A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Part 68

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

USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio > Part 68

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and Mr. Miller is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a stalwart Democrat and for six years he was the township trustee. He belongs to Wells Post, No. 451, G. A. R., and in the year 1900 served as officer of the day, while now in 1901 he is junior vice commander. As a citizen he is public-spirited and progressive, manifesting a commendable interest in everything calculated to prove of benefit to the community along social, material, intellectual and moral lines.

GEORGE W. HOOVER.

One may travel far and see much, but it is doubtful whether any land presents more marked contrasts than our own, transformed from the wilder- ness of the primitive forests to the cultivated farms of the present. Interest- ing and instructive, indeed, are the stories of frontier and pioneer life, and none can tell them so well as those who literally hewed their way to civiliza- tion and comfort.

Such were the parents of the subject of the present sketch, George W. Hoover, a resident of Jackson township, who was born in Franklin county, Ohio, September 23, 1824. His father, George Hoover, was a native of Kentucky, a son of John and Margaret (Smith) Hoover. The former took part in the Revolutionary war, and came to Franklin county in 1807. George Hoover was here married to the mother of our subject, Catherine Kious, a native of Virginia, who had accompanied her parents to Franklin county in 1806. Her father, John Kious, was a native of Virginia, a natural mechanic and a soldier of the war of 1812.

Mr. and Mrs: George Hoover after marriage settled upon the farm where George W. now resides, living a life of labor and struggle with nature, peacefully passing away in their seventy-sixth year. He was firm in his religious convictions and a consistent member of the New Light Christian church. In politics he was a Democrat, and highly esteemed in the com- munity, holding a number of minor public offices which he filled with a firm adherence to duty. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hoover. Polly married William Neiswendere and died in her sixty-seventh year; and Mar- gart married Jonas Smith and died when about seventy-four.

George W. Hoover was reared in Jackson township, learning of his father the values of crops, drainage, the raising of cattle and the various lines which make agriculture a success. He attended the district school and can relate many amusing and interesting details concerning the conveniences provided for the children of that early day in their pursuit of knowledge. His marriage to Miss Nancy Smith took place in 1847. She was a native of Franklin county, Ohio, and came of sturdy stock and was a capable assistant to Mr. Hoover, moving into a log cabin and proving equal to the emergencies of pioneer life. The most of the land upon which Mr. Hoover now resides was cleared by himself, and he feels entitled to the comfort and rest he now enjoys.

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Mr. and Mrs. Hoover became the happy parents of a fine family of chil- dren, all of whom have grown to be esteemed and some of them prominent in educational centers. The names of these children are: Dr. Louis Smith, who is a practicing physician and surgeon at Laura, Miami county, Ohio; George, who settled on the home farm; Dr. William, a practicing physician of Grove City, Ohio; Catherine, deceased; Laura J., deceased; Eliza E .; Trevitt, in the grocery business in Columbus; John, a druggist of Grove City; Sarah; Clement L., a prominent teacher of Portland, Oregon ; Warren J., deceased ; and Adah A., remaining at home. The death of Mrs. Hoover occurred in 1887. leaving a vacancy in this family impossible to fill.

Mr. Hoover commands the respect of the whole community in which he lives and is a remarkably preserved man for his years. An easy explanation may be found for this, as he has ever lived a most temperate life, having no perverted tastes, using no tobacco, and drinking only cold water. He cer- tainly gives a fine example of temperance and is an object lesson to many who do not follow his example and live sickly, unsuccessful lives. Mr. Hoover has been honored often with marks of esteem and confidence from his neigh- bors, having served three years as justice of the peace, two terms as town- ship clerk, and for thirty-three years was school director in his district. He is not identified with any religious organization, and since the last administra- tion of Mr. Cleveland has been independent in politics.

JOSEPH N. BRADFORD.

A representative of the educational interests of Columbus, occupying the position of professor of architecture and drawing in the Ohio State Uni- versity, Professor Joseph N. Bradford is well known in his adopted state as a man of strong mentality and sterling worth who has attained an enviable position as a representative of the calling which he has made his life work. He was born April 3. 1860, near Placerville, then a mining camp of Cali- fornia. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Bradford, now reside in Colum- bus. They were natives of Lincolnshire, England, and the father came to this country when twenty years of age, landing at New York city, whence he made his way direct to Columbus, arriving in Ohio's capital in 1850. His wife was a maiden of fourteen years when she came with her parents from England, the family locating in Oberlin, Ohio. The family name was Pick- worth, and their marriage was celebrated in Columbus in the year 1858. Unto them were born the following children: Joseph N., of this review ; Samuel, who was born December 25, 1862, and was married, in October, 1886, to Miss Winnie Nearevamer, of Columbus, where they now reside; Frank, who was born August 12, 1865, and is not married, and resides with his parents in Columbus : Helen, a teacher in the public schools of this city ; Ernest, who was born September 7. 1869, and is now occupying a position in the city as an analytical chemist; and Herbert, born August 21, 1872, and married Catherine Mauk. They, too, reside in the capital city.

CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 561

Professor Bradford, whose name introduces this record, acquired his early education in the public schools of California, and in 1873 accompanied his parents upon their return to Columbus. Here he entered the public schools and in the year 1877 matriculated in the Ohio State University, and after a six-years course was graduated with the degree of mechanical engineer. His high scholarship and ability are indicated by the fact that he is now occupying the chair of architecture and drawing in that institution.

On the 30th of December, 1885, was celebrated the marriage of Pro- fessor Bradford and Emma Walter, whose parents came to the United States from Paris, France, at an early date. Her father, Frederick Walter, has been dead for twenty-two years, having departed this life in Jersey City, New Jersey, but her mother, Mrs. Victoria Walter, is still living and is now in the eightieth year of her age. She also has a sister, Mrs. Marie Moore, who is now a widow. Unto the Professor and his wife have been born two children, -Grace E. and Florence,-both of whom are in school. They attend Dr. Gladden's church in Columbus, of which Mrs. Bradford is a member, and the Professor is an active member of the Sigma Xi, the American Society for Advancement of Science and American Society for the Promotion of Engin- eering Education.

It would be almost tautological in this connection to say that Professor Bradford is a man of broad intelligence and intellectuality, for this has been shadowed forth in the lines of this review. Added to his knowledge acquired in the collegiate course, he is constantly broadening his mind by study, read- ing and observation, and has more firmly fixed his knowledge by his work in educational circles. The surest way to prove one's understanding of a ques- tion is to explain to others, and his labors as an instructor have given him rank among those whose knowledge is sure and dependable. He has many friends in Columbus and among those who have come under his instruction, for his personality is one that makes him popular.

JOHN MCCLURE.

The career of the subject of this sketch is that of a self-made man, who, beginning in an humble way, has advanced by industry and perseverance to an assured position in his chosen avocation and as a citizen of Columbus, Ohio. His ancestors were of Scotch descent and they located early in Vir- ginia, whence those of a later generation removed to Ohio. His father, John McClure, died at Columbus, about 1852; at the age of thirty-five years, and his mother died in 1890, aged fifty-eight years, at the residence of her son, the subject of this sketch.

John McClure, of Columbus, Ohio, was born at old Franklinton, near the west side market, Columbus, February 7, 1850, and received his early education in public schools in that neighborhood, where he lived until 1862, when his parents removed to the east side of the city. About his first employ -. ment was as a bell-boy in the United States Hotel at Columbus, and as such

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he was on duty there during all the earlier days of the Civil war. July 12, 1864, he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and enlisted in the United States Navy and was assigned to the Victory, No. 33, commanded by Captain Fred Reed. The vessel was attached to the Tenth Division of the Mississippi Squadron and was assigned to patrol duty on the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. After considerably more than a year's arduous and dangerous experience the youth was honorably discharged from the service November 18, 1865, at Mound City, Illinois, and returned to Columbus, Ohio, in such a condition physically that he was unable to do any active work for several months.

January 1, 1866, Mr. McClure entered the employ of S. P. Elliott, a baker on High street, Columbus, with whom he remained a year. During the succeeding two years he was employed in stone masonry construction and acquired a very good knowledge of the stone mason's trade. In December, 1869, he became a switchman in the Columbus yards of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, and in the fall of 1871 he was employed as a brake- man on the Indianapolis division of the Pan Handle Railway. After ten months' service in that capacity he was, July 22, 1872, given a position as fireman on the same road, which he held until August, 1874, when he re- signed it voluntarily and for a time was out of the railway service. In Feb- ruary, 1875, he was again employed in railroads yards at Columbus and later again accepted a position as fireman on the Pan Handle.

Early in 1876 Mr. McClure was promoted to the position of yard engin- eer at Columbus, and a few months later was promoted to road service, a position which he held until January 27, 1883. From that time until May 21, 1883, he was engineer on the Cincinnati Southern Railway, and after that was employed until July 5, 1883, on the Toledo, Cincinnati & St. Louis Narrow Gauge Railway. August 27, 1883, he became an engineer in the service of the Scioto Valley Railroad, now a part of the Norfolk & Western Railway, and has filled that position continuously to this time, having been a passenger engineer since September 25, 1887. He became a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in 1880 and has been an active and helpful member of the order since, being chief engineer of Division No. 72, one term.

Mr. McClure was married December 10, 1868, to Miss Elizabeth Nowell, who died March 28, 1881, after having borne him three children as follows : Charles R. was born October 27, 1869, and is in the employ of the Pennsyl- vania Railway Company, and is not married. John F., born August 5, 1871, is married and is also in the Pennsylvania Railway service. Sadie G. married Thomas Heilman and lives in Pennsylvania. Mr. McClure's second wife, whom he married June 21, 1884, was Miss Hannah Blankinship, of Ironton, Lawrence county, Ohio, whose Welsh ancestors early emigrated to Virginia. She was born at Coalgrove, Lawrence county, Ohio. Her father died there December 2, 1865. Her father was a member of the One Hundred and Eighty-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in the last year of the Civil war, and after serving five months received a sunstroke, while on an

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arduous march, from the effects of which he died. He had three brothers, Fusion Blankinship, now deceased; John, deceased; and Hiram Blankin- ship, of Portland, Oregon. Mrs. McClure's mother was born in Scott county, Virginia, and is living in Kimball county, Nebraska. Josephine Blankin- ship, Mrs. McClure's eldest sister, married Joseph Hoke, of Silver Lake, Indiana, and they have three children, named Bertha, Charles and John. Her sister Maud married John Klei, and is living at Portsmouth, Ohio. Blanche, her youngest sister, married James H. Lindsay, of New Cumber- land, West Virginia, and has a son named Edwin. Mrs. McClure's brother, Charles Perry Blankinship, is living in California, is married and has three children : Charles, Josephine and Rowland.

Mr. McClure has advanced to his present good position as a railroad man and his creditable standing as a citizen by his own unaided efforts. Though not a practical politician he has decided views on public questions and is not without influerce in his party.

LAFAYETTE WOODRUFF.

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A prominent physician of Columbus, Ohio, is the subject of the present sketch. Lafayette Woodruff was born December 27, 1830, in Warren county, Ohio, a son of Israel and Sarah (McNabb) Woodruff, and a grandson of Jesse Woodruff, well known in early days in the state. Having obtained a preparatory education in the academy at Lebanon, Ohio, he read medicine under Dr. F. A. Williamson, at Harveysburg, Ohio, beginning in 1848, later attending lectures at the Ohio Medical College, in Cincinnati, and Starling Medical College, at Columbus, taking his degree in the latter in 1852. He located in Alton, Ohio, and continued there in practice until March 19, 1900, when he removed to his present location.

Dr. Woodruff served as an assistant surgeon in the Civil war in 1861-2, in the Fifty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He is a prominent member of many medical associations, belonging to the Ohio State Medical Society ; the American Medical Association; the Central Ohio Medical Society, of which he was president in 1883; the Madison County Medical Association, of which he was president in 1875; of the Alumni Association of Starling Medical College, and a member of the board of censors of that college; and socially is also connected with the Masonic fraternity; the Grand Army of the Republic; and in addition is medical examiner for several life insurance companies. He is at present the president of the board of pension examining surgeons for Franklin county and belongs to the military order of the Loyal Legion. Dr. Woodruff is widely known among the members of his profes- sion and the state at large, by his literary productions, including an address before the alumni of Starling Medical College, in 1884, published by the association in the Columbus Medical Journal; Vomiting, its importance as a symptom, published in July, 1894; Polypharmacy, published in December,

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1894; Habitual Constipation, published in the Indiana Medical Herald, in October, 1894; Heredity, in 1901, and other important papers.

Dr. Woodruff was married, November 25, 1856, to Mrs. Maria L. Golliday, who died January 10, 1872. His second marriage occurred March 4, 1874, to Miss Mary L. Miller, a daughter of Rev. John Miller, of Wauseon, Ohio, who died July 26, 1898. He married his present wife, who was Miss Catherine E. Williams, of Columbus, Ohio, March 15, 1900. Since the spring of 1900 our subject and his excellent wife have been residents of the city of Columbus, where he commands a lucrative practice. His residence on West Broad street is situated in one of the finest localities in this beautiful city.

MILTON NEAR.

Among the farmers of Jackson township who have grown up with the country and not only have seen the improvements in the section but have materially assisted in the same, is Milton Near, a resident of Stringtown Pike. He was born in Ross county, Ohio, April 30, 1856, a son of Philip and Sarah J. (Duff) Near, the former a native of Ross county, the latter of Jack- son township, Franklin county. The grandfather of Mr. Near on the paternal side was one of the old settlers of Ross county, having emigrated from Penn- sylvania at an early day. Philip Near was a farmer by occupation, but was the victim of a cyclone when only thirty years of age, dying before he had been able to provide for his family of three small sons. The mother of the subject of this review, although born and reared in Jackson township, located in Ross county after her marriage to Mr. Near. Later she married Solomon Swagler and is now a widow, living in Jackson township. Her father was one of the old settlers of Jackson township.

The family of the parents of our subject consisted of three sons : Marion, who is a resident of Jackson township; William, who died at the age of eight years; and our subject, who was left fatherless at the tender age of two years. By her second marriage his mother became the parent of three daughters : Emma, now the wife of R. E. Shover, and now resides in Jack- son township upon the farm that her grandfather, William Duff, cleared and improved ; Jennie, the wife of L. J. Kolter, resides in Wapakoneta, Ohio; Viola, the wife of Otis Borror, lives upon the farm where Mr. Milton Near resided for eleven years in Jackson township.

When Mr. Near was brought to Jackson township he was about three years of age, and here he grew to manhood, working on his stepfather's farm and attending the district school until the date of his marriage. This occurred November 7, 1878, to Clara E. Preston, who was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, May 2, 1856. She was a daughter of Solomon Preston, a farmer by occupation who had emigrated to Ohio at the age of sixteen and had settled in Muskingum county, afterward removing from there to Franklin county and locating in Jackson township. His first marriage had occurred in Frank- lin county, but his second wife was a resident of Madison township, Frank-

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lin county, by the name of Rachel Kramer, and after this marriage Mr. Preston, senior, removed to Pickaway county, where he engaged in farming. The last years of his life were spent in Columbus, Ohio.

Mrs. Near, the fifth child in a family of eight children, was reared in her native county, enjoying some superior educational advantages, having had a course of three years at Winchester.

Milton Near, after marriage, located near Borror Corners, Jackson town- ship, where he rented his stepfather's farm and remained upon it for eleven years, leaving it to remove to his present farm which he had bought. Since that time he has successfully pursued agricultural pursuits, improving his land, which comprises sixty acres and has responded so generously that he also engages in marketing. Mr. Near's family numbered seven chil- dren: The oldest died in infancy, and the next one lived only to be three years old; and the others-Otto S., Guy C., Sheldon, Myrll and Ethel J .- are still at home with their parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Near are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, where they are highly esteemed. He is a Republican in politics and is con- sidered one of the representative men of Jackson township.

EDWARD J. MILLER.

The scriptural declaration that he who is "faithful in few things" shall be made "master over many," is exemplified in the advancement of every competent, honorable and deserving man who has a responsible position in a permanent business managed by appreciative and far-seeing employers. The name of Edward J. Miller, foreman of the mechanical department of the Panhandle machine shops at Columbus, Ohio, is presented asi that of one who in his career has exemplified the truth of the declaration referred to above.

Mr. Miller was born at Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1863, a son of Nicholas J. and Catherine (Gabel) Miller. His father, a native of Germany, came to the United States in 1858. A carpenter by trade, he for a time found employment at his trade in Zanesville, but eventually retired from active business. He had nine sons and daughters, of whom Edward J. Miller was the second born. The boy was educated in the Zanesville high school and at the Zanesville Business College. In 1879 he apprenticed him- self to the H. & F. Blandy Machine Company, of Zanesville, builders of port- able and stationary engines, by which he was employed four years. After that he went to Newark, Ohio, and was for several months employed by the Newark Machine Company. We next find him in the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Railway Company, in its machine shop at Garrett, Indiana. He afterward worked at Chicago, Illinois, and at Kansas City, Missouri. Later he returned to Ohio and entered the service of the Morgan Engineering Company, at Alliance. From there he came to Columbus and began work in the old Piqua shops west of High street as a machinist. In 1886 the shops were moved on the hill, and he was also transferred. In

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1887 the value of his services was recognized by his appointment as acting foreman of the machine department of the Panhandle machine shops at Columbus, and he was soon afterward made foreman and given control of the shops and a large number of employes. Being a skilled mechanic, thor- oughly acquainted with the construction and operation of machinery in all its parts, he is able to direct and assist officially in every department of the shops and virtually has oversight of thirteen hundred men. In 1889 Mr. Miller associated himself in business with P. C. Krouse, the firm being known as P. C. Krouse & Company, jewelers, at 232 North High street, which has grown from a small plant to its present magnitude.

In 1897 Mr. Miller married Miss Anna Abrams, a daughter of Thomas Abrams, of Columbus. Politically he is a strong Republican and takes a deep interest in all matters of public importance calculated to affect the interests of the people of his city, county or country. He is a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a popular Mason, who, after having been made a Master Mason, was exalted to the august degree of a Royal Arch Mason and constituted, created and dubbed a Knight Templar.

WILLIAM A. HARDESTY.

Honored and respected by all, there is no man in Columbus who occupies a more enviable position than William A. Hardesty in industrial and financial circles, not alone on account of the brilliant success he has achieved, but also on account of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever fol- lowed. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution ; and his close application to busi- ness and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is to-day his; and he has demonstrated the truth of the saying that success is not the result of genius, but the outcome of a clear judgment and experience. He is now president of the State Savings Bank and Trust Company, president of the Columbus Varnish Company and owner of the Capital City Mills, at Columbus.

Mr. Hardesty was born at Malvern, Carroll county, Ohio, February 14, 1848, and is a son of Thomas and Mary J. (Collins) Hardesty. His grandfather was William Hardesty. The father was a native of Ohio and was a merchant and miller, continuing in those various lines of business until within a short time of his death, which occurred in 1870. His wife was a native of Virginia.

The subject of this review spent his boyhood days in Malvern, Ohio, and attended the public schools there. acquiring his preliminary education, which was supplemented by a business course in P. Duff's Business College, in Pittsburg. On leaving that institution he entered upon his business career in his nineteenth year, becoming connected with the milling interests at Canal Dover. He operated his mills at that point successfully until 1872,

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when he purchased an interest in another mill at the same place, continuing its conduct until 1880, when he came to Columbus and built the Capital City Mills, which are supplied with all the latest and best improved machinery, including a complete roller system as well as the best separators. The mill is operated by steam power and the capacity is five hundred barrels in twenty- four hours. Mr. Hardesty has a large local trade, and the surplus, which is also quite extensive, is shipped to different cities throughout the United Kingdom. It is not difficult to find a market for their product, for it is of superior grade and quality and is thus easily sold. Mr. Hardesty is a prac- tical miller, his connection with the business dating from his early manhood, so that he is well versed in the mechanical operation, at the same time being fully competent to control its financial and trade interests. A man of resource- ful ability, his efforts have not been confined to this one line, for he has extended the field of his labors and his counsel has proven an important factor in the successful management of other enterprises. He assisted in the organization of the Columbus Varnish Company, of which he is the president and one of the principal stockholders, and he is vice-president of the Hanna Paint Manufacturing Company, of Columbus, also a director in the Columbus Machine Company. In 1892 he joined with other prominent and reliable citizens in the organization of the State Savings Bank & Trust Com- pany, and was thereupon elected its president, in which capacity he is still serving. A general banking business is carried on, and the institution has become one of the solid financial concerns of the county and its business returns a good dividend to the stockholders.

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A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Part 68

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

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