USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 38
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Rees G. Richards,
Of Steubenville, Ohio, Common Pleas Judge of the Third Subdivision, Eighth Dis- trict of Ohio, was born near Swansea, Wales, on the 22d of July, 1842, and lived there until he had reached the age of ten years, when his parents emigrated to America and settled in the province of Ontario, Canada, from where they moved later to Tioga County, Pennsyl- vania. Young Richards studied diligently after reaching America, intending to take a thorough educational course, but on the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion he enlisted in defense of the Union, in Company G, Forty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was promoted to Sergeant, and at the battle of South Mountain, in September, 1862, was made Captain for "gallantry on the field." He was wounded on several occasions and was confined in a hospital in a critical condition for several weeks, but always reported for duty as soon as he could do so. He was captured in front of Petersburg, and, after experiencing the horrors of the rebel prison hells for several months, in company, with two other officers, escaped on the 17th of February and reached the Union lines on the 16th of March, 1865. Reporting for duty, he was made Inspector on General Curtin's staff. The war ending, Mr.
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Richards returned home, removed to Youngs- town, Ohio, and engaged in mercantile pur- suits. Later he studied law and was admitted to the bar of Ohio. He removed from Youngstown to Irondale, Ohio, and in 1873, and again in 1875, was elected to the House of Representatives in the General Assembly, rep- resenting Jefferson County with marked suc- cess. In 1879, Judge Richards was sent to the Senate. In 1881 he was chosen Lieutenant Governor, and he could have had the nomina- tion again in 1883 had he been willing to accept. After leaving the halls of legislature, Judge Richards engaged in the practice of the legal profession until he was elected to the Common Pleas bench. Judge Richards has always been an active, working Republican, serving as well in the councils of his party as on the stump in political campaign. He is a convincing, force- ful and eloquent speaker, and all subjects touched upon by him are capably and thor- oughly handled. As a member of the State REES G. RICHARDS Board of Arbitration he rendered signal serv- ice. Judge Richards is a man of broad human sympathies, and takes a keen interest in all movements for the benefit of the people. He is a lover and patron of the fine arts, and has materially assisted many worthy institutions.
FRANK EDGAR SCOBEY
Photo by Baker, Columbus, O.
Frank Edgar Scobey,
During the Seventy-fifth and Seventy-sixth General Assemblies, Chief Clerk of the Senate, was born in Miami County, Ohio, on the 27th of February, 1864. He is the son of William Scobey and Martha J. (Vandeveer) Scobey, well-known and highly respected people in that section of the State. The elder Scobey was a gallant soldier during the Rebellion, serving with credit in the Eleventh Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry. The grandfather, John Scobey, was an old settler in Miami County. Mr. Frank Edgar Scobey was educated in the public schools of Troy, and early took an active part in the Republican politics of Miami County, serving as chairman of the committee and contributing to the annual increase in the size of the Republican majority rolled up in that county .. In 1897 he entered the race for the Republican nomination for Sheriff, and won the prize from seven opponents. He was
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elected by a large majority. So satisfactory were his services to the people, that two years later he had no opposition for either the nomination or election, and retired from that office in January, 1902. At the organization of the Senate of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly he was the Republican majority candidate for the Chief Clerkship, an honor to which he was elected. Having served with distinction, he was re-elected to the same position in 1904. During the sessions of the General Assemblies he took a high rank as a popular and efficient official, having the good will of everybody. His management of the place was without criticism, and he set high the mark by which similar officials will hereafter be judged. In 1889 Mr. Scobey was married to Miss Mary Barringer, of Miami County. Mr. Scobey is an Elk, Knight Templar, K. of P., Odd Fellow and a member of the Royal Arcanum.
John P. Maynard,
Civil Engineer of Washington C. H., Ohio, is a man well known all over the State. He is a native of Ohio, born on the IIth of February, 1861. His father, Judge H. B. Maynard, a distinguished lawyer, was born in Massachu- setts and came to Ohio in 1854, where he took up the practice of law at Washington C. H. Young Maynard obtained a thorough educa- tion in the common schools and High School of his native city and the Ohio State University at Columbus. After a course in the Engineer- ing Department of the O. S. U., Mr. Maynard started into business life as civil engineer and became active in the construction of railroads in the South and Southwest. For a long time Mr. Maynard has been connected with the Ohio National Guards, serving for fourteen years in the Sixth and Fourteenth Regiments. Captain Maynard has always been an active worker in the ranks of the Republican party, JOHN P. MAYNARD and has served his party in many capacities, but never held any elective offices. In 1900 Photo by Baker, Columbus, O. Captain Maynard was appointed to the office of Assistant Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives and was re-appointed to the same position in the Seventy-fifth and Seventy-sixth General Assemblies. After the death of Chief Clerk Burgess L. McElroy, Captain Maynard performed his duties as active Chief Clerk. He is a man of splendid physique, affable manners, and has a multitude of friends. His home is in Washington, C. H. Captain Maynard is still a member in good standing of the International Brotherhood of Confirmed Bachelors, of the Columbus Glee Club, thc K. of P., and the Maynard Division, U. R. K. of P., of Washington C. H.
Lionel S. Pardee,
Attorney at law at Akron, Ohio, is an active and aggressive exponent of the principles of the Republican party in Summit County and well known in the northeastern part of the State. He was born on the 28th day of August, 1865, in Wadsworth, Medina County, but the removal of his parents to Akron, when he was but eight years of age, led to his being
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educated in the public schools of this city, which has since been his home. Mr. Pardee entered into the employment of the Adams Express Company in his early years, but soon concluded to study law. For this purpose he en- tered the well reputed Cincinnati Law School, from which institution he graduated in 1892, being admitted to the bar the same year. He immediately entered into the practice of his chosen profession at Akron, and in his profes- sional experience has been connected with some of the most important cases in Summit County. In addition to his practice, Mr. Pardee has found time to take an active interest in the poli- tics of his local district. When the Senate of the Seventy-fourth General Assembly was organ- ized, Mr. Pardee was chosen Sergeant-at- Arms. During the session of the next Legis- lature, Mr. Pardee served as one of the Clerks of the Senate, while the Senate of the Seventy- LIONEL S. PARDEE sixth General Assembly reinstated him into his former position as Sergeant-at-Arms. Mr. Pardee is an able lawyer, a man of sound judg- ment, unassuming manners and of commanding appearance. As a matter of fact, it may be stated that he has a multitude of friends all over the State.
F. B. Archer,
Of Bellaire, was born in Bellaire, Pultney Township, on the 20th of May, 1858. His father, Rudolph W. Archer, died when he was but five months old. His mother is still living at the good old age of eighty-four vears. His parents were among the early settlers of Pult- ney Township. His father had quite a repu- tation as a singer, and taught vocal music in the surrounding country.
After the death of his father, leaving the mother with six children depending on her for support, the future of the boy did not look promising, and as a consequence the educa- tional advantages afforded him were meager.
At the early age of twelve years the boy went to work in the glass factory in Bellaire, and by the time he was seventeen years of age he had finished his apprenticeship at the trade, commanding the wages of a master tradesman in the business. His fellow workmen put him in positions of trust and responsibility in their craft organization. In 1885 he left the factory to engage in the stationery and insurance business. Two years prior he had been elected
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F. B. ARCHER
to the office of Treasurer of Pultney Township, serving two terms in this office, and this served to introduce him to the political field of activity. He served two terms as a member of the Bellaire City Council, two years as President of that body. He was elected Treasurer of Belmont County in 1889 and was re-elected for a second term two years later, leading his ticket each time. He was a candidate for State Treasurer at the Zanesville Convention in 1895, but was defeated for the nomination largely by reason of geographical consideration in the make-up of the ticket.
Senator Archer has served his party twice as the Chairman of the Republican County Executive Committee, and had the honor each time of increasing the party majority in the county. He has always been, and still is, an active member of that organization in the campaigns. Of recent years he has been engaged in the general contracting business. He has an interesting family of four boys and one girl; the boys, two of whom are voters, and like their father are ardent Republicans, one of them being a member of the County Central Committee.
Senator Archer was elected to the Seventy-fourth General Assembly of Ohio in 1899 and re-elected two years later, each time receiving the nomination by acclamation. This unusual honor was but the natural expression of the confidence of his constituents in his ability to look out for the interests of both, as partizans and citizens, of the joint Twentieth-Twenty- second Senatorial District.
He was elected President pro tem of the Seventy-fifth Senate, and upon the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Nippert, succeeded to the Lieutenant Governorship by reason of succession, serving until Governor Nash appointed H. L. Gordon to the place.
He has always been an ardent admirer of Senator Foraker, and naturally was the leader of his friends in the Senate. He was a member of the following committees in the Senate : Finance, Municipal Corporations No. I, Railroads and Telegraphs, Labor, Sanitary Laws and Regulations, State Buildings, Taxation. In addition to his duties on these committees, he was Chairman of two important committees, those of Public Works and Public Lands, and Manufactures and Commerce. A glance at these important committee assignments is an indication of the activity with which the Senator from the joint Senatorial District entered on his duties in the Ohio Senate. He was appointed as a member of the Conference Com- mittee that had the final settlement of the new municipal code. He entered into the duties of this committee with his usual zeal and energy, and did not miss a session of the com- mittee, which sat daily for two weeks. He is still a young man, active in the work of the Republican party.
William Vincent Blake,
State Senator from the Twentieth and Twenty-second Districts, comprising the coun- ties of Columbiana, Jefferson, Belmont and Harrison, in the Seventy-third General Assembly, is a man well known and well liked in the eastern part of Ohio. Senator Blake is a native of England, born in Chesterfield on the 28th of October, 1845. His father, Mr. George Blake, was a manufacturing potter, as had been his ancestors for more than two hundred years. It was therefore natural that William Vincent became an adept of the art-for an art it was with the Blakes, not a trade. As soon as he left the grammar school of Chesterfield, at the early age of nine years, he entered the workshop of his father as an apprentice. Senator Blake followed his vocation until he had reached the age of twenty-three years in England, when, in 1868, he emigrated to the United States and settled in Trenton, N. J. In 1889 Mr. Blake came to East Liverpool and accepted a position as "thrower" in the well-known pottery of Knowles, Taylor & Knowles. Soon the Senator became known as an artist in his busi-
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ness, a potter of the good old school. He despises the use of molds and other modern appliances in the manufacturing of pottery ware, but from a bit of clay thrown on the old- fashioned potter's wheel he fashions and forms pieces of art, such as all the modern machinery can never produce. Senator Blake made that beautiful vase which was exhibited by Knowles, Taylor & Knowles at the Colum- bian Exposition in 1893, and attracted the admiration of hundreds of thousands of vis- itors and secured for his firm a gold medal.
At home the Senator is very popular and prominent, especially in labor circles. During the great strike at East Liverpool he was a member of the Advisory Board. In 1897 Mr. Blake was elected to the State Senate by a plurality of 4,916 votes, and during the session he was an ardent and able advocate of all legislation tending to better the condition of all laboring classes. He also secured the passage of the Fair Ground Bill and some very important school measures. Senator Blake has always been a staunch and earnest Repub- lican. During the campaign of 1896, when Major Mckinley was candidate for President of the United States, Senator Blake headed a delegation of potters who went to call on Major Mckinley at Canton. On that occasion he made a speech which attracted considerable attention at the time among workmen every- WILLIAM VINCENT BLAKE where. In 1900 President Mckinley appointed Senator Blake one of the Appraisers of Indian Photo by Baker, Columbus, O. Lands, and in this capacity the Senator visited Indian Territory and for ten months was among the Creek, Choctaw and Cherokee Nations. During the session of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly, Senator Blake was one of the clerks of the Senate, and he occupied the position of Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms in the Senate of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly. At the Republican National Convention at Philadelphia in 1900 he served as Sergeant-at- Arms. Senator Blake has been married since 1872, and has nine children, six sons and three daughters. One of his sons, George T. Blake, served in Cuba during the late Spanish- American War, and is at present clerk in the office of Adjutant General Critchfield. Socially, Senator Blake is a member of the Royal Arcanum and an Elk. The Senator, whose home is in East Liverpool, is a man of splendid character, sound judgment and pleasant person- ality. He has a multitude of friends.
Rev. James Gillespy Carson, D.D.,
Of Xenia, Ohio, was born near Maryville, Blount County, Tennessee, on the IIth of February, 1833. His parents were Rev. David Carson, originally from Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and Jane W. Gillespy, of Blount County, Tennessee. His father having been elected Professor of Church History and Hermeneutics in the Associate Pres- byterian Theological Seminary, then located at Canonsburg, Washington County, Pennsyl- vania, removed to that place in 1834, where the subject of this sketch was brought up and
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educated in the common schools, Jefferson College and the A. P. Theological Seminary. He was graduated at Jefferson College on the 7th of August, 1849, in a class of fifty-four members, after which he taught for three years, first in a common school for nine months in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, then in a select classical school in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, during the summer of 1850, and afterwards in a classical academy at Hookstown, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, from November, 1850, until April, 1852. He entered the seminary at Canonsburg (now the United Presbyterian Seminary of Xenia, Ohio), where he was grad- uated March, 1855. He was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Chartiers of the Associate Presbyterian (now the United Presbyterian) Church of North America, on the 22d of June, 1855, and was settled as pastor of the congregation of South Buffalo (now Claysville), Washington County, Pennsylva- nia. In October, 1856, he removed to the . U. P. Congregation of Canonsburg (now Greenside Avenue), Pennsylvania, where he remained until November, 1869, when he accepted a call from the Second U. P. Con- gregation of Xenia, Ohio, in which he was installed on the Ist of December, 1869, and of which congregation he remained as pastor until the Ist of September, 1902. In 1873 he REV. JAMES GILLESPY CARSON, D.D. was elected Professor of Homiletics and Pas- toral Theology in the U. P. Theological Sem- inary at Xenia, which office he continued to fili in connection with his pastoral charge until 1888, when, finding the double burden too heavy to bear, he resigned and gave his whole time to his pastorate. In 1875 he received the hon- orary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the U. P. College at Monmouth, Illinois. He was married to Mary Houston Clarkson, daughter of Rev. Thomas B. Clarkson, of Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on the Ist of October, 1856, who died on the 21st of March, 1894. Rev. Carson was selected State Senator from the Fifth and Sixth District in Novem- ber, 1903.
George H. Chamberlain,
Attorney-at-law at Elyria, Ohio, is a man well known in the historic Western Reserve. He was born on a farm in Lorain County on the 2Ist of June, 1862. His early education was obtained in the district schools of his native county. At the age of seventeen he went to Oberlin College to pursue his studies, teaching school during the winter months to pay his expenses through college. In the fall of 1884 he entered the law office of E. G. Johnson, at Elyria, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar before the Supreme Court of Ohio in June, 1887, when he immediately took up the practice of the law. Since that time, with the exception of six years, from 1889 to 1895, when he lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he has continued to practice in Elyria. Mr. Chamberlain is a descendant from good old Vermont and New York State stock, and is a lifelong, enthusiastic Republican. Early in life he became interested
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in all political and patriotic events. Recognizing the ability and long years of faithful serv- ice in the interests of the Republican party, that party, as a proof of its appreciation, nominated him to the Senate of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly in the fall of 1901. His triumphant election followed. In a district nominally Re- publican by 3,000 votes he received a majority of 3,800. Having served with distinction, always true to his constituents and the people of the State of Ohio in general, he was nom- inated by acclamation for a second term, and on the organization of the Senate of the Sev- enty-sixth General Assembly, he was elected President pro tem of that body, receiving the unanimous vote of both Republicans and Dem- ocrats. After the death of Congressman Skiles, Mr. Chamberlain was prominently mentioned as a candidate for Congress, but failed by a few votes to receive the nomination. Mr. Chamberlain is a lawyer of high standing, wide experience and good common sense, who enjoys the confidence and respect of his clients and fellow practitioners. He is a married man and father of seven children. He is a trustee and member of the Official Board of the M. E. Church and a Superintendent of the Sunday School. He is prominently identified with the business and social life of his home city, and is a member of the Elyria Board of Educa- GEORGE H. CHAMBERLAIN tion.
Renick W. Dunlap,
Of Kingston, Pickaway County, Ohio, a member of the State Senate in the Seventy- sixth General Assembly, was born on the 21st of October, 1872, on a farm near Kingston. He obtained his early education in the district schools. At the age of fifteen he entered the public school at Kingston. In 1890 he matriculated at the Ohio State University in the second year of the preparatory class, graduating with his class in 1895, and receiving the degree of B. S. in Agriculture. Returning the following fall to his Alma Mater, he took three months of post graduate work in animal mechanics. On completing his collegiate course he received some flattering offers to enter professional life as a teacher in agriculture, and if his liking for the farm at the end of his college life had been the same as at the beginning of it, he certainly would have accepted the offer, but his intention when he entered col- lege was to devote his future life to the study and practice of medicine; but after completing the preparatory course in agriculture he found that there was more to farming than he had ever anticipated, and he concluded to finish the agricultural course, knowing that he could obtain a satisfactory position as teacher, if he did not care to return to the farm after the completion of his studies. However, the knowledge he obtained of the possibilities of scientific farming made him eager to return to the farm, and he has never regretted the step he took. He thought that if a person who had comparatively no education and business training could make a living at farming, surely a person who was well educated and who
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recognized business principles could make more than a living. That he was right was proven, for he became recognized as a thoroughly competent, successful farmer, and was made Secretary of the Local Farmers' Institute for three years and occupied the position of President of the same institute for a like period. He has been State Lecturer of the Farmers' Institute for four years. At the present writing he is President of the township School Board. In political belief, Senator Dunlap is a staunch Republican, and always a worker from the first year he became a voter. He was made Central Committeeman of his township, which position he has held ever since. Never a Republican vote is left at home in his township if it is possible to get it out. He has also been a member of the County Executive Comittee for ten years, being Treas- urer of the same for three years. He first came before the attention of the people for political honors when he was a candidate in 1901, for Representative from Pickaway County, but was defeated by only the usual Democratic majority, although one faction of his party fought him bitterly. This campaign proved him to be an energetic, fearless, honor- able young man, and in 1903 his party nomi- nated him for State Senator from the Tenth Senatorial District. He was elected with the handsome majority of 2,500 votes, which marked an epoch in Republican history of RENICK W. DUNLAP Pickaway County, he being the first Repub- lican ever elected from that county to the State Photo by Baker, Columbus, O, Legislature. Upon entering the Senate, he was made Chairman of the Agricultural Committee in that distinguished body, and during its session he introduced in the Legislature several important bills. The one which attracted the most attention is Senate Bill No. 18, regulating the sale and manufacture of commercial feed stuffs. He also is the author of Bill No. 97, to promote forestry in Ohio, and Senate Bill No. 138, to regulate the sale and manufacture of renovated butter, as well as other bills of minor importance. He has been Master of the Local Grange No. 160 for the past three years, and has been a delegate to the State Grange on three occasions. During his college career he was made President of the Townsend Literary Society and was elected Arbor Day orator for his class during his junior year. He was a member of the University Senate and took an active interest in the college sports, being a member of the Athletic Board and Treasurer of same, and captain and manager of the football team during his last year in col- lege. He attended the graduate school of agriculture at the Ohio State University, at Columbus, Ohio, in 1902. This school was one of national importance, and in it some of the most important subjects of agriculture were discussed. Mr. Dunlap is yet a young man, but he has won the confidence and approval of his fellow men, and his future is not uncertain.
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John Eugene Harding,
Of Middletown, Ohio, member of the Senate of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly from the Second-Fourth District, was born in Excello, Ohio, on the 27th of June, 1877. He is of English-German extraction, his father, A. E. Harding, was a native of Surrey, England, while his mother, Mrs. Christine (Bridge) Harding, was born in Pennsylvania of German parent- age. Senator Harding's father was engaged in the manufacture of writing paper, and organ- ized and owned the Harding Paper Company. His son obtained a thorough education in the Amanda public schools, the Penn- sylvania Military College, at Chester, Pennsyl- vania, and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which institution he graduated in 1900, with the degree of LL.D. Senator Harding is engaged in general business in Middletown, and is interested in several dif- ferent industrial enterprises. He is a staunch supporter of Republican principles. In the fall of 1903 he was elected to the State Senate, in which he served with distinction. While serv- ing in the Senate he was a member of the standing committees on Finance, Banks and Savings Societies, Universities and Colleges, Fees and Salaries, County Affairs, Villages, Commercial Corporations, Claims, Manufac- ture and Commerce. Senator Harding is a man of splendid physique, affable manners, sound JOHN EUGENE HARDING judgment and good common sense. He enjoyed the distinction of being the youngest member of the Senate of the Seventy-sixth General Assembly. He lives at Excello, Ohio, while his offices are located at Middletown, Ohio.
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