USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio > Part 59
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The family made all their own clothing, the linen being spun from flax raised upon the farm. The father was a great reader and devoted all his leisure time to his books. His wife, who was a member of the Methodist church and a devout Christian, died in 1857, and in 1862 he married Hannah Hayden, a daughter of Jacob Hayden. He continued to follow farming and contracting until his death, which occurred in the spring of 1880. He, too, was an earnest and consistent member of the Methodist church, in which he served as class leader and steward. Politically he was a Jacksonian Demo- crat until the Civil war, when he joined the Republican party, though he was always an advocate of Jacksonian principles. By his first marriage he had eleven children, namely: George and -, who died in infancy; Eliza- beth Ann, now Mrs. Carroll; William Henry, deceased ; Sarah Adeline, wife of Robert Moore; James and Mary C., who both died in childhood; Nicholas P., our subject ; Lewis Linn ; Louisa V., widow of David Ball; and Charles F., of Emporia, Kansas. By the second union there were four children : Leonard B .; Ellsworth, deceased; Hannah, wife of Charles Kefaber; and Montford, deceased. The mother of these children is still living and makes her home in Fairfield county, Ohio.
Dr. Davidson was born on the Ioth of October, 1849, in Sunday Creek township, Perry county, one mile east of Oakfield, and began his education in the district schools of that locality. At the age of sixteen he went to live with his eldest sister in Clay county, Illinois, and while there attended school
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two years and taught four years. Returning to Ohio, in 1872, he took a scientific course at the Lebanon Normal School, and subsequently success- fully engaged in teaching for six years in Fairfield, Montgomery and Hock- ing counties, this state, being principal of a school of four departments dur- ing the last three years of that time. He then took up the study of medicine with Dr. W. G. Dawson, of Gibisonville, Ohio, with whom he spent four years, and later attended lectures at the Columbus Medical College, where he was graduated in 1882. He made his own way through college, earning at intervals all the money that he needed for the expenses of the course. After his graduation he engaged in practice at Marysville, Ohio, for three and a half years, and then "hung out his shingle" in Hilliard, where he has since made his home. Here he has built up a very extensive practice.
The Doctor was married, in February, 1877, to Miss Anna Jeanette Shepperd, of Xenia, Ohio. Formerly he was a member of the Methodist church, and still belongs to Norwich Lodge, No. 385, I. O. O. F. In his political affiliations he is a stanch Republican. He is now a member of the town council of Hilliard, and has served as health officer for many years. Fraternally he holds membership in the American Medical Association and also the Ohio State and the Ohio Central Medical Associations. He is a close and thorough student, a man of deep research, and his investigations into the science of medicine and his skillful application of the knowledge he has thereby obtained has won him a place in the foremost ranks of the medi- cal fraternity. He is the author of a five-hundred-page volume entitled "Classification of Surgical Operations and Medical Miscellany." Being a highly educated man and an excellent conversationalist, he has become very popular and makes many friends.
D. N. KINSMAN, M. D.
Among the professional men of Columbus, Ohio, the subject of this sketch, D. N. Kinsman, a physician of ability and standing, is recognized as one of the tried and trustworthy representatives of his class. He was born in Heath, Massachusetts, in May, 1834, from an ancestry stretching back to the time of the Crusades. He was permitted to attend excellent schools and for seven years taught in the schools of Circleville. Following this he attended lectures at the Medical College of Ohio, at which he graduated in 1863, and has been a successful and popular practitioner and useful citizen ever since. He has had the satisfaction of watching the wonderful growth of the city of his adoption, and in all the public enterprises he has borne a part.
For three years Dr. Kinsman held the professorship of the diseases of women and children in Starling Medical College and since that time has held the chair of medical practice in the Columbus Medical College. He is now the chief of the medical staff of the Protestant Hospital and professor of practice of medicine in the Ohio Medical University. Dr. Kinsman is a
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physician by nature, kind and benevolent in disposition, and his mere presence seems to cause a measure of healing.
The marriage of Dr. Kinsman took place in 1857 to Miss Isabella Stevens, of Utica, Ohio, and his family consists of three daughters: Mrs. G. M. Waters, Belle and Louise.
Apart from his profession, Dr. Kinsman has been a member of the Ohio State Live Stock Commission since its formation, and for five years has been its secretary. He holds a high position in the Masonic order, having received the degrees of the blue lodge in 1857, the commandery degrees in 1867, those of the Scottish rite in 1877, and in 1885 the thirty-third degree, and has been the presiding officer in all of these bodies.
No one could stand higher in the esteem of his fellow citizens than does Dr. Kinsman. He has so thoroughly gained the affection and regard of his patients that they regard him as a friend as well as a physician and are glad to do him honor.
CHARLES SAVOY AMMEL.
The fortunes of war, which after the struggle between the north and the south left many progressive northern men in the southern states, also brought many enterprising southern men north of Mason and Dixon's line. Charles Savoy Ammel, a leading business man of Columbus, was among the number. He came to this city in 1864 as a prisoner of war, was paroled and has since remained a resident of the capital, where he has attained prom- inence in business, military and Masonic circles.
Captain Ammel is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and the representaive of a family that has won distinction in the military service of France. His father, Major Philip Ammel, was a native of Lyons, France, and served as commandant in the French army-a rank equivalent to that of major in America. His people were all in the army and had died in the service of their country through many generations. On account of political complica- tions Major Ammel was forced to leave France and made his way across the Atlantic to New York, whence he afterward removed to Baltimore, Mary- land. However, he returned during the French-Prussian war and died in his native land. He married Francoise Welkee, a member of an old French family.
In his native city Captain Ammel pursued his education and when the country became involved in Civil war the military spirit inherited from his ancestors found him a sergeant in the Fifty-third, now the Fifth Maryland Regiment. During the 19th of April service he was paroled as a lieutenant and when Baltimore was taken by General Ben Butler he went into Confederate service as a lieutenant in the Maryland line. Prior to the war he had been a member of the militia, with the rank of sergeant, so that military training and experience well fitted him for the duties which he assumed at the out- break of hostilities. He participated in all of the engagements in the valley
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of the Shenandoah, with General "Stonewall" Jackson's army, and while serving with the army of the Shenandoah he was four times wounded, and was captured in a skirmish at Oak Hall, Virginia, in 1864. As a prisoner of war he was then sent to Columbus, where he was paroled, and thus becoming a resident of the city he has since maintained his home here and has risen to a position in the foremost rank of its leading business men.
Colonel Ammel was engaged in the music business from 1865 until 1876, and during much of that time was also manager of the Comstock opera house. In 1876 he became manager for the Alice Oates Opera Company and super- intended that popular organization of seventy people until 1879, repeatedly visiting the leading cities of the country. In 1879 he entered into business relations with the M. C. Lilley Company, extensive manufacturers of military goods and regalias, in fact doing the largest business of this kind in the United States. Mr. Ammel became a representative of the military, Masonic and band departments, of which he is manager. His efforts in this line have been very satisfactory and gratifying to the house and profitable to himself. He is approachable, genial and always courteous,-qualities which make him pop- ular wherever he goes and have insured his success in business.
The Colonel has a wide acquaintance in Masonic circles and is himself a prominent representative of the craft. He was made a Mason in Goodale Lodge, No. 172, F. & A. M., of Columbus, in 1867, and in 1871 he took the degrees of Chivalric Masonry in Mount Vernon Commandery, No. I, K. T., in which he is a past commander and has filled the office of captain general for twenty-four years. He was the organizer and was the first high priest of Temple Chapter, No. 155, R. A. M. He became a Scottish-rite Mason and received the thirty-second degree in February, 1874, and is a charter member of the Scottish-rite bodies of the valley of Columbus, as well as a charter member of Aladdin Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He like- wise belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a charter inember of Junia Lodge, and is also identified with the Knights of Pythias and Royal Arcanum. He is a member of the Columbus Commercial Travel- ers' Association and was one of the incorporators of the United Commercial Travelers' Association for the United States and a member of the supreme council.
Military matters have also commanded the interest and attention of Colonel Ammel, who was the organizer of the old Fourteenth Regiment of Ohio National Guards, and was called "the father of the regiment." In 1876 he was commissioned captain of Company A, and was also mustering officer of the regiment, in which capacity he mustered himself in as captain and also discharged himself from the service. After six years' service as captain lie resigned on account of pressing business duties. During this time he was with his company engaged in action brought about by the strike among the Ohio coal miners. In 1898, during the Spanish American war, Captain Ammel organized the Fourteenth Veteran Reserve, of which he became lieutenant colonel, while George D. Freeman was colonel, and though the
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regiment was never called to the front about three hundred men were taken from its ranks to fill up the quota of the old Fourteenth, then known as the Fourth Regiment.
In politics the Colonel is a Republican. In 1876 he organized a regiment of twelve companies, numbering nearly one thousand, four hundred men. Of this regiment he became the colonel. The organization was the first fancy drilled and uniformed political body in the country, and were in great demand for political displays all over the state.
In Columbus Colonel Ammel was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Seltzer, daughter of John Seltzer, who was a native of Columbus and for many years was a prominent music dealer of the city. He occupied a high position in musical circles and spent his time, money and energies in securing the best musical talent to give entertainment. He was also instrumental in securing particularly efficient teachers and thus did much to cultivate the musical taste of the city, and win for Columbus its justly deserved reputation of being one of the leading musical centers of the country. He married Miss Nannie Garner, a native of Columbus.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ammel has been born one daughter, Queen Vidette, who is a graduate of the Columbus high school and is now the wife of Dr. F. L. Stillman, formerly of Portsmouth, Ohio, but at the present time a resi- dent of the capital city.
During his long residence in Columbus Colonel Ammel has gained a very large circle of friends. He has been a recognized leader in many movements for the city's good and his worth is widely acknowledged by many who know him not only in Columbus but wherever he has traveled.
WILLIAM C. CARL.
A prominent and popular young farmer of Prairie township. Franklin county, Ohio, is William C. Carl, the subject of this sketch. He is of German descent, his grandfather, Ludwig Carl, having been born in Schwartzberg, Sundershausen, Germany, where he followed the trade of shoemaker. The latter came to the United States in 1840, sailing from Bremen to New York, passing sixty-five days on the ocean, and arriving March 3. Locating in Col- umbus on the ground now occupied as Third street, he opened a little shop, but in a short time, probably in 1845, settled on sixty acres of land, built a log house and stable, and felt independent. No nails were used in the building of these houses,-only wooden pins. From the window it was possible then to shoot wild turkeys to supply the larder. Grandfather Carl lived to be ninety years old, dying in 1876, his wife surviving until July, 1884, when she was eighty-four years old. Both of them were members of the Lutheran church.
The father of our subject had one sister, Paulina, who is the wife of August Sibert, of this township. He was born in Germany November 17, 1822. He remained at school until he was sixteen years old, coming to
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America with his family when about sixteen years old and obtaining employ- ment first in the Neil Hotel, but later going to the farm with his father and assisting him in the clearing and development of it.
Christian Carl, the father of our subject, married Annie Mary Selbert, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, and came to the United States when an infant. She was a daughter of John Selbert, who conducted a farm near Gahanna, Ohio, and became a prominent man in that section. Mr. Carl inherited his father's land and added one hundred and six acres to it and built the pleasant brick home on it in 1882, dying here February 2, 1896, and the mother dying July 20, 1898. Mr. Carl had been a Democrat all his life, and had served as school director and filled other offices. His choice of religious denominations was the Free Protestant church, on Mound street, Columbus, while the mother clung to the Lutheran faith, in which she had been reared. The children born to them were: Augusta, the wife of Simon Feder, of Brown township; Louisa, who is Mrs. Adam Trish, of Norwich township; John, who married Lena Deitch, and resides in Prairie township; Isaac, who married Alberta Dougherty, and resides in Prairie township; Elizabeth, who is Mrs. George A. Geyer, and resides in this township; Julia, who is Mrs. Rudolph Hiltburner, and is a resident of Brown township; Louis W., who is a veterinary surgeon of Columbus; William, who is our subject; and Caroline, who died at the age of seventeen.
Our subject was born in the log house on his present farm. August I, 1869, and attended the district school, his first teacher being Miss Eva Kellar. At sixteen he left school and engaged in work on the farm. He was mar- ried on October II, 1894, to Miss Dora Parker, a daughter of Stephen and Lucinda Parker, of this township, and to this union were born Marie Lucy and Helen Jennette. Mrs. Carl died June 13, 1901.
After marriage our subject settled on forty acres of the land his grand- father purchased so long ago. Here he has very successfully pursued farm- ing and has neat, commodious and comfortable surroundings. Mr. Carl cast his first vote for President Cleveland, voting politically as did his father and grandfather. Socially he is connected with the I. O. O. F., of Colum- bus, and takes an active interest in the organization.
CLAUD E. MEEKER.
The history of a state as well as that of a nation is chiefly the chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by that of its rep- resentative citizens, and yields its tribute of admiration and respect for the genius, learning or virtues of those whose works and actions constitute the record of a state's prosperity and pride; and their characters, as exemplified in probity and benevolence, kindly virtues and integrity in the affairs of life. are ever affording worthy examples for emulation and valuable lessons of incentive.
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From the beginning of the nineteenth century the name of Meeker has been inseparably interwoven with the history of Ohio, and the subject of this review has been an active factor in political circles and is now a most promi- nent business man of Columbus. He was born in the capital city, in 1861, and the history of his ancestry is given in connection with the life record of his father, the Hon. George W. Meeker, on another page of this work. He gave up the study of civil engineering to enter the field of journalism, and for some time his was a well known name in journalistic circles. He was first employed as a reporter on a paper in his native city and afterward went to Cincinnati, where he obtained a similar situation in connection with the Enquirer, which he represented for fifteen years, rapidly winning advance- ment. As a political editor, reporter and special correspondent he developed unusual ability and talent. He also became special correspondent to the New York World. His popularity as a reporter was evidenced by the people. of Cincinnati, who at the celebrated church fair voted to him a magnificent gold-headed cane as the most popular reporter of the city. As a political editor he exerted a wide influence in Ohio. Nothing can measure the effect of the newspaper, but its power is widely recognized and acknowledged as a factor in molding public opinion and shaping public action, and in this way Claude Meeker became a leader in political circles. In 1889 James E. Camp- bell became a candidate for governor and was elected to that office. During the campaign Mr. Meeker accompanied him on his tour through the state: and made many able addresses, holding the attention and convincing the: minds of his hearers. Governor Campbell attributed his election in a large manner to Mr. Meeker's reports and the Cincinnati Enquirer, and on assum- ing the office appointed him to the position of private secretary, in which. capacity he served from 1890 until 1892. The following year he was appointed: by President Cleveland United States consul at Bradford, England, where: he served, in a most creditable manner, until 1897. This is one of the most important commercial consulates on account of the exports from America to Bradford, and involves great work and responsibility on the part of the consul, whose staff numbers nine assistants.
In 1897 Mr. Meeker returned to his native land and once more took up his abode in Columbus, where he joined his brother in the establishment of the firm of Meeker Brothers, investment brokers. They are the leading firm in their line in Columbus, and have special telegraph connection with New York and Chicago. Their business has assumed mammoth propor- tions and has brought to them gratifying returns.
In 1890 Mr. Meeker was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Parks, a daughter of Dr. J. M. Parks, of Hamilton, Ohio. Her father was one of the best-known physicians in the Miami valley throughout a long period, being freely accorded the leadership in his profession. He was also highly esteemed as a citizen and' a man of sterling worth. He died in Hamilton in 1890, at the advanced age of eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Meeker are the parents of three children,-Marjorie, Campbell and Marion, all of whom 31
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were born in England. Mr. and Mrs. Meeker attend the Episcopalian church, and he holds membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, also the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic fraternity. Kindness, amia- bility and courtesy not only characterize his social relations, but are a marked feature in his business life. It is not because of special prominence in public affairs that he has, and is justly entitled to, the respect and confidence of his fellow men, for his personal qualities are such as to make men esteem and honor him.
NATHANIEL SMITH.
Nathaniel Smith, an enterprising farmer of Prairie township, represents one of the honored pioneer families of Ohio. His grandfather, Philip Smith, was born in Virginia and wedded Miss Nancy Keller, of Parkersburg, that state, whose ancestors came from Germany to the new world. Removing to Ohio, the grandfather of our subject located in Athens county and after- ward went to Auglaize county. His death occurred at St. Mary's, Ohio. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and lived an upright. consistent life. His children were: Abner, who died in St. Mary's, Ohio; Francis Patty, who became the wife of Foster Stedman and died in Missouri ; Phillip, who died at Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Sarah, deceased; Amon, who died in Topeka, Kansas; Isaac, who died in St. Mary's, Ohio; and Elias, of Athens county, Ohio.
Francis Smith, the father of our subject, was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, in 1796, and with his parents came to Ohio at an early day. He was reared in Athens county, acquiring a common-school education, and early became familiar with the work of the home farm. He was there married to Miss Mary ( Polly ) Ashton, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Christmas day of 1800. Her father, Abner Ashton, was a glass blower of that city, and was there married to Nancy Lewis, who was born in Phila- delphia. Her parents died when she was quite small and she was reared by Stephen Girard, a millionaire philanthropist. Abner Ashton was of an old and highly respected family of Pennsylvania, his ancestors having come from England to America. They settled at Ashton's Hope, near the boundary line between Maryland and Pennsylvania, and through several generations representatives of the name have been prominent in the Keystone state. After their marriage the parents of our subject resided in Athens county until 1845, when they took up their abode north of Columbus, in Franklin county. In 1854, however, the father went to Davis county, Iowa, and re- sided with his sons in that state. He died at the home of his youngest son, Isaac, who is now living in Colorado, whither he removed in 1868. The mother of our subject also died there, in 1882. Isaac Smith attempted to go to Colorado during the Civil war, but on account of guerrillas was forced to return to Iowa. The father of our subject was a Democrat, always giving his support to that party. Unto Francis Smith and his wife were born ten
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children: Nancy became the wife of Alexander Francis, a soldier in the Mexican war, and after his death she married Aaron Arm, her home being now in Ashgrove, Illinois; Lydia is the wife of Jeremiah French, of Jackson county, Ohio; Sally is the wife of David Minton, of Oregon; Hester married Nathan Benjamin, who was a soldier in the Mexican war, and is now living in Missouri; Nathaniel was the next of the family; Lovisa is the wife of Jacob Kiner, of North Columbus; Abner is living in Missouri; Phillip died in Colorado, in 1876; Hameline resides in Missouri; and Isaac makes his home in Laramie county, Colorado.
Nathaniel Smith, whose name introduces this record, was born in Lee township, Athens county, Ohio, May 6, 1827, and there remainet until eighteen years of age. He was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life, living in the forests, where he aided in grubbing the stumps, splitting rails and chopping wood. The house was a hewed-log cabin, eighteen by twenty-four feet, containing two rooms. The building was heated by a fireplace, on which could be laid a four-foot log, and the smoke found egress through a mud and stick chimney, and the first school which he attended was three miles from his home. The benches were made by splitting a small tree in two. Portions of the trunk were then stood upon wooden legs and served as seats for the scholars. The writing desk was formed by placing a board upon pins driven into the wall, and the immense fireplace occupied one end of the room. His first teacher was a Mr. Martin, who was a capable in- structor for those days. When the school hours were over Mr. Smith aided in doing the chores at home, a part of his duty being to bring up the cows. They would sometimes stray miles away, so that he would be days in finding them. In his boyhood he was very fond of hunting, and was a sure shot. Wild game of all kinds abounded, the settlers often killing wild cats, wolves, bears, panthers, deer and wild fowls, the last two furnishing many a meal. Squirrels were so numerous as to be a pest. Mr. Smith has killed deer in this locality and greatly enjoyed his hunting trips. Although now seventy- three years of age, he is an excellent shot with the rifle, and while hunting for the cows he always took his gun and a trusty hunting dog with him. Wild hogs were also numerous, and mink, beaver and coons were frequently shot.
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