History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 111

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1196

USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II > Part 111

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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

On October 5, 1869, he was married to Anna B. Wright, eldest daughter of General George B. Wright. They have four children : Russell, George B .. Lin- coln and Alice.

GEORGE D. FREEMAN

Portrait opposite page 192.]

Was born at Ovid, Franklin County, Ohio, on August 11, 1842. His father, Usual W. Freeman, together with his mother, Margaret (Cristy) Freeman, moved from New Jersey to Ohio in 1833. His father served with distinction in the New York militia in the war of 1812. He was also assistant engineer for the City of New York, in which capacity he took an active part in platting the great metropolis, north of Canal Street.

Young Freeman took full advantage of the limited educational opportunities afforded by the common schools of his early days, and at a later period he attended night school. At the age of six, death bereft him of his father and in his eleventh year he became the only support of his mother. He entered the studio of the late D. D. Winchester, then the leading artist of Columbus, but he left the employ of this gentleman to become a page in the Ohio House of Representatives at the last session held in Odeon Hall and the first in the present Capitol building. He received his appointment from Nelson H. Van Vorhes, Speaker of the first Repub- lican legislature of Ohio. From here he entered the dry goods house of Headly & Eberly, with whom he remained until 1866, when he was admitted as a junior partner. Later years found him the senior partner of Freeman, Staley & Morton, who were the successors of Headly & Co. In 1878 he withdrew from the dry- goods trade and entered the furniture business as a member of the firm of Halm, Bellows & Butler, who were succeeded by Freeman, Halm & McAllister. He withdrew from this enterprise to establish The George D. Freeman Mantel Com- pany, in the manufacture of mantels and interior furnishings, a business in which he is still engaged.

In 1878, on the organization of the State militia into the Ohio National Guard, Mr. Freeman, at the urgent request of the regiment, assumed command and became colonel of the now famons Fourteenth Ohio National Guard, in which capacity he served the State for thirteen years. The period of his command was marked with many trying ordeals where bravery, a cool head and good judg- ment were the prerequisites of the commanding officer. The famous Cincinnati riots were among these occasions, and it was here that Colonel Freeman's abilities as a commander asserted themselves in reducing to peace and order the turbulent mob that surged through the streets of Cincinnati. In 1890 he was compelled by the press of business to resign his post.

Colonel Freeman served for some years on the County Board of Agriculture, and took a prominent part in securing to the city the beautiful spot known as Franklin Park. This was not political service, nor has he ever held any political office, although frequently pressed to become the nominee of his party, when nomination was equivalent to election.

He was married on October 31, 1865, to Julia A. Diemer, whose parents were pioneers in the settlement of Central Ohio. They have three sons and one daugh- ter : Harry D., Stanton S., George D. and Julia E. Freeman.

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ALEXANDER GILCHRIST PATTON

| Portrait opposite page 208.|

Was born at Indiana Stream, New Hampshire, on March 8, 1836, and is the son of William and Mary (Johnson) Patton. His mother's family were prominent par- ticipants in the Revolutionary War, espousing the side of England. His father was born at Dumfries, Scotland, and came to this country in 1813. He located in Vermont, where he was married, and shortly after he moved to New Hampshire to live. He took an active part in the Patriot War of 1837, and his family who lived near the border line were driven from their home as refugees, fleeing to Lockport, New York, where he found them after his discharge from the army. When but seven years old, he was sent to work in the printing office of the Lockport Courier, where he worked for a number of years. His education, which is of a practical character, was acquired from general observation and contact with the world, he having spent but one term in school.

At the age of seventeen he went to Troy, New York, and entered the carriage establishment of Lown & Horton as an apprentice, in which capacity be served at the trade of carriage trimming for four and onehalf years. He continued in the employ of this company until 1858, moving from there to Schenectady, New York, where he engaged in the carriage business for himself and remained until the breaking out of the late war. He enlisted as a private in 1861, and served with much credit in all ranks from Sergeant to Lieutenant-Colonel. He continued in active service until July, 1865, when he was mustered out at Richmond, Virginia.

Immediately after the close of the war Colonel Patton became interested in the manufacture of hollowware at Troy, New York, where he employed at first but .thirteen men. He continued in this business at Troy until 1874, when he moved to Columbus and established the immense concern now known as The Patton Manufacturing Company, and in 1886 he formed a branch concern at Jeffersonville, Indiana, under the same name. He is proprietor of both insti- tutions, which are the largest manufactories of hollowware in the world.

Colonel Patton is a Republican in politics, but on account of his large busi- ness interests, he has never taken an active part in political affairs. He is a mem- ber of the Loyal L'egion of the United States, the Grand Army of the Republic, the Odd Fellows, and all Masonic bodies up to and including the 33d degree. Ile also belongs to the Legion of Honor, the Lincoln League and the Board of Trade. Besides being proprietor of the Patton Manufacturing Company, he is also interested in the Electric Light & Power Company, the Natural Gas and Fuel Company, the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, and the Tracy-Wells Company. He acts as trustee for the Old Ladies' Home and also for the Humane Society, and is prominently interested in local church extension. He is one of the incorporators of the proposed new Protestant Hospital under the auspices and direction of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is an active member of the Broad Street Methodist Church.

He was married in October, 1859, to Mary E. Way. Mrs. Patton died December 4, 1889. They had two children : Ida Patton-Tracy and Allen V. R. Patton. The latter is associated with his father in business as the manager of the Patton Manufacturing Company.

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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

GEORGE H. MAETZEL

[Portrait opposite page 224.]

The oldest son of George and Eleanor (Knothe) Maetzel, was born at Zittau, Saxony, July 31, 1837. His early life was spent in a hotel of which his father was the landlord. He was educated in the schools of his native city, and at the age of eighteen went to Dresden where he served in the army the required time. At the completion of his military services, he remained in Dresden to further pursue his study of mechanical engineering. In 1863 he sailed for America and after landing in New York proceeded directly to Providence, Rhode Island, where he remained but a short time. Although on American soil but a few months, he enlisted in the army at Albany, New York, under General Sigel, but as it was near the close of the war, he was not called upon for active service. He next went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he found work as a machinist in the Pan Handle Locomotive Shops. In 1869 he removed to Dennison, Ohio, where he was employed by the same company as a draughtsman. He was at Dennison but a few months, when he was advanced to the main offices of the Pan Handle Road at Columbus, still working in the capacity of draughtsman. In 1871 he severed bis connection with the railway company and opened an engineer's and architect's office at the corner of Town and Front streets. One of his first- buildings was the blast furnace ; then followed a brewery and some smaller buildings. Several years later he made the plans for the City Prison, County Infirmary, and Hoster's and Schlee's breweries ; then followed the courthouses at Sidney, and Lima, Ohio, and the courthouses and jails at Columbus and London, Ohio. He also furnished the plans for the Columbus Watch Company's building, for the east pumping station of the city waterworks and for many private buildings. Mr. Maetzel was the inventor of many improvements in regard to locking devices for jails, the most recent one being that used in Franklin County jail.

In 1865, while at Pittsburgh, he was married to Lillie Andriesen, who bore him four children : Henry, Clara, Richard and Paul.

Mr. Maetzel died on May 25, 1891, at his home in Columbus, after an illness of only a few hours. The direct cause of his death was congestion of the lungs induced by a severe cold, contracted on a business trip to the East.

DAVID SIMPSON GRAY

[Portrait opposite page 240.]

Was born February 8, 1829, in the village of Broad. Kiln-Neck in Sussex County, Delaware, and is the son of David and Naomi (Lofland) Gray. He is of Eng- lish descent, both on his father's and mother's side, his ancestors having come to this country at a very early date. His great grandparents on his father's side passed their early life in New Jersey, but subsequently moved to Delaware, where they permanently located, where those on his mother's side were also located, and where his father and mother were born, raised and lived until the year 1829 when they moved to Ohio.

David attended the district schools of the villages in Ohio where his parents resided from time to time until the eleventh year of his age. About this time his father, who was a Methodist clergyman, was called to Norwalk, Ohio, and

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David was given an opportunity to attend for a year or more the Norwalk Aead - emy, which was then under the control of Doctor Edward Thomson, afterwards Bishop Thomson, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the main, however, Mr. Gray is a selfeducated man, for he was obliged to go to work at the early age of thirteen. He was variously employed, and finally located at Wellington in 1849 where he was employed the greater part of two years as a clerk in a drugstore.

About this time the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railway, now called the Big Four, was being constructed through that part of the country and young Gray formed an acquaintance with the station agent at Wellington. He mani- fested much interest in the workings of the office and was soon master of all its details and duties. In the fall of 1850, his friend was transferred to another point, and the position of station agent was offered to young Gray. At the end of a year, in the fall of 1851, he was transferred to Columbus. In September, 1852, he was offered the position of Master of Transportation of the Louisville & Frankfort Railroad in Kentucky. He held this position until February, 1853, when he returned to Columbus. Immediately on his return he was appointed station agent and general representative, at Columbus, of the Central Ohio Rail- road, which was then under construction and being operated between Columbus and Zanesville. The road is now known as the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. In the fall of 1853 he was appointed Master of Transportation and his duties em- braced those of general freight and passenger agents. He also acted as the gen- eral freight agent and commercial representative of the road until January, 1864, when he became the general superintendent of the Union Railroad Transporta- tion Company, now the Star Union Line. In February, 1869, he was elected Second Vice President and General Manager of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad Company. In the spring of 1870 he resigned as General Manager but; retained his position as Second Vice President, in charge of the commercial relations of the company. On the organization of the Pennsylvania Company in 1872, and the removal of the headquarters of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway Company offices to Pittsburgh he resigned the office of Second Vice President and resumed his former relations with the Star Union Line as Western Manager, and had charge of the through freight line traffic of the Pitts- burgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis and the Pennsylvania Company west of Pittsburgh. On the death of George B. Edwards, Eastern manager of the line, Mr. Gray was appointed Manager of the Union Line, both east and west of Pittsburgh, which position he now holds. He is also general agent of the Pennsylvania Company, charged with special duties in the general service. On the formation of the Cen- tral Traffic Association, he was offered the position of Commissioner at a salary of $18,000, but declined as he did not wish to change his residence to Chicago.

Mr. Gray is beyond doubt one of the best informed men in the West on the commercial relations of the large railway lines in this section of the country. For many years he has been a prominent factor in the formation of the pooling arrangements of the different railway systems of the country, and has had much to do with the controlling and shaping of their policy on this subject. At the present time Mr. Gray is President of the Clinton National Bank and of the Co- lumbus, Shawnee & Hocking Railway Company.

On December 27, 1858, he was married at Belleville, Ohio, by his father, to Mary Louise Jackson. Twin children were born to them on February 29, 1860, but died at a tender age. His wife also died four days after their birth. On Oe- tober 12, 1865, he was married by his father to Eugenia Doolittle, at Columbus, Ohio. They had four children, namely : Miss Louise, David R., Meldrum and Eugene.

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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

VALENTINE LOEWER

[Portrait opposite page 272. ]

Was born in Columbus, Ohio, on June 1, 1853, and is the son of Henry and Kath - erine (Heckmann) Loewer. His father came to America from Hessen, Germany, in June, 1849, and to Columbus in July of the same year, being then twenty years old. He followed his trade of woodturner until 1886, when he took the position of bead salesman in the retail department of the Columbus Cabinet Company, of which corporation he is a charter member. He is one of the four living charter members of this company, which was incorporated in February, 1862, and he has acted as its President continuously since the year of its creation. Although sixty - three years of age, he is as well preserved mentally and physically as a man of much younger years. He is a past Grand of the I. O. O. F. and a member of the Humboldt Verein. His wife, Catherine, was born in Bavaria, Germany, and emigrated to America in 1835 or 1836 with her parents, Valentine and Dorthea Heckmann, when but two years of age. She was married to Henry Loewer on June 1, 1851. Their family consisted of four children, two of whom are alive : Mrs. Amelia Grünewald and Valeutine. Mrs. Loewer died at the early age of twenty eight.

Valentine Loewer, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools of Columbus. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to learn the upholstering trade, which occupation he followed until January, 1876. With three hundred dollars which he had saved from his earnings, he began the manufacture of mat- tresses for the trade at 124 East Main Street, but through the failure of three of his customers, he lost more than half of his capital the first year. His second year, however, he was more successful. By advertising quite extensively, he found a profitable market for mattresses in the retail trade, and concluded to enlarge his business by adding to it the retail furniture business. His landlord, Mr. I. S. Beekey, erected a building on the corner of Main and Lazelle streets, one room of which Mr. Loewer occupied in the fall of 1878. In two years his business compelled him to take the second floor, and the third floor the year fol- lowing. In 1885 he again found himself crowded for room and Mr. Beekey built a threestory addition for him on the rear. In 1886, the latter .gentleman erected a building adjoining on the east, of which Mr. Loewer occupies three floors. Finally, in 1889, he was forced by the increase of his business to take the three floors of the west half of the building, and he now carries one of the largest stocks of furniture, carpets and curtains in the city.

Mr. Loewer is a Republican, but has been too busily engaged in business pur- suits to take an active part in political affairs. He is a member of the Knights of Pytbias and the Fraternal Mystic Circle. He was married on December 15, 1881, to Elizabeth F. Mosley, of Haverhill, Massachusetts. They have one daughter, Maybelle Elizabeth, aged two years.

DIETRICH GRUEN

[Portrait opposite]page 288.]

Was born in Osthofen, near Worms on the Rhine, Germany, and is the son of George and Susanna ( Weigand) Grun. Most all of his relatives and connections in the old country were tradesmen and artisans by occupation, and Mr. Grün has

PHOTOGRAPHED BY BAKER.

Residence of S. C. Belknap, 56 Monroe Street, built in 1887.

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followed in their footsteps. He attended the public schools and was also for two years in a private school. At the age of fifteen, he was sent to Eichstetten, a small town in Baden, to learn the watchmaking trade, and later to Carlsruhe, Wiesbaden and Lode. In the year 1866 he emigrated to this country, landing in New York City on August 1 of that year. He applied himself exclusively to the watchmaking business and worked at his trade in St. Louis, Missouri, Cincinnati, and Delaware, Ohio. In 1877 he located in Columbus, where he has since resided, and is now President of the Columbus Watch Company. On May 6, 1869, he was married to Pauline Wittlinger. They have a family of five children : Frederick Gustave, Florie Sophie, George John, Frank William and Charles Henry.

JAMES G. PULLING,

[ Portrait opposite page 304.]

The son of Joseph and Margaret (Glaze) Pulling, was born on October 8, 1838, in Bosberry Parish, Herefordshire, England. His parents sailed on August 5, 1841, from England, landed at Quebec on September 29, and proceeded thence by way of the Lakes to Chicago, Illinois, where they arrived on November 5, which was about the usual time for making a journey of that length, allowing for stoppages. The first recollection of James G. is that of getting out of a big covered wagon on a prairie where land and sky apparently equaled each other in extent. His parents removed from Illinois by way of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Cin- cinnati, from which place they proceeded to Portsmouth and thence by canal to Columbus, where they arrived in the winter of 1844. Mr. Pulling attended the common and High schools of Columbus and also a business college. He received his first employment in 1854 as a clerk in a grocery store. He next studied law for two or three years, and finally engaged in the banking business in which he continued for sixteen years. In 1869 he went into the manufacturing business, and he is now sole proprietor of the Columbus Steam Pump Works, located at the corner of Scioto and West Broad streets, where he manufactures steam pumping machinery which is sold in all parts of the United States and occasionally in for- eign countries.

In politics, Mr. Pulling has been a Republican since the formation of that party. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Col- umbus Board of Trade. Since 1848 he has resided continuously at the same place on Oak Street, but is just now moving to his new residence, corner of Ohio and Madison avenues. He was married on March 27, 1877, to Emma Love Meek and they have three children surviving : Margaret Glaze, James Meek and Robin. His father still survives at the age of 86.

WILLIAM MCKINLEY, JUNIOR,

[Portrait opposite page 384.]

Was born at Niles, Trumbull County, Ohio, on January 29, 1843. His father was an iron manufacturer, and is still living, his age being 85 ; his mother is also liv- ing, her age being 83. Young Mckinley was educated at the publie schools and at the Poland (Mahoning County) Academy. In June, 1861, he enlisted in the Twentythird Ohio Infantry as a private. On September 24, 1862, he was pro-

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moted to Second Lieutenant ; on February 7, 1862, First Lieutenant ; on July 25, 1864, to Captain, and was brevetted Major by President Lincoln for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Opequan, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. He served on the staff of Ex-President Hayes and Major-General George Crook, and after Crook's capture he served for a time on the staff of Major-General Hancock, and subsequently on the staff of General S. S. Carroll. He was with the Twenty- third in all its battles, and was mustered out with it on July 26, 1865. At the close of the war he returned to Ohio. He bad a liking for the military profession, and it was said that but for the advice of his father, he would at the solicitation of General Carroll have attached himself to the regular army. He studied law with the Hon. Charles E. Glidden and David Wilson of Mahoning County, and then attended the law school at Albany, New York. In 1867 he was admitted to the bar, and in May of the same year he located in Canton, Stark County, where he soon formed a partnership with Judge Belden. He was elected prosecuting attor- ney of Stark County in 1869. On January 25, 1871, he was married to Miss Ida Saxton, daughter of James A. Saxton, a prominent citizen of Canton. He was elected to Congress in 1876, and was continuously in Congress until March, 1891, except part of his fourth term, be being unseated by a Democratic House late in the first session, bis seat being given to Mr. Wallace, his competitor. Mckinley has been three times " gerrymandered." In 1878 he was placed in a district con- sisting of the counties of Stark, Wayne, Ashland and Portage, which was Demo- cratie by 1,800 ; but MeKinley carried it by 1,300. In 1884 he was placed in a district consisting of Stark, Summit, Medina and Wayne, and was elected by over 2,000. Under the infamous Price " gerrymander " of 1890, his district was made up of Stark, Wayne, Medina and Holmes, which had given Governor Camp- bell, the year before, 2,900 majority, but on the fullest vote ever polled in the dis- trict, Mr. Mckinley reduced this majority to 303. Mr. Mckinley received 2,500 more votes in the district than had been received by Harrison for President in 1888 in the same district. While in Congress Mr. Mckinley served on the Committee of the Revision of Laws, the Judiciary Committee, the Committee of Expenditures, of the Post Office Department, and the Committee on Rules; and when General Garfield was nominated for the Presidency, Mr. Mckinley was assigned to the Committee on Ways and Means in his place, and he continued to serve on the lastnamed committee until the end of his Congressional career, being chairman of that committee during the last Congress, and was the author of the famons tariff law which bears his name.

For a number of years Mr. Mckinley has been the recognized champion of the cardinal Republican principle of protection. He was delegate-at-large to the National Convention of 1884 and supported Mr. Blaine for the Presidency. He was also delegate-at-large to the National Convention of 1888, when he supported Mr. Sherman. At the latter convention his name was sprung for the Presiden- tial nomination, but in a speech which was characteristic of the man he forbade the use of his name for the reason that he had pledged his loyalty to Sherman. He was Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions at both conventions.

On June 7, 1891, Major Mckinley was unanimously nominated by the Ohio Republicans for Governor ; and after one of the most hotly contested campaigns in the history of the State, he was elected by a plurality of 21,511.

At the Ohio Republican State Convention, 1892, Governor Mckinley was elected one of the delegates-at-large to the Republican National Convention at Minneapolis ; he was made Chairman of the Ohio Delegation, and Permanent Chairman of the Convention .- Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.

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THOMAS E. POWELL

| Portrait opposite page 400.]

Was born on February 20, 1842. at Delaware, Ohio. His father, Judge Thomas W. Powell, was for years one of the leading lawyers of Ohio. He was noted not only for his ability, but for his integrity and public spirit. He was a most patient student and found time in his profession to give attention to enrich- ing its literature. He was the author of "Analysis of American Law" and "Appel- late Proceedings," each of which has taken high rank with the profession. At the age of eightyfour he published his "History of the Ancient Britons," a work exhib. iting wonderful research and accurate compilation.

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History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 111

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1196

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1196