USA > Ohio > Representative men of Ohio, 1900-1903 > Part 10
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On the 28th of April, 1878, he was married to Miss Emma A. Morris, and the result of this union is four boys, two of whom are married. It is a noteworthy fact in connection with the marriage of Mr. Morris, that his wife did not change her name when entering the state of wedlock, a condition that pre- vailed when Mrs. Morris' mother was married many years ago. This is an almost unprecedented incident.
Mr. Morris has always been a Republican serving the party in the ranks, until called by Governor Nash to the Railroad Commissionership. He is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Order of Railway Conductors, an organization that was a unit for his appointment, urging his supreme fitness for selection. The Fifty-seventh General Assembly, April 5, 1867, created and organized the department of Railroads and Telegraphs, and from General George B. Wright, the first Com- missioner, still living, to the present incumbent many bright and strong men have been Commissioners, but the record of the office under Mr. Morris will compare favorably with that of any of his predecessors. He is the right man in the right place, and the administration has no more competent or popular official.
HON. JAMES C. MORRIS.
HON. M. D. RATCHFORD.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
Hon. M. D. Ratchford.
The department of Ohio Labor statistics was created by a statute enacted by the Ohio General Assembly in 1877, during the administration of Governor Thomas L. Young, and since its establishment has grown in power and influence in behalf of the industrial, social, educational and sanitary con- ditions of the laboring classes and of the productive and manu- facturing industries of the State.
The present Commisisoner, Hon. Michael D. Ratchford, of Stark county, Ohio, is among the leaders who have devoted years to the betterment of the conditions of the laboring classes and the history of wage-earning of the country. Mr. Ratchford is of Irish birth, having first seen the light of day in the historic county of Clare, Ireland, in 1860. In 1872 his parents emigrated to this country and settled in Stark county. At the age of twelve he entered the mines, and for more than twenty years was en- gaged in the hard work that belongs to the mining business. Here he first studied the conditions of the men who delve under ground, and resolved that he would do something in their behalf if the opportunity offered. He attended evening school for several years and prepared himself for that leadership among his fellow- workmen which he afterward assumed, and secured an excellent education under these unpropitious circumstances.
He early allied himself with organized labor and became a strong trade unionist, devoting much time and energy to the or- ganization of the mine workers. His efforts in behalf of the men were appreciated ; for in 1890-92 he served as President of the Massillon, Ohio, miners, afterward as a general organizer 1893-4, President Ohio Miners 1895-6, President of the United Mine Workers of America, 1897-8, during the latter term of office con- ducting a successful national strike of the bituminous coal miners. During this period he established and put into practice a working day of eight hours; instituted mutual relations and an annual wage contract between mine workers and operators through which srtikes have since been averted, and made uniform the conditions of mining throughout the bituminous coal fields.
When the National Industrial Commission was created by act of Congress in 1898, Mr. Ratchford was appointed by President
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Mckinley a member of that body, and he served with credit for nearly two years. His reports prepared during the term of service were singularly complete and made a strong addition to the in- formation gleaned by the Commission on the subject of the indus- trial condition of the country. Soon after the first inauguration of Gov. Nash, or April 25, 1900, Mr. Ratchford was appointed Commissioner of Labor Statistics, and so excellent was his ad- ministration that two years later he was re-appointed for a second term. During his term the department has taken a high place in the affairs of state and much has been accomplished for the improvement of the status of the wage-earner of the state, due entirely to the masterful management of the office by the present incumbent.
Commissioner Ratchford is a strong and active Republican, and believes that the condition of the workingmen is best when the management of state and national affairs is in the hands of that party. He is a forcible public speaker and his services are in demand in every campaign. Having spent his life, either in the mines or as an advocate of the miners' cause, as well as being the warm friend of all who toil, his position as a leader is secure, made so by years of service in that behalf. Mr. Ratchford was married in 1885 to Deborah C. Jorden, who, with their pleasant little family of three children, John, Isabel and Maggie, reside in Massillon, Stark County.
Hon. John H. Morgan.
The present efficient Inspector of Workshops and Factories Hon. John H. Morgan, was born in Wales, February 14, 1862. His father, David T. Morgan, and his mother, Elizabeth James Morgan, came to this country in 1867, five years after the birth of the subject of this sketch. They first lived in Newark, where the elder Morgan was employed as a puddler in the rolling mill, afterward removing to Cleveland, where they yet reside. Young Morgan attended school until he was 14 years of age, when he was compelled to earn his own living. He first engaged in a glass house until 1879, when he went to work in a rolling mill in Cleveland, continuing in this business for a number of years.
HON. JOHN H. MORGAN.
MAJOR A. B. CRITCHFIELD.
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He afterward lived at Bridgeport, and from there removed to Cambridge, Guernsey county, where he now resides.
Mr. Morgan has been prominent in labor circles and four times represented the Guernsey county lodges in the Amalga- mated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, during which time he was called upon to act as an arbiter in settlement of questions between employers and employes. He was National Trustee of the Amalgamated Association when selected by Governor Nash for his present post of honor, and served as Vice President of the organization also. In 1895 he was elected State Senator from the Eighteenth-Nineteenth district and represented his constit- uency with honor to himself and profit to them. The district is strongly Democratic, but the popularity of Mr. Morgan landed him a winner. On the 6th of October, 1890, Mr. Morgan was married to Miss Emma Wilson, and four children, three girls and one boy, deceased, have resulted from the union. He is a Shriner and Knight Templar.
His appointment by Governor Nash as Inspector of Work- shops and Factories was asked for by the labor interests that he had so loyally served, and his administration of the office marks the success to be attained by an official of Mr. Morgan's wide experience and personal integrity. He has been faithful, capable and upright. His actions have merited the approval of all peo- ple, regardless of party affiliations. He is conservative, kind and obliging, and withal competent for the important and diffi- cult position which he occupies.
Major A. B. Critchfield,
Chief clerk in the Department of Workshops and Factories was born on a farm in Ripley township, Holmes County, Ohio, August 23, 1863. He enlisted in the Ohio National Guard in the spring of 1884 and has served in all the grades from private to major, which position he now holds in the 8th Regiment of In- fantry. He served as Captain of Company H, 8th Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry, in the War with Spain, took part in the cam- paign around Santiago, Cuba, and was present at the surrender and evacuation of that city by the army of General Toral.
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An orthodox Republican in politics, he has filled the positions of clerk in the Adjutant General's Departmentu nder the admin- istration of Governor Mckinley; for one year Inspector Food and Dairy Department; Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue ; and is now Chief Clerk, Department of Inspection Workshops and Factories.
His great-grandfather, John Critchfield, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, served under Generals Washington, Morgan and Green, and was in the memorable winter camp at Valley Forge. He took part in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, storming of Stony Point, The Cowpens, etc. He was wounded at Cowpens, for which he received a pension during the latter years of his life.
His grandfather was Lorenzo D. Critchfield, one of the pioneer settlers of Holmes County, (then a part of Wayne County ). He was an active Democrat in politics until 1856, when he became a Republican on the question of slavery. He enlisted in the army during the Mexican War, but his company never got beyond the borders of the United States. His father, William P. Critchfield, now lives on a farm in Ripley township, Holmes County. He taught school for many years, but some time ago retired. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War and has been a patient but intense sufferer as a result of his service ever since. He is a Republican in politics, a strong and influential citizen in that community, enjoying the confidence and esteem of all.
In 1895, Major Critchfield married Miss Lavina Cammarn, who died January, 1897, of consumption. In July 1902, he was married to Miss Frances Bucher, of Shreve, and they reside in a pleasant home in the city of Columbus.
Hon. Joseph Bishop.
Chief among the laws enacted by the Seventieth General Assembly was that creating the State Board of Arbitration, organized May 29, 1893, the first appointments made by Governor Mckinley being Hon. John Little (R), ex-member of Congress,
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HON. JOSEPH BISHOP.
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from Greene county; Hon. S. N. Owen (D.), ex-chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, and Joseph Bishop (R.), a represen- tative of the Trades Unions. Mr. Owen was elected Chairman of the Board, and Mr. Bishop Secretary, and these officers have served uninterruptedly by re-appointment and re-election. Mr. Little died October 18, 1900, and he was succeeded by Hon. R. G. Richards, of Steubenville, a former Lieutenant-Governor of Ohio, and he in turn by Hon. Geo. W. Crouse, of Akron, May 10, 1902.
Hon. Joseph Bishop who has been a member of the Board and its Secretary through the administration of Govs. McKin- ley, Bushnell and Nash, is a typical representative of labor, and has the confidence not only of labor organizations but of em- ployers as well. He knows what it is to fail, but his labors in behalf of the arbitration of labor difficulties have been crowned with unusual success. Mr. Bishop has been an active participant in all the negotiations between disgruntled capital and labor in which the kind offices of the Board were sought, and an active agent in behalf of an amicable settlement of all differences. He has demonstrated his peculiar fitness for a place requiring singular skill, acumen and patience.
Mr. Bishop was born in South Wales, on June 9, 1839. He came to America with his parents in 1840, and four years later located with them in Pittsburg, where he learned the trade of iron puddler and worked in it for thirty years. His father before him, Joseph Bishop, was an iron worker all his life. When President Lincoln made his first call for troops in 1861, the subject of this sketch enlisted as a private in Company B, 13th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was chosen orderly sergeant of the company. At the close of his three months' service he enlisted in Company B, 102d Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was made First Lieutenant of the company, serving in that capacity until the close of the war. His father and brother served in the same regiment, his brother being Captain of Company E. With his regiment he participated in most of the active service of the Army of the Potomac with Couch's Division. He has always been a Republican, but never held a purely political office.
At the annual convention of the United Sons of Vulcan, held in Philadelphia in 1874, Mr. Bishop was elected National
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President, which office he held for two years, and during which time he prepared and established the first yearly scale of wages for the Iron Workers of America. While President of the Pud- dlers' Union he successfully agitated the plan of consolidating the various iron worker's unions into one compact organization. The result of this effort was the birth of the Amalgamated Asso- ciation of Iron and Steel Workers of the United States. This organization was instituted August 4, 1876. Into Mr. Bishop's hands was given the responsibility of building up and establish- ing the new organization. He served as its President until 1881, managing its affairs with marked success, when he re- tired from office and again went to work in a rolling mill, con- tinuing there until 1885, when he accepted a position as trav- eling salesman. He remained at this occupation until 1891, re- moving in the meantime to Columbus.
In 1861 he was married to Mary A. Wilson at Pittsburg. Four children were born to them, three sons and one daughter. Mrs. Bishop died suddenly while visiting at Cleveland, Ohio, September 21, 1901. She was a most estimable lady, being Pres- ident of the Mother Garfield Association, and actively engaged in relief work of the Grand Army of the Republic. Wherever there was an old soldier or his family in need of assistance, the kind hand of Mrs. Bishop was in evidence, and her presence was a happy and benign influence.
Mr. Bishop is actively allied with several fraternal societies, being a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United Workmen and Improved Order of Red Men.
Mark Slater.
In the early history of the state the Public Printer was elected by the General Assembly, generally on the recommenda- tion of the Committee on Public Printing, but in 1860 the office of Supervisor of Public Printing was created by the General Assembly, the appointing power being vested in the Commission- ers of Printing. In 1864 the law was so changed as to vest the
HON. MARK SLATER.
HON. GEO. M. COLLIER.
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appointment of the Supervisor in the Governor, where it now re- mains. The first supervisor was W. O. Blake, by appointment of Gov. Brough.
The present incumbent, Mark Slater, was born at Dayton, Ohio, August 9, 1864, where he resided until his appointment by Governor Nash, May 1, 1901. His father, Calvin T. Slater, was an Englishman, and his mother nee Caroline Emiout, was of French extraction, born and raised in Canada. All of his adult life, Mr. Slater has been a devotee of the. art preservative, his first employment being in the United Brethren Publishing House, in Dayton, where he was engaged 15 years. He afterward had in charge the printing for the National Cash Register Company at Dayton, then embarking in business on his own account, in a job printing office, where he was engaged at the time of his appointment. He is a member of Typographical Union No. 57.
Mr. Slater is a true blue Republican and been an active factor in party management in Dayton and Montgomery county, ever since reaching his majority. He was a member of the Re- publican committee in his county four years, and has belonged to the Garfield club of Dayton ever since its inception. He served as Secretary of the Republican State Central Committee for two years and now represents the Third district on that com- mittee.
On February 25, 1892, he married Miss Lottie Aveyard, and two daughters have been the result of that union - Gladys, aged 8 years, and Charlotte, aged three. Mr. Slater is a member of the Maccabees, the Foresters and Elks. A first-class official and a popular gentleman, he unites all of the elements of political success.
Hon. George M. Collier.
The department devoted to the examination of steam engines- is among the late acts of the Ohio General Assembly and it has already become one of the most important in the machinery of the State. The present incumbent, George M. Collier, of Cleve- land, was appointed by Governor Nash, May 1, 1900, but after-
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ward the law under which the department operated was declared . unconstitutional, on account of a defect in the method of exami- nation. The Seventy-fifth General Assembly cured the defect by passing another law, whereupon Mr. Collier was reappointed May 1, 1902, to serve for three years. Under the old law the term of office was but two years.
Mr. Collier is a most competent engineer and his selection was a recognition of his true worth in his chosen profession. His father, Thomas Collier, was a New Yorker, and his mother, nee Susan Bemis, was a native of Massachusetts. The subject of this sketch was born in Elyria, Lorain county, in 1859, and lived there until he was six years of age, when the family removed to a farm, thence to North Amherst, Lorain county, where young Collier secured his education. He began his profession at North Amherst, and finished it with the Cleveland Ship Building Com- pany, where he was recognized as one of the most proficient workmen in the great establishment. He has resided in Cleve- land since 1888.
On the 15th of September, 1880, he was married to Miss Carrie M. Belden, the grand-daughter of the last son of a Revo- lutionary soldier in the Western Reserve, Eli Turney. Three children have been born of the union, two daughters, Alta Penney and Carrie Bessie, and one son, Thomas Alvin Collier. Mr. Col- lier has always been a stalwart Republican and prominent in the councils of his party in his section of the State, where his ser- vices have been most valuable. He has a host of friends, who esteem him for his personal worth, and his management of the steam engineering department has been a marked success. Quiet and unobtrusive he impresses all with his executive power.
Col. W. L. Curry.
The State Commissioner of Soldier's Claims is an important factor in the managment of the affairs of the commonwealth. Created by an act of the Legislature of Ohio, passed April 12, 1900, it has been an active agent in caring for the interests of the ex-soldiers, nobly fulfilling the purpose for which it was
COL. W. L. CURRY.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
created - for collecting the claims of Ohio soldiers and their legal representatives, against the government of the United States growing out of military services, and for the protection and relief of Ohio soldiers, whether in the service or discharged.
The Commissioner appointed by Governor Nash, Col. W. L. Curry, is an ex-soldier, and his ancestors were engaged in all the wars in this country since the Revolution, two brothers serving through the war of the Rebellion, one of whom attained the rank of Captain. His grandfather, Col. James Curry, was an officer of the Continental line in the 4th and 8th Virginia during the Revolutionary War, and was granted as part payment for his services, one thousand acres of land in Union County, where the family settled in 18II.
Col. W. L. Curry was born in Union County, Ohio, June 25, 1839. His father was Stephenson Curry, one of the pioneers of that section of the State. From his boyhood days until he reached his majority, young Curry worked on the farm of his. father, receiving his education from the country schools main- tained in the neighborhood. He also attended private select school at the old academy in Marysville, the county seat, and taught school in the country several winters. In the fall of 1860 he en- tered Otterbein College at Westerville, expecting to complete a scientific course in three years, and afterward begin the study of the law. But the breaking out of the war changed his palns, and in April, 1861, he enlisted in the three months service. When his Company was organized Mr. Curry was elected First Lieutenant, and the work of drilling commenced, but the quota of Ohio was. filled before the company was mustered into service.
Not to be denied the opportunity of serving his country young Curry enlisted in the first call for three year troops as a private in the First Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and for nearly four years he was at the front. At the organization of his company he was appointed Orderly Sergeant, and was promoted suces- sively to Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant and to the Captaincy of his company. He also served several months as Regimental Quartermaster. Col. Curry served through the war with his regiment, participating in all of the battles of the Army of the Cumberland, including the siege of Corinth, Miss., Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and the baptism of"
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fire that lasted all the way from Chattanooga to Atlanta. He was captured in battle, being a prisoner for some months, and after- ward discharged from the service by reason of "injuries re- ceived in the line of duty."
At the close of the war, Col. Curry returned to his old home in Union County, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 1875 he was nominated as a Republican for Auditor of Union County, O., and elected. He was re-elected twice, thus serving three succes- sive terms. On retiring from that office he engaged in the lumber business, to enter upon his present duties later on. He served as Assistant Adjutant General during both of President Mckinley's terms as Governor, and also in the National Guard of Ohio, five years as Lieutenant Colonel of the 14th Regiment O. N. G. Col. Curry has always taken a great interest in military affairs, and has written and published a history of "Union County in the War," a history of the "First Ohio Cavalry" and a number of patriotic poems, his literary talent being of a high order.
John R. Malloy.
One of the best known men in the politics of Ohio, is John R. Malloy, inspector of oils for the Southern district, and for nine years Secretary of the Republican State Executive Com- mittee. His experience in the managment of campaigns is wide and varied, and but few men have a better knowledge of politi- cal conditions in the Buckeye State. His acquaintance is almost universal among the men who have politics in charge in their re- spective counties and districts and his services at headquarters invaluable.
Mr. Malloy is an Eastern man by birth, but has spent about all of his years in Ohio. He was born in New Haven, Conn., July 16, 1856, the son of a veteran of the war of the rebellion. When but five years of age his mother died, after which his father enlisted in the army, serving until the close of the war. He at- tended the public schools of New Haven until II years of age, when he removed to Ohio with his father, and in 1868 took up his residence at the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Sol-
JOHN R. MALLOY.
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diers near Dayton, where his father was an inmate. He remained there attending school until the summer of 1869, when he was obliged to leave, the law establishing the Home not permitting children of soldiers to become inmates. He returned to Connecti- cut and was apprenticed to the printer's trade in the office of the Meriden Daily Republican. Upon the estabishment of the Sol- diers' and Sailors' Orphan Home at Xenia in 1870, he returned to Ohio and attended the Home school until the summer of 1872, when, having arrived at the age 16 years, he was discharged.
Being the son of a veteran of the war, and naturally bright and deserving he secured a place as page in the Constitutional convention of 1873-4, through appointment by President Morri- son R. Waite, who afterward became Chief Justice of the United States. He was Recording Clerk of the House of Representa- tives of the 62d General Assembly, and assistant clerk during the 67th and 68th General Asemblies. He was a member and Pres- dent of the Ohio State Board of Pardons in 1890-91, which posi- tion he resigned on being elected clerk of the House of Repre- sentatives at the organization of the 70th General Assembly, which he held through the 7Ist and 72d General Assemblies. He was the Republican caucus nominee for chief clerk of the House in the 73d General Assembly, but defeated by the coalition. He took a leading part in the campaign that resulted in the nomina- tion of Hon. George K. Nash for the Governorship, and after his election on the 15th of May, 1900, Mr. Malloy was appointed in- spector of oil for the Southern district of Ohio. He was ap- pointed for a second term of two years later, and still holds the position.
The Board of Library Commissioners.
The management of the State Library has been under the control of a board of library comissioners since 1896, appointed by the Governor, for a term of six years. The present board consists of Hon. J. F. McGrew, of Clark county ; John Mc- Sweeney, of Wayne and Charles Orr, of Cuyahoga.
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