History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 88

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

centres of the West. He was for many years, and at the time of his death, a director of the Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company, and was also director of the Cincinnati Gas, Light & Coke Company. But all of Mr. Broadwell's time and means were not given to business and professional matters. During the Civil war he was a member of the Sanitary Commission, and was very attentive to the welfare and comfort of our soldiers. When a young man he united with the Presbyterian Church, was a sincere Christian and a very active church worker. He was a ruling elder of the Second Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati, and at the time of his death was senior member of the Session. He was a member of the society which organized the Young Men's Christian Association in this country, was largely instrumental in having a branch established in this city, and was one of its first presidents. One of the causes especially near his heart was the Presbyterian Church Extension Society, of which he was an officer and conscientious helper for many years. Another of his prominent characteristics was a desire to assist young men, and many of the substantial business and professional men, in and about Cincinnati to-day, owe their success in life largely to the wise counsel and assistance received from Mr. Broadwell when determining upon a profession or making their initiatory engagement in business. He was a trustee of the Cincinnati Orphan Asylum, and for many years of Lane Seminary, but he resigned the latter at the same time as Alexander McDonald on account of the difficulty which arose between that institution and Prof. Henry Preserved Smith. The severance of the relations between Prof. Smith and the seminary occurred a few hours previous to the death of Mr. Broad- well, a meeting of the trustees having been held on that day in Cincinnati.

Mr. Broadwell's last illness developed in May, 1893, and, though all that science could do was done, nothing could check the progress of the disease, and on July 1, he was moved from Atlantic City, whither he had been taken for change of air, to Brooklyn, and there, on July 11, he died at the home of his brother-in-law, John M. Nixon. His remains were brought to Cincinnati and interred in Spring Grove Cemetery. Mr. Broadwell was a man who made many friends, and his friendship was of the lasting kind. His name was always foremost in every religious and benevolent enterprise, and running back through the history of Cincinnati his name will frequently be found in the chapters given to charitable institutions. He bequeathed to the Women's Union Missionary Society $10,000 for the purchase of a lot and the erection of a building in India to be known as the "Lily Lytle Broad- well Memorial." Mr. Broadwell married, for his first wife, Miss Elizabeth Haines Lytle, a sister of Gen. Lytle, of Cincinnati, whose biography appears in this work. His second wife was Miss Marie Haines Nixon, daughter of John M. Nixon, of New York, who was a member of the firm of Doremus & Nixon, one of the oldest busi- ness houses in New York. Mr. Broadwell was a Republican in his political views, but, though very public-spirited, he was not a seeker of public office.

EDWARD PAYSON BRADSTREET was born at Vermillion, Huron Co., Ohio, June 5, 1830, a son of the late Rev. Stephen Ingalls and Anna Dana (Smith) Bradstreet, the former a native of Greenfield, Mass., the latter of Amherst, N. H. Rev. Stephen Ingalls Bradstreet was one of the founders of Cleveland, was a Presbyterian min- ister, and had four children of whom Edward was the second and is now the only surviving child.

Edward P. Bradstreet began his education in Elyria, Ohio, graduated from the high school of that town, and then entered the Western Reserve College, of Hudson, Ohio, an institution of which his father was one of the founders, and which was in 1883 removed to Cleveland, and is now known as the Cleveland University. He then (1852) attended Yale College, and was graduated therefrom in the renowned class of 1853. He then taught the Academy at Wilton, Conn., for one year, then for one year at Talmadge (now Akron), Ohio, where he began the study of law under the preceptorship of Hon. William H. Upson, now Judge of the Circuit Court of the

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Akron District. Late in 1854 he came to Cincinnati, continued the study of law in" the office of Hon. Alexander Long and E. A. Ferguson, was admitted to practice in 1857, and is still engaged therein, giving especial attention to the national bankruptcy laws until their repeal, and since then to assignment laws and general practice. He was married January 9, 1860, to Minerva Dolabella, daughter of Robert S. Fraisse, of Vicksburg, Miss. She died August 23, 1867, and for his second wife Mr. Brad- street married August 9, 1883, Harriette B., daughter of Rev. William D. and Josephine Hortense (Barton) Herrick, of Amherst, Mass., and by her he has three children, Marjora Herrick, Edward P., Jr., and Anna Bella. The family are mem- bers of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church, of which he is a vestryman; he was superintendent of the Sunday-school for twenty years. Politically he is a Democrat, has been a member of the board of education, and a trustee of the Work House for six years, twice appointed by Mayor Means; president of the Fifth District Associated Charities for several years; Democratic candidate for State Senator and Court of Common Pleas; member of the Directory of Cincinnati Gymnasium for twenty-five years, and president for nine years. Also one of the founders and trustees of Cin- cinnati Humane Society, its attorney for many years, and a director of the Young Men's Bible Society, an active member of, and the attorney for, the Society for the Suppression of Vice.

HON. JOHN F. FOLLETT, attorney at law, was born in Richford, Franklin Co., Vt., February 18, 1833, and is the son of John F. and Sarah (Woodworth) Follett, also natives of Vermont. His great-grandfather, Eliphalet Follett, was among the early settlers in the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, and was among the killed at the terrible massacre which occurred in that place in 1778, after which his widow with her four children removed to Vermont. Of these Martin was the eldest, and became the grandfather of our subject. Martin Follett married Miss Persis, daughter of Hon. John Fassett, who was one of the justices of the Supreme Court of Vermont. The half-brother of Eliphalet Follett was also in the Wyoming mas- sacre, and was stabbed, scalped, and left on the field for dead, but afterward escaped. His son, Oran Follett, now lives at Clifton at the advanced age of ninety- six years.

The name of Follett was doubtless French, and it is thought that the family went from France to England at the time of William the Conqueror. William Follett emigrated from England and settled at Salem, Mass., in colonial times, where members of the Follett family have since held many political offices, includ- ing State Senate and Legislature. The Woodworths were also among the early settlers of New England. The father of our subject, who was a farmer in Vermont, came to Granville, Licking Co., Ohio, where he died in May, 1863, at the age of seventy-two years from the effects of a sunstroke. His widow survived him but a month, her death being caused chiefly by exhaustion from attending her husband in his last illness. She had reached her seventy-third year. The family consisted of nine children, of whom the following is a brief record: Harriett married Timothy Jewett, resident of Indianola, Iowa; Sophronia (deceased) married Frank Lewis, resident of Johnston, Ohio; Charles is the judge of Ohio courts at Newark, Licking Co., Ohio; Alfred is a physician and surgeon at Granville, Ohio, where he has prac- ticed for several years; Fidelia married Timothy Rose, resident of Granville, Ohio; Martin D., once judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, is now practicing law at Marietta; George is extensively engaged in the wool business in New York City, and resides in Brooklyn; John F. is the subject of this sketch; Austin W. forms with his brother the firm of George Follett & Company. Mr. Follett received his early education in the academy at Granville, Ohio, where he prepared for Marietta Col- lege, graduating from the latter in 1855 at the head of his class. He then secured a position as teacher in the Blind Asylum at Columbus, where he remained one year, after which he became professor of the Columbus high school. It was by teaching

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

that he was enabled to cancel a debt that he had incurred in securing a classical education. During his leisure hours while teaching he pursued the study of the profession which he had determined to follow, and in 1857 entered the office of his brother Charles at Newark as a law student.

He was admitted to the Bar in 1858, and at once entered into practice with his brother, which was not dissolved until 1868, when the former came to Cincinnati to make his future home. He was elected a member of the Ohio Legislature in 1865, re-elected in 1867, and in 1868 was nominated by acclamation and elected speaker of the House, which position he afterward resigned, having determined to remove to Cincinnati. Mr. Follett was a member of the firm of Bartly (Thomas W.) & Follett in 1868 and 1870; of Burnett (H. L.) & Follett in 1870 and 1871; of Cox, Burnett & Follett in 1871 and 1873; of Follett & Cochran, in 1873 and 1875; of Follett, Hynman & Dawson in 1877 and 1883; of Follett, Hyn- man & Kelly, from 1883 to 1888, and, since, of Follett & Kelly. During his career Mr. Follett has been retained in many notable cases, among which may be mentioned the Piatt & Longworth and the Tom McGehan cases. In 1858 Mr. Follett's alma mater conferred upon him the title of A. M., and in 1879 that of LL. D. For many years Mr. Follett has been prominently identified with the Democratic party, aiding it in all cases, giving it of his time, his money and his eloquence. It was not until 1882 that the party at Cincinnati recognized these valuable services, and this it did by sending him to represent the First Ohio District of United States Congress, he being the first successful candidate of his party in that District since 1876. Two years later he was again his party's choice for that office, but was defeated by Benjamin Butterworth, the Republican candidate, whom he had defeated two years before. His defeat, however, was attributed to the fact that it was at the time of the Presidential election in which his party met its usual defeat in Ohio. Mr. Follett was married July 16, 1866, to Miss Francus M., daughter of John Dawson, professor of Starling Medical College, of Columbus. This happy union has been blessed with three children: John D., a graduate of Kenyon College, and now a student in the Cincinnati Law School; Wanda D., and Charles, the latter a member of the Sophomore class at Kenyon College. Mr. Fol- lett is a Royal Arch Mason. He resides in Clifton.

COLONEL GUSTAV TAFEL, attorney at law, was born in Munich, Bavaria. October 13, 1830, and is a son of Dr. Leonard and Caroline (Vaylinger) Tafel. His father was at one time a member of the editorial staff of the Augsburg Gazette. He was a noted philologist and master of twenty-one languages. Subsequently he became a professor in the gymnasium of Ulm, and there young Gustav received his prepar- atory education. In 1832 his grandparents came to Cincinnati, and in 1847 they were followed by the family of Dr. Tafel. Upon the arrival of the latter in this country he first located in Philadelphia, but soon moved to Urbana, Ohio, where he was professor of languages in the New Church College for two years. He then returned to Philadelphia, and was a teacher of languages in that city until his death in 18 -. He was ill only one day, and his last employment was the preparation of a lesson for his class in Sanscrit. He also preached for a Swedenborgian church in New York. His family consisted of fourteen children, of whom seven are living: Augusta, widow of the late Arthur Schott, of Washington, D. C .; Gustav; Adolph, of the firm of Boericke & Tafel. wholesale homeopathic pharmacists, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington and Chicago; Rudolph, minister of the Swedenborgian church at London, England (the oldest of that denomination in the world), and the author of numerous Swedenborgian books; Louis H., pro- fessor of languages in the New Church College, Urbana, Ohio; Eliza, wife of Dr. F. E. Boericke, of the firm of Boericke & Tafel, and Minna, wife of Rev. Theodore Gorwitz, pastor of the new Swedenborgian church at Zurich, Switzerland, where he was sent from the United States as a missionary.

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

Gustav having been given the choice of entering the university or following his maternal grandmother to Cincinnati, chose the latter. Soon after his arrival here he entered the old Gazette office to learn the trade of a printer, and he was em- ployed there eight years. In the spring of 1855 he became the city editor of the Volksblatt, and filled that position three years. In the meantime he studied law with Judge Stallo and Robert L. McCook. He then resigned the city editorship of the paper, was admitted to the Bar in 1858, and entered actively into the law prac- tice. As early as 1848, with several other young men, Mr. Tafel was instrumental in organizing a Turner society in Cincinnati. On the breaking out of the Civil war he organized the Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the first German regiment organized in Ohio. Four days after his enlistment he was promoted from private to first sergeant, and in July, 1862, Governor Tod appointed him colonel of the One Hundred and Sixth O. V. I., promoting him to this position from a lieuten- ancy. He was wounded at New Creek, Mo., December 7, 1863, and suffered other casualties. At Hortsville, Tenn., in December, 1862, he was taken prisoner with his entire brigade, which was paroled five days later. At the close of the war he returned to his law practice in the city of his adoption. In 1865 he was chosen a member of the legislature in Cincinnati, Ohio.

On January 19, 1870, Col. Tafel was married to Theresa, daughter of Fred- erick and Lizzie (Gallas) Dorn, natives of Hamburg and of Austria, respectively. The following children have blessed this union: Hugo (a law student at Cincin- nati), Olga, Elsie, Richard, Hortense, Paul, Hugh, Irma, Melitta and Margueritta. The family is connected with the Cincinnati Swedenborgian Church. Col. Tafel is a member of the G. A. R., the Loyal Legion, the Turngemeinde, and the German Literary Club. He affiliated with the Democratic party prior to 1853, was a Repub- lican from 1853 to 1872, an Independent from 1872 to 1884, and has since been a Democrat. In 1890 he became a member of the Cincinnati Board of Administra- tion, and in 1891 he was a candidate for the office of mayor, and came within 138 votes of being elected.

GENERAL CHARLES E. BROWN, attorney, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, a son of Jacob and Selina S. (Johnson) Brown, natives of New Jersey and Virginia, respectively. They came of English ancestors, who were among the earliest colonial settlers. Gen. Brown's father was a merchant, came to Cincinnati in 1811, and made the mercantile trade the business of his life; he died in that city in 1837, leaving two children: Charles E. (the elder), and Jacob Newton, a surgeon and physician of San Jose, Cal., distinguished for his skill as a surgeon.

Our subject was thrown on his own resources early in life. After the death of his father, he lived with his grandfather, Elijah Johnson, on a farm in Highland county, Ohio. After attending the common schools, he was prepared for college at Greenfield (Ohio) Academy; then entered Miami University, where he was graduated in 1854 in the regular classical course, and soon after went to Louisiana as a private teacher, in which capacity he was engaged in that State five years. In the mean- time he had studied law. He was admitted to the Bar in Louisiana in 1859, but the same year returned to his native State, and commenced the practice of his chosen profession at Chillicothe. At the breaking out of the war in 1861, he promptly enlisted in Company B, Sixty-third O. V. I. After serving six weeks as a private his comrades elected him as their captain. His record as a soldier is a good one. [It is written up in full in "Ohio in the War."] He held all the offices between captain and brigadier-general, and participated in many of the historical battles of the war, los- ing his left leg at the battle of Atlanta, Georgia.

Gen. Brown in politics is a Republican, and his party has seen fit to nominate and elect him to Congress two terms, 1884-86. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Loyal Legion. He is a frequent contributor to the news- papers and literary magazines, and has a standing among literary men. The Gen-

MBiddle

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

eral was married at Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1857, to Anna E., daughter of Doctor Z. Hussey, a lady of English origin. This union has been blessed with six children; Selina, now the wife of Frederick W. Reed, an attorney at Minneapolis, Minn. ; Mabelle; Anna V., now the wife of Horace B. Hudson, a publisher, also a resident of Minneapolis; Jacob Newton, who died September 13, 1893 (he was a regular gradu- ate of Miami University, a graduate of Cincinnati Law School, and a practicing lawyer at the time of his death); Clara L. , and Charles Paul. Mrs. Brown is a mem- ber of, and the family attend, the Presbyterian Church.

CHANNING RICHARDS was born in Cincinnati February 21, 1838, a son of the late Channing and Lydia (Williamson) Richards, the former a native of Connecticut of Welsh descent, the latter a native of New Jersey. Both the Richards and the Williamson families date back in the history of this country to the early colonial days. Mrs. Channing Richards, Sr., was the granddaughter of Gen. Elias Dayton, a distinguished Revolutionary soldier, one of Gen. Washington's staff, and a niece of Jonathan Dayton, one of John Cleves Symmes' associates in the Miami Purchase.

Channing Richards, Sr., came to Cincinnati in 1832, and was for many years here engaged in mercantile pursuits. He died in 1869. Channing Richards pre- pared for college at Brooks' school, Cincinnati, entered Yale in 1854, was graduated therefrom in 1858, then entered the Cincinnati Law School, and was graduated therefrom, and admitted to practice in 1859. At the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion he enlisted in Company A, Sixth O. V. I., and served with his regiment in the West Virginia campaign. In September, 1861, he was discharged from that regiment to accept promotion in a new regiment, that was being formed at Camp Dennison, serving as aid-de-camp to Gen. Melancthon Wade until January, 1862, when he was commissioned as first lieuteuant of the Thirteenth Missouri Infantry, under the command of Col. Crafts J. Wright, which regiment was mainly composed of Ohio men, and subsequently became the Twenty-second Ohio. He con- tinued an officer of this regiment until the close of the war, serving in the Army of the Tennessee, part of the time, however, on staff duty with Gens. Buckland and Kimball. During the last year of the war he was military mayor of Memphis. At the close of the war he entered upon the practice of law in Memphis, where he remained until 1871, when he came to Cincinnati and formed a partnership with William Stanton. The following year he became Assistant United States District Attorney, under Warner M. Bateman. In January, 1877, he was appointed District Attorney by President Grant, and was re-appointed to the same office in 1881 by President Hayes. In 1885, he resumed the practice of law, becoming associated with the late firm of King, Thompson, Richards & Thompson, now Thompson, Rich- ards & Park.

Mr. Richards is a member of the Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion. He was married in April, 1865, to Harriett, daughter of P. P. Learned, of Memphis, Tenn., and of the children born of this marriage five survive: Channing W., recently admitted to the Hamilton County Bar; Paschal P. and Brayton G., students at the Cincinnati University; James S., a student at Woodward High School, and Virginia. The family reside on Mount Auburn, and are members of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Richards is one of the standing committee of the diocese of Southern Ohio, and a trustee of Kenyon College. He has been Professor of Commercial Law in the Cincinnati Law School since 1888.

WILLIAM PARKER BIDDLE was born in Green township, Hamilton Co., Ohio, April 3, 1837. He is the descendant of a long line of Biddles, dating back in the history of this country to the days of William Penn, the eldest son of each generation, with one or two exceptions, bearing the Christian name of William. The subject of this sketch has in turn contributed to the perpetuation in the family of this favorite patronymic,his eldest son being named William Rogers Biddle, whose eldest son is also named Will- iam. William Biddle, who first came to this country, was of English birth and settled

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in New Jersey about contemporaneously with William Penn's settlement of Pennsyl- vania. An interesting relic, now in possession of the subject of this sketch, is a gold-headed staff or cane presented to one of his ancestors by William Penn in the seventeenth century. Judge William Biddle resided at Upper Penn Neck, in New Jersey, opposite Wilmington, Del., and during the Revolution was a captain in the patriot army, rendering distinguished service. While thus engaged, his residence was burned by the Hessians, who finding only women at home put them in a room, and liberated them just before the house fell in. His eldest son, Rev. William H. Biddle, came with his family from New Jersey to Cincinnati in 1822, and soon after purchased a farm in Green township. His son, William B. Biddle, was born in 1807, near Salem, N. J., who died upon the old homestead farm July 16, 1890, after a. residence in Green township of sixty-eight years. He married Mary C. Parker, a daughter of Samuel Parker, a resident of Cincinnati. She died December, 1881.

William P. Biddle, the eldest of ten surviving children, received his early educa- tion in the township school, and later attended a three-years' course (from 1853 to 1856) at Farmers' College. For three years thereafter he taught school, the last. year at Gundry's Mercantile College, Cincinnati. In 1859 he began the study of law in the office of the late Judge Bellamy Storer, attended the Cincinnati Law College, and was admitted to practice in June, 1860. For one year thereafter he remained with Judge Storer, attending the Law College during that period, and then entered upon the practice of his profession, in which he has ever since been engaged. Mr. Biddle has been actively identified with the Democratic party since 1858, has never been an aspirant for office, but in 1875 he was elected a member of the board of aldermen, of which board he was vice-president. He was one of the organizers of the Com- mittee of One Hundred, and continued an active member of same during its exis- tence. He was one of the first members of the A. O. U. W. in this State, and has filled all the Chairs. He has been a member of the Methodist Church since 1849, and has taken an active part in the work of the Sunday-schools, and for the past twenty years has been a member of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church. On March 4, 1861, Mr. Biddle married Abba E., daughter of Hiram and Cordelia. Rogers, old residents of Cincinnati. She died September 21, 1864. Two children born of this marriage survive: William Rogers Biddle and Abba L. Biddle. The former married Fannie, daughter of Benjamin Brown, for many years superinten- dent of the Cincinnati post office, and long a resident of Cheviot. On July 13, 1871, he married Lavenia, daughter of Christopher and Adaline (Hoffman) Wardoll, both de- scendants of early settlers of Green township.

WILLIAM CORNELL, attorney at law, was born in Sycamore township, Hamilton Co., Ohio, December 30, 1825. He is the eldest son of the late Joseph Cornell, whose father, Samuel Cornell, came with his family to this county in 1816 from Pennington, N. J .. where Samuel Cornell was born in September, 1771, and his son. Joseph, May 1, 1799. The former died in 1856, and the latter in 1880. The trip to this county was made in a two-horse wagon, and occupied one month. Samuel Cornell purchased a one-hundred-acre tract of ground in Sycamore township, which had been partially cleared. Subsequently his son Joseph purchased and farmed a. two-hundred-acre tract in the same township. His wife was Elizabeth Beeler, daughter of Henry Beeler, one of the earliest settlers of this section of the country, who came here from Maryland in 1805.

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History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 88

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1592

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592