USA > Ohio > Representative men of Ohio, 1900-1903 > Part 11
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Hon. John Franklin McGrew was born in Steubenville, Ohio, April 3, 1854, and when but twelve years of age, removed
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to Springfield, where he has ever since made his home. He graduated from Wittenberg College in 1873, and was admitted to the bar in 1887. He has practiced his profession in that city ever since with the exception of two years spent as manager of the Republic Printing Co., Springfield, publishers of the Springfield Republic. On December 9, 1880, he married Miss Fanny Ludlow Bushnell. He was a member of the Sixty-ninth and Seventieth General Assemblies, and appointed a member of the board of Library Commissioners in 1896, and re-appointed in 1900 by Gov. Nash.
Charles Orr is a native of Green county, born in the village of Cedarville, January 8, 1858, the son of John and Henrietta Orr. He received his early education in the common schools of Xenia, where he spent his early life, embarking afterward in the book and stationery business which he conducted for some years with success. He afterward removed to New York, entering the service of Brentano, the famous publisher, thence returning to Ohio and settling in Cleveland, where he re-engaged in the book and stationery business, conducting what became to be known as. "The Old Book Shop." He was latterly appointed Librarian of the Case School, a position he now holds. He was named as a member of the board of library commissioners in the fall of 1898 by Gov. Bushnell, succeeding Capt. Reynolds, who went to the Philippines as a soldier.
John McSweeney is a son of the eloquent lawyer and ad- vocate, John McSweeney, noted in Ohio litigation for years, and was born at Wooster, Ohio, August 1, 1854. He received his early education, beginning in the Wooster high schools, and graduating from Wooster University, when but 22 years of age. He was afterward fortified with a brief season of work at the Boston Law School, and after a thorough course of reading in the office of his father, was admitted to the bar in 1879. He was elected Solicitor of Wooster in that year, and re-elected in 1883, when he stepped into the prosecuting attorneyship of Wayne county in 1883, and was chosen for a second term in 1889. In 1884 he was married to Miss Ada Mullins and they have an inter- esting family. He was appointed a member of the board of li- brary commissioners in the spring of 1902 by Gov. Nash.
J.F.ME GREW. PRES.
J. MC SWEENEY
CHARLES ORR
C. B. GAL
TH
LIBRARIAN
AND SEC'Y.
BR
STATE LIBRARY COMMISSION.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
Charles Burleigh Galbreath.
The first State Librarian was John L. Harper, and changes in the office were frequent until Zachariah Mills was appointed in 1824, and served until 1842. He was the author of the first catalogue of the State Library. In 1844, during the adminis- tration of Governor Thos. W. Bartley, the library was placed under a commission consisting of the Governor, the Secretary of State and State Librarian, the last named appointed by the Governor. In 1896 the Seventy-second General Assembly passed a law vesting the management of the library in a board of com- missioners appointed by the Governor. The first board under this act was Rutherford P. Hayes, Hon. J. F. McGrew and Chas. A. Reynolds. The present board consists of J. F. McGrew, Charles Orr and John McSweeney.
Under the increased area of usefulness of the State Library provided for by the Garfield law the department has become one of the recognized institutions of the State, and with each year is growing in popularity and usefulness. This has been brought about largely by the institution of the traveling library system and enlarged distribution of books. Thousands of people are now reached, who, from the organization of the library until six years ago, knew nothing of its treasures and its possi- bilities along the line of educational work.
Much of the success achieved by the State Library has been brought about through its intelligent management by Charles Burleigh Galbreath, who was the first Librarian appointed by the commission created by the Garfield act in 1896. He has served in the exacting and important position ever since. He is a born Librarian, admirably equipped for the post and through train- ing and education has added to the popularity of this educa- tional department of the State. He is a member of the Ohio Library Association, of the American Library Association, and of the National Association of State Librarians. Of the last- named organization he was president in 1900.
Professor Galbreath was born in Fairfield township, Colum- biana county, February 25, 1858. His ancestors were Scotch- Irish, coming from Ireland before the revolution and settling in North Carolina. Compelled to leave the State on account of their 8
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anti-slavery views they settled in eastern Ohio, near the birthplace of Edwin Coppock, of Harper's Ferry fame. Young Galbreath secured only what education could be had in the district schools and the New Lisbon High School. Later he entered Mt. Union College, graduating from that institution in 1883 with the degree of M. A. He was elected Principal of the Wilmot, Stark county schools, where he remained until 1886, when he resigned to accept the Superintendency of the East Palestine, Ohio, schools, where he remained eight years. Although re- quested to continue in this position, he resigned in 1893 to accept a place in Mt. Hope College, of which institution he became Pres- ident three years later. For two years he was editor of the Re- publican Reveille, published in East Palestine, Ohio.
For some time he was well known as an institute lecturer and was School Examiner in Columbiana county eight years. He has always been a Republican and was a delegate to State Conventions in 1893 and 1895. On July 28, 1882, Mr. Galbreath was married to Miss Ida A. Kelley, of Columbiana county, and they have one son, Albert W. Galbreath, born October 28, 1883. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has served as District Deputy Grand Master.
Dr. George Stockton
Was born at Bainbridge, Ross County, Ohio, April 17, 1854. He attended the county schools until twelve years of age, when his parents removed to Columbus. His education was continued in the public schools and in 1872 he was graduated from the Cen- tral High School. Having a natural inclination to the study of medicine, immediately after graduation he became a student of Dr. R. M. Denig, of Columbus. Completing two courses of study at Starling Medical College he entered Bellevue Hospital, New York, from which he graduated in 1875, not then quite twenty- one years of age. For several months he continued his medical studies, his diploma being witheld on account of age. In 1877 he began the practice of medicine at Chillicothe, remaining until the spring of 1880, when he was appointed on the staff of the
DR. GEORGE STOCKTON.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
Columbus State Hospital. His previous years of investigation had been along the line of mental and nervous diseases and his appointment gave an opportunity for the continued investiga- tion along his chosen line. To-day he stands in the front rank of specialists in that class of work.
Believing that private practice would give him a greater opportunity for professional renown, in 1890, he opened an office in Columbus and practiced for two years. But specialists in his line are few in the state, and Ohio feeling the need of the best men her boundaries contain, again sought his services under Superintendent Richardson in 1892. Here he continued his re- search of mental and nervous diseases with a still wider scope than ever before, his increased facilities for original investigation being an incentive for greater work.
Dr. Stockton belongs to that class of progressive young men of the new century whose work is doing so much to add to the sum of information known in regard to mental diseases of various kinds, afflictions that the generous heart of Ohio has done so much to improve. The Doctor's ancestors were pioneers in Ohio, sturdy and strong of body and mind. They have had a family history of medical men, for two uncles on his mother's side were practitioners, both having died in early life. He is a member of the American Medical Association, of the Columbus Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medical Association and the Alpha Mu Pi Omega Medical Fraternity. Dr. Stockton was elected superintendent of the State Hospital, succeeding the late Dr. Carpenter, October 23, 1902, and his twenty-two years of special research will serve him well in his new capacity. The Doctor is a Republican in politics. He is unmarried.
The Ohio Penitentiary.
The story of the Ohio Penitentiary since 1834, when the present prison was first occupied, is one of tragedy, for in that sixty-eight years. an army of men and women under the ban of the law have passed its gloomy portals to servitude or death. Twenty-eight acres of ground are encompassed in this tragic
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ground, and if stone and steel could speak what tragedies would they not reveal? What dark secrets? What records bring to light of hope and fear and despair? It is to-day one of the largest prisons in the world, and in spite of its forbidding aspect and cheerless surroundings, stands in the front rank of those institutions conducted on the highest plane of humanity.
It is not the intention of this article to deal with the meas- urements and figures of the Ohio Penitentiary. That will be left to other publications. It is merely sought to show that at the present time the prison is in the best of condition, due to the experience and efficient management of the present Board of Managers, assisted by Warden William N. Darby, the efforts of those two forces adding to the prestige of Governor George K. Nash, who is directly responsible to the people for the proper care and control of the prison.
The population of the Ohio Penitentiary at this time (July, 1902) is 1, 730 convicts. The institution is not self-supporting ; it never has been. The expenses are large and constantly in- creasing, while the laws in relation to the employment of convict labor are so hedged about that the income is greatly reduced from what it otherwise might be. But there are other things to consider in the management of such a place, besides the fiinan- cial end. Are the interests of the State safe-guarded? Are the unhappy people behind the walls treated with all the humanity allowable under the rules of a humane board and warden? Are the convicts made to understand that if they behave themselves they will be given privileges they could not otherwise obtain, thus instilling even into minds diseased the idea that correct conduct will be rewarded? Is the punishment such as would be warranted and approved by the modern methods of penology? All these questions have been satisfactorily answered by the present management of the Ohio Penitentiary, and the opinion is universal that never before in its history has it been conducted more definitely with an eye to the public good and of those be- hind the walls.
The efforts of the Board of Managers and Warden Darby have been to carry out the wishes of Governor Nash - to make the prison a model in its way, one in which the powers of the law of kindness should be exemplified, without varying one jot or
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3
4
5
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BOARD OF MANAGERS, OHIO STATE PENITENTIARY.
1. Harry S. Griffin,
2. Arthur J. Sheppard,
3. McEldin Dun,
4. Aaron Wagoner,
5. Captain Coleman Gillilan, 6. Frank Cook, Sec'y.
WILLIAM N. DARBY.
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tittle from the letter of the law, whose enforcement should be tempered with that mercy not always shown to the convict classes. Another reform instituted by the Nash administration is the improvement in the character of the food furnished the inmates of the prison and the increased number of able-bodied men as a result. The Warden and the Board of Managers thought it would be good economy to increase the daily menu, and this has had the result of allowing prisoners to earn for the State far more than the improved diet has cost, while sav- ing the expense of medicine, the loss of enforced idleness, and perhaps funeral expenses. The reform in this important matter has been accomplished by an increase in the cost of mainte- nance that is the merest trifle. The fact that two-thirds of a meal was frequently thrown away in former years, after 2,000 hungry prisoners had rejected it, proves beyond doubt that it was not suitable for their use and a waste of the people's money.
William N. Darby.
The name of the man who will go down into history as probably the most successful Warden who ever had charge of the Ohio Penitentiary, graces the head of this sketch. In March, 1900, he was appointed by the board of managers, and he came unheralded to the performance of his great task. He had been known throughout Eastern Ohio as sheriff of Belmont County, and the local chronicles told that at one time he was marshal of Bellaire, but he was absolutely unknown as the head and executive force of a great prison, the largest in the world, where a thousand problems are to be met and determined. But the wisdom of the board has been fully justified in the record made by Warden Darby since he assumed control of the Ohio Penitentiary, for reform and humanity have gone hand in hand, the "demon" has been taken from his cage, and to-day the prison stands first among similar institutions in the country in all the elements that go to make up a model institution.
Warden Darby has instituted many reforms. He has tried the experiment of treating all the unfortunates behind the bars,
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as if they were men, and the result has been for the betterment of the institution and those who have forfeited their freedom to the law. One of the reforms instituted is that of giving hall permits to first grade prisoners against whom no charge had been made for the previous sixty days, and this has been taken advantage of and appreciated by hundreds of convicts. Neither can these privileges be secured by money and only actual good conduct is the open sesame. It is a matter of much interest to know something of the man who has contributed so much to make the Ohio Penitentiary a model in its way.
William N. Darby is a native of Belmont County, Ohio, born July 22, 1862. He received a common school education, and previous to his selection as Warden, had served as marshal of Bellaire, deputy sheriff and sheriff of Belmont County. His father and mother came originally from Pennsylvania, and they were of English stock. He was married to Miss Rebecca Long and they have one child, a son. Mr. Darby is a Mason, Knight of Pythias and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
So successful has Warden Darby been in the management of the prison that in March, 1902, he was reappointed for another term of two years, the Governor and the Board having the highest confidence in his administration. He has, at all times, tempered mercy with justice, and the record shows that since the establishment of the Ohio Penitentiary no Warden in charge of the place has had more sincere friends, both within and without the high walls. His success has been phenomenal, and can be explained by the fact that he has sought to solve the problem of prison discipline with the law of kindness. Humanity is his counsellor. Humanitarian methods have been introduced. Severity breeds resentment and increases crime. It has been his aim that while enforcing the rules for the government of the prison, the men under his control are to be treated with all the consideration the law will allow, and no advantage taken of their unhappy position. To-day he stands in the front rank of Penitentiary Wardens in this country. He has found that a kindly and intelligent administration will accomplish wonders.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
Aaron Wagoner.
Governor Nash did not forget.the old soldiers when he made his selections for members of the Board of Managers, for in the quintette he recognized two of the boys who followed the flag - Messrs. Gillilan and Wagoner. Aaron Wagoner was a member of the famous Sixth Ohio Cavalry and served from October, 1862, until July, 1865, three months after Lee had handed the intrepid Grant his sword at Appomattox. While in the army Aaron Wagoner did his full duty to his country ; since the battle- flags have been furled he has maintained a high grade of citizen- ship and devotion to public and private duty.
He was born in the village of Manchester, Summitt County, Ohio, in 1844, and received his education in the common and select schools. For years he has resided in Akron, Ohio, where he is cashier of the Akron Savings Bank. He also served two terms as Auditor of Summitt County. Soon after the breaking out of the war he enlisted as related above and came out of the service a bronzed veteran. He came from good old Pennsylvania stock, his father being George Wagoner and his mother Rebecca Sours Wagoner, who were pioneers in Ohio, coming to the State in 1812. He was married to Amanda Smith, and two children have been the result of this union - George Edward Wagoner and Mrs. J. Vale Cleaver. Mr. Wagoner is a member of the Loyal Legion, the Grand Army of the Republic, the Odd Fellows and the B. P. O. E.
In every relation of life Aaron Wagoner is a true man, and as a member of the Board of Managers a faithful servant of the people. He, too, is most interested in having the credit of a successful administration redound to Governor Nash, and to that end every energy is turned. His experience and clear-headedness are of inestimable value, and no man has more influence among his colleagues.
McEldin Dun.
Among the honored names in the early history of Ohio none stand higher in favor and public appreciation than the Duns. They were among the first who reclaimed the State from the
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aborigines, and for a century they have been known and re- spected. McEldin Dun, the subject of this sketch, and President of the Board of Managers this year, was born in Columbus, Ohio, April 15, 1848, but for years has been a resident of Bellefontaine, Ohio, where he is connected with a number of corporations and is recognized as one of the most progressive farmers of Logan county. He received his early education at the Maryland Mili- tary Institute, located at Catonsville, Md.
Mr. Dun has always been a Democrat of the strictest sort and several years ago was the candidate of his party for Congress in the Eighth District, his popularity with the people being such that he very materially reduced the majority of his Republican opponent. He is a man always stronger than his party, and an honor to the organization. In 1890 he was appointed a member of the Board of Managers by Governor Nash, and is proud of the progress the institution has made under the board of which he is a member. While the record is a source of gratification to Mr. Dun, personally, he is yet more interested in the prestige that will accrue to the administration of Governor Nash, who is responsible to the people for the proper conduct and manage- ment of the prison, and has at all times lent his valuable assistance to the carrying out of this most successful idea in connection with the management.
Mr. Dun was married to Miss May G. Emery, and they have one child, a daughter. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Arthur J. Sheppard.
The subject of this sketch was born in Irville, Muskingum County, Ohio, March 20, 1851, and is therefore in the fifty-second year of his age. Receiving a good education, at the age of twenty- one he taught school in his native county and ranked high among the educators of his section. He afterward studied law and was admitted to the bar, in the year 1878, becoming a member of the law firm of Sheppard & Maginnis. His partner was afterward appointed Chief Justice of Wyoming Territory by President Cleve- land.
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Mr. Sheppard has always been a strong and consistent Dem- ocrat, and for many campaigns actively engaged in political work in his county, as chairman and secretary of the Muskingum County Committee. He comes from a family noted in their section and close-by affinity to the old-time leaders of the Demo- cratic party in Ohio, he being a son of Hon. John B. Sheppard. Although a Democrat, his friendships are not bound by party lines, and he is esteemed highly by those who are opposed to him in political belief.
For some time he was connected with the Work House Board in Zanesville, where he made a splendid record in the in- terest of the people. He is a member of the Temple, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Mystic Shrine. On October 22, 1895, he was married to Mary F. Smith, now de- ceased.
Mr. Sheppard is a representative citizen of a class upon which much depends, and a man who has done his duty as a citizen whenever called. As a member of the Board of Peni- tentiary Managers he has brought to the position that high regard for public duty that has contributed much to the successful admin- istration of the body with which he has been connected. Governor Nash made no mistake in his selection.
Captain Coleman Gillilan
Was born in Jackson County, Ohio, November 19, 1837. His parents were Jesse Gillilan, a native of Greenbrier County, West Virginia, and Elizabeth (Coleman) Gillilan, a native of Ireland. Captain Gillilan received a common school education, qualifying himself for the work of teacher, but responded to the second call of Lincoln, and he and Captain M. Mannering recruited Company A, Fifty-sixth O. V. I., in which he was mustered in as second lieutenant November 8, 1861, for three years. While on duty at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, he was taken sick with typhoid pneumonia and sent home, and on July 31, 1862, he re- signed on surgeon's certificate of disability. The summer and fall of 1863 he spent with the army in West Virginia. In July,
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1864, he was commissioned by Governor Brough to recruit a company for the One Hundred and Seventy-third O. V. I. On July 27, 1864, appointed Captain of Company C, and discharged with the company June 26, 1865, at the close of the war.
After his return from the army, he went into the mercantile business at Wales, Ohio, with Emerson McMillan, now of New York City. Then he taught two terms of select school at Wales. In 1866 he went into business with Richard Lloyd & Co., shoe dealers, of Portsmouth, Ohio, and was with them until 1870, when he became a salesman for J. L. Hibbs, who was engaged in the shoe and hardware business. In 1876, he went into the retail mercantile business in Thurman, Ohio, with Charles Smith, and was there from 1877 until 1880 Then he became a partner in the firm of J. L. Hibbs & Co., and remained for three and a half years. From 1883 to 1889 he was with W. F. Thorn & Co., of Cincinnati, Ohio. He then went into the shoe and rubber business- on commission and from 1889 to 1894 had a boot and shoe agency in Portsmouth, Ohio. He has been salesman for Manss Brothers, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the boot and shoe business ever since. On February 14, 1890, he was appointed a member of the Board of Managers of the Ohio Penitentiary and was reappointed for five years last April. On August 27, 1868, he was married to Mrs. Sarah K. Fry, daughter of John Amen. His eldest child, Grace, the wife of Dan C. Jones, died at the age of twenty-five, and left one daughter, Grace. The other children of Captain Gillilan are Bertha Sisson, Robert Starkey and Harry Coleman.
He belongs to the G. A. R. He is a member of Bailey Post, Portsmouth, Ohio; also of the Ohio Commandery Loyal Legion, Cincinnati, Ohio; belongs to Cavalry Commandery, Knights Templar Mason, Portsmouth ; is a Past Council, River City No. II, United Commercial Travelers of America. A steadfast Re- publican in politics, he is a member of the Republican State Central Committee and a consistent member of the First Presby- terian Church of Portsmouth, Ohio. In all these relations he has reached active and honorable stations, fulfilling every day his duty to the religious, patriotic and commercial concerns of life.
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Harry S. Griffith,
Of Mt. Gilead, Morrow County, is the youngest member of the Board of Penitentiary Managers, but is known as one of the most valuable of the quintette. Mr. Griffith was born at Mt. Gilead, Morrow County, Ohio, June 15, 1863. In his early life he learned the profession of printer and for years has been associated in the publication of the Morrow County Sentinel, a bulwark of the Republican party in that section of the State. He received his education in the common schools at Mt. Gilead, completing his studies at Kenyon College, where he was a leading spirit in the Psi Upsilon fraternity.
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