A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Part 32

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1156

USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio > Part 32

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The mother of Mrs. Olds was born at Fruit Hill, near Chillicothe, on November 14, 1815. and died in Pickaway county, on September 2, 1855. She was a daughter of General Duncan McArthur, who served with much distinction through the war of 1812, first as the colonel of the First Ohio Volunteers and afterward as the colonel of the Twenty-fifth United States Infantry, and in March, 1813, was commissioned a brigadier general in the regular army. He was serving under General Hull at the time of the sur- render of that officer, but happened to be detached on that day to bring in a supply train. As senior brigadier general in 1814, he succeeded General Harrison in the command of the Northwestern army. He was afterward the speaker of the house of representatives, a member of congress and governor of Ohio.

Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Anderson became converts of the Roman Catholic church and for the remainder of their lives were pious. de- vout and zealous members thereof. Two brothers of Mrs. Olds, Thomas McArthur Anderson and Harry R. Anderson, served in the Civil war, and are now officers in the regular army. Thomas M. Anderson is now colonel of the Fourteenth Infantry, and Harry R. Anderson is a first lieutenant in the Fourth Artillery.

Judge Olds had two brothers, Mark L. Olds, who was older. and Edson Denny Olds, who was younger than he. Mark L. Olds left Miami University when eighteen years of age, to engage in the Mexican war. He served in that war, first as a lieutenant in the Fifteenth Infantry of the regular army, which was commanded by Colonel George W. Morgan, and disbanded after the war. After the Mexican war he was admitted to the bar and was the register of the United States land office at Minneapolis. He subsequently became an Episcopal clergyman and died in 1869, while the pastor of the old "Navy Yard" church in the city of Washington. Edson Denny Olds was graduated at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, and acted for several years as a physician for the Winnebago tribe of Indians in Minnesota. He then went

261

CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

to Mexico, and in the spring of 1858 received a commission at Monterey as a . surgeon in the liberal army, with the rank of colonel. He served with this army in its march and almost constant battle for a year from Monterey to Morelia, and from there to the city of Mexico, under the command of General Degollado. In the attack upon the city of Mexico in the spring of 1869 he was struck by a cannon ball and killed, in the twenty-fourth year of his age. Judge and Mrs. Olds have six children,-four daughters and two sons.

COURTLAND ROSS.

One of the prominent business men of the city of Columbus, Ohio, is the subject of the present review. Courtland Ross was born in Lebanon, War- ren county, Ohio, February 23, 1829, and was a son of Thomas R. and Har- riet (Van Horn) Ross, well known and respected residents of the same place. Mr. Ross was the youngest member of a family of nine children, these being : Catherine, who was born April 21, 1812, and died September 17, 1813; Rich- ard Morris, who was born July 17, 1813, and died June 23, 1887; William V., who was born September 20, 1815, and died August 18, 1816; John Ran- dolph, who was born May 1, 1817, and died January 27, 1879; Catherine Sophia, who was born January 1, 1819, and died September 15, 1822: Sarah C., who was born May 24, 1820, and is now residing in Columbus; Clarissa, who was born May 7, 1823, married Isaac M. Collett, a farmer of Greene county, Ohio, and died October 26, 1895; Alethia Ann, who was born April 5, 1825, and died March 11, 1898, our subject being the last of the family.

Mr. Ross was reared and educated in his native town, early displaying those self-reliant attributes which later in life gained him universal praise and the thanks of his superiors. He entered the army, near the beginning of the Civil war, joining the Twelfth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served three years. His experiences can be but touched upon in the limits accorded the present sketch, but mention must be made of several occasions when his firm- ness and devotion to duty saved his command most necessary stores and a vast amount of money was secured for the government. History tells of the retreat of General Milroy from Martinsburg, Virginia, the safety of which was, in a great measure, due to the efficiency of Courtland Ross, who was then one of the transportation agents under General Fitch. Mr. Ross had charge of the great iron safe containing all the papers and a large amount of government funds, but when the town was set on fire at their backs Mr. Ross took the responsibility of placing the money belonging to his government, amounting to sixty thousand dollars, upon his person, secreting it, through every kind of peril, for three days, when he had the proud satisfaction of turning it over to the proper authorities intact. He also saved the trans- portation train, although bridges were being burned and the enemy sur- rounded him on every side. The amount saved the government in money, stores, clothing and ammunition, in great part owing to the bravery of Mr. Ross, was computed to be over a million dollars. Upon another occasion,

262

CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

when in desperate straits, his superior, officer ordered him to throw his wagons over Steel Top mountain, but he refused and brought his train safely into camp on the following morning. Upon still another occasion he was cut off by the enemy from his command for a period of three days, but managed to protect his stores until he could get into the lines again. This was a large train, the best ever turned over to the post quartermaster, its forty wagons and ninety horses all being safe. Mr. Ross held the position of transporta- tion master for General Fitch for two years, and clippings from the news- papers of the times tell of the high esteem in which he was held in the service.

After his return from the army Mr. Ross engaged in contracting for the Little Maumee railroad, continuing with that corporation for six years, his residence being in Lebanon; but in 1870 he removed to Columbus and took charge of the Columbus Transfer Company, which position he held for twelve years, being one of the stockholders of the company. Selling his interest there, he engaged in the dairy business for five years, making a specialty of the manufacture of butter, and now has the contract for the furnishing of milk to the Institution for the Feeble Minded in this city. Mr. Ross has always been an active and progressive man, interested in many private and public lines. He managed an omnibus line at one time in Lebanon, Ohio, and was the contractor for the Lebanon & Freeport pike road.

The first marriage of Mr. Ross took place in 1865, to Miss Jane Ander- son, resulting in the birth of one son, Fenton, now in the auditor's office of the Hocking Valley railroad, of which he was at one time the paymaster. The second marriage of Mr. Ross took place in 1885, to Miss Magdalene Smith, a native of Cardington, Morrow county, Ohio. Mr. Ross is a prominent Re- publican and is often called to consult in the deliberations of the party. He is one of the men who have built up a great part of the business of this city and he is well known and most highly regarded.

THE ORDER OF UNITED COMMERCIAL TRAVELERS OF AMERICA.

The Order of United Commercial Travelers of America was incor- porated under the laws of the state of Ohio on January 16, 1888, by John C. Fenimore, Levi C. Pease, S. H. Strayer. W. E. Carpenter, John Dickey, C. S. Ammel, F. A. Sells and Charles B. Flagg, well known commercial trav- elers and residents of Columbus. This order is the only one of its kind, being a secret, fraternal, beneficial order, exclusively for commercial travelers, with the following as its objects and purposes :

Ist, To unite fraternally all commercial travelers of good moral character.

2d, To give all moral and material aid in its power to its members and those dependent upon them. Also, to assist the widows and orphans of deceased members.

3d, To establish an "indemnity fund" to indemnify its members for total disability, or death resulting from accidental means.

263

CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

4th, To secure from all transportation companies and hotels just and equitable favors for commercial travelers as a class.

5th, To elevate the moral and social standing of its members.

The tenets of the order are unity, charity and temperance. Its colors are blue, white and gold. The social and fraternal features are what each individual council makes them.

The insurance features are as follows :

Death by accident . $6,300.

Loss of both eyes. 5,000.

Loss of both hands 5,000.

Loss of both feet. 5,000.

Loss of one hand and one foot. 2,500.

Loss of one hand 1,250.

Loss of one foot. 1,000.

Loss of one eye .. 650.

Weekly indemnity (not exceeding 52 weeks). 25.

The order has paid from its indemnity fund over four hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and from its widows' and orphans' fund, which is a fund set aside for the benefit of the widows and orphans of deceased members, they have paid out over twenty-five thousand dollars.

The order had, July 1, 1901, a membership of over sixteen thousand; one hundred and eighty-five subordinate councils in the different states; sev- enteen grand councils, and the supreme council, composed of representatives from the several grand councils, with headquarters at Columbus, Ohio.

WILLIAM B. WOODBURY.

None of the younger men of Columbus have attained equal prominence with William B. Woodbury in political circles, as he now occupies the posi- tion of secretary of the Republican executive committee,-an honor which came to him unsolicited but which is justly merited, for few men, even of greater years, have qualifications which would so well fit them for the respon- sible and onerous duties connected with the office. Although he has but just entered upon manhood Mr. Woodbury has a very wide acquaintance in Columbus and throughout Franklin county.

In the schools of the capital city Mr. Woodbury acquired his early edu- cation, supplemented by a course in the central high school, of which he is a graduate, and by study in the Ohio State University. From the time he entered upon his business career after leaving college until his appointment to his present position, he has been connected with newspaper work, a repre- sentative of the Citizen, and one whose efforts have contributed in no small measure to the success of that journal. His newspaper work has thrown him in contact with a large number of people whose friendship he has uncon- sciously won by the genial disposition and thorough good nature which have at all times characterized him. In association with his newspaper work and

264

CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

as the result of his loyal American citizenship he became deeply interested in the political questions of the time and took his position in the ranks of the Republican party. To one of his eneregtic nature it would be impossible to be idle in any relation or position in which he might be placed, and therefore he became an earnest worker for his party, doing effective service for Gov- ernor Nash, who is one of his neighbors. When the time came to choose a secretary for the Republican executive committee, friends of Mr. Woodbury, unknown to him, spoke of his fitness and gave to him their support. It was the consensus of opinion, although he is so young, that there was no one available who knew so many of the ward workers throughout the city and county, or was better qualified for the position. It come to him unsought, but on the Ist of August, when headquarters were opened, he took up his duties in a manner that ' showed he was equal to the situation. He dis- played excellent generalship in managing the campaign and succeeded in carrying Franklin county by over thirty-seven hundred votes,-the greatest majority ever given in the history of that county, electing a Republican con- gressman in a Democratic district. Mr. Woodbury is now connected with the Everett-Moore Syndicate of Cleveland in the telephone branch of that great organization.

FREDERICK KRUMM.

The late Frederick Krumm was born August 14, 1840, and died July 30, 1899, at his residence, 1117 East Broad street, Columbus, Ohio, after an illness of three days. He left to his family the valuable legacy of a good name won as a soldier, a business man, a public official and a citizen. He was born in Columbus and was there carefully educated in all useful branches under the direction of his father. The grandfather of our subject, J. Martin Krumm, was born September 24, 1784, and died at Columbus on the 4th of February, 1864. He was chief magistrate of Bronnweiler, Wurtemberg, Germany, and was a capable schoolmaster there until he came to America, and after locating at Columbus was a public-spirited citizen, taking part in all efforts to advance the city materially and socially.

Martin Krumm, the father of our subject, was born April 5, 1812, and died August 4, 1869, in Columbus. He came to America in 1832, and at Columbus established a manufactory of steel and brass machinery, and iron fences, which became known as one of the largest and most important fac- tories of the city. He became prominent in musical circles and was the organizer, in 1848, of the Maennerchor, which was for years the leading musical society of the city, artistically and socially, and its golden anniversary was celebrated in October, 1898. He married Fredericka Fichtner, who was born in Gottenweiler, Wurtemberg. June 27, 1820, a daughter of Johann and his wife, Maria Kurtz. Mrs. Krumm, whose father lived and died in Germany, is now living in Columbus, in her eightieth year, well and active. Like her husband, she was musical, and they were for several years members

CAPT. FREDERICK KRUMM.

265

CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

of the choir of the St. Paul's German Evangelical Lutheran church, at the corner of High and Mound streets, Columbus. The subject of this sketch was their eldest child, the others being: Martin, who succeeded his father in the manufacture of machinery and iron fences; Alexander W. and Albert, well known lawyers of Columbus; Daniel, who is associated with Martin in his manufacturing enterprise, and is also a maker of violins; Flora, who mar- ried Dr. A. M. Blaile, of Columbus, professor of physiology in the Ohio State University ; and Louise A., of Columbus.

Frederick Krumm was graduated in the Columbus high school and was employed in his father's office until, in 1861, he enlisted in the Thirty-sev- enth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under General C. C. Walcott, which on the second call for troops by President Lincoln went to the front and served gallantly for two years, during most of which time Mr. Krumm was lieutenant and captain of Company D. He bears the scar of a slight wound on the arm as a reminder of the days when he bore arms in defense of the Union. After leaving the army he engaged in dry-goods merchandise in Columbus. In 1866 he married Miss Cornelia Zettler, of Columbus, and some ten years later removed to Shawnee, Ohio, where he was a mine operator and general merchant until 1880, suffering the vicissitudes of business in those years, added to which was the total destruction of a plant owned by him by fire. Thus crippled financially, he returned to Columbus and for seven years was superintendent of public school buildings and was for three terms a member of the school board. Eventually he became a member of the firm of Dauben, Krumm & Riebel, architects, and had personal charge of the original construction of the Great Southern hotel. During the closing years of his life he was in the queensware trade.

He was always active, energetic and ambitious, faithful in all the affairs of life, and courteous, liberal and charitable to an uncommon degree. He . was a leader in social circles and like all his family prominent in musical organizations, both vocal and instrumental. Possessing a baritone voice of remarkable strength and purity, which was often referred to by critics as the equal of any in America, he held high rank as a singer, was a leader in sev- eral choral organizations and often appeared in concert for social and charit- able institutions, toward the success of which he was always a willing con- tributor in that way. He was a member of several of the earlier orchestras organized at Columbus, was for forty years a member of the Maennerchor, was a charter member of the Orpheus Club, was a member of the Arion Musical Society, was a leading spirit in the Krumm-Lippert quartette and was for many years a member of the quartette of the First Congregational church.

Always a close student of all public and economic questions, he was unusually well informed concerning every political problem, and having once made up his mind on any question of public policy he was outspoken and unchangeable in his opinion concerning it. This strict adherence to what he thought was right concerning the money question led him into the Dem-

266

CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

ocratic ranks, and he was assistant postmaster under President Cleveland, and was prominent in political campaigns as a leader of Democratic glee clubs and was a charter member of the Gold and Silver League of Colum- bus. He was a member of the board of trustees of the Ohio State Savings and Loan Associations from its organization until his death.

Mrs. Krumm is a daughter of the late John Zettler, who was a promi- nent merchant of Columbus for many years. He was born in Monsheim, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, in December, 1817, came to Columbus with his parents in 1837, and died there September 17, 1892, aged nearly seventy- five years. During the war he was a contractor of many kinds of supplies for the Federal army. His parents were Jacob and Cornelia (Spindler ) Zettler, and his father was a prominent wine merchant and mill owner of his native land, but met with reverses about 1835-36 and sought to rebuild his fortune in America. Mrs. Krumm's mother was Mary A. Kientz, born May 31, 1816, at Shertzheim, Baden, Germany, and died August 13, 1893, in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Krumm had children as follows: Cor- nelia, at home; Frederick C., who is the general agent of the Ætna Life Insurance Company at Columbus ; John Zettler, teller of the Hayden-Clinton Bank of Columbus; Lenora, Stella I. and Mary D., all members of their mother's household; and Robert, who died in infancy.

GEORGE K. NASH.

Among the most prominent and influential citizens of Columbus is num- bered George Kilbon Nash. The census enumeration gives the population of a town or city as so many hundreds or thousands, or perchance millions, but the majority of the residents who form this aggregate are little known. Few indeed are they who command public attention and who are leaders of public thought and movement; but with this class is numbered George K. Nash. Rising above the heads of the mass are many men of sterling worth and value, who by sheer perseverance and pluck have conquered fortune, and by their own unaided efforts have risen from the ranks of commonplace to eminence and positions of respect and trust; but the brilliant qualities of mind and brain which mark the great lawyer are to a certain extent God- given. It is to his own perseverance and indomitable energy that Mr. Nash owes his success in life, as well as to his keen and brilliant mind. He is of a sanguine temperament, large-hearted and a genial and a polished gentleman. As a lawyer he is noted for his integrity ; he prides himself upon never urging a client into a suit for the sake of fees, and he will not prosecute a case unless he has every reason to believe he will win it; but he claims the right to defend any cause in any court.

Mr. Nash is numbered among Ohio's native sons, his birth having oc- curred in Medina county, on the 4th of August, 1842. He is a representative of old New England families, his parents having been natives of Massa- chusetts, whence they emigrated westward at an early period in the develop-

267

CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

ment of Ohio and cast in their lot with its pioneer settlers. To the public schools Mr. Nash is indebted for the early educational privileges which he received. At the age of twenty years he became a student in Oberlin College, where he pursued a regular course up to the sophomore year. His life prior to that time had been quietly passed in the work of the farm and in the duties of the schoolroom, but now a period of excitement reigned in the land, for certain states of the south attempted to overthrow the Union, and loyal men from the workshops, from the stores, from the offices and the fields gathered in defense of the old flag and the cause it represented. As a private Mr. Nash "donned the blue" with the One Hundred and Fiftieth Regiment of Ohio National Guards and joined the army. His term of service ended about the close of the war and he returned to the quiet pursuits of civil life.

A professional career attracted him, and with a desire to engage in the practice of law he took up the study of the fundamental principles of juris- prudence in the office and under the direction of Judge R. B. Warden. In Columbus, in 1867, he successfully passed the examination necessary for ad- mission to the bar and immediately thereafter entered upon practice in the courts of the district. He practiced for three years and was then called to public office, being elected prosecuting attorney of Franklin county, in the year 1870, at which time he overcame the usual Democratic majority of about three thousand,-a fact which indicated his personal popularity and the con- fidence reposed in his legal ability. His able service was indicated by re- election in 1872, and he retired from the office, as he had entered it, with the good will, confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. For a number of years thereafter he gave his attention to the private practice of law, enjoying a distinctly representative clientage. He was retained as counsel either for the defense or prosecution in almost every important case tried in the courts of his district. His is a natural discrimination as to legal ethics, and he is so thoroughly well read in the minutiæe of the law that he is able to base his arguments upon thorough knowledge of and familiarity with precedents, and to present a case upon its merits, never failing to recognize the main point at issue, and never neglecting to give a thorough preparation. His pleas have been characterized by a terse and decisive logic and a lucid presentation rather than by flights of oratory, and his power is the greater before court or jury from the fact that it is recognized that his aim is ever to secure justice and not to enshroud the cause in a sentimental garb or illusion which will thwart the principles of right and equity involved.

The offices he has held have ever been in the line of his profession, either as a lawmaker or as one who is in charge of the execution of the laws. In 1876 he was the Republican nominee for congress, and in 1877 for attorney general; but the entire ticket met defeat. Two years later, however, he was again nominated to the latter office by the Republican state convention on the first ballot and by popular vote he was chosen for the office in October of that year. So faithfully and acceptably did he discharge the important duties of his position that he was re-elected, receiving a very large majority over

268

CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

his opponent, Frank C. Doherty, one of the strongest men on the Democratic ticket. A contemporary said of him: "Fearless in the discharge of his duties, fully sustaining the dignity of the law and of the state, he was in- fluenced by neither fear nor favor. He is one of those men who feel that when a position is entrusted to them; when a high honor is placed in their hands ; when the destinies of the state are committed to their care, that there is but one line to follow, and that is the line of strict and conscientious duty."

In 1883 Mr. Nash was appointed a member of the supreme-court com- mission of Ohio, and since his retirement from that office he has engaged in the private practice of law, with ever increasing success. Many are the im- portant litigated cases which have been entrusted to his care. He was counsel on the case which arose concerning the railway war between Vanderbilt, of the New York Central, and Jewett. the president of the Erie line. The liti- gation arose concerning the Bee line, whose consolidation by Vanderbilt with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton road was fought by Judge Nash, who was successful in preventing this. He was also one of the counsel in the notable Franklin tally-sheet forgery cases.

Mr. Nash has always been a stalwart Republican. A careful consider- ation of the important questions which affect the weal or woe of the nation has led him to give an unfaltering support to the principles promulgated by the grand old party. His influence and labors have contributed to its growth and success. In 1880 he was the chairman of the Republican state execu- tive committee, and to his splendid managerial ability the success of the party in that year securing over thirty-four thousand majority votes for James A. Garfield is due. In the state convention of 1895 he received two hundred and seventy-nine out of eight hundred and seventeen votes in the nomination for governor, and the fact that these votes came from sixty of the eighty- eight counties of the state indicates his wide popularity.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Part 32

Author: Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1156

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1156