USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio > Part 33
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123
While undoubtedly he is not without that honorable ambition which is so powerful and useful as an incentive to activity in public affairs, he regards the pursuits of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. He is a noble character,-one that subordinates personal am- bition to public good and seeks rather the benefit of others than the aggrandize- ment of self. His is a conspicuously successful career. Endowed by nature with high intellectual qualities, to which are added the discipline and em- bellishments of culture, his is a most attractive personality. Well versed in the learning of his profession, and with a deep knowledge of human nature and of the springs of human conduct, with great shrewdness and sagacity and extraordinary tact, he is, in the courts, an advocate of great power and influence. Both judges and juries always hear him with attention and deep interest.
ELIJAH MARION.
Marion is a family name connected with the patriotic history of our country, and when it is stated that an early settler in any locality came from Massachusetts it is at once understood that he was a man of progress and
269
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
enterprise, who came to subdue, to civilize and to enlighten, and whose influ- ence was always an active force for good. Such a citizen was Elijah Marion, of Marion township, Franklin county, Ohio, who was born in Boston, Mas- sachusetts, April 10, 1814, and died in Marion township on the IIth of December, 1899, aged eighty-five years. His father, also named Elijah, was a native of Boston, where he was reared and married Lydia Stone, and in 1816 he came to Franklin county, Ohio, when his son Elijah was about two and a half years old, bringing with him his wife and family. They came in a covered wagon, with two yoke of oxen and a team of horses in front. Locating in Marion township, just south of Columbus, he- erected a log cabin and began to clear and improve a farm, on which he passed a long and useful life. He had two sons and two daughters,-Calvin, Lucy, Lydia and Elijah.
Elijah Marion, who was the youngest of his father's family, had no recollections antedating the settlement of the family in Marion township, where he attended school in a log schoolhouse and helped to clear the land and put it under the plow. He was married on the 18th of May, 1842, and began housekeeping on the home place. He was successful in life, promi- nent as a Whig and later as a Republican, and lived and died safe in the good opinion of his fellow townsmen, who knew him as a helpful and influential citizen. Mrs. Adaline (Livingston) Marion, his widow, was born August 4, 1820, within the present limits of Marion township, a daughter of Judge Edward Livingston, a native of the state of New York. He came unmar- ried to Franklin county in 1804, at the age of twenty-one years, and settled at Columbus, where he became a prominent man, attaining success at the bar and occupying the bench at the court of common pleas. On the 17th of March, 1807, he married Martha Nelson, of Marion township, who was born in Pennsylvania and came to Franklin county at the age of fifteen years. Mr. Livingston lived to be sixty years old, and his wife lived to the age of seventy. They had eight children, all of whom grew to manhood and woman- hood and three are now living. Mrs. Marion was the sixth child and fourth daughter in order of birth and was reared in Marion township, having a vivid recollection of the primitive schools of pioneer days.
Elijah and Adaline (Livingston) Marion became the parents of nine children. Caroline W. was the first born of the family. Clinton L. was born August II, 1845, was reared on the farm on which he now lives and has followed agricultural pursuits as a life occupation. He is a Republican in politics and a man of influence in his township. Edward L. married Alice McElhinny and lives in Marion township. Lucy is the wife of Levi Pease, of Thompsonville, Connecticut, but now a resident of Columbus, Ohio. Laura is deceased. Martha is the widow of Frank J. Reinhard and lives at Fifth and Mound streets, Columbus. Mr. Reinhard was county auditor for a num- ber of years. Adaline is still a member of her mother's household. Louis C. married Emma Meeker, and their residence is on the spot where his grand- father, Elijah Marion, built his primitive log cabin. Clara Alice is the wife
270
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of Rev. Simon P. Long, a minister of the Lutheran church and a resident of Columbus. Mrs. Marion has fourteen grandchildren, thirteen of whom were born in Franklin county, Ohio. The other, Edward L. Pease, was born at Hartford, Connecticut, and is a successful lawyer of Columbus. Her grand- father, James Livingston, was a general in the patriot army in the Revolu- tionary war, and her grandfather, David Nelson, served in the cause of the colonies as a private, and thus it appears that she is descended from Revolu- tionary stock in both the paternal and maternal lines.
WILLIAM C. GOLDSMITH.
William C. Goldsmith, who is identified with the farming interests of Blendon township, which is the place of his nativity, was born on the 6th of September, 1863, his parents being John and Sarah J. (Clapham) Goldsmith. They had but two children, the elder being Clara, now the wife of John F. Hol- comb, a farmer of Blendon township. The father was born in Franklin town- ship, Franklin county, October 6. 1837, and was only seven years of age when his parents died. He then found a home with a Mr. Miller, in Jackson town- ship, with whom he remained until his nineteenth year, when he went to Central College and found employment with Professor Washburn, then principal of the institution. There he remained for about two years, attending college during the scholastic year. On the expiration of that period he entered the employ of Joseph Clapham, and on the 26th of January, 1860, was united in marriage to one of his employer's daughters. He next purchased a farm of one hundred and seven acres in Blendon township, on the east side of the Big Walnut. There he resided up to the time of his enlistment in the Civil war. He joined the one-hundred-day men, becoming a member of Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in 1864. During his service he contracted a severe illness, which terminated his life on the 18th of July of that year, his death occurring on the hospital boat Matilda, near Bermuda Hundred, on the James river. He was reared a Democrat, but the political issues of the country centering about the war caused him to ally himself with the Republican party, which strongly advocated the Union. His wife was born July 25, 1834, upon the farm where our subject now resides, and there her death occurred October 29, 1894. She was a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Hudson) Clapham. Her father was born in Walton, Yorkshire, England, on Christmas day of 1793 and in 1818, soon after his marriage, he crossed the Atlantic to the new world, sailing from Hull, Eng- land, and landing at Philadelphia after a voyage of eight weeks. He at once went to Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in teaming and farming through a period of five years. He then came to Ohio, settling in Blendon township, Franklin county, in October, 1823, upon a farm then owned by John Snow, of Worthington, but now known as the Schrock farm. Seven years afterward he purchased a tract of one hundred acres on Big Walnut
271
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
creek, one mile north of the present site of Central College. It is the place upon which our subject now resides, and there the grandparents made their home until called to their final rest, the former dying September 4, 1874, while the latter passed away January 22, 1873, at the age of seventy-five years and twenty-three days. The grandfather had almost completed his eighty-first year. They were held in high regard for their upright lives, which were in harmony with their professions as members of the Presbyterian church.
Although Mr. Clapham did not take an active part in politics, he was a man firm in his beliefs and before the war was an anti-slavery Whig, while later he became a member of the Republican party. During -several terms he served his fellow townsmen as township trustee and as justice of the peace, discharging his duties in a firm and efficient manner. In his family were nine children, but only one is now living, Joseph, who resides in Delaware county, in his eighty-fifth year. The daughter, Mrs. Goldsmith, was for many years a member of the Presbyterian church at Central College, and up to the time of her death took a prominent part in its work, being especially active in her efforts to promote missionary interests. She held membership in the James Price Woman's Relief Corps, of Westerville, and was a loving and devoted mother, a considerate neighbor and was ever ready to lend a helping hand to those in need of substantial aid. Her sympathy was broad, her charity deep, and she always had a kind word for those with whom she came in contact. Although her funeral was held on an inclement day, it was one of the largest attended of any ever held in this portion of the county for many years, her very extensive circle of acquaintances gathering to pay their last tribute of respect and love to one whom they had long known and honored.
William C. Goldsmith, whose name introduces this record, spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of farmer lads. He pursued his ele- mentary education in the common schools and later entered Central College Academy. After his father's death the mother returned to her girlhood home, so that our subject was reared on the farm of his grandfather Clapham. He died when our subject was eleven years of age. The work of the farm early devolved upon his young shoulders, and at the age of sixteen he had the entire management of the place. After the death of his mother the land was inherited by himself and his sister, and in March, 1898, Mr. Goldsmith purchased his sister's share in the farm and is now sole owner. He continues its cultivation along progressive lines, and everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating his careful supervision.
W. C. Goldsmith was married to Miss Nellie R. Purcell, of Columbus, Ohio, December 24, 1900. In politics he is a stanch Republican, unswerving in his advocacy of the principles of the party, and he is now serving as trustee of the township. He holds membership in Rainbow Lodge, No. 327, I. O. O. F., of Westerville, and was also a member of Blendon Grange, No. 708, of the Patrons of Husbandry. Mr. Goldsmith is known as a worthy repre-
272
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
sentative of an early family of the county, and the qualities which have made him a successful business man have been supplemented by those character- istics which command respect in every land and clime.
J. P. LIND.
Among those who have spent their entire lives in the city of Columbus is J. P. Lind, who has risen to a leading position in industrial circles, being the chief manager of the Columbus Table Company. He was born in the city which is still his home in August, 1860, and is a son of Christian and Margaret Lind, who were among the early settlers of Columbus. In the city schools he acquired his education and on putting aside his text-books he entered the employ of the M. C. Lilley Company, clerking in different depart- ments for that corporation for sixteen years. Long continued service is an unmistakable indication of fidelity to duty, and it is therefore a self-evident fact that Mr. Lind was most faithful in his work and enjoyed the unqualified confidence of his employers. As the years passed he was advanced from one position to another with added responsibility and increased pay, and in 1897 he was offered and accepted the position of general manager of the Columbus Table Company, which manufactures tables of all sizes, kinds and materials, confining the output exclusively to this department of the furniture trade. The products of the factory are shipped to the various states of the Union. The machinery employed is of the latest design; steam power is used in the operation of the factory ; and employment is furnished to fifty men, the busi- ness being under the immediate supervision of Mr. Lind.
In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Lind and Miss Margaret Burney, of Columbus. He is a member of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and with the affairs of the city he is identified as a member of the school board, having served for the past sixteen years in that department of the municipal government, representing the sixth ward. He is a public- spirited and progressive citizen, giving his aid and co-operation to all meas- ures and movements calculated to prove of public benefit.
PETER SWICKARD.
Peter Swickard, a highly esteemed resident of Plain township, was born on the roth of November. 1838, in the township which is yet his home, his parents being John and Elizabeth (Baughman) Swickard. The father, a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, was born August 25, 1806, and was a son of Daniel Swickard, who became one of the first settlers of Jeffer- son township. Franklin county. Tradition says that he was a native of Ger- many. On coming to Ohio, about 1822, he located on Black Lick, in Jeffer- son township, where he remained for a number of years and then removed with his family to Plain township, where he purchased a farm, upon which he made his home until his death. In Pennsylvania he was a prominent
273
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
distilleryman and agriculturist. When his life's labors were ended, in ac- cordance with a request which he had made, his remains were interred at the old family homestead, but in later years his children had his body removed to the cemetery in New Albany. He was an extremely conscientious man, of high principles and sterling worth, esteemed by all who knew him.
John Swickard, the father of our subject, spent his youth as an inmate of the parental home and acquired such education as was afforded by the common schools of that time. In later years, through broad reading and observation, and by the aid of a retentive memory, he became a well informed man. After his marriage he purchased a portion of the old homestead and began farming. As the years passed he added to his landed possessions until he was the owner of between five and six hundred acres of land, constituting a valuable and very desirable property. An ardent member of the United Brethren church for more than fifty years, he took an active interest in every- thing pertaining to the promotion of Christianity He was the founder of Mt. Pleasant church, and during his life time was one of its most liberal sup- porters. At the time of the division in the church he was one of the active leaders of the radical side, and when the opposition became stronger and the church property was sold, Mr. Swickard refused to sell the house of worship during his life time. After his death the church was abandoned and a new edifice was erected in New Albany, which was a more central location. For many years Mr. Swickard was a local preacher in the church and labored untiringly and earnestly to promote the cause of the Master among his fellow men. In early life he was a Republican, but in his closing years he was a stalwart advocate of the Prohibition party. His death occurred September 10, 1898, and thereby the community lost one of its valued citizens, for he was a man of strong purpose and of unquestioned fidelity to all that is good, true and just. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Baughman, was born in Plain township, Franklin county, September 6, 1804, and tradi- tion says that she was the first white child whose birth occurred in that locality. Her parents were Adam and Precilla (Huffman) Baughman, both of whom were of German lineage and were the first white settlers in Plain township, having emigrated from Pennsylvania to Franklin county during the days when Indians were still numerous in this part of the state. Both the grandparents were laid to rest on the Baughman farm. Mrs. Swickard passed away January 2, 1882. By her marriage she had seven children, of whom six are yet living, namely : Eliza, widow of Levi Dagne, of New Albany ; Fred- erick, Levi and Noah, all of Plain township; Peter, of this review; and John W., who is living on the old homestead.
Peter Swickard passed his youth in the usual routine of farm work and play. In the common schools he was educated. and on the 20th of Novem- ber, 1860, he was united in marriage to Miss Emma E. Smith, a native of Plain township, born on the farm where she now resides. Her parents, Abraham P. and Millie (Kanouse) Smith, came to Franklin county, Ohio, from New Jersey, in 1828. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Swickard
274
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
located upon a farm of one hundred and eighty acres in Plain township, which was then the property of his father, and there they resided for five years, his attention being given to the cultivation and development of the fields. On the expiration of that period he removed to his present home, having pur- chased one hundred and five acres from his father-in-law. Upon this place he has since resided, and about 1895 he added to his landed possessions by purchasing a farm of ninety-six acres adjoining his home place on the west. He is a very progressive and energetic agriculturist, and everything about his farm is neat and thrifty in appearance. He has good buildings, the latest improved machinery, high grades of stock and well developed fields, and his property is valuable and attractive in appearance.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Swickard has been blessed with three children: Laura E., now the wife of Henry Mahr, a farmer of Plain town- ship; Charles O., who resides upon the land which his father last purchased ; and Wella S., who is living on the farm with his brother Charles, the two sons operating the tract of land. Mr. Swickard exercises his right of fran- chise in support of Republican principles and is a recognized leader of his party in this locality. He served for six years as township assessor and for the same period has filled the office of township trustee, while for a quarter of a century he has been a member of the school board and through three- fourths of that time has been its chairman. Although the township is largely Democratic he has always been elected by flattering majorities, a fact which indicates his personal popularity as well as the confidence and trust reposed in him. He does not belong to any church, but contributes liberally to the sup- port of religion. For many years he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but is not now connected with the organization. His entire life has been passed in Franklin county, so that his history is familiar to friends and neighbors. It is one worthy of respect and of emulation, and in this volume Mr. Swickard well deserves creditable and honorable mention.
MOSES T. DICKEY.
For over half a century the subject of this review was prominently identified with the industrial and agricultural interests of Franklin county, and was one of Blendon township's most highly esteemed citizens. He was born in Washington county. New York, on the 17th of July, 1823, a son of Joseph and Lovina (Taggart) Dickey. also natives of that county, while the paternal grandfather was a native of the north of Ireland and the founder of his branch of the family in the new world. In 1838 Joseph Dickey, his wife, and four children, James. Moses, Joseph and Albert, came to Franklin county. Ohio, by way of the Erie canal and the lake to Cleveland and thence by canal to near their destination. As a location he selected a little hamlet called Portersburg, in honor of a family that had previously located there, whose acquaintance had been made on the way to Ohio. It was near Amal- thea, afterward widely known as Central College, from the institution founded
275
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
there by Timothy Lee. There Joseph Dickey opened a shop and worked at his trade of blacksmithing until his death, which occurred in 1845. Because of his intelligence and interest in the questions of the day his shop was often the meeting place of the leading citizens of the township, who discussed with ardor the great questions of politics and religion then agitating the public mind. In these discussions Mr. Dickey always took an active part. He was a good mechanic, and his skill and industry enabled him to make a good living for his family. His wife survived him and died in 1854. After coming to this county the family circle was increased by the birth of another son, Courtland. The eldest son, James, married' Jeanette Parks, who died within a year. He subsequently married her sister, Sylvia, and settled in Xenia, becoming connected with the Miami Powder Company. His death occurred in 1888. Joseph Dickey was a school teacher in early life, teaching in Franklin and Pickaway counties, Ohio, and also for one year in the state of Iowa, while visiting friends, but he was principally engaged in the stock business with our subject. He never married and now resides on his brother's. old homestead. Albert succeeded Moses in the blacksmith business, which he discontinued after securing a comfortable competence, and is now engaged in farming in Blendon township. Courtland also became connected with the Miami Powder Company, of Xenia, through the influence of his elder brother, and was general agent and secretary of the company for several years before his death. He died suddenly in 1890, at the age of fifty-six.
Moses T. Dickey was fifteen years of age when the family took up their residence in the wilds of Franklin county. His education was obtained in the public schools, and when of proper age he began learning the blacksmith's trade in his father's shop, afterward establishing himself in business at the same place. On the 2d of November, 1847, he married Miss Alma, a daugh- ter of Menzas and Lucy ( Phelps) Gillespie, a pioneer family of this county. By this union were born six children, five of whom are living, namely : Clar- ence W., a civil engineer in Washington, D. C .; Alice, the wife of John A. McCoy, of Emporia, Kansas; Alma G., a resident of this county ; Charles, deceased ; Clayton L., who is engaged in school work ; and Marcus C., who is engaged in journalistic work, being now connected with the Columbus. Citizen.
For about ten years after his marriage Mr. Dickey continued to work at his trade, and then, selling the business to his brother Albert, he pur- chased a farm in the same community and devoted the remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits. He and his brother Joseph became well known as dealers in stock, operating in partnership very successfully and accumulating considerable property.
Mr. Dickey was a stanch Republican and an earnest champion of the principles of his party, exerting quite an influence in local political affairs. For a number of years he served as trustee of Blendon township. He was a man of exceptionally good mind, was a great reader and very observant of passing events, keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He thought and read a great deal along religious lines in his later
276
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
years, and while not a member of any church he always held the tenets of Christianity in high regard. Always interested in elevating the standard of living, he contributed liberally to any cause for the betterment of those around him. Of strong patriotic convictions, he gave liberally of his means toward carrying on the Civil war and was an ardent admirer of President Lincoln. His wife, to whom he was greatly attached, was in many respects a very superior woman. Her death occurred February 7, 1893, at the age of sixty-six. Having been for a number of years in feeble health, this great blow no doubt hastened his death, which occurred March 12, 1898, in his seventy-fifth year.
SIMON PETER EWING.
During recent years the part taken by skillful workmen in public affairs is an important one and organized labor is a factor to be reckoned with by those who seek favors of the people. The men who devote themselves to strengthening organized labor are as patriotic as the men who struggle for human advancement in any other way and their motives are no longer mis- understood or questioned by fair-minded people. The name above will be recognized by citizens of Columbus, Ohio, as that of one who has given the best years of his life to the cause of organized labor and men high in busi- ness and official circles are ready to testify to his singleness of purpose and the efficiency of his work.
Simon Peter Ewing was born in Licking county, Ohio, in 1858, came to Columbus in 1880 and engaged in building as a carpenter. He is a charter member of Carpenters' Union, No. 61, which was organized in 1884 with ten members and now has more than seven hundred members in the city of Columbus alone, and has filled all offices in the local union. He has been called to different offices in the Trades and Labor Assembly of Columbus and has been its president three terms, and he is now and has been for the last ten years treasurer of the Ohio Federation of Labor. He has been rep- resentative at three national conventions of Carpenters and Joiners of America and has represented the Trades and Labor Assembly in convention at every session since its organization. In September, 1900, he was appointed by Governor Nash superintendent of the free employment bureau at Columbus, partially through the influence of Commissioner of Labor Rotchford. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has filled all offices in Robert Curtis Lodge, No. 762, is a member of Mentor Lodge, No. 642, Knights of Pythias, and has passed all chairs in Court Champion, No. 1492, Independent Order of Foresters, and is past high ranger of that order, an office to which he was chosen by election and in which he served two years.
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.