USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 35
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Charles E. Perkins,
The present Chief Engineer of the Public Works of Ohio, where he has made a splendid record in the management of the State's water- ways, is a native of Akron, Ohio, where he was born on the 7th of May, 1850. His grand- father, Simon Perkins, came to Ohio from Con- necticut in 1800 and settled at Warren, Trum- bull County, as the representative of the West- ern Reserve Land Company. On his maternal side his great-grandfather was Judge Tod, father of Governor David Tod, a name that stood high among Ohio's jurists half a century ago. His mother was Mrs. Grace Ingersoll (Tod) Perkins. Young Perkins was educated in the public schools at Akron and at the West- ern Reserve Academy. He also attended Rens- selaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, N. Y., for three years, and the Columbia School of Mines in New York City for one year. Mr. Perkins has always been connected with the Republican party, and is an active worker in the ranks of Ohio Republicans. In the line of his profession
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Mr. Perkins was Assistant and City Engineer of Akron for seven years, and Surveyor and Engineer of Summit County for nine years, besides being engaged in general practice. In every instance he has given splendid satisfaction, and his record as Chief Engineer of the Ohio Canal System-an office in which he has been retained since his first appointment by Governor Mckinley in 1892-indicates the thoroughness of his work in his present position, and his practical education along the lines of expert engineering. Mr. Perkins is a zealous believer in inland waterways as a public necessity and an advocate of the building, across the Ohio portage, of a modern barge canal connecting Lake Erie with the Southern rivers.
His annual report for the fiscal year, 1903, addressed to the Governor and the State Board of Public Works, was an able and comprehensive paper containing an exhaustive argument on the practicability and advisability of inaugurating a system of extensive repairs to the canals and an improvement of their present defective physical condition, leading ultimately to the building of a barge canal from the Lakes to the Southern rivers, similar to that now being undertaken by the State of New York in the rebuilding of the Erie Canal connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson River.
In referring to the Public Works, in his message to the Seventy-sixth General Assembly, the Governor paid the following tribute to the report of Mr. Perkins, and to his personal record :
"In this document is embraced a very instructive and complete report by Mr. Charles E. Perkins, the Chief Engineer of Public Works, with his estimate as to what must be done, in order to place them in a useful condition for the future. This report I transmit to the General Assembly, together with this message, believing that it will receive the considera- tion which it richly deserves.
"Mr. Perkins is an engineer of integrity and great professional ability. His services have been devoted to the Public Works of Ohio for twelve years, and his opinions are entitled to much weight."
He was married in 1880 to Miss May Adams, daughter of Mr. Frank Adams, a prominent manufacturer of Akron.
Ralph D. Cole.
It has been the good fortune of few men indeed to achieve, so early in life, so great success, and win for themselves such an envi- able reputation as that achieved and won by Hon. Ralph D. Cole, of Findlay, Ohio.
At the age of thirty years, when most men have scarcely more than laid the foundation of a successful career, he has already come into possession of a large measure of its fruits.
He was born on a farm in Biglick Town- ship, Hancock County, Ohio, in the year 1873, and is the thirteenth of a family of sixteen children, all except one of which are still living. He is of Scotch-Irish descent, his mother having been born in Scotland; and he is the refutation of the adage that thirteen is an unlucky number. When a barefoot boy upon his father's farm, attending the country school and doing "chores," he developed a passionate fondness for books, and he has been a hard
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student ever since ; reading much and thinking much, striving to keep abreast of the times, and to become well informed upon all matters of general interest.
He graduated from Findlay College and subsequently, after teaching several terms of school, took a course in the law department of Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio.
After having served for two terms as Deputy Clerk of the Courts of Hancock County, he was elected to represent his native county in the Seventy-fourth General Assembly, being then but twenty-five years old. He succeeded himself in the Seventy-fifth General Assembly, and, notwithstanding a most desperate fight waged against him, chiefly on the ground that he was "too young," he increased his majority in that close county from 199 to 681 votes.
Because of his fluency of speech and the careful thought which he gave to every measure that came before the House, he rapidly pushed his way to the front, and was soon recognized as one of the leaders in debate. His grandmother was a Webster, cousin to Daniel Web- ster, the Sage of Marshfield, and her grandson seems to have imbibed some of the character- istics of his illustrious, though distant, kinsman. Recognizing his energy, adroitness and ability, at the special request of the Nash Administration, he was placed in charge of one of the most important of the taxation measures enacted by that body, which bears his name, and was instrumental in pushing it into early enactment. He was Chairman of the Committee on Taxation, member of the House Committee on the Municipal Code, and on the Code Con- ference Committee. No member of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly was more widely known for industry, sagacity and the fearless, straightforward advocacy of important measures than Mr. Cole. He refused a third nomination, and forming a partnership with two of his elder brothers, under the firm name of Cole, Cole & Cole, entered upon the practice of law at Findlay, Ohio. He was not long to remain, however, in private life ; for as the time approached to nominate a successor to Hon. W. R. Warnock to represent the Eighth Congressional District of Ohio in the National Congress, the Republicans of Hancock County, urged Mr. Cole to enter the race; and in April, 1904, after one of the most spirited contests, Mr. Cole was nominated on the 634th ballot. For nearly forty years Hancock County had been unable to secure this honor for one of her favorite sons, and Mr. Cole is the first Repub- lican who was ever able to bring the nomination to his county. As the majority in his district is very large, his election followed, and he is one of the youngest members of the National House of Representatives.
His forcefulness as a public speaker is widely recognized, and he was honored by being chosen as one of the speakers at the recent dedication of the Ohio monuments on the battle- field of Shiloh. Having arisen from the humble walks of life by dint of his own industry, and thereby coming in contact with all classes of men who toil and struggle, he is especially fitted to represent the whole people, knowing their needs and aspirations.
Personally he is clean, always standing for what he believes to be right; and he has the courage to advocate it, regardless of the results. His success has not been due to luck. He has achieved it by industry and sagacity, and by a genial disposition which makes him popular with the people. He is unmarried, and resides with his father, a retired farmer, in his spacious home in the suburbs of the city. Few men in public life have such bright prospects, and his friends confidently predict for him a still more brilliant career.
Charles Follett,
The venerable attorney-at-law at Newark, Ohio, a jurist, who practiced his profession for more than a half century, was born on the 14th of December, 1820, in Franklin County, Vermont. He comes from good old New England stock, and his family name is found to-day in the records of New England's history. Mr. Follett's parents were John F. and
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Sarah Lemira (Woodworth) Follett, both of whom were born in the same historic State. The father was a militiaman in the War of 1812, and during the remainder of his life was engaged in the occupation of farming. The "Niles Register" of the 17th of October, 1812, has an item as follows: "Governor Chittenden, of Vermont, ordered home the militia from Platesburgh, and the Folletts remonstrated," an evidence of the intense patriotism of the Follett family during the war of the United States with England. The great-grandfather of Mr. Charles Follett, Eliphalet Follett, mar- ried Elizabeth Dewey, a relative of the ances- tors of the famous Admiral Dewey, of Manila fame. A great-uncle, Frederick Follett, during the massacre in Wyoming Valley, was shot and stabbed nine times and finally scalped by the murderous Indians, but remarkable as it may appear, feigning death, he subsequently escaped and lived-without his scalp, which remained in the possession of the Red Devils. Mr. Follett was educated in the common schools of his native district, in an academy and a private seminary. He afterwards studied law and was admitted to the bar in October, 1845. He first attracted attention as a public man when, at the age of twenty-seven years, he was made Postmaster of Johnstown, Lick- ing County, Ohio, where he had settled. In October, 1848, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Licking County, holding the posi- CHARLES FOLLETT tion for two terms, being re-elected. From this position he resigned in 1852, and was elected to the Ohio Senate, representing the counties of Licking and Delaware. While a member of that distinguished body, Mr. Follett became early recognized as a man of extreme usefulness to his party and people. He took an active part in all legislation enacted by that body, and he was the author of the first efficient anti-liquor traffic act passed by an Ohio Legislature: "An act, to provide against the evils resulting from the sale of intoxicating liquors in the State of Ohio," passed on the Ist of May, 1854 (see Ohio Laws, volume 52, page 153). Its constitutionality was sus- tained by the Supreme Court of Ohio, viz .: Section 18 of Article 16, in these words: "No license to traffic in intoxicating liquors shall hereafter be granted in this State, but the Gen- eral Assembly may by law provide against evils resulting therefrom" (see Miller and Gibson vs. The State of Ohio, 3 Ohio, State Rep. 475). Mr. Follett is also the author of an act, supplementary to an act, entitled "An act to prohibit unauthorized banking, and the cir- culation of unauthorized bank paper, passed on the 12th of March, 1845, and on the Ist of May, 1854." Mr. Follett served one term in the State Senate, after the expiration of which he resumed his practice. In 1864 he was nominated by the Democracy of the then Thirteenth Congressional District, composed of the counties of Muskingum, Licking, Knox and Cosh- octon, as their candidate for Congress, to which office his friends believed him duly elected, having received a majority of 1,222 votes over his competitor, Columbus Delano, but Follett was counted out and Delano seated, upon returns and votes said to have been cast by
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soldiers in the different States and Territories and hospitals of the Federal Army. In Octo- ber, 1870, Mr. Follett was elected Judge of the Common Pleas Court for the Sixth Judicial District of Ohio, to fill a vacancy, and in the fall of the following year was elected for a full term of five years to that important position. In the fall of 1884 he was elected a Judge of the Circuit Court, Fifth Circuit of Ohio, a middle term of four years, and later was returned to that position, for a full term of six years, serving altogether a period of ten years. In political belief, Judge Follett is a bi-metallic Democrat, and is an ardent admirer of Jefferson, Jackson and Bryan, as well as of Judge Parker, for whom he voted in the last Presidential election. Judge Follett was married in April, 1842, to Mary Delia Lewis, who died on the 6th of July, 1902. By this union, he has five living children. In religious belief, Judge Follett is a Presbyterian, and is a regular attendant of the Second Presbyterian Church of Newark, Ohio, in which city he resides. The closing years of Judge Follett are spent sur- rounded by a host of friends, who appreciate his sterling qualities and broad human sympa- thies. He is a man of whom anyone would be proud to be a friend. He is a brother of the late Dr. Alfred Follett, of Granville, Ohio, and of Judge Martin Dewey Follett, of Marietta, Ohio, and the late John F. Follett, of Cincinnati, Ohio-once a member of Congress and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State. Judge Charles is the elder of six brothers.
Herman P. Goebel,
A leading attorney in the city of Cincinnati, representing the Second District of Ohio in the lower branch of the National House of Repre- sentatives, was born on the 5th of April, 1853, in Cincinnati. He is of German descent, his father, Christian Goebel, a cabinet maker, emi- grating to this country from Darmstadt in 1848. His mother was a native of Bohnfeld, Suabia, Germany. Judge Goebel received his education in the public and night schools of his home city, attended a commercial college, and is a graduate from the Cincinnati Law School in 1872. At the age of nineteen years he engaged in that profession to which he has devoted his life. When of age he was admitted to the bar and became identified with the law firm of Young, Crawford & Goebel, and later with that of Goebel & Bettinger. The latter firm continued in business until 1904, since which time Congressman Goebel has practiced HERMAN P. GOEBEL his profession under his own name, with offices located in the Mercantile Law Library Building at Cincinnati, Ohio. Judge Goebel in political belief is a Republican, and has occupied many positions of trust in the gift of the people. In 1875 he was a member of the Sixty-second General Assembly of Ohio, in which capacity he served with distinction. He was a member of the Judiciary Committee of that body, and through his efforts the office of court interpreter was created, also a law per- mitting appeal from the decisions of Justices of the Peace. In 1884 he was elected Probate Judge, and re-elected in 1887. After the expiration of his second term he again took up the
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practice of law, in which he became eminently successful. Judge Goebel is admirably equipped for the career which he has chosen for himself. He is a man of great abilities, high character and well-merited reputation for calm judgment and unselfish devotion to the public good. In 1902 Judge Goebel was nominated and elected to Congress by the Republicans of the Second Ohio Congressional District, and ably fulfilling that trust, he was rewarded for his fidelity to the people by a re-election in 1904. Socially, Congressman Goebel is a lead- ing member of the Masonic fraternity, a Scottish Rite Mason, Knight Templar and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He has been twice married, and is the father of three girls and one son. His residence is located at Rapid Run Road, Price Hill, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Thomas Barton Kyle,
A leading lawyer of Troy, Ohio, and mem- ber of Congress from the Seventh Ohio Dis- trict, was born on the 10th of March, 1856, in the city in which he has gained distinction in his chosen profession. Congressman Kyle is the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Barton S. Kyle, who served during the War of the Rebellion in the Seventy-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment and was killed in the battle of Shiloh. His early education was received in the public schools of Troy and at Dartsmouth College, in which institution of learning he spent two years, after which he studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1884, when he immediately took up the practice of his chosen profession. He has been pre-eminently suc- cessful, and to-day Mr. Kyle is recognized as one of the ablest attorneys in his part of the State. His ability as an attorney was early recognized by the people of his community, and in 1890 he was elected Prosecuting Attor- ney of Miami County. After the expiration of THOMAS BARTON KYLE his first term of office, having served with great distinction, Mr. Kyle was re-elected by an increased majority. For three years hc was President of the Board of Education. He was nominated and elected by the Repub- licans of the Seventh Ohio Congressional District to the Fifty-seventh and Fifty-eighth National Congress. During his activity in the lower branch of the National House of Con- gress, Mr. Kyle was a member of a number of important committees, in which he rendered important services. Since he became of age, Mr. Kyle has been closely identified with the Republican party, and he is recognized as one of the strongest and ablest men of his com- munity. He was married to Lettie Benedict, of Legrande, Iowa, on the 26th of December, 1883. Two children have been the issue of this union. Mr. Kyle resides in Troy. His offices are located in the Courthouse of that city, where he is engaged, in connection with his partner, Senator Long, in the general practice of law.
John J. Lentz,
Ex-Member of Congress from the Twelfth Ohio District, and attorney at law at Columbus, Ohio, is a lawyer of national reputation, and one of the foremost leaders of the
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Democratic party in the Buckeye State. He was born on the 27th of January, 1856, near St. Clairsville, Belmont County, Ohio, the son of Simon and Anna (Meyer) Lentz. His grandfather, John Lentz, was a native of Bavaria, Germany, and emigrated to the United States, settling in Ohio. Mr. John J. Lentz spent his childhood days in the country and so early acquired the rugged constitution that has proved of incalculable value to him in his unceasing struggle for success. Young Lentz obtained the first rudiments of an education in the district schools of his native county and the St. Clairsville High School, walking to and from that institution daily, a distance of five miles. At the age of seventeen he became a teacher and ultimately was appointed Super- intendent of the Mainville graded schools, occupying that position at the time he attained his majority. His salary earned thereby paid his tuition in college. Resigning his position as Superintendent of the Mainville schools, he entered the National Normal University, at Lebanon, Ohio, graduating from that institu- tion in 1877, after which he matriculated at the Wooster University. He was attracted to Wooster by Walter Q. Scott, who became his personal friend, and while attending that well- known college, Mr. Lentz won the second prize in the oratorical contest. Graduating from JOHN J. LENTZ Wooster in 1878, he pursued his studies at the University of Michigan, and was graduated Photo by Baker, Columbus, O. from there in 1882, receiving the degree of A.B. From Ann Arbor, Mr. Lentz went to New York, finishing his thorough education at the Columbia College, graduating in 1883 with the degree of LL.B. In the same year Mr. Lentz was admitted to the bar before the Supreme Court of Ohio, and since that time he has been continuously engaged in the practice of his chosen profession in the city of Columbus, Ohio. The years of study he had spent at the different institutions of higher learning had laid the foundation for his success. Mr. Lentz has always been a staunch and unswerving fol- lower of the principles of the Democratic party, in whose ranks he is a recognized leader of more than ordinary intelligence and ability. He is a man of commanding appearance, of great intellectual force and energy. As a political speaker he has no superiors. His argu- ments are both forceful and convincing; and a vocabulary almost unlimited, a power of statement that is inspiring with confidence and supreme logic are prominent features in his eloquence, whether in a political gathering or before Judge or jury. Mr. Lentz has rendered his party and the people in general many important and valuable services. He was a men- ber of the Board of Teachers' Examiners of the city of Columbus for five years and trustee of the Ohio University. In 1883 he was brought prominently before the Democratic State Convention for the position of Governor without his consent, and he received a large com- plimentary vote. In 1896 his name was placed on the Congressional ticket of his party, and he was elected to represent the Twelfth District of Ohio in the lower House of Congress by a majority of forty-nine votes, although the National Republican ticket carried the dis-
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trict by two hundred and eighty-four votes. Having served with distinction in the "War Congress," he was re-elected to a second term, and this time by a majority of seven hun- dred and twenty-two votes. In 1900 he was again nominated, but was defeated by Mr. Emmett Tompkins, a Republican, by eighteen votes, although President Mckinley carried the district by seven hundred and thirty-five votes. After the expiration of his second term in Congress, Mr. Lentz resumed the general practice of law, in which he achieved a high standing. His abilities and experience as a lawyer are acknowledged, varied and extensive, and he is considered as one of the most efficient members of the bar of his native State. In September, 1896, he was elected National President of the American Insurance Union, and since then he has been repeatedly re-elected to that position. Mr. Lentz was a law partner of the late Governor George K. Nash. His offices are located in the Wyandotte Building, West Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio.
Nicholas Longworth,
Attorney at law at Cincinnati, Ohio, and member of Congress from the First Congres- sional District of Ohio, belongs to one of the most prominent families of the Queen City. His great-grandfather, Nicholas Longworth, was one of the first settlers in Cincinnati; his grandfather, Joseph Longworth, founded the Cincinnati Art School, which stands to-day as a monument of that gentleman's public spirit ; while his father, Judge Nicholas Longworth. enjoyed the distinction of being one of the foremost exponents of the law in Ohio, and who stood high in the legal profession of this country. Congressman Longworth was born on the 5th of November, 1869, at Cincinnati. He received his early education in the schools of his home city, after which he attended Harvard University, graduating from that famous institution in 1891 with high honors. Returning to the Queen City, Mr. Longworth entered the Cincinnati Law School, from where he went to Harvard and studied for one NICHOLAS LONGWORTH year in the Law Department of that university. He finished his legal education at the Cincinnati Law School, from which he graduated. After being admitted to the bar he took charge of the large estate of Mrs. Susan Longworth. Congressman Longworth is a staunch Republican, and has served his party often and faith- fully. In the year of 1897 he was nominated by the Republicans of Hamilton County as a candidate to the Seventy-third General Assembly, but met defeat with the rest of the ticket. Two years later, however, he was triumphantly elected on the ticket of his party to the same position, in connection with Judge Harry H. Hoffheimer and Judge Carl Nippert. In 1901 Congressman Longworth was returned to the General Assembly, but this time as a State Senator, and in this position served the people with distinction. His name was placed before the people in 1902 as a candidate for Congress, and his election followed. At that time he was one of the youngest members in the National House of Representatives, but
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notwithstanding his youth he made such an enviable record that at the expiration of his term of office he was re-elected, in 1904, by an increased majority. Congressman Longworth is a leading member of the Stamina Republican League and of the Blaine Club, of which, in 1901, he was elected President. He also belongs to many social, fraternal and business organizations. During the last Presidential campaign Mr. Longworth was a member of the Republican State Committee, in which position he rendered valuable services. There is no doubt but that Congressman Longworth has a brilliant and useful career before him.
James A. Norton,
Is a name that stands out prominent in the contemporary list of Ohio's bright sons. His refinement, his honor and his zeal as a poli- tician have endeared him to a wide acquaint- ance, especially within the ranks of his own political party. As a public man, two charac- teristics mark him in particular-his personal popularity and his great efficiency. He was born on the IIth of November, 1843, at Betts- ville, Seneca County, Ohio. His father, Rufus Norton, was a physician of English descent, and came from a family of physicians. The mother of James A. Norton was Clarissa Waters, who came from Connecticut Puritan stock, and was married to Rufus Norton at Ashtabula in the year 1835. The ancestors of both were brave and chivalric people, and left their names on the army rolls of both the Rev- olutionary War and the War of 1812 with England. Dr. James A. Norton was educated in the schools of Tiffin, Ohio, and in the office JAMES A. NORTON of his father, where he became well versed in the profession of medicine. Much of his pro- fessional education, however, was acquired during the Civil War, when at odd hours he improved the time by studying the mysteries of a science that had been so enticing to his ancestors. When nineteen years of age, young Norton enlisted in the service of the Union army, and was chosen Sergeant. His regiment was the One Hundred and First Ohio, with which he served through its movements as a portion of the Army of the Cumberland. At Chickamauga he was wounded and seriously injured. In 1864 he was commissioned by President Lincoln, First Lieutenant, and assigned to duty as Post-Adjutant of Draft Ren- dezvous at Louisville, Ky., and he served here and at other points in a like capacity until mustered out of service on the 16th of October, 1865. In July, 1865, while on a furlough, he was married to Adaline Heming, daughter of Thomas Heming, a noted educator of Tiffin, Ohio. Returning from the war, Mr. Norton continued his professional studies, and, in 1867, began the practice of medicine in partnership with his father. Feeling the need of a change of climate, owing to hemorrhages of the lungs brought on by injury in the war, Dr. Norton removed to Hampton, Iowa, to engage in practice there, but returned at the end of four years. on the death of his father, to take up his large practice at Bettsville. In the fall of 1873 Dr. Norton was elected to the lower House of the General Assembly of Ohio, and served
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