USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Vol. I > Part 58
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(Catherine Babbitt, of Indianapolis, Indiana), five sons of the older daughters and three husbands of granddaughters were likewise soldiers, two being killed in action and three severely wounded. In all, there were fourteen representa- tives of the family in the war, with as many more from the families of the brothers of Thomas Taylor, Jr.
William A. Taylor began his education in the public schools of Perry county, engaged in teaching to some extent and finished his education in a forty-odd year course in the leading colleges of journalism in New Lexington, Zanesville, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Columbus, New York and Philadelphia. Pending and during this course he wrote a number of books, both prose and poetry, including The Peril of the Republic; American President and Contem- poraneous Rulers; Primary Tariff Lessons; Ohio Hundred Year Book; Ohio Statesmen and Annals of Progress; Roses and Rue; The Next Morning Philosopher; Ohio in Congress 1803-1903; Intermere, in which practical aerial navigation and true social reform are forecast, described and accounted for; The Evolution of the Statesman, etc.
On the 10th of November, 1870, Mr. Taylor married Miss Janet Allen Tarrier, of Zanesville, Ohio. A son, Aubrey Clarence Taylor, who was born to them in Allegheny City, January 28, 1875, passed away at Zanesville, No- vember 26, 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor reside at 617 Franklin avenue, Colum- bus. He was first president of the Ohio Sons of the American Revolution, served six times as vice president, was for twelve years on the board of manage- ment and has been secretary since 1903. He has been a delegate to the na- tional congress eight times, and is a member of McCoy Post, No. 1, G. A. R.
I. E. WILDERMUTH.
I. E. Wildermuth is a practical and progressive farmer of Madison township and a representative of one of the old and prominent pioneer fam- ilies of this section of Franklin county. William Wildermuth, the father of our subject was a son of Daniel and Catharine Wildermuth, and located on the farm where his son I. E. now resides, at an early day. He owned three hundred and twenty acres of well improved land and in 1854 erected a fine brick residence, which is still standing and is in excellent condition. He came of old Pennsylvania Dutch stock and was a man of domestic tastes, his greatest interest centering in his home and family. He was largely a self-educated man and a broad reader. He was a devoted and consistent member of the Lutheran church, of which he served as elder and trustee and was a liberal contributor in support of the church and did much in his locality for the uplifting of humanity. He made farming his life work and passed away at the age of seventy-six years, honored and respected by all, for in his daily life he was genial and affable and adhered to the strictest prin- ciples in his dealings and actions with his fellowmen. His wife was a valued helpmate, sharing with him in life's joys and sorrows, its adversity and
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prosperity and thus their home life was ideal. She lived to the advanced age of eighty-one years.
I. E. Wildermuth, whose name introduces this review, was born on the farm which is now his home, January 12, 1859, and acquired his education in the common schools. He was reared to the duties of the home farm, as- sisting his father during the period of his boyhood and youth and when starting out upon an independent business venture he chose the occupation to which he had been reared. He now owns and operates the old homestead farm, comprising one hundred acres, situated in Madison township. This is a well improved property, supplied with good outbuildings and a brick residence. He is engaged in raising wheat, corn and oats and raises stock to some extent, each branch of his work bringing him a gratifying financial income.
Mr. Wildermuth was married in 1844 to Miss Olive J. Keeler, who was born March 15, 1856. Their union has been blessed with two sons and a daughter: Vernon L., who was born August 15, 1885; Amy R., born March 1, 1889; and Clarence K., born January 24, 1892. All the children are graduates of the Groveport high school and Vernon and Amy are now students in the Ohio State University, the former giving his attention to etymology. On the 12th of March, 1895, the wife and mother was called from this life and on the 9th of March, 1899, Mr. Wildermuth was again married, his union being with Mary E. Hendren.
Mr. Wildermuth gives his political support to the men and measures of the democratic party, while his religious faith is indicated by his member- ship in the Lutheran church. He is a successful man-the result of his own energy, thrift and enterprise and no man is more highly esteemed in the community than is Mr. Wildermuth.
FOSTER COPELAND.
Among the earnest men whose depth of character and strict adherence to principle excite the admiration of his contemporaries Foster Copeland is prominent. Banking institutions are the heart of the commercial body, indi- cating the healthfulness of trade and the bank that follows a safe, conserv- ative business policy does more to establish public confidence in times of widespread financial depression than anything else. Such a course has the City National Bank of Columbus followed under the able management of its president, Foster Copeland, who since 1882 has figured in business circles in this city. His labors have ever been the result of well defined plans and purpose, prompted always by the laudable ambition to attain something higher and better. Born in Evansville, Indiana, on the 9th of March, 1858, he is a son of Guild Copeland of Baltimore, Maryland. The Copelands were of English lineage, the family coming to America early in the seventeenth century. One of the name married a daughter of John and Priscilla Alden. Five ancestors of Foster Copeland were soldiers of the patriot army in the
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Revolutionary war. His paternal grandfather was the founder of the family in Ohio, settling at Zanesville in 1828, and taking an active part in the af- fairs of the city as its first mayor and as the promoter of many interests that contributed to its upbuilding. He served as a member of the state legis- lature for a number of terms, leaving the impress of his individuality upon constructive work done in the general assembly. He served as a soldier of the war of 1812 and commanded the Maryland militia at the time of LaFay- ette's visit to America. Guild Copeland became a banker, owning a private banking institution at Evansville, Indiana. Later he removed to New York city where he engaged in the same business, being widely recognized as a successful banker, his name being an honored one on commercial paper. His death occurred in 1893. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eliza Foster, was a native of Evansville, Indiana, and died in February, 1905. Her brother, Hon. John W. Foster, was secretary of state as a member of the cab- inet of President Benjamin Harrison and is still living in Washington, D. C.
Foster Copeland spent the first years of his life in Evansville, Indiana, and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Cincinnati where they lived for two years during which period he attended the public schools. The family then became residents of Brooklyn, New York, where he remained until 1882 and during that period continued his education in the juvenile high school and the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He was afterward a student in a boarding school at Amherst, Massachusetts, and returned to New York to enter the employ of his father in the banking business, being thus engaged between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four years. His father, however, lost his fortune through the repudiation of the state bonds and Foster Copeland, facing the necessity of making a new start in business life, came to Columbus in February, 1882. Here he accepted a position as book- keeper on a salary of seven dollars per week and in 1884 was promoted to traveling salesman for the same house-J. H. Godman & Company, whom he represented on the road for five years or until 1889. At that time the bus- iness was incorporated as the H. C. Godman Company and Mr. Copeland was elected treasurer, continuing in that position until 1907. In the mean- time he had become connected with various other commercial and financial concerns for his business enterprise and ability were recognized as forceful elements leading to success. In 1898 he was president of the City Deposit Bank and on the 4th of July, 1906, this became the City National Bank, Mr. Copeland retaining the presidency. He is also the president of the Storner-Copeland Company, president of the Columbus Forge & Iron Com- pany and of numerous other concerns. Intricate business problems seem to him matters of easy solution and he readily finds the best methods of manag- ing affairs which baffle others.
On the 26th of January, 1893, Mr. Copeland was marrier to Miss Martha O. Thomas, of Columbus and their children are: Alfred Thomas, Eleanor Foster, Martha Hogue and Foster, Jr. He is largely interested in the Young Men's Christian Association and has been a most active and helpful worker in the society, serving as its president for ten years. He is also a consistent
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member of the Broad Street Presbyterian church in which he is serving as elder. In manner he is courteous and pleasant, winning friends by his genial disposition and honorable character which command the respect of all. He is public spirited in an eminent degree and through more than a quarter of a century has given his support to whatever is calculated to promote the welfare of Columbus. In all of the relations of life whether as a banker, an official in business concerns, a promoter of religious of work or as a private citizen he has always been faithful and true and in his life, eventful and varied as it has been, no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evildoing darkens his honored pathway.
MICHAEL JOSEPH HANLY.
Where ambition is satisfied and every ultimate aim accomplished inertia and inactivity follow but where ambition serves "to prick the sides of intent" labor eventually reaches its objective point. Among the business men of Columbus who are constantly pushing ahead and winning results by de- termination and perseverance is numbered Michael Joseph Hanly, manager of the General Accident Insurance Company of Philadelphia. A native son of Ohio he was born in the city of Delaware, August 9, 1859, and is of Irish lineage. His parents, Daniel and Anna (Lonergan) Hanly, were both natives of Tipperary, Ireland, and the father, coming to America in 1848, settled in Delaware, Ohio, where he conducted business as a landscape gardener. He died in the year 1870 and was long survived by his wife who passed away in 1904.
Michael Joseph Hanly was educated in the parochial schools of Dela- ware, Ohio, to the age of eleven years. He afterward attended a business col- lege and night school and from the age of fifteen years he has been dependent upon his own resources, first earning his living as an employe in the Dela- ware Chair Factory. He afterward secured a position in a dry-goods store and at night attended the business college in order to better qualify for the responsibilities and cares of a business career. He continued in the dry- goods establishment of S. P. Shur from 1874 until 1890 and worked his way upward through successive promotions until, during the last three years of his connection with the house, he was partner in the business.
Seeking a still broader field of labor Mr. Hanly came to Columbus in 1890 and took charge of a department for the firm of Lawrence, Butler & Benham, dealers in carpets, but after six months he returned to Delaware where he was again engaged in the dry-goods business until 1892. In that year he turned his attention to the insurance business in connection with E. W. Poe, then auditor of the state and manager of the Equitable Life Insur- ance Company of New York. His association with Mr. Poe continued for about eight years or until the death of his partner in 1900. In the fall of 1892 Mr. Hanly turned his attention to accident insurance and his principal business today is in that department. He has written more personal busi-
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ness for the New England Mutual Accident Association of Boston and for the company than any other man. In 1896 he was made general adjuster for the New England Mutual Accident Association of Boston and, company was succeeded by the General Accident Company of Philadelphia in 1899 at which time Mr. Hanly opened an office in Columbus and is now resident manager at this point. Since he took charge of the business here it has shown a remarkable growth. There is perhaps no one who has more intimate knowledge of insurance in its various branches than has Mr. Hanly and in conducting the interests of the company here he has displayed an initiative spirit which has brought new business and made his agency one of the extensive interests of the kind in Ohio. Aside from his other inter- ests Mr. Hanly is a director in the Mumm-Romer Advertising Agency and of the O'Connor Furniture Company. He is likewise secretary, treasurer and director of the Columbus Mining Company and of the Scioto Mining Company, both in Nevada. His investments have been judiciously placed and are bringing to him a good financial return annually.
In 1883 Mr. Hanly was married to Miss Lydia Hutchins, of Delaware, Ohio, and they have one daughter, Lydia, who is now a senior in the Ohio State University. As a stalwart republican Mr. Hanly is well known and in 1899 was elected to the city council of Delaware on that ticket. His election was indicative of his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him for his ward had a normal democratic majority. While he has always been interested in politics and the success of his party he has never sought nor desired office and in 1888 refused the nomination for state senator. Fratern- ally he is connected with the Knights of Columbus, belonging to Columbus Council, No. 400. He has a most enviable reputation as a good story teller and this quality renders him a favorite in social circles. He is also an ardent en- thusiast on outdoor sports but they are always with him a side issue, his atten- tion being chiefly given to his private business affairs and to the aid which he can render his city in support of many progressive public measures. He is now a member of the Board of Trade and received its badge of honor in 1908. He has taken an active and helpful part in many measures for the public good and what he has accomplished attests his unselfish and public-spirited patriotism.
A. M. STEINFELD, M. D.
Dr. A. M. Steinfield, who in his practice has made a specialty of or- thopedic surgery, in which department he has gained much more than local distinction because his wide study and research have brought him pronounced ability, well deserves mention among the leading representatives of the fraternity in Columbus. He was born in Zanseville, Ohio, in 1873. His father, Michael Steinfeld, a native of Germany, settled in western Pennsyl- vania when thirteen years of age having crossed the Atlantic with his father, Alexander Steinfeld. At a later date the family home was established in Wheeling, West Virginia, and in the year 1855 Michael Steinfeld came to
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Ohio settling at Zanesville, where he lived for twenty years, or until 1875, when he came to Columbus. Here he opened a drug store and has been con- nected with the mercantile interests of the city since that time, conducting now a successful business as a pharmacist. His wife, who in her maiden- hood was Caroline Schoenfield, is also a native of Germany.
Dr. Steinfeld, brought to Columbus when only two years of age, is in- debted to the public-school system for his early educational privileges. He continued his studies in the State University and later entered the Starling Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1897. He at once opened an office and continued in general practice in the capital city until 1905, when he went abroad spending one year in Vienna, Munich and Berlin pur- suing his studies under the direction of some of the most eminent old world physicians and surgeons. He made a specialty of orthopedic surgery and since his return has confined his practice to that department of the medical science. He has also been a lecturer on orthopedic surgery in Starling- Ohio Medical College and is orthopedic surgeon of St. Francis Hospital. He is stimulated to further study in professional lines through his member- ship in the Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Association. He is justly counted with the rising young represent- atives of the profession and has already attained a place of prominence that many an older physician might well envy.
ZEPHANIAH WILLIAMS.
Zephaniah Williams, deceased, was prominently identified with the de- velopment of the coal industry in the Hocking valley and through this method of utilizing the material resources of the state he contributed in large measure to its industrial activity and commercial prosperity. A native of Ohio, he was born in Minersville, Meigs county, November 1, 1850. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Abel Williams, were born in Wales but the family has been repre- sented in this state for more than half a century. The father died when the son was very small and he was reared by his widowed mother who was very anxious for him to obtain a good education and gave him every possible op- portunity in that direction. He entered the public schools of his native town and afterward continued his studies in Ewington and Lebanon, Ohio, in the latter place pursuing a course in mining and civil engineering.
When twenty-four years of age Mr. Williams became an active factor in the development of the mining resources of the state and devoted his remain- ing days to that business. He was recognized as an authority on the mining of coal and the location of coal mines. He made such a close and thorough study of the work that his judgment was seldom if ever at fault concerning the value of coal properties, and he located and opened a great many mines in Jackson county and Hocking valley. He superintended the business for many different companies, was connected for some time as president with the Sommers Coal Company and later joined Alfred Brenholts in organizing the
ZEPHANIAH WILLIAMS
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Imperial Coal Company, in which he was general manager and an equal partner, their association continuing for over twenty years. Mr. Williams gave his entire attention to this business and in 1900 he removed to Columbus, from which point he controlled his operations in the coal fields. He was very careful and accurate in his management of his affairs and his watchful- ness and energy brought him richly merited success. At length he became ill and for two weeks was confined to his bed at home. On the 7th of September, 1905, he was taken to Mount Carmel Hospital to undergo an operation and passed away the following day, being buried from his home on the 10th of September, the interment being made in Green Lawn cemetery.
On the 21st of October, 1879, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Leah Lewis, a native of Meigs county, Ohio, who since her husband's death has continued to occupy the fine home which he erected for them at No. 75 Miami avenue. Mr. Williams was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows from the age of twenty-one years, attained high rank in Masonry and was connected with the Mystic Shrine. In politics he was a republican but was not an active politician in the sense of office-seeking. His life was an honorable and upright one. He was opposed to wrong and injustice in any form and to all bad habits. He never used intoxicants or tobacco, never kept late hours, and believed in the old maxim: "Early to bed and early to rise." He was a man of marked diligence and unfaltering business activity whose spirit of determination enabled him to accomplish whatever he undertook. His work was a feature in the substantial development of the community and he deserved classification with the representative citizens of Columbus. His acquaintance, however, was not confined to this city or to any locality, for he was widely known throughout Ohio and even beyond the borders of the state, and he exemplified in his life the salient characteristics of a devoted husband, a reliable, progressive business man and a public-spirited and loyal citizen.
CHARLES G. SCHENCK, JR.
Charles G. Schenck, Jr., cashier of the Lincoln Savings Bank Company, Mount Vernon avenue, in Columbus, is a young man of notable business prowess and skill. He has outdistanced in the business race many who started out ahead of him and yet there has not been a single esoteric phase in his career, for along the lines of industry, perseverance and capability he has gained his promotion. He was born in Piqua, Ohio, October 5, 1883. and has been a resident of Columbus since 1885 in which year his father. Charles G. Schenck, Sr., removed to this city. His education was attained in the public schools and passing through consecutive grades he eventually became a high-school student. He afterward accepted a position as book- keeper in the Market Exchange Bank where he continued for three years, during which time he gained comprehensive and practical knowledge of the banking business. In April, 1905, he succeeded W. W. Gard as cashier of
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the Lincoln Savings Bank Company of Mount Vernon avenue, an institu- tion which was organized December 30, 1904, as a depository for savings, the bank being capitalized for fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Schenck has done much to advance the interests and success of this institution and proves a popular cashier because he is uniformly courteous and obliging to the patrons of the bank.
On the 12th of November, 1908, Mr. Schenck was united in marriage with Miss Marie Siebert Mueller of Columbus. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, being a member of Humboldt Lodge, No. 476.
LUTHER P. STEPHENS.
Newspaper training is an excellent preparation for success in other bus- iness lines. He who does reportorial or editorial work must be constantly alert and watchful, utilizing every opportunity, and thus with native powers and talents fully aroused, the individual is competent to recognize and im- prove advantages in other direcions. Such was the training of Luther P. Stephens, who, having retired from the field of journalism, has since 1898 been greatly interested in the development of suburban railway lines. In this connection he has contributed in substantial measure to the growth of the city, while from his labors he, too, has derived substantial benefits.
Of Virginian birth, the place of his nativity was Stephens City, which was founded by the family early in the last century. His father, Calvin M. B. Stephens, was there born and dwelt for many years, his death there oc- curring in 1862. He was a warm personal friend of General "Stonewall" Jackson but was physically incapacitated, so could not follow his friend and chief into battle. He married Rebecca J. Pelter, of Virginia, and the old home still stands near Stephens City.
As there was little prospect for the boy's advancement in that locality, Luther P. Stephens came to Columbus in 1868, accompanied by his mother and brother George. Here he learned the printer's trade in all of its practical phases and was numbered among the half score of practical printers who founded the Columbia Evening Dispatch. During his journalistic experience he at different times acted as reporter, city editor, correspondent and editor in chief. Following the establishment of the Dispatch, Mr. Stephens set type at the case and also acted as assistant foreman but later entered the business department and in addition to managing the financial interests and laboring to increase the scope of business, he also acted as reporter, city editor, editorial writer and head of the staff of special correspondents for the gathering of the news of great events. For a period of four years he was general manager of the Press Post and was one of the few thoroughly capable correspondents who went out from Columbus, his services being much in de- mand at political conventions and other great public assemblages. He was both fair and accurate in his work and among the more recent of his labors in this connection was the work done at the republican national convention of Phila-
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delphia, when President McKinley received his second nomination, and at the democratic convention at Kansas City the same year. His labors brought him wide acquaintance among distinguished men of the state and nation and the ability of his service was followed by financial progress that enabled him in the course of years to turn his attention in other directions.
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