USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio > Part 21
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Mr. Andrix received his early education in the public schools of Grove- port, Ohio, and has been a student, self-taught, from the day he left school until the present time. He followed farming until 1880, when he engaged in the building trade at Columbus. His operations have been extensive and he has erected many prominent buildings on the west side and in other parts of the city. He also owns a block of buildings at Sandusky and Broad streets. He was a member of the West Side Building & Loan Association in 1896 and was a member of the board of education of Columbus in 1893-4. He was appointed by the mayor a member of the decennial equalization board for 1900, which is revising the assessment list for the whole city to provide a
JOHN F. ANDRIX.
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basis for taxation for the next ten years. This appointment may be regarded as a high tribute to Mr. Andrix's integrity and to his broad and accurate knowledge of real estate values in this city. The board itself honored him by, election to its vice-presidency. His operations in real estate are extensive and their results prove that they are carried forward under the best business judg- ment.
Mr. Andrix was happily married to Miss Carrie F. Poole, of Columbus, a daughter of Middleton Poole, formerly well known as a grocer. Mrs. Andrix's mother was Nancy H. ( Perrin) Poole, who was born in 1831, near where Mr. and Mrs. Andrix now live, and whose grandfather came from England. Mr. and Mrs. Andrix have three children: Iza, Edna and How- ard. Mr. Andrix is an official member of the Methodist . Episcopal church.
WINFIELD S. ROCHELLE.
Throughout his entire life Winfield Scott Rochelle has been connected with agricultural interests in Franklin county. He was born September 25, 1847, on the farm where he now resides. His father, John Rochelle, was a native of Sussex county, New Jersey, born in 1805. There he was reared to manhood and learned the trade of an iron-worker, being employed in the days before the advent of the furnace, when the iron ore was taken from the mines and worked into its various stages from the forge. While still in New Jersey Mr. Rochelle was married, and four of his children were born there. In December, 1836, he came with his family to Ohio and settled on the farm now occupied by our subject, purchasing eighty-one acres of land from a Mr. Mills, who was the original owner after the entry from the government. Later Mr. Rochelle added a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Mercer county and some time subsequently purchased one hundred and twenty-five acres of land adjoining the home farm. There he resided up to the time of his death, which occurred October 26, 1877. He was a stanch supporter of Republican principles and believed firmly in the party, but never sought office. Although a member of no church, he regularly attended the services of the old school Baptist church, of which his wife has been a member for a half- century.
Mrs. Rochelle bore the maiden name of Lucinda Search, and was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, her parents being Martin and Elizabeth (Rorick) Search. Her father was a native of New Jersey and was an iron- worker by trade, following that pursuit in connection with his son-in-law, John Rochelle .. His wife was born in Holland, and both died in Muskingum county, Ohio. Mrs. Search came to this state with John Rochelle in 1836 and took up her abode in the home of her son near Zanesville, while her hus- band remained in New Jersey and settled up some business affairs there and to attend a lawsuit over some property. As the litigation continued over a period of several years he did not become a resident of Ohio until 1869. He
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lived to the advanced age of ninety-two years, and his wife passed away at the ripe old age of ninety-three. It will thus be seen that longevity is a char- acteristic of the family, and their daughter, Mrs. Rochelle, is still living, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. She is one of the remarkable women of the county, retaining her mental and physical faculties to a wonderful degree. Through fifty years she has held membership in the Baptist church, and has been one of its active workers, contributing largely to its support and doing all in her power for its upbuilding and growth. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rochelle were born twelve children, six of whom are yet living, namely : William, a resident of Hamilton, Ohio; Dency, the widow of C. H. Barber, of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Mary A., the wife of Daniel Hickman, of Truro township, Franklin county; Martin S., a practicing physician of Wichita, Kansas ; Winfield; and Phebe C., the wife of \V. I. Hempstead, of Reynolds- burg, Ohio.
Winfield Scott Rochelle was reared in his parents' home until his six- teenth year, when he ran away in order to enlist in the service of his country. He made his way to Columbus, and on the 28th of March, 1864, joined Com- pany C, of the Forty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Fifteenth Army Corps, commanded by General John A. Logan. With the exception of a few weeks in the hospital in Resaca and Marietta, Georgia, he was continuously with his command until the close of the war, and his loyalty and bravery were equal to that of many a veteran of twice his years. He was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, on the 27th of July, 1865, after having participated in the following engagements: Resaca, Dallas, Allatoona, New Hope Church, Congaree Creek, Atlanta, Griswoldville, Savannah, Charleston and Columbia.
When the war was over and the country no longer needed his services Mr. Rochelle returned to his home and resumed the work of the farm. He was the only son at home and his labors proved an important factor in the operation of the fields. On the 4th of February, 1875, he was united in mar- riage to Mrs. Samarida E. Hanson, a native of Jefferson township, Franklin county, and a daughter of James E. Todd, who was born in Virginia and belonged to one of the early families of this county.
After his father's death Mr. Rochelle continued the operation of the home farm, and from time to time has purchased the interest of the other heirs until he now owns all but a small portion of the place. His fields are under a high state of cultivation, many improvements having been added, and everything about the farm is in a thrifty condition, showing that the owner is a practical and progressive agriculturist. He votes with the Republican party, to which he has given his support since attaining to man's estate. He is recognized as a leader in local ranks, his opinions carrying weight in party councils. For many years past he has been a delegate to the county and state conventions, and in 1899 he was appointed a member of the county board of election, but resigned the office to become a candidate for the nomination
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for county infirmary director. He belongs to Reynoldsburg Lodge, No. 340, F. & A. M., and also to Daniel Noe Post, G. A. R. The patriotic spirit which prompted his enlistment in the army in his youth has been mani- fest throughout his life in the discharge of his duties of citizenship, and in all life's relations he has enjoyed the confidence and regard of his fellow men.
WILLIAM D. SIMONTON.
William D. Simonton is one of the two oldest engineers in years of con- tinuous service in Columbus, running on the Norfolk & Western Railroad. His paternal grandparents, Theophilus and Mary Simonton, were natives of North Carolina, where they spent their entire lives. Their children, all born in that state, were as follows: Alexander, born January 12, 1794; Sally, born November 14, 1796; Adam, born October 8, 1798; Noah, born July 26, 1801; Elizabeth, born February 19, 1803; Hiram, born June 29, 1805; The- ophilus, Jr., born June 29, 1808; Samuel, born July 22, 1810; John, born February 8, 1813; and Mary, born June 10, 1815.
John Simonton, the father of our subject, removed from North Carolina to Ohio in an early day, locating upon a farm in Clermont county. He was there married on the 14th of June, 1838, to Miss Catherine Hess, and they be- came the parents of six children : Melissa, born December 4, 1839; Franklin, born December 4, 1841 ; an infant son born November 15, 1843; Lyman, born November 20, 1844; William D., born September 4, 1853; and Lulu, born October 16, 1860. Franklin, of this family, enlisted for service in the Union army, in Company I, Twelfth Ohio Infantry, and was wounded at Cloyd Mountain, Virginia, in 1864. He was afterward taken prisoner and nothing was. ever heard of him from that time, although the greatest efforts were made to ascertain his fate. It is probable that he died in a southern prison and no record was kept of his demise. Melissa Simonton, the eldest sister of cur subject, was married to John D. Carnahan and they now reside at their home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their children are Franklin N., Charles and Clyde. Lyman Simonton, a brother of our subject, is married and resides at the old home in Blanchester, Clinton county, Ohio. He is a clerk in a store there and has one child, Clayton. William D. Simonton was married, April 20, 1872, to Miss Nettie Baldwin, of Blanchester, Ohio. Lulu Simon- ton was married to O. Willoughby, of South Lebanon, Ohio, who conducts a meat market there. They have one child, Stanley, who is now in his twelfth year.
When a young man William D. Simonton, of this review, learned the blacksmith's trade, but wishing to enter railroad life, he secured a position as fireman on the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad on the Ist of January, 1874. On the 24th of December. 1877, he was promoted to freight engineer on the. same road, which was afterward absorbed by the Baltimore & Ohio road, and is now a part of the system controlled by that company. Mr. Simonton
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is now on the Norfolk & Western Railroad, running on the fast pas- senger from Columbus to Kenova, West Virginia. Since 1874 he has been in continuous service and has never sustained a personal injury in his rail- way duties. He became a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engin- eers in 1882, and belongs to Division No. 72.
On the 20th of April, 1872, Mr. Simonton was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Baldwin. Her father, Benjamin Baldwin, was born October 17, 1815, being the first white child born in Marion township, Clinton county, Ohio. His death occurred October 15, 1897, when he was eighty-two years of age. His wife, Martha E. Henry, was born January 4, 1829, and died July 17, 1893. In their family were the following: Mrs. Simonton, born March 28, 1854; Lucius, who was born October 25, 1851, and died October 8, 1884; and Marion A., who was born July 15, 1858, and was married, in 1880, to Miss Ada Byard, their home being now in Blanchester, Ohio. The grandparents of Mrs. Simonton were natives of Virginia, the grandmother having been born in the famous Shenandoah valley. In their family were twelve children, ten of whom are now living, and the youngest is more than three score years of age. All reside in Blanchester, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. Simonton have one child, Minnie E., born March 20, 1873. She was married, June 6, 1894, to Charles C. Bothwell, who is an engineer on the Norfolk & Western Railroad and resides in Portsmouth, Ohio. Mr. Simonton is a member of the Masonic fraternity, holding membership with Magnolia blue lodge, also with Ohio Chapter and Mt. Vernon Commandery. The family are members of the Plymouth Congregational church, of Colum- bus. His is a creditable record, characterized by fidelity to duty and his worth as a man and citizen are well known.
JOHN KOEBEL.
Among Franklin county's well-to-do and successful farmers are many who started out in life for themselves without capital, and have worked their way upward through their own unaided efforts. In the subject of this review we find a worthy representative of this class. He is a man of enterprise and perseverance, and has steadily overcome the obstacles in the path to success by determination and untiring industry.
Mr. Koebel was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, on the 25th of October, 1853, and was twelve years of age when he came to Franklin county with his parents. His father, George Koebel, was a native of Germany, born in 1829, and is now a retired farmier of Marion township, this county. While a resident of Fairfield county he married Mary Sparrow, a native of Virginia, and to them were born ten children, six of whom are still living, namely : Barbara, George, John, Catherine, William and Charles,-all residents of Franklin county. Those deceased are Jacob, Michael, Sarah and Mary.
The educational advantages which our subject received were such as the
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district schools of Fairfield and Franklin county afforded during his boy- hood, and his training at farm work was obtained on the old homestead under the direction of his father, with whom he remained until twenty-three years of age. He began life for himself upon a rented farm in Hamilton town- ship, where he remained two years, and then rented what is known as the Zeb Veasy farm for three years. For thirteen years he made his home on the Louis Zettler farm, and at the end of that time purchased the place in Truro township where he now resides. When it came into his possession it was unimproved, but he cleared away the timber, erected a good residence and substantial outbuildings and now has a well improved and valuable farm of one hundred and eleven acres, all under a high state of cultivation.
On the 24th of February, 1881, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Koebel and Miss Alice Victoria Helsel, who was born in Columbus, Frank- lin county, June 2, 1861, and is a daughter of John Helsel, also a native of this county. He married Clarissa A. Brown, by whom he had seven chil- dren,-Alice V., John E., Matthew L., Laura O., Effie C., Thaddeus B. N. and Fanny E. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Koebel have been born two children : Edith Pearl, born August 30, 1884; and Edgar Leigh, born August 2, 1895. The daughter is now attending the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, this state. The Democratic party finds in Mr. Koebel a stanch supporter of its principles, but at local elections he votes for the men whom he believes best qualified to fill the offices regardless of party ties. Religiously he is a liberal supporter and active member of the Lutheran church. For seven years he has made his home upon his present farm, and is to-day one of the most influential and popular citizens of the community.
ALBERT COOPER, M. D.
The city of Columbus, Ohio, is well represented in professional life, its citizens being known in many states of the Union. Among those whose ability is remembered outside of his own locality is Albert Cooper, a physi- cian of high standing in this city. He is a native of the state, born in Coshocton county, Ohio, September 24. 1851, a son of Archibald Wilson and Maria ( Blizzard) Cooper. The Cooper family came to Ohio in 1808, the ancestors having immigrated to Pennsylvania with William Penn, being Quakers. The grandfather of our subject was, Levi Cooper, born in Vir- ginia. He there married Margaret Wilson, a daughter of Archibald Wil- son, a captain in the Revolutionary war. The father of Dr. Cooper, Archibald Wilson Cooper, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, near Zanesville, in 1810. He later in life made his home in Coshocton county, remaining until 1864, when he went to Illinois and thence to Kansas, dying in Beloit, Kan- sas, October 8, 1881. The mother of Dr. Cooper was born in Hardy county, West Virginia, in 1814, and died January 6, 1882. They had been the par-
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ents of four sons: Horace, an attorney at Greenville, Missouri; Wesley and Levi, twins. the former deceased ; and our subject.
Dr. Albert Cooper passed his first ten years in Coshocton and Licking counties, Ohio, removing then with his parents to Illinois. The next family removal was to St. Joseph, Missouri, and in that city he received the greater part of his education. Later he accompanied his father to Beloit, Kansas, and there entered the office of Dr. W. T. Donnell to engage in the reading of medicine. After thorough preparation he entered the medical department of the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery and graduated at that institution of learning June 22, 1875.
The first location of Dr. Cooper was in Kansas, where he spent almost two years in successful practice, after which he came to Columbus and took a course of lectures at the Columbus Medical College, graduating at this institution in :877, following which he entered actively into practice in this city. He was the demonstrator of anatomy at Columbus Medical College from 1882 to 1885. Always interested in education, he served one term on the school board and for four years was elected from the nineteenth ward as a member of the city council. In his political preferences he is a Republican and has taken part in many of the important deliberations of his party.
The marriage of Dr. Cooper took place April 14, 1880, to Miss Jennie McCrum, a daughter of Samuel McCrum, of Belmont county, Ohio. She was an accomplished lady and before marriage a teacher in the schools of Worthington, Ohio. The residence of the Doctor and his estimable wife is at No. 2686 North High street. is in one of the best parts of the city.
Dr. Cooper is a member of Magnolia Lodge, F. & A. M .; Ohio Chapter, R. A. M .; thirty-second degree Scottish Rite, Scioto Consistory ; the Colum- bus Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medical Society, American Medical Association and the Sons of the American Revolution. In his profession Dr. Cooper ranks high, his ability as both surgeon and physician having brought him into prominence. He is a fit representative of the medical pro- fession in his chosen city of residence.
JOHN SAMUEL DAUGHERTY.
The ancestors of the subject of this sketch were Irish, and his grand- father. John Daugherty, came with two of his brothers to the United States previous to the year 1800, landing at New York. The three brothers sep- arated, going to differents part of the country, John coming direct to Ohio and locating at old Franklinton, now a part of Columbus. He brought his wife with him and she died a few years after their arrival. Their children were Nathan Daugherty, who settled in Preble county and died there; and John Daugherty, who died in one of the Ohio counties lying on Lake Erie. For his second wife John Daugherty, Sr., married Miss Gatton, a native. of Richland county, Ohio, who bore him children as follows: James, who mar-
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ried Miss Clover and died in Prairie township at the age of ninety-three years ; Sarah, who married Jacob Keller and died in Prairie township; Daniel, who married Miss Sills and died at Columbus; Nancy, who is Mrs. Samuel King, of Norwich township; Mary, who married Joseph Klise and died in Brown township; Chloe, who is Mrs. Orrin Clover, of Norwich township; Benjamin, who was the father of the subject of this sketch; and Lovinia, who is Mrs. Chauncey Carter and lives at Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
John Daugherty, the pioneer, fought for his adopted country in the war of 1812 and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1817. He helped build the old national road through Ohio. Some time after his arrival he began clearing a farm in Norwich township, on the Scioto river, where he settled among the Indians in a wild strip of timber and had many ventures peculiar to pioneer life. Each spring he and his boys would go into a sugar camp on the Norwich township line and, living in a log shanty, would manu- facture maple sugar, in the old way, while the season lasted. Wolves and other wild beasts were so numerous all about them that they were obliged to maintain fires at night to keep them at a distance. Mr. Daugherty died about 1847, more than eighty years old, and his second wife died some years earlier.
Benjamin Daugherty, father of John Samuel Daugherty, was born at Franklinton in 1813, and grew to manhood in Franklin county and assisted his father in clearing and cultivating his farm, receiving a limited education in a small log schoolhouse near his early home. He married Catharine Divelbiss, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1820, who came to Richland county when a small girl with her father, George Divelbiss, who was a pio- neer near Mansfield, and in his day was perhaps the most noted hunter and marksman in that part of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty were married in Richland county and came immediately afterward to Prairie township, Franklin county, and after living there for a time they removed to Norwich township and settled on one hundred and fourteen acres of land, now owned by Jacob Fladt. Mr. Daugherty made a clearing in the woods, in which he built a double hewed-log house with a ground area of fourteen by sixteen feet, which was the home of the family until after the farm was paid for and money had been saved with which to buy the good frame house now standing on the place. By that time the farm was well improved. Mrs. Daugherty died there in August, 1872, and after that event Mr. Daugherty rented his farm for ten years and lived with the lessees. He then sold the farm and lived with his children, most of the time with the subject of this sketch, until his death in 1889. The most of the members of his family identified them- selves with the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a man of good ability and was influential as a citizen and as a Democrat. The following items of interest concerning his children will be found valuable in this connection :
His eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married Elijah Scofield, and died in Franklin county; the subject of this sketch was next in order of birth; George
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Washington married Caroline Sherwood, and died at Columbus; Daniel, of Brown township, married Miss Minnie Miller; Nancy married Charles Smith and lives in the Shenandoah valley in Virginia; David married Rachel Clover and lives in Norwich township: Sarah married Orin Gatton and they had one child, who survives them and lives at Galloway, Ohio; Mary married Edd McGlinchey and they had three children ; Benjamin married Sarah Clover and lives at Marion, Ohio; Chloe is Mrs. James Craig, of Norwich township; and Andrew Jackson Daugherty died at the age of nineteen years, after receiv- ing a fine business education.
John Samuel Daugherty was born in Prairie township, Franklin county, November 14, 1841, and received his first schooling there. When he was eight years old his father moved to Norwich township, where the boy finished his education at the age of seventeen, under the preceptorship of Alexander Jones, whom he often worried by playing truant. While on one of these expeditions he saw the first railroad train in this part of the country, about 1848. He worked on his father's farm as soon as he was old enough and was thus employed until, at twenty-one, he began to learn the carpenter's trade of John Robinson, with whom he remained seven years, afterward working as a carpenter for three years on his own account. During a part of this time he worked for the government, building the officers' quarters, etc., through Kansas and Missouri. During his lifetime he has traveled a great deal, having visited about twenty different states. On one of these trips he took his eldest son, who was then suffering from that dread disease, consumption.
John Samuel Daugherty was married, November 23, 1869, to Miss Mary Catharine Roberts, a native of Prairie township, Franklin county, born Novem- ber 16, 1848, a daughter of Lewis and Rachel ( Richards) Roberts. Mrs. Daugherty's parents removed from Prairie township to Brown township when she was four years old and she was educated at the Welsh school, which she attended until she was seventeen years old. Her father was born in Wales July 4, 1818, a son of Ellis and Catharine ( Pugh) Roberts, who came with their family to the United States in 1824, landing at New York city, where Ellis Roberts died. In 1835 his widow and her children came to Brown township and located on one hundred acres of land of which her late husband had become possessed some years before his demise, and there she died in 1846. Her daughter Catharine married Thomas Thomas, and after his death Thomas Evans, and died in the city of New York. Her son Lewis was the father of Mrs. Daugherty. David, the next in order of birth, went to some distant part of the country and was never heard of after- ward. Ellis, the next younger son, died on the home farm. Susanna mar- ried Arthur Arnold and died in New York city. John P. died in Franklin county, Ohio. Lewis Roberts was born in Wales in 1818, came to the United States with his parents at the age of six years, and lived in New York city until he was seventeen years old, and there received a fair educa-
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