USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Vol. II > Part 57
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HENRY C. PIRRUNG,
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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILOEN FOUNDATION !.
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for success until he has attained a prominent position in manufacturing circles. He was born in Columbus, August 21, 1865. His father, Francis Pirrung, was a native of Bavaria, Germany, and became a resident of Ohio's capital city at the age of twelve years. He afterward learned the cooperage business and became one of the pioneer coopers of Columbus. He wedded Miss Mary Ann Borgess, also a native of German and the eldest sister of Bishop Borgess of Detroit, who was stationed in Columbus as a priest and while there largely assisted in building Holy Cross church, one of the oldest Catholic churches of this city.
Henry C. Pirrung attended the parochial and public schools, complet- ing his education in business college. For two years thereafter he was mes- senger for the Reinhard & Company Bank, after which he took charge of the office for the City Boiler Works. Soon after attaining his majority he was employed to take charge of the office of the Capital City Dairy Company, which had been organized in 1884. His trial efforts were so effective and satisfactory that in less than a year his proprietors placed him at the head of the office as manager. From that time he bent every energy toward develop- ing the business along substantial lines and securing his own business ad- vancement as a result of his labors in the former direction. His efforts were so effective that in 1893 the growth of the business demanded a new factory, which was erected. Still the enterprise development in extent and impor- tance through the indomitable and indefatigable labor of Mr. Pirrung until in 1900 another factory was demanded and the largest butterine plant in America was built. Mr. Pirrung is still occupied with the control of this enterprise as manager and has also been elected to the vice presidency of the company. The development of the business is attributable in large measure to his keen foresight, his understanding of the market and his unfaltering per- severance enabling him to accomplish whatever he undertakes.
Recognizing the possibilites for promoting the interests of the business through cooperation Mr. Pirrung called together and organized the first Oleo- margarine Manufacturers Association of the United States and was a central figure in all of its legislative, commercial and judicial happenings. Not alone in manufacturing lines is Mr. Pirrung known, for he proved himself equally capable and versatile when he undertook the organization and management of the Iroquois Company to operate the leaseholds of the Chittenden. Neil, Southern and Hartman Hotels. Watching every indication pointing to suc- cess his experience as manager, his ready adaptability and his early recogni- tion of opportunity have made him known today in the hotel world as widely and as favorably as he is in manufacturing circles. Not only these two mam- moth but also smaller enterprises look to his judgment for support and guid- ance and his ability enables him to coordinate forces and bring all into har- monious unity.
On the 31st of July, 1907, Mr. Pirrung was married to Miss Catherine Manley Robinson, of Mansfield, Ohio, and unto them was born, October 22, 1908, a little daughter, named for her two grandmothers, Jane Borgess Pirrung. Matters of civic advancement are of keen interest to Mr. Pirrung who, as a public-spirited citizen, has stanchly advocated and supported movements for
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the general good. For fifteen years he has been active in Board of Trade affairs, serving for one year as vice president of the board, for four years as a director and for five years as chairman of the conventions committee. He is also fond of social organization, having founded two novel clubs: the Bismarcks, composed solely of American descendants of German ancestor -: and the Juanita Club, a ladies' clain-bake organization. He is interested in outdoor sports and is also an automobile enthusiast. While he has accom- plished splendid results in the business world he has never allowed commercial affairs to monopolize his time to the exclusion of other interests and a well rounded development has resulted. so that in citizenship and social relations he is as widely and favorably known as through his business connections.
J. W. MEEK.
J. W. Meck figures in Columbus as a successful business man and as a publie official whose discharge of duty Im- becu characterized by most prompt and businesslike methods and who in his citizenship holds to the opinion that it is the duty of every man to contribute to the elevation of public as well as private morality and progress. He established his claim to business prom- inence in the upbuilding and development of the extensive wholesale man- facturing establishment for the output of saddlery hardware, harness and saddlery under the name of J. W. Meck & Company.
A native of Belmont county, Ohio, he was born September 23. 1843, and is a son of William Tingley and Elizabeth (Shankland) Meck. native- of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and of Belmont county. Ohio, respectively. He is a representative of the Meek family that was established in the province of Maryland between 1661 and 1681 under grants of land- from the third Lord Baltimore. These grants were made to Guy. Sammel. John. Moses and Thomas Meek between 1631 and 1670 and to Alice, William and Sarah b .- tween 1670 and 1688. They were Welsh from Shrewsbury, England, and came to this country evidently under the patronage of Charles Calvert, known as the third Lord Baltimore. Members of the family migrated to western Pennsylvania and to eastern Ohio about 1770 and since that date the Meeks have been represented in Ohio as citizens of sterling worth. active in the substantial development and progress of the state.
J. W. Meek was reared in Barnesville, Ohio, and as the public-school System was then largely undeveloped his educational privileges were some- what limited. At the age of twelve years, too, he began earning his own living, senring a clerkship with the firm of Hager & Bentz. at Barnesville. on a salary of one hundred dollars per year. He was afterward employed for a month in the tobacco house of John Bradfield and took his pay in Vir- ginia herrings. He afterward secured a clerkship in a store in Barnesville. where he remained until 1864 and then became a bookkeeper in a whole- sale leather store in Wheeling. West Virginia. where he continued for five years or until 1869, when he came to Columbus and as junior partner
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joined the firm of Patterson & Meck for the conduct of a wholesale leather and saddlery business. The relation was maintained until 1871 when Mr. Meek established an independent enterprise and in 1876 removed his store from No. 19 High street to Nos. 47-51 East Spring street, his being the first business house to locate east of High street. The enterprise had a small beginning but through the careful direction, business discernment and in- itiative spirit of the proprietor the trade gradually expanded until the firm has today the largest business of the kind in this section and it is the oldest establishment in continned business in the city. It is largely accepted as a standard, for the methods employed are such as commend it to the commer- cial world, its activity being carried forward along the most modern and progressive lines. The firm today handles a very large stock and employs a number of traveling salesmen.
In 1863 Mr. Meck under a special law enlisted in a departmental corps with headquarters at Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, and served for a time under General Brooks, being discharged November 1, 1864.
On the 18th of February, 1868, occurred the marriage of J. W. Meek and Miss Fannie A. Warfield, of Barnesville, Ohio, a daughter of Dr. J. W. Warfield, of that city, who was a surgeon in the Civil war. The children of this marriage are: W. W., James E .. Gny T., Paul D., Elizabeth and Emma L. The family hold membership with the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Meek contributes to various movements for the general wel- fare. Since its organization he has been a member of the Columbus Board of Trade, was three times elected to the directorate and for one term served as its first vice president. He was also chairman of the building committee in 1887-8 when the Board of Trade building was erected, the board passing a vote of thanks for his services, and his work in connection with the board has been of far-reaching importance. He filled the office of tax commissioner for three years and for four years was a member of the board of public safety under the present municipal code. To that position he was appointed by Mayor R. H. Jeffreys and while so serving the board established the merit system. He was likewise a member of the board of public service for nine months under Major Badger and in all his relations to the public he has stood as a most enterprising man, holding to high ideals in citizenship.
DAVID W. BROOKS.
Thorough study and broad experiener have gained prestige and prosper- ity for David W. Brooks, a civil and mining engineer, who still retains his residence in Columbus, his native city. He was born September 27, 1870, and is a son of David W. Brooks, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. The son was educated in the Ohio State University, pursuing the engineering course, for he believed that such a line of business would prove congenial as well as profitable. Becoming ill in his last year at col- lege he did not return but went to Colorado and was there engaged in min-
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ing as superintendent for the White Ash Mining Company, at Golden. After two years spent in that capacity he returned to Columbus and was connected with the engineering department of the city until 1899. He then withdrew to enter the employ of S. Casparis, a railroad contractor of this city, as superintendent of construction, holding the position until 1905. during which time Mr. Brooks had charge of extensive improvements along the Pennsylvania railroad system. Leaving the employ of Mr. Casparis he associated himself with the firm of T. A. Gillespie & Company of Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, also railroad contractors, and while in their service had charge of important work along the Indianapolis division of the Pennsyl- vania railroad. Ile, however, severed his connection with that company in order to engage in business on his own account as a mine operator in the recently discovered silver and gold fields of New Ontario, where he has been for the past two years opening np and developing mines and properties winch he owns in that field, owning and controlling about one thousand acres of mineral lands. Mr. Brooks has every reason to feel sure that his property will return him a gratifying income for it is situated in the midst of a rich mining district and already the work that has been carried on there has demonstrated the value of the ore.
Mr. Brooks is a member of the American Society of the Sons of the Revolution, a fact which indicates that his ancestry was represented in the long struggle for American independence. He is also a member of the Old Northwest Historical & Genealogical Society and of the Beta Theta Phi, a college fraternity, while in more strictly professional lines he is connected with the American Society of Civil Engineers. Those who examine into his history and look beneath the surface will note that his course has been marked by an orderly progression for each change he has made has brought him broader opportunities and more satisfactory profits for his labor amtil he has eventually come into control of important business interests of hi: own.
NICHOLAS KOEHLER.
Nicholas Kochler, filling the office of deputy county surveyor, has in his public service been loyal to nmunicipal interest- and the welfare of the people at large. He came to Columbus in 1862 from Brooklyn, New York, his native city. His parents were Courad and Margaret Kochler, the former a well known contractor and builder who removed westward to Columbus and was identified for many years with building operations in this city, many important contracts being awarded him. He afterward removed to the country and spent his last days on a farm.
Nicholas Koehler, brought to Ohio in his youthful years, continued his education in the high school of this city and afterward in the Ohio State University, where he pursued a course in civil engineering. He became quite thorough and expert in that line and when he had finished his studies
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he began work in the office of the county surveyor under Mr. Bowen, there remaining for three years. On the expiration of that period he opened an office of his own, while subsequently he was connected with the city en- gineering department for six years. In his professional capacity he laid off one of the buildings of the Ohio State University and a great deal of other property in the city. In 1896 he was appointed deputy county sur- veyor and has held the office continuously since, while in the nominating convention of the democratic party in the summer of 1908 he was made the candidate for the office of county surveyor. He was engineer in charge of many of the largest bridges and viaducts constructed in the county. He has always been active in politics as a stalwart advocate of democratic principles and has labored earnestly and effectively for the welfare and growth of the party.
Mr. Kochler was married in 1881 to Miss Martha E. Jones, a daughter of Robert N. Jones, an architect of this city. They have two children, Susanne M. and Margaret H. Mr. Koehler is a member of the Woodmen of the World and is a communicant of the Episcopal church. His life has been characterized by loyalty to all public service and to every public trust and those who know him recognize in him one who is ever fearless in support of his honest convictions and cognizant at all times of his duties to the public.
MOSES T. DICKEY.
Macaulay has said that the history of a country is best told in the lives of its people and in a record of Franklin county and its progress it is im- [wrative that mention should be made of Moses T. Dickey, who, while an active factor in the affairs of life, was known as a public spirited citizen, a good farmer and an honorable, enterprising and progressive business man.
A native of New York, Mr. Dickey was born in Washington county, July 17, 1823, and was descended in the paternal line from Irish ancestry. his grandfather having been the founder of the family in the new world. Joseph Diekey, father of Moses T. Dickey, was born in Washington county, New York, and in early manhood was married there to Miss Lovina Tag- gart. They remained residents of their native county until after the birth. of their four sons, James. Moses, Joseph and Albert, and in 1838 removed to what was then the western frontier, making the journey by way of the Erie canal and the lake to Cleveland and thence by canal to a point near their destination, which was Franklin county, Ohio. They established their home in the little village called Portersburg, near Amalthea, after- ward widely known as Central College from the institution founded there by Timothy Lee. Joseph Dickey became a factor in the industrial interests of the community through the establishment and conduct of a blacksmith shop, carrying on the business until his death in 1845. Because of his in- telligence and interest in the questions of the day his shop was often the
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meeting place of the leading citizens of the township, who discussed with ardor the great questions of politics and religion then agitating the public mind. Mr. Dickey always kept well informed on matters of general mo- ment and expressed with clearness and force his views upon any subject. He was survived by his wife until 1854 and during their residence in Ohio they became parents of a fifth son, Courtland.
Their eldest son, James, married Jeanette Parks, who died within a year and he afterward wedded her sister Sylvia, subsequent to which time he became a resident of Xenia. Ohio. and a representative of the Miami Powder Company. His death occurred in 1888. Joseph Dickey, the third son. was identified with early educational interests in Ohio as a teacher in Franklin and Pickaway counties and later taught for one year in Iowa but devoted the greater part of his life to the live-stock business. Albert Dickey succeeded his brother, Moses, in the blacksmith business and later became a representative of farming interests in Blendon township, Franklin county. Joseph and Albert will always be remembered for the generous bequests made to the benevolent institutions of Columbus. Courtland Dickey be- came connected with the Miami Powder Company, of Xenia, Ohio, aud was general agent and secretary to the company for several years prior to his death, which occurred suddenly in 1890 when he was fifty-six years of age.
Moses T. Dickey, whose name introduces this review, spent the first fif- teen years of his life in the state of his nativity and then came with his parents to Ohio. He mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools and became familiar with the blacksmith's trade through the assistance which he rendered in his father's shop. Later he began business on his own account in the same line and prospered in his undertaking, conduct- ing his shop until ten years after his marriage, when he sold out to his brother Albert and turned his attention to general farming. He purchased a tract of land in the neighborhood in which he was living and became a partner of his brother Joseph in live-stock dealing and in farming interests. Their affairs were capably managed and their unfaltering industry and per- severance enabled them in the course of years to become the owners of valu- able property holdings.
On the 2d of November, 1847, Moses T. Dickey was married to Miss Alma Gillespie, a daughter of Menzas and Lucy (Phelps) Gillespie. Her father, a native of Connecticut, served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812, while her grandfather. William Gillespie. fought for American in- dependence in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Dickey was also connected with the well known Phelps family that came to Ohio in 1806 from Windsor, Connecticut, while the earliest representatives of the family in America arrived from England in 1630. Mrs. Dickey was a lady of gen- erons education and broad culture for the times and possessed a most dis- criminating literary taste. her life having marked influence upon the lives of her children. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Dickey was blessed with six children: Clarence W., deceased: Alice, the wife of John A. McCoy, of Emporia, Kansas; Alma G., deceased: Charles, who died in infancy : Clay-
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ton L., a prominent representative of manufacturing interests in Colum- bus; and Marcus C., well known in journalistic eireles of this city. The death of the wife and mother occurred February 7, 1893, and the grief of Mr. Dickey over her loss undoubtedly hastened his death, which occurred March 12, 1898, when he was in his sventy-fifth year. Theirs was largely an ideal married relation for their mutual love and confidence increased as the years passed by, and they shared with each other the joys and sorrows, the adversity and prosperity which checker the careers of all.
At all times Mr. Dickey was interested in the welfare of his adopted county and his labors in its behalf were far-reaching and beneficial. He became a stalwart republican on the organization of the party, was a warm admirer of President Lincoln and did everything in his power to support his poliey during the Civil war, giving generously of his means toward that end. He served as trustee of Blendon township for a number of years and exerted strong and beneficial influence in local political circles. He read broadly and thought deeply upon questions of vital moment and although he was not a member of any church he always hold the tenets of Christian- ity in high regard and in his life closely followed the golden rule. He never questioned whether life was worth living-he knew that it was and made good use of his opportunities, gaining ereditable success in the business world and using his means so worthily that the most envious could not grudge him his prosperity.
WILLIAM HARVEY JONES.
William Harvey Jones, a well known and popular young attorney of Columbus, was born on the 3d of June, 1872, near the romantic college town of Granville, Licking county, Ohio, which was one of the early seats of learn- ing in Ohio. His parents, Hiram D. and Elizabeth (Jones) Jones, were of Welsh lineage, and natives of Oneida county. New York. On coming to this state in 1837, they settled on a farm near Granville, Licking county, where the father carried on agricultural pursuits until his death in 1873.
In the acquirement of an education William Harvey Jones first attended the common schools and then became a pupil in the Granville high school, from which he was graduated in 1890. In 1891 he had completed a course in Doane Academy and in 1895 received the degree of Bachelor of Literature from Denison University. Determining to make the practice of law his life work, he studied for a year in the law department of the Ohio State Uni- versity and then finished his reading in the office of Booth, Keating & Peters. being admitted to practice by the Supreme Court in March, 1898. Since that time he has prosecuted his profession with gratifying success, his large clientage being ample evidence of his ability as a lawyer. From the time he was admitted to the bar until 1906 he was associated with the firm of Booth, Keating & Peters. He also has been admitted to practice in the Uni- ted States courts and keeps in touch with the ouward march of his profes-
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sion through his membership in the Franklin County Bar Association. His offices are located in the Board of Trade building on East Broad street.
Fraternally Mr. Jones is a member of Humboldt Lodge, No. 476, F. & A. M., and is also identified with the Ohio Historical and Archaeological Society. He has never sought nor desired public or political honors, owing to business and professional duties, but takes an intelligent interest in all questions relating to municipal, state or national welfare.
COLONEL JOHN L. VANCE.
The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest esteem of himself and his accomplishments but rather to leave the record establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his fellowmen. Colonel Vance has been one of the world's workers and public opinion has agreed upon the fact that his labors have been of value to his fellow citizens and the state in which he has long made his home. The public life of few residents of this community has stood over a longer period and none has been more constant in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation.
Colonel Vance started upon life's journey July 19, 1839, at Gallipolis, Ohio, and was the eldest child of Alexander and Eliza (Shepard) Vance. After attending the public schools he became a pupil in the Gallia Academy and also largely broadened his knowledge through the experience which he had in his father's printing office that he entered at the age of eleven years. That he made progress along intellectual lines is indicated by the fact that when seventeen years of age he was employed as one of the public school teachers of Walunt township and the following year he was appointed to the position of district clerk of the courts of Gallia county. While engaged in the ex- ecution of the duties of that office he took up the study of law and continued his course in the law school of Cincinnati College in the fall of 1860. His graduation followed in the succeeding spring and his knowledge of legal prin- ciples constituted an element in his successful life work.
In 1860 Colonel Vance accepted a position on the staff of General Con- stable of the Ohio Militia; the day following his graduation from the law school he was ordered to report to Gallipolis for military duty. There he recruited and organized the first troops at Gallipolis and was the first man to enter the service of the Union army from that county. By reason of his position on the general's staff he could not become a member of the company but was active in various military duties until June 3, 1861, when he recruited a com- pany for three years' service and was mustered into the United States Army as captain of Company B, Fourth Virginia Infantry on the 5th of July, 1861. The regiment was composed almost equally of Ohioans and Virginians and for eighteen months after the enlistment the troops were engaged in active service in West Virginia. The regiment then went south and participated in the campaigns, battles and skirmishes of Vicksburg, Mission Ridge and
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