USA > Ohio > The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 21
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observatory, which commands a comprehensive view of the | gave it up and began the study of law. Ile was admitted city and surrounding country. This handsome structure is to the bar at Washington Court House, May 20th, 1867, and at once began practice in Clinton county. In tSoy he was the Democratic candidate for the office of Probate Judge of Clinton County; but, though he ran ahead of his ticket very considerably, he was defeated by a small ma- jority, the county being at that time, as now, a Republican stronghold. On the Ist of January, 1870, he removed to Ililisborough, Highland county, where, in 1872, he was again nominated for Probate Judge, and again defeated. In 1873 he was elected on the Democratic ticket to repre- sent his district in the Senate, where he serves on the Judiciary Committee, Committee on Statutes, the Committee on Corporations other than Municipal, Federal Relations, Railroads and Turnpikes, Roads and Highways, Revision, and Privileges and Elections, being Chairman of the last two. By that law of intellectual gravitation which regu- lates such matters Mr. Shepherd has attained a rank among the first of his colleagues, and his legislative career has been marked by a degree of good sense and independent judgment, which distinguish the statesman who serves his constituency rather than the politician who connives for his party. Ilis standing may be inferred from the fact that, in addition to the important regular committees on which he serves, he is Chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Amendments, regarded as the most impor- tant committee of the General Assembly. At the age of thirty two he is still unmarried. exempted by Mr. March's family, and is in its appointments and decoration one of the finest private mansions in the country. Mr. March, when he embaked in business in Cincinnati, had a capital of $1500, which had been earned by hard labor and rigid economy. He now pays in taxes on his constantly-improving real estate in . that city more than three times that sum. His fortune has been amassed from the business which he so ably conducted, his personal estate being in itself more than a competency. His genius for invention has resulted in his securing several valuable patent rights, one of them being for " Murch's street chariot," intended to supersede the common street car. This chariot is made in two sizes, for one and two horses. Among its many advantages its adaptability for running on any street, without tracks, is perhap, its chiefest. It is now in successful operation in Washington, District of Columbia, and is rapidly being introduced in other cities. Ile has also patented a double head light reflector, which has been adopted in New York and other eastern as well as western cities. It is simple in construction, less expensive than any other and increases the light from one burner sixteen times. Mr. Murch was married when twenty-five years old to Mary E., daughter of Hon. R. W. Gates, of New York, by whom he had two daughters, who died when quite young. His wife died, October 20th, 1846. His second wife was Anu, daughter of Elijah Carpenter, of New York, by whom he had one child, a daughter, who died of scarlet fever. Mr. Murch is a man of great energy and force of character. - Ile has been an industrious worker and has achieved his great fortune by the prudent and enterprising management of his business. Ile has done much to beautify the city in which he lives, by the erection of handsome buildings, and to improve its commercial and mercantile interests, by the support of important business ventures, lle is greatly re- spected for his services as a manufacturer and citizen, and has merited the esteem and confidence with which he is honored.
HEPHERD, HON. HENRY A., Senator from the Sixth District in the Sixty-first General Assembly of Ohio, was born, February 9th, 1843, in High- land county. His parents were William A, and Frances A. ( Rogers) Shepherd. His father was a physician, and practised in Highland county until October, 1861, when he removed to New Vienna, Clinton county, where he continued to follow his profession till his death, which occurred May 13th, 1871. Mr. Shep- herd received his education principally in the common schools of his native county, and at the age of nineteen began the study of medicine; but receiving, by a kick from a horse, a personal injury which threatened to render the practice of that profession impossible, after two years he
RYE, WILLIAM C., Treasurer of Clarke County, Ohio, was born in Winchester, Virginia, Decem- ber 5th, 1815. Ile is the son of George M. Frye, a Methodist Episcopal minister and native of Frederick county, Virginia, and Mary ( Wolfe) Irye, also a native of this county and State. On the paternal side he is remotely of German extraction. lis grandfather, Christopher Frye, was a commissioned officer in the Revolutionary army. Ile was educated at the Charlestown Academy, in Virginia, and was occupied by his studies until 1833. He then moved to Highland county, Ohio, where he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, keeping a general store in Greenfield until 1848. In this year also he removed to Springfield and became connected with the business of banking, remaining in association with the Mad River Valley branch of the Ohio State Bank until 1856. ile was then elected, on the American ticket, to the County Treasurership, and in 1858 was re-elected Treasurer, on the Republican ticket. In 1860 he became joint proprietor and publisher of the Springfield Republican, and sustained his relations with that organ until 1862. In March, 1864, he became Cashier of the Second National Bank, then entering on its existence, and was connected with this in- stitution until July, 1869. In 1870 he established a private
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banking firm, under the style of Fryer, Mc Williams & Co., | which, in April, 1873, was merged into the Lagonda Na- tional Bank, of which he was bookkeeper until September, 1874. Ile was then appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Richard Mountjoy, Treasurer of Clarke county, Ohio. Later in the year he was formally elected to fill the Treasurer hip for a full term. He was married, January 26th, 1839, to Mary K. Bell, of Highland county, Ohio, by whom he has had eleven children; six of these- two sons and four daughters-are now living.
OOS, JOSEPHI, was born in Chester county, Penn- sylvania, about 1767. His father was a native of 6.2 Germany and his mother of Wales. Ile removed with his parents to Tennessee, and afterwards to Harrison county, Kentucky, where, in 1797, he married Lydia Nelson, and the following year moved to Franklin (now Columbus), Ohio, where he owned the ferry over the Sciota, then a franchise of great value ; he also kept a large tavern. He was a man of fine natural ability, and though he spoke German and English with iliency and elegance, his early education was deficient. Ilis memory was remarkable, and his perception very quick ; and after taking private instruction of an Irish schoolmaster, who came to his house in indigent circumstances, he came to be regarded as a man of more than usual acquirements, and throughout the remainder of his life carried on a volu- minous correspondence with Clay, Ewing, Corwin, Harrison and other contemporary characters of prominence. He was a member of the first Legislature, and before his death served twenty-five sessions in the Senate and House. He became an eloquent and moving speaker, and it was mainly through his persistent efforts that the capital of the State was re. moved to Columbus. In recognition of the services the authorities of the city afterwards gave him a square of ground, allowing him to choose it for him self. He served in the war of 1812, rising from the rank of Captain to Brigadier General. During the years of this war and the Indian troubles that followed, Franklin wis an important military post and his tavern the resort of the army officers. Ilis opportunities for making money were very great ; his ferry alone, during the movement of military forces and the tide of emigration sweeping in great caravans to the plains of Illinois, frequently netted him three hundred dollars a dry. But his liberality was equal to his resources. His house was the head-centre for political agitators, and they were always needy. Even in entertaining such men as Clay there was more distinction than profit. Ilis influence throughout the State at this time was undoubtedly very great, but it suffered a decline. He was defeated for Con- gress, and his property having depreciated by the changed circumstances of the country, he removed to Madison county and engaged in farming. About 1825 he was appointed
General in-Chief of the State Militia, and held the office until his death. He had taken a remarkable interest in the study of geography, and when the subject of canals was agitating the country, after the inception of De Witt Clin- ton's great scheme in New York, his attention was chawn to the feasibility of a ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien. Hle opened correspondence with the Spanish authorities, who were civil enough to furnish him the required informa- tion in furtherance of his plan for a grand highway of na- tions; he furnished a pamphlet with a map. While this was remembered it was known as " Foos' folly," but sev- eral years after his death it reflected great credit on his name, when some controversy arose between England and the United States on the subject of the discovery of the route, and Tom Corwin arose in Congress and drew attention to the fact that the idea had originated years before with a citizen of the State of Ohio. General Foos' first wife died in 1810, having two sons and two daughters ; and in 1812 he married Margaret Phifer, of Madison, with whom he had six children, five sons and one daughter. He died in 1832, and was buried at Columbus.
OOS, WILLIAM, Banker, was born in Franklin county, July 14th, 1814. Ilis father was General Joseph Foos ; his mother Margaret ( Phifer) Foos. During his early childhood his father removed to Madison county aud engaged in farming. Wil- liam received a fair English education, but his father dying when he was fourteen years old, he was com- pelled afterwards to earn his own living. He began as clerk in a dry-goods store, and at the age of twenty three embarked in the same business on his own account at Springfield, Ohio, at which he continued, in connection with his brothers, up to 1856, carrying on a large trade and be- coming widely known throughout the county. In 1858 he and his brother, Gustavus S., established the private bank- ing house of Foos & Brother, which in 1861 was changed into the Second National Bank of Springfield, Ohio, and of which he has since been President. Since 1865 he has been engaged in the manufacture of mill machinery on a large scale at Springfield, the works furnishing constant em- ployment to 100 men. The Leffel turbine water-wheel, an invention of one of the partners of the house, is a specialty. His son, Lamar Foos, is associated in the business, and has charge of the foreign trade at a branch house in New York city. Mr. Foos has a farm of 4000 acres under a high state of cultivation in Champaign county, Illinois, The whole is under the management of a steward, who accounts and re- ports to Mr. Foos at stated periods. It has been his pride to make this a model and remunerative farm; it is finely stocked, and contains over thirty miles of fence. It is cut through the centre by the Chicago & Paducah Railway ; and two years since he has had a depot erected, and laid off
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lots for a village, which is called Foosland, in which he has | and shrewdness in availing himself of every new invention already sold all the lots, and which will probably grow to ot improvement connected with shoemaking machinery. Ile constantly employs several hundreds of hands, and turns out annually several hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock. He is now one of the wealthy men ol Cin- cinnati, and is widely esteemed as an able and enterprising man of business. preserve his moue and commemorate his enterprise among the generations of the fatme. August 27th, 2537, he mar- ried Sarah, daughter of James and Nancy ( Van Kik ) Mark, of Madison county, and with her he had two children, Lamar and Fergas W., cashier of the Second National Bank.
RICHARD, GEORGE A., Wholesale Shoe Mer- chant and Manufacturer, was born in West Brook- field, Worcester, Massachusetts, December 5th, 1815. Ile was educated at New Ipswich, New Hampshire. While in his twentieth year, he launched himself into the current of business life on his own resources, and found employment in a dry-goods store in Boston, At the expiration of one year he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1837, and here entered, in the capac- ity of clerk, the store of John Chillits. A year or more elapsed, and finally, having received various promising of. fers from the West, he decided to embark in the business enterprises thus brought under his notice. At the termina- tion of several years of interesting and valuable experience in business matters in the new field of labor, he returned to Cincinnati in 1842 and established himself in the retail and jobbing shoe trade, which ultimately was changed into the jobbing trade exclusively. In 1847, after five years of great success, he connected his house with that of Charles B. Johnson, under the firm name of Johnson, Prichard & Co. This, after being developed into one of the most extensive and prosperous wholesale shoe establishments in Cincinnati, was disposed of by sale, and a new and even more exten- sive business projected in Boston, Massachusetts. The latter venture not meeting with desirable success, he returned to Ohio and bought a farm, situated near Lebanon, where he remained until 1861. Ile then returned to Cincinnati, and purchased the shoe establishment of Moses Brooks, which under his able management rapidly became a very prosper- ons business. In January, 1871, he closed out all his in- terest and business in the jobbing of Eastern goods, and commenced the manufacture of an entire line of goods for the Western trade. He accordingly engaged all his energies and resources exclusively in manufacturing for the supply of dealers in the West, and made for them in his factory boots and shoes of every kind and style demanded. No shoe manufacturer had preceded him in this enterprise, and by many of the more timid houses it was regarded as a bold and hazardous venture. At the present time it is the only shoe manufactory in the city where so many lines and such great variety of styles and grades of goods are made. In 1873 he fitted up a large, extensive factory on Lock street, which is, confessedly, unrivalled throughout the West as a thoroughly-arranged and commodious establishment ; while its operations are greatly facilitated by his promptness
UTCHINS, FRANCIS E., Attorney-at-Law, was born, September 16th, 1827, in Litchfield county, Connecticut. Ilis parents were Myron M. and Mary M. (Porter) Hutchinson ; the former born in Vermont, the latter in . Connecticut. The family in 1833 removed to and settled in Summit county, Ohio, where they remained until 1835, when they removed to Kalamazoo county, Michigan. Ilis father was by occupation a farmer. Leaving Michigan in 1844 they returned to Ohio, locating at Youngstown, then in Trumbull, now in Mahoning county. Want 'of opportunity, both in Michigan and after his return to Ohio, prevented young Hutchinson from deriving much benefit from even such schools as the county afforded in that early day, and as to Lis education he is mainly self taught. At the age of twenty- two he entered upon the study of the law at Youngstown, in the office of William Ferguson, and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the State in 1851. During his legal studies, at the suggestion of his law preceptor, he dropped the last syllable of his name, and has ever since been known by the name of Hutchins. On being admitted to the bar he formed a partnership with his former preceptor at Youngstown, where he continued to practise until the spring of 1859, when he located in Warren, Ohio, where he has since continued to practise and reside.
UTZ, IION. LAWRENCE, JR., Mayor of Dayton, Ohio, was born at Sidney, Shelby county, Ohio, July 26th, 1838, being the son of Lawrence and Elizabeth (Spitznagel) Butz, both of whom were natives of the Grand Duchy of Baden, near Straus- burg. He was educated in the common schools of Dayton, to which, when he was quite young, his parents moved. He graduated in Latin, French, German and English, from the College of Nazareth, a Catholic institution near the city, lately transformed into St. Mary's Institute, Having acquired a liberal and substantial education, when sixteen years of age, he was withdrawn from school and em- ployed in his father's grocery store as attendant and book- keeper. He continued in this capacity until 1861, when his father admitted him to a partnership interest, and the operations of the firm were extended to embrace pork- packing and candle-making. In this line of trade he con- tinued with great success up to the time of his election to
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the Mayoralty of Dayton, when he disposed of his business port of many who differ with him in political doctrine. His in order to give his entire attention to the responsible duties career has been one of success, due perhaps entirely to the manner in which he has discharged the duties of every trust ; fand there is a fair probability that his progress will realize the expectations of his friends. On January Ist, 1856, he married Lizzie A. Ocheltree, of Newark, and this wedlock has been blessed with three children, one son and two daughters.
of the office to which he had been called by the suffrages of his fellow-citizens. On April 6th, 1874, he was elected, on the Democratic ticket, as Mayor, receiving a majority of 403 votes over his opponent, David A. Hook ; and since his inaugural in that office he has discharged its duties with dignity, with great care and with fidelity, unbiased by any partisan feeling. He has always been an active Democrat, and for a long time was a member of the Central Committee for Montgomery county. lle has always taken a deep in- terest in municipal affairs, supporting all publie improve- ments, and exerting his influence and his energy as a busi- ness man to increase the mercantile welfare of the city over which he now presides. For three years he served the Eighth Ward in the City Councils, and also filled a term in 1861, to Louisa Schafer, of Dayton, who was born July roth. 1841.
the Board of Health. He was married, on November 26th, usually obtained by boys in his condition of life in England,
ELL, HON. WILLIAM, JR., Secretary of State for Ohio, was born in Licking county, August 23d, 1827, bis parents having been Samuel and Elizabeth ( Hauger) Bell. Ilis father was a native of Greene county, Pennsylvania, and was by occupation a farmer. Ilis mother was a Vir- ginian by birth, and her name is well known and her con- nections are many in the "Old Dominion " State. Mr. Bell was educated at Martinsburg Academy, in Knox county, Ohio, and made rapid progress in the various branches of English culture. Upon leaving that institution he remained with his father until 1852, when he was elected Sheriff of Licking county, and discharged all the duties of that station with fidelity and intelligence. Soon after the expiration of his term he was appointed Postmaster of Newark, and re- tained this position until 1858, when the people of the county again elected him to the Sheriffalty. In 1865 they honored him in the same form, and the care with which he adminis- tered his trust indicated how completely they had estimated bis character as a faithful and energetic official. He acted as Auditor of Licking county from 1864 to 1870, serving three successive terms. In 1871 he was chosen from that county to the lower House of the State Legislature, and in 1873 was re-elected. These distinctions, so thoroughly merited and so generously conferred, prepared the way for his election in 1874 to the office of Secretary of State, which station he now fills. While a member of the House of Representa- tives he was Chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Works, and a member of the Committees on Insurance and Municipal Corporations. He has been a life-long Democrat, and has been prominently identified with the campaign or- ganizations of that party. His friends are not all within the lines of this party, however. His genial disposition, affable manners, and sterling qualities have won the personal sup-
TRIBLEY, GEORGE, Shoe Manufacturer, was born at St. Columb, Cornwall, England, April 6th, 1824. His ancestors for many generations back lived and died in this place. His father was a miller, and naturally endowed with unusual mechanical ability. He received the education
and, always a lover of literature, added greatly to his store of attainments by a varied course of reading pursued on all favorable occasions. At the age of fourteen he was appren- ticed to learn the trade of shoemaking, and, in accordance with English custom, was engaged at it during the succeed- ing period of six years. On the completion of his appren. ticeship he remained in England for about three years, working at his trade during this time, and having heard much concerning the golden opportunities offered to young men in the United States, decided to emigrate to the land of promise. Leaving his country, accordingly, he finally arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, in November, 1847, having be- fore quitting England selected that city as his objective point. He then worked as a journeyman in various shops for several years, but not finding sufficient occupation to con- sume all his time, purchased some stock, entered on the role of manufacturer, and sold his work to the retail traders. Disposing profitably and easily of all his wares, he con- tinned this system of business, adding a hand when he saw that prospects warranted the acquisition with its attendant expense. In 1854 he moved to Walnut Hills, where he opened his business afresh and conducted it on a larger scale. At the outbreak of the war of the rebellion he con- trolled a force of fifty hands, and was the possessor of a flourishing business. After the cessation of the depression attending the opening years of the conflict the demand for his work became great and pressing, and he rapidly accumu- lated wealth. As early as October, 1851, he had made use of the " Blodgett & Lerow stitching-machine for fitting up- pers "-his machine being the first of its kind used in the West -- and in December, 1862, he introduced into his busi- ness the now celebrated " Mckay sole sewing-machine," the first one set up on the western side of the Alleghenies. The initiatory introd iction of this machinery required a prolonged struggle on his part, for the machine accomplish- ing successfully the work of many men, its overthrow was, naturally, earnestly determined upon. Not only was the opposition of workmen to be stemmed and turned, but also
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the prejudice eradicated from the tradesmen's minds con- fas clerk, and remained there for about one year. He then corning the inferiority of machine-made work. The war continued, however, until the rebellion created a new de. mand for shoes, and it was discovered also that men with little or no knowledge of the shoemaker's trade could use the machinery profitably. Also the merchants began to un- derstand that machine-work was not a deception, and their doubts once removed, the demand for it received a fresh impetus. He then, from time to time, continued to intro- dace machinery into his business, until his establishment, as now conducted, contains specimens of all the useful shoe- machinery in existence. After fairly launching his business into the new order of things, the Sons of St. Crispin ap- peared on the scene, and by this association he was persist- ently and determinedly attacked. Their hostile measures, however, were fated to end in failure; for, organizing the Manufacturers' Association, he succeeded within a brief period in quelling their spirit, and eventually was instru- mental in securing their defeat as a partisan organization. llis business increasing beyond the capacity of his place at Walnut Hills, he moved to Pearl street, where he has since remained. Ile now turns out daily 1000 pairs of women's, misses' and children's shoes, and he is second to none throughout the West in the amount of work done, in the character of his wares, and in the excellence of his reputa- tion. For three different years he has received the highest rewards offered on manufactured goods in his line in the various expositions; and his business relations extend over all the Western and Southwestern States, and amount to four or five hundred thousands of dollars per annum. Owing to the unceasing pressure of business he has been prevented from taking an active part in the political move- ments of the day, but has served two terms in the Board of Aldermen. As early as 1863 he made the needed applica- tion of steam to the working of shoe-machinery, and was the first manufacturer who operated by steam the common sew- ing-machine, or applied steam in the use of any shoe ma- chinery west of the mountains. He is a valued member of several social orders, and is very influential in the move- ments, political and social, of the community amid which he is esteemed and respected.
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