Century history of Delaware County, Ohio and representative citizens 20th, Part 111

Author: Lytle, James Robert, 1841- [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 926

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In 1812 AAnthony Newhouse had his second military experience. Ile enlisted from Pick- away County in John Boggs' company, under the command of General Tupper, who was sent to Fort Defiance to fight against the In- dians. Mr. Newhouse was discharged at U'r- bana, Ohio, but before he reached there, his faithful horse had been so disabled by the tomahawk of an Indian, that it was almost worthless. In 1814 Anthony Newhouse sold his farm of 160 acres in Pickaway County and bought 200 acres in Scioto Township. from Henry Massie, of Chillicothe, paying

for it at the rate of two dollars an acre. In May of that year he started with his family for Delaware County, bringing with him three cows and three horses. John R. Newhouse has now among his stock, descendants of the horses his grandfather brought from Pickaway County.

William Newhouse, father of John R., was born March 11, 1800. He was married to Annie Richey, January 6, 1823, and they set- tled on the bank of the Scioto River, near Bellpoint, from which place they removed, in 1825, to Union County, but in the fall of 1829 they returned to Scioto Township and settled on the farm now owned by John R. New- house, who was then six months old. Here the father died December 6, 1842. His occu- pation was farming but he was possessed of so much mechanical skill that he constructed a large number of the necessities of the house- hold, including furniture, utensils and shoes. He built the first wagon that was ever made in this section.

The children born to William Newhouse and wife were the following: Mary K., born January 2, 1825, married Benjamin T. Benton. August 13, 1846, and died January 19, 1901; David Emery, born August 26, 1826, died in Wapello County, lowa. February 20, 1856; Belinda, who was married November 15. 1849, to Washington Jones Warren, died at Ash- land, lowa; John R .; Catherine, born January 22. 1831, was married in 1855, to Abner John- son Bird, and died in 1885: Nancy Jane, born June 30, 1832, was married in 1857 to Levi Hart, and died in 1901 ; Adam, born January 30, 1834, resides in Scioto Township: Joseph. born in 1836, lives in Buffalo, Missouri; Wil- liam Lafayette, born June 12, 1838, died June 30. 1855: James H., born in 1840, died in 1899: and Isaiah died in infancy.

John R. Newhouse has engaged in general farming and stock-raising and has raised many horses. Ilis farm contains 82 acres and he has all but 15 under cultivation. He cast his first Presidential vote for Zachary Taylor, and all through the period of the Civil War he was identified with the Republican party, but since then his interests have centered more

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in the Prohibition party which he is happy to see is winning consideration all over the land, the people beginning to value its principles and aims as he has done for many years. In many respects. Mr. Newhouse stands alone, being the oldest school-teacher living in the western part of Delaware County, having out-lived his co-workers and many of his pupils: is the oldest member of the old Stone Church of Radnor and the oldest Sunday school superin- tendent in Delaware County, and. the oldest elder in the Presbyterian Church, in point of service, in the Marion Presbytery, which in- cludes Marion, Delaware, Union and Morrow Counties. He is also the oldest justice of the peace in the county. Ile has held all the town- ship offices and has been at the head of all public-spirited movements. Since December 10. 1853. he has been a Mason, belonging first to Fidelity Lodge at Bellpoint, later demitting to Hiram Lodge, at Delaware, and is the old- cst member of the fraternity in the county.

On April 6. 1858. Mr. Newhouse was mar- ried to Jane A. MeClure, a daughter of James McClure. She was born April 1. 1831. Of their seven children, six reached . maturity, Emma. born February 7. 1859, married D. E. Hughes, December 15. 1881, and they reside at Delaware. They have one daughter, Har- riet, who was born November 7. 1884. David Emery. born July 26, 1861, died November 22, 1884. Nellie, born June 12, 1865, married A. H. Fawcett, June 11, 1890, and they have four children: Clyde, born March 31, 1891 ; Fern. born February 9. 1893: Edgar, born November 27, 1894; and Guy H., born Oc- tober II. 1905. Annie Olive, born November 12, 1870, married Harry S. Britton, Septem- ber 14. 1890, and died at Chicago, Illinois, .April 22. 1898, leaving two children: Co- rinne. born August 24. 1891 ; and Pauline. born September 19. 1893. Mary Etta, born December 13. 1872. married William Brown, February 1. 1893. and they have one child. Chester Dean, born May 20. 1897. Chester P .. born November 21. 1874, married Mary K. Oller. April 21 .. 1898, and they have one child, John R., born February 11, 1899.

5 ON. THOMAS E. POWELL, for many years numbered among Dela- ware's most prominent citizens, has been a resident of Columbus, Ohio, since 1887. A lawyer by profession, his successes have been such as to gain for him a prestige not only throughout the State of Ohio, but in the industrial and financial cen- ters of the country as well, and it has been his fortune to represent many of the largest cor- porate interests of the United States in a legal capacity. He comes of a distinguished family of Delaware county, the name of Thomas W. Powell, his father, being inseparably linked with the history of the city of Delaware and institutions, as its guiding genius during its constructive period.

Thomas E. Powell was born, February 20. 1842. in the old family home located on what is now the campus of Ohio Wesleyan Uni- versity in Delaware, a building which subse- quently served as the residence of the incum- bent presidents of the University for many years. He is a son of Thomas Watkins and Elizabeth (Gordon) Powell, and paternally is descended from the Ancient Britons. the Powells and Watkins, the latter being the family name of his grandmother, tracing their lineage back to ancestors who were in the Saxon invasion of Great Britain, in the Fi:th Century of the Christian Era. These names are contained in the earliest year-books and literature of the Saxons, adorning the pages of the history of their country and race.

Thomas Watkins Powell was born near Cowbridge, Montgomeryshire. in South Wales. in November, 1797, and was four years of age when brought to America by his parents. He was reared at U'tica, New York, in the benuti- ful Mohawk Valley, where he attended the Academy, availing himself of the limited ad- vantages at hand for the procurement of an education. An insatiable thirst for knowledge could not be denied. and through self instruc- tion and individual research he in time be- came one of the most scholarly of men. U'pon leaving school he read law at U'tien until 1819. then went to Canton, Ohio, where his prep-

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aration for the legal profession was continued under the preceptorship of Hon. James W. Lathrop. In 1820 he was admitted to the bar at Wooster, Ohio, and duly licensed to practice by the Supreme Court of the Circuit. He immediately after located at Perrysburg, Ohio, where he engaged in practice about 10 years, and while there served as prosecuting attorney, auditor and clerk of courts of Wood County, discharging the duties of these various offices at the same time. He moved to Dela- ware. Ohio, about 1830, and soon after pur- chased the land surrounding Sulphur Springs, now a part of the Ohio Wesleyan University campus, and erected the Mansion House, which is now used as Elliott Hall, one of the University buildings. He built, also, cottages, bath houses and bowling alleys, this being for some years a fashionable resort patronized by those in search of health and pleasure. Num- bered among his guests at different times were men who occupied high stations in life, notably William Henry Harrison, President of the United States. Judge Campbell of the United States Court died there in 1832. Mr. Powell erected a cottage on the ground. in which he and his family resided, and in which our sub- ject and his wife were both born. He finally disposed of this property to the University. He was in the active practice of his profession in Delaware during this time, and for a period of 15 years was Probate Judge of the county. Hle refused such offices as were not in line with his professional work, and twice refused the nomination for Congress, in 1840 and in 1846, at a time when the nomination of his party meant almost certain election. Ile was originally a Whig, in politics, then a Republi- can during the Civil War and until 1872, when he withdrew his support from that party be- cause of its reconstruction policies.

. Mr. Powell was ever foremost in the public enterprises of Delaware. He was influential in bringing the first railroads into the city : built the old flax-mill, now in use as the chair factory; and assisted in establishing the foundry on East William Street. A man of intellectual attainments and literary ability. with a masterly grasp of the subjects at hand,

as the author of "Powell's Analysis of Ameri- can Law," a work on "Appellate Jurisdiction" and "The History of the Ancient Britons and their Descendants," he erected a monument to his name which will endure. As to Mr. Powell's career, his ability and achievements, and the attributes which went to make his character, a more comprehensive account is given elsewhere in this volume.

Thomas E. Powell was reared in Delaware and attended Ohio Wesleyan University, from which he was graduated in 1863. He then read law under the direction of his father and was admitted to the bar in 1866. Im- mediately thereafter he formed a partnership with Mr. W. P. Reid, an association of legal talent which continued under the firm name of Reid & Powell, until the senior partner's death in 1879. During this time they had erected the Reid & Powell Block, a three- story brick building situated on the southwest corner of Sandusky Street and Central Avenue. Our subject continued in practice in Delaware until 1887, a greater part of the time as senior member of the firm of Powell, Gill & Kauffman, his partners being Judge J. S. Gill and Frank Kauffman. The latter sub- sequently withdrew from the firm, but Powell & Gill continued until 1887. At that time Mr. Powell moved to Columbus, and the firm of Powell, Owen, Ricketts & Black was formed. Hon. S. N. Owen had but recently retired as Judge of the Supreme Court, and was the first to sever his connection with the firm, retiring from practice some eight or ten years later. Upon the elevation of Mr. Black to the bench as Probate Judge, the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Powell has since con- tinued alone in practice. Ile has had con- nection with some of the most important liti- gation in the Ohio Courts, a notable case, in which he represented the plaintiff. being the Deshler Will Case, involving more than a half million of dollars. The successful prosecution of this case, which was before the courts for nearly 12 years, brought him a fee of $60,- 000. He has been attorney for the American Sugar Refining Company of New York, The Standard Oil Company, the Ohio and Western

RESIDENCE OF CLAY W. BARTON, BERKSHIRE TOWNSHIP

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Coal Company. The National Cash Register Company, and many other large corporations of New York and Ohio. During his practice in Columbus, his fees from New York have exceeded those from Ohio, notwithstanding the fact he has tried cases in nearly every county in the State. He has tried cases in nearly one-half the states of the Union, and appeared in all the courts, from the Common Pleas to the United States Supreme Court. He has, without doubt, tried more cases than any other lawyer in Ohio now living. The extent of his practice bespeaks his ability. his comprehensive knowledge of the law, his forensic ability, and his rank among the fore- most of his profession.

Mr. Powell was a Republican in politics until 1872, since which time he has been most active in the affairs of the Democratic party. being a prominent figure at county, State and national conventions. He served as presi- dential elector from his district in 1872. and two years later was nominated for Congress in that district, which was strongly Republi- can. Although he met with defeat there was much glory in the fact that he was the first Democrat to carry Delaware County in a Congressional race. In 1873 he was the party nominee for attorney-general of Ohio, and in I'878 was presidential elector at large for Ohio; in 1887. he was nominated for governor of Ohio against Senator Foraker: he was dela- gate-at-large to the Chicago convention which nominated Cleveland for President, and placed in nomination the name of Governor Hoadley. Of commanding presence and pleasing voice, employing the choicest diction in his speech and appealing to the better judgment and rea- son of man. he is gifted beyond measure with the power to sway an audience, and has many times been called upon to place the name of a friend before a convention. He presented the name of Allen G. Thurman at the St. Louis Convention in 1888: the name of Gen- eral Thomas Ewing for governor in 1878: and the name of Durbin Warren for governor in 1885. Fraternally, Mr. Powell is a mem- ber of Hiram Lodge, No. 18. F. & A. M., at Delaware. He helped to organize the Dela-

ware Chair Company in 1870, and has been a director of it ever since.

Our subject was joined in marriage with Miss Eliza Thomson, a daughter of Bishop Edward Thomson, first president of Ohio Wesleyan University, a sketch of whom ap- pears in connection with the history of the University. Six children were born of this union : Edward T., a graduate of Ohio Wes- leyan University and an attorney at law, who has offices with his father: Maria. wife of Rev. Charles W. Watson, D. D., secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Missions of Phila- clelphia: Cornelia, who lives at home: Ray- mond, of Tucson, Arizona: Warren T., who graduated from Ohio State University with the class of 1907, spent one year in Japan as teacher of English in the University of Tokio; and llarold is a member of the class of 1909. Ohio State University. Religiously, Mr. Powell is a member of the Broad Street M. E. Church, to the support of which he has con- tributed liberally.

LAY W. BARTON. a prominent citi- zen, large landowner and successful farmer of Berkshire Township, was born at Columbus, Ohio, March 4. 1861, and is a son of William and Sarah ( Inks) Barton.

The parents of Mr. Barton were natives of Niagara County, New York. They were married at Columbus, Ohio, in 1850. The fa- ther. William Barton, was a prosperous real estate dealer at Columbus for a number of years and continued to reside there until his death, which took place April 7. 1905. his wife's death having occurred in the preceding month. They had four children, namely : Mary, who died aged sixteen years: Helen. who married John Braddock, residing at New- ark. Ohio: Clay W .: and Nellie. who died aged seventeen years.

Clay W. Barton was educated in the schools of Columbus and prior to going into the real estate business with his father, was a clerk for two years in the office of the C. H.

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B. & T. Railroad. Under his father's super- vision, Mr. Barton developed into a successful business man, and continued his residence at Columbus until 1886. He then bought 150 acres of farming land adjoining Sunbury on the south, where he has since carried on gen- eral agriculture. In April. 1906. he purchased a second farm of 116 acres in Geneva Town- ship, which he rents. Ile is identified with many of the leading business concerns of this community. He owns considerable stock and is a director in the Sunbury Farmers' Bank and has other interests. He also owns val- uable city realty at Columbus and is inter- ested in the Smith Chemical Company, manu- facturers of fertilizers in that city.

In 1888 Mr. Barton was married to Anna Moore, who was born at Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, and who died at Sunbury, Ohio, April 1. 1895. She left one child, Ethel, born in February, 1890, who died October 7. 1902. Mr. Barton was married, secondly, May 13. 1907, to Mrs. Ella ( Mains) Ford, widow of the late Benton Ford and daughter of John Mains. Mrs. Ford had three daughters- Catherine, Estella and Ruth, all attending school. In politics, Mr. Barton is a Repub- lican, and since 1897 he has been a trustee of Berkshire Township. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and has served on its Board of Trustees.

ON. THOMAS W. POWELL. (The present article is from a sketch of Judge Powell written by Hon. J. R. Hubbell. )

The ancestors of the subject of this memoir, both paternal and maternal, lived in South Wales, and they trace their lineage back among the Ancient Britons, to the Saxon invasion of Great Britain, in the Fifth Century of the Christian era. The names of Powell and Watkins can be found in the earliest year- . books and literature of the Welsh people and adorn the brightest pages in the history of their country and race.

Thomas Watkin Powell. lawyer, legislator and author, and in his day widely known to his brethren of the bar, and literary circles, was born in Wales in the latter part of the year 1797. In the early part of the year 1801. his father, Watkin Powell, with his young family immigrated to America and settled in the upper part of the Mohawk Valley, in the State of New York. The name of his maternal grandfather was Watkins.

Utica at that time was a small village. compared with its present magnificence and grandeur, and the country around it was new. the population sparse, and as a matter of course, the means for the education of the young men of that day were limited. Young Thomas sought and obtained such an education as the opportunities afforded.

During the second war with Great Britain. then a mere youth, he drove his father's team with the baggage of a regiment, in the spring of 1813, to Sackett's Harbor, and entered the place at the close of the battle.

In September, 1814. he was appointed by the military authorities to a post of great trust and responsibility-the bearer of dis- patches to Plattsburg; and at the close of that battle he entered the town with dispatches to General MeCombes.

Thirst for knowledge was the ruling pas- sion of young Powell's life, and after the War. of 1812. for about two years he was favored with the privilege of attending an academy in Utica, where he studied and mastered such branches as are taught at such institutions. including the higher branches of mathematics. for which he had a taste, and great genius to excel.

It was ever with him a subject of regret. that his opportunities in early life to obtain a more thorough education were so limited, but such was the order of Providence. Had he been indulged in the natural bent of his mind, he would have devoted his life to literature. and undoubtedly acquired fame in the Republic of letters.

After he left the Academy he entered the law office of Charles M. Lee, Esq .. of Utica.

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as a law student, when about the age of 20. In the year 1819 he came to Ohio, and he passed his quarantine as a law student in the office of Hon. James W. Lathrop at Canton. In the year 1820 at Wooster, Ohio, he was duly licensed by the Supreme Court'on the Circuit, to practice in the several courts of record of the State: and he immediately lo- cated at Perrysburg. on the Maumee, in the practice of the law. But the country being new and the business insufficient to occupy his time, he accepted both the offices of county auditor and prosecuting attorney of Wood County. At that time under the law. the county commissioners appointed the auditor. and the Common Pleas Court appointed the prosecuting attorney, and Mr. Powell Ireld these two offices in Wood County for a period of 10 years consecutively.

In the discharge of his official and pro- fessional duties, he was prompt, and noted for his probity as well as his ability.

In the year 1830, the Maumee Valley not growing in population and not meeting with the commercial and business success that was anticipated by the first settlers, in order to ob- tain a wider field for the practice of his pro- fession, he removed to Delaware, where he resided for more than 50 years, and until his death. He immediately entered upon a lucra- tive and extensive practice, and from the very outset, his business proved to be commensurate with his abilities and integrity. For more than 30 years, he was regarded by the bar in Delaware, and throughout the counties in Central Ohio, as a strong and successful law- yer. In special pleading and equity to which lie devoted special attention he excelled. Ilis industry was untiring both in his profession and as a student. Law, history and literature remained his constant attention, when not oc- cupied with the cares and duties of his busi- ness, and professional engagements. He was noted for his zeal for his clients' interests and welfare, in both civil and criminal cases. Po- litic and intelligent his society was courted by his brother lawyers at the bar, and in whatever circle he entered he was always welcome.

Probably no lawyer in Ohio in assisting young men to. the bar, did more or had more

students than Mr. Powell. Among the law- yers who acquired celebrity in professional or political life, or both, we can name among his students, Hon. C. Sweetser, who was a suc- cessful lawyer and a member of Congress from 1849 to 1853: subsequently Edward Jones, Esq., who died young, and who at the time of his death was prosecuting attorney of Dela- ware County. Mr. Jones had acquired so much reputation as a lawyer and public speaker, that it was thought that if he had lived, he would have reached the very highest round in the ladder of fame. His brother, Hon. Thomas C. Jones, scarcely less dis- tinguished, was both State Senator and Com- mon Pleas and District Judge for 10 years. Hon. Royal T. Wheeler, Chief Justice of Texas, General J. S. Jones, a member of the Forty-fifth Congress, and others making a long roll, were among the number of his law stu- dents.

The bar in Central Ohio when Mr. Powell entered upon the practice in Delaware was distinguished for its ability. Gustavus Swan and Ovis Parish of Columbus, Ewing and Stanbury of Lancaster, William Sanbury of Newark, Delano and Curtis of Mt. Vernon. Godman and Bowen of Marion, Stewart and Bartly of Mansfield and others with whom he was frequently associated as co-counsel, or pitted against in the trial of causes, were able lawyers. In this brilliant array, Mr. Powell stood abreast with the foremost as an advo- cate and trial lawyer.

Painstaking and laborious in the prepara- tion of his cases, he was never taken by sur- prise by his adversary in the trial of a cause. His earnest and persuasive style of elocution was entertaining and instructive, to both Court and jury. Punctilliously honest, he was the very soul of honor, and his earnest manner impressed the Court and jury with the sin- cerity of his convictions.

To his industry in his profession and let- ters, Mr. Powell added great enterprise in all matters of interest to the public. He projected and prosecuted to completion the improve- ments at the Sulphur Springs, at Delaware, known as the "Mansion House," which in its early history was a fashionable resort as a

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watering place: and which subsequently se- cured to Delaware, the "Ohio Wesleyan Uni- versity." He built the Hlax-mills at Delaware. and thereby secured the extensive chair factory upon the same site, now known and patronized in every State in the Union ; and by his enter- prise and patronage, greatly aided in the es- tablishment and success of the foundry and machine shops of that city. He had an exqui- site taste for horticulture and the arts-especi- ally architecture. His knowledge of the arts by study and cultivation, was of a high order. All his life he was free from very vice of dissipation. To billiards and cards he was a stranger.

Although he took a lively interest in public affairs he was never partisan. He believed in the brotherhood of man and sympathized with the afflicted, either in mind, body or estate -it made no difference to him whether the sufferer was white or black, degraded or vir- tuous, his hand was ever ready to extend him relief. His whole life was signalized with acts of charity, and he was never known "to turn the poor away unalmsed."

He was never a place seeker. The offices he filled so well were forced upon him, and accepted seemingly against his will. He filled many offices of trust both before and after he came to Delaware-prosecuting attorney, representative and Senator in the State Legis- lature. He was a member of the Constitu- tional Convention of '73 and for many years in the later part of his life he was county judge. The writer was a law student of Mr. Powell, and for several years occupied his office and knew him well. On two different occasions he could have been elected to Con- gress if he had given his consent to run. h 1840 he could have been elected. and again in 1846, but he would not consent to give up his lucrative professional practice for a seat in Congress. He thought the claims upon him of his young family were superior to the claims of his country, and at that time men seemed to be more honest than they do now, and no honest man then sought a seat in Con- gress for the purpose of making a fortune.

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Century history of Delaware County, Ohio and representative citizens 20th, Part 111

Author: Lytle, James Robert, 1841- [from old catalog] ed Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago, Biographical publishing company Number of Pages: 926

Author: Lytle, James Robert, 1841- [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 926