USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Vol. II > Part 20
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Realizing how valuable a possession is education Mr. Rickly embraced the opportunity of spending a few weeks in the spring of 1839 as a student and in the autumn of that year he matriculated in Marshall College at Mercersburg. Pennsylvania, where he pursued a four years' course to his graduation with the class of 1843, on which occasion he delivered the first German oration that had been given in the institution up to that time. He spoke upon the scenery of Switzerland and among his auditors was James Buchanan, of Wheatland. Penn- sylvania, afterward president of the United States, who was then in the zenith of his statesmanship and intellectual greaturss and who complimented Mr.
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Rickly highly upon his address. Later Mr. Rickly devoted a short time to the study of theology and engaged in teaching in private families in Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia. Failing health in the south caused his removal to Co- lumbus in 1847 and after passing the required examination he established the German-English schools at the corner of Mound and Third streets. The schools found favor with the public, received hearty endorsement and a liberal patron- age and Mr. Rickly's demonstration of his ability as an educator led to his selec- tion as principal of the Columbus high school in the spring of 1848. In the spring of 1849 he established an academy at Tarlton, Pickaway county, Ohio, which in the following spring was adopted by the Reformed church as the nu- cleus of a church institution and named Heidelberg College. In the succeed- ing autumn it was removed to Tiffin, Ohio, and Mr. Rickly remained at its head until elected superintendent of the Tiffin union schools. He also held the chair of professor of theory and practice of teaching in Heidelberg College and he always maintained the deepest interest in that institution, making to it a liberal gift in money in later years and decorating its chapel, which was named in his honor "Rickly Chapel."
The loss of a much loved daughter led Mr. Rickly to remove to Columbus in 1853 and here he continued his educational labors in the opening of a select school in the basement of the First Reformed church. In the following winter, without solicitation on his part, he was chosen journal clerk in the Ohio house of representatives. This led him from educational lines and constituted the initial step of a most successful business career, for about the same time he became secretary of the Ohio Manufacturing Company, which was then repair- ing Sullivant's mill and was erecting a large stone building to be used in the manufacture of hubs and bentwork. Mr. Rickly, as secretary of the company, became an active factor in the control of the business, devoting his time to con- structive efforts and administrative direction. The business of the company rapidly developed and became one of the important productive industries of this part of the state. Flour was manufactured in large quantities and sold in central and northern Ohio, while the manufacture of hubs and bentwork met with equal success. Ever a man of resourceful ability and noting opportunities which others passed by heedlessly, Mr. Rickly became a factor in financial circles, joining his brother. John Jacob, in 1857, in organizing a banking busi- ness under the firm style of Rickly & Brother. This concern soon gained rank among the leading financial enterprises of the city and remained for many years one of the strongest banks of Columbus. In 1870 Samuel S. Rickly purchased his brother's interest and became sole proprietor, successfully conducting the business until the widespread financial panic in September, 1873, in which he became involved on account of the failure of Jay Cooke & Company. At that time he made an assignment for the benefit of his creditors, knowing that he had abundant resources to meet all his liabilities if reasonable time was allowed him to convert his a-et- into money. As soon as sufficient time had elapsed for advertising notice to creditors. he was released from the assignment and his assignee transferred the assets back to him. In course of time he paid all cred- itors in full and with an untarnished business record resumed his place in bank- ing circles as organizer. in 1875, of the Capital City Bank, which remains today
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as one of the strong and reliable banking houses of central Ohio. Perhaps all days were not equally bright and indeed there were times in which storin clouds gathered, but his rich inheritance of energy and determination enabled him to turn defeats into victory and promised failures into brilliant successes. His strict integrity, business conservatism and judgment were always uni- versally recognized and by reason thereof he enjoyed public confidence to an enviable degree and this naturally brought to him a liberal support in the con- duct of his business interests. In 1879, while the state fair was being held, his bank was robbed of twenty thousand dollars in broad daylight and only one thousand dollars was ever recovered.
Another tragic event, however, came unexpectedly into his life, July 13, 1880. On that day a man came into his counting room and sought to nego- tiate a loan. It was clear enough that he was suffering from some form of in- sanity and Mr. Rickly after listening to him kindly put his request aside and turned to the matters he had been looking over when the man entered. With- out the slightest note of warning he drew a pistol and fired at the banker. The aim was at the temple, but the pistol ball was deflected sufficiently to miss a vital spot, but destroyed the sight of both eyes, and he was totally blind for the rest of his life. This did not prevent him, however, from continuing as an active factor in Columbus business circles. His judgment was sound, his men- ory remarkably retentive and his thorough understanding of every business interest with which he was connected enabled him to successfully control his varied interests even after he suffered blindness.
All of his business enterprises were of a nature that have contributed in substantial measure to the upbuilding and welfare not only of Columbus but in many instances the state as well. He was one of the first stockholders of the first street railway built in Columbus and aided in the organization of the East Park Place Street Railway, being chosen treasurer at that time and continuing in the office until the consolidation of that line with other street railways under the name of the Columbus Consolidated Street Railroad. He remained as one of the stockholders of the latter up to the time of his death and a stockholder and treasurer of the Glenwood & Greenlawn Street Railway Company from its organization until his demise. There is perhaps no single agency which does so much for the city's development as its street railway lines. which practically annihilate time and distance, bringing the business man into close contact with his commercial, industrial or professional interests and Mr. Rickly. realizing this fact, was closely associated with nrban transportation here. He was also a stockholder and director in three of the turnpike companies of Franklin coun- ty and remained in active connection with two of these throughout the re- mainder of his life. He was also interested in realty companies and joined with a number of other prominent business men in 1870 in purchasing the old lunatic asylum grounds, which were subdivided into city lots, the district being called East Park Place. He was likewise a member of a syndicate which purchased a large tract of land on the west side. converted it into eight hun- dred city lots and called it West Park Place, making it one of the valuable property districts of the city.
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A prominent member of the board of trade, Mr. Rickly cooperated with that organization in its many substantial movements for the upbuilding and development of Columbus, advocating the improvement of the streets in the central and business portions and the lighting by electricity. As early as Janu- ary 6, 1885, he introduced a resolution before the board of trade for the hold- ing of a world's exposition commemorating the fourth centennial of America's discovery in the largest city of the world bearing the name of Columbus. This idea at length took tangible form in the great World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. It was also Mr. Rickly that introduced into the board of trade a resolution that a suitable lot should be purchased and on it should be erected a building which could be used by the board of trade and would also contain accommodations for large conventions and other gatherings and this was eventually done. For a number of years prior to the injury which he sis- tained in the bank he served as president of the board of trade. Not only in lines which proved beneficial to his own business interests as well as to the publie was he active, for in many other ways as well he promoted the city's advancement. He served as a member of the school board and as a member of the city board of equalization and was a trustee of the public library, and by appointment of the governor or the mayor he served as a delegate to six national commercial conventions held respectively in Louisville, Baltimore. St. Louis. Indianapolis. Chicago and New Orleans. His breadth of view not only saw possibilities for his own advancement but for the city's development as well, and his lofty patriotism prompted him to utilize the latter as quickly and as effectively as he did the former.
Mr. Rickly was married in 1845 and his son, Ralph Reamer Rickly, has been his successor in business. He was born in Tarlton, Pickaway county, Ohio, on the 20th of January. 1851, but was reared in this city and after completing his course in the high school with the class of 1868 he entered Yale College, be- ing now numbered among its alumini of 1872. Throughout his entire business career he has been connected with banking and is now at the head of the Capital City Bank. He has also been closely associated with city realty inter- est- and i- also president of the Bank of Corning, at Corning. Perry county. Ohio.
ROBERT NEIL.
Standing at the vantage point of the present and looking back over the past history of Columbus, it is easy to determine who have been the founder- and promoters of her upbuilding and her greatness. There are certain names that stand out before all others from the fact that the men who bore them perforuned services of signal benefit in the upbuilding and promotion of the city. their labors constituting a force not only for that age but for all time. Among this number was Robert Neil who, as Columbus was just emerging from villagehood, established his home here and along practical lines laid the foundations upon which the later day progress and prosperity has been built.
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ROBERT NEIL
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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTO4, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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While the Neil family is of Scotch origin, since the founding of the family in this country its members have been truly American in allegiance, support and interest, and through successive generations various representa- tives of the name have rendered able service to state and nation as statesmen, soldiers and good citizens during the past century. The ancestry is traced back to the clan MacNeil, famed in Scotch annals as far back as the fifteenth century not only in peace but also because of activity in war and border fo- rays. Two of the more notable members of the clan in comparatively modern times were Hector MacNeil, of Glasgow, and Sir John MacNeil, G. C. B., D. C. L., of Colonsa, Scotland, both of whom flourished in the eighteenth century -the former a scholar and author the latter a noted chevalier and diplomat of his day, and both distinguished for their strong and aggressive views on public policies and public affairs and of stern religions convictions.
The founder of the family in America was Allen Neil, or perhaps more in accordance with Scotch orthography, Allan Neil. He was born in Glas- gow, Scotland, in 1765, being almost contemporaneous with Hector and Sir John MacNeil. members of other branches of the elan. His immediate pro- genitor was evidently of a progressive character and as he reared his family he pat aside the prefix "Mac." disposed with the heraldic devices, laid aside the hatchments of his clan and became a plain Scotchman, rearing his family accordingly. Perhaps some of the descendants of Allan Neil, the older man, may still be found in Glasgow but none can present better claim to the honors and heraldic device of the early ancestor than can the descend ints of the younger Allen Neil.
In the year 1786 the younger Allen Neil emigrated to America, putting aside all of the ancestral titles and insignia of the clan, and founded a new house of the blood in a new land with splendid natural resources and oppor- tunities open before him. Landing on the western seacoast he made his way across the Allegheny range into Clark county, Kentucky, and there near the village of Winchester, Allen and Nancy Neil lived on a farm and reared a large family, fitting them by precept and example for useful lives.
It was there that Robert Neil, the second son of the family was born in 1796 and grew up strong and sturdy in body and mind. About 1815, after receiving news from his elder brother. William Neil, concerning the beautiful urban district of Ohio, he went with him to the now thriving capital of Cham- paign county, where he secured a clerkship in the store of a Mr. Gwynne, a name long familiar and favorably known in Columbus. The death of his father necessitated the return of Robert Neil to Kentucky to take charge of the farm held in common by the surviving children of the family and for the benefit of their widowed mother. Robert Neil, however, had no purpose of remaining in Kentucky after his visit and pleasant experience in Ohio. He discharged his filial duty, purchased the interest of the other heirs in the ancestral farm and made the most ample and minute provisions for the care and comfort of his mother. The negro slaves went with the farm by law as well as custom and therefore became the property of Robert Neil. But inas- much as he would not concede that any human being should own him. he re- fused to accept the ownership of the negroes further than to acquire the right
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to manumit them, which he did. One of these former slaves, Ambrose, re- turned with Robert Neil to Ohio and was continuously in his employ during the remainder of his life, and when his death occurred his remains were buried on the family lot in Green Lawn cemetery, and when his wife later followed him she too was laid to rest beside her husband and a plain white shaft, snitably inscribed, was erected by Robert Neil as a testimonial of his appreciation of their faithfulness and friendship.
In 1825 Mr. Neil returned from Kentucky to Ohio and again made his way to Urbana, expecting to engage in business there, but Ohio was under- going a progressive change and he readily perceived that it would be wisdom on his part to locate in Columbus, which he did, associating himself with his brother, William Neil, in the stage business which at that period was rela- tively as important as the railway passenger business has since become. He found the undertaking profitable and continued therein for some time. As the years passed he became connected with other business enterprises. His sagacity, diligence and progressive methods enabled him, during more than a half century of active life, to accumulate a large amount of property in Franklin and adjoining counties. Connected with the stage business in carly years, he was later associated with railroad interests, acting for a long period as president of the Columbus & Xenia Railroad. He was likewise connected with the old City Bank, while his capital and valuable advice were important factors in the successful control of nearly all of the industrial enterprises of his time which built up the city.
On the 10th of March, 1831, at the age of thirty-five years Mr. Neil was united in marriage to Miss Mary Mitchell Hoge the cultured and accom- plished daughter of Rev. James Hoge D. D., the most eminent Presbyterian divine west of the Alleghenies and the founder of the first Presbyterian church in Columbus, of which he remained the pastor for more than a half century. Extended mention of him and his work is made in connection with the historical section of this volume. Mr. Neil purchased from Dr. Hoge in the northeastern part of the city a large traet of land, then known as the Lyne Starling farm, and included fine govenment reservations formerly desig- nated as the Columbus garrison. Upon this farm Mr. and Mrs. Neil lived for many years and there reared their family numbering six sons and a daughter. namely: James H., Robert S., William A., Moses H., John B., Charles H. and Ann Eliza, who became the wife of Judge F. C. Dickman of Cleveland, now deceased.
Mr. Neil was one of the strong pillars of the Presbyterian church in Co- lumbus and was one of the most valuable contributors to its literature and permanent records. He was a man of the highest and most rigid integrity. thus manifesting the characteristics of his Scotch ancestry, and although ever just was none the less generous and gave freely of his means where aid was needed in benevolent and charitable lines or in support of religious or munici- pal interests. He held many positions of honor, trust and responsibility but was in no sense a seeker for public office. Urged by his friends, however, he finally consented to become a candidate for the legislature and. being in due time elected, served through the term of 1837-8. ITis ideas concerning legi-la-
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tion were eminently practical, beneficial and progressive and his constituents endeavored to induce him to continue in the general assembly, but he resolute- ly declined to enter upon a political career. He passed from the scene of his active labors and honorable achievement on the 2d of March, 1883, at the patriarchal age of four seore and seven, carrying with him the respect of all who knew hint personally or by reputation. During the long years of his residence here he had seen the city develop from farming land and forest into a great center of trade and traffic, becoming a beautiful capital of a splendid state, of which he was one of the pioneer founders.
BARTON GRIFFITH.
Barton Griffith, whose name is on the roster of leading and successful attorneys of the Columbus bar, was born near Amanda, Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1862, a representative of one of the oldest families in that county, his grandfather having settled there when the white men had scarcely ventured into the regions within its borders. It was in the year 1800 when the great-grandfather of our subject arrived from Pennsylvania and took up his abode in Clear Creek township, Fairfield county. Ohio was yet under territorial government, its population being insufficient to secure its admis- sion to the newly organized Union. His father, John L. Griffith, was also a native of the same locality and breame a stock grower and dealer, well known as one of the heaviest stock dealers in Pickaway and Fairfield coun- ties, his shipments exceeding those of any other individual in the business. He was an excellent judge of stock and was therefore enabled to make his purchases judiciously and to sell at good advantage. He was accidentally killed on one of his business trips near Steubenville, Ohio, 1872. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Samantha Custer, belonged to one branch of the Custer family that has furnished several prominent representatives to the nation. Her people came from Pennsylvania to Ohio and established their home amid pioneer surroundings in Bloom township, Fairfield county. It was in that county that Mrs. Griffith was born, and her death occurred in 1869.
Barton Griffith was reared on the old homestead farm but after his father's death he was taken to a farm near Lancaster, Fairfield county, living with an uncle, with whom he remained until he reached the age of eighteen years. He was educated in the district schools, after which he engaged in teaching school for two years, or until twenty years of age. Desiring, how- ever, to extend his own knowledge, he matriculated in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, where he pursued his studies for four years. With broad literary knowledge to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional learning, he began preparation for the bar, reading law in the office of General J. S. Jones, at Delaware, Ohio. In 1887 he was admitted to the bar and the following year came to Columbus. He has been attorney for the Columbus Savings & Trust Company for nine-
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teen years, and is also one of its directors. While he is engaged in general civil practice he makes a specialty of corporation law and has intimate knowl- edge of the laws which govern corporations and which have been developed as a result of the complexities that have arisen in connection with trade in- terests today. In the power to master voluminous evidence and to illuminate the immaterial matter of a legal proceeding. he displays great ability and in all of his legal work has shown clearness of thought and accurate knowl- edge of the principles of jurisprudence. In addition to his law practice he is also the examiner of titles, being considered an expert in that line. He is likewise a director of the Carding Coal Company, the National Fuel Com- pany, the Pomeroy & Western Coal Company, and the Screen Weather Strip Company. These various business enterprises have profited by his sound judgment and he has in turn benefited by the success which has attended their conduct.
On the 23d of February, 1892. Mr. Griffith was married to Miss Sophia M. Fox of Columbus, and their children are: Barton, Jr., born in 1894. now a pupil of the high school; Ruth; Paul, born in 1903; and Mary. Mr. Griffith gives inflexible support to the republican party and is interested in all those questions which are to a statesman and man of affairs of deep im- port. He belongs to the Franklin County Bar Association and Franklin County Law Library Association and in professional circles he enjoys warm regard for his fellow members of the bar recognize in him an able lawyer, loyal always to a high standard of professional ethics. He is a member of the Ohio Club, the Delta Chi, a legal fraternity, and the Knights of Pythias, in which he has served as trustee for fifteen years, and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He also belongs to the Northminster Presbyterian church and for the past ten years has been one of its trustees and its treasurer. He is fond of horses and driving is to him his chief source of recreation and pleasure. He has moral courage fit for any emergency, is a stalwart sup- porter of his honest convictions, and on no occasion of importance is his position ever an equivocal one. He is public-spirited in a large degree and thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of the capital city.
MATHEW A. MCGRATH.
Mathew A. MeGrath, conducting an extensive and growing brokerage busi- ness, with offices in the Columbus Savings & Trust building of this city, was born in London, Ohio, on the 20th of April, 1868. His father. Daniel Mc- Grath, who is a native of Ireland, came to Ohio in 1858. He was variously employed for many years but is now living retired in the enjoyment of well earned ease. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Julia Meagher, was called to her final rest in 1906.
Mathew A. McGrath obtained his education in the public schools of his native town and when fifteen years of age came to Columbus, entering a broker's
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office in order that he might familiarize himself with that line of activity and also with telegraphy. In fact he had begun studying the latter when a lad of thirteen. In 1895 he went into business on his own account in Columbus but the following year removed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he remained for two years. In 1898 he entered the employ of Clande Meeker, with whom he remained for several years and in 1905 once more launched out in business life for himself as a broker. He has a handsome suite of rooms on the second floor of the Columbus Savings & Trust building and as a dealer in New York stocks and bonds has gained a distinctively representative and growing clientele.
In 1907 Mr. MeGrath was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Eva Harding, of this city, by whom he has one son, William Henry, born July 17, 1908. Fra- ternally he is connected with the Knights of Columbus and during the long period of his residence in this community the principles that have actuated his life have been such as to win for him the highest esteem and good will of his fellow townsmen.
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