USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. II, Pt. 1 > Part 23
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best interests of the people. He was a member of the famous old Lincoln Club, of which he was president one term. He is a member of the Young Men's Blaine Club and the Stamina Republican League, in each of which organizations he has served several terms as a member of the board of directors. He has been active in the affairs of the Ohio Republican League, of which he served two terms as president, from 1901 to 1903, and in the affairs of the National Republican League. From 1889 to 1891 he was presi- dent of the Glee Club of the Young Men's Blaine Club. He was a member of the 2nd Cincinnati Cavalry Troop and president of the Cin- cinnati Cavalry Club, in the organization of both of which he was actively identified. In college he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He was elected alumni trustee of the Ohio Wesleyan University in 1902 for a term of five years. Mr. Bonham was made a Mason in 1879 and has served as master of Lafayette Lodge, No. 81, F. & A. M .; he is a member of Willis Chapter, No. 131, R. A. M .; Cincinnati Commandery, No. 3, K. T .; and Syrian Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Cincinnati, Ohio. He has taken the 32nd degree in Masonry, according to the Ancient and Ac- cepted Scottish Rite. He is a member of the Second Presbyterian Church.
ROBERT SIMPSON.
ROBERT SIMPSON, for many years a well known figure in the insurance world of Cincinnati, died March 11, 1897. He was born at Rochester, New York, March 16, 1830, and was a son of William T. Simpson. He was educated in the public schools of Rochester and began his business life as an attache of the leading newspaper of his native city, but journalism seems to have offered fewer inducements to the young man than did other lines.
Early in life he became associated with the company constructing the telegraph line from New York City to Buffalo and thence to the Mississippi Valley, the nucleus of what later became the system of the .Western Union Telegraph Company. That Mr. Simpson was a faithful employee and com- petent operator was demonstrated by his selection as head of the operating department in New York City, this merited promotion bringing him into con- siderable prominence and resulting in his being sent, in 1852, to the island of Cuba, as superintendent of construction and as instructor of operators on
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lines projected and contracted for from Havana to various seaports. This important mission Mr. Simpson satisfactorily performed and then returned to his native land. At a later date he removed to Davenport, Iowa, having become interested in the lumber business, and in 1858 he established a gen- eral insurance agency in Cincinnati and built up a large business. Mr. Simp- son then decided to limit his operations to life insurance and opened negotia- tions with the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, of Newark, New Jersey, which resulted in his accepting the agency of this corporation in the . city of Cincinnati in 1863. The business association then formed continued until his death.
Mr. Simpson selected College Hill as his chosen place of residence in the Queen City and for more than 20 years was deeply interested in the development and improvement of that delightful part of the city. He was the leader in its affairs and the generous promoter of the enterprises which have made College Hill what it is to-day. He was financially interested in various very important business undertakings, and was one of the prime movers in the building of the Cincinnati & Northern Railroad. He served for a long period as president of the board of directors of the Ohio Military Institute and contributed time, advice and money to many other organiza- tions.
At Saratoga, New York, on September 12, 1854, he was united in mar- riage with Sarah J. Hartwell, who is a daughter of Thomas and Phoebe Hartwell. He left four sons : William T .; Orville, proprietor of the Straub Machinery Company; and Robert and Frank H., who are engaged in the insurance business in Cincinnati. Mrs. Simpson still retains the beautiful home on College Hill, in which her husband took so much pride and spent so many happy years.
HENRY C. URNER.
HENRY C. URNER, secretary and treasurer of the Little Miami Railroad Company, is a citizen of Cincinnati, whose personal character, business con- nections and public services entitle him to high esteem. Mr. Urner is well known in this city, where he was born January 30, 1830, being one of six children born to Benjamin and Elizabeth ( Keyser) Urner, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania.
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Both the Urner and Keyser ancestors became established in Pennsyl- vania at an early day, the paternal line coming from Switzerland, and the ma- ternal from Holland, in which country members of the family suffered mar- tyrdom during times of religious persecution.
Benjamin Urner, father of our subject, moved from Pennsylvania to Maryland and thence in 1825 to Cincinnati, engaging here in mercantile pur- suits and continuing until his death in 1857. He was survived by his widow until 1878.
With many other prominent business men of the present day in Cin- cinnati, Henry C. Urner attended the old Cincinnati College and M. Hazen White's boarding school, and was 19 years old when the golden tales from California attracted his attention and induced him to join a party for the far West, in 1849. He reached his destination safely and remained there four years, mining, prospecting and merchandising, returning then to Cin- cinnati. In 1880 he was elected president of the National Insurance Com- pany and was identified with it for the succeeding seven years, having also served said company as secretary for 26 years previously. Since March, 1892, Mr. Urner has been secretary and treasurer of the Little Miami Rail- road Company, a position of honor as well as responsibility.
In viewing the mighty structures of Cincinnati, it is but natural for the mind to revert to the builders of these and to admire the enterprise which made them, and what they represent, possible. The Chamber of Com- merce, one of the great commercial organizations of the city, vast in its scope, has Mr. Urner as one of its members; he has served twice as its president, while much was due to his active and judicious management as a member of the building committee, that its present stately structure was erected. He has the honor of having in his possession Certificate No. I, which was the first issued by the Chamber of Commerce, although Mr. Urner was not, strictly speaking, the first member. Still another example of his · capacity was in the rebuilding of the Court House after its destruction in the riot of 1884. In politics Mr. Urner is a Democrat and during the ad- ministration of President Cleveland served four years as United States mar- shal. In times of stress and trouble, the civic authorities knew they could always depend upon Mr. Urner, and during the times of public suffering incident to thie floods of 1883-84, he was mainly instrumental in the securing of the handsome sum of $400,000 for charity. He is a man of great benevo-
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MAJ. ANTHONY O. RUSSELL.
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lence and his name may be found on the list of members of directing boards of many charitable institutions.
On February 13, 1872, Mr. Urner was married to Maria Harley, who is a daughter of John P. and Emily ( Kimball) Harley, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in New York. The three children of the family are: Eloise S., Henry and Martin H., and the attractive and comfortable home is located at No. 2315 Park avenue.
Fraternally Mr. Urner is a Mason of high standing, having secured the 33rd degree in 1873. A man of genial, social temperament, he served for many years as president of the Queen City Club, where his personal char- acteristics, which have won him hosts of friends, make him an agreeable companion.
MAJ. ANTHONY O. RUSSELL.
For more than a quarter of a century the name of the late Anthony O. Russell was linked with the commercial enterprises and prosperity of Cincin- nati, and represented a man whose business ability, indomitable courage, vi- tality and forcefulness stamped his individuality upon the city which had been his home ever since infancy. Few men of his time were more fully endowed with that clarity of view and that keen foresight as to probabilities, with the ability to provide for possibilities, which mark the successful business man.
Anthony O. Russell, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, was born December 4, 1826, in Southington, Connecticut, and was four years of age when his parents, in 1830, moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. At the age of 11 years he was apprenticed to H. H. Robinson at the printer's trade, serving for seven years in the office of the Enquirer. According to the custom of the craft, lie then started out as a journeyman, working on this paper and on other journals in New Orleans, Louisiana; Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was working in Memphis, but his loyalty and patriotism made him hasten north. He joined the "Guthrie Greys," Gtli Reg., Ohio Vel. Inf., becoming captain of Company G, and served with gal- lantry and valor throughout the entire war. He was a notable figure in many battles and after two years of service was promoted to the rank of major, an honorable title by which he was afterward known1.
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When the war ended, Major Russell returned to Cincinnati and here took charge of the job printing department of the Enquirer, a step in the direction of future success. In January, 1867, in association with Robert J. Morgan and John F. Robinson, he purchased the printing office from Washington McLean and the great firm of Russell, Morgan & Company was established. This concern later became the Russell-Morgan Printing Company, now the United States Printing Company, the largest show and label printing house in the world, and manufacturers of three-fifths of the playing cards used, the capacity being 75,000 a day. From its inception, Major Russell served as its able, careful and conservative president. Until within a few years of his de- cease he attended actively to the duties of the position, and even when failing health confined him largely to the house his was the directing power.
Major Russell is survived by a widow and five children: Mary (Mrs. F. J. Bachelor), of Norwood; Fannie ( Mrs. W. H. Baldridge), of New York City ; Helen (Mrs. H. E. Langdon), of Cincinnati; Willis W., of New York City; and George G., of Sebastian, Florida. Helen Russell married H. E. Langdon, whose father was one of the prominent and wealthy citizens of Cincinnati. H. E. Langdon is one of the progressive wholesale grocers of this city, and occupies a beautiful residence in Avondale.
Major Russell was a man of genial presence and kindest instincts. Un- selfish and generous, he won the affection of employees and associates and was long a most active and popular member of the Cuvier Club. In politics he was a most ardent Republican, although no inducement could make him accept any political preferment. It was with feelings of deepest regret that the citizens of Cincinnati learned that one of their great men had passed to his eternal rest. After months of serious illness, his end came with blessed peacefulness in April, 1900, surrounded by those closest and dearest to him, at his beautiful home on Mound avenue, Norwood.
CAPT. WILLIAM WIRT PEABODY.
It is a long call from the humble position of stake-driver for a railway engineer to the highest and most responsible positions in one of the great railroad systems of the country, but the eventful life of Capt. William Wirt Peabody has answered every demand and he has honorably filled every in-
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termediate position. His name is known and his character esteemed through- out railroad circles all over the country. Captain Peabody was born October 26, 1836, at Gorham, Cumberland County, Maine, and is a son of William H. and Hannah ( March) Peabody.
Well equipped as to education, being a graduate of the Maine State University, in 1854 he started out to make his own way in the world, forti- fied by good health, good morals and a determination to succeed. He reached Marietta, Ohio, when work was being pushed in laying out the route for the old Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, and right there, at the bottom of the ladder, our subject began his very remarkable railroad career. From carrying surveyor's stakes for the engineer who was laying out the route of the railroad, he was advanced to the position of secretary to the first president of the road, his manner, intelligence and capacity having at- tracted the attention of the late Noah L. Wilson, with whom he remained, in that office, for two years. Successively promoted, he became paymaster, master of transportation, and general superintendent of the Marietta & Cin- cinnati Railroad. His bearing toward others had ever been so genial and considerate and he had become so personally popular, that in 1877 when the great railroad strike tied up the business interests of the country and trans- portation lines in Cincinnati were practically closed, the only undisturbed line was the one over which Captain Peabody presided. His men loyally remained with him, so great was their confidence in his integrity and in the justice of what he demanded of them. Captain Peabody was later made general superintendent of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, later general manager, and then president, a position he resigned to accept that of general manager of the Trans-Ohio Division of the Baltimore & Ohio system, when Cincinnati lost him, the headquarters being at Chicago. At a later date, in the reorganization which was made by several roads, resulting in the forma- tion of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad, Captain Peabody ac- cepted the position of vice-president and general manager, and was en- thusiastically welcomed back to Cincinnati. Although now retired from busi- ness activity, no name is held in higher regard in railroad circles than that of Captain Peabody.
In other lines of activity Captain Peabody was no less prominent. Dur- ing the Civil war he served as a member of the 149th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf .. and later raised a company which became a part of the 64th Regiment. In
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· civic affairs he has also been conspicuous. He served two successive terms as president of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, a position that of itself is sufficient to give honorable standing; was president of the board of managers from Ohio at the World's Fair in Chicago; served four years as president of the Lincoln Club; was for several years a member of the Cin- cinnati Exposition Commission and president of the 10th and 11th exposi- tions and was president of the Young Men's Mercantile Library Association for a long time. He is a Knight Templar and a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason.
On July 2, 1861, Captain Peabody was married to Sarah E. Ferree, who is a daughter of Rev. John Ferree, a Methodist clergyman of Chillicothe, Ohio, and four children were born to them, two of whom still survive. The record is as follows: Emily E., deceased, who was the wife of A. M. Stew- art of St. Louis, Missouri; Orland S., deceased; Anna S., who is the wife of William A. Hall, of Cincinnati; and William Wirt, Jr., who is a very prom- inent business man of New York City.
For many years, the beautiful and genuinely hospitable home of Cap- tain Peabody has been at Madisonville; there, after his strenuous life, he enjoys his leisure, surrounded by family and friends and all that tends to make life pleasant. Regarding his success, it may be justly asserted that it has been achieved wholly by himself and its lesson is that patient industry brings its reward. During his long public life, he has known intimately and has numbered among his friends many whose noble lives and characters have made their names household words.
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FRANCIS MICHAEL GORMAN.
FRANCIS MICHAEL GORMAN, junior member of the prominent legal firm of Roettinger & Gorman, of Cincinnati, is one of the leading members of the bar of Hamilton County, with which he has been identified for a number of years. Mr. Gorman was born September 4, 1857, in Cincinnati, and is a son of William and Nora (Nestor) Gorman, both of whom were born in County Galway, Ireland.
Mr. Gorman was reared on his father's farm in Sycamore township, Hamilton County, Ohio, preparing for college in the local schools, and becom- ing a student at the National Normal University at Lebanon at a later date.
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There he was graduated with credit in 1878 and began to teach school and study the law. His preparation for the Cincinnati Law School was made under the careful tutelage of the late Timothy Danielson Lincoln. After his graduation in 1884 Mr. Gorman practiced his profession alone for two years and then entered into a partnership with Charles M. Thompson, under the firm style of Gorman & Thompson. This association continued until September 1, 1902, when the firm dissolved by mutual consent of the parties. Both partners were for years concerned, either together or individually. in much of the city's important litigation. Mr. Gorman's present business associate is Philip Roettinger, who is well known in the legal circles of Cincinnati.
Mr. Gorman has shown much legal ability as solicitor for the numerous villages, the affairs of Reading, St. Bernard, Lockland, Elmwood Place and Arlington Heights being in his hands for a number of years. He has also been prominent in political circles and in 1887 was a Democratic candidate for county solicitor, and in 1903 was the candidate of the same party for judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He is regarded as one of the most able advocates as well as safest counsellors among the exceptionally brilliant and able men who represent the bar of Cincinnati. He is well known among those citizens who have proved themselves solicitous for the welfare of the city and deserves, as he receives, the respect and esteem of the public.
On June 14, 1887, Mr. Gorman was married to Lillian Herancourt, a member of a prominent family of Cincinnati, and they have one daughter, Helen, and two sons-Harold and Robert. The pleasant and attractive home is located in Hartwell, where Mr. Gorman delights to show hospitality to his many friends.
JOHN VALENTINE CAMPBELL.
JOHN VALENTINE CAMPBELL, assistant corporation counsel of Cin- cinnati, is one of the successful lawyers of this city, where he has practiced since the beginning of his professional career. He was born in Newport, Kentucky, December 21, 1868, and is one of four children born to John S. and Mary ( Valentine) Campbell.
Jolin S. Campbell was born in Virginia, where his family was prominent.
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He removed with his parents to Newport, Kentucky, and after a long and prosperous business career is now living a retired life in Cincinnati.
John V. Campbell, subject of this biography, was graduated from Wood- ward High School of Cincinnati, and later attended De Pauw University and the University of Michigan, receiving a thorough classical education. Hav- ing determined to enter the legal profession, he pursued a course of study in the Cincinnati Law School, 'and graduated with the class of 1890. Im- mediately thereafter he engaged in practice in Cincinnati, and grew to be one of the most successful practitioners of the city. He served for a period as title examiner in the office of corporation counsel, and in 1897 became sec- ond assistant corporation counsel. He served in that capacity until 1903. when he was promoted to the office of first assistant corporation counsel, succeeding Wade H. Ellis in that important position. He is an able lawyer and has successfully conducted much important litigation for the city.
Mr. Campbell was united in marriage with Larora Talbott, a daughter of the late Thomas B. Talbott, an eminent physician of Hamilton, Ohio. Fraternally, our subject is a member of the Blaine Club and other prominent political and social organizations of the city. He and his family reside in a beautiful home in Avondale.
GEORGE D. FRY, SR.
GEORGE D. FRY, SR., one of the oldest residents of Cincinnati and also one of her pioneer iron manufacturers and long actively associated with her river interests, passed out of life, on October 3, 1903. at the home of his daughter, Mrs. J. W. Sibbet, at No. 1037 Wesley avenue, in the 93rd year of his age. He was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1810.
With the exception of five years of his early boyhood, Mr. Fry spent the whole of his long and honorable life in Cincinnati, assisting in the pro- moting of her commercial, industrial, religious, educational and social life. While particularly identified with the iron trade, few public institutions or enterprises were founded or inaugurated in early Cincinnati without profit- ing by his counsel and beneficence. He became a member of the iron firm of E. Jacobs & Company, manufacturers of building and jail iron, with a plant located at Elin and Pearl streets, Cincinnati, and many of the leading
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penal institutions of the country, built prior to the Civil War, were equipped with the product of this firm. He was largely instrumental in establishing the city's great steamboat interests and for years was a moving spirit in the city's business life. When he retired from active business, the men who are now so ably directing the city's affairs were but lads at school, and scarcely one of his business contemporaries still survives.
Mr. Fry was a man of settled convictions and an active Abolitionist. When Ohio's distinguished son, Salmon P. Chase, was president of the old Free Soil party, Mr. Fry was secretary of the Anti-Slavery- Association, and a friendship cemented then continued through the life of Mr. Chase. The death of Mr. Fry removed the last of the members of the original Free Soil organization in this city. When the Civil War was precipitated upon the country, he lamented that his age precluded enlistment. Until his death he retained his interest in public affairs and never missed casting his vote at an election, from 1832, when he supported Andrew Jackson, until the local cam- paign in the spring of 1903.
Mr. Fry retained his mental faculties to a remarkable degree and en- joyed more than any of his descendants of four generations the anniversary party that was arranged on his birthday, July 4, 1903. He was, in many ways, a type of an almost extinct class of men, for in him was found the ur- banity and polish which was a contribution from Huguenot ancestry, and which served to make him notable in social life as long as he lived. During the last year of his life, Mr. Fry seldom left his home, but his constant reading made him familiar with the changes which were going on in his beloved city, and upon expressing an unusual interest, his son, few months before his death accompanied him on a drive through those parts where his active busi- ness life had been mainly passed. He was always pleased to tell of the carly days and his retentive memory made him a most interesting conversationalist.
The funeral services were hield at the home of Mr. Fry's daughter, Mrs. J. W. Sibbet, and the remains were interred at Spring Grove Cemetery. The pall-bearers were his grandsons and nephews: Dr. C. E. Sibbet, H. Shipley Fry, William Walter, Thomas Raymond, William E. McCall and William C. Van Loon, all of Cincinnati.
Mr. Fry was married to Rachel McCall, a member of a pioneer family of Ohio, whose death took place in 1893, after 60 years of wedded life. The surviving members of their family are: Mrs. J. W. Sibbet, whose husband
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is a prominent citizen of Cincinnati; Isaac D., who resides in Clifton; Rev. Harry O., who resides in Norwood; and George D., who is a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
It is meet that the life history of a man like Mr. Fry should be re- called : he was one whose private life was without reproach; one whose public spirit was never shadowed by self aggrandizement, and was an ex- emplary pattern for those who, while seeking the betterment of their own fortunes, remember the needs of those about them. For many years Mr. Fry was a worthy member of the Baptist Church and this religious body was frequently the recipient of his generosity.
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GEORGE K. SHOENBERGER.
A long, useful and honorable business career was terminated by the death of George K. Shoenberger, on January 2, 1892, at his palatial home in Clifton, known as the "Scarlet Oaks," one of the most magnificent private residence properties in the State of Ohio. He had long been identified with the commercial interests of Cincinnati, but his birth took place at Juniata Forge, Pennsylvania, in 1808.
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