USA > Ohio > Representative men of Ohio, 1900-1903 > Part 7
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The first military experience of General McMaken was in the organization of the famous Toledo Cadets in 1870, a Com- pany that held the high position of being one of the best drilled body of men in the country. It was prominent as such and created a sensation upon the occasion of its appearance in Co- lumbus, when the late William Allen was inaugurated Governor of Ohio, in January, 1874. It was also a feature at the many other military demonstrations in the state and elsewhere. As soon as the members were of proper age they were mustered into the service of the Ohio National Guard. General McMaken remained in command of this Company nineteen years, when he was elected Colonel of the Sixteenth Regiment O. N. G., and commissioned June 27, 1897, by Governor Bushnell. He was Colonel of that regiment when the Spanish-American war broke
OHIO
GEN. WM. V. McMAKEN.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
out, and the regimental number was changed to the Sixth, being mustered into the service of the United States as such May 12, 1898. General McMaken's regiment served throughout the War, or thirteen months in all, four months of that time in Cuba, stationed a part of the time at Cienfugos under Major General John C. Bates. During the latter portion of his term of service in Cuba, General McMaken served as Military Governor of the District of Trinidad by appointment of General Bates. The Sixth Regiment was mustered out of service at Augusta, Ga., May 24, 1899, and General McMaken returned to his home in Toledo, and his command was immediately assigned to duty by Governor Bushnell as the Sixth Regiment. On December 5, 1899, he was elected by the members of the First Brigade O. N. G., and commissioned Brigadier General.
General McMaken has had a wide and varied experience in the military service of the state. He was with his regiment at the Cincinnati riots and performed notable work in the Wheel- ing coal strike. When Governor Nash contemplated calling out the state troops to suppress the proposed prize fight at Cincin- nati, General McMaken had been selected to command. He was with his brigade at the Mckinley obsequies at Canton, in Sep- tember, 1901, and commanded the provisional brigade that formed the special military escort on that occasion.
General McMaken is recognized among the ardent Republi- cans of Toledo and Lucas County, and has been honored on several occasions by the voters of his party. He served two terms as Recorder of Lucas County, Ohio, and the same length of time as Treasurer, being on his second term when war was declared. on Spain. In 1883 hè was married to Miss Georgie Dorr, whose father was a prominent resident of Toledo, being an early settler, and Mayor of the city several years. They have two daughters, Myra and Carrie. General McMaken is a 32 Degree Mason, Past Exalted Ruler, Toledo No. 53 Elks, a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and of Egbert Command Spanish War Veterans. He is a representative citizen and soldier. In both capacities he has served his state and country well.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
Gen. John C. Speaks.
The subject of this sketch is one of the best known members of the Ohio National Guard and a man whose career has been of a character highly commendable in every way. With a record covering a period of twenty-five years spent in the service of the state's military arm, General Speaks has fulfilled every duty charged upon him, either as a private in the ranks or in a more exalted position and served Ohio both at home and in a foreign land with distinguished credit.
John C. Speaks was born and reared in Franklin County, O., his birth occuring at Canal Winchester, February II, 1859. His father was Charles W. Speaks, a well known and respected resi- dent of that village, and his mother, nee Sarah Hesser, belonged to a family equally regarded. Young Speaks secured his edu- cation in the common schools of Canal Winchester and after leaving the halls of education engaged in various business enter- prises. During the two administrations of Governor Mckinley he held the position of chief clerk in the office of the Adjutant General, where his services were most satisfactory.
The military career of General Speaks began March 2, 1878, when he enlisted as a private in the Ohio National Guard. His advancement was rapid, for on March 5, 1880, he was promoted to Lieutenant, and on March 26, 1883, to Captain. On the 8th of November, 1889, he was made Major; on the 3Ist of July, 1899, Colonel, and on December 5, 1899, Brigadier General, a place he now holds to the credit of both himself and the state. He served through the Spanish-American war as Major of the 4th Regiment O. V. I., participating in the expedition to Porto Rico. During his term of service extending over a quarter of a century he participated in all the military movements demanding the attention of the Ohio National Guard - the mining troubles, the riots at Cincinnati, Washington C. H., etc., and on every occasion did his full duty as a soldier. His record along that line is of the best and no officer of the state guard is more highly esteemed.
On the 18th of April, 1889, General Speaks was married to Miss Edna Lawyer, a young lady of Canal Winchester, and three sons, Charles, Stanford and John, have blessed the union. He has
OHIO
GEN. JOHN C. SPEAKS.
HON. LEWIS C. LAYLIN.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
always been a Republican and since reaching his majority has been allied with the organization in a more or less active way.
Hon. Lewis C. Laylin.
Under the first Constitution of Ohio the Secretary of State was nothing more important than clerk to the Governor of the State, his duties, as defined by that instrument, being to keep a "register of all official acts and proceedings of the Governor." When the present Constitution became the organic law of the commonwealth the post of Secretary of State became more im- portant. Its incumbents were elected by the people, and it be- came one of the departments of State, some of the most im- portant executive and administrative functions of the govern- ment devolving upon the Secretary of State. He is the custodian of all laws passed by the General Assembly, acts as State Super- visor of Elections and under the present taxation laws collects millions of dollars annually for the benefit of the State. He is also by virtue of his office a member of the State Sinking Fund Commission, President of the Board of Printing Commissioners, member of the Decennial Board of Apportionment for Legislative Reports and the State Building Commission. In his office all incorporations must be filed and he must countersign all com- missions issued by the Governor.
Since the late Dr. Wm. Trevitt served as the first Secretary of State under the new Constitution quite a number of distin- guished people have been honored by election to that honorable and important post. The names of General B. R. Cowen, Hon. A. P. Russell, W. W. Armstrong, William Henry Smith, General Isaac R. Sherwood, Hon. A. T. Wikoff, Hon. Wm. Bell, Hon. Jas. W. Newman, General James S. Robinson and Hon. D. J. Ryan suggest themselves. Under the old regime General Wil- liam Henry Harrison, afterward President of the United States, served with distinction from 1798 to 1799. In all the line of men called to administer the office for the benefit of the people, none excel Hon. Lewis C. Laylin, of Huron county, the present incumbent. Secretary Laylin is the first State officer Huron
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county has furnished, and well has he carried himself through all the multifarious duties of his exacting position.
Mr. Laylin comes from the famous "Firelands" region, springing from the section of State given certain residents of Connecticut by the general government in 1792 as remuneration for loss or damage by fire or otherwise from the incursions of the British during the Revolutionary War in Danbury, Norwalk, New London, Greenwich, Fairfield, Ridgefield, Groton, New and East Haven, Conn. He was born in Norwalk (named for one of the stricken towns in Connecticut), Huron county, O., Septem- ber 28, 1848. He early sought the rudiments of an education and in 1867, at the age of 18 years, he graduated from the High schools of his native town. He immediately began to teach and in 1869 was elected Superintendent of the Bellevue Public Schools, to which place he was unanimously elected for six successive years. During that time he took up the study of law and in 1876 was admitted to the bar to practice his profession. He was City Clerk of Norwalk two years; a member of the Huron County Board of Examiners twelve years and President of the Norwalk City Board of Examiners three years. In 1879 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Huron county, and held that office seven years. He was elected to the State Legislature in 1887, and served in the House of the Sixty-eighth General Assembly. In 1889 he was re-elected Representative and served through the Sixty-ninth General Assembly. He was the choice of his Republican colleagues in the House for the Speakership, and received their unanimous support, but was defeated as the choice of the minority by Hon. N. R. Hysell, of Perry. In 1891 he was returned to the House for a third term and in the Jan- uary following was elected Speaker of the Seventieth General Assembly, a position in which he gave the best of satisfaction.
But still higher honors were in store for him. At the Re- publican State Convention of 1900 he was nominated for Sec- retary of State by acclamation and elected over Hon. H. H. Mc- Fadden, of Steubenville, by a plurality of 69,31I votes. On Jan- uary 14, 1901, he entered upon the discharge of his duties. In May, 1902, he was renominated for a second term by the Re- publicans in State Convention at Cleveland. In November he was re-elected by an increased majority, and on January 12,
HON. JAMES I. ALLREAD.
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1902, entered upon his second term. His course has been of a character that is worthy of all praise, and the people, regardless of party lines, are agreed that he has made a model officer. Kind and courteous to all, the interests of the State are safe in his hands, and among the public men in the story of this commonwealth who have done much to make the State powerful and great the name of Hon. L. C. Laylin, of Huron, deserves to be mentioned high upon the roll of honor.
Judge James I. Allread.
The post of Chief Clerk to the Secretary of State is a most important one in the management of the multifarious affairs of that office. He must have an intimate knowledge of the law, especially that relating to corporations doing business both within and without the State, and be equipped for the discharge of his exacting duties. Under the new Constitution the posi- tion of Secretary of State is but little removed in significance from Governor. This is especially true since that office has the enforcement of the election laws and the collection of millions of revenue for the support of the State. It is therefore of the highest moment that the Secretary of State must not only be a man of ripe experience and good judgment, but his Chief Clerk must also be similarly furnished.
In the performance of the duties of his office Judge James I. Allread has been equal to every emergency and his unfailing friendship and good nature have set him high in the good opinions of those with whom he comes in contact.
The ancestors of Judge Allread were pioneers and early settlers in western Ohio. They came to that section of the State when it was but little less than a wilderness and with their own labors succeeding in reclaiming the forest for the abode of man. Judge Allread was born on a farm near Arcanum, Darke county, September 29, 1858, and early knew what it was to toil. He attended the common schools in Greenville and the high school, was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession in that place. He was in the high tide of his
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career when he was appointed Circuit Judge by Governor Mc- Kinley, to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Judge Schauck, of Montgomery, to the Supreme Bench. The term of Judge All- read filled was from February 8 to November 16, 1895, and in that time he became known among the best judges of that circuit. At the Republican National Convention of 1892, at Minneapolis, and of 1896, at St. Louis, Judge Allread represented the Fourth Congressional district. In January, 1901, he was appointed Chief Clerk under Secretary of State Laylin, a place he now occupies so creditably. On the 24th of April, 1902, he was nomi- nated for Common Pleas Judge by the Republican Judicial Con- vention that met at Troy, for the second subdivision of the Second district, consisting of the counties of Darke, Miami, Champaign, Clark and Preble. The district was reliably Republican and he was elected in November by a large majority. His term begins May 15, 1903.
On the Ist of August, 1883, Judge Allread was married to Emma S. Roland, and two children, Marie and Charles Harold, have been the result of the union. He is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity.
Judge Allread belongs to the class of public servants who adorn the positions they are called upon to occupy and his record is one earnest of still further triumphs in the good will and opinion of his fellow citizens.
James A. Newkirk,
Statistician in the office of Secretary of State Laylin, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, September 14, 1874. His parents, Robert Stuart Newkirk and Flora C. (Aylsworth) Newkirk, were well known and respected people in that county. He graduated from the Wooster High School in 1891, and afterward learned the printers' trade in the office of the Jacksonian, afterward engaging on the Wooster Republican. He learned the art of stenographic reporting and in 1896-7 was court reporter of the Wayne county courts. Mr. Newkirk then engaged in the insurance business, and in the campaigns of 1900 and 1901 was connected with the
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JAMES
A. NEWKIRK.
LESLIE
C. SMITH.
-
TLEY.
JOHN
B.W
HENRY
. BOHL
DEPARTMENT OF SECRETARY OF STATE.
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Speakers' Bureau at Republican State headquarters in Columbus, under Chairman Dick. In January, 1901, he was appointed Statis- tician in the office of the Secretary of State, and two years later was honored with a re-appointment by Secretary Laylin, his ser- vices being of the most satisfactory character. No better man has ever held the place. Mr. Newkirk has always been an enthusi- astic Republican and done all in his power for the success of the party of his choice.
On November 7, 1894, Mr. Newkirk was married to Miss Lottie M. Bixler of Wooster, Ohio, and they have one son, Stuart S. Newkirk, born September 21, 1897.
Leslie C. Smith,
Assistant Statistician in the office of Secretary of State Laylin, was born in Sedalia, Mo., December 27, 1872, of Charles E. Smith and Elizabeth (DeLany) Smith. When but two years of age the family removed to Los Angeles, Cal., where young Smith re- mained until 1893 when he entered Oberlin (Ohio) College where he remained until 1897. He at once engaged in political work and in the campaign of that year, that was followed in January, 1898, by the election of Hon. M. A. Hanna to the United States Senate. Mr. Smith was engaged in the office of the junior Ohio Senator at Cleveland. During the Spanish-American war he had a clerkship in the War Department at Washington, D. C., and during the Ohio campaign of 1900 was engaged with General Dick at Re- publican State headquarters at Columbus. Here his services were of the greatest value, and their appreciation was marked by the selection of Mr. Smith for his present position, by Secretary of State Laylin when the latter took office in January, 1901. A re- appointment for two years followed upon the close of his first term. Mr. Smith is unmarried. He is a working Republican and during all the years following his majority has been engaged in work calculated to advance the interests of his party. He is a thorough official and the circle of his friendships constantly in- creasing.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF OHIO.
Henry G. Bohl
Was born in Marietta, Ohio, December 18, 1868, the only son of Henry and Margaret Bohl, both natives of Germany. He obtained his preliminary education in the public schools of Mari- etta, also attending St. Michael's College, Toronto, Canada. He left college to accept a position with a hardware firm in Toledo, Ohio, where he remained two years. He was next connected with a real estate firm at Spokane Falls, Washington, and later in the hotel business at Cheyenne, Wells and Aspen, Colorado. He returned to Ohio in 1889, traveling for a Parkersburg, West Va., hardware firm, and later engaged in the clothing and tailor- ing business at Marietta, until April, 1894, when he was made traveling deputy United States Marshal for the Southern Dis- trict of Ohio, under his father, and resigned with one year's service. He was engaged in the general insurance business for five years, and disposed of his agency in 1900 to accept a special agency with the Prudential Life Insurance Company, which posi- tion he held until his appointment in the office of Secretary of State Laylin in January, 1901. By the creation of several new positions by the 75th General Assembly, he was promoted to Corporation Fee Clerk, and reappointed for two years in January, 1903.
Mr. Bohl is an enthusiastic Republican worker and since 1898 has represented his ward (the Third, in Marietta) as Cen- tral Committeeman and with the exception of one year acted as secretary of such committee. He is quite active in city and county politics. He was married June 22, 1892, to Sarah, the eldest daughter of Edward H. and Anna (Wheatley) Richards of Marietta.
John Brough Wheatley,
Corporation fee clerk in the office of the Secretary of State, named for Ohio's famous war Governor, was born at Racine, Meigs County, Ohio, August 21, 1863, of Charles and Mary (Baker) Wheatley. He was educated in the common schools at Marietta, and had hardly passed his majority when he was elected city clerk
HON. WALTER D. GUILBERT.
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of Harmar, but was legislated out of office by the consolidating of Marietta and Harmar. During the Foraker administration he was deputy oil inspector and when William McKinley was cho- sen Governor of Ohio, Mr. Wheatley was given a place in the office of the Adjutant General, a position he held during the Lushnell administration of four years. When Mr. Laylin selected his force in January, 1901, Mr. Wheatley was named as mes- senger in the office, and upon the passage of the tax laws by the 75th General Assembly, was promoted to Corporation Fee clerk. In January, 1903, he was reappointed for a second term of two years.
The subject of this sketch has always been a Republican, and an eager, enthusiastic worker in the ranks of the party. As an official he has well performed the duties of the various positions he has held, and secured the good will and confidence of his superior officers. On the 15th of December, 1887, Mr. Wheatley was married to Miss Nellie Burgess, of Marietta, and they have four children, two sons, Charles and Richard, and two daughters, Emma and Helen.
Hon. Walter D. Guilbert.
The various acts of the Ohio General Assembly to add to the revenues of the State by traffic and excise taxes, and the laying of additional burdens upon the corporations doing business in Ohio (passed by the Seventy-fifth General Assembly), have increased the duties of the State Auditor's department four- fold. The office was provided for under the first constitution of the State, and the term was three years, but the constitution of 1851 changed the term to four years, where it remains. The State Auditor is its chief accounting officer. No money can be paid into or out of the State Treasury except upon his warrant. He is custodian of all field notes, maps, records, documents, papers and implements of every description relating to or used in the survey of the public lands in the State, and is required to keep a record of deeds executed by the Governor. He is required to prepare all forms and instructions for county officers, and
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county officials must use his blanks and obey his instructions. He is required to audit all requisitions, vouchers and claims against the State and pass upon the validity and correctness of the same before issuing his warrant on the State Treasurer for payment. He is required to direct suits to be brought against delinquent revenue officials and look after and see to the collection of all claims in favor of the State. He may remit illegal taxes or penal- ties and direct that tax duplicates may be corrected. He is also a member of a dozen or more boards, made up of State officials, having for their purpose the equalization of values, appraising and assessing excise tax collecting, tax remitting, provisions for emer- gencies, printing, paper and fee commissions, making legislative apportionment, and numerous other objects. In fact under the present laws the State Auditor is a most important official when his manifold duties involving almost the entire State government are considered, and his functions are added to by nearly every General Assembly. It is enough to say that Hon. Walter D. Guilbert, who is now serving his second term has per- formed these duties with credit to himself and the State and that in the list of State Auditors his record will stand as one among the best, involving a singular devotion to public duty and an admin- istration successful in every way. It is an onerous place to fill, growing more so every year, and it must be said to the credit of Mr. Guilbert that during the past eight years he has served as State Auditor, many laws affecting the management of his office have been enacted and he has set in motion the machinery that to-day is adding to the revenue of the State and increasing the wealth and power of the commonwealth. In all of this legis- lation he has been consulted, and his hand can be seen everywhere in these successful financial laws.
Hon. Walter D. Guilbert comes from French-Irish ancestors, born February II, 1844 and reared on a farm in Guernsey county, Ohio. His father came from France, and when a boy settled in that county. His great-grand-father on his mother's side was a Maryland man and a soldier in the Revolutionary war, perform- ing distinguished service at the battle of the Brandywine. Mr. Guilbert was educated in the public schools and at Wenona Academy, Illinois. He served the people of Noble county for two terms as auditor and in 1888 became chief clerk in the office
HON. ISAAC B. CAMERON.
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of State Auditor under the late Hon. W. E. Poe. In 1895 he was nominated by the Republican State Convention at Zanesville for State Auditor, and elected for the full term of four years. In 1899 he was unanimously renominated and re- elected by an increased majority for a second term, upon which he entered in January, 1900. Mr. Guilbert has always taken a leading part in the politics of the state, is a consistent Re- publican, served as chairman of his county committee for a num- ber of years and as a member of the State Executive Committee. He was also a delegate to the National Convention that nomi- nated General Harrison for the Presidency. He was married February 5, 1868, to Miss Mary L. Jordon, of Noble county, and they have a family of three children, two sons and one daugh- ter. He is connected with a number of secret and social organiza- tions, being a Mason and Knight Templar, a member of the Mystic Shrine, of the I. O. O. F., of the K. of P. and the I. O. R. M.
Hon. Isaac B. Cameron.
Under the old Constitution of Ohio the term of the office of Treasurer of State was three years, but under the Consti- tution adopted in 1851 the term was reduced to two. From the days of the old Northwest territory, when John Armstrong was the first keeper of the commonwealth's strong box, down to the present day, Ohio has had some efficient custodians of her public funds. The defalcation of John G. Breslin in 1856, was the only break in the chain of high grade business quali- fications and personal honor that have obtained in all the in- cumbents of that highly responsible position.
The present Treasurer of State, Hon. Isaac B. Cameron, of Columbiana county, now serving his second term, is no ex- ception to the rule of integrity that has been in evidence in Ohio in the more than a century that has passed since 1792, when the territory had its first treasurer. Going into office first in January, 1900, he at once inaugurated a much-needed system for expediting and safely conducting the large volume of busi- ness transacted by his department, which aggregates annually
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many millions of dollars, until now it is a model along that line, and every night the exact status of every fund in the treas- ury is known to a cent. The system is complete, and for its introduction credit is due to Mr. Cameron.
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