History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 145

Author: Andrews, Martin Register, 1842-; Hathaway, Seymour J
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1490

USA > Ohio > Washington County > Marietta > History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 145

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In 1860 Mr. Cutler was elected a mem- ber of the first Board of Directors in the reor- ganized Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad Com- pany, and was soon chosen its vice president ; he terminated his connection with it in 1868. In the same year he was elected president of the newly organized Marietta & Pittsburg Railroad Company, and continued in that posi- tion until 1872. From 1869 to 1873 he was principally engaged as a contractor, and built railroads in Illinois and Indiana. The panic of 1873, however, found him and his associates carrying heavy loans, and with much unfin- ished work, and, the value of their securities

destroyed, many became bankrupt. In this situation, Mr. Cutler's character was shown by his action in giving up all his property, and at the age of 61 years, commencing life anew. without either money or credit. In 1878 the depreciation of value of real estate in Washing- ton County, because of the stoppage of trains on the abandoned lines between Athens and the Ohio River at Moore's Junction, was estimated at $400,000.

A railroad company was organized of which Mr. Cutler was made president, and permission was sought to operate this aban- doned road but for reasons impossible to un- derstand, it was bitterly opposed by the man- agement of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad Company, the attorneys of this company ap- pearing before the committee to whom the bill was referred and opposing it. Mr. Cutler, Hon. Thomas W. Evart and Judge Sibley ap- peared in behalf of the people of Washington County, in its favor. Mr. Cutler closed the discussion, supporting with great ability the proposition that the grant by the Legislature to a railroad company, of the right to con- demn property, construct and operate its line. and take tolls, was in consideration of its con- tinuous service to the public as a common car- rier, and that the abandonment of the use of its line, or any part of it, should constitute a for- feiture of its right to it. He argued that the Legislature could and should exercise the right of eminent domain, in authorizing some other railroad company to condemn it. A new company known as the Cincinnati, Washington & Baltimore Railroad Company, acquired its property and rights and no further difficulties were encountered.

During the last 10 years of his life. Mr. Cutler gave much attention to the congenial work of compiling a history of the early set- tlement of Ohio. He became, in 1888, a cor- porate member of the Ohio Historical and Archaeological Society, and served as one of its trustees during the remainder of his life. It is not too much to say that to him and Dr. 1. W. Andrews was due the great success

B. J. Hart M.Q.

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which attended the Centennial celebration of the settlement of Ohio, which took place at Marietta, April 7, 1888.

Mr. Cutler was married, in 1849, to Eliz- abeth W. Voris, of Warren township, who, with one daughter, survives him. Three sons and two daughters died in early childhood. Their loss was a crushing blow to their par- ents, and from that grief neither ever fully recovered.

and adherence to convictions of right and jus- tice. his manly honor and love of country. must not be overlooked. Combined with these were elements which made him a most companionable friend, and a devoted lover of home and family.

APT. M. F. NOLL is a large oil pro- (ncer. and one of the most influen- tial citizens of Marietta, Ohio. He is a native of Monroe County, where he was reared and educated.

He removed to Washington County in 1889, and up to that time had followed steani- boating on the Ohio River, serving as clerk and also as captain, for a number of years. He is still extensively interested in river business. In 1880 he became prominently identified with the Marietta and Williamstown ferries, and dur- ing the same year founded the Marietta Ice Company. The plant was built by Captain Noll, and conducted by him until within the last year, when he sold his interests in it. He has extensive interests in the oil fields of Washing- ton. Wood and Pleasant counties, as well as across the river, and is mainly an individual producer. Ile is the originator of the Marietta and Williamstown bridge. now being erected over the Ohio River, the company being known as the Ohio River Bridge & Ferry Co., of which he is treasurer.

The subject of this sketch is a Republican. in politics. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. His name appears in connection with

many of the important commercial and finan- cial enterprises of Marietta, and he is a busi- ness man of extraordinary ability.

R. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HART. fourth son of Deacon Benjamin llart of Wooster (now Watertown) township, Washington County, Ohio, and Honor Deming, a daughter of

In summing up the character of Mr. Cutler, his sturdy integrity, his personal independence i Col. Simeon Deming, of Weathersfield, Con-

necticut, was born January 5, 1823.

Deacon Benjamin Hart was a son of Je- huda Hart and Abigail (Goodrich ) Hart, of Kensington, grandson of Deacon Elijah Hart and Mary ( Thompson ) Hart of Kensington, great-grandson of Deacon Thomas Hart, great-great-grandson of Capt. Thomas Hart, and great-great-great-grandson of Deacon Stephen Hart. The last named came from Baintree, Essex County. England, to Massa- chusetts Bay in 1632. and located in Cam- bridge. Dr. B. F. Hart's father was a farmer and rope-maker by trade, and made the cable for the first ship built at Marietta. Dr. Ilart's mother died in 1826, when he was two years and 11 months old, and this is his earliest rec- ollection. He was less than four years old when his father was married a second time. As his father was about to depart on his white horse, named "Samp." with a blazed-faced mare, named "Kate," with a side-saddle on, by his side, the son asked asked to accompany him, but was instructed to go back and he would be brought a new mother. This moth- er lived but nine years, dying in 1833. In 1834, Deacon Benjamin Hart married Widow Lawrence, who brought with her three chil- dren .- a daughter older than the Doctor, a boy. and a younger daughter.

When eight years of age. Dr. Hart drove two yoke of oxen to the plow, and assisted in other chores about the farm. He hired out on a farm when 12 years of age, at $4 per month, and in the winter of 1835 went to school, working to pay his board. Tie was 14 years old when he came to Harmar, and his

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HISTORY OF MARIETTA AND WASHINGTON COUNTY,

teacher was Lionel Tenney, in the old school house which stood on the north side of the campus. He sawed wood at 37 cents per cord, and also groomed horses, boardinig himself in the meantime, and doing his own washing and ironing. He made butter of a superior quality, and sold it at 121/2 cents per pound, the market price being 10 cents. After his marriage and while living at Harmai, a lady told his wife that the best butter she ever bought was from her husband, when he was a boy attending school. At the age of 18 years, he went to the north part of the State, where he taught school one winter, and tended a saw and grist-mill, driving a team to log and deliver lumber and flour the next win- ter. He worked on a farm during two sumn- mers, and studied at odd times. In the fall of 1843 he gathered his earnings together and returned to Harmar. Putting one spider, one kettle, a little bedding and his clothes into an old chest, he shipped on the deck of a steamboat, for Cincinnati, paying $1 for his passage, and slept on deck so as to save funds. Reaching Cincinnati, he rented a garret-room on Vịine street, bought a sheet-iron stove with one fire hole, and set up housekeeping, doing his own cooking, washing and ironing. He attended medical lectures until March, 1844, and as he was only able to pay for half of his tuition, he gave his note for the balance. He had but $1.50 left, and paid $1.00 for deck passage home, sleeping on deck, as before. The steamboat broke a shaft when about half way home. His $I was refunded to him. and this he paid to the captain of the "Swift Sure." During this trip, he went for a period of 36 hours without eating, for want of money to buy food. On arriving at Harmar, he found Dr. Seth Hart very sick with pneumo- nia, and nursed him for three weeks. He was then hired by the latter to care for his practice, at Sio per month. November 20, 1844, he went to Reno, Olio, and began to practice for himself. As his practice grew, it became nec- essary for him to go sometimes to Virginia. He had a flatboat built, eight feet wide and 26 feet long, on which he ferried himself and

horse across the river, during high water or low, night or day, often making the trip when the river was full of floating ice. It was a very perilous proceeding, but the poor state of liis finances made it necessary to take the risk. Looking from the present standpoint, he was very poorly fitted for practice, but by using great care and being a good nurse, he had good success. His first amputation was of the thigh of a Miss Alton, who lived about eight miles back of Waverly, West Virgina, on the northwest turnpike. Having no instru- ments, he took a file to a blacksmith, and got a knife forged, which he ground and sharp- ened. He took a carpenter's saw for a tenon saw, a tow-string for a tourniquet, put the patient to sleep with chloroform, amputated the thigh before she awakened, and in all his subsequent experience never had a case which did better. In 1863 he took a six-months' course at Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York. He has been in constant practice for over 57 years.

On October 19, 1848, Dr. Hart married Sally Maria Alcock, a daughter of Thomas and Sally Holliday ( Wells) Alcock, a grand- daughter of William and Sarah ( Brown) Al- cock, the last named being a daughter of Thomas and Ellen Brown. Thomas and El- len Brown, who lived in Twambly Green, Che- shire, England, had two children,-John and Sarah. Sarah Brown married William Al- cock, who owned a cheese farm in Cheshire, where they lived until July, 1797, when they sailed for America, arriving at Marietta, Ohio, in November, 1797. They bought a farm four miles above Marietta, on the Ohio River. They brought with them to this country large quantities of fine cloth, velvets, etc., which, to- gether with what money he had, Mr. Alcock entrusted to a relative under promise of a large interest, and lost all. This unfortunate oc- currence left them in the wilderness, without money or friends. Mr. Alcock died before they had been in this country two years, leav- ing his widow with seven children.

Thomas Alcock, the eldest of the children, and the father of Mrs. Hart, was but 16 years

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of age when he took full charge of the farm. In 1813 he married Sally Holliday Wells, of Winchester, Virginia. He kept adding to his farm, as he could. He also engaged in the practice of loading boats (broad-horns) with produce, and taking them to market at New Orleans. The return trips were generally by vessel from New Orleans to Baltimore; from the latter city he walked across the country to Pittsburg, and from there returned home by canoe. Twice, however, he walked back home from New Orleans, carrying his gold in a leather girdle around his waist, his gun, blank- et and skillet over his shoulder, killing what meat he needed, and often sleeping with red men, for whom he never had anything but kind words. He kept the first and only ferry across the mouth of the Little Muskingum, running it until the Marietta and Newport turnpike was built in 1839. He died in March, 1860. His wife died July 7. 1874, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Dr. B. F. Hart, in Marietta, where she had made her home after the death of her husband. Thomas Alcock's eldest son, Thomas, lived in the same house that his father had occupied, and died there April 12, 1878. flis widow and her only child, George, with his family, still live at the old homestead, but in a modern house. His youngest son, Richard J., still lives on the same farm, making the fifth generation of the same name to occupy the same farm. Ten children composed the family of Thomas, and Sally Holliday (Wells) Alcock, as follows: Mar- garet; William: Sarah; Thomas: Robert Wells: Mary Ann; Martha; Sally Maria; Richard J. ; and Nannie Hillidoy. Margaret, William and Sarah died in infancy during the sickly season of 1822 and 1823. Thomas mar- ried Ann Racer, and they had one son, George, who married Easter Smith and had seven chil- dren, as follows : Bertha, who died April 29, 1895: Ada; George; Frank; Nannie: Grace; and Louise. Robert Wells, who never married. died in California in 1900. Mary Ann, whose death occurred in 1802, married Dudley Racer, and had three children .- Thomas, Iloratio, and Benjamin. Martha

died at the age of 13 years. Richard J. mar- ried Cynthia Middleswart, who died December 27, 1884, and they had three children, as fol- lows: Nettie, who married Samuel M. Cary, and has two sons,-Granville and Kenneth ; Robert B., who married Mary Rowland, and has a daughter, Annie ; and Guy, who married Carrie Ladd. Nannie Holliday married Hon. Dwight Hollister, of California, and they have four children, namely : Charles, Katie, Frank, and Blanche.

To Dr. Hart and his wife were born three children : Mary Franklin, who lives at home ; Nannie Holliday, who died in infancy; and Dr. Charles S., a practicing physician of Mar- ietta, who married Julia Logan Holdren, and had two children,-Arthur Holdren, who died in infancy, and James Franklin.

While in Harmar, Dr. Hart served on the School Board, in the City Council, on the Board of Health, and was a member of the Republican Central Committee. He became a member of Lodge No. 115, I. O. O. F., in 1852, and the same year joined the Ohio Med- ical Society. He joined the American Medi- cal Association in 1876. He was formerly a member of the Sons of Temperance. He joined the Congregational Church in Harmar, in March, 1840, and played the 'cello to lead the singing, for some years. His father was deacon of the church in Watertown township. After moving to Marietta, Dr. Hart served as trustee of the Congregational Church there. His forefathers were Congregationalists, four of them having served as deacons. In the face of much opposition, he assisted in the organ- ization of the present Board of Health, and was health officer for two years.

In 1865 the Doctor had the misfortune of being swindled ont of all the wealth he pos- sessed, by trusting a man whom he thought to be honest. The 20 years following were try- ing ones, and in that time the Doctor and his faithful wife retrieved their losses. In addi- tion to educating their children and contribut- ing for religious purposes, they paid from 10 to It per cent interest on a few hundred dol- lars, and 20 per cent on another sum, in order

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to save their creditors,-the experience cost- ing over $31,000. But thanks to a kind Provi- dence, it was all paid, and by very close econ- omy, and much hard work and privation, they have secured enough to meet their ordinary needs for the balance of their lives. During this period, Dr. Hart attended poor students at college, and those preparing for the ministry, free of charge. He took sick ones from the college to his home and attended them. I11 two cases, the patients, C. E. Walton and Will- iam Cooder, remained at his home for three weeks, each. He gave room to two students, free, for four years. During the Civil War. he was appointed by Governor Brough, mili- tary surgeon with the rank of major, and in 1862, went, under the direction of the Chris- tian Sanitary Commission, without pay, to Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, Corinth, Washington, Baltimore, Gettysburg, and other places taking care of the men sent from Wash- ington County. After beginning practice at Reno, Dr. Hart taught singing school, to aid in getting funds to meet his indebtedness at Cincinnati for lectures. In September, 1901. he donated to Marietta College, three large cases, or cabinets, containing minerals, shells, and curiosities from many parts of the world, and also a full set of Chinese coins, covering every dynasty up to 1875.

ILLIAM H. EBINGER, a member of the large mercantile firm of Turner, Ebinger & Co., and presi- dent of the German National Bank, is one of the foremost business men of the thriving little city of Marietta, and is self-made in every sense the term implies. He was born in 1858, and is a son of Jacob Ebin- ger.

Jacob Ebinger was born in Heibran, Ger- many, and upon moving to this country, came directly to Marietta, where he had friends. He embarked in the saddlery, harness and carriage trimming business on Green street, and during the last 15 years of his active life, was located

on Front street. He sold the business to his oldest son, Frederick, who still conducts it. He died in 1895, and his wife died in 1876. They had the following children: Frederick ; H. J., who works in the store of Turner, Ebin- ger & Co .; Mrs. H. B. Theis, whose husband is a prominent hardware merchant of Marietta ; David, who is in the furnace business at Co- lumbus, Ohio; William H. ; AAlfred, who died in 1898; Mrs. Kate Heidrick, recently from Butte City, Montana, who resides in Marietta; and the wife of Rev. Paul Menzel, the pastor of the German Lutheran Church at Washing- ton, D. C.

At the age of 14 years, William H. Ebin- ger entered business in the employ of the dry- goods house of Turrer & Sons, with which he has since been continuously identified. Upon becoming a member of the firm, its name was changed to Turner, Ebinger & Company. He is also president of the German National Bank, which was organized in September, 1809. with a capitalization of $100,000. It does a general banking business, with domestic and foreign exchange. The other officers are as follows: J. S. H .. Torner, vice-president ; S. L. Angle, cashier: H. J. Hoffer, assistant cashier : William D. Loomis and Beaman Plumer are the bookkeepers. Following are the directors: William H. Ebinger; J. S. H. Torner: A. L. Gracey : Nelson Moore : William Wendell ; William E. Detlor ; John Kaiser ; MI. L. Travis: W. J. Speer; J. A. McCormick; William Harrington; W. H. Burns; Samuel H. Plumer ; and S. L. Angle. Although Mr. Ebinger devotes his attention mainly to the dry-goods business, he is interested in and identified with various other enterprises of the city. He is at present serving as trustee of the water works, but has steadfastly refused to ac- cept political offices.

The subject of this sketch married Rose Wehrs. a daughter of J. F. Wehrs, of Marietta, and they have two children, Lenschen and Frederick. Fraternally, Mr. Ebinger is a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias and Order of Elks. He is a member of the German Lutheran Church, and his wife is a Unitarian.

HON. HIRAM LUTHER SIBLEY.

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F ON. HIRAM LUTHER SIBLEY, distinguished as a jurist, writer and lecturer, is circuit judge for the Fourth Circuit of Ohio, and a resi- dent of Marietta. He was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, May 4. 1836. His father was a minister, and in later life a mem- ber of the Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The ancestry of Judge Sibley is traceable directly to John Sibley, of England, who came to America in the "Fleet" in 1029, and settled in Salem, Massachusetts. He became a se- lectmen of that town, and a member of the General Assembly of Massachusetts. On the maternal side his ancestors were from Col- brook, Connecticut. His maternal grand- mother was a sister of Mrs. Joshua R. Gid- dings, and her husband was Luther Simons, a school teacher by profession, and a man of scholarly attainments. He frequently did the work of a pettifogger, and his brother-in- law, Mr. Giddings, an able lawyer, once re- marked that Mr. Simons was the only man he ever feared to meet in a law suit. He was rendered a cripple by an injured spine, and died while in the prime of life.

Hiram Sibley was apprenticed to the shoemaker's trade at the early age of 13 years, and followed it until he was 24 years old. During this time he attended school two terms of six months each, and worked morning and night to defray his expenses. He was always a student. although deprived of school and college advantages, and in his 23rd year, en- tered upon the reading of law. rising at 4 o'clock in the morning, to study before his day's work began. He was elected clerk of the court for Meigs County, in 1860, and con- tinued in that office until August, 1862. Ile then became lieutenant of Company B. Hoth Reg .. Ohio Vol. Inf., which went into the com-

mand of Maj. Gen. R. 11. Milroy. That offi cer. in recommending Mr. Sibley for provost marshal of the 15th District of Ohio, in April, 1863. paid him the following tribute: "1 have known Lieutenant Sibley for the last six months, while with his regiment in my com- 54

mand, and have observed that he is an able, energetic and efficient officer ; always prompt and active in duty, a true gentleman of high moral character and excellent business talents and habits." June 15, 1863. in the Valley of Virginia, with nearly one half of the command to which he belonged, he was captured by General Lee's army. He was held a prisoner at Richmond, Virginia ; Macon and Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, and Camp Sorghum near Columbia, South Carolina. Decem- ber 10, 1864, he was exchanged, but his health having become too much impaired for field service, he was honorably discharged, Janu- ary 11, 1865. He was admitted to the bar .April 14. 1865, at Pomeroy, Ohio, nad in August of that year moved to Marietta, where, except from 1869 to 1874, he has since re- sided. He served as clerk in the United States Assessor's office one year, and in 1866, be- came a partner in the law firm of Ewart, Shaw & Sibley. The following year, he was nomin- ated for prosecuting attorney, but with the remainder of the ticket, met defeat. He then formed a partnership with Hon. R. L. Nye. but owing to ill health was obliged to relin- quish his practice for one year. During this period of recuperation, he wrote several news- paper articles respecting religious liberty un- der the Constitution of Ohio, which showed mature reflection and excited much comment, adding no little to his reputation. In 1870, he resumed the practice of law as a member of the firm of Paine & Sibley, at Pomeroy, Ohio. As a speaker, Judge Sibley stands high. He spoke before a teachers' institute in Meigs County, upon the nature and true end of edu- cation, and on Decoration Day, 1877, he de- livered an address at Marietta, which was a notable effort, abounding in patriotism and paying a high tribute to the American soldier. During the Presidential campaign of 1880 he made a strong speech upon the question of State's Rights," which was afterward pub- lished, upon request of those who heard it.

While practicing law, Judge Sibley's firm was connected with many cases of great im- portance, some of them involving questions

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never before raised in the Supreme Court, and in nearly all of these it was successful. He wrote the briefs and framed most of the arg- uments of his firm, including an extended and able one in a case in the United States Dis- trict and Circuit courts, wherein the question arose whether an assignee in bankruptcy could take title to assets subject to equitable liens, good only between creditor and bankrupt. The decision went against him, but the principle in an analagous case was afterward decided as he contended it should be, by the United States Supreme Court. In 1882, Mr. Sibley was elected to the Common Pleas bench in the Sev- enth District of Ohio, and was re-elected in 1887 and 1892. He was each time nominated by acclamation, and was elected for the third time without opposition. During his long service on that bench, his decisions were but twice reversed by the Supreme Court of Ohio, and he took the initiative in the establishment of some principles which are now recognized as law. The period of limitation, in the fore- closure of mortgages, under the Ohio civil code was for many years held to be 21 years, and it was not until Judge Sibley. after care- ful investigation, declared it to be 15 years, that the error was seen. His decision, on ap- peal, was reversed by the Circuit Court, but afterward affirmed by the Supreme Court. Two other important cases, wherein his deci- sions were affirmed, the doctrines in which had never before been declared by an Ohio court were: Brundred vs. Rice, 49 O. S. 640; and Pride vs. Andrew. 42 O. L. J. 248. On request of members of the bar, several other opinions of Judge Sibley were reported and carry great weight. In one of them he was called upon to define the right to, cause for, and locus of an action. This he did in an opinion so lucid and forcible as to prompt a Supreme Court justice to write him as follows : "The able manner in which you have applied elementary princples and your analytical dis- tinction of an action, right of action and cause of action, will make the opinion of per- manent value to the profession." In 1896 Mr. Sibley was nominated and elected circuit judge

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History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 145

Author: Andrews, Martin Register, 1842-; Hathaway, Seymour J Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1490

Author: Andrews, Martin Register, 1842-; Hathaway, Seymour J
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1490