USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio > Part 34
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Mr. Ewing married Miss Sadie Lydy, daughter of Horace E. Lydy, a prominent and influential citizen of Fairfield county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Ewing have five children, named as follows in the order of their birth : Harry Eastman, Alice Lydy, Spencer, Ivan Lewis and Rachel Elizabeth.
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In politics Mr. Ewing is a Republican, active in his labor for his party and its principles and fully in accord with the policy of its leaders and the present administration of national affairs. In many ways and at all times he has demonstrated his right to be called a progressive and public-spirited citi- zen, for there has been in his time no measure promising good to his fellow citizens to which he has not given moral and material aid. His work and achievements in behalf of organized labor have been so noteworthy as to attract the attention of leading citizens, irrespective of political affiliation, and to win the commendation of all who have became cognizant of them.
THOMAS E. EDWARDS.
Thomas E. Edwards, a representative of the train service on the Penn- sylvania Railroad, was born September 23, 1849, in Birmingham, England, and is now serving in the capacity of railway conductor. His father, Thomas E. Edwards, was born in Wales, in 1810, and with his family came to this country in 1849, during the early infancy of his son and namesake. The family located in Dayton, Ohio, where the father died in 1852, but the mother still survives and is a resident of Pennsylvania. William John Edwards, the brother of our subject, is a baggage master on the Pennsylvania road, running between Pittsburg and Wheeling. He is now married and makes his home in Sheridan, Pennsylvania. One sister, Ada, now Mrs. Robert Henry, resides on Neil street, Columbus, and has four daughters: Cornelia, Anna, Madge and Edith, all of whom are with their parents. Sarah, widow of George Taylor, resides in Zanesville, Ohio, and has three daughters and one son : Belle, Mary, Muda and George. After the death of Thomas Edwards, Sr., the family removed to Zanesville, Ohio, and in 1869 became residents of St. Paul, Minnesota. The mother was again married, uniting with James Mail, and they had one daughter, Anna, and two sons, H. W. and W. J., who are still in Pennsylvania.
He whose name begins this record learned the trade of iron molding in Zanesville and remained there for six months after the removal of the family to the west. He then went to Newark, Ohio, where he remained for a year and next proceeded to Dennison, hoping to secure work at his trade in that place, but as there were no foundries there, and as his financial circumstances made it necessary for him to secure immediate employment, he accepted a position on a gravel train, being engaged in that work for eight months. About the end of that period he met with an accident, severing the main artery in the left leg, and thus was incapacitated for work for many months.
When again able to engage in active business he resumed work on the gravel train and after six months secured work as a brakeman on a freight train on the east end division, running from Columbus to Pittsburg. On account of the very dangerous nature of the work on that division, on his own application, he was transferred to the west division. He recalls a very mysterious collision which occurred when he was on the former line. The
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engine ran into an obstruction at night at the entrance to a tunnel. After investigation they found a sawmill on the track. During a heavy rain, the mill, standing on the embankment which had been washed out by the water, had slipped down until it rested on the track. This was in the year 1874. Mr. Edwards was never seriously injured except once when braking. On that occasion he was thrown from the top of the car by catching his foot on an iron. He struck the platform and rolled off on the track. He was then picked up by a drover who had witnessed the accident and was carried into a caboose with three of his ribs broken, and neither the conductor nor any of the crew learned of his injury until after reaching the next stop. When off duty, by reason of the accident, he was notified by the officers of the road to appear for examination for promotion. He did so, passed the examina- tion, and since that time he has been on the end of the line where he still runs. In June, 1878, he was promoted conductor and still fills that position. He has indeed been a very faithful employe of the road and has been given preferred runs because of his ability and carefulness in discharging his duties. He has never caused the company to lose a single dollar by reason of ineffi- cient service or neglect. He is now on a special train running between Colum- bus and Dennison, Ohio. Fifteen years ago he was offered a position as pas- senger conductor, but declined it, the company acceding to his wishes, and he is still on preferred freight runs.
Mr. Edwards has been living in Columbus for twenty-three years and the fine residence which he now occupies, at No. 754 North St. Clair avenue, was erected by him. In 1877 he was married to Miss Martha Hammel, of Tuscarawas county, and unto them have been born two sons and three daugh- ters. Her parents were both natives of Ohio and are now deceased. Will- iam John, the eldest child, born in 1878, is now a fireman on the Pennsylvania road. He was married to Miss Lashura Wheeling and resides in the capital city. Ada and Jennie are twins, seventeen years of age, and are now students in the high school. Bessie died at the age of three years and eleven months. Thomas Edwin was born February 9, 1888. Mr. Edwards is a member of the Episcopal church and for fifteen years was a member of the Order of Railway Conductors, of Columbus.
FREDERICK WEBER.
Frederick Weber, deceased. was one of the leading German-born citizens of Franklin county, and in his business career he displayed the characteristic thrift and enterprise of his race. Beginning life in the new world with no capital except that acquired by his own industry, he became one of the most prosperous business men of Clinton township.
Mr. Weber was born in Bavaria March 17, 1806, and passed his boy- hood and youth in his native land. In 1830, when a young man, he emi- grated from Rhenish Bavaria to America, and after spending one year in York county, Pennsylvania, came to Ohio, making his home in Stark county for
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three years. On the 30th of May, 1833, he was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Tascher, and the following year they came to Franklin county, locating on a farm in Clinton township. A year or two later he erected the first distillery in Franklin county, which at first had a capacity of but from one to two barrels per day. At that time there were only a few houses east of the Scioto river, and one or two north of the present Union' depot at Columbus. In connection with farming Mr. Weber successfully operated his distillery, and to meet the growing demands of his trade he increased its capacity to eight barrels per day, carrying on business uninterruptedly up to within a few years of his death, and meeting with marked success in the undertaking. His first purchase consisted of forty acres of heavily wooded land, upon which he erected a log cabin, and there the family began life in true pioneer style. As years advanced and he prospered in his business he added to his landed possessions from time to time until he had three hundred and twenty-four acres at the time of his death. Without money, prestige or friends, a stranger in a strange land, the language of whose people he could not speak or comprehend, he began life in America, but having learned in youth the most important lesson of how to attend to his own affairs, by his industry, perseverance and frugality, he succeeded in accumulating a handsome competence for his declining years, and was able to leave his family in comfortable circumstances. He was a member of the German Independent Protestant church, and lived a consistent Christian life, it being an assuring comfort to him in his last days that he never had occasion to regret any act performed by him. Mr. Weber exercised his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy. Surrounded by his wife and children, he passed away May 10, 1885, leaving many friends as well as his immediate family to mourn his loss.
Mr. Weber's first wife died in 1851, and of the ten children born to them those living are: Frederick, a resident of Clinton township: Louisa, wife of Dr. L. Schaub, of Columbus; George, mentioned below; Henry, professor of chemistry in the Ohio State University; and Herman, a resident of Clinton township. The deceased were Mrs. Caroline Tascher, Wilhelmina, Mrs. Amelia Graeff, Charles, and Lena, wife of William Westervellt, of Hardin county, Ohio. In 1862 Mr. Weber married Mrs. Ida Emily Homilus, now deceased.
George Weber, son of Frederick, was born on the home farm in Clinton township March 30, 1843, and after completing his education in the district schools of the neighborhood assisted his father in the distillery until after the inauguration of the Civil war. In 1862 he enlisted for three years, in Company C, One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and in the spring of 1863 went south with his regiment. joining the Army of the Cumberland, under command of General Buell. From Kentucky they went to eastern Tennessee, taking part in the battle of Fort Donelson, and the engagements at Franklin, Tennessee, and Shelbyville. They were in the out- skirts of the fight at Chattanooga, and for two days were in battle at Chick-
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amauga. On the second day Mr. Weber was wounded in the neck by a rifle ball, which confined him in the hospital, first at Stevenson and later at Cum- berland. On his recovery he rejoined his regiment near Atlanta, and later took part in the heavy fighting in and around that stronghold. His regiment went with Sherman's army on the march to the sea, and took part in the battle of Jonesboro, after which they were stationed near Savannah for a time. They were in the Carolina campaign, taking part in the battle at Ben- tonville, North Carolina, which was the last engagement of the war. They next marched to Washington, D. C., and participated in the grand review at that place. The war having ended, they went to Albany, New York, and from there to Louisville, Kentucky, where they were honorably discharged in August, 1865. On his return home Mr. Weber resumed work in the dis- tillery, where he was employed until his father disposed of the business.
In 1865 he married Miss Amelia Herbig, and after that event located on a farm in Clinton township, on which he has since made his home. He owns eighty acres of valuable land, which is highly improved and in an excellent state of cultivation, and is now successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits.
Mr. and Mrs. Weber have a family of three children, namely: Bertha, Ida and Laura. The parents are both members of the Lutheran church, with which Mr. Weber has been connected since the age of seventeen years. He is a charter member of Elias J. Beers Post, in which he has filled all of the offices from commander down. He was land appraiser of his township in 1900, and for thirteen successive years has efficiently served as township trustee. He is one of the representative and prominent men of his com- munity-one who commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact, either in business or social life.
ORLANDO W. ALDRICH.
Orlando W. Aldrich, a distinguished lawyer and one of the most promi- nent and influential citizens of Columbus, was born in Erie county, New York, March 30, 1840, and is a son of Sidney and Lydia A. (York) Aldrich. His father was born near Framlingham, Suffolk county, England, in 1817, and came to this country in 1832. Two years later he located in Erie county, New York, and lived in that state until 1864, when he moved to Jackson county, Michigan, making his home there until his death, which occurred in 1891. From 1833 until his death he was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was a class-leader from 1840. He was also licensed as a local preacher, and for many years prior to his death was chosen to officiate at more weddings and funerals than any other minister in his part of the state, as he was honored and trusted by all who knew him. In business affairs he was active, zealous, hospitable and self-sacrificing. His estimable wife preceded him to the better world. dying in Michigan, in 1882. She was a native of Clarence. New York, and was descended on the paternal side from Asahel Franklin, of Bennington, Vermont, who was a nephew of
O. W. ALDRICH.
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Benjamin Franklin, and who fought under Stark at the battle at that place. Her grandmother, Amy Franklin York, was eleven years old at the date of that battle and saw it from her father's house. She married Stephen York, and the family had removed to Canada and resided less than half a mile from the battle-field of Lundy's Lane, which battle she saw from her own house. Her husband was the man who gave the information to General Brown which resulted in the capture of a British spy. This becoming known to the Canadian authorities, the family had to fly from their home and their farm was confiscated. Their son Stephen, the father of Mrs. Aldrich, had been drafted into the Canadian militia, but ran away, came to the states, joined Captain Spencer's company of New York militia and was at the battle of Fort Erie.
Mr. Aldrich served for two years in the Fourteenth New York Volunteer Infantry from May 17, 1861, to May 23, 1863, being with the regiment in the campaign in the peninsula, also at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellors- ville. He was graduated at the Illinois Wesleyan University in 1869, received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1875, the degree of Doctor of Laws from Albert University, of Belleville, Ontario, in 1877, and the degree of Doctor of Civil Law in the former institution in 1881. He was admitted to the bar of Illinois in 1870, when Vice-President Stephenson and Judge Wel- don of the United States court of claims were on the committee of examiners. He was the professor of philosophy at the Illinois Wesleyan University in 1877 and 1878, and professor in the law department of that college from 1876 to 1881, and in the Ohio State University from 1892 to 1897. For three years he was the editor of the Weekly Jurist, of Bloomington, Illinois, and edited the first American edition of Anson on Contracts, an English work of high authority. He also prepared the supplemental volume of Ohio Stat- utes from 1880 to 1885, and wrote an article on elections in volume VI, first edition of the American Encyclopedia of Law, consisting of two hundred pages of double-column matter.
As a lawyer he stands deservedly high in his profession, and in business and social circles also occupies an enviable position. He was the first presi- dent of the Worthington, Clintonville & Columbus Street Railway Company, holding that office from 1891 to 1898, and the office of vice-president since that time. He is also the president of the Ohio State Interurban Railway Association .and is now the secretary of the Columbus, Delaware & Marion Electric Railway. At the Ohio Centennial in 1888 he was honorary com- missioner for Franklin county.
In his political affiliations Mr. Aldrich is a Republican. For two years he was the vice-president of the Ohio State Society of the Sons of the Amer- ican Revolution, and was the president of that society for one year. He has also been the president of the Ohio Society of the War of 1812 since its organ- ization in 1895, and is now the vice-president general of the national organ- ization of that order. He has served as the commander of Beers Post, G. A. R .; was the judge advocate of the department of the Ohio; a member of the 18
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council of administration of Ohio, and a delegate to the national encamp- ment in Cincinnati. He is also a member of the Union Veteran Legion Encampment, No. 78. For four years he was the master of the New England Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M., of Worthington, and he is a life member of Mount Vernon Commandery, K. T., and a member of Aladdin Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
Owning a fine fruit farm of twenty-three acres near the city, Mr. Aldrich takes an active interest in horticulture, and has been the president of the Columbus Horticultural Society. He was the vice-president of the Ohio State Horticultural Society for four years. He also takes a great interest in art, and has the largest collection of oil and water colors by European and Amer- ican artists in this section of the state, and also has a splendid collection of rare old books, taking a deep interest in archeological researches. He has one volume of Roman law published in 1482, only a few years after the first printing was done by movable type. He holds and merits a place among the representative legal practitioners and citizens of Columbus, and the story of his life, while not particularly dramatic, is notwithstanding such a one as offers a typical example of that energetic American spirit which has enabled many an individual to rise from obscurity to a position of influence and renown solely through native talent, indomitable perseverance and singleness of purpose. Mr. Aldrich is a pleasant, genial and polished gentleman, of high social qualities and very popular, having a most extensive circle of friends and acquaintances who esteem him highly for his genuine worth.
Mr. Aldrich married Miss Roselin G. Jewell, at Hudson, Illinois, in 1863. She died in 1877, leaving two children: Edgar S., who graduated at the Ohio State University in 1898 as an electrical engineer, and is now the man- ager of the electric-light plant at Snohomish, Washington; and Mrs. Harry E. Clum, of Columbus. In 1878 Mr. Aldrich married Mrs. Sarah A. Taylor, of Vandalia, Illinois, who was born in Coshocton county, Ohio. They have one son, W. Richard, now a student in the law department of the Ohio State University.
ANDREW MORRISON.
Andrew Morrison was born in county Down, Ireland, twelve miles south- east of Belfast, on the Ioth of January, 1836, and represents one of the old families of that locality. His father, John Morrison, was born in the same county, about January 5. 1801, and was a son of Andrew and Isabelle (Swin- dell) Morrison, being the youngest of their three children. The others were Samuel and Isabelle, now deceased. The grandfather of our subject was born in county Down and was of the fifth generation to reside upon what was known as the Morrison farm there, the ancestors originally removing from Scotland to the Emerald isle.
John Morrison was reared on the ancestral farm and after his marriage to Agnes Murdock took charge of the home place, his mother having died
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prior to that time, and the father made his home with the son and his wife. After his father died John Morrison became owner of the home place and was left by his father in good financial circumstances, but through going security for others he met with reverses and lost his fortune. In the spring of 1849 he emigrated on the sailing vessel, Mary Pleasant, which weighed anchor in the harbor of Liverpool. After a voyage of twenty-eight days he landed at New York city and thence made his way westward to Knox county, Ohio, where resided his uncle, William Morrison, who was the possessor of considerable property, and had importuned the father of our subject to come to the new world, holding out the inducement that he would leave his prop- erty to him at the time of his death, as he had no children of his own. This uncle had crossed the Atlantic with three or four of his brothers-in-law, by name of Wilson, early in the nineteenth century, and they settled in the northern part of the state of New York. Later all served as soldiers in the war of 1812 and after the cessation of hostilities Mr. Morrison and his brothers-in-law went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, thence by boat to Marietta, Ohio. There one of the Wilson brothers traded a land grant for a farm, but the others continued their journey through the forests to Knox county, in small sleds.
In the fall following his emigration to America John Morrison's family emigrated on the sailing vessel, Josephine, which left Belfast for New York, and reached the American metropolis after a thirty-days voyage. There they were met by the husband and father, and by train they proceeded to Buf- falo and thence to Sandusky by steamer. From that place to Mansfield they made their way by rail and thence across the country in a wagon to Knox county. The father of our subject lived in that county until the spring of 1852, when his independent spirit asserted itself and becoming dissatisfied with the condition of affairs between himself and his uncle he left Knox county and came to Franklin county, locating on Alum creek in what was then Montgomery township, but is now Marion township. In this way he began farming as a renter and in the fall of 1853 he leased sixty-five acres of land in Mifflin township for seven years. This was all covered with the native . growth of forest trees and according to the terms of the lease Mr. Morrison was to clear and fence the land. With characteristic energy he began the work and as he cut away the trees sold the wood to the railroad companies. During the seven years of his lease-holding and through the succeeding year he and his sons cleared over seven hundred acres of land surrounding their home and furnished large amounts of wood to the railroads. This was the foundation of the family's prosperity in the county. In the fall of 1861 the father purchased two hundred acres of land and Andrew Morrison, whose name introduces this review, became the owner of one hundred acres adjoin- ing. his place being now the William Morrison farm. The family took up their abode upon that property and there the father made his home until his death, which occurred in June, 1895. At the time of the location upon the old homestead the land was a tract of wild timber and he and his sons con-
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tinued the work of felling the trees and supplying cord-woou to the railroad, the company running a switch road to their place. At the time of the removal of the family the father and his son Andrew also purchased a sawmill, which was operated by the son Samuel, and later our subject conducted the enter- prise alone for seven years.
Andrew Morrison, whose name begins this record, was the only son of his parents, and his sister Isabelle has now passed away. He was reared under the parental roof, and in Ireland acquired a good common-school edu- cation prior to the emigration to the new world. On his arrival here he had the opportunity of resuming his studies under a competent instructor who was teaching school in the Morrison neighborhood, thus accommodating his neighbors, who, in return, chopped wood for him. Our subject's proficiency in mathematics excited the wonder of the children throughout the neighbor- hood and they would come for miles around to see him "figure." as they termed it. At twenty-three years of age he entered upon his independent business career, working during the greater part of the succeeding two years at wood-chopping. In 1861 he purchased one hundred acres of land in Jef- ferson township. This was the time when the father removed to his new home and he lived under the shelter of the parental roof until the time of his enlistment in the service of his country, in August, 1862. He joined Company I, of the Ninety-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the First Brigade of the First Division of the Army of the Cumberland. In September of the same year he was captured at the battle of Richmond, with five or six thousand of his comrades, but on the second day following they were paroled and returned to Camp Chase. Later Mr. Morrison was taken ill and after two months spent in the post hospital he was discharged on account of disability, in April, 1863, and returned home. He then resumed the business of wood-chopping and of manufacturing lumber.
In 1865 Mr. Morrison was married to Miss Cynthia Zane, a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, and a daughter of Corbin Zane, a representative of the Zane family who laid out the city of Zanesville. His people were among the distinguished pioneers of the Buckeye state, and a romantic story attaches to the life-history of Elizabeth Zane, who through her bravery in facing Indian bullets in order to save the fort at Marietta, by carrying a keg of powder to the men who were engaged in defending the fort. The mother of Mrs. Morrison was in her maidenhood Miss Sarah Miller and she was a descendant of Governor Arthur St. Clair, the first governor of Ohio. The grandfather, Milo Miller, was descended from one of the Pilgrims who came to America in the Mayflower and also from some of the Revolutionary heroes. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Morrison has been blessed with five children, of whom three are now living, namely: Frank M., a farmer of Jefferson town- shin: Sarah K., the wife of Frederick Hoffman, who is a member of the bar and secretary of the Rock Plaster Company, of Columbus; and Homer E., who is operating the farm.
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