USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. II, Pt. 1 > Part 3
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and at the conclusion of his remarks, the president of the meeting said to him : "My boy, if you are not spoiled while you are young, the country will hear from you."
After leaving college, Judge Harmon taught school for a while, and at the same time read Blackstone and Kent. In 1867 he entered the office of Judge Hoadly, in Cincinnati, where he remained until he graduated from the Cincinnati Law School, in March, 1869, at which time he was admitted to the bar. In a short time he succeeded in building up a lucrative practice in Cincinnati, and won for himself a good standing at the bar. In early life Judge Harmon was a Republican on account of the war issues then before the country. When the Democratic party nominated Horace Greeley for President, Judge Harmon, being opposed to the extreme tariff policy of the Republican party, and opposed to the treatment of the South after the war, went on the stump as an advocate of Greeley's election. His prowess as a speaker, as well as his success at the bar, attracted to him great attention, and in October, 1876, he was nominated by the Democratic party for judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County. He received a ma- jority of the votes, but the election was contested and the State Senate, which was then Republican, voted to oust him. In the following April he was nominated and elected judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati, and was reelected in 1883 by an increased majority. In March, 1887, when ex-Gov- ernor Hoadly retired from the firm of Hoadly, Johnson & Colston, to enter the practice of the law in New York, Judge Harmon resigned his judicial position and became the head of the firm of Harmon, Colston, Goldsmith & Hoadly. This firm has always had a large general practice, has represented many of the most important corporations in the State, and is looked upon as one of the strongest in this part of the country.
After resuming the practice of the law, Judge Harmon refused to have his name used in connection with any public office, although he took part in a number of political campaigns and used his influence to secure the nomina- tion of proper candidates. He was a great admirer of Grover Cleveland and was one of his warmest supporters in Ohio, and a strong advocate of his renomination in 1892. His prominent position at the bar, his well known integrity of character and his preeminence in his party, together with his . earnest advocacy of the policy and principles of President Cleveland, caused his appointment, in June, 1895, as Attorney General of the United States,
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JOHN ALEXANDER MURPHY, M. D.
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to be regarded as an eminently fit selection. He moved with his family to Washington and at once became a great favorite both in official and social circles at the capital. He served throughout the remainder of President Cleveland's term with great credit to himself and to the administration. He returned in March, 1897, to Cincinnati, where he resumed the practice of the law with his old firm. As a judge, the subject of this sketch was ex- tremely popular. He was regarded as a jurist of excellent legal equipment and strong common sense. He was kind- and considerate in his treatment of attorneys, and very fair in his conduct of causes. He was much opposed to legal trickery or chicanery, and insisted upon maintaining a high standard of dignity and professional courtesy in his court room. He is a large, strongly built man, above six feet in stature, fond of athletic sports, of splendid physique, and just entering the prime of life. In the opinion of those who know him, he is a man likely and fit to obtain the greatest prom- inence that membership at the bar can afford any man. The subject of this sketch and his family are identified with the Baptist Church.
JOHN ALEXANDER MURPHY, M. D.
JOHN ALEXANDER MURPHY, M. D., whose professional skill, public spirit and social prominence made him, for many years, a leading citizen of Cincinnati, was born January 23, 1824, in Hawkins County, Eastern Ten- nessee. He was the elder of two sons born to Patrick and Margaret (Mc- Kinney ) Murphy.
Patrick Murphy, who was a native of Ireland, came to this country at an early day, settled in Eastern Tennessee, married Margaret Mckinney, and became a large planter and slave owner. He was a man of fine character and strikingly handsome presence.
Margaret (Mckinney) Murphy, the mother of our subject, came to America with her father and family after the Covenanters' war in the North of Ireland. Her uncle, who was a distinguished Covenanting minister, in order to deceive the British and to escape from Ireland, was rolled into a merchant ship in a barrel as so much freight. The British afterward found that he was on the ship and made pursuit with a man-of-war, but he escaped.
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The Mckinney family soon after their arrival in this country settled in East- ern Tennessee, where they bought large tracts of land and where many mem- bers obtained prominence as professional men. Margaret (Mckinney) Mur- . phy's three brothers attained distinction in their respective professions. John McKinney became an eminent physician; he practiced medicine for many years in Memphis, Tennessee, where his death took place. Samuel McKin- ney became a professor in a theological seminary in Austin, Texas, where he made his home. The youngest brother was a distinguished lawyer and for many years was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Tennessee and lived and died in Knoxville, where many of his family still reside. Although the death of her father left the mother of our subject with many slaves, she did not take advantage of this fact, being unalterably opposed to slavery. She disposed of her large estate in Tennessee, freed her slaves after providing for their needs, and with her husband and two sons, John Alexander and Samuel Mckinney, removed to Cincinnati, taking with her a number of her old family servants, who could not be prevailed upon to leave her. These faithful souls she provided for during their lives. It became one of the chief objects of her life to assist in the suppression of slavery. She was intimately associated with all the ladies of note in Cincinnati who were actively con- nected with the anti-slavery movement.
The late Dr. Murphy was a man of learning, travel and great medical ability. His school days were passed in Cincinnati, and he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. John P. Harrison, in April, 1843, and in 1846 was graduated from the Medical College of Ohio at Cincinnati. In 1853 he made a European trip in order to increase his knowledge of medical science, and for two years visited hospitals and clinics in foreign lands. His success- ful practice made him widely known, while his deep interest in his profession caused his name to be associated with almost all of the public enterprises of this city connected with medicine or surgery. Particularly was this true of the Cincinnati Hospital, for it was through the personal efforts of Dr. Mur- phy that the charter was obtained for this great institution, with which he was so long identified. He was one of the founders of the Miami Medical College, and in 1857 accepted the chair of materia medica and for years was one of the most valued lecturers; he succeeded Dr. George Mendenhall as dean of that institution until his health failed. In association with the noted Drs. George Mendenhall and E. B. Stevens, he established and edited the
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Medical Observer, and continued on its staff after its union with the Western Lancet. Dr. Murphy was a distinguished member of the Ohio State Medical Society, serving as its president, and belonged also to the National American Medical Association. His death took place in this city on February 28, 1900, when in his 76th year. The cares of professional life precluded his accept- ance of political office, but he was ever deeply interested in public affairs and was always in accord with his mother on the subject of slavery; during the Civil War he was appointed by the United States government to take charge of a military hospital at Cincinnati. His benefactions were liberal to the Second Presbyterian Church, of which he and his family were members.
Dr. Murphy was married on November 11, 1862, to a daughter of the late Dr. Samuel G. Menzies, formerly a distinguished member of an old Kentucky family, later a resident of Cincinnati. Dr. Menzies was a son of Judge William A. Menzies, who was on the bench for many years in Boone County, Kentucky, and a brother of the late John W. Menzies, who was judge of the Chancery Court of Kentucky for many years. Three children were born to this union, viz .: Nora, who married John C. Kilbreth, of Long Island, New York, a grandson of the late John W. Kilbreth of Cincinnati; Archibald Mckinney, who died at the age of three years; and Mary Anna, who married Edwin Sumner Gardner, Jr., owner of the noted "Avondale Stock Farm," in Sumner County, Tennessee, and a resident of Nashville.
Dr. Murphy left a large estate. When his mother located in Cincinnati, she invested in property which is now included among the most valuable pieces of real estate in the city. His medical library of 1,300 volumes was regarded as so valuable that many institutions desired to purchase it. Mrs. Murphy declined to consider any such proposition, and presented it entire to the Cincinnati Hospital, in memory of her husband, who through life had held its interests so dear. Mrs. Murphy resides at the Burnet House, Cin- cinnati. A portrait of Dr. Murphy accompanies this sketch.
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LEARNER BLACKMON HARRISON.
The recent death of L. B. Harrison, who for 32 years was the honored president of the First National Bank of Cincinnati, removed from the ranks of those who have assisted in making this a city of power and financial im-
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portance one of her most prominent, wealthy and exemplary citizens. A man of extraordinary business ability whose exceptional career had been one of continued success, his loss was deeply felt by those institutions with which he was directly connected; while his personal and private character reached so high a standard that he will ever remain enshrined in the hearts of those who knew him best.
L. B. Harrison was born in Cincinnati in May, 1815, and died in the same city in July, 1902, at the age of 87 years, being at that time the oldest citizen in point of continuous residence. He came of good stock, his mother being a native of North Carolina, and his father, of Virginia; his branch of the Harrison family came from one side of the James River and that to which President William Henry Harrison and President Benjamin Harrison belonged, from the other. No genealogical data is at hand to connect the families, but each possessed similar features and many like characteristics. Although for years Mr. Harrison's father was at the head of the Lancas- terian Seminary in Cincinnati, the youth seems to have had but meager edu- cational opportunities, and in boyhood was thrown upon his own resources. His entrance into business was in a humble capacity in a wholesale grocery store, but a natural ability very soon secured promotion through subordinate positions, and thence into that of manager, proprietor and owner. Graduat- ing from the old grocery firm of Brown & Bailey, in 1845, in association with William Hooper he established a wholesale grocery business under the firm name of Harrison & Hooper. At the passing of the National Bank Act during the Civil War, Mr. Harrison embarked in the banking business, and in 1870 he succeeded J. W. Ellis as president of the First National Bank, which position he held until his death. Mr. Harrison was one of the pro- moters of the national bank system and the First National Bank of Cincin- nati was the 24th bank to operate under that law.
Mr. Harrison was no speculator and accumulated his large fortune through legitimate means, being connected with many commercial enter- prises. He was one of those men seemingly born with a gift for business, having an alert mind combined with business sagacity and unfailing tact, together with an indefatigable zeal and capacity for work that extended far beyond the years usually given to activity. To these Mr. Harrison also added a decision of character which instinctively led him into the right road. In business he was an honest, upright and straightforward man, but practical
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to the last degree. It is not too much to say that his success was measured only by the possibilities of business in the field in which he operated, and had middle youth or manhood been vouchsafed him with the opportunities of the present the world would have heard of still another great captain of industry. In recalling the business life of this remarkably successful man, it may be noted that the Harrison family holds a large interest in the First National Bank, the stability and standing of which is second to none in the city.
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However, while it is not possible to speak of a man of the business prominence of Mr. Harrison without giving the subject extended mention, these things represented only a part of his life. Although a limited school edu- cation had left many avenues of learning closed to him, a naturally quick intelligence and artistic temperament later in life secured him the enjoyment of the things he loved and he surrounded himself with the evidences of cul- ture and refinement that appealed to the other side of his life, and his un- selfishness in this line was marked, his many gifts to the Art Museum of Cincinnati so testifying. His natural appreciation of the best work of the best artists was remarkable and the trend of his thought was shown in his choice of those pictures which touched most closely the spiritual life. Had Mr. Harrison devoted his attention to literature, he would doubtless have succeeded in the world of letters as his gifts were manifold, controlled by circumstances in his molding.
Mr. Harrison was not a member of any church, but his life was the best testimonial to his religion, while his public and private benefactions showed the brotherly, charitable spirit which controlled him, without the help of any particular creed. He loved truth and justice; he never intentionally wronged a human being; he hated shams and pretenses and chose to walk in the way in which he believed he was guided. Simple in his manner, earnest and strong in his beliefs and vigorous in action, Mr. Harrison has left an indelible impress upon his city.
In fact, simplicity was one of Mr. Harrison's leading characteristics and this was extended to his personal life, his objection to being photo- graphed giving his family and friends but few representations of one they held in so much esteem. In his home he took great delight; the beautiful old homestead located on Grandin road, the house hidden from view on a point overlooking the Ohio River, having been modernized and beautified
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both inside and out, contained a gallery of fine paintings with other evidences of his cultured taste. Among the many friends who were sincere in their grief was Dr. Moncure D. Conway, with whom Mr. Harrison had been - closely bound for many years.
The marriage of Mr. Harrison connected him with the Goodman family, one of the old established ones of Cincinnati, and a widow and seven children survive him. His daughters Ruth and Anna reside with their mother, while his married daughters are Mrs. Rufus B. Smith, Mrs. Joseph S. Neave and Mrs. E. Howard Child, of Massachusetts. The two sons, both prominent citizens of Cincinnati, are Edmond P. and Charles L.
PHINEAS SANBORN CONNER, M. D., LL. D.
PHINEA'S SANBORN CONNER, M. D., LL. D., one of the most prominent physicians of Cincinnati, and a medical practitioner and lecturer whose repu- tation extends far beyond the State, was born at Westchester, Pennsylvania, August 23, 1839. When he was two years of age, his parents, Phineas S. and Eliza S. Conner, removed to Camden County, North Carolina; after a residence there of three years they moved to Cincinnati.
In 1855 Dr. Conner entered Dartmouth College at Hanover, New Hampshire, and was graduated from that institution in July, 1859, and 25 years later the college conferred on him the honorary degree of LL. D. During the sessions of 1858-59 he attended medical lectures at the Medical College of Ohio, and during 1860-61 at Jefferson Medical College, receiving his degree of M. D. from the latter institution in March, .1861. He spent 18 months of his student life in the Retreat for the Insane at Hartford, Connecticut, where he served as apothecary and acting assistant physician. During six months, following his graduation, he remained in New York, "walking" the hospitals. In November, 1861, having success- fully passed the army medical board examination, he was assigned to duty as acting assistant surgeon in the United States Army at Columbian Hos- pital, Washington, D. C., and in April, 1862, he was commissioned assistant surgeon. In August, 1866, he resigned, after serving in Washington, in the Department of the Gulf, at Fort Columbus in New York harbor, and in the Department of North Carolina. He was brevetted captain and major in the United States Army, for "faithful and meritorious services during the war."
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+ Dr. Conner settled in Cincinnati after the war, and was soon appointed professor of surgery in the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, and a year later became professor of chemistry in the Medical College of Ohio. In 1869 he was transferred to the chair of surgical anatomy, later to that of anatomy, and in 1887 to the chair of surgery. In 1878 he was made professor of surgery in the Dartmouth Medical School and retained his chair there for 24 years, delivering his lectures during the summer. For . over 30 years he has been on the staff of the Good Samaritan Hospital of Cincinnati, and from 1874 to 1895 was on that of the Cincinnati Hospital. , He belongs to city, county and State, as well as national, medical societies and has ably served as president of the American Surgical Association, of * the American Academy of Medicine, of the Ohio State Medical Society and of the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Conner was married, December 17, 1873, to Julia E. Johnston, of Cincinnati. Dr. and Mrs. Conner have had three children, namely: Edith Johnston, born December 11, 1874, and married January 1, 1891, to Dr. John S. Meserve, of Dover, New Hampshire; Phineas Sanborn, born October 29, 1877; and Helen Elizabeth, born June 16, 1883. The beautiful family home is located at Auburn and Euclid avenues, Mount Auburn.
Dr. Conner has grown eminent in his profession and has achieved honor and renown. He stands at the head and front of Cincinnati practitioners and is regarded with respect and admiration by his colaborers and his fellow citizens.
WILLIAM P. HULBERT.
No history of the city of Cincinnati would be in any way complete with- out extended mention of those men who, in the infancy of her commercial importance, gave stability to her enterprises and attracted the attention of the outside world. Few men of this class were better known than was Wil- liam P. Hulbert, whose long life of usefulness and honor ended August 10, 1885. Mr. Hulbert was born in Cincinnati, April 25, 1817, and was one of two children born to Nathan and Elizabeth (White) Hulbert, who were natives of Maryland.
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William P. Hulbert's parents came to Ohio in 1817, crossing the moun- tains in wagons and descending the Ohio River in large flat-boats, and arriv- ing in the early part of the month of January at Cincinnati, where they . decided to live. Nathan Hulbert at once engaged in business, his home and store being situated where the present United States Custom House now stands.
William P. Hulbert attended the Lancasterian Seminary, at that time a department of the Cincinnati College, and received a broad and general " education. When he arrived at manhood he succeeded his father in the mer- cantile business, which he very successfully conducted thereafter until he closed it out in 1853, being located during all this period on the same square where he was born. His retirement from mercantile pursuits, which was superinduced by the attention demanded by his large real estate investments, left him free to make those interests paramount. His good judgment en- abled him to foresee the growing importance of the Queen City, and in the work of building up his own large fortune he also contributed to a great degree in the upbuilding of Cincinnati. The growth and development of the city made his property constantly advance in value until it reached vast proportions. Mr. Hulbert was almost an enthusiast in his ideas in regard to the improvement of his property, and in the changes and betterments that he made in the way of new buildings and other improvements he did much to add to the city's beauty and attractiveness. One of the last of many handsome residences and business blocks erected by him was the Hulbert Building, a fine office structure situated on the corner of Sixth and Vine streets. For his residence he purchased a home on Lafayette circle, in the aristocratic suburb of Clifton, and there passed many happy years.
Mr. Hulbert's financial success was great, but it was deserved, and he was generous in the disposal of his fortune, giving largely of his means to charity and actively assisting public movements. He was president of the Buckeye Insurance Company for eleven years. His attention was so engrossed in matters relating to the work of caring for and improving his real estate in the city, that he could not be induced to accept public offices except in a few. instances when the offices were without compensation. On account of his eminent fitness for the position he was appointed park commissioner in 1863 and served a number of years, during which time Washington and Lincoln parks were laid out and the work of improving them commenced.
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He also served as a member of the Board of Police Commissioners until the board ceased to exist. He was one of the directors of the Longview Insane Asylum, holding the interests of the unfortunates of that institution on a par with his own.
Mr. Hulbert was twice married. Early in life he was married to Miss Wood, who left one son at her death. On March 4, 1852, he was married to Caroline M. Bowne, a daughter of Thomas P. Bowne, of New York. She with three children survives: George; Harry C., who is the executor of his father's immense estate, with offices in the Hulbert Building; and Mrs. Frank L. Perin, whose husband is a son of the late Oliver Perin, of Cin- cinnati. Mr. and Mrs. Frank L. Perin have two children: Herbert Taft and Frances Hulbert. The residence purchased by Mr. Hulbert in Clifton con- tinues to be the home of the family.
Mr. Hulbert's funeral took place from his late city residence on Free- man avenue, to Spring Grove Cemetery, although his death took place at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was seeking health. The pall-bearers, se- lected on account of their intimate friendship, represented some of the most prominent men of the city, many of them being brother members of the Chamber of Commerce, of which he was a valued member for many years.
Mr. Hulbert was one of the persevering and indefatigable business men · who worked earnestly in behalf of the city and made its present greatness possible. He possessed an exceptional capacity for business and his judgment was deliberate and almost unerring. He was a man of integrity and intelli- gence and a cultivated and courteous gentleman. He will long be remem- bered for his high sense of commercial honor, as well as for his widespread benevolence and estimable personal attributes.
GEORGE MENDENHALL, M. D.
GEORGE MENDENHALL, M. D., formerly one of Cincinnati's most prom- inent citizens and skilled physicians, was born May 5, 1814, at Sharon, Penn- sylvania. He was a son of Aaron and Lydia ( Richardson) Mendenhall, whose progenitors accompanied William Penn to Pennsylvania. The family lineage can be traced back to the year 1247, to Sir Ralph de Mildhale, whose -
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name in the present orthography is Mendenhall. The family estates in Eng- land are large and the old mansion in Wiltshire was known as Morridge Hill.
Dr. Mendenhall, however, did not need distinguished ancestry to gain him consideration. His education was secured in the primitive schools at Beaver, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and he perfected himself in Latin while performing the duties of clerk in a village store. He began the study of medicine with Dr. Benjamin Stanton, at Salem, Ohio, and in 1833 he entered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania at Phila- delphia, securing the money with which to defray a part of his expenses by selling the horse which had carried him over the mountains. In 1835 he graduated with high honors and then settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he gained considerable reputation. In 1844 he located at Cincinnati and was engaged in a large and lucrative practice in this city until his death, which occurred in 1874.
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