Columbus City (part 5 of 57)

Li 1852 Mr. Converse married Miss Sarah E., daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Walker) Patterson. Four children of this union are living: :Mrs. Mary Follett, Wade and Captain George L. Converse, both of Columbus, and Howard P., who is living in Boston, Massachusetts. Mrs. Converse died in 1883, and in 1889 Mr. Converse again married, his second wife being Eloise, a daughter of Dr. Chauncey P. Landon, an eminent physician, of Columbus, Ohio. Four children were born of this marriage, one of whom died in infancy, while three are still living: Helen, Samuel Randall and Eloise, the son being named for Mr. Converse's old-time friend, the Hon. Samuel J. Randall. At his home in Columbus, Ohio, ]\Ir. Converse died, March 30, 1897.

Lorenzo English

It is the sacred duty of every generation to keep a faithful memorial of the character and life of its distinguished men. The maxims, motives and destinies of prominent men, as exemplified from age to age in the moral drama of our race, constitute the elements of historic philosophy and impart to the annals of mankind their only practical utility. The life' of every individual exerts an influence more or less strong upon those around him and the career of the prominent citizen is studied by those with whom he comes in contact and by coming generations through the medium of history, furnishino- its lessons' of incentive and inspiration. Occupying a proud and honorable position among the foremost attorneys of Columbus in early davs was Lorenzo

Mr. English was born May 22, 1819, in Herkimer county, New York, a son of John English, also a native of that county. He was reared on his father's farm until eighteen years of age and received only the advantages of such an education as the common schools of his native county afforded. In 1837 the family removed by wagon, then the usual mode of traveling by those seeking homes in the west, to Ohio, and located in Mount Vernon, Knox county. Later the father came to Columbus, where he died in 1863.

In the fall of 1839 our subject entered Oberlin College as a student and was graduated with honor in August, 1843. I" September of the same year he came to Columbus and commenced the study of law under Edwards Pierrepont, afterward attorney general of the United States. Completing his studies in 1845, h^ was admitted to the bar in that year, and embarked in the practice of law at Columbus. He possessed much patience and integrity, was very conscientious as well as industrious and attained great popularity. His professional career was a success from the beginning, and he became one of the most distinguished lawyers of Franklin county.

In 1859 Mr. English was united in marriage with Miss Mary Keene, a daughter of William H and Mary Keene, of Haverstraw, New York. Her father died in that state when she was very young-, and later she came to Columbus with the family. Mr. and Mrs. English were the parents of five children, namely: William Henry, born in "Columbus, in i860, was educated in the public and high schools' of that city, and studied law with his father and the late Judge William Baldwin. Being admitted to the bar in 1883, he has since successfully engaged in practice here. He is a thirty-second-degree Mason and a stanch supporter of the Republican party. He married Miss Ida Neal, daughter of A. C. Neal, of Greene county, Ohio, and they have one son. Mathew Keene, the next of the family, was also engaged in the public schools of Columbus, and is now engaged in the real-estate business in that city. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias. He married Miss Louie Ford, of Columbus, and they have one daughter, Mary. A\"alter, who is a graduate of the Columbus high school, and is now connected with the Hayden Clinton National Bank. He married Miss Ada L. Phaler, of Columbus, and is a thirty-second-degree Mason. Lorenzo isi a graduate of the pharmaceutical department of the Ohio Medical University and is now with the Columbus Pharmacy Company. He resides at home. Laura is the wddow of Charles W. Young, of Columbus.

In 1850 Mr. English v/as the choice of the Whig party as their candidate for mayor of Columbus, and wasi elected over a Democratic nominee by a handsome majority. So creditably and acceptably did he fill that office that he was several times re-elected, serving eleven consecutive years. He was chosen to many other positions of honor and trust, and discharged his various duties with a promptness and fidelity worthy of the highest commendation.

Centexxial Biographical History

As mayor the city government was never in more capable hands, for he was progressive and pre-eminently public-spirited, and in point of time no person, before or since, has been able to equal his long occupancy of that office. He was elected on the Republican ticket as county treasurer, by a majority of twenty-five hundred, and filled that office one term. In 1880 he was the candidate of his party for congress. In February, 1888, Mr. English received a hard fall on an icy pavement which resulted in his death on the 14th of March, the same year. He was a charter member of Capital Lodge, Xo. 334, I. O. O. F. His influence was great and always for good. His duties were performed with the greatest care, and throughout his life his personal honor and integrity were without blemish. Religiously the family hold membership in the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal church.

Jonathan F. Linton

Jonathan F. Linton was born December 16, 1831, on a farm six miles southeast of Springfield, Clark county, Ohio, in a locality known as Green Plains. He was the oldest of three children. His father, Samuel S. Linton, was born in 1809, near ^^llmington, Clinton county, Ohio. The Linton family came from Scotland in the days of William Penn and settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where Nathan Linton, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born about the year 1773. Nathan Linton, accompanied by his father, Samuel Linton, two brothers and two sisters, settled on Todd's Fork in Clinton county, Ohio, in 1802, where he continued to reside up to the date of his death in 1856. He served as the agent to subdivide and sell the lands granted to General Horatio Gates by the government for services in the Revolutionary war.

The family of Jonathan F. Linton's mother, Mary Fallis Linton, came to America from England, also in the days of William Penn, and were living in the vicinity of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, at the time of the Revolution. They afterward moved to the Shenandoah valley, locating near W^inchester. They settled in Clinton county. Ohio, about the year 1805. The whole connection on both sides were members of the Quaker church down to a comparatively late period.

Jonathan F. Linton's father and mother moved to ]\Iiami county, Indiana, in 1833, and settled on Eel river five miles back of Peru and opposite where was at that time located the chief village of the Pottawottcmy Indians, and where is now situated the town of Denver. His father died there in 1836, and the family, now consisting of the widow and three children, returned to Ohio and settled near the village of Clifton on the Little Miami river in Greene county. In 1840 they moved to Harveysburg in ^^"arren county.

Our subject obtained his education in the common schools of that vicinity, in the academies! of Harveysburg and Waynesville, and at the old ^^^oodard College in Cincinnati. During his school years he clerked a vear in a general store and postoffice in Waynesville, and spent a year in the printing- office of the Springlield RepubHc. The year 1849 1^^ worked at the printing trade in Lafayette,. Indiana, and in New Orleans and Mobile. During 1850 he cleared land and surveyed on Eel river in Indiana. During 185 1 he was engaged in assisting to make the preliminary surveys and estimatesi for a division of the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, between Ottawa and Indiantown, along the bluffs of the Illinois river. In 1852 he improved a farm near where Mendota, Illinois, now stands. In February, 1853, he bought the Peru (Illinois) Democrat, changed its name and politics, and printed a daily and weekly Whig paper during the succeeding two years'.

In the spring of 1855 he bought one thousand and forty acres of land in Lee county, Illinois, on its eastern border, where now stands the village of Lee Station on the northwestern branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Railroad. In 1857 he harvested six thousand bushels of wheat and sold it at an agerage price of fifty cents per bushel. Not having money enough to meet the demands of his creditors, he retired from the farming business for a season and put in the time publishing a Republican paper at Peru, Illinois. He returned to the farm in 1858, and continued there until the breaking out of the war. In September, 1855, he married Eliza J. Sapp, a resident and native of Peru, Illinois, with whom he has lived ever since. They have seven children, now all grown.

Mr. Linton entered the army in July, 1861, as the first lieutenant of Company D, Thirty-ninth Illinois Infantry, known as the Yates Phalanx. It was a Chicago regiment and went into camp on the lake shore at about where is now Twenty-second street. The regiment first went to St. Louis, then to the upper Potomac, and spent the first winter with Lander and Shields between Williamsport and New Creek. The following summer it was up and down the Shenandoah valley with Shields and Banks, till in June, when it joined the Army of the Potomac on the James river at Harrison's Landing. The winter of 1862-3 w^as put in at Suffolk, Virginia, Newbern, North Carolina, and Hilton Head, South Carolina. The summer of 1863 was spent on Folly and Sullivan islands, in front of Charleston, South Carolina. The winter of 1863-4 the regiment returned to Chicago and veteranized. In February of 1864 it joined Grant's army, then in camp around Washington preparing for the march to Richmond. Our stibject was made the quartermaster of his regiment in March, 1862, and served the greater part of his term of service on detached duty as brigade quartermaster on the staffs of Generals Howell, Osborn and Vogdes.

He returned to his farm in Illinois in the summer of 1864. During 1867-8 he was in the milling business' at Gardner, Illinois. 1869, 1870 and 1 87 1 were spent in the milling business at South Toledo, Ohio. In March, 1872, he bought the Ohio Statesman at Columbus, Ohio, and published it for four years. In March. 1874, he bought his farm just south of the city, where he has resided nearly ever since. In 1878 he established the Legal

Record and sold it out in 1880. He laid out the suburb now known as Milo in January, 1888. The subdivision known as West Park Place he bought in 1 89 1. He has resided in the city since the fall of 1898 at 54 West Second avenue, and is still engaged in the real-estate business, mixed with a little farming.

Thus we have endeavored to condense, as it were in a "nut-shell," an outline of an eventful and interesting career, a full account of which would fill a large volume.

Edward Orton, Jr., son of Dr. Edward Orton and Mary Jennings Orton, was born in Chester, New York, October 8. 1863, and was brought to Ohio two years later, living first at Antioch College, Yellow Springs. In the summer of 1873, after the death of his mother, the family came to Columbus, which has since been his home. His profession has carried him away on a number of occasions for a year or more at a time, but he has always returned to the city. He pursued his education partly in the public schools of Columbus, partly in Wetherell'si Business College, and partly in the Columbus high school, finally entering the university, in its preparatory department, in 1877, and graduating with the degree of Engineer of Mines in 1884. Previous to graduation he had been employed during the summer vacation of 1880 as a special agent for the collection of mineral statistics for the tenth census of the United States, traveling on foot and horseback over ten or twelve of the coalbearing counties of southwestern Ohio; in 1881, on a trip to the mines of Lake Superior; in 1882, as assistant on the Ohio geological survey mapping coal outcrops in Tuscarawas and Coshocton counties; in 1883 as assistant on the Ohio geological survey, preparing a chapter on "The Clays of Ohio and the Industries Founded upon Them," which appears in Volume V, Economic Geology of Ohio.

After graduation his first commission was the collection, preparation and erection of the geological exhibit of Ohio's resources' at the World's Fair at New Orleans in 1884 and 1885. Returning from his visit to the south, which incidentally included a brief visit to Honduras, Central America, in February, 1885, he accepted a position as rodman on the engineer corps of the Columbus & Hocking Coal & Iron Company, with headquarters at Buchtel, Ohio. After six months of surveying, principally in the mines' at night, he was put in charge of the task of erecting and finally operating a chemical laboratorv, which the company had decided to install, as an aid to the regulatiDn of their five blast furnaces. In the summer of 1886 Mr. Orton was called to Columbus in the capacity of chemist of the Columljus Steel Company, an organization which sprung out of the old Columbus Rolling Mill Company, which had then been idle for some years. He served this company as draftsman for a

His next commission was to undertake, first as chemist and soon afterward as superintendent, the manufacture of ferrosilicon or high-silicon pig iron at Bessie Furnace, New Straitsville, Ohio. This product had never been regularly produced before in the United States, and when produced had to compete with the Scotch and Belgian ferrosilicons. In this work he was successful, making irons of any desired silicon contents, and thus furnishing a needed object lesson by which the iron manufacturers of the country have been able to make their own supply ever since. In the spring of 1889 Mr. Orton was taken south to Goshen Bridge, Virginia, as superintendent of the Victoria Iron Furnace. This' plant, which was a very large one, was erected by English capital, but had been very unsuccessful and had been standing idle for several years at that time. In this position he encountered his first reverse. The repairing of the furnace was greatly delayed, and when started its operations were very irregular. The company became panic-stricken after the first day's run and made a complete change in the management, which carried Mr. Orton out with other officers in the summer of 1889. Refusing to take charge of another blast furnace, Mr. Orton returned to the steel business, in which his Columbus experience had given him a great interest, and from Septmber I, 1889, to September, 1890, he worked in the open-hearth department of the Flomestead Steel Works of Carnegie, Phippsi & Company, occupying successively almost every position around the furnace from common laborer up. This year's practical work, and this constant association with laboring men on their own level, while not particularly advantageous to either his reputation or financial success, Mr. Orton regards as one of the most profitable experiences of his life, giving him a fundamental familiarity with the work of steel manufacture, and a sympathetic understanding of working men, which has been of the greatest subsequent value.

In September, 1890, Mr. Orton accepted a position as the superintendent of the paving-brick factory of the Ohio Paving Company at Columbus, Ohio. The use of vitrified brick pavements in this- country had been but recently begun at that time, and suitable men to take charge of the large plants then being constructed for the manufacture of this class of bricks alone were hard to obtain. Mr. Orton's work on the clays of Ohio in 1883 had given him an excellent basis for this position, to which he l)rought large experience in allied metallurgical lines. Hisi connection with the company lasted until February, 1893, at which time he accepted a position with the Acme Vitrified Brick Company, of Louisville, Kentucky, as superintendent of their extensive plant. Previous to this, in a lull in business, he had sought and obtained a leave of absence of a few weeks, during which he again studied the clay industries' of Ohio for the Ohio geological survey, the results of which study compose a one hundred and seventy-five-page chapter in Volume VII. Economic Geology of Ohio. This work being written from the standpoint of a practical clay-worker as well as chemist and engineer, at once gave him influence and standing among clay-workers of all sorts over the whole country.

In 1893, after visiting the World's Fair, the idea of providing some means for obtauiing technical education for clay-workers began to take root in Mr. Orton's' mind. His own training as a mining engineer and metallurgist had given him much advantage over the average clay-worker, and his geological work in the clay industries had shown him how general was the need of even elementary instruction in the application of chemistry, physics and geology to clay-working industries. This idea, growing in definiteness, resulted in the preparation of addresses on this subject before the clay-workers' associations of the country. One of those bore fruit in the appointment of a committee, who procured the passage of a law by the legislature of Ohio creating a department in the Ohio State University, where instruction in clay-working and ceramics, including cement and glass, should be specifically provided. To the direction of the department, Mr. Orton was called as the natural exponent of this idea of technical ceramic education, and he returned to his alma mater in this new capacity, in September, 1894, after an absence of just ten years' spent in business and engineering work.

The ceramic department, beginning on a small scale, has gradually acquired momentum and has now become a very influential factor in the progress of clay-working industries in America. Being the first attempt, outside of EAU-ope, to give instruction on this subject, the new course drew students' from all over the United States, even from the distant Pacific coast. Many clayworkers could not at first see where to use or how to apply the trained output of this school, but they soon began to see their way, and the movement is now solidly established as a part of the educational scheme of the country. Other states, recognizing the practical value and good results of the Ohio school, equipped similar departments, notably Iowa, which was the second in the field, and New York, which appropriated twenty thousand dollars' in 1900 to equip such a department.

On the death of his father. Professor Orton was appointed, in December, 1899, state geologist of Ohio in his stead, and, after securing appropriations, began, in July, 1900, the prosecution of active work in the survey, which had been inactive since 1893. Besides^ the administrative work as state geologist. Professor Orton took as his special field of investigation the cement and clay industries, which were immediately germane to his regular work in the university and which permitted him to carry on both positions at once, without prejudice to either.

Aside from the strict line of his professional career. Professor Orton has held several positions of honor and trust: president of the Ohio Institute of Mining Engineers 1893-4, two terms; secretary of the American Ceramic Society from its organization in 1899; president of the Engineers' Club of Columbus, 1899: third vice-president of the National Brick Manufacturers' Association of America in 1897; first vice-president in 1898; secretary of the committee on technical investigations, of the same society, 1898 to date; fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1900; and a member of the council of the Society of Colonial Wars for the State of Ohio, 1 899- 1 900.

He was married on the 30th of October, 1888, to Miss Mary P. Anderson, a daughter of Hon. James H. Anderson and Princess Miller Anderson, of Columbus.

Adam Stephens

.\dam Stephens, superintendent of the Green Lawn cemetery, has been a resident of Franklin county since 1832, when, as a boy of six years, he came from Pennsylvania, his native state, with his parents. The Stephens family is of English lineage and was founded in America by the grandfather of our subject. The father, James Stephens, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, near Carlisle, in the year 1800. He was at one time marshal of Columbus, serving in that position for four years, from 1852 luitil 1856, having been elected on the independent ticket with Mayor English. He was a carpenter and builder and had worked for some years on the state house. He died November 23, i860. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Otstot, was a native of Columbia, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, born in 1802, and a daughter of Adam Otstot, who came from Germany to America when four years of age. For many years he resided in Ohio, dying in Springfield, this state. . Several of his sons are located in Clark county, Ohio.

Adam Stephens, of this review, pursued his education in the private schools. Five of his brothers served in the Civil war. William Chambers served for three years and six months in the Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry and died in 1898. Thomas Jefferson was captain of a company of the Fiftyfourth Ohio Volunteers, and now resides in Circleville, Ohio. Cyrus served for one hundred days in the Thirty-third Ohio, and is now living in Columbus. George S. was a member of a cavalry company and James was in the One Hundred and Thirty-third Ohio for one hundred days. In 1866 Mr. Stephens was made marshal of Columbus, being the first Republican ever elected to that office, in which capacity he served for one year. For four years he filled the office of trustee of Montgomery township. In politics be has ever been a stalwart Republican, earnestly espousing the cause of the party and doing all in his power to promote its upbuilding and secure its success. For a third of a century, from March, 1868, until the present time, he has been superintendent of the Green Lawn cemetery. In early life he learned the cabinet-maker's trade and has followed it for twenty-five years, having made over ten thousand coffins in this period. There have been over twenty-three thousand interments in the cemetery during his superintendency. Mr. Stephens has the supervision of the grounds, and his labors have made this citv of the dead most beautiful.

On the 3d of May, 1849, occurred the marriage of Mr. Stephens and Miss Sarah J. Brentnall, a daughter of John Brentnall, of Delaware county. She was a native of England and was brought to America when a little maiden of six summers. She died in 1890, at the age of sixty-one years, leaving five children, who still survive her, namely: Eliza Shepherd is living with her father. Lorin Yerington, who is past chancellor commander of Columbus Lodge, No. 3, K. P., and belongs to Joseph Dowdall's Company, No. 19, Uniformed Rank of the Knights of Pythias. He is a civil engineer by profession and is employed in the Green Lawn cemetery. For the past twentytwo years he has been prominently connected with military matters, was captain of the Boys' Guard about 1867-8, was adjutant of the First Regiment, K. P., Uniformed Rank, for nine years, and held the rank of captain from 1889 until 1897, and is now the first Heutenant of the Columbus Rifles, which was organized in 1898. John James, the next member of the family, is assistant superintendent of the cemetery. Ada is a graduate of the Columbus high school, has been a successful teacher for fifteen years and is now the principal of the Chicago Avenue school, of Columbus. Sherman Finch is a florist and is the proprietor of the greenhouses connected with the cemetery.

For forty-eight years Mr. Stephens has been connected with the Odd Fellows society, is a past noble grand, past patriarch and past high priest of Capitol Encampment, No. 6, and a past grand high priest of the grand encampment of the state. For a number of years he was the district deputy grand master. He became a charter member of Columbus Lodge, No. 3, K. P., was its first chancellor commander and was a representative to the first grand lodge held in Ohio, in 1866. His religious sentiments and membership connect him with the Episcopal church.

Gustavus S. Innis

The subject of the present memoir, Gustavus Swan Lmis, now numbered with the dead, was a well known and much esteemed resident of Columbus, Ohio, his birth occurring in Franklinton, Franklin county, Ohio, February 4, 1 819, and his lamented death on January 2, 1899. His father was Henry Innis, one of the pioneers of Franklin county; the mother was Isabel C. (Pegg) Lmis, a sister of the well known Joseph Pegg. Henry Innis was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and moved to Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1812, later coming to this county, and about 1820 settling on a farm about five miles north of Columbus, becoming one of the prosperous farmers of his township. The mother died at her daughter's home at Commercial Point, at a very advanced age.

Gustavus S. Innis was reared a farm boy and sent to the district school, where he made rapid progress, and then entered Central College, at which he graduated, under the presidency of Professor Washburn. After leaving college he engaged in teaching, first in the country, but later he took charge of a school in what is now South Cohnnbus. One term he taught in Chntonville, in the basement of the old brick church, and this' school under his direction became somewhat famous, on account of the progress of the pupils.

Mr. Innis was married March 25, 1845, to Miss Sarah G. Morrill, of Montgomery township, a daughter of Moses and Millie (Marion) Morrill. Mrs. Innis was born on the farm adjoining the southern limits of the city of Columbus, September 2, 1821, and was the youngest daughter of a family of nine children. Her father was an native of New Hampshire, from which state he emigrated to Vermont and later toiBoston, Massachusetts. In 1806 he married, in that state, and in 1812, removed with his family to Franklin county, Ohio, making the long journey in wagon's. He reached his' destination safely, settling on a farm south of Columbus, which is now a part of the city, and here Mrs. Innis was born and still resides. This land was heavily timbered, but he worked hard and faithfully, finally clearing up the whole tract of two hundred and forty-three acres, putting it into a fine state of cultivation. Mr. Morrill was widely known among the pioneers, as an enterprising, honest and conscientious man. He died in 1837, upon the farm, his wife surviving until 1858. Both the Morrill and Innis families were old ones in the early settlement of New England, emigratmg from Scotland, Ireland and England.

Mrs. Innis was educated in the city schools of Columbus and in Worthington Seminary, acquiring a very thorough knowledge of the various branches taught at that time. Following her school days came a season of teaching, when through the country, in the neighborhood, later in the city, she successfully engaged in this profession, becoming one of the teachers in the school located on Parsons avenue.

Mr. and Mrs. Innis were the parents of five children: Henry Alorrill; George Swan, now a professor in Hamline University, at St. Paul, Minnesota; Isabel C, the wife of Dr. Newton Matthews, of Williamstown. Kentucky; Millie M.. the wife of Dr. Charles Bohannon, of Hebron, Licking county, Ohio, and Charles Francis, living at home on the farm.

After marriage Mr. Innis settled on a part of the Morrill farm, carrying on extensive operations, but was never too much engaged to interest himself in politics or in any of the various enterprises which promised good to the community. He was a man of progressive ideas, many of them considered impractical at that time, but he only lived a little in advance of the age. For two years he acceptably filled the office of warden of the Ohio penitentiary and was appointed superintendent of the Boys' Industrial School, at Lancaster, Ohio. In politics he was an aggressive Democrat, because in all he believed he put his whole heart. Both Mr. and Mrs. Innis were devoted members of the Methodist church, Mrs. Innis having become connected with it in her girlhood. Mr. Innis lived to a good old age, his death being hastened liy a fall from a street car. His memory is tenderly cherished by his family and by all with whom he came into intimate acquaintance in life.

Centennial Biographical History. 1 1 5

Mrs. Innis is the last of her family, with the exception of one sister, Mrs. Lydia Cookman, the latter having passed her eighty-second birthday. Mrs. Innis, notwithstanding advanced years, is hale and hearty, performing many daily tasks, living in the old homestead with a young lady for a companion. A cheerful disposition and a kind and loving interest in those about her make happy the declining years of this admirable lady.

Alexander Davidson. '

Alexander Davidson, now deceased, was born in Hardy county, Virginia, September 20, 1824, a son of Isaac and Mary (Evans) Davidson. The father was a farmer and he, too, was a native of Hardy county, whence he removed with his family to Ohio, arriving in this state about 1830. He settled on a farm in Norwich township, now owned by George Van Schoyck, but the tract was then covered with a heavy growth of timber. He made a clearing and built a small cabin of round logs, which he afterward replaced by a more commodious house constructed of hewed logs. Subsequently he sold that farm and purchased land about five or six miles north of Dublin, spending his remaining days thereon. He died in 1853, and his widow afterward removed to Missouri, where her death occurred in 1863. Their children were Jane, who became the wife of Obediah Davis and died in Franklin county ; Alexander ; Rhoda, wife of Harvey Fisher, of Missouri ; Noah, who died in Missouri ; and Azariah, who died in Franklin county.

Mr. Davidson, whose name introduces this record, was reared to manhood in Franklin county, and acquired a fair education in the district schools. He was brought up to farm work and followed that pursuit throughout his entire life. He was married January 30, 1848, to Miss Lucy Wilkin, who was born in Hardy county, Virginia, December 3, 1825. Her parents were Jacob and Mary Catherine (Fravel) Wilkin. Her father was born and reared in Hardy county, Virginia, and was a son of George Wilkin, who was twice married, his second union being with Lydia Wise. He died in Virginia, and his wife died at the home of one of her children in Licking county, Ohio. Jacob Wilkin w^as reared to manhood in the county of his nativity and served as a private in the war of 1812, being stationed near Norfolk, Virginia. He wedded Mary C. Fravel, who also was a native of Hardy county, Virginia, as were her parents, Joseph and Annie (Dellinger) Fravel. About 1834 Mr. and Mrs. Wilkin came to Ohio, making the journey by wagon. They were about a week upon the way and at night camped out by the roadside. They located near the town of Nashport, in Muskingum county, where they resided for ten years, and then came to Franklin county, settling on what is now the Ezra Dominy farm, which was then a tract of wild land, the only improvement on the place being a little log house. Throughout his active business career Mr. Wilkin followed blacksmithing and farming and both he and his wife died in Norwich township. Their children were Reuben, who died in

Muskingum county, Ohio; Elizabeth, who became the wife of Joseph Francis and died in Jackson county, Kansas; JuHa Ann, wife of Daniel Shuler, of Oklahoma; Lucy; Amanda, widow of Elias Fisher, and a resident of Westville, Ohio ; and Catherine, wife of Hosea Dildine, of Madison county.

Mrs. Davidson was only nine years of age when she accompanied her parents to Ohio. She attended school to a limited extent in Muskingum county, Ohio, and afterward continued her education in a log school house in Franklin county, her first teacher in Norwich township being Mr. Laird. Li 1848 iShe gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Davidson and for a few years they resided in Norwich township, after which they removed to a farm of one hundred and fifteen acres in Washington township, the subject of this review there successfully carrying on agricultural pursuits until his death.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Davidsoni have been born seven children : Arminta, the eldest, is the wife of George Van Schoyck, of Norwich township, Franklin county. Millard married Rachel Britton and resides in Washington township. Mary C. became the wife of George Wilcox and died in Washington township. Ida is the wife of George McCullough and died in Norwich township. Irena is the wife of George Fanning, of Oklahoma. Perley J., born on the home farm, April 18, 1868, attended the district schools of Washington township, was for three years a student in the high school at Hilliard, pursued a commercial course in Ada College and studied stenography in Hudson College at Columbus. After completing his education he went to Buena Vista, Virginia, to learn drafting, but, disliking that work, he returned and has since operated the home farm. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge of Hilliard, and in politics is a Democrat. Harry, the youngest of the family, died at the age of twenty-seven years.

Mr. Davidson, the father, was an exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity, and his political support was given to the Democracy, for he had firm faith in its principles. He died September 21, 1897, respected by all who knew him, and in his death his family lost a considerate husband and father and the community a valued resident.

George W. Matthews

The history of a state as well as that of a nation is chiefly the chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by that of its repres'entative citizens, and yields its tribute of admiration and respect for the genius, learning or virtues of those whose works and actions constitute the record of a state's prosperity and pride ; and it is their character, as exemplified in probity and benevolence, kindly virtues and integrity in the affairs of life, are ever affording worthy examples for emulation and valuable lessons of incentive. This train of thought is induced by a consideration of the life record of George W. Matthews who is one of the highly esteemed citizens of

Franklin county - a man of sterling- worth and irreproachable character. He is enterprising, charitable and humane, having broad sympathy and a kindly spirit.

Mr. Matthews was born in Wheeling, Ohio county, West Virginia, on the 30th of September, 1837, and has back of him a noble ancestry, of which he has every reason to be proud. His father, Ellzy Matthews, was a pioneer of Franklin county of 1844, in which year he located on the Scioto river, in Perry township. He was a native of Virginia, born at Moundsville, where his early life was passed, and there he wedded^ Mary M. Hood^ a sister of Judge Hood, of Somerset, Ohio, one of the early jurists of the state. Her father, Thomas Hood, was born in Baltimore county, Maryland, and served his country during the war of the Revolution as a drummer in the Maryland troops. He wedded Margaret Crook, and Elizabeth Hood, one of their daughters, became the wife of Rev. James C. Taylor, a native of Baltimore county, Maryland, whose parents became pioneer settlers of New Gibson, Ohio. When he was eighteen years of age Rev. Taylor, accompanied by Rev. J. B. Finley, attended a quarterly meeting. There he became converted, later became a student in Oxford College and soon afterward was licensed to preach. In 1823, at the close of his second year at Oxford, he was received on trial in a traveling connection in the Ohio conference, and was appointed to the Miami district of the Connorsville, Indiana, circuit. He labored faithfully, wearing- out his clothes in the service, purchased a horse for ninety dollars in order to make his church visits, and at the end of his' season of work received thirty-three dollars in payment. He continuously rode circuits in the thinly settled regions of Indiana, and in 1826, while on the Black River circuit, he was married to Elizabeth Hood, of Brooke county. West Virginia. He was a very earnest preacher and enthusiastic worker, and the record of his' life w^as indeed a noble one For forty-three consecutive years, a strong and steadfast heart, he labored untiringly for the Master's cause. He was unassuming in manner, cheerful in disposition, and in his intercourse with his fellow men he commanded their respect and confidence and thus reflected credit upon the cause of Christianity. During his last years of work his labors were crowned with a very high degree of success, some three hundred probationers having been taken into the church. Eloquence characterized his utterances, and his speeches were often very pathetic. He died March 14, 1866, at the age of sixty-eight years, his birth having occurred on the 2d of April, 1798. Priscilla Hood, another member of the family, married Eli Green and lived and died in Virginia, passing away January 24, 1867. Sarah Hood became the wife of Thomas Bowman and for many years was a resident of West Virginia, where her death occurred. Rachel Hood became the wife of Joseph Brown and located in Washington county, Iowa. The sons of the family included Hon. Charles Hood, a prominent and well known judge of Somerset, Ohio. Dr. J. C. Hood, another son, became a distinguished physician of Newark, Ohio, but is now deceased. He served as a surgeon in the army during the Civil war, being attached during the greater part of the time to Grant's command. In this duty he was associated with his son, Dr. Thomas B. Hood. After the war the latter became dean of Howard University, in Washington, D. C, and was medical referee in the pension department for sixteen years. He died in 1900.

Mrs. Matthews, the mother of our subject and the other member of the Hood family, was born in Baltimore county, Maryland, and during; her girlhood accompanied her parents on their removal to Brooke county. West Virginia. In 1802 her father came to Pickaway county, Ohio, but the wildness of the country discouraged him in his resolve to make a home in this state and he returned to Virginia.

In the year 1844 Ellzy Matthews, the father of our subject, came to Franklin county, Ohio, bringing with him his wife and three children, together with their household effects, the journey being made with teams and two wagons. In January, 1843, h^ had made the trip on horseback, prospecting for a location, and had selected one hundred acres of land adjoining the farm upon which his son, George W., now resides. For this he paid eleven dollars per acre. It had been improved to some extent, and after taking up his abode thereon in 1844 Mr. Matthews continued the work of development and progress, making his home there throughout his remaining days. He was a successful farmer and accumulated a large estate, his landed possessions comprising nearly three hundred acres. He was identified with public affairs in the township, giving his political support to the Democracy, and was an ardent adherent of its principles. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Matthews were born the following named : Margaret", who became the wife of Washington Mateer ; George W. ; and Mary, who became the wife of W. H. Davis and died soon after her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews held membership in the Methodist church and through a long period were exemplary Christian people who showed forth their faith and works in their daily life and instilled into the minds of their children the principles of honesty and uprightness. The father died in April, 1876, at the age of seventy-six years, and the mother pas'sed away in May, 1 88 1, in her seventy-sixth year. He was a prominent Mason.

George W. Matthews, whose name forms the caption of this review, was only six years of age when his parents located in Franklin county, Ohio; He acquired a good education in the public schools of the neighborhood and remained with his father and mother until they were called to the home beyond. On the 27th of September, i860, he was united in marriage to Miss Nancy McCoy, a daughter of James and Ziporah McCoy, honored pioneer people of the county. From 1844 until the present time Mr. Matthews has resided in Perry township. In 1881 he took up his abode upon the farm which is now his home, and in that year erected thereon a commodious brick residence. His home is modern in all its appointments and equipped with the latest improved conveniences. It is tastefully furnished, has attractive and pleasant surroundings and gives' evidence of the culture and refined tastes of the in- mates. The farm comprises two hundred and fifty-six acres of valuable land, which is highly improved, the richly cultivated fields being the visible evidence of the enterprising spirit of the owner. His property interests also include another farm in Perry township.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Matthews have been born five children, namely : Mary L., now^ deceased; Flora, wife of George Purdum; Charles H.; Margaret, who has also passed away; and Ellzy. Mr. Matthews has been quite prominent in political interests and has held the office of township trustee for fourteen years', wdiile for thirty years he has been a member of the school board. He affiliates with the Democracy and is unswerving in his advocacy of the party platform. Socially he is connected with New England Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M., of Worthington, and has attained the Royal Arch degree in his chapter. Through many years he and his wife have been consistent and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are exemplary Christian people. Kindness, amiability and courtesy not only characterize his social relations but are a marked factor in his business life. Honesty and integrity are synonymous with his name, and in every relation in which he has been placed he has been found true and loyal to the trusts reposed in him. It is not because of special prominence in public affairs that he has and is justly entitled to the respect and confidence of his fellow men^ for his personal qualities are such as to make men esteem and honor him.

The name of ]\IcCoy has figured prominently in connection with the development and substantial upbuilding of Franklin county through almost an entire century. Robert McCoy, whose name introduces this review, became a resident of the county about 18 10, locating on the east side of the river, in Franklinton. Two years later, in 181 2. he purchased sixty acres of land, upon wdiich his grandson now resides. He came to this county from Pennsylvania, but was a native of Ireland, whence he crossed the Atlantic to the new world in an early day, taking up his abode in Lancaster county of the Keystone state. On the maternal side, however, he was of Scotch lineage. His mother bore the maiden name of ]\Iary Love and w^as a native of the land of hills and heather, but became a resident of the Green Isle of Erin when a little maiden of five summers. After arriving at years of maturity Robert McCoy was married, on Christmas day of 1802, to Miss Nancy Douglas, who w'as born in Scotland, in 1781. \A"ith their two sons, James' and Hugh, they came to Ohio, and subsequently five other children were added to the family. The second son, Hugh, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1808, and married Lydia Burns. He came to Ohio with his parents in 1810, and for many years resided in Franklin county, but afterward removed to Indiana, W'here his death occurred. ^Nlary Ann. the eldest daughter of the family, became the wife of ^^'illiam Feltner. Eliza married Abraham Hunter; Nancy became the wife of Joseph Godown. Catherine died aged eighteen years; Rebecca married Daniel Barker. Sarah became the wife, of Alexander Harper, and after the death of her first husband married Abraham Stout. After locating upon his farm in Perry township Robert McCoy there made his home until his death. He was a successful agriculturist, becoming the possessor of a large property. He died July 25, 1841, at the age of sixty-nine years, and his wife passed away March 27, i860, at the age of seventy-nine years. She was a woman of deep religious convictions and held membership with the Methodist Episcopal church.

James McCoy, the eldest son of Robert McCoy, was born in 1805, in Pennsylvania, and married Ziporah Richards, of Franklin county. They became the parents of five children, as follows : Nancy, now the wife of George Matthews ; Lois, deceased ; Ebenezer ; Porter J. ; and Robert. Both Mr. and Mrs. McCoy spent nearly their entire lives in Perry township, and for many years he served as a trustee, filling the office in a most capable and acceptable manner. His farming interests were well managed and brought to him a good financial return. His death occurred in 1880, when he had attained the ripe old age of seventy-five years, and his wife passed away September 14, 1872. Their son, Robert McCoy, was their eldest child and is the present representative of the family upon the old homestead. He was born in this township, in 1834, and acquired a common-school education of a very practical nature. In 1862 he was united in marriage with Sarah Lattimer, and their union has been blessed with eight children, of whom seven are yet living, namely : Glennie, Bertha, James, John, Edgar, Robert and Florence. The home farm comprises one hundred acres of land, which is richly cultivated, and the well tilled fields indicate to the passer-by the supervision and progressive spirit of the owner. He is one of the practical and reliable farmers of Perry towaiship and a man of sterling worth.

Joseph A. Jeffrey

The manufacturing interests of Franklin county have no more worthy representatives than Joseph A. Jeffrey, president of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, of Columbus, and a man wdio has been actively connected with various other business enterprises to the benefit of all. There is no man in Columbus who occupies a more enviable position than does Mr. Jeffrey in industrial and financial circles, not alone on account of the brilliant success he has achieved but also 011 account of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever followed. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution, and his close application to business and his excellent management have brought tO' him the high degree of prosperity which is to-day his.

Mr. Jeffrey was born at Clarksville, Clinton county, Ohio, January 17, 1836. His father, Jan^es Jeffrey, was a native of Monmouth county. New

Joseph A. Jeffrey

Jersey, and was a farmer and trader. He married Angeline Robinson, a daughter of David Robinson, one of the early settlers of Warren county, Ohio, who was well known at Lebanon. Joseph A. Jeffrey passed his school days at St. Mary's Ohio, where he completed his education in the high school, after which he spent four years as a clerk in a general store. Later in life he removed to Columbus, where he soon secured a position in the office of Rickley & Brothers, private bankers. There he remained until 1866, in the various positions of bookkeeper, teller and cashier, and in the year mentioned he left the capital city and removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he engaged in the wdiolesale and. retail carpet and furnishing business until 1869, as a member of the firm of Rickley, Howell & Company, having a fourth interest in the concern. He disposed of his interest in the carpet business to J. J. Rickley, and returned to Columbus, where, in connection with S. S. Rickley, then of the firm of Rickley & Brother, bankers, he organized and established the Commercial Bank at High and Long streets, now the Commercial National Bank.

A year later Mr. Rickley sold his interest in the Commercial Bank to Orange Johnson and F. C. Sessions, these gentlemen, with Mr. Jeffrey forming a general partnership under the name of the Commercial Bank, with Mr. Sessions acting as the president, while Mr. Jeffrey became cashier. He held that position until 1883, when he disposed of his interest to Mr. Sessions and acquired a controlling interest in the Lechner Mining Machine Company of Columbus. This enterprise was incorporated in 1878, with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, which has since been increased to three hundred thousand; and Mr. Sessions, who was previously connected with Mr. Jeffrey in the banking business, became the first president, but was succeeded by Mr. Jeffrey, who has since been the president and general manager of the enterprise. The company has been known successively as the Lechner ]\Iining Machine Company, the Lechner Manufacturing Company and the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company.

The scope of its operations has been broadened a good deal in the successive stages of its history and it now manufactures all kinds of heavy mining and electrical machinery, which is shipped throughout the United States and to foreign countries. The company has an extensive manufacturing plant, housed in large stone and brick buildings and employs from eight hundred to nine hundred men, a large majority of whom of necessity are skilled workmen, as some of the machinery turned out requires the highest possible finish. The plant covers about thirteen acres of ground and is located on the tracks of the Big Four Railway system, which affords first-class shipping facilities. The company manufactures electrical machinery, dynamos, motors, under-cutting coal-mining machines, electric and air-power drills, chain belting, elevators, conveyors, rope transmissions and coal washing and crushing mach'nerv. The efforts of Mr. Jeffrey have not been confined alone to one line, for his opinions carry weight in business circles generally, where he is known as a man of sound judgment and unquestioned ability. Since 1883 lie has been a stockholder in the Commercial National Bank of Columbus, and he is also a stockholder in the Ohio Trust Company, a director in the Franklin Insurance Company and is connected directly and indirectly with many other business enterprises of Columbus.

Mr. Jeffrey was united in marriage to Miss Celia C. Harris, a daughter of Joseph and Deborah (Clark) Harris, the wedding being celebrated on the 2d of October, 1866. They now have six children: Minnie G., Florence, Robert H., Agnes, Joseph Walter and Malcolm Douglas. The eldest son, Robert H., is assistant general manager of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company. Joseph Walter is a student in Williams College in Massachusetts and the youngest son is a student in the Trinity Hall school at Washington, Pennsylvania. The eldest daughter, Minnie G., is a graduate of Gannett Institute, of Boston, Massachusetts, and is the wife of R. G. Hutchins, the vice-president of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company. Florence was graduated in Smith College, of Northampton, Massachusetts, and is now the wife of William Wilson Carlysle, a lawyer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Agnes is a graduate of Smith College and is now the wife of Frederick Shedd, of Columbus.

Mr. Jeffrey served for five years as a trustee of the Protestant Hospital of Columbus and is a trustee of the Woman's Hospital of this city. He is a director and trustee in the First Congregational church, of which he and his wife are members. He likewise holds membership in the Columbus Club, the Arlington Country Club and the Middle Bass Club, of Lake Erie. In politics he is an outspoken Republican. His business career has been indeed very creditable, having established his present business, the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, and mainly through his efforts and direction having seen it grow from a very small beginning, the employment of a half dozen men, to its present large proportions with a capital and surplus of one million, two hundred thousand dollars, employing about nine hundred men, demonstrating the truth of the saying that success is not the result of genius but the outcome of a clear judgment and experience.

Louis Siebert

Louis Siebert, one of the enterprising, w^de-awake and alert business men of Columbus, has through many years been identified with industrial and commercial concerns which have contributed in a large measure to the substantial upbuilding of the city, and the high success which he has achieved is an indication of the power of energy, of capable management and of laudable ambition in the business world.

]\lr. Siebert was born in Frankfort on the Main, Germany, in 1830, but since the 15th of July, 1834, has been a resident of Columbus. His father, Henry L. Siebert, a soldier in the wars against Napoleon Bonaparte, came with his family to America in 1833, locating in Somerset, Perry county, Ohio. In Columbus he established a grocery and bakery, which he conducted until his death in 1842. In his youth Louis Siebert pursued his education in pubhc and private schools, and when a young man he learned and became connected with the business' of bookbinding and the manufacturing of blank books and stationery. Twenty-seven years he was identified with that line of trade and established the firm of Siebert & Lilley. They did an extensive business, their establishment being one of the largest of the kind in the entire state. Their sales and shipments constantly increased and the enterprise therefore proved a very profitable one. In 1892, however, Mr. Siebert retired from the business with which he had so long been associated, but did not entirely sever his connection wath commercial and financial enterprises. He is now a director in the Ohio National Bank, in the Edison Electric Light & Power Company, and in the Ruggles-Gale Company, a bookbinding enterprise. He is also a director in the Dahlonega Consolidated and Standard Gold Mining Companies of Dahlonega, Georgia.

In 1864 Mr. Siebert was united in marriage with Miss Sarah, a daughter of Henry B. Van DeWater, who was a well-to-do and highly respected cidzen of Columbus, but is now deceased. Their son, Albert H. Siebert, who is the manager of the press rooms of the Spahr & Glenn Printing &' Publishing Company, married Miss Cora Malone. The second son, Professor Wilbur H. Siebert, is a graduate of the Ohio State University, of Harvard College, and afterward continued his studies in the LTniversities of Frieberg and Berlin, Germany. He now occupies the chair of European history in the Ohio State University. He married Miss Annie Ware Sabine, of Marysville, Ohio, the only daughter of Hon. Hylas Sabine.

Socially Mr. Siebert is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belongs to the King Avenue Alethodist church, of which he is one of the trustees, and is liberal in his contributions to church and charitable work. In business affairs he is energetic, prompt and notably reliable. He was watchful of all the details of his lousiness and of all indications pointing toward prosperity. He has gained wealtli, yet it was not alone the goal for which he was striving; and he belongs to that class of representative American citizens who promote the general "prosperity wdiile advancing individual interests.

Oscar W. Scott

Oscar W. Scott, a well known farmer of Franklin township, was horn in Short Creek township, Harrison county. Ohio. November 13. 1853. ^^''-^^ i^ a son of George W. Scott, who was a nati\'e of the same county and came to Franklin county in 1872, locating at Camp Chase, where he was the first postmaster. He here established a notion and grocery store and continued as postmaster for ten years. In Harrison county he had taken considerable interest in public affairs, and at one time was defeated for a seat in congress by just one vote. His political convictions were in accord with the Repub- lican party and he upheld them until the time of his death, at the age of seventy-eight years. The mother of our subject belonged to the Hoopes family, which first located in America in 1683, David Hoopes, a Quaker, locating in Westchester county, Pennsylvania, where the family continues to the present day. Ann Hoopes was born in Harrison county, Ohio, in 181 5, and was a daughter of Jacob Hoopes, who had come west from Westchester county, Pennsylvania. In the former place she met and married the father of our subject, living to be an^ aged woman, her death occurring in 1897. Three of the children born of this union survived to maturity : Thomas A. ; Georgia, who married Dr. John S. McBean; and our subject.

Oscar W. Scott was educated in the district schools, later attending Franklin College, following which he learned the printing business. Receiving a scholarship in the Ohio State University, he passed one year at that institution, coming then to assist his father in the store and postoffice. At that time Camp Chase postoflice was second only to London on the Columbus, London & Springfield Railroad, between Columbus and Springfield. Until 1883 Mr. Scott remained with his father, but at that time the store was discontinued and he engaged in farming. He has an interest in twenty acres on West Broad street, also one hundred acres where he lives, besides' a half interest in Scott Brothers' addition to the city of Columbus.

Mr. Scott was married, in 1886, to Miss Emma Haldy, the estimable daughter of Frederick and Louisa Haldy, whose sketch appears upon another page of this work. She is the youngest member of her family and was born in 1865. Two bright little daughters have graced this union, - Ora Bell and Flora Lou.

Li politics Mr. Scott has always upheld the principles of the Republican party, taking part in its councils and being a delegate to many conventions. He was also on the state board of supervisors for elections and has acted as the clerk of the election board. Socially he is connected with the order of Odd Fellows. He is a man much esteemed in the community and has always followed a line of conduct looking toward the improvement of his town and county.

Charles C. Swisher

From the earliest period of Ohio's development the Swisher family has borne its part in the work of advancement and progress, so that the name is inseparably interwoven in the history of that portion of the commonwealth in which they reside. People of the present period can scarcely realize the struggles and dangers which attended the early settlers ; the heroism and self-sacrifice of lives passed upon the borders of civilization; the hardships endured ; the difficulties overcome. Those tales of the early days read almost like a romance to those who have known only the modern prosperity and convenience. To the pioneer of the early days the struggle for existence, far removed from the privileges and conveniences of city and town, was a stern, hard one, and those men and women must have possessed wisdom, immutable energies and sterling worth of character, as well as marked physical courage when they thus selected such a life and successfully fought its battles under such circumstances as prevailed in the west.

John Swisher and his family came to Ohio from Sussex county, New Jersey, in the year 1805,, and settled in Fairfield county, where they remained until 1807, when they came to Madison township, Franklin county. Mrs. Swisher bore the maiden name of Mary Peterson, and upon her father's land northeast of the present site of Groveport Mr. Swisher and his family located. He afterward removed to the school section, where he resided for more than forty years, and afterward took up his abode in Dublin, Franklin county, w'here he spent his remaining days. His first wife died in 1836 and he afterward married Mrs. Shepherd, of Washington township. Of his: family, six children lived to a period past seventy years of age, namely: Jacob, who spent his entire life in Madison township; Thomas, who spent the greater part of his life in Crawford county, Ohio, and there died; Frederick, who also resided in Madison township ; Fama, the wife of Absalom Peters, of Walnut township, Pickaway county, Ohio; Mrs. Maria Minor, of Hamilton township, Franklin county; John, who died in Litchfield, Illinois; and Mrs. Hoover, the youngest, a resident of Bucyrus, Ohio.

Jacob Swisher, the eldest of this family, was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, July 5, 1803, and was twice married. He wedded Miss Eliza Scothorn, who died a year later, and his second wife w^as a daughter of Philemon Needels. During the greater part of his life Jacob Swisher resided upon a farm in Franklin county and in addition to the cultivation of his fields he engaged in buying and selling live stock. On a number of occasions he walked to Baltimore, there marketing a drove of hogs, and also returned on foot. In 1 840- 1 he engaged in the pork-packing business in Groveport. Hisi second wife died in 1862 and his death occurred on the ist of December, 1890. They had nine children.

Henry Clay Swisher, the eldest, was born in Madison township, January 8, 1837, and long resided upon the home farm, making improvements thereon, including the erection of a substantial residence in 1874. He was married on the i8th of December, 1866, to Miss Jennie Nau, a daughter of Jacob and Margaret Nau. Her father was born July 14, 1820, in Prussi^i, Germany, and with his parents came to this country when ten years' of ap-e. He was married, on the 20th of November, 1843, to INIiss Alargaret Bradley, and unto them were born seven children, four sons and three diughters. The mother died May 5, 1856, at the age of thirty-one years, and Mr. Nau afterward married Miss Amanda Hickle, on the 3d of February, 1867. Her death occurred January 15, 1890. Jacob Nau came to Madison township, Franklin county, in 1856, from Fairfield county. Of his children, three sons and two daughters reached mature vears and two of the sons were educated in Lel^anoii. Ohio, and afterward were graduated in ]\Iiami ]\Iedical College, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The youngest son pursued his education in Worthington, Ohio. One daughter is the wife of A. M. Brown, of Groveport, and the other became the wife of Henry Clay Swisher.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Swisher were born eight children, seven of whom are living, - four sons and three daughters. The eldest, Ella Maxa, was born November 2, 1867, and on the 31st of December, 1895, became the wife of O. P. Crist, a son of Samuel Crist, an early settler of Madison township. Charles Clay is the next younger. Walter was l)orn December 25, 1870, and died on the 9th of January, 1871. Edgar Allison was born January 23, 1872, was married, December 2, 1896, to Miss^ Alice Snow, of Hardin county, Ohio, and is now engaged in the drug business in Milledgeville, Fayette county, Ohio. Anah Alice, born December 16, 1873, ^I'^d Emma Florence, born December 13, 1878, are successful school-teachers in Franklin county. Amy Margaret, born August 14, 1881, is now a student in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. Jacob Wilbur, the youngest of the family, was born December 13, 1883, and is now a student in the high school at Delaware, this state.

Charles Clay Swisher, Avhose name introduces this record, was born in Madison township. Franklin county, on the 19th of February, 1869, and in his youth attended the public schools near his home. Later he was graduated at the Groveport high school, at the age of nineteen years, and subsequently pursued a post-graduate course at Reynoldsburg. Ohio. In the fall of 1888 he began teaching in the country schools and followed that profession in Franklin county for several years. He always held a high-clas's certificate and was a very successful instructor, giving excellent satisfaction in every district in which he was employed.

On the 27th of February, 1896, Mr. Swisher was united in marriage to Miss Luda E. Chaney, of Canal Winchester, Franklin county, Ohio, the eldest daughter of Edward and Eliza A. (Tallman) Chaney and a granddaughter of the Hon. John Chaney, one of the early pioneers of Franklin county. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Swisher now have two interesting children : Helen E., who was born May 27, 1898; and Marcus Henry, born June 4, 1900.

Since 1893 Mr. Swisher has been engaged in farming upon the fine farm that was owned by his father, and has placed the land under a high state of cultivation, so that the w^ell tilled fields bring to him a good return for the care and labor he bestows upon them. He is also a contractor. At present Mr. Swisher occupies the position of issuing clerk under the clerk of the courts of Franklin county.

In politics the elder Swishers were Wliigs, but since the organization of the Republican party they have supported its principles, and the subject of this review is also allied with that organization, taking an active interest in its work and doing all in his power to promote the welfare of his party. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias lodge at Canal Win-

Chester. He takes a deep interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the county and to its progress along material and moral lines. His life has been an honorable, useful and upright one and all who know him hold him in the highest regard for his sterling worth.

J. H. Eutsler, the junior member of the firm of Puntenney & Eutsler, piano and music dealers of Columbus, occupies a creditable position in business circles in the city. He was born upon a farm in Ross county, Ohio, April 22, 1862, and is of German lineage. His grandfather, Henry Eutsler, was a native of Pennsylvania, but his ancestors came from the fatherland to the new world. Henry Eutsler married Jane Kirkendall, and among their children was Abram H. Eutsler, the father of our subject. He was born in eastern Ohio, and after arriving at years. of maturity wedded Nancy A. Haley, whose birth occurred in Vinton county, Ohio. Both are still living, their home being in Jamestown. Greene county, this state.

John H. Eutsler is indebted to the common schools for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. Through tlie period of his boyhood and youth he assisted in the work of the home farm, remaining with his parents until twenty years of age. He afterward attended school for a short time at Milledgeville, Eayette county, after which he entered upon his business career as a salesman in a store at Washington Court House, where he remained until 1 89 1. In that year he removed to Springfield and in 1893 came to Columbus and was' in the employ of Hockett Brothers & Puntenney until 1898, when he became a partner in the business, under the firm name of Puntenney & Eutsler. The partners are wide-awake, enterprising and experienced business men, each having been associated with the piano business for a number of years. Their store is located at No. 231 North High street, where they carry a large stock of pianos, organs and other musical instruments.

Mr. Eutsler was united in marriage to Miss Emma J. Wallace, of Gallia county, Ohio, a daughter of Amos S. and Eva Anne (Shively) Wallace. They have the warm friendship of a large circle of acquaintances, and in business' circles Mr. Eutsler enjoys a most enviable reputation, which has been won by reason of his fidelity to the ethics of commercial life and his exemplification of the enterprising American spirit.

John Burnside

Among the prominent farmers of Franklin county John Burnside. a leading citizen of Brown township, is specially deserving of mention in a work of the character of this volume.

he became a prominent stock farmer and died full of years and honor. His son, John Burnside, the father of our subject, was also a native of that county, became an expert weaver of fine linens and was so successful in business that in time he employed several skilled workmen to help him. He married Margaret Humphreys, also a native of the same county and a daughter of Christopher Humphreys. In 1830, with his wife and family, he came to America, landing at St. Johns, New Brunswick, after a voyage of three weeks. After a short visit there he proceeded to Philadelphia and thence to Muskingum county, Ohio, bringing his wife, children and effects by wagon and settling there as a farmer, without means and amid most primitive environments. He died in that county, aged sixty-six years, and his wife died at Delaware, this state, at the age of nearly one hundred years. Their children were : Christopher, now deceased ; John, who is the subject proper of this sketch ; William, also deceased ; Royal, who lives at Westerville, Franklin county; Margaret, who lives with her family in Wisconsin; and Ann Eliza, Thomas , and Jane, deceased.

John Burnside, of Brown township, this county, was born at the birthplace of his father and grandfather in Ireland, in February, 181 7, and attended subscription and government schools there. He was thirteen years old in 1830, when his parents came to America. He helped his father build the log cabin in the woods in Muskingum county, and helped him to clear up hi'S land and put it under cultivation. The little house was made of round logs and had a big fireplace and a stone chimney, and the household furniture and conveniences of the family were meager indeed. The boy attended school only one month after they came to Muskingum county, but he was brought up a thorough farmer and gained much valuable knowledge by reading and observation. He lived on his father's farm until the spring of 1850, when he married Miss Elizabeth Vandevort, who was born in Muskingum county, a daughter of James Vandevort, and was of German ancestry.

After his marriage Mr. Bums.ide lived for four years on a farm of one hundred and thirty acres in Coshocton county, Ohio, which he had bought some time before. He then settled in Brown township, Franklin county, Ohio, where he bought one hundred acres of land, all but seven acres of which was heavily timbered. He employed help and built a small cabin which served him as a home for four years until he could erect a more comfortable dwelling. As rapidly as possible he improved his land and put it under cultivation, and he has added to his holdings from time to time until he now owns two hundred acres well improved and in every way equipped for successful farming. He is a leading man in his township, strong and influential as a Republican, but has never consented to accept any public office, though he has aided to the extent of his ability every movement for the public good.

Mr. Burnside is a helpful member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Burnside, who was a Presbyterian, died safe in the Christian faith, in 1886, leavino- tender memories as a devoted wife and mother. Thev had children as follows : Martha, who married Elwood Smith ; Viola, the widow of Georg-e Brand and presides over her father's household ; and Albert, wdio is prominent in Brown township, where he has ably served his fellow townsmen as a township trustee. All members of this family are held in high esteem by those who know them best.

Stephen W. Parker

Stephen W. Parker is a wide-awake and progressive farmer of Prairie township and is descended from good old Revolutionary stock. His grandfather was an agriculturist of the Empire state and there spent his entire life. When the country became involved in war with England, owing to the oppression which had been heaped upon the colonists, he joined the American army and aided in establishing the indep^idence of the Republic. Peter Parker, the father of our subject, was born in New York, in March, 181 8. He acquired a limited education and at the age of sixteen he ran away from home in order to come to the west. He made the journey on foot to Ohio and secured work on the National road at Sullivant Hill, near Columbus, and aided in building the road through Madison county. He was married, in this county, when about twenty-four years of age, to Miss Mary Warner, who was born in Franklin county, or in Pennsylvania. She was' a daughter of Stephen Warner, who'se birth occurred in the latter state, while her mother, Mrs. Lucy Warner, was a native of Ireland and came to the United States in her girlhood.

After his marriage Peter Parker located at the Leonard brick yard, at Columbus, carrying on business there for a time, after which he sold his property and took up his abode in Brown township, where his wife died in August, 1857, in the faith of the Baptist church, in which she held membership. His death occurred March 4, i860. In his political affiliations he was a Democrat. The children of this worthy couple were : Martin, who died in infancy; Stephen W. ; Henry W., who went to Nebraska late in the '60s and is still living there; John C, of Norwich township, who married Margaret Poland; and Mary Jane, the wife of Joseph Grooms.

Stephen W. Parker was born in the Leonard brick yard, now a part of Columbus, December 5, 1844, and was reared to manhood in Brown township, at the time when it was a veritable wilderness, for no roads had been cut and the work of improvement was scarcely begun. The school was far from his home, but he attended when the weather permitted. After the death of his parents the support of the other children devolved upon him. He began work as' a farm hand for John R. Reason, at six dollars per month, and with him continued for nine years. \\'hile thus employed he responded to the country's call for aid. The 1)lood of Revolutionary ancestors flowed in his veins and his spirit of patriotism was aroused so that on attaining his majority he enlisted on the 8th of February. 1865, a? a member of Company

I30 Centennial Biographical History

F. M. Baker and Colonel R. P. Kennedy. He was mustered out September 26. 1865, at Fort Federal Hill, in Baltimore, Maryland. During his service he was mostly in Virginia and at times he acted as teamster. He participated in the engagements of Charleston and Richmond and at the latter place on being injured was sent to the rear. For a time be was in camp at Winchester and thence went to Baltimore, Maryland, and afterward to Havre de Grace. Subsequently he returned to Baltimore, where he was discharged.

Mr. Parker at length returned to the home of his former employer September 30, 1865, and remained in the service of Mr. Reason through the following year. He then purchased a notion wagon and in that way was engaged in selling goods until 1867. In the spring of 1868 he was married and made bis home near Alton. In March, 1869, he removed to the Bigelow farm on the National pike, remaining there for six years, and in 1875 he went to Madison county, where he remained for twelve years. In April, 1887, he took up his abode upon his present farm of seventy-three and a half acres in Prairie township, Franklin county, erecting a residence in that year. He has placed many miles of tile upon his farm, has planted orchards, erected buildings and made other substantial improvements, and also owns a farm of sixty-one acres elsewhere.

In the spring of 1868 Mr. Parker was united in marriage to Miss Lucinda Groomes, who was born November 27, 1850, on the farm which is yet her home, and which was then the property of her maternal grandfather, Th(;mas O'Harra. Her paternal grandfather was John Groomes, wIk^ with his wife and children came from Jersey to Franklin county. His wife was in her maidenhood a Miss Thener. John Groomes was among the early settlers of Prairie township, and died within its borders on what is now the George Michaels farm. Peter Groomes, the father of Mrs. Parker, was born in Jersey in 1823, and was a small boy when brought by his parents to Ohio. He was reared in Prairie township and married Louisa O'Harra, who was born on the east bank of the Scioto river in Franklin county, and is a daughter of Thomas O'Harra, who was a pioneer of Prairie township, where he owned over three hundred acres' of land. His death occurred on his farm January 13, 1877. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Groomes located upon the farm which is now the property of Mrs. Parker. Her mother died in 1853, and her father afterward married Mary Jane Gatton. His death occurred on the old home farm March 15, 1891. The children of his first marriage were : Joseph, who married Mary Jane Parker and is living in Worthington ; John, who married Annie Sullivan and resides near Elmwood ; Margaret, the wife of Jacob Nicely: Mrs. Parker; and Isabel, who died at the age of fourteen years. The children of the second marriage are: Peter; Ellen Mina, now Mrs. Trus'sel, a widow; and Samuel. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Parker are: Jennie; Delia, now the wife of Louis Michel; Dora, wife of W. C. Carl; Lawson ; Charles, Frank and Hosea, who are in school.

Mr. Parker was born and reared in the Democratic faith, but in 1876 left that party and has since been a stanch Repnbhcan, unswerving in his allegiance to the principles of the organization. For a quarter of a century he has served as a member of the board of education and the schools find in him a warm friend. He also belongs to W. H. Elliott Post, G. A. R., of Alton, and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades.

George H. Bulford

One of the successful and prominent professional firms of Columbus, Ohio, is that of Richards, McCarty & Bulford, architects, of which company George H. Bulford, the subject of this sketch, is the junior member. He wasi born in Worcester, England, in January, 1870, and is the son of Thomas E. and Annie (Pritchard) Bulford, both of wdiom were natives of England. The father of our subject was for many years an operator in the iron industries at Worcester, and died there in 1874. The mother of our subject survives her husband and came later to the United States and resides now in Columbus, Ohio.

George H. Bulford was educated in the common schools' of his native town, later enjoying advantages at a private English school, still later taking a course in the grammar school, following which he selected architecture for his life occupation and entered upon the study of it. applying himself closely for the space of two years in his native country.

In 1886 our subject came to the United States and moved direct to Columbus, Ohio, where he entered into the employ of a w^ell-known architect of this city named Yost. A short time later our subject went to New York in order to take a special course under the direction of a leading architect, upon his return becoming a member of the above firm. Their work is known throughout the city and state, and the firm is considered one of the most reliable and prosperous in the city. Mr. Bulford is a young man who has displayed great ability in his work, and commands the personal esteem of his business associates.

The marriage of Air. Bulford took place in 1893 to Miss Florence Browning, of Marion, Ohio, the daughter of J. H. Browning, formerly of Marietta, a native of Missouri, although she was reared in Ohio, and they have one son, named George E.

George Brodrick

For more than the traditional psalmist's span of life George Brodrick h,as resided in Columbus, and has been a witness of almost the entire growth and development of the city, which w^as founded nearly a century ago. He first opened his eves to the light of day in Columbus. January 5, 1829. His father, H. D. Brodrick. was a native of Maysville. Kentucky, born in 1802, and in 18 10 he came to Ohio with his parents. In pioneer times, during the presidency of Martin Van Biiren, the grandfather of our subject was county auditor of Franklin county, and H. D. Brodrick served as a deputy. They were both prominent and influential men in business', political and social circles, and the name is inseparably connected with the history of this community on account of what they did for the development of the city and county. The father passed away in 1876.

George Brodrick, of this review, spent his boyhood days at his parents' home and pursued his education in the schools that were in existence at that day. His memory reaches back to the early times when Columbus was but a village. The old landmarks have long since been obliterated, and the old tavern and postoffice where the Columbus stage made its stops was within three blocks of Mr. Brodrick's present home, for he still lives on the original plat of Columbus of seventy-five years ago, his residence standing upon land which his father owned.

In the year 1861 Mr. Brodrick was united in marriage to Laura Raney, who died in 1880. His only child is Lauretta, now the wife of \\'illiam H. Deardurff, who was born in St. Louis, IMissouri, April 2, 1869. When a young man he came to Columbus and for ten years has held the position of yard conductor for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Deardurff have been born three children: Martha L., George W. and Ella L. Mr. Brodrick is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in his political views is a Republican. He took an active part in the campaigns of many years ago, when the party was in its infancy and M-hen political excitement ran very high. He is living retired at his pleasant residence at No. 90 North Skidmore street, enjoying a well merited rest, and there, in the evening of life and surrounded by many friends, he is numbered among the most valued residents of the capital.

John Michael Brand

On the roll of enterprising, substantial and successful business men of Columbus appears the name of John Michael Brand. He was born at Baden, Germany, on the 30th of December, 1833, his parents being John Michael and Katharine Brand. In 1846 the family emigrated to the United States, sailing from Havre de Grace, France, and reaching their destination after thirty-three days spent on the bosom of the Atlantic. On this voyage the mother died and was buried at sea. After a few days' rest in New York city the family continued on their westward way to Chillicothe, Ohio. There were three sons and a daughter, the latter now deceased, and Frederick has also passed away, so that the living members of the family are lohn M. and George J. Their father was a farmer and gardener during his active life, following those pursuits in Ohio, where he died on his liome farm in 1852.

John j\I. Brand, whose name introduces this record, was educated in the common schools of his native country between the ages of six and twelve years. At the age of fifteen he began learning the harnessmaker's trade as an apprentice to John Ewing, of Chillicothe, and after the completion of his term of service he went to Cincinnati, where he spent one year, going from there to Nashville, Tennessee, where he remained for three years. Upon returning to Chillicothe he was married, in i860, to Miss Eliza Anding, a daughter of Paulus Anding, and after his marriage he returned to the south, locating again in Nashville, where he entered into partnership with John Monroe, manufacturing heavy harness for the Confederate army in 186 1-2. From Nashville Mr. Brand went to Memphis, where he entered into partnership with George Crown, in the manufacture of harness and saddlery, continuing business there until 1864, when he sold out and returned to Ohio. In 1867 he began business on his own account in Columbus and has since carried on operations along the line of trade which he learned in early life, being now extensively engaged in the business of manufacturing heavy and light harness. He was alone until 1888, wdien he admitted his son to a partnership under the firm name of J. M. Brand & Son, their factory being located at No. 144 East Main street.

Mr. and Mrs. Brand have but one child, John F., born in ]\Iemphis, Tennessee, October 20, 1863, who is now his father's partner. Our subject resides at No. 186 South Fifth street, and as the result of his well directed efforts he is enabled to supply his family with all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. He is a member of Harmonia Lodge, No. 358, I. O. O. F. He also belongs to the Liederkranz, a German singing society, entered as a passive member in 1866, and was transferred as active in 1870, serving his thirty years as active, and now- is enrolled on the honorable list. He is serving in the capacity of trustee, which office he has filled for fifteen years.

He entered upon his business career in a humble capacity, but it has been one of successful achievement by reason of his natural ability and his thorough insight into the business in which as a young tradesman he embarked. He enjoys the well earned distinction of being what the public calls a selfmade man.

Ichabod B. Borror

Among the well-known and highly esteemed residents and old settlers of Jackson township, Franklin county, Ohio, is Ichabod B. Borror, the subject of this review^ who was born June 14, 1838, on the farm w'here he now resides, on Borror pike, near Borror's Corners. His father, Solomon Borror, was a native of Virginia, a son of German parents wdio had come when young to America, and he accompanied his mother to Franklin county in 1812. He married a Miss Sally Clark, but both she and her two children died young.

The name of the mother of our suljject was Delilah (Miller) Borror, a daughter of one of the oldest settlers of Franklin county. Her death occurred when she was about fifty years old.

When Solomon Borror came to Franklin county he encountered the usual difficulties of that time, and they required a stout heart and perfect health to overcome. Mr. Borror lived to be sixty-seven years old, and died a man thoroughly respected and much missed on account of his public spirit. He was a life-long Democrat and held some offices acceptably, one being that of constable. He was a member of the religious denomination known as the New Light. His family consisted of seven children, all of whom grew to maturity. The names of these were : Malinda, who died at the age of twenty-one; Levi, deceased; Elizabeth, wife of Wesley Titus, of Bond county, Illinois; Ichabod B., our subject; William C, who died in the Civil war, in 1861 ; Gilbert L., of South Bend, Indiana; and Solomon, deceased.

Our subject is the only member of his family who is now a resident of Franklin county. He was reared on the farm where he now lives, although for some years he traveled, in 1862 making a trip to Montana and Idaho, where he engaged in mining for two years. After a short sojourn at home he took a trip to Bond county, Illinois, and traveled over the state, working by the month, and thus he continued for a period of four years, at the expiration of which time he returned to Franklin county, wdiere he continued farm work by the month.

The marriage of Mr, Borror occurred December 3, 1868, to Miss Melissa W'est, a native of Pickaway county, Ohio, a daughter of David and Catherine (jMartin) West, who had come from old Virginia at an early day and founded a home in Ohio. She was one of a family of two sons and six daughters : Daniel, who died in the Civil war; Mary E., deceased; Sarah F., the widow of George Simpson, of Marion county; Caroline, deceased; Annie, deceased; Melissa; John F., deceased; and Tillia. wife of William L. Seeds, of Grove City, Ohio.

After his marriage our subject located on the old homestead, w-here he engaged in general farming. In March, 1880, he moved into his new^ residence which he built that year and is now most comfortably settled, still engaging in agricultural pursuits. His family is composed of four sons and two daughters, as follows: Rev. Charles H.. a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church, now located at Chillicothe. He married Miss Dora Caywood and they have one son. Brooks; Otis E., farmer for his father; Lela G., wife of S. E. Shover, of Jackson township. They have two children, Merle and Elma; Glenn; Verna ; and Virgil C, who is still attending school.

Mr. Borror still takes an interest in his fine farm of one hundred and forty-five acres, and well he may, for it is well cultivated and must be a gratifying return for the labor and expense put upon it. Politically Mr. Borror is a Democrat, and his religious connection is wath the New Light denomination. Socially Mr. Borror belongs to Lockbourne Lodge, No. 232,

F. & A. M., of Lockbourne, Ohio, having- been connected with that lodge for thirty-five years. He and his family are justly considered representative citizens of the county, his name being regarded as good as his bond and connected with all measures for the public good.

Daniel H. Taft

In mercantile circles in Columbus, Ohio, there is no name which more readily or unerringly suggests all those cjualities which characterize the honorable and successful merchant than that of Daniel H. Taft, of the firm of Dunn, Taft & Company, who not only occupies an honorable ' position in the business community but is descended from an old first-class Ohio family.

Mr. Taft was born March 23, 1850. a son of Daniel H. Taft, Sr. His father was a native of Massachusetts, born in 18 14, who came with his parents to Ohio early in life and settled at Reynoldsburg, a small village in Franklin county, where in due time he started on a mercantile career. In 1840 he married Miss Sarah Elizabeth Conine. Not long afterward he moved to Columbus, where for many years he had a dry-goods store at Broad and High streets on the present site of the Deshler bank, and later at another location on High street and still later at High and Gay streets. He retired from business after an honorable career of thirty years and died in 1876. His wife survived him until 1894, when she died^ in her seventyfifth year; she was born in New Jersey, in 1819, and came to Ohio with her father's family in 1821. Jacob Conine, her father, was a pioneer in Franklin county, and her mother was Sarah Lawrence, born in New Jersey in 1778. Daniel Taft, father of Daniel H. Taft, Sr., and grandfather of Daniel H. Taft, the immediate subject of this sketch, was a native of jMassachusetts and was descended from ancestors who came to America from England about 1680.

Mr. Taft passed his boyhood and early school days in his native city and completed his studies in the high school. After that he assisted hi.^i father in his store and later accepted a position in the dry-goods store of J. D. Osborn & Company and was a clerk in their establishment for fourteen years, until the business was closed out. After that he was with Green, Joyce & Company until 1889, when he formed a partnership with Joseph H. Dunn and Joseph A. Hartley, under the style of Dunn, Taft & Company, purchasing the stock of William G. Dunn, a retiring member of Mr. Dunn's old firm. The present store of Dunn. Taft & Company, at 84. 86 and 88 North High street, occupies a ground space of forty by one hundred and eightyseven feet and is a four-story-and-basement building. All of the several floors are crowded with the company's goods and customers and the business requires the services of sixty employes. The stock is large and varied and the store ranks as the largest exclusive dry-goods store in the state.

ter of Alfred and Jane E. Ritson, of Columbus. Mrs. Taft died in 1895, leaving a son and a daughter, Lawrence R. and Helen. Mr. Taft's present wife was Miss Martha Hill, daughter of Dr. John Hill, of Summit county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Taft are members of the Congregational church, in which they take much interest.

Mr. Taft is a man of much public spirit, influential to a great degree in political affairs, but to.o busy to be an active politician, a helpful, progressive citizen who has the welfare of his fellow citizens at heart and encourages every rational means to its advancement.

William Anderson, of Scotland, an adherent of Prince James, son of James U, after the insurrection of 171 5, fled in disguise to Virginia, the haven of discomfitted royalists, and settled on the north branch of the Potomac, in Hampshire county, in a beautiful valley known to this day as the Anderson Bottom. He was robust and chivalrous, participated in many battles with the Indians, and was one of the brave officers under General Braddock in his disastrous engagement with the French and Indians near Fort Duquesne. William Anderson was born in 1693, and died on his estate at the great age of one hundred and four. His son Thomas served w^ith credit in various Virginia (colonial) expeditions against the Indians, including Eord Dunmore's to Chillicothe, in 1774. A soldier of the Revolution (six years), patriotic and valiant, he was in many battles and (tradition says) in command of his company at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered. Pie was born on his father's place in 1733 and died in 1806.

James, the son of Captain Thomas. Anderson, was born on the same plantation, February 17, 1768. He served as a private for three months at the close of the war for independence. In 1792 he entered the cavalry service as ensign, or second lieutenant, accompanied Anthony Wayne in his campaigns against the Indians, displayed great gallantry in battle, particularly at Fallen Timbers, and was advanced to a captaincy. He died October 24, 1844.