USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Vol. I > Part 54
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Mr. Miller is a member of the King Methodist Episcopal church. He is very fond of outdoor and aquatic sports and is an enthusiast on the sub- ject of motoring. His business advancement, with its sequent financial re- sources, enables him to indulge his taste in this direction and those who meet him outside of his office find him a friendly, affable man who can enter as heartily into the social and athletic enjoyment as he does into his business.
MARSHALL A. SMITH.
Marshall A. Smith, treasurer of the Smith Agricultural Chemical Com- pany, is thus manager of the financial interests of one of the important pro- ductive industries of Columbus. As the years have gone by the company has developed an extensive business which is a factor in the commercial progress of the city, furnishing employment to a large number of workmen and
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through its sales department bringing much money into the city. Mr. Smith has always been a resident of Ohio, his birth having occurred at Sun- bury, Delaware county, on the 23d of May, 1869, the youngest son of Marshall and Elvira Abbie (Thrall) Smith. His boyhood and youth were quietly passed in the acquirement of an education which he pursued through consecutive grades of the public school to his graduation. He entered bus- iness life as a clerk in his father's store and acted in that capacity for about a year, when he became an equal partner in the business and so continued for eight years. He then joined his father and brothers in the organization of the Ohio Farmers Fertilizer Company, was made the first treasurer of the concern and has so continued to the present time. In the meantime the bus- iness has been reorganized under the name of the Smith Agricultural Chem- ical Company and is capitalized for a million dollars, while their annual sales aggregate about an equal amount. Their trade has constantly grown and their extensive shipments bring them a gratifying financial return. Aside from this business Marshall A. Smith is also an extensive real-estate dealer and investor and owns considerable valuable property. The plant of the chemical company covers about ten acres and its output is in constant demand by a public that recognizes the product as one of the best fertilizers of the country.
On the 16th of October, 1893, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Cora May Smith, who was born May 28, 1870, her parents being Mr. and Mrs. Newton Smith. Their children are: Harold Albert, Hurtha M., Mar- jorie E. and Adrienne L. Mr. Smith is an exemplary representative of Ma- sonry and his wife is connected with the Order of the Eastern Star. He is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He has taken the Royal Arch degree in the chapter and is likewise a member of the Knights of Pythias. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, while in political belief he is independent, being allied with that movement which is one of the hopeful signs of the times, indicating that the American spirit does not propose to be dominated by party rule but will exercise an inde- pendent ballot for men who are best qualified for office.
WALTER H. FRANCIS.
Walter H. Francis is a member of the contracting firm of The Francis Brothers Company which has executed large contracts for both the state and federal government. His career is notably successful for one of his years, as he is yet a young man, his birth having occurred in Columbus August 4, 1881. His father, Albert Francis, was born in Hanover county, Ohio, May 20, 1853. He was for over a quarter of a century a well known con- tractor of this city and was principal contractor of the Centennial Exposition buildings. He married Rosa Schlasman, a native of Lynn county, Iowa, born August 9, 1855.
Walter H. Francis was educated in the schools of Columbus, continuing his courses to his graduation from East high school with the class of 1898.
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He entered the contracting business at the age of twenty years in connec- tion with his father, having been, as it were, to the manor born. From early youth he was more or less familiar with building operations through the discussions of business interests by his father and through the assistance which he rendered him. When his school duties were over he joined his father in business and later formed a partnership with his brother, Frank D. Francis, under the present firm style of The Francis Brothers Company. They have made steady progress in their chosen life work and have done much building, executing large contracts for both the state and United States government. For several years they have been engaged in reconstruct- ing the Columbus Barracks and at all times their work is of a character which insures them the continuation of a liberal and gratifying patronage.
On the 4th of February, 1901, Mr. Francis was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Chappin, of London, Ohio, a daughter of Charles Chappin. Their residence is at No. 225 North Seventeenth street. Mr. Francis is a member of the Builders Exchange, the Knights of Pythias and the Colum- bus Country Club. He also belongs to the Mount Vernon Methodist Epis- copal church, and these 'organizations indicate much of the character of his interests and the rules which govern his conduct. His political views are in accord with the principles of the republican party and while he never seeks nor desires office, he gives loyal support to the party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. Realizing that industry, enterprise and progression constitute the chief features in success, he has upon that foundation builded his own prosperity.
FRED T. JONES.
Fred T. Jones, a successful representative of the financial interests of Columbus as cashier of the Security Savings Bank, was born in Delaware, Ohio, August 6, 1868, his parents being E. E. and Margaret (Edwards) Jones, natives of Wales. The father, who accompanied his grandparents on their emigration to the United States, settled in southern Ohio. After a residence of more than half a century in Delaware, this state, he passed away in 1908 at the age of seventy-five years. His wife was called to her final rest in the year 1903.
Fred T. Jones acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of Delaware and subsequently became a student in the Wesleyan University, from which he was graduated in 1891. During his college course he spent two and a half years in the Deposit Banking Company of Delaware and on completing his education he was made assistant cashier in that institution, while in 1895 he became cashier. In 1898 he resigned his position and was commissioned paymaster in the United States army by President Mckinley with the rank of major on June 3, 1898. He was connected with the pay- master general's office in Washington and paid troops in many of the eastern states and Porto Rico during the Spanish-American war and was honorably
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discharged April 8, 1899. In 1901 he organized the Security Savings Bank, of Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Jones becoming cashier. The institution has pros- pered and is on a solid financial basis. Mr. Jones is likewise treasurer of the Monarch Specialty Manufacturing Company and is widely recognized as one of the city's representative and prosperous financiers and business men.
In 1885 Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Austin, a na- tive of Taunton, Massachusetts, by whom he has two sons, Theodore and Lendall, and one daughter, Ann. Fraternally he is connected with York Lodge, F. & A. M., and also the Royal Arch Chapter of Delaware. He is a man of modest and unassuming disposition but of genuine personal worth- a man of many friends, courteous, honest, upright and just.
LUKE G. BYRNE.
Admitted to the bar in the period of his early manhood, Luke G. Byrne, of Columbus, has been a practitioner in the state and federal courts to the present time, and has gained that distinction which comes from close appli- cation, earnest study, careful preparation, and the utilization of natural powers and talents. Moreover, in citizenship he stands for all that is progress- ive, while his qualities as a man, aside from any professional relations, have gained him the warm esteem and unqualified respect of all with whom he has been associated. Mr. Byrne was born near the pretty village of Athboy, in County Meath, Ireland, December 7, 1848, a son of William and Elizabeth (Gavagan) Byrne. The father followed agricultural pursuits in his native country, but the opportunities of the new world attracted him and with his wife and children he sailed for the United States, becoming a resident of Franklin county, Ohio. Here his remaining days were passed, his death oc- curring November 13, 1882, while his wife survived until the 31st of Jan- uary, 1884. They were the parents of six sons, four of whom survive and occupy creditable positions in the communities in which they are residing.
Brought to America in his boyhood days, Luke G. Byrne profited by the educational opportunities offered by the village school of Groveport, and throughout his life he has remained a reader whose careful selection of books and assimilation of those which he has perused, have made him a man of broad, general information. To this is due, at least in part, his success as a member of the bar. His wide reading has enabled him to understand men and the complex motives which govern them and this, combined with care- ful analysis of the specific question under consideration in connection with his law work, has made him an attorney of marked ability and strength. His preparation for the work of the courts was made in the office and under the direction of Judge J. W. Baldwin and Lorenzo English, two of the dis- tinguished lawyers of Columbus in the early days. He devoted four years to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence and with comprehensive knowledge of the law entered upon the work of the courts so well equipped that his clients did not suffer from any lack of experience on his part. Early
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in his professional career he formed a partnership with the Hon. George S. Peters, a connection that was continued for twelve years, during which time the firm gained a place in the foremost ranks in the legal profession in Co- lumbus and Franklin county. The characteristics of his youth-capability, studiousness, and energy-have remained as salient features in the life of Mr. Byrne to the present time, and have been elements in his growing success.
On the 28th of November, 1880, Mr. Byrne was united in marriage to Miss Rose M. Leonard, a daughter of the late Theodore Leonard, at one time a prominent citizen of Franklin county. Mr. Byrne is a most genial, companionable gentleman, and it would be difficult to find one who has more warm friends in Columbus. He has just appreciation of the social amenities of life, and yet never allows outside interests to interfere with his professional duties, his devotion to his clients being proverbial. He has argued many cases and lost but few, recognizing fully the necessity for thorough prepara- tion. His handling of his cause is always full, comprehensive and accurate, and his analysis of the facts clear and exhaustive. He sees without effort the relation and dependence of facts and so groups them as to enable him to throw their combined force upon the point they tend to prove.
WILLIAM M. FISHER.
William M. Fisher, whose business career has been characterized by that steady progress which follows broadening experience and constantly expanding powers, is today one of the foremost commission merchants of Ohio, and has attained his present prominence by close application, earnest purpose, and un- swerving business integrity, which are indispensable concomitants of success. His life work forms an important chapter in the history of the capital city, and Franklin county is glad to number him among her native sons. The home farm in what is now Marion township was his birthplace, his natal day being September 10, 1840.
It was during the closing years of the eighteenth century that the Fisher family was founded in Franklin county by his grandfather, Michael Fisher, who was a native of Virginia, where he met and married Miss Sarah Petty, a native of that state. In the year 1798 they removed to Ohio, which had not then become a part of the newly created Union, but constituted a portion of the great Northwest Territory, which was yet a wild and almost uninhabited region. The ratio of Indians to white settlers was that of one hundred to one. The forests stood in their primeval strength and in the green woods could be found many kinds of wild animals, while deer and lesser game could be had in abundance. Michael Fisher erected a little log cabin about four miles from the present site of the Columbus courthouse, purchasing a tract of eight hun- dred acres along the Scioto river. His family experienced all the usual hard- ships and privations of pioneer life. There were no luxuries in the little cabin, and many of the comforts known to the older east were denied them by reason of the long distance from Columbus to the coast and the lack of trans-
WILLIAM M. FISHER
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portation facilities. They had to depend almost entirely upon what they raised to supply the table, and their garments, too, were in large measure made from home grown materials. With characteristic energy, however, Michael Fisher began the development of a farm, making a clearing in the forest, while in the course of time he transformed the raw land into productive fields. He died upon the old homestead in 1816 and was long survived by his wife, who passed away in 1845. Their children were Christy, who became the wife of W. M. Miller; Joseph; Jacob; Milton; Michael; George; Elizabeth, the wife of William Stewart; Sarah, the wife of William Cramer; and Miranda, the wife of Arthur O'Hara.
Of this family, Jacob Fisher was the father of William M. Fisher. He was born on the old home farm near Columbus, July 2, 1808, and was reared amid the wild scenes and environments of pioneer life, but lived to witness re- markable changes in the county, for he reached the age of seventy-six years and continued his residence here up to the time of his death. In early days he was the captain of the Horse Company for a number of years. As a com- panion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Mary Briggs, who was brought to Ohio in her early girlhood from her native state of New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Fisher had a family of thirteen children, seven of whom reached adult life: Milton, Edward, Joseph, Michael, Jacob, Sarah Jane, the wife of Abram Schoaf, and William M. Our subject and his brother Jacob are the only ones now living.
In taking up the personal history of William M. Fisher we present to our readers one whose close and active connection with business affairs has con- tributed in substantial measure to the growth and progress of the city, his his- tory also proving conclusively that success and an honored name may be won simultaneously. The advantages of his youth, educational and otherwise, were very few, for at an early age he began work in the fields and assisted in the cultivation of the home farm until twenty-seven years of age. He felt that his energies, however, were circumscribed by the limits of the home place and, thinking to find broader opportunities in commercial lines he became a resi- dent of Columbus, where he secured a clerkship in the grocery store of F. A. Sells. After a short time, however, he joined John Wagonseller in the estab- lishment of a grocery store, which they conducted under the firm style of Fisher & Wagonseller for two years. On the expiration of that period they sold out and Mr. Fisher returned to the farm, devoting his energies to the rais- ing of grain and stock, while at the same time he made extensive shipments of grain over the Hocking Valley Railroad. Again, however, he became iden- tified with commercial interests in Columbus as proprietor of a grocery store, which he conducted for eighteen months. During that period he shipped fruit and produce and later merged his retail business into that of a wholesale fruit and provision house, conducting his enterprise on Fourth street, near Town, until 1882, when the growth of his business demanded larger quarters and he removed to the Gwinn block, which he purchased and now owns, two blocks. The business has been constantly developed along safe and conservative, yet progressive lines, until today the trade has reached an extensive volume. The business has been organized under the name of the William M. Fisher & Sons
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Commission Company, Incorporated, of which William M. Fisher is the presi- dent. In this connection he bends his energies to administrative direction and executive control, being thoroughly familiar with all the details of an exten- sive enterprise and showing notable power in coordinating forces and bringing varied interests into a unified whole. Aside from his commission business he is known in financial circles, having for more than a third of a century been one of the directors of the Ohio National Bank. He is also a director of the American Savings Bank, is vice president of the Columbus Board of Trade and president of the Central Market Board of Trade, while at one time he was largely interested in the Dahlonega Gold Mining Company, of Georgia.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Fisher was married November 13, 1862, to Miss Katherine Matheny, of Columbus, a daughter of John Ma- theny, of Fairfield county, Ohio. She was born in Indiana, but much of her life has been passed in this state. There were three sons and three daughters of this marriage: Mary A., the wife of Charles Thurber, of Columbus; Grant S., deceased; William G., associated with his father in business; Kirk B., de- ceased; Martha A., the wife of Mark Gifford, of Toledo, Ohio; and Katherine.
Mr. Fisher is identified with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is in hearty sympathy with the beneficent spirit which underlies these organizations. While he has never sought to figure be- fore the public in any life outside of business, he is yet actuated by a spirit of devotion to the general good in all matters of citizenship and has cooperated in many projects which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. His business record is such as any man might be proud to possess. He has always regarded a promise made or a pledge given as a sacred obligation, and he enjoys to the fullest extent the respect and confidence of his business colleagues and as- sociates.
WILLIAM J. McCOMB.
In the history of commercial enterprise and business development in Co- lumbus it is imperative that mention be made of William J. McComb for he has contributed in large measure to the substantial growth and progress of the city. He was not favored by fortune at the outset of his career but on the contrary faced the necessity of providing for his own support and learning the lessons of life in the difficult school of experience. Through successive stages of progress he has worked his way upward until he stands today as a representative of important financial interests, having no longer to partici- pate actively in business interests in order to secure the comforts and luxuries of life.
Mr. McComb is a native of Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio, born in 1843. The McCombs were of Scottish lineage and the family was founded in eastern Pennsylvania at an early period in the colonization of the new world. Robert McComb, the father, was born in eastern Pennsylvania and in 1817 ar- rived in Richland county, Ohio, where for many years he followed merchan- dising, becoming one of the leading business men of Mansfield. He married Miss Amelia Sherman, connected with one of the most distinguished and hon-
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ored families in the state. She was a granddaughter of Taylor and Elizabeth (Stoddard) Sherman. The latter was born in Woodbury, Connecticut, June 17, 1769, and died in Mansfield, Ohio, August 2, 1848. Their son, Charles Robert Sherman, was one of the first supreme judges in Ohio, being called to that office in 1823. He was born September 26, 1778, resided for many years in Lancaster. Fairfield county, Ohio, and died June 24, 1829. He was the father of eleven children, two of whom attained national distinction, including William Tecumseh Sherman, the hero of the Atlanta campaign and the march to the sea, and John Sherman, the distinguished statesman, who was the eighth of the family. Their sister, Amelia Sherman, was born in Lancaster, Ohio, in 1816, and in 1832 gave her hand in marriage to Robert McComb, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1797. As stated he be- came a resident of Mansfield, Ohio, in 1817, and after long and active connec- tion with its commercial interests retired from business life in 1842. His lab- ors along other lines had also constituted elements in the growth and impor- tant upbuilding of the state. He became of the prominent railroad builders of Ohio and was a director of the old Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Railroad, now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio system. He had deep sympathy with young men who were struggling to gain a foothold in life, and assisted many of them on the upward climb. His life, therefore, was a benefit to the com- munity at large, and when he passed away in 1865 his death was the occasion of deep and widespread regret. While he prospered in his undertakings he was ever a man of strictest integrity and commercial honor, his life represent- ing an even balance between enterprise and truth. He had for about three years survived his wife, who passed away in 1862.
William J. McComb pursued his education in the public schools of Mans- field to the age of sixteen years, completing the high-school course in that city. In 1859 he came to Columbus, prompted by an ambition to enjoy the better business opportunities afforded by a larger city than that in which his youth was passed. He secured a position in the employ of J. & T. E. Miller, wholesale dry-goods merchants, predecessors of the present house of Green, Joyce & Company. There he remained until 1864 becoming thoroughly fa- miliar with that line of trade and with the business methods prevailing in commercial circles at that time. Then he entered the quartermaster's de- partinent of the Union army at Cincinnati, while later he was transferred to Detroit where he remained until 1866. He then returned to Columbus and again became associated with the wholesale dry-goods trade with the firm of Millers, Green & Joyce. He left them, however, in 1869, to engage in the real- estate business and for many years operated most extensively in the purchase and sale of property. He always dealt in his own property and through his activity in this department of business contributed in large and important measure to the upbuilding and the improvement of the city. He laid out and sold many additions and not only disposed of undeveloped property but trans- formed many unsightly vacancies into fine residence districts by the erection of attractive homes.
Since 1900 Mr. McComb has practically lived retired although he has im- portant invested interests. It was in that year that J. Lawrence Porter or-
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ganized the Fidelity Building Loan & Savings Company, of which he became secretary with Carey Paul, of Delaware, as president. On the death of the latter Mr. McComb succeeded to the presidency in the fall of 1900 and is now at the head of this institution, which has assets of about three hundred thous- and dollars. It is one of the conservative companies of middle Ohio showing a steady growth each year. There is an authorized capital of five million dol- lars, with one million, six hundred thousand dollars in force. Mr. McComb, however, devotes his attention to his personal property and investments, tak- ing no active part in business affairs otherwise.
In 1870 was celebrated the marriage of William J. McComb and Miss Clara Baldwin, a daughter of the late J. William Baldwin. They have two chil- dren : Margaret H., now the wife of Smith M. Comly, of Columbus, and J. Baldwin, who was born in 1873 and is now a practicing physician of this city. Another son, Hoyt Sherman, was born in 1880 and died in 1906, in Mexico. He was a mining engineer with the Mexico Coal & Coke Company and had particularly bright business prospects when he became ill of pneu- monia and passed away.
Mr. McComb was at one time a member of the Squirrel Hunters, a mili- tary organization, and he is an honorary member of the Columbus Country Club. He is fond of bowling and fishing and these have constituted the prin- cipal sources of his recreation. In politics he is republican but not an active worker in the party ranks. His life has been pre-emiently that of a success- ful business man and an analyzation of his record shows that keen judgment, clear insight and indefatigable industry have constituted the foundation upon which he has builded his prosperity. He has always had much faith in Co- lumbus and has, therefore, contributed largely to her progress. He embodied all the elements of what in this country we term a "squqare man"-one in whom to have confidence, a dependable man in any emergency. His easy dig- nity, his frankness and cordiality of address with the total absence of any- thing sinister or anything to conceal, foretoken a man who is ready to meet any obligation of life with the confidence and courage that come of conscious, personal ability, right conception of things and a habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities.
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