USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne county, Ohio, from the days of the pioneers and the first settlers to the present time > Part 40
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He served upon the Supreme Bench of the State until February 9, 1877, at which time his term expired, meantime persistently declining a nomination for the same honor on the State ticket in the fall of 1876.
At an early period in the life of Judge Rex, he became a mem- ber of the Ancient Order of Freemasonry. In April, 1846, he became a member of Ebenezer Lodge, No. 33, at Wooster, and soon arose to the office of Master of the Lodge, which he held for more than twelve years ; also holding the office of High Priest for a long number of years in Wooster Chapter, No. 27, and of the Council, No. 13. He arose rapidly in the Order in the State, hav- ing served as Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of Ohio, and was also elected and served as Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of the State of Ohio.
He was married May 24, 1853, to Ella J. McCurdy, a daughter of William McCurdy, a long resident and prominent citizen of Wooster.
Since his retirement from the judicial responsibilities of the bench of Ohio, Judge Rex has resumed the practice of law in the city of Wooster.
The data concerning Mr. Rex we did not receive until after our arrival in Indianapolis with our manuscript for publication, and we can now but regret that our material is so meager in detail. Knowing him as we do, with his certain indisposition to be tam- pered with, either by paragraphist or journalist, we may probably leap our province in doing more than simply erecting upon a page the line of facts within our possession. But as we propose to have respect for the last decisions of the Court, so we are inclined to obey the mandate of our last judgment, and upon our own respon- sibility throw the rein upon the neck of our pen.
Judge George Rex is a marked man, well poised, possessing
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mental and physical equilibriums, and seldom susceptible of agi- tation. He is self-constructed, self-disciplined and self-governed.
Nature endowed him with a strong, compact brain, with possi- bilities of expansive development, the texture of which is fine, fibrous and solid. He depends upon himself, and between his brain and his right hand there can be no misunderstanding. He was a student from the period when he entered college, and reso- lute in his determination to achieve proficiency and high standards in his studies. The disposition to acquire was manifest, and when this ingredient of the mind is present, the ability is usually in attendence.
After his abandonment of college he commenced teaching, a vocation for which nature had especially qualified him. In college he would be a worker by the very force and iron in him, and out of it identical dispositions would control him, for our dispositions are only that many wheels set within us, upon which we are driven about by that adroit and daring horseman, the Will. He would labor constantly and perseveringly, striking when the iron was hot, or making it hot by striking. Into the school-room he would con- vey all his energy and application. By every law of necessity, by every principle of philosophy, such a man, in such a profession, must meet with success.
He is a lawyer of wide, thorough and varied attainments. If it be true that law is but common sense systematized, George Rex entered the profession with superior natural qualifications. Prima- rily, his mind had a legal cast, and by years of training and field- discipline, it weighs a legal principle with the delicate accuracy of an apothecary's scale. If Blackstone had not lived, and Kent and Story had not ached and written, he could nevertheless have been a lawyer, and his counsel would have been safe and just. His le- gal opinions would have been good, unsupported by authority or precedent. A society or community would be well governed that would submit to codes and manuals that would originate exclu- sively in his own mind.
As a counselor he is a sure guide, never misleading his client, or luring him by groundless hopes of success in ambiguous situa- tions. His pleadings are the best evidence of the method and logical compactness of his brain, as they seldom admit of assaults from opposing counsel. In his sphere as an advocate he brings the entire enginery of logic to bear upon the court and jury. He reasons accurately, closely, keenly, fairly, and will not violate a
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logical rule, if its legitimate result should be against him. Afford him the tangible premise, and the conclusion that determines, comes. He aims not to hoodwink or deceive a jury, but to con- vince it, and if circumstances are favorable, he is apt to do it. Truth is gold, but when presented by some minds it has greater brightness; when it is his offering there is unction in it, for his lips are accustomed to the use of it. His client must have fair play, and the benefit of the "reasonable doubt." He will defend a crimi- nal with the same earnest and acute vigor with which he would prosecute him, and for the very brave reason that he believes it to be right, and because it is right.
On the Supreme Bench of Ohio he added to an already estab- lished reputation as a lawyer the luster of the jurist.
In all his official relations, whether as Prosecutor, Senator, or Supreme Judge of the State of Ohio, he bore a spotless name.
He was one of the committee, after the adoption of the New Constitution, that drafted the wise and beneficent school law of the State. His life has been a decidedly public and useful one. His official career has been one to which his friends can advert with assuring recollections, and which he, in the sober decline of a strong-aimed life, can contemplate with pleasure and satisfaction. It were well if more men like him were in every community. He is bold, fearless, outspoken, of decided opinions, independent views, sound judgment and firm convictions. When he arrives at a conclusion he is apt to remain with it, and for the excellent rea- son that he has thoroughly investigated the matter in issue before he attained it. Hence with him there is little occasion for chang- ing it or reviewing the proof. He is versed in the Latin classics, is an excellent English and German scholar, is a reader, a student and a thinker-thinks because he can not help it. He is a mathe- matician like Brinkerhoff, full of known and unknown quantities, and his business habits are arithmetic, algebraic, geometric and trigonometric. He does nothing by halves, or quarters, but fin- ishes all he undertakes, and undertakes no more than he can exe- cute. His word is followed by the act-is quick, ready, prompt, and would discharge a private secretary in a minute if he were laggard a second time. In a word, he is punctual, and " punctu- ality is the politeness of kings."
He is a good controversialist-at times, we imagine, enjoys opposition, as such friction is needed to sharpen and polish highly- tempered natures. He is agreeable and fluent in conversation,
1
Eng dby Geo E Perine, N. York
E. Juinby In Wooster Ohio.
-
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stands on the edge of his topic, and talks from the rim to the cen- ter. Tortuous syllables, lumbering words and Alexandrine sen- tences are abominations. He believes, with Dr. Holmes, that the smaller the caliber of mind the greater the love of a perpetually open mouth.
Politically Mr. Rex is a Democrat, and is a vigorous and un- compromising exponent of the principles of his party.
There are some innate traits in his social physiognomy that may be misunderstood. Though sometimes seemingly self-assert- ive, he is as free from dogmatism as he is from cant. He has the keenest appreciation of a joke, and on occasion can laugh as loud as Firestone at a good one well told. Though sedate and firm, at times his fancy is sportive and his genius playful. The æsthetic taste is largely developed in him, and if he does not admire flow- ers and works of art, bright lawns and garden spots, and all that is beautiful in the world, he has consciously repressed some of the instinctive qualities of his nature.
E. QUINBY, JR.
There is more or less difficulty in writing a sketch of such a man as Ephraim Quinby, Jr., pressing on, as he does, steadily and quietly through the mazes of human life like a placid, even stream. We fancy that Bierstadt, in the Pacific canyons, or Frankenstein at the Great Cataract, found ampler range for the artistic faculty than they would in the serene landscape touched and made beau- tiful alone by silent sunshine and perpetual verdure. And yet the picture of such a landsape would be sublime and exquisitely in- teresting.
In a life in which we find no brilliant passages of public polity or scientific conquest, of either diplomacy or war, there is but a glint of light and shadow to present to the world for its admiration or applause ; for the world is a tardy, jealous jury, and appears stupid and .obtuse to the appreciation of any rare merit or silent, solid worth.
It is a fact, probably pretty well understood, but we desire to emphasize it, that but very few of our prominent citizens have ac- quired either their wealth or influence by inheritance. Those who have made their mark in commerce, speculation, finance, or in law, like McSweeney, have chiefly commenced life's duties with
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only the capital of energy and industry to guarantee them success in the sharp and stubborn contest for happiness, independence and fortune. It is no credit to the hereditary prince, or the scion of a millionaire, to roll in luxury, to possess landed estates, or the abil- ity, if he have the inclination, to endow universities, manipulate railroads or sway legislatures ; but to the young man whose capital is vested in his native energies, who flings himself against the shores of the great world, and who, against adverse situations, says to the storms, "I will meet you," and to the world, " I am yet to be one in your sharp conflicts"-to him, we affirm, are due phrases of eulogy and ascriptions of praise.
A possessor of qualities which, measured by their practical exercise and application have resulted in extraordinary success, Mr. Quinby* at an early period ventured upon life, prosecuting to the present time, its varied routine of duties with earnest, unde- monstrable, steadfast aim.
Ephraim Quinby, Jr., was born in Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, and is a son of the late Judge Ephraim Quinby, the founder and proprietor of Warren, and brother of Samuel Quinby, de- ceased, a memoir of whom elsewhere appears. About the year 1823-24 he separated from the paternal mansion, then being in his tenth year, and removed to Wayne county, making his home with his brother, Samuel Quinby, then a resident of Wooster, holding the office of Receiver of Public Moneys for the United States Land Office for the District of Wooster, and simultaneously the office of Treasurer of Wayne county.
He remained with his brother until July, 1828, assisting him in his office as occasion permitted and attending the village schools respectively taught by J. C. Spink, N. Luccock, I. Spink and Wil- liam Warne.
During this year he entered upon the duties of clerk in the
* It may here be appropriate to remark, that the data we have obtained con- cerning Mr. Quinby's life, has been procured under difficulties which, to some ex- tent, will form an apology for the meagerness of our narrative. This is partly to be attributed to the constant pressure of his business engagements, but we believe, is more particularly dne to his modesty and indisposition to be subjected to the judg- ment and criticism of the public. He was one of the earliest advocates of the pro- ject of the County History, assuming it to be a duty, as well as a responsibility, to extend his co-operative aid to the enterprise. With the limited facts personally obtained from him, and without resources from which matters of fact and detail could be extracted, we very greatly regret our inability to supply anything but an approximate biography of him.
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store of the late John Larwill at a salary of one hundred dollars per year and boarded (modern clerks would feel insulted to be offered such salaries), saving one-third of his wages.
In July, 1829, Mr. Joseph H. Larwill having received from President Jackson the appointment of Receiver of Public Moneys for the Tiffin, Ohio, United States Land District, Mr. Quinby ac- cepted the position of clerk in his office, remaining there about one year, when he returned to Wooster and entered the office of his brother Samuel, with whom he continued until the fall of 1834, and during this time, in addition to his other duties, he made the monthly deposits of the goverment moneys, received from sales of public lands, for the Wooster and Bucyrus (formerly Tiffin) United States Land Offices, in the Branch Bank of the United States at Pittsburg.
This service or duty, as may be imagined, was one of great responsibility and extremely hazardous, the country then being sparsely settled, and the protection afforded by society and the laws not being so surely established. The usual method of con- veying the moneys to Pittsburg was in a two-horse Dearborn wagon, strongly built, although sometimes this would not answer the purpose and a heavier vehicle had to be substituted. This was made particularly necessary in the instance of the deposit after the public sale of the Seneca Indian Reserve, as the amount of the moneys for that month exceeded one hundred thousand dollars, about twenty-five thousand of which was in silver coin. The con- veyance for transporting this deposit was a two-horse wagon and team procured of the late Colonel Rowse, of Bucyrus, he driving the team and consuming seven days and a half in making the passage from Bucyrus to Pittsburg. On arriving at New Lisbon, it being in the month of December, the roads bad and the country hilly, an additional span of horses had to be attached to the wagon.
In making these deposits it was always necessary to exercise great prudence, and frequently the most extreme and circumspect caution, so as to elude detection. In these cases, to deceive ob- servation and not permit the contents of the loaded wagon to be known, was oftentimes a difficult matter, especially when an un- usual amount of silver coin was being conveyed, and when the roads were bad and frequent stops had to be made at places where was seldom seen more money than they received from their cus- tomers for a night's lodging and other accommodations.
In cases like these, Mr Quinby-then but twenty years old-
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would drive his team pretty close to the tavern door and request that it might remain there until morning. Having, generally, a friend along with him-often his old companion, a boy, then, as well as himself, the Rev. M. E. Strieby-they would arrange to have a bed spread on the floor of the tavern sitting-room, vigi- lantly keeping an eye on the wagon containing the coin-the bank- notes being kept about his person. After supper, and when other travelers and the family had retired, Mr. Quinby and his friend would quickly remove the boxes, each containing from twelve to fifteen hundred dollars, from the wagon to the sitting-room, and closing the doors securely, they would sleep, turn about, until quite early in the morning and before there was any stir upon the premises, when they would stealthily replace the boxes containing the coin in the wagon. After breakfast they would renew their journey, not even the landlord or any one else about the premises knowing the value of their cargo or the amount of money they controlled, such a state of profound ignorance, no doubt, being a source of comfort to Mr. Quinby. These special precautions, it is true, were only practiced in suspicious localities and strange places, yet precaution, prudence and watchfulness was the rule at all times and under all circumstances. And, strange as it may appear, he never, in all these perilous adventures, carried weapons of defense, though often, indeed, apprehensive of molestation and robbery. When just a boy, and when he first came to live with his brother at Wooster, he often accompanied him in making the deposits of the Land, Office at the branch banks of the United States at Chil- licothe and Cincinnati. During most of the year 1834 Mr. Quinby spent his time in charge of the office of Hon. Joseph H. Larwill, Receiver of Public Moneys for the Bucyrus Land Office District.
In the fall of the same year he embarked in the mercantile busi- ness in Wooster, in the store room of General Cyrus Spink, opposite to the American Hotel, afterwards removing his business to a building then standing on a lot owned by William Gooding, and in the fall of 1835 disposed of his stock of goods to Messrs. Miller and Gallagher, who removed the same to Millersburg, Ohio.
In 1836 he leased for a term of five years, of General R. Beall, the premises situated on the south-west front of the Pub- lic Square, in Wooster, and again commenced the mercantile busi- ness, in company with James A. Grant.
The first purchase of goods for the firm, or perhaps the prin-
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cipal part thereof only, were lost on Lake Erie in a storm, by the sinking of a vessel containing the goods, which were shipped from Buffalo, N. Y. The vessel being subsequently raised, and the damaged goods recovered, they were brought to the store and sold at auction on the Public Square, at a loss of about two thousand five hundred dollars, there being no insurance. Mr. Quinby im- mediately repaired to New York, by no means disheartened by the catastrophe, and enjoying the confidence of the eastern mer- chants, purchased a new stock of goods, and having a prosperous trade for three or four years, retrieved the entire loss.
During his mercantile career, October 12, 1837, he was united in marriage to Miss Catharine E. McConahay, daughter of Judge D. Mcconahay, who died October 18, 1871.
From 1836 to 1842 he turned his attention toward speculations in real estate, though still retaining and continuing his commercial interests.
In 1837 he purchased of John Bever and D. Williams about fourteen acres of land south of Liberty street and east of Bever street, and run it off into town lots, which were rapidly sold and buildings erected thereon, Mr. Quinby improving some of the lots himself. As an illustration indicative of the change, or rather the advance in the value of property in Wooster since that time, we add, that in 1837 Mr. Quinby sold lots fronting the south side of Liberty street, east of Bever, at an average of two hundred and fifty dollars per lot, sixty feet front by one hundred and eighty deep.
In 1841, after the expiration of his lease of the premises west of the Public Square-sixty feet front on Liberty street, by one hundred and eighty on Public Square-he purchased the same from General Beall for six thousand dollars. At that time a one and a half story store-room stood on the corner, and a frame dwelling, one and a half story, stood where the Wayne County National Bank now stands, then occupied as a residence by Mr. Quinby. The lot purchased of General Beall on the Public Square was in- tended originally to be occupied by him for mercantile uses and a residence. Having changed his mind, however, and while he was preparing to build him a house, and have erected a ware-room and stable, an incendiary fire, in 1842, was kindled, which destroyed the ware-house and several other smaller buildings that were con- structed upon the Public Square, and much of the adjoining property.
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This circumstance disheartened Mr. Quinby, and changed his plans; and from the material prepared for a residence he built the two story block for business purposes, now standing on the lot on the south-west corner of the Public Square. He then divided the balance of the lot into fronts of twenty feet, and disposed of most of the ground at a profitable increase upon its cost. This was the first lot in Wooster that had been subdivided for business purposes. In the same manner he next subdivided the lots, or business blocks, known as the Merchants' Emporium, situated on the north-east corner of Public Square.
In the year 1844 he disposed of his stock of dry-goods to his brother, George Quinby and B. Grant, who removed them to Bu- cyrus, Ohio, and leased his store-room to David Robison, Sen., to whom he afterwards sold the grounds and building, which grounds, and all the balance of the original lot previously sold, have been repurchased, and are at present owned by him, and about twenty feet front on the west, and except fifteen feet front on the Public Square and twenty feet front on Liberty street, owning at this date, in addition, over two hundred feet frontage on the Public Square, covered with solid and substantial brick buildings.
Mr. Quinby also owns a large number of improved and unim- proved lots in different parts of the city of Wooster, besides hold- ing in fee over one hundred and fifty acres of valuable lands within the corporate limits.
From 1844 to 1848 he devoted himself exclusively to transac- tions in real estate and making improvements thereon, a business which he seems to relish, for which he has peculiar adaptations, and in the prosecution of which his good judgment and sagacious, discriminating foresight have made him remarkably successful.
In 1848 the Wayne county branch of the State Bank of Ohio was organized, when he became a stockholder, and was chosen its Cashier, which position he held until the expiration of the charter in 1865. During the existence of this bank it ranked with the best managed banks of the State, its stability unquestioned and conceded, closing its business without loss to its shareholders and paying satisfactory dividends during its existence and a premium on the refunded stock to shareholders.
The principal parties holding the stock of this bank at the va- rious periods of its existence, were D. Robison, Sr., R. Taggart, S. F. Day, K. Porter, R. B. Stibbs, James Robison, Joseph Mc- Comb, H. Armstrong, S. Jennings, J. Steese, J. A. Saxton, E.
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Quinby, Jr., George Dewalt, William Henry, H. V. Bever, J. R. Hunter, Samuel Quinby, Benjamin Wallace and James M. Brown, with more than half of whom "life's fitful fever is over."
Upon the expiration of the charter of the Wayne county branch of the State Bank of Ohio, the remaining shareholders or- ganized, under the United States National Bank Act in 1865, the Wayne County National Bank of Wooster, when Mr. Quinby was selected as its Cashier, and which position he at present holds. It is hardly necessary to remark that the responsible standing of the Branch Bank's reputation is continued and illus- trated in that of the National Bank. The universal confidence and absolute trust reposed in it by the public and the business commu- nity is the most powerful recommendation and endorsement of its high and substantial character.
During the years between 1848 and 1876, in addition to the duties of Cashier of the Branch and National Banks, Mr. Quinby devoted his moments of leisure to purchasing, selling and improv- ing real estate, many of his enterprises having contributed to ad- vance, grace and beautify the city.
The University of Wooster being projected in 1866, and an enterprise being inaugurated to locate it in any suitable town or city, by the Presbyterian Synods of Ohio, wherever a reliable sub- scription of one hundred thousand dollars should be procured and placed at their disposal, a subscription was at once put in circula- tion in Wooster and throughout the county to raise the stipulated sum, one condition of which was a site for the College building, which was to be accepted as a portion of the one hundred thou- sand dollars to be raised. The subscription was headed by Mr. Quinby at ten thousand dollars, which was followed by subscrip- tions of three thousand dollars and on down to five. The final ef- fort having been accomplished, after a thorough canvass of the county and city, it was exhibited that the amount raised fell thirty- two thousand dollars short of the sum required, and the prospect of the location of the University in Wooster looked gloomy, in- deed, and its abandonment seemed probable.
At this juncture, however, the Presbyterian Synod of Ohio, being in session at Wooster, appointed a committee, after viewing the site proposed by E. Quinby, Jr., for the University, to con- fer with a committee of the citizens of Wooster, and offered to ac- cept the twenty acres of land as a donation from Mr. Quinby at $25,000, and in addition $75,000 of cash subscriptions, which
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proposition was agreed to and accepted. There having been, how- ever, but about $58,000 of cash subscriptions reached, or that were reliable, the synodical committee agreed to accept a guaranty of E. Quinby, Jr., and other citizens of Wooster for $17,000, which would complete the $75,000 subscription required. The money was subscribed by the citizens of the city and county and the guarantors released from their obligations; and thus the loca- tion of the Wooster University was made fixed and final.
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