A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Part 69

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 69

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In 1870 Mr. Hardesty was united in marriage to Miss Della F. Moore, of New Philadelphia, Ohio, a daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Dickson) Moore. They now have three children,-Florence M., Thomas M. and Helen Josephine. Their home is a neat and substantial residence at No. 91 Hamilton avenue. His career has ever been such as to warrant the trust and confidence of the business world, for he has ever conducted all trans- actions with the strictest business principles of honor and integrity.

HUGH V. MCDERMOTT.

So comparatively few are the accidents which occur in railroad service that the public little realize how greatly indebted it is to the employes who have charge of the trains that daily carry their human freight from point to point. The great corporations which control the railroad lines of the country demand of their representatives the most painstaking care and thus in safety the travel of the country continues day by day. Mr. McDermott is among the well known representatives of the Pennsylvania line, occupying the position of conductor. His home is located at No. 750 St. Clair avenue, in Columbus, and in the city, as well as among the patrons of the road, he has many warm friends.

When twenty-four years of age the subject of this review began rail-

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roading, accepting a position as section workman on the Pennsylvania road May 14, 1881. In the summer of the same year he secured a position as brakeman and on the Ist of October, 1883, he was promoted to that of a conductor, in which capacity he has since faithfully performed his important duties, his run being on the Pittsburg division between Columbus and Den- nision, Ohio. He has always been at the post of duty and has never sustained any personal injuries during his long connection with railroad service. He is now recognized as one of the most popular and efficient conductors on his line, his obliging manner, genial disposition and unfailing courtesy winning him the esteem and good will of all with whom he comes in contact.

On the 15th of October, 1889, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. McDermott and Miss Olive Moody, of Dennison, Ohio, and unto them have been born four children : Helen, born September 12, 1890; Hazel, born August 3, 1892; Catherine, born August 2, 1897; and Hugh, born August 15, 1900. In 1885 Mr. McDermott became a member of Division No. 100, of the Order of Railway Conductors, at Columbus, and in 1895 he was transferred to Division No. 278, at Dennison, Ohio. He is a prominent member of the Orders of Foresters and Hibernians. He and his family are communicants of St. Peter's Catholic church in the capital city. He has resided in Columbus since 1889 and has here a wide acquaintance among men whose respect he commands by reason of his sterling worth.

FREDERICK WILLIAM STELLHORN, D. D.

In the sphere of his special vocation, one of the most eminent of the citizens of Columbus is Frederick William Stellhorn, D. D., who has been connected with the Capital University as a professor of theology since 1881. His duty and his choice have limited his work and influence mainly to the church and theological learning, so that he is not so well known to the gen- eral public even in his own city; but his ability is recognized in the Lutheran church throughout our land and other lands, and his labors have contributed much toward shaping the course of events in the congregations and synods of our country. His extensive learning, his profound thinking and his lucid speech have given him eminence which those who appreciate his sincere devotion and persistent work could not fail to accord.

Frederick William Stellhorn was born in a little village of Hanover, Ger- many, on the 2d of October, 1841. His parents were poor and could do but little to give him an eminent position in the world, if they ever had any such thought: it is likely that they never had. They were devoted and therefore humble members of the Evangelical Lutheran church and were instructed in the ways of righteousness through faith in the Saviour of the world, in this faith they trained their boy. Having been baptized into Christ in infancy, he was sent to the village parochial school, where he learned besides reading, writing and arithmetic, the gospel truth unto salvation set forth in the Lutheran catechism, the Bible history and the beautiful hymns

FREDERICK W. STELLHORN.

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of the church. This truth of God was the guide of his life and the joy of his heart in all his subsequent career.

When he was not quite thirteen years old his parents in 1854 emigrated to this country with their family and located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There his father died, of cholera, but a week after their arrival. The bereavement was great, but an older brother was enabled to supply the wants of the family, so that the orphaned boy could still have the advantages of a good educa- tion. He entered the parochial school connected with the Lutheran con- gregation then in charge of Dr. Sihler, and in the following spring, having attended a course of instruction by the pastor, was received as a communicant member by the rite of confirmation in the fifteenth year of his age. Not- withstanding the limited circumstances of the family, it was desired that he should have further educational advantages, and means were found to realize: the desire. The practical seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Missouri Synod for the Education of Ministers was then located at Fort Wayne, and he entered that institution as a student in the autumn of 1857. Two years afterward he was sent to the Concordia College at St. Louis, where he grad- uated in 1862. He then entered the theological seminary of the same synod in the same city and completed the prescribed course of three years and. was graduated as a candidate for the Lutheran ministry in 1865.

His first call was to become assistant pastor in the large congregation of Rev. J. F. Buenger, in St. Louis. He accepted this call, although he was. in doubt whether he could long endure the hot climate. His fears provedi well founded, for in little more than a year he was incapacitated for the work by a sunstroke, from which he recovered slowly and which, notwithstanding his efforts to go on ivith his labors, compelled him to resign, much against the wishes of the congregation. He then, in 1867, accepted a call to a small congregation in Indiana, where the work was comparatively light and where he had ample opportunity to recuperate and to continue his studies. But it was only a few years that he was permitted to enjoy this retreat. In 1869 he was called to a professorship in the Northwestern University, at Water- town, Wisconsin, where he spent five years in teaching ancient languages. As this was in accordance with his inclinations, he, in 1874, accepted a call to a similar position in Concordia College, his alma mater, where he expected to have a larger field of usefulness, though his present field of labor was quite congenial.

After six years of work at Fort Wayne troubles came. They were not in his department of work, and were not of a nature to affect his position; but as a member of the church he was interested in the controversies which arose, and as a constant student of theological subjects he was doubly inter- ested in them. The Missouri Synod, of which he was a member and under whose control the college was, in which he was a professor, promulgated a doctrine of predestination, which is essentially Calvinistic and which he, as an earnest Lutheran, could not accept. He was therefore at war with his own synod, and was glad to accept a call which was extended to him to a

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higher position, by the synod of Ohio, which was not in harmony with the synod of Missouri. He accepted the call to a professorship of theology in Capital University, and since the spring of 1881 has been performing the duties of his office in quietness and in strength at Capital University, in the city of Columbus, a part of that time also serving as the president of the col- lege after the resignation of Dr. Schuette.

It is only since Professor Stellhorn has come to Columbus that he has fully developed his strength. Here he has had a field of labor that has fur- nished the proper opportunities for his varied powers. In connection with his college and seminary work, into which he entered with a zeal that is born of faith and love, he became the editor of the German weekly journal pub- lished by the synod, and later of the theological bi-monthly, as well as a contributor to other periodicals and being active in other synodical labors. He has also published books of value to the church, prominent among which are a dictionary of New Testament Greek, a practical commentary on the four gospels for popular use in English, a commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, and an exposition of the pastoral epistles in German. His favorite studies and labors are in the line of exegesis, for which he has eminent quali- cations, both natural and acquired, his judgment being accurate and profound and his knowledge of the original languages of the Scripture being extensive and critical. He is engaged at present on a commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, which is appearing in parts in the Theological Magazine, and will no doubt soon be published in book form.

Dr. Stellhorn was married in 1866 to Miss Christiana Buenger, who was a faithful helper to him in all of his labors and trials, and with whom he lived happily until her death, in 1899. In this union eight children were born to him, four sons and four daughters. Three of these sons are pastors of Evangelical Lutheran congregations, respectively at Marion, Sandusky and Botkins, Ohio, and the oldest daughter is the wife of Rev. L. Hess, the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran church at Crestline, Ohio. One daugh- ter died at the age of four years. One son and two daughters still remain with their father at the old home across the way from the campus and build- ings of Capital University, and there he still continues to perform the ardu- ous and effective work which duty and love have laid upon him, and which the synod hopes will in the goodness of God be continued yet for many years.

JOSEPH M. BRIGGS.

One of the oldest residents and most prominent citizens of Franklin township. Franklin county, Ohio, is Joseph M. Briggs, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Briggs was born upon the land where his home is now Iccated, in the village of Briggsdale, November 25, 1833. The grandmother of our subject, Mary Briggs, widow of Edward Briggs, a soldier in the war of 1812, emigrated from New Jersey to Franklin county in 1816, and settled on the west side of the Scioto river, four miles south of the present city of Colum-

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bus. She had a family of seven children,-John, Henry, Nicholas, Mary, Catherine, Lydia and George. The latter went to New York, and there became a prominent man in political and business life. He was three times elected to congress and was a strong Whig for many years, but later adopted the principles of the American party. The father of our subject was Nicholas Briggs, who was born on the 26th of February, 1807, and with his brothers, John and Henry, he bought a large tract of land in the vicinity of what is now Briggsdale. They improved the land, but had to contend with a great deal of sickness of a malarial nature, incident to the settling up of any new coun- try, and from this disease Nicholas Briggs died in 1843. He was a Whig, although he voted for Jackson in 1828, and in 1840 cast his ballot for Harri- son. The name of the mother of our subject was Martha Johnson Cham- bers, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Franklin county about 1825, mak- ing the journey on horseback. She was married in 1832, and lived a widow for twenty-one years, attending capably to the business of the estate, not only retaining it intact, but adding to it. Her death occurred in 1864, when she had reached her fifty-third year. She was of Holland and Irish ancestry, while the Briggs family trace back a long English line and possess a coat of arms. The family of our subject's parents consisted of six children: Eliza- beth, deceased wife of H. C. Darnell; William, a resident of Columbus; Sarah, now the deceased wife of William H. Davis, a resident of Dublin, Ohio; Katherine R., the deceased wife of William Armistead; and John Edward, deceased.

Joseph M. Briggs, the eldest of the family, was reared on the home farm, his time being divided between its duties and his attendance upon the district school. He also attended the grammar school in Columbus, completing his schooling at the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio. He early displayed a taste for public life, resulting in his election as township assessor at the age of twenty-one years, this being followed by six years' service as treasurer. In 1857 he visited Kansas for the purpose of investing in land, the trip resulting in a purchase of eleven hundred acres, from which he sold a few lots at a large advance in price. In 1864 he became interested in the purchase of cotton, making a trip to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he met with excellent success. Mr. Briggs is a large land and property owner in Briggsdale. He also possesses much property in the city of Columbus, which is of high value, including twenty-seven residences. The rental from all of this property aggregates a large amount annually. In 1861 Mr. Briggs was elected first lieutenant of a militia company of one hundred and seven men,-Company B, Fourth Ohio Volunteer Militia,-going out to defend the state against Morgan's raiders. He was afterward commissioned captain of this company by Governor Brough.

The public services of Mr. Briggs are well known in the county. In 1880 he was elected county commissioner, his re-election following in 1883. His term of service covered more than six years, in which many of the most necessary and substantial county improvements were brought to a satis-

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factory end. It was during his administration that the Broad street and State street bridges were built, also the bridge at Dublin and many others through the county, making such permanent improvement that his services earned the thanks of the community. While Mr. Briggs had influence on the board the land was bought for the county poor farm and the buildings erected, as was also the new court house. Mr. Briggs has taken a great interest in the town that bears his name, contributing largely to its interests, and has been one of the active promoters of the street railway that runs through it. Since 1887 he has been the postmaster of Briggsdale, with the exception of a period of nine months, being reappointed to the office, although he has always been a Democrat.

Mr. Briggs was married, October 16, 1867, to Miss Louisana Rans- burgh, a native of New Madrid, Missouri, whose father, John Ransburgh, many years ago was a citizen of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs have reared seven children,-William Irving, John R., Joseph M., Lillie (who is the wife of L. W. Morehead ), Claud N., Martha and Josephine. During the period of thirty-five years Mr. Briggs has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also belongs to the Woodmen and for three years has been the president of the Franklin County Pioneer Association. He is a consistent and esteemed member of the Methodist church, in which he is a trustee. He and his associate trustees are now building a six-thousand-dollar church in Briggsdale. No one in the county is more highly regarded than the subject of this review, his public services having been acceptable and his private life has been without reproach. In all matters pertaining to the commercial growth of his section he has been earnest and progressive, and much of its development may be directly traced to his influence.

ANDREW G. PUGH.

Andrew G. Pugh, a contractor for street-paving of all kinds, sewers, masonry, etc., was born in this ( Franklin) county June 5, 1857, the third son of Richard and Elizabeth (Jones) Pugh, who were born and married in WVales. Leaving their native country in 1854, the latter sailed for the United States. Arriving in New York. they at once proceeded westward, locating here in Franklin county, Ohio, where the father engaged in farming pursuits. Both his father and mother are still living.

After his education in the Columbus public schools our subject was engaged for about a year in the employ of Brown Brothers, civil engineers. In December, 1873, he entered the city engineer's office, under John Graliam, civil engineer, and was employed in this office until April, 1878, when he entered the service of Kanmacher & Denig, contractors for building the Indiana statehouse. under Thomas H. Johnson, the chief engineer for the contractors on masonry foundations for the Indiana statehouse at Indianapolis. Next he was under W. H. Jennings, the chief engineer of the Hocking Valley Railroad, for a short period, on the location of branch coal lines in Hocking,

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Perry and Athens counties, Ohio. Then he was the clerk for Chief Engineer M. J. Becker, of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company, until the spring of 1880, when he was detailed as assistant engineer master of work on Indianapolis division of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway until the spring of 1882, then appointed superintending engineer on the construction of the northeast main trunk sewer at Columbus, under John Graham, city engineer, which work was completed December 15, 1883; diameters of sewers from nine to six feet. Next Mr. Pugh was with Thomas H. Johnson again, the principal assistant engineer of the above mentioned railroad, on special surveys on the Chicago division. In the spring of 1884 he was appointed assistant city engineer, in special charge of sewer construction for two years, until the spring of 1886. He was the superintendent of block stone paving on High street from Naghten street to Livingston avenue for contracts made by Booth & Flinn, of Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania, in October, 1886, and built for that firm the first brick roadway in Columbus on Spring street from High street to Third street.

November 1, 1886, Mr. Pugh went to New York city, as superintendent for Booth & Flinn, on a large contract they had there for laying gas mains for the Standard Gas Company, and completed this work with a large force of men by December 31, that year. Next, under M. J. Becker, the chief engin- eer of the Pennsylvania lines, Mr. Pugh was the superintending engineer on the sewer system built at the Columbus shops in January, February and March, 1887, and superintendent of masonry on the Little Miami, Louisville, Richmond and Chicago divisions until the close of the year 1887. During the next March, 1888, he commenced work as a contractor, and is still engaged in business wherever contracts can be secured. He laid the first concrete foundation for brick streets in Columbus, in 1899, and for the street railway in this city on Neil street from Spring street to Naghten street in 1899.

October 25, 1882, Mr. Pugh was married to Miss Mary Helen Black, a daughter of John and Edna (Mann) Black, of Richmond, Indiana, and they have had two children,-Edna Helen and Grace Black. Mrs. Pugh died July 12, 1894, and Mr. Pugh was again married, this time, September I, 1896, to Miss Jessie Miles, a daughter of Yearsley and Minerva (Fitz- water) Miles. Mr. Pugh is a member of Goodale Lodge, No. 372, F. & A. M., and has attained the Knight Templar degrees, also the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite; and he is also a member of Aladdin Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

In his professional work he has his office rooms at Nos. 41 and 42 Dispatch Butler block, and his residence is at No. 875 Franklin avenue.

LORENZO D. ALLEGRE.

Lorenzo D. Allegre, deceased, was one who for many years exerted a strong influence for good in Franklin county. As the morning of hope. the noontide of activity and the evening of completed effort ending in the grate-

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ful rest and quiet of the night, so was the life of this good man. He was born in Madison county, Kentucky, March 25, 1805. His father, James Allegre, born in Kentucky, was a prominent farmer of Albany, Delaware county, Indiana, through a number of years, removing to that place from Highland county, Ohio, and here he spent his remaining days. His children were: Matilda, who became the wife of John Mann and died in Indiana; Lorenzo; Lucinda, deceased; Erasmus, married, and Asbury, married, both of whom died in Indiana; Rhoda, deceased wife of Evan Evans; Mary, deceased wife of William Denton; and Minerva, deceased, the wife of Simeon Long; Calista, the deceased wife of Wade Posey, a Methodist minister ; and James and Emily, deceased.

Lorenzo Dow Allegre spent the first eleven years of his life in the state of his nativity and then accompanied his parents on their removal to High- land county and soon afterward to Fayette county, Ohio, so that he became a resident of the state in 1816. On leaving that county he took up his abode on his farm in Franklin county in 1850, upon which he spent his remaining days. Throughout his business career he carried on agricultural pursuits and was the owner of a good tract of land which yielded to him an excellent liv- ing in return for the care and labor he bestowed upon it. As a companion and helpmeet on the journey of life he chose Angeline Taylor, their wedding being celebrated on the 21st of June, 1827. For more than sixty-two years they lived happily together, their mutual love and confidence increasing as the years went by. Mrs. Allegre was a daughter of Aquilla Taylor, who was born August 8, 1764, in Frederick county, Maryland, and with his wife, Rachel E. Taylor, came to Ohio, locating in Clermont county in 1817, where they made a permanent home. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Allegre were born eight children : Emily, who died at the age of fifteen; Francis Marion, of Ander- son county, Kansas, is married; Angeline, the wife of William Kern, is deceased; Wesley, married, who died in Indiana; Mary, the wife of Joseph W. Tipton; William, who was a member of the Sixtieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died in 1881 ; Emily, the wife of Isaac Tipton, of Columbus; and Rachel Elizabeth, the wife of James Butler Taylor.

Mr. Allegre was to his family a devoted and affectionate husband and father. He endeavored to instill into the minds of his children lessons of industry, uprightness and probity. He counseled them to love one another and especially to care for their mother. He was always doing service for others, always appreciated what was done for himself and he expressed much gratitude to his friends and neighbors for attention during his last illness. In early manhood he was specially impressed with the immortal declaration "all men are created free and equal," and he regarded African slavery as barbarous, advocated its overthrow, always felt that the down-trodden colored man and the poor and needy of every race had a claim upon him and in dis- pensing his charities he learned that "it was more blessed to give than to receive." By acts of kindness and benevolence he laid the foundation of the respect which in his old age was constantly shown him throughout the com-

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munity in which he lived. A home of poverty was always sure to attract his attention and received from him a measure of relief proportionate to his means and to the necessities of those whom he aided. For many years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was a devout Christian gentle- man. He died in the faith of that denomination, at his home in Prairie township, October 14, 1889.

"His life was noble, and the elements So mixed in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world-This was a man." .

Mrs. Allegre died at the old home in Prairie township November 26, 1893. She was born in Frederick county, Maryland, and at the age of four- teen years came with her parents to Ohio, where she experienced many of the hardships and privations of pioneer life. She was a lady of quiet disposition, with no trace of revenge or enmity in her nature. She possessed a wonder- ful memory and could relate many incidents of the early days in Franklin county. During her childhood she joined the Methodist Episcopal church and was ever afterward one of its faithful members. She loved to read her Testament and all good books. Her influence was marked, although quietly exerted.

Mrs. Taylor, the youngest member of her family, was born in Fayette county March 6, 1846, and was four years of age when brought by her par- ents to Franklin county. She attended the district schools, her first teacher being William Beech. At home she was trained by her mother in the duties of the household and on the 5th of January, 1868, she gave her hand in mar- riage to James B. Taylor, by whom she had two children: Daisy Dell, who died in infancy ; and Lorenzo Erwin, who was born on the home farm Sep- tember 23, 1871. There he was reared and attended the district schools until eighteen years of age. His grandfather died about that time and the labors of the old homestead devolved upon him. He has since carried on general farming and is a worthy representative of his honored ancestry. He was married, October 24, 1894, to Miss Chloe Doherty, a daughter of James: M. Doherty, now deceased. They have two children: Daisy Gertrude, born July 11, 1897; and Norman, born November 5, 1900. In his political views Lorenzo E. Taylor is a stanch Republican.

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A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Part 69

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