  of  the  home 
by  her  neat  and  frugal  management  of  the 
household  and  the  years  were  thus  passed; 
but  as  there  were  no  railroads  and  as  it  was 
almost  an  impossibility  to  hold  any  commun- 
ication with  people  in  other  parts  of  the 
county,  this  immediate  family  lost  all  trace 
of  their  relatives,  as  did  the  latter  of  them, 
and  it  was  not  until  many  years  afterward, 
through  the  genealogical  research  of  Dr. 
Robert  B.  Rush,  that  the  separated  families 
were  once  more  brought  in  touch.  In  this 
way  Jacob  Best  came  to  know  of  his  brother 
Peter's  whereabouts  and  resolved  to  visit 
him.  One  night  he  arrived  in  Centerburg 
and  unannounced  he  walked  into  his  broth- 
er's sitting  room.  They  had  not  seen  each 
other  for  forty  years,  but  the  recognition 
was  mutual  and  instantaneous,  and  it  may 
readily  be  imagined  that  the  reunion  was  a 
most  happ}^  one. 

The  greatest  grief  which  came  to  the 
pioneer  home  was  in  the  death  of  the  wife 
and  mother,  Mrs.  Mary  Best,  July  22,  1856. 
The  husband  survived  almost  twenty  years, 
passing  away  September  12,  1875.  They 
were  both  earnest  Christian  people  and 
brought  up  their  children  in  the  fear  and 
admonition  of  the  Lord.  Their  names  were 
long  on  the  membership  rolls  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  of  Centerburg, 
and  their  lives  were  in  harmony  with  the 
teachings  of  the  Master. 

The  following  is  a  brief  record  of  their 


children,  with  exception  of  Peter,  whose 
death  has  been  chronicled :  John  Best  went 
to  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  in  1842,  and 
has  since  lived  near  Cable.  He  was  married 
Noveinber  29,  1849,  to  Mary  Jane  Yocom, 
who  died  Augxist  17,  1894.  They  had  three 
children — Enola  Jane,  wife  of  Staton  E. 
Middleton;  Carrie  Belle,  wife  of  David 
Perry ;  and  John  W.  P. 

AVilliaml  Best  was  married  November 
15,  1846,  to  Sophia  Houk  and  located  on  a 
portion  of  the  home  farm,  where  he  died 
September  12,  1877,  his  wife  March  22, 
1884.  Their  children  were  Ananias  Trim- 
mer; Laura  Josephine  Isable,  the  widow  of 
John  R.  Headington;  Malissa  Adaline;  Pe- 
ter Leroy;  and  Mary  Loella,  the  wife  of 
W^illiam  A.  Palmer.  All  are  deceased  with 
the  exception  of  the  married  daughters. 

Jesse  Best  spent  the  winter  of  1854-5  in 
Lexington,  Illinois,  and  in  the  latter  year  re- 
moved to  Clarksville,  Iowa,  but  after  eleven 
years  wenut  to  Neosho  Falls,  Kansas,  where 
he  has  followed  farming.  He  was  married 
November  30,  1856,  to  Mary  E.  Spawr  and 
died  December  20,  1901.  Their  children  are 
Elizabeth  Ellen,  wife  of  William  Cooke; 
William  James;  Peter  Sylvester,  deceased; 
Lydia  Olive;  Jesse  Jasper;  Frank  Leslie; 
and  Myrtle  Imogene,  deceased. 

Jacob  Best  "went  to  Lexington,  Illiniois, 
in  the  fall  of  1853  and  became  a  successful 
lumber  merchant,  but  retired  from  business 
in  1 89 1.  He  was  married  February  24, 
1874,  to  Isabel  Garrett,  and  they  lost  two 
children,  Saidee  Belle  and  Leonard  Garrett. 

Mary  E.  Best  was  married  April  13, 
1854,  to  Lemon  Chadwick,  and  in  1868  they 
removed  to  Woodson  county,  Kansas,  where 
they  followed  farming  until  about  1893, 
when  they  went  to  Nevada,  IMissouri.  They 


238 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


had  four  children:  Laura  Adaline;  Alson 
E.,  Annia  [Matilda  and  Effie  Ellen.  All  are 
married  and  the  first  named  is  now  deceased. 

David  T.  Best  is  the  next  of  his  fathers 
family. 

Lydia  E.  Best  was  married  October  19, 
1880,  to  John  McGuire  and  they  reside  on 
a  part  of  the  old  homestead. 

Ananias  Best  went  to  Clarksville,  Iowa, 
in  1 86 1  and  after  following  farming  with 
success  for  a  number  of  years  is  now  living 
retired  on  a  small  tract  of  land  near  the 
town.  He  was  married  May  31,  1863,  to 
Catherine  R.  McCreary,  and  they  have  two 
sons,  Jacob  Samuel  and  John  William,  both 
married  and  living  near  their  parents. 

James  Best  secured  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion in  Waynesburg  College,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  in  1867  was  ordained  a  minister 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  He 
preached  at  various  places  for  that  denom- 
ination, but  recently  he  became  identified 
with  the  Presbyterian  church.  The  family 
home  is  in  Westerville,  Ohio.  He  married 
Narcissa  ^I.  Conner,  of  Cumberland,  Ohio, 
and  their  children  are  Xolan  Rice,  Ernst 
Merton  and  Mary  Iva. 

Sylvester  Best,  when  a  young  man  of 
nineteen,  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company 
F,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-first  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  was  made  a  cor- 
poral. He  took  part  in  some  of  the  most 
hotly  contested  engagements  of  the  Civil 
war  and  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  June  27, 
1864,  was  seriously  wounded.  He  was  sent 
to  a  hospital  at  Nashville  and  for  several 
months  it  was  impossible  to  tell  whether  he 
would  live  or  die,  but  after  many  weeks  of 
suffering  he  finally  recovered.  He  was  mar- 
ried May  19,  1866,  to  ]\Iiss  ]Martha  Annett, 
and  unto  them  were  born  six  children :  Car- 


rie Bernice,  who  died  at  the  age  of  one  year ; 
Sylvester  Robert ;  Jesse  Taylor ;  Charles 
Sherman;  an  infant  daughter;  and  Guy 
Spenser. 

We  now  take  up  the  personal  history  of 
David  T.  Best,  whose  name  introduces  this 
sketch  and  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the 
facts  concerning  this  honored  pioneei"  fam- 
ily. He  was  only  about  eight  years  of  age 
when  his  parents  came  to  Knox  county,  set- 
tling near  Gambier.  Upon  the  old  family 
homestead  he  was  reared  and  experienced 
all  tlie  hardships  and  trials  incident  to  life 
on  tlie  frontier,  but  there  were  also  many 
pleasures  to  be  enjoyed,  which  are  not 
known  at  the  present  time  and  altogether  the 
life  was  a  happy  one.  It  is  true  he  bore  his 
share  in  the  farm  work,  but  this  proved  an 
excellent  training  for  him  so  that  when  he 
began  farming  on  his  own  account  practical 
experience  fitted  him  for  the  work. 

On  the  4th  of  January,  1855,  Mr.  Best 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Susannah 
Addleman,  who  was  born  in  Greene  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  came  to  Knox  county 
\vhen  about  seven  years  of  age.  Her  parents 
were  John  and  Mehitable  (Clawson)  Ad- 
dleman. For  thirty-eight  years  !\Ir.  and 
Mrs.  Best  enjoyed  a  happy  married,  and 
then,  on  the  9th  of  January,  1893,  this 
worthy  couple  were  separated  by  the  hand  of 
death,  the  wife  being  called  to  the  home 
beyond.  They  were  the  parents  of  three 
children,  of  whom  two  are  living,  John  and 
Lydia  Ellen,  both  of  whom  are  with  their 
father;  and  Wilbert  Irvin,  who  died  May 
22,  1897.  He  had  married  Lydia  Ross  and 
at  his  death  left  a  widow  and  three  children, 
David  Irvin,  Gladys  Leora  and  Minnie 
Florabell. 

Immediately  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Best 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


239 


located  on  the  farm  where  he  yet  Hves  and 
has  since  engaged  in  general  farming  and 
stock  raising.  When  a  boy  he  learned  the 
plasterer's  trade  and  followed  it  before  his 
marriage  and  to  some  extent  afterward,  but 
his  attention  has  been  chiefly  occupied  with 
his  agricultural  interests.  He  has  a  quarter 
section  of  land  in  the  home  place  and  in 
addition  owns  a  tract  of  one  liundred  and 
fi\-e  acres  known  as  tlie  Merritt  farm,  also 
in  Hilliar  township.  His  systematic  meth- 
ods, his  enterprise,  unflagging  industry  and 
perseverance  have  brought  to  him  very  grat- 
ifying success.  In  his  political  affiliations 
Mr.  Best  has  always  been  a  Democrat  and 
at  one  time  served  as  trustee  in  his  township. 
For  many  years  he  has  been  a  memlaer  of 
the  Freewill  Baptist  church,  takes  an  active 
part  in  its  work  and  has  filled  many  of  its 
offices.  His  life  has  been  in  harmony  with 
its  teachings,  and  the  sterling  qualities  of 
his  character  have  won  him  the  high  re- 
gard of  many  friends. 


LUTHER  L.  HYATT. 

Nature  seems  to  have  intended  that  the 
closing  years  of  life  shall  be  a  period  of  rest 
and  inactivity.  In  youth  one  possesses 
vigor  and  strength  and  the  courage  that 
dares  to  undertake  almost  any  task ;  as  mid- 
dle age  comes  on  judgment  and  experience 
direct  into  safe  channels  the  labors  of 
younger  years  and  make  profitable  the  hon- 
est toil;  then  if  one  has  carefully  husbanded 
their  resources  in  the  evening  of  life  there 
is  plenty  to  meet  the  needs  of  man  and  also 
to  supply  him  with  many  of  the  luxuries 
that  go  to  make  life  worth  the  living  and 


thus  a  rest  may  be  enjoyed  as  the  fitting  re- 
ward of  the  work  of  former  years.  Such 
has  been  the  career  of  Mr.  Hyatt,  wIto  was 
long  connected  with  the  agricultural  inter- 
ests of  Knox  county  and  is  now  living  re- 
tired in  a  pleasant  home  in  Mount  Vernon. 

He  is  among  the  worthy  citizens  that 
Maryland  has  furnished  to  Ohio,  his  birth 
having  occurred  in  Montgotriery  county,  of 
the  former  state,  on  the  22d  of  May,  1823, 
his  parents  being  Phillip  and  Rizbah  Nor- 
wood (Watkins)  Hyatt.  It  is  said  that  the 
family  was  founded  in  America  by  three 
brothers,  Meshac,  Shadrach  and  Abdenego 
Hyatt.  Jesse  Hyatt,  the  grandfather  of 
our  subject,  became  a  resident  of  Maryland 
and  laid  out  the  village  of  Hyattstown, 
\\-hicli  was  named  in  h.is  honor  and  from 
whicii  he  received  large  rentals  during  his 
life,  while  his  descendants  yet  obtain  a  good 
income  from  the  property  which  was  for- 
merly owned  by  their  ancestor.  Jesse  Hyatt 
married  Ann  Riggs,  and  they  became  jthe; 
parents  of  five  children:  Elisha,  Phillip, 
Jesse,  Sarah  and  Caroline.  Of  this  family 
Phillip  Hyatt  was  the  father  of  our  suljject. 
He  married  Rizbah  N.  Watkins,  and  unto 
them  were  born  twelve  children :  Luther 
L.,  Ann  Riggs,  Susan  Matilda,  Phillip 
Hammond,  Joseph  Hamilton,  Elizabeth 
Sarah,  Caroline,  Olive,  Mlaria,  Columbus 
D.,  Columbia  and  John  Thomas.  The  last 
named  died  in  the  Civil  war.  Tlie  father, 
Phillip  Hyatt,  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of 
1812,  enlisting  from  Maryland  and  serving 
until  the  close  of  hostilities,  during  which 
time  he  experienced  many  of  the  hardships 
and  rigors  of  war.  He  followed  farming  as 
a  life  work  and  died  in  Mount  Vernon, 
Ohio,  in  1882. 

The  foundation    for    the    education  of 


240 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


Luther  L.  Hyatt  was  laid  in  the  schools  of 
his  native  county,  which  he  attended  for 
one  year.  When  a  lad  of  nine  summers 
he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  re- 
moval to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  the  family 
taking  up  their  abode  in  Liberty  township 
in  1832.  In  the  old-time  subscription 
schools  here  Mr.  Hyatt  completed  his  edu- 
cation. The  school  house  was  built  of  logs, 
the  floor  was  constructed  of  puncheons,  the 
seats  were  of  slabs  and  the  wi"iting  desk 
was  formed  of  a  long,  rough  board  fastened 
to  the  wall  and  extending  the  entire  length 
of  the  building.  One  entire  end  of  the 
room  was  occupied  by  the  fireplace,  which 
was  large  enough  for  a  big  log  to  be  rolled 
into  it.  After  acquiring  his  primary  educa- 
tion amid  such  primitive  stu'roundings  Mr. 
Hyatt  spent  one  year  in  a  select  school  in 
Mount  Vernon,  and  in  th-e  meantime  he 
aided  in  the  arduous  task  of  clearing  the 
wild  land,  converting  it  into  fields  ready  for 
cultivation  and  raising  the  first  crops,  which 
were  planted  among  the  stumps,  for  the 
roots  of  trees  were  so  thick  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  use  a  plow  and  an  old  straight- 
tooth  drag  was  utilized  in  loosening  the 
ground  so  that  the  seed  could  be  planted. 
One  of  the  first  tools  that  Mr.  Hyatt  ever 
handled  was  an  ax  weighing  four  pounds, 
and  with  this  he  cut  a  great  many  trees 
while  clearing  the  land  of  his  father's  farm. 
He  continued  to  use  that  impleiment  for 
many  years,  and  with  other  primitive  farm 
machinery  aided  in  carrying  on  the  farm 
work.  Mr.  Hyatt  developed  into  a  prac- 
tical farmer  and  continuously  engaged  in 
the  raising  of  the  cereals  best  adapted  to 
this  climate  until  1881,  when  he  retired 
from  active  business  life  and  purchased  a 
handsome  residence  on  North  Main  street, 


where  he  is  still  living.  He  still  owns  a 
valuable  farm  of  one  hundred  and  five  acres 
of  highly  improved  land  in  Wayne  town- 
ship, the  greater  part  of  which  is  under  cul- 
tivation and  from  which  he  derives  annually 
a  good  income. 

In  March,  1853,  Mr.  Hyatt  secured  as 
a  companion  and  helpmate  on  the  journey 
of  life  Miss  Malinda  Smith,  a  daughter  of 
Preserve  Smith,  and  unto  them  were  born 
four  children :  Charles  Hamilton,  a  farmer 
of  Wayne  township;  Louella,  the  wife  of 
Alonzo  Rock,  of  Canton,  Ohio;  Carrie 
Josephine,  the  wife  of  Frank  McFadden,  of 
Mount  Vernon;  and  John,  \Vlro  is  living  in 
Red  Lodge,  M(ontana.  After  the  death  of 
his  first  wife  Mr.  Hyatt  wedded  Matilda 
Ann  \Valker,  a  daughter  of  William 
Walker.  She,  too,  died  and  he  married 
Miss  Catherine  Davis  Wolfe,  a  daughter 
of  Eli  and  Caroline  (Hyatt)  Wolfe. 

At  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  Mr.  H)-att 
put  aside  all  personal  consideration  and  in 
1864,  in  Mount  Vernon,  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany A,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-second 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  for  one  hundred 
days'  service.  He  participated  in  several 
skirmishes,  but  was  mostly  engaged  in 
guard  duty,  and  at  the  close  of  his  term  \\as 
honorably  discharged  and  mustered  out  at 
Columbus.  He  is  now  a  member  of  Joe 
Hooker  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Mount  Vernon, 
and  in  politics  he  is  a  stalwart  Republican. 
He  has  held  several  township  offices  and  in 
1870  was  made  county  infinnary  director, 
which  position  he  held  for  two  terms.  He 
has  always  been  prominently  identified  with 
movements  for  the  general  good,  co- 
operating heartily  in  advancing  many  such 
measures.  Great  changes  have  occurred 
since  he  came  to  the  county  and  a  wonder- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


ful  transformation  has  been  wrought,  for 
the  \\ild  lands  have  been  reclaimed  for  pur- 
poses of  civilization,  and  where  once  stood 
dense  forests  are  now  seen  fields  rich  in 
golden  grain.  The  work  of  progress  has 
been  carried  steadily  forward  and  no  one 
has  taken  greater  pride  in  what  has  been  ac- 
complished than  this  honored  pioneer, 
Luther  L.  Hyatt,  who  for  seventy  years  has 
resided  within  the  borders  of  Knox  county. 


JOSEPH  ADDISON  RIcFARLAND. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  of  Scotch- 
Holland  ancestry,  early  representatives  of 
the  family  of  McFarland  having  fled  from 
Scotland  to  Ireland  to  escape  persecution  in 
their  native  land  and  come  over  later  in  the 
Mayflowier  to  Amierica,  and  his  mother's 
forefathers  having  been  born  and  having 
lived  for  many  generations  in  Holland. 

Joseph  A.  McFarland  is  a  son  of  William 
Scott  and  Anna  (Pierson)  McFarland,  and 
was  born  in  Clay  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  October  i6,  1824.  He  began  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  of  that  town- 
ship, and  when  he  was  seven  years  old  ac- 
companied his  parents  to  Morgan  township, 
settling  on  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home. 
After  that  he  pursued  his  studies  in  the  pub- 
lic school  near  by  and  at  the  old  academy  at 
Martinsburg.  He  was  early  instructed  in 
the  mysteries  of  successful  farming,  has 
been  a  fanner  all  his  life  except  during  one 
year,  when  he  was  a  clerk  in  a  general  store 
in  Martinsburg  and  now  owiis  a  home  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  acres  in  Mor- 
gan township  and  an  eighty-acre  farm  in 
Clay  township.     While  doing  general  farm- 


ing he  has  devoted  himself  especially  to  the 
breeding  of  Merino  sheep,  being  now  the 
owner  of  a  fine  flock  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  head.  Mr.  McFarland's  long  and 
useful  life  covers  much  of  the  period  of  the 
development  of  the  country  around  him,  and 
in  his  early  days  he  helped  to  clear  land  and 
put  it  under  cultivation,  and  since  then  he 
has  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  those 
who  have  been  most  active  and  influential  in 
making  the  improvements  now  visible  on 
every  hand. 

Mr.  McFarland  afliliates  with  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  and  has  been  a  Republican 
since  the  organization  of  that  party.  He 
had  voted  at  but  two  presidential  elections 
prior  to  1856,  and  that  year  he  voted  for 
John  C.  Fremont,  and  he  takes  pride  in  the 
fact  that  he  has  voted  for  each  successive 
Republican  nominee  since  that  time.  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1858,  he  married  Margaret  H. 
Graham,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary 
(Ross)  Graham,  who  has  borne  him  children 
as  follows :  Hannah  Mary,  who  married 
David  Harriman  and  lives  at  Newark,  Ohio ; 
Orra  Jean,  who  is  a  member  of  her  father's 
household;  Carrie,  who  died  in  November, 
1883,  aged  twenty-two  years ;  John  Howard, 
who  married  Grace  Pierson,  who  is  now 
dead,  and  is  a  school  teacher  at  Bank  Sta- 
tion, Knox  county;  and  Emma  and  Libbie, 
residents  of  Martinsburg.  The  mother  of 
these  children  died  December  21,  1875,  and 
December  25,  1876,  Mr.  McFarland  married 
Mrs.  Flora  Morrison,  daughter  of  Patterson 
P.  and  Nancy  (Kirkpatrick)  Pierson. 

William  Scott  McFarland,  father  of  Jo- 
seph Addison  McFarland,  was  born  in  Am- 
well  township,  Washington  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  in  181 1  emigrated  to-  Ohio,  set- 
tling in  Clay  township,  Knox  county,  where 


242 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


he  bought  eighty  acres  of  land,  which  he 
owned  until  his  death  in  1865.  His  wife, 
Anna  Pierson,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah 
(Van  Dyke)  Pierson,  sun-ived  him  until 
1871.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  children, 
named  as  follows  in  the  order  of  their  na- 
tivity:  John  M.,  who  died  at  seventy-eight 
years  of  age;  Jane,  who  died  an  infant; 
Emily,  a  maiden  lady ;  Thomas,  who  died  in 
infancy ;  Joseph  Addison,  who  is  the  imme- 
diate subject  of  this  sketch ;  and  Samuel,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  Mr.  McFar- 
land's  great-grandfather,  Colonel  Daniel 
McFarland,  commanded  a  regiment  in  the 
colonial  service  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  Iiis  maternal  great-grandfather,  John 
Pierson,  also  fought  for  American  inde- 
pendence. 


MATHEW  WELSH. 

For  many  decades  Mathew  Welsh  has 
been  a  highly  respected  citizen  of  Knox 
county,  and  is  well  deserving  of  a  place  in 
a  volume  which  contains  the  histories  of  tiie 
county's  most  substantial  men.  He  has 
made  an  untarnished  record  and  unspotted 
reputation  in  industrial  circles,  and  in  all 
places  and  under  all  circumstances  he  is 
loyal  to  truth,  honor  and  right,  justly  re- 
garding his  O'wn  self-respect  as  infinitely 
more  desirable  than  wealth,  fame  or  position. 

Mr.  Welsh  was  born  in  Lower  Canada, 
about  nine  miles  from  Montreal,  on  the  2d 
of  October,  1839.  His  father,  Morris 
Welsh,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  but  when  a 
young  man  he  left  the  land  of  his  birth  for 
the  new  world,  locating  in  Vermont,  where 
he  was  married  to  Julia  Dewire.    Afterward 


he  removed  with  his  wife  to  Canada,  and 
about  1845  thsy  came  to  Ohio,  locating  in 
Richland  county.  In  the  following  year  they 
took  up  their  abode  in  Howard  township, 
•Knox  county,  and  the  father's  death  occurred 
in  Paulding  county,  this  state,  when  he  haa 
reached  the  age  of  sixty-three  years.  His 
wife  died  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of 
forty-three  years.  She,  too,  was  a 
native  of  the  Emerald  Isle.  Unto  this 
worthy  couple  were  born  six  children,  five 
sons  and  one  daughter,  namely :  Edward, 
who  laid  down  his  life  on  the  altar  of  his 
country,  having  been  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg ;  William,  who  is  engaged  in  the 
insurance  business  in  Mount  Vernon; 
Mathew,  the  subject  of  this  review ;  John,  a 
retired  farmer  of  Nebraska;  Johanna,  the 
wife  of  William  Sapp,  oi  Knox  county  :  and 
Morris,  who  is  a  painter  of  Centerburg, 
Ohio. 

^Mathew  Welsh  was  about  six  years  of 
age  when  he  was  brought  by  his  parents  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  in  the  district 
schools  of  Howard  township  he  received  his 
early  educational  privileges.  He  was  left 
an  orphan  when  eleven  years  old,  and  at 
that  early  age  he  was  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources  to  fight  life's  battles  as  best  he 
could.  He  has  indeed  battled  earnestly  and 
energetically,  and  by  indomitable  courage 
and  integrity  has  achieved  both  character 
and  affluence.  In  1859  he  crossed  the  plains 
with  an  ox  team  and  cart  to  Pike's  Peak, 
seven  weeks  and  four  days  having  been  con- 
sumed in  the  journey  from  St.  Joe  to  Den- 
ver, Colorado,  and  in  that  state  he  was  en- 
gaged in  mining  for  the  following  thtee 
years.  In  1862  he  returned  to  Knox  county, 
and  in  the   following  year  he   offered  his 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


243. 


services  to  the  Union  cause,  enlisting'  in 
Company  I,  Second  Ohio  Heav)-  Artillery, 
entering  the  ranks  as  a  private.  During-  his 
army  service  he  took  part  in  many  of  the 
important  battles,  and  for  three  months 
served  as  a  guard  to  General  Scofield.  Dur- 
ing his  entire  term  of  service  he  was  never 
wounded,  but  at  the  battle  of  Morristown 
he  recei\-ed  nine  bullet  holes  in  his  clothing, 
one  bullet  having  passed  through  his  hat. 
For  meritorious  conduct  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle he  was  promoted  from  a  private  to  first 
sergeant  of  his  company,  and  at  the  close 
of  hostilities,  in  1865,  he  was  honorably 
discharg-ed  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  after 
which  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Knox 
county.  After  his  marriage,  which  occurred 
in  1866,  he  located  on  a  farm  in  Howard 
township,  where  he  remained  until  1892,  and 
from  that  time  until  the  ist  of  I\Iay,  1901, 
he  made  his  home  upon  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres  which  he  had  purchased 
in  Monroe  township.  At  the  latter  date  he 
retired  from  the  active  duties  of  the  farm  and 
located  in  Howard,  where  he  is  now  living 
in  cjuiet  retirement,  enjoying  the  fruits  of 
former  toil. 

On  the  14th  of  November,  1866,  oc- 
curred the  marriage  of  Mr.  Welsh  and  Miss 
Eleanor  Critchfield,  who  was  born  in  How- 
ard township,  Knox  county,  on  the  15th  of 
April,  1844,  a  daughter  of  Lewis  and  Mary 
J.  (Dawson)  Critchfield  and  a  sister  of  Jo- 
seph Critchfield,  whose  history,  together 
with  that  of  the  family,  will  be  found  on  an- 
other page  of  this  volume.  Mrs.  Welsh, 
the  fourth  child  and  eldest  daughter  in  her 
parents'  family,  was  reared  and  educated  in 
the  place  of  her  nativity.  By  her  marriage 
with  Mr.  Welsh  she  has  become  the  mother 
of  two  sons, — Lewis  C,  who  married  Cora 


Leonard  and  resides  on  the  home  farm;  and 
Charles  Francis,  who  married  Sarah  B. 
Brillhart,  and  is  a  prominent  agriculturist 
of  Knox  county.  He  has  one  daughter, 
Julia  May.  Mr.  Welsh,  of  this  review,  is. 
a  member  of  Joe  Hooker  Post,  No.  20,  G. 
A.  R.,  of  Mount  Vernon,  being  transferred 
from  Leroy  Baker  Post  at  Danville,  in 
which  he  had  filled  all  the  chairs,  and  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  No.  316,  of  Mount  Vernon. 
Religiously  he  is  a  worthy  member  and. 
acti\-e  worker  in  the  Christian  church  at 
Millwood. 


MARK  WORKMAN. 

Mark  Workman,  deceased,  was  a  native 
son  of  tlie  Buckeye  state.  For  many  years 
he  made  his  home  on  the  farm  which  his 
widow  still  owns,  and  was  successfully  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits,  being  an  in- 
dustrious, enterprising  and  energetic  man, 
of  good  business  and  executive  ability.  His 
birth  occurred  in  Brown  township,  Knox 
county,  on  the  19th  of  April,  1852,  and  he 
was  early  inured  to  the  labors  of  field  and 
meadow,  while  the  educational  advantages 
which  he  received  in  his  youth  were  those  af- 
forded by  the  common  schools  of  his  locality. 
After  putting  aside  his  text-books  as  a 
scholar  he  again  entered  the  school  room  as. 
an  instructor,  and  for  a  considerable  period 
instructed  the  young  along  lines  of  mental 
advancement.  On  the  27th  of  December, 
1876.  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Angeline  Hays,  and  their  union  was  bright- 
ened and  blessed  by  the  presence  of  one 
daughter,  Estella,  who  became  the  wife  oT 
V.  L.  Horn,  a  prominent  and  successful  ag- 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


riculturist  of  Pleasant  township,  Knox 
•county. 

Soon  after  their  marriage  the  young 
couple  removed  to  the  farm  in  Pleasant 
"township  which  Mrs.  Workman  still  owns, 
and  here  our  subject  was  extensively  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  life's 
labors  were  ended  in  death,  passing  away 
on  the  nth  of  April,  1885,  in  the  faith  of 
the  Brethren  or  German  Baptist  church,  of 
which  he  was  a  worthy  and  acceptable  mem- 
ber, ever  doing  his  full  share  to  promote  the 
cause  of  Christianity.  His  life  was  one  of 
•marked  industry  and  enterprise,  in  which  a 
resolute  spirit  and  untiring-  labor  enabled 
him  to  advance  steadily  step  by  step  until 
he  occupied  an  enviable  position  on  the  plane 
of  affluence. 

Mrs.  Workman  resided  upon  the  farm  in 
Pleasant  township  until  1889,  when  she  re- 
moved to  Gambier  and  erected  the  beautiful 
residence  which  she  now  occupies,  but  she 
still  retains  possession  of  the  homestead 
farm,  which  consists  of  two  hundred  and 
ninety-seven  acres  of  rich  and  fertile  land. 
She  still  holds  faith  in  the  same  religious 
■society,  and  her  life  has  been  one  in  which 
many  acts  of  kindness  have  gained  for  her 
the  esteem  and  friendship  of  all  who  know 
her. 


CHRIS  SWINGLE. 


Chris  Swingle  is  numbered  among  the 
progressive  farmers  of  Jefferson  township 
and  owns  and  operates  one  hundred  and  one 
acres  on  section  12,  while  elsewhere  in  the 
township  he  has  another  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres.  He  was  born  in  Mus- 
kingum county,   Ohio,  February  28,   1849, 


a  son  of  Jobn  G.  and  Barbara  (Loose) 
Swingle.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Prus- 
sia, but  came  to  America  when  twenty  years 
of  age,  locating  first  in  New  York,  where 
he  worked  at  the  blacksmith's  trade."  He 
also  followed  that  pursuit  in  Canada  and  in 
Ohio.  He  was  married  in  Buffalo,  New 
York,  and  then  remo\'ed  to  Canada,  whence 
he  went  to  Muskingum  county,  this  state. 
After  conducting  a  smithy  for  a  time  he  pur- 
chased a  farm  in  that  county,  and  when  he 
sold  his  property  there  came  to  Knox  coun- 
ty in  1852.  Here  he  purchased  land  in  Jef- 
ferson township  and  continued  to  make  his 
home  therein  with  the  exception  of  one  year, 
when  he  was  engaged  at  his  trade  in  Dan- 
ville, Ohio,  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
just  eighteen  days  before  the  eighteenth  an- 
niversary of  his  birth.  He  died  on  his  third 
farm  in  Jefferson,  one  mile  north  of  Brink- 
haven.  He  was  reared  in  the  Lutheran 
churcli,  but  became  a  prominent  member  of 
St.  Luke's  Catholic  church  at  Danville.  His 
wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Barbara 
Loose,  was  a  native  of  Hesse,  Germany,  and 
prior  to  her  marriage  crossed  the  Atlantic  to 
the  new  world.  She  lived  to  be  seventy- 
eight  years  of  age  and  passed  away  two  years 
prior  to  the  death  of  her  husband.  They 
were  the  parents  of  five  children,  four  of 
whom  reached  mature  years  :  Mary,  wife  of 
Enoch  Spencer,  is  deceased ;  Jacob,  who  en- 
listed in  the  Union  army  and  died  at  Mount 
Vernon  in  the  service  when  less  than  six- 
teen years  of  age ;  Chris ;  George,  who  owns 
and  lives  on  the  old  homestead  near  Brink- 
haven  ;  and  one  that  died  in  infancy. 

Chris  Swingle,  the  fourth  in  order  of 
birth,  was  but  three  years  old  when  the  fam- 
ily came  to  Knox  county,  and  in  Jefferson 
township  he  was  reared  and  pursued  his  ed- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


245. 


ucation,  also  attending  the  schools  of  Dan- 
ville. When  nineteen  years  of  age  he  en- 
gaged in-  teaching,  at  which  he  continued 
for  eleven  terms,  all  in  this  township,  eight 
being  spent  in  the  home  district;  But  while 
he  was  a  successful  and  popular  educator 
the  greater  part  of  his  time  and  attention  has 
been  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits.  At 
the  time  of  his  marriage  he  bought  the  old 
family  homestead,  where  he  has  since  re- 
mained. The  place,  comprising  one  hundred 
and  one  acres,  is  well  equipped  with  modern 
improvements  and  accessories,  with  substan- 
tial buildings  and  in  apearance  is  neat  and 
thrifty.  His  attention  is  now  wholly  de- 
voted to  the  farm. 

On  the  13th  of  April,  1871,  Mr.  Swingle 
wedded  Miss  Florence  Blubaugh,  who'  was 
the  seventh  child  and  fourth  daughter  in  the 
family  of  Benjamin  and  Charlotte  (Heck- 
ler) Blubaugh.  She  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  Jefferson  township,  and  for  two 
years  was  a  student  in  the  school  taught  by 
Mr.  Swingle,  to-  whom  she  later  gave  her 
hand  in  marriage.  They  have  nine  living 
children :  Agatha,  the  wife  of  Firank  J. 
Durbin,  a  grocer  of  Mount  Vernon ;  Bertha, 
an  artist,  who  is  teaching  painting  in  the 
Art  Institute  in  St.  Mary's  convent  at  Co- 
lumbus, Ohio;  Jennie,  Mary,  Lucy,  Katie, 
all  at  home;  Eddie,  who  is  engaged  in  teach- 
ing in  the  home  school;  George  and  Chris, 
who  complete  the  family.  They  also-  lost 
one  child,  Rilla,  who  died  at  the  age  of  two 
and  a  half  years. 

Mr.  Swingle  exercises  his  right  of  fran- 
chise in  support  of  the  men  and  measures  of 
the  Democracy,  and  for  six  years  he  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace  of  Jefferson  township, 
proving  a  most  commendable  official.  He 
and  his  family  belong  to  St.  Luke's  Cath- 


olic church,  of  Danville,  and  in  the  commu- 
nity are  widely  and  favorably  known.  He 
has  been  one  of  its  stanch  supporters,  con- 
tributing liberally  to  the  construction  of  the 
present  handsome  edifice. 


DAVID  BULYER. 


A  fine  farm  of  two  hundred  acres  on  sec- 
tion 24,  Middlebury  township,  is  the  prop- 
erty of  David  Bulyer  and  is  the  visible  evi- 
dence of  his  life  of  industry  and  persever- 
ance. He  owes  his  success  entirely  to  his 
own  efforts  and  his  reward  is  well  deserved. 
His  birth  occurred  in  Pike  township,  Knox 
county,  February  4,  1838.  His  father,  John; 
Bulyer,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born 
August  16,  1814,  but  he  was  reared  in  Pike 
township,  this  county,  and  throughout  his 
business  career  carried  on  farming  in  order 
to  provide  for  his  family.  He  married 
Rachel  Blakeley,  who  was  born  in  Pike  town- 
ship, September  3,  181 6,  belonging  to  one 
of  the  old  families  of  that  locality.  Unto 
them  were  born  two  children,  the  daughter 
being  Hannah,  who  became  the  wife  of  Rob- 
ert C.  Sweeney,  and  died  in  1901.  The  fa- 
ther died  August  13,  1838,  and  the  mother 
also  passed  away  when  quite  young. 

David  Bulyer  is  thus  the  only  surviving 
member  of  the  family.  He  was  less  than  a 
year  old  when  his  father  died,  after  which 
his  mother  married  John  Wineland,  and  he 
lived  with  his  stepfather  until  eleven  years 
of  age,  when  he  began  earning  his  own  liv- 
ing, and  since  that  time  he  has  depended 
upon  his  own  resources,  so  that  whatever 
success  he  has  achieved  has  come  as  the 
direct  result  of  his  earnest  toil.    He  attended 


246 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


school,  wliose  sessions  were  held  in  a  log- 
building,  but  his  educational  privileges  were 
rather  meager,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
schools  were  of  a  primitive  character  and 
that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  earn  his 
own  living.  He  worked  as  a  farm  hand  in 
Pike  township  until  after  his  marriage, 
which  was  celebrated  in  1863,  the  lady  of 
his  choice  being  Amanda  Reep',  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  who-  in  her  early  girlhood 
was  brought  by  her  parents,  Charles  and 
Sarah  Reep,  to  Knox  county.  Her  father 
and  mother  were  also  natives  of  the  Key- 
stone state. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Bulyer  located 
■at  North  Liberty,  where  he  was  employed 
on  a  farm  by  Jacob  Smith  for  about  one 
year.  He  then  removed  to  a  farm  near  Fred- 
ericktown,  where  he  worked  for  one  year 
for  Moses  Blackbuirn.  He  next  went  to 
the  McKinney  place,  and  after  being  em- 
-ployed  by  the  month  by  William  McKinney 
for  some  time  he  entered  the  service  of  C. 
R.  Hooker,  on  whose  farm  he  remained 
for  four  years,  engaged  in  packing  eggs  and 
butter.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he 
rented  a  farm  of  Mr.  Hooker,  paying  four 
hundred  dollars  cash  rent  for  one  year,  after 
whicli  be  removed  to  Berlin  tO'wnship  and 
rented  a  farm  for  two  years.  He  then  lived 
nine  years  in  Wayne  township,  where  he 
operated  a  farm  on  the  shares,  after  which 
he  removed  to  another  farm  in  the  same 
township,  for  wdiich  he  paid  a  cash  rental 
of  nine  hundred  dollars  per  year  for  nine 
years.  While  there  he  was  engaged  in  rais- 
ing fine  horses,  some  of  which  sold  as  high 
as  one  thousand  dollars,  while  others 
brough  eight  hundred  and  five  hundred  dol- 
lars. He  did  a  large  business  in  that  line, 
and  with  the  proceeds  he  purchased  the  farm 


upon  which  he  now  resides,  comprising  two 
hundred  acres  of  producti\'€  land,  on  which 
he  has  since  been  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing. He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  prac- 
tical, enterprising  and  progressive  farmers 
of  the  community  and  annually  his  labors  in- 
crease his  income. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bulyer  was 
blessed  with  two  children.  Herbert,  the 
elder,  married  Nettie  Silman,  and  they  have 
three  children — Herbert  and  Elmer,  twins, 
and  Homer.  Tlie  daughter,  Lucy,  is  now 
the  wife  of  George  Rodgers,  of  Chesterville, 
Ohio,  and  they  have  four  children — Hoy, 
Dorothy,  Dewey  and  Pauline.  Mr.  Bulyer 
exercises  his  right  of  franchise  in  support 
of  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Democratic 
party,  but  has  never  aspired  to  office,  pre- 
ferring to  devote  his  time  and  attention  to 
his  business  interests,  in  which  he  has  met 
with  excellent  success,  his  life  record  dem- 
onstrating that  success  is  not  a  matter  of 
genius,  but  may  be  won  through  earnest 
effort,  guided  by  sound  business  judgment. 
His  example  should  encourage  and  stimu- 
late others  to  labor  earnestly  that  prosperity 
mav  eventuallv  crown  their  toil. 


PROFESSOR  C.  M.  GRUBB. 

Professor  C.  M.  Grubb  is  now  principal 
of  the  schools  of  Howard  and  for  a  number 
of  years  has  been  accounted  one  of  the  most 
acceptable  and  capable  teachers  in  the  coun- 
ty. Perhaps  no  public  position  is  as  dif- 
ficult to  fill  as  that  of  the  teacher.  He  must 
not  only  possess  strong  intelligence,  but 
must  be  capable  of  imparting  clearly  and 
conciselv  to  others  the  knowledge  he  has  ac- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


■quired,  must  be  able  to  maintain  discipline, 
and  moreover  he  has  to  please  not  one  but 
many.  The  tide  of  public  opinion  must  be  in 
his  favor  and  the  individuals  constituting 
the  public  all  feel  that  the  work  of  the  teach- 
er, more  than  of  an}-  other  one,  is  a  per- 
sonal concern.  It  is  therefore  an  indication 
of  ability  when  the  favorable  criticism  of  the 
public  is  won  and  the  words  of  commenda- 
tion expressed  of  Professor  Grubb  indicates 
his  high  standing  in  the  public  regard. 

A  native  of  Knox  county,  he  was  born 
in  Morris  township  September  29,  1867.  His 
father,  Henry  Grubb,  was  also  a  native  of 
the  county,  born  and  reared  in  Pike  town- 
ship, and  in  the  common  schools  he  pur- 
sued his  education.  He  has  made  farming 
his  life  work  and  now  resides  in  Monroe 
township.  His  wife,  who  in  her  maidenhood 
was  Miss  Mary  Ann  Jeffries,  was  bom  in 
this  county,  and  as  she  was  left  an  orphan 
at  an  early  age  she  was  reared  in  tlje  family 
of  Daniel  Brumbaugh.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grubb 
are  the  parents  of  three  sons  and  a  daugh- 
ter, yet  living:  Wilson,  who  engages  in 
•drilling  wells  in  Knox  county;  Celestia,  at 
home  with  their  parents ;  C.  M.,  of  this  re- 
view :  and  D.  B.,  who  is  now  studying  law 
Avith  the  firm  of  Cooper  &  Moore,  in  Mount 
Vernon. 

Professor  Grubb  began  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  of  Monroe  township  and 
was  afterward  a  student  in  the  Ohio  Nor- 
mal University,  at  Ada,  for  two  and  a  half 
3'ears.  He  was  married,  November  5,  1890, 
to  Miss  Jennie  Loney,  a  native  of  Brown 
township  and  a  daughter  of  William  and 
IMary  (McClurg)  Loney.  Her  father  was 
born  and  reared  in  Pike  township,  while  her 
mother  was  a  native  of  Westmoreland  coun- 


ty, Pennsylvania.  They  became  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  of  whom  Mrs.  Grubb  was 
the  ninth  in  order  of  birth  and  the  fourth 
daughter.  She  was  reared  and  educated  in 
her  native  county  and  attended  the  normal  in 
Danville,  Ohio. 

For  a  year  Professor  Grubb  and  his  wife 
lesided  in  Mount  Vernon,  and  he  engaged 
in  teaching  school  in  the  country.  He  then 
removed  to  a  farm  in  Brown  township  and 
engaged  in  teaching  through  the  winter 
months,  while  in  the  summer  season  he  fol- 
lowed farming.  In  1898  he  removed  to 
Howard  and  continued  to  teach  in  the 
schools  of  the  township,  being  in  charge  of 
one  school  for  seven  years.  In  1901  he  was 
elected  principal  of  the  schools  of  the  town, 
and  is  now  occupying  that  position.  There 
are  two  rooms  in  the  school  and  an  assistant 
teacher  is  employed.  He  has  always  suc- 
ceeded in  raising  the  standard  of  education 
in  every  school  with  which  he  has  been  con- 
nected, and  has  been  an  active  factor  in  the 
intellectual  development  of  the  seA'eral  com- 
munities in  which  he  has  labored  and 
wrought  for  the  mental  good  of  the  young. 

Socially  the  Professor  is  connected  with 
the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  the 
Masonic  lodges.  His  religious  belief  con- 
nects him  with  the  Christian  church,  of 
which  he  is  a  most  consistent  member.  He 
is  now  serving  as  elder  and  is  also  teacher 
of  the  Bible  class  in  the  Sunday-school.  In 
his  political  faith  he  is  a  stanch  Democrat, 
has  labored  earnestly  to  insure  the  success 
and  promote  the  growth  of  the  party,  and 
has  served  as  a  member  of  the  county  com- 
mittee. His  genial  manner,  unfailing  cour- 
tesy, his  earnest  devotion  to  his  work  and 
to  every  cause  in  which  he  believes — all  these 


248 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


have  made  him  popular  and  won  him  the 
warm  friendsliip  of  a  large  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances. 

CHARLES  E.  CRITCHFIELD. 

The  subject  of  this  review  is  actively- 
connected  with  a  profession  which  has  im- 
portant bearing  upon  the  progress  and  sta- 
ble prosperity  of  any  section  or  community, 
and  one  which  has  long  been  considered  as 
conserving  the  public  welfare  by  further- 
ing the  ends  of  justice  and  maintaining  pub- 
lic right.  For  thirty-six  years  he  has  been 
a  member  of  the  bar  of  Mount  Vernon  and 
has  long  maintained  a  foremost  position 
among  the  representatives  of  the  law  in 
Knox  county.  He  has  been  honored  with 
judicial  and  legislative  offices  and  his  public 
and  professional  career  have  been  alike 
above  reproach. 

Judge  Charles  Edward  Critchfield  is  so 
widely  known  in  this  portion  of  the  state 
that  his  life  history  can  not  fail  to  prove  of 
interest  to-  many  of  our  readers.  He  was 
born  in  Coshocton  county,  near  the  Knox 
cO'Unty  line,  November  25,  1836,  and  is  de- 
scended from  good  old  Revolutionary  stock, 
his  great-grandfather,  who  was  of  German 
lineage,  having  fought  for  independence  in 
the  war  which  gave  rise  to'  the  American 
republic.  William  Critchfield,  the  grand- 
father of  the  Judge,  was  born  in  Somerset 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  18 12  emi- 
grated to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  where  his 
death  occurred.  He  was  one  of  the  hon- 
ored pioneer  settlers,  who  aided  in  laying 
the  foundation  for  the  present  progress  and 
prosperity  of  this  portion  of  the  state. 

Charles  Gritchfileld,  the  father  of  the 
Judge,  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  Penn- 


sylvania, and  during  his  early  boyhood  ac- 
companied his  parents  to  Knox  county, 
whence  he  afterward  removed  to  Coshocton 
county,  but  when  our  subject  was  a  lad  of 
twelve  years  he  returned  with  his  family  to 
this  county  and  located  upon  a  farm  which 
is  still  in  possession  of  his  descendants.  He 
followed  agricultural  pursuits  throughout 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  and  was  an  en- 
terprising farmer  and  honorable  man.  He 
married  Matilda,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Butler,  who',  with  Joseph  Walker  and 
Thomas  Bell  Patterson,  at  one  time  owned 
the  town  site  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  laid  out 
the  town  there  in  1805.  Mr.  Butler  came 
from  Virginia  to  the  Buckeye  state.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  on  both  the  patrenal  and 
maternal  sides  the  Judge  is  a  representa- 
tive of  families  that  have  been  identified 
with  Knox  county  from  the  days  of  its  earli- 
est settlement.  There  were  but  three  chil- 
dren in  his  father's  family  and  his  brother 
is  now  a  resident  of  California,  the  sister 
died  at  about  twelve  years  of  age. 

In  the  public  schools  Judge  Critchfield 
pursued  his  literary  education  and  afterward 
began  reading  law  in  the  office  of  Major 
William.  R.  Sapp.  In  1865  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and,  opening  an  office  in 
Mount  Vernon,  has  since  engaged  in  prac- 
tice. His  is  a  nature  that  could  neve*-  con- 
tent itself  with  mediocrity  and  with  resolute 
will  he  set  himself  at  the  task  of  winning  a 
prominent  place  at  the  bar.  He  knew  this 
could  only  be  done  by  close  application, 
thorough  study  and  absolute  devotion  to  his 
clients'  interests  and  those  qualities  have 
ever  characterized  his  professional  career. 
With  the  exception  of  the  time  when  he 
served  on  the  bench  his  practice  has  been  of 
a  general  character  and  on  all  departments 


CA^Cu>x^^jj^AiL^iu 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


249 


of  the  law  he  has  comprehensive  knowledge. 
In  1869  he  was  elected  probate  judge  of 
Knox  county  for  a  term  of  three  years,  and 
that  he  most  capably  and  fairly  discharged 
his  duties  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he 
was  thrice  elected,  thus  being  continued  in 
the  position  for  nine  years,  although  the 
service  was  not  consecutive,  there  being  an 
interval  of  three  years  between  his  second 
and  third  terms.  Other  public  offices  have 
been  conferred  upon  him.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council  for  one  term  and 
from  1893  until  1897,  during  President 
Cleveland's  second  administration,  was  post- 
master of  Mount  Vernon.  He  has  been  a 
life-long  Democrat,  and  on  that  ticket  in 
1889  he  was  elected  to  represent  his  district 
in  the  state  legislature.  It  was  during  the 
ensuing  session  of  the  general  assembly  that 
Calvin  S.  Brice  was  elected  United  States 
Senator. 

In  1862,  in  this  county,  Judge  Critch- 
field  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Aman- 
da Vincent,  a  daughter  of  Alexander  and 
Eliza  (McElroy)  Vincent,  of  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  whence  they  came  to 
Ohio',  locating  on  a  farm  in  Knox  county. 
The  Judge  and  his  wife  have  two  children : 
Charles  Vincent,  who  is  manager  of  the 
electric  light  and  gas  plant  in  Hillsboro, 
Ohio,  and  Nellie,  at  home. 

The  Judge  has  a  wide  acqaintance  in  this 
portion  of  Ohio  where  his  entire  life  has 
been  passed,  and  the  marked  strength  of  his 
character,  his  ability  and  enterprise  have  se- 
cured to  him  professional  and  political  hon- 
ors and  successes.  His  public  career  has 
ever  been  marked  by  fidelity  tO'  duty  and  in 
the  course  of  several  decades  he  has  always 
commanded  the  confidence  and  good  will  of 
his  fellow  men. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  EASTMAN,  M.  D. 

Dr.  William  Henry  Eastman,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Lever- 
ing and  throughout  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, was  born  in  Crawford  county,  Ohio, 
near  Gallon,  July  3,  1863,  and  his  father, 
Daniel  Eastman,  was  born  on  the  same  farm. 
There  he  remained  until  1870,  when  he  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  Morrow  county, 
where  he  still  resides.  He  is  engaged  in 
farming,  and  has  gained  a  comfortable  com- 
petence through  his  well  directed  efforts. 
His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Han- 
nah Vincent,  was  also  born  in  Crawford 
county,  and  by  her  marriage  she  became  the 
mother  of  ten  children,  eight  of  whom  grew 
to  manhood  and  womanJiood. 

The  Doctor  was  about  seven  years  old 
when  the  parents  went  to  Morrow  county, 
where  he  was  reared,  his  youth  being  passed 
in  a  manner  similar  to  that  of  most  boys 
of  the  period.  He  began  his  education  at 
Maple  Grove,  Crawford  county,  and  after- 
ward attended  the  schools  at  Whetstone,  in 
Congress  township.  Morrow  county,  and 
for  one  year  was  a  student  in  the  North- 
western Ohioi  Normal  University,  at  Ada, 
Thus  having  acquired  a  broad  general 
knowledge,  he  determined  to  prepare  for  a 
profession  and  decided  upon  the  medical  as 
the  one  which  he  wished  to  make  his  life 
work.  Accordingly  he  entered  the  Starling 
Medical  College  .at  Columbus,  and  was  grad- 
uated in  1892.  Being  thus  well  prepared  for 
the  work  of  alleviating  human  suffering,  he 
at  once  located  in  Levering,  where  he  opened 
an  office  and  began  practice.  His  patronage 
now  comes  not  only  from  the  town,  but 
from  outlying  districts  in  Knox,  Richland 
and  Morrow  counties. 


2SO 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


In  April,  1893,  was  celebrated  the  mar- 
riage of  Dr.  Eastman  and  Miss  Mildred 
Lemon,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Susan 
Lemon,  of  Galion,  Ohio.  She  was  born  in 
■  Williams  county,  Ohio,  and  has  become  the 
■Tnother  of  a  son  and  daughter,  Sylva  and 
■an  infant.  The  Doctor  and  his  wife  enjoy 
the  hospitality  of  the  best  homes  in  Levering 
and  have  many  wami  friends  throughout 
■the  community.  In  his  political  views  he  is 
a,  stalwart  Republican,  deeply  interested  in 
the  growth  and  success  of  his  party,  while 
fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  He  also  belongs 
to  the  Ohio  State  Medical  Society,  and  thus 
keeps  in  touch  with  the  advanced  thought 
of  the  profession  and  the  improved  methods 
which  indicate  the  rapid  progress  being 
-made  by  the  medical  fraternity. 


JOHN  TYLER  ROBERTSON. 

Although  for  only  a  brief  period  John 
T.  Robertson  was  numbered  among  the  sol- 
"diers  of  the  Civil  war,  he  was  engaged  in 
"very  active  seiwice  and  sustained  a  severe 
-wound.  The  same  spirit  of  loyalty  which 
prompted  his  enlistment  has  ever  been  mani- 
fest in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  of  citi- 
zenship, and  he  is  accounted  one  of  the  lead- 
ing and  influential  farmers  of  Hilliar  town- 
ship. He  is  the  twin  brother  of  Henry  H. 
Robertson,  while  another  member  of  the 
family  is  Dr.  A.  P.  Robertson,  of  Mount 
Liberty.  The  subject  of  this  review  was 
born  in  Washington  county.  New  York, 
September  4,  1840,  and  was  named  in  honor 
of  John  Tyler,  while  his  twin  brother  was 


given  the  name  of  Henry  Harrison,  called 
after  the  candidates  for  vice-president  and 
president,  respectively.  They  were  about 
five  years  of  age  when  their  parents  removed 
to  Knox  county,  settling  in  Mount  Liberty, 
and  in  Hilliar  and  Liberty  townships  Mr. 
Robertson,  of  this  review,  was  reared  and 
educated.  He  pursued  his  studies  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  and  in  an  institution  of  learn- 
ing conducted  by  a  well  known  teacher  at 
Centerburg. 

In  1863  occurred  the  marriage  of  our 
subject  and  Miss  Maria  Holister,  a  native  of 
Liberty  township  and  a  daughter  of  Har- 
mon Holister,  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
Knox  county.  They  took  up  their  abode  in 
Mount  Liberty,  where  they  remained  for  a 
}'ear  when  Mr.  Robertsoo,  feeling  that  his 
duty  was  toward  his  country,  put  aside  all 
business  and  personal  considerations  and 
joined  the  "boys  in  blue"  of  Company  A, 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-second  Ohio  In- 
fantry, as  a  private  for  one  hundred  days' 
service.  The  regiment  was  transferred  tO'  the 
front  to  take  part  in  the  siege  of  Petersburg, 
where  he  was  under  fire  for  seventeen  days, 
and  there  he  was  badly  wounded  in  the  left 
side,  while  engaged  in  building  fortifica- 
tions. From  the  effects  of  this  injury  he 
still  suffers, -but  such  are  the  fortunes  of  war ; 
and  the  men  who  enter  the  army  are  called 
upon  to  make  great  sacrifices  for  country  and 
for  principle.  A  debt  of  gratitude  is  cer- 
tainly due  to  them,  which  can  never  be  paid, 
but  they  are  held  in  grateful  remembrance 
by  their  fellow  men.  Mr.  Robertson  re- 
ceived an  honorable  discharge  at  Camp 
Chase,  Ohio,  and  was  there  mustered  out. 

Returning  to  his  home,  he  has  since  en- 
gaged in  farming,  and  in  1869  located  in 
Hilliar  township,  where  he  is  yet  living.   All 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


251 


of  the  improvements  upon  his  place  stand 
as  monuments  to  his  handiwork.  He  built 
the  dwelling  and  the  barns  now  upon  the 
premises,  and  has  otherwise  developed  his 
place  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
which  is  now  classed  among  the  desirable 
farms  of  the  neighborhood.  By  his  first 
marriage  he  had  one  child,  Ella,  now  the 
widow  of  Charles  Beach,  of  Columbus, 
Ohio.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Robertson 
chose  Miss  Mary  Hawkins,  and  unto  them 
were  born  three  children :  Nina,  the  wife  of 
Fred  Graves,  of  Licking  cotmty;  Isaac  L., 
and  Fannie,  who  are  still  at  home. 

I\Ir.  Robertson  is  a  member  of  Debolt 
Post,  No.  369,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Centerburg,  and 
holds  membership  relations  in  the  Free- Will 
Baptist  church.  He  exercises  his  right  of 
franchise  in  support  of  the  men  and  meas- 
ures of  the  Republican  party,  and  for  eleven 
years  he  served  as  township  trustee,  while 
in  other  local  offices  he  has  capably  served 
his  fellow  citizens,  showing  that  the  trust  re- 
posed in  him  has  been  in  every  way  merited. 
Whether  upon  the  field  O'f  battle  or  in  public 
or  in  private  life  his  course  has  been  such 
as  to  win  for  him  the  high  esteem  of  many 
friends. 


ALFRED  FISH. 

In  past  ages  the  history  of  a  country  was 
the  record  of  wars  and  conquests ;  to-day  it  is 
the  record  of  commercial  activity,  and  those 
whose  names  are  foremost  in  its  annals  are 
the  leaders  in  business  circles.  The  con- 
quests now  made  are  those  of  mind  over 
matter,  net  of  man  over  man,  and  the  victor 
is  he  who  can  successfully  establish,  control 
and    operate  extensive    commercial    enter- 


prises. Alfred  Fish  is  one  of  the  strong  and 
influential  men  whose  lives  have  become  an 
essential  part  of  the  history  of  Knox  coun- 
ty. Tireless  energy,  keen  perception,  hon- 
esty of  purpose,  genius  for  devising  and  ex- 
ecuting the  right  thing  at  the  right  time, 
joined  to  every-day  common  sense,  guided 
by  great  will  power,  are  the  chief  character- 
istics of  the  man.  He  is  now  connected  with 
many  leading  interests  of  the  community, 
and  his  efforts  have  brought  to  him  grati- 
fying success. 

He  was  born  in  Octronton,  Lancashire, 
England,  on  the  8th  of  February,  1848,  a 
son  of  William  and  Winnifred  (Parker) 
Fish,  natives  also  of  that  locality.  In  his  na- 
tive land  the  father  served  an  apprentice- 
ship of  seven  years  at  the  stone-mason's 
trade,  and  after  its  completion,  in  1849,  ^^ 
crossed  the  broad  Atlantic  to  New  York, 
first  working  at  his  trade  in  the  Empire  state. 
He  then  made  his  way  to  Ohio,  where  he 
was  engaged  as  a  journeyman  workman  in 
Cleveland  and  Akron  until  the  fall  of  1857. 
In  that  year  he  received  the  contract  to  erect 
Ascension  Hall,  at  Gambler, 'which  occupied 
the  following  two  years,  and  he  then  built 
Bishop  O'Dell's  residence.  After  following 
contracting  in  that  city  for  nine  years  Mr. 
Fish  removed  to  Columbus  and  erected  the 
Trinity  Episcopal  church,  also  the  City  Hall 
building,  the  Huntington  and  Hayden  Bank 
buildings,  the  Deshler  Bank  building  and 
many  others  of  equal  importance,  and  he 
also  did  much  building  at  the  state  peni- 
tentiary. During  most  of  this  time  he  had 
his  own  stone  quarries  at  different  places, 
and  also  established  the  first  stone  sawmill 
in  Columbus,  which  was  erected  in  1868,  and 
was  used  for  sawing  stone  for  building  pur- 
poses.    Mr.  Fish's  life's  labors  were  ended 


252 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


in  death  on  the  13th  of  April,  1891,  when  he 
had  reached  the  seventy-eighth  milestone  on 
the  journey  of  life,  and  thus  passed  from 
earth  one  who  had  long  borne  an  important 
part  in  the  progress  and  upbuilding  of  his 
adopted  state.  In  his  business  affairs  he 
was  signally  successful,  becoming  the  pos- 
sessor of  a  comfortable  competence.  An 
earnest  Christian  gentleman,  he  held  mem- 
bership in  the  Episcopal  church,  and  in  his 
life  exemplified  his  belief.  His  political  sup- 
port was  given  to  the  Republican  party.  His 
widow  is  still  living,  and  now  makes  her 
home  at  Gambler,  being  now  in  her  seventy- 
ninth  year.  She  is  also'  a  worthy  member  of 
the  Episcopal  church.  They  became  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  as  follows :  Eliz- 
abeth, the  widow  of  Henry  Prince,  of  Pal- 
mer, Nebraska;  Alfred,  the  subject  of  this 
review;  William  H.,  a  prominent  contractor 
and  builder  of  Columbus,  Ohio;  Jennie,  the 
wife  of  D.  W.  Harrison,  an  ice  cream  man- 
ufacturer of  Cleveland ;  Winnifred,  the  wife 
of  Clarence  Powell,  of  Central  City,  Ne- 
braska; Joseph,  who  died  in  1866 ;  and  Mary, 
a  resident  of  Gambler. 

Alfi-ed  Fish  enjoyed  the  educational  ad- 
vantages afforded  by  the  common  schools  of 
his  locality,  and  wheiT  nineteen  years  of  age 
he  entered  into  partnership  relations  with  his 
father  and  brother,  the  latter,  William  H., 
having  been  taken  into  the  business  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  years.  The  firm  then  be- 
came known  as  Fish  &  Sons,  which  rela- 
tionship was  maintained  until  1888,  when  a 
stock  company  was  formed,  under  the  name 
of  the  Fish  Stone  Company,  of  which  he  was 
vice-president.  In  1877  he  removed  with 
his  family  to  Gambler,  although  he  still  con- 
tinues his  business  in  the  capacity  of  acting 
president  at  Columbus.    In  1884  they  estab- 


lished the  Fish  Pressed  Brick  Company,  of 
Columbus,  in  which  he  holds  the  same  re- 
lation. The  father  had  visited  England  in 
1883,  and  there  witnessed  the  manufacture 
of  brick  from  shale,  and  upon  his  return  tO' 
America  he  immediately  began  making  brick 
from  that  substance,  having  been  the  first  in 
America  to  manufacture  shale  brick,  a  line 
of  manufacture  now  quite  generally  adopted. 
Mr.  Fish  has  also  for  ten  years  been  consid- 
erably interested  in  fanning,  having  two 
good  farms  near  Gambier,  devoted  to  breed- 
ing, growing  and  feeding  the  famous  Eng- 
lish red  polled  cattle.  His  herd  of  sixty  head 
includes  the  best  strain  of  this  celebrated 
breed  of  cattle. 

The  lady  who  now  bears  the  name  of 
Mrs.  Fish  was  in  her  maidenhood  Miss  Flor- 
ence White.  Their  wedding  was  celebrated 
May  26,  1870,  and  the  lady  is  a  daughter  of 
Lewis  and  Sarah  (Dial)  White.  This  union 
has  been  blessed  with  four  children,  namely : 
Carrie  White,  Stella  Elise,  Herbert  William 
and  Alfred  Roger.  Herbert  W.  is  now  at- 
tending Kenyon  College,  and  is  a  graduate 
of  Nulty  Academy.  All  have  been  given 
the  best  school  advantages,  Carrie  having 
taken  courses  in  both  Harcourt  Place  Sem- 
inary and  diio  Wesleyan  University,  at 
Delaware,  while  Stella  is  a  graduate  of  the 
former  institution.  The  religious  prefer- 
ence of  our  subject  is  indicated  by  his  mem- 
bership with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  in  his  political  views  he  is  a 
stanch   supporter  of  Republican  principles. 


ALBERT  S.  KIRKPATRICK. 

The  desirability  of  Knox  county  as  a 
place  of  residence  is  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  so  manv  of  her  native  sons  have  con- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


253 


tinned  to  make  their  homes  within  its  bor- 
ders to  the  present  time.  Among  this  num- 
ber is  j\Ir.  Kirkpatrick,  who  was  born  on 
section  12,  Pike  township,  while  his  home 
is  now  on  section  13.  His  natal  day  was 
October  14.  1847,  ^""^  throug'h  the  inter- 
vening years,  since  arriving  at  the  age  of 
accountability,  he  has  been  identified  with 
agricultural  pursuits,  his  energetic  labors 
winning  him  rank  among  the  leading  and  in- 
fluential farmers  of  the  community. 

The  family  is  of  Scotch  and  Irish  de- 
scent and  was  established  in  America  at  an 
early  day  in  the  history  of  colonization  in 
the  new  world.  The  grandfather  of  our 
subject  became  a  pioneer  of  Ohio  and  died 
in  Harrison  county.  His  son,  Robert  C. 
Kirkpatrick,  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and 
removed  thence  to  Allegheny  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  remained  until  he  de- 
cided to  make  Ohio  his  home  and  took  up  his 
abode  in  Harrison  county.  His  next  re- 
moval brought  him  to  Pike  township,  and 
from  the  government  he  entered  a  tract  of 
land  on  section  12,  where  he  built  a  log 
cabin  and  began  the  development  of  a  farm. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  town- 
ship, and  around  him  stretched  the  wild 
regions  just  as  they  came  from  the  hand  of 
nature.  He  married  and  had  three  sons  and 
twO'  daughters,  all  of  whom  reached  mature 
years.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Kirkpatrick 
chose  Nancy  Vernon,  and  their  union  was 
blessed  with  four  children  who  reached  adult 
age. 

A.  S.  Kirkpatrick  was  the  third  of  the 
number.  His  early  years  were  passed  in  a 
manner  similar  to  that  in  which  most  boys 
of  the  period  spent  their  time,  his  educa- 
tional privileges  being  those  afforded  by  the 
district  schools.    In  the  summer  months  the 


work  of  the  farm  claimed  his  attention,  and 
he  continued  to  engage  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  fields  upon  the  old  homestead  until  twen- 
ty-seven years  of  age,  thus  gaining  that  ex- 
perience which  has  made  his  own  farm 
labors  profitable. 

On  December  24,  1878,  Mr.  Kirkpatrick 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Francy  E. 
Arnold,  a  daughter  of  William  M.  and  Ann 
(Stohl)  Arnold,  who  removed  from  Penn- 
sylvania to  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  and  after- 
ward came  to  Knox  county.  Mrs.  Kirk- 
patrick is  their  third  child  and  was  born  in 
North  Liberty,  Pike  township,  July  13. 
1 85 1.  Four  children  ha.\'e  been  born  unto 
cur  subject  and  his  wife:  Reece  E.,  L. 
Blanche,  Charles  E.  and  William  A.,  and 
the  family  circle  yet  remains  unbroken  by 
the  hand  of  death.  They  reside  upon  a  fine 
farm  on  section  13,  Pike  township,  where 
Mr.  Kirkpatrick  owns  one  hundred  and  ten 
acres  of  valuable  land.  There  he  carries  on 
general  farming  and  stock-raising,  and  for 
the  shelter  of  grain  and  stock  he  has  pro- 
vided good  buildings.  Excellent  improve- 
ments are  found  upon  his  place,  and  his 
labors  are  manifest  in  the  neat  and  thrifty 
appearance  of  his  property. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  is 
a  Democrat,  and  on  that  ticket  he  was  elected 
trustee  of  his  township.  For  many  years  he 
was  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  the 
cause  of  education  profited  by  his  efforts  in 
its  behalf.  He  withholds  his  co-operation 
from  no  movement  or  measure  that  he  be- 
lieves will  contribute  to  the  general  welfare 
and  therefore  he  is  justly  accounted  one  of 
the  valued  citizens  of  the  community.  So- 
cially he  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Eagle,  with  the  Knights  of  the  Mac- 
cabees and  with  the  Grange  of  North  Lib- 


254 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


erty,  and  in  all  of  these  he  has  filled  various 
ofiices, — a  fact  which  indicates  the  regard  in 
which  he  is  held  bv  his  fellow  townsmen. 


HARRISON  FERRIS. 

Harrison  Ferris  was  born  on  the  farm 
on  which  he  now  resides,  on  September  29, 
1842,  a  son  of  Embry  and  Phcebe  (Holmes) 
Ferris.  The  father  was  born  in  Dutchess 
county,  New  York,  and  after  arriving  at 
man's  estate  he  there  learned  the  wagon- 
maker's  trade.  He  was  also  married  in  his 
native  county,  and  there  two  of  his  children 
Avere  born.  In  1832  he  family  emigrated  to 
Knox  count}-,  Ohio,  purchasing  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  of  land  where  our  sub- 
ject now  resides,  most  of  which  was  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  timber.  He  at  once 
erected  a  log  cabin  and  began  the  arduous 
task  of  placing  his  fields  under  cultivation. 
Their  primitive  log  cabin  served  as  a  habita- 
tion for  a  number  of  years,  after  which  it 
was  replaced  by  a  modern  frame  residence, 
but  ere  its  completion  both  the  husband  and 
•wiit  were  called  to  the  home  beyond.  They 
were  prominent  members  and  active  work- 
ers in  the  Baptist  church,  and  he  was  a 
Whig  in  his  political  views.  Five  of  their 
eight  children  still  sur\-ive,  namely:  \M11- 
iam,  of  Tama  county,  Iowa :  Egbert,  a  resi- 
dent of  Henry  county,  Illinois ;  Harrison,  the 
subject  of  this  review ;  Oscar,  also  of  Tama 
county,  Iowa;  and  Sarah,  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Fred  Gager,  of  Rochester,  Missouri. 

Harrison  Ferris  was  but  nine  years  of 
age  when  he  was  called  upon  to  mourn  the 
loss  of  his  parents,  and  he  afterward  made 
his  home  with  different  residents  of  the 
neighlx)rhood,  working  for  his  board.     At 


the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  was  employed  as 
a  farm  hand  by  Lemuel  Beckley,  and  from 
that  time  on  he  was  employed  by  different 
farmers  until  September,  1859,  when  he 
joined  the  gold  seekers  to  Pike's  Peak. 
After  a  short  time  spent  in  the  mines,  how- 
ever, he  contracted  chills  and  fever,  and  he 
was  advised  by  a  physician  to  leave  the 
mountains,  which  he  did  during  the  follow- 
ing winter,  returning  to  Knox  county,  Ohio. 
Here  he  again  began  work  by  the  month, 
thus  continuing  until  August,  1862,  when 
he  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  war,  be- 
coming a  member  of  Company  G,  One  Hun- 
dred and  Twenty-first  Ohio  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. During  his  army  career  he  took  part 
in  the  battles  of  Perryville,  Chickamagua, 
Missionary  Ridge,  Kenesaw  Mountain  and 
Atlanta,  also  many  other  engagements  and 
skirmishes.  He  was  wounded  at  Benton- 
ville.  North  Carolina,  March  20,  1865,  and 
on  tlie  1 8th  of  May,  of  that  year,  was  hon- 
orably discharged  from  the  service  at  Camp 
Denison,  returning  to  his  home  with  a  most 
creditable  military  record. 

After  his  return  from  the  war  ^Ir.  Ferris 
resumed  work  as  a  farm  hand.  In  1866  he 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Dar- 
ling, a  native  also  of  Wayne  township,  Knox 
county,  and  a  daughter  of  Abraham  Darling, 
now  deceased.  After  his  marriage  our  sub- 
ject located  with  his  bride  on  a  small  farm 
near  Mount  Vernon,  but  after  a  residence 
there  of  one  year  he  rented  a  place  near 
Fredericktown,  where  for  the  following 
three  years  he  was  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period 
he  removed  to  Fredericktown,  where  ifor 
about  three  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  liv- 
ery business,  and  on  selling  his  interests 
there  he  purchased  thirty-six  acres  of  land 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


255. 


one  mile  west  of  his  present  home.  There 
he  laiade  his  home  until  1887,  when  he  sold 
that  tract  and  purchased  another  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  acres,  sixty-four  acres  of 
which  was  a  portion  of  the  old  Ferris  home- 
stead and  the  remainder  was  a  portion  of  an 
adjoining  farm.  There  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ferris 
have  since  made  their  home,  surrounded  by 
the  comforts  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of 
life.  He  is  a  practical  and  progressive  ag- 
riculturist, and  his  place  is  neat  and  thrifty 
in  appearance,  owing  to  his  consecutive 
labors  and  careful  supervision. 

Unto  our  subject  and  wife  were  born 
eight  children,  but  only  four  are  now  living, 
namely:  Minnie  B.,  the  wife  of  William 
G.  Norri^,  of  Richland  county,  Ohio ;  Nor- 
ma, the  wife  of  Frank  Cramer,  a  resident 
of  Liberty  township,  Knox  county;  Embry 
R.,  and  Frederick,  at  home.  The  Democ- 
racy receives  Mr.  Ferris'  hearty  support  and 
co-operation,  and  in  1896  he  w'as  elected  a 
county  commissioner  of  Knox  county.  He 
was  also  land  appraiser  in  1890,  and  has 
held  a  number  of  other  offices  of  honor  and 
trust.  Socially  he  is  a  member  of  Thrall 
Lodge,  No.  170,  F.  &  A.  M.  He  is  highly 
respected  by  those  who  have  known  him 
from  boyhood,  and  is  indeed  a  worthy  rep- 
resentative of  an  honored  pioneer  famil}-. 
At  all  times  he  has  been  safely  relied  upon 
to  use  his  influence  and  means  hi  the  ad- 
vancement of  whatever  has  been  for  the 
good  of  the  communitv. 


\\TLLIAM  FRANKLIN  BALDWIN. 

The  late  William  Franklin  Baldwin,  of 
Mount  Vernon,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  was 
born  in  Medina  county,   Ohio,  January  4, 


1846,  and  died  at  Alount  Vernon  April  3, 
1892.  His  parents  were  Fowler  and  Eliza 
(Harris)  Baldwin,  and  he  was  a  descendant 
of  the  Baldwin  family  who  were  emigrants 
to  Connecticut.  He  began  his  education  at 
Medina  and  completed  it  in  the  high  school 
at  Mount  Vernon,  to  which  place  his  par- 
ents moved  while  he  was  yet  quite  young. 
He  began  his  active  business  career  as  a 
clerk  in  a  dry-goods  store,  and  after  some 
years'  employment  in  that  capacity  he  en- 
gaged in  the  retail  grocery  trade  at  Mount 
Vernon.  Three  years  later  he  accepted  an 
appointment  as  a  mail  clerk  in  the  local  post 
office,  the  proffer  of  which  was  secured  for 
him  by  his  brother,  who  was  assistant  su- 
perintendent in  the  office.  Eventually  he  re- 
signed this  position  and  engaged  in  the  lum- 
ber business.  His  next  venture  was  in  the 
hat,  cap  and  fur  business,  in  which  he  re- 
mained for  eight  years,  until,  with  Dr.  Jo- 
seph Taylor,  he  purchased  the  Mount  Ver- 
non Republican,  of  which  he  thus  became 
half  owner.  Later  Dr.  Taylor  sold  his  in- 
terest in  the  enterprise  to  Mr.  Baldwin's 
brother,  Charles,  and  Mr.  Baldwin  was  a 
partner  in  the  concern  until  his  death.  In 
1864,  when  about  eighteen  years  old,  he  en- 
listed in  the  Union  army,  in  which  he  served 
about  one  hundred  days  as  a  private,  being 
on  active  duty  at  the  seat  of  war.  Polit- 
ically he  was  a  strong  Republican,  and  at 
one  time  he  was  a  member  of  the  school 
board  of  Mount  Vernon.  He  was  long  a 
member  of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church,  in 
which  he  was  a  vestryman  and  choir  master. 
Mr.  Baldwin  was  very  prominently  identi- 
fied with  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  was  one 
of  its  most  influential  members  in  the  state. 
He  gave  inception  to  his  Masonic  career 
on   July   21,    1 87 1,    and  he  was   an   officer 


256 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


in  the  grand  lodge  of  Ohio  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  In  the  chivah-jc  depart- 
ment of  the  order  he  was  a  member  of 
Chnton  Commandery,  No.  5,  Knights  Tem- 
plar, at  Mount  Vernon,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  grand  commandery  of  the 
state.  He  had -attained  the  thirty-second 
degree  in  the  Scottish  Rite  Masonry,  and 
had  he  Hved  until  September,  1892,  he  would 
have  received  the  thirty-third  degree,  the 
highest  conferred  in  America.  He  was  also 
a  noble  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  having  been 
affiliated  with  Alkoran  Temple,  in  the  city 
of  Cleveland. 

Mr.  Baldwin  was  married,  January  17, 
1872,  to  Miss  Ella  Winne,  daughter  of 
George  and  Sarah  E.  (O'Hara)  Winne,  who 
bore  him  two-  children :  Winnie,  who  is  Mrs. 
William  M.  Coup,  of  Mount  Vernon,  and 
Charles  Fowler  Baldwin,  an  electrical  en- 
gineer, of  Chicago,  Illinois.  Mrs.  Baldwin's 
ancestors  in  the  paternal  line  were  of  Welsh 
extraction,  and  some  of  them  lived  at 
Rochester,  Utica  and  Albany,  New  York. 
Her  mother  was  a  relative  oi  Gen.  James 
O'Hara,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  Her  great- 
grandfather, Hugh  O'Hara,  brother  of 
James,  was  a  merchant  at  Pittsburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  amassed  considerable  property, 
but  the  records  of  his  holdings  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  and  it  has  never  been  possible 
for  his  descendants  to  benefit  by  his  thrift 
and  enterprise.  He  was  murdered  at  Cheat 
Mountain,  while  traveling  to  Philadelphia 
for  goods.  Killian  Winne,  Mrs.  Baldwin's 
grandfather  in  the  paternal  line,  married  a 
Mrs.  Fellows,  a  widow,  and  they  had  several 
children.  Mrs.  Baldwin's  father  and  mother 
were  the  parents  of  children  named  Belle, 
who  married  Edgar  A.  Clark,  of  Chicago, 
Illinois,  and  is  now  deceased:  Ella  W.,  who 


married  William  Franklin  Baldwin;  Frank, 
who  died  in  1890;  and  Kate,  a  maiden  lady 
who  lives  in  Mount  Vernon.  Mr.  Winne 
died  in  1898,  and  his  wife  in  February,  1878. 
Mr.  Winne  came  to  Mount  Vernon  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  years  with  his  brother  from 
Utica,  New  York,  and  the  latter  became  a 
dry  goods  merchant  at  that  place.  Event- 
ually he  erected  a  hotel,  the  Kenyon  House, 
which  he  conducted  successfully  for  thirty 
years  or  until  his  retirement  from  active  life. 
For  three  years  he  was  in  the  internal  rev- 
enue office.  Frank  Winne,  his  brother, 
served  vuider  General  Morgan  in  the  Mex- 
ican war  and  was  stabbed  by  the  Mexicans 
while  on  an  expedition  for  provisions.  His 
clothes  were  sent  to  his. family  and  Mrs. 
Baldwin  now  has  a  peculiar  pin  which  he 
obtained  in  Mexico  and  wore  on  the  lapel 
of  his  vest.  Jacob  Winne,  Mrs.  Baldwin's 
great-grandfather,  was  a  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier. 


WILLIAM  L.  ELY,  M.  D. 

As  a  practitioner  of  medicine  and  sur- 
gery Dr.  Ely  has  won  the  success  which 
follows  merit  and  has  advanced  tO'  an  en- 
viable position  among  the  representatives  of 
the  profession  in  Knox  county.  In  tracing 
his  ancestral  history  it  is  found  that  his 
great-great-grandfather  was  a  native  of 
Germany  and  became  the  founder  of  the 
family  in  the  new  world,  while  Michael  Ely, 
the  great-grandfather,  was  a  native  of 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania.  It  was 
in  the  same  locality  that  Lewis  Ely,  the  Doc- 
tor's grandfather,  was  born  and  reared.  He 
married  a  Miss  Porter  and  is  still  living,  a 
hale  and  hearty  old  man  in  his  eighty-fourth 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


257 


year,  his  home  being  in  Cardington,  Morrow- 
county,  Ohio. 

7\bram  Ely,  the  Doctor's  father,  is  a 
native  of  Knox  county,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred in  1838.  He  was  but  a  boy  when 
he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal 
to  Morrow  county.  His  father,  however, 
possessing  somewhat  of  a  roving  disposition, 
lived  in  various  places  and  Abram  was  there- 
fore reared  in  Knox,  Morrow  and  Henry 
counties  of  Ohio  and  in  Indiana.  He  was 
married  in  Mount  Vernon  to  Mrs.  Olive 
(Gray)  Dehority,  who  was  born  in  Zanes- 
ville,  Ohio,  and  was  twice  married,  her  iirst 
husband  being  William  Dehority,  a  native  of 
Delaware  and  a  prominent  farmer  of  Mor- 
row county.  They  had  two  children : 
Martha  and  Irene,  the  latter  the  wife  of 
Samuel  Osborn,  of  Morrow  county.  After 
the  death  of  her  first  husband  she  gave  her 
hand  in  marriage  to  Mr.  Ely  and  they  also 
have  two  children,  but  the  Doctor  is  the  only 
survivor.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage  the 
father  located  on  a  farm  near  Sparta,  Mor- 
row county,  and  after  five  years  went  to 
Missouri,  operating  sawmills  in  Macon, 
Shelby  and  Sullivan  counties,  that  state,  for 
three  years.  In  1873  he  returned  to  ]\Ior- 
row  county,  settling  about  a  mile  south  of 
South  Woodbury,  where  he  still  resides, 
having  an  excellent  farm  there. 

Amid  the  refining  influences  of  a  good 
home  Dr.  EI3'  was  reared  and  was  early 
taught  the  value  of  industry  and  honesty  in 
the  active  affairs  of  life.  He  pursued  his 
education  in  the  select  Quaker  schools  of 
Morrow  county  and  in  Sparta,  where  he  con- 
tinued his  studies  under  the  direction  of  Pro- 
fessor Bonebrake.  Determining  to  follow 
a  professional  career  and  choosing  that  of 
medicine,  he  began  reading  under  the  direc- 


tion of  Dr.  J.  H.  Tims,  in  1889,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1890  he  entered  the  Cleveland  Med- 
ical College,  in  which  he  was  graduated  on 
the  23d  of  March,  1893.  On  the  28th  of  the 
same  month  he  opened  an  office  in  Frederick- 
town  and  has  since  built  up  a  lucrative  and 
constantly  growing  practice.  His  reading" 
has  been  wide  and  thorough,  and  he  is  very 
accurate  in  applying  his  knowledge  to  the 
alleviation  of  human  suffering. 

On  the  23d  of  December,  1883,  Dr.  Ely 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Maria  C. 
Tims,  the  only  child  of  Dr.  J.  H.  Tims,  of 
Sparta,  and  unto  them  have  been  born  two 
children,  Lona  E.  and  Florence.  The  Doc- 
tor gives  his  political  support  to  the  Democ- 
racy, and  for  two  years  he  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  town  council,  while  at  the  present 
time  he  is  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
He  is  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
the  town  and  belongs  to  that  class  of  public- 
spirited  men  who  desire  the  advancement 
and  improvement  of  the  town  and  hesitate 
not  in  giving  their  co-operation  and  sub- 
stantial support  to  those  measures  which 
will  prove  of  general  good. 


MAJOR  WILLIAM  McFADDEN. 

William  McFadden,  the  well  known  resi- 
dent of  Mount  Vernon,  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
a  brief  account  of  whose  busy  and  useful 
career  it  will  be  attempted  by  the  writer  here 
to  give,  is  of  Irish  and  German  ancestry, 
and  his  first  American  ancestors  in  both 
lines  of  descent  came  over  the  sea  to  the  land 
of  liberty  about  the  same  time.  His  par- 
ents were  Henry  and  Hannah  (Stinemetz) 
McFadden,  and    he  was    born    in    Clinton 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  November 
25,  1828.  He  acquired  such  education  as 
was  available  to  him  in  old-fashioned  sub- 
scription schools  taught  in  log  school  houses, 
with  slab  seats  and  plank  desks  or  writing 
tables  extending  the  full  length  oi  the  room, 
the  latter  secured  to  the  walls  with  wooden 
pins.  Such  primitive  school  houses  had  big 
fire  places  at  one  end  that  would  hold  several 
large  logs  at  a  time.  The  floors  of  these 
school  houses  were  made  of  split  logs  laid 
flat  side  up,  and  the  arrangement  of 
their  seats  was  such  that  the  backs  of  the 
pupils  were  always  turned  toward'  tlie  teach- 
er. Until  he  was  eighteen  years  old  Major 
McFadden  attended  such  schools  in  the  win- 
ter months  and  helped  to  clear  land  and 
carry  on  the  work  of  the  farm  during  the 
spring,  summer  and  fall  months.  After  that 
for  about  fifteen  years  he  was  a  clerk  in  the 
dry  goods  store  of  Judge  Miller.  At  the 
time  of  the  gold  excitement  in  California  he 
narrowly  escaped  being  a  "Forty-niner" 
only  because  he  was  unable  to  leave  for  the 
gold  fields  before  1850.  Then,  in  company 
widi  others,  he  made  a  ninety-four  days' 
journey  across  the  plains  to-  the  land  of  gold. 
He  remained  four,  years  in  California  as  a 
miner  and  farmer,  spending  two  years  in 
the  Pajaro  valley,  and  during  that  time  he 
made  and  lost  considerable  money.  October 
I,  1854,  he  embarked  on  a  vessel  at  San 
Francisco  for  a  voyage  across  the  isthmus 
to  his  old  home.  The  ship  left  San  Fran- 
cisco on  Saturday,  and  the  next  day,  Sun- 
day, was  wrecked  at  Yankee  Blade,  and  two 
hundred  out  of  the  twelve  hundred  on  board 
lost  their  lives.  That  night  a  dense  fog  set- 
tled over  the  waters,  rendering  it  impossible 
for  any  one  to  see  the  length  of  the  ship,  and 
the   next   morning,   while  they   waited    for 


some  signs  that  would  enable  them  to  leave 
the  stranded  vessel,  the  curtain  lifted  from 
the  surface  of  the  water  almost  as  an  im- 
mense stage  curtain  would  have  done,  so 
far  as  appearances  went,  and  revealed  to 
those  on  board  a  strange  ship,  the  crew  of 
which  speedily  came  tO'  the  rescue  of  Mr. 
McFadden  and  his  unfortunate  companions. 
After  more  interesting  experiences  he  re- 
sumed his  homeward  journey. 

Major  McFadden  located  in  Richland 
county,  Ohio,  after  'his  return  from  Cali- 
fornia and  was  engaged  in  the  dry  goods 
business  there  until  October,  1861,  when  he 
enlisted  in  Company  H,  Fifty-ninth  Regi- 
ment, New  York  Vounteer  Infantry,  at 
Belleville.  He  was  mustered  into  the  service 
at  New  York  city  as  a  private  and  in  No- 
vember of  that  year  was  promoted  to  second 
lieutenant.  In  April,  1862,  he  was  made 
first  lieutenant;  in  October,  1862,  he  was 
raised  to  the  rank  of  captain ;  and  in  May, 
1864,  he  was  honored  by  promotion  to  be 
major  of  his  regiment,  in  which  office  he 
served  gallantry  until  he  was  finally  mus- 
tered out  of  service.  He  led  his  regiment  in 
a  memorable  fight  before  Richmond  in  1862 
and  fought  at  Bull  Run,  Antietam  and 
Fredericksburg.  He  fought  in  the  second 
Fredericksburg  battle  in  May,  1863,  .and  at 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg  he  commanded  his 
regiment.  Later  he  participated  in  the 
fights  in  Virginia,  in  the  ^\'ildenless,  at 
Spottsylvania  Court  House,  Cold  Harbor 
and  Petersburg.  June  22,  1864,  he  was 
made  a  prisoner  of  war  on  the  Jerusalem 
plank  road  and  was  confined  in  Libby  prison 
and  later  transferred  to  prisons  at  Macon, 
Georgia,  and  Charleston  and  Columbia, 
South  Carolina.  He  made  his  escape  at  Co- 
lumbia,   November    i,    1864,    and'  traveled 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


259. 


across  the  Carolinas  and  Tennessee  to 
Knoxville,  which  point  he  reached  after 
twenty-seven  nights  of  travel,  hiding  and 
resting  in  the  day  time.  Nathan  Bostwick, 
also  an  escaped  prisoner  of  war  and  also  a 
native  of  Knox  county,  Ohio,  was  his  com- 
panion on  this  memorable  journey.  At 
Knoxville  they  obtained  transportation  to 
their  old  home  in  Ohio,  which  they  visited 
on  a  thirty  days'  furlough,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  Major  McFadden  rejoined  his 
regiment  near  Richmond,  serving  with  it 
until  his  discharge  in  1865,  at  Syracuse, 
New  York.  His  escape  was  noteworthy  and 
a  brief  account  of  it  will  be  appreciated  in 
this  connection.  At  Columbia  the  prisoners 
were  kept  in  a  large  space  and  around  them 
was  drawn  a  dead  line,  eighty  feet  from 
which  guards  were  stationed  on  all  sides 
with  instructions  to  shoot  them  should  they 
attaiipt  to  cross  it.  Another  prisoner,  who 
had  been  detailed  tO'  carry  wood  outside 
of  the  prison  camp  was  led  to  quarrel  with 
]\Iajor  McFadden  and  accused  him  of  lazi- 
ness. Their  war  of  words  was  a  heated  one 
and  it  resulted  in  the  Major's  crossing  the 
dead  line,  supposedly  to  carry  wood.  After 
carrying  one  armful  he  started  on  his  long 
and  tedious  journey.  That  same  day  more 
than  one  hundred  men  escaped  in  a  similar 
manner.  On  their  travels  he  and  his  com- 
panion were  sheltered  and  guided  by  col- 
ored people,  upon  whose  fidelity  they  were 
able  to  rely  to  the  utmost. 

August  14,  1855,  Major  McFadden  mar- 
ried Emma  B.  Ward,  daughter  of  Levi  and 
Mary  (Freeman)  Ward.  Their  six  children 
named,  as  follows,  were:  Herbert,  de- 
ceased; William  C,  a  banker  at  Fargo, 
North  Dakota;  Charles,  deceased;  Mary  R., 
who  married  Dr.  Charles  H.  Wikenson,  of 


Canon,  Colorado,  and  is  now  dead;  Emma, 
deceased;  and  Carrie  Y.,  who  is  a  member' 
of  her  parents'  household. 

Mrs.  McFadden's  parents  were  early 
settlers  in  Knox  county,  Ohio.  Rufus 
Ward,  her  grandfather,  a  native  of  Worces- 
ter, Massachusetts,  fought  for  American  in- 
dependence in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.- 
Her  father  was  born  at  Brandon,  Vermont, 
in  1808,  her  mother  in  Connecticut,  in  181 5. 
Her  father  was  young  when  his  parents  re- 
moved to  Knox  county,  Ohio.  They  set- 
tled in  Miller  township  and  became  prosper- 
ous farmers.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ward  were 
married  in  1832,  and  had  five  children,  as 
follows:  Roxanna  S.,  who  married  Mitch- 
ell Young,  a  jeweler,  an  early  settler  at 
Mount  Vernon  and  a  soldier  in  the  Civil' 
war;  Mrs.  McFadden;  Sarah  E.,  who  mar- 
ried John  M.  Ewalt,  and  is  now  dead; 
Charles  Carroll,  of  Mount  Vernon:  and 
Freeman  F.,  who  is  a  practicing  physician, 
and  surgeon  and  lives  in  New  York  city. 


CHARLES   C.   L\MS. 

The  Mount  Vernon  Republican,  of 
Mount  Vernon,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  was 
established  in  1840.  It  was  continued  as  a 
weekly  until  in  1885,  when  it  became  a  semi- 
weekly,  attaining  a  large  circulation.  C.  F. 
&  W.  F.  Baldwin,  both  now  deceased,  were 
then  the  proprietors.  Col.  C.  F.  Baldwin 
being  the  editor.  A  few  years  later  the 
paper  was.  purchased  by  the  Republican 
Publishing  Company,  and  in  September, 
1897,  the  publication  of  a  daily  edition  was- 
begun.  The  next  year  the  word  "News" 
was  added  tO'  the  original  name,  the  publi- 


26o 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


•cation  of  tlie  company  now  being  known  as 
the  Mount  Vernon  Daily  Republican-News. 
The  paper  enjoys  a  wide  circulation  and  is 
classed  in  the  "Blue  Book"  as  among  the 
best  in  Ohio.  The  company  does  a  large 
job  printing  business.  A  linotype  machine 
was  installed  August  25,  1900.  Ben  x\mes 
is  president  of  the  company;  Charles  C. 
lams,  vice-president,  editor  and  manager; 
and  L.  A.  Culbertson,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. 

Charles  C.  lams  was  born  October  23, 
i860,  at  Tomah,  Monroe  county,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  came  to  Ohio  with  his  parents,  the 
late  Rev.  Francis  M.  and  Mary  M'.  lams, 
in  the  early  seventies.  November  11,  1875, 
the  family  located  at  Mount  Vernon,  Knox 
county,  where  Charles  C.  has:  since  made 
his  home.  In  December,  1875.  he  was  ap- 
prenticed to  learn  the  printer's  trade  in  the 
office  of  Park's  Floral  Magazine,  and  about 
fifteen  months  later  became  a  "de\'il"  in  the 
office  of  the  Mount  Vernon  Republican, 
then  a  weekly  paper  published  by  Wilkin- 
son &  Knabensh'ue.  He  passed  successively 
through  the  stages  of  pressman,  job  printer 
and  foreman,  and  in  1887  became  city  edi- 
tor, under  the  chief  editorship  of  the  late 
Col.  Charles  F.  Baldwin,  whom  he  suc- 
ceeded as  editor  in  the  fall  of  1894.  In 
January,  1900,  the  Republican  Publishing 
'Company,  publishers  of  the  Mount  Vernon 
Daily  Republican-News  and  the  Knox 
County  Semi-Weekly  Republican-News, 
was  organized  as  follows:  Ben  Ames, 
president;  Charles  C.  lams,  vice-president, 
editor  and  manager;  L.  A.  Culbertson,  sec- 
retary and  treasurer.  These  are  the  officers 
at  the  present  time. 

November  25,  1880,  Mr.  lams  married 
Miss  Katharine  M.  Hill,  daughter  of  J.  M. 


and  Elizabeth  Hill.  One  daughter,  Edythe, 
was  born  to  them.  Mp:.  lams  has  been  a 
life-long  and:  ardent  Republican  worker,  but 
has  held  no  public  office  except  trustee  of 
the  city  water  works,  to  which  he  was 
elected  in  the  spring  of  1899.  He  is  an  Odd 
Fellow,  Knight  of  Pythias  and  Mason,  hav- 
ing passed  the  chairs  in  subordinate  lodges 
of  these  orders,  as  well  as  in  the  chapter, 
council  and  commandery,  Knights  Templar. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum 
and  the  Mvstic  Shrine. 


HENRY  R.  ELLIOTT. 

Henry  R.  Elliott  was  for  many  years  a 
highly  respected  citizen  of  Berlin  township, 
and  it  is  most  appropriate  that  his  history 
be  given  in  this  volume  among  the  life  rec- 
ords of  men  who  have  conferred  honor  and 
dignity  upon  society  here.  He  was  born  in 
Berlin  township  December  4.  1835.  His 
parents,  Gideon  and  Rebecca  (Roberts)  El- 
liott, came  from  Maryland  to  Ohio  and  cast 
their  lot  with  the  early  settlers  of  Berlin 
township,  Knox  county.  Our  subject  was 
the  eldest  oi  four  children,  and  in  the  place 
of  his  birth  he  was  reared,  while  in  the  com- 
mon schools  he  pursued  his  education.  Early 
he  became  familiar  with  the  work  of  the 
farm  and  assisted  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
fields  on  his  father's  homestead  until  his 
marriage,  which  important  event  in  his  life 
occurred  May  'ay,  1859,  the  lady  of  his 
choice  being  Eliza  Elma  Willits.  She  was 
born  in  Berlin  township  August  10,  1837,  a 
daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Purvi- 
ance)  Willits.  Her  father  came  to  Knox 
county  in  its  pioneer  days  and  was  actively 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


261 


lidentified  with  ,'the  primitive  development 
here.  He  wedded  Miss  Purviance,  a  na- 
tive of  Behnont  county,  Ohio.  She  died 
when  about  thirty  years  of  age,  and  of  her 
three  children  one  died  in  infancy,  while 
David,  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Elliott,  is  also 
deceased.  She,  therefore,  is  the  only  one 
of  the  family  remaining.  She  was  reared 
in  Berlin  township,  and  in  the  district 
schools  began  her  education,  which  was  con- 
tinued in  Fredericktown,  while  for  one  year 
she  was  a  student  in  the  Wesleyan  Female 
College  at  Delaware,  Ohio.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Elliott  were  born  twO'  daughters,  La- 
mira  E.,  the  wife  of  William  H.  Rucker,  of 
Berlin  township,  by  whom  she  has  two  chil- 
dren, Elma  J.,  wife  of  Charles  W.  Cham- 
pion, at  Mount  Vernon,  and  Mabel  E. ;  and 
Mary  Ellen,  the  wife  of  J.  T.  Brown,  who 
is  living  near  Lexington,  Richland  county, 
and  has  two  children,  Elliott  Ray  and 
Delpha  E. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Elliott  took  his 
bride  to  the  Williams  farni  in  Berlin  town- 
ship, where  they  remained  for  a  year,  going 
thence  to  Ankenytown.  After  residing  there 
for  five  years  they  removed  to  a  farm  lying 
just  across  the  road  from  the  place  upon 
which  Mrs.  Elliott  now  resides,  and  in  1868 
took  up  their  abode  at  her  present  home.  He 
successfully  carried  on  general  farming  and 
stock  raising,  and  his  capable  management 
of  his  business  interests,  combined  with  un- 
flagging industry,  enabled  him  to  win  credit- 
able success.  From  the  time  he  started  out 
in  life  independently  he  owed  everything  he 
had  to  his  own  labor  and  diligence.  He  was 
a  very  stanch  Republican,  unswerving  in  his 
advocacy  of  the  party  and  taking  an  active 
part  in  its  work.  Of  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows  at  Fredericktown  he  was 


an  exemplary  member  and  by  that  society 
his  ranains  were  laid  to  rest  in  the  Friends' 
cemetery.  He  passed  away  March  20,  1900, 
and  the  community  mourned  the  loss  of  one 
of  its  valued  citizens,  his  neighbors  a  faith- 
ful friend  and  his  wife  and  daughters  a 
loving  husband  and  father.  Mrs.  Elliott  re- 
sides on  the  homestead,  where  she  owns  two 
hundred  and  fifty-six  acres  of  land  which  she 
rents,  deriving  therefrom  a  good  income. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
at  Fredericktown.  Her  entire  life  has  been 
passed  in  this  locality,  and  therefore,  owing 
to  her  many  excellencies  of  character,  her 
circle  of  friends  is  very  extensive. 


CHARLES  C.  JACKSON. 

For  a  number  of  years  a  representative  of 
the  commercial  interests  of  Mount  Vernon, 
Charles  C.  Jackson  is  one  of  the  most  highly 
respected  citizens  of  Knox  county,  and  his 
life  record  forms  an  important  chapter  in 
the  history  of  the  county.  He  was  born  at 
Mount  Liberty,  Knox  county,  July  27,  1869, 
a  son  of  John  W.  Jackson,  who  was  born 
in  Connecticut.  When  seven  years  of  age 
he  came  with  his  parents  to  the  Buckeye 
state,  and  in  1855  took  up  his  abode  in  Knox 
county,  becoming  one  of  the  influential  early 
settlers  of  the  locality.  On  coming  to  this 
state  his  parents  first  located  in  Knox  coun- 
ty, but  afterward  removed  to  Marion  coun- 
ty, and  after  a  time  spent  in  that  locality 
they  again  took  up  their  residence  in  Knox 
county.  Their  son,  John  W.  Jackson,  was  a 
gallant  soldier  during  the  Civil  war,  having 
served  for  four  years  in  the  Ninety-sixth 
Ohio  Infantry.  He  was  a  brave  and  faith- 
ful soldier,  and  during  his  military  service 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


was  ever  found  true  to  duty  and  to  the 
cause  which  he  espoused.  He  married  Mary 
Jane  Weaver,  of  Morrow  county,  Ohio,  and 
a  daughter  of  John  Line  \Veaver. 

Charles  Jackson,  the  subject  of  this  re- 
view, received  his  education  in  the  Mount 
Liberty  pubhc  schools,  and  after  putting 
aside  his  text-books  as  a  scholar  he  again 
entered  the  schoolroom  as  an  instructor,  fol- 
lowing the  teacher's  profession  for  twenty- 
two  terms  in  Knox  county,  and  for  eighteen 
terms  he  taught  continuously  in  one  school. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  he  was  an  efficient 
worker  in  the  task  of  instructing  the  young 
along  lines  of  mental  advancement  which  are 
the  source  of  preparation  for  the  responsible 
■duties  which  devolve  upon  each  individual 
as  he  puts  aside  the  text-books  to  take  up 
the  work  which  must  follow  the  labors  of 
the  schoolroom.  In  1895  '^^  was  elected  to 
the  responsible  position  of  county  recorder, 
but  in  1898  was  defeated  for  that  office  by 
three  votes,  although  he  ran  three  hundred 
and  eighty-three  votes  ahead  of  his  ticket. 
In  1898  he  purchased  the  business  of  the 
Howard  Harper  real-estate  and  insurance 
agency,  which  had  been  established  for  twen- 
ty years,  and  Mr.  Jackson  is  now  conduct- 
ing that  enterprise  with  a  high  degree  of 
success,  being  recognized  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ing and  influential  real-estate,  loan  and  in- 
surance men  of  Mount  Vernon.  A  leading 
feature  of  Mr.  Jackson's  business  is  as  the 
representative  of  the  Home  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  New  York,  for  which  he  has  ex- 
clusive control  of  Knox  and  adjoining  coun- 
ties, he  having  seven  agents  who  travel  solely 
in  the  interests  of  this  well-known  and  pop- 
ular company.  He  is  also  local  secretarv  and 
treasurer  of  the  Centerburg  Building  &  Loan 
Association  Company. 


The  marriage  of  Mr.  Jackson  was  cele- 
brated in  Knox  county,  Miss  Minna  B. 
Mitchell  becoming  his  wife.  Her  father, 
William  H.  Mitchell,  who  is  engaged  in 
mercantile  business,  was  born  in  Milford 
township,  Knox  county,  his  father  having 
been  among  its  earliest  pioneers,  locating 
here  in  the  '30s,  and  he  erected  the  first  brick 
house  in  the  township.  In  his  political  views 
our  subject  is  a  Republican,  and  socially  he 
is  a  meiTiber  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the 
Elks  and  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men. 
The  business  career  of  Mr.  Jackson  is  one 
that  should  encourage  others  to  press  on. 
Earnest  labor,  unabating  perseverance,  good 
judgment  and  a  laudable  ambition, — these 
are  the  elements  which  have  brought  him 
prosperity  and  have  made  him  one  of  the 
substantial  business  men  of  the  county.  His 
career  has  ever  been  such  as  to  warrant  the 
trust  and  confidence  of  the  business  world, 
for  he  has  ever  conducted  all  transactions 
on  the  strictest  principles  oi  honor  and  in- 
tegrity, while  his  devotion  to  the  public  good 
is  unquestioned  and  arises  from  a  sincere  in- 
terest in  his. fellow  men. 


HENRY  LAMBTON  CURTIS. 

From  the  earliest  period  in  the  develop- 
ment of  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio,  the  name  of 
Curtis  has  been  associated  with  the  historv' 
of  the  progressive  old  town.  The  excellent 
work  instituted  by  the  father,  Henry  B. 
Curtis,  was  carried  forward  by  the  son, 
Henry  Lambton  Curtis,  who,  faultless  in 
honor,  fearless  in  conduct  and  stainless  in 
reputation,  added  new  lustre  to  the  family 
record. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


263 


Mr.  Curtis  was  born  in  Mount  Vernoii, 
May  7,  1 84 1,  a  son  O'f  Henry  B.  and  Eliza- 
beth' (Hogg)  Curtis  and  the  youngest  of 
their  eight  children.  His  birth  occurred  at 
the  old  homestead  at  the  corner  of 
JMain  and  Chestnut  streets,  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Hon.  and  Mrs.  J.  C. 
Devin.  At  the  usual  age  he  began  his  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools,  of  Mount  Ver- 
non and  was  for  a  time  a  student  at  Sloane's 
Academy.  In  1856  he  entered  the  Ken}'on 
grammar  school,  now  known  as  Kenyon 
]\Iilitary  Academy,  where  he  was  prepared 
for  Kenyon  College,  which  institution  he  en- 
tered in  1858  and  at  wliicb  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1862.  While  in  college  he  became 
a  member  of  the  Psi  Upsilon  fraternity,  in 
the  welfare  of  which  he  was  deeply  inter- 
ested during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  The 
Civil  war  broke  out  while  Mr.  Curtis  was 
3'et  in  college  and  after  he  was  graduated  he 
enlisted.  May  13,  1864,  as:  a  private  in  the 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-second  Regiment, 
Ohio'  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  went  to  the 
front.  He  was  soon  promoted  to  be  quar- 
termaster sergeant,  a  position  which  be  ably 
filled  until  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  serv- 
ice at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  enlist- 
ment, September  21,  1864.  May  7,  1892, 
be  was  mustered  into  Joe  Hooker  Post,  No. 
21,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  of  Mount 
Vernon,  of  which  he  was  a  member  until 
his  death. 

After  his  return  from  his  service  in  the 
Avar  Mr.  Curtis  entered  the  law  office  of 
Curtis  &  Scribner,  and  having  mastered  the 
principles  of  jurisprudence  be  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1866.  He  was  identified  with 
the  law  firm  mentioned  for  a  number  of 
years  and  after  Mr.  Scribner's  removal  to 
Toledo  and  his  father's  retirement  from  act- 


ive practice  be  practiced  independently  until 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  the  Hon.  J.  C. 
Devin,  which  existed  seven  years,  until  the 
death  of  Henry  B.  Curtis,  when  be  retired 
from  the  profession  tO'  assume  charge  of  his 
father's  estate.  His  devotion  to  his  clients' 
interests  was  proverbial  and  he  prepared 
his  cases  with  great  thoroughness  and  pre- 
cision. While  practicing  his  profession  he 
was  never  an  active  pleader  at  the  bar  but 
devoted  his  time  and  attention  to  office 
work,  for  which  he  was  especially  adapted 
and  in  which  he  was  remarkably  proficient. 

M|r.  Curtis  was  a  man  of  resourceful 
ability  and  his  attention  was  by  no  means 
confined  to  one  line  of  labor.  Upon  the 
death  of  his  father  in  1885  he  was  elected 
the  letter's  successor  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  and  president  of  the 
Knox  National  Bank  and  remained  at  the 
head  of  that  sound  financial  institution  un- 
til his  own  death  twelve  years  later,  and 
during  that  period  his  admirable  business 
policy  fully  sustained  the  high  reputation 
which  the  bank  had  always  enjoyed.  He 
was  one  of  the  alumni  trustees  of  Kenyon 
College  and  a  member  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  Kenyon  Alumni  Association, 
and  was  a  director  of  the  M|ount  Vernon 
Gas  and  Coke  Company.  He  was  a.  mem- 
ber of  the  various  Masonic  bodies  of  the 
city,  and  he  was  one  of  the  original  incor- 
porators of  the  Masonic  Temple  Company, 
serving  from  the  time  O'f  its  organization  as 
a  member  of  its  board  of  trustees  and  as  a 
member  of  its  building  committee,  thus 
ha\'ing  much  to  do'  with'  the  erection  of  the 
Masonic  Temple. 

The  marriage  of  Mir.  Curtis  to  Miss 
Lucia  B.  Chittenden,  of  Keokuk,  Iowa, 
was  celebrated  October  28,  1868.     Of  this 


264 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


union  four  childreTi  were  born:  Ada  B. 
Curtis;  Carita  Belknap  Curtis,  who  died 
in  1895,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years; 
Henry  Barnes  Curtis,  oif  Mount  Vernon; 
and  Walter  Chittenden  Curtis,  who  was 
graduated  at  Kenyon  College  in  1901,  and 
is  now  in  the  real-estate  and  insurance  busi- 
ness at  Mount  Vernon.  Lucia  B.  (Chitten- 
den) Curtis  died  in  1880,  and  June  10, 
1885,  Mr.  Curtis  married  Elinor  C.  Shaw, 
who  survives  him.  He  is  also  survived  by 
one  sister,  Mrs.  Ella  C.  Devin. 

Mt.  Curtis,  whose  death  occurred  at  his 
home,  Round  Hill,  March  27,  1897,  was 
prominently  identified  with  the  best  inter- 
ests and  welfare  of  the  city  and  was  a  leader 
in  all  good  works  in  the  community.  A 
broad-minded,  public-spirited  man,  he  ac- 
quired large  business  interests  in  a  legiti- 
mate way  and  exerted  a  marked  influence 
upon  his  fellow  citizens.  Quiet  and  un- 
ostentatious, his  opinion  upon  many  public 
Cjuestions  was  eagerly  sought  and  had  great 
weight.  In  his  business  relations  he  was 
scrupulously  honest  and  in  his  home  life 
he  was  a  model  husband  and  father;  to 
everyone  he  was  a  polished  and  courteous 
gentleman.  He  was  ever  a  loyal  citizen,  in- 
terested in  the  welfare  of  his  cotmty,  state 
and  nation,  and  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war, 
as  has  been  seen,  he  gave  CA-idence  of  his 
patriotic  spirit  by  doing  a  soldier's  duty. 
He  was  prominently  connected  with  church 
work  and  was  a  liberal  supporter  of  religion, 
giving  generously  toward  the  maintenance 
not  only  of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church,  of 
which  he  was  a  life-long  member  and  for 
more  than  twenty-five  years  was'  connected 
with  its  vestry,  but  also  to  other  churches 
of  various  denominations.  In  educational 
matters  also  he  took  an  active  part,  assist- 


ing not  only  Kenyon  College  but  doing 
much  in  a  general  way  to  promote  popular 
learning.  It  has  been  said  of  him  that  he 
never  withlield  bis  support  and  co-o-peration 
from  any  movement  or  measure  which  he 
believed  would  promote  the  general  good^ 
and  it  seems  untimely  that  a  career  of  such 
wide  usefulness  and  helpfulness  should 
have  soi  soon  been  brought  tO'  an  end;  yet 
Mr.  Curtis  accomplished  more  in  the  busi- 
ness world  and  more  for  his  fellow  men  than 
many  useful  men  whose  lives  span  a  much 
longer  period  than  his.  He  left  tO'  his  fam- 
ily and  friends  an  untarnished  name  which 
they  consider  not  the  least  of  their  heritage 
from  him. 


HAUPHREY  SHERWOOD. 

Hauphrey  Sherwood,  whose  residence  is 
at  No.  708  East  Gambler  avenue.  Mount 
Vernon,  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  has  long 
been  one  of  the  most  respected  citizens  of 
Knox  county,  Ohio.  He  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Benson,  Rutland  county,  Vermont, 
November  19,  1806,  a  son  of  Stephen  and 
Rebecca   (Meacham)   Sherwood. 

Stephen  Sherwood,   Sr.,   father  of  Ste- 
phen Sherwood  and  grandfather  of  Hauph- 
rey Sherwood,  was  born  in  England  and 
came  to  America  at  the  age  of  ten  years 
with  his  parents'  and  two  brothers  and  ser\-ed 
in  the  patriot  army   in   the    Revolutionary 
war  under  General  Wiashington.     He  lived 
in   Connecticut    and    there    married   Betsy 
Raymond,    who  bore  him   children   named      ' 
Stephen,  Betsy,  Catharine,   Mlary  and  Re-     j 
becca.     Stephen    and    Rebecca  (Meacham)      j 
Sherwood  had  nine  children,  named  as  fol-     | 
lows :      Asa,     Lyman,     Reuben,     Cynthia, 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


265 


Hauphrey,  Salmon,  Marilla,  Stephen  Henry 
and  Sarah.  The  father  of  this  family  died 
at  the  age  of  thirty-nine  years,  when  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  five  years  old. 

Hauphrey  Sherwood,  Oif  this  review,  re- 
ceived but  limited  educational  advantages. 
He  states  that  he  attended  subscriptioii 
schools  to  some  extent,  but  from  the  time 
when  he  was  a  mere  lad  nearly  all  his 
waking  hours  were  given  over  to  work  with 
the  ax,  the  grub  hoe  and  agricultural  im- 
plements of  dififerent  kinds.  From  that 
time  forward  for  many  years  he  devoted 
himself  to  farming  and  occasionally  to 
other  country  work.  November  19,  1833, 
his  twenty-seventh  birthday,  he  was  chop- 
ping wood  on  James  Martin's  place.  In 
1834  he  went  back  to  Vermont  and  brought 
out  to  Ohio  with  him  his  mother  and  sister, 
who  kept  house  for  him  until  his  marriage. 
On  the  20th:  of  February,  1839,  Mr. 
Sherwood  married  Miss  Susan  Johnson,  a 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Phoebe  (Ad- 
ams) Johnson.  His  young  wife  died  eleven 
months  after  they  were  married  and  eventu- 
ally he  married  Antoinette  Wing,  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Phebe  (Terrill)  Wing. 
Again  left  a  widower,  he  was  married,  Au- 
gust 23,  1877,  to  Miss  Sarah  Larrabee, 
daughter  of  Lyman  and  Hannah  (Rose) 
Larrabee,  who  wasi  horn  in  Howard  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  November  19, 
1849.  Mrs.  Sherwood's  parents  came  to 
Knox  county  in  1833  from  Vermont.  Her 
mother  died  when  she  was  but  a  small  child 
and  she  was  raised  by  relatives  until  the 
age  of  fourteen,  when  she  entered  the  family 
of  Harrison  Greer,  with  whom  she  lived 
until  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  Her  father 
had  two  brothers  and  a  sister,  and  the  latter, 
while  a  student  at  OswegO'  College,  in  the 


state  of  New  York,  eloped  with  her  lover 
and  was  married. 

Hauphrey  Sherwood  has  been  a  life- 
long member  of  the  Congregational  church. 
As  a  Democrat  he  cast  his  first  presidential 
vote  for  General  Jackson  in  1828.  Later 
he  became  a  Whig  and  then  gradually  de- 
veloped thbse  political  principles,  which 
made  him  a  Republican  when  that  party 
was  organized,  though  he  still  retains  the 
same  general  views  as  in  Jackson's  time. 
For  a  man  of  his  age  he  possesses  unusual 
health,  and  it  has  not  beett  necessary  for 
him  to  take  any  medicine  during  the  past 
eight  years.  He  is  fond  of  out-door  exer- 
cise and  during  the  warmer  months  of  the 
year  he  takes  care  of  a  large  double  lot 
surrounding  his  residence,  the  grass  on 
which  he  cuts  not  only  with  a  lawn  mower 
but  when  occasion  requires  with  a  scythe 
in  the  old  familiar  way.  When  he  began  to 
raise  a  beard  there  were  no  barbers  in  his 
vicinity  and  he  learned  to  shave  himself 
and  has  done  so'  regularly  down  to  the  pres- 
ent time;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that 
his  hand  is  strong  enough  and  true  enough 
to  do  the  work  safely  and  successfully  at 
his  advanced  age.  He  has.  many  old  friends, 
who  join  the  writer  in  the  hope  that  he  may 
survive  many  happy  years. 


ALBERT  WRIGHT. 

Albert  ^^^right  is  a  well-known  agri- 
cuturist  of  Knox  county,  and  the  success 
which  he  has  achieved  is  the  merited  reward 
of  his  own  labors.  He  has  worked  his  wav 
steadily  upward,  overcoming  all  the  diffi- 
culties and  obstacles  in  his  path  by  de- 
termined purpose.     His  resolute  spirit  has 


266 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


enabled  him  to  advance  steadily,  and  to-day 
he  is  one  of  the  most  substantial  citizens  of 
the  community,  his  labors  ha\'ing  brought 
to  him  a  handsome  competence. 

Mr.  Wright  is  a  native  son  of  Mount 
Vernon,  his  birth  having  here  occurred  on 
the  9th  O'f  April,  1846.  His  father,  William 
Wright,  was  born  in  Suffolk  county,  Eng- 
land, and  came  to  America,  landing  in  New 
York  city,  but  after  a  few  years'  residence 
in  the  metropolis  he  made  his  way  to  Gam- 
bier,  Ohio,  coming  to  this^  state  with  a  four- 
horse  team.  The  following  fall  after  his  ar- 
rival here  he  was  married  to  Mary  Ransom, 
and  tliey  became  the  parents  of  twehe  chil- 
dren, seven  sons  and  five  daughters,  and 
eight  of  the  family  are  no^v  living.  For  a 
time  after  coming  to  the  Buckeye  state 
Mr.  Wright  was  employed  1jy  Bishop  Mc- 
Ilvaine,  after  which  he  came  to  Moimt  Ver- 
non, where  he  owned  the  first  house  in  the 
city.  In  i860  he  leased  the  college  land  at 
Gambler  and  removed  tO'  that  city,  and  there 
his  death  occurred  in  1885,  passing  away  in 
the  faith  of  the  Baptist  church,  of  which  he 
was  a  worthy  and  acceptable  member. 

Albert  Wright,  whose  name  introduces 
this  review,  was  a  lad  of  fourteen  years 
when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Gambler, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  thereafter  he  was 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  with  his 
father.  After  the  latter's  death  he  pur- 
chased the  interest  of  the  other  heirs  in  the 
old  homestead  and  has  ever  since  carried  on 
operations  at  the  old  home  place,  which 
consists  oi  sixty  acres  of  fertile  and  well- 
improved  land,  and  there  he  is  extensively 
engaged  in  fanning  and  stock-raising.  His 
capable  management,  his  untiring  industry 
and  his  thrift  have  secured  to  him  marked 


success,  and  he  is  widely  known  as  a  most 
enterprising  and  progressive  agriculturist. 

Mr.  Wright  has  been  twice  married. 
First  he  wedded  Miss  Elizabeth  Thorp,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  two  children, 
Edgar  T.  and  Willie.  For  his  second  wife 
our  subject  chose  Ella  South  Piper.  Mr. 
Wright  hasi  a  very  wide  acquaintance  in 
this  section  of  the  state,  and  his  honesty  in 
all  trade  transactions,  his  reliability  in  dis- 
charging his  duties  of  citizenship  and  his 
fidelity  to  the  interests  of  private  life  have 
\\on  him  marked  esteem. 


JAMES  W.  DAVIS. 

This  name  is  one  known  throughout 
Knox  county,  for  here  Mr.  Davis  has  passed 
his  whole  life  and  here  his  parents  lived  for 
many  decades.  He  was  born  in  Monroe 
township,  June  9,  1849,  ^  son  of  Jacob  and 
Elizabeth  (Downs)  Davis.  The  father  was 
born  near  Hagerstown,  M'aryland,  on  the 
4th  of  April,  1800,  and  died  on  the  12th  of 
September,  1857.  He  was  a  son  of  Hairy 
and  Christina  (Swope)  Davis.  The  for- 
mer was  born  in  Germany,  and  there 
learned  the  tailor's  trade,  but  when  a  young 
man  he  left  the  home  and  friends  of  his 
youth  and  came  tO'  the  United  States,  lo- 
cating in  Maryland.  In  later  life  he  en- 
gaged in  the  milling  business,  owning  flour 
mills  on  the  Potomac  river.  In  1808  he 
made  his  way  to  the  Buckeye  state,  locating 
in  Knox  county,  and  a  short  time  afterward 
he  was  here  joined  by  his  wife  and  family, 
his  son  Jacob  being  then  a  lad  of  eight 
years,  and  they  made  the  journey  on  horse- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


267 


back.  After  his  arrival  in  Knox  county 
Henr)-  Davis  opened  a  flour  mill  in  Mount 
Vernon,  and  as  the  years  passed  by  he  be- 
came known  as  one  of  the  prominent  and 
leading  business  men  of  the  county. 

Jacob  Davis,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
became  his  father's  assistant  after  attaining 
to-  mature  years,  and  from  that  time  until 
his  twenty-seventh  year  he  had  almost  en- 
tire charge  of  his  father's  extensive  busi- 
ness interests.  In  1827,  after  his  marriage, 
he  removed  to  Monroe  townsliip,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  the  milling  business  on  his 
own  account.  Success  abundantly  rewarded 
his  well-directed  efforts  and  he  soon  took 
rank  among  the  leading  business  men  of  his 
locality.  He  became  the  owner  oi  three 
flouring-mills,  a  carding-mill,  a  woolen-fac- 
tory, wdiere  he  was  extensively  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  cloth,  and  also  became 
the  owner  of  about  one  thousand  acres  O'f 
land,  but  the  latter  was  taken  from  him 
through  a  partner's  loss  and  by  going  se- 
curity for  others.  Although  not  a  membei' 
of  any  religious  denomination,  he  was  a  lib- 
eral supporter  of  all  churches,  the  cause  of 
Christianity  ever  finding  in  him  a  firm 
friend.  His  political  support  was  given  to 
the  Democracy,  and  for  many  years  he  held 
township  offices.  Mr.  Davis  was  married 
in  IMount  Vernon,  Miss  Elizabeth  Downs 
becoming  his  wife.  She  was  born  in  Clin- 
ton township,  Knox  county,  a  daughter  of 
George  and  Rebecca  (Thrift)  Downs,  both 
natives  of  the  Old  Dominion.  After  coming 
to  the  Buckeye  state  the  father  acquired 
considerable  land  in  Clinton  township, 
which  is  now  known  as  the  Sperry  fann, 
and  also  became  the  owner  of  six  hundred 
and  forty  acres  in  Monroe  township.     Mrs. 


Davis  was  an  excellent  business  woanan, 
and  after  her  husband's  death  she  succeeded 
in  retrie\-ing  many  of  his  lost  possessions. 
They  became  the  parents  of  nine  children, 
five  of  whom  are  now  living,  namely :  Cath- 
erine, the  wife  of  Silas  Young,  of  MIonroe 
township;  Harriet,  who  makes  her  home 
with  her  sister,  Mrs.  Young;  Margaret,  the 
wife  of  W.  R.  Yo'ung,  also  of  Monroe 
township;  Christiana,  the  wife  of  John  Mc- 
Ardle,  of  Buckeye  City,  Knox  county;  and 
James  W.,  the  subject  of  this-  review.  The 
mother  of  this  family  passed  away  in  death 
in  September,  1873. 

James  W.  Davis  accphred  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools  of  his  locality, 
and  afterward  became  a  student  in  the  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University,  entering  that  insti- 
tution with  the  intention  of  preparing  him- 
self for  a  profession,  but  after  two  terms 
there  spent  he  was  called  home  on  account 
of  his  brother's  sickness.  In  accordance 
with  the  wish  of  his  mother,  he  then  took 
up  the  quiet  duties  of  the  farm,  which  has 
ever  since  claimed  his  time  and  attention. 
After  his  marriage  he  located  on  a  tract  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  his  present 
homestead,  a  part  of  which  was  willed  to 
him  by  his  mother,  and  the  ranainder  he 
secured  by  purchasing  the  interest  of  the  re- 
maining heirs.  In  1882  he  also  purchased 
the  old  home  farm  of  one  hundred  and  thir- 
teen  acres,  and  in  addition  he  owns  a  tract 
of  seventy-five  acres  in  the  northeast  cor- 
ner of  Monroe  township,  all  of  which  is  un- 
der his  immediate  supervision.  His  home 
farm  is  one  of  the  best  improved  in  the 
township,  and  the  many  valuable  improve- 
ments which  now  adorn  the  place  stand  as 
monuments  to  his  thrift  and  abilitv.     He  is 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


very  enterprising  and  progressive  in  his 
methods,  and  his  well-directed  efforts  and 
unfaltering  perseverance  have  succeeded  in 
winning  for  him  a  handsome  competence. 
On  the  14th  of  December,  1876,  was 
celebrated  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Davis  and 
Miss  Jennie  Daymude,  a  native  of  Mon- 
roe township  and  a  daughter  of  William 
Daymude,  who  was  called  to  his  final  rest  in 
1 86 1.  The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis 
has  been  brightened  and  blessed  by  the  pres- 
ence of  five  children,  four  of  whom  still  sur- 
vive,— Elmer,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Mbn- 
roe  township;  and  Herman,  Belle  and  Will- 
iam, at  home.  Mr.  Davis  casts  his  ballot 
in  favor  of  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  for  over  twenty  years 
he  has  faithfully  served  his  township  as 
clerk.  In  his  social  relations  he  is  a  m'cm- 
ber  of  Mount  Zion  Lodge,  No.  9,  F.  &  A. 
M.,  of  Mmmt  Vernon ;  Clinton  Chapter,  No. 
26,  and  Clinton.  Commandery  No.  5,  also  of 
Mount  Vernon  ;  and  of  the  Grange,  No.  874, 
P.  of  H. 


JOHN  COCHREN. 

One  of  the  earliest  families  making  per- 
manent settlement  in  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
was  that  now  worthily  represented  in  this 
section  of  the  state  by  the  gentleinan  whose 
name  forms  he  heading  of  this  sketch.  For 
many  years  the  Cochrens  have  been  identi- 
fied with  the  agricultural  interests  of  this 
community,  aiding  materially  in  the  de- 
\-elopment  O'f  the  resources  of  this  section 
and  taking  an  active  part  in  everything  cal- 
culated to  promote  the  welfare  and  happi- 
ness of  the  majority. 

John  Cochren  was  born  in  Mount  Ver- 


non, Kno'x  coimty,  on  the  14th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1 82 1.  His  father,  William  Cochren, 
was  a  native  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  but  when 
a  small  boy  he  crossed  the  briny  deep  to  the 
new  world.  Shortly  after  their  arrival  in 
America  his  parents  died,  and  Mr.  Cochren 
was  thus  early  left  an  orphan,  a  stranger 
in  a  strange  land,  and  when  but  a  lad  he 
was  obliged  to  begin  the  active  battle  of  life 
on  his  own  account.  When  a  young  man 
he  came  to  Knox  comity,  Ohio,  where  he 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  but  remov- 
ing to  Henr^r  county,  Illinois,  in  1850,  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  passing  away 
at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  He  was 
married  in  this  county  to  Lydia  Moriarity, 
a  native  of  Knox  cotmty,  her  parents  hav- 
ing been  among  the  early  pioneers  of  this 
locality.  Her  father,  John,  came  tO'  tliis 
state  from  Ne^v  York.  She  reached  the 
ripe  old  age  of  eighty-four  years,  dying  in 
Henry  county,  Illinois. 

John  Cochren,  the  eldest  of  twelve  chil- 
dren, and  the  only  representative  oi  the  fam- 
ily in  Knox  county,  spent  his  early  life  in 
the  city  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  on;  the  re- 
I  moval  of  the  family  to  Howard  to\vnship 
he  accompanied  them  hither,  where  he  re- 
mained until  June,  1846,  when  he  enlisted  in 
Company  B,  Second  Ohio'  Regiment,  for 
service  in  the  Mexican  war.  His  military 
career  covered  a  period  of  one  year,  during 
which  time  he  was  promoted  from  a  private 
to  corporal,  and  he  ser\'ed  under  General 
Taylor  and  Colonel  .  George  Morgan,  of 
Mount  Vernon.  He  is  now  the  sole  sur- 
vivor of  Company  B  living  in  Knox  comi- 
ty, and  only  one  other,  George  W^oolford, 
was  living  at  the  time  of  Colonel  Morgan's 
death.  After  the  close  of  hostilities  Mr. 
Cochren    returned    to    Howard    township. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


269 


where  he  engaged  for  a  time  in  teaming  and 
at  any  occupation  that  would  yield  him  an 
honest  living.  In  the  spring  of  1850  he  re- 
moved to  Morrow  county,  Ohio,  but  after 
a  residence  there  of  seven  years  he  came 
again  tO'  Howard  township,  purchasing  in 
1857  the  farm  on  which  he  now  resides. 
His  home  place  consists  of  tifty-one  and  a 
half  acres  of  land,  and  he  also  owns  a  sixty- 
two-acre  tract  in  Harrison  township,  Knox 
county. 

April  6,  1850,  in  Howard  township,  Mr. 
Cochren  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Delia  A.  Welker,  a  member  of  a  prominent 
early  family  of  this  locality,  her  father, 
Powell  Welker,  having  taken  up  his  resi- 
dence here  before  the  organization  of  the 
county.  Six  children  have  blessed  the  union 
of  our  subject  and  wife,  namely:  Rose,  the 
wife  of  Lewis  Lepley ;  L)dia.  the  wife  of 
John  O.  Harris ;  Flora  Alice,  the  deceased 
wife  of  Fletcher  Porter;  Craig,  whose  wife 
was  Jincy  Lima  and  who  resides  on  the 
farm  on  which  his  mother  was  born,  in  Har- 
rison township;  and  Newton  and  Jasper, 
twins.  The  former  married  Miss  Dell 
Thompson,  and  for  his  wife  the  latter  chose 
Aliss  Clarinda  Drake.  All  of  the  children 
reside  in  Knox  county.  Mr.  Cochren  is 
now  one  of  the  oldest  native  sons  of  the 
comity,  where  he  has  spent  his  entire  life 
with  the  exception  of  eight  years,  one  in 
the  Mexican  war  and  se\'en  years  in  Mor- 
row county,  and  he  is  also  the  only  repre- 
sentative of  the  Second  Ohio  Regiment,  in 
which  he  rendered  such  valuable  aid  to  his 
countr}-,  in  Knox  county.  He  is  a  life-long 
Democrat  and  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church,  in  which  he  has  held  the  position  of 
trustee  for  manv  vears.     He  is  a  valued  fac- 


tor in  church  and  social  circles,  where  his 
upright  life  and  genial  temperament  make 
him  a  general  favorite. 


GEORGE  M.  DUTT. 

George  M^arshall  Dutt,  now  deceased, 
was  born  in  Northampton  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  the  22d  of  February,  185 1,  a  son 
of  Reuben  and  Sarah  (Good)  Dutt.  His 
early  boyhood  days  were  spent  in  his  native 
state,  and  in  its  public  schools  he  pursued 
his  education.  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  how- 
ever, he  came  to  Ohio,  locating  in  Marshall- 
ville.  Subsequently  he  learned  the  car- 
riage-making trade  in  Ashland,  serving  an 
apprenticeship  to  Mr.  Ogburn,  and  contin- 
uously followed  that  pursuit  until  1881, 
when  he  came  to  Mount  Vernon.  Upon  his 
arri\-al  here  he  secured  a  position  in  the  car 
shops  of  the  Cleveland,  Akron  &  Columbus 
Railroad  Company  and  there  worked  as  a 
car  carpenter  until  his  death.  He  was  an 
excellent  mechanic,  industrious,  reliable  and 
capable,  and  for  twelve  >-ears  he  occupied 
the  same  position— a  fact  which  indicates 
his  efficiency  and  the  confidence  reposed  in 
him. 

On  the  1 8th  of  June,  1876,  occurred  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Dutt  and  'Miss  Mary  Al- 
mira  Bost,  a  daughter  O'f  Mahlon  and  Jane 
Hersey  (Beans)  Bost.  She  was  born  De- 
cember 18,  1857,  in  Carroll  county,  Ohio, 
and  their  marriage  was  blessed  with  six 
children :  Roy  Queen,  who  was  born  April 
5,  1877,  and  married  Hattie  Scott;  Bessie 
M.,  who  was  born  October  11,  1881,  and  is 
now   the  wife  of  John   Bunyan  Hyatt,   of 


270 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


Mount  Vernoii;  Earl  Cranston,  born  April 
lo,  1885;  Harold,  born  January  21,  1887; 
Ethel  May,  bom  June  7,  1889;  and  George 
Lester,  born  January  6,  1892.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  eldest  two  all  are  still  with 
their  mother. 

In  1893  Mr.  Dutt  became  a  member  of 
the  National  Union.  His  political  support 
was  given  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  but  he  never  sought  office  as 
a  reward  for  party  fealty.  He  belonged  tO' 
the  Miethodist  Episcopal  church  of  Monnt 
Vernon,  and  in  that  faith  he  died  on  the  i8th 
of  July,  1896.  His  life  was  quietly  passed, 
yet  it  contained  many  lessons  worthy  of 
emulation,  notably  his  fidelity  to  duty,  his 
trustworthiness  and  his  resolution  in  de- 
fending a  course  which  he  believed  to  be 
right. 


JAMES  M.  BERRY. 

It  is  not  alone  the  man  who  bestows  rich 
gifts  for  charity  or  for  public  improvement 
that  is  of  greatest  aid  to  his  fellow  men,  for 
he  whoi  promotes  important  business  inter- 
ests may  also  contribute  largely  tO'  the  gen- 
eral prosperity.  In  this  direction  Mr.  Berry 
has  performed  a  work  which  is  creditable, 
for  aS'  a  dealer  in  a  breed  of  fine  horses  he 
has  done  much  to  improA'e  the  grade  of 
stock  raised  in  Knox  county,  where  prices 
have  been  augmented  and  the  prosperity  of 
the  farmer  has  thereby  been  increased.  He 
has  a  wide  reputation  as  a  dealer  in  fine 
bores  and  for  many  years  carried  on  this 
business  in  Howard  township. 

Mr.  Berry  was  born  in  this  township, 
August  23,  1854,  and  is  the  second  child  of 
John  and  Mary  A.  (Critchfield)  Berry.     He 


was  reared  in  this  locality  and  pursued  his 
education  in  the  schools  of  that  day,  remain- 
ing at  home  until  he  had  attained  his  ma- 
jority, when  he  began  farming  on  his  own 
account.  In  1889  he  began  dealing  in'  fine 
horses,  having  considerable  racing  stock. 
He  built  a  large  barn  in  Howard  and  kept 
there  abont  eight  horses.  He  owned  the 
noted  pacer  Edinburg,  Razor  Blade  and 
Jack,  all  horses  of  hig-'h  grade.  The  first 
has  a  record  of  2:20,  the  second  of  2:19)4 
and  the  third  of  2:1714.  He  also  owned 
other  good  horses  and  his  business  was 
prospering  when,  on  the  27th  of  April, 
1899,  he  suffered  serious  loss  by  fire,  his 
barns  being  burned  to  the  ground  and  a 
number  of  horsesi  lost  their  lives  in  this 
catastrophe.  His  loss  amounted  to  ten 
thousand  dollars,  with  only  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  insurance.  Mr.  Berry  was  offered 
thirty-five  hundred  dollars  for  Edinburg 
the  day  he  fell  dead  on  the  track  at  Lan- 
caster just  after  winning  a  heat,  and  pre- 
vious to  that  time  he  had  been  offered  four 
thousand  dollars.  With  characteristic  en- 
ergy he  set  to  work  to  retrieve  his  lost  pos 
sessions  and  continued  as  a  dealer  in  horses. 
He  is  now  the  owner  of  two  fine  stallions 
Tom  Howard,  a  pacer  with  a  record  of 
2:1934,  while  the  other  is  Sam  Shire,  an 
imported  English  draft  horse.  In  connection 
with  his  brother,  P.  A.  Berry,  he  owns  a 
farm  of  two  hundred  and  thirteen  acres  in 
Howard  township,  which  he  manages. 

On  the  29th  of  December,  1889,  Mr. 
Berry  married  Miss  Eva  Britton.  a  daugh- 
ter Oif  Lewis  and  Elizabeth  (Critchfield) 
Britton,  in  whose  family  she  was  the  fourth 
in  order  of  birth.  Her  girlhood  days  were 
passed  in  Howard  township  and  her  edu- 
cation was  acquired  in  the  public  schools. 


;  I 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


Mr.  an<l  Mrs.  Berry  now  have  two  children, 
Arthur  Britton,  born  in  1894,  and  Mary 
Ehzabeth,  bom  in  1896.  Their  home  is  a 
pleasant  residence  in  Howard,  which  was 
erected  by  Mr.  Berry  in  1889.  His  politi- 
cal support  is  given  the  Democracy,  and  for 
seven  years  he  was  trustee  of  Howard  town- 
ship, his  services  being  most  acceptable  and 
commendable.  He  is  a  very  busy  man  and 
the  multiplicity  of  his  duties  leave  him  very 
little  leisure  time,  and  to  this  quality  of  his 
character  may  be  attributed  his  success. 


JOHN  HO\\^\RD  NORRICK,  M.  D. 

In  this  enlightened  age  ^\•hen  men  of  in- 
dustry, energy  and  merit  are  rapidly  push- 
ing their  way  to  the  front,  those  who'  by 
their  own  individual  efforts  have  won  favor 
and  fortune  may  propertly  claim  recogni- 
tion. When  success  is  gained  in  the  medi- 
cal fraternity  it  is  by  reason  of  personal 
merit  for  the  accident  of  inherited  fortune 
or  of  influential  family  can  avail  naught  in 
a  calling  where  strong  mentality,  close  ap- 
plication and  profound  knowledge  must 
win  advancement.  The  qualities  of  the 
capable  physician  are  largely  possessed  by 
Dr.  Xorrick,  who  for  about  three  years  has 
been  practicing  in  Fredericktown. 

The  Doctor  was  born  in  Jelloway,  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  May  17,  1867,  and  is  a  son 
of  John  and  Elizal>eth  (Arbaugh)  Norrick. 
His  paternal  grandparents  were  Daniel  and 
Elizabeth  (Capper)  Norrick,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Pennsylvania  and  were  of 
German  extraction.  Their  son,  John  W. 
Norrick,  was  born  in  Harrison  county, 
Ohio,    in     1825,  and   in  his  native  county 


spent  the  days  of  his  childhood  and  was 
married.  About  1848  he  came  with  his 
family  to  Knox  cotmty,  locating  on  a  fanh 
near  Jelloway.  He  was  a  cabinet-maker  by 
trade  and  gave  the  greater  part  of  his  at- 
tention to  cabinet-making  and  undertaking, 
although  he  superintended  the  \\-ork  oif  his 
farm,  upon  which  he  resided  until  1887, 
when  he  sold  his  property  and  took  up  liis 
alx>de  with  his  son  Thomas  in  Amity,  where 
he  is  now  living.  In  early  life  he  gave  his 
political  support  to  the  Whig  party,  and  on 
its  dissolution  he  became  a  strong  Republi- 
can, continuing,  to  aid  in  the  advancement  of 
that  party  until  1885,  since  which  time  he 
has  1>een  allied  with  the  Prohibition  party. 
He  was  an  active  worker  in  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  church  until  1887,  when  he 
joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
His  wife  Avas  born  in  Harrison  cotmty, 
Ohio,  in  1829,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Mary  ( Stonecipher)  Arbaugh,  who  were 
of  German  lineage  and  removed  from  ]Mary- 
land  to  Harrison  county.  ]\Irs.  Norrick 
died  in  1896,  in  the  faith  of  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  church,  of  which  she  had  long' 
been  a  consistent  member.  UntO'  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Norrick  were  born  twelve  children,  of 
whom  seven  are  now  living:  Daniel  \\'.,  of 
Perr\wille,  Ohio ;  Melinda,  the  wife  of  C.  J. 
Beeman,  of  Amity;  Elias  L.,  a  carpenter,  of 
St.  Louis,  Missouri ;  William  C,  also  a 
merchant  of  Amity;  Thomas  O.,  who  fol- 
lows carpentering  in  Amity;  J.  H.,  of  this 
review;  and  Minnie  B.,  the  wife  of  Loren 
Weirick,  of  Muncie,  Indiana. 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  the  majority 
of  successful  business  and  professional  men 
come  from  the  farms.  The  free,  untram^ 
eled  life,  the  invigorating  influences  of  na- 
ture, produce  usually  a  strong  physical  de- 


1272 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


velopnient  that  well  prepare  men  in  later 
life  to  meet  the  demands  that  different  vo- 
cations bring.  On  the  old  homestead  the 
Doctor  was  reared,  and  his  preliminary  edu- 
cation, acquired  in  tlie  common  schools,  was 
supplemented  by  study  in  the  graded  school 
in  Amity.  In  the  autumn  of  1888  he  took 
up  the  study  of  medicine,  reading  under  the 
•direction  of  Dr.  L.  H.  Conley,  then  of 
Amity,  but  now  of  Gas  City,  Indiana.  In 
September,  1890,  he  matriculated  in  the 
Starling  Medical  College,  of  Columbus, 
and  in  March,  1892,  was  graduated  in  that 
institution.  When  May  came  he  was  estab- 
lished in  an  office  in  Butler,  Richland  coun- 
ty, where  he  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen 
profession.  On  the  ist  of  October,,  follow- 
ing, he  removed  to  Pennsville,  Morgan 
county.  Ohio,  where  he  remained  until  Au- 
gT.ist,  1899,  when  he  came  to  Frederick- 
tcwn,  where  he  has  built  up  a  lucrative  and 
gradually  increasing  practice. 

On  the  2ist  of  April,  1892,  occurred  the 
marriage  of  Dr.  Norrick  and  ^liss  Lena 
Bartlett,  a  native  of  Mount  A'ernon  and  a 
daughter  of  George  Bartlett,  a  ]>rominent 
farmer  of  Mtonroe  township.  Two  children 
grace  this  union,  Grace  ^l.  and  George  \V. 
The  parents  hold  membership  in  the  Metho- 
dist and  Baptist  churches  respectively,  and 
the  Doctor  belongs  to  Ellicott  Lodge,  No. 
267,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  in  which  society  he  passed 
the  chairs  at  Pennsville.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  board  of  education  in  Fredericktown 
and  is  ever  ready  to  endorse  progressive 
measures  for  the  schools,  realizing  how  im- 
portant is  education  as  a  preparation  for 
life  work.  He  keeps  in  touch  with  the 
progress  that  is  being  made  in  his  profes- 
sion through  his  membership  in  the  Ameri- 
can ]\Iedical  Association,  and    is    quick  to 


adopt  any  improvements  that  will  render 
more  effective  his  lal>ors  in  behalf  of  man- 
kind. 


HON.  EDWARD  A.  CAVIN. 

Hon.  Edward  A.  Cavin,  deceased,  was 
born  in  Ashland,  Ohio,  on  the  i8th  of 
March,  1848,  a  son  of  Edwin  and  Mary 
(Sheckles)  Cavin.  The  father  was  a  native 
of  County  Caven,  Ireland,  but  when  only 
five  years  of  age  he  was  brought  tO'  this 
country.  When  a  young  man  he  located  in 
Ohio,  and  at  one  time  owned  a  large  tract 
of  land  in  Ashland  county.  His  wife's  peo- 
ple resided  near  Bellville,  Richland  county, 
Ohio,  where  they  were  also-  large  land 
owners. 

Edward  A.  Cavin,  one  of  twelve  chil- 
dren, entered  the  Civil  war  as  a  drummer 
boy  when  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  in 
1861,  entering  Company  B,  Sixty-fourth 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  Sherman's  Bri- 
gade. In  1864  he  became  a  regularly  enlist- 
ed soldier,  was  with  Sherman  on  his  mem- 
orable march  to  the  sea  and  his  services 
extended  through  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and 
Texas.  After  the  close  of  hostilities  the 
Fourth  Army  Corps,  of  which  our  subject 
was. a  member,  was  sent  to  Texas,  and  this 
order  caused  not  a  little  trouble  among  the 
men,  as  they  advocated  that  they  had  en- 
listed to  put  down  the  Rebellion  and  not  to 
take  part  in  any  possible  trouble  with  Texas, 
believing  tliat  those  who  had  enlisted  at  the 
eleventh  hour  should  be  sent  out  and  not  the 
veterans.  They  spent  about  two  months  in 
New  Orleans  and  during  their  six  months' 
stay  in  the  soi'ith  they  suffered  many  hard- 
ships  and    privations.       While    there    Mr. 


S.C^,(^aMzi 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


Cavin  contracted  malarial  fever,  from  which 
he  never  fully  recovered  and  it  eventually 
caused  his  death.  After  his  return  from  the 
army  he  made  his  way  to  his  old  home  in 
Ashland,  and  soon  afterward  engaged  in 
the  sewing  machine  business  in  Mount  Ver- 
non, which  line  of  trade  he  followed  for 
two  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period 
he  engaged  in  the  sale  of  organs  and  pianos, 
traveling  over  the  state  of  Ohio,  and  he 
soon  became  recognized  as  one  of  the  best 
salesman  in  his  line  on  the  road.  He  pos- 
sessed an  extremely  genial  and  social  na- 
ture, with  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  wit, 
and  was  always  welcome  at  any  social  gath- 
ering. In  his  political  affiliations  he  was  a 
stanch  supporter  of  the  Democracy,  and  in 
many  election  campaigns  throughout  vari- 
ous parts  of  Ohio  he  made  speeches  in  favor 
of  the  party,  and  his  addresses  were  al- 
ways sparkling  with_  wit  and  humor.  At 
one  time  his  name  was  before  the  Demo- 
cratic con\-ention  of  this  count}'  for  repre- 
sentative. 

Mr.  Cavin  was  married  in  1869.  the  lady 
of  his  choice  being  INIiss  Clarinda  Hollister, 
a  daughter  of  Almon  and  Nancy  (INIyers) 
Hollister,  of  Milford  township,  Knox  coun- 
ty. The  father  was  born  in  Connecticut, 
but  when  a  boy  he  accompanied  his  parents 
on  their  removal  to  Knox  county,  Ohio. 
Mrs.  Cavin's  maternal  grandmother,  iicc 
Coleman,  was  a  tirst  cousin  of  Martha 
Washington,  and  her  grandfather,  Jacob 
Myers,  assisted  in  running  up  the  first  stars 
and  stripes  ever  raised.  The  unimi  nt  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Cavin  was  blessed  with  three  chil- 
dren:  Ollie,  at  home:  Wilda,  the  wife  of 
Frank  Scott,  of  Mount  Vernon ;  and  Jo- 
sephine. Mr.  Cavin  was  a  kind,  indulgent 
husband  and  father,  had  a  kind  word   for 


every  one  he  met  and  \\'as  generous  tO'  a 
fault.  He  had  a  very  affectionate  disposition, 
always  read^  to  forgive  and  trying  to  make 
every  one  around  him  cheerful  and  happy. 
His  aim  was  to  please,  and  his  life  was  ever 
like  a  ray  O'f  sunshine.  He  passed  away  in 
death  on  the  5th  of  April,  1900,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-two  years.  His  life  has  here  been 
but  briefly  reviewed,  but  we  have  found 
him  to  have  been  a  noble  and  upright  citi- 
zen. In  boyhood,  ambitious;  at  the  battle 
front  a  brave  soldier;  at  home  a  good  citi- 
zen, always  and  everywhere  doing  the  best 
he  could  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  those 
by  whom  he  was  surrounded.  But  the 
hopes  of  his  youth  have  faded  away,  the 
din  of  battle  with  him  is  hushed  forever, 
the  work  of  his  life  is  finished.  But  in 
memory  he  still  lives,  and  the  good  he  has 
done  lives  after  him. 


HOMER  B.  LEVERING. 

Homer  B.  Levering  is  now  one  of  the 
most  extensive  and  prosperous  dealers  and 
shippers  in  live  stock,  hay,  grain  and  feed 
in  Knoix  coimty.  It  is  always  a  pleasure  to 
see  true  merit  suitably  rewarded,  to  behold 
the  prosperity  of  those  who  eminently  de- 
serve it,  as  does  the  subject  of  this  review. 
At  an  early  age  he  learned  one  of  the  great 
lessons  of  life — that  there  is  no  royal  road 
to  wealth,  and  as  he  was  not  above  work  he 
toiled  industriously  until  he  won  not  only  a 
very  comfortable  competence  but  also  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  the  people  with 
whom  he  has  been  associated.  Work,  the 
true  friend  of  mankind,  has  developed  his 
latent  resources  and  brought  out  the  strong, 
self-reliant  force  of  his  character. 


274 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


Mr.  Levering  was  born  in  Morrow 
county,  December  14,  1874,  and  he  and  his 
elder  brother  and  partner,  Milton  G.  Lev- 
ering, are  the  only  children  of  Charles  B. 
and  Mary  J.  (Grove)  Levering.  The  fa- 
th.er  was  born  in  ^V'aterford,  Knox  county, 
in  1839,  and  died  in  1893.  After  arriving 
at  years  oi  maturity  he  wedded  Miss  Grove, 
and  then  located  on  a  farm  in  Middlebury 
township,  where  he  made  his  home  for  a 
number  of  years.  He  then  removed  to  Mor- 
row county  and  resided  in  Franklin  and 
Chester  townships  until  his  death,  his  efforts 
at  farming  and  purchasing  shipping  stock 
being  crowned  with  prosperity. 

Under  the  parental  roof  Homer  B.  Lev- 
ering spent  the  days  of  his  childhood,  and  in 
the  common  schools  he  attained  his  early 
education,  which  was  followed  by  a  course 
in  the  Austin  high  school.  When  only  fif- 
teen years  of  age  he  began  his  career  as  a 
stockbuyer,  and  as  time  passed  his  business 
in  that  direction  increased  until  he  has  long 
been  ranked  among  the  leading  stockbuyers 
and  shippers  in  this  portion  of  the  state. 
After  his  father's  death  he  and  his  brother 
purchased  the  home  fami  and  later  bought 
an  adjoining  tract  oi  land  of  sixty-five 
acres.  In  April,  1900,  the}^  bought  the 
warehouse  and  business  so'  long  conducted 
by  M.  J.  Simons,  and  they  are  now  exten- 
sive buyers  and  shippers  of  hay,  grain  and 
feed,  as  well  as  of  live  stock,  Milton  G.  Lev- 
ering, however,  being  interested  only  since 
April,  1900. 

On  the  14th  of  October,  1896,  was  cele- 
brated the  marriage  of  our  subject  and  Miss 
E^•a  Boone,  a  native  of  Fredericktown,  and 
a  daughter  of  Charles  Boone,  a  prominent 
fanner  of  this  county.  They  now  have  an 
mteresting  little  son,    Harold   \\'.      In   his 


political  views  ]\Ir.  Levering  is  a  liberal 
Democrat,  voting  for  the  party,  but  never 
seeking  office,  for  his  attention  is  fully  oc- 
cupied by  his  large  business  interests.  His 
keen  perception  of  business  possibilities  and 
his  improvement  of  opportunity  have  led  to 
success,  and  his  reputation  for  straightfor- 
ward dealing  is  unassailable. 


RAPHAEL  DURBIN. 

The  life  history  of  him  whose  name 
heads  this  sketch  is  closely  identified  with 
the  history  of  Knox  county,  which  has  been 
his  home  since  his  boyhood  days.  He  be- 
gan his  career  here  in  the  early  pioneer 
epoch  of  the  county  and  throughout  the 
years  which  have  since  come  and  gone  and 
has  been  closely  allied  with  its  interests  and 
upbuilding.  He  is  a  native  of  the  Keystone 
state,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Lancaster 
county,  on  the  26th  of  October,  1833.  His 
father,  John  A.  Durbin,  claimed  ^Maryland 
as  the  state  of  his  nati\-ity,  where  he  was 
born  in  1800,  and  was  there  reared  and  mar- 
ried. In  1843  ^""^  made  his  way  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  locating  in  Howard'  township, 
on  the  farm  which  was  occupied  by  a 
brother  of  our  subject,  Simeon  Durbin,  un- 
til his  death,  and  there  the  father's  life's 
labors  were  ended  in  death,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-three  years.  He  was  identified  with 
the  \Miig  party  and  was  a  member  of  St. 
Luke's  Catholic  church,  at  Danville.  The 
mother  of  our  subject  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Margaret  Logsdon,  and  she,  too,  was  a 
native  of  Maryland.  'Her  death  occurred 
when  she  had  reached  the  age  of  seventy- 
five  years.     This  worthy  couple  became  the 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


parents  of  eleven  childreji,  ten  of  whom 
grew  to  years  of  maturity,  se^^en  sons  and 
three  daughters,  and  of  these  six  are  still 
living. 

Raphael  Durbin,  the  third  in  order  of 
birth  in  the  above  family,  was  a  lad  of  ten 
3'ears  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
Knox  county.  His  boyhood  home  was  lo- 
cated on  the  line  separating  Pennsyl\'ania 
and  Maryland,  their  house  having  been  lo- 
cated in  the  former  state,  while  their  barn 
was  in  the  latter,  and  in  his  native  place  he 
attended  the  log  scliool  houses  common  in 
those  early  days.  After  coming  to  this  state 
he  remained  with  his  mother  until  his  mar- 
riage, after  which  he  purchased  and  located 
on  the  farm  which  he  still  owns.  His  place 
now  consists  of  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  acres  of  excellent  and  well-cultivated 
land,  on  which  he  is  engaged  in  general 
farming  and  stock-raising.  By  persistent 
energy  and  the  display  of  considerable  fore- 
sight he  has  succeeded  in  his  chosen  occu- 
pation, and  in  1880  he  erected  the  large  and 
tasteful  residence  which  now  adorns  the 
place. 

In  1 86 1  occurred  the  marriage  of  'Mr. 
Durbin  and  ]\Iiss  Barbara  A.  Buck,  who 
was  born  in  Union  township,  Knox  county, 
and  was  a  member  of  one  of  the  early  pio- 
neer families  of  that  locality.  Her  parents, 
Everhart  and  Adeline  Buck,  were  natives 
of  Germany,  and  came  from  that  country  to 
the  United  States.  On  the  2d  of  October, 
1 88 1,  while  the  family  were  crossing  a 
stream,  Mrs.  Durbin,  her  sister  Miartha  and 
one  child,  Mary,  were  drowned.  Another 
child,  Julius  Peter,  is  also  deceased,  and 
seven  still  survive, — Edward,  whoi  is  mar- 
ried and  resides  in  Howard  township;  Jo- 
seph A.,  John  S.,  AVilliam    E.,    Gertrude, 


Frances  and  Leo,  at  home.  The  family  are 
members  of  St.  Luke's  Catholic  church  at 
Danville,  in  whicli  Mr.  Durbin  is  an  active 
worker,  and  he  assisted  materially  in  the 
erection  of  its  house  oi  worship  in  this  city. 
In  political  matters  he  is  a  firm  believer  in 
the  principles  of  the  Democracy.  The  cause 
of  education  has  ever  found  in  him  a  warm 
friend,  and  for  one  term  he  served  as  a 
director  Oif  schools.  In  manner  he  is  cour- 
teous and  genial,  and  among  the  people 
with  whom  he  has  been  so  long  connected 
he  is  quite  popular. 


JOSEPH   STAATS. 


A  good  deal  might  be  written  about  the 
influence  of  Virginia  pioneers  upon  the  his- 
tory and  development  of  Ohio.  Knox 
cO'unty  was  fortunate  in  being  the  objective 
point  of  many  emigrants  from  that  state 
and  one  Virginia  family  worthy  of  especial 
note  is  that  of  Staats,  which  is  represented 
in  Butler  township  by  Joseph  Staats,  who 
became  well  known  as  an  abolitionist  and 
temperance  man  and  who  is  now  one  of  the 
prominent  retired  farmers  of  Kno.x  county. 

Joseph  Staats  was  born  in  Butler  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  May  8,  1823,  a 
son  of  Joseph  Staats,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
who  was  a  pioneer  in  Knox  county  where 
he  took  up  land  and  cleared  and  improved  it 
until  it  was  one  of  the  best  farms  in  its  vi- 
cinity. He  married  Catharine  Hull,  also  a 
native  of  Virginia,  who  had  come  to  Knox 
county  while  quite  young. 

Josqih  and  Catharine  (Hull)  Staats  had 
four  daughters  and  eight  sons  and  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  their  eighth  child  in 


276 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


order  of  birth.  Mr.  Staats  was  educated  in 
subscription  schools  and  early  instructed  in 
all  the  hard  details  of  clearing  and  cultivat- 
ing wood  farms.  He  assisted  his  father 
until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  and 
then  bought  a  farm,  on  which  he  rriade  many 
improvements  and  which  he  tilled  success- 
fully until  in  the  course  of  events  he  sold  it 
to  Mrs.   McCament. 

In  1846  Mr.  Staats  married  Eliza  J.  Mc- 
Cann,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  who  came 
to  Knox  county  when  she  was  twenty-two 
years  old  and  who  bore  him  eight  children, 
named  as  follows,  in  the  order  of  their  na- 
tivity: Esther  E.,  Ellen,  Jane,  Jefferson, 
William,  Teissy,  Amanda  and  J.  Burton, 
who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Scott  is  an  up- 
to-date,  progressive  man,  who  takes  a  deep 
interest  in  every  vital  question  of  the  day. 
He  has  in  many  ways  shown  that  he  pos- 
sesses ample  public  spirit  and  has  the  devel- 
opment and  prosperity  of  his  township  and 
county  close  to  his  heart  and  he  has  been 
elected  to  many  important  local  offices. 


REV.  JAAIES   L.   SXYDER. 

It  is  with  pleasure  that  we  present  to 
our  readers  a  sketch  of  one  of  whom  his  lo- 
cality may  well  be  proud,  one  who  has  filled 
his  daily  life  with  brotherl}-  love  and  Chris- 
tian charity  and  has  been  a  light  guiding 
many  to  the  better  way.  He  was  born  in 
Millwood,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  on  the  23d 
of  February,  1864.  His  father,  Samuel 
Snyder,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  was  reared  to  the  occupation  of  a 
farmer,  and  when  nine  years  of  age  he  ac- 
companied his  parents  on  their  removal  to 


Knox  county,  Ohio,  where  he  died  in  1898, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  The  mother 
of  our  subject  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Grace  Workman  and  was  a  native  of 
Coshocton  county,  OhiO',  where  she  was  also 
reared  and  educated.  Her  death  occurred 
in  the  year  1879.  Her  father,  Amos  Work- 
man, also  claimed  Ohio  as  the  state  oi  his 
nativity,  and  his  life  occupation  was  that  of 
a  farmer.  Eive  children  blessed  the  union 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snyder,  of  whom  our  sub- 
ject was  the  fourth  child  and  second  son  in 
order  of  birth. 

In  early  life  he  attended  the  primitive 
log  school  houses  O'f  this  locality,  and  later 
became  a  student  in  the  nonnal  school  at 
Ada,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  for  a  few 
terms.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he 
began  the  profession  of  teaching,  following 
that  ocaipation  for  nine  tenns,  and  during 
that  time  he  also  attended  school  at  Mount 
Vernon  and  studied  for  the  ministry  with 
Rev.  Ashley  S.  Johnson,  of  Tennessee.  In 
1885  he  was  ordained  at  ^Millwood,  and  for 
five  years  preached  at  Kilbuck.  Black  Creek 
and  Monroe  Center,  and  for  the  next  four 
years  he  was  located  at  Millwood,  minister- 
ing also  to  the  Dennis  and  Milford  churches. 
On  the  expiration  of  the  latter  period,  in 
January,  1898,  he  became  a  resident  of 
Howard,  where  he  has  since  labored  earn- 
estly and  effectively  in  the  cause  of  the  ]\Ias- 
ter.  The  Howard  society  is  one  of  the 
strongest  congregations  of  the  Christian 
church  in  Knox  county,  numbering  about 
one  hundred  communicants. 

On  the  14th  of  July,  1885,  Mr.  Snyder 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Marietta 
Humbert,  who  was  born  in  Howard  town- 
ship,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  but  being  left  an 
orphan,  was  reared  from  a  child  in  the  home 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


277 


of  Mr.  John  Campbell  in  Butler  township. 
She  attended  the  public  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood and  the  Art  School  of  Mount  Ver- 
non, and  was  also  a  student  in  an  art  school 
in  Wheeling,  West  Virginia.  She  is  a  most 
estimable  and  highly  cultured  lady,  and  is 
very  proficient  in  the  art  of  portrait  paint- 
ing in  oil.  Rev.  Snyder  possesses  a  deep 
religious  nature,  is  thoroughly  earnest  and 
sincere  in  all  his  thoughts,  words  and  deeds, 
and  his  noble,  manly  life  has  proved  an  in- 
spiration to  many  of  his  friends  and  asso- 
ciates. 


HARMON  WHITE. 

The  name  of  Harmon  White  is  deeply 
engraved  on  the  pages  of  Knox  county's 
history,  for  through  many  years  he  has  been 
an  important  factor  in  the  agricultural  in- 
terests of  this  section  of  the  state.  He  was 
born  on  the  farm  on  which  he  now  resides 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1842,  the  eldest  of 
eight  children,  six  of  whom  grew  to  years 
of  maturity,  of  Joseph  White.  The  latter 
was  a  son  of  Thomas  White,  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  and  who  after  coming  to  the 
Buckeye  state  entered  the  land  on  which 
both  his  son  and  grandson  were  born. 
Thomas  White  there  spent  his  entire  life. 
For  a  companion  on  the  journey  of  life  he 
chose  Hannah  DeWitt,  a  native  of  Brown 
township,  Knox  county,  where  her  father, 
Barney  DeWitt,  located  in  a  very  early  day. 

Harmon  White,  the  immediate  subject 
of  this  sketch,  has  also  spent  his  entire  life 
on  the  farm  on  which  his  grandfather  en- 
tered, and  in  the  primitive  log  school  house 
of  the  neighborhood  he  received  his  early 
education.     When  a  small  boy  he  took  his 


place  in  the  fields,  and  the  occupation  of 
farming  has  ever  since  claimed  his  entire 
time  and  attention.  His  place  now  consists 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  acres  of  land, 
and  in  the  cultivation  of  this  valuable  tract 
he  has  met  with  marked  success.  He  has 
steadily  worked  his  way  upward  to  a  posi- 
tion of  affluence,  overcoming  many  difficul- 
ties and  obstacles  in  his  path  and  advanc- 
ing step  by  step  along  the  tried  paths  of  hon- 
orable effort  until  he  has  reached  the  goal  of 
prosperity. 

On  the  28th  of  September,  1865,  oc- 
curred the  marriage  of  Mr.  White  and  Miss- 
Louisa  Ganes.  She  is  one  of  eight  children 
oif  Thomas  B.  and  Susana  (Burkholder)' 
Ganes,  who  came  from  Virginia  to  Ohio  in 
a  ver)'  early  day,  locating  in  the  woods  of 
Brown)  township.  Five  children  have  been  . 
born  unto  the  union  of  our  subject  and  wife, 
as  follows:  Dr.  C.  C,  a  graduate  of  the 
Starling  Medical  College,  of  Columbus, 
Ohio,  and  now  a  practicing  physician  of 
Mineral  City,  this  state;  Rosa,  wife  of  Ira 
M.  Lybarger,  of  Mount  Vernon;  J.  B.  and 
William  E.,  at  home.  Lucy,  the  third  child,, 
died  when  only  two  years  of  age.  In  po- 
litical matters  Mr.  White  stanchly  upholds. 
Democratic  principles,  and  he  has  held  many 
positions  of  honor  and  trust  in  his  town- 
ship. Religiously  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  Danville. 


OLIVER   P.    BAKER. 

Oliver  P.  Baker,  a  prominent  and  suc- 
cessful farmer  of  section  10,  Jefferson  town- 
ship, is  a  native  son  of  the  Buckeye  state,  his 
birth  having  occurred  in  Jefferson  township,. 


27'6 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


Knox  county,  on  the  ist  of  April,  1828.  His 
father,  Phihp  Baker,  was  born  on  a  farm 
in  Somerset  count}",  Pennsyhania,  but  in 
an  early  day  he  came  with  his  parents,  Pe- 
ter and  Susana  Baker,  to  Union  township, 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  where  the  grandparents 
died.  Philip  was  reared  and  educated  in 
Union  township,  and  as  a  life  occupation 
he  chose  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  He  was 
there  married  to  Sarah  Butler,  a  native  of 
Knox  county  and  a  daughter  of  John  But- 
ler, who  was  among  the  early  pioneers  of 
this  commonwealth,  coming  to  this  state 
from  Kentucky,  but  his  birth  occurred  in 
the  Old  Dominion.  Unto  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs. 
Baker  were  born  eleven  children,  four  of 
whom  still  survive,  namely:  Hester,  the 
widow  of  William  Denkins;  Oliver  P., 
whose  name  introduces  this  review;  Caro- 
line, wife  of  A.  W.  Greer,  whose  sketch  will 
be  found  on  another  page  of  this  volume; 
.and  James  W.,  a  prominent  farmer  of  But- 
ler township,  Knox  county.  The  mother 
of  this  family  was  called  to  her  final  rest 
at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years,  but  her 
husband  survived  her  a  number  of  years,  dy- 
ing at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
was  a  Democrat  in  his  political  views. 

Oliver  P.  Baker  enjoyed  but  limited  edu- 
cational privileges  during  his  youth  and  early 
manhood,  as  he  was  only  permitted  to  attend 
school  twenty-six  days  during  the  year,  pur- 
suing his  studies  in  an  old  log  cabin  school 
house  at  Greenville.  When  only  nine  years 
of  age  he  took  his  place  in  the  fields,  and 
from  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  devoted 
his  undivided  attention  to  the  work  of  the 
farm.  He  assisted  his  father  in  the  care  of 
the  old  homestead  until  his  marriage,  which 
•occurred  on  the  19th  of  June,   1849,  ^I'ss 


Elizabeth  Beck  becoming  his  wife.  She  was 
born  in  Brooke  county,  West  \'irginia,  No- 
vember 16,  1833,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
;\Iary  (Seaman)  Beck.  In  1836  the  par- 
ents came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  locating  in 
a  log  cabin  in  the  woods  of  Jefifersoii  town- 
ship, and  there  they  spent  their  remaining 
days,  the  father  dying  at  the  age  of  forty- 
eight  years.  The  mother,  who  was  a  na- 
tive of  Brooke  county.  West  Virginia, 
reached  the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  This 
worthy  couple  became  the  parents  of  seven 
children,  five  sons  and  two  daughters,  and 
four  of  the  number  are  now  living,  name- 
ly :  Frank,  Elizabeth,  Nancy  and  Samuel 
V.  Nancy  is  the  widow  of  Henry  Monger. 
Mrs.  Baker  was  but  three  years  of  age  when 
she  accompanied  her  parents  on  their  re- 
moval to  this  state,  and  her  home  was  located 
but  three  miles  distant  from  that  of  her  hus- 
band. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Baker  brought 
his  bride  to  the  farm  which  they  still  occupy. 
I  At  that  time  the  place  consisted  of  two  hun- 
dred and  ten  acres,  but  as  the  years  passed 
by  and  success  rewarded  his  honest  toil  he 
was  enabled  to  add  to  his  landed  possessions 
until  at  one  time  he  was  the  owner  of  eight 
hundred  acres.  He  has  since,  however,  di- 
vided this  tract  among  his  children,  and  has 
also  given  them  three  thousand  dollars  in 
money,  thus  ably  assisting  them  to  start  on 
an  active  business  career.  He  still  retains 
possession  of  the  old  homestead  farm  of 
two  hundred  and  ten  acres,  which  contains 
many  and  valuable  improvements,  and  his 
is  one  of  the  best  improved  and  most  produc- 
tive farms  of  the  locality. 

Nine  children  have  blessed  the  marriage 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baker,  namely :  Susanna, 
the  wife  of  Benjamin  Humphrey,  a  promi- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


nent  agriculturist  of  Holmes  county,  Ohio; 
Sarah,  the  widow  of  Culvin  Humphrey  and 
a  resident  of  Brown  township,  Knox  county ; 
Mary  M.,  wife  of  Joseph  States,  of  Wood 
county,  this  state;  Philip,  who  married  Alice 
Severns  and  makes  his  home  in  Brown 
township,  Knox  county;  Nancy,  at  home; 
Druzilla,  the  wife  of  Wilson  Rice,  of  Jeffer- 
son township;  Samuel  V.,  who  married  Hat- 
tie  Workman,  a  daughter  of  Bennett  Work- 
man; and  two  who  died  in  infancy.  All  of 
the  children,  with  the  exception  of  the  eld- 
est, were  born  on  the  farm  on  which  the  par- 
ents still  reside.  Mr.  Baker  has  been  a  life- 
long Democrat,  and  his  religious  views  are 
in  harmony  with  the  Methodist  church,  of 
which  he  is  a  worthy  and  consistent  member. 


JOHN   C.   GILMORE. 

John  C.  Gilmore,  who  is  serving  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  in  Berlin  township,  is  one 
of  the  leading  farmers  and  stock  raisers  of 
that  locality.  He  was  born  in  Pike  town- 
ship February  26,  1874.  His  father,  Will- 
iam J.  Arnold,  was  a  native  of  that  town- 
ship and  his  people  were  among  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  the  county.  He  died  when  his 
son  was  only  two  yars  old,  and  a  year  later 
his  mother,  Mrs.  Amanda  (Gilmore)  Arn- 
old, also  passed  away.  She  was  born  in 
Berlin  township  and  belonged,  also,  to  one 
of  the  pioneer  families  of  this  portion  of  the 
state. 

Thus  early  left  an  orphan,  the  subject  of 
this  review  was  adopted  by  his  grandpar- 
ents, Alexander  and  Margaret  Gilmore,  and 
to  him  they  gave  their  name.  He  became  a 
member  of  their  household  on  the  5th  of 


July,  1877,  and  lived  with  them  until  twen- 
ty-one years  of  age,  during  which  time  he 
assisted  in  the  work  of  field  and  meadow 
and  through  the  winter  season  pursued  his 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  Berlin 
township.  When  he  had  attained  his  ma- 
jority he  started  out  in  life  for  himself  and 
as  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  the  jour- 
ney he  chose  Miss  Ella  E.  Grubaugh,  the 
wedding  being  celebrated  on  the  3d  of 
April,  1895.  The  lady  is  a  native  of  Ash- 
land county,  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  James 
and  Lydia  (Stoner)  Grul^augh,  pioneer  peo- 
ple of  that  county.  Mrs.  Gilmore  is  the 
eldest  of  their  six  children,  three  sons  and 
three  daughters,  and  was  reared  under  the 
parental  roof  in  the  county  of  her  nativity. 
Three  children  have  been  born  unto  our  sub- 
ject and  his  wife,  namely:  Howard  J.,  Jay 
C.  and  Floyd  E. 

At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Gilmore 
took  up  his  residence  in  Mount  Vernon  and 
thence  came  to  his  present  home  in  Berlin 
township,  where  he  inherited  two  hundred 
and  seventy-seven  acres  of  land  from  his 
grandparents.  He  raises  grain  to  some  ex- 
tent but  makes  a  specialty  of  stock  raising 
and  is  very  successful  in  that  branch  of  bus- 
iness. He  now  has  on  his  place  about  fifty 
head  of  cattle,  one  hundred  head  of  sheep 
and  also  good  hogs  and  horses.  His  sales 
and  shipments  are  large  and  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  best  methods  of  handling 
stock  has  made  him  cjuite  prosperous  in  his 
business  career. 

iMr.  Gilmore  exercises  his  right  of  fran- 
chise in  support  of  the  men  and  measures 
of  the  Democracy  and  keeps  well  informed 
on  the  issues  of  the  day  so  that  he  is  able 
to  support  his  position  by  intelligent  argu- 
ment.   On  the  2d  day  of  April,  1900,  he  was 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


elected  justice  of  the  peace  and  has  proved 
a  most  fair  and  impartial  official.  He  was 
at  one  time  a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  In- 
dustry, and  is  well  known  throughout  the 
county  as  an  enterprising  and  progressive 
farmer,  a  loyal  citizen  and  a  man  of  straight- 
forward and  honorable  principles. 


DAVID  McDANIEL. 

Among  the  leading  and  progressive  farm- 
ers in  Berlin  township  is  numbered  David 
McDaniel,  who  there  owns  and  operates  a 
valuable  tract  of  land  of  one  hundred  and 
four  acres.  He  was  born  on  the  farm  where 
he  now  lives,  his  natal  day  being  September 
2,  1830.  His  father,  David  McDaniel,  was 
a  native  of  Ireland  and  when  a  young  man 
sought  a  home  in  America,  taking  up  his 
abode  in  Maryland,  whence  he  afterward 
came  to  Knox  county.  Here  he  first  located 
in  Mount  Vernon,  but  at  a  later  date  he  set- 
tled upon  the  farm  which  is  now  the  home 
of  our  subject.  It  was  then  a  densely 
wooded  tract,  but  with  characteristic  energy 
he  began  to  clear  away  the  trees  and  put  the 
land  in  condition  for  cultivation,  so  that  in 
the  course  of  time  the  fields  yielded  to  him 
good  harvests.  He  voted  with  the  Democ- 
racy and  was  ever  true  to  his  duties  of  cit- 
izenship. His  death  occurred  when  he  was 
seventy-eight  years  of  age.  Mrs.  McDaniel, 
the  mother  of  our  subject,  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Christina  Lett,  and  was  a  native  of 
Germany,  coming  to  the  United  States  with' 
her  parents.  In  Maryland  she  gave  her 
hand  in  marriage  to  David  McDaniel,  and 
in  a  wagon,  according  to  the  primitive  man- 
ner of  the  times,  they  journeyed  westward 


tO'  Knox  county,  where  she  spent  the  rest 
of  her  life,  passing  away  when  about  sev- 
enty-two years  of  age. 

David  McDaniel,  whose  name  introduces 
this  record  is  the  youngest  of  this  family  of 
five  sons  and  four  daughters,  all  of  whom, 
with  one  exception,  were  born  in  Knox 
county.  The  old  homestead  farm  was  his 
play  ground  in  youth  and  it  was  there  that 
he  was  prepared  for  the  particular  and  re- 
sponsible duties  of  life.  He  has  seldom 
been  away  from  home,  never  further  than 
Michigan,  and  throughout  his  entire  life  he 
has  devoted  his  energies  to  the  work  oif  the 
farm.  His  tract  of  land  of  one  hundred  and 
four  acres  is  under  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion, for  the  methods  he  follows  are  pro- 
gressive and  fail  not  to^  bring  good  results. 

On  the  2ist  of  October,  1852,  was  cele- 
brated the  marriage  of  Mr.  McDaniel  and 
Sarali  E.  Ewers,  who  was  bom  in  Richland 
county,  Ohio,  and  was  there  reared  and  mar- 
ried. After  thirty-eight  years  of  happy 
married  life  she  was  called  to  the  home  be- 
yond in  1890.  Of  the  eleven  children  bom 
unto  them,  nine  are  yet  living,  namely  r 
Mrs.  Alice  Baldwin;  Lovila,  deceased;  Le 
Grand ;  Luella  ;  Charlie,  deceased ;  Lewis  M. ; 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Stahl;  Frank;  Mrs.  Lunette 
Hosack;  Laura;  and  Clarence.  All  were 
born  on  the  old  farm  where  Mr.  McDaniel 
yet  resides.  He  exercises  his  right  of  fran- 
chise in  support  of  the  Democratic  party  but 
has  never  been  aif  aspirant  after  office.  He 
is  well  known  in  Berlin  township,  where  he 
is  one  of  the  oldest  residents,  and  the  fact 
that  many  of  his  stanchest  friends  are  num- 
bered among  those  whoi  have  been  acquaint- 
ed with  him  from  boyhood  is  an  indication 
that  his  career  has  ever  been  honorable  and 
straightforward. 


OF  KNOX  COUNTY,  OHIO. 


JOHN  THORNTON  WHITWORTH. 

One  of  the  enterprising  agriculturists  of 
Knox  county  is  John  T.  Whitworth,  who 
for  many  years  has'  been  identified  with  the 
interests  oif  this  locaUty  and  is  ranked 
among  the  representative  citizens  of  the 
community.  He  was  born  at  Murfle,  York- 
shire, England,  November  27,  1841,  a  sou 
of  Abraham  Whitworth,  also  a  native  of 
that  country.  The  latter's  father  was  a  coal 
miner,  and  was  killed  when  the  son  was  a 
small  boy,  and  his  mother,  Martha  Whit- 
worth, reached  the  age  of  eighty-seven 
years,  dying  in  her  native  land.  Abraham 
Whitworth  served  a  seven  years'  appren- 
ticeship at  the  blacksmith's  trade  in  the  land 
of  his  birth,  and  after  his  arrival  in  the 
United  States,  in  1842,  Jocated  at  Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed  his 
chosen  occupation  for  a  number  of  years, 
working  for  the  government  and  also  for 
the  steamboat  trade.  In  1857  ^^  came  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  purchasing  the  farm 
on  which  our  subject  now  resides,  and  in 
addition  to  its  cultivation  he  also-  con- 
ducted a  blacksmith  shop.  His  life's  la- 
bors were  ended  in  February,  1880,  when  he 
had  reached  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  He 
was  well  known  and  active  in  Republican 
circles  in  his  locality,  and  socially  was  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  o'f  Odd 
Fellows,  joining  the  order  in  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania. 

As  a  companion  on  the  journey  of  life 
Mr.  Whitworth  chose  Margaret  Thornton, 
and  she,  too,  was  a  native  oif  England, 
where  she  was  reared  and  educated.  Her 
birth  occurred  on  the  4th  of  March,  1820, 
and  at  Mount  Vernon,  on  the  loth  of  June, 
1896,  after  a  useful  and  well-spent  life,  she 

18 


was  called  to  the  home  beyond.  Her  father, 
John  Thornton,  was  born  in  England,  and 
there  spent  his  entire  life,  dying  in  old  age. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitworth  became  the  par- 
ents of  eleven  children,  three  of  whom  grew 
to  years  of  maturity,  our  subject  being  the 
second  child  and  eldest  son  in  order  of  birth, 
and  his  two  surviving  sisters  are:  Sarah, 
the  wife  of  William  WIelsh,  of  Mount  Ver- 
non ;  and  Ehzabeth,  the  wife  of  J.  W.  Hill, 
of  Bayard,  Iowa. 

John  T.  WhitvTOTth,  of  this  review,  was 
only  about  six  months  old  when  he  was 
brought  by  his  parents  to  the  United  States, 
the  family  locating  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  remained  until  his  sixteenth 
year,  and  while  there  he  learned  the  glass- 
maker's  trade,  following  the  same  for  three 
years.  In  1857  he  accompanied  his  parents 
on  their  removal  tO'  Knox  county,  Ohio. 
On  the  5th  of  June,  1861,  he  enlisted  for 
service  in  the  Civil  war,  entering  Company 
A,  Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  as  a, 
private,  and  his  military  services  covered  a 
period  of  three  years  and  two  weeks.  Dur- 
ing that  time  he  participated  in  many  of  the 
hard-fought  battles  of  the  war,  including' 
those  of  Rich  Mountain,  Harrison's  Land- 
ing, Golds-borough,  the  Wilderness,  Cold 
Harbor  and  all  others  in  which  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  participated.  During  his 
service  he  was  never  wounded,  but  on  one 
occasion  was  hit  in  the  knee  by  a  spent  ball. 
Receiving  an  honorable  discharge  on  the 
2 1  St  of  June,  1864,  Mr.  Whitworth  then 
returned  tO'  his  home  in  Knox  county, 
where  he  took  up  the  quiet  pursuits  of  the 
farm.  After  his  marriage  he  located  on  the 
homestead  which  he  yet  owns  and  occupies, 
consisting  of  twoi  hundred  acres  of  rich  and 
fertile  land,  and  there  he  is  extensively  en- 


282 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


gaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising. 
He  is  industrious,  persevering  and  dis- 
criminating, and  the  prosperity  which  has 
come  to  him  is  indeed  well  merited. 

November  24,  1867,  occurred  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  W'hitworth  and  Miss  Mary 
Jane  Critchfield.  She  w'as  born  June  19, 
1848,  in  Howard  toiwnship,  Knox  county, 
.and  has  here  spent  her  entire  life.  Her  par- 
ents, Lewis  and  Mary  (Dawson)  Critch- 
field, were  among  the  early  settlers  of  this 
locality.  A  son  and  daughter  have  bright- 
ened and  blessed  the  home  of  our  subject 
and  wife, — Abraham  L.,  who  married  Cath- 
erine Singer,  and  conducts  the  farm;  and 
Sarah  E.,  at  home.  In  political  matters 
Mr.  Whit  worth  gives  his  support  to  the 
Republican  party,  and  in  his  social  relations 
he  is  a  member  of  Joe  Hooker  Post,  G.  A. 
R.,  and  of  the  U.  V.  L.  Encampment  at 
JVIount  Vernon. 


Drs.   WALTER   SMITH   and   ROBERT 
PUTNAM. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  Putnam 
brothers  have  been  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  medicine  at  Brinkhaven,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  and  the  name  is  a  household  word  in 
the  homes  of  this  county.  Their  long  identi- 
fication with  the  place  and  their  prominence 
here  entitle  them  to  more  than  a  passing  no- 
tice in  a  work  of  this  character,  devoted  as 
it  is  to  a  portrayal  of  the  lives  of  represen- 
tative men  and  women  of  the  county. 

Dr.  Walter  Smith  Putnam  was  born  in 
Erinkhaven,  on  the  23d  of  September,  1863. 
His  grandfather,  George  Putnam,  was  one 
of  the  early  pioneers  of  Knox  county,  and 


his  son,  Isaac,  who  was  descended  from 
German  ancestry  on  his  mother's  side,  was 
born  near  Danville  in  1825.  When  the  time 
came  for  him  to  assume  the  active  duties  of 
life  on  his  own  account  he  chose  the  pro- 
fession of  medicine,  later  graduating  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  o^ 
Wooster,  and  for  twenty-six  years  he  was 
an  able  and  successful  physician  at  Brink- 
haven,  Knox  county.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Ohio  State  Medical  Society,  was  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  was 
a  stanch  Republican  in  his  political  views. 
He  was  but  forty-nine  years  of  age  when 
his  life's  labors  were  ended  in  death,  in  1873. 
His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sa- 
rah Cunningham,  was  a  native  of  Holmes 
county,  Ohio,  and  she  passed  to  her  final 
reward  when  she  had  reached  the  fifty-fifth 
milestone  on  the  journey  of  life.  This 
worthy  couple  became  the  parents  of  four 
sons,  all  of  whonn  grew  to  manhood, — \\''ill- 
iam  Henry,  who  has  now  passed  awaj^; 
Robert,  whose  history  will  be  found  in  this 
sketch;  David  E.,  who  has  also  been  called 
to  the  home  beyond;  and  Walter  S.,  of  this 
review. 

The  latter  received  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  Millersburg  and  Ada,  and  after 
completing  the  branches  of  learning  taught 
in  the  public  schools  he  entered  upon  the 
study  of  medicine,  matriculating  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  Western  Reserve 
College.  He  then'  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1887  in  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wooster,  after  which  he  entered 
upon'  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Brinkhaven, 
in  company  with  his  brother.  Dr.  Robert 
Putnam.  His  professional  career  has  been 
attended  with  marked  success.  His  prompt- 
ness, his  systematic  nature,  and  his  gener- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


283 


osity  are  well  known  factors  in  his  makeup, 
and  those  who  have  known  him  longest  es- 
teem him  most  highly.  He  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  He 
has  also  attained  the  thirty-second  degree 
in  INIasonry,  having  been  a  member  of  the 
fraternity  since  1890,  and  he  is  also  idaiti- 
fied  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the 
Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  In  political 
matters  he  is  a  stanch  supporter  of  Repub- 
lican principles. 

In  1889  Dr.  Putnam  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Margaret  Peppard,  a  native  of 
Wayne  county  and  a  daughter  of  Hon.  W. 
C.  and  Mary  Peppard.  They  have  three 
sons, — Isaac  Smith,  George  \A'ise  and  Rob- 
ert Bruce. 

Dr.  Robert  Putnam  is  also  a  native  son 
■of  Brinkhaven,  his  birth  having  occurred  on 
the  24th  of  February,  1852.  He,  too,  chose' 
the  profession  of  medicine  as  a  life  occupa- 
tion, and  in  1872  he  graduated  in  the  medi- 
cal department  of  the  University  of  Woos- 
ter,  entering  immediately  upon  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  Brinkhaven,  in  com- 
pany with  his  father,  Dr.  Isaac  Putnam. 
The  Putnam  brothers  now  take  rank  among 
the  leading  medical  practitioners  of  Knox 
county  and  are  enjoying  a  large  and  lucra- 
tive patronage,  which  has  come  to  them  as 
a  reward  of  their  ability  and  thoroughness. 

As  a  companion  through  the  journey  of 
life  the  Doctor  chose  Miss  Hannah  Fouch, 
their  wedding  being  celebrated  on  the  17th 
of  April,  1873.  The  lady  was  born  in  Mus- 
kingum county,  Ohio,  a  daughter  of  James 
and  Mary  Jane  (Thompson)  Fouch.  Three 
children  came  to  bless  this  union,  but  all 
have  passed  away  in  death, — Roland,  James 
and  one  who  died  in  infancy.    The  Republi- 


can party  receives  the  Doctor's  hearty  sup- 
port and  co-operation,  and  in  his  social  re- 
lations he  is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason. 


GEORGE  EDWIN   McKINNEY. 

The  farm  which  is  now  his  home  was 
also  the  birthplace  of  George  E.  McKinne}^ 
who  there  first  opened  his  eyes  to  the  light 
of  day  on  the  7th  of  October,  1844.  He 
owns  a  good  tract  of  land  in  Middlebury 
township  and  has  always  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. It  is  thought  that  George  McKinney, 
the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Ireland.  Coming  to  America,  he  es- 
tablished his  home  in  Virginia  and  served  in 
the  war  of  181 2.  He  was  one  of  a  family  of 
five  brothers  and  two  sisters.  The  latter 
and  two  of  the  brothers  came  tO'  Ohio  and 
aided  in  the  pioneer  development  of  the 
state.  George  J.  McKinney,  the  grandfather 
of  our  subject,  spent  his  last  days  in  Wayne 
township,  Knox  county,  where  he  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty-four  years  on  a  farm  adjoin- 
ing the  present  home  of  his  grandson. 

His  son,  William  T.  McKinney,  the  fa- 
ther of  our  subject,  was  a  native  of  Loudoun 
county,  Virginia,  and  when  fourteen  years 
of  age,  in  1825,  he  came  with  his  parents 
to  Ohio,  the  family  locating  in  Perry  county, 
whence  they  removed  to  Knox  county  about 
1830.  He  was  married  in  this  county  to 
Louisa  Spencer,  a  daughter  of  George  Spen- 
cer, also  one  oi  the  early  settlers  near 
Waterford,  Middlebury  township.  He  was 
of  the  Society  of  Friends  or  Quakers  and 
came  from  Pennsylvania.  Unto  the  parents 
of  our  subject  were  bom  eight  children,  three 
of  whom  reached  mature  years  and  are  still 


284 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


li\-ing.  Elizabeth,  widow  of  Oliver  Harlan, 
and  ^Nlarj-  Ellen,  widow  of  John  Brollier, 
both  near  Mt.  Gilead,  Ohio,  and  INIelville  C, 
residing  near  Cardington,  Ohio.  The  mother 
died  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine  years  and  the 
father  afterward  married  Phoebe  Beaty,  by 
whom  he  had  three  children,  but  only  one  is 
now  living, — Thomas,  a  resident  of  Wayne 
township.  After  his  marriage  William  T. 
McKinney  rented  a  farm  in  Middlebury 
township  and  then  became  the  owner  of  a 
tract  of  land  there,  securing  the  old  home- 
stead in  1S58,  which  he  operated  until  his 
death,  in  August,  1867,  when  in  his  fifty- 
sixth  year.  He  held  membership  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  generously 
gave  of  his  means  to  its  support  and  was  ac- 
tive in  promoting  its  cause,  serving  as  trus- 
tee and  class  leader.  His  life  was  an  upright 
and  honorable  one  and  his  influence  for  good 
was  widely  felt.  He  was  survived  by  his  es- 
timable wife  for  thirty-three  years,  she  dying 
April  18,  I  goo,  aged  seventy-five  years. 
She  had  lived  in  Fredericktown  after  her 
husband's  death. 

The  McKinney  family  have  long  been 
numbered  among  the  most  prominent  and 
valued  citizens  of  Knox  county  and  George 
E.  McKinney  has  ever  worthily  upheld  the 
family  record.  He  was  reared  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  lives  and  in  the  district  schools 
he  obtained  his  preliminary  education,  which 
was  supplemented)  by  study  in  Frederick- 
town  through  four  years.  He  then  taught 
school  for  one  term,  but  throughout  his  busi- 
ness career  his  attention  has  been  chiefly 
given  to  agriculture. 

On  the  22d  of  October,  1868,  occurred 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  McKinney  and  Miss 
Rebecca  E.  Huggins,  a  native  of  Guernsey 
county.    Ohio,   born   January   31,    1844,    a 


daughter  of  Thomas  and  Xancy  J.  ( IMoore) 
Huggins,  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  In 
Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  however,  they  were 
married  and  later  they  came  to  ^Morrow 
county,  settling  here  in  1845.  The  father 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six,  but  the 
mother  is  still  living  with  Mrs.  McKinney 
in  the  eighty-first  year  of  her  age.  Tliey 
were  the  parents  of  five  sons  and  three 
daughters,  Mrs.  McKinney  being  the  third 
in  order  of  birth.  She  was  reared  in  Mor- 
row county,  there  remaining  until  her  mar- 
riage, by  which  she  has  become  the  mother 
of  three  children.  The  eldest  is  Rev.  Will- 
iam T.,  who  married  Jessie  Hefileman  and 
resides  in  Erie,  Michigan,  where  he  is  now 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is 
quite  prominent  in  that  denomination.  They 
have  two  children,  twins,  Paul  and  Pauline. 
John  M.,  the  second  of  the  family,  married 
Ida  C.  Ackerman,  by  whom  he  has  one  son, 
George  L.  He  is  now  engaged  in  farming 
in  Morris  township.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Wooster,  being  educated  for 
the  ministry  but  failing  health  would  not 
permit  him  to  follow  that  holy  calling.  Ed- 
win H.,  the  youngest,  is  now  a  student  at 
the  Ohio  State  Medical  University  at  Co- 
lumbus. The  children  have  all  been  given 
excellait  educational  privileges  and  all  have 
been  successful  teachers. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKinney  still  reside  upon 
the  old  McKinney  homestead,  which  com- 
prises one  hundred  and  nine  acres  of  excel- 
lent land.  The  productive  qualities  of  the 
soil  are  indicated  by  the  good  harvests  that 
are  annually  garnered,  and  the  green  fields 
and  verdant  meadows  attest  the  careful  su- 
pervision of  the  owner,  who  is  widel}-  known 
as  a  practical  and  progressive  farmer.  He 
has    lived    upon    this    place    for    fifty-seven 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


28s 


3'ears.  and  annually  the  circle  of  his  ac- 
quaintances is  extended  and  the  number  of 
his  friends  increased.  He  votes  with  the 
Republican  party,  gives  an  earnest  support  to 
its  principles  and  keeps  well  informed  on 
the  issues  of  the  day.  He  has  held  local  of- 
fices in  his  township  and  fraternally  he  is 
connected  with  the  Odd  Fellows  lodge  at 
Fredericktown.  In  an  analyzation  of  his 
character  we  will  find  those  qualities  which 
insure  success  in  business  and  which  win 
regard  in  public  and  private  life. 


JOHN  GILMORE. 


When  a  life  record  is  ended  we  are  apt  to 
review  the  history  just  closed,  noting  its 
salient  points  and  commending  or  criticising 
as  the  life  has  been  fraught  with  good  or 
evil.  In  the  career  of  John  Gilmore  many 
characteristics  worthy  of  emulation  are 
found.  Although  he  lived  the  quiet  life  of 
the  farmer  he  was  energetic,  resolute  and 
abo\'e  all  honorable  in  his  dealings  to  his 
fellow  men;  considerate  of  others;  kind  and 
friendly.  Therefore  as  a  representative  citi- 
zen of  Knox  county  he  well  deserves  men- 
tion in  this  volume  for  though  he  has  passed 
away  his  influence,  ever  for  good,  is  still  felt 
by  his  family  and  those  who  knew  him. 

Air.  Gilmore  was  born  in  Pike  township, 
November  14,  1845.  His  father.  William 
Gilmore,  was  a  native  of  Maryland  and  be- 
came one  of  the  pioneers  of  Knox  county, 
taking  an  active  part  in  reclaiming  the  wild 
land  for  purposes  of  civilization.  He  wedded 
]\Iary  Simpson,  a  native  of  Harrison  county, 
Ohio,  and  among  their  ten  children  John 
Gilmore  was  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth.     He 


was  reared  in  Pike  township  and  the  district 
schools  of  the  neighborhood  afforded  him 
his  educational  privileges,  while  on  the  home 
farm  he  was  trained  to  the  work  of  field 
and  meadow.  He  remained  at  home  until 
his  parents  died,  their  deaths  occurring  but 
four  weeks  apart. 

November  24,  1869,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Maria  Clawson,  who  was 
born  in  Delaware  county,  Ohio,  a  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Ruth  (Davy)  Clawson.  Her 
father  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and 
when  sixteen  years  of  age  accompanied  his 
widowed  mother  to  Delaware  county,  where 
he  engaged  im  farming.  There  he  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth 
(Leatherman)  Davy,  and  they  became  the' 
parents  of  nine  children,  four  of  whom  died 
in  childhood,  Mrs.  Gilmore  being  the  second 
member  of  the  family.  She  was  reared  in 
her  native  county  and  acquired  a  common 
school  education.  By  her  marriage  she  be- 
came the  mother  of  five  children  who  are 
yet  living,  while  one  has  passed  away.  Those 
who  still  survive  are  Lovena,  the  wife  of 
Solomon  Rice,  of  Danville,  by  whom  she 
has  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  John, 
Elizabeth,  Vesta  and  Arthur  C. ;  Edward, 
who  married  Lovila  Brown,  of  Shelby,  and 
has  three  daughters,  Clara,  Nellie  and  Liz- 
zie: \\'alter,  who  married  Cora  Cutnaw,  of 
Pike  township,  and  has  two  children,  Dwight 
and  Ruth ;  Bernice  and  Royal,  who  are  at 
home,    ^^'illiam  died  at  the  age  of  five  years. 

At  the  time  of  their  marriage  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Gilmore  located  on  the  farm  which  is 
}-et  her  home.  He  was  extensively  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  and  in  stockraising. 
He  owned  eight  hundred  acres  of  land  in 
Pike  township,  much  of  which  he  had  under 
cultivation,  and  from  the  richlv  tilled  fields 


286 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


he  gathered  abundant  harvests.  He  was 
also  extensively  engaged  in  raising  stock, 
making  a  specialty  of  sheep,  and  this  also 
added  materially  to  his  income.  He  was 
widely  known  throughout  this  part  of  the 
state  by  reason  of  his  large  business  inter- 
ests, and  in  industrial  circles  he  sustained  an 
unassailable  reputation  by  reason  of  his  hon- 
esty and  fairness.  His  political  support  was 
given  Democracy.  He  died  November  17, 
1898,  and  his  remains  were  laid  to  rest  in 
North  Liberty  cemetery. 

Mrs.  Gilmore,  who  still  survives  her  hus- 
band, resides  on  the  old  homestead  in  Pike 
township,  where  she  has  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  rich  land,  and  in  addition  to 
this  she  has  a  farm  in  Delaware  county.  Her 
true  womanly  qualities,  her  social  nature  and 
her  true  hospitality  have  gained  her  many 
friends,  and  he.r  acquaintance  in  the  county 
is  verv  extensive. 


JAMES  P.  WILSON. 

So  long  has  Mr.  Wilson  resided  in  Knox 
county  that  he  is  numbered  among  its  early 
settlers  and  from  the  age  of  twenty  years 
he  has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world,  so 
that  whatever  success  he  has  achieved  is 
the  just  reward  of  his  labors.  He  now  lives 
on  section  24,  Pike  township,  where  he  owns 
and  operates  a  good  tract  of  land. 

]Mr.  Wilson  was  born  in  this  township 
May  30,  1839.  His  grandfather,  Aaron 
Wilson,  became  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers 
of  this  county,  as  did  Lewis  Wilson,  the 
father  of  our  subject,  who  took  up  his  abode 
here  when  a  young  man.  He  married  Han- 
nah Cochran,  a  native  of  the  countv  and  a 


representative  of  one  of  its  early  families. 
When  she  was  a  maiden  of  ten  summers  she 
attended  a  school  taught  by  the  gentleman 
whom  she  was  afterward  to  marry.  James 
P.  is  their  second  living  child  and  was  reared 
in  Pike  township,  where  he  also  acquired  his 
education,  pursuing  his.  studies  in  a  log 
school  house  with  a  clapboard  roof.  He  re- 
mained at  home  until  twenty  years  of  age 
and  then  started  out  upon  an  independent 
business  career.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage 
he  located  upon  a  rented  farm  and  later  pur- 
chased fifty  acres  of  land,  upon  which  he 
lived  for  a  year,  removing  thence  to  his  pres- 
ent home  on  section  24.  He  has  carried  on 
agricultural  pursuits  throughout  his  entire 
life  and  thereby  acquired  a  comfortable  com- 
petence. 

January  20,  1861,  Mr.  \A'ilson  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Ruth  Reed,  also  a  na- 
tive of  Pike  township,  born  September  24. 
1836,  on  the  farm  which  is  now  her  home. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  John  and  Nancy  (  Phil- 
lips) Reed,  pioneer  settlers  of  Knox  county. 
They  were  nati\-es  of  Maryland  but  were 
married  in  Knox  county,  to  which  place  the 
mother  had  also  come  from  Maryland  when 
a  widow  with  four  sons  and  three  daughters, 
all  now  deceased.  When  John  Reed  settled 
on  this  farm,  it  was  then  a  wilderness,  but 
he  succeeded  in  placing  about  one  hundred 
acres  under  cultivation.  Here  this  worthy 
couple  spent  the  remainder  of  their  lives,  the 
father  dying  March  18,  1873,  aged  seventy 
years,  and  the  mother  on  March  26,  1885, 
aged  eighty-two  years.  Mrs.  \\'ilson  is  the 
fourth  of  their  five  children,  all  of  whom 
were  reared  on  this  farm,  and  all  are  still 
living. 

Unto  our  subject  and  his  wife  was  born 
'  one  daughter,  Elda  Ann,  who  became  the 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


287 


wife  of  Dr.  Edward  Leonard  and  died  leav- 
ing an  infant  son,  Eldon,  who  was  born  April 
8,  1885,  and  who'  has  ahvays  made  his  home 
with  his  grandparents.  They  have  a  very 
pleasant  home  in  the  midst  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-one  acres  of  land,  which  was 
formerly  the  Reed  homestead,  and  there  Mr. 
Wilson's  time  is  passed  in  general  farming. 
He  gives  the  political  support  to  the  Democ- 
racy, though  prohibitionist  in  principle,  for 
he  is  a  man  of  strong  temperance  principles 
and  sometimes  votes  with  the  party  which 
advocates  the  abolition  of  the  liquor  traffic. 
He  is  a  consistent  and  active  member  of 
the  Methodist  church,  in  which  he  has  served 
as  steward  and  has  taken  a  very  active  part 
in  church  work.  Socially  he  is  an  Odd  Fel- 
low, belonging-  to  Barthalon  Lodge,  No.  692, 
at  Amity,  in  which  he  has  passed  the  clairs 
and  is  a  past  noble  grand. 


DANIEL  W.  STAHL. 

Daniel  W.  Stahl  has  for  many  years  been 
connected  with  educational  interests,  either 
directly  or  indirectly.  For  a  long  period  he 
was  a  successful  teacher  and  on  putting  aside 
the  more  active  duties  of  the  schoolroom  he 
began  selling  school  supplies  and  is  now  en- 
gaged in  the  sale  of  blackboards,  his  patron- 
age extending  over  a  very  wide  territory.  He 
is  an  enterprising  and  energetic  business  man 
and  is  widely  known  in  Knox  and  surround- 
ing counties. 

Mr.  Stahl  was  born  in  Wayne  county, 
Ohio,  near  Wooster,  on  the  farm  where  the 
county  infirmary  is  now  located,  January  3 1 , 
1845.  His  grandfather,  Frederick  Stahl, 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1817 


came  to  Ohio,  locating  near  Canton.  In  the 
year  1849  h^  came  to  Knox  county,  and  his- 
death  occurred  in  Pike  township  the  follow- 
ing year.  His  son,  Anthony  Stahl,  the  father 
of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Center  county,. 
Pennsylvania,  July  31,  181 6,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  the 
district  bordering  Canton.  Later  he  went 
with  them  to  Wooster,  Wayne  cotmty,  and 
there  he  met  and  married  Miss  Sarah  Sny- 
der, who  was  also  a  native  of  the  Keystone 
state,  and  was  reared  there  until  eighteen 
years  of  age,  when  she  accompanied  her  fam- 
ily to  Wayne  county,  Ohio.  For  two  years 
after  his  marriage  Anthony  Stahl  lived  upon 
his  father's  farm  and  then  remo\'ed  tu  a  farm 
in  Wayne  county,  near  Fredericksburg,  in 
1853  going  from  there  to  the  farm  upon 
which  our  subject  now  resides.  In  1877  he 
took  up  his  abode  in  the  village  of  North 
Liberty,  where  he  died  March  23,  1885.  In 
politics  he  was  a  life-long  Democrat  and  in 
religious  faith  was  a  Lutlieran.  His  wife 
passed  away  in  1888,  at  the  age  of  seventy 
years.  They  were  parents  of  three  sons  and 
three  daughters,  and  with  one  e:;ception  all 
have  married.  Maria,  the  eldest  daughter,, 
died  October  11,   1876. 

Daniel  W.  Stahl,  the  eldest,  was  a  youth 
of  eight  summers  when  brought  by  his  par- 
ents to  Pike  township,  Knox  county.  He- 
had  begun  his  education  in  Wa>ne  county, 
continued  it  in  this  coimty  and  when  about 
twenty  years  of  age  he  began  teaching.  For 
two  years  he  was  a  student  at  Lexington 
Seminary  and  thus  became  well  prepared  for 
his  chosen  calling.  He  also^  studied  in  Ken- 
yon  College,  at  Gambler,  and  taught  in  the 
Milner  Hall  Military  Academy  for  about  a 
year.  His  work  as  a  teacher  covered  alto- 
gether   about    twenty-three    years,    during 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


which  time  he  was  connected  with  the  educa- 
tional interests  of  Knox,  Wayne,  Licking 
and  Morrow  counties.  He  was  superintend- 
ent of  the  Hanover  Union  schools,  principal 
of  the  schools  of  Apple  Creek,  Wayne  coun- 
ty, and  for  several  years  taught  at  Freder- 
icktown,  while  for  two  years  he  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  schools  of  Sparta.  He  was  a 
very  successful  and  competent  educator  and 
in  his  work  he  exemplified  the  thought  of 
Sydney  Sinith,  who  said :  "The  real  object  of 
education  is  to  give  children  resources  that 
will  endure  as  long  as  life  endures ;  habits 
that  time  will  ameliorate,  not  destroy ;  occu- 
pation that  will  render  sickness  tolerable,  life 
more  dignified  and  useful  and  death  less  ter- 
rible." 

In  the  spring  of  1889  Mr.  Stahl  aban- 
doned the  active  work  of  the  schoolroom. 
He  was  married  on  the  13th  of  June  of  that 
year  to  Miss  Lillie  May  Rice,  a  daughter 
of  Rosella  Rice  and  granddaughter  of  Alex- 
ander Rice,  of  Perrysville,  Ohio.  She  was 
there  born  and  was  a  student  in  the  Green- 
town  Academy  and  in  the  Granville  Semin- 
ary. j\Ir.  and  ^Irs.  Stahl  now  have  three 
sons,  Francis  Clark,  Russell  Eugene  and 
Wilber  Carol. 

At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Stahl 
established  his  home  in  Mount  Vernon  and 
engaged  in  traveling  in  order  to  introduce 
slate  blackboards  for  school  purposes.  He 
remained  in  Mount  Vernon  for  seven  years 
and  then  located  on  the  farm  where  he  now 
resides  in  Pike  township.  He  is  still  engaged 
in  the  blackboard  business  and  his  trade  now 
largely  extends  over  the  state.  In  his  politi- 
cal views  Mr.  Stahl  usually  endorses  the 
Democratic  principles,  yet  he  votes  for  the 
man  whom  he  thinks  best  qualified  for  oflfice 
rather  than  for  party.     Socially  he  is  con- 


nected with  the  Royal  Arcanum.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Lutheran  church,  but  is  a  Pres- 
byterian in  religious  faith.  He  has  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  of  land  in  the  old 
homestead  and  there  he  and  his  family  have 
a  pleasant  home.  Mr.  Stahl  is  an  enterpris- 
ing business  man,  a  progressive  citizen  and 
a  gentleman  of  sterling  worth  and  well  does 
he  deserve  mention  in  this  volume. 


HENRY  HIBBETS. 

Through  almost  the  Psalmist  span  of 
three  score  years  and  ten  Henry  Hibbets  has 
been  a  resident  of  Union  township,  Knox 
county,  his  birth  having  occurred  upon  the 
farm  where  he  now  lives,  his  natal  day  be- 
ing August  14,  1832.  His  father,  John  Hib- 
bets, was  born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and 
came  to  America  with  his  mother  when  a 
small  boy,  his  father,  James  Hibbets,  having 
died  on  the  ocean  voyage  and  was  buried  at 
sea.  The  mother  and  son  located  in  Charles- 
ton, West  Virginia,  and  there  grew  to  man- 
hood. He  was  married  in  Pennsylvania  to 
Miss  Susan  Hoagland,  a  native  of  the  Key- 
stone state,  and  with  his  wife  removed  to 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  where  they  re- 
mained for  a  year,  coming  thence  to  Knox 
county.  He  was  the  first  white  man  to  set- 
tle on  the  Mohegan  river  in  Knox  county, 
taking  up  his  abode  on  a  tract  of  land  which 
was  developed  into  the  farm  upon  which  our 
subject  now  resides.  When  it  came  into 
possession  of  John  Hibbets,  it  was  a  wild 
forest  tract  and  soon  the  woodman's  ax  was 
heard  while  the  monarchs  of  the  forest  fell 
before  his  sturdy  strokes.  Mr.  Hibbets  built 
a  small  log  house  and  with  characteristic  en- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


289 


ergy  began  the  development  of  his  place, 
making  his  home  there  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  February,  1844,  when  he  was 
seventy-three  years  of  age.  His  political 
support  was  given  the  Whig  party.  His  wife 
passed  away  twelve  years  later,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-nine.  They  were  the  parents  of  four- 
teen children,  all  of  whom  were  born  on  the 
family  homestead  in  Knox  county,  while 
twelve  of  the  number  reached  years  of  ma- 
turity, although  only  two  are  now  living, 
Henry  and  Susan,  the  latter  the  wife  of  Will- 
iam Snow,  a  resident  of  Sullivan  county, 
Missouri. 

Henry  Hibbets  is,  therefore,  the  only 
representative  of  the  family  still  living  in 
Knox  county.  He  can  relate  many  interest- 
ing incidents  of  pioneer  life  here,  for  with 
the  family  he  experienced  the  hardships  and 
trials  incident  to  the  frontier,  as  well  as  its 
pleasures  and  happiness.  He  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  and  early  became  fa- 
miliar with  the  work  of  the  farm  in  all  its 
departments.  May  18,  1857,  was  celebrated 
his  marriage  to  Miss  Martha  Gann,  who 
was  born  two  miles  distant  in  Union  town- 
ship, September  6,  1838,  a  daughter  of 
George  and  Sarah  (Bridgett)  Gann.  They 
Tiave  three  children:  Osbin,  who  married 
Margaret  Huffman,  of  Union  township; 
Zachariah  Lincoln,  who  wedded  Clara  Lilly, 
of  Union  township;  and  Charlie,  who  mar- 
ried Junietta  House,  of  Brinkhaven,  where 
he  is  now  serving  as  postmaster.  Osbin  has 
five  children.  Pearl,  Helen,  Henry,  Mildred 
and  Jennie. 

Mr.  Hibbets,  of  this  review,  has  spent  his 
entire  life  upon  the  family  homestead.  He 
lias  one  hundred  and  forty-four  acres  of  ex- 
cellent land  lying  along  the  Mohegan  river, 
■which  is  now  farmed  bv  his  son,  Lincoln, 


and  is  now  living  practically  retired  from  ac- 
tive business.  In  early  life  he  was  a  Whig 
and  from  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party  has  been  one  of  its  stanchest  suppor- 
ters, casting  his  vote  for  John  C.  Fremont 
in  1856.  His  last  ballot  supported  the  late 
lamented  William  McKinley.  He  has  been 
trustee  of  his  township  and  was  justice  of 
the  peace  for  about  one  year.  In  the  section 
of  the  county  where  he  makes  his  home  he 
is  the  oldest  resident.  His  farm  is  endeared 
to  him  through  the  associations  of  boyhood 
as  well  of  those  of  later  life.  From  this 
point  he  has  witnessed  the  progress  and  de- 
velopments made  in  the  county,  taking  an 
active  and  prominent  part  in  the  work  m- 
cident  thereto.  He  has  seen  land  all  around 
reclaimed  for  purposes  of  civilization,  wild 
tracts  transformed  into  rich  farms,  while  all 
modern  improvements  have  been  added.  His 
has  been  a  career  well  worthy  of  emulation 
in  many  respects  and  with  pleasure  we  pre- 
sent his  life  record  to  our  readers. 


WTLLIAM  B.  ADAMS. 

One  of  the  able  and  representative  agri- 
culutrists  and  stock-raisers  of  Knox  county 
is  the  gentleman  whose  name  introduces  this 
review.  He  is  one  of  the  native  sons  of  the 
county,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Monroe 
township,  on  the  8th  of  August,  1857,  a  son 
of  Allison  and  Elizabeth  E.  (Dowds) 
Adams.  His  paternal  grandfather,  James 
Adams,  came  from  Pennsylvania,  his  native 
state,  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  on  foot  at  a  very 
early  day,  and  soon  after  his  arrival  here  he 
entered  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land, 
one  hundred  and  eighteen  acres  of  which  is 


290 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


still  in  the  possession  of  the  family,  while 
the  remaining  is  known  as  the  Hunt  farm. 
In  1836  he  purchased  the  farm  where  our 
subject  now  resides,  and  there  he  spent  his 
remaining  days.  He  became  an  extensive 
property  owner  in  this  county,  and  was  a 
leading  and  highly  esteemed  citizen.  His 
wife  was  a  native  of  the  Old  Dominion,  and 
she,  too,  made  the  journey  to  this  state  on 
foot,  coming  here  when  a  girl  with  her  pa- 
rents. She  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Newell, 
and  was  one  of  seven  children,  all  of  whom 
lived  to  be  over  eighty  years  of  age. 

Allison  Adams,  the  father  of  him  whose 
names  forms  the  caption  of  this  article,  was 
born  in  Monroe  township,  Knox  county,  in 
1 81 8.  He  was  bereft  of  his  father's  care 
and  advice  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  and 
he  then  purchased  the  interest  of  the  remain- 
ing heirs  in  the  old  homestead,  also  acquiring 
ninety  acres  in  Putnam  county  which  his 
father  had  owned.  Mr.  Adams  continued  to 
make  Monroe  township  his  home  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  the  21st  of  Decem- 
ber, 1892.  He  was  a  practical  and  progres- 
sive agriculturist,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  his  landed  possessions  consisted  of 
four  hundred  and  thirty-seven  acres.  The 
Democracy  received  his  political  support, 
and  for  many  years  he  was  a  leader  in  the 
public  afifairs  of  his  locahty,  having  served 
his  township  as  its  clerk  for  a  period  of 
twenty-one  years,  while  for  thirty  years  he 
held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  he 
Avas  repeatedly  solicited  to  allow  his  name  to 
be  used  as  a  candidate  for  a  county  office,  but 
he  steadfastly  refused.  He  was  a  veteran 
of  the  Civil  war,  having  served  his  coimtry 
as  a  member  of  Company  H,  Sixty-fourth 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry. 

^^'illiam  B.  Adams,  of  this  review,  began 


the  active  battle  of  life  for  himself  at  the 
early  age  of  sixteen  years,  at  which  time 
he  began  buying  and  raising  calves,  but  this 
occupation  not  proving  as  remunerative  as 
he  desired,  he  began  purchasing  steers  when 
two  or  three  years  old  and  feeding  them  for 
the  market.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years 
he  took  charge  of  the  homestead  farm,  at  the 
same  time  continuing  his  stock  business,  and 
this  he  has  gradually  extended  until  he  is 
now  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  buyers 
and  shippers  of  Knox  county.  He  has  also 
added  to  his  realty  possessions  until  he  is 
now  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and  eighteen 
acres  of  land,  all  of  which  is  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation  and  is  supplied  with  all 
the  improvements  and  accessories  known  to 
the  model  farm  of  this  period.  He  enjoys  an 
enviable  reputation  for  business  sagacity  and 
uprightness  in  all  his  dealings,  and  all  honor 
and  esteem  him  for  his  manly  and  straight- 
forward course  in  life. 

On  the  25th  of  September,  1880,  oc- 
curred the  marriage  of  Mr.  Adams  and  Miss 
Ollie  Young.  The  lady  is  a  daughter  of 
W.  R.  Young,  one  of  the  prominent  farmers 
of  Monroe  township.  Unto  this  union  have 
been  born  two  children :  Harry  C,  a  teach- 
er in  the  district  schools,  and  Hattie  M.,  who 
is  devoting  some  attention  to  music.  Of  the 
Democratic  party  our  subject  is  a  stanch  sup- 
porter, and  for  two  terms  he  served  as  a 
trustee  of  his  township.  His  life  has  been 
well  spent,  and  his  activity'  in  business  af- 
fairs has  been  rewarded  b}'  a  well-merited 
competence.  He  forms  his  plans  readily,  is 
determined  in  their  execution,  is  progressive 
and  resolute,  and  as  the  result  of  his  capa- 
ble management  he  has  gained  a  place  among 
the  substantial  citizens  and  most  highly  es- 
teemed business  men  of  his  countv. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


A.  G.  WATSON. 

Among  the  best  citizens  of  Knox  coun- 
ty, esteemed  alike  for  his  sterling  worth  of 
character  and  his  acti\-ity  in  the  business 
world,  is  A.  G.  Watson,  the  efficient  cashier 
of  the  Dan\ille  Bank.  He  was  born  in  Jef- 
ferson township.  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  is 
a  son  of  Hiram  and  Margaret  (Norris) 
\A^atson,  both  also  natives  of  Knox  county 
and  members  of  prominent  pioneer  families 
of  this  state.  Our  subject,  the  youngest  of 
their  seven  children,  received  his  elementary 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  Jefferson 
township,  and  later  attended  the  public  and 
normal  schools  of  Danville.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  years  he  became  a  teacher  in  the 
schools  of  this  neighborhood,  which  profes- 
sion he  followed  for  seven  years,  on  the  ex- 
piration of  which  period,  in  1894,  he  gradu- 
ated fromi  Parsons'  Commercial  College,  at 
Columbus,  Ohio.  Again  taking  up  the  work 
of  an  instructor,  he  spent  one  year  in  the 
public  schools  of  Brinkhaven,  was  three 
years  at  Danville  and  another  year  was 
spent  at  the  district  schools.  On  the  9th  of 
June,  1897,  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
cashier  of  the  Danville  Bank,  and  has  ever 
since  continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
that  important  position  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all  concerned. 

^Ir.  ^^'atson  is  also  engaged  in  farming, 
owning  the  old  Watson  homestead,  four 
miles  north  of  Danville  in  Jefferson  town- 
ship, which  consists  of  ninety-four  acres, 
and  which  was  improved  from  its  wilder- 
ness condition  by  the  family. 

In  his  social  relations  Mr.  Watson  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Order  at  Danville, 
and  in  the  Chapter  and  Council  at  IMount 
Vernon,  exemplifying  in  his  every-day  life 


its  beneficent  and  helpful  teachings.  In  po- 
litical matters  he  is  a  stanch  supporter  of 
Republican  principles,  and  for  two  terms  he 
has  served  as  treasurer  of  the  township.  He 
is  a  man  of  rare  intelligence,  which,  coupled 
with  his  amiable  disposition  and  c6mpan- 
ionable  manner,  has  made  him  one  of  the 
leading  men  of  the  community,  and  the 
honor  and  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  all 
with  whom  he  comes  in  contact  is  but  a  just 
tribute  to  his  worth. 


R.  T.  BEUMu 

R.  T.  Beum,  a  veterinary  surgeon  and 
blacksmith  of  Danville,  was  born  in  Howard 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  op  the  23d 
of  June,  1848,  a  son  of  Isaac  T.  Beum  and 
a  grandson  of  Thomas  Beum.  The  latter 
became  one  of  the  very  early  pioneers  of 
Knox  county,  and  his  death  occurred  when 
his  son  Isaac  was  only  about  one  3^ear  old. 
The  family  is  oi  Scotch  origin.  Isaac  T. 
Beum  was  also  a  native  of  Howard  town- 
ship, having  been  born  on  a  farm  on  the 
present  site  of  the  village  of  Howard,  but  the 
place  was  then  known  as  Kinderhook.  He 
became  a  prominent  farmer  and  stock-deal- 
er of  his  locality,  having-  been  extensively 
engaged  in  buying  and  shipping  stock.  He 
was  called  to  his  final  rest  in  the  year  1898. 
The  mother  of  our  subject  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Matilda  Robinson  and  was  a  native 
of  Union  township,  Knox  coomty,  her  birth 
having  occurred  in  1818.  She  was  called  to 
the  home  beyond  when  she  had  reached  the 
age  of  seventy-two  years.  Her  father,  Will- 
iam Robinson,  was  born  in  England,  where 
his  family  belonged  to  the  nobility,  but  when 


292 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


a  young  man  lie  left  the  land  of  his  birth 
and  came  to  the  United  States,  first  locating 
in  Pennsylvania.  He  soon  made  his  way  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  where  he  became  a 
prominent  and  leading  farmer.  Unto  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Isaac  T.  Beum  were  born  seven 
children,  four  sons  and  three  daughters,  our 
subject  being  the  second  child  in  order  of 
birth,  and  six  of  the  family  are  now  living. 

R.  T.  Beum  was  reared  in  the  county  of 
his  nativity  until  his  ninth  year,  when  he  ac- 
companied his  parents  on  their  removal  tc 
Coshocton  county,  this  state,  where  he  spent 
the  following  ten  years.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  three  times  sought  to  enlist  as  a 
defender  of  the  stars  and  stripes,  but  on 
each  occasion  he  was  rejected  on  account  of 
liis  extreme  youth.  At  the  age  of  nineteen 
years  he  came  to  Danville,  where  he  supple- 
mented his  district  school  education  by  a 
course  at  the  normal  school.  After  com- 
pleting his  education  he  served  an  appren- 
ticeship of  two  yeajrs  at  the  blacksmith's 
trade,  and  on  its  completion  he  opened  a 
shop  for  himself  in  this  city.  During  this 
period  he  had  also  studied  veterinary  sur- 
gery, which  he  now  follows  in  connection 
with  his  blacksmithing  business,  and  in  both 
branches  he  is  meeting  with  a  very  high  de- 
gree of  success. 

On  the  24th  of  August,  1868,  :\Ir.  Beum 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Arabelle  Welker. 
who  was  born  in  Union  township,  Knox 
county,  July  14,  1848,  a  daughter  of  Simon 
and  Catherine  (Reeser)  \\'elker,  early  pio- 
neers of  this  locality.  Her  grandfather, 
David  Welker,  came  from  Pennsylvania  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  in  1809,  locating  in 
Union  township.  Her  mother  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  but  was  only  twelve  years  of 
age  when  she  was  brought  by  her  parents 


to  this  county.  ]\Irs.  Beum  was  the  only 
daughter  in  her  parents'  family,  but  she  has 
three  brothers  living, — Daniel,  Paul  and 
William.  Four  children  have  blessed  the 
union  of  our  subject  and  wife :  Alice  Rus- 
sell, who  resides  with  her  parents  and  has 
one  daughter,  Nellie  Russell;  Corlin  O.,  of 
Mount  Vernon ;  Clarence  O.,  deceased ;  and 
A.gnes  A.,  at  home.  Mr.  Beum  is  a  life-long 
Republican,  and  he  is  now  holding  the  posi- 
tion of  constable  of  this  township.  He  is  a 
man  of  sterling  worth,  and  justly  merits  the 
high  regard  in  which  he  is  held. 


JOHN  SIMPSON. 

John  Simpson,  a  prominent  early  set- 
tler of  Howard  township,  was  born  in 
Brown  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio.  Sep- 
tember 2.  1841.  His  father,  Samuel  Simp- 
son, was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  but 
when  a  young  man  he  came  with  his  par- 
ents. Jesse  and  Margaret  Simpson,  to  Ash- 
land county,  Ohio,  the  family  locating  in 
Hanover  township.  Shortly  afterwaril, 
however,  they  took  up  their  abode  in  Brown 
township,  Knox  county.  In  Jefferson 
township,  this  county,  Samuel  Simpson  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Olive  ]\Ielton,  who 
was  a  native  daughter  of  Knox  county  and 
a  member  of  an  old  and  prominent  family 
of  this  locality.  After  their  marriage  they 
began  their  domestic  life  on  a  farm  in 
Brown  township,  where  the  father  passed 
away  in  death  in  1S46,  aged  thirty-two 
years.  After  his  death  his  widow  returned 
to  JefTerson  township,  and  was  there  mar- 
ried to  William  Blair.  She  was  called  to 
her  final  rest  in  1892,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


29? 


two  years.  By  her  marriage  with  Mr.  Simp- 
son she  became  the  mother  of  two  children, 
and  the  brother  of  our  subject,  Meshic 
Simpson,  is  a  prominent  farmer  of  Jeffer- 
son township. 

John  Simpson,  the  immediate  subject  of 
tliis  review,  was  only  five  years  of  age  when 
his  father  died,  and  after  his  mother's  sec- 
ond marriage  he  and  his  younger  brother 
made  their  home  with  their  grandfather, 
John  Melton,  in  Jefiferson  township,  our 
subject  remaining  with  him  until  his  eight- 
eenth year.  He  then  began  the  active  battle 
of  life  on  his  own  account,  and  for  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  employed  as  a  farm  hand 
in  this  locality.  He  then  removed  to  Kosci- 
usko coimty,  Indiana,  where  for  nine  months 
he  found  employment  in  a  sawmill,  on  the 
expiration  of  which  period  he  returned  to 
Jefferson  township,  Knox  county,  and  for 
the  following  eight  months  was  employed  as 
a  farm  hand  by  Alexander  Greer.  After  his 
marriage,  which  important  event  occurred 
in  1 86 1,  he  located  on  a  rented  farm  in  Jef- 
ferson township,  where  he  remained  until 
the  spring  of  1864,  and  in  that  year  he  re- 
moved to  Union  township,  Knox  county, 
where  he  also  rented  land  for  one  year.  In 
1865  he  came  to  Howard  township,  but 
four  years  later  he  removed  tO'  Union  town- 
ship, there  spending  the  following  two  years, 
when,  in  1871,  he  came  again  to  Howard, 
purchasing  the  farmi  on  which  he  now  re- 
sides. At  the  time  of  the  purchase  his  farm 
consisted  of  eighty-six  acres,  but  as  the  years 
have  passed  by  and  success  has  rewarded  his 
well-directed  efforts  he  has  been  enabled  to 
add  to  his  original  purchase  until  his  landed 
possessions  now  consist  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  acres  of  as  good  land  as  can 
be  found  in  Knox  county.     His  land  is  di- 


vided into  three  tracts.  Industry  and  perse- 
verance have  been  Mr.  Simpson's  chief  char- 
acteristics through  life,  and  have  been  the 
means  of  winning  for  him  a  desirable  com- 
petence. He  has  risen  to  the  high  position 
which  he  now  occupies  in  Knox  county  alone 
and  unaided,  and  all  that  he  now  possesses- 
stand  as  monuments  to  his  thrift  and  busi- 
ness ability. 

The  lady  who-  bore  the  name  of  Mrs. 
Simpson  was  in  her  maidenhood  Miss 
Drusilla  Clark,  and  their  wedding  was  cele- 
brated in  Jefferson  township,  Knox  county,, 
in  1 86 1 .  The  lady  was  a  native  of  this  coun- 
ty and  a  daughter  of  Robert  and  Cynthia 
(Adams)  Clark,  prominent  early  settlers  of 
this  locality.  They  came  from  Pennsylvania 
to  the  Buckeye  state.  Twelve  children  were 
born  unto  the  marriage  of  our  subject  and 
wife,  namely:  Salora,  the  wife  of  O.  M. 
Drake;  Elmer,  who  married  Mary  Deacons; 
John,  who  married  Jennie  Matison  and. 
makes  his  home  in  Berea,  Ohio ;  Grant,  who 
married  Allie  Barker,  and  resides  in  Mon- 
roe township,  Knox  county;  Quincy,  who 
married  Gertie  Smith  and  makes  his  home- 
in  Howard  township;  William,  who  married 
Jennie  Williams  and  is  a  resident  of  Mor- 
row county,  Ohio;  Elizabeth,  at  home; 
Charles,  at  home;  Garfield,  who  is  engaged 
in  the  hardware  business  at  Fredericktown ; 
Arthur,  Harley  and  Lucy,  at  home.  The- 
children  were  all  born  in  Knox  county.  Mrs. 
Simpson  died  February  20,  1885,  and  our 
subject  was  again  married,  February  23, 
1887,  to  Mrs.  Ehretta  (Boone)  Clark,  of 
Howard  township.  Her  two  children  are 
Bertie,  wife  of  Frank  Linn,  of  Wayne  town- 
ship, and  Hyla,  wife  of  Harry  E.  Cassil,  of 
Fredericktown,  Ohio.  Mr.  Simpson  has 
given  an  unfaltering  support  to  the  Repub- 


294 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


lican  party,  and  for  eighteen  years  he  served 
as  township  trustee,  while  for  many  years 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
His  social  relations  connect  him  with  the 
Masonic  order,  belonging  to  Danville  Lodge, 
Xo.  546,  F.  &  A.  M. 


MICHAEL  BLACKFORD. 

Many  years  have  passed  since  the  Black- 
ford family  was  established  in  Ohio,  and 
since  that  time  its  representatives  have  been 
largely  connected  with  farming  interests 
liere.  Michael  Blackford  was  a  native  of 
New  Jersey,  born  in  Sussex  county,  that 
state,  on  the  25th  of  August,  1797.  There 
he  was  reared  to<  manhood  and  after  attain- 
ing adult  life  he  was  married  to  Miss  Hiley 
Poulison,  who  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  Jan- 
uary 17,  1802.  In  the  year  1831  they  de- 
eded to  seek  a  home  in  the  west — as  it  was 
then  called — and  made  their  way  to  Mor- 
row county,  Ohio,  where  Mr.  Blackford'  se- 
cured a  tract  of  land  and  followed  farming 
until  his  death. 

Unto  this  worthy  couple  were  born  the 
following  children  :  John  ;  Charlotte ;  Lo- 
vina,  deceased;  Martha  Elizabeth;  Isaac; 
William ;  Abbie  Jane ;  Lovina ;  and  Phineas, 
who  has  also  passed  away.  Of  this  family 
Martha  E.  was  married  on  the  17th  of  De- 
cember, 1857,  to  Jonathan  Olin,  a  son  of 
Jonathan  and  Amy  (Johnson)  Olin.  He 
Avas  bom  in  Shaftsbury,  Vermont,  August 
25,  1838,  and  Mrs.  Olin  was  born  in  New 
Jersey,  January  3,  1829.  They  resided  upon 
a  farm  in  Knox  county,  and  although  their 
lives  were  quietly  passed,  both  command  the 
warm  regard  of  those  with  whom  they  came 


in  contact,  so  that  Mr.  Olin's  death,  which 
occurred  February  22,  1887,  '^'^'^s  deeply  re- 
gretted throughout  the  community. 

Isaac  Blackford,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Olin, 
married  Lucinda  Iden  and  they  had  three 
children:  Alta  M.,  the  wife  of  William 
Cunsaulus,  a  resident  of  Mount  Gilead, 
Ohio ;  Ella,  deceased ;  and  Wilbert  Edson. 
The  last  named,  born  January  21,  1869,  a 
nephew  of  Mrs.  Olin,  resides  with  her  and 
operates  the  fami.  He  married  Daisy  Ir- 
win, a  daughter  of  George  and  Minnie 
(Dalrymple)  Irwin.  She  was  born  May  3, 
1873,  and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the 
mother  of  two  children :  Roljert  Neal,  born 
November  6,  1896;  and  Ina  May,  born  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1 90 1. 

Mrs.  Olin  has  forty-six  acres  of  fine 
improved  land  situated  on  the  main  road 
two  miles  from  Fredericktown.  There  she 
has  a  beautiful  residence,  and  the  property, 
well  improved,  is  very  desirable  and  val- 
uable. 


CHARLES  WRIGHT  DURBIN. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Fredericktown,  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  was  born  in  Morris  township, 
that  county,  August  17,  1864,  and  died  at 
Fredericktown,  December  25,  1891.  His 
parents  were  John  and  Elizabeth  (Wright) 
Durbin,  who  settled  at  Fredericktown  when 
Charles  was  six  weeks  old.  There  the  boy 
grew  up  and  was  educated  in  the  village 
school,  later  taking  a  classical  course  at  the 
Wesleyan  University,  at  Delaware,  Ohio. 
For  five  years  succeeding  hHs  graduation 
he  was  superintendent  of  schools  at  Fred- 
ericktown, and  for  about  four  years  he  filled 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


295 


the  office  of  county  examiner  of  teachers.  In 
pohtics  he  was  a  RepubUcan,  and  his  con- 
victions on  rehgious  questions  led  him  to 
affihate  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

Mr.  Durbin  married,  December  28,  1886, 
Lina  Craven,  daughter  of  Leander  and  Leo- 
nora (Ewers)  Craven,  who  bore  him  three 
children :  John  Vincent,  born  May  2,  1888 ; 
Pauline,  born  June  29,  1889;  and  Elizabeth, 
born  September  7,  1891.  Mrs.  Durbin  was 
born  in  Wayne  township,  Knox  county, 
'March  7,  1865,  and  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  near  her  childhood  home  and 
at  the  Union  school  at  Fredericktown,  grad- 
uating in  the  latter  in  May,  1882.  Her  par- 
ents were  natives  of  Loudoun  county,  Vir- 
ginia. Her  father  was  born  in  1818,  her 
mother  in  1824,  and  the  former  died  No- 
vember 28,  1895,  the  latter  June  20,  1898. 
They  were  the  parents  of  five  children. 
Their  daughter  Clara  died  in  infancy,  their 
son,  William  Franklin,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enteen years,  and  their  daughter,  Marcejla, 
married  Elias  Cooper  and  died  in  1886,  aged 
thirty-eight  years,  leaving  daughters  named 
Mildred  and  Ada.  Their  daughter,  Lilian 
Elizabeth,  married  Milton  Grove  and  lives 
in  Morrow  county,  Ohio. 

Mrs.  Durbin's  paternal  grandfather, 
IMahlon  Craven,  was  born  in  Virginia  March 
13,  1786,  and  married  Hannah  Iden  March 
II,  1810,  and  they  had  children  named  Shel- 
ton,  Samuel,  James,  Leander,  John  W., 
Thomas,  Martha,  Sarah  E.,  Eliza  and  Mary. 
When  their  son  Leander,  father  of  Mrs. 
Durbin,  was  about  fifteen  years  old  they  lo- 
cated in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  in  1857 
Leander  settled  in  Wayne  township,  where 
he  cleared  and  improved  a  large  farm.  Mrs. 
Durbin's      maternal      grandfather,     Gregg 


Ewers,  married  Elizabeth  Ashford,  who  bore 
hirn  the  following  children  :  Leonora,  Eliz- 
abeth, Harriet,  William  Fenton  and  Mary. 
Leonora  and  William  Fenton  Ewers  are 
dead.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ewers  were  of  English 
birth,  and  they  seem  to  have  been  brought 
when  young  to  America  by  their  parents. 
Mrs.  Durbin  has  a  sugar  bowl  that  one  of 
her  great-grandmothers  brought  over  with 
her  from  her  native  land,  a  memento  which 
Mrs.  Durbin  prizes  highly  and  which  is  an 
object  of  much  interest  to  her  many  friends. 


JAMES  BELL. 


There  are  capitalists  who  take  up  farm- 
ing and  there  are  farmers  who  by  good  man- 
agement and  close  attention  to  financial  in- 
terests develop  into  capitalists,  and  of  the 
latter  class  is  James  Bell,  land  owner  and 
money  loaner  at  Martinsburg,  Clay  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio. 

James  Bell  was  born  in  the  township 
in  which  he  now  lives  September  20,  1839, 
the  fifth  child  in  order  of  birth  of  Meeker 
and  Rachel  (Crane)  Bell,  who  had  three 
sons  and  three  daughters,  and  it  is  a  note- 
worthy fact  that  he  was  their  youngest  son. 
A  biographical  sketch  of  his  brother,  Isaac 
Bell,  now  deceased,  appears  elsewhere  in 
these  pages.  The  young  man  was  a  mem- 
ber of  his  father's  household  until  he  at- 
tained his  majority,  meantime  obtaining  a 
fair  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
day  and  locality.  He  then  took  up  the  battle 
of  life  independently,  engaging  in  stock- 
raising,  farming  and  in  the  wool  trade.  For 
three  years  he  lived  in  Jackson  township, 
Knox  county.     In  1868  he  located  in  Clay 


296 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


township,  adjoining  his  father's  old  home- 
stead, wliere  he  remained  until  1886,  when 
he  bought  the  house  and  eight  acres  of  land 
in  Martinsburg  where  he  now  resides.  He 
still  has  the  care  and  supervision  of  over 
four  hundred  acres  in  Clay  township,  but 
the  farming  is  carried  on  by  tenants.  He  de- 
votes himself  principally  to  general  farming, 
but  gives  considerable  attention  to  stock- 
raising  and  formerly  gave  considerable  at- 
tenton  to  the  settlement  of  estates.  Polit- 
ically he  is  a  Democrat,  and  as  such  has  been 
elected  to  many  important  township  offices. 
He  has  lived  the  most  of  his  life  of  sixty- 
two  years  in  Knox  county,  where  he  is  well 
known  and  highly  esteeined  by  all  classes  of 
citizens. 

May  6,  1865,  Mr.  Bell  married  Sarah 
Paul,  who  was  born  in  Clay  township,  a 
daughter  of  James  and  Sarah  (Bane)  Paul, 
who  were  pioneers  from  Pennsylvania  in 
Knox  county,  where  they  located  in  the 
woods  and  took  up  the  labor  of  improving 
the  home  farm.  Mrs.  Bell,  who  is  the  si.xth 
in  order  of  birth  of  the  seven  children  of  her 
parents,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Martinsburg  and  Fredericktown,  and  for 
some  time  before  her  marriage  was  a  suc- 
cessful teacher.  They  have  one  daughter, 
Otta  S.,  who  is  a  member  of  her  parents' 
household. 


THOMAS  H.  TRIMBLE. 

Thomas  H.  Trimble  is  an  enterprising 
and  wide-awake  business  man  of  Mount 
Vernon,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
grocery  business  for  the  past  ten  years.  He 
enjoys  a  large  and  constantly  increasing 
trade,    his   straightforward   business   meth- 


ods, energy  and  unfailing  courtesy  securing 
to  him  a  liberal  and  well-merited  patronage. 
He  is  therefore  justly  numbered  among 
the  representative  business  men  of  this  sec- 
tion of  the  county,  and  with  pleasure  we 
present  the  record  of  his  life  to  our  readers. 

Mr.  Trimble  is  native  son  of  Knox  coun- 
ty, his  birth  having  occurred  here  in  1841. 
He  is  descended  from  Revolutionary  ances- 
try, his  paternal  great-grandfather  having 
participated  in  that  memorable  struggle  for 
American  independence.  Thomas  Trimble 
became  the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  and 
the  latter's  father,  Samuel  W.  Trimble, 
came  from  Cumberland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  Kno'X  county,  Ohio,  in  1839,  ^^'^ 
here  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days, 
passing  away  in  death  in  1855,  at  the  age 
of  forty-one  yars.  He  was  one  of  the  early 
abolitionists  and  was  an  active  and  promi- 
nent worker  in  its  cause.  The  mother  of 
our  subject  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary 
A.  Caldweli,  and  was  a  native  of  Mifflin 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  daughter  of 
Andrew  Caldwell,  also  of  the  Keystone 
state. 

Thomas  H.  Trimble,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  review,  enlisted  for  service  in  the 
Civil  war  in  1862,  becoming  a  member  of 
the  Ninety-sixth  Ohio  Infantry,  Company 
A,  in  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  the 
struggle.  He  was  made  a  member  of  the 
department  of  the  Mississippi  Gulf,  and 
with  his  command  he  participated  in  many 
of  the  hard-fought  battles  of  the  war,  in- 
cluding those  of  Mobile,  Fort  Morgan,  Fort 
Gains,  Spanish  Fort,  Whistler,  Chickamau- 
ga,  Vicksburg,  Sabine  Cross  Roads  and 
many  others.  He  was  mustered  out  of  ser- 
vice  on  the  7th  of  July,  1865,  and  immedi- 
ately returned  to  his  home  to  take  up  again 


(/A^n^^l^  x!^a^^yiyij^,.Suj 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


297 


the  duties  of  a  business  life.  For  the  past 
ten  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  tlie  gro- 
cery business  in  [Mount  Vernon,  and  in  this 
undertaking  he  has  met  with  a  high  and 
well-merited  degree  of  success,  and  his  is 
now  one  of  the  leading-  business  houses  in 
that  line  in  this  city. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Trimble  was  cele- 
brated in  Mount  Vernon,  Miss  Ella  Dickey 
becoming  his  wife.  She  is  a  daughter  of 
James  Dickey,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Clin- 
ton township,  Knox  county.  One  son  has 
blessed  this  union,  Joseph  D.  Politically 
Mr.  Trimble  has  been  a  life-long  Republi- 
can and  has  always  contributed  his  full 
share  to  the  success  of  that  party.  In  his 
social  relations  he  is  a  member  of  the  Joe 
Hooker  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and 
Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity.  Honorable 
in  all  his  business  dealings,  courteous  in  all 
life's  relations,  he  commands  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  his  fellow  men  and  is  well 
known  as  an  enterprising  and  reliable  citi- 
zen of  Knox  county. 


EDWIN  J.  CAMPBELL. 

This  influential  citizen  of  Morgan  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  is  a  son  of  James 
and  Eliza  A.  (Sperry)  Campbell,  and  was 
born  on  the  farm  on  which  he  now  lives 
May  8,  1849.  He  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  district  No.  3,  Morgan  town- 
ship, and  in  a  Cincinnati  college,  where  he 
was  a  student  for  one  year.  After  leaving 
school  he  engaged  in  farming  on  the  old 
Campbell  homestead  and  soon  developed 
into  one  of  the  most  successful  farmers  in 
the  township.     He  now  owns  two  hundred 


and  ninety-six  acres  of  rich  farm  land,  near- 
ly all  of  which  is  under  cultivation,  and  be- 
sides raising  general  crops  gives  much  atten- 
tion to  stock-raising.  His  home  is  one  of 
the  most  attractive  in  this  vicinity. 

In  religion  Mr.  Campbell  affiliates  with 
the  Baptist  church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican, and  he  is  an  active  and  influential 
Patron  of  Husbandry.  He  has  filled  the 
offices  of  secretary,  overseer  and  master  of 
his  grange,  and  is  thoroughly  devoted  to  all 
its    interests.     He    was    married,  May  24, 

1893,  to  Margaret  D.  Lewis,  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Mary  J.  (Gallant)  Lewis,  a 
woman  of  high  character  and  many  accom- 
plishments, who  had  been  to  him  in  every 
sense  a  worthy  helpmeet. 

David  Campbell,  grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  emigrated  to  Ohio  from 
Virginia  and  settled  in  Butler  township,. 
Knox  county,  afterward  removing  to  Mor- 
gan township,  where  he  lived  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  March  14,  1820.  James- 
Campbell,  father  of  Edwin  J.  Campbell,  mar- 
ried Eliza  A.   Sperry  and  died  March  21^ 

1894,  aged  seventy-four  years.  They  had. 
seven  children,  as  follows:  David  Presley;. 
Mary  Angeline;  ]\Iartha;  Elizabeth,  whcc 
married  William  Sellers  and  died  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1894 ;  Hugh  S. ;  Edwin  J. ;  and  Clyde 
Ernest.  Samuel  Lewis,  father  of  Margaret 
D.  (Lewis)  Campbell,  was  a  son  of  John 
Lewis  and  was  born  in  Wales,  August  8, 
1832.  He  married  Mary  J.  Gallant,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Elisha  and  'Eleanor  (Moore)  Gallant, 
and  had  five  children,  as  follows :  Ella,  who 
married  Edward  E.  Jones  and  lives  at  Rich- 
wood,  Ohio;  Elisha  Judson;  Minnie,  whc 
married  Walter  Cox,  of  Radnor,  Delaware 
county,  Ohio;  Margaret  D.,  wife  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch ;  and  Elizabeth,  who  mar- 
ried Chauncey  Prouty  and  is  now  a  widow 


298 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


living  at  Radnor,  Ohio.  The  father  of  these 
children  died  February  21,  1891,  aged  sixty- 
nine  years ;  and  the  mother  died  August  20, 
J900,  aged  sixty-four  years. 


MONROE  JACOB  SIMONS. 

The  late  Monroe  Jacob  Simons  was  born 
near  Brandon,  Licking  county,  Ohio,  July 
6,  1832,  and  died  at  Fredericktown,  Ohio, 
September  8,  1897.  He  passed  his  child- 
hood and  youth  in  Homer,  Licking  county, 
and  in  1852,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years, 
settled  at  Fredericktown,  where  he  remained 
until  his  untimely  death  at  the  date  above 
given,  when  he  was  accidentally  smothered 
in  a  bin  of  wheat.  His  parents,  Horton  and 
Isabel  (Dill)  Simons,  were  people  of  intel- 
ligence and  forceful  character.  Monroe 
Jacob  Simons  inherited  much  of  their  ex- 
cellent business  traits,  and  for  nearly  thirty 
years  was  a  dry  goods  merchant,  and  from 
1885  until  his  death  was  a  leading  grain 
merchant  in  Fredericktown.  He  was  a  meni- 
l)er  of  Thrall  Lodge,  No.  170,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  at  Fredericktown,  a  Knight 
Templar  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  a  Scottish 
Rite  Mason  at  Cincinnati.  His  life  was  ruled 
by  kindness  and  benevolence,  having  united 
about  1884  with  the  Presbyterian  church 
and  thereafter  was  devotedly  helpful  to  its 
interests.  He  held  several  township  and 
city  offices  with  honor  and  dignity,  and  was 
specially  useful  to  his  fellow  citizens  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  education. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Alice  Smith, 
August  20,  1855.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  William'  and  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Smith 
and  was  born  at  Henrysburg,  Lower  Can- 


ada, April  13,  1835,  and  in  1848,  at  the  age 
of  thirteen  years,  came  to  Knox  count)-, 
Ohio,  where  she  made  her  home  with 
Charles  R.  Hooker,  who  had  reared  her  from 
a  child  of  two  and  one-half  years.  Her  fa- 
ther was  born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  and 
emigrated  to  Canada  in  1832,  where  his 
death  occurred  when  Alice  was  but  a  small 
child.  Her  mother  was  born  in  Lincoln- 
shire, England,  in  181 1,  and'  bore  three  chil- 
dren,— James  J.,  John  J.  and  Alice  Smith, 
her  death  occurring  June  21,  1892. 

Monroe  Jacob  Simons  and  Alice 
(Smith)  Simons  had  six  children,  who  were 
born  in  the  order  here  mentioned :  Charles 
Hooker,  1857;  Fred  Decker,  i860;  Albina, 
1863;  Maud  E.,  January  13,  1865;  George 
Lewin,  1867;  John  B.,  1870.  Charles 
Hooker,  Fred  Decker  and  John  B.  are  busi- 
ness men  of  fine  ability  and  high  reputation. 
The  two  former  are  farmers,  horse  raisers 
and  dealers,  and  their  well  cultivated  land 
and  other  evidence  of  material  prosperity 
speak  well  for  their  energy  and  good  man- 
agement. John  B.  is  an  enterprising  shoe 
merchant  of  Belleville,  Ohio.  Albina  died 
October  28,  1863.  Maud  E.  was  educated 
in  the  schools  of  Fredericktown  and  in  1880 
entered  the  Wesleyan  College,  at  Delaware, 
Ohio,  from  which  she  went  to  the  Mission- 
ary Training  School  for  Home  and  Foreign 
Missions,  at  Chicago,  Illinois.  She  took 
high  rank  as  a  student  and  developed  marked 
artistic  tastes,  excelling  in  painting  and 
wood-carving.  She  was  deeply  and  fully 
converted  during  a  revival  season,  and  after 
having  been  given  special  training  she  was 
sent  to  Japan  by  the  foreign  branch  of  for- 
eign missions,  sailing  for  Nagasake  in  1889 
for  a  stay  of  three,  years.  She  was  success- 
ful  in  her  chosen  work  and  in    1892   was 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


made  treasurer  of  the  missionary  organiza- 
tion of  iier  church  in  South  Japan.  She  was 
at  that  time  transferred  to  Yokahama,  where 
for  six  years  she  faithfully  and  earnestly 
performed  her  allotted  task  as  teacher  in  day 
schools  and  overseer  of  buildings  destroyed 
first  by  earthquakes  and  then  by  fire,  a  heavy 
responsibility  which  she  accepted  cheerfully 
and  discharged  efficiently.  Another  of  her 
duties  was  the  preparation  and  publication 
of  conference  minutes.  She  remained  in 
Japan  to  finish  this  last  mentioned  task  and 
at  its  conclusion  expected-to  return  home  by 
the  next  steamer,  when  suddenly  she  was 
■called  from  her  labor  to  her  reward,  being 
killed  July  29,  1898,  by  a  Japanese  junk 
while  she  was  out  on  the  bay  bidding  God- 
speed to  friends  who  were  preceding  her  to 
America.  She  was  buried  on  the  afternoon 
of  July  30,  from  her  school  chapel.  The 
services  were  condudted  by  her  pastor.  Bish- 
op Cranston,  and  her  favorite  chapter  of  the 
bible  (John  XIV)  was  read  and  her  favorite 
hymns  sung.  She  left  her  work  in  perfect 
order.  .  She  was  to  have  come  home  to  rest, 
but  the  heavenly  gates  opened  suddenly  and 
she  passed  within  to  be  forever  with  her 
Master.  While  buried  in  a  foreign  land,  yet 
she  is  buried  among  God's  people.  Her 
grave  will  be  visited  for  all  time  to  come 
by  American  missionaries  and  those  whom 
she  has  taught  the  way  of  eternal  life.  In 
the  spring  time  flowers  will  bloom  over  her 
form,  planted  by  loving  hands.  In  the 
Northern  Ohio  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  September  24,  1898,  the 
Rev.  W.  F.  Whitlock  offered  a  resolution 
to  the  effect  that  the  conference  had  learned 
with  sorrow  of  the  tragic  death  of  Miss 
Simons,  mentioned  her  beautiful  charactei" 
and  her  splendid  mission  work  in  Japan 
Tvhich  had  endeared  her  to  the  whole  church. 


and  expressing  deep  sorrow  because  of  her 
loss  to  the  church  and  to  her  family  and 
friends.  Especial  memorial  funeral  service 
was  held  in  her  honor  by  her  sorrowing 
friends  and  relatives  at  Fredericktown. 


JOHN  McDANIEL. 

John  McDaniel,  who  for  many  years  was 
engaged  in  farming  in  Knox  county,  toolc 
up  his  abode  within  its  borders  in  1834,  when 
the  work  of  development  here  was  still  in 
its  primitive  stages.  He  was  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  his  birth  having  occurred  in 
Bedford  county,  that  state,  on  the  17th  of 
January,  18 13,  and  his  parents  being  Joel 
and  Catherine  (Smith)  McDonald.  His  fa- 
ther was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  also  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  coffins  and  in 
the  undertaking  business.  When  the  country 
became  in\-oh'ed  in  war  with  Great  Britain  in 
1775  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  colonies, 
and,  entering  the  Colonial  army,  served  un- 
der General  Washington  in  the  struggle  for 
independence. 

John  McDaniel,  of  this  review,  pursued 
his  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
county,  and  when  a  young  man  accompanied 
his  parents  on  their  re:noval  to  Licking  coun- 
ty, Ohio.  There  he  remained  until  1834, 
when  he  came  to  Knox  county,  settling  in 
Wayne  township.  For  fifteen  years  he  was 
engaged  in  clerking  in  Licking  county,  but 
after  coming  to  Knox  county  he  engaged  in 
farming,  which  he  followed  until  his  life's 
labors  were  ended  in.  death. 

On  the  15th  of  April,  1850,  Mr.  Mc- 
Daniel was  married  to  Miss  Catharine 
Hughes,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Rebecca 
(Woods)  Hughes.    She  is  a  granddaughter 


300 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


of  Captain  Elias  Hughes,  who  won  his  title 
by  valiant  service  in  command  of  a  company 
in  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  was  the  first 
white  settler  in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  and 
entered  large  tracts  of  land  from  the  govern- 
ment, but  afterward  lost  much  of  it  on  ac- 
count of  the  depreciation  in  the  value  of 
continental  money.  During  the  war  of  1812 
he  served  as  captain  of  scouting  parties  in 
Licking  county  and  killed  many  a  hostile  In- 
dian who  was  connected  with  the  bands  of 
treacherous  savages  that  menaced  the  fron- 
tier settlers.  John  Hughes,  the  father  of 
Mrs.  McDaniel,  was  born  in  Wales  in  1785, 
and  was  about  three  years  old  when  brought 
by  his  parents  to  America,  the  family  locat- 
ing in  Virginia,  where  they  remained  until 
the  son  was  a  youth  of  ten,  when  they  came 
to  Ohio  and  were  the  first  settlers  of  Lick- 
ing county.  He  was  married  in  that  county 
to  Rebecca  \\'oods,  who  was  born  in  1802, 
and  her  brothers  and  sisters  were  William, 
George,  Xancy,  Clementine,  Diana  and 
Rachel,  ^h.  and  ]\Irs.  Hughes  died  in  Lick- 
ing county,  the  father  in  1847,  the  mother 
in  1844.  Mrs.  McDaniel  was  born  in  Lick- 
ing county,  June  15,  1832,  and  came  to 
Knox  county  at  the  time  of  her  marriage. 
By  this  union  were  born  seven  children: 
^^'illard  X.,  an  engineer  of  California;  Eliz- 
abeth, who  is  living  in  Cleveland;  Isabel,  of 
Mount  Vernon;  Susan,  wife  of  George 
Walters,  of  Coshocton  avenue.  Mount  Ver- 
non; Aaron  D.,  who  lives  in  California; 
Charles  R.,  also  a  resident  of  that  state; 
and  Henry  C,  who  is  connected  with  the 
gas  business  in  Mount  Vernon. 

Mr.  McDaniel  exercised  his  right  of 
francliise  in  support  of  the  men  and  meas- 
ures of  the  Democracy,  but  was  never  an 
aspirant  for  office.     Fraternallv  he  was  con- 


nected with  Xewark  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and 
held  membership  in  the  Lutheran  church. 
He  passed  away  January  15,  1895,  at  the 
ripe  old  age  of  eighty-two  years,  and  thus 
the  community  mourned  the  loss  of  one 
whom  it  had  esteemed  and  a  faithful  citi- 
zen and  an  upright  man.  Mrs.  McDaniel 
still  survives  her  husband  and  occupies  a 
pleasant  home  on  East  High  street  in  ^Nlount 
Vernon,  where  she  is  surrounded  by  many 
friends. 


ROLAND  CRITCHFIELD. 

Of  all  the  men  who  have  acquired  their 
educational  discipline  in  Knox  county  and 
have  had  their  characters  molded  and  de- 
veloped in  its  institutions,  receiving  there 
the  impetus  toward  progress  and  advance- 
ment, certainly  none  have  reflected  greater 
credit  upon  the  county  than  the  gentleman 
whose  name  forms  the  caption  of  this  re- 
view. 

Mr.  Critchfield  was  born  in  Howard 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  March  23, 
1839.  His  father,  Benjamin  Critchfield,  was 
a  native  of  the  state  of  Maryland,  but  when 
only  about  six  years  of  age,  in  1803,  he 
was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio.  He  was  here  married  to  Mary 
Welker,  also  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  they 
began  their  domestic  life  on  a  farm  in  How- 
ard township,  here  spending  the  remainder 
of  their  days,  the  father  passing  away  at 
the  age  of  eighty-six  years,  and  the  mother 
at  the  age  of  eighty-seven.  They  reared  a 
family  of  seven  children,  five  sons  and  two 
daughters,  our  subject  being  the  youngest 
in  order  of  birth,  and  only  two  sons  and  one 
daughter  are  now  living. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


301 


Roland  Critchfield,  whose  name  intro- 
duces tliis  review,  attended  the  primitive 
log  school  houses  of  Howard  township  in 
his  early  youth,  and  afterward  became  a 
student  in  the  high  school  at  Spring  j\Ioun- 
tain.  In  1861,  while  preparing  himself  to 
enter  college,  the  Civil  war  was  inaugurated, 
and,  putting  aside  all  personal  consideration, 
]\Ir.  Critchfield  nobly  offered  his  services  to 
his  country,  enlisting  at  the  first  call  for 
troops,  in  1861,  in  Company  B,  Fourth 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  entered  the 
service  for  three  months,  and  on  the  ex- 
piration of  that  period,  in  August  1861,  he 
veteranized,  becoming  a  member  of  Com- 
pany A,  Sixty-fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, in  which  he  served  until  Januan,-,  1864, 
when  he  again  re-enlisted,  in  the  same  com- 
pan^•,  and  thus  served  until  the  close  of  hos- 
tilities. He  received  an  honorable  discharge 
at  Victoria,  Texas,  November  30,  1865,  his 
military  service  having  covered  a  period  of 
four  years,  four  months  and  seven  days, 
during  which  time  he  took  part  in  every  bat- 
tle in  which  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
participated,  from  Shiloh  to  Nashville.  He 
was  never  absent  from  duty  until  in  July, 
1865,  near  Victoria,  Texas,  when  he  was  af- 
flicted with  breakbone  fever,  and  since  thai 
time  he  has  never  enjoyed  good  health.  He 
was  twice  slightly  wounded,  first  at  the  bat-* 
tie  of  Chickamauga,  in  which  he  received 
a  bullet  wound  in  the  left  fore  finger,  and  at 
the  battle  of  Franklin,  Tennessee,  he  was 
wounded  in  the  thigh.  By  reason  of  his 
bravery  and  meritorious  service  on  the  field 
of  battle  he  was  promoted  from  the  ranks 
of  a  private  to  that  of  first  sergeant,  and  as 
such  was  mustered  out  of  service  when  the 
war  had  ended. 

Returning-  to  his  home  with  an  honorable 


military  record,  he  remained  with  his  father 
on  the  old  home  farm  for  about  three  years, 
when,  in  1868,  he  purchased  the  Jelleway 
mill  property  in  Howard  township,  which 
he  has  ever  since  conducted.  He  now  has  a 
residence  in  the  course  of  construction  in 
the  village  of  Howard,  and  when  completed 
he  will  there  take  up  his  abode.  On  the 
24th  of  January,  1864,  while  on  a  furlough, 
]Mr.  Critchfield  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Margaret  E.  McElroy,  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  (Cassil)  McElroy,  who  were 
among-  the  early  pioneers  of  Knox  county, 
having  located  in  the  neighborhood  as  early 
as  1840.  Mrs.  Critchfield  was  born  in  Mon- 
roe township,  but  when  quite  young  she  re- 
moved to  Howard  township.  The  union  of 
our  subject  and  wife  has  been  blessed  with 
two  daughters, — Lavilla.  at  home;  and  Min- 
nie O.,  the  wife  of  A.  C.  Norrick,  of  How- 
ard. ^Mr.  Critchfield  is  a  lifelong  Repub- 
lican, his  first  presidential  vote  having  been 
cast  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  since  that 
time  he  has  done  all  in  his  power  to  promote 
its  growth  and  advancement.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  LeRoy  Baker  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Dan- 
\ille,  Ohio.  Devotion  to  his  family  and 
friends,  fidelity  to  every  trust  reposed  in  him 
and  advocacy  of  all  that  tends  to  benefit 
mankind, — these  are  the  salient  character- 
istics of  Roland  Critchfield. 


LAWRENCE  KING. 

"We  build  the  ladder  by  which  we  rise" 
is  a  truth  which  is  certainly  applicable  to 
Lawrence  King.  He  is  a  type  of  the  pro- 
gressive spirit  of  the  age,  a  spirit  which  has 
given  America  pre-eminence  along  its  vari- 


303 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


ous  business  lines;  and  the  undaunted  en- 
terprise, indomitable  perseverance  and  reso- 
lute purpose  which  have  characterized  him 
have  been  the  means  of  raising  him  to  his 
present  high  position. 

Mr.  King  is  a  native  of  the  far-off  coun- 
try of  Germany,  his  birth  having  there  oc- 
curred in  Baden,  on  the  15th  of  August, 
1 82 1.  He  was  reared  and  educated  in  his 
native  land  until  his  thirteenth  year,  when 
he  accompanied  his  sister  Tarecia  on  the 
long  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  to  the 
United  States,  locating  in  the  state  of  New- 
York,  and  for  a  time  after  his  arrival  in 
this  country  our  subject  worked  at  any  hon- 
orable occupation  which  would  yield  him.  a 
living.  After  twoi  years'  residence  in  the 
Empire  state  he  made  his  way  to  Ohio, 
where  he  found  employment  on  the  construc- 
tion of  the  road  from  Rochester  to  Roscoe, 
and  for  a  time  thereafter  he  was  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  near  the  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati. His  next  place  of  residence  was  in 
Holmes  county,  this  state,  where  he  pur- 
chased and  impoved  a  farm,  but  eight  years 
later  he  sold  that  place  and  removed^  to  Har- 
rison township,  Knox  county,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  farming  until  1884,  the  year  of 
his  arrival  in  Howard  township.  Since  his 
residence  in  this  township  he  has  made  his 
home  on  one  farm,  which  consists  of  one 
hundred  and  eighteen  acres,  and  in  addition 
he  also  owns  a  tract  of  one  hundred  acres 
in  Harrison  township  and  one  hundred  and 
forty-seven  and  a  half  acres  in  Howard 
township,  the  latter  being  operated  by  his 
son.  Thus  his  landed  possessions  now  con- 
sist of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres, 
and  he  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  leading  and 
representative  farmers  of  Knox  county.  In 
addition  to  the  raising  of  the  cereals  best 


adapted  to  this  soil  and  climate  he  has  also 
made  a  specialty  of  the  breeding  of  fine 
horses,  in  which  branch  of  his  business  he 
is  meeting  with  an  equally  high  degree  of 
success.  Mr.  King  has  not  only  worked  his 
own  way  through  life  and  secured  for  him- 
self a  desirable  competence,  but  he  has  also 
purchased  a  farm  in  Holmes  county,  this 
state,  for  his  sister. 

In  Holmes  county,  in  1848,  was  cele- 
brated the  marriage  of  our  subject  and  Miss 
Hannah  Draper,  who  is  a  native  daughter 
of  Knox  county,  born  on  the  26tli  of  March, 
1828.  Her  parents,  Jacob  and  Mary  (Der- 
bin)  Draper,  natives,  respectively,  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Maryland,  came  from  the  for- 
mer commonwealth  to.  Ohio  in  a  very  early 
day,  locating  in  Union  township,  having 
been  among  the  first  families  to  locate  there. 
They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  of 
whom  Mrs.  Iving  was  the  youngest  in  or- 
der of  birth.  The  father  had  been  previous- 
ly married,  and  by  the  first  union  there  were 
also  born  eight  children.  The  union  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  King  has  been  blessed  with  seven 
children,  all  of  whom  were  born  hi  Knox 
county,  namely :  Mary,  the  wife  of  Absa- 
lom Buckingham,  of  Mount  Verno-n ;  Albert, 
at  home;  Lillie  F.,  wife  of  Clem  Sapp,  a 
prominent  farmer  of  Howard  township; 
Julius,  w'lio  married  Ollie  Durbin  and  is 
engaged  in  farming  in  Harrison  township; 
Thomas,  who  married  Agnes  Eckenrode  and 
is  a  stock  buyer  and  shipper  in  Howard; 
Alice,  who  is  unmarried  and  makes  her 
home  in  Columbus ;  and  Clan,  who  married 
Tina  Smithhisler  and  makes  his  home  at 
Akron,  Ohio.  Mr.  King  is  a  prominent 
member  of  St.  Luke's  Catholic  church  at 
Danville,  and  has  assisted  materially  in  the 
erection  and  maintenance  of  the  church,  the 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


edifice  having  been  built  at  a  cost  of  thirty- 
two  thousand  dollars.  He  also  donated  two 
altars  for  that  church,  each  costing  three 
hundred  dollars.  In  political  matters  the 
Democracy  recei\-es  his  hearty  support  and 
co-operation,  and  he  is  always  loyal  in  his 
support  of  all  measures  calculated  to  benefit 
the  community  or  the  general  public. 


WILLIAM  WILSON  WALKEY. 

From  the  days  of  early  development  in 
Knox  county,  William  W.  Walkey  has  re- 
sided within  its  borders,  his  home  being  on 
section  23,  Pike  township,  where  occurred 
his  birth  on  the  9th  of  December,  1837.  His 
great-grandfather  was  a  native  of  France, 
and  on  the  maternal  side  he  is  of  German 
lineage.  His  father,  John  Walkey,  was  a 
native  of  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  in  1836  arrived  in  Knox  county,  locat- 
ing on  the  farm  where  our  subject  is  liv- 
ing. There  he  devoted  his  energies  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits  for  many  years  with  good 
success,  and  in  1884,  when  in  his  eighty- 
eighth  year,  his  life's  labors  were  ended  in 
death.  He  voted  with  the  Democratic  party 
and  served  as  trustee  of  his  township.  In 
the  war  of  18 12  he  rendered  valiant  aid  to 
his  country  as  a  soldier,  and  at  all  times  was 
true  to  its  best  interests.  His  Qiristian  be- 
lief was  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the 
Lutheran  church  and  by  a  life  in  harmony 
with  his  professions.  He  married  Margaret 
R.  Bensinger,  a  native  of  Union  county. 
Pennsylvania.  She  died  in  1886  in  her 
eighty-seventh  year,  leaving  to  her  family 
the  precious  memory  of  a  devoted  mother. 
She  had  three  sons  and  four  daughters,  of 
whom  five  grew  to  mature  years. 


Squire  Walkey,  as  he  is  usually  known,, 
was  the  youngest  of  the  family  and  is  the 
only  living  son,  while  his  only  surviving 
sister  is  Mrs.  Rebecca  Lambert,  whoi  resides- 
in  Iowa.  In  the  usual  manner  of  farmer 
lads  he  was  reared,  devoting  his  time  to  play 
and  work  and  to  the  duties  of  the  school- 
room. In  early  life  he  assisted  in  the  opera- 
tion of  flour  and  sawmills,  beginnmg  that 
work  when  a  small  boy,  and  in  the  former 
branch  of  the  business  he  continued  until 
1874.  The  sawmill,  which  was  built  in  1849, 
he  has  since  conducted,  it  being  tne  only  one 
of  the  kind  in  the  county.  His  career  has 
been  one  of  industry,  and  his  property  pos- 
sessions are  the  merited  reward  of  his  earn- 
est labor.  In  addition  to^  the  mill  he  owns 
eightj'-five  acres  of  valuable  land,  constitut- 
ing a  part  of  the  old  homestead,  which  has 
always  been  his  place  of  residence. 

On  the  23d  of  October,  1859,  Mr.. 
Walkey  was  united  in  marriage  tO'  Miss 
I  Nancy  Lewis,  a  native  of  Knox  county,  and 
a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Lydia  (Glass- 
cock) Lewis,  who  were  early  settlers  of 
Knox  county.  She  died  in  1893,  leaving  a 
daughter,  Eva,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  John 
A.  Kost,  a  resident  of  Monroe  township, 
Knox  county,  by  whom  she  had  twO'  chil- 
dren, Clarence  and  Florence  C,  but  the  lat- 
ter is  now  deceased.  Our  subject  was  elect- 
ed justice  of  the  peace  in  the  "60s  and  for 
six  years  filled  that  position  in  a  most  credit- 
able manner.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has 
acted  as  notary  public  and  for  seven  years 
he  was  township  treasurer,  while  for  five 
years  he  filled  the  position  of  township  trus- 
tee. He  has  often  been  called  upon  to  settle 
estates,  and  in  all  public  duties  has  been 
found  reliable,  prompt  and  honorable.  He 
holds  membership  in  the  Masonic  fraternity. 


304 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


belonging  to  ^Mount  Zion  Lodge,  No.  9,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  of  ]\Iount  Vernon,  since  1869.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  in  which  he  is  serving  as  steward 
and  trustee,  and  is  most  earnest  and  zealous 
in  advancing  the  cause  of  the  society.  That 
his  stanchest  friends  are  numbered  among 
those  who  have  known  him  from  boyhood  is 
an  indication  that  his  has  been  an  honorable 
career,  that  his  life  has  been  true  to  manly 
principle  and  that  his  business  dealings  have 
been  conducted  along  the  lines  of  strict 
commercial  ethics. 


WILSON  S.  ^IcGINLEY. 

The  foundation  of  success  is  earnest  toil, 
supplemented  by  perseverance,  and  in  the 
life  record  of  \\'.  S.  jMcGinley  we  see  an 
exemplification  of  this  truth.  He  is  num- 
bered among  the  prosperous  and  enterpris- 
ing agriculturists  of  Pike  township  and  is 
also  one  of  its  early  settlers.  He  resides  on 
section  7,  and  in  this  township  he  was  born 
August  24,  1843,  ^  son  of  Robert  JMcGin- 
ley, whose  birth  occurred  in  Westmoreland 
county,  Pennsylvania.  When  a  young  man 
the  latter  came  with  his  mother  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  and  was  here  married  to  Eve 
Lindsev,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  They 
became  the  parents  of  ten  children,  of  whom 
our  subject  was  the  ninth  in  the  order  of 
birth. 

Upon  the  home  farm  in  Pike  township 
W.  S.  McGinley  was  reared,  and  in  a  log 
school  house  near  his  home  he  pursued  his 
primary  education,  which  was  supplemented 
lay  two  years'  study  in  the  schools  of  Amity 
and  one  vear  in  the  Fredericktown  schools. 


He  assisted  in  the  work  of  the  farm  until 
his  enlistment,  on  the  i8th  of  August,  1862, 
as  a  member  of  Company  B,  Ninety-sixth 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  which  he 
served  for  three  years.  He  was  promoted 
to  the  position  of  chief  musician  and  partici- 
pated in  the  following  important  engage- 
ments :  Chickasaw  Bayou ;  Arkansas  Post ; 
the  siege  of  Vicksburg;  and  the  battles  of 
Jackson  and  Grand  Coteau,  where  he  was 
taken  prisoner,  but  on  the  9th  of  May,  1864, 
he  was  exchanged.  Later  he  took  part  in 
the  engagements  at  Fort  Gaines,  Fort  Mor- 
gan, Spanish  Fort,  Fort  Blakely  and  Mobile, 
and  with  his  regiment  he  was  mustered  out 
July  7,  1865.  On  one  occasion  he  was  taken 
prisoner  and  for  a  time  was  incarcerated  at 
Alexandria,  Louisiana,  but  was  there  paroled 
and  sent  within  the  Union  lines,  where  he 
was  exchanged.  For  three  years  he  was  in 
the  army  without  being  off  duty,  and  was  a 
brave  and  valiant  soldier,  unflinching  in  sup- 
port of  the  Union  cause  as  he  followed  the 
starry  banner  over  the  battlefields  of  the 
south.  He  received  an  honorable  discharge 
at  Columbus  July  29,  1865,  and  thence  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  Knox  county. 

It  was  on  the  20th  of  December,  1866, 
that  Mr.  McGinley  was  married  to  Honor 
Phillips,  a  daughter  of  Brice  and  Honor 
(Durbin)  Phillips.  She  was  born  on  the 
farm  where  she  now  lives,  March  19,  1845, 
and  is  the  ninth  in  a  family  of  seven  sons 
and  three  daughters,  eight  of  whom  reached 
mature  years.  By  her  marriage  she  has  be- 
come the  mother  of  five  children:  Charles 
F.,  who  married  Bertie  Spayde,  of  Richland 
county;  Frank  D.,  who  wedded  Julia  Clen- 
denning  and  is  a  bookkeeper  for  the  Illinois 
Leather  Company  of  Chicago,  Illinois; 
Llewlyn  D.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  LTni- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


305 


versity  of  Athens,  Ohio,  and  married  Anetta 
Wier,  their  home  being  in  Hamilton,  Ohio, 
where  he  is  engaged  in  the  insurance  busi- 
ness ;  Bertha,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  But- 
ler, Ohio,  school  and  is  with  her  parents ; 
and  Ethel,  the  wife  of  William  Murrey,  of 
Mount  Vernon. 

At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Mc- 
Ginley  located  on  a  farm  south  of  Mount 
Vernon,  where  he  remained  for  one  year, 
after  which  he  spent  two  years  on  the  farm 
near  Fredericktown.  On  the  expiration  of 
that  period  he  located  at  his  present  place 
of  residence,  on  section  7,  Pike  township,, 
having  here  since  made  his  home  with  the 
e.xception  of  four  years  spent  in  Butler, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  the  agricultural 
implement  business.  He  is  now  devoting 
his  energies  exclusively  to  farming  and 
stock-raising,  and  is  the  owner  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  acres  of  good  land. 
His  labors  have  resulted  in  making  this  a 
very  valuable  property,  and,  while  the  field? 
are  well  tilled,  in  the  pastures  and  barns  are 
also  found  high  grades  of  stock.  His  labors 
are  conducted  in  harmony  with  the  most 
progressive  methods  of  farming.  His  land 
was  entered  from  the  government  by  his 
father-in-law,  who  lived  upon  the  place  for 
sixty  years,  taking-  possession  thereof  in 
1826.  Mr.  McGinley  is  a  member  of  Sam- 
uel Bell  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Butler,  and  is 
likewise  connected  with  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Eagle  at  Amity.  In  his  political 
A'iews  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  been  hon- 
ored with  a  number  of  local  ofifices.  He  has 
been  justice  of  the  peace,  road  supervisor, 
land  appraiser  and  trustee,  and  in  all  of  these 
he  has  discharged  his  duties  in  a  most 
prompt  and  capable  manner,  winning  high 
encomiums  from  all  concerned.     He  holds 


membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  of  Butler,  and  his  life  is  in  harmony 
with  his  professions.  He  is  to-day  as  true 
to  his  duties  of  citizenship  as  when  he  fol- 
lowed the  stars  and  stripes  upon  southern 
battlefields,  and  the  fact  that  his  stanchest 
friends  are  numbered  among  those  who  have 
known  him  from  boyhood  is  an  indication 
that  his  career  has  ever  been  worthy  of  the 
confidence  and  regard  of  his  fellow  men. 


WILLIAM  HAWN. 

In  all  American  communities  there  may 
be  found  ciuiet  retiring  men,  who  never  ask 
public  office  or  appear  prominent  in  public 
affairs,  yet  who,  nevertheless,  exert  a  widely 
felt  influence  in  the  community  in  which 
they  live  and  help  to  construct  the  proper 
foundation  upon  which  the  social  and  polit- 
ical world  is  built.  Such  a  man  is  William 
Hawn,  who  for  sixty-nine  years  has  been  a 
most  honored  and  respected  citizen  of  Knox 
county.  He  has  been  long  and  prominently 
identified  with  agricultural  interests,  and  be- 
longs to  that  class  of  representative  Amer- 
icans who  advance  the  general  prosperity 
while  promoting  individual  success.  He 
commands  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his 
fellow  men  by  his  upright  life,  and  has  ever 
borne  a  reputation  unassailable,  his  word 
being  as  good  as  any  bond  ever  solemnized 
by  signature  or  seal. 

Mr.  Hawn  was  born  in  Union  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  November  14, 
1832,  and  is  of  German  descent.  His  grand- 
father, John  Hawn,  was  a  native  of  the  fa- 
therland, and  after  coming  to  this  country 
he  served  for  eight  years  in  the  Revolution- 


3o6 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


ary  war  as  a  private  under  General  Wash- 
ington. After  the  close  of  the  struggle  he 
took  up  his  abode  in  Maryland.  John  Hawn, 
his  son  and  the  father  of  our  subject,  was 
born  near  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  in  1776, 
and  was  there  reared  to  years  of  maturity. 
Subsequently  he  removed  to  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  was  married  to  Sarah  Hickman,  a 
native  of  Greene  county,  that  state,  and  in 
that  locality  they  began  their  domestic  life. 
In  1802,  however,  they  left  the  Keystone 
state  and  came  o  Knox  couny,  Ohio,  lo- 
cating in  Mount  Vernon,  where  Mr.  Hawn 
followed  his  trade  of  a  hatter  for  many 
years.  During  the  war  of  181 2  he  was  made 
quartermaster  of  a  regiment,  serving  in 
Ohio.  After  the  close  of  hostilities  he  en- 
gaged in  the  stock  business,  purchasing  his 
stock  in  this  county  and  driving  them  to 
Baltimore,  and  on  his  return  he  would  bring 
sheep.  He  was  also  the  first  to  introduce 
oysters  into  Knox  county.  He  also  bought 
fur  on  the  islands  in  Lake  Erie,  which  was 
used  in  his  hat  factory.  He  was  among  the 
very  early  pioneers  of  Knox  county,  and 
became  a  prominent  man  in  his  locality. 
About  18 14  he  removed  to  Union  township, 
and  erected  the  Millwood  Mill,  which  he 
conducted  for  many  years,  and  was  also  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  mercantile  interests, 
owning  a  store  at  Millwood  and  one  in 
Marion  county.  He  alsO'  dealt  largely  in 
lands,  and  at  one  time,  in  company  with 
John  Worden,  owned  two  thousand,  four 
hundred  acres  in  Howard  township,  which 
he  afterward  sold.  Mr.  Hawn  gave  his  po- 
litical support  to  the  Whig  party,  and  for  a 
time  he  served  as  sheriff  of  Knox  county. 
His  social  relations  connected  him  with  the 
Masonic  order,  of  which  he  was  a  stanch 
adherent,   and  his  lamb-skin  apron  is   still 


owned  by  his  son.  The  union  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hawn  was  blessed  with  ten  children, 
five  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  of  whom 
were  born  in  Knox  county  and  all  grew  to 
years  of  maturity,  but  William,  the  young- 
est in  order  of  birth,  is  now  the  only  sur- 
vivor of  this  once  large  family.  The  parents 
both  passed  away  on  the  present  homestead 
of  our  subject  at  the  age  of  seventy-five 
years. 

William  Hawn,  whose  name  introduces 
this  review,  was  thirteen  years  of  age  when 
he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal 
,to  the  present  home,  and  the  first  school 
which  he  attended  was  a  log  structure  in 
this  locality.  After  his  father's  death,  when 
he  was  nineteen  years  old,  he  look  charge 
of  his  farming  interests,  and  during  his  en- 
tire business  career  he  has  been  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  and  stock-raising, 
both  branches  oi  his  business  having  proved 
very  remunerative.  Until  within  the  last 
few  years  he  was  extensively  engaged  in 
buying  and  handling  stock,  having  followed 
that  vocation  for  thirty  years.  He  has  been 
an  invalid  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and 
for  six  years  he  was  confined  tO'  the  house. 
His  farm  consists  of  two^  hundred  and  thirty 
acres  of  rich  and  productive  land,  and  his 
farming  operations  are  carried  on  by  the 
assistance  of  hired  help,  though  all  under 
his  immediate  direction.  Since  its  organiza- 
tion Mr.  Hawn  has  given  an  unwavering 
support  to  the  Republican  party,  having  cast 
his  first  presidential  vote  for  Fremont,  in 
1856,  and  in  i860  voted  for  Lincoln,  and 
since  that  time  has  cast  his  ballot  in  support 
of  every  Republican  presidential  candidate. 
He  is  at  all  times  a  public-spirited  and  pro- 
gressive citizen,  is  honest,  conscientious  and 
reliable  in  business,  and  bv  reason  of  his  well 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


307 


spent  life  enjoys  the  high  regard  of  his  fel- 
low men.  For  many  years  his  widowed  sis- 
ter, Catherine  Hawn  Rogers,  was  his  house- 
keeper, her  supervision  of  the  domestic  af- 
fairs being  broken  only  by  her  death  some 
six  years  since,  and  she  was  succeeded  by 
her  granddaughter,  Miss  Nannie  Isreal. 


GEORGE  SWANK. 


George  Swank  is  a  retired  farmer  living 
on  section  5.  Pike  township,  and  his  rest  is 
well  merited,  for  through  many  years  he  was 
an  active  factor  in  agricultural  circles,  his 
life  being  one  of  honest  industry.  He  was 
born  in  this  township  April  13,  1825,  and  is 
the  eldest  son  and  second  child  oi  Christian 
and  Susan  (Downing)  Swank.  The  father 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  in  early 
manhood  came  to  Knox  county,  casting  in 
his  lot  among  its  pioneer  settlers.  He  was 
a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  in  connection  with 
that  pursuit  he  followed  farming.  His  po- 
litical support  was  given  the  Democracy,  and 
he  li\'ed  to  a  good  old  age,  respected  by  all 
who  knew  him.  He  was  married  in  Pike 
township  to  Miss  Downing,  who  died  when 
about  fifty  years  of  age.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  five  children,  of  whom  three  are 
living. 

Mr.  Swank,  of  this  review,  was  reared 
in  his  native  township  and  pursued  his  ed- 
ucation in  a  log  school  house  supplied  with 
slab  seats  and  other  primitive  furnishings. 
His  training  at  farm  work,  however,  was 
not  meager,  and  he  assisted  in  the  cultivation 
of  the  fields  on  the  old  homestead  until  his 
marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Gilmore.  After  the 
death   of  his   first  wife  he  married   Sarah 


Yarger,  a  native  of  Ashland  county,  Ohio,, 
and  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth 
(Hageman)  Yarger,  who  were  natives  of 
Pennsylvania.  They  became  early  settlers 
of  Wayne  and  Ashland  counties,  Ohio,  and 
in  this  state  reared  their  family  O'f  four  sons 
and  four  daughters,  seven  oi  v\'hom  are  yet 
living.  Mrs.  Swank  lived  at  various  times 
in  Wayne,  Ashland,  Richland  and  Knox 
counties,  and  in  the  district  schools  pursued 
her  education.  By  his  first  marriage  Mr. 
Swank  had  five  children, — Christ;  Ellen; 
Eliza,  deceased ;  John ;  and  Amanda.  All 
were  born  in  Pike  township  and  with  the 
exception  of  John  all  are  married. 

Throughout  his  business  career  Mr. 
Swank  followed  farming  and  was  very  suc- 
cessful in  his  chosen  work.  He  was  at  one 
time  owner  of  three  hundred  acres  of  valu- 
able land,  but  has  given  to  each  of  his  chil- 
dren a  good  start  in  life  and  his  donations 
of  land  have  reduced  his  farm  to  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres.  As  the  result  of  the 
care  and  cultivation  bestowed  upon  this  he 
has  annually  a  good  income  which  he  richly 
merits.  His  life  has  been  one  of  untiring"  in- 
dustry and  his  perseverance  and  capable 
management  have  enabled  him  to  acquire  a 
handsome  competence,  so  that  it  is  now  pos- 
sible foT  him  to  live  in  retirement  from  busi- 
ness cares.  In  politics  he  has  been  a  life- 
long Democrat. 


WILLIAM  McCLUER. 

William  McCluer,  a  retired  farmer  re- 
siding on  section  21,  Middlebury  township, 
Knox  county,  was  born  near  Bellville,  Rich- 
land county,  Ohio,  March  2^,   1832.     His. 


3o8 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


father,  Thomas  ]\IcChier,  was  a  nati\-e  of 
Virginia,  and  in  his  boyhood  came  with  his 
imcle  to  this  state,  settling  in  BellviUe  in 
1808.  There  he  was  married  to  Susanna 
Trux,  a  native  of  that  county,  and  they 
took  up  their  abode  two  miles  east  of  Belle- 
^■ille  on  what  is  known  as  the  Garble  farm. 
Subsequently  that  place  was  sold  and  they 
removed  to  Illinois,  where  the  mother  of  our 
subject  died.  The  father  then  returned  to 
Richland  county,  where  he  spent  his  declin- 
ing years,  passing  away  in  1864,  when  about 
seventy-four  years  of  age.  He  was  a  zeal- 
ous and  consistent  member  of  the  Disciple 
church,  and  in  his  political  affiliations  in 
earlv  life  he  was  a  Whig.  Being  an  op- 
ponent of  the  slavery  system  of  the  south, 
when  the  Republican  party  was  formed  to 
prevent  its  further  extension  he  joined  its 
ranks  and  remained  one  of  its  advocates  un- 
til his  death. 

William  McCluer,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  review^  was  the  fifth  in  order  of 
birth  in  his  father's  family  of  seven  children. 
He  spent  his  early  boyhood  days  in  Rich- 
land county,  and  when  about  seven  years 
of  age  accompanied  his  parents  to  Perry 
county,  Illinois,  the  family  locating  in  Jack- 
son township.  Two  years  later  he  accom- 
l>anied  his  father  on  his  return  to  Ohio,  and 
remained  in  Richland  county  throughout  the 
remainder  of  his  minority.  His  preliminary 
education  obtained  in  the  district  schools 
was  supplemented  by  study  in  a  select  school 
taught  by  Mr.  Wilcox  at  Bellville.  He 
afterward  began  teaching,  and  followed  that 
profession  through  the  winter  season  for  five 
years,  but  with  that  exception  he  has  al- 
ways followed  farming  as  a  life  work. 

Ini  1857  Mr.  McCluer  was  joined  in 
wedlock  to  Miss  Catherine  A.  Leedv,  a  na- 


tive of  Richland  county,  born  January  17, 
1833.  She  is  a  representative  of  two  of  the 
honored  pioneer  families  of  that  locality. 
Her  father,  Lewis  K.  Leedy,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  became  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Richland  county,  locating  there 
in  181 1.  The  entire  region  was  an  almost 
unbroken  forest  through  which  the  Indians 
stalked  in  motley  garb,  for  they  had  not 
then  been  driven  westward  before  the  on- 
coming tide  of  civilization.  Wild  animals 
also  lurked  in  the  forest,  and  the  hand  of 
man  had  not  yet  changed  the  face  of  nature. 
There  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  Mr.  Leedy 
established  a  home.  He  married  Hannah 
Myers,  a  nati\-e  of  Richland  county  and  a 
member  of  an  old  family  that  came  to  Ohio 
from  Xew  Jersey.  Mrs.  McCluer  was  their 
second  child  and  eldest  daughter,  and  was 
reared  and  educated  in  Jefferson  township, 
Richland  county,  pursuing  her  studies  in  a 
log  school  house,  seated  with  slab  benches 
and  furnished  in  the  primiti\'e  manner  of 
the  times. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCluer  began  their  do- 
mestic life  in  Richland  county,  where  they 
remained  until  1865,  when  they  went  to  Mis- 
souri, spending  a  year  and  a  half  in  that 
state.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  they 
returned  to  RichHand  county,  which,  con- 
tinued to  be  their  home  until  1871 — the  year 
that  witnessed  their  arrival  in  Knox  county. 
They  located  on  the  farm  where  they  now 
live,  a  tract  of  sixty  acres,  which  Mr.  Mc- 
Cluer successfully  operated,  the  arable  soil  ; 
yielding  excellent  crops.  He  followed  farm-  I 
ing  for  a  number  of  years,  but  is  now  living  ; 
retired  and  rents  his  land.  He  and  his  wife 
are  consistent  and  faithful  members  of  the 
Baptist  church  in  Fredericktown,  in  which 
he  is  serving  as  deacon,  and  in  its  work  they 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


take  an  active  part.  They  are  people  of  the 
highest  respectabihty,  whose  Hves  are  con- 
sistent with  upright  principles ;  and  in  central 
Ohio,  where  they  have  so  long  resided,  they 
command  the  trust  and  esteem  of  all  with 
whom  they  have  been  associated  in  business 
or  social  relations.  They  have  had  no  chil- 
dren of  their  own,  but  their  hearts  and  home 
have  been  open  to  the  inception  and  accom- 
modation of  twenty-two  children  or  young 
people  Avho  ha\-e  found  a  home  with  them, 
two  of  whom  are  still  members  of  the  fam- 
ily. They  are  Charles  R.  Leedy,  a  nephew, 
and  Hallie  Hardwidge,  a  niece.  This  re- 
markable fact  indicates  the  genuine  Chris- 
tian spu-it  animating  the  hearts  of  this  ven- 
erable couple,  whose  thoughts  and  efforts 
in  life  here  aparently  have  done  more  to  al- 
leviate the  conditions  of  those  around  them 
than  to  contribute  to  their  own  temporal  ad- 
vancement. 


GEORGE  SELLERS. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  long  a 
popular,    enterprising    citizen    of    Morgan 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio.    He  was  born 
in  that  township  May  8,  1825,  and  died  there 
IMay  25,   1898.     His  father,  Jacob  Sellers, 
Sr.,  gave  him  such  education  as  was  obtain- 
able in  subscription  schools  and  in  a  school 
j    taught  in  an  old  log  church  building  long 
,    known  as  the  Owl  Creek  Baptist  church,  of 
\    Morgan  township,  and  brought  him  up  to 
!    the  hard  but  useful  life  of  a  farmer.     The 
[    elder  Sellers  had  taken  up  government  land 
i    and  this  the  young  man  helped  to  clear  and 
put  under  cultivation.     He  followed  farm- 
ing until  the  end  of  his  days,  with  consider- 
able finacnial  success.     While  still  a  young 


man  he  united  with  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church,  but  later  was  identified  with  the 
Christian  church.  In  political  affiliation  he 
was  a  strong  Republican  during  most  of 
active  life,  and  he  was  twice  elected  trustee 
of  his  township. 

George  Sellers  was  married  March  11, 
1847,  to  Adaline  Knight  Hughes,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jonathan  and  Lavina  (Davis) 
Hughes,  who  was  born  December  7,  1829, 
at  Utica,  Licking  county,  Ohio,  where  her 
father,  from  Shenandoah  county,  Virginia, 
was  an  early  settler  and  carpenter.  The  lat- 
ter was  born  January  14,  1796,  in  Harrison 
county,  Virginia,  one  of  the  sons  of  Captain 
Elias  Hughes,  who  is  celebrated  in  history  as 
a  scout  and  Indian  hunter.  With  his  father,- 
mother  and  their  family,  he  came  in  1797 
from  Virginia  to  Muskingum  county,  Ohio. 
Some  of  the  family  belongings  were  brought 
in  a  huge  canoe  ("pirogue")  hewn  out  of 
a  large  poplar  tree,  which  was  wide  enough, 
inside  to  admit  barrels  laid  crosswise.  Some 
of  their  goods  were  packed  on  horses  and  the 
mother  rode  a  horse  and  carried  Jonathan,, 
her  eleventh  child,  then  her  baby.  Such 
of  the  family  as  were  able  to  walk  were 
obliged  to  make  the  journey  in  that  way. 
Mrs.  George  Sellers  is  now  living  on  a  part 
of  the  land  entered  by  Jacob  Sellers,  who  at 
the  time  of  his  death  owned  about  fifteen 
hundred  acres. 

George  and  Adaline  Knight  (Hughes) 
Sellers  had  eight  children,  five  of  whom  are 
living:  Orcelia  L.,  who  married  John  B. 
Oldacre,  of  Milton  township;  Zelpha  Clarin- 
da,  who  married  Aaron  Channell  and  lives 
in  Burlington  township.  Licking  county, 
Ohio;  George  H.,  who  lives  in  Morgan 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio;  Jacob  D., 
who  died  in  1881,  aged  twenty-nine  years; 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


Rosa  D.  is  the  wife  of  John  Hulshizer,  a 
miller  of  Granville,  Ohio;  Mary  Victoria,- 
who  married  Louis  Hall  and  is  a  member  of 
her  mother's  household;  Cora  Etta,  who 
married  Clement  Couffman  and  died  in 
1888,  aged  twenty-three  years;  and  John 
Douglass,  born  in  1858,  who  died  in  infancy. 


WILLL\M   I.   DEBOLT. 

The  old  and  respected  citizen  of  Mor- 
gan township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose 
busy  and  useful  career  it  is  the  province  of 
the  writer  now  to  consider,  is  entitled  to 
honor  not  only  as  an  upright  and  success- 
ful citizen  but  as  a  soldier  who  risked  his 
life  in  defense  of  his  country,  and  the  fol- 
lowing brief  biographical  sketch  will  be 
doubtless  read  with  much  interest  by  men 
who  have  met  him  going  and  coming  on  the 
roadway  of  life. 

William  Debolt,  son  of  Reuben  and  Sa- 
rah (French)  Debolt,  was  born  in  Licking 
county,  Ohio,  September  15,  1841.  His 
grandfather,  Jacob  Freuch,  from  Greene 
county,  Pennsylvania,  saw  service  as  a  sol- 
dier during  the  entire  period  of  the  war  of 
1812.  As  a  youth  Mr.  Debolt  was  educated 
in  the  old  free  and  subscription  schools  and 
learned  to  clear  land  and  to  put  it  under  cul- 
tivation, and  during  all  his  active  life  he  has 
been  a  farmer,  enterprising  and  progressive, 
and  satisfactorily  successful.  In  religion  he 
is  a  Baptist  and  politically  he  is  a  Republi- 
can, and  he  has  always  wielded  a  recognized 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  his  township  and 
county. 

May  20.  1 861,  Mr.  Delx>lt  enlisted  at 
Utica,  Ohio,  in  Company  E.  Twentieth  Regi- 


ment, Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  was 
mustered  into  the  service  at  Camp  Dennison 
and  participated  in  the  fights  at  Skerry 
Creek,  Kanawha  river  and  minor  engage- 
ments, in  the  battle's  foiight  in  West  Virginia, 
in  the  second  Bull  Run  fight,  in  the  battle  of 
Antietam,  in  the  fighting  at  South  Mountain 
and  in  the  engagement  at  Berryville,  where, 
July  24,  1864,  a  ball  passed  entirely  through 
his  face  from  cheek  to  cheek,  tearing  away 
the  roof  of  his  mouth,  causing  his  disfig- 
urement and  terrible  suffering  and  shatter- 
ing his  health.  He  was  in  the  hospital  until 
the  November  following,  when  he  was  sent 
to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  was  honor- 
ably discharged  August,  1865,  and  mustered 
out  of  the  service.  After  the  first  three 
years'  service  he  served  in  Company  H, 
Twenty-third  Ohio  (McKinley's)  Regiment, 
and  was  transferred  at  Washington  to  the 
Twelfth  Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  from  which 
he  was  finally  discharged. 

Mr.  Debolt  returned  tO'  his  old  home  af- 
ter the  war  and  has  lived  in  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  continuously  since  that  time,  except 
during  three  years,  when  he  was  a  resident 
of  White  county,  Indiana.  He  was  mar- 
ried September  12,  1867,  to  Matilda  Black- 
burn, daughter  of  Anthony  and  Hannah 
(Crawford)  Blackburn,  who  was  born  near 
Steubenville,  JefTerson  county,  Ohio,  Sep- 
tember 21,  1835,  and  who  has  borne  him 
children  as  follows:  Angle,  who  married 
William  Arrington,  and  lives  in  jVIorris 
township  near  Mount  Vernon ;  Rosa,  who  is 
a  member  of  her  father's  household  ;  Chauh- 
cey,  who  married  Zonie  Mossholder;  Min- 
nie, who  married  Elmer  Mossholder  and 
lives  in  Miller  township.  Chauncey  lives 
with  his  father  and  assists  him  in  the  man- 
agement of  his  farm. 


OF  KNOX  COUNTY,  OHIO. 


J.  K.  HAYDEN. 

Hon.  J.  K.  Hayden  is  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  influential  residents  of  Knox 
county.  He  has  been  actively  identified  with 
its  agricultural,  mercantile  and  financial  in- 
terests for  many  years  and  has  represented 
his  county  in  the  state  legislature.  Thus, 
in  many  fields  of  activity  his  labors  have  been 
a  potent  factor  and  Centerburg  numbers  him 
among  its  most  distinguished  citizens. 

Mr.  Hayden  was  born  in  Hilliar  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  upon  the  farm  which  he 
yet  owns,  his  natal  day  being  March  21, 
1838.  His  father,  David  Hayden,  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent,  was  a  native  of  western  Penn- 
sylvania and  there  resided  until  after  his 
marriage,  when,  in  1833,  he  came  to  Knox 
county,  locating  upon  rented- land  in  Mor- 
gan township.  In  1837  he  purchased  the 
farm  which  is  now  tlie  property  of  our  sub- 
ject. It  was  then  a  tract  of  wild  timberland 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  dense  forest  he  built 
a  little  log  cabin,  after  which  he  began  to 
clear  away  the  trees  and  cultivate  the  fields, 
In  course  of  time  the  farm  became  valuable 
and  thereon  he  made  his  home  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1859,  when  he  was 
fifty-five  years  of  age.  In  his  political  views 
he  was  a  Democrat  and  he  held  a  number  of 
township  offices,  being  land  appraiser  at  the 
time  of  his  demise.  Long  a  leading  member 
in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  he 
was  one  of  its  elders  and  took  a  very  active 
part  in  its  work.  He  married  Sarah  Botten- 
iield,  also  a  native  of  the  Keystone  state,  and 
surviving  her  husband  for  many  years  she 
passed  away  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  seventy- 
four. 

Their  only  child  is  J.  K.  Hayden  of  this 
review,  who  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm 


and  attended  the  public  schools  of  the  dis- 
trict and  a  select  school  in  Centerburg.  Af- 
ter his  father's  death  he  took  charge  of  the 
farm,  which  he  managed  for  his  mother 
throughout  her  remaining  days.  He  carried 
on  general  farming  and  stock  raising  and  in 
his  early  experience  in  this  line  of  work  made 
his  labors  at  this  time  profitable.  He  was 
married  on  the  26th  of  October,  1876,  to 
Miss  Eliza  E.  Halsey,  a  daughter  of  David 
and  Lucinda  (Wolf)  Halsey.  Her  father 
was  quite  prominent  in  political  circles  and 
for  two  terms  served  as  county  commis- 
sioner. He  came  from  New  Jersey  to  Knox 
county  and  took  an  active  interest  in  its  de- 
velopment and  progress.  He  held  member- 
ship in  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church. 
Mrs.  Hayden,  the  youngest  of  his  children, 
was  educated  in  the  common  and  select 
schools  and  by  her  marriage  she  has  become 
the  mother  of  one  son,  Charles  D.,  who  is  at- 
tending college  in  Granville,  Ohio.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hayden  also'  lost  one  son,  John  H.,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years. 

Mr.  Hayden  continued  his  farming  op- 
erations until  1882,  and  still  owns  the  old 
homestead  of  two  hundred  acres,  but  in  that 
year  he  removed  to  Centerburg  and  was  in- 
terested in  organizing  the  first  bank  in  this 
place.  He  also  engaged  in  merchandising. 
He  did  quite  an  extensive  probate  court  bus- 
iness from  1870  until  1890,  settling  many  es- 
tates and  acting  as  guardian.  He  is  a  man 
of  determined  purpose,  of  excellent  business 
ability  and  capable  management  and  he  car- 
ries forward  to  successful  completion  what- 
ever he  undertakes. 

Mr.  Hayden  e.xercises  his  right  of  fran- 
chise in  support  of  the  men  and  measures  of 
the  Democracy  and  is  a  leader  in  local  Dem- 
ocratic circles.     In  1897  he  was  elected  to 


312 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


represent  his  district  in  the  state  legislature, 
and  on  the  close  of  the  term  declined  a  sec- 
ond nomination.  He  has  filled  many  of  the 
offices  of  his  township  and  for  twelve  years 
has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion of  Centerburg.  of  which  he  is  now  pres- 
ident. He  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
reliable  and  trustworthy  men  of  the  com- 
munity. Long  a  member  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church,  he  has  served  as  one 
of  its  elders  for  thirty  years. 


LEWIS  B.  HOUCK. 


Almost  ten  years'  connection  with  the 
bar  of  Knox  county  has  indicated  that  Mr. 
Houck  possesses  those  qualifications  which 
lead  to  success  in  the  legal  profession,  and 
since  opening  an  office  here  in  1892  he  has 
gradually  advanced  to  a  creditable  place 
among  the  foremost  representatives  of  his 
chosen  calling.  He  \\gs  born  in  the  village 
of  Bladensburg,  I^nox  county,  April  19, 
1867,  and  belongs  to  one  of  the  pioneer  fam- 
ilies. His  grandfather,  William  Houck, 
who  resided  in  Huntingdon  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, served  his  country  as  a  soldier  in 
the  war  of  the  Revolution.  His  son,  Wash- 
ington Houck,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  a  native  of  the  Keystone  state  and  in 
1822  started  from  Huntingdon  county, 
Pennsylvania,  making  the  entire  journey  to 
Knox  county  on  foot.  He  established  his 
home  in  Jackson  township,  laid  out  the  vil- 
lage of  Bladensburg  on  his  farm  and  built 
the  first  house  there.  In  connection  with 
general  farming  he  also  conducted  a  general 
mercantile  store  for  a  number  of  years  and 
was  an  enterprising  resident  of  that  com- 


munity. In  early  days  he  filled  various  lo- 
cal positions  of  trust  in  his  township  and  he 
was  also  an  active  factor  in  the  moral  de- 
velopment of  the  community.  In  1822  he 
organized  a  Disciple  church  in  his  own 
home  in  Bladensburg,  which  was  the  first 
Disciple  congregation  in  Ohio.  He  was 
made  an  elder  in  the  church  and  ever  la- 
bored earnestly  to  advance  its  cause  through 
example  as  well  as  precept.  His  uncle, 
Jacob  Houck,  laid  out  the  town  of  Center- 
burg, Knox  county,  in  181 7,  and  thus  the 
family  contributed  in  a  large  measure  to  the 
work  of  advancement  and  progress  in  the 
early  days  of  Ohio's  history.  Washington 
Houck  was  united  in  marriage  to  Avaline 
Bebout,  who  was  born  in  Clay  township, 
this  county,  and  is  still  living  at  the  age  of 
seventy-six  years.  Her  parents  were  Lewis 
and  Elizabeth  Bebout,  who  removed  from 
Green  county,  Pennsylvania,  to  Clay  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  about  1826. 

In  the  public  schools  Lewis  B.  Houck 
began  his  education,  attending  the  high 
school  in  his  native  village,  also  the  Normal 
School  in  ]\Iartinsburg  and  Oberlin  College, 
in  Oberlin,  Ohio.  With  broad  general 
learning  on  which  to  rest  his  professional 
knowledge,  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  un- 
der the  direction  of  H.  D.  C  '  'field,  who 
is   now     general     counsel     foi  'Tnjited 

States  Telephone  Company  at  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  In  1892  he  was  admitted  tO'  the  bar 
and  has  since  built  up  an  excellent  practice 
in  the  various  departments  of  law.  With  a 
clientele  of  important  character,  whereby 
he  is  connected  with  much  of  the  important 
litigation  tried  in  the  courts  of  the  district, 
he  is  continually  displaying  his  ability  to 
master  the  intricate  problems  of  jurispru- 
dence and  has  won  manv  notable  successes. 


<=>^^^yf-^    <^.    /Wt^eV^ 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


313 


Before  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  had  en- 
gaged in  teaching  in  the  county  for  eight 
years,  and  for  nine  years,  from  1888  to 
1897,  he  was  school  examiner  in  Knox  coun- 
ty, his  incumbency  covering  a  longer  period 
than  that  of  any  other  official  in  the  same 
othce.  In  i8g8  he  A'as  elected  tO'  the  city 
council  of  Mount  Vernon  and  in  1900  was 
re-elected,  so  that  he  is  now  serving  in  that 
position.  In  politics  he  is  an  ardent  Demo- 
crat, has  served  on  the  county  committee 
and  as  chairman  r  i  the  central  committee 
of  the  county,  rendering  effective  service  to 
the  Democratic  cause. 

Mr.  Houck  is  very  prominent  in  frater- 
nal circles,  belongs  to  the  various  Masonic 
bodies ;  is  past  chancellor  of  Timon  Lodge, 
No.  45,  K.  P.;  past  grand  of  Quindaro 
Lodge,  No.  316,  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  and  is  regent 
of  Mount  Vernon  Council,  No.  11,  R.  A. 
He  has  served  as  representative  to  the  grand 
lodges  of  both  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  the  Royal 
Arcanum.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Im- 
proved Order  of  Red  Men,  and  his  religious 
views  are  in  harmony  with  the  doctrines  of 
the  Disciple  church,  in  which  he  was  reared, 
although  he  is  not  a  member  of  the  congre- 
gation. 

On  the  1 2th  of  December,  1894,  in  this 
county,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Houck  and  Miss  Aria  B.  Nicholls,  of 
Bladensburg,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Caroline  (McCammet)  Nicholls.  Her 
grandfather,  Thomas  Nicholls,  who  was  a 
soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  located  in  this 
county  about  18 10,  coming  from  Brook 
county,  Virginia,  and  her  maternal  grand- 
father, John  S.  McCammet,  was  also  a  pio- 
neer settler,  coming  to  Ohio  from  his  old 
home  in  Green  county,  in  the  Keystone 
state.    He  was  active  and  influential  in  pub- 


lic affairs  and  served  as  one  of  the  early 
county  commissioners,  wdiile  for  three  terms 
he  was  an  infirmary  director  and  for  thirty 
years  was  justice  of  the  peace  in  Jackson 
township,  his  equity  and  fidelity  winning, 
him  "golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  peo- 
ple." The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Houck 
has  been  blessed  with  one  son,  Lewis  Dan- 
iel, who  is  now  three  years  of  age. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  history  of  Lewis 
B.  Houck,  a  leader  in  his  profession  and  in:, 
his  political  party  and  a  favorite  in  social' 
circles.  His  professional  duties  leave  him 
little  leisure  time,  for  his  clientage  has 
steadily  increased.  Absolute  fidelity  to  the 
interests  of  his  clients,  a  wonderful  capacity 
for  hard  work  and  systematic  preparation  of 
all  cases  entrusted  to  his  care  have  been 
some  of  the  noteworthy  factors  in  the 
achievement  of  Mr.  Houck's  success. 


DANIEL  NIXON. 


The  life  of  Daniel  Nixon,  of  Morris 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  was  one  of 
earnest  endeavor,  high  integrity  and  well 
earned  success  and  one  which  in  many  ways 
demonstrated  the  value  of  sturdy  Irish  char- 
acter as  a  factor  in  our  American  civilization. 

Daniel  Nixon  was  a  son  of  John  Nixon 
and  was  born  in  Ireland  August  10,  1805. 
When  quite  a  young  man  he  came  to  Amer- 
ica and  at  a  somewhat  later  date  located  in 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  where  he  became  a 
farmer  of  progressive  ideas  and  an  up- 
right, influential  and  highly  respected  citizen. 
Beginning  active  life  a  poor  boy,  by  indefat^ 
igable  industry  he  rose  step  by  step  to  an 
honored  position  in  the  community  and  num- 


314 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


bered  among  his  friends  persons  in  all  walks 
of  life.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  with  which  he 
was  actively  identified  for  many  years. 
Charitable  in  all  things  and  to  an  uncom- 
mon degree  public  spirited,  he  took  a  deep 
and  abiding  interest  in  everything  tending 
to  the  benefit  of  his  community  and  the  ad- 
vancement of  mankind.  In  all  business  mat- 
ters he  w'as  strictly  just  and  when  occasion 
required  he  was  always  generous  rather  than 
exacting.  His  neighbors  respected  his  judg- 
ment and  sought  his  counsel  in  affairs  of 
moment.  He  thought  out  every  position 
which  he  took  and  his  opinion  was  always 
hased  on  sound  reasoning  and  so  convincing- 
ly and  so  pleasingly  was  it  advanced  that  he 
seldom  had  difficulty  in  bringing  the  most 
stubborn  opponent  to  his  way  of  thinking. 
October  4,  1829,  he  was  married  by  the  Rev. 
James  Hair  to  Nancy  Rush,  a  daughter  of 
Peter  and  Clarissa  Rush,  who  bore  him  chil- 
dren as  follows:  Jesse  P.,  born  March  2, 
1832;  Oliver  E..  born  March  5,  1835;  Lo- 
vina  J.,  born  October  31 ,  1837 ;  John  B.,  who 
Avas  born  October  2^,,  1840,  and  died  in  in- 
fancy; Clarissa  A.,  born  January  28,  1843; 
Mary  E.,  born  May  19,  1847;  ^"d  Sarah  E., 
who  was  born  December  3,  1850,  and  also 
died  in  infancy.  Jesse,  the  eldest,  went  over- 
land to  California  in  185 1,  encountering 
many  hardships  and  adventures  by  the  way 
and  remained  there  seventeen  years  as  a 
superintendait  in  gold  mines.  He  returned 
to  his  old  home  in  1868  and  took  up  farming, 
in  which  he  continued  until  his  death,  which 
■occurred  May  28,  1899.  Clara  and  Mary 
never  married  and  live  on  the  old  family 
liomestead  in  Morris  township,  the  work  of 
which  is  carried  on  successfully  under  their 
personal   supervision.      Peter    and    Qarissa 


Rush,  the  parents  of  Mrs.  Nixon,  were  na- 
tives of  New  Jersey,  but  settled  early  in 
Knox  count}^  where  they  lived  out  their 
days.  They  were  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren, named  in  the  order  of  their  nativity : 
Sarah  Loree,  Emily,  Nancy  and  John.  Nan- 
cy, who  became  Mrs.  Nixon,  was  born 
March  10,  181 2.  Mr.  Nixon  died  January 
14,  1877,  on  the  farm  which  had  been  his 
home  and  that  of  his  family  for  many  years, 
and  in  his  death  Harris  township  suffered 
an  irreparable  loss. 


ALBERT  I.  WOLFE. 

Albert  I.  Wolfe,  proprietor  of  the  Dan- 
ville Bank,  of  Danville,  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
is  a  native  of  this  county  and  a  worthy  rep- 
resentative of  one  of  its  sterling  pioneer  fam- 
ilies, having  been  born  on  the  old  homestead 
farm,  in  Butler  township,  on  the  nth  of 
June,  1858.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Pe- 
ter Wolfe,  was  a  native  of  the  Keystone 
state,  was  of  German  descent  and  became 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Butler  township, 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  the  land  on  which  he 
originally  located,  in  the  early  pioneer  epoch, 
being  still  in  possession  of  the  family.  His 
first  residence  was  a  primitive  log  cabin,  in 
which  he  and  his  family  made  their  home  for 
a  number  of  years.  He  married  Nancy 
Richmond  and  they  made  their  home  in  that 
section  of  Virginia  which  is  now  West  \'ir- 
ginia  until  the  year  1814,  when  Mr.  Wolfe 
came  to  Knox  county,  taking  up  a  tract  of 
government  land,  clearing  a  field  and  putting 
in  com,  while  he  also  erected  his  little  cabin 
which  was  to  serve  as  the  family  home.  He 
returned  to  West  Virginia  at  the  expiration 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


315 


of  six  months  and  on  his  return  to  the  fron- 
tier home  in  Ohio  was  accompanied  by  his 
wife  and  seven  children.  At  this  period 
there  were  neither  churches  nor  school 
houses  in  this  locality,  and  the  settlers  were 
few  and  far  between.  Four  children  were 
born  to  this  honored  pioneer  couple  after 
their  removal  to  Ohio,  and  of  the  eleven 
children  all  but  one  were  reared  to  years  of 
maturity,  all  being  familiar  with  the  inci- 
dents, privations  and  hardships  which  at- 
tended life  on  the  frontier  and  each  contrib- 
uting a  due  quota  to  the  work  of  develop- 
ment and  progress.  The  sons  assisted  in 
the  construction  of  roads  through  the  forest 
wilds  and  in  the  reclamation  of  the  home- 
stead farm,  while  in  the  early  days  the  corn 
raised  was  utilized  for  food  by  being  pounded 
into  hominy,  there  having  been  no  mills  ac- 
cessible; and  in  securing  the  necessary  supply 
■of  salt  and  other  provisions  it  was  necessary 
to  go  tO'  Zanesville,  a  distance  of  thirty-six 
miles,  a  road  being  blazed  through  the  dense 
forest,  requiring  no  little  engineering  skill 
and  implj'ing  herculean  labor.  In  the  present 
day,  with  the  wonderful  facilities  available, 
it  is  hard  to  realize  the  conditions  which 
existed  in  the  pioneer  days  and  to  have  a 
full  comprehension  of  the  arduous  labors, 
courage  and  self-denial  of  those  noble  men 
and  women  who  laid  the  foundations  of  our 
great  and  prosperous  commonwealth. 

Isaac  Wolfe,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  the  eighth  child  in  the  family  and  was 
born  in  Butler  township,  this  county,  on  the 
1 8th  of  July,  1 81 6,  being  reared  to  the  stur- 
dy discipline  of  the  pioneer  farm  and  re- 
ceiving such  educational  advantages  as  were 
afforded  in  the  district  schools  of  the  place 
and  period.     The  other  children  established 


homes  of  their  own,  all,  save  one  of  the  sons, 
devoting  their  attention  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  all  being  worthy  of  the  highest  con- 
fidence and  esteem.  Isaac  Wolfe  devoted 
his  early  years  to  farming,  but  the  greater 
portion  of  his  business  career  was  in  connec- 
tion with  the  banking  business,  in  which  he 
was  associated  with  two  of  his  sons,  Albert 
I.,  and  Willis  M.  He  was  for  more  than  a 
half  a  century  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Christian  or  Disciples'  church,  being  an  ac- 
tive worker  in  the  cause  of  the  divine  Mas- 
ter and  doing  all  in  his  power  to  promote  the 
same  among  his  fellow  men.  On  the  20th  of 
May,  1847,  lie^  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Harriet  McVey,  who  was  born  in  Co- 
shocton county,  Ohio,  on  the  28th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1828,  the  daughter  of  Henry  and  Mary 
(Jones)  McVey,  both  of  whom  were  born  in 
the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  where  their  mar- 
riage was  solemnized,  and  whence  they  re- 
moved to  Coshocton  county,  Ohio',  in  the 
year  181 3,  locating  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  present  town  of  Carlisle,  where  they 
passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Henry 
McVey  was  of  Irish  lineage,  his  father  hav- 
ing emigrated,  in  company  with  his  brother, 
from  the  Emerald  Isle  to  America,  both  tak- 
ing up  their  abode  in  Lancaster  county, 
Pennsylvania.  Upon  his  removal  to  Coshoc- 
ton county  he  began  the  work  of  clearing 
and  improving  his  farm,  the  original  home 
having  been  the  little  log  cabin  in  common  to 
the  locality  and  period.  He  became  the 
father  of  thirteen  children,  of  whom  only 
four  survive  at  the  present  time.  Henry 
McVey  died  in  1850,  his  widow  surviving 
him  about  twenty  years.  They  were  types 
of  the  sterling  men  and  women  whose  lives 
counted  for  good  and  whose  names  deserve 


3i6 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


a  lasting  place  on  the  scroll  where  are  in- 
scribed .  the  names  of  Ohio's  honored  pi- 
oneers. Henry  ^IcVey  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty-seven  years,  and  his  widow  passed 
away  at  the  ^•enerable  age  of  eighty-seven. 
Isaac  and  Harriet  (McVey)  Wolfe  be- 
came the  parents  of  five  children,  concerning 
whom  we  enter  the  following  brief  record : 
Lucina  M.  was  first  married  to  Martin  Lu- 
barger,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  two 
sons,  the  elder  of  whom  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-three  years,  leaving  a  widow,  while 
the  younger  son,  Orley,  who  is  an  artist,  re- 
sides with  his  mother  at  Hicksville,  Defi- 
ance county.  Seven  years  after  the  death  of 
her  first  husband  Mrs.  Lubarger  married 
Hugh  Nelson,  who  died  on  the  ist  of  March, 
1901,  his  widow  having  a  good  farm  near 
Hicksville  and  a  pleasant  residence  in  the 
village.  Peter  R.,  the  second  child  of  j\lr. 
and  Mrs.  Wolfe,  is  a  prominent  lumberman 
and  esteemed  citizen  of  IVIarshall  county, 
Kansas,  where  he  has  resided  for  nearly 
thirty  years,  his  father  having  purchased 
land  in  that  locality  many  years  ago.  He 
has  three  children.  Landora,  the  third  child, 
is  the  wife  of  Denton  Burton,  of  Baldwin, 
Kansas,  who  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  in 
that  section,  and  they  have  one  son  and  two 
daughters.  Albert  I.  was  the  next  in  order 
of  birth  and  is  the  immediate  subject  of  this 
sketch.  \\'illis  M.  married  Jennie  Smith,  in 
July,  1889.  and  his  death  occurred  in  1896. 
His  wife  nOw  maintains  her  home  in  Mount 
Vernon,  Ohio.  Isaac  Wolfe,  the  revered 
father  of  these  children,  died  on  the  old 
homestead  farm  September  19,  1891,  secure 
fn  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  community 
where  his  long  and  useful  life  had  been 
passed.      He  rthus    was    not    permitted    to 


take  up  his  residence  in  his  new  town 
house.  His  devoted  and  cherished  wife 
still  resides  in  the  attractive  home  in 
Danville,  the  residence  having  been  erec- 
ted by  her  husband  only  a  short  time 
prior  to  his  death,  while  she  also  retains 
possession  of  the  old  farm.  Air.  \\'olfe 
was  a  man  of  stanch  integrity  of  character, 
was  ever  active  iil  good  works  and  a  citizen 
of  prominence  in  the  community.  He  was 
not  active  in  politics,  but  gave  his  support 
to  the  Democratic  party.  In  the  church  Airs. 
Wolfe  is  still  an  active  worker  and  she  re- 
tains the  love  of  a  large  circle  of  devoted 
friends  in  the  county  where  she  has  practi- 
cally passed  the  greater  portion  of  her  life. 
She  was  a  liberal  contributor  to  the  erection 
of  the  new  church. 

Albert  I.  Wolfe,  whose  name  introduces 
this  review,  was  reared  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits on  the  old  homestead  farm  in  Butler 
township,  receiving  his  educational  discipline 
in  the  public  schools.  After  putting  aside 
his  text-books  to  assume  the  active  duties  of 
life  on  his  own  responsibility,  he  chose  the 
vocation  with  which  his  father  had  been  long 
identified — that  of  banking — and  this  has 
figured  as  his  life  work.  He  first  entered 
a  bank  at  Utica,  Ohio,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed about  six  months,  after  which,  in 
July,  1884,  he  associated  himself  with  his 
father  and  brother,  Willis  ]\I.,  in  the  estab- 
lising  of  a  banking  business  in  Danville.  Af- 
ter the  death  of  their  father  the  two  broth- 
ers continued  to  conduct  the  business  until 
the  death  of  Willis,  since  which  time  our 
subject  has  individually  continued  the  enter- 
prise, which  is  one  of  importance,  the  in- 
stitution standing  in  high  favor  and  being 
known  as  one  of  the  solid  financial  concerns 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


317 


of  the  county.  In  addition  to  his  extensive 
interests  in  the  village  of  Danville  Mr.  Wolfe 
also  owns  much  valuable  country  property, 
ha\-ing  farms  in  Butler,  Union,  Brown  and 
Pike  townships,  with  an  aggregate  area  of 
four  hundred  and  fifteen  acres.  His  life  has 
been  one  of  industry  and  enterprise,  and  his 
imtiring  and  well  directed  efforts  have  been 
attended  with  a  splendid  and  well  merited 
success,  while  he  holds  the  confidence  and 
respect  of  all  who  know  him,  in  either  busi- 
ness or  social  relations.  In  politics  he  gives 
his  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party,  and 
his  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Christian 
church,  in  which  he  has  ser\'ed  as  trustee  and 
treasurer.  He  is  a  worthy  representative  of 
one  of  our  honored  pioneer  families  and  as  a 
man  and  a  citizen  certamly  merits  the  esteem 
and  warm  regard  in  which  he  is  uniformly 
held  in  the  county  where  he  has  passed  his 
entire  life. 

In  the  year  1895  was  solemnized  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Wolfe  to  Miss  Pearl  V. 
Swigert,  who  was  born  in  Millersburg, 
Holmes  county,  the  daughter  of  H.  W.  and 
Ellen  Swigert,  the  latter  of  whom  died  when 
Mrs.  Wolfe  was  twelve  years  of  age.  Her 
father  subsequently  married  Eldora  Beckley, 
and  they  still  reside  in  this  county.  One  lit- 
tle daughter,  Rosalie,  has  come  to  brighten 
and  bless  the  home  of  our  subject  and  his 
wife. 

Probably  the  most  exciting  night  ever 
experienced  by  citizens  of  Danville  had 
greater  interest  for  Mr.  Wolfe  than  for  any 
other  resident  of  the  place.  In  the  early 
morning  hours  of  October  15,  1901,  the 
stillness  was  suddenly  broken  by  the  noise 
of  an  explosion,  which  was  quickly  succeeded 
by   others,    rousing   the   people    from    their 


slumbers  and  soon  calling  many  citizens  on 
to  the  streets,  when  it  was  learned  that  a  des- 
perate attempt  was  being  made  to  secure  the 
contents  of  the  bank  safe.  Armed  citizens 
soon  appeared  on  the  scene,  only  to  be  met 
by  a  fusilade  from  the  burglars,  of  whom  it 
was  learned  there  were  eight.  The  exchange 
of  shots  between  the  citizens  and  the  guards 
of  the- robbers  soon  became  sO'  furious  that 
those  inside  the  bank  found  it  necessary  to 
abandon  their  nefarious  work,  though  they 
had  succeeded  in  blowing  the  doors  from  the 
safe.  They  had  secured  none  of  the  valuable 
contents  and  now  realized  the  imperative 
necessity  of  attempting  to  escape  with  their 
lives,  as  many  men,  armed  with  such  weap- 
ons as  were  a\-ailable,  were  pushing  forward 
to  protect  the  bank.  The  robbers  beat  a  re- 
treat to  the  southward,  one  of  them  being  ap- 
parently wounded  and  being  assisted  by  two 
of  his  companions.  Horses  had  been  teth- 
ered just  outside  of  Buckeye  City,  and  four 
of  the  robbers  took  flight  in  one  buggy,  while 
the  horses  of  the  other  four  broke  loose, 
making  it  necessary  for  each  tO'  seek  safety 
as  best  he  might.  Horses  were  secured  by 
the  citizens  and  a  ready  pursuit  was  insti- 
tuted, resulting  in  the  capture  of  four  of  the 
men  on  the  following  day,  near  Utica,  about 
i  eighteen  miles  distant.  At  the  ensuing-  trial 
all  pleaded  guilty  and  were  given  sentences 
varying  from  six  and  one-half  to  eight  years. 
The  bank  safe  was  badly  wrecked,  one  large 
piece  of  the  same  being  driven  completely 
through  a  thirteen-inch  b'rick  wall.  Mr. 
Wolfe  has  recently  installed  in  the  bank  a 
burglar-proof  safe  of  Moseler's  latest  pat- 
tern, and  thus  the  greatest  possible  security 
is  assured  to  the  funds  in  the  care  of  the  in- 
stitution. 


3i8 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


ROBERT  CASSIL. 

One  of  the  old  and  honored  residents 
of  this  locaht}-,  Robert  Cassil,  was  born  in 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  13, 
1 81 8.  He  is  descended  from  good  old  Irish 
stock,  his  paternal  grandfather  having  em- 
igrated from  the  Emerald  Isle  to  this  coun- 
try when  a  young  man,  taking  up  his  abode 
in  Pennsyh-ania,  where  he  spent  the  remain- 
der of  his  life.  In  Washington  county,  that 
state,  John  Cassil,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born,  and  he  was  there  reared  and  mar- 
ried. In  an  early  day,  however,  he  came  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  locating  on  a  farm  in 
Howard  township,  where  he  passed  away  at 
the  age  of  sixty-fi\-e  years.  While  in  the 
Keystone  state  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  church,  and  in  political  matters  he 
was  first  a  Jackson  Democrat,  later  a  Whig 
and  after  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party  he  joined  its  ranks,  having  been  the 
first  man  in  Howard  township  to  vote  that 
ticket.  During  the  war  of  1812  he  was  a 
brave  and  loyal  soldier. 

For  a  companion  on  the  journey  of  life 
Mr.  Cassil  chose  Nancy  Welsh,  who  also 
was  born  and  reared  in  Pennsylvania.  Her 
father  was  born  in  Wales,  but  when  a  young 
man  he  left  his  native  land  for  the  United 
States,  locating  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  days.  ]\Irs.  Cas- 
sil reached  the  age  of  seventy-five  years, 
when  she,  too,  was  called  to  her  final  rest. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cassil  became  the  parents  of 
eight  children,  all  of  whom  grew  to  years 
of  maturity,  as  follows :  William,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  about  sixty  years;  iMary,  who 
became  the  wife  of  John  McElroy  and  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years ;  John,  who 


reached  the  sixty-fifth  milestone  on  the  jour- 
ney of  life;  Nancy,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Nelson  Critchfield  and  died  when  seventy 
years  of  age;  James,  a  resident  of  Hutchin- 
son, Kansas,  having  reached  the  age  of 
eighty-seven  years;  Robert,  the  subject  of 
this  review ;  Esther,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Nathaniel  Critchfield  and  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five  years;  and  Colonel  Alexander, 
whose  history  will  be  found  on  another  page 
of  this  volume. 

Robert  Cassil,  whose  name  forms  the 
caption  to  this  article,  was  about  fifteen  years 
of  age  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  prior  to  his  re- 
moval here  he  had  attended  the  common 
schools  of  Washington  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. After  his  arri\"al  in  this  county  he 
assisted  his  father  in  the  work  of  the  home 
farm  during  the  summer  months,  while  in 
the  winter  season  he  attended  the  primitive 
log  school  house  of  the  neighborhood.  Af- 
ter his  father's  death  he  and  his  brother, 
Alexander,  became  owners  of  the  old  home 
place,  but  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war 
the  property  was  divided,  and  by  purchasing 
his  brother's  interest  our  subject  became 
owner  of  two  hundred  and  forty-nine  acres, 
including  the  old  homestead  of  one  hun- 
dred acres.  There  for  many  years  ]Mr.  Cas- 
sil was  successfully  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising,  but  in  his  later  years 
he  has  deeded  his  land  to  his  children  and  is 
now  enjoying  the  rest  which  he  so  richly 
deserves,  his  many  years  of  laborious  and 
persistent  labor  having  brought  to  him  a 
well  merited  competence.  For  seventy  years 
has  this  locality  been  his  home,  and  during 
all  these  years  he  has  so  lived  as  to  win  and 
retain  the  love  and  respect  of  nearly  all  with 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


319 


whom  he  has  had  business  or  social  inter- 
course. In  his  early  life  he  gave  his  political 
support  to  the  Whig  party,  but  after  the 
Republican  party  was  formed,  to  prevent  the 
further  extension  of  slavery,  he  joined  its 
ranks  and  has  ever  since  been  numbered 
among  its  stanchest  supporters.  His  first 
presidential  vote  was  cast  for  Harrison,  in 
1840,  and  he  has  voted  for  the  Whig  or  Re- 
publican candidates  since.  For  many  years 
he  served  as  a  trustee  of  his  township,  and 
for  a  long  period  he  has  been  a  deacon  in 
the  Christian  church,  of  which  he  is  a  zealous 
member  and  active  worker. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Cassil  was  cele- 
brated in  March,  1844,  when  Miss  Sally 
Tracy  became  his  wife.  She  was  a  native  of 
Kno.x  county,  Ohio,  a  daughter  of  Marion 
and  Susanna  (Welker)  Tracy,  and  during 
her  entire  life  she  was  never  absent  from 
this  locality  except  on  occasional  short  visits. 
Her  father  was  from  Connecticut  and  served 
as  county  auditor  for  ten  years  and  also  rep- 
resented his  county  in  the  legislature  for  twc 
terms.  Her  death  occurred  in  1889,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-five  years.  Five  children  were 
born  unto  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cassil, 
namely :  Emma  J.,  the  widow  of  Lyman 
Barker,  of  Monroe;  John,  whose  history  will 
be  found  below ;  Ella,  who  was  a  success- 
ful teacher  prior  to  her  marriage  to  A. 
Gardner,  and  who  is  now  deceased ;  and  two 
children  who  died  in  infancy.  In  company 
with  Grant  Simpson,  who  resides  on  the 
Billy  Green  farm  on  Schank's  creek,  Mon- 
roe township,  Emma  J.  owns  the  old  Cas- 
sil homestead. 

John  A.  Cassil,  a  son  of  Robert  and  Sally 
(Tracy)  Cassil,  was  born  on  the  old  Cassil 
homestead  on  the  14th  of  April,  1850.  He 
was  reared  and  received  his  education  in  his 


native  locality,  and  has  here  spent  his  entire 
life.  He  makes  his  home  on  the  farm  ad- 
joining the  old  homestead  on  the  east,  thus 
relieving  his  father  of  much  care  and  respon- 
sibility in  his  declining  years.  He  carriea 
on  both  general  farming  and  stock  raising, 
and  in  both  branches  of  his  business  he  is 
meeting  with  a  high  degree  of  success.  He 
was  married  February  25,  1882,  to  Miss 
Belle  Humbert,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Su- 
san (Coleman)  Humliert.  They  have  five 
children,  four  daughters  and  one  son — 
James  R.,  who  was  born  February  26,  1884;- 
Frances  E.,  who  was  born  December  11, 
1885;  Ella,  born  June  24,  1888;  Louise, 
born  March  30,  1890;  and  Madge,  born  Jan- 
uary 22,  1893.  Mr.  Cassil  is  a  Republican 
in  his  political  views,  and  socially  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  order,  belonging  to  the 
lodge,  chapter,  council  and  commandery  in 
Mount  Vernon  and  to  the  Royal  Arcanum. 


ALEXANDER  WILLIAM  GREER. 

Throughout  his  entire  life,  covering  a- 
period  of  seventy-one  years,  Alexander  W. 
Greer  has  resided  in  Knox  county,  and  has 
been  actively  identified  with  its  mercantile 
and  farming  interests.  His  birth  occurred 
in  Jefferson  township  February  7,  1830.  The 
family  is  of  Irish  lineage,  and  the  grand- 
father of  our  subject  never  left  the  Emerald 
Isle.  His  son,  Robert  Greer,  the  father  of 
Alexander,  remained  in  Ireland  until  eight- 
een years  of  age,  when  he  came  to'  America, 
accompanied  by  his  two  brothers,  Richard 
and  James,  four  sisters,  Martha,  Mary,  Jane 
and  Margaret;  and  his  mother,  who  died  in 
Jefferson  township,     Knox    county,    Ohio^ 


320 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


when  seventy  years  of  age.  The  family 
made  their  home  for  nearly  one  year  in 
Maryland,  and  in  1826  all  came  to  Knox 
county,  where  they  cast  in  their  lot  with  the 
early  settlers.  Richard  Greer  was  a  farmer 
in  this  neighborhood,  and  his  death  occurred 
when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  sixty-seven 
years.  James  Greer  owned  a  farm  near  Dan- 
ville and  he  died  at  about  seventy  years  of 
age.  Martha  married  James  Greer,  a  son 
of  Colonel  John  Greer.  Mary  married  Jon- 
athan Totten,  and  afterward  returned  to 
Maryland.  Jane  married  Arthur  Greer,  a  son 
of  Colonel  John  Greer.  Margaret  died  at 
the  age  of  thirteen  }ears.  Robert  Greer,  ex- 
pecting that  the  Ohio  canal  would  be  ex- 
tended up  the  Mohegan  valley,  secured 
twelve  acres  of  the  Isaac  Enlow  farm,  and 
about  1840  laid  out  a  village,  which  was 
named  in  his  honor.  There  for  several 
years  he  was  the  only  merchant  and  his 
trade  was  ^'ery  extensive,  reaching  several 
miles  in  each  direction. 

Robert  Greer,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  County  Antrim,  Ireland,  March 
12.  1806.  He  became  a  very  active  and  in- 
fluential citizen  of  the  community,  and 
served  as  the  first  clerk  of  Jefferson  town- 
ship. He  was  also  a  justice  of  the  peace 
for  many  years.  After  his  marriage  he  lo- 
cated on  what  is  known  as  the  Levi  Butler 
farm,  and  there  lived  until  Alexander  was 
about  three  years  of  age,  when  he  removed 
with  his  family  to  the  farm  upon  which  our 
subject  now  resides.  There  he  spent  his  re- 
maining days,  following  agricultural  pur- 
suits until  his  life's  labors  were  ended  in 
death,  March  13,  1865,  when  he  was  about 
fifty-nine  years  of  age.  He  had  a  wide  ac- 
quaintance and  his  upright  life  made  him 
worthy  of  the  highest  regard.     For  many 


years  a  member  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist 
church,  he  took  an  active  part  in  its  work, 
doing  all  he  could  for  the  promotion  of  its 
welfare  and  influence.  He  was  married 
April  16,  1829,  to  Miss  Sarah  Severn,  who 
was  born  April  14,  1803,  in  Monongalia 
county,  Virginia.  .When  a  child  of  ten  years 
she  accompanied  her  parents,  Joseph  Severn 
and  wife,  on  their  removal  toi  Coshocton 
county,  Ohio,  a  location  being  made  near 
Newcastle.  Mrs.  Greer  survived  her  hus- 
band, and  died  November  11,  1869,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-six  years. 

Alexander  W.  Greer  was  their  only  child. 
He  was  reared  on  his  present  farm,  and  in  a 
log  school  house  pursued  his  education  in 
youth,  while  later  he  continued  his  studies 
in  academies  at  Martinsburg  and  at  Oberlin, 
where  he  was  a  student  in  1851.  He  made 
his  home  upon  his  father's  farm  until  his 
marriage,  which  was  celebrated  May  18, 
1856,  Miss  Caroline  Baker  becoming  his 
wife.  She  was  born  in  Jefferson  township, 
this  county,  December  26,  1835,  her  parents 
being  Philip  and  Sarah  (Butler)  Baker, 
who  were  early  settlers  of  Knox  county, 
coming  to  Ohio  from  Pennsylvania.  The 
marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greer  was  blessed 
with  eight  children :  Emma,  who  is  the  wife 
of  J.  F.  Beatty  and  who  resides  near  the  old 
home;  Ella  A.,  deceased;  Elmer  C,  who 
married  Nona  Shrimplin  and  lives  at  Greers- 
ville;  Elsworth  B.,  deceased;  Edith  J.,  the 
wife  of  Aquilla  Barnes,  of  Brinkhaven;  Ed- 
win R.,  of  Greersvil'le,  who  wedded  Ora 
Scott ;  Eldon  P.,  who  spent  about  three  years 
as  a  telegraph  operator  but  is  now  assisting 
his  father;  and  a  daughter  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

Immediately  after  his  marriage  I\Ir. 
Greer  engaged  in  merchandising  at  Greers- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


321 


ville,  and  continued  in  this  line  of  enterprise 
about  twenty  years,  meeting  with  gratifying 
success.  Disposing  of  his  stock,  he  then  de- 
voted himself  to  his  farm,  which  he  had  con- 
ducted during  the  meantime.  He  owns  four 
hundred  and  thirty-seven  acres  of  land,  com- 
pletely surrounding  Greersville,  so  that  one 
can  not  visit  or  leave  that  place  without  trav- 
eling roads  passing  through  his  farm.  His 
life  has  been  characterized  by  industry,  and 
now  he  is  enjoying  a  well  earned  rest,  the 
income  from  his  farm  supplying  him  with 
all  the  necessities  and  many  of  the  luxuries 
of  life.  Mr.  Greer  formerly  supported  the 
Republican  party  for  many  years  but  at  later 
presidential  elections  voted  for  the  Prohibi- 
tion candidMes.  He  has  long  been  a  stanch 
temperance  man.  giving  his  aid  and  influence 
to  the  advanvement  of  the  cause.  He  has 
served  as  treasurer,  trustee  and  school  di- 
rector in  his  township  and  has  been  a  trustee 
and  class  leader  in  the  Wesleyan  Methodist 
church,  in  the  work  of  which  he  has  long 
been  activelv  interested. 


ELIAKIM   E.   LOCKWOOD. 

The  subject  of  this  review  is  one  whose 
ancestral  history  touches  the  pioneer  epoch 
in  the  annals  of  the  Buckeye  state,  and  its 
members  have  ever  been  loyal  and  ^'alorous, 
having  served  their  nation  faithfully  in 
times  of  war,  and  he  himse'lf  has  left  a  mil- 
itary record  which  has  added  new  honors  to 
the;  name.  Eliakim  Ellison  Lockwood  was 
born  in  Knox  couiity,  Ohio,  September  2, 
1838,  a  son  of  Nelson  and  Hannah  (Lock- 
wood)  Lockwood.  The  father  was  born  in 
Windsor  county,  Vermont,  but  in  an  early 


day  he  located  in  Knox  county,  Ohio.  He 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Hannah  Lock- 
wood,  who  also  was  born  in  Windsor  county. 
Vermont,  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
four  children :  Henry  H.,  who  was  born 
September  17,  183J;  Eliakim  E. ;  Nolan  P., 
born  January  23,  1840;  and  Rufus  R.,  born 
January  2,  1841.  The  eldest  son,  Henry  H., 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  and  he  was 
called  upon  to  lay  down  his  life  on  the  altar 
of  his  country,  having  been  killed  at  the  bat- 
tle O'f  Bolivar,  Tamessee.  Both  he  and  our 
subject  were  members  of  the  same  regiment 
and  both  enlisted  at  the  same  time. 

Eliakim  E.  Lockwood,  of  this  review, 
received  but  limited  educational  advantages 
during  his  youth  and  early  manhood,  as  his 
time  was  principally  occupied  by  the  duties 
of  the  farm.  When  the  Confederate  guns 
were  turned  upon  Fort  Sumter  his  patriotic 
spirit  became .  aroused,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-three  years  he  enlisted  for  service  in 
the  war,  becoming  a  member  of  Companv 
G,  Twentieth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  en- 
listing for  three  years,  and  on  the  31st  of 
December,  1863,  he  received  an  honorable 
discharge.  However,  he  re-enlisted  as  a  vet- 
eran volunteer  on  the  same  day  of  his  dis- 
charge, and  with  his  old  company  and  regi- 
ment he  served  until  July  15,  1865,  when  he 
was  again  discharged.  During  his  military 
career  he  participaited  in  many  of  the  hard- 
fought  battles  of  the  war,  including  those 
of  Vicksburg,  luka.  Big  Shanty,  Port  Royal, 
Shiloh,  Black  River,  Atlanta  and  many 
others.  At  the  last  named  engagement  he 
received  a  gunshot  wound,  and  for  six  weeks 
thereafter  was  confined  in  the  hospital  at 
Rome,  Georgia,  after  which  he  was  dis- 
charged at  the  capital  oi  his  country,  which 
he  had  fought  so  valiantly  to  sustain.    After 


322 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


the  war  had  closed  and  he  had  returned  to 
his  home  he  was  again  ready  to  enter  the 
private  walks  of  life,  and  in  times  of  peace 
he  has  been  as  true  to  his  duties  of  citizen- 
ship as  when  he  followed  the  starry  banner 
on  the  battlefields  of  the  south. 

Mr.  Lockwood  has  been  twice  married, 
his  first  union  having  been  with  Frances  A. 
Dean,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  four 
children :  Charlie,  Bertha.  Eva  and  Alice. 
The  last  named  is  now  deceased.  For  his 
second  wife  our  subject  chose  Armetha 
Beardsley,  who  was  born  in  Knox  county, 
a  daughter  of  William  and  Dorcas  (Oliney) 
Beardsley.  The  father  was  born  in  Albany, 
New  York,  September  3,  1814,  and  was  but 
an  infant  when  he  was  brought  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio.  He  is  now  living  in  Topeka, 
Kansas,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven  years.  In 
1901  he  made  a  visit  to  his  old  home  in 
Miller  township,  Knox  county.  His  wife 
was  born  in  Rhode  Island  on  the  8th  of 
June,  181 7,  and  was  called  to  her  final  rest 
in  the  fall  of  1865.  In  their  family  were  six 
children :  Arminta,  Armenia,  Amanda, 
Armetha,  Adora  and  William  P.  By  his 
second  marriage  our  subject  has  one  son, 
Harrv  B. 


JOSEPH   SCOTT. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  enjoys  the  dis- 
tinction not  only  of  being  a  successful  farmer 
but  of  having  been  a  railroad  man  of  much 
experience,  and  his  fellow  citizens  of  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  recognize  him  as  a  citizen  of 
standing  and  influence. 

Joseph  Scott,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary 
Ann  (Walker)   Scott,  was  born  Alarch  19, 


1833,  at  Toxey,  Lincolnshire,  England.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  there  until  he  was 
sixteen  years  of  age  and  then  emigrated  to 
America,  locating  first  at  Mansfield,  Ohio. 
After  devoting  a  year  to  farm  work,  at  nine 
dollars  a  month,  he  began  his  railroad  career 
with  a  construction  gang  and  later  became  a 
section'  hand  on  the  Sandusky,  Mansfield  & 
Newark  railroad.  He  was  employed  by  that 
road  for  fifteen  years,  eventually  becoming  a 
section  foreman  at  Shelby,  on  the  Mount 
Vernon  and  Fredericktown  railroad.  In  1864 
he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Erie  Railroad 
Company  as  foreman  of  a  construction  gang, 
and  assisted  in  building  the  Silver  Creek 
branch  of  that  line  in  Medina  county,  Ohio, 
having  his  headquarters  at  Wadsworth.  He 
was  made  assistant  roadmaster  at  James- 
town, New  York,  on  the  division  from 
^leadville,  Pennsylvania,  to  Salamanca, 
New  York,  and  three  years  later  was  made 
road  master  of  that  division.  Two  years 
after  that  promotion  he  was  appointed  gen- 
eral assistant  road  master  of  the  entire  road, 
with  full  charge  of  the  Mahoning  division, 
with  headquarters  at  Niles,  Ohio.  After 
serving  in  the  capacity  for  two  years,  mak- 
ing in  all  twenty-five  years  of  railroad  serv- 
ice, he  retired  from  that  life  and  purchased 
a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  in  Wayne  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  which  is  under  a 
fine  state  of  cultivation  and  is  supplied  with 
ample  farm  buildings  of  all  kinds.  ^Ir. 
Scott  retired  from  active  farm  life  in  1893, 
when  he  bought  a  fine  home  on  the  border 
of  Fredericktown,  although  he  still  retains 
his  farm  interests. 

In  Morris  township,  on  November  27, 
1856,  Mr.  Scott  was  married  to  Miss  Louisa 
M.  Ball,  a  daughter  of  Silas  and  Mary 
(Broadwell)  Ball.    She  was  born  December 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


i6,  1829,  and  died  May  i,  1884.  February 
17,  1887,  he  married  Miss  Phoebe  A.  Cos- 
uer,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Phoebe  (Leon- 
ard) Cosner.  He  has  never  been  blessed 
with  children  of  his  own,  but  has  reared 
from  early  childhood  to  manhood  Charles 
Sloan.  Mr.  Scott  took  out  naturalization 
papers  in  Richland  county  in  1855,  thus  be- 
coming an  American  citizen  in  all  that  the 
term  implies.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 
Mr.  Scott's  father,  Joseph  Scott,  died 
in  England.  Our  subject  afterward  sent  for 
his  mother,  who  was  born  in  Feltingham, 
England,  February  22,  1800.  She  came  to 
]\Iansfield,  Ohio,  where  she  died  February  9, 
1882.  The  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary 
Ann  (Walker)  Scott  were:  William, 
George,  Joseph,  Maria,  Rebecca,  Mary  and 
John.  The  last  mentioned  lives  in  Mans- 
field, Ohio.  Rebecca  lives  at  Toledo  Junc- 
tion, Ohio,  and  is  the  wife  of  William 
Brooks.  Mr.  Scott's  father,  John  Cosner, 
was  born  in  Hardy  county,  Virginia,  and  at 
the  age  of  eight  years  was  brought  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  by  his  parents,  Philip  and 
Dorothy  (Coler)  Cosner.  Philip  Cosner  and 
his  wife  were  of  German  ances|Lr)\  The 
former  was  boni  in  Virginia  and  the  latter 
in  Germany,  and  both  died  in  Knox  county, 
Ohio.  They  had  twelve  children,  named  as 
follows  :  Henry,  Jacob,  Philip,  Mary,  John, 
David,  Christian,  Adam,  Elizabeth,  Isaac, 
George  and  William.  Left  a  widower,  her 
grandfather  Cosner  married  Eliza  Dever, 
who  bore  him  two  sons,  James  and  Robert. 
John  Cosner  had  three  children :  Lovina, 
deceased;  John  L.,  who  lives  in  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio;  and  Phoebe  A.,  who  is  the  wife 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr.  Cosner 
died  February  16,  1901,  and  his  wife,  No- 
vember 17,  1900. 


ADAM  C.  WEIDER. 

The  career  of  this  once  well-known  citi- 
zen of  Middleburs'  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio'  who  was  born  there  in  October,  1844, 
and  passed  away  June  20,  1874,  when  not 
yet  thirty  years  of  age,  illustrated  the  value 
of  character  as  a  factor  in  worldly  success 
and  not  the  least  valuable  of  his  legacies  to 
posterity  was  a  priceless  good  name.  His 
father,  Philip  Weider,  was  a  pioneer  in 
Knox  county  where,  with  the  grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  he  settled  in 
the  woods  at  a  comparatively  early  date.  His 
mother,  Melinda  Hall,  was  a  native  of  Knox 
county  and  a  daughter  of  a  pioneer  in  that 
part  of  Ohio.  The  eldest  of  a  family  of  two- 
sons  and  two  daughters,  Mrs.  Weider  was 
reared  to  the  work  of  the  farm  and  educated 
in  the  public  schools  in  the  winter  months 
and  in  other  convenient  intervals  of  farm 
labor.  During  the  Civil  war  he  served  three 
years  as  a  member  of  Company  A,  Twentieth 
Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  under 
General  Sherman,  and  participated  in  nu- 
merous hard-fought  engagements  and  other- 
wise acquitted  himself  admirably  as  a  soldier. 

After  the  war  ]\Ir.  ^^'eider  returned  to 
Knox  county,  where  he  married  Sarah  To- 
bin,  a  native  of  Guernsey  county  and  a 
daughter  of  Wesley  and  Barbara  (Mott) 
Miller.  For  about  two  years  after  his  mar- 
riage Mr.  Weider  lived  on  a  iarm  in  Mid- 
dlebury  township,  whence  he  removed  to 
Sterling,  Illinois,  where  for  the  succeeding 
four  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  livery  bus- 
iness. Returning  to  Knox  county,  he  located 
on  a  farm  in  Middlebury  township,  which 
he  improved  and  operated  successfully  until 
his  death,  which  was  the  immediate  result 
of  a  kick  given  him  by  a  horse,  in  a  vital 


324 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


place.  He  was  a  prominent  Mason  and  was 
buried  by  his  brethren  of  Salome  Comman- 
dery  of  that  order.  He  was  no  more  prom- 
inent in  Masonic  than  in  Grand  Army  cir- 
cles and  he  was  mourned  sincerely  by  such 
of  his  former  comrades-in-arms  as  survived 
him.  In  the  work  of  the  Methodist  church 
he  was  active,  and  for  years  he  officiated  as 
Sunday-school  superintendent  and  was  an 
incumbent  of  that  office  at  the  time  of  his 
death. 

Mr.  Weider  was  the  father  of  a  son  and 
three  daughters.  The  first  mentioned  is 
Charles  M.  Weider  of  Chicago,  Illinois. 
His  daughters  are  Lena  B.,  wife  of  Frank 
Amsbay,  of  Knox  county,  Ohio;  Lizzie  M., 
wife  of  S.  M.  La  Fount,  of  Chicago,  Illinois ; 
and  Dollie  L.,  wife  of  George  Tobin,  of 
Guernsey  county,  Ohio.  In  all  the  relations 
of  life  Mr.  Weider  was  a  man  to  be  de- 
pended on  to  do  what  could  be  reasonably 
expected  of  him.  He  was  a  liberal  contribu- 
tor not  only  to  his  church  but  also  to  many 
other  worthy  causes,  and  was  a  steadfast  and 
active  friend  of  public  education.  His  pub- 
lic spirit  was  never  called  in  c(uestion  and 
he  contributed  his  full  share  in  all  ways  to 
the  upbuilding  of  the  best  interests  of  his 
township  and  county. 


J.  S.  SUTTON. 

During  his  entire  lifetime  of  sixty-two 
years  J.  S.  Sutton  has  resided  upon  the  farm 
which  is  now  his  home  and  which  is  there- 
fore endeared  to  him  through  the  associa- 
tions of  his  boyhood  as  well  as  those  of 
maturer  years.  He  has  always  carried  on 
farming,  and  in  his  youth  gained  practical 
•experience  in  that  department  of  activity. 


Mr.  Sutton  was  born  October  4,  1839, 
and  is  of  English  lineage.  His  grandfather, 
John  Sutton,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
and,  emigrating  westward,  cast  in  his  lot 
among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Licking  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  where  he  married  and  where  he 
made  his  home  for  many  years.  There  his 
son,  Gideon  Sutton,  was  born  and  reared, 
and  after  attaining  to  man's  estate  he  mar- 
ried Eliza  Shaver,  who  was  born  in  that 
county  and  was  a  daughter  of  Nicholas 
Shaver,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Licking  coun- 
ty. He  was  a  miller  by  trade,  and  he  built 
a  number  of  mills  and  factories  that  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  industrial  devefop- 
ment  of  this  portion  of  the  state.  In  the 
early  '30s  Gideon  Sutton  came  to  Knox 
county  and  located  on  the  farm  where  our 
subject  now  resides.  He  built  a  little  log 
cabin  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  and  spent 
about  five  years  on  that  part  of  the  farm. 
In  1838  he  erected  the  residence  in  which  his 
son,  J.  S.  Sutton,  is  living,  it  being  one  of 
the  first  frame  houses  of  the  township.  By 
trade  he  was  a  stone-cutter,  and  he  assisted 
in  the  erection  of  the  first  stone  building  in 
Newark,  Ohio,  hauling  the  stone  with  ox- 
teams.  He  was  one  of  the  first  clerks  of  his 
township,  was  justice  of  the  peace  for  eleven 
years  and  also  served  as.  township  trustee, 
discharging  all  his  public  duties  with  ab- 
solute promptness  and  fidelity.  He  gave  his 
political  support  to  the  Democracy  until 
Buchanan  became  president,  when  he  joined 
the  ranks  of  the  new  Republican  party,  and 
ever  afterward  continued  one  of  its  stanch 
advocates.  He  w^as  a  member  of  the  Free- 
will Baptist  church,  and  his  life  was  ever 
honorable  and  upright,  winning  for  him  the 
regard  of  all  who  knew  him.  He  died  in 
his  eighty-eighth  year  and  his  wife  passed 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


325 


away  in  lier  seventy-fifth  year.  They  were 
the  parents  of  two  sons  and  two  daughters, 
all  yet  living:  Rebecca,  the  widow  of  D. 
H.  Patton  and  a  resident  of  New  York; 
Jasper  N.,  of  Hilliar  township;  Joseph  S. ; 
and  Samantha  A.,  the  wife  of  Dr.  W.  S. 
Pollard,  a  prominent  physician  of  Evans- 
ville,  Indiana. 

J.  S.  Sutton,  of  this  review,  was  reared 
upon  the  home  farm,  where  he  yet  resides, 
and  from  an  early  age  worked  in  the  field, 
assisting  in  the  plowing,  planting  and  har- 
vesting. His  preliminary  education,  ac- 
quired in  the  district  schools,  was  supple- 
mented by  study  in  the  college  at  Hillsdale, 
Michigan.  He  was  married,  June  4,  1872, 
to  Miss  Jennie  E.  Coe,  a  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain Charles  H.  Coe.  She  spent  her  girl- 
hood days  in  Hilliar  township,  and  the  dis- 
trict school  afforded  her  her  educational 
privileges.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sutton  began 
their  domestic  life  on  the  old  homestead 
farm  where  they  are  still  living,  and  here 
they  reared  their  daughter,  Altazane,  the 
wife  of  Charles  V.  Critchfield,  the  only  son 
of  Judge  Critchfield,  of  Mount  Vernon.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Critchfield  reside  in  Hillsboro, 
Ohio,  where  he  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Light  &  Fuel  Company. 

Mr.  Sutton  is  the  owner  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  valuable  land  and  is  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  general  farming.  His 
fields  are  well  tilled,  his  stock  of  good  grades 
and  all  modern  equipments  are  found  upon 
his  place  so  that  his  work  may  thereby  be 
facilitated.  In  the  midst  of  his  business 
career  he  has  yet  found  time  and  opportun- 
ity to  travel,  thus  becoming  acquainted  with 
his  native  land,  for  he  has  visited  twenty- 
nine  different  states  of  the  Union.  He  cast 
his  first  presidential  vote  for  Abraham  Lin- 


coln and  has  since  supported  every  presiden- 
tial candidate  of  the  Republican  party  whose 
principles  and  policy  he  warmly  endorses. 
He  was  township  trustee  for  seventeen  years 
and  a  member  of  the  board  for  the  special 
schools.  He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in 
evei"y  movement  for  the  g"eneral  good  and 
has  great  love  for  his  native  land  and  her  in- 
stitutions. He  is  a  prominent  Mason,  be- 
longing to  Bloomfield  Lodge,  No.  422,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  in  which  he  has  filled  all  the  offices; 
Clinton  Chapter,  No.  27,  R.  A.  M. ;  and  Clin- 
ton Commandery,  No.  5,  K.  T.  In  Christian 
work  he  is  active  and  zealous,  having  served 
for  fifteen  years  as  recording  steward,  while 
for  some  time  he  has  been  class  leader  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he 
holds  membership.  His  has  been  an  honor- 
able life,  consistent  with  manly  principles, 
and  a  creditable  career  has  won  him  many 
stanch  friends. 


JAMES  F.  EWERS. 

This  prominent  farmer  of  Middlebury 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose  home- 
is  within  the  boundaries  of  section  12,  was 
born  in  that  township  February  16,  1856, 
a  son  of  an  honored  resident  of  Knox  coun- 
ty, a  biographical  sketch  of  whom  appears 
on  another  page  of  this  work.  He  was 
reared  to  the  busy  and  useful  life  of  a  farmer 
and  was  educated  in  district  schools.  In 
1880  he  married  Alice  E.  Armstrong,  daugh- 
ter of  Josiah  and  Catharine  Armstrong,  and 
soon  afterward  located  on  his  present  farm. 
He  has  added  to  his  landed  possessions  un- 
til ihe  now  owns  'three  hundred  acres  in 
Middlebury  township  and  seventy-five  acres 


326 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


ill  Richland  county,  Ohio,  and  his  success 
has  been  so  considerable  that  he  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  leading  farmers  in  his  vi- 
cinity. While  giving  attention  to  general 
farming,  he  has  devoted  himself  especially 
to  stock-raising.  His  residence,  erected  in 
1888,  is  the  best  house  in  the  township. 
This  beautiful  structure  cost  about  three 
thousand  dollars  and  it  is  surrounded  by 
ample  barns  and  other  outbuildings. 

Mr.  Ewers,  who  is  a  stanch  Republican 
and  a  prominent  member  of  the  Grange,  has 
held  several  important  township  offices,  and 
has  otherwise  been  prominent  in  local  af- 
fairs. He  has  three  children, — Bernard  F., 
Cassius  H.  and  Lela  A.  Ewers.  In  all 
things  he  has  always  shown  himself  to  be 
progressive  and  public  spirited,  thoroughly 
up-to-date  in  his  business  methods  and 
solicitous  for  the  welfare  and  advancement 
of  his  community,  an  earnest,  helpful  citi- 
zen who  may  be  safely  relied  upon  in  any 

emergency. 

•*—* 

E.  S.  GRAHAM. 

An  energetic  and  progressive  farmer  and 
an  honored  citizen  of  Monroe  township  is 
E.  S.  Graham,  who  has  spent  his  entire  life 
in  Knox  county,  his  birth  here  occurring  on 
the  i4tli  of  January,  1836.  He  isa  son  of 
Henry  and  Martha  (Stevens)  Graham.  The 
father  was  a  native  of  the  Keystone  state, 
his  birth  having  occurred  in  Washington 
county,  and  there  he  grew  to  mature  years 
on  his  father's  farm.  Shortly  after  his  mar- 
riage, about  181 5,  he  came  to  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  locating  in  the  southern  part  of  Pleas- 
ant township,  where  he  secured  two  himdred 
and  twenty-seven  acres  of  land,  and  there 
he  made  his  home  until  his  death,  passing 


away  at  the  early  age  of  forty-two  years. 
He  became  the  father  of  seven  children,  two 
of  w'hom  are  now  living, — John,  a  promi- 
nent farmer  of  Milford  township,  Knox 
county;  and  E.  S.,  the  subject  of  this  review. 
The  latter  was  but  four  years  of  age 
when  his  father  died,  and  he  aftherwards  re- 
mained with  his  mother  on  the  home  farm 
until  his  marriage,  when  he  located  in  the 
city  of  Mount  Vernon,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  buying  and  shipping  stock  for  ten 
years.  In  1868  he  purchased  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land  adjoining  the  farm 
which  he  now  owns,  which  was  then  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  timber  land,  but  he 
at  once  set  to  work  to  clear  his  land  and  in 
a  short  time  had  converted  the  timber  into 
lumber  and  had  placed  his  fields  under  culti- 
vation. In  1870,  however,  he  disposed  of 
that  place  and  for  the  following  two  years 
again  made  his  home  in  Mount  Vernon,  but 
in  1872  he  traded  his  town  property  for  his 
present  home  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  where  he  made  his  home  for  the  fol- 
lowing ten  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that 
period  he  removed  to  an  eighty-acre  tract 
in  Clinton  township,  south  of  Mount  Ver- 
non, on  which  he  resided  until  1896,  when 
he  returned  to  his  old  homestead.  As  the 
years  have  passed  by  and  prosperity  has  re- 
warded his  efiforts  he  has  added  to  his  or- 
iginal purchase  until  his  landed  possessions 
now  consist  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-one 
acres,  constituting  one  of  the  best  and  most 
productive  farms  in  the  township.  His 
present  commodious  and  attractive  residence 
was  erected  in  1896,  and  in  the  following 
year  he  built  his  large  barn,  while  many 
other  equally  valuable  and  substantial  im- 
provements stand  as  monuments  to  his  thrift 
and  enerev. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


327 


The  marriage  of  Mr.  Graham  was  cele- 
brated in  1 86 1,  when  Miss  EHzabeth  Young 
became  his  wife.  She  is  a  native  of  Monroe 
township  and  a  daughter  of  Hubbel  Young, 
who  came  to  Knox  county  from  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1836.  Tliis  union 
has  been  blessed  with  six  children,  namely : 
Howard,  of  Monroe  township ;  Ada,  the  wife 
of  F.  F.  Hosack,  a  druggist  of  Frederick- 
town,  Ohio;  Charles  C,  who  is  engaged  in 
business  in  New  York  city ;  F.  Grace,  the 
wife  of  Grant  Walker,  a  dentist  of  JNIount 
Vernon;  Catherine,  at  home;  and  Walter, 
who  is  employed  as  shipping  clerk  for  the 
Anchor  Silver  Plate  Company,  of  Chicago, 
Illinois.  Since  attaining  to  years  of  maturity 
Mr.  Graham  has  given  his  political  support 
to  the  Republican  party,  and  in  1890  he  was 
nominated  for  the  office  of  county  commis- 
sioner, and  in  the  same  year  was  elected  land 
appraiser.  He  is  a  worthy  and  acceptable 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  for 
the  past  eleven  years  he  has  served  as  an 
elder  therein. 


DANIEL  McGUGIN. 

One  of  the  aged  and  venerable  citizens 
of  Knox  county  was  Daniel  McGugin,  who 
passed  away  in  death  on  the  4th  of  February, 
1902,  aged  ninety-two  years,  ten  months 
and  one  day.  His  was  a  busy  and  useful  life, 
— a  life  filled  with  arduous  and'  honorable 
toil  for  the  good  of  his  family  and  others, 
and  all  who  knew  him  respected  and  rev- 
erenced him. 

Mr.  McGugin  was  born  in  Washington 
•county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  3d  of  April, 
1809.  His  father,  David  McGugin,  was 
born  in  Mount  Pleasant  township,  Washing- 


ton county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1775,  and  there 
he  spent  his  entire  life,  passing  away  at  the 
age  of  eighty-seven  years.  He  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  was  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  and  was  first  a  Democrat 
and  afterward  a  Whig  in  his  political  views. 
The  McGugin  family  is  of  Scotch  descent. 
The  mother  of  our  subject  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Jane  Vincent,  and  she,  too,  was  a 
native  of  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  she  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-seven 
years.  Her  father,  Alex.  Vincent,  was  of 
(Irish  descent.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
Gugin were  born  eight  children,  and  with 
the  exception  of  one  all  grew  to  years  of 
maturity,  but  only  one  now  survives,  Alex- 
ander, who  still  resides  on  the  old  farm  in 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  which 
his  grandfather  improved. 

Daniel  McGugin,  the  eldest  of  the  fanv 
ily,  was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits  in 
the  county  of  his  nati\'ity,  and  the  educa- 
tional privileges  which  he  enjoyed  in  his 
youth  were  those  afforded  by  the  district 
schools  of  his  locality.  After  attaining  to 
years  of  maturity  he  engaged  in  farming  the 
old  home  place  with  his  brother  James,  but 
in  1846  he  left  the  land  of  his  birth  and 
came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  locating  on  the 
farm  on  which  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  it  being  located  in  Howard  township. 
The  place  consists  of  two  hundred  acres  of 
rich  and  fertile  land,  all  of  which  is  under 
an  excellent  state  of  cultivation  and  adorned 
with  neat  and  substantial  buildings.  This 
is  one  of  the  fine  country  seats  of  the  lo- 
cality, and  in  the  line  of  his  chosen  vocation 
Mr.  McGugin  met  with  a  high  degree  of 
success. 

In  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1832,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Eliza- 


328 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


beth  Campbell,  wbo  was  there  born  and 
reared.  After  a  happy  married  life  of  many 
}'ears  this  worthy  couple  were  separated  by 
the  hand  of  death,  the  wife  having-  been 
called  to  her  final  rest  in  1888,  when  she  had 
reached  the  eightieth  milestone  on  the  jour- 
ney of  life.  They  became  the  parents  of 
seven  children,  namely:  David,  deceased; 
Sibella,  deceased ;  Daniel  L.,  a  resident  of 
Howard  township;  Jesse,  who  also  makes 
his  home  in  Knox  county;  Franklin,  a 
prominent  agriculturist  of  Ringgold  county, 
Iowa ;  William,  of  Knox  county ;  and  Jane, 
deceased.  They  also  had  twenty  grandchil- 
dren and  eight  great-grandchildren.  In 
early  life  Mr.  McGugin  gave  his  political 
support  to  the  Whig  party,  and  was  an  ar- 
dent abolitionist,  and  after  the  organization 
of  the  Republican  party  he  was  a  stanch  sup- 
porter of  its  principles.  In  i860  and  1864 
his  presidential  vote  was  cast  for  Lincoln, 
and  he  afterward  voted  for  every  Repub- 
lican presidential  candidate,  and  during  his 
fifty-five  years'  residence  in  Knox  county  he 
ne\'er  missed  a  spring  election.  His  worth 
and  ability  were  widely  recognized  in  the 
community  in  which  he  so  long  made  his 
home,  and  for  a  number  of  years  he  served 
as  assessor  of  Howard  township.  From, 
1835  until  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  during 
which  time  he  labored  earnestly  for  the 
cause  of  Christianity  among  his  fellow  men, 
and  for  thirty-five  years  he  served  as  a  leader 
of  the  choir  in  his  church.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  he  was  the  oldest  living  resident 
of  Howard  township  and  the  third  oldest 
man  in  Knox  county,  and  during  his  long 
and  useful  life  he  so  lived  as  to  win  and  re- 
tain the  respect  and  esteem  of  his  fellow 
citizens. 


HENRY  WAGNER. 

Henry  Wagner  has  well  earned  the 
proud  American  title  of  a  self-made  man — 
the  only  title  which  this  land  confers  upon 
her  citizens.  He  has  gained  a  position 
among  the  prosperous  citizens  of  his  com- 
munity entirely  through  his  own  efiforts,  his 
success  being  due  to  untiring  labor,  strong 
purpose  and  unflagging  perseverance.  His 
life  history  proves  what  can  be  accomplished 
through  such  means  in  a  land  where  effort 
and  ability  are  not  hampered  by  caste  or 
class.  He  now  resides  in  Middlebury  town- 
ship, where  he  owns  a  good  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  acres,  upon  which  he  is 
quietly  passing  the  evening  of  life,  having 
now  attained  the  age  of  four  score  years. 

Mr.  Wagner  was  born  in  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania,  January  11,  1822, 
and  is  a  son  of  George  and  Mary  (Beam) 
Wagner,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
Germany  and  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  the 
same  vessel.  The  former  was  sold,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  the  times,  in  order  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  the  passage,  which  he 
thus  worked  out.  He  was  afterward  mar- 
ried and  located  in  Lancaster  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  for  some  time  conducted  a  ho- 
tel on  the  Susquehanna  river.  About  1824 
he  came  with  his  family  to  Knox  county  and 
located  ini  Middlebury  township,  settling  in 
the  midst  of  the  forest  on  a  heavily  timbered 
tract  of  land  of  fifty  acres  adjoining  the 
present  farm  of  our  subject.  There  he  built 
a  log  cabin  and  throughout  his  remaining 
days  devoted  his  energies  to  the  cultivation 
and  improvement  of  his  farm.  He  was  one 
of  the  honored  pioneer  settlers  of  Knox  I 
county  and  aided  in  laying  broad  and  deep  , 
the   foundation  for  its    later    developments 


^o^ay^  J^^  ^p-i^ 


<^ 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


329 


Both  he  and  his  wife  were  about  sevent)-- 
eight  years  of  age  when  they  died.  They 
held  membership  in  the  Lutheran  church  and 
in  order  to  attend  its  services  would  ride 
seven  or  eight  miles  on  the  same  horse  to 
the  little  log  meeting  house  in  Richland 
county.  Of  their  twelve  children  eight  sons 
and  a  daughter  reached  mature  years,  but 
only  two  are  now  living,  Henry  and  Lewis, 
the  latter  of  California. 

Henr\'  Wagner,  the  nintli  member  of  the 
family,  was  ,  about  two  years  old  when 
brought  by  his  parents  to  Knox  county  and 
amid  the  wild  scenes  of  frontier  life  he  was 
reared,  his  childhood's  home  being  near  the 
farm  upon  which  he  now  resides.  He  be- 
came familiar  with  the  branches  of  learning 
taught  in  the  primitive  schools,  which  were 
conducted  in  a  log  building,  with  the  punch- 
eon floor,  slab  seats  and  writing  ■  desks 
formed  by  placing  a  board  upon  wooden 
pins  driven  into  the  wall.  The  room  was 
lighted  by  one  window  and  the  schoolmaster 
believed  in  the  adage  "spare  the  rod  and 
spoil  the  child."  As  soon  as  old  enough  to 
handle  the  plow  he  began  work  in  the  fields 
and  assisted  in  the  cultivation  of  the  home 
farm  until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  when 
he  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account. 
With  his  brothers,  George  and  Isaac,  he 
cleared  a  piece  of  land  known  as  the  Smidley 
farm,  and  thereon  raised  tobacco. 

His  home  was  presided  over  by  a  lady 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sarah  Ann 
Jeffreys,  whom  he  married  March  6,  1846. 
She  was  born  in  Wayne  township  December 
22,  1825,  a  daughter  of  Parson  and  Sarah 
(Dickinson)  Jeffries,  who  came  from  New 
Jersey  to  this  state  in  the  days  of  early  de- 
velopment in  Knox  county.  Mrs.  Wagner 
is  their  sixth  child  and  was  reared  in  Mid- 


dlebury  township  from  the  age  of  ten  years. 
After  their  marriage  our  subject  and  his 
wife  lived  upon  the  Smidley  farm  for  about 
three  years  and  then  removed  to  her  fath- 
er's farm,  which  was  their  place  of  abode 
for  seven  years,  after  which  they  came  to 
the  old  homestead,  upon  which  Mr.  Wag- 
ner's father  had  settled  in  pioneer  times.  In 
1875  they  removed  to  their  present  farm, 
he  having  erected  his  house  the  previous 
year,  and  the  following  3'ear  he  built  his 
large  barn.  In  1876  he  and  his  wife  enjoyed 
a  very  pleasant  vacation,  attending  the  Cen- 
tennial Exposition  in  Philadelphia,  as  they 
did  also  the  World's  Fair  in  Chicago. 
They  became  the  parents  of  six  children,. 
three  sons  and  three  daughters :  Susan  M.,. 
now  deceased;  George  P.,  a  prominent  farm- 
er of  Middlebury  township;  Sarah  E.,  the 
wife  of  Robert  Martin,  owning  the  old  Wag- 
ner homestead;  William,  a  successful  agri- 
culturist of  Middlebury  township;  John  L.,- 
also  a  farmer;  and  Mary  E.,  deceased. 

Mr.  Wagner  is  the  owner  of  a^  model 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  acres  in 
Middlebury  township,  and  in  addition  to  this^ 
he  owns  other  property,  being  a  partner  withi 
his  sons,  William  and  John  L.,  in  a  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-acre  farm.  He  has  aided  all: 
of  his  children  in  getting  a  start  in  life  and 
the  living  ones  now  reside  upon  farms  ad- 
joining his  own.  At  the  time  of  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion  he  was  drafted  for  service, 
but  on  account  of  his  invalid  mother  and 
brother,  who  needed  his  care,  he  remained 
at  home,  paying  a  substitute  four  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  to  go  in  his  place.  This 
was  Thomas  Runyan,  and  the  term  of  enlist- 
ment covered  three  months,  but  on  the  expi- 
ration of  that  period  Mr.  Runyan  remained 
in  the  service  for  three  years  longer  and  had 


330 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


the  sight  of  both  eyes  destroyed  by  a  gun- 
shot. Mr.  Wagner  cast  his  first  presidential 
vote  for  Henry  Clay  and  in  i860  supported 
Lincoln,  since  which  time  he  has  always 
^•oted  for  the  presidential  nominee  of  the 
Republican  party.  He  has  served  as  town- 
ship trustee  for  more  temis  than  any  other 
man  in  the  township — a  fact  which  tells  the 
story  of  faithful  and  efficient  service.  Such 
is  the  history  of  one  whose  eighty  years  have 
been  a  period  of  usefulness  and  honor,  and 
who  in  the  evening  of  life  receives  the  ven- 
eration and  respect  which  slio"uld  ever  be 
accorded  to  an  honorable  old  age. 


GEORGE  E.  KENWOOD. 

The  Henwood  family  is  one  that  has 
long  been  identified  with  the  development  of 
the  farming  interests  of  Knox  county,  and 
the  subject  of  this  review  is  now  a  worthy 
representative  of  the  time-honored  occupa- 
tion of  agriculture.  He  was  born  in  Monroe 
township,  Knox  county,  on  the  ist  of  Feb- 
ruary, i860,  a  son  of  John  and  Ellen  (Day- 
mude)  Henwood.  The  paternal  great- 
grandfather of  our  subject,  Elijah  Henwood, 
was  born  in  Germany,  but  when  a  young 
man  he  left  his  little  Gemian  home  across 
the  sea  and  came  to  the  United  States,  lo- 
cating in  Washington  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  remained  until  his  death. 
His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Rhoda. 
Their  son  John  became  the  grandfather  of 
our  subject.  He  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  January  i,  1801,  and 
Avas  there  reared  to  years  of  maturity.  In 
1840  he  came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
purciiasing  the  one  hundred  acres  of  land 


which  is  now  owned  by  his  two  grandsons, 
Albert  and  William,  but  as  the  years  passed 
he  added  to  his  landed  possessions  until  he 
became  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
acres.  His  death  occurred  on  the  24th  of 
August,  1870.  For  his  wife  he  chose  Jane 
Taylor,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  October 
12,  1802,  but  when  only  six  months  old  she 
was  brought  by  her  parents  to  the  new 
world.  She  was  a  daughter  of  William  and 
Eliza  (Anderson)  Taylor,  and  her  mother 
died  during  the  ocean  voyage. 

John  Henwood,  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  on  the  i6th  of  November, 
1829,  and  on  his  father's  farm  there  he  was 
reared  to  years  of  maturity.  After  his  mar- 
riage he  assumed  entire  control  of  the  old 
homestead,  which  he  continued  to  operate 
until  his  life's  labors  were  ended  in  death, 
on  the  i2th  of  December,  1892.  After  his 
father's  death  he  purchased  the  interest  of 
the  other  heirs  in  the  old  home  place,  and 
later  in  life,  with  the  assistance  of  his  sons, 
he  bought  two  other  farms,  thus  increasing 
his  landed  possessions  to  four  hundred  and 
twenty-five  acres.  During  the  last  five  or 
six  years  of  his  life  he  suffered  greatly  from 
rheumatism.  He  gave  his  political  support 
to  the  Democratic  party,  and  on  its  ticket  he 
was  elected  to  many  positions  of  honor  and 
trust,  having  served  for  twenty  years  as  a 
township  trustee.  For  a  companion  on  the 
journey  of  life  he  chose  Ellen  Daymude,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  four  children, 
namely:  James  E.  and  George  E.,  twins; 
William  M.,  a  prominent  agriculturist  of 
Monroe  township;  and  Albert,  who  also  fol- 
lows the  tilling  of  the  soil  in  this  locality. 

George  E.  Henwood,  the  immediate  sub- 
ject of  this  review,  acquired  his  education  in 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


331 


the  common  schools  of  Monroe  township, 
and  early  in  life  he  was  inured  to  the  work 
of  field  and  meadow.  He  now  farms  one 
hundred  acres  of  the  old  home  place,  and 
in  addition  he  is  the  owner  of  sixty-two  and 
a  half  acres  of  the  old  Drake  farm.  He  was 
married  on  the  27th  of  October,  1883,  to 
Miss  Laura  M.  Drake,  a  native  of  Howard 
township,  and  a  daughter  of  Smith  Drake, 
who  was  a  prominent  agriculturist  of  that 
township,  but  is  now  deceased.  Two  chil- 
dren have  graced  this  union, — Rosa  P.  and 
Maud  E.  Mr.  Henwood  also  gives  his  polit- 
ical support  tO'  the  Democracy.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Disciples  church,  in  which 
he  has  long  held  the  position  of  deacon.  In 
every  position  in  which  he  has  been  called 
upon  to  fill  he  has.  been  highly  successful. 
As  a  business  man  he  is  upright,  reliable  and 
honorable.  In  all  places  and  under  all  cir- 
cumstances he  is  loyal  to  truth,  honor  and 
right,  justly  regarding  his  self-respect  and 
the  deserved  esteem,  of  his  fellow  men  as 
infinitely  more  valuable  than  wealth,  fame 
or  position.  Few  men  have  more  devoted 
friends  than  he,  and  none  excel  him  in  un- 
selfish devotion  and  unswervring  fidelity  to 
the  worthy  recipients  of  his  confidence  and. 
friendship. 


JOHN  J.  HYATT. 

One  of  the  well  known  and  energetic  cit- 
izens of  Brown  township,  Knox  county,  is 
John  J.  Hyatt,  who  is  extensively  engaged 
in  shipping  stock  and  in  superintending  his 
farming  and  landed  interests.  He  makes 
his  home  in  Jelloway,  and  was  bom  in  that 
village  August' 7,  1873.  His  father,  Dr.  A. 
J.  Hyatt,  was  a  native  of  Coshocton  county, 


Ohio,  and  in  his  early  manhood  engaged  in 
teaching  school.  In  his  leisure  hours  he  de- 
voted his  attention  to  the  study  of  medicine 
and  became  a  prominent  practicing  physi- 
cian, following  his  profession  for  thirty-five 
years  in  Jelloway.  He  died  in  1898,  and 
in  the  community  his  loss  was  deeply 
mourned.  Fraternally  he  was  connected 
with  the  Masonic  order  and  politically  with 
the  Democracy.  A  self-educated  man,  he 
made  the  most  of  his  opportunities  through 
life  and  his  merit  won  him  advancement. 
He  married  Emma  G.  Gaines,  who  was  born 
in  BroAvn  township,  Knox  county,  and  who 
still  survives  her  husband.  They  became  the 
parents  of  fo.ur  chuldren,  of  whom  John  J. 
is  the  eldest.  The  others  are:  Dwight  H., 
who  is  attending  school  in  Ada,  Ohio ;  Rob- 
ert, deceased;  and  Louis  D.,  who  also  is  a 
student  in  Ada. 

John  J.  Hyatt,  of  this  review,  began  his 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  Scio 
and  then  was  matriculated  in  Kenyon  Col- 
lege at  Gambler,  in  which  institution  he  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1896.  He  then 
took  up  the  management  of  his  father's  busi- 
ness interests  as  administrator  of  his  estate. 
He  is  also  in  partnership  with  N.  M.  Ross, 
in  buying  and  shipping  stock  on  a  commis- 
sion basis,  representing  about  six  firms.  Mr. 
Hyatt  is  a  yormg  man  of  excellent  business 
ability  and  his  efforts  are  permeated  by  a 
laudable  ambition.  In  his  life  he  manifests 
that  same  progressive  spirit  which  has  led  to 
the  wonderful  development  of  this  country 
and  which  will  make  him  a  very  successful 
man. 

In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Democrat 
and  is  now  serving  as  justice  of  the  peace 
of  Jelloway,  discharging  his  duties  in  a  very 
capable  manner.    He  also  belongs  to  the  tent 


332 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


of  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  in  his  native 
town  and  has  filled  most  of  its  offices. 
Throughout  the  county  where  his  entire  life 
has  been  spent,  he  has  a  wide  acquaintance 
and  is  a  popular  young  man,  whose  genial 
and  cordial  disposition  has  gained  for  him 
many  friends. 


DAVID  L.  NYHART. 

For  more  than  half  a  century  David  L. 
Nj'hart  has  resided  in  Knox  county,  where 
he  has  a  very  wide  acquaintanceship.  He 
was  born  in  Jefiferson  township,  August  27, 
1846,  and  represents  an  old  family  bf  Penn- 
sylvania, which  was  established  in  Ohio  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Jacob  Nyhart,  his  father,  was  born  in  W^ash- 
ington  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1806,  and 
about  1 81 2  accomi>anied  his  parents  to  Knox 
county,  a  settlement  being;  made  by  the  fam- 
ily in  Harrison  township,  where  Jacob  Ny- 
hart was  reared  and  married.  He  then  lo- 
cated in  Jefferson  township,  but  spent  the 
last  three  years  of  his  life  in  Brown  town- 
ship in  the  home  of  his  youngest  daughter, 
Mrs.  Mary  C.  Scholes,  passing  away  in  his 
ninety-second  year.  He  held  membership  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  took  an 
active  interest  in  its  work  and  labored  earn- 
estly for  the  support  of  Christianity  among 
his  fellow  men.  His  political  support  w.as 
given  to  the  Democracy  for  many  years,  but 
in  his  later  life  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
Prohibition  party.  He  was  left  fatherless  at 
the  age  of  six,  and  from  that  time  forward 
was  largely  dependent  upon  his  own  re- 
sources, so  that  he  deserved  great  credit  for 
what  he  accomplished  in  life.     He  wedded 


Mary  Smith,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  who 
died  when  more  than  eighty  years  of  age. 
Her  father.  W'illiam  Smith,  came  to  Knox 
county  at  a  very  early  day  and  bore  his 
part  in  the  development  of  this  region.  He 
died  in  Harrison  township  at  the  very  vener- 
able age  of  ninety-nine  years.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Nyhart  were  born  nine  children,  five 
sons  and  four  daughters,  all  of  whom 
reached  adult  age;  namely :  John ;  William  ; 
Jacob,  who  died  in  the  army ;  David  L. ; 
Noah ;  Mrs.  Margaret  Hess ;  Mrs.  S3'bil  Mc- 
Kee;  Mrs.  Barbara  x\nn  Maxwell  and  Mrs. 
Mary  C.  Scholes. 

David  L.  Nyhart,  the  fourth  son  of  the 
family,  was  reared  in  Jefferson  township, 
where  he  remained  until  after  he  had  at- 
tained his  maturity.  Like  most  young  men, 
on  starting  out  in  life  on  his  own  account, 
he  sought  a  companion  for  the  journey  and 
wedded  Mary  E.  Banbury,  who  was  born 
in  Jefferson  township,  a  daughter  of  Charles 
and  Barbara  (Robinson)  Banbury,  who 
were  early  settlers  of  Knox  county,  their 
home  being  in  Jefferson  township.  Unto 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nyhart  have  been  born  two 
daughters,  Ottes  Mollie  and  Etta  Mildred. 
They  also  lost  one  son,  Charles  Orley,  who 
died  of  sarcoma,  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
years. 

In  1 87 1  Mr.  Nyhart  located  upon  the 
farm  which  is  still  his  place  of  residence. 
Here  he  owns  one  hundred  and  seven  acres 
of  rich  land  and  in  addition  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  crops  best  adapted  to  this  climate,  he 
is  making  a  specialty  of  raising  fine  Poland 
China  hogs.  He  also  handles  thoroughbred 
cattle  and  Delaine  sheep,  and  this  branch  of 
his  business  is  now  extensive  and  profitable. 
He  is  prominent  among  the  leading  farmers 
and  stock-raisers  of  his  communitv  and  the 


i 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


333 


success  which  he  has  gained  is  well  earned. 
He  votes  with  the  Republican  party  and  is 
luifaltering  in  his  allegiance  to  its  principles. 
His  church  relationship  is  with  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  denomination,  and  he  takes 
an  active  part  in  church  work.  He  has  been 
steward,  class-leader,  trustee  and  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday-school,  acting  in  the 
latter  capacity  for  almost  fifteen  years,  at  .dif- 
ferent intervals.  He  has  likewise  been  iden- 
tified with  the  educational  interests  of  Jeffer- 
son, Brown  and  Pike  townships,  for  during 
twelve  years  he  has  taught  school  through 
the  winter  months  while  in  the  summer  his 
attention  has  been  devoted  to  farm  work. 
His  life  has  been  upright;  his  conduct 
straightforward  and  his  word  reliable,  and 
thus  the  qualities  of  an  honorable  manhood 
have  secured  to  him  the  confidence  and 
friendship  of  those  with  whom  he  has  been 
associated. 


C.  F.  RICE. 

C.  F.  Rice,  who  for  more  than  six  year-, 
filled  the  office  of  county  commissioner  with 
marked  ability  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned,  is  a  successful  and  extensive 
fanner  of  Knox  county,  living  in  Jefferson 
township.  He  was  born  in  this  township, 
December  lo,  1854,  a  son  of  Frederick  and 
Nancy  J.  Rice.  His  childhood  and  youth 
were  passed  in  a  manner  common  tO'  boys  of 
that  period,  and  in  the  district  schools  he  ac- 
quired a  fair  knowledge  of  those  common 
English  branches  of  learning  which  are  of 
such  practical  value  in  the  acti\-e  affairs  of 
life. 

Mr.  Rice  remained  at  home  and  assisted 
his   father   in   the  cultivation  of  the  home 


farm,  and  after  his  father's  death  assumed 
the  management  of  the  place,  which  he  oper- 
ated for  his  mother  until  she,  too,  was  called 
away.  He  is  to-day  the  owner  of  four  hun- 
dred acres  of  good  land  in  Jefferson,  Brown 
and  Union  townships,  and  his  farm  work  is 
carried  on  along  progressive  lines.  Every- 
thing about  the  place  is  kept  in  good  repair, 
rotation  of  crops  is  practiced  and  each  year 
the  well  tilled  fields  yield  to  him  desirable 
harvests.  In  connection  with  agricultural 
pursuits  he  is  also  buying  and  selling  tim- 
ber, annually  shipping  many  carloads.  This 
enterprise  also  adds  materially  to  his  income. 
In  May,  1880,  Mr.  Rice  was  married  to 
Miss  Eliza  E.  McKee,  a  native  of  Union 
township  and  a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Sa- 
rah McKee,  who  were  early  settlers  of  this 
locality.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rice  l>egan  their  do- 
mestic life  upon  the  farm  which  is  still  their 
home,  and  the  union  has  been  blessed  with 
one  son.  Earl  C.  They  are  worthy  people 
who  have  many  friends.  In  1892,  entirely 
unsolicited  on  his  part,  there  came  to  him 
the  nomination  for  county  commissioner  on 
the  Democratic  ticket.  He  was  elected,  and 
after  three  years"  service  in  that  office  he 
was  re-elected.  He  was  also  appointed  to 
fill  a  vacancy  of  seven  months,  so  that  his 
incumbency  in  the  position  continued  for 
seven  months  in  addition  to  his  six  years' 
term.  He  has  filled  all  the  local  offices,  and 
in  these,  as  in  the  county  service,  he  won  the 
commendation  of  the  public  by  reason  of  his 
devotion  to  the  general  good.  When  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity  and  has  since  attained  to 
the  degree  of  a  Knight  Templar,  in  Clinton 
Commandery,  No.  5,  K.  T.  He  likewise  be- 
longs to  Bartholomew  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  at 
Democracy;  to  the  Modern  Woodmen  Camp 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


at  Danville,  and  to  the  Knights  of  the  Mac- 
cabees of  Buckeye  City.  He  is  a  worthy  ex- 
ponent of  the  teachings  of  those  fraternities 
and  is  a  representative  farmer  and  valued 
citizen,  true  to  every  trust  whether  of  a  pub- 
lic or  private  nature. 


EUGENE  R.  LEEDY. 

Eugene  R.  Leedy,  who  is  engaged  in 
general  farming  in  Berlin  township,  his 
home  being  on  the  old  state  road,  is  num- 
bered among  Ohio's  native  sons,  for  his 
birth  occurred  in  Jefferson  township,  Rich- 
land county.  The  family  has  been  one  of 
prominence  in  this  state  from  the  early  pio- 
neer days,  so  that  one  of  its  members,  scarce- 
ly needs  an  introduction  to  the  readers  of 
this  volume.  Aaron  Leedy,  his  father,  was 
born  in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  was  the 
youngest  child  of  Abraham  and  Elizabeth 
Leedy,  of  whom  individual  mention  is  made 
elsewhere  in  this  volume,  and  in  a  large  fam- 
ily he  was  the  only  one  born  in  this  county. 
He  was  reared  and  married  in  Berlin  town- 
ship, the  lady  of  his  choice  being  Elizabeth 
Garber,  who  was  born  in  Jeffcrsi;n  township, 
Richland  county,  and  was  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Catherine  (Leedy)  Garber.  The 
parents  began  their  domestic  life  in  Knox 
county,  but  subsequently  removed  to  Rich- 
land county,  where  they  still  reside.  They 
had  six  sons  and  twO'  daughters  who  lived 
to  mature  years,  and  they  also  lost  one 
daughter. 

Eugene  R.  Leedy  was  born  on  the  i6th 
of  Febniary,  1861,  and  is  the  second  son 
and  third  child  in  this  family.  No'  event  of 
special  importance  occurred  to  vary  the  rou- 


tine of  farm  life  for  him  in  his  youth.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and 
early  worked  in  the  fields,  assisting  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  home  farm  until  his  mar- 
riage, which  occurred  December  11,  1884. 
He  wedded  Nancy  J.  Beal,  who  was  born  in 
Berlin  township  April  10,  1864.  a  daughter 
of  Franklin  Beal,  who  was  born  in  Richland 
county  September  28,  1839.  His  mother 
died  when  he  was  only  four  weeks  old,  and 
he  spent  his  boyhood  days  on  the  farm,  in 
the  home  of  D.  Hetrick,  in  Berlin  township, 
Knox  county,  where  he  became  acquainted 
with  Miss  Susan  Fink,  whom  he  married 
September  12,  1861.  She  was  born  in  Ber- 
lin township  November  23,  1840,  and  be- 
came the  mother  of  two  children,  a  son  and 
a  daughter.  Her  people  were  among  the 
first  settlers  in  that  township,  and  aided  in 
reclaiming  the  wild  land  for  purposes  of  civ- 
ilization. Franklin  Beal  made  farming  his 
life  work,  and  resided  upon  the  tract  of  land 
which  constitutes  our  subject's  present  farm. 
His  death  occurred  April  12,  18S5.  The 
marriage  of  our  subject  and  wife  has  been 
blessed  with  three  children, — Lulu  May, 
Erma  Elizabeth  and  a  son  who  died  in  in- 
fancy.    The  two  latter  were  twins. 

Eugene  R.  Leedy,  of  this  review,  owns 
and  resides  upon  a  farm  of  fifty-one  acres  in 
Berlin  township,  and  he  is  one  of  the  wide- 
awake and  progressive  business  men  of  this 
section.  He  follows  general  farming,  and  at 
the  same  time  makes  a  specialty  of  the  culti- 
vation of  fruit  and  the  raising  of  poultry, 
and  in  all  branches  of  his  business  he  is 
meeting  with  success,  for  he  has  studied  the 
needs  of  fruits,  cereals  and  of  fowls.  His 
opinions  are  largely  received  as  authority  in 
these  matters,  and  that  his  methods  are  ex- 
cellent is  shown  by  the  splendid  results  which 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,   OHIO. 


335 


attend  his  labors.  He  was  reared  in  the  faith 
of  the  Universahst  church,  to  which  his  fa- 
ther and  mother  belonged  and  of  which  he 
is  now  a  member.  He  votes  the  Democratic 
ticket  when  questions  of  national  importance 
are  involved,  but  at  local  elections  casts  his 
ballot  independently.  He  is  a  strong  temper- 
ance man  in  every  respect,  using  neither 
liquors  nor  tobacco  in  any  form,  and  he  does 
all  in  his  power  to  inculcate  like  principles 
among  his  fellow  men.  Three  times  he  has 
served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion, and  the  schools  have  found  in  him  a 
warm  friend.  He  belongs  to  Wayne  Lodge, 
No.  303,  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  Frederick- 
town,  and  also  to  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry, 
Bellville,  and  of  the  latter  he  has  been  sec- 
retary for  seven  years.  He  takes  an  active 
part  in  its  work  and  does  everything  in  his 
power  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  com- 
munity and  advance  the  general  good.  He 
is  now  the  president  of  the  Leedy  Reuniou 
Association,  which  was  organized  in  1895, 
and  since  that  time  he  has  been  filling  some 
office  in  the  organization.  The  spirit  of  con- 
tinuous activity  and  of  progressiveness  has 
resulted  in  carrying  forward  plans  to  suc- 
cessful completion,  and  it  is  along  these  lines 
that  Air.  Leedy  has  become  known  as  one  of 
the  leading  representatives  of  agricultural 
interests  in  Knox  county. 


JOHN  WOLFE  LINDLEY. 

One  of  the  earliest  families  making  a  per- 
manent settlement  in  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
was  that  now  worthily  represented  in  this 
section  of  the  state  by  the  gentleman  whose 
name  forms  the  heading  of  this  sketch.    For 


many  years  the  Lindleys  have  been  identified 
with  the  agricultural  interests  of  their  com- 
munit}',  aiding  materially  in  the  develop-, 
ment  of  the  resources  of  their  section  and 
taking  an  active  part  in  everything  calcu- 
lated to  promote  the  welfare  and  happiness 
of  the  majority.  The  family  was  founded, 
in  this  country  by  three  brothers  who  came- 
from  England  in  a  very  early  day,  two  of 
whom  settled  in  New  Jersey  and  one  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  from  the  latter  branch 
our  subject  is  descended. 

jMahlon  Lindley,  his  father,  was  born  in 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1791.- 
The  latter's  father,  Joseph  Lindley,  died 
when  he  was  but  twelve  years  of  age,  and 
his  mother  afterward  again  married,  and 
thus  the  children  were  early  left  to  provide 
for  their  own  support.  Mr.  Lindley  subse- 
quently made  his  way  to  Jefferson  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  employed  as  a  carder 
and  fuller,  and  he  was  there  married  tc  Miss 
Anna  Wolfe.  About  182 1  they  came  to 
Kno.x  county,  purchasing  the  farm  on  \\hich 
our  subject  now  resides,  which  was  then  in 
its  primitive  condition.  He  first  lived  in  a 
log  cabin  and  began  the  task  of  extending 
the  clearing  of  his  land  and  placing  it  under 
cultivation.  Prosperity  abundantly  reward- 
ed his  well  directed  efforts,  his  farm  finally 
becoming  one  of  the  most  valuable  home- 
steads in  the  locality,  and  in  1830  their  log 
cabin  was  replaced  by  the  present  brick 
house,  the  bricks .  for  which  were  made  on 
the  farm.  The  water  for  this  purpose  was 
drawn  with  an  old  well  sweep  and  the  mor- 
tar was  tramped  by  oxen.  It  was  the  second 
brick  house  erected  in  the  county,  and  at 
that  time  one  of  the  largest  and  most  preten- 
tious residences.  It  still  forms  the  principal 
part  of  the  present  dwelling,  although  it  has 


336 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


been  entirely  remodeled.  Here  Mr.  Lindley 
spent  his  remaining  days,  passing  away  in 
death  in  1881.  at  the  age  of  ninety  years. 
His  faculties  were  remarkably  well  pre- 
served, and  his  business  received  his  per- 
sonal attention  until  the  last.  He  was  first 
a  Whig  and  afterward  a  Republican  in  po- 
litical views,  and  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
at  Fredericktown  he  was  a  worthy  and  ac- 
ceptable member.  Of  the  eight  children  born 
unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lindley  five  are  now  liv- 
ing: John  W.,  the  subject  of  this  review; 
Phoebe  A.,  widow  of  Columbus  S.  Doolittle. 
of  Mansfield;  Lucinda  H.,  the  widow  of 
William  Sims,  of  Urbana,  Illinois ;  Jacob,  a 
resident  of  Minoiik,  Illinois ;  and  Mahlon,  a 
practicing  physician  of  Urbana,  Illinois. 

John  W.  Lindley  was  born  August  20, 
1826,  and  remained  under  the  parental  roof 
until  twenty  years  of  age,  when  he  became  a 
student  in  the  Miami  University,  at  Oxford, 
Ohio,  in  which  he  was  graduated  after  a 
four  years'  course.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1850,  and  received  the  degree  of  A. 
B.,  while  the  degree  of  A.  M.  was  conferred 
upon  him  three  years  later.  Among  his  col- 
lege associates  may  be  mentioned  Rev.  Dr. 
David  Swing,  also  Benjamin  Harrison  and 
Rev.  Dr.  S.  S.  Laws.  LL.  D.,  late  president 
of  the  Missouri  State  University.  Rev.  Rob- 
ert Morrison,  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  Missouri,  was  also  one  of  his 
classmates,  and  in  company  with  that  gentle- 
man and  four  others  Mr.  .Lindley  founded. 
in  1848,  the  Phi  Delta  Theta  Greek-letter 
college  society,  which  now  has  a  member- 
ship of  over  eleven  thousand  and  has  sixty- 
five  chapters.  Of  the  original  founders  only 
our  subject  and  Rev.  Robert  Morrison  are 
still  living,  and  both  are  honored  members  at 
the  great  biennial  conventions  of  the  society. 


He  next  entered  Hagerstown  Academy,  in 
which  he  spent  two  and  a  half  years  as  as- 
sistant to  his  brother,  Joseph,  who  was  its 
principal,  and  the  following  year  he  was 
made  principal  of  the  Poplar  Grove  Acad- 
emy, of  Smyrna,  Tennessee.  He  next  re- 
moved to  Charleston,  Indiana,  where  he  be- 
came the  proprietor  and  principal  of  the 
Charleston  Female  Institute,  in  which  sev- 
enty-five young  ladies  wei^e  enrolled,  con- 
ducting the  same  for  about  five  years.  Dur- 
ing the  following  season  he  was  in  charge  of 
the  Paducah  Female  Seminary,  at  Paducah, 
Kentucky,  but  was  obliged  to  leave  that  in- 
stitution after  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil 
war,  as  the  northern  army  came  into  the 
town  and  took  possession  of  the  seminary 
building  as  headquarters.  Returning  to 
Richmond,  Ohio,  he  was  employed  for  two 
and  a  half  years  as  professor  of  mathematics 
and  natural  science  in  the  Richmond  College, 
a  Presbyterian  institution.  He  then  came  to 
his  old  home  in  Knox  county,  assuming  the 
management  of  the  farm..  After  his  father's 
death  Mr.  Lindley  purchased  the  old  home- 
stead, where  he  has  ever  since  followed  the 
tilling  of  the  soil.  In  all  his  business  rela- 
tions he  is  thoroughly  upright  and  conscien- 
tious, gentlemanly,  considerate,  and  cour- 
teous in  his  personal  and  social  contact  with 
all  mankind,  and  one  whO'  is  an  intrinsically 
honest  man. 

On  the  9th  of  October,  1858,  Mr.  Lindley 
was  united  in  marriage,  at  Richmond,  Ohio, 
to  Miss  Catherine  E.  Shelley,  a  native  of 
Jefferson  county,  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Shelley,  who'  still  makes  his  home 
in  Jefferson  county,  having  now  reached  the 
ninety-third  milestone  on  the  journey  of  life. 
He  is  very  active  both  physically  and  men- 
tallv,  and  still  takes  care  of  his  own  garden. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


337 


Unto  Mr.  and  ]Mrs.  Lindley  have  been  born 
six  children:  Amasa,  at  home;  Joseph  B., 
proprietor  of  a  steam  laundry  at  Mansfield, 
Ohio;  Benjamin  S.,  at  home;  Lulu,  a  popu- 
lar and  successful  teacher  of  domestic  sci- 
ence at  Boston,  Massachusetts;  William,  a 
shoe  merchant  at  Fredericktown,  Ohio;  and 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Dr.  F.  M.  McMurry,  prin- 
cipal of  the  Teachers'  College  in  the  Colum- 
bia University,  of  New  York  City.  The 
children  have  all  been  provided  with  excel- 
lent educational  advantages  and  are  an  honor 
to  the  honored  family  name.  Mr.  Lindley 
is  identified  with  the  Republican  party,  and 
for  thirty-three  years  served  continuously  in 
the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  For  the 
past  thirty  years  he  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he  has 
served  as  a  ruling  elder  through  a  long 
period. 


NORMAN  M.  STRONG. 

The  horologe  of  time  has  marked  off 
ninety  years  since  the  Strong  family,  to 
which  our  subject  belongs,  was  established  in 
Knox  county.  History  and  tradition  tell 
of  the  conditions  found  here  at  that  time, 
— wild,  unbroken  forests,  undrained  marshes 
and  an  uncultivated  wilderness.  Only  here 
and  there  was  seen  the  little  log  cabin  of 
the  pioneer — the  van  guard  of  civilization. 
Block  houses  afforded  the  settlers  protection 
from  the  Lidians,  who  still  lived  in  this 
portion  of  the  state,  while  wild  beasts  roamed 
the  forests.  Courageous  hearts  and  willing 
hands,  however,  were  braving  the  dangers 
and  hardships  incident  to  life  on  the  frontier, 
and  of  this  class  was  numbered  the  grand- 
father and  the  father  of  our  subject,  who 


manfully  bore  their  part  in  claiming  the 
wilderness  for  the  white  man  and  canning 
civilization  into  the  wild  west. 

The  former,  Darius  Strong,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Vermont,  and  in  1811  arrived  in 
Knox  county,  locating  in  what  is  now  Mid- 
dlebury  township,  being  the  second  man 
to  take  up  his  abode  within  its  borders.  He 
was  an  industrious,  energetic  farmer  and 
well  deserved  to  be  classed  among  the  hon- 
ored pioneers  to  whom  the  present  genera- 
tion owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  what  they 
accomplished  in  the  days  when  Knox  county 
was  on  the  frontier.  Rev.  Truman  Strong, 
the  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Poultney,  Vermont,  and  was  there 
reared  and  married,  coming  tO'  Ohio  in  181 2. 
He  located  on  the  farm  where  our  subject 
now  resides,  adjoining  that  of  his  father.' 
From  the  village  of  Fredericktown  to  his 
location  he  had  to  cut  his  way  through  the 
forest,  so  dense  grew  the  trees.  In  the  town 
was  a  blockhouse,  in  which  the  settlers  might 
seek  refuge  in  case  of  attack  by  hostile  In- 
dians. Mr.  Strong  at  once  began  to  clear 
his  land,  which  was  secured  on  a  soldier's 
claim,  building  thereon  a  little  log  cabin,  in 
which  he  and  his  family  lived  in  true  pioneer 
style.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Polly  Ashley,  and  was  a  native  of  Orwell, 
Vermont.  Her  father,  Zebulon  Ashley,  was  a 
native  of  the  Green  Mountain  state  and  in 
18 1 2  came  to  Knox  county,  the  same  year 
of  the  emigration  of  his  daughter  and  her 
family.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Strong  were 
born  four  sons  and  a  daughter,  and  two  of 
the  sons  grew  to  manhood.  Nonnan  M. 
Strong  being  the  youngest  and  the  only  one 
now  living.  The  father  was  a  Universalisb 
minister  and  engaged  in  proclaiming  the 
gospel  according  to  the  tenets  of  that  church 


338 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


tlirougliout  the  state.  During  the  week  he 
worked  on  his  farm  and  on  Saturday,  with 
bis  saddle-bags,  he  would  mount  his  pacing 
horse  and  would  ride  for  fifty  miles  or  more 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  his  fellow  men.  Thus 
he  continued  until  his  death,  and  during  his 
pastoral  work  he  organized  numerous  so- 
cieties, while  for  two  years  he  was  the  pas- 
tor of  the  church  at  Peru,  Huron  county. 
Plis  farm  adjoined  the  Strong  homestead 
and  consisted  of  one  hundred  acres,  and 
there  Rev.  Strong  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  life,  and  his  remains  were  interred  in  the 
cemeter}-  which  Zebulon  Ashley  laid  out  on 
his  land.  This  is  still  in  use,  and  was 
formerly  the  popular  burying  ground  for  the 
old  pioneers,  and  among  those  who  were  laid 
to  rest  there  was  a  ]\Ir.  Dowd,  a  Revolution- 
ary soldier.  Rev.  Strong  passed  away 
March  7,  1870,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 
His  wife  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-four,  and 
and  is  buried  in  the  same  cemetery. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  1832,  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  lives,  Norman  Murray  Strong 
first  opened  his  eyes  to  the  light  of  day. 
The  old  homestead  also  formed  his  play- 
ground in  youth  and  has  since  been  the 
scene  of  liis  manhood's  labors.  He  attend- 
ed the  district  schools  near  by  and  also  spent 
two  years  as  a  student  at  Peru,  Huron  coun- 
ty, Ohio.  About  the  time  he  started  out  in 
life  for  himself  he  chose  as  a  companion  and 
helpmate  for  the  journey  Miss  Sarah  A.  Far- 
quhar,  their  marriage  being  celebrated  on 
the  28th  of  July,  1856,  The  lady  was  born 
in  Berlin  township,  a  daughter  of  Moses  and 
Massey  (Pusey)  Farquhar,  who  were  na- 
tives of  Maryland  and  came  to  Knox  county 
in  1822,  locating  in  Berlin  township.  Mrs. 
Strong  was  the  youngest  of  their  six  chil- 
dren, and  died  March   11,   1870.     She  had 


five  children, — W'ilber  T.,  Charles  F.,  Edwin 
and  Franklin,  twins,  and  Eldia;  but  Wilber 
and  Eldia  are  the  only  ones  now  living.  In 
July,  1875,  ]Mr.  Strong  married  Ruth  P.  Far- 
quhar, the  sister  of  his  first  wife  and  the 
fourth  in  her  parents"  family  of  six  children. 
There  are  no  children  by  the  second  mar- 
riage. His  son  Wilber  married  Jessie  Will- 
iams, a  daughter  of  INIilton  and  Elizabeth 
(Roberts)  Williams,  a  native  of  Berlin 
township.  They  have  one  daughter,  Jessie 
Bell,  who  was  born  in  ]\Iiddlebury  township 
and  is  the  only  grandchild  of  our  subject. 

At  the  time  of  his  first  marriage  IMr. 
Strong  brought  his  bride  to  the  old  home- 
stead farm.,  upon  which  he  has  now  lived  for 
sixty-nine  years.  He  has  always  devoted 
his  time  and  energies  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  now  owns  and  operates  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  which  is  well  improved 
and  is  neat  and  thrifty  in  appearance,  in- 
dicating to  the  passer-by  the  careful  super- 
vision of  the  owner.  In  addition  to  the  rais- 
ing of  the  cereals,  he  is  also  interested  in 
sheep-raising,  and  he  was  one  of  the  first 
to  introduce  the  fine  INIerino  sheep  into  cen- 
tral Ohio.  He  has  ever  since  maintained  a 
deq]  interest  in  the  raising  of  Merino  sheep, 
and  now  has  a  paying  flock. 

Mr.  Strong  was  reared  a  ^^'hig■,  and  in 
1856  his  vote  was  cast  for  John  C.  Fremont, 
the  first  presidential  candidate  of  the  new 
Republican  party.  Since  that  time  he  has 
been  unwavering  in  his  allegiance  to  the 
party,  and  his  fellow  townsmen,  recognizing 
his  trustworthiness  and  efficiency,  have  fre- 
quently called  him  to  serve  in  public  office. 
He  has  been  both  trustee  and  land  appraiser, 
and  often  he  has  been  solicited  to  be  a  candi- 
date for  representative.  He  is  well  known 
in  the  countv,  where  his  entire  life  has  been 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


339 


passed  and  where  his  enterprise  and  industry 
ha\'e  enabled  him  to  win  and  maintain  a 
place  among  the  substantial  agriculturists. 
His  efforts  have  been  directed  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  agriculture  and  the  betterment 
of  the  conditions  of  those  engaged  in  it. 


E.  M.  ra:\iey 


E.  i\I.  Ramey  is  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing in  Hilliar  township  and  at  a  former  day 
was  identified  with  mercantile  interests. 
During  years  of  his  business  career  in  Knox 
county  he  has  been  known  as  a  reliable  and, 
progressive  business  man,  and  his  methods 
are  in  keeping  with  the  strictest  commercial 
ethics.  Knox  county  numbers  him  among 
her  native  sons,  his  birth  having  occurred 
in  Hilliar  tOiwnship,  December  27,  1858. 
His  father,  Thomas  A.  Ramey,  was  born 
near  Zanesville,  Ohio,  and  resided  in  Lick- 
ing county  until  about  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  when  he  removed  to  Morrow  county 
and  was  there  married.  Soon  afterward  he 
took  up  his  abode  at  Mount  Liberty,  Knox 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  shoemaking. 
Later,  however,  he  returned  to  Morrow 
county,  where  he  continued  for  eighteen 
years,  but  at  the  present  time  he  is  living  re- 
tired in  Centerburg,  enjoying  a  well  earned 
rest,  which  is  the  deserved  reward  of  his  life 
of  activity.  He  wedded  Llalinda  Kile,  a  na- 
tive of  Morrow  count}-,  who  was  born  and 
reared  there  and  is  still  living.  She  became 
the  mother  of  four  sons  and  two  daughters, 
the  youngest  son  and  fifth  child  being  E.  M. 
Ramey. 

The  subject  of  this  review  was  only  two 
years  old  when  he  accompanied  his  parents 


to  Morrow  county,  and  through  the  suc- 
ceeding eighteen  years  of  his  life  he  was  a' 
resident  of  that  portion  of  the  state.  He  at- 
tended the  district  school  in  Bloomtiek' 
township  and  afterward  pursued  his  educa- 
tion in  the  high  school,  which  was  followed 
by  a  term  of  teaching.  He  then  went  with, 
his  father  to  Centerburg  and  was  associated 
with  him  there  for  two  years,  after  which  he 
removed  to  Urbana,  Ohio,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  business  as  proprietor  of  a  book 
and  music  store  in  partnership  with  W.  N. 
Kile,  under  the  firm  name  of  Kile  &  Ramey. 
Their  relation  was  in  existence  for  two 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  firm  was 
dissolved.  Mr.  Ramey  then  came  to  ^Nlount 
Liberty,  where  he  engaged  in  general  mer- 
chandising for  five  years.  Again  he  closed 
out  his  business,  but  was  not  long  idle,  as  he 
purchased  the  grocery  stock  of  C.  B.  Miller, 
in  Centerburg,  dealing  in  that  line  of  goods 
for  nine  years.  On  retiring  from  mercantile 
life  he  purchased  the  John  Silby  farm,  of 
ninety  acres,  and  has  since  been  successfully 
engaged  in  its  cultivation.  In  1895  he 
erected  his  present  residence  and  in  1901  he 
built  a  good  barn;  other  buildings  are  pro- 
vided for  the  shelter  of  grain  and  stock, 
and  the  tidy  apearance  of  his  place  is  sub- 
stantial evidence  of  his  careful  supervision 
and  his  progressive  farming  methods. 

In  1879  Mr.  Ramey  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Marie  Hawkins,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Mary  A.  (McClease)  Hawkins, 
who  were  a  pioneer  family  that  aided  in  de- 
veloping this  portion  of  Ohio,  when  it  was 
a  frontier  region.  Mrs.  Ramey  is  the  second 
of  their  fcmr  children  and  by  her  marriage 
she  has  become  the  mother  of  the  following 
named :  H.  Blinn ;  Ralph  B. ;  H.  Carl ;  and 
Florence.    The  family  circle  yet  remains  un- 


340 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


broken  by  the  hand  of  death  and  the  four 
children  are  still  under  the  parental  roof. 

Mr.  Ramey  is  unfaltering  in  his  alle- 
giance to  the  Republican  party  and  in  1900 
be  was  elected  land  appraiser  of  his  town- 
ship. He  belongs  to  Bloomfield  Lodge  No. 
422,  F.  &  A.  M.,  in  Centerburg,  and  to 
the  chapter,  No.  800,  Order. of  the  Eastern 
Star.  In  his  life  he  exemplifies  the  benefi- 
cent spirit  of  the  craft,  manifesting  brotherly 
kindness,  charity  and  helpfulness.  He  is 
well  known  in  the  county  where  much  of  his 
life  has  been  passed,  and  his  commendable 
characteristics  class  him  among  the  men  of 
worth  in  business,  political  and  social  circles. 


JAMES  WORK^IAX. 

One  of  the  practical,  progressive  and  en- 
terprising farmers  of  Knox  county  is  James 
Workman,  who  resides  in  Brown  township. 
He  is  descended  from  good  old  Holland 
stock,  his  paternal  great-grandfather  having 
been  born  in  that  country,  and  after  his  re- 
moval to  the  new  world  he  took  up  his  abode 
in  Maryland,  where  he  became  extensively 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  His  son 
Isaac  became  the  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject, and  his  birth  occurred  in  Maryland. 
Joseph  Workman,  the  father  of  him  whose 
name  introduces  this  review,  also  claimed 
that  commonwealth  as  the  place  of  his  nativ- 
ity. He  was  there  married  to  Sarah  Con- 
nor, a  native  of  Maryland,  and  in  1812,  with 
their  four  children,  they  journeyed  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  where  they  made  their  home 
until  their  life's  labors  were  ended  in  death, 
the  mother  passing  away  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight   vears,   while  the   father   reached   the 


psalmist's  span  of  three  score  years  and  ten. 
He  became  a  minister  in  the  German  Baptist 
church,  and  as  such  was  well  and  favorably 
known  throughout  the  county,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  his  labors  in  the  cause  of  his  Master 
he  also  followed  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  He 
became  the  father  oi  fourteen  children,  all  of 
whom  grew  to  years  of  maturity,  but  only 
three  of  the  family  are  now  living, — James, 
our  subject;  Dorcas,  the  widow  of  Elisha 
Ross ;  and  Lewis,  a  resident  of  Indiana. 

James  Workman  spent  his  youth  and 
early  manhood  under  the  parental  roof,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  attended  the  primitive  log 
school-houses  so  common  at  that  early  day. 
After  his  marriage  he  located  on  his  father's 
farm,  in  Union  township,  where  he  remained 
for  eig-hteen  months,  after  which  he  spent 
one  year  on  a  farm  belonging  to  Da\iid 
Workman.  His  next  place  of  residence  was 
a  half  mile  north  of  Danville,  and  after  farm- 
ing there  for  a  short  time  he  located  on  the 
fann  which  he  yet  owns  and  occupies,  and 
there  he  has  made  his  home  for  forty-nine 
years,  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  As  the  years  passed  by  and  pros- 
perity attended  his  well  directed  efforts  he 
was  enabled  to  add  to  his  original  purchase 
until  at  one  time  his  landed  possessions  con- 
sisted of  four  hundred  acres,  but  as  his  chil- 
dren started  in  life  for  themselves  he  gave  to 
each  a  good  home,  and  he  now  owns  but  two 
hundred  and  twenty  acres.  He  has  placed 
his  fields  under  an  excellent  state  of  cultiva- 
tion, and  everything  about  the  place  indi- 
cates the  supervision  of  a  practical  and  pro- 
gressive owner.  In  addition  to  his  work  on 
the  farm,  Mr.  Workman  has  also  labored 
earnestly  in  the  cause  of  his  Master,  and  for 
a  number  of  years  he  has  been  a  minister  in 
the   German   Baptist   church,    doing   every- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


341 


thing  in  his  power  to  promote  the  cause  of 
Christianity  among  his  fellow  men. 

On  the  26th  of  August,  1849,  occurred 
his  marriage  to  Mary  Ann  Rolston,  a  native 
of  the  Old  Dominion,  but  when  a  child  she 
was  brought  by  her  parents  tO'  Knox  cotmty. 
They  became  the  parents  of  five  sons  and 
one  daughter,  namely :  Uriah  C,  a  sketch 
of  whom  will  be  found  on  another  page  of 
this  volume;  Silas  H.,  a  prominent  farmer 
of  Knox  county ;  Jacob,  Avho  resides  on  a 
farm,  near  his  brother;  Alice,  the  wife  of 
Alford  Helser,  of  Brown  township ;  Alonzo, 
also  a  leading  farmer  of  Brown  township; 
and  Frank,  deceased.  Tlie  wife  and  mother 
was  called  to  the  home  beyond  in  1874,  and 
for  his  second  wife  Mr.  Workman  chose 
Amanda  Whisler,  a  native  of  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  and  three  daughters  have  blessed  this 
union, — Florence,  the  wife  of  John  Nyhart, 
of  Brown  township;  Sarah  L.,  wife  of 
Charles  Kaylor,  of  Jefferson  township;  and 
Carrie  Viola,  at  home.  In  matters  of  polit- 
ical importance  Mr.  Workman  casts  his  bal- 
lot in  favor  of  the  Democracy.  He  com- 
mands the  respect  of  all  by  his  upright  life, 
and  has  engraved  his  name  indelibly  on  the 
pages  of  Knox  county's  history. 


JOHN  J.  LOSH. 


John  J.  Losh,  one  of  the  leading  farmers 
of  Brown  township,  was  born  in  Jefferson 
township,  Knox  county,  on  the  226.  of  June, 
1852.  His  father,  Joseph  Losh,  was  born 
in  Alsace,  Germany,  but  when  eighteen  years 
of  age  he  left  his  home  across  the  Atlantic 
and  came  to  the  United  States,  locating  first 
in  New  York  city.     He  then  made  his  way 


to  Zanesville,  Ohio,  where  he  worked  on  the 
Ohio  canal  for  a  time,  and  later  entered  land 
in  Jefferson  township.  On  that  farm  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  passing  away 
in  death  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  and 
thus  ended  the  life  of  one  of  the  early  and. 
honored  pioneers  of  Knox  county.  He  was. 
a  worthy  member  of  the  Catholic  church,, 
and  his  remains  were  interred  in  St. 
Luke's  cemetery,  in  Union  township.  In  his 
political  affiliations  he  was  a  life-long  Demo- 
crat. His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Frances  Baulcer,  and  she,  too,  was  a  native 
of  the  fatherland,  her  birth  having  occurred 
at  Frankfort.  When  sixteen  years  of  age 
she  left  the  home  and  friends  of  her  youth 
and  came  to  the  United  States  on  the  same 
vessel  on  which  her  husband  was  a  passen- 
ger, and  they  were  married  in  Somerset, 
Ohio.  They  became  the  parents  of  nine  chil- 
dren, seven  daughters  and  two  sons,  of 
whom  our  subject  was  the  seventh  child  and 
second  son  in  order  of  birth.  All  of  the  chil- 
dren grew  to  years  of  maturity,  and  with  the 
exception  of  one  all  still  survive. 

John  J.  Losh,  whose  name  introduces 
this  review,  was  reared  to  years  of  maturity 
in  Jefferson  township,  his  native  locality,, 
and  during  his  youth  he  attended  the  district 
schools  of  the  neighborhood.  Remaining 
with  his  father  on  the  home  farm  until  his 
twenty-first  year,  he  then  went  to  Wayne 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  engaged  in  buy- 
ing stock  for  a  farm  he  had  entered  a  year 
previously,  and  for  the  following  two  years 
he  made  his  home  in  Wooster,  Ohio.  He 
then  returned  to  Jefferson  township  and  re- 
mained with  his  parents  on  the  old  home- 
stead until  their  death,  after  which  he  re- 
moved to  the  place  which  he  yet  owns.  His 
farm  consists  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 


342 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


six  acres,  and  he  also  has  a  forty-acre  tract 
in  Jefferson  township,  and  he  is  extensively 
engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-rais- 
ing. In  all  his  business  transactions  he  has 
manifested  keen  discrimination,  great  ener- 
gy and  strict  integrity,  and  these  qualities 
have  insured  him  prosperity. 

When  he  was  thirty  years  of  age  Mr. 
Losh  was  united  in  marriage  to  Sarah  Breck- 
len,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  Paulding 
county,  Ohio.  Their  union  has  been  blessed 
Avith  eight  children,  namely :  Frances,  ]\Iag-- 
gie,  Clara,  William,  Thomas,  Stephen,  Ben- 
jamin and  Albert.  All  were  born  in  Knox 
county,  Ohio.  In  political  matters  Mr.  Losh 
has  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father, 
and  is  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Democ- 
racy. The  family  are  members  of  St.  Luke's 
Catholic  church,  at  Danville. 


JONATHAN  A.  COLOPY. 

The  student  of  Knox  county  history  can- 
not carry  his  investigations  far  into  the  an- 
nals of  this  county  without  learning  that  the 
Colopy  family  has  been  closely  connected 
with  its  pioneer  development  as  well  as  its 
later  progress.  Our  subject  in  memory 
forms  a  connecting  link  between  the  primi- 
tive past  and  the  present  with  its  modern 
improvements.  He  now  resides  on  section 
24,  Brown  township,  and  his  birth  occurred 
in  Jefferson  township,  July  17,  1828.  He  is 
of  Irish  lineage,  his  grandfather,  Timothy 
Colopy,  having  been  born  in  the  Emerald 
•Isle,  whence  he  sailed  for  the  new  world 
when  a  young  man.  He  was  married  in 
Maryland,  and  in  1810  he  arrived  in  Knox 
county,  locating  upon  a  farm  south  of  Bran- 


don. He  remo\-ed  to  Mount  Vernon  and 
erected  the  Jim-George  block  in  connection 
with  Mr.  McLain.  In  public  affairs  he  was 
very  prominent.  He  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace  and  held  other  offices  in  the  county. 
He  left  the  impress  of  his  individuality  upon 
the  development  of  this  portion  of  the  state 
and  aided  in  laying  the  foundation  for  tlie 
present  prosperity. 

Jacob  Colopy,  the  father  of  our  subject, 
was  for  eighty  years  a  resident  of  Knox 
county.  He  was  born  in  Maryland  and  was 
a  lad  of  onl}-  eight  summers  when  brought 
by  his  parents  to  Miller  township.  In  Miller 
and  in  Union  townships  he  was  reared  and 
educated  and  in  the  latter  was  joined  in  wed- 
lock to  Delilah  Sapp,  a  widow  of  a  repre- 
sentative of  one  of  the  honored  old  families 
of  Knox  county.  They  began  their  domestic 
life  in  Jefferson  township,  in  that  portion 
which  is  now  a  portion  of  Union  township. 
There  Mr.  Colopy  spent  his  remaining  days, 
dying  when  about  eighty-eight  years  of  age. 
He  was  a  very  prominent  and  influential 
member  of  St.  Luke's  Catholic  church  and 
contributed  largely  toward  the  erection  of  its 
first  house  of  worship.  His  political  support 
was  given  the  Democracy. 

Unto  him  and  his  wife  were  born  nine 
children  and  eight  reached  adult  age,  while 
five  of  the  number  are  yet  living,  the  subject 
of  this  review  being  the  second  child  and  son. 

Jonathan  A.  Colopy  was  reared  in  Jeff'er- 
son  township  and  pursued  his  education  in 
the  log  school-house.  He  became  lamiliar 
with  the  hardships  and  experiences  of  fron- 
tier life,  but  as  the  years  passed  he  has  seen 
wonderful  development  and  has  enjoyed  the 
advantages  which  civilization  has  intro- 
duced. He  remained  at  home  until  his  mar- 
riage, which  occurred  February   19.    1856. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


343 


He  wedded  Sarah  Jane  Berry,  a  native  of 
Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  and  daugliter  of 
James  and  Lucy  (Hardin)  Berry,  who  were 
early  settlers  of  Knox  county.  Mrs.  Colopy 
died  in  1864,  leaving  three  children :  James ; 
Lucy  B.,  the  wife  of  Lewis  Welker;  and 
Mary  Alice,  the  wife  of  Scott  Wrightmier. 
For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Colopy  chose  Mary 
A.  (Berry)  Hunyan,  the  widow  of  John 
Hunyan.  She  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  in 
1852  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world. 
Her  death  occurred  August  27,  1901. 

At  the  time  of  his  first  marriage  Mr. 
Colopy  located  upon  the  farm  where  he  now 
resides,  and  here  he  has  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres  of  rich  land,  w-ell  im- 
proved. He  has  always  given  his  attention 
to  agricultural  pursuits  and  his  labors  have 
been  crowned  wdth  success.  He  votes  with 
the  Democracy  and  is  a  member  of  St. 
Luke's  Catholic  church,  at  Danville.  His 
residence  here  covers  seventy-three  years, 
and  during  this  period  he  has  always  been 
faithful  to  his  duties  of  citizenship  and  hon- 
orable in  his  relations  with  his  fellow  men. 


NATHAN  SIMMONS. 

Nathan  Simmons,  one  of  the  extensive 
and  vrealthy  agriculturists  of  Brown  town- 
■ship,  Knox  county,  was  born  in  Worthing- 
ton  township,  Richland  county,  Ohio,  No- 
vember 13,  1825,  a  son  of  Thomas  Simmons. 
The  latter  was  born  and  reared  in  Maryland, 
and  about  1813,  when  a  young  man,  he  re- 
moved from  that  state  to  Richland  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  married  to  a  Miss  Mary 
.Piper,  a  native  of  Worthington  township, 
ihat  county.    In  that  locality  they  made  their 


home  during  the  remainder  of  their  lives, 
the  mother  passing  away  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
six  years,  while  the  father  reached  the  age 
of  seventy-two  years,  and  both  were  buried 
in  the  Butler  cemetery,  in  Worthington 
township.  The  father  followed  the  tilling  of 
the  soil  as  a  life  occupation.  In  their  family 
were  fifteen  sons  and  two  daughters,  and 
thirteen  of  the  sons  grew  to  manhood  and 
were  at  home  at  the  time  of  the  father's 
death.  During  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  four 
of  this  family  nobly  offered  their  services  to 
their  country,  and  two  were  also  soldiers  in 
the  Mexican  war. 

Nathan  Simmons,  the  eleventh  child  and 
tenth  son  in  this  large  family,  remained  in 
the  county  of  his  nativity  until  the  year 
1861,  when  he  came  to  the  Buckeye  state,  lo- 
cating on  the  farm  on  which  he  yet  resides, 
on  section  24,  Brown  township,  where  he 
owns  four  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  excel- 
lent and  productive  land,  being  one  of  the 
largest  property-holders  in  the  locality.  Mr. 
Simmons  started  out  in  life  for  himself  with 
just  two  hundred  dollars,  and  all  that  he  now 
owns  stands  as  a  monument  to  his  thrift  and 
ability.  He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ing agriculturists  of  the  township,  and  his 
honorable  and  upright  life  have  endeared 
him  to  a  host  of  friends. 

In  Worthington  township,  Richland 
county,  Ohio,  in  June,  1847,  ^'^^-  Simmons 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Ruth  Ann  Mc- 
Clellan.  She  was  born  in  that  county,  and 
her  death  occurred  in  1894.  This  union 
was  blessed  with  three  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter, namely:  Samuel  B.,  deceased;  Jane  Is- 
abel, the  widow  of  Daniel  Delar  and  the 
mother  of  three  children,  Minnie,  Sadie  and 
Walter;  Thomas  Reed,  who  married  Eva 
O'Brien,  bv  whom  he  has  seven  children. 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


and  they  reside  in  Pike  township,  Knox 
county;  and  Nathaniel  Douglas,  deceased. 
Mr.  Simmons  cast  his  ballot  in  favor  of  the 
men  and  measures  of  the  Democracy,  and  on 
its  ticket  he  has  been  elected  tO'  a  number  of 
local  offices  in  the  township.  Religiously  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  is  held  in  high  regard  by  a  large 
circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances. 


HON.   GEORGE  S.   HARTER. 

The  affairs  of  the  city  of  Mount  Vernon 
are  in  efficient  hands,  for  George  Smith  Har- 
ter,  a  public-spirited  and  patriotic  citizen, 
is  now  mayor  of  the  count}^  seat  of  Knox 
county.  He  was  elected  in  1900  for  a  term 
of  two  years  and  is  giving  his  entire  time 
and  attention  to  the  discharge  of  his  official 
duties.  His  administration  is  practical  and 
progressive  and  he  advocates  all  reforms 
and  improvements  that  are  not  of  an  ex- 
travagant nature  but  which  will  work  good 
to  the  community  at  large. 

Air.  Harter  is  a  native  of  Darke  county, 
Ohio,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  New 
Madison  in  1845.  His  father,  Elias  Harter, 
was  born  in  the  same  locality  and  was  a  son 
of  the  Rev.  David  Harter,  a  minister  of  the 
Dunkard  church.  The  family  is  of  German 
lineage  and  at  an  early  day  was  founded  in 
Pennsylvania,  whence  representatives  of  the 
name  removed  to  Virginia.  There  resided 
the  Rev.  David  Harter,  who  removed  from. 
Rockingham  county,  Virginia,  to  Darke 
county,  Ohio,  about  the  year  1812.  His 
son,  Elias  Harter,  spent  his  entire  life  in 
the  place  of  his  nativity,  devoting  his  time 
and  energies  to  blacksmithing  and  agricul- 


tural pursuits.  He  passed  away  in  Decem- 
ber, 1898,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years. 
He  married  Gertrude  Jane  Biddel,  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  Biddel,  one  of  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  Darke  county,  to  which  place  he 
removed  when  Mrs.  Harter,  a  native  of 
New  Jersey,  was  a  little  maiden  of  only  eight 
summers. 

In  the  town  of  New  Madison,  George  S. 
Harter  was  reared  and  there  worked  at  the 
blacksmithing  trade  in  the  summer  montlis, 
while  in  the  winter  season  he  attended  the 
public  schools.  He  was  only  sixteen  years 
of  age  when,  in  August,  1862,  he  offered 
his  services  to  the  government  and  joined 
the  boys  in  blue  of  Company  H,  One  Hun- 
dred and  Tenth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry, 
with  which  he  served  for  three  years  or  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  He  spent  seven  months 
m  Andersonville  and  Florence  prisons  and 
therefore  knows  the  horrors  of  that  life. 
He  took  part  in  the  Shenandoah  campaign, 
was  in  the  battle  of  Winchester  in  1863,  and 
was  afterward  with  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac. He  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Fisher 
Hill,  Cedar  Creek,  the  Wilderness,  Spott- 
sylvania,  Cold  Harbor  and  many  other  im- 
portant engagements  and  was  always  found 
at  his  post  of  duty,  valianth  defending  the 
old  flag. 

When  the  war  was  over  Mr.  Harter  re- 
turned to  Darke  county  and  spent  two  years 
in  the  Heidelberg  University,  at  Tiffin  and 
five  years  in  the  Western  Reserve  College, 
in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  being  graduated  in  the 
latter  institution  with  the  class  of  1875.  He 
then  began  teaching  and  was  identified  with 
educational  work  until  1892.  For  ten  years 
he  resided  in  Celina,  Ohio,  and  for  seven 
years  of  that  time  was  superintendent  of 
the  city  schools.     He  was  a  very  successful 


^'  c/y^^o^  ^€^ 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


345 


educator,  his  work  giving  excellent  satisfac- 
tion for  he  had  the  ability  to  maintain  disci- 
pline and  also'  to  impart  readily  and  clearly 
to  others  the  knowledge  he  had  acquired. 
For  three  years,  in  1892,  1893  ^"^^  1894,  he 
was  the  editor  and  owner  of  the  Observer, 
a  Republican  newspaper,  which  he  published 
at  Celina,  and  in  1895  he  came  to  Mount 
Vernon,  where  he  established  the  Daily 
Mirror.  He  was  afterward  connected  with 
the  Daily  News  for  a  time,  and  in  1897  he 
became  agent  for  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company.  In  1900  Mr.  Harter  was  elected 
mayor  of  Mount  Vernon  and  is  now  giving 
his  entire  attention  to  the  city's  affairs,  his 
administration  being  at  once  practical  and 
progressive,  his  policy  commending  him  to 
all  citizens  who  desire  the  welfare  and  ad- 
vancement of  their  municipality. 

Mr.  Harter  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Flora  Meeker,  a  daughter  of  James  T. 
Meeker,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Darke  coun- 
ty, who  successfully  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  law  and  for  seven  years  served  as  pro- 
bate judge.     He    is    now    deceased.     His 
brother,  David  L.  Meeker,  was  judge  of  the 
common  pleas  court  of  Darke  county  and 
also  circuit  court  judge,  while  another  broth- 
er, John  Meeker,  is  the  present  treasurer  of 
Darke  county.     The  family  was  very  promi- 
nent there  and  aided  largely  in  shaping  the 
public  policy  of  the  county.     Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Harter  have  been  born  four  children : 
Lowell  M.,  foreman  of  the  Republican  Print- 
1     ing  Company,  of  Mount  Vernon;   Marian 
I    McSherry;  James  M.,  and  George  A.     Sot 
I    cially  Mr.  Harter  is  connected  with  the  Ma- 
j    sonic  fraternity  and  with  Joe  Hooker  Post, 
'    No.  21,   G.  A.   R.,  of  Mount  Vernon,  of 
which  he  has  served  as  commander.    He  be- 
'    longs  to  the  Presbyterian  church  and  is  a 
22 


public-spirited  citizen,  deeply  interested  in 
the  welfare  and  progress  of  the  city  along 
social,  material,  intellectual  and  moral  lines. 


JOHN  M.  MOTZ. 


Among  the  native  sons  of  Knox  county 
who  are  now  classed  among  the  leading  and 
representative  agriculturists  is  John  M. 
Motz,  who  resides  on  section  17,  Brown 
township,  where  he  has  a  well  improved 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  acres. 
He  was  born  in  this  township,  near  Jdloway, 
March  27,  1858,  and  is  the  second  son  and 
fifth  child  of  Gottlieb  and  Catherine  (Will- 
iams) Motz.  His  father  was  a  native  of 
Alsace,  Germany,  which  province  was  thent 
a  part  of  French  territory,  and  in  the  place 
of  his  birth  he  learned  the  cabinet-maker's 
trade.  When  a  young  man  he  determined 
to  seek  his  home  in  the  new  world  and 
landed  at  New  York,  whence  he  made  his 
way  to  Ohio.  For  a  time  he  followed  his 
trade  in  Wooster,  Wayne  county,  and  then 
went  to  Holmes  county,  whence  he  after- 
ward removed  to  Brown  township,  Knox 
county.  Here  he  spent  his  remaining  days, 
passing  away  in  his  eighty-third  year.  Here, 
he  developed  and  improved  a  farm  and  be- 
came a  highly  esteemed  resident  of  the  com- 
munity. His  wife,  also  a  native  of  Alsace, 
France,  was  only  seven  years  of  age  when 
brought  to  America  by  her  paraits,  who  lo'- 
cated  in  Washington  township,  Holmes 
county,  where  she  was  reared,  and  after  at- 
taining to  womanhood,  gave  her  hand  in 
marriage  to  Mr.  Motz.  Seven  children  were 
born  unto  them :  Elizabeth,  now  the  deceased 
wife  of  John  Artz;  Mary,  deceased  wife  of 


346 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


Michael  Richart,  who  also  has  passed  away ; 
Adam,  of  Brown  township;  Catherine,  the 
wife  of  George  J.  Richart;  John  M. ;  Henry, 
who  is  living  on  the  old  homestead  in  Brown 
township;  and  Sarah,  the  wife  of  Daniel 
Richart. 

In  the  usual  manner  of  fanner  boys  John 
M.  Motz  spent  his  youthful  days,  the  public 
schools  of  the  neighborhood  affording  him 
his  early  educational  privileges,  while  in 
the  fields  and  meadows  of  his  father's  farm 
he  became  familiar  with  all  the  duties  that 
fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agruculturist.  After 
reaching  man's  estate  he  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising in  Jelloway,  and  thus  continued 
for  four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
he  sold  his  store  and  came  to  his  present 
farm,  which  has  beai  his  home  continuous- 
ly since.  It  comprises  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
iave  acres  of  rich  and  arable  land,  and  the 
productive  fields  annually  return  to  him  a 
good  income  for  the  cultivation  he  has  be- 
stowed upon  them.  Stock-raising  is  also  a 
profitable  branch  of  his  business.  His  house 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  in  1891  he  erected 
his  present  modern  residence,  which  is  a 
very  pleasant  and  attractive  home. 

Mrs.  Motz  was  in  her  maidenhood  Miss 
Emma  Buehl  and  became  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Motz,  in  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  on  the  i6th 
of  October,  1883.  She  was  born  near  Doyles- 
town,  that  county,  a  daughter  of  Peter 
Buehl,  a  native  of  Germany,  while  his  wife 
Avas  a  native  of  the  Buckeye  state.  INIrs. 
Motz  is  the  fourth  of  their  seven  children 
and  was  reared  and  educated  in  Wayne  coun- 
ty. By  her  marriage  she  became  the  mother 
of  nine  children:  Oscar,  Ethel,  Edna, 
Gladys,  Luella,  Martha,  Harmon,  Raymond, 
and  Caleb.  Mr.  Motz  and  his  family  attend 
the  services  of  the  German  Lutheran  church 


at  Jelloway,  of  which  he  is  a  member  and  in 
which  he  has  held  office  for  fifteen  years, 
being  at  the  present  time  a  trustee.  For 
eight  years  he  has  served  as  township  clerk 
of  Brown  township,  and  is  a  loyal  and  pub- 
lic-spirited citizen, — one  whose  life  has  been 
quietly  passed  but  ever  characterized  by  all 
that  is  straightforward  and  honorable  in  his 
relations  with  his  fellow  men. 


JOHN  SNIVELY. 


John  Snively  is  a  busy  man,  his  career      ! 
being  characterized  by  unflagging  industry      1 
and  determined  principles.  He  follows  farm-      j 
ing  on  section  13,  Brown  township,  where      j 
he  has  a  model  place  of  one  hundred  and  five      [ 
acres,   supplied   with   all   modern   improve-      i 
ments  and  conveniences.     He  was  born  in      j 
Washington     township.     Holmes     county,      I 
Ohio,  November  10,   1851,  and  in  his  life     1 
manifests  many  of  the  salient  characteristics     ^ 
of  his   German   ancestry.     He  is  a  son  ni 
Frederick  Snively,  who  was  born  in  the  fa-     , 
therland  and  when  a  young  man  came  to 
America,  landing  in  New  York,  whence  he 
afterward  made  his  way  to  Holmes  county,     ; 
Ohio.     There  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mar- 
garet Levergood,  also>  a  native  of  Germany, 
who  when  a  young  lady  came  to  the  United    ; 
States  with  her  parents.     The  young  couple 
began  their  domestic  life  upon  a   farm   in 
Ho'lmes  county,  where  they  spent  their  re- 
maining days,  the  father  dying  when  about    ' 
eighty-five    years    of    age,    while    his    wife   i 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,   j 
They  were  the  parents  of  six  sons  and  five  j 
daughters,  John  Snively,  of  this  re\'iew,  be-  ; 
ing  tlie  seventh  in  order  of  birth  and  the 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


fourth  son.  His  father  and  moth.er  were 
both  identified  with  Trinity  EvangeHcal 
church,  and  were  people  of  the  highest  re- 
spectabiHty.  In  poUtics  Frederick  Snively 
Avas  a  Democrat  and  during  the  period  of 
the  Civil  war  he  served  as  township  trustee. 
Widely  and  favorably  known,  he  was  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  his 
adopted  county  and  by  his  genuine  worth 
commanded  the  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he 
was  associated. 

John  Snively  was  reared  in  Holmes 
county  and  assisted  in  the  work  on  his  fa- 
ther's farm  until  he  made  preparations  for 
■establishing  a  home  of  his  own,  by  his  mar- 
riage, to  Miss  Mary  A.  Richert,  which  oc- 
curred in  March,  1873.  The  lady  is  a  native 
of  Brown  township,  Knox  county,  and  a 
daughter  of  Peter  and  Barbara  (Arnold) 
Richert,  who  were  early  settlers  of  this 
county.  For  two  years  after  their  marriage 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snively  ranained  in  Holmes 
county  and  then  spent  two  years  in  Ashland 
county,  on  the  expiration  of  which  period 
they  came  tO'  the  farm  upon  which  they  now 
reside,  on  section  13,  Brown  township, 
Knox  county.  Here  he  has  made  excellent 
improvements,  including  the  erection  of  a 
modern  two-story  frame  residence.  Good 
barns  and  out-buildings  also  add  to  the 
value  of  the  place  and  well  tilled  fields  indi- 
cate his  careful  supervision.  In  connection 
with  the  raising  of  grain  best  adapted  to  this 
climate,  he  also  handles  horses,  both  buying 
and  selling.His  trade  in  this  direction  has  be- 
come quite  extensive  and  annually  nets  him  a 
good  income.  In  addition  to  the  home  place 
he  has  a  tract  of  land  of  eighty-nine  acres 
north  of  his  residence  and  a  fine  orchard 
upon  the  homestead  yields  its  fruits  in  sea- 
son, and  every  modern  improvement  and  ad- 


vanced facilities  adds  to  the  value  and  attrac- 
tive appearance  of  the  place. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snively  have  been 
born  seven  children:  Augustus;  Amos; 
Bertha ;  Emma ;  Cora ;  Harry  and  Mary.  The 
family  attend  the  German  Lutheran  church, 
of  which  Mr.  Snively  is  a  member.  He  has 
been  quite  prominent  in  local  political  affairs 
as  a  supporter  of  the  Democracy  and  has 
held  a  number  of  township  offices,  including 
the  ofiice  of  trustee  and  appraiser,  while  for 
nine  years  he  has  been  township  treasurer. 
His  official  incumbency  covers  in  all  a  period 
of  fifteen  years  and  this  fact  alone  indicates 
his  capability  and  his  fidelity  to  the  trust  re- 
posed in  him. 


ELI  BIXBY. 


Eli  Bixby,  who  is  identified  with  agri- 
cultural interests  in  Pike  township,  Knox 
county,  is  a  native  of  Niagara  county.  New 
York,  where  his  birth  occurred  on  the  23d 
of  January,  1820,  his  parents  being  David 
and  Phila  (Green)  Bixby.  When  the  son 
was  fourteen  years  of  age  they  came  to 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  settling  in  Pike  town- 
ship and  therefore  for  almost  seventy  years 
our  subject  has  resided  in  this  locality. 

On  the  3d  of  May,  1843,  ^^i  Bixby  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Dever, 
who  was  born  in  Anne  Arundel  county, 
Maryland,  on  the  24th  of  November,  1891, 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Eliza  Dever.  She 
was  a  maiden  of  ten  summers  when  she  be- 
came a  resident  of  Knox  county,  and  under 
the  parental  roof  she  remained  until  her 
marriage.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bixby  have 
been  born  two  daughters :    Harriet  E.,  who 


348 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


is  now  the  wife  of  Aaron  Barton,  of  Morris 
township;  and  Jerusha,  the  wife  of  J.  Byron 
Ward,  of  Mount  Vernon.  They  also  have 
two  grandchildren  :  Edward  and  Joseph  H. 
Brown,  who  are  Mrs.  Barton's  sons  by 
her  first  husband.  Edward  Brown  has  a  son, 
Gordon  Brown,  a  boy  of  thirteen  years. 

In  his  early  manhood  Eli  Bixby  rented 
land  for  five  years  and  then,  with  the  capi- 
tal he  had  acquired,  he  made  a  payment  upon 
his  present  farm,  comprising  fifty-six  acres, 
and  in  the  purchase  contracted  an  indebted- 
ness of  one  thousand  dollars.  The  land  was 
partially  improved,  and  with  characteristic 
aiergy  he  began  its  further  development, 
transforming  it  into  a  rich  and  arable  tract 
of  land  which  annually  returns  to  him  a  good 
income.  He  has  added  to  the  place  until 
within  its  borders  are  now  comprised  eighty 
acres  of  land.  In  his  political  views  Mr. 
Bixby  has  been  a  stanch  Republican  since  the 
organization  of  the  party  and  is  unswerving 
in  his  advocacy  of  its  principles.  He  also 
belongs  to  the  Protestant  Methodist  church 
at  Ebenezer,  and  his  has  been  an  upright, 
honorable  life,  characterized  by  marked 
fidelity  to  duty. 


WILLIAM  McCAMMENT. 

Among  the  honored  pioneers  of  Knox 
county  none  is  held  in  warmer  remembrance 
by  the  older  citizens  of  the  County  than  An- 
drew McCamment,  who  was  born  in  Cham- 
bersburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  who  settled  on 
Jug  Run,  in  Jackson  township,  in  1819.  An- 
drew McCamment  married  Rebecca  Stone, 
of  West  Virginia,  and  served  his  country  in 
the  war  of  1812,  as  a  so-ldier  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Harrison.  He  and  his 
brother  Lemuel  entered  a  quarter-section  of 


government  land  on  Jug  Run  and  made 
some  improvements  there,  and  it  was  during 
his  parents'  residence  there  that  William 
McCamment,  son  of  Andrew  and  Rebecca 
(Stone)  McCamment,  was  born,  February 
II,  1825.  In  1828  Mr.  McCamment  moved 
to  the  farm  now  owned  by  his  son,  which  he 
developed  and  improved  in  many  ways.  At 
the  time  of  his  death,  in  1856,  he  owned 
this  and  another  farm  in  Jackson  township. 
In  politics  he  adhered  to  the  old  Democratic 
faith,  and  he  was  a  man  of  good  local  influ- 
ence in  his  day  and  generation. 

William  McCamment  remained  with  his 
father  assisting  him  in  all  ways  possible  until 
he  was  twenty-one  years  old,  and  then  went 
tO'  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  where 
for  one  year  he  was  a  student  in  a  school 
which  afiforded  him  better  opportunities  for 
education  than  were  available  to  him  at 
home.  In  1852  he  married  Hannah  Broder- 
ick,  a  native  of  Jackson  township,  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  and  the  youngest  of  the  ten 
children  of  Wlilliam  and  Nancy  (Ather) 
Broderick,  natives  of  Pennsylvania  and  pio- 
neers in  Knox  county. 

William  and  Hannah  (Broderick)  Mc- 
Camment have  had  born  to  them  eight  chil- 
dren in  the  order  here  mentioned :  Bellsony, 
Deborah,  Rebecca,  Roxannah,  Martin,  Lind- 
say, Oserdell  and  Broderick.  Ivir.  McCam- 
ment is  an  influential  and  public-spirited  cit- 
izen, who  during  all  the  years  of  his  man- 
hood has  most  generously  and  effectively 
done  everything  in  his  jDOwer  to  advance  the 
best  interests  of  his  township  and  county. 
While  not  a  hide-bound  politician  or  seeker 
of  official  preferment,  he  has  always  taken 
intelligent  interest  in  local  politics  and  at 
one  time  filled  the  office  of  assessor  of  Jack- 
son township,  with  much  ability  and  fidelity. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


349 


ISAAC  BELL. 

When  a  man  passes  away  we  look  back 
over  the  life  ended  and  note  its  usefulness — 
its  points  worthy  of  emulation  and  per- 
petuation. What  Isaac  Bell  did  for  his  fel- 
low men  might  in  a  manner  be  told  in  words, 
but  in  its  far-reaching  influence  cannot  be 
measured.  He  assisted  in  laying  broad  and 
deep  the  foundation  on  which  to  rear  the  su- 
perstructure of  Knox  county's  present  pros- 
perity and  progress.  Through  a  very  early 
period  in  its  improvement  and  advancement 
he  was  an  important  factor,  and  was  also 
connected  with  the  broader  interests  which 
had  to  do  with  the  welfare  of  the  common- 
wealth. 

Isaac  Bell  was  born  in  Greene  county, 
Pennsylvania,  January  19,  1829,  and  was 
brought  to  Knox  county  when  he  was  about 
one  year  old.  His  first  home  in  the  county 
was  in  Morgan  township  and  he  was  educat- 
ed in  such  old  subscription  schools  as  were 
taught  in  log  houses  in  the  day  of  primitive 
things,  and  almost  from  childhood  had  daily 
experience  of  the  practical  work  of  farming. 
Meeker  Bell,  his  father,  was  also  born  in 
Greene  county,  Pamsylvania,  and  when  a 
boy  of  eig-ht  years  was  brought  to  Ohio  by 
his  parents.  Later  he  returned  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  married  Rachel  Crane. 
In  1830  he  came  again  to  Ohio  and  settled  in 
Morgan  township,  whence  he  removed  later 
to  Clay  township,  where  he  died  in  his  eight- 
ieth year.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  his  politi- 
cal views,  was  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church  and  in  every  sense  was  a  citizen  of 
influence  and  importance.  Rachel  Crane, 
who  became  his  wife,  was  born  and  reared  in 
Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  died  at 
the  family  home  in  Morgan  township,  Knox 


county,  Ohio,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight 
years.  She  was  one  of  those  noble,  self- 
sacrificing  women  whose  name  to  the  present 
generation  is  an  incentive  of  well  doing. 
Meeker  and  Rachel  (Crane)  Bell  had  three 
sons  and  three  daughters. 

Isaac  Bell,  their  eldest  child,  when 
twenty-one  years  old,  removed  to  Illinois, 
where  for  about  a  }-ear  he  herded  cattle  on 
the  plains  of  Iroquois  county.  Later,  until 
1850,  he  drove  cattle  from  Illinois  to  Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania,  where  they  were 
marketed  at  that  time,  which  was  long  before 
the  establishment  of  the  great  packing  inter- 
ests at  Chicago.  In  1850  he  returned  to 
Knox  county  and  resumed  farming.  After 
his  marriage  he  located  on  a  farm  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  the  present  home- 
stead, rejnoving  to  this  place  in  1867.  The 
home  fann  consists  of  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  acres  and  he  also  owned  another 
farm,  of  forty-seven  acres,  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  same  township.  For  seventy-two 
years  he  miade  his  home  in  Knox  county, 
much  of  the  time  in  Clay  township,  and  he 
witnessed  the  development  of  that  part  of  the 
coimtry  from  a  state  of  nature  to  a  fertile 
farming  district.  He  also  became  prominent 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party. 

In  March,  1853,  ^^^-  ^^^^  '^'^''is  united  in 
marriage  to  Mary  A.  Elliott,  a  native  of 
Knox  county  and  a  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Phoebe  (McWilliams)  Elliott,  formerly  of 
Pennsylvania,  but  early  settlers  of  this  coun- 
ty. This  union  was  blessed  with  two  daugh- 
ters :  Jennie,  who  married  Allen  McLain  and 
resides  in  Morgan  township;  and  Emma, 
who  became  the  wife  of  Terry  Ewart  and  is 
now  deceased.  At  her  death  she  left  a  son 
and  daughter,  Guy  and  Edith.  For  many 
years  the  former  has  been  a  member  of  the 


350 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


Bell  household,  where  he  is  treated  with  all 
the  respect  due  a  son.  Mr.  Bell  finally  closed 
his  eyes  in  death,  and  the  entire  community 
mourned  the  loss  of  one  of  its  truest  and 
best  loved  pioneers.  He  was  popular  in 
the  social  life  of  his  neighborhood,  a  faithful 
friend,  a  kind  husband  and  father  and  a  con- 
sistent Christian,  and  he  left  behind  him 
an  untarnished  record. 


W.  H.  FRY, 


In  all  parts  of  the  United  States  the  Ger- 
man character  has  come  to  stand  for  hon- 
esty, frugality,  progressiveness  and  patriot- 
ism. Ohio  is  fortunate  in  having  numbered 
among  its  pioneers  many  representative 
Germans,  and  one  of  the  best  known  of  these 
in  Butler  township  is  W.  H.  Fry,  a  prom- 
inent farmer,  whose  father,  John  P.  Fry,  a 
native  of  Germany,  was  brought  by  his 
mother  when  he  was  four  years  old  to  Co- 
shocton county,  Ohio.  There  the  family  es- 
tablished a  farm  home,  and  when  he  was 
seventeen  years  old  John  P.  Fry  began  farm- 
ing on  his  own  account.  He  married  Mag- 
dalena  Braunstool,  a  native  of  Holmes  coun- 
ty, but  of  German  parentage,  who  bore  him 
seven  children :  W.  H.,  who  was  born  July 
29,  1850:  and  John  G.,  Jacob  S.,  Levi  D., 
Lewis,  Elizabeth  and  Leonia.  ]\Irs.  Fry 
died  in  1858,  and  not  long  afterward  Mr. 
Fry  married  Barbara  Bradbrooks,  who  was 
born  in  Holmes  county,  Ohio,  and  who  bore 
him  eight  children. 

W.  H.  Fry  farmed  in  Coshocton  county 
until  1882,  when  he  removed  to  Knox  coun- 
ty, where  he  prospered  so  well  that  at  one 
time  he  was  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and 


forty  acres  of  fertile  land,  and  from  time  to 
time  he  has  bought  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
re  acres,  some  of  which  he  has  sold.  He 
gives  his  attention  principally  tO'  stock  farm- 
ing. He  votes  the  Democratic  ticket,  works 
for  the  success  of  the  Democratic  principles 
and  is  one  of  the  active  and  influential  citi- 
zens of  his  township,  which  he  served  three 
years  in  the  responsible  office  of  trustee. 

Mr.  Fry  was  married,  in  1871,  to  Mary 
E.  Rees,  who  was  born  in  Coshocton  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  in  1846,  and  who  has  borne  him 
eight  children  named  as  follows,  in  the  or- 
der of  their  nativity :  Ada,  Maggie  M., 
Perry,  William  O.,  ]\Iary,  Nona,  ]\Iina  and 
John.  The  family  are  communicants  of  the 
Christian  church. 


JOHN  FOWLER.  I 

The  late  John  Fowler,  who  was  formerly 
a  prominent  citizen  of  Knox  county  and  who 
held  many  public  positions  of  honor  and 
trust,  was  born  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio, 
September  17,  1842,  a  son  of  James  and 
Mary  (Gififord)  Fowler.  His  paternal 
grandparents  were  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Wise)  Fowler,  the  former  of  Irish  extrac- 
tion and  the  latter  of  Scotch  descent  and  a 
cousin  of  General  Wise,  of  Revolutionary 
fame.  James  Fowler,  the  father  of  our  sub-  ] 
ject,  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Pemi-  I 
sylvania,  in  1804.  In  1827  he  took  up  his  i 
abode  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  and  a 
number  O'f  years  later,  in  1853,  removed  to 
Knox  county,  settling  in  Jefiferson  township, 
where  he  remained  for  ten  years,  removing 
thence  to  Pike  township.  As  a  companion 
for  the  journey  of  life  he  chose  Mary  Gif- 


OF   KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


351 


ford,  the  only  child  of  William  and  Barbara 
(Smith)  Clifford.  The  father  was  an  Eng- 
lish sailor  and  the  mother  was  of  Scotch  de- 
scent. The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fow- 
ler was  blessed  with  twelve  children,  nine  of 
whom  are  now  living:  Andrew,  William, 
Hannah,  Elizabeth,  Margaret,  Charles  Reed, 
^^'infield  Scott,  Florence  and  Laura. 

John  Fowler,  the  subject  of  this  review, 
received  his  primary  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  nati\'e  county  and  completed 
his  studies  in  the  public  schools  of  Knox 
county,  within  whose  limits  his  parents  set- 
tled when  he  was  yet  comparatively  young. 
He  was  reared  to  farm  work,  and  in  1861, 
while  yet  in  his  'teens,  he  enlisted  for  service 
in  the  Civil  war,  becoming  a  member  of 
Company  E.  Twentieth  Regiment,  Ohio  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  at  Mount  Vernon.  During 
his  career  as  a  soldier  he  was  ever  found 
faithful  to  the  duties  imposed  upon  him,  and 
his  military  record  was  one  of  which  he  had 
every  reason  to  be  proud.  He  received  his 
discharge  in  April,  1865. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Fowler  removed 
to  Iowa,  where  for  two  years  he  was  success- 
fully engaged  in  dealing  in  stock.  Return- 
ing tO'  Knox  county,  he  continued  in  the 
same  line  of  business  here,  and  afterward 
for  many  years  was  a  leading  merchant  at 
Amity.  In  the  fall  of  1885  he  was  appoint- 
ed deputy  sheriff,  under  Sheriff  J.  G.  Steven- 
son, and  so  ably  did  he  fill  the  duties  of  that 
position  that  at  the  end  of  his  two  years' 
term  he  was  elected  to  the  offfce  of  sheriff. 
He  tilled  the  office  with  rare  ability  and  in- 
tegrity, but  on  the  expiration  of  his  term  he 
was  obliged,  on  account  of  failing  health,  to 
retire  from  the  active  duties  of  life. 

On  the  3d  of  January,  1868,  Mr.  Fow- 
ler   was    united    in    marriage    to    Lauretta 


Wright,  who  was  born  in  1849,  a  daughter 
of  Daniel  P.  and  Ann  (Harding)  Wright. 
Her  paternal  great-grandparents  were  John 
and  Ann  (Anions)  Wright,  the  former  of 
English  and  the  latter  of  German  descent. 
Her  grandfather,  William  Wright,  was  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  but  in  18 15  came  to 
Mount  Vernon,  which  at  that  time  contained 
but  three  log  cabins.  He  married  Mary 
Daniels,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Meriam 
Daniels.  The  former  was  a  Baptist  minis- 
ter and  came  to  this  country  from  Scotland 
at  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  the 
orthography  of  the  name  at  that  time  having 
been  changed  from  MacDaniels  to  Daniels. 
His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Meriam 
Jones,  and  was  a  daughter  of  Gritifith  and 
Meriam  Jones,  of  Welsh  descent.  Unto 
William  and  Mary  (Daniels)  Wright  were 
born  the  following  children:  Benjamin, 
Daniel  P.,  Rigdon,  Joseph,  \\'illiani,  Cor- 
delia, James,  Uriah  I.,  Meriam,  j\larv  and 
Emeline.  Daniel  P.  Wright,  the  father  of 
Mrs.  Fowler,  was  born  in  Clinton  township, 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  in  1818,  and  early  in 
life  learned  the  trade  of  a  stone  and  brick 
mason.  Later,  however,  he  was  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  engaged  in  merchandising,  and 
for  a  time  "before  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1885,  was  identified  with  the  undertaking 
business.  For  a  companion  on  the  journey 
of  life  he  chose  Ann  Harding,  who  was  born 
in  1822,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth 
(Wilson)  Harding.  This  union  was  blessed 
with  seven,  children:  William  A.,  Lewis 
Allen,  Mary  E.,  John  A.,  Lauretta,  Sanian- 
tha  and  Sarah  Emma,  of  whom  only  Sarah 
Emma  and  Lauretta  survive.  The  mother 
of  these  children  passed  away  in  death  in 
1892.  Unto  the  union  of  John  and  Lauretta 
(Wright)  Fowler  were  born  two  daughters. 


352 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


Cora  Ethlyn  and  Myrtle  Delle.  The  last 
named  is  a  prominent  and  successful  kinder- 
gartner  at  Mount  Vernon.  Mr.  Fowler 
passed  away  in  death  on  the  24th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1894,  and  thus  passed  from  earth  a  man 
of  incalculable  worth.  He  was  widely 
known  as  a  Mason,  a  Knight  of  Pythias, 
a  Knight  of  Honor  and  as  a  member  of  the 
Grand  Amiy  of  the  Republic,  in  which  or- 
ders he  held  various  official  positions.  In 
political  matters  he  was  an  influential  Re- 
publican. 


COLONEL  JOSEPH  W.  VANCE. 

Few  men  in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  left  a 
more  lasting  impress  upon  their  day  and  gen- 
eration than  did  the  late  Colonel  Joseph 
W.  Vance,  who  passed  out  of  life  in  the  full 
flush  of  usefulness,  in  the  noble  discharge  of 
his  duty,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of 
fifty-five  years.  Such  men  as  Colonel  Vance 
this  country  laments  to  lose,  and  when  a 
sad  fate  overtakes  such,  while  apting  in  her 
defense,  no  vrords  seem  adequate  to  express 
her  regret.. 

The  birth  of  Joseph  W.  Vance  was  in 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1809, 
and  he  v.'as  a  son  of  John  and  Ann  Vance, 
estimable  residents  of  that  locality.  He  en- 
joyed only  such  advantages  as  were  offered 
by  the  common  schools  of  his  district,  but 
was  an  apt  and  ambitious  student,  and  early 
displayed  a  leaning  toward  the  law.  His 
advent  into  Knox  county,  Ohio,  was  in  1840, 
when  he  began  the  study  of  law  and  juris- 
prudence under  the  late  and  distinguished 
statesman,  Hon.  Columbus  Delano,  result- 
ing in  his  admission  to  the  bar  of  Ohio  in 
1845.    So  brilliant  were  his  faculties,  so  wise 


beyond  his  years  were  his  methods  of  han- 
dling legal  difficulties,  that  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  such  well  known  jurists  as  the  Hon. 
James  Smith,  now  a  prominent  lawyer  of 
St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  and  later,  the  equally 
noted  Colonel  W.  C.  Cooper,  should  have  ad- 
mitted the  rising  young  man  to  partnership. 
In  a  remarkably  short  time  Colonel  Vance 
had  won  his  place  at  the  front,  business  over- 
whelmed him  almost  from  the  beginning  of 
his  career,  and  ere  long  he  was  recognized 
as  a  leader  of  the  bar  in  Knox  county. 

Such  was  the  character  and  prospects  of 
Colonel  Vance,  wlien  he  enlisted,  in  1862,  in 
the  service  of  his  country,  with  a  loyalty 
that  never  failed,  and  by  his  personal  efforts 
was  able  to  raise  the  well-known  and  gallant 
Ninety-sixth  Regiment  of  Ohio  Volunteers, 
in  Knox  and  surroimding  counties.  He 
was  commissioned  colonel  of  this  regiment 
and  for  two  years  his  services  in  the  West- 
ern army,  through  Kentucky  and  on  to 
Vicksburg,  and  at  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  re- 
flected honor  upon  himself  and  upon  his  reg- 
iment. His  gallantry  was  recognized  by  his 
superior  officers  and  his  duties  became  those 
of  brigadier-general,  an  honor  which  would 
have  been  officially  conferred  upon  him  at  no 
late  period  had  not  the  fortunes  of  war  oth- 
erwise ordained. 

It  was  while  Colonel  Vance  was  at  his 
post  of  duty,  with  General  Banks,  in  Texas, 
and  while  acting  as  brigadier-general,  at 
the  battle  of  Sabine  Cross  Roads,  in  1864, 
that  he  met  a  soldier's  death.  Doubtless 
such  was  the  end  this  distinguished  officer 
would  have  chosen,  but  none  could  accept  it 
in  any  other  light  than  that  of  a  great  ca- 
lamity. 

Colonel  Vance  was  married  in  Washing- 
ton  countv,    Pennsvlvania,    to   Miss    Sarah 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


353 


Ann  White,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
John  and  Agnes  (Park)  White,  the  former 
of  whom  was  born  in  Hickory,  Washington 
county.  The  death  of  Mrs.  Vance  occurred 
in  1876,  at  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio.  The  chil- 
dren left  by  Colonel  Vance  were  as  follows : 
Alfred  H.,  who  is  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Topeka,  Kansas,  and  who  began  the  study 
of  law  in  this  county,  but  completed  his 
•course  in  Washington,  D.  C,  became  county 
attorney,  and  later  a  member  of  the  Kansas 
legislature.  Walter  L.  is  a  machinist  of  skill, 
who  formerly  lived  in  Topeka,  Kansas,  but 
who  now  is  a  resident  of  Denver.  Mrs.  H. 
C.  Whitcher  lives  in  Detroit.  Sarah  A.  and 
Ella  A,,  the  younger  daughters,  reside  in 
Mount  Vernon. 

Colonel  Vance  was  long  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Mount 
Vernon,  serving  for  many  years  as  one  of 
its  elders.  Long  will  he  be  -remembered  in 
Ohio',  not  only  as  one  of  the  ornaments  to 
her  bar,  on  account  of  his  wide  practice  be- 
fore so  many  courts  where  he  won  deserved 
success,  but  as  one  of  her  noble  martyrs 
whose  life  of  successful  achievement  was 
•crowned  with  a  valorous  death. 


JOHN  HAMILTON  SMITH. 

More  than  a  century  has  passed  since 
the  Smith  family  to  which  our  subject  be- 
longs was  established  in  Kno^x  county,  and 
since  that  time  its  representatives  have  taken 
an  active  part  in  the  business  activity  which 
leads  to  the  improvement  and  prosperity  of 
a  community.  Benjamin  Smith,  the  father 
of  our  subject,  was  a  resident  of  Pennsyl- 
vania,  and  leaving  that   state  he  took  up 


his  abode  in  Miller  township,  Knox  county, 
about  1800.  There  he  followed  farming 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was 
in  his  prime.  He  married  a  Miss  Barley, 
who  was  also  a  resident  O'f  Pennsylvania  in 
her  early  life,  and  among  their  children  was 
John  Hamilton  Smith,  whose  birth  occurred 
on  the  homestead  fann,  in  Miller  township, 
near  Hunt's  Station,  August  18,  1830.  The 
labor  of  field  and  meadO'W  largely  claimed 
his  attention  until  he  was  in  his  nineteenth 
year,  when  he  became  connected  with  the 
shoe  trade  and  for  thirty-five  years  was  in 
that  line  of  business  in  this  county,  his  ef- 
forts being  attended  with  gratifying  and 
creditable  success.  His  energy  and  determ- 
ination were  among  his  strong  characteris- 
tics and  enabled  him  to  overcome  many  ob- 
stacles and  to  work  his  way  steadily  upward. 
Mr.  Smith  w^as  united  in  marriage  in 
1855  to  Miss  Mary  M.  Burris,  who  resided 
near  Utica,  New  York,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  four  children,  Frank  D.,  Charles 
W.,  Clarence  A.  and  Walter,  but  the  only 
one  now  living  is  Charles,  who  is  engaged  in 
the  shoe  trade  in  Newark,  Ohio.  The  mother 
died  in  Homer,  Ohio,  in  1862,  and  Mr. 
Smith  was  again  married,  his  second  union 
being  with  Mary  L.  Simmons,  of  Homer, 
who  became  his  wife  on  the  27th  of  May, 
1870.  She  was  born  near  that  city  May  20, 
1834,  a  daughter  of  Van  Simmons,  a  pioneer 
settler  of  Licking  county,  Ohio,  whither  he 
removed  from  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia, 
in  the  early  part  of  1800.  He  was  a  very 
prominent  and  influential  pioneer  settler  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  early  development 
of  his  portion  of  (the  state.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Smith  were  born  three  children,  Leroy 
H.,  Berton  J.  and  Clinton  P.  The  first  named 
completed  his  education  in  Granville  Acad- 


354 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


emy  and  for  the  past  ten  years  has  success- 
fuhy  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  public 
schools,  being  now  superintendent  of  the 
school  in  Homer.  Berton  J.  Smith  resides 
upon  a  farm  in  Miller  township  and  is  a 
prosperous  agriculturist.  Clinton  P.  Smith, 
the  youngest,  was  graduated  in  the  Mount 
Vernon  public  schools  with  the  class  of  1898 
and  has  since  followed  the  teacher's  profes- 
sion in  this  county.  The  family  has  ever 
represented  that  class  of  citizens  who  are 
devoted  to  the  public  good  and  who  put  forth 
every  effort  for  the  advancement  of  the 
general  welfare. 


FREDERICK   C.   WOLFE. 

For  many  years  Frederick  C.  W'olfe  has 
been  numbered  among  the  citizens  of  Knox 
county.  He  was  born  in  Wurtemberg,  Ger- 
many, on  the  25th  of  October,  1849,  a  son. 
of  Jacob  and  Dorothy  (Hizerman)  Wolfe, 
who  were  parents  of  five  children,  namely : 
Jacob,  a  railroad  engineer  at  Dayton,  Ohio ; 
Charles,  of  Mattoon,  Illinois,  and  an  engi- 
neer on  the  Big  Four  Railroad;  Frederick, 
the  subject  of  this  review;  Minnie,  the  wife 
of  William  Reese,  postmaster  at  Qiillicothe, 
Texas;  and  Anna,  the  wife  of  John  Immel, 
of  Vernon,  Texas.  In  the  fall  of  1862  the 
father  removed  with  his  family  to  Russia, 
but  after  a  short  residence  in  that  country, 
with  a  returning  countryman,  the  family 
made  their  way  back  to  Germany,  and  in 
the  following  spring,  on  the  12th  of  May, 
they  started  for  Australia.  The  vessel  on 
which  they  sailed,  the  Australia,  landed  at 
New  York  after  a  voyage  of  six  weeks,  and 
he  decided  to  remain  in  America.    From  that 


city  the  Wolfe  family  came  by  rail  to  Huron 
county,  Ohio',  where  a  brother  of  Mr.  Wolfe 
resided.  On  passing  through  Crestline  he 
met  a  fellow  countryman,  whom  he  paid  a 
short  visit,  and  afterward  joined  a  sister  in 
Delaware  county,  Ohio.  At  the  latter  place 
he  began  work  at  his  trade,  that  of  butcher- 
ing, and  his  two  sons,  Frederick  and  Jacob, 
were  bound  out  for  their  board  and  cloth- 
ing, while  his  daughter,  Anna,  lived  in  the 
home  of  a  hotel  man  in  Crestline. 

Frederick  C.  Wolfe,  of  this  review,  re- 
mained until  his  fifteenth  year  with  the  gen- 
tleman with  whom  he  had  been  placed,  and 
he  was  then  taken  by  his  father  to  Green- 
field, where  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  brick- 
maker,  receiving  eight  dollars  a  month  and 
his  board.  In  the  following  fall,  howe\-er,  he 
was  taken  to  Delaware,  Ohio;  where  he  was, 
employed  in  a  flax  mill  during  the  succeed- 
ing winter,  and  in  the  spring  he  worked  in  a 
brick  yard,  at  one  dollar  per  day.  Thus  he 
wasi  employed  during  the  summer  season, 
after  which  he  entered  a  flax  mill  at  Dela- 
ware, where  he  learned  the  weaver's  trade. 
In  Octobr,  1870,  he  came  to  Alount  Vernon, 
as  a  weaver  for  Kelley  &  Welsh,  who  had 
established  their  flax-bagging  mill  here  the 
year  before.  Messrs.  Kelley  &  Welsh  liad 
both  been  connected,  as  superintendent  and 
bookkeeper,  respectively,  with  the  mill  at 
Delaware,  where  Frederick  had  learned  his 
trade.  The  eastem  weavers  in  their  mill  lack- 
ed the  ability  to  woTk  the  looms  to  their  full 
capacity,  and  the  services  of  Frederick  were 
sought,  his  energy  and  expertness  imbuing- 
such  a  spirit  of  rivalry  that  within  a  few 
weeks  the  output  of  the  looms  was  more 
than  doubled  and  the  mills  placed  upon  a 
lucrative  basis.  In  1871  he  secured  a  brick 
vard,  which  he  conducted  during  the  sum- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


355 


mer  months,  in  partnership  with  his  future 
father-in-law,  John  Welsh,  while  during  the 
winter  season  he  worked  in  the  factory.  In 
1873  he  rented  a  yard  at  Delaware,  Ohio, 
where  he  followed  brick-making  during  two 
seasons,  during  which  period  he  was  also' 
engaged,  in  company  with  his  brother,  Jacob, 
in  manufacturing  brick  in  Mount  Vernon. 
In  1875,  in  partnership  with  Benjamin  Mar- 
tin, he  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the  Mount 
Vernon  flax  mill,  Kelley  &  Welsh  having 
failed,  and  this  they  conducted  successfully 
for  five  years  as  a  tow  mill.  For  more  than 
thirty  years  Mr.  Wolfe  has  been  the  fore- 
most brick  manufacturer  in  the  vicinity  of 
Mount  Vernon,  no  one  in  this  part  of  the 
state  being  more  extensively  known  in  this 
special  line  of  manufacture.  His  annual  out- 
put is  about  one  million  of  the  best  quality  of 
building  brick,  and,  employing  some  twelve 
men  during  the  season,  the  amount  of  money 
placed  in  circulation  through  his  industry 
is  considerable.  His  energetic  nature,  strong 
determination,  sagacity  and  capable  man- 
agement have  brought  to  him  a  comfortable 
competence  and  his  business  methods  have 
ever  been  in  strict  conformity  with  the  ethics 
of  commercial  life.  In  1883  he  became  the 
owner  of  the  old  homestead  of  his  wife's 
family,  and  to  this,  just  ten  years  later  to' 
a  day,  was  added  the  Evans  homestead,  mak- 
ing a  most  desirable  suburban  home  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  acres. 

On  March  16,  1875,  was  celebrated  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Wolfe  and  Miss  Sarah  J. 
Welsh.  Fouir  children  have  blessed  this 
union,  namely :  Fred  W.,  who  is  an  em- 
ploye on  the  Big  Four  Railroad  and  is  a 
veteran  of  the  Spanish-American  war; 
Charles,  who  is  engaged  in  business  with  his 
father;  Arthur,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the 


high  school  and  is  now  a  student  in  the  State 
University;  and  Lucretia  Beall,  the  eldest, 
at  home.  Fred  is  of  the  third  generation 
who  has  served  in  the  famous  Fourth  Ohio 
Regiment.  His  great-uncle,  Dr.  David  L. 
McGuigan,  was  its  surgeon  during  the  Mexi- 
can war,  and  his  two  uncles,  William  and 
Zephaniah  Welsh,  were  in  its  ranks  through 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  Fred  went  with 
his  regiment  to  Porto  Rico,  and  as  a  result 
another  member  has  been  added  to  the  Wolfe 
family  in  the  person  of  a  bright  Porto  Rico 
youth,  named  Domingo  Ramo.  The  Democ- 
racy receives.  Mr.  Wolfe's  hearty  support  and 
co-operation,  and  he  is  now  serving  his  sec- 
ond term  as  the  trustee  of  Clinton  township, 
having  been  elected  to  that  position  by  a 
handsome  majority,  in  a  strong  Republican 
district.  In  his  social  relations  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity,  be- 
longing to  Timon  Lodge,  No.  45,  and  re- 
ligiously he  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  He  takes  deep  interest  in 
everything  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  his 
town  and  count)^,  and  contributes  liberally 
to  the  support  of  all  measures  for  the  public 
good. 


GEORGE  W.  BURKE,  Jr. 

In  the  field  of  educational  endeavor  Cap- 
tain George  W.  Burke,  Jr.,  has  become  an 
important  factor ;  his  labors  have  been  effec- 
tive in  promoting  intellectual  achievement 
and  now  he  is  connected  with  a  very  import- 
ant branch  of  the  teacher's  profession — the 
preparation  of  young  men  and  young  women 
for  the  business  world.  John  Wanamaker, 
the  distinguished  merchant  of  Philadelphia, 
has  said :     "In  these  days,  business  is  dififi- 


;56 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


cult.  It  is  rendered  more  so  because  of 
cables,  telephones,  six-day  ocean  steamers, 
and  because  every  pound  of  cotton,  iron  and 
wool  in  the  country  can  be  counted.  The 
young  man  who  starts  in  at  this  time  will 
stand  but  little  chance  without  a  business 
training".  The  days  of  chance  are  gone.  The 
mercantile  profession  must  be  studied  just 
the  same  as  medicine  or  law,  and  too  high 
praise  can  not  be  given  the  men  who  con- 
duct these  training  schools."  The  exigen- 
cies of  the  times  having  made  known  the 
need  of  business  training,  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  have  sprung 
up  schools  for  business  training — schools 
that  will  give  practical  preparation  for  the 
duties  that  accrue  as  one  enters  the  com- 
mercial or  industrial  field. 

Such  an  institution  is  capably  conducted 
by  Captain  Burke  in  the  McDermott  Build- 
ing, of  Mount  Vernon,  under  the  name  of 
the  Burke  Business  College  and  School  of 
Music.  He  is  of  Irish  descent,  his  ances- 
try being  traced  back  to  Dublin.  His  grand- 
father, William  Burke,  was  a  resident 
■of  Delaware,  and  his  father,  the  Rev. 
George  W.  Burke,  a  minister  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  is  now  located 
in  Chester,  Pennsyh-ania.  Captain  Burke 
pursued  his  education  in  Onancock  Acad- 
emy, at  Onancock,  Virginia,  and  in  the 
Goldey  Business  College,  of  Wilmington, 
Delaware.  The  associate  principal  of  the 
former  was  Professor  C.  N.  Wyant,  now 
senior  regent  of  the  Kenyon  Military  Acad- 
emy, and  through  his  recommendation  our 
subject  came  to  Kenyon  and  to  Mount  Ver- 
non, attending  the  public  schools  of  this 
city.  He  entered  upon  his  business  career 
as  assistant  bookkeeper  in  the  National 
Bank  of   Wilmington  and  Brandvwine,   in 


Wilmington,  Delaware,  and  after  leaving 
that  institution  he  spent  two  years  in  the 
Danville  Military  Institute,  of  Danville,  Vir- 
ginia, as  principal  of  the  commercial  depart- 
ment. Subsequently  he  was  principal  of  the 
commercial  department  of  the  Northwestern 
Military  Academy,  at  Highland  Park,  Illi- 
nois, for  three  years,  and  was  commissioned 
by  Governor  Tanner  a  captain  in  the  Illi- 
nois National  Guard.  On  the  expiration  of 
three  years  he  was  given  charge  of  the  musi- 
cal department  as  director  of  music  in  the 
Kenyon  Military  Academy,  at  Gambler, 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  after  filling  that  po- 
sition for  four  years  he  established  the 
Burke  Business  College  and  School  of  Music. 
Captain  Burke  was  united  in  marriage  to 
]\Iiss  Susan  Miller,  a  daughter  of  A.  H.  and 
Mary  L.  (Morgan)  Miller.  Her  father  was 
a  well-known)  jeweler  of  Chicago,  Illinois. 
who  located  in  that  city  in  1856.  Her  mother 
is  a  descendant  of  General  Elias  Dayton,  who 
won  distinction  as  a  gallant  officer  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  it  was  in  honor  of 
his  son  that  the  city  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  was 
named,  he  being  the  first  settler  there.  On 
her  father's  side  Mrs.  Burke  is  also  de- 
scended from  honored  Revolutionary  ances- 
tors, tracing  the  line  back  to  Captain  Phill- 
'ips,  of  New  Jersey,  whoi  fought  for  the  in- 
dependence of  the  nation.  Mrs.  Burke  ac- 
quired her  literary  education  in  the  Chicago 
Normal  School,  under  Colonel  Parker,  and 
pursued  her  musical  studies  in  the  New  Eng- 
land Conservatoi-y  of  Music,  in  Boston.  She 
has  also  studied  under  many  private  instruc- 
tors, having  been  a  student  of  the  art  of 
singing  imder  William  Shakespeare,  of  Lon- 
don, England;  of  voice  culture  and  art  of 
singing  under  Signor  Augusto  Rotoli,  of 
Boston';  harmony  and  composition  under  Dr. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


357 


Percey  Goetscliius,  of  Boston;  voice  culture 
under  the  late  Hans  Balatka,  of  Chicago; 
theory  and  history  of  music  under  Louis  C. 
Elson,  of  Boston;  pianoforte  and  sight-play- 
ing under  Reinhold  Faelton,  of  Boston; 
voice-buiding,  under  Fred  W.  Root,  of  Chi- 
cago; lyric  action,  under  Gertrude  McQues- 
ten,  of  Bosto-n;  solfeggio  and  chorus  work, 
under  Samuel  W.  Cole,  of  Boston ;  and  voice 
and  chorus  direction,  under  William  L. 
Tomlins,  of  Chicago.  It  v^'ill  thus  be  seen 
from  the  well-known  names  of  her  instruc- 
tors that  her  musical  training  has  been  most 
thorough  and  comprehensive  and  that  she 
is  therefore  well  qualified  to  have  charge  of 
the  department  of  music  in  the  school  which 
her  husband  founded.  She  was  one  of  tlie 
first  students  sent  to  the  New  England  Con- 
servatory by  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal,  ow- 
ing to  her  having  obtained  five  thousand  sub- 
scribers to  that  paper.  She  has  had  wide  ex- 
perience in  teaching,  both  in  classes  and  pri- 
vately and  aside  from  studio  work  in  Chi- 
cago she  has  taught  in  the  New  England 
Conservatory  of  Music,  in  Boston;  in  Ro- 
anoke College,  at  Danville,  Virginia,  and  in 
the  Northwestern  Military  Academy,  at 
Highland  Park,  Illinois.  She  has  received 
the  most  commendable  press  notices  and 
highly  complimentary  testimonials  from 
m^any  sections  of  the  country. 

The  shorthand  and  typewriting  depart- 
ment of  the  school  are  in  charge  of  Miss 
Anna  Dawson,  of  Iowa,  who  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Gregg  Shorthand  School,  of  Chicago, 
and  who  was  at  one  time  deputy  county  aud- 
itor in  Washington  county,  Iowa.  The  de- 
partment of  telegraphy  is  in  charge  of  J. 
B.  Hyatt,  who  is  now  operator  for  the  Cleve- 
i  land,  Akron  &  Columbus  Railroad  in  the  car 
j  shops  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  thus  practical 


instruction  is  assured  in  that  department. 
The  other  branches  of  the  school  are  under 
the  immediate  supervision  of  Captain  Burke.. 
There  is  a  day  session,  meeting  five  days 
in  a  week,  and  an  evening  session,  held  three 
nights  per  week.  Instruction  is  given  in 
bookkeeping,  commercial  law,  commercial 
geography,  business  arithmetic,  civil  gov- 
ernment, letter  writing,  United  States  his- 
tory, penmanship,  spelling  and  office  work 
in  the  business  course,  while  the  English 
course  includes  instruction  in  reading,  spell- 
ing, arithmetic,  penniianship,  geography, 
grammar,  history  and  algebra.  The  school 
is  having  a  widely  felt  infiuence  in  the  com- 
munity, having  stimulated  a  desire  among 
young  people  for  proficiency  in  their  work. 
Many  students  are  annually  prepared  to- 
enter  business  life  under  the  direction  of 
Captain  Burke  and  his  capable  corps  of  as- 
sistants, while  the  efforts  of  his  accom- 
plished wife  have  done  much  to  promote  mu- 
sical taste,  education  and  culture  in  the;  city. 
Both  Captain  and  Mrs.  Burke  are  people  of 
genial  and  social  nature  and  occupy  a  very 
enviable  position  in  social  circles  where  true 
worth  and  intelligence  are  received  as  the 
passports  intO'  good  society. 


STEPHEN  BLUBAUGH. 

One  of  the  prominent  old  pioneer  fami- 
lies of  KnO'X  county  is  that  of  the  Blubaughs,. 
which  has  here  been  well  represented  for 
many  years.  The  members  have  ever  borne 
their  part  in  the  upbuilding  and  development 
of  this  region,  and  have  invariably  been  ex- 
ponents of  progress  and  liberal  ideas  upon 
all  subjects. 


358 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


John  Blubaugh.  the  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  Germany,  but  when 
a  young  man  he  came  to  the  United  States, 
locating  in  Maryland,  ^vhere  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  hfe,  passing  away  in  death 
Avhen  alMUt  fifty  years  of  age.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation.  Jacob  Bhibaugh,  his 
son,  and  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  a  na- 
tive of  that  commonweahh,  and  there  he 
made  his  home  until  1828,  when  he  came 
to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  locating  on  a  farm 
in  Brown  township.  He,  too,  followed  the 
tilling  of  the  soil  as  a  life  occupation.  About 
the  year  1862  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Al- 
len county,  Indiana,  where  his  life's  labors 
Avere  ended  in  death  on  July  16,  1867,  when 
he  had  reached  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty- 
four  years.  For  his  wife  he  chose  Onora 
McKenzie,  who  was  bom  and  reared  in 
Maryland,  and  there  married.  She  also 
passed  away  in  the  Hoosier  state,  Novem- 
ber 7,  1866,  dying  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
eight  years.  Her  father,  Moses  McKenzie, 
served  as  a  druminer  boy  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  throughout  that  entire 
struggle  he  served  under  General  Washing- 
ton. His  father  was  a  native  of  Scotland. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blubaugh  became  the  parents 
of  fifteen  children,  nine  of  whom  grew  to 
years  of  maturity,  and  four  of  the  family  still 
survive,  our  subject  being  its  only  repre- 
sentative in  Knox  county. 

Stephen  Blubaugh  is  a  native  son  of  this 
county,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  20th 
of  December,  1829,  and  he  was  reared  and 
educated  in  Brown  township,  attending  the 
old  log  school  houses  common  in  that  early 
day.  After  reaching  an  age  suitable  to  en- 
gage in  the  active  duties  of  life  for  himself 
"he  chose  the  vocation  to  which  he  had  been 
reared,  namely,  farming,  and  he  remained  on 


the  old  home  place  until  his  marriage,  which 
occurred  February  23,  1857,  Miss  Man,^ 
C.  Breckler  becoming  his  wife.  She  was 
born  in  Jefferson  township,  Knox  county, 
Ohio,  January  23,  1840,  a  daughter  of  Fran- 
cis and  Catherine  (Hecker)  Breckler.  The 
father  was  a  native  of  Lorraine  and  a  son 
of  Christopher,  a  soldier  under  Napoleon. 
The  mother  was  born  near  Berlin,  Germany. 
In  early  life  they  left  their  homes  across  the 
sea  and  came  to  America,  and  their  mar- 
riage was  celebrated  in  Jefiferson  township, 
Knox  county.  They  became  the  parents  of 
six  children,  Mrs.  Blubaugh  being  the  eldest 
In  order  of  birth.  She  is  a  sister  of  John  P. 
Breckler,  a  prominent  agriculturist  of  How; 
ard  township. 

After  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blu- 
baugh were  located  on  the  old  Blubaugh 
farm  in  Brown  township,  Knox  county,  until 
1858,  when  they  removed  to  Allen  county. 
Indiana^  but  soon  returned  to  Brown  town- 
ship, se<:uring  eight  acres  of  land.  The  next 
year  he  purchased  an  eighty-acre  tract.  In 
1870  he  secured  the  John  L.  Workman  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  twelve  acres,  adding  till 
he  owned  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and 
bought  an  adjoining  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  acres.  October  15th,  1896, 
he  bought  and  removed  to  the  Smithheiser 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  acres  at 
Danville,  but  he  has  sold  all  but  twenty-two 
acres  and  on  this  he  has  erected  the  present 
neat  and  modern  residence  just  outside  the 
corporation  into  which  they  moved  in  No- 
vember of  1899.  His  energ>'  and  enterprise, 
capable  management  and  honorable  dealings 
brought  to  him  a  comfortable  competence 
and  have  enabled  him  to  put  aside  all  busi- 
ness cares  and  rest  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
fruits  of  former  toil.    Both  he  and  his  wife 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


359 


are  members  of  St.  Luke's  Catholic  church, 
Danville,  and  he  assisted  very  materially  in 
the  erection  of  its  first  house  of  worship  near 
this  city,  which  was  burned  in  1895,  and  in 
the  following  year  contributed  largely  to  the 
erection  of  the  present  beautiful  building. 
He  has  voted  for  both  Republican  and  Dem- 
ocratic presidents,  his  first  presidential  vote 
having  been  cast  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  and 
he  has  since  cast  'his  ballot  in  support  of 
Grant,  Garfield,  Cleveland  and  Harrison.  He 
also  supported  Bryan  in  both  elections.  In 
all  the  relations  of  life  Mr.  Blubaugh  has 
been  honorable,  sincere  and  trustworthy, 
winning  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  Avho 
ha\-e  been  associated  with  him  in  anj^ 
manner. 

Not  having-  children  of  their  own  this 
worthy  couple  have  opened  their  hearts  and 
home  to  three  boys,  giving  each  a  good 
liome. 

John  P.  Breckler,  brother  of  Mrs.  Blu- 
baugh, and  now  a  prosperous  farmer  of 
Howard  township,  was  with  them  from  his 
tenth  year  till  his  own  marriage;  Zachariah 
H.  Blubaugh,  an  orphan  boy  of  about  seven 
years,  was  also  a  member  of  the  family  till 
his  own  marriage,  now  being  an  excellent 
•citizen  and  skillful  farmer;  S.  L.  Blubaugh, 
a  cousin  of  Mr.  Blubaugh  and  son  of  Mrs. 
Blubaugh's  sister,  came  to  them'  when  a 
small  child,  remaining  till  grown  and  mar- 
ried, he  also  being  the  owner  of  a  good  farm, 
in  Howard  township. 


ANDREW  J.  WORKMAN. 

Hon.  Andrew  J.  Workman,  a  member  of 
•one  of  Ohio's  old  and  influenltial  families, 
Tias  for  a  number  of  years  been  recognized 


as  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  his  local- 
ity. He  is  a  native  son  of  Howard  town- 
ship, his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  29th 
of  May,  1853.  His  paternal  grandfather, 
David  Workman,  was  a  native  of  Maryland, 
but  became  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  became  a  prominent 
farmer  of  Howard  township.  The  maternal 
grandfather,  John  Davis,  was  a  native  of 
the  state  of  Vermont.  Stephen  D.  Work- 
man, the  father  of  our  subject,  also  claimed 
Maryland  as  the  state  of  his  nativity,  but 
when  twelve  years  of  age  he  accompanied 
his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Knox  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  the  family  locating  in  Howard 
township,  and  there  the  son  was  reared  to 
years  of  maturity.  At  Loudonville,  this 
county,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Phelena 
Davis,  a  native  of  Ashland  county,  Ohio, 
and  after  their  marriage  they  took  up  their 
abode  in  Howard  township,  where  they  spent 
the  remainder  of  their  lives,  each  passing 
away  at  the  age  of  about  se\-enty-two  years. 
They  became  the  parents  of  four  chuldren, 
three  daughters  and  a  son. 

Andrew  J.  Workman,  the  subject  of  this 
review,  attended  the  district  schools  of  his 
neighborhood  during  his  3'outh,  and  later 
became  a  student  in  the  high  schools  of 
Danville  and  Millwood.  After  completing 
his  education  he  was  engaged  in  the  profes- 
sion of  teaching  for  seven  years,  proving 
an  efficient  and  competent  instructor,  but 
on  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  abandon- 
ed that  profession,  and  entered  the  dry- 
goods  business  at  Danville,  in  partnership 
witli  David  Workman.  Two  years  later, 
however,  he  sold  his  interest  therein  and 
embarked  in  the  furniture  and  undertaking 
business,  to  which  he  confined  his  attention 
for  the  four  succeeding  years.  He  still  re- 
tains an  interest  in  this  aiterprise.     Desir- 


36o 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


ing  to  enter  the  field  of  professional  life 
]\Ir.  Workman  then  took  up  the  study  of 
law,  and  after  gaining  a  thorough  theoretical 
knowledge  of  the  profession  he  opened  an 
office  in  Danville,  where  he  has  since  car- 
ried on  an  extensive  general  practice  in  all 
the  courts.  In  politics,  too,  he  has  been  a 
leader  among  Republicans  and  has  upheld 
tlie  principles  of  his  chosen  party  with  firm- 
ness and  unwavering  fidelity.  For  eighteen 
years  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  of 
Union  township,  while  for  twelve  years  he 
was  the  efficient  mayor  of  the  town,  and  in 
1895  he  was  elected  to  represent  his  district 
in  the  state  legislature. 

In  1879  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Workman  and  Miss  Izora  Smith.  The  lady 
is  a  daughter  of  Jonas  and  Elizabeth  (Kre- 
merick)  Smith.  The  union  of  this  subject 
has  been  brightened  and  blessed  by  the  pres- 
ence of  two'  sons  and  one  daughter, — Orlin, 
Eva,  and  Harley.  Orlin  will  graduate  in 
Kenyon  College  with  the  class  of  1902.  Mr. 
Workman  has  long  been  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  order,  holding  membership  in  the 
lodge  at  Danville,  and  in  his  life  he  ex- 
emplifies its  beneficent  and  ennobling  spirit. 
Religiously  he  is  a  worthy  member  of  the 
Christian  church,  in  which  he  has  long  serv- 
ed as  a  deacon.  As  might  be  expected  of  one 
who  has  spent  his  entire  life  in  this  county, 
Mr.  Workmian  is  deeply  interested  in  all 
miovements  relating  to  its  progress  and  the 
development  of  its  resources.  In  the  many 
positions  to  which  he  has  been  called  it 
has  been  his  aim  to  advance  the  interests  of 
his  fellow  citizens  and  promote  the  welfare 
of  the  counlty.  While  he  has  been  success- 
ful in  his  profession,  his  aim  and  purposes 
have  not  been  selfish,  but  he  has  aided  tlie 
worthy  poor  by  substantial  gifts  and  those 
just  starting  out  in  life  by  words  of  kindly 


counsel,  striving  in  his  life  and  actions  to 
make  the  world  better  for  his  having  lived 
in  it. 


REV.  WILLIAM  McDERAIOTT. 

If  we  take  into  consideration  all  the  cir- 
cumstances in  his  brilliant  life,  we  must 
admit  that  it  is  doubtful  if  there  is  any 
churchman  in  America  who  has  met  with 
such  unparalleled  success  in  his  field  of  la- 
bor as  Rev.  William  McDermott,  the  well- 
known  pastor  of  St.  Luke's  Catholic  church, 
at  Danville,  Ohio,  and  who  attends  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  people  of  his  faith 
living  in  the  eastern  part  of  Knox  county. 
Like  many  more  of  America's  great  bene- 
factors  and  distinguished   citizens,   Father 


McDermott,  by  which  name  he  is  popularly 
known  to  all  classes  in  Knox  county,  had 
the  honor  of  being  born  on  the  Emerald 
Isle.  His  birth  occurred  in  Kildare,  on 
February  3,  1859.  When  William  was 
about  ten  years  old  the  family  moved  to 
Union  City,  Connecticut.     He    is    one    of 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


361 


eleven  children,  seven  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters, born  to  James  and  Margaret  McDer- 
mott.  The  McDermott  family,  on  account 
of  their  noble  character,  honesty  and  in- 
dustry, are  regarded  as  one  of  the  model 
families  of  New  England. 

Although  the  rest  of  the  family  had  a 
marked  taste  for  mercantile  and  mechanical 
pursuits,  William  always  had  a  great  desire 
for  higher  education,  which  desire  his  good 
parents  encouraged  to  the  best  of  their  abil- 
ity. Hence,  on  leaving  the  public  schools  in 
Union  City  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  en- 
tered St.  Charles  College,  near  Baltimore, 
Maryland.  There  he  soon  became  con- 
vinced that  he  had  a  vocation  for  the  Catho- 
lic priesthood.  Accordingly  after  finishing  his 
five  years'  classical  coiu'se  at  St.  Charles 
with  high  honors,  he  entered  the  philosophi- 
cal and  theological  department  of  Niagara 
University,  New  York,  and  while  at  Niagara 
the  faculty  conferred  on  him  the  highest 
honors  of  the  institution  by  appointing  him 
to  the  office  of  editor-in-chief  of  the  Ni- 
agara Index  for  twO'  consecutive  years.  Hav- 
ing completed  his  ten  years  of  preparation 
for  the  priesthood,  he  was  ordained  for  the 
diocese  of  Columbus  by  Bishop  Ryan,  of 
Buffalo,  on  June  4,  1887.  He  was  imme- 
diately placed  on  duty  at  St.  Joseph's  Ca- 
thedral in  Columbus,  Ohio,  where  his  zeal- 
ous life  and  striking  eloquence  soon  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  the  entire  city.  Al- 
though very  unassuming  in  his  oratory, 
never  attempting  anything  dramatical  or 
bombastic,  still  his  elocpence  is  most  pro- 
found and  convincing  and  is  of  that  peculiar 
kind  that  is  never  forgotten.  On  this  ac- 
count, when  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public held  their  national  encampment  in 
Columbus  in  1888  and  when  over  100,000 


people  were  in  and  around  the  cathedral. 
Bishop  Watterson  selected  Father  McDer- 
mott as  the  orator  of  the  day,  on  which  oc- 
casion he  preached  perhaps  the  greatest  ser- 
mon of  his  life  on  "The  Church  of  God  is 
the  Pillar  and  Ground  of  Truth."  During 
his  two  years  at  the  cathedral  he  received 
over  thirty  converts  into  the  church.  His 
greatest  work,  however,  was  still  to  be  done. 
On  August  I,  1889,  Bishop  Watterson 
appointed  him  to  take  charge,  temporarily,  of 
St.  Luke's  congregation  in  eastern  Knox 
county,  saying  that  no  one  else  at  his  dis- 
posal was  capable  of  doing  the  great  work 
to  be  done  there.  This  little  parish,  although 
the  second  oldest  in  the  state,  was  then  in  a 
very  dilapidated  condition.  They  had  had 
no  services  for  several  months,  and  many 
families  were  moving  to  other  places.  The 
church,  which  was  a  small,  square,  plain 
brick  building,  situated  on  a  country  road. 
over  a  mile  west  of  Danville  was  more  than 
eight  hundred  dollars  in  debt.  Immediately- 
on  his  arrival  in  Danville  Father  McDer- 
mott inspired  the  people  with  the  greatest: 
confidence.  They  at  once  saw  that  he  was; 
a  born  leader  of  men  and  rallied  to  his  as- 
sistance in  all  his  undertakings.  As  a  re- 
sult of  this  confidence  and  unity,  in  a  little 
over  five  years  he  had  the  debt  entirely  paid 
off  and  over  five  thousand  dollars  worth  of 
improvements  made  in  the  church,  residence 
and  cemetery.  Then  came  his  greatest  triaL 
When  he  had  the  little  church  entirely  beau- 
tified, it  caught  fire  from  some  unknown- 
cause,  probably  a  defective  flue,  in  the  early 
morning  of  March  11,  1895,  and  as  it  was 
far  from  any  fire  protection,  he  and  a  crowd 
of  his  faithful  parishioners  were  obliged  to 
stand  back  with  tear-filled  eyes  and  see  the 
result  of  years  of  hard  labor  devoured  by 


362 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


merciless  flames.  The  following"  Smiday 
was  a  sad  day  for  St.  Luke's.  Those  pres- 
ent can  never  forget,  the  entire  congregation 
Aveeping  as  they  assembled  for  mass  in  the 
the  old  frame  building  close  to  where  the 
church  stood.  Father  McDermott  spoke 
very  feelingly  of  the  sad  affair,  and  in  a 
thrilling  burst  of  eloquence  begged  the  peo- 
ple to  stand  by  him,  and  in  a  short  time  they 
would  have  a  more  beautiful  church  than 
ever.  The  people  complied  with  his  request 
Avith  a  faithfulness  that  even  surpassed  his 
expectations.  The  result  seems  almost  in- 
credible and  stands  without  parallel  in  the 
annals  of  American  history,  for  in  less  than 
two  years  he  had  purchased  an  entire  square 
in  the  center  of  the  beautiful  town  of  Dan- 
ville and  erected  thereon  the  magnificent 
•gothic  church  which  is  the  largest  building 
of  any  kind  in  the  county,  and  in  beauty  of 
architecture  and  splendor  of  finish  it  can 
hardly  be  surpassed  anywhere;  also  the 
splendid  parochial  residence,  which  is  con- 
ceded to  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
county.  The  most  remarkable  fact  of  all 
is  that  in  less  than  two  years  from  the  date 
of  the  burning  of  the  old  church,  the  mag- 
nificent new  property,  worth  forty  thousand 
dollars,  was  entirely  paid  for.  During  his 
pastorate  of  Danville,  he  received  into  the 
church  over  seventy  grown  converts.  Father 
McDermott  is  not  only  a  trusted  leader  of 
his  own  people,  but  people  of  all  religious 
persuasions  seek  his  advice  in  important 
matters.  His  fellow  citizens  regard  him  as 
the  soul  of  honor  and  he  is  always  a  leader 
in  every  movement  calculated  to  advance  the 
good  of  his  fellow  townsmen  or  the  com- 
munity at  large.  There  seems  to  be  an  un- 
dercurrent -of  fear  among  all  classes  that 
his  phenomenal  success  and  national  reputa- 


tion may  be  the  cause  of  taking  him  away  to 
a  larger  field  of  labor,  and  removing  him 
from  Danville,  where  his  presence  now 
seems  indispensable. 


CHARLES  MURRAY. 

The  prominent  land-owner  of  Clay  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose  name  is 
above  and  whose  postofifice  address  is  Mar- 
tinsburg,  was  bom  in  Coschocton  county, 
Ohio,  February  27,  1839.  Simon  Murray, 
his  father,  was  born  on  the  Virginian  pan- 
handle in  1808,  and  was  brought  to  Coshoc- 
ton county,  Ohio,  by  his  parents  when  he 
was  eleven  years  old.  There  he  grew  to 
manhood  and  married,  and  in  April,  1867, 
he  removed  with  his  family  to  Clay  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  and  located  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  his  son  Charles,  where  he 
died  in  1889,  in  his  eighty-first  year.  He 
was  until  the  period  of  the  war  a  Democrat 
and  from  that  time  until  the  end  of  his 
days  he  was  a  Republican,  and  he  was  a  de- 
vout and  helpful  manber  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 

Adam  Murray,  father  of  Simon  Murray 
and  grandfather  of  Charles  Murray,  was 
a  native  of  Ireland,  where  he  was  reared  and 
married.  He  came  to  America  about  1805 
and  located  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 
He  was  a  weaver  by  trade  and  a  man  of 
good  abilities  and  recognized  influence.  He 
had  seven  children,  six  of  them  sons,  and 
he  buried  his  only  daughter  at  sea  on  the 
way  to  America  from  his  native  land. 
Simon,  his  oldest  son,  was  the  last  of  the 
sons  to  die.  He  married  Ruth  A.  Cochran, 
a  nati\e   of   Coshocton  countv,    Ohio,   and 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


363 


a  daughter  of  William  Cochran,  who  was  an 
early  settler  there  and  who  was  born  in 
Mar\-land.  His  father  came  from  Dublin, 
Ireland,  and  was  married  after  his  arrival  in 
the  United  States.  Ruth  A.  (Cochran) 
Murray,  who  is  now  eighty-two  years  old, 
bore  her  husband  ten  children,  five  sons  and 
five  daughters,  all  of  whom  first  saw  the 
light  of  day  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio-,  and 
all  of  whom,  except  one  who  died  at  the 
age  of  seven  years,  lived  to  manhood  and 
womanhood. 

Charles  Murray,  son  of  Simon  and  Ruth 
A.  (Cochran)  Murray,  was  a  second  child 
and  eldest  son  of  his  parents.  He  received 
a  common-school  education  and  was  duly 
initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  farming  and 
was  a  member  of  his  parents"  household  until 
1 86 1,  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Thir- 
ty-second Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, in  which  he  served  as  a  private  about 
a  year,  and  was  then  honorably  discharged, 
at  Camp  Chase,  on  account  of  disability.  He 
returned  to  Coschocton  county,  Ohio,  and 
soon  went  to  McLean  county,  Illinois,  where 
he  herded  sheep  about  two  years.  Thence  he 
went  back  to  Coshocton  county,  and  in  1867, 
as  has  been'  stated,  he  removed  to  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  and  for  nine  years  thereafter 
he  was  engaged  in  tlie  grocery  and  hardware 
trade  at  Martinsburg.  Meantime  he  became 
the  owner  of  three  farms  in  Qay  township, 
the  same  having  a  combined  area  of  four 
hundred  and  sixteen  acres,  and  to  the  culti- 
vation and  rental  of  this  estate  has  since  de- 
voted himself. 

Mr.  Murray  was  married  in  December, 
1868,  to  Caroline  A.  Lawman,  daughter  of 
David  and  Anna  (Bowman)  Lawman. 
David  Lawman,  who  is  a  stanch  Republican, 
is  well  known  throughout  the  county,  having 
filled  the  offices  of  postmaster,  justice  of 


the  peace  and  notary  public  many  years.  Mrs. 
Murray,  who  died  March  9,  1899,  leaving 
no  children,  was  the  second  in  order  of  birth 
of  the  five  children  of  her  parents.  She  was 
reared  and  educated  at  Martinsburg,  Knox' 
county,  and  at  Hayesville,  Ashland  county, 
Ohio,  and  was  a  well  educated  and  well  in- 
formed woman  of  many  graces  and  accom- 
plishments. 

Mr.  Murray,  who  was  a  Republican,  and 
has  ne\-er  voted  any  ticket  except  that  of  his 
party,  has  served  his  fellow  citizens  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  constable,  assessor  and 
township  clerk.  He  is  a  manber  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he 
fills  the  office  of  trustee. 


ISRAEL  LANNING. 

Israel  Lanning,  who  died  January  i, 
1902,  was  engaged  in  farming  on  section  3, 
Union  township,  and  throughout  a  long  and 
useful  life  he  ever  proved  a  loval  citizen  to 
his  country.  He  was  born  in  Guernsey 
county,  Ohio,  May  25,  1821.  The  Lanning 
family  was  founded  in  America  by  three 
brothers  who  came  from  England  and  set- 
tled in  the  east.  One  of  these  brothers  was 
the  father  of  Richard  Lanning,  the  grand- 
falther  of  him  whose  name  introduces  this 
review.  At  the  time  of  the  Re\'olutionary 
war  Richard  Lanning  joined  the  colonial 
troops  as  a  drummer  boy  and  when  older 
enlisted  as  a  regular  soldier,  his  period  of 
service  covering  five  years,  during  which 
time  he  loyally  defended  the  cause  of  the 
colonies  and  fought  for  their  freedom.  To 
the  same  family  belonged  General  John 
Lanning,  who  was  a  cousin  of  Jacob  Lann- 
ing, the  father  of  our  subject.     The  mother 


364 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


of  the  latter  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Anna 
Andes.  She  was  born  in  Strasburg  and 
educated  in  an  EngHsh  school  in  Paris.  She 
was  a  sister  of  Martin  Andes,  the  great  ship- 
owner of  New  Orleans. 

Jacob  Lanning  was  born  in  Vermont  or 
Massachusetts  and  was  a  farmer  and  me- 
chanic. At  an  early  day  he  came  to  Ohio, 
and  in  Harrison  county  was  married  to  Miss 
Margaret  Moore,  a  native  of  Loudoun  coun- 
ty, Virginia,  and  a  daughter  of  Richard 
Moore,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  the 
Old  Dominion.  He  was  of  Scotch  and  Irish 
descent  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation. 
Mrs.  Lanning  spent  her  girlhood  days  near 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  coming  thence  to 
Ohio.  At  the  time  of  the  second  war  with 
Great  Britain  Jacob  Lanning  offered  his  aid 
to  the  government  and  served  under  com- 
mand of  Captain  Holmes  and  General  Har- 
rison. He  participated  in  the  battle  of  the 
Thames  and  assisted  in  building  the  block- 
house at  Fort  Wayne,  for  protection  from' 
Indians.  He  removed  from  Harrison  to 
Guernsey  county,  Ohio',  but  spent  his  last 
days  in  Cochocton  county,  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  fifty  years.  He  gave  his  po^liti- 
cal  support  to  the  Whig  party,  cast  his  first 
vote  for  William  Henry  Harrison  and  in  his 
community  filled  several  local  offices.  He 
belonged  to  the  Methodist  church,  of  which 
his  wife  also  was  a  consistent  member.  She 
lived  to  be  about  seventy-nine  years  of  age. 
They  were  the  parents  of  three  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  of  whom  reached  mature 
years,  namely:  Sarah,  the  wife  of  Joseph 
W'hitaker,  of  Indiana;  Mary  Ann,  who  mar- 
ried Aaron  Norris  and  died  at  the  age  of 
eighty  years;  Richard,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  Eightieth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry 
and   was   killed    at    the  battle  of    Corinth ; 


Israel,  of  this  review;   and   \\'illiam,    who 
died  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  years. 

Israel  Lanning,  the  fourth  member  of  the 
family  and  the  second  son,  was  reared  in 
Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  until  thirteen  years 
of  age  and  there  began  his  education  in  a 
primitive  log  school-house,  with  rude  furn- 
ishing-s  and  paper  windows.  He  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Coschocton  county, 
where  he  assisted  in  the  development  and  cul- 
tivation of  the  farm  and  also  continued  his 
education  in  another  log  school-house. 
When  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  his  father 
died  and  soon  afterward  he  went  to  the  city 
of  Coshocton  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  harness 
and  saddle  maker,  serving  an  apprenticeship 
of  three  years.  Subsequently  he  was  em- 
ployed at  that  work  in  West  Bedford,  Ohio, 
for  a  year,  after  which  he  lived  with  an  uncle 
near  Bedford  for  two'  years. 

As  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  the 
journey  of  life  Mr.  Lanning  chose  IMiss 
Susan  McCoy,  a  native  of  Bedford  township. 
Coshocton  county,  where  their  wedding  was 
celebrated  January  25,  1842.  They  began 
their  domestic  life  upon  a  rented  fann  and 
after  two  years  Mr.  Lanning  purchased  a 
tract  of  land  which  he  continued  to  cultivate 
for  eight  years.  He  then  sold  it  and  bought 
another  fann  in  the  same  county,  residing 
thereon  up  to  the  time  of  the  breaking  out 
of  the  civil  war  when  he  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Tod  to  the  position  of  enrolling- 
officer,  in  which  capacity  he  served  until 
-the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  was  honorably  , 
discharged.  He  enrolled  many  hundred  sol-  j 
diers  and  though  his  position  was  oftai  a  ' 
hazardous  one  he  always  remained  at  lii-^ 
post  of  duty.  His  life  was  many  time- 
threatened  and  he  had  a  number  of  narrow  , 
escapes.     He  recei\-ed  three  dollars  per  day 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


365 


for  his  services  and  only  charged  up  the  time 
which  was  actually  spent  in  the  government 
employ.  At  one  time  during  the  war  he  also 
made  up  a  purse  of  about  seven  hundred  dol- 
lars, of  which  he  gave  two-  hundred  dollars, 
and,  taking  another  man  with  him,  he  went 
to  Columbus  to  help  fill  up  a  vacancy,  as 
there  was  a  call  for  more  men  than  could 
be  spared  from  his  township.  He  was  in- 
deed a  true  and  loyal  servant  of  the  govern- 
ment,— one  whose  heart  was  in  his  work  for 
the  good  he  could  do  his  country  and  not 
the  money  he  could  make. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Lanning  resumed 
farming  in  Coshocton  county,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1880,  when  he  came  to  Knox 
county,  locating  in  Howard  township.  In 
1882  he  sold  his  land  there  and  came  to  the 
present  home,  on  section  3,  Union  town- 
ship, where  he  owned  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  acres  of  rich  land,  all  of  which  is  under 
a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  yields  a 
golden  tribute  for  the  care  and  labor  be- 
stowed upon  it. 

Unto  j\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Lanning  were  born 
eleven  children :  Silas,  who  served  as  a  sol- 
dier in  the  civil  war;  Salena,  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Abraham  Parsons,  of  Brinkhaven ;  Sarah, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Le\-i  Bradfield ;  Ma- 
linda,  the  wife  of  Thomas  Bradfield,  of 
Holmes  county,  Ohio;  Maiy,  wife  of  A. 
Bartlett,  of  Danville,  Knox  county;  Louisa, 
wife  of  Orlando  McCoy;  Melvilla,  the 
widow  of  William  McFarlin;  Margaret, 
wife  of  Newton  Whinrey,  of  Toledo,  Ohio; 
Harriet,  wife  of  Ingham  Kinsey,  of  Union 
township;  Edwin,  of  Holmes  counity;  and 
William,  near  the  old  homestead.  The  chil- 
dren have  all  been  provided  with  excellent 
educational  privileges  and  five  of  the  daugh- 
ters  were   successful    teachers.      There   are 


also  sixty   grandchildren  and  about  fifteen 
great-grandchildren. 

For  half  a  century  Mr.  Lanning  was  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  for 
more  than  that  length  of  time  belonged  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  with  vvhich 
denomination  his  paternal  and  maternal 
ancestors  also  were  identified.  His  life  was 
one  of  marked  industry,  characterized  by 
fidelity  to  every  duty  and  the  faithful  per- 
formance of  every  obligation  resting  upon 
him,  and  his  worth  and  work  were  most 
commendable. 


GEORGE  W.  SHIPLEY. 

The  farming  interests  of  Knox  county 
are  well  represented  by  George  W.  Shipley, 
a  leading  agriculturist  of  Pike  township,  liv- 
ing on  section  14 ;  this  is  the  old  farm  home- 
stead and  was  the  place  of  his  birth,  which 
here  occurred  April  19,  1838.  His  father, 
Elias  Shipley,  was  a  native  of  Maryland  and 
in  that  state  he  wedded  Miss  Rebecca  Phil- 
lips, who  was  also  born  and  reared  there. 
In  the  year  1830,  he  brought  his  family  to 
Knox  county,  locating  upon  what  has  since 
been  the  Shipley  homestead,  but  when  he 
took  up  his  abode  there  his  land  was  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  forest  trees,  in  the 
midst  of  which  he  built  a  log  cabin.  With 
characteristic  energy  he  began  the  develop- 
ment of  a  farm  and  succeeded  in  transform- 
ing his  place  into  richly  cultivated  fields.  In 
politics  he  was  a  life-long  Democrat  and  for 
many  years  was  a  devoted  and  zealous  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He 
diefl  in  September,  1861,  at  his  homestead, 
at  the  age  of  seventy  years,  while  his  wife 


366 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


passed  away  in  Indiana  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
seven.  They  were  the  parents  of  twelve  chil- 
dren, eight  of  whom  reached  mature  years. 
Of  this  number  George  W.  Shipley  was  the 
eleventh. 

No  event  of  special  importance  occurred 
to  vary  the  routine  of  farm  life  for  our  sub- 
ject in  his  youth.  He  pursued  his  education 
in  a  log  school-house,  which  was  supplied 
with  slab  seats,  while  the  writing  desks  were 
formed  by  boards  laid  upon  pins  driven  into 
the  wall,  but  though  his  educational  privi- 
leges were  limited,  reading,  experience  and 
observation  have  made  him  a  well  informed 
man.  After  attaining  to  man's  estate  he  was 
married,  October  29,  1861,  to  Miss  Sarah 
J.  Rummel,  who  is  a  native  of  Richland 
county.  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (]McPhern)  Rummel.  and  who  is 
one  week  younger  than  her  husband.  They 
began  their  domestic  life  upon  the  old  home- 
stead, where  ]\Ir.  Shipley  has  resided  for 
sixty-three  years.  Their  marriage  was 
blessed  with  three  children :  Mary  G.,  the 
wife  of  Robert  S.  Clarke,  of  St.  Johns,  Mich- 
igan; Williard  B.,  who  married  Nina  B.  Ad- 
ams and  who  resides  on  part  of  the  home 
place;  and  Edwin  R.,  whoi  is  a  mechanic  of 
Mount  Vernon,  Ohio.  All  were  born  on  the 
old  Shipley  farm. 

This  place  comprises  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  good  land,  and  under  the  care- 
ful supervision  of  the  owner  it  has  become 
a  very  productive  tract,  supplied  with  all 
modern  improvements  and  equipments.  Mr. 
Shipley  is  the  oldest  resident  in  the  township 
and  through  more  than  six  decades  he  has 
witnessed  the  growth  and  progress  made  in 
this  portion  of  the  state,  as  the  wild  land  has 
been  transformed  into  homes  and  farms  and 
the  work  of  improvement  has  been  carried 


steadily  forward,  placing  Knox  county  upon 
a  par  with  the  best  counties  in  this  great 
commonwealth.  In  i860,  he  cast  his  first 
presidential  vote  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
and  has  since  supported  the  party,  being  a 
stanch  Democrat.  He  has  been  honored 
with  the  office  of  trustee  and  treasurer  in  his 
township  and  has  ever  been  found  a  patri- 
otic and  public-spirited  citizen. 


LEWIS  B.  SCOTT. 


Among  the  representatives  of  Irish  fam- 
ilies who  have  nobly  done  their  part  in  the 
development  of  the  varied  interests  of  Knox 
county,  Ohio,  perhaps  none  is  better  known 
than  Lewis  B.  Scott,  a  prominent  fanner  of 
Butler  township,  some  account  of  whose 
career  it  will  be  attempted  to  give  in  this 
connection. 

Lewis  B.  Scott  was  born  in  Coshocton 
county,  Ohio,  March  3,  1838.  Alexander 
Scott,  his  father,  was  born  in  Ireland  and 
when  quite  a  young  man  came  tO'  America, 
locating  e^-entually  in  Coshocton  county, 
Ohio.  He  married  Eve  Earlywine,  a  native 
of  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  she  bore  him 
seven  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  the  youngest. 

It  was  in  the  common  schools  near  the 
home  of  his  parents  that  Lewis  B.  Scott  ob- 
tained his  education.  In  1859  he  married 
Martha  Ann  Blunt,  a  native  of  Jackson 
township,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  whose  par- 
ents, James  and  Mary  Blunt,  were  born  in 
Ohio.  Lewis  B.  and  Martha  Ann  (Blunt) 
Scott  are  the  parents  of  eight  children  named 
as  follows:  James,  Ida  L.,  Ross,  Jane, 
Adam,  Vertie  E.,  Lewis  W.  and  Alice  B. 

When   he   came   to    Knox   county,    Mr. 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


367 


Scott  was  twenty-two  years  old.  He  located 
on  an  eig'hty-acre  farm  in  Jackson  township 
and  lived  there  eight  years.  After  that  he 
worked  iiis  mother's  farm,  in  the  same  town- 
ship, until  1879,  when  he  located  on  his 
present  farm,  much  of  which  he  cleared  and 
on  which  he  has  made  many  substantial  im- 
provements. He  devotes  himself  success- 
fully to  general  farming.  In  politics  he  is 
Democratic  and  he  has  in  many  ways  demon- 
strated his  public  spirit.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Disciples"  church. 


BARXETT  B.  WORKMAX. 

This  well-known  agriculturist  of  Brown 
township  is  one  of  Ohio's  native  sons,  his 
birth  having-  occurred  in  Brown  township, 
Knox  county,  October  7,  1843.  His  father, 
John  J.  Workman,  was  born  in  the  common- 
wealth of  Maryland,  March  29,  1814,  but 
when  only  six  months  old  he  was  brought  by 
his  father,  Joseph  Workman,  also  a  native  of 
Maryland,  came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  the 
family  locating  in  Union  township.  There 
Mr.  Workman  spent  nearly  his  entire  life, 
dying  there  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years. 
He  became  an  elder  in  the  German  Baptist 
church,  of  which  he  was  long  a  worthy  and 
consistent  member,  and  in  all  the  relations 
of  life  he  was  true  to  his  honest  convictions. 
The  mother  of  our  subject  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Lucretia  Dewitt,  and  she  was  also  a 
member  of  an  old  and  prominent  pioneer 
family  of  the  Buckeye  state.  Her  death  oc- 
curred in  1874.  Unto  this  worthy  couple 
were  born  five  sons  and  three  daughters, 
namely :  Harvey,  who  died  at  the  age  of  two 
years ;  Barnett  B.,  the  subject  of  this  review  ; 


Joseph  T.,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Brown 
township;  Elisha,  also  of  this  township; 
Mark,  deceased ;  Hannah,  the  deceased  wife 
of  John  Faucett;  Xancy  J.,  the  wife  of  John 
Faucett,  of  Harrison  township;  and  Sarah 
L.,  the  wife  of  John  Hanger,  of  Union  town- 
ship. 

Barnett  B.  Workman  received  a  com- 
mon-school education  in  his  early  life,  and 
after  putting  aside  his  text-books  as  a  pupil 
he  again  entered  the  schoolroom  as  an  in- 
structor,, in  Fulton  county,  Illinois,  while  for 
a  time  he  also  followed  the  teacher's  profes- 
sion in  Brown  township,  Knox  county,  Ohio. 
After  his  marriage  he  continued  in  that  oc- 
cupation during  two  winter  seasons,  and 
about  1 87 1  he  purchased  the  farm  on  which 
he  now  resides,  consisting  of  two  hundred 
acres.  Since  locating  upon  this  land  he  has 
made  many  needed  improvements,  has  placed 
his  fields  .under  a  fine  state  of  cultivation, 
and  his  is  now  one  of  the  finest  homesteads 
in  the  township.  He  has  alsO'  purchased  and 
given  to  his  son  John  a  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  ten  acres.  He  enjoys  an  enviable  repu- 
tation for  business  sagacity  and  uprightness 
in  all  his  dealings,  and  all  respect  and  admire 
him  for  his  manly  course  in  life. 
•  The  marriage  of  Mr.  Workman  was  cel- 
ebrated on  the  25th  of  October,  1868,  when 
Louisa  Howard  became  his  wife.  She  is  a 
native  of  Pike  township,  Knox  county,  and 
a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Howard.  Of 
the  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Workman  four 
daughters  and  two  sons  are  living:  Hattie 
M.,  wife  of  Samuel  Baker,  a  farmer  of  Pike 
township,  Knox  county;  Daisy  F.,  wife  of 
John  Koopert,  of  Brown  township,  and  they 
have  two  children,  Ray  and  Leaflet;  John 
H.,  at  home;  Mary  L.,  the  wife  of  Albertus 
Wyhart,  of  Brown  township,  and  they  have 


36S 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


one  son,  Workman ;  Delia,  a  prominent  and 
successful  teacher  of  Brown  township;  and 
Mark  U.,  at  home.  Mr.  Workman  is  an  ac- 
tive worker  and  leading  member  of  the  Ger- 
man Baptist  church,  and  in  his  political  affil- 
iations he  is  a  Democrat. 


LEANDER  CAYWOOD. 

Leander  Caywood,  proprietor  of  the 
Kokosing  herd  of  Polled  Durham  cattle,  of 
Middlebury  township,  was  born  in  that 
township  January  9,  1844.  Almost  nine 
decades  have  been  added  to  the  cycle  of  the 
centuries  since  the  Caywood  family  was 
planted  on  the  soil  of  Knox  county  by  the 
grandfather  of  our  subject,  William  Cay- 
wood. He  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and. 
in  1812  came  to  Ohio,  entering  land  from 
the  government  in  Middleburg  township, 
Knox  county,  where  he  resided  until  death 
ended  his  labors  in  1816.  His  body  was  in- 
terred in  the  Friends'  cemetery,  where  stood 
the  old  Owd  creek  monthly  meeting  house, 
now  destroyed,  and  where  many  of  the  pi- 
oneer settlers  of  this  part  of  the  county  were 
buried.  His  wife  having  died  in  New  Jer- 
sey he  brought  his  three  sons,  William,  Da- 
vid and  John,  to  the  western  reserve,  but  the 
hostility  of  the  Indians  caused  him  soon 
afterward  to  take  them  back  to  their  grand- 
father, with  whom  John  remained  until 
1830.  His  brothers,  however,  returned  and 
took  charge  of  their  father's  estate  about 
the  time  of  his  death.  David  was  killed  by 
a  falling  tree,  while  \\'illiam  remained  in 
this  community,  neither  ha\-ing  ever  mar- 
ried. John  Caywood  was  married  in  Mid- 
dlebury township  to   Miss  Sarah  E.   Mur- 


phy, a  native  of  the  township  and  a  daughter 
of  William  Murphy,  who  came  from  Penn- 
sylvania to  Knox  county  in  the  primitive 
period  of  its  development.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Caywood  began  their  domestic  life  upon  a 
farm  that  had  been  purchased  in  181 2  by 
his  father,  and  there  they  spent  their  re- 
maining days,  both  dying  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-two years.  His  early  political  support 
was  given  to  the  Whig  party  and  on  its  dis- 
solution he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  new  Re- 
publican party.  Of  the  thirteen  children  of 
John  and  Sarah  Murphy,  nine  lived  to  adult 
age,  of  whom  four  sons  and  two  daughters 
are  still  living.  Three  of  the  sons  placed 
their  lives  in  jeopardy  in  their  country's 
service  during  the  Civil  war,  Abner,  Syl- 
\-ester  and  Leander,  and  the  latter  is  the  only 
present  sur\dvor. 

The  sixth  child  that  came  to  join  this 
family  circle  was  Leander  Caywood,  and 
like  the  other  members  of  the  household  he 
was  accorded  the  educational  privileges  af- 
forded in  a  log  school  house.  His  training 
at  farm  work  was  not  meager,  for  he  early 
became  a  factor  in  the  development  and  im- 
provement of  his  father's  farm.  He  was 
married  in  March,  1872,  to  Miss  Frank 
Ewers,  who  was  born  in  Perry  township, 
Richland  county,  November  23,  1848,  and 
is  a  daughter  of  David  G.  and  Almina 
(Johnson)  Ewers.  David  G.  Ewers  was  a 
sou  of  Robert  and  Martha  (Gregg)  Ewers, 
a  couple  who  in  youth  had  eloped  and  were 
married  in  the  middle  of  the  Potomac  river. 
She  was  a  worthy  representative  of  the 
Gregg  family  who  were  compelled  to  un- 
dergo the  terrible  hardships  incident  to  the 
memorable  siege  of  Londonderry,  Ireland, 
the  blood  of  her  Presbyterian  Scotch-Irish 
ancestors  surging  strong  in  her  own  veins. 


^^<«^>^^^^         C^i:^.^lcy-ty^i^^^ 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


369 


Robert  Ewers  was  a  son  of  John  and  Sarah 
( Gladden)  Ewers,  of  Loudoun  county,  Vir- 
ginia, the  ancestry  of  this  family  being 
traced  back  to  the  Norman  conquest.  The 
first  to  settle  in  the  colonies  was  established 
on  the  Delaware  river,  near  Philadelphia, 
and  upon  the  destruction  of  his  property  by 
the  British  removed  to  Virginia.  Beside 
Robert  Ewers  and  his  brother,  David,  who 
came  to  Knox  county  in  1812,  Richard  and 
Jonathan  soon  followed,  and  all  attained 
to  advanvced  years  and  all  lie  buried  in  the 
Friends'  cemetery.  Robert  settled  in  the 
northern  part  of  Middlebury  township, 
where  he  lived  and  died,  owning  upward 
of  one  thousand  acres  of  valuable  land. 
His  children  were:  G.  Washington,  John 
William,  David.  Robert,  Thomas,  Maria 
(who  became  Mrs.  William  Bigbee)  and 
Martha  (who  married  W.  S.  Files).  John 
is  the  only  survivor,  and  he  is  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year.  G.  Washington  and  Martha 
removed  to  Missouri  about  1866,  where 
both  died.  Robert  went  to  Iowa  when  that 
state  was  new.  Thomas  and  William  re- 
mained in  Knox  county,  the  former  becom- 
ing the  owner  of  the  old  homestead.  Al- 
mina  Johnson,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Caywood, 
was  a  daughter  of  Squire  James  and  Abi- 
gail (Richardson)  Johnson.  The  former 
will  be  remembered  by  older  residents  as  old 
Squire  Johnson,  he  having  served  for  nearly 
j  half  a  century  as  a  justice  of  the  peace.  He 
had  settled  in  Wayne  township,  Knox  coun- 
ty, in  181 3,  and  often  spoke  of  seeing  the 
wreckage  along  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie 
after  the  memorable  conquest  of  Commo- 
dore Perry.  Much  of  their  midde  life  was 
passed  in  the  home  of  their  only  surviving 
child,  Mrs.  Caywood.  and  here  both  passed 


to  their  iinal  reward,  aged  seventy-two  and 
seventy-six  years,  respectively. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Caywood  began  their  do- 
mestic life  on  a  farm  in  this  township,  and  as 
the  years  have  passed  prosperity  has  followed 
their  efforts  so  that  they  are  now  the  own- 
ers of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land 
in  the  Ewers"  homestead  and  another  tract 
of  one  hundred  and  eleven  acres  elsewhere 
in  the  township,  a  part  of  the  old  Caywood 
tract.  In  connection  with  the  product  of 
the  cereals  best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  cli- 
mate he  is  also  engaged  in  stock  raising  and 
makes  a  specialty  of  the  breeding  of  Polled 
Durham  cattle,  having  a  choice  herd  of  about 
forty  head  at  the  present  time.  The  Kokos- 
ing  herd  of  this  superior  breed  of  cattle  is 
widely  and  fa\'orably  known  among  breed- 
ers, and  many  excellent  animals  having  gone 
from  its  pastures  to  assist  in  the  general 
improvement  of  the  country's  live  stock.  Mr. 
Caywood  has  been  a  director  of  the  Ameri- 
can Polled  Durham  Association  since  its 
organization.  His  practical  wife  has  proved 
a  valuable  coadjutor  in  all  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  conduct  of  the  farm,  rendering 
special  valuable  assistance  in  matters  of  cor- 
respondence. She  attended  the  old  log- 
school  house,  later  walking  two  miles  to 
Fredericktown  and  finalh'  engaged  as  a 
teacher,  though  her  inclinations  were  more 
of  a  domestic  nature  and  she  has  found  a 
congenial  atmosphere  in  the  environments  of 
the  home. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Caywood  has 
always  been  a  stanch  Republican,  and,  keep- 
ing well  informed  on  the  issues  of  the  day, 
is  able  to  support  his  position  by  intelligent 
argument.  He  holds  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace,  having  been  elected  four  times,  so 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


that  his  incumbency  covers  a  period  of 
twelve  years.  He  has  also  been  township 
treasurer  and  has  discharged  his  duties  with 
marked  promptness  and  with  the  same  loy- 
alty that  marked  his  course  when,  in  1864, 
at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  H,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-sec- 
ond Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  for  one  hun- 
dred days.  He  was  in  the  service  for  four 
months,  and  he  now  maintains  pleasant  re- 
lations with  his  old  army  comrades  through 
his  membership  with  Jacob  Young  Post, 
No.  539.  G.  A.  R.,  of  Fredericktown.  He 
has  filled  all  of  its  offices,  including  that  of 
commander  and  enjoys  the  high  esteem  of 
his  comrades  of  the  blue.  He  has  member- 
ship with  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry  and 
has  filled  most  of  the  chairs  of  that  order. 
His  life  has  been  well  spent,  characterized  by 
fidelity  to  the  duties  of  public  and  private 
life,  and  the  prosperity  he  has  gained  is 
the  richlv  merited  reward  of  his  own  labor. 


R.  D.  HORN,  M.  D. 


Among  the  successful  and  capable  phy- 
sicians of  Knox  county  is  numbered  Dr. 
Horn,  who  is  engaged  in  practice  in  North 
Liberty.  He  was  born  in  Harrison  town- 
ship, Knox  county,  October  16,  1858,  and 
represents  an  old  family  of  Pennsylvania,  his 
grandfather,  Joseph  Horn,  having  been  born 
in  Washington  county,  that  state.  When 
civilization  was  in  its  primitive  period  in 
Knox  county,  he  took  up  his  abode  in  this 
portion  of  Ohio  and  followed  farming  here 
for  many  years.  His  son,  Jacob  Horn,  was 
born  on  the  old  homestead  in  Harrison  town- 
ship,  in    1825,  and  now  resides  in  Mount 


Vernon,  living  retired  from  business  cares. 
He  wedded  Sarah  Robinson,  a  native  of 
Union  township,  Knox  county,  where  she 
was  born  in  1830,  a  daughter  of  William 
Robinson,  who  was  of  English  descent.  He 
came  from  Maryland  to  Ohio,  and  at  an 
early  date  began  farming  here,  following 
that  pursuit  as  a  life  work.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Horn  became  the  parents  of  three  sons  and 
a  daughter. 

The  Doctor  is  their  youngest  child  and 
his  boyhood  days  were  spent  in  his  native 
township,  where  he  attended  the  district 
schools,  thus  laying  the  foundation  for  the 
broad  general  knowledge  upon  which  he  has 
reared  the  superstructure  of  professional 
learning.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  began 
the  study  of  medicine  under  the  direction  of 
Drs.  Russell  and  McMiller  of  Mount  Ver- 
non. He  remained  with  them  for  four  years, 
and  in  the  meantime  he  attended  two  courses 
of  lectures  in  the  Wooster  Medical  College, 
at  Cleveland,  being  graduated  in  that  insti- 
tution with  the  class  of  1881.  Thus  well 
equipped  for  his  professional  career.  Dr. 
Horn  located  in  Jelloway,  Ohio,  where  for 
four  years  he  was  in  partnership  with  Dr. 
Hyatt.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period,  he 
came  to  North  Liberty,  where  he  has  now 
successfully  practiced  for  seventeen  years. 

In  1885  occurred  the  marriage  of  Dr. 
Horn  and  Miss  Alma  B.  Loney,  a  daughter 
of  John  C.  Loney.  She  was  born  in  Vernon 
township  and  pursued  her  education  in  its 
common  schools.  Four  children  blessed  their 
marriage:  Ida,  Rufus  H.,  Daniel  L.  and 
Donald.  The  family  is  well  known  in  the 
county  and  its  members  rank  high  in  social 
circles.  The  Doctor  is  unswerving  in  his  ad- 
vocacy of  Republican  principles,  but  has 
never  been  an  aspirant  for  public  office,  pro- 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


371 


ferring  to  devote  his  time  and  attention  to 
his  business  affairs,  in  which  he  has  met  with 
creditable  success,  resulting  from  his  skill 
and  ability.  He  keeps  thoroughly  informed 
concerning  the  advancement  made  by  the 
profession  and  is  quick  to-  adopt  any  ideas  or 
methods  of  practice  that  he  believes  will 
pro\'e  of  practical  benefit  in  alleviating  hu- 
man sufferino-. 


TELFORD  F.  HAYES. 

Nearly  a  half  century  ago  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  came  from  the  old 
Empire  state  of  the  Union  and  took  up  his 
abode  in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  whence  he 
subsequently  removed  to  Knox  county, 
where  he  has  ever  since  made  his  home.  He 
has  thus  been  conspicuously  identified  with 
the  growth  and  development  of  this  section 
of  the  state,  where  he  has  consecutively  de- 
voted his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits 
and  where  he  is  known  and  honored  as  one 
of  the  representative  men  of  the  county.  His 
son  has  inherited  his  sterling  qualities  and 
has  himself  gained  prestige  and  definite  suc- 
cess in  connection  with  the  same  noble  art  of 
husbandry,  having  a  finely  improved  and 
valuable  fami  estate  in  Miller  township  and 
being  one  of  its  influential  citizens,  while  the 
confidence  and  esteem  in  which  he  is  uni- 
formly held  in  the  community  have  been 
manifested  in  divers  ways,  not  the  least  of 
which  is  that  implied  in  his  preferment  as 
trustee  of  his  township,  of  which  office  he  is 
incumbent  at  the  time  of  this  writing.  It 
thus  becomes  altogether  consistent  that  he 
be  accorded  representation  in  this  work 
which  has  to  do  with  those  who  have  beei'' 


the  founders  and  builders  of  the  prosperity 
of  Knox  county. 

Telford  F.  Hayes  was  born  in  Burling- 
ton township.  Licking  county,  Ohio,  on  the 
i6th  of  June.  1S58,  being  the  son  of  Syl- 
vester A.  and  Isabel  (Forbes)  Hayes,  both 
of  whom  were  born  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  the  former  being  a  nati\-e  of  Saratoga 
county,  where  he  was  born  in  the  year  1829,, 
while  the  latter  was  liorn  in  1835.  They 
emigrated  to  Ohio  in  the  year  1855,  first  lo- 
cating in  Licking  county,  where  they  re- 
mained until  they  came  to  Kno.x  county,, 
where  Mr.  Hayes  improved  a  fine  farm 
property,  taking  an  active  part  in  promoting 
the  best  interests  of  the  locality  through 
legitimate  means  and  being  recognized  as  a 
progressive  citizen  and  a  man  of  unbending 
integrity  of  character.  During  the  war  of 
the  Rebellion  he  manifested  his  loyalty  and 
intrinsic  patriotism  by  rendering  active  ser- 
vice in  defense  of  the  Union  cause.  On  the 
13th  of  May,  1864,  he  enlisted  as  a  private 
in  Company  C,  One  Hundred  and  Forty- 
second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  being  mus- 
tered in  at  Camp  Chase,  in  the  city  of  Colum- 
bus, and  forthwith  proceeding  with  his  com- 
mand to  Fort  Lyon.  He  was  on  duty  con- 
stantly until  he  was  mustered  out  at  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term,  in  September,  1864. 
He  has  served  as  trustee  of  Miller  township, 
and  in  all  the  relations  of  life  has  borne  him- 
self with  that  honor  and  dignity  which  beget 
objective  esteem  and  confidence.  He  was 
married  tO'  Isabel  Forbes  prior  to  his  removal 
to  Ohio,  in  which  latter  state  their  three 
children  were  born,  namely :  Telford  F., 
the  immediate  subject  of  this  review ;  Hat- 
tie,  who  is  deceased;  and  William. 

Sylvester  A.  Hayes  is  a  son  of  Williaiw 
Haves,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  whence  he 


372 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


emigrated  to  America  in  his  youth,  but 
neither  the  date  of  his  removal  nor  that  of 
his  death  is  deiinitely  known.  Daniel  Forbes, 
grandfather  of  our  subject  in  the  maternal 
line,  was  born  in  Scotland  and  became  an 
early  settler  in  the  state  of  New  York,  rec- 
ords of  which  are  still  extant  bearing  evi- 
dence of  the  fact  that  he  served  with  distinc- 
tion as  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  The 
mother  of  our  subject  is  still  living,  and  both 
she  and  her  husband  have  long  been  devoted 
members  of  the  Baptist  church,  as  is  also 
Telford  F. 

Telford  F.  Hayes  was  reared  on  the  old 
homestead  farm,  and  his  educational  priv- 
ileges in  his  youth  were  such  as  were  afford- 
ed in  the  public  schools.  He  early  became 
familiar  with  the  duties  pertaining  to  the 
improvement  and  cuIti\-ation  of  the  farm, 
and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  great 
basic  industry  of  agriculture  has  ever  con- 
tinued to  enlist  his  services.  His  career  as  a 
farmer  has  shown  that  this  line  of  enterprise 
need  not  be  prosaic  or  unprolific,  for  he  has 
brought  to  bear  scientific  and  progressive 
methods,  has  utilized  his  executive  ability 
and  has  made  farming  a  business  undertak- 
ing to  an  extent  that  is  realized  by  few.  His 
broad  acres,  maintained  under  the  highest 
state  of  cultivation  ;  his  fine  herds  and  flocks  ; 
his  beautiful  residence  and  other  excellent 
buildings,  and  the  general  air  of  thrift  and 
prosperity  which  pervades  his  farm,  indicate 
more  clearly  than  words  the  success  which 
has  attended  his  indefatigable,  enterprising 
and  well  directed  endeavors  in  this  import- 
ant field  of  industrial  activity,  while  he  has 
not  bear  hedged  in  by  purely  personal  ambi- 
tion, but  has  taken  a  public-spirited  interest 
in  every  worthy  project  and  undertaking  for 
the  good  of  the  township  and  county,  and 


has  been  prominent  in  public  affairs  of  local 
order.  Mr.  Hayes  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  township  trustee,  and  in  this  capacity  ac- 
complished much  for  the  best  interests  of 
Miller  township. 

On  the  1 6th  of  August,  1875,  Mr.  Hayes 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Etta  J.Kays, 
and  in  the  family  circle  of  the  ideal  home  of 
our  subject  and  his  wife  are  ten  children,  the 
eldest  of  whom  is  twenty-seven  years  of  age 
and  the  youngest  four  years  (1902),  their 
names,  in  order  of  birth,  being  as  follows: 
Nellie,  Wiley,  Ray,  Earl,  Iva,  Clyde,  Grace, 
Isabel,  Ralph  and  Hattie.  Tlie  family  are 
prominent  in  the  social  life  of  the  community 
and  the  attractive  home  is  a  center  of  refined 
and  gi'acious  hospitality. 


Mrs.  ALICE  B.  ANDERSON. 

Airs.  A.  B.  Anderson,  who  has  been  in 
charge  of  the  Children's  Home  at  Alount 
Vernon,  for  the  past  ten  years,  is  one  of  the 
most  hig-hly  esteemed  and  honored  residents 
of  the  city.  Many  years  of  her  life  have 
been  devoted  to  this  noble  work,  and  her  un- 
tiring efforts  have  proved  very  eft'ecti\"e. 
Rev.  Sidney  Shontz,  pastor  of  the  Congre- 
gational church,  was  largely  instrumental  in 
establishing  this  institution,  and  previously 
to  that  lime  the  children  were  confined  in  the 
county  infirmary.  The  first  trustees  elected 
were  2\Ir.  Boner,  deceased.  Dr.  Holbrook, 
Mr.  Alontgomery,  deceased,  and  Rev. 
Charles  Cooper :  while  the  present  board  of  ' 
trustees  consists  of  Dr.  Holbrook,  \V.  S.  j 
Sperry  and  Kirk  McKee,  The  institution 
was  opened  with  twenty-seven  children,  and  ■ 
since    that    time    eightv-five    children    ha\e 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


373 


found  homes  within  its  doors.  Since  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Children's  Home,  in  1891, 
Mrs.  Anderson  has  been  in  charge  of  the  in- 
stitution, and  the  commendable  course  which 
she  has  pursued  has  gained  her  the  confi- 
dence and  love  of  all  with  whom  she  has 
been  brought  in  contact. 

Mrs.  Alice  (Bell)  Anderson  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  R.  G.  and  Sarah  Bell,  and  was  brought 
to-  this  city  eleven  years  ago.  Her  husband 
is  a  native  of  Clinton  township,  Knox  coun- 
ty, a  son  of  David  Anderson,  who  came  to 
this  locality  from  Pennsylvania  when  a 
young  man.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Anderson  are 
worthy  and  zealous  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  and  in  the  community  where 
they  have  long  made  their  homes  they  have 
many  warm  friends. 

JAMES  MARTIN. 

Eighty-three  years  have  passed  since 
James  Martin  came  to  Knox  county  to  cast 
his  lot  with  its  pioneers.  People  of  the 
twentieth  century  can  scarcely  realize  the 
struggles  and  dangers  which  attended  the 
early  settlers,  the  heroism  and  self-sacrifice 
of  lives  passed  upon  the  borders  of  civiliza- 
tion, the  hardships  endured,  the  difficulties 
overcome.  These  tales  of  the  early  days  read 
almost  like  a  romance  to  those  who  have 
known  only  the  modern  prosperity  and  con- 
veniences. To  the  pioneer  of  the  early  days, 
far  removed  from  the  privileges  and  oppor- 
tunities of  city  and  town,  the  struggle  for 
existence  was  a  hard  and  stern  one,  and 
these  men  and  wonuen  must  have  possessed 
indomitable  energies  and  sterling  worth  of 
character,  as  well  as  marked  physical  cour- 
age, when  they  voluntarily  selected  such  a 
life  and  successfully  fought  the  battles  under 


such  circumstances  as  prevailed  in  the 
"Northwest  Territory." 

James  Martin  is  now  one  of  the  oldest 
living  residents  Oif  Knox  county,  and  few  if 
any  have  lived  longer  within  her  borders. 
He  was  torn  in  the  Crosscreek  Village,  in 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  Febru- 
ary 9,  1807,  the  only  child  of  Adam  and 
Elizabeth  (  Huston)  ]\Iartin.  The  father  was 
born  in  Ireland,  where  his  father  was  a 
silk  weaver.  \Vhel^  a  young  man  Adam 
Martin  emigrated  to  the  new  world, — at  a 
time  when  hostilities  seemed  imminent, — 
and  he  enlisted  in  the  service  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  as  a  champion 
of  liberty.  He  was  made  first  lieutenant  in 
Captain  Timothy  Parker's  Company  and 
Colonel  Warner's  regiment,  which  marched 
on  the  first  alarm,  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1775.  On  the  1st  of  August  of  the  same  year 
his  name  appears  on  the  records  as  captain 
of  a  company,  in  which  capacity  he  served 
until  1780.  During  the  remaining  years  of 
the  war  he  was  paymaster.  When  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  nation  was  achie\'ed  and 
peace  was  restored,  he  located  in  Washing- 
ton county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed 
farming  until  his  death,  in  October,  1816. 

Adam  Martin  married  Elizabeth  Huston, 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Isabella  Huston. 
They  were  both  natives  of  the  Emerald  Isle 
and  were  married  in  county  Armagh.  Prior 
to  the  Revolutionary  war  they  came  to 
America,  settling  four  miles  from  Trenton, 
New  Jersey,  where  Mrs.  Martin  was  bom, 
being  one  of  six  children, — three  sons  and 
three  daughters.  One  son,  John  Huston, 
was  a  teamster  in  the  war  for  independence. 
Mr.  Huston,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject, 
resided  on  his  farm  near  Trenfon  through- 
out the  period  of  hostilities,  so  that  he  was 


374 


A    CENTENNIAL   BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


■often  in  the  midst  of  the  contending  amiies. 
He  was  a  weaver  by  trade,  always  following 
that  pursuit.  His  daughter,  Elizabeth,  was 
born  July  4,  1767,  and  .in  1806  gave  her 
Iiand  in  marriage  to  Adam  Martin.  She 
was  early  left  a  widow  and  when  her  little 
son  was  only  ele\'en  years  of  age  they  came 
to  Ohio,  arriving  in  Knox  county,  in  June, 
1818.  Here  her  death  occurred  August  13, 
1844.  They  first  took  up  their  abode  in  a 
Tented  cabin  on  Schenck's  creek,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  removed  to  a  fami  owned  by 
]\Ir.  McGibeny,  who  was  a  nephew  O'f  Mrs. 
Martin. 

On  their  arrival  their  possessions  consist- 
ed of  one  horse,  two  cows,  a  calf,  and  ten 
sheep.  Four  of  the  sheep  were  sold  to  buy 
chairs  and  other  necessary  furnishings  for 
the  house.  After  four  years  spent  on  the 
McGibeny  farnt  they  were  compelled  to 
move  on  account  of  the  property  changing 
•owners,  and  James  Martin  then  leased  a 
neighboring  farm.  Only  one  acre  had  been 
cleared  and  the  prospects  were  very  gloomy, 
for  Mr.  Martin  was  hardly  more  than  a  boy 
and  the  outlook  was  hardly  an  auspicious 
one,  but  he  made  the  best  of  the  condition, 
and  living  upon  the  farm  for  five  years,  he 
raised  tobacco  and  thus  saved  enough  money 
to  buy  a  horse.  He  then  removed  to  another 
farm,  owned  by  his  cousin,  Mr.  McGibeny, 
and  while  living  there,  with  his  hard-earned 
savings,  he  purchased,  in  1828,  one  hundred 
and  seventy-three  acres  of  land, — a  part  of 
his  present  farm.  From  this  time  forward 
his  future  seemed  brighter.  The  improve- 
ments he  placed  upon  his  land,  on  ^Vhich  he 
located  in  1830,  now  belonged  to  him,  and  as 
the  years  passed  he  transformed  his  place  in- 
to a  very  valuable  property  and  extended  its 
boundaries  until  he  now  owns  one  hundred 


and  ninety-five  acres,  from  which  he  an- 
nually secures  a  good  income. 

On  the  I2th  of  April,  1832,  Mr.  Martin 
married  Miss  Sarah  Rigg,  a  native  of  Wash- 
ington county,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Nancy  Rigg,  who  came  to  this 
county  in  1830.  They  had  two  children, 
John  and  Isabelle,  but  both  died  in  1869. 
They  have,  liowe\'er,  five  grandchildren  and 
ten  great-grandchildren. 

In  connection  with  his  general  farming 
Mr.  Martin  began  breeding  short-horn  cattle 
in  i860  and  in  the  business  met  with  excel- 
lent success.  For  many  years  he  followed 
this  enterprise,  and  became  one  of  the  best- 
known  breeders  of  fine  stock  in  this  part  of 
the  state.  Long  years  have  passed  since  he 
had  to  practice  the  rigid  economy  which  en- 
abled him  to  gain  a  start  in  life,  and  now 
he  is  surrounded  by  all  (that  constitutes  a 
fine  farm  while  his  income  supplies  him  with 
tlie  comforts  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of 
life.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  Republican, 
but  has  never  aspired  to  public  office.  For 
the  past  sixty-six  years  he  has  been  an  ac- 
tive member  of  the  Congregational  church 
and  he  is  also  connected  with  the  Sons  of 
the  American  Revolution.  He  has  passed 
the  ninety-fourth  milestone  on  life's  journey 
and  in  the  evening  of  his  days  can  look  back 
over  the  past  without  regret,  for  he  has  ac- 
complished much  in  business  and  has  ever 
merited  and  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  high 
regard  of  his  fellow  men. 


MILTON  G.  LEVERING. 

Milton  G.  Levering,  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Levering  Brothers,  is  associated  with  a 
business  enterprise  that  contributes  largely 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


375 


to  the  commercial  activity  and  consequent 
prosperity  of  Predericktowii.  As  buyers 
and  shippers  of  hve  stock,  grain,  hay  and 
feed,  their  business  furnishes  an  excellent 
market  for  the  farmers  of  the  outlying  dis- 
tricts and  thereby  adds  to  the  general  suc- 
cess, at  the  same  time  bringing  to  them  a 
very  gratifying  income. 

Milton  G.  Levering  first  opened  his  eyes 
to  the  ligiit  of  day  in  Morrow  county,  Ohio, 
on  the  20th  of  March,  1868,  his  parents 
being  Charles  B.  and  Mary  J-  (Grove) 
Levering.  His  parents  directed  his  study, 
his  play  and  his  work  in  early  years,  thus 
aiding  to  shape  a  character  worthy  of  re- 
spect and  to  develop  a  life  of  usefulness. 
He  mastered  the  common  English  brandies 
of  learning  in  the  district  schools  and  pur- 
sued his  more  advanced  studies  in  the  Ches- 
terville  high  school.  At  the  age  of  nineteen 
}-ears  he  began  teaching  and  for  nine  years 
successfully  followed  .that  profession 
through  the  winter  months,  while  the  sum- 
mer season  he  worked  upon  the  home  farm. 
He  was  a  capable  educator,  being  both  a 
good  disciplinarian  and  instructor,  and  his 
labors  received  the  commendation  of  the  ma- 
jority of  the  residents  of  the  districts  in 
■which  he  was  employed. 

On  the  30th  of  October,  1894,  Mr. 
Levering  married  Miss  Anna  McConnell, 
who  was  born  in  Fredericktown,  her  father, 
John  S.  McConnell,  being  a  retired  farmer 
•of  this'  place.  In  1896  Mr.  Levering  joined 
"his  brother  in  the  work  of  farming  and 
•stock-raising,  which  they  carried  on  together 
for  a  year.  They  then  dissolved  partnership 
and  for  a  year  Mr.  Levering  was  engaged 
in  farming  alone.  In  April,  1900,  however, 
"he  once  more  entered  into  partnership  re- 
lations and  purchased  the  grain  warehouse 


and  business  conducted  many  years  by  M.  J. 
Simons.  Their  shipments  and  purchases  of 
grain,  hay  and  feed  are  so'  large  that  they 
are  ranked  among  the  most  prominent  rep^ 
resentatives  of  this  branch  of  business  in 
central  Ohio,  and  their  stock  shipments  also 
add  largely  to  their  income.  They  are  de- 
serving of  much  praise  for.  their  success, 
which  has  resulted  for  earnest  and  untiring 
efforts  and  unflagging  perseverance.  They 
are  reliaMe  and  resolute,  straightforward 
and  energetic  and  are  widely  and  favorably 
known  in  Knox  county. 


GEORGE  EELLS  HERVEY,  D.  D.  S. 

Fortunate  is  the  man  who  has  back  of 
him  an  ancestry  honorable  and  distinguished 
and  happy  is  he  if  his  lines  of  life  are  cast 
in  hamiony  therewith.  In  person,  in  tal- 
ents and  in  character  Dr.  Hervey,  of  Mount 
Vernon,  is  a  worthy  scion  of  his  race,  which 
has  always  been  found  connected  with  those 
lines  of  business  activity  which  require  the 
strongest  intellectuality,  which  demand  keen 
discrimination  and  profound  knowledge.  His 
pafternal  grandfather.  Rev.  Henry  Hervey, 
D.  D.,  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  passed  his 
life  in  one  pastorate,  of  over  thirty-seven 
years,  in  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Mar- 
tinsburg,  this  county.  He  was  the  founder 
of  Martinsburg  Academy  and  a  young 
ladies'  school,  thus  exerting  a  potent  influ- 
ence on  the  moral  and  intellectual  develop- 
ment of  this  portion  of  the  county  in  the 
early  half  and  middle  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, and  in  directing  the  lives  of  young  and 
old  for  the  responsible  duties  of  this  life  and 
for  the  attainment  of  the  perfection  of  the 


376 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


life  to  come.  Rev.  Henry  Hervey  married 
Miss  Julia  Wade,  of  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey, 
a  descendant  of  General  Benjamin  Wade,  of 
Revolutionary  fame,  and  a  branch  of  the 
Wade  family,  of  which  history  is  just  being 
published,  traces  the  ancesti-}'  back  to  the 
eighth  century. 

Rev.  Dwight  B.  Hervey,  Ph.  D.,  father 
of  the  Doctor,  was  born  in  Martinsburg, 
June  4th,  1834,  his  youthful  days  being 
spent  amid  the  intellectual  atmosphere  and 
refining  influence  of  his  parents'  honi'e.  He 
pursued  his  early  education  under  his  fa- 
ther's direction,  and  later  in  the  Washington 
&  Jefferson  College,  in  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  was  graduated  in  1858,  and  his  theologi- 
cal course  was  received  in  the  Allegheny 
Theological  Seminary,  at  Allegheny,  Penn- 
sylvania. In  the  fall  of  1861  he  became 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian'  church  at  Mount 
Vernon,  which  church  he  served  for  twelve 
andi  a  half  years.  Resigning  this  charge, 
he  accepted  a  call  to  the  Granville  Presbyter- 
ian church  remaining  there  from  1875  to 
1 88 1,  when  he  accepted  the  presidency  of  the 
Granville  Female  Seminary,  at  Granville, 
Ohio,  which  position  he  held  for  twelve 
years.  After  severing  his  connection  with 
that  institution  he  became  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  at  Edinboro,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  held  the  charge  for  over  six  years, 
then  completing  a  ministry  of  forty  years. 
In  October,  1900,  the  University  of  Wooster 
conferred  upon  himi  the  degree  of  Ph.  D. 
His  life  work  was  ever  along  the  lines  of 
humanitarian  principles  and  was  of  the  most 
helpful  character. 

Rev.  D.  B.  Hervey  married  Miss  Mary 
E.  Reeder,  of  Newark,  Ohio,  in  Septanber, 
1861.  She  was  born  in  1836,  a  daughter  of 
John  A.  and  Martha  (Eells)  Reeder.     Her 


father's  ancestors  removed  from  Hanover, 
Germany,  to  London,  England,  and  thaice 
to  Long  Island,  New  York,  about  1634. 
Her  mother's  progenitors  came  from  Eng- 
land to  the  Massachusetts  coast  in  1634,  and 
she  descended  from  Major  Samuel  Eels, 
who  served  in  King  Philip's  war,  and  Rev. 
Nathaniel,  his  grandson,  who  was  a  chap- 
lain in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  By  her 
marriage  she  became  the  mother  of  the  fol- 
lowing named:  Walter  L.  Hervey,  Ph.  D., 
who  resides  in  New  York  city  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  teachers',  examiners  of 
Greater  New  York;  Henry  D.  Hervey,  M. 
A.,  who  is  superintendent  of  the  schools  of 
Pautucket,  Rhode  Island;  Clifford  R.  Her- 
vey, M.  D.,  a  practicing  physician  and  sur- 
geon of  Cortland,  New  York;  Mary  B.,  who 
is  director  in  physical  culture  in  New  Paltz 
Normal  School,  New  York;  and  he  whose 
name  introduces  this  revicAV.  In  1901  Rev. 
D.  B.  Hervey  was  stricken  with  pneumonia, 
and,  not  recovering  from  the  attack,  in  the 
following  September  he  visited  Idalio,  hop- 
ing there  to  regain  his  health.  Disappointed 
in  this  he  returned  east,  reaching  Mount  Ver- 
non, much  exhausted  and  unable  to  proceed 
further.  He  remained  here  until  his  death. 
As  the  eyelids  gently  closed  on  earth's  scenes 
and  loved  ones  to  whom  he  had  clung  so 
tenaciously,  at  the  last,  saying,  "Don't  leave 
me,"  one  could  almost  hear  in  that  silent 
chambei-  the  flutter  of  an  angel's  wing  and 
see  the  glorious  visions  that  opened  on  his 
sight  as  he  looked  "good-bye,"  and  passed 
wilthin  the  veil. 

Dr.  George  E.  Hervey  spent  his  youthful 
days  in  his  parental  home,  and  his  prelimi- 
nary education,  acquired  in  the  public 
schools,  was  supplemented  by  study  in  Gran- 
ville and  in  Dennison  Universitv,  where  he 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


pursued  the  work  of  the  soplioinore  year.  In 
1894  he  entered  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  for  one  year  studied  dental  surg- 
ery, after  which  he  entered  the  ofifice  of  Dr. 
J.  A.  Hodgins,  of  Union  City,  Pennsylvania, 
in  whose  office  he  remained  for  a  year.  He 
next  became  a  student  in  the  Western  Re- 
serve University,  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  com- 
pleting his  course  in  the  spring  of  1898.  The 
following  year  he  opened  an  office  in  Mount 
Vernon,  where  he  has  built  up  a  lucrative 
practice,  his  gradually  increasing  patron- 
age showing  that  he  has  won  the  public  con- 
fidence by  his  skill,  ability  and  honorable 
business  methods. 

On  the  17th  of  July,  1901,  the  Doctor 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Craig 
Cooper,  a  daughter  of  Colonel  W.  C.  and 
Eliza  (Russell)  Cooper.  Their  pleasant 
home  is  celebrated  for  its  gracious  hospital- 
ity. He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  he 
holds  membership  in  the  Presbyterian 
■church.  The  qualities  of  an  upright  man- 
hood, as  well  as  his  professional  proficiency, 
have  gained  him  an  enviable  position  among 
the  representative  residents  of  his  native 
city. 


ALLEN  SCHOLES. 

The  farming  interests  of  Knox  county 
are  well  represented  by  Allen  Scholes,  who 
is  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  in 
Brown  toiwnship.  He  was  born  in  Ashland 
county,  July  7,  1850,  and  is  of  Irish  lineage. 
His  grandfather,  James  Scholes,  was  of 
Irish  descent  and  among  his  children  was 
John  Scholes,  the  father  of  our  subject,  and 
orue  of  the  early  settlers  in  Ashland  county. 
He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  took  an 


active  part  in  the  building  interests  of  Ohio. 
In  1865,  he  removed  to  Knox  county;  locat- 
ing in  BrowH'  township  and  here  spent  his 
remaining  days,  his  death  occurring  in  1880, 
when  in  his  sixty-fifth  year.  His  wife  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Lucy  L.  Shearer  and 
was  a  native  of  Richland  county,  Ohio.  She 
was  of  both  Irish  and  English  lineage  and 
her  death  occurred  July  2,  1901,  when  she 
was  in'  her  seventy-third  year.  They  were 
the  parents  of  eight  children,  six  of  whom 
reached*  maturity,  while  five  are  yet  living. 

vMlen  Scholes,  the  eldest  son  and  second 
child  was  in  his  fifteenth  year  when  he  came 
to  Knox  cotnity.  He  has  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools:  of  Ashland  county  and  in  the 
public  schools  of  this  locality  he  continued 
his  education,  while  at  the  age  of  twenty 
years  he  began  teaching.  He  followed  that 
profession  through  twenty  terms,  during  the 
winter  momths,  while  in  the  summer  season 
he  devoted  his  energies  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. As  an  educator  his  services  were  very 
acceptable  in  the  districts  where  he  was  em- 
ployed, for  he  had  the  ability  not  only  to 
command  discipline  but  also'  to  impart  clear- 
ly and  correctly  to  others  the  knowledge  he 
had  acquired. 

In  1875,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  Scholes  and  Miss  Mary  J.  Nyhart,  a 
native  of  Jefferson  township  and  a  daughter 
of  Jacob  and  Mary  (Smith)  Nyhart,  who 
were  early  settlers  of  Jefferson  (township. 
Five  childrai,  three  daughters  and  two  sons, 
graced  this  marriage,  namely :  Lola  May, 
the  wife  oi  Qiarles  Anwiller,  of  Brown 
township;  Charles  F.,  a  resident  of  Akron; 
John  E.,  who  is  living  at  home;  Lucy  A., 
the  wife  of  Arthur  Richart;  and 'GoJdie  B., 
who  is  still  under  the  parental  roof. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.   Scholes  began  their  do- 


378 


A    CENTENNIAL    BIOGRAPHICAL    HISTORY 


mestic  life  upon  the  farm  where  they  yet  re- 
side, and  it  has  been  tlieir  home  continuously 
since.  He  is  an  enterprising  agriculutrist 
and  his  land,  a  tract  of  eighty-three  and  one- 
half  acres,  is  all  under  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation, giving  evidence  of  his  careful  super- 
vision. He  follows  general  fanning  and 
stock-raising  and  his  labors  are  attended 
with  a  gratifying  degree  of  success.  His 
political  support  is  given  the  Democracy,  and 
for  fifteen  years  he  served  as  township  clerk. 
while  in  1880  he  was  land  appraiser  and 
census  enumerator.  In  1901  he  was  a  can- 
didate for  county  auditor.  As  a  public 
officer  he  has  enjoyed  and  merited  the  con- 
fidence and  esteem  of  his  fellow  townsmen, 
for  in  the  discharge  of  his  public  duties  he 
has  displayed  marked  fidelity  and  ability. 
Socially  he  is  connected  with  the  Patrons  of 
Husbandry  and  his  religious  faith  is  indi- 
cated by  his  membership  in  the  Methodist 
church,  in  which  he  has  taken  a  very  active 
part,  filling  many  offices,  including  those 
of  class-leader,  trustee  and  steward.  For 
seven  years  he  has  been  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday-school  and  in  every  dej/artment 
of  Christian  activity  he  is  found  as  an  able 
helper,  doing  all  in  his  power  to  promote  the 
cause  of  the  church  in  the  community  in 
which  he  resides.  His  life  is  consistent  with 
his  principles,  and  his  sterling  qualities  of 
manhood  commend  him  to  the  esteem  of  a 
large  circle  of  friends. 


WILLIAAI  H.  GREEX. 

William  H.  Green,  now  deceased,  was  a 
leading  and  enterprising  farmer  of  Monroe 
township  and  his  many  sterling  qualities 
have  gained  for  him  the  high  respect  of  all 


who  knew  him.  so  that  his  loss  was  deeply 
felt  throughout  the  community.  He  was 
born  October  15.  1845,  in  Delaware  county, 
Ohio,  a  son  of  William  and  jMary  A.  (Cark- 
er)  Green,  in  whose  family  were  four  chil- 
dren, two  yet  living — ^Charles,  of  Mount 
Vernon,  Ohio,  and  Mary  J.,  the  wife  of 
William  Horn,  of  Monroe  township.  The 
father  was  born  in  England,  and  when  a 
young  man  came  to  the  United  States,  locat- 
ing in  New  York,  where  he  was  married. 
Soon  afterward  he  started  with  his  wife  for 
Knox  county,  Ohio,  settling  first  on 
Schenck's  creek.  Soon,  however,  he  went  to 
Delaware  county,  where  he  had  a  brother 
living,  and  there  remained  for  a  short  time, 
when  he  again  came  to  this  county,  his  home 
being  in  Monroe  township  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death..  In  early  life  he  engaged  in  the 
butchering  business  but  later  became  a  farm- 
er, and  that  pursuit  occupied  his  attention 
throughout  his  remaining  days.  His  politi- 
cal support  was  given  the  Republican  party 
and  in  religious  faith  he  was  an  Episco- 
palian, 

William  H.  Green  was  reared  upon  the 
home  farm  and  at  twenty-one  years  of  age 
he  made  arrangements  to  work  for  his  father 
for  wages,  being  thus  employed  until  his 
marriage,  which  occurred  in  1876,  Miss 
Sarah  J,  Marsh  becoming  his  wife.  The 
lady  is  a  daughter  of  Eber  and  Sophia  (Jack- 
son) Marsh,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
Vermont,  the  former  being  born  February 
27,  1807,  the  latter  on  the  17th  of  June, 
1808,  They  were  married  in  the  Green 
Mountain  state  and  then  removed  to  New 
York,  settling  in  Franklin  county,  where 
they  resided  upon  a  farm  for  twelve  years, 
during  a  portion  of  which  time  ^Ir.  Marsh 
also  worked  at  his  trade  of  carpentering.    In 


OF    KNOX    COUNTY,    OHIO. 


379 


1837  he  came  to  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and 
took  up  his  abode  in  Mount  Vernon,  where 
he  w  as  identified  with  the  building  interests 
for  two  years.  He  tlien  purchased  a  small 
tract  of  land  in  Monroe  township,  built 
.therepn  a  residence  and  made  it  his  hoarie 
until  his  death,  in  February,  1876.  His  wife, 
surviving  him  for  a  number  of  years,  passed 
a\vay  in  September,  1892.  They  were  active 
members  of  the  Universalist  church  and  peo- 
ple of  the  highest  respectability,  enjoying 
the  warm  regard  of  many  friends  in  their 
Ohio  home.  Mr.  Marsh  gave  his  political 
support  to  the  Republican  party  and  kept 
well  informed  on  the  issues  of  the  day,  but 
has  not  sought  office  as  a  reward  for  party 
fealty. 

For  two  years  after  his  marriage  Mr. 
Green  and  his  bride  resided  upon  his  father's 
farm  and  then  he  purchased  fifty  acres  of 
land,  constituting  the  nucleus  of  the  present 
home  farm.  As  his  financial  resources  in- 
creased he  extended  the  boundaries  of  his 
property  until  he  had  one  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  acres,  constituting  one  of  the 


fine  farms  of  the  comity.  He  placed  the  land 
under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  added 
all  the  improvements  and  accessories  known 
to  the  model  farm.  He  was  very  thorough 
and  systematic  in  his  work  and  his  well 
directed  labors  made  him  a  prosperous 
farmer. 

Mr.  Green  voted  with  the  Republican 
party  and  warmly  endorsed  its  principles 
and  policy  but  never  aspired  to  office,  pre- 
ferring to  give  his  attention  in  undivided 
manner  to  his  fami  work.  He  was  straight- 
forward in  all  his  dealings,  reliable  and  pro- 
gressive, and  his  many  excellent  traits  of 
character  won  for  him  the  admiration  and 
friendship  of  many  with  whom  he  was  asso- 
ciated. He  passed  away  February  27,  1892, 
widely  mourned  throughout  the  community. 
Mrs.  Green  still  resides  upon  the  farm  left 
her  by  her  husband  and  gives  to  it  her  per- 
sonal supervision.  She  is  a  lady  of  excellent 
business  c|ualities  as  well  as  womanly  traits 
of  character,  and  while  the  former  insure  her 
success  the  latter  have  gained  for  her  true 
and  warm-hearted  regard. 


I 


PART  II 


CDHPEIIOM  OF  MTIOML  BIOGBiPliy 


I 


INDEX 


PART   II 


Compendium  of  National  Biography. 


Biographical   Sketches  of  National  Celebrities. 


PAGE 

Abbott,   Lyman     144 

Adams,  Charles  Kendall 143 

Adams,  John 25 

Adams,  John  Quincy 61 

Agassiz,  Louis  J.  R 137 

Alger,  Russell  A 173 

Allison,  William  B 131 

AUston,  Washington 190 

Altgeld,  John  Peter  140 

Andrews,  Elisha  B 184 

Anthony,  Susan  B 62 

Armour,  Philip  D 62 

Arnold,  Benedict 84 

Arthur,  Chester  Allen 168 

Astor,  John  Jacob 189 

Audubon,  John  James 166 

Bailey,  James  Montgomery...  177 

Bancroft,  George 74 

Barnard,  Frederick  A.  P 179 

Barnum,   Phineas  T 41 

Barrett,  Lawrence 156 

Barton,  Clara 209 

Bayard,  Thomas  Francis 200 

Beard,  William  H 196 

Beauregard,  Pierre  G.  T 203 

Beecher,  H  enry  Ward 26 

Bell,  Alexander  Graham 96 

Bennett,  James  Gordon 206 

Benton,  Thomas  Hart 53 

Bergh,  Henry 160 

Bierstadt,  Albert 197 

Billings,  Josh 166 

Blaine,  James  Gillespie 22 

Bland,  Richard  Parks 106 


PAGE 

Boone,   Daniel 36 

Booth,  Edwin 51 

Booth,  Junius  Brutus 177 

Brice,  Calvin  S 181 

Brooks,  Phillips 130 

Brown,  John 51 

Brown,  Charles  Farrar 91 

Brush,  Charles  Francis 153 

Bryan,  William  Jennings 158 

Bryant,  William  CuUen 44 

Buchanan,  Franklin 105 

Buchanan,  James  128 

Buckner,  Simon  Boliver 188 

Burdette,  Robert  J 103 

Burr,  Aaron Ill 

Butler,  Benjamin  Franklin 24 

Calhoun,  John  Caldwell 23 

Cameron,  James  Donald 141 

Cameron,  Simon 141 

Cammack,  Addison 197 

Campbell,  Alexander 180 

Carlisle,  John  G 133 

Carnegie,  Andrew 73 

Carpenter,  Matthew  Hale 178 

Carson,  Christopher  (Kit) 86 

Cass,  Lewis 110 

Chase,  Salmon  Portland 65 

Childs,  George  W   83 

Choate,  Rufus 207 

Chaflin,  Horace  Brigham 107 

Clay,  Henry 21 

Clemens,  Samuel  Langhorne. .  86 

Cleveland,   Grover 174 

Clews,  Henry 153 


PAGE. 

Clinton,  DeWitt 110 

Colfax,  Schuyler 139 

Conklin,  Alfred 32 

Conklin,  Roscoe 32 

Cooley,  Thomas  Mclntyre.  ..  ^  140 

Cooper,  James  Fenimore 58 

Cooper,  Peter 37 

Copely,  John  Singleton 191 

Corbin,  Austin 205 

Corcoran,  W.W 196 

Cornell,  Ezra 161 

Cramp,  William 189 

Crockett,  David 76 

Cullom,  Shelby  Moore   116 

Curtis,  George  William 144 

Cushman,  Charlotte 107 

Custer,  George  A 95 

Dana,  Charles  A 88 

"Danbury  News  Man" 177 

Davenport,  Fanny 106 

Davis,  Jefferson 24 

Debs,  Eugene  V 132 

Decatur,  Stephen 101 

Deering,  William 198 

Depew,  Chauncey  Mitchell...  209 

Dickinson,  Anna 103 

Dickinson,  Don  M 139 

Dingley,  Nelson,  Jr 215 

Donnelly,  Ignatius 161 

Douglas,  Stephen  Arnold 53 

Douglass,  Frederick 43 

Dow,  Neal 108 

Draper,  John  William 184 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS— PART  1 1 


PAGE 

Drexel,  Anthony  Joseph 124 

Dupont,  Henry 198 

Edison,  Thomas  Alva  ........     56 

Edmunds,  George  F 201 

Ellsworth,  Oliver 168 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo 57 

Ericsson,  John 127 

Evarts,  William  Maxwell 89 

Farragut,  David  Glascoe 80 

Field,  Cyrus  West 173 

Field,  David  Dudley 126 

Field,  Marshall 59 

Field,  Stephen  Johnson 216 

Fillmore.  Millard 113 

Foote,  Andrew  Hull 176 

Foraker,  Joseph  B 143 

Forrest,  Edwin 92 

Franklin,  Benjamin 18 

Fremont,  John  Charles 29 

Fuller,  Melville  Weston 168 

Fulton,  Robert 62 

Gage,  Lyman  J 71 

Gallatin,  Albert 112 

Garfield,  James  A 163 

Garrett,  John  Work 200 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd 60 

Gates,  Horatio  70 

Gatling,  Richard  Jordan 116 

(ieorge,  Henry. 203 

Gibbons,  Cardinal  James 209 

Gilmore,  Patrick  Sarsfield 77 

Girard,  Stephen 137 

Gough,  John  B 131 

Gould,  Jay 52 

Gordon,  John  B 215 

Grant,  Ulysses  S 155 

Gray,  Asa 88 

Gray,  Elisha 149 

Greeley,  Adolphus  W 142 

Greeley,  Horace 20 

Greene,  Nathaniel 69 

Gresham,  Walter  Quintin 183 

Hale,  Edward  Everett 79 

Hall,  Charles  Francis 167 

Hamilton,  Alexander 31 

Hamlin,  Hannibal 214 

Hampton,  Wade  192 

Hancock,  Winfield  Scott 146 

Hanna,  Marcus  Alonzo 169 

Harris,  Isham  G 214 

Harrison,  William  Henry 87 

Harrison,  Benjamin 182 

Harvard.  John 129 

Havemeyer,  John  Craig 182 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel 135 

Hayes,  Rutherford  Birchard..  .  157 

Hendricks,  Thomas  Andrew. .  212 

Henry,  Joseph 106 

Henrv,  Patrick 83 

Hin,David  Bennett 90 

Hobart,  Garrett  A 213 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell 206 

Hooker,  Joseph 52 

Howe,  Elias 130 

Howells,  William  Dean 104 


PAGE 

Houston,  Sam 120 

Hughes,  Archbishop  John 167 

Hughitt,  Marvin 159 

Hull,  Isaac 169 

Huntington,  CoUis  Potter 94 

Ingalls,  John  James 114 

Ingersoll,  Robert  G 85 

Irving,  Washington 33 

Jackson,  Andrew 71 

Jackson,  "  Stonewall " 67 

Jackson,  Thomas  Jonathan 67 

Jay,  John 39 

Jefferson,  Joseph 47 

Jefferson,  Thomas 34 

Johnson,  Andrew 145 

Johnson,  Eastman   202 

Johnston,  Joseph  Eccleston... .  85 

Jones,  James  K 171 

Jones,  John  Paul 97 

Jones,  Samuel  Porter 115 

Kane,  Elisha  Kent 125 

Kearney,  Philip 210 

Kenton,  Simon 188 

Knox,  John  Jay 134 

Lamar,  Lucius  Q.  C 201 

Landon,  Melville  D 109 

Lee,  Robert  Edward 38 

Lewis,  Charles  B 193 

Lincoln,  Abraham 135 

Livermore,  Mary  Ashton 131 

Locke,  David  Ross 172 

Logan,  John  A 26 

Longfellow,  Henry  Wadsworth  87 

Longstreet,  James 56 

Lowell,  James  Russell 104 

Mackay,  John  William 148 

Madison,  James 42 

Marshall,  John 166 

Mather,  Cotton 164 

Mather,  Increase 163 

Maxim,  Hiram  S 194 

McClellan,  George  Brinton 47 

McCormick,  Cyrus  Hall 172 

McDonough,  Com.  Thomas.. .  167 

McKinley,  William 217 

Meade,  George  Gordon 75 

Medill,  Joseph 159 

Miles,  Nelson  A 176 

Miller,  Cincinnatus  Heine 218 

Miller,  Joaquin 218 

Mills,  Roger  Quarles 211 

Monroe,  James 54 

Moody,  Dwight  L 207 

Moran,  Thomas  98 

Morgan,  John  Pierpont 208 

Morgan,  John  T 216 

Morris,  Robert 165 

Morse,  Samuel  F.  B 124 

Morton,  Levi  P 142 

Morton,  Oliver  Perrv.. 216 

Motley,  John  Lathro'p 130 

"Nye,  Bill" 59 

Nye,  Edgar  Wilson 59 


PAGE 

O'Conor,  Charles 187 

Olney,  Richard 133 

Paine,  Thomas 147 

Palmer,  John  M 196 

Parkhurst,  Charles  Henry 160 

"  Partington,  Mrs." 202 

Peabody,  George 170 

Peck,  George  W 187 

Peffer,  William  A 164 

Perkins,  Eli 109 

Perry,  Oliver  Hazard 97 

Phillips,  Wendell 30 

Pierce,  Franklin 122 

Pingree,  Hazen  S 212 

Plant,  Henry  B 192 

Poe,  Edgar  Allen 69 

Polk,  James  Knox 102 

Porter,  David  Dixon 68 

Porter,  Noah 93 

Prentice,  George  Denison.. . .  119 
Prescott,  William  Hickling. ...  96 
Pullman,  George  Mortimer....  121 

Quad,  M 193 

Quay  Matthews 171 

Randolph,  Edmund 136 

Read,  Thomas  Buchanan 132 

Reed,  Thomas  Brackett 208 

Reid,  Whitelaw 149 

Roach,  John 190 

Rockefeller,  John  Davison....  195 

Root,  George  Frederick 218 

Rothermel,  Peter  F 113 

Rutledge,  John 57 

Sage,  Russell 211 

Schofield,  John  McAllister 199 

Schurz,  Carl 201 

Scott,  Thomas  Alexander 204 

Scott,  Winfield 79 

Seward,  William  Henry 44 

Sharon,  William 165 

Shaw,  Henry  W 166 

Sheridan,  Phillip  Henry 40 

Sherman,  Charles  R 87 

Sherman,  John 86 

Shillaber,  Benjamin  Penhallow  202 
Sherman,  William  Tecumseh..    30 

Smith,  Edmund  Kirby 114 

Sousa,  John  Philip 60 

Spreckels,  Claus 159 

Stanford,  Leland 101 

Stanton,  Edwin  McMasters. . .  179 

Stanton,  Elizabeth  Cady 126 

Stephens,  Alexander  Hamilton  32 
Stephenson,  Adlai  Ewing. ..    .  141 

Stewart,  Alexander  T 58 

Stewart,  William  Morris 213 

Stowe,       Harriet       Elizabeth 

Beecher 66 

Stuart,  James  E.  B 122 

Sumner,  Charles 34 

Talmage,  Thomas  DeWitt     ..     60 

Taney,  Roger  Brook" 129 

Taylor,  Zachary 108 

Teller,  Henry  M 127 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS— PART  I 


PAGE 

Tesla,  Nikola 193 

Thomas,  George  H 73 

Thomas,  Theodore 172 

Thurman,  Allen  G 90 

Thurston,   John  M 166 

Tilden,  Samuel  J 48 

Tillman,  Benjamin  Ryan 119 

Toombs,  Robert 205 

"Twain,  Mark" 86 

Tyler,  John 93 

Van  Buren,  Martm 78 

Vanderbilt,  Cornelius   35 

Vail,  Alfred 154 

Vest,  George  Graham 214 


PAGE 

Vilas,  William  Freeman 140 

Voorhees,  Daniel  Wolsey 95 

Waite,  Morrison  Remich 125 

Wallace,  Lewis 199 

Wallack,  Lester 121 

Wallack,  John  Lester 121 

Wanamaker,  John 89 

Ward,"Artemus" 91 

Washburne,  Elihu  Benjamin. .   189 

Washington,  George 17 

Watson,  Thomas  E 178 

Watterson,  Henry 76 

Weaver,  James  B 123 

Webster,  Daniel 19 


PAGE 

Webster,  Noah 49 

Weed,  Thurlow 91 

West,  Benjamin 115 

Whipple,  Henry  Benjamin. .. .  161 

White,  Stephen  V 162 

Whitefield,  George 150 

Whitman,  Walt 197 

Whitney,  Eli 120 

Whitney,  William  Colhns 92 

Whittier,  John  Greenleaf 67 

Willard,  Frances  E 133 

Wilson,  William  L 180 

Winchell,  Alexander 175 

Wmdom,  William 188 


PORTRAITS  OF  NATIONAL  CELEBRITIES. 


PAGE 

Alger,  Russell  A 16 

Allison,  William  B 99 

Anthony,  Susan  B 63 

Armour,  Philip  D 151 

Arthur,  Chester  A 81 

Barnum,  Phineas  T 117 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward 27 

Blaine,  James  G 151 

Booth,  Edwin 63 

Bryan,  Wm.  J 63 

Bryant,  William  Cullen 185 

Buchanan,  James 81 

Buckner,  Simon  B 16 

Butler  Benjamin  F 151 

Carlisle,  John  G 151 

Chase,  Salmon  P 16 

Childs,  George  W 99 

Clay,  Henry 81 

Cleveland,  Grover 45 

Cooper,  Peter 99 

Dana,  Charles  A 151 

Depew,Chauncey  M 117 

Douglass,  Fred 63 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo 27 

Evarts,  V/iUiam  M 99 

Farragut,  Com.  D.  G 185 

Field,  Cyrus  W 63 


PAGE 

Field,  Marshall... 117 

Franklin,  Benjamin 63 

Fremont,  Gen.  John  C 16 

Gage,  Lyman  J 151 

Gartleld,  James  A 45 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd 63 

George,  Henry 117 

Gould,  Jay 99 

Grant,  Gen.  U.  S 185 

Greeley,  Horace 81 

Hampton,  Wade 16 

Hancock,  Gen.  Winfield  S 185 

Hanna,  Mark  A... 117 

Harrison,  Benjamin 81 

Hayes,  R.  B 45 

Hendricks,  Thomas  A 81 

Holmes,  Oliver  W 151 

Hooker,  Gen.  Joseph 16 

Ingersoll,  Robert  G 117 

Irving,  Washington 27 

Jackson,  Andrew 45 

Jefferson,  Thomas 45 

Johnston,  Gen.  J.  E 16 

Lee,  Gen.  Robert  E 185 

Lincoln,  Abraham 81 

Logan,  Gen.  John  A 16 

Longfellow,   Henry  W 185 


PAGE 

Longstreet,  Gen.  James 16 

Lowell,  James  Russell 27 

McKinley,  William 45 

Morse,  S.  F.  B 185 

Phillips,  Wendell 27 

Porter,  Com.  D.  D 185 

Pullman,  George  M 117 

Quay,  M.  S 99 

Reed,  Thomas  B 151 

Sage,  Russell 117 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield 185 

Seward,  William  H 45 

Sherman,  John ■■  99 

Sherman,  Gen.  W.  T. 151 

Stanton,  Elizabeth  Cady 27 

Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher 27 

Sumner,  Charles 45 

Talmage,  T.  DeWitt 63 

Teller,  Henry  M 99 

Thurman,  Allen  G 81 

Tilden,  Samuel  J 117 

Van  Buren,  Martin 81 

Vanderbilt,  Commodore 99 

Webster,  Daniel 27 

Whittier,  John  G 2^ 

Washington,  George 45 

Watterson,  Henry 63 


COIAFENDIUM  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Celebrated  Americans 


&i 


|EORGE  WASHINGTON, 
the  first  president  of  the  Unit- 
ed States,  called  the  "Father 
of  his  Country,"  was  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  characters 
in  history.  He  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1732,  in  Washing- 
ton Parish,  Westmoreland  county,  Virginia. 
His  father,  Augustine  Washington,  first 
married  Jane  Butler,  who  bore  him  four 
children,  and  March  6,  1730,  he  .married 
Mary  Ball.  Of  six  children  by  his  second 
marriage,  George  was  the  eldest. 

Little  is  known  of  the  early  years  of 
Washington,  beyond  the  fact  that  the  house 
in  which  he  was  born  was  burned  during  his 
early  childhood,  and  that  his  father  there- 
upon moved  to  another  farm,  inherited  from 
his  paternal  ancestors,  situated  in  Stafford 
county,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Rappahan- 
nock, and  died  there  in  1743.  From  earliest 
childhood  George  developed  a  noble  charac- 
ter. His  education  was  somewhat  defective, 
being  confined  to  the  elementary  branches 
taught  him  by  his  mother  and  at  a  neighbor- 
ing school.  On  leaving  school  he  resided 
some  time  at  Mount  Vernon  with  his  half 


"^^ff^ 


brother,^  Lawrence,  who  acted  as  his  guar 
dian.  George's  ir.clinations  were  for  a  sea- 
faring career,  and  a  midshipman's  warrant 
was  procured  for  him;  but  through  the  oppo- 
sition of  his  mother  the  project  was  aban- 
doned, and  at  the  ags  of  sixteen  he  was 
appointed  surveyor  to  the  immense  estates 
of  the  eccentric  Lord  Fairfax.  Three  years 
were  passed  by  Washington  in  a  rough  fron- 
tier life,  gaining  experience  which  afterwards 
proved  very  essential  to  him  .,In  175 1, 
when  the  Virginia  militia  were  put  under 
training  with  a  view  to  active  service  against 
France,  Washington,  though  only  nineteen 
years  of  age,  was  appointed  adjutant,  with 
the  rank  of  major.  In  1752  Lawrence 
Washington  died,  leaving  his  large  property 
to  an  infant  daughter.  In  his  will  George 
was  named  one  of  the  executors  and  as  an 
eventual  heir  to  Mount  Vernon,  and  by  the 
death  of  the  infant  niece,  soon  succeeded  to 
that  estate.  In  1753  George  was  commis- 
sioned adjutant-general  of  the  Virginia 
militia,  and  performed  important  work  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  French  and  Indian 
war,  was  rapidly  promoted,  and  at  the  close  of 
that  war  we  find  him  commander-in-chief  of 


18 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


all  the  forces  raised  in  Virginia.  A  cessation 
of  Indian  hostilities  on  the  frontier  having 
followed  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from 
the  Ohio,  he  resigned  his  commission  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Virginia  forces, 
and  then  proceeded  to  Williamsburg  to  take 
his  seat  in  the  Virginia  Assembly,  of  which 
he  had  been  elected  a  member. 

January  17,  1759,  Washington  marred 
Mrs.  Martha  (Dandridge)  Curtis,  a  young 
and  beautiful  widow  of  great  wealth,  and 
devoted  himself  for  the  ensuing  hfteen  years 
to  the  quiet  pursuits  of  agriculture,  inter- 
rupted only  by  the  annual  attendance  in 
winter  upon  the  colonial  legislature  at 
Williamsburg,  until  summoned  by  his  coun- 
try to  enter  upon  that  other  arena  irr  which 
his  fame  was  to  become  world-wide.  The 
war  for  independence  called  Washington 
into  service  again,  and  he  was  made  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  colonial  forces,  and 
was  the  most  gallant  and  conspicuous  figure 
in  that  bloody  struggle,  serving  until  Eng- 
land acknowledged  the  independence  of 
each  of  the  thirteen  States,  and  negotiated 
with  them  jointly,  as  separate  sovereignties. 
December  4,  1783,  the  great  commander 
took  leave  of  his  officers  in  most  affection- 
ate and  patriotic  terms,  and  went  to  An- 
napolis, Maryland,  where  the  congress  of 
the  States  was  in  session,  and  to  that  body, 
when  peace  and  order  prevailed  everywhere, 
resigned  his  commission  and  retired  to 
Mount  Vernon. 

It  was  in  1789  that  Washington  was 
called  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  na- 
tion. The  inauguration  took  place  April 
30,  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  multi- 
tude which  had  assembled  to  witness  the  new 
and  imposing  ceremony.  In  the  manifold  de- 
tails of  his  civil  administration  Washington 
proved  himself  fully  equal  to  the  requirements 
of  his  position.      In  1792,  at  the  second  presi- 


dential election,  Washington  was  desirous 
to  retire;  but  he  yielded  to  the  general  wish 
of  the  country,  and  was  again  chosen  presi- 
dent. At  the  third  election,  in  1796,  he 
was  again  most  urgently  entreated  to  con- 
sent to  remain  in  the  executive  chair.  This 
he  positively  refused,  and  after  March  4, 
1797,  he  again  retired  to  Mount  Vernon 
for  peace,  quiet,  and  repose. 

Of  the  call  again  made  on  this  illustrious 
chief  to  quit  his  repose  at  Mount  Ver- 
non and  take  command  of  all  the  United 
States  forces,  with  rank  of  lieutenant-gen- 
eral, when  war  was  threatened  with  France 
in  179S,  nothing  need  here  be  stated,  ex- 
cept to  note  the  fact  as  an  unmistakable 
testimonial  of  the  high  regard  in  which  he 
was  still  held  by  his  countrymen  of  all 
shades  of  political  opinion.  He  patriotic- 
ally accepted  this  trust,  but  a  treaty  of 
peace  put  a  stop  to  all  action  under  it.  He 
again  retired  to  Mount  Vernon,  where  he 
died  December  14,  1799,  in  the  sixty-eighth 
year  of  his  age.  His  remains  were  depos- 
ited in  a  family  vault  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac,  at  Mount  Vernon,  where  they  still 
lie  entombed. 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN,  an  eminent 
American  statesman  and  scientist,  was 
born  of  poor  parentage,  January  17,  1706, 
in  Boston,  Massachusetts.  He  was  appren- 
ticed to  his  brother  James  to  learn  the  print- 
er's trade  to  prevent  his  running  away  and 
going  to  sea,  and  also  because  of  the  numer- 
ous family  his  parents  had  to  support  (there 
being  seventeen  children,  Benjamin  being 
the  fifteenth).  He  was  a  great  reader,  and 
soon  developed  a  taste  for  writing,  and  pre- 
pared a  number  of  articles  and  had  them 
published  in  the  paper  without  his  brother's 
knowledge,  and  when  the  authorship  be- 
came known  it  resulted  in  difficuky  for  the 


COMPEN£>IUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


n 


young  apprentice,  although  his  articles  had 
been  received  with  favor  by  the  public. 
James  was  afterwards  thrown  into  prison  for 
political  reasons,  and  young  Benjamin  con- 
ducted the  paper  alone  during  the  time.  In 
1823,  however,  he  determined  to  endure  his 
bonds  no  longef,  and  ran  away,  going  to 
Philadelphia,  where  he  arrived  with  only 
three  pence  as  his  store  of  wealth.  With 
these  he  purchased  three  rolls,  and  ate  them 
as  he  walked  along  the  streets.  He  soon 
found  employment  as  a  journeyman  printer. 
Two  years  later  he  was  sent  to  England  by 
the  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
promised  the  public  printing,  but  did  not  get 
it.  On  his  return  to  Philadelphia  he  estab- 
lished the  "Pennsylvania  Gazette,"  and 
soon  found  himself  a  person  of  great  popu- 
larity in  the  province,  his  ability  as  a  writer, 
philosopher,  and  politician  having  reached 
the  neighboring  colonies.  He  rapidly  grew 
in  prominence,  founded  the  Philadelphia  Li- 
brary in  1842,  and  two  years  later  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  and  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  made 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  in  London  in 
1775.  His  world-famous  investigations  in 
electricity  and  lightning  began  in  1746.  He 
became  postmaster-general  of  the  colonies 
in  1753,  having  devised  an  inter-colonial 
postal  system.  He  advocated  the  rights  of 
the  colonies  at  all  times,  and  procured  the 
repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  in  1766.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Continental  congress  of  1775, 
and  in  1776  was  a  signer  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  being  one  of  the  commit- 
tee appointed  to  draft  that  paper.  He  rep- 
resented the  new  nation  in  *he  courts  of 
Europe,  especially  at  Paris,  where  his  simple 
dignity  and  homely  wisdom  won  him  the 
admiration  of  the  court  and  the  favor  of  the 
people.  He  was  governor  of  Pennsylvania 
tour  vears;  was  also  a  member  of   the  con- 


vention in  1787  that  drafted  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States. 

His  writings  upon  political  topics,  anti- 
slavery,  finance,  and  economics,  stamp  him 
as  one  of  the  greatest  statesmen  of  his  time, 
while  his  "Autobiography"  and  "Poor 
Richard's  Almanac  "  give  him  precedence  in 
the  literary  field.  In  early  life  he  was  an 
avowed  skeptic  in  religious  matters,  but 
later  in  life  his  utterances  on  this  subject 
were  less  extreme,  though  he  never  ex- 
pressed approval  of  any  sect  or  creed.  He 
died  in  Philadelphia  April  17,  1790. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER.— Of  world  wide 
reputation  for  statesmanship,  diplo- 
macy, and  oratory,  there  is  perhaps  no  more 
prominent  figure  in  the  history  of  our  coun- 
try in  the  interval  between  181 5  and  1861, 
than  Daniel  Webster.  He  was  born  at 
Salisbury  (now  Franklin),  New  Hampshire, 
January  18,  1782,  and  was  the  second  son 
of  Ebenezer  and  Abigail  (Eastman)  Webster. 
He  enjoyed  but  limited  educational  advan- 
tages in  childhood,  but  spent  a  few  months 
in  1797,  at  Phillip  Exeter  Academy.  He 
completed  his  preparation  for  college  in  the 
family  of  Rev.  Samuel  Wood,  at  Boscawen, 
and  entered  Dartmouth  College  in  the  fall 
of  1797.  He  supported  himself  most  of  the 
time  during  these  years  by  teaching  school 
and  graduated  in  1801,  having  the  credit  o£ 
being  the  foremost  scholar  of  his  class.  He 
entered  the  law  office  of  Hon.  Thomas  W. 
Thompson,  at  Salisbury.  In  1802  he  con- 
tinued his  legal  studies  at  Fryeburg,  Maine, 
where  he  was  principal  of  the  academy  and 
copyist  in  .the  office  of  the  register  of 
deeds.  In  the  office  of  Christopher  Gore,, 
at  Boston,  he  completed  his  studies  in 
1804-5,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the 
latter  year,  and  at  Boscawen  and  at  Ports- 
mouth soon  rose  to  eminence  in    his  profes- 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


sion.  He  became  known  as  a  federalist 
but  did  not  court  political  honors;  but,  at- 
tracting attention  hy  his  eloquence  in  oppos- 
ing the  war  with  England,  he  was  elected 
to  congress  in  1812.  During  the  special 
session  of  Maj-,  181 3,  he  was  appointed  on 
the  committee  on  foreign  affairs  and  made 
his  maiden  speech  June  10,  181 3.  Through- 
out this  session  (as  afterwards)  he  showed 
his  mastery  of  the  great  economic  questions 
of  the  day.  He  was  re-elected  in  1814.  In 
18 16  he  removed  to  Boston  and  for  seven 
years  devoted  himself  to  his  profession, 
sarning  by  his  arguments  in  the  celebrated 
"Dartmouth  College  Case"  rank  among 
the  most  distinguished  jurists  of  the  country. 
In  1820  Mr.  Webster  was  chosen  a  member 
of  the  state  convention  of  Massachusetts,  to 
revise  the  constitution.  The  same  year  he 
delivered  the  famous  discourse  on  the  "  Pil- 
grim fathers,"  which  laid  the  foundation  for 
his  fame  as  an  orator.  Declining  a  nomi- 
nation for  United  States  senator,  in  1822  he 
■was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  congress 
and  was  re-elected  in  1824  and  1826,  but  in 
1827  was  transferred  to  the  senate.  He 
retained  his  seat  in  the  latter  chamber  until 
1841.  During  this  time  his  voice  was  ever 
lifted  in  defence  of  the  national  life  and 
honor  and  although  politically  opposed  to 
him  he  gave  his  support  to  the  administra- 
tion of  President  Jackson  in  the  latter's  con- 
test with  nullification.  Through  all  these 
^•ears  he  was  ever  found  upon  the  side  of 
eight  and  justice  and  his  speeches  upon  all 
the  great  questions  of  the  day  have  be- 
.-.ome  household  words  in  almost  every 
lamily.  In  1 841  Mr.  Webster  was  appointed 
secretary  of  state  by  President  Harrison 
and  was  continued  in  the  same  office  by 
President  T)'ler.  While  an  incumbent  of 
this  office  he  showed  consummate  ability  as 
a  diplomat  in  the  negotiation  of  the  "  Ash- 


burton  treaty  "  of  August  9,  1849,  which 
settled  many  points  of  dispute  between  the 
United  States  and  England.  In  May,  1843. 
he  resigned  his  post  and  resumed  his  pro- 
fession, and  in  December,  1845,  took  his 
place  again  in  the  senate.  He  contributed 
in  an  unofficial  way  to  the  solution  of  the 
Oregon  question  with  Great  Britain  in  1847. 
He  was  disappointed  in  1848  in  not  receiv- 
ing the  nomination  for  the  presidency.  He 
became  secretary  of  state  under  President 
Fillmore  in  1850  and  in  dealing  with  all  the 
complicated  questions  of  the  day  showed  a 
wonderful  mastery  of  the  arts  of  diplomacy. 
Being  hurt  in  an  accident  he  retired  to  his 
home  at  Marshfield,  where  he  died  Octo- 
ber 24,  1852. 

HORACE  GREELEY. —As  journalist, 
author,  statesman  and  political  leader, 
there  is  none  more  widely  known  than  the 
man  whose  name  heads  this  article.  He 
was  born  in  Amherst,  New  Hampshire,  Feb- 
ruary 3,  181 1,  and  was  reared  upon  a  farm. 
At  an  early  age  he  evinced  a  remarkable 
intelligence  and  love  of  learning,  and  at 
the  age  of  ten  had  read  every  book  he  could 
borrow  for  miles  around.  About  1821  the 
family  removed  to  Westhaven,  Vermont, 
and  for  some  years  young  Gjeeley  assisted 
in  carrying  on  the  farm.  In  1826  he  entered 
the  office  of  a  weekly  newspaper  at  East 
Poultney,  Vermont,  where  he  remained 
about  four  years.  On  the  discontinuance 
of  this  paper  he  followed  his  father's 
family  to  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania, 
whither  they  had  moved,  and  for  a  time 
worked  at  the*  printer's  trade  in  that  neigh- 
borhood. In  1 83 1  Horace  went  to  New 
York  City,  and  for  a  time  found  employ- 
ment as  journeyman  printer.  January, 
1833,  in  partnership  with  Francis  Story,  he 
published  the  Morning  Post,  the  first  penny 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHY 


21 


paper  ever  printed.  This  proved  a  failure 
and  was  discontinued  after  three  weeks. 
The  business  of  job  printing  was  carried  on, 
however,  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Story  in 
July  following.  In  company  with  Jonas 
Winchester,  March  22,  1834,  Mr.  Greeley 
commenced  the  publication  of  the  Nciv 
Yorker,  a  weekly  paper  of  a  high  character. 
For  financial  reasons,  at  the  same  time, 
Greeley  wrote  leaders  for  other  papers,  and, 
in  1 838,  took  editorial  charge  of  the  Jcffcr- 
sonian,  a  Whig  paper  published  at  Albany. 
In  1 840,  on  the  discontinuance  of  that  sheet, 
he  devoted  his  energies  to  the  Log  Cabin,  a 
campaign  paper  in  the  interests  of  the  Whig 
party.  In  the  fall  of  1841  the  latter  paper 
was  consolidated  with  the  Nczu  Yorker,  un- 
der the  name  of  the  Tribune,  the  first  num- 
ber of  which  was  issued  April  10,  184 1.  At 
the  head  of  this  paper  Mr.  Greeley  remained 
until  the  day  of  his  death. 

In  1848  Horace  Greeley  was  elected  to 
the  national  house  of  representatives  to 
fill  a  vacancy,  and  was  a  member  of  that 
body  until  March  4,  1849.  In  185  i  he  went 
to  Europe  and  served  as  a  juror  at  the 
World's  Fair  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  Lon- 
don. In  1855,  he  made  a  second  visit  to 
the  old  world.  In  1859  he  crossed  the 
plains  and  received  a  public  reception  at 
San  Francisco  and  Sacramento.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Republican  national  con- 
vention, at  Chicago  in  i860,  and  assisted  in 
the  nomination  of  Abraham  Lincoln  for 
President.  The  same  year  he  was  a  presi- 
dential elector  for  the  state  of  New  York, 
and  a  delegate  to  the  Loyalist  convention 
at  Philadelphia. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1S65,  Mr. 
;  Greeley  became  a  strong  advocate  of  uni- 
[  versal  amnesty  and  complete  pacification, 
I  and  in  pursuance  of  this  consented  to  be- 
,    come  one    of  the    bondsmen   for   Jefferson 


Davis,  who  was  imprisoned  for  treason.  In 
1867  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  New  York 
state  convention  for  the  revision  of  the 
constitution.  In  1870  he  was  defeated  for 
congress  in  the  Sixth  New  York  district. 
At  the  Liberal  convention,  which  met  in 
Cincinnati,  in  May,  1872,  on  the  fifth  ballot 
Horace  Greeley  was  nominated  for  presi- 
dent and  July  following  was  nominated  for 
the  same  office  by  the  Democratic  conven- 
tion at  Baltimore.  He  was  defeated  by  a 
large  majority.  The  large  amount  of  work 
done  by  him  during  the  campaign,  together 
with  the  loss  of  his  wife  about  the  same 
time,  undermined  his  strong  constitution, 
and  he  was  seized  with  inflammation  of  the 
brain,  and  died  November  29,  1872. 

In  addition  to  his  journalistic  work,  Mr. 
Greeley  was  the  author  of  several  meritori- 
ous works,  among  which  were:  "Hints 
toward  reform,"  "Glances  at  Europe," 
"  History  of  the  struggle  for  slavery  exten 
sion,"  "Overland  journey  to  San  Francis- 
co,"  "  The  American  conflict,"  and  "  Rec- 
ollections of  a  busy  life." 


HENRY  CLAY.— In  writing  of  this  efri- 
inent  American,  Horace  Greeley  once 
said:  "He  was  a  matchless  party  chief,  an 
admirable  orator,  a  skillful  legislator,  wield- 
ing unequaled  influence,  not  only  over  his 
friends,  but  even  over  those  of  his  political 
antagonists  who  were  subjected  to  the  magic 
of  his  conversation  and  manners.  "  A  law- 
yer, legislator,  orator,  and  statesman,  few 
men  in  history  have  wielded  greater  influ- 
ence, or  occupied  so  prominent  a  place  in 
the  hearts  of  the  generation  in  which  they 
lived. 

Henry  Clay  was  born  near  Richmond, 
in  Hanover  county,  Virginia,  April  12, 
1777,  the  son  of  a  poor  Baptist  preacher 
who  died  when    Henry  was   but   five   years 


22 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHY. 


old.  The  mother  married  again  about  ten 
years  later  and  :enioved  to  Kentucky  leav- 
ing Henry  a  clerk  in  a  store  at  Richmond. 
Soon  afterward  Henry  Clay  secured  a  posi- 
tion as  copyist  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the 
high  court  of  chancery,  and  four  years  later 
entered  the  law  office  of  Robert  Brooke, 
then  attorney  general  and  later  governor  of 
his  native  state.  In  1797  Henry  Clay  was 
licensed  as  a  lawyer  and  followed  his  mother 
to  Kentucky-  opening  an  office  at  Lexington 
and  soon  built  up  a  profitable  practice. 
Soon  afterward  Kentucky,  in  separating  from 
Virginia,  called  a  state  convention  for  the 
purpose  of  framing  a  constitution,  and  Clay 
at  that  time  took  a  prominent  part,  publicly 
urging  the  adoption  of  a  clause  providing 
for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  but  in  this  he 
was  overruled,  as  he  was  fifty  years  later, 
when  in  the  height  of  his  fame  he  again  ad- 
vised the  same  course  when  the  state  con- 
stitution was  revised  in  1850.  Young  Clay 
took  a  very  active  and  conspicuous  part  in 
the  presidential  campaign  in  1 800,  favoring 
the  election  of  Jefferson;  and  in  1803  was 
chosen  to  represent  Fayette  county  in  the 
sta'te  'egislature.  In  1806  General  John 
Adair,  then  United  States  senator  from 
Kentucky,  resigned  and  Henry  Clay  was 
elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  by  the  legislature 
and  served  through  one  session  in  which  he 
at  once  assumed  a  prominent  place.  In 
1807  he  was  again  a  representative  in  the 
legislature  and  was  elected  speaker  of  the 
house.  At  this  time  originated  his  trouble 
with  Humphrey  Marshall.  Clay  proposed  I 
that  each  member  clothe  himself  and  family 
wholly  in  American  fabrics,  which  Marshall 
characterized  as  the  "  language  of  a  dema- 
gogue." This  led  to  a  duel  in  which  both 
parties  were  slightly  injured.  In  1809 
Henry  Clay  was  again  elected  to  fill  a  va- 
cancy in  the  United  States  senate,  and  two 


years  later  elected  representative  in  the  low- 
er house  of  congress,  being  chosen  speaker 
of  the  house.  About  this  time  war  was  de- 
clared against  Great  Britain,  and  Clay  took 
a  prominent  public  place  during  this  strug- 
gle and  was  later  one  of  the  commissioners 
sent  to  Europe  by  President  Madison  to  ne- 
gotiate peace,  returning  in  September,  181  5, 
having  been  re-elected  speaker  of  the 
house  during  his  absence,  and  was  re-elect- 
ed unanimously.  He  was  afterward  re- 
elected to  congress  and  then  became  secre- 
tary of  state  under  John  Quincy  Adams. 
In  1 83 1  he  was  again  elected  senator  from 
Kentucky  and  remained  in  the  senate  most 
of  the  time  until  his  death. 

Henry  Clay  was  three  times  a  candidate 
for  the  presidency,  and  once  very  nearlj' 
elected.  He  was  the  unanimous  choice  of 
the  Whig  party  in  1844  for  the  presidency, 
and  a  great  effort  was  made  to  elect  him 
but  without  success,  his  opponent,  James  K. 
Polk,  carrying  both  Pennsylvania  and  New 
York  by  a  very  slender  margin,  while  either 
of  them  alone  would  have  elected  Clay. 
Henry  Clay  died  at  Washington  Juije  29, 
1852.  

JAMES  GILLESPIE  BLAINE  was  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  of  American 
statesmen  and  legislators.  He  was  born 
January  31,  1830,  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  received  a  thorough  edu- 
cation, graduating  at  Washington  College  in 
1847.  In  early  life  he  removed  to  Maine 
and  engaged  in  newspaper  work,  becoming 
editor  of  the  Portland  '  'Advertiser. "  While 
yet  a  young  man  he  gained  distinction  as  a 
debater  and  became  a  conspicuous  figure  i,i 
political  and  public  affairs.  In  1862  he  \v:;- 
elected  to  congress  on  the  Republican  ticket 
in  Maine  and  was  re-elected  five  times.  In  j 
March,  1869,  he  was  chosen  speaker  of  the-    ji 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHY. 


house  of  representatives  and  was  re-elected 
in  1871  and  again  in  1873.  In  1876  he  was 
a  representative  in  the  lower  house  of  con- 
gress and  during  that  year  was  appointed 
United  States  senator  by  the  Governor  to 
fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of 
Senator  Morrill,  who  had  been  appointed 
secretary  of  the  treasury.  Mr.  Blaine 
served  in  the  senate  until  March  5,  1881, 
when  President  Garfield  appointed  him  sec- 
retary of  state,  which  position  he  resigned 
in  December,  1881.  Mr.  Blaine  was  nom- 
inated for  the  presidency  by  the  Republic- 
ans, at  Chicago  in  June,  1884,  but  was  de- 
feated by  Grover  Cleveland  after  an  exciting 
and  spirited  campaign.  During  the  later 
years  of  his  life  Mr.  Blaine  devoted  most  of 
his  time  to  the  completion  of  his  work 
"Twenty  Years  in  Congress,"  which  had  a 
remarkably  large  sale  throughout  the  United 
States.  Blaine  was  a  man  of  great  mental 
ability  and  force  of  character  and  during  the 
latter  part  of  his  life  was  one  of  the  most 
noted  men  of  his  time.  He  was  the  origina- 
tor of  what  is  termed  the  "  reciprocity  idea" 
in  tariff  matters,  and  outlined  the  plan  of 
carrying  it  into  practical  effect.  In  1876 
Robert  G.  IngersoU  in  making  a  nominating 
speech  placing  Blaine's  name  as  a  candidate 
for  president  before  the  national  Republican 
convention  at  Cincinnati,  referred  to  Blaine 
as  the  "Plumed  Knight  "  and  this  title  clung 
to  him  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  His 
death  occurred  at  Washington,  January  27, 
1893.  

JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN,  a  dis- 
kJ  tinguished  Am.erican  statesman,  was  a 
native  of  South  Carolina,  born  in  Abbeville 
district,  March  18,  1782.  He  was  given 
the  advantages  of  a  thorough  education, 
graduating  at  Yaie  College  in  1804,  and 
adopted  the  calling  of  a  lawyer.     A  Demo-  j 


crat  politically,  at  that  time,  he  took  a  fore- 
most part  in  the  councils  of  his  party  and 
was  elected  to  congress  in  181 1,  supporting 
the  tariff  of  18 16  and  the  establishing  of 
the  United  States  Bank.  In  18 17  he  be- 
came secretary  of  war  in  President  Monroe's 
cabinet,  and  in  i824was  elected  vice-president 
of  the  United  States,  on  the  ticket  with  John 
Quincy  Adams,  and  re-elected  in  1 828,  on  the 
ticket  with  General  Jackson.  Shortly  afteiT 
this  Mr.  Calhoun  became  one  of  the  strongest 
advocates  of  free  trade  and  the  principle  of 
sovereignty  of  the  states  and  was  one  of 
the  originators  of  the  doctrine  that  "any 
state  could  nullify  unconstitutional  laws  of 
congress."  Meanwhile  Calhoun  had  be- 
come an  aspirant  for  the  presidency,  and 
the  fact  that  General  Jackson  advanced  the 
interests  of  his  opponent,  Van  Buren,  led 
to  a  quarrel,  and  Calhoun  resigned  the  vice- 
presidency  in  1832  and  was  elected  United 
States  senator  from  South  Carolina.  It  was 
during  the  same  year  that  a  convention  was 
held  in  South  Carolina  at  which  the  "  Nul- 
lification ordinance  "  was  adopted,  the  ob- 
ject of  which  was  to  test  the  constitution- 
ality of  the  protective  tariff  measures,  and 
to  prevent  if  possible  the  collection  of  im- 
port duties  in  that  state  which  had  been 
levied  more  for  the  purpose  of  ' '  protection  " 
than  revenue.  This  ordinance  was  to  go 
into  effect  in  February,  1833,  and  created  a 
great  deal  of  uneasiness  throughout  the 
country  as  it  was  feared  there  would  be  a 
clash  between  the  state  and  federal  authori- 
ties. It  was  in  this  serious  condition  oi 
public  affairs  that  Henry  Clay  came  forward 
with  the  the  famous  "tariff  compromise" 
of  1833,  to  which  measure  Calhoun  and 
most  of  his  followers  gave  their  support  and 
the  crisis  was  averted.  In  1843  Mr.  Cal- 
houn was  appointed  secretary  of  state  in 
President  Tyler's  ca'oinet,  and   it  was  under 


24 


COMPENDIU^f   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


his  administration  that  the  treaty  concern- 
ing the  annexation  of  Texas  was  negotiated. 
In  1845  he  was  re-elected  to  the  United 
States  senate  and  continued  in  the  senate 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  "March, 
1850.  Heoccupied  ahighrank  asascholar, 
student  and  orator,  and  it  is  conceded  that 
he  was  one  of  the  greatest  debaters  America 
has  produced.  The  famous  debate  between 
Calhoun  and  Webster,  in  1833,  is  regarded 
as  the  most  noted  for  ability  and  eloquence 
in  the  history  of  the  country.' 


BEN7AMIN  FRANKLIN  BUTLER,  one 
of  America's  most  brilliant  and  pro- 
found lawyers  and  noted  public  men,  was 
a  native  of  New  England,  born  at  Deer- 
field,  New  Hampshire,  November  5,  18 18. 
His  father.  Captain  John  Butler,  was  a 
prominent  man  in  his  day,  commanded  a 
company  during  the  war  of  181 2,  and 
served  under  Jackson  at  New  Orleans. 
Benjamin  F.  Butler  was  given  an  excellent 
education,  graduated  at  Waterville  College, 
Maine,  studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1840,  at  Lowell,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  commenced  the  practice  of  his 
profession  and  gained  a  wide  reputation  for 
his  ability  at  the  bar,  acquiring  an  extensive 
practice  and  a  fortune.  Early  in  life  he 
began  taking  an  active  interest  in  military 
affairs  and  served  in  the  state  militia  through 
all  grades  from  private  to  brigadier-general. 
In  1853  he  was  elected  to  the  state  legisla- 
ture on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  Lowell, 
and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  passage  of 
legislation  in  the  interests  of  labor.  Dur- 
ing the  same  year  he  was  a  member  of  the 
constitutional  convention,  and  in  1859  rep- 
resented his  district  in  the  Massachusetts 
senate.  When  the  Civil  war  broke  out 
General  Butler  took  the  field  and  remained 
at   the   front    most  of  the   time  during  that 


bloody  struggle.  Part  of  the  time  he  had 
charge  of  Fortress  Monroe,  and  in  Febru- 
ary, 1862,  took  command  of  troops  forming 
part  of  the  expedition  against  New  Orleans, 
and  later  h.ad  charge  of  the  department  of 
the  Gulf.  He  was  a  conspicuous  figure  dur- 
ing the  continuance  of  the  war.  After  the 
close  of  hostilities  General  Butler  resumed 
his  law  practice  in  Massachusetts  and  in 
1866  was  elected  to  congress  from  the  Es- 
sex district.  In  1882  he  was  elected  gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts,  and  in  1884  was  the 
nominee  of  the  "Greenback"  party  for 
president  of  the  United  States.  He  con- 
tinued his  legal  practice,  and  maintained  his 
place  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in 
New  England  until  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  January  10,  1893. 


JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  an  officer,  states- 
man and  legislator  of  prominence  in 
America,  gained  the  greater  part  of  his  fame 
from  the  fact  that  he  was  president  of  the 
southern  confederacy.  Mr.  Davis  v.'as  born 
in  Christian  county,  Kentucky,  June  3, 
1808,  and  his  early  education  and  surround- 
ings were  such  that  his  sympathies  and  in- 
clinations were  wholly  with  the  southern 
people.  He  received  a  thorough  education, 
graduated  at  West  Point  in  1828.  and  for  a 
number  of  years  served  in  the  army  at  west- 
ern posts  and  in  frontier  service,  first  as 
lieutenant  and  later  as  adjutant.  In  1S35 
he  resigned  and  became  a  cotton  planter  in 
Warren  county,  Mississippi,  where  he  took 
an  active  interest  in  public  affairs  and  be- 
came a  conspicuous  figure  in  politics.  In 
1844  he  was  a  presidential  elector  from 
Mississippi  and  during  the  two  following 
years  served  as  congressman  from  his  d's- 
trict.  He  then  became  colonel  of  a  iviis&is- 
sippi  regiment  in  the  war  with  Mexico  ana 
participated  in  some  of  the  most  severe  oai- 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


25 


ties,  being  seriously  wounded  at  Buena 
Vista.  Upon  his  return  to  private  life  he 
again  took  a  prominent  part  in  political  af- 
fairs and  represented  his  state  in  the  United 
States  senate  from  1847  to  1851.  Hethen 
entered  President  Pierce's  cabinet  as  secre- 
tary of  war,  after  which  he  again  entered 
the  United  States  senate,  remaining  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  He  then  be- 
came president  of  the  southern  confederacy 
and  served  as  such  until  captured  in  May, 
1865,  at  Irwinville,  Georgia.  He  was  held 
as  prisoner  of  war  at  Fortress  Monroe,  until 
1867,  when  he  was  released  on  bail  and 
finally  set  free  in  1868.  His  death  occurred 
December  6,  1889. 

Jefferson  Davis  was  a  man  of  excellent 
abilities  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the 
best  organizers  of  his  day.  He  was  a 
forceful  and  fluent  speaker  and  a  ready 
writer.  He  wrote  and  published  the  "  Rise 
and  Fall  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,"  a 
work  which  is  considered  as  authority  by 
the  southern  people. 


JOHN  ADAMS,  the  second  president  of 
the  United  States,  and  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  figures  in  the  early  struggles  of 
his  country  for  independence,  was  born  in 
the  present  town  of  Quincy,  then  a  portion 
of  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  October  30, 
1735.  He  received  a  thorough  education, 
graduating  at  Harvard  College  in  1755, 
studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1758.  He  was  well  adapted  for  this  profes- 
sion and  after  opening  an  office  in  his  native 
town  rapidly  grew  in  prominence  and  public 
favor  and  soon  was  regarded  as  one  of  the 
leading  lawyers  of  the  country.  Plis  atten- 
tion was  called  to  political  affairs  by  the 
passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  in  1765,  and  he 
drew  up  a  set  of  resolutions  on  the  subject 
which  were  very  popular.     In    1768   he  re- 


moved to  'Boston  and  became  one  of  the 
most  courageous  and  prominent  advocates 
of  the  popular  cause  and  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  Colonial  legislature  from 
Boston.  He  was  one  of  the  delegates  that 
represented  Massachusetts  in  the  first  Con-, 
tinental  congress,  which  met  in  September, 
1774.  In  a  letter  written  at  this  crisis  he 
uttered  the  famous  words:  "The  die  is  now 
cast;  I  have  passed  the  Rubicon.  Sink  or 
swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish  with  my 
country,  is  my  unalterable  determination.". 
He  was  a  prominent  figure  in  congress  and 
advocated  the  movement  for  independence 
when  a  majority  of  the  members  were  in- 
clined to  temporize  and  to  petition  the  King. 
In  May,  1776,  he  presented  a  resolution  in 
congress  that  the  colonies  should  assume 
the  duty  of  self-government,  which  was 
passed.  In  June,  of  the  same  year,  a  reso- 
lution that  the  United  States  "are,  and  oi 
right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent," 
was  moved  by  Richard  H.  Lee,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Adams  and  adopted  by  a  small  majority. 
Mr.  Adams  was  a  member  of  the  committee 
of  five  appointed  June  1 1  to  prepare  a 
declaration  of  independence,  in  support  of 
wliich  he  made  an  eloquent  speech.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  Board  of  War  in  1776  and 
in  1 778  was  sent  as  commissioner  to  France, 
but  returned  the  following  year.  In  1780 
he  went  to  Europe,  having  been  appointed 
as  minister  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace 
and  commerce  with  Great  Britain.  Con- 
jointly with  Franklin  and  Jay  he  negotiated 
a  treaty  in  1782.  He  was  employed  as  a 
minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James  from 
1785  to  1788,  and  during  that  period  wrote 
his  famous  "  Defence  of  the  American  Con- 
stitutions." In  1789  he  became  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  and  was  re-elected 
in  1792. 

In  1796   Mr.    Adams  was  chosen   presi- 


26 


COMPENDIUM    OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


dent  of  the  United  States,  his  competitor 
being  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  became  vice- 
president.  In  1800  he  was  the  Federal 
candidate  for  president,  but  he  was  not 
cordially  supported  by  Gen.  Hamilton,  the 
favorite  leader  of  his  part}-,  and  was  de- 
feated by  Thomas  Jefferson. 

Mr.  Adams  then  retired  from  public  life 
to  his  large  estate  at  Quincy,  Mass.,  where 
he  died  July  4,  1826,  on  the  same  day  that 
witnessed  the  death  of  Thomas  Jefferson. 
Though  his  physical  frame  began  to  give  way 
many  years  before  his  death,  his  mental 
powers  retained  their  strength  and  vigor  to 
the  last.  In  his  ninetieth  year  he  was  glad- 
dened by  .the  elevation  of  his  son,  John 
Quincy  Adams,  to  the  presidential  office. 

HENRY  WARD  BEECHER,  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  American  preachers 
and  authors,  was  born  at  Litchfield,  Connec- 
ticut, June  24, 1 8 1 3.  His  father  was  Dr.  Ly- 
man Beecher,  also  an  eminent  divine.  At 
an  early  age  Henry  Ward  Beecher  had  a 
strong  predilection  for  a  sea-faring  life,  and 
it  was  practically  decided  that  he  would  fol- 
low this  inclination,  but  about  this  time,  in 
consequence  of  deep  religious  impressions 
which  he  experienced  during  a  revival,  he 
renounced  his  former  intention  and  decided 
to  enter  the  ministry.  After  having  grad- 
uated at  Amherst  College,  in  1834,  he  stud- 
ied theology  at  Lane  Seminary  under  the 
tuition  of  his  father,  who  was  then  president 
of  that  institution.  In  1847  he  became  pas- 
tor of  the  Plymouth  Congregational  church 
in  Brooklyn,  where  his  oratorical  ability  and 
original  eloquence  attracted  one  of  the  larg- 
est congregations  in  the  country.  He  con- 
tinued to  served  this  church  until  the  time 
of  his  death,  March  8,  1887.  Mr.  Beecher 
also  found  time  for  a  great  amount  of  liter- 
ary work.     For  a  number  of  years  he  was 


editor  of  the  "Independent"  and  also  the 
"Christian  Union."  He  also  produced  many 
works  which  are  widely  known.  Among  his 
principal  productions  are  "Lectures  to  Young 
Men,"  "  Star  Papers, "  "Life  of  Christ," 
"Life  Thoughts,"  "Royal  Truths"  (a 
novel),  "Norwood,"  "  Evolution  and  Rev- 
olution," and  "  Sermons  on  Evolution  and 
Religion."  Mr.  Beecher  was  also  long  a 
prominent  advocate  of  anti-slavery  princi- 
ples and  temperance  reform,  and,  at  a  later 
period,  of  the  rights  of  women. 


JOHN  A.  LOGAN,  the  illustrious  states- 
man and  general,  was  born  in  Jackson 
county,  Illinois,  February  9,  1824.  In  his 
boyhood  days  he  received  but  a  limited  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  his  native  county. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  Mexico 
he  enlisted  in  the  First  Illinois  Volunteers 
and  became  its  quartermaster.  At  the  close 
of  hostilities  he  returned  home  and  was 
elected  clerk  of  the  courts  of  Jackson  county 
in  1849.  Determining  to  supplement  his 
education  Logan  entered  the  Louisville  Uni- 
versity, from  which  he  graduated  in  1852 
and  taking  up  the  study  of  law  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  He  attained  popularity  and  suc- 
cess in  his  chosen  profession  and  was  elected 
to  the  legislature  in  1852,  1853,  1856  and 
1857.  He  was  prosecuting  attorney  from 
1853  to  1857.  He  was  elected  to  congress 
in  1858  to  fill  a  vacancy  and  again  in  i860. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion,  Logan  re- 
signed his  office  and  entered  the  army,  and 
in  September,  1861,  was  appointed  colonel 
of  the  Thirty-first  Illinois  Infantry,  which  he 
led  in  the  battles  of  Belmont  and  Fort  Don- 
elson.  In  the  latter  engagement  he  was 
wounded.  In  March,  1862,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  be  brigadier-general  and  in  the 
following  month  participated  in  the  battles 
of  Pittsburg  Landing.     In  November,  1862, 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


for  gallant  conduct  he  was  made  major-gen- 
eral. Throughout  the  Vicksburg  campaign 
he  was  in  command  of  a  division  of  the  Sev- 
enteenth Corps  and  was  distinguished  at 
Port  Gibson,  Champion  Hills  and  in  the 
siege  and  capture  of  Vicksburg.  In  October, 
1863,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
Fifteenth  Corps,  which  he  led  with  great 
credit.  During  the  terrible  conflict  before 
Atlanta,  July  22,  1864,  on  the  death  of 
General  McPherson,  Logan,  assuming  com- 
mand of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  led  it 
on  to  victory,  saving  the  day  by  his  energy 
and  ability.  He  was  shortly  after  succeeded 
by  General  O.  O.  Howard  and  returned  to 
the  command  of  his  corps.  He  remained 
in  command  until  the  presidential  election, 
when,  feeling  that  his  influence  was  needed 
at  home  he  returned  thither  and  there  re- 
mained until  the  arrival  of  Sherman  at  Sa- 
vannah, when  General  Logan  rejoined  his 
command.  In  May,  1865,  he  succeeded 
General  Howard  at  the  head  of  the  Army  of 
the  Tennessee.  He  resigned  from  the  army 
in  August,  the  same  year,  and  in  November 
was  appointed  minister  to  Mexico,  but  de- 
clined the  honor.  He  served  in  the  lower 
house  of  the  fortieth  and  forty-first  con- 
gresses, and  was  elected  United  States  sena- 
tor from  his  native  state  in  1870,  1878  and 
1885.  He  was  nominated  for  the  vice-presi- 
dency in  1884  on  the  ticicet  with  Blaine,  but 
was  defeated.  General  Logan  was  the 
author  of  "  The  Great  Conspiracy,  its  origin 
and  history,"  published  in  1885.  He  died 
at  Washington,  December  26,  1886. 


TOHN  CHARLES  FREMONT,  the  first 
<J  Republican  candidate  for  president,  was 
born  in  Savannah,  Georgia,  January  21, 
18 1 3.  He  graduated  from  Charleston  Col- 
lege (South  Carolina)  in  1830,  and  turned  his 
attention  to  civil  engineering.  He  was  shortly 


afterward  employed  in  the  department  of 
government  surveys  on  the  Mississippi,  and 
constructing  maps  of  that  region.  He  was 
made  lieutenant  of  engineers,  and  laid  be- 
fore the  war  department  a  plan  for  pene- 
trating the  Rocky  Mountain  regions,  which 
was  accepted,  and  in  1842  he  set  out  upon 
his  first  famous  exploring  expedition  and  ex- 
plored the  South  Pass.  He  also  planned  an 
expedition  to  Oregon  by  a  new  route  further 
south,  but  afterward  joined  his  expedition 
with  that  of  Wilkes  in  the  region  of  the 
Great  Salt  Lake.  He  made  a  later  expedi- 
tion which  penetrated  the  Sierra  Nevadas, 
and  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  river 
valleys,  making  maps  of  all  regions  explored. 
In  1845  he  conducted  the  great  expedi- 
tion which  resulted  in  the  acquisition  of 
California,  which  it  was  believed  the  Mexi- 
can government  was  about  to  dispose  of  to 
England.  Learning  that  the  Mexican  gov- 
ernor was  preparing  to  attack  the  American 
settlements  in  his  dominion,  Fremont  deter- 
mined to  forestall  him.  The  settlers  rallied 
to  his  camp,  and  in  June,  1846,  he  defeated 
the  Mexican  forces  at  Sonoma  Pass,  and  a 
month  later  completely  routed  the  governor 
and  his  entire  army.  The  Americans  at 
once  declared  their  independence  of  Mexico, 
and  Fremont  was  elected  governor  of  Cali- 
fornia. By  this  time  Commodore  Stockton 
had  reached  the  coast  with  instructions  from 
Washington  to  conquer  California.  Fre- 
mont at  once  joined  him  in  that  effort,  which 
resulted  in  the  annexation  of  California  with 
its  untold  mineral  wealth.  Later  Fremont 
became  involved  in  a  difficulty  with  fellow 
officers  which  resulted  in  a  court  martial, 
and  the  surrender  of  his  commission.  He 
declined  to  accept  reinstatement.  He  af- 
terward laid  out  a  great  road  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  to  San  Francisco,  and  became 
the  first  United  States  senator  from  Califor- 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT 


nia,  in  1849.  In  1856  he  was  nominated 
by  the  new  Repubhcan  party  as  its  first  can- 
didate for  president  against  Buchanan,  and 
received  114  electoral  votes,  out  of  296. 

In  1 86 1  he  was  made  major-general  and 
placed  in  charge  of  the  western  department. 
He  planned  the  reclaiming  of  the  entire 
Mississippi  valley,  and  gathered  an  army  of 
thirty  thousand  men,  with  plenty  of  artil- 
lery, and  was  ready  to  move  upon  the  con- 
federate General  Price,  when  he  was  de- 
prived of  his  command.  He  was  nominated 
for  the  presidency  at  Cincinnati  in  1864,  but 
withdrew.  He  was  governor  of  Arizona  in 
1878,  holding  the  position  four  years.  He 
was  interested  in  an  engineering  enterprise 
looking  toward  a  great  southern  trans-con- 
tinental railroad,  and  in  his  later  years  also 
practiced  law  in  New  York.  He  died  July  1 3, 
1890. 

WENDELL  PHILLIPS,  the  orator  and 
abolitionist,  and  a  conspicuous  figare 
in  American  history,  was  born  November 
29,  181 1,  at  Boston,  Massachusetts.  He 
received  a  good  education  at  Harvard 
College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1831, 
and  then  entered  the  Cambridge  Law  School . 
After  completing  his  course  in  that  institu- 
tion, in  1833,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
in  1834,  at  Suffolk.  He  entered  the  arena 
of  life  at  the  time  when  the  forces  of  lib- 
erty and  slavery  had  already  begun  their 
struggle  that  was  to  culminate  in  the  Civil 
war.  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  by  his  clear- 
headed, courageous  declarations  of  the  anti- 
slavery  principles,  had  done  much  to  bring 
about  this  struggle.  Mr.  Phillips  was  not  a 
man  that  could  stand  aside  and  see  a  great 
struggle  being  carried  on  in  the  interest  of 
humanity  and  look  passively  on.  He  first 
attracted  attention  as  an  orator  in  1837,  at 
a  meeting  that  was  called  to  protest  against 


the  murder  of  the  Rev.  Elijah  P.  Lovejoy. 
The  meeting  would  have  ended  in  a  few 
perfunctory  resolutions  had  not  Mr.  Phillip? 
by  his  manly  eloquence  taken  the  meeting 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  few  that  were  in- 
clined to  temporize  and  avoid  radical  utter- 
ances. Having  once  started  out  in  this  ca- 
reer as  an  abolitionist  Phillips  never  swerved 
from  what  he  deemed  his  duty,  and  never 
turned  back.  He  gave  up  his  legal  practice 
and  launched  himself  heart  and  soul  in  the 
movement  for  the  liberation  of  the  slaves. 
He  was  an  orator  of  very  great  ability  and 
by  his  earnest  efforts  and  eloquence  he  did 
much  in  arousing  public  sentiment  in  behalf 
of  the  anti-slavery  cause — possibly  more 
than  any  one  man  of  his  time.  After  the 
abolition  of  slavery  Mr.  Phillips  was,  if  pos- 
sible, even  busier  than  before  m  the  literary 
and  lecture  field.  Besides  temperance  and 
women's  rights,  he  lectured  often  and  wrote 
much  on  finance,  and  the  relations  of  labor 
and  capital,  and  his  utterances  on  whatever 
subject  always  bore  the  stamp  of  having 
emanated  from  a  master  mind.  Eminent 
Clitics  have  stated  that  it  might  fairly  be 
questioned  whether  there  has  ever  spoken 
in  America  an  orator  superior  to  Phillips. 
The  death  of  this  great  man  occurred  Feb- 
ruary 4,   1884. 


WILLIAM  TECUMSEH  SHERMAN 
was  one  of  the  greatest  generals  that 
the  world  has  ever  produced  and  won  im- 
mortal fame  by  that  strategic  and  famous 
"  march  to  the  sea,"  in  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion. He  was  born  February  8,  1820,  at 
Lancaster,  Ohio,  and  was  reared  in  the 
family  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing,  as  his. 
father  died  when  he  was  but  nine  years  o^ 
age.  He  entered  West  Point  in  1836, 
graduated  from  the  same  in  1S40,  and  ap'^ 
pointed   a  second  lieutenant   in   the    Thir 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


31 


Artillery.  He  passed  through  the  various 
grades  of  the  service  and  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  war  was  appointed  colonel  of  the 
Thirteenth  Regjular  Infantry.  A  full  history 
of  General  Sherman's  conspicuous  services 
would  be  to  repeat  a  history  of.  the  army. 
He  commanded  a  division  at  Shiloh,  and 
was  instrumental  in  the  winning  of  that  bat- 
tle, and  was  also  present  at  the  siege  of  Vicks- 
burg.  On  July  4,  1863,  he  was  appointed 
brigadier-general  of  the  regular  army,  and 
shared  with  Hooker  the  victory  of  Mission- 
ary Ridge.  He  was  commander  of  the  De- 
panment  of  the  Tennessee  from  October 
27th  until  the  appointment  of  General 
Grant  as  lieutenant-general,  by  whom  he 
was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Mississippi,  which  he  as- 
sumed in  March,  1864.  He  at  once  began 
organizing  the  army  and  enlarging  his  com- 
munications preparatory  to  his  march  upon 
Atlanta,  which  he  started  the  same  time  of 
the  beginning  of  the  Richmond  campaign  by 
Grant.  He  started  on  May  6,  and  was  op- 
posed by  Johnston,  who  had  fifty  thousand 
men,  but  by  consummate  generalship,  he 
captured  Atlanta,  on  September  2,  after 
several  months  of  hard  fighting  and  a  severe 
loss  of  men.  General  Sherman  started  on 
his  famous  march  to  the  sea  November  15, 
1864,  and  by  December  10  he  was  before 
Savannah,  which  he  took  on  December  23. 
This  campaign  is  a  monument  to  the  genius 
of  General  Sherman  as  he  only  lost  567 
men  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea.  After  rest- 
ing his  army  he  moved  northward  and  occu- 
pied the  following  places:  Columbia, 
Cheraw,  Fayetteville,  Ayersboro,  Benton- 
ville,  Goldsboro,  Raleigh,  and  April  18,  he 
accepted  the  surrender  of  Johnston's  army 
on  a  basis  of  agreement  that  was  not  re- 
ceived by  the  Government  wiih  favor,  but 
finally  accorded  Johnston  the  same  terms  as 


Lee  was  given  by  General  Grant.  He  was 
present  at  the  grand  review  at  Washington", 
and  after  the  close  of  the  war  was  appointed 
to  the  command  of  the  military  division  of 
the  Mississippi;  later  was  appointed  lieu- 
tenant-general, and  assigned  to  the  military 
division  of  the  Missouri.  When  General 
Grant  was  elected  president  Sherman  became 
general,  March  4,  1869,  and  succeeded  to 
the  command  of  the  army.  His  death  oc- 
curred February   14,  1891,  at  Washington. 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  of  the  early  American 
statesmen  and  financiers,  was  born  in  Nevis, 
an  island  of  the  West  Indies,  January  11, 
1757,  his  father  being  a  Scotchman  and  his 
mother  of  Huguenot  descent.  Owing  to  the 
death  of  his  mother  and  business  reverses 
which  came  to  his  father,  young  Hamilton 
was  sent  to  his  mother's  relatives  in  Santa 
Cruz;  a  few  years  later  was  sent  to  a  gram- 
mar school  at  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey, 
and  in  1773  entered  what  is  now  known  as 
Columbia  College.  Even  at  that  time  he 
began  taking  an  active  part  in  public  affairs 
and  his  speeches,  pamphlets,  and  newspaper 
articles  on  political  affairs  of  the  day  at- 
tracted considerable  attention.  In  1776  he 
received  a  captain's  commission  and  served 
in  Washington's  army  with  credit,  becoming 
aide-de-camp  to  Washington  with  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonel.  In  1781  he  resigned  his 
commission  because  of  a  rebuke  from  Gen- 
eral Washington.  He  next  received  com- 
mand of  a  New  York  battalion  and  partici- 
pated in  the  battle  of  Yorktown.  After 
this  Hamilton  studied  law,  served  several 
terms  in  congress  and  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  at  which  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion was  drawn  up.  His  work  connected 
with  "  The  Federalist  "  at  about  this  time 
attracted   much    attention.      Mr.    Hamilton 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


was  chosen  as  the  first  secretary  of  the 
United  States  treasury  and  as  such  was  the 
author  of  the  funding  system  and  founder  of 
the  United  States  Bank.  In  1798  he  was 
made  inspector-general  of  the  army  with  the 
rank  of  major-general  and  was  also  for  a 
short  time  commander-in-chief.  In  1804 
Aaron  Burr,  then  candidate  for  governor  of 
New  York,  challenged  Alexander  Hamilton 
to  fight  a  duel,  Burr  attributing  his  defeat 
to  Hamilton's  opposition,  and  Hamilton, 
though  declaring  the  code  as  a  relic  of  bar- 
barism, accepted  the  challenge.  They  met 
at  Weehawken,  New  Jersey,  July  11,  1804. 
Hamilton  declined  to  fire  at  his  adversary, 
but  at  Burr's  first  fire  was  fatally  wounded 
and  died  July  12,  1804. 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  STEPH- 
ENS, vice-president  of  the  southern 
confederacy,  a  former  United  States  senator 
and  governor  of  Georgia,  ranks  among  the 
great  men  of  American  history.  He  was  born 
February  11,  18 12,  near  Crawfordsville, 
Georgia.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Georgia,  and  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1834.  In  1837  he  made  his  debut  in 
political  life  as  a  member  of  the  state  house 
of  representatives,  and  in  1 841  declined  the 
nomination  for  the  same  office;  but  in  1842 
he  was  chosen  by  the  same  constituency  as 
state  senator.  Mr.  Stephens  was  one  of 
the  promoters  of  the  Western  and  Atlantic 
Railroad.  In  1843  he  was  sent  by  his  dis- 
trict to  the  national  house  of  representatives, 
which  office  he  held  for  sixteen  consec- 
utive years.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
house  during  the  passing  of  the  Compromise 
Bill,  and  was  one  of  its  ablest  and  most 
active  supporters.  The  same  year  (1850) 
Mr.  Stephens  was  a  delegate  to  the  state 
convention  that  framed  the  celebrated 
^'  Georgia  Platform,"  and  was  also   a  dele- 


gate to  the  convention  that  passed  the  ordi- 
nance of  secession,  though  he  bitterly  op- 
posed that  bill  by  voice  and  vote,  yet  he 
readily  acquiesced  in  their  decision  after 
it  received  the  votes  of  the  majority  of  the 
convention.  He  was  chosen  vice-president 
of  the  confederacy  without  opposition,  and 
in  1865  he  was  the  head  of  the  commis- 
sion sent  by  the  south  to  the  Hampton 
Roads  conference.  He  was  arrested  after 
the  fall  of  the  confederacy  and  was  con- 
fined in  Fort  Warren  as  a  prisoner  of  state 
but  was  released  on  his  own  parole.  Mr. 
Stephens  was  elected  to  the  forty-third, 
forty-fourth,  forty-fifth,  forty-sixth  and  for- 
ty-seventh congresses,  with  hardly  more  than 
nominal  opposition.  He  was  one  of  the 
Jeffersonian  school  of  American  politics. 
He  wrote  a  number  of  works,  principal 
among  which  are:  "Constitutional  \'iew 
of  the  War  between  the  States,"  and  a 
"  Compendium  of  the  History  of  the  United 
Stat'es. "  He  was  inaugurated  as  governor 
of  Georgia  November  4th,  1882,  but  died 
March  4,  1883,  before  the  completion  of 
his  term. 

ROSCOE  CONKLING  was  one  of  the^j 
most  noted  and  famous  of  AmericanJI 
statesmen.  He  was  among  the  most  fin-' 
ished,  fluent  and  eloquent  orators  that  have 
ever  graced  the  halls  of  the  American  con- 
gress; ever  ready,  witty  and  bitter  in  de- 
bate he  was  at  once  admired  and  feared  by 
his  political  opponents  and  revered  by  his 
followers.  True  to  his  friends,  loyal  to  the 
last  degree  to  those  with  whom  his  inter- 
ests were  associated,  he  was  unsparing  to  his 
foes  and  it  is  said  "never  forgot  an  injury." 
Roscoe  Conkling  was  born  at  Albany, 
New  York,  on  the  30th  of  October,  1829, 
being  a  son  of  Alfred  Conkling.  Alfred,' 
Conkling  was  also   a  native  of  New  York, 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


born  at  East  Hampton,  October  12,  1789, 
and  became  one  of  the  most  eminent  law- 
yers in  the  Empire  state;  pubhshed  several 
legal  works;  served  a  term  in  congress;  aft- 
erward as  United  States  district  judge  for 
Northern  New  York,  and  in  1852  was  min- 
ister to  Mexico.  Alfred  Conkling  died  in 
1874. 

I-ioscoe  Conkling,  whose  name  heads 
this  article,  at  an  early  age  took  up  the 
study  of  law  and  soon  became  successful  and 
prominent  at  the  bar.  About  1846  he  re- 
moved to  Utica  and  in  1858  was  elected 
mayor  of  that  city.  He  was  elected  repre- 
sentative in  congress  from  this  district  and 
was  re-elected  three  times.  In  1867  he  was 
elected  United  States  senator  from  the  state 
of  New  York  and  was  re-elected  in  1873 
and  1879.  In  May,  1881,  he  resigned  on 
account  of  differences  with  the  president. 
In  March,  1882,  he  was  appointed  and  con- 
firmed as  associate  justice  of  the  United 
States  supreme  court  but  declined  to'serve. 
His  death  occurred  April  18.   1888. ' 


WASHINGTON  IRVING,  one  of  the 
most  eminent,  talented  and  popu- 
lar of  American  authors,  was  born  in  New 
York  City,  April  3,  1783.  His  father  was 
William  Irving,,  a  merchant  and  a  native  of 
Scotland,  who  had  married  an  English  lady 
and  emigrated  to  America  some  twenty 
years  prior  to  the  birth  of  Washington. 
Two  of  the  older  sons,  William  and  Peter, 
were  partially  occupied  wit!  newspaper 
work  and  literary  pursuits,  and  this  fact 
naturally  inclined  Washington  to  follow 
their  example.  Washington  Irving  was  given 
the  advantages  afforded  by  the  common 
schools  until  about  sixteen  \.  .is  of  age 
when  he  began  studying  law,  1  i  co  tinued 
to  acquire  his  literary  training  l.y  diligent 
perusal  at  home  of  the  older  English  writers. 


When  nineteen  he  made  his  first  literary 
venture  by  printing  in  the  ' '  Morning  Chroni- 
cle," then  edited  by  his  brother,  Dr.  Peter 
Irving,  a  series  of  local  sketches  under  the 
nom-de-plume  oi  "Jonathan  Oldstyle."  In 
1804  he  began  an  extensive  trip  through 
Europe,  returned  in  1806,  quickly  com- 
pleted his  legal  studies  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  but  never  practiced  the  profession. 
In  1807  he  began  the  amusing  serial  "  Sal- 
magundi," which  had  an  immediate  suc- 
cess, and  not  only  decided  his  future 
career  but  long  determined  the  charac- 
ter of  his  writings.  In  1808,  assisted  by 
his  brother  Peter,  he  wrote  ' '  Knickerbock- 
er's History  of  New  York,"  and  in  18 10  an 
excellent  biography  of  Campbell,  the  poet. 
After  this,  for  some  time,  Irving's  attention 
was  occupied  by  mercantile  interests,  but 
the  commercial  house  in  which  he  was  a 
partner  failed  in  1817.  In  1814  he  was 
editor  of  the  Philadelphia  "Analectic  Maga- 
zine."  About  1818  appeared  his  "Sketch- 
Book,"  over  the  nom-de-pluine  of  '  'Geoffrey 
Crayon,"  which  laid  the  foundation  of  Ir- 
ving's fortune  and  permanent  fame.  This 
was  soon  followed  by  the  legends  of 
"Sleepy  Hollow,"  and  "  Rip  Van  Winkle," 
which  at  once  took  high  rank  as  literary 
productions,  and  Irving's  reputation  was 
firmly  established  in  both  the  old  and  new 
worlds.  After  this  the  path  of  Irving  was 
smooth,  and  his  subsequent  writings  ap- 
peared with  rapidity,  including  "Brace- 
bridge  Hall,"  "The  Tales  of  a  Traveler," 
"History  of  the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Chris- 
topher Columbus,"  "The  Conquest  of 
Granada,"  "The  Alhambra,"  "Tour  on 
the  Prairies,"  "Astoria,"  "Adventures  of 
Captain  Bonneville,"  "Wolfert's  Roost," 
"  Mahomet  and  his  Successors,"  and  "Life 
of  Washington,"  besides  other  works. 

Washington  Irving  was  never  married. 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


He  resided  during  the  closing  years  of  his 
life  at  Sunnyside  (Tarrytown)  on  the  Hud- 
son, where  he  died  November  28,  1859. 


CHARLES  SUMNER.— Boldly  outlined 
on  the  pages  of  our  history  stands  out 
the  rugged  figure  of  Charles  Sumner,  states- 
man, lawyer  and  writer.  A  man  of  unim- 
peachable integrity,  indomitable  will  and 
with  the  power  of  tireless  toil,  he  was  a  fit 
leader  in  troublous  times.  First  in  rank  as 
an  anti-slavery  leader  in  the  halls  of  con- 
gress, he  has  stamped  his  image  upon  the 
annals  of  his  time.  As  an  orator  he  took 
front  rank  and,  in  wealth  of  illustration, 
rhetoric  and  lofty  tone  his  eloquence  equals 
anything  to  be  found  in  history. 

Charles  Sumner  was  born  in  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  January  6,  181 1,  and  was 
the  son  of  Charles  P.  and  Relief  J.  Sumner. 
The  family  had  long  been  prominent  in  that 
state.  Charles  was  educated  at  the  Boston 
Public  Latin  School;  entered  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1826,  and  graduated  therefrom  in 
1830.  In  1 83 1  he  joined  the  Harvard  Lav/ 
School,  then  under  charge  of  Judge  Story, 
and  gave  himself  up  to  the  study  of  law 
with  enthusiasm.  His  leisure  was  devoted 
to  contributing  to  the  American  Jurist.  Ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1834  he  was  appointed 
reporter  to  the  circuit  court  by  Judge  Story. 
He  published  several  works  about  this  time, 
and  from  1835  to  1837  and  again  in  1843 
was  lecturer  in  the  law  school.  He  had 
planned  a  lawyer's  life,  but  in  1845  he  gave 
his  attention  to  politics,  speaking  and  working 
against  the  admission  of  Texas  to  the  Union 
and  subsequent!}'  against  the  Mexican  war. 
In  1848  he  was  defeated  for  congress  on  the 
Free  Soil  ticket.  His  stand  on  the  anti- 
slavery  question  at  that  time  alienated  both 
friends  and  clients,  but  he  never  swerved 
from  his  convictions.    In  185 1  he  was  elected 


to  the  United  States  senate  and  took  his 
seat  therein  December  i  of  that  year.  From 
this  time  his  life  became  the  history  of  the 
anti-slavery  cause  in  congress.  In  August, 
1852,  he  began  his  attacks  on  slavery  by  a 
masterly  argument  for  the  repeal  of  the 
fugitive  slave  law.  On  May  22,  1856,  Pres- 
ton Brooks,  nephew  of  Senator  Butler,  of 
South  Carolina,  made  an  attack  upon  Mr. 
Sumner,  at  his  desk  in  the  senate,  striking 
him  over  the  head  with  a  heavy  cane.  The 
attack  was  quite  serious  in  its  effects  and 
kept  Mr.  Sumner  absent  from  his  seat  in  the 
senate  for  about  four  years.  In  1857,  1863 
and  1869  he  was  re-elected  to  the  office  of 
senator,  passing  some  twenty-three  years  in 
that  position,  always  advocating  the  rights 
of  freedom  and  equity.  He  died  March  11, 
1874-  

THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  the  third  pres- 
ident of  the  United  States,  was  born 
near  Charlottesville,  Albemarle  county,  Vir- 
ginia, April  13,  1743,  and  was  the  son  of 
Peter  and  Jane  (Randolph)  Jefferson.  He 
received  the  elements  of  a  good  education, 
and  in  1760  entered  William  and  Mary  Col- 
lege. After  remaining  in  that  institution  for 
two  years  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  with 
George  Wythe,  of  Williamsburg,  Virginia, 
one  of  the  foremost  lawyers  of  his  day,  and 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  1767.  He  ob- 
tained a  large  and  profitable  practice,  which 
he  held  for  eight  years.  The  conflict  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies  then 
drew  him  into  public  life,  he  having  for 
some  time  given  his  attention  to  the  study 
of  the  sources  of  law,  the  origin  of  liberty 
and  equal  rights. 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  elected  to  the  Virginia 
house  of  burgesses  in  1769,  and  served  in 
that  body  several  years,  a  firm  supporter  of 
liberal    measures,    and,    although    a   slave- 


COMPENDIUM    OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


85 


holder  himself,  an  opponent  of  slavery. 
With  others,  he  was  a  leader  among  the  op- 
position to  the  king.  He  took  his  place  as 
a  member  of  the  Continental  congress  June 
2  1,  1775,  and  after  serving  on  several  com- 
mittees was  appointed  to  draught  a  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  which  he  did,  some 
corrections  being  suggested  by  Dr.  Franklin 
and  John  Adams.  This  document  was  pre- 
sented to  congress  June  28,  1776,  and  after 
si.\'  days'  debate  was  passed  and  was  signed. 
In  the  following  September  Mr.  Jefferson 
resumed  his  seat  in  the  Virginia  legislature, 
and  gave  much  time  to  the  adapting  of  laws 
of  that  state  to  the  new  condition  of  things. 
He  drew  up  the  law,  the  first  ever  passed  by 
a  legislature  or  adopted  by  a  government, 
which  secured  perfect  religious  freedom. 
June  I,  1779,  he  succeeded  Patrick  Henry 
as  governor  of  Virginia,  an  office  which, 
after  co-operating  with  Washington  in  de- 
fending the  country,  he  resigned  two  years 
later.  One  of  his  own  estates  was  ravaged 
by  the  British,  and  his  house  at  Monticello 
was  held  by  Tarleton  for  several  days,  and 
Jefferson  narrowly  escaped  capture.  After 
the  death  of  his  wife,  in  17S2,  he  accepted 
the  position  of  plenipotentiary  to  France, 
which  he  had  declined  in  1776.  Before 
leaving  he  served  a  short  time  in  congress 
at  Annapolis,  and  succeeded  in  carrying  a 
bill  for  establishing  our  present  decimal  sys- 
tem of  currency,  one  of  his  most  useful  pub- 
lic services.  He  remained  in  an  official  ca- 
pacity until  October,  1789,  and  was  a  most 
active  and  vigilant  minister.  Besides  the 
onerous  duties  of  his  office,  during  this  time, 
he  published  "Notes  on  Virginia,"  sent  to 
the  United  States  seeds,  shrubs  and  plants, 
forwarded  literary  and  scientific  news  and 
gave  useful  advice  to  some  of  the  leaders  of 
the  French  Revolution. 

Mr.  Jefferson  landed  in  Virginia  Novem- 


ber 18,  1789,  having  obtained  a  leave  of 
absence  from  his  post,  and  shortly  after  ac- 
cepted Washington's  ofTer  of  the  portfolio 
of  the  department  of  state  in  his  cabinet. 
He  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  in 
March,  1791,  and  held  it  until  January  i, 
1794,  when  he  tendered  his  resignation. 
About  this  time  he  and  Alexander  Hamilton 
became  decided  and  aggressive  political  op- 
ponents, Jefferson  being  in  warm  sympathy 
with  the  people  in  the  French  revolution 
and  strongly  democratic  in  his  feelings, 
while  Hamilton  took  the  opposite  side.  In 
1796  Jefferson  was  elected  vice-president  of 
the  United  States.  In  1800  he  was  elected 
to  the  presidency  and  was  inaugurated 
March  4,  iSoi.  During  his  administration, 
which  lasted  for  eight  years,  he  having  been 
re-elected  in  1804,  he  waged  a  successful 
war  against  the  Tripolitan  pirates;  purchased 
Louisiana  of  Napoleon;  reduced  the  public 
debt,  and  was  the  originator  of  many  wise 
measures.  Declining  a  nomination  for  a 
third  term  he  returned  to  Monticello,  where 
he  died  July  4,  1826,  but  a  few  hours  before 
the  death  of  his  friend,  John  Adams. 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  married  January  i, 
1772,  to  Mrs.  Martha  Skelton,  a  young, 
beautiful,  and  wealthy  widow,  who  died 
September  6,  1782,  leaving  three  children, 
three  more  having  died  previous  to  her 
demise. 

CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT, known  as 
"Commodore"  Vanderbilt,  was  the 
founder  of  what  constitutes  the  present  im- 
mense fortune  of  the  Vanderbilt  family.  He 
was  born  May  27,  1794,  at  Port  Richmond, 
Staten  Island,  Richmond  county.  New 
York,  and  we  find  him  at  sixteen  years  run- 
ning a  small  vessel  between  his  home  and 
New  York  City.  The  fortifications  of  Sta- 
ten and  Long  Islands  were  just  in  course  of 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


construction,  and  he  carried  the  laborers 
from  New  Yorl<  to  the  fortifications  in  his 
"  perianger,  "  as  it  was  called,  in  the  day, 
and  at  night  carried  supplies  to  the  fort  on 
the  Hudson.  Later  he  removed  to  New 
York,  where  he  added  to  his  little  fleet.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-three  he  was  free  from 
debt  and  was  worth  $9,000,  and  in  1817, 
with  a  partner  he  built  the  first  steamboat 
that  was  run  between  New  York  and  New 
Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  and  became  her 
captain  at  a  salary  of  $1,000  a  year.  The 
next  year  he  took  command  of  a  larger  and 
better  boat  and  by  1824  he  was  in  complete 
control  of  the  Gibbon's  Line,  as  it  was 
called,  which  he  had  brought  up  to  a  point 
where  it  paid  $40,000  a  year.  Commodore 
Vanderbilt  acquired  the  ferry  between  New 
York  and  Elizabethport,  New  Jersey,  on  a 
fourteen  years'  lease  and  conducted  this  on 
a  paying  basis.  He  severed  his  connections 
with  Gibbons  in  1829  and  engaged  in 
business  alone  and  for  twenty  years  he  was 
the  leading  steamboat  man  in  the  country, 
building  and  operating  steamboats  on  the 
Hudson  River,  Long  Island  Sound,  on  the 
Delaware  River  and  the  route  to  Boston, 
and  he  had  the  monopoly  of  trade  on  these 
routes.  In  1850  he  determined  to  broaden 
his  field  of  operation  and  accordingly  built 
the  steamship  Prometheus  and  sailed  for 
the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  where  he  desired  to 
make  a  personal  investigation  of  the  pros- 
pects of  the  American  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
Ship  Canal  Company,  in  which  he  had  pur- 
chased a  controlling  interest.  Commodore 
Vanderbilt  planned,  as  a  result  of  this  visit, 
a  transit  route  from  Greytown  on  the  At- 
lantic coast  to  San  Juan  del  Sud  on  the  Pa- 
cific coast,  which  was  a  saving  of  700  miles 
over  the  old  route.  In  1851  he  placed  three 
steamers  on  the  Atlantic  side  and  four  on 
the  Pacific  side  to  accommodate  the  enor-  i 


mous  traffic  occasioned  by  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  Cahfornia.  The  following  year 
three  more  vessels  were  added  to  his  fleet 
and  a  branch  line  established  from  New 
Orleans  to  Greytown.  In  1 85 3  the  Com- 
modore sold  out  hisNicarauguaTransit  Com- 
pany, which  had  netted  him  $1,000,000 
and  built  the  renowned  steam  yacht,  the 
"North  Star."  He  continued  in  the  ship- 
ping business  nine  years  longer  and  accu- 
mulated some  $10,000,000.  In  1861  he 
presented  to  the  government  his  magnifi- 
cent steamer  "Vanderbilt,  "  which  had  cost 
him  $800,000  and  for  which  he  received  the 
thanks  of  congress.  In  1844  he  became 
interested  in  the  railroad  business  which  he 
followed  in  later  years  and  became  one  of 
the  greatest  railroad  magnates  of  his  time. 
He  founded  the  Vanderbilt  University  at  a 
cost  of  $1,000,000.  He  died  Januarj'  4, 
1877,  leaving  a  fortune  estimated  at  over 
$100,000,000  to  his  children. 


DANIEL  BOONE  was  one  of  the  most 
famous  of  the  many  American  scouts, 
pioneers  and  hunters  which  the  early  settle- 
ment of  the  western  states  brought  into 
prominence.  Daniel  Boone  was  born  Feb- 
ruary II,  1735,  in  Bucks  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  while  yet  a  young  man  removed 
to  North  Carolina,  where  he  was  married. 
In  1769,  with  five  companions,  he  pene- 
trated into  the  forests  and  wilds  of  Kentucky 
— then  uninhabited  by  white  men.  He  had 
frequent  conflicts  with  the  Indians  and  was 
captured  by  them  but  escaped  and  continued 
to  hunt  in  and  explore  that  region  for  over 
a  year,  when,  in  1 771,  he  returned  to  lus 
home.  In  the  summer  of  1773,  he  removed 
with  his  own  and  five  other  families  in  10 
what  was  then  the  wilderness  of  Kentuck> . 
and  to  defend  his  colony  against  the  savages, 
he  built,  in  1775,  a  fort  at  Boonesborough, 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


37 


on  the  Kentucky  river.  This  fort  was  at- 
tacked by  the  Indians  several  times  in  1777, 
but  they  were  repulsed.  The  following 
year,  however,  Boone  was  surprised  and 
captured  by  them.  They  took  him  to  De- 
troit and  treated  him  with  leniency,  but  he 
soon  escaped  and  returned  to  his  fort  which 
he  defended  with  success  against  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  Indians  in  August,  1778.  His 
son,  Enoch  Boone,  was  the  first  white  male 
child  born  in  the  state  of  Kentucky.  In 
1795  Daniel  Boone  removed  with  his  family 
to  Missouri,  locating  about  forty-five  miles 
west  of  the  present  site  of  St.  Louis,  where 
he  found  fresh  fields  for  his  favorite  pursuits 
— adventure,  hunting,  and  pioneer  life.  His 
death  occurred  September  20,   1820. 


HENRY  WADSWORTH  LONGFEL- 
LOW, said  to  have  been  America's 
greatest  "poet  of  the  people,"  was  born  at 
Portland,  Maine,  February  27,  1807.  He 
entered  Bowdoin  College  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen, and  graduated  in  1825.  During  his 
college  days  he  distinguished  himself  in  mod- 
ern languages,  and  wrote  several  short 
poems,  one  of  the  best  known  of  which  was 
the  "  Hymn  of  the  Moravian  Nuis."  After 
his  graduation  he  entered  the  law  office  of 
his  father,  but  the  following  year  was  offered 
the  professorship  of  modern  languages  at 
Bowdoin,  with  the  privilege  of  three  years 
study  in  Europe  to  perfect  himself  in  French, 
Spanish,  Italian  and  German.  After  the 
three  years  were  passed  he  returned  to  the 
United  States  and  entered  upon  his  profes- 
sorship in  1829.  His  first  volume  was  a 
small  essay  on  the  "Moral  and  Devotional 
Poetry  of  Spain"  in  1833.  In  1835  he  pub- 
lished some  prose  sketches  of  travel  under 
the  title  of  ' '  Outre  Mer,  a  Pilgrimage  be- 
yond the  Sea."  In  1835  he  was  elected  to 
the  chair  of  modern  languages  and  literature 


at  Harvard  University  and  spent  a  year  in 
Denmark,  Sweden  and  Switzerland,  culti- 
vating a  knowledge  of  early  Scandinavian 
literature  and  entered  upon  his  professor- 
ship in  1836.  Mr.  Longfellow  published  in 
1839  "  Hyperion,  a  Romance,"  and  "Voices 
of  the  Night, "  and  his  first  volume  of  original 
verse  comprising  the  selected  poems  of 
twenty  years  work,  procured  him  immediate 
recognition  as  a  poet.  ' '  Ballads  and  other 
poems"  appeared  in  1842,  the  "Spanish 
Student"  a  drama  in  three  acts,  in  1843, 
"The  Belfry  of  Bruges  "  in  1846,  "Evan- 
geline, a  Tale  of  Acadia,"  in  1847,  which 
was  considered  his  master  piece.  In  1S45 
he  published  a  large  volume  of  the  "Poets 
and  Poetry  of  Europe,"  1849  "  Kavanagh, 
a  Tale,"  "The  Seaside  and  Fireside  "in 
1850,  "The  Golden  Legend  "  in  185 1,  "The 
Song  of  Hiawatha  "in  1855,  "The  Court- 
ship of  Miles  Standish  "  in  1858,  "Tales  of 
a  Wayside  Inn  "  in  1863;  "  Flower  de  Luce" 
in  1866;"  "New  England  Tragedies"  in 
1869;  "The  Divine  Tragedy"  in  1871; 
"Three  Books  of  Song"  in  1872;  "The 
Hanging  of  the  Crane  "  in  1874.  He  also 
published  a  masterly  translation  of  Dante 
in  1867-70  and  the  "  Morituri  Salutamus," 
a  poem  read  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
his  class  at  Bowdoin  College.  Prof.  Long- 
fellow resigned  his  chair  at  Harvard  Univer- 
sity in  1854,  but  continued  to  reside  at  Cam- 
bridge. Some  of  his  poetical  works  have 
been  translated  into  many  languages,  and 
their  popularity  rivals  that  of  the  best  mod- 
ern English  poetry.  He  died  March  24, 
1882,  but  has  left  an  imperishable  fame  as 
one  of  the  foremost  of  American  poets. 


PETER  COOPER  was  in  three  partic- 
ulars— as  a  capitalist  and  manufacturer, 
as  an  inventor,  and  as  a  philanthropist — - 
connected  intimately  with  some  of  the  most 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


important  and  useful  accessions  to  the  in- 
dustrial arts  of  America,  its  progress  in  in- 
vention and  the  promotion  of  educational 
and  benevolent  institutions  intended  for  the 
benefit  of  people  at  large.  He  was  born 
in  New  York  city,  February  12,  1791.  His 
iife  was  one  of  labor  and  struggle,  as  it  was 
with  most  of  America's  successful  men.  In 
early  boyhood  he  commenced  to  help  his 
rather  as  a  manufacturer  of  hats.  He  at- 
tended school  only  for  half  of  each  day  for 
a  single  year,  and  beyond  this  his  acquisi- 
tions were  all  his  own.  When  seventeen 
vears  old  he  was  placed  with  John  Wood- 
ward to  learn  the  trade  of  coach-making  and 
served  his  apprenticeship  so  satisfactorily 
chat  his  master  offered  to  set  him  up  in  busi- 
ness, but  this  he  declined  because  of  the 
debt  and  obligation  it  would  involve. 

The  foundation  of  Mr.  Cooper's  fortune 
•was  laid  in  the  invention  of  an  improvement 
in  machines  for  shearing  cloth.  This  was 
largely  called  into  use  during  the  war  of 
18 1 2  with  England  when  all  importations 
of  cloth  from  that  country  were  stopped. 
The  machines  lost  their  value,  however,  on 
the  declaration  of  peace.  Mr.  Cooper  then 
turned  his  shop  into  the  manufacture  of 
cabinet  ware.  He  afterwards  went  into  the 
.grocery  business  in  New  York  and  finally  he 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  glue  and  isin- 
/glass  which  he  carried  on  for  more  than 
fifty  years.  In  1830  he  erected  iron  works 
in  Canton,  near  Baltimore.  Subsequently 
he  erected  a  rolling  and  a  wire  mill  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  in  which  he  first  success- 
fully applied  anthracite  to  the  puddling  of 
iron.  In  these  works,  he  was  the  first  to 
roll  wrought-iron  beams  for  fire-proof  build- 
ings. These  works  grew  to  be  very  exten- 
sive, including  mines,  blast  furnaces,  etc. 
\Vhile  in  Baltimore  Mr.  Cooper  built  in 
1830,  after  his  own  designs,  the   first  loco- 


motive engine  ever  constructed  on  this  con- 
tinent and  it  was  successfully  operated  on 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad.  He  also 
took  a  great  interest  and  invested  large  cap- 
ital in  the  extension  of  the  electric  telegraph, 
also  in  the  laying  of  the  first  Atlantic  cable; 
besides  interesting  himself  largely  in  the 
New  York  state  canals.  But  the  most 
cherished  object  of  Mr.  Cooper's  life  was 
the  establishment  of  an  institution  for  the 
instruction  of  the  industrial  classes,  which 
he  carried  out  on  a  magnificent  scale  in  New 
York  city,  where  the  "Cooper  Union" 
ranks  among  the  most  important  institu- 
tions. 

In  May,  1876,  the  Independent  party 
nominated  Mr.  Cooper  for  president  of  the 
United  States,  and  at  the  election  following 
he  received  nearly  100,000  votes.  His 
death  occurred  April  4,   1883. 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE, 
one  of  the  most  conspicuous  Confeder- 
ate generals  during  the  Civil  war,  and  one 
of  the  ablest  military  commanders  of  mod- 
ern times,  was  born  at  Stratford  House, 
Westmoreland  county,  Virginia,  January  19, 
1807.  In  1825  he  entered  the  West  Point 
academy  and  was  graduated  second  in  his 
class  in  1829,  and  attached  to  the  army  as 
second  lieutenant  of  engineers.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  was  thus  engaged  in  en- 
gineering work,  aiding  in  establishing  the 
boundary  line  between  Ohio  and  Michigan, 
and  superintended  various  river  and  harbor 
improvements,  becoming  captain  of  engi- 
neers in  1838.  He  first  saw  field  service  in 
the  Mexican  war,  and  under  General  Scott 
performed  valuable  and  efficient  service. 
In  that  brilliant  campaign  he  was  conspicu- 
ous for  professional  ability  as  well  as  gallant 
and  meritorious  conduct,  winning  in  quick 
succession  the  brevets  of  major,  lieutenant- 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


colonel,  and  colonel  for  his  part  in  the  bat- 
tles of  Cerro  Gordo,  Contreras,  Cherubusco, 
Chapultepec,  and  in  the  capture  of  the  city 
Mexico.  At  the  close  of  that  war  he  re- 
sumed his  engineering  work  in  connection 
with  defences  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  and 
from  1852  to  1855  was  superintendent  of 
the  Military  Academy,  a  position  which  he 
gave  up  to  become  lieutenant-colonel  of  the 
Second  Cavalry.  For  several  years  there- 
after he  served  on  the  Texas  border,  but 
happening  to  be  near  Washington  at  the 
time  of  John  Brown's  raid,  October  17  to 
25,  1859,  Colonel  Lee  was  placed  in  com- 
mand of  the  Federal  forces  employed  in  its 
repression.  He  soon  returned  to  his  regi- 
ment in  Texas  where  he  remained  the 
greater  part  of  i860,  and  March  16,  1861, 
became  colonel  of  his  regiment  by  regular 
promotion.  Three  weeks  later,  April  25,  he 
resigned  upon  the  secession  of  Virginia, 
went  at  once  to  Richmond  and  tendered  his 
services  to  the  governor  of  that  state,  being 
by  acclamation  appointed  commander-in- 
chief  of  its  military  and  naval  forces,  with 
the  rank  of  major-general. 

He  at  once  set  to  work  to  organize  and 
develop  the  defensive  resources  of  his  state 
and  within  a  month  directed  the  occupation 
in  force  of  Manassas  Junction.  Meanwhile 
Virginia  having  entered  the  confederacy  and 
Richmond  become  the  capitol,  Lee  became 
one  of  the  foremost  of  its  military  officers 
and  was  closely  connected  with  Jefferson 
Davis  in  planning  the  moves  of  that  tragic 
time.  Lee  participated  in  many  of  the 
liardest  fought  battles  of  the  war  among 
which  were  Fair  Oaks,  White  Lake  Swamps, 
Cold  Harbor,  and  the  Chickahominy,  Ma- 
nassas, Cedar  Run,  Antietam,  Fredericks- 
burg, Chancellorsville,  Malvern  Hill,  Get- 
tysburg, the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  cam- 
paign, all  the  campaigns  about  Richmond, 


Petersburg,  Five  Forks,  and  others.  Lee's 
surrender  at  Appomatox  brought  the  war  to 
a  close.  It  is  said  of  General  Lee  that  but 
few  commanders  in  history  have  been  so 
quick  to  detect  the  purposes  of  an  opponent 
or  so  quick  to  act  upon  it.  Never  surpassed, 
if  ever  equaled,  in  the  art  of  winning  the 
passionate,  personal  love  and  admiration  of 
his  troops,  he  acquired  and  held  an  influ- 
ence over  his  army  to  the  very  last,  founded 
upon  a  supreme  trust  in  his  judgment,  pre- 
science and  skill,  coupled  with  his  cool, 
stable,  equable  courage.  A  great  writer  has 
said  of  him:  "As  regards  the  proper  meas- 
ure of  General  Lee's  rank  among  the  sol- 
diers of  history,  seeing  what  he  wrought 
with  such  resources  as  he  had,  under  all  the 
disadvantages  that  ever  attended  his  oper- 
ations, it  is  impossible  to  measure  what  he 
might  have  achieved  in  campaigns  and  bat- 
tles with  resources  at  his  own  disposition 
equal  to  those  against  which  he  invariably 
contended." 

Left  at  the  close  of  the  war  without  es- 
tate or  profession,  he  accepted  the  presi- 
dency of  Washington  College  at  Lexington, 
Virginia,  where  he  died  October  12,  1870. 


JOHN  JAY,  first  chief-justice  of  the 
United  States,  was  born  in  New  York, 
December  12,  1745.  He  took  up  the  study 
of  law,  graduated  from  King's  College 
(Columbia  College),  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1768.  He  was  chosen  a  member 
of  the  committee  of  New  York  citizens  to 
protest  against  the  enforcement  by  the 
British  government  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill, 
was  elected  to  the  Continental  congress 
which  met  in  1774,  and  was  author  of  the 
addresses  to  the  people  of  Great  Britian  and 
of  Canada  adopted  by  that  and  the  suc- 
ceeding congress.  He  was  chosen  to  the 
provincial  assembly  of    his    own  state,  and 


to 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


resigned  from  the  Continental  congress  to 
serve  in  that  body,  wrote  most  of  its  public 
papers,  including  the  constitution  of  the  new 
state,  and  was  then  made  chief-justice.  He 
was  again  chosen  as  a  member  of  the  Con- 
tinental congress  in  1778,  and  became  presi- 
dent of  that  body.  He  was  sent  to  Spain 
as  minister  in  1780,  and  his  services  there 
resulted  in  substantial  and  moral  aid  for  the 
struggling  colonists.  Jay,  Franklin,  and 
Adams  negotiated  the  treaty  of  peace  with 
Great  Britain  in  1782,  and  Jay  was  ap- 
pointed secretary  of  foreign  affairs  in  1784, 
and  held  the  position  until  the  adoption  of 
the  Federal  constitution.  During  this  time 
he  had  contributed  strong  articles  to  the 
"Federalist"  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of 
the  constitution,  and  was  largely  instru- 
mental in  securing  the  ratification  of  that 
instrument  by  his  state.  He  was  appointed 
by  Washington  as  first  chief-justice  of  the 
United  States  in  1789.  In  this  high  capac- 
ity the  great  interstate  and  international 
questions  that  arose  for  immediate  settle- 
ment came  before  him  for  treatment. 

In  1794,  at  a  time  when  the  people  in 
gratitude  for  the  aid  that  France  had  ex- 
tended to  us,  were  clamoring  for  the  privilege 
of  going  to  the  aid  of  that  nation  in  her 
struggle  with  Great  Britain  and  her  own  op- 
pressors, John  Jay  was  sent  to  England  as 
special  envoy  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with 
that  power.  The  instrument  known  as 
"Jay's  Treaty  "  was  the  result,  and  while 
in  many  of  its  features  it  favored  our  nation, 
yet  the  neutrality  clause  in  it  so  angered  the 
masses  that  it  was  denounced  throughout 
the  entire  country,  and  John  Jay  was  burned 
in  effigy  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The 
treaty  was  finally  ratified  by  Washington, 
and  approved,  in  August,  1795.  Having 
been  elected  governor  of  his  state  for  three 
consecutive  terms,    he    then    retired   from 


active  life,  declining  an  appointment  as 
chief-justice  of  the  supreme  court,  made  by 
John  Adams  and  confirmed  by  the  senate. 
He  died  in  New  York  in  1829. 


PHILLIP  HENRY  SHERIDAN  was 
one  of  the  greatest  American  cavalry 
generals.  He  was  born  March  6,  1831,  at 
Somerset,  Perry  county,  Ohio,  and  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  United  States  Military  Acad- 
emy at  West  Point,  from  which  he  graduat- 
ed and  was  assigned  to  the  First  Infantry  as 
brevet  second  lieutenant  July  i,  1853. 
After  serving  in  Texas,  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
in  Washington  and  Oregon  territories  until 
the  fall  of  1 86 1,  he  was  recalled  to  the 
states  and  assigned  to  the  army  of  south- 
west Missouri  as  chief  quartermaster  from 
the  duties  of  which  he  was  soon  relieved. 
After  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  he  was  quar- 
termaster in  the  Corinth  campaign,  and  on 
May  25  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the 
Second  Michigan  Cavalry.  On  July  i,  in 
command  of  a  cavalry  brigade,  he  defeated 
a  superior  force  of  the  enemy  and  was  com- 
missioned brigadier-general  of  volunteers. 
General  Sheridan  was  then  transferred  to 
the  army  of  the  Ohio,  and  commanded  a 
division  in  the  battle  of  Perrysville  and  also 
did  good  service  at  the  battle  of  Murfrees- 
boro,  where  he  was  commissioned  major- 
general  of  volunteers.  He  fought  with 
great  gallantry  at  Chickamauga,  after  which 
Rosecrans  was  succeeded  by  General  Grant, 
under  whom  Sheridan  fought  the  battle  of 
Chattanooga  and  won  additional  renown. 
Upon  the  promotion  of  Grant  to  lieutenant- 
general,  he  applied  for  the  transfer  of  Gen- 
eral Sheridan  to  the  east,  and  appointed 
him  chief  of  cavalry  in  the  army  of  the 
Potomac.  During  the  campaign  of  1864 
the  cavalry  covered  the  front  and  flanks  ol 
the  infantry  until  May  8,  when  it  was  wii.i 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


drawn  and  General  Sheridan  started  on  a 
raid  against  the  Confederate  hnes  of  com- 
munication with  Richmond  and  on  May  25 
he  rejoined  the  army,  having  destroyed  con- 
siderable of  the  confederate  stores  and  de- 
feated their  cavalry  under  General  Stuart  at 
Yellow  Tavern.  The  outer  line  of  defences 
around  Richmond  were  taken,  but  the  sec- 
ond line  was  too  strong  to  be  taken  by  as- 
sault, and  accordingly  Sheridan  crossed  the 
Chickahominy  at  Meadow  Bridge,  reaching 
James  River  May  14,  and  thence  by  White 
House  and  Hanover  Court  House  back  to 
the  army.  The  cavalry  occupied  Cold 
Harbor  May  31,  which  they  held  until  the 
arrival  of  the  infantry.  On  General  Sheri- 
dan's next  raid  he  routed  Wade  Hampton's 
cavalry,  and  August  7  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  Middle  Military  division, 
and  during  the  campaign  of  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley  he  performed  the  unheard  of 
feat  of  "  destroying  an  entire  army."  He 
was  appointed  brigadier-general  of  the  reg- 
ular army  and  for  his  victory  at  Cedar  Creek 
he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-gen- 
eral. General  Sheridan  started  out  Febru- 
ary 27,  1865,  with  ten  thousand  cavalry 
and  destroyed  the  Virginia  Central  Railroad 
and  the  James  River  Canal  and  joined  the 
army  again  at  Petersburg  March  27.  He 
commanded  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  the 
decisive  victory  which  compelled  Lee  to 
evacuate  Petersburg.  On  April  9,  Lee  tried 
to  break  through  Sheridan's  dismounted 
command  but  when  the  General  drew  aside 
his  cavalry  and  disclosed  the  deep  lines  of 
infantry  the  attempt  was  abandoned.  Gen- 
eral Sheridan  mounted  his  men  and  was  about 
to  charge  when  a  white  flag  was  flown  at  the 
head  of  Lee's  column  which  betokened  the 
surrender  of  the  army.  After  the  war  Gen- 
eral Sheridan  had  command  of  the  army  of 
the  southwest,  of  the  gulf  and  the  depart- 


ment of  Missouri  until  he  was  appointed 
lieutenant-general  and  assigned  to  the  di- 
vision of  Missouri  with  headquarters  at  Chi- 
cago, and  assumed  supreme  command  of 
the  army  November  i,  1883,  which  post  he 
held  until  his  death,  August  5,  1888. 


PHINEAS  T.  BARNUM,  the  greatest 
showman  the  world  has  ever  seen,  was 
born  at  Danbury,  Connecticut,  July  5,  18 10. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  began  busi- 
ness on  his  own  account.  He  opened  a  re- 
tail fruit  and  confectionery  house,  including 
a  barrel  of  ale,  in  one  part  of  an  old  car- 
riage house.  He  spent  fifty  dollars  in  fitting 
up  the  store  and  the  stock  cost  him  seventy 
dollars.  Three  years  later  he  put  in  a  full 
stock,  such  as  is  generally  carried  in  a 
country  store,  and  the  same  year  he  started 
a  Democratic  newspaper,  known  as  the 
"Herald  of  Freedom."  He  soon  found 
himself  in  jail  under  a  sixty  days'  sentence 
for  libel.  During  the  winter  of  1834-5  he 
went  to  New  York  and  began  soliciting  busi- 
ness for  several  Chatham  street  houses.     In 

1835  he  embarked  in  the  show  business  at 
Niblo's  Garden,  having  purchased  the  cele- 
brated "  Joice  Heth"  for  one  thousand  dol- 
lars. He  afterward  engaged  the  celebrated 
athlete,  Sig.  Vivalia,  and  Barnum  made  his 
' '  first  appearance  on  any  stage, "  acting  as  a 
"super"  to  Sig.  Vivalia  on  his  opening 
night.  He  became  ticket  seller,  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  Aaron  Turner's  circus  in 

1836  and  traveled  with  it  about  the  country. 
His  next  venture  was  the  purchase  of  a 
steamboat  on  the  Mississippi,  and  engaged 
a  theatrical  company  to  show  in  the  princi- 
pal towns  along  that  river.  In  1840  he 
opened  Vaux  Hall  Garden,  New  York,  with 
variety  performances,  and  introduced  the 
celebrated  jig  dancer,  John  Diamond,  to  the 
public.      The   next  year  he   quit  the  show 


42 


COMPEXDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


business  and  settled  down  in  New  York  as 
agent  of  Sear's  Pictorial  Illustration  of  the 
Bible,  but  a  few  months  later  again  leased 
Vaux  Hall.  In  September  of  the  same  year 
he  again  left  the  business,  and  became 
"puff"  writer  for  the  Bowery  Amphitheater. 
In  December  he  bought  the  Scudder  Museum, 
and  a  year  later  introduced  the  celebrated 
Tom  Thumb  to  the  world,  taking  him  to 
England  in  1844,  and  remaining  there  three 
years.  He  then  returned  to  New  York,  and 
in  1849,  through  James  Hall  Wilson,  he  en- 
gaged the  "Swedish  Nightingale,"  Jenny 
Lind,  to  come  to  this  country  and  make  a 
tour  under  his  management.  He  also  had 
sent  the  Swiss  Bell  Ringers  to  America  in 
1844.  He  became  owner  of  the  Baltimore 
Museum  and  the  Lyceum  and  Museum  at 
Philadelphia.  In  1850  he  brought  a  dozen 
elephants  from  Ceylon  to  make  a  tour  of  this 
country,  and  in  185 1  sent  the  "  Bateman 
Children "  to  London.  During  1851  and 
1852  he  traveled  as  a  temperance  lecturer, 
and  became  president  of  a  bank  at  Pequon- 
nock,  Connecticut.  In  1852  he  started  a 
weekly  pictorial  paper  known  as  the  "  Illus- 
trated News."  In  1865  his  Museum  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  he  immediately  leased 
the  Winter  Garden  Theatre,  where  he  played 
his  company  until  he  opened  his  own 
Museum.  This  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1868,  and  he  then  purchased  an  interest  in 
the  George  Wood  Museum. 

After  dipping  into  politics  to  some  ex- 
tent, he  began  his  career  as  a  really  great 
showman  in  1871.  Three  years  later  he 
erected  an  immense  circular  building  in  New 
York,  in  which  he  produced  his  panoramas. 
He  has  frequently  appeared  as  a  lecturer, 
some  times  on  temperance,  and  some  times 
on  other  topics,  among  which  were  "Hum- 
bugs of  the  World,"  "Struggles  and 
Triumphs,"  etc.      He  was  owner  of  the  im- 


mense menagerie  and  circus  known  as  the 
"Greatest  Show  on  Earth,"  and  his  fame 
extended  throughout  Europe  and  America. 
He  died  in  i8qi. 


JAMES  MADISON,  the  fourth  president 
of  the  United  States,  1809-17,  was 
born  at  Port  Conway,  Prince  George  coun- 
ty, Virginia,  March  16,  1751.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  wealthy  planter,  who  lived  on  a  fine 
estate  called  "  Montpelier, "  which  was  but 
twenty-five  miles  from  Monticello,  the  home 
of  Thomas  Jefferson.  Mr.  Madison  was  the 
eldest  of  a  family  of  seven  children,  all  of 
whom  attained  maturity.  He  received  his 
early  education  at  home  under  a  private 
tutor,  and  consecrated  himself  with  unusual 
vigor  to  study.  At  a  very  early  age  he  was 
a  proficient  scholar  in  Latin,  Greek,  French 
and  Spanish,  and  in  1769  he  entered  Prince- 
ton College,  New  Jersey.  He  graduated  in 
1 77 1,  but  remained  for  several  months  aftei 
his  graduation  to  pursue  a  course  of  study 
under  the  guidance  of  Dr.  Witherspoon. 
He  permanently  injured  his  health  at  this 
time  and  returned  to  Virginia  in  1772,  and 
for  two  years  he  was  immersed  in  the  study 
of  law,  and  at  the  same  time  made  extend- 
ed researches  in  theology,  general  literature, 
and  philosophical  studies.  He  then  directed 
his  full  attention  to  the  impending  struggle 
of  the  colonies  for  independence,  and  also 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  religious  con- 
troversy at  that  time  regarding  so  called 
persecution  of  other  religious  denominations 
by  the  Church  of  England.  Mr.  Madison 
was  elected  to  the  Virginia  assembly  in  1776 
and  in  November,  1777,  he  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  council  of  state.  He  took 
his  seat  in  the  continental  congress  in 
March,  1780.  He  was  made  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  foreign  relations,  and 
drafted  an  able   memoranda  for  the  use  of 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


43 


the  American  ministers  to  the  French  and 
Spanish  governments,  that  established  the 
claims  of  the  republic  to  the  territories  be- 
tween the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  the 
Mississippi  River.  He  acted  as  chairman  of 
the  ways  and  means  committee  in  1783  and 
as  a  member  of  the  Virginia  legislature  in 
1784-86  he  rendered  important  services  to 
the  state.  Mr.  Madison  represented  Vir- 
giana  in  the  national  constitutional  conven- 
tion at  Philadelphia  in  1787,  and  was  one  of 
the  chief  framers  of  the  constitution.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  first  four  congresses, 
1789-97,  and  gradually  became  identified 
with  the  anti-federalist  or  republican  party 
of  which  he  eventually  became  the  leader. 
He  remained  in  private  life  during  the  ad- 
ministration of  John  Adams,  and  was  secre- 
tary of  state  under  President  Jefferson.  Mr. 
Madison  administered  the  affairs  of  that 
post  with  such  great  abihty  that  he  was  the 
natural  successor  of  the  chief  magistrate 
and  was  chosen  president  by  an  electoral 
vote  of  122  to  53.  He  was  inaugurated 
March  4,  1809,  at  that  critical  period  in  our 
history  when  the  feelings  of  the  people  were 
embittered  with  those  of  England,  and  his 
first  term  was  passed  in  diplomatic  quarrels, 
which  finally  resulted  in  the  declaration  of 
war,  June  18,  1812.  In  the  autumn  of  that 
year  President  Madison  was  re-elected  by  a 
vote  of  128  to  89,  and  conducted  the  war 
for  three  years  with  varying  success  and 
defeat  in  Canada,  by  glorious  victories  at 
sea,  and  by  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  that 
was  fought  after  the  treaty  of  peace  had 
been  signed  at  Ghent,  December  24,  1814. 
During  this  war  the  national  capitol  at 
Washington  was  burned,  and  many  valuable 
papers  were  destroyed,  but  the  declaration 
of  independence  was  saved  to  the  country 
by  the  bravery  and  courage  of  Mr.  Madi- 
son's illustrious  wife.     A  commercial  treaty 


was  negotiated  with  Great  Britain  in  181 5, 
and  in  April,  i8r6,  a  national  bank  was  in- 
corporated by  congress.  Mr.  Madison  was 
succeeded,  March  4,  18 17,  by  James  Monroe, 
and  retired  into  private  life  on  his  estate  at 
Montpelier,    where  he  died  June  28,    1836. 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS,  a  noted 
American  character,  was  a  protege  of 
the  great  abolitionist,  William  Lloyd  Garri- 
son, by  whom  he  was  aided  in  gaining  his 
education.  Mr.  Douglass  was  born  in  Tuck- 
ahoe  count}',  Maryland,  in  Februar}',  181 7, 
his  mother  being  a  negro  woman  and  his 
father  a  white  man.  He  was  born  in  slav- 
ery and  belonged  to  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Lloyd,  under  which  name  he  went  until  he 
ran  away  from  his  master  and  changed  it  to 
Douglass.  At  the  age  of  ten  years  he  was 
sent  to  Baltimore  where  he  learned  to  read 
and  write,  and  later  his  owner  allowed  him 
to  hire  out  his  own  time  for  three  dollars  a 
week  in  a  shipyard.  In  September,  1838, 
he  fied  from  Baltimore  and  made  his  way  to 
New  York,  and  from  thence  went  to  New 
Bedford,  Massachusetts.  Here  he  was  mar- 
ried and  supported  him.self  and  family  by 
working  at  the  wharves  and  in  various  work- 
shops. In  the  summer  of  1S41  he  attended 
an  anti-slavery  convention  at  Nantucket, 
and  made  a  speech  which  was  so  well  re- 
ceived that  he  was  offered  the  agency  of  the 
Massachusetts  Anti-slavery  Society.  In  this 
capacity  he  traveled  through  the  New  En- 
gland states,  and  about  the  same  time  he 
published  his  first  book  called  "  Narrative 
of  my  Experience  in  Slavery."  Mr.  Doug- 
lass went  to  England  in  1845  and  lectured 
on  slavery  to  large  and  enthusiastic  audi- 
ences in  all  the  large  towns  of  the  country, 
and  his  friends  made  up  a  purse  of  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  and  purchased  his 
freedom  in  due  form  of  law. 


COMPENDIUM    OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


Mr.  Douglass  applied  himself  to  the  de- 
livery of  lyceum  lectures  after  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  and  in  1870  he  became  the  editor 
of  the  "  New  National  Era  "  in  Washington. 
In  1 87 1  he  was  appointed  assistant  secretary 
of  the  commission  to  San  Domingo  and  on 
his  return  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  ter- 
ritorial council  for  the  District  of  Colorado 
by  President  Grant.  He  was  elected  presi- 
dential elector-at-large  for  the  state  of  New 
York  and  was  appointed  to  carry  the  elect- 
oral vote  to  Washington.  He  was  also 
United  States  marshal  for  the  District  of 
Columbia  in  1876,  and  later  was  recorder 
of  deeds  for  the  same,  from  which  position 
he  was  removed  by  President  Cleveland  in 
1886.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  visited 
England  to  inform  the  friends  that  he  had 
made  while  there,  of  the  progress  of  the 
colored  race  in  America,  and  on  his  return 
he  was  appointed  minister  to  Hayti,  by 
President  Harrison  in  1889.  His  career  as 
a  benefactor  of  his  race  was  closed  by  his 
death  in  February,  1895,  near  Washington. 


WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT.— The 
ear  for  rhythm  and  the  talent  for 
graceful  expression  are  the  gifts  of  nature, 
and  they  were  plentifully  endowed  on  the 
above  named  poet.  The  principal  charac- 
teristic of  his  poetry  is  the  thoughtfulness 
and  intellectual  process  by  which  his  ideas 
ripened  in  his  mind,  as  all  his  poems  are 
bright,  clear  and  sweet.  Mr.  Bryant  was 
born  November  3,  1794,  at  Cummington, 
Hampshire  county,  Massachusetts,  and  was 
educated  at  Williams  College,  from  which 
he  graduated,  having  entered  it  in  18 10. 
He  took  up  the  study  of  law,  and  in  181 5 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  after  practicing 
successfully  for  ten  years  at  Plainfield  and 
Great  Barrington,  he  removed  to  New  York 
in    1825.     The    following  year  he  became 


the  editor  of  the  "Evening  Post,"  which 
he  edited  until  his  death,  and  under  his  di- 
rection this  paper  maintained,  through  a 
long  series  of  years,  a  high  standing  by  the 
boldness  of  its  protests  against  slavery  be- 
fore the  war,  by  its  vigorous  support  of  the 
government  during  the  war,  and  by  the 
fidelity  and  ability  of  its  advocacy  of  the 
Democratic  freedom  in  trade.  Mr.  Bry- 
ant visited  Europe  in  1834,  1845,  1849  and 
1857,  and  presented  to  the  literary  world 
the  fruit  of  his  travels  in  the  series  of  "Let- 
ters of  a  Traveler,"  and  "Letters  from 
Spain  and  Other  Countries."  In  the  world 
of  literature  he  is  known  chiefly  as  a  poet, 
and  here  Mr.  Bryant's  name  is  illustrious, 
both  at  home  and  abroad.  He  contributed 
verses  to  the  "Country  Gazette  "  before  he 
was  ten  years  of  age,  and  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen he  wrote  "  Thanatopsis,"  the  most  im- 
pressive and  widely  known  of  his  poems. 
The  later  outgrowth  of  his  genius  was  his 
translation  of  Homer's  "Iliad"  in  1870 
and  the  "Odyssey"  in  1871.  He  also 
made  several  speeches  and  addresses  which 
have  been  collected  in  a  comprehensive  vol- 
ume called  "  Orations  and  Addresses."  He 
was  honored  in  many  ways  by  his  fellow 
citizens,  who  delighted  to  pay  tributes  of 
respect  to  his  literary  eminence,  the  breadth 
of  his  public  spirit,  the  faithfulness  of  his 
service,  and  the  worth  of  his  private  char- 
acter. Mr.  Bryant  died  in  New  York  City 
June  12,  1878. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  SEWARD,  the 
secretary  of  state  during  one  of  the 
most  critical  times  in  the  history  of  our 
country,  and  the  right  hand  man  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  ranks  among  the  greatest 
statesmen  America  has  produced.  Mr. 
Seward  was  born  May  16,  iSoi,  at  Florida, 
Orange  county,    New  York,   and  with  such 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


47 


facilities  as  the  place  afforded  he  fitted  him- 
self for  a  college  course.  He  attended 
Union  College  at  Schenectady,  New  York, 
at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  took  his  degree  in 
the  regular  course,  with  signs  of  promise  in 
1820,  after  which  he  diligently  addressed 
himself  to  the  study  of  law  under  competent 
instructors,  and  started  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  1823. 

Mr.  Seward  entered  the  political  arena 
and  in  1828  we  find  him  presiding  over  a 
convention  in  New  York,  its  purpose  being 
the  nomination  of  John  Quincy  Adams  for  a 
second  term.  He  was  married  in  1824  and. 
in  1830  was  elected  to  the  state  senate. 
From  1838  to  1842  he  was  governor  of  the 
state  of  New  York.  Mr.  Seward's  next  im- 
portant position  was  that  of  United  States 
senator  from  New  York. 

W.  H.  Seward  was  chosen  by  President 
Lincoln  to  fill  the  important  office  of  the 
secretary  of  state,  and  by  his  firmness  and 
diplomacy  in  the  face  of  difficulties,  he  aided 
in  piloting  the  Union  through  that  period  of 
strife,  and  won  an  everlasting  fame.  This 
great  statesman  died  at  Auburn,  New  York, 
October  10,  1872,  in  the  seventy-second 
year  of  his  eventful  life. 


JOSEPH  JEFFERSON,  a  name  as  dear 
as  it  is  familiar  to  the  theater-going 
world  in  America,  suggests  first  of  all  a  fun- 
loving,  drink-loving,  mellow  voiced,  good- 
natured  Dutchman,  and  the  name  of  "Rip 
Van  Winkle  "  suggests  the  pleasant  features 
of  Joe  Jefferson,  so  intimately  are  play  and 
player  associated  in  the  minds  of  those  who 
have  had  the  good  fortune  to  shed  tears  of 
laughter  and  sympathy  as  a  tribute  to  the 
greatness  of  his  art.  Joseph  Jefferson  was 
born  in  Philadelphia,  February  20,  1829. 
His  genius  was  an  inheritance,   if  there  be 

such,     as    his    great-grandfather,     Thomas 
3 


Jefferson,  was  a  manager  and  actor  in  Eng 
land.  His  grandfather,  Joseph  Jefferson, 
was  the  most  popular  comedian  of  the  New/ 
York  stage  in  his  time,  and  his  father,  Jos- 
eph Jefferson,  the  second,  was  a  good  actor 
also,  but  the  third  Joseph  Jefferson  out- 
shone them  all. 

At  the  age  of  three  years  Joseph  Jeffer- 
son came  on  the  stage  as  the  child  in  "Pi- 
zarro,"  and  his  training  was  upon  the  stage 
from  childhood.  Later  on  he  lived  and 
acted  in  Chicago,  Mobile,  and  Texas.  After 
repeated  misfortunes  he  returned  to  New 
Orleans  from  Texas,  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Charles  Burke,  gave  him  money  to  reach 
Philadelphia,  where  he  joined  the  Burton 
theater  company.  Here  his  genius  soon  as- 
serted itself,  and  his  future  became  promis- 
ing and  brilliant.  His  engagements  through- 
out the  United  States  and  Australia  were 
generally  successful,  and  when  he  went  to 
England  in  1865  Mr.  Boucicault  consented 
to  make  some  important  changes  in  his 
dramatization  of  Irving's  story  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  at  once  placed 
it  in  the  front  rank  as  a  comedy.  He  made 
a  fortune  out  of  it,  and  played  nothing  else 
for  many  years.  In  later  years,  however, 
Mr.  Jefferson  acquitted  himself  of  the  charge 
of  being  a  one-part  actor,  and  the  parts  of 
"Bob  Acres,"  "Caleb  Plummer"  and 
"Golightly  "  all  testify  to  the  versatility  of 
his  genius. 

GEORGE  BRINTON  McCLELLAN, 
a  noted  American  general,  was  born 
in  Philadelphia,  December  3,  1826.  He 
graduated  from  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  in  1846  from  West  Point,  and 
was  breveted  second  lieutenant  of  engineers. 
He  was  with  Scott  in  the  Mexican  war, 
taking  part  in  all  the  engagements  from 
Vera  Cruz  to  the  final  capture  of  the  Mexi- 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


can  capital,  and  was  breveted  first  lieuten- 
ant and  captain  for  gallantry  displayed  on 
various  occasions.  In  1857  he  resigned  his 
commission  and  accepted  the  position  of 
chief  engineer  in  the  construction  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad,  and  became  presi- 
dent of  the  St.  Louis  &  Cincinnati  Railroad 
Company.  He  was  commissioned  major- 
general  by  the  state  of  Ohio  in  1861, 
placed  in  command  of  the  department  of 
the  Ohio,  and  organized  the  first  volunteers 
called  for  from  that  state.  In  May  he  was 
appointed  major-general  in  the  United 
States  army,  and  ordered  to  disperse  the 
confederates  overrunning  West  Virginia. 
He  accomplished  this  task  promptly,  and 
received  the  thanks  of  congress.  After  the 
first  disaster  at  Bull  Run  he  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  department  of  Wash- 
ington, and  a  few  weeks  later  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  Upon  retirement 
of  General  Scott  the  command  of  the  en- 
tire United  States  army  devolved  upon  Mc- 
Clellan,  but  he  was  relieved  of  it  within  a 
few  months.  In  March,  1862,  after  elabor- 
ate preparation,  he  moved  upon  Manassas, 
only  to  find  it  deserted  by  the  Confederate 
army,  which  had  been  withdrawn  to  im- 
pregnable defenses  prepared  nearer  Rich- 
mond. He  then  embarked  his  armies  for 
Fortress  Monroe  and  after  a  long  delay  at 
Yorktown,  began  the  disastrous  Peninsular 
campaign,  which  resulted  in  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  being  cooped  up  on  the  James 
River  below  Richmond.  His  forces  were 
then  called  to  the  support  of  General  Pope, 
near  Washington,  and  he  was  left  without  an 
army.  After  Pope's  defeat  McClellan  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  troops  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  capital,  and  after  a  thorough  or- 
ganization he  followed  Lee  into  Maryland 
and  the  battles  of  Antietam  and  South  Moun- 
tain   ensued.     The    delay    which    followed 


caused  general  dissatisfaction,  and  he  was  re- 
lieved of  his  command, and  retired  from  active 
service. 

In  1864  McClellan  was  nominated  for 
the  presidency  by  the  Democrats,  and  over- 
whelmingly defeated  by  Lincoln,  three 
states  only  casting  their  electoral  votes  for 
McClellan.  On  election  day  he  resigned 
his  commission  and  a  few  months  later  went 
to  Europe  where  he  spent  several  years. 
He  wrote  a  number  of  military  text- books 
and  reports.  His  death  occurred  October 
29,  1885.  

SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN.— Among  the  great 
statesmen  whose  names  adorn  the  pages 
of  American  history  may  be  found  that  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Known  as  a 
lawyer  of  highest  ability,  his  greatest  claim 
to  immortality  will  ever  lie  in  his  successful 
battle  against  the  corrupt  rings  of  his  native 
state  and  the  elevation  of  the  standard  of 
official  life. 

Samuel  J.  Tilden  was  born  in  New  Leb- 
anon, New  York,  February  9,  18 14.  He 
pursued  his  academic  studies  at  Yale  Col- 
■  lege  and  the  University  of  New  York,  tak- 
ing the  course  of  law  at  the  latter.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1S41.  His  rare 
ability  as  a  thinker  and  writer  upon  public 
topics  attracted  the  attention  of  President 
Van  Buren,  of  whose  policy  and  adminis- 
tration he  became  an  active  and  efficient 
champion.  He  made  for  himself  a  high 
place  in  his  profession  and  amassed  quite  a 
fortune  as  the  result  of  his  industry  and 
judgment.  During  the  days  of  his  greatest 
professional  labor  he  was  ever  one  of  the 
leaders  and  trusted  counsellors  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
conventions  to  revise  the  state  constitution, 
both  in  1846  and  1867,  and  served  two 
terms  in  the  lower  branch  of  the   state  leg- 


COMPENDIL'M    OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


49 


islature.  He  was  one  of  the  controlling 
spirits  in  the  overthrow  of  the  notorious 
"  Tweed  rinj;  "  and  the  reformation  of  the 
government  of  the  city  of  New  York.  In 
1 8/4  he  was  elected  governor  of  the  state 
of  New  York.  While  in  this  position  he 
assailed  corruption  in  high  places,  success- 
fully battling  with  the  iniquitous  "canal 
ring  "  and  crushed  its  sway  over  all  depart- 
ments of  the  government.  Recognizing  his 
character  and  executive  ability  Mr.  Tilden 
was  nominated  for  president  by  the  na- 
tional Democratic  convention  in  1876.  At 
the  election  he  received  a  much  larger  popu- 
lar vote  than  his  opponent,  and  1 84  uncon- 
tested electoral  votes.  There  being  some 
electoral  votes  contested,  a  commission  ap- 
pointed by  congress  decided  in  favor  of  the 
Republican  electors  and  Mr.  Hayes,  the  can- 
didate of  that  party  was  declared  elected. 
In  18S0,  the  Democratic  party,  feeling  that 
Mr.  Tilden  had  been  lawfully  elected  to  the 
presidency  tendered  the  nomination  for  the 
same  office  to  Mr.  Tilden,  but  he  declined, 
retiring  from  all  public  functions,  owing  to 
failing  health.  He  died  August  4,  1886. 
By  will  he  bequeathed  several  millions'  of 
dollars  toward  the  founding  of  public  libra- 
ries in  New  York  City,  Yonkers,  etc. 


NOAH  WEBSTER.— As  a  scholar,  law- 
yer, author  and  journalist,  there  is  no 
one  who  stands  on  a  higher  plane,  or  whose 
reputation  is  better  established  than  the 
honored  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch.  He  was  a  native  of  West  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  and  was.  born  October  17, 
1758.  He  came  of  an  old  New  England 
family,  his  mother  being  a  descendant  of 
Governor  William  Bradford,  of  the  Ply- 
mouth colony.  After  acquiring  a  solid  edu- 
cation in  early  life  Dr.  Webster  entered 
Yale  College,  from  which   he  graduated  in 


1778.  For  a  while  he  taught  school  in 
Hartford,  at  the  same  time  studying  law, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  17S1.  He 
taught  a  classical  school  at  Goshen,  Orange 
county.  New  York,  in  1782-83,  and  while 
there  prepared  his  spelling  book,  grammar 
and  reader,  which  was  issued  under  the  title 
of  "A  Grammatical  Institute  of  the  English 
Language,"  in  three  parts, — so  successful  a 
work  that  up  to  1876  something  like  forty 
million  of  the  spelling  books  had  been 
sold.  In  1786  he  delivered  a  course  of  lec- 
tures on  the  English  language  in  the  seaboard 
cities  and  the  following  year  taught  an 
academy  at  Philadelphia.  From  December 
17,  17S7,  until  November,  17S8,  he  edited 
the  "American  Magazine,"  a  periodical  that 
proved  unsuccessful.  In  1789-93  he  prac- 
ticed law  in  Hartford  having  in  the  former 
year  married  the  daughter  of  William  Green- 
leaf,  of  Boston.  He  returned  to  New  York 
and  November,  1793,  founded  a  daily  paper, 
the  "Minerva,"  to  which  was  soon  added  a 
semi-weekly  edition  under  the  name  of  the 
"  Herald."  The  former  is  still  in  existence 
under  the  name  of  the  "Commercial  Adver- 
tiser . "  In  this  paper,  over  the  signature  of 
' '  Curtius , "  he  published  a  lengthy  and  schol- 
arly defense  of   "John  Jay's  treaty." 

In  1798,  Dr.  Webster  moved  to  New 
Haven  and  in  1807  commenced  the  prepar- 
ation of  his  great  work,  the  "American  Dic- 
tionary of  the  English  Language  ,  "  which 
was  not  completed  and  published  until  1828. 
He  made  his  home  in  Amherst,  Massachu- 
setts, for  the  ten  years  succeeding  1812,  and 
was  instrumental  in  the  establishment  of 
Amherst  College,  of  which  institution  he  was 
the  first  president  of  the  board  of  trustees. 
During  1824-5  he  resided  in  Europe,  pursu- 
ing his  philological  studies  in  Paris.  He 
completed  his  dictionary  from  the  libraries 
of  Cambridge  University  in   1825,  and  de- 


50 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHr. 


voted  his  leisure  for  the  remainder  of  his 
life  to  the  revision  of  that  and  his  school 
books. 

Dr.  Webster  was  a  member  of  the  legis- 
latures of  both  Connecticut  and  Massachu- 
setts, was  judge  of  one  of  the  courts  of  the 
former  state  and  was  identified  with  nearly 
all  the  literary  and  scientific  societies  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Amherst  College.  He  died 
in  New  Haven,  May  28,  1843. 

Among  the  more  prominent  works  ema- 
nating from  the  fecund  pen  of  Dr.  Noah 
Webster  besides  those  mentioned  above  are 
the  following:  "Sketches  of  American 
Policy,"  "  Winthrop's  Journal,"  "  A  Brief 
History  of  Epidemics,"  "Rights  of  Neutral 
Nations  in  time  of  War,"  "A  Philosophical 
and  Practical  Grammar  of  the  English  Lan- 
guage," "Dissertations  on  the  English 
Language,"  "A  Collection  of  Essays," 
"The  Revolution  in  France,"  "Political 
Progress  of  Britain,"  "Origin,  History,  and 
Connection  of  the  Languages  of  Western 
Asia  and  of  Europe  ,"  and  many  others. 


WILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON,  the 
great  anti-slavery  pioneer  and  leader, 
was  born  in  Newburyport,  Massachusetts, 
December  12,  1804.  He  was  apprenticed 
to  the  printing  business,  and  in  1828  was  in- 
duced to  take  charge  of  the  "Journal  of  the 
Times"  at  Bennington,  Vermont.  While 
supporting  John  Quincy  Adams  for  the  presi- 
dency he  took  occasion  in  that  paper  to  give 
expression  of  his  views  on  slavery.  These 
articles  attracted  notice,  and  a  Quaker 
named  Lundy,  editor  of  the  "Genius  of 
Emancipation,"  published  in  Baltimore,  in- 
duced him  to  enter  a  partnership  with  him 
for  the  conduct  of  his  paper.  It  soon 
transpired  that  the  views  of  the  partners 
were  not  in  harmony,  Lundy  favoring  grad- 
ual emancipation,    while    Garrison  favored 


immediate  freedom.  In  1850  Mr.  Garrison 
was  thrown  into  prison  for  libel,  not  being 
able  to  pay  a  fine  of  fifty  dollars  and  costs. 
In  his  cell  he  wrote  a  number  of  poems 
which  stirred  the  entire  north,  and  a  mer- 
chant, Mr.  Tappan,  of  New  York,  paid  his 
fine  and  liberated  him,  after  seven  weeks  of 
confinement.  He  at  once  began  a  lecture 
tour  of  the  northern  cities,  denouncing 
slavery  as  a  sin  before  God,  and  demanding 
its  immediate  abolition  in  the  name  of  re- 
ligion and  humanity.  He  opposed  the  col- 
onization scheme  of  President  Monroe  and 
other  leaders,  and  declared  the  right  of 
every  slave  to  immediate  freedom. 

In  1 83 1  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Isaac  Knapp,  and  began  the  publication  of 
the  "Liberator"  at  Boston.  The  "imme- 
diate abolition  "  idea  began  to  gather  power 
in  the  north,  while  the  south  became 
alarmed  at  the  bold  utterance  of  this  jour- 
nal. The  mayor  of  Boston  was  besought 
by  southern  influence  to  interfere,  and  upon 
investigation,  reported  upon  the  insignifi- 
cance, obscurity,  and  poverty  of  the  editor 
and  his  staff,  which  report  was  widely 
published  throughout  the  country.  Re- 
wards were  offered  by  the  southern  states 
for  his  arrest  and  conviction.  Later  Garri- 
son brought  from  England,  where  an  eman- 
cipation measure  had  just  been  passed, 
some  of  the  great  advocates  to  work  for  the 
cause  in  this  country.  In  1835  a  mob 
broke  into  his  office,  broke  up  a  meeting  o\ 
women,  dragged  Garrison  through  the  street 
with  a  rope  around  his  body,  and  his  life 
was  saved  only  by  the  interference  of  the 
police,  who  lodged  him  in  jail.  Garrison 
declined  to  sit  in  the  World's  Anti-Slaverv 
convention  at  London  in  1S40,  because 
that  body  had  refused  women  representa- 
tion. He  opposed  the  formation  of  a  y^-  \ 
litical  party  with  emancipation  as  its  basis. 


COMPENDIUM    OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


51 


He  favored  a  dissolution  of  the  union,  and 
declared  the  constitution  which  bound  the 
free  states  to  the  slave  states  "  A  covenant 
with  death  and  an  agreement  with  hell." 
In  1 843  he  became  president  of  the  Amer- 
ican Anti-Slaver}'  society,  which  position  he 
held  until  1865,  when  slavery  was  no  more. 
During  all  this  time  the  "  Liberator  "  had 
continued  to  promulgate  anti-slavery  doc- 
trines, but  in  1865  Garrison  resigned  his 
position,  and  declared  his  work  was  com- 
pleted.     He  died  May  24,  1879. 


JOHN  BROWN  ("Brown  of  Ossawato- 
mie"),  a  noted  character  in  American 
history,  wasbornatTorrington,  Connecticut, 
May  9,  1800.  In  his  childhood  he  removed 
to  Ohio,  where  he  learned  the  tanner's 
trade.  He  married  there,  and  in  1855  set- 
tled in  Kansas.  He  lived  at  the  village  of 
Ossawatomie  in  that  state,  and  there  began 
his  fight  against  slavery.  He  advocated  im- 
mediate emancipation,  and  held  that  the 
negroes  of  the  slave  states  merely  waited 
for  a  leader  in  an  insurrection  that  would  re- 
sult in  their  freedom.  He  attended  the 
convention  called  at  Chatham,  Canada,  in 
1 8 59,  and  was  the  leading  spirit  in  organiz- 
mg  a  raid  upon  the  United  States  arsenal  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia.  His  plans  were 
well  laid,  and  carried  out  in  great  secrecy. 
He  ren+ed  a  farm  house  near  Hdrper's  Ferry 
in  the  summer  of  1859,  and  on  October 
i6th  of  that  year,  with  about  twenty  follow- 
ers, he  surprised  and  captured  the  United 
States  arsenal,  with  all  its  supplies  and 
arms.  To  his  surprise,  the  negroes  did  not 
come  to  his  support,  and  the  next  day  he 
was  attacked  by  the  Virginia  stale  militia, 
wounded  and  captured.  He  was  tried  in 
the  courts  of  the  state,  convicted,  and  was 
hanged  at  Charlestown,  December  2,  1859. 
The  raid  and  its   results   had  a  tiemendous 


effect,  and  hastened  the  culmination  of  the 
troubles  between  the  north  and  south.  The 
south  had  the  advantage  in  discussing  this 
event,  claiming  that  the  sentiment  which 
inspired  this  act  of  violence  was  shared  by 
the  anti-slavery  element  of  the  country. 


EDWIN  BOOTH  had  no  peer  upon  the 
American  stage  during  his  long  career 
as  a  star  actor.  He  was  the  son  of  a  famous 
actor,  Junius  Brutus  Booth,  and  was  born 
in  1833  at  his  father's  home  at  Belair,  near 
Baltimore.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  made  his 
first  appearance  on  the  stage,  at  the  Boston 
Museum,  in  a  minor  part  in  "  Richard  III.  " 
It  was  while  playing  in  California  in  1851 
that  an  eminent  critic  called  general  atten-' 
tion  to  the  young  actor's  unusual  talent. 
However,  it  was  not  until  1863,  at  the  great 
Shakspearian  revival  at  the  Winter  Garden 
Theatre,  New  York,  that  the  brilliancy  Ox 
his  career  began.  His  Hamlet  held  the 
boards  for  100  nights  in  succession,  and 
from  that  time  forth  Booth's  reputation  was 
established.  In  1868  he  opened  his  own 
theatre  (Booth's  Theater)  in  New  York. 
Mr.  Booth  never  succeeded  as  a  manager, 
however,  but  as  an  actor  he  was  undoubted- 
ly the  most  popular  man  on  the  American 
stage,  and  perhaps  the  most  eminent  one  in 
the  world.  In  England  he  also  won  the 
greatest  applause. 

Mr.  Booth's  work  was  confined  mostly 
to  Shakspearean  roles,  and  his  art  was- 
characterized  by  intellectual  acuteness, 
fervor,  and  poetic  feeling.  His  Hamlet, 
Richard  II,  Richard  III,  and  Richelieu  gave- 
play  to  his  greatest  powers.  In  1865, 
when  his  brother,  John  Wilkes  Booth, 
enacted  his  great  crime,  Edwin  Booth  re- 
solved to  retire  from  the  stage,  but  was  pur - 
suaded  to  reconsider  that  decision.  The 
odium  did    not  in    any  way  attach  to   the 


m 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHY. 


great  actor,  and  his  popularity  was  not 
affected.  In  all  his  work  Mr.  Booth  clung 
closely  to  the  legitimate  and  the  traditional 
in  drama,  making  no  experiments,  and  offer- 
ing little  encouragement  to  new  dramatic 
authors.  His  death  occurred  in  New  York, 
June  7,  1S94. 

JOSEPH  HOOKER,  a  noted  American 
officer,  was  born  at  Hadley,  Massachu- 
setts, November  13,  18 14.  He  graduated 
from  West  Point  Military  Academy  in  1837, 
and  was  appointed  lieutenant  of  artillery. 
He  served  in  Florida  in  the  Seminole  war, 
and  in  garrison  until  the  outbreak  of  the 
Mexican  war.  During  the  latter  he  saw 
service  as  a  staff  officer  and  was  breveted 
captain,  major  and  lieutenant-colonel  for 
gallantry  at  Monterey,  National  Bridge  and 
Chapultepec.  Resigning  his  commission  in 
1833  he  took  up  farming  in  California,  which 
he  followed  until  1861.  During  this  time 
he  acted  as  superintendent  of  military  roads 
in  Oregon.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebel- 
lion Hooker  tendered  his  services  to  the 
government,  and,  May  17,  1861,  was  ap- 
pointed brigadier-general  of  volunteers.  He 
served  in  the  defence  of  Washington  and  on 
the  lower  Potomac  until  his  appointment  to 
the  command  of  a  division  in  the  Third 
Corps,  in  March,  1862.  For  gallant  con- 
duct at  the  siege  of  Yorktown  and  in  the 
battles  of  Williamsburg,  Fair  Oaks,  Fra- 
zier's  Farm  and  Malvern  Hill  he  was  made 
major-general.  At  the  head  of  his  division 
he  participated  in  the  battles  of  Manassas 
and  Chantilly.  September  6,  1862,  he  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  First  Corps,  and 
in  the  battles  of  South  Mountain  and  An- 
tietam  acted  with  his  usual  gallantry,  being 
wounded  m  the  latter  engagement.  On  re- 
joining the  army  in  November  he  was  made 
brigadier-general  in  the  regular  army.     On 


General  Burnside  attaining  the  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  General  Hooker 
was  placed  in  command  of  the  center  grand 
division,  consisting  of  the  Second  and  Fifth 
Corps.  At  the  head  of  these  gallant  men 
he  participated  in  the  battle  of  Fred- 
ericksburg, December  13,  1862.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1863,  General  Hooker  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  in 
May  following  fought  the  battle  of  Chan- 
cellorsville.  At  the  tirne  of  the  invasion  of 
Pennsylvania,  owing  to  a  dispute  with  Gen- 
eral Halleck,  Hooker  requested  to  be  re- 
lieved of  his  command,  and  June  28  was 
succeeded  by  George  G.  Meade.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1863,  General  Hooker  was  given 
command  of  the  Twentieth  Corps  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and 
distinguished  himself  at  the  battles  of  Look- 
out Mountain,  Missionary  Ridge,  and  Ring- 
gold. In  the  Atlanta  campaign  he  saw 
almost  daily  service  and  merited  his  well- 
known  nickname  of  "Fighting  Joe."  July 
30,  1864,  at  his  own  request,  he  was  re- 
lieved of  his  command.  He  subsequently 
was  in  command  of  several  military  depart- 
ments in  the  north,  and  in  October,  186S, 
was  retired  with  the  full  rank  of  major-gen- 
eral.     He  died  October  31,   1879. 

JAY  GOULD,  one  of  the  greatest  finan- 
ciers that  the  world  has  ever  produced, 
was  born  May  27,  1836,  at  Roxbury,  Dela- 
ware count}',  New  York.  He  spent  his  early 
years  on  his  father's  farm  and  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  entered  Hobart  Academy,  New 
York,  and  kept  books  for  the  village  black-  j 
smith.  He  acquired  a  taste  for  mathematics 
and  surveying  and  on  leaving  school  found  ,' 
employment  in  making  the  surveyor's  map 
of  Ulster  county.  He  surveyed  very  exten- 
sively in  the  state  and  accumulated  five  thou- 
sand dollars  as  the  fruits  of  his  labor.     He 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


was  then  strickan  with  typhoid  fever  but  re- 
covered and  maae  the  acquaintance  of  one 
Zadock  Pratt,  who  sent  him  into  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  state  to  locate  a  site  for  a 
tannery.  He  chose  a  fine  hemlock  grove, 
built  a  sawmill  and  blacksmith  shop  and 
was  soon  doing  a  large  lumber  business  with 
]\Ir.  Pratt.  Mr.  Gould  soon  secured  control 
of  the  entire  plant,  which  he  sold  out  just 
before  the  panic  of  1857  and  in  this  year  he 
became  the  largest  stockholderinthe  Strouds- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  bank.  Shortly  after  the 
crisis  he  bought  the  bonds  of  the  Rutland 
&  Washington  Railroad  at  ten  cents  on  the 
dollar,  and  put  all  his  money  into  railroad 
securities.  For  a  long  time  he  conducted 
this  road  which  he  consolidated  with  the 
Rensselaer  &  Saratoga  Railroad.  In  1859 
he  removed  to  New  York  and  became  a 
heavy  investor  in  Erie  Railroad  stocks,  en- 
tered that  company  and  was  president  until 
its  reorganization  in  1872.  In  December, 
1880,  Mr.  Gould  was  in  control  of  ten  thou- 
sand miles  of  railroad.  In  1887  he  pur- 
chased the  controlling  interest  in  the  St. 
Louis  &  San  Francisco  Railroad  Co.,  and 
was  a  joint  owner  with  the  Atchison,  Topeka 
&  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Co.  of  the  western 
portion  of  the  Southern  Pacific  line.  Other 
lines  soon  came  under  his  control,  aggregat- 
ing thousand  of  miles,  and  he  soon  was  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  world's  greatest  rail- 
road magnates.  He  continued  to  hold  his 
place  as  one  of  the  master  financiers  of  the 
century  until  the  time  of  his  death  which 
occurred  December  2,  1892. 


THOMAS  HART  BENTON,  a  very 
prominent  United  States  senator  and 
statesman,  was  born  at  Hillsborough,  North 
Carolina,  March  14,  1782.  He  removed  to 
Tennessee  in  early  life,  studied  law,  and  be- 
gan   to    practice  at  Nashville  about  18 10. 


During  the  war  of  1812-1815  he  served  as 
colonel  of  a  Tennessee  regiment  under  Gen- 
eral Andrew  Jackson.  In  181  5  he  removed 
to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  in  1820  was 
chosen  United  States  senator  for  that  state. 
Having  been  re-elected  in  1826,  he  sup- 
ported President  Jackson  in  his  opposition 
to  the  United  States  bank  and  advocated  a 
gold  and  silver  currency,  thus  gaining  the 
name  of  "  Old  Bullion,"  by  which  he  was 
familiarly  known.  For  many  years  he  was 
the  most  prominent  man  in  Missouri,  and 
took  rank  among  the  greatest  statesmen  of 
his  day.  He  was  a  member  of  the  senate 
for  thirty  years  and  opposed  the  extreme 
states'  rights  policy  of  John  C.  Calhoun. 
In  1852  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives in  which  he  opposed  the  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  compromise.  He  was  op- 
posed by  a  powerful  party  of  States'  Rights 
Democrats  in  Missouri,  who  defeated  him  as  a 
candidate  for  governor  of  that  state  in  1856. 
Colonel  Benton  published  a  considerable 
work  in  two  volumes  in  1854-56,  entitled 
"  Thirty  Years' View,  or  a  History  of  the 
Working  of  the  American  Government  for 
Thirty  Years,  1820-50."  He  died  April  10, 
1858. 


STEPHEN  ARNOLD  DOUGLAS.— One 
of  the  most  prominent  figures  in  politic- 
al circles  during  the  intensely  exciting  days 
that  preceded  the  war,  and  a  leader  of  the 
Union  branch  of  the  Democratic  party  was 
the  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch. 

He  was  born  at  Brandon,  Rutland  coun- 
ty, Vermont,  April  23,  1813,  of  poor  but 
respectable  parentage.  His  father,  a  prac- 
ticing physician,  died  while  our  subject  was 
but  an  infant,  and  his  mother,  with  two 
small  children  and  but  small  means,  could 
give  him  but  the  rudiments  of  an  education. 


54 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


At  the  age  of  fifteen  young  Douglas  engaged 
at  work  in  the  cabinet  making  business  to 
raise  fni;ds  to  carry  him  througn  college. 
After  a  few  years  of  labor  he  was  enabled  to 
pursue  an  academical  course,  first  at  Bran- 
don, and  later  at  Canandaigua,  New  York. 
In  the  latter  place  he  remained  until  1833, 
taking  up  the  study  of  law.  Before  he  was 
twenty,  however,  his  lunds  running  low,  he 
abandoned  all  further  attempts  at  educa- 
tion, determining  to  enter  at  once  the  battle 
of  life.  After  some  wanderings  through  the 
western  states  he  took  up  his  residence  at 
Jacksonville,  Illinois,  where,  after  teaching 
school  for  three  months,  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  opened  an  office  in  1834. 
"Within  a  year  from  that  time,  so  rapidly  had 
he  risen  in  his  profession,  he  was  chosen 
attorney  general  of  the  state,  and  warmly 
espoused  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party.  He  soon  became  one  of  the  most 
popular  orators  in  Illinois.  It  was  at  this 
time  he  gained  the  name  of  the  "Little 
Giant."  In  1835  he  resigned  the  position 
of  attorney  general  having  been  elected  to 
the  legislature.  In  1841  he  was  chosen 
judge  of  the  supreme  icourt  of  Illinois  which 
he  resigned  two  years  later  to  take  a  seat  in 
congress.  It  was  during  this  period  of  his 
life,  while  a  member  of  the  lower  house, 
that  he  established  his  reputation  and  took 
the  side  of  those  who  contended  that  con- 
gress had  no  constitutional  right  to  restrict 
the  extension  of  slavery  further  than  the 
agreement  between  the  states  made  in  1820. 
This,  in  spite  of  his  being  opposed  to  slav- 
ery, and  only  on  grounds  which  he  believed 
to  be  right,  favored  what  was  called  the 
Missouri  compromise.  In  1847  Mr.  Doug- 
las was  chosen  United  States  senator  for 
six  years,  and  greatly  distinguished  himself. 
In  1852  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office. 
-During  this  latter   term,   under  his  leader- 


ship, the  "  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  "  was  car- 
ried in  the  senate.  In  1858,  nothwith- 
standing  the  fierce  contest  made  by  his  able 
competitor  for  the  position,  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, and  with  the  administration  of  Bu- 
chanan arrayed  against  him,  Mr.  Douglas 
was  re-elected  senator.  After  the  trouble 
in  the  Charleston  convention,  when  by  the 
withdrawal  of  several  state  delegates  with- 
out a  nomination,  the  Union  Democrats, 
in  convention  at  Baltimore,  in  i860,  nomi- 
nated Mr.  Douglas  as  their  candidate  for 
presidency.'  The  results  of  this  election  are 
well  known  and  the  great  events  of  1861 
coming  on,  Mr.  Douglas  was  spared  their 
full  development,  dying  at  Chicago,  Illinois, 
June  3,  1 86 1,  after  a  short  illness.  His 
last  words  to  his  children  were,  "to  obey 
the  laws  and  support  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States." 


JAMES  MONROE,  fifth  president  of  the 
United  States,  was  born  in  Westmore- 
land count}',  Virginia,  April  28,  1758.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  William  and 
Mary  College,  but  two  years  later  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  having  been 
adopted,  he  left  college  and  hastened  to  New 
York  where  he  joined  Washington's  army  as 
a  military  cadet. 

At  the   battle   of  Trenton  Monroe  per- 
formed gallant  service  and  received  a  wound 
in  the  shoulder,    and   was   promoted    to    a 
captaincy.      He  acted  as  aide  to  Lord  Ster- 
ling at  the  battles  of  Brandywine,  German- 
town    and    Monmouth.      Washington   then 
sent  him  to  Virginia  to  raise  a  new  regiment 
of  which   he   was  to  be  colonel.      The  ex- 
hausted condition  of  Virginia  made  this  im- 
I  possible,  but    he    received   his  commission. 
I  He  next  entered  the  law  office   of  Thomas 
j  Jefferson  to  study  law,  as  there  was  no  open- 
I  ing   for  him  as  an  officer  in  the  army,     in 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


55 


1782  he  was  electa  to  the  Virginia  assem- 
bly, and  the  next  year  he  was  elected  to  the 
Continental  congress.  Realizing  the  inade- 
quacy of  the  old  articles  of  confederation, 
he  advocated  the  calling  of  a  convention  to 
consider  their  revision,  and  introduced  in 
congress  a  resolution  empowering  congress 
to  regulate  trade,  lay  import  duties,  etc. 
This  resolution  was  referred  to  a  committee, 
of  which  he  was  chairman,  and  the  report 
led  to  the  Annapolis  convention,  which 
called  a  general  convention  to  meet  at  Phila- 
delphia in  1787,  when  the  constitution  was 
drafted.  Mr.  Monroe  began  the  practice  of 
law  at  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  and  was 
soon  after  -i'-icted  to  the  legislature,  and  ap- 
pointed as  one  of  the  committee  to  pass 
upon  the  adoption  of  the  constitution.  He 
opposed  it,  as  giving  too  much  power  to  the 
central  government.  He  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate  in  1789,  where  he 
allied  himself  with  the  Anti-Federalists  or 
"Republicans,"  as  they  were  sometimes 
called.  Although  his  views  as  to  neutrality 
between  France  and  England  were  directly 
opposed  to  those  of  the  president,  yet  Wash- 
ington appointed  him  minister  to  France. 
His  popularity  in  France  was  so  great  that 
the  antagonism  of  England  and  her  friends 
in  this  country  brought  about  his  recall.  He 
then  became  governor  of  Virginia.  He  was 
sent  as  envoy  to  France  in  1802;  minister 
to  England  in  1803;  and  envoy  to  Spain  in 
1805.  The  next  year  he  returned  to  his 
estate  in  Virginia,  and  with  an  ample  in- 
heritance enjoyed  a  few  years  of  repose.  He 
was  again  called  to  be  governor  of  Virginia, 
and  was  then  appointed  secretary  of  state 
by  President  Madison.  The  war  with  Eng- 
land soon  resulted,  and  when  the  capital 
was  burned  by  the  British,  Mr.  Monroe  be- 
came secretary  of  war  also,  and  planned  the 
measures  for  the  defense  of  New  Orleans. 


The  treasury  being  exhausted  and  credit 
gone,  he  pledged  his  own  estate,  and  thereby 
made  possible  the  victory  of  Jackson  at  New 
Orleans. 

In  1817  Mr.  Monroe  became  president 
of  the  United  States,  having  been  a  candi- 
date of  the  "Republican"  party,  which  at 
that  time  had  begun  to  be  called  the  ' '  Demo- 
cratic" party.  In  1820  he  was  re-elected, 
having  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  electoral 
votes  out  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-two. 
His  administration  is  known  as  the  "Era of 
good-feeling, "  and  party  lines  were  almost 
wiped  out.  The  slavery  question  began  to 
assume  importance  at  this  time,  and  the 
Missouri  Compromise  was  passed.  The 
famous  "Monroe  Doctrine"  originated  in  a 
great  state  paper  of  President  Monroe  upon 
the  rumored  interference  of  the  Holy  Alli- 
ance to  prevent  the  formation  of  free  repub- 
lics in  South  America.  President  Monroe 
acknowledged  their  independence,  and  pro- 
mulgated his  great  "Doctrine,"  which  has. 
been  held  in  reverence  since.  Mr.  Monroe's 
death  occurred  in  New  York  on  July  4,  1 8  3 1 . 


THOMAS  ALVA  EDISON,  the  master 
wizard  of  electrical  science  and  whose 
name  is  synonymous  with  the  subjugation 
of  electricity  to  the  service  of  man,  was 
born  in  1847  at  Milan,  Ohio,  and  it  was  at 
Port  Huron,  Michigan,  whither  his  parents 
had  moved  in  1854,  that  his  self-education 
began — for  he  never  attended  school  for 
more  than  two  months.  He  eagerly  de- 
voured every  book  he  could  lay  his  hands  on 
and  is  said  to  have  read  through  an  encyclo- 
pedia without  missing  a  word.  At  thirteen  he 
began  his  working  life  as  a  trainboy  upon  the 
Grand  Trunk  Railway  between  Port  Huron 
and  Detroit.  Much  of  his  time  was  now 
spent  in  Detroit,  where  he  found  increased 
facilities  for  reading  at  the   public  libraries. 


56 


COMPENDIUM  OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


He  was  not  content  to  be  a  newsboy,  so  he 
got  togetner  three  hundred  pounds  of  type 
and  started  the  issue  of  the  "  Grand  Trunk 
Herald."  It  was  only  a  small  amateur 
weekly,  printed  on  one  side,  the  impression 
being  made  from  the  type  by  hand.  Chemi- 
cal research  was  his  next  undertaking  and 
a  laboratory  was  added  to  his  movable  pub- 
lishing house,  which,  by  the  way,  was  an 
old  freight  car.  One  day,  however,  as  he 
was  experimenting  with  some  phosphorus, 
it  ignited  and  the  irate  conductor  threw  the 
young  seeker  after  the  truth,  chemicals  and 
all,  from  the  train.  His  office  and  laboratory 
were  then  removed  to  the  cellar  of  his  fa- 
ther's house.  As  he  grew  to  manhood  he 
decided  to  become  an  operator.  He  won 
his  opportunity  by  saving  the  life  of  a  child, 
whose  father  was  an  old  operator,  and  out  of 
gratitude  he  gave  Mr.  Edison  lessons  in  teleg- 
raphy. Five  months  later  he  was  compe- 
tent to  fill  a  position  in  the  railroad  office 
at  Port  Huron.  Hence  he  peregrinated  to 
Stratford,  Ontario,  and  thence  successively 
to  Adrian,  Fort  Wayne,  Indianapolis,  Cin- 
cmnati,  Memphis,  Louisville  and  Boston, 
gradually  becoming  an  expert  operator  and 
gaming  experience  that  enabled  him  to 
evolve  many  ingenious  ideas  for  the  im- 
provement of  telegraphic  appliances.  At 
Memphis  he  constructed  an  automatic  re- 
peater, which  enabled  Louisville  and  New 
Orleans  to  communicate  direct,  and  received 
nothing  more  than  the  thanks  of  his  em- 
ployers. Mr.  Edison  came  to  New  York  in 
1870  in  search  of  an  opening  more  suitable 
to  his  capabilities  and  ambitions.  He  hap- 
pened to  be  in  the  office  of  the  Laws  Gold 
Reporting  Company  when  one  of  the  in- 
struments got  out  of  order,  and  even  the 
inventor  of  the  system  could  not  make  it 
work.  Edison  requested  to  be  allowed  to 
attempt  the  task,  and  in  a  few  minutes  he 


had  overcome  the  difficulty  and  secured  an 
advantageous  engagement.  For  several 
years  he  had  a  contract  with  the  Western 
Union  and  the  Gold  Stock  companies, 
whereby  he  received  a  large  salary,  besides 
a  special  price  for  all  telegraphic  improve- 
ments he  could  suggest.  Later,  as  the 
head  of  the  Edison  General  Electric  com- 
pany, with  its  numerous  subordinate  organ- 
izations and  connections  all  over  the  civil- 
ized world,  he  became  several  times  a 
millionaire.  Mr.  Edison  invented  the  pho- 
nograph and  kinetograph  which  bear  his 
name,  the  carbon  telephone,  the  tasimeter, 
and  the  duplex  and  quadruplex  systems  of 
telegraphy. 

JAMES  LONGSTREET,  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  of  the  Confederate  generals 
during  the  Civil  war,  was  born  in  1820,  in 
South  Carolina,  but  was  early  taken  by  his 
parents  to  Alabama  where  he  grew  to  man- 
hood and  received  his  early  education.  He 
graduated  at  the  United  States  military 
academy  in  1842,  entering  the  army  as 
lieutenant  and  spent  a  few  years  in  the  fron- 
tier service.  When  the  Mexican  war  broke 
out  he  was  called  to  the  front  and  partici- 
pated in  all  the  principal  battles  of  that  war 
up  to  the  storming  of  Chapultepec,  where 
he  received  severe  wounds.  For  gallant 
conduct  at  Contreras,  Cherubusco,  and  Mo- 
lino  del  Rey  he  'received  the  brevets  of  cap- 
tain and  major.  After  the  close  of  the 
Mexican  war  Longstreet  served  as  adjutant 
and  captain  on  frontier  service  in  Texas  un- 
til 1S58  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  staff 
as  paymaster  with  rank  of  major.  In  June, 
1 86 1,  he  resigned  to  join  the  Confederacy 
and  immediately  went  to  the  front,  com- 
manding a  brigade  at  Bull  Run  the  follow- 
ing month.  Promoted  to  be  major-general 
in   1862  he  thereafter  bore  a  conspicuous 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


5V 


part  and  rendered  valuable  service  to  the 
Confederate  cause.  He  participated  in 
many  of  the  most  severe  battles  of  the  Civil 
"war  including  Bull  Run  (first  and  second), 
Seven  Pines,  Gainefj'  Mill,  Fraziers  Farm, 
Malvern  Hill,  Antietam,  Frederickburg, 
Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  Chickamauga, 
the  Wilderness,  Petersburg  and  most  of  the 
fighting  about  Richmond. 

When  the  war  closed  General  Long- 
street  accepted  the  result,  renewed  his  alle- 
giance to  the  government,  and  thereafter 
labored  earnestly  to  obliterate  all  traces  of 
war  and  promote  an  era  of  good  feeling  be- 
tween all  sections  of  the  country.  He  took 
up  his  residence  in  New  Orleans,  and  took 
an  active  interest  and  prominent  part  in 
public  affairs,  served  as  surveyor  of  that 
port  for  several  years;  was  commissioner  of 
engineers  for  Louisiana,  served  four  years 
as  school  commissioner,  etc.  In  1S75  he 
•was  appointed  supervisor  of  internal  revenue 
and  settled  in  Georgia.  After  that  time  he 
served  four  years  as  United  States  minister 
to  Turkey,  and  also  for  a  number  of  years 
•was  United  States  marshal  of  Georgia,  be- 
sides having  held  other  important  official 
positions. 

JOHN  RUTLEDGE,  the  second  chief- 
justice  of  the  United  States,  was  born 
at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1739. 
He  was  a  son  of  John  Rutledge,  who  had 
left  Ireland  for  America  about  five  years 
prior  to  the  birth  of  our  subject,  and  a 
Tjrother  of  Edward  Rutledge,  a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  John  Rut- 
ledge received  his  legal  education  at  the 
Temple,  London,  after  which  he  returned 
to  Charleston  and  soon  won  distinction  at 
the  bar.  He  was  elected  to  the  old  Colonial 
•congress  in  1765  to  protest  against  the 
•"  Stamp  Act, "  and  was  a    member  of  the 


South  Carolina  convention  of  1774,  and  of 
the  Continental  congress  of  that  and  the 
succeeding  year.  In  1776  he  was  chairman 
of  the  committee  that  draughted  the  con- 
stitution of  his  state,  and  was  president  of 
the  congress  of  that  state.  He  was  not 
pleased  with  the  state  constitution,  how- 
ever, and  resigned.  In  1779  he  was  again 
chosen  governor  of  the  state,  and  granted 
extraordinary  powers,  and  he  at  once  took 
the  field  to  repel  the  British.  He  joined 
the  army  of  General  Gates  in  1782,  and  the 
same  year  was  elected  to  congress.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention which  framed  our  present  constitu- 
tion. In  1789  he  was  appointed  an  associate 
justice  of  the  first  supreme  court  of  the 
United  States.  He  resigned  to  accept  the 
position  of  chief-justice  of  his  own  state. 
Upon  the  resignation  of  Judge  Jay,  he  was 
appointed  chief-justice  of  the  United  States 
in  1795.  The  appointment  was  never  con- 
firmed, for,  after  presiding  at  one  session, 
his  mind  became  deranged,  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Judge  Ellsworth.  He  died  at 
Charleston,  July  23,   1800. 


RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON  was  one 
of  the  most  noted  literary  men  of  his 
time.  He  was  born  in  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts, May  25,  1803.  He  had  a  minister  for 
an  ancestor,  either  on  the  paternal  or  ma- 
ternal side,  in  every  generation  for  eight 
generations  back.  His  father.  Rev.  Will- 
iam Emerson,  was  a  native  of  Concord, 
Massachusetts,  born  May  6,  1 769,  graduated 
at  Harvard,  in  1789,  became  a  Unitarian 
minister;  was  a  fine  writer  and  one  of  the 
best  orators  of  his  day;  died  in  181 1. 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  was  fitted  for 
college  at  the  public  schools  of  Boston,  and 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1821,  win- 
ning about    this  time  several  prizes  for  es- 


68 


COMPENDIUM    OF    BIOGRAPHY. 


says.  For  five  years  he  taught  school  in 
Boston;  in  1826  was  licensed  to  preach,  and 
in  1829  was  ordained  as  a  colleague  to  Rev. 
Henry  Ware  of  the  Second  Unitarian  church 
in  Boston.  In  1832  he  resigned,  making 
the  announcement  in  a  sermon  of  his  un- 
tvillingness  longer  to  administer  the  rite  of 
khe  Lord's  Supper,  after  which  he  spent 
about  a  year  in  Europe.  Upon  his  return 
he  began  his  career  as  a  lecturer  before  the 
Boston  Mechanics  Institute,  his  subject  be- 
ing "Water."  His  early  lectures  on  "  Italy" 
and  "Relation  of  Man  to  the  Globe  "  also 
attracted  considerable  attention;  as  did  also 
his  biographical  lectures  on  Michael  Angelo, 
Milton,  Luther,  George  Fox,  and  Edmund 
Burke.  After  that  time  he  gave  many 
courses  of  lectures  in  Boston  and  became 
one  of  the  best  known  lecturers  in  America. 
But  very  few  men  have  rendered  such  con- 
tinued service  in  this  field.  He  lectured  for 
forty  successive  seasons  before  the  Salem, 
Massachusetts,  Lyceum  and  also  made  re- 
peated lecturing  tours  in  this  country  and  in 
England.  In  1835  Mr.  Emerson  took  up 
his  residence  at  Concord,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  continued  to  make  his  home  until 
his  death  which  occurred  April  27,  1882. 

Mr.  Emerson's  literary  work  covered  a 
wide  scope.  He  wrote  and  published  many 
works,  essays  and  poems,  which  rank  high 
among  the  works  of  American  literary  men. 
A  few  of  the  many  which  he  produced  are 
the  following:  "Nature;"  "The  Method 
of  Nature;"  "  Man  Thinking;"  "The  Dial;" 
"Essays;"  "Poems;"  "English  Traits;" 
"The  Conduct  of  Life;"  "May-Day  and 
other  Poems  "  and  "  Society  and  Solitude;" 
besides  many  others.  He  was  a  prominent 
member  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts 
and  Sciences,  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society 
and  other  kindred  associations. 


ALEXANDER  T.  STEWART,  one  of 
the  famous  merchant  princes  of  New 
York,  was  born  near  the  city  of  Belfast,  Ire- 
land, in  1803,  and  before  he  was  eight  years 
of  age  was  left  an  orphan  without  any  near 
relatives,  save  an  aged  grandfather.  The 
grandfather  being  a  pious  Methodist  wanted 
to  make  a  minister  of  young  Stewart,  and 
accordingly  put  him  in  a  school  with  that 
end  in  view  and  he  graduated  at  Trinity  Col- 
lege, in  Dublin.  When  scarcely  twenty 
years  of  age  he  came  to  New  York.  His 
first  employment  was  that  of  a  teacher,  but 
accident  soon  made  him  a  merchant.  En- 
tering into  business  relations  with  an  ex- 
perienced man  of  his  acquaintance  he  soon 
found  himself  with  the  rent  of  a  store  on 
his  hands  and  alone  in  a  new  enterprise. 
Mr.  Stewart's  business  grew  rapidly  in  all 
directions,  but  its  founder  had  executive 
ability  sufficient  for  any  and  all  emergencies, 
and  in  time  his  house  became  one  of  the 
greatest  mercantile  establishments  of  mod- 
ern times,  and  the  name  of  Stewart  famous. 
Mr.  Stewart's  death  occurred  April  10, 
1S76.  

JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER.  —  In 
speaking  of  this  noted  American  nov- 
elist, William  Cullen  Bryant  said:  "  He 
wrote  for  mankind  at  large,  hence  it  is  that 
he  has  earned  a  fame  wider  than  any  Amer- 
ican author  of  modern  times.  The  crea- 
tions of  his  genius  shall  survive  through 
centuries  to  come,  and  only  perish  with  our 
language."  Another  eminent  writer  (Pres- 
cott)  said  of  Cooper:  "  In  his  productions 
every  American  must  take  an  honest  pride; 
for  surely  no  one  has  succeeded  like  Cooper 
in  the  portraiture  of  American  character,  or 
has  given  such  glowing  and  eminently  truth- 
ful pictures  of  American  scenery." 

James  Fenimore  Cooper  was  born  Sep- 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


59 


tember  15,  1789,  at  Burlington,  New  Jer- 
sey, and  was  a  son  of  Judge  William  Cooper. 
About  a  year  after  the  birth  of  our  subject 
the  family  removed  to  Otsego  county.  New 
York,  and  founded  the  town  called  ' '  Coop- 
erstown."  James  Fenimore  Cooper  spent 
his  childhood  there  and  in  1S02  entered 
Yale  College,  and  four  years  later  became  a 
midshipman  in  the  United  States  navy.  In 
181 1  he  was  married,  quit  the  seafaring  life, 
and  began  devoting  more  or  less  time  to  lit- 
erary pursuits.  His  first  work  was  "Pre- 
caution," a  novel  published  in  18 19,  and 
three  years  later  he  produced  "The  Spy,  a 
Tale  of  Neutral  Ground,"  which  met  with 
great  favor  and  was  a  universal  success. 
This  was  followed  by  many  other  works, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  follow- 
ing: "The  Pioneers,"  " The  Pilot, "  "Last 
of  the  Mohicans,"  "The  Prairie,"  "The 
Red  Rover,"  "The  Manikins,"  "Home- 
ward Bound,"  "Home  as  Found,"  "  History 
of  the  United  States  Navy,"  "The  Path- 
finder," "Wing  and  Wing,"  "Afloat  and 
Ashore,"  "The  Chain-Bearer,"  "Oak- 
Openings,"  etc.  J.  Fenimore  Cooper  died 
at  Cooperstown,  New  York,  September  14, 
1851.  

MARSHALL  FIELD,  one  of  the  mer- 
chant princes  of  America,  ranks  among 
the  most  successful  business  men  of  the  cen- 
tury. He  was  born  in  1835  at  Conway, 
Massachusetts.  He  spent  his  early  life  on 
a  farm  and  secured  a  fair  education  in  the 
common  schools,  supplementing  this  with  a 
course  at  the  Conway  Academy.  His 
natural  bent  ran  in  the  channels  of  commer- 
cial life,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was 
given  a  position  in  a  store  at  Pittsfie'.d, 
Massachusetts.  Mr.  Field  remained  there 
four  years  and  removed  to  Chicago  in  1856. 
He  began  bis  career  in  Chicago  as   a   clerk 


in  the  wholesale  dry  goods  house  of  Cooley, 
Wadsworth  &  Company,  which  later  be- 
came Cooley,  Farwell  &  Company,  and  still 
later  John  V.  Farwell  &  Company.  He 
remained  with  them  four  years  and  exhibit- 
ed marked  ability,  in  recognition  of  which 
he  was  given  a  partnership.  In  1865  Mr. 
Field  and  L.  Z.  Leiter,  who  was  also  a 
member  of  the  firm,  withdrew  and  formed 
the  firm  of  Field,  Palmer  &  Leiter,  the 
third  partner  being  Potter  Palmer,  and  they 
continued  in  business  until  1867,  when  Mr. 
Palmer  retired  and  the  firm  became  Field, 
Leiter  &  Company.  They  ran  under  the 
latter  name  until  1881,  when  Mr.  Leiter  re- 
tired and  the  house  has  since  continued  un- 
der the  name  of  Marshall  Field  &  Company. 
The  phenomenal  success  accredited  to  the 
house  is  largely  due  to  the  marked  ability 
of  Mr.  Field,  the  house  had  become  one  of 
the  foremost  in  the  west,  with  an  annual 
sale  of  $8,000,000  in  1870.  The  total  loss 
of  the  firm  during  the  Chicago  fire  was 
$3,500,000  of  which  $2,500,000  was  re- 
covered through  the  insurance  companies. 
It  rapidly  recovered  from  the  effects  of  this 
and  to-day  the  annual  sales  amount  to  over 
$40,000,000.  Mr.  Field's  real  estate  hold- 
ings amounted  to  $10,000,000.  He  was 
one  of  the  heaviest  subscribers  to  the  Bap- 
tist University  fund  although  he  is  a  Presby- 
terian, and  gave  $1,000,000  for  the  endow- 
ment of  the  Field  Columbian  Museum — 
one  of  the  greatest  institutions  of  the  kind 
in  the  world. 

EDGAR  WILSON  NYE,  who  won  an  im- 
mense popularity  under  the  pen  name 
of  "  Bill  Nye,"  was  one  of  the  most  eccen- 
tric humorists  of  his  day.  He  was  born  Au- 
gust 25,  1850,  at  Shirley,  Piscataqua  coun- 
ty, Maine,  "at  a  very  early  age  "  as  he  ex- 
presses it.      He  took  an  academic  course  ia 


COMPEXDICM   OF   BI0GRAPH2'. 


River  Falls,  Wisconsin,  from  whence,  after 
his  graduation,  he  removed  to  Wyoming 
Territory.  He  studied  law  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1876.  He  began  when 
quite  young  to  contribute  humorous  sketches 
to  the  newspapers,  became  connected  with 
various  western  journals  and  achieved  a 
brilliant  success  as  a  humorist.  Mr.  Nye 
settled  later  in  Nesv  York  City  where  he 
devoted  his  time  to  writing  funny  articles  for 
the  big  newspaper  syndicates.  He  wrote  for 
publication  in  book  form  the  following : 
"Bill  Nye  and  the  Boomerang,"  "The 
Forty  Liars,"  "Baled  Hay,"  "Bill  Nye's 
Blossom  Rock,"  "Remarks,"  etc.  His 
death  occurred  February  21,  1896,  at  Ashe- 
ville.  North  Carolina. 


THOMAS  DE  WITT  TALMAGE,  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  American  preach- 
ers, was  born  January  7,  1832,  and  was  the 
youngest  of  twelve  children.  He  made  his 
preliminary  studies  at  the  grammar  school 
in  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersej'.  At  the  age 
of  eighteen  he  joined  the  church  and  entered 
the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and 
graduated  in  May,  1853.  The  exercises 
were  held  in  Niblo's  Garden  and  his  speech 
aroused  the  audience  to  a  high  pitch  of  en- 
thusiasm. At  the  close  of  his  college  duties 
he  imagined  himself  interested  in  the  law 
and  for  three  years  studied  law.  Dr.  Tal- 
mage  then  perceived  his  mistake  and  pre- 
pared himself  for  the  ministry  at  the 
Reformed  Dutch  Church  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey.  Just 
after  his  ordination  the  young  minister  re- 
ceived two  calls,  one  from  Piermont,  New 
York,  and  the  other  from  Belleville,  New 
Jersey.  Dr.  Talmage  accepted  the  latter 
and  for  three  years  filled  that  charge,  when 
he  was  called  to  Syracuse,  New  York.  Here 
it   was   that   his   sermons  first  drew  large 


crowds  of  people  to  his  church,  and  from 
thence  dates  his  popularity.  Afterward  he 
became  the  pastor  of  the  Second  Reformed 
Dutch  church,  of  Philadelphia,  remaining 
seven  years,  during  which  period  he  first 
entered  upon  the  lecture  platform  and  laid 
the  foundation  for  his  future  reputation.  At 
the  end  of  this  time  he  received  three  calls, 
one  from  Chicago,  one  from  San  Francisco, 
and  one  from  the  Central  Presbyterian 
church  of  Brooklyn,  which  latter  at  that 
time  consisted  of  only  nineteen  members 
with  a  congregation  of  about  thirty-five. 
This  church  offered  him  a  salary  of  sevea 
thousand  dollars  and  he  accepted  the  call. 
He  soon  induced  the  trustees  to  sell  the  old 
church  and  build  a  new  one.  The)'  did  so 
and  erected  the  Brooklyn  Tabernacle,  but 
it  burned  down  shortly  after  it  was  finished. 
By  prompt  sympathy  and  general  liberality 
a  new  church  was  built  and  formally  opened 
in  February,  1874.  It  contained  seats  for 
four  thousand,  six  hundred  and  fifty,  but  if 
necessary  seven  thousand  could  be  accom- 
modated. In  October,  1878,  his  salary  was 
raised  from  seven  thousand  dollars  to  twelve 
thousand  dollars,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1889 
the  second  tabernacle  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
A  third  tabernacle  was  built  and  it  was  for- 
mally dedicated  on  Easter  Sunday,  1891. 


JOHN  PHILIP  SOUSA,  conceded  as 
being  one  of  the  greatest  band  leaders 
in  the  world,  won  his  fame  while  leader  of 
the  United  States  Marine  Band  at  Washing- 
ton, District  of  Columbia.  He  was  not 
originally  a  band  player  but  was  a  violinist, 
and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was  conduc- 
tor of  an  opera  company,  a  profession  which 
he  followed  for  several  years,  until  he  was 
offered  the  leadership  of  the  Marine  Band 
at  Washington.  The  proposition  was  re- 
pugnant to  him  at  first  but  he  accepted  the 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


offer  and  then  ensued  ten  years  of  brilliant 
success  with  that  organization.  When  he 
first  took  the  Marine  Band  he  began  to 
gather  the  national  airs  of  all  the  nations 
that  have  representatives  in  Washington, 
and  compiled  a  comprehensive  volume  in- 
cluding nearly  all  the  national  songs  of  the 
different  nations.  He  composed  a  number 
of  marches,  waltzes  and  two-steps,  promi- 
nent among  which  are  the  "Washington 
Post,"  "Directorate,"  "King  Cotton," 
"High  School  Cadets,"  "Belle  of  Chica- 
go," "Liberty  Bell  March,"  "Manhattan 
Beach,"  "On  Parade  March,"  "Thunderer 
March,"  "Gladiator  March,"  "El  Capitan 
March,"  etc.  He  became  a  very  extensive 
composer  of  this  class  of  music. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  sixth  president 
of  the  United  States,  was  born  in 
Braintree,  Massachusetts,  July  ii,  1767, 
the  son  of  John  Adams.  At  the  age  of 
eleven  he  was  sent  to  school  at  Paris,  and 
two  years  later  to  Leyden,  where  he  entered 
that  great  university.  He  returned  to  the 
United  States  in  1785,  and  graduated  from 
Harvard  in  178S.  He  then  studied  law, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1791.  His 
practice  brought  no  income  the  first  two 
years,  but  he  won  distinction  in  literary 
fields,  and  was  appointed  minister  to  The 
Hague  in  1794.  He  married  in  1797,  and 
went  as  minister  to  Berlin  the  same  year, 
serving  until  1801,  when  Jefferson  became 
president.  He  was  elected  to  the  senate  in 
1803  by  the  Federalists,  but  was  condemned 
by  that  party  for  advocating  the  Embargo 
Act  and  other  Anti-Federalist  measures.  He 
was  appointed  as  professor  of  rhetoric  at 
Harvard  in  1805,  and  in  1809  was  sent  as 
minister  to  Russia.  He  assisted  in  negotiat- 
ing the  treaty  of  peace  with  England  in 
1814,  and   became   minister  to   that  power 


the  next  year.  He  served  during  Monroe's 
administration  two  terms  as  secretary  of 
state,  during  which  time  party  lines  were 
obliterated,  and  in  1824  four  candidates  for 
president  appeared,  all  of  whom  were  iden- 
tified to  some  extent  with  the  new  "  Demo- 
cratic "  party.  Mr.  Adams  received  84  elec- 
toral votes,  Jackson  99,  Crawford  41,  and 
Clay  37.  As  no  candidate  had  a  majority 
of  all  votes,  the  election  went  to  the  house 
of  representatives,  which  elected  Mr.  Adams. 
As  Clay  had  thrown  his  influence  to  Mr. 
Adams,  Clay  became  secretary  of  state,  and 
this  caused  bitter  feeling  on  the  part  of  the 
Jackson  Democrats,  who  were  joined  by 
Mr.  Crawford  and  his  following,  and  op- 
posed every  measure  of  the  administration. 
In  the  election  of  1828  Jackson  was  elected 
over  Mr.  Adams  by  a  great  majority. 

Mr.  Adams  entered  the  lower  house  of 
congress  in  1830,  elected  from  the  district 
in  which  he  was  born  and  continued  to  rep- 
resent it  for  seventeen  years.  He  was 
known  as  "  the  old  man  eloquent,"  and  his 
work  in  congress  was  independent  of  party. 
He  opposed  slavery  extension  and  insisted 
upon  presenting  to  congress,  one  at  a  time, 
the  hundreds  of  petitions  against  the  slave 
power.  One  of  these  petitions,  presented  in 
1842,  was  signed  by  forty-five  citizens  of 
Massachusetts,  and  prayed  congress  for  a 
peaceful  dissolution  of  the  Union.  His 
enemies  seized  upon  this  as  an  opportunity 
to  crush  their  powerful  foe,  and  in  a  caucus 
meeting  determined  upon  his  expulsion  from 
congress.  Finding  they  would  not  be  able 
to  command  enough  votes  for  this,  they  de- 
cided upon  a  course  that  would  bring  equal 
disgrace.  They  formulated  a  resolution  to 
the  effect  that  while  he  merited  expulsion, 
the  house  would,  in  great  mercy,  substitute 
its  severest  censure.  When  it  was  read  in  the 
house  the  old  man,  then  in  his  seventy-fifth 


62 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


year,  arose  and  demanded  that  the  first  para- 
graph of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
be  read  as  his  defense.  It  embraced  the 
famous  sentence,  "that  whenever  any  form 
of  government  becomes  destructive  to  those 
ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or 
abolish  it,  and  to  institute  new  government, 
etc.,  etc."  After  eleven  days  of  hard  fight- 
ing his  opponents  were  defeated.  On  Febru- 
ary 21,  1848,  he  rose  to  address  the  speaker 
on  the  Oregon  question,  when  he  suddenly 
fell  from  a  stroke  of  paralysis.  He  died 
soon  after  in  the  rotunda  of  the  capitol, 
where  he  had  been  conveyed  by  his  col- 
leagues. 

SUSAN  B.  ANTHONY  was  one  of  the 
most  famous  women  of  America.  She 
Avas  born  at  South  Adams,  Massachusetts, 
February  15,  1820,  the  daughter  of  a 
Quaker.  She  received  a  good  education 
and  became  a  school  teacher,  following  that 
profession  for  fifteen  years  in  New  York. 
Beginning  with  about  1852  she  became  the 
active  leader  of  the  woman's  rights  move- 
ment and  won  a  wide  reputation  for  her 
zeal  and  ability.  She  also  distinguished 
herself  for  her  zeal  and  eloquence  in  the 
temperance  and  anti-slavery  causes,  and 
became  a  conspicuous  figure  during  the  war. 
After  the  close  of  the  war  she  gave  most  of 
her  labors  to  the  cause  of  woman's  suffrage. 


PHILIP  D.  ARMOUR,  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  figures  in  the  mercantile 
history  of  America,  was  born  May  16,  1832, 
on  a  farm  at  Stockbridge,  Madison  county. 
New  York,  and  received  his  early  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  that  county.  He 
was  apprenticed  to  a  farmer  and  worked 
faithfully  and  well,  being  very  ambitious  and 
desiring  to  start  out  for  himself.  At  the 
age  of  twenty  he  secured  a  release  from  his 


indentures  and  set  out  overland  for  the 
gold  fields  of  California.  After  a  great 
deal  of  hard  work  he  accumulated  a  little 
money  and  then  came  east  and  settled 
in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  He  went  into 
the  grain  receiving  and  warehouse  busi- 
ness and  was  fairly  successful,  and  later  on 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  John  Plankin- 
ton  in  the  pork  packing  line,  the  style  of  the 
firm  being  Plankinton  &  Armour.  Mr.  Ar- 
mour made  his  first  great  ' '  deal  "  in  selling 
pork  "short  "  on  the  New  York  market  in 
the  anticipation  of  the  fall  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, and  Mr.  Armour  is  said  to  have  made 
through  this  deal  a  million  dollars.  He  then 
established  packing  houses  in  Chicago  and 
Kansas  City,  and  in  1875  he  removed  to 
Chicago.  He  increased  his  business  by  add- 
ing to  it  the  shipment  of  dressed  beef  to 
the  European  markets,  and  many  other  lines 
of  trade  and  manufacturing,  and  it  rapidly 
assumed  vast  proportions,  employing  an 
army  of  men  in  different  lines  of  the  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Armour  successfully  conducted  a 
great  many  speculative  deals  in  pork  and 
grain  of  immense  proportions  and  also  erected 
many  large  warehouses  for  the  storage  of 
grain.  He  became  one  of  the  representative 
business  men  of  Chicago,  where  he  became 
closely  identified  with  all  enterprises  of  a 
public  nature,  but  his  fame  as  a  great  busi- 
ness man  e.xtended  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
He  founded  the  "Armour  Institute  "  at  Chi- 
cago and  also  contributed  largely  to  benevo- 
lent and  charitable  institutions. 


ROBERT  FULTON.— Although  Fulton 
is  best  known  as  the  inventor  of  the 
first  successful  steamboat,  yet  his  claims  to 
distinction  do  not  rest  alone  upon  that,  for 
he  was  an  inventor  along  other  lines,  a 
painter  and  an  author.  He  was  born  at  , 
Little  Britain,  Lancaster  county,  Pennsyl         i 


COMPENDIUM   Oj^    BIOGRAPHT. 


65 


vania,  in  1765,  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  removed  to  Phila- 
delphia, and  there  and  in  New  York  en- 
gaged in  miniature  painting  with  success 
both  from  a  pecuniary  and  artistic  point  of 
view.  With  the  results  of  his  labors  he  pur- 
chased a  farm  for  the  support  of  his  mother. 
He  went  to  London  and  studied  under  the 
great  painter,  Benjamin  West,  and  all 
through  life  retained  his  fondness  for  art 
and  gave  evidence  of  much  ability  in  that 
line.  While  in  England  he  was  brought  in 
•contact  with  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater,  the 
father  of  the  English  canal  system;  Lord 
Stanhope,  an  eminent  mechanician,  and 
James  Watt,  the  inventor  of  the  steam  en- 
gine. Their  influence  turned  his  mind  to  its 
true  field  of  labor,  that  of  mechanical  in- 
vention. Machines  for  flax  spinning, 
marble  sawing,  rope  making,  and  for  remov- 
ing earth  from  excavations,  are  among  his 
earliest  ventures.  His  "Treatise  on  the 
Improvement  of  Canal  Navigation,"  issued 
in  1796,  and  a  series  of  essays  on  canals 
were  soon  followed  by  an  English  patent 
for  canal  improvements.  In  1797  he  went 
to  Paris,  where  he  resided  until  1806,  and 
there  invented  a  submarine  torpedo  boat  for 
maritime  defense,  but  which  was  rejected 
"by  the  governments  of  France,  England  and 
the  United  States.  In  1 803  he  offered  to  con- 
struct for  the  Emperor  Napoleon  a  steam- 
boat that  would  assist  in  carrying  out  the 
plan  of  invading  Great  Britain  then  medi- 
tated by  that  great  captain.  In  pursuance 
he  constructed  his  first  steamboat  on  the 
Seine,  but  it  did  not  prove  a  full  success 
and  the  idea  was  abandoned  by  the  French 
government.  By  the  aid  of  Livingston, 
then  United  States  minister  to  France, 
Fulton  purchased,  in  1806,  an  engine  which 
he  brought  to  this  country.     After  studying 

the  defects  of  his  own  and  other  attempts  in 
4 


this  line  he  built  and  launched  in  1807  the 
Clermont,  the  first  successful  steamboat. 
This  craft  only  attained  a  speed  of  five 
miles  an  hour  while  going  up  North  river. 
His  first  patent  not  fully  covering  his  in- 
vention, Fulton  was  engaged  in  many  law 
suits  for  infringement.  He  constructed 
many  steamboats,  ferryboats,  etc.,  among 
these  being  the  United  States  steamer 
"Fulton  the  First,"  built  in  1814,  the  first 
war  steamer  ever  built.  This  craft  never 
attained  any  great  speed  owing  to  some  de- 
fects in  construction  and  accidentally  blew 
up  in  1829.  Fulton  died  in  New  York,  Feb- 
ruary 21,  1815. 

SALMON  PORTLAND  CHASE,  sixth 
chief-justice  of  the  United  States,  and 
one  of  the  most  eminent  of  American  jurists, 
was  born  in  Cornish,  New  Hampshire,  Jan- 
uary 13,  1808.  At  the  age  of  nine  he  was 
left  in  poverty  by  the  death  of  his  father, 
but  means  were  found  to  educate  him.  He 
was  sent  to  his  uncle,  a  bishop,  who  con- 
ducted an  academy  near  Columbus,  Ohio, 
and  here  young  Chase  worked  on  the  farm 
and  attended  school.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
he  returned  to  his  native  state  and  entered 
Dartmouth  College,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  1 826.  He  then  went  to  Washington, 
and  engaged  in  teaching  school,  and  study- 
ing law  under  the  instruction  of  William 
Wirt.  He  was  licensed  to  practice  in  1829, 
and  went  to  Cincinnati,  where  he  had  a 
hard  struggle  for  several  years  following. 
He  had  in  the  meantime  prepared  notes  on 
the  statutes  of  Ohio,  which,  when  published, 
brought  him  into  prominence  locally.  He 
was  soon  after  appointed  solicitor  of  the 
United  States  Bank.  In  1837  he  appeared 
as  counsel  for  a  fugitive  slave  woman,  Ma- 
tilda, and  sought  by  all  the  powers  of  his 
learning  and  eloquence  to  prevent  her  owner 


m 


COMrEXDIL'M   OF    BIOGRAPIIY. 


from  reclaiming  her.  He  acted  in  many 
other  cases,  and  devolved  the  trite  expres- 
sion, "Slavery  is  sectional,  freedom  is  na- 
tional. "  He  was  employed  to  defend  Van 
Zandt  before  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States  in  1846,  which  was  one  of  the  most 
noted  cases  connected  with  the  great  strug- 
gle against  slaver}'.  By  this  time  Mr.  Chase 
had  become  the  recognized  leader  of  that 
element  known  as  "  free-soilers."  He  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  senate  in  1S49, 
and  was  chosen  governor  of  Ohio  in  1855 
and  re-elected  in  1857.  He  was  chosen  to 
the  United  States  senate  from  Ohio  in  1861, 
but  was  mads  secretary  of  the  treasury  by 
Lincoln  and  accepted.  He  inaugurated  a 
financial  system  to  replenish  the  exhausted 
treasury  and  meet  the  demands  of  the  great- 
est war  in  history  and  at  the  same  time  to 
revive  the  industries  of  the  country.  One 
of  the  measures  which  afterward  called  for 
his  judicial  attention  was  the  issuance  of 
currency  notes  which  were  made  a  legal 
tender  in  payment  of  debts.  When  this 
question  came  before  him  as  chief-justice 
of  the  United  States  he  reversed  his  former 
action  and  declared  the  measure  unconstitu- 
tional. The  national  banking  system,  by 
which  all  notes  issued  were  to  be  based  on 
funded  government  bonds  of  equal  or  greater 
amounts,  had  its  direct  origin  with  Mr.  Chase. 
Mr.  Chase  resigned  the  treasury  port- 
folio in  1864,  and  was  appointed  the  same 
year  as  chief-justice  of  the  United  States 
supreme  court.  The  great  questions  that 
came  up  before  him  at  this  crisis  in  the  life 
of  the  nation  were  no  less  than  those  which 
confronted  the  first  chief-justice  at  the  for- 
mation of  our  government.  Reconstruction, 
private,  state  and  national  interests,  the 
constitutionality  of  the  acts  of  congress 
passed  in  times  of  great  excitement,  the 
construction  and  interpretation  to  be  placed 


upon  the  several  amendments  to  the  national 
constitution, — these  were  among  the  vital 
questions  requiring  prompt  decision.  '  He 
received  a  paralytic  stroke  in  1870,  which 
impaired  his  health,  though  his  mental 
powers  were  not  affected.  He  continued  to 
preside  at  the  opening  terms  for  two  years 
following  and  died  May  7,  1873. 


HARRIET  ELIZABETH  BEECHER 
STOWE,  a  celebrated  American  writ- 
er, was  born  June  14,  1812,  at  Litchfield, 
Connecticut.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Lyman 
Beecher  and  a  sister  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher, 
two  noted  divines;  was  carefully  educated, 
and  taught  school  for  several  years  at  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut.  In  1832  Miss  Beecher 
married  Professor  Stowe,  then  of  Lane  Semi- 
nary, Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  afterwards  at 
Bowdoin  College  and  Andover  Seminary. 
Mrs.  Stowe  published  in  1 849  ' '  The  May- 
flower, or  sketches  of  the  descendants  of  the 
Pilgrims,"  and  in  1851  commenced  in  the 
' '  National  Era  "  of  Washington,  a  serial  story 
which  was  published  separately  in  1852  under 
the  title  of  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  This 
book  attained  almost  unparalleled  success 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  within  ten  years 
it  had  been  translated  in  almost  every  lan- 
guage of  the  civilized  world.  Mrs.  Stowe  pub- 
lished in  1853  a  "Keyto  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin" 
in  which  the  data  that  she  used  was  published 
and  its  truthfulness  was  corroborated.  In 
1853  she  accompanied  her  husband  and 
brother  to  Europe,  and  on  her  return  pub- 
lished "Sunny  Memories  of  Foreign  Lands" 
in  1854.  Mrs.  Stowe  was  for  some  time 
one  of  the  editors  of  the  ' '  Atlantic  Monthly  " 
and  the  "  Hearth  and  Home,"  for  which 
she  had  written  a  number  of  articles. 
Among  these,  also  published  separately,  are 
"  Dred,  a  tale  of  the  Great  Dismal  Swamp  " 
(later  published  under  the  title  of  "  Nina 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


67 


Gordon");  "The  Minister's  Wooing;"  "The 
Pearl  of  Orr's  Island;"  "Agnes  of  Sorrento;" 
"Oldtown  Folks;"  "  My  Wife  and  I;"  "Bible 
Heroines,"  and  "A  Dog's  Mission."  Mrs. 
Stowe's  death  occurred  July  i,  1896,  at 
Hartford,  Connecticut. 


THOMAS  JONATHAN  JACKSON,  bet- 
ter known  as  "Stonewall"  Jackson, 
was  one  of  the  most  noted  of  the  Confeder- 
ate generals  of  the  Civil  war.  He  was  a 
soldier  by  nature,  an  incomparable  lieuten- 
ant, sure  to  execute  any  operation  entrusted 
to  him  with  marvellous  precision,  judgment 
and  courage,  and  all  his  individual  cam- 
paigns and  combats  bore  the  stamp  of  a 
masterly  capacity  for  war.  He  was  born 
January  21,  1824,  at  Clarksburg,  Harrison 
county,  West  Virginia.  He  was  early  in 
life  imbued  with  the  desire  to  be  a  soldier 
and  it  is  said  walked  from  the  mountains  of 
Virginia  to  Washington,  secured  the  aid  of 
his  congressman,  and  was  appointed  cadet 
at  the  United  States  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 

1846.  Attached  to  the  army  as  brevet  sec- 
ond lieutenant  of  the  First  Artillery,  his  first 
service  was  as  a  subaltern  with  Magruder's 
battery  of  light  artillery  in  the  Mexican  war. 
He  participated  at  the  reduction  of  Vera 
Cruz,  and  was  noticed  for  gallantry  in  the 
battles  of  Cerro  Gordo,  Contreras,  Moline 
del  Rey,  Chapultepec,  and  the  capture  of 
the  city  of  Mexico,  receiving  the  brevets  of 
captain  for  conduct  at  Contreras  and  Cher- 
ubusco  and  of  major  at  Chapultepec.  In 
the  meantime  he  had  been  advanced  by 
regular  promotion   to  be  first  lieutenant  in 

1847.  In  1852,  the  war  having  closed,  he 
resigned  and  became  professor  of  natural 
and  experimental  philosophy  and  artillery 
instructor  at  the  Virginia  State  Military 
Institute   at  Lexington,  Virginia,  where  he 


remained  until  Virginia  declared  for  seces- 
sion, he  becoming  chiefly  noted  for  intense 
religious  sentiment  coupled  with  personal 
eccentricities.  Upon  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  he  was  made  colonel  and  placed  in 
command  of  a  force  sent  to  sieze  Harper's 
Ferry,  which  he  accomplished  May  3,  1861. 
Relieved  by  General  J.  E.  Johnston,  May 
23,  he  took  command  of  the  brigade  of 
Valley  Virginians,  whom  he  moulded  into 
that  brave  corps,  baptized  at  the  first 
Manassas,  and  ever  after  famous  as  the 
"  Stonewall  Brigade."  After  this  "Stone- 
wall "  Jackson  was  made  a  major-general, 
in  1 861,  and  participated  until  his  death  in 
all  the  famous  campaigns  about  Richmond 
and  in  Virginia,  and  was  a  conspicuous  fig- 
ure in  the  memorable  battles  of  that  time. 
May  2,  1863,  at  Chancellorsville,  he  was 
wounded  severely  by  his  own  troops,  two 
balls  shattering  his  left  arm  and  another 
passing  through  the  palm  of  his  right  hand. 
The  left  arm  was  amputated,  but  pneumonia 
intervened,  and,  weakened  by  the  great  loss 
of  blood,  he  died  May  10,  1863.  The  more 
his  operations  in  the  Shenandoah  valley  in 
1862  are  studied  the  more  striking  must  the 
merits  of  this  great  soldier  appear. 

JOHN  GREENLEAF  WHITTIER.— 
Near  to  the  heart  of  the  people  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  will  ever  lie  the  verses  of 
this,  the  "Quaker  Poet."  The  author  of 
"Barclay  of  Ury,"  "Maud  Muller"  and 
"Barbara  Frietchie,"  always  pure,  fervid 
and  direct,  will  be  remembered  when  many 
a  more  ambitious  writer  has  been  forgotten. 
John  G.  Whittier  was  born  at  Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts,  December  7,  1807.  of 
Quaker  parentage.  He  had  but  a  common- 
school  education  and  passed  his  boyhood 
days  upon  a  farm.  In  early  life  he  learned 
the   trade    of    shoemaker.      At    the   age    of 


68 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


eighteen  he  began  to  write  verses  for  the 
Haverhill  "  Gazette."  He  spent  two  years 
after  that  at  the  Haverhill  academy,  after 
which,  in  1829,  he  became  editor  of  the 
"American  Manufacturer,"  at  Boston.  In 
1830  he  succeeded  George  D.  Prentice  as 
editor  of  the  "New  England  Weekly  Re- 
view," but  the  following  year  returned  to 
Haverhill  and  engaged  in  farming.  In  1832 
and  in  1836  he  edited  the  "  Gazette."  In 
1835  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  legis- 
lature, serving  two  years.  In  1 836  he  became 
secretary  of  the  Anti-slavery  Society  of  Phil- 
adelphia. In  1S38  and  1839  he  edited  the 
"  Pennsylvania  Freeman,"  but  in  the  latter 
year  the  office  was  sacked  and  burned  by  a 
mob.  In  i84oWhittier  settled  at  Ames- 
bury,  Massachusetts.  In  1847  he  became 
corresponding  editor  of  the  "  National  Era," 
an  anti-slavery  paper  published  at  Washing- 
ton, and  contributed  to  its  columns  many  of 
his  anti-slavery  and  other  favorite  lyrics. 
Mr.  Whittier  lived  for  many  years  in  retire- 
ment of  Quaker  simplicity,  publishing  several 
volumes  of  poetry  which  have  raised  him  to 
a  high  place  among  American  authors  and 
brought  to  him  the  love  and  admiration  of 
his  countrymen.  In  the  electoral  colleges 
of  i860  and  1864  Whittier  v.'as  a  member. 
Much  of  his  time  after  i8y6  was  spent  at 
Oak  Knoll,  Danvers,  Massachusetts,  but 
still  retained  his  residence  at  Amesbury. 
He  never  married.  His  death  occurred  Sep- 
tember 7,  1892. 

The  more  prominent  prose  writings  of 
John  G.  Whittier  are  as  follows:  "Legends 
of  New  England,"  "Justice  and  Expediency, 
or  Slavery  Considered  with  a  View  to  Its  Abo- 
lition," "The  Stranger  in  Lowell,"  "Super- 
naturalism  in  New  England,"  "  Leaves  from 
Margaret  Smith's  Journal,"  "Old  Portraits 
and  Modern  Sketches"  and  "  Literary 
Sketches." 


DAVID  DIXON  PORTER,  illustrious  as 
admiral  of  the  United  States  navy,  and 
famous  as  one  of  the  most  able  naval  offi- 
cers of  America,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
June  8,  1S14.  His  father  was  also  a  naval 
officer  of  distinction,  who  left  the  service  of 
the  United  States  to  become  commander  of 
the  naval  forces  of  Mexico  during  the  war 
between  that  country  and  Spain,  and 
through  this  fact  David  Dixon  Porter  was 
appointed  a  midshipman  in  the  Mexican 
navy.  Two  years  later  David  D.  Porter 
joined  the  United  States  navy  as  midship- 
man, rose  in  rank  and  eighteen  years  later 
as  a  lieutenant  he  is  found  actively  engaged 
in  all  the  operations  of  our  navy  along  the 
east  coast  of  Mexico.  When  the  Civil  war 
broke  out  Porter,  then  a  commander,  was 
dispatched  in  the  Powhattan  to  the  relief  of 
Fort  Pickens,  Florida.  This  duty  accom- 
plished, he  fitted  out  a  mortar  flotilla  for 
the  reduction  of  the  forts  guarding  the  ap- 
proaches to  New  Orleans,  which  it  was  con- 
sidered of  vital  importance  for  the  govern- 
ment to  get  possession  of.  After  the  fall  of 
New  Orleans  the  mortar  flotilla  was  actively 
engaged  at  Vicksburg,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1862  Porter  was  made  a  rear-admiral  and 
placed  in  command  of  all  the  naval  forces 
on  the  western  rivers  above  New  Orleans. 
The  ability  of  the  man  was  now  con- 
spicuously manifested,  not  only  in  the  bat- 
tles in  which  he  was  engaged,  but  also  in 
the  creation  of  a  formidable  fleet  out  of 
river  steamboats,  which  he  covered  with 
such  plating  as  they  would  bear.  In  1864 
he  was  transferred  to  the  Atlantic  coast  to 
command  the  naval  forces  destined  to  oper- 
ate against  the  defences  of  Wilmington^ 
North  Carolina,  and  on  Jan.  15,  1865,  th 
fall  of  Fort  Fisher  was  hailed  by  the  countr 
as  a  glorious  termination  of  his  arduous  wa 
service.      In  1866  he  was  made  vice-admit 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


and  appointed  superintendent  of  the  Naval 
Academy.  On  the  death  of  Farragut,  in 
1S70,  he  succeeded  that  able  man  as  ad- 
miral of  the  navy.  His  death  occurred  at 
Washington,  February  1.3,  1891. 


NATHANIEL  GREENE  was  one  of  the 
best  known  of  the  distinguished  gen- 
erals who  led  the  Continental  soldiery 
against  the  hosts  of  Great  Britain  during 
'  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  was  the  son 
of  Quaker  parents,  and  was  born  at  War- 
wick, Rhode  Island,  May  27,  1742.  In 
youth  he  acquired  a  good  education,  chiefly 
by  his  own  efforts,  as  he  was  a  tireless 
reader.  In  1770  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Assembly  of  his  native  state.  The 
news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  stirred 
his  blood,  and  he  offered  his  services  to 
the  government  of  the  colonies,  receiving 
the  rank  of  brigadier-general  and  the  com- 
mand of  the  troops  from  Rhode  Island. 
He  led  them  to  the  camp  at  Cambridge, 
and  for  thus  violating  the  tenets  of  their 
faith,  he  was  cast  out  of  the  Society  of 
J  Friends,  or  Quakers.  He  soon  won  the  es- 
teem of  General  Washington.      In  August, 

1776,  Congress  promoted  Greene  to  the 
rank  cf  major-general,  and  in  the  battles  of 
Trenton  and  Princeton  he  led  a  division. 
At  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine,  September  11, 

1777,  he  greatly  distinguished  himself,  pro- 
tecting the  retreat  of  the  Continentals  by 
his  firm  stand.  At  the  battle  of  German- 
town,  October  4,  the  same  year,  he  com- 
manded the  left  wing  of  the  army  with 
credit.  In  March,  1778,  he  reluctantly  ac- 
cepted the  office  of  quartermaster-general, 
but  only  with  the    understanding  that    his 

lel  rank  in  the  army  would  not  be  affected  and 
[(  that  in  action  he  should  retain  his  command. 
jjif  On  the  bloody  field  of  Monmouth,  June  28, 
jl   1778,  he  commanded  the  right  wing,  as  he 


did  at  the  battle  of  Tiverton  Heights.  He 
was  in  command  of  the  army  in  1780,  dur- 
ing the  absence  of  Washington,  and  was 
president  of  the  court-martial  that  tried  and 
condemned  Major  Andre.  After  General 
Gates'  defeat  at  Camden,  North  Carolina,  in 
the  summer  of  1780,  General  Greene  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  command  of  the  southern  army. 
He  sent  out  a  force  under  General  Morgan 
who  defeated  General  Tarleton  at  Cowpens, 
January  17,  1781.  On  joining  his  lieuten- 
ant, in  February,  he  found  himself  out  num- 
bered by  the  British  and  retreated  in  good 
order  to  Virginia,  but  being  reinforced  re- 
turned to  North  Carolina  where  he  fought 
the  battle  of  Guilford,  and  a  few  days  later 
compelled  the  retreat  of  Lord  Cornwallis. 
The  British  were  followed  by  Greene  part 
of  the  way,  when  the  American  army 
marched  into  South  Carolina.  After  vary- 
ing success  he  fought  the  battle  of  Eutaw 
Springs,  Septembers,  1781.  For  the  latter 
battle  and  its  glorious  consequences,  which 
virtually  closed  the  war  in  the  Carolinas, 
Greene  received  a  medal  from  Congress  and 
many  valuable  grants  of  land  from  the 
colonies  of  North  and  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia.  On  the  return  of  peace,  after  a 
year  spent  in  Rhode  Island,  General  Greene 
took  up  his  residence  on  his  estate  near 
Savannah,  Georgia,  where  he  died  June  19, 
1786.  

EDGAR  ALLEN  FOE.— Among  the 
many  great  literary  men  whom  this 
country  has  produced,  there  is  perhaps  no 
name  more  widely  known  than  that  of  Ed- 
gar Allen  Foe.  He  was  born  at  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  February  19,  1809.  His 
parents  were  David  and  Elizabeth  (Arnold) 
Poe,  both  actors,  the  mother  said  to  have 
been  the  natural  daughter  of  Benedict  Ar- 
nold.    The  parents  died  while   Edgar  was 


70 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BI0GRAPH7\ 


still  a  child  and  he  was  adopted  by  John 
Allen,  a  wealthy  and  influential  resident  of 
Richmond,  Virginia.  Edgar  was  sent  to 
school  at  Stoke,  Newington,  England, 
where  he  remained  until  he  was  thirteen 
years  old;  was  prepared  for  college  by  pri- 
vate tutors,  and  in  1826  entered  the  Virginia 
University  at  Charlottesville.  He  made 
rapid  progress  in  his  studies,  and  was  dis- 
tinguished for  his  scholarship,  but  was  ex- 
pelled within  a  year  for  gambling,  after 
which  for  several  years  he  resided  with  his 
benefactor  at  Richmond.  He  then  went  to 
Baltim.ore,  and  in  1829  published  a  71 -page 
pamphlet  called  "Al  Aaraaf,  Tamerlane 
and  Minor  Poems,"  which,  however,  at- 
tracted no  attention  and  contained  nothing 
of  particular  merit.  In  1830  he  was  ad- 
mitted as  a  cadet  at  West  Point,  but  was 
expelled  about  a  year  later  for  irregulari- 
ties. Returning  to  the  home  of  Mr.  Allen 
he  remained  for  some  time,  and  finally 
quarrelled  with  his  benefactor  and  enlisted 
as  a  private  soldier  in  the  U.  S.  army,  but 
remained  only  a  short  time.  Soon  after 
this,  in  1833,  Poe  won  several  prizes  for 
literary  work,  and  as  a  result  secured  the 
position  of  editor  of  t^he  ' '  Southern  Liter- 
ary Messenger,"  at  Richmond,  Virginia. 
Here  he  married  his  cousin,  Virginia 
Clemm,  who  clung  to  him  with  fond  devo- 
tion through  all  the  many  trials  that  came 
to  them  until  her  death  in  January,  1848. 
Poe  remained  with  the  "Messenger"  for 
several  years,  writing  meanwhile  many 
tales,  reviews,  essays  and  poems.  He  aft- 
erward earned  a  precarious  living  by  his 
pen  in  New  York  for  a  time;  in  1839  be- 
came editor  of  "Burton's  Gentleman's 
Magazine"  ;  in  1840  to  1842  was  editor  of 
"  Graham's  Magazine,"  and  drifted  around 
Irom  one  place  to  another,  returning  to 
New    York    in    1844.       In    1845    his    best 


known  production,  "The  Raven,"  appeared 
in  the  "Whig  Review, "  and  gained  him  a 
reputation  which  is  now  almost  world-wide. 
He  then  acted  as  editor  and  contributor  on 
various  magazines  and  .periodicals  until  the 
death  of  his  faithful  wife  in  1S48.  In  the 
summer  of  1849  he  was  engaged  to  be  mar- 
ried to  a  lady  of  fortune  in  Richmond,  Vir- 
ginia, and  the  day  set  for  the  wedding. 
He  started  for  New  York  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  the  event,  but,  it  is  said,  began 
drinking,  was  attacked  with  dilirium  tre- 
mens in  Baltimore  and  was  removed  to  a 
hospital,  where  he  died,  October  7,  1849. 
The  works  of  Edgar  Allen  Poe  have  been 
repeatedly  published  since  his  death,  both 
in  Europe  and  America,  and  have  attained 
an  immense  popularity. 


HORATIO  GATES,  one  of  the  prom- 
inent figures  in  the  American  war  for 
Independence,  was  not  a  native  of  the  col- 
onies but  was  born  in  England  in  1728.  In 
early  life  he  entered  the  British  army  and 
attained  the  rank  of  major.  At  the  capture 
of  Martinico  he  was  aide  to  General  Monk- 
ton  and  after  the  peace  of  Aix  la  Chapelle, 
in  174S,  he  was  among  the  first  troops  that 
landed  at  Halifax.  He  was  with  Braddock 
at  his  defeat  in  1755,  and  was  there  severe- 
ly wounded.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
French  and  Indian  war  Gates  purchased  an 
estate  in  Virginia,  and,  resigning  from  the 
British  army,  settled  down  to  life  as  a 
planter.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rev- 
olutionary war  he  entered  the  service  of  the 
colonies  and  was  made  adjutant-general  of 
the  Continental  forces  with  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general.  He  accompanied  ^^'ash- 
ington  when  he  assumed  the  command  ol 
the  army.  In  June,  1776,  he  was  appoint- 
ed to  the  command  of  the  army  of  Canada, 
but  was  superseded  in  May  of  the  following 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHY. 


71 


3'ear  by  General  Schuyler.  In  August, 
1777,  however,  the  command  of  that  army 
was  restored  to  General  Gates  and  Septem- 
ber 19  he  fought  the  battle  of  Beniis 
Heights.  October  7,  the  same  year,  he 
won  the  battle  of  Stillwater,  or  Saratoga, 
and  October  17  received  the  surrender  of 
General  Burgoyne  and  his  army,  the  pivotal 
point  of  the  war.  This  gave  him  a  brilliant 
reputation.  June  13,  17S0,  General  Gates 
was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
southern  military  division,  and  August  16  of 
that  year  suffered  defeat  at  the  hands  of 
Lord  Cornwallis,  at  Camden,  North  Car- 
olina. In  December  following  he  was 
superseded  in  the  command  by  General 
Nathaniel  Greene. 

On  the  signing  of  the  peace  treaty  Gen- 
eral Gates  retired  to  his  plantation  in 
Berkeley  county,  Virginia,  where  he  lived 
until  1790,  when,  emancipating  all  his 
slaves,  he  removed  to  New  York  City,  where 
he  resided  until  his  death,  April   10,  1806. 


LYMAN  J.  GAGE.— When  President  Mc- 
Kinley  selected  Lyman  J.  Gage  as  sec- 
retary of  the  treasury  he  chose  one  of  the 
most  eminent  financiers  of  the  century.  Mr. 
Gage  was  born  June  28,  1836,  at  De  Ruy- 
ter,  Madison  county.  New  York,  and  was  of 
English  descent.  He  went  to  Rome,  New 
York,  with  his  parents  when  he  was  ten 
years  old,  and  received  his  early  education 
in  the  Rome  Academy.  Mr.  Gage  gradu- 
ated from  the  same,  and  his  first  position 
was  that  of  a  clerk  in  the  post  office.  When 
he  was  fifteen  years  of  age  he  was  detailed 
as  mail  agent  on  the  Rome  &  Watertown 
R.  R.  until  the  postmaster-general  appointed 
regular  agents  for  the  route.  In  1854,  when 
he  was  in  his  eighteenth  year,  he  entered 
the  Oneida  Central  Bank  at  Rome  as  a 
junior  clerk  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred  dol- 


lars per  year.  Being  unable  at  the  end  of 
one  year  and  a  half's  service  to  obtain  an 
increase  in  salary  he  determined  to  seek  a 
wider  field  of  labor.  Mr.  Gage  set  out  in 
the  fall  of  1855  and  arrived  in  Chicago, 
Illinois,  on  October  3,  and  soon  obtained  a 
situation  in  Nathan  Cobb's  lumber  yard  and 
planing  mill.  He  remained  there  three  years 
as  a  bookkeeper,  teamster,  etc.,  and  left  on 
account  of  change  in  the  management.  But 
not  being  able  to  find  anything  else  to  do  he 
accepted  the  position  of  night  watchman  in 
the  place  for  a  period  of  six  weeks.  He 
then  became  a  bookkeeper  for  the  Mer- 
chants Saving,  Loan  and  Trust  Company  at 
a  salary  of  five  hundred  dollars  per  year. 
He  rapidly  advanced  in  the  service  of  this 
company  and  in  1868  he  was  made  cashier. 
Mr.  Gage  was  next  offered  the  position  of 
cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank  and  ac- 
cepted the  offer.  He  became  the  president 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Chicago  Jan- 
uary 24,  1 89 1,  and  in  1897  he  was  appointed 
secretary  of  the  treasury.  His  ability  as  a 
financier  and  the  prominent  part  he  took  in 
the  discussion  of  financial  affairs  while  presi- 
dent of  the  great  Chicago  bank  gave  him  a 
national  reputation. 

ANDREW  JACKSON,  the  seventh  pres- 
ident of  the  United  States,  was  born 
at  the  Waxhaw  settlement,  Union  county. 
North  Carolina,  March  15,  1767.  His 
parents  were  Scotch-Irish,  natives  of  Carr- 
ickfergus,  who  came  to  this  country  in  1665 
and  settled  on  Twelve-Mile  creek,  a  trib- 
utary of  the  Catawba.  His  father,  who 
was  a  poor  farm  laborer,  died  shortly  be- 
fore Andrew's  birth,  when  the  mother  re- 
moved to  Waxhaw,  where  some  relatives 
lived.  Andrew's  education  was  very  limited, 
he  showing  no  aptitude  for  study.  In  1780 
when  but  thirteen  years  of  age,  he  and    his 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


brother  Robert  volunteered  to  serve  in  the 
American  partisan  troops  under  General 
Sumter,  and  witnessed  the  defeat  at  Hang- 
ing Rock.  The  following  year  the  boys 
were  both  taken  prisoners  by  the  enemy 
and  endured  brutal  treatment  from  the 
British  officers  while  confined  at  Camden. 
They  both  took  the  small  pox,  when  the 
mother  procured  their  exchange  but  Robert 
died  shortly  after.  The  mother  died  in 
Charleston  of  ship  fever,  the  same  year. 

Young  Jackson,  now  in  destitute  cir- 
cumstances, worked  for  about  six  months  in 
a  saddler's  shop,  and  then  turned  school 
master,  although  but  little  fitted  for  the 
position.  He  now  began  to  think  of  a  pro- 
fession and  at  Salisbury,  North  Carolina, 
entered  upon  the  study  of  law,  but  from  all 
accounts  gave  but  little  attention  to  his 
books,  being  one  of  the  most  roistering, 
rollicking  fellows  in  that  town,  indulging  in 
many  of  the  vices  of  his  time.  In  1786  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  in  1788  re- 
moved to  Nashville,  then  in  North  Carolina, 
with  the  appointment  of  public  prosecutor, 
then  an  office  of  little  honor  or  emolument, 
but  requiring  much  nerve,  for  which  young 
Jackson  was  already  noted.  Two  years 
later,  when  Tennessee  became  a  territory 
he  was  appointed  by  Washington  to  the 
position  of  United  States  attorney  for  that 
district.  In  1791  he  married  Mrs.  Rachel 
Robards,  a  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Don- 
elson,  who  was  supposed  at  the  time  to 
have  been  divorced  from  her  former  hus- 
band that  year  by  act  of  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia, but  two  years  later,  on  finding  that 
this  divorce  was  not  legal,  and  a  new  bill  of 
separation  being  granted  by  the  courts  of 
Kentucky,  they  were  remarried  in  1793. 
This  was  used  as  a  handle  by  his  oppo- 
nents in  the  political  campaign  afterwards. 
Jackson  was  untiring  in  his  efforts  as  United 


States  attorney  and  obtained  much  influence. 
He  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  1796,  when  Tennessee 
became  a  state  and  was  its  first  represent- 
ative in  congress.  In  1797  he  was  chosen 
United  States  senator,  but  resigned  the  fol- 
lowing year  to  accept  a  seat  on  the  supreme 
court  of  Tennessee  which  he  held  until 
1804.  He  was  elected  major-general  of 
the  militia  of  that  state  in  1801.  In  1804, 
being  unsuccessful  in  obtaining  the  govern- 
orship of  Louisiana,  the  new  territory,  he 
retired  from  public  life  to  the  Hermitage, 
his  plantation.  On  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  with  Great  Britain  in  1812  he  tendered 
his  services  to  the  government  and  went  to 
New  Orleans  with  the  Tennessee  troops  in 
January,  181 3.  In  March  of  that  year  he 
was  ordered  to  disband  his  troops,  but  later 
marched  against  the  Cherokee  Indians,  de- 
feating them  at  Talladega,  Emuckfaw 
and  Tallapoosa.  Having  now  a  national 
reputation,  he  was  appointed  major-general 
in  the  United  States  army  and  was  sent 
against  the  British  in  Florida.  He  con- 
ducted the  defence  of  Mobile  and  seized 
Pensacola.  He  then  went  with  his  troops 
to  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  where  he  gained 
the  famous  victory  of  January  8,  1815.  In 
1817-18  he  conducted  a  war  against  the 
Seminoles,  and  in  1821  was  made  governor 
of  the  new  territory  of  Florida.  In  1823 
he  was  elected  United  States  senator,  but 
in  1 824  was  the  contestant  with  J.  Q.  Adams 
for  the  presidency.  Four  years  later  he 
was  elected  president,  and  served  two  terms. 
In  1832  he  took  vigorous  action  against  the 
nullifiers  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  next 
year  removed  the  public  money  from  the 
United  States  bank.  During  his  second 
term  the  national  debt  was  extinguished.  At 
the  close  of  his  administration  he  retired  to 
the  Hermitage,  where  he  died  June  8,  1845. 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


73 


ANDREW  CARNEGIE,  the  largest  manu- 
facturer of  pig-iron,  steel  rails  and 
coke  in  the  world,  well  deserves  a  place 
among  America's  celebrated  men.  He  was 
born  November  25,  1835,  at  Dunfermline, 
Scotland,  and  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
with  his  father  in  1845,  settling  in  Pittsburg. 
Two  years  later  Mr.  Carnegie  began  his 
business  career  by  attending  a  small  station- 
ary engine.  This  work  did  not  suit  him  and 
he  became  a  telegraph  messenger  with  the 
Atlantic  and  Ohio  Co.,  and  later  he  became 
an  operator,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  read 
telegraphic  signals  by  sound.  Mr.  Carnegie 
was  afterward  sent  to  the  Pittsburg  office 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Co.,  as  clerk 
to  the  superintendent  and  manager  of  the 
telegraph  lines.  While  in  this  position  he 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Woodruff,  the 
inventor  of  the  sleeping-car.  Mr.  Carnegie 
immediately  became  interested  and  was  one 
of  the  organizers  of  the  company  for  its  con- 
struction after  the  railroad  had  adopted  it, 
and  the  success  of  this  venture. gave  him  the 
nucleus  of  his  wealth.  He  was  promoted 
to  the  superintendency  of  the  Pittsburg 
division  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  and 
about  this  time  was  one  of  the  syndicate 
that  purchased  the  Storey  farm  on  Oil  Creek 
which  cost  forty  thousand  dollars  and  in  one 
year  it  yielded  over  one  million  dollars  in 
cash  dividends.  Mr.  Carnegie  later  was  as- 
sociated with  others  in  establishing  a  rolling- 
mill,  and  from  this  has  grown  the  most  ex- 
tensive and  complete  system  of  iron  and 
steel  industries  ever  controlled  by  one  indi- 
vidual, embracing  the  Edgar  Thomson 
Steel  Works;  Pittsburg  Bessemer  Steel 
Works;  Lucy  Furnaces;  Union  Iron  Mills; 
Union  Mill;  Keystone  Bridge  Works;  Hart- 
man  Steel  Works;  Frick  Coke  Co.;  Scotia 
Ore  Mines.  Besides  directing  his  immense 
iron  industries  he  owned  eighteen  English 


newspapers  which  he  ran  in  the  interest  oi 
the  Radicals.  He  has  also  devoted  large 
sums  of  money  to  benevolent  and  educational 
purposes.  In  1879  he  erected  commodious 
swimming  baths  for  the  people  of  Dunferm- 
line, Scotland,  and  in  the  following  year 
gave  forty  thousand  dollars  for  a  free  library. 
Mr.  Carnegie  gave  fifty  thousand  dollars  to 
Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College  in  1884 
to  found  what  is  now  called  ' '  Carnegie  Lab- 
oratory,"  and  in  1885  gave  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  to  Pittsburg  for  a  public 
library.  He  also  gave  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  for  a  music  hall  and  library 
in  Allegheny  City  in  18S6,  and  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  Edinburgh,  Scot- 
land, for  a  free  library.  He  also  established 
free  libraries  at  Braddock,  Pennsylvania^ 
and  other  places  for  the  benefit  of  his  em- 
ployes. He  also  published  the  following^ 
works,  "An  American  Four-in-hand  ia 
Britain;"  "Round  the  World;"  "Trium- 
phant Democracy;  or  Fifty  Years'  March  of 
the  Republic." 


GEORGE  H.  THOMAS,  the  "  Rock  of 
Chickamauga,"  one  of  the  best  known 
commanders  during  the  late  Civil  war,  was 
born  in  Southampton  county,  Virginia,  July 
31,  1 8 16,  his  parents  being  of  Welsh  and 
French  origin  respectively.  In  1836  young- 
Thomas  was  appointed  a  cadet  at  the  Mili- 
tary Academy,  at  West  Point,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1840,  and  was  promoted  to 
the  office  of  second  lieutenant  in  the  Third 
Artillery.  Shortly  after,  with  his  company, 
he  went  to  Florida,  where  he  served  for  two. 
years  against  the  Seminole  Indians.  In 
1 84 1  he  was  brevetted  first  lieutenant  for 
gallant  conduct.  He  remained  in  garrison 
in  the  south  and  southwest  until  1845,  at 
which  date  with  the  regiment  he  joined  the 
army  under  General  Taylor,  and  participat- 


u 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


ed  in  the  defense  of  Fort  Brown,  the  storm- 
ing of  Monterey  and  the  battle  of  Buena 
Vista.  After  the  latter  event  he  remained 
in  garrison,  now  brevetted  major,  until  the 
close  of  the  Mexican  war.  After  a  year 
spent  in  Florida,  Captain  Thomas  was  or- 
dered to  West  Point,  where  he  served  as  in- 
structor until  1854.  He  then  was  trans- 
ferred to  California.  In  May,  1855,  Thom- 
as was  appointed  major  of  the  Second  Cav- 
alry, with  whom  he  spent  five  years  in  Texas. 
Although  a  southern  man,  and  surrounded 
by  brother  officers  who  all  were  afterwards 
r.n  the  Confederate  service.  Major  Thomas 
never  swerved  from  his  allegiance  to  the 
government.  A.  S.  Johnston  was  the  col- 
onel of  the  regiment,  R.  E.  Lee  the  lieuten- 
ant-colonel, and  W.  J.  Hardee,  senior  ma- 
jor, while  among  the  younger  officers  were 
Hood,  Fitz  Hugh  Lee,  Van  Dorn  and  Kirby 
Smith.  When  these  officers  left  the  regi- 
ment to  take  up  arms  for  the  Confederate 
cause  he  remained  with  it,  and  April  17th, 
1 86 1,  crossed  the  Potomac  into  his  native 
state,  at  its  head.  After  taking  an  active  part 
in  the  opening  scenes  of  the  war  on  the  Poto- 
mac and  Shenandoah,  in  August,  1861,  he 
-was  promoted  to  be  brigadier-general  and 
transferred  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. 
January  19-20,  1862,  Thomas  defeated 
Crittenden  at  Mill  Springs,  and  this  brought 
him  into  notice  and  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  fame.  He  continued  in  command  of  his 
division  until  September  20,  1862,  except 
during  the  Corinth  campaign  when  he  com- 
manded the  right  wing  of  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee.  He  was  in  command  of  the 
latter  at  the  battle  of  Perryville,  also,  Octo- 
ber 8,  1862. 

On  the  division  of  the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland into  corps,  January  9,  1863,  Gen- 
eral Thomas  was  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  Fourteenth,  and  at  the  battle  of  Chick- 


amauga,  after  the  retreat  of  Rosecrans, 
firm.Iy  held  his  own  against  the  hosts  of  Gen- 
eral Bragg.  A  history  of  his  services  from 
that  on  would  be  a  history  of  the  war  in  the 
southwest.  On  September  27,  1864,  Gen- 
eral Thomas  was  given  command  in  Ten- 
nessee, and  after  organizing  his  army,  de- 
feated General  Hood  in  the  battle  of  Nash- 
ville, December  15  and  16,  1864.  Much 
complaint  was  made  before  this  on  account 
of  what  they  termed  Thomas'  slowness,  and 
he  was  about  to  be  superseded  because  he 
would  not  strike  until  he  got  ready,  but 
when  the  blow  was  struck  General  Grant 
was  the  first  to  place  on  record  this  vindica- 
tion of  Thomas'  judgment.  He  received  a 
vote  of  thanks  from  Congress,  and  from  the 
legislature  of  Tennessee  a  gold  medal.  Af- 
ter the  close  of  the  war  General  Thomas 
had  command  of  several  of  the  military  di- 
visions, and  died  at  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
fornia, March  28,   1870. 


GEORGE  BANCROFT,  one  of  the  most 
eminent  American  historians,  was  a 
native  of  Massachusetts,  born  at  \\'orcester, 
October  3,  1800,  and  a  son  of  Aaron 
Bancroft,  D.  D.  The  father,  Aaron  Ban- 
croft, was  born  at  Reading,  Massachusetts, 
November  10,  1755.  He  graduated  at 
Harvard  in  1778,  became  a  minister,  and  for 
half  a  century  was  rated  as  one  of  the  ablest 
preachers  in  New  England.  He  was  also  a 
prolific  writer  and  published  a  number  of 
works  among  which  was  ' '  Life  of  George 
Washington."  Aaron  Bancroft  died  August 
19,  1S39. 

The  subject  of  our  present  biography, 
George  Bancroft,  graduated  at  Harvard  in 
1817,  and  the  following  year  entered  the 
University  of  Gottingen,  where  he  studied 
history  and  philology  under  the  most  emi- 
nent teachers,  and  in  1820  received  the  de- 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


T5 


gree  of  doctor  of  philosophy  at  Gottingen. 
Upon  his  return  home  he  published  a  volume 
of  poems,  and  later  a  translation  of  Heeren's 
"Reflections  on  the  Politics  of  Ancient 
Greece."  In  1834  he  produced  the  first 
volume  of  his  "  History  of  the  United 
States,"  this  being  followed  by  other  vol- 
umes at  different  intervals  later.  This  was 
his  greatest  work  and  ranks  as  the  highest 
authority,  taking  its  place  among  the  great- 
est of  American  productions. 

George  Bancroft  was  appointed  secretary 
of  the  navy  by  President  Polk  in  1845,  but 
resigned  in  1846  and  became  minister  pleni- 
potentiary to  England.  In  1849  he  retired 
from  public  life  and  took  up  his  residence  at 
Washington,  D.  C.  In  1867  he  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  minister  to  the  court  of 
Berlin  and  negotiated  the  treatyby  which  Ger- 
mans coming  to  the  United  States  were  re- 
leased from  their  allegiance  to  the  govern- 
ment of  their  native  land.  In  1871  he  was 
minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  German  em- 
pire and  served  until  1874.  The  death  of 
George  Bancroft  occurred  January  17,  1891. 


GEORGE  GORDON  MEADE,  a  fa- 
mous Union  general,  was  born  at 
Cadiz,  Spain,  December  30,  181 5,  his  father 
being  United  States  naval  agent  at  that 
port.  After  receiving  a  good  education  he 
entered  the  West  Point  Military  Academy 
in  1 83 1.  From  here  he  was  graduated 
June  30,  183s,  and  received  the  rank  of 
second  lieutenant  of  artillery.  He  par- 
ticipated in  the  Seminole  war,  but  resigned 
from  the  army  in  October,  1836.  He  en- 
tered upon  the  profession  of  civil  engineer, 
which  he  followed  for  several  years,  part  of 
the  time  in  the  service  of  the  government  in 
making  surveys  of  the  mouth  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  His  report  and  results  of  some 
experiments    made  by  him  in  this    service 


gained  Meade  much  credit.  He  also  was 
employed  in  surveying  the  boundary  line  of 
Texas  and  the  northeastern  boundary  line 
between  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
In  1842  he  was  reappointed  in  the  army  to 
the  position  of  second  lieutenant  of  engineers. 
During  the  Mexican  war  he  served  with  dis- 
tinction on  the  staff  of  General  Taylor  in 
the  battles  of  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de  la  Palma 
and  the  storming  of  Monterey.  He  received 
his  brevet  of  first  lieutenant  for  the  latter 
action.  In  185 1  he  was  made  full  first 
lieutenant  in  his  corps;  a  captain  in  1856, 
and  major  soon  after.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  with  Mexico  he, was  employed  in  light' 
house  construction  and  in  geodetic  surveys 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  in 
which  he  gained  great  reputation.  In 
August,  1 86 1 ,  he  was  made  brigadier-general 
of  volunteers  and  placed  in  command  of  the 
second  brigade  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves, 
a  division  of  the  First  Corps  in  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac.  In  the  campaign  of  1862, 
under  McClellan,  Meade  took  an  active 
part,  being  present  at  the  battles  of  Mechan- 
icsville,  Gaines'  Mill  and  Glendale,  in  the 
latter  of  which  he  was  severely  wounded. 
On  rejoining  his  command  he  was  given  a 
division  and  distinguished  himself  at  its  head 
in  the  battles  of  South  Mountain  and  Antie- 
tam.  During  the  latter,  on  the  wounding 
of  General  Hooker,  Meade  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  corps  and  was  himself 
slightly  wounded.  For  services  he  was 
promoted,  November,  1862,  to  the  rank 
of  major-general  of  volunteers.  On  the 
recovery  of  General  Hooker  General  Meade 
returned  to  his  division  and  in  December, 
1862,  at  Fredericksburg,  led  an  attack 
which  penetrated  Lee's  right  line  and  swept 
to  his  rear.  Being  outnumbered  and  un- 
supported, he  finally  was  driven  back.  The 
same    month    Meade    was    assigned  to  the 


76 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHr. 


command  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  and  at  Chan- 
cellorsville  in  May,  1863,  his  sagacity  and 
ability  so  struck  General  Hooker  that  when 
the  latter  asked  to  be  relieved  of  the  com- 
mand, in  June  of  the  same  year,  he  nomi- 
nated Meade  as  his  successor.  June  28, 
1863,  President  Lincoln  commissioned  Gen- 
eral Meade  commander-in-chief  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  then  scattered  and  moving 
hastily  through  Pennsylvania  to  the  great 
and  decisive  battlefield  at  Gettysburg,  at 
which  he  was  in  full  command.  With  the 
victory  on  those  July  days  the  name  of 
Meade  will  ever  be  associated.  From  that 
time  until  the  close  of  the  war  he  com- 
manded the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  In 
1864  General  Grant,  being  placed  at  the 
head  of  all  the  armies,  took  up  his  quarters 
with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  From  that 
time  until  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appo- 
matox  Meade's  ability  shone  conspicuously, 
and  his  tact  in  the  delicate  position  in  lead- 
ing his  army  under  the  eye  of  his  superior 
officer  commanded  the  respect  and  esteem 
of  General  Grant.  For  services  Meade  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  and 
on  the  close  of  hostilities,  in  July,  1865, 
was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  military 
division  of  the  Atlantic,  with  headquarters 
at  Philadelphia.  This  post  he  held,  with 
the  exception  of  a  short  period  on  detached 
duty  in  Georgia,  until  his  death,  which  took 
place  November  6,  1872. 


DAVID  CROCKETT  was  a  noted  hunter 
and  scout,  and  also  one  of  the  earliest 
of  American  humorists.  He  was  born  Au- 
gust 17,  1786,  in  Tennessee,  and  was  one 
of  the  most  prominent  men  of  his  locality, 
serving  as  representative  in  congress  from 
1827  until  1831.  He  attracted  consider- 
able notice  while  a  member  of  congress  and 
was  closely  associated  with  General  Jack- 


son, of  whom  he  was  a  personal  friend.  H* 
went  to  Texas  and  enlisted  in  the  Texan 
army  at  the  time  of  the  revolt  of  Texas 
against  Mexico  and  gained  a  wide  reputa- 
tion as  a  scout.  He  was  one  of  the  famous 
one  hundred  and  forty  men  under  Colonel 
W.  B.  Travis  who  were  besieged  in  Fort 
Alamo,  near  San  Antonio,  Texas,  by  Gen- 
eral Santa  Anna  with  some  five  thousand 
Mexicans  on  February  23,  1S36.  The  fort 
was  defended  for  ten  days,  frequent  assaults 
being  repelled  with  great  slaughter,  over 
one  thousand  Mexicans  being  killed  or 
wounded,  while  not  a  man  in  the  fort  was 
injured.  Finally,  on  March  6,  three  as- 
saults were  made,  and  in  the  hand-to-hand 
fight  that  followed  the  last,  the  Texans  were 
wofully  outnumbered  and  overpowered. 
They  fought  desperately  with  clubbed  mus- 
kets till  only  sLx  were  left  alive,  including 
W.  B.  Travis,  David  Crockett  and  James 
Bowie.  These  surrendered  under  promise 
of  protection;  but  when  they  were  brought 
before  Santa  Anna  he  ordered  them  all  to 
be  cut  to  pieces. 


HENRY  WATTEKSON,  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  figures  in  the  history  of 
American  journalism,  was  born  at  Wash- 
ington, District  of  Columbia,  February  16, 
1840.  His  boyhood  days  were  mostly  spent 
in  the  city  of  his  birth,  where  his  father, 
Harvey  M.  Watterson,  was  editor  of  the 
"Union,"  a  well  known  journal. 

Owing  to  a  weakness  of  the  eyes,  which 
interfered  with  a  systematic  course  of  study, 
young  Watterson  was  educated  almost  en- 
tirely at  home.  A  successful  college  career 
was  out  of  the  question,  but  he  acquired  a 
good  knowledge  of  music,  literature  and  art 
from  private  tutors,  but  the  most  valuable 
part  of  the  training  he  received  was  by  as- 
sociating with  his  father  and  the  throng  ot 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


77 


public  men  whom  he  met  in  Washington 
in  the  stirring  days  immediately  preceding 
the  Civil  war.  He  began  his  journalistic 
career  at  an  early  age  as  dramatic  and 
musical  critic,  and  in  1858,  became  editor 
of  the  "Democratic  Review"  and  at  the 
same  time  contributed  to  the  "States," 
a  journal  of  liberal  opinions  published  in 
Washington.  In  this  he  remained  until 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  when  the 
"States,"  opposing  the  administration,  was 
suppressed,  and  young  Watterson  removed 
to  Tennessee.  He  next  appears  as  editor 
of  the  Nashville  "Republican  Banner,"  the 
most  influential  paper  in  the  state  at  that 
time.  After  the  occupation  of  Nashville  by 
the  Federal  troops,  Watterson  served  as  a 
volunteer  staff  officer  in  the  Confederate 
service  until  the  close  of  the  war,  with  the 
exception  of  a  year  spent  in  editing  the 
Chattanooga  "Rebel."  On  the  close  of 
the  war  he  returned  to  Nashville  and  re- 
sumed his  connection  with  the  "Banner." 
After  a  trip  to  Europe  he  assumed  control 
of  the  Louisville  "Journal,"  which  he  soon 
combined  with  the  "Courier"  and  the 
"Democrat"  of  that  place,  founding  the 
well-known  "Courier-Journal,"  the  first 
number  of  which  appeared  November  8, 
1868.  Mr.  Watterson  also  represented  his 
district  in  congress  for  several  years. 


PATRICK  SARSFIELD  GILMORE, 
one  of  the  most  successful  and  widely 
known  bandmasters  and  musicians  of  the 
last  half  century  in  America,  was  born  in 
Ballygar,  Irelaiid,  on  Christmas  day,  1829. 
He  attended  a  public  school  until  appren- 
ticed to  a  wholesale  merchant  at  Athlone, 
of  the  brass  band  of  which  town  he  soon 
became  a  member.  His  passion  for  music 
conflicting  with  the  duties  of  a  mercantile 
life,  his  position  as  clerk  was  exchanged  for 


that  of  musical  instructor  to  the  young  sons 
of  his  employer.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
sailed  for  America  and  two  days  after  his 
arrival  in  Boston  was  put  in  charge  of  the 
band  instrument  department  of  a  prominent 
music  house.  In  the  interests  of  the  pub- 
lications of  this  house  he  organized  a  minstrel 
company  known  as  "  Ordway's  Eolians," 
with  which  he  first  achieved  success  as  a 
cornet  soloist.  Later  on  he  was  called  the 
best  E-flat  cornetist  in  the  United  States. 
He  became  leader,  successively,  of  the  Suf- 
folk, Boston  Brigade  and  Salem  bands. 
During  his  connection  with  the  latter  he 
inaugurated  the  famous  Fourth  of  July  con- 
certs on  Boston  Common,  since  adopted  as 
a  regular  programme  for  the  celebration  of 
Independence  Day.  In  1858  Mr.  Gilmore 
founded  the  organization  famous  thereafter 
as  Gilmore's  Band.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  war  this  band  was  attached  to  the 
Twenty-Fourth  .Massachusetts  Infantry. 
Later,  when  the  economical  policy  of  dis- 
pensing with  music  had  proved  a  mistake, 
Gilmore  was  entrusted  with  the  re-organiza- 
tion of  state  military  bands,  and  upon  his 
arrival  at  New  Orleans  with  his  own  band 
was  made  bandmaster-general  by  General 
Banks.  On  the  inauguration  of  Governor 
Hahn,  later  on,  in  Lafayette  square.  New 
Orleans,  ten  thousand  children,  mostly  of 
Confederate  parents,  rose  to  the  baton  of 
Gilmore  and,  accompanied  by  six  hundred 
instruments,  thirty-six  guns  and  the  united 
fire  of  three  regiments  of  infantry,  sang  the 
Star-Spangled  Banner,  America  and  other 
patriotic  Union  airs.  In  June,  1867,  Mr. 
Gilmore  conceived  a  national  musical  festi- 
val, which  was  denounced  as  a  chimericsl 
undertaking,  but  he  succeeded  and  June  15, 
1869,  stepped  upon  the  stage  of  the  Boston 
Colosseum,  a  vast  structure  erected  for  the 
occasion,  and  in  the  presence  of  over  fifty 


78 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


thousand  people  lifted  his  baton  over  an 
orchestra  of  one  thousand  and  a  chorus  of 
ten  thousand.  On  the  17th  of  June,  1872, 
he  opened  a  still  greater  festival  in  Boston, 
when,  in  addition  to  an  orchestra  of  two 
thousand  and  a. chorus  of  twenty  thousand, 
were  present  the  Band  of  the  Grenadier 
Guards,  of  London,  of  the  Garde  Repub- 
licaine,  of  Paris,  of  Kaiser  Franz,  of  Berlin, 
and  one  from  Dublin,  Ireland,  together  with 
Johann  Strauss,  Franz  Abt  and  many  other 
soloists,  vocal  and  instrumental.  Gilmore's 
death  occurred  September  24,  1892. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN  was  the  eighth 
president  of  the  United  States,  1837 
to  1 84 1.  He  was  of  Dutch  extraction,  and 
his  ancestors  were  among  the  earliest  set- 
tlers on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  He  was 
born  December  $,  1782,  at  Kinderhook, 
New  York.  Mr.  Van  Buren  took  up  the 
study  of  law  at  the  age  of  fourteen  and  took 
an  active  part  in  political  matters  before  he 
had  attained  his  majority.  He  commenced 
the  practice  of  law  in  1803  at  his  native 
town,  and  in  iSog  he  removed  to  Hudson, 
Columbia  county,  New  York,  where  he 
spent  seven  years  gaining  strength  and  wis- 
dom from  his  contentions  at  the  bar  with 
some  of  the  ablest  men  of  the  profession. 
Mr.  Van  Buren  was  elected  to  the  state 
senate,  and  from  181 5  until  18 19  he  was  at- 
torney-general of  the  state.  He  was  re- 
elected to  the  senate  in  18 16,  and  in  1818 
he  was  one  of  the  famous  clique  of  politi- 
cians known  as  the  "Albany  regency." 
Mr.  Van  Buren  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention for  the  revision  of  the  state  consti- 
tution, in  1821.  In  the  same  year  he  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  senate  and 
served  his  term  in  a  manner  that  caused  his 
re-election  to  that  body  in  1827,  but  re- 
signed the  following  year   as  he  had  been 


elected  governor  of  New  York.  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  appointed  by  President  Jackson  as 
secretary  of  state  in  March,  1829,  but  resigned 
in  1 83 1,  and  during  the  recess  of  congress 
he  was  appointed  minister  to  England. 
The  senate,  however,  when  it  convened  in 
December  refused  to  ratify  the  appointment. 
In  May,  1832,  he  was  nominated  by  the 
Democrats  as  their  candidate  for  vice-presi- 
dent on  the  ticket  with  Andrew  Jackson, 
and  he  was  elected  in  the  following  Novem- 
ber. He  received  the  nomination  to  suc- 
ceed President  Jackson  in  1836,  as  the 
Democratic  candidate,  and  in  the  electoral 
college  he  received  one  hundred  and  seventy 
votes  out  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-three, 
and  was  inaugurated  March  4,  1837.  His 
administration  was  begun  at  a  time  of  great 
business  depression,  and  unparalled  financial 
distress,  which  caused  the  suspension  of 
specie  payments  by  the  banks.  Nearly 
every  bank  in  the  country  was  forced  to 
suspend  specie  payment,  and  no  less  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty-four  business  houses 
failed  in  New  York  in  one  week.  The 
President  urged  the  adoption  of  the  inde- 
pendent treasury  idea,  which  passed  through 
the  senate  twice  but  each  time  it  was  de- 
feated in  the  house.  However  the  measure 
ultimately  became  a  law  near  the  close  of 
President  Van  Buren's  term  of  office.  An- 
other important  measure  that  was  passed 
was  the  pre-emption  law  that  gave  the  act- 
ual settlers  preference  in  the  purchase  of 
public  lands.  The  question  of  slavery  had 
begun  to  assume  great  preponderance  dur- 
ing this  administration,  and  a  great  conflict 
was  tided  over  by  the  passage  of  a  resolu- 
tion that  prohibited  petitions  or  papers  that 
in  any  way  related  to  slavery  to  be  acted 
upon.  In  the  Democratic  convention  of 
1840  President  Van  Buren  secured  the 
nomination  for   re-election    on    that    ticket 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


7& 


without  opposition,  but  in  the  election  he 
only  received  the  votes  of  seven  states,  his 
opponent,  W.  H.  Harrison,  being  elected 
president.  In  1848  Mr.  Van  Buren  vi^as 
the  candidate  of  the  "  Free-Soilers,"  but 
was  unsuccessful.  After  this  he  retired 
from  public  life  and  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  life  on  his  estate  at  Kinderhook,  where 
he  died  July  24,  1862. 


W INFIELD  SCOTT,  a  distinguished 
American  general,  was  born  June  13, 
1786,  near  Petersburg,  Dinwiddle  county, 
Virginia,  and  was  educated  at  the  William 
and  Mary  College.  He  studied  law  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  1S08  he  accepted 
an  appointment  as  captain  of  light  artillery, 
and  was  ordered  to  New  Orleans.     In  June, 

1812,  he  was  promoted  to  be  lieutenant- 
colonel,  and  on  application  was  sent  to  the 
frontier,  and  reported  to  General  Smyth, 
near  Buffalo.  He  was  made  adjutant-gen- 
eral with  the  rank  of  a    colonel,  in  March, 

1 8 1 3,  and  the  same  month  attained  the  colo- 
nelcy of  his  regiment.  He  participated  in 
the  principal  battles  of  the  war  and  was 
wounded  many  times,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  war  he  was  voted  a  gold  medal  by  con- 
gress for  his  services.  He  was  a  writer  of 
considerable  merit  on  military  topics,  and 
he  gave  to  the  military  science,  "General 
Regulations  of  the  Army  "  and  "  System  of 
Infantry  and  Rifle  Practice."  He  took  a 
prominent  part  in  the  Black  Hawk  war, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  the  Mexican  war  he 
was  appointed  to  take  the  command  of  the 
army.  Gen.  Scott  immediately  assembled 
his  troops  at  Lobos  Island  from  which  he 
moved  by  transports  to  Vera  Cruz,  which 
he  took  March  29,  1847,  and  rapidly  fol- 
lowed up  his  first  success.  He  fought  the 
battles  of  Cerro  Gordo  and  Jalapa,  both  of 
which    he   won,  and    proceeded   to,  Pueblo 


where  he  was  preceded  by  Worth's  divisioa 
which  had  taken  the  town  and  waited  for  the 
coming  of  Scott.  The  army  was  forced  to 
wait  here  for  supplies,  and  August  7th, 
General  Scott  started  on  his  victorious 
march  to  the  city  of  Mexico  with  ten  thou- 
sand, seven  hundred  and  thirty-eight  men. 
The  battles  of  Contreras,  Cherubusco  and 
San  Antonio  were  fought  August  19-20. 
and  on  the  24th  an  armistice  was  agreed 
upon,  but  as  the  commissioners  could  no'; 
agree  on  the  terms  of  settlement,  the  fight- 
ing was  renewed  at  Molino  Del  Rey,  and 
the  Heights  of  Chapultepec  were  carried 
by  the  victorious  army  of  General  Scott. 
He  gave  the  enemy  no  respite,  however, 
and  vigorously  followed  up  his  advantages. 
On  September  14,  he  entered  the  City  of 
Mexico  and  dictated  the  terms  of  surrender 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  Mexican  Republic. 
General  Scott  was  offered  the  presidency  of 
the  Mexican  Republic,  but  declined.  Con- 
gress extended  him  a  vote  of  thanks  and 
ordered  a  gold  medal  be  struck  in  honor  of 
his  generalship  and  bravery.  He  was  can- 
didate for  the  presidency  on  the  Whig  plat- 
form but  was  defeated.  He  was  honored  by 
having  the  title  of  lieutenant-general  con- 
ferred upon  him  in  1 8 5  5 .  At  the  beginning  of 
the  Civil  war  he  was  too  infirm  to  take  charge 
of  the  army,  but  did  signal  service  in  be- 
half of  the  government.  He  retired  from 
the  service  November  i,  1861,  and  in  1864 
he  published  his  "Autobiography."  Gen- 
eral Scott  died  at  West  Point,  May  29,  1 866. 


EDWARD  EVERETT  HALE  for  many 
years  occupied  a  high  place  among  the 
most  honored  of  America's  citizens.  As 
a  preacher  he.  ranks  among  the  foremost 
in  the  New  England  states,  but  to  the  gen- 
eral public  he  is  best  known  through  his 
writings.      Born  in  Boston,    Mass.,  April  3, 


80 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


1822,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  most 
prominent  New  England  families,  he  enjoyed 
in  his  youth  many  of  the  advantages  denied 
the  majority  of  boys.  He  received  his  pre- 
paratory schooling  at  the  Boston  Latin 
School,  after  which  he  finished  his  studies  at 
Harvard  where  he  was  graduated  with  high 
honors  in  1839.  Having  studied  theology 
at  home,  Mr.  Hale  embraced  the  ministry 
and  in  1846  became  pastor  of  a  Unitarian 
*;hurch  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  a  post 
which  he  occupied  about  ten  years.  He 
then,  in  1856,  became  pastor  of  the  South 
Congregational  church  in  Boston,  over  which 
he  presided  many  years. 

Mr.  Hale  also  found  time  to  write  a 
great  many  literary  works  of  a  high  class. 
Among  many  other  well-known  productions 
Df  his  are  "  The  Rosary,"  "  Margaret  Per- 
cival  in  America."  "Sketches  of  Christian 
.-listory,"  "Kansas  and  Nebraska,"  "Let- 
ters on  Irish  Emigration,"  "  Ninety  Days' 
Worth  of  Europe,"  "  If,  Yes,  and  Perhaps," 
"Ingham  Papers,"  "Reformation,"  "Level 
Best  and  Other  Stories, "  ' '  Ups  and  Downs, " 
"Christmas  Eve  and  Christmas  Day,"  "  In 
His  Name,"  "Our  New  Crusade,"  "Work- 
ingmen's  Homes, "  "  Boys'  Heroes,"  etc., 
etc.,  besides  many  others  which  might  be 
mentioned.  One  of  his  works,  "In  His 
Name,"  has  earned  itself  enduring  fame  by 
the  good  deeds  it  has  called  forth.  The 
numerous  associations  known  as  '  'The  King's 
Daughters,"  which  has  accomplished  much 
good,  owe  their  existence  to  the  story  men- 
tioned. 

DAVID  GLASCOE  FARRAGUT  stands 
pre-eminent  as  one  of  the  greatest  na- 
val officers  of  the  world.  He  was  born  at 
Campbell's  Station,  East  Tennessee,  July 
S,  1801,  and  entered  the  navy  of  the  United 
States  as  a  midshipman.     He  had  the  good 


fortune  to  serve  under  Captain  David  Por- 
ter, who  commanded  the  "  Essex,"  and  by 
whom  he  was  taught  the  ideas  of  devotion 
to  duty  from  which  he  never  swerved  dur- 
ing all  his  career.  In  1823  Mr.  Farragut 
took  part  in  a  severe  fight,  the  result  of 
which  was  the  suppression  of  piracy  in  the 
West  Indies.  He  then  entered  upon  the 
regular  duties  of  his  profession  which  was 
only  broken  into  by  a  year's  residence  with 
Charles  Folsom,  our  consul  at  Tunis,  who 
was  afterwards  a  distinguished  professor  at 
Harvard.  Mr.  Farragut  was  one  of  the  best 
linguists  in  the  navy.  He  had  risen  through 
the  different  grades  of  the  service  until  the 
war  of  1861—65  found  him  a  captain  resid- 
ing at  Norfolk,  Virginia.  He  removed  with 
his  family  to  Hastings,  on  the  Hudson,  and 
hastened  to  offer  his  services  to  the  Federal 
government,  and  as  the  capture  of  New 
Orleans  had  been  resolved  upon,  Farragut 
was  chosen  to  command  the  expedition. 
His  force  consisted  of  the  West  Gulf  block- 
ading squadron  and  Porter's  mortar  flotilla. 
In  January,  1862,  he  hoisted  his  pennant  at 
the  mizzen  peak  of  the  "Hartford"  at 
Hampton  roads,  set  sail  from  thence  on  the 
3rd  of  February  and  reached  Ship  Island  on 
the  20th  of  the  same  month.  A  council  of 
war  was  held  on  the  20th  of  April,  in  which 
it  was  decided  that  whatever  was  to  be  done 
must  be  done  quickly.  The  signal  was  made 
from  the  flagship  and  accordingly  the  fleet 
weighed  anchor  at  1:55  on  the  morning  of 
April  24th,  and  at  3:30  the  whole  force  was 
under  way.  The  history  of  this  brilliant  strug- 
gle is  well  known,  and  the  glory  of  it  made  Far- 
ragut a  hero  and  also  made  him  rear  admir- 
al. In  the  summer  of  1 862  he  ran  the  batteries 
at  Vicksburg,  and  on  March  14,  1863,  he 
passed  through  the  fearful  and  destructive 
fire  from  Poit  Hudson,  and  opened  up  com- 
munication  with    Flag-officer  Porter,   who 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


83 


had  control  of  the  upper  Mississippi.  On 
May  24th  he  commenced  active  operations 
against  that  fort  in  conjunction  with  the  army 
and  it  fell  on  July  9th.  Mr.  Farragut  filled 
the  measure  of  his  fame  on  the  5th  of  Au- 
gust, 1864,  by  his  great  victory,  the  capture 
of  Mobile  Bay  and  the  destruction  of  the 
Confederate  fleet,  including  the  formidable 
ram  Tennessee.  For  this  victory  the  rank 
of  admiral  was  given  to  Mr.  Farragut.  He 
died  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  Au- 
gust 4,  1870. 

GEORGE  W.  CHILDS,  a  philanthropist 
whose  remarkable  personality  stood 
for  the  best  and  highest  type  of  American 
citizenship,  and  whose  whole  life  was  an 
object  lesson  in  noble  living,  was  born  in 
1829  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  of  humble 
parents,  and  spent  his  early  life  in  unremit- 
ting toil.  He  was  a  self-made  man  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  word,  and  gained  his 
great  wealth  by  his  own  efforts.  He  was  a 
man  of  very  great  influence,  and  this,  in 
conjunction  with  his  wealth,  would  have 
been,  in  the  hands  of  other  men,  a  means  of 
getting  them  political  preferment,  but  Mr. 
Childs  steadily  declined  any  suggestions  that 
would  bring  him  to  figure  prominently  in 
public  affairs.  He  did  not  choose  to  found 
a  financial  dynasty,  but  devoted  all  his 
powers  to  the  helping  of  others,  with  the 
most  enlightened  beneficence  and  broadest 
sympathy.  Mr.  Childs  once  remarked  that 
his  greatest  pleasure  in  life  was  in  doing 
good  to  others.  He  always  despised  mean- 
ness, and  one  of  his  objects  of  life  was  to 
prove  that  a  man  could  be  liberal  and  suc- 
cessful at  the  same  time.  Upon  these  lines 
Mr.  Childs  made  a  name  for  himself  as  the 
director  of  one  of  the  representative  news- 
papers of  America,  "The  Philadelphia  Pub- 
lic   Ledger,"  which    was    owned  jointly  by 


himself  and  the  Drexel  estate,  and  which  he 
edited  for  thirty  years.  He  acquired  con- 
trol of  the  paper  at  a  time  when  it  was  be- 
ing published  at  a  heavy  loss,  set  it  upon  a 
firm  basis  of  prosperity,  and  he  made  it 
more  than  a  money- making  machine — he 
made  it  respected  as  an  exponent  of  the 
best  side  of  journalism,  and  it  stands  as  a 
monument  to  his  sound  judgment  and  up- 
right business  principles.  Mr.  Childs'  char- 
itable repute  brought  him  many  applications 
for  assistance,  and  he  never  refused  to  help 
any  one  that  was  deserving  of  aid;  and  not 
only  did  he  help  those  who  asked,  but  he 
would  by  careful  inquiry  find  those  who 
needed  aid  but  were  too  proud  to  solicit  it. 
He  was  a  considerable  employer  of  labor, 
and  his  liberality  was  almost  unparalleled. 
The  death  of  this  great  and  good  man  oc- 
curred February  3d,  1894. 


PATRICK  HENRY  won  his  way  to  un- 
dying fame  in  the  annals  of  the  early 
history  of  the  United  States  by  introducing 
into  the  house  of  burgesses  his  famous  reso- 
lution against  the  Stamp  Act,  which  he  car- 
ried through,  after  a  stormy  debate,  by  a 
majority  of  one.  At  this  time  he  exclaimed 
"  Ccesar  had  his  Brutus,  Charles  I  his  Crom- 
well and  George  HI  "  (here  he  was  inter- 
rupted by  cries  of  "  treason  ")  "  may  profit 
by  their  example.  If  this  be  treason  make 
the  most  of  it." 

Patrick  Henry  was  born  at  Studley, 
Hanover  county,  Virginia,  May  29,  1736, 
and  was  a  son  of  Colonel  John  Henry,  a 
magistrate  and  school  teacher  of  Aberdeen, 
Scotland,  and  a  nephew  of  Robertson,  the 
historian.  He  received  his  education  from 
his  father,  and  was  married  at  the  age  of 
eighteen.  He  was  twice  bankrupted  before 
he  had  reached  his  twenty-fourth  year,  when 
after  six  weeks  of  study  he  was  admitted  to 


84 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


the  bar.  He  worked  for  three  years  with- 
out a  case  and  finally  was  applauded  for  his 
plea  lor  the  people's  rights  and  gained  im- 
mense popularity.  After  his  famous  Stamp 
Act  resolution  he  was  the  leader  of  the  pa- 
triots in  Virginia.  In  1769  he  was  admitted 
to  practice  in  the  general  courts  and  speed- 
ily won  a  fortune  by  his  distinguished  ability 
as  a  speaker.  He  was  the  first  speaker  of 
the  General  Congress  at  Philadelphia  in 
1774.  He  was  for  a  time  a  colonel  of 
militiain  1775,  and  from  1776  to  1779  and 
1 78 1  to  1786  he  was  governor  of  Virginia. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  retired  from  pub- 
lic life  and  was  tendered  and  declined  a 
number  of  important  political  offices,  and  in 
March,  1789,  he  was  elected  state  senator 
but  did  not  take  his  seat  on  account  of  his 
death  which  occurred  at  Red  Hill,  Charlotte 
county,  Virginia,  June  6,  1799. 


BENEDICT  ARNOLD,  an  American 
general  and  traitor  of  the  Revolution- 
ary war,  is  one  of  the  noted  characters  in 
American  history.  He  was  born  in  Nor- 
wich, Connecticut,  January  3,  1740.  He 
ran  away  and  enlisted  in  the  army  when 
young,  but  deserted  in  a  short  time.  He 
then  became  a  merchant  at  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  but  failed.  In  1775  he  was 
commissioned  colonel  in  the  Massachusetts 
militia,  and  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  was 
placed  in  command  of  one  thousand  men 
for  the  invasion  of  Canada.  He  marched 
his  army  through  the  forests  of  Maine  and 
joined  General  Montgomery  before  Quebec. 
Their  combined  forces  attacked  that  city  on 
December  31,  1775,  and  Montgomery  was 
killed,  and  Arnold,  severely  wounded,  was 
compelled  to  retreat  and  endure  a  rigorous 
winter  a  few  miles  from  the  city,  where  they 
were  at  the  mercy  of  the  Canadian  troops 
had  they  cared  to  attack  them.      On  his  re- 


turn he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general.  He  was  given  command  of  a  small 
flotilla  on  Lake  Champlain,  with  which  he 
encountered  an  immense  force,  and  though 
defeated,  performed  many  deeds  of  valor. 
He  resented  the  action  of  congress  in  pro- 
moting a  number  of  his  fellow  officers  and 
neglecting  himself.  In  1777  he  was  made 
major-general,  and  under  General  Gates  at 
Bemis  Heights  fought  valiantly.  For  some 
reason  General  Gates  found  fault  with  his 
conduct  and  ordered  him  under  arrest,  and 
he  was  kept  in  his  tent  until  the  battle  of 
Stillwater  was  waxing  hot,  when  Arnold 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  to  the  front  of 
his  old  troop,  gave  command  to  charge,  and 
rode  like  a  mad  man  into  the  thickest  of 
the  fight  and  was  not  overtaken  by  Gates' 
courier  until  he  had  routed  the  enemy  and 
fell  wounded.  Upon  his  recovery  he  was 
made  general,  and  was  placed  in  command 
at  Philadelphia.  Here  he  married,  and  his 
acts  of  rapacity  soon  resulted  in  a  court- 
martial.  He  was  sentenced  to  be  repri- 
manded by  the  commander-in-chief,  and 
though  Washington  performed  this  duty 
with  utmost  delicacy  and  consideration,  it 
was  never  forgiven.  Arnold  obtained  com- 
mand at  West  Point,  the  most  important 
post  held  by  the  Americans,  in  1780,  and 
immediately  offered  to  surrender  it  to  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  British  commandsr  at  New 
York.  Major  Andre  was  sent  to  arrange 
details  with  Arnold,  but  on  his  return  trip 
to  New  York  he  was  captured  by  Americans, 
the  plot  was  detected,  and  Andre  suffered 
the  death  penalty  as  a  spy.  Arnold  es- 
caped, and  was  paid  about  $40,000  by  the 
British  for  his  treason  and  was  made  briga- 
dier-general. He  afterward  commanded  an 
expedition  that  plundered  a  portion  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  another  that  burned  New  Lon- 
don, Connecticut,  and  captured  Fort  Trum- 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPH}'. 


bull,  the  commandant  of  which  Arnold  mur- 
dered with  the  sword  he  had  just  surren- 
dered. He  passed  the  latter  part  of  his  life 
in  England,  universally  despised,  and  died 
in  London  June  14,  1801. 


ROBERT  G.  INGERSOLL,  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  orators  that  America  has 
produced,  also  a  lawyer  of  considerable 
merit,  won  most  of  his  fame  as  a  lecturer. 
Mr.  Inp;ersoll  was  born  August  24,  1833, 
at  Dryden,  Gates  county.  New  York,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  common  schools. 
He  went  west  at  the  age  of  twelve,  and  for 
a  short  time  he  attended  an  academy  in 
Tennessee,  and  also  taught  school  in  that 
state.  He  began  the  practice  of  law  in  the 
southern  part  of  Illinois  in  1854.  Colonel 
Ingersoll's  principal  fame  was  made  in 
the  lecture  room  by  his  lectures  in  which  he 
ridiculed  religious  faith  and  creeds  and  criti- 
cised the  Bible  and  the  Christian  religion. 
He  was  the  orator  of  the  day  in  the  Decora- 
tion Day  celebration  in  the  city  of  New  York 
in  1882  and  his  oration  was  widely  com- 
mended. He  first  attracted  political  notice 
in  the  convention  at  Cincinnati  in  1876  by 
his  brilliant  eulogy  on  James  G.  Blaine.  He 
practiced  law  in  Peoria,  Illinois,  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  but  later  located  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  He  published  the  follow- 
ing: "The  Gods  and  other  Lectures;"  "The 
Ghosts;"  "Some  Mistakes  of  Moses;" 
"What  Shall  I  Do  To  Be  Saved;"  "Inter- 
views on  Talmage  and  Presbyterian  Cate- 
chism ;"  The  "North  American  Review 
Controversy;"  "Prose  Poems;"  "  A  Vision 
of  War;"   etc. 


JOSEPH  ECCLESTON  JOHNSTON, 
a  noted  general  in  the  Confederate  army, 
was  born  in  Prince  Edward  county,  Virginia, 
in  1807.      He   graduated    from   West   Point 


and  entered  the  army  in  1829.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  his  chief  service  was  garrison 
duty.  He  saw  active  service,  however,  in 
the  Seminole  war  in  Florida,  part  of  the 
time  as  a  staff  officer  of  General  Scott.  He 
resigned  his  commission  in  1837,  but  re- 
turned to  the  army  a  year  later,  and  was 
brevetted  captain  for  gallant  services  in 
Florida.  He  was  made  first  lieutenant  of 
topographical  engineers,  and  was  engaged 
in  river  and  harbor  improvements  and  also 
in  the  survey  of  the  Texas  boundary  and 
the  northern  boundary  of  the  United 
States  until  the  beginning  of  the  war 
with  Mexico.  He  was  at  the  siege  of  Vera 
Cruz,  and  at  the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo  was 
wounded  while  reconnoitering  the  enemy's 
position,  after  which  he  was  brevetted  major 
and  colonel.  He  was  in  all  the  battles  about 
the  city  of  Mexico,  and  was  again  wounded 
in  the  final  assault  upon  that  city.  After 
the  Mexican  war  closed  he  returned  to  duty 
as  captain  of  topographical  engineers,  but 
in  1855  he  was  made  lieutenant-colonel  of 
cavalry  and  did  frontier  duty,  and  was  ap- 
pointed inspector-general  of  the  expedition 
to  Utah.  In  i860  he  was  appointed  quar- 
termaster-general with  rank  of  brigadier- 
general.  At  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  in 
1 86 1  he  resigned  his  commission  and  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  major-general  of 
the  Confederate  army.  He  held  Harper's 
Ferry,  and  later  fought  General  Patterson 
about  Winchester.  At  the  battle  of  Bull 
Run  he  declined  command  in  favor  of  Beau- 
regard, and  acted  under  that  general's  direc- 
tions. He  commanded  the  Confederates  in 
the  famous  Peninsular  campaign,  and  was 
severely  wounded  at  Fair  Oaks  and  was 
succeeded  in  command  by  General  Lee. 
Upon  his  recovery  he  was  made  lieutenant- 
general  and  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
southwestern  department.      He    attempted 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


to  raise  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  and  was 
finally  defeated  at  Jackson,  Mississippi. 
Having  been  made  a  general  he  succeeded 
General  Bragg  in  command  of  the  army  of 
Tennessee  and  was  ordered  to  check  General 
Sherman's  advance  upon  Atlanta.  Not 
daring  to  risk  a  battle  with  the  overwhelm- 
ing forces  of  Sherman,  he  slowly  retreated 
toward  Atlanta,  and  was  relieved  of  com- 
mand by  President  Davis  and  succeeded  by 
General  Hood.  Hood  utterly  destroyed  his 
own  army  by  three  furious  attacks  upon 
Sherman.  Johnston  was  restored  to  com- 
mand in  the  Carolinas,  and  again  faced 
Sherman,  but  was  defeated  in  several  en- 
gagements and  continued  a  slow  retreat 
toward  Richmond.  Hearing  of  Lee's  sur- 
render, he  communicated  with  General 
Sherman,  and  finally  surrendered  his  army 
at  Durham,  North  Carolina,  April  26,  1865. 
General  Johnston  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  forty-sixth  congress  and  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  railroad  commis- 
sioner in  1885.  His  death  occurred  March 
21,  1891.  

SAMUEL  LANGHORNE  CLEMENS, 
known  throughout  the  civilized  world 
as  "Mark  Twain,"  is  recognized  as  one  of 
the  greatest  humorists  America  has  pro- 
duced. He  was  born  in  Monroe  county, 
Missouri,  November  30,  1835.  Hespenthis 
boyhood  days  in  his  native  state  and  many 
of  his  earlier  experiences  are  related  in  vari- 
ous forms  in  his  later  writings.  One  of  his 
early  acquaintances,  Capt.  Isaiah  Sellers, 
at  an  early  day  furnished  river  news  for  the 
New  Orleans  "  Picayune,"  using  the  noin- 
de- plume  of  "Mark  Twain."  Sellers  died 
in  1863  and  Clemens  took  up  his  nom-de- 
plume  and  made  it  famous  throughout  the 
world  by  his  literary  work.  In  1862  Mr. 
Clemens  became  a  journalist   at   Virginia, 


Nevada,  and  afterward  followed  the  same  pro- 
fession at  San  Francisco  and  Buffalo,  New 
York.  He  accumulated  a  fortune  from  the 
sale  of  his  many  publications,  but  in  later 
years  engaged  in  business  enterprises,  partic- 
ularly the  manufacture  of  a  typesetting  ma- 
chine, which  dissipated  his  fortune  and  re- 
duced him  almost  to  poverty,  but  with  resolute 
heart  he  at  once  again  took  up  his  pen  and 
engaged  in  literary  work  in  the  effort  to 
regain  his  lost  ground.  Among  the  best 
known  of  his  works  may  be  mentioned  the  fol- 
lowing: ' '  The  Jumping  Frog, "  ' '  Tom  Saw- 
yer," "  Roughingit,"  "  Innocents  Abroad," 
"Huckleberry  Finn,"  "Gilded  Age," 
"Prince  and  Pauper,"  "Million  Pound 
Bank  Note,"  "A  Yankee  in  King  Arthur's 
Court,"  etc. 


CHRISTOPHER  CARSON,  better 
known  as  "Kit  Carson  ;"  was  an  Amer- 
ican trapper  and  scout  who  gained  a  wide 
reputation  for  his  frontier  work.  He  was  a 
native  of  Kentucky,  born  December  24th, 
1809.  He  grew  to  manhood  there,  devel- 
oping a  natural  inclination  for  adventure  in 
the  pioneer  experiences  in  his  native  state. 
When  yet  a  young  man  he  became  quite 
well  known  on  the  frontier.  He  served  as 
a  guide  to  Gen.  Fremont  in  his  Rocky 
Mountain  explorations  and  enlisted  in  the 
army.  He  was  an  officer  in  the  United 
States  service  in  both  the  Mexican  war  and 
the  great  Civil  war,  and  in  the  latter  received 
a  brevet  of  brigadier-general  for  meritorious 
service.  His  death  occurred  May  23, 
1868.  

JOHN  SHERMAN.— Statesman,  politi- 
cian, cabinet  officer  and  senator,  the  name 
of  the  gentleman  who  heads  this  sketch  is  al- 
most a  household  word  throughout  this 
country.      Identified  with  some  of  the  most 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


87 


important  measures  adopted  by  our  Govern- 
ment since  the  close  of  the  Civil  war,  he  may 
well  be  called  one  of  the  leading  men  of  his 
day. 

John  Sherman  was  born  at  Lancaster, 
Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  May  loth,  1823, 
the  son  of  Charles  R.  Sherman,  an  emi- 
nent lawyer  and  judge  of  the  supreme  court 
of  Ohio  and  who  died  in  1829.  The  subject 
of  this  article  received  an  academic  educa- 
tion and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1844. 
In  the  Whig  conventions  of  1844  and  1848 
he  sat  as  a  delegate.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  National  house  of  representatives, 
from  1855  to  1 86 1.  In  i85o  he  was  re- 
elected to  the  same  position  but  was  chosen 
United  States  senator  before  he  took  his 
seat  in  the  lower  house.  He  was  re-elected 
senator  in  1866  and  1872  and  was  long 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  finance  and 
on  agriculture.  He  took  a  prominent  part 
in  debates  on  finance  and  on  the  conduct  of 
the  war,  and  was  one  of  the  authors  of  the 
reconstruction  measures  in  1866  and  1867, 
and  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  treas- 
ury March  7th,   1877. 

Mr.  Sherman  was  re-elected  United  States 
senator  from  Ohio  January  i8th,  1881,  and 
again  in  1886  and  1892,  during  which  time 
he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent leaders  of  tlie  Republican  party,  both 
in  the  senate  and  in  the  country.  He  was 
several  times  the  favorite  of  his  state  for  the 
nomination  lor  president. 

On  the  formation  of  his  cabinet  in  March, 
1897,  President  McKinley  tendered  the  posi- 
tion of  secretary  of  state  to  Mr.  Sherman, 
which  was  accepted. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON,  ninth 
president  of  the  United  States,  was 
born  in  Charles  county,  Virginia,  February 
9,     1773,    the  son    of    Governor    Benjamin 


Harrison.  He  took  a  couise  in  Hampden- 
Sidney  College  with  a  view  to  the  practice 
of  medicine,  and  then  went  to  Philadelphia 
to  study  under  Dr.  Rush,  but  in  1791  he 
entered  the  army,  and  obtained  the  commis- 
sion of  ensign,  was  soon  promoted  to  the 
lieutenancy,  and  was  with  General  Wayne 
in  his  war  against  the  Indians.  For  his 
valuable  service  he  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  captain  and  given  command  of  Fort 
Washington,  now  Cincinnati.  He  was  ap- 
pointed secretary  of  the  Northwest  Territory 
in  1797,  and  in  1799  became  its  representa- 
tive in  congress.  In  1801  he  was  appointed 
governor  of  Indiana  Territory,  and  held  the 
position  for  twelve  years,  during  which  time 
he  negotiated  important  treaties  with  the  In- 
dians, causing  them  to  relinquish  millions  of 
acres  of  land,  and  also  won  the  battle  of 
Tippecanoe  in  181 1.  He  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  change  in  the  law  which  did  not 
permit  purchase  of  public  lands  in  less  tracts 
than  four  thousand  acres,  reducing  the  limit 
to  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  He 
became  major-general  of  Kentucky  militia 
and  brigadier-general  in  the  United  States 
army  in  18 12,  and  won  great  renown  in 
the  defense  of  Fort  Meigs,  and  his  victory 
over  the  British  and  Indians  under  Proctor 
and  Tecumseh  at  the  Thames  river,  October 
5.  1813- 

In  1 8 16  General  Harrison  was  elected  to 
congress  from  Ohio,  and  during  the  canvass 
was  accused  of  corrupt  methods  in  regard  to 
the  commissariat  of  the  army.  He  demanded 
an  investigation  after  the  election  and  was 
exonerated.  In  1819  he  was  elected  to 
the  Ohio  state  senate,  and  in  1824  he  gave 
his  vote  as  a  presidential  elector  to  Henry 
Clay.  He  became  a  member  of  the  United 
States  senate  the  same  year.  During  the 
last  year  of  Adams'  administration  he  was 
sent  as  minister  to  Colombia,    but  was  re- 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


called  by  President  Jackson  the  following 
year.  He  then  retired  to  his  estate  at  North 
Bend,  Ohio,  a  few  miles  below  Cincinnati.  In 
1836  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  presidency, 
but  as  there  were  three  other  candidates 
the  votes  were  divided,  he  receiving  seventy- 
three  electoral  votes,  a  majority  going  to 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  the  Democratic  candidate. 
Four  years  later  General  Harrison  was  again 
nominated  by  the  Whigs,  and  elected  by  a 
tremendous  majority.  The  campaign  was 
noted  for  its  novel  features,  many  of  which 
have  found  a  permanent  place  in  subsequent 
campaigns.  Those  peculiar  to  that  cam- 
paign, however,  were  the  "  log-cabin"  and 
"  hard  cider"  watchwords,  which  produced 
great  enthusiasm  among  his  followers.  One 
month  after  his  inauguration  he  died  from 
an  attack  of  pleurisy,  April  4,   1841. 


CHARLES  A.  DANA,  the  well-known 
and  widely-read  journalist  of  New  York 
City,  a  native  of  Hinsdale,  New  Hampshire, 
was  born  August  8,  18 19.  He  received 
the  elements  of  a  good  education  in  his 
youth  and  studied  for  two  years  at  Harvard 
University.  Owing  to  some  disease  of  the 
eyes  he  was  unable  to  complete  his  course 
and  graduate,  but  was  granted  the  degree  of 
A.  M.  notwithstanding.  For  some  time  he 
was  editor  of  the  "  Harbinger,"  and  was  a 
regular  contributor  to  the  Boston  "  Chrono- 
type."  In  1847  he  became  connected  with 
the  New  York  "  Tribune, "  and  continued  on 
the  staff  of  that  journal  until  1858.  In  the 
latter  year  he  edited  and  compiled  "The 
Household  Book  of  Poetry,"  and  later,  in 
connection  with  George  Ripley,  edited  the 
"New  American  Cyclopaedia." 

Mr.  Dana,  on  severing  his  connection 
with  the  "  Tribune  "  in  1867,  became  editor 
of  the  New  York  "Sun,"  a  paper  with 
which  he  was  identified  for  many  years,  and 


which  he  made  one  of  the  leaders  of  thought 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States. 
He  wielded  a  forceful  pen  and  fearlessly 
attacked  whatever  was  corrupt  and  unworthy 
in  politics,  state  or  national.  The  same 
year,  1867,  Mr.  Dana  organized  the  New 
York  "  Sun  "  Company. 

During  the  troublous  days  of  the  war, 
when  the  fate  of  the  Nation  depended  upon 
the  armies  in  the  field,  Mr.  Dana  accepted 
the  arduous  and  responsible  position  of 
assistant  secretary  of  war,  and  held  the 
position  during  the  greater  part  of  1863 
and  1864.      He  died  October  17,  1897. 


ASA  GRAY  was  recognized  throughout  the 
scientific  world  as  one  of  the  ablest 
and  most  eminent  of  botanists.  He  was 
born  at  Paris,  Oneida  county,  New  York, 
November  18,  18 10.  He  received  his  medi- 
cal degree  at  the  Fairfield  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons,  in  Herkimer  county, 
New  York,  and  studied  botany  with  the  late 
Professor  Torrey,  of  New  York.  He  was 
appointed  botanist  to  the  Wilkes  expedition 
in  1834,  but  declined  the  offer  and  became 
professor  of  natural  history  in  Harvard  Uni- 
versity in  1842.  He  retired  from  the  active 
duties  of  this  post  in  1873,  and  in  1874  he 
was  the  regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 
Dr.  Gray  wrote  several  books  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  many  sciences  of  which  he  was 
master.  In  1836  he  published  his  "Ele- 
ments of  Botany,"  "Manual  of  Botany"  in 
1848;  the  unfinished  "Flora  of  North 
America,"  by  himself  and  Dr.  Torrey,  the  ; 
publication  of  which  commenced  in  1838.  | 
There  is  another  of  his  unfinished  works  j 
called  "Genera  Boreali-Americana,"  pub- 
lished in  1848,  and  the  "Botany  of  the 
United  States  Pacific  Exploring  Expedition 
in  1854."     He  wrote  many  elaborate  papers 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


89 


on  the  botany  of  the  west  and  southwest 
that  were  pubHshed  in  the  Smithsonian  Con- 
tributions, Memoirs,  etc.,  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  of  which  in- 
stitution he  was  president  for  ten  years. 
He  was  also  the  author  of  many  of  the 
government  reports.  "  How  Plants  Grow," 
"Lessons  in  Botany,"  "  Structural  and  Sys- 
tematic Botany,"  are  also  works  from  his 
leady  pen. 

Dr.  Gray  published  in  1861  his  "Free 
Examination  of  Darwin's  Treatise  "  and  his 
"  Darwiniana,"  in  1876.  Mr.  Gray  was 
elected  July  29,  1878,  to  a  membership  in 
the  Institute  of  France,  Academy  of  Sciences, 
f^is  death  occurred  at  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts, January  30,   1889. 


WILLIAM  MAXWELL  EVARTS  was 
one  of  the  greatest  leaders  of  the 
American  bar.  He  was  born  in  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  February  6,  1818,  and  grad- 
uated from  Yale  College  in  1837.  He  took 
up  the  study  of  law,  which  he  practiced  in 
the  city  of  New  York  and  won  great  renown 
as  an  orator  and  advocate.  He  affiliated 
with  the  Republican  party,  which  he  joined 
soon  after  its  organization.  He  was  the 
leading  counsel  employed  for  the  defense  of 
i- resident  Johnson  in  his  trial  for  impeach- 
inent  before  the  senate  in  April  and  May  of 
1868. 

In  July,  1868,  Mr.  Evarts  was  appointed 
attorney-general  of  the  United  States,  and 
served  until  March  4,  1869.  He  was  one 
of  the  three  lawyers  who  were  selected  by 
President  Grant  in  1871  to  defend  the  inter- 
ests of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  be- 
fore the  tribunal  of  arbitration  which  met 
at  Geneva  in  Switzerland  to  settle  the  con- 
troversy over  the  "  Alabama  Claims." 

He  was  one  of  the  most  eloquent  advo- 
<;ates  in  the  United  States,  and  many  of  his 


public  addresses  have  been  preserved  and 
published.  He  was  appointed  secretary  of 
state  March  7,  1877,  by  President  Hayes, 
and  served  during  the  Hayes  administration. 
He  was  elected  senator  from  the  state  of 
New  York  January  21,  1S85,  and  at  once 
took  rank  among  the  ablest  statesmen  in 
Congress,  and  the  prominent  part  he  took 
in  the  discussion  of  public  questions  gave 
him  a  national  reputation. 

TOHN  WANAMAKER.— The  life  of  this 
kJ  great  merchant  demonstrates  the  fact 
that  the  great  secret  of  rising  from  the  ranks 
is,  to-day,  as  in  the  past  ages,  not  so  much  the 
ability  to  make  money,  as  to  save  it,  or  in 
other  words,  the  ability  to  live  well  within 
one's  income.  Mr.  Wanamaker  was  born  in 
Philadelphia  in  1838.  He  started  out  in 
life  working  in  a  brickyard  for  a  mere  pit- 
tance, and  left  that  position  to  work  in  a 
book  store  as  a  clerk,  where  he  earned 
the  sum  of  $5.00  per  month,  and  later  on 
was  in  the  employ  of  a  clothier  where  he 
received  twenty-five  cents  a  week  more. 
He  was  only  fifteen  years  of  age  at  that 
time,  but  was  a  "  money-getter  "  by  instinct, 
and  laid  by  a  small  sum  for  a  possible  rainy 
day.  By  strict  attention  to  business,  com- 
bined with  natural  ability,  he  was  promoted 
many  times,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  he 
had  saved  $2,000.  After  several  months 
vacation  in  the  south,  he  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia and  became  a  master  brick  mason, 
but  this  was  too  tiresome  to  the  young  man, 
and  he  opened  up  the  "  Oak  Hall  "  clothing 
store  in  April,  1861,  at  Philadelphia.  The 
capital  of  the  firm  was  rather  limited,  but 
finally,  after  many  discouragements,  they 
laid  the  foundations  of  one  of  the  largest 
business  houses  in  the  world.  The  estab- 
lishment covers  at  the  present  writing  som.e. 
fourteen  acres  of  floor  space,  and  furnishes 


90 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


employment  for  five  thousand  persons.  Mr. 
Wanamaker  was  also  a  great  church  worker, 
and  built  a  church  that  cost  him  $60,000, 
and  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday- 
school,  which  had  a  membership  of  over 
three  thousand  children.  He  steadily  re- 
fused to  run  for  mayor  or  congress  and  the 
only  public  office  that  he  ever  held  was  that 
of  postmaster-general,  under  the  Harrison 
administration,  and  here  he  exhibited  his 
extraordinary  aptitude  for  comprehending 
the  details  of  public  business. 


DAVID  BENNETT  HILL,  a  Demo- 
cratic politician  who  gained  a  na- 
tional reputation,  was  born  August  29, 
1843,  at  Havana,  New  York.  He  was 
educated  at  the  academy  of  his  native  town, 
and  removed  to  Elmira,  New  York,  in  1862, 
where  he  studied  law.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1864,  in  which  year  he  was  ap- 
pointed city  attorney.  Mr.  Hill  soon  gained 
a  considerable  practice,  becoming  prominent 
in  his  profession.  He  developed  a  taste  for 
politics  in  which  he  began  to  take  an  active 
part  in  the  different  campaigns  and  became 
the  recognized  leader  of  the  local  Democ- 
racy. In  1870  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  assembly  and  was  re-elected  in  1872. 
While  a  member  of  this  assembly  he  formed 
the  acquaintance  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  after- 
ward governor  of  the  state,  who  appointed 
Mr.  Hill,  W.  M.  Evarts  and  Judge  Hand 
as  a  committee  to  provide  a  uniform  charter 
for  the  different  cities  of  the  state.  The 
pressure  of  professional  engagements  com- 
pelled him  to  decline  to  serve.  In  1877 
Mr.  Hill  was  made  chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic state  convention  at  Albany,  his  elec- 
tion being  due  to  the  Tilden  wing  of  the 
party,  and  he  held  the  same  position  again 
m  1 88 1.  He  served  one  term  as  alderman 
ux  Elmira,  at  the  expiration  of  which  term, 


in  1882,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Elmira, 
and  in  September  of  the  same  year  was 
nominated  for  lieutenant-governor  on  the 
Democratic  state  ticket.  He  was  success- 
ful in  the  campaign  and  two  years  later, 
when  Grover  Cleveland  was  elected  to  the 
presidency,  Mr.  Hill  succeeded  to  the  gov- 
ernorship for  the  unexpired  term.  In  1885 
he  was  elected  governor  for  a  full  term  of 
three  years,  at  the  end  of  which  he  was  re- 
elected, his  term  expiring  in  1891,  in  which 
year  he  was  elected  United  States  senator. 
In  the  senate  he  became  a  conspicuous 
figure  and  gained  a  national  reputation. 


ALLEN  G.  THURMAN.—"  The  noblest 
Roman  of  them  all "  was  the  title  by 
which  Mr.  Thurman  was  called  by  his  com- 
patriots of  the  Democracy.  He  was  the 
greatest  leader  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
his  day  and  held  the  esteem  of  all  the 
people,  regardless  of  their  political  creeds. 
Mr.  Thurman  was  born  November  13,  18 13, 
at  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  where  he  remained 
until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  six  years, 
when  he  moved  to  Ohio.  He  received  an 
academic  education  and  after  graduating, 
took  up  the  study  of  law,  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1835,  and  achieved  a  brilliant 
success  in  that  line.  In  political  life  he  was 
very  successful,  and  his  first  office  was  that 
of  representative  of  the  state  of  Ohio  in  the 
twenty-ninth  congress.  He  was  elected 
judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  Ohio  in  185 1, 
and  was  chief  justice  of  the  same  from  1854 
to  1856.  In  1867  he  was  the  choice  of  the 
Democratic  party  of  his  state  for  governor, 
and  was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate 
in  1869  to  succeed  Benjamin  F.  Wade, 
and  was  re-elected  to  the  same  position  in 
1874.  He  was  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
senate,  until  the  expiration  of  his  service  in 
1 88 1.     Mr.  Thurman  was  also   one  of  the 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


91. 


principal  presidental  possibilities  in  the 
Democratic  convention  held  at  St.  Louis  in 
1876.  In  1888  he  was  the  Democratic 
nominee  for  vice-president  on  the  ticket 
with  Grover  Cleveland,  but  was  defeated. 
Allen  Cranberry  Thurman  died  December 
12,  189s,  at  Columbus,  Ohio. 


CHARLES  FARRAR  BROWNE,  better 
known  as  "  Artemus  Ward,"  was  born 
April  26,  1834,  in  the  village  of  Waterford, 
Maine.  He  was  thirteen  years  old  at  the 
time  of  his  father's  death,  and  about  a  year 
later  he  was  apprenticed  to  John  M.  Rix, 
who  published  the  "Coos  County  Dem-. 
ocrat  "  at  Lancaster,  New  Hampshire.  Mr. 
Browne  remained  with  him  one  year,  when, 
hearing  that  his  brother  Cyrus  was  starting 
a  paper  at  Norway,  Maine,  he  left  Mr.  Rix 
and  determined  to  get  work  on  the  new 
paper.  He  worked  for  his  brother  until  the 
failure  of  the  newspaper,  and  then  went  to 
Augusta,  Maine,  where  he  remained  a  few 
weeks  and  then  removed  to  Skowhegan, 
and  secured  a  position  on  the  "Clarion." 
But  either  the  climate  or  the  work  was  not 
satisfactory  to  him,  for  one  night  he  silently 
left  the  town  and  astonished  his  good  mother 
by  appearing  unexpectedly  at  home.  Mr. 
Browne  then  received  some  letters  of  recom- 
mendation to  Messrs.  Snow  and  Wilder,  of 
Boston,  at  whose  office  Mrs.  Partington's 
(B.  P.  Shillaber)  "  Carpet  Bag  "was  printed, 
and  he  was  engaged  and  remained  there  for 
three  years.  He  then  traveled  westward  in 
search  of  employment  and  got  as  far  as  Tif- 
fin,_  Ohio^  where  he  found  employment  in  the 
office  of  the  "Advertiser,"  and  remained 
there  some  months  when  he  proceeded  to 
Toledo,  Ohio,  where  he  became  one  of  the 
staff  of  the  "Commercial,"  which  position 
he  held  until  1857.  Mr.  Browne  next  went 
to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  became  the  local 


editor  of  the  "Plain  Dealer,"  and  it  was  in 
the  columns  of  this  paper  that  he  published 
his  first  articles  and  signed  them  "Artemus 
Ward."  In  i860  he  went  to  New  York  and 
became  the  editor  of  "  Vanity  Fair,"  but 
the  idea  of  lecturing  here  seized  him,  and  he 
was  fully  determined  to  make  the  trial. 
Mr.  Browne  brought  out  his  lecture,  "Babes 
in  the  Woods  "  at  Clinton  Hall,  December 
23,  1861,  and  in  1862  he  published  his  first 
book  entitled,  "Artemus  Ward;  His  Book." 
He  attained  great  fame  as  a  lecturer  and  his 
lectures  were  not  confined  to  America,  for 
he  went  to  England  in  1866,  and  became 
exceedingly  popular,  both  as  a  lecturer  and 
a  contributor  to  "Punch."  Mr.  Browne 
lectured  for  the  last  time  January  23,  1867. 
He  died  in  Southampton,  England,  March 
6,    1867.  

THURLOW  WEED,  a  noted  journalist 
and  politician,  was  born  in  Cairo,  New 
York,  November  15,  1797.  He  learned  the 
printer's  trade  at  the  age  of  twelve  years, . 
and  worked  at  this  calling  for  several  years . 
in  various  villages  in  central  New  York.  He 
served  as  quartermaster-sergeant  during  the 
war  of  18 12.  In  18 18  he  established  the 
"Agriculturist,"  at  Norwich,  New  York, 
and  became  editor  of  the  "  Anti-Masonic:  . 
Enquirer,"  at  Rochester,  in  1826.  In  the 
same  year  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
and  re-elected  in  1830,  when  he  located  in 
Albany,  New  York,  and  there  started  the 
"  Evening  Journal,"  and  conducted  it  in  op- 
position to  the  Jackson  administration  and 
the  nullificatioa  doctrines  of  Calhoun.  He. 
became  an  adroit  party  manager,  and  was. 
instrumental  in  promoting  the  nominations; 
of  Harrison,  Taylor  and  Scott  for  the  pres- 
idency. In  1856  and  in  i860  he  threw  his 
support  to  W.  H.  Seward,  but  when  defeat- 
ed in  his  object,  he  gave  cordial  support  to. 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


Fremont  and  Lincoln.  Mr.  Lincoln  pre- 
vailed upon  him  to  visit  the  various  capitals 
of  Europe,  where  he  proved  a  valuable  aid 
tc  the  administration  in  moulding  the  opin- 
ions of  the  statesmen  of  that  continent 
favorable  to  the  cause  of  the  Union. 

Mr.  Weed's  connection  with  the  ' '  Even- 
ing Journal  "  was  severed  in  1862,  when  he 
settled  in  New  York,  and  for  a  time  edited 
the  "Commercial  Advertiser."  In  1868  he 
retired  from  active  life.  His  "  Letters  from 
Europe  and  the  West  Indies,"  published  in 
1866,  together  with  some  interesting  "Rem- 
iniscences," published  in  the  "Atlantic 
Monthly,"  in  1870,  an  autobiography,  and 
portions  of  an  extensive  correspondence  will 
be  of  great  value  to  writers  of  the  political 
history  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Weed 
died  in  New  York,  November  22,  1882. 


WILLIAM  COLLINS  WHITNEY, 
one  of  the  prominent  Democratic 
politicians  of  the  country  and  ex-secretary  of 
the  navy,  was  born  July  5th,  1841,  at  Con- 
way, Massachusetts,  and  received  his  edu- 
cation at  Williston  Seminary,  East  Hamp- 
ton, Massachusetts.  Later  he  attended 
Yale  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1863, 
and  entered  the  Harvard  Law  School,  which 
'he  left  in  1864.  Beginning  practice  in  New 
York  city,  he  soon  gained  a  reputation  as 
an  able  lawyer.  He  made  his  first  appear- 
ance in  public  affairs  in  1871,  when  he  was 
active  in  organizing  a  young  men's  Demo- 
cratic club.  In  1872  he  was  the  recognized 
leader  of  the  county  Democracy  and  in  1875 
was  appointed  corporation  counsel  for  the 
city  of  New  York.  He  resigned  the  office, 
1882,  to  attend  to  personal  interests  and  on 
March  5,  1885,  he  was  appointed  secretary 
of  the  navy  by  President  Cleveland.  Under 
his  administration  the  navy  of  the  United 
States  rapidly  rose  in  rank  among  the  navies 


of  the  world.  When  he  retired  from  office 
in  1889,  the  vessels  of  the  United  States 
navy  designed  and  contracted  for  by  him 
were  five  double-turreted  monitors,  twc 
new  armor-clads,  the  dynamite  cruiser  "Ve- 
suvius," and  five  unarmored  steel  and  iron 
cruisers. 

Mr.  Whitney  was  the  leader  of  the 
Cleveland  forces  in  the  national  Democratic 
convention   of   1892. 

EDWIN  FORREST,  the  first  and  great- 
est American  tragedian,  was  born  in 
Philadelphia  in  1806.  His  father  was  a 
tradesman,  and  some  accounts  state  that  he 
had  marked  out  a  mercantile  career  for  his 
son,  Edwin,  while  others  claim  that  he  had 
intended  him  for  the  ministry.  His  wonder- 
ful memory,  his  powers  of  mimicry  and  his 
strong  musical  voice,  however,  attracted  at- 
tention before  he  was  eleven  years  old,  and 
at  that  age  he  made  his  first  appearance  on 
the  stage.  The  costume  in  which  he  appeared 
was  so  ridiculous  that  he  left  the  stage  in  a 
fit  of  anger  amid  a  roar  of  laughter  from 
the  audience.  This  did  not  discourage  him, 
however,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  after 
some  preliminary  training  in  elocution,  he 
appeared  again,  this  time  as  Young  Norvel, 
and  gave  indications  of  future  greatness. 
Up  to  1826  he  played  entirely  with  strolling 
companies  through  the  south  and  west,  but 
at  that  time  he  obtained  an  engagement  at 
the  Bowery  Theater  in  New  York.  From 
that  time  his  fortune  was  made.  His  man- 
ager paid  him  $40  per  night,  and  it  is  stated 
that  he  loaned  Forrest  to  other  houses  from 
time  to  time  at  $200  per  night.  His  great 
successes  were  Virginius,  Damon,  Othello, 
Coriolanus,  William  Tell,  Spartacus  and 
Lear.  He  made  his  first  appearance  in 
London  in  1836,  and  his  success  was  un- 
questioned from  the  start.     In  1845,  on  his 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


second  appearance  in  London,  he  became 
involved  in  a  bitter  rivalry  with  the  great 
English  actor,  Macready,  who  had  visited 
America  two  years  before.  The  result  was 
that  Forrest  was  hissed  from  the  stage,  and 
it  was  charged  that  Macready  had  instigated 
the  plot.  Forrest's  resentment  was  so  bitter 
that  he  himself  openly  hissed  Macready 
from  his  box  a  few  nights  later.  In  1848 
Macready  again  visited  America  at  a  time 
when  American  admiration  and  enthusiasm 
for  Forrest  had  reached  its  height.  Macready 
undertook  to  play  at  Astor  Place  Opera 
House  in  May,  1849,  but  was  hooted  off  the 
stage.  A  few  nights  later  Macready  made  a 
second  attempt  to  play  at  the  same  house, 
this  time  under  police  protection.  The  house 
was  filled  with  Macready 's  friends,  butthe  vio- 
olence  of  the  mob  outside  stopped  the  play, 
and  the  actor  barely  escaped  with  his  life. 
Upon  reading  the  riot  act  the  police  and 
troops  were  assaulted  with  stones.  The 
troops  replied,  first  with  blank  cartridges, 
and  then  a  volley  of  lead  dispersed  the 
mob,  leaving  thirty  men  dead  or  seriously 
wounded. 

After  this  incident  Forrest's  popularity 
waned,  until  in  1855  he  retired  from  the 
stage.  He  re-appeared  in  i860,  however, 
and  probably  the  most  remunerative  period 
of  his  life  was  between  that  date  and  the 
close  of  the  Civil  war.  His  last  appearance 
on  the  stage  was  at  the  Globe  Theatre, 
Boston,  in  Richelieu,  in  April,  1872,  his 
death   occurring  December  12  of  that  year. 


NOAH  PORTER,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  was 
one  of  the  most  noted  educators,  au- 
thors and  scientific  writers  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  born  December  14,  181 1, 
at  Farmington,  Connecticut,  graduated  at 
Tale  College  in  183 1,  and  was  master  of 
Hopkins  Grammar  School  at  New  Haven  in 


1831-33-  During  1833-35  he  was  a  tutor 
at  Yale,  and  at  the  same  time  was  pursuing 
his  theological  studies,  and  became  pastor 
of  the  Congregational  church  at  New  Mil- 
ford,  Connecticut,  in  April,  1836.  Dr. 
Porter  removed  to  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, in  1843,  and  was  chosen  professor  of 
metaphysics  and  moral  philosophy  at  Yale 
in  1846.  He  spent  a  year  in  Germany  in 
the  study  of  modern  metaphysics  in  1853- 
54,  and  in  1871  he  was  elected  president  of 
Yale  College.  He  resigned  the  presidency 
in  1885,  but  still  remained  professor  of  met- 
aphysics and  moral  philosophy.  He  was 
the  author  of  a  number  of  works,  among 
which  are  the  following:  "Historical  Es- 
say," written  in  commemorationof the 200th 
aniversary  of  the  settlement  of  the  town  of 
Farmington;  "  Educational  System  of  the 
Jesuits  Compared;"  "The  Human  Intel- 
lect," with  an  introduction  upon  psychology 
and  the  soul;  "  Books  and  Reading;" 
"American  Colleges  and  the  American  Pub- 
lic;" "  Elementsof  Intellectual  Philosophy;" 
"  The  Science  of  Nature  versus  the  Science 
of  Man;"  "Science  and  Sentiment;"  "Ele- 
ments of  Moral  Science."  Dr.  Porter  was 
the  principal  editor  of  the  revised  edition  of 
Webster's  Dictionary  in  1864,  and  con- 
tributed largely  to  religious  reviews  and 
periodicals.  Dr.  Porter's  death  occurred 
March  4,  1892,  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut. 


JOHN  TYLER,  tenth  president  of  the 
United  States,  was  born  in  Charles  City 
county,  Virginia,  March  29,  1790,  and  was 
the  son  of  Judge  John  Tyler,  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  his  day. 

When  but  twelve  years  of  age  young 
John  Tyler  entered  William  and  Mary  Col- 
lege, graduating  from  there  in  1806.  He 
took  up  the  study  of  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1809,  when  but  nineteen  years 


COMPENDIUM    OF    BIOGRAPHY. 


of  age.  On  attaining  his  majority  in  1811 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  state  legis- 
lature, and  for  five  years  held  that  position 
by  the  almost  unanimous  vote  of  his  county. 
He  was  elected  to  congress  in  18 16,  and 
served  in  that  body  for  four  years,  after 
which  for  two  years  he  represented  his  dis- 
trict again  in  the  legislature  of  the  state. 
While  in  congress,  he  opposed  the  United 
States  bank,  the  protective  policy  and  in- 
ternal improvements  by  the  United  States 
government.  1825  saw  Mr.  Tyler  governor 
of  Virginia,  but  in  1827  he  was  chosen 
member  of  the  United  States  senate,  and 
held  that  office  for  nine  years.  He  therein 
opposed  the  administration  of  Adams  and 
the  tariff  bill  of  1828,  sympathized  with  the 
nuliif:ers  of  South  Carolina  and  was  the 
only  senator  who  voted  against  the  Force 
bill  for  the  suppression  of  that  state's  insip- 
ient  rebellion.  He  resigned  his  position  as 
senator  on  account  of  a  disagreement  with 
the  legislature  of  his  state  in  relation  to  his 
censuring  President  Jackson.  He  retired  to 
Williamsburg,  Virginia,  but  being  regarded 
as  a  martyr  by  the  Whigs,  whom,  hereto- 
fore, he  had  always  opposed,  was  supported 
by  many  of  that  party  for  the  vice-presi- 
dency in  1836.  He  sat  in  the  Virginia  leg- 
islature as  a  Whig  in  1839-40,  and  was  a 
delegate  to  the  convention  of  that  party  in 
1859.  This  national  convention  nominated 
him  for  the  second  place  on  the  ticket  with 
General  William  H.  H,  Harrison,  and  he 
was  elected  vice-president  in  November, 
1840.  President  Hafrison  dying  one  month 
after  his  inauguration,  he  was  succeeded  by 
John  Tyler.  He  retained  the  cabinet  chosen 
by  his  predecessor,  and  for  a  time  moved  in 
harmony  with  the  Whig  party.  He.  finally 
instructed  the  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
Thomas  Ewing,  to  submit  to  congress  a  bill 
for  the  incorporation  of  a  fiscal  bank  of  the 


United  States,  which  was  passed  by  con- 
gress, but  vetoed  by  the  president  on  ac- 
count of  some  amendments  he  considered 
unconstitutional.  For  this  and  other  meas- 
ures he  was  accused  of  treachery  to  his 
party,  and  deserted  by  his  whole  cabinet, 
except  Daniel  Webs'er.  Things  grew  worse 
until  he  was  abandoned  by  the  Whig  party 
formally,  when  Mr.  Webster  resigned.  He 
was  nominated  at  Baltimore,  in  May,  1844, 
at  the  Democratic  convention,  as  their  pres- 
idential candidate,  but  withdrew  from  the 
canvass,  as  he  saw  he  had  not  succeed- 
ed in  gaining  the  confidence  of  his  old 
party.  He  then  retired  from  politics  until 
February,  1861,  when  he  was  made  presi- 
dent of  the  abortive  peace  congress,  which 
met  in  Washington.  He  shortly  after  re- 
nounced his  allegiance  to  the  United  States 
and  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Confeder- 
ate congress.  He  died  at  Richmond,  Janu- 
ary 17,  1862. 

Mr.  Tyler  married,  in  181 3,  Miss  Letitia 
Christian,  who  died  in  1842  at  Washington. 
June  26,  1844,  he  contracted  a  second  mar- 
riage, with  Miss  Julia  Gardner,  of  New  York. 


COLLIS  POTTER  HUNTINGTON, 
one  of  the  great  men  of  his  time  and 
who  has  left  his  impress  upon  the  history  of 
our  national  development,  was  born  October 
22,  1 82 1,  at  Harwinton,  Connecticut. 
He  received  a  common-school  education 
and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  his  spirit  of  get- 
ting along  in  the  world  mastered  his  educa- 
tional propensities  and  his  father's  objec- 
tions and  he  left  school.  He  went  to  Cali- 
fornia in  the  early  days  and  had  opportunities 
which  he  handled  masterfully.  Others  had 
the  same  opportunities  but  they  did  not  have 
his  brains  nor  his  energy,  and  it  was  he  who 
overcame  obstacles  and  reaped  the  reward 
of   his  genius.     Transcontinental    railways- 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


95 


were  inevitable,  but  the  realization  of  this 
masterful  achievement  would  have  been  de- 
layed to  a  much  later  day  if  there  had  been 
no  Huntington.  He  associated  himself  with 
Messrs.  Mark  Hopkins,  Leland  Stanford, 
and  Charles  Crocker,  and  they  furnished  the 
money  necessary  for  a  survey  across  the 
Sierra  Nevadas,  secured  a  charter  for  the 
road,  and  raised,  with  the  government's  aid, 
money  enough  to  construct  and  equip  that 
railway,  which  at  the  time  of  its  completion 
was  a  marvel  of  engineering  and  one  of  the 
wonders  of  the  world.  Mr.  Huntington  be- 
came president  of  the  Southern  Pacific  rail- 
road, vice-president  of  the  Central  Pacific; 
trustee  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Telegraph 
Company,  and  a  director  of  the  Occidental 
and  Oriental  Steamship  Company,  besides 
being  identified  with  many  other  business 
enterprises  of  vast  importance. 

GEORGE  A.  CUSTER,  a  famous  In- 
dian fighter,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1840. 
He  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1861,  an- 
served  in  the  Civil  war;  was  at  Bull  Run  id 
1 86 1,  and  was  in  the  Peninsular  campaign, 
being  one  of  General  McClellan's  aides-de, 
camp.  He  fought  in  the  battles  of  South 
Mountain  and  Antietam  in  1863,  and  was 
with  General  Stoneman  on  his  famous 
cavalry  raid.  He  was  engaged  in  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg,  and  was  there  made  brevet- 
major.  In  1863  was  appointed  brigadier- 
general  of  volunteers.  General  Custer  was 
in  many  skirmishes  in  central  Virginia  in 
1863-64,  and  was  present  at  the  following 
battles  of  the  Richmond  campaign:  Wil- 
derness,Todd'sTavern,  Yellow  Tavern,  where 
he wasbrevetted  lieutenant-colonel ;  Meadow 
Bridge,  Haw's  Shop,  Cold  Harbor,  Trevil- 
lian  Station.  In  the  Shenandoah  Valley 
1 864-65  he  was  brevetted  colonel  at  Opequan 
Creek,  and  at   Cedar  Creek  he   was    made 


brevet  major-general  for  gallant  conduct 
during  the  engagement.  General  Custer 
was  in  command  of  a  cavalry  division  in  the 
pursuit  of  Lee's  army  in  1865,  and  fought 
at  Dinwiddle  Court  House,  Five  Forks, 
where  he  was  made  brevet  brigadier-general; 
Sailors  Creek  and  Appomattox,  where  he 
gained  additional  honors  and  was  made 
brevet  major-general,  and  was  given  the 
command  of  the  cavalry  in  the  military 
division  of  the  southwest  and  Gulf,  in  1865. 
After  the  establishment  of  peace  he  went 
west  on  frontier  duty  and  performed  gallant 
and  valuable  service  in  the  troubles  with  the 
Indians.  He  was  killed  in  the  massacre  on 
the  Little  Big  Horn  river.  South  Dakota, 
June  25,   1876. 


DANIEL  WOLSEY  VOORHEES,  cel- 
brated  as  ' '  The  Tall  Sycamore  of  the 
Wabash,"  was  born  September  26,  1827, 
in  Butler  county,  Ohio.  When  he  was  two 
months  old  his  parents  removed  to  Fount- 
ain county,  Indiana.  He  grew  to  manhood 
on  a  farm,  engaged  in  all  the  arduous  work 
pertaining  to  rural  life.  In  1845  he  entered 
the  Indiana  Asbury  University,  now  the  De 
Pauw,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1849. 
He  took  up  the  study  of  law  at  Crawfords- 
ville,  and  in  185 1  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Covington,  Fountain  county, 
Indiana.  He  became  a  law  partner  of 
United  States  Senator  Hannegan,  of  Indi- 
ana, in  1852,  and  in  1856  he  was  an  unsuc- 
cessful candidate  for  congress.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Terra 
Haute,  Indiana.  He  was  United  States 
district  attorney  for  Indiana  from  1857  until 
1 86 1,  and  he  had  during  this  period  been 
elected  to  congress,  in  i860.  Mr.  Voorhees 
was  re-elected  to  congress  in  1862  and  1864, 
but  he  was  unsuccessful  in  the  election  of 
1866.     However,  he  was  returned  to   con- 


96 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


gress  in  1868,  where  he  remained  until  1874, 
having  been  re-elected  twice.  In  1877  he 
was  appointed  United  States  senator  from 
Indiana  to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  the  death 
of  O.  P.  Morton,  and  at  the  end  of  the  term 
•was  elected  for  the  ensuing  term,  being  re- 
elected in  1885  and  in  1891  to  the  same  of- 
fice. He  served  with  distinction  on  many 
of  the  committees,  and  took  a  very  prom- 
inent part  in  the  discussion  of  all  the  im- 
portant legislation  of  his  time.  His  death 
occurred  in  August,  189  . 


ALEXANDER  GRAHAM  BELL,  fa- 
mous as  one  of  the  inventors  of  the  tele- 
phone, was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
March  3rd,  1847.  He  received  his  early 
education  in  the  high  school  and  later  he 
attended  the  university,  and  was  specially 
trained  to  follow  his  grandfather's  profes- 
sion, that  of  removing  impediments  of 
speech.  He  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  X872,  and  introduced  into  this  country 
his  father's  invention  of  visible  speech  in  the 
institutions  for  deaf-mutes.  Later  he  was 
appointed  professor  of  vocal  physiology  in 
the  Boston  University.  He  worked  for 
many  years  during  his  leisure  hours  on  his 
telephonic  discovery,  and  finally  perfected 
it  and  exhibited  it  publicly,  before  it  had 
reached  the  high  state  of  perfection  to  which 
he  brought  it.  His  first  exhibition  of  it  was 
at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  that  was  held 
in  Philadelphia  in  1876.  Its  success  is  now 
established  throughout  the  civilized  world. 
In  1882  Prof.  Bell  received  a  diploma  and 
the  decoration  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  from 
the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  France. 


WILLIAM  HICKLING  PRESCOTT, 
the  justly  celebrated  historian  and 
author,  was  a  native  of  Salem,  Massachu- 
setts, and  was  born  May  4,  1796.      He  was 


the  son  of  Judge  William  Prescott  and  the 
grandson  of  the  hero  of  Bunker  Hill,  Colonel 
William  Prescott. 

Our  subject  in  1808  removed  with  the 
family  to  Boston,  in  the  schools  of  which, 
city  he  received  his  early  education.  He 
entered  Harvard  College  as  a  sophomore  in 
181 1,  having  been  prepared  at  the  private 
classical  college  of  Rev.  Dr.  J.  S.  J.  Gardi- 
jner.  The  following  year  he  received  an  in- 
ury  in  his  left  eye  which  made  study 
through  life  a  matter  of  difficulty.  He 
graduated  in  18 14  with  high  honors  in  the 
classics  and  belle  lettres.  He  spent  several 
months  on  the  Azores  Islands,  and  later 
visited  England,  France  and  Italy,  return- 
ing home  in  18 17.  In  June,  181 8,  he  i 
founded  a  social  and  literary  club  at  Boston  | 
for  which  he  edited  "The  Club  Room,"  a  \ 
periodical  doomed  to  but  a  short  life.  May 
4,  1820,  he  married  Miss  Susan  Amory. 
He  devoted  several  years  after  that  event  to 
a  thorough  study  of  ancient  and  modern 
history  and  literature.  As  the  fruits  of  his 
labors  he  published  several  well  written 
essays  upon  French  and  Italian  poetry  and 
romance  in  the  "  North  American  Review." 
January  19,  1826,  he  decided  to  take  up  his 
first  great  historical  work,  the  "  History  of 
the  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella."  To 
this  he  gave  the  labor  of  ten  years,  publish- 
ing the  same  December  25,  1837.  Although 
placed  at  the  head  of  all  American  authors, 
so  diffident  was  Prescott  of  his  literary  merit 
that  although  he  had  four  copies  of  this 
work  printed  for  his  own  convenience,  he 
hesitated  a  long  time  before  giving  it  to  the 
public,  and  it  was  only  by  the  solicitation  of 
friends,  especially  of  that  talented  Spanish 
scholar,  George  Ticknor,  that  he  was  in- 
duced to  do  so.  Soon  the  volumes  were 
translated  into  French,  Italian,  Dutch  and 
German,    and    the    work    was    recognized 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


97 


throughout  the  world  as  one  of  the  most 
meritorious  of  historical  compositions.  In 
1843  he  published  the  "Conquest  of  Mexi- 
co," and  in  1847  the  "Conquest  of  Peru." 
Two  years  later  there  came  from  his  pen  a 
volume  of  "  Biographical  and  Critical  Mis- 
cellanies." Going  abroad  in  the  summer  of 
1850,  he  was  received  with  great  distinction 
in  the  literary  circles  of  London,  Edinburgh, 
Paris,  Antwerp  and  Brussels.  Oxford  Uni- 
versity conferred  the  degree  of  D.  C.  L. 
upon  him.  In  1855  he  issued  two  volumes 
of  his  "History  of  the  Reign  of  Philip  the 
Second,"  and  a  third  in  1858.  In  the 
meantime  he  edited  Robertson's  "Charles 
the  Fifth,"  adding  a  history  of  the  life  of 
that  monarch  after  his  abdication.  Death 
cut  short  his  work  on  the  remaining  volumes 
of  "  Philip  the  Second,"  coming  to  him  at 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  May  28,  1859. 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY,  a  noted 
American  commodore,  was  born  in 
South  Kingston,  Rhode  Island,  August  23, 
1785.  He  saw  his  first  service  as  a  mid- 
shipman in  the  United  States  navy  in  April, 
1799.  He  cruised  with  his  father,  Captain 
Christopher  Raymond  Perry,  in  the  West  In- 
dies for  about  two  years.  In  1804  he  was 
in  the  war  against  Tripoli,  and  was  made 
lieutenant  in  1 807.  At  the  opening  of  hostili- 
ties with  Great  Britain  in  18 12  he  was  given 
command  of  a  fleet  of  gunboats  on  the  At- 
lantic coast.  At  his  request  he  was  trans- 
ferred, a  year  later,  to  Lake  Ontario,  where 
he  served  under  Commodore  Chauncey,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  attack  on  Fort 
George.  He  was  ordered  to  fit  out  a  squad- 
ron on  Lake  Erie,  which  he  did,  building 
most  of  his  vessels  from  the  forests  along 
the  shore,  and  by  the  summer  of  1 8 1 3  he  had 
a  fleet  of  nine  vessels  at  Presque  Isle,  now 
Erie,    Pennsylvania.      September    loth    he 


attacked  and  captured  the  British  fleet  near 
Put-in-Bay,  thus  clearing  the  lake  of  hostile 
ships.  His  famous  dispatch  is  part  of  his 
fame,  "  We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they 
are  ours."  He  co-operated  with  Gen.  Har- 
rison, and  the  success  of  the  campaign  in 
the  northwest  was  largely  due  to  his  victory. 
The  next  year  he  was  transferred  to  the  Po- 
tomac, and  assisted  in  the  defense  of  Balti- 
more. After  the  war  he  was  in  constant 
service  with  the  various  squadrons  in  cruising^ 
in  all  parts  of  the  world.  He  died  of  yellow- 
fever  on  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  August  23, 
1 8 19.  His  remains  were  conveyed  to  New- 
port, and  buried  there,  and  an  imposing- 
obelisk  was  erected  to  his  memory  by  the 
State  of  Rhode  Island.  A  bronze  statue 
was  also  erected  in  his  honor,  the  unveiling 
taking  place  in  1885. 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES,  though  a  native 
of  Scotland,  was  one  of  America's  most 
noted  fighters  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 
He  was  born  July  6,  1747.  His  father  was 
a  gardener,  but  the  young  man  soon  be- 
came interested  in  a  seafaring  life  and  at 
the  age  of  twelve  he  was  apprenticed  to  a 
sea  captain  engaged  in  the  American  trade. 
His  first  voyage  landed  him  in  Virginia, 
where  he  had  a  brother  who  had  settled 
there  several  years  prior.  The  failure  of 
the  captain  released  young  Jones  from  his 
apprenticeship  bonds,  and  he  was  engaged 
as  third  mate  of  a  vessel  engaged  in  the 
slave  trade.  He  abandoned  this  trade  after 
a  few  years,  from  his  own  sense  of  disgrace. 
He  took  passage  from  Jamaica  for  Scotland 
in  1768,  and  on  the  voyage  both  the  captain 
and  the  mate  died  and  he  was  compelled  to 
take  command  of  the  vessel  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  voyage.  He  soon  after 
became  master  of  the  vessel.  He  returned 
to  Virginia  about  1773  to  settle  up  the  estate 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


of  his  brother,  and  at  this  time  added  the 
name  "Jones,"  having  previously  been 
known  as  John  Paul.  He  settled  down  in 
Virginia,  but  when  the  war  broke  out  in 
1775  he  offered  his  services  to  congress  and 
was  appointed  senior  lieutenant  of  the  flag- 
ship "Alfred,"  on  which  he  hoisted  the 
American  flag  with  his  own  hands,  the  first 
vessel  that  had  ever  carried  a  flag  of  the 
new  nation.  He  was  afterward  appointed 
to  the  command  of  the  "Alfred,"  and  later 
of  the  "Providence,"  in  each  of  which  ves- 
sels he  did  good  service,  as  also  in  the 
"Ranger,"  to  the  command  of  which  he 
■was  later  appointed.  The  fight  that  made 
him  famous,  however,  was  that  in  which  he 
captured  the  "  Serapis,"  off  the  coast  of 
Scotland.  He  was  then  in  command  of  the 
"Bon  Homme  Richard,"  which  had  been 
fitted  out  for  him  by  the  French  government 
and  named  by  Jones  in  honor  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  or  "  Good  Man  Richard,"  Frank- 
lin being  author  of  the  publication  known 
as  "  Poor  Richard's  Almanac."  The  fight 
between  the  "  Richard"  and  the  "Serapis" 
lasted  three  hours,  all  of  which  time  the 
vessels  were  at  close  range,  and  most  of  the 
time  in  actual  contact.  Jones'  vessel  was 
on  fire  several  times,  and  early  in  the  en- 
gagement two  of  his  guns  bursted,  rendering 
the  battery  useless.  Also  an  envious  officer 
of  the  Alliance,  one  of  Jones'  own  fleet, 
opened  fire  upon  the  "Richard  "  at  a  crit- 
ical time,  completely  disabling  the  vessel. 
Jones  continued  the  fight,  in  spite  of  coun- 
sels to  surrender,  and  after  dark  the  "  Ser- 
apis "  struck  her  colors,  and  was  hastily 
boarded  by  Jones  and  his  crew,  while  the 
"Richard"  sank,  bows  first,  after  the 
wounded  had  been  taken  on  board  the 
"Serapis."  Most  of  the  other  vessels  of 
the  fleet  of  which  the  "  Serapis"  was  con- 
voy, surrendered,  and  were  taken  with  the 


"Serapis"  to  France,  where  Jones  was 
received  with  greatest  honors,  and  the  king 
presented  him  with  an  elegant  sword  and 
the  cross  of  the  Order  of  Military  Merit. 
Congress  gave  him  a  vote  of  thanks  and 
made  him  commander  of  a  new  ship,  the 
"America,"  but  the  vessel  was  afterward 
given  to  France  and  Jones  never  saw  active 
sea  service  again.  He  came  to  America  again, 
in  1787,  after  the  close  of  the  war,  and  was 
voted  a  gold  medal  by  congress.  He  went  to 
Russia  and  was  appointed  rear-admiral  and 
rendered  service  of  value  against  the  Turks, 
but  on  account  of  personal  enmity  of  the  fav- 
orites of  the  emperor  he  was  retired  on  a  pen- 
sion. Failing  to  collect  this,  he  returned  to 
France,  where  he  died,  July  18,  1792. 


THOMAS  MORAN,  the  well-known 
painter  of  Rocky  Mountain  scenery, 
was  born  in  Lancashire,  England,  in  1837. 
He  came  to  America  when  a  child,  and 
showing  artistic  tastes,  he  was  apprenticed 
to  a  wood  engraver  in  Philadelphia.  Three 
years  later  he  began  landscape  painting,  and 
his  style  soon  began  to  exhibit  signs  of  genius. 
His  first  works  were  water-colors,  and 
though  without  an  instructor  he  began  the 
use  of  oils,  he  soon  found  it  necessary  to 
visit  Europe,  where  he  gave  particular  at- 
tention to  the  works  of  Turner.  He  joined 
the  Yellowstone  Park  exploring  expedition 
and  visited  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1871 
and  again  in  1873,  making  numerous 
sketches  of  the  scenery.  The  most  note- 
worthy results  were  his  "Grand  Canon  of 
the  Yellowstone,"  and  "  The  Chasm  of  the 
Colorado, "  which  were  purchased  by  con- 
gress at  $10,000  each,  the  first  of  which  is 
undoubtedly  the  finest  landscape  painting 
produced  in  this  country.  Mr.  Moran  has 
subordinated  art  to  nature,  and  the  subjects 
he  has  chosen  leave  little  ground  for  fault 


^-^HM^^Vlfc: 


-  0  ^l'-L^':'lfe=: 


COMPENDIUM    OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


101 


finding  on  that  account.  "The  Mountain 
of  the  Holy  Cross,"  "The  Groves  Were 
God's  First  Temples,"  "The  Cliffs  of  Green 
River,"  "  The  Children  of  the  Mountain," 
"  The  Ripening  of  the  Leaf,"  and  others 
have  given  him  additional  fame,  and  while 
they  do  not  equal  in  grandeur  the  first 
mentioned,  in  many  respects  from  aft  artis- 
tic standpoint  they  are  superior. 


L ELAND  STANFORD  was  one  of  the 
greatest  men  of  the  Pacific  coast  and 
also  had  a  national  reputation.  He  was 
born  March  9,  1824,  in  Albany  county.  New 
York,  and  passed  his  early  life  on  his 
father's  farm.  He  attended  the  local 
schools  of  the  county  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty  began  the  study  of  law.  He 
entered  the  law  office  of  Wheaton,  Doolittle 
and  Hadley,  at  Albany,  in  1845,  and  a  few 
years  later  he  moved  to  Port  Washington, 
Wisconsin,  where  he  practiced  law  four 
years  with  moderate  success.  In  1852  Mr. 
Stanford  determined  to  push  further  west, 
and,  accordingly  went  to  California,  where 
three  of  his  brothers  were  established  in 
business  in  the  mining  towns.  They  took 
Leland  into  partnership,  giving  him  charge 
of  a  branch  store  at  Michigan  Bluff,  in 
Placer  county.  There  he  developed  great 
business  ability  and  four  years  later  started 
a  mercantile  house  of  his  own  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, which  soon  became  one  of  the  most 
substantial  houses  on  the  coast.  On  the 
formation  of  the  Republican  party  he  inter- 
ested himself  in  politics,  and  in  i860  was 
sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  convention  that 
nominated  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  the 
autumn  of  1861  he  was  elected,  by  an  im- 
mense majority,  governor  of  California. 
Prior  to  his  election  as  governor  he  had 
been  chosen  president  of  the  newly-orga- 
nized  Central  Pacific    Railroad    Company, 


and  after  leaving  the  executive  chair  he  de- 
voted all  of  his  time  to  the  construction  of 
the  Pacific  end  of  the  transcontinental  rail- 
way. May  10,  1869,  Mr.  Stanford  drove 
the  last  spike  of  the  Central  Pacific  road, 
thus  completing  the  route  across  the  conti- 
nent. He  was  also  president  of  the  Occi- 
dental and  Oriental  Steamship  Company. 
He  had  but  one  son,  who  died  of  typhoid 
fever,  and  as  a  monument  to  his  child  he 
founded  the  university  which  bears  his  son's 
name,  Leland  Stanford,  Junior,  University. 
Mr.  Stanford  gave  to  this  university  eighty- 
three  thousand  acres  of  land,  the  estimated 
value  of  which  is  $8,000,000,  and  the  entire 
endowment  is  $20,000,000.  In  1885  Mr. 
Stanford  was  elected  United  States  senator 
as  a  Republican,  to  succeed  J.  T.  Farley,  a 
Democrat,  and  was  re-elected  in  1 891.  His 
death  occurred  June  20,  1894,  at  Palo  Alto, 
California. 


STEPHEN  DECATUR,  a  famous  com- 
modore in  the  United  States  navy,  was 
born  in  Maryland  in  1779.  He  entered  the 
naval  service  in  1798.  In  1804,  when  the 
American  vessel  Philadelphia  had  been  run 
aground  and  captured  in  the  harbor  of  Trip- 
oli, Decatur,  at  the  head  of  a  few  men, 
boarded  her  and  burned  her  in  the  face  of 
the  guns  from  the  city  defenses.  For  this 
daring  deed  he  was  made  captain.  He  was 
given  command  of  the  frigate  United  States 
at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  1812,  and 
in  October  of  that  year  he  captured  the 
British  frigate  Macedonian,  and  was  re- 
warded with  a  gold  medal  by  congress.  Af- 
ter the  close  of  the  war  he  was  sent  as  com- 
mander of  a  fleet  of  ten  vessels  to  chastise 
the  dey  of  Algiers,  who  was  preying  upon 
American  commerce  with  impunity  and  de- 
manding tribute  and  ransom  for  the  release 
I  of  American    citizens    captured.      Decatur 


102 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


captured  a  number  of  Algerian  vessels,  and 
compelled  the  dey  to  sue  for  peace.  He 
was  noted  for  his  daring  and  intrepidity, 
and  his  coolness  in  the  face  of  danger,  and 
helped  to  bring  the  United  States  navy  into 
favor  with  the  people  and  congress  as  a 
means  of  defense  and  offense  in  time  of 
war.  He  was  killed  in  a  duel  by  Commo- 
dore Barron,  March  12,  1820. 


JAMES  I<[NOX  POLK,  the  eleventh 
president  of  the  United  States,  1845  to 
1849,  was  born  November  2,  1795,  in  Meck- 
lenburg county,  North  Carolina,  and  was 
the  eldest  child  of  a  family  of  six  sons.  He 
removed  with  his  father  to  the  Valley  of  the 
Duck  River,  in  Tennessee,  in  1806.  He 
attended  the  common  schools  and  became 
very  proficient  in  the  lower  branches  of 
education,  and  supplemented  this  with 
a  course  in  the  Murfreesboro  Academy, 
which  he  entered  in  18 13  andin  the  autumn 
of  18 1 5  he  became  a  student  in  the  sopho- 
more class  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, at  Chapel  Hill,  and  was  graduated  in 
1818.  He  then  spent  a  short  time  in  re- 
cuperating his  health  and  then  proceeded  to 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  he  took  up  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Felix  Grundy. 
After  the  completion  of  his  law  studies  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  removed  to 
Columbia,  Maury  county,  Tennessee,  and 
started  in  the  active  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. Mr.  Polk  was  a  Jeffersonian  "Re- 
publican "  and  in  1823  he  was  elected  to  the 
legislature  of  Tennessee.  He  was  a  strict 
constructionist  and  did  not  believe  that  the 
general  government  had  the  power  to  carry 
on  internal  improvements  in  the  states,  but 
deemed  it  important  that  it  should  have  that 
power,  and  wanted  the  constitution  amended 
to  that  effect.  But  later  on  he  became 
alarmed  lest  the  general  government   might 


become  strong  enough  to  abolish  slavery 
and  therefore  gave  his  whole  support  to  the 
"  State's  Rights"  movement, and  endeavored 
to  check  the  centralization  of  power  in  the 
general  government.  Mr.  Polk  was  chosen 
a  member  of  congress  in  1825,  and  held  that 
office  until  1839.  He  then  withdrew,  as  he 
was  the  successful  gubernatorial  candidate 
of  his  state.  He  had  become  a  man  of 
great  influence  in  the  house,  and,  as  the 
leader  of  the  Jackson  party  in  that  body, 
weilded  great  influence  in  the  election  of 
General  Jackson  to  the  presidency.  He 
sustained  the  president  in  all  his  measures 
and  still  remained  in  the  house  after  Gen- 
eral Jackson  had  been  succeeded  by  Martin 
Van  Buren.  He  was  speaker  of  the  house 
during  five  sessions  of  congress.  He  was 
elected  governor  of  Tennessee  by  a  large 
majority  and  took  the  oath  of  office  at  Nash- 
ville, October  4,  1S39.  He  was  a  candidate 
for  re-election  but  was  defeated  by  Governor 
Jones,  the  Whig  candidate.  In  1844  the 
most  prominent  question  in  the  election  was 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  as  Mr.  Polk 
was  the  avowed  champion  of  this  cause  he 
was  nominated  for  president  by  the  pro- 
slavery  wing  of  the  democratic  party,  was 
elected  by  a  large  majority,  and  was  inaug- 
urated March  4,  1845.  President  Polk 
formed  a  very  able  cabinet,  consisting  of 
James  Buchanan,  Robert  J.  Walker,  Will- 
iam L.  Marcy,  George  Bancroft,  Cave  John-- 
son,  and  John  Y.  Mason.  The  dispute  re- 
garding the  Oregon  boundary  was  settled 
during  his  term  of  office  and  a  new  depart- 
ment was  added  to  the  list  of  cabinet  po- 
sitions, that  of  the  Interior.  The  low  tariff 
bill  of  1846  was  carried  and  the  financial 
system  of  the  country  was  reorganized.  It 
was  also  during  President  Polk's  term  that 
the  Mexican  war  was  successfully  conducted, 
which  resulted  in  the  acquisition  of  Califor- 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


108- 


nia  and  New  Mexico.  Mr.  Polk  retired  from 
the  presidency  March  4,  1849,  after  having 
declined  a  re-nomination,  and  was  succeeded 
by  General  Zachary  Taylor,  the  hero  of  the 
Mexican  war.  Mr.  Polk  retired  to  private 
life,  to  his  home  in  Nashville,  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  fifty-four  on  June  9,  1849. 


ANNA  DICKINSON  (Anna  Elizabeth 
Dickinson),  a  noted  lecturer  and  pub- 
lic speaker,  was  born  at  Philadelphia,  Oc- 
tober 28,  1842.  Her  parents  were  Quakers, 
and  she  was  educated  at  the  Friends'  free 
schools  in  her  native  city.  She  early  man- 
ifested an  inclination  toward  elocution  and 
public  speaking,  and  when,  at  the  age  of  18, 
she  found  an  opportunity  to  appear  before 
a  national  assemblage  for  the  discussion  of 
woman's  rights,  she  at  once  established  her 
reputation  as  a  public  speaker.  From  i860 
to  the  close  of  the  war  and  during  the  ex- 
citing period  of  reconstruction,  she  was  one 
of  the  most  noted  and  influential  speakers 
before  the  American  public,  and  her  popu- 
larity was  unequaled  by  that  of  any  of  her 
sex.  A  few  weeks  after  the  defeat  and 
death  of  Colonel  Baker  at  Ball's  Bluff,  Anna 
Dickinson,  lecturing  in  New  York,  made 
the  remarkable  assertion,  "Not  the  incom- 
petency of  Colonel  Baker,  but  the  treachery 
of  General  McClellan  caused  the  disaster  at 
Ball's  Bluff."  She  was  hissed  and  hooted 
off  the  stage.  A  year  later,  at  the  same 
hall  and  with  much  the  same  class  of  audi- 
tors, she  repeated  the  identical  words,  and 
the  applause  was  so  great  and  so  long  con- 
tinued that  it  was  impossible  to  go  on  with 
her  lecture  for  more  than  half  an  hour.  The 
change  of  sentiment  had  been  wrought  by 
the  reverses  and  dismissal  of  McClellan  and 
his  ambition  to  succeed  Mr.  Lincoln  as  presi- 
dent. 

Ten  years  after  the  close  of  the  war,  Anna 


Dickinson  was  not  heard  of  on  the  lec- 
ture platform,  and  about  that  time  she  made^ 
an  attempt  to  enter  the  dramatic  profession, 
but  after  appearing  a  number  of  times  in  dif- 
ferent plays  she   was  pronounced   a  failure. 


ROBERT  J.  BURDETTE.— Some  per- 
sonal characteristics  of  Mr.  Burdette^ 
were  quaintly  given  by  himself  in  the  follow- 
ing words:  "Politics.?  Republican  after 
the  strictest  sect.  Religion  >.  Baptist.  Per- 
sonal appearance  .-"  Below  medium  height, 
and  weigh  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
pounds,  no  shillings  and  no  pence.  Rich  .■"■ 
Not  enough  to  own  a  yacht.  Favorite  read- 
ing.? Poetry  and  history — know  Longfellow 
by  heart,  almost.  Write  for  magizines  I 
Have  mOi-e  '  declined  with  thanks  '  letters 
than  would  fill  a  trunk.  Never  able  to  get 
into  a  magazine  with  a  line.  Care  about  it.-* 
Mad  as  thunder.  Think  about  starting  a 
magazine  and  rejecting  everbody's  articles- 
except  my  own."  Mr.  Burdette  was  born 
at  Greensborough,  Pennsylvania,  in  1844. 
He  served  through  the  war  of  the  rebellion 
under  General  Banks  "on  an  excursion 
ticket"  as  he  felicitously  described  it,  "good 
both  ways,  conquering  in  one  direction  and 
running  in  the  other,  pay  going  on  just  the 
same."  He  entered  into  journalism  by  the 
gateway  of  New  York  correspondence  for 
the  "Peoria  Transcript,"  and  in  1874  went 
on  the  "Burlington  Hawkeye"  of  which  he 
became  the  managing  editor,  and  the  work 
that  he  did  on  this  paper  made  both  him- 
self and  the  paper  famous  in  the  world  of 
humor.  Mr.  Burdette  married  in  1870, 
and  his  wife,  whom  he  called  "  Her  Little 
Serene  Highness,"  was  to  him  a  guiding 
light  until  the  day  of  her  death,  and  it  was 
probably  the  unconscious  pathos  with  which 
he  described  her  in  his  work  that  broke  the 
barriers  that  had  kept  him  out  of  the  maga- 


104 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


zines  and  secured  him  the  acceptance  of  his 
"Confessions"  by  Lippincott  some  years 
ago,  and  brought  him  substantial  fame  and 
recognition  in  the  literary  world. 


WILLIAM  DEAN  HOWELLS,  one 
of  the  leading  novelists  of  the  present 
century  and  author  of  a  number  of  works 
that  gained  for  him  a  place  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people,  was  born  March  i,  1837,  at 
Martinsville,  Belmont  county,  Ohio.  At 
the  age  of  three  years  he  accompanied  his 
father,  who  was  a  printer,  to  Hamilton, 
Ohio,  where  he  learned  the  printer's  trade. 
Later  he  was  engaged  on  the  editorial  staff 
of  the  ' '  Cincinnati  Gazette  "  and  the  ' '  Ohio 
State  Journal."  During  1861-65  he  was 
the  United  States  consul  at  Venice,  and 
from  1 87 1  to  1878  he  was  the  editor-in- 
chief  of  the  "Atlantic  Monthly."  As  a 
writer  he  became  one  of  the  most  fertile 
and  readable  of  authors  and  a  pleasing  poet. 
In  1885  he  became  connected  with  "Har- 
per's Magazine. "  Mr.  Howells  was  author 
of  the  list  of  books  that  we  give  below: 
"Venetian  Life,"  "  Italian  Journeys,"  "No 
Love  Lost,"  " Suburban  Sketches,"  "Their 
Wedding  Journey,"  "A  Chance  Acquaint- 
ance," "A  Foregone  Conclusion,"  "Dr. 
Breen's  Practice,"  "A  Modern  Instance," 
"The  Rise  of  Silas  Lapham,"  "Tuscan 
Cities,"  "Indian  Summer,"  besides  many 
others.  He  also  wrote  the  "Poem  of  Two 
Friends,"  with  J.  J.  Piatt  in  i860,  and 
some  minor  dramas:  "The  Drawing 
Room  Car,"  "The  Sleeping  Car,"  etc., 
that  are  full  of  e.xqusite  humor  and  elegant 
dialogue. 

JAMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL  was  a  son 
of  the  Rev.  Charles  Lowell,  and  was  born 
at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  February  22, 
1819.      He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 


1838  as  class  poet,  and  went  to  Harvard 
Law  School,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1840,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  Boston,  but  soon  gave  his  un- 
divided attention  to  literary  labors.  Mr. 
Lowell  printed,  in  1841,  a  small  volume  of 
poems  entitled  "  A  Year's  Life,"  edited  with 
Robert  Carter;  in  1843,  "  The  Pioneer, "  a 
literary  and  critical  magazine  (monthly),  and 
in  1848  another  book  of  poems,  that  con- 
tained several  directed  against  slavery.  He 
published  in  1844  a  volume  of  "Poems" 
and  in  1845  "  Conversations  on  Some 
of  the  Old  Poets,"  "The  Vision  of  Sir 
Launfal,"  "A  Fable  for  Critics, "  and  "The 
Bigelow  Papers,"  the  latter  satirical  es- 
says in  dialect  poetry  directed  against 
slavery  and  the  war  with  Mexico.  In 
1851-52  he  traveled  in  Europe  and  re- 
sided in  Italy  for  a  considerable  time,  and 
delivered  in  1854-55  a  course  of  lectures  on 
the  British  poets,  before  the  Lowell  Insti- 
tute, Boston.  Mr.  Lowell  succeeded  Long- 
fellow in  January,  1855,  as  professor  of 
modern  languages  and  literature  at  Harvard 
College,  and  spent  another  year  in  Euiope 
qualifying  himself  for  that  post.  He  edited 
the  "  Atlantic  Monthly"  from  1857  to  1862, 
and  the  "North  American  Review"  from 
1863  until  1872.  From  1864  to  1870  he 
published  the  following  works:  "Fireside 
Travels,"  "Under  the  Willows,"  "The 
Commemoration  Ode,"  in  honor  of  the 
alumni  of  Harvard  who  had  fallen  in  the 
Civil  war;  "The  Cathedral,"  two  volumes 
of  essays;  "Among  My  Books"  and  "My 
Study  Windows,"  and  in  1867  he  published 
a  new  series  of  the  "  Bigelow  Papers."  He 
traveled  extensively  in  Europe  in  1872-74, 
and  received  in  person  the  degree  of  D.  C. 
L.  at  Oxford  and  that  of  LL.  D.  at  the 
University  of  Cambridge,  England.  He 
was  also  interested  in  political  life  and  held 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


105 


many  important  offices.  He  was  United 
States  minister  to  Spain  in  1877  and  was 
also  minister  to  England  in  1880-85.  O" 
January  2,  1884,  he  was  elected  lord  rector 
'of  St.  Andrew  University  in  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land, but  soon  after  he  resigned  the  same. 
Mr.  Lowell's  works  enjoy  great  popularity 
in  the  United  States  and  England.  He 
died  August  12,  1891. 


JOSEPH  HENRY,  one  of  America's 
greatest  scientists,  was  born  at  Albany, 
New  York,  December  17,  1797.  He  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  of  the  city 
and  graduated  from  the  Albany  Academy, 
where  he  became  a  professor  of  mathemat- 
ics in  1826.  In  1827  he  commenced  a 
course  of  investigation,  which  he  continued 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  the  results  pro- 
duced had  great  effect  on  the  scientific  world. 
The  first  success  was  achieved  by  producing 
the  electric  magnet,  and  he  next  proved  the 
possibility  of  exciting  magnetic  energy  at  a 
distance,  and  it  was  the  invention  of  Pro- 
fessor Henry's  intensity  magnet  that  first 
made  the  invention  of  electric  telegraph  a 
possibility.  He  made  a  statement  regarding 
the  practicability  of  applying  the  intensity 
magnet  to  telegraphic  uses,  in  his  article  to 
the  "American  Journal  of  Science  "  in  1831. 
During  the  same  year  he  produced  the  first 
mechanical  contrivance  ever  invented  for 
maintaining  continuous  motion  by  means  of 
electro-magnetism,  and  he  also  contrived  a 
machine  by  which  signals  could  be  made  at 
a  distance  by  the  use  of  his  electro-magnet, 
the  signals  being  produced  by  a  lever  strik- 
ing on  a  bell.  Some  of  his  electro-magnets 
were  of  great  power,  one  carried  over  a  ton 
and  another  not  less  than  three  thousand  six 
hundred  pounds.  In  1832  he  discovered 
that  secondary  currents  could  be  produced 
in  a  long  cc"ductor  by  the  induction  of   the 


primary  current  upon  itself,  and  also  in  the 
same  year  he  produced  a  spark  by  means  of 
a  purely  magnetic  induction.  Professor 
Henry  was  elected,  in  1832,  professor  of  nat- 
ural philosophy  in  the  College  of  New  Jer- 
sey, and  in  his  earliest  lectures  at  Princeton, 
demonstrated  the  feasibility  of  the  electric 
telegraph.  He  visited  Europe  in  1837,  and 
while  there  he  had  an  interview  with  Pro- 
fessor Wheatstone,  the  inventor  of  the 
needle  magnetic  telegraph.  In  1846  he  was 
elected  secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, being  the  first  incumbent  in  that  office, 
which  he  held  until  his  death.  Professor 
Henry  was  elected  president  of  the  Ameri- 
can Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science,  in  1849,  and  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences.  He  was  made  chair- 
man of  the  lighthouse  board  of  the  United 
States  in  1871  and  held  that  position  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death.  He  received  the 
honorary  degree  of  doctor  of  laws  from 
Union  College  in  1829,  and  from  Harvard 
University  in  185 1,  and  his  death  occurred 
May  13,  1878.  Among  his  numerous  works 
may  be  mentioned  the  following:  "Contri- 
butions to  Electricity  and  Magnetism," 
"  American  Philosophic  Trans, "  and  many 
articles  in  the  "American  Journal  of 
Science,"  the  journal  of  the  Franklin  Insti- 
tute; the  proceedings  of  the  American  As- 
sociation for  the  Advancement  of  Science, 
and  in  the  annual  reports  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  from  its  foundation. 


FRANKLIN  BUCHANAN,  the  famous 
rear-admiral  of  the  Confederate  navy 
during  the  rebellion,  was  born  in  Baltimore, 
Maryland.  He  became  a  United  States 
midshipman  in  18 15  and  was  promoted 
through  the  various  grades  of  the  service 
and  became  a  captain  in  1855.  Mr.  Buch- 
anan resigned  his  captaincy  in  order  to  join 


106 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


Ihe  Confederate  service  in  1861  and  later  he 
asked  to  be  reinstated,  but  his  request  was 
refused  and  he  then  entered  into  the  service 
of  the  Confederate  government.  He  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  frigate  "  Merri- 
mac  "  after  she  had  been  fitted  up  as  an  iron- 
■clad,  and  had  command  of  her  at  the  time 
•of  the  battle  of  Hampton  Roads.  It  was 
he  who  had  command  when  the  "Merri- 
mac"  sunk  the  two  wooden  frigates,  "  Con- 
gress" and  "Cumberland,"  and  was  also 
in  command  during  part  of  the  historical 
battle  of  the  "  Merrimac"  and  the  "Moni- 
tor," where  he  was  wounded  and  the  com- 
mand devolved  upon  Lieutenant  Catesby 
Jones.  He  was  created  rear-admiral  in  the 
Confederate  service  and  commanded  the 
Confederate  fleet  in  Mobile  bay,  which  was 
•defeated  by  Admiral  Farragut,  August  5, 
1864.  Mr.  Buchanan  was  in  command  of 
-the  "Tennessee,"  an  ironclad,  and  during 
the  engagement  he  lost  one  of  his  legs  and 
Avas  taken  prisoner  in  the  end  by  the  Union 
-fleet.  After  the  war  he  settled  in  Talbot 
•county,  Maryland,  where  he  died  May  11, 
1874-  

RICHARD  PARKS  BLAND,  a  celebrated 
American  statesman,  frequently  called 
"the  father  of  the  house,"  because  of  his 
many  years  of  service  in  the  lower  house 
of  congress,  was  born  August  19,  1835, 
near  Hartford,  Kentucky,  where  he  received 
a  plain  academic  education.  He  moved, 
in  1855,  to  Missouri,  from  whence  he  went 
overland  to  California,  afterward  locating  in 
Virginia  City,  now  in  the  state  of  Nevada, 
but  then  part  of  the  territory  of  Utah. 
While  there  he  practiced  law,  dabbled  in 
mines  and  mining  in  Nevada  and  California 
for  several  years,  and  served  for  a  time  as 
treasurer  of  Carson  county,  Nevada.  Mr. 
Bland  returned  to  Missouri  in   1865,  where 


he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at  Rolla, 
Missouri,  and  in  1869  removed  to  Lebanon, 
Missouri.  He  began  his  congressional  career 
in  1873,  when  he  was  elected  as  a  Demo- 
crat to  the  forty-third  congress,  and  he  was 
regularly  re-elected  to  every  congress  after 
that  time  up  to  the  fifty-fourth,  when  he  was 
defeated  for  re-election,  but  was  returned 
to  the  fifty-fifth  congress  as  a  Silver  Demo- 
crat. During  all  his  protracted  service, 
while  Mr.  Bland  was  always  steadfast  in  his 
support  of  democratic  measures,  yet  he  won 
his  special  renown  as  the  great  advocate  of 
silver,  being  strongly  in  favor  of  the  free 
and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver,  and  on  ac- 
count of  his  pronounced  views  was  one  of 
the  candidates  for  the  presidential  nomina- 
tion of  the  Democratic  party  at  Chicago  in 
1896.  

FANNY  DAVENPORT  (F.  L.  G.  Daven- 
port) was  of  British  birth,  but  she  be- 
longs to  the  American  stage.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  the  famous  actor,  E.  L.  Daven- 
port, and  was  born  in  London  in  1850. 
She  first  went  on  the  stage  as  a  child  at  the 
Howard  Athenjeum,  Boston,  and  her  entire 
life  was  spent  upon  the  stage.  She  played 
children's  parts  at  Burton's  old  theater  in 
Chambers  street,  and  then,  in  1862,  appeared 
as  the  King  of  Spain  in  ' '  Faint  Heart  Never 
Won  Fair  Lady. "  Here  she  attracted  the 
notice  of  Augustin  Daly,  the  noted  mana- 
ger, then  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  theater,  who 
offered  her  a  six  weeks'  engagement  with 
her  father  in  "London  Assurance."  She 
afterwards  appeared  at  the  same  house  in  a 
variety  of  characters,  and  her  versatility 
was  favorably  noticed  by  the  critics.  After 
the  burning  of  the  old  Fifth  Avenue,  the 
present  theater  of  that  name  was  built  at 
Twenty-eighth  street,  and  here  Miss  Daven- 
port appeared  in  a  play  written  for  her  by 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


107 


Mr.  Daly.  She  scored  a  great  success. 
She  then  starred  in  this  play  throughout  the 
country,  and  was  married  to  Mr.  Edwin  F. 
Price,  an  actor  of  her  company,  in  1880. 
In  1882  she  went  to  Paris  and  purchased 
the  right  to  produce  in  America  Sardou's 
great  emotional  play,  "Fedora."  It  was 
put  on  at  the  Fourteenth  Street  theater  in 
New  York,  and  in  it  she  won  popular  favor 
and  became  one  of  the  most  famous  actresses 
of  her  time. 


HORACE  BRIGHAM  CLAFLIN,  one 
of  the  greatest  merchants  America  has 
produced,  was  born  in  Milford,  Massachu- 
setts, a  son  of  John  Claflin,  also  a  mer- 
chant. Young  Claflin  started  his  active  life 
as  a  clerk  in  his  father's  store,  after  having 
been  offered  the  opportunity  of  a  college 
education,  but  with  the  characteristic 
promptness  that  was  one  of  his  virtues  he 
exclaimed,  "No  law  or  medicine  for  me." 
He  had  set  his  heart  on  being  a  merchant, 
and  when  his  father  retired  he  and  his 
brother  Aaron,  and  his  brother-in-law,  Sam- 
uel Daniels,  conducted  the  business.  Mr. 
Claflin  was  not  content,  however,  to  run  a 
store  in  a  town  like  Milford,  and  accordingly 
opened  a  dry  goods  store  at  Worcester,  with 
his  brother  as  a  partner,  but  the  partnership 
was  dissolved  a  year  later  and  H.  B.  Claiiin 
assumed  complete  control.  The  business 
in  Worcester  had  been  conducted  on  ortho- 
dox principles,  and  when  Mr.  Claflin  came 
there  and  introduced  advertising  as  a  means 
of  drawing  trade,  he  created  considerable 
animosity  among  the  older  merchants.  Ten 
years  later  he  was  one  of  the  most  prosper- 
ous merchants.  He  disposed  of  his  busi- 
ness in  Worcester  for  $30,000,  and  went  to 
New  York  to  search  for  a  wider  field  than 
that  of  a  shopkeeper.  Mr.  Claflin  and 
William  M.  Bulkley  started  in  the  dry  goods 


business  there  under  the  firm  name  of  Bulk- 
ley  &  Claflin,  in  1843,  and  Mr.  Bulkley  was 
connected  with  the  firm  until  185 1, when  he 
retired.  A  new  firm  was  then  formed  under 
the  name  of  Claflin,  Mellin  &  Co.  This 
firm  succeeded  in  founding  the  largest  dry 
goods  house  in  the  world,  and  after  weather- 
ing the  dangers  of  the  civil  war,  during 
which  the  house  came  very  near  going  un- 
der, and  was  saved  only  by  the  superior 
business  abilities  of  Mr.  Claflin,  continued  to 
grow.  The  sales  of  the  firm  amounted  to 
over  $72,000,000  a  year  after  the  close  of 
the  war.  Mr.  Claflin  died  November  14, 
1885. 

CHARLOTTE  CUSHMAN  (Charlotte 
Saunders  Cushman),  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  American  actresses,  was  born  in 
Boston,  July  23,  1816.  She  was  descended 
from  one  of  the  earliest  Puritan  families. 
Her  first  attempt  at  stage  work  was  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  years  in  a  charitable  concert 
given  by  amateurs  in  Boston.  From  this 
time  her  advance  to  the  first  place  on  the 
American  lyric  stage  was  steady,  until,  in 
1835,  while  singing  in  New  Orleans,  she 
suddenly  lost  control  of  her  voice  so  far  as 
relates  to  singing,  and  was  compelled  to  re- 
tire. She  then  took  up  the  study  for  the 
dramatic  stage  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Barton,  the  tragedian.  She  soon  after 
made  her  debut  as  "  Lady  Macbeth."  She 
appeared  in  New  York  in  September,  1836, 
and  her  success  was  immediate.  Her 
"Romeo"  was  almost  perfect,  and  she  is 
the  only  woman  that  has  ever  appeared  in 
the  part  of  "Cardinal  Wolsey."  She  at 
different  times  acted  as  support  of  Forrest 
and  Macready.  Her  London  engagement, 
secured  in  1845,  after  many  and  great  dis- 
couragements, proved  an   unqualified  sue- 


108 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


Her  farewell  appearance  was  at  Booth's 
theater,  New  York,  November  7,  1874,  in 
the  part  of  "  Lady  Macbeth,"  and  after  that 
performance  an  Ode  by  R.  H.  Stoddard 
was  read,  and  a  body  of  citizens  went  upon 
the  stage,  and  in  their  name  the  venerable 
poet  Longfellow  presented  her  with  a  wreath 
of  laurel  with  an  inscription  to  the  effect 
that  "she  who  merits  the  palm  should  bear 
it. "  From  the  time  of  her  appearance  as  a 
modest  girl  in  a  charitable  entertainment 
down  to  the  time  of  final  triumph  as  a  tragic 
queen,  she  bore  herself  with  as  much  honor 
to  womanhood  as  to  the  profession  she  rep- 
resented. Her  death  occurred  in  Boston, 
February  18,  1876.  By  her  profession  she 
acquired  a  fortune  of  $600,000. 


NEAL  DOW,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
temperance  reformers  our  country  has 
known,  was  born  in  Portland,  Me.,  March  20, 
1804.  He  received  his  education  in  the 
Friends  Seminary,  at  New  Bedford,  Massa- 
chusetts, his  parents  being  members  of  that 
sect.  After  leaving  school  he  pursued  a 
mecrantile  and  manufacturing  career  for  a 
number  of  years.  He  was  active  in  the 
affairs  of  his  native  city,  and  in  1839  be- 
came chief  of  the  fire  department,  and  in 
1 85 1  was  elected  mayor.  He  was  re-elected 
to  the  latter  office  in  1S54.  Being  opposed 
to  the  liquor  traffic  he  was  a  champion  of 
the  project  of  prohibition,  first  brought  for- 
ward in  1839  by  James  Appleton.  While 
serving  his  first  term  as  mayor  he  drafted  a 
bill  for  the  "suppression  of  drinking  houses 
and  tippling  shops,"  which  he  took  to  the 
legislature  and  which  was  passed  without  an 
alteration.  In  1858  Mr.  Dow  was  elected 
to  the  legislature.  On  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  war  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the 
Thirteenth  Maine  Infantry  and  accompanied 
General  Butler's  expedition  to  New  Orleans. 


In  1862  he  was  made  brigadier-general.  At 
the  battle  of  Port  Hudson  May  27,  1863,  he 
was  twice  wounded,  and  taken  prisoner.  He 
was  confined  at  Libby  prison  and  Mobile 
nearly  a  year,  when,  being  exchanged,  he 
resigned,  his  health  having  given  way  under 
the  rigors  of  his  captivity.  He  made  sev- 
eral trips  to  England  in  the  interests  of 
temperance  organization,  where  he  addressed 
large  audiences.  He  was  the  candidate  of 
the  National  Prohibition  party  for  the  presi- 
dency in  1880,  receiving  about  ten  thousand 
votes.  In  1884  he  was  largely  instrumental 
in  the  amendment  of  the  constitution  of 
Maine,  adopted  by  an  overwhelming  popular 
vote,  which  forever  forbade  the  manufacture 
or  sale  of  any  intoxicating  beverages,  and 
commanding  the  legislature  to  enforce  the 
prohibition.      He  died  October  2,   1897. 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR,  twelfth  president 
of  the  United  States,  was  born  in 
Orange  county,  Virginia,  September  24, 
1784.  His  boyhood  was  spent  on  his  fath- 
er's plantation  and  his  education  was  lim- 
ited. In  1808  he  was  made  lieutenant  of 
the  Seventh  Infantry,  and  joined  his  regi- 
ment at  New  Orleans.  He  was  promoted 
to  captain  in  18 10,  and  commanded  at  Fort 
Harrison,  near  the  present  site  of  Terre 
Haute,  in  1812,  where,  for  his  gallant  de- 
fense, he  was  brevetted  major,  attaining  full 
rank  in  18 14.  In  181 5  he  retired  to  an  es- 
tate near  Louisville.  In  18 16  here-entered 
the  army  as  major,  and  was  promoted  to 
lieutenant-colonel  and  then  to  colonel. 
Having  for  many  years  been  Indian  agent 
over  a  large  por(:ion  of  the  western  country, 
he  was  often  required  in  Washington  to  give 
advice  and  counsel  in  matters  connected 
with  the  Indian  bureau.  He  served  through 
the  Black  Hawk  Indian  war  of  1832,  and  in 
1837  was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


10& 


army  in  Florida,  where  he  attacked  the  In- 
dians in  the  swamps  and  brakes,  defeated 
them  and  ended  the  war.  He  was  brevetted 
brigadier-general  and  made  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  army  in  Florida.  He  was  as- 
signed to  the  command  of  the  army  of  the 
southwest  in  1840,  but  was  soon  after  re- 
lieved of  it  at  his  request.  He  was  then 
stationed  at  posts  in  Arkansas.  In  1845  he 
was  ordered  to  prepare  to  protect  and  de- 
fend Texas  boundaries  from  invasion  by 
Mexicans  and  Indians.  On  the  annexation 
of  Texas  he  proceeded  with  one  thousand 
five  hundred  men  to  Corpus  Christi,  within 
the  disputed  territory.  After  reinforcement 
he  was  ordered  by  the  Mexican  General  Am- 
pudia  to  retire  beyond  the  Nueces  river, 
with  which  order  he  declined  to  comply. 
The  battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la 
Palma  followed,  and  he  crossed  the  Rio 
Grande  and  occupied  Matamoras  May  I'Sth. 
He  was  commissioned  major-general  for  this 
campaign,  and  in  September  he  advanced 
upon  the  city  of  Monterey  and  captured  it 
after  a  hard  fight.  Here  he  took  up  winter 
quarters,  and  when  he  was  about  to  resume 
activity  in  the  spring  he  was  ordered  to  send 
the  larger  part  of  his  army  to  reinforce 
General  Scott  at  Vera  Cruz.  After  leaving 
garrisons  at  various  points  his  army  was  re- 
duced to  about  five  thousand,  mostly  fresh 
recruits.  He  was  attacked  by  the  army  of 
Santa  Anna  at  Buena  Vista,  February  22, 
1847,  and  after  a  severe  fight  completely 
routed  the  Mexicans.  He  received  the 
thanks  of  congress  and  a  gold  medal  for 
this  victory.  He  remained  in  command  of 
the  "army  of  occupation"  until  winter, 
when  he  returned  to  the  United  States. 

In  1848  General  Taylor  was  nominated 
by  the  Whigs  for  president.  He  was  elected 
over  his  two  opponents,  Cass  and  Van 
Buren.      Great  bitterness  was  developing  in 


the  struggle  for  and  against  the  extension  of 
slavery,  and  the  newly  acquired  territory  in 
the  west,  and  the  fact  that  the  states  were 
now  equally  divided  on  that  question,  tended 
to  increase  the  feeling.  President  Taylor 
favored  immediate  admission  of  California 
with  her  constitution  prohibiting  slavery, 
and  the  admission  of  other  states  to  be 
formed  out  of  the  new  territory  as  they 
might  elect  as  they  adopted  constitutions 
from  time  .to  time.  This  policy  resulted  in 
the  "  Omnibus  Bill,"  which  afterward  passed 
congress,  though  in  separate  bills;  not,  how- 
ever, until  after  the  death  of  the  soldier- 
statesman,  which  occurred  July  9,  1850. 
One  of  his  daughters  became  the  wife  of 
Jefferson  Davis. 


MELVILLE  D.  LANDON,  better  known 
as  "  Eli  Perkins, "  author,  lecturer  and 
humorist,  was  born  in  Eaton,  New  York, 
September  7,  1839.  He  was  the  son  of 
John  Landon  and  grandson  of  Rufus  Lan- 
don,  a  revolutionary  soldier  from  Litchfield 
county,  Connecticut.  Melville  was  edu- 
cated at  the  district  school  and  neighboring 
academy,  where  he  was  prepared  for  the 
sophomore  class  at  Madison  University.  He 
passed  two  years  at  the  latter,  when  he  was 
admitted  to  Union  College,  and  graduated 
in  the  class  of  1861,  receiving  the  degree  of 
A.  M.,  in  1862.  He  was,  at  once,  ap- 
pointed to  a  position  in  the  treasury  depart- 
ment at  Washington.  This  being  about  the 
time  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  and 
before  the  appearance  of  any  Union  troops, 
at  the  capital,  he  assisted  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  "  Clay  Battalion,"  of  Washing- 
ton. Leaving  his  clerkship  some  time  later, 
he  took  up  duties  on  the  staff  of  General  A. 
L.  Chetlain,  who  was  in  command  at  Mem- 
phis. In  1864  he  resigned  from  the  army 
and  engaged  in  cotton  planting  in  Arkansas 


110 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


and  Louisiana.  In  1867  he  went  abroad, 
making  the  tour  of  Europe,  traversing  Rus- 
sia. While  in  the  latter  country  his  old 
commander  of  the  "  Clay  Battalion,"  Gen- 
eral Cassius  M.  Clay,  then  United  States 
minister  at  St.  Petersburg,  made  him  secre- 
tary of  legation.  In  1871,  on  returning  to 
America,  he  published  a  history  of  the 
Franco-Prussian  war,  and  followed  it  with 
numerous  humorous  writings  for  the  public 
press  under  the  name  of  "Eli  Perkins," 
■which,  with  his  regular  contributions  to  the 
"  Commercial  Advertiser,"  brought  him  into 
notice,  and  spread  his  reputation  as  a  hu- 
morist throughout  the  country.  He  also  pub- 
lished "Saratoga  in  1891,"  "Wit,  Humor 
and  Pathos, "  ' '  Wit  and  Humor  of  the  Age, " 
"  Kings  of  Platform  and  Pulpit,"  "  Thirty 
Years  of  Wit  and  Humor,"  "  Fun  and  Fact," 
and  "  China  and  Japan." 

LEWIS  CASS,  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent statesman  and  party  leaders  of  his 
day,  was  born  at  Exeter,  New  Hampshire, 
October  9,  1782.  He  studied  law,  and  hav- 
ing removed  to  Zanesville,  Ohio,  commenced 
the  practice  of  that  profession  in  1802.  He 
entered  the  service  of  the  American  govern- 
ment in  18 1 2  and  was  made  a  colonel  in 
the  army  under  General  William  Hull,  and 
on  the  surrender  of  Fort  Maiden  by  that 
officer  was  held  as  a  prisoner.  Being  re- 
leased in  18 1 3,  he  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  brigadier-general  and  in  18 14  ap- 
pointed governor  of  Michigan  Territory. 
After  he  had  held  that  office  for  some 
sixteen  years,  negotiating,  in  the  meantime, 
many  treaties  with  the  Indians,  General 
Cass  was  made  secretary  of  war  in  the  cabi- 
net of  President  Jackson,  in  1831.  He  was, 
in  1836,  appointed  minister  to  France, 
which  office  he  held  for  six  years.  In  1844 
he  -."as  elected  United   States  senator  from 


Michigan.  In  1846  General  Cass  opposed 
the  Wilmot  Proviso,  which  was  an  amend- 
ment to  a  bill  for  the  purchase  of  land  from 
Mexico,  which  provided  that  in  any  of  the 
territory  acquired  from  that  power  slavery 
should  not  exist.  For  this  and  other  reasons 
he  was  nominated  as  Democratic  candidate 
for  the  presidency  of  the  United  States  in 
1848,  but  was  defeated  by  General  Zachary 
Taylor,  the  Whig  candidate,  having  but 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  electoral  votes 
to  his  opponent's  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
three.  In  1 849  General  Cass  was  re-elected 
to  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  and  in 
1854  supported  Douglas'  Kansas-Nebraska 
bill.  He  became  secretary  of  state  in 
March,  1857,  under  President  Buchanan, 
but  resigned  that  office  in  December,  i860. 
He  died  June  17,  1866.  The  published 
works  of  Lewis  Cass,  while  not  numerous, 
are  well  written  and  display  much  ability. 
He  was  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  his  day 
in  the  political  councils  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  left  a  reputation  for  high  probity 
and  honor  behind  him. 


DEWITT  CLINTON.— Probably  there 
were  but  few  men  who  were  so  popular 
in  their  time,  or  who  have  had  so  much  in- 
ifluence  in  moulding  events  as  the  individual 
whose  name  honors  the  head  of  this  article. 
De  Witt  Clinton  was  the  son  of  General 
James  Clinton,  and  a  nephew  of  Governor 
George  Clinton,  who  was  the  fourth  vice- 
president  of  the  United  States.  He  was  a 
native  of  Orange  county,  New  York,  born  at 
Little  Britain,  March  2,  1769.  He  gradu- 
ated from  Columbia  College,  in  his  native 
state,  in  1796,  and  took  up  the  study  of  law. 
In  1790  he  became  private  secretary  to  his 
uncle,  then  governor  of  New  York.  He  en- 
tered public  life  as  a  Republican  or  anti- 
Federalist,   and  was  elected    to  the    lower 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


Ill 


house  of  the  state  assembly  in  1797,  and  the 
senate  of  that  body  in  1798.  At  that  time 
he  was  looked  on  as  "  the  most  rising  man 
in  the  Union."  In  1801  he  was  elected  to 
the  United  States  senate.  In  1803  he  was 
appointed  by  the  governor  and  council 
mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York,  then  a 
very  important  and  powerful  ollice.  Hav- 
ing been  re-appointed,  he  held  the  office 
of  mayor  for  nearly  eleven  years,  and 
rendered  great  service  to  that  city.  Mr. 
Clinton  served  as  lieutenant-governor  of 
the  state  of  New  York,  1811-13,  and 
was  one  of  the  commissioners  appointed 
lo  examine  and  survey  a  route  for  a  canal 
from  the  Hudson  river  to  Lake  Erie.  Dif- 
fering with  President  Madison,  in  relation  to 
the  war,  in  18 12,  he  was  nominated  for  the 
presidency  against  that  gentleman,  by  a 
coalition  party  called  the  Clintonians,  many 
of  whom  were  Federalists.  Clinton  received 
eight-nine  electoral  votes.  His  course  at 
this  time  impaired  his  popularity  for  a  time. 
He  was  removed  from  the  mayoralty  in 
1 8 14,  and  retired  to  private  life.  In  18 15 
he  wrote  a  powerful  argument  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  Erie  canal,  then  a  great  and 
beneficent  work  of  which  he  was  the  prin- 
cipal promoter.  This  was  in  the  shape  of 
a  memorial  to  the  legislature,  which,  in 
18 17,  passed  a  bill  authorizing  the  construc- 
tion of  that  canal.  The  same  year  he  was 
elected  governor  of  New  York,  almost  unani- 
mously, notwithstanding  the  opposition  of 
a  few  who  pronounced  the  scheme  of  the 
canal  visionary.  He  was  re-elected  governor 
in  1820.  He  was  at  this  time,  also,  presi- 
dent of  the  canal  commissioners.  He  de- 
clined a  re-election  to  the  gubernatorial 
chair  in  1822  and  was  removed  from  his 
place  on  the  canal  board  two  years  later. 
But  he  was  triumphantly  elected  to  the  of- 
iice  of  governor  that  fall,  and  his  pet  project, 


the  Erie  canal,  was  finished  the  next  year. 
He  was  re-elected  governor  in  1826,  but 
died  while  holding  that  office,  February  11, 


AARON  BURR,  one  of  the  many  brilliant 
figures  on  the  political  stage  in  the  early 
days  of  America,  was  born  at  Newark,  New 
Jersey,  February  6,  1756.  He  was  the  son 
of  Aaron  and  Esther  Burr,  the  former  the 
president  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and 
the  latter  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  Edwards, 
who  had  been  president  of  the  same  educa- 
tional institution.  Young  Burr  graduated 
at  Princeton  in  1772.  In  1775  he  joined 
the  provincial  army  at  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts. For  a  time,  he  served  as  a  private 
soldier,  but  later  was  made  an  aide  on  the 
staff  of  the  unfortunate  General  Montgom- 
ery, in  the  Quebec  expedition.  Subse- 
quently he  was  on  the  staffs  of  Arnold,  Put- 
nam and  Washington,  the  latter  of  whom 
he  disliked.  He  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  lieutenant-colonel  and  commanded  a 
brigade  on  Monmouth's  bloody  field.  In 
1779,  on  account  of  feeble  health.  Colonel 
Burr  resigned  from  the  Army.  He  took  up 
the  practice  of  law  in  Albany,  New  York, 
but  subsequently  removed  to  New  York  City. 
In  1789  he  became  attorney-general  of  that 
state.  In  1791  he  was  chosen  to  represent 
the  state  of  New  York  in  the  United  States 
senate  and  held  that  position  for  six  years. 
In  1800  he  and  Thomas  Jefferson  were  both 
candidates  for  the  presidency,  and  there 
being  a  tie  in  the  electoral  college,  each 
having  seventy-three  votes,  the  choice  was 
left  to  congress,  who  gave  the  first  place  to 
Jefferson  and  made  Aaron  Burr  vice-presi- 
dent, as  the  method  then  was.  In  1804  Mr, 
Burr  and  his  great  rival,  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton, met  in  a  duel,  which  resulted  in  the 
death  of  the  latter,  Burr  losing  thereby  con- 


112 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


siderable  political  and  social  influence.  He 
soon  embarked  in  a  wild  attempt  upon 
Mexico,  and  as  was  asserted,  upon  the 
southwestern  territories  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  tried  for  treason  at 
Richmond,  Virginia,  in  1807,  but  acquitted, 
and  to  avoid  importunate  creditors,  fled  to 
Europe.  After  a  time,  in  18 12,  he  returned 
to  New  York,  where  he  practiced  law,  and 
where  he  died,  September  14,  1836.  A  man 
of  great  ability,  brilliant  and  popular  talents, 
his  influence  was  destroyed  by  his  unscrupu- 
lous political  actions  and  immoral  private 
life. 


ALBERT  GALLATIN,  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  statesmen  of  the  early 
days  of  the  republic,  was  born  at  Geneva, 
Switzerland,  January  29,  1761.  He  was 
the  son  of  Jean  de  Gallatin  and  Sophia  A. 
Rolaz  du  Rosey  Gallatin,  representatives  of 
an  old  patrician  family.  Albert  Gallatin 
was  left  an  orphan  at  an  early  age,  and  was 
educated  under  the  care  of  friends  of  his 
parents.  He  graduated  from  the  University 
of  Geneva  in  1779,  and  declining  employ- 
ment under  one  of  the  sovereigns  of  Ger- 
many, came  to  the  struggling  colonies,  land- 
ing in  Boston  July  14,  1780.  Shortly  after 
his  arrival  he  proceeded  to  Maine,  where  he 
served  as  a  volunteer  under  Colonel  Allen. 
He  made  advances  to  the  government  for 
the  support  of  the  American  troops,  and  in 
November,  1780,  was  placed  in  command 
of  a  small  fort  at  Passamaquoddy,  defended 
by  a  force  of  militia,  volunteers  and  Indians. . 
In  1783  he  was  professor  of  the  French 
language  at  Harvard  University.'  A  year 
later,  having  received  his  patrimony  from 
Europe,  he  purchased  large  tracts  of  land 
in  western  Virginia,  but  was  prevented  by 
the  Indians  from  forming  the  large  settle- 
ment he  proposed,  and,  in  1786,  purchased 


a  farm  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania. 
In  17S9  he  was  a  member  of  the  conventioa 
to  amend  the  constitution  of  that  state,  and 
united  himself  with  the  Republican  party, 
the  head  of  which  was  Thomas  Jefferson. 
The  following  year  he  was  elected  to  the 
legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  to  which  he  was 
subsequently  re-elected.  In  1793  he  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  senate,  but 
could  not  take  his  seat  on  account  of  not 
having  been  a  citizen  long  enough.  In  1794 
Mr.  Gallatin  was  elected  to  the  representa- 
tive branch  of  congress,  in  which  he  served 
three  terms.  He  also  took  an  important 
position  in  the  suppression  of  the  "whiskey 
insurrection."  In  1801,  on  the  accession  of 
Jefferson  to  the  presidency,  Mr.  Gallatin 
was  appointed  secretary  of  the  treasury. 
In  1809  Mr.  Madison  offered  him  the  posi- 
tion of  secretary  of  state,  but  he  declined, 
and  continued  at  the  head  of  the  treasury 
until  1812,  a  period  of  twelve  years.  He 
exercised  a  great  influence  on  the  other  de- 
partments and  in  the  general  administration, 
especially  in  the  matter  of  financial  reform, 
and  recommended  measures  for  taxation, 
etc. ,  which  were  passed  by  congress,  and  be- 
came laws  May  24,  18 1 3.  The  same  year  he 
was  sent  as  an  envoy  extraordinary  to  Rus- 
sia, which  had  offered  to  mediate  between 
this  country  and  Great  Britain,  but  the  lat- 
ter country  refusing  the  interposition  of 
another  power,  and  agreeing  to  treat  di- 
rectly with  the  United  States,  in  18 14,  at 
Ghent,  Mr.  Gallatin,  in  connection  with  his 
distinguished  colleagues,  negotiated  and 
signed  the  treaty  of  peace.  In  1815,  in 
conjunction  with  Messrs.  Adams  and  Clay, 
he  signed,  at  London,  a  commercial  treaty 
between  the  two  countries.  In  18 16,  de- 
clining his  old  post  at  the  head  of  the  treas- 
ury, Mr.  Gallatin  was  sent  as  minister  to 
France,    where    he    remained    until    1823, 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHi 


113 


After  a  year  spent  in  England  as  envoy  ex- 
traordinary, he  took  up  his  residence  in  New 
York,  and  from  that  time  held  no  public 
office.  In  1830  he  was  chosen  president  of 
the  council  of  the  University  of  New  York. 
He  was,  in  1831,  made  president  of  the 
National  bank,  which  position  he  resigned 
in  1839.      He  died  August  12,  1849. 


MILLARD  FILLMORE,  the  thirteenth 
president  of  the  United  States,  was 
born  of  New  England  parentage  in  Summer 
Hill,  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  January  7, 
1800.  His  school  education  was  very  lim- 
ited, but  he  occupied  his  leisure  hours  in 
study.  He  worked  in  youth  upon  his  fa- 
ther's farm  in  his  native  county,  and  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  was  apprenticed  to  a  wool 
carder  and  cloth  dresser.  Four  years  later 
he  was  induced  by  Judge  Wood  to  enter  his 
office  at  Montville,  New  York,  and  take  up 
the  study  of  law.  This  warm  friend,  find- 
ing young  Fillmore  destitute  of  means, 
loaned  him  money,  but  the  latter,  not  wish- 
ing to  incur  a  heavy  debt,  taught  school 
during  part  of  the  time  and  in  this  and  other 
ways  helped  maintain  himself.  In  1822  he 
removed  to  Buffalo,  New  York,  and  the  year 
following,  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  he 
commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession 
at  East  Aurora,  in  the  same  state.  Here 
he  remained  until  1830,  having,  in  the 
meantime,  been  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
supreme  court,  when  he  returned  to  Buffalo, 
where  he  became  the  partner  of  S.  G. 
Haven  and  N.  K.  Hall.  He  entered  poli- 
tics and  served  in  the  state  legislature  from 
1829  to  1832.  He  was  in  congress  in  1833- 
35  and  in  1837-41,  where  he  proved  an 
active  and  useful  member,  favoring  the 
views  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  then  battling 
almost  alone  the  slave-holding  party  in  na- 
tional politics,  and  in  most  of  public  ques- 


tions acted  with  the  Whig  party.  While 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways  and 
means  he  took  a  leading  part  in  draughting 
the  tariff  bill  of  1842.  In  1844  Mr.  Fill- 
more was  the  Whig  candidate  fo^  governor 
of  New  York.  In  1847  he  was  chosen 
comptroller  of  the  state,  and  abandoning 
his  practice  and  profession  removed  to  Al- 
bany. In  1848  he  was  elected  vice  presi- 
dent on  the  ticket  with  General  Zachary 
Taylor,  and  they  were  inaugurated  the  fol- 
lowing March.  On  the  death  of  the  presi- 
dent, July  9,  1850,  Mr.  Fillmore  was  in- 
ducted into  that  office.  The  great  events 
of  his  administration  were  the  passage  of 
the  famous  compromise  acts  of  1850,  and 
the  sending  out  of  the  Japan  expedition  of 
1852. 

March  4,  1853,  having  served  one  term. 
President  Fillmore  retired  from  office,  and 
in  1855  went  to  Europe,  where  he  received 
marked  attention.  On  returning  home,  in 
1856,  he  was  nominated  for  the  presidency 
by  the  Native  American  or  "Know-Noth- 
ing" party,  but  was  defeated,  James  Buch- 
anan being  the  successful  candidate. 

Mr.  Fillmore  ever  afterward  lived  in  re- 
tirement. During  the  conflict  of  Civil  war 
he  was  mostly  silent.  It  was  generally  sup- 
posed, however,  that  his  sympathy  was  with 
the  southern  confederacy.  He  kept  aloof 
from  the  conflict  without  any  words  of  cheer 
to  the  one  party  or  the  other.  For  this  rea- 
son he  was  forgotten  by  both.  He  died  of 
paralysis,  in  Buffalo,  New  York,  March  8, 
1874-  

PETER  F.  ROTHERMEL,  one  of  Amer- 
ica's greatest  and  best-known  historical 
painters,  was  born  in  Luzerne  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, July  8,  1817,  and  was  of  German 
ancestry.  He  received  his  earlier  education 
in   his  native  county,  and   in    Philadelphia 


114 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


learned  the  profession  of  land  surveying. 
But  a  strong  bias  toward  art  drew  him  away 
and  he  soon  opened  a  studio  where  he  did 
portrait  painting.  This  soon  gave  place  to 
historical  painting,  he  having  discovered  the 
bent  of  his  genius  in  that  direction.  Be- 
sides the  two  pictures  in  the  Capitol  at 
Washington — '  'De  Soto  Discovering  the  Mis- 
sissippi" and  "Patrick  Henry  Before  the 
Virginia  House  of  Burgesses" — Rothermel 
painted  many  others,  chief  among  which 
are:  "Columbus  Before  Queen  Isabella," 
"Martyrs  of  the  Colosseum,"  "Cromwell 
Breaking  Up  Service  in  an  English  Church," 
and  the  famous  picture  of  the  "Battle 
of  Gettysburg."  The  last  named  was 
painted  for  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  for 
which  Rothermel  received  the  sum  of  $25,- 
000,  and  which  it  took  him  four  years  to 
plan  and  to  paint.  It  represents  the  portion 
of  that  historic  field  held  by  the  First  corps, 
an  exclusively  Pennsylvania  body  of  men, 
and  was  selected  by  Rothermel  for  that 
reason.  For  many  years  most  of  his  .time 
was  spent  in  Italy,  only  returning  for  short 
periods.  He  died  at  Philadelphia,  August 
16,  1895. 

EDMUND  KIRBY  SMITH,  one  of  the 
distinguished  leaders  upon  the  side  of  the 
south  in  the  late  Civil  war,  was  born  at  St. 
Augustine,  Florida,  in  1824.  After  receiv- 
ing the  usual  education  he  was  appointed  to 
the  United  States  Military  Academy  at  West 
Point,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1845  and 
entered  the  army  as  second  lieutenant  of 
infantry.  During  the  Mexican  war  he  was 
made  first  lieutenant  and  captain  for  gallant 
conduct  at  Cerro  Gordo  and  Contreras. 
From  1849  to  1852  he  was  assistant  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics  at  West  Point.  He 
was  transferred  to  the  Second  cavalry  with 
the  rank  of  captain  in   1855,  served  on  the 


frontier,  and  was  wounded  in  a  fight  with 
Comanche  Indians  in  Texas,  May  13,  1859. 
In  January,  1861,  he  became  major  of  his 
regiment,  but  resigned  April  9th  to  fol- 
low the  fortunes  of  the  southern  cause. 
He  was  appointed  brigadier-general  in  the 
Confederate  army  and  served  in  Virginia. 
At  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  July  21,  1861, 
he  arrived  on  the  field  late  in  the  day,  but 
was  soon  disabled  by  a  wound.  He  was 
made  major-general  in  1862,  and  being  trans- 
ferred to  East  Tennessee,  was  given  com- 
mand of  that  department.  Under  General 
Braxton  Bragg  he  led  the  advance  in  the 
invasion  of  Kentucky  and  defeated  the  Union 
forces  at  Richmond,  Kentucky,  August  30, 

1862,  and  advanced  to  Frankfort.  Pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general,  he 
was  engaged  at  the  battle  of  Perryville, 
October  10,  and  in  the  battle  of  Murfrees- 
boro,   December  31,    1862,   and  January  3, 

1863.  He  was  soon  made  general,  the 
highest  rank  in  the  service,  and  in  com- 
mand of  the  trans-Mississippi  department 
opposed  General  N.  P.  Banks  in  the  famous 
Red  River  expedition,  taking  part  in  the 
battle  of  Jenkins  Ferry,  April  30,  1864,  and 
other  engagements  of  that  eventful  cam- 
paign. He  was  the  last  to  surrender  the 
forces  under  his  command,  which  he  did 
May  26,  1865.  After  the  close  of  the  war 
he  located  in  Tennessee,  where  he  died 
March  28,  1893. 


JOHN  JAMES  INGALLS,  a  famous 
American  statesman,  was  born  Decem- 
ber 29,  1833,  at  Middleton,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  reared  and  received  his  early 
education.  He  went  to  Kansas  in  1858 
and  joined  the  free-soil  army,  and  a  year 
after  his  arrival  he  was  a  member  of  the  his- 
torical Wyandotte  convention,  which  drafted 
a   free-state  constitution.      In  i860  he  was 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


115 


made  secretary  of  the  territorial  council, 
and  in  1861  was  secretary  of  the  state  sen- 
ate. The  next  year  he  was  duly  elected  to 
the  legitimate  state  senate  from  Atchison, 
where  he  had  made  his  home.  From  that 
time  he  was  the  leader  of  the  radical  Re- 
publican element  in  the  state.  He  became 
the  editor  of  the  "  Atchison  Champion  "  in 
1863,  which  was  a  "red-hot  free-soil  Re- 
publican organ."  In  1862  he  was  the  anti- 
Lane  candidate  for  lieutenant-governor,  but 
was  defeated.  He  was  elected  to  the  Unit- 
ed States  senate  to  succeed  Senator  Pom- 
eroy,  and  took  his  seat  in  the  forty-third 
congress  and  served  until  the  fiftieth.  In 
the  forty-ninth  congress  he  succeeded  Sen- 
ator Sherman  as  president  pro  tern.,  which 
position  he  held  through  the  fiftieth  con- 
gress. 

BENJAMIN  WEST,  the  greatest  of  the 
early  American  painters,  was  of  Eng- 
lish descent  and  Quaker  parentage.  He  was 
born  in  Springfield,  Pennsylvania,  in  1738. 
From  what  source  he  inherited  his  genius  it 
is  hard  to  imagine,  since  the  tenets  and 
tendencies  of  the  Quaker  faith  were  not  cal- 
culated to  encourage  the  genius  of  art,  but 
at  the  age  of  nine  years,  with  po  suggestion 
except  that  of  inspiration,  we  find  him  choos- 
ing his  model  from  life,  and  laboring  over 
his  first  work  calculated  to  attract  public 
notice.  It  was  a  representation  of  a  sleep- 
ing child  in  its  cradle.  The  brush  wiih 
which  he  painted  it  was  made  of  hairs 
which  he  plucked  from  the  cat's  tail,  and 
the  colors  were  obtained  from  the  war  paints 
of  friendly  Indians,  his  mother's  indigo  bag, 
and  ground  chalk  and  charcoal,  and  the  juice 
of  berries,  but  there  were  touches  in  the  rude 
production  that  he  declared  in  later  days 
were  a  credit  to  his  best  works.  The  pic- 
ture  attracted    notice,    for   a   council    was 


called  at  once  to  pass  upon  the  boy's  con- 
duct in  thus  infringing  the  laws  of  the  so- 
ciety. There  were  judges  among  them  who 
saw  in  his  genius  a  rare  gift  and  their  wis- 
dom prevailed,  and  the  child  was  given  per- 
mission to  follow  his  inclination.  He  studied 
under  a  painter  named  Williams,  and  then 
spent  some  years  as  a  portrait  painter  with 
advancing  success.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  he  went  to  Italy,  and  not  until  he  had 
perfected  himself  by  twenty-three  years  of 
labor  in  that  paradise  of  art  was  he  satisfied 
to  turn  his  face  toward  home.  However,  he 
stopped  at  London,  and  decided  to  settle 
there,  sending  to  America  for  his  intended 
bride  to  join  him.  Though  the  Revolution- 
ary war  was  raging.  King  George  III  showed 
the  American  artist  the  highest  considera- 
tion and  regard.  His  remuneration  from 
works  for  royalty  amounted  to  five  thou- 
sand  dollars  per  year  for  thirty  years. 

West's  best  known  work  in  America  is, 
perhaps,  "The  Death  of  General  Wolf." 
West  was  one  of  the  thirty-six  original  mem- 
bers of  the  Royal  academy  and  succeeded 
Joshua  Reynolds  as  president,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  until  his  death.  His  early 
works  were  his  best,  as  he  ceased  to  display 
originality  in  his  later  life,  conventionality 
having  seriously  affected  his  efforts.  He 
died  in  1820. 


SAMUEL  PORTER  JONES,  the  famous 
Georgia  evangelist,  was  born  October 
16,  1847,  in  Chambers  county,  Alabama. 
He  did  not  attend  school  regularly  during 
his  boyhood,  but  worked  on  a  farm,  and 
went  to  school  at  intervals,  on  account  of 
ill  health.  His  father  removed  to  Carters- 
ville,  Georgia,  when  Mr.  Jones  was  a  small 
boy.  He  quit  school  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
and  never  attended  college.  The  war  inter- 
fered with  his  education,  which  was  intended 


116 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


to  prepare  him  for  the  legal  profession. 
After  the  war  he  renewed  his  preparation 
for  college,  but  was  compelled  to  desist  from 
such  a  course,  as  his  health  failed  him  en- 
tirely. Later  on,  however,  he  still  pursued 
his  legal  studies  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  Soon  after  this  event  he  went  to  Dal- 
las, Paulding  county,  Georgia,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
and  in  a  few  months  removed  to  Cherokee 
county,  Alabama,  where  he  taught  school. 
In  1869  he  returned  to  Cartersville,  Georgia, 
and  arrived  in  time  to  see  his  father  die. 
Immediately  after  this  event  he  applied  for 
a  license  to  preach,  and  went  to  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  to  the  meeting  of  the  North  Geor- 
gia Conference  of  the  M.  E.  church  south, 
which  received  him  on  trial.  He  became 
an  evangelist  of  great  note,  and  traveled 
extensively,  delivering  his  sermons  in  an 
inimitable  style  that  made  him  very  popular 
with  the  masses,  his  methods  of  conducting 
revivals  being  unique  and  original  and  his 
preaching  practical  and  incisive. 


SHELBY  MOORE  CULLOM,  a  national 
character  in  political  affairs  and  for 
many  years  United  States  senator  from 
Illinois,  was  born  November  22,  1829,  at 
Monticello,  Kentucky.  He  came  with  his 
parents  to  Illinois  in  1830  and  spent  his  early 
yearson  afarm,  but  havingformed  the  purpose 
of  devoting  himself  to  the  lawyer's  profession 
he  spent  two  years  study  at  the  Rock  River 
seminary  atMount  Morris,  Illinois.  In  1853 
Mr.  Cullom  entered  the  law  office  of  Stuart 
and  Edwards  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  and  two 
years  later  he  began  the  independent  prac- 
tice of  law  in  that  city.  He  took  an  active 
interest  in  politics  and  was  soon  elected  city 
attorney  of  Springfield.  In  1856  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Illinois  house  of 
representatives.     He  identified  himself  with 


the  newly  formed  Republican  party  and  in 
i860  was  re-elected  to  the  legislature  of  his 
state,  in  which  he  was  chosen  speaker  of  the 
house.  In  1862  President  Lincoln  appoint- 
ed a  commission  to  pass  upon  and  examine 
the  accounts  of  the  United  States  quarter- 
masters and  disbursing  officers,  composed 
as  follows:  Shelby  M.  Cullom,  of  Illinois; 
Charles  A.  Dana,  of  New  York,  and 
Gov.  Boutwell,  of  Massachusetts.  Mr. 
Cullom  was  nominated  for  congress  in 
1864,  and  was  elected  by  a  majority  of 
1,785.  In  the  house  of  representatives  he 
became  an  active  and  aggressive  member, 
was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  territories 
and  served  in  congress  until  1868.  Mr. 
Cullom  was  returned  to  the  state  legislature, 
of  which  he  was  chosen  speaker  in  1872, 
and  was  re-elected  in  1874.  In  1876  he 
was  elected  governor  of  Illinois  and  at  the 
end  of  his  term  he  was  chosen  for  a  second 
term.  He  was  elected  United  States  senator 
in  1883  and  twice  re-elected. 


RICHARD  JORDAN  CATLING,  an 
Am.erican  inventor  of  much  note,  was 
born  in  Hertford  county.  North  Carolina, 
September  12,  1 818.  At  an  early  age  he 
gave  promise  of  an  inventive  genius.  The 
first  emanation  from  his  mind  was  the 
invention  of  a  screv/  for  the  propulsion  oi 
water  craft,  but  on  application  for  a 
patent,  found  that  he  was  forestalled  but 
a  short  time  by  John  Ericsson.  Subse- 
quently he  invented  a  machine  for  sowing 
wheat  in  drills,  which  was  used  to  a  great 
extent  throughout  the  west.  He  then  stud- 
ied medicine,  and  in  1847-8  attended 
lectures  at  the  Indiana  Medical  College 
at  Laporte,  and  in  1848-9  at  the  Ohio 
Medical  College  at  Cincinnati.  He  later 
discovered  a  method  of  transmitting  power 
through  the  medium  of  compressed  air.      A 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


119 


double-acting  hemp  break  was  also  invented 
by  him.  The  invention,  however,  by  which 
Dr.  Catling  became  best  known  was  the 
famous  machine  gun  which  bears  his  name. 
This  he  brought  to  light  in  1861-62,  and  on 
the  first  trial  of  it,  in  the  spring  of  the  latter 
year,  two  hundred  shots  per  minute  were 
fired  from  it.  After  making  some  improve- 
ments which  increased  its  efficiency,  it  was 
submitted  to  severe  trials  by  our  govern- 
ment at  the  arsenals  at  Frankfort,  Wash- 
ington and  Fortress  Monroe,  and  at  other 
points.  The  gun  was  finally  adopted  by 
our  government,  as  well  as  by  that  of  Great 
Britain,  Russia  and  others. 


BENJAMIN  RYAN  TILLMAN,  who  won 
a  national  fame  in  politics,  was  born 
August  II,  1847,  in  Edgefield  county.  South 
■Carolina.  He  received  his  education  in  the 
Oldfield  school,  where  he  acquired  the 
rudiments  of  Latin  and  Creek,  in  addition 
to  a  good  English  education.  He  left  school 
in  1864  to  join  the  Confederate  army,  but 
was  prevented  from  doing  so  by  a  severe 
illness,  which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  an  eye. 
In  1867  he  removed  to  Florida,  but  returned 
in  1868,  when  he  was  married  and  devoted 
himself  to  farming.  He  was  chairman  of 
the  Democratic  organization  of  his  county, 
but  except  a  few  occasional  services  he  took 
no  active  part  in  politics  then.  Gradually, 
however,  his  attention  was  directed  to  the 
depressed  condition  of  the  farming  interests 
of  his  state,  and  in  August,  1885,  before  a 
joint  meeting  of  the  agricultural  society  and 
state  grange  at  Bennettsville,  he  made  a 
speech  in  which  he  set  forth  the  cause  of 
agricultural  depression  and  urged  measures 
of  relief.  From  his  active  interest  in  the 
farming  class  he  was  styled  the  "  Agricult- 
ural Moses."  He  advocated  an  industrial 
school  for  women  and  for  a  separate  agri- 


cultural college,  and  in  1887  he  secured  a 
modification  in  the  final  draft  of  the  will  of 
Thomas  C.  Clemson,  which  resulted  in  the 
erection  of  the  Clemson  Agricultural  Col- 
lege at  Fort  Hill.  In  1890  he  was  chosen 
governor  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and 
carried  the  election  by  a  large  majority. 
Governor  Tillman  was  inaugurated  Decem- 
ber 4,  1890.  Mr.  Tillman  was  next  elected 
to  the  United  States  senate  from  South 
Carolina,  and  gained  a  national  reputation 
by  his  fervid  oratory. 

GEORGE  DENISON  PRENTICE.— 
No  journalist  of  America  was  so  cele- 
brated in  his  time  for  the  wit,  spice,  and 
vigor  of  his  writing-,  as  the  gentleman  whose 
name  heads  this  sketch.  From  Atlantic  to 
Pacific  he  was  well  known  by  his  witticism 
as  well  as  by  strength  and  force  of  his  edi- 
torials. He  was  a  native  of  Preston,  Con- 
necticut, born  December  18,  1802.  After 
laying  the  foundation  of  a  liberal  education 
in  his  youth,  he  entered  Brown  University, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1823.  Tak- 
ing up  the  study  of  law,  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1829.  During  part  of  his  time 
he  was  editor  of  the  "  New  England  Weekly 
Review,"  a  position  which  he  relinquished 
to  go  south  and  was  succeeded  by  John 
Greenleaf  Whittier,  the  Quaker  poet. 

On  arriving  in  Louisville,  whither  he 
had  gone  to  gather  items  for  his  history  of 
Henry  Clay,  Mr.  Prentice  became  identified 
with  the  "  Louisville  Journal,"  which,  under 
his  hands,  became  one  of  the  leading  Whig 
newspapers  of  the  country.  At  the  head  of 
this  he  remained  until  the  day  of  his  death. 
This  latter  event  occurred  January  22,  1870, 
and  he  was  succeeded  in  the  control  of  the 
"  Journal  "  by    Colonel    Henry  Watterson. 

Mr.  Prentice  was  an  author  of  consider- 
able celebrity,  chief  among  his  works  being 


120 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


"The  Life  of  Henry  Clay,"  and  "  Prentice- 
ana,"  a  collection  of  wit  and  humor,  that 
passed  through  several  large  editions. 


SAM.  HOUSTON,  in  the  opinion  of  some 
critics  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men 
who  ever  figured  in  American  history,  was  a 
native  of  Rockbridge  county,  Virginia,  born 
March  2,  1793.  Early  in  life  he  was  left  in 
destitute  circumstances  by  the  death  of  his 
father,  and,  with  his  mother,  removed  to 
Tennessee,  then  almost  a  boundless  wilder- 
ness. He  received  but  little  education, 
spending  the  most  of  his  time  among  the 
Cherokee  Indians.  Part  of  the  time  of  his 
residence  there  Houston  acted  as  clerk  for  a 
trader  and  also  taught  one  of  the  primitive 
schools  of  the  day.  In  181 3  he  enlisted  as 
private  in  the  United  States  army  and  was 
engaged  under  General  Jackson  in  the  war 
with  the  Creek  Indians.  When  peace  was 
made  Houston  was  a  lieutenant,  but  he  re- 
signed his  commission  and  commenced  the 
study  of  law  at  Nashville.  After  holding 
some  minor  offices  he  was  elected  member 
of  congress  from  Tennessee.  This  was  in 
1823.  He  retained  this  office  until  1827, 
when  he  was  chosen  governor  of  the  state. 
In  1829,  resigning  that  office  before  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term,  Sam  Houston  removed 
to  Arkansas,  and  made  his  home  among  the 
Cherokees,  becoming  the  agent  of  that 
tribe  and  representing  their  interests  at 
Washington.  On  a  visit  to  Texas,  just 
prior  to  the  election  of  delegates  to  a  con- 
vention called  for  the  purpose  of  drawing 
up  a  constitution  previous  to  the  admission 
of  the  state  into  the  Mexican  union,  he  was 
unanimously  chosen  a  delegate.  The  con- 
vention framed  the  constitution,  but,  it  be- 
ing rejected  by  the  government  of  Mexico, 
and  the  petition  for  admission  to  the  Con- 
federacy denied  and  the  Texans  told  by  the 


president  of  the  Mexican  union  to  give  up 
their  arms,  bred  trouble.  It  was  determined 
to  resist  this  demand.  A  military  force  was 
soon  organized,  with  General  Houston  at 
the  head  of  it.  War  was  prosecuted  with 
great  vigor, -and  with  varying  success,  but 
at  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  April  21,  1836, 
the  Mexicans  were  defeated  and  their  leader 
and  president,  Santa  Anna,  captured.  Texas 
was  then  proclaimed  an  independent  repub- 
lic, and  in  October  of  the  same  year  Hous- 
ton was  inaugurated  president.  On  the  ad- 
mission of  Texas  to  the  Federal  Union,  in 
1845,  Houston  was  elected  senator,  and 
held  that  position  for  twelve  years.  Oppos- 
ing the  idea  of  secession,  he  retired  from 
political  life  in  186 1,  and  died  at  Hunts- 
ville,  Texas,  July  25,  1863. 


ELI  WHITNEY,  the  inventor  of  the  cot- 
ton-gin, was  born  in  Westborough,  Mas- 
sachusetts, December  8,  1765.  After  his 
graduation  from  Yale  College,  he  went  to 
Georgia,  where  he  studied  law,  and  lived 
with  the  family  of  the  widow  of  General 
Nathaniel  Greene.  At  that  time  the  only 
way  known  to  separate  the  cotton  seed  from 
the  fiber  was  by  hand,  making  it  extremely 
slow  and  expensive,  and  for  this  reason  cot- 
ton was  little  cultivated  in  this  country. 
Mrs.  Greene  urged  the  inventive  Whitney 
to  devise  some  means  for  acccmpli.shing 
this  work  by  machinery.  This  he  finally 
succeeded  in  doing,  but  he  was  harassed  by 
attempts  to  defraud  him  by  those  who  had 
stolen  his  ideas.  He  at  last  formed  a  part- 
nership with  a  man  named  Miller,  and  they 
began  the  manufacture  of  the  machines  at 
Washington,  Georgia,  in  1795.  The  suc- 
cess of  his  invention  was  immediate,  and  the 
legislature  of  South  Carolina  voted  the  sum 
of  $50,000  for  his  idea.  This  sum  he  had 
great  difficulty  in  collecting,  after   years  of 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


121 


litigation  and  delay.  North  Carolina  al- 
lowed him  a  royalty,  and  the  same  was 
agreed  to  by  Tennessee,  but  was  never  paid. 

While  his  fame  rests  upon  the  invention 
of  the  cotton-gin,  his  fortune  came  from  his 
improvements  in  the  manufacture  and  con- 
struction of  firearms.  In  1798  the  United 
States  government  gave  him  a  contract  for 
this  purpose,  and  he  accumulated  a  fortune 
from  it.  The  town  of  Whitneyville,  Con- 
necticut, _  was  founded  by  this  fortune. 
Whitney  died  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut, 
January  8,   1825. 

The  cotton-gin  made  the  cultivation  of 
cotton  profitable,  and  this  led  to  rapid  in- 
troduction of  slavery  in  the  south.  His  in- 
vention thus  affected  our  national  history  in 
a  manner  little  dreamed  of  by  the  inventor. 


LESTER  WALLACK  (John  Lester  Wal- 
lack),  for  many  years  the  leading  light 
comedian  upon  the  American  stage,  was 
the  son  of  James  W.  Wallack,  the  "  Brum- 
mell  of  the  Stage."  Both  father  and  son 
were  noted  for  their  comeliness  of  feature 
and  form.  Lester  Wallack  was  born  in 
New  York,  January  i,  18 19.  He  received 
his  education  in  England,  and  made  his  first 
appearance  on  the  stage  in  1 848  at  the  New 
Broadway  theater.  New  York.  He  acted 
light  comedy  parts,  and  also  occasion- 
ally in  romantic  plays  like  Monte  Cristo, 
which  play  made  him  his  fame.  He  went 
to  England  and  played  under  management 
of  such  men  as  Hamblinand  Burton, and  then 
returned  to  New  York  with  his  father,  who 
opened  the  first  Wallack's  theater,  at  the 
corner  of  Broome  and  Broadway,  in  1852. 
The  location  was  afterward  changed  to 
Thirteenth  and  Broadway,  in  1861,  and 
later  to  its  present  location,  Broadway  and 
Thirteenth,  in  1882.  The  elder  Wallack 
died  in   1864,    after  which  Lester  assumed 


management,  jointly  with  Theodore  Moss. 
Lester  Wallack  was  commissioned  in  the 
queen's  service  while  in  England,  and  there 
he  also  married  a  sister  to  the  famous  artist, 
the  late  John  Everett  Millais.  While  Les- 
ter Wallack  never  played  in  the  interior 
cities,  his  name  was  as  familiar  to  the  public 
as  that  of  our  greatest  stars.  He  died  Sep- 
tember 6,   1888,  at  Stamford,    Connecticut, 

GEORGE  MORTIMER  PULLMAN, 
the  palace  car  magnate,  inventor, 
multi-millionaire  and  manufacturer,  may 
well  be  classed  among  the  remarkable 
self-made  men  of  the  century.  He  was 
born  March  3,  1831,  in  Chautauqua  county, 
New  York.  His  parents  were  poor,  and 
his  education  was  limited  to  what  he  could 
learn  of  the  rudimentary  branches  in  the 
district  school.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he 
went  to  work  as  clerk  for  a  country  mer- 
chant. He  kept  this  place  three  years, 
studying  at  night.  When  seventeen  he 
went  to  Albion,  New  York,  and  worked  for 
his  brother,  who  kept  a.  cabinet  shop  there. 
Five  years  later  he  went  into  business  for 
himself  as  contractor  for  moving  buildings 
along  the  line  of  the  Erie  canal,  which  was 
then  being  widened  by  the  state,  and  was 
successful  in  this.  In  1858  he  removed  to 
Chicago  and  engaged  in  the  business  of 
moving  and  raising  houses.  The  work  was 
novel  there  then  and  he  was  quite  success- 
ful. About  this  time  the  discomfort  attend- 
ant on  traveling  at  night  attracted  his  at- 
tention. He  reasoned  that  the  public  would 
gladly  pay  for  comfortable  sleeping  accom- 
modations. A  few  sleeping  cars  were  in 
use  at  that  time,  but  they  were  wretchedly 
crude,  uncomtortable  affairs.  In  1859  he 
bought  two  old  day  coaches  from  the  Chi- 
cago &  Alton  road  and  remodeled  them  some- 
thing like  the  general  plan  of  the  sleepin?- 


122 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHIC 


cars  of  the  present  day.  They  were  put 
into  service  on  the  Chicago  &  Alton  and 
became  popular  at  once.  In  1S63  he  built 
the  first  sleeping-car  resembling  the  Pullman 
cars  of  to-day.  It  cost  $18,000  and  was 
the  "Pioneer."  After  that  the  Pullman 
Palace  Car  Company  prospered.  It  had 
shops  at  different  cities.  In  1880  the  Town 
of  Pullman  was  founded  by  Mr.  Pullman 
and  his  company,  and  this  model  manufac- 
turing .community  is  known  all  over  the 
world.    Mr.  Pullman  died  October  19,  1897. 


JAMES  E.  B.  STUART,  the  most  famous 
cavalry  leader  of  the  Southern  Confed- 
eracy during  the  Civil  war,  was  born  in 
Patrick  county,  Virginia,  in  1833.  On 
graduating  from  the  United  States  Military 
Academy,  West  Point,  in  1854,  he  was  as- 
signed, as  second  lieutenant,  to  a  regiment 
of  mounted  rifles,  receiving  his  commission 
in  October.  In  March,  1855,  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  newly  organized  First  cavalry, 
and  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  the 
following  December,  and  to  captain  April 
22,  1 86 1.  Taking  the  side  of  the  south, 
May  14,  1861,  he  was  made  colonel  of  a 
Virginia  cavalry  regiment,  and  served  as 
such  at  Bull  Run.  In  September,  1861,  he 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-gen- 
eral, and  major-general  early  in  1862.  On 
the  reorganization  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia,  in  June  of  the  latter  year,  when 
R.  E.  Lee  assumed  command.  General  Stu- 
art made  a  reconnoissance  with  one  thou- 
sand five  hundred  cavalry  and  four  guns, 
and  in  two  days  made  the  circuit  of  McClel- 
lan's  army,  producing  much  confusion  and 
gathering  useful  information,  and  losing  but 
one  man.  August  25,  1862,  he  captured 
part  of  Pope's  headquarters'  train,  including 
that  general's  private  baggage  and  official 
correspondence,   and  the  next  night,    in  a 


descent  upon  Manasses,  capturing  immense 
quantities  of  commissary  and  quartermaster 
store,  eight  guns,  a  number  of  locomotives 
and  a  few  hundred  prisoners.  During  the 
invasion  of  Maryland,  in  September,  1862, 
General  Stuart  acted  as  rearguard,  resisting 
the  advance  of  the  Federal  cavalry  at  South 
Mountain,  and  at  Antietam  commanded  the 
Confederate  left.  Shortly  after  he  crossed 
the  Potomac,  making  a  raid  as  far  as  Cham- 
bersburg,  Pennsylvania.  In  the  .battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  December  13,  1862,  Gen- 
eral Stuart's  command  was  on  the  extreme 
right  of  the  Confederate  line.  At  Chancel- 
lorsville,  after  "Stonewall  "  Jackson's  death 
and  the  wounding  of  General  A.  P.  Hill, 
General  Stuart  assumed  command  of  Jack- 
son's corps,  which  he  led  in  the  severe  con- 
test of  May  3,  1863.  Early  in  June,  the 
same  year,  a  large  force  of  cavalry  was 
gathered  under  Stuart,  at  Culpepper,  Vir- 
ginia, which,  advancing  to  join  General  Lee 
in  his  invasion  of  Pennsylvania,  was  met  at 
Brandy  Station,  by  two  divisions  of  cavalry 
and  two  brigades  of  infantry,  under  General 
John  I.  Gregg,  and  driven  back.  During  the 
movements  of  the  Gettysburg  campaign  he 
rendered  important  services.  In  May,  1864, 
General  Stuart  succeeded,  by  a  detour,  in 
placing  himself  between  Richmond  and 
Sheridan's  advancing  column,  and  at  Yellow 
Tavern  was  attacked  in  force.  During  the 
fierce  conflict  that  ensued  General  Stuart 
was  mortally  wounded,  and  died  at  Rich- 
mond, May  II,  1864. 


FRANKLIN  PIERCE,  the  fourteenth 
president  of  the  United  States — from 
1853  until  1857 — was  born  November  23, 
1804,  at  Hillsboro,  New  Hampshire.  He 
came  of  old  revolutionary  stock  and  his 
father  was  a  governor  of  the  state.  Mr. 
Pierce  entered  Bowdoin    College  in    1820, 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHl^. 


12S 


was  graduatea  in  1824,  and  took  up  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Wood- 
bury, and  later  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
Mr.  Pierce  practiced  his  profession  with 
varying  successes  in  his  native  town  and 
also  in  Concord.  He  was  elected  to  the 
state  legislature  in  1833  and  served  in  that 
body  until  1837,  the  last  two  years  of  his 
term  serving  as  speaker  of  the  house.  He 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate  in 
1837,  just  as  President  Van  Buren  began 
his  term  of  office.  Mr.  Pierce  served  until 
1842,  and  many  times  during  Polk's  term  he 
decHned  important  public  offices.  During 
the  war  with  Mexico  Mr.  Pierce  was  ap- 
pointed brigadier-general,  and  he  embarked 
with  a  portion  of  his  troops  at  Newport, 
Rhode  Island,  May  27,  1847,  and  went  with 
them  to  the  field  of  battle.  He  served 
through  the  war  and  distinguished  himself 
by  his  skill,  bravery  and  excellent  judg- 
ment. When  he  reached  his  home  in  his 
native  state  he  was  received  coldly  by  the 
opponents  of  the  war,  but  the  advocates  of 
the  war  made  up  for  his  cold  reception  by 
the  enthusiastic  welcome  which  they  ac- 
corded him.  Mr.  Pierce  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession,  and  in  the  political 
strife  that  followed  he  gave  his  support  to 
the  pro-slavery  wing  of  the  Democratic 
party.  The  Democratic  convention  met  in 
Baltimore,  June  12,  1852,  to  nominate  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency,  and  they  con- 
tinued in  session  four  days,  and  in  thirty- 
five  ballotings  no  one  had  secured  the  re- 
quisite two-thirds  vote.  Mr.  Pierce  had  not 
received  a  vote  as  yet,  until  the  Virginia 
delegation  brought  his  name  forward,  and 
finally  on  the  forty-ninth  ballot  Mr.  Pierce 
received  282  votes  and  all  the  other  candi- 
dates eleven.  His  opponent  on  the  Whig 
ticket  was  General  Winfield  Scott,  who 
only  received   the  electoral  votes    of    four 


states.  Mr.  Pierce  was  inaugurated  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  March  4,  1853, 
with  W.  R.  King  as  vice  president,  and  the 
following  named  gentlemen  were  afterward 
chosen  to  fill  the  positions  in  the  cabinet: 
William"  S.  Marcy,  James  Guthrie,  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  James  C.  Dobbin,  Robert  Mc- 
Clelland, James  Campbell  and  Caleb  Gush- 
ing. During  the  administration  of  President 
Pierce  the  Missouri  compromise  law  was 
repealed,  and  all  the  territories  of  the  Union 
were  thrown  open  to  slavery,  and  the  dis-. 
turbances  in  Kansas  occurred.  In  1857  he 
was  succeeded  in  the  presidency  by  James 
Buchanan,  and  retired  to  his  home  in  Con- 
cord, New  Hampshire.  He  always  cherished 
his  principles  of  slavery,  and  at  the  out- 
break of  the  rebellion  he  was  an  adherent  of 
the  cause  of  the  Confederacy.  He  died  at 
Concord,  New  Hampshire,  October  8,  1869. 


JAMES  B.  WEAVER,  well  known  as  a 
leader  of  the  Greenback  and  later  of  the 
Populist  party,  was  born  at  Dayton,  Ohio, 
June  12,  1833.  He  received  his  earlier 
education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  town,, 
and  entered  the  law  department  of  the  Ohio 
University,  at  Cincinnati,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1854.  Removing  to  the  grow- 
ing state  of  Iowa,  he  became  connected 
with  "The  Iowa  Tribune,"  at  the  state 
capital,  Des  Moines,  as  one  of  its  editors. 
He  afterward  practiced  law  and  was  elected 
district  attorney  for  the  second  judicial  dis- 
trict of  Iowa,  on  the  Republican  ticket  ia 
1866,  which  office  he  held  for  a  short  time. 
In  1867  Mr.  Weaver  was  appointed  assessor 
of  internal  revenue  for  the  first  district  of 
Iowa,  and  filled  that  position  until  some- 
time in  1873.  He  was  elected  and  served 
in  the  forty-sixth  congress.  In  1880  the 
National  or  Greenback  party  in  convention 
at  Chicago,  nominated  James  B.  Weaver  as 


124 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BI0GRAPH7. 


its  candidate  for  the  presidency.  By  a 
union  of  the  Democratic  and  National 
parties  in  his  district,  he  was  elected  to  the 
forty-ninth  congress,  and  re-elected  to  the 
same  office  in  the  fall  of  1886.  Mr.  Weaver 
was  conceded  to  be  a  very  fluent  speaker, 
and  quite  active  in  all  political  work.  On 
July  4,  1892,  at  the  National  convention 
of  the  People's  party,  General  James  B. 
Weaver  was  chosen  as  the  candidate  for 
president  of  that  organization,  and  during 
the  campaign  that  followed,  gained  a  na- 
tional reputation. 


ANTHONY  JOSEPH  DREXEL,  one 
of  the  leading  bankers  and  financiers  of 
the  United  States,  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1826,  and  was  the  son  of 
Francis  M.  Drexel,  who  had  established 
the  large  banking  institution  of  Drexel  & 
Co.,  so  well  known.  The  latter  was  a  native 
of  Dornbirn,  in  the  Austrian  Tyrol.  He 
studied  languages  and  fine  arts  at  Turin, 
Italy.  On  returning  to  his  mountain  home, 
in  1809,  and  finding  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
French,  he  went  to  Switzerland  and  later 
to  Paris.  In  18 12,  after  a  short  visit  home, 
he  went  to  Berlin,  where  he  studied  paint- 
ing until  18 1 7,  in  which  year  he  emigrated 
to  America,  and  settled  in  Philadelphia.  A 
few  years  later  he  went  to  Chili  and  Peru, 
where  he  executed  some  fine  portraits  of 
notable  people,  including  General  Simon 
Bolivar.  After  spending  some  time  in  Mex- 
ico, he  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  banking  business.  In  1837  he 
founded  the  house  of  Drexel  &  Co.  He 
died  in  1837,  ^"d  was  succeeded  by  his  two 
sons,  Anthony  J.  and  Francis  A.  His  son, 
Anthony  J.  Drexel,  Jr. ,  entered  the  bank 
when  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  before  he 
was  through  with  his  schooling,  and  after 
that  the  history  of  the  banking  business  of 


which  he  was  the  head,  was  the  history  of  his 
life.  The  New  York  house  of  Dre.xel,  Mor- 
gan &  Co.  was  established  in  1850;  the 
Paris  house,  Drexel,  Harjes  &  Co., in  1867. 
The  Drexel  banking  houses  have  supplied 
iand  placed  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars 
n  government,  corporation,  railroad  and 
other  loans  and  securities.  The  reputation 
of  the  houses  has  always  been  held  on  the 
highest  plane.  Mr.  Drexel  founded  and 
heavily  endowed  the  Drexel  Institute,  in 
Philadelphia,  an  institution  to  furnish  better 
and  wider  avenues  of  employment  to  young 
people  of  both  sexes.  It  has  departments 
of  arts,  science,  mechanical  arts  and  domes- 
tic economy.  Mr.  Drexel,  Jr. ,  departed  this 
life  June  30,  1893. 


SAMUEL  FINLEY  BREESE  MORSE, 
inventor  of  the  recording  telegraph  in- 
strument, was  born  in  Charlestown,  Massa- 
chusetts, April  27,  1791.  He  graduated 
from  Yale  College  in  18 10,  and  took  up  art 
as  his  profession.  He  went  to  London  with 
the  great  American  painter,  Washington 
Allston,  and  studied  in  the  Royal  Academy 
under  Benjamin  West.  His  "Dying  Her- 
cules," his  first  effort  in  sculpture,  took  the 
gold  medal  in  181 3.  He  returned  to  Amer- 
ica in  181 5  and  continued  to  pursue  his 
profession.  He  was  greatly  interested  in 
scientific  studies,  which  he  carried  on  in 
connection  with  other  labors.  He  founded 
the  National  Academy  of  Design  and  was 
many  years  its  president.  He  returned  to 
Europe  and  spent  three  years  in  study 
in  the  art  centers,  Rome,  Florence,  Venice 
and  Paris.  In  1832  he  returned  to  America 
and  while  on  the  return  voyage  the  idea  of 
a  recording  telegraph  apparatus  occurred  to 
him,  and  he  made  a  drawing  to  represent  his 
conception.  He  was  the  first  to  occupy  the 
chair  of    fine  arts  in  the  University  of  New 


COMPENDIUM    OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


125 


'Vork  City,  and  in  1835  lie  set  up  his  rude 
instrument  in  his  room  in  the  university. 
But  it  was  not  until  after  many  years  of 
discouragement  and  reverses  of  fortune  that 
lie  finally  was  successful  in  placing  his  inven- 
tion before  the  public.  In  1844,  by  aid  of 
the  United  States  government,  he  had  con- 
structed a  telegraph  line  forty  miles  in  length 
from  Washington  to  Baltimore.  Over  this 
line  the  test  was  made,  and  the  first  tele- 
graphic message  was  flashed  May  24,  1844. 
from  the  United  States  supreme  court  rooms 
to  Baltimore.  It  read,  "What  hath  God 
wrought!"  His  fame  and  fortune  were  es- 
tablished in  an  instant.  Wealth  and  honors 
poured  in  upon  him  from  that  day.  The 
nations  of  Europe  vied  with  each  other 
in  honoring  the  great  inventor  with  medals, 
titles  and  decorations,  and  the  learned 
societies  of  Europe  hastened  to  enroll  his 
name  upon  their  membership  lists  and  confer 
degrees.  In  1858  he  was  the  recipient  of  an 
honor  never  accorded  to  an  inventor  before. 
The  ten  leading  nations  of  Europe,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  Emporer  Napoleon,  ap- 
pointed representatives  to  an  international 
congress,  which  convened  at  Paris  for  the 
special  purpose  of  expressing  gratitude  of  the 
nations,  and  they  voted  him  a  present  of 
400,000  francs. 

Professor  Morse  was  present  at  the  unveil- 
ing of  a  bronze  statue  erected  in  his  honor  in 
Central  Park,  New  York,  in  1871.  His  last 
appearance  in  public  was  at  the  unveiling 
of  the  statue  of  Benjamin  Franklin  in  New 
York  in  1872,  when  he  made  the  dedica- 
tory speech  and  unveiled  the  statue.  .  He 
died  April  2,  1872,  in  the  city  of  New  York. 


MORRISON  REMICH  WAITE,  seventh 
chief  justice  of  the  United  States,  was 
born  at  Lyme,  Connecticut,  November  29, 
j8i6.     He  was  a  graduate  from  Yale  Col- 


lege in  1837,  in  the  class  with  William  M. 
Evarts.  His  father  was  judge  of  the  su- 
preme court  of  errors  of  the  state  of  Con- 
necticut, and  in  his  office  young  Waite 
studied  law.  He  subsequently  removed  to 
Ohio,  and  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of 
that  state  in  1849.  He  removed  from 
Maumee  City  to  Toledo  and  became  a  prom- 
inent legal  light  in  that  state.  He  was 
nominated  as  a  candidate  for  congress  re- 
peatedly but  declined  to  run,  and  also  de- 
cHned  a  place  on  the  supreme  bench  of  the 
state.  He  won  great  distinction  for  his  able 
handling  of  the  Alabama  claims  at  Geneva, 
before  the  arbitration  tribunal  in  1871,  and 
was  appointed  chief  justice  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  United  States  in  1874  on  the 
death  of  Judge  Chase.  When,  in  1876,  elec- 
toral commissioners  were  chosen  to  decide 
the  presidential  election  controversy  between 
Tilden  and  Hayes,  Judge  Waite  refused  to 
serve  on  that  commission. 

His  death  occurred  March  23,  1888. 


ELISHA  KENT  KANE  was  one  of  the 
distinguished  American  explorers  of  the 
unknown  regions  of  the  frozen  north,  and 
gave  to  the  world  a  more  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  the  Arctic  zone.  Dr.  Kane  was 
born  February  3,  1820,  at  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the 
universities  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania, 
and  took  his  medical  degree  in  1843.  He 
entered  the  service  of  the  United  States 
navy,  and  was  physician  to  the  Chinese 
embassy.  Dr.  Kane  traveled  extensively 
in  the  Levant,  Asia  and  Western  Africa, 
and  also  served  in  the  Mexican  war,  in 
which  he  was  severely  wounded.  His 
first  Arctic  expedition  was  under  De  Haven 
in  the  first  Grinnell  expedition  in  search 
of  Sir  John  Franklin  in  1850.  He  com- 
manded   the    second    Grinnell    expedition 


126 


COMPENDIUM  OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


in  1853-55,  and  discovered  an  open  polar 
sea.  For  this  expedition  he  received  a  gold 
medal  and  other  distinctions.  He  published 
a  narrative  of  his  first  polar  expedition  in 
1853,  and  in  1856  published  two  volumes 
relating  to  his  second  polar  expedition.  He 
was  a  man  of  active,  enterprising  and  cour- 
ageous spirit.  His  health,  which  was  al- 
ways delicate,  was  impaired  by  the  hard- 
ships of  his  Arctic  expeditions,  from  which 
he  never  fully  recovered  and  from  which  he 
died  February  16,  1857,  at  Havana. 


ELIZABETH  CADY  STANTON  was  a 
daughter  of  Judge  Daniel  Cady  and 
Margaret  Livingston,  and  was- born  Novem- 
])eri2,  1815,  at  Johnstown,  New  York.  She 
was  educated  at  the  Johnstown  Academy, 
where  she  studied  with  a  class  of  boys,  and 
Was  fitted  for  college  at  the  age  of  fifteen, 
■ifter  which  she  pursued  her  studies  at  Mrs. 
Willard's  Seminary,  at  Troy.  Her  atten- 
tion was  called  to  the  disabilities  of  her  sex 
by  her  own  educational  experiences,  and 
through  a  study  of  Blackstone,  Story,  and 
Kent.  Miss  Cady  was  married  to  Henry  B. 
Stanton  in  1840,  and  accompanied  him  to 
the  world's  anti-slavery  convention  in  Lon- 
don. While  there  she  made  the  acquain- 
tance of  Lucretia  Mott.  Mrs.  Stanton 
resided  at  Boston  until  1847,  when  the 
family  moved  to  Seneca  Falls,  New  York, 
and  she  and  Lucretia  Mott  signed  the  first 
call  for  a  woman's  rights  convention.  The 
meeting  was  held  at  her  place  of  residence 
July  19-20,  1848.  This  was  the  first  oc- 
casion of  a  formal  claim  of  suffrage  for 
women  that  was  made.  Mrs.  Stanton  ad- 
dressed the  New  York  legislature,  in  1854, 
on  the  rights  of  married  women,  and  in 
i860,  in  advocacy  of  the  granting  of  di- 
vorce for  drunkenness.  She  also  addressed 
the  legislature  and  the    constitutional  con- 


vention, and  maintained  that  during  the 
revision  of  the  constitution  the  state  was 
resolved  into  its  original  elements,  and  that 
all  citizens  had,  therefore,  a  right  to  vote 
for  the  members  of  that  convention.  After 
1869  Mrs.  Stanton  frequently  addressed 
congressional  committees  and  state  consti- 
iutional  conventions,  and  she  canvassed 
Kansas,  Michigan,  and  other  states  when 
the  question  of  woman  suffrage  was  sub- 
mitted in  those  states.  Mrs.  Stanton  was 
one  of  the  editors  of  the  "  Revolution,"  and 
most  of  the  calls  and  resolutions  for  con- 
ventions have  come  from  her  pen.  She 
was  president  of  the  national  committee, 
also  of  the  Woman's  Loyal  League,  and 
of  the  National  Association,  for  many  years. 

DAVID  DUDLEY  FIELD,  a  great 
American  jurist,  was  born  in  Connecti- 
cut in  1805.  He  en^o^ca  Williams  College 
when  sixteen  years  old,  and  commenced  the 
study  of  law  in  1825.  In  1828  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and  went  to  New  York, 
where  he  soon  came  into  prominence  be- 
fore the  bar  of  that  state.  He  entered  upon 
the  labor  of  reforming  the  practice  and 
procedure,  which  was  then  based  upon  the 
common  law  practice  of  England,  and  had 
become  extremely  complicated,  difficult  and 
uncertain  in  its  application.  His  first  paper 
on  this  subject  was  published  in  1839,  and 
after  eight  years  of  continuous  efforts  in  this 
direction,  he  was  appointed  one  of  a  com- 
mission by  New  York  to  reform  the  practice 
of  that  state.  The  result  was  embodied  in 
the  two  codes  of  procedure,  civil  and  crimi- 
nal, the  first  of  which  was  adopted  almost 
entire  by  the  state  of  New  York,  and  has 
since  been  adopted  by  more  than  half  the 
states  in  the  Union,  and  became  the  basis 
of  the  new  practice  and  procedure  in  Eng- 
land, contained  in  the  Judicature  act.      He 


COMPENDIUM,  OF   BIOGRAPHY 


127 


was  later  appointed  chairman  of  a  new  com- 
mission to  codify  the  entire  body  of  laws. 
This  great  work  employed  many  years  in  its 
completion,  but  when  finished  it  embraced 
a  civil,  penal,  and  political  code,  covering 
the  entire  field  of  American  laws,  statutory 
and  common.  This  great  body  of  law  was 
adopted  by  California  and  Dakota  territory 
in  its  entirety,  and  many  other  states  have 
since  adopted  its  substance.  In  1867  the 
British  Association  for  Social  Science  heard 
a  proposition  from  Mr.  Field  to  prepare  an 
international  code.  This  led  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  "  Draft  Outlines  of  an  Interna- 
tional Code,"  which  was  in  fact  a  complete 
body  of  international  laws,  and  introduced 
the  principle  of  arbitration.  Other  of  his 
codes  of  the  state  of  New  York  have  since 
been  adopted  by  that  state. 

In  addition  to  his  great  works  on  law, 
Mr.  Field  indulged  his  literary  tastes  by  fre- 
quent contributions  to  general  literature, 
and  his  articles  on  travels,  literature,  and 
the  political  questions  of  the  hour  gave 
him  rank  with  the  best  writers  of  his  time. 
His  father  was  the  Rev.  David  Dudley  Field, 
and  his  brothers  were  Cyrus  W.  Field,  Rev. 
Henry  Martin  Field,  and  Justice  Stephen 
J.  Field  of  the  United  States  supreme 
court.  David  Dudley  Field  died  at  New 
York,  April  13,  1894. 


HENRY  M.  TELLER,  a  celebrated 
American  politician,  and  secretary  of 
the  interior  under  President  Arthur,  was  born 
May  23,  1830,  in  Allegany  county,  New 
York.  He  was  of  Hollandish  ancestry  and 
received  an  excellent  education,  after  which 
he  took  up  the  study  of  law  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  the  state  of  New  York. 
Mr.  Teller  removed  to  Illinois  in  January, 
1858,  and  practiced  for  three  years  in  that 
state.      From  thence  he  moved  to  Colorado 


in  1 86 1  and  located  at  Central  City,  which 
was  then  one  of  the  principal  mining  towns 
in  the  state.  His  exceptional  abilities  as 
a  lawyer  soon  brought  him  into  prominence 
and  gained  for  him  a  numerous  and  profit- 
able clientage.  In  politics  he  affiliated  with 
the  Republican  party,  but  declined  to  become 
a  candidate  for  office  until  the  admission  of 
Colorado  into  the  Union  as  a  state,  when 
he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate. 
Mr.  Teller  drew  the  term  ending  March 
4,  1877,  but  was  re-elected  December  11, 
1876,  and  served  until  April  17,  1882,  when 
he  was  appointed  by  President  Arthur  as 
secretary  of  the  interior.  He  accepted  a 
cabinet  position  with  reluctance,  and  on 
March  3,  1885,  he  retired  from  the  cabinet, 
having  been  elected  to  the  senate  a  short 
time  before  to  succeed  Nathaniel  P.  HilL 
Mr.  Teller  took  his. seat  on  March  4,  1885, 
in  the  senate,  to  which  he  was  afterward 
re-elected.  He  served  as  chairman  on  the 
committee  of  pensions,  patents,  mines  and 
mining,  and  was  also  a  member  of  commit- 
tees on  claims,  railroads,  privileges  ,and 
elections  and  public  lands.  Mr.  Teller  came 
to  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest  advo- 
cates of  the  silver  cause.  He  was  one  of  the 
delegates  to  the  Republican  National  conven- 
tion at  St.  Louis  in  1896,  ,in  which  he  took 
an  active  part  and  tried  to  Jiave  a  silver 
plank  inserted  in  the:.platforni  of  the  party. 
Failing  in  this  he  ,felt  impelled  to  bolt  the 
convention,  which  he  did  and  joined  forces 
with  the  great  silver  movement  in  the  cam- 
paign which  followed,  being  recognized  in 
that  campaign  as  one  of  the  most  able  and 
eminent  advocates  of  "silver"   in   America. 


JOHN  ERICSSON,  an  eminent  inven- 
tor and  machinist,  who  won  fame  in 
America,  was  born  in  Sweden,  July  31,  1803. 
In  early  childhood  he  evinced  a  decided  in- 


128 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


ciination  to  mechanical  pursuits,  and  at  the 
age  of  eleven  he  was  appointed  to  a  cadet- 
ship  in  the  enj^ineer  corps,  and  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy. 
Jn  1826  he  introduced  a  "flame  engine," 
which  he  had  invented,  and  offered  it  to 
English  capitalists,  but  it  was  found  that  it 
could  be  operated  only  by  the  use  of  wood 
for  fuel.  Shortly  after  this  he  resigned  his 
commission  in  the  army  of  Sweden,  and  de- 
voted himself  to  mechanical  pursuits.  He 
discovered  and  introduced  the  principle  of 
artificial  draughts  in  steam  boilers,  and  re- 
ceived a  prize  of  two  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  for  his  locomotive,  the  "Novelty," 
which  attained  a  great  speed,  for  that  day. 
The  artificial  draught  effected  a  great  saving 
in  fuel  and  made  unnecessary  the  huge 
smoke-stacks  formerly  used,  and  the  princi- 
ple is  still  applied,  in  modified  form,  in  boil- 
ers. He  also  invented  a  steam  fire-engine, 
and  later  a  hot-air  engine,  which  he  at- 
tempted to  apply  in  the  operation  of  his 
ship,  "Ericsson,"  but  as  it  did  not  give  the 
speed  required,  he  abandoned  it,  but  after- 
wards applied  it  to  machinery  for  pumping, 
hoisting,  etc. 

Ericsson  was  first  to  apply  the  screw 
propeller  to  navigation.  The  English  peo- 
ple not  receiving  this  new  departure  readily, 
Ericsson  came  to  America  in  1839,  and 
built  the  United  States  steamer,  "Prince- 
ton, "  in  which  the  screw-propeller  was  util- 
ized, the  first  steamer  ever  built  in  which 
the  propeller  was  under  water,  out  of  range 
of  the  enemy's  shots.  The  achievement 
•which  gave  him  greatest  renown,  however, 
was  the  ironclad  vessel,  the  "Monitor,"  an 
entirely  new  type  of  vessel,  which,  in  March, 
1862,  attacked  the  Confederate  monster 
ironclad  ram,  "Virginia,"  and  after  a  fierce 
struggle,  compelled  her  to  withdraw  from 
Hampton  Roads  for  repairs.      After  the  war 


one  of  his  most  noted  inventions  was  his 
vessel,  "  Destroyer,"  with  a  submarine  gun, 
which  carried  a  projectile  torpedo.  In  1886 
the  king  of  Spain  conferred  on  him  the 
grand  cross  of  the  Order  of  Naval  Merit. 
He  died  in  March,  1889,  and  his  body  was 
transferred,  with  naval  honors,  to  the  country 
of  his  birth. 

JAMES  BUCHANAN,  the  fifteenth  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  was  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  born  in  Franklin 
county,  April  23,  1791.  He  was  of  Irish 
ancestry,  his  father  having  come  to  this 
country  in  1783,  in  quite  humble  circum- 
stances, and  settled  in  the  western  part  of 
the  Keystone  state. 

James  Buchanan  remained  in  his  se- 
cluded home  for  eight  years,  enjoying  but 
few  social  or  intellectual  advantages.  His 
parents  were  industrious  and  frugal,  and 
prospered,  and,  in  1799,  the  family  removed 
to  Mercersbur  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
was  placed  in  school.  His  progress  was 
rapid,  and  in  1801  he  entered  Dickinson 
College,  at  Carlisle,  where  he  took  his  place 
among  the  best  scholars  in  the  institution. 
In  1809  he  graduated  with  the  highest  hon- 
ors in  his  class.  He  was  then  eighteen,  tall, 
graceful  and  in  vigorous  health.  He  corr.- 
menced  the  study  of  law  at  Lancaster,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1812.  He  rose 
very  rapidly  in  his  profession  and  took  a 
stand  with  the  ablest  of  his  fellow  lawyers. 
When  but  twenty-six  years  old  he  success- 
fully defended,  unaided  by  counsel,  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  state  who  was  before  the 
bar  of  the  state  senate  under  articles  of  im- 
peachment. 

During  the  war  of  1812-15,  Mr.  Buch- 
anan sustained  the  government  with  all  his 
power,  eloquently  urging  the  vigorous  prose- 
cution of  the  war,  and  enlisted  as  a  private 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


129 


volunteer  to  assist  in  repelling  the  British 
who  had  sacked  and  burned  the  public 
buildings  of  Washington  and  threatened 
Baltimore.  At  that  time  Buchanan  was 
a  Federalist,  but  the  opposition  of  that 
party  to  the  war  with  Great  Britain  and  the 
alien  and  sedition  laws  of  John  Adams, 
Tarought  that  party  into  disrepute,  and  drove 
many,  among  them  Buchanan,  into  the  Re- 
publican, or  anti-Federalist  ranks.  He  was 
elected  to  congress  in  1828.  In  1831  he 
was  sent  as  minister  to  Russia,  and  upon 
his  return  to  this  country,  in  1833,  was  ele- 
vated to  the  United  States  senate,  and  re- 
mained in  that  position  for  twelve  years. 
Upon  the  accession  of  President  Polk  to 
office  he  made  Mr.  Buchanan  secretary  of 
state.  Four  years  later  he  retired  to  pri- 
vate life,  and  in  1853  he  was  honored  with 
the  mission  to  England.  In  1856  the  na- 
tional Democratic  convention  nominated 
him  for  the  presidency  and  he  was  elected. 
It  was  during  his  administration  that  the 
rising  tide  of  the  secession  movement  over- 
took the  country.  Mr.  Buchanan  declared 
that  the  national  constitution  gave  him  no 
power  to  do  anything  against  the  movement 
to  break  up  the  Union.  After  his  succession 
by  Abraham  Lincoln  in  i860,  Mr.  Buchanan 
retired  to  his  home  at  Wheatland,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  died  June  i,   1868. 


JOHN  HARVARD,  the  founder  of  the 
Harvard  University,  was  born  in  Eng- 
land about  the  year  1608.  He  received  his 
education  at  Emanuel  College,  Cambridge, 
and  came  to  America  in  1637,  settling  in 
Massachusetts.  He  was  a  non-conformist 
minister,  and  a  tract  of  land  was  set  aside 
for  him  in  Charlestown,  near  Boston.  He 
was  at  once  appointed  one  of  a  committee  to 
formulate  a  body  of  laws  for  the  colony. 
One  year  before  his  arrival  in   the  colony 


the  general  court  had  voted  the  sum  of  four 
hundred  pounds  toward  the  establishment  of 
a  school  or  college,  half  of  which  was  to  be 
paid  the  next  year  In  1637  preliminary 
plans  were  made  for  starting  the  school.  In 
1638  John  Harvard,  who  had  shown  great 
interest  in  the  new  institution  of  learning 
proposed,  died,  leaving  his  entire  property, 
about  twice  the  sum  originally  voted,  to  the 
school,  together  with  three  hundred  volumes 
as  a  nucleus  for  a  library.  The  institution 
was  then  given  the  name  of  Harvard,  and 
established  at  Newton  (now  Cambridge), 
Massachusetts.  It  grew  to  be  one  of  the  two 
principal  seats  of  learning  in  the  new  world, 
and  has  maintained  its  reputation  since.  It 
now  consists  of  twenty-two  separate  build- 
ings, and  its  curriculum  embraces  over  one 
hundred  and  seventy  elective  courses,  and  it 
ranks  among  the  great  universities  of  the 
world. 


ROGER  BROOIvE  TANEY,  a  noted 
jurist  and  chief  justice  of  the  United 
States  supreme  court,  was  born  in  Calvert 
county,  Maryland,  March  17,  1777.  He 
graduated  fiom  Dickinson  College  at  the 
age  of  eighteen,  took  up  the  study  of  law, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1799.  He 
was  chosen  to  the  legislature  from  his  county, 
and  in  1801  removed  to  Frederick,  Mary- 
land. He  became  United  States  senator 
from  Maryland  in  18 16,  and  took  up  his 
permanent  residence  in  Baltimore  a  few 
years  later.  In  1824  he  became  an  ardent 
admirer  and  supporter  of  Andrew  Jackson, 
and  upon  Jackson's  election  to  the  presi- 
dency, was  appointed  attorney  general  of 
the  United  States.  Two  years  later  he  was 
appointed  secretary  of  the  treasury,  and 
after  serving  in  that  capacity  for  nearly  one 
year,  the  senate  refused  to  confirm  the  ap- 
pointment.     In    1835,   upon    the    death  of 


130 


COMPENDIUM    OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


Chief-justice  Marshall,  he  was  appointed  to 
that  place,  and  a  political  change  having 
occurred  in  the  make  up  of  the  senate,  he 
was  confirmed  in  1836.  He  presided  at 
his  first  session  in  January  of  the  following 
year. 

The  case  which  suggests  itself  first  to 
the  average  reader  in  connection  with  this 
jurist  is  the  celebrated  "  Dred  Scott  "  case, 
which  came  before  the  supreme  court  for 
decision  in  1856.  In  his  opinion,  delivered 
on  behalf  of  a  majority  of  the  court,  one 
remarkable  statement  occurs  as  a  result  of 
an  exhaustive  survey  of  the  historical 
grounds,  to  the  effect  that  ' '  for  more  than 
a  century  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  con- 
stitution they  (Africans)  had  been  regarded 
so  far  inferior  that  they  had  no  rights  which 
a  white  man  was  bound  to  respect."  Judge 
Taney  retained  the  office  of  chief  justice 
until  his  death,  in  1864. 


JOHN  LOTHROP  MOTLEY.— This  gen- 
tleman had  a  world-wide  reputation  as 
an  historian,  which  placed  him  in  the  front 
rank  oi  the  great  men  of  America.  He  was 
born  April  15,  18 14,  at  Dorchester,  Massa- 
chusetts, was  given  a  thorough  preparatory 
education  and  then  attended  Harvard,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1831.  He  also 
studied  at  Gottingen  and  Berlin,  read  law 
and  in  1836  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In 
1 841  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the 
legation  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  in  1866-67 
served  as  United  States  minister  to  Austria, 
serving  in  the  same  capacity  during  1869 
and  1870  to  England.  In  1856,  after  long 
and  exhaustive  research  and  preparation, he 
published  in  London  "The  Rise  of  the 
Dutch  Republic."  It  embraced  three  vol- 
umes and  immediately  attracted  great  at- 
tention throughout  Europe  and  America  as 
a  work  of  unusual  merit.     From    1861   to 


1868  he  produced  "The  History  of  the 
United  Netherlands,"  in  four  volumes. 
Other  works  followed,  with  equal  success, 
and  his  position  as  one  of  the  foremost  his- 
torians and  writers  of  his  day  was  firmly 
established.  His  death  occured  May  29, 
1877.  

ELIAS  HOWE,  the  inventor  of  the  sew- 
ing machine,  well  deserves  to  be  classed 
among  the  great  and  noted  men  of  Amer- 
ica. He  was  the  son  of  a  miller  and  farmer 
and  was  born  at  Spencer,  Massachusetts, 
July  9,  1819.  In  1835  he  went  to  Lowell 
and  worked  there,  and  later  at  Boston,  in  the 
machine  shops.  His  first  sewing  machine 
was  completed  in  1 845 ,  and  he  patented  it  in 
1846,  laboring  with  the  greatest  persistency 
in  spite  of  poverty  and  hardships,  working 
for  a  time  as  an  engine  driver  on  a  railroad 
at  pauper  wages  and  with  broken  health. 
He  then  spent  two  years  of  unsuccessful  ex- 
ertion in  England,  striving  in  vain  to  bring- 
his  invention  into  public  notice  and  use. 
He  returned  to  the  United  States  in  almost 
hopeless  poverty,  to  find  that  his  patent 
had  been  violated.  At  last,  however,  he 
found  friends  who  assisted  him  financially, 
and  after  years  of  litigation  he  made  good 
his  claims  in  the  courts  in  1854.  His  inven- 
tion afterward  brought  him  a  large  fortune. 
During  the  Civil  war  he  volunteered  as  a 
private  in  the  Seventeenth  Connecticut  Vol- 
unteers, and  served  for  some  time.  During 
his  life  time  he  received  the  cross  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor  and  many  other  medals. 
His  death  occurred  October  3,  1867,  at 
Brooklyn,  New  York. 


PHILLIPS  BROOKS,  celebrated  as  an 
eloquent  preacher  and  able  pulpit  ora- 
tor, was  born  in  Boston  on  the  13th  day  of 
December,     1835.      He    received   excellent 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


131 


educational  advantages;  and  graduated  at 
Harvard  in  1855.  Early  in  life  he  decided 
upon  the  ministry  as  his  life  work  and 
studied  theology  in  the  Episcopal  Theolog- 
ical Seminary,  at  Alexandria,  Virginia.  In 
1859  he  was  ordained  and  the  same  year 
became  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Advent, 
in  Philadelphia.  Three  years  later  he  as- 
sumed the  pastorate  of  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  where  he  remained  until  1870. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  accepted 
the  pastoral  charge  of  Trinity  Church  in 
Boston,  where  his  eloquence  and  ability  at- 
tracted much  attention  and  built  up  a  pow- 
erful church  organization.  Dr.  Brooks  also 
devoted  considerable  time  to  lecturing  and 
literary  work  and  attained  prominence  in 
these  lines. 

WILLIAM  B.  ALLISON,  a  statesman 
of  national  reputation  and  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Republican  party,  was  born 
March  2,  1829,  at  Perry,  Ohio.  He  grew 
up  on  his  father's  farm,  which  he  assisted 
in  cultivating,  and  attended  the  district 
school.  When  si.xteen  years  old  he  went 
to  the  academy  at  Wooster,  and  subse- 
quently spent  a  year  at  the  Allegheny  Col- 
lege, at  Meadville,  Pennsylvania.  He  next 
taught  school  and  spent  another  year  at  the 
Western  Reserve  College,  at  Hudson,  Ohio. 
Mr.  Allison  then  took  up  the  study  of  law 
at  Wooster,  where  he  was  admitted  t©  the 
bar  in  185 1,  and  soon  obtained  a  position 
as  deputy  county  clerk.  His  political  lean- 
ings were  toward  the  old  line  Whigs,  who 
afterward  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Repub- 
lican party.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  state 
convention  in  1856,  in  the  campaign  of 
which  he  supported  Fremont  for  president. 
Mr,  Allison  removed  to  Dubuque,  Iowa, 
in  the  following  year.  He  rapidly  rose  to 
prominence  at  the  bar  and   in  politics.      In 


i860  he  was  chosen  as  a  delegate  to  the 
Republican  convention  held  in  Chicago,  of_ 
which  he  was  elected  one  of  the  secretaries. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  was  ap- 
pointed on  the  staff  of  the  governor.  His 
congressional  career  opened  in  1862,  when 
he  was  elected  to  the  thirty-eighth  congress; 
he  was  re-elected  three  times,  serving  from 
March  4,  1863,  to  March  3,  1871.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  ways  and  means  committee 
a  good  part  of  his  term.  His  career  in  the 
United  States  senate  began  in  1873,  and  he 
rapidly  rose  to  eminence  in  national  affairs, 
his  service  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  that 
body  being  marked  by  close  fealty  to  the 
Republican  party.  He  twice  declined  the 
portfolio  of  the  treasury  tendered  him  by 
Garfield  and  Harrison,  and  his  name  was 
prominently  mentioned  for  the  presidency 
at  several  national  Republican  conventions. 


MARY  ASHTON  LIVERMORE,  lec- 
turer and  writer,  was  born  in  Boston, 
December  19,  1821.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Timothy  Rice,  and  married  D.  P.  Liver- 
more,  a  preacher  of  the  Universalist  church. 
She  contributed  able  articles  to  many  of  the 
most  noted  periodicals  of  this  country  and 
England.  During  the  Civil  war  she  labored 
zealously  and  with  success  on  behalf  of  the 
sanitary  commission  which  played  so  impor- 
tant a  part  during  that  great  struggle.  She 
became  editor  of  the  "  Woman's  Journal," 
published  at  Boston  in  1870. 

She  held  a  prominent  place  as  a  public 
speaker  and  writer  on  woman's  suffrage, 
temperance,  social  and  religious  questions, 
and  her  influence  was  great  in  every  cause 
she  advocated. 


JOHN  B.    GOUGH,  a  noted  temperance 
lecturer,  who  won  his  fame  in  America, 
was  born  in  the  village  of  Sandgate,  Kent, 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


England,  August  22,  18 17.  He  came  to 
the  United  States  at  the  age  of  twelve. 
He  followed  the  trade  of  bookbinder,  and 
lived  in  great  poverty  on  account  of  the 
liquor  habit.  In  1843,  however,  he  re- 
formed, and  began  his  career  as  a  temper- 
ance lecturer.  He  worked  zealously  in  the 
cause  of  temperance,  and  his  lectures  and 
published  articles  revealed  great  earnestness. 
He  formed  temperance  societies  throughout 
the  entire  country,  and  labored  with  great 
success.  He  visited  England  in  the  same 
cause  about  the  year  1853  and  again  in 
1878.  He  also  lectured  upon  many  other 
topics,  in  which  he  attained  a  wide  reputa- 
tion.      His   death    occurred    February    18, 


THOMAS  BUCHANAN  READ,  author, 
sculptor  and  painter,  was  born  in  Ches- 
ter county,  Pennsylvania,  March  12,  1822. 
He  early  evinced  a  taste  for  art,  and  began 
the  study  of  sculpture  in  Cincinnati.  Later 
he  found  painting  more  to  his  liking.  He 
went  to  New  York,  where  he  followed  this 
profession,  and  later  to  Boston.  In  1846 
he  located  in  Philadelphia.  He  visited 
Italy  in  1850,  and  studied  at  Florence, 
where  he  resided  almost  continuously  for 
twenty-two  years.  He  returned  to  America 
in  1872,  and  died  in  New  York  May  11  of 
the  same  year. 

He  was  the  author  of  many  heroic 
poems,  but  the  one  giving  him  the  most  re- 
nown is  his  famous  "Sheridan's  Ride,"  of 
which  he  has  also  left  a  representation  in 
painting. 

EUGENE  V.  DEBS,  the  former  famous 
president  of  the  American  Railway 
Union,  and  great  labor  leader,  was  born  in 
the  city  of  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  in  1855. 
He  received    his    education    in   the    public 


schools  of  that  place  and  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  years  began  work  as  a  painter  in 
the  Vandalia  shops.  After  this,  for  some 
three  years,  he  was  employed  as  a  loco- 
motive fireman  on  the  same  road.  His 
first  appearance  in  public  life  was  in  his 
canvass  for  the  election  to  the  office  of  city 
clerk  of  Terre  Haute.  In  this  capacity  he 
served  two  terms,  and  when  twenty  six 
years  of  age  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
legislature  of  the  state  of  Indiana.  While 
a  member  of  that  body  he  secured  the 
passage  of  several  bills  in  the  interest  of 
organized  labor,  of  which  he  was  always 
a  faithful  champion.  Mr.  Debs'  speech 
nominating  Daniel  Voorhees  for  the  United 
States  senate  gave  him  a  wide  reputation  for 
oratory.  On  the  expiration  of  his  term  in 
the  legislature,  he  was  elected  grand  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  of  the  Brotherhood  of 
Locomotive  Fireman  and  filled  that  office 
for  fourteen  successive  years.  He  was 
always  an  earnest  advocate  of  confederation 
of  railroad  men  and  it  was  mainly  through 
his  efforts  that  the  United  Order  of  Railway 
Employes,  composed  of  the  Brotherhood 
of  Railway  Trainmen  and  Conductors, 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen  and 
the  Switchmen's  Mutual  Aid  Association  was 
formed,  and  he  became  a  member  of  its 
supreme  council.  The  order  was  dissolved 
by  disagreement  between  two  of  its  leading- 
orders,  and  then  Mr.  Debs  conceived  the 
idea  of  the  American  Railway  Union.  He 
worked  on  the  details  and  the  union  came 
into  existence  in  Chicago,  June  20, 1893.  For 
a  time  it  prospered  and  became  one  of  the 
largest  bodies  of  railway  men  in  the  world. 
It  won  in  a  contest  with  the  Great  Northern 
Railway.  In  the  strike  made  by  the  union 
in  sympathy  with  the  Pullman  employes 
inaugurated  in  Chicago  June  25,  1S94,  and 
the  consequent  rioting,    the    Railway  Union 


COMPENDIUM  OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


lost  much  prestige  and  Mr.  Debs,  in  company 
with  others  of  the  officers,  being  held  as  in  con- 
tempt of  the  United  States  courts,  he  suffered 
a  sentence  of  six  months  in  jail  at  Wood- 
stock, McHenry  county,  Illinois.  In  1897 
Mr.  Debs,  on  the  demise  of  the  American 
Railway  Union,  organized  the  Social 
Democracy,  an  institution  founded  on  the 
best  lines  of  the  communistic  idea,  which 
was  to  provide  homes  and  employment  for 
its  members. 


JOHN  G.  CARLISLE,  famous  as  a  law- 
yer, congressman,  senator  and  cabinet 
officer,  was  born  in  Campbell  (now  Kenton) 
county,  Kentucky,  September  5,  1835,  on  a 
farm.  He  received  the  usual  education  of 
the  time  and  began  at  an  early  age  to  teach 
school  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  study  of 
law.  Soon  opportunity  offered  and  he 
entered  an  office  in  Covington,  Kentucky, 
and  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar  in 
1858.  Politics  attracted  his  attention  and 
in  1859  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives in  the  legislature  of  his  native 
state.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  1861, 
he  embraced  the  cause  of  the  Union  and  was 
largely  instrumental  in  preserving  Kentucky 
to  the  federal  cause.  He  resumed  his  legal 
practice  for  a  time  and  declined  a  nomina- 
tion as  presidential  elector  in  1864.  In 
1866  and  again  in  1869  Mr.  Carlisle  was 
elected  to  the  senate  of  Kentucky.  He  re- 
signed this  position  in  1871  and  was  chosen 
lieutenant  governor  of  the  state,  which  office 
he  held  until  1875.  He  was  one  of  the 
presidential  electors-at-large  for  Ken- 
tucky in  1876.  He  first  entered  congress  in 
1877,  and  soon  became  a  prominent  leader 
on  the  Democratic  side  of  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives, and  continued  a  member  of 
that  body  through  the  forty-sixth,  forty- 
seventh,  forty-eighth   and  forty-ninth  con- 


gresses, and  was  speaker  of  the  house  during 
the  two  latter.  He  was  elected  to  the 
United  States  senate  to  succeed  Senator 
Blackburn,  and  remained  a  member  of  that 
branch  of  congress  until  March,  1893,  when 
he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  treasury. 
He  performed  the  duties  of  that  high  office 
until  March  4,  1897,  throughout  the  en- 
tire second  administration  of  President 
Cleveland.  His  ability  and  many  years  of 
public  service  gave  him  a  national  reputa- 
tion. 

FRANCES  E.  WILLARD,  for  many  years 
president  of  the  'Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union,  and  a  noted  American 
lecturer  and  writer,  was  born  in  Rochester, 
New  York,  September  28,  1839.  Graduating 
from  the  Northwestern  Female  College  at  the 
age  of  nineteen  she  began  teaching  and  met 
with  great  success  in  many  cities  of  the  west. 
She  was  made  directress  of  Genesee  Wes- 
leyan  Seminary  at  Lima,  Ohio,  in  1867,  and 
four  years  later  was  elected  president  of  the 
Evanston  College  for  young  ladies,  a  branch 
of  the  Northwestern  University. 

During  the  two  years  succeeding  1869 
she  traveled  extensively  in  Europe  and  the 
east,  visiting  Egypt  and  Palestine,  and 
gathering  materials  for  a  valuable  course  of 
lectures,  which  she  delivered  at  Chicago  on 
her  return.  She  became  very  popular,  and 
won  great  influence  in  the  temperance 
cause.  Her  work  as  president  of  the  Wo- 
man's Christian  Temperance  Union  greatly 
strengthened  that  society,  and  she  made 
frequent  trips  to  Europe  in  the  mterest  of 
that  cause. 

RICHARD  OLNEY.— Among  the  promi- 
nent men  who  were  members  of  the 
cabinet  of  President  Cleveland  in  his  second 
administration,  the  gentleman  whose  nama 


lU 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


heads  this  sketch  held  a  leading  place,  oc- 
cupying the  positions  of  attorney  general 
and  secretary  of  state. 

Mr.  Olney  came  from  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  honored  New  England  families; 
the  first  of  his  ancestors  to  come  from  Eng- 
land settled  in  Massachusetts  in  1635.  This 
was  Thomas  Olney.  He  was  a  friend  and 
co-religionist  of  Roger  Williams,  and  when 
the  latter  moved  to  what  is  now  Rhode 
Island,  went  with  him  and  became  one  of 
the  founders  of  Providence  Plantations. 

Richard  Olney  was  born  in  Oxford, 
Massachusetts,  in  1835,  and  received  the 
elements  of  his  earlier  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools  which  New  England  is  so  proud 
of.  He  entered  Brown  University,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1856,  and  passed  the 
Harvard  law  school  two  years  later.  He 
began  the  practice  of  his  profession  with 
Judge  B.  F.  Thomas,  a  prominent  man  of 
that  locality.  For  years  Richard  Olney  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  ■  and  most 
learned  lawyers  in  Massachusetts.  Twice 
he  was  offered  a  place  on  the  bench  of  the 
supreme  court  of  the  state,  but  both  times 
he  declined.  He  was  always  a  Democrat 
in  his  political  tenets,  and  for  many  years 
was  a  trusted  counsellor  of  members  of  that 
party.  In  1874  Mr.  Olney  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  legislature.  In  1876,  during 
the  heated  presidential  campaign,  to 
strengthen  the  cause  of  Mr.  Tilden  in  the 
New  England  states,  it  was  intimated  that 
in  the  event  of  that  gentleman's  election  to 
the  presidency,  Mr.  Olney  would  be  attor-' 
Bey  general. 

When  Grover  Cleveland  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  on  his  inaugura- 
tion in  March,  1893,  he  tendered  the  posi- 
tion of  attorney  generai  to  Richard  Olney. 
This  was  accepted,  and  that  gentleman  ful- 
^led  the  duties  of  the  office  until  the  death' 


of  Walter  Q.  Gresham,  in  May,  1895,  made 
vacant  the  position  of  secretary  of  state. 
This  post  was  filled  by  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  Olney.  While  occupying  the  later 
office,  Mr.  Olney  brought  himself  into  inter- 
national prominence  by  some  very  able  state 
papers. 

JOHN  JAY  KNOX,  for  many  years  comp- 
troller of  the  currency,  and  an  eminent 
financier,  was  born  in  Knoxboro,  Oneida 
county.  New  York,  May  19,  1828.  He  re- 
ceived a  good  education  and  graduated  at 
Hamilton  College  in  1849.  For  about 
thirteen  years  he  was  engaged  as  a  private 
banker,  or  in  a  position  in  a  bank,  where 
he  laid  the  foundation  of  his  knowledge  of 
the  laws  of  finance.  In  1862,  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  then  secretary  of  the  treasury,  ap- 
pointed him  to  an  office  in  that  department 
of  the  government,  and  later  he  had  charge 
of  the  mint  coinage  correspondence.  In  1867 
Mr.  Knox  was  made  deputy  comptroller 
of  the  currency,  and  in  that  capacity,  in 
1870,  he  made  two  reports  on  the  mint 
service,  with  a  codification  of  the  mint  and 
coinage  laws  of  the  United  States,  and 
suggesting  many  important  amendments 
These  reports  were  ordered  printed  by  reso- 
lution of  congress.  The  bill  which  he  pre- 
pared, with  some  slight  changes,  was  sub- 
sequently passed,  and  has  been  known  in 
history  as  the  "  Coinage  Act  of  1873." 

In  1872  Mr.  Knox  was  appointed  comp- 
troller of  the  currency,  and  held  that  re- 
sponsible position  until  18S4,  when  he  re- 
signed. He  then  accep>ted  the  position  of 
president  of  the  National  Bank  of  the  Re- 
public, of  New  York  City,  which  institution 
he  served  for  many  years.  He  was  the 
author  of  "  United  States  Notes,"  published 
in  1884.  In  the  reports  spoken  of  above,  a 
history  of  the  two  United  States    banks  i? 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


135 


given,  together  with  that  of  the  state  and 
national  banking  system,  and  much  valuable 
statistical  matter  relating  to  kindred  sub- 
jects. 

NATHANIEL  HAWTHORNE.— In  the 
opinion  of  many  critics  Hawthorne  is 
pronounced  the  foremost  American  novelist, 
and  in  his  peculiar  vein  of  romance  is  said 
to  be  without  a  peer.  His  reputation  is 
world-wide,  and  his  ability  as  a  writer  is 
recognized  abroad  as  well  as  at  home. 
He  was  born  July  4,  1804,  at  Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts. On  account  of  feeble  health  he 
spent  some  years  of  his  boyhood  on  a  farm 
near  Raymond,  Maine.  He  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  a  liberal  education  in  his  youth, 
and  entered  Bowdoin  College,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1825  in  the  same  class  with 
H  W  Longfellow  and  John  S.  C.  Abbott. 
He  then  returned  to  Salem,  where  he  gave 
his  attention  to  literature,  publishing  several 
tales  and  other  articles  in  various  periodi- 
cals. His  first  venture  in  the  field  of  ro- 
mance, "  Fanshaw,"  proved  a  failure.  In 
1836  he  removed  to  Boston,  and  became 
editor  of  the  "American  Magazine,"  which 
soon  passed  out  of  existence.  In  1837  he 
published  "  Twice  Told  Tales,"  which  were 
chiefly  made  up  of  his  former  contributions 
to  magazines.  In  1838-41  he  held  a  posi- 
tion in  the  Boston  custom  house,  but  later 
took  part  in  the  "Brook  farm  experiment," 
a  socialistic  idea  after  the  plan  of  Fourier. 
In  1843  he  was  married  and  took  up  his 
residence  at  the  old  parsonage  at  Concord, 
Massachusetts,  which  he  immortalized  in 
his  next  work,  "Mosses  From  an  Old 
Manse,"  published  in  1846.  From  the  lat- 
ter date  until  1850  he  was  surveyor  of  the 
port  of  Salem,  and  while  thus  employed 
wrote  one  of  his  strongest  works,  ' '  The 
Scarlet   Letter."     For  the  succeeding  two 


years  Lenox,  Massachusetts,  was  his  home, 
and  the  "  House  of  the  Seven  Gables"  was 
produced  there,  as  well  as  the  "  Blithedale 
Romance."  In  1852  he  published  a  "Life 
of  Franklin  Pierce,"  a  college  friend  whom 
he  warmly  regarded.  In  1853  he  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  consul  to  Liverpool, 
England,  where  he  remained  some  years, 
after  which  he  spent  some  time  in  Italy. 
On  returning  to  his  native  land  he  took  up 
his  residence  at  Concord,  Massachusetts. 
While  taking  a  trip  for  his  health  with  ex- 
President  Pierce,  he  died  at  Plymouth,  New 
Hampshire,  May  19,  1864.  In  addition  to 
the  works  mentioned  above  Mr.  Hawthorne 
gave  to  the  world  the  following  books: 
"  True  Stories  from  History,"  "The  Won- 
der Book,"  "  The  Snow  Image,"  "Tangle- 
wood  Tales,"  "The  Marble  Faun,"  and 
' '  Our  Old  Home. "  After  his  death  appeared 
a  series  of  "Notebooks,"  edited  by  his  wife, 
Sophia  P.  Hawthorne;  "  Septimius  Felton," 
edited  by  his  daughter,  Una,  and  "Dr. 
Grimshaw's  Secret,"  put  into  shape  by  his 
talented  son,  Julian.  He  left  an  unfinished 
work  called  "  Dolliver  Romance,"  which  has 
been  published  just  as  he  left  it. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  sixteenth  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  was  born 
February  12,  1809,  in  Larue  county  (Har- 
din county),  Kentucky,  in  a  log-cabin  near 
Hudgensville.  When  he  was  eight  years 
old  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Indiana, 
near  the  Ohio  river,  and  a  year  later  his 
mother  died.  His  father  then  married  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  (Bush)  Johnston,  of  Elizabeth- 
town,  Kentucky,  who  proved  a  kind  of  fos- 
ter-mother to  Abraham,  and  encouraged 
him  to  study.  He  worked  as  a  farm  hand 
and  as  a  clerk  in  a  store  at  Gentryville,  and 
was  noted  for  his  athletic  feats  and  strength, 
fondness    for  debate,   a  fund  of    humorous 


186 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


anecdote,  as  well  as  the  composition  of  rude 
verses.  He  made  a  trip  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen to  New  Orleans  on  a  flat-boat,  and  set- 
tled in  Illinois  in  1830.  He  assisted  his 
father  to  build  a  log  house  and  clear  a  farm 
on  the  Sangamon  river  near  Decatur,  Illinois, 
and  split  the  rails  with  which  to  fence  it.  In 
185 1  he  was  employed  in  the  building  of  a 
flat-boat  on  the  Sangamon,  and  to  run  it  to 
New  Orleans.  The  voyage  gave  him  anew 
insight  into  the  horrors  of  slavery  in  the 
south.  On  his  return  he  settled  at  New 
Salem  and  engaged,  first  as  a  clerk  in  a  store, 
then  as  grocer,  surveyor  and  postmaster,  and 
he  piloted  the  first  steamboat  that  as- 
cended the  Sangamon.  He  participated  in 
the  Black  Hawk  war  as  captain  of  volun- 
teers, and  after  his  return  he  studied  law, 
interested  himself  in  politics,  and  became 
prominent  locally  as  a  public  speaker.  He 
was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  1834  as  a 
"  Clay  Whig, "  and  began  at  once  to  dis- 
play a  command  of  language  and  forcible 
rhetoric  that  made  him  a  match  for  his 
more  cultured  opponents.  He  Vv-as  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1837,  and  began  prac- 
tice at  Springfield.  He  married  a  lady  of  a 
prominent  Kentucky  family  in  1842.  He 
was  active  in  the  presidential  campaigns  of 
1840  and  1844  and  was  an  elector  on  the 
Harrison  and  Clay  tickets,  and  was  elected 
to  congress  in  1846,  over  Peter  Cartwright. 
He  voted  for  the  Wilmot  proviso  and  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, and  opposed  the  war  with  Mexico,  but 
gained  little  prominence  during  his  two 
years'  service.  He  then  returned  to  Spring- 
field and  devoted  his  attention  to  law,  tak- 
ing little  interest  in  politics,  until  the  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  compromise  and  the  passage 
of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  in  1854.  This 
awakened  his  interest  in  politics  again  and 
he  attacked  the  champion  of  that   measure. 


Stephen  A.  Douglas,  in  a  speech  at  Spring- 
field that  made  him  famous,  and  is  said 
by  those  who  heard  it  to  be  the  greatest 
speech  of  his  life.  Lincoln  was  selected  as 
candidate  for  the  United  States  senate,  but 
was  defeated  by  Trumbull.  Upon  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  the  Whig 
party  suddenly  went  to  pieces,  and  the  Re- 
publican party  gathered  head.  At  the 
Bloomington  Republican  convention  in  1856 
Lincoln  made  an  effective  address  in  which' 
he  first  took  a  position  antagonistic  to  the  ex- 
istence of  slavery.  He  was  a  Fremont  elector 
and  received  a  strong  support  for  nomina- 
tion as  vice-president  in  the  Philadelphia 
convention.  In  1858  he  was  the  unanimous 
choice  of  the  Republicans  for  the  United 
States  senate,  and  the  great  campaign  of  de- 
bate which  followed  resulted  in  the  election 
of  Douglas,  but  established  Lincoln's  repu- 
tation as  the  leading  exponent  of  Republican 
doctrines.  He  began  to  be  mentioned  in 
Illinois  as  candidate  for  the  presidency,  and 
a  course  of  addresses  in  the  eastern  states 
attracted  favorable  attention.  When  the 
national  convention  met  at  Chicago,  his 
rivals.  Chase,  Seward,  Bates  and  others, 
were  compelled  to  retire  before  the  western 
giant,  and  he  was  nominated,  with  Hannibal 
Hamlin  as  his  running  mate.  The  Demo- 
cratic party  had  now  been  disrupted,  and 
Lincoln's  election  assured.  He  carried 
practically  every  northern  state,  and  the 
secession  of  South  Carolina,  followed  by  a 
number  of  the  gulf  states,  took  place  before 
his  inauguration.  Lincoln  is  the  only  presi- 
dent who  was  ever  compelled  to  reach 
Washington  in  a  secret  manner.  He  es- 
caped assassination  by  avoiding  Baltimore, 
and  was  quietly  inaugurated  March  4,  1S61. 
His  inaugural  address  was  firm  but  con- 
ciliatory, and  he  said  to  the  secessionists: 
"You  have    no  oath  registered   in   heaven 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


137 


to  destroy  the  government,  while  I  have  the 
most  solemn  one  to  preserve,  protect  and 
defend  it.'  He  made  up  his  cabinet  chiefly 
of  those  political  rivals  in  his  own  party — ■ 
Seward,  Chase,  Cameron,  Bates — and  se- 
cured the  co-operation  of  the  Douglas  Dem- 
ocrats. His  great  deeds,  amidst  the  heat 
and  turmoil  of  war,  were:  '  His  call  for 
seventy-five  thousand  volunteers,  and  the 
blockading  of  southern  ports;  calling  of  con- 
gress in  e.xtra  session,  July  14,  1861,  and 
obtaining  four  hundred  thousand  men  and 
four  hundred  million  dollars  for  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war;  appointing  Stanton  secre- 
tary of  war;  issuing  the  emancipation  proc- 
lamation; calling  three  hundred  thou- 
sand volunteers;  address  at  Gettysburg 
cemetery;  commissioned  Grant  as  lieuten- 
ant-general and  commander-in-chief  of  the 
armies  of  the  United  States;  his  second 
inaugural  address;  his  visit  to  the  army  be- 
fore Richmond,  and  his  entry  into  Rich- 
mond the  day  after  its  surrender. 

Abraham  Lincoln  v/as  shot  by  John 
Wi'kes  Booth  in  a  box  in  Ford's  theater 
at  Washington  the  night  of  April  14,  1865, 
and  expired  the  following  morning.  His 
body  was  buried  at  Oak  Ridge  cemetery, 
Springfield,  Illinois,  and  a  monument  com- 
memorating his  great  work  marks  his  resting 
place. 

STEPHEN  GIRARD,  the  celebrated 
philanthropist,  was  born  in  Bordeaux, 
France,  May  24,  1750.  He  became  a  sailor 
engaged  in  the  American  coast  trade,  and 
also  made  frequent  trips  to  the  West  Indies. 
During  the  Revolutionary  war  he  was  a 
grocer  and  liquor  seller  in  Philadelphia. 
He    married    in    that    city,    and    afterward 

'separated  from  his  wife.  After  the  war  he 
again  engaged  in  the  coast    and  West  India 

Ltrade,  and  his  fortune  began  to  accumulate 


from  receiving  goods  from  West  Indiaa 
planters  during  the  insurrection  in  Hayti, 
little  of  which  was  ever  called  for  again. 
He  became  a  private  banker  in  Philadelphia 
in  1 8 12,  and  afterward  was  a  director  in  the 
United  States  Bank.  He  made  much  money 
by  leasing  property  in  the  city  in  times  of 
depression,  and  upon  the  revival  of  industry 
sub-leasing  at  enormous  profit.  He  became 
the  wealthiest  citizen  of  the  United  States 
of  his  time. 

He  was  eccentric,  ungracious,  and  a 
freethinker.  He  had  few,  if  any,  friends  in 
his  lifetime.  However,  he  was  most  chari- 
tably disposed,  and  gave  to  charitable  in- 
stitutions and  schools  with  a  liberal  hand. 
He  did  more  than  any  one  else  to  relieve 
the  suffering  and  deprivations  during  the 
great  yellow  fever  scourge  in  Philadelphia, 
devoting  his  personal  attention  to  the  sick. 
He  endowed  and  made  a  free  institution, 
the  famous  Will's  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary 
of  Philadelphia — one  of  the  largest  institu- 
tions of  its  kind  in  the  world.  At  his  death 
practically  all  his  immense  wealth  was  be- 
queathed to  charitable  institutions,  more 
than  two  millions  of  dollars  going  to  the 
founding  of  Girard  College,  which  was  to 
be  devoted  to  the  education  and  training  of 
boys  between  the  ages  of  six  and  ten  years. 
Large  donations  were  also  made  to  institu- 
tions in  Philadelphia  and  New  Orleans. 
The  principal  building  of  Girard  College  is- 
the  most  magnificent  example  of  Greek 
architecture  in  America.  Girard  died  De- 
cember 26,  183 1. 


LOUIS  J.  R.  AGASSIZ,  the  eminent  nat- 
uralist and  geologist,  was  born  in  the 
parish  of  Motier,  near  Lake  Neuchatel,  Swit- 
zerland, May  28,  1807,  but  attained  his 
greatest  fame  after  becoming  an  American 
citizen.     He  studied  the  medical  sciences  at 


1S8 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


Zurich,  Heidelberg  and  Munich.  His  first 
work  was  a  Latin  description  of  the  fishes 
which  Martius  and  Spix  brought  from  Brazil. 
This  was  published  in  1 829-3 1  •  He  devoted 
much  time  to  the  study  of  fossil  fishes,  and 
in  1832  was  appointed  professor  of  natural 
history  at  Neuchatel.  He  greatly  increased 
his  reputation  by  a  great  work  in  French, 
entitled  " Researches  on  Fossil  Fishes,"  in 
1832-42,  in  which  he  made  many  important 
improvements  in  the  classification  of  fishes. 
Having  passed  many  summers  among  the 
Alps  in  researches  on  glaciers,  he  propounded 
some  new  and  interesting  ideas  on  geology, 
and  the  agency  of  glaciers  in  his  "Studies 
by  the  Glaciers."  This  was  published  in 
1840.  This  latter  work,  with  his  "  System 
of  the  Glaciers,"  published  in  1847,  are 
among  his  principal  works. 

In  1846,  Professor  Agassiz  crossed  the 
ocean  on  a  scientific  e.xcursion  to  the  United 
States,  and  soon  determined  to  remain  here. 
He  accepted,  about  the  beginning  of  1848, 
the  chair  of  zoology  and  geology  at  Harvard. 
He  explored  the  natural  history  of  the 
United  States  at  different  times  and  gave  an 
impulse  to  the  study  of  nature  in  this 
country.  In  1S65  he  conducted  an  expedi- 
tion to  Brazil,  and  explored  the  lower  Ama- 
zon and  its  tributaries.  In  1868  he  was 
made  non-resident  professor  of  natural  his- 
tory at  Cornell  University.  In  December, 
1871,  he  accompanied  the  Hassler  expedi- 
tion, under  Professor  Pierce,  to  the  South 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans.  He  died  at 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  December  14, 
1873. 

Among  other  of  the  important  works  of 
Professor  Agassiz  may  be  mentioned  the  fol- 
lowing: "Outlines  of  Comparative  Physi- 
ology," "Journey  to  Brazil,"  and  "Contri- 
butions to  the  Natural  History  of  the  United 
States."      It   is  said  of  Professor  Agassiz, 


that,  perhaps,  with  the  exception  of  Hugh 
Miller,  no  one  had  so  popularized  science  in 
his  day,  or  trained  so  many  young  natural- 
ists. Many  of  the  theories  held  by  Agassiz 
are  not  supported  by  many  of  the  natural- 
ists of  these  later  days,  but  upon  many  of 
the  speculations  into  the  origin  of  species  and 
in  physics  he  has  left  the  marks  of  his  own 
strongly  marked  individuality. 


WILLIAM  WINDOM.— As  a  prominent 
and  leading  lawyer  of  the  great  north- 
west, as  a  member  of  both  houses  of  con- 
gress, and  as  the  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
the  "gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  sketch 
won  for  himself  a  prominent  position  in  the 
history  of  our  country. 

Mr.  Windom  was  a  native  of  Ohio, 
born  in  Belmont  county.  May  10,  1827. 
He  received  a  good  elementary  education  m 
the  schools  of  his  native  state,  and  took  up 
the  study  of  law.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  Ohio,  where  he  remained  until 
1855.  In  the  latter  year  he  made  up  his 
mind  to  move  further  west,  and  accordingly 
went  to  Minnesota,  and  opening  an  office, 
became  identified  with  the  interests  of  that 
state,  and  the  northwest  generally.  In 
1858  he  took  his  place  in  the  Minnesota 
delegation  in  the  national  house  of  repre- 
sentatives, at  Washington,  and  continued 
to  represent  his  constituency  in  that  body 
for  ten  years.  In  1871  Mr.  Windom  was  1 
elected  United  States  senator  from  Min-  j 
nesota,  and  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office 
after  fulfilling  the  duties  of  the  position  for  i 
a  full  term,  in  1876.  On  the  inauguration 
of  President  Garfield,  in  March,  1881,  Mr. 
Windom  became  secretary  of  the  treasury 
in  his  cabinet.  He  resigned  this  office  Oc- 
tober 27,  i88r,  and  was  elected  senator  ' 
from  the   North  Star  state    to  fill   the   va- 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


cancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of  A.  J. 
Edgerton.  Mr.  Windom  served  in  that 
chamber  until  March,  1883. 

WilHam    Windom    died    in     New    York 
City  January  29,   1S91. 


DON  M.  DICKINSON,  an  American 
politician  and  lawyer,  was  born  in 
Port  Ontario,  New  York,  January  17,  1846. 
He  removed  with  his  parents  to  Michigan 
when  he  was  but  two  years  old.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Detroit 
and  at  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann 
Arbor,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one.  In  1872  he  was  made 
secretary  of  the  Democratic  state  central 
committee  of  Michigan,  and  his  able  man- 
agement of  the  campaign  gave  him  a  prom- 
inent place  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  In 
1876,  during  the  Tilden  campaign,  he  acted 
as  chairman  of  the  state  central  committee. 
He  was  afterward  chosen  to  represent  his 
state  in  the  Democratic  national  committee, 
and  in  1886  he  was  appointed  postmaster- 
general  by  President  Cleveland.  After  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  office  he  returned 
to  Detroit  and  resumed  the  practice  of  law. 
In  the  presidential  campaign  of  1896,  Mr. 
Dickinson  adhered  to  the  "  gold  wing  "  of 
the  Democracy,  and  his  influence  was  felt 
in  the  national  canvass,  and  especially  in 
his  own  state. 


JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR,  the  founder  of 
the  Astor  family  and  fortunes,  while  not 
a-  native  of  this  country,  was  one  of  the 
most  noted  men  of  his  time,  and  as  all  his 
wealth  and  fame  were  acquired  here,  he 
may  well  be  classed  among  America's  great 
men.  He  was  born  near  Heidelberg,  Ger- 
many, July  17,  1763,  and  when  twenty 
years  old  emigrated  to  the  United  States. 
Even  at  that   age   he  exhibited  remarkable 


business  ability  and  foresight,  and  soon  he 
was  investing  capital  in  furs  which  he  took 
to  London  and.  sold  at  a  great  profit.  He 
next  settled  at  New  York,  and  engaged  ex- 
tensively in  the  fur  trade.  He  exported 
furs  to  Europe  in  his  own  vessels,  which  re- 
turned with  cargoes  of  foreign  commodities,, 
and  thus  he  rapidly  amassed  an  immense 
fortune.  In  181 1  he  founded  Astoria  on. 
the  western  coast  of  North  America,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  as  a  depot 
for  the  fur  trade,  for  the  promotion  of 
which  he  sent  a  number  of  expeditions  to 
the  Pacific  ocean.  He  also  purchased  a 
large  amount  of  real  estate  in  New  York, 
the  value  of  which  increased  enormously 
All  through  life  his  business  ventures  were 
a  series  of  marvelous  successes,  and  he 
ranked  as  one  of  the  most  sagacious  and 
successful  business  men  in  the  world.  He 
died  March  29,  1848,  leaving  a  fortune  es- 
timated at  over  twenty  million  dollars  to 
his  children,  who  have  since  increased  it. 
John  Jacob  Astor  left  $400,000  to  found  a 
public  library  in  New  York  City,  and  his  son, 
William  B.  Astor,  who  died  in  1875,  left 
$300,000  to  add  to  his  father's  bequest. 
This  is  known  as  the  Astor  Library,  one  o£ 
the  largest  in  the  United  States. 


SCHUYLER  COLFAX,  an  eminent 
American  statesman,  was  born  in  New 
York  City,  March  23,  1823,  being  a  grand- 
son of  General  William  Colfax,  the  com- 
mander of  Washington's  life-guards.  In 
1836  he  removed  with  his  mother,  who  was 
then  a  widow,  to  Indiana,  settling  at  South 
Bend.  Young  Schuyler  studied  law,  and 
in  1845  became  editor  of  the  "St.  Joseph 
Valley  Register,"  a  Whig  paper  published 
at  South  Bend.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  which  formed  a  new  constitu- 
tion   for  Indiana  in  1850,  and   he  opposed 


140 


COMPENDIUM   OF  BIOGRAPHT. 


the  clause  that  prohibited  colored  men 
from  settling  in  that  state.  In  185  i  he  was 
defeated  as  the  Whig  candidate  for  congress 
but  was  elected  in  1854,  and,  being  repeat- 
edly re-elected,  continued  to  represent  that 
district  in  congress  until  1869.  He  became 
one  of  the  most  prominent  and  influential 
members  of  the  house  of  representatives, 
and  served  three  terms  as  speaker.  During 
the  Civil  war  he  was  an  active  participant 
in  all  public  measures  of  importance,  and 
was  a  confidential  friend  and  adviser  of 
President  Lincoln.  In  May,  1868,  Mr. 
Colfax  was  nominated  for  vice-president  on 
the  ticket  with  General  Grant,  and  was 
elected.  After  the  close  of  his  term  he  re- 
tired from  office,  and  for  the  remainder  of 
his  life  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  lectur- 
ing and  literary  pursuits.  His  death  oc- 
curred January  23,  1885.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  in  America, 
and  that  order  erected  a  bronze  statue  to 
his  memory  in  University  Park,  Indianapo- 
lis,   Indiana,   which  was   unveiled   in   May, 


WILLIAM  FREEMAN  VILAS,  who  at- 
tained a  national  reputation  as  an  able 
lawyer,  statesman,  and  cabinet  officer,  was 
born  at  Chelsea,  Vermont,  July  9,  1840. 
His  parents  removed  to  Wisconsin  when 
our  subject  was  but  eleven  years  of  age, 
and  there  with  the  early  settlers  endured  all 
the  hardships  and  trials  incident  to  pioneer 
life.  William  F.  Vilas  was  given  all  the 
advantages  found  in  the  common  schools, 
and  supplemented  this  by  a  course  of  study 
in  the  Wisconsin  State  University,  after 
which  he  studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  and  began  practicing  at  Madison. 
Shortly  afterward  the  Civil  war  broke  out 
.and  Mr.  Vilas  enlisted  and  became  colonel 


of  the  Twenty-third  regiment  of  Wisconsin 
Volunteers,  serving  throughout  the  war  with 
distinction.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  re- 
turned to  Wisconsin,  resumed  his  law  prac- 
tice, and  rapidly  rose  to  eminence  in  this 
profession.  In  1885  he  was  selected  by 
President  Cleveland  for  postmaster-general 
and  at  the  close  of  his  term  again  returned 
to  Madison,  Wisconsin,  to  resume  the  prac- 
tice of  law. 

THOMAS  McINTYRE  COOLEY,  an  em- 
inent American  jurist  and  law  writer, 
was  born  in  Attica,  New  York,  January  6, 
1 824.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1 846, 
and  four  years  later  was  appointed  reporter 
of  the  supreme  court  of  Michigan,  which 
office  he  continued  to  hold  for  seven  years. 
In  the  meantime,  in  1859,  he  became  pro- 
fessor of  the  law  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Michigan,  and  soon  afterward  was 
made  dean  of  the  faculty  of  that  depart- 
ment. In  1864  he  was  elected  justice  of 
the  supreme  court  of  Michigan,  in  1867  be- 
came chief  justice  of  that  court,  and  in 
1869  was  re-elected  for  a  term  of  eight 
years.  In  1881  he  again  joined  the  faculty 
of  the  University  of  Michigan,  assuming  the 
professorship  of  constitutional  and  adminis- 
trative law.  His  works  on  these  branches 
have  become  standard,  and  he  is  recog- 
nized as  authority  on  this  and  related  sub- 
jects. Upon  the  passage  of  the  inter-state 
commerce  law  in  1887  he  became  chairman 
of  the  commission  and  served  in  that  capac- 
ity four  years. 


JOHN  PETER  ALTGELD,  a  noted 
American  politician  and  writer  on  social 
questions,  was  born  in  Germany,  December 
30,  1847.  He  came  to  America  with  his 
parents  and  settled  in  Ohio  when  two  years 
old.      In  1864  he  entered  the  Union  army 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


Ill 


and  served  till  the  close  of  the  war,  after 
which  he  settled  in  Chicago,  Illinois.  He 
was  elected  judge  of  the  superior  court  of 
Cook  county,  Illinois,  in  1886,  in  which 
<:apacity  he  served  until  elected  governor  of 
Illinois  in  1892,  as  a  Democrat.  During 
the  first  year  of  his  term  as  governor  he  at- 
tracted national  attention  by  his  pardon  of 
the  anarchists  convicted  of  the  Haymarket 
murder  in  Chicago,  and  again  in  1894  by 
his  denunciation  of  President  Cleveland  for 
calling  out  federal  troops  to  suppress  the 
rioting  in  connection  with  the  great  Pull- 
man strike  in  Chicago.  At  the  national 
convention  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Chi- 
cago, in  July,  1896,  he  is  said  to  have  in- 
spired the  clause  in  the  platform  denuncia- 
tory of  interference  by  federal  authorities  in 
local  affairs,  and  "government  by  injunc- 
tion." He  was  gubernatorial  candidate  for 
re-election  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  1896, 
but  was  defeated  by  John  R.  Tanner,  Re- 
publican. Mr.  Altgeld  published  two  vol- 
umes of  essays  on  "  Live  Questions,"  evinc- 
ing radical  views  on  social  matters. 


ADLAI  EWING  STEVENSON,  an  Amer. 
ican  statesman  and  politician,  was  born 
in  Christian  county,  Kentucky,  October  23, 
1835,  and  removed  with  the  family  to 
Bloomington,  Illinois,  in  1852.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1858,  and  set- 
tled in  the  practice  of  his  profession 
in  Metamora,  Illinois.  In  1861  he  was 
made  master  in  chancery  of  Woodford 
county,  and  in  1864  was  elected  state's  at- 
torney. In  1868  he  returned  to  Blooming- 
ton  and  formed  a  law  partnership  with 
James  S.  Ewing.  He  had  served  as  a  pres- 
idential elector  in  1864,  and  in  1868  was 
elected  to  congress  as  a  Democrat,  receiv- 
ing a  majority  vote  from  every  county  in  his 
district.     He     became     prominent    in    his 


party,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  national 
convention  in  1884.  On  the  election  of 
Cleveland  to  the  presidency  Mr.  Stevenson 
was  appointed  first  assistant  postmaster- 
general.  After  the  expiration  of  his  term 
he  continued  to  exert  a  controlling  influence 
in  the  politics  of  his  state,  and  in  1S92  was 
elected  vice-president  of  the  United  States 
on  the  ticket  with  Grover  Cleveland.  At 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office  he  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  law  at  Bloomington, 
Illinois. 


SIMON  CAMERON,  whose  name  is 
prominently  identified  with  the  history 
of  the  United  States  as  a  political  leader 
and  statesman,  was  born  in  Lancaster  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  March  8,  1799.  He  grew 
to  manhood  in  his  native  county,  receiving 
good  educational  advantages,  and  develop- 
ing a  natural  inclination  for  political  life. 
He  rapidly  rose  in  prominence  and  became 
the  most  influential  Democrat  in  PennsyJ"* 
vania,  and  in  1845  was  elected  by  that  party 
to  the  United  States  senate.  Upon  the 
organization  of  the  Republican  party  he  was 
one  of  the  first  to  declare  his  allegiance  to 
it,  and  in  1856  was  re-elected  United  States 
senator  from  Pennsylvania  as  a  Republican. 
In  March,  1861,  he  was  appointed  secretary 
of  war  by  President  Lincoln,  and  served 
until  early  in  1862,  when  he  was  sent  as 
minister  to  Russia,  returning  in  1863.  In 
1866  he  was  again  elected  United  States 
senator  and  served  until  1877,  when  he  re- 
signed and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  James 
Donald  Cameron.  He  continued  to  exert  a 
powerful  influence  in  political  affairs  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death,  June  26,  1889. 

James  Donald  Cameron  was  the  eld- 
est son  of  Simon  Cameron,  and  also 
attained  a  high  rank  among  American 
statesmen.      He  was    born  at  Harrisburg, 


142, 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


Pennsylvania,  May  14,  1833,  and  received  an 
excellent  education,  graduating  at  Princeton 
College  in  1852.  He  rapidly  developed  into 
one  of  the  most  able  and  successful  business 
men  of  the  country  and  was  largely  inter- 
ested in  and  identified  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  coal,  iron,  lumber  and  manu- 
facturing interests  of  his  native  state.  He 
served  as  cashier  and  afterward  president  of 
the  Middletown  bank,  and  in  1861  was  made 
vice-president,  and  in  1863  president  of 
the  Northern  Central  railroad,  holding  this 
position  until  1874,  when  he  resigned  and 
was  succeeded  by  Thomas  A.  Scott.  This 
road  was  of  great  service  to  the  government 
during  the  war  as  a  means  of  communica- 
tion between  Pennsylvania  and  the  national 
capital,  via  Baltimore.  Mr.  Cameron  also 
took  an  active  part  in  political  affairs, 
always  as  a  Republican.  In  May,  1876, 
he  was  appointed  secretary  of  war  in  Pres- 
ident Grant's  cabinet,  and  in  1877  suc- 
ceeded his  father  in  the  United  States 
senate.  He  was  re-elected  in  1885,  and 
again  in  1891,  serving  until  1896,  and  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
influential  members  of  that  bodv. 


ADOLPHUS  W.  GREELEY,  a  famous 
American  arctic  explorer,  was  born  at 
Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  March  27, 
1844.  He  graduated  from  Brown  High 
School  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  a  year 
later  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Nineteenth 
Massachusetts  Infantry,  and  was  made  first 
sergeant.  In  1863  he  was  promoted  to 
second  lieutenant.  After  the  war  he  was 
assigned  to  the  Fifth  United  States  Cavalry, 
and  became  first  lieutenant  in  1873.  He 
was  assigned  to  duty  in  the  United  States 
signal  service  shortly  after  the  close  of  the 
war.  An  expedition  was  fitted  out  by  the 
United    States    government     in    1881,    un- 


der auspices  of  the  weather  bureau,  and 
Lieutenant  Greeley  placed  in  command. 
They  set  sail  from  St.  Johns  the  first  week 
in  July,  and  after  nine  days  landed  in  Green- 
land, where  they  secured  the  services  of  two 
natives,  together  with  sledges,  dogs,  furs 
and  equipment.  They  encountered  an  ice 
pack  early  in  August,  and  on  the  28th  of 
that  month  freezing  weather  set  in.  Two 
of  his  party.  Lieutenant  Lockwood  and  Ser- 
geant Brainard,  added  to  the  known  maps 
about  forty  miles  of  coast  survey,  and 
reached  the  highest  point  yet  attained  by 
man,  eighty-three  degrees  and  twenty-four 
minutes  north,  longitude,  forty-four  degrees 
and  five  minutes  west.  On  their  return  to 
Fort  Conger,  Lieutenant  Greeley  set  out 
for  the  south  on  August  9,  1883.  He 
reached  Baird  Inlet  twenty  days  later  with 
his  entire  party.  Here  they  were  compelled 
to  abandon  their  boats,  and  drifted  on  an 
ice-floe  for  one  month.  They  then  went 
into  camp  at  Cape  Sabine,  where  they  suf- 
fered untold  hardships,  and  eighteen  of  the 
party  succumbed  to  cold  and  hunger,  and 
had  relief  been  delayed  two  days  longer 
none  would  have  been  found  alive.  They 
were  picked  up  by  the  relief  expedition, 
under  Captain  Schley,  June  22,  1884.  The 
dead  were  taken  to  New  York  for  burial. 
Many  sensational  stories  were  published 
concerning  the  expedition,  and  Lieutenant 
Greeley  prepared  an  exhaustive  account 
of  his  explorations  and  experiences. 


LEVI  P.  MORTON,  the  millionaire  poli- 
tician, was  born  in  Shoreham,  Ver- 
mont, May  16,  1824,  and  his  early  educa- 
tion consisted  of  the  rudiments  which  he 
obtained  in  the  common  school  up  to  the 
age  of  fourteen,  and  after  that  time  what 
knowledge  he  gained  was  wrested  from  the 
hard  school  of  experience.     He  removed  to 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


143 


Hanover,  Vermont,  then  Concord,  Vermont, 
and  afterwards  to  Boston.  He  had  worked 
in  a  store  at  Shoreham,  his  native  village, 
and  on  going  to  Hanover  he  established  a 
store  and  went  into  business  for  himself. 
In  Boston  he  clerked  in  a  dry  goods  store, 
and  then  opened  a  business  of  his  own  in 
the  same  line  in  New  York.  After  a  short 
career  he  failed,  and  was  compelled  to  set- 
tle with  his  creditors  at  only  fifty  cents  on 
the  dollar.  He  began  the  struggle  anew, 
and  when  the  war  began  he  established  a 
banking  house  in  New  York,  with  Junius 
Morgan  as  a  partner.  Through  his  firm 
and  connections  the  great  government  war 
loans  were  floated,  and  it  resulted  in  im- 
mense profits  to  his  house.  When  he  was 
again  thoroughly  established  he  invited  his 
former  creditors  to  a  banquet,  and  under 
each  guest's  plate  was  found  a  check  cover- 
ing the  amount  of  loss  sustained  respec- 
tively, with  interest  to  date. 

President  Garfield  appointed  Mr.  Mor- 
ton as  minister  to  France,  after  he  had  de- 
clined the  secretaryship  of  the  navy,  and  in 
1888  he  was  nominated  as  candidate  for 
vice-president,  with  Harrison,  and  elected. 
In  1894  he  was  elected  governor  of  New 
York  over  David  B.  Hill,  and  served  one 
term. 

CHARLES  KENDALL  ADAMS,  one 
of  the  most  talented  and  prominent 
educators  this  country  has  known,  was  born 
January  24,  1835,  at  Derby,  Vermont.  He 
received  an  elementary  education  in  the 
common  schools,  and  studied  two  terms  in 
the  Derby  Academy.  Mr.  Adams  moved 
with  his  parents  to  Iowa  in  1856.  He  was 
very  anxious  to  pursue  a  collegiate  course^ 
but  this  was  impossible  until  he  had  attained 
the  age  of  twenty-one.  In  the  autumn  of 
1856  he  began  the  study  of  Latin  and  Greek 


at  Denmark  Academy,  and  in  September, 
1857,  he  was  admitted  to  the  University  of 
Michigan.  Mr.  Adams  was  wholly  depend- 
ent upon  himself  for  the  means  of  his  edu- 
cation. During  his  third  and  fourth  year 
he  became  deeply  interested  in  historical 
studies,  was  assistant  librarian  of  the  uni- 
versity, and  determined  to  pursue  a  post- 
graduate course.  In  1864  he  was  appointed 
instructor  of  history  and  Latin  and  was  ad- 
vanced to  an  assistant  professorship  in  1865,, 
and  in  1867,  on  the  resignation  oi  Professo£ 
White  to  accept  the  presidency  of  Cornell, 
he  was  appointed  to  fill  the  chair  of  profes- 
sor of  history.  This  he  accepted  on  con- 
dition of  his  being  allowed  to  spend  a  year 
for  special  study  in  Germany,  France  and 
Italy.  Mr.  Adams  returned  in  1868,  and 
assumed  the  duties  of  his  professorship. 
He  introduced  the  German  system  for  the 
instruction  of  advanced  history  classes,  and 
his  lectures  were  largely  attended.  In  1885, 
on  the  resignation  of  President  White  at 
Cornell,  he  was  elected  his  successor  and 
held  the  office  for  seven  years,  and  on  Jan- 
uary 17,  1893,  he  was  inaugurated  presi- 
dent of  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  Pres- 
ident Adams  was  prominently  connected 
with  numerous  scientific  and  literary  organ- 
izations and  a  frequent  contributor  to  the 
historical  and  educational  data  in  the  peri- 
odicals and  journals  of  the  country.  He 
was  the  author  of  the  following:  "  Dem- 
ocracy and  Monarchy  in  France,"  "  Manual 
of  Historical  Literature,"  "  A  Plea  for  Sci- 
entific Agriculture,"  "  Higher  Education  ia 
Germany." 

JOSEPH  B.  FORAKER,  a  prominent  po- 
litical leader  and  ex-governor  of  Ohio, 
was  born  near  Rainsboro,  Highland  county, 
Ohio,  July  5,  1846.  His  parents  operated 
a  small  farm,  with  a  grist  and  sawmill,  hav- 


144 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BJOGRAPHT. 


ing  emigrated  hither  from  Virginia  and 
Delaware  on  account  of  their  distaste  for 
slavery. 

Joseph  was  reared  upon  a  farm  until 
1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  Eighty-ninth 
Ohio  Infantry.  Later  he  was  made  ser- 
geant, and  in  1864  commissioned  first  lieu- 
tenant. The  next  year  he  was  brevetted 
captain.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was 
mustered  out  of  the  army  after  a  brilliant 
service,  part  of  the  time  being  on  the  staff 
of  General  Slocum.  He  participated  in  the 
battles  of  Missionary  Ridge,  Lookout  Mount- 
ain and  Kenesaw  Mountain  and  in  Sher- 
man's march  to  the  sea. 

For  two  years  subsequent  to  the  war 
young  Foraker  was  studying  at  the  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University  at  Delaware,  but  later 
went  to  Cornell  University,  at  Unity,  New 
York,  from  which  he  graduated  July  i, 
1869.  He  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  In  1879  Mr.  Foraker  was  elected 
judge  of  the  superior  court  of  Cincinnati 
and  held  the  office  for  three  years.  In  1883 
he  was  defeated  in  the  contest  for  the  gov- 
ernorship with  Judge  Hoadly.  In  1885, 
however,  being  again  nominated  for  the 
same  office,  he  was  elected  and  served  two 
terms.  In  1889,  in  running  for  governor 
again,  this  time  against  James  E.  Camp- 
bell, he  was  defeated.  Two  years  later  his 
career  in  the  United  States  senate  began. 
Mr.  Foraker  was  always  a  prominent  figure 
at  all  national  meetings  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  a  strong  power,  politically,  in  his 
native  state. 


LYMAN  ABBOTT,  an  eminent  American 
preacher  and  writer  on  religious  sub- 
jects, came  of  a  noted  New  England 
family.  His  father.  Rev.  Jacob  Abbott,  was 
a  prolific  and  popular  writer,  and  his  uncle. 
Rev.    John    S.    C.     Abbott,   was    a    noted 


preacher  and  author.  Lyman  Abbott  was 
born  December  18,  1835,  in  Roxbury, 
Massachusetts.  He  graduated  at  the  New 
York  University,  in  1853,  studied  law,  and 
practiced  for  a  time  at  the  bar,  after  which 
he  studied  theology  with  his  uncle.  Rev. 
John  S.  C.  Abbott,  and  in  i860  was  settled 
in  the  ministry  at  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  re- 
maining there  until  after  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  then  became  connected  with  the 
Freedmen's  Commission,  continuing  this 
until  1868,  when  he  Accepted  the  pastorate 
of  the  New  England  Congregational  church, 
in  New  York  City.  A  few  years  later  he  re- 
signed, to  devote  his  time  principally  to  lit- 
erary pursuits.  For  a  number  of  years  he 
edited  for  the  American  Tract  Society,  its 
"Illustrated  Christian  Weekly,"  also  the 
New  York  "Christian  Union."  He  pro- 
duced many  works,  which  had  a  wide  circu- 
lation, among  which  may  be  mentioned  the 
following:  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,  His  Life  and 
Teachings,"  "Old  Testament  Shadows  of 
New  Testament  Truths,"  "Morning  and 
Evening  Exercises,  Selected  from  Writings 
of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,"  "  Laicus,  or  the 
Experiences  of  a  Layman  in  a  Country 
Parish,"  "Popular  Religious  Dictionary," 
and  "Commentaries  on  Matthew,  Mark, 
Luke,  John  and  Acts." 


GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS.— The 
well-known  author,  orator  and  journal- 
ist whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  was  born 
at  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  February  24, 
1824.  Having  laid  the  foundation  of  a 
most  excellent  education  in  his  native  land, 
he  went  to  Europe  and  studied  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Berlin.  He  made  an  extensive 
tour  throughout  the  Levant,  from  which  he 
returned  home  in  1850.  At  that  early  age 
literature  became  his  field  of  labor,  and  in 
185 1  he  published  his  first  important  work. 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


145 


■"  Nile  Notes  of  a  Howadji. "  In  1852  two 
works  issued  from  his  facile  pen,  "The 
Howadji  in  Syria,"  and  "  Lotus-Eating. " 
Later  on  he  was  the  author  of  the  vvell- 
Icnown  "  Potiphar  Papers,"  "  Prue  and  L" 
and  "Trumps."  He  greatly  distinguished 
himself  throughout  this  land  as  a  lecturer 
on  many  subjects,  and  as  an  orator  had  but 
few  peers.  He  was  also  well  known  as  one 
of  the  most  fluent  speakers  on  the  stump, 
making  many  political  speeches  in  favor  of 
the  Republican  party.  In  recognition  of 
his  valuable  services,  Mr.  Curtis  was  ap- 
pointed 'by  President  Grant,  chairman  of 
the  advisory  board  of  the  civil  service.  Al- 
though a  life-long  Republican,  Mr.  Curtis 
refused  to  support  Blaine  for  the  presidency 
in  1884,  because  of  his  ideas  on  civil  ser- 
vice and  other  reforms.  For  his  memorable 
and  magnificent  eulogy  on  Wendell  Phillips, 
delivered  in  Boston,  in  1S84,  that  city  pre- 
sented Mr.  Curtis  with  a  gold   medal. 

George  W.  Curtis,  however,  is  best 
known  to  the  reading  public  of  the  United 
States  by  his  connection  with  the  Harper 
Brothers,  having  been  editor  of  the  "  Har- 
per's Weekly, "  and  of  the  "Easy  Chair," 
in  "  Harper's  Monthly  Magazine,  "for  many 
years,  in  fact  retaining  that  position  until 
the  day  of  his  death,  which  occurred  August 
31,   1892.  

ANDREW  JOHNSON,  the  seventeenth 
president  of  the  United  States,  served 
from  1865  to  1869.  He  was  born  Decem- 
ber 8,  1808,  at  Raleigh,  North  Carohna, 
and  was  left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  four 
years.  He  never  attended  school,  and  was 
apprenticed  to  a  tailor.  While  serving  his 
apprenticeship  he  suddenly  acquired  a  pas- 
sion for  knowledge,  and  learned  to  read. 
From  that  time  on  he  spent  all  his  spare 
time  in  reading,  and   after  working  for  two 


years  as  a  journeyman  tailor  at  Lauren's 
Court  House,  South  Carolina,  he  removed 
to  Greenville,  Tennessee,  where  he  worked 
at  his  trade  and  was  married.  Under  his 
wife's  instruction  he  made  rapid  progress  in 
his  studies  and  manifested  such  an  interest 
in  local  politics  as  to  be  elected  as  "  work- 
ingmen's  candidate  "  alderman  in  1828,  and 
in  1830  to  the  mayoralty,  and  was  twice 
re-elected  to  each  office.  Mr.  Johnson 
utilized  this  time  in  cultivating  his  talents 
as  a  public  speaker,  by  taking  part  in  a  de- 
bating society.  He  was  elected  in  1835  to 
the  lower  house  of  the  legislature,  was  re- 
elected in  1839  as  a  Democrat,  and  in 
1 841  was  elected  state  senator.  Mr.  John- 
son was  elected  representative  in  congress 
in  1843  and  was  re-elected  four  times  in 
succession  until  1853,  when  he  was  the  suc- 
cessful candidate  for  the  gubernatorial  chair 
of  Tennessee.  He  was  re-elected  in  1855 
and  in  1S57  he  entered  the  United  States 
senate.  In  i860  he  was  supported  by  the 
Tennessee  delegation  to  the  Democratic 
convention  for  the  presidential  nomination, 
and  lent  his  'influence  to  the  Breckinridge 
wing  of  the  party.  At  the  election  of  Lin- 
coln, which  brought  about  the  first  attempt 
at  secession  in  December,  i860,  Mr.  John- 
son took  a  firm  attitude  in  the  senate  for 
the  Union.  He  was  the  leader  of  the  loy- 
alists in  East  Tennessee.  By  the  course 
that  Mr.  Johnson  pursued  in  this  crisis  he 
was  brought  prominently  before  the  north- 
ern people,  and  when,  in  March,  1862,  he 
was  appointed  military  governor  of  Ten- 
nessee with  the  rank  of  brigadier-general, 
he  increased  his  popularity  by  the  vigorous 
manner  in  which  he  labored  to  restore 
order.  In  the  campaign  of  1864  he  was 
elected  vice-president  on  the  ticket  with 
President  Lincoln,  and  upon  the  assassi- 
nation of  the    latter    he    succeeded    to  the 


146 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


presidency,  April  15,  1865.  He  retained 
the  cabinet  of  President  Lincoln,  and  at 
first  exhibited  considerable  severity  towards 
the  former  Confederates,  but  he  soon  inau- 
gurated a  policy  of  reconstruction,  pro- 
claimed a  general  amnesty  to  the  late  Con- 
federates, and  established  provisional  gov- 
ernments in  the  southern  states.  These 
states  claimed  representation  in  congress  in 
the  following  December,  and  then  arose  the 
momentous  question  as  to  what  should  be 
the  policy  of  the  victorious  Union  against 
their  late  enemies.  The  Republican  ma- 
jority in  congress  had  an  apprehension  that 
the  President  would  undo  the  results  of  the 
war,  and  consequently  passed  two  bills  over 
the  executive  veto,  and  the  two  highest 
branches  of  the  government  were  in  open 
antagonism.  The  cabinet  was  reconstructed 
in  July,  and  Messrs.  Randall,  Stanbury  and 
Browning  superseded  Messrs.  Denison, 
Speed  and  Harlan.  In  August,  1867,  Pres- 
ident Johnson  removed  the  secretary  of  war 
and  replaced  him  with  General  Grant,  but 
when  congress  met  in  December  it  refused 
to  ratify  the  removal  of  Stanton,  who  re- 
sumed the  functions  of  his  office.  In  1868 
the  president  again  attempted  to  remove 
Stanton,  who  refused  to  vacate  his  post 
and  was  sustained  by  the  senate.  Presi- 
dent Johnson  was  accused  by  congress  of 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  but  the  trial 
resulted  in  his  acquittal.  Later  he  was  Uni- 
ted States  senator  from  Tennessee,  and 
died  July  31,  1875. 


EDMUND  RANDOLPH,  first  attorney- 
general  of  the  United  States,  was  born 
in  Virginia,  August  10,  1753.  His  father, 
John  Randolph,  was  attorney-general  of 
Virginia,  and  lived  and  died  a  royalist.  Ed- 
mund was  educated  in  the  law,  but  joined 
the  army  as   aide-de-camp  to    Washington 


in  177s,  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  He 
was  elected  to  the  Virginia  convention  in 
1776,  and  attorney-general  of  the  state  the 
same  year.  In  1779  he  was  elected  to  the 
Continental  congress,  and  served  four  years 
in  that  body.  He  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention in  1787  that  framed  the  constitu- 
tion. In  that  convention  he  proposed  what 
was  known  as  the  "  Virginia  plan"  of  con- 
federation, but  it  was  rejected.  He  advo- 
cated the  ratification  of  the  constitution  in 
the  Virginia  convention,  although  he  had  re- 
fused to  sign  it.  He  became  governor  of 
Virginia  in  1788,  and  the  next  year  Wash- 
ington appointed  him  to  the  office  of  at- 
torney-general of  the  United  States  upon 
the  organization  of  the  government  under 
the  constitution.  He  was  appointed  secre- 
tary of  state  to  succeed  Jefferson  during 
Washington's  second  term,  but  resigned  a 
year  later  on  account  of  differences  in  the 
cabinet  concerning  the  policy  pursued  to- 
ward the  new  French  republic.  He  died 
September   12,  181 3. 


W INFIELD  SCOTT  HANCOCK  was 
born  in  Montgomery  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, February  14,  1824.  He  received 
his  early  education  at  the  Norristown 
Academy,  in  his  native  county,  and,  in  1840, 
was  appointed  a  cadet  in  the  United  States 
Military  Academy,  at  West  Point.  He  was 
graduated  from  the  latter  in  1844,  and  brev- 
etted  as  second  lieutenant  of  infantry.  In 
1853  he  was  made  first  lieutenant,  and  two 
years  later  transferred  to  the  quartermaster's 
department,  with  the  rank  of  captain,  and 
in  1863  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major.  He 
served  on  the  frontier,  and  in  the  war  with 
Mexico,  displaying  conspicuous  gallantry  dur- 
ing the  latter.  He  also  took  a  part  in  the 
Seminole  war,  and  in  the  troubles  in  Kan- 
sas, in  1857,  and  in  California,  at   the  out- 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


14T 


break  of  the  Civil  war,  as  chief  quarter- 
master of  the  Southern  district,  he  exerted 
a  powerful  influence.  In  1861  he  applied 
for  active  duty  in  the  field,  and  was  assigned 
to  the  department  of  Kentucky  as  chief 
quartermaster,  but  before  entering  upon  that 
duty,  was  appointed  brigadier-general  of 
volunteers.  His  subsequent  history  during 
the  war  was  substantially  that  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac.  He  participated  in  the 
campaign,  under  McClellan,  and  led  the 
gallant  charge,  which  captured  Fort  Magru- 
der,  won  the  day  at  the  battle  of  Wil- 
liamsburg, and  by  services  rendered  at 
Savage's  Station  and  other  engagements, 
won  several  grades  in  the  regular  service, 
and  was  recommended  by  McClellan  for 
major-general  of  volunteers.  He  was  a  con- 
spicuous figure  at  South  Mountain  and  An- 
tietam.  He  was  commissioned  major-gen- 
eral of  volunteers,  November  29,  1862,  and 
made  commander  of  the  First  Division  of 
the  Second  Corps,  which  he  led  at  Fred- 
ricksburg  and  at  Chancellorsville.  He  was 
appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Second 
Corps  in  June,  1863,  and  at  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  July  i,  2  and  3,  of  that  year, 
took  an  important  part.  On  his  arrival  on 
the  field  he  found  part  of  the  forces  then 
in  retreat,  but  stayed  the  retrograde 
movement,  checked  the  enemy,  and  on  the 
following  day  commanded  the  left  center, 
repulsed,  on  the  third,  the  grand  assault  of 
General  Lee's  army,  and  was  severely 
wounded.  For  his  services  on  that  field 
General  Hancock  received  the  thanks  of 
congress.  On  recovering  from  his  wound, 
he  was  detailed  to  go  north  to  stimulate  re- 
cruiting and  fill  up  the  diminished  corps,  and 
was  the  recipient  of  many  public  receptions 
and  ovations.  In  March,  1864,  he  returned 
to  his  command,  and  in  the  Wilderness  and 
at    Spottsylvania   led   large    bodies   of   men 


successfully  and  conspicuously.  From  that 
on  to  the  close  of  the  campaign  he  was  a 
prominent  figure.  In  November,  1864,  he 
was  detailed  to  organize  the  First  Veteraa 
Reserve  Corps,  and  at  the  close  of  hostilities 
was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Mid- 
dle Military  Division.  In  July,  1866,  he 
was  made  major-general  of  the  regular 
service.  He  was  at  the  head  of  various 
military  departments  until  1872,  when  he 
was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Atlantic,  which  post  he  held 
until  his  death.  In  1869  he  declined  the 
nomination  for  governor  of  Pennsylvania. 
He  was  the  nominee  of  the  Democratic 
party  for  president,  in  1880,  and  was  de- 
feated by  General  Garfield,  who  had  a  popu- 
lar majority  of  seven  thousand  and  eighteen 
and  an  electoral  majority'.of  fifty-nine.  Gen- 
eral Hancock  died  February  9,  1886. 


THOMAS  PAINE,  the  most  noted  polit- 
ical and  deistical  writer  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary period,  was  born  in  England,  Jan- 
uary 29,  1737,  of  Quaker  parents.  His  edu- 
cation was. obtained  in  the  grammar  schools 
of  Thetford,  his  native  town,  and  supple- 
mented by  hard  private  study  while  working 
at  his  trade  of  stay-maker  at  London  and 
other  cities  of  England.  He  was  for  a  time 
a  dissenting  preacher,  although  he  did  not 
relinquish  his  employment.  He  married  a 
revenue  official's  daughter,  and  was  employed 
in  the  revenue  service  for  some  time.  He 
then  became  a  grocer  and  during  all  this  time 
he  was  reading  and  cultivating  his  literary 
tastes,  and  had  developed  a  clear  and  forci- 
ble style  of  composition.  He  was  chosen  to 
represent  the  interests  of  the  excisemen, 
and  published  a  pamphlet  that  brought 
him  considerable  notice.  He  was  soon  after- 
ward introduced  to  Benjamin  Franklin,  and 
having  been  dismissed  from  the  service  on  a 


148 


COMPEXDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


charge  of  smuggling,  his  resentment  led  him 
to  accept  the  advice  of  that  statesman  to 
come  to  America,  in  1774.  He  became 
editor  of  the  ' '  Pennsylvania  Magazine,"  and 
the  next  year  published  his  "Serious 
Thoughts  upon  Slavery"  in  the  "Penn- 
sylvania Journal."  His  greatest  political 
work,  however,  was  written  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Dr.  Rush,  and  entitled  "  Common 
Sense."  It  was  the  most  popular  pamphlet 
written  during  the  period  and  he  received 
two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  from  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania  in  recognition  of  its 
value.  His  periodical,  the  "Crisis,"  began 
in  1776,  and  its  distribution  among  the 
soldiers  did  a  great  deal  to  keep  up  the  spirit 
of  revolution.  He  was  made  secretary  of 
the  committee  of  foreign  affairs,  but  was  dis- 
missed for  revealing  diplomatic  secrets  in 
one  of  his  controversies  Vv'ith  Silas  Deane. 
He  was  originator  and  promoter  of  a  sub- 
scription to  relieve  the  distress  of  the  soldiers 
near  the  close  of  the  war,  and  was  sent  to 
France  with  Henry  Laurens  to  negotiate  the 
treaty  with  France,  and  was  granted  three 
thousand  dollars  by  congress  for  his  services 
there,  and  an  estate  at  New  Rochelle,  by  the 
state  of  New  York. 

In  1787,  after  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  he  went  to  France,  and  a  few 
years  later  published  his  "  Rights  of  Man," 
defending  the  French  revolution,  which 
gave  him  great  popularity  in  France.  He 
was  made  a  citizen  and  elected  to  the  na- 
tional convention  at  Calais.  He  favored 
banishment  of  the  king  to  America,  and 
opposed  his  execution.  He  was  imprisoned 
for  about  ten  months  during  1794  by  the 
Robespierre  party,  during  which  time  he 
wrote  the  "  Age  of  Reason,"  his  great  deis- 
tical  work.  He  was  in  danger  of  the  guillo- 
tine for  several  months.  He  took  up  his 
residence  with  the  family  of  James  Monroe, 


then  minister  to  France  and  was  chosen 
again  to  the  convention.  He  returned 
to  the  United  States  in  1802,  and  was 
cordially  received  throughout  the  coun- 
try except  at  Trenton,  where  he  was  insulted 
by  Federalists.  He  retired  to  his  estate  at 
New  Rochelle,  and  his  death  occurred  June 


JOHN  WILLIAM  MACKAY  was  one  of 
America's  noted  men,  both  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  western  coast  and  the 
building  of  the  Mackay  and  Bennett  cable. 
He  was  born  in  1831  at  Dublin,  Ireland; 
came  to  New  York  in  1840  and  his  boyhood 
days  were  spent  in  Park  Row.  He  went 
to  California  some  time  after  the  argonauts 
of  1849  and  took  to  the  primitive  methods 
of  mining — -lost  and  won  and  finallj'  drifted 
into  Nevada  about  i860.  The  bonanza  dis- 
coveries which  were  to  have  such  a  potent 
influence  on  the  finance  and  statesmanship 
of  the  day  came  in  1872.  Mr.  Mackay 
founded  the  Nevada  Bank  in  1878.  He  is 
said  to  have  taken  one  hundred  and 
fifty  million  dollars  in  bullion  out  of 
the  Big  Bonanza  mine.  There  were  as- 
sociated with  him  in  this  enterprise  James 
G.  Fair,  senator  from  Nevada;  William 
O'Brien  and  James  C.  Flood.  When 
vast  wealth  came  to  Mr.  Mackay  he  be- 
lieved it  his  duty  to  do  his  country  some 
service,  and  he  agitated  in  his  mind  the 
building  of  an  American  steamship  line, 
and  while  brooding  over  this  his  attention 
was  called  to  the  cable  relations  between 
America  and  Europe.  The  financial  man- 
agement of  the  cable  was  selfish  and  ex- 
travagant, and  the  capital  was  heavy  with 
accretions  of  financial  "  water"  and  to  pay 
even  an  apparent  dividend  upon  the  sums 
which  represented  the  nominal  value  of  the 
cables,  it  was  necessary   to  hold    the    rates 


COMPENDIUM    OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


149 


at  an  exorbitant  figure.  And,  moreover, 
the  cables  were  foreign;  in  one  the  influence 
of  France  being  paramount  and  in  the  other 
that  of  England;  and  in  the  matter  of  intel- 
ligence, so  necessary  in  case*  of  war,  we 
would  be  at  the  mercy  of  our  enemies.  This 
train  of  thought  brought  Mr.  Mackay  into  re- 
lation with  James  Gordon  Bennett,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  "  New  York  Herald."  The 
result  of  their  intercourse  was  that  Mr.  Mac- 
kay so  far  entered  into  the  enthusiasm  of 
Mr.  Bennett  over  an  independent  cable, 
that  he  offered  to  assist  the  enterprise  with 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  was  the 
inception  of  the  Commercial  Cable  Com- 
pany, or  of  what  has  been  known  for  years 
as   the   Mackav-Bennett  cable. 


ELISHA  GRAY,  the  great  inventor  and 
electrician,  was  born  August  2,  1S35. 
at  Barnesville,  Belmont  county,  Ohio.  He 
was,  as  a  child,  greatly  interested  in  the 
phenomena  of  nature,  and  read  with  avidity 
all  the  books  he  could  obtain,  relating  to 
this  subject.  He  was  apprenticed  to  various 
trades  during  his  boyhood,  but  his  insatiable 
thirst  for  knowledge  dominated  his  life  and 
he  found  time  to  study  at  odd  intervals. 
Supporting  himself  by  working  at  his  trade, 
he  found  time  to  pursue  a  course  at  Oberlin 
College,  where  he  particularly  devoted  him- 
self to  the  study  of  physicial  science.  Mr. 
Gray  secured  his  first  patent  for  electrical 
or  telegraph  apparatus  on  October  i,  1867. 
His  attention  was  first  attracted  to  tele- 
phonic transmission  during'this  year  and  he 
saw  in  it  a  way  of  transmitting  signals  for 
telegraph  purposes,  and  conceived  the  idea 
of  electro-tones,  tuned  to  different  tones  in 
the  scale.  He  did  not  then  realize  the  im- 
portance of  his  invention,  his  thoughts  being 
employed  on  the  capacity  of  the  apparatus 
for  transmitting   musical   tones   through  an 


electric  circuit,  and  it  was  not  until  1874 
that  he  was  again  called  to  consider  the  re- 
production of  electrically-transmitted  vibra- 
tions through  the  medium  of  animal  tissue. 
He  continued  experimenting  with  various 
results,  which  finally  culminated  in  his 
taking  out  a  patent  for  his  speaking  tele- 
phone on  February  14,  1876.  He  took  out 
fifty  additional  patents  in  the  course  of 
eleven  years,  among  which  were,  telegraph 
switch,  telegraph  repeater,  telegraph  annun- 
ciator and  typewriting  telegraph.  From 
1869  until  1S73  he  was  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  telegraph  apparatus  in  Cleve- 
land and  Chicago,  and  filled  the  office  of 
electrician  to  the  Western  Electric  Com- 
pany. He  was  awarded  the  degree  of  D. 
S.,  and  in  1874  he  went  abroad  to  perfect 
himself  in  acoustics.  Mr.  Gray's  latest  in- 
vention was  known  as  the  telautograph  or 
long  distance  writing  machine.  Mr:  Gray 
wrote  and  published  several  works  on  scien- 
tific subjects,  among  which  were:  "Tele- 
graphy and  Telephony,"  and  "Experi- 
mental Research  in  Electro-Harmonic  Tele- 
graphy and  Telephony." 

^11  T-HITELAW  REID.— Among  the  many 
V  V  men  who  have  adorned  the  field  of 
journalism  in  the  United  States,  few  stand 
out  with  more  prominence  than  the  scholar, 
author  and  editor  whose  name  heads  this  ar- 
ticle. Born  at  Xenia,  Greene  county,  Ohio, 
October  27,  1837,  he  graduated  at  Miami 
University  in  1856.  For  about  a  year  he 
was  superintendent  of  the  graded  schools  of 
South  Charleston,  Ohio,  after  which  he  pur- 
chased the  "Xenia  News,"  which  he  edited 
for  about  two  years.  This  paper  was  the 
first  one  outside  of  Illinois  to  advocate  the 
nomination  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  Mr.  Reid 
having  been  a  Republican  since  the  birth  of 
that  party  in  1856.     After  taking  an  active 


150 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


part  in  the  campaign,  in  the  winter  of  1860- 
61,  he  went  to  the  state  capital  as  corres- 
pondent of  three  daily  papers.  At  the  close 
of  the  session  of  the  legislature  he  became 
city  editor  of  the  "Cincinnati  Gazette," 
and  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  went  to 
the  front  as  a  correspondent  for  that  journal. 
For  a  time  he  served  on  the  staff  of  General 
Morris  in  West  Virginia,  with  the  rank  of 
captain.  Shortly  after  he  was  on  the  staff 
of  General  Rosecrans,  and,  under  the  name 
of  "Agate,"  wrote  most  graphic  descrip- 
tions of  the  movements  in  the  field,  espe- 
cially that  of  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Land- 
ing. In  the  spring  of  1862  Mr.  Reid  went 
to  Washington  and  was  appointed  librarian 
to  the  house  of  representatives,  and  acted  as 
correspondent  of  the  "  Cincinnati  Gazette." 
His  description  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg, 
written  on  the  field,  gained  him  added 
reputation.  In  1865  he  accompanied  Chief 
Justice  Chase  on  a  southern  tour,  and  pub- 
lished "  After  the  War;  a  Southern  Tour." 
During  the  next  two  years  he  was  engaged 
in  cotton  planting  in  Louisiana  and  Ala- 
bama, and  published  "Ohio  in  the  War. " 
In  1868  he  returned  to  the  "  Cincinnati  Ga- 
zette," becoming  one  of  its  leading  editors. 
The  same  year  he  accepted  the  invitation  of 
Horace  Greeley  and  became  one  of  the  staff 
on  the  "  New  York  Tribune."  Upon  the 
death  of  Mr.  Greeley  in  1872,  Mr.  Reid  be- 
came editor  and  chief  proprietor  of  that 
paper.  In  1878  he  was  tendered  the  United 
States  mission  to  Berlin,  but  declined.  The 
offer  was  again  made  by  the  Garfield  ad- 
ministration, but  again  he  declined.  In 
1878  he  was  elected  by  the  New  York  legis- 
lature regent  of  the  university,  to  succeed 
General  John  A.  Dix.  Under  the  Harrison 
administration  he  served  as  United  States 
minister  to  France,  and  in  1892  was  the 
Republican  nominee  for  the  vice-presidency 


of  the  United  States.  Among  other  works 
published  by  him  were  the  "  Schools  of 
Journalism,"  "The  Scholar  in  Politics," 
"Some  Newspaper  Tendencies,"  and 
' '  Town-Hall  Suggestions. " 


GEORGE  WHITEFIELD  was  one  of 
the  most  powerful  and  effective  preach- 
ers the  world  has  ever  produced,  swaying 
his  hearers  and  touching  the  hearts  of  im- 
mense audiences  in  a  manner  that  has  rarely 
been  equalled  and  never  surpassed.  While 
not  a  native  of  America,  yet  much  of  his 
labor  was  spent  in  this  country.  He  wielded 
a  great  influence  in  the  United  States  in 
early  days,  and  his  death  occurred  here;  so 
that  he  well  deserves  a  place  in  this  volume 
as  one  of  the  most  celebrated  men  America 
has  known. 

George  Whitefield  was  born  in  the  Bull 
Inn,  at  Gloucester,  England,  December  16, 
1 7 14.  He  acquired  the  rudiments  of  learn- 
ing in  St.  Mary's  grammar  school.  Later 
he  attended  Oxford  University  for  a  time, 
where  he  became  intimate  with  the  Oxford 
Methodists,  and  resolved  to  devote  himself 
to  the  ministry.  He  was  ordained  in  the 
Gloucester  Cathedral  June  20^  1S36,  and 
the  following  day  preached  his  first  sermon 
in  the  same  church.  On  that  day  there 
commenced  a  new  era  in  Whitefield's  life. 
He  went  to  London  and  began  to  preach  at 
Bishopsgate  church,  his  fame  soon  spread- 
ing over  the  city,  and  shortly  he  was  en- 
gaged four  times  on  a  single  Sunday  in  ad- 
dressing audiences  of  enormous  magnitude, 
and  he  preached  in  various  parts  of  his  native 
country,  the  people  crowding  in  multitudes 
to  hear  him  and  hanging  upon  the  rails  and 
rafters  of  the  churches  and  approaches  there- 
to. He  finally  sailed  for  America,  landing 
in  Georgia,  where  he  stirred  the  people  to 
great  enthusiasm.      During  the  balance  of 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


153 


his  life  he  divided  his  time  between  Great 
Britain  and  America,  and  it  is  recorded  that 
he  crossed  the  Atlantic  thirteen  times.  He 
came  to  America  for  the  seventh  time  in 
1770.  He  preached  every  day  at  Boston 
from  the  17th  to  the  20th  of  September, 
1770,  then  traveled  to  Newburyport,  preach- 
ing at  Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  September 
29,  on  the  way.  That  evening  he  went  to 
Newburyport,  where  he  died  the  next  day, 
Sunday,  September  30,  1770. 

"  Whitefield's  dramatic  power  was  amaz- 
ing,"  says  an  eminent  writer  in  describing 
him.  "  His  voice  was  marvelously  varied, 
and  he  ever  had  it  at  command — an  organ, 
a  flute,  a  harp,  all  in  one.  His  intellectual 
powers  were  not  of  a  high  order,  but  he  had 
an  abundance  of  that  ready  talent  and  that 
wonderful  magnetism  which  makes  the  pop- 
ular preacher;  and  beyond  all  natural  en- 
dowments, there  was  in  his  ministry  the 
power  of  evangelical  truth,  and,  as  his  con- 
verts believed,  the  presence  of  the  spirit  of 
God." 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  BRUSH,  one  of 
America's  prominent  men  in  the  devel- 
opment of  electrical  science,  was  born  March 
17,  1849,  near  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  spent 
his  early  life  on  his  father's  farm.  From 
the  district  school  at  Wickliffe,  Ohio,  he 
passed  to  the  Shaw  Academy  at  Collamer, 
and  then  entered  the  high  school  at  Cleve- 
land. His  interest  in  chemistry,  physics 
and  engineering  was  already  marked,  and 
during  his  senior  year  he  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  chemical  and  physical  appar- 
atus. During  these  years  he  devised  a  plan 
for  lighting  street  lamps,  constructed  tele- 
scopes, and  his  first  electric  arc  lamp,  also 
an  electric  motor.  In  September,  1867,  he 
entered  the  engineering  department  of  the 
University    of    Michigan    and  graduated  in 


1S69,  which  was  a  year  in  advance  of  his 
class,  with  the  degree  of  M.  E.  He  then 
returned  to  Cleveland,  and  for  three  years 
was  engaged  as  an  analytical  chemist  and 
for  four  years  in  the  iron  business.  In 
1875  Mr.  Brush  became  interested  in  elec- 
tric lighting,  and  in  1876,  after  four  months' 
experimenting,  he  completed  the  dynamo- 
electric  machine  that  has  made  his  name 
famous,  and  in  a  shorter  time  produced  the 
series  arc  lamps.  These  were  both  patent- 
ed in  the  United  States  in  1876,  and  he 
afterward  obtained  fifty  patents  on  his  later 
inventions,  including  the  fundamental  stor- 
age battery,  the  compound  series,  shunt- 
winding  for  dynamo-electric  machines,  and 
the  automatic  cut-out  for  arc  lamps.  His 
patents,  two-thirds  of  which  have  already 
been  profitable,  are  held  by  the  Brush 
Electric  Company,  of  Cleveland,  while  his 
foreign  patents  are  controlled  by  the  Anglo- 
American  Brush  Electric  Light  Company, 
of  London.  In  1880  the  Western  Reserve 
University  conferred  upon  Mr.  Brush  the 
degree  of  Ph.  D.,  and  in  1881  the  French 
government  decorated  him  as  a  chevalier  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor. 


HENRY  CLEWS,  of  Wall-street  fame, 
was  one  of  the  noted  old-time  opera- 
tors on  that  famous  street,  and  was  also  an 
author  of  some  repute.  Mr.  Clews  was 
born  in  Staffordshire,  England,  August  14, 
1840.  His  father  had  him  educated  with 
the  intention  of  preparing  him  for  the  minis- 
try, but  on  a  visit  to  the  United  States  the 
young  man  became  interested  in  a  business 
life,  and  was  allowed  to  engage  as  a  clerk  in 
the  importing  house  of  Wilson  G.  Hunt  & 
Co.,  of  New  York.  Here  he  learned  the 
first  principles  of  business,  and  when  the  war 
broke  out  in  1861  young  Clews  saw  in  the 
needs  of  the    government  an  opportunity  to 


154 


COMPENDIUM    OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


reap  a  golden  harvest.  He  identified  him- 
self with  the  negotiating  of  loans  for  the 
government,  and  used  his  powers  of  pur- 
suasion  upon  the  great  money  powers  to 
convince  them  of  the  stability  of  the  govern- 
ment and  the  value  of  its  securities.  By 
enthusiasm  and  patriotic  arguments  he  in- 
duced capitalists  to  invest  their  money  in 
government  securities,  often  against  their 
judgment,  and  his  success  was  remarkable. 
His  was  one  of  the  leading  firms  that  aided 
the  struggling  treasury  department  in  that 
critical  hour,  and  his  reward  was  great.  In 
addition  to  the  vast  wealth  it  brought. 
President  Lincoln  and  Secretary  Chase 
both  wrote  important  letters,  acknowledging 
his  valued  service.  In  1873,  by  the  repu- 
diation of  the  bonded  indebtedness  of  the 
state  of  Georgia,  Mr.  Clew,',  lost  six  million 
dollars  which  he  had  invested  in  those  se- 
curities. It  is  said  that  he  is  the  only  man, 
with  one  exception,  in  Wall  street,  who 
ever  regained  great  wealth  after  utter  dis- 
aster. His  "  Twenty-Eight  Years  in  Wall 
Street  "  has  been  widely  read. 


ALFRED  VAIL  was  one  of  the  men  that 
gave  to  the  world  the  electric  telegraph 
and  the  names  of  Henry,  Morse  and  Vail 
will  forever  remain  linked  as  the  prime  fac- 
tors in  that  great  achievement.  Mr.  Vail 
was  born  September  25,  1807,  at  Morris- 
town,  New  Jersey,  and  was  a  son  of  Stephen 
Vail,  the  proprietor  of  the  Speedwell  Iron 
Works,  near  Morristown.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen,  after  he  had  completed  his  stud- 
ies at  the  Morristown  Academy,  Alfred  Vail 
went  into  the  Speedwell  Iron  Works  and 
contented  himself  with  the  duties  of  his 
position  until  he  reached  his  majority.  He 
then  determined  to  prepare  himself  for  the 
ministry,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  he 
entered  the  University  of   the   City  of   New 


York,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1836.  His 
health  becoming  impaired  he  labored  for  a 
time  under  much  uncertainty  as  to  his  future 
course.  Professor  S.  F.  B.  Morse  had  come 
to  the  university  in  1835  as  professor  of  lit- 
erature and  fine  arts,  and  about  this  time, 

1837,  Professor  Gale,  occupying  the  chair 
of  chemistry,  invited  Morse  to  exhibit  his 
apparatus  for  the  benefit  of  the  students. 
On  Saturday,  September  2,  1837,  the  exhi- 
bition took  place  and  Vail  was  asked  to  at- 
tend, and  with  his  inherited  taste  for  me- 
chanics and  knowledge  of  their  construction, 
he  saw  a  great  future  for  the  crude  mechan- 
ism used  by  Morse  in  giving  and  recording 
signals.  Mr.  Vail  interested  his  father  in 
the  invention,  and  Morse  was  invited  to 
Speedwell  and  the  elder  Vail  promised  to 
help  him.  It  was  stipulated  that  Alfred 
Vail  should  construct  the  required  apparatus 
and  exhibit  before  a  committee  of  congress 
the  telegraph  instrument,  and  was  to  receive 
a  quarter  interest  in  the  invention.  Morse 
had  devised  a  series  of  ten  numbered  leaden  ! 
types,  which  were  to  be  operated  in  giving  | 
the  signal.  This  was  not  satisfactory  to  i 
Vail,  so  he  devised  an  entirely  new  instru-  . 
ment,  involving  a  lever,  or  "point,"  on  a 
radically  different  principle,  which,  when 
tested,  produced  dots  and  dashes,  and  de- 
vised the  famous  dot-and-dash  alphabet, 
misnamed  the  "  Morse."  At  last  the  ma- 
chine was  in  working  order,  on  January  6, 

1838.  The  machine  was  taken  to  Wash- 
ington, where  it  caused  not  only  wonder, 
but  excitement.  Vail  continued  his  experi- 
ments and  devised  the  lever  and  roller. 
When  the  line  between  Baltimore  and 
Washington  was  completed.  Vail  was  sta- 
tioned at  the  Baltimore  end  and  received 
the  famous  first  message.  It  is  a  remarka- 
ble fact  that  not  a  single  feature  of  the 
original   invention  of    Morse,  as  formulated 


I 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


155. 


by  his  caveat  and  repeated  in  his  original 
patent,  is  to  be  found  in  Vail's  apparatus. 
From  1837  to  1844  it  was  a  combination  of 
the  inventions  of  Morse,  Henry  and  Vail, 
but  the  work  of  Morse  fell  gradually  into 
desuetude,  while  Vail's  conception  of  an 
alphabet  has  remained  unchanged  for  half  a 
century.  Mr.  Vail  published  but  one  work, 
"American  Electro-Magnetic  Telegraph," 
in  1845,  and  died  at  Morristown  at  the  com- 
paratively early  age  of  fifty-one,  on  January 
19.   1859-  

ULYSSES  S.  GRANT,  the  eighteenth 
president  of  the  United  States,  was 
born  April  27,  1822,  at  Point  Pleasant,  Cler- 
mont county,  Ohio.  At  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  entered  the  United  States  Military 
Academy  at  West  Point,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  June,  1843,  and  was  given  his 
brevet  as  second  lieutenant  and  assigned  to 
the  Fourth  Infantry.  He  remained  in  the 
service  eleven  years,  in  which  time  he 
was  engaged  in  the  Mexican  war  with  gal- 
lantry, and  was  thrice  brevetted  for  conduct 
in  the  field.  In  1848  he  married  Miss  Julia 
Dent,  and  in  1854,  having  reached  the 
grade  of  captain,  he  resigned  and  engaged 
in  farming  near  St.  Louis.  In  1S60  he  en- 
tered the  leather  business  with  his  father  at 
Galena,  Illinois. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  in  1861, 
he  commenced  to  drill  a  company  at  Ga- 
lena, and  at  the  same  time  offered  his  serv- 
ices to  the  adjutant-general  of  the  army, 
but  he  had  few  influential  friends,  so  re- 
ceived no  answer.  He  was  employed  by 
the  governor  of  Illinois  in  the  organization 
of  the  various  volunteer  regiments,  and  at 
the  end  of  a  few  weeks  was  given  the 
colonelcy  of  the  Twenty-first  Infantry,  from 
that  state.  His  military  training  and  knowl- 
edge soon  attracted  the  attention  of  his  su- 


perior officers,  and  on  reporting  to  General 
Pope  in  Missouri,  the  latter  put  him  in 
the  way  of  advancement.  August  7,  1861, 
he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general  of  volunteers,  and  for  a  few  weeks 
was  occupied  in  watching  the  movements  of 
partisan  forces  in  Missouri.  September  i, 
the  same  year,  he  was  placed  in  command 
of  the  Department  of  Southeast  Missouri, 
with  headquarters  at  Cairo,  and  on  the  6th 
of  the  month,  without  orders,  seized  Padu- 
cah,  which  commanded  the  channel  of  the 
Ohio  and  Tennessee  rivers,  by  which  he  se- 
cured Kentucky  for  the  Union.  He  now 
received  orders  to  make  a  demonstration  on 
Belmont,  which  he  did,  and  with  about  three 
thousand  raw  recruits  held  his  own  against 
the  Confederates  some  seven  thousand 
strong,  bringing  back  about  two  hundred 
prisoners  and  two  guns.  In  February,]  1862, 
he  moved  up  the  Tennessee  river  with 
the  naval  fleet  under  Commodore  Foote. 
The  latter  soon  silenced  Fort  Henry,  and 
Grant  advanced  against  Fort  Donelson  and 
took  their  fortress  and  its  garrison.  His 
prize  here  consisted  of  si.xty-five  cannon, 
seventeen  thousand  six  hundred  stand  of 
arms,  and  fourteen  thousand  six  hundred 
and  twenty-three  prisoners.  This  was  the 
first  important  success  won  by  the  Union 
forces.  Grant  was  immediately  made  a 
major-general  and  placed  in  command  of 
the  district  of  West  Tennessee.  In  April, 
1862,  he  fought  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Land- 
ing, and  after  the  evacuation  of  Corinth  by 
the  enemy  Grant  became  commander  of  the 
Department  of  the  Tennessee.  He  now 
made  his  first  demonstration  toward  Vicks- 
burg,  but  owing  to  the  incapacity  of  subor- 
dinate officers,  was  unsuccessful.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1863,  he  took  command  of  all  the 
troops  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  devoted 
several  months  to   the   siege   of   Vicksburg, 


156 


COMPENDIUM  OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


which  was  finally  taken  possession  of  by  him 
July  4,  with  thirty-one  thousand  six  hundred 
prisoners  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-two 
cannon,  thus  throwing  the  Mississippi  river 
open  to  the  Federals.  He  was  now  raised 
to  the  rank  of  major-general  in  the  regular 
army.  October  following,  at  the  head  of 
the  Department  of  the  Mississippi,  General 
Grant  went  to  Chattanooga,  where  he  over- 
threw the  enemy,  and  united  with  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland.  The  remarkable  suc- 
cesses achieved  by  him  pointed  Grant  out 
for  an  appropriate  commander  of  all  na- 
tional troops,  and  in  February,  1864,  the 
rank  of  lieutenant-general  was  made  for  him 
by  act  of  congress.  Sending  Sherman  into 
Georgia,  Sigel  into  the  Valley  of  West  Vir- 
ginia and  Butler  to  attempt  the  capture  of 
Richmond  he  fought  his  way  through  the 
Wilderness  to  the  James  and  pressed  the 
siege  of  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy. 
After  the  fall  of  the  latter  Grant  pressed 
the  Confederate  army  so  hard  that  their 
commander  surrendered  at  Appomattox 
Court  House,  April  9,  1865.  This  virtually 
ended  the  war. 

After  the  war  the  rank  of  general  was 
conferred  upon  U.  S.  Grant,  and  in  1868  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  United  States, 
and  re-elected  his  own  successor  in  1872. 
After  the  expiration  of  the  latter  term  he 
made  his  famous  tour  of  the  world.  He  died 
at  Mt.  McGregor,  near  Saratoga,  New  York, 
July  23,  1885,  and  was  buried  at  Riverside 
Park,  New  York,  where  a  magnificent  tomb 
has  been  erected  to  hold  the  ashes  of  the 
nation's  hero. 

JOHN  MARSHALL,  the  fourth  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  United  States  supreme  court, 
was  born  in  Germantown,  Virginia,  Septem- 
ber 24,  1755  His  father.  Colonel  Thomas 
Marshall,  served  with  distinction  in  the  Rev- 


olutionary war,  while  he  also  served  from 
the  beginning  of  the  war  until  1779,  where 
he  became  noted  in  the  field  and  courts 
martial.  While  on  detached  service  he  at- 
tended a  course  of  law  lectures  at  William 
and  Mary  College,  delivered  by  Mr.  Wythe, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  The  next  year 
he  resigned  his  commission  and  began  his 
career  as  a  lawyer.  He  was  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  convention  called  in  Virginia 
to  ratify  the  Federal  constitution.  He  was 
tendered  the  attorney-generalship  of  the 
United  States,  and  also  a  place  on  the  su- 
preme bench,  besides  other  places  of  less 
honor,  all  of  which  he  declined.  He 
went  to  France  as  special  envoy  in  179S, 
and  the  next  year  was  elected  to  congress. 
He  served  one  year  and  was  appointed,  first, 
secretary  of  war,  and  then  secretary  of  state,- 
and  in  1801  was  made  chief  justice  of  the 
United  States.  He  held  this  high  office  un- 
til his  death,  in  1835. 

Chief  Justice  Marshall's  early  education 
was  neglected,  and  his  opinions,  the  most 
valuable  in  existence,  are  noted  for  depth 
of  wisdom,  clear  and  comprehensive  reason- 
ing, justice,  and  permanency,  rather  than  for 
wide  learning  and  scholarly  construction. 
His  decisions  and  rulings  are  resorted  to 
constantly  by  our  greatest  lawyers,  and  his 
renown  as  a  just  judge  and  profound  jurist 
was  world  wide. 


LAWRENCE  BARRETT  is  perhaps 
known  more  widely  as  a  producer  of 
new  plays  than  as  a  great  actor.  He  was 
born  in  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  in  1838,  and 
educated  himself  as  best  he  could,  and  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  years  became  salesman 
for  a  Detroit  dry  goods  house.  He  after- 
wards began  to  go  upon  the  stage  as  a 
supernumerary,  and  his  ambition  was  soon 
rewarded  by  the  notice  of  the  management. 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


157 


During  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  a 
soldier,  and  after  valiant  service  for  his 
country  he  returned  to  the  stage.  He  went 
to  Europe  and  appeared  in  Liverpool,  and 
returning  in  1869,  he  began  playing  at 
Booth's  theater,  with  Mr.  Booth.  He  was 
afterward  associated  with  John  McCullough 
in  the  management  of  the  California 
theater.  Probably  the  most  noted  period 
of  his  work  was  during  his  connection  with 
Edwin  Booth  as  manager  of  that  great 
actor,  and  supporting  him  upon  the  stage. 
Mr.  Barrett  was  possessed  of  the  crea- 
tive instinct,  and,  unlike  Mr.  Booth,  he 
sought  new  fields  for  the  display  of  his 
genius,  and  only  resorted  to  traditional 
drama  in  response  to  popular  demand.  He 
preferred  new  plays,  and  believed  in  the 
encouragement  of  modern  dramatic  writers, 
and  was  the  only  actor  of  prominence  in  his 
time  that  ventured  to  put  upon  the  stage 
new  American  plays,  which  he  did  at  his 
own  expense,  and  the  success  of  his  experi- 
ments proved  the  quality  of  his  judgment. 
He  died  March  21,  189 1. 


ARCHBISHOP  JOHN  HUGHES,  a  cel- 
ebrated Catholic  clergyman,  was  born 
at  Annaboghan,  Tyrone  county,  Ireland, 
June  24,  1797,  and  emigrated  to  America 
when  twenty  years  of  age,  engaging  for 
some  time  as  a  gardener  and  nurseryman. 
In  1 8 19  he  entered  St.  Mary's  College, 
where  he  secured  an  education,  paying  his 
way  by  caring  for  the  college  garden.  In 
1825  he  was  ordained  a  deacon  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  church,  and  in  the  same  year, 
priest.  Until  1838  he  had  pastoral  charges 
in  Philadelphia,  where  he  founded  St.  John's 
Asylum  in  1829,  and  a  few  years  later  es- 
tablished the  "Catholic  Herald."  In  1838 
he  was  made  bishop  of  Basileopolis  in  parti- 
bus    and    coadjutor   to    Bishop  Dubois,   of 


New  York,  and  in  1842  became  bishop  of 
New  York.  In  1839  he  founded  St.  John's 
College,  at  Fordham.  In  1850  he  was 
made  archbishop  of  New  York.  In  186 1-2 
he  was  a  special  agent  of  the  United  States 
in  Europe,  after  which  he  returned  to  this 
country  and  remained  until  his  death,  Jan- 
uary 3,  1864.  Archbishop  Hughes  early 
attracted  much  attention  by  his  controver- 
sial correspondence  with  Rev.  John  Breck- 
inridge in  1833-35.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
ability,  a  fluent  and  forceful  writer  and  an 
able  preacher. 


RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 
was  the  nineteenth  president  of  the 
United  States  and  served  from  1877  to  1881. 
He  was  born  October  4,  1822,  at  Delaware, 
Ohio,  and  his  ancestry  can  be  traced  back 
as  far  as  1280,  when  Hayes  and  Rutherford 
were  two  Scottish  chieftans  fighting  side  by 
side  with  Baliol,  William  Wallace  and 
Robert  Bruce.  The  Hayes  family  had  for 
a- coat  of  arms,  a  shield,  barred  and  sur- 
mounted by  a  flying  eagle.  There  was  a 
circle  of  stars  about  the  eagle,  while  on  a 
scroll  underneath  was  their  motto,  "Recte." 
Misfortune  overtook  the  family  and  in  i680' 
George  Hayes,  the  progenitor  of  the  Ameri- 
can family,  came  to  Connecticut  and  settled 
at  Windsor.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was 
a  very  delicate  child  at  his  birth  and  was 
not  expected  to  live,  but  he  lived  in  spite  of 
all  and  remained  at  home  until  he  was 
seven  years  old,  when  he  was  placed  in 
school.  He  was  a  very  tractablepupil,  being 
always  very  studious,  and  in  1838  entered 
Kenyon  College,  graduating  from  the  same 
in  1842.  He  then  took  up  the  study  of  law 
in  the  office  of  Thomas  Sparrow  at  Colum- 
bus, but  in  a  short  time  he  decided  to  enter 
a  law  school  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
where  for  two  years  he  was  immersed  in  the 


158 


COMPENDIUM   OF  BIOGRAPHY. 


study  of  law.  Mr.  Hayes  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1845  in  Marietta,  Ohio,  and  very 
soon  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  his 
profession  with  Ralph  P.  Buckland,  of 
Fremont,  Ohio.  He  remained  there  three 
years,  and  in  1849  removed  to  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  where  his  ambition  found  a  new 
stimulus.  Two  events  occurred  at  this 
period  that  had  a  powerful  influence  on  his 
after  life.  One  was  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Lucy  Ware  Webb,  and  the  other  was  his 
introduction  to  a  Cincinnati  literary  club, 
a  body  embracing  such  men  as  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  John  Pope,  and  Edward  F.  Noyes. 
In  1856  he  was  nominated  for  judge  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas,  but  declined,  and 
two  years  later  he  was  appointed  city 
solicitor.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion 
Mr.  Hayes  was  appointed  major  of  the 
Twenty-third  Ohio  Infantry,  June  7,  1861, 
and  in  July  the  regiment  was  ordered  to 
Virginia,  and  October  15,  1861,  saw  him 
promoted  to  the  lieutenant-colonelcy  of  his 
regiment.  He  was  made  colonel  of  the 
Seventy-ninth  Ohio  Infantry,  but  refused  to 
leave  his  old  comrades;  and  in  the  battle  of 
South  Mountain  he  was  wounded  very 
severely  and  was  unable  to  rejoin  his  regi- 
ment until  November  30,  1862.  He  had 
been  promoted  to  the  colonelcy  of  the 
regiment  on  October  15,  1862.  In  the 
following  December  he  was  appointed  to 
command  the  Kanawa  division  and  was 
given  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  for 
meritorious  services  in  several  battles,  and 
in  1864  he  was  brevetted  major-general  for 
distinguished  services  in  1864,  during 
which  campaign  he  was  wounded  several 
times  and  five  horses  had  been  shot  under 
him.  Mr.  Hayes'  first  venture  in  politics 
was  as  a  Whig,  and  later  he  was  one  of  the 
first  to  unite  with  the  Republican  party.  In 
1864  he  was  elected  from  the  Second  Ohio 


district  to  congress,  re-elected  in  1866, 
and  in  1867  was  elected  governor  of  Ohio 
over  Allen  G.  Thurman,  and  was  re-elected 
in  1869.  Mr.  Hayes  was  elected  to  the 
presidency  in  1876,  for  the  term  of  four 
years,  and  at  its  close  retired  to  private  life, 
and  went  to  his  home  in  Fremont,  Ohio, 
where  he  died  on  January  17,  1893. 


WILLIAM  JENNINGS  BRYAN  became 
a  celebrated  character  as  the  nominee 
of  the  Democratic  and  Populist  parties  for 
president  of  the  United  States  in  1896.  He 
was  born  March  19,  i860,  at  Salem,  Illi- 
nois. He  received  his  early  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  and 
later  on  he  attended  the  Whipple  Academy 
at  Jacksonville.  He  also  took  a  course  in 
Illinois  College,  and  after  his  graduation 
from  the  same  went  to  Chicago  to  study 
law,  and  entered  the  Union  College  of  Law 
a?  a  student.  He  was  associated  with  the 
late  Lyman  Trumbull,  of  Chicago,  during 
his  law  studies,  and  devoted  considerable 
time  to'  the  questions  of  government.  He 
graduated  from  the  college,  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  went  to  Jacksonville,  Illinois, 
where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Eliza- 
beth Baird.  In  1887  Mr.  Bryan  removed 
to  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  and  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  Adolphus  R.  Talbot.  He 
entered  the  field  of  politics,  and  in  18SS 
was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  state  con- 
vention, which  was  to  choose  delegates  to 
the  national  convention,  during  which  he 
made  a  speech  which  immediately  won  him 
a  high  rank  in  political  affairs.  He  declined, 
in  the  next  state  convention,  a  nomination 
for  lieutenant-governor,  and  in  1890  he  was 
elected  congressman  from  the  First  district 
of  Nebraska,  and  was  the  youngest  member 
of  the  fifty-second  congress.  He  cham- 
pioned  the  Wilson  tariff  bill,    and   served 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


159 


three  terms  in  the  house  of  representatives. 
He  next  ran  for  senator,  but  was  defeated 
by  John  M.  Thurston,  and  in  1896  he  was 
selected  by  the  Democratic  and  PopuHst 
parties  as  their  nominee  for  the  presidency, 
being  defeated  by  William  McKinley. 


M' 


ARVIN  HUGHITT,  one  of  America's 
famous  railroad  men,  was  born  in 
Genoa,  New  York,  and  entered  the  railway 
service  in  1856  as  superintendent  of  tele- 
graph and  trainmaster  of  the  St.  Louis,  Al- 
ton &  Chicago,  now  Chicago  &  Alton  Rail- 
road. Mr.  Hughitt  was  superintendent  of 
the  southern  division  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  from  1862  until  1864,  and  was,  later 
on,  the  general  superintendent  of  the  road 
until  1S70.  He  was  then  connected  with 
the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Rail- 
road as  assistant  general  manager,  and  re- 
tained this  position  until  1871,  when  he  be- 
came the  general  manager  of  Pullman's 
Palace  Car  Company.  In  1872  he  was  made 
general  superintendent  of  the  Chicago  & 
Northwestern  Railroad.  He  served  during 
1876  and  up  to  1880  as  general  manager, 
and  from  1880  until  1887  as  vice-presi- 
dent and  general  manager.  He  was  elected 
president  of  the  road  in  1887,  in  recog- 
nition of  his  ability  in  conducting  the 
affairs  of  the  road.  He  was  also  chosen 
president  of  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minne- 
apolis &  Omaha  Railway;  the  Fremont,  Elk- 
horn  &  Missouri  Valley  Railroad,  and  the 
Milwaukee,  Lake  Shore  &  Western  Railroad, 
and  his  services  in  these  capacities  stamped 
him  as  one  of  the  most  able  railroad  mana- 
gers of  his  day. 


JOSEPH  MEDILL,  one  of  the  most 
eminent  of  American  journalists,  was 
born  in  New  Brunswick,  Canada,  April  6, 
1823.     In  1 83 1  his  father  moved  to  Stark 


county,  Ohio,  and  until  1841  Joseph  Medill 
worked  on  his  father's  farm.  Later  he 
studied  law,  and  began  the  practice  of  that 
profession  in  1846  at  New  Philadelphia, 
Ohio.  But  the  newspaper  field  was  more 
attractive  to  Mr.  Medill,  and  three  years 
later  he  founded  a  free-soil  Whig  paper  at 
Coshocton,  Ohio,  and  after  that  time  jour- 
nalism received  all  his  abilities.  "The 
Leader, "  another  free-soil  Whig  paper,  was 
founded  by  Mr.  Medill  at  Cleveland  in  1852. 
In  that  city  he  also  became  one  of  the  first 
organizers  of  the  Republican  party.  Shortly 
after  that  event  he  removed  to  Chicago  and 
in  1855,  with  two  partners,  he  purchased 
the  "  Chicago  Tribune."  In  the  contest  for 
the  nomination  for  the  presidency  in  i860, 
Mr.  Medill  worked  with  unflagging  zeal  for 
Mr.  Lincoln,  his  warm  personal  friend,  and 
was  one  of  the  president's  stanchest  sup- 
porters during  the  war.  Mr.  Medill  was  a 
member  of  the  Illinois  Constitutional  con- 
vention in  1870.  President  Grant,  in  1871, 
appointed  the  editor  a  member  of  the  firs^ 
United  States  civil  service  commission,  and 
the  following  year,  after  the  fire,  he  was 
elected  mayor  of  Chicago  by  a  great  ma- 
jority. During  1873  and  1874  Mr.  Medill 
spent  a  year  in  Europe.  Upon  his  return 
he  purchased  a  controlling  interest  in  the 
"  Chicago  Tribune." 


CLAUSSPRECKELS,  the  great  "  sugar 
baron,"  and  one  of  the  most  famous 
representatives  of  commercial  life  in  Amer- 
ica, was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  and 
emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1840, 
locating  in  New  York.  He  very  soon  be- 
came the  proprietor  of  a  small  retail  gro- 
cery store  on  Church  street,  and  embarked 
on  a  career  that  has  since  astonished  the 
world.  He  sold  out  his  business  and  went 
to  California  with  the  argonauts  of  1849, 


160 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


not  as  a  prospector,  but  as  a  trader,  and  for 
years  after  his  arrival  on  the  coast  he  was 
still  engaged  as  a  grocer.  At  length,  after  a 
quarter  of  a  century  of  fairly  prosperous 
business  life,  he  found  himself  in  a  position 
where  an  ordinary  man  would  have  retired, 
but  Mr.  Spreckles  did  not  retire;  he  had 
merely  been  gathering  capital  for  the  real 
work  of  his  life.  His  brothers  had  followed 
him  to  California,  and  in  combination  with 
them  he  purchased  for  forty  thousand  dollars 
an  interest  in  the  Albany  Brewery  in  San 
Francisco.  But  the  field  was  not  extensive 
enough  for  the  development  of  his  business 
abilities,  so  Mr.  Sprecklas  branched  out 
extensively  in  the  sugar  business.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  the  entire  output  of 
sugar  that  was  produced  on  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  and  after  1885  was  known  as 
the  "Sugar  King  of  Sandv/ich  Islands." 
He  controlled  absolutely  the  sugar  trade  of 
the  Pacific  coast  which  was  known  to  be 
not  less  than  ten  million  dollars  a  year. 


CHARLES  HENRY  PARKHURST, 
famous  as  a  clergyman,  and  for  many 
years  president  of  the  Society  for  the 
Prevention  of  Crime,  was  born  April  17, 
1842,  at  Framingham,  Massachusetts,  of 
English  descent.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
he  was  pupil  in  the  grammar  school  at 
Clinton,  Massachusetts,  and  for  the  ensu- 
ing two  years  was  a  clerk  in  a  dry  goods 
store,  which  position  he  gave  up  to  prepare 
himself  for  college  at  Lancaster  academy. 
Mr.  Parkhurst  went  to  Amherst  in  1862, 
and  after  taking  a  thorough  course  he  gradu- 
ated in  1866,  and  in  1867  became  the  prin- 
cipal of  the  Amherst  High  School.  He  re- 
tained this  position  until  1870,  when  he 
visited  Germany  with  the  intention  of  tak- 
ing a  course  in  philosophy  and  theology, 
but  was  forced  to  abandon  this  intention  on 


account  of  illness  in  the  family  causing  his 
early  return  from  Europe.  He  accepted  the 
chair  of  Latin  and  Greek  in  Williston  Semi- 
nary, Easthampton,  Massachusetts,  and  re- 
mained there  two  years.  He  then  accom- 
panied his  wife  to  Europe,  and  devoted  two 
years  to  study  in  Halle,  Leipsic  and  Bonn. 
Upon  his  return  home  he  spent  considerable 
time  in  the  study  of  Sanscrit,  and  in  1874 
he  became  the  pastor  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional church  at  Lenox,  Massachusetts.  He 
gained  here  his  reputation  as  a  pulpit  ora- 
tor, and  on  March  9,  1880,  he  became  the 
pastor  of  the  Madison  Square  Presbyterian 
church  of  New  York.  He  was,  in  1890, 
made  a  member  of  the  Society  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Crime,  and  the  same  year  be- 
came its  president.  He  delivered  a  sermon 
in  1892  on  municipal  corruption,  for  which 
he  was  brought  before  the  grand  jury,  wliich 
body  declared  his  charges  to  be  without  suiB- 
cient  foundation.  But  the  matter  did  not  end 
here,  for  he  immediately  went  to  work  on  a 
second  sermon  in  which  he  substantiated  his 
former  sermon  and  wound  up  by  saying, 
"I  know,  for  I  have  seen."  He  was  again 
summoned  before  that  august  body,  and  as 
a  result  of  his  testimony  and  of  the  investi- 
gation of  the  jurors  themselves,  the  police 
authorities  were  charged  with  incompetency 
and  corruption.  Dr.  Parkhurst  was  the 
author  of  the  following  works:  ' '  The  Forms 
of  the  Latin  Verb,  Illustrated  by  Sanscrit," 
"The  Blind  Man's  Creed  and  Other  Ser- 
mons," "The  Pattern  on  the  Mount,"  and 
"  Three  Gates  on  a  Side." 


HENRY  BERGH,  although  a  writer, 
diplomatist  and  governrrient  official, 
was  noted  as  a  philanthropist — the  founder 
of  the  American  Society  for  the  Prevention 
of  Cruelty  to  Animals.  On  his  labors  for 
the    dumb    creation    alone    rests  his   fame. 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


161 


Alone,  in  the  face  of  indifference,  opposition 
and  ridicule,  he  began  the  reform  which  is 
now  recognized  as  one  of  the  beneficent 
movements  of  the  age.  Through  his  exer- 
tions as  a  speaker  and  lecturer,  but  above 
all  as  a  bold  worker,  in  the  street,  in  the 
court  room,  before  the  legislature,  the  cause 
he  adopted  gained  friends  and  rapidly  in- 
creased in  power  until  it  has  reached  im- 
mense proportions  and  influence.  The  work 
of  the  society  covers  all  cases  of  cruelty  to 
all  sorts  of  animals,  employs  every  moral 
agency,  social,  legislative  and  personal,  and 
touches  points  of  vital  concern  to  health  as 
well  as  humanity. 

Henry  Bergh  was  born  in  New  York 
City  in  1823,  and  was  educated  at  Colum- 
bia College.  In  1S63  he  was  made  secre- 
tary of  the  legation  to  Russia  and  also 
served  as  vice-consul  there.  He  also  de- 
voted some  time  to  literary  pursuits  and  was 
the  author  of  "Love's  Alternative,"  a 
drama;  "Married  Off,"  a  poem;  ""The 
Portentous  Telegram, "  "The  Ocean  Para- 
gon;" "The  Streets  of  New  York,"  tales 
and  sketches. 


HENRY  BENJAMIN  WHIPPLE,  one 
of  the  most  eminent  of  American  di- 
vines, was  born  in  Adams,  Jefferson  county. 
New  York,  February  15,  1822.  He  was 
brought  up  in  the  mercantile  business,  and 
early  in  life  took  an  active  interest  in  polit- 
ical affairs.  In  1847  he  became  a  candidate 
for  holy  orders  and  pursued  theological 
studies  with  Rev.  W.  D.  Wilson,  D.  D., 
afterward  professor  in  Cornell  University. 
He  was  ordained  deacon  in  1849,  in  Trinity 
church,  Geneva,  New  York,  by  Rt.  Rev. 
W.  H.  De  Lancey,  D.  D.,  and  took  charge 
of  Zion  church,  Rome,  New  York,  Decem- 
ber I,  T849.  In  1850,  our  subject  was  or- 
dained priest    by   Bishop  De    Lancey.      In 


1857  he  became  rector  of  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Communion,  Chicago.  On  the  30th 
of  June,  1859,  he  was  chosen  bishop  of 
Minnesota,  and  took  charge  of  the  interests 
of  the  Episcopal  church  in  that  state,  being 
located  at  Faribault.  In  i860  Bishop 
Whipple,  with  Revs.  I.  L.  Breck,  S.  W. 
Mauncey  and  E.  S.  Peake,  organized  the 
Bishop  Seabury  Mssion,  out  of  which  has 
grown  the  Cathedral  of  Our  Merciful  Savior, 
the  Seabury  Divinity  School,  Shattuck 
School  and  St.  Mary's  Hall,  which  have 
made  Faribault  City  one  of  the  greatest 
educational  centers  of  the  northwest.  Bishop 
Whipple  also  became  noted  as  the  friend 
and  defender  of  the  North  American  In- 
dians and  planted  a  number  of  successful 
missions  among  them. 


EZRA  CORNELL  was  one  of  the  greatest 
philanthropists  and  friends  of  education 
the  coimtry  has  known.  He  was  born  at 
Westchester  Landing,  New  York,  January 
II,  1807.  He  grew  to  manhood  in  his  na- 
tive state  and  became  a  prominent  figure  in 
business  circles  as  a  successful  and  self-made 
man.  Soon  after  the  invention  of  the  elec- 
tric telegraph,  he  devoted  his  attention  to 
that  enterprise,  and  accumulated  an  im- 
mense fortune.  In  1865,  by  a  gift  of  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  he  made  possible 
the  founding  of  Cornell  University,  which; 
was  named  in  his  honor.  He  afterward 
made  additional  bequests  amountingto  many 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  His  death  oc- 
curred at  Ithaca,  New  York,  December  9, 
1874-  

IGNATIUS  DONNELLY,  widely  knowr. 
1  as  an  author  and  politician,  was  born  in 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  November  3, 
1 83 1.  He  was  educated  at  the  public 
schools  of  that  city,  and  graduated  from  the 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


Central  High  School  in  1849.  He  studied 
law  in  the  office  of  Judge  B.  H.  Brewster, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1852.  In 
the  spring  of  1S56,  Mr.  Donnelly  emigrated 
to  Minnesota,  then  a  new  territory,  and,  at 
Hastings,  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in 
partnership  with  A.  M.  Hayes.  In  1857, 
and  again  in  1858,  he  was  defeated  for  state 
senator,  but  in  1859  he  was  elected  by  the 
Republicans  as  lieutenant-governor,  and  re- 
elected in  1 86 1.  In  1862  he  was  elected  to 
represent  the  Second  district  of  Minnesota 
in  congress.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  same 
office  in  1864  and  in  1866.  He  was  an 
abolitionist  and  warmly  supported  President 
Lincoln's  administration,  but  was  strongly 
in  favor  of  leniency  toward  the  people  of 
the  south,  after  the  war.  In  many  ways  he 
was  identified  with  some  of  the  best  meas- 
ures brought  before  the  house  during  his 
presence  there.  In  the  spring  of  1868,  at 
the  request  of  the  Republican  national  com- 
mittee, he  canvassed  New  Hampshire  and 
Connecticut  in  the  interests  of  that  party. 
E.  B.  Washburne  about  this  time  made  an 
attack  on  Donnelly  in  one  of  the  papers  of 
Minnesota,  which  was  replied  to  on  the  floor 
■of  the  house  by  a  fierce  phillipic  that  will 
long  be  remembered.  Through  the  inter- 
-ventionof  the  Washburne  interests  Mr.  Don- 
nelly failed  of  a  re-election  in  1870.  In 
1873  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  from 
Dakota  county,  and  continuously  re-elected 
until  1878.  In  1886  he  was  elected  mem- 
ber of  the  house  for  two  years.  In  later 
years  he  identified  himself  with  the  Popu- 
list party. 

In  1882,  Mr.  Donnelly  became  known  as 
an  author,  publishing  his  first  literary  work, 
"Atlantis,  the  Antediluvian  World,"  which 
passed  through  over  twenty-two  editions  in 
America,  several  in  England,  and  was  trans- 
lated into  French.      This  was   followed  by 


"  Ragnarok,  the  Age  of  Fire  and  Gravel," 
which  attained  nearly  as  much  celebrity  as 
the  first,  and  these  two,  in  the  opinion  of 
scientific  critics,  are  sufficient  to  stamp  the 
author  as  a  most  capable  and  painstaking 
student  of  the  facts  he  has  collated  in  them. 
The  work  by  which  he  gained  the  greatest 
notoriety,  however,  was  ' '  The  Great  Cryp- 
togram, or  Francis  Bacon's  Cipher  in  the 
Shakespeare  Plays."  "Caesar's  Column," 
"  Dr.  Huguet,"  and  other  works  were  pub- 
lished subsequently. 

STEVEN  V.  WHITE,  a  speculator  of 
Wall  Street  of  national  reputation,  was 
born  in  Chatham  county.  North  Carolina, 
August  I,  1 83 1,  and  .soon  afterward  re- 
moved to  Illinois.  His  home  was  a  log 
cabin,  and  until  his  eighteenth  year  he 
worked  on  the  farm.  Then  after  several 
years  of  struggle  with  poverty  he  graduated 
from  Knox  College,  and  went  to  St.  Louis, 
where  he  entered  a  wholesale  boot  and  shoe 
house  as  bookkeeper.  He  then  studied  law 
and  worked  as  a  reporter  for  the  "Missouri 
Democrat."  After  his  admission  to  the  bar 
he  went  to  New  York,  in  1865,  and  became 
a  member  of  the  banking  house  of  Marvin 
&  White.  Mr.  White  enjoyed  the  reputa- 
tion of  having  engineered  the  only  corner 
in  Wall  Street  since  Commodore  Vander- 
bilt's  time.  This  was  the  famous  Lacka- 
wanna deal  in  1883,  in  which  he  made  a 
profit  of  two  million  dollars.  He  was  some- 
times called  "  Deacon"  White,  and,  though 
a  member  for  many  years  of  the  Plymouth 
church,  he  never  held  that  office.  Mr. 
White  was  one  of  the  most  noted  characters 
of  the  street,  and  has  been  called  an  orator, 
poet,  philanthropist,  linguist,  abolitionist, 
astronomer,  schoolmaster,  plowboy,  and 
trapper.  He  was  a  lawyer,  e.x-congress- 
man,  expert  accountant,  art  critic  andtheo- 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


lOgian.  He  laid  the  foundation  for  a 
"Home  for  Colored  People,"  in  Chatham 
county,  North  Carolina,  where  the  greater 
part  of  his  father's  life  was  spent,  and  in 
whose  memory  the  work  was  undertaken. 


JAMES  A.  GARFIELD,  the  twentieth 
president  of  the  United  States,  was  born 
November  19,  1831,  in  Cuyahoga  county, 
Ohio,  and  was  the  son  of  Abram  and  Eliza 
(Baliou)  Garfield.  In  1833  the  father,  an 
industrious  pioneer  farmer,  died,  and  the 
care  of  the  family  devolved  upon  Thomas, 
to  whom  James  became  deeply  indebted  for 
educational  and  other  advantages.  As  James 
grew  up  he  was  industrious  and  worked  on 
the  farm,  at  carpentering,  at  chopping  wood, 
or  anything  else  he  found  to  do,  and  in  the 
meantirne  made  the  most  of  his  books. 

Until  he  was  about  sixteen,  James'  high- 
est ambition  was  to  become  a  sea  captain. 
On  attaining  that  age  he  walked  to 
Cleveland,  and,  not  being  able  to  find  work, 
he  engaged  as  a  driver  on  the  Ohio  &  Penn- 
sylvania canal,  but  quit  this  after  a  short 
time.  He  attended  the  seminary  at  Ches- 
ter for  about  three  years,  after  which  he 
entered  Hiram  Institute,  a  school  started  by 
the  Disciples  of  Christ  in  1850.  In  order 
to  pay  his  way  he  assumed  the  duties  of 
janitor  and  at  times  taught  school.  After 
completing  his  course  at  the  last  named  edu- 
cational institution  he  entered  Williams  Col- 
lege, from  which  he  graduated  in  1856.  He 
afterward  returned  to  Hiram  College  as  its 
president.  He  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1859.  November  11,  1858, 
Mr.  Garfield  and  Lucretia  Rudolph  were 
married. 

In  1859  Mr.  Garfield  made  his  first  polit- 
ical speeches,  at  Hiram  and  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. The  same  year  he  was  elected  to  the 
state  senate. 


On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  in  1861, 
he  became  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Forty 
second  Ohio  Infantry,  and,  while  but  a  ne^' 
soldier,  was  given  command  of  four  regi- 
ments of  infantry  and  eight  companies  of 
cavalry,  with  which  he  drove  the  Confeder- 
ates under  Humphrey  Marshall  out  of  Ken 
tucky.  January  II,  1862,  he  was  commis- 
sioned brigadier-general.  He  participated 
with  General  Buell  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh 
and  the  operations  around  Corinth,  and  was 
then  detailed  as  a  member  of  the  Fitz  John 
Porter  court-martial.  Reporting  to  General 
Rosecrans,  he  was  assigned  to  the  position 
of  chief  of  staff,  and  resigned  his  position, 
with  the  rank  of  major-general,  when  his 
immediate  superior  was  superseded.  In 
the  fall  of  1862  Mr.  Garfield  was  elected  to 
congress  and  remained  in  that  body,  either 
in  the  house  or  senate,  until  1880. 

June  8,  1880,  at  the  national  Republican 
convention,  held  in  Chicago,  General  Gar- 
field was  nominated  for  the  presidency,  and 
was  elected.  He  was  inaugurated  March 
4,  1 88 1,  but,  July  2,  following,  he  was  shot 
and  fatally  wounded  by  Charles  Guiteau  for 
some  fancied  political  slight,  and  died  Sep- 
tember 19,   1 88  I. 


INCREASE  MATHER  was  one  of  the 
1  most  prominent  preachers,  educators  and 
authors  of  early  times  in  the  Nev^  England 
states.  He  was  born  at  Dorchester,  Massa- 
chusetts, June  21,  1639,  and  was  given  an 
excellent  education,  graduating  at  Harvard 
in  1656,  and  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
two  years  later.  He  was  ordained  a  min- 
ister, and  preached  in  England  and  America, 
and  in  1664  became  pastor  of  the  North 
church,  in  Boston.  In  1685  he  became 
president  of  Harvard  University,  serving 
until  1 701.  In  1692  he  received  the  first 
doctorate  in  divinity    conferred  in  English 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


speaking  America.  The  same  year  he  pro- 
cured in  England  a  new  charter  for  Massa- 
chusetts, which  conferred  upon  himself  the 
power  of  naming  the  governor,  lieutenant- 
governor  and  council.  He  opposed  the 
severe  punishment  of  witchcraft,  and  took 
a  prominent  part  in  all  public  affairs  of  his 
day.  He  was  a  prolific  writer,  and  became 
the  author  of  nearly  one  hundred  publica- 
tions, large  and  small.  His  death  occurred 
August  23,  1723,  at  Boston. 


COTTON  MATHER,  a  celebrated  minis- 
ter in  the  "Puritan  times"  of  New 
England,  was  born  at  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts, February  12,  1663,  being  a  son  of 
Rev.  Increase  Mather,  and  a  grandson  of 
John  Cotton.  A  biography  of  his  father 
will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
Cotton  Mather  received  his  early  education 
in  his  native  city,  was  trained  by  Ezekiel 
Cheever,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1678;  became  a  teacher,  and  in  1684 
was  ordained  as  associate  pastor  of  North 
church,  Boston,  with  his  father,  having  by 
persistent  effort  overcome  an  impediment  in 
his  speech.  He  labored  with  great  zeal  as 
a  pastor,  endeavoring  also,  to  establish  the 
ascendancy  of  the  church  and  ministry  in 
civil  affairs,  and  in  the  putting  down  of 
witchcraft  by  legal  sentences,  a  work  in 
which  he  took  an  active  part  and  through 
which  he  is  best  known  in  history.  He  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  D.  D.  in  17 10,  con- 
ferred by  the  University  of  Glasgow,  and 
F.  R.  S.  in  17 1 3.  His  death  occurred  at 
Boston,  February  13,  1728.  He  was  the 
author  of  many  publications,  among  which 
were  "  Memorable  Providences  Relating  to 
Witchcraft,"  "Wonders  of  the  Invisible 
World,"  "Essays  to  Do  Good,"  "  Mag- 
nalia  Christi  Americana,"  and  "  Illustra- 
tions of  the  Sacred  Scriptures."     Some  of 


these  works  are  quaint  and  curious,  full  of 
learning,  piety  and  prejudice.  A  well- 
known  writer,  in  summing  up  the  life  and 
character  of  Cotton  Mather,  says:  ' '  Mather, 
with  all  the  faults  of  his  early  years,  was  a 
man  of  great  excellence  of  character.  He 
labored  zealously  for  the  benefit  of  the 
poor,  for  mariners,  slaves,  criminals  and 
Indians.  His  cruelty  and  credulity  were 
the  faults  of  his  age,  while  his  philanthro- 
phy  was  far  more  rare  in  that  age  than  in 
the  present." 

WILLIAM  A.  PEFFER,  who  won  a 
national  reputation  during  the  time 
he  was  in  the  United  States  senate,  was 
born  on  a  farm  in  Cumberland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  September  10,  1831.  He 
drew  his  education  from  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  state  and  at  the  age  of  fJteen 
taught  school  in  winter,  working  on  a  farm 
in  the  summer.  In  June,  1853,  while  yet  a 
young  man,  he  removed  to  Indiana,  and 
opened  up  a  farm  in  St.  Joseph  county. 
In  1859  he  made  his  way  to  Missouri  and 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Morgan  county,  but  on 
account  of  the  war  and  the  unsettled  state 
of  the  country,  he  moved  to  Illinois  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1862,  and  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
Company  F,  Eighty-third  Illinois  Infantry, 
the  following  August.  He  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant  in 
March,  1863,  and  served  successively  as 
quartermaster,  adjutant,  post  adjutant, 
judge  advocate  of  a  military  commission, 
and  depot  quartermaster  in  the  engineer 
department  at  Nashville.  He  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service  June  26,  1865.  He  had, 
during  his  leisure  hours  while  in  the  army, 
studied  law,  and  in  August,  1865,  he  com- 
menced the  practice  of  that  profession  at 
Clarksville,  Tennessee.  He  removed  to 
Kansas  in   1870    and   practiced  there  until 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


165 


1878,  in  the  meantime  establishing  and 
conducting  two  newspapers,  the  ' '  Fredonia 
Journal  "  and  "  Coffeyville  Journal." 

Mr.  Peffer  was  elected  to  the  state  senate 
in  1874  and  was  a  prominent  and  influential 
member  of  several  important  committees. 
He  served  as  a  presidential  elector  in  1880. 
The  year  following  he  became  editor  of  the 
"  Kansas  Farmer,"  which  he  made  a  promi- 
nent and  useful  paper.  In  1890  Mr.  Peffer 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate  as 
a  member  of  the  People's  party  and  took 
his  seat  March  4,  1891.  After  six  years  of 
service  Senator  Peffer  was  succeeded  in 
March,  1897,  by  William  A.  Harris. 


ROBERT  MORRIS.— The  name  of  this 
financier,  statesman  and  patriot  is 
closely  connected  with  the  early  history  of 
the  United  States.  He  was  a  native  of 
England,  born  January  20,  1734,  and  came 
to  America  with  his  father  when  thirteen 
years  old.  Until  1754  he  served  in  the 
counting  house  of  Charles  Willing,  then 
formed  a  partnership  with  that  gentleman's 
son,  which  continued  with  great  success  until 
1793.  In  1776  Mr.  Morris  was  a  delegate 
to  the  Continental  congress,  and,  although 
once  voting  against  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, signed  that  paper  on  its  adop- 
tion, and  was  several  times  thereafter  re- 
elected to  congress.  During  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  the  services  of  Robert  Morris 
in  aiding  the  government  during  its  finan- 
cial difficulties  were  of  incalculable  value;  he 
freely  pledged  his  personal  credit  for  sup- 
plies for  the  army,  atone  time  to  the  amount 
of  about  one  and  a  half  million  dollars,  with- 
out which  the  campaign  of  1781  would  have 
been  almost  impossible.  Mr.  Morris  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  finance  in  1781 
and  served  until  1784,  continuing  to  employ 
liis  personal  credit  to  facilitate  the  needs  of 


his  department.  He  also  served  as  mem- 
ber of  the  Pennsylvania  legislature,  and 
from  1786  to  1795  was  United  States  sena- 
tor, declining  meanwhile  the  position  of  sec- 
retary of  the  treasury,  and  suggesting  the 
name  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  who  was  ap- 
pointed to  that  post.  During  the  latter 
part  of  his  life  Mr.  Morris  was  engaged  ex- 
tensively in  the  China  trade,  and  later  be- 
came involved  in  land  speculations,  which 
ruined  him,  so  that  the  remaining  days  of 
this  noble  man  and  patriot  were  passed 
in  confinement  for  debt.  His  death  occurred 
at  Philadelphia,  May  8,  1806. 


WILLIAM  SHARON,  a  senator  and 
capitalist,  and  mine  owner  of  na- 
tional reputation,  was  born  at  Smithfield, 
Ohio,  January  9,  1821.  He  was  reared 
upon  a  farm  and  in  his  boyhood  given  excel- 
lent educational  advantages  and  in  1842 
entered  Athens  College.  He  remained  in 
that  institution  about  two  years,  after  which 
he  studied  law  with  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  St.  Louis  and 
comrnenced  practice.  His  health  failing, 
however,  he  abandoned  his  profession  and 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Carrollton, 
Greene  county,  Illinois.  During  the  time 
of  the  gold  excitement  of  1849,  Mr.  Sharon 
went  to  California,  whither  so  many  went, 
and  engaged  in  business  at  Sacramento. 
The  next  year  he  removed  to  San  Francisco, 
where  he  operated  in  real  estate.  Being 
largely  interested  in  its  silver  mines,  he  re- 
moved to  Nevada,  locating  at  Virginia  City, 
and  acquired  an  immense  fortune.  He  be- 
came one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Bank  of 
California,  and  during  the  troubles  that 
arose  on  the  death  of  William  Ralston,  the 
president  of  that  institution,  was  largely  in- 
strumental in  bringing  its  affairs  into  a  satis- 
factory shape. 


166 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


Mr.  Sharon  was  elected  to  represent  the 
state  of  Nevada  in  the  United  States  senate 
in  1875,  and  remained  a  member  of  that 
body  until  1881.  He  was  always  distin- 
guished for  close  application  to  business. 
Senator  Sharon  died  November  13,  1885. 


HENRY  W.  SHAW,  an  American  hu- 
morist who  became  celebrated  under 
the  non-dc-plnme  of  "  Josh  Billings,"  gained 
his  fame  from  the  witticism  of  his  writing, 
and  peculiar  eccentricity  of  style  and  spell- 
ing. He  was  born  at  Lanesborough,  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  18 1 8.  For  twenty-five  years 
he  lived  in  different  parts  of  the  western 
states,  following  various  lines  of  business, 
including  farming  and  auctioneering,  and  in 
the  latter  capacity  settled  at  Poughkeepsie, 
New  York,  in  1858.  In  1863  he  began 
■writing  humorous  sketches  for  the  news- 
papers over  the  signature  of  "Josh  Bill- 
ings," and  became  immediately  popular 
both  as  a  writer  and  lecturer.  He  pub- 
lished a  number  of  volumes  of  comic 
sketches  and  edited  an  "  Annual  Allminax  " 
for  a  number  of  years,  which  had  a  wide  cir- 
culation. His  death  occurred  October  14, 
1885,  at  Monterey,  California. 

JOHN  M.  THURSTON,  well  known 
throughout  this  country  as  a  senator 
and  political  leader,  was  born  at  Mont- 
pelier,  Vermont,  August  21,  1847,  of  an 
old  Puritan  family  which  dated  back  their 
ancestry  in  this  country  to  1636,  and  among 
■whom  were  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  and 
of  the  war  of  1812-15. 

Young  Thurston  was  brought  west  by 
the  family  in  1854,  they  settling  at  Madison, 
"Wisconsin,  and  two  years  later  at  Beaver 
Dam,  where  John  M.  received  his  schooling 
in  the  public  schools  and  at  Wayland  Uni- 
versity.     His  father  enlisted  as  a  private  in 


the  First  Wisconsin  Cavalry  and  died  while 
in  the  service,  in  the  spring  of  1863. 

Young  Thurston,  thrown  on  his  own 
resources  while  attaining  an  education,  sup- 
ported himself  by  farm  work,  driving  team 
and  at  other  manual  labor.  He  studied  law 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  May  21,  1869, 
and  in  October  of  the  same  year  located  in 
Omaha,  Nebraska.  He  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  city  council  in  1872,  city 
attorney  in  1874  and  a  member  of  the  Ne- 
braska legislature  in  1874.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Republican  national  convention 
of  1884  and  temporary  chairman  of  that  of 
1888.  Taking  quite  an  interest  in  the 
younger  members  of  his  party  he  was  instru- 
mental in  forming  the  Republican  League 
of  the  United  States,  of  which  he  was  presi- 
dent for  two  years.  He  was  then  elected  a. 
member  of  the  United  States  senate,  in 
1895,  to  represent  the  state  of  Nebraska. 

As  an  attorney  John  M.  Thurston  occu- 
pied a  very  prominent  place,  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  held  the  position  of  general 
solicitor  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  sys- 
tem. 


JOHN  JAMES  AUDUBON,  a  celebrated 
American  naturalist,  was  born  in  Louis- 
iana, May  4,  1780,  and  was  the  son  of  an 
opulent  French  naval  officer  who  owned  a 
plantation  in  the  then  French  colony.  In 
his  childhood  he  became  deeply  interested 
in  the  study  of  birds  and  their  habits.  About 
1794  he  was  sent  to  Paris,  France,  where 
he  was  partially  educated,  and  studied  de- 
signing under  the  famous  painter,  Jacques 
Louis  David.  He  returned  to  the  Unit- 
ed States  about  1798,  and  settled  on  a 
farm  his  father  gave  him,  on  the  Perkiomen 
creek  in  eastern  Pennsylvania.  He  mar- 
ried Lucy  Bakewell  in  1808,  and,  disposing 
of  his  property,  removed  to  Louisville,  Ken- 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


167 


tucky,  where  he  engaged  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits. About  two  years  later  he  began  to 
make  extensive  excursions  through  the  pri- 
meval forests  of  the  southern  and  south- 
western states,  in  the  exploration  of  which 
he  passed  many  years.  He  made  colored 
drawings  of  all  the  species  of  birds  that  he 
found.  For  several  years  he  made  his  home 
with  his  wife  and  children  at  Henderson,  on 
the  Ohio  river.  It  is  said  that  about  this 
time  he  had  failed  in  business  and  was  re- 
duced to  poverty,  but  kept  the  wolf  from  the 
door  by  giving  dancing  lessons  and  in  portrait 
painting.  In  1824,  at  Philadelphia,  he  met 
Charles  Lucien  Bonaparte,  who  encouraged 
him  to  publish  a  work  on  ornithology.  Two 
years  later  he  went  to  England  and  com- 
menced the  publication  of  his  great  work, 
"  The  Birds  of  America."  He  obtained  a 
large  number  of  subscribers  at  one  thousand 
dollars  a  copy.  This  work,  embracing  five 
volumes  of  letterpress  and  five  volumes  of 
beautifully  colored  plates,  was  pronounced 
by  Cuvier  ' '  the  most  magnificent  monument 
that  art  ever  raised  to  ornithology." 

Audubon  returned  to  America  in  1829, 
and  explored  the  forests,  lakes  and  coast 
from  Canada  to  Florida,  collecting  material 
for  another  work.  This  was  his  "  Ornitho- 
logical Biography;  or.  An  Account  of  the 
Habits  of  the  Birds  of  the  United  States, 
Etc."  He  revisited  England  in  1831,  and 
returned  in  1839,  after  which  he  resiaed  on 
the  Hudson,  near  New  York  City,  in  which 
place  he  died  January  27,  185 1.  During 
his  life  he  issued  a  cheaper  edition  of  his 
great  work,  and  was,  in  association  with 
Dr.  Bachman,  preparing  a  work  on  the 
quadrupeds  of  North  America. 


COMMODORE    THOMAS    McDON- 
OUGH  gained  his  principal  fame  from 
he  celebrated  victory  which  he  gained  over 


the  superior  British  squadron,  under  Com- 
modore Downie,  September  1 1,  18 14.  Com- 
modore McDonough  was  born  in  Newcastle' 
county,  Delaware,  December  23,  1783,  and 
when  seventeen  years  old  entered  the 
United  States  navy  as  midshipman,  serving 
in  the  expedition  to  Tripoli,  under  Decatur, 
in  1803-4.  In  1807  he  was  promoted  to 
lieutenant,  and  in  July,  18 13,  was  made  a 
commander.  The  following  year,  on  Lake 
Champlain,  he  gained  the  celebrated  victory 
above  referred  to,  for  which  he  was  again 
promoted;  also  received  a  gold  medal  from 
congress,  and  from  the  state  of  Vermont  .an 
estate  on  Cumberknd  Head,  in  view  of  the 
scene  of  the  engagement.  His  death  oc- 
curred at  sea,  November  16,  1825,  while  he 
was  returning  from  the  command  of  the 
Mediterranean  squadron. 


CHARLES  FRANCIS  HALL,  one  of 
America's  most  celebrated  arctic  ex- 
plorers, was  born  in  Rochester,  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  1 82 1.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by 
trade,  and  located  in  Cincinnati,  where  later 
he  became  a  journalist.  For  several  years 
he  devoted  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  cal- 
orics. Becoming  interested  in  the  fate  of  the 
explorer,  Sir  John  Franklin,  he  joined  the 
expedition  fitted  out  by  Henry  Grinnell  and 
sailed  in  the  ship  "George  Henry,"  under 
Captain  Buddington,  which  left  New  Lon- 
don, Connecticut,  in  i860.  He  returned  in 
1862,  and  two  years  later  published  his 
"  Arctic  Researches."  He  again  joined  the 
expedition  fitted  out  by  Mr.  Grinnell,  and 
sailed  in  the  ship,  "  Monticello,"  under 
Captain  Buddington,  this  time  remaining  in 
the  arctic  region  over  four  years.  On  his 
return  he  brought  back  many  evidences  of 
having  found  trace  of  Franklin. 

In  1 87 1  the  ' '  Polaris  "  was  fitted  out  by 
the  United  States  government,  and  Captain 


168 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


Hall  again  sailed  for  the  polar  regions.  He 
died  in  Greenland  in  October,  1871,  and  the 
"Polaris"  was  finally  abandoned  by  the 
crew,  a  portion  of  which,  under  Captain 
Tyson,  drifted  with  the  icebergs  for  one 
hundred  and  ninety-five  days,  until  picked 
up  by  the  "  Tigress,"  on  the  30th  of  April, 
1873.  The  other  portion  of  the  crew  built 
boats,  and,  after  a  perilous  voyage,  were 
picked  up  in  June,  1873,  by  a  whaling  vessel. 


OLIVER  ELLSWORTH,  the  third  chief 
justice  of  the  United  States,  was  born 
at  Windsor,  Connecticut,  April  29,  1745. 
After  graduating  from  Princeton,  he  took 
up  the  study  of  law,  and  was  licensed 
to  practice  in  177 1.  In  1777  he  was  elected 
as  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  congress. 
He  was  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  his 
state  in  1784,  and  was  chosen  as  a  delegate 
to  the  constitutional  convention  in  1787. 
He  sided  with  the  Federalists,  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  senate  in  1789,  and 
was  a  firm  supporter  of  Washington's  policy. 
He  won  great  distinction  in  that  body,  and 
was  appointed  chief  justice  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  United  States  by  Washington 
in  1796.  The  relations  between  this  coun- 
try and  France  having  become  violently 
strained,  he  was  sent  to  Paris  as  envoy  ex- 
traordinary in  1799,  and  was  instrumental 
in  negotiating  the  treaty  that  averted  war. 
He  resigned  the  following  year,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Chief  Justice  Marshall.  His 
death  occurred  November  26,   1807. 

MELLVILLE  WESTOxN  FULLER,  an 
eminent  American  jurist  and  chief 
justice  of  the  United  States  supreme  court, 
was  born  in  Augusta,  Maine,  in  1833.  His 
education  was  looked  after  in  boyhood,  and 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  Bowdoin 
College,  and  on  graduation  entered  the  law 


department  of  Harvard  University.  He  then 
entered  the  law  office  of  his  uncle  at  Ban- 
gor, Maine,  and  soon  after  opened  an  office 
for  the  practice  of  law  at  Augusta.  He  was 
an  alderman  from  his  ward,  city  attorney, 
and  editor  of  the  "  Age,"  a  rival  newspaper 
of  the  "Journal,"  which  was  conducted  by 
James  G.  Blaine.  He  soon  decided  to  re- 
move to  Chicago,  then  springing  into  notice 
as  a  western  metropolis.  He  at  once  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  interests  of  the 
new  city,  and  by  this  means  acquired  an 
experience  that  fitted  him  for  his  future 
work.  He  devoted  himself  assiduously  to 
his  profession,  and  had  the  good  fortune  to 
connect  himself  with  the  many  suits  grow- 
ing out  of  the  prorogation  of  the  Illinois 
legislature  in  1863.  It  was  not  long  before 
he  became  one  of  the  foremost  lawyers  in 
Chicago.  He  made  a  three  days'  speech  in 
the  heresy  trial  of  Dr.  Cheney,  which  added 
to  his  fame.  He  was  appointed  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  United  States  by  President  Cleve- 
land in  1888,  the  youngest  man  who  ever 
held  that  exalted  position.  His  income  from 
his  practice  had  for  many  years  reached 
thirty  thousand  dollars  annually. 


CHESTER  ALLEN  ARTHUR,  twenty- 
first  president  of  the  United  States,  was 
born  in  Franklin  county,  Vermont,  Octo- 
ber 5,  1830.  He  was  educated  at  Union 
College,  Schenectady,  New  York,  from 
which  he  graduated  with  honor,  and  en- 
gaged in  teaching  school.  After  two  years 
he  entered  the  law  office  of  Judge  E.  D. 
Culver,  of  New  York,  as  a  student.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  an  old  room-mate,  Henry  D.  Gar- 
diner, with  the  intention  of  practicing  law 
in  the  west,  but  after  a  few  months'  search 
for  a  location,  they  returned  to  New  York 
and  opened  an  office,  and   at  once   entered 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHr. 


169 


upon  a  profitable  practice.  He  was  shortly 
afterwards  married  to  a  daughter  of  Lieu- 
tenant Herndon,  of  the  United  States  navy. 
Mrs.  Arthur  died  shortly  before  his  nomina- 
tion for  the  vice-presidency.  In  1856  a 
colored  woman  in  New  York  was  ejected 
from  a  street  car  and  retained  Mr.  Arthur 
in  a  suit  against  the  company,  and  obtained 
a  verdict  of  five  hundred  dollars.  It  result- 
ed in  a  general  order  by  all  superintendents 
of  street  railways  in  the  city  to  admit  col- 
ored people  to  the  cars. 

Mr.  Arthur  was  a  delegate  to  the  first 
Republican  national  convention,  and  was 
appointed  judge-advocate  for  the  Second 
Brigade  of  New  York,  and  then  chief  engi- 
neer of  Governor  Morgan's  staff.  At  the 
close  of  his  term  he  resumed  the  practice  of 
iaw  in  New  York.  In  1872  he  was  made 
collector  of  the  port  of  New  York,  which 
position  he  held  four  years.  At  the  Chi- 
cago convention  in  1880  Mr.  Arthur  was 
nominated  for  the  vice-presidency  with 
Garfield,  and  after  an  exciting  campaign 
was  elected.  Four  months  after  the  inau- 
guration President  Garfield  was  assassinated, 
and  Mr.  Arthur  was  called  to  take  the  reins 
of  government.  His  administration  of 
affairs  was  generally  satisfactory.  At  its 
close  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  New 
York.  His  death  occurred  November  18, 
1886.  

ISAAC  HULL  was  one  of  the  most  con- 
spicuous and  prominent  naval  officers  in 
the  early  history  of  America.  He  was  born 
at  Derby,  Connecticut,  March  9,  1775,  be- 
ing the  son  of  a  Revolutionary  officer.  Isaac 
Hull  early  in  life  became  a  mariner,  and 
when  nineteen  years  of  age  became  master 
of  a  merchant  ship  in  the  London  trade. 
In  1798  he  became  a  lieutenant  in  the  United 
States  navy,  and  three  years  later  was  made 


first  lieutenant  of  the  frigate  "Constitution." 
He  distinguished  himself  by  skill  and  valor 
against  the  French  on  the  coast  of  Hayti,  and 
served  with  distinction  in  the  Barbary  expe- 
ditions. July  12,  1812,  he  sailed  from 
Annapolis,  in  command  of  the  "Constitu- 
tion," and  for  three  days  was  pursued  by  a 
British  squadron  of  five  ships,  from  which 
he  escaped  by  bold  and  ingenious  seaman- 
ship. In  August  of  the  same  year  he  cap- 
tured the  frigate  "  Guerriere,"  one  of  his 
late  pursuers  and  for  this,  the  first  naval 
advantage  of  that  war,  he  received  a  gold 
medal  from  congress.  Isaac  Hull  was  later 
made  naval  commissioner  and  had  command 
of  various  navy  yards.  His  death  occurred 
February  13,  1843,  at  Philadelphia. 


MARCUS  ALONZO  HANNA,  famous 
as  a  prominent  business  man,  political 
manager  and  senator,  was  born  in  New  Lis- 
bon, Columbiana  county,  Ohio,  September 
24,  1837.  He  removed  with  his  father's 
family  to  Cleveland,  in  the  same  state,  in 
1852,  and  in  the  latter  city,  and  in  the 
Western  Reserve  College,  at  Hudson,  Ohio, 
received  his  education.  He  became  an  em- 
ploye of  the  wholesale  grocery  house  of 
Hanna,  Garrettson  &  Co.,  his  father  being 
the  senior  member  of  the  firm.  The  latter 
died  in  1862,  and  Marcus  represented  his 
interest  until  1867,  when  the  business  was 
closed  up. 

Our  subject  then  became  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Rhodes  &  Co.,  engaged  in  the 
iron  and  coal  business,  but  at  the  expira- 
tion of  ten  years  this  firm  was  changed  to 
that  of  M.  A.  Hanna  &  Co.  Mr.  Hanna 
was  long  identified  with  the  lake  carrying 
business,  being  interested  in  vessels  on  the 
lakes  and  in  the  construction  of  them.  As 
a  director  of  the  Globe  Ship  Manufacturing 
Company,    of    Cleveland,   president   of  the 


170 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


Union  National  Bank,  of  Cleveland,  president 
of  the  Cleveland  City  Railway  Company, 
and  president  of  the  Chapin  Mining  Com- 
pany, of  Lake  Superior,  he  became  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  business  world. 
He  was  one  of  the  government  directors  of 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  being  appointed 
to  that  position  in  1885  by  President  Cleve- 
land. 

Mr.  Hanna  was  a  delegate  to  the  na- 
tional Republican  convention  of  1884,  which 
was  his  first  appearance  in  the  political 
world.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  con- 
ventions of  1 888  and  1896,  and  was  elect- 
ed chairman  of  the  Republican  national 
committee  the  latter  year,  and  practically 
managed  the  campaign  of  William  McKin- 
ley  for  the  presidency.  In  1S97  Mr.  Hanna 
was  appointed  senator  by  Governor  Bush- 
nell,  of  Ohio,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by 
the  resignation  of  John  Sherman. 


GEORGE  PEABODY  was  one  of  the 
best  known  and  esteemed  of  ail  philan- 
thropists, whose  munificent  gifts  to  Ameri- 
can institutions  have  proven  of  so  much 
benefit  to  the  cause  of  humanity.  He  was 
born  February  18,  1795,  at  South  Danvers, 
Massachusetts,  which  is  now  called  Pea- 
body  in  honor  of  him.  He  received  but  a 
meager  education,  and  during  his  early  life 
he  was  a  mercantile  clerk  at  Thetford,  Ver- 
mont, and  Newburyport,  Massachusetts.  In 
18 14  he  became  a  partner  with  Elisha 
Riggs,  at  Georgetown,  District  of  Columbia, 
and  in  1 8 1 5  they  moved  to  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land. The  business  grew  to  great  propor- 
tions, and  they  opened  branch  houses  at 
New  York  and  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Peabody 
made  several  voyages  to  Europe  of  com- 
mercial importance,  and  in  1829  became  the 
head  of  the  firm,  which  was  then  called 
Peabody,  Riggs  &  Co.,  and  in  1838   he  re- 


moved to  London,  England.  He  retired 
from  the  firm,  and  established  the  cele- 
brated banking  house,  in  which  he  accumu- 
lated a  large  fortune.  He  aided  Mr.  Grin- 
nell  in  fitting  out  Dr.  Kane's  Arctic  expedi- 
tion, in  1852,  and  founded  in  the  same  year 
the  Peabody  Institute,  in  his  native  town, 
which  he  afterwards  endowed  with  two  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.  Mr.  Peabody  visited 
the  United  States  in  1857,  and  gave  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  establish- 
ment at  Baltimore  of  an  institute  of  science, 
literature  and  fine  arts.  In  1862  he  gave 
two  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars 
for  the  erecting  of  lodging  houses  for  the 
poor  in  London,  and  on  another  visit  to  the 
United  States  he  gave  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  to  establish  at  Harvard  a 
museum  and  professorship  of  American 
archaeology  and  ethnology,  an  equal  sum  for 
the  endowment  of  a  department  of  physical 
science  at  Yale,  and  gave  the  "Southern 
Educational  Fund  "  two  million  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  besides  devoting  two  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  to  various  objects  of 
public  utility.  Mr.  Peabody  made  a  final 
visit  to  the  United  States  in  1869,  and  on 
this  occasion  he  raised  the  endowment  of 
the  Baltimore  Institute  one  million  dollars, 
created  the  Peabody  Museum,  at  Salem, 
Massachusetts,  with  a  fund  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  gave  sixty  thou- 
sand dollars  to  Washington  College,  Vir- 
ginia; fifty  thousand  dollars  for  a  "Peabody 
Museum, "  at  North  Danvers,  thirty  thousand 
dollars  to  Phillips  Academy,  Andover;  twen- 
ty-five thousand  dollars  to  Kenyon  College, 
Ohio,  and  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  the 
Maryland  Historical  Society.  Mr.  Peabody 
also    endowed    an    art  school  at  Rome,   in 

1868.  He   died  in   London,  November  4, 

1869,  less  then  a  month  after  he  had  re- 
turned   from    the    United    States,    and    his 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


171 


remains  were  brought  to  the  United  States 
and  interred  in  his  native  town.  He  made 
several  other  bequests  in  his  will,  and  left 
his  family  about  five  million  dollars. 


MATTHEW  S.  QUAY,  a  celebrated 
public  man  and  senator,  was  born  at 
Dillsburgh,  York  county,  Pennsylvania, 
September  30,  1S33,  of  an  old  Scotch-Irish 
family,  some  of  whom  had  settled  in  the 
Keystone  state  in  1715.  Matthew  received 
a  good  education,  graduating  from  the  Jef- 
ferson College  at  Canonsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
at  the  age  of  seventeen.  He  then  traveled, 
taught  school,  lectured,  and  studied  law 
under  Judge  Sterrett.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1854,  was  appointed  a  prothon- 
otary  in  1855  and  elected  to  the  same 
office  in  1856  and  1859.  Later  he  was 
made  lieutenant  of  the  Pennsylvania  Re 
serves,  lieutenant-colonel  and  assistant  com- 
missary-general of  the  state,  private  secre- 
tary of  the  famous  war  governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Andrew  G.  Curtin,  colonel  of  the 
One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fourth  Pennsylva- 
nia Infantry  (nine  months  men),  military 
state  agent  and  held  other  offices  at  different 
times. 

Mr.  Quay  was  a  member  of  the  house  of 
representatives  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania 
from  1865  to  1 868.  He  filled  the  office  of 
secretary  of  the  commonwealth  from  1872 
to  1878,  and  the  position  of  delegate-at- 
large  to  the  Republican  national  conventions 
of  1872,  1876,  1880  and  1888.  He  was  the 
editor  of  the  "Beaver  Radical"  and  the 
"Philadelphia  Record"  for  a  time,  and  held 
many  offices  in  the  state  conventions  and  on 
their  committees.  He  was  elected  secre- 
tary of  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania, 
1869,  and  served  three  years,  and  in  1885 
was  chosen  state  treasurer.  In  1886  his 
great    abilities    pointed    him    out    as    the 


natural  candidate  for  United  States  senator, 
and  he  was  accordingly  elected  to  that  posi- 
tion and  re-elected  thereto  in  1.892.  He 
was  always  noted  for  a  genius  for  organiza- 
tion, and  as  a  political  leader  had  but  few 
peers.  Cool,  serene,  far-seeing,  resourceful, 
holding  his  impulses  and  forces  in  hand,  he 
never  quailed  from  any  policy  he  adopted, 
and  carried  to  success  most,  if  not  all,  of 
the  political  campaigns  in  which  he  took 
part. 

JAMES  K.  JONES,  a  noted  senator  and 
political  leader,  attained  national  fame 
while  chairman  of  the  national  e.xecutive 
committee  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1896.  He  was  a 
native  of  Marshall  county,  Mississippi,  and 
was  born  September  29,  1839.  His  father, 
a  well-to-do  planter, settled  in  Dallas  county, 
Arkansas,  in  1848,  and  there  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  received  a  careful  education. 
During  the  Civil  war  he  served  as  a  private 
soldier  in  the  Confederate  army.  From 
1866  to  1873  he  passed  a  quiet  life  as  a 
planter,  but  in  the  latter  year  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  and  began  the  practice  of  law. 
About  the  same  time  he  was  elected  to  the 
Arkansas  senate  and  re-elected  in  1874.  In 
1877  he  was  made  president  of  the  senate 
and  the  following  year  was  unsuccessful  in 
obtaining  a  nomination  as  member  of  con- 
gress. In  1880  he  was  elected  representa- 
tive and  his  ability  at  once  placed  him  in  a 
foremost  position.  He  was  re-elected  to 
congress  in  1882  and  in  1884,  and  served  as 
an  influential  member  on  the  committee  of 
ways  and  means.  March  4,  1885,  Mr.  Jones 
took, his  seat  in  the  United  States  senate  to- 
succeed  James  D.  Walker,  and  was  after- 
ward re-elected  to  the  same  office.  In  this 
branch  of  the  national  legislature  his  capa- 
bilities had  a  wider  scope,  and  he  was  rec- 


172 


COMPENDIUM  OF  BIOGRAPHT. 


ognized  as  one   of  the  ablest  leaders  of  his 
party. 

On  the  nomination  of  William  J.  Bryan 
as  its  candidate  for  the  presidency  by  the 
national  convention  of  the  Democratic 
party,  held  in  Chicago  in  1896,  Mr.  Jones 
was  made  chairman  of  the  national  com- 
mittee. 

THEODORE  THOMAS,  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  musical  directors  America 
has  known,  was  born  in  the  kingdom  of  Han- 
over in  1835,  and  received  his  musical  educa- 
tion from  his  father.  He  was  avery  apt  scholar 
and  played  the  violin  at  public  concerts  at 
the  age  of  six  years.  He  came  with  his 
parents  to  America  in  1845,  and  joined  the 
orchestra  of  the  Italian  Opera  in  New  York 
City.  He  played  the  first  violin  in  the 
orchestra  which  accompanied  Jenny  Lind 
in  her  first  American  concert.  In  1861  Mr. 
Thomas  established  the  orchestra  that  be- 
came famous  under  his  management,  and 
gave  his  first  symphony  concerts  in  New 
York  in  1864.  He  began  his  first  "summer 
night  concerts"  in  the  same  city  in  1868, 
and  in  1869  he  started  on  his  first  tour  of 
the  principal  cities  in  the  United  States, 
which  he  made  every  year  for  many  years. 
He  was  director  of  the  College  of  Music  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  but  resigned  in  1880,  after 
having  held  the  position  for  three  years. 

Later  he  organized  one  of  the  greatest 
and  most  successful  orchestras  ever  brought 
together  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  was 
very  prorhinent  in  musical  affairs  during  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition,  thereby  add- 
ing greatly  to  his  fame. 


CYRUS  HALL  McCORMICK,  the  fa- 
mous inventor  and  manufacturer,  was 
born  at  Walnut  Grove,  Virginia,  February 
15,  1809.     When  he  was  seven  years  old  his 


father  invented  a  reaping  machine.  It  was 
a  rude  contrivance  and  not  successful.  In 
1 83 1  Cyrus  made  his  invention  of  a  reaping 
machine,  and  had  it  patented  three  years 
later.  By  successive  improvements  he  was 
able  to  keep  his  machines  at  the  head  of 
its  class  during  his  life.  In  1 845  he  removed 
to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  two  years  later 
located  in  Chicago,  where  he  amassed  a 
great  fortune  in  manufacturing  reapers  and 
harvesting  machinery.  In  1859  he  estab- 
lished the  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
Northwest  at  Chicago,  an  institution  for  pre- 
paring young  men  for  the  ministry  in  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  he  afterward  en- 
dowed a  chair  in  the  Washington  and  Lee 
College  at  Lexington,  Virginia.  He  mani- 
fested great  interest  in  educational  and  re- 
ligious matters,  and  by  his  great  wealth  he 
was  able  to  extend-  aid  and  encouragement 
to  many  charitable  causes.  His  death  oc- 
curred May  13,   1884. 


DAVID  ROSS  LOCKE.— Under  the 
pen  name  of  Petroleum  ^'.  Nasby,  this 
well-known  humorist  and  writer  made  for 
himself  a  household  reputation,  and  estab- 
lished a  school  that  has  many  imitators. 

The  subject  of  this  article  was  born  at 
Vestal,  Broome  county,  New  York,  Sep- 
tember 30,  1833.  After  receiving  his  edu- 
cation in  the  county  of  his  birth  he  en- 
tered the  office  of  the  ' '  Democrat, "  at  Cort- 
land, New  York,  where  he  learned  the 
printer's  trade.  He  was  successively  editor 
and  publisher  of  the  '  'Plymouth  Advertiser, " 
the  "Mansfield  Herald,"  the  "  Bucyrus 
Journal,"  and  the  "Findlay  Jeffersonian." 
Later  he  became  editor  of  the  "Toledo 
Blade."  In  i860  he  commenced  his 
"  Nasby"  articles,  several  series  of  which 
have  been  given  the  world  in  book  form. 
Under  a  mask  of  misspelling,  and  in  a  guaiDt 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


17a 


and  humorous  style,  a  keen  political  satire 
is  couched — a  most  effective  weapon. 
Mr.  Locke  was  the  author  of  a  num- 
ber of  serious  political  pamphlets,  and 
later  on  a  more  pretentious  work,  "  The 
Morals  of  Abou  Ben  Adhem."  As  a  news- 
paper writer  he  gained  many  laurels  and  his 
works  are  widely  read.  Abraham  Lincoln 
is  said  to  have  been  a  warm  admirer  of  P. 
V.  Nasby,  of  "  Confedrit  X  Roads"  fame. 
Mr.  Locke  died  at  Toledo,  Ohio,  February 
15,  1888. 

RUSSELL  A.  ALGER,  noted  as  a  sol- 
dier, governor  and  secretary  of  war, 
was  born  in  Medina  county,  Ohio,  February 
27,  1836,  and  was  the  son  of  Russell  and 
Caroline  (Moulton)  Alger.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  years  he  was  left  an  orphan  and  pen- 
niless. For  about  a  year  he  worked  for 
his  board  and  clothing,  and  attended  school 
part  of  the  time.  In  1850  he  found  a  place 
which  paid  small  wages,  and  out  of  his 
scanty  earnings  helped  his  brother  and  sister. 
While  there  working  on  a  farm  he  found 
time  to  attend  the  Richfield  Academy,  and 
by  hard  work  between  times  managed  to  get 
a  fair  education  for  that  time.  The  last 
two  years  of  his  attendance  at  this  institu- 
tion of  learning  he  taught  school  during  the 
winter  months.  In  1857  he  commenced  the 
study  of  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1859.  For  a  while  he  found  employ- 
ment in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  but  impaired 
health  induced  him  to  remove  to  Grand 
Rapids,  where  he  engaged  in  the  lumber 
business.  He  was  thus  engaged  when  the 
Civil  war  broke  out,  and,  his  business  suf- 
fering and  his  savings  swept  away,  he  en- 
listed as  a  private  in  the  Second  Michigan 
Cavalry.  He  was  promoted  to  be  captain 
the  following  month,  and  major  for  gallant 
conduct  at  Boonesville,  Mississippi,  July  i, 


1862.  October  16,  1862,  he  was  made 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Sixth  Michigan 
Cavalry,  and  in  February,  1863,  colonel  of 
the  Fifth  Michigan  Cavalry.  He  rendered 
excellent  service  in  the  Gettysburg  cam- 
paign. He  was  wounded  at  Boonesboro, 
Maryland,  and  on  returning  to  his  command 
took  part  with  Sherman  in  the  campaign  in 
the  Shenandoah  Valley.  For  services  ren- 
dered, that  famous  soldier  recommended 
him  for  promotion,  and  he  was  brevetted 
major-general  of  volunteers.  In  1866  Gen- 
eral Alger  took  up  his  residence  at  Detroit, 
and  prospered  exceedingly  in  his  business, 
which  was  that  of  lumbering,  and  grew 
quite  wealthy.  In  1884  he  was  a  delegate 
to  the  Republican  national  convention,  and 
the  same  year  was  elected  governor  of 
Michigan.  He  declined  a  nomination  for 
re-election  to  the  latter  office,  in  1887,  and 
was  the  following  year  a  candidate  for  the 
nomination  for  president.  In  1889  he  was 
elected  commander-in-chief  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  and  at  different 
times  occupied  many  offices  in  other  or- 
ganizations. 

In   March,    1897,    President    McKinley 
appointed  General  Alger  secretary  of  war. 


CYRUS  WEST  FIELD,  the  father  of 
submarine  telegraphy,  was  the  son  of 
the  Rev.  David  D.  Field,  D.D.,  a  Congre- 
gational minister,  and  was  born  at  Stock- 
bridge,  Massachusetts,  November  30,  1819. 
He  was  educated  in  his  native  town,  and  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  years  became  a  clerk  in  a 
store  in  New  York  City.  Being  gifted  with 
excellent  business  ability  Mr.  Field  pros- 
pered and  became  the  head  of  a  larg,e  mer- 
cantile house.  In  1853  he  spent  about  six 
months  in  travel  in  South  America.  On  his 
return  he  became  interested  in  ocean  teleg- 
raphy.    Being  solicited  to  aid  in  the  cou- 


174 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


struction  of  a  land  telegraph  across  New 
Foundland  to  receive  the  news  from  a  line 
of  fast  steamers  it  was  proposed  to  run  from 
from  Ireland  to  St.  Johns,  the  idea  struck 
him  to  carry  the  line  across  the  broad  At- 
lantic. In  1850  Mr.  Field  obtained  a  con- 
cession from  the  legislature  of  Newfound- 
land, giving  him  the  sole  right  for  fifty  years 
to  land  submarine  cables  on  the  shores  of 
that  island.  In  company  with  Peter  Cooper, 
Moses  Taylor,  Marshall  O.  Roberts  and 
Chandler  White,  he  organized  a  company 
under  the  name  of  the  New  York,  New- 
foundland &  London  Telegraph  Company. 
In  two  years  the  line  from  New  York  across 
Newfoundland  was  built.  The  first  cable 
connecting  Cape  Breton  Island  with  New- 
foundland having  been  lost  in  a  storm  while 
being  laid  in  1855,  another  was  put  down  in 
1856.  In  the  latter  year  Mr.  Field  went  to 
London  and  organized  the  Atlantic  Tele- 
graph Company,  furnishing  one-fourth  of  the 
capital  himself.  Both  governments  loaned 
ships  to  carry  out  the  enterprise.  Mr.  Field 
accompanied  the  expeditions  of  1857  and 
two  in  1858.  The  first  and  second  cables 
were  failures,  and  the  third  worked  but  a 
short  time  and  then  ceased.  The  people  of 
both  continents  became  incredulous  of  the 
feasibility  of  laying  a  successful  cable  under 
so  wide  an  expanse  of  sea,  and  the  war 
breaking  out  shortly  after,  nothing  was  done 
until  1865-66.  Mr.  Field,  in  the  former 
year,  again  made  the  attempt,  and  the  Great 
Eastern  laid  some  one  thousand  two  hun- 
dred miles  when  the  cable  parted  and  was 
lost.  The  following  year  the  same  vessel 
succeeded  in  laying  the  entire  cable,  and 
picked  up  the  one  lost  the  year  before,  and 
both  were  carried  to  America's  shore.  After 
thirteen  years  of  care  and  toil  Mr.  Field  had 
his  reward.  He  was  the  recipient  of  many 
medals   and   honors  from    both   home   and 


abroad.  He  gave  his  attention  after  this 
to  establishing  telegraphic  communication 
throughout  the  world  and  many  other  large 
enterprises,  notably  the  construction  of  ele- 
vated railroads  in  New  York.  Mr.  Field 
died  July  11,  1892. 


G ROVER  CLEVELAND,  the  twenty- 
second  president  of  the  United  States, 
was  born  in  Caldwell,  Essex  county,  New 
Jersey,  March  18,  1837,  and  was  the  son 
of  Rev.  Richard  and  Annie  (Neale)  Cleve- 
land. The  father,  of  distinguished  New 
England  ancestry,  was  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister in  charge  of  the  church  at  Caldwell  at 
the  time. 

When  Grover  was  about  three  years  of 
age  the  family  removed  to  Fayetteville, 
Onondaga  county.  New  York,  where  he 
attended  the  district  school,  and  was  in  the 
academy  for  a  short  time.  His  father  be- 
lieving that  boys  should  early  learn  to  labor, 
Grover  entered  a  village  store  and  worked 
for  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars  for  the  first  year. 
While  he  was  thus  engaged  the  family  re- 
moved to  Clinton,  New  York,  and  there 
young  Cleveland  took  up  his  studies  at  the 
academy.  The  death  of  his  father  dashed 
all  his  hopes  of  a  collegiate  education,  the 
family  being  left  in  straightened  circum- 
stances, and  Grover  started  out  to  battle 
for  himself.  After  acting  for  a  year  (1853- 
54)  as  assistant  teacher  and  bookkeeper  in 
the  Institution  for  the  Blind  at  New  York 
City,  he  went  to  Buffalo.  A  short  time 
after  he  entered  the  law  office  of  Rogers, 
Bowen  &  Rogers,  of  that  city,  and  after  a 
hard  struggle  with  adverse  circumstances, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1S59.  He  be- 
came confidential  and  managing  clerk  for 
the  firm  under  whom  he  had  studied,  and 
remained  with  them  until  1863.  In  the  lat- 
ter year  he  was  appointed  district  attorne}' 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


17S 


of  Erie  county.  It  was  during  his  incum- 
bency of  this  office  that,  on  being  nominated 
ty  the  Democrats  for  supervisor,  he  came 
■within  thirteen  votes  of  election,  although 
the  district  was  usually  Republican  by  two 
hundred  and  fifty  majority.  In  1 866  Grover 
Cleveland  formed  a  partnership  with  Isaac 
V.  Vanderpoel.  The  most  of  the  work  here 
fell  upon  the  shoulders  of  our  subject,  and 
he  soon  won  a  good  standing  at  the  bar  of 
the  state.  In  1869  Mr.  Cleveland  associated 
himself  in  business  with  A.  P.  Laning  and 
Oscar  Folsom,  and  under  the  firm  name  of 
Laning,  Cleveland  &  Folsom  soon  built  up  a 
fair  practice.  In  the  fall  of  1870  Mr.  Cleve- 
land was  elected  sheriff  of  Erie  county,  an 
office  which  he  filled  for  four  years,  after 
which  he  resumed  his  profession,  with  L.  K. 
Bass  and  Wilson  S.  Bissell  as  partners. 
This  firm  was  strong  and  popular  and 
shortly  was  in  possession  of  a  lucrative 
practice.  Mr.  Bass  retired  from  the  firm 
in  1879,  and  George  J.  Secard  was  admit- 
ted a  member  in  1881.  In  the  latter  year 
Mr.  Cleveland  was  elected  mayor  of  Buffalo, 
and  in  1882  he  was  chosen  governor  by 
the  enormous  majority  of  one  hundred  and 
ninety-two  thousand  votes.  July  11,  1884, 
he  was  nominated  for  the  presidency  by  the 
Democratic  national  convention,  and  in 
November  following  was  elected. 

Mr.  Cleveland,  after  serving  one  term  as 
president  of  the  United  States,  in  1888  was 
nominated  by  his  party  to  succeed  himself, 
but  he  failed  of  the  election,  being  beaten 
by  Benjamin  Harrison.  In  1892,  however, 
being  nominated  again  in  opposition  to  the 
then  incumbent  of  the  presidency,  Mr.  Har- 
rison, Grover  Cleveland  was  elected  pres- 
ident for  the  second  time  and  served  for  the 
usual  term  of  four  years.  In  1897  Mr. 
Cleveland  retired  from  the  chair  of  the  first 
magistrate  of  the  nation,  and  in  New  York 


City  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  in  which 
city  he  had  established  himself  in  1889. 

June  2,  1886,  Grover  Cleveland  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Frances  Fol- 
som, the  daughter  of  his  former  partner. 


ALEXANDER  WINCHELL,  for  many 
years  one  of  the  greatest  of  American 
scientists,  and  one  of  the  most  noted  and 
prolific  writers  on  scientific  subjects,  was 
born  in  Duchess  county,  New  York,  Decem- 
ber 31,  1824.  He  received  a  thorough  col- 
legiate education,  and  graduated  at  the 
Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Connect- 
icut, in  1847.  His  mind  took  a  scientific 
turn,  which  manifested  itself  while  he  was 
yet  a  boy,  and  in  1848  he  became  teacher 
of  natural  sciences  at  the  Armenian  Semi- 
nary, in  his  native  state,  a  position  which 
he  filled  for  three  years.  In  185 1-3  he  oc- 
cupied the  same  position  in  the  Mesopo- 
tamia Female  Seminary,  in  Alabama,  after 
which  he  was  president  of  the  Masonic  Fe- 
male Seminary,  in  Alabama.  In  1853  he 
became  connected  with  the  University  of 
Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  at  which  institu- 
tion he  performed  the  most  important  work 
of  his  life,  and  gained  a  wide  reputation  as 
a  scientist.  He  held  many  important  posi- 
tions, among  which  were  the  following: 
Professor  of  physics  and  civil  engineering  at 
the  University  of  Michigan,  also  of  geology, 
zoology  and  botany,  and  later  professor  of 
geology  and  palaeontology  at  the  same  insti- 
tution. He  also,  for  a  time,  was  president 
of  the  Michigan  Teachers'  Association,  and 
state  geologist  of  Michigan.  Professor 
Winchell  was  a  very  prolific  writer  on  scien- 
tific subjects,  and  published  many  standard 
works,  his  most  important  and  widely  known 
being  those  devoted  to  geology.  He  also 
contributed  a  large  number  of  articles  tc 
scientific  and  popular  journals. 


176 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


ANDREW  HULL  FOOTE,  of  the 
United  States  navy,  was  a  native  of 
New  England,  born  at  New  Haven,  Con- 
necticut, May  4,  1808.  He  entered  the 
navy,  as  a  midshipman,  December  4,  1822. 
He  slowly  rose  in  his  chosen  profession,  at- 
taining the  rank  of  lieutenant  in  1830,  com- 
mander in  1852  and  captain  in  1861. 
Among  the  distinguished  men  in  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Civil  war,  but  few  stood  higher 
in  the  estimation  of  his  brother  officers  than 
Foote,  and  when,  in  the  fall  of  1861,  he 
was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  flotilla 
then  building  on  the  Mississippi,  the  act 
gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  service. 
Although  embarrassed  by  want  of  navy 
yards  and  supplies,  Foote  threw  himself  into 
his  new  work  with  unusual  energy.  He 
overcame  all  obstacles  and  in  the  new,  and, 
until  that  time,  untried  experiment,  of  creat- 
ing and  maintaining  a  navy  on  a  river, 
achieved  a  success  beyond  the  expectations 
of  the  country.  Great  incredulity  existed  as 
to  the  possibility  of  carrying  on  hostilities 
on  a  river  where  batteries  from  the  shore 
might  bar  the  passage.  But  in  spite  of  all, 
Foote  soon  had  a  navy  on  the  great  river, 
and  by  the  heroic  qualities  of  the  crews  en- 
trusted to  him,  demonstrated  the  utility  of 
this  new  departure  in  naval  architecture. 
All  being  prepared,  February  6,  1862,  Foote 
took  Fort  Henry  after  a  hotly-contested 
action.  On  the  14th  of  the  same  month, 
for  an  hour  and  a  half  engaged  the  batteries 
of  Fort  Donelson,  with  four  ironclads  and 
two  wooden  gunboats,  thereby  dishearten- 
ing the  garrison  and  assisting  in  its  capture. 
April  7th  of  the  same  year,  after  several 
hotly-contested  actions.  Commodore  Foote 
received  the  surrender  of  Island  No.  10,  one 
of  the  great  strongholds  of  the  Confederacy 
on  the  Mississippi  river.  Foote  having  been 
wounded  at  Fort  Donelson,  and  by  neglect 


it  having  become  so  serious  as  to  endanger 
his  life,  he  was  forced  to  resign  his  command 
and  return  home.  June  16,  1862,  he  re- 
ceived the  thanks  of  congress  and  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  rear  admiral.  He  was 
appointed  chief  of  the  bureau  of  equipment 
and  recruiting.  June  4,  1863,  he  was 
ordered  to  the  fleet  off  Charleston,  to  super- 
cede Rear  Admiral  Dupont,  but  on  his  way 
to  that  destination  was  taken  sick  at  New 
York,  and  died  June  26,  1863. 


NELSON  A.  MILES,  the  well-known  sol- 
dier, was  born  at  Westminster,  Massa- 
chusetts, August  8, 1 839.  His  ancestors  set- 
tled in  that  state  in  1643  among  the  early 
pioneers,  and  their  descendants  were,  many 
of  them,  to  be  found  among  those  battling 
against  Great  Britain  during  Revolutionary 
times  and  during  the  war  of  18 12.  Nelson 
was  reared  on  a  farm,  received  an  academic 
education,  and  in  early  manhood  engaged  in 
mercantile  pursuits    in   Boston.      Early    in 

1 86 1  he  raised  a  company  and  offered  his 
services  to  the  government,  and  although 
commissioned  as  captain,  on  account  of  his 
youth  went  out  as  first  lieutenant  in  the 
Twenty-second  Massachusetts  Infantry.     In 

1862  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel 
and  colonel  of  the  Si.xty-first  New  York  In- 
fantry. At  the  request  of  Generals  Grant 
and  Meade  he  was  made  a  brigadier  by 
President  Lincoln.  He  participated  in  all 
but  one  of  the  battles  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  until  the  close  of  the  war.  During 
the  latter  part  of  the  time  he  commanded 
the  first  division  of  the  Second  Corps. 
General  Miles  was  wounded  at  the  battles 
of  Fair  Oaks,  Fredericksburg  and  Chan- 
cellorsville,  and  received  four  brevets  for 
distinguished  service.  During  the  recon- 
struction period  he  commanded  in  North 
Carolina,  and  on   the   reorganization  of  the 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


17T 


regular  army  he  was  made  colonel  of  in- 
fantry. In  1880  he  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  brigadier- general,  and  in  1890  to 
that  of  major-general.  He  successfully  con- 
ducted several  campaigns  among  the  In- 
dians, and  his  name  is  known  among  the 
tribes  as  a  friend  when  they  are  peacefully 
inclined.  He  many  times  averted  war 
with  the  red  men  by  judicious  and  humane 
settlement  of  difficulties  without  the  military 
power.  In  1892  General  Miles  was  given 
command  of  the  proceedings  in  dedicating 
the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago,  and  in  the 
summer  of  1894,  during  the  great  railroad 
strike  at  the  same  city,  General  Miles,  then 
in  command  of  the  department,  had  the 
disposal  of  the  troops  sent  to  protect  the 
United  States  mails.  On  the  retirement  of 
General  J.  M.  Schofield,  in  1895,  General 
Miles  became  the  ranking  major-general  of 
the  United  States  army  and  the  head  of  its 
forces. 

JUNIUS  BRUTUS  BOOTH,  the  great 
<J  actor,  though  born  in  London  (1796),  is 
more  intimately  connected  with  the  Amer- 
ican than  with  the  English  stage,  and  his 
popularity  in  America  was  almost  un- 
bounded, while  in  England  he  was  not  a 
prime  favorite.  He  presented  "  Richard  III." 
in  Richmond  on  his  first  appearance  on  the 
American  stage  in  1821.  This  was  his 
greatest  role,  and  in  it  he  has  never  had  an 
equal.  In  October  of  the  same  year  he 
appeared  in  New  York.  After  a  long  and 
successful  career  he  gave  his  final  perform- 
ance at  New  Orleans  in  1852.  He  con- 
tracted a  severe  cold,  and  for  lack  of  proper 
medical  attention,  it  resulted  in  his  death 
on  November  30th  of  that  year.  He  was, 
without  question,  one  of  the  greatest  tra- 
gedians that  ever  lived.  In  addition  to  his 
professional   art  and  genius,  he  was  skilled 


in  languages,  drawing,  painting  and  sculp- 
ture. In  his  private  life  he  was  reserved, 
and  even  eccentric.  Strange  stories  are 
related  of  his  peculiarities,  and  on  his  farm 
near  Baltimore  he  forbade  the  use  of  animal 
food,  the  taking  of  animal  life,  and  even  the 
felling  of  trees,  and  brought  his  butter  and 
eggs  to  the  Baltimore  markets  in  person. 

Junius  Brutus  Booth,  known  as  the  elder 
Booth,  gave  to  the  world  three  sons  of  note^ 
Junius  Brutus  Booth,  Jr.,  the  husband  of. 
Agnes  Booth,  the  actress;  John  Wilkes 
Booth,  the  author  of  the  greatest  tragedy 
in  the  life  of  our  nation;  Edwin  Booth,  in 
his  day  the  greatest  actor  of  America,  if  not 
of  the  world. 

TAMES  MONTGOMERY  BAILEY,  fa- 
kJ  mous  as  the  "Danbury  News  Man," 
was  one  of  the  best  known  American  humor- 
ists, and  was  born  September  25,  1841,  at 
Albany,  N.  Y.  He  adopted  journalism  as  a 
profession  and  started  in  his  chosen  work  on 
the  "Danbury  Times,"  which  paper  he  pur- 
chased on  his  return  from  the  war.  Mr. 
Bailey  also  purchased  the  "Jeffersonian," 
another  paper  of  Danbury,  and  consolidated 
them,  forming  the  "Danbury  News,"  which 
paper  soon  acquired  a  celebrity  throughout 
the  United  States,  from  an  incessant  flow  of 
rich,  healthy,  and  original  humor,  which  the 
pen  of  the  editor  imparted  to  its  columns, 
and  he  succeeded  in  raising  the  circulation 
of  the  paper  from  a  few  hundred  copies  a 
week  to  over  forty  thousand.  The  facilities 
of  a  country  printing  office  were  not  so  com- 
plete in  those  days  as  they  are  now,  but  Mr. 
Bailey  was  resourceful,  and  he  put  on  re- 
lays of  help  and  ran  his  presses  night  and 
day,  and  always  prepared  his  matter  a  week 
ahead  of  time.  The  "Danbury  News  Man" 
was  a  new  figure  in  literature,  as  his  humor 
was  so  different  from  that  of  the  newspaper. 


178 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


wits — who  had  preceded  him,  and  he  maybe 
called  the  pioneer  of  that  school  now  so 
familiar.  Mr.  Bailey  published  in  book 
form  "Life  in  Danbury"  and  "The  Danbury 
News  Man's  Almanac. "  One  of  his  most 
admirable  traits  was  philanthrophy,  as  he 
gave  with  unstinted  generosity  to  all  comers, 
and  died  comparatively  poor,  notwithstand- 
ing his  ownership  of  a  very  profitable  busi- 
ness which  netted  him  an  income  of  $40,000 
a  year.      He  died  March  4,  1894. 


M' 


.ATTHEW  HALE  CARPENTER,  a 
famous  lawyer,  orator  and  senator, 
was  born  in  Moretown,  Vermont,  December 
22,  1824.  After  receiving  a  common-school 
education  he  entered  the  United  States 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  but  only 
remained  two  years.  On  returning  to  his 
home  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  with 
Paul  Dillingham,  afterwards  governor  of 
Vermont,  and  whose  daughter  he  married. 
In  1847  he  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the 
bar  in  Vermont,  but  he  went  to  Boston  and 
for  a  time  studied  with  Ruf  us  Choate.  In  1 84S 
he  moved  west,  settling  at  Beloit,  Wisconsin, 
and  commencing  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion soon  obtained  a  wide  reputation  for 
ability.  In  1856  Mr.  Carpenter  removed  to 
Milwaukee,  where  he  found  a  wider  field  for 
his  now  increasing  powers.  During  the 
Civil  war,  although  a  strong  Democrat,  he 
was  loyal  to  the  government  and  aided  the 
Union  cause  to  his  utmost.  In  1868  he 
was  counsel  for  the  government  in  a  test 
case  to  settle  the  legality  of  the  reconstruc- 
tion act  before  the  United  States  supreme 
court,  and  won  his  case  against  Jeremiah  S. 
Black.  This  gave  him  the  election  for  sen- 
ator from  Wisconsin  in  1869,  and  he  served 
until  1875,  during  part  of  which  time  he  was 
ipresiAent  pro  tempore  of  the  senate.  Failing 
of  a  re-election  Mr.  Carpenter  resumed  the 


practice  of  law,  and  when  William  W. 
Belknap,  late  secretary  of  war,  was  im- 
peached, entered  the  case  for  General 
Belknap,  and  secured  an  acquittal.  During 
the  sitting  of  the  electoral  commission  of 
1877,  Mr.  Carpenter  appeared  for  Samuel 
J.  Tilden,  although  the  Republican  man- 
agers had  intended  to  have  him  represent 
R.  B.  Hayes.  Mr.  Carpenter  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  senate  again  in  1879, 
and  remained  a  member  of  that  body  until 
the  day  of  his  death,  which  occurred  at 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1881. 

.Senator  Carpenter's  real  name  was  De- 
catur Merritt  Hammond  Carpenter  but  about 
1852  he  changed  it  to  the  one  by  which  he 
was  universally  known. 


THOMAS  E.  WATSON,  lawyer  and 
congressman,  the  well-known  Geor- 
gian, whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of 
this  sketch,  made  himself  a  place  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  country  by  his  ability,  energy 
and  fervid  oratory.  He  was  born  in  Col- 
umbia (now  McDuffie)  county,  Georgia, 
September  5,  1856.  He  had  a  common- 
school  education,  and  in  1872  entered  Mer- 
cer University,  at  Macon,  Georgia,  as  fresh- 
man, but  for  want  of  money  left  the  college 
at  the  end  of  his  sophomore  year.  He 
taught  school,  studying  law  at  the  same 
time,  until  1S75,  when  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  He  opened  an  office  and  com- 
menced practice  in  Thomson,  Georgia,  in 
November,  1876.  He  carried  on  a  success- 
ful business,  and  bought  land  and  farmed  on 
an  extensive  scale. 

Mr.  Watson  was  a  delegate  to  the  Demo- 
cratic state  convention  of  1880,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  house  of  representatives  of 
the  legislature  of  his  native  state  in  1S82. 
In  1888  he  was  an  elector-at-large  on  the 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


179 


Cleveland  ticket,  and  in  iSgo  was  elected 
to  represent  his  district  in  the  fifty-second 
congress.  This  latter  election  is  said  to  have 
been  due  entirely  to  Mr.  Watson's  "dash- 
ing display  of  ability,  eloquence  and  popular 
power."  In  his  later  years  he  championed 
the  alliance  principles  and  policies  until  he 
became  a  leader  in  the  movement.  In  the 
heated  campaign  of  1896,  Mr.  Watson  was 
nominated  as  the  candidate  for  vice-presi- 
dent on  the  Bryan  ticket  by  that  part  of  the 
People's  party  that  would  not  endorse  the 
nominee  for  the  same  position  made  by  the 
Democratic  party. 


FREDERICK  A.  P.  BARNARD,  mathe- 
matician, physicist  and  educator,  was 
born  in  Sheffield,  Massachusetts,  May  5 , 1 809. 
He  graduated  from  Yale  College  in  1828, and 
in  1830  became  a  tutor  in  the  same.  From 
1837  to  1848  he  was  professor  of  mathe- 
matics and  natural  philosophy  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Alabama,  and  from  1848  to  1850, 
professor  of  chemistry  and  natural  history 
in  the  same  educational  institution.  In 
1854  he  became  connected  with  the  Univer- 
sity of  Mississippi,  of  which  he  became 
president  in  1856,  and  chancellor  in  1858. 
In  1854  he  took  orders  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church.  In  1861  Professor  Barnard 
resigned  his  chancellorship  and  chair  in  the 
university,  and  in  1863  and  1864  was  con- 
nected with  the  United  States  coast  survey 
in  charge  of  chart  printing  and  lithography. 
In  May,  1864,  he  was  elected  president  of 
Columbia  College,  New  York  City,  which 
he  served  for  a  number  of  years. 

Professor  Barnard  received  the  honorary 
degree  of  LL.  D.  from  Jefferson  College, 
Mississippi,  in  1855,  and  from  Yale  College 
in  1859;  also  the  degree  of  S.  T.  D.  from 
the  University  of  Mississippi  in  1861,  and 
that  of  L.  H.  D.  from   the  regents    of   the 


University  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1872. 
In  i860  he  was  a  member  of  the  eclipse 
party  sent  by  the  United  States  coast  sur- 
vey to  Labrador,  and  during  his  absence 
was  elected  president  of  the  American  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science.  la 
the  act  of  congress  establishing  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  in  1863,  he  was  named 
as  one  of  the  original  corporators.  In  1867 
he  was  one  of  the  United  States  commis- 
sioners to  the  Paris  Exposition.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  associate  member  of  the  Amer- 
ican Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and 
many  other  philosophical  and  scientific 
societies  at  home  and  abroad.  Dr.  Barnard 
was  thoroughly  identified  with  the  progress 
of  the  age  in  those  branches.  His  published 
works  relate  wholly  to  scientific  or  educa- 
tional subjects,  chief  among  which  are  the 
following:  Report  on  Collegiate  Education; 
Art  Culture;  History  of  the  American  Coast 
Survey;  University  Education;  Undulatory 
Theory  of  Light;  Machinery  and  Processes 
of  the  Industrial  Arts,  and  Apparatus  of  the 
Exact  Sciences,  Metric  System  of  Weights 
and  Measures,  etc. 


EDWIN  McMASTERS  STANTON,  the 
secretary  of  war  during  the  great  Civil 
war,  was  recognized  as  one  of  America's 
foremost  public  men.  He  was  born  Decem- 
ber 19,  1 8 14,  at  Steubenville,  Ohio,  where 
he  received  his  education  and  studied  law. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1836,  and 
was  reporter  of  the  supreme  court  of  Ohio 
from  1842  until  1845.  He  removed  to 
Washington  in  1856  to  attend  to  his  prac- 
tice before  the  United  States  supreme 
court,  and  in  1858  he  went  to  California  as 
counsel  for  the  government  in  certain  land 
cases,  which  he  carried  to  a  successful 
conclusion.      Mr.    Stanton    was    appointed 


180 


COMPENDIUM  OF  BIOGRAPHY. 


attorney-general  of  the  United  States  in 
December,  i860,  by  President  Buchanan. 
On  March  4,  1861,  Mr.  Stanton  went  with 
the  outgoing  administration  and  returned  to 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  was 
appointed  secretary  of  war  by  President 
Lincoln  January  20,  1862,  to  succeed  Simon 
Cameron.  After  the  assassination  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  and  the  accession  of  Johnson 
to  the  presidency,  Mr.  Stanton  was  still  in 
the  same  office.  He  held  it  for  three  years, 
and  by  his  strict  adherence  to  the  Repub- 
lican party,  he  antagonized  President  John- 
son, who  endeavored  to  remove  him.  On 
August  5,  1867,  the  president  requested  him 
to  resign,  and  appointed  General  Grant  to 
succeed  him,  but  when  congress  convened 
in  December  the  senate  refused  to  concur  in 
the  suspension.  Mr.  Stanton  returned  to 
his  post  until  the  president  again  removed 
him  from  office,  but  was  again  foiled  by 
congress.  Soon  after,  however,  he  retired 
voluntarily  from  office  and  took  up  the 
practice  of  law,  in  which  he  engaged  until 
his  death,  on  December  24,  1869. 


ALEXANDER  CAMPBELL,  the  eminent 
theologian  and  founder  of  the  church 
known  as  Disciples  of  Christ,  was  born  in 
the  country  of  Antrim,  Ireland,  in  June, 
1788,  and  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Thomas 
Campbell,  a  Scoth-Irish  "Seceder. "  After 
studying  at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  he, 
in  company  with  his  father,  came  to  America 
in  1808,  and  both  began  labor  in  western 
Pennsylvania  to  restore  Christianity  to 
apostolic  simplicity.  They  organized  a 
church  at  Brush  Run,  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  181 1,  which,  however,  the 
year  following,  adopted  Baptist  views,  and 
in  181 3,  with  other  congregations  joined  a 
Baptist  association.  Some  of  the  under- 
lying principles  and  many  practices   of  the 


Campbells  and  their  disciples  were  repug- 
nant to  the  Baptist  church  and  considerable 
friction  was  the  result,  and  1827  saw  the 
separation  of  that  church  from  the  Church 
of  Christ,  as  it  is  sometimes  called.  The 
latter  then  reorganized  themselves  anew. 
They  reject  all  creeds,  professing  to  receive 
the  Bible  as  their  only  guide.  In  most  mat- 
ters of  faith  they  are  essentially  in  accord  with 
the  other  Evangelical  Christian  churches, 
especially  in  regard  to  the  person  and  work 
of  Christ,  the  resurrection  and  judgment. 
They  celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper  weekly, 
hold  that  repentance  and  faith  should  precede 
baptism,  attaching  much  importance  to  the 
latter  ordinance.  On  all  other  points  they 
encourage  individual  liberty  of  thought.  In 
1 84 1,  Alexander  Campbell  founded  Bethany 
College,  West  Virginia,  of  which  he  was 
president  for  many  years,  and  died  March  4, 
1866. 

The  denomination  which  they  founded 
is  quite  a  large  and  important  church  body 
in  the  United  States.  They  support  quite 
a  number  of  institutions  of  learning,  among 
which  are:  Bethany  College,  West  Virginia; 
Hiram  College,  Hiram,  Ohio;  Northwestern 
Christian  University,  Indianapolis,  Indiana; 
Eureka  College,  Illinois;  Kentucky  Univer- 
sity, Lexington,  Kentucky;  Oskaloosa 
College,  Iowa;  and  a  number  of  seminaries 
and  schools.  They  also  support  several 
monthly  and  quarterly  religious  periodicals 
and  many  papers,  both  in  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  and  her  dependencies. 


WILLIAM  L.WILSON,  the  noted  West 
Virginian,  who  was  postmaster-gener- 
al under  President  Cleveland's  second  ad- 
ministration, won  distinction  as  the  father 
of  the  famous  "  Wilson  bill,"  which  became 
a  law  under  the  same  administration.  Mr. 
Wilson  was  born   May  3,    1843,  in  Jeffer-s 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


181 


son  county,  West  Virginia,  and  received 
a  good  education  at  the  Charlestown 
Academy,  where  he  prepared  himself  for 
college.  He  attended  the  Columbian  Col- 
lege in  the  District  of  Columbia,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  i860,  and  then 
attended  the  University  of  Virginia.  Mr. 
Wilson  served  in  the  Confederate  army  dur- 
ing the  war,  after  which  he  was  a  professor 
in  Columbian  College.  Later  he  entered 
into  the  practice  of  law  at  Charlestown. 
He  attended  the  Democratic  convention 
held  at  Cincinnati  in  1880,  as  a  delegate, 
and  later  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  electors 
for  the  state-at-large  on  the  Hancock 
ticket.  In  the  Democratic  convention  at 
Chicago  in  1892,  Mr.  Wilson  was  its  per- 
manent president.  He  was  elected  pres- 
ident of  the  West  Virginia  University  in 
1882,  entering  upon  the  duties  of  his  office 
on  September  6,  but  having  received  the 
nomination  for  the  fortj'-seventh  congress 
on  the  Democratic  ticket,  he  resigned  the 
presidency  of  the  university  in  June,  1883, 
to  take  his  seat  in  congress.  Mr.  Wil- 
son was  honored  by  the  Columbian  Uni- 
versity and  the  Hampden-Sidney  College, 
both  of  which  conferred  upon  him  the  de- 
gree of  LL.  D.  In  1884  he  was  appointed 
regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at 
Washington  for  two  years,  and  at  the  end 
of  his  term  was  re-appointed.  He  was 
elected  to  the  forty-seventh,  forty-ninth, 
fiftieth,  fifty-first,  fifty-second  and  fifty- 
third  congresses,  but  was  defeated  for  re- 
election to  the  fifty-fourth  congress.  Upon 
the  resignation  of  Mr.  Bissell  from  the  office 
of  postmaster-general,  Mr.  Wilson  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  vacancy  by  President 
Cleveland.  His  many  years  of  public  serv- 
ice and  the  prominent  part  he  took  in  the 
discussion  of  public  questions  gave  him  a 
national  reputation. 


CALVIN  S.  BRICE,  a  successful  and 
noted  financier  and  politician,  was 
born  at  Denmark,  Ohio,  September  17, 
1845,  of  an  old  Maryland  family,  who  trace 
their  lineage  from  the  Bryces,  or  Bruces,  of 
Airth,  Scotland.  The  father  of  our  subject 
was  a  prominent  Presbyterian  clergyman, 
who  removed  to  Ohio  in  1812.  Calvin  S. 
Brice  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  native  town,  and  at  the  age  of  thir- 
teen entered  the  preparatory  department  of 
Miami  University  at  O.xford,  Ohio,  and  the 
following  year  entered  the  freshman  class. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war, 
although  but  fifteen  years  old,  he  enlisted  in 
a  company  of  three-months  men.  He  re- 
turned to  complete  his  college  course,  but 
re-enlisted  in  Company  A,  Eighty-sixth 
Ohio  Infantry,  and  served  in  the  Virginia 
campaign.  He  then  returned  to  college, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1863.  In  1864 
he  organized  Company  E,  One  Hundred 
and  Eightieth  Ohio  Infantry,  and  served 
until  the  close  of  hostilities,  in  the  western 
armies. 

On  his  return  home  Mr.  Brice  entered 
the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
Michigan,  and  in  1866  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  Cincinnati.  In  the  winter  of  1870— 
71  he  went  to  Europe  in  the  interests  of  the 
Lake  Erie  &  Louisville  Railroad  and  pro- 
cured a  foreign  loan.  This  road  became 
the  Lake  Erie  &  Western,  of  which,  in 
1887,  Mr.  Brice  became  president.  This 
was  the  first  railroad  in  which  he  had  a 
personal  interest.  The  conception,  build- 
ing and  sale  of  the  New  York,  Chicago  & 
St.  Louis  Railroad,  known  as  the  "Nickel 
Plate,"  was  largely  due  to  him.  He  was 
connected  with  many  other  railroads,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  the  following: 
Chicago  &  Atlantic;  Ohio  Central;  Rich- 
mond &  Danville;  Richmond  &  West  Point 


182 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


Terminal;  East  Tennessee,  Virginia  & 
Georgia;  Memphis  &  Charleston;  Mobile  & 
Birmingham;  Kentucky  Central;  Duluth, 
South  Shore  &  Atlantic,  and  the  Marquette, 
Houghton  &  Ontonagon.  In  1890  he  was 
elected  United  States  senator  from  Ohio. 
Notwithstanding  his  extensive  business  inter- 
ests, Senator  Brice  gave  a  considerable 
time  to  political  matters,  becoming  one  of 
the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party  and  one 
of  the  most  widely  known  men  in  the 
country. 

BENJAMIN  HARRISON,  twenty-third 
president  of  the  United  States,  was 
born  August  20,  1833,  at  North  Bend, 
Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  in  the  house  of  his 
grandfather,  General  William  Henry  Har- 
rison, afterwards  president  of  the  United 
States.  His  great-grandfather,  Benjamin 
Harrison,  was  a  member  of  the  Continental 
congress,  signed  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  was  three  times  elected  gov- 
ernor of  Virginia. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  entered  Farm- 
ers College  at  an  early  age,  and  two  years 
later  entered  Miami  University,  at  Oxford, 
Ohio.  Upon  graduation  he  entered  the 
office  of  Stover  &  Gwyne,  of  Cincinnati,  as  a 
law  student.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
two  years  later,  and  having  inherited  about 
eight  hundred  dollars  worth  of  property,  he 
married  the  daughter  of  Doctor  Scott,  pres- 
ident of  a  female  school  at  Oxford,  Ohio, 
and  selected  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  to  begin 
practice.  In  i860  he  was  nominated  by 
•ihe  Republicans  as  candidate  for  state 
supreme  court  reporter,  and  did  his  first 
political  speaking  in  that  campaign.  He 
was  elected,  and  after  two  years  in  that 
position  he  organized  the  Seventieth  Indi- 
ana Infantry,  of  which  he  was  made  colonel, 
and  with  his  regiment  joined  General  Sher- 


man's army.  For  bravery  displayed  at  Re- 
saca  and  Peach  Tree  Creek  he  was  made  a 
brigadier-general.  In  the  meantime  the 
office  of  supreme  court  reporter  had  beea 
declared  vacant,  and  another  party  elected 
to  fill  it.  In  the  fall  of  1864,  having  been 
nominated  for  that  office.  General  Harrison 
obtained  a  thirty-day  leave  of  absence,  went 
to  Indiana,  canvassed  the  state  and  was 
elected.  As  he  was  about  to  rejoin  his 
command  he  was  stricken  down  by  an  attack 
of  fever.  After  his  recovery  he  joined 
General  Sherman's  army  and  participated  in 
the  closing  events  of  the  war. 

In  1868  General  Harrison  declined  to 
be  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  supreme 
court  reporter,  and  returned  to  the  practice 
of  the  law.  His  brilliant  campaign  for  the 
office  of  governor  of  Indiana  in  1876, 
brought  him.  into  public  notice,  although  he 
was  defeated.  He  took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  presidential  canvass  of  1880,  and  was 
chosen  United  States  senator  from  Indiana, 
serving  six  years.  He  then  returned  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  In  188S  he  was 
selected  by  the  Republican  convention  at 
Chicago  as  candidate  for  the  presidency,  and 
after  a  heated  campaign  was  elected  over 
Cleveland.  He  was  inaugurated  March  4, 
1889,  and  signed  the  McKinley  bill  October 
I,  1890,  perhaps  the  most  distinctive  feature 
of  his  administration.  In  1892  he  was 
again  the  nominee  of  the  Republican  party 
for  president,  but  was  defeated  by  Grover 
Cleveland,  the  Democratic  candidate,  and 
again  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  Indian- 
apolis. 

JOHN  CRAIG  HAVEMEYER,  the 
celebrated  merchant  and  sugar  refiner, 
was  born  in  New  York  Citj'  in  1S33.  His 
father,  William  F.  Havemeyer,  and  grand- 
father, William  Havemeyer,  were  both  sugar 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


refiners.  The  latter  named  came  from 
Buckeburg,  Germany,  in  1799,  and  settled 
in  New  York,  establishing  one  of  the  first 
refineries  in  that  city.  William  F.  succeeded 
his  father,  and  at  an  early  age  retired  from 
business  with  a  competency.  He  was  three 
times  mayor  of  his  native  city.  New  York. 
John  C.  Havemeyer  was  educated  in 
private  schools,  and  was  prepared  for  college 
at  Columbia  College  grammar  school. 
Owing  to  failing  eyesight  he  was  unable  to 
finish  his  college  course,  and  began  his 
business  career  in  a  wholesale  grocery  store, 
where  he  remained  two  years.  In  1S54, 
after  a  year's  travel  abroad,  he  assumed  the 
responsibility  of  the  office  work  in  the  sugar 
refinery  of  Havemeyer  &  Molter,  but  two 
years  later  etablished  a  refinery  of  his  own 
in  Brooklyn.  This  afterwards  developed  into 
the  immense  business  of  Havemeyer  &  Elder. 
The  capital  was  furnished  by  his  father, 
and,  chafing  under  the  anxiety  caused  by  the 
use  of  borrowed  money,  he  sold  out  his 
interest  and  returned  to  Havemeyer  & 
Molter.  This  firm  dissolving  the  ne.xt  year, 
John  C.  declined  an  offer  of  partnership 
from  the  successors,  not  wishing  to  use 
borrowed  money.  For  two  years  he  remain- 
ed with  the  house,  receiving  a  share  of  the 
profits  as  compensation.  For  some  years 
thereafter  he  was  engaged  in  the  commission 
business,  until  failing  health  caused  his 
retirement.  In  1871,  he  again  engaged  in 
the  sugar  refining  business  at  Greenport, 
Long  Island,  with  his  brother  and  another 
partner,  under  the  firm  name  of  Havemeyer 
Brothers  &  Co.  Here  he  remained  until 
1880,  when  his  health  again  declined. 
During  the  greater  part  of  his  life  Mr. 
Havemeyer  was  identified  with  many  benev- 
olent societies,  including  the  New  York 
Port  Society,  Missionary  Society  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  American  Bible  Society, 


New  York  Sabbath  School  Society  and 
others.  He  was  active  in  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  work  in  New  York, 
and  organized  and  was  the  first  president  of 
an  affiliated  society  of  the  same  at  Yonkers. 
He  was  director  of  several  railroad  corpo- 
rations and  a  trustee  of  the  Continental  Trust 
Company  of  New  York. 


WALTER  QUINTIN  GRESHAM,  an 
eminent  American  statesman  and 
jurist,  was  born  March  17,  1833,  near  Cory- 
don,  Harrison  county,  Indiana.  He  ac- 
quired his  education  in  the  local  schools  of 
the  county  and  at  Bloomington  Academy, 
although  he  did  not  graduate.  After  leav- 
ing college  he  read  law  with  Judge  Porter 
at  Corydon,  and  just  before  the  war  he  be- 
gan to  take  an  interest  in  politics.  Mr. 
Gresham  was  elected  to  the  legislature  from 
Harrison  county  as  a  Republican;  previous 
to  this  the  district  had  been  represented  by 
a  Democrat.  At  the  commencement  of 
hostilities  he  was  made  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  Thirty-eighth  Indiana  Infantry,  but 
served  in  that  regiment  only  a  short  time, 
when  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Fifty- 
third  Indiana,  and  served  under  General 
Grant  at  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  as  brigadier- 
general.  Later  he  was  under  Sherman  in 
the  famous  "March  to  the  Sea,"  and  com- 
manded a  division  of  Blair's  corps  at  the 
siege  of  Atlanta  where  he  was  so  badly 
wounded  in  the  leg  that  he  was  compelled 
to  return  home.  On  his  way  home  he  was 
forced  to  stop  at  New  Albany,  where  he  re- 
mained a  year  before  he  was  able  to  leave. 
He  was  brevetted  major-general  at  the  close 
of  the  war.  While  at  New  Albany,  Mr. 
Gresham  was  appointed  state  agent,  his 
duty  being  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  state 
debt  in  New  York,  and  he  ran  twice  for 
congress    against  e.x-Speaker  Kerr,  but  was 


184 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


defeated  in  both  cases,  although  he  greatly 
reduced  the  Democratic  majority.  He  was 
held  in  high  esteem  by  President  Grant, 
who  offered  him  the  portfolio  of  the  interior 
but  Mr.  Gresham  declined,  but  accepted 
the  appointment  of  United  States  judge  for 
Indiana  to  succeed  David  McDonald. 
Judge  Gresham  served  on  the  United  States 
district  court  bench  until  1883,  when  he 
was  appointed  postmaster-general  by  Presi- 
dent Arthur,  but  held  that  office  only  a  few 
months  when  he  was  made  secretary  of  the 
treasury.  Near  the  end  of  President 
Arthur's  term,  Judge  Gresham  was  ap- 
pointed judge  of  the  United  States  circuit 
court  of  the  district  composed  of  Indiana, 
Illinois  and  contiguous  states,  which  he  held 
until  1893.  Judge  Gresham  was  one  of  the 
presidential  possibilities  in  the  National  Re- 
publican convention  in  1888,  when  General 
Harrison  was  nominated,  and  was  also  men- 
tioned for  president  in  1892.  Later  the 
People's  party  made,  a  strenuous  effort  to 
induce  him  to  become  their  candidate  for 
president,  he  refusing  the  offer,  however, 
and  a  few  weeks  before  the  election  he  an- 
nounced that  he  would  support  Mr.  Cleve- 
land, the  Democratic  nominee  for  president. 
Upon  the  election  of  Mr.  Cleveland  in  the 
fall  of  1892,  Judge  Gresham  was  made  the 
secretary  of  state,  and  filled  that  position 
until  his  death  on  May  28,  1895,  at  Wash- 
ington, District  of  Columbia. 


ELISHA  B.  ANDREWS,  noted  as  an  ed- 
ucator and  college  president,  was  born 
at  Hinsdale,  New  Hampshire,  January  10, 
1844,  his  father  and  mother  being  Erastus 
and  Elmira  (Bartlett)  Andrews.  In  1861, 
he  entered  the  service  of  the  general  gov- 
ernment as  private  and  non-commissioned 
officer  in  the  First  Connecticut  Heavy  Ar- 
tillery,  and  in    1863   was  promoted  to  the 


rank  of  second  lieutenant.  Returning  home 
he  was  prepared  for  college  at  Powers  In- 
stitute and  at  the  Wesleyan  Academy,  and 
entered  Brown  University.  From  here  he 
was  graduated  in  1870.  For  the  succeeding 
two  years  he  was  principal  of  the  Connecti- 
cut Literary  Institute  at  Suffield,  Connecticut. 
Completing  a  course  at  the  Newton  Theo- 
logical Institute,  he  was  ordained  pastor  of 
the  First  Baptist  church  at  Beverly,  Massa- 
chusetts, July  2,  1874.  The  following 
year  he  became  president  of  the  Denison 
University,  at  Granville,  Ohio.  In  1879 
he  accepted  the  professorship  of  homiletics, 
pastoral  duties  and  church  polity  at  Newton 
Theological  Institute.  In  1882  he  was 
elected  to  the  chair  of  history  and  political 
economy  at  Brown  University.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Nebraska  honored  him  with  an 
LL.  D.  in  1884,  and  the  same  year  Colby 
University  conferred  the  degree  of  D.  D. 
In  1888  he  became  professor  of  political 
economy  and  public  economy  at  Cornell 
University,  but  the  next  year  returned  to 
Brown  University  as  its  president.  From 
the  time  of  his  inauguration  the  college  work 
broadened  in  many  ways.  Many  timely 
and  generous  donations  from  friends  and 
alumni  of  the  college  were  influenced  by 
him,  and  large  additions  made  "to  the  same. 
Professor  Andrews  published,  in  1887, 
"Institutes  of  General  History,"  and  in 
1888,  "  Institutes  of  Economics." 


JOHN  WILLIAM  DRAPER,  the  subject 
of  the  present  biography,  was,  during  his 
life,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  chemists 
and  scientific  writers  in  America.  He  was 
an  Englishman  by  birth,  born  at  Liverpool, 
May  5,  181 1,  and  was  reared  in  his  native 
land,  receiving  an  excellent  education, 
graduating  at  the  University  of  London.  In 
1833   he   came   to   the  United    States,  and 


I 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


187 


settled  first  in  Pennsylvania.  He  graduated 
in  medicine  at  the  University  of  Philadel- 
phia, in  1836,  and  for  three  years  following 
vi'as  professor  of  chemistry  and  physiology 
at  Hampden-Sidney  College.  He  then  be- 
came professor  of  chemistry  in  the  New  York 
University,  with  which  institution  he  was 
prominently  connected  for  many  years.  It 
is  stated  on  excellent  authority  that  Pro- 
fessor Draper,  in  1839,  took  the  first  photo- 
graphic picture  ever  taken  from  life.  He 
was  a  great  student,  and  carried  on  many 
important  and  intricate  experiments  along 
scientific  lines.  He  discovered  many  of  the 
fundamental  facts  of  spectrum  analysis, 
which  he  published.  He  published  a  number 
of  works  of  great  merit,  many  of  which  are 
recognized  as  authority  upon  the  subjects  of 
which  they  treat.  Among  his  work  were: 
"Human  Physiology,  Statistical  and  Dyna- 
mical of  the  Conditions  and  Cause  of  Life 
in  Man,"  "History  of  Intellectual  Develop- 
ment of  Europe,"  "History  of  the  Ameri- 
can Civil  War,"  besides  a  number  of  works 
on  chemistry,  optics  and  mathematics.  Pro- 
fessor Draper  continued  to  hold  a  high  place 
among  the  scientific  scholars  of  America 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  January, 


GEORGE  W.  PECK,  ex-governor  of 
the  state  of  Wisconsin  and  a  famous 
journalist  and  humorist,  was  born  in  Jeffer- 
son county,  New  York,  September  28,  1840. 
When  he  was  about  three  years  of  age  his 
parents  removed  to  Wisconsin,  settling  near 
Whitewater,  where  young  Peck  received  his 
education  at  the  public  schools.  At  fifteen 
he  entered  the  office  of  the  "Whitewater 
Register,"  where  he  learned  the  printer's 
art.  He  helped  start  the  "Jefferson  County 
Republican"  later  on,  but  sold  out  his 
interest  therein  and  set  type  in  the  office  of 


the  "State  Journal,"  at  Madison.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  he  enlisted  in  the 
Fourth  Wisconsin  Cavalry  as  a  private,  and 
after  serving  four  years  returned  a  second 
lieutenant.  He  then  started  the  "  Ripon 
Representative,"  which  he  sold  not  long 
after,  and  removing  to  New  York,  was  on 
the  staff  of  Mark  Pomeroy's  "Democrat." 
Going  to  La  Crosse,  later,  he  conducted  the 
La  Crosse  branch  paper,  a  half  interest  in 
which  he  bought  in  1874.  He  next  started 
"Peck's  Sun,"  which  four  years  later  he 
removed  to  Milwaukee.  While  in  La 
Crosse  he  was  chief  of  police  one  year,  and 
also  chief  clerk  of  the  Democratic  assembly 
in  1874.  It  was  in  1878  that  Mr.  Peck 
took  his  paper  to  Milwaukee,  and  achieved 
his  first  permanent  success,  the  circulation 
increasing  to  80,000.  For  ten  years  he  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  original,  versa- 
tile and  entertaining  writers  in  the  country, 
and  he  has  delineated  every  phase  of 
country  newspaper  life,  army  life,  domestic 
experience,  travel  and  city  adventure.  Up 
to  1890  Mr.  Peck  took  but  little  part  in 
politics,  but  in  that  year  was  elected  mayor 
of  Milwaukee  on  the  Democratic  ticket. 
The  following  August  he  was  elected  gov- 
ernor of  Wisconsin  by  a  large  majority, 
the  "Bennett  School  Bill"  figuring  to  a 
large  extent  in  his  favor. 

Mr.  Peck,  besides  many  newspaper  arti- 
cles in  his  peculiar  vein  and  numerous  lect- 
ures, bubbling  over  with  fun,  is  known  to 
fame  by  the  following  books:  "Peck's  Bad 
Boy  and  his  Pa,"  and  "The  Grocery  Man 
and  Peck's  Bad  Boy." 


CHARLES  O'CONOR,  who  was  for 
many  years  the  acknowledged  leader 
of  the  legal  profession  of  New  York  City, 
was  also  conceded  to  be  one  of  the  greatest 
lawyers   America  has  produced.      He  was 


188 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


born  in  New  York  City  in  1804,  his  father 
being  an  educated  Irish  gentleman.  Charles 
received  a  common-school  education,  and 
early  took  up  the  study  of  law,  being  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  1824.  His  close  ap- 
plication and  untiring  energy  and  industry 
soon  placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
profession,  and  within  a  few  years  he  was 
handling  many  of  the  most  important  cases. 
One  of  the  first  great  cases  he  had  and  which 
gained  him  a  wide  reputation,  was  that  of 
"Jack,  the  Fugitive  Slave,"  in  1835,  in  which 
his  masterful  argument  before  the  supreme 
court  attracted  wide  attention  and  com- 
ment. Charles  O'Conor  was  a  Democrat 
all  his  life.  He  did  not  aspire  to  office- 
holding,  however,  and  never  held  any  office 
except  that  of  district  attorney  under  Presi- 
dent Pierce's  administration,  which  he  only 
retained  a  short  time.  He  took  an  active 
interest,  however,  in  public  questions,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  state  (New  York)  con- 
stitutional convention  in  1864.  In  1868  he 
was  nominated  for  the  presidency  by  the 
"  Extreme  Democrats."  His  death  occurred 
in  May,  1884. 

SIMON  BOLIVAR  BUCKNER,  a  noted 
American  officer  and  major-general  in 
the  Confederate  army,  was  born  in  Ken- 
tucky in  1823.  He  graduated  from  West 
Point  Military  Academy  in  1844,  served  in 
the  United  States  infantry  and  was  later  as- 
signed to  commissary  duty  with  the  rank  of 
captain.  He  served  several  years  at  fron- 
tier posts,  and  was  assistant  professor  in  the 
military  academy  in  1846.  He  was  with 
General  Scott  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  en- 
gaged in  all  the  battles  from  Vera  Cruz  to 
the  capture  of  the  Mexican  capital.  He 
was  wounded  at  Cherubusco  and  brevetted 
first  lieutenant,  and  at  Molino  del  Rey  was 
brevetted  captain.      After  the   close    of  the 


Mexican  war  he  returned  to  West  Point  as 
assistant  instructor,  and  was  then  assigned 
to  commissary  duty  at  New  York.  He  re- 
signed in  1855  and  became  superintendent 
of  construction  of  the  Chicago  custom  house. 
He  was  made  adjutant-general,  with  the 
rank  of  colonel,  of  Illinois  militia,  and  was 
colonel  of  Illinois  volunteers  raised  for  the 
Utah  expedition,  but  was  not  mustered  into 
service.  In  i860  he  removed  to  Kentucky, 
where  he  settled  on  a  farm  near  Louisville 
and  became  inspector-general  in  command 
of  the  Kentucky  Home  Guards.  At  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  war  he  joined  the  Con- 
federate army,  and  was  given  command  at 
Bowling  Green,  Kentucky,  which  he  was 
compelled  to  abandon  after  the  capture  of 
Fort  Henry.  He  then  retired  to  Fort  Don- 
elson,  and  was  there  captured  with  sixteen 
thousand  men,  and  an  immense  store  of  pro- 
visions, by  General  Grant,  in  February, 
1862.  He  was  held  as  a  prisoner  of  war 
at  Fort  Warren  until  August  of  that  year. 
He  commanded  a  division  of  Hardee's  corps 
in  Bragg's  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  was 
afterward  assigned  to  the  third  division  and 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Chickamauga, 
and  Murfreesboro.  He  was  with  Kirby 
Smith  when  that  general  surrendered  his 
army  to  General  Canby  in  May,  1865.  He 
was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  the  vice- 
presidency  on  the  Gold  Democratic  ticket 
with  Senator  John  M.  Palmer  in  1896. 


SIMON  KENTON,  one  of  the  famous  pio- 
neers and  scouts  whose  names  fill  the 
pages  of  the  early  history  of  our  country, 
was  born  in  Fauquier  county,  Virginia, 
April  3,  1755.  In  consequence  of  an  affray, 
at  the  age  of  eighteen,  young  Kenton  went 
to  Kentucky,  then  the  "Dark  and  Bloody 
Ground,"  and  became  associated  with  Dan- 
iel Boone  and  other  pioneers  of  that  region. 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


.1.89 


For  a  short  time  he  acted  as  a  scout  and 
spy  for  Lord  Dunmore,  the  British  governor 
of  Virginia,  but  afterward  taking  the  side 
of  the  struggling  colonists,  participated  in 
the  war  for  independence  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies.  In  1784  he  returned  to  Virginia, 
but  did  not  remain  there  long,  going  back 
with  his  family  to  Kentucky.  From 
that  time  until  1793  he  participated  in  all 
the  combats  and  battles  of  that  time,  and 
until  "Mad  Anthony"  Wayne  swept  the 
Valley  of  the  Ohio,  and  settled  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  whites  in  that  region.  Kenton 
laid  claim  to  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  new 
country  he  had  helped  to  open  up,  but 
through  ignorance  of  law,  and  the  growing 
value  of  the  land,  lost  it  all  and  was  reduced 
to  poverty.  During  the  war  with  England 
in  1812-15,  Kenton  took  part  in  the  inva- 
sion of  Canada  with  the  Kentucky  troops 
and  participated  in  the  battle  of  the  Thames. 
He  finally  had  land  granted  him  by  the 
legislature  of  Kentucky,  and  received  a  pen- 
sion from  the  United  States  government. 
He  died  in  Logan  county,  Ohio,  April  29, 
1836.  

ELIHU  BENJAMIN  WASHBURNE,  an 
American  statesman  of  eminence,  was 
born  in  Livermore,  Maine,  September  23, 
1 8 16.  He  learned  the  trade  of  printer,  but 
abandoned  that  calling  at  the  age  of  eight- 
een and  entered  the  Kent's  Hill  Academy  at 
Reading,  Maine,  and  then  took  up  the  study 
of  law,  reading  in  Hallowell,  Boston,  and  at 
the  Harvard  Law  School.  He  began  prac- 
tice at  Galena,  Illinois,  in  1840.  He  was 
elected  to  congress  in  1852,  and  represented 
his  district  in  that  body  continuously  until 
March,  1869,  and  at  the  time  of  his  retire- 
ment he  had  served  a  greater  number  of 
consecutive  terms  than  any  other  member 
of  the  house.      In  1873  President  Grant  ap-  | 


pointed  him  secretary  of  state,  which  posi- 
tion he  resigned  to  accept  that  of  minister 
to  France.  During  the  Franco-Prussian 
war,  including  the  siege  of  Paris  and  the 
reign  of  the  Commune,  Mr.  Washburne  re- 
mained at  his  post,  protecting  the  lives  and 
property  of  his  countrymen,  as  well  as  that 
of  other  foreign  residents  in  Paris,  while  the 
ministers  of  all  other  powers  abandoned 
their  posts  at  a  time  when  they  were  most 
needed.  As  far  as  possible  he  extended 
protection  to  unfortunate  German  residents, 
who  were  the  particular  objects  of  hatred  of 
the  populace,  and  his  firmness  and  the  suc- 
cess which  attended  his  efforts  won  the  ad- 
miration of  all  Europe.  Mr.  Washburne 
died  at  Chicago,  Illinois,  October  22,  1887. 


WILLIAM  CRAMP,  one  of  the  most 
extensive  shipbuilders  of  this  coun- 
try, was  born  in  Kensington,  then  a  suburb, 
now  a  part  of  Philadelphia,  in  1806.  He 
received  a  thorough  English  education,  and 
when  he  left  school  was  associated  with 
Samuel  Grice,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
naval  architects  of  his  day.  In  1830,  hav- 
ing mastered  all  the  details  of  shipbuilding, 
Mr.  Cramp  engaged  in  business  on  his  own 
account.  By  reason  of  ability  and  excel- 
lent work  he  prospered  from  the  start,  until 
now,  in  the  hands  of  his  sons,  under  the 
name  of  William  Cramp  &  Sons'  Ship  and 
Engine  Building  Company,  it  has  become  the 
most  complete  shipbuilding  plant  and  naval 
arsenal  in  the  western  hemisphere,  and  fully 
equal  to  any  in  the  world.  As  Mr.  Cramp's 
sons  attained  manhood  they  learned  their 
father's  profession,  and  were  admitted  to  a 
partnership.  In  1872  the  firm  was  incor- 
porated under  the  title  given  above.  Until 
i860  wood  was  used  in  building  vessels,  al- 
though pace  was  kept  with  all  advances  in 
the  art  of  shipbuilding.     At  the  opening  of 


190 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


the  war  came  an  unexpected  demand  for 
war  vessels,  which  they  promptly  met.  The 
sea-going  ironclad  "New  Ironsides"  was 
built  by  them  in  1862,  followed  by  a  num- 
"ber  of  formidable  ironclads  and  the  cruiser 
"Chattanooga."  They  subsequently  built 
several  war  vessels  for  the  Russian  and 
other  governments  which  added  to  their 
reputation.  When  the  American  steamship 
line  was  established  in  1870,  the  Cramps 
were  commissioned  to  build  for  it  four  first- 
class  iron  steamships,  the  "  Pennsylvania," 
"Ohio,"  "Indiana"  and  "Illinois,"  which 
they  turned  out  in  rapid  order,  some  of  the 
finest  specimens  of  the  naval  architecture  of 
their  day.  William  Cramp  remained  at  the 
head  of  the  great  company  he  had"  founded 
^intil  his  death,  which  occurred  January  6, 
1879. 

Charles  H.  Cramp,  the  successor  of  his 
father  as  head  of  the  William  Cramp  & 
Sons'  Ship  and  Engine  Building  Company, 
was  born  in  Philadelphia  May  9,  1829,  and 
received  an  excellent  education  in  his  native 
city,  which  he  sedulously  sought  to  sup- 
plement by  close  study  until  he  became 
an  authority  on  general  subjects  and  the 
best  naval  architect  on  the  western  hemis- 
phere. Many  of  the  best  vessels  of  our 
new  navy  were  built  by  this  immense  con- 
cern. 

WASHINGTON  ALLSTON,  probably 
the  greatest  American  painter,  was 
born  in  South  Carolina  in  1779.  He  was 
sent  to  school  at  the  age  of  seven  years  at 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  where  he  met  Ed- 
ward Malbone,  two  years  his  senior,  and 
who  later  became  a  painter  of  note.  The 
friendship  that  sprang  up  between  them  un- 
doubtedly iniluenced  young  Allston  in  the 
choice  of  a  profession.  He  graduated  from 
Harvard   in   1800,  and  went  to  England  the 


following  year,  after  pursuing  his  studies  for 
a  year  under  his  friend  Malbone  at  his  home 
in  South  Carolina.  He  became  a  student 
at  the  Royal  Academy  where  the  great 
American,  Benjamin  West,  presided,  and 
who  became  his  intimate  friend.  Allston 
later  went  to  Paris,  and  then  to  Italy,  where 
four  years  were  spent,  mostly  at  Rome.  In 
1809  he  returned  to  America,  but  soon  after 
returned  to  London,  having  married  in  the 
meantime  a  sister  of  Dr.  Channing.  In 
a  short  time  his  first  great  work  appeared, 
"The  Dead  Man  Restored  to  Life  by  the 
Bones  of  Elisha,"  which  took  the  British 
Association  prize  and  firmly  established  his 
reputation.  Other  paintings  followed  in 
quick  succession,  the  greatest  among  which 
were  "Uriel  in  the  Center  of  the  Sun," 
"Saint  Peter  Liberated  by  the  Angel,"  and 
"Jacob's  Dream,"  supplemented  by  many 
smaller  pieces.  Hard  work,  and  grief  at  the 
death  of  his  wife  began  to  tell  upon  his  health, 
and  he  left  London  in  1818  for  America. 
The  same  year  he  was  elected  an  associate 
of  the  Royal  Academy.  During  the  next 
few  years  he  painted  "Jeremiah,"  "Witch 
ofEndor,"  and  "Beatrice."  In  1830  Alls- 
ton  married  a  daughter  of  Judge  Dana,  and 
went  to  Cambridge,  which  was  his  home 
until  his  death.  Here  he  produced  the 
"Vision  of  the  Bloody  Hand,"  "Rosalie," 
and  many  less  noted  pieces,  and  had  given 
one  week  of  labor  to  his  unfinished  master- 
piece, "Belshazzar's  Feast,"  when  death 
ended  his  career  July  9,  1843. 


JOHN  ROACH,  ship  builder  and  manu- 
facturer, whose  career  was  a  marvel  of 
industrial  labor,  and  who  impressed  his  in- 
dividuality and  genius  upon  the  times  in 
which  he  lived  more,  perhaps,  than  anv 
other  manufacturer  in  America.  He  was 
born    at    Mitchelstown,    County  Cork,   Ire- 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


191 


land,  December  25,  1815,  the  son  of  a 
wealthy  merchant.  He  attended  school 
until  he  was  thirteen,  when  his  father  be- 
came financially  embarrassed  and  failed 
and  shortly  after  died;  John  determined  to 
come  to  America  and  carve  out  a  fortune 
for  himself.  He  landed  in  New  York  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  and  soon  obtained  employ- 
ment at  the  Howell  Iron  Works  in  New  Jer- 
sey, at  twenty-five  cents  a  day.  He  soon 
made  himself  a  place  in  the  world,  and  at 
the  end  of  three  years  had  saved  some 
twelve  hundred  dollars,  which  he  lost  by 
the  failure  of  his  employer,  in  whose  hands 
it  was  left.  Returning  to  New  York  he 
began  to  learn  how  to  make  castings  for 
marine  engines  and  ship  work.  Having 
again  accumulated  one  thousand  dollars,  in 
company  with  three  fellow  workmen,  he 
purchased  a  small  foundry  in  New  York, 
but  soon  became  sole  proprietor.  At  the 
end  of  four  years  he  had  saved  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars,  besides  enlarging  his  works. 
In  1856  his  works  were  destroyed  by  a 
boiler  explosion,  and  being  unable  to  collect 
the  insurance,  was  left,  after  paying  his 
debts,  without  a  dollar.  However,  his 
credit  and  reputation  for  integrity  was  good, 
and  he  built  the  Etna  Iron  Works,  giving  it 
capacity  to  construct  larger  marine  engines 
than  any  previously  built  in  this  country. 
Here  he  turned  out  immense  engines  for 
the  steam  ram  Dunderberg,  for  the  war  ves- 
sels Winooski  and  Neshaning,  and  other 
large  vessels.  To  accommodate  his  increas- 
ing business,  Mr.  Roach,  in  1869,  pur- 
chased the  Morgan  Iron  Works,  one  of  the 
largest  in  New  York,  and  shortly  after  sev- 
eral others.  In  1871  he  bought  the  Ches- 
ter ship  yards,  which  he  added  to  largely, 
erecting  a  rolling  mill  and  blast  furnace,  and 
providing  every  facility  for  building  a  ship 
out  of  the  ore  and  timber.     This  immense 


plant  covered  a  large  area,  was  valued  at 
several  millions  of  dollars,  and  was  known 
as  the  Delaware  River  Iron  Shipbuilding 
and  Engine  Works,  of  which  Mr.  Roach 
was  the  principal  owner.  He  built  a  large 
percentage  of  the  iron  vessels  now  flying 
the  American  flag,  the  bulk  of  his  business 
being  for  private  parties.  In  1875  he  built 
the  sectional  dry  docks  at  Pensacola.  He, 
about  this  time,  drew  the  attention  of  the 
government  to  the  use  of  compound  marine 
engines,  and  thus  was  the  means  of  im- 
proving the  speed  and  economy  of  the  ves- 
sels of  our  new  navy.  In  1883  Mr.  Roach 
commenced  work  on  the  three  cruisers  for 
the  government,  the  "Chicago,"  "Boston" 
and  "Atlanta,"  and  the  dispatch  boat 
"  Dolphin."  For  some  cause  the  secretary 
of  the  navy  refused  to  receive  the  latter  and 
decided  that  Mr.  Roach's  contract  would 
not  hold.  This  embarrassed  Mr.  Roach, 
as  a  large  am.ount  of  his  capital  was  in- 
volved in  these  contracts,  and  for  the  pro- 
tection of  bondsmen  and  creditors,  July  18, 
1885,  he  made  an  assignment,  but  the 
financial  trouble  broke  down  his  strong  con- 
stitution, and  January  10,  1887,  he  died. 
His  son,  John  B.  Roach,  succeeded  to  the 
shipbuilding  interests,  while  Stephen  W. 
Roach  inherited  the  Morgan  Iron  Works  at 
New  York. 

JOHN  SINGLETON  COPLEY,  one  of 
the  two  great  painters  who  laid  the 
foundation  of  true  American  art,  was  born 
in  Boston  in  1737,  one  year  earlier  than  his 
great  contemporary,  Benjamin  West.  His 
education  was  limited  to  the  common  schools 
of  that  time,  and  his  training  in  art  he  ob- 
tained by  his  own  observation  and  experi- 
ments solely.  When  he  was  about  seven- 
teen years  old  he  had  mapped  out  his  future, 
however,  by  choosing  painting  as  his  pro-: 


192 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


fession.  If  he  ever  studied  under  any 
teacher  in  his  early  efforts,  we  have  no  au- 
thentic account  of  it,  and  tradition  credits 
the  young  artist's  wonderful  success  en- 
tirely to  his  own  talent  and  untiring  effort. 
It  is  almost  incredible  that  at  the  age  of 
twenty-three  years  his  income  from  his 
works  aggregated  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
per  annum,  a  very  great  sum  in  those  days. 
In  1774  he  went  to  Europe  in  search  of  ma- 
terial for  study,  which  was  so  rare  in  his 
native  land.  After  some  time  spent  in  Italy 
he  finally  took  up  his  permanent  residence 
in  England.  In  1783  he  was  made  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  later  his 
son  had  the  high  honor  of  becoming  lord 
chancellor  of  England  and  Lord  Lyndhurst. 
Many  specimens  of  Copley's  work  are  to 
be  found  in  the  Memorial  Hall  at  Harvard 
and  in  the  Boston  Museum,  as  well  as  a  few 
of  the  works  upon  which  he  modeled  his 
style.  Copley  was  essentially  a  portrait 
painter,  though  his  historical  paintings  at- 
tained great  celebrity,  his  masterpiece 
being  his  "  Death  of  Major  Pierson,"  though 
that  distinction  has  by  some  been  given  to 
his  "Death  of  Chatham."  It  is  said  that 
he  never  saw  a  good  picture  until  he  was 
thirty-five  years  old,  yet  his  portraits  prior 
to  that  period  are  regarded  as  rare  speci- 
mens.     He  died  in  181  5. 


HENRY  B.  PLANT,  one  of  the  greatest 
railroad  men  of  the  country,  became 
famous  as  president  of  the  Plant  system  of 
railway  and  steamer  lines,  and  also  the 
Southern  &  Texas  E.xpress  Co.  He  was 
born  in  October,  18 19,  at  Branford, 
Connecticut,  and  entered  the  railroad  serv- 
ice in  1844,  serving  as  express  messenger 
on  the  Hartford  &  New  Haven  Railroad  until 
1853,  during  which  time  he  had  entire 
•charge  of  the  exprp.se  -lusiness  of  that  road. 


He  went  south  in  1853  and  established  ex- 
press lines  on  various  southern  railways,  and 
in  1 86 1  organized  the  Southern  Express 
Co.,  and  became  its  president.  In  1879  he 
purchased,  with  others,  the  Atlantic  &  Gulf 
Railroad  of  Georgia,  and  later  reorganized 
the  Savannah,  Florida  &  Western  Railroad, 
of  which  he  became  president.  He  pur- 
chased and  rebuilt,  in  1880,  the  Savannah 
&  Charleston  Railroad,  now  Charleston  & 
Savannah.  Not  long  after  this  he  organ- 
ized the  Plant  Investment  Co.,  to  control 
these  railroads  and  advance  their  interests 
generally,  and  later  established  a  steamboat 
line  on  the  St.  John's  river,  in  Florida. 
From  1853  until  i860  he  was  general 
superintendent  of  the  southern  division  of 
the  Adams  Express  Co.,  and  in  1S67  be- 
came president  of  the  Texas  Express  Co. 
The  "Plant  system"  of  railway,  steamer 
and  steamship  lines  is  one  of  the  greatest 
business  corporations  of  the  southern  states. 


WADE  HAMPTON,  a  noted  Confeder- 
ate officer,  was  born  at  Columbia, 
South  Carohna,  in  18 18.  He  graduated 
from  the  South  Carolina  College,  took  an 
active  part  in  politics,  and  was  twice  elected 
to  the  legislature  of  his  state.  In  1861  he 
joined  the  Confederate  army,  and  command- 
ed the  "  Hampton  Legion"  at  the  first  bat- 
tle of  Bull  Run,  in  July,  1861.  He  did 
meritorious  service,  was  wounded,  and  pro- 
moted to  brigadier-general.  He  command- 
ed a  brigade  at  Seven  Pines,  in  1862,  and 
was  again  wounded.  He  was  engaged  in 
the  battle  of  Antietam  in  September  of  the 
same  year,  and  participated  in  the  raid  into 
Pennsylvania  in  October.  In  1863  he  was 
with  Lee  at  Gettysburg,  where  he  was 
wounded  for  the  third  time.  He  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general,  and 
commanded    a   troop   of   cavalry  in    Lee's 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


193 


army  during  1864,  and  was  in  numerous  en- 
gagements. In  1865  he  was  in  South  Car- 
olina, and  commanded  the  cavalry  rear 
guard  ol  the  Confederate  army  in  its  stub- 
born retreat  before  General  Sherman  on  his 
advance  toward  Richmond. 

After  the  war  Hampton  took  an  active 
part  in  politics,  and  was  a  prominent  figure 
at  the  Democratic  national  convention  in 
1868,  which  nominated  Seymour  and  Blair 
for  president  and  vice-president.  He  was 
governor  of  South  Carolina,  and  took  his 
seat  in  the  United  States  senate  in  1879, 
where  he  became  a  conspicuous  figure  in 
national  affairs. 


NIIvOLA  TESLA,  one  of  the  most  cele- 
brated electricians  America  has  known, 
was  born  in  1857,  at  Smiljau,  Lika,  Servia. 
He  descended  from  an  old  and  representative 
family  of  that  country.  His  father  was  a 
a  minister  of  the  Greek  church,  of  high  rank, 
while  his  mother  was  a  woman  of  remarka- 
ble skill  in  the  construction  of  looms,  churns 
and  the  machinery  required  in  a  rural  home. 
Nikola  received  early  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  Gospich,  when  he  was 
sent  to  the  higher  "Real  Schule"  at  liarl- 
stadt,  where,  after  a  three  years'  course, 
he  graduated  in  1873.  He  devoted  him- 
self to  experiments  in  electricity  and 
magnetism,  to  the  chagrin  of  his  father, 
who  had  destined  him  for  the  ministry, 
but  giving  way  to  the  boy's  evident  genius 
he  was  allowed  to  continue  his  studies  in 
the  polytechnic  school  at  Gratz.  He  in- 
herited a  wonderful  intuition  which  enabled 
him  to  see  through  the  intricacies  of  ma- 
chinery, and  despite  his  instructor's  demon- 
stration that  a  dynamo  could  not  be  oper- 
ated without  commutators  or  brushes, 
began  experiments  which  finally  resulted  in 
his  rotating  field  motors.     After  the  study 


of  languages  at  Prague  and  Buda-Pesth,  he 
became  associated  with  M.  Puskas,  who 
had  introduced  the  telephone  into  Hungary. 
He  invented  several  improvements,  but 
being  unable  to  reap  the  necessary  benefit 
from  them,  he,  in  search  of  a  wider  field, 
went  to  Paris,  where  he  found  employment 
with  one  of  the  electric  lighting  companies 
as  electrical  engineer.  Soon  he  set  his  face 
westward,  and  coming  to  the  United  States 
for  a  time  found  congenial  employment  wh:h 
Thomas  A.  Edison.  Finding  it  impossible, 
overshadowed  as  he  was,  to  carry  out  his 
own  ideas  he  left  the  Edison  works  to  join 
a  company  formed  to  place  his  own  inven- 
tions on  the  market.  He  perfected  his 
rotary  field  principle,  adapting  it  to  circuits 
then  in  operation.  It  is  said  of  him  that 
some  of  his  proved  theories  will  change  the 
entire  electrical  science.  It  would,  in  an 
article  of  this  length,  be  impossible  to  ex- 
plain all  that  Tesla  accomplished  for  the 
practical  side  of  electrical  engineering. 
His  discoveries  formed  the  basis  of  the  at- 
tempt to  utilize  the  water  power  of  Niagara 
Falls.  His  work  ranges  far  beyond  the 
vast  department  of  polyphase  currents  and 
high  potential  lighting  and  includes  many 
inventions  in  arc  lighting,  transformers, 
pyro  and  thermo-magnetic  motors,  new 
forms  of  incandescent  lamps,  unipolar  dyna- 
mos and  many  others. 


CHARLES  B.  LEWIS  won  fame  as  an 
American  humorist  under  the  name  of 
"M.  Quad."  It  is  said  he  owes  his 
celebrity  originally  to  the  fact  that  he  was 
once  mixed  up  in  a  boiler  explosion  on  the 
Ohio  river,  and  the  impressions  he  received 
from  the  event  he  set  up  from  his  case  when 
he  was  in  the  composing  room  of  an  ob- 
scure Michigan  paper.  His  style  possesses  a 
pecuhar  quaintness,  and  there  runs  through 


lOi 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


it  a  vein  of  philosophy.  Mr.  Lewis  was 
born  in  1844,  near  a  town  called  Liverpool, 
Ohio.  He  was,  however,  raised  in  Lansing, 
Michigan,  where  he  spent  a  year  in  an  agri- 
cultural college,  going  from  there  to  the 
composing  room  of  the  "Lansing  Demo- 
crat." At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  en- 
listed in  the  service,  remained  during  the 
entire  war,  and  then  returned  to  Lansing. 
The  explosion  of  the  boiler  that  "blew  him 
into  fame,"  took  place  two  years  later,  while 
he  was  on  his  way  south.  When  he  re- 
covered physically,  he  brought  suit  for  dam- 
ages against  the  steamboat  company,  which 
he  gained,  and  was  awarded  a  verdict  of 
twelve  thousand  dollars  for  injuries  re- 
ceived. It  was  while  he  was  employed  by 
the  "  Jacksonian"  of  Pontiac,  Mich., that  he 
set  up  his  account  of  how  he  felt  while  being 
blown  up.  He  says  that  he  signed  it  "M 
Quad,"  because  "a  bourgeoise  em  quad  is 
useless  except  in  its  own  line — it  won't 
justify  with  any  other  type."  Soon  after, 
because  of  the  celebrity  he  attained  by  this 
screed,  Mr.  Lewis  secured  a  place  on  the 
staff  of  the  "Detroit  Free  Press,"  and  made 
for  that  paper  a  wide  reputation.  His 
sketches  of  the  "Lime  Kiln  Club"  and 
"  Brudder  Gardner"  are  perhaps  the  best 
known  of  his  humorous  writings. 


HIRAM  S.  MAXIM,  the  famous  inventor, 
was  born  in  Sangersville,  Maine, 
February  5,  1840,  the  son  of  Isaac  W. 
and  Harriet  B.  Maxim.  The  town  of  his 
birth  was  but  a  small  place,  in  the 
woods,  on  the  confines  of  civilization, 
and  the  family  endured  many  hardships. 
They  were  without  means  and  entirely 
dependent  on  themselves  to  make  out  of 
raw  materials  all  they  needed.  The  mother 
was  an  expert  spinner,  weaver,  dyer  and 
seamstress  and  the  father  a  trapper,  tanner, 


miller,  blacksmith,  carpenter,  mason  and 
farmer.  Amid  such  surroundings  young 
Maxim  gave  early  promise  of  remarkable 
aptitude.  With  the  universal  Yankee  jack- 
knife  the  products  of  his  skill  excited  the 
wonder  and  interest  of  the  locality.  His 
parents  did  not  encourage  his  latent  genius 
but  apprenticed  him  to  a  coach  builder. 
Four  years  he  labored  at  this  uncongenial 
trade  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  forsook 
it  and  entered  a  machine  shop  at  Fitchburg, 
Massachusetts.  Soon  mastering  the  details 
of  that  business  and  that  of  mechanical 
drawing,  he  went  to  Boston  as  the  foreman 
of  the  philosophical  instrument  manufactory. 
From  thence  he  went  to  New  York  and  with 
the  Novelty  Iron  Works  Shipbuilding  Co. 
he  gained  experience  in  those  trades.  His 
inventions  up  to  this  time  consisted  of 
improvements  in  steam  engines,  and  an 
automatic  gas  machine,  which  came  into 
general  use.  In  1877  he  turned  his  attention 
to  electricity,  and  in  1878  produced  an 
incandescent  lamp,  that  would  burn  1,000 
hours.  He  was  the  first  to  design  a  process 
for  flashing  electric  carbons,  and  the  first 
to  "standardize"  carbons  for  electric  light- 
ing. In  1880  he  visited  Europe  and  exhibit- 
ing, at  the  Paris  Exposition  of  18S1,  a  self- 
regulating  machine,  was  decorated  with  the 
Legion  of  Honor.  In  1883  he  returned  to 
London  as  the  European  representative  of  the 
United  States  Electric  Light  Co.  An  incident 
of  his  boyhood,  in  which  the  recoil  of  a  rifle 
was  noticed  by  him,  and  the  apparent  loss 
of  power  shown,  in  188 1-2  prompted  the 
invention  of  a  gun  which  utilizes  the  recoil  to 
automatically  load  and  fire  seven  hundred 
and  seventy  shots  per  minute.  The  Maxim- 
Nordenfelt  Gun  Co.,  with  a  capital  of  nine 
million  dollars,  grew  from  this.  In  1883  he 
patented  his  electric  training  gear  for  large 
guns.     And  later  turned  his  attention  to  fly- 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


195 


ing  machines,  which  he  claimed  were  not  an 
impossibility.  He  took  out  over  one  hundred 
patents  for  smokeless  gunpowder,  and  for  pe- 
troleum and  other  motors  and  autocycles. 


JOHN  DAVISON  ROCKEFELLER, 
one  of  America's  very  greatest  financiers 
and  philanthropists,  was  born  in  Richford, 
Tioga  county.  New  York,  July  8,  1839.  He 
received  a  common-school  education  in  his 
native  place,  and  in  1853,  when  his  parents 
removed  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  he  entered  the 
high  school  of  that  city.  After  a  two-years' 
course  of  diligent  work,  he  entered  the  com- 
mission and  forwarding  house  of  Hewitt  & 
Tuttle,  of  Cleveland,  remaining  with  the 
firm  some  years,  and  then  began  business 
for  himself,  forming  a  partnership  with 
Morris  B.  Clark.  Mr.  Rockefeller  was  then 
but  nineteen  years  of  age,  and  during  the 
year  i860,  in  connection  with  others,  they 
started  the  oil  refining  business,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Andrews,  Clark  &  Co.  Mr. 
Rockefeller  and  Mr.  Andrews  purchased  the 
interest  of  their  associates,  and,  after  taking 
William  Rockefeller  into  the  firm, established 
offices  in  Cleveland  under  the  name  of 
William  Rockefeller  &  Co.  Shortly  after 
this  the  house  of  Rockefeller  &  Co.  was  es- 
tablished in  New  York  for  the  purpose  of 
finding  a  market  for  their  products,  .and  two 
years  later  all  the  refining  companies  were 
consolidated  under  the  firm  name  of  Rocke- 
feller, Andrews  &  Flagler.  This  firm  was 
succeeded  in  1870  by  the  Standard  Oil 
Company  of  Ohio,  said  to  be  the  most 
gigantic  business  corporation  of  modern 
times.  John  D.  Rockefeller's  fortune  has 
been  variously  estimated  at  from  one  hun- 
dred million  to  two  hundred  million  dollars. 
Mr.  Rockefeller's  philanthropy  mani- 
j  fested  itself  principally  through  the  American 
I    Baptist  Educational  Society.     He  donated 


the  building  for  the  Spelman  Institute  at 
Atlanta,  Georgia,  a  school  for  the  instruction 
of  negroes.  His  other  gifts  were  to  the 
University  of  Rochester,  Cook  Academy, 
Peddie  Institute,  and  Vassar  College,  be- 
sides smaller  gifts  to  many  institutions 
throughout  the  country.  His  princely  do- 
nations, however,  were  to  the  University  of 
Chicago.  His  first  gift  to  this  institution 
was  a  conditional  offer  of  six  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  in  1889,  and  when  this  amount 
was  paid  he  added  one  million  more.  Dur- 
ing 1892  he  made  it  two  gifts  of  one  million 
each,  and  all  told,  his  donations  to  this  one 
institution  aggregated  between  seven  and 
eight  millions  of  dollars. 


JOHN  M.  PALMER.— For  over  a  third 
of  a  century  this  gentleman  occupied  a 
prominent  place  in  the  political  world,  both 
in  the  state  of  Illinois  and  on  the  broader 
platform  of  national  issues. 

Mr.  Palmer  was  born  at  Eagle  Creek, 
Scott  county,  Kentucky,  September  13, 
1817.  The  family  subsequently  removed 
to  Christian  county,  in  the  same  state,  where 
he  acquired  a  common-school  education,  and 
made  his  home  until  1831.  His  father  was 
opposed  to  slavery,  and  in  the  latter  year 
removed  to  Illinois  and  settled  near  Alton.. 
In  1834  John  entered  Alton  College,  or- 
ganized on  the  manual-labor  plan,  but  his 
funds  failing,  abandoned  it  and  entered  a 
cooper  shop.  He  subsequently  was  en- 
gaged in  peddling,  and  teaching  a  district 
school  near  Canton.  In  1838  he  began  the 
study  of  law,  and  the  following  year  re- 
moved to  Carlinville,  where,  in  December  of 
that  year,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He 
was  shortly  after  defeated  for  county  clerk. 
In  1843  he  was  elected  probate  judge.  In 
the  constitutional  convention  of  1847,  Mr. 
Palmer  was  a  delegate,  and  from  1849  to 


196 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


1 85 1  he  was  county  judge.  In  1852  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  state  senate,  but  not 
being  with  his  party  on  the  slavery  question 
he  resigned  that  office  in  1854.  In  1856 
Mr.  Palmer  was  chairman  of  the  first  Re- 
publican state  convention  held  in  Illinois, 
and  the  same  year  was  a  delegate  to  the 
national  convention.  In  i860  he  was  an 
elector  on  the  Lincoln  ticket,  and  on  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  entered  the  service 
as  colonel  of  the  Fourteenth  Illinois  Infan- 
try, but  was  shortly  after  brevetted  brigadier- 
general.  In  August,  1862,  he  organized 
the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-second  Illi- 
nois Infantry,  but  in  September  he  was 
.placed  in  command  of  the  first  division  of 
the  Army  of  the  Mississippi,  afterward  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general.  In 
1865  he  was  assigned  to  the  military  ad- 
ministration in  Kentucky.  In  1867  General 
Palmer  was  elected  governor  of  Illinois  and 
served  four  years.  In  1S72  he  went  with 
the  Liberal  Republicans,  who  supported 
Horace  Greeley,  after  which  time  he  was 
identified  with  the  Democratic  party.  In 
1890  he  was  elected  United  States  senator 
from  Illinois,  and  served  as  such  for  six 
years.  In  1896,  on  the  adoption  of  the  sil- 
ver plank  in  the  platform  of  the  Democratic 
party.  General  Palmer  consented  to  lead, 
as  presidential  candidate,  the  National  Dem- 
ocrats, or  Gold  Democracy. 


WILLIAM  H.  BEARD,  the  humorist 
among  American  painters,  was  born 
at  Painesville,  Ohio,  in  1821.  His  father, 
James  H.  Beard,  was  also  a  painter  of  na- 
tional reputation.  William  H.  Beard  be- 
gan his  career  as  a  traveling  portrait 
painter.  He  pursued  his  studies  in  New 
York,  and  later  removed  to  Buffalo,  where 
he  achieved  reputation.      He   then    went  to 


Italy  and  after  a  short  stay- returned  to  New 
York  and  opened  a  studio.  One  of  his 
earliest  paintings  was  a  small  picture  called 
"Cat  and  Kittens,"  which  was  placed  in 
the  National  Academy  on  exhibition.  Among 
his  best  productions  are  "Raining  Cats  and 
Dogs,"  "The  Dance  of  Silenus,"  "Bears 
on  a  Bender,"  "Bulls  and  Bears,"  "Whoo!" 
"  Grimalkin's  Dream,"  "Little  Red  Riding 
Hood,"  "The  Guardian  of  the  Flag."  His 
animal  pictures  convey  the  most  ludicrous 
and  satirical  ideas,  and  the  intelligent, 
human  expression  in  their  faces  is  most 
comical.  Some  artists  and  critics  have  re- 
fused to  give  Mr.  Beard  a  place  among  the 
first  circles  in  art,  solely  on  account  of  the 
class  of  subjects  he  has  chosen. 


WW.  CORCORAN,  the  noted  philan- 
throphist,  was  born  at  Georgetown, 
District  of  Columbi^;  December  27,  179S. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  entered  the 
banking  business  in  Washington,  and  in 
time  became  very  wealthy.  He  was 
noted  for  his  magnificent  donations  to  char- 
ity. Oak  Hill  cemeterj^  was  donated  to 
Georgetown  in  1847,  and  ten  years  later  the 
Corcoran  Art  Gallery,  Temple  of  Art,  was 
presented  to  the  citj  of  Washington.  The 
uncompleted  building  was  utilized  by  the 
government  as  quartermaster's  headquar- 
ters during  the  war.  The  building  was 
completed  after  the  war  at  a  cost  of  a  mil- 
lion and  a  half  dollars,  all  the  gift  of  Mr. 
Corcoran.  The  Louise  Home  for  Women 
is  another  noble  charity  to  his  credit.  Its 
object  is  the  care  of  women  of  gentle  breed- 
ing who  in  declining  years  are  without 
means  of  support.  In  addition  to  this  he 
gave  liberally  to  many  worthy  institutions 
of  learning  and  charity.  He  died  at  Wash- 
ington February  24,  1888. 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


197 


ALBERT  BIERSTADT,  the  noted  paint- 
er oi  American  landscape,  was  born  in 
Dusseldorf,  Germany,  in  1829,  and  was 
brought  to  America  by  his  parents  at  the 
age  of  two  years.  He  received  his  early 
education  here,  but  returned  to  Dusseldorf 
to  study  painting,  and  also  went  to  Rome. 
On  his  return  to  America  he  accompanied 
Lander's  expedition  across  the  continent,  in 
1858,  and  soon  after  produced  his  most 
popular  work,  "The  Rocky  Mountains — 
Lander's  Peak. "  Its  boldness  and  grandeur 
were  so  unusual  that  it  made  him  famous. 
The  picture  sold  for  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars.  In  1867  Mr.  Bierstadt  went  to 
Europe,  with  a  government  commission, 
and  gathered  materials  for  his  great  historic- 
al work,  *"'  Discovery  of  the  North  River 
by  Hendrik  Hudson."  Others  of  his  great 
works  were  "Storm  in  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains," "  Valley  of  the  Yosemite,"  "North 
Fork  of  the  Platte,"  "Diamond  Pool," 
"Mount  Hood,"  "Mount  Rosalie,"  and 
"The  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains."  His 
"Estes  Park"  sold  for  fifteen  thousand 
dollars,  and  "Mount  Rosalie"  brought 
thirty-five  thousand  dollars.  His  smaller 
Rocky  mountain  scenes,  however,  are  vast- 
ly superior  to  his  larger  works  in  execution 
and  coloring. 

ADDISON  CAMMACK,  a  famous  mill- 
ionaire Wall  street  speculator,  was 
born  in  Kentucky.  When  sixteen  years  old 
he  ran  away  from  home  and  went  to  New 
Orleans,  where  he  went  to  work  in  a  ship- 
ping house.  He  outlived  and  outworked 
all  the  partners,  and  became  the  head  of  the 
firm  before  the  opening  of  the  war.  At 
that  time  he  fitted  out  small  vessels  and  en- 
gaged in  running  the  blockade  of  southern 
ports  and  carrying  ammunition,  merchan- 
dise,  etc.,   to  the   southern   people.     This 


made  him  a  fortune.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  quit  business  and  went  to  New 
York.  For  two  years  he  did  not  enter  .any 
active  business,  but  seemed  to  be  simply  an 
on-looker  in  the  great  speculative  center  of 
America.  He  was  observing  keenly  the 
methods  and  financial  machinery,  however, 
and  when,  in  1867,  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  the  popular  Charles  J.  Osborne,  the 
firm  began  to  prosper.  He  never  had  an 
office  on  the  street,  but  wandered  into  the 
various  brokers'  offices  and  placed  his  orders 
as  he  saw  fit.  In  1873  he  dissolved  his 
partnership  with  Osborne  and  operated 
alone.  He  joined  a  band  of  speculative 
conspirators  known  as  the  "Twenty-third 
party,"  and  was  the  ruling  spirit  in  that  or- 
ganization for  the  control  of  the  stock  mar- 
ket. He  was  always  on  the  "bear  "  side  and 
the  only  serious  obstacle  he  ever  encoun- 
tered was  the  persistent  boom  in  industrial 
stocks,  particularly  sugar,  engineered  by 
James  R.  Keane.  Mr.  Cammack  fought 
Keane  for  two  years,  and  during  the  time  is 
said  to  have  lost  no  less  than  two  million 
dollars  before  he  abandoned  the  fight. 


WALT.  WHITMAN.— Foremost  among 
the  lesser  poets  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  the  gentleman  whose 
name  adorns  the  head  of  this  article  takes 
a  conspicuous  place. 

Whitman  was  born  at  West  Hills,  Long 
Island,  New  York,  May  13,  1809.  In  the 
schools  of  Brooklyn  he  laid  the  foundation 
of  his  education,  and  early  in  life  learned  the 
printer's  trade.  For  a  time  he  taught  coun- 
try schools  in  his  native  state.  In  1846—7 
he  was  editor  of  the  "Brooklyn  Eagle," 
but  in  1848-9  was  on  the  editorial  staff  of 
the  "Crescent,"  of  New  Orleans.  He 
made  an  extended  tour  throughout  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  and  returned  to 


i98 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


Brooklyn,  where,  in  1850,  he  published  the 
"Freeman.  "  For  some  years  succeeding 
*his  he  was  engaged  as  carpenter  and  builder. 
During  the  Civil  war,  Whitman  acted  as 
a  volunteer  nurse  in  the  hospitals  at 
Washington  and  vicinity  and  from  the  close 
of  hostilities  until  1873  he  was  employed 
in  various  clerkships  in  the  government 
offices  in  the  nation's  capital.  In  the  latter 
year  he  was  stricken  with  paralysis  as  a 
result  of  his  labors  in  the  hospital,  it  is 
said,  and  being  partially  disabled  lived  for 
many  years  at  Camden,   New  Jersey. 

The  first  edition  of  the  work  which  was 
to  bring  him  fame,  "Leaves  of  Grass,"  was 
published  in  1855  3-°d  was  but  a  small 
volume  of  about  ninety-four  pages.  Seven 
or  eight  editions  of  "Leaves  of  Grass"  have 
been  issued,  each  enlarged  and  enriched  with 
new  poems.  "Drum  Taps,"  at  first  a 
separate  publication,  has  been  incorporated 
with  the  others.  This  volume  and  one 
prose  writing  entitled  ' '  Specimen  Days  and 
Collect,"  constituted  his  whole  work. 

Walt.  Whitman  died  at  Camden,  New 
Jersey,  March  26,  1892. 


HENRY  DUPONT,  who  became  cele- 
brated as  America's  greatest  manufact- 
urer of  gunpowder,  was  a  native  of  Dela- 
ware, born  August  8,  18 12.  He  received 
his  education  in  its  higher  branches  at  the 
United  States  Military  Academy  at  West 
Point,  from  which  he  graduated  and  entered 
the  army  as  second  lieutenant  of  artillery  in 
1833.  In  1834  he  resigned  and  became 
proprietor  of  the  extensive  gunpowder 
manufacturing  plant  that  bears  his  name, 
near  Wilmington,  Delaware.  His  large 
business  interests  interfered  with  his  tak- 
ing any  active  participation  in  political 
life,  although  for  many  years  he  served 
as  adjutant-general  of  his  native  state,  and 


during  the  war  as  major-general  command- 
ing the  Home  Guards.  He  died  August  8, 
1889.  His  son,  Henry  A.  Dupont,  also  was 
a  native  of  Delaware,  and  was  born  July  30, 
1838.  After  graduating  from  West  Point 
in  1 86 1,  he  entered  the  army  as  second 
lieutenant  of  engineers.  Shortly  after  he 
was  transferred  to  the  Fifth  Artillery  as  first 
lieutenant.  He  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  captain  in  1864,  serving  in  camp  and 
garrison  most  of  the  time.  He  was  in  com- 
mand of  a  battery  in  the  campaign  of 
1863-4.  As  chief  of  artillery  of  the  army  of 
West  Virginia,  he  figured  until  the  close  of 
the  war,  being  in  the  battles  of  Opequan, 
Fisher's  Hill  and  Cedar  Creek,  besides 
many  minor  engagements.  He  afterward 
acted  as  instructor  in  the  artillery  school  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  and  on  special  duty  at 
West  Point.  He  resigned  from  the  army 
March  i,  1875. 


WILLIAM  DEERING,  one  of  the  fa- 
mous manufacturers  of  America,  and 
also  a  philanthropist  and  patron  of  educa- 
tion, was  born  in  Maine  in  1826.  His  an- 
cestors were  English,  having  settled  in  New 
England  in  1634.  Early  in  life  it  was  Will- 
iam's intention  to  become  a  physician,  and 
after  completing  his  common-school  educa- 
tion, when  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  he 
began  an  apprenticeship  with  a  physician. 
A  short  time  later,  however,  at  the  request 
of  his  father,  he  took  charge  of  his  father's 
business  interests,  which  included  a  woolen 
mill,  retail  store  and  grist  mill,  after  which 
he  became  agent  for  a  dry  goods  commission 
house  in  Portland,  where  he  was  married. 
Later  he  became  partner  in  the  firm,  and 
removed  to  Nevy  York.  The  business  pros- 
pered, and  after  a  number  of  years,  on  ac- 
count of  faihng  health,  Mr.  Deering  sold  his 
interest  to  his  partner,  a  Mr.  Milner.      The 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


business  has  since  made  Mr.  Milner  a  mill- 
ionaire many  times  over.  A  few  years 
later  Mr.  Deering  located  in  Chicago.  His 
beginning  in  the  manufacture  of  reapers, 
which  has  since  made  his  name  famous, 
was  somewhat  of  an  accident.  He  had 
loaned  money  to  a  man  in  that  business, 
and  in  1878  was  compelled  to  buy  out  the 
business  to  protect  his  interests.  The  busi- 
ness developed  rapidly  and  grew  to  immense 
proportions.  The  factories  now  cover  sixty- 
two  acres  of  ground  and  employ  many  thou- 
sands of  men. 


JOHN  McAllister  schofield,  an 
American  general,  was  born  in  Chautau- 
qua county,  New  York,  September  29,  1831. 
He  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1853,  and 
was  for  five  years  assistant  professor  of  nat- 
ural philosophy  in  that  institution.  In  1861 
he  entered  the  volunteer  service  as  major  of 
the  First  Missouri  Volunteers,  and  was  ap- 
pointed chief  of  staff  by  General  Lyon,  under 
whom  he  fought  at  the  battle  of  Wilson's 
Creek.  In  November,  1861,  he  was  ap- 
pointed brigadier-general  of  volunteers,  and 
was  placed  in  command  of  the  Missouri 
militia  until  November,  1862,  and  of  the 
army  of  the  frontier  from  that  time  until 
1863.  In  1862  he  was  made  major-general 
of  volunteers,  and  was  placed  in  command  of 
the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  and  in  1864 
of  the  Department  of  the  Ohio.  During  the 
campaign  through  Georgia  General  Scho- 
field was  in  command  of  the  Twenty-third 
Army  Corps,  and  was  engaged  in  most  of  the 
fighting  of  that  famous  campaign.  Novem- 
ber 30,  1864,  he  defeated  Hood's  army  at 
Franklin,  Tennessee,  and  then  joined  Gen- 
eral Thomas  at  Nashville.  He  took  part  in 
the  battle  of  Nashville,  where  Hood's  army 
was  destroyed.  In  January,  1865,  he  led 
his   corps   into    North    Carolina,    captured 


Wilmington,  fought  the  battle  of  Kingston, 
and  joined  General  Sherman  at  Goldsboro 
March  22,  1865.  He  executed  the  details 
of  the  capitulation  of  General  Johnston  to 
Sherman,  which  practically  closed  the  war. 
In  June,  1868,  General  Schofield  suc- 
ceeded Edwin  M.  Stanton  as  secretary  of 
war,  but  was  the  next  year  appointed  major- 
general  of  the  United  States  army,  and  order- 
ed to  the  Department  of  the  Missouri.  From 
1870  to  1876  he  was  in  command  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Pacific;  from  1876  to  1881 
superintendent  of  the  West  Point  Military 
Academy;  in  1883  he  was  in  charge  of  the 
Department  of  the  Missouri,  and  in  1886  of 
the  division  of  the  Atlantic.  In  1888  he 
became  general-in-chief  of  the  United  States 
army,  and  in  February,  1895,  was  appoint- 
ed lieutenant-general  by  President  Cleve- 
land, that  rank  having  been  revived  by  con- 
gress. In  September,  1895,  he  was  retired 
from  active  service. 


LEWIS  WALLACE,  an  American  gen- 
eral and  famous  author,  was  born  ia 
Brookville,  Indiana,  April  10,  1827.  He 
served  in  the  Mexican  war  as  first  lieutenant 
of  a  company  of  Indiana  Volunteers.  After 
his  return  from  Mexico  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  practiced  law  in  Covington  and 
Crawfordsville,  Indiana,  until  1861.  At  the 
opening  of  the  war  he  was  appointed  ad- 
jutant-general of  Indiana,  and  soon  after  be- 
came colonel  of  the  Eleventh  Indiana  Vol- 
unteers. He  defeated  a  force  of  Confeder- 
ates at  Romney,  West  Virginia,  and  was 
made  brigadier-general  in  September,  1861. 
At  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson  in  1862  he 
commanded  a  division,  and  was  engaged  in 
the  second  day's  fight  at  Shiloh.  In  1863 
his  defenses  about  Cincinnati  saved  that  city 
from  capture  by  Kirby  Smith.  At  Monoc- 
acy  in   July,    1864,    he    was  defeated,   but 


200 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


his  resistance  delayed  the  advance  of  Gen- 
eral Early  and  thus  saved  Washington  from 
capture. 

General  Wallace  was  a  member  of  the 
court  that  tried  the -assassins  of  President 
Lincoln,  and  also  of  that  before  whom  Cap- 
tain Henry  Wirtz,  who  had  charge  of  the 
Andersonville  prison,  was  tried.  In  1881 
General  Wallace  was  sent  as  minister  to 
Turkey.  When  not  in  official  service  he 
devoted  much  of  his  time  to  literature. 
Among  his  better  known  works  are  his 
"Fair  God,"  "Ben  Hur,"  "Prince  of 
India,"  and  a  "  Life  of  Benjamin  Harrison." 

THOMAS  FRANCIS  BAYARD,  an  Ameri- 
can statesman  and  diplomat,  was  born 
at  Wilmington,  Delaware,  October  29,  1828. 
He  obtained  his  education  at  an  Episcopal 
academy  at  Flushing,  Long  Island,  and 
after  a  short  service  in  a  mercantile  house  in 
New  York,  he  returned  to  Wilmington  and 
entered  his  father's  law  office  to  prepare 
himself  for  the  practice  of  that  profession. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  185 1.  He 
was  appointed  to  the  office  of  United  States 
district  attorney  for  the  state  of  Delaware, 
serving  one  year.  In  1869  he  was  elected  to 
the  United  States  senate,  and  continuously 
represented  his  state  in  that  body  until  18S5, 
and  in  1881,  when  Chester  A.  Arthur  entered 
the  presidential  chair,  Mr.  Bayard  was 
chosen  president  pro  tempore  of  the  senate. 
He  had  also  served  on  the  famous  electoral 
commission  that  decided  the  Hayes-Tilden 
contest  in  1876-7.  In  1885  President  Cleve- 
land appointed  Mr.  Bayard  secretary  of 
state.  At  the  beginning  of  Cleveland's  sec- 
ond term,  in  1893,  Mr.  Bayard  was  selected 
for  the  post  of  ambassador  at  the  court  of 
St.  James,  London,  and  was  the  first  to  hold 
that  rank  in  American  diplomacy,  serving 
until  the  beginning  of  the  McKinley  admin- 


istration. The  questions  for  adjustment  at 
that  time  between  the  two  governments 
were  the  Behring  Sea  controversy  and  the 
Venezuelan  boundary  question.  He  was 
very  popular  in  England  because  of  hi^ 
tariff  views,  and  because  of  his  criticism  of 
the  protective  policy  of  the  United  States 
in  his  public  speeches  delivered  in  London, 
Edinburgh  and  other  places,  he  received,  in 
March,  1896,  a  vote  of  censure  in  the  lower 
house  of  congress. 


JOHN  WORK  GARRETT,  for  so  many 
years  at  the  head  of  the  great  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  railroad  system,  was  born  in  Balti- 
more, Maryland,  July  31,  1820.  His  father, 
Robert  Garrett,  an  enterprising  merchant, 
had  amassed  a  large  fortune  from  a  small 
beginning.  The  son  entered  Lafayette  Col- 
lege in  1834,  but  left  the  following  year  and 
entered  his  father's  counting  room,  and  in 
1839  became  a  partner.  John  W.  Gar- 
rett took  a  great  interest  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad.  He 
was  elected  one  of  the  directors  in  1857, 
and  was  its  president  from  1858  until  his 
death.  When  he  took  charge  of  the  road 
it  was  in  an  embarrassed  condition,  but 
within  a  year,  for  the  first  time  in  its  exist- 
ence, it  paid  a  dividend,  the  increase  in  its 
net  gains  being  $725,385.  After  the  war, 
during  which  the  road  suffered  much  damage 
from  the  Confederates,  numerous  branches 
and  connecting  roads  were  built  or  acquired, 
until  it  reached  colossal  proportions.  Mr. 
Garrett  was  also  active  in  securing  a  regular 
line  of  steamers  between  Baltimore  and 
Bremen,  and  between  the  same  port  and 
Liverpool.  He  was  one  of  the  most  active 
trustees  of  Johns  Hopkins  University,  and  a 
liberal  contributor  to  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  Baltimore.  He 
died  September  26,  1884. 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


201 


Robert  Garrett,  the  son  of  John  W. 
Garrett,  was  born  in  Baltimore  April  9, 
1847,  and  graduated  from  Princeton  in  1867. 
He  received  a  business  education  in  the 
banking  house  of  his  father,  and  in  1871 
became  president  of  the  Valley  Railroad  of 
Virginia.  He  was  made  third  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  in 
1879,  and  first  vice-president  in  188 1.  He 
succeeded  his  father  as  president  in  1884. 
Robert  Garrett  died  July  29,  1896. 


CARLSCHURZ,  a  noted  German-Ameri- 
can statesman,  was  born  in  Liblar,  Prus- 
sia, March  2,  1829.  He  studied  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Bonn,  and  in  1849  was  engaged  in 
an  attempt  to  excite  an  insurrection  at  that 
place.  After  the  surrender  of  Rastadt  by 
the  revolutionists,  in  the  defense  of  which 
Schurz  took  part,  he  decided  to  emigrate  to 
America.  He  resided  in  Philadelphia  three 
years,  and  then  settled  in  Watertown,  Wis- 
consin, and  in  1859  removed  to  Milwaukee, 
where  he  practiced  law.  On  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Republican  party  he  became  a 
leader  of  the  German  element  and  entered 
the  campaign  for  Lincoln  in  i860.  He  was 
appointed  minister  to  Spain  in  1861,  but  re- 
signed in  December  of  that  year  to  enter 
the  army.  He  was  appointed  brigadier- 
general  in  1862,  and  participated  in  the 
second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  also  at 
Chancellorsville.  At  Gettysburg  he  had 
temporary  command  of  the  Eleventh  Army 
Corps,  and  also  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Chattanooga. 

After  the  war  he  located  at  St.  Louis, 
and  in  1869  was  elected  United  States  sena- 
tor from  Missouri.  He  supported  Horace 
Greeley  for  the  presidency  in  1872,  and  in 
the  campaign  of  1876,  having  removed  to 
New  York,  he  supported  Hayes  and  the  Re- 
publican ticket,  and   was   appointed  secre- 


tary of  the  interior  in  1877.  In  1881  he 
became  editor  of  the  "New  York  Evening 
Post,"  and  in  1884  was  prominent  in  his 
opposition  to  James  G.  Blaine,  and  became 
a  leader  of  the  "Mugwumps,"  thus  assist- 
ing in  the  election  of  Cleveland.  In  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1896  his  forcible 
speeches  in  the  interest  of  sound  money 
wielded  an  immense  influence.  Mr.  Schurz 
wrote  a  "Life  of  Henry  Clay,"  said  to  be 
the  best  biography  ever  published  of  that 
eminent  statesman. 


GEORGE  F.  EDMUNDS,  an  American 
statesman  of  national  reputation,  was 
born  in  Richmond,  Vermont,  February  i, 
1828.  His  education  was  obtained  in  the 
public  schools  and  from  the  instructions  of 
a  private  tutor.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  practiced  law,  and  served  in  the  state 
legislature  from  185410  1859,  during  three 
years  of  that  time  being  speaker  of  the  lower 
house.  He  was  elected  to  the  state  senate 
and  acted  as  president  pro  tempore  of  that 
body  in  1861  and  1862.  He  became  promi- 
nent for  his  activity  in  the  impeachment 
proceedings  against  President  Johnson,  and 
was  appointed  to  the  United  States  senate 
to  fill  out  the  une.Kpired  term  of  Solomon 
Foot,  entering  that  body  in  1866.  He  was 
re-elected  to  the  senate  four  times,  and 
served  on  the  electoral  commission  in  1877. 
He  became  president  pro  tempore  of  the 
senate  after  the  death  of  President  Garfield, 
and  was  the  author  of  the  bill  which  put  an 
end  to  the  practice  of  polygamy  in  the  ter- 
ritory of  Utah.  In  November,  1 891,  owing 
to  impaired  health,  he  retired  from  the  sen- 
ate and  again  resumed  the  practice  of  law. 


LUCIUS   Q.    C.    LAMAR,    a    prominem 
political  leader,    statesman    and  jurist, 
was  born  in  Putnam  county,  Georgia,  Sep- 


"202 


COMPENDIUM  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


temberi/,  1825.  He  graduated  from  Emory 
College  in  1845,  studied  law  at  Macon  under 
Hon.  A.  H.  Chappell,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1847.  He  moved  to  Oxford, 
Mississippi,  in  1849,  ^''^^  was  elected  to  a 
professorship  in  the  State  University.  He 
resigned  the  next  year  and  returned  to  Cov- 
ington, Georgia,  and  resumed  the  practice 
of  law.  In  1853  he  was  elected  to  the 
Georgia  Legislature,  and  in  1854  he  removed 
to  his  plantation  in  Lafayette  county,  Mis- 
sissippi, and  was  elected  to  represent  his 
district  in  the  thirty-fifth  and  thirty-sixth 
congresses.  He  resigned  in  i860,  and  was 
sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  secession  conven- 
tion of  the  state.  He  entered  the  Confed- 
erate service  in  1861  as  lieutenant-colonel 
of  the  Nineteenth  Regiment,  and  was  soon 
after  made  colonel.  In  1863  President 
Davis  appointed  him  to  an  important  diplo- 
matic mission  to  Russia.  In  1866  he  was 
elected  professor  of  political  economy  and 
social  science  in  the  State  University,  and 
was  soon  afterward  transferred  to  the  pro- 
fessorship of  the  law  department.  He  rep- 
resented his  district  in  the  forty-third  and 
forty-fourth  congresses,  and  was  elected 
United  States  senator  from  Mississippi  in 
1877,  and  re-elected  in  1882.  In  1885,  be- 
fore the  expiration  of  his  term,  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Cleveland  as  secre- 
tary of  the  interior,  which  position  he  held 
until  his  appointment  as  associate  justice  of 
the  United  States  supreme  court,  in  1888, 
in  which  capacity  he  served  until  his  death, 
January  23,  1894. 


BENJAMIN  PENHALLOW  SHILLA- 
BER  won  fame  in  the  world  of 
humorists  under  the  name  of  "Mrs.  Parting- 
ton." He  was  born  in  1841  at  Portsmouth, 
New  Hampshire,  and  started  out  in  life  as  a 
printer.      Mr.     Shillaber    went    to    Dover, 


where  he  secured  employment  in  a  printing 
office,  and  from  there  he  went  to  Demerara, 
Guiana,  where  he  was  employed  as  a  com- 
positor in  1835-37.  In  1840  he  became 
connected  with  the  "Boston  Post,"  and 
acquired  quite  a  reputation  as  a  humorist 
by  his  "Sayings  of  Mrs.-  Partington."  He 
remained  as  editor  of  the  paper  until  1850, 
when  he  printed  and  edited  a  paper  of  his 
own  called  the  "Pathfinder,"  which  he  con- 
tinued until  1852.  Mr.  Shillaber  be- 
came editor  and  proprietor  of  the  "Carpet 
Bag,"  which  he  conducted  during  1850-52, 
and  then  returned  to  the  "Boston  Post," 
with  which  he  was  connected  until  1856. 
During  the  same  time  he  was  one  of  the 
editors  of  the  "Saturday  Evening  Gazette," 
and  continued  in  this  line  after  he  severed 
his  connection  with  the  "Post,"  for  ten 
years.  After  1866  Mr.  Shillaber  wrote  for 
various  newspapers  and  periodicals,  and 
during  his  life  published  the  following 
books:  "Rhymes  with  Reason  and  Without," 
"Poems,"  "Life  and  Sayings  of  Mrs.  Part- 
ington," "Knitting  Work,"  and  others. 
His  death  occurred  at  Chelsea,  Massachu-  „, 
setts,  November  25,  1890.  ■ 

EASTMAN  JOHNSON  stands  first  among 
painters  of  American  country  life.  He 
was  born  in  Lovell,  Maine,  in  1824,  and  be- 
gan his  work  in  drawing  at  the  age  of  eight- 
een years.  His  first  works  were  portraits, 
and,  as  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Wash- 
ington, the  most  famous  men  of  the  nation 
were  his  subjects.  In  1846  he  went  to  Bos- 
ton, and  there  made  crayon  portraits  of 
Longfellow,  Emerson,  Sumner,  Hawthorne 
and  other  noted  men.  In  1849  he  went  to 
Europe.  He  studied  at  Dusseldorf,  Ger- 
many; spent  a  year  at  the  Royal  Academy, 
and  thence  to  The  Hague,  where  he  spent 
four  years,  producing  there  his  first  pictures 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


208 


of  consequence,  "The  Card -Players  "  and 
"The  Savoyard."  He  then  went  to  Paris, 
but  was  called  home,  after  an  absence  from 
America  of  six  years.  He  Hved  some  time 
in  Washington,  and  then  spent  two  years 
among  the  Indians  of  Lake  Superior.  In 
1858  he  produced  his  famous  picture,  "The 
Old  Kentucky  Home."  He  took  up  his 
permanent  residence  at  New  York  at  that 
time.  His  "Sunday  Morning  in  Virginia" 
is  a  work  of  equal  merit.  He  was  espe- 
cially successful  in  coloring,  a  master  of 
drawing,  and  the  expression  conveys  with 
precision  the  thought  of  the  artist.  His 
portrayal  of  family  life  and  child  life  is  un- 
equalled. Among  his  other  great  works  are 
"The  Confab,"  "Crossing  a  Stream,' 
"Chimney  Sweep,"  "Old  Stage  Coach," 
"  The  New  Bonnet,"  "The  Drummer  Boy," 
"Childhood  of  Lincoln,"  and  a  great  vari- 
ety of  equally  familiar  subjects. 


PIERCE  GUST  AVE  TOUTANT  BEAU- 
REGARD, one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished generals  in  the  Confederate  army, 
was  born  near  New  Orleans,  Louisiana, 
May  28,  1 81 8.  He  graduated  from  West 
Point  Military  Academy  in  1838,  and  was 
made  second  lieutenant  of  engineers.  He 
was  with  General  Scott  in  Mexico,  and  dis- 
tinguished himself  at  Vera  Cruz,  Cerro 
Gordo,  and  the  battles  near  the  City  of 
Mexico,  for  which  he  was  twice  brevetted. 
After  the  Mexican  war  closed  he  was  placed 
in  charge  of  defenses  about  New  Orleans, 
and  in  i860  was  appointed  superintendent 
of  the  United  States  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point.  He  held  this  position  but  a 
few  months,  when  he  resigned  February  20, 
1861,  and  accepted  a  commission  of  briga- 
dier-general in  the  Confederate  army.  He 
directed   the    attack    on    Fort    Sumter,  the 

first  engagement  of  the  Civil  war.     He  was 
12 


in  command  of  the  Confederates  at  the  first 
battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  for  this  victory  was 
made  general.  In  1862  he  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  planned  the  attack  upon  General  Grant 
at  Shiloh,  and  upon  the  death  of  General 
Johnston  he  took  command  of  the  army 
and  was  only  defeated  by  the  timely  arrival 
of  General  Buell  with  reinforcements.  He 
commanded  at  Charleston  and  successfully 
defended  that  city  against  the  combined  at- 
tack by  land  and  sea  in  1863.  In  1864  he 
was  in  command  in  Virginia,  defeating  Gen- 
eral Butler,  and  resisting  Grant's  attack 
upon  Petersburg  until  reinforced  from  Rich- 
mond. During  the  long  siege  which  fol- 
lowed he  was  sent  to  check  General  Sher- 
man's march  to  the  sea,  and  was  with  Gen- 
eral Joseph  E.  Johnston  when  that  general 
surrendered  in  1865.  After  the  close  of  the 
war  he  was  largely  interested  in  railroad 
management.  In  1866  he  was  offered  chief 
command  of  the  Army  of  Roumania,  and  in 
1869,  that  of  the  Army  of  Egypt.  He  de- 
clined these  offers.  His  death  occurred 
February  20,  1893. 


HENRY  GEORGE,  one  of  America's 
most  celebrated  political  economists, 
was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
September  2,  1839.  He  received  a  common- 
school  education  and  entered  the  high 
school  in  1853,  and  then  went  into  a  mer- 
cantile office.  He  made  several  voyages  on 
the  sea,  and  settled  in  California  in  1858. 
He  then  worked  at  the  printer's  trade  for  a 
number  of  years,  which  he  left  to  follow  the 
editorial  profession.  He  edited  in  succession 
several  daily  newspapers,  and  attracted  at- 
tention by  a  number  of  strong  essays  and 
speeches  on  political  and  social  questions. 
In  1 87 1  he  edited  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "Out 
Land  and  Policy,"  in  which  he  outlined  a 


204 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


theory,  which  has  since  made  him  so  widely 
known.  This  was  developed  in  "  Progress 
and  Poverty,"  a  book  which  soon  attained  a 
large  circulation  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlan- 
tic, which  has  been  extensively  translated. 
In  1880  Mr.  George  located  in  New  York, 
where  he  made  his  home,  though  he  fre- 
quently addressed  audiences  in  Great  Britain, 
Ireland,  Australia,  and  throughout  the 
United  States.  In  1886  he  was  nominated 
by  the  labor  organizations  for  mayor  of  New 
York,  and  made  a  campaign  notable  for  its 
development  of  unexpected  power.  In  1887  he 
was  candidate  of  the  Union  Labor  party  for 
secretary  of  state  of  New  York.  These  cam- 
paigns served  to  formulate  the  idea  of  a  single 
tax  and  popularize  the  Australian  ballot  sys- 
tem. Mr.  George  became  a  free  trader  in 
1888,  and  in  1892  supported  the  election  of 
Grover  Cleveland.  His  political  and  eco- 
nomic ideas,  known  as  the  "single  tax," 
have  a  large  and  growing  support,  but  are 
not  confined  to  this  country  alone.  He 
wrote  numerous  miscellaneous  articles  in 
support  of  his  principles,  and  also  published: 
"The  Land  Question,"  "  Social  Problems," 
"Protection  or  Free  Trade,"  "The  Condi- 
tion of  Labor,  an  Open  Letter  to  Pope  Leo 
XIII.,"  and  "  Perplexed  Philosopher." 


THOMAS  ALEXANDER  SCOTT.  —This 
name  is  indissolubly  connected  with 
the  history  and  development  of  the  railway 
systems  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Scott 
was  born  December  28,  1823,  at  London, 
Franklin  county,  Pennsj'lvania.  He  was  first 
regularly  employed  by  Major  James  Patton, 
the  collector  of  tolls  on  the  state  road  be- 
tween Philadelphia  and  Columbia,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  entered  into  the  employ  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  in  1850, 
and  went  through  all  the  different  branches 
of  work  until  he  had  mastered  all  the  details 


of  the  office  work,  and  in  1858  he  was  ap- 
pointed general  superintendent.  Mr.  Scott 
was  the  next  year  chosen  vice-president  of 
the  road.  This  position  at  once  brought 
him  before  the  public,  and  the  enterprise 
and  ability  displayed  by  him  in  its  manage- 
ment marked  him  as  a  leader  among  the 
railroad  men  of  the  country.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  rebellion  in  i86i,-  Mr.  Scott 
was  selected  by  Governor  Curtin  as  a  mem- 
ber of  his  staff,  and  placed  in  charge  of  the 
equipment  and  forwarding  of  the  state  troops 
to  the  seat  of  war.  On  April  27,  1S61,  the 
secretary  of  war  desired  to  establish  a  new 
line  of  road  between  the  national  capital 
and  Philadelphia,  for  the  more  expeditious 
transportation  of  troops.  He  called  upon 
Mr.  Scott  to  direct  this  work,  and  the  road 
by  the  way  of  Annapolis  and  Perry ville  was 
completed  in  a  marvelously  short  space  o*f 
time.  On  May  3,  1861,  he  was  commis- 
sioned colonel  of  volunteers,  and  on  the  23d 
of  the  same  month  the  government  railroads 
and  telegraph  lines  were  placed  in  his  charge. 
Mr.  Scott  was  the  first  assistant  secretary 
of  war  ever  appointed,  and  he  took  charge 
of  this  new  post  August  i,  1861.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1862,  he  was  directed  to  organize 
transportation  in  the  northwest,  and  in 
March  he  performed  the  same  ser\ice  on 
the  western  rivers.  He  resigned  June  i, 
1862,  and  resumed  his  direction  of  affairs  on 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  Colonel  Scott 
directed  the  policy  that  secured  to  his  road 
the  control  of  the  western  roads,  and  be- 
came the  president  of  the  new  company  to 
operate  these  lines  in  1871.  For  one  year, 
from  March,  1871,  he  was  president  of  the  , 
Union  Pacific  Railroad,  and  in  1874  he  suc- 
ceeded to  the  presidency  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Company.  He  projected  the  Texas 
Pacific  Railroad  and  was  for  many  years  its 
president.      Colonel    Scott's    health     failed 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BIOGRAPHT. 


205- 


him  and  he  resigned  the  presidency  of  the 
road  June  i,  1880,  and  died  at  his  home  in 
Darby,  Pennsylvania,  May  21,   1881. 


ROBERT  TOOMBS,  an  American  states- 
man of  note,  was  born  in  Wilkes  coun- 
ty, Georgia,  July  2,  18 10.  He  attended 
the  University  of  Georgia,  and  graduated 
from  Union  College,  Schenectady,  New 
York,  and  then  took  a  law  course  at  the 
University  of  Virginia.  In  1S30,  before  he 
had  attained  his  majority,  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  by  special  act  of  the  legislature, 
and  rose  rapidly  in  his  profession,  attracting 
the  attention  of  the  leading  statesmen  and 
judges  of  that  time.  He  raised  a  volunteer 
company  for  the  Creek  war,  and  served  as 
captain  to  the  close.  He  was  elected  to  the 
state  legislature  in  1837,  re-elected  in  1842, 
and  in  1844  was  elected  to  congress.  He 
had  been  brought  up  as  a  Jef^ersonian 
Democrat,  but  voted  for  Harrison  in  1840 
and  for  Clay  in  1844.  He  made  his  first 
speech  in  congress  on  the  Oregon  question, 
and  immediately  took  rank  with  the  greatest 
debaters  of  that  body.  In  1853  he  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  senate,  and 
again  in  1859,  but  when  his  native  state 
seceded  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  senate 
and  was  elected  to  the  Confederate  con- 
gress. It  is  stated  on  the  best  authority 
that  had  it  not  been  for  a  misunderstanding 
which  could  not  be  explained  till  too  late  he 
would  have  been  elected  president  of  the 
Confederacy.  He  was  appointed  secretary 
of  state  by  President  Davis,  but  resigned 
after  a  few  months  and  was  commissioned 
brigadier-general  in  the  Confederate  army. 
He  won  distinction  at  the  second  battle  of 
Bull  Run  and  at  Sharpsburg,  but  resigned 
his  commission  soon  after  and  returned  to 
Georgia.  He  organized  the  militia  of 
Georgia  to  resist   Sherman,    and  was  made 


ier-general  of  the  state  troops.  He 
left  the  country  at  the  close  of  the  war  and 
did  not  return  until  1867.  He  died  Decem- 
ber IS,   1S85. 

AUSTIN  CORBIN,  one  of  the  greatest 
railway  magnates  of  the  United  States, 
was  born  July  11,  1827,  at  Newport,  New 
Hampshire.  He  studied  law  with  Chief 
Justice  Gushing  and  Governor  Ralph  Met- 
calf,  and  later  took  a  course  in  the  Harvard 
Law  School,  where  he  graduated  in  1849. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  practiced 
law,  with  Governor  Metcalf  as  his  partner, 
until  October  12,  185 1.  Mr.  Corbin  then 
removed  to  Davenport,  Iowa,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1865.  In  1854  he  was  a  part- 
ner in  the  banking  firm  of  Macklot  &  Cor- 
bin, and  later  he  organized  the  First  Na- 
tional bank  of  Davenport,  Iowa,  which 
commenced  business  June  29,  1863,  and 
which  was  the  first  national  bank  open  for 
business  in  the  United  States.  Mr.  Corbin 
sold  out  his  business  in  the  Davenport  bank, 
and  removed  to  New  York  in  1865  and  com- 
menced business  with  partners  under  the 
style  of  Corbin  Banking  Compan3^  Soon 
after  his  removal  to  New  York  he  became 
interested  in  railroads,  and  became  one  of 
the  leading  railroad  men  of  the  country. 
The  development  of  the  west  half  of  Coney 
Island  as  a  summer  resort  first  brought  him 
into  general  prominence.  He  built  a  rail- 
road from  New  York  to  the  island,  and 
built  great  hotels  on  its  ocean  front.  He 
next  turned  his  attention  to  Long  Island, 
and  secured  all  the  railroads  and  consoli- 
dated them  under  one  management,  became 
president  of  the  system,  and  under  his  con- 
trol Long  Island  became  the  great  ocean 
suburb  of  New  York.  His  latest  public 
achievement  was  the  rehabilitation  of  the 
Reading    Railroad,    of    Pennsylvania,     and 


•206 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


during  the  same  time  he  and  his  friends 
purchased  the  controlhng  interest  of  the 
New  Jersey  Central  Railroad.  He  took  it 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  receiver,  and  in 
three  years  had  it  on  a  dividend-paying 
basis.  Mr.  Corbin's  death  occurred  June 
4,  1896.  

JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  Sr., 
was  one  of  the  greatest  journalists  of 
America  in  his  day.  He  was  born  Septem- 
ber I,  1795,  at  New  Mill,  near  Keith,  Scot- 
land. At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  sent 
to  Aberdeen  to  study  for  the  priesthood, 
but,  convinced  that  he  was  mistaken  in  his 
vocation,  he  determined  to  emigrate.  He 
landed  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  in  1819, 
where  he  attempted  to  earn  a  living  by 
teaching  bookkeeping.  Failing  in  this  he 
went  to  Boston  and  found  employment  as  a 
proof  reader.  Mr.  Bennett  went  to  New 
York  about  1822  and  wrote  for  the  news- 
papers. Later  on  he  became  assistant 
editor  in  the  office  of  the  "Charleston 
Courier, "but  returned  to  New  York  in  1824 
and  endeavored  to  start  a  commercial 
school,  but  was  unsuccessful  in  this,  and 
again  returned  to  newspaper  work.  He 
continued  in  newspaper  work  with  varying 
success  until,  at  bis  suggestion,  the  "En- 
quirer" was  consolidated  with  another 
paper,  and  became  the  "Courier  and  En- 
quirer," with  James  Watson  Webb  as 
editor  and  Mr.  Bennett  for  assistant.  At 
this  time  this  was  the  leading  American 
newspaper.  He,  however,  severed  his  con- 
nection with  this  newspaper  and  tried, 
without  success,  other  ventures  in  the  line 
of  journalism  until  May  6,  1835,  when  he 
issued  the  first  number  of  the  "New  York 
Herald."  Mr.  Bennett  wrote  the  entire 
paper,  and  made  up  for  lack  of  news  by  his 
own  imagination.      The  paper  became  popu- 


lar, and  in  1838  he  engaged  European  jour- 
nalists as  regular  correspondents.  In  1841 
the  income  derived  from  his  paper  was  at 
least  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Dur- 
ing the  Civil  war  the  "  Herald  "  had  on  its 
staff  sixty-three  war  correspondents  and  the 
circulation  was  doubled.  Mr.  Bennett  was 
interested  with  John  W.  Mackay  in  that  great 
enterprise  which  is  now  known  as  the  Mac- 
kay-Bennett  Cable.  He  had  collected  for  use 
in  his  paper  over  fifty  thousand  biographies, 
sketches  and  all  manner  of  information  re- 
garding every  well-known  man,  which  are 
still  kept  in  the  archives  of  the  "Herald" 
office.      He  died  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  \ 

1872,  and  left  to  his  son,    James    Gordon,  '-, 

Jr. ,  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  profitable  | 

journals  in  the  United  States,  or  even  in  the  > 

world.  i 


OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES,  a 
noted  American,  won  distinction  in  the 
field  of  literature,  in  which  he  attained  a 
world-wide  reputation.  He  was  born  at 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  August  29,  1809. 
He  received  a  collegiate  education  and  grad- 
uated from  Harvard  in  1829,  at  the  age  of 
twenty,  and  took  up  the  study  of  law  and 
later  studied  medicine.  Dr.  Holmes  at- 
tended several  years  in  the  hospitals  of 
Europe  and  received  his  degree  in  1836. 
He  became  professor  of  anatomy  and  phys- 
iology in  Dartmouth  in  1838,  and  re- 
mained there  until  1847,  when  he  was 
called  to  the  Massachusetts  Medical  School 
at  Boston  to  occupy  the  same  chair,  which 
position  he  resigned  in  1882.  The  first 
collected  edition  of  his  poems  appeared  in 
1836,  and  his  "Phi  Beta  Kappa  Poems," 
"Poetry,"  in  1836;  "Terpsichore,"  in  1843; 
"Urania,"  in  1846,  and  "Astrsea,"  won  for 
him  many  fresh  laurels.  His  series  of 
papers   in  the   "Atlantic    Monthly,"    were: 


COMPENDIUM   OF    BTOGRAPHT. 


2or 


"Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table,"  "Pro- 
fessor at  the  Breakfast  Table,"  "Poet  at 
the  Breakfast  Table,"  and  are  a  series  of 
masterly  wit,  humor  and  pathos.  Among 
his  medical  papers  and  addresses,  are :  "Cur- 
rents and  Counter-currents  in  the  Medical 
Science,"  and  "Borderland  in  Some  Prov- 
inces of  Medical  Science."  Mr.  Holmes 
edited  quite  a  number  of  works,  of  which 
we  quote  the  following:  "Else  Venner, " 
"Songs  in  Many  Keys,"  "Soundings  from 
the  Atlantic,"  "Humorous  Poems,"  "The 
Guardian  Angel,"  "Mechanism  in  Thoughts 
and  Morals,"  "Songs  of  Many  Seasons," 
"John  L.  Motley" — a  memoir,  "The  Iron 
Gate  and  Other  Poems,"  "Ralph  Waldo 
Emerson,"  "A  Moral  Antipathy."  Dr. 
Holmes  visited  England  for  the  second  time, 
and  while  there  the  degree  of  LL.D. 
was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  University 
of  Edinburgh.  His  death  occurred  October 
7,  1894-  

RUFUS  CHOATE,  one  of  the  most  em- 
inent of  America's  great  lawyers,  was 
born  October  i,  1799,  at  Essex,  Massachu- 
setts. He  entered  Dartmouth  in  181 5, 
and  after  taking  his  degree  he  remained  as 
a  teacher  in  the  college  for  one  year.  He 
took  up  the  study  of  law  in  Cambridge,  and 
subsequently  studied  under  the  distinguished 
lawyer,  Mr.  Wirt,  who  was  then  United 
States  attorney-general  at  Washington.  Mr. 
Choatebegan  the  practice  of  law  in  Danvers, 
Massachusetts,  and  from  there  he  went  to 
Salem,  and  afterwards  to  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts. While  living  at  Salem  he  was 
elected  to  congress  in  1832,  and  later,  in 
1 84 1,  he  was  chosen  United  States  senator 
to  succeed  Daniel  Webster,  Mr.  Webster 
having  been  appointed  secretary  of  state 
under  William  Henry  Harrison. 

After  the  death  of  Webster,  Mr-  Choate 


was  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts bar,  and  was  looked  upon  by  the 
younger  members  of  the  profession  with  an 
affection  that  almost  amounted  to  a  rever- 
ence. Mr.  Choate's  powers  as  an  orator 
were  of  the  rarest  order,  and  his  genius 
made  it  possible  for  him  to  enchant  and  in- 
terest his  listeners,  even  while  discussing  the 
most  ordinary  theme.  He  was  not  merely 
eloquent  on  the  subjects  that  were  calculated 
to  touch  the  feelings  and  stir  the  passions 
of  his  audience  in  themselves,  but  could  at 
all  times  command  their  attention.  He  re- 
tired from  active  life  in  1858,  and  was  on 
his  way  to  Europe,  his  physician  having 
ordered  a  sea  voyage  for  his  health,  but  had 
only  reached  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  whea 
he  died,  July   13,   1858. 


D WIGHT  L.  MOODY,  one  of  the  most 
noted  and  effective  pulpit  orators  and 
evangelists  America  has  produced,  was  born 
in  Northfield,  Franklin  county,  Massachu- 
setts, February  5,  1837.  He  received  but 
a  meager  education  and  worked  on  a  farm 
until  seventeen  years  of  age,  when  he  be- 
came clerk  in  a  boot  and  shoe  store  in 
Boston.  Soon  after  this  he  joined  the  Con- 
gregational church  and  went  to  Chicago, 
where  he  zealously  engaged  in  missionary 
work  among  the  poor  classes.  He  met 
with  great  success,  and  in  less  than  a  year 
he  built  up  a  Sunday-school  which  numbered 
over  one  thousand  children.  When  the 
war  broke  out  he  became  connected  with 
what  was  known  as  the  "Christian  Com- 
mission," and  later  became  city  missionary 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  at 
Chicago.  A  church  was  built  there  for  his 
converts  and  he  became  its  unordained  pas- 
tor. In  the  Chicago  fire  of  1871  the  church 
and  Mr.  Moody's  house  and  furniture,  which 
had  been  given  him,  were  destroyed.     The 


208 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


church  edifice  was  afterward  replaced  by  a 
new  church  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old 
one.  In  1873,  accompanied  by  Ira  D. 
Sankey,  Mr.  Moody  went  to  Europe  and 
excited  great  religious  awakenings  through- 
out England,  Ireland  and  Scotland.  In 
1875  they  returned  to  America  and  held 
large  meetings  in  various  cities.  They 
afterward  made  another  visit  to  Great 
Britain  for  the  same  purpose,  meeting  with 
great  success,  returning  to  the  United  States 
in  1884.  Mr.  Moody  afterward  continued 
his  evangelistic  work,  meeting  everywhere 
with  a  warm  reception  and  success.  Mr. 
Moody  produced  a  number  of  works,  some 
•of  which  had  a  wide  circulation. 


JOHN  PIERPONT  MORGAN,  a  financier 
of  world-wide  reputation,  and  famous 
as  the  head  of  one  of  the  largest  banking 
houses  in  the  world,  was  born  April  17, 
1837,  at  Hartford,  Connecticut.  He  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  the  English 
high  school,  in  Boston,  and  later  supple- 
mented this  with  a  course  in  the  University 
of  Gottingen,  Germany.  He  returned  to 
the  United  States,  in  1857,  and  entered  the 
banking  firm  of  Duncan,  Sherman  &  Co., 
of  New  York,  and,  in  i860,  he  became 
agent  and  attorney,  in  the  United  States,  for 
George  Peabody  &  Co.,  of  London.  He 
became  the  junior  partner  in  the  banking 
firm  of  Dabney,  Morgan  &  Co.,  in  1864, 
and  that  of  Drexel,  Morgan  &  Co.,  in  1871. 
This  house  was  among  the  chief  negotiators 
of  railroad  bonds,  and  was  active  in  the  re- 
organization of  the  West  Shore  Railroad, 
and  its  absorption  by  the  New  York  Central 
Railroad.  It  was  conspicuous  in  the  re- 
organization of  the  Philadelphia  &  Read- 
ing Railroad,  in  1887,  which  a  syndicate  of 
capitalists,  formed  by  Mr.  Morgan,  placed 
on  a  sound  financial  basis.      After  that  time 


many  other  lines  of  railroad  and 
financial  enterprises  were  brought  under  Mr. 
Morgan's  control,  and  in  some  respects  it 
may  be  said  he  became  the  foremost  financier 
of  the  century. 


THOMAS  BRACKETT  REED,  one  of 
the  most  eminent  of  American  states- 
men, was  born  October  18,  1839,  at  Port- 
land, Maine,  where  he  received  his  early 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  the 
city,  and  prepared  himself  for  college.  Mr. 
Reed  graduated  from  Bowdoin  College  in 
i860,  and  won  one  of  the  highest  honors  of 
the  college,  the  prize  for  excellence  in  Eng- 
lish composition.  The  following  four  years 
were  spent  by  him  iji  teaching  and  in  the 
study  of  law.  Before  his  admission  to  the 
bar,  however,  he  was  acting  assistant  pay- 
master in  the  United  States  navy,  and 
served  on  the  "tin-clad"  Sybil,  which  pa- 
trolled the  Tennessee,  Cumberland  and 
Mississippi  rivers.  After  his  discharge  in 
1865,  he  returned  to  Portland,  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar,  and  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  He  entered  into  political  life, 
and  in  1868  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
of  Maine  as  a  Republican,  and  in  1869  he 
was  re-elected  to  the  house,  and  in  1870 
was  made  state  senator,  from  which  he 
passed  to  attorney-general  of  the  state. 
He  retired  from  this  office  in  1S73,  and 
until  1877  he  was  solicitor  for  the  city 
of  Portland.  In  1876  he  was  elected  to 
the  forty-fifth  congress,  which  assembled 
in  1877.  Mr.  Reed  sprung  into  prominence 
in  that  body  by  one  of  the  first  speeches 
which  he  delivered,  and  his  long  service  in 
congress,  coupled  with  his  ability,  gave  him 
a  national  reputation.  His  influence  each 
year  became  more  strongly  marked,  and  the 
leadership  of  his  party  was  finally  conceded 
to  him,  and  in  the  forty-ninth   and  fiftieth 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


congresses  the  complimentary  nomination 
for  the  speakership  was  tendered  him  by  the 
RepubHcans.  That  party  having  obtained 
the  ascendency  in  the  fifty-first  congress  he 
was  elected  speaker  on  the  first  ballot,  and 
he  was  again  chosen  speaker  of  the  fifty- 
fourth  and  fifth-fifth  congresses.  As  a 
writer,  Mr.  Reed  contributed  largely  to  the 
magazines  and  periodicals,  and  his  book 
upon  parliamentary  rules  is  generally  rec- 
ognized as  authority  on  that  subject. 


CLARA  BARTON  is  a  celebrated  char- 
acter among  what  might  be  termed  as 
the  highest  grade  of  philanthropists  Amer- 
ica has  produced.  She  was  born  on  a  farm 
at  Oxford,  Massachusetts,  a  daughter  of 
Captain  Stephen  Barton,  and  was  educated 
at  Clinton,  New  York.  She  engaged  in 
teaching  early  in  life,  and  founded  a  free 
school  at  Bordentown,  the  first  in  New  Jer- 
sey. She  opened  with  six  pupils,  but  the 
attendance  had  grown  to  six  hundred  up  to 
1 8 54,  when  she  went  to  Washington.  She 
was  appointed  clerk  in  the  patent  depart- 
ment, and  remained  there  until  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  war,  when  she  resigned 
her  position  and  devoted  herself  to  the  al- 
leviation of  the  sufferings  of  the  soldiers, 
serving,  not  in  the  hospitals,  but  on  the  bat- 
tle field.  She  was  present  at  a  number  of 
battles,  and  after  the  war  closed  she  origi- 
nated, and  for  some  time  carried  on  at  her 
own  expense,  the  search  for  missing  soldiers. 
She  then  for  several  years  devoted  her  time 
to  lecturing  on  "Incidents  of  the  War." 
About  1868  she  went  to  Europe  for  her 
health,  and  settled  in  Switzerland,  but  on  the 
outbreak  of  the  Franco-German  war  she  ac- 
cepted the  invitation  of  the  grand  duchess 
of  Baden  to  aid  in  the  establishment  of  her 
liospitals,  and  Miss  Barton  afterward  fol- 
lowed the  German  army.      She  was  deco- 


rated with  the  golden  cross  by  the  grand 
duke  of  Baden,  and  with  the  iron  cross  by 
the  emperor  of  Germany.  She  also  served 
for  many  years  as  president  of  the  famous 
Red  Cross  Society  and  attamed  a  world- 
wide reputation. 


CARDINAL  JAMES  GIBBONS,  one  of 
the  most  eminent  Catholic  clergymen 
in  America,  was  born  in  Baltmiore,  Mary- 
land, July  23,  1834.  He  was  given  a 
thorough  education,  graduated  at  St.  Charles 
College,  Maryland,  in  1857,  and  studied 
theology  in  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore, 
Maryland.  In  1861  he  became  pastor  of 
St.  Bridget's  church  in  Baltimore,  and  in 
1868  was  consecrated  vicar  apostolic  of 
North  Carolina.  In  1872  our  subject  be- 
came bishop  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  and 
five  years  later  was  made  archbishop  of  Bal- 
timore. On  the  30th  of  Tune,  i885,  he 
was  admitted  to  the  full  degree  of  cardmal 
and  primate  of  the  American  Catholic 
church.  He  was  a  fluent  writer,  and  his 
book,  ''Faith  of  Our  Fathers,"  had  a  wide 
circulation. 

CHAUNCEY  MITCHELL  DEPEW.— 
This  name  is,  without  doubt,  one  of 
the  most  widely  known  in  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Depew  was  born  April  23,  1834,  at 
Peekskill,  New  York,  the  home  of  the  Depew 
family  for  two  hundred  years.  He  attended 
the  common  schools  of  his  native  place, 
where  he  prepared  himself  to  enter  college. 
He  began  his  collegiate  course  at  Yale  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  and  graduated  in  1856. 
He  early  took  an  active  interest  in  politics 
and  joined  the  Republican  party  at  its  for- 
mation. He  then  took  up  the  study  of  law 
and  went  into  the  office  of  the  Hon.  Will- 
iam Nelson,  of  Peekskill,  for  that  purpose, 
and  in  1858  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 


210 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


He  was  sent  as  a  delegate  by  the  new  party 
to  the  Repubhcan  state  convention  of  that 
year.  He  began  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion in  1859,  but  though  he  was  a  good 
worker,  his  attention  was  detracted  by  the 
campaign  of  i860,  in  which  he  took  an  act- 
ive part.  During  this  campaign  he  gained 
his  first  laurels  as  a  public  speaker.  Mr. 
Depew  was  elected  assemblyman  in  1862 
from  a  Democratic  district.  In  1863  he  se- 
cured the  nomination  for  secretary  of  state, 
and  gained  that  post  by  a  majority  of  thirty 
thousand.  In  1866  he  left  the  field  of  pol- 
itics and  entered  into  the  active  practice 
of  his  law  business  as  attorney  for  the 
New  York  &  Harlem  Railroad  Company, 
and  in  1869  when  this  road  was  consoli- 
dated with  the  New  York  Central,  and 
called  the  New  York  Central  &  Hudson 
River  Railroad,  he  was  appointed  the  attor- 
ney for  the  new  road.  His  rise  in  the  rail- 
road business  was  rapid,  and  ten  years  after 
his  entrance  into  the  Vanderbilt  system  as 
attorney  for  a  single  line,  he  was  the  gen- 
eral counsel  for  one  of  the  largest  railroad 
systems  in  the  world.  He  was  also  a 
director  in  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan 
Southern,  Michigan  Central,  Chicago  & 
Northwestern,  St.  Paul  &  Omalia,  West 
Shore,  and  Nickel  Plate  railroad  companies. 
In  1874  Mr.  Depew  was  made  regent  of 
the  State  University,  and  a  member  of  the 
commission  appointed  to  superintend  the 
erection  of  the  capitol  at  Albany.  In  1882, 
on  the  resignation  of  W.  H.  Vanderbilt 
from  the  presidency  of  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral and  the  accession  to  that  office  by 
James  H.  Rutter,  Mr.  Depew  was  made 
second  vice-president,  and  held  that  posi- 
tion until  the  death  of  Mr.  Rutter  in  1885. 
In  this  year  Mr.  Depew  became  the  execu- 
tive head  of  this  great  corporation.  Mr. 
Depew's  greatest  fame  grew  from  his  ability 


and  eloquence  as  an  orator  and  "  after-din- 
ner speaker,"  and  it  has  been  said  by  emi- 
nent critics  that  this  country  has  never  pro- 
duced his  equal  in  wit,  fluency  and  eloquence. 


PHILIP  KEARNEY.— Among  the  most 
dashing  and  brilliant  commanders  in 
the  United  States  service,  few  have  outshone 
the  talented  officer  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch.  He  was  born  in  New  York  City, 
June  2,  181S,  and  was  of  Irish  ancestry  and 
imbued  with  all  the  dash  and  bravery  of  the 
Celtic  race.  He  graduated  from  Columbia 
College  and  studied  law,  but  in  1837  ac- 
cepted a  commission  as  lieutenant  in  the 
First  United  States  Dragoons,  of  which  his 
uncle,  Stephen  W.  Kearney,  was  then  colo- 
nel. He  was  sent  by  the  government, 
soon  after,  to  Europe  to  examine  and  report 
upon  the  tactics  of  the  French  cavalry. 
There  he  attended  the  Polytechnic  School, 
at  Samur,  and  subsequently  served  as  a  vol- 
unteer in  Algiers,  winning  the  cross  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor.  He  returned  to  the 
United  States  in  1840,  and  on  the  staff  of 
General  Scott,  in  the  Mexican  war,  served 
with  great  gallantry.  He  was  made  a  cap- 
tain of  dragoons  in  1846  and  made  major 
for  services  at  Contreras  and  Cherubusco. 
In  the  final  assault  on  the  City  of  Mexico, 
at  the  San  Antonio  Gate,  Kearney  lost  an 
arm.  He  subsequently  served  in  California 
and  the  Pacific  coast.  In  185 1  he  resigned 
his  commission  and  went  to  Europe,  where 
he  resumed  his  military  studies.  In  the 
Italian  war,  in  1859,  he  served  as  a  volun- 
teer on  the  staff  of  General  Maurier,  of  the 
French  army,  and  took  part  in  the  battles 
of  Solferino  and  Magenta,  and  for  bravery 
was,  for  the  second  time,  decorated  with 
the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  On  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  war  he  hastened  home, 
and,  offering  his  services  to  the  general  gov- 


COMPENDil/M   OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


eminent,  was  made  brigadier-general  of 
volunteers  and  placed  in  command  of  a  bri- 
gade of  New  Jersey  troops.  In  the  cam- 
paign under  McClellan  he  commanded  a  di- 
vision, and  at  Williamsburg  and  Fair  Oaks 
his  services  were  valuable  and  brilliant,  as 
well  as  in  subsequent  engagements.  At 
Harrison's  Landing  he  was  made  major-gen- 
eral of  volunteers.  In  the  second  battle  of 
Bull  Run  he  was  conspicuous,  and  at  the 
battle  of  Chantilly,  September  i,  1862, 
while  leading  in  advance  of  his  troops,  Gen- 
eral Kearney  was  shot  and  killed. 


RUSSELL  SAGE,  one  of  the  financial 
giants  of  the  present  century  and  for 
more  than  an  average  generation  one  of  the 
most  conspicuous  and  celebrated  of  Ameri- 
cans, was  born  in  a  frontier  hamlet  in  cen- 
tral New  York  in  August,  1816.  While  Rus- 
sell was  still  a  boy  an  elder  brother,  Henry 
Risley  Sage,  established  a  small  grocery 
store  at  Troy,  New  York,  and  here  Russell 
found  his  first  employment,  as  errand  boy. 
He  served  a  five-years  apprenticeship,  and 
then  joined  another  brother,  Elisha  M.  Sage, 
in  a  new  venture  in  the  sam,e  line,  which 
proved  profitable,  at  least  for  Russell,  who 
soon  became  its  sole  owner.  Next  he 
formed  the  partnership  of  Sage  &  Bates, 
and  greatly  extended  his  field  of  operations. 
At  twenty-five  he  had,  by  his  own  exertions, 
amassed  what  was,  in  those  days,  a  consid- 
erable fortune,  being  worth  about  seventy- 
five  thousand  dollars.  He  had  acquired  an 
influence  in  local  politics,  and  four  years 
later  his  party,  the  Whigs,  elected  him  to 
the  aldermanic  board  of  Troy  and  to  the 
treasuryship  of  Rensselaer  county.  In  1848 
he  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  New 
York  delegation  to  the  Whig  convention  at 
Philadelphia,  casting  his  first  votes  for  Henry 
Clay,  but  joining  the    "stampede"  which 


nominated  Zachary  Taylor.  In  1850  the 
Whigs  of  Troy  nominated  him  for  congress, 
but  he  was  not  elected — a  failure  which  he 
retrieved  two  years  later,  and  in  1854  he 
was  re-elected  by  a  sweeping  majority.  At 
Washington  he  ranked  high  in  influence  and 
ability.  Fame  as  a  speaker  and  as  a  polit- 
ical leader  was  within  his  grasp,  when  he 
gave  up  public  life,  declined  a  renomination 
to  congress,  and  went  back  to  Troy  to  de- 
vote himself  to  his  private  business.  Six 
years  later,  in  1863,  he  removed  to  New- 
York  and  plunged  into  the  arena  of  Wall 
street.  A  man  of  boundless  energy  and 
tireless  pertinacity,  with  wonderful  judg- 
ment of  men  and  things,  he  soon  took  his 
place  as  a  king  in  finance,  and,  it  is  said, 
during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  con- 
trolled more  ready  money  than  any  other 
single  individual  on  this  continent. 


ROGER  QUARLES  MILLS,  a  noted 
United  States  senator  and  famous  as  the 
father  of  the  "Mills  tariff  bill,  "was  born 
in  Todd  county,  Kentucky,  March  30,  1832. 
He  received  a  liberal  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  removed  to  Palestine, 
Texas,  in  1849.  He  took  up  the  study  of 
law,  and  supported  himself  by  serving  as  aa 
assistant  in  the  post-office,  and  in  theoffices: 
of  the  court  clerks.  In  1850  he  was  elected: 
engrossing  clerk  of  the  Texas  house  of  rep- 
resentatives, and  in  1852  was  admitted  to- 
the  bar,  while  still  a  minor,  by  special  act 
of  the  legislature.  He  then  settled  at  Cor- 
sicana,  Texas,  and  began  the  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  He  was  elected  to 
the  state  legislature  in  1859,  and  in  1872  he 
was  elected  to  congress  from  the  state  at 
large,  as  a  Democrat.  After  his  first  elec- 
tion he  was  continuously  returned  to  con- 
gress until  he  resigned  to  accept  the  posi- 
tion of  United  States  senator,  to  which  he 


212 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


was  elected  March  23,  1892,  to  succeed 
Hon.  Horace  Chilton.  He  took  his  seat  in 
the  senate  March  30,  1892;  was  afterward 
re-elected  and  ranked  among  the  most  use- 
ful and  prominent  members  of  that  body. 
In  1876  he  opposed  the  creation  of  the  elec- 
toral commission,  and  in  1887  canvassed 
the  state  of  Te.xas  against  the  adoption  of 
a  prohibition  amendment  to  its  constitution, 
which  was  defeated.  He  introduced  into 
the  house  of  representatives  the  bill  that  was 
known  as  the  "Mills  Bill,"  reducing  duties 
on  imports,  and  extending  the  free  list. 
The  bill  passed  the  house  on  July  21,  1888, 
and  made  the  name  of  "Mills"  famous 
throughout  the  entire  country. 


HAZEN  S.  PINGREE,  the  celebrated 
Michigan  political  leader,  was  born  in 
llaine  in  1842.  Up  to  fourteen  years  of 
age  he  worked  hard  on  the  stony  ground  of 
his  father's  small  farm.  Attending  school 
in  the  winter,  he  gained  a  fair  education, 
and  when  not  laboring  on  the  farm,  he 
found  employment  in  the  cotton  mills  in  the 
vicinity.  He  resolved  to  find  more  steady 
work,  and  accordingly  went  to  Hopkinton, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  entered  a  shoe  fac- 
tory, but  on  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  en- 
listed at  once  and  was  enrolled  in  the  First 
Massachusetts  Heavy  Artillery.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  which  was 
his  initial  fight,  and  served  creditably  his 
early  term  of  service,  at  the  expiration  of 
-which  he  re-enlisted.  He  fought  in  the 
battles  of  Fredricksburg,  Harris  Farm, 
Spottsylvania  Court  House  and  Cold  Har- 
bor In  1864  he  was  captured  by  Mosby, 
and  spent  five  months  at  Andersonville, 
Georgia,  as  a  prisoner,  but  escaped  at  the 
end  of  that  time.  He  re-entered  the  service 
and  participated  in  the  battles  of  Fort 
Fisher,  Boyden,    and    Sailor's    Creek.      He 


was  honorably  mustered  out  of  service,  and 
in  1866  went  to  Detroit,  Michigan,  where 
he  made  use  of  his  former  experience  in  a 
shoe  factory,  and  found  work.  Later  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  another  workman 
and  started  a  small  factory,  which  has  since 
become  a  large  establishment.  Mr.  Pin- 
gree  made  his  entrance  into  politics  in  1889, 
in  which  year  he  was  elected  by  a  surpris- 
ingly large  majority  as  a  Republican  to  the 
mayoralty  of  Detroit,  in  which  office  he  was 
the  incumbent  during  four  consecutive  terms. 
In  November,  1896,  he  was  elected  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  of  Michigan.  While 
mayor  of  Detroit,  Mr.  Pingree  originated 
and  put  into  execution  the  idea  of  allowing 
the  poor  people  of  the  city  the  use  of  va- 
cant city  lands  and  lots  for  the  purpose  of 
raising  potatoes.  The  idea  was  enthusiast- 
ically adopted  by  thousands  of  poor  families, 
attracted  wide  attention,  and  gave  its  author 
a  national  reputation  as  "Potato-patch  Pin- 
gree."   

THOMAS  ANDREW  HENDRICKS,  an 
eminent  American  statesman  and  a 
Democratic  politician  of  national  fame,  was 
born  in  Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  Septem- 
ber 7,  1 8 19.  In  1822  he  removed,  with  his 
father,  to  Shelby  county,  Indiana.  He 
graduated  from  the  South  Hanover  College  J|^ 
in  1 841,  and  two  years  later  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  In  185 1  he  was  chosen  a  mem- 
ber of  the  state  constitutional  convention, 
and  took  a  leading  part  in  the  deliberations 
of  that  body.  He  was  elected  to  congress 
in  185 1,  and  after  serving  two  terms  was 
appointed  commissioner  of  the  United  States 
general  land-office.  In  1863  he  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  senate,  where  his  dis- 
tinguished services  commanded  the  respect 
of  all  parties.  He  was  elected  governor  of 
Indiana  in   1872,  serving  four  years,  and  in 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


213 


1876  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  as 
candidate  for  the  vice-presidency  with  Til- 
den.  The  returns  in  a  number  of  states 
were  contested,  and  resulted  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  famous  electoral  commission, 
which  decided  in  favor  of  the  Republican 
candidates.  In  1884  Mr.  Hendricks  was 
again  nominated  as  candidate  for  the  vice- 
presidency,  by  the  Democratic  party,  on  the 
ticket  with  Grover  Cleveland,  was  elected, 
and  served  about  six  months.  He  died  at 
Indianapolis,  November  25,  1885.  He  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  brainiest  men  in  the 
party,  and  his  integrity  was  never  ques- 
tioned, even  by  his  political  opponents. 


GARRETT  A.  HOBART,  one  of  the 
many  able  men  who  have  held  the 
high  office  of  vice-president  of  the  United, 
States,  was  born  June  3,  1844,  in  Mon- 
mouth county.  New  Jersey,  and  in  i860  en- 
tered the  sophomore  class  at  Rutgers  Col- 
lege, from  which  he  graduated  in  1863  at 
the  age  of  nineteen.  He  then  taught 
school  until  he  entered  the  law  office  of 
Socrates  Tuttle,  of  Paterson,  New  Jersey, 
with  whom  he  studied  law,  and  in  1869 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  immediately 
began  the  active  practice  of  his  profession 
in  the  office  of  the  above  named  gentleman. 
He  became  interested  in  political  life,  and 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  in  1865  held  his  first  office,  serving  as 
clerk  for  the  grand  jury.  He  was  also  city 
counsel  of  Paterson  in  1871,  and  in  May, 
1872,  was  elected  counsel  for  the  board  of 
chosen  freeholders.  He  entered  the  state 
legislature  in  1873,  and  was  re-elected  to 
the  assembly  in  1874.  Mr.  Hobart  was 
made  speaker  of  the  assembly  in  1876,  and 
and  in  1879  was  elected  to  the  state  senate. 
After  serving  three  years  in  the  same,  he 
was  elected  president  of  that  body  in  1881, 


and  the  following  year  was  re-elected  to 
that  office.  He  was  a  delegate-at-large  to 
the  Republican  national  convention  in  1876 
and  1880,  and  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
national  committee  in  1884,  which  position 
he  occupied  continuously  until  1896.  He 
was  then  nominated  for  vice-president  by 
the  Republican  national  convention,  anr^ 
was  elected  to  that  office  in  the  fall  of  1896 
on  the  ticket  with  William  McKinley. 


WILLIAM  MORRIS  STEWART,  noted 
as  a  political  leader  and  senator,  was 
born  in  Lyons,  Wayne  county.  New  York, 
August  9,  1827,  and  removed  with  his  par- 
ents while  still  a  small  child  to  Mesopota- 
mia township,  Trumbull  county,  Ohio.  He 
attended  the  Lyons  Union  school  and  Farm- 
ington  Academy,  where  he  obtained  his  ed- 
ucation. Later  he  taught  mathematics  in 
the  former  school,  while  yet  a  pupil,  and 
with  the  little  money  thus  earned  and  the 
assistance  of  James  C.  Smith,  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  New  York, 
he  entered  Yale  College.  He  remained 
there  until  the  winter  of  1849-50,  when,  at- 
tracted by  the  gold  discoveries  in  California 
he  wended  his  way  thither.  He  arrived  at 
San  Francisco  in  May,  1850,  and  later  en- 
gaged in  mining  with  pick  and  shovel  in  Ne- 
vada county.  In  this  way  he  accumulated 
some  money,  and  in  the  spring  of  1852  he 
took  up  the  study  of  law  under  John  R. 
McConnell.  The  following  December  he 
was  appointed  district  attorney,  to  which, 
office  he  was  chosen  at  the  general  election 
of  the  next  year.  In  1854  he  was  ap- 
pointed attorney-general  of  California,  and 
in  i860  he  removed  to  Virginia  City,  Ne- 
vada, where  he  largely  engaged  in  early 
mining  litigation.  Mr.  Stewart  was  also  in- 
terested in  the  development  of  the  "Corn- 
stock   lode,"    and   in    1861    was   chosen  a 


214 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


member  of  the  territorial  council.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention in  1863,  and  was  elected  United 
States  senator  in  1864,  and  re-elected  in 
1869.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  in 
1875,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in 
Nevada,  California,  and  the  Pacific  coast 
generally.  He  was  thus  engaged  when  he 
was  elected  again  to  the  United  States  sen- 
ate as  a  Republican  in  1887  to  succeed  the 
late  James  G.  Fair,  a  Democrat,  and  took 
his  seat  March  4,  1887.  On  the  expiration 
of  his  term  he  was  again  re-elected  and  be- 
came one  of  the  leaders  of  his  party  in  con- 
gress. His  ability  as  an  orator,  and  the 
prominent  part  he  took  in  the  discussion  of 
public  questions,  gained  him  a  national  rep- 
utation. 


GEORGE  GRAHAM  VEST,  for  many 
years  a  prominent  member  of  the 
United  States  senate,  was  born  in  Frank- 
fort, Kentucky,  December  6,  1848.  He 
graduated  from  Center  College  in  1868,  and 
from  the  law  department  of  the  Transyl- 
vania University  of  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
in  1853.  In  the  same  year  he  removed  to 
Missouri  and  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. In  i860  he  was  an  elector  on  the 
Democratic  ticket,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  lower  house  of  the  Missouri  legislature 
in  1860-61,  He  was  elected  to  the  Con- 
federate congress,  serving  two  years  in  the 
lower  house  and  one  in  the  senate.  He 
then  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  and  in 
1879  was  elected  to  the  senate  of  the  United 
States  to  succeed  James  Shields.  He  was 
re-elected  in  1885,  and  again  in  1891  and 
1897.  His  many  years  of  service  in  the 
National  congress,  coupled  with  his  ability 
as  a  speaker  and  the  active  part  he  took  in 
the  discussion  of  public  questions,  gave  him 
a  wide  reputation. 


HANNIBAL  HAMLIN,  a  noted  American 
statesman,  whose  name  is  indissolubly 
connected  with  the  history  of  this  country, 
was  born  in  Paris,  Maine,  August  27,  1809. 
He  learned  the  printer's  trade  and  followed 
that  calling  for  several  years.  He  then 
studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  1833.  He  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
of  the  state  of  Maine,  where  he  was  several 
times  chosen  speaker  of  the  lower  house. 
He  was  elected  to  congress  by  the  Demo- 
crats in  1843,  and  re-elected  in  1845.  In 
1848  he  was  chosen  to  the  United  States 
senate  and  served  in  that  body  until  1861. 
He  was  elected  governor  of  Maine  in  1857 
on  the  Republican  ticket,  but  resigned  when 
re-elected  to  the  United  States  senate 
the  same  year.  He  was  elected  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  on  the  ticket  with 
Lincoln  in  i860,  and  inaugurated  in  March,  ■ 
1 86 1.  In  1865  he  was  appointed  collector  * 
of  the  port  of  Boston.  Beginning  with 
1869  he  served  two  six-year  terms  in  the 
United  States  senate,  and  was  then  ap- 
pointed by  President  Garfield  as  minister  to 
Spain  in  1881.      His  death  occurred  July  4, 


TSHAM  G.  HARRIS,  famous  as  Confed- 
1  erate  war  governor  of  Tennessee,  and 
distinguished  by  his  twenty  years  of  service 
in  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  was 
born  in  Franklin  county,  Tennessee,  and 
educated  at  the  Academy  of  Winchester. 
He  then  took  up  the  study  of  law,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and  commenced  practice 
at  Paris,  Tennessee,  in  1841.  He  was 
elected  to  the  state  legislature  in  1847,  was 
a  candidate  for  presidential  elector  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  in  1848,  and  the  next 
year  was  elected  to  congress  from  his  dis- 
trict, and  re-elected  in  1851.  In  1853  he 
was  renominated   by  the   Democrats  of  his 


COMPENDIUM   OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


215 


district,  but  declined,  and  removed  to  Mem- 
phis, where  he  took  up  the  practice  of  law. 
He  was  a  presidential  elector-at-Iarge  from 
Tennessee  in  1856,  and  was  elected  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  the  next  year,  and  again 
in  1859,  and  in  186 1.  He  was  driven  from 
Nashville  by  the  advance  of  the  Union 
armies,  and  for  the  last  three  years  of  the 
war  acted  as  aid  upon  the  staff  of  the  com- 
manding general  of  the  Confederate  army 
of  Tennessee.  After  the  war  he  went  to 
Liverpool,  England,  where  he  became  a 
merchant,  but  returned  to  Memphis  in  1867, 
and  resumed  the  practice  of  law.  In  1877 
he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  senate, 
to  which  position  he  was  successively  re- 
elected until  his  death  in  1897. 


NELSON  DINGLEY,  Jr.,  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  one  of  the  leaders 
in  congress  and  framer  of  the  famous 
"  Dingley  tariff  bill,"  was  born  in  Durham, 
Maine,  in  1832.  His  father  as  well  as  all 
his  ancestors,  were  farmers,  merchants  and 
mechanics  and  of  English  descent.  Young 
Dingley  was  given  the  advantages  first  of 
the  common  schools  and  in  vacations  helped 
his  father  in  the  store  and  on  the  farm. 
When  twelve  years  of  age  he  attended  high 
■school  and  at  seventeen  was  teaching  in  a 
-country  school  district  and  preparing  him- 
self for  college.  The  following  year  he  en- 
tered Waterville  Academy  and  in  1851  en- 
tered Colby  University.  After  a  year  and  a 
half  in  this  institution  he  entered  Dart- 
mouth College  and  was  graduated  in  1855 
"with  high  rank  as  a  scholar,  debater  and 
writer.  He  next  studied  law  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1856.  But  instead  of 
practicing  his  profession  he  purchased  the 
"  Lewistown  (Me.)  Journal,"  which  be- 
came famous  throughout  the  New  England 
states  as  a  leader  in  the  advocacy  of  Repub- 


lican principles.  About  the  same  time  Mr. 
Dingley  began  his  political  career,  although 
ever  after  continuing  at  the  head  of  the 
newspaper.  He  was  soon  elected  to  the 
state  legislature  and  afterward  to  the  lower 
house  of  congress,  where  he  became  a 
prominent  national  character.  He  also 
served  two  terms  as  governor  of  Maine. 


OLIVER  PERRY  MORTON,  a  distin- 
guished American  statesman,  was  born 
in  Wayne  county,  Indiana,  August  4,  1823. 
His  early  education  was  by  private  teaching 
and  a  course  at  the  Wayne  County  Seminary. 
At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  entered  the 
Miami  University  at  Oxford,  Ohio,  and  at 
the  end  of  two  years  quit  the  college,  began 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  John  New- 
man, of  Centerville,  Indiana,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1847. 

Mr.  Morton  was  elected  judge  on  the 
Democratic  ticket,  in  1852,  but  on  thi 
passage  of  the  "  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill "  he 
severed  his  connection  with  that  party,  and 
soon  became  a  prominent  leader  of  the  Re- 
publicans. He  was  elected  governor  of  In- 
diana in  1 86 1,  and  as  war  governor  became 
well  known  throughout  the  country.  He 
received  a  paralytic  stroke  in  1865,  which 
partially  deprived  him  of  the  use  of.  his 
limbs.  He  was  chosen  to  the  United  States 
senate  from  Indiana,  in  1867,  and  wielded 
great  influence  in  that  body  until  the  time 
of  his  death,  November  i,  1877. 


JOHN  B.  GORDON,  a  brilliant  Confeder- 
kJ  ate  officer  and  noted  senator  of  the  United 
States,  was  born  in  Upson  county,  Georgia, 
February  6,  1832.  He  graduated  from  the 
State  University,  studied  law,  and  took  up 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war  he  entered  the  Confederate 
service  as  captain  of  infantry,  and  rapidly 


216 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


rose  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general, 
commanding  one  wing  of  the  Confederate 
army  at  the  close  of  the  war.  In  1868  he 
was  Democratic  candidate  for  governor  of 
Georgia,  and  it  is  said  was  elected  by  a  large 
majority,  but  his  opponent  was  given  the 
office.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  national 
Democratic  conventions  in  1868  and  1872, 
and  a  presidential  elector  both  years.  In 
1873  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States 
senate.  In  1886  he  was  elected  governor 
of  Georgia,  and  re-elected  in  1888.  He 
was  again  elected  to  the  United  States 
senate  in  1890,  serving  until  1897,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  A.  S.  Clay.  He  was 
regarded  as  a  leader  of  the  southern  Democ- 
racy, and  noted  for  his  fiery  eloquence. 


STEPHEN  JOHNSON  FIELD,  an  illus- 
trious associate  justice  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  United  States,  was  born  at 
Haddam,  Connecticut,  November  4,  18 16, 
being  one  of  the  noted  sons  of  Rev.  D. 
D.  Field.  He  graduated  from  Williams 
College  in  1837,  took  up  the  study  of  law 
with  his  brother,  David  Dudley  Field,  be- 
coming his  partner  upon  admission  to  the 
bar.  He  went  to  California  in  1849,  and  at 
once  began  to  take  an  active  interest  in  the 
political  affairs  of  that  state.  He  was 
elected  alcalde  of  Marysville,  in  1850,  and 
in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  was  elected 
to  the  state  legislature.  In  1857  he  was 
elected  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  the 
state,  and  two  years  afterwards  became  its 
chief  justice.  In  1863  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Lincoln  as  associate  justice  of  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States.  During 
his  incumbenc}',  in  1873,  he  was  appointed 
by  the  governor  of  California  one  of  a  com- 
mission to  examine  the  codes  of  the  state 
and  for  the  preparation  of  amendments  to 
the  same  for  submission  to  the    legislature. 


In  1877  he  was  one  of  the  famous  electorai 
commission  of  fifteen  members,  and'  voted 
as  one  of  the  seven  favoring  the  election  of 
Tilden  to  the  presidency.  In  1880  a  large 
portion  of  the  Democratic  party  favored  his 
nomination  as  candidate  for  the  presidency. 
He  retired  in  the  fall  of  1897,  having 
served  a  greater  number  of  years  on  the 
supreme  bench  than  any  of  his  associates  or 
predecessors.  Chief  Justice  Marshall  coming 
ne.xt  in  length  of  service. 


JOHN  T.  MORGAN,  whose  services  in 
the  United  States  senate  broitight  him 
into  national  prominence,  was  born  in 
Athens,  Tennessee,  June  20,  1824.  At  the 
age  of  nine  years  he  emigrated  to  Alabama, 
where  he  made  his  permanent  home,  and 
where  he  received  an  academic  education. 
He  then  took  up  the  study  of  law,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1845.  He  took  a, 
leading  part  in  local  politics,  was  a  presi- 
dential elector  in  i860,  casting  his  ballot 
for  Breckenridge  and  Lane,  and  in  1861 
was  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention  which 
passed  the  ordinance  of  secession.  In  May, 
of  the  same  year,  he  joined  the  Confederate- 
army  as  a  private  in  Company  I,  Cahawba 
Rifles,  and  was  soon  after  made  major  and 
then  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Fifth  Regiment.  • 
In  1862  he  was  commissioned  colonel,  and 
soon  after  made  brigadier-general  and  as- 
signed to  the  command  of  a  brigade  in  Vir- 
ginia. He  resigned  to  join  his  old  regiment 
whose  colonel  had  been  killed.  He  was 
soon  afterward  again  made  brigadier-gen- 
eral and  given  command  of  the  brigade  that 
included  his  regiment. 

After  the  war  he  returned  to  the  prac*- 
tice  of  law,  and  continued  it  up  to  the  time 
of  his  election  to  the  United  States  senate,  iff 
1877.  He  was  a  presidential  elector  in  1876.. 
and  cast  his  vote  for  Tilden  and  Hendricks- 


COMPENDIUM  OF   BIOGRAPHY. 


217 


He  was  re-elected  to  the  senate  in  1883, 
and  again  ia  1889,  and  1895.  His  speeches 
and  the  measures  he  introduced,  marked 
as  they  were  by  an  intense  Americanism, 
brought  him   into  national  prominence. 


WILLIAM  Mckinley,  the  twenty-fifth 
president  of  the  United  States,  was 
born  at  Niles,  Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  Jan- 
uary 29,  1844.  He  was  of  Scotch-Irish 
ancestry,  and  received  his  early  education 
in  a  Methodist  academy  in  the  small  village 
of  Poland,  Ohio.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  Mr."  McKinley  was  teaching  school, 
earning  twenty-five  dollars  per  month.  As 
soon  as  Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon  he  en- 
listed in  a  company  that  was  formed  in 
Poland,  which  was  inspected  and  mustered 
in  by  General  John  C.  Fremont,  who  at 
first  objected  to  Mr.  McKinley,  as  being  too 
young,  but  upon  examination  he  was  finally 
accepted.  Mr.  McKinley  was  seventeen 
when  the  war  broke  out  but  did  not  look  his 
age.  He  served  in  the  Twenty-third  Ohio 
Infantry  throughout  the  war,  was  promoted 
from  sergeant  to  captain,  for  good  conduct 
on  the  field,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
for  meritorious  services,  he  was  brevetted 
major.  After  leaving  the  army  Major  Mc- 
Kinley took  up  the  study  of  law,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  1S69  he  took 
his  initiation  into  politics,  being  elected  pros- 
ecuting attorney  of  his  county  as  a  Republi- 
can, although  the  district  was  usually  Demo- 
cratic. In  1 876  he  was  elected  to  congress, 
and  in  a  call  upon  the  President-elect,  Mr. 
Hayes,  to  whom  he  went  for  advice  upon  the 
way  he  should  shape  his  career,  he  was 
told  that  to  achieve  fame  and  success  he 
must  take  one  special  line  and  stick  to  it. 
Mr.  McKinley  chose  tariff  legislation  and 
he  became  an  authority  in  regard  to  import 
duties.     He  was  a  member  of  congress  for 


many  years,  became  chairman  of  the  ways 
and  means  committee,  and  later  he  advo- 
cated the  famous  tariff  bill  that  bore  his 
name,  which  was  passed  in  1890.  In  the 
next  election  the  Republican  party  was 
overwhelmingly  defeated  through  the  coun- 
try, and  the  Democrats  secured  more  than 
a  two  thirds  majority  in  the  lower  house, 
and  also  had  control  of  the  senate,  Mr. 
McKinley  being  defeated  in  his  own  district 
by  a  small  majority.  He  was  elected  gov- 
ernor of  Ohio  in  1 89 1  by  a  plurality  of 
twenty-one  thousand,  five  hundred  and 
eleven,  and  two  years  later  he  was  re-elected 
by  the  still  greater  plurality  of  eighty  thou- 
sand, nine  hundred  and  ninety-five.  He  was 
a  delegate-at-large  to  the  Minneapolis  Re^ 
publican  convention  in  1892,  and  was  in- 
structed to  support  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Harrison.  He  was  chairman  of  the  con-, 
vention,  and  was  the  only  man  from  Ohio 
to  vote  for  Mr.  Harrison  upon  the  roll  call. 
In  November,  1892,  a  number  of  prominent 
politicians  gathered  in  New  York  to  discuss 
the  political  situation,  and  decided  that  the 
result  of  the  election  had  put  an  end  to  Mc- 
Kinley and  McKinleyism.  But  in  less  than 
four  years  from  that  date  Mr.  McKinley  was 
nominated  for  the  presidency  against  the 
combined  opposition  of  half  a  dozen  rival 
candidates.  Much  of  the  credit  for  his  suc- 
cess was  due  to  Mark  A.  Hanna,  of  Cleve- 
land, afterward  chairman  of  the  Republican 
national  committee.  At  the  election  which 
occurred  in  November,  1896,  Mr.  McKinley 
was  elected  president  of  the  United  States 
by  an  enormous  majority,  on  a  gold  stand- 
ard and  protective  tariff  platform.  He  was 
inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March,  1897, 
and  called  a  special  session  of  congress,  to 
which  was  submitted  a  bill  for  tariff  reform, 
which  was  passed  in  the  latter  part  of  July 
of  that  vear. 


218 


COMPENDIUM    OF   BIOGRAPHT. 


CINCINNATUS  HEINE  MILLER, 
known  in  the  literary  world  as  Joaquin 
Miller,  "  the  poet  of  the  Sierras,"  was  born 
at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1841.  When  only 
about  thirteen  years  of  age  he  ran  away 
from  home  and  went  to  the  mining  regions 
in  California  and  along  the  Pacific  coast. 
Some  time  afterward  he  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Modoc  Indians  and  lived  with  them 
for  five  years.  He  learned  their  language 
and  gained  great  influence  with  them,  fight- 
ing in  their  wars,  and  in  all  modes  of  living 
became  as  one  of  them.  In  1858  he  left 
the  Indians  and  went  to  San  Francisco, 
where  he  studied  law,  and  in  i860  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  Oregon.  In  1866  he 
was  elected  a  county  judge  in  Oregon  and 
served  four  years.  Early  in  the  seventies 
he  began  devoting  a  good  deal  of  time  to 
literary  pursuits,  and  about  1874  he  settled 
in  Washington,  D.  C.  He  wrote  many 
poems  and  dramas  that  attracted  consider- 
able attention  and  won  him  an  extended 
reputation.  Among  his  productions  may  be 
mentioned  "  Pacific  Poems,"  "  Songs  of  the 
Sierras,"  "Songs  of  the  Sun  Lands," 
' '  Ships  in  the  Desert, "  ' '  Adrianne,  a  Dream 
of  Italy,"  "Danites, "  "Unwritten  History," 
"  First  Families  of  the  Sierras  "  (a  novel), 
"  One  Fair  Woman  "  (a  novel),  "  Songs  of 
Italy,"  "  Shadows  of  Shasta,"  "The  Gold- 
Seekers  of  the  Sierras,"  and  a  number  of 
others. 


GEORGE  FREDERICK  ROOT,  a 
noted  music  publisher  and  composer, 
was  born  in  Sheffield,  Berkshire  county, 
Massachusetts,  on  August  30,  1820.  While 
working  on  his  father's  farm  he  found  time 
to  learn,  unaided,  several  musical  instru- 
ments, and  in  his  eighteenth  year  he  went 
to  Boston,  where  he  soon  found  employ- 
ment as  a  teacher  of   music.      From    1839 


until  1844  he  gave  instructions  in  music  ;n 
the  public  schools  of  that  city,  and  was  also 
director  of  music  in  two  churches.  Mr. 
Root  then  went  to  New  York  and  taught 
music  in  the  various  educational  institutions 
of  the  city.  He  went  to  Paris  in  1850  and 
spent  one  year  there  in  study,  and  on  his  re- 
turn he  published  his  first  song,  "Hazel 
Dell."  It  appeared  as  the  work  of  "Wur- 
zel, "  which  was  the  German  equivalent  of 
his  name.  He  was  the  originator  of  the 
normal  musical  institutions,  and  when  the 
first  one  was  started  in  New  York  he 
was  one  of  the  faculty.  He  removed  to 
Chicago,  Illinois,  in  i860,  and  established 
the  firm  of  Root  &  Cady,  and  engaged  in 
the  publication  of  music.  He  received,  in 
1872,  the  degree  of  "Doctor  of  Music" 
from  the  University  of  Chicago.  After  the 
war  the  firm  became  George  F.  Root  &  Co., 
of  Cincinnati  and  Chicago.  Mr.  Root  did 
much  to  elevate  the  standard  of  music  in  this 
country  by  his  compositions  and  work  as  a 
teacher.  Besides  his  numerous  songs  he 
wrote  a  great  deal  of  sacred  music  and  pub- 
lished many  collections  of  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music.  For  many  years  he  was  the 
most  popular  song  writer  in  America,  and 
was  one  of  the  greatest  song  writers  of  the 
war.  He  is  also  well-known  as  an  author, 
and  his  work  in  that  line  comprises:  "  Meth- 
ods for  the  Piano  and  Organ,"  "  Hand- 
book on  Harmony  Teaching, "  and  innumer- 
able articles  for  the  musical  press.  Among 
his  many  and  most  popular  songs  of  the 
war  time  are :  ' '  Rosalie,  the  Prairie-flower, " 
"  Battle  Cry  of  Freedom,"  "  Just  Before  the 
Battle,"  "Tramp,  Tramp,  Tramp,  the  Boys 
are  Marching,"  "  The  Old  Folks  are  Gone," 
"A  Hundred  Years  Ago,"  "Old  Potomac 
Shore,  "and  "  There's  Music  in  the  Air."  Mr. 
Root's  cantatas  include  "The  Flower  Queen" 
and  "The  Haymakers."     He  died  in  1896. 


2990