History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Part 73

Author: Chester E. Bryan
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1207

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On June 24. 1895. Lee H. Williams was united in marriage to Mary Watson.

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daughter of David Watson, of Paint township, this county, and to this union three children have been born, Constance, William D. and Robert C. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are persons of broad culture and fine taste, and their home is one of the pleasantest and most hospitable in London. They take a deep interest in all measures looking to the advancement of the community's best interests and enjoy the sincerest esteem of their very wide circle of friends. Mr. Williams is deeply concerned in the development of this section of the state along all proper lines, and very properly is regarded as one of the most substantial and influential men in Madison county, being looked upon as one of the strongest personal factors in the community life hereabout.

JOHN R. TANNER. .

John R. Tanner, one of the leading members of the London bar, has spent many years in the service of Madison county, during eight of which he was probate judge. Fortunate in having had the educational opportunities to prepare him for a life of more than usual service, as well as prominence, he early learned that "knowledge is power," and, therefore, allowed nothing to interfere with its acquisition. His later years, which have been conspicuous for achievement, both in legal practice and public life, have proved his early wisdom, and have rewarded him for the labor then expended in faith. The subject of this biography was born on a farm near Mt. Sterling, this county, the date of his birth being October 2, 1874.

The parents of Mr. Tanner were Courtney and Esther (McDowell) Tanner, the former, a native of this county and the latter, of Pickaway county, Ohio. Courtney Tanner, who was a farmer, was born in 1835, and moved to Pickaway county about 1875. He served with distinction as county commissioner and later returned to his farm after having lived in Circleville during the time he was in official life. To these worthy people, were born three children, the subject of this sketch and two daughters who died in infancy. Their mother lived until the year 1879. Their father married again, having by his second wife, three children, Clarence B. Tanner, of Columbus, Ohio; Mrs. Ella Loofburrow, of Columbus, and Mrs. Alwilda Strader, of Los Angeles, California. Courtney Tanner died on his farm on June 11, 1907.

John R. Tanner was reared on his father's farm; attending the district schools and prepared himself by arduous study for his later collegiate training, which he acquired at the Ohio State University, from which institution he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1900. Admitted to the bar in December of the same year, he began the practice which later became one of the most extensive in the state. Previous to this, however, he had had four years' experiene in the banking business at the Citizens Bank, of which he was assistant cashier, and also at the Second National Bank of Circleville, in which he served in a clerical capacity. Beginning the practice of law at Mt. Sterling, he lived there until 1906, in which year he moved to London, the county seat, as he had been elected probate judge the previous year on the Repub- lican ticket. He was re-elected in 1908 and his service as judge did not expire until February, 1913. Upon the expiration of his official tenure, he opened a law office in London and has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession ever since. Judge Tanner has never quite lost his love for the country and he still owns a large farm in Madison and Pickaway counties, the same being on the county line near Mt. Sterling.

On February 21, 1895, John R. Tanner was married to Alice Ingrim, of Mt. Sterling, daughter of John W. Ingrim, to which union three children have been born. Esther Margaret, who is attending the Western College for Women at Oxford, Ohio, and two sons, John Robert and Charles C., both of whom are in the London public schools

Judge Tanner is noted for his patriotism. He served in the Ohio National Guard as first lieutenant of Company L, Fourteenth Regiment, from 1895 to 1898, inclusive.

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It is evident that Judge Tanner believes in the effectiveness of organization, for besides being a member of the Presbyterian church and a member of the Republican party, he is a member of the Masonic, the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows lodges, having attained to the shrine in the Masonic order, by way of the commandery.

To the student of human life, membership in the above organizations alone would attest the mental caliber and sterling character of such a man as the biographer here has attempted to portray. Although successful in material affairs, this distinguished gentleman has not limited his time nor his intention to the acquisition of wealth. He saw life whole and he saw life well, and with the vision of the mountain top, descended into the plain to carry out in daily life the revelation. It is a significant fact that at the time of his election to the bench Judge Tanner was the youngest man ever elected to the position of probate judge in the state of Ohio.

MAJOR JAMES M. DUNGAN.

Among his friends who have investigated the matter it is maintained that Major Dungan, of London, county seat of Madison county, is the oldest native-born son of that city now living there; at least this claim on the part of the major's old friends has not been conclusively disputed in any quarter. Not only does Major Dungan modestly bear this local distinction, but he bears the far more prideful distinction of having been the first young man in London to enroll his name in the service of the Union upon President Lincoln's first call for troops on that amazing day in April, 1861, when the people of this country awoke to the stern fact that the nation actually was facing a state of war. It is not too much to say that no man in Madison county has a wider acquaintance than Major James M. Dungan or is held in higher esteem by the com- munity at large. With the exception of ten years, when he was engaged in business at Lima, this state, Major Dungan has spent his entire life in this county and in all that time has been so scrupulously observant of the finer amenities of social and. com- mercial intercourse, that he has endenred himself to the community as few men here have ever done; enjoying in the genial sunset time of his life the highest confidence and the utmost respect of his very wide circle of friends, who delight in applying to him that choicest of human titles. "a perfect gentleman." Now living in his seventy- fifth year, the son of a native son of Madison county, Major Dungan has witnessed the development of his home county from pioneer conditions to its present high state of social, moral and material progress, and possesses a fund of reminiscences of the earlier days hereabout that makes him a most entertaining and engaging companion in an hour of ease and leisure.

James M. Dungan was born in London. this county, on June 13. 1841, son of John and Susan (Bine) Dungan, the former of whom was born in this county on August 6, 1814, and the latter. near Chillicothe. Ohio, on February 8. 1818. John Dungan. son of one of the earliest settlers of Madison county, for many years was one of the leading merchants of London being engaged in the hardware business. He and his wife were earnest members of the Methodist church and their children were reared in that faith. There were ten of these children, four of whom are still living. namely: James M., the immediate subject of this sketch; Martin W., of London. this county: Mrs. Bettie D. Davis, who also lives in London. and Mrs. Elizabeth Bebee, of Detroit. Michigan.

As a boy. James M. Dungan depended upon his own resources for a living from the time he was twelve years of age, working at the printing and tinner trades, but at the age of seventeen, recognizing the need of further education, entered the old academy and was a close student up to the time of the breaking out of the Civil War. On that memorable morning. April 15, 1861, when the news was flashed over the country (32)

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that President Lincoln had issued a call for seventy-five thousand volunteer soldiers to aid in overthrowing the confederacy of seceding Southern states, James M. Dungan and a schoolmate, William Fickey, unfurled the flag on the old academy building and then young Dungan straightway enrolled himself as a volunteer in defense of the cause of the Union, being thus the first young man in London so to declare himself. It was nine o'clock in the morning when James M. Dungan signed the roll of recruits and at noon of that day, while the family were sitting at dinner, his father objected strenuously to his going to war, basing this objection upon the lad's age, he then lacking three months of being twenty years of age; this, at that stage of the war, being regarded as entirely too young for such service. The youthful recruit thought differently, however, and strongly expressed his determination to go, "skipping out" that afternoon for Springfield, this state. On his arrival there he found that the two companies being recruited in that city had been filled. Undaunted, however, by this failure to find a place under arms in his nation's service, he boarded the first train leaving for Columbus and succeeded in that city in getting a place in the ranks of an old military organization, known as the "Columbus Videttes," under Capt. Henry B. Thrall. This company was fully organized and was ordered East at once, leaving Columbus on the afternoon of April 18, reporting to Suffolk Park, Philadelphia, where for several weeks it was drilled with the Second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. From Suffolk 'Park this regiment was ordered to Washington City, thence to eastern Virginia, where, at Camp Upton, it was placed in the brigade of Gen. Robert Schenck, of Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Dungan served in this regiment until after the first battle of Bull Run, when he was mustered out, his term of service having expired. He at once returned to London and, in connection with Capt. James Watson, recruited Company D, Fortieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, going out as a lieutenant in this company. After eighteen months of service in this command, Lieutenant Dungan resigned, on account of a falling out with the colonel commanding, but straightway returned to the service, for the third time, as a sergeant in Company I, One Hundred and Fifty- fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which regiment he saw much active service until it was mustered out in 1864.

Upon returning from the service, Mr. Dungan was given a partnership in the hardware business of his father, John Dungan, and continued in this business in London until January, 1880, at which time he moved to Lima, this state, where for ten years he was engaged in the same form of mercantile business. His health failing, on account of overwork and rheumatic affliction, he sold his store in 1890 and for several years sought relief from his affliction by spending the winters in the South, South- west and in California. Returning to London about ten years ago, Mr. Dungan entered the insurance business. locally representing several high-class companies, and has since then been thus engaged, also doing a considerable business as fiduciary in the matter of rentals and other property matters of a local character.

On January 8, 1863, James M. Dungan was united in marriage at Catlettsburg, Kentucky, to Sarah C .. Peteet, of that city, and to this union five children were born, Flora K., J. Frazier, LePaul. Jesse U. and James W. All these children save J. Frazier, who died at the age of three and one-half years, have been living at Oakland, California, for the past twelve or fifteen years. Mrs. Dungan passed away at Lima, Ohio, on March 9, 1886.

Though now in his seventy-fifth year, Major Dungan continues to take an active interest in local affairs and no man in London is more deeply concerned in the progress of the county. seat than he. As a veteran of the Civil War he has taken a warm interest in the affairs of the Grand Army of the Republic in this state and for eight years has been quartermaster of Lyon Post No. 121, of London. For several years

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he has been secretary of the Kirkwood Cemetery Association. Major Dungan is held in the highest respect throughout this whole section of the state and commands the full confidence of all who know him.

CHARLES B. ANDERSON.

How dependent a community is upon its internal commerce! How helpless we should be without the wonderful medium of exchange which has been evolved by man out of the wonderful experiences of the ages for the convenient merging of the interdependent relations of supply and demand! A local community is well judged by the condition of its commercial establishments and it may properly be taken for granted that all is well with that town whose business houses are well ordered, well equipped and well managed, conducted with a view to the best and most helpful accom- modation of the patrons of the same. The merchants of a city well may be con- sidered its ablest conservators; for upon them so much depends in the way of keeping the "tone" of the city up to its highest pitch. The city of London, county seat of Madison county, is fortunate, indeed, in the possession of an unusually high grade of local merchants, all of whom ever have the best interests of the city at heart. Among these typically representative citizens few are better known or more deservedly popular than the amiable gentleman with whom this biographical sketch is to treat more directly in the succeeding paragraphs, a sketch so well meriting a place in this his- torical work that the biographer takes pleasure in here presenting it for the considera- tion of the readers of this volume.

Charles B. Anderson, senior member of the well-known firm of Anderson & Hume, hardware merchants, of London, this county, was born at Irontown, Ohio, on October 9, 1865, son of Thomas Stewart and Candice (Hysell) Anderson, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter a native of this state. Thomas Stewart Anderson was a tinner and lived at Pomeroy, this state, for more than thirty years, but in 1881 moved to this county, locating at London, where his death occurred in 1893, he then being fifty-one years of age. His widow is still living in London. T. S. Anderson and his wife were the parents of three children, the subject of this sketch having two sisters ,Mrs. Walter J. Dwyer and Mrs. Boyd Byers, both living at Columbus. Ohio.

When his parents moved to London, Charles B. Anderson was twelve years of age, consequently his education was completed in the schools of London. For seventeen years he was employed in the store of Jones & Thomas, which firm later was changed to Thomas & Cryder. In the year 1900 Mr. Anderson engaged in business for himself, succeeding C. W. Farrar, in the hardware business, under the firm name of Anderson & Speasmaker, the firm later changing its name to Anderson & Ganschow and still later to Anderson & Hume, its present style. a mutually agreeable and very successful partnership, Anderson & Hume being one of the best-known firms engaged in the hard- ware business in this section of the state, the store being one of the largest of its kind in central Ohio.

In May, 1899, Charles B. Anderson was united in marriage to Anna Biedenbach, of London, to which union one child has been born, a son, Stewart.

Mr. Anderson is a member of the London lodge of the Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen. For years he has been one of the most energetic leaders in the commercial life of the county seat and few names in this county are better known than his. With a reputation for fair dealing, enterprise and activity in the business life of his home city, Mr. Anderson has the confidence and respect of his business associates and is held in the highest esteem by all hereabout.

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JOHN GRAHAM DUN.

Eight miles north of London, in this county, lies the Dun home, known as "Dun Glen" and one of the fine country estates of Ohio. It is situated in a fertile valley and the old house, which is rather an imposing mansion, stands in a handsome grove, a delightful place, reminding one of the old homes which might have been seen a generation ago in Kentucky. The present proprietor of "Dun Glen" is Miss Gertrude Dun, who while seemingly living somewhat secluded is generally found where the people of Madison county are accustomed socially to foregather. She is fond of travel and thoroughly enjoys the bounties which nature affords, being devoted to the charms of rural life. It was Miss Dun's father, the late John Graham Dun, who established "Dun Glen" in Deer Creek township.

John Graham Dun was born on September 21, 1814, at Chillicothe. Ohio, and died at his home in Madison county on November 29, 1895. He was the son of Walter and Ann Mary (Angus) Dun, the former of whom, born in Scotland, came to America at the age of nineteen, settling at Petersburg, Virginia, where his uncle was employed by the government as a surveyor. This uncle set his nephew to work surveying land and he presently came to Ohio in the pursuit of his profession. After locating lands in Madison county, Walter Dun married Ann Mary Angus, of Petersburg, Virginia, and returned to Chillicothe. Later he settled on his uncle's estate in Virginia. He also owned a large farm in Kentucky, situated near the beautiful city of Lexington, and died in Kentucky, at the age of fifty-three. Besides his son, John Graham, there were three other sons, James, Walter Angus and Robert George, and a daughter, Mrs. Thurman, all of whom settled in Ohio. Walter Dun had obtained a large tract of land, comprising nine thousand acres, and gave each of his sons a part of this land, with additional lands he later sold them. Each of the sons reared families in Madison county, except Walter A. and all remained here except Robert, who lived for several years in the South. Most of this land has since passed into other hands. All of the Dun brothers were large farmers in this county, Robert and John being pioneer breeders of Shorthorn cattle, while Walter was a well-known horseman in his day.

After assisting his father on the farm until he was twenty-three years old, John Graham Dun, at his father's death, was associated with his brother, James, in settling up the estate. The Kentucky property was sold and the mother spent the later years of her life in Chillicothe. John Graham Dun drove his first cattle over the mountains from the Old Dominion state when he was but nineteen years old. In his farming opera- tions, Mr. Dun employed a large number of men and, from year to year, gradually Improved his vast estate, making out of it one of the most desirable tracts in this section of Ohio. He lived on the farm until his death at the age of eighty-one years, on November 29. 1895.

On October 6, 1841, John Graham Dun married Elizabeth James, who was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, October 21, 1821, daughter of Thomas and Jane (Claypool) James, the former of whom was born at Antietam, Virginia, where his father was prominently connected with the iron industry, having been, at one time. a part owner of the Antietam iron works. Thomas James also was an inventor of note and several valuable maritime appliances were the products of his inventive genius. The father of Jane (Claypool) James. Abram George Claypool, was an officer in the army of General Washington during the Revolutionary War and served with distinction during the long struggle of the colonies for independence. John G. Dun was a sympathetic, even- tempered man and one of strong religious instincts. He had been reared as a Presby- terian and his wife had been reared in the Episcopal church. Although he was an adherent of his wife's church, he never affiliated with the church, though supporting

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It in many ways. There was, for many years, an Episcopal chapel on a part of the Dun farm and it was called Dunlawn chapel.

About 1857 John Graham Dun spent about eighteen months in Kentucky, expect- ing later to go on to Tennessee for his health, but he presently returned to Ohio and resumed farming, becoming an extensive and well-known breeder of Shorthorn cattle and of sheep, his stock for years being considered among the leading live-stock exhibits at the many fairs held in this section of the state. In earlier life, he was very much devoted to hunting and spent a great deal of his time in the open. He was a favorite among the people of Madison county and kept open house for his neighbors and friends. He was a well-read man, although in his youth he had been denied the privilege of attending college ..

Nine children were born to John Graham and Elizabeth (James) Dun, all of whom grew to maturity, namely : Jane, who married H. Bacon Smith and is deceased; Walter, who died unmarried at the age of sixty years; Anne, who married Dr. William Ellis Glenn, of Rolla, Maine, both of whom died early in life; Thomas, who was a farmer near Bellefontaine, Ohio, and died unmarried; McEldin, who was also a farmer near Bellefontaine; Gertrude, who lives on the old home farm; Mary, who married Angus Dun, a cousin, and lived on a part of the old Dun estate, where she died; John Graham, Jr., who is the proprietor of the Vendome hotel at Columbus, and Charles Bush, who was accidentally killed at the age of twenty-three, at Belle- fontaine, Ohio. The mother of these children died on April 9, 1898, and was widely mourned throughout the county, where for so many years she had been recognized as a leader in all good works. At one time, John Graham Dun was a member of the board of trustees of the state asylum for the blind. All of the representatives of bis generation of the Dun family are deceased.

Gertrude Dun, whose beautiful old house is filled with rare and curious furni- ture which has been kept in the family for many years, has retained the old farm, "Dun Glen," consisting of four hundred acres. Its proprietor also owns other farm real estate, including one hundred acres near Columbus, Ohio. She is active in church work and is a leader in the social set of London, the county seat of this delightful old county.

PROF. W. H. RICE.

Madison county well may display her pride in her excellent schools. Based upon the fine system inaugurated in this state many years ago, the school system of this county has expanded and developed under wise and sagacious leadership until today it is second to none in the state. Even a cursory review of the history of the schools of . Madison county will reveal many names of ardent, enthusiastic schoolmen, whose lives were unselfishly devoted to the noble cause of education, ungrudgingly giving of the best that was in them in behalf of the youth of this favored section. Actuated by the loftiest motives. this zealous band of educators, with all the ardor befitting the cause, has labored unceasingly, in season and out of season, to bring to the highest state of efficiency the splendid educational plant now maintained by Madison county, and future generations certainly will hold in deepest veneration those lofty-minded and generous men and women who have brought about the present high standard of the local schools. In all this noble band of earnest. conscientious educators, few have given more gen- erously of themselves. the best that was in them, than has the gentleman whose name the reader is asked to note above. Born in Madison county. Professor Rice has watched the school system of the county grow. step by step, to its present exalted status, and for the past fifteen years has taken a very active part in this development. Upon receiving his Master of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1901. Professor

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Rice returned to his home county and was immediately installed as principal of the high school at London, a position which he filled most admirably for four years. His services in this connection attracted wide attention and he was prevailed upon to go to Chillicothe, this state, where he served as principal of the high school until 1909, in which year he was called to the superintendency of the schools of London, a position in which he is now serving with the most gratifying results.

W. H. Rice was born on a farm in the neighborhood of Lilly Chapel, in this county, on November 12, 1869, son of Woodson and Margaret (Lewis) Rice, the former of whom was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the latter in this county.

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History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Part 73

Author: Chester E. Bryan Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1207

Author: Chester E. Bryan
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1207