History of FRANKLIN COUNTY OHIO BY OPHA MOORE IN THREE VOLUMES ILLUSTRATED VOLUME TWO 1930 HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY TOPEKA-INDIANAPOLIS History of Franklin County Peletiah Webster Huntington.—Having spent his entire business career in the city of Columbus, where he rose to be one of the outstanding figures in the financial world as president of the Huntington National Bank, Peletiah Webster Huntington was called by death on February 25, 1918, and although he had some four years previously handed the official reins to younger hands, the announcement of his death caused widespread grief and a sense of real loss to the community. Mr. Huntington was born at Norwich, Connecticut, in 1837. Norwhich was the home of his forebearers since 1659, when Simon and Christopher Huntington purchased from Chief Uncas of the Homicans a tract of land nine miles square. A sister, Miss Sarah L. Huntington, maintained a home in the ancestral location for many years. The father of Peletiah Webster Huntington was for fifty years secretary of the Norwich Savings Society, one of the best known banks in New England, and Peletiah Huntington maintained the family traditions by entering the banking business when he came to Columbus in 1853. One of his ancestors, for whom he was named, was active in continental finances in the early days of the republic and helped to frame the United States Constitution. In his youth before coming to Columbus Mr. Huntington saw two years of service as a sailor before the mast, during which time he twice visited St. Petersburg, Russia. When he came to Columbus he was employed as a messenger boy and clerk at the State Bank of Ohio, then located at High and State Streets, and later became secretary to the board of governors of the bank. In 1866 the firm of P. W. Huntington & Company, of which Mr. Huntington and the late David W. Deshler were organizers, was - 553 - 554 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY formed to do a general banking business. In 1905 it was re-organized as the Huntington National Bank and Mr. Huntington became its president. He resigned from that office in 1914. During his active career Mr. Huntington also served as president of the Hayden National Bank, president of the Columbus Shawnee & Hocking Railroad, president of the Columbus & Xenia Railroad, president of the Columbus Gas Company, president of the Ohio Bankers Association, director of the Hocking Valley Railway, director of the Huber Company, of Marion, Ohio, and vice president of the American Bankers Association. For a period of thirty-nine years he was treasurer of Greenlawn Cemetery Association, and for a number of years also served as president of that body. He was largely responsible for the erection of the cemetery chapel and his gift to it was the lovely pipe organ. Mr. Huntington also endowed the Edward S. Matton Memorial Music Alcove in the Columbus Public Library from his own private collection. In 1884 he was appointed by the governor as head of the state public relief work, which was necessitated by the devastating floods throughout Ohio during that year. Mr. Huntington married Jane Nashee Deshler, of Columbus. Their children were Thomas D. and Webster P. Huntington. His second wife was Frances Sollace, whom he married in 1872. She was the daughter of Theodore and Hattie L. Sollace. To this union three sons were born: Francis R., who died in 1928 ; Theodore S., who is president of the Huntington National Bank ; and B. Gwynne, who is vice president of the Huntington National Bank. Mr. Huntington's third marriage took place in 1882 when he married Ida H. Nothnagel, the daughter of the late Henry J. Nothnagel. Two daughters born to them were: Mrs. W. H. Loving and Mrs. Elliott S. Church, both of Los Angeles, California. Mr. Huntington was a prominent and active member of the First Presbyterian Church and for many years served as treasurer and as a member of the Board of Trustees. He was a charter member of the Columbus Oratorio Society and of the Columbus Club of which he served as president. During the Civil War Mr. Huntington served as a captain of home guards, which was organized at the time of the Morgan raid. Mr. Huntington is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, Columbus. HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 555 Edwin Buchanan, who is president of The Ohio National Bank, is among the representative and influential citizens of Columbus. He was born at Ripley, Ohio, October 28, 1890, the son of Thomas and Katherine Elizabeth (Bell) Buchanan. Thomas and Katherine Elizabeth (Bell) Buchanan are natives of Ripley, Ohio. He conducted a grain, feed and coal business at that place for a period of forty years, and has lived retired since 1925. To Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan were born three children: Mrs. Clarence Klinker and Mrs. Albert O. White, both of whom live at Ripley, Ohio ; and Edwin, the subject of this sketch. Edwin Buchanan obtained his early education in the public schools of Ripley and is a graduate of Ohio State University. He began as a bank messenger in the employ of the Union National Bank, Columbus, in 1911; became assistant manager examiner of the Columbus Clearing House from 1912 until 1917; served as manager examiner of the Columbus Clearing House from 1917 until 1919 ; became cashier of the Ohio National Bank in 1919, and two years later was elected vice president, in which capacity he served until 1929. In that year he was elected president of The Ohio National Bank. On April 9, 1914, Mr. Buchanan married Miss Marietta McClure, of Columbus, the daughter of Dr. J. A. and Ina (Donaldson) McClure, natives of Pennsylvania. Doctor and Mrs. McClure live in Columbus. Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan have a son, Thomas Edwin, born February 12, 1915. He attends Columbus Academy. Mr. Buchanan is identified with the Neil Avenue United Presbyterian Church. He is a Republican in politics and holds membership in the Columbus Athletic Club„ Scioto Country Club, Columbus Club, Young Business Men's Club and the Columbus Auto Club. Harry F. Busey, managing editor of "The Columbus Citizen," has been identified with that newspaper in various capacities for nearly twenty-five years. He was born at Baltimore, Maryland, August 20, 1883, the son of Thomas H. and Nancy (Reeves) Busey. Thomas H. Busey was born in Maryland and his wife was a native of West Virginia. Both are buried at Urbana, Ohio, where they spent 556 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY the greater part of their lives. Their children were: Harry F., the subject of this sketch ; Mary, lives at Crystal City, Texas ; Charles, lives at Crystal City, Texas ; and Annie, married Frank Kennedy, lives at Dayton, Ohio. Harry F. Busey was educated at Urbana, Ohio, in its grammar and high schools, graduating in 1901. He entered newspaper work as a reporter for "The Press Republic" at Springfield, Ohio. He came to Columbus in 1906 as a reporter for "The Columbus Citizen," and served in that capacity for two years, when he was appointed city editor. In 1918 he represented "The Citizen" in the War Chest Campaign and in November, 1918, was sent to Europe as war correspondent for his newspaper. In June, 1919, Mr. Busey became editor of "The Springfield Sun," and three years later was appointed state editor of "The Cleveland Press." He has held his present position as managing editor of "The Columbus Citizen" since 1923. He is the author of a Saturday editorial feature of the Citizen called "Looking Back Through the Week." Mr. Busey was married on June 28, 1910, to Miss Alice Guthrie, of Marysville, Ohio, the daughter of John C. and Effie (Price) Guthrie, residents of Columbus. Mr. and Mrs. Busey have a daughter, Betty. Mr. Busey is a member of the Presbyterian Church, is a director of the Columbus Automobile Club and belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Torch. Club and Sigma Delta Chi fraternity. His family residence is at 1670 Bryden Road. Charles Foster Johnson.—Individually and through the companies which he has organized and directed, Charles Foster Johnson has developed millions of dollars worth of property in Columbus and Franklin County, as well as in other sections of the state and country. Some of the most important real estate transactions, building and construction interests have centered in him. Mr. Johnson was born at New Albany, Franklin County, Ohio, October 14, 1879, the son of William H. and Mary Rose (Humphrey) Johnson. He is of Revolutionary ancestry, his great grandfather, HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 557 Robert Johnson, having been a private in the Second Maryland Regiment in the war for independence, while his great-great-grandfather, John Ferguson, was a private in the Frederick County, Maryland, Associators. The Johnson family has been in Franklin County for several generations, coming overland in wagons from Washington, District of Columbia. Mr. Johnson's father was born in Columbus. The early years of Charles F. Johnson were spent at New Albany, where he attended the public schools. Later, he attended high school at Ithaca, New York, and in 1902 was graduated in law from Ohio State University. His legal education has been useful to him in many ways though he never sought to build up a practice of law, being early drawn into the real estate business. In 1907 he organized and became president of the Columbus Land Company and in 1908 the Thompson, Johnson & Thompson Company. In 1910 he became one of the organizers and secretary of the Dominion Land Company. This company has remained the chief medium to which his real estate development enterprises have been carried out. In addition thereto he has also organized and has been executive head of other companies for real estate development, including the Owners Land Company, the Bergman Realty Company, New Columbus Land Company, Beechwald Realty Company, Charles F. Johnson Realty Company, and Pegg Realty Company. He is also secretary of the Frankenberg Construction Company, doing general construction work. In the summer of 1923 he organized and is president of the Charles F. Johnson, Inc., an organization through which all the business of the companies just mentioned is transacted, thus centering the bulk of his affairs under one head. Through such organizations Mr. Johnson has facilities for doing everything in the development of property. He buys land, plats it into building sites, builds streets, sewers and other modern improvements, erects houses, and in the course of 24 years or more has handled a great volume of business. Mr. Johnson is an elder in the East Broad Street Presbyterian Church, is active in charities and is a member of the Young Men's Christian Association, is a Thirty-second Degree Scottish Rite Mason, being a life member of Aladdin Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Achbar Grotto, and he is also a member of the Columbus Rotary Club, Co- 558 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY lumbus Country Club, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, No. 37, American Legion, and Benjamin Franklin Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution. He is a trustee of Western College at Oxford, Ohio, and trustee of the Presbyterian Homes at Sidney, Ohio, president of the Presbyterian Council of Presbytery of Columbus, as well as a trustee of the Presbytery, member of the Buckeye Republican Club, Columbus Real Estate Board, and Chamber of Commerce. During the World War period Mr. Johnson in the spring of 1918 volunteered and was assigned to duty in the quartermaster general's headquarters at Washington, District of Columbia, with the rank of captain. From there he was transferred to Camp Meade, Maryland, and finally to Zone Supply Office at Baltimore, where he continued on duty until he was honorably discharged in March, 1919. On June 16, 1904, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage with Miss Mary Jane Pinney. They have three daughters : Mary Kathryn, Phylis, and Esther Pinney. Thomas Johnson.--A busy and constructive career has been that of Thomas Johnson, of Columbus, for over a third of a century one of the prominent coal operators of Ohio. That was an industry in which he started at the beginning as a boy worker in the mines, and at one time he was executive official and a large owner in several companies operating over Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia fields. He still has some large interests in the coal business, but both his vocation and recreation are found in the ownership and operation of one of the finest stock farms in Ohio, known as "The Oaklands," located west of the city of Columbus. Mr. Johnson represents a family that has been prominent in Ohio coal circles for a great many years. He was born in England and was eight years of age when his parents came to America and located at Niles in Trumbull County, Ohio, in 1862. In 1872 Mr. Johnson moved to Nelsonville. In 1880 he and his three brothers began business as coal mine operators and distributors. It was first known as Johnson Brothers & Patterson until 1886, when the brothers incorporated the New Pittsburgh Coal Company. In 1892 the general offices HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 559 of the New Pittsburgh Coal Company were moved to Columbus. As a corporation this company became well known throughout the Hocking Valley and in other mining centers of Ohio, where the company operated mines. In 1902 the Pittsburgh Coal Company, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, purchased the stock of the New Pittsburgh Coal Company. Later in the same year the former stockholders of the New Pittsburgh Coal Company organized the Johnson Coal Mining Company and opened and developed two mines in Greene County, Indiana, this property being later acquired by the Vandalia Coal Company, of Indianapolis. In the meantime and until 1908 the Johnson Coal Mining Company operated some mines in the Hocking Valley and since then its properties have been chiefly absorbed by the Lorain Coal & Dock Company. He had been president and treasurer of the other corporations named and he is still a large stockholder and a director and member of the advisory committee of the Lorain Company, which maintains its general offices in Columbus, and operates mining properties chiefly in Belmont County, Ohio. The company also owns 16,000 acres of coal land in Marshall County, West Virginia, 5,000 acres in Logan County, West Virginia, with two mines in operation, and 14,000 acres in Belmont County, Ohio, with five mines in operation. Mr. Johnson, after 35 years of carrying heavy responsibilities as manager and official in the, coal industry, retired about 1915, and has since spent most of his time. at his attractive rural home of "The Oakland Farms." The farm was acquired by him in 1898 and now comprises over 1,400 acres. He has since made it equal to the best farm anywhere for purposes of feeding cattle. The feeding sheds accommodate 1,000 head of cattle, and the equipment also includes a large grain elevator with electrically driven machinery for grinding feed. There are several immense silos and a part of the crop of corn raised on the place is converted into silage. Mr. Johnson has made a close study of scientific feeding methods and has proved the value of the balanced rations. Unlike many wealthy men, he has operated this farm not entirely as an expensive luxury, but has made it profitable as well as a source of recreation. On the farm he has a beautiful home with attractive grounds. For several years Mr. Johnson has made a practice of buying calves on the Texas ranges and feeding 560 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY them at "Oaklands" until they are a little more than a year old. They are then marketed at David Davies Packing House, Columbus, and go to the consumers in the form of "Thomas Johnson's Baby Beef," a product highly esteemed in this section of Ohio. Mr. Johnson is a trustee of the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church. He has long been a member of the Masonic fraternity, having been admitted to membership in the order when he was 21 years of age. He has received the Thirty-second Degree of the Scottish Rite, is a Knight Templar, and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Columbus Country Club and Athletic Club of Columbus. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, in which he served as director for many years. Howard Milford Brundage, M. D., is one of the representative physicians of Columbus, where he has engaged in practice for more than twenty-five years. He was born at McCutchenville, Ohio, December 16, 1879, the son of Leonard F. and Martha L. (Lowmaster) Brundage. Leonard F. Brundage was born at McCutchenville, Ohio, as was his wife. They are now residents of Bucyrus, Ohio. Mr. Brundage successfully engaged in general farming until 1917, at which time he removed to Bucyrus, where he is now engaged in electrical work. He is a Democrat. Howard Milford Brundage grew up on his father's farm near McCutchenville, Ohio, and attended the district schools. He then taught school for a time before taking up the study of medicine at Ohio Northern University. He received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from Ohio Medical University in 1906 and spent the next seven years as a member of the staff of the Columbus State Hospital. His practice is limited to the diagnosis of internal diseases. Doctor Brundage has taken post-graduate work in the New York Post Graduate Medical School, Johns Hopkins Medical School, and Mayo Brothers Clinic, at Rochester, Minnesota. He has served as consulting pathologist of Columbus State Hospital, and for a number of years was identified with Starling Ohio Medical University in the following capacities : HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 561 assistant professor of anatomy, 1903 until 1908; instructor of psychiatry, 1908 until 1913 ; and instructor of clinical microscopy, 1913 until 1916. Doctor Brundage is a member of the medical staff of Mt. Carmel Hospital, and is recognized as one of the thoroughly capable physicians of the city. He has offices at 370 East Town Street, Columbus. On December 16, 1913, Doctor Brundage was united in marriage with Miss Florence M. Veatch, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, the daughter of Ellis and Sarah (Morgan) Veatch. Mr. Veatch lives at Mt. Vernon. His wife died in 1918. To Doctor and Mrs. Brundage have been born two sons : John V., born in 1915 ; and Robert M., born in 1917. Doctor Brundage is a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, American Medical Association, and Ohio Society of Clinical & Laboratory Diagnosis. He is a Democrat, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Faculty Club of Ohio State University, Aero Club, Columbus Torch Club, University Club, Buckeye Lake Yacht Club, and National Exchange Club. He is a Scottish Rite Mason, Aladdin Shriner, and Knight Templar. He is a member of the Alpha Mu Pi. Omega fraternity and also the Torch Club of Columbus. Arthur Charles Johnson.—Numbered among the successful and representative newspaper men of Ohio is Arthur Charles Johnson, who is editor and associate publisher of The Columbus Evening (and Sunday) Dispatch. He was born at Ira, Ohio, October 10, 1874, the son of Charles and Helen Frances (Cranz) Johnson. Arthur Charles Johnson was educated in the public and high schools of Wadsworth, and attended Ohio University. He was graduated from Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio, in 1897, with a degree of Bachelor of Science. During 1896 and '97 he was editor of the Buchtel College publications, and began his professional newspaper career as reporter and later city editor of the Beacon-Journal, Akron, in 1897. Three years later he became a member of the staff of the Washington Post, Washington, District of Columbia, and in 1902 became city editor of the Columbus Dispatch, in which capacity he served for ten years, and from 1912 until 1923 was managing editor 562 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY of the Dispatch, then becoming editor-in-chief and later also associate publisher. Mr. Johnson's newspaper career in Columbus has been characterized by an intense interest in public matters of importance to the city, county and state. On December 31, 1902, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage with Miss Grace Reah of Athens, Ohio. Mr. Johnson served in the Spanish-American War as a private and later as regimental sergeant-major of the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served in the Santiago campaign. He is a Republican, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of various Masonic bodies, of Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Delta Chi Fraternities, Columbus Athletic Club, Columbus Country Club, Rocky Fork Hunt and Country Club, Ohio State Faculty Club, Nassau Club of Princeton and the National Press Club of Washington, District of Columbia. Succeeding the late Governor James E. Campbell, he became president of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and is a life trustee of Ohio University at Athens. Henry S. Ballard, attorney, is senior member of the law firm of Ballard, Jones & Price. Mr. Ballard, who was formerly first assistant attorney general of Ohio and who served four years as assistant prosecuting attorney of Franklin County, has in recent years contributed important advances to the cause of co-operative farm marketing legislation and growth of agricultural organizations. In addition to his professional interests, Mr. Ballard is a director in The Columbus Base Ball Company, the White-Haines Optical Company, the Van Bolt-Kreber Company, and numerous other corporations. Mr. Ballard was born at Coal Grove, Ohio, November 15, 1880, the son of John and Jane (Sparling) Ballard. At the age of eighteen he began the study of law, privately, and taught school for a number of years while pursuing his legal studies, which he undertook largely in the office of W. D. Corn, an attorney of Ironton, Ohio. He was admitted to the bar of Ohio in 1903 and established his practice in Columbus. As a young lawyer he met with increasing success and HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 563 came frequently before the public atention. In 1911 he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney of Franklin County, and administered the tasks of that office with vigor and aggressive talent until 1915. In 1915 he was appointed first assistant attorney general of Ohio, serving through the year 1916. He formed the present partnership of Ballard, Jones & Price in 1917. Mr. Ballard has given much of his energies to legal work relative to farm organization during the recent years. He has taken a prominent part in the drawing up and enactment of much of the state and national legislation relating to co-operative marketing and other farm measures, and he has been a foremost legal counsellor and worker in the interests of the farm organization of Ohio, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, and other movements. Mr. Ballard is a member of the Athletic Club of Columbus, the Columbus Country Club, Masons, Consistory, 32nd degree, Shriners, Shrine Club of Columbus, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He also belongs to the Franklin County Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Mr. Ballard resides at the Athletic Club, Columbus. Hon. Edward L. Taylor.—Representing two of the oldest families in Franklin County, the Taylors and Livingstons, Edward L. Taylor, Jr., in his work as a lawyer at the Columbus bar through a third of a century, with eight years in Congress as representative of the Twelfth Ohio District, has added some important new distinctions to the worthy family traditions in Ohio. Mr. Taylor is general counsel for one of the largest oil refining and distributing companies in the country, the Pure Oil Company. The history of the Taylor family is traced back in unbroken line to the early years of the 17th century. About 1612 a branch of the family moved from Scotland to the north of Ireland. In 1722 Matthew Taylor came to America and settled among other Scotch-Irish people in the colony at Derry, New Hampshire. After the close of the French and English War in 1763, when the English dominion was ex- 564 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY tended over Canada, a number of pioneers from the original English colonies moved into the New English territory. Matthew Taylor, a son of the original settler, Matthew, about 1764, with his wife and children, settled in Nova Scotia. One of the children was Robert Taylor, who was born in 1759. He grew up at Truro, Nova Scotia, where in 1781 he married Mehetabel Wilson. Robert Taylor in 1806 brought his family to Ohio and after two years at Chillicothe moved to Franklin County, and in 1808 built a house on the west bank of Walnut Creek in what is now Truro Township. This was the first frame house in that part of the country. He lived there until his death in 1828. Truro Township in Franklin County was named for the old community of Nova Scotia from which the Taylor family came. David Taylor, a son of Robert Taylor, was born at Truro, Nova Scotia, July 24, 1801, and he grew up at the old homestead in Franklin County. In 1826 he married Nancy T. Nelson and then established a home near his father's old place and in 1858 moved to the city of Columbus, where he lived until his death in 1889. The third wife of David Taylor was Margaret Livingston. They were married in May, 1836. She was the oldest daughter of Judge Edward Chinn Livingston, and a granddaughter of Colonel James Livingston. Colonel James Livingston was born in New York, was a lawyer by profession, and was practicing law in Quebec when the Revolutionary War began. He left Canada and returning to his native state became a colonel in the Continental line and served in the Quebec expedition under General Richard Montgomery. It was at his suggestion that the township of Montgomery in Franklin County was so named. Colonel Livingston after the war, as one of the patriots who had returned from Canada to espouse the cause of independence, was given a grant of land in what was known as the "refugee" tract in Ohio, then the northwest territory. His land was in Franklin County and included a portion of the present city of Columbus. The Livingston farm embraced the present Livingston Park, as well as additional land lying along Livingston Avenue, which was named for Judge Edward C. Livingston, who came to Ohio in 1800. He was a graduate of Union College, New York, and was an able lawyer, but never active in politics, though he was associate judge of Franklin County HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 565 from 1821 until 1829. His home was in that section where the original Livingston farm was located and on the west bank of Alum Creek. Of the same New York family were Philip and Robert Livingston, signers of the Declaration of Independence. Edward L. Taylor, Sr., second son of David and Margaret (Livingston) Taylor, was born in Franklin County, March 20, 1839, and was graduated from Miami University in 1860. He began the study of law in Columbus, and when the Civil War broke out he served as a private in a volunteer company, and in 1862 raised a company and was commissioned an officer of the 95th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg, but at its close was incapacitated for further duty and resigned his commission. He was admitted to the bar in 1862 and for a great many years was a strong and able lawyer of the capital city. He was a staunch Republican but never consented to be a candidate for any important political office. On July 14, 1864, he married Catherine Noble Myers, a granddaughter of Colonel John Noble of Franklin County. Edward L. Taylor, Jr., third son of Edward L. Taylor, was one of five children born to his parents. He was born in Columbus, August 10, 1869, and was reared there. He was graduated from Columbus High School in 1887, and studied law in his father's office. He was admitted to the bar in December, 1891, and for a number of years was associated with his father and his uncle Henry Taylor, in the practice of law. In the general election of 1899 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Franklin County, defeating Albert Lee Thurman, a grandson of the Democratic statesman, Allen E. Thurman. He was re-elected in 1901 and in the fall of 1904 was elected to represent the Twelfth Ohio District in the 59th Congress, taking his seat on March 4, 1905. He was re-elected for three successive terms, serving the Sixtieth, Sixty-first and Sixty-second Congresses. He was regarded as one of the ablest members of the Ohio delegation in Congress during the early years of the present century, and he was elevated to membership on the appropriation committee. In 1912 he was defeated for re-election and since then has devoted his time and abilities to the law practice. His law firm handled the organization of the Pure Oil Company and in 1921 Mr. Taylor, in association with Mr. A. C. Harvey, became general counsel for the corporation. Within 566 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY a few years this organization has expanded its facilities until it is one of the greatest oil producing and refining companies in the world. On January 4, 1894, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage with Miss Marie Agnes Firestone, of Columbus. Her father, the late Clinton D. Firestone, was for many years president of the Columbus Buggy Company, a great establishment known for many years as the carriage and vehicle factory, and later a pioneer establishment for the manufacture of automobiles. Mr. Taylor was crowned a Thirty-third Degree Mason in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States, and is a member of Scioto Consistory, Thirty-second Degree. He belongs to Aladdin Temple, of which he was Past Potentate in 1908 and 1909. He is also a member of the Columbus Club. Claude J. Bartlett. —One of the prominent figures in professional circles in Franklin County is Claude J. Bartlett, Columbus, who as a successful lawyer of the day, holds leading rank in his chosen field of advance. He was born on a farm near Albany, Indiana, September 14, 1891, the son of Eli T. and Ora (Jackson) Bartlett. Mr. Bartlett received his early schooling in a one room brick school house in Delaware Township, Delaware County, Indiana. At the age of sixteen years he enlisted in the U. S. Navy, doing service on the eastern coast, and he was honorably discharged. He then attended Central High School, Pueblo, Colorado, for one year and subsequently entered Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio. He entered the Law School of Ohio State University in 1916, but two years later enlisted for service in the World War and was honorably discharged at the close of the war as a first sergeant. Mr. Bartlett received the degree of LL. B. in 1920 and was admitted to practice before the Ohio bar in the same year. He is a member of the law firm of Butler, Carlile and Bartlett, with offices at 8 East Broad Street. Mr. Bartlett has had a notable success in handling corporation cases and trust matters, besides a broad general practice. He served as special assistant to the attorney general of the United HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 567 States under the administrations of Attorneys General Stone and Sargent. Mr. Bartlett was married February 13, 1926, to Miss Cecil Jane Richmond, of Dayton, Ohio. She is a graduate of Ohio State University and is interested in writing. To Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett, one son has been born, Richmond J. Mr. Bartlett is identified with the Franklin County Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association, and is president of the Worthington Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of Delta Sigma Rho, honorary debating fraternity, Order of Coif, honorary legal fraternity, and Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, American Legion, and Athletic Club of Columbus. He is also a member of New England Lodge, No. 4, F. and A. M. of Worthington. Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett live at Worthington. Emerson L. Taylor is a foremost corporation lawyer of Columbus. Admitted as a member of the bar of Ohio in 1915, Mr. Taylor has achieved a place of definite prestige in the law fraternity of Franklin County. He is at present corporation advisor to the office of the Secretary of the State of Ohio. He has been the organizer of many Columbus corporations, including a number of mortgage and loan companies, and is prominent as an attorney for a number of corporations. Corporation law for a number of years has been his chief interest and study. His special competence in this branch of the law is acknowledged. Mr. Taylor is a native of Columbus, born March 26, 1891, the son of Dr. Sterling B. and Lila (Piper) Taylor. He is a graduate of Ohio State University, Bachelor of Arts in 1913, and graduated in law at the same institution in 1915. From 1915 until 1917 he served as special counsel to the office of the State Fire Marshal and during that period he assisted in codifying the law as applied to that office, writing a hand book on "Ohio Fire Marshal Law." During the World War, from 1917 until 1919, Mr. Taylor was attached to the Aviation Service, U. S. Army, with the rank of lieu- 568 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY tenant. He was an instructor in artillery observation, courtmartial law, aitd other subjects relative to the air service school at Ohio State University. Mr. Taylor was married June 2, 1917, to Miss Florence M. Smith, of Columbus. They have four children: Richard Lee, Robert Baldwin Lee, Patricia Lee Taylor and Deborah Lee Taylor. Mr. Taylor is a member of the Masonic Lodge, Scioto Consistory, 32nd degree, Aladdin Temple, Phi Delta Phi, honorary legal fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Gamma Sigma fraternities, and American Legion. He is identified with the Franklin County Bar Association and Ohio State Bar Association. Mr. Taylor was formerly a member of the Franklin County Republican Executive Committee. Hugh Gibson Beatty, M. D., whose practice is limited to the treatment of ear, nose and throat diseases, is a veteran of the World War, and widely recognized as one of the leading and highly successful surgeons of this section of Ohio. He has offices at 683 East Broad Street, Columbus. Doctor Beatty was born near Washington Court House, Ohio, September 12, 1880, the son of Talcott and Olga Forrester (Evans) Beatty. Talcott Beatty was born on a farm near Washington C. H., February 23, 1853, and spent nearly his entire life as a farmer and grain merchant. His wife, who died September 13, 1917, was the daughter of H. S. and Mary Evans, of Greenfield, Ohio. Mrs. Beatty is buried at Washington C. H. Their children were: Ralph Evans, born June 16, 1895, farmer, lives near Washington C. H.; Marie, identified with the Lincoln Life Insurance Company, Columbus ; and Hugh Gibson, the subject of this sketch. The boyhood of Hugh Gibson Beatty was spent at Washington C. H., where he was educated. After his graduation from high school he came to Columbus in 1900 and entered the employ of Harry Bradshaw, druggist. He also attended the School of Pharmacy, Ohio State University, from which he received a degree in 1904. Two years later he entered the College of Medicine, Ohio State University, and received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1910. The following year was spent in Europe, where Doctor Beatty took graduate work in HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 569 the University of Vienna, specializing in the study of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Upon his return to the United States he spent one year in a clinical hospital in New York City, and upon his return to Columbus in 1912 established his practice at Fourth and Broad Streets. In 1918, at the outbreak of the World War, Doctor Beatty enlisted and was sent to Camp Dodge, Iowa. In January, 1918, he was transferred to the General Hospital at Fort Oglethorp, Georgia, and remained in service there until the close of the war. He was discharged on June 30, 1919, and returned to Columbus and resumed his practice in his former location. In November, 1926, Doctor Beatty removed to his present offices, 683 East Broad Street. He has a five room hospital in connection with his offices and has a capable staff of assistants and nurses. He also makes a specialty of the treatment of cases which involve hare lip and cleft palate work. Doctor Beatty is a Republican, attends the Methodist Church, and has the following lodge and club affiliations : Kinsman Lodge No. 617, Free & Accepted Masons ; Scioto Consistory, 32nd degree; Aladdin Temple, Mystic Shrine ; Phi Kappa Psi and Alpha Kappa Kappa fraternities ; the Columbus Club ; Columbus Athletic Club ; University Club ; Faculty Club ; Scioto Country Club ; and Sons of the American Revolution. He is also chairman of the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, School of Medicine, Ohio State University. Doctor Beatty is unmarried. Hon. Charles L. Kurtz.—Honored, respected and esteemed in Columbus was Hon. Charles L. Kurtz, who was numbered among the most influential figures of his time in Franklin County. He died in Columbus, February 26, 1929. Charles L. Kurtz was of German extraction, members of the Kurtz family having emigrated to the United States in about 1630. He was born at Albany, Ohio, May 4, 1854, the son of W. W. and Isabella (McElroy) Kurtz. W. W. Kurtz, born in Pennsylvania, was an early settler of Ohio. He was a cabinet maker by trade, spent some time at Albany, Ohio, and later removed to Athens, where he served as postmaster for many years. Both he and his wife are buried at Athens. 570 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Charles L. Kurtz was educated in the public schools but did not acquire a high school education. His early ability to grapple with problems of life as they confronted him is illustrated by the fact that when only thirteen years of age he was able to secure a loan of $5500.00 without collateral security. Mr. Kurtz's first public service was as a representative from Athens County in the Ohio General Assembly in 1880, and he was returned for a second term. He was a Republican and played a leading role in the legislation, and particularly in the political maneuvers of his time ; for his genius for political leadership and the unselfish participation in practical lines and politics which inspires some men, but very few, to devote themselves to the fortunes of others rather than their own, was thus early manifested and continued his most conspicious trait of character throughout his long and useful life. Mr. Kurtz was the first, the most consistent and ablest lieutenant of the late Joseph B. Foraker, who appeared on the horizon of state politics for the first time as the Republican candidate for governor during the second legislative term of his young friend from Athens. For more than twenty years ensuing this fellowship between Governor Foraker and his devoted adviser continued. Mr. Kurtz became secretary to the new governor on his induction into office and retained that post until 1890, during which period he became the arbitrator of Republican state executive committees, exercising an iron rule, although seemingly ever with an air of diffidence and self-effacement over the interests of the Republican organization. In 1895 and 1896 he resumed the chairmanship when Judge Foraker went to the Senate and Asa S. Bushnell became governor. It was in the cards at that time that Mr. Kurtz should be appointed senator to fill an unexpired term created by a vacancy, but the well deserved honor never came to him for the reason that his appointment at that particular period, such was the political ranker of the times, would have set the state and the nation by the ears. Mr. Kurtz was the Navarre of the anti-Hanna insurrection in Ohio. It was his shrewd management that assembled a legislature hostile by a small majority on the Republican side to the election of Hanna as senator; but he was not able to hold his lines against the inroads of the national HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 571 administration under President McKinley and Mr. Hanna was elected by the hair-raising margin of one vote. With the withdrawal of Senator Foraker from public life Mr. Kurtz plunged zealously into business, displaying to the surprise of many of his friends a genius for large enterprises of that sort which to the minds of his devoted followers appeared as a new revelation of his character. He was successful to the extent that in his death the Capital City deplored the passing of one of its foremost business men. Mr. Kurtz was the most powerful politician in Ohio at a time when the state was a hot bed of the most stirring political events in the nation, yet he never held an office above secretary to the governor, state oil inspector, and representative. His career remains a monument to the greatest political glory of America, a spotlight of American statesmanship, and a memorial to personal worth. The biography of Mr. Kurtz may be found in "Who's Who" in America, edition of 1928. Mr. Kurtz was president of the Columbus Railway, Power & Light Company from January, 1919, until 1925, and during that time the company's stock increased in value from $8 to $115 per share. In 1903 he assisted in the organization of the Scioto Stone Company, Keever Starch Company, and Guanajuoto Reduction and Mining Company, and served as president of these companies from their inception until his death in 1929. On September 11, 1878, Mr. Kurtz was united in marriage with Miss Anna Jewett, the daughter of Edgar and Nancy Jane (Kessinger) Jewett, natives of Athens, Ohio, both now deceased. Mrs. Kurtz died October 8, 1911, and is buried at Athens. To this union the following children were born: Ione, lives in Columbus ; Eleanor, married Ralph H. Beaton, lives at Bexley, Ohio ; Florence, deceased ; and Charles J., who is vice president of the Keever Starch Company, Columbus. He married Miss Maybelle Bradley, and they have three children: Charles, James, and Mary Virginia. Charles L. Kurtz was married the second time to Miss Vivian Ebersole, who died in 1923. She is buried in Columbus. Mr. Kurtz was a member of the Columbus Country Club. the Athletic Club of Columbus, Lotus Club of New York, Ohio Society of New York and the Blaine Club of Cincinnati. 572 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Major William H. Fisher, of Columbus, is one of the best known railway officials in Ohio. He has been general passenger agent for the Hocking Valley Railway since June 1, 1890, and was identified with railroading in various other capacities for a dozen years prior to this long and continuous service. Major Fisher was born August 5, 1854, five miles east of Elyria, in Lorain County, the son of Hart E. and Lucretia (Lilley) Fisher. His father was a native of Vermont and his mother was born in Massachusetts. William H. Fisher was reared in Elyria, attended the public schools there, and learned the printer's trade. He worked at printing for several years. In 1879 he was publishing "The Railroader" at Toledo, Ohio. This was a weekly paper devoted to the interests of the railroads and railroad people. Doubtless it was the means of introducing him to what has filled his permanent career in the railroad service. When he retired in 1880 from the management of the paper it was to take a position as traveling passenger agent for the Indianapolis, Peru & Chicago Railway, later a part of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad and now a part of the Nickel Plate. His headquarters were in Indianapolis. Subsequently, he was made ticket agent for the Wabash Railroad at Indianapolis and while there he was attracted back into his old field, journalism, and for three years had charge of the outside circulation of the Indianapolis Journal. Mr. Fisher later became general agent at Indianapolis for the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad, and in 1889 was made general passenger agent of the Ft. Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville Railway, with Ft. Wayne, Indiana, as his headquarters. This road subsequently became a part of the Lake Erie & Western, and now a part of the Nickel Plate. It was in 1890 that Mr. Fisher came to Columbus to take up the duties of general passenger agent for the Hocking Valley Railway. During the World War he had charge of Liberty Bond sales among the employes of the Hocking Valley Railway system and under his leadership, and with the assistance of his chosen associates, more than a million dollars worth of bonds were sold. Mr. Fisher was one of the organizers in June, 1898, of the old Columbus Rifles, a famous independent military unit of its day, and one which acted as a picturesque adjunct of many notable occasions HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 573 not only in Columbus but in distant cities as well. The Columbus Rifles attended officially the opening of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis in 1904, being a full company of 100 men, together with a military band of fifty. Similarly they participated in the Pan American Exposition at Buffalo, N. Y. The organization was maintained for a period of eleven years and for ten years of that time Mr. Fisher served as captain. While the war with Germany was taking place Captain Fisher secured a reorganization of the old company, which was designated as Company E, being part of the regiment of Reserve Guards. Mr. Fisher was elected captain and subsequently was promoted to the rank of major. Major Fisher's home is at Worthington, a suburb of north Columbus. He is an active spirit in local affairs of that community, being former president of the Chamber of Commerce, ex-mayor, and an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Fisher married Miss Mary S. Cunningham, of Elyria, Ohio. Her father, Myron H. Cunningham, was one of the oldest residents of Ohio, his 100th birthday anniversary being in September, 1923. Major and Mrs. Fisher have three children: Carl H.; Lewis W.; and Ruth, married Frank E. Archer. Winford Lecky Mattoon.—Numbered among the successful and representative men of Columbus is Winford Lecky Mattoon, real estate and tax agent of the Hocking Valley Railway Company, with offices at 50 East Broad Street, this city. He was born at Plain City, Ohio, August 29, 1881, the son of Dr. Francis N. and Miriam Rhoda (Lecky) Mattoon. Winford Lecky Mattoon was educated at Otterbein University, 1896-98 ; Denison University, 1898-1900 ; and Ohio State University in civil engineering, 1900-03. He entered the railway service in May, 1901. At various times from May, 1901, to December, 1903, he was instrument man on the Indianapolis division of the Pennsylvania Lines west of Pittsburgh. From December, 1903, until June, 1904, he was instrument man with the Hocking Valley Railway at Columbus. From that time until May, 1905, he was assistant division en- 574 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY gineer of the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railway at Trenton, Mo., at which time he was transferred to the Des Moines Valley division of the same road at Des Moines, Iowa, as assistant to the district engineer. From February to October, 1907, he was division engineer of the Corning division of the Toledo and Ohio Central and the Zanesville and Western Railways at Columbus. From October, 1907, to December, 1910, he was principal assistant engineer to the chief engineer of the Hocking Valley Railway at Columbus. Since 1910 he has been real estate and tax agent for the Hocking Valley Railway. On February 16, 1909, Mr. Mattoon was married at Kansas City, Missouri, to Miss Inez Newton Clark, the daughter of Rev. Isaac Newton Clark, D. D., for thirty-five years secretary at Kansas City of the American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society. They have three children: Betty Alice, Philip Clark, and Francis Newton. Mr. Mattoon, although never an aggressive seeker of public honor or recognition, has since his youth been one of the most consistently and industriously active of Ohio's citizens in countless movements for the public welfare, and as an engineer has taken an active part in the affairs of professional bodies. Endowed personally with a re-- markable store of energy, Mr. Mattoon has turned his efforts in many channels, with prodigious results. To mention just one such activity, he has for more than eighteen-years engaged in the study of genealogical records, and has been engaged in research for history of the Mattoon, Lecky, Rice and other allied families which, although still in cumulative state, constitutes an important document drawing on sources that extend back through the centuries and involving what amounts to an expert study of the entire written history of the Western world. This work includes, among other achievements, an elaborate construction of pedigrees of English and other Anglo-Saxon kings and nobility in these lines of descent; through Edmund Rice who settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts, in 1638, and Thomas Sawyer and John Prescott settlers of Lancaster, Massachusetts, in 1642. Briefly summarizing the more notable of Mr. Mattoon's activities, he was in 1926-1928 vice president general of the Sons of the American Revolution, Central District (Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia)