USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Vol. I > Part 67
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In 1890 Dr. Hamilton was married to Miss Maggie Butler, a native of this state and a daughter of William Butler, of Vinton, Ohio. They have one son, Walter. Dr. Hamilton belongs to Vinton Lodge, No. 131, A. F. & A. M., and is popular in fraternal as well as professional circles.
LLOYD E. STURM.
There is always opportunity to rise, for it is only the lower ranks in business that are crowded, and after the preliminary stages are passed it is much less difficult for the individual to maintain the footing that he has gained on the hillside that leads to the plane of affluence. Gradually Lloyd E. Sturm has worked his way upward until he is today one of the best known railroad bridge builders in the country, many important contracts being awarded him that attest his superior skill and the confidence reposed in him. He makes his headquarters and maintains his residence in Colum- bus, although his professional duties call him to various sections of the country.
Mr. Sturm was born near Clarksburg, West Virginia, January 28, 1860, his parents being John F. and Harriet (Harrison) Sturm, who were likewise natives of West Virginia. The father was a contractor and farmer and did some contract work on the Pittsburg division of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- road Company, although his later years were devoted to agricultural pur- suits. He took up his abode upon a farm and in its further development and improvement his time was passed. He was a member of the board of county commissioners of Harrison county, West Virginia, for twelve years and was prominent and influential in that locality. He died May 19, 1908.
Lloyd E. Sturm was educated in the common schools and afterward en- gaged in teaching for three terms. after which he turned his attention to railroad contracting in the state of his nativity. Natural mechanical ingenu- ity and skill, combined with knowledge gained through practical experience in mechanical work developed his ability for contracting, and he secured a contract on the Monongahela River Railroad, later on the Baltimore & Ohio, and afterward on the Ohio River Railroad, all of which are now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio system. He did the masonry and bridge work on those lines, and his success in those undertakings led him to seek broader fields of labor. In 1887 he came to Ohio and began operations here as a railroad contractor with headquarters at Portsmouth, first building bridges for the old Scioto Valley Railroad, now the Norfolk & Western. In 1891 he went to Waverly, Ohio, where he resided until 1905, when he removed to Colum-
L. E. STURM
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bus. His work has been on the Big Four Railroad to a considerable extent and since 1898 he has also been engaged on work for the Norfolk & Western Railroad Company, for which he has already built about seventy bridges. He constructed the steel and concrete bridge over the Scioto river at Ports- mouth and has done other work that is considered remarkable engineering feats. During the past three years he has been largely employed by the Southern Railway and the South & Western Railway Company in Tennes- see. He has also built the bridge for the Big Four Railroad Company at Danville, Illinois, and is one of the best known railroad bridge builders in this country, being always busy with his contracts, not having had an idle day for fifteen years. He is known throughout the United States in this connection, his ability placing him among the foremost representatives in the line of his chosen profession.
On the12th of February, 1890, Mr. Sturm was married to Miss Nellie O'Connor, of Portsmouth, Ohio, and they have three daughters: Margaret H., Harriet and Janet Eleanor. While his business interests make constant demands upon his time and attention, Mr. Sturm's friends know him as a courteous, genial gentleman, and those who serve him recognize him as a just employer, and all of his business associates esteem him not only for his ability, but for the straightforward principles which characterize his profes- sional career.
ORLANDO W. ALDRICH.
Orlando W. Aldrich has gained distinction by his work in the courts, also by his clear exposition of the law in the class room and by his contribu- tions to legal literature. Few lawyers have made a more lasting impression upon the bar of the state, both through legal ability of a high order, and through the individuality of a personal character which impresses itself upon a community.
A native of the Empire state, he was born in Erie county, March 30, 1840, his parents being Sidney and Lydia A. (York) Aldrich. The family is of English origin and was founded in America by the father, whose birth occurred near Farmingham, Suffolk county, England, in 1817. He arrived in the new world in 1832 when a youth of fifteen, and two years later be- came a resident of Erie county, New York, where he made his home until 1864. In that year he removed to Jackson county, Michigan, where he continued to reside until his death, in 1891. He was one of Nature's noble- men, his life at all times being actuated by the highest priciples in all of his relations to his fellowmen. In 1833 he became a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and was ever afterward one of its most earnest and de- voted workers. He served as class leader from 1840 and also was licensed as a local preacher. Such was the warm personal friendship entertained for him by all that knew him that he was called upon to officiate at more weddings and funerals than any other minister in his part of the state. He left the
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impress of his individuality for good upon the community in which he lived and his memory remains as a blessed benediction to all who knew him, while his record of self-sacrifice, hospitality, business integrity and Christian charity constitutes an example that may well be followed. His wife, whose death occurred in Michigan, in 1882, was born in Clarence, New York, and was a descendant in the paternal line of Asahel Franklin, of Bennington, Vermont, who was a nephew of Benjamin Franklin and one of the "Green Mountain Boys," who fought under General Stark at the battle of Benning- ton. Her grandmother, Amy Franklin York, was eleven years of age when that battle occurred and witnessed it from her father's house. In early womanhood she became the wife of Stephen York, and the family removed to Canada, residing less than half a mile from the battlefield of Lundy's Lane. She also saw the engagement which there occurred and as her hus- band gave the information to General Brown which resulted in the capture of a British spy, which fact became known to the Canadian authorities, the family had to flee from their home, and their farm was confiscated. One son, Stephen York, father of Mrs. Aldrich, had been drafted into the Cana- dian militia but made his escape across the border into the United States, joined Captain Spencer's company of New York militia, and participated in the battle of Fort Erie.
Reared under the parental roof, Orlando W. Aldrich pursued his early education in the public schools of his native state. He was a young man of twenty-one years when on the 17th of May, 1861, he responded to President Lincoln's call for troops, and joined the Fourteenth New York Volunteer In- fantry, with which he served in the peninsular campaign, participating also in the battles of Antietem, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. He remained on active duty until honorably discharged May 23, 1863.
A clear recognition of the value of education as a preparation for the responsibilities of life if one wishes to pass beyond the humble stations, led Mr. Aldrich to pursue a course in the Illinois Wesleyan University, from which he was graduated in 1869. He received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1875, the degree of Doctor of Laws from Albert University, at Bellville, Ontario, in 1877, and the degree of Doctor of Civil Law from the former institution in 1881. Having thoroughly prepared for the practice of law he was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1871 when Vice President Stephenson and Judge Weldon, of the United States court of Claims, were the examining committee. For some years Mr. Aldrich was connected with educational work as professor of philosophy of the Illinois Wesleyan Univer- sity from 1877 to 1878, while from 1876 to 1881 he was professor in the law department in the same institution. He was called to the Ohio State Uni- versity as a professor in the law department in 1892, and there continued until 1897. For three years he was the editor of the Weekly Jurist, of Bloomington, Illinois, and edited the first American edition of Anson on Contracts, an English work of high ability. He also prepared the supple- mental volume of Ohio statutes from 1880 until 1885, and wrote an article on elections in Volume six, first edition of the American Cyclopedia of Law. In his private practice his work has been distinguished by the highest
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legal ability. His work in the court room is characterized by a calmness and dignity that indicates reserve strength. The earnestness with which he has devoted his energies to his profession, the careful regard evinced for the interests of his clients, and an assiduous and unrelaxing attention to all the details of his cases have brought him a large business and made him very successful in its conduct. He has confined his attention exclusively to civil law and his arguments have elicited warm commendation, not only from his associates at the bar, but also from the bench. He is a very able writer. His briefs always show wide research, careful thought and the best and strongest reasons which can be urged for his contentions, presented in cogent and logical form, and illustrated by a style unusually lucid and clear.
Mr. Aldrich has been married twice. In 1863 at Hudson, Illinois, he wedded Miss Roselia G. Jewel, who passed away in 1877, leaving two chil- dren : Edgar S., who was graduated as an electrical engineer from the Ohio State University in 1898 and is now the manager of the Electric Light & Power Company at Moscow, Idaho; and Mrs. Harry E. Crum, of Columbus. In 1878 Mr. Aldrich was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Sarah A. Taylor, of Vandalia, Illinois, who was born in Coshocton county, Ohio. They have one son, W. Richard, now an attorney at law.
Mr. Aldrich owns a fine fruit farm just north of Columbus, called Maplehurst, and here he resides, his home being the center of a cultured society circle. He is greatly interested in horticulture and has studied it closely, both from a scientific and practical standpoint, and has done much to further the interests of fruit growers in the state by his activity in the Columbus Horticultural Society, in which he has been honored with the presidency, while for four years he was vice president of the Ohio State Horticultural Society. It would be tautological in this connection to enter into any series of statements as showing Mr. Aldrich to be a man of schol- arly attainments and broad intellectual culture, for this has been shadowed forth between the lines of this review. He has been a student of the great sociological, economical and political problems of the country, and is inter- ested in various organizations which promote knowledge and foster the social relations that inculcate an interest in one's fellowmen.
Mr. Aldrich is in hearty sympathy with the purposes of the Masonic fra- ternity and served for four years as master of New England Lodge, No. 4, A. F. & A. M., of Worthington, while of Mount Vernon Commandery, K. T., he is a life member. He has attained the thirty-second degree in the Scot- tish Rite and is a member of Scioto Consistory, and is also identified with Aladdin Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He has been com- mander of Beers Post, G. A. R., was judge advocate of the department of the Ohio, a member of the council of administration of Ohio, and a delegate to the national encampment in Cincinnati. He likewise belongs to the Union Veteran Legion Encampment, No. 78, and is interested in all that per- tains to the welfare of that great host who fought for the preservation of the Union. For two years he was the vice president of the Ohio Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and active as its president for one year. He was also president of the Society of the War of 1812, and national vice presi-
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dent of that society. A patron of art, he owns one of the largest and finest col- lections of oil and water color paintings by European and American artists in this section of the state. Mr. Aldrich is a member of the Royal Society of Arts. His extensive library contains many rare and valuable old vol- umes, including one of Roman law published in 1442, only a few years after the first printing was done by movable type. Archaeological research is a matter of deep interest to him, as is all that tends to promote knowledge and æsthetic culture, contributing to the uplifting of the race. Associa- tion with him means expansion and elevation, and he stands today as one of the most honored and representative citizens of Ohio.
JAMES HENRY BROCK.
James Henry Brock, one of the best known fire insurance men of Ohio and the middle west, started in business life at the age of fourteen years with but thirty-five cents in his pocket. This condition seems hardly possible to those who know Mr. Brock as a man of affluence, controlling a large and pros- perous business as a representative of many of the leading fire insurance com- panies of the country. He was born in Cynthiana, Pike county, Ohio, Decem- ber 8, 1853, and is of Scotch lineage. His great-grandfather became the founder of the family in the new world, settling in Virginia in 1803, at which time the grandfather was a child of three years. The latter afterward became a resident of southern Ohio in 1820 and spent his remaining days in this state. His son, Daniel W. Brock, was born in Pike county, Ohio, devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits and became a prosperous farmer, thus providing a comfortable living for his family. At the time of the Civil war he espoused the Union cause and rendered valiant aid to his country until the close of hos- tilities. When the republican party was formed to prevent the further exten- sion of slavery he joined its ranks and remained one of its stalwart advocates until his demise. At one time he was county commissioner of Pike county and manifested a deep interest in its welfare and upbuilding through his hearty cooperation in many movements for the public good. In early manhood he wedded Miss Caroline Wood, a native of Pike county, Ohio, whose father was one of the pioneer settlers there. Her death occurred in 1861 and Daniel W. Brock, long surviving, passed away in 1905.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for James Henry Brock in his early boyhood days. He did such tasks on the farm as his age and strength permitted and also attended the district schools until twelve years of age, when necessity forced him to provide for his own living. He was employed in his home neighborhood for two years and then, at the age of fourteen years, went to Dayton, Ohio, where he arrived with but thirty-five cents in his pocket. He was then apprenticed to a cabinetmaker and in due course of time, having mastered the business, became a journeyman cabinet-maker at the age of eighteen years. He labored diligently until he was recognized as an expert workman and he followed his trade continuously
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in Dayton until 1880, when thinking to find a more congenial and profitable field of labor, he engaged in the fire insurance business on his own account. For four years he was connected with that line in Dayton and succeeded in securing a good patronage there. In 1884 he removed to the capital city and in the years which have since intervened has become recognized as one of the most successful fire insurance men 'of this city.
He represents the Central Manufacturers' Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany of Van Wert, Ohio, and altogether does business for fifteen companies. He is a director in the North American Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Mansfield, Ohio, and in the Akron Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Akron, Ohio, and in addition he represents the Merchants & Manufacturers' Fire In- surance Company of Mansfield, Ohio, the Columbiana Mutual, of Lisbon, Ohio, the Ohio Hardware Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Coshocton, the Retail Grocers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the Cincinnati Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company of Cincinnati, the Springfield Underwriters Mutual of Spring- field, Ohio, the Ohio Underwriters Fire Insurance Company of Columbus, the American National Fire Insurance Company, the Cosmopolitan of New York, the New Amsterdam Casualty Company of New York, the Dayton Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Dayton, Ohio, and the Montgomery Mutual Fire In- surance Company of Dayton. Mr. Brock's business has shown a phenomenal growth and has doubled in its volume yearly.
On the 12th of April, 1873, Mr. Brock was married to Miss Elizabeth Stetz, of Dayton, Ohio, and they have one son, Walter Richie, who was born May 12, 1887, and is now a bookkeeper in the Commercial National Bank. Mr. Brock is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen and the Knights of Pythias and enjoys the esteem and regard of his brethren of those fraternities. His business record is most creditable. No matter how much may be done in the way of giving a young man the advantages which are sought in the schools or come to him through inheritance, he must essen- tially formulate, develop and determine his own character and this is what Mr. Brock has done. No influence of birth or fortune favored him at the out- set. He faced stern necessity at an early age and his understanding that hard and unremitting labor was to be his lot if he would succeed was followed by persistent effort, guided by sound judgment as his abilities were developed. His record should serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, showing what may be accomplished if one but has the will to dare and to do.
FREDERICK M. SAYRE.
On the roster of county officials in Franklin county appears the name of Frederick M. Sayre, for he is now filling the position of auditor, and in the dis- charge of his duties evidences not only his capability but also his public-spir- ited citizenship. Born in West Jefferson, Madison county, Ohio, on the 10th of January, 1873, he is a son of William H. and Mary E. (Pavey) Sayre, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The father was a Methodist minister, devoting
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many years to that holy calling and his memory yet remains as a blessed bene- diction with those in whose lives his words of truth came as an inspiration for all that is good and ennobling.
Frederick M. Sayre is indebted to the public-school system of Ohio for the educational privileges he enjoyed, advancing through successive grades until he became a high-school student. When his text-books were laid aside he re- moved to Columbus and accepted a position as accountant with the Pennsyl- vania Railroad, continuing for fourteen years in that service. Interested al- ways in the political situation of the country and in the questions which through a division of opinion give rise to our political parties, he has become recognized as a leader in republican circles and in 1902 was elected a member of the city council as representative from the eleventh ward. His efficiency in control of municipal affairs led to his reelection in 1905, so that he served for two terms, or five years, one of the terms being an extended one. He was pres- ident pro tem of the council, and chairman of the finance committee and he exercised his official prerogative on many occasions to further the work of municipal development and upbuilding. On the 23d of September, 1907, he was appointed county auditor by the board of commissioners to fill out the un- expired term of W. C. Cussins, deceased, and was elected to the office at the November election of 1908.
Mr. Sayre is a member of the Buckeye Republican Club and is interested in all that pertains to the growth of the party and the adoption of its princi- ples, for he regards them as elements of good government. His social nature finds expression in his membership with the Masonic fraternity and the Home Guards of America. He was married on the 30th of April, 1906, to Miss Lottie M. Ramey, a daughter of G. W. Ramey, of Port Colborne, Ontario. In Colum- bus and this part of the state he has many friends who justly esteem him for his sterling worth, for his high ideals of citizenship, and for his effective serv- ice in public office.
ANDREW TIMBERMAN, A.B., M.D.
Dr. Andrew Timberman, prominent as a representative of the medical fraternity, his ability enabling him to correctly solve the complex problems which continually confront the physician, was born in Hamilton, Ohio, May 10, 1864. His father, Andrew Timberman, a native of Tennessee, was born in 1806, and in 1812 became a resident of Butler county, Ohio, accompany- ing his father, Matthew Timberman, who became one of the pioneer settlers there and was identified with its early agricultural development. Andrew Timberman, Sr., continued to follow farming on the old homestead secured by his father, it being his place of residence for seventy-seven years. He died at the age of eighty-nine, while his wife passed away in May, 1908, at the age of eighty-two years. She bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Flickinger, was born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1826 and was of German lineage. In the opening years of the century her father, Jacob Flickinger, went to Butler
DR. ANDREW TIMBERMAN
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county and was a respected and valued resident of that locality throughout his remaining days. His daughter Elizabeth became the wife of Andrew Timberman in 1844 and unto them were born ten children, five sons and five daughters, all of whom are yet living, the first death which occurred in the family being that of the father.
Dr. Timberman pursued his education in the district schools and from 1881 until 1884 was a student in Otterbein University. The succeeding year was devoted to work upon the home farm and from 1885 until 1890 he en- gaged in teaching school. The following year he devoted to study in the University of Michigan, and in preparation for a professional career he ma- triculated in Miami Medical College of Cincinnati in 1891, and was gradu- ated therefrom on the completion of the regular three years' course with the class of 1894, winning valedictorian honors. His scholarship foreshadowed the success which he has since achieved in practice. He was a resident physi- cian and surgeon in the Cincinnati General Hospital in 1894-5, and thus added to his theoretical training the broad practical experience of hospital practice. Dr. Timberman studied abroad, receiving instruction from emi- nent members of the profession in London, Berlin and Vienna, making a specialty of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. In December, 1896, he located in Columbus, where he has since continuously engaged in active prac- tice, and as a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat has gained much more than local distinction. In 1899 he was offered and accepted the chair of ophthalmology at the Ohio Medical University, and in 1900 he was elected president of the Columbus Academy of Medicine. His splendid suc- cess was recognized by Otterbein University, which in 1903, after one year of special study, conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He now occupies the chair of ophthalmology in Starling-Ohio Medical College, and is ophthalmic surgeon on the staff of the Protestant Hospital. Aside from his professional connections he is a director of the City National Bank and interested in a number of other commercial institutions.
Dr. Timberman was married in June, 1895, to Miss Lelia Stanbery, a daughter of Hon. Elias Stanbery, of McConnelsville, Ohio, and unto them have been born four children : Katherine, Jean, Lelia and Elizabeth. Dr. and Mrs. Timberman hold membership in the Broad Street Presbyterian church, in the work of which they are deeply and helpfully interested. Dr. Timber- man is serving as one of the elders of the church, is a director of the Young Men's Christian Association, and does all in his power to promote the moral progress of the community. He belongs to Goodale Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and has also taken the degree of the Scottish Rite. In professional relations he is well known as a member of various societies, whereby his knowldge of the medical science and his efficiency in practice are being continually pro- moted. He belongs to the American Medical Association, the Mississippi Valley Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society and the Columbus Academy of Medicine. He is likewise connected with several organizations of specialists. In July, 1908, he was elected to membership in the American Ophthalmological Society, and belongs also to the American Otological So- ciety, the American Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of
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