Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 55

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149

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James Thompson Bartlow, father of him whose name initiates this sketch, was born on the old homestead mentioned on the 7th of March, 1847, being a son of Joseph Carter Bartlow and Eliza Jane (Kennard) Bartlow, whose marriage was solemnized on October 22, 1841, the former having likewise been born on June 3, 1818, on the old farm secured by his father from the government. The original American ancestors of the Bartlow family came from Holland to the new world prior to the war of the Revolution, and the first concerning whom authentic record is extant is Cor- nelius Bartlow, of New Jersey, from whom the subject is a representative of the fourth generation in line of direct descent. James Bartlow, son of Cornelius, was born in New Jersey, on the 10th of May, 1766, and his death occurred September 26, 1854. He married Isabella Wiley, a native of Vir- ginia, and they became the parents of thir- teen children, of whom Joseph was the youngest. After the close of the Revolu- tion James Bartlow and his youngest brother, Isaac, left New Jersey and removed to Martinsburg, Berkeley county, Virginia, now West Virginia, and there James mar- ried Miss Wiley. Later they became pio-

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neers of Bracken county, Kentucky, where they lived for a time in the block house at Augusta. After the extermination of the Indians, in whose suppression Mr. Bartlow took an active part, he settled on a farm near Augusta, where he continued to reside until 1814, in which year he removed to Indiana, as has been already noted. To Joseph C. and Eliza Jane (Kennard) Bart- low were born four sons and one daughter. and of the number three are dead, William A., who died in infancy in 1843; George K., who died at his home in Blackburn, Oklahoma, December 22, 1899, and Mary A., who died at Richmond, Indiana, June 3, 1901. Those living are, James T., father of the subject, and Albert F., a prominent retired farmer residing at Anderson, Madi- son county, Indiana. Joseph C. Bartlow died on the 17th of May, 1899, and his wife passed away on the 6th of February, 1904. at the home of her son James T., in Ham- ilton. She was born in Westchester, Butler county, Ohio, on the 2d of March, 1824, being a daughter of George G. and Jane (Thompson) Kennard, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Pennsylvania. They were numbered among the sterling pioneers of Butler county, having resided for many years at Westchester. Union town- ship, and later near St. Charles, in Morgan township, where both died many years ago.

In Franklin county, Indiana, on the 17th of September, 1868, was solemnized the marriage of James Thompson Bartlow and Almira Luse. After his marriage Mr. Bart- low was identified with agricultural pur- suits for several years, and for a short in- terval, in 1872 and 1873, he was engaged in mercantile business in Hamilton. He then returned to Indiana, in whose public

schools he was a successful teacher until 1876, in which year he came again to Butler county, Ohio, settling in Reily township, where he taught school about eighteen years. In October, 1896, he removed to the city of Hamilton, where he has a comfortable home, in the first ward. He has always been a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and while a resident of Reily township served as township clerk and assessor. For five years after his re- moval to Hamilton he was an attache of the department of public works, and of late he has been employed as weighmaster for the factory by the Champion Coated Paper Company of Hamilton. He is a member of Hamilton Tent, No. 317, Knights of the Maccabees, of which he has been record keeper for the past several years. To James T. and Almira (Luse) Bartlow have been born four children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest. Emma was married. February 19, 1890, to George W. Abbott. of Franklin county, Indiana, and his death occurred on the 19th of May, 1903. To Mr. and Mrs. Abbott were born four children, Orpha. Howard, Dale and Oakley, of whom Orpha, the only daughter, died November 4, 1904, in her fourteenth year. Mrs. Abbott has recently purchased a fine farm four miles east of Hamilton, and there she now main- tains her home. The two younger children of James T. and Almira Bartlow are Anna C. and Mae, both of whom remain at the parental home.

Almira (Luse) Bartlow, mother of the subject of this review, was born in Springfield township, Franklin county, In- diana, on the 12th of June, 1849, and is a daughter of Hiram and Rebecca (Rynear-

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son) Luse, whose marriage occurred on November 11, 1834. The maternal an- cestors were closely associated with colonial and Revolutionary history. The lineage is traced to Henri Luce, one of the first set- tlers of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. One of the first of the name to achieve dis- tinction was Judge David Luce, of Morris county, New Jersey, who was appointed by Governor Dinwiddie as judge of the colonial court, in 1742, and he served in this ca- pacity until 1768. History records that six of his sons were valiant soldiers of the con . tinental line during the war of the Revolu- tion, and three of the number became mem- bers of the Order of Cincinnatus, namely : Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Luce, Lieu- tenant Walter Luce and Sergeant Israel Luce. Matthias Luse, great-great-grand- father of the subject, was born on October 19. 1759, and died in 1828; he likewise served in the war of the Revolution, as did also two of his brothers and their honored father. He married Susannah Stark, of Flanders. New Jersey, she being a daughter of General John Stark, of the New Jersey forces in the Continental armies. After the close of the war General Stark served for a number of years as a member of the New Jersey state senate. About 1780 Matthias Luse removed to Washington county, Penn- sylvania, and settled in Amwell township. where he acquired large tracts of land. He was a minister of the Baptist church, being identified with the Redstone Baptist Associ- ation, and had the honor of administering the rite of baptism to Alexander Campbell. founder of the Disciples' or Christian church. His wife died in 1858. Robert Luse, great-grandfather of the subject, was born on October 19, 1780, and came to Ohio

early in the year 1800 and settled near Reily, Butler county. In 1808 he married Mary Jones, a daughter of Jonathan and Keziah Jones, honored pioneers of Reily township, and in 1813 he removed to Springfield township, Franklin county, In- diana, where he died in the year 1827. His son Hiram, born in Reily township, Butler county, Ohio, on the 26th of January, 1811. died at his home in Franklin county, Indi- ana. on the 4th of June, 1898. His wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Rynear- son, daughter of John and Anna (Carle) Rynearson, was born in Warren county, Ohio, October 30, 1813, and her death oc- curred November 8, 1891.

Bert S. Bartlow, to whom this resume is dedicated, passed his boyhood days in Indiana and Ohio, attending the public schools with regularity and assisting in the work of the neighborhood farmers during his vacations. He earned his first money by carrying water and sheaves in the harvest field. He early manifested a distinctive predilection for study and his ambition to make a success in life was early quickened. After completing the curriculum of the pub- lic schools he was matriculated, in Septem- ber. 1888, at the age of nineteen years, in the preparatory department of Miami Uni- versity, at Oxford, Ohio, and in the autumn of the following year he became a member of the freshman class. He was graduated with honors on the 14th of June, 1893, hav- ing given special attention to economic and collateral subjects. He received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and special honors in the department of political science. During his college career he was three times chosen by the Erodelphian Literary Society as orator on the occasion of the celebration

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BERT S. BARTLOW.

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of the anniversary of Washington's birth- day, and was also one of the orators of his class in the commencement exercises. He was active in literary society work and from 1891 to 1893 was editor and manager of the college paper, the Miami Student. He was one of the seven young men in Miami University who secured the charter for the local chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and he still retains an enthusi- astic interest in this organization. After his graduation Mr. Bartlow studied law for several months, in the office of Hon. Ed- ward E. Hull, of Hamilton. For several years he was a special newspaper corre- spondent, and for several months after its founding, in 1901, he was editor of the Butler County Press, while in 1902 he served as city editor of the Hamilton Even- ing Sun.

Mr. Bartlow manifests great interest in the success of the principles of the Demo- cratic party, and his career in the political field has been one of no little distinction for so young a man. He served from July, 1894, to August, 1898, as clerk of the board of deputy state supervisors of elections for Butler county. In August, 1897, he was nominated as representative of Butler county in the state legislature, se- curing a plurality of six hundred and thirty- four votes over eight competitors in the nominating convention, while in the follow- ing election, in November, he was elected by a majority of three thousand one hun- dred and fifty-one, the largest majority ac- corded. to any member of the general as- sembly of that year. He was chosen as his own successor in 1899, thus serving four consecutive years and being a member of the seventy-third and seventy-fourth general

assemblies. During his first term he was a member of the following named com- mittees : Asylums for the insane, insurance, and universities and colleges. He was an active worker on the floor and in committee and introduced and pushed through to en- actment a bill known as the board of con- trol bill, the same providing for the reor- ganization of the city government of Hamil- ton. This law remained in force from April. 1898, until May, 1903, and afforded admittedly the best system of government Hamilton has ever had during its history as a municipality. Within his first term Mr. Bartlow also secured the passage of the law authorizing the construction of the soldiers, sailors and pioneers' monument in Hamil- ton, on the site of old Fort Hamilton, and also a monument in Middletown, dedicated to a similar purpose. During his second term in the legislature the subject held posi- tion on the important committees of rail- roads and telegraphs, fees and salaries, and elections. Within this term he was instru- mental in securing the enactment of a law regulating the fiscal affairs of Butler county, and this law has effectually protected the county treasury from overdrafts and ill advised expenditures. His career as a legis- lator was marked by its sincerity and its usefulness, especially in the conservation of economy in public expenditures. He was and is the friend of labor, and in the legis- lature voted for all measures intended to ad- vance the cause of the honest working man. He wielded much influence and proved him- self worthy of the honor conferred. Mr. Bartlow is an uncompromising adherent of the Democratic party, coming of the old- time stock, and has proved a most able and successful campaign worker, having de-

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livered numerous political addresses and represented his party in county, district, state and national conventions. In July, 1903, he was appointed by the secre- tary of state a member of the board of deputy state supervisors of elections, for Butler county, in which he had previously served as clerk, and he still retains this in- cumbency, being chief deputy of the board.

As touching his fraternal relations we note that Mr. Bartlow is affiliated with Hamilton Lodge, No. 17, Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows; Hamilton Lodge, No. 572, Knights of Pythias; Hamilton Senate. No. 26, Knights of the Ancient Essenic Order, of which he was the first excellent senator, while in September, 1901, at the session of the supreme senate, in Cincinnati, he was honored in being chosen supreme senator of the order in the world, this be- ing the highest office in this well-known and influential society, and of which he con- tinued incumbent for a term of two years. He is also a member of Miami Council, No. 10, Fraternal Censer, with which he. be- came affiliated in 1897. On the 10th of June, 1903, he was elected supreme presi- dent of the order, in the meeting of the supreme council at Dayton, Ohio, in which city he was re-elected in July, 1904, for 1 further term of three years. He is also a member of Esther Court, No. 4. Tribe of Ben Hur, in his home city. Mr. Bartlow is specially active in connection with fraternal society work, and in his official capacity as supreme president of the Fraternal Censer he is achieving notable success. The Fra- ternal Censer is an insurance order organ- ized under the laws of Ohio, and is one of the vigorous young orders of the state. Its supreme office is located at Dayton, where

the subject now passes the major portion of his time, well-appointed offices being main- tained in the Reibold building in that city. The order has councils in all the larger cities of Ohio, and has carried its extension work into Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Missouri and Virginia. In addition to his executive duties in this con- nection Mr. Bartlow visits the various coun- cils and has charge of the field work and ex- tension enterprises of the order, while he is also editor in chief of an attractive journal, The Censer, published in the interests of the order and issued each month. He is a member of the First Pres- byterian church in Hamilton, and is liberal and tolerant in his religious views. Mr. Bartlow has not as yet joined the ranks of the Benedicts.

· CHARLES S. BOSCH.

The head of the municipal government in Hamilton is a type of German-Ameri- can citizenship. whose life and character are worthy of emulation and whose history is essentially a part of the history of Butler county.

Mayor Bosch has served more years at the head of Hamilton's city government than any two of his predecessors since the incorporation of the city. He is the six- teenth mayor and was first elected as an independent candidate in 1893. Though a pronounced Democrat. a leader of the party. and a wise counsellor in all its po- litical deliberations, the necessities of the case, in the spring of 1893. seemed to sug- gest the introduction of a candidate inde-

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pendent of party nominations. Mr. Bosch was so chosen, and elected. From 1893 un- til the present day he has stood at the head of the municipal affairs, sometimes elected as the nominee of his party and other times elected as the people's candidate. He has served the city under both the old and new charters, as well as under the recent radical changes of the statutes in relation to munic- ipal government. Mr. Bosch has been at the head of municipal affairs in Hamilton during the phenomenal growth and pros- perity of the city, covering the last eleven years, and has contributed his full share to this end. The city has passed through an era of great financial and business depres- sion, as well as a period of remarkable growth and progress. Under his official regime the present electric light system was established, and the municipal ownership of various beneficent enterprises fully consum- mated. The sewerage system has been rev- olutionized, and the improvement of streets and parks has been an item of public inter- est and the source of extensive distribution of large sums of public money among the worthy wage earners of the city. This oc- curred largely at a time when a serious financial depression was upon the whole county, and served to alleviate suffering and provide profitable employment to many who were dependent upon their hands for a live- lihood. The policy of Mayor Bosch has been safe and conservative, and though not free from criticism, his is but the fate of all public servants long continued in office. Each succeeding campaign brings out a candidate whose friends make a special can- vass along some well-defined lines of re- form, but when the votes are counted a ma- jority are recorded in favor of the man

whose official acts have aroused a harmless criticism, and Mayor Bosch is continued. Thus it has been through successive elections since 1893, and the popularity and efficiency of the incumbent have been emphasized as the years roll by.

Mr. Bosch possesses some characteris- tics peculiar to himself. He is seldom much disturbed by the efforts put forth to com- pass his defeat, but keeps on in the even tenor of his way. Much of the Mayor's strength lies in his humane instincts in his administration of police court affairs. In the prosecution of a criminal he considers, not only the evidence, but the hardships which a long confinement, or heavy fine, may impose upon innocent parties; he weighs the offense in the balance of justice and the public welfare, and duly considers the claims of innocent and helpless children upon the earnings of the prisoner. If in his judgment the public good will be best conserved by turning the prisoner free with a fatherly reprimand, this is done; other- wise he is sentenced, and the execution of the judgment held in abeyance, conditioned on future good citizenship. Many cases are on record where the fine has been remitted, when the prisoner demonstrated his worthi- ness, by subsequent good behavior. It is very doubtful if any man could have admin- istered the numerous duties of mayor of Hamilton for as long a period with less criticism than Mayor Bosch has received.

To keep abreast of the times in a grow- ing city, municipal debts for public improve- ments and purchases were necessarily con- tracted, and this has been the source of some complaint, though as a general thing the heaviest taxpayers are in sympathy with the administration. Obstructionists exist in

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Hamilton, as well as elsewhere, but none seem to realize that it is easier to criticise than to correct the evils of which they com- plain.

Charles S. Bosch is a native of Butler county. His birth occurred on the 11th of July, 1858, on a farm in Wayne township. At the age of twelve years he accompanied his parents to Hamilton, and spent the two succeeding years in the schools of this city. His first independent effort was in the ca- pacity of an apprentice to the printing trade, on the National Zeitung, but that business becoming uncongenial, he left the office before fully completing his appren- ticeship and learned the trade of a cigar- maker. He followed this business success- fully for a number of years, being in busi- ness on his own account for some time. He finally sold out to accept a lucra- tive position in the employ of the Cin- cinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Com- pany, and retired from that position to en- ter upon the duties of mayor of Hamilton.

Mr. Bosch is a son of Frederick and Lena (Breitling) Bosch, both of whom were natives of Wurtemberg. Germany. The fa- ther came to America in 1852, and after being variously employed at Ithaca, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Cin- cinnati, Ohio, he finally settled on the farm where the subject was born, and remained there until 1870, when he established a home in Hamilton. Here he died in January, 1888, leaving a wife and four children. His widow survived him until July 27, 1900. Both parents were devoted and active mem- bers of the German Evangelical church.

Charles S. is the youngest of his fam- ily; Fred Bosch, the eldest son, was the pro- prietor of a hotel at Eton, Ohio, for a num-

ber of years, but is now the proprietor of the Hotel Atlas in this city. He is a successful business man and is deservedly popular in his chosen calling. Jacob and Lena com- plete the family circle. The former is as- sociated with his sister's husband, Fred Humbach, in the laundry business, being the proprietors and operators of the Miami Steam Laundry. They are both careful and conservative business men, and turn out a fine class of work.

On the 31st of May, 1883, Mr. Bosch was united in marriage with Miss Mary K., daughter of Daniel Schwab, of Hamilton. She is a representative of a numerous and prominent family in this city and county and is a lady of high social attainments. This happy union has been cemented by the advent of a son and two daughters, Walter and Edna, who are now entering society and the sterner duties of life in the maturity of young manhood and young womanhood, and little Miss Lillian, the pride of the fam- ily.

Mayor Bosch has always taken an active interest in public affairs, and is an ardent advocate of popular education. He was a member of the board of education from the fourth ward for several years, and served two years as clerk of that body. He is pub- lic-spirited and enterprising as a citizen, and is always an able champion of the claims of any worthy enterprise calculated to enhance the interests of Hamilton. He is far-seeing and sagacious, a close observer of the work- ings of the municipal policies in other cities, and ambitious to serve his constituency in the light of this intelligence. His public services will bear the test of close scrutiny, and it is the prophesy of those best in- formed that his public career will go down

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in history with the approval of all fair- minded men.

Mr. Bosch is identified with his political party as a thorough organizer and zealous worker, wielding a potent influence in the counsels of Democracy. He is modest and retiring in his social life, the force of cir- cumstances having made him a leader in social functions. The family are regular attendants at the public services of St. John's church. and Mr. Bosch is a liberal contributor to the support of the gospel. Of the social orders, he is affiliated with the Royal Arcanum, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

HON. WARREN GARD.

This distinguished attorney is a Butler county product, of whom the city of Ham- ilton is justly proud. Seldom, indeed, does a professional career, in any line of human effort, launch out into prominence and dis- tinction without a long and tedious period of probationary growth. The career of this subject, however, was somewhat marked, even from his schoolboy days. He was al- ways a zealous student and early manifested a disposition to "go to the bottom of things" in student life. Mr. Gard was es- pecially favored, also, in being a descendant of an able lawyer, hence his early training was in keeping with his chosen professional career. Endowed with a brilliant mind, re- tentive memory, a magnificent voice and winning personality, it is not strange that he early manifested those traits of char- acter which distinguished the successful lawyer.

Warren Gard is yet on the threshold of young manhood, though he has mapped out a career for himself far in advance of the mediocre. He was born in Hamilton on the 2d of July, 1873. His early education was acquired in the city schools, and he was graduated with the Hamilton high school with the class of 1890. He then en- tered the Cincinnati University, where he pursued a special course for three years, at the same time carrying the regular course in law at the Law School of Cincinnati. He was graduated in 1894 and in the spring of the same year he was admitted to practice in the courts of the state.

Mr. Gard at once opened an office in his native city and was engaged in general practice until January, 1898. In the au- tumn of 1897 he was nominated by the county Democracy as the party's candidate for the office of prosecuting attorney, and was elected at the general election of that year. He entered upon the duties of this onerous office on the first Monday in Jan- uary, 1898. Almost from the date of Mr. Gard's induction into office began a career of crime in Butler county never before equalled under the jurisdiction of any predecessor. It was no theoretical study with him,-that he had mastered in the schools,-but an intensely practical career, covering his entire period of incumbency, during which time a greater number of criminals were tried than in any previous four years during the existence of Butler county. Some of the defendants attained national notoriety, through the very hide- ousness of their crime. The friends of the defendants made every effort possible in their defense, and Mr. Gard was often con- fronted by the most talented and success-

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Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 55

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1149

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149