History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 116

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 116

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

JAMES MYERS MONTGOMERY

[Portrait opposite page 464.]

Was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, December 28, 1825, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Young Montgomery. His mother's parents were of German ances- try, and emigrated from Maryland to Pennsylvania at a very early day. His great grandparents on his father's side came to America from the north of Ire- land. In the fall of 1830, being then in his fifth year, Mr. Montgomery came to Knox County, Ohio, with his parents. Shortly after arriving there, his father died and was buried at Martinsburg in the same county. About one year after his father's death his mother, with the family of two boys and one daughter- now Mrs. Charity Loren, the mother of Mr. James M. Loren, well known in Columbus

847

REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

- removed to Delaware County. It was in this county that Mr. Montgomery received his early training during the winter season in the distriet schools. When he had attained the age of thirteen years his mother hired him out at five dollars a month. His mother married again, and, at the age of fourteen, not liking the treatment he received from his stepfather, he left home to struggle for himself, and worked for Mr. Nathan Paul, a neighbor, for about six months on a farm. The following spring he went to Knox County ; afterwards he returned to Delaware County, where he learned the carpenter trade with his older brother and went into partnership with him. Atter leaving his home he took up his residence with Nathan Paul and went to school every winter during his school age and worked by jobs through the summer at his trade.

By the will of his grandfather, Mr. Montgomery and his brother John beeame the owners of one hundred and sixty aeres of land in Crawford County, two miles north of Bueyrus. Every year for a number of years the two young legatees walked sixty miles to Bucyrus to pay the taxes on this property, usually making the distance in a day and a half. In the year 1847, Mr. Montgomery bought his brother's interest in the farm for four hundred dollars. In the fall of the same year, he sold the farm to a German for $1,000 in cash, over $700 of which was in silver coin. In the spring of 1849, he came to Columbus afoot and was obliged to wade Big Walnut Creek to reach the eity. He began buying Mexican land warrants and after purchasing six of these, ealling for 160 acres each, he started for Bellevue, Iowa, to locate the land. This proved an eventful trip. Mr. Montgomery took the old stagecoach to Springfield, Ohio, whence he traveled over the old Mad River Railway to Cincinnati, and thence proceeded by steamers via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to St. Louis and his destination. On his return he walked in the short space of five days the entire distance of two hundred miles to Chicago, whenee he proceeded hyfrail and water to Delaware County. He had encountered many hardships but was comforted by the assurance of having secured 1,000 acres of rich Iowa land and paid all of his expenses out of his small fund of $1,000. During the succeeding year he worked at his trade, and then bought a small grocery and drygoods store at Centre Village, Delaware County. Here he was married on January 1, 1851, to Rebecca A. Campbell, of Plain Town- ship, Franklin County, Ohio. He kept this store about two years, then sold out, traded part of his land in Iowa and in the fall of 1853 went to Union County, where he bought a farm. After one year he sold this property and removed to Plain Township, Franklin County. There he bought a farm and remained until 1860. In that year he came to Columbus and invested in property on North High Street. In the fall of 1863, he bought a farm east of Worthington Station. This property he disposed of in Jan- uary, 1865, for $26,000 cash, that being about double the price he had paid for it. Moving thence to Truro Township, Franklin County, he bought another farm, on which he lived for the succeeding ten years. After buying and selling several farms, Mr. Montgomery again returned to Columbus, where he located on East Broad Street. There he engaged in the hardware business with James S. Abbott and Joseph H. Stoner under the firm name of Ahbott, Montgomery & Stoner, at 99 South High Street. Mr. Montgomery was actively represented in the firm by his son, Sylvester R. After three years of successful business, he sold his interest in the store to William E. Horn. He is devoting himself at present to the management of his large real estate interests, including a fine farm of 280 acres in Truro Township, this county, 500 aeres of timber and prairie land in Missouri, and 1,800 acres in Indiana. Mr. Montgomery lives in a comfortable home at 253 Eigh- teenth Street, Columbus. He has three children living, his eldest son, James M. Montgomery, Junior, having died in 1890, leaving a widow and three little boys, also a son who died in infancy, and a daughter aged 17 years. The three sur- viving children are : Mrs. Charles F. Guthridge, Sylvester Ranney and Leon Justin.

848

HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

MATTHEW J. BERGIN

[Portrait opposite page 672.]

Was born February 17, 1857, in Nashville, Tennessee, but he has lived all his life in Columbus. His parents, Thomas and Margaret Bergin, natives of Ireland, came to this country about 1850, and were married in Columbus in April, 1855, but removed soon afterward to Nashville. Returning to Columbus in the follow - ing year, his father started in the grocery business on High Street, and continued in that pursuit until 1889, when he retired from active business. Mr. Bergin's mother died on October 21, 1892. Mr. Bergin's early education was received at St. Patrick's Parochial School, which he attended until he was fourteen years of age, when he entered St. Aloysius Seminary at the establishment of that institu- tion by Bishop Rosecrans. He remained there two years. On leaving the Semi- nary he entered E. K. Bryan's Business College, in which he finished the course in about two years. On quitting school he entered his father's grocery, in which he remained until 1880, when he was elected Secretary of the Columbus Police Board. He held this position until March 1, 1886, when he resigned, having entered into partnership with Mr. Thomas J. Dundon for the purpose of carrying on the lumber business. In this enterprise the firm of Dundon & Bergin has met with the most signal success, and their mills and yards are among the largest and best in the city. Mr. Bergin was married May 14, 1884, to Miss Theresa Burns, daughter of Mr. Michael Burns, Police Commissioner. Mr. and Mrs. Bergin have three children : Ralph, aged seven years, Helen four years, and Matthew one year. Mr. Bergin is a stanch Democrat, a thorough business man, and a popular and valued citizen.

THOMAS J. DUNDON

[Portrait opposite page 448.]

Stands in the front rank of prominent and successful Irish-American citizens in Ohio's Capital. Mr. Dundon was born on April 15, 1854, in Askeaton, County Limerick, Ireland. His parents, John and Mary Dundon, emigrated to this coun- try in August of the same year, and located in Columbus, where they have since resided. Mr. Dundon was educated in St. Patrick's School, at the southeast corner of Grant and Mt. Vernon avenues, Columbus. At the age of fourteen years he was employed by Abraham Carlisle to work in his planingmill at the northeast corner of Spring Street and Pearl Alley. Four years later he was promoted to the position of foreman of the entire place, in which capacity he continued until the year of the panic. He then accepted the position of foreman of Hershiser & Gibson's planingmill, at the southeast corner of Spring and Water streets. When Mr. Gibson retired from the firm he bought a third interest in the plant, the firm being known as Hershiser, Snyder & Dundon. Remaining fourteen months with this firm, Mr. Dundon concluded to draw out and handle lumber in carload lots for himself. This he did until February, 1886, when he and M. J. Bergin formed a partnership to carry on the Inmber business and the manufacture of all kinds of millwork, at the southwest corner of Spring and Water streets.

Mr. Dundon was married to Ella E. Berry on February 28, 1878, and has one bright little son named Frank, born October 20, 1881. Like his partner, Mr. Dundon is an uncompromising Democrat, standing high in the councils of his

849

REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

party. He held the office of Police Commissioner for four years, being elected on the Democratic ticket on the first Monday in April, 1882. He is an honored mem- ber of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, in which he was initiated in September, 1878. He was elected State Delegate of Ohio, June 13, 1888, at the State Con- vention held in Chillicothe, and at the National Convention held in Alyn Hall, Hartford, Connecticut, May 15, 1890, was elected National Treasurer, being hon- ored with a reelection May 15, 1892, at New Orleans. He is also a member of the Jackson Democratic Club of this city.

FREDERICK J. GOTTSCHALL

[Portrait opposite page 768.]

Was born in 1855, at Newark, New Jersey, and came to Columbus, Ohio, with his parents when he was three years of age. He has since resided continuously in this city, having been reared on the South Side, where he is widely known. Mr. Gottschall received a commonschool education, and in the year 1870 went to work for Mr. John Kienzle in the shoe business. In the fall of 1872 he entered the employ of Mr. Gus. Maier, the dry goods merchant, at the corner of Main and Fourth streets He continued to be thus employed until 1884, when he went into the drygoods business at the corner of High Street and Livingston Avenue under the firm name of Gottschall & Company. On June 12, 1891, Mr. Gottschall bought out the interest of his partner, Mr. John Kohl, the firm then being in bus iness at 397 South High Street, where Mr. Gottschall is still located. The subject of this biography is distinctively a selfmade man. By his diligence and business ability he has built up an excellent trade, and his store is ranked as one of the foremost drygoods establishments of the South Side. Mr. Gottschall lives at 934 South High Street. He was married in the year 1881 to Miss Louisa Leffler, daughter of the wellknown contractor at Marion, Ohio. Mr. Gottschall is the father of one child, a bright little daughter of ten years. He is a member of the Masonic Order, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Druids.

JOHN WENZ

[Portrait opposite page 792.]

Was born in Dilkirchen, Germany, on February 7, 1822, and emigrated to America on the twentyseventh of February, 1847, arriving in New York on April 15, same year. He came direct to Columbus, where he arrived April 30, 1847. and where he has since resided. Being a stone-mason by trade, he first engaged in work for a week or more on the Odeon Hall, afterwards accepting a position at his trade on Hayden's Rolling Mill, then being built, where he worked during the remainder of the summer. In the fall he went to Lockburne to work in a distillery, remain- ing there until the end of February, when he returned to Columbus and worked at his trade during the two succeeding months. He then secured employment on the Statehouse, then in process of construction, where he worked for the ensuing ten years, most of that time under the supervision of Joseph Edwards. At the conclusion of this engagement, Mr. Wenz entered into a partnership with Beck & Brother, under the firm name of Wenz, Beck & Company, in the stone masonry, paving and sewer business. In this he continued for about ten years ; afterward, in 1870, he went into business for himself. In the year 1883, owing to failing

54*

850

HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

health, he retired from active business, and he now lives in a comfortable home at 197 East Fulton Street. Mr. Wenz's parents came to America in 1851. Both are now dead, his mother having departed this life in 1858 and his father in 1863. He has one sister living, Mrs. Valentine Koehl. Mr. Wenz was married on July 7, 1850, to Miss Martha Elizabeth Whisker, of Columbus, a native of Germany. No children were born to them, but about the year 1865, Mr. Wenz adopted Lizzie Bolander, now Mrs. Henkle, an orphan girl, who has since made her home with him and will be the heir to his estate.

Mrs. Wenz died July 7, 1880, just thirty years after her marriage, to the very day. Mr. Wenz has a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and stands high in the estimation of the people of the South Side, among whom he has for so many years resided.

JOHN SAUL

[Portrait opposite page 736.]

Was the son of Pennsylvania parents, and was born in that State in the year 1812. He came with his parents to Ohio when only one year of age. He was a lifelong and respected resident of Franklin County, and died here on March 3, 1890. His young life was darkened by a terrible affliction that befell him while living with his parents on a farm a short distance east of what is now known as Bullitt Park. His father and two brothers were suffocated by fire damp in a well on the prem- ises, two of them losing their lives in an attempt to save the third. Mr. Saul resided on this farm until after his marriage, when he located on a farm north of Reynoldsburg, from which place he removed to Columbus about the year 1858, and engaged in business in a general store at the southeast corner of Main and High Streets, under the firm name of C. Eberly & Co. He was thus occupied until 1862 or 1863. He subsequently removed to the corner of Main and Pearl streets, when the firm became Saul & Bobb. Mr. Saul continued in successful business in this room for a quarter of a century, and his name became one of the most familiar of all the business men of the South Side. For the last two years prior to his death, he was engaged in the grocery trade at Number 74 East Main Street, under the firm name of Saul & Eberly, during which time their patronage grew to mam- moth proportions. Mr. Saul's wife, whose maiden name was Catharine Eberly, died in 1874, no children having been born of the union.

Mr. Saul was at one time, in his earlier years, a school teacher, and had charge of a district on Alum Creek, east of the city. He never held public office. He was a sober, industrious man, regular in his habits, fond of his home life and successful in his business. On coming to Columbus he lived on East Rich Street, in the house now numbered 464, and afterward moved to Third Street, be- tween Main and Rich. Subsequently he built the residence at Number 79 East Main Street, opposite to the grocery, and here he lived for twentyseven years and died at the age of 77. During his quiet, unostentatious life he acquired a comfort- able fortune, including the business property at Number 24 East Main Street, his residence and some other real estate.

851

REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

THEODORE W. TALLMADGE,

| Portrait opposite page 176.]

Attorney at-law, real estate operator and military claim agent, is a descendant of Thomas Tallmadge, who, accompanied by his brother William. emigrated from England in 1631, and located at Southampton, Long Island, where William died without issue, leaving Thomas as the progenitor of those bearing the Tallmadge name in America. Among his illustrious descendants the names of the famous Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, Senator Nathaniel P. Tallmadge of New York (sub- sequently Governor of Wisconsin), Major Tallmadge of revolutionary fame and General James Tallmadge, prominent in the history of New York City, are all worthy of mention.

Darius Tallmadge, the father of the subject of this sketch, was one of the pioneers who have contributed much in making Ohio what it is, and as much of his time and business was identified and known in the capital city he should have a place in its history as though an actual resident In his day of activity no other man was better known throughout the State of Ohio. He became promi- nent because he was a contractor for carrying the United States Mail in post stagecoaches, both on his own account and as General Superintendent of the Stage Company which monopolized that business in the State from 1833 until 1850. Columbus was the central point for the various stage lines and the general office of the company was there located. Most of the stockholders were residents, among whom were William Neil, William Sullivant, D. W. Deshler, Bela Latham, Peter Campbell, William Dennison, and others who are often mentioned in this histor .. Mr. Tallmadge being a member of the Board of Control of the State Bank of Ohio which met at Columbus semiannually during its existence for twenty years, and also for ten years serving as one of the most active Directors of the Columbus and Hocking Valley Railway, the office of which was at Columbus, con- tinned his identity with the interests of the city even subsequent to his stage oper- ations. He was born in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County, New York, on June 30, 1800, the youngest of the fourteen children of Josiah Tallmadge, who died in the year 1802. His mother died in 1810. At the age of twelve he commenced earn- ing his living. At the age of fourteen with his share, a small amount, in the divis- ion of his father's farm, he went to Dutchess County where his maternal uncle, Henry Hoffman, resided on a farm and where his first employment was as a tem- porary school-teacher. At the age of nineteen, near Varna, Tompkins County, where his brother Peter resided, he purchased a fortyacre farm, and at twenty- one married Miss Sarah Ann, daughter of Jonas Wood, a neighbor farmer. His ambitious spirit and indomitable perseverance led him, during the spring of 1825, to emigrate to the West. For a period of six months after his arrival at Mays- ville, Ky., his labor was on the wharf with horse and dray. He made six trips overland to New Orleans with horses for sale either for others or on his own account, but with little success. In the purchasing of horses at Wilmington, Ohio, he met William Neil, then president of the Ohio Stage Company, who subsequently proposed to employ him, first at a salary of $400, but soon increased to $1,200 per year. Thus he finally found a business to suit his enterprising ardor, and he became the General Superintendent and a partner in that company which proved his great success, a source of personal wealth, and a field for his attributes. He became a leading citizen of Lancaster, and was also noted as a progressive farmer and stock raiser. His private charities were bountiful. It was mostly through his exertions and influence that the Methodist, Episcopal and Baptist churches of

852

HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

that place were built ; he was also prominent in establishing the two lines of rail- way known as the Muskingum Valley and Hocking Valley which intersect in that city, he serving as director in each company. In 1847 he projected the Hock- ing Valley Branch of the State Bank of Ohio of which he was president during its entire existence, serving in the same capacity for many years when it was merged into the National Bank of the same name. He died at Lancaster, March 27, 1874, the funeral ceremonies being conducted in the Masonic ritual, and attended by Knights Templar commanderies from Columbus and other neighboring cities, he having attained the highest degree in the order and being generally known and esteemed. He wastwice married. His first wife died in June, 1849, and in October, 1850, he was again married to Elizabeth, daughter of John Creed, a prominent banker in Lancaster. He had no children by his second marriage. The issue of the first was, Theodore Wood Tallmadge, of whom we now write, and James Augustus Tallmadge, who died at the age of twentyfour at Valparaiso, Chili.

Having given this brief but interesting outline of his ancestry, the biogra- pher now enters upon a description of the active and useful career of Theodore W. Tallmadge. He was born at Maysville, Kentucky, January 25, 1827. In 1830 his father moved to Tarlton, Pickaway County, Ohio, and three years later changed his abode to Lancaster, in Fairfield County. His early education was attained in Howe's Academy in the latter place, his fellow students being the Ewing and the Sherman boys who have contributed so much in making the State conspicuous. After passing two years at Augusta College, Kentucky, and the fresh- man year at the Ohio University at Athens, he completed his college course at the college of New Jersey, Princeton, which conferred upon him in 1846, the degree of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in 1849. He was admitted to practice in the courts in the State of Ohio and the Circuit Court of the United States at Colum- bus in 1849 after pursuing the study of law for three years in the office of Henry Stanbery, the first Attorney-General of the State of Ohio.

Mr. Tallmadge removed his residence to Columbus in April, 1859. Previous thereto he had resided at Lancaster, having practiced his profession in connection with Hon. John T. Brasee, one of the distinguished members of the bar of that city, which was then very conspicuous because it embraced Thomas Ewing, Henry Stanbery, Philemon Beecher, Hocking H. Hunter, Gov. William Medill and other distinguished men. While in Lancaster he was also interested in the banking busi- ness, both in charge of a private bank in that city and as president of the Upper Wabash Bank of Indiana which attained a note circulation of $200,000. In 1852 he was active in the purchase and sale of military bounty land warrants, locating many on public land in the Western States then being settled. He also subdivided 160 acres adjoining Lancaster known as the Hop Company addition, being the President of the Company, which for many years harvested hops from fifty acres of land. He laid out additions to the cities of Keokuk, Des Moines and Dubuque, Iowa, in the early history of those places. He was connected with the development of the coal fields in Perry County on the Zanesville, Wilmington & Cincinnati Railway, and also at the confluence of Monday Creek and Snow Fork in Athens County on the Hocking Valley Railway.

When he removed to Columbus Mr. Tallmadge resided on a fifteenacre tract of land then just east of the corporation line, on Broad Street, which he subdi- vided, dedicating to the public what is now known as Garfield Avenue, from Broad Street to Mount Vernon Avenue, the addition lying between that Avenue and Tallmadge Street. He planted all the trees which have beautified that place by their growth and was a pioneer in the improvement of East Broad Street, now the most beautiful in the city. He also subdivided ten acres near the City Park in the southern portion of the city. He erected the first houses soon after the war granting the right-of-way for the Hocking Valley Railway track on his subdivision

853

REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

of twentyfive acres west of the Scioto River, and partly through his exertions the river bridge on State Street and the levee south of Broad Street were made. He also platted an addition in the vicinity of the Panhandle R. R. roundhouse and shops, in the northeastern part of the city, and 160 acres on North High Street contiguous to the State University grounds, then known as Northwood Villa ; there- fore he is marked as among the very first who foresaw what has since developed in the growth of the city, his various additions being at this time occupied by residences, schoolhouses and other indications of population. Among other real estate operations Mr. Tallmadge for one year subsequent to August, 1877, was the General Manager of a company which organized and was very active for coloniza- tion purposes in the State of Texas, with central office at St. Louis, Mo., requiring his personal attention, and hence his residence temporarily in that city.

In his profession, Mr. Tallmadge has made a specialty in prosecuting soldiers' claims under the United States and State laws. He established that busi- ness in March, 1862. His office on High Street, opposite the Capitol, became, dur- ing the war, a regular bureau, employing forty clerks, and he found it necessary to open other offices in Columbus as well as at Cincinnati and other cities in the State. Because of his extensive advertising and very energetic disposition his agency became very prominent, especially as his clients, numbering in the thousands, mostly soldiers, were dispersed among all classes of citizens in every village of the State. Becoming familiar with the acts of Congress and the orders of the War Department, as well as the rulings in the departments of the United States Govern- ment, he was enabled to dispatch this character of business readily and speedily, as well as to represent the interests of the claimants, even when not provided for by existing law. In some cases it was necessary for him to appear before the committees of the State legislature and the National Congress to obtain proper legal provision. At the close of the war he was the most prominent pension attorney in the State, and in the vicinity of Columbus had no competitor, his qualifications for success being testified to by all the officers of the State as well as his numerous clients and the other attorneys-at-law of the city.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume II, Part 116

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