Columbus City (part 31 of 57)

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 >ears as editor of the Republican Reveille and during that period strongly advocated the night-school bih introduced into the state legislature by Hon. T. 1. 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 commissiion, created by the seventy-second general assembly. On the 29th of July, 1882, was celebrated the marriage of Charles Burlei oh 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 hasi 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 siecretary. 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 parentsi 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 businejis 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 181 1, and wns' 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 IMuskingum county he married IMiss Mary A. Evans, w^ho was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 181 7, 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', \Vhen he purchased a farm in Perry county, Ohio, six miles east of New Lexington; locating upon his land, he there 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 ^liss 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 Ble'ndon to\ynship, 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, fencesi 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 Blendon 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 m^ n enterprising and progressive agriculturists in the community.

Marion T. Brixker

For seven years an active member of the bar of Columbus, within that period jMarion T. Brinker has gained a good clientage and a representative position among the members of the profession in the capital citv. He was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, October 28, i860, and is a member of one of the pioneer famihes of that county, for his grandfather, George Drinker, 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, ^^ 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 settlersi 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 professiional 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 Asihville, 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.

Life is' meaningless unless it is universal and coherent. It is the helpful spirit of our times that has been the foundation of all organized efifort for the good of mankind. Never before have the people of the country realized as now th.e 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 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 lieing a familiar one throughout the country.

A native of the Emerald isle, Mr. McNamee was born in Stamullen county Meath, Ireland, October 29, 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, ^^'hile 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 Avhich 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 ]\Ioines. Iowa, in 1900. He has great influence in the councils of the fraternity, being recognized as a 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 Colum'bus 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 J\L-. 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, ]\Iaster Th'omas 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 istate 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 aft'ect 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.

Prominent in business circles in Columbus is William Smith Carlisle, wlio was born in the city which is now his' home in 1863. Hisi 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.

In politics Mr. Carlisle has taken a deep and active interest in Republicanism of Colum'bus. 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 Ivlaster Mason.

Mr. Carlisle was married, July 10, 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- 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, jiear 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 then* 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 Alills, 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. Fie 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 1S53, 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 laborsaving devices. Since 1888 he has been living a retired life, for in the years of an active business career and as the result of his inventive genius he accjuired a handsome competence, sufficient for all iiis needs through the remainder of his days.

It was on the 24th of September, 1845, that Mt. Alexander was juined m wedlock to Aliss 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 budder of the same place; David M., who deals in slating and 1 inning materials and also carries a line of furnaces in Westerville; and Inez I., wife of A. G. Grouse, a commercial traveler residing in the town where the other members of the family make their home. ^Irs. Alexander died on the i8th 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 wdll 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 cousm 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 Thirtyfirst Ohio Volunteer Infantrv. in which he served for three vears. He escaped wounds or capture, and in 1S64 received an honorable discharge. After his return to Ohio he removed with his family to Westerville, where he 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 1886. 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.

j\Ir. 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 way steadily upward.

Nathan Munshower

A man of varied experiences and of prominence in different w^ays 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 1 86 1 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 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, Avhere he was connected with rolling mills for ten 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 classes, 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 Hopkms, 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 successfuf manufacturer at Wheeling, West Virginia; Mabel Edna was graduated at the W^estern 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, 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, lie 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 practiced 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 thirtysecond-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 son'? : 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 L^niversity and admitted to the bar in 1S97, and has since practiced his profession siiccesslully, and is promment 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 "\\'iechers 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 iregard 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 w'ay 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, w^here 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 '^Ir. Craiglow to locate the Ashville Bent Wood ^Vorks 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 ct the city in 1899, ^^'e hundred men being employed in their foundrv.

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 wife 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 Ic 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 membcT 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, 1 83 1, 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 l^orn in Washington county,

Centennial Biographical History. 9 1 5

Pennsylvania, 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 10, 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 Sw'ickard 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 wdiich time Frederick removed to w-hat w-as 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, show'ing his careful supervision and giving evidence of his industry and capable management.

Mr. Swickard has been twice married. Fie first wedded ^liss 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 IMifilin township, Franklin county. The wdfe and mother died March 22, 1890, and on the 22d of March, 1893, ^^^- 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 womanbcod Sarah Goodrich gave her hand in marriage to David Fravel, and they became the parents of four children, of whom three are living, namely : Eveline, the wife of Geortre Beem, of Lickinc: countv ; Felix C, a farmer of

Plain township; and Joseph \V., who carries on agricuUiiral 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 w^armly 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.

Jaaies 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 w-hen 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 w^as a soldier in the war of 1812. Alex Poston, the grandfather of our subject, was the father of Wesley W. Poston, w'ho removed from Hampshire county, Virginia, to Athens county, Ohio, in the year 1835. He w^as 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. \\^esley Poston gave his attention strictly to his business affairs, and his efforts were attended with a high degree of prosperity. Be 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.

lutionary war. With many others her family had taken refuge in a blockhouse 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 paTt 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 tlew 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 ]\Iayor 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 i!i 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- ance to the law passed by the legislature, what are known a^' 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 not 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 w^as 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 by 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 iroot, 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 isince known as Headley's Corners. For several years they also conducted a saw and gristmill in part- nership, but afcerward 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 tlood 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 ofiice 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 I, 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 Alaysville, DeKalb county, Missouri.

Daniel Headley early became familiar wath the w^ork 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 twentyfirst 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 Eranklin county and took charge of his farm, w^hich 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 freely to p'romote moral, intellectual and material interests in the community. He is widely known for his probity, his fidelity to duty, his upright principles and his o-enuinc worth of character.

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 JNIcCloud 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 Mc- Cloud, 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) ]\Ic- Cloud, also a Pennsylvanian by birth, w^as brought to Columbus at about the age of two years by her father, James Stombaugh, in 181 2. 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 Tvliss Isabel McKelvey, of Columbus, who came 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 a\-enue, where he did business twehe 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 kn^wn 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 Columbu?. Mr. McCloud's second wife was Miss Angie Carroll, daughter of the Rev. Andrew Carroll, who died in 1885, leaving a son, James McCloud, who is a well known coal and wood dealer at Columbus, with yards on the west side. Air. ]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 polities', he had pronounced views upon every public question and was never at a loss to give a reason for his opinion.

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 hQ 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 1836, 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 family 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 it to a greater or less extent throughout his entire life. His sons, Mathias and William, took great delight m 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 was 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 1801. 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 licjuor 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 school. He was then granted a certificate to teach, and throngh 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 ist 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 (J-yle) Young. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, and with his parents went to Fairfield county, Ohio, when a youth of seventeen years, his father, John Young, being one of the first settlers in that locality. The mother was born in Kentucky, and wdien 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 o^' the old family homestead, and also cultivated sixty-six and twothirds 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 be 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.

Among the representatives of the medical fraternity of Columluis who have attained prominence and prosperity by reason of superior skill and ability :s Dr. Sylvester Morrill Sherman. He is one of the native sons of the city, born on the 23d of December, 1842. The grandfather of our subject, Amos vSherman, was a drum majoT in the war of 1812, and on the expiration of his first term re-enlisted. He died of diphtheria at Fort INfeigs. His wife

Levi H. Sherman, the Doctor's father, was born near Wheehng. March I ,1809, and having arrived at years of maturity married Lydia G. Alorrill, a daughter of Moses and Millie (Merion) Morrill. The latter is a sister of William Merion. The mother of our subject is a native qf 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 factoiry, 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 ^^ joined a company of Columbus men, under the leadership of John W^alton, 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 oi 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 dauglUer 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 zy, 1901. Unto 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 daug'hter of John W. Hance, of Columbus, is a graduate of the Ohio Dental, Colkge, 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 thirtysecond-degree Mason, belonging to Mount Vernon Commandery, No. i. Pie 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, of 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. Hisi 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 30, 1855. In 1853 x\nderson 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

B, Third Regiment, Iowa \'olunteer 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 Booft. a daughter of Francis V. Van Boost, who came with his family from near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and settled in Indiana, w^hence 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.

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 oppoising interests.

Mr. Cameron came to Columbus in 1884. From 1885 to 18S7 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 isthools there. Mrs. Cameron has borne her husband two daughters, named Lula ]May and Hazel C.

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 world 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

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 se^'eral 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 wais 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 opinions 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 efiforts to secure justice and fair compensation for work. In his religious affiliations Mr. Koehl is connected with the German Independent Protestant church.

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 ]\Ierion, Sr., and the grandfather of William Merion, of Columbus, came from ]\Ias'sachusetts in 1804, and he and his brother Elijah and his brother-in-law Morrill took up three sections of land, wdiich at this time would be bounded as follow^s : 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 ison, ^^'illiam Merion, Sr., was born in 181 1 in a cabin that stood on South High street, just south of Mohler street. At that time there were onlv about four houses west of the river. He attended school at the Sells school house, at the corner of Coshatt and High istreets, 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 Alerion township was organized w'as 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 oth.er 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, w^ho was the daughter of James Uncles, an early settler in Ohio from New England. Besides W'illiam Merion, the subject of this sketch, William Merion, Sr., had four other sons : Charles Merion, of Columbus, a well known farmer, now living on Scuth 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 \^olunteer 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 isi 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.

The family of Towns is a distinguished one in England, where several of its members have been prominent in public affairs and others liave won distinction in the army and navy, and one of Dr. Town's uncles of that name was a member of parliament, a? was also his uncle, George Hickman. Dr. Towns, of No. 521 Main street. Columbus, Ohio, was born at Alount Ver- noil 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 distinct success 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.

W'illiam Towns married Miss Josephine \\'alton, of Worthington, Franklin county, Ohio, a daughter of Flenry 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. \\\\\\ 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 methods which has an important bearing on his pro-fessional 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 ]]is 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 i860. 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 lie 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.

Michael Joseph Gates spent his boyhood and youth in tb.e county of his nativity, attended the parochial schools there, and after puttin- 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; ovvn 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: Inisiness methods are thoroughly reliable and commend him to the confidence and patronage of the public.

. Mr. Gates was married in Columbus, to Miss Elizabeth Straub. who was born m this city in i860, and is a daughter of Andrew and Catherine Straub, who came from Germany and took up their residence in Ghio's capital many years ago, the father being here engaged in the shoe business. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gates 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. Gates was elected a member of the citv council from the seventeenth ward and ^erved for two years. He is a prom'- ment 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 Grder 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. Brggks

"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. Agricultut-e 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, beinonumbered among the leading farmers of Plain township, Franklin county. He was born in Newark, Licking county, Ghio, on the i6th 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 Imikfer of Newark. The father is numbered among the native sons of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Syracuse county, New York. Gctober i, 18^4' The grandparents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Wade) Brooks, were both natives'of Canada, but soon after their marriage removed to New York, wliere the o-randfather became a prominent farmer, there spending his remaining days. Hiram Brooks was reared upon the homestead there and in earlv life learned the trade of a carpenter and builder. Gn leaving the east he took up his abode in Eliza- 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 in business as a manufacturer of tile, and early in the '7osremoved 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 when he removed to Worth ington, 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 w^orking 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 ninetyone 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 wnth 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 tw^o 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, an:l though the township is strongly Democratic, he polled a large vote, receiving the largest support that has ever b.een given to a Republican 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 ahiiost 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 celebiated 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 ]\Iiller is one of the leading citizens of Columbus whose advancement has resulted from his individual efforts, ancl who to-day occupies a prominent position in business and political circles in the capital city.^ He Vx'as born in Carlisle, Cumberland county. Pennsylvania, on the 30th of December, 1862, and is a son of Amos :viiller, a native of Lancaster countj-, Pennsylvania. The father is now living in Columbus, at the age of sixtynine 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 m 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 succes-^ful management of a campaign, and his efforts have been very effective in promoting the party's interests. On the 2d of June, 1897. ^^ was appinted 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 not only advanced his individual prosperity but have contributed in a large measure to the business activity and consequent success of the city.

Air. 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 p. 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 eve'r been subordinated to the public good, and thus he has become honored and esteemed by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance or v>-ho have met him in a business way.