450 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. tion he has held until the present. On the completion of the church and schoolhouse he took entire charge. The church is a beautiful edifice, with seating capacity for six, hundred and fifty and four services are conducted each Sunday, thus affording instruction to hundreds of people. The school numbers five hundred pupils and is conducted by twenty sisters, who give their time and services under the care of Father Eis. These buildings were erected at a cost of eighty thousand dollars, and the valuation of the ground is fully sixty thousand dollars more, making a grand total of one hundred and forty thousand dollars. Father Eis has not only gained the esteem of his own congregation but also that of other denominations. His work in the Sacred Heart is appreciated, and his influence is felt for good throughout the city of Columbus. WILLIAM C. BEAL. William C. Beal is one of the most extensive farmers of Franklin county, his landed possessions exceeding those of perhaps every other agriculturist in this locality. He was born in Columbus September 30, 1847, and is a son of John and Jane (Budd) Beal. His father was a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, born in 1812, and when seven years. of age he lost his father, while four years later he was left an orphan. Some property was inherited by him and his sister, and the elder sisters kept the family together for some time, but through the dishonesty of the administrator of the estate the children were robbed of their property: At the age of eighteen John Beal came to Ohio to make his own way in the world. He accompanied O. P. Hines, the well known banker of Columbus, now deceased, and on his arrival here he entered the employ of Dr. Awl, the founder of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind and the Insane Asylums. Mr. Beal was the first man that ever slept in and was employed in the old insane asylum. on East Broad street—an institution afterward destroyed by fire. He had charge of one of the halls in the asylum for ten years, and a fact worth remembering at the present day is that ninety percent. of the patients received in the institution were discharged cured. Later Mr. Beal became a salesman in the mercantile establishment of D. T. Woodbury, on High street, and while there his health failed. He afterward served for one or more terms as deputy under John Greenleaf, the sheriff of the county, and on his retirement from office removed to Westerville, where he conducted a hotel. Four years later, with the advent of the railroad into the town, he abandoned the hotel business and began shipping stock in partnership with Valentine Cox, under the firm name of Beal & Cox. Shortly afterward they also established a dry-goods store in Westerville, but a year later Mr. Cox withdrew from the dry-goods business and was succeeded by John Knox. The latter relation was maintained for about one year, when the firm became Beal & Budd, the partner of Mr. Beal being his brother-in-law, Silvanus Budd. Together they car- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 451 on the enterprise for three or four years, and the third year after the dissolution of that partnership the firm of Beal & Knox was again formed and continued until 1865. In 1866 the subject of this review was admitted to a partnership, and the firm of Beal & Son carried on business with excellent success for twenty years, when the father withdrew and retired to private life. In his early mercantile career he began investing in farming land: and in 1866 his son, William C., joined him' in that business. John .Beal and his wife were the parents of five children, of whom three are now living : William C.; Anna M., the widow of J. P. Gantz, of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; and Jennie B., wife of Dr. Arthur Good, a dentist of Hamilton, Ohio. William C. Beal acquired his education in the common schools and in Otterbein University. He was also trained in business methods tinder his father and at the age of twelve became his assistant in the care of the stock on the the farm. When about eighteen years of age he took his place at the desk in his father's dry-goods store, and from that time had charge of the books and of the finances of the firm. In 1866 he was admitted to a partnership, and twenty years later, when his father withdrew, the firm of Beal & Gantz was organized, the partner being Mr. Rears sister, Mrs. A. M. Gantz. Together they conducted the enterprise until March, 1896, when, after a prosperous existence of forty years, the business was closed out. In the meantime Mr. Beal had carried on his stock-raising interests. on quite an extensive scale. At the time of his father's death they were cultivating five hundred acres of land, and since: his withdrawal from the mercantile field Mr. Beal has increased his landed possessions to seven hundred and sixty acres, of which he himself farms five hundred and seventy acres, thus becoming the most extensive farmer of the county. He is continually improving his agricultural methods and everything upon his land indicates his careful supervision, his thrift and his progressive spirit. He is also one of the. directors of the Bank of Westerville, and is numbered among the influential men in this portion of the state. In 1876 occurred the marriage of Mr. Beal and Miss Emily A. Phelps, of Jamestown, New York, a daughter of James Phelps, a prominent merchant of that city. They had two children: John Coleman, who is a bookkeeper in the employ of Mrs. L. A. Vance, a milliner of Columbus; and Harry Carson, who is at home with his father. In 1886 the wife and mother died, and Mr. Beall was again married; in 1890, his second union being with Miss Jennie M. Marston, of Middleton, Ohio, a daughter of Theodore Marston, who for many years, was a prominent and successful banker of Middleton. Two children Were also born of this union, but only one is now living Theodore Marston. Mr. Beal exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, and socially he is a Master Mason. He also belongs to the Presbyterian church, in which he is serving as an elder, and his life has exemplified his belief. For more than half a century he has been prominently identified with the business interests of Franklin couy; 452 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. and this work would be incomplete without a record of his useful and honorable career. He is genial, courteous and kindly and a fast friend to those who enjoy his confidence. In. all his business enterprises he has been eminently successful and is regarded by all who know him as exceptionally sure and conservative. JOHN W. HAMILTON,. M. D. Dr. John. Waterman Hamilton, now deceased, was for many years a leading physician and surgeon of Columbus. He was born in Muskingum township, Muskingum county, Ohio, June 7, 1823, a son of William and Lydia (Springer) Hamilton. The father belonged to the Hamilton family which resided in Morgantown, West Virginia. He was born in 1789, and devoted his life to the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, and died in 1867. He was about seventeen years of age when he became a resident of Ohio. and his great natural ability and force of character were strengthened by the emergencies and privations of the pioneer life. His brother, the Rev. Samuel Hamilton, was one of the founders of Methodism in this state. John W. Hamilton acquired his literary education in the district schools, through private instruction and in Granville, Ohio. The intervals of school were devoted to teaching, to study and to the conduct of a newspaper, which was owned by his uncle, the Rev. Cornelius Springer, of Zanesville, Ohio, This paper was known as the 'Western Recorder, later as the Methodist Protestant. About 1845 Dr. Hamilton began the study of medicine. He attended lectures in the Willoughby, now the Starling Medical College, of Columbus, and was graduated on the 10th of May, 1847, after which he entered upon the practice of medicine in Franklin county. This was the beginning of a long and, useful professional career, arduous devotion to humanity and science, showing an endurance: only possible to one possessing a strenuous and! indomitable spirit sustained by a robust constitution. During the winter of 1851-2. Dr. Hamilton studied in New York under Dr. Willard Parker and his contemporaries. In 1853 Dr. Hamilton became a member of the faculty of the Starling Medical College, and from that time until 1874 occupied the chair of surgery. During the Civil war he was a member of the board of army surgeons appointed by Governor Dennison at Columbus. In 1874 he organized the Columbus Medical College and held the office of dean and professor of surgery in that institution until its consolidation with the Starling Medical College in 1892. Through his efforts and liberality the Hawkes Hospital, of Mount Carmel, was enabled to erect and equip a large addition to the building, thus trebling its original capacity. Dr. Hamilton had a very large experience, living as he did in the days when the work of the surgeon included many of the operations now belonging to special fields other than that of general surgery. One of his most potable achievements was the removal of a very large "retromaxillary tu- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 453 mor," a case which had been examined by many of the eminent surgeons of the country and pronounced inoperable. The operation was performed before the Civil war and the patient was living a few years ago. Another was the removal from the pleural cavity, in close relation with the pericardium, of a knife, in the case of a convict in the Ohio Penitentiary, who had forced the knife through his neck into the pleural cavity in attempting to end his life. While the operation was unsuccessful. so far as the life of the convict was concerned, it furnished a striking example of what was, at that time, 1851, very brilliant and daring surgery. Dr. Hamilton was also widely known throughout the state among lawyers, as an expert medical witness who had an extraordinary influence upon juries. This power was due to his sincerity, simplicity and his very evident mastery of his profession. He died January 1, 1891. JOHN W. BOYD. For long years a resident of Franklin county, John Wesley Boyd was classed among the best representatives of the farming interests of Ohio, and by his many friends who still survive him. this record will be gratefully received. He resided in Pleasant township, having come to the Buckeye state from Pennsylvania, his birth. having, there occurred in Allegheny, in July, 1822. His grandfather, William Boyd, died in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, where through many years he had followed the tailor's trade. He was of Irish lineage, the family having been founded in the new world at an early epoch in the history of this republic. His son, William Boyd, Sr., the father of our subject, was born and reared in Allegheny, and when he had reached man's estate he married Eleanor Watson. By trade he was a blacksmith, but ill health prevented him from following that pursuit, and as he was a man of superior education he engaged in teaching school, being employed as an instructor in high schools. He died in his native city about 1834, his widow long surviving him.. She reached a very advanced age, departing this life in Pittsburg. John Wesley Boyd was only twelve years of age at the time of his father's death. He remained with his widowed mother, assisting her in all possible ways. He acquired a good education, and then learned the carpenter's trade in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, in order to be prepared for the pratical and responsible duties of a business career. When he had mastered his chosen occupation he became identified with the building interests of Brownsville and afterward engaged in contracting and building in the state if Missouri for fifteen years. Prior to his removal to the west he was married, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to Eveline Chalfant, who died in northern Missouri. Prior to the Civil war; in connection with a Mr. Smith, he purchased and sold much land in the south, and afterward came to Ohio to visit his sister, Mrs. Rachel Brubaker, of Pleasant township. Here he formed the acquaintance of Miss Sarah Ann Hays, whom he made his wife. She 454 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. was born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, fourteen miles from Philadelphia, and was of Irish lineage, her paternal grandfather, Edward Hays, having been a native of the Emerald Isle. Crossing the briny deep to the new world; he located in Philadelphia, and there married Martha Tuston. To some extent he followed farming, but gave the greater part of his attention to shoemaking. He and his wife 'both died in Philadelphia, his demise occurring when he had reached the age of more than ninety years. Edward Hays, the father of Mrs. Boyd, was born in Philadelphia in 1800, and there learned and followed blacksmithing. He wedded Hester Lightcap, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Solomon and Anna Mary Lightcap, who resided about fourteen miles from Easton, Pennsylvania. In 1834 or 1835 Mr. Hays with his wife and children came to Ohio, making the journey by wagon. They crossed the mountains and proceeded on their way to Columbus, at length reaching the home of Mr. Lukens, in Pleasant township, that gentleman having been an old friend, of the family. Mr. Hays purchased one hundred acres of land in the Pennsylvania settlement—a timber tract in the midst of which he cleared a small portion in order to erect a round-log cabin. Each year he cut away more timber until his farm was all cleared and improved. There he made his home until his death., in September, 1873. His wife, Hester, died within a few hours of her husband's death, and they were buried in the same grave. Their children were : James, who resided in Pleasant township, but died in Circleville, whither he had gone on business; Abraham, who died in Burlington, Iowa; George, who died in this township; Mrs. Boyd; and Emily, who became the wife of Isaac Hays, and passed away in 1874. After their marriage Mr. Boyd and his wife removed to southern Missouri, and while there he enlisted in Company K, which afterward became Company G of a Missouri cavalry, of which he was made first lieutenant. He had formerly served as captain of militia in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and he intended to enter the service in the war with Mexico. His training at that time was a good preparation for his duty as a soldier in the Civil war. He remained at the front until the close of hostilities, but in order to remove his wife and family from the contested territory he desired. them to return to Iowa, Mrs. Boyd with her little sons starting from Dixon, Shannon county, Missouri, and made their way to Rolla, a distance of seventy-five miles where she rented a farm for one year. The government had one thousand troops at Rolla, and the bushwhackers made many raids upon the farms in that locality, so that Mrs. Boyd thus lost everything which she possessed. She then left that 'farm for another, five miles north of Rolla, and when a second year had passed she gave up in despair and started for Ohio. While living at Dixon her home was visited by sixteen different companies of bush-whackers, who took everything they could utilize in their way. With a wagon drawn by ox-teams Mrs. Boyd and her children started for Ohio just one day in advance of Price's. army, and were upon the road for thirty-five days. They brought with them three cows and two horses, and at night CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 455 they would camp by the wayside and prepare their meals over a fire which they would build near the wagon. At the close of the war Mr. Boyd rejoined his family in Pleasant township, Franklin county, and soon afterward purchased a farm near Alton, in Madison county, Illinois, where he spent seven years, and then returned to the old homestead in Pleasant township where his wife's people had formerly resided. He purchased the interest of the other heirs in the place, and there continued agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred March 4, 1896. He was a stanch Republican in politics, and from early youth was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His loyalty as a soldier was simply an index to his character in every relation of life, and his trustworthiness, kindliness and many excellent qualities won him the respect and high regard of all. Unto Mr. Boyd by his first 'marriage were born three children, namely : William Hamlet, of St. Louis, Missouri; Lewis Frank, of Plattsmouth, Nebraska; Ophelia, who became the wife of John Curran, and died at Jamestown, Missouri. By the second marriage there were two children,—Samuel Edward, of Columbus, and Hester Eleanor, who is now the wife of Thomas Green. HENRY C. FERRIS. H. C. Ferris, the superintendent of the western division of the Toledo & Ohio Central Railway, residing at Columbus, was born in Sandusky on the 1st of March, 1865, and is a son of James M. and Mary (Dickinson) Ferris. His father vas a son of William Ferris, who was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. He married Miss Clafflin, and in 1832 they removed to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, where they reared their family. James M. Ferris was born in this state in 1839, and for many years has been a railway official. He is now general manager of the Toledo & Ohio Central Railway, his home being in Toledo, Ohio. Henry C. Ferris, whose name introduces this record, spent his early boyhood days in Cleveland and pursued his preliminary education in the public schools there. Subsequently he continued his studies in Stevens' Institute of Technology, and was graduated in 1888, winning the degree of mechanical engineer. Being thus well fitted by thorough preparation for engineering duties, he then entered! the employ of the Massillon Bridge Cornpany, with headquarters at Massillon. Later he became connected with the Toledo, Columbus & Cincinnati Railway Company, being made superintendent and engineer of maintenance of way, which position he held until he became superintendent of the western division for the Toledo & Ohio Central Railway Company. He was then stationed at Columbus, and in his position has proved himself a very efficient officer. He has the entire confidence of the corporation which he serves and is well qualified for the position. His close application, thorough understanding of the duties, combined with his 456 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. comprehensive knowledge of railroading, have made him one of the trusted representatives of the road. In 1893 Mr. Ferris was joined in wedlock to Miss Clara Shingle, of Kenton, Ohio, a daughter of Henry M. Shingle. In his political views he is a stalwart Republican, but has never been an aspirant for office, his attention being fully occupied by his business duties. A genial manner, pleasant address and unfailing courtesy have made for him many friends, and he has the happy faculty of drawing them closer to him as the years pass by. GEORGE NELSON TUSING. The predominance of Pennsylvania stock in the early settlement of some portions of Ohio has been of incalculable value to the citizenship of the state in all generations since the pioneer days, for it is a thrifty and industrious stock, law-abiding, and has set the pace for progress and prosperity wherever it has gained a foothold. The Tusings, of which family the Rev. George Nelson Tusing, of Marion township, Franklin county, is a representative, are of such ancestry as has been referred to, and their history is one of enlightenment, development and advancement wherever the name is known. Nicholas Tusing, father of Rev. George Nelson Tusing, was born in Pennsylvania March 4, 1779, and at the age of twenty-two years came to Franklin county, Ohio, and stopped for a short time on the present site of Winchester, but soon took up one hundred and sixty acres of land between Groveport and Winchester, now in Madison township, and was one of the early settlers there. He brought with him apple seeds, with which he planted the first orchard in that part of the county, some of the trees of which are standing to. this day. He married Fannie Clifford, who died within a year, and later he married Anna M. Switzer, a native of Switzerland, born February 22, 1795, who came to America when she was eleven years old, and who died September 14, 1855, nearly forty years after their wedding and. about five years after the death of her husband, which occurred September 25, 185o. They were members of the Baptist church, and, in politics Mr. Tusing was a Democrat, and as a citizen he was prominent and influential, and was well known throughout the county. His father, Phillip Tusing, of German descent, was a native of Pennsylvania, and died there after a successful career as a farmer. Nicholas Tusing had no children by his first marriage. His second wife bore him one daughter and eight sons. Two of these children died in infancy, while the others lived to marry and rear families, and four of them are living. Rev. George Nelson Tusing, born in Madison township, Franklin county, Ohio, December 6, 1821, was the third child of the nine in order of birth. He was brought up to the hard life of a boy on a pioneer farm, with no early educational advantages except those afforded by primitive schools kept in a little log house, with split logs for seats and slab-like CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 457 projections from the walls for writing desks. When he was twenty-one years old he began life for himself, working at anything his hands found to do in a new country. When he was employed by the month he was paid eight dollars for what he could do in a month of very long days. When he was not busying himself at arm work or in a sawmill, he split rails, at fifty cents a hundred, or chopped cord wood, at twenty-five cents a cord. He was married February 18, 1847, to Elizabeth Harman, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, December 29, 1829, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Harmon, who were early settlers there. After his marriage he located on a farm which he bought on time and which was located two miles north of Pickerington, Fairfield county, where he built a rude log house, which was none the more complete for having been erected in great haste. There he lived for twenty-two years, not only paying for the farm, but adding two other farms to it. In 1869 he sold this property and removed to Franklin county and bought the farm of James Watson, near where the village of Brice has since grown up. The place consisted of three hundred and eighty-five acres, and he began farming on .a large scale, with such success that within five years he had increased his acreage to five hundred. He sold one hundred and fifty acres surrounding his house, and paid twelve thousand dollars for a residence property on High street, Columbus, which, after living there for about seven months, he traded for a farm in Delaware county, and about the same time paid about five thousand dollars for four. and a half acres of land upon which he now lives and upon which he built his present residence in 1875. Mr. Tusing joined the Primitive Baptist church in 1851, was licensed to preach in 1852, and was duly ordained later in the year last mentioned. He preached at Reynoldsburg, Ohio, 1851-5, and after that for thirteen years; at Laurel, Hocking county. Then he 'served four years as pastor of the Groveport Baptist church at Groveport, Franklin county. He was called to other fields of labor later, and now has four preaching places under his charge. The first of these is at Turkey Run church, in Fairfield county, of which he has been pastor twenty-three years ; the second is at Scott's Creek, where he has preached for twenty years ; the third is at Laurel, Hocking county, the scene of his first ministerial labors, where he has preached this time for eight years; and the fourth is 'Union church, near Thornville, Perry county. among whose people he has labored for fifteen years. Mr, Tusing has given nearly all his active years to the work of the church, and his labors have been crowned with success. In politics he is independent, supporting such men for office as he believes are best fitted for public responsibility. He has been a trustee of his township, and has ably served his fellow citizens as justice of the peace. Rev. George Nelson and Elizabeth (Harmon) Tusing have had nine children. His sons, Leroy W. and Clinton W., are prominent farmers of Franklin county, Ohio. Sarah Jane married Silas F. White, a well-known farmer near Pataskala, Ohio. Mary Ellen married Dr. F. G. Taylor, of 29 458 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL. HISTORY. Reynoldsburg, Ohio. George 'S. and Urah Ann are now deceased. Laura Elva married William A. Donelson, a successful lawyer of Columbus, Ohio. Lewis B. Benton is a well-known lawyer at Columbus. Margaret E. is a member of her father's household. OTIS K. ELLIS. Character has come to play a more important part in public life than it ever did before. It may be safely assumed that a man who is continued in public office is kept there because he is honest and efficient and administers the office in a manner that has the approbation not alone of politicians but of the general public. The same may be said of officials who are advanced from one public trust to another. Such a straightforward, thorough-going official as has been suggested is. Otis K. Ellis, of Marion township, Franklin county, Ohio; superintendent of the county infirmary. Otis K. Ellis was born at Newark, Licking county, Ohio, June 26, 1864, a son of Alva J. Ellis, who was born, reared and educated in the same county, while his grandfather, Joel Ellis, was a native of Virginia. Alva J. Ellis early became identified with railway interests. He was one of the pioneer employes of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and for the past twenty years has been in the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad, being now an engine inspector for the company last referred to, and though he has reached the age of seventy-two years, he is active and efficient and his work is valued by his superiors. He is an Odd Fellow and. a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. Joel Ellis, father of Alva J. Ellis and grandfather of Otis K. Ellis, was a native of Virginia. Alva J. Ellis married Rachel Kennon; a native of Perry county, Ohio, who was reared. in Perry and Muskingum counties and has now attained the age of sixty-two years. Her father was also a native of Ohio. Alva J. and Rachel (Kennon) Ellis have had six children, five of whom are living, as follows : Frank F., who lives at Columbus, Ohio; Leah, who became the wife of Frederick Smith, and also lives at Columbus; Minnie B., wife of John Edward Orr, of Columbus; Lottie F., who lives at the infirmary with her brother Otis K., who is the third chid and second son of his parents. When Otis K. Ellis was four years old he was taken by his parents to Pataskala, Licking county, where he was reared, and educated in the public schools. In 1877, when he was fourteen year's of age, the family removed to Columbus, where he began his business life in the tobacco establishment of Patrick Sweeney, with whom he remained about a year. During the succeeding year he was employed in the Hayden Rolling Mills, and from that time until 1883 he was employed in the trimming department of the Tuller Buggy Company. From 1883 to 1896 he was connected with the Columbus Buggy Company. He was then employed in the coroner's office for about six months, until that office was abolished by law, and April 1, 1898, he was elected by the board of directors of the Franklin county infirm- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 459 ary superintendent of that institution, and he: has been twice re-elected to the same responsible position. The mere statement of that fact is more expressine declaration of his integrity and efficiency in office than could be formulated in any other combination of words, however strong. Mr. Ellis is a Republican. in every legitimate sense Of the name, he reveres the history of the party, is proud of what it has done, is fully in accord with its present policy and firmly believes that all its great promises will be fulfilled. He is a Knight Templar Mason and has been greeted a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret Ineffable degrees of the Scottish Rite, and his connection with the order dates from 1891, when he was made a Master Mason. He was for some years an active member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has been an important factor in the development of his township. Hardly an- important public improvement has been made in his time without his sanction and many have been started at his suggestion. He is a good organizer, a man not afraid of responsibility, and a reliable, cautions handler of his own money and other men's. ALBERT GALLATIN BYERS. Much is written in these. days of the widening of individual opportunity, but examples are sometimes given us where the individual finds his opportunity by seeking properly for it. In the life record of that good man, Albert Gallatin Byers, the subject of the present sketch, may be discovered an instance of this kind. He was born in Uniontown, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1826, and died, after a life dedicated to the noble work of helping the helpless, on November 10, 1890, at the age of sixty-four years. He received his education in Madison College, Pennsylvania. Bereft of a father's care in 1847, he removed with his mother to Portsmouth, Ohio, and two years later, when the gold excitement was at its height, he joined a party and crossed the plains to California, where he remained until 1851. While there he received the sad news of his mother's death, which occurred in 1850, and this was a severe blow, as he was a devoted son. Returning from California, Mr. Byers engaged in the practice of medicine at Ironton, Ohio, for two years, but did not have his heart in the work, feeling a call to "doctor" the soul rather than the body. He had been reared a Presbyterian, but his tender heart could never quite accept the Calvinistic doctrne, and upon his mother's grave he consecrated himself to the life of a minister, choosing the tenets of the Methodist church, though his religion was so true that it required no name to associate with it. Dr. Byers delighted in his ministry, and his success in persuading young men to turn from their civil ways was remarkable. Until the breaking out of the Civil war Dr. Byers was constantly busy about his Master's business, and at that time he found a place among the first volunteers of his state. He was made the chaplain of the Thirty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served for eight- 460 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. een months; but the hardships proved too much for his delicate constitution and he was reluctantly compelled to return to, his home in Circleville. Recuperating for a year, he accepted a call to what is now the Third Street church in Columbus and served one year and a half, when he was elected, in 1865, to serve as the chaplain at the Ohio Penitentiary, and here his real life work began. For six years he faithfully filled this trying position, during a year or two of which time, at the earnest solicitation of the members of the board of state charities, organized in 1867, he served as secretary of the board, without salary, in addition to his work as chaplain of the pentitentiary. At the end of this period he became convinced that he could better assist in prison and charity work on the outside than upon the inside of the prison walls, and accordingly resigned his position as chaplain of the Ohio Penitentiary. Now began a time of stress for Dr. .Byers, for he devoted his whole time to the work of the board of charities and his whole soul and strength to the unfortunates of every class, his constantly expressed regret heing that he could accomplish so little. Never consulting his own comfort, he labored unceasingly until at last his friends began to realize that his strength was becoming exhausted in his care for others. His last public work, which was the crowning act in a long series of exacting duties, was at the National Conference of Charities and Correction. in the city of Baltimore, of which conference he was the president.. His enfeebled condition was apparent to all, and. a quotation from his last address gave pain to his hearers, as they could not but realize the probable truth of his words. Dr. Byers said; "I do not know that I shall ever meet you again, that is, in our earthly conference. I have been unwell for some time and it is probable that when the next meeting comes I shall not be there. If so, I rejoice to know that it will not in any way affect the work. There was a time when one dropping out might have made a difference; not now." From this conference Dr. Byers came home exhausted and never recovered from the nervous prostration which followed, and from that time gradually failed. Many times during the years of toil and discouragement Dr. Byers seemed to see the hand of Providence manifested so clearly that he would go forward encouraged, assured that he was doing right. In testimony to the value of his work we may quote a few of the many tributes that have been written by those who were acquainted with the conditions existing in the benevolent and the penal institutions of the state and with his work in connection with them H. S. Fullerton wrote: "What Dr. A. G. Byers does not know about the unfortunates of Ohio is not worth relating. An intimate acquaintance of twenty-four years justifies me in saying here that the people of Ohio can Dever realize the efforts nor appreciate the work of Dr. Byers in his labors to better the conditions prevailing among Ohio's insane, poor and criminal class." Rev. Fred H. Wines said: "Dr. Byers was a man of the same mental constitution as the martyr president; and every amusing anecdote, every CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 461 original joke in which he indulged himself, was the outward sign of his profound sense of the intolerable burden of human wretchedness, and his anxiety to lighten the gloom with which the thought of it overwhelms the soul. This very quality endeared him to his friends. In his home, in his state and in this conference he was loved as few men are ever loved, admired as few men are ever admired, and trusted as few men are ever trusted." "There's not a string attuned to mirth But has its chord in melancholy."—Hood. Hon. W. P. Letchworth writes of the Doctor : "It was his sympathy with the erring and his elevating influence over them that made him so successful in reform work and added to his great usefulness in connection with the Ohio State Board of Charities." Extract from .an address by General R. Brinkerhoff : "I want to say that Ohio, which, I think you will agree, stands abreast of any state in the Union in connection with her benevolent and penal institutions, owes more of that advance to him than to any other one man, or any other ten men, or any other hundred men!" Dr. Byers was married December 7, 1852, to Miss Mary A. Rathbun, of Cheshire, Gallia county, Ohio, who, with seven children, five sons and two daughters, survives him. After his :death, in 189o, one of the sons, Joseph Perkins Byers, took up and has since continued his father's work as secretary of the Ohio Board of State Charities. He had been associated with his father in the office for several years before his death. TRACEY WILCOX. Tracey Wilcox was born in Connecticut, and during his boyhood was brought by his parents to Ohio. He is. a son of Simeon Wilcox, who was the founder of the family in Franklin county, having come from Connecticut to the Buckeye state with an overland. company in 1803. He settled in Sharon township, where he established a home for his wife and children, who had accompanied him from the east. Here he entered a tract of wild land, upon which he built a cabin, and after thus providing shelter for those dependent upon him, he began the arduous task of clearing and improving a farm. As the years passed, however, the wild forest land was cleared and was transformed into richly productive fields. He also extended the boundaries of his property until he was the owner of valuable real-estate holdings. By his first marriage he had six children, namely: Warren, Tracey, Gideon, Violet, Harriet and Cena. His. second wife was Mrs. Hannah Wilcox. By this marriage he had one child, Seeley. Tracey Wilcox, whose name introduces this record, was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life. The family removed to Franklin county when it was almost an unbroken forest, the sound of the woodman's ax as wielded 462 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. by the pioneer being an indication of future prosperity, when the forest trees would be replaced by waving fields of grain. He assisted in the arduous labor of clearing the land and developing the fields, and thus gained a practical experience in farming, so that he was well equipped for carrying on business along that line on his own account. After arriving at years of maturity he was joined in wedlock to Miss Chestina Taylor, and they became the parents of three 'children, namely : James M., Candice and Sophia. After the death of his first wife Mr. Wilcox married Mrs. Priscilla Malbone, and they became the parents of six children: Chestina, John, Sophrona, Ann, Tracey and Washington W.; all of whom are now deceased with the exception of W. W. and Chestina, the last named being the wife of John L. Wiswell. Mr. Wilcox was a representative citizen, prominent in public affairs, his opinion's carrying much weight among his fellow men. For many years he served as justice of the peace, discharging his duties with marked fairnness and impartiality. In his business affairs he was energetic, determined and accumulated a good property, becoming, one of the well-to-do citizens of his community. His wife was a member of. the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics he was first an old-line Whig, but afterward became a Republican. His death occurred in 1841, while his second wife passed away in 1853. BENJAMIN S. BOWSER. A representative farmer of Norwich township and an honored veteran of the Civil war who loyally defended the Union in her hour of danger, Benjamin S. Bowser, well deserves representation in this volume. His grandfather, Jacob Bowser, was probably a native of Pennsylvania, and removed to Perry county, Ohio, where both he and his wife died. They had four sons and three daughters : Henry, who died in Perry county, Ohio; Jacob; Daniel, who died in Montgomery county, Illinois; John, of Montgomcry county, Illinois ; Mrs. Polly Wilkins, who died in Perry county, Ohio; Catherine, who became the wife of James Hamilton, and died in Marion county, Ohio; and Eliza, who became the wife of James Craig, and died in Franklin county, Ohio. Jacob Bowser, the father of our subject, was born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1808, and was ,there reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life. The nearest school was three miles from his home, and he received but a limited education. He married Rachael Hamilton, who was born on Jonathan creek, in Perry county, Ohio, in 1808, and for a few years thereafter they resided in their native 'county, coming thence to Brown township, Franklin county, where the father purchased a farm, upon which he resided until his death, in 1847. His wife died. June 1, 1881. They were members of the Cambellite or Christian church, and Mr. Bowser was an old-line Whig in his political affiliations. They had six children : Henry, who died in Columbus, went to California at the time of the gold excitement there, enlisted in CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 463. the Second California Cavalry during the Civil war, served for three years, and was wounded by the Indians on the frontier: Edward, who spent seven years in California during the early mining days, is now living near Marion, Ohio. Elizabeth became the wife of David Lattimer, and died in. Columbus. Alvina, wife of Charles Dautel, died in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1866. Benjamin is the next younger. John, who served for more than two years in the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry during the Civil war, died in Norwich township. Benjamin S. Bowser was born in Brown township, Franklin county, July 6, 1844, and the days of his boyhood and youth were spent on the home farm, while to the district schools he is indebted for his educational privileges. At the age of seventeen he enlisted, in August, 1862, as a member of Company A, Ninety-fifth Ohio Infantry, under Captain Stewart and Colonel McMillan. He served four months, was in the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, and was honorably discharged at Columbus. He then returned home, remaining for a year, but on the 2d of. February, 1864, re-enlisted as a member of Company D, Twelfth Ohio Cavalry, under Captain Sells and Colonel Ratliff, serving until honorably discharged, November 14, 1865. His regiment was attached to the Fourth Corps and participated in the battles of Mount Sterling, Cynthiana, Marion, Salisbury, North Carolina, Wytheville and Saltville. At the latter place he was for four days and four nights without anything to eat. He aided in carrying from the field his captain, who had been wounded. At Mount Sterling the regiment lost forty men in killed and wounded in eight minutes' fighting. When the country no longer needed his services Mr. Bowser returned home and resumed farming. After his marriage he resided for three years on the home farm in Brown township, and then located on his present farm of fifty-three acres, where he has a comfortable residence, substantial barns and outbuildings, a good orchard and all modern improvements. He was married December 29, 1869, in Norwich township, to Miss Mary E. Schofield, who was born in that township December 26, 1847, a daughter of Jesse and Mary (Winegardner) Schofield. Their children are Laura A., now the wife of William Carroll, of Zanesville, Ohio ; Margaret, who died in infancy ; Elizabeth, wife of Lewis I. Perry; Stella, who died in infancy; Elnora, who is teaching school at Hilliard ; Walter R. ; and B. Otis. Mr. Bowser is a charter member of John A. Spellman Post, G. A. R., of Hilliard, and formerly served as its commander. In politics he is an earnest Republican, and for seventeen years he served on the school board, efficiently promoting the cause of education. JOHN S. HENDERSON. The name of John Stewart Henderson is deeply engraved on the pages of the history of Franklin county in connection with educational interests. He did much to advance school work, and many men who have attained state and national prominence acknowledge their indebtedness to him for. 464 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. what he did when they were under his instruction in the school room. He represents one of the pioneer families of Franklin county, being a son of Robert Cooper Henderson, who came to Ohio at a very early period in the development of this portion of the state. The grandfather, Matthew Henderson, was of Scotch-Irish descent, the family having been founded in America during the colonial days. Matthew Henderson married a Miss Kearsley, who was of Scotch lineage. Their son, Robert C. Henderson, was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and prior to his marriage came to Ohio, locating in Franklinton, now a part of Columbus. He was a cabinet-maker and followed his trade after coming to Franklin county until his marriage. After that event his time and energies were devoted to agricultural pursuits upon their farm three miles south of the court house. He arrived here about 1815. He was married in Franklinton to Miss Mary Stewart, a daughter of John and Ann (Heer) Stewart, of a pioneer family. Three children were born of this union : Margaret, born September 26, 1820, and died on the 8th of July, 1845, in the twenty-fifth year of her age; John S., of this review; and Joseph, born November 29, 1824. The mother passed away about ten years after her marriage, on the 27th of July, 1828, and for his second wife Mr. Henderson chose Miss Sarah McComb, of Truro township, by whom he had seven children, namely : Rebecca, who died in 1850, at the age of eighteen years; Mary, who died in 1895, at the age of sixty-three; Jonathan, who died in childhood; William, who died in the army, at the age of twenty- eight years; Matthew, who resides in Columbus, Ohio ; Ellen, who died at the age of thirty-five years; Daniel, who was born in 1841 and died in 1885. Robert C. Henderson was a Presbyterian in religious belief and took an active part in the work of the church. He was a strict disciplinarian and closely followed the teachings. of his denomination. His membership was in Dr. Hoge's church, of Columbus. Both his first and second wives were also identified with the same organization. In his political views he was a Republican, and he died on the old homestead in March; 1858, when about seventy-four years of age, while his second wife passed away in 1846, at the age of thirty-eight. In his business affairs he was very prosperous. The cause of education found in him a warm friend, and he gave to his children good advantages in that direction, that they might be fitted for life's practical duties. He was a pioneer in the temperance movement, being one of the first to refuse to permit the use of liquor in the harvest field and at log rollings. He was strong and fearless in what he believed to he right, was well informed on the questions and issues of the day, and wherever he went he commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he was associated. John Stewart Henderson, his second child, was born on the old family homestead, February 12, 1823. He was reared upon the home farm and his education was acquired in the district schools of the neighborhood and supplemented by a course of study in the select school in Columbus. Thus he prepared himself for teaching, which profession he followed for a number CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 465 of years in the public and normal schools, after which he filled the chair of mathematics in Central College, accepting the position in 1846 and continuing therein for three years. About 1849 he was called to the chair of mathematics and philosophy in what was then known as the Farmers' College, but is now Belmont College, at College Hill, near Cincinnati, and for seven years he acceptably discharged the duties of that position until ill health forced him to to resign. He was honored with the degree of master of arts. He was a most capable educator, having the ability to impart readily, accurately and concisely to others the knowledge he had acquired. He had strong sympathy with and for his pupils and always retained their confidence and regard. Among those who were under his instruction and have since attained prominence were Benjamin Harrison, president of the United States; Bishop John M. Walden, of the Methodist Episcopal church; Rev. George Dart and George L. Converse. On account of ill health, he gave up his educationa work and returned to Franklin county, settling on a farm in Perry township, which he had inherited from his mother. There he made his permanent home. On the 29th of December, 1847, Professor Henderson was married to Miss Mary E. Johnson, a daughter of William and Roxey Johnson, natives of North Mansfield, Connecticut. To them were born six children, but only two are now living, namely: Estella May, the wife of Robert J. Shoemaker, of Perry township; and Glennie Olive. Those who have passed away are Ervin S. ; Estin H. Mary Emma, who died at the age of eighteen years; and one who died in infancy. The elder daughter, Estella Nay, was married October 10, 1889, to R. J. Shoemaker, and they now have five children,--Florence J., Earl H., Ross W., Ralph M. and Carroll B. Both Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Henderson was a prominent and influential citizen of Franklin county during the years of his residence in the same. For a number of years he served as township clerk, and was ever in sympathy with the movements and measures which contributed to the general good. He was a ripe scholar, a close student and kept in touch with the best thoughts of the day. He had been reared in the Presbyterian faith, but after locating in Perry township he joined the Methodist Episcopal church, and, for many years was superindent of the Sunday-school and teacher of the Bible class. After his death he was succeeded in his church positions and services by his daughter Glennie. He was also an indefatigable worker in the. Sunday-school, believing thoroughly in Christian education as a preparation for life's duties. Benevolent and kind, he gave freely of his means to the cause he loved so well and to charitable work, and the poor and needy were never turned from his door empty-handed. A good citizen, a kind neighbor, a loving and affectionate husband and father, in him were harmoniously blended all those qualities of mind and heart which constitute a highly developed and commendable manhood. He was strictly temperate and his influence was ever on: the side of right, the true, the good and the beautiful. He passed away November 20, 466 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 1892, and his death was the occasion of deep regret throughout the community. Mrs. Henderson still survives her husband. She was born in North Mansfield, Connecticut, January 16, 1829, and when fifteen years of age came to Ohio with her brothers and sister. When a maiden of twelve she became identified with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which she has ever been a loyal and consistent member, and her Christian life has been a source of influence as well as a benediction to her family and friends. She devoted many years as a teacher in the Sunday-school, beginning when only fifteen years of age, and continuing until a short time ago. This running review of the history of the Henderson family affords but a slight indication of their moral worth and. social influence, but, such as it is, it is submitted to the candid 'consideration of the future. JOHN STELZER. Long years have passed since Mr. Stelzer became a resident of Franklin county, and his 'home was on the old Selzer road in Mifflin township. He was born in Columbus on the 15th of October, 1834, and was of German lineage; for his father, Andrew Stelzer, was born in that country, whence in early manhood he crossed the Atlantic to the new world, taking up his abode in Ohio's capital. Here he married his second wife. He was a farm by occupation; and his home was upon a forty-acre tract of land in Crawford county, Ohio, where he carried on agricultural pursuits for twelve years, then returning to Franklin county, where he located in Mifflin township. On the farm which he there improved he made his home until his death, which occurred in 1871, and he was then laid to rest on the old homestead. He held membership in the Lutheran church at Columbus, and in politics was a Republican from the organization of the party. He was well known and his sterling qualities gained for him the respect and good will of his fellow men. He wedded Mary Ann Fichtner, a native of Germany, but when thirty years of age. she came to America, making her home in Crawford county, Ohio, where she was married. She was called to her final rest at the age of sixty-eight years. Andrew Stelzer became the father, of five children of whom John is the eldest by the second marriage. There was one child; Mary F., by his first marriage, which was celebrated in Germany. When the subject of this review was two and a half years old his parents removed to Crawford county, and when he was a youth of fourteen he returned to Franklin county, here remaining until the time of his death. He pursued his education in the old-time log schoolhouses of pioneer days, and during the summer months assisted in the work of the home farm, remaining under the parental roof until his marriage, December 9, 1858, Mss Barbara Krumm becoming his wife. They first located upon the farm where he spent his remaining days, their home being in a log cabin, in which they resided for eighteen. years, when Mr. Stelzer erected a fine brick residence. He made many other substantial improvements upon the place, so that it CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 467 became one of the most valuable farms in that section. In addition to farming he engaged in the coal :business and the sale of that mineral greatly increased his income. His landed possessions aggregated forty acres, all of which he placed under a high state of cultivation, and the well-tilled fields yielded to him a good return. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Stelzer was blessed with ten children. Emma M. and Clara died in early childhood, and Henry died at the age of five years. The others are Frank, Anna F., M. Elizabeth, Julietta, Flora A., Martin and Amelia. In his political views Mr. Stelzer was a Republican, and throughout his career he supported that party. He voted for John C. Fremont, its first candidate, and that was his first presidential vote. He was school director in 1890 in Mifflin township, and the cause. of education found in him a warm friend, his labors being earnestly given was the advancement of the schools. During the time of the Civil war he was a member of the home guards of the Third Ohio Regiment, and during the period of hostilities he was. transfered to Company F, One Hundred and. Thirty-third Infantry; being in the service for one hundred days, when he received an honorable discharge. He was a member of John A. Miller Post, No. 192; G. A. R. Mr. Stelzer spent almost his entire life in Franklin county, and had a wide acquaintance and many warm friends, for his industry and honesty, his genial manner and his sterling worth gained :him the high regard of all who knew him. He was called to his final rest. on the 29th of March, 1901. FRANCIS E. DUTOIT. Francis E. Dutoit, who resides at No. 183 Lexington avenue, is a wellknown and popular traveling salesman. He has made many friends through his business connections, and wherever he goes he has the high regard and condidence of those with whom he is associated. He was born in Springfield November 29, 1846, and is a son of Philip Dutoit, and a grandson of Eugene Dutoit, both of whom were natives of France. During his early boyhood our subject 'resided with his grandfather, in Dayton, Ohio, and remembers distinctly many interesting incidents which were related to him by his grandfather concerning the history of early days in Ohio. He acquired much of his education in the schools near Columbus. In 1866 Mr. Dutoit was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Korn, at her home in Columbus. She was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and was the youngest child of John Adam and Elizabeth Korn. The father was a native of Germany, and during his boyhood came to the United States, where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 1851, when he was forty-four years of age. His wife was a native of Pennsylvania, and died in 1895, at the age of eighty-six years. Mr. Korn engaged in business as a boot and shoe merchant. Mrs. Dutoit is the only member of the family 468 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Who came to Ohio, save her half-sister, with whom she was living in Columbus at the time of her marriage. For thirty-three years Mr. Dutoit has been a commercial traveler, representing reliable houses and enjoying a liberal patronage. He is a member of the Commercial Travelers' Association, and is a wide-awake, enterprising business man, quick to note and improve opportunities. He is known throughout Ohio for his genial manner and. trustworthy business methods, which have gained him the respect and good will of all with whom he has been associated. HENRY GARST. Westerville, Franklin county, Ohio, has been well known as a seat of learning, and it has been made so by those who have had in charge the destinies of Otterbein University. It is the purpose of the writer of this sketch to give some account not only of Professor Garst's connection with this institution, but of his life as well. He was born at Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio, January 30, 1836, a son: of Jacob Garst, who was a native of Pennsylvania and who settled in Ohio in 1810. Jacob Garst married Clara Troup, a native of Canada. He secured government land and entered upon a career as a farmer, which was cut short by (his untimely death in 1845, at the age of fifty-eight years, as the result of a fall from a scaffold while he was building a house. He was a Whig and a prominent member of the United Brethren church. The Miami annual conference of that body was held in his house in 1829. His farm in Montgomery county adjoined that of Bishop Andrew Zeller. Nicholas Garst, father of Jacob Garst and grandfather of Henry Garst, was born in Germany, was a Dunkard preacher, and lived to the age of eighty-eight years. Clara (Troup) Garst, Professor Garst's mother, died in 1877, at the age of sixty-eight years, having lived nearly all her life in the communion of the United Brethren church. Professor Garst passed his boyhood days on the home farm, and at the age of sixteen became clerk in a store in Dayton, Ohio. In 1853 he entered Otterbein University, where he was graduated in 1861, having during his college days taught several terms of school in Fairfield county, Ohio. In 1864 he entered Lane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, at which he graduated in 1867. Beginning in 1861, he was a preacher at Dayton and at Cincinnati, and in Butler county, Ohio, until 1869, when he was called to Otterbein University as professor of the Latin language and literature, a position which he filled with great success for seventeen years. In 1886 he was elected president of the college, but resigned that position in 1889. and was elected professor of mental and moral science, continuing a member of the faculty until commencement, 1900. During all his career as a teacher he had never missed a class on account of ill health or other personal disability Professor Garst married Mellie Catherine Flickinger, whose father was a member of the Applegate Book Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and who CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 469 has borne him six children, three of whom are deceased. William Augustus is a lawyer of Columbus, Ohio, and Mira Louise and Minnie Pauline are members of their father's household. Professor Garst is a stanch Republican, taking an active interest in public affairs, but, having the financial management of Otterbein University on his hands, he has no time to devote to political work, but his interest in education has led him to consent to be a member of the school board of his township, with which he was connected for some years. He has been identified with the United Brethren church since he was fifteen, years old. WINSLOW FULLER SANDERSON. A brave soldier and an efficient officer during the Mexican war and the uprisings among the Indian tribes in 1852-3, Major Winslow. Fuller Sanderson, deceased, deserves more extended biography than can be given here. He was a native of Massachusetts, and . was about eighteen years old when he first came to Columbus, Ohio., and entered the boot and shoe trade. Possessing the qualities that made him so efficient a commander in later years, he took great interest in military affairs and was made captain of the Columbus Guards, an independent organization. About 1845 the United States government organized in this locality a mounted rifle regiment, called the United States Mounted Rifles, and of this regiment our subject was made captain, later being promoted to the position of major, having as his lieutenant John Kerr, a son of Congressman Kerr, well remembered by citizens of this locality. This regiment was. intended for service in exploring Oregon, but when it reached St. Louis, Missouri, the Mexican war had been declared and the regiment was sent to that war. During the progress of this struggle our subject was in all of the principal engagements, beginning with Palo Alto, making a brilliant record which the history of the time did not fail to record. Fo!lowing the close of this war Major Sanderson was stationed at Fort Laramie, in Wyoming, and at Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas, trouble being apprehended in both places from the Indian's. In 1852 Major Sanderson was ordered to take command of a moving column composed of mounted rifles and patrol the road from Fort Leavenworth, on the Oregon route, to the South Pass in the Rocky mountains, in order to make a show of strength. great enough to intimidate the Indians. Heavily loaded trains were then traveling overland to California and these were being constantly subjected to violence by the Indian bands. Returning from the satisfactory discharge of this dangerous duty, Major Sanderson was intrusted to take his men through the Indian tribes, and in the performance of the duties of this trust he visited the Osage, Comanche, Kiowa, Arapahoe, North and South Cheyenne, Pawnee and. some of the Sioux tribes intimidating these savages and making possible the peaceful days which later followed. In 1853 our subject was ordered to Texas and two years 470 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. later; in the city of Galveston, he died of yellow fever when about fifty-five years old. So passed away one of the brave officers of border warfare. His memory is still cherished and his example of bravery descends as an honorable gift to his descendants. Major Sanderson was married, in 1833, to. Miss Martha Nelson, a resident of Columbus and a member of an old pioneer family. Her father and uncle located here in 1802, buying six hundred acres each of city land, the property being that now contained in Franklin Park. her death occurred in 1895, when she was seventy-nine years old. Her sisters became the wives of four distinguished residents of the city, marrying David Taylor, ex-Governor Brough, Joseph Armstrong and Dr. James McConnell, now of Upper Sandusky. The children of Major Sanderson were: Frances, the wife of A. G. Willard, of Indianapolis, Indiana; Julia; Amelia; Henry, who died when. young; Winnie, who died at the age of seventeen; and William Allen, now an employe of the Pennsylvania Railroad, having been with that road since 1868. His uncle, Governor John Brough, was part owner and built the Bellefontaine Railroad, 'now the Big Four, and William Allen was connected with that road from 1863 until 1868, since which time he has been in his present position. He married Miss Frances Cotton, a daughter of Dr. Smith Cotton, of Cleveland, and has one daughter, Grace, now Mrs. F. C. Baker, of Columbus. During. life Major Sanderson was a valued member of both the Masonic and I. O. O. F. fraternities, and in every relation of life proved himself a man of honor and unimpeachable integrity. REUBEN H. COLLINS. Reuben H. Collins, one of the oldest engineers now on any of the life running out of Columbus, was born July I I, 1843, in Baltimore, Maryland, His father, Elijah Collins, was one of the first engineers of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He was born in Carroll county, Maryland, in 1821, and throughout the greater part of his business career was connected with railroad service. After a long period spent as fireman on the Baltimore & Ohio and as engineer he was killed while serving in the latter capacity, on engine No. 27, October 14, 1863, the train at that time going westward. He was killed by Colonel Mosby's troops nine miles east of Martinsburg, Virginia, for the Rebels wished to stop the train. His widow is still living, in her seventy-ninth year, and her home with a son in Washington. D. C. She is a native of Virginia. In the family were the following named: Joseph T., who served as a corporal in a company of the Thirteenth Maryland Federal troops in the Civil war and is now conductor on the Chicago & Alton .Railroad; Frank S.. who is engaged in the real estate business in Washington; Clara, wife of J. Tallifaero, also of Washington; and Reuben H., of this review. The latter began railroading in 1859 and has since been in the sevice with the exception: of two years which he spent at the front during the Civil CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 471 war. He began as fireman on an old wood engine, and was thus employed for a year, when he began working at a trade, but put aside his labors in April, 1861, to join the army as a defender of the Confederacy. He was then in Virginia and was commissioned sergeant in Kemper's Virginia troops. He participated in both engagements at Bull Run and in other battles of 1861-2 in Virginia. In the fall of the latter year, while carrying some choice peaches to his "best girl" near Gainesville, Virginia, he was taken prisoner and sent to Fairfax Court House and thence to the old capital prison in Washington. After some months he was exchanged and made the trip down the Potomac and up the James river on the steamer Charles A. Warner: In 1863 he was with Colonel Mosby's famous troopers. After being discharged from the Confederate service he returned to Maryland and became fireman on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, making the run with his father. He was placed in charge of engine No. 183 on that road, in the fall of 1865, and in 1869 he ran a passenger engine from Cumberland to Wheeling, West Virginia. He then went on the old Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, but afterward returned to the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and was again in the passenger service. In 1873 he was on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in Tennessee, but left the south on account of the cholera epidemic, returning to Pittsburg, and again entered the service of the Baltimore & Ohio. In 1885 he was conductor on the Norfolk & Western Railroad, and in 1893,. while serving as a conductor on the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad, he lost two of his fingers in coupling cars. When again able to work he scured his present position as engineer on the Columbus, Sandusky & Hocking Railroad, and is a most trustworthy and reliable man for the position. On the 6th of July, 1869, Mr. Collins was united in marriage to Miss M. E. Brosius, of Piedmont, West Virginia. Her father, John. Brosius, was born in Hancock, Maryland, October 9, 1806, and died in Grafton, West Virginia, October 1, 1896. His wife was a native of Woodstock, Virginia, born lin 1805, and died at their Grafton home February 6, 1870. The children in their family, in addition to Mrs. Collins, were as follows : George H., of Columbus, who was born in 1831 and is now an engineer ; William H., who was a conductor on the Illinois Central Railroad and was accidentally killed while on duty in 1861 Isaac, a farmer of Ohio; Mrs. Amanda McGill, who is living in Grafton, West Virginia; and Mrs. Sally Graham, who resides in Columbus. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Collins have been born seven children : Charles H., who was born June 8, 1870, died February 9, 1872; Claude M., who was born July 13, 1872, is at the present time employed as a conductor on the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad ; Annie G., born August 1, 1874, was married, March 21, 1894, to Wesley C. Houser, of Columbus, and they now reside in California; Loyd E., born August I, 1876, is now running an engine on the Parkersburg branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, between Parkersburg and Grafton; Sally B., born October 11, 1878., died September 11, 1881; Martha R., born March 3, 1881, died May 21, 1891 ; and Leo G.,   472 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. born April 25, 1883, is employed in the Arcadie Hotel at Santa Monica, California. Mr. Collins became a member of the Order of Railway Conductors in Columbus seven years ago. He was mustered into Breckenridge Post, of the Confederate Association, at Lexington, Kentucky, December 18, 1896. He recalls that his certificate of discharge was signed by the famous Lieutenant General P. T. G. Beauregard. For forty-one years Mr. Collins has been in the railway service, a record that has few parallels among the representatives of this line of business in Columbus. It stands as an unmistakable evidence of his fidelity to duty and his trustworthiness. GEORGE W. MEEKER. No compendium such as .the province of this work defines in its essential limitations will serve to offer fit memorial to the life and accomplishments of the honored subject of this sketch—a man remarkable the breadth of his wisdom, in his indomitable perseverance, his strong individuality, and yet one whose entire life has not one esoteric phase, being as an open scroll, inviting the closest scrutiny. True, his were "massive deeds and great" in one sense, and yet his entire accomplishment but represented the result of the wise utilization of the innate talent which was his, and the directing of his efforts along those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination lead the way. There was in George W. Meeker a weight of character, a native sagacity, a far-seeing judgment and a fidelity of purpose that commanded the respect of all. A man of indefatigable enterprise and fertility of resource, he carved his name deeply on the records of Columbus. The name of Meeker has been long and honorably associated with the history of Ohio, and the ancestry of the family can be traced back to the early development of the new world. While its representatives have not attained fame as national, military or political leaders, they have ever been loyal and progressive citizens. In speaking of his ancestry at a family reunion the subject of this review said : "A free government and a new country are great levelers of class. and distinctions, and no family is accorded precedence in a new settlement except that conceded by reason of superior intelligence, virtue and honor. Therefore the Meeker and Van Brimmer families have held the even tenor of their way since their advent in the new world bearing the burdens, braving the dangers of flood and field and accepting the sorrows and disappointments incident to life in common with their fellows. They were cheered with the belief that if they did not rise very high they would not have very far to fall, and that there was inherently to difference among people except that which is due to external influences. They believed in the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man-a religion as old as the immortal hills and as fresh as the dawn." The first ancestor of the name of whom. we have record came to America CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 473 in 1638, with a large company from the city of London. Under the leadership of Theophilus Eaton. and the Rev. John Davenport they left England and disembarked at New Haven, Connecticut. The former was elected the first governor of the new colony, but later new settlements were formed and the Meekers, among others, became residents of Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, where Joshua Meeker, the father of our subject, was born. In the meantime settlements had been made on Manhattan island and in New Jersey by members of the family, and on the roster of Revolutionary soldiers in the latter place appeared the name of many Meekers. Joshua Meeker, the father, became one of the first settlers of Franklin county, Ohio. He married Hannah Van Brimmer, a daughter of Thomas Van Brimmer, also an honored pioneer. He was descended from the Knickerbockers that founded New Amsterdam. The maternal grandmother was Mary Le Van, and her people were natives of the French province of Lorraine. Christian Van Brimmer was one of the officers on the Half Moon, a vessel that was sent out by the East India Company to explore the new world. A few years afterward, in 1623, there were large settlements of the Dutch on Manhattan island, and there the Van Brimmers located. At a later day, as civilization moved westward, many of the family settled in Delaware and Marion counties, Ohio. Thomas Van Brimmer, an uncle of Mrs. Meeker, established the first distillery and mill in this part of the state. His ancestry was established in Millville, on the Scioto river, at what is now Warrensburg, Delaware county, and the pioneers over a distance of one hundred miles traveled to this mill to have their grist ground. Joshua Meeker, the father of our subject, secured a tract of wild land and developed a farm in the midst of the wilderness. He died during the eady boyhood of his son, ,George W. Meeker, 'but his wife long survived him, passing away about 1880, at the age of eighty years. One of his sons, AIbert P. Meeker, of Delaware county, Ohio, is Well known as a clever, popular gentleman, an entertaining conversationalist, a man of versatile. talents, who can readily and easily apply himself to any position ; who is highly esteemed by his many friends and neighbors, and has held several positions of trust and honor in his county. Like the rest of the Meekers, with only one exception, he is also a Democrat, and his party has seen fit to entrust the management of its campaign in his hands, having been but a short time ago made the chairman of the county executive committee. Another brother was Thomas V. Meeker, who in 1861, when President Lincoln issued the proclamation to the brave men of the north to come forward and crush a rebellion formed' for the dissolution of the Union, responded to the call and went to the front, enlisting in an Illinois regiment. He took part in many hard-fought battles and for bravery and meritorious conduct won a commission, which he never was permitted to use, for cruel fate made him. a prisoner of war, and in one of the loathsome prison dens of the south he succumbed to a dread disease. He had hoped. to reach home and had sent 30 474 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. the message to his brother, "Meet me in New York ;" but death came and his remains were interred in Jacksonville, Florida. George W. Meeker, whose name introduces this review, became one of the most prominent and distinguished citizens , of Columbus. He was born in this city in 1834, on High street, opposite the present courthouse, and his life record reflects credit upon the state of his nativity. He acquired his early education in the public schools and afterward attended Otterbein University, at Westerville, where he was graduated.. He also pursued a course in Bryant &. Stratton's Business College, at Buffalo, New York, becoming very proficient in mathematics and bookkeeping. He taught several terms of school and also filled the position of bookkeeper for a time. While serving in that capacity he was elected a justice of the peace, and by re-elect!on was continued in that position for a considerable period, his "even-banded justice" winning him "golden opinions from all sorts of people." He became actively interested in politics and exerted strong influence in political circles throughout the remainder of his career. Having studied law he was admitted to the bar and attained distinction by the capable manner in which he handled the litigated interests entrusted' to his care and applied to them the principles of jurisprudence. His strong mentality, his keen discrimination, and above all his patriotic devotion to the welfare of his native city, made him a capable leader, and in 1869 he was elected the chief executive of Columbus, filling that position from 187o until 1872. On the expiration of his term as mayor George W. Meeker was appointed the land commissioner of the Midland Pacific Railroad and removed to Nebraska City, Nebraska, where he became the leading spirit in numerous enterprises. He was the promoter of the first gas-works in that city, was park director and: one of the proprietors of a daily newspaper and a large general store. He also had extensive landed interests. When the Midland Pacific Railroad Company became financially embarassed he returned to Columbus, in 1876, and was thereafter prominently identified with the political and journalistic interests of the city. He was an ardent lover of literature an omnivorous and thoughtful reader and a forceful writer of most attractive style. His exhaustive and able papers published upon the constitutional relations of the Mormon religion and the power of the 'government to subvert them attracted attention among the learned and scholarly men, and: particularly among the eminent lawyers of the country, and extracts were copiously published in the leading magazines and news papers. For many years he was extensively engaged in: newspaper work as proprietor and editor and later in. legislative correspondence for leading journey nals. His history of the advent of the Dutch and Huguenots in Africa, the commingling of the two people who are known in history as the Boers and their protracted struggle for independence, is said to be more comprehensive, accurate and thorough than anything yet published on the subject. His labors upon that immense work, "The Portrait Gallery and Cyclopedia of the Dis- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 475 tinguished Men of Ohio," is said by critics to be a splendid monument to his memory. In politics Mr. Meeker was ail unfaltering and uncompromising Democrat, and through the period of nearly thirty years he was connected most of the time with the county and state committees of his party. For more than two decades he served as an officer and was intimately connected with the Democratic state executive committee; which defines the policy and directs the campaigns of that party. He was a leading spirit in controlling political movements during that period, and with the skill of a general on the field of battle he marshaled his forces and :won many a notable victory. He was closely identified with leaders like Thurman, Pendleton, Brice, Hoadley and Campbell. He established prominent Democratic headquarters in Columbus, and died while still serving as secretary of the Democratic state committee. His death occurred in 1890, when he was fifty-six years of age. George W. Meeker married Harriet Hatch, of Westerville, Ohio, and two. sons were born unto them : Garry Waldo and Claude Loraine, both of whom are represented elsewhere in this work, as a journalist, lawyer and political leader George W. Meeker left the impress of his individuality upon the history of the state. He was a man of the strongest mentality whose Mind was developed and disciplined by educational advantages, by broad reading, careful consideration and original investigation. Though men differed from him on questions of political importance, they never doubted his sincerity or his fidelity to his honest convictions. ALICE GILLESPIE-ALLEN, M. D. This lady was born June 7, 1855, on South Gift street, Columbus, the daughter of Melinda (Deardurff) Davidson, and a granddaughter of David Deardurff, who settled here in 1798. Therefore she is a direct descendant and fair representative of the old-stock pioneer, a self-made woman in every respect. At the death of her grandmother, Rachel Deardurff, when but eight years old, she was out of a home and among strangers. A lover of books, flowers, plants and animals, she found plenty of interesting. and instructive material. The pale, intellectual face with its great, liquid, eloquent eyes, attracted her teachers; who found in the eager child a thirst for knowledge from every source, and the promise of an earnest student. No interest was taken by anyone in her education, her one all consuming desire, except by herself and district-school teachers. In fact as she grew in scholarship, there sprang up envy among some, who preferred that their children should occupy the standing won by this industrious child, and obstacles were placed in the way of her advancement ; but, with her one great aim always in sight, she surmounted all, steadily working days for board and clothes, studying by candle-light and even by moon-light, many an hour that should have been for sleep. To Miss Lucilla Crane she owes some of the highest principles of character stamped indelibly upon her mind in early childhood. Reid Crane, 476 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Ella White, Lucy Watterman, Mrs. G. F. Wheeler and the ministers of old Heart Chapel each lent a moral influence never lost. As little Alice grew up, she made many friends. A love of mischief brought down many a school master's rattan or ferrule, but she often said this was only a zest for study. Her propensity for fun, caricatures and witty poems got her many a switching; but she was always a favorite at school because of her generous, affectionate nature and quick, clear perception. Her firm resolution to do everything right and never half do a job, won esteem from her employers. Her services were soon in demand. She became an excellent nurse and spent four years at the Imbecile Asylum as governess and two years at the Southern Hospital at Dayton. Having completed the common school course she entered and graduated at E. K. Ban's Commercial College. By close economy she had secured a scholarship at Oberlin College, but she was deprived of this by her mother, who had been informed that it was "only a nigger school." This was a bitter disappointment to her, but proved an incentive to greater effort. She studied and saved. In 1878 she met and married Robert Gillespie, of Dayton, a young man of great musical ability, but after a few brief happy years his bright life was cut short by consumption. When not yet thirty she found herself once more upon her own resources, with two helpless children and a widowed mother. Her undaunted courage and energy asserted themselves at once and she readily turned to nursing. She went to Indianapolis for training and returned at the request of first-class physicians to be kept busy and well paid. But the old longing for higher instruction returned. She placed herself under the preceptorship of W. J. Means, M. D. Through Professor A. E. Darby, M.D., of Mount Vernon, she entered the University of Medicine and Surgery of Cleveland, Ohio. Her rapid progress, as a student, with her indefatigable perseverance, soon, brought her to the front ranks, and in 1893 she graduated with the honors of the class, securing the grade of wo plus, with twenty-five dollars in gold for the best thesis on gynaecology, from Professor H. T. Biggar, B. A., A. M., M. D., her grade being awarded by the Ohio State Board of Censors. She at once repaired to New York, entered the Electro-Therapeutic Institute of the McCartneys. and completed the post-graduate Course. Returning to Columbus, Ohio, she took up active practice, making a specialty of nervous and women's diseases. Her remarkable success is due to clear perception, a cool head and steady hand. She is trusted and loved by her patients for honesty, integrity and sincere attachment to her profession. Today, she stands high in her chosen work, successful and well-to-do. Her opinion and professional aid are sought by the sick all over Ohio, and she is often called to other states, as her ability is easily recognized by scientific experience and work. At forty-five she mastered French and German, and in 1900 crossed the Atlantic to .take a course of scientific practical electricity from the great Apostalli, of Paris, France. She stands today equipped for any case of professional emergency, as many attest. She has had many battles with death, CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 477 but is victorious. Those who know this remarkable woman best, say that she possesses the chief characteristics. of a Napoleon, blended with the gentle, womanly graces and the tender sympathies of a Florence Nightingale. Dr. Alice Gillespie-Allen is a member of the Ohio State Medical Association, also of the American Academy of Sciences, a prominent worker in the Ladies of the Maccabees, and is a medical examiner for that order and a supreme officer. She is also a worker in the Red Cross and Order of Eastern Star. In 1895 she was married: to Dr. Oswald Allen, of Cleveland, a descendant of the old Scotch Springer-McAllen families of Fulton county, Ohio. This sturdy Scotchman: is justly proud of his able wife. She is the mother of Carol and Bernice Gillespie. Her husband has. B. A., O. S. and Frank Alleh, two sons and one daughter. Dr. Alice writes for scientific and medical papers, her pen being as ready as her wit, veracity and quick repartee. She is proud of her lineage and loves the old people of her day who are so rapidly disappearing from the old scenes. where she has erected a commodious home on South Gift street and expects to grow old on the spot where her ancestors first lived. among the Indians. ANDREW R ELLICK. Andrew Rellick, of Columbus, was born May 26, 1859, in Austria, whence he came with his parents to, America, the family landing at Baltimore on the 16th of August, 1867. They located at Crestline, Ohio, and after one year removed to 'Massillon, which became the family home, the father following his occupation of railroading. Andrew Rellick acquired his literary education in the parochial schools Massillon. He early entered the railroad service, for in his youth. he was employed as water boy for one year on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, and for an additional year on the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Road. After his boyhood services with the railroad companies he secured a position in the paper mills of Massillon, Ohio, where he was employed for two years, and he then engaged in clerking for a year and a half in a grocery stele in Massillon. Subsequently he was on a section of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad for three years. In 1878 he was an extra brakeman on the Massillon & Cleveland Railroad, holding that position for two years. and on the 30th of May, 1880, he began braking on the main line of the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus Railroad, in which capacity he served for a year and a half. He then became brakeman and baggagemaster on a passenger train, in which capacity he served' for four years, after which he was promoted to freight conductor, in June, 1885. On the 11th of August, 1891, he was made passenger conductor, filling that position until 1895, when the run was discontinued and he again became conductor on a freight train. He thus served until March 1, 1900, when he was promoted to passenger conductor, and thus has been in continuous service for the Cleveland, Akron & 478 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Columbus Railroad since 1880, a period of twenty-one consecutive years. Since 1886 he has been a member of Division 100 of the Order of Railway Conductors. On the 3d of January, 1881, Mr. Rellick was united in marriage to Miss Ella Majors, but his wife died on the 21st of March following. On the 23d of May, 1882, he wedded Miss Eva Taylor, of Hudson, Ohio, and they have three children: Grace, who was born March 12, 1883, and died October 19, 1885 ; Ethel, born April 21, 1888; and Ruth, born May 18, 1896. Mr. Rellick and family belong to. the Catholic church. He is a reliable and trustworthy man in business, and his consideration of the patrons of the road on which he runs has made him a valued representative of the line. LEWIS D. BONEBRAKE. Among those whose connection with educational interests in Ohio has been most beneficial to the state is the Hon. Lewis D. Bonebrake, now commissioner of common schools. He is an example of the boys who educate themselves and secure their own start in life,—determined, self-reliant boys, willing to work for advantages which other boys secure through inheritance, destined by sheer force of character to succeed in face of all opposition and to push to the front in one important branch of enterprise or another. As a man his business ability has been constantly manifested. in one phase or another to the improvement of the schools with which he is connected, and his advancement in educational circles has been continuous and merited. Lewis D. Bonebrake is one of the native sons of Franklin. county, his birth having occurred in Westerville, on the 23d of August, 1859. He is a son of the Rev: Daniel and Hester Ann (Bishop) Bonebrake, and traces his ancestry back through many generations to one of the name of Bonebrake who was: of Prussian birth.. It is said that he incurred imperial displeasure and therefore came to America, becoming the founder of the family on the soil of the new world. His son, Dewalt Bonebrake, was a farmer and blacksmith of Germantown, Pennsylvania, and: served as a soldier under General Washington in military operations between New York and Philadelphia. From 1801 to 1808 he resided in Athens county, Ohio, and then removed to Montgomery county, but after a year cast in his lot with the pioneers of Preble county, where he died in 1824. Among his twelve children were Daniel Bonebrake; the grandfather of our subject. He was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1797, and in 1801 was brought by his parents to Ohio He became a local and traveling minister of the United Brethren church, and gave about half of his time to his ministerial labors, while during the remainder of the time he followed farming until 1853, when he embarked in the grocery business in Lewisburg. Five of his brothers served under General Harrison in the war of 1812. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Jeremiah Mills, and among their children was the Rev. Daniel Bonebrake, who CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 479 is mentioned on another page of this volume, and: in connection with his record will be found a more detailed history of the ancestry of the family. In his early boyhood Lewis. D. Bonebrake pursued his studies in the district school near his home and when he had mastered the preliminary branches entered the high school of Westerville. He earned the money with which aid him in pursuing a college course, following school teaching or doing any kind of work that would increase his savings. At length he was graduated in the Otterbein University with the class of 1882, and then resumed his work as an educator. He has been superintendent of a number of village schools and ultimately became superintendent of the city schools of Mount Vernon, Ohio, in which capacity he was acceptably serving when elected commsioner in 1897. He has served as, county school examiner in Athens and Knox counties, and for five years was a member of the state board of examiners. So acceptably did he fill the commissionership through his first term of three years that in 1900 he was re-elected for a second term so that he will be the incumbent of the office until 1904. It would be difficult to find one who has done more practical work in behalf of the schools of Ohio than has Lewis D. Bonebrake. He has kept in touch with the progress and improved methods advanced in connection with school work and has been very successful in adapting these to his own. work. His own enthusiasm amounts almost to an inspiration: to others and his labors have indeed proven most beneficial. JOSEPH E. BEERY, M. D. Among the representatives of the medical fraternity in Columbus is numbered Joseph. E. Beery, who is one of Fairfield county's native sons:, his birth haying occurred near North Berne, on the 21st of August, 1861. His parents were Frederick and Elizabeth (Warner) Beery. On the paternal side he represents one of the old and honored families of Virginia. Two branches of the name are supposed to have emigrated from Scotland to England and thence to the new world and Pennsylvania. Daniel Beery, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Richmond, Virginia, and became a resident of Fairfield county, Ohio, where the birth of his son, Frederick Beery, occurred. The latter was a farmer by occupation, and when he had arrived at years of maturity he married Elizabeth Warner, who was also born om Fairfield county. Dr. Beery spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the county of his nativity and in the winter season was sent to the district school, where he acquired his preliminary education, obtaining a good knowledge of the cornmon branches. In the summer months he worked in the fields. After leaving the district schools he entered the National Normal University, at Lebanon, Ohio, where he prepared himself for teaching, while at intervals he was a student in that institution for four years. During the remainder of the time he followed teaching, and thus acquired the money necessary to 480 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. meet the expenses of his college course. With the desire to make the practice of medicine his life work he began reading with his brother, L. W. Beery, then of Royalton, Fairfield county, and later he entered the Miami Medical College, at Cincinnati, being graduated in 1886. Later he spent six months in the Cincinnati Hospital, and thus fortified his theoretical knowledge by practical experience. He located at Pickerington, Fairfield county, where for three years: he remained in practice and then came to Columbus, locating on West Broad street, where he is now established in a good business. In June, r887, was celebrated, the marriage of Dr. Beery and Miss Frankie Blair, of Mantua, Ohio, a daughter of Chauncey and Martha (Storey) Blair. They now have two children, Flossie and Jean Ingelow. The family occupy a fine residence at No. 802 West Broad street. Socially the Doctor is connected with York Lodge, F. & A. M. In the line of his profession he is identified with the Columbus Academy of Medicine and with the American Medical Association. He spares no effort that will advance shim in his chosen calling and make him more proficient in administering to the needs of suffering humanity. His practice is now large and of an important character and the future has undoubtedly in store for him a su ful career. GEORGE M. HOFFMAN. Among the agriculturists of Norwich township, Franklin county, Ohio who have successfully pursued their peaceful vocation for many years is George M. Hoffman, the subject of this sketch. He was born within eight miles of the city of Lancaster, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, August 5, 1840. His father, John Hoffman, was a native of Biron, Germany, born in 1808, and until his fourteenth year attended school, going from there to work as a glazier. In 1838 he came to America, sailing from Bremen to New York city, and after a voyage of sixty-five days reached the American shore. Many of his countrymen had settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and thither he went, remaining for ten or twelve years in the neighborhood, working in a tannery. His marriage took place there to Miss Elizabeth Heibeck, also a native of Germany, who had come from her native land with her family on the same boat as Mr. Hoffman. In 1848 Mr. Hoffman removed with his family to Franklin county and lived a few months in Columbus; then, buying .a tract of twenty-eight and a half acres of land in Norwich township, he took his family to that location. Here he soon added forty-two acres more, still later buying thirty-seven and one-half acres, having then a fine farm of one hund:red and eight acres. Upon the first land purchased was a log house containing two rooms. This had been built many long years before by Thomas Wilcox, one of the first settlers in that locality. The mother of our subject died at this farm from an accident upon the Pan Handle Railroad. Mr. Hoffman, senior, married a 'second time, choos- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 481 ing for his wife Margaret Spicer. His death took place in 1888, on the old place in where he had lived for years. He was a Whig in early days, but became a Democrat later in life. His religious belief connected him with the Lutheran church. The children of our subject's parents were: Andrew, of Norwick township, who married first Caroline Fether and secondly Mary Kellar; George M., our subject; and Elizabeth, who married Nicholas Huber. Until lie had reached his eighth year our subject lived in Pennsylvania and attended the schools. of Lancaster county. The family removal to Norwich township took place then and his education was completed in Franklin county. He assisted his father in agricultural pursuits until his majority, then rented the home farm, and in 1888 bought the place where he has since resided, with the exception of three years spent upon a tract of eighty-two acres which he bought, but successfully sold.. In 1900 Mr. Hoffman added fifty-eight and a half acres and now has a fine farm of one hundred and seventy-nine acres. Mr. Hoffman was married to Miss Catherine Geyer, who had been born in New York, in 1841. . She was the daughter of John C. Geyer, born in Breman, Germany, in 1813, who had married Margaret Smith, born in Germany, in 1818, but at that time a resident of New York. In 1850 the Geyer family came to Franklin county, where Mr. Geyer engaged in his trade of wagonmaking and also in gardening, living until 1883, the mother living until 1898. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman is a large and prosperous one, although, in late years, gaps have been made by death. They are: John G., a resident of Iowa; Andrew, of Iowa; Anna E., George M., Henry, John N., Edward C. and Charles Frederick, living, and Margaret, Adam and Edwin George, deceased. Mr. Hoffman is well and favorably known through the township. He is a stanch Democrat, and has been active in the promotion of the principles of that party. In his religious belief he belongs to the Lutheran church, in which he is a valued member. He is looked upon by his neighbors as one of the substantial citizens of Franklin county. NATHAN A. SCOFIELD. Though he traces his lineage on the paternal side to Germany, the well known citizen of Norwich,. Franklin county, whose name is above, is distinctively a son of Ohio. William Scofield, his father, was born near Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, in September, 183o, and when he was eight years of age he was taken by his parents to a farm near Hilliard, Franklin county. His education in the common schools near his home and brought up to the hard but healthful life of a farmer boy: In school he took. special interest in mathematics, in which he made unusual progress. The country was new and about everything necessary to be done to redeem a farm from the wilderness and put it under profitable cultivation was yet undone so far as his father's farm was concerned' when he was old enough to lend a hand in the 482 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. work, and being one of the elder boys he was kept from school in the interest of the farm. His father owned five hundred acres of land, and the amount of work its improvement involved can scarcely be comprehended now. He went through all the experien:ces of pioneer life and took part in every kind of hard, manual labor involved in all the processes of clearing and of farming on a large scale. Mr. Scofield married Hannah Planck, who was born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1833, a daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Wilkins) Planck. Joseph Planck, who was born in Germany, came to the United States when young. After his marriage Mr. Scofield bought fifty acres of his father's farm. After the death .of his parents the remainder of the farm., aggregating two hundred and ten acres, was sold and the proceeds were divided among five heirs, each, of whom had previously bought fifty acres of the original tract. Mr. Scofield remained on his farm until 1864, when he sold it to his uncle, Benjamin Scofield, and bought a farm of one hundred and thirty-two acres in the southern part of Norwich township, which he sold in 1874 to Andrew Milliken. He then removed to' Memphis, Missouri, and from there to Illinois. where for a short time he owned and lived on a farm, but a year and a half after his departure from Ohio he returned to Norwich township and bought a farm of one hundred and fifty-eight acres, four miles northeast of Hilliard where he lived until his death, which occurred August 18, 1801. He is buried in Wesley Chapel cemetery, Norwich township. His wife died in 1869, and he then married Letitia Wright, who still survives him. Always energetic and industrious, he made the success of life which crowns the efforts of an honest man possessed of these qualities. He was a prominent and helpful member of the German Baptist church. Politically he was a Republican and was not without influence in his party, having been repeatedly solicited, but steadfastly refused, to accept township office. The children of William and Hannah (Planck) Scofield were : Nathan A., who was born near Hilliard, Franklin county, Ohio, February 5, 1853 ; Mary, who married Frank Heiser; Joseph W., who lives at Hilliard.; and Martha, who is now Mrs. Levi Drumheller. Nathan A. Scofield attended the public schools near his home until he was nineteen years of age, and by that time had acquired a good practical knowledge of farming. He was married in Norwich township, March 27, 1872, to Miss Arla Milliken, who was born in Madison county, Ohio, March 22, 1854, a daughter of Andrew Milliken. The children of Nathan A. and Aria Ann (Milliken) Scofield are: Alberta Dean, who married Byron Rogers, of Norwich township; Mattie, who is the wife of Leroy Dobyns; and Walter and Minor, Who are still members of their father's household. For twenty-two years Mr. Scofield rented land in Norwich township, he prospered and at the end of that time was able to buy his present farm from his father's heirs. He now owns one hundred and sixty-four acres. He sold twenty acres of land formerly owned by his father, part of a tract of one hundred and fifty-eight acres, to the city of Columbus to be used in con- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 483 nection with the construction of a dam. A man of influence in his community, he is yet without political ambition and has no desire for public office, but is an active and zealous 'Democrat. He has served two terms as assessor of Norwich township. In 1896 he was appointed to fill a vacancy as trustee, at the expiration of which time he was elected for a term of three years. He is one of the prominent Masons of Norwich township. NICHOLAS P. DAVIDSON, M. D. Among those who devote their time and energies to the practice of medicine and have gained a leading place in the ranks of the profession is Dr. Nicholas Perry Davidson, who is now successfully engaged in practice at Hilliard. His father, Nicholas Davidson, was born in Dorchester county, Maryland, in 1813, and was a son of William Davidson, a planter and slave owner, whose ancestors were Virginians and of Scotch descent. The father was reared on a plantation and. received a good common school education. In early life he learned the carpenter's trade, and when a young man came to Ohio, locating in Zanesville, where he conducted a grocery store for a short time. There he married Miss Sarah Linn, a native of that place. Soon after his marriage he moved to Perry county, where he engaged in farming, contracting and building, which was more suited to his abilities than commercial pursuits. As soon as old enough to be of any assistance his sons began to aid in the farm work. The family made all their own clothing, the linen being spun from flax raised upon the farm. The father was a great reader and devoted, all his leisure time to his books. His wife, who was a member of the Methodist church and a devout Christian, died in 1857, and in 1862 he married Hannah Hayden, a daughter of Jacob Hayden. He continued to follow farming and contracting until his death, which occurred in the spring of 1880. He, too, was an earnest and consistent member of the Methodist church, in which he was class leader and steward. Politically he was a Jacksonian Democrat until the Civil war, when he joined the Republican party, though he was always an advocate of Jacksonian principles. By his first marriage he had eleven children, namely : George and who died in infancy; Elizabeth Ann, now Mrs. Carroll; William Henry, deceased ; Sarah Adeline, wife of Robert Moore; James and Mary C. who both died in childhood; Nicholas P., our subject; Lewis Linn; Louisa V., widow of David Ball: and. Charles F., of Emporia, Kansas. By the second union there were four children : Leonard B.; Ellsworth, deceased; Hannah, wife of Charles Kefaber; and Montford. deceased. The mother of these children is still living and makes her home in Fairfield county, Ohio. Dr. Davidson was born on the l0th of October, 1849, in Sunday Creek township, Perry county, one mile east of Oakfield, and began his education in the district schools of that locality. At the age of sixteen he went to live with his eldest sister in Clay county, Illinois, and while there' attended school 484 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. two years and taught four years. Returning to Ohio, in 1872, he took a scientific course at the Lebanon Normal School, and subsequently successfully engaged in teaching, for six years in Fairfield, Montgomery and Hocking counties, this state, being principal of a school of four departments during the last three years of that time. He then took up the study of medicine with Dr. W. G. Dawson, of Gibisonville, Ohio, with whom he spent four years, and later attended lectures at the Columbus Medical College, where he was graduated in 1882. He made his owns way through college, earning at intervals all the money that he needed for the expenses of the course. After his graduation he engaged in practice at Marysville, Ohio, for three and a half years, and then "hung out his shingle" in Hilliard., where he has since made his home. Here he has built up a very extensive practice. The Doctor was married, in February, 1877, to Miss Anna Jeanette Shepperd, of Xenia, Ohio. Formerly he was a member of the Methodist church, and still belongs to Norwich Lodge, No. 385, I. 0. 0. F. In his political affiliations he is a stanch Republican. He is now a member of this town council of Hilliard, and has served as health officer for many years Fraternally he holds membership in the American Medical Association and also the Ohio State and the Ohio Central Medical Associations. He is a close and thorough student, a man of deep research, and his investigations into the science of medicine and his skillful application of the knowledge he has thereby obtained has won him a place in the foremost ranks of the medical fraternity. He is the author of a five-hundred-page volume entitled "Classification of Surgical Operations and Medical Miscellany." Being a highly educated than and an excellent conversationalist, he has become very popular and makes many friend's. D. N. KINSMAN, M. D. Among the professional men of Columbus, Ohio, the subject of this sketch, D. N. Kinsman, a physician of ability and standing, is recognized as one of the tried and trustworthy representatives of his class. He was born in Heath, Massachusetts, in May, 1834, from an ancestry stretching back to the time of the Crusades!. He was permitted to attend excellent schools and for seven years taught in the schools of Circleville. Following this he attended ;lectures at the Medical College of Ohio, at which he graduated in 1863, and has been a successful and popular practitioner and useful citizen ever since. He has had the satisfaction of watching the wonderful growth of the city of his adoption, and in all the public enterprises he has borne a part. For three years Dr. Kinsman held the professorship of the diseases of women and children in Starling Medical College and since that time has hald the chair of medical practice in the Columbus Medical College. He is now the chief of the medical staff of the Protestant Hospital and professor of practice of medicine in the Ohio Medical University. Dr. Kinsman is a CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 485 physician by nature, kind and benevolent in disposition, and his mere presence seems to cause a measure of healing. The marriage of pr. Kinsman took place in 1857 to Miss Isabella Steven, of Utica, Ohio, and his . family consists of three daughters : Mrs. G. M. Waters, Belle and Louise. Apart from his profession, Dr. Kinsman has been a member of the Ohio State Live Stock Commission since its formation, and for five years has been its secretary. He holds a high position in the Masonic order, having received of the degrees of the blue lodge in 1857, the commandery degrees in 1867, those of the Scottish rite in 1877, and in 1885 the thirty-third. degree, and has been the presiding officer in all of these bodies. No one could stand higher in the esteem of his fellow citizens than does Dr. Kinsman. He has so thoroughly gained the affection and regard of his patients that they regard him as a friend as well as a physician and are glad to do him honor. CHARLES SAVOY AMMEL. The fortunes of war, which after the struggle between the north and the south left many progressive northern men in the southern states, also brought many enterprising southern men north of Mason and Dixon's line. Charles Savoy Ammel, a leading business man of Columbus, was among the number. He came to this city in 1864 as a prisoner of war, was paroled and has since remained a resident of the capital, where he has attained prominence in business, military and Masonic circles. Captain Ammel is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and the representaive of a family that has won distinction in the military service of France. His father, Major Philip Ammel, was a native of Lyons, France, and served as commandant in the French army—a rank equivalent to that of major in America. His people were all in the army and had died in the service of their country through many generations. On account of political complications Major Ammel was forced to leave France and made his way across the Atlantic to New York, whence he afterward removed to Baltimore, Maryland. However, he returned during the French-Prussian. war and died in his native land. He married: Francoise Welkee, a member of an old French family. In his native city Captain Ammel pursued his education. and when the country became involved in Civil war the military spirit inherited from his ancestors found him a sergeant in the Fifty-third, now the Fifth Maryland Regiment. During the 19th of April service he was paroled as a lieutenant and when Baltimore was .taken by General Ben Butler he went into Confederate service as a lieutenant in the Maryland. line. Prior to the war he had been a member of the militia, with the rank of sergeant, so that military training and experience well fitted him for the duties which he assumed at the out-break of hostilities. He participated in all of the engagements in the valley 486 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. of the Shenandoah, with General "Stonewall" Jackson's army, and while serving with the army of the Shenandoah he was four times wounded, and was captured in a skirmish at Oak Hall, Virginia, in 1864. As a prisoner of war he was then sent to Columbus, where he was paroled, and thus becoming a resident of the city he has since maintained his home here and has risen to a position in the foremost rank of its leading business men. Colonel Ammel was engaged in the music business from 1865 until 1876, and during much of that time was also manager of the Comstock opera house. In 1876 he became manager for the Alice Oates Opera Company and supintended that popular organization of seventy people until 1879, repeatedly visiting the leading cities of the country. In 1879 he entered into business relations. with the M. C. Lilley Company, extensive manufacturers of military goods and regalias, in fact doing the largest business of this kind in the Unted States. Mr. Ammel became a representative of the military, Masonic and band departments, of which he is manager. His efforts in this line have been very satisfactory and gratifying to the house and profitable to himself. He is approachable, genial and always courteous,—qualities which make him popular wherever he goes and have insured his success in business. The Colonel has a wide acquaintance in Masonic circles and is himself a prominent representative of the craft. He was made a Mason in Goodale Lodge, No. 172, F. & A. M., of Columbus, in 1867, and in 1871 he took the degrees of Chivalric Masonry in Mount Vernon Commandery, No. 1. K. T., in which he is a past commander and has filled the office of captain general for twenty-four years. He was the organizer and was the first high priest of Temple Chapter, No. 155, R. A. M. He became a Scottish-rite Mason and received the thirty-second degree in February, 1874, and is a charter member of the Scottish-rite bodies of the valley of Columbus, as well as a charter member of Aladdin Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a charter member of Junia Lodge, and is also identified with the Knights of Pythas and Royal Arcanum. He is a member of the Columbus Commercial Travelers' Association and was one of the incorporators of the United Commercial Travelers' Association for the United States and a member of the supreme council. Military matters have also commanded the interest and attention of Colonel Ammel, who was the organizer of the old Fourteenth Regiment of Ohio National Guards, and was called "the father of the regiment."In 1876 he was commissioned captain of Company A, and was also mustering officer of the regiment, in which capacity he mustered himself in as captain and also discharged himself from the service. After six years' service as captain he resigned on account of pressing business duties. During this time he was with his company engaged in action brought about by the strike among the Ohio coal miners. In 1898, during the Spanish American war, Captain Ammel organized the Fourteenth Veteran Reserve, of which he became lieutenant colonel, while George D. Freeman was colonel, and though the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 487 regiment was never called to the front about three hundred men were taken from its ranks to fill up the quota of the old Fourteenth, then known as the Fourth Regiment. In politics the Colonel is a Republican. In 1876 he organized a regiment of twelve companies, numbering nearly one thousand, four hundred men. Of this regiment he became the colonel. The organization was the first fancy drilled and uniformed political body in the country, and were in great demand for political displays all over the state. In Columbus Colonel Ammel was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Seltzer, daughter of John Seltzer, who was a native of Columbus and for many years was a prominent music dealer of the city. He occupied a high position in musical circles and spent his time, money and energies in securing the best musical talent to give entertainment. He was also instrumental in securing particularly efficient teachers and thus did much. to cultivate the musical taste of the city, and win for Columbus its justly deserved. reputation of being one of the leading musical centers of the country. He married Miss Nannie Garner, a native of Columbus. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ammel has been born one daughter, Queen Vidette, who is a graduate of the Columbus high school and is now the wife of Dr. F. L. Stillman, formerly of Portsmouth, Ohio, but at the present time a resident of the capital city. During his long residence in Columbus Colonel Ammel has gained a very large circle of friends. He has been a recognized leader in many movements for the city's good and his worth is widely acknowledged by many who know him not only in Columbus but wherever he has traveled. WILLIAM C. CARL. A prominent and popular young farmer of Prairie township, Franklin county, Ohio, is William C. Carl, the subject of this sketch. He is. of German descent, his grandfather, Ludwig Carl, having been born in Schwartzberg, Sundershausen, Germany, where he followed the trade of shoemaker. The latter came to the United States in 1840, sailing from Bremen to New York, passing sixty-five days on the ocean, and arriving March 3. Locating in Columbus on the ground now occupied as Third street, he opened a little shop, but in a short time, probably in 1845, settled on sixty acres of land, built a log house and stable, and felt independent. No nails were used in the building of these houses,—only wooden pins. From the window it was possible then to shoot wild turkeys to supply the larder. Grandfather Carl lived to be ninety years old, dying in 1876, his wife surviving until July, 1884, when she was eighty-four years old. Both of them were members of the Lutheran church. The father of our subject had one. sister, Paulina, who is the wife of August Sibert, of this township: He was born in Germany November 17, 1822. He remained at school until he was sixteen years old, coming to 488 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. America with his family when about sixteen years old and obtaining employment first in the Neil Hotel, but later going to the farm with his father amd assisting him in the clearing and development of it. Christian Carl, the father of our subject, married Annie Mary Selbert, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, and came to the United States when an infant. She was a daughter of John Selbert, who conducted a farm near Gahanna, Ohio, and became a prominent man in that section. Mr. Carl inherited his father's land and added one hundred and six acres to it and built the pleasant brick home on it in 1882, dying here February 2, 1896. and the mother dying .July 20, 1898. Mr. Carl had been a Democrat all his life, and had served as school director and filled other offices. His choice of religious denominations was the Free Protestant church, on Mound street, Columbus, while the mother clung to the Lutheran faith, in which she had been reared. The children born to them were: Augusta, the wife of Simon Feder, of Brown township; Louisa, who is Mrs. Adam Trish, of Norwich township; John, who married Lena Deitch, and resides in Prairie township: Isaac, who married Alberta Dougherty, and resides in Prairie township; Elizabeth, who is Mrs. George A. Geyer, and resides in this township; Julia who is Mrs. Rudolph Hiltburner, and is a resident of Brown township; Louis W., who is a veterinary surgeon of Columbus; William, who is our subject; and Caroline, who died at the age of seventeen. Our subject was born in the log house on his present farm, August 1, 1869, and attended the district school, his first teacher being Miss Eva Kellar. At sixteen he left school and engaged in work on the farm. He was married on October 11, 1894, to Miss Dora Parker, a daughter of Stephen and Lucinda Parker, of this township, and to this union were born Marie Lucy and Helen Jennette. Mrs.. Carl died June 13, 1901. After marriage our subject settled on forty acres of the land his grandfather purchased so long ago. Here he has very successfully pursued farming and has neat, commodious and comfortable surroundings. Mr. Carl cast his first vote for President Cleveland, voting politically as did his fathr and grandfather. Socially he is connected with the I. O. O. F., of Columbus; and takes an active interest in the organization. CLAUD E. MEEKER. The history of a state as well as that of a nation is chiefly the chiefly the chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by that of its representative citizens, and yield's its tribute of admiration and respect for the genius, learning or virtues of those whose works and actions constitute the record of a state's prosperity and pride; and their characters, as exemplified in probity and benevolence, kindly virtues and integrity in the affairs of life, are ever affording worthy examples for emulation and valuable lessons of incentive. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 489 From the beginning of the nineteenth century the name of Meeker has been inseparably interwoven: with the history of Ohio, and the subject of this review has been an active factor in political circles and is now a most prominent business man of Columbus. . He was born. in the capital city, in 1861, and the history of his ancestry is given in connection with the life record of his father, the Hon. George W. Meeker, on another page of this work. He gave up the study of civil engineering to enter the field of journalism, and for some time his was a well known name in journalistic circles. He was first employed as a reporter on a paper in his native city and afterward. went to Cincinnati, where he obtained a 'similar situation in connection with the Enquirer, which he represented for fifteen years, rapidly winning advancement. As a political editor, reporter and special correspondent he developed unusual ability and talent. He also became special correspondent to the New York World. His popularity as a reporter was evidenced by the people of Cincinnati, who at the celebrated church fair voted to him a magnificent gold-headed cane as the most popular reporter of the city. As a political. editor he exerted a wide influence in Ohio. Nothing can measure the effect of the newspaper, but its power is widely recognized and acknowledged as a factor in molding public opinion and shaping public action, and in this way Claude Meeker became a leader in political circles. In 1889 James E. Campbell became a candidate for governor and was elected to that office. During the campaign Mr. Meeker accompanied him on his tour through the state and made many able addresses, holding the attention and convincing the minds of his hearers. Governor Campbell attributed his election in a large manner to Mr. Meeker's reports and the Cincinnati Enquirer, and on assuming the office appointed him to the position of private secretary, in which capacity he served from 1890 until 1892. The following year he was appointed President Cleveland United States consul at Bradford, England, where he served, in a most creditable manner, until 1897. This is one of the most omportant commercial consulates on account of the exports from America to Bradford, and involves great work and responsibility on the part of the consual, whose staff numbers nine assistants. In 1897 Mr. Meeker returned. to. his native land and once more took up his abode in Columbus, where he joined his brother in the establishment of the firm of Meeker Brothers, investment brokers. They are the leading. firm in their line in Columbus, and have special telegraph connection with New York and Chicago. Their business has assumed mammoth proportions and has brought to them gratifying returns. In 1890 Mr. Meeker was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Parks, a daughter of Dr. J. M. Parks, of Hamilton, Ohio. Her father was one of the best-known physicians in the Miami valley throughout a long period,. being freely accorded the leadership in his profession. He was also highly esteemed as a citizen and a man of sterling worth. He died in Hamilton in 1890, at the advanced age of eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Meeker are the parents of three children—Marjorie, Campbell and Marion, all of whom 31 490 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. were born in England. Mr. and Mrs. Meeker attend the Episcopalian church, and he holds membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order Elks, also the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic fraternity. Kindness, amiability and courtesy not only characterize his- social relations, but are a marked feature in his business life. It is not because of special prominence in public affairs that he has, and is justly entitled to, the respect and confidence of his fellow men, for his personal qualities are such as to make men esteem and honor him. NATHANIEL SMITH. Nathaniel Smith, an enterprising farmer of Prairie township, represents one of the honored pioneer families of Ohio. His grandfather, Philip Smith was: born in Virginia and wedded Miss Nancy Keller, of Parkersburg, that state, whose ancestors came from Germany to the new world. Removing to Ohio, the grandfather of our subject located in Athens county and afterward went to Auglaize county. His death occurred at St. Mary's, Ohio He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and lived an an upright, consistent life. His children were: Abner, who died in St. Mary's, Ohio; Francis Patty, who became the wife of Foster Stedman and died in Missouri, Phillip, who died at Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Sarah, deceased; Amon, who died in Topeka, Kansas; Isaac, who died in St. Mary's, Ohio; and Elias, of Athens county, Ohio. Francis Smith, the father of our subject, was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, in 1796, and with his parents came to Ohio at an early day. He was reared in Athens county, acquiring a common-school education, and early became familiar with the work of the home farm. He was there married to Miss Mary (Polly) Ashton, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Christmas day of 1800. Her father, Abner Ashton, was a glass blower of that city, and was there married to Nancy Lewis, who was born in Philadelphia. Her parents died when she was quite small and she was reared by Stephen Girard, a millionaire philanthropist. Abner Ashton was of an old and highly respected family of Pennsylvania, his ancestors having come from England to America. They settled at Ashton's Hope, near the boundary line between Maryland and Pennsylvania, and through several generations representatives of the name have been prominent in the Keystone state. After their marriage the parents of our subject resided in Athens county until 1845, when they took up their abode north of Columbus, in Franklin county. In 1854, however, the father went to Davis county, Iowa, and resided with his sons in that state. He died at the home of his youngest son, Isaac, who is now living in Colorado, whither he removed in 1868. The mother of our subject also died there, in 1882. Isaac Smith attempted to go to Colorado during the Civil war, but on account of guerrillas was forced to return to Iowa. The father of our subject was a Democrat, always getting his support to that party. Unto Francis Smith and his wife were born ten CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 491 children: Nancy became the wife of Alexander Francis, a soldier in the Mexican war, and after his death she married Aaron Arm, her home being now in Ashgrove, Illinois; Lydia is the wife of Jeremiah French, of Jackson county, Ohio; Sally is the wife of David Minton, of Oregon; Hester married Nathan Benjamin, who was a soldier in the Mexican war, and is now living in Missouri; Nathaniel was the next of the family; Lovisa is the wife of Jacob Kiner, of North Columbus ; Abner is living in Missouri; Phillip died in Colorado, in 1876; Hameline resides in Missouri ; and Isaac makes his home in Laramie county, Colorado. Nathaniel Smith, whose name introduces this .record, was born in Lee township, Athens county, Ohio, May 6, 1827, and there remaine t until eighteen years of age. He was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life, living in the forests, where he aided in grubbing the stumps, splitting rails and chopping wood. The house was a hewed-log cabin, eighteen by twenty-four feet, containing two rooms. The building was heated by a fireplace, on which could be laid a four-foot log, and the smoke found egress through a mud and stick chimney, and the first school which he attended was three miles from his home. The benches were made by splitting a small tree in two. Portions of the trunk were then stood upon wooden legs and served as seats for the scholars. The writing desk was formed by placing a board upon pins driven into the wall, and the immense fireplace occupied one end of the room. His first teacher was a Mr. Martin, who was a capable instructor for those days. When the school hours were over Mr. Smith aided in doing the chores at home, a part of his duty being to bring up the cows. They would sometimes stray miles away, so that he would be days in finding them. In his boyhood he was very fond of hunting, and was a sure shot. Wild game of all kinds abounded, the settlers often killing wild cats, wolves, bears, panthers, deer and wild fowls, the last two furnishing many a meal. Squirrels were so numerous as to be a pest. Mr. Smith has killed deer in this locality and greatly enjoyed his hunting trips. Although now seventythree years of age, he is an excellent shot with the rifle, and while hunting for the cows he always took his gun and a trusty hunting dog with him. Wild hogs were also numerous, and mink, beaver and Coons were frequently shot. When eighteen years of age Mr. Smith came to Franklin county, where he has since made his home. He was married on the 4th of February, 1849, to Miss Amanda Kiner, who was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, May 26, 1831. She is a daughter of Caspar Kiner and a granddaughter of Conrad Kiner. The great-grandfather was Michael Keinadt, a native of Germany, born in the town of Winterlingen, in 1720. He came to America about 1740 and located at New Holland, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he married Margaret Dillar, a native of that place and a daughter of Jacob Dillar, who was horn in France and fled to England on account of religious persecutions. There Mr. Dillar was married, and in 1840 he came to, the United States, settling in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he died. Michael 492 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Keinadt removed from Pennsylvania to Augusta county, Virginia, accompanied by his wife and children, with the exception of his son, Conrad Kiner, who remained in the Buckeye state. The family took up their abode near what was then called World's End, and the great-grandfather of Mrs. Smith died in 1796. He served as a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and five of his sons: were also loyal defenders of the American colonies, namely: George Adam, Conrad, George Michael, Martin and Jacob. The descendants of Michael Keinadt are scattered over every state and territory in the Union. In the Civil war some were members of the Southern army, others fought for the Union. The spelling of the name has undergone considerable change as years have passed, the grandfather simplifying the orthography to Kyner, while the present generation have substituted an "i" for the "y."Michael Keinadt had thirteen children, ten sons and three daughters. Conrad Kyner, the grandfather of Mrs. Smith, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1755, and married Margaret Stambaugh, who was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania. They took up their abode in that county, and the grandfather passed away March 11, 1816, his death resulting from a fall from a horse. His son, Caspar Kiner, the father of Mrs. Smith, was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, in 1796, and was there reared as a farmer boy. He married Elizabeth Mock, who was born in 1800 and is a daughter of Michael and Margaret (Whissinger) Mock. Her father was born in Germany, while his wife was a native of Scotland. In the early '00s he removed with his family to Clinton township, Franklin county, where he spent his remaining days. For seven years after his marriage Caspar Kiner resided upon the old homestead farm in Pennsylvania and in 1825 came to Franklin county, Ohio, where he rented land for a short time. He then removed to Coshocton county and purchased three hundred acres, upon which he lived for seven or eight years. On the expiration of that period he returned to this county and bought seventy-five acres of land in Clinton township, near North. Columbus, where, in the midst of the forest, he erected a log cabin. He became a prosperous farmer and spent his remaining days on his homestead there, his death occurring. in the spring of 1961. His wife died August I I, 1873. Their children were ten in number: Michael who married Sarah Meggs and died in Clinton township; Margaret Ann, !the deceased wife of Solomon Hays; Jacob, who married Louisa Smith, a sister of our subject; Martha Jane. the deceased wife of William Ream; Lucinda, who became the wife of Lafayette Layzell, but has now passed away; Mrs. Smith; Mary, deceased; Elizabeth, who became the second wife of Lafayette Layzell; Henry, who' Married Catherine Denune and is living in Clinton township; and John, who married Pauline Denune and is now deceased. When Mrs. Smith was six years of age her parents removed to what is now North Columbus, where she grew to womanhood. She has attemded the Clinton double-log schoolhouse. which was: three miles from her home Among her first teachers were Melissa Peck and Nancy Stiles. Her father CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 493 afterward gave to the township for a. term, of eleven years a plat of land on his farm, on which was erected a schoolhouse, and therein Mrs. Smith completed her education. On the 4th. of February, 1849, she gave. her hand in marriage to Nathaniel Smith, and they began their domestic life in a rented log house. He had one horse and a few cows and hogs. Their household furniture consisted of several chairs and a meager supply of dishes, together with a few necessary articles of furniture. Their meals were cooked over a fireplace. Mr. Smith had no: capital but an honest heart and willing hands, but with the assistance of his good wife he has. steadily worked his way upward. The first season he operated land on the share, but the succeeding autumn he purchased two acres of land in Clinton township. He built a round-log cabin, which for seven years. was his home, and on the expiration of that period he :sold the property and removed to Davis county, Iowa, 1n 1855. The journey was made with two wagons, each drawn by a team of horses, but on the way two. of the horses' were killed in Indiana by falling tree. Mr. and Mrs.. Smith had with them their three children and a cousin, Horace Smith. They had stopped for the noon-day meal and had just set down to eat when they heard the tree falling. They just managed to get out of the way when the tree struck the ground, killing the horses. They were twenty-eight days. upon the journey, reaching their destination on the 26th of November, 1855. They camped out all along the way. with the exception of one night, and without other adventure than the one mentioned at length reached their journey's end. Mr. Smith and his family, however, were not pleased with the country, and in February they returned to Ohio by rail, being snow-bound east of Chicago for a time. On again reaching this state Mr. Smith engaged in the butchering business, carrying on business as a huxter and also purchased a threshing machine, which he operated during the harvesting seasons for nine years. In the meantime he purchased a part of his present farm, becoming owner in the spring of 1863 and taking possession thereof in the fall of 1864. This was wild swamp land, but he has developed it into a fine farm, comprising sixty-seven acres of rich land. During the first winter the family lived in a log house and. then erected a frame residence, which was destroyed by fire in 1878. It was then. replaced by the preset brick residence. The fire occurred on the 5th of June, and on the 5th of August the family took possession of their new abode. In the meantime they resided in the barn. Mr. Smith has labored untiringly for the improvement of his property and now has a valuable place, his land yielding to him a rich return for the care and labor he bestows upon it.   Unto our subject and his Wife have been born six children: John C., of Prairie township, who married Eunice Calhoun and has eight children; Charles W., who married Eva Seward and is. now deceased; Elizabeth Mahala, now the wife of Henry Pillow, of Columbus; Polly A., wife of Josephus Scott. of Columbus, by whom she has one child; Emma Jane, the wife of Wallace McDowell, of Columbus ; Olivette, who married John W. Derflinger, 494 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. of Columbus, and has one child. Mr. Smith is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of Galloway, and in politics he is independent. He remembers distinctly the stirring times of the Harrison campaign and the time when he cast his first presidential vote, supporting James K. Polk. He has very vivid recollections of the city of Columbus. W.hen he came to the county, in 1844, there was not even a gravel road in the capital. The corporation line east and west extended from the river to Third street and from Broad street to the courthouse. The capitol building was a small brick structure at the corner of High and State streets. All east of Third street was farm land, and there was a big pond where the Central market is now located, while the north market occupies the site of what was the old city grave yard and a garden was seen where is now found the Union depot. Great changes have occurred throughout the years which have come 'and gone since that time, and Mr. Smith feels a just and commendable pride in the advancement, made by his adopted county. He is numbered among its honored pioneers well worthy of representation in this volume. RICHARD E. JONES. Few residents of Columbus are more widely known than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. This is due to his prominence in business, in social circles and through his work along philanthropic lines. He commands in a marked degree the confidence and esteem of all who know him and enjoys the warm regard of a host of friends. His life has been a busy, useful and honorable one and has been crowned with a rich measure of success as a fitting reward of his labors and well directed energies. On the 10th of August, 1853, in Liverpool, England; occurred the birth of Richard E. Jones. His parents were of Welsh lineage. At the age of nineteen years he left the land of his birth and crossed the ocean to the new world. He had formerly been apprenticed to the carpenter's trade and here he completed the mastery of the business and was engaged in the construction of the buildings of the Dennison University, also of the old union depot, in 1874. In 1877 he Went west in company with Lieutenant George Ruhlen, assisted in the erection of Fort Custer in Montana, just a year after the massacre of Custer and his troops by the Indians. For a year Mr. Jones remained in the west and then returned to 'Columbus. Soon afterward he entered into partnership with his brother in the lumber business in Corning, Ohio, the connection between them being maintained for seven years. In 1887 he joined Mr. Webb in the, purchase of an undertaking establishment, formerly owned by Joseph B. Stuart. A year later he purchased Mr. Webb's interest and since that time he has conducted the business alone, now having the patronage of many of the most prominent and influential families in the capital city. HIs undertaking establishment is one of the best stocked and equipped in the city and his rooms are excellently arranged for the display of his goods, which are CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 495 of the latest and most modern design. His office is located on Broad and Third streets, this giving him the advantage of an excellent situation. Mr. Jones has traveled extensively, having visited many points of interest in Europe and America, but he has no desire to change his place of residence, being content to make Columbus his home. As a citizen he is public-spirited and progressive, manifesting a commendable interest in everything pertaining, to the substantial upbuilding and welfare of his adopted state. Many organizations have received his support and assistance. He is particularly interested in music and aided in the formation of the first Eisteofod, acting as its president in 1898, which was the most successful and popular one ever held in Ohio. For two terms he was president of the Ohio State Funeral Directors Association, and has served as eminent commander of Mount Vernon Commandery No. 1, K. T., and is past grand of the order of Odd Fellows. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias and other fraternal organizations. At the time of the Franklinton centennial celebration he was a member of the fireworks committee and labored most earnestly for the success of the celebration. He was appointed a trustee of the Boy's Industrial School at Lancaster, Ohio, by Governor Bushnell, and by Governor Nash was reappointed to the same position for a term of five years. He is now president of the board and and is closely in touch with its work and gives it his hearty endorsement, support and co-operation. He was a member of Governor Nash's party on the recent trip to California on the occasion of the launching of the battleship Ohio. In 1879 Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Cadwallader, of Columbus, who died in 1897, leaving one son, Bertram George. For his second wife he chose Mrs. Nellie Evans, of Columbus, a daughter of William and Mary Jones. His life has ever been manly, his actions sincere, his purpose honorable, and no native-born American citizen has a deeper interst in the welfare of the country and state than has Mr. Jones. PHILO HOPKINS OLMSTED. The Olmsted family was early prominent in New England. Francis Olmsted fought for. American independence in the Revolutionary war and was present at the surrender of Burgoyne. He received a wound in battle, for which he drew a pension until the end of his days. He married Chloe Case, and in 1808 came from his old home near Hartford, Connecticut, to Franklin county, Ohio, and bought land at Blendon Four Corners, just above the present site of Minerva Park, where he died in 1828. He had five sons and two daughters. Philo Hopkins Olmsted, familiarly known as Colonel Olmsted, had a notable career at Columbus, Ohio. He was born in Connecticut in 1793, and died in Franklin county, Ohio, February 20, 1870. He was one of the early settlers in Franklin county, having come with his father's family at the date mentioned above. He gained a fair education for the pioneer days, 496 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. and at the age of seventeen, in 181o, entered the office of the Western Inteeligencer, at Worthington, of which a man named Griswold was the editor and publisher and of which his father was one of the proprietors. In 1814, after the seat of government had been established on the bank of the Scioto river, a mile east of Franklinton, the printing office was removed from Worthington to Columbus, and the paper was rechristened the Columbus Gazette. Mr. Olmsted maintained his relation to the paper and soon bought out Griswold's interest in it, becoming its proprietor and publisher. It was a strong Whig journal and its local position at the seat of government made it an important element in directing the policy of the state and imparted to its editor an influence and prominence rarely attained by members of the profession in after years. This prominence Mr. Olmsted maintained for a series of years, beingrepeatedly appointed and reappointed "printer to the state." The paper was later merged in a daily paper established at Columbus by George Nashee, Judge Bailhache and Colonel Olmsted, and the latter's interest was transferred about 1832 to Joseph B. Gardner. Colonel Olmsted acquired his title honorably in the war of 1812-14 He enlisted in the cavalry organization recruited at Columbus, was elected its colonel and started to lead it to the seat of war by way of Sandusky; but when within one day's ride of his immediate destination he was met by a courier sent to announce the end of the war. He retained his connection with military affairs many years. He was several times honor by his fellow citizens with testimonials of their respect and confidence, and in all his official relations maintained a character of scrupulous probity and uprightness. He was a member of the city council from 1819 to 1822 and from 1831 to 1834. During his last term he was the mayor of the city, in which office he served for one year. He was elected mayor in 1837, to fill the unexpired term of Warren Jenkins, and was again elected in 1838. He was foremost in all movements to advance the interests of Columbus in those early days, and at the opening of the canal, in 1832, he got together a fleet of three boats and went with cannon, a brass band and a large deputation of citizens to Chillicothe, where his arrival created a great sensation. This was considered a magnificent celebration at that time. The population of Columbus was then about two thousand. In 1838 Colonel Olmsted became the proprietor of the old National Hotel in Columbus, on the west side of High street north of State street, then a noted stage house, which he managed until 1841, at which in 1840 he had General William Henry Harrison as a guest. In 1842 he opened the City Hotel, at the southeast corner of Town and High streets, where he entertained Martin Van Buren during the presidential campaign of 1844. In 1845 he opened the United States Hotel, which is still standing, at High and Town streets. He retired from active business about 1850. Colonel Olmsted was a man of striking appearance, well proportioned and weighing about two hundred pounds, and down to the day of his death he dressed in the style of 1825 to 185o, clinging even to the once popular CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 497 ruffled shirt. During the Civil war he trayeled through Ohio and West Virginia, buying stock for the United States army, and thus, as he had done as editor, politician and hotel man, he made hosts of friends, for he was of a genial and happy disposition, having a kind word and a hearty handshake for every one whom he met. He was six times elected to the Ohio legislature, in which he served with rare ability and. fidelity. He was a good speaker and writer, possessed sound judgment and great tact, and made a creditable success of every undertaking. The latter years of his life, though relieved from the anxieties and perplexities of business, he spent awaiting the slow and sure advance of a fell malady which had already marked him for its victim. In 1817 Colonel Olmsted married Miss Sarah Phillips, from Mercersberg, Pennsylvania, who died in 1875, at the age of seventy-six. The following memorandum concerning their children will be found interesting in this connection : Their daughter Mary is the widow of Dr. M. B. Wright, once a noted physician of Cincinnati, Ohio, and is living in New York city, aged eighty-two. Their son Angus died at Columbus in 1873. Their son Charles H. Olmsted, of Columbus, was born on West State street, in that city, in 1825, and has lived on Town street for the past sixty years. He was educated in the public schools of Columbus, at the Granville Academy and at Athens College. In 1849 he was a messenger of the Fargo Express Company between Cincinnati and Sandusky, running over. the old strap-bar railriad, on which it was impossible for a train to make a speed of more than fifteen or sixteen miles an hour after leaving ten miles of better track which ran into Cincinnati. From 1853 to 1860 he was in the grocery business at Columbus. He is now living in retirement from active business, but has not lost his interest in Columbus or in passing events. Following in the footsteps of his father, who developed politically from a Whig to a Republican, he has been an active and consistent Republican since the organization of that party. Charles H. Olmsted marriel Elizabeth Broderick, of Columbus, whose death occurred January 6, 1890. She was the daughter of the Hon. John C. Broderick, who for many years ably filled the office of recorder of the. state of Ohio, more than seventy years ago, and died in 1853. Mr. Broderick was born in Kentucky, and married Miss Elizabeth Delano, whose father settled early at Marietta and came to Columbus about 1815, and whose brother, Henry Delano, was a pioneer merchant of Columbus. Mr. and Mrs. Olmsted have three daughters and one son, named Mary, Florence, Sarah and Harry. RICHARD M. GEIGER. Richard M. Geiger was born upon the farm which he yet owns and which is situated about a mile east from his home in Jefferson township, his natal day being July 12, 1846. His parents were Joseph and Mary (Alberg) Geiger. The family is of German lineage. Tradition says that. 498 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Anthony Geiger, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Germany and during his boyhood was brought to America by his parents, who located in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where the grandfather was reared and Iearned the trade of carpenter and joiner. In those early days he often worked by candle light, making coffins, wooden plows and other farming implements, for the great factories which now turn out farm machinery in immense quantities were unknown. In 1804 he came to Ohio, the year following the admission of the state into the Union, and located in Licking county, where he resided up to the time of his death, which occurred in the early '40s. HIs wife was a Miss Kirk, and among her children was Joseph Geiger, the father of our subject. On the old family homestead Joseph Geiger was. reared. He was born in Martinsburg, Virginia, in 1796, and was a youth of eight summers when he accompanied his parents to Ohio, the family making a settlement on Frogs Run in Licking county. He experienced all the hardships and trials of pioneer life, and after attaining man's estate he chose as a companion and helpmeet on life's journey Miss Elizabeth Albery. Immediately following their marriage they came to Jefferson township, Franklin county, where Mr. Geiger had purchased a home. His one hundred acres of land was covered with 'a native growth of forest trees, with the exception of a small tract of about six acres, on which a log cabin had been built and around which fruit trees had been set out Through his entire life the father of our subject carried on farming, making a home on the farm in Jefferson township until called to his final rest. Although not a member of any church his sympathies were with the Universalist church, and his father had also been a believer in Universalism. He gave his political support to the Democracy, and served in several minor township offices, but was never an aspirant for political honors. He was twice married, his first union being with Miss Albery, by whom he had two children, one yet living, Anthony, a resident of Jay county, 'Indiana. After the death of the mother, he married her cousin, Miss Mary Albery, who was born in Allegany county, Maryland, about 1805, and was a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Myer) Albert, borth of whom were members of prominent old families of Maryland. On coming to Ohio her parents located in Licking county, about the time the Geigers settled there. The father of our subject passed away October 6, 1869, and his wife, who survived him for a number of years, was called to her final rest June 19, 1882. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom six are yet living, namely : William, a resident of Beech Corners, Licking county; Noah and Peter, both of whom are farmers of Jefferson township; Thomas who resides with his brother Peter ; Richard M. ; and Nancy A., the wife of Frank B. Williams, also of Beech Corners. In the public schools Richard M. Geiger acquired his education, and in the fields became familiar with the work of the farm. After attaining his majority he was employed by his father by the month through one year, and on the expiration of that period took charge of the old homestead, which CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 499 he operated on the shares. In 1869 the father died, but Richard Geiger continuted to farm the home place until after his mother's death, in 1882, when he purchased the interests of the other heirs and became proprietor of the farm of one hundred acres on which he was born. He also purchased fifty-five acres on the Black Lick road, he and his mother having become owners of that property after the father's death. Later he added to the old homestead a tract of thirty acres and subsequently of twelve acres, so that the farm consisted of one hundred and forty-two acres. In 1899 he purchased of the Havens estate, near Havens' Corners, twenty-four acres of land, on which he erected his present substantial residence and farm buildings, having since made his home there. He Owes his success in life to his own efforts as a farmer and stock raiser. He has carried on business along these lines continuously, but the products of his fields were never sufficient to feed his stock, which he handles in large quantities. This led him to purchase large amounts of corn, which created a good market for the neighbors. During the past two years he has rented much of his land, so that he is to some degree enjoying retirement from active labor: On the l0th of November, 1887, Mr. Geiger was united in marriage to Mrs. Lusetta Ealy, the widow of Jeremiah. Ealy, a native of Jefferson township, and a daughter of George Shirk, who belonged to a Pennsylvania Dutch family, and emigrated from the. Keystone state to Franklin county among its early settlers. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Geiger has been born one child, Ora May, whose birth occurred May 1, 1889. In his political views our subject is a Democrat, and for one term he served in the office of township clerk, while for twenty years he has been a member of the school board of his district. He was reared in the Universalist faith and is a believer in its doctrines, although he does not hold membership with any religious denomination. He contributes liberally to church work, and is deeply interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of his community along the lines of moraI, intellectual and material progress. He is a member of Truro Lodge, No 411, I. O. O. F., of Reynoldsburg, and 'there is probably not a man of Franklin county who stands higher. in the estimation of those who know him than does Richard M. Geiger. The family name has been connected with the history of this section since early pioneer clays, and our subject is a worthy representative thereof, for his career has ever been straightforward and commendable, marked by fidelity to duty in all life's relations. FRANK E. POWELL. Frank Everett Powell, who resides in Columbus, is a popular engineer on the Pennsylvania Railroad. He was born in Franklin county, Ohio, May 4, 1858, and is a son of Alfred Powell, who throughout the greater part of his career carried on agricultural pursuits, living upon a farm in this county until 1884, when he put aside business cares and removed to the capital city. Here he died on the 21st of April, 1898, at the age of seventy-six