USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio > Part 19
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LEWIS PAINTER.
Lewis Painter is a prominent farmer of Jefferson township, and his well tilled fields and highly improved farm indicates his careful supervision and his progressive methods of agriculture. He was born February 4, 1838, upon the farm which is yet his home, his parents being John and Almira ( Beals) Painter. His father, also a native of Franklin county, was born in
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December, 1809, and was a son of Isaac Painter, who emigrated from Vir- ginia among the first settlers of Franklin county and resided here until about 1840, when he removed to Illinois, there spending his remaining days. When he had attained to man's estate the father of our subject was married and immediately afterward purchased one hundred acres of land. that now con- stitutes the homestead of his son Lewis. It was then a tract of wild, unbroken forest land, but soon the sound of the woodman's ax was heard, the trees fell before its sturdy stroke, a log cabin was built, and as the years passed the land was all cleared and was placed under the plow, yielding good har- vests. In later years Mr. Painter added an additional seventy-two acres, so that the place now comprises one hundred and seventy-two acres, and the care and labor he bestowed upon it have brought to him a good financial return.
In politics he was an ardent Democrat, believing firmly in the principles and policy of the party, and for many years he served as a justice of the peace, being continued in that office until he refused to accept it longer. He was well known throughout the county, being rich in the possession of those qual- ities of upright manhood which ever awaken regard. He held membership in the Disciple church and died in the faith of that denomination in March, 1864, in his fifty-fifth year. His wife was a representative of an old New England family, and was born in Vermont in August, 1813, her parents being George and Mabel Beals, who came across the country by wagon to Ohio when their daughter Almira was only a year old. Her father was drowned in Big Walnut creek in 1835, while fishing. Mrs. Painter reached her sev- enty-eighth year and passed away in November, 1891. By her marriage she became the mother of five children, of whom three are yet living, namely : George, a farmer of Iowa Point, Kansas ; and Lewis and Levi, twins, the latter a farmer in Colfax county, Nebraska.
Lewis Painter spent his youth on the home farm and pursued his educa- tion in the pioneer schools of the day, but the privileges were of a very inferior grade, and experience, reading and observation have brought to him the greater part of his knowledge, making him a practical business man. On reaching his twenty-first year he took charge of the home farm, which he began operating on the shares. On the last day of the year 1862 he married Miss Arminta Smith, a native of Jefferson township and a daughter of Jacob and Susan ( Havens) Smith, who came to Ohio from New Jersey in an early day. About a year later Mr. Painter's father died, and he purchased the interests of all the other heirs save one in the old homestead, buying one hun- dred and thirty-eight and a half acres. Subsequently he purchased fifty acres of his father-in-law's farm, but later had an opportunity to sell that tract to advantage and accordingly disposed of it. He is a wide-awake, enter- prising and prominent agriculturist, whose farm is under a high state of cul- tivation, the well tilled fields bringing to him a golden tribute in return for his labor. Four children have come to bless the home, but only two are now
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living: Charles, who married Maggie E. Elliott and resides at Canal Win- chester, Ohio; and Chauncey, who married Etta Cullers and works for his father upon the home farm.
In his political opinions Mr. Painter is a Democrat and is recognized as one of the party leaders of his township. Recognizing his worth and ability, his fellow townsmen have several times called him to public office. In 1874 he was elected upon the ticket to the office of township trustee and served in that capacity for four consecutive terms. In the spring of 1878 he was chosen township treasurer and by re-election was continued in the office for three more terms of two years each, but his service has not been continuous. In 1886-7 he was the township assessor, and in 1889 and 1899 he served as the land appraiser. He has ever discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity, and over the record of his business career there falls no shadow of wrong nor suspicion of evil. He has ever been active in the promotion of all the best interests of the community, belonging to that class of representative American citizens who, while promoting individual success, have at the same time contributed to the general welfare and prosperity.
ERWIN W. SCHUELLER, M. D.
Although one of the younger members of the medical fraternity in Colum- bus, Dr. Schueller has attained success which many an older practitioner might well envy, and his life record is a modification of the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, for in the city which has long been his home he has attained success and prominence and enjoys honor also in his own community. He was born in Columbus June 15, 1871, and is a son of Dr. John B. Schueller, a native of Germany, who came to this country in his sixteenth year. That was in 1854, and through forty-five years he was a resident of America, passing away on the 9th of March, 1899. He married Miss Betsey Degen, who also was born in Germany, and came to America in her childhood.
The immediate subject of this review was reared in the capital city and acquired his preliminary education in the public schools, after which he entered the Ohio State University, where he remained for six years. He was gradu- ated in 1892, with the degree of bachelor of arts. His choice of life work having fallen upon the practice of medicine, he pursued a preparatory course of reading in the office of Dr. T. C. Hoover, of Columbus, and was graduated in the Starling Medical College in 1895. Subsequently he became an interne in St. Francis Hospital, where he remained for a year, and in the fall of 1896 he went to New York city, where he pursued a course in the Post-Gradu- ate Hospital, becoming skilled in surgery. In the fall of 1897 he went to Germany, where he pursued a special course of study in Berlin, Dresden and Vienna.
Returning to the United States, Dr. Schueller joined his father in active
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practice and was associated with him until the latter's death in 1899. He was also called upon to serve as the health officer, serving out the unexpired term of J. B. Schueller. He is a member of the Columbus Academy of Medicine, the American Medical Association and of the Chi Phi fraternity of the Ohio State University. His preparation for practice has been exceedingly compre- hensive and exact, and few men enter upon medical practice better equipped for the profession. His knowledge is not only profound, but he is especially expert in applying it to the needs of suffering humanity, and rapidly is he gain- ing a place in the foremost ranks of the medical fraternity.
OPHA MOORE.
Among the men who have been prominently identified with public affairs in Columbus during the past ten years is the subject of this review, who is now secretary of the state building commission, secretary of the state heating and ventilating commission, and a member of the state furniture commission. He is one of the busiest, most energetic and most enterprising men of the city, and whether in public or private life is always a courteous, genial gentleman, whose popularity is well deserved.
A native of West Virginia, Mr. Moore was born near Parkersburg, in 1867, and in 1872 came to Ohio with his parents, Rev. A. L. and Mary Jane (Baker) Moore. The father, whose birth occurred in Tyler county, the same state, in 1841, entered the ministry of the United Brethren church when a young man, and has since labored untiringly in the Master's vineyard, serving as pastor of churches in both West Virginia and Ohio. He is now located at Pomeroy, this state. For four or five generations the Moore family have made their home in Virginia. The paternal grandfather of our subject was William Moore, a son of Philip, and grandson of Michael Moore, while his ma- ternal grandfather was Benjamin Baker, of Marion county, West Virginia, who died about 1861.
For two years Opha Moore was a student at Otterbein University, in Westerville, and on leaving that institution in the fall of 1885 came to Colum- bus. The following year he accepted the position of stenographer to the chief clerk in the office of the Columbus Buggy Company, and in the fall of 1887 entered the service of the Republican state committee, with which he was connected during 1888 and 1889. In the latter year he was appointed first stenographer in Governor Foraker's office, where he remained until 1890, when he became interested in the newspaper business, going to Chicago with the Light, and later representing that paper in New York city. On his return to Columbus in 1891 he entered the office of A. C. Armstrong, the official court reporter, remaining there until January, 1892, when he was appointed stenographer in Governor Mckinley's office. The following Au- gust he was granted a leave of absence, and during the entire Harrison cam- paign served as secretary to Hon. William M. Hahn, chairman of the speakers'
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bureau of the national committee in New York city, filling that position until the election in November, after which he resumed his duties in the office of Governor Mckinley, being promoted to commission clerk in 1895. The following year he was re-appointed by Governor Bushnell, and served in that capacity until 1898, when he was appointed to his present position on the state building commission. In 1899, when Governor Bushnell's private secretary, Colonel J. L. Rodgers, was in Europe for three months and a half, Mr. Moore filled that position in a most creditable and satisfactory manner. In business affairs he is prompt, energetic and notably reliable, and has always been true and faithful to every trust reposed in him.
Mr. Moore married Miss Roberta L. Klotts, a daughter of S. R. Klotts, an extensive cigar manufacturer of Columbus, who was originally from West Virginia. Her mother, in her maidenhood, was Miss Virginia Zane, a granddaughter of Colonel Ebenezer Zane, who laid out the cities of Wheeling, West Virginia, and Zanesville and Lancaster, Ohio, and was a distinguished officer in the Revolutionary war. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have one child, Ralph M. They are members of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian church and occupy an enviable position in social circles. Fraternally Mr. Moore is con- nected with Magnolia Lodge, F. & A. M .; Ohio Chapter, R. A. M .; and Columbus Council, R. & S. M.
JOHN WILLIAM McCAFFERTY.
The office of clerk of the courts of a populous county like Franklin county, Ohio, is one of importance, demanding the services of a man of wide informa- tion and a mind trained to accuracy even in small details. These and other es- sential requirements are met by John W. McCafferty, the present incumbent of the office in Franklin county, who was elected in 1899 and entered upon the duties of the office August 6, 1900.
Mr. McCafferty was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, in 1871, a son of Thomas M. McCafferty, a native of Ross county, Ohio, who was brought to Pickaway county in childhood by his parents and has been practically a life-long resident there. William McCafferty, father of Thomas and grand- father of John W. McCafferty, was born in Ross county, where his father, a native of Kentucky, was an early settler. Thomas McCafferty, who died February 5, 1901, was a veteran of the Civil war, in which he saw four years' service as a member of the Twentieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Three brothers also saw service in the war and one of them died from illness brought on by exposure, and another was killed in battle. Thomas Mc- Cafferty married Mary J. Wimmer, daughter of John Wimmer, formerly a resident of Pickaway county, Ohio, but now living in Illinois. Mr. Wimmer was captain of a company in an Ohio regiment during the war and was prom- inent as a Republican in Pickaway county and held several public offices. The Wimmer family of Ohio and Illinois came to the west from Pennsylvania.
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After his graduation John W. McCafferty taught in the public schools until 1890, and then took up his residence in Columbus, where he took courses in the National Business University and Columbus Commercial College. In 1893 he established McCafferty's Commercial College, which was successful from its opening day, graduating an average of one hundred pupils yearly, and which he sold in 1897. It is still running and is an educational and finan- . cial success. Since 1894 Mr. McCafferty has been active as a Republican in political work. In 1897 he was secretary for Ohio of the Indianapolis monetary convention, and in 1898 was a member of the congressional com- mittee for the congressional district which includes Franklin county. Al- though he has not been long in office, he has come to be regarded as a model clerk of the courts, for he has brought to bear upon the duties of the position an informing experience and a degree of skill which practically assures accuracy in the work over which he has supervision, and he is of a genial, affable dis- position which gives a seeker of information in his office the impression that it is a pleasure to him not only to grant any just and reasonable request but also to do for his visitor any favor within his power.
Mr. McCafferty is a member of Champion Lodge, No. 581, Knights of Pythias, and also a member of B. P. O. Elks, Lodge No. 37, of Columbus.
GEORGE W. DEEM, M. D.
This well-known and popular physician of Hilliard's belongs to an old Ohio family of English origin. His paternal grandfather was born in Hum- melstown, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, and at an early day removed to one of the eastern counties of this state, where he engaged in farming throughout the remainder of his life. He had four children, namely: Solomon; Ander- son ; James C., father of our subject ; and Nancy, who married Warren Mc- Neil and died in Iowa.
James Chapman Deem, the Doctor's father, was born in eastern Ohio and there reared in the midst of the wilderness. He received a common- school education and in early life learned the cooper's trade. He also be- came an expert horseman and trainer. As a companion and helpmeet on life's journey he chose Miss Martha Ann French, a native of Woodstock, Vermont, and a daughter of Gideon and Phœbe (Carpenter) French, who were also born in the Green Mountain state, and with whom she came to Medina county, Ohio, locating on the Summit county line, where she grew to womanhood. After his marriage James C. Deem lived for some time in Seneca and Medina counties, and was one of the most successful hunters of wild game in the northern part of the state in early days. He conducted a cooper shop in Akron for a time, also worked in a flouring-mill and had charge of a cooper shop in Wilmington, Ohio, from 1849 to 1854. In the latter year he removed to Grove City, from there went to West Jefferson, Madison county, and later to Marion county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming for ten years. In
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1867 he returned to West Jefferson, Ohio, and made his home there and in that vicinity until his death, which occurred in April, 1889. His wife had died in Marion county, Iowa, in August, 1866. Both were active and con- sistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he was a Republi- can in politics.
In the family of this worthy couple were the following children: An- nette married John Harvey, a merchant of West Jefferson, Ohio, and died there in 1871, leaving one child, Mrs. J. W. Welling, of Dayton. Melvin H., a resident of Rusk, Oklahoma, served through the entire Civil war as a member of the Eighth Iowa Regiment, and was twice wounded by bullets, first through the neck at Pittsburg Landing ,and again through the left arm. He married Elizabeth Spahr, and they have four children-Etta, Frank, Adelbert and Nellie. Alva H. died at the age of seven years. Charles M., a physician of West Jefferson, married Harriet Wells, of Hebron, Ohio, who died leaving four sons-Herbert, Ray, Lee and George; and for his second wife he wedded Mrs. Mary Seymour, by whom he has one son, Merle. Clara is the wife of George Crawford, of Jacksonville, Florida, and their children are Anna, now Mrs. Henry; Lena; Howard; Mildred and Elsie. George W., of this review, completes the family.
Dr. Deem was born in Caloma, Marion county, Iowa, August 24, 1860, and for one year attended the common schools of that place. When seven years of age the family returned to West Jefferson, Madison county, Ohio, where he pursued his studies in the public schools for three years. He at- tended different schools in Madison and Seneca counties, completing his common-school education at West Jefferson at the age of eighteen. For several years he taught school and then entered Delaware University, and after finishing the junior year at that institution he resumed teaching, having charge of different schools in Franklin county for six years. At the end of that period he took up the study of medicine under the guidance of Dr. D. H. Welling, then of West Jefferson, now of Worthington, Ohio, and later entered the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, where he was graduated in 1890. For three months he was engaged in practice with his preceptor, Dr. Welling, and then opened an office in Kilbourne, Delaware county, Ohio, where he remained three years, during which time he served as physician to the county infirmary. In the spring of 1893 he came to Hilliards, and his skill and ability soon won for him the liberal patronage which he now enjoys. He has met with success in his chosen profession, and is to-day one of the leading physicians of the place. He belongs to the Ohio State Eclectic Medi- cal Society and the Central Medical Society, and is quite popular in pro- fessional circles.
On the 30th of May, 1890, Dr. Deem married Miss Jennie Howard, of Alton, this county, and they now have two children: Mary Annette, born September 9, 1892; and Arthur Welling, born May 12, 1895. Politi- cally the Doctor is a stanch Democrat, and is now serving his third term as
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president of the school board. For three years he has been master of Avery Lodge, F. & A. M., of Hilliards, and is also past chancellor of Hilliards Lodge No. 638, K. of P. He is an active member and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is highly respected and esteemed by all who know him.
AUGUSTUS T. SEYMOUR.
Among the young professional men of Columbus, Ohio, Augustus T. Seymour, the subject of this sketch, takes a prominent position. He was born August 22, 1873, a native of Ohio and a son of Theodore and Eliza- beth Banibal Seymour, the former of whom was a native of Ohio, born in 1844, the latter in Mount Vernon, Ohio, in 1850, both of them still sur- viving. The grandfather of Mr. Seymour was John W. Seymour, a mer- chant farmer and for many years a heavy dealer in wool. He married a Miss Clark, whose home was in New York.
Augustus T. Seymour spent his youth and early school days in Mount Vernon, attending the public schools, later going through the high-school course, and then prepared for entrance into Oberlin College, where he pros- ecuted his studies for two years. He then entered the law department of the Ohio State University, at which he graduated in 1895, having finished the course with great credit. In 1894 he was admitted to the bar and then became associated, in the practice of his profession, with John J. Chester, of Coumbus.
Mr. Seymour has shown ability and has gained the confidence of his fellow citizens, his appointment, in 1900, to the position of assistant pros- ecuting attorney, under Edward L. Taylor, Jr .. giving universal satisfac- tion. Mr. Seymour is one of the young men who will probably become a brilliant member of the Ohio bar.
SAMUEL W. ELLIS.
Samuel W. Ellis, who is living a retired life, was for forty years con- nected with the railway service, but is now enjoying a well earned rest at his pleasant home at No. 1141 Hunter avenue in Columbus. He was born in Keene, New Hampshire, January 8, 1818, and was married, in Vermont, in 1841, to Miss Mary L. Pluffer. The parents of S. W. Ellis resided in New Hampshire throughout their lives and died many years ago, although the mother reached the advanced age of one hundred years. Both were of English descent. S. W. Ellis, in 1849, came to the west, locating first at Crestline, Ohio, where he resided for a year, after which he spent one year at Galion, this state, whence he came to Columbus, where he has resided con- tinuously since. In 1870, before the streets were graded and before there were any buildings in that portion of the city, he erected his present resi-
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dence. His wife died at their home in Columbus July 19, 1899. She was a lady highly esteemed and her demise was widely mourned by many friends. The children of this worthy couple are as follows: Henry W., now fifty- six years of age, is in the service of the Hocking Valley Railroad Company and resides on Hunter avenue, in Columbus; Arthur L., forty-two years of age, is also an employe of the Hocking Valley Railroad Company and is living on Hunter avenue; Frank A. is employed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company and makes his home in the capital city; Mrs. Jennie Tracy, the only daughter of the family, resides in Colorado.
S. W. Ellis spent the days of his childhood and youth in New England and is indebted to the public-school system for the educational privileges he enjoyed. He began his railway service in November, 1856, as a car inspector on the Piqua road, but after two years' connection with that com- pany he resigned, and in 1858 accepted a more lucrative position with the Little Miami road, now a part of the Panhandle line. He was in continuous service with that company until four years ago, when he was compelled to resign because of his advanced age. He is a genial and popular citizen and is an active' man notwithstanding his advanced years.
GEORGE W. HAYS.
The subject of this sketch is a worthy representative of one of the early settlers of Ohio, his ancestors coming from England to Maryland some time in 1700. Elisha Hays, who was the father of our subject, was born in Maryland, in early manhood starting out to make his own fortune in the wilderness then located across the Ohio river. At that time the forests in the now populous counties of Washington, Jefferson and Franklin were full of Indians who still considered white men as natural enemies. Elisha Hays landed at Marietta, being one of the first party that crossed there to locate. His first stopping place was in Jefferson county, near Steubenville, but later he located upon land one and a quarter miles from Dublin, Franklin county, upon the tract now belonging to the Coffman and Thompson heirs.
Upon his first place, which was located in Jefferson county, Elisha Hays found no house and was obliged to live in a sugar camp until he was able to build a log cabin. This was no easy matter, as he was surrounded by Indians, and every time he cut a log he was obliged to keep his gun where he could use it at a moment's notice. In 1812 he was the colonel of a Jeffer- son county regiment.
Mr. Hays, the father, at one time owned six hundred acres of and in Washington township, three hundred of which he bought of Peter and Samuel Sells. His first wife was Sarah Fanasdahl, a lady of German descent, and she assisted him in improving the farm in Washington township, and endured the hardships of pioneer life. Her death occurred at this place. The second
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marriage of Mr. Elisha Hays was to Mrs. Chloe (Thomas) Poole, after which he moved to Dublin, where he bought a mill and remained until his death in 1847, at the age of seventy-three, after a life of toil and adventure. The mother of our subject survived on the farm until 1875, when she passed away, at the age of eighty.
The children of the parents of our subject were: Mrs. Eliza Hinckley, who removed with her husband to Cottonwood, Chase county, Kansas, where they were the first settlers, after his death returning to Dublin, where she now resides with her son Ray; Marinda, who is now Mrs. Fletcher Coffman, of this township; Martha, who was Mrs. John Thompson, of this township; Lewis, who died at the age of fourteen; and our subject, George W.
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