900 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. for offices and an emergency hospital, equipped with electric baths as well as all other modern appliances in electricity for the treatment of rheumatism and nervous diseases. Particular attention is also given to treatment of the nose and throat. Treatment of the diseases of women is' most successfully accomplished without operations. Nurses carefully trained are constantly in attendance treating and instructing. the patients in self reatment, that has proved a wonderful success over the old lines of practice. While the Doctor is a firm believer in depending as much as possible on the forces of nature in the cure of disease, he is also a most skillful operator and does not hesitate a moment when the knife will bring the best results. He has been one of the first of his profession in this country to use "suggestive therapeutics" in nervous diseases. An earnest student, he has followed the teachings of the most advanced thinkers of Europe, and, being wonderfully gifted, has reached a point in the use of this most wonderful science that places him second to none. His cases have been telegraphed to the New York Journal, and in full column with glaring head lines have been sent out over the whole world as the most remarkable phenomena of the times. The letters from patients and the many newspaper notices which the Doctor has received would certainly make almost any other man vain. However, the Doctor does not seem to think anything about it and looks after his large practice, manages the Dennison, and at the same time attends as carefully to his many beautiful plants and flowers as though his living depended upon them. CHARLES B. GALBREATH. The apprenhension and subsequent development of the subjective potential must ever figure as the delineation of the maximum of personal success and usefulness in any field of endeavor, and the failure to discover this potential—or line along which lay the greatest possibilities for development in any specific case-can but militate against the ultimate precedence and absolute accomplishments' of the subject. To a greater extent than is usually conjectured does personal success abide in this element, and thus in the study of biography there is ever a valuable lesson to be gained. To the subject of this review there has come the attainment of a distinguished position in connection with the great educational interests of our country—the schools, the press and the public writings—and his efforts have been so discriminatingly directed along well defined lines that he seems to have reached at any one point of progress the full measure of his capabilities of accomplishment in that line. A man of distinctive and forceful individuality, of broad mentality and most mature judgment, he has left. his impress upon the intellectual world. He has been an educator of ability, a writer of profound thought, and to-day is exerting an important influence in mental development through his labors as state librarian. Charles Burleigh Galbreath is numbered among Ohio's native sons, his CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 901 birth having occurred in Fairfield township, Columbiana county, on the 25th of February, 1858. He manifested in his life many of the sterling characteristics of his Scotch ancestry. The Galbreaths resided for some time in Ireland and on leaving that country for the new world took up their abode in North Carolina, but the liberty-loving spirit of the family was strongly in opposition to the practice of slavery and their free expression of their opinions on the subject soon aroused. the antagonism of the people among whom they, resided, and they were forced to seek a home in the north. It was thus that in the pioneer days of Ohio the Galbreath family was founded in the eastern portion of the state, their home in Columbiana county being near the birthplace of Edwin Coppock, who was actively concerned in the historic incidents which centered about Harper's Ferry at the breaking out of the Civil war. At the usual age when mental discipline begins in the schoolroom Charles B. Galbreath entered the primitive district schools near his home, continuing his studies there uritil thirteen years. of age, when on account of the serious illness of his father, he was obliged to put aside his, text-books and give his entire attention to the work of the home farm. Endowed by nature with a strong mentality, he, however, mastered all the branches of learning taught In the neighborhood schools, which he found opportunity to attend during the winter months. He was ambitious for intellectual advancement and prepared for further educational privileges by working in a sawmill, and thus obtained the money With which to meet the expenses of a course in the high school of New Lisbon, Rio. At the age of seventeen he began teaching and later completed the high school course, afterward pursuing a four-years course in Mount Union College, being graduated from that institution with the degree of Master of Arts. The manner in which he obtained his education in the face of obstacles and difficulties shows forth his remarkable strength of character and ability to cope with the difficulties he would meet in the great school of experience: He continued his work as an educator, being elected principal of the schools of Wilmot, Stark county, Ohio, where he remained until 1886, when he resigned to. accept the superintendency of the schools of East Palestine, Ohio, where he continued for eight consecutive years. The work which he there accomplished cannot be overestimated. He has particular ability as an organizer and disciplinarian, in addition to his skill of imparting clearly, concisely and forcibly to others the knowledge which he has. acquired with a full and correct realization of the importance of the public school system of the land, which: is on of the strong foundation stones. of our national commonwealth, he labored untiringly and earnestly to advance the work of the schools with which he was personally connected, and it was with the deepest regret on he part of the citizens of Palestine that his association with its educational interests was terminated. In the year 1893 Professor Galbreath became a member of the faculty of Mount Hope College and three years later was called to the presidency of that institution. During his residence in East Palestine he served for two years as editor of the Republican. Reveille and during that period strongly 902 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. advocated the night-school bill introduced into the state legislature by Hon. J. I. Brittain, and now a law. His educational labors have included considerable institute work, in which he is particularly successful. He has occupied his present position as state librarian since 1896, having been appointed by the library commission, created: by the seventy-second general assembly. On the 29th of July, 1882, was celebrated the marriage of Charles Burleigh Galbreath and Ida A. Kelly, of Columbiana county, and their home has been blessed with one son, Albert W., born October 29, 1883. Socially Mr. Galbreath is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has served as district deputy grand master. He is in close touch with the most advanced thought and. invention and has been an interested student of the political situation of the country, believing firmly in the principles of the Republican party, and gives his aid and influence toward its work in his locality, and from 1893 until 1896 served in the state conventions as a delegate from his district. When the condition of affairs in Cuba was a leading question before the country he organized the Columbus branch of the Cuban League of America, under the direction of Colonel Ethan Allen, of New York, and became its secretary. He has held! no public office outside the line of his life work, but . for eight years was county school examiner of Columbiana county. On the lecture platform he is well known and his writings have commanded attention throughout the country. He displays all the graces of literary style, and under the adornment of rhetoric there is a sub-stratum of thought and feeling that never fails to move the reader and awaken deep interest in the subject of which he treats. He has acted his part so well in both public and private life that Columbus and his state have been enriched by his example, his character and his labors. ISAAC LONGSHORE. Isaac Longshore, who resides in Blendon township, was born in Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, October 17, 1844, his parents being Thomas and Mary A. .(Evans) Longshore, whose family numbered six children, all yet living, namely : William H., a farmer of Pawnee Station, Kansas; George W., a fruit raiser of Grand Junction, Colorado ; Isaac; Charles, a resident farmer of Missouri; Thomas H., who is in business in Kansas City, Missouri; and Margaret A., the wife of Martin Brown, of Fort Scott, Kansas. The father of this family was born in Pennsylvania in 1811, and was a son of Amos Longshore, who came to Ohio during the early boyhood of his son Thomas, settling upon a farm in Hocking county, where Thomas was reared to manhood. In Muskingum county he married Miss Mary A. Evans, who was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1817, and was a daughter of David Evans. They .took up their abode in that city and Mr. Longshore engaged in the operation of a sawmill and the sale of lumber, carrying on business along those lines until the latter part of the '50s, When he purchased a farm in Perry county, Ohio, six miles east of New Lexington; locating upon his land, he there CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 903 engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1884, when he sold. his farm and went to Kansas, making his home with his children, where he is still residing in the eighty-ninth year of his age and is a well preserved old gentleman, retaining all of his faculties unimpaired. In his political affiliations he is a stanch Republican, and for several years he served as justice of the peace and as township trustee. He has long held membership in the Baptist church and for some time was one of its deacons. In 1892 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died. at the age of seventy-five years. Isaac Longshore remained with his parents throughout the period of his minority and in the meantime became familiar with the common-school English branches of learning in the public schools of the neighborhood. At the age of twenty years he began his career as a farm hand, but soon afterward he married and purchased of his father the old family homestead of one hundred and twenty acres in Perry county. It was in 1867 that he married Miss Elizabeth Driggs, a native of Perry county, and a daughter of Jeremiah and Barbara (McKeefer) Driggs. Her father was a native of Connecticut and there learned the hatter's trade, which he followed for a number of years in the east. When he came to Ohio he located upon a farm in Perry county and there spent his remaining days. Mr. and Mrs. Longshore began their domestic life upon the old family homestead, where they resided for three years. On the expiration of that period our subject sold his farm and removed to Morgan county, purchasing a tract of eighty acres near Beavertown. For eight years he operated that farm and on selling out came to his present home in Blendon township, Franklin county. Here he has since owned and occupied a tract of land of one hundred. and three and a half acres. It is well improved with good buildings, fences and all modern accessories and the fields yield to him a good return. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Longshore have been born five children : Jeremiah W., of Cincinnati, Ohio, is in the railway mail service. He married. Grace G. Gantz and .they have a son and daughter. Archie A. is an agriculturist and broom manufacturer of Blendon township. He married Minnie Buck. Josephine M. is the wife of the Rev. R. W. Kohr, a Presbyterian minister, of Larue, Ohio, and they have a son and daughter. Edward married Lulu Buck and resides in Blen.don township. Cora M. is at home. The three sons are all members of the Masonic fraternity. In his political views Mr. Longshore is a Republican and keeps well informed on the issues of the day, always supports the party, yet has never been an office seeker, preferring to give his entire attention to his business, and is accounted one of the most enterprising and progressive agriculturists in the community. MARION T. BRINKER. For seven years an active member of the bar of Columbus, within that period Marion T. Brinker has gained a good clientage and a representative position among the members of the profession in the capital city. He was 904 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY, born in Pickaway county, Ohio, October 28, 186o, and is a member of one of the pioneer families of that county, for his grandfather, George Brinker, located there during the early epoch of its development and materially assisted in its upbuilding and progress. Barnabas Brinker, the father of our subject, was born in that county in 1798, and died in the year 1887, at the very advanced age of eighty-nine years. Throughout his life he carried on agricultural pursuits and became a very successful farmer and much respected citizen: He married Miss Elizabeth Knight, who was at that time a resident of Pickaway county, but was a native of Virginia, whence she removed to Ohio with her parents during her early girlhood. She was a daughter of John and Maria Knight, and they became early settlers of this state. In the usual manner of farmer lads Marion T. Brinker spent his youth, early becoming familiar with all the work and duties that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. His elementary education, acquired in the district schools, was supplemented by study in the National Normal School in Lebanon, Ohio, where he remained as a student for three years. He then entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, where he also continued his studies for three years, after which he matriculated in the Western Normal School, at Ada, Ohio. With broad general knowledge to fit him for the practical and responsible duties of life he then entered upon his business career in the capacity of clerk, spending five years as a salesman in different stores in Pickaway county, but, determining to enter professional life,. he began reading law with Judge Festus Walters as his preceptor. Subsequently he entered the Cincinnati Law School, and immediately after his graduation, in 1894, he began practice in Columbus. He now practices in all the courts, having a large clientage and handling many important litigated interests. In 1884 Mr. Brinker married Miss Libbie Weaver, of Nebraska, Ohio, a daughter of D. F. Weaver. 'She died in 1891, leaving two children,— Arthur E. and Amy G. Mr. Brinker belongs to Palmetto Lodge, No. 513, K. P., of Ashville, Ohio., but is. not active in lodge. or political work, preferring that his energies shall be devoted- to his 'business affairs. His devotion to his clients interests is proverbial, and with a good knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, with earnest purpose and laudable ambition one may surely predict for Mr. Brinker a successful future. JOHN F. McNAMEE. Life is meaningless unless it is universal and coherent. It is the helpul spirit of our times that has been the foundation of all organized effort for the good of mankind. Never before have the people of the country realized as now the truth of the old adage "in union there is strength.," and to-day this finds exemplification in the organized efforts which are being put forth along all lines. It is this which has led to the establishment of many societies formed for the purpose of mutual helpfulness; and protection. Permeated by CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 905 this spirit the great army of American workers have combined forces in order to be of assistance to one another, to protect their rights against the infringement of the power of capital and to aid in bringing about conditions that will be alike just and profitable to employer and employee. In labor circles John F. McNamee is a well known figure, his name in this connection being a familiar one throughout the country. A native of the Emerald isle, Mr. McNamee was born in Stamullen county Meath, Ireland, October 1867, a son of Patrick McNamee, one of the most eminent educators of Ireland, who filled the important position of district inspector of the national or public schools of his native land. After half a century's service in behalf of the educational department of his country he was retired on a government life pension. The members of his family are as follows : Thomas J., who resides in Portland, Oregon, where he is engaged: in the dry-goods. business; Patrick J., a credit man in the large wholesale house of D. Kelly, of Columbus.; Mrs. George G. Pope, of Petersborough. Ontario; Mary J., of Versailles, France, a sister of the Order of the Congregation of the Infant Jesus, her name in religious circles: being Sister Edmund. Mrs. Donnellan, the wife of Dr. Donnellan, government physician of Castlereagh county, Roscommon, Ireland; and :Agnes, Martha and Gertrude, also residing in the Emerald isle. John F. McNamee, the subject of this review, spent the first sixteen years of his life in the land of his birth, and in 1884, when yet a mere boy, bade adieu to home and friends and crossed the Atlantic to the United States alone, preferring to fight life's battles as a free American citizen than remain the subject of a Monarchical government, thereby .sacrificing many excellent opportunities, which through his father's influence he possessed, to his instinctive love of the stars and stripes and the glorious principles they represent. In 1890 he entered the service of the Panhandle Railroad Company as a locomotive fireman, being engaged in that capacity for about nine years, and in 1891 he joined the order of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, which ranks first among the great conservative and wealthy labor organizations of the world, his membership at that time being in Franklin Lodge, No. 9.. He soon won the friendship, and regard of his, brethren in the fraternity and for four years served as receiver or financier of his lodge. In 1896 he was elected a delegate to the Brotherhood's Galveston convention. While in the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Company he devoted continual effort and untiring energy to the complete organization of that great railway system as a result of which many new lodges sprang up along said lines, one of them being Abraham Lincoln Lodge, No. 445, of Columbus, Ohio, to which he transferred his membership and which he served for two consecutive terms as master. He has represented his lodge as a delegate to all national conventions of the order since 1896. At the convention held in Toronto, Canada, in 1898; he was chosen as a member of the grand (international) executive board, being re-elected at the convention in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1900. He has great influence in the councils, of the fraternity, being recognized as a 57 906 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. lader in thought and action not only .among the members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen but in the ranks of trades unions all over the country. He is a member of the Trades and Labor Assembly, of Columbus, Ohio, and has often been called upon by both employers and employees to adjust matters in dispute, being recognized as a fair, concervative and impartial arbiter. In 1897 Mr. McNamee was united in marriage to Miss Caroline B. Welch, a daughter of Sergeant Major Thomas S. D. Welch, a highly respected citizen of Columbus and a Union veteran of the Civil war, who took part in many of the most hotly contested engagements of that terrible struggle, the last in which he participated being the fearful conflict at Gettysburg. Unto Mr. and Mrs. McNamee has been born a daughter, Miss Mary Louise, whose birth occurred; August 6, 1890, and who is now a brilliant student, her ability attracting general attention and admiration. They also have a son, Master Thomas S. C. McNamee, born November 3, 1892, a bright and intelligent lad of nine years. Mr. McNamee is an active Democrat, and on the 8th of June, 1901, his fellow Democrats of Franklin county, recognizing his worth and ability, nominated him to represent their county in the state legislature. Mr. and Mrs. McNamee are active and influential members of the Catholic church, being prominent in St. Patrick's congregation. He has long been a close, earnest and discriminating student of the ethical and sociological questions which affect the welfare and happiness of mankind, and his thorough understanding thereof has led him to enter heartily into the work of organized labor movements:. By his success as a salesman in the employ of the Day & Night Tobacco Company, of Cincinnati, he has demonstrated his aptitude in commercial affairs. WILLIAM S. CARLISLE Prominent in business circles in Columbus is William Smith Carlisle, who was born in the city which is now his home in 1863. His father, Henry Carlisle, came to the capital city when a young man from Columbiana county, Ohio, where he was born in 1825. The year of his arrival here was 1850, and throughout his remaining days he was identified with the interests of Franklin county, his death occurring here in 1897, at the age of seventy-two years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Charlotte Lang, was a native of Pennsylvania. Her father resided in Columbus for many years. In the city of his birth Mr. Carlisle, of this review, was reared and educated, and throughout his business career he has been connected with important industrial and commercial concerns. For five years he was with the Columbus Sewer Pipe Works, and. from 1885 until 1890 he was a member of the fire department, and engaged in business for some time as a member of the firm of the Barnhart & Carlisle Oil Company. He is in the service of the Taylor Williams Ice Company, occupying the important position of manager. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 907 He is a man of keen discrimination in business affairs, of sound judgment, and is thoroughly reliable at all times. In politics Mr. Carlisle has taken a deep and active interest in Republicanism of Columbus. For some years he has served on city and county committees, and was the vice chairman of the county central committee for the year 1899. On the 6th of November, 1900, he was elected to the office of county commissioner on the Republican ticket. Socially he is a Master Mason. Mr. Carlisle was married, July 1o, 1889, to Miss Jennie Shelling, a daughter of Daniel Shelling, who was born in Franklin county August 31, 1830. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Carlisle successfully engaged in teaching in the public schools and is a lady of superior education and culture. Our subject and his wife are both prominent and highly respected people in the capital city, occupying a leading position in social circles where true worth and intelligence are received as passports into good society. He is a man of strong individuality and marked characteristics with a well-rounded character. He looks at the world from a. practical standpoint, and his sound common sense---a quality too often lacking—has proved an important factor in his business career and his political work. THOMAS J. ALEXANDER. This is a utilitarian age, in which rapid progress has been made along . all lines of invention, and no country has given to the world as many useful improvements in mechanical devices as has America. Her prominence in this regard is widely acknowledged and all nations recognize their indebtedness to the republic. Mr. Alexander is among those whose inventive genius has created labor-saving devices that have proved of great benefit and value in the industrial world. He is now living retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil,: and his rest is certainly well merited. Mr. Alexander was born in Granville, Licking county, Ohio, August 31, 1824, and is one of the two surviving members of the family of seven children born unto James and Delilah (Clark) Alexander, his sister being Jane, Widow of William R. Clemens, of Storm Lake, Iowa. The Alexander family is of Scotch-Irish lineage, and the grandfather of our subject was Joseph Alexander, who came from the new world from the Emerald isle and was numbered among the heroes of the war of the Revolution.. After the establishment of American independence he located near West Alexander, Pennsylvania, upon a farm, and .acquired extensive landed possessions, his property reaching the town limits. Later he took up his abode in the town, where he also owned considerable realty. For many years he was a justice of the peace and held other offices, discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity. He Was a man of wide influence, and his labors proved of great benefit to the community which he represented. He was three times mar- 908 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. ried, his first two wives being natives of Ireland, and James Alexander was born of the first marriage. The grandfather lived and died in West Alexander, passing away at the age of eighty years, and his third wife died at the age of eighty-two years. The father of our subject was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, near West Alexander, where they had located soon after the close of the Revolutionary war. He married Delilah Clark, a native of Granville, Massachusetts, whose people, with several families, formed a colony that in 1806 came to the Buckeye state and founded and named the. town of Granville. Her parents Samuel and Miriam Clark, were both natives of Massachusetts and spent their last days in Granville, the former dying in the prime of life, while his wife reached her eighty-seventh year. He was a blacksmith by trade. In early life James Alexander, the father of our subject, learned the trade of a millwright, and just prior to the war of 1812 he came to this state, locating in Granville. His first work there was the construction of the Granville Mills, which have long since fallen into decay. When the country became involved in war With England for the second time he joined a company commanded by Captain Rose, and was present at Hull's surrender. Late in the '20S he came to Franklin county, Ohio, erected a mill on Rocky Fork and removed his family to this county, but after two years returned to Licking county and built the Linas Thalls Mills, near Alexandria. His eyesight failed him and he was forced to abandon work along that line, removing to a farm near Johnstown, where he resided until 1839, when he again came to Franklin county, settling on what is known as the Cutler farm. It was his place of residence until within two years of his death, when he removed to Westerville, there passing away in 1854, in his seventy-fourth year. His wife survived him for nineteen years, and died in her eighty-third year. The father was an Old-line Whig, and was one of the well-known and highly esteemed men of his day. Thomas J. Alexander acquired his education as the common schools of the day afforded and remained at home with his parents through the days of his childhood and youth. . In early life he entered upon an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, and on attaining his majority he was married. He then abandoned carpentering and established a turning factory in Westerville, also conducting a machine shop. He early displayed superior mechanical ability and ingenuity, and his thought and investigation of mechanical principles and properties enabled him to invent and place upon the market a machine for cutting the sticks directly from the log ready for the lathe. This was in 1853, and he secured a patent on his invention. Immediately following this he retired from the manufacturing business, but in 1862 he again entered the field as a manufacturer and foundryman, carrying on operations along those lines until 1888. During that period of twenty-six years he took out some eight other patents on various contrivances, which have contributed much to the benefit of mankind, being very useful and important labor saving devices. Since 1888 he has been living a retired life, for in the years CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 909 of an active business career and as the result of his inventive genius he acquired a handsome competence, sufficient for all his needs through the remainder of his days. It was on the 24th of September, 1845, that Mr. Alexander was joined in wedlock to Miss Charlotte E. Parke, a native of New Jersey, and a daughter of Abner and Sarah (Pennell) Parke, who were also natives of that state. The father was of English lineage, while the mother was of German and Irish descent. The grandfather, Abner Parke, served as a soldier boy in the Revolutionary war, and John Nickson, the maternal great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Alexander, was the first reader to the public of the Declaration of Independence. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander has been blessed with four children : James W., a millwright of Westerville; John F., a carpenter and builder of the same place; David M., who deals in slating and iinning materials and also carries a line of furnaces in Westerville; and Inez I., wife of A. G. Crouse, a commercial traveler residing in the town where the other members of the .family make their home. Mrs. Alexander died on the 18th of January, 1901. In his early manhood Mr. Alexander gave his political support to the Whig party, and on its dissolution he joined the Tanks of the .Republican party, but in recent years he has been active in promoting the interests of the Prohibition party: His views upon questions of public policy are very pronounced, and his influence may always be counted upon in behalf, of good government and the advancement of the welfare of the whole people. He is a strict temperance man, and as such opposed saloon domination, and in every way exerted himself to hasten the era of advanced temperance sentiment which will reduce the rum traffic to a minimum by the rule of reason and sobriety among the people at large. He belongs to Blendon Lodge, No. 339, F. & A. M. Long years ago he was elected mayor of Westerville, and subsequently served for six more years in that office, doing all within his power to secure needed reforms and improvements in the city. He was also for four years justice of the peace, and is one of the well-known and highly esteemed men of the county, whose career, public and private, is worthy of emulation. JOSEPH W. WICKHAM Joseph W, Wickham, of Columbus, was born in Delaware county, Ohio, in 1865: He is descended from good old Revolutionary stock, the family being represented in the colonial army by Joseph Welsh, who held the rank of captain. The paternal grandfather, Asa Wickham, married a Miss Wiswell, who belonged to a prominent family of the east and was a cousin of Benedict-Arnold. Judge Wickham, of the common pleas court, was a cousin of our subject. Joseph Welsh Wickham, Sr., his father, was born in the Empire state, and during the Civil war he became a member of the Thirty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for three years. He escaped 910 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. wounds or capture, and in 1864 received an honorable discharge. After his return to Ohio he removed with his family to Westerville, where lie died in 1889. His wife, Phoebe Thompson, was a native of New Jersey. During his early boyhood Mr. Wickham, of this review, accompanied his parents to Westerville, where he acquired his 'education, being graduated at the high school with the honors of the class of i886. Previous to that time he had worked on a farm, and he also engaged in teaching, both before and after his graduation. He has been a resident of Columbus for some years, and is recognized as a very active and efficient worker in political circles. Though he was reared a Democrat, and all of his family are connected with that party, he is a stanch Republican. His study of political issues has led him to the belief that Republican principles contain the best elements of good government. He has recently retiired from two years' service as chief assistant to the clerk of the courts of Franklin county, and is now the candidate on the Republican ticket for the position of county recorder. Mr. Wickham was united in marriage to Miss Grace McKane, a daughter of Louis and Mary (Caldwell) McKane, of, Norwich township, Franklin county, where her father carries 'on farming. They now have two children, Mr. Wickham is an active member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and is also identified with the Knights of the Mystic Circle. His success and advancement in life he owes entirely to his own efforts: He has improved his opportunities and his talents, natural and acquired, enabled him to work his steadily upward. NATHAN MUNSHOWER. A man of varied experiences and of prominence in different ways has a career always interesting even though it be written briefly and in a sense incompletely. Such a life story is that of Nathan Munshower, of Columbus, Ohio. His great-grandfather in the paternal line came to the United States from Germany. His son, Jacob Munshower, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a soldier in the war of.1812. Jacob Munshower, Jr., father of Nathan, was born and reared in Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he became a farmer and where he married Anna Clancey, a native of Chester county. The wife of Jacob Munshower, Sr., also of Pennsylvanian nativity, was a relative of Hon. John Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, ex-postmaster general of the United States. Nathan Munshower was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1844. In 1861 he enlisted in the Thirty-first Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and after the expiration of his term of service re-enlisted in the Eighty-second Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He participated in all the fighting of the Army of the Potomac and took part in the battles at Manassas, Antietam, the Wilderness, Summit Mountain and Gettysburg, and in many minor engagements, receiving two bayonet wounds and one gunshot wound: He was CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 911 promoted and given charge of the quartermaster's department, First Division, Sixth. Army. Corps, and was detailed as quartermaster sergeant. In 1868 he removed from Chester, Chester county, Pennsylvania, to Ironton, Ohio, where he was connected with rolling mills for teri years. He filled the offices of chief of police and marshal at Ironton from 1872 to: 1883, and during that period from time to time was brought successfully into conflict with criminal ciasses, and as deputy United States marshal under United States Marshal Wright was active in suppressing the historic riot in Cincinnati in 1882. In 1887 Mr. Munshower came from Ironton to Columbus, and was superintendent of subsistence at the Ohio State Penitentiary from 1887 to 1895, under the administrations of Governors Foraker and McKinley. Since 1895 he has been general agent for the Born brewery for Ohio and other states, with headquarters at Columbus. As a Republican he has taken a deep and active interest in politics, and for the past two years he has been chairman of the Franklin county Republican central committee. He was influential in securing the election of Hon. D. K. Watson, a Republican, to congress and in overcoming a Democratic majority in his district of over thirty-six hundred. He is a Knight Templar and a thirty-second degree Mason, and is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He organized Lambert Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Ironton, and was foremost in the building of Grand Army hall of that city; was senior vice commander of the Grand Army of the state of Ohio in 1883, and is past commander in the 'Union Veteran Legion.   Mr. Munshower was married at Ironton, Ohio, to Miss Jennie Hopkins, daughter of Mark Hopkins, a prominent pioneer and merchant of that part of the state, who died about 1862. Mr. Hopkins was a. descendant of old Scotch families and his parents came to the United States from Scotland., Mr. and Mrs. Munshower have a son and a daughter : Harry Munshower learned steam and gas fitting and plumbing, and is a successful manufacturer at Wheeling, West Virginia; Mabel Edna was graduated at the Western School of Oratory, at Evanston, Illinois, and at the Ohio State University, and became well known as an elocutionist and as a teacher of elocution and physical culture. She married Dr. August Sulzer, of Portsmouth, Ohio. JAMES DENNY OSBORN. . Among the prominent families of Columbus, one of its foremost, is that which was established by Hon. Ralph Osborn, and of which James Denny Osborn is a worthy representative. James Denny Osborn, Sr., son of Hon. Ralph Osborn and father of our subject, was born near Circleville, Pickaway county, Ohio, in 1814, the second in order of birth of the fifteen children of his parents. Hon. Ralph Osborn was a member of the state senate of Ohio, and was for eighteen years auditor of the state. He broke down under stress of hard work, and died in 1835, after an all too brief career of usefulness and honor, 912 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. which made him well known throughout the country. He was an unswerving Whig. He married. Catherine Renick, of Pickaway county, Ohio. In 1816, when his son, James Denny Osborn, was two years old, he took up his residence in Columbus. About 1827, at the age of about thirteen years, the son became a clerk in the dry-goods and general store of Francis Stewart, and after 1840 the firm was known as. Stewart & Osborn. Mr. Osborn was an active business man until he died, May 5, 1865, aged. fifty-two years. He was not only a prominent merchant, but was in a sense a banker to most of the farmers in Franklin county, and he was faithful to every trust reposed in him. His life was a busy and a successful one, and he left an ample estate. His wife was Emeline Lathrop, daughter of Dr. Horace Lathrop, who came to Columbus from Waynesville, Warren county, and practiceg medicine there for many years. Not only was he a prominent private practitioner, but he long held the office of physician to the state penitentiary, and the fact that when cholera broke out in that institution he remained at his post of duty and did everything that he could for these criminal but unfortunate patients, is a fact in local medical history. Born in the year 1800, he was educated in the state of New York, and died in 1848. Mrs. Osborn is still living in Columbus, in good health and in the possession of all her faculties, and takes a deep interest in everything pertaining to the advancement of the city and of Franklin county. James Denny Osborn and Emeline (Lathrop) Osborn had children as follows : Charles Lathrop Osborn is a retired business man of Columbus. He married Miss Mary Galloway, a daughter of the Hon. Samuel Galloway and a sister of Hon. Tod. B. Galloway. Frank Stewart Osborn, of New York city, married Margaret Andrews, a daughter of the late Dr. A. L. Andrews, who was president of the Ohio State Bank. Jennie L. Osborn married the late William Faxon, who was graduated from Yale College, was a major of artillery in the Union service of the Civil war, and rose to prominence as a banker in Columbus. Mary Osborn married Edwin A. Dawson, of Chicago, who is connected with the Pennsylvania Railway. James Denny Osborn, Jr., is the immediate subject of this sketch. Susan Osborn married Professor Nathan Lord, of Cincinnati, now of the Ohio State University, at Columbus. James Denny Osborn, Jr., was born at Columbus in 1862, and was educated in the high school of that city. He has for many years been connected with coal interests. He is a Republican, and a Knight Templar and a thirty-second-degree Mason, and is well known as a prominent and influential citizen of much enterprise and public spirit. John Osborn, lawyer of Toledo, Ohio, who died about ten years ago, was the eldest son of Hon. Ralph Osborn, and left a large family. William Osborn, a well-known lawyer of Ashland, Ohio, is also a son of Hon. Ralph Osborn. Charles Lathrop Osborn has two sons : Frank, who is court-house reporter at Columbus for the Ohio State Journal; and Samuel Galloway, who was graduated from the law department of the Ohio State University and CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 913 admitted to the bar in 1897, and has since practiced his profession successfully, and is prominent as an Elk, a Mason, and a member of the Olentangy Club. Josiah Smith is a grandson of Hon. Ralph Osborn. Frank Stewart Osborn has-three sons, Ralph, who is second officer on the American liner: St. Paul and who was educated at Philadelphia; Abner, a graduate of the Ohio State University, who is now taking a post-graduate course in civil engineering and mining; and Eliphalet, who is a student at the Ohio State. University. FREDERICK W. C. WIECHERS To the substantial upbuilding of Columbus Frederick William Christian Wiechers has contributed in a large degree, for his efforts have been instrumental in securing for the city many of its leading and extensive industries. The history of a country is no longer a record of wars and conquests, but is an account of business activity, of the work of men in agricultural, industrial, commercial and professional life, and of their development and use of the natural resources which nature has so bountifully supplied. Therefore in preparing history of the present time it is not meet that mention should be made of those whose efforts have led to an increase in business activity and thereby promoted the growth, prosperity and progress of the community. In this regard Mr. Wiechers is certainly deserving of creditable mention. Born in Hanover, Germany, in 1854, he is a son of Louis Wiechers, who when a young man had removed to Hanover. The father died in 1871, and two years later his son Frederick came to America, making his way direct to Columbus. For five years he was a student in Capital College, and graduated in that institution in 1878. He entered the Lutheran ministry at Patricksburg, Indiana, and in 1882 returned to Ohio to accept the pastorate of a church in Morrow county, where he remained until January, 1891. Thence he went to Covington, Ohio, where he continued for three years, and later spent two and a half years in Marysville, Ohio. In 1895, owing to impaired health caused by la grippe, he resigned the ministry in the latter place and located permanently in Columbus. He had taken an active part in educational matters in Covington, and was an efficient member of the school board there. On coming to Columbus Mr. Wiechers engaged in the coal business at Parsons avenue and the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad crossing. Since then Parsons avenue has been paved with brick, and the street railway has been extended. This section of the city has enjoyed marvelous growth and prosperity, largely owing to the efforts of Mr. Wiechers. He induced Mr. Craiglow to locate the Ashville Bent Wood Works here, secured the extension of the water system, lighting, paving and the street railway. In connection with the efforts of the board of trade, he was instrumental in having the Columbus Iron & Steel Company locate its extensive works in this portion of the city in 1899, five hundred men being employed in their foundry. 914 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Through his labors other enterprises have been secured, including the malleable iron works on the same street, where they purchased thirty-one acres of land and will erect a large plant, furnishing employment to between twelve and fifteen hundred men. The Handle Works Company has also erected a factory just west of Mr. Wiecher's coal yard, employing seventy-five men. The Federal Glass Company has built a factory just east of Parsons avenue, and will employ about five hundred men. It was Mr. Wiechers who induced the Federal Natural Gas Company to come into Columbus from Perry, Hocking and Pickaway counties by way of Parsons avenue and High street. All these concerns have proved of immense value and benefit to the city, and the subject of this review certainly deserves great credit for what he has accomplished in the way of promoting the material welfare and consequent prosperity of Columbus. He was united in marriage to Miss Katie Heintz, a daughter of Adam Heintz, who came to Columbus In 1835, and was for many years engaged in business at the corner of Fourth and Main streets. He 'died in 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Wiechers have two sons : Herbert Arthur, who is with his father in business; and Oscar Frederick, who is yet in school. The daughters are Mary Eleanora, the wise of Millard Craiglow, who is with the Ashville Bent Works, of Columbus; Clara Catherine and Flora Amelia, at home. Mr. Wiechers and his family are members of the Trinity Lutheran church, in which he is serving as a trustee. In 1898 he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the city council, and in 1900 was elected by a double majority. He has taken an active part in the affairs of the city as a member of the committees on parks, plats, engineering, railroads and viaducts. Although his residence in Columbus covers a comparatively brief period, few men are more prominent or more widely known than Mr. Wiechers. He has been an important factor in business circles, and his popularity is well deserved, as in him are embraced the characteristics of an unbending integrity, unabated energy and industry that never flags. He is public spirited and thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of Columbus. FREDERICK SWICKARD. Frederick Swickard, who is. following agricultural, pursuits in Plain township, was born within that territorial division of the county February 24, 1831, and is one of the seven children whose parents were John and Elizabeth (Baughman) Swickard. He represented one of the pioneer families of Franklin county, for at an early day in the development of this portion of the state his grandfather, Daniel Swickard, who was probably a native of Germany, came from Pennsylvania to Ohio and settled in Jefferson township on Black Lick. After several years he removed his family to Plain township, where he purchased a farm, making his home there until his death. John Swickard, the father of our subject, was born in Washington county, CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 915 Pennsylyania, August 25, 1806, and with his parents came to Ohio about 1822.. Here he became an extensive land owner, his realty possessions aggregating about six hundred acres. For more than half a century he was an active member of the United Brethren church, and by precept and example he taught the truths of Christianity. In early life he Was a stanch Republican, but in his last years his views on the temperance question led him to ally himself with the Prohibition party. He died September io, 1898, and his wife passed away January 2, 1882. She was a native of Plain township, Franklin county; born September 6, 1804, probably the first white child born in the township. Her parents, Adam and Priscilla Baughman, were among the earliest white settlers of the neighborhood. Frederick Swickard was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads of the day; his time being devoted to the duties of the school room, to the cultivation of the fields and to the enjoyment of such pleasures as were indulged in by the young people of the period. When he was only eighteen years of age the work of the home farm largely devolved upon him, owing to the ill health of his father. After his marriage he located on a farm of fifty acres in Plain township, then the property of his father, who sold the land the following year, at which time Frederick removed to what was known as the Grove. It was a tract of one hundred and forty-seven and a half acres of land which his father had previously purchased. He bought of his father a half interest in this land and made his home thereon for seven years, when he gave a part of the land in payment for ninety-four acres of his present home. Upon this place he has since resided, and his farming operations have been crowned with a high degree of success. As his financial resources have increased he has added to this property from time to time until he now has one hundred and seventy acres, the greater part of which is under a high state of cultivation, showing his careful supervision and giving evidence of his industry and capable management. Mr. Swickard has been twice married. He first wedded Miss Sarah A. Smith, a native of Plain township, and a daughter of Abraham P. Smith, who removed to Franklin county from Sussex county, New Jersey. Four children were born of this marriage, of whom three are yet living,' namely : Robert A., who operates the home farm; Dora M. the wife of Harry B. Taylor, of Plain township; and Minnie A., wife of Willis Johnston, of Mifflin township, Franklin county. The wife and mother died March 22, 1890, and on the 22d of March, 1893, Mr. Swickard was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Sarah M. Fravel, a native of Plain township, and a daughter of John Goodrich, one of the pioneer settlers of Lincoln county, Ohio, who came to this state from Connecticut. Subsequently he took up his abode in Franklin county. His father, Ezekiel Goodrich, was an old sea captain, and lived. to the advanced age of ninety years. After attaining to womanhood. Sarah Goodrich gave her hand in marriage to David Fravel; and they became the parents of four children, of whom three are namely : Eveline, the wife of George Beem, of Licking county; Felix C., a farmer of 916 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Plain township ; and Joseph W., who carries on agricultural pursuits in Licking county. There are no children by the second marriage of Mr. Swickard. This worthy couple are well known in the community and enjoy the warm regard of many friends. Mr. Swickard is a member and one of the trustees of the United Brethren church. He warmly espouses Democratic principles, and for eight years has served as trustee of his township. In. 1893 he was appointed as one of the commissioners for the building of the Gahanna New Albany free turnpike, and was made trustee and treasurer of the pike, in both of which offices he is still serving. He is one of the highly esteemed men of the county, reliable and trustworthy in all public affairs and faithful to the duties of the home and of the country at all times. JAMES D. POSTON. The existing Strength and prosperity of the Democratic party in Ohio is due to those men who have devoted to its interests their natural energies, intellectual endownments, loyalty and a marked executive ability in conducting public affairs of vital importance to the country; and to such men, who have consigned the best portion of their lives to the faithful discharge of the trusts reposed in them, is tendered the grateful acknowledgment of an appreciative party. Conspicuous among those who have labored long and conscientiously for the success of that party, and whose active services have extended over a period of more than thirty years, is the gentleman whose name appears above,—a leading Democrat and citizen of this section of the state. He is especially prominent in connection with the work of the Columbus board of election, and when entering upon his work as a member of that board he puts aside all partisan prejudices and feeling, and is extremely fair and impartial in his rulings. Colonel James D. Poston is a representative of two of the most prominent pioneer families of Ohio, and is descended from good old Revolutionary stock. The Poston family was represented in the war for independence by the great-great-grandfather of our subject and two of his brothers. The great-grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812. Alex Poston, the grandfather of our subject, was the father of Wesley W. Poston, who removed from Hampshire county, Virginia, to Athens county, Ohio, in the year 1835. He was a very successful merchant and became known as the richest man in the Hocking valley. The Postons were the largest mine owners in the valley and took a very active part in developing the resources of the state and thus promoting its material upbuilding. Wesley Poston gave his attention strictly to his business affairs, and hid efforts were attended with a high degree of prosperity. He died in 1876, leaving to his family a comfortable competence. In early manhood he married Elizabeth Dew, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Zane) Dew. The Dews were pioneer people of Athens county, Ohio, locating there on their removal from Virginia, and the grandfather of our subject was a wealthy farmer. Elizabeth Dew, afterward Mrs. Poston, aided the soldiers in the Revo- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 917 lutionary war. With many others her family had taken refuge in a block house at Wheeling, West Virginia, where they were. attacked by Simon Girty and a band of Indians. Although only nine years of age, she ran bullets which were used in repelling the attack. She lived to the very advanced age of ninety-four years, and frequently related to her grandson, Colonel James D. Poston, events which were connected with the Revolutionary and Indian wars and with the early history of the country. She was a cousin of Elizabeth Zane, whose story is familiar to all students of our early American annals. As related by the grandmother of the Colonel, the incident is as follows : On one occasion the settlers had sought refuge in a block-house and were earnestly endeavoring to keep back the band of Indians who threatened their destruction, when it was learned that their supply of powder was very low. Another keg of powder was in a building some distance away, and it was absolutely imperative that the men have it. Elizabeth Zane Volunteered to secure it. The men objected to her attempting the errand, but she insisted that they were all needed in the block-house,—that not one could be spared. She had just returned from school in Philadelphia, and was then eighteen years of age. She made her way from the house, and as she passed quickly along the Indians were . so surprised that they thought this meant surrender on the part of the whites and did not attack her. When she started to return with the keg of powder, however, they had sufficiently recovered from their surprise to understand her mission, and the bullets flew thick and fast around her, but she escaped almost miraculously and in safety reached the house. To her fearlessness the entire band of people undoubtedly owed their lives. Colonel Poston, of this review, was born in Nelsonville, Athens county, Ohio. He attended college for several years, his educational privileges including a course in the Ohio University. He was afterward connected with business interests in Logan, Ohio, until 1878, when he came to Columbus as the chief mine inspector of the state, having been appointed to that position by Governor Bishop for a four years' term. After a year and a half, however, on account of ill health, he resigned. He is now a retired business man, residing at No. 853 South Champion avenue. Since the age of fourteen years he has taken a very deep and active interest in political affairs, and is a stalwart supporter of the Democracy. For twelve years he served as a member of the board of elections, and from 1887 to 1890 was its president. He was first appointed by Governor Foraker, a Republican, and after the power of appointment was vested in the mayor he was chosen for the position by Mayor Karb, and four years later by Mayor Allen. There has been a wonderful improvement in the manner of conducting elections in Ohio in the past fifteen years, and the present splendid arrangement is the growth of the public sentiment following the discovery of the election frauds in Cincinnati and elsewhere in the fall of 1885. The prostitution of the ballot was comparatively an easy thing prior to the law of 1887, providing for the registration of voters in the cities. Before that time there was a statute providing for. the selection of judges and clerks by the electors, but in the year mentioned, in pursu- 918 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY ance to the law passed by the legislature, what are known as: the city and county boards were created. Under that law the power of appointment by the city board was vested in the mayor of Columbus, and that of the county board in the secretary of state, and the term of the members is four years. In the year 1897 this was amended so that the board appointed by the mayor has charge of the entire county. This gives each incumbent of the mayoralty the appointment of two members of the board, one a Democrat and one a Republican. The board is non-partisan, consisting of four members divided equally between the two leading parties. No election machinery has ever had the confidence of the people more than the existing board, and no organization has ever been so free from the supposed double dealing in the management of the suffrage. In campaigns where party spirit runs riot the contention of partisanship stops at the door of the board of elections, and the decisions have been given with honesty and due consideration of the rights of all. The first president of the board was Colonel Poston, who served from 1887 until 1890. Since his retirement he has served as a member of the Democratic city executive committee, the county executive committee, and is now the secretary of the Democratic county committee. Colonel Poston was married in Hocking county, Ohio, to Miss Sarah Clark, a-daughter of George Clark, one of the pioneers of that locality. They attend the Presbyterian church and are prominent in the community, having a wide acquaintance and enjoying the high regard of many friends. DANIEL HEADLEY. Among the prominent pioneer families of Franklin. county is that to which our subject belongs. Great changes have been wrought since the first representative of the name came to Ohio, finding here large tracts of uncultivated land, forests which stood in their primeval strength and a few cabins to indicate the progress of civilization. Daniel Headley was born on the farm where he now resides April 20, 1838, his parents being William and Mary (Havens) Headley. The father was a native of Sussex county, New Jersey, born July 31, 1787, and in the east he was reared. His father was the first of the name to emigrate westward, and William Headley and five of his brothers afterward came to Ohio, the latter being Peter, Samuel, Lewis Usual and Charles Headley. They made the journey from New Jersey b wagon. William Headley, however, rode on horseback, carrying with him a small willow switch, which he used as a riding whip. On his arrival he stuck the branch into the ground, where it took root, and to-day by the side of the residence stands a very large willow tree, which is a memento of his journey. Of the brothers, Peter and Lewis entered land in Licking county, near Jersey, while Usual located near Zanesville, and William and Samuel took up their abode in Jefferson township, Franklin county. In the following year they acquired land on the four corners since known as Headley's Corners. For several years they also conducted a saw and gristmill in part- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 919 nership, but afterward William Headley purchased the brothers' interest in the sawmill. and lands, and Samuel then removed to Licking county. The old mill. did duty for many years, but was finally washed away in a flood many years ago. As the years passed William Headley prospered in his business undertakings, and at the time of his death he owned five hundred acres of valuable land, all acquired through industry and good management. He was the first postmaster of Headley's Corners, and held the office for many years, dispensing the mail from his residence. Throughout his entire life he was a stanch Democrat, and for several years he served as constable of his township. He was never a member of any church, but believed in the Universalist faith and contributed quite liberally to religious work. He died August 1, 1862. His wife, who was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, March 10, 1799, came with her parents to Franklin county when a child. By her marriage she had twelve children, of whom six are yet living, namely : William, who is now living retired in Columbus ; Ezekiel, a farmer of Holt county, Missouri; David and Daniel, twins, the former a retired resident of Columbus; Mary, the wife of H. J. Edgel., of South Haven, Michigan; and Electa, the wife of Thomas Hull, of Maysville, DeKalb county, Missouri. Daniel Headley early became familiar with the work of the home farm as he followed the plow across the fields and planted and cultivated the crops. His education was obtained in the common schools. On reaching their twenty-first year he and his twin brother took charge.of the home farm; which they operated on shares until the father's death, after which the estate was settled, Daniel Headley and his brother continuing their farm work in partnership. Their share of the estate was three hundred and fifty. acres, and their business was conducted in common until 1876, when they. dissolved partnership and our subject went to the west, where he engaged in farming and in buying and shipping stock. He was there in partnership with his brother Ezekiel, of DeKalb county, Missouri. They also purchased two or three tracts of grazing land, and for some years bought and shipped cattle on an extensive scale, meeting with good success, but in 1883 Daniel. Headley returned to Franklin county and took charge of his farm, which he had rented while in Missouri. He has since resided upon this place, his attention being given to agricultural pursuits. Thoroughly familiar with the work in all its departments from boyhood, he carries on his farm in a most progressive manner, and the highly cultivated fields yield to him a golden tribute. On the 23d of May 1891, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Headley and Mrs. Lucinda J. Wagoner, widow of William Wagoner and a daughter of John Daily, one of the pioneers of Franklin county. By her former marriage Mrs. Headley had three children, of whom two are now living, namely : Ollie, the wife of George Strait, of Plain township; and Dora, wife of Stacey D. Trumbo, of Jefferson township. Although giving an unfaltering support to the Democracy, Daniel Headley has never been an office-seeker, his attention being fully occupied by his business affairs. His religious belief is in harmony with the doctrines of the Universalist church, and he contributes 920 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. freely to promote moral, intellectual and material interests in the community. He is widely known for his probity, his fidelity to duty, his upright principles and his genuine worth of character. JAMES McCLOUD. A life of industry and of uprightness, a good name won by good methods in the business world, a memory of a kind husband. and an indulgent parent —these are a part of the legacy left by James McCloud at his death, which occurred December 4, 1898, and they are cherished by his children and his friends who remember him for what he was and did. The late James McCloud, of Columbus, Ohio, was born in 1840 where the old east graveyard was later laid out and where is now the east park, at the corner of Livingston and Eighteenth:streets. His father, George McCloud, was brought to Columbus about 1809, from Pennsylvania, where he was born about two years before, and he died in this city in 1864. His mother, Elizabeth (Stombaugh) McCloud, also a Pennsylvanian by birth, was brought to Columbus at about the age of two years by her father, James Stombaugh, in 1812, and died in 1899, aged eighty-nine years James McCloud was educated in the school near his father's farm and in schools in Columbus. In 1863 he married Miss Isabel McKelvey, of Columbus, who carne from near Dublin, Ireland, where she was born. After his marriage he lived three years in Illinois, but returned to Columbus in 1866 and for some time was a traveling salesman. Subsequently he was for six years a farmer and then moved into Columbus and engaged in the grocery trade at Rich street and: Grand avenue, where he did business twelve years or until his removal to High street, near Town, where he remained until 1888, when he closed out his grocery business and became a contractor of street paving. He put down the brick on Rich street and on a number of the other streets of Columbus and carried out successfully many contracts in New York and Pennsylvania, becoming well known in his line of business and amassing,a considerable fortune. Mr. McCloud survived. his first wife twenty-four years. She died in 1874, leaving two daughters, Emma Belle and Charlotte May. The latter is the wife of Charles H. Bartow, of Columbus. Mr. McCloud's second wife was Miss Angie Carroll daughter of the Rev. Andrew Carroll, who died in 1885, leaving a son, James McClouk who is a well known coal and wood dealer at Columbus, with yards on the west side. Mr. McCloud was fond of home and wife and children and was seldom absent except on business. He was a thorough man of affairs and his. good judgment was apparent in every important change he made: He attended and was a liberal supporter of the Westminster Presbyterian church. Though having no taste for practical politics, he had pronounced views upon every public question and was never at a loss to give a reason for his opinion. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 921 GEORGE W. CONDIT George W. Condit is now living a retired life in Westerville. He was for a long period connected with farming interests in Ohio, but in December, 1900, he put aside business cares and took up his abode in the place where he now resides, enjoying a well merited rest. His father, Isaac Condit, was born in Essex county, New Jersey, about 1798, was there reared to manhood and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed in his native state until i836, when he came to Ohio, accompanied by his wife and their five children. In Harrison township, Licking county, he purchased a farm of one hundred and one acres. It was covered with timber, and in the midst of the forest he erected a log cabin, in which the famiily lived in true pioneer style, while he was engaged in clearing the place and preparing it for the plow. At intervals he also worked at the carpenter's trade, following to a greater or less extent throughout his entire life. His sons, Mathias and William, took great delight in the use of tools in boyhood, and in later years the father worked with them along the line of that industry. He died in his eightieth year, his death being occasioned by an accident, a locomotive-striking him as he was walking beside the track. He was at that time living on the farm of his son, Mathias. In early life he was a Jacksonian Democrat, but afterward he and all of his sons voted the Republican ticket, and he did everything in his power to advance the growth and secure the success of his party. He is one of the pioneer members of the Presbyterian church in his district, and often went eight miles to attend services. He established the first Sabbath-school in his district, and was largely instrumental in securing the erection of the first Presbyterian church in this vicinity. His noble Christian life and his upright example made him a man whom to .know was to esteem and honor. He married Jane R. Dobbins, who was born in Essex county, New Jersey, about 18o1. She was a woman of strong personality, and her influence did much in molding her husband's character and in making him the splendid specimen of manhood which he was known to be. Their example and precept also had much to do with shaping the lives of their children, none of whom ever used tobacco or liquor in any form, and who have ever been a credit to an untarnished family name. The mother passed away in her seventy-sixth year, about a year prior to her husband's demise. Of their ten children, five are yet living, namely : Mary A., deceased, the widow of Isaac Cain, of Licking county, Ohio; George W. ; Mathias C., who is also living in Licking county ;.Bertan J., of Logan county ; and Sarah E., wife of Louis Mills, of Stella, Nebraska, George W. Condit spent the days of his youth upon his father's farm, and in the winter season and when, his services were not needed in the fields he pursued his education in the common schools. His opportunities in that direction, however, Were somewhat meager, but, realizing the need of education in the practical. affairs of life, he spent three winter terms in school after attaining his majority, and also pursued his studies in the Granville high 58 922 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. school. He was then granted a certificate to teach, and through two winter seasons he devoted his time to following that profession and to study. In this way he gained a thorough comprehension and practical knowledge. During the summer months until his thirty-first year he worked for his father upon the home farm. On the 1st of October, 1857, Mr. Condit was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Young, a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph and Rebecca (Lyle) Young. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, and with his parents went to Fairfield county, Ohio, when a youth o f seventeen years, his father, John Young, being one of the first settlers in that locality. The mother was born in Kentucky, and when four years of age was brought to Franklin county; Ohio, by her father, John Lyle, who entered from the government a tract of land upon which the Ohio State University now stands. A portion of the farm is still in possession of the Lyle family. For three years after his marriage Mr. Condit continued the operation of the old family homestead, and also cultivated sixty-six and two-thirds acres of land which he had purchased in connection with his father. At the time of his marriage his father gave him a deed to that property. When three years had passed our subject sold his land to a younger brother and purchased a farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres in Plain township, Franklin county, where he spent three years. On the expiration of that period he once more disposed of his land and purchased a farm better improved, comprising one hundred and seventy acres in Jersey township, Licking county. Seventeen years were there passed, and he next became the owner of his present farm of one hundred and two acres in Blendon township, Franklin county, where he carried on agricultural pursuits until December, 1900, when he retired from active business life. He also retains possession of his farm in Licking county. He owns town property in Westerville, where he is now living. In his political views Mr. Condit is a stanch Republican, unswerving in support of the principles of his party. Since his fourteenth year he has been a member of the Presbyterian church, and is now serving as one of its elders, while for fourteen years he was a teacher in the Sunday-school. He does all in his power to promote the work of the church and its various branches, and withholds his support and co-operation from no movement or measure that is calculated to prove of general good. SYLVESTER M. SHERMAN, M. D. Among the representatives of the medical fraternity of Columbus who haVe attained prominence and prosperity by reason of superior skill and ability is Dr. Sylvester Morrill Sherman. , He is orie of the native sons of the city, boin on the 23d of December, 1842. The grandfather of our subject, Amos Sherman, was a drum major iii the war of 1812,. and on the expiration of his first term re-enlisted. He died of diphtheria at Fort Meigs. His wife CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 923 bore the maiden name of Miss Whitham, and was from the vicinity of Wheeling, West Virginia. Levi H.. Sherman, the Doctor's father, was born near Wheeling, March 1, 1809, and having arrived at years of maturity married Lydia G. Morrill, a daughter of Moses and Millie (Merion) Morrill. The latter is a sister of Merion. The mother of our subject is a native of Ohio and is still living, at the age of eighty-two years.. About 1838 Levi H. Sherman arrived in Columbus, where, in connection with his twin brother, William, he established a comb factory, which. became one of the leading industries of the city. He manufactured high and side combs on an extensive scale, his business assuming large proportions. In 1849 he joined a company of Columbus men, under the leadership of John Walton, and went to California. His death occurred near. Stockton, that state, in 1850. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sherman were born three children : Cynthia A. is the wife of Oliver Merion, a son of William, Merion and a resident of Chicago, Illinois ; Levi William married Pauline Rickle and is living in Columbus. Sylvester M. Sherman, the subject of this review, and the other member of the family, acquired his literary education in the public schools of Columbus, and his professional training was received in the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati. However, in the meantime, upon the field of battle he had demonstrated his loyalty to the Union, having enlisted in 1864 in the One Hundred and Thirty-third Ohio Infantry for one hundred days' service. He was an orderly sergeant under the command of. Captain Fisher and. Colonel innis. Our subject published a history of his regiment in 1896. After his return from: the war the Doctor engaged in teaching school in Franklin county for nine years; but, abandoning educational work, he turned his attention to the medical profession, and in 1875 was graduated at the Eclectic Medical College, of Cincinnati. He then began practice at Garrett, Indiana, where he remained for nine years, intimately associated with Washington Cowan, who laid out the town for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. While living there the Doctor took an active part in politics as a supporter of the Republican party, and served as a member of the school board. In 1883 he returned to. Columbus, and with excellent equipment gained in a thorough college course and through broad and varied experience he began practice in his native city, establishing an office at the corner of Mount, Vernon and Twentieth streets, where he has since been located. He has given his attention strictly to his professional, duties, and has secured a large and constantly growing practice. In 1865 the Doctor married Miss! Lemira Ann Shoemaker, a daughter of Christopher and Sarah Ann (Belknap) Shoemaker. In connection with Theodore Leonard and Mr. Atcheson, Mr. Shoemaker was engaged in the manufacture of brick in Columbus from 1840 until 1870, carrying on an extensive business. He was a. well-known and prominent citizen, and ,his loss was mourned throughout, the entire community when he passed away in 1891, at the, age of seventy-one years. His widow died. April 27, 1901. Unto 924 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. the Doctor and his wife have been born. the following .children : Rose E. is the eldest and is the wife of Isaac Humphrey, an attorney at Zanesville, Ohio. Christopher Elias, who married Miss Eleanora Bruning, a daughter of H. Bruning, of Columbus, is a graduate of the Ohio State University in the class of 1894, and is now associate professor of civil engineering in that institution. Edward Charles, who married Miss Ada Hance, a daughter of John W. Hance, of Columbus, is a graduate of the Ohio Dental, College, of Cincinnati, and is now practicing in this city. Oliver Clinton is a graduate of a business college of Columbus. Cynthia. Ellen, better known as Nellie, is a graduate of an art academy in Cincinnati; Lydia Grace is a graduate of the high school and normal school of Columbus. John King graduated in civil engineering at the State University in 1901. James Garfield is a graduate of the high school of Columbus, and is now attending medical college. Sylvester Morrill and Sarah Ruth are both attending the high school, and. Lemira Ann is a student in the grammar school. The Doctor has provided his children with excellent educational privileges, thus preparing them to fill important positions in life. He is a member of Wells Post, G. A. R., and is a Royal Arch and Knight Templar and thirty-second-degree Mason, belonging to Mount Vernon Commandery, No. 1. He holds membership in the Congregational church, and is active in his cooperation in all movements. tending to promote the intellectual, social, material and moral welfare of the community. In his profession he has gained a position of due relative precedence, and an excellent business now rewards his ability and close application. FRANK B. CAMERON. Frank Bedford Cameron, o-f Columbus, Ohio, the subject of this sketch, comes of a family of editors and printers. His grandfather Cameron published a newspaper in Butler county, Ohio, in 1826. His father was a pioneer editor and printer in Iowa, and he has himself edited and published several newspapers, and several of his uncles and cousins in both branches of his family are editors and. publishers of newspapers in Nebraska, South Carolina and Iowa and in other states. Mr. Cameron has. two bound volumes of the old paper published by his grandfather in Butler county, Ohio, in 1826 and later, and often refers to them with great interest. His father, Anderson Chenault Cameron, was born in. Butler county, Ohio, and removed to Lucas county, Iowa, in 1848, and there Frank Bedford Cameron was born, November 3o, 1855. In 1853 Anderson C. Cameron established the first newspaper at Osceola, Iowa, which was also one of the earliest in that part of the state. From there he went to Sheridan, Iowa, where he was interested with S. D. Ingersoll in the publication of the Sheridan Patriot, a Democratic paper which supported Stephen A. Douglas for the presidency, and it should be added that Mr. Cameron established the first bookbindery in all the northwest part of the United States CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 925 west of Burlington, Iowa. In 1861 he enlisted as a lieutenant in Company B, Third Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he saw two years service in the. war of the Rebellion. In 1864 he was appointed to a clerkship in the postoffice department at Washington, D. C., and held the position until his death in 1872. He .established the Postal Directory, now the Postal Guide, to which he had more than six thousand subscribers' at the time of his death. Frank B. Cameron's grandfather in the paternal line married Miss Maria Ingersoll; a sister of the father of the, late famous orator, Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll. Anderson C. Cameron, the father of the:subject 'of this sketch, married Emily C. Van Boast, a daughter of Francis V. Van Boost; who came with his family from near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and settled in Indiana, whence he removed to Iowa. At the time she met Mr. Cameron she was a student at Howe Academy at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Her mother was a Coryell of the old Pennsylvania family of that name. Frank B. Cameron began his experience as a printer in Washington, D. C., and in 1876 joined the typographical union in that city and has since been an active member of that organization, having been a member of its executive committee, a delegate in 1892 to the international convention at Philadelphia and a delegate to the Ohio Federation. In January, 1900, and again in July, the same year, he was elected. president of the Columbus Trades and Labor Assembly, which is composed of seven delegates from each labor organization in the city and represents about eight thousand local workers at different trades and is a practical affiliation of organizations for the purpose of bringing. different kinds of labor together to make common cause against opposing interests. Mr. Cameron came to Columbus in 1884. From 1885 to 1887 he published and edited the Urbana Sun and the Trade Ledger, a daily labor paper at Columbus. From 1893 to 1896 he filled the office of justice of the peace, to which he was elected by a larger majority than was ever given to any other candidate for that responsible position in Columbus. He was a Knight of Pythias, and has filled all chairs in the .local organization of Red Men. He married. Miss Sarah E. Crabill, of Champaign county, Ohio, who was a teacher in the public schools there. Mrs. Cameron has borne her husband two daughters; named Lula May and Hazel C. JOHN H. KOEHL. John H. Koehl, who occupied the position of secretary of the Democratic county central committee in the year 1900, was born in Columbus in 1876, and. is a son of Charles koehl, a native of Bavaria, Germany, who on crossing the Atlantic to the new worlds in 1854 came direct to Columbus. Soon he began farming in Hamilton township, following agricultural pursuits until 1872, when he returned to the city and engaged in business here for about twenty-four years. He was very successful in his undertakings and in 1896 926 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. retired with a very comfortable competence. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Jacobina Rieselt, is also a native of Germany. John Henry Koehl, of this review, is indebted to the public-school system of Columbus for his literary education, and in Knox Business College he was fitted for the practical experiences of the business world. When fifteen years of age he began learning the printer's trade, and after mastering, the business in its older methods he learned .the machine printing business. He is now one of the most expert operators in the United States, having taken part in several contests of speed, in which he has carried off the honors. He is now with the A. C. Berlin Publishing Company, of Columbus, in charge of a Linotype machine. As a representative of this business he has traveled throughout the United States. Since his boyhood political questions have had deep interest for Mr. Koehl and he has labored earnestly in behalf of Democracy. He was elected a committeeman from the thirteenth ward in 1900, and on the organization of the committee he .was chosen as its secretary for the present year. His labors are now being given untiringly toward the advancement of his party's growth and success, and his work is highly commended by party leaders. Mr. Koehl is a member of Typographical Union No. 5, and is a trustee of the Trades and Labor Assembly. He is very active in union trade circles and his opinion's carry weight in trade councils. He has made a close study of the questions of capital and labor, and is in hearty sympathy with the unions in their efforts to secure justice and fair compensation for work. In his religious affiliations Mr. Koehl is connected with the German Independent Protestant church. WILLIAM MERION. The family of Merion is one of historical importance in Franklin county, Ohio, and it is distinguished as having given its name to one of the townships of that county, which was called Merion in honor of William Merion, Sr., the father of William Merion, the subject of this sketch, who was a well known citizen of Columbus. The township of Merion referred to was organized in 1880 from territory taken from the old townships of Hamilton and Montgomery. William Merion, the father of William Merion, Sr., and the grandfather of William Merion, of Columbus, came from. Massachusetts in 1804, and he and his brother Elijah and his brother-in-law Morrill took up three sections of land, which at this time would be bounded as follows : On the north by Rinehart avenue, on the south by the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad, and on the two other sides by the river and the Lockburn road. Mr. Merion was a prominent early citizen of the county, a large land-owner and an extensive farmer, and died at his homestead in 1837. His son, William Merion, Sr., was born in 1811 in a cabin that stood on South High street, just south of Mohler street. At that time there were only about four houses west of the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 927 river. He attended school at the Sells school house, at the corner of Coshatt and High streets, and once while coming home from spelling-school, killed a bear—the last ever slain within the city limits with a horse pistol at Deshler and High streets. He gave his life to farming, was successful and became a well known and respected citizen, and when Merion township was organized was its oldest citizen who was born within its limits. He died in 1894, aged eighty-three. William Merion, the original settler, was married, in Massachusetts, to Sarah Morrill, and his brother-in-law, who came with him to Ohio, had two daughters, one of whom became the wife of Colonel Innis, a biographical sketch of whom appears in this work, the other being Mrs. Lydia Cookman, of Columbus. William Merion, Sr., married twice, —first, Mrs. Catherine (Clinckenger) Johnson, a daughter of Jacob Clinckenger, a pioneer in Ohio, who came from New Jersey. His second wife was Mrs. Martha Sheldon, who was the daughter of James Uncles, an early settler in Ohio from New England. Besides William Merion, the subject of this sketch, William Merion, Sr., had four -other sons : Charles Merion, of Columbus, a well known farmer, now living on South High street, whose son, Hon. Charles Merion, was elected to the general assembly of Ohio in 1894, and again in 1898; Oliver Merion, a wholesale flour and grain merchant of Chicago, Illinois; Levi Merion, living retired at Columbus; and Edward Merion (born of the second: marriage) , who. is the chief clerk in the Columbus offices of the Shawnee & Hocking Railroad Company. William Merion was educated in Columbus, principally during the war of the Rebellion; and it is not strange that he was often kept from school to do farm work, as two of his brothers were in the south fighting for the Union,—George in Colonel Innes' cavalry, with which he hepled to capture Morgan, and Oliver as a lieutenant in the Ninety-fifth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Until after his father's death he lived on the Merion homestead, but in a short time subsequent to that event he moved into the city of Columbus, where he has since given his attention to .contracting. He married Miss Anna Stimmel, a daughter of the late Samuel Stimmel, a wealthy and prominent farmer of Franklin township, Franklin county, and has two children: Mary, a student at the high school; and George Edgar, also at school. With his family Mr. Merion attends the Congregational church. In politics he is a Republican, and, though he is not an office-seeker or even an active politician in the ordinary sense of the term, he is not without influence in his party and is a man of recognized. patriotism and public spirit. WILLIAM L. TOWNS, M. D. The family of Towns is a distinguished one in England, where several of its members have been prominent in public affairs and others have won distinction in the army and navy, and one of Dr. Town's uncles of that name was a member of parliament, as was also his uncle, George Hickman. Dr. Towns, of No. 521 Main street, Columbus, Ohio, was born at Mount Ver- 928 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. non avenue and St. Clair street, in this city, in 1869, a son of William Towns, who came to Columbus from Guilford in Surrey, England, in 1861, and became prominent as a surveyor and contractor for street work, doing a large business and achieving a distinctsuccess financially. In 1872 William Towns removed to a fine farm of one hundred acres in Franklin township, Franklin county, Ohio, where he lived until 1897, when he returned to Columbus and embarked in business as a feed merchant. William Towns married Miss Josephine Walton, of Worthington, Franklin county, Ohio, a daughter of Henry Clay Walton, who is a native of Franklin county, but whose father came from England and was a direct descendant of Colonel William Henry Clay; a man of prominence and influence in his time. With such antecedents, it is not strange that Dr. Towns early showed that he was of the stuff of which successful men are made. He received his primary education in the public schools of Franklin township, where he passed his childhood. after he was. four years Old, and was a graduate at the old Capital City Commercial School, of Columbus, in 1883. After that he was employed for two years by the Columbus Buggy Company and for eight years by he Ohio Buggy Company, of Columbus, and during that time had a valuable business experience and an opportunity to study men of affairs and their Method's which has an important bearing on his professional success. He was graduated from Starling Medical College, Columbus, with the class of 1896, and at once thereafter entered upon the practice of his profession with offices at 521 East Main street, Columbus. He has devoted himself to general practice and has built up a large and increasing patronage. Dr. Towns has been a Republican since before he was a voter and was at one time active and prominent in local politics in Franklin township. He was married,. at Circleville, Ohio, to Miss Margaret C. Boysell, a daughter of Jacob Boysell and a member of a family old and well known in that part. of the state. Dr. Towns is an up-to-date physician who makes a special study. of every case in which he is called, and keeps up With the literature of his profession; and as a man he is straightforward and unassuming, with a capacity to make and retain friends ; and his success thus far, flattering as it is, is regarded by those who know him best as only an earnest of greater achievements to come. MICHAEL J. OATES. Michael J. Oates, an enterprising and wide-awake business man of Columbus, is numbered among Ohio's native sons, his birth having occurred in Lancaster, in 1860. His father, Patrick Oates, was born in Ireland, and on leaving the Green isle of Erin he crossed the Atlantic to the new world in 1850, taking up his abode in the Buckeye state. Throughout his entire life he followed the tanner's trade and his death occurred in 1873, when he was forty-five years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Annie Britt, was a native of .county Roscommon, Ireland. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 929 Michael Joseph Oates spent his boyhood and youth in the county of his nativity, attended the parochial schools there, and after putting aside his textbooks learned the trade of merchant tailor. He was also employed in a drug store for three years. In 1880 he came to Columbus and embarked in business on his own account. For twenty years he has conducted a merchant tailoring establishment, which is one of the leading enterprises in its line in the city. He carries a large and well .selected stock of goods and one may always be sure of securing the advance styles there. His business methods are thoroughly. reliable and commend him to the confidence and patronage of the public. Mr. Oates was married in Columbus, to Miss Elizabeth Straub, who was born in this city in 1860, and is a daughter of Andrew and Catherine Straub, who came from Germany and took up their residence in Ohio's capital many years ago, the father being here engaged in the shoe business. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Oates have been born five children, namely : Carl, Edward, Marie and Helen, aged respectively thirteen, nine, seven and five years, and Joseph, who is now in .the second year of his age. The parents are members of the Sacred Heart church. In 1898 Mr. Oates was elected a member of the city council from the seventeenth ward and served for two years: He is a prominent member of the Knights of St. John, of which society he has been the treasurer. He is also the treasurer of the Hibernian Knights of Columbus, and is a charter member of the Catholic Order of Foresters. He is a man of keen discrimination and sound judgment, and his executive ability and excellent management have brought to the- concern which he controls a large degree of success. The safe, conservative policy which he inaugurated commends itself to the judgment of all and has secured 'to him a large patronage. LEWIS J. BROOKS. Agriculture is the most useful as Well as the most honorable occupation to which man devotes his energies. Such was the utterance of George Washington more than a century ago, but the truth stands to-day. Agriculture is the foundation of the world's prosperity, and upon it depends all, activity in every, line of life. Mr. Brooks is a worthy representative of the calling, being numbered among the leading farmers of Plain township, Franklin county. He was born in Newark, Licking county, Ohio, On the 16th of August, 1855, and is one of the four children of Hiram and Sarah (Park) Brooks, although he has but, one brother now living, Samuel D., who is a carpenter and builder of Newark. The father is numbered among the native sons. of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Syracuse county, New York, October 1, 1824. The grandparents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Wade) Brooks, are both natives of Canada, but soon after their marriage removed to New York, where the grandfather became a prominent farmer, there spending his remaining days. Hiram Brooks was reared upon the homestead. there and in early life learned the trade of a carpenter and builder. On leaving the east he took up his abode in Eliza- 930 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. bethtown, Ohio, and after a short time went to Newark, Licking county, where he resided until 1859. In that year he settled near Jersey, in the same county, and continued to follow his. chosen occupation until 1864, when, in response to the country's call for troops, he served for one hundred days, enlisting in the Union army as a member of Company D, Seventeenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, and he remained at the front until after the expiration of his term. Returning to his home, Mr. Brooks then engaged iii business as a manufacturer of tile, and early in the '70s removed to New Albany, where he erected tile works, continuing the operation of the Jersey Tile Works for three years in connection with the factory at New Albany. He then sold the former: in order to give his entire attention to the conduct of the latter enterprise, following the business until the early '80s, when he removed to Worthington, Franklin county. Here he erected an extensive plant for the manufacture of tile, its motive power being steam, and for five or six years he carried on business here, but on the expiration of that period disposed of the plant and has since enjoyed. a well earned rest. Great activity in industrial affairs brought to: him a handsome competence, his capital being now sufficient to supply him with all the needs through his remaining days. He votes with the Republican party, earnestly advocating its principles; yet has never, been an office seeker. A member of the Worthington Lodge, F. & A. M., he is now serving as one of its officers and is a faithful and loyal follower of the fraternity. His wife was born in Blendon township, Franklin county, in March, 1835, and is a daughter of Samuel Park, one of the early pioneer settlers here, who died a few weeks prior to the birth of his daughter. Lewis J. Brooks attended' the common schools until fourteen years of age, when he began working in his father's tile factory, continuing his connection with that pursuit until his twenty-fifth year, but after his marriage he abandoned that industry for farm life, taking up his abode on a tract of land joining his present farm upon the south. It comprises one hundred and a half acres belonging to his father-in-law. After five years, in connection with Mr. Strait, his father-in-law, he purchased his present home farm of ninety-one acres and removed thereto. He has proved a capable manager, and as a result of his industry and business ability, supplemented by the labors of his wife, he has acquired some three hundred and forty ;acres of land. He possesses unabating industry and ability in the conduct of his farm, and his labors have been crowned with a high degree of success. On the 13th of June, 1880, Mr. Brooks was joined in wedlock to Anna Eliza Strait, a daughter of Dennis B. Strait, and they now have two children, Ina Maud and Gladys B. The elder is a graduate of the district school, while the younger daughter is still a student. In his political views Mr. Brooks is a Republican and is recognized as one of the leaders in the local ranks of his party. Twice he has been a candidate on its ;ticket for the office of trustee, and though the township is strongly Democratic, he polled a large vote, receiving the largest support that has ever been given to a Republican CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 931 candidate for the office for .many years. In the spring of 1900 he was nominated for justice. of the peace, and again his defeat amounted almost to a victory, for he ran far ahead of his ticket, a fact which indicates his personal popularity and the high regard reposed in him. The Brooks household is celebrated for its gracious and generous hospitality; and our subject and his wife have many warm friends throughout the county, being recognized as people of sterling worth. ELMER J. MILLER. Elmer Jacob Miller is one of the leading citizens of Columbus whose advancement has resulted from his individual efforts, and who to-day occupies a prominent position in business and political circles in the capital city. He was born in Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, on the 30th of December, 1862, and is a son of Amos Miller, a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. The father is now living in Columbus, at the age of sixty-nine years, having come to this place from Carlisle, where he had charge of the agricultural department of the Carisle Indian Training School for eight years,—from 1882 to 1890. In taking up the personal history of Elmer J. Miller we present to our readers the record of one who is widely and favorably known in Columbus in connection with business and political interests ; and his career is one which is in many respects well worthy of emulation. He acquired his education in the public schools near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and at the age of sixteen he entered upon a five-years apprenticeship at the machinist's trade, to the Frick Company, at Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. Subsequently he came to Columbus, and with practical experience gained through association. with his father's business he established the Miller Fruit & Vegetable Company, which enterprise was attended with success from the beginning, his trade steadily increasing until it assumed extensive proportions. He continued its conduct until 1899, and then retired from that enterprise, but maintained his active connection with many other important business concerns of which he had become a member in the meantime. Mr. Miller in the interval had become deeply interested in politics and was well known as a worker in Republican ranks. He was first made the secretary of the county central committee and for two terms he was the secretary of he Republican State League. During the campaign of 1896 he was a member of the' Republican national league committee and in 1898 was a vice President of the national league. He is not only well informed on political subjects but has the business ability and executive power so necessary to the successful .management of a campaign, and his efforts have been very effective in promoting the party's interests. On the 2d of June, 1897, he was appointed surveyor of customs at Columbus, and is still filling that position. Aside from this he is connected with several other important financial undertakings which have 932 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. not only advanced his individual prosperity but have. contributed in a large measure to the business activity and consequent success of the city. Mr. Miller was married in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, in 1887, to Miss Ida S. Geist, the eldest daughter of Jacob and Sarah Geist, who were prominent settlers of Baltimore county, Maryland, and are now deceased. They have three sons : Tolbert C., Raymond E. and Frank G., aged respectively twelve, ten and six years, and all now in school. While possessing the qualities of a successful business man and a desirable social companion, perhaps Mr. Miller's most strongly marked characteristic is his unswerving fidelity to duty. His private interests have ever been subordinated to the public good, and thus he has become honored and esteemed by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance or who have met him in a business way. GEORGE OTSTOT McDONALD. Among the useful and highly respected citizens of Columbus, Ohio, now living in retirement from active business none in most deserving of a place in this work than George Otstot McDonald, who is descended from an old and respectable Scottish family. His great-grandfather; John McDonald, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1713, came to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1773, arid died in Washington, Pennsylvania in 1822. His son Mordecai was born in 1770, came with his father to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1773, emigrated to Belmont county, Ohio, in 1798 and died at Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1810. Ebenezer McDonald, a son of Mordecai McDonald, and the father of George. Otstot McDonald, was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1810. His mother was Elizabeth nee Byers, a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania. He came to Columbus in 1832 with John Huffman and Daniel Heavey from Newark, Ohio, and secured a position at the state penitentiary not long afterward, and was connected with that institution until after his retirement in 1888. For more than forty years he was the superintendent under the Hayden contract, for the manufacture of coach and saddlery hardware by convict labor, which long necessitated the employment of many hundred convicts under seven foremen. Mr. McDonald accumulated considerable property and died in 1892. He married Sarah Otstot, a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, whose father, a native of Germany, came from Pennsylvania to Franklin county, Ohio., in 1831, and located on land which is now the northwest part of the city of Columbus. George Otstot McDonald was born in 1835 in a house which stood on High street near Long, Columbus, Ohio, on the site of the People's House Furnishing store., a son of Ebenezer and Sarah (Otstot) McDonald, and was educated in the public schools of his native city. After serving an apprenticeship at the machinist's trade at the old Eagle foundry, which has developed into the shops of the Columbus Machine company; he turned his attention to work in railway machine shops. From a railroad machinist he CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 933 developed into a locomotive engineer and for most of the time during thirty three years ran trains of the Pennsylvania company out of Columbus and when not so employed was .a foreman in the local shops of that corporation, 1866-73. He retired from active life in 1897. In April, 1861, Mr. McDonald enlisted: in Company B, Third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served in the. Civil war Until August 28, 1865, in the Army of West Virginia and later in the Army of the Cumberland, participating in the historic fighting of those two important bodies of troops; and at. Rome, Georgia, May, 4, 1863,, he was, with Colonel Straight made a prisoner of war and confined for a time at Belle Island. He is a member of Wells Post, No. 581,. Grand Army of the Republic, of Columbus, and of the Association of the Prisoners of War, and is a Knight of. Pythias and an Odd Fellow. His only brother, Adam S. McDonald, also served in the Civil war iri the Second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for three months, and later Hoffman's battery, the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Ohio, in which he was promoted to the captaincy of Company B. He died in 1871. Mr. McDonald was married at Piqua, Miami county, Ohio, to Miss Mary Shannon Cox, the adopted daughter of the Rev. William Cox, a clergyman of the Presbyterian church, and he and his wife are members of the Broad Street Presbyterian church, of Columbus, where his father also was active in church work and for many years an elder in the Second Presbyterian church. JONAS M. McCUNE The gentleman whose name appears above is an old and prominent retired business man of Columbus, Ohio. He was born in Vermont in 1822. His grandfather, William McCune, was a prominent citizen of Brattleboro, Vermont, and commanded a company of patriotic soldiers in the Revolutionary war, John McCune, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a leader in the town affairs of Brattleboro, in his day and generation, and ably filled many local offices, including those of selectman and member of the school board. He married Sarah Harris, a daughter of Nathaniel Harris, of Brattlebro, and a descendant of a Mayflower pilgrim. The American ancestor of the family of McCune came from Scotland and the McCunes have in all generations been stanch Presbyterians and patriotic lovers of liberty. Jonas M. McCune was educated in a district school which was conducted on his father's farm. In 1841, at the age of nineteen years, he came to Columbus and until 1848 was a clerk in the hardware store of Grear & Abbott. In the year last mentioned he became a partner in the concern, which was then styled Grear, Abbott & Company. In 1856 he established the wholesale and retail hardware firm of J. M. McCune & Company on North High street, the name of which was afterward changed to McCune, Loomis & Griswold and which erected a new and larger store at the corner of Spring and Front streets. Mr. McCune retired in 1895, after an active and successful business career of forty-eight years, and his old enterprise is now carried 934 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. on by the Griswold ce Sohl Company, under the personal management of Charles C. Griswold, who was formerly a clerk in Mr. McCune's. employ. During its entire history this concern has been known in all parts of the state as the largest wholesale and retail hardware store at Columbus. In 1850 Mr. McCune married Miss Catharine Lumley, of Columbus, a daughter of Edward Lumley, who came from Wales, about 1832, and located at Granville, Ohio. Mrs. McCune died in 1859, leaving several children. Their son, Edward Lumley McCune, was educated at the University of Tennessee and was admitted to the bar in 1877, since. when he has practiced his profession in the city of Columbus, with much success. He was elected a member of the city board of education in 1900 and is a prominent Mason. John Prouty McCune, their second son, was graduated at Yale College in 1878 and was connected with his father's business until 1895, and is now the president of the Newark Machine Company, of Newark, Ohio. He is a thirty-third-degree Mason and a past grand commander of the Knights Templar of the state of Ohio. Another son, William Pitt McCune, formerly in business at Columbus with his father, died in Dakota in 1888. Mr. McCune's sons are men of first-class ability who are making a more than creditable success in life. In 1889 Mr. McCune married for his second wife Mrs. Eveline M. Mills, of Columbus, a daughter of Edward Gares, a merchant of Groveport, Franklin county, who has borne him two children, named Evaline and Jonas Ferson McCune. Mr. McCune was reared politically as an old-line Whig and has been a member of the Republican party since its organization, but his tastes have ruled against his taking an active part in public affairs. He has for many years been a helpful member of the Second Presbyterian church. He passed the greater part of the year 1886 in European travel. and since his retirement from active business has spent most of his time at his beautiful home on Woodland avenue.. DANIEL CLOTTS, M. D. Among the younger representatives of the medical and legal fraternities in Franklin county is Dr. Daniel Clotts, of Jefferson township, whose professional skill and ability have gained him prestige, winning him the prominence which comes only from merit. He was born in this township, November 25, 1865, his parents being Daniel and Barbara A. (Souder) Clotts. His father, a native of Shaferstown, Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, was born December 26, 1821, and is one of the eight children of Joseph and Barbara (Boyer) Clotts. Only two of the number are now living,—Daniel and Susanna, the latter the widow of Samuel Louder, of Franklin county. The grandfather was born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, in 1790, and in his childhood days his father died. His mother afterward married again, and Joseph Clotts was reared by a family of the name of Benedict. On at- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 935 farming his manhood he learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed up to the time of his death. After his marriage to Miss Boyer he resided with his family in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, until 1831, when he came to Ohio and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land, upon which his son, Daniel Clotts, Sr., now resides. Some years afterward he bought an additional tract of sixty acres. Upon his arrival in the county he took up his abode in a log cabin which had been built by the former owner, but the land was wild and unbroken, and while the grandfather followed his trade of shoe-making his sons, then old enough to work on the farm, cleared the land and cultivated the crops. His death occurred November 3o, 1845. In politics he was a stalwart Democrat, giving an unswerving support to the principles of his party. He was also a faithful member of the Lutheran church and did all in his power to promote its growth, and for many years served as treasurer and elder. His wife was born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, about 1790, and was a daughter of John Boyer, of the old Pennsylvania Dutch stock. Her death occurred in May, 1863. This worthy couple were honored pioneer settlers of Franklin county. They walked the entire distance, three weeks being +required to make; the trip, from their home in Shaferstown, Pennsylvania; to Franklin county. Their household goods were loaded upon a wagon, and thus in a primitive manner they journeyed westward and became the founders of what is now one of the prosperous and valuable families of this section of the state. Daniel Clotts, Sr., the Doctor's father, was reared at home and in early life attended the German school, but when he was quite young the German school was abolished and an English school was established in its place. He did not attend after that time but gave his attention to the work of the farm, of which he took charge at the age of twenty-two years, operating the place on the shares, receiving one-third of the crops. After his father's death the will called for a division of the property and each of the three sons received sixty acres of land, while the mother was to receive one-third of the crops during her lifetime. She made her home with her son Daniel. In September, 1863, he was united in marriage to. Miss Barbara A. Souder, a native of Jefferson township and a daughter of Jacob Souder, who came from Virginia to Franklin county, Ohio, with his parents at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Clotts became the parents of four children, namely Daniel; Emma, the wife of George B: Schott, who, is operating her father's farm ; Chambers I., deceased; and Linda M., at home. The father of this family is a worthy representative of the sturdy pioneers of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, and his perseverance, combined with his good business judgment, has enabled him to win prosperity. He has at various times added to his home place , until his farming lands now comprise four hundred and sixty-five and a half acres,. and he is accounted one of the successful agricultuists of his community. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, but has never been an office seeker. Dr. Clotts remained under the parental roof through the period of his 936 - CONTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. minority, attending the common schools and the Gahanna high school, being graduated in the latter with the class of 1883. The following year he began his career as a teacher, following that profession through the winter seasons, while in the summer months he carried on agricultural pursuits. In the winter of 1884-5 he took up the study of medicine and the following spring again taught a term. of school. Through the succeeding winter he was a student in the Eclectic Medical Institute, of Cincinnati, and through the winter of 1886-7 he was again connected with educational interests as an instructor. In the winter of 1887-8 he once more attended lectures and was graduated with the class of 1888. Not long afterward Dr. Clotts located in Newark, Ohio, and began the practice of his chosen profession, there remaining for three and a half years. In the fall of 1891 he removed to Columbus, Ohio, with the intention of taking up the study of law, to which he had devoted considerable time for one year, but after a month spent in the capital city he moved to the farm upon which he is now located, although he had been admitted to the senior class. He then continued the reading of law at home until October 14, 1897, when he was admitted to the bar, and for some time thereafter his attention was divided between the practice of law and Medicine, but at a more recent date he put aside the latter to some extent and now devotes the greater part of his time to the law, having a large and constantly growing clientage. He also superintends his farm. While residing in Newark Dr. Clotts was united in marriage, on the 12th of March, 1890, to Miss Hattie A. Brown, a daughter of Edward C. Brown, a prominent farmer of Marion township. They now have two children, —Daniel Leon and Edward Carlisle. Mrs. Clotts belongs to the Lutheran church. He is associated with the Ohio Central Eclectic Medical Association and the National Eclectic Medical .Association. In politics he is a Republican. One of the rising young professional men of the county, his ambition, determination and energy are such as to win for him gratifying success in either branch of professional life which he chooses to follow. GEORGE J. KARB. Among the prominent business men of Columbus none are more closely identified with the growth and best interests of the city than George J. Karb, who has made his home here for forty-two years,—the entire period of his life,—a period in which the growth of Columbus has been continuous and along reliable and substantial lines. For many years he has been known for his sterling qualities, his fearless loyalty to his honest convictions, his sturdy support of municipal progress and his clear headedness, discretion and tact as a manager and leader. His business connection is that of president and manager of the Central Ohio Oil Company. Mr. Karb was born in 1858, a son of George Karb, who was a native of Germany and came: direct to Columbus from the fatherland in the year 1844. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 937 He was then a young man, who had enjoyed good educational privileges in Germany; and in this city he established a brokerage business, which he conducted throughout the remainder of his life, dying here in 1893, at the age of eighty-two years. He maintained his active connection with business affairs until. called to the home beyond. In the Lutheran church he held membership. In early manhood he married Elizabeth Bauer, who was also a native of Germany, and died in 1896, at the age of seventy-four. George J. Karb acquired his education in the grammar schools of this city and in a business college. He then entered a drug store and ultimately qualified as a pharmacist before the state board. In 1874 he became associated in the drug business with Fred William Swartz, at the corner of Fifth and Main streets„ where he remained for ten years, when he established a store of his own on the corner of Fourth and Main streets. At that place he carried on business successfully for fourteen years, or until 1898, When he sold out and took charge of the business of the Central Ohio Oil Company as president and manager, having in the meantime been a stockholder in the enterprise. This company owns and controls extensive works in Columbus, employs a large force of men, and its business extends into many sections of the state. Mr. Karb is also a member of the board of trade, is a director of the Ohio Savings & Loan Association; and a stockholder in the Ohio National Bank and the Market Exchange Bank. In fraternal circles Mr. Karb is prominent and widely known. He is a Knight Templar. Mason, has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, and also belongs to. the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Red Men and several other fraternal societies, and is identified with the Olentangy Club. He has long been recognized as a leading and influential supporter of the Democratic party, and takes a very active interest in politics. Many official honors have been conferred upon him. He was elected a member of the city council from the Fifth ward in 1887 in a Republican district of the city, and in 1889 was elected a police commissioner, in which capacity he served so acceptably that in 1891 he was nominated and, elected mayor, being continued in that office by being re-elected in 1893. He was very popular during his .administration, and his appointments were unusually satisfactory. During his terms many needed municipal improvements were. secured, principally the electric street railways, the intersecting sewer, the viaduct and the workhouse. As mayor of the city it devolved upon him to entertain the Duke of Veragua on his visit to Columbus, and he certainly highly sustained the honor of Ohio in the way in which he performed this service. In 1886 Mr. Karb was united in marriage to Miss Kate Van Dine, of Columbus, a daughter of Jacob Van Dine and a niece of the celebrated Dr. Seltzer. In church relationship they are Lutherans. They occupy an enviable social position, the hospitality of many of the best homes of Columbus being extended to them. .The career of Mr. Karb has ever been such as to 59 938 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. warrant the trust and confidence of the business world, for he has ever conducted all transactions on the strictest principles of honor and integrity. He owes his success alone to his own efforts, and his career proves that prosperity depends not alone upon circumstances, but upon the man. WHITNEY STRAIT. Whitney. Strait is a very successful business man of Franklin county, and fine property in the capital city as well as in Plain township is the substantial evidence of his enterprise and unflagging industry. Although many would claim that success results from chance, from fate or from inheritance, the life record of such men as. Mr. Strait proves conclusively that prosperity may be acquired through individual effort and that it will come as the direct result of labor when guided by sound business judgment. Upon the farm where he now resides. Mr. Strait was born, February 20, 1853, his parents being Dennis B. and Ann (Farber) Strait. His. grandfather, Abraham Strait, was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, March 5, 1791, and was there reared. Although he never learned the trade, he possessed superior mechanical ability and ingenuity and for a number of years worked at the forge in his native county. In 1839 he came to Ohio with his family, settling one mile south of Albany, and in 1855 purchased the old David Smith farm in Plain township. The house, which was recently destroyed, was the oldest in that portion of the county, and in it he made his home up to the time of his demise, which occurred in 1861. His ballot supported the men and measures of the Democracy. He took an active interest in educational affairs and was a warm friend of the public schools. His penmanship was particularly fine and brought him considerable renown. Throughout the community where he lived he was greatly esteemed- by all who knew him. Dennis Strait, the father of cur subject, was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, May 20, 1824, and after attaining his majority he located upon the old family homestead, having purchased one hundred acres of land here a year prior xo his marriage. As time passed he made judicious investments of his capital and became the owner of eleven hundred acres of land. His success was due largely to his sheep and cattle raising business, for he was an excellent judge of stock, thoroughly understanding the best methods of caring for them and his results were attended with a high degree of prosperity. He voted with the Democratic party and in 1860 was elected on its ticket to the office of county commissioner, serving for a term of three years, after which he was re-elected, in 1863, and again in 1870. In 1866 he was appointed county auditor and served out an unexpired term. He also filled. various township offices and at the time of his death was serving his second term as justice of the peace. His official record was entirely irreproachable, for he was most loyal to duty and was prompt and efficient in discharging the trusts reposed in him.. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity and was one of the well known and prominent men of the county His death Occurred April 2, 1891. His wife, who CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 939 was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, September 22, 1832, was a daughter of Caleb and Eliza (Lame) Farber. She came to Ohio with her brother Samuel, who is now deceased. The year of their arrival was 1849, and on the 10th of November, 1851, she gave her hand in marriage to Dennis. Strait. She survived her husband and resided with the subject of this review, until her death April 6, 1901. In their family were five children : Whitney; Cordelia, the wife of Boivin Ranney, of Columbus; Ann E., the wife of Lewis Brooks, of Plain township ; and two who have passed away. The pleasures and duties of youth came to Whitney Strait as to other boys. He was reared at home and gained a common school education. As a companion and helpmate on life's journey hechose Miss Ella Rhodes, the wedding being celebrated on the 3oth of September, 1880. The lady was born in Licking county, Ohio, a daughter of William J. Rhodes, who took up his residence in Franklin county in 1892, but is now deceased.. He was a prominent farmer and dealer in wool and successfully carried on both branches of his business. His death occurred in June, 1900. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Strait has been blessed with four children, of whom two are yet living, —Ona Marie and Gloria. After his marriage Mr. Strait located upon a farm adjoining his father's property and assisted his father in the management of the home place up to the time of the latter's death, after which the property was divided and our subject received four hundred. acres of land as his patrimony. He is a most progressive farmer, yet practical withal, and his labors are bringing to him an excellent financial return. He also follows stock-raising and finds this a profitable source of income. In Columbus he owns valuable realty, including three double houses on Galloway avenue, and a large flat building on Twentieth and Toronto streets. His investments have been judiciously. made, being such as augment his business affairs and increase his capital. He is one of the most energetic, resolute and progressive young business men of the county,. having the ability not only to plan but to successfully execute whatever he undertakes. His political support is given the Democracy, and, while he keeps well informed on the issues and questions of the day, he has never sought office, preferring to devote his time and energies to his: varied business affairs, which are bringing to him gratifying success. However he was elected to the office of trustee of Plain township in 1901. Reliable in all trade transactions, he has strict regard: for the ethics of commercial life and he enjoys the unqualified confidence and regard of those with whom he has been associated. CLINTON H. VANCE. Clinton H. Vance is one. of the progressive young business men of Franklin county, successfully engaged. in farming in Blendon township and at the same time conducting a successful business as the manager of the Buckeye Phosphate Company. He represents a family prominent in. the history of this. portion of the state, for the name of Vance has been long and inseparably con- 940 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. nected with the annals of Franklin county and its members have taken an active and important part in public affairs that have promoted' the welfare and material advancement. He was born. in Blendon township, July 22, 1866, and is a son of Joseph and Margaret J. Vance, who are represented on another page in this volume. He pursued his elementary education in the common schools and for a short time was a student in the high school of Columbus, but the death of his father and brother cut short his educational privileges, as the management of the home farm and property devolved upon his young shoulders. He was only sixteen years of age at the time of his father's demise and he assumed the control and operation of the old homestead. His business and executive ability were soon manifest, and from that time to the present lie has occupied a commendable position among the enterprising and successful young business men of Franklin county. In 1893 he rented the Louis Huffman farm of two hundred acres, and there removed his family, having in the meantime been married. It has since been his place of abode and he has operated it in connection with the old homestead. In 1895 he purchased the J. W. Several farm of seventy acres, just across the road on the west, and through the past ten years during a greater part of the time he has supervised the operation of between four and five hundred acres of land. At the same time he has engaged in feeding stock on an extensive scale, being one of the leaders in this line in the township. In February, 1900, he extended the field of his operations by incorporating the Buckeye Phosphate Company, wholesale dealers in animal fertilizers. Business is carried on in Columbus, where the company handle Buckeye Bone Meal, the Complete Fertilizer, the Buckeye Special Blood and Potash Mixture, the Buckeye Wheat-Makers, Super-Phosphate and Extra Super-Phosphate. All these have been carefully analyzed so that the farmers may know at once what ingredients' they contain and whether the mixture is suited to the soil. A high degree of success' has attended the new enterprise, for the products which they place upon the market are of great value to the agricultural community. Mr. Vance is a member of Westerville Lodge, F. & A. M., and also belongs to the Westerville Presbyterian church, being both widely and favorably known in social and church circles. His business ability being of a superior order has enabled him to pass upon the highway of life many who started out ahead of him, and the chief elements of his prosperity are his close application to business, his capable management and his fidelity to the ethics of commercial life. Mr. Vance was married, January I, 1891, to Miss Lulu Landon, a daughter of Mordecai Landon, and they now have a daughter, Fern L.; who was born September 11, 1893. It will be interesting in this connection to note something of the family history of Mrs. Vance. Her father, Mordecai Landon, was born in Lycoming, Pennsylvania, November 26, 1826, and is the only surviving child of Daniel and Eleanor (Shotts) Landon, whose family numbered seventeen children. His father was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, in 1798, was there reared and married and afterward purchased a CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 941 small farm, upon which he resided until 1827, when he came to Ohio, locating in Franklin county. Here he purchased one hundred and fifteen acres of land, constituting the farm upon which William C. Goldsmith now resides. It was then an unbroken wilderness and he cut the first stick of timber felled in the forest. Making a clearing, he erected a hewed-log house and then began cutting away the trees in order to raise a crop to supply him with the necessities of life. As the years passed he placed his land under a high state of cultivation and resided upon the farm until 1852, when he sold that property and purchased one hundred and thirty-one acres lying partially in Franklin and partially in Delaware counties. Upon that place he continued to make his home until his death, which occurred about 1882. He was a Republican in his political affiliations and served as constable of his township for forty years, while for a numberof years he was also township trustee. He held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and her. father was a physician who came from Holland to America. Mordecai Landon was reared under the parental roof, acquiring his education in the common schools. On the 15th of April, 185i, he married Miss Catherine P. Phillips, a native of Franklin county, Ohio, and a daughter of William and Helen (Bishop) Phillips. Her father was a son of Aaron Phillips and was a native of New York, whence he came to Ohio with his parents when a young man, the family being among the early settlers here. Mrs. Phillips was also a native of the Empire State and was a daughter of John Bishop, who came to Ohio at the same time of the Phillips emigration. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Landon located upon the home farm, his time being given to the operation of that portion of the farm lying in Delaware county and which he rented. After five years he purchased a small portion of the. farm in Franklin county and built thereon a home of his own, making it his place of residence until 190o, when he removed to his present home in order that he might be nearer his children. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Landon have been born seven children, of whom six are living, namely : Ella, the wife of Bernard Pierce; of Westerville; Dora, wife of Preston Brown, also of Westerville; Lora, wife of Leonard Phelps, an. agriculturist of Blendon township; Newell, a farmer of Delaware county ; Minnie, wife of Dell Ballinger, a farmer of Delaware county; and Lulu, wife of Clinton H. Vance. In his political views Mr. Landon is a stanch Republican, and for three years he served as trustee of Blendon township. He belongs to Rainbow Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., to the Episcopal church, and. in his life he exemplifies the principles of the one and the teachings of the other. ANDREW J. GANTZ. There is particular. satisfaction in reverting to the life history of the gentleman whose name introduces this review, since his mind bears the impress of the historic annals of Franklin county from the early pioneer days . 942 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. and from the fact that he has ever been a loyal. son of the Republic. From the time of his birth he has retained his residence in the county, which is yet his home, and thus through more than two-thirds of a century he has witnessed its progress and development and has co-operated in many movements for the general good. His grandfather, Andrew Gantz, was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he lived and died. He operated a mill and distillery, also engaged in farming and became a wealthy and influential citizen of his district. The parents of our subject were Adam and Catherine (Binnick) Gantz. The father was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, about 1800, and was there reared to manhood upon the home farm. After his marriage and the birth of his first child he came with his little family to -Ohio, in 1826, locating in Jackson township, Franklin county, upon a farm which- his father had purchased about two years previous, while on a trip to Ohio looking for some land for his sons. The tract comprised two hundred acres, for which the regular government price of a dollar and a quarter per acre was paid. It was Virginia military land. Upon the farm which he here developed and improved Adam Gantz made his home until his death, which occurred in 1872. He was an active and energetic man, and during a useful and honorable career he added continuously to his landed possessions until at the time of his death he owned seven hundred acres, and in the mean-time had given to each of his sons a tract of land as they had attained their majority. He was an ardent Democrat, and for several years served as township treasurer and trustee, while for two or more terms he was township appraiser of real estate. He discharged his duties in a manner above question and was highly esteemed for his many sterling qualities. In his early life he was an active member of the Lutheran church, but as there was no church of that denomination in Ohio at that early day he united with the Presbyterian church in which he served as an elder for many years. In his family were fourteen children, of whom nine are yet living, namely : Andrew J. ; Theodore, an auctioneer living in Westerville; Nathan, a farmer of Piqua, Ohio; George, who is engaged in the real estate business in Columbus; Albert, a farmer and dairyman living on the home farm in Jackson township ; Catherine, the wife of Daiwalt Machlin, a farmer at Pleasant Corners, Franklin county; Lydia, wife of Mr: Welsh, a resident farmer of Clay county, Illinois; Nancy, wife of William Watt, an agriculturist of Grove City, Franklin county ; and Adeline, wife of Thomas Barbee, a farmer of Grove City. Andrew J. Gantz is indebted to the common schools of the county for the educational privileges which he enjoyed in his youth. He received his training at farm labor on the old homestead and on attaining his majority began farming on his own account on rented land. He completed his arrangements for a home in 1859, by his marriage to Miss Sarah B. Olney, a native of Delaware county, Ohio, and a daughter of Lewis Olney, now deceased. Her father was for many years one of the well known farmers of Delaware county. He was a son of Discovery Olney, who was born -on the ocean within sight of CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 943 the United States, his parents being on their way from England to the new world. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Gantz was celebrated in Franklin . county and they began their domestic life on a portion of the old homestead farm, where they resided for three years, when our subject purchased two hundred acres of land—his present home. He afterward added sixty-two acres, and at a later date he sold one hundred acres, so that the place at the present time comprises one hundred and sixty-two acres. Here he has since resided with the exception of seven years, and is regarded as one of the wideawake and progressive agriculturists of the community. In 1891 he removed to Westerville, where he remained until 1898, during which time his son Eddison had charge of the home farm. Everything about the place is 'neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating the progressive and practical methods of the owner. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Gantz has been blessed with seven children, and the family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death. They are as follows : Leslie L., who was born. February 9, 1860, and is on a sheep ranch in Natrona county, Wyoming; Estella, who was born May 27, 1861, and is the wife of Albert Clapham, a farmer of Blendon township; Lewis A., who also owns a sheep ranch in Wyoming, the clip of 1901 being two hundred thousand pound's; Seffie. S., who was born January 29, 1863; and is the wife of Professor William: B. Alwood, professor of horticulture, entomology and mycology in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute; Eddison T., who was born May 22, 1864, and is now engaged in the raising of. sheep on a ranch in Natrona county; Grace G., who was born April 22, 1873, and is the wife of Willard J. Longshore, of Cincinnati, who is now in the railway mail service and C. Stanton, who was born December 24, 1874, and is now in the. Alaska gold fields. In his political views Mr. Gantz is a stanch Democrat, and has served for two terms as trustee in his township although it is a :Republican stronghold. He and his wife holds membership in the Presbyterian church, of which he has been an elder for many years, and they also belong to Blendon Grange, No. 708, Patrons of Husbandry, being the only two living charter members of the lodge. Their acquaintance in Franklin county is extensive and forms the only limit to their circle of friends. Having always resided in the county, Mr. Gantz is familiar with its history from the days of its early development and: has watched the wonderful transformation which has occurred, the introduction of railroads, telegraphs and telephones, the building .of towns and the establishment of enterprises. He feels just pride in what has been accomplished and has ever clone his part in the work of public improvement. JAMES M. POSTLE. A prominent farmer of Franklin county, Ohio, is James M. Postle, the subject of this sketch. He was born on March 31, 1851, a son of Smith and Keturah (Fountain) Postle. He was sent to the district schools and 944 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. remained at home until he was twenty years old, when he purchased a sawmill which was located on the tract of ground which he now owns. He went to work clearing off the timber, in one summer furnishing one thousand three hundred cords of wood to the brick yard. This yard furnished two-thirds of the brick for the asylum. Mr. Postle was married on April 15, 1874, to Miss Anna Irwin, of West Jefferson, Ohio, a daughter of John and Lavina Irwin. After marriage our subject remained one year at home, in the meantime building his fine brick mansion, which was ready for occupancy in the fall. For some six succeeding years our subject undertook the management of a sawmill on the Ohio river, returning then to the farm, which comprises seventy-five acres of excellent land. In 1896 our subject went into the dairy business, and now furnishes, on an average, one hundred gallons of milk per day, this business having been continued for the past four years. His stock is of Jersey and Durham breeds, and the business is very profitable. Mr. Postle is a member of the Methodist church, in which he is a trustee. Although an active and ardent Republican, he is no office-seeker, although his name has been mentioned many times in connection with some of the local positions. His family consists of his estimable wife and two children, Myrtle, who is at home, and Clarence, who is connected with the Panhandle Railroad. He is a man much respected in the community and has many friends. JACOB H. TRUMBO. Jacob H. Trumbo, a well known farmer and stock-raiser of Plain township, was born on a farm where he now resides, June 22, 1861. His father, Davis Trumbo, was a native of Pendleton county, Virginia, born in 1804, and when a young man he came to Columbus, Ohio, where he learned the trade of carpenter and cabinet-maker. He attained a high degree of skill along these lines and for a number of years he followed his chosen occupation throughout this section of the country. He married Miss Susan Swickard, who was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1816, and about 1826 accompanied her parents to Franklin county. Her father, Daniel Swickard, settled in Plain township, on Rock Fork. Later he purchased a farm in New Albany, where he spent his remaining days, passing away at the age of eighty-three years. Soon after his marriage Davis Trumbo settled upon a farm where his son Jacob now resides and through several years worked at his trade, hiring the greater part of his farm work. Upon that place he spent the remainder of his life and in 1881, at the age of seventy-nine years, was called to his final rest. Politically he was an old-time Democrat, and in religious faith he was connected with the Baptist church of the old school. His wife died October 5, 1892. They became the parents of nine children, of whom five are yet living, namely : Morgan S. ; Hepsey, wife of Edward McMillan; Mary A., wife of CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 945 A. M. Lough; Rosetta, the wife of Charles Click; and the subject of this review. Jacob Homer Trumbo has . been familiar with agricultural pursuits throughout his entire career, for in his boyhood he worked in the fields from the time, of the early spring planting until crops were harvested in the autumn. The public schools afforded him his educational privileges, and after his father's death he assumed the management of the home farm, which he operated for his mother-until she, too, was called away. About 1890 he purchased the interest of one of the heirs in the old homestead and later purchased another portion: He now owns all of the home place except seventy-five acres belonging. to his sister, his possessions aggregating two hundred and eighty-three acres. He has devoted his attention to farming and stock-raising and has been very successful. Many excellent improvements are found upon the place and all the accessories and conveniences of a model farm are there to be seen. The owner is progressive and practical in his methods and his labors bring to him a good return. On the 21st of September, 1893, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Trumbo and Miss Millie Hurley, a native of Delaware county, Ohio, and a daughter of Simon Hursey. They now have one child, Homer Arden. In the community they enjoy the hospitality of the best homes and the warm regard of a large circle of friends. Mr. Trumbo exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democratic party, but has no time or inclination for public office, preferring to give his time and attention to his business affairs, in which he is meeting with a gratifying degree of prosperity. NOAH SWICKARD. The name of Swickard is a familiar one in Franklin county, for when this portion of the state was still largely unimproved and the work of development and progress was still a task of the future, Daniel Swickard, the grandfather of our subject, sought a home in Black Lick, where he remained for several years. He then took up his abode in Plain township, where his remaining days were passed, his time and attention being given to agricultural pursuits. Through a half a century John Swickard, the father of our subject, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1806, was a leading and active member of the' United Brethren church. He exerted a strong influence for. good among his friend's and neighbors and lived an upright and consistent Christian life. He married Elizabeth Baughman, also a: representative of one of the early and honored families of the county, and unto them were born seven children of whom six are yet living. The fourth of this number is Noah Swickard, whose birth occurred November 12, 1836, in Plain township on the farm, now occupied by J. W. Swickard. Like the other children of the family, he was trained to habits of industry, economy and honesty, was educated in the district schools of the 946 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. neighborhood and was trained to the practical work of the farm from the time when he was old enough to handle the plow. Such was his childhood and youth. In July, 1859, he was united in marriage to Miss Lucy A. Kashner, a native of Plain township, and a daughter of Jeremiah and Christina (Riggle) Cashner, who came to Franklin county when the work of improvement was still in its primitive condition, their former home haying been in Pennsylvania. After his marriage Mr. Swickard resided for a year under the parental roof, and in August, 186o, removed to a house on his father's farm, where he resided until the spring of 1861. He then took up his abode on what was known as the Grove farm. It was also the property of his father. He there . continued his agricultural pursuits until 1865, when he purchased sixty acres of what was then known as the Priest farm, making it his home until 1872. In that year he sold that property and purchased his present farm, comprising eighty acres. He is a progressive, enterprising agriculturist and his labors have resulted in bringing to him a comfortable competence. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Swickard have been born six children, of whom four are yet living, namely : Orlando M., of Plain township; Marshall O., a hospital nurse, now in the Philippines; Zoda E., wife of Charles E. Doran, of Plain township; and Ralph L., at home. The parents hold membership in the United Brethren church and are deeply interested in its work. Mr. Swickard is now serving as one of the trustees and as class-leader, and he does all in his power to promote the work of the church along its various lines of usefulness. The Democracy finds in him a supporter, and he keeps well informed on the issues of the day, but has never been an office-seeker. His worth as a citizen is widely recognized; for, while he does not take an active part in politics, he gives his aid and influence to all measures for the general good. He and his family enjoy the uniform regard of all who know them and have many warm friends in the community. JOHN WESLEY SWICKARD. John Wesley Swickard was born November 20, 1842, on the farm where he yet resides, it being the homestead of John and Elizabeth (Baughman). Swickard, his parents. The name of Swickard is a synonym for activity in agricultural lines. and for honesty and fair dealing in all business transactions. Our subject was early taught the value of labor and the necessity for probity in the affairs of life. He pursued his education in the district schools, and on the 1st. of May, 1864, he was united in marriage to Miss Frances E. Benedict, a native of Plain township, and a daughter of Nicholas Benedict, one of the early settlers of Morrow county, Ohio. Mr. Swickard then took up his abode oh the home farm, which he operated on the shares until 187o, when he purchased a.tract of land of forty-five acres adjoining on the west the farm belonging to his brother Peter. While erecting buildings there he rented a farm near the Forest Hill school, removing to his new CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 947 home about Christmas time in 1870. There he remained until the spring of 1874, when he returned to the old homestead and took charge of the same, his parents remaining with him up to the time of their demise. After his father's death he purchased the home place, and has since continued to reside there. As the years have passed, however, he has. extended its bounds until he now has one hundred and eighty-one acres, all under a high state of cultivation. The place is improved with all modern accessories and conveniences that constitute a model farm, and through the past six years he has madea specialty of the raising of registered stock, including horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. These he sells. for breeding purposes, and 'he has done much to., improve the grade of stock throughout the community, and has thus been a benefit to his county, for as stock is improved its value: for the market is naturally enhanced. In 1887 Mr. Swickard was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife. On the 30th of August, 1888, he was again married, his second union being with Rosella Hamaker, a native of Plain township and a daughter of Henry Hamaker, who was also born, in the same township. Her grandfather was Esquire Daniel Hamaker, one of the early settlers of the county, who came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, a well-known and influential man of: his day. He took an .active part in the early development of this portion of the state. Unto our subject and his wife have been born seven children : Verna G. Iva G., Jennie M., Harrison McKinley, Ota B., Neva M. and Lyda. The family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death. Mr. Swickard and his family attend the United Brethren church, in which he holds membership. For about eight years he has served as trustee and has contributed in large measure to the growth and advancement of the church. He exercises his right of citizenship in support of the men and measures of the Republican partybut his time has never been devoted to seeking office, as he prefers to give his time and attention to his business affairs. Through his career as a farmer and stock-raiser he has provided amply for' his family, and has gained for himself a position among the well-to-do and substantial residents of the community. FREDERICK N. SINKS Frederick N. Sinks is among the younger representatives of the bar of Columbus. He was born in 1872, in the city which is still his home, a son of George W. Sinks, who was a native of Clermont county, Ohio, and has been for about twenty years the president of the Deshler National Bank, and a most prominent and honored figure in financial circles. When a young man of twenty years he came to the capital city and accepted a clerkship in the National Exchange Bank, where his fidelity to duty, close application and business ability won him promotion. He became its cashier, and continued his connection with that institution until, he resigned in order to accept the presidency. of the Deshler Bank, an institution which grew out of the 948 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. former. His business methods are safe conservative and entirely trustworthy, and the institution of which he is now the head owes its success in a very large measure to his efforts. He was united in marriage to Miss Eloise Preston, a daughter of Samuel D. Preston, who came to Franklin county from Montpelier, Vermont, when nineteen years of age and opened the first private school in Columbus. Many of Columbus well-known men of to-day received their first instruction from him. He married Miss Catherine Clark, of Montpelier, Vermont. For many years Mr. Preston was a leading merchant of Columbus, contributing materially to its advancement. His early death removed a valuable citizen and an energetic, public-spirited man. Throughout his entire life Frederick N. Sinks, whose name introduces this 'review, has been a resident of Columbus. His preliminary education was acquired in the public schools, and he later attended the Columbus Latin School. Added to this training he received the advantages afforded within the classic walls of old Yale, in which institution he was graduated in 1894, with the degree of bachelor of philosophy. Thus, with a splendid literary and scientific training to serve as a foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional knowledge, he began preparation for the bar by entering the law school of the Ohio State University, at the same time being a student in the law office and under the direction of the firm of Nash & Lentz, the former being the present chief executive of Ohio. In January, 1900, he was appointed private secretary to Governor Nash. His equipment for the bar is unusually good. He has enjoyed exceptional educational advantages is naturally of strong mentality, and added to these are firm determination, a laudable ambition and tireless energy. In June, 1899, Mr. Sinks was united in marriage to Miss Katharine Thurman, a daughter of Allen W. Thurman, of Columbus, and a granddaughter of the late Hon. Allen G. Thurman. The Sinks family is identified with the Universalist churth. Our subject and his wife have spent their entire lives in Columbus, and are well known in the city among its prominent and influential people, ranking high socially, while Mr. Sinks has already gained an enviable position in professional circles and undoubtedly will win greater success in the future. WILLIAM S. POSTLE. William S. Postle, who carries on general farming in Prairie township, was born on the old farm homestead which is still his place of residence, on the of March, 1849. When he had attained the usual age he entered the district schools and therein pursued his education through the winter season, while in the summer months he assisted in the work of the home farm with his brothers. He afterward spent one year at Delaware pursuing his education, and is a graduate of the Iron City Commercial College, at Pittsburg. After putting aside his text-books he became connected with the Lumber, tile and sawmill business, but during much of his life he has fol- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 949 lowed farming, and is to-day the owner of a valued tract of land of three hundred acres. He began with only seventy-five acres, which he inherited. He spent some time in North Dakota, where he owns an entire section of land. He has a beautiful home in Prairie township and the place is under a high state of cultivation and. improved with all modern accessories and conveniences. The fields of waving grain indicate that the land is kept in a productive condition through the judicious use: of fertilizers and through the rotation of crops. Everything- about the homestead is neat and thrifty in appearance. Mr. Postle was married at Fort Stephenson, North Dakota, in 1889 , to Miss Elizabeth Bartell, who was born in Ohio and was reared in the Buckeye state, but went with her parents to North Dakota and pre-empted a half section of land there. She also occupied the position of matron in the Indian school at Fort Stephenson, and had previously been a seamstress in that institution. Her father was Henry Bartell. Returning to Ohio, Mr. and Mrs. Postle took up their abode in Prairie township, where they still reside and where they have many warm friends. They hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church at Alton, and Mr. Postle is serving as steward and treasurer. He votes with the Republican party, but has never sought office, preferring to give his time and energies to his business affairs, which claim all of his attention and in return give to him a good. income. MICHAEL O'HARRA. Pennsylvania and Virginia blood has always animated good pioneers and progressive citizens. Of such ancestry is the well-known citizen of Hamilton township, Franklin county, Ohio, whose name is the title of this biographical sketch. Michael O'Harra was born in Hamilton township November 19, 1832, a son of Arthur and Maxa M. (Fisher) O'Harra. His father was a native of Marion county, Ohio, and was there reared and educated. He came to Franklin county in his young manhood and worked by the month until he got a foothold in life. After his marriage he located on a farm in Hamilton township, which he cleared and on which he lived out the remainder of his days. In politics he was a stanch Republican, and he was not without influence in the councils of his party; was elected and re-elected trustee of Hamilton township until he filled the office for sixteen years; was an active member of the Presbyterian church, and in all the relations of life was useful and helpful. He died at the age of seventy-four years and one month, deeply regretted by all who had known him. His father, Hugh O'Harra, of Scotch descent, was a native of Pennsylvania and an early settler in Ohio. Maxa M. (Fisher) O'Harra, mother of Michael O'Harra, was a daughter of Michael Fisher, and was born in Franklin county, Ohio, and was there reared and educated. She died in 1864, aged sixty-four years. Her father came early to Ohio from Virginia and settled in Franklin county, where he became the owner of much land and was a prominent and influential citizen.