Allen County, Ohio - Chapter 20: Three Useful Lives, 1906

Chapter 20: Three Useful Lives

One of the leading promoters of our earlier railroads was the late Calvin Stewart Brice, who for many years was identified with Lima's growth and interests, maintaining a home and legal residence in Lima until his death. For many years Mr. Brice was prominent in the nation as a lawyer, railroad manager and political leader. He was born at Denmark, Ohio, on September 17, 1845. His father, William Kirkpatrick Brice, was a Presbyterian minister, and his mother was a woman of much intellectual force and charm of character. The family removed in 1848 to Columbus Grove in Putnam County, Ohio, and there Calvin spent his boyhood to the age of 13 under the home care of his mother and the scholarly instruction of his father. He then entered the preparatory academy of Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. His studies were interrupted in 1861 by the Civil War, when he enlisted in Captain Dodd's university company, and was stationed at Camp Jackson at the State capital. In the fall he returned to college only to enlist again the next year in what later became Company A, 86th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which Prof. R. W. McFarland, of Miami University, one of the most noted mathematicians in the United States was captain. He spent the summer of 1862 campaigning in West Virginia and then returned to Miami to be graduated in June, 1863. He then came to Lima, Ohio, taught for some months in the public schools and was employed in the auditor's office of Allen County. In

July, 1864, he again returned to the w?ar at the head of a company recruited by himself with a commission as captain of Company E, 180th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served in Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas untii the end of the war, and for meritorious service was appointed lieutenant colonel, but was not mustered in. In the tall of 1865 Mr. Brice went to Ann Arbor, where he attended lecturers in the iaw school of the University of Michigan. The next year he was admitted to practice at the bar and in the United States courts, forming at once a partnership with James Irvine at Lima, Ohio, and for a dozen years pursued his profession here with success. His high character, ability and devotion to the interests of his clients, made him deservedly one of the foremost lawyers in the State.

Meanwhile he became intensely interested in railroad affairs and at last transferred his activities from his profession to that important business. His first railroad connection wras with the legal department of the old Lake Erie & Louisville road. He became a stockholder in that road (now known as the Lake Erie & Western) and played a leading part in its development, next undertaking the great "Nickel Plate" enterprise, which he carried through successfully. This made him a man of wealth and a figure of national importance and interest. He was thereafter prominently connected with numerous other railroads and was for years one of the most active and efficient factors in the railroad development of the Southern States.

not prevent him from entering other fields of investment and development, or from the enjoyment of social relations. At Lima, he organized and managed the gas light company ; re-organized and assumed a controlling interest in the First National Bank of Lima, which institution has ever since ranked as one of the most substantial in Ohio. Mr. Brice was also identified with the Chase National Bank of New York, and a leading spirit and director of the Southern Trust Company.

His scholarship and interest in education made him a trustee of his ahna mater, Miami University, and his generosity, coupled with his love for that grand old school, caused him to contribute largely to its needs, and "Brice Hall," named in his honor, arose upon the beautiful campus of the university. He was vicepresident of the Ohio Society in New York, and of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, of which Greek-letter society he remained an honored member till his death. He was also an active member of the Manhattan, Lotos, Athletic, and other leading clubs of New York City.

During Li Hung Chang's visit to the United States he spent his time asking questions - all kinds of questions. He found in Calvin S. Brice a man who could answer a larger percentage of his questions than anybody else. In fact, Senator Brice was probably the best informed man, not only in a general way, but as to particular localities, of any man in the country. Even places that he had never visited he had informed himself about. Li Hung Chang took a great fancy to Senator Brice and sought his company on every possible occasion. Being impressed with the railroad development of this country, he sought to interest Senator Brice and did so, the result being that the Senator started out to organize a syndicate to be composed of 50 persons, each of whom should subscribe $5,- 000 for the purposes of a preliminary survey for a railroad in China. The Senator did not crowd the subscription question nor did he allot places in the syndicate until after many times the number of men to form the syndicate had indicated a desire to join. It probably represented the most wealth of any syndicate that was ever organized in this or any other country, embracing a number of London and Paris bankers as well as the leading financial interests of this country. In a word, it was a syndicate exactly to his liking and choosing. Its formation gave him as great pleasure as any one thing of the later years of his life and its prompt carrying into completion was prevented first by the death of Senator Brice and later by the death of Li Hung Chang. In the proposition he had Li Hung Chang's endorsement and hearty support and had both lived there would have been no halting in the early completion of this great enterprise in. China. At the time of his death he had quite fully matured plans for a seaboard out-let for the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, diverging at Bluffton over the Northen Ohio, via Akron and Youngstown to the East.

Mr. Brice was an earnest Democrat in politics and for many years was conspicuous and influential in the councils of his party. In 1888 he was a delegate at large from Ohio to the Democratic National Convention and as chairman of the campaign committee conducted the campaign of that year and in 1889 was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee. His prominence in politics made Mr. Brice the logical choice of his party and he was elected United States Senator from Ohio for the term 1891-97. In that office he exerted exceptional influence among his associates. He served on important committees, and was a member of thd "steering committee" of his party in the Senate. His business experience, penetrating quality of mind and cautious and conservative though optimistic temperament made his judgment highly prized and his advice sought.

Mr. Brice was married in 1869 to Catherine Olivia Meily, a woman of fine intellectual gifts and much charm in social leadership. He died at New York on December 15, 1898, leaving five children - three sons and two daughters.

Mr. Brice commenced life a poor boy, with only a sound constitution, an active, incisive mind, and genuine brand of American grit. He knew the value of an education, and he obtained it. He was not an orator, but no man ever put more common sense or business energy in a five-minute talk; and in 30 minutes at a meet- ing of railroad directors he would transact business involving the expenditure of millions. He never failed to answer a letter and to answer it promptly - punctuality and directness were rules of his life. When the writer, of this sketch once asked him to aid a young man in the South who was struggling to a legal competency, but one question was asked, "Is he honest?". Upon receiving a strong affirmative answer, Mr. Brice turned to his stenographer, and in one sentence directed work for the young man which gave him a legal prominence which he enjoys to-day.

Mr. Brice never forgot a friend, and in this may be seen the main element of his success. He had no time or desire to punish an enemy, if he had one. When urged not to recognize a man who had vigorously opposed him in a political convention, Mr. Brice replied, "Life is too short," and the gentleman was accorded the same courtesy as any other man in the convention. He had the power of self-control to a remarkable degree, and when he turned from his office to his home, or his friends, business care was put aside, and there environed by the love of family, in his palatial home, he was delighted by the grace of culture, and the beauty of art, and there his friends were also welcome. Well may the language of Antony applied to the noble Brutus, be applied to him : -

Dr. Samuel A. Baxter

When the wild mob in Paris was rushing on its way to overthrow the Bastile and the Palace of the Tuileries, an old man with silvery hair appeared in the street, and with uncovered head called for silence. The leader of the mob at once recognized him, and called to his men, "Plait! Sixty years of pure life is about to address you. It is De La Ure; halt! and listen." The mob halted and listened - then returned quietly to their homes, influenced by one known to be the friend of all humanity.

to his friends and his home city, his high moral standing and business integrity, might well cause him to be called the "De La Ure" of Lima, and the one man who could influence the masses to do right under very trying and excited conditions.

Born, and largely educated, in Lima, all his life a lover of his city and its people, no one claims a higher place in the hearts of the people. Called again and again to posts of influence and trust, he was never found wanting. When the city had a business crisis, or a great financial success, Dr. Baxter was always called on to aid in tiding over the one, and in expressing the genera! good will of the other.

Blest with a wise father and a devoted mother, plans were early matured for his medical education. He was graduated from the Cincinnati Medical College in 1863, and began practice in the army under a commission direct from Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. He was commissioned by John Brough, Governor of Ohio, to the 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry commanded by General Charles Grosvenor, a personal friend of Dr. Baxter from his youth. Later he served both as assistant and acting medical director of the Department of Georgia under Gen. James B. Steedman.

After the war, Dr. Baxter began the active practice of medicine in Lima. It was hard work for a time. But fortune came to him in disguise. He was made health officer, and was put in charge of all small-pox cases during the terrible scourage in Lima. He nursed the sick, and buried the dead with his own hands. Smallpox then had greater terror than the bubonic plague has now. So successfully did he perform his loathsome work that, upon the passing of the scourage, he found himself overwhelmed with business in Lima and for a radius of 50 miles about the city. He was called in counsel to adjoining towns, and was made surgeon for a number of railways. This success was soon followed by one as brilliant, but in another line - that of the financier. Pie became interested in great enterprises, was secretary of the original gas company, then entered the banking business, establishing the City Bank of Lima for a long time one of the most successful financial concerns of the Northwest; was president of the

First National Bank, which institution he made substantial in every way. He managed the artificial and built the natural gas plants ; was very influential in building the street car line; promoted and sold the Indiana & Ohio gas pipeline and secured the building of the car works, then consolidating these works with The Lima Locomotive & Machine Company, still one of the greatest of Lima's industries. The Lake Erie & Western shops, the Chicago & Erie and the Ohio Southern railroads were each secured for Lima through his aid and enthusiasm. But -other fields of usefulness also commanded his time and money : the Young Men's Christian Association and Lima College, institutions of great credit to the city were greatly aided by him. Every church built in Lima in the last 40 years has been aided by his generosity. During his long business career he formed strong alliances in Bradford, England, Boston, New York, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Chicago.

He has served the State as trustee of the State asylums for the insane at Dayton and at Toledo and in many other ways. The people of Lima elected him mayor of the city and would repeat it at any time they could- get his consent to be a candidate.

A short time ago, Dr. Baxter retired from the banking business, and formed a partnership with his sons, under the name of Samuel A. Baxter & Sons, for the purpose of developing his properties in the West, and for handling other extensive interests.

Dr. Baxter is a man of rare intellectual force, history being his favorite study. He has long been recognized as the leading historian not only of Lima, but of the county. To his untiring labors as a chronologist and as a collector of the facts of history, this work is largely due, and to him as a benefactor of the community the people owe an enduring monument.

Samuel A. Baxter is a friend worth having. No man has ever exhibited the sweet amenities of life in a higher degree than he. So warmhearted and generous - he has drawn men to him and held them through life with "hooks of steel." To him charity is a word of sweet and familiar sound. No snow ever fell too deep, no northern blast ever pierced too sharply to stay his helping hand. When old earth is wrapped in the icy bounds of the Frost King - and God's poor are suffering most - then Dr. Baxter's charity is most freely bestowed. In all the good work he has done, he was only regarded by himself as a plain individual in the general economy. With him charity began at home-, where, surrounded by a sweet and companionable wife and happy children, he was more than a lord, but his charity did not end there. He took too broad a view of life to be selfish - he lived and still lives for all humanity. When his career is ended, truly may it be said that, "Were all for whom he has done a kind act to bring but a blossom to his grave, he would sleep beneath a wilderness of flowers." - c. c. m.

Estimate Of Dr. Baxter By Rev. I. J. Swanson

His place in public confidence, esteem and honor, is secure. It has been won by a life of unsullied business integrity, of identification with commercial, educational and philanthropic interests, and of devotion to the public good.

It is interesting to trace the factors in the making of such a career - "Blood will tell," and while aristocracy of rank is unknown amongst us, the aristocracy of culture, character and ability will always have our respect.

The Baxters of Virginia and the Carolinas, from whom he decended, are of the fine old Esglish stock of colonial days, and have contributed names to their country's history, distinguished in the professions and in political life. Doubtless Dr. Baxter owes to his honored ancestors his talent for public service, and his deep sense of obligation to further the common good.

Successful in his own affairs, he has watched over and contributed to the development of Lima from a country town to a busy, thriving and growing city. As physician, banker, promoter of industries and organizer of important commercial interests, his life has been

Philanthropic movements have found in him a stanch supporter. The hospital, churches, and charitable societies, generally, have had his help. The poor in him have found a friend. The extent of his benevolent contributions will probably never be known, for "he has not sounded a trumpet before him."

The educational interests of the city have had in him an enthusiastic supporter and a sound counselor. He served for years on the board of Lima College, which1 is at last emerging into a place of great usefulness and promise, under the competent and energetic leadership of that distinguished educator, President C. C. Miller.

A minor matter, and yet one that has endeared Dr. Baxter to thousands, is the hospitality which has marked "Baxter Place." Its beautiful grounds have witnessd many public gatherings,- high school reunions, sacred concerts on Sunday afternoons, or, perchance, a reception to a Governor or other public officials, in which cases the spacious residence was also the scene of a hospitality which kept alive the fine old traditions of the courtly South. On such occasions and, indeed, throughout his entire career, the winning, gracious and cultured personality of Mrs. Baxter (loved in all relationships, though modest and retiring as the violet) contributed to their success.

Such a life is a valuable asset of any community. To young men of ambition, industry and ability, it is an incentive to seek a career that will serve not selfish interests alone, but by integrity of conduct and promotion of the public good, to lead their age a little higher on Humanity's upward path, which at last shall be crowned with the light of a perfect civilization.

Benjamin C. Faurot

Pie was the son of a farmer and he worked on his father's farm in Marion County, Ohio, till he was 21 years old. When 24 years of age he was a hard working teamster in Kenton

- this was the time the Pennsylvania Railroad was projected through this part of the State. Lima, Findlay and Kenton were asked what inducements they could make to secure the road and, to the great advantage of Lima and Allen County, the great Pennsylvania Railroad was built through Lima. This fact induced Mr. Faurot to leave Kenton and come to Lima. He engaged in the livery business, starting in a barn situated in the rear of the Hume property on South Elizabeth street, between Market and Spring streets. For 10 years he continued in this business and during the war turned his knowledge of horses to good account, selling large consignments of horses and mules to the government and in this way laying the foundation of his large fortune. In 1865 he was one of the incorporators of the National Deposit Bank, afterwards called the Allen County Bank.

At the time of the suspension of J. Cooke & Company, in 1873, Mr- Faurot was on the way to California. Realizing that this meant a monetary panic, he telegraphed to Lima for intelligence in regard to his bank. He was summoned home, where he found depositors crowding the doors. When the creditors saw Mr. Faurot's determination to carry the bank through the storm, even if he had to mortgage all he possessed, the panic subsided.

At one time Mr. Faurot cultivated 700 acres of land in and about Lima, much of which was later laid out in town lots which became very valuable. In 1882 Mr. Faurot built the Opera House which bears his name, and when completed it bore the distinction of being one of the finest west of the Alleghany Mountains. Mr. Faurot at this time established the Lima National Bank, which formerly was the Allen County Bank; acquired the ownership of the city's first street railway - then a horse-car line - and secured the exclusive control of the Lima Strawboard Company which was an enormous money maker. He was the president of the Strawboard Association of the United States. In 1885, after Findlay had found the great Ohio gas field, Mr. Faurot brought drillers to Lima, and in sinking a well on the papermill property, in the hope of discovering gas, the initial oil-well of the Lima field was drilled in. It was not a great success in itself but it was the

After years of success, Mr. Faurot conceived the idea of becoming a railroad builder, and this marked the beginning of his long and disastrous financial reverses. He sold the strawboard works for $600,000 and began the construction of what is now the Columbus & Lake Michigan Railway, which, after years of litigation, he saw, before his death in operation "between Lima and Defiance. He acquired a land concession in Mexico which placed in his hands the fertile Palomas tract of 2,700,000 acres with a liberal contract from the Mexican government for its colonization. He projected the Deming, Sierra Madre & Pacific Railroad which started in New Mexico, was to traverse the Palomas region, tap the mineral richness of the Chihuahua country and then reach tidewater to the west at Guamas. Before any of these gigantic enterprises were matured and before any of his hopes were realized, Mr. Faurot became enmeshed in endless litigation from which he never fully escaped, though he fought a gallant fight. With financial losses, came the loss of his wife and afterwards his daughter Carrie. He saw all his wealth slip through his fingers - the Lima street railway system, the Lima Electric Light Company, the Faurot Block and the land about the city. For 10 years he endeavored to reestablish himself as a financial power, but it was not to be. He has three brothers living - George Faurot, of Lima, Arthur Faurot, of Michigan and Gideon Faurot; also one daughter - Mrs. Lillie Moore-Lauferswiler, of Columbus, Ohio; and one adopted daughter - Mrs. Charles F. Donze, of Lima.

Benjamin C. Faurot in the prime of his vigor and manhood was an heroic figure. To Lima he was not merely an aid but a benefactor. Much of his energy, determination and grit have been woven into the growth, development and prosperity of Lima. He could foresee with the eye of the seer the city's needs in the future. He planned and executed the scheme to establish a more commodious and a more beautiful resting place for the city's dead, and the result is seen in beautiful Woodlawn. The extensive park system which Lima will fully enjoy is a result of his plans and designs made, many years before financial reverses came upon him. Mr. Faurot was ever ready and willing to give his time and means for the advancement of the churches of the city, as well as the regular business interests. His charity was well known, and when the good of Lima was at stake he could always be relied upon. Lima needed stalwart men more in the days of his victories than now.

To-day the city has gone beyond the power of any one man. Whatever may have been his shortcomings, the average citizen of Lima will be ready to forget, and in the last struggles of Mr. Faurot to regain his lost financial prestige he will still be remembered as one of Lima's real benefactors.