USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Vol. II > Part 23
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accustomed and which was essential to the best labor producing results. The plant at Blanchester is a model one, being built on the form of a hollow square, thus affording plenty of light and air while in every respect it is most sanitary. There is a floor space of over thirty thousand feet. It was found that the source of supply was again becoming inadequate even after the purchase of the Hamilton plant and its amalgamation with the Blan- chester plant, so that another factory was located at Louisville, Kentucky, and one hundred machines therein installed, the output being all shipped to Columbus for distribution. In the spring of 1907 the company pur- chased the G. A. Welty Shirt Factories at Athens and Zanesville, Ohio, consolidating both plants at Athens where they are now operated as the Hershey-Rice Manufacturing Company. In the spring of 1909 the firm grasped the opportunity to develop what they believe will be an immense factory in the heart of Columbus, starting an additional factory on West Broad street, which will give employment to about two hundred girls who have chosen as their home the Good Shepherd's Convent and School. Few people realize what this grand institution is doing as a home for poor girls and girls who need a mother's care. As they are not associated with the outside world they have had no opportunity to earn a living, but by the establishment of this new factory they will be given light work which will enable them to support themselves and aid the institution which is saving so many girls from destruction. This will also add greatly to the large output of the already extensive business of the Hershey-Rice Manufacturing Company. There has probably never been a more rapid or more healthy growth recorded among Columbus industries than this company has shown in its brief career, covering as it does only a period of seven years. It was necessary to erect a new building for offices and as a distributing plant in Columbus, with the result that the structure at Nos. 47-49 East Chestnut street was erected. The building is four stories in height, fire proof in con- struction and built in the latest approved manner to conform to the needs of the company. The good- of the house are known throughout the entire country and in Cuba and Alaska as well, and the business is today one of the most important commercial concerns of central Ohio. It is most thor- oughly systematized so that there is no needless expenditure of time, labor or material and in all of its relations the house has maintained an unassail- able reputation for commercial integrity.
Mr. Hershey is a man of resourceful ability, a fact which is not only indicated by his upbuilding of the extensive enterprise of the Hershey- Rice Manufacturing Company, but also in the fact that he is connected with various other business concerns which have profited by the stimulation of his labor and sound judgment. He is now the vice president of the George B. Donavin Company, manufacturers of military supplies and vice presi- dent and director of the Quad Stove Manufacturing Company, manufac- turers of army stoves and gas heaters.
In 1896 Mr. Hershey was married to Miss Ella Ford, of Richmond, Indiana, and they have two danghters, Pauline Bernice and Lucile. In his political views Mr. Hershey is an earnest republican but not an active worker.
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He belongs to the Ohio Club, to the United Commercial Travelers, the Trav- elers Protective Association and the Knights of Pythias. He is likewise a member of the Board of Trade and is interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progress of the capital city, cooperating in many improvements for its upbuilding. He is fond of outdoor sports, particularly horseback riding and hunting, and while his success now enables him to have leisure for the indulgence of his taste in those directions, in former years he had little opportunity for such pleasures for his business made continuous demands upon his time. Unfaltering industry and perseverance have constituted the key that has unlocked for him the portals of success. Energy and com- mercial industry have ever been well balanced factors in his life and they have won him respect and honor wherever he is known.
JAMES H. SELLS.
James H. Sells, a wholesale dealer in saddlery, has displayed in his busi- ness career the qualities which are indispensable elements of success and in the development of the extensive enterprise of which he is now the head, manifested keen discernment and the power of coordinating forces so that their combined strength reaches the objective point. In all of his work he is practical, realizing fully the value of any situation and recognizing with accuracy that which is essential. The company of which he is today presi- dent controls one of the important productive industries of the city, em- ploying one hundred operatives in its factory.
Mr. Sells is a native son of the capital, his birth occurring April 6, 1854, and his parents were Francis Asbury and Mary ( Walter) Sells, the former a native of Columbus and the latter of the state of New York, the Sells family being an old one of Ohio, represented here since the latter part of the eigh- teenth century. William H. Sells, born in Pennsylvania, came to Franklin- ton in 1790 with his father, Ludwig Sells, and located at that place, later re- moving to Dublin, supposing that it would be the state capital. There he ac- quired large tracts of goverment land and founded the town which was laid out by an Irish engineer and named Dublin for sweet memory's sake. Wil- liam H. Sells. the grandfather of James H. Sells, of this review, devoted much of his life to farming and was also the owner of a pottery. on Front street in Columbus, which he operated for a time. Afterward returning to Dublin he occupied a part of the old home farm, living in a log cabin which is still standing and which was built by his father, Ludwig Sells, in 1800. He vainly plead for the life of Leatherlips, the Indian chief, when he was about to be executed as detailed, in the historienl section of this work, and offered the executioners his splendid three hundred dollar charger as a ransom for the chief's life. From the carliest period of the settlement of this section of the state by the white men the Sells family has figured prominently not only in connection with the material development through the conduct of busi- ness enterprises, but also in other connections as well. Benjamin Sells hav-
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ing been one of the first marsbass of Columbus. WEFim H SI- had several sons. ine sling Esjah, who was appointed thing audioir of the treasury by Presbi et Line in, who later appoint i him teszin cial govern e of Utah. and at avenne-dive years of age he was elected averniny of state and atting gor. ernye, and after leaving velice he engaged in HerIAS. The Lait Man is spied from Revela: nary anostry. for J En wie. a s Mines of the Revo-
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ing been one of the first marshals of Columbus. William H. Sells had several sons, including Elijah, who was appointed third auditor of the treasury by President Lincoln, who later appointed him territorial governor of Utah, and at seventy-five years of age he was elected secretary of state and acting gov- ernor, and after leaving office he engaged in business. The family, too, is descended from Revolutionary ancestry, for John Sells, a soldier of the Revo- lutionary war, was killed in the battle of Yorktown. Francis A. Sells, born in Columbus, made the city his home throughout his entire life and was one of its first wholesale grocers.
In the public schools of Columbus James II. Sells pursued his education and early in his business career became connected with the hardware trade with Jonas McCune, and so continued for six years. In 1880 he with his father and brother, established a small wholesale saddlery business and as the years have advanced the business has grown to such proportions as to require one hundred employes in its conduct. It is today one of the largest con- cerns of the kind in the state, now operated under the firm name of J. H. & F. A. Sells, the trade covering a wide territory and the policy of the house boing such as to secure a continued and increasing patronage.
On the 10th of September, 1885, Mr. Sells was married to Miss Cora Needles, of Groveport. and they have one son, Stanley, now a student of the Ohio State University. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Sells has acted as a trustee for a quarter of a century. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree, and likewise holds membership relations with the Colum- bus Country Club, the Loyal Legion and the Sons of the American Revolu- tion. For three years he has been a jury commissioner of the county, under appointment of the court of common pleas, and at all times he is interested in a progressive citizenship, feeling a hearty concern for the public welfare. While his chief life work has been that of a remarkably successful merchant, the range of his activities and the scope of his influences have reached far beyond this special field. He belongs to that class of men who wield a power which is all the more potent from the fact that it is moral rather than political and exercised for public weal rather than for personal ends.
ALBERT D. HEFFNER.
Capable of mature judgment concerning his own. capacities and powers, Albert D. Heffner has always possessed sufficient courage to venture where favoring opportunity is presented and in business circles has come to be re- garded as a dependable man in any relation and any emergency. He is now the vice president of the New First National Bank and, moreover, is one of the native sons of Columbus. His father. David F. Heffner, was a native of Lou- doun county, Virginia, and as a young man came to this city in the carly '30s to seek his fortune in the new country, which was just being opened up to the advances of civilization. He located at Canal Winchester and later removed to
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Columbus, where he engaged in merchandising as proprietor of a store at the old warehouse on West Broad street. He was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, for he died in 1848 at the comparatively early age of thirty-six years. He was one of the principal merchants of the city in his day and aided in shaping the policy of Columbus during its early formative period. He married Rnhama Armstrong, who died in 1870 at the age of fifty years. She was a daughter of Robert Armstrong, who came to Ohio from Pennsyl- vania about 1790 and assisted in building the first house in Franklinton. He engaged extensively in the purchase of lands here and was a most important factor in advancing public progress. The Heffner family is of Pennsylvania Dutch lineage and was early founded in Virginia, whence representatives of the name came to Ohio.
Albert D. Heffner was educated in the public schools of Columbus and in McCoy & Duff's Commercial College and the Capital University. At fifteen years of age he sought and obtained employment in a grocery store, while later he was office boy in the Journal office. His business activity was interrupted, however, by his military service, for in 1862 he responded to the country's call for aid and enlisted as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio Infantry. He did not pass physical examination at that time but in 1863 responded to the call of Governor Todd and served with the "Squirrel Hunt- ers." After the close of the war his attention was given to business interests in the service of others until 1870, when he engaged in the real-estate business for himself and so continued for fifteen years.
While in that business Mr. Heffner was elected township clerk of Mont- gomery township, which was annexed to the city about the close of his term. In the spring of 1881 he was elected councilman from the fifth ward and was reelected two years later. Again he was called to public office in 1884, when he was elected county treasurer, entering upon the duties of his position the following year and by reelection served for two terms. In 1889 he again opened a real-estate office at No. 5 Sonth High street with the intention of engaging no more in active political service but his fellow townsinen, recognizing his worth and ability, solicited him to become a candidate for the legislature to fill out a vacancy in 1890. He was then elected and served until the close of the term, after which he refused a renomination. He continued in the real-estate business until 1897, when he became active in banking circles, having already been largely interested in banks for some time. While conducting a real-estate office he laid out a ten-acre tract of land on Broad street between Twenty-second and Champion and extending back to Fair avenue. This was state land which was taken from a defaulting treasurer. By act of the legislature he was author- ized by the state and laid out and sold the tract in town lots. He has handled a great amount of city property, always kept well informed concerning vahies and was very successful in his realty operations. In 1897 he became vice presi- dent of the New First National Bank and has since devoted his undivided atten- tion to its affairs. He is also interested in other enterprises but is not active in their control.
Mr. Heffner resides at No. 1099 East Broad street, where he has made his home for many years. His chief source of recreation is horseback riding, in
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which he indulges each morning before breakfast when the weather will permit. His religious belief is indicated in his attendance at the Broad Street Presby- terian church and his political views are manifest in the stalwart support which he gives to the democracy. He has never been actuated by a spirit of vaulting ambition, yet has followed the lead of his opportunities, doing as best he could anything that came to hand and seizing legitimate advantages as they arose. He has never hesitated to take a forward step when the way was open. For- tunate in possessing ability and character that inspires confidence in others, the simple weight of his character and ability has carried him into important relations and now he is occupying the responsible position of vice president of the New First National Bank.
COLONEL BYRON L. BARGAR.
There are few men whose activity has brought them distinction in so many fields of labor as have the efforts of Colonel Bargar, who figures prom- inently in military, political, fraternal and legal circles. The weight of his character and ability is such as to constitute an influencing factor in many fields and he has long been numbered among the honored residents of the capital. Born in Coshocton county, Ohio, on the 12th of January, 1867, Colonel Bargar resided in his native city until he had completed his public school course at the age of seventeen years, then coming to Columbus which has been his home continuously since 1884. At that time he took up the re- sponsibilities of life in a business connection, being for a time employed as a clerk in the adjutant general's department, while later he occupied a clerical position in the state insurance department, subsequently he becoming a payroll clerk in the United States pension office. In this way he saved a sum sufficient to enable him to complete his education and in 1890 he took up the study of law, pursuing a course in the law department of Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1892. Thus well equipped for his chosen profession, he entered upon practical training in the work as a law clerk in the office of his father and was admitted to the bar in March, 1893. Three months afterward he also successfully passed the examinations for admission to practice in the United States cirenit and district courts. He then joined his father, Gilbert H. Bargar, long a distinguished member of the Ohio bar, in organizing the law firm of Bargar & Bargar, which continued until the death of the senior partner in 1904. Throughout his connection with the Columbus bar Colonel Bargar has maintained a prominent position as an able and learned lawyer, whose ability has carried him into important pro- fessional relations. For fourteen years he was attorney for the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad but otherwise his practice has been general. He has a large and distinctively representative clientage and has been associated with much important litigation tried in the courts, wherein he has given proof of his comprehensive knowledge of the law and his powers of discrimination
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in the correct designation of law principles and precedents applicable to his case.
Prior to his marriage in 1896, Colonel Bargar traveled somewhat ex- tensively, spending one summer in Europe, making visits also to Cuba, Cen- tral America, Mexico and the southwestern states and territories. He has always been an enthusiastic lover of a good saddle horse and on the trip to the southwest spent much of his time in the saddle while on camping trips in that section of the country.
On the 6th of October, 1896, Colonel Bargar married Miss Florence Neil, a daughter of Colonel Henry M. Neil and a niece of Mrs. Governor Dennison. Her father was a son of William Neil, who came to Columbus in 1817 and built the historic Neil Hotel in 1840. Four children have been born unto Colonel and Mrs. Bargar: Julia Lakin, whose birth occurred December 12, 1897; Henry Neil, born December 30, 1899; Gilbert Hare, born February 4, 1901; and Mary Darrow, whose natal day was October 26, 1904. The family residence is at No. 78 Auburn avenue and is a favorite resort for the many friends of both parents and children.
Colonel Bargar is widely known in fraternal, social, political and mil- itary circles, being a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Book & Gavel Society of Yale University, the Loyal Legion, the Military Service Institution, the United States Cavalry Association, the United States Infantry Association and the United Spanish War Veterans. Prom- inent in Masonry, he holds membership in Goodale Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Temple Chapter, R. A. M., Mount Vernon Commandery, K. T., and Aladdin Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the National Geographic Society but is not a club man, preferring to spend his leisure hours with his family. While not active in political circles as an aspirant for office, he takes a keen interest in the political situation of the country, is recognized as a stalwart advocate of the democracy and in 1908 was nom- inated for judge of the common pleas court, being also a member of all the leading democratic clubs of the city.
In military circles, however, Colonel Bargar is perhaps even more widely known, having always taken an active interest in military affairs, and served as a marker in the old Seventeenth Regiment of the Ohio National Guard from 1881 until 1886, entering at the age of fourteen years. He also served as first lieutenant of Battery H, Ohio Light Artillery, and was second lieutenant in the Pugh Videttes when it was the crack National Guard company of the state. In April, 1898, Colonel Bargar raised a troop of volunteer cavalry, which was mustered in as Troop D, First Ohio Vol- unteer Cavalry, of which he served as captain throughout the Spanish war, and in 1902 he was unanimously elected lieutenant colonel of the Fourth Infantry of the Ohio National Guard, while in 1908 he was chosen colonel, accepting this duty at the written request of every field officer and company commander of the regiment. Colonel Bargar has also served on the staffs of Governor Herrick and Governor Patterson and was a member of the board which compiled the present regulations for the Ohio National Guard, and is the author of the only volume on the law and customs of riot duty,
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this work being used throughout the army and National Guard. He has also written for various law encyclopedias and different periodicals and a pe- rusal of his writings shows that he has thoroughly mastered the subject he handles. The thoughts he pens also indicate the trend of the analytical, logical mind of the lawyer, for while Colonel Bargar has gained distinc- tion in other fields, he is preeminently an attorney and one whose power has gained him more than local prominence.
CRAYTON W. BLACK.
When ambition is satisfied and every ultimate aim accomplished, effort ceases and energy dwarfs into inactivity. It is the man who believes that there is something yet to accomplish and who desires to use his powers to the utmost that becomes a factor in the world's progress and at the same time promotes his own success. Throughout his entire life Crayton W. Black has sought for opportunities leading to advancement and through persistent and indefatigable energy has reached an enviable position in the business world, being now the president and general manager of the Seagrave Company, manufacturers of all kinds of fire apparatus. A native of Ohio, Mr. Black was born at Olive Furnace, Lawrence county.
His father, Finley Black, was the youngest son in a large family whose parents came from the north of Ireland and were gifted with mechanical proclivities. Most of them went to the western territories but Finley Black remained in Ohio and at the time of the Civil war served his country as a member of the Twenty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He wedded Eliza A. Kerr, who was one of a family of two sons and two daughters of Scotch-Irish parentage. The brothers, William Paul and John Glasgow Kerr, became prominent in manhood, the former being connected with the Granville Female College for many years. He was also a member of the constitutional convention and served as superintendent of the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Orphans Home at Xenia and did much to develop that institu- tion into practical usefulness. John G. Kerr was graduated from Jefferson Medical College in the '40s and went at once as a medical missionary to Canton, China, where he attained world-wide prominence as a surgeon and died there a few years since.
In 1864 Crayton W. Black went to Granville and made his home with Professor Kerr. He there attended the public schools and was also a student at Professor Clemens' Academy and in Dennison University, where he com- pleted the work of the freshman year. On August 1, 1868. he accepted a position with Prichard Brothers, druggists, and also learned telegraphy, as a telegraph office was opened in that store when the first line was built be- tween Columbus and Cleveland. The Morse register was then in general use but was soon displaced by sound writing. In June, 1873, the store of Prichard Brothers, an old established enterprise, was sold to Charles W. Bryant and C. W. Black, who started on their first business enterprise here and successfully conducted a drug store until 1880, when the Ohio Central
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Railroad was opened and Mr. Black became their first agent and operator at Granville. When work was being done on the Atlantic & Lake Erie Rail- road both Mr. Black and his former partner, Mr. Bryant, were connected with the engineering department and superintended the construction be- tween the points where the line crossed the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis west of Newark and the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus Railroad near Centerburg. In the fall of 1879, when the line was opened by the Columbus & Sunday Creek Valley Railroad between Columbus and Corning, Mr. Black was appointed agent at Basil and held that position until December, 1880, when the line was opened from Bushes, now Thurs- ton, to Toledo, at which time he was transferred to Granville. Early in 1886 the village voted to issue bonds to the amount of fifteen thou- sand dollars to build waterworks and Mr. Black was elected to the first board of waterworks trustees, his associates consisting of Charles W. Bryant and professor John L. Gilpatrick. Later Mr. Black was reelected for a second terin and in this connection did important service in promoting one of the leading municipal enterprises. In 1888 Mr. Black resigned his position with the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad Company to become paymaster and cashier for the Sunday Creek Coal Company at Corning. The officials of the company owned The Ohio Buggy Company in Columbus, which was established in 1888, and in 1889 Mr. Black was transferred to the latter as bookkeeper. Later he was elected its secretary and also acted as its treasurer until 1896. In that year about sixty-five percent of the buggy manufac- tories throughout the country went into the hands of receivers and Mr. Black was appointed receiver and closed up the business of The Ohio Buggy Company.
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