USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > History of the city of Columbus, Ohio, from the founding of Franklinton in 1797, through the World War period to the year 1920 > Part 62
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During the period of the World War, Mr. Bassell served and is still serving as Assistant Director of the State War Savings Stamps Committee, under appointment from former Secre- tary of the Treasury McAdoo. He is rendering all the aid he can to the Federal govern- ment, putting his whole heart in the work, his enthusiasm and zeal knowing no limitations. His work in this connection is principally along the line of organization of societies, com- mittees, etc., and delivering speeches in different parts of the State. He is an orator of unusual ability, force and eloquence.
Mr. Bassell is a member of the Columbus Athletic Club, the Columbus Country Club, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He married Rebecca G. Benedict, a daughter of the late Captain William B. Benedict of Virginia, an officer in the old United States Navy, and for many years in charge of the United States Naval Observatory at Washington, D. C., which position he held at the time of his death.
ANDRE CROTTI, B. L., M. D., LL. D., Surgeon. The medical profession of Colum- bus has long been noted for its members who have attained distinction for their ability as physicians and their skill as surgeons. Of the present generation, among those who have brought prestige not only to the profession but to the city as well is Dr. Andre Crotti, whose fame both as a surgcon and author is recognized throughout Ohio and the entire country. He is descended from an old Swiss family of Italian stock, originally, whose family-seat was in that part of Italy which became a part of the Swiss republic over one hundred years ago. He is the son of Monsieur and Madame Charles Crotti. His father, a well-known Swiss contracting architect, removed his family to Buenos Ayres, South America, in the late sixties, and was in business in that city for several years, or until one of the periodical revolutions of that country occurred, when he returned to Switzerland. And it was in Buenos Ayres, on August 23, 1873, that Dr. Crotti was born.
Dr. Crotti received a thorough training for his professional carcer. He began the study of medicine when he was twenty years of age, and continued his studies in the leading uni- versities and hospitals of Europe and America, and besides, he had ten years of practical experience as assistant to several of Europe's most famous surgeons, the most noted among them being Professor Kocher. He received his B. L. degree from the University of Fribourg, in 1893; his degree in medicine from Lausane University in 1900; his M. D. degree from the same University in 1902; his M. D. degree from Starling Ohio Medical University of this city in 1908, and his L.L. D. degree from Wittenburg College in 1916.
Dr. Crotti had several times visited the United States, and in May, 1908, he came here to make his permanent home, arriving in Columbus direct on that date and established himself in the practice of his profession, and in comparatively a short time he won a place among the notable surgeons of this city.
Prior to his coming to the United States to make his home, Dr. Crotti was assistant in anatomy, pathology, internal medicine and surgery in leading hospitals of Switzerland, and in 1906-08 he was assistant to Professor Kocher, the distinguished European surgeon. He was assistant professor of anatomy and professor of clinical surgery in the medical de- partment of Ohio State University in 1911-16, and he is now a member of the surgical staff of Grant Hospital.
He is a frequent contributor to professional journals and is the author of "Thyroid and Thymus," which valuable volume came from the press in the early part of 1918, and
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which has been well received by the profession at large and has been given a place among the authorities on those subjects.
Dr. Crotti is a member of the Columbus Academy of Medicine, The American Medical Association, and is Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is also a member of the following clubs: Columbus, Columbus Athletic, Scioto Country and Kit-Kat.
During the war Dr. Crotti was assigned to the rank of Captain in the Medical Reserve Corps, U. S. A., and ordered to report at Camp Zachary Taylor, Louisville, Ky. Later he was transferred to the U. S. General Hospital No. 22, Philadelphia, then appointed Chief of the Surgical Section with rank of Major at the Walter Reed General Hospital, Washing- ton, D. C., from which place he was released from service June 17th, 1919.
Dr. Crotti was married in Switzerland, in 1902, to Mrs. Marie Gwynne Gloechner, and to them have been born a daughter, Marie Elizabeth, and a son, Andre Jean.
FRANCIS B. PEARSON. Success is only achieved by the exercise of certain distin- guishing qualities, and it cannot be retained without effort. Those by whom great epoch changes have been made in the professional, political and industrial worlds began early in life to prepare themselves for their particular duties and responsibilities, and it was only by the most persevering and continuous endeavor that they succeeded in rising superior to the obstacles in their way and reaching the goal of their ambition. The life of any successful man, whether he be prominent in the world's affairs or not is an inspiration to others who are less courageous and more prone to give up the fight before their ideal is reached or definite success in any chosen field has been attained. Francis B. Pearson, educator and author, and superintendent of Ohio State Department of Public Instruction, is a man whose example has made for good in a general and public way, for his career has been an industri- ous one as well as patterned after the highest and best ideals.
Mr. Pearson was born in the village of Catawba, Clark county, Ohio, and he is a scion of a sterling old Buckeye family, son of Joseph and Mary (Palmer) Pearson. His paternal grandfather, Henry Pearson, a native of England, cast his lot in the new world in an early day, settling in Clark county, Ohio, where he became very well established as a result of his industry and perseverance.
Joseph Pearson, father of the subject of this sketch, was also a native of England, but his parents brought him to America when he was three or four years old. He grew to man- hood on the old home farm in Clark county and is still living, making his home at Catawba, this State. His wife was a native of Clark county and a daughter of a pioneer. She died when our subject was a child.
Francis B. Pearson received his elementary education in the public schools and then studied at Wooster College, Wooster, Ohio, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in 1885, and was later given the honorary degree of Master of Arts by that institution, now the University of Wooster. However, before entering college he taught school in Champaign and Clark counties and was for three years superintendent of the schools of West Jefferson, Madison county, Ohio.
Upon leaving college Mr. Pearson became professor of Latin and English at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, continuing there for five years, then accepted the principalship of East High School, Columbus, where he remained for a period of eleven years. He was then made high school inspector at Ohio State University, to which work he gave his atten- tion for eight years. He was appointed superintendent of Ohio State Department of Pub- lic Instruction, which office he assumed on February 16, 1916, and he has since continued to discharge the duties of the same with his usual fidelity, ability, promptness, perseverance and sound judgment, handling the affairs of this, as well as his preceding positions of trust and responsibility in a manner that has reflected much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned. He has done as much, if not more, than any other one man for the betterment of Ohio's system of public instruction. He is deeply enamored of his work, is by nature an organizer and a man of broad vision and keen discernment, and he has kept fully abreast of the times in all phases of educational work and has introduced many modern and important changes in our school system. Moreover, he is a profound scholar along both technical and general lines. He is a man of genial, obliging nature and of pleasing address and is therefore popular with the teachers of the State and all others whom he has occasion to meet in the discharge of his professional duties, as well as in his social and private life.
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Superintendent Pearson is an author of unusual talent and versatility, crities pronounce- ing his style much superior to that of the average writer, and his name has long since transcended the borders of his native state, in fact, he is one of the best known educators in the Middle West, and what he has to say along educational lines, on which he is a widely recognized authority, finds a very ready audience, whether through the lecture platform or the press. He is author of the following well known works: "The Evolution of the Teacher," "The High School Problem," "The Vitalized School," "Reveries of a School Master," and "The Reconstructed School." All of these have been very helpful in modern educational work and most potent for good.
Superintendent Pearson was married at Hudson, Wisconsin, to Fannie S. Humphrey, a daughter of Judge H. L. Humphrey, who was on the bench in Wisconsin for a number of years, also was a member of Congress for three terms and one of the prominent men of his section of the state.
To Mr. and Mrs. Pearson one son has been born, Humphrey W. Pearson.
Fraternally, Mr. Pearson is a Mason, and one would judge by his personal habits that he tried to carry its sublime precepts into hs every day life. He is in every respect de- serving of the good will and high esteem that are universally accorded him and of the eminent position he fills in the educational world.
SAMUEL A. KINNEAR. The career of Samuel A. Kinnear, the present efficient and popular postmaster of the city of Columbus, has been such as to elieit just praise from all classes, owing to the fact that he has always been loyal to the trusts reposed in him and has been upright in his dealings with his fellow men, at the same time lending his support to the advancement of any cause looking to the welfare of his home city and locality. No man has been better known or more influential in the city where his entire life has been spent, and yet he is an unassuming, obliging and genial gentleman, contented to lead a quiet life and to be regarded only as a good citizen.
Mr. Kinnear is of the third generation of one of the oldest families in Ohio, which branch of the family is descended from Samuel Kinnear, a native of Pennsylvania, from which state he came to Ohio in 1806, three years after the State was admitted to the Union. He first settled in Piekaway county, but in 1833, after having endured the hardships inci- dental to life on the frontier, where he had earved out a home through grit and perseverance. he removed to Columbus, or more properly North Columbus, as that section of the city was then known. He built a home on North High street, where he "kept tavern" for many years. He served as justice of the peace for over thirty-eight years, and was the first and only man to serve as postmaster of North Columbus. He was one of the men of influence in the affairs of the city in its days of early development. He married Ellen Hill, a native of Virginia, who came with her parents to Ohio in 1833. The death of Samuel Kinnear oe- curred March 6, 1867.
Josiah Kinnear, son of Samuel and Ellen (Hill) Kinnear, was born in the okl family home on North High street, built by his father in 1833, on June 27, 1834. Here he grew to manhood and was educated in the common schools, later attended Otterbein and Capital Universities. He took up civil engineering and for thirty years served as county surveyor and city engineer, and also as sheriff of Franklin county in the carly seventies. On March 28, 1857, he married Josephine Shattuck, daughter of Captain Alexander Shattuck, another Franklin county pioncer, who was a native of Groton, Massachusetts. The death of Josiah Kinnear occurred in August, 1905.
Samuel A. Kinnear was also born in the old family residence on North High street, oppo- site the Olentangy Park, January 7. 1858, the son of Josiah and Josephine (Shattuck) Kinnear. He was educated in the public schools and at a commercial college, and learned surveying and civil engineering under his father. His first business experience was in 1876, in which year he had charge, under his father, of the North High street improvements. Then, for six years, he served as deputy county surveyor under his father. He next entered the contracting business and secured the contract for building the northwest sewer for the city of Columbus. He then became a member of the contracting firm of Hess & Kinnear and operated a mill at Olentangy park. He was then clerk of the Probate Court for six years, then tax inquisitor for two years, and in 1893 he was elected county treasurer. After filling these offices in a very able and acceptable manner, he returned to contraeting as a
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member of the firm of Hoover & Kinnear, and had charge of the building of five bridges for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, then had charge of the construction of twenty- five miles of the Buffalo & Susquehanna railroad, and after that he completed fifteen miles of road for the same company, then had charge of making a fill on the Baltimore & Ohio at Lodi, Ohio, which was nine miles long and called for one million yards of earth and was to be twenty-five feet high. Completing the fill and pulling his work cars off one Saturday night, he found next morning the fill had completely disappeared-sunk out of sight in what was then discovered to be a eranberry swamp, under which was a lake. He subsequently rebuilt the fill which is still in a solid and safe condition. He was next in charge of the eleva- tion of the traeks of the Baltimore & Ohio through Wheeling, West Virginia. All the above work was done by the firm with which he was connected.
Mr. Kinnear and his brother, Edward F., finally formed the firm of Kinnear Brothers, and to the State of Ohio contracted to do masonry work at Akron and St. Marys and to build eight loeks at Toledo on the old eanal They next took a contraet to drain eighty- one thousand acres of land in Harris county, Texas, which contraet they completed in two years' time.
Thus Mr. Kinnear's work as a contraetor has been on a vast seale and has placed him among the big contractors of the Middle West. In these he was very successful, proving to be a man of rare executive ability and foresight, and he met with a large measure of success.
On January 1, 1912. Mayor Karb appointed Mr. Kinnear director of service for the eity, and while thus officiating, after the flood of 1913, he accomplished work of which he is very proud. While the flood was reeeding he hired all the dump wagons within a radius of thirty miles and had the cellars and streets of the inundated distriet cleared of the debris before other eities affected by the flood got started. He held the office of director of service until he was appointed postmaster on September 6, 1914. February 27, 1919, he was re-ap- pointed for four years, and the duties of this office he is discharging in a manner that refleets much credit upon his ability, loyalty and probity of character and to the entire satisfaction of the people of Columbus and the department at Washington. To Mr. Kin- near's credit it may be stated that through his efforts to a large degree was inaugurated in Columbus, November 1, 1918, the government-owned motor equipment service for the handling of mail and distribution of parcel post-the Columbus office being the fourteenth in the United States to receive this reeognition and at the time of its inauguration here no other city of less than five hundred thousand population was so privileged.
Mr. Kinnear has been very active in all war relief work, especially in the campaigns for the raising of funds for the Red Cross. Young Men's Christian Association, and the War Savings and Thrift Stamps. He was a member of the original committee which promoted Columbus' three million dollar war ehest. He was appointed by H. P. Wolfe, State director of sales of War Savings and Thrift Stamps, chairman of Franklin county for the sale of these stamps, the county's quota being five million, five hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars, and he had the county thoroughly organized, when, on April 1, 1918, he was ap- pointed chairman of the Ohio Division of Post Offices, in the sale of savings stamps, which embraces over twenty-two hundred postoffices, so he resigned the county chairmanship in order to take charge of the heavier duties of the last named position. He is now engaged in thoroughly organizing every postoffice in Ohio by formulating a specifie plan and assisting in the disposal of one hundred and six million dollars worth of war savings and thrift stamps. which is Ohio's quota.
Mr. Kinnear is a thirty-second degree Mason and belongs to the Ancient Arabie Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Chamber of Com- merer and the Columbus Athletic Club.
Mr. Kinnear married Clara A. Foster, a daughter of Samuel G. Foster, a well known citizen of Columbus, and they have one daughter, Clara K., who married Jasper S. Kinslow. State war explosives director.
No man in Columbus takes a more active interest in the affairs of the city in general than does Mr. Kinnear. for he has the best interests of his home city very much at heart. He is widely known and his record, both as a public and private citizen, has ever been above eriticism.
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CHARLES JOHN PRETZMAN. Upon the role of representative professional men of Columbus is Charles John Pretzman, prominent lawyer and public-spirited citizen, who seems to possess those qualities of head and heart which not only bring material success but always commend themselves to persons of intelligence. He has been willing to work hard for his success, which, after all, usually comes to the deserving.
Mr. Pretzman was born in Springfield, Ohio, August 4, 1867, a son of William H. and Anna T. (Barcaper) Pretzman. His father was born in Maryland in 1834, where his fore- fathers settled in 1739. He came to Ohio in 1855, settling at Springfield, where he died in 1913. His wife was born in Springfield in 1843, a daughter of John Philip Barcaper.
Charles J. Pretzman passed through the public schools and then entered Wittenberg College at Springfield, after which he went abroad and studied in France and Germany' for several years. Upon returning to America he read law in the office of Powell, Ricketts & Black in Columbus, and, making rapid progress, was admitted to the Bar in April of 1889, and immediately opened an office and practiced alone until 1897, in which year he became a member of the firm of Williams, Taylor & Pretzman. From 1907 to 1915 he was again alone in the practice, then became a member of the firm of Huggins, Pretzman & Davies, which still exists, being regarded as one of the leading law firms in Columbus, and an extensive general law business is carried on.
Mr. Pretzman is a member of the Franklin County and the Ohio State Bar Associations. He was president of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce in 1910, and was a member of the board of trustees of the Columbus Public Library from 1910 to 1914. He is one of the most active and prominent Masons in Columbus, in fact, in the State of Ohio. He is a member of the Scottish Rite of Free Masonry; Mt. Vernon Commandery in the York Rite; Aladdin Temple of the Mystic Shrine; Columbus Lodge No. 30 of Blue Lodge Masonry; was Grand Master of Masons in Ohio in 1913 and 1914, being elected to that position at the meeting of the Grand Lodge in 1913, and at this writing, 1919, is Master of Columbus Chapter of Rose Croix. He is a member of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite, being an honorary thirty-third degree Mason. He belongs to the Columbus Country Club and the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
On October 11, 1892, Mr. Pretzman married Clara Louise McGuire, and to their union three children have been born, William Hugh, deceased; Allan Iredell and Lawrence Charles.
Mr. Pretzman is a man who takes a good citizen's pride in the advancement of his city and country, and heartily supports such movements as make toward this end. He comes of an honest, rugged pioneer family and has been careful to keep its name unsullied.
JOHN GORDON BATTELLE. Among the men of Ohio of the present generation who achieved notable success in business and won honor and high regard as a useful and patriotic citizen, was Colonel John Gordon Battelle, iron manufacturer of Columbus, who well maintained the prestige of his honored forefathers. And, while Colonel Battelle was not a native of Ohio, he was descended from one of the oldest families of the State, one which figured 'conspicuously in the making of the early history of the commonwealth.
The Battelle family is of French origin, and its genealogy is authentically traced back to the twelfth century in England, the amorial registers of that country accrediting the family with two coats of arms.
The original American ancestor was Thomas Battelle, who came over from England and settled at Dedham, Massachusetts, as early as 1640. He died on February 8, 1706; lic married at Dedham on September 5, 1648, Mary Fisher, the daughter of Joshua Fisher, of Svleham, England. She died on August 7, 1691.
John Battelle (I) second child of Thomas and Mary (Fisher) Battelle, was born on July 1. 1652, and died on September 20, 1712; he married on November 18, 1678, Hannah Holbrook.
Ebenezer Battelle (I), fourth child of John and Hannah ( Holbrook) Battelle, was born January 22, 1691, and died on March 6, 1759; he married first, on March 3, 1714, Abigail Day : second, on August 8, 1718, Abigail Allen; third. on January 16, 1727, Zipporah Ellis.
Ebenezer Baltelle (II), sixth child of Ebenezer and Zipporah ( Ellis) Battelle, was Joen on January 10, 1729, and died on November 6, 1776; he married on July 23, 1751. Prudence Draver. He was captain of a company on the occasion of the Lexington alarm ( An-i] 19, 1775).
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Ebenezer Battelle (III), second child of Ebenezer and Prudence (Draper) Battelle, was the Ohio pioneer and the great-grandfather of Colonel John Gordon Battelle, of Columbus. He was born on February 4, 1754, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1775. At the Lexington alarm, he served as a volunteer in the company commanded by his father, and served later in the Revolutionary War as Major of the First Suffolk Regi- ment of Massachusetts Infantry, and later was appointed by the Governor, Colonel of Mas- sachusetts Militia. He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, which organization was founded in 1637 and still survives. In 1781 he and Isaiah Thomas established what was the second book-store in Boston, to which store they later added a circulating library. When the Ohio Company was organized Colonel Bat- telle became an associate member of that company and was appointed one of its agents. With others, he left Boston for Ohio on April 6, 1788, going from Boston to Baltimore by sea, thence by wagons across the mountains to the Ohio river, thence to Marietta by flat-boat. At Marietta, where were located the lands of the Ohio Company, Colonel Battelle completed the erection of a house on the Campus Martius in the summer of his arrival. And in that residence was held the first Court of Quarter Sessions, which opened its proceed- ings on September 9, 1788. He became one of the company, composed almost entirely of old officers of the Revolutionary War, who formed in the winter of 1788-89 an association for the settlement of Belpre, twelve miles below Marietta. In the spring of 1789 he cleared a piece of land at that place and built a block house for the use of his family as a residence, and in the lower room of the block house he was accustomed to hold religious meetings every Sabbath, he officiating as chaplain. He married at Boston, Mass., Anna Durant, daughter of Cornelius Durant, a merchant of that city. Colonel Battelle died at Newport, Wash- ington county, Ohio, in 1815.
Ebenezer Battelle (IV), son of Colonel and Anna (Durant) Battelle, and grand-father of Colonel John Gordon Battelle, of Columbus, was born at Dedham, Massachusetts, on August 8, 1778, and came with his parents to Marietta, and died at Newport, Ohio, on January 2, 1876. He married, in Newport, Ohio, on September 10, 1800, Mary Greene, who was born at Warwick, Rhode Island, on September 2, 1778. She was descended from notable Colonial ancestors, one of which was Roger Williams, founder of the Rhode Island colony, she was also a cousin to General Nathaniel Greene, the Revolutionary hero.
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