USA > Ohio > The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 18
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TRAIGIIT, HION. SEYMOUR, Merchant, Philan- thropist, was born in Charlotte, Chittenden county, Vermont, February 4th, 1816. When he was two years of age his parents moved into the wilderness of western New York. Here in later years he worked on the paternal farm, and in the winter months pursned a course of elementary studies in the neigh- boring log school house. Dissatisfied with the meagre edu- cation thus acquired, he procured desirable books and ap- plied himself earnestly to the agreeable task of increasing his store of learning. At the completion of his day's labor on the farm he invariably spent a considerable portion of the night in poring over his books, and was not seldom com- pelled to walk to and fro in his chamber to prevent being overcome by sleep. Thus was laid the foundation of a varied and thorough education, and thus also was strength- ened those peculiar traits of character which were displayed in after life. From western New York his father's family removed in 1836 to northeastern Ohio, Here, at the age of twenty-one, he became a teacher in the public schools, in which avocation he was engaged for several years. In July, 18.45, he moved to Cincinnati and took a thorough comse of business education in Bntlett's Commercial College.
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After the completion of this course, being unable to obtain regard to party. Ile was an intimate friend of Mr. Chase, and held frequent correspondence with him concerning the .war policy against the South, also as to the problem of free labor on the sugar plantations of Louisiana, and the prewing necessity of coneating the freeden. His political convic- tions were based on religious, humane and conscientious principles ; he was uncompromisingly opposed to slavery and the fugitive slave law ; and in the contests before the courts of Ohio, instituted by Kentucky claimants, appeared as one of the boldest and most generous defenders of the oppressed. This course earned for him the hatred of the South, and finally caused many of the Southern patrons of the house of Straight, Deming & Co. to put an end to their business re- lations with his firm. Not only did these former customers of the house withdraw their patronage, but also on every favorable occasion sought to destroy the fame and prosperity of the partners. Those hostile proceedings did not, how- ever, dampen his ardor, nor could they obstruct materially the forward movement of his business plans. He has for several years past been withdrawn from active participancy in the business of the house, the management of the Cin- cinnati establishment being now wholly in the hands of Mc- Farlan and Baldwin, men of enviable business and social reputation, who have aided materially in establishing the high standard of the house. In 1867, with his son, W. B. Straight, he built two cheese factories at Hudson, Ohio, a fine town in the Western Reserve, and yearly continued to buy or build new factories untit father and son together now own and operate about a dozen cheese factories, all within a few miles of Hudson. The cheeses made by this firm are soll " from Maine to Texas," literally; but mostly in the Southern and Western States after the fall trade opens. In all movements of an educational, benevolent and moral character he has been throughout his life an energetic and efficient leader or co-laborer. Ilis appointment to a place in the City Council of New Orleans was due to Sheridan's laudable desire to oust from office disloyal and unscrupulous politicians, and put in their places men of known probity and courage ; and while serving in this body he contributed in no small measure to the safety of the well-disposed citizens. His appointment in 1868 by the President of the Chamber of Commerce as one of a committee to visit the cities of the valley and the great lakes was productive of much good ; that committee was formed with a view also to investigate the improvements of the said cities, also their commercial interests, the results of which investigations were to be reported to the chamber. In New Orleans in 1869 a body consisting of public-spirited men of broad educational views was incorporated, under the provisions of the Louis- iana statute, for the purpose of educational improvement and reform. The corporate name of the institution fostered was, " The Straight University," and he was appointed President of its Board of Trustees. " The purposes of the corporation are the education and training of young men a fair position in a mercantile house, he returned to his forner profession of teaching in Amelia, Clermont county, Ohio. While in that school he was befriended by Andrew Comals, who gave him a position in a store at Cincinnati in which he owned a large interest. After several years' experience, at low wages, he borrowed a few hundreds of dollars, July Ist, 1851, and established himself in the pro- duce commission business. The borrowed money, with the friendship of Western Reserve shippers and the confidence of the Cincinnati business men who knew him, was then hi , sole capital in trade. Ilis rapid success shortly after at- tracted the attention of Judge William S. Deming, who, in October, 1852, became his partner and furnished needed cap- ital. Since that date " Straight, Deming & Co." has been a finniliar firm-name throughout this section of the country. At the time of the fonnation of the partnership Cincinnati had become the great distributing point for cheese for the Western and Southern markets; Judge Deming was then an extensive cheese dealer in Ashtabula county, thus his asso- ciate's Western Reserve acquaintance became a highly vah- able accessory. Fidelity to the interests of his patrons and strict attention to business soon brought in a large trade, which Ginally outgrew the capacities of the house; in 1857 James MeFarlan was admitted as a partner; and in 1862 the business was removed to 44 Vine street, its present lo- cality. During this year A. C. Baldwin also, who had been engaged in the establishment for several years, was admitted into partnership, and the original member went to New Or- leans, Louisiana, to open there another business house, and also in order to look after the firm's interests, as large sums of money were then due him and his associates in the Southern States, and the rebellion was assuming ominous aspects. After the occupancy by General Butler of New Orleans, when avenues for trade with the North were opened, he established the house of McFarlan, Straight & Co. Utterly opposed as he was to the doctrine, dearest to the Southern people, he was yet unwilling to identify himself with the so called Republican leaders in this city, and during his stay there was often placed in peculiar and embarrassing condi- tion, both as a man of business, as a loyal citizen, and as a government official. In August, 1867, he accepted an ap- pointment from General Sheridan as member of the Council of New Orleans, a position which enabled him to benefit materially many important public and private interests. In IS68 he was pressed by the leaders of the Warmouth party to accept the Mayoralty of the city, but positively declined to accept the office. Twelve years prior to this event he had been noted as a radical Republican, and in the exciting campaign of 1856 had taken an active part in favor of John C. Fremont. Also in 1868 he became the nominee of the Republican " bolters " for Congress, but failed to secure an election. Since that time he has refrained from taking an active part in the political movements of the day, and exer- cises his influence for or against every office-secker without [ and women, irrespective of race or color," and it is under
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the auspices of the American Missionary Association. To the construction of the line buildings attached to the uni- versity the Freedmen's Bureau contributed material aid; but he in honor of whom it was named stands foremost as giver and helper. In 1872 he was elected a member of the Board of Trustees of Lehand University, an educational institution which cherishes the same views as those espoused by Straight, Atlanta and . Fisk Universities; is under the anspices of the Baptist Association, and takes its name from a famous Baptist family. In the same year he was made one of the administrators of the Hathaway House of New Orleans, an institution designed as a home for indigent colored people, and founded and endowed by Elisha Hath- away, a New England philanthropist. In 1872 also he was appointed by the National Committee for the United States a member of the International Penitentiary Congress, to assemble in London, England. This committee, composed of the most liberal minded, capable and humane men of different nations, was assembled for the purpose of inaugu- rating prison reforms, etc. That appointment, however, he was compelled to decline, and through his request E. C. Palmer, of New Orleans, was appointed in his place to rep- resent Louisiana in the Congress. In 1874 he was ap- pointed by the Governor of Louisiana a member of the Board of Control of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- lege of that State ; and in 1875 received a second commis. sion, confirmed by the State Senate, making him a member of the same body. He now his a business ofice in New Orleans, and lives there during one half of each year. In this city he is an esteemed member and officer of Coliseum Place Baptist Church, the largest and finest church of the denomination in the Southwest. At the present time he possesses a considerable fortune, but avoids the accumula- tion of great wealth by bestowing all excesses over a com- petent income on benevolent and charitable objects, llis record during the war of the rebellion also reflects great credit on him, for although not a soldier in the field he was in really more valuable capacities an indefatigable worker. lle became the support of poor men's families, paid for sub- stitutes for the disabled, and fed and clothed the destitute sick and wounded. He also sent his only son into the army, and his cherished wife into the hospitals to succor the suf- fering soldiers, paying for delicacies they greatly needed before sanitary supplies were received, and all expenses in- curred by her in travelling, and for board, etc., while work- ing for months in the sick wards of different hospitals. At the battle of Cheat Mountain, West Virginia, Lieutenant Straight, his son, was wounded, and it was here that Mrs. Straight's war record first began. After heroic labors in this section of the country she returned to Hudson with her son. In 1862 Lieutenant Straight having returned to the army in the South, she again entered the hospitals at Nash- ville, and afterward proceeded to Huntsville, Alabama, where no Northern women had as yet ventured, and where womanly services were most needed. There she was in-
trusted with the chief management of the Calhoun Hospital, where she remained until rail communications were opened and others came to supply her place. She then returned to Nashville, but did not return to her home until late in the fall. She is an active member of her church, and at one time was one of the lady managers of the Hathaway Honse at New Orleans. Ile has always been a firm friend to the well-disposed of the South, and after the close of the war was successfully instrumental in inducing Congress to re- lieve Louisiana from the heavy taxation on sugar ; while in various other ways, too numerous to mention, he has ably exerted his influence to further the work of reconstruction and lasting reconciliation. Ile was married, April 15th, 1841, to Caroline SibyHa Williams, a native of Greensburgh, Trumbull county, Vermont.
APPELLAR, WILLIAM S., Deputy Auditor of Hamilton County, Ohio, was born, on February 23d, 1839, in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, being the son of William G. Cappellar, who emigrated from Pennsylvania in 1848 and located upon a farm near Richmond, Indiana. During the Presidential campaign of 1852, being an eloquent speaker and well versed in civil affairs, his father stumped the State of Indiana for Franklin Pierce, addressing his audiences in English and German. He died in the winter of 1$52, leaving William S., his only child, upon whom de- volved the cultivation and management of the farm for the support of his widowed mother. He worked assiduously during the spring and summer months, and in the fall and winter attended school and received an excellent elementary education. In this employment he secured a robust and vigorous constitution, which in later years has enabled him to perform an unusually large amount of public and private labor. Ile attended the county lyceums and became an able debater, acquiring at these meetings a taste and de- veloping a line talent for extempore speaking. He was ap- prenticed to Ion. D. P. Holloway, then editor of the Rich- mond Palladium, to learn the trade of a printer, but his uncle, Philip Dorn, of Mount Healthy, Ohio, offered him the opportunity for obtaining a finished cducation at Farmer's College, which he accepted. That gentleman had recently lost his wife, and Mrs. Cappellar and her son went to reside with him. Mr. Cappellar entered this institution and se- cured a very comprehensive knowledge of the sciences and arts, and of other branches requisite for a successful carcer in life. His mother watched carefully over his instruction, and his prosperity is due to the attention and care she be- stowed on his early education. In 1859 he married Lizzie Killen, of Mount Healthy, and embarked in the dry-goods and grocery business at that place. In 1866 he was ap- pointed Postmaster of Mount Healthy, and held that office until 1872. In 1869 he was elected Clerk of Springfield
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town ,hip, and also Clerk of the township Board of Educa- tion, and was three times re-elected. During his leisure hours he studied law, and thoroughly qualified himself for admission to the bar. Ile soon opened an office in the vil. lige and disposed of his interest in the store. At this time the press of Cincinnati were declaiming against the mis- management and corruption of county officials; and the Court of Common Pleas, in October, 1871, appointed a com- mittee of three to investigate these charges, and Mr. Cap. pellar was placed on that committee. Ile discharged hus duty so faithfully and earnestly as to elicit the commenda- tion of the people and the press, and the Legislature of the State, acting upon the exposition of the cause of these com. plaints made by that committee, amended the laws pertain- ing to the compensation of county officials, by a bill known as the " Hamilton county fee bill." His quick perception, clearness of expression and open and fearless advocacy of the right, secured him a clerk hip with the then County Auditor, Hon. Walker M. Yeatman. In October, 1873, Hon. Joseph B. Humphreys being elected Auditor of the county, appointed Mr. Cappellar his deputy ; and that gentle- man being re-elected in October, 1875, continued Mr. Cap- pellar in his position, which he now fills with energy and intelligence. He has been for many years prominently iden- tified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, contrib- uting to its publication, delivering lectures, and in the Grand Lodge of the State an able representative and wise coun- sellor. He is a gentleman of scholarly and five business qualities, and has caused his success in life by industry and talent, and by a courteous demeanor toward those with whom he has come in contact.
GORE, CORNELIUS, M. A., Lawyer, Journalist, was born on the bank of the Delaware river, in ludington county, New Jersey, November 23d, ISob. He lived on a farm until he had attained his sixteenth your, when he was apprenticed to lean the trial of blacksmithing, at which he was engaged until he was twenty one years of age. During this tune, in the intervals of Libor, he attended the schools in the neighborhoo I of his home, and through tireless applica- tion and industry fitted himself to follow the vocation of a teacher. He was subsequently engaged for about two years in teaching, and in 1832 removed to and settled in Zanes. ville, Ohio. He then commenced the study of law. After his admission to the bar he was occupied in the practice of his profession for a period of several years. In 1844 he contracted a disease of the throat, and was advised to desist from speaking to any great extent. In accordance with this counsel, he removed to Cincinnati in 1845 and began the publication of the Masonic Reviews, a monthly magazine devoted to the interests of Free Masonry. He was initiated in Lafayette Lodge, No. 79, in Zanesville, Ohio, in March,
1837, and in the following year received the capitular de- grees in the Zmesville Royal Arch Chapter, No. 9. Since his initiation he has been intimately identified with the order, and has passed through the Council and Commandery and the different grades of the Scottish Rites. When he began the publication of the Masonic Review it was the only periodical in the West or South devoted to the interests of Free Masonry, while in the East there was but one other, the Free Masons' Magasine, published in Boston. Ile has continued the publication of the Review down to the present time, and it is now the oldest Masonic journal in America. For several years it was contained in a single volume per year, but was subsequently increased in size until the annual issue required the publication of two volumes, The forty- seventh volume has been published, and with the fiftieth volume he proposes to free himself from the labors connected with its management. He has written and published the following works : " Outlines of the Temple, or Masonry in its Moral Aspects," a volume of 300 pages; " The Ancient Charges and Regulations of Free Masonry ; " also a " Ilis- tory of the Constitutions and Authority," a volume of 300 pages ; " Leaflets of Masonie Biography, or Sketches of Eminent Free Masons," a volume of 420 pages. He has also compiled and prepared for the press the " Craftsman, and Free Masons' Guide," and the " Templar's Text Book," containing the ritual pertaining to the orders of knighthoods. In 1859 he visited Europe, and while abroad made the tour of England, Ireland, Scotland and France. During his ab- sence the university at Oxford, Ohio, conferred upon him the degree of M. A. He has been twice married; first in Eaton, Pennsylvania, to Ann Gano; and secondly to Kate Kirk, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
MITH, JAMES M'LAIN, Editor of the Dayton Democrat, was born in Miami county, Ohio, No- vember 4th, 1838. Ilis father, Thomas J. S. Smith, was a lawyer of prominence, twice a mem- ber of the Legislature, twice an msuccessful can- didate for Judge of the Supreme Court, Attorney for the Dayton & Michigan Railway Company, and also its President. Ilis mother was Jane, daughter of Henry Bacon, a lawyer of great ability and a member of the Ohio Legislat- ture. Mr. Smith graduated from the Miami University in the class of 1859, taking the valedictory honor, and at ouce began the study of law with his father. He was admitted to the bar in 1861, and practised for a short time, but soon gave up lus profession and engaged in farming for a period of eight years. In 1867 he purchased the Dayton Empire and converted it into the Dayton Ledger ; after six months he sold a half interest in the concern to the Hon. C. L. Vallandingham, and at the end of a year sold his remaining interest to John A. Cockerele. In 1871 he was elected to the Legislature on the Democratic ticket, and at the end of
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his term resumed the practice of law at Dayton, at which | editor, and for a period of twenty years was occupied as a he continued until the fall of 1874, when the Dayton Dem. cerat was established and he became its editor. At the age of thirty-seven Mr. Smith remains unmanned.
TRATTON, ELDER WILLIAM . PERRY, ex- Journalist, etc., second son of William Stratton and Mary (Peny) Stratton, was born in Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, December 12th, 1807. His parents emigrated from New Jersey in 1805, and were married in July of the same year, on their arrival in Cincinnati, his father having accompanied the parents of his affianced for that purpose. The marriage ceremony was performed in a house made of the flat-boat in which the party had descended the Ohio river. Decem- ber 24th, 1807, soon after settling at Franklin, his mother's decease occurred, and on the following day-Christmas- he was taken by his grandmother to Cincinnati, who was to him as a loving and careful mother. This relative, Martha Perry, was a Quakeress, and the daughter of Captain Joshua Iluddy, a brave soldier of the Revolution; also mother of Joshua 11. Perry and William Perry, both enterprising and influential men during the carlier days of Cincinnati. Ilis
great-grandfather, Joshua Huddy, a native of New Jersey, was one of those Revolutionary patriots who sacrificed for the welfare of their country not only the comforts of family and home, but life as well. Falling into the hands of the British, the soldiers, who were incensed at his bold and stubborn opposition to the home authority and British aggressions, hanged him while he was under escort to be exchanged for an officer of his rank. His early religions training was conducted after the fashion of the Friends. At the early age of thirteen, however, he became a teacher in a Methodist Sunday-school, and at this time began the change in his religious feelings. In 1823 he commenced to attend the preaching, of Elder James Challen, of Enon Baptist Church, now Court Street Baptist Church; and in 1826, while the church was temporarily under the care of Elder James Ranoldson, was by baptism admitted to regular membership. lle was present during the memorable debate on the Evidences of Christianity, between Alexan- der Campbell and Robert Dale Owen, in 1828. About this time also he attended the preachings of various emi- nent ministers of the denomination of Disciples, among whom were John Smith and the Creaths of Kentucky. These and other influences induced him, with other Bap- tists, in 1830, to reject the merely written creeds and take the Bible only as the rule of life. He was then a teacher in the first school in Cincinnati for the education of the colored people of the city. At the age of fourteen he had been apprenticed to the printing business in the office of the old Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette, then controlled partly by Ephraim Morgan and Charles Hammond, the ; been Chaplain of the Cincinnati Association of Pioneers
printer. In 1832, in connection with John II. Wood, he published the Cincinnati Minor and Ladies' Repository. The poet, William D. Gallagher, wis the editor of the journal. This author has written several works of merit, and once enjoyed the distinction of having one of William Cullen Bryant's poems dedicated to him. Elder Stratton has for many years been a prime mover and energetic worker in the cause of public education in Cincinnati, for fifteen years was a member of the Board of Education, and officiated for several years as its Vice-President. Ile has always been an advocate of physical exercise and training in the schools as a portion of the regular school course, and through his influence the gymnastic facilities now presented in a limited degree in the schools have been secured. Ile was one of the earliest movers in establishing the present uniform system of penmanship in the public schools, and also in the establishment of the " Intermediate Department." For many years he was Trustee of the First Intermediate, and Delegate to the Union Bond of High School. Ile was a member of the City Council for nine years, and for one year acted as President of that body. In company with two other members of Council, he located the present city buildings. The site chosen was then thought to be im- proper, to be unreasonably far from the town centre ; but with the lapse of time has come the vindication of the course pursued. Ile was also one of the committee who selected the site for the House of Refuge, and under whose direc- tions this institution was erected. Ile was one of its first Board of Directors, and also acted with its Committee of Indentures for several years. During his connection with the Council, the Fire Department was changed from a vol- unteer to a regularly organized paid department; and to him, with Charles Thomas and Louis Broadwell, the city is mainly indebted for the admirable and needed change. This was a bold piece of work, as the Fire Department had become a great power in the city, unfortunately, on the side of corruption. Only by conquering the determined opposition of the firemen and their first chief, Niles Green- wood, were they able to succeed in this unpopular but absolutely necessary innovation. He had been himself for fourteen years a member of the old volunteer organization. With the exception of five years, he has spent all his tinie in Cincinnati. During those years he was pastor of the Christian Church in Petersburg and Burlington, Kentucky, and in Rising Sun, Indiana. While residing in the latter place he was Editor and Publisher of the Rising Sun Journal. In 1850 he accepted the Surveyorship of the City Insurance Company, and held this position for sixteen years. When that establishment was merged into the En- terprise Insurance Company, he retained his office, and still acts as Surveyor. For over forty years he has been a prom- inent Odd Fellow, and thirty-eight years ago was elected Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Ohio. Ile has also
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