A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Part 77

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

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HENRY HUY.

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Huy is well informed, and his political support is given to the Democracy. He deserves great credit for what he has accomplished in life. His posses- sions are the visible evidences of his labor, energy and perseverance. His life stands in exemplification of the opportunities that are afforded to young men of ambition and resolute will in the land of the free. His honesty and integrity in trade transactions have gained him the public confidence, and all who know him esteem him for his genuine worth.

DANIEL PEGG. 1

The members of the Pegg family living in Franklin county trace their ancestry back to Daniel Pegg, whose name introduces this review. He was the founder of the family in America, and from the records it appears that he settled in Philadelphia in the year 1676. Ten years later he purchased three hundred and fifty acres of land from Jurian Katzfedder in the northern limits of Philadelphia. William Penn transferred a portion of this same tract to Daniel Pegg in 1684. Soon after its purchase Mr. Pegg deeded one hundred acres of this land to Thomas Coates, his brother-in-law, and began improving the remaining two hundred and fifty acres of his farm. He built a dike in the marshy land so as to form low meadows, and also built a brick kiln. He erected upon his place a two-story brick mansion, which was for many years a prominent land mark and was generally spoken of as the "big- brick house of the north end." It was situated upon Front street, a little below Green street, although at the time it was erected it was surrounded by his well developed farm and no one had any idea the land would afterward constitute a part of one of the leading cities of the country. In 1709 William Penn proposed to rent the home for his residence. The cherry trees planted by Daniel Pegg were cut down and used for fuel by the British during their occupancy of the city during the Revolutionary war. A small creek wended its way across the farm and was known for many years as Pegg's Run. On its banks a body of Indians were fired upon by white men, which brought an order from William Penn to make an earnest inquiry to apprehend the guilty men, saying that the Indians must be appeased or evil would ensue. That occurred in 17II.

The value of Daniel Pegg's farm in those early days is disclosed by a letter written by Jonathan Dickenson in 1715, in which he wrote that he could buy Daniel Pegg's farm fronting the Delaware river for fifty shillings per acre. In 1729 Mr. Pegg advertised his farm for sale, describing it thus: "To be sold or let, by Daniel Pegg, at the great brick house at the north end of Philadelphia, thirty acres of upland meadow ground and marsh." Dur- ing the period of the Revolutionary war his brick house was known as the "Dutch House," both because of its peculiar form and also because it had long been noted as the place for holding Dutch dances called "Herpsesaw," a whirling dance in the waltz style. The first powder house ever erected in Philadelphia was built on the north bank of Pegg's marsh, a little west of 40

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what is now known as Front street. The family of Daniel Pegg consisted of Elizabeth, Jane. Nathan, Elias and Daniel, Jr. The father made his will on the IIth of February, 1702. He died soon after in the home of his eldest son, Daniel, to whom, according to the English custom, the larger part of his estate was willed. In his will Daniel Pegg makes mention of his slaves, which is an interesting fact, owing to his being a Quaker.

Daniel Pegg. Jr., who inherited the major part of his father's prop- erty, married. and died in January, 1732, leaving a widow and one child, Sarah. In his will he bequeathed the greater part of his property to his nephew, Daniel Pegg, a son of his brother. Mathias, and the great-grand- father of those of the sixth generation now living in Franklin county. Ohio. A brief history of Daniel Pegg, the second, shows the vicissitudes of human affairs. Possessed of the fee simple of a valuable property he left no rich heirs and in the settlement of his estate mnich litigation followed and the property became absorbed finally. Daniel Pegg. the third, it appears never realized from the estate, as in the records of the family the name does not occur after the second generation.

The family of Daniel Pegg, the third, was, so far as known, constituted of two sons. Elias and Benjamin. The latter never married and died in Nor- wich, Franklin county, Ohio, in 1830, at the ripe old age of eighty-four years. He was a brave and efficient soldier during the war of the Revolution. Elias Pegg. the other son of Daniel Pegg, the third, probably spent his boyhood days in and near Philadelphia. At the beginning of the Revolutionary war he was too young to enlist in the service, but his brother Benjamin being a little older was one of the first to raise his voice and hand against the oppres- sion of Great Britain. and was found fighting in the ranks at the battle of Lexington, and faithfully served until the end of hostilities. Elias Pegg later entered the service and valiantly aided his struggling country for five years. The two brothers were members of the same company in a Penn- sylvania regiment, fighting side by side. Both were afterward remembered and rewarded by their government with pensions. The Pegg family were originally of the good old standard Quaker stock, holding to the religion of their fathers for three generations, but Elias Pegg, of the fourth genera- tion, broke away from the religious moorings of the Quaker church and became a strong Methodist, much against the wishes of his father. He mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Nonsettler in 1786. Her people were of Dutch descent and always claimed to be of the blood of William, Prince of Orange. Mrs. Pegg was a woman of bright intellect and much force of character, steadiness of purpose. goodness of heart and excellent business capacity .- in fact was an ideal wife and mother. Elias Pegg and his wife first settled on a farm in West Virginia, then a part of Virginia, where six of their children were born. There about 1795 Elias Pegg's father, Daniel, came from Phila- delphia to live with his son and continued to reside with him until about 1800, when he was called to his home on high. In the year 1801 Elias Pegg and his family removed to Jefferson county, Ohio, locating on a farm of

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nine hundred acres. They left a number of relatives near Wheeling, West Virginia, among whom was Beal Pumphrey, a large planter who owned from forty to fifty slaves. Mrs. Pumphrey and Mrs. Pegg were sisters. There was also a brother of the Nonsettler family who died at the very advanced age of one hundred and fourteen years.

Near the close of the war of 1812 Mr. Pegg received a good offer for his farm in Jefferson county, and having heard much of the fertility of the soil in the Scioto valley he proposed to Henry Innis and Ephraim Fisher, two of his sons-in-law, that they remove to Franklin county and determine for themselves the truth of those reports. Accordingly they made the trip on horseback and after a week of travel arrived in Franklinton. Although these inen were Methodists, one an exhorter and very earnest in church work, while another was a class leader, they made a contract with each other that whoever finished his meal last at the hotel where they stopped should pay for the "stirup dram" for the entire party. They supposed in those early days that they could not ride horseback without first taking a drink of whisky. On Mr. Pegg's return to Jefferson county he sold his farm and with his family removed to Franklin county early in the year 1817. Here they met with a fair degree of success and enjoyed a happy home until the year 1832, when an epidemic of typhus fever broke out, prostrating more than half the people. During this siege of illness the good mother died and the loss was an irrep- arable one to the family, consisting of the father and ten children, namely : Catherine, Rachel, Elizabeth, Isabel, Mary, Ezekiel, Margaret, Barbara, Elias and Joseph. The eldest, Catherine, was born March 3, 1787, and Joseph, the youngest, was born May 25, 1809, being therefore fourteen years of age at the time of his mother's death. Eight of the children came to this county with their parents, Rachel and Elizabeth having died in Jefferson county. In 1825 Elias Pegg married Mrs. Holmes, a widow, who died in Clinton township, in 1830. After her death Mr. Pegg made his home with different members of the family until he, too, passed away, in 1838, at the age of eighty-four years.

WILLIAM H. H. LUKENS.

William H. H. Lukens was a soldier in the Civil war and gave his life in defense of the Union, although he did not die upon the field of battle. To such the nation owes a debt of gratitude which can never be repaid, for all honor is due to those who wore the blue to perpetuate the Union when its stability was threatened by the secession of the south.

A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lukens was born on the 7th of March, 1825. His father, Hiram Lukens, was born near Philadelphia and wedded Margaret Williamson. They became early settlers of Franklin county, tak- ing up their abode in this section of the state when it was considered a frontier region. They were Quaker people, living Godly, upright lives, and their many estimable qualities insured them the confidence and good will of all.

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Surrounded by the refining influences of a good home, William H. H. Lukens was thus reared to manhood, pursuing his education in the primitive schools of the times and aiding in the task of clearing and developing the home farmn. His youth was one largely of activity in the line of farm work, but he thereby developed a self-reliant and determined spirit which stood him in good stead in his own business career.

On the 28th of February. 1850. Mr. Lukens chose as a companion and helpmate on life's journey Miss Catherine Crouse, who was born in Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, January 1, 1826. Her father, John Crouse, was of German lineage and died in the city of Brotherly Love. He wedded Mary Rogers, who was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and during his business career engaged in butchering in Philadelphia, but died at a comparatively early age. His widow was twice married, and by her first husband, Henry Fowser, had one son, Henry, who died in early manhood. By her second marriage she became the mother of three children, namely: Mary, who hecame the wife of George Kline and died in Philadelphia; Mrs. Lukens; and Edward, who became first lieutenant of a company of Ohio soldiers and was promoted to a captaincy on the field of battle. In an engagement he was killed, thus laying down his life as a ransom for his country. Mrs. Lukens was' reared in the state of her birth, attended the public schools there and remained in Philadelphia until twenty-four years of age. At the father's death the family was left in straitened circumstances, and she early began work in order to earn her own livelihood. She became acquainted with Mr. Lukens while he was temporarily in the city. and in 1850 their marriage was solemnized. They became the parents of two children,-Henry, who is at home with his mother; and George, who wedded Mary Moore and is now living in Madison county, Ohio.

After his marriage Mr. Lukens took up his abode upon a farm of fifty- four acres in Pleasant township, Franklin county. The greater part of this was covered with a native growth of timber, but he cleared away the trees until the sunlight poured down upon the fields and mellowed the soil, making it rich for cultivation. In those early days he also engaged in hunt- ing to a great extent. Columbus was then the nearest market, and sup- plies were there obtained and products there sold. He was a very energetic business man, and his unfailing industry enabled him to make his farm a very productive and profitable one. At the time of the Civil war he put aside all personal considerations and enlisted for three years as a private of Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He went to the front, but in 1865 was sent home on account of disability, and on the 29th of December of the same year he passed away. He was a very kind and devoted husband and father and in all life's relations was faithful to his duty. As a citizen he was public spirited, and his loyalty was manifest by his response to the country's call for aid. After the death of the husband and father Mrs. Lukens managed the home property until her sons were old enough

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to relieve her of its care."She is still living on the old farm to which she went as a bride with her husband, and is numbered among the worthy pio- neer residents of the county.

LEWIS L. PEGG.

One of the most prominent families of Franklin county is that to which our subject belongs. His father, Joseph Pegg, is represented in another sketch in this work. Lewis was the eighth member of the family and was born in Clinton township on the 15th of August, 1843. When he had attained the usual age he entered the schools of the neighborhood and on mastering the branches that formed the curriculum there he further continued his mental training by two years' study at Otterbein College, at Wester- ville, Ohio. At the age of nineteen he laid aside his text-books there and entered upon the task of providing for his own support. He had previously engaged in teaching in the schools of Franklin county and from the age of twenty years he spent each winter season through the succeeding decade in the school-room, usually teaching for about four months in the year. Through the summer he engaged in farming. He won a very enviable reputation as an educator, his expressions being clear and concise, always impressing the student with a knowledge of what he wishes to impart.

In the year 1873 Mr. Pegg was united in marriage to Miss Virginia D. Shattuck, a daughter of Alexander and Flora ( Andrews) Shattuck, who were pioneers of Franklin county. After his marriage Mr. Pegg and his bride located on a tract of land in the eastern part of Clinton township, becoming owners of one hundred and ten acres, which he purchased of Walter Field, a pioneer settler of Franklin county. Mr. Pegg continued the develop- ment of that farm for three years and then removed to the farm upon which he now resides,-the old Shattuck homestead. It has since been his place of abode and the scene of well directed and prosperous labor. His energy, strong determination and perseverance have made him a successful farmer, his labors being crowned with a merited financial reward. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Pegg have been born two children: Florence, now the wife of Ralph B. Taylor, M. D., of Columbus, by whom she has one son, Lewis L .; and Flora Lillian.

Mr. Pegg has been called to fill a number of positions of public trust. He served as deputy sheriff from 1879 until 1885, and at the same time con- tinued the operation of his farm. He filled that office under Josiah Kinnear, Louis Heinmiller and William H. Barber. Mr. Pegg has been a member of the county board of school examiners, and, with the exception of a period of one year, held the office for twenty-seven consecutive years, being the present incumbent. He has frequently served as chairman of the board and the cause of education has found in him a warm friend. The office is appointive and is independent of the city schools of Columbus. He has been a member of the township board of education for more than fifteen years. He is a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to New England Lodge, No. 4,

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F. & A. M., of Worthington, Ohio, and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. In politics he has always taken a deep interest, yet has never been an aspirant for the honors and emoluments of public office. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat and is active in the local work of the party, believing it the duty of every American citizen to see that good men are in office. His wife is a member of the Baptist church, with which she has long been identified. Mr. Pegg contributes to its support and gives his earnest co-operation to all measures for the general good. In the line of busi- ness his attention is given undividedly to the operation of his fine farm of one hundred and thirty-two acres. He raises grain and stock and takes a just pride in his work, which is carried on systematically and energetically. He has been very successful and is a self-made man in the truest and best sense of the term. He is a gentleman of upright habits and keeps well informed on the issues of the day, both politically and otherwise. The cause of improvement and progress finds in him a friend and he is a worthy repre- sentative of an honored pioneer family whose name is inseparably associated with the development of Franklin county.

EDSON J. EMERICK, M. D.

As the name indicates, Dr. Emerick is of German lineage. His paternal grandfather, Abel Emerick, was descended from German ancestors, the family 1.aving been founded in America at an early day. He was a native of New York and married a Miss Snow. Among their children was James Emerick, the Doctor's father. He was born in the Empire state in the year 1820 and was by occupation a farmer. With his family he came to Ohio in 1846 and located upon a farm in Fulton county. In October, 1841, in Lysander, New York,-his native town,-he had wedded Miss Mary A. Humphrey, of Stephentown, New York, and they became the parents of seven children, six of whom reached years of maturity. Mr. and Mrs. Emerick were devoted Christian people and the father passed away on the 24th of February, 1893, when in his seventy-third year, while his wife died in 1883.

The Doctor, of this review, is numbered among Ohio's native sons, his birth having occurred upon the old homestead farm in Fulton county October 28, 1863. The usual experiences that fall to the lot of the farmer boy in youth were his. He early became familiar with the work of field and meadow and his preliminary education was acquired in the district schools, but later was supplemented by study in the village school of Fayette, while his literary course was completed in the Fayette Normal University, at Fayette, Ohio. His resolve to acquire an education indicated the elemental strength of his character, which has since been developed into the strong purpose that has enabled him to carry forward to successful completion his chosen life work. He read medicine with Dr. E. H. Rorich, of Fayette, and subsequently entered the State University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, in 1884, where he devoted two years to medicine, and in 1886 entered the Long Island Medical College,

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where he graduated in 1887. He then located in Fayette, entering upon his professional career. Until 1891 he practiced at that place and in the month of December of that year he came to Columbus, where he fitted up a pleasant and tasteful office at No. 1126 Neil avenue. Here his business has steadily increased both in volume and importance, and he has won his way to the fore- most rank among the medical practitioners of the city. From 1892 until 1898 Dr. Emerick was professor of dermatology in the Ohio Medical Uni- versity, and he then resigned for the purpose of devoting his entire attention to his large and constantly growing practice. He is now physician of Grant Hospital and is a member of the Columbus Academy and the American Med- ical Association.

On the 16th of September, 1891, Dr. Emerick was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Dill, of Franklin county, a daughter of Cubbage and Emily (Needles) Dill. Socially he is a representative of York Lodge, No. 563, F. & A. M .; of the Knights of Pythias fraternity and of the Red Men of Amer- ica. He early realized the truth of the adage that "there is no excellence without labor," and therefore he closely applied himself to the mastery of the principles of the medical science and to the understanding of the cases entrusted to him. He is extremely careful and therefore accurate in diagnosing disease and the results which have usually attended his practice have been most desir- able and gratifying, demonstrating his superior skill and ability.

ALBERT L. GANTZ.

The well cultivated farms and comfortable homes of Franklin county,: Ohio, excite favorable comment from every traveler, and among them that of Albert L. Gantz, located in Jackson township, may be cited as an example. Mr. Gantz is a farmer and dairyman and has resided upon this place since March 14, 1857. His parents, Adam and Catherine ( Pinnic) Gantz, were of Pennsylvania-German descent, and came from the Keystone state with teams, locating in Jackson township, where they passed their lives, the father dying at the age of seventy-two, and the mother passing away on her sixtieth birth- day. Both were most excellent and industrious people and did much to improve the land where their son now resides. They had reared a family of fourteen children, all of them growing to maturity except two, who died at the age of eleven and seventeen, respectively. Nine of this family are still living and are neighbors and residents of Franklin county.

Albert L. Gantz, the fourteenth and youngest child of his parents, grew up on the farm, early becoming accustomed to agricultural pursuits. He was educated in the country school and immediately after marriage settled on the old homestead and took charge of the farm. His marriage took place March 26, 1878, to Hannah M. Brown, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Ricketts) Brown, who were also old residents of Franklin county, where Mrs. Gantz was reared and educated. Eight children have been added to the family circle, four of them sons and four daughters: Bert B., E. Gail, John

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P., Catherine Belle, Adam R., M. Josephine, William B. and Helen Gay,- all of them born in Jackson township.

Mr. Gantz is an extensive and successful farmer, cultivating a farm of three hundred acres of his own and also one of three hundred and ninety- four acres belonging to Mrs. Gantz. In 1897 he entered into the dairying business and has been very successful in this also, now employing two wagons.

In religious belief both Mr. Gantz and his family affiliate with the Presbyterian church, of which they have long been members.

CHARLES J. KARCH.

Conspicuous in the ranks of successful business men of Columbus stands Charles J. Karch. Possessed of fine commercial ability, aided by the exercise of sound judgment and indomitable energy, Mr. Karch has not only won success for himself but has assisted materially in the growth and prosperity of the city. In the real-estate business the fact is especially apparent that "realty is the basis of all security." This basis is founded in the knowledge and probity of those through whom the transactions are conducted. In view of this fact there is probably no one in Columbus possessing more of these qualifications than Mr. Karch. He has been connected with many large sales which have been made, and his business interests have been closely interwoven with the history of the capital. This knowledge, together with long experience makes him an invaluable aid to investors.

A native of Germany, he was born near the Rhine, on the 5th of July, 1864, and is a son of Frederick J. and Caroline ( Wasson) Karch, both of whom were born and reared in the fatherland. In 1864 the parents with their children crossed the Atlantic to America on a westward-bound steamer that dropped anchor in the harbor of New York, and from that city they made their way direct to Columbus, where the father was employed by Mr. Gill, a stove manufacturer, in whose service he remained for twelve years. Through the succeeding eight years he was employed as a blacksmith and tool-maker, and now he is living retired.

In October. 1849. Frederick J. Karch was united in marriage to Miss Fredericka Deibert, of Germany, who was born in the same neighborhood as her husband, and was a daughter of Frederick and Catherine (Ruf) Deibert. She was born April 11. 1828, and by her marriage became the mother of the following children, namely: Catherine, now the wife of Charles Herbst, of Columbus : Frederick, a farmer ; Joseph, also an agriculturist ; Charles J .. who is engaged in the real-estate business'; Eliza, wife of Amos M. Decker, a painter : and Caroline, at home. The father gives his support to the Democracy, but is not an office seeker. The success which he has achieved in life is indeed creditable, as it has come to him as the direct result of his own efforts.

Charles J. Karch, whose name introduces this record, was not a year old when brought by his parents to Columbus, where he pursued his studies until

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A Centennial biographical history of the city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Part 77

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