USA > Ohio > Representative citizens of Ohio : memorial-genealogical > Part 12
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Mrs. Wilson, who was married to George C. Wilson on Octo- ber 27, 1859, bore the maiden name of Ellen Sheehy, being the daughter of John Young and Anna (Kimmel) Sheehy, a promi- ment, respected and well known family of Mahoning County, ex- tended reference to whom will be found on other pages in this work.
Cliab Alpers, M.D.
HE biographies of the representative men of a country, whether of a past or the present generation, bring to light many hidden treasures of the mind, character and courage, well calculated to arouse the pride of their family and of the community, and it is a source of regret that the people are not more familiar with the personal history of such . men, in the ranks of whom may be found agriculturists, artisans, teachers, business men, professional men and those of varied vo- cations. One of the creditable representatives of the medical pro- fession of Ohio of the generation just past was the late Dr. Eliab Myers, and as such he made his influence felt and earned a name for enterprise, integrity and honor. He was especially well known in the city of Springfield, where he practiced for many years. Turning his attention to teaching embalming and lecturing and demonstrating for the Undertakers' Association, he won a nation- al reputation in that field of endeavor, enjoying the distinction of being the first instructor in embalming, and the high art to which it has attained has been due in no small measure to his earnest labors. His name, for many reasons, is eminently deserving of perpetuation on the pages of history of his native State.
Doctor Myers was born in Springfield, Ohio, December 17, 1847. He was a son of Jacob and Mary (Miller) Myers, both na- tives of the State of Maryland, and of German parentage and an- cestry, being of good family, as clearly shown by the history of the same, many of its members having been professional men and leaders in the localities where they lived. Jacob Myers and wife were reared, educated and married in Maryland, and there they resided until after the birth of two of their children, when, in the early thirties, they came to Ohio, locating in Greene County, where they spent a few years, then removed to Clark County. They made the overland trip from the East to the Buckeye State with teams, the journey requiring six weeks. There were only the mere make- shifts of roads and the streams were unbridged, and they found a wilderness upon reaching their new home, but they were people of courage and grit and were in due course of time well established. After living several years in, the vicinity of Springfield they pur- chased land at Dialton, and there engaged in farming, and there Jacob Myers also ran a hub and wheel factory. He met with a
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large measure of success in both lines, and was one of the well known men of affairs in his locality. His death occurred when fifty-eight years old at that place, and there his widow continued to reside a number of years, and died at the advanced age of eighty- five. They were members of the German Reformed Church. Their family consisted of thirteen children, five of whom died in infancy, the others growing to maturity, and four of them are still living and are all well-to-do and are well known in their respective communities.
Dr. Eliab Myers, of this memoir, who was next to the youngest child, was educated in the public schools, and he began life for himself as a teacher which he followed a few years, studying med- icine in the meanwhile, and he took the course in the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, graduating with the class of 1872, and soon thereafter established himself in the practice of his profession at Fairfield, Ohio, remaining there seven years, building up an excel- lent practice, when, seeking a larger field for the exercise of his talent he came to Springfield, and for more than twenty years ranked as one of the leading physicians of that section of the State, enjoying a very extensive and lucrative patronage. Later he be- came vice-president of the Champion Chemical Company, in which he was very successful in a financial way. He next took up the study of embalming and was the pioneer embalmer in this country. Like everything else he undertook he went to the bottom of it, studied it from every standpoint and finally became an instructor in this profession, in connection with which he traveled quite ex- tensively, visiting every State in the Union, and every large city was familiar to him. He was for a number of years one of the most prominent members of the Undertakers' Association, and he de- livered frequent lectures to its members on embalming and kin- dred subjects, and was thus engaged for a period of fourteen years, finally retiring. He was one of the first lecturers and instructors in embalming in the United States, and he won a wide reputation in that field, becoming one of the best known authorities in the country on the art and science of embalming, not only as a lec- turer and demonstrator, but writer as well. His text-books are read in every country in the world where embalming is practiced and used. He was a recognized authority on every phase of this subject. He was the author of a valuable and much sought -- for work on the art of embalming, and the work has sold everywhere.
Doctor Myers was one of the organizers, also president of the Elwood Myers Company, a growing institution, now managed by a son of our subject, J. Elwood Myers.
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Doctor Myers was for many years a prominent member of the Clark County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He was a well known Mason, belonging to Anthony Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. He had filled all the chairs of the order and was Past Master of the lodge at the time of his death. Politically he was a Democrat and was loyal in his support of the party's principles.
Doctor Myers was married in Clark County, Ohio in 1873 to Annetta M. Baker. She was born in Clark County, and is now liv- ing at the commodious Myers home on East High Street, Spring- field. She is a daughter of Dr. Alonzo and Margaret (Miller) Baker, natives of Clark County, both born in Clark County, and dying in their native county, the father's death occurring in Springfield. He was educated for a physician and followed his profession in Springfield for many years, enjoying a very satis- factory practice and taking his place in the front rank of medical men here. He died when sixty-four years old. He was a son of Ezra Baker, also a native of Clark County, and he lived and died within its borders. His parents were pioneers in the county and State. The Baker family followed banking and farming for the most part. Ezra Baker married Ann Morgan, who was born in Ohio and who died in Clark County, when about sixty years of age. They were members of the Methodist Church, as was also Alonzo Baker and wife. To Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo Baker were born four children, of whom Annetta M., widow of Doctor Myers, is the eld- est. The next child was Mrs. Elizabeth Lupper, who is married and has one child, a son; E. S. Baker, third child, is a well known business man in Springfield; Blanche, the fourth child, died when about eight years of age.
To Doctor Myers and wife were born the following children: John Elwood Myers, who is manager of the Elwood Myers Com- pany, of Springfield; he is one of the best known young business men in the city; Glenn, the second child born to the Doctor and wife, died when two months old.
Mrs. Myers is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, by virtue of the fact that Cornelius Melyn, an ances- tor and a native of Holland, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, becoming an officer through his gallant conduct. Mrs. Myers and family are faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The death of Dr. Eliab Myers occurred at his beautiful resi- dence on East High street, Springfield, Ohio, on October 8, 1911, after a long, eminently useful and honorable career. He was popu-
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lar with all who knew him, being a gentleman of fine personal ad- dress, genial, obliging, courteous and high-minded, and he will long be sadly missed from his accustomed circles.
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John Foos
MONG the pioneer families of Franklin and Madison Counties of Ohio, no name stands out more prominently and shines with greater effulgence than that of John Foos, as the following extracts taken from a sketch of Joseph Foos published in the Columbus Dispatch at the time of the Centennial celebration in 1912 will show:
"One of the pioneers whom it is a pleasure in this centennial year of the city to honor is Joseph Foos, whose name is found in the list of the first eighteen men to respond to Lucas Sullivan's call for settlers of Franklinton, the town which he had located at the forks of the Scioto and Olentangy, the year before. Joseph Foos was then thirty-one years of age, having been born in 1767 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Thence he had gone with his parents to Harrison County, Kentucky, and there, at the age of thirty, he had married Lydia Nelson. A married man with the need to make a home of his own, he heard the call of Lucas Sulli- vant, himself a Kentuckian, who in 1795 headed a surveying expe- dition into central Ohio. Among his early occupations were the running of a ferry across the Scioto and the keeping of a tavern. In 1803 he became by appointment of the general assembly, one of the three judges of the first common pleas court of Franklin County, the others being John Dill and David Jamison. On the 8th of August, 1803, his associates on the bench ordered 'that li- cense be granted to Joseph Foos to keep a tavern at the house occupied by him in Franklinton for the accommodation of travel- ers, until the next court of common pleas for Franklin County, and afterward until the license can be renewed.' The tavern license was then four dollars a year.
"Mr. Foos served as judge five of the eight years for which he was elected and, in 1808, resigned to become state senator. From that time until 1828 he served as senator, with two short in- termissions, the first in 1812-14, when he was brigadier general of the fourth brigade of Ohio volunteers. General Foos, it will thus be seen, besides being the head of one of the First Families of Franklinton, was a conspicuous and energetic citizen. He had lit- tle education in the schools, but he lost no opportunity to fit him- self for the service of his fellows. An Irish schoolmaster who came penniless to the Foos tavern, was one of mine host's helpers
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in the matter of learning, entertainment being exchanged for book knowledge. Many of the general's letters, addressed by him to the governor during the military campaign, are on file in the state archives; and these, together with the account of speeches made by him in the senate and in the field, and his studies in physical geog- raphy, suffice to show that he was a man of unusual qualities.
"The year 1812 was a busy year for Joseph Foos. He was, in the early part of the year, a state senator representing the counties of Franklin, Delaware and Madison. He introduced the bill which was passed February 14, accepting the proposal of Lyne Starling, John Kerr, Alexander McLaughlin and James Johnston for the lo- cation of the capital of the State 'on the high bank, east of the Sci- oto river nearly opposite Franklinton,' and providing for the ap- pointment by the legislature of a director to superintend the sur- veying of the proposed town, to direct the width of the streets and alleys and to select the square for the public buildings and the lot for the penitentiary. He is said also to have suggested the name Columbus which was given to the capital by resolution adopted February 21. 'The state capital having been secured for its pres- ent site largely through his efforts,' says Williams' History of Franklin County, 'the original proprietors of the town presented him with a square in an eligible part of the city.'
"From legislation, Mr. Foos passed that year to war, the sec- ond conflict with England having broken out. He began as cap- tain but was soon promoted to the command of a brigade. June 2, 1812, he wrote to Governor Return Jonathan Meigs, that he had just returned from a visit to the upper settlements. 'Their appre- hension of danger,' he reported, 'is somewhat allayed, since they understand that they are to be protected.' He finds there is some objection to the location of the troops and believes that the number ordered out is too small. 'I expected,' he adds, 'to have the sat- isfaction of seeing your excellency before this time. If it is your intention to order the troops to Sandusky, I think it would be well (if you could leave headquarters) to be at Franklinton first, but your better judgment will decide the proper way.'
"As Brigadier General of the Fourth Brigade and command- ant of the Second Division, General Foos, on July 23, 1912, issued a division order, from which the following is taken as showing the spirit of the times:
" 'The declaration of war (the dernier resort of nations) has left us no alternative but a manly and dignified resistance. Whether we are to follow our countrymen, now in arms on the lake shore, and share with them the triumphs of conquest, or
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whether we shall be destined to some other point, where we may wear laurels of our own earning-in either case prompt obedience and decision should govern all our actions. After every exertion to preserve and secure an honorable peace with Great Britain proved abortive, the government was reluctantly compelled to sup- port the dignity of the national character by an appeal to arms, and we now appeal to heaven for the justice of our cause. What sea or ocean has not witnessed the insults of our neutral flag? Has it not borne the vestiges of our captured and shattered vessels ? Has not its impartial surface been stained with a sanguinary hue by the blood of our murdered countrymen, and its bowels the only tomb that an American could obtain?'
" 'For these atrocious outrages we have received no redress. Is there an American who breathes the air of liberty, or who treads the soil of freedom, who would not prefer the field of battle, or even the stake of torture, to the relinquishment of those sacred rights that have been purchased with a high price, even by the best blood of our ancestors ? And would it not be as inglorious for us to lose our liberties as it was glorious for them to achieve our free- dom ?'
"It was in response to such eloquence as this that the pioneers of central Ohio gathered at Franklinton and made preparations to march to the North where the British and their Indian allies were threatening the settlements. The news of General Hull's surren- der of Detroit to the British in August created alarm in central Ohio and there was a great hurrying of troops to the North. From Franklinton, General Foos wrote to Governor Meigs on the 25th that the five or six companies ordered from Franklin County would set out for the North on the following day and that Messrs. Star- ling and De Lashmutt, of Franklinton, had agreed to provision the troops at Delaware at sixteen cents, at Upper Sandusky at seven- teen cents, and so on in proportion to the distance.
"General Foos led his men north and, September 9, made an address to the army at Camp Barr, Sandusky Plains, which for fervor and eloquence well matched the division order from which the previous quotation is made. 'The astonishing fate of the army under General Hull,' he said, 'has justly excited much aların on our frontier and has exposed the inhabitants to sudden invasion by the savage allies of Great Britain. This cruel and relentless foe, instigated by the enemies of liberty, would gladly imbue their hands in the blood of your wives, your mothers, your sisters, your children, and traffic their scalps for British trinkets. These considerations induce me, under the direction of his excellency,
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the governor of the State, to collect and march you to this place. And here, my fellow soldiers, permit me to recommend to you the indispensable necessity of attending to the orders of your officers. They are generally men of your own choosing.' He told the troops they were their country's strength and hope and that the republic was earth's last remaining hope of liberty; that the five thousand militia from Ohio, with many other large armies from different parts of the Union, 'were rolling on, like an impetuous torrent toward the Canadas,' and that 'the sons of liberty will subdue that land of despotism and knock off the manacles of her slaves.'
"While the general was in the field, his friends at home nomi- nated him to Congress and made an earnest campaign for him, but he was on the wrong ticket and was beaten by Colonel James Kil- bourne. General Foos remained with the army to the end of the war and, in 1816, after the colonel served two terms, was again a candidate for Congress, being defeated that year by Philemon Beecher, of Fairfield County. Then he was returned to the state senate, where in January, 1819, he offered a resolution, reciting the advantages to commerce that would be offered by a canal across the Central American isthmus and requesting the Ohio senators and representatives to induce the federal government 'to apply to the court at Madrid for the privilege of examining the ground and opening a canal for the passage of vessels from the Spanish main across the continent to Lake Nicaragua, or such other point as may be found most practicable.'
"This idea of an isthmian canal, at last after a hundred years a certainty and almost an accomplished fact, marked General Foos as a thinker far in advance of his time. Many of his contempora- ries laughed at him, and his project came to be called 'Foos's Folly,' but that did not deter him. He opened a correspondence with the Spanish authorities and found them civil enough to fur- nish him with the required information in furtherance of his plan. He published a pamphlet, illustrated with a map, urging the great commercial advantages to be secured. It was a conservative pub- lic, engaged in other things nearer at home, to which he appealed, and nothing came of the agitation. But subsequently, when there was discussion of a similar project in Congress, Tom Corwin arose and directed attention to the fact that the proposition had origi- nated years before with a citizen of Ohio.
"While he served as senator, General Foos was for a second time a tavern-keeper and contractor for quarrying stone. In 1825, he was appointed major general of the state militia, an office which he held until his death in 1832."
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General Joseph Foos was twice married. By his first wife, who was Miss Lydia Nelson, he had two sons, Frank and Nelson, and two daughters. She died in 1809, and in 1812 he married Miss Margaret Phifer. They became the parents of six children, viz .: William, Gustavus and Lewis (twins), Clara, John and Joseph (twins). William married Sarah Mark and engaged in business as a manufacturer in Springfield, where he died. His wife died in New York City. They had two sons. Gustavus was a prominent business man of Springfield, where he died leaving two sons. Lewis was engaged in operating a tannery at Bellefontaine, Ohio, where he died leaving a son and daughter. Clara married a Mr. Norton, a merchant of Springfield, and died in that city. Joseph married Rebecca Stroup, who is now living in Los Angeles, California, aged eighty-six years.
John Foos was reared in Madison County, Ohio, were he was born on August 22, 1826, his father having settled in that county after his second marriage. He received his elementary education in the public schools, after which he attended the college at Dela- ware, Ohio, and upon leaving school was employed for about a year in a bank at Nashville, Tennessee. He then located at Springfield, Ohio, where he opened a dry-goods store. Later he engaged in the linseed oil business, in which he was successful, and till later was engaged in the manufacture of turbine water wheels and sewing machines. He then became associated with Phineas P. Mast and others in the establishment of a private bank, which became the Second National Bank of Springfield, and later the Springfield Bank. Mr. Foos was president of this institu- tion for a number of years, when failing health compelled him to resign and he was succeeded by his nephew, William F. Foos. During his active business career he purchased the pat- ents and engaged in the manufacture of the Foos gas engine, which has been one of the most successful engines of that class on the market. The company he organized is still in existence under the presidency and management of Scipio E. Baker, his son-in-law.
In his political views, Mr. Foos was an unswerving Republi- can, though he never sought office. He was a delegate to the Re- publican National Convention that nominated General Benjamin Harrison for president and was otherwise active in behalf of his party organization. He belonged to no church, his views on that subject being as broad and liberal as the Unitarian idea, and he was a member of no secret or benevolent society. In 1874 he built a home, almost palatial in its appointments, at 810 East High street, where he passed the closing years of his life, surrounded by
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his family and his books. He was a great reader and had a fine private library. He possessed a remarkable memory and was, in short, a cultured, polished gentleman. His death occurred on Sep- tember 29, 1908. His widow still lives in the beautiful home, where she has many interesting heirlooms, including a fine hand-carved hall clock, which was imported by her grandfather, James Mark, more than a century ago. All these relics and mementos are highly prized by her on account of their historic value and family associ- ations.
In 1855 John Foos and Samantha Mark were united in mar- riage in Madison County. She was born in Van Wert County, Ohio, December 12, 1838, but when a child her parents removed to Mad- ison County. She is a daughter of Washington and Hannah (Hay- den) Mark, both natives of Ohio, the father of Madison and the mother of Pike County. Her grandparents, James and Nancy (Van Kirk) Mark, were natives of Virginia, but left that State and settled in Kentucky, whence they removed to Madison County, being among the pioneer families of that locality, where James Mark became the owner of a military grant of land, and later the owner of about one thousand acres of fine farming land. He was a son of William Mark, who came to Ohio from Kentucky in an early day, and his will was the first one recorded in the Clark County records at Springfield. James and Nancy Mark were the parents of ten children. Eliza married John Taylor, of Madison County, and they both died in that county leaving five children. Elizabeth became the wife of Lawson Bradley, a large land owner and farmer of Madison County. They passed their lives on the old homestead there and left several children. Sarah married William Foos, an elder brother of John Foos, who for years was a well known business man of Springfield. Lucinda became the wife of Rev. Jesse Ferguson, a minister of the Christian Church in Ohio and Tennessee, and both are now deceased. Matilda married Gustavus Foos, and died in the prime of life, leaving no children. Jackson and Jefferson died in early childhood. James died unmarried when he was about twenty-five years of age. Prior to his death he was associated with his brother Mathias in the management of his father's large estate in Madison County. Mathias died when about forty years old, a few months after his marriage, leaving no issue.
Washington and Hannah Mark, after their marriage, settled in Van Wert County, where their five children were born. About 1854, they removed to Madison County, where he became the owner of some sixteen hundred acres of good land, and was extensively
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John Foos
engaged in raising live stock. On September 19, 1868, while on the way to market with a shipment of stock, he was killed in a railroad wreck near Massilon, Ohio. His widow died on July 14, 1871. They were members of the Christian Church. Of their children, two died in early childhood; Samantha is the widow of John Foos, the immediate subject of this review; Mary Ann died after reaching the age of maturity, and Melvina now lives in London, Ohio. She has never married and is the owner of fifteen hundred acres of land, which is cultivated under her personal supervision.
Seven children were born to John and Samantha Foos. Anna was educated in the Springfield city schools and has never mar- ried; Harry died at the age of eleven months; Mabel became the wife of Richard W. Knott, proprietor of the St. Louis Post, after graduating at Vassar College, and died a few months after her marriage; Paul lives in Springfield and is in poor health; Jessie is the wife of Scipio E. Baker, who is now president of the Foos Gas Engine and Chemical Company, and also of a salt company in Kansas, and they have one daughter, Margaret, now attending school at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; George Mark owns and oper- ates a plantation of two thousand acres near Baton Rouge, Louisi- ana; he married Leah, daughter of E. S. Kelley, of Springfield, and. their children are Patti Linn and Edwin Kelley; and Clara who died at the age of eleven months.
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