USA > Ohio > Representative men of Ohio, 1900-1903 > Part 18
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For nearly forty years he has been a prominent figure in the development of the material interests of the Jackson coal field as operator, iron manufacturer, banker and in general business, and his prominence in that regard is well deserved. He was among the pioneers who brought the attention of the world to the rich coal deposits in that section of Ohio and invested his money and energy along the line of their disclosure. He stands to-day as one of the foremost business men engaged in the coal trade.
HON. JOHN R. MCLEAN.
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Hon. John R. McLean.
In the list of distinguished Ohioans who have impressed themselves not only upon the state, but the nation, John R. Mc- Lean deserves to be mentioned. For some years he has made his home in Washington City, where he has large property interests, but he was born and reared an Ohioan, and his newspaper, The Cincinnati Enquirer, is one of the potent forces of the West. John R. McLean and the Cincinnati Enquirer are one and the same thing. Control of that paper was secured a half century ago by his father, Washington McLean, and James J. Faran, one time Congressman and Mayor of Cincinnati, who, under the firm name of Faran & McLean, made the newspaper an important factor in Buckeye politics. They bitterly opposed the Know Nothing party in 1855, although this meant the loss of the steamboat advertising, then a very profitable source of income, and also injured the bus- iness of The Enquirer's job printing office. This adjunct of the newspaper was then the largest in the world, and won much applause by obtaining the contract to print the bills for the pre- sentation in Covent Garden, London, of "The Sea of Ice." This was the first printing done in America for a European customer.
Washington McLean was a great political factor in his day, a power in Democratic conventions, where he dictated the policy of his party. Time and again he refused to hold office, though he was always a delegate to the State and National conventions, notably those at Charleston and Baltimore. Washington Mc- Lean was one of the close personal friends of President Grant, and whenever the great military chieftain went to Cincinnati, he was a guest at the palatial home of Mr. McLean.
John R. McLean was born in Cincinnati, and is past mid- dle life. He went to Harvard College, but his devotion to field sports, of which he is still the strongest of patrons, prevented him from being graduated. He was an active member of the junior nine of the famous Red Stocking Baseball Club, and, while engaged in a spirited contest, received an injury to the eye that compelled him to leave college. He went to Europe, spending three years and obtaining a knowledge that enables him to converse moderately in German and French. When he came back he had not become a dude nor a fashionable idler, and, although he was 20
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years of age, he began work as an office boy in The Enquirer office. It is not meant by this fact that he scrubbed the floors, although his uncle, Wiley McLean, did order him one day to wash the windows, whereupon Johnny abandoned his task in disgust. He was shortly reinstated as office-boy-in-chief. He worked his way from this high place to and through every grade of position in the business office until he had mastered all its details. Meanwhile he was running around with the reporters at nights watching how the newspaper was made lurid with the accounts of a fire or given a bloody hue with a report of murder. Thus he received an inti- mate knowledge of how news was obtained, and, consequently, when his father, in 1873, sold him his interest in The Enquirer, he was a full-fledged, good-all-around newspaper man. In 1880, when the late John A. Cockerill, then editor of The Enquirer, went to Europe, McLean assumed the editorship and management of his newspaper. Subsequently he bought Mr. Faran's interest and became sole owner.
In addition to being a nactive and attentive business man he has always had a fondness for politics. He had a large part in the defeat of Senator Pendleton for re-election, whom he fought on account of the Senator's civil service reform ideas. He was Chairman of the Ohio delegation to the Democratic Convention in 1884, which nominated Grover Cleveland, and in order to se- cure the Chairmanship was compelled to contest the matter with Hon. Allen G. Thurman and his friends. He did so successfully and was one of the leaders in nominating Grover Cleveland. The name of Mr. McLean was prominently mentioned in 1896, for the Democratic Presidential nomination, and at the National convention that assembled in Chicago, July 7, he was bal- loted for, with R. P. Bland, of Missouri, W. J. Bryan, Nebraska, Claude Matthews, Indiana, Horace Boies, Iowa, J. C. S. Black- burn, Kentucky, and others, receiving 54 votes. On the fifth ballot Mr. Bryan was nominated, Mr. McLean was also voted for for Vice President at that same convention and received 296 votes, but Sewall, of Maine was nominated.
The hold of John R. McLean upon his party in Ohio is un- questioned, for he is an apostle of practical politics. With senti- mental statesmanship he has no sympathy. He likes a hard fight and believes that if successful the gains should be his. He be-
HON. JAMES KILBOURNE.
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lieves that politics are politics and will ever be as they have been since the days of the Egyptian Kings. At the Democratic State Convention held in Zanesville, 1899, Mr. McLean was nominated for Governor of Ohio, but he was defeated by Gov- ernor Nash by about 50,000 votes. The independent candidacy of "Toledo" Jones on socialistic lines drew heavily from the democratic vote.
Previous to his removal to Washington 20 years ago, Mr. McLean resided in Cincinnati, where he was among the leading business spirits of the Queen City, and where his benefactions were recognized. Upon more than one occasion he saw to it that the poor people of that city secured such necessities as coal and ice at a fair price instead of being robbed by extortion. He is now one of the largest property owners in the National Capital, and a very rich man. He married a daughter of General Beale, at Washington and they have a son.
Colonel James Kilbourne.
The subject of this sketch comes of lineage distinguished in the early history of Ohio, and has borne with honor and splendid courtesy the good will and universal respect and love of his fellow-citizens. His grandfather, Col. James Kilbourne, was one of Ohio's earliest pioneers and among the first to represent his district in Congress. He was of an ancient family long settled in New England, who traced their descent from the fourteenth century in Scotland and through one of the earliest emigrants who came to try his fortunes in New America.
Col. James Kilbourne was born in the city of Columbus, Ohio, October 9, 1841. His father, Lincoln Kilbourne, was a leading merchant in the city of his birth, and well-known for his popularity and good citizenship. Col. Kilbourne attended Kenyon College graduating therefrom in 1862 and two years later received the degree of Master of Arts. He was but fairly out of his school work when the war of the Rebellion broke out, and young Kilbourne enlisted as a private in the 84th Ohio Volunteers, afterward being transferred to the 95th Ohio Volun- teers. He served with honor through the entire war, being pro-
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moted through the various grades to that of Captain, and being breveted Major, Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel of the United States Volunteers. For a portion of his army service he was a member of the staffs of Generals Tuttle and McArthur. His war record is one of great gallantry and without a blot.
At the close of the war Col Kilbourne resumed his studies and graduated from the law school of Harvard University, gradu- ating therefrom in 1868. He was admitted to the bar, but his health being undermined by army service, he left the practice of his chosen profession and entered business with his father, Lincoln Kilbourne. A few years later he founded the Kilbourne and Jacobs Manufacturing Co., now one of the largest establish- ments of the kind in the world, and of which he became President and general manager.
Col. Kilbourne has always taken a great deal of interest in the various organizations, having for their purpose the upbuilding of his native city. He was a director, and in 1895 President of the Columbus Board of Trade; he has been a director of the Arlington Country Club. He is a director of the First National Bank and the Clinton-Hayden National Bank, of the Columbus, Hocking Valley and Toledo, and of the Columbus, Cincinnati and Midland Railways, and of many private business and social organizations. For many years he has been President of the board of trustees of the Columbus City Library, President of the Kenyon College Association of Central Ohio and President of the Ohio Harvard Club. He is a life member of the Ohio Archaeological Society, and vice President of the Old North- west Geneological Society. He instituted the Columbus Child- ren's Hospital of which he was President five years. He is vice- president of the Columbus Neighborhood Guild Association and a member of the board of managers of the Associated Charities of Columbus.
Col. Kilbourne has always been a stalwart Democrat, prom- inent in the councils of his party, and often urged to accept a nomination. He acceded to the wishes of his friends but once, when in 1899 he was the Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio. His popularity was such that he carried Franklin County, by a majority of 2,300 in round numbers, being a gain of over 4,000 from the vote of the previous two years. He was a delegate
HON. D. K. WATSON.
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from the 12th Ohio Congressional district to the Democratic National Conventions in 1892 and 1896, and at the Democratic Convention in 1897 received 237 votes for nomination for Gover- nor. He was a delegate-at-large from Ohio to the National Democratic Convention at Kansas City, in 1900 and Chairman of the Ohio delegation. He was appointed by Governor Campbell one of the Commissioners from Ohio to the Columbian Exposition at Chicago, but declined the honor on account of business affairs. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Society of the Sons of the Revolution, the Union Veteran Legion and the Loyal Legion. He has also served as vice-president of the Society of the Army of Tennessee. He organized the Columbus Cuban League, and was President thereof. When the Spanish- American War broke cut he tendered his services and the ser- vices of three of his sons to the government.
Col. Kilbourne is one of the largest employers of labor in Ohio, and his relations with his workmen have been of the most friendly sort. He has never had a strike in his great establish- ment or a suit at law and never has the wage of a workman been reduced. His record in this regard is one of which any man might be proud. In 1898 he was appointed a member of the Ohio Centennial Commission and made its President. Col. Kilbourne has for years been a communicant at St. Paul's Epis- copal Church and closely identified with church work. On the 5th of October, 1869, he married Anna B. Wright, the eldest daughter of General George B. Wright, and four children have been born of this union, three sons and one daughter. The Kilbourne home is located on East Town street, Columbus, where a generous hospitality is dispensed.
Hon. David K. Watson.
Hon. David K. Watson, of Columbus, has for the past four years been a member of the Commission to Revise and Codify the Laws of the United States, by appointment of the martyred President McKinley, who was his personal and political friend. His selection for this important position was a tribute to his ex-
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perience and legal knowledge, as the work to be accomplished by the Commission is of a permanent character.
Mr. Watson was born in Madison County, Ohio, in 1849. He comes from the well-known Watson family, so highly re- spected in that section. He received his first rudiments of edu- cation in the district schools, afterward attending Ohio Wes- leyan University at Delaware, and completing his curriculum at Dickinson College, Pa., where he was graduated with honors. He then graduated at the law department of Boston University, where he took the law prize, and was soon afterward admitted to the bar and at once began the practice of his profession, in which he attained a high position.
Mr. Watson has been an advocate of Republican principles all his life, a most active partisan, and is a popular and effective campaign speaker. He was appointed Assistant United States District Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, by Presi- dent Arthur, a position he filled with complete satisfaction. In 1887, When Governor Foraker received his third nomination, Mr. Watson was nominated for Attorney General and was elected. Two years later he was nominated for a second term and again elected, although Governor Foraker was defeated. During the four years of his administration of the office of Attorney Gen- eral, many important cases were brought and argued by him in the Supreme Court, the celebrated action in quo warranto against the Standard Oil Company being the most important, in which Hon. Joseph H. Choate, now the American Ambassa- dor to England, appeared for the Standard Oil Co. That victory gave Attorney General Watson national prominence, and the law laid down in the case by the Ohio Supreme Court has since been followed in other states.
In 1894 Mr. Watson was nominated for Congress by accla- mation by the Republicans of the Twelfth Ohio District, and elected by a good majority, the result being a great tribute to the personal popularity of Mr. Watson, for the district had been strongly Democratic to that time. When in Congress, Mr. Wat- son took a leading part in debate and committee work, and became known as one of the strong men of the lower House.
He has delivered and published a number of addresses, among them being, "The Early Judiciary, Early Laws and Bar of Ohio;"
HON. DANIEL J. RYAN.
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"The Growth of the Criminal Law of the United States," an ad- dress delivered before the law school of Columbian University ; "A National Judiciary Prior to the Adoption of the Federal Con- stitution," and "Thomas Cooper, A Forgotten Philosopher." He also published "A History of American Coinage," which was most favorably received both in the United States and England, and which is recognized as an authority on the subject of coinage.
In 1873 he was married to Miss Louise M. Harrison, daughter of Hon. R. A. Harrison, of Columbus, and two children have been born of this union.
Mr. Watson is a representative citizen of Ohio, and has filled the full measure of public responsibility in whatever posi- tion placed. He is a man whose public and private life is beyond reproach. Both in State and National spheres he has justified the good opinion of his friends.
Hon. Daniel J. Ryan.
Daniel J. Ryan was born in Cincinnati, January 1, 1855. His father, John Ryan, and his mother, Honora Ryan, were born in Ireland and came to this country about 1850, settling in Cin- cinnati. They afterwards removed to Portsmouth, O., where young Ryan received his education in the public schools, passing through all the grades. He was graduated from the high school in 1875. For a year before leaving school he was entered as a law student in the office of Judge James W. Bannon, where he continued his studies after graduating. In February, 1877, he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court at Columbus. He at once commenced practice alone at Portsmouth, and the fol- lowing April was elected City Solicitor, was re-elected in 1879, serving until the spring of 1881. In 1883 he was elected a mem- ber of the Ohio House of Representatives, and was re-elected in 1885. During his service he was Speaker pro tem. and Chair- man of the Committee on Public Works. At the expiration of his legislative duties he resumed the practice of his profession.
In 1888 he was elected Secretary of State of Ohio, and in 1890 re-elected for a second term. He resigned the office,.
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however, in 1891 to accept the appointment of Commissioner in Chief for Ohio of the World's Columbian Exposition, the duties of which required his services until May, 1894. While Secre- tary of State he assisted in the compilation of Smith & Benedict's edition of the Revised Statutes of Ohio. He has since been en- gaged in his practice in Columbus. He has always been a Re- publican, was the first President of the Ohio Republican Leauge, and presided at New York over the first convention of the Na- tional League of Republican Clubs, which met in 1887. For many years Mr. Ryan has been one of the trustees of the Ohio Historical Society. He was appointed by the Exhibitors' Asso- ciation at the World's Fair as one of the commissioners to the Antwerp Exposition in 1894. He was appointed by Governor Mckinley as delegate to the National Water Ways Convention, which met at Vicksburg in 1894.
In the practice of law Mr. Ryan has been identified with many important cases in Ohio, which have attracted attention both in and out of the State, among which might be mentioned the case touching the constitutionality of the abandonment of the Hocking canal, and litigation relating to the food department of the State. On the 10th of January, 1884, Mr. Ryan was married to Myra L. Kerr, of Portsmouth, and by this union five children were born, two of whom are living, Julia E. and Elinor.
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Colonel George P. Waldorf
Has been a citizen of Toledo, Ohio, for the past thirteen years. Lima was his residence prior to that time. He was born at Brookfield, Trumbull County, Ohio, December 20, 1849. He received a high school education and prepared for college at Phillip's Academy, at Exeter, N. H., but owing to ill-health, he was unable to complete a college course.
In 1872 he was united in marriage with Mary Reed Holmes, of Lima, Ohio, and has two children, a daughter, Kate, wife of Karl T. Kirk, of Toledo, Ohio, and a son, Burton Holmes Wal- dorf, who is in the U. S. Hospital Service and located at Manilla, Philippine Islands. Several years ago he lost his first wife, and
COL. GEO. P. WALDORF.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
in February, 1901, was united in marriage with Mrs. Viella H. Porter, of Lima, Ohio, who was the widowed sister of his first wife. Col. Waldorf is thoroughly identified with Toledo, own- ing a business property upon Summit street and has erected a fine residence upon the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Grove Place.
He went into business for himself in 1874 at Lima, Ohio, conducting a book and stationery store in which business he was engaged for ten years. In 1884 the Lima Oil field was dis- covered, and he was interested in the first oil well drilled in the new field. He became actively engaged in the oil business and continued in the same for about six years. He was one of the Directors, the Secretary, General Manager and Treasurer of the Trenton Rock Oil Co., which was the largest factor in the experi- mental stage of the Lima field, that Company having drilled some fifty test wells. He has been engaged more or less in the oil business ever since.
Col. Waldorf has always been an enthusiastic Republican, and has become prominent in the political history of the state. He enjoyed the friendship and confidence of John Sherman, and is recognized as one of Senator Hanna's closest friends. Be- sides being a consistent and faithful Republican, he has always borne the reputation of being thoroughly loyal to his friends.
In 1888 he was elected a delegate to the National Republi- can Convention from the Fourth District of Ohio. He has never been a candidate for an elective office. In 1874 he was appointed Postmaster at Lima, Ohio, by President Hayes, which position he filled for nine years. He served during the whole of Senator Foraker's incumbency as Governor, upon his Military Staff. In 1899 he was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue by President Harrison, which position he held for four years. In 1898 he was again appointed Collector of Internal Revenue by President Mckinley, which position he now holds.
Col. Waldorf is a member of the Collingwood Ave. Presby- terian Church, Toledo. He belongs to the Masonic Fraternity and is a public spirited citizen.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
Frank L. Baird
Was born in Perrysburg, Wood County, Ohio, December 5, 1861, his parents removing to Toledo in 1867. Young Baird secured his education in the public schools of that city and in 1877 started out to make his own way in the world. For the next ten years he was in the employ of various railroads, or until April 20, 1887. For several years thereafter he managed a strictly union printing office, when he was appointed deputy collector of In- ternal Revenue under President Harrison, also serving two and a half years as deputy county clerk. On June 6, 1898, he was appointed Cashier in the Internal Revenue department of the Fourth Ohio District by Collector Geo. P. Waldorf. On the 12th of April, 1900, he was appointed Inspector of Oils for the First Ohio District by Gov. George K. Nash and reappointed for a term of two years April 30, 1902.
Mr. Baird has always been a strong adherent to the Republi- can faith, working unceasingly for the success of the party of his choice. Two years he was a member of the Lucas County Central Committee, and the Secretary of the organization for two campaigns. He was one of the first to suggest the organi- zation of the famous Lincoln Club of Toledo, and was very active in securing the original membership of 200. He is a faithful, progressive citizen, and his friends are legion wherever he is known. His populartity is only measured by the wide circle of his acquaintances.
On May II, 1886, Mr. Baird married Miss Mary A., daughter of George L. Johnson, and they have three sons.
Hon. Julius Fleischmann.
Julius Fleischmann, son of Hon. Charles Fleischmann and Henrietta (Robertson) Fleischmann, was born in Riverside, Hamilton county, Ohio, June 8, 1871. His education was re- ceived in the Cincinnati public schools, Hughes' High School and the Franklin School on Walnut Hills. He began his business career in 1889, as a clerk for Fleischmann & Co., manufacturers
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FRANK L. BAIRD.
HON. JULIUS FLEISCHMANN.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
of compressed yeast, and afterward had charge of its business management. He is a director in the Market National Bank, president of the Union Grain and Hay Company, and president of the Riverside Malting and Elevator Company. He is also a half owner of the extensive racing stable with his brother, Max, well known on the racing circuit. The other business connec- tions of Col. Fleischman are at the head of the Illinois Vinegar Manufacturing Company, one of the largest concerns in the world, and the ownership of large breeding and stock farms in New Jersey.
In politics he is a Republican, and in the spring of 1900 was elected Mayor of Cincinnati by a large majority for a term of three years. His administration of municipal affairs was so successful and popular that the Republican City Convention which was held in February, 1903, and which was the largest city convention ever held in Cincinnati, unanimously tendered to Mayor Fleischmann a renomination to his high office, and despite the sacrifice to his great private interests he obeyed the enthusias- tic call of his party and accepted the nomination. He is one of the youngest mayors in the state of Ohio. Col. Fleischmann was an aide-de-camp on the staff of Gov. Mckinley, succeeding his father in that position in the spring of 1894, and occupied the same position on the staff of Governor Bushnell. He is a mem- ber of the Queen City Club, the Phoenix Club, the Country Club, the Riding Club, the Lincoln and Young Men's Blaine Clubs, and a thirty-second degree Mason. On the 12th of April, 1893, he was married to Miss Lilly Ackerland, daughter of A. and Louise Ackerland, and they have one child, Louise Henrietta.
Col. Fleischmann has inherited the fine business instincts of his father, and on the death of his honored sire, with his brother, Max, undertook the management of the great estate left by Col. Charles Fleischmann. Their interests are not only in Ohio, but in New York and other states, aggregating large investments.
Hon. George W. Sieber.
One of the potent forces in the Seventy-fourth General As- sembly and a leader among his colleagues was Senator George
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W. Sieber, of Akron, who represented the Twenty-fourth- Twenty-sixth district, consisting of the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Summit. His position was such that he was constantly consulted, and he left his impress upon the legislation enacted by that body. Possessed of a fund of what is known as saving common sense, a genial, whole-souled friend, Senator Sieber was the friend of the people and showed his sympathy and good will on all occasions.
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