The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1, Part 13

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, pub
Publication date: 1876
Publisher: Cincinnati, Galaxy publishing company
Number of Pages: 802

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.

general studies and habits of thought. No man could ever | ing, the bright eye dimmed, the eloquent tongue mute or hsten to Dr. Fisher when engaged upon those great themes incoherent. His hall excented plans, his high expectations, his large purposes arrested, nothing remained for him but with childlike trust and sweet patience to await the final summons, which, January 18th, 1874, at Cincinnati, Ohio, came in kindness to call him home. The temporary torpor of luis faculties was at once dispelled, the clouds and the shadows that gathered about his setting sun have all been dissipated, the darkness has passed and light perennial and eternal beams on him, for, in his own beautiful words, "Another Teacher, infinitely wise and good, is now leading him up the heights of knowledge, and in a moment he has learned more than men on earth can ever know." with which his soul was filled, without a persuasion that he spoke from absolute conviction of the truth and an over- whelming sense of the uuportance of the message he bore as an embassador of Christ and a " legate of the skies." His ordinary discourses were full of thought as well as of feeling. Those who heard the course of sermons on the " Epistle to the Hebrews," and on the " Life of Christ," need not be told that a more remarkable series of discourses has seldom been heard from an American pulpit. There were public occasions also when he discussed great topics with a fulness and a power that left nothing more to be said, and with results of conviction in the minds of his au- ditors that nothing could shake, nothing even disturb. There are several discourses of . Dr. Fisher that would alone make a distinguished reputation for any man, and that are to be ranked among the highest efforts of the pulpit of his day. But not in the pulpit only did he shine. So unusu- ally is marked excellence as a preacher combined with an equal excellence as a pastor, that it would not have been strange if Dr. Fisher had proved comparatively inefficient in pastoral work. Nevertheless he did prove to be an execp- tionably good pastor. Ile gave living demonstration that one man may be both great preacher and good pastor. In all the families that made up his congregation, his name was a household word. Carrying everywhere an atmosphere of cheerfulness and sunshine, no one ever met him in social life without feeling the charm of his manners and conversa- tion. Slow to condemn and quick to sympathize, shrinking instinctively from wounding the feelings of any, and prompt in all offices of kindness and love, he won the hearts of his people to a most singular degree. Never was any pastor more universally beloved. The minister most covetous of the love of his people might well be satisfied with the measure of affection accorded to Dr. Fisher. A prince he was, not by virtue of any patent of nobility bestowed by an earthly mon- arch, but by the direct gift of Heaven, with the royal signet of the giver legibly impressed thereon ; a prince in intellect, a prince in large and liber d culture, but over and above all, a prince in active sympathies, warm affections, and a great human heart going out impulsively toward all that pertained to man, however lowly, or sin-stained, or despised, and de- voting his best powers and faculties to the good of the world and the glory of God. It was in the practical and persistent consecration of the gifts and graces with which he was endowed to these large and beneficent ends, that he earned the title, secured the honors and obtained the re- wards of a prince and a great man in Israel. Such, most imperfectly, and in the merest outline sketched, was Dr. Sunuel Ware Fisher up to the day and hour when, at the food tide of his influence, and apparently in the meridian fulness of his intellectual and moral powers, he was, by the mysterious stroke of an unseen hand, suddenly struck down, leaving him with the bounding pulse of life faintly flutter.

CHIENCK, JAMES F., Rear Admiral United States Navy, son of William C. and Elizabeth (Rodgers) Schenck, was born in Warren county, Ohio, January 1Ith, 1807. Upon the death of his father in 1821, he was appointed to the United States Military School at West Point by his guardian and namesake, General James Findley, then mem- ber of Congress from Cincinnati. There was no naval academy at that time, but having a disposition for sea ser- vice, his guardian procured him an appointment as midship- man in 1825. March Ist of that year he sailed in the " Hornet," on his first ernise, and continued in the service till retired on the superannnated list, Jannary 11th, 1869. He passed successively through all the grades up to that of Rear Admiral. During the Mexican war he served in the Pacihe squadron on the staff of Commodore Stockton, and did military duty in common with the whole naval force in seizing California. After the conclusion of that struggle and the discovery of gold, the government subsidized a pri- vate line of steamers to carry the mails via the Isthmus of Panama, upon the condition of appointing the commanders from the officers of the navy, and Mr. Schenck was detailed Captain of one of the vessels of the line, a position he held till 1855. The breaking out of the great Rebellion found Mr. Schenck in China, Commander of the " Saginaw." As soon as he could be called home, which was not until 1862, he was promoted to Captain and ordered to the western Gulf squadron, on the frigate " St. Lawrence," Here his duty was simply blockading, and he saw no very active ser- vice. In 18644 he was promoted to Commodore, and in the two attacks on Fort Fisher commanded the third division of the lleet, consisting of seventeen vessels, the " Powhatan " being his llag-ship. In both engagements he was in the hottest of the fight, and lost a third of his men and four officers of a party of one hundred with whom he landed, but escaped untouched himself. His son, Caspar Schenck, pay- master at the time on the " Juniata," was wounded on the opening of the first engagement, and afterwards promoted for the gallantry he displayed in the battle. After the dose

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.

of the war, Mr. Schenck was for some time in command of | moved to Iowa, where she died, leaving a numerous family. the United States naval station at Mound City, Illinois, and Mr. Schenck had several times been a member of the Ohio Legislature, and died, while occupying that position, at Columbus, January 11th, 1821. His wife survived till 1855. in September, 1868, he was raised to the rank of Rear Ad. miral United States Navy, and upon reaching his sixty- second year, June 11th, 1869, was regularly retired on the superannuated roll. July 24th, 1829, he married Dorethy A., daughter of Woodhull Smith, of Suffolk county, Long Island, and for many years made his home there. In 1836 he brought his family to the West, and took up his home in Dayton, where he naw resides in his retirement. He has had four children-Sarah S., who married Col. Joseph G. Crane, of Dayton, murdered in 1869 while acting military mayor of the city of Jackson, Mississippi, under the provisional government ; Jane, married to A. Burr Irwin; Caspar, pay- inspector United States Navy; Woodhull S., chief of the imperial maritime customs of China at Shanghai. Such a life as that of Admiral Schenck there is no need to praise. The facts speak for the man. Laudation could only taint. Ile has spent his life in the service of his country, and he still lives to enjoy that country's confidence, and partake of the freedo n he has helped to preserve.

CHENCK, HON. WILLIAM C., Member of the Ohio Legislature, and General of the State Militia, was born in Monmouth county, New Jersey, Jan- uary 11th, 1773. His parents were Rev. William and Anna (Cummings) Schenck. He was one of nine children. The family are of Dutch origin, but have been in America for nearly two hundred years. Mr. Schenck graduated from Princeton in 1793 or 1794, and at once came to Cincinnati, where he was engaged in the land office for a while, and afterwards became a surveyor. Ile acquired an immense tract of land in the northwestern part of Warren county, in the valley of the Miami, on which he laid out the town of Franklin, and established his home. During the war of 1812 he commanded a brigade of militia, and thongh not in active service, he had a duty to perform in guarding against Indian depredations. In company with ten other men who had acquired the land in the vicinity, he projected and laid out the city of Toledo in 1817, but having personally made the surveys in an unfavorable season, he was stricken with a swamp fever, and became so disgusted with the enterprise that he sold his whole interest for a thousand dollars. In connection with his uncle, General John M. Cununings, of Newark, New Jersey, he laid ont the town of Newark in Licking county, Ohio. In 1798 he married Elizabeth Rodgers, of Huntington, Long Island, with whom he had seven children-William R., Salley R., Jaumes F. (rear admiral United States navy), Robert C. (a general in the war of the rebellion, member of Congress, and United States Minister to England), Woodhull S. (a lieutenant in the United States navy), Edwin, and Egbert I. S. Ilis only daughter married Egbert T. Smith, and

NDREWS, GENERAL GEORGE W., Senator from the Thirty second District of Ohio, Lawyer, was born in Medina, Orleans county, New York, September 1-1, 1825. Ile is the son of Joel An- drews and Anne ( Lewis) Andrews; the former was a Quaker, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits. His grandfather on the maternal side, John Lewis, was a major in the Revolutionary army, and descended. from the Lewises of Rhode Island, a Baptist family, whose members took a prominent part in the religious controver- sies and movements of Roger Sherman's time. His earlier education was received at the Quaker institution known as the " Nine Partners' College," in Dutchess county, New York, and also in the Oberlin University, Ohio. He then, at the age of eighteen, began the study of law at Granville, Licking county, Ohio, and in 1845 was admitted to the bar in Norwalk, Huron county. Ile subsequently entered on the practice of his profession in Linn, Allen county, and was at once elected Prosecuting Attorney. During his stay of three years in this place, he established and edited, with marked ability, the Linn Argus. In 1848 the counties were divided, and he removed to Wapakonetta, Auglaize county, the southern one, and there established The zu- glaise Democrat. In the same year he was elected Prose- cuting Attorney for Auglaize county, and in 1850 was re- elected to the same position. In 1856 he was elected to the lower branch of the Legislature, in 1858 secured a re-elec- tion, and again in 1860 was re-elected. In 1861, at the re- quest of Governor Dennison, he left the Legislature, returned to his home, within two days raised a company of volun- teers to assist in crushing the rebellion, and entered the ser- vice of the United States with a commission of Captain. He was afterward promoted successively to the following positions : Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, and Brevet Brigadier-General. Leaving the service in 1864, after a brilliant and useful career as a soldier, he resumed the prac- tice of his profession. In 1873 he was elected to the Senate on the Democratic ticket, and upon the organization was made Chairman of the Judiciary Committee-that intrusted with the conduct of the most important matters; also a member of the Committee on Public Works, of that on Fees and Salaries, of that on the Sokhiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home, of that on Privileges and Elections, and also Chair- man of the Committee on Military Affairs. Ile is distin- guished at the bar, and has conducted to successful issues many important cases ; while, as a publie official, he has a record free from blemish, and, often under trying circun- stances, has laborel successfully for the interests of his con-

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.

stituency and the welfare of the general community. He | Cincinnati and United States Depository by President Lin- was re-elected to the Senate in October, 1875, without opposition

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UNN, ANDREW, M. D., Surgeon and Physician, was born in Poland, Maine, April 24th, 1804. His father, a well-to-do farmer, was of Scotch ex- traction, and owned and cultivated a large and beautiful farm, which was his son's birthplace. In 1834 Andrew graduated at Boudoin Medical College, under the instruction of Professor Reuben .D. Mus- sey, and was selected out of the graduating class to be one of his assistant dissectors for the ensuing class, Professor Massey also honored him with an invitation to go on a mis- sion to India. Soon after leaving college he settled in New York, and entered upon the practice of his profession, which he continued with great energy and success during many years. Ile soon became widely known for his remarkable skill in midwifery, his record showing the loss of no patient in a period embracing forty years of constant practice. In the earlier part of his career his attention was directed to that formidable disease called hernia (rupture), with which the ablest physicians and surgeons feared to encounter. Ilis efforts in devising new appliances to permanently cure this terrible affliction were crowned with perfect success. A few years since he removed to Cincinnati, and found there a large and remunerative field for practice, and has had astonishing results in his favorite branch of his profession- the treatment of hernia. He is a man of generous impulses, and takes a special delight in the society and education of the young.

ARSON, ENOCII T., was born in Greene town- ship, Hamilton county, Ohio, September 18th, 1822. Ile is the son of William J. Carson and Margaret Terry. His maternal ancestors, the Terrys, came from Virginia, and were among the first settlers in Cincinnati. He was bred on his father's farm, and there remained until he was twenty-three years of age, when he served three years as a collector of tolls on the Cincinnati & Harrison turnpike, there making up at his leisure the deficiencies of his early education by systematic reading. From 1848 to 1850 he served as a Deputy in the sheriff's office of Hamilton county; from December, 1850, until November, 1852, he was in the em- ployment of the Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company, and became their fast Depot Master at the Sixth Street De. pot, Cincinnati. From November, 1852, until November, 1856, he was Chief Deputy Sheriff of Hamilton county. In IS58 he went into the lamp and gas business, in which oc- cupation, after an intermission of many years, he is now. In May, IS61, he was appointed Collector of the Port of

coln. With the outbreak of the rebellion this from an office of minor importance became one of vital interest. Cinciu- nati being the distributing point for the armies South, ques- tions arose of the most perplexing character, requiring the soundest judgment to decide correctly between clashing in- terests. During his administration sometimes ten millions per day were received, and thirty millions were frequently on deposit. At the close of the war he retired from the office. In 1870 he was elected a member of the State Board of Equalization by an almost unanimous vote, being the nominee of both parties; in this position he rendered signal service to the taxpayers of Cincinnati. In 1871 he was ap- pointed Commissioner of Costs and Fees of Hamilton county; also a member of the Board of Park Commissioners of Cin- cinnati. In 1845 he became a member of the Masonic order. In IS;I he was elected Grand Commander of Knights Templar of Ohio; and about that time also lieu- tenant Commander of the Northern Supreme Council of the order of the Scottish Masonic Rite, 33º. Mr. Carson has one of the largest private libraries on secret societies in the world, including English, French and German works; and his large private library is especially rich in illustrated Shakspearian literature.

6 e RANE, JOSEPH H., an eminent Lawyer and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Dayton, Ohio, and for several terms a member of Con- gress, was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, August 31st, 1782. His father was a Major in the war of the Revolution, and lost a limb in the service. He was a brother of Commodore William M. Crane, and of Ichabod B. Crane, a Colonel in the regular army. He married Julia, daughter of John Elliot, Surgeon in the United States army, and stationed at Vincennes, then one of the frontier posts. He died in November, 1851, having had a large family, most of whom died young.

RANE, COLONEL JOSEPHI G., son of Joseph 11. and Julia ( Elliot) Crane, was born, October 25th, 1825, at Dayton, Ohio. He was a lawyer by profession, and at one time Probate Judge for Montgomery county. At the breaking out of the rebellion he was living in Indiana, and at once entered the service of his country. He served through the whole war on the staff of General Robert C. Schenck, and at the close accepted the commission of Captain, with the brevet of Colonel, in the regular army. While acting military Mayor of the city of Jackson, Mississippi, under the provisional government instituted for the reconstruction of the States, he was assassinated in the street by the notorious Colonel Yerger of the Confederate army. He was a man

Andrew Dunn, m. D.

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.

of cultivated mind and amiable disposition, and possessed | Cincinnati, and many others of equal importance. Since not only the qualities to endear him to his friends but those also which distinguished him among his fellow-men. He married Sarah, daughter of Admiral James F. Schenck, in 1852, with whom he had two sons that survived him.

OGSWELL, BENJAMIN S., Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, was born, April 6th, 1831, at Oxford, Iluron county, Ohio, and is the son of Benjamin and 6 Susan ( Bill) Cogswell. He was educated at the Baldwin University, Berea, and after leaving school became a clerk in the post-office at Berea, where he remained until March, 1859. At this period be removed to Cleveland, where he entered the clerk's office department, continuing there for a considerable time. In 1872 he was elected to the position of County Clerk for the term of three years, and entered upon the duties of his office, February 9th, 1873. Ile is a man of energy and good business ability, well calculated to fulfil the duties of his office to the entire satisfaction of the community. He was married, April 5th, 1855, to Helen M., daughter of Chester Gee, of Thompson, Ohio, and is the father of two children, one son and one daughter.

NDERSON, EDWIN, Architect, is a native Ohioan, having been born in Clermont county on the 24th of February, 1834. Ilis father died in January, 1841, and soon afterwards his mother removed to Cincinnati. Here Edwin was edu- cated, with a view to adopting the profession of civil engineer. Ile devoted special attention while attend- ing the public schools to mathematics, and when he left school he continued the study of civil engineering. For some years he was engaged in the business of railroad con- struction in Ohio, Indian and Ilinois. In the meantime he had pursued the study of architecture with Messrs. Hamil- ton & Rankin, of Cincinnati, and in 1857 he formed a part- nership with Samuel Hannaford, and commenced business as architect, to which he henceforward devoted his energy and skill. The firm continued until January ist, 1871, since which time he has continued the business in his own name. Ile has attained very high rank in his profession, and com- mands a very extensive patronage. While the firm of An- derson & Hannaford continued, they were the architeets of buildings aggregating in cost over $80,000,000. Among these buildings may be mentioned the Cincinnati Work- Ilouse; the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Pas- senger Depot, at Cincinnati ; Turner's Opera House, at Day- ton, Ohio; St. John's German Lutheran Church, at Cincin- nati ; and the Jewish Synagogue, Eighth and Mound streets,

the dissolution of the partnership the former head of the firm has been the architect of the Congregational Church at Ironton, Ohio; Clay Pool Building, at Indianapolis, Indiana; Kanawha Presbyterian Church, at Charleston, West Virs ginia; Niles Tool Works, at Ilamilton, Ohio, and many other public and private buildings throughout the country. Ile was one of the founders of the Cincinnati Chapter Ameri- can Institute of Architects, of which he was for several years the Secretary. Political office he has never sought and never accepted. Ile entered the Federal army in 1861 and served throughout the war in various capacities, principally in the engineering department. He is a thoroughly public- spirited man, and although he has not allowed his name to come into marked prominence, he has been a warm and active supporter of every public enterprise of merit, and to his active and well-directed labors Cincinnati, the city of his home, owes not a little of her advancement.

ENTON, ROSWELL II., County Treasurer of Hamilton County, Ohio, was born, February 27th, 1821, in that county, being the fifth of seven children, whose parents were Roswell and Ann (Mclaren) Fenton. His father, a native of New York, followed through life agricultural pursuits, and settled in Hamilton county-becoming one of the pio- neers to that section-in the spring of 1805. Ile subse- quently located permanently in Greene township, where he resided until his death, November 30th, 1830. His wife was a native of Pennsylvania, her parents being among the earliest settlers of Hamilton county, Ohio. She died on March 19th, 1855. There were but limited facilities for the early education of Roswell, his instruction being conducted at a country school house. Ile made the best use of his meagre advantages by assiduous application to books, and developed a taste for reading, which grew with his years. When twelve years old he hauled wood to Cincinnati, and steadily followed this occupation for seven years. The family then moved to what was well known as the " Seven- mile Ilonse," situated on the Ilarrison turnpike, and Ros- well took charge of the place, hi; attention being exclusively confined to this charge for two years. After this he went npon a farm and cultivated it, hauling wood to the city in the fall and winter months. After five years' labor in this direction he moved to Cincinnati in 1847, and embarked in the meat and provision business, which he has since suc- cessfully conducted. Ilis present establishment is at Nos, 182 and 184 West Sixth street. During the war he gave largely of his means and time to advance the interests of his township and of Ilamilton county, and was influential in his support of the government. In 1873 he was elected Treasurer of Hamilton county, and now holds that impor-

BIOGRAPHICAL. ENCYCLOPEDIA.

tant and responsible office, and brings to the discharge of its duties a ripe knowledge of financial affairs. His political affiliations are Democratic, and his first vote was cast for Junes K. Polk for the Presidency. He is liberal in religious opinion, and generous in impulse, and his career is that of an energetic and prosperous business man, whose conduct, though without ostentation, has won the great respect of his fellow-citizens. He was married on February 23d, 1842, to Sarah Bray, a native of Hamilton county, and is the father of four children.

AYLOR, EZRA B., Lawyer, was born, July 9th, 1823, in Portage county, Ohio, and is a son of Elisha and Theresa (Couch) Taylor. The family on both sides are of New England birth, they having removed from Berkshire county, Massa- chusetts, ia 1813, and settled in Portage county. Mrs. Taylor was a relative of the celebrated General D. N. Couch of Massachusetts. The family were only in moderate circumstances, and Ezra was only able to attend school daring the winter months, the balance of the year being de- voted to labor and toil. Ile went to the common school, however, up to the age of seventeen years, but the greater part of his education was obtained by his own indefatigable exertions. Every moment that he conkl snatch from his daily task and the evening hours were devoted to study, and all this without the aid of an instructor. He commenced reading law under the direction of Judge Robert F. Payne of Cleveland, and was admitted to the bar in 1845, and he at once commenced the practice of his profession. In 1862 he removed to Warren, Trumbull county, where he has since continued to reside, and in 1854 was elected Prose- cuting Attorney of Portage county (this was, of course, be- fore he went to Warren). . His practice has been very large and widely extend d; he is among the best-known lawyers in the State, and though regarded as most excellent in all the different branches of his profession, he is particularly distinguished as au advocate. His naure occurs on the docket of nearly every court in northern Ohio, and few at- torneys in the State have appeared in as great a number of cases as he. During the late war of the rebellion he was a private in the Home Guard, and when Governor Brough called out the militin during the invasion of Ohio by the guerillas, instead of hiring a substitute, he shouldered his musket and marched to the defence of the southern border. The force was captured by the celebrated and notorious Jolin Morgan, after a hard battle, who took them to Cyn. thiana, Kentucky, where they were released on parole and returned home. During the construction of the Atlantic & Great Western Railway he served as a Director of that com- pany ; and since the completion of the line he has been its attorney and counsel. He was married in IS.19 to Harriet M., daughter of Colonel William Frazier, of Ravenna, and is the father of two children,

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The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1, Part 13

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, pub Publication date: 1876 Publisher: Cincinnati, Galaxy publishing company Number of Pages: 802

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, pub
Publication date: 1876
Publisher: Cincinnati, Galaxy publishing company
Number of Pages: 802