USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio > Part 54
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
One of the chief delights of Professor Biggs when he was a small boy was to go with his father in the evening out under the open sky and have his father tell him about the stars, point out this and that one that was most attractive to his childish fancy and then to hear tales concerning the bright stellar luminaries. He delighted, too, in going with his father into the fields and finding a stone of queer shape and color from which his father would chip pieces and explain their geological form and features. Thus, these things, little in themselves, served to stimulate the boy's mind and to lay the foundation for those habits of speculative thought that have characterized Professor Biggs in later years, and served him so well in the domain of philosophic and scientific research. His parents were quick to discern his mental trend and determined that he should have the advantages of a college education. He was accordingly allowed to study at the colleges he chose and he acquired knowledge in various collegiate institutions of Ohio, mak- ing choice from the curriculum of each, of those branches which were best suited to his favorite lines of investigation. He completed all of the studies comprised in a classical course and then a special course of work in history, psychology and philosophy.
It was Professor Biggs' intention to study law, but his research in the field of history, philosophy and science led him to discern that these pre- sented only the phenomena beyond which to lay the noumena. Hence he entered upon the study of the occult, in which he has had unusual advantages, having pursued his course under the supervision of the best instructors in our country. In this his chosen line he has attained a proficiency that at his age is simply remarkable, for at this writing he is but twenty-four years of age. In 1895-6-7 he spent much time in traveling through different parts of the country familiarizing himself with the customs of the people and mak- ing observations among the different classes along psychological and sociolog-
443
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ical lines. He has always been a close student of human nature in general and of individual character in particular and as a result of his observation maintains that a person's first impressions of an individual are always cor- rect, the chief difficulty being to thoroughly and correctly analyze the impressions.
Professor Biggs has been tendered the professorship of history and psychology in various institutions of learning throughout the country, but has always preferred to continue his own unique line of work.
In the autumn of 1899 Professor Biggs came to Columbus with the express purpose of founding a school of philosophy. After a little time he associated himself with the Ohio Magnetic Institute and was assigned to the duty of superintending the instruction of the educational department. He was also elected treasurer of the corporation. The institute as then organ- ized was not satisfactory to Professor Biggs. The students, as he believed, were not made sufficiently familiar with the higher phases of the occult. Changes were made in the management and faculty. Professor Biggs and Professor A. S. Davis soon became the owners of the institute and then fol- lowed other important changes. The name of the American Occult Acad- emy was assumed, the old name being discarded because it was not expressive of the line of work adopted by the school. The course of study was greatly extended and as superintendent of the educational department Professor Biggs' ambition is to attain for the academy a standard that will place it at the head of the occult schools of America. The members of the faculty are Professor A. S. Davis, practical demonstrator of the science of healing; A. C. Biggs, professor of practical psychology and suggestive therapeutics; E. F. Anderson, professor of hypnotism, clairvoyance and telepathy; B. F. Martz, attorney at law, legal and professional jurisprudence, ethics and evolu- tion ; and R. H. Biggs, M. D., professor of anatomy, physiology and pathology.
The institute is incorporated under the laws of Ohio and authorized by the state to establish and maintain a school for the purpose of teaching the science of non-medical healing, including all the branches mentioned and allied mental sciences and such other branches as the board of trustees may deem necessary to the largest practice of the science. To each branch of the study is assigned a competent instructor, who by a course of lectures and by practical demonstration afford such knowledge as is necessary for the heal- ing of any disease. The course includes a full and complete instruction in the practice of the famous Weltmer method of magnetic healing.
Professor Biggs is intensely practical in all his work and has made use- ful and practical application of his knowledge. Added to his other accomplishments he has become one of the most successful suggestive therapeutists in the land. As such he has many times been called in con- sultation and at the time of the writing of this article is in Kentucky, over two hundred miles from his home, where he has been called in a special case. While out of the state on such visits he is always kept busy diagnosing and directing the treatment of all varieties of disease. He has carried forward
444
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
his investigation along original lines and has gleaned from the fields of knowledge many truths and discoveries that are of practical benefit as well as of interest to humanity. Man is more and more learning to understand himself and his powers and to take cognizance of the working of the mind, and as a leader in new fields of thought Professor Biggs has attained a reputation scarcely equaled by any one of his years throughout the entire country.
MRS. HELENA (PARK) HUDDLESON.
Mrs. Helena (Park) Huddleson is now residing in Mifflin township and was reared upon a farm within its borders, born December 3, 1849. Her father, James Park, was a native of Brockport, New York. During his boyhood he accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio, the family being early settlers of the county. Their first home was a log cabin, which was built in the midst of an almost unbroken forest. The father of our subject engaged in the operation of a sawmill in an early day and manu- factured most of the lumber used in the construction of many of the build- ings of the capital city. He was well known in Columbus and throughout this portion of the state as a prominent business man and a citizen of sterling worth. He built what is known as the Sunbury pike and did much toward the development of the county along substantial lines of improvement and was a useful and esteemed citizen. In politics he was a stanch Republican and in religious views was a Universalist. He died at the ripe old age of eighty-seven years, respected by all who knew him. His wife bore the maiden name of Margaret Agler and was one of the early settlers of Franklin county, her people coming to this section of the state when the homes of the pioneers were built of logs and when the work of progress had scarcely begun. The old Agler homestead that was built by her father when she was but a child is still standing and in good condition. She lived to be eighty years of age and is now survived by five of her six children, namely : Horace, Harlow, Horton. Helena and Helen. One child died in infancy. Mrs. Huddleson's brothers were all soldiers during the Civil war. Horace was a colonel in the Forty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Harlow was a lieutenant in a company of the Eighty-eighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry; and Horton was also an officer, serving as captain in an Ohio regiment.
Mrs. Huddleson was the fourth in order of birth and the eldest daugh- ter. She was reared upon the farm where she now lives and in the district schools of the neighborhood acquired her early education, which was sup- plemented by study in Central College. She afterward engaged in teaching for two years, and in 1871 she gave her hand in marriage to Jasper Huddle- son, who was born near Harrisburg, Ohio, and was left an orphan at an early age. He served as a soldier in the Civil war, being a member of the Tenth Ohio Cavalry. He enlisted twice and was at the front throughout the greater part of the struggle which established the supremacy of the Union.
445
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Disease contracted in the service terminated his life in May, 1878. He was ever as true and loyal to the duties of citizenship as when he followed the starry banner through the south. He had many excellent qualities, and he left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name.
Mr. and Mrs. Huddleson were the parents of three children: Ada, now the wife of Clyde Shull; Robert, a jeweler by trade, living in Colum- bus; and Mrs. Maggie Achey, who has a little son, Walter. Mrs. Huddle- son now has a farm of forty-five acres, which is operated under her per- sonal supervision. She is a lady of excellent business qualifications, and her many good qualities win for her the regard and esteem of all with whom she comes in contact.
SAMUEL MAIZE.
Among the residents of Franklin county who for many years have been connected with agricultural interests and have thus in a large measure contributed toward the present prosperity and progress of this portion of the state, was numbered Samuel Maize, who is now deceased. He was a native of county Tyrone, Ireland, born September 26, 1828, and in his life he manifested many of the sterling characteristics of the Irish race. He was reared in his native land until seventeen years of age, when he came with his family to America, a settlement first being made in Delaware county, Ohio. Soon afterward, however, he took up his abode in Clinton township, Franklin county, and was here united in marriage to Miss Lavina Goodwin. They afterward removed to Iowa, taking up their abode in Mahaska county, where Mr. Maize purchased land and resided for five years. On the expira- tion of that period he returned to Ohio, purchasing one hundred and fifty acres of land in Clinton county, which was partially improved. Upon that farm the residue of his days were passed and he became one of the success- ful agriculturists of the community, being energetic, determined and reliable. He enjoyed the confidence of all who knew him, his life being in harmony with the highest moral and religious teachings. He held membership in the Episcopal church, attending religious services in Worthington church. In his political views he was a Democrat and took an active interest in public affairs. He was small of stature, yet rugged and wiry, and he bore with much fortitude the inroads made upon his constitution by the long years of labor. Indolence and idleness were utterly foreign to his nature, and his dili- gence enabled him to win a commanding position among the substantial agri- culturists of the county. A friend thus spoke of him: "There is no need to apologize for Samuel Maize. He was an upright man, and those who quarreled with him were wrong, for he lived by the law of justice. He cast no anchor on the shifting sands, but kept his feet upon the rock of ages. He kept the faith of man and God up to the last day. He met the destiny which awaits us all on earth, conforming to nature's law. Among his last words were: "Farewell, all! Content to have had my fleeting day, I now fall
446
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
asleep without a murmur and a sigh.'" Mr. Maize was always a warm friend of the cause of education and gave his children excellent advantages in that line and was instrumental in forming the school district in which he lived. The children all attended the funeral in a body. The last rites were participated in by many friends and neighbors, a very large concourse of people assembling to pay the final tribute of respect to one whom they had known and honored. There were many beautiful floral offerings, among them being a floral pillow, on which was the word "father," given by his children; a sheaf of wheat with a sickle, the gift of the widowed wife; a wreath by Mrs. George Eeber, and a wreath by the employes of an establish- ment. His remains were laid to rest in Greenlawn cemetery, and thus was ended the life work of one who made the world better for his having lived.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Maize were born five children, four of whom yet survive, namely : William M., Samuel F., Oren D. and Medora I., the last named now the wife of Herman Weber, of Clinton township. One daugh- ter, Mary Adell, died June 1, 1901, at the age of twenty-five years, six months and six days. Mrs. Maize, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1828, still resides on the old homestead and is a well preserved old lady both mentally and physically. She shared with her husband in his life work, and her example has ever been a source of inspiration to her children and is well worthy of emulation.
It will be interesting in this connection to note something of the family history of Mrs. Maize. Her father, David Goodwin, was one of the early settlers of Franklin county and aided in laying broad and deep the foundation for its present prosperity and progress. He was born in Augusta county, Virginia, in 1793, and was there reared and married, being joined in wedlock with Elizabeth Kraford, who was also a native of the Old Dominion, born in 1798. Hoping to improve their financial condition in the new state of Ohio, they journeyed to Fairfield county, casting in their lot with its pioneer settlers and remaining residents of that locality until 1834, when they removed to Columbus, remaining in the city for a year or two. Subsequently they took up their abode in Mifflin township, where Mr. Goodwin purchased an unimproved farm in the midst of the woods. The trees were uncut and the work of improvement had not yet been begun. In the midst of the forest he erected a small cabin and installed his wife and children in their new home. He then began the arduous task of clearing away the trees and placing the fields in a condition for cultivation. As the years passed acre after acre was cleared and placed under the plow, and in return for his labor he reaped golden harvests, which brought to him a good income. Upon the farm he spent his remaining days.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin were born nine children, namely: Levi, deceased ; Margaret ; Joseph; Lavina; Mrs. Samuel Maize; Zaney, now Mrs. Agler; Mrs. Elizabeth Agler; Mrs. Mary Jane Agler; Oren, who resides in Mifflin township; and one who died in early life. Mr. Goodwin, the father of this family, departed this life on the old homestead farm in Mifflin town-
1
447
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ship, December 3, 1856, while his wife was called to her final rest on the 28th of July, 1873. Both were consistent members of the Lutheran church, their lives being in harmony with their professions. Mr. Goodwin was a valued and enterprising citizen, served in several township offices and was always willing to do what he could for general progress and improvement. Such men form the strength of their communities, and in the county where he resided he was widely and favorably known, proving an important factor in its early development.
RICHARD JAMES.
Richard James was born in Circleville, Pickaway county, Ohio, Decem- ber 6, 1867, a son of Benjamin and Margaret James. His father was a native of England and died in the year 1880, but the mother is still living and makes her home in Columbus. 'In addition to our subject there were two other sons in the family, Frank and Charles, both of whom are resi- dents of the capital city.
Mr. James, of this review, spent his entire life in the Buckeye state. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of his daily life. in youth. He attended the common schools and enjoyed the sports in which boys of the period usually indulged. He was nineteen years of age when he entered the railroad service in 1886, as brakeman on the Valley Road, remaining in the employ of that corporation for a year. He was afterward with the Miami Railroad in the same capacity for a year and a half, after which he accepted a position on the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus Railroad. In 1894 he was promoted to conductor and has been in continuous service in that way since that time. He is one of the company's most efficient and popular conductors who does not consider it an imposition to do an obliging act. He is most faithful to the interests of the company and does all in his power for the comfort of its patrons, and has therefore made many friends among those who continually travel over the line. He belongs to Hollings- worth Division, No. II, of the Order of Railway Conductors, of Columbus.
In May, 1899, Mr. James was united in marriage to Miss Lela Har- mon, of Columbus, a daughter of John and Alice Harmon, both of whom are living in the capital city. Her brothers and sisters are: Harry, Frank, Edward, Ada and Clara, all still under the parental roof. Mr. and Mrs. James now reside at their pleasant home at No. 625 Buckingham street, and in the city where they have long resided they are both widely and favorably known.
WILLIAM HORTON BLAKE.
The oldest resident physician in any community is usually honored as a physician and as a citizen, and if, as in the instance of Dr. William Horton Blake, the period of his practice covers a third of a century, he is doubly hon-
448
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ored, for any physician who ministers to the same families, sons and sires and mothers and daughters, for so long a time is not only a worthy practi- tioner but a worthy friend and has many times proven his right to be so regarded.
Dr. William Horton Blake was born at Hibbardsville, Athens county, Ohio, February 23, 1846, a son of Samuel B. and Polly C. (Camp) Blake. Samuel B. Blake was born in Alexander township, Athens county, Ohio, in 1818, where he is now living the tranquil life of a retired farmer who has reason to look back with approbation on his active life and its achievements. He is a member of the Baptist church and has been a man of influence in his township and county, in which he has lived, child, youth and man, for eighty-three years. His father, Samuel L. Blake, grandfather of Dr. Blake, was a native of Connecticut and emigrated to Ohio in 1817 and settled in Athens county, where he died at the age of eighty-two years and has passed into local history as a pioneer who richly deserved the honor of his fellow citizens. Polly C. Camp, who married Samuel B. Blake and became the mother of Dr. Blake, was born in Alexander township, Athens county, Ohio, in 1825, and was there reared and educated and there she was married and is living to this day. John Camp, her father, was one of the earliest set- tlers in Athens county-one of those venturesome and thrifty Connecticut Yankees who made the forests of Ohio a great garden of the middle west.
Samuel B. and Polly C. (Camp) Blake were the parents of four sons and two daughters, all of whom are living and of whom Dr. William Hor- ton Blake was the first born. The others are Dr. Henry C. Blake, of Lock- bourne, Franklin county, Ohio; Hattie, who is the wife of Clark A. Potter, of Dallas, Texas; Mary E., who married Charles F. Fedrow, of Middle- port, Ohio; John C., of Albany, Ohio; and Dr. Charles F. Blake, a professor in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. William Horton Blake was reared as a farmer boy and his primary educa- tion was obtained in a somewhat primitive country school near his home. Later he was a student at Atwood Institute, Albany, Ohio, and then he entered Starling Medical College, at Columbus, Ohio, and was graduated from that institution in 1870 and that year located at Shadeville, Franklin county, Ohio, where he has practiced his profession continuously to the pres- ent time. He is a member of the Central Ohio Medical Society and of the Ohio State Medical Society, and is referred to in terms of praise by his brother physicians.
Dr. Blake, before he was eighteen years old, enlisted to serve the federal cause in the war of the Rebellion, and has two honorable discharges from the government service. He began his experience as a soldier as a member of the Fourth Independent Battalion, Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, with which he served six months. Upon the organization of the One Hundred and Eighty-first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, he became a member of that organization and participated in all its service until the close of the war. In politics he is a Republican, but while active in the work of his party he is
449
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
not in the ordinary sense a practical politician and has no ambition for polit- ical preferment. He was made a Master Mason more than thirty years ago and has advanced in the order until he is greeted as a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret Ineffable degrees of the Scottish Rite. He was married, in November, 1873, to Ellen Williams, who was born in 1855 in Hamilton township, Franklin county, Ohio, a daughter of David Williams, an early settler near Lockbourne, where Mrs. Blake was reared. Mr. Williams mar- ried Charlotte Dulen and both have passed away. Mrs. Blake is one of four of their children now living. William Horton and Ellen ( Williams) Blake are the parents of three children. Ola, the eldest, married Orin Huffman, a well known farmer at Shadeville and they have a daughter, Helen L. Sam- uel D. married Eva McCord, of Jackson township, a daughter of one of the prominent farmers of that part of the county, and they have a son named William F. Horton R., the youngest of the three, now eleven years old, is in school.
Dr. Blake is not only the oldest medical practitioner in his township, but one of the oldest in the county in view of continuous practice within the county limits and he is held in high esteem as a physician and also as a public spirited citizen, who may always be safely depended upon to serve and promote the interests of his fellow townsmen to the extent of his ability, and his services as a soldier, who risked his life in the cause and defense of the Union, are not forgotten when he is referred to by his admiring neigh- bors. He is in the best sense of the term a self-made man.
JOHN BAPTIST EIS.
John Baptist Eis, the rector of the church of the Sacred Heart, of Colum- bus, Ohio, was born in the province of the Rhine, Germany, October 10, 1845. His early youth was spent in his native place, where he attended school, later entering the gymnasium, in Germany, from which institution he went to France, where he entered the seminary at Blois, remaining until graduation. Still ambitious, Father Eis then entered the University of Muenster, in Westphalia, and then became the teacher of his Highness, Alexander of Solns-Braunsfels. This position he held until he entered the army, four years later. He was commissioned a chaplain in the French and German war, in charge of sixty-eight hundred men, participated in the bat- tle of Sedan and served for a period of six months. Father Eis at this time returned to the classic shades of the college, at Blois, France, where he remained one year, filling the chair of history.
In 1872 he came to the United States, joining friends in New York city, where he remained a few days, and then came to Columbus, Ohio, to accept the position of assistant under the Very Rev. Father Hemsteger, of the Holy Cross church. So acceptable was the ministry of Father Eis that later he was called to serve as secretary for Bishop Rosecrans, and later was appointed pastor of the church of the Sacred Heart, which responsible posi-
450
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
tion he has held until the present. On the completion of the church and schoolhouse he took entire charge. The church is a beautiful edifice, with seating capacity for six hundred and fifty, and four services are conducted each Sunday, thus affording instruction to hundreds of people. The school numbers five hundred pupils and is conducted by twenty sisters, who give their time and services under the care of Father Eis. These buildings were erected at a cost of eighty thousand dollars, and the valuation of the ground is fully sixty thousand dollars more, making a grand total of one hundred and forty thousand dollars.
Father Eis has not only gained the esteem of his own congregation but also that of other denominations. His work in the Sacred Heart is appre- ciated, and his influence is felt for good throughout the city of Columbus.
WILLIAM C. BEAL.
William C. Beal is one of the most extensive farmers of Franklin county, his landed possessions exceeding those of perhaps every other agriculturist in this locality. He was born in Columbus September 30, 1847, and is a son of John and Jane ( Budd) Beal. His father was a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, born in 1812, and when seven years of age he lost his father, while four years later he was left an orphan. Some property was inherited by him and his sister, and the elder sisters kept the family together for some time, but through the dishonesty of the administrator of the estate the children were robbed of their property. At the age of eighteen John Beal came to Ohio to make his own way in the world. He accompanied O. P. Hines, the well known banker of Columbus, now deceased, and on his arrival here he entered the employ of Dr. Awl, the founder of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind and the Insane Asylums. Mr. Beal was the first man that ever slept in and was employed in the old insane asylum on East Broad street-an institution afterward destroyed by fire. He had charge of one of the halls in the asylum for ten years, and a fact worth remembering at the present day is that ninety per cent. of the patients received in the institu- tion were discharged cured. Later Mr. Beal became a salesman in the mer- cantile establishment of D. T. Woodbury, on High street, and while there his health failed. He afterward served for one or more terms as deputy under John Greenleaf, the sheriff of the county, and on his retirement from office removed to Westerville, where he conducted a hotel. Four years later, with the advent of the railroad into the town, he abandoned the hotel business and began shipping stock in partnership with Valentine Cox, under the firm name of Beal & Cox. Shortly afterward they also established a dry-goods store in Westerville, but a year later Mr. Cox withdrew from the dry-goods business and was succeeded by John Knox. The latter relation was main- tained for about one year, when the firm became Beal & Budd, the partner of Mr. Beal being his brother-in-law, Silvanus Budd. Together they car-
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.