USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Vol. I > Part 40
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His briefs are clear and exhaustless treatises, not only upon the principles but also the application of the law to the facts pertinent to the points at issue. They are models in logical and legal arrangement of the case at the bar, recited in all the potency and perfection of a masterful command of language. He enjoyed a national reputation as a constitutional lawyer, his preeminence in this connection being established in his success in the Boesel railroad cases re- ported in the Granger's Ohio Supreme Court Reports. From that time until he retired from active connection with the profession he appeared before the supreme court either for the prosecution or defense in the leading contests con- cerning the validity of legislative enactments. That he had the highest confi- dence of his professional colleagues and associates was indicated in the honor bestowed upon him in his election as a third president of the Ohio State Bar Association. He ever regarded a public office as a public trust and he believed that the practice of law was one of the highest callings to which a man could devote his talents and his energies. His views upon this subject are perhaps best expressed in his own words when at the opening of the College of Law of the Ohio State University at Columbus October 1, 1891, he said :
"Law is not merely the instrument of government. Many persons seem so to regard it. But this conception of law is an erroneous one. On the contrary the truth is, law is the basis of public liberty and also the safeguard of each individual citizen's public and private rights and liberties. This is at least what the law of the land is in every free country. It is preeminently what I have described it to be in our own state and country. Wherefore there must neces- sarily be in our own, and in every free state, a body of men who have a thor-
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ough and profound knowledge, an enlightened appreciation and an enthusiastic love of the fundamental principles which constitute the basis of public liberty and the private and public rights and liberties of the individual citizen. These liberties and rights cannot be expounded and vindicated and maintained in their integrity without such a body of men. From their ranks magistrates, known as judges, must be chosen to administer the constitutional, statutory and common law of the land, and thus dispense public and private justice and main- tain the rights of every citizen. It is a plain truth-perhaps an obvious com- monplace-that without an enlightened judiciary no one's life or liberty or property or reputation is safe; and the efficiency of the administration of the law depends as well upon the learning, ability, impartiality and independence of the bench. They are correlatives. As showing that the profession of the advocate and jurist is one of the principal supports of the public liberty and individual personal rights and liberties, is the historical fact that this calling has flourished most amidst free institutions, and under the most popular gov- ernments. Not only so. This profession in any state or country or age is an efficient activity in promoting the public welfare, especially when its control- ling members are, before entering upon their active duties deeply instructed not merely in the law of the land but also in the ethics of the profession of the bar as taught by those who are alone worthy of being its masters and guides."
While there should be around one's home relations a curtain of privacy which the public should not draw aside it is interesting to know that the home life of Mr. Harrison was most attractive in all of its relations. He was married at London, Ohio, December 31, 1847, to Miss Maria Louisa Warner, whose father, Henry Warner, was a prominent early resident of Madison county. Of a family of three daughters and four sons, one of the daughters and two of the sons have passed away. The children were: Catherine, widow of F. S. Marsh, who was a prominent attorney and law partner of our subject; Louie H., the wife of D. K. Watson; Willie R. and Henry R., both deceased; Hattie B., the deceased wife of Arthur Robinson ; Richard A., Jr., of Columbus; and Warner, an attorney, also of Columbus.
The death of Mr. Harrison occurred in July, 1904. Not the good that comes to us but the good that comes to the world through us is the measure of our success, and judged by this standard Mr. Harrison was a most successful man. Endowed by nature with strong mentality, he constantly developed his native powers, and his life was an ornament to the state not alone by reason of his legal ability but also by reason of the broad general knowledge which made him an attractive companion in any gathering. To his high intellectual qual- ities were added the discipline and embellishments of culture making his a most attractive personality. An enumeration of the men of the nineteenth cen- tury, who won honor and public recognition for themselves and at the same time honored the state to which they belonged, would be incomplete were there failure to make prominent reference to Richard A. Harrison, for he held dis- tinctive precedence as an eminent lawyer and statesman, a man of high literary attainments and as one who in critical moments in the history of the state and nation bore himself with such signal dignity and held to such high principles of patriotism that he gained the respect and admiration of all.
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COLONEL MOSES H. NEIL.
Not so abnormally developed in any direction as to be called a genius Colonel Moses H. Neil has, however, been one of the most active men of Columbus, identified for many years with the business interests and its public concern. He has given tangible proof of his interest in and fidelity to those plans and measures which are promulgated for the public weal, while in Grand Army Circles he has long occupied a position of prominence, his con- nection therewith following an active and loyal service on the field of battle in the Civil war. He is preeminently a man of affairs and one who is wielding a wide influence. For many years he has been a witness of the growth and development of Columbus and takes a special pride in those features which have marked its advancement from the fact that this is his native city and has been the place of his abode throughout his entire life.
His birth occurred in June, 1840, on the old Neil farm lying just north- east of the depot and considered at that time the city limits of Columbus. His father, Robert Neil, was a native of Clark county, Kentucky, while his grand- parents were natives of Scotland. His mother was a daughter of the Rev. James Hoge, a widely known and prominent Presbyterian divine, who preached the gospel in Columbus for over fifty years, and his labors constitute an important factor in the moral advancement of the community.
Colonel Neil supplemented his early education, acquired in the public schools of Columbus, by two years' study in Kingston College, Ohio, while later he matriculated in the Capital University, which then occupied the pres- ent site of the Park Hotel. He continued his studies in the general branches until nineteen years of age, when he became a factor in the active affairs of life, although his business career was soon to be interrupted by his service on the field of battle. Some years prior to the outbreak of the Civil war his parents had removed with their family from the farm to a handsome resi- dence erected by Dr. Neil, Sr., at the corner of Broad and Fourth streets. It was there, when the First Ohio Cavalry was recruited and ready for service, that Mrs. Governor Dennison brought to her young cousin, Moses H. Neil, his commission as a first lieutenant in that regiment. The fact that he was a thorough tactician soon gained him promotion and he became adjutant of his regiment. He fought valiantly for his country until the latter part of 1862, when he was forced to resign his commission on account of ill health. The rigors of war proved so detrimental to him that he was for a long time in- capacitated for business duties and did not again really become an active factor in commercial circles until 1870, at which time he engaged in the hard- ware business. After two years successfully devoted to the conduct of that enterprise, his health again failed, and he was forced to retire from commercial circles. Since that time he has been actively engaged in the real-estate busi- ness and, while his extensive operations have promoted his individual fortunes, he has also in this way aided materially in the upbuilding of the city. From time to time he has become interested in other business concerns, including manufacturing and mining enterprises. His judgment is sound, and, with ability to devise carefully formulated plans and carry them forward to suc-
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cessful completion, he has become one of the leading factors in the business life of the city.
Colonel Neil has figured prominently in political circles many years. Few men have kept more thoroughly informed on the issues and questions of the day or have studied more closely the political problems, and yet he is en- tirely without ambition for office and on numerous occasions has declined to become a candidate when nomination to nearly every office within the gift of the people have been proffered him. The only exception to his fixed rule in this regard was when he accepted the nomination for state senator in 1880. The history of that year chronicles the closest contest in the political records of the district. In previous years the democracy had a majority of thirty-three hundred, but such was the personal popularity of Col. Neil and the respect entertained for his ability and patriotism, that he polled a vote which reduced the majority of his opponent, Horace Wilson, to but one hundred and fifty.
Colonel Neil has a Grand Army record of which any man would naturally be proud. For four years he was the commander of McCoy Post, G. A. R., being called to the position when the post was very small, but raising its mem- bership during his incumbency until its enrollment was the largest of any post in the United States, making it the banner local organization in America. For two years he served on the national council of administration and became generally and favorably known all over the United States as the commander of the camps. At the national encampment of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic, held in Columbus in 1888, he was elected senior vice commander in chief of the United States and served with distinction in that position. He attained the rank of colonel by appointment as senior aide on the staff of Governor Foraker, serving during both terms. He relates many interesting incidents concerning his connection with the volunteers during the days of the Civil war and with the Grand Army of the Republic since that time. While he has gained distinction, he wears his honors with becoming modesty but he nevertheless won a host of friends, being recognized as a most con- genial companion and as a progressive, thoroughgoing business man, whose efforts have contributed alike to his individual success and his city's progress.
ALBERT COOPER, M. D.
Dr. Albert Cooper, who for more than three decades has now been num- bered among the successful medical practitioners of Columbus, was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, September 24, 1851. He is a representative of an old American family, his great-grandfather, Archibald Wilson, having aided the colonists in their struggle for independence in the Revolutionary war. The father, Archibald W. Cooper, a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, made his way to Coshocton county in the late '30s and carried on agricultural pursuits in the Buckeye state until 1864. That year witnessed his removal to Kansas, in which state he made his home until called to his final rest. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Maria Blizzard
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and was born in Virginia in 1812, accompanied her parents on their removal to Licking county, Ohio, in early childhood. She passed away in the year 1882.
Dr. Albert Cooper acquired his literary education in the schools of his native county and in St. Joseph, Missouri, and then began the study of medi- cine in the Cincinnati College of Medicine & Surgery, from which institution he was graduated in 1875. Locating for the practice of his profession in Kan- sas, he there continued for two years and on the expiration of that period took up his abode on the north side in Columbus, this city having since remained the field of his labors. At that early day Columbus was but sparsely settled and gave little promise of rapid development but Dr. Cooper has witnessed its steady growth and progress, while his practice has gradually increased its vol- ume and importance until he is now a most successful and well-known repre- sentative of his chosen calling. For three years, from 1881 to 1884, he was demonstrator of anatomy in the Columbus Medical College, and he keeps in close touch with the progress of the profession through his membership in the Columbus Academy of Medicine, the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
In 1880 Dr. Cooper was united in mariage to Miss Jennie McCrum, a na- tive of Belmont county, Ohio. Fraternally he is connected with Neoacacia Lodge, No. 595, A. F. & A. M., at North Columbus, of which he is senior varden, and he also belongs to Ohio chapter, Scioto Consistory, the Scottish Rite and Lincoln Lodge of the Odd Fellows. He is likewise identified with the Sons of the American Revolution, and is a life member of the Ohio State Ar- chæological and Historical Society. He is interested in the city's welfare and public spirited to an eminent degree, he served on the school board in 1890-1 and from 1891 until 1896 he was a member of the city council, acting as vice president for one year of that time. He holds to high ideals in the practice of medicine and finds in the faithful performance of each day's duty inspiration and courage for the labors of the succeeding day. In his work he is prompted by a love of scientific research and by a spirit of broad humanitarianism as well as that laudable desire for financial success which is a stimulus in every hon- orable business.
BENJAMIN C. KELSEY.
There are no more strenuous demands made in any line of business than in railway circles, where absolute accuracy and fidelity are indispensable in the work of a great system that in its ramifying interests touches every section of the country. The individual, therefore, who occupies a position of importance and responsibility is he whose diligence, enterprise and loyalty have carried him beyond the majority of his fellows in this line of activity. The steps in the orderly progression of Mr. Kelsey in the business world are easily discernible and have brought him to his present place as general agent of the passenger department of the Big Four Railway Company. Born in St. Marys, Ohio, No-
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vember 1, 1860, he is a son of Benjamin Kelsey and a grandson of Ezra Kelsey. The latter was born in 1789 and died in 1881, when more than ninety years of age. Benjamin Kelsey was a native of Connecticut, born in 1827, and in 1857 removed from Baltimore, Maryland, to St. Marys, Ohio, where he en- gaged in general merchandising.
Benjamin C. Kelsey of this review pursued his education in the public schools of St. Marys, Ohio, and of Indianapolis, Indiana, while between the ages of seventeen and twenty years he privately pursued the course of the But- ler College. In the meantime he had entered business life, for when a youth of sixteen he became office boy with the John McKillip Agency, which later was emerged with the Bradstreet Agency. For a year and a half he occupied that position and on the 22d of November, 1877, entered the auditor's office of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad, now a part of the Big Four system. He was connected therewith until November, 1880, when he entered the general passenger office as clerk and fifteen days later he was made chief clerk in recognition of the ready adaptability and business capacity he dis- played. He left that company on the 28th of October, 1885, and was appointed assistant general passenger agent of the Cairo, Vincennes & Chicago Railway Company at Cairo, Illinois, there remaining until September 10, 1887, when he returned to the general passenger office and six months later was made as- sistant general passenger agent of the Indiana, Bloomington & Western Railway Company and acting general passenger agent of the Ohio Southern and Chicago & Ohio River Railway, together with the Dayton & Toledo Rail- way. Thus he was busily employed until April, 1889, when he accepted the chief clerkship of the Bee Line at Cleveland, his relation with that line con- tinuing until it became a part of the Big Four system in July, 1889, when the headquarters were removed to Cincinnati. On October 1, 1892 he accepted the position of city ticket agent at Indianapolis, where he continued until Decem- ber, 1901, when he was made division passenger agent of the Big Four Com- pany, with headquarters at Cleveland and Marion. He remained in that po- sition until December 1, 1905, when he came to Columbus to accept the posi- tion of general agent of the passenger department of the New York Central lines. Thus gradually he worked his way upward to positions of responsibility and is today well known in railway circles.
Mr. Kelsey has been married twice. On the 25th of September, 1883, he wedded Miss Anna Mary Johnston, a daughter of Dr. John F. and Mary (Stephens) Johnston, of Indianapolis. Her father was one of the leading dentists of Indianapolis and president of the State Association. By this union there were born the following children: Joseph F., Richard Johnston, Ethel and Harry. On the 17th of April, 1894, Mr. Kelsey was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife and on the 17th of June, 1903, he was again married his second union being with Miss Effie Dell, a daughter of David T. Dell, of Vicksburg, Michigan. The family home is at No. 338 Kendal Place.
Mr. Kelsey is identified with the Board of Trade at Columbus, the Commercial Club of Indianapolis, and the University Club of that city. He also belongs to the Ohio Club, to the Elks lodge and the Knights of Pythias fraternity and his membership relation further extend to
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the New England Society, and to the Presbyterian church. His interests are thus varied and in every relation he is regarded as a man of sound judgment, of broad-minded views and public spirit. He is today one of the best known and popular passenger officials in Ohio and his advancement has come in merited recognition of his trustworthiness and business capacity.
ELLSWORTH C. IRVINE.
In no case is there a career more open to talent than that of the law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful preparation, a more thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life, or of the underlying principles which form the basis of all human rights and priviliges. Unflag- ging application, intuitive wisdom, and a determination to fully utilize the means at hand are the concomitants which insure personal success and pres- tige in this great profession, which stands as the stern conservator of justice. And it one in which none should enter without a recognition of the obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be won, for success does not perch upon the falchion of every person who enters the competitive fray but comes only as the direct result of capability and unmistakable power. Possessing all the qualities of the bar, Ellsworth C. Irvine is winning marked success in his profession, practicing now as a member of the firm of Arnold, Morton & Irvine.
A native of Ohio he was born in Knox county, December 11, 1861, and is is a son of William and Emeline (Braddock) Irvine. The father was a na- tive of County Fermanagh, Ireland, while the mother was born in Knox county, Ohio. Coming to America in 1839 William Irvine settled in Knox county, Ohio, establishing his home on a farm near Mount Vernon, where for many years he was engaged in general agricultural pursuits. Later, about 1889, he removed to Fredericktown where he embarked in the grain and seed busi- ness and there passed away on the 20th of December, 1900, while his widow still resides in Fredericktown.
The work of the fields early became familiar to Ellsworth C. Irvine, for he devoted vacation periods to the task of tilling the soil. He also attended the country schools and later engaged in teaching for two terms in district schools in Knox county, but prompted by a laudable ambition to secure a better edu- cation for himself he enrolled as a student in the Northern Ohio University, from which he was graduated in 1884, the degree of Bachelor and Master of Arts being conferred upon him by that institution. In preparation for a legal career he entered the office of Converse, Booth & Keating, of Columbus, under whose direction he read law until admitted to practice in June, 1886. He then opened an office and practiced alone until 1890 when he was appointed assist- ant city attorney, filling that position until July, 1899. He discharged his duties without fear or favor, proving a competent and trustworthy official, and when he retired from the office he had the same public confidence that was tendered him when he took up his duties there. He has since been a mem- ber of the firm of Arnold, Morton & Irvine, who occupy fine offices in the Co-
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lumbus Trust & Savings building and are engaged in general practice. They have been retained for the defense and prosecution of many important cases, and Mr. Irvine makes thorough preparation before he enters upon the work of the courtroom, so that he is seldom, if ever, surprised at the line of attack of his opponents.
On the 20th of July, 1887, was celebrated the marriage of Ellsworth C. Irvine and Miss Ida M. Rowland, a daughter of Richard Rowland, of Colum- bus. They have two children, Dorothy M. and William R. The parents are prominent socially and are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Irvine belongs also to the Ohio Club, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party, but he has never sought office outside of the direct path of his profession. He holds mem- bership in the Columbus & Ohio Bar Association and in their meetings gains inspiration for his professional duties. Gradually he has advanced in his chosen calling and his clientage is constantly increasing in volume and im- portance.
T. E. COURTRIGHT, M.D.
This is an age of specialization in which the individual does not attempt to master an entire field of scientific knowledge and investigation but after ac- quiring familiarity with the basic principles devotes his attention to one special line and therein gains proficiency that he could not hope to attain otherwise. This course has been followed by Dr. T. E. Courtright, who in his practice, is making a specialty of the diseases of women and children. A native of Fair- field county, Ohio, he was born March 16, 1860, and is a son of John E. and Lorinda (Williamson) Courtright, also natives of this state. The father was born in Fairfield county, and was a son of Jacob Courtright, who came from the eastern states in pioneer times and cast in his lot with the early representa- tives of farming interests in Fairfield county. There John E. Courtright fol- lowed the occupation of farming and passed away in 1896 at the age of fifty- six years.
Dr. Courtright was a pupil in the public schools of Lithopolis and also at- tended the State University from 1879 until 1882. While pursuing his collegi- ate course he had the intention of one day becoming a member of the medical profession and with this end in view he enrolled as a student in the Starling Medical College from which he was graduated in 1884. He then began prac- tice as Basil, Fairfield county, where he continued for five years when he re- moved to Lincoln county where he continued in active practice for eleven years. Since 1900 he has been a member of the medical fraternity at Colum- bus and prior to his removal here he pursued a post-graduate course in the Chicago Polyclinic, preparing for his specialty, which is obstetrics and the dis- eases of women and children. He is now lecturing on obstetrics in Mercy Hos- pital and in his chosen department of medical practice he has won success, becoming recognized as an able representative of this branch of the medical
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science, his opinion being largely accepted as authority by his associates in the medical fraternity here.
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