USA > Ohio > Memoirs of the lower Ohio valley, personal and genealogical : with portraits, Volume I > Part 8
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
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nomination. In January, 1902, he was elected chairman of the state central committee, and was re-elected in 1904. He was nominated for state senator in 1902 and triumphantly elected from the district com- posed of Dearborn, Ohio and Franklin counties. He was a delegate-at- large to the Democratic national convention at St. Louis in 1904 and was the Indiana member of the committee to notify Judge Parker of his nomination. Mr. O'Brien is a member of Lawrenceburg Lodge, No. 4, Free and Accepted Masons; Aurora Commandery, No. 56, Knights Templars; and a thirty-second degree member of the Scottish Rite. He is also a Knight of Pythias, a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fra- ternity ; and of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. O'Brien was mar- ried in 1882 to Miss Harriet, daughter of his old partner, Dr. W. D. H. Hunter. They have six children living. Cornelius, cashier Citizens National bank; Frances, a graduate of Glendale female college; Robert Emmett, a cadet at the United States Military academy, West Point, N. Y .; William H., Elizabeth and Harriet. The youngest daughter, Ruth, died in August, 1900, aged eighteen months.
JACOB M. BAUER, president of the Bauer Cooperage Company and director in the Citizens National bank, Lawrence- burg, Ind., was born in Cincinnati, O., in the old Flat Iron ward, Feb. 12, 1858. His father was a native of Stutt- gart, and his mother a native of Munich, Germany. They both came to America in 1850. His father was an old time boniface of Cincinnati, well known to all the old timers as the proprietor of the Washington hotel in the East End, which was so well known all over the country during its day, and especially during the war. He died in 1885, but the mother is still living; also a sister, Mrs. H. E. Ruigel, of Cleve- land. Jacob M. Bauer attended the public schools in Cincinnati, but left school at an early age to take up study of law. Not find- ing this to his liking he abandoned it and entered into the employ of Jeffras, Seeley & Co., first as clerk and then as traveling sales- man. During this time he and his brother, John G., made an extensive tour of the European countries. In 1879, in company with his brother, they started the cooperage business so well known the world over as. The Bauer Cooperage Company, of Cincinnati.
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In 1882, they removed their plant to Lawrenceburg and consoli- dated with James Walsh & Sons, retaining the old established name of The Bauer Cooperage Company. In 1894 the Bauer interest bought out the Walsh interest. These works employ two hundred and twenty-five people and have a capacity of twelve hun- dred whiskey barrels per day, this being their specialty. Nine mills are scattered through West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee to supply the staves necessary for the company's demand. These mills give labor to thousands of men. Politically Jacob M. Bauer is a Republican, dyed in the wool, and was chosen as a delegate to the national convention of 1904, which nominated Roosevelt and Fair- banks. He stands high in Masonic rank, being a thirty-second degree member of the Scottish Rite, a Knight Templar, and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias; several clubs at Cincinnati; the German Lutheran church; and is a contributor to all other churches. He was married in 1885 to Evange- line, daughter of Col. Ezra G. Hayes, the well-known capitalist and distiller of Dearborn county, Ind., and four children have come to bless this union. Two, a son and daughter, are now dead, and two daughters, Laura H. and Catherine E., are now attending the Bar- tholomew Ely school at Clifton, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Bauer have hosts of friends and their beautiful home is well known for its hospi- tality and social functions.
AMBROSE E. NOWLIN, collector of internal revenue for the Sixth district of Indiana, with offices at Lawrenceburg, was born in Dearborn county, Ind., in the year 1843, and has been a resident of the county all his life. His father, Jerry Nowlin, was born in Kentucky in 1806, but came with his father to Indiana while still in his boyhood. He passed his life as a farmer in Dearborn county and died there in 1873. Ambrose received his early education in the common schools, afterward graduating in the scientific course from Miami university, at Oxford, Ohio. From college he returned home and took up farming as an occupation, which he has followed ever since. In 1890 he was one of the five supervisors of the census in Indiana, and in 1894 was elected auditor of the county.
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Notwithstanding Dearborn county is generally Democratic by a majority of seven or eight hundred he was elected by a plurality of three hundred. After serving two years as auditor he resigned to accept his present position, having received the appointment from President Mckinley in 1897. Mr. Nowlin is a director in the People's bank, which he helped to organize twenty-two years ago. He is a Knight of Pythias and a member of Lawrenceburg Lodge, No. 4, Free and Accepted Masons. In 1870 he was married to Flora B., daughter of W. H. Baker, of Dearborn county. They have one daughter, Margaret, now the wife of M. W. Fisk. Their son, Oakey, after completing his education and becoming established in business with bright prospects for a successful career, was stricken with typhoid fever and died just as he was entering the twenty-second year of his life.
GEORGE C. COLUMBIA, vice-presi- dent of the Citizens National bank, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., is of English extrac- tion. A few years before the beginning of the Revolutionary war his great-grand- father, John Columbia, came with two of his brothers to America, and all three fought in the Continental army during the war for independence. After the war he settled in Maryland, where his son, William, the grandfather of the subject, was born. For a time he lived in Penn- sylvania, but died in Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1826. John Columbia, the father of George C., was born in Pennsylvania in 1799. When he was about a year old he went with his parents to Columbia, Ohio, and in 1819 came to Dearborn county. There he passed his life as a farmer and died in 1890. George C. Columbia was born in Dearborn county, Jan. 30, 1835. He passed his youth and early manhood in farm work, attending the country schools during the winter months. In September, 1861, he enlisted in the Seventh regiment Indiana volunteer infantry as a private, but in the following February was made a sergeant. He was with his regiment in some of the hardest fought battles of the war, among them being Winchester, Port Republic, Cedar Mountain, Sec- ond Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, The Wilderness, Spottsylvania C. H., North Anna River, Cold Harbor,
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Petersburg and Weldon R. R. He was wounded once slightly and at Second Bull Run was taken prisoner. Three days later he was paroled and sent home, rejoining his regiment in December, 1862. From June to August, 1864, he was under fire every day before Petersburg, and was in the two days' fight at Weldon railroad in August of that year. In September, 1864, he was discharged, returned home, and for the next sixteen years was engaged in farming and teaching school. In 1867 he was elected assessor of his township, holding the office three years. In 1873 he was made superintendent of the county schools for two years and at the close of his term was re-elected. At the close of the first year of his second term he resigned. He served eight years as recorder of the county, being elected in 1878 and again in 1882, each time without opposition, and was for three years a member of the Lawrenceburg school board. In August, 1884, he was appointed post- master at Lawrenceburg and held the office for four years. Upon retir- ing from the postoffice he also retired from active business pursuits but in January, 1899, he was elected vice-president of the Citizens National bank, in which he had long been a stockholder. In all the positions Mr. Columbia has held he has been noted for his careful, conscientious conduct of affairs and no man stands higher in the estima- tion of his neighbors. Mr. Columbia is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a Royal Arch Mason. Mr. Columbia was first married to Ann J., daughter of Julius C. Churchill. She died Oct. 26, 1881, leaving one daughter, Emma. On Dec. 29, 1887, he was married to Margaret M., daughter of Samuel Martin, and at the time of her marriage to Mr. Columbia the widow of William J. Fitch, by whom she had one son, Charles W. Fitch, now in the drug business at Lawrenceburg.
EDWIN M. LEE, mayor of Lawrenceburg, Ind., and one of the popular merchants of that city, was born in Switzerland county, Ind., in 1867. He is a son of Rev. Charles W. Lee, one of the best known Methodist ministers in the state. The early life of the subject of this sketch was passed in various localities as his father removed from one church to another. The greater part of his education was obtained in the public schools of Edinburg and at Moores Hill college. In 1887 he became connected with the G. Y. Roots Co. (now the Lawrence- burg Roller Mills Co.), and eight years later was made assignee of the company. After four years in this capacity the company was reor- ganized and Mr. Lee went to Muncie, Ind., where he engaged in mer- chandizing for one year, when he returned to Lawrenceburg. There
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he opened a mercantile establishment, which he has conducted ever since. Politically Mr. Lee is a Republican and has always taken a lively interest in political contests. In 1892 he was elected to the Lawrence- burg council from the Third ward, serving for three years. He was a member of the city school board for three years and in May, 1904, was elected to the office of mayor. He is also president of the Com- mercial club, a thirty-second degree Mason and a Knight Templar, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In church, lodge, and the community Mr. Lee has a deservedly high standing, owing to his genial disposition, his progressive notions, and his regard for his fellow-man.
CHARLES M. BEINKAMP, of Au- rora, Ind., auditor of Dearborn county, was born at Cochran, in that county, April 21, 1861. At the age of nineteen years he was graduated from the Aurora high school and entered the offices of the Crescent Brewing Company of that city as shipping clerk. After about six months in this position he met with an accident that disabled him for some time, and upon his recovery he went into the dry goods department of Robert Maybin's mercantile establishment at Aurora, where he remained for eighteen months. He then went to Johnson City, Mo., and took charge of the general store of Dr. J. W. Wheeler for a year. One of the customers of this store was the famous out- law, Cole Younger. After a year in Johnson City Mr. Beinkamp returned to Aurora and engaged in the grocery business, which he successfully conducted for about nine years, when he and two of his wife's brothers, Selwyn and William Mitchell, embarked in the manu- facture of brick, under the firm name of the Mitchell Brick Company, in which he is still interested. The company maintains and operates two factories, one at Lawrenceburg, Ind., and the other at Delhi, O. Ever since he became a voter Mr. Beinkamp has taken a keen interest in political matters, being a Jeffersonian Democrat "on both sides of the house," as he expresses it. For some time he served as a member of the Aurora city council, and in 1898 he was elected to the office of auditor of Dearborn county. In 1902, at the close of his first four years' term, he was triumphantly re-elected, leading the county ticket
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by a majority of 250 votes, being the first auditor in more than thirty years to succeed himself. His re-election in the face of this long one term precedent tells the story of his personal and political popularity, as well as his efficient discharge of official duties during his first term. In October, 1884, Mr. Beinkamp and Miss Maggie Mitchell, of Law- renceburg, were united in marriage and they have one daughter, Har- riet.
JOHN T. SHERRIFF, manager of the roller mills, Lawrenceburg, Ind., is a native of Toledo, Ohio. While still in his childhood his parents removed to North Dakota, settling at the town of Mandan. Here the subject of this sketch was reared and received the greater part of his education, though he attended school in the East for some time. He began his business career in the employ of the Mandan Roller Mills Company, with which he served for six years, learning the miller's trade in all its branches. In 1897 he came to Lawrenceburg as assistant manager of the Lawrenceburg Roller Mills, the largest mills in Indi- ana, with a capacity of eighteen hundred barrels daily. After one year as assistant Mr. Sherriff was made manager and under his control the mills have had a prosperous career, the products finding their way into a constantly widening market. As a miller and manager Mr. Sherriff has few equals. His training has been thorough and his natural adaptability for the work has enabled him to take a high rank among the leading millers of the country. He is member of the Masonic fra- ternity and of the Episcopal church.
R. H. COLT, attorney at law, Lawrenceburg, Ind., was born in that city May 21, 1860. At the age of seventeen he graduated from the high school and was the valedictorian of his class. From that time until he was twenty-eight he was employed as a clerk in a store or as a traveling salesman. During the last two years of that time he studied short-hand and in the fall of 1868 he attended a short-hand school, increasing his speed from sixty-five to one hundred and eighty-five words a minute. He was appointed court stenographer, and held that position through the year 1889, his teacher making the statement that he was the only one who ever left the school and immediately became a court reporter. In the meantime Mr. Colt had commenced the study of law with John K. Thompson, of Lawrenceburg, and in 1890 was admitted to the bar. In 1892 he formed a partnership with his old preceptor which lasted until the death of Mr. Thompson in 1898. Mr. Colt has always been an enthusiastic Republican and in 1898 he was
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elected chairman of the central committee of Dearborn county. His management of the campaign of that year was so satisfactory to his party associates that he has been continued as chairman ever since. He is a member of the Dearborn County Bar Association and was for ten years treasurer of the organization. He is a stockholder in the Greendale Cemetery association, one of the finest and best kept ceme- teries in the state, and has for years been prominent in its affairs. At the age of nine years he joined the Presbyterian church, in which he has served as deacon, elder and treasurer. In 1890 he was married to Miss Carrie G. Walters, daughter of Dr. Carl G. Walters, of Law- renceburg, and they have two children: Carl Thompson and Helen J.
GEORGE M. ROBERTS, of the law firm of Roberts & John- ston, Lawrenceburg, Ind., was born in Ripley county, Ind., in March, 1843. When he was about eleven years of age his parents removed to Quincy, Ill., and while living in that city he acquired his primary edu- cation in the common schools. In 1863 he graduated from Knox col- lege,. Galesburg, Ill., and for about a year afterward was a clerk in the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company's offices at Quincy. In May, 1864, he went into Company A, One Hundred and Thirty- seventh regiment Illinois volunteer infantry, as first lieutenant, serving five months and taking part in the fight with General Forrest, at Memphis, Tenn., in October, 1864. Upon leaving the army he entered the Albany, N. Y., law school and graduated from that institution in June, 1865. He first located at Omaha, Neb., and remained there for about four years, coming to Lawrenceburg in January, 1870. Here he has continued practice ever since and few lawyers in Southeastern Indi- ana have a higher standing at the bar. Mr. Roberts is a Republican and one of the kind that never hesitates to defend his party's position on all public questions. While living in Omaha he served one term as mayor and since coming to Lawrenceburg has served as mayor of that city three terms. In law, politics, official or private life he is recog- nized as a just and fearless individual, one who ever tries to be on the side of the right, and by his courageous course he has won the esteem of his fellow-men. Mr. Roberts is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in both organizations he is an influential factor in shaping their policy.
ARCHIBALD SHAW, postmaster at Lawrenceburg, Ind., was born in Switzerland county, Ind., Aug. 8, 1847. His paternal grandfather, John Shaw, and his father, William Shaw, were both natives of Paisley,
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Scotland. The father, John Shaw, and all his family came to America in 1816 and after a few months in Philadelphia came to Switzerland county. In 1825 he married Linda Rous, who was born in York- shire, England, but came with her parents to this country in 1812, on the merchant vessel "Packet." The war of 1812 then being in progress and the "Packet" being an American vessel it was captured by a British man of war and crew and passengers carried to Nova Scotia as pris- oners. There their passports were examined and being found law- fully executed they were released and came on to the United States. William Shaw was for many years engaged in trading on the river, making a number of trips to New Orleans, after which he engaged in merchandizing. He died in 1873 and his wife in 1892. The early years of Archibald Shaw were spent on a farm in Switzerland county, where he attended the common schools, afterward taking a four years' course at Asbury-now DePauw-university. From the time of his leaving college until 1898 he was engaged in various business enterprises. Ever since becoming a voter he has taken an active interest in politics, using all his influence to promote the success of the Republican party. For eight years he has been chairman of the central committee of Dear- born county ; has served as city school trustee ; and in 1898 was ap- pointed postmaster by President Mckinley. Mr. Shaw is a member of Lawrenceburg Lodge, No. 4, Free and Accepted Masons ; Dearborn Lodge, No. 49, Knights of Pythias, and is secretary of the official board of the Methodist Episcopal church. He has three brothers and three sisters living, one brother, Lucien, being one of the supreme judges of California. In 1873 he was married to Miss Hannah V. Fitch, daughter of De Witt C. Fitch, who was a well known resident of Lawrenceburg. To this marriage there have been born eight chil- dren: Ida C., Cora L., and William De Witt are deceased. Those liv- ing are Harris F., Edward R., John A., Ella M., and De Witt C.
ORVILLE S. JAQUITH, M.D., one of the best known physicians of Lawrenceburg, Ind., is a native of Dearborn county, having been born at Wright's Corners, Sept. 27, 1872. His father, Edwin L. Jaquith, also born at Wright's Corners, was in business there for many years, and died there in April, 1904. The family is of French extraction, the doctor's grandfather having been a native of France. Dr. Jaquith's mother was a Miss Anna E. Howard. In his boyhood he attended the common schools, where he received a good rudi- mentary education, and in the spring of 1897 was graduated from the Miami Medical college, of Cincinnati, with the degree of M.D.
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Shortly afterward he began practice at Lawrenceburg, where he has ever since continued, being associated with Dr. House part of the time. Dr. Jaquith was not content with merely receiving a diploma from a medical college. He wanted to know more of his chosen profession. Hence in 1898 and again in 1903 he took post graduate courses in the Chicago Polyclinic Institute, thus keeping in touch with medical progress, and placing his name on the roll of progres- sive physicians of the country. Dr. Jaquith is a member and one of the trustees of the Christian church. In June, 1900, he was united in marriage to Miss Maud Rinaman, daughter of Victor Rinaman. To this marriage there have been born two children: Mildred and Maurine.
GEORGE SUTTON, late of Aurora, Ind., was born in London, England, June 16, 1812. His parents emigrated to America in 1819 and located in Cincin- nati, Ohio, from which city they removed to Whitewater Valley, Franklin county, Ind. After he had spent several years at Miami university he began the study of medicine in Cincinnati under the instruc- tion of Prof. John Eberle and afterwards under that of Prof. S. D. Gross, a dis- tinguished authority on medicine. After attending three full courses of lectures at the medical college of Ohio he graduated from that institution in 1836. Two of his sons have since received diplomas from that cele- brated school. Locating at Aurora, he practiced his profession in his home city for fifty years, building up a large and profitable busi- ness. Doctor Sutton was a close and observing student and all of his writings are replete with original and valuable ideas. He contrib- uted largely to both medical and scientific literature, his articles hav- ing been extensively copied in various journals of the country. In the winter and spring of 1843 he wrote a series of papers on epidemic erysipelas, popularly known as "black tongue," a disease then prev- alent in Aurora and the surrounding country, and these papers were published in full in "Copland's Medical Dictionary," and "Numerly on Erysipelas," both standard English works. He gave much attention to microscopic study, and made valuable discoveries in regard to trichina and trichinosis, showing that from three to ten per cent. of
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the hogs in Southeastern Indiana are affected with trichina, and that the disease may assume various forms hitherto unnoticed by the profession. "His method of reducing dislocations of the hip joint," says Professor Pooley of Columbus, Ohio, "is a beautiful, original and practical piece of surgery, and one sure to be adopted by the pro- fession." In 1867 he was elected president of the Indiana State Medical society, an honor highly appreciated by him because he was not present at that meeting and had not sought the office. In 1877 he was chosen president of the board of trustees of the college of physicians and surgeons of Indiana and served in that capacity for several years, delivering the annual address to the graduating classes. As president of the Rocky Mountain Medical association he delivered a masterly adress before that body at its meeting in New Orleans, May 6, 1885. Although engaged in active practice in the different branches of his profession, he devoted a portion of his time to geol- ogy, meteorology and archæology, directing his special attention to the antiquities of the neighborhood. He made collections of fossils and geological specimens, and formed a cabinet of many thousand specimens, unsurpassed by another in this portion of Indiana, and valuable for their local interest. Among the subjects upon which Doctor Sutton has written are the following: Cholera, erysipelas, trichina, scarlatina, placenta praevia, parasites, dislocation of the hip joint, epidemics of Southeastern Indiana, hog cholera, glacial depos- its, formation of storms and causes of the great floods in the Ohio valley. Doctor Sutton was a man remarkable for independence of thought and action, and enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-men for over half a century. He took an active part in whatever was for the good of the city; was elected mayor of Aurora for three succes- sive terms; was a member of the board of school trustees for more than sixteen years, being instrumental in the establishment of the graded school system and the erection of the handsome school build- ing in the southern part of the city. On June 7, 1838, he married Miss Sarah Forlbre and by her had five children, four sons and one daughter, of which number only one son and the daughter are liv- ing. At the time of his death Doctor Sutton was a member of the International Medical congress; the American and Indiana State Medical associations; the Dearborn County Medical society, which he helped to found and which is now one of the foremost in the state; the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the Archaeological Association of Indiana; the Natural History societies of Cincinnati and Dearborn county, being president of the latter, and an honorary member of numerous other societies of similar character.
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