A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 1, Part 14

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : A.W. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1310

USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 1 > Part 14
USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 1 > Part 14

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valley. Here his bravery and his kindly man- lier won for him the admiration of and made him very popular among his fellow-soldiers of the entire regiment. While he was in the army he was somewhat slight in build and light in weight, and he was not much given to physi- cal exercise, while at the present time he is unusually active and weighs fally 200 pounds.

In 1867 Capt. Bushnell purchased an in- terest in the large manufacturing firm of what is now known as the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Co., of which the late Benjamin F. Warder was then the head, and of which the junior member was J. J. Glessher, now a prominent capitalist of Chicago. And it is in connection with this concern, which Mr. Bush- nell has so long and so successfully managed, that he has made the fortune which he to-day possesses.

Hon. Asa S. Bushnell has long been closely identified with the republican party in Ohio. though his attempt to become governor of the state was the first he ever made to secure pub- lic office. He became chairman of the repub- lican state executive committee in 1885, and from 1886 to ISgo, be served the state as quartermaster-general, having been appointed by Gov. Foraker, who was largely instru- mental in securing for him the nomination for governor in 1895, at Zanesville. In the fall of ISSS he was assaulted in the streets of Spring- field by political enemies, and through that as- sault came near losing his life. This assault still remains a mystery, and no one has been brought to punishment. He was chosen as a delegate at large to the republican national convention which met at Minneapolis in 1892, and which nominated President Harrison for re-election, and on November 2, 1895, he was elected governor of Ohio by a plurality of 92,622, over Hon. James E. Campbell, the democratic candidate, this plurality being the largest ever given to a governor with the ex- :

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GOVERNORS OF OHIO.

ception of that given Gov. John Brough, dur- ing the progress of the Civil war, when the 'soldiers at the front voted almost unanimously for. Brough as against Vallandighamn. He was inaugurated governor on January 13, 1896.

In the affairs of the Grand Army of the Republic, Gov. Bushnell has long been a prom- inent participant, being a member of Mitchell post, of Springfield, Ohio. He is also an ar- dent Free Mason. Among other of Gov. Bushnell's benefactions may be mentioned the Ohio Masonic Home, which was in all proba- bility preserved to Springfield by his unsolicited contribution of $10,000, at a time, too, when he was not a Mason.

Dr. John Ludlow, with whom Mr. Bushnell, as a young inan. found employment, had at that time a pretty daughter named Ellen, and these two young people were eventually mar- ried. Several children blessed the union, three of whom survive, as follows: Mrs. J. F. Mc- Grew: Mrs. H. C. Dimond, and John Ludlow Bushnell, the latter of whom graduated with honors from Princeton in 1894. Mrs. Bushnell is an ideal woman in every relation. While she is a society woman, yet she is not so in the ordinary sense of the phrase, her principal strength lying in her domestic qualities. Her two daughters are as happily married as is she herself. Mrs. McGrew is the wife of one of

Springfield's most promising young attorneys, and is the mother of two children, Ellen and Fanny; while Mrs. Dimond is the wife of a prominent young physician and also the mother of two children, Asa Bushnell and Douglas Marquand Dimond.

Brief reference can be made to the inau- gural address of Gov. Bushnell. Among other things he commended was the proposition of home rule or local option in matters pertaining to taxation-which means that counties should provide their own systems of taxation for their necessary expenses; that double taxation should be avoided, and that such taxation as is nec- essary should be distributed as to lighten the burden of government, and so as to retain and attract capital to the state. He also favored a purchasing board for state institutions, and the providing of some means by which the state could supply employment to such of its prison- ers as are now compelled to remain perpetually idle. He also favored the limitation by statute of local indebtedness to ten per cent of the tax duplicate, and in closing said: " Time only can tell how much or how little I shall merit your commendation, but it will be iny constant aim and purpose to serve you as faithfully and as wisely as there is light given me to show the path of right, and I shall ever remember that I am the servant of the people."

ALLEN COUNTY, OHIO.

ALLEN COUNTY

ON. CALVIN S. BRICE, one of Ohio's favorite and most distinguished. sons, was born in Denmark, Marion (now Morrow) county, of the Buckeye state, September 17, 1845, and is a son of Will- iam Kirkpatrick and Elizabeth (Stewart) Brice. The father was descended from an old Mary- land and Pennsylvania family, was a graduate of Hanover college and the Princeton Theo- logical seminary, and was a clergyman of much .note, while the mother, a lady of fine educa- tion and exemplary traits of character, was a native of Carrollton, Ohio.

Calvin S. Brice, now United States senator from the great commonwealth of Ohio, ob- tained his early education in the comnion schools of his district, and this was supple- mented by attendance at schools of a higher grade at Lima, and such was his native ability and industry that, at the early age of thirteen years, he was so far advanced that he was able to enter the preparatory department of Miami university, at Oxford, in his native state, where he studied one year. and then entered the fresh- man class. To those who knew the man, when Lang. red-haired boy, endeavoring to get an ducation at Miami university, his after life has always been a story of exceeding interest. What

wealth he may have has been earned through his own efforts, supplemented by a judgment and business capacity rarely equaled. He in- herited none of it. The only heritage that came to young Brice was a sound constitution, an active mind, a thorough brand of American pluck and grit, and an intelligent comprehen- sion of the way in which to put these to the best use. While at school his progress was marked, and he was looking forward to gradu- ation, when there came a call that his patriotic impulses and the ardor of a true hearted American boy would not permit him to ignore. When the call of the president came, young Brice, although but fifteen years of age, re- linquished his studies, enlisted as a member of Capt. Dodd's University company, and in April, 1861, took his first lesson in military dis- cipline at Camp Jackson, Columbus. In April, 1862. he was enrolled a member of company A, Eighty-sixth Chio volanteer infantry, of which Prof. R. W. McFarland was captain. and served with the reghnent during the sem- mer of that year in West Virginia. Returning to the university, he resumed his studies. com- pleted the regular course, and graduated in June, 1863.

Mr. Brice then took charge of one of the

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

public schools of Lima, and while so engaged acted for some time as deputy county auditor. He had already formed the purpose of devoting himself to the profession of law, and made use of such spare time as he could command in study until the spring of 1864, when the old impulse to make his power effective for the good of the Union cause led him to again re- turn to the field. He recruited company E, One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio volunteer infantry, and as captain served in the First division of the Twenty-third corps in Tennes- see, Georgia, and the Carolinas, until July. 1865. While still in the field he was pro- moted to lieutenant-colonel for meritorious services, but owing to the return of peace he was never mustered in under this commission.

With the return of peace, Mr. Brice again devoted himself to what he felt was the real work of his life. He applied himself, with re- newed activity and interest, to the study of law, subsequently entering the law department of the university of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and was admitted to practice by the state and the United States district and circuit courts at Cincinnati, in the spring of 1866. Asso- ciating himself with Mr. Irvine, he formed the law firm of Irvine & Brice, and began the practice of his chosen profession in Lima, where he remained more than ten years. As a member of this law firm Mr. Brice became connected with the legal department of the old Lake Erie & Lonisville railroad. This was the beginning of the career of Mr. Brice as a railroad magnate. As one of the counsel for this road, he obtained an insight into the actual work of railroading and saw spread before him the opportunities which he subsequently grasped. He became interested in the road financially, modestly it is true, but his hokl- ings gradually increased. His mind, capable of looking into the future, foreseeing what should be done and doing it at the right time,

saw where the money was being lost in the railroad business and where it should be made. Quick of conception and equally quick in exe- cution, Mr. Brice recognized that the exten- sion of systems and the opening up of new territory would enhance the property.

This idea developed and resulted in the construction of the "Nickel Plate " railroad, a name given to the road in jest by Mr. Brice, and which he and liis associates constructed parallel to the Lake Shore road. The Lake Shore had refused to make a satisfactory ar- rangement for taking care of the traffic turned over to it by the Lake Erie & Western, and its refusal led to the building of this new line from Chicago to Buffalo, which it was com- pelled to buy to get rid of the dangerous op- position that it gave promise of being. This operation opened the eyes of the eastern rail- road world to this rising genius of the west. His subsequent career as the moving spirit of large railroad interests and corporate invest- ments is thoroughly familiar to the public.

In politics, Mr. Brice has likewise been singularly fortunate. He stands to-day the leading politician in a great state, and ore of the men of national prominence as a demo- crat, with courage to do what he believes to be right, and what the best interests of the whole people demand. He first came before the people in politics when he was named for the Tilden electoral ticket in 18;6. He was also on the Cleveland electoral ticket in 1884. and was a delegate to the Saint Louis convention in ISSS, where he was elected to represent Ohio on the national democratic committee, and he was made chairman of the campaign committee the ensuing national campaign. At the death of M. William H. Barnum, t 1889, Mr. Brick was made chairman of the national committee. making a vigorous, but unsuccessful fight for the re-election of Mr. Cleveland. N. man ever spent more of his tine for the advance-

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OF ALLEN COUNTY.

ment of his party than did Mr. Brice in that campaign, and it is notorious that no man ever spent more of his private means for the ad- vancement of the cause of the ticket which he was championing.

In January, 1890, Mr. Brice was elected by the legislature as a United States senator to succeed Hon. Henry B. Payne. In the senate Mr. Brice has not been compelled to serve the probationary period that usuall falls : to the lot of young members. He forged at once to the front and became an active and important figure in the councils of his party On the troublesome questions growing out of the railroad systemi and transportation prob- lems, his advice has been eagerly sought by statesmen of both parties. He devoted much time to the tariff question, and it was largely through his work that the party was able. so far as the senate was concerned, to agree upon a bill that consolidated the party vote in that body, and made it possible for the bill to be- come a law and tariff reform to be an assured faet. Mr. Brice will never be counted an orator. He is not gifted with rhetorical speech, but his short pithy five-minute speeches have condensed within them the essence of the subject upon which he speaks and drives a : point home to his hearers in a way that im- presses itself apon the understanding. He has been a hard-working meniber and has reflected credit upon the state, which has honored him with a seat in the senate of the United States.

The vast railroad interests with which Mr. Brice has been and is connected, have not pre- vented his Active labor in other fields of invest- ment or development. He organized and be- came president of the gaslight company at Lima; assumed a controlling interest in the First National Bank of Lima apon its incor- poration, and has been the promoter of, or a large stockholder in, many of the manufac- turing interests in that thriving place. He is

also identified with the Chase National Bank of New York, and a leading spirit and director of the Southern Trust company. Contrary to an opinion expressed, Mr. Brice does not spect- late in stocks. Purely speculative profits appear to have little charm for Mr. Brice, he rather preferring the fruits of a bold enterprise in his particular field wherein his many friends can share; and such is his prestige that the sub- scribers to such as are brought out by him are only limited by the amount of the subscription. As a trustee of the Miami university in Ohio, vice-president of the Ohio society in New York, vice-president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity of New York. a member of the Manhattan, the Lotos, the Athletic, and other leading clubs, and in like position of public or social character. Mr. Brice has proven himself a useful and campanionable man.

Calvin S. Brice was most happily united in marriage September 9. 1869, at Lima, Ohio. with Miss C. Olivia Meily, and this unict i, blessed by the birth of three sons and taw daughters. Although engrossed in business and social affairs he never carries them into the quiet atmosphere of home. As soon as he turns from his office in the afternoon, by a wonderful power of self-control. he shakes off all business care, and goes happily to a honte that is palatial in its appointments and restful in its Insury. There, environed by the tender- ness of family ties, and delighted by the grace of culture and the beauty of art. Mr. Brice welcomes his friends to royal hospitality and most enjoyable entertainment.

EV. WM. KIRKPATRICK BRICE. deceased, was born in Adains coat, Pan. near Gettysburg. November 12. 1812. Alexander and Margaret Kaart; No. his parents, moved to Spraghogy W. ..

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

county, Ohio, in 1815. In 1830 he became a member of the Washington church, and hav- : ing the ministry in view, soon began his studies at Walnut Hills at the opening of Lane semi- nary, which was then a classical as well as a theological school. In 1836 he graduated at Hanover college and at once went to the Princeton seminary, where he finished his course in 1841. He was licensed to preach, by the : Second presbytery of New York, March 17, 1841, and began his ministry in the churches of Washington and Muddy Run, in Miami presbytery, serving them six months and then took charge of Canaan church in Marion pres- bytery, and in 1843 he was ordained and in- : stalled as pastor of Canaan church, also preach- ing as stated supply of Mount Gilead one- third of his time. In the beginning of the year 1849 he took charge of the Truro, Kalida and Ottawa churches in Putnam county. Ohio. and was installed as pastor of Truro in 1850. His labors at Truro were blessed, the church : becoming self-supporting and growing to be one of the largest in the synod. Here he re- mained about twenty years, up to the time of ! his death. In 1869 he had an attack of pueu- monia which left him with impaired lungs, from the effect of which he died July 19. 1870. In 1845 he married Elizabeth Stewart, of Carl- , partnership continues to the present tune.

ton, Ohio, who died April 16. 1852, leaving three children-Calvin S., William and James, the 1 last named died in infancy. William died in the spring of 1890. In 1854 Rev. Brice married Clementine Cunningham, of Lima, Ohio, who is still living. by whom he had four children --- John K., Anna E. Mrs. O. B. Selfridge, Jr. ;. Herbert L. and Mary, wife of Edward Ritchie. of Cincinnati, Ohio. By the first marriage of the Rev. William Kirkpatrick Brice, it will be perceived that he became the father of Ohio's eminent statesman and business prodigy, Cal- vin S. Brice, whose biography and portrait precede this sketch.

ERBERT L. BRICE .- Among the most active and prominent young at- torneys of Lima, Ohio, is Herbert L. Brice, a son of Rey William K and Clementine Brice. Mrs. Brics is a daughter of William Cunningham, a leading citizen of the same place. Herbert L. Brice, the subject of this sketch, was born near Columbus Grove. Ohio. April 9, 1365, and at the death of his father, which occurred when young Herbert was about five years of age; his mother set- tled in Lima, her present home. Here Mr. Brice obtained his early education in the pab- lic schools, remaining in these schools until he was fifteen years old. and in 1880 eurered Ox- ford academy, where he prepared for Wooster university. Entering Princeton college in 188 ;. he pursued his studies there three years, ami was graduated from that institution int ESSo. Having already chosen his profession he at once entered Columbia Law school in New York city, and was admitted to the bar at Columbus, Ohio, in 1888. So careful ini thorough had he always been in his school do ! college comses that he found himself prepared to immediately engage in the practice of his profession, and at once formed a partnership with S. S. Wheeler at Lima, Ohio, which

Politically Mr. Brice is a republican at !! has always taken great interest in the success of his party. He is also to some extent Ch graged in business, being at the present writh. president of the Lima Natural Gas company and he is also a member of the B P. O. E ... No. 9. of Lima, Ohio. Few men in this past of Ohio have a brighter prospect before the

than has Mr. Bate, who is thoroughly will qualified for any practice that may infl sons share. His social stan Fag. it is mendes :. sas, is en-equal with that of the most po mu- heat citizens of the county, les ancestors. .. well as himself, having been quite eminent.

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OF ALLEN COUNTY.

ADISON W. ALEXANDER, farin- er of Marion township, Allen county. Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the late Civil war, was born in Lima, Ohio, November, 1838, and is of Scotch and Dutch descent. His paternal great-grandfather, com- ing from Scotland. settled in South Carolina, and of his children one of his sons fought in the patriot army during the Revolutionary war and one adhered the cause of his king.

Joli Alexander, the grandfather of our subject, was born in South Carolina, was there a slave-owner, but in an early dav left his native state and became a pioneer of Greene county, bringing his family with him. his chil- dren being John. George W .. Isabella, one whose name has lapsed from memory, and Bell. Mr. Alexander was a lawyer by profes- sion, was a member of congress, and a promi- nent resident of Xenia, Ohio, in his early days. and there died at a very advanced age. John Alexander, son of the gentleman above named and father of Madison W .. the subject proper of this memoir, was born in Xenia, Ohio, was a graduate of Yale college, Mass .. and a Methodist minister of considerable note. He married Eliza M. Hoover, daughter of Josiah and Caroline Adgate, Hoover-the Hoovers being of Holland origin. The Rev. John Alexander was a pioneer of Northwestern Ohio. early preached at Saint Mary's mission in Auglaize county, was a colleague of Rov. James R. Findlay, and after retiring from the ministry was one of the first clerks of Allen county. He died in middle lite. leaving three children -- Caroline, Madison W. and isabella.

Madison W. Alexander was engaged in farming until bis enlistment. April 19. 1860, !!: company A, Twentieth Ohio volunteer in- Hiitry, for three months, receiving an honor- the discharge at Lima. July 23. 1861. In September, 1861, he cam enlisted, entering company B, Eighty-first Ohio infantry. for

three years. He afterward, having filled out his term, veteranized, received a thirty-day furlough home, and served until honorably discharge at Camp Dennison July 25. 1965. Among the many battles in which he took part were Shiloh, Corinth, Inka, Atlanta, Resaca. Buzzard's Roost, Kenesaw Mountain, Jones- boro and others, and was then with Sherman on the great march to the sea, fought at Ben- tonville, went clear through to the culmina- tion, and took part in the grand review at Washington, D. C. His military record. it may be said to his honor, is as long as that of ' any volunteer fron: Allen county. September 24, 1885, Mr. Alexander married, at Elida, Ohio, Miss Mahala Snerrick, who was born November 27, 1853. a daughter of Samuel and Barbara (Stemen Sherrick, and to this happy union have been born five children, viz: John L .. Cloyd, Carl H., and Earl and Myrt (twins ;. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander are sincere members of the United Brothren church and in politics Mr. Alexander is a republican. Ho has been a man of industrious habits, owns seven acres of the homestead and eight acres in Hancock county, and has an untarnished : reputation, both as a soldier and citi :n.

B EV. JOSEPH D. ALLEN, one of the best known and also one of the lead- ing residents of German township, is the son of George W. and Patience Lakin. Allen. The father was born in Rock- ingham county, Va., m 1813 and died March 16, 1879: the mother was born in Ohis in May, 1819, and is yer living and a resid. at of German township.

Joseph D. Allen was born in Hocking county, Ohio, December e 1938. His boy- hood was spent in farming and his education obtained in the district schools of the old log school-house of the early hy. When a boy

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

of about seventeen years of age he came to Allen county with his parents, in 1856. when they located in German township. He re- mained at home until twenty-one years of age, assisting in clearing up the home farm. De- cember 31, 1859, he was married to Miss Catherine Shock, daughter of Peter and Mary (Boyd) Shock, both natives of Mercer county. Ohio. She was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, May 21, 1837. The newly married couple located in Amanda township, where they bought fifty-three acres of timberland. erected a log house and established their first home. Here they remained four years, when they sold the place and bought forty-seven acres in sec- tion No. 15, where they lived for twelve years, making many improvements-erecting build- ings, putting out an orchard. ect. This place they sold and purchased eighty acres in section No. 32 -- a partially cleared farm -- on which they now live and engaged in general farming and stockraising, and keeping a fine draft stal- lion. Mr. Miller is a stanch prohibitionist and a member of the radical branch of the United Brethren church, in which he has been a local preacher for the past thirty years. Rev. Allen and wife are the parents of six children living and seven deceased: James R., Amos F., Charles W., John L., all deceased; William L., Emma T., Elmer W. ; Hanson R.

pany B, One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio vol- unteer infantry. His company was stationed on the Maryland side of the fortifications at Washington, and he participated near the Fort Reno skirmish line one day and night. He was mustered out at Camp Chase, Colan- bus, Ohio, August 27, 1864.

George W. Allen, the father of Rev. J. D. Allen, whose biography appears above was born in Loudoun county, Va .. September S. 1813, and was the son of Joseph and Mary (King) Allen, who were of old Virginia stock. Mr. Allen was one of a large family of children. of which but six lived to manhood and woman- hood. When he was eight years old the iam- ily came to Fairfield county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood -living on a farm -- and where he married, on June 23, 1833. Miss Patience Lakin, who was a native of Fairfield county and born near Rashville, May 22. 1SU7. She was the daughter of Daniel and Theodosia Lakin, who came from Cumberland county. Pa. The father was a carpenter, shoemak .: and miller, and plied at times all of these oc- cupations. He died in Fairfield county. Mrs. Allen came of a family of seven children, rour of whom are now living. She was reared in Fairfield county and remained there two years after her marriage, and then, with her family came to Hocking county, Ohio, whence, after

and Elias K., (twins ;- the latter deceased; ; six years' resilence, they moved to Perry Isaac A. and Anna B., both also deceased; county, where they lived twelve years, then Emry F., and Patience N .. deceased. Mr. . returned to Fairfield county, and in the spre- and Mrs. Allen are among the most highly re- spected citizens of the county. As remarked. Mr. Allen is a thoroughgoing prohibitionist and cast the first vote for that party in German township, and has for years been a faithful worker in the cause of temperance. He has been a delegate to the two last state conven- tions and is always on hand and active at the county conventions. . He was a soldier in the late rebellion, enlisting in May, 1864, in com- of 1856 came to Allen county and bought : farm of 160 acres in German township, with they made their home and where Mrs. Alla now lives, at the age of seventy-eight pears. The husband died March 15, 1877. a devolt member of the United Brethren church, dopo respected and loved by a large circle of friends A family of fourteen children were born to them: Mary E. : James (., deceased did Jeffersonville. Ind. January Ut, Bang; he was

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A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 1, Part 14

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago : A.W. Bowen Number of Pages: 1310

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : A.W. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1310