USA > Ohio > The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 25
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Professor John Eberle, of Cincinnati. Immediately after graduating from the Ohio Medical College in 1836, from which institution he took his degree of M. D., he entered upon practice in Piqua, and in a very short time, by his skill and care in the discharge of his professional duties, he se- cured a very large and influential patronage, which he re- tained without interruption for more than twenty-five years. Although there were many inducements for his withdrawal for a time from his practice, be allowed none to influence him in his steadfast purpose of winning a standard reputation for ability. Ilis political affiliations were originally Demo- cratic. Ile became a disciple of the old Jeffersonian school, casting his first Presidential vote for Martin Van Buren in 1836. In 1848 he was an Elector on the Democratic ticket, and supported General Cass for the Presidency. Ile was elected from the strong Whig district, comprising Miami, Darke and Shelby counties, a Senatorial deleg ate to the Con- vention of 1849, which formed the new Constitution of Ohio; and though acting and voting uniformly with the Democrats, he refused to allow himself to be drawn into the weakness of endeavoring to incorporate mere party politics in an in- strument which was to be the organie law of the whole State and of all parties. Hle introduced and carried suc- cessfully through that body the present self-regulating ap- portionment scheme for State Senators and Representatives, a scheme which gave general satisfaction to all parties at that time, and which still satisfies them. Prior to the assembling of this Convention each decade witnessed in the State Legis- lature scenes of bitter partisan contests, and the introduction of the most flagrant and indefensible plans for an apportion- ment of the districts to favor and continue the success of the dominant party at the time. Dr. Dorsey proposed to the Committee on Apportionment the measure now em- bodied in the Constitution, as a remedy for this constantly- recurring evil. Ile also drew up that clause of the Consti- tution, to be found in section vii. of article 13, in reference to the investiture of associations with banking powers. In the memorable Know-Nothing contest of 1854 he was defeated for Congress, as was every Congressional candidate of his party in the State. In 1856 he was a delegate to the Na- tional Democratie Convention at Cincinnati, and advocated the nomination of Mr. Buchanan. Ile was again placed in the field for Congress, when Mr. Buchanan was the standard- bearer of the Demoeratie party, and although he ran ahead of that distinguished gentleman in his district, he sustained another defeat. In 1857 he was the Democratie candidate for State Auditor, upon the ticket with Ilon. R. P. Ranney for Governor. In 1860 he became an ardent supporter of Senator Douglas for the Presidency, and differed with Mr. Buchanan on the question of the Lecompton Constitution for Kansas. He was one of the original anti-slavery Dem- ocrats, having been a member of the Committee on Resolu- tions in the Democratic Convention of 1848, which drew up the celebrated anti-slavery resolution of that year.
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When the civil war broke out, and before Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated, Dr. Dorsey openly declared himself in favor of sustaining the administration, and from that time his energies, his influence, his material aid were all generously given in aid of the Union cause. Ile wrote the celebrated "Statesman Letter," published originally in that paper at Columbus, and afterwards in every paper in the State, ad- vocating the formation of a Union party, and which did more perhaps than any one thing in organizing that party in the State. Ile became a candidate in 1861 for State Treasurer on the Union ticket, and was elected by the largest majority of any one on the State ticket. In 1863 he was again elected to the same office, which he resigned in 1865. On the 8th of January, 1864, he delivered by request a Eulogy on General Andrew Jackson before both Houses of the General Assembly, at Columbus, and in the same year was one of the Senatorial delegates to the Baltimore Convention, and advocated the renomination of Mr. Lin- coln. During the years 1863 and 1864 he was Chairman of the Republican Executive Committee of Ohio. In 1868 he was chosen by the Electoral College, on the Grant and Colfax ticket, a Senatorial Elector, to fill the piace made vacant by the death of Governor David Tod. Ile served as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1873, and distinguished his service in that body by advocating the adoption of reform measures, which he ably and eloquently sustained. For twenty years he was a member of the Board of Trustees of Miami University. He was the first President of the Piqua Hydraulic Company, and is now President of the Citizens' National Bank of Piqua. The ability of Dr. Dorsey, in the profession of medicine and in the field of politics, of education and of business enterprise, may be fairly estimated from this record. There are few, perhaps, who have so well merited the confidence and respect of their fellow-citizens as he, and few have discharged the varied and responsible duties imposed upon them with greater energy or greater fidelity. He was married, June, 1837, to N. M. MeCorkle, daughter of Hon. John Mc- Corkle, of Piqua. In 1856 he was married to L. P. Mor- row, daughter of D. Tuttle, Esq., of Indianapolis.
taking the degree of A. B., receiving subsequently, in course, the degree of A. M. Upon leaving this institution he started an academy at Savannah, Athens county, which soon attained a flourishing condition and took high rank as a school for instruction. Having, however, previously registered for the bar, he disposed of this institution at the end of a year and entered the Cincinnati Law School, from which he graduated in 1869. During this course of study he read law under the private supervision of Judge Stover, of the Superior Court, and became thoroughly fitted for membership of the bar, to which he was admitted. Ile at once associated with W. F. Boyd, and entered into practice, in which he made rapid progress, attaining gradually to the position of a leading lawyer. In 1873 he was elected on the Democratie ticket to represent Cincinnati in the Sixty first General Assembly of the State, and is still a member of that body. Ile is Chairman of the Committee on Revision, and a member of the Committee on Finance. Ile is a clear and logical debater, an active worker, and has participated prominently in all the proceedings of the Assembly since his entrance to it. Ile has the reputation of being a thor- oughly-read lawyer, familiar with all branches of practice, careful in the management of all cases intrusted to him, and faithful to the interests of those who seek his skill and confidence.
OWE, ANDREW JACKSON, Surgeon, was born in l'axton, Worcester county, Massachusetts, in IS26. Ilis early years were passed on a farm. Ile received a classical course at Leicester Acad- emy, and graduated at Harvard College in 1853. During this year and the following one he took courses of lectures at the Jefferson Medical College, Phila- delphia, and afterwards hospital instruction in New York. After graduating at the Worcester Medical Institution he was appointed Professor of Anatomy in his Alma Mater. In 1856 he accepted the same position in the Eclectic Medical Institute, of Cincinnati. In 1870 he brought ont a " Treatise on Fractures and Dislocations," and was trans- ferred to the chair of Surgery. In 1873 he wrote a " Manual of Eye Surgery," and has in an advanced state of preparation a general work on the " Principles and Prac- tice of Surgery," designing most of the illustrations with his own pencil. The subject of this sketch has exhibited in- ventive talent in the construction of instruments, and in the execution of difficult operations. lle has successfully per- formed most of the great operations in surgery, and many of them repeatedly. lle has frequently been called long distances as an expert witness in malpractice trials, and is familiar with nice points in medieal jurisprudence. Ile illustrates his lectures with striking diagrams of his own make and with crayon sketches rapidly drawn while speak- ing. Ile is a constant contributor of surgical papers to the
OYCE, IION. GEORGE W., Member of the Ohio Legislature, was born in Columbiana county, May 34, 1840, being the son of Isaac and Jane ( Brady) Boyce, both of whom were of Irish descent. Ilis father was a lumber dealer and a farmer, and was highly esteemed by his neighbors. George W. had meagre advantages for culture in early life, but these he improved in the highest degree possible. Ile was am- bitious for liberal and substantial culture in the most prac- tical and popular branches, and to this end he entered the University of Ohio, at Athens, after attaining his majority, and sustained himself by teaching. He graduated in 1867, Eclectic Medical Journal, and an occasional writer for
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populair and scientific periodicals. Ile has also acquired di dinction in comparative anatomy, and is an active mem- ber of the Society of Natmal History. Dr. Howe stands to day among the leading men and teacher, in his school in the West, and ranks as one of the first surgeons of the country. Ilis scholarly attainments give him some advan- tage, over his brethren, being one of the finest speakers and most successful teachers of the distinguished medical men of the day. Dr. Howe has a large and valuable practice, is yet in the prime of life, with a fine body and constitution, and with the prospect of a bright and useful career before him.
officer, or Master ; and at the expiration of this term of office he was again re-elected. He was appointed soon after his connection with the order, by the national officers, as a General Deputy, to organize subordinate granges in Ohio. By the Ist of the following April he had organized over seventy granges. On the 9th day of April, 1873, the mas- ters of the various subordinate granges in the State (it then being located in the following counties, viz. : Stark, Portage, Ilocking, Montgomery, Clinton, Vinton, Clermont, Greene and Warren) met at Lebanon, Warren county, and with the assistance of Mr. T. A. Thompson, of Minnesota, Worthy Lecturer of the National Grange, organized the State Grange of Ohio. Of this organization his associates chose Mr. Ellis to be its chief officer, that of Worthy Master, the election to last for two years. At the expiration of this period, in March, 1875, he was again nearly unanimously
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" LLIS, S. II., Worthy Master of the State Grange of Ohio of Patrons of Husbandry, was born near Martinsville, Clinton county, Ohio, January 3d, 're-elected to the same position for another term of two IS30. His father, Robert Ellis, was born in years. The granges in the State having increased up to that time, under his efficient leadership, to over 1100, with a membership of over 50,000, his labors in this good work have been incessant, and next to his family and the church has lain nearest his heart. His position as the chief officer in the State has led to the acquaintance of many of the best men and women in Ohio, he having in this capacity formed acquaintance, more or less intimate, with persons in every county in the State; and having the office of State Master places the responsible duty of representing the order in Ohio in the National Grange upon Mr. Ellis and his wife, which position they have filled in three meetings of the National Grange, the first at St. Louis, Missouri, the second at Charleston, South Carolina, and the third at Louisville, Kentucky, the latter commencing November 17th, 1875. At this meeting Mr. Ellis was chosen Chaplain of the National Grange for the next three years. The biography of Colonel William II. Ilill will give the reader an idea of the business transacted by this noble association of farmers. Tennessee, and at the age of eighteen removed with his father to Ohio, where, in young man. hood, he married Susan Lewis, who died in a few months after marriage. Sethi's mother's name was Anna Hackett, who, in young womanhood, married James Moon, and from this marriage had one child, a daughter. Soon after the birth of this child her husband died; in course of time Robert Ellis and Anna Moon were united in marriage. Their first child, being a daughter, was named Susan Ellis; and their second, being a son, was named James M. Ellis, thus preserving the name of the husband of one and the wife of the other in the family. This union, which con- tinued more than fifty years and was one of unusual happi- ness, was terminated by the death of Robert Ellis, in March, 1874, at the age of seventy-nine years and six months. Ilis widow, Anna, is still living. The early edu- cation of the subject of this sketch was confined to the usual three-months district school of each winter until he reached his seventeenth year, when he had the privilege of attending for a year in succession the school in Springboro', under the instruction of an excellent instructor, Charles Kimble, who took great interest in his advancement. At RÜHL, GUSTAVUS, M. D., was born, May 31st, 1826, in the village of Herdorf, in the Prussian province of Rhenania, where his father was pro- prietor of mines and smelting furnaces, Ile re- ceived a classical education at the colleges of Siegen, Muenster-Eiffel and Treves, where he graduated, then studied medicine, philosophy and history at the universities of Munich, Ilalle and Berlin, and after having passed the required examinations he was honored with the degree of M. D. Ile was induced to come to America in 1848, partly by the difficulty of finding success- ful practice in a fieldl already overstocked, and partly by the fever of emigration, then at its height in Germany, and which was fanned in him by the inviting letters sent him by his uncle, john Gerlach Brühl, a resident of Missouri. Upon his arrival he started en route for Missouri, the close of this year's schooling he received a certificate from the Examiners of Warren county, Ohio, to teach school, said certificate good for two years. He afterwards obtained a certificate in Montgomery county, on which he taught school six months. In August, 1851, just before commencing the latter school, he was united in marriage to Rebecca J. Tressler, who was born and reared on a farm adjoining the one where they now live, one and one-half miles east of Springboro'. From this union they have five girls and two boys, of whom the cklest daughter, Evan- geline, is married to A. M. Somers. Mr. Ellis has been a practical farmer ever since he commenced business for himself, in the spring of 1852. At the organization of Grange No. 6, in Ohio, of Patrons of Husbandry, October Ist, 1872, he was unanimously chosen to be its principal
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but on his way down the Ohio the boat in which he took fand, though not elected, his great popularity in the State was shown by the heavy vote which he polled, and which was the highest on his ticket.
passage was laid up at Cincinnati on account of low water. Going on shore he encontered a relative of his mother's family, who persuaded him to settle permanently in that city. Ile opened an office at the corner of Laurel and Linn streets, and soon established himself in a lucrative practice by the exercise of skill and care in the performance of his professional duties. For several years, he was Acting Physician of St. Mary's Hospital. He lectured for a while in the Miami Medical College ou laryngoscopy and diseases of the throat, but refused a chair of Obstetrics, offered him by several medical colleges. In the summer of 1869 he accepted the editorship of the German Pioncer, a monthly magazine devoted to the " History of the German Inhabi- tants of America," for which he had furnished many im- portant papers. He resigned this position upon the con- clusion of the second volume, in 1870, but continued to contribute sketches from time to time on topics of interest to the readers of the magazine. Among these were articles on belles-lettres and scientifie subjects, and poems in the German language. Ile issued a volume of German verse, entitled " Poesien des Urwalds von Kara Giorg," the latter being his nom de plume. This volume was issued in New York, in 1871. Several of his poems were published in Steiger's "Dornrosen " and " Heimathgrüsse," anthologies of German-American verse. For years he has turned his attention to the study of American archaeology, and de- livered many lectures on this topic before different literary and scientific societies. The results of his investigations are now being published in a work entitled " Die Cultur- volker Alt-Americas," the first part of which has already appeared in print. Hle is one of the curators of the Ilis- torical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, a member of the American Medical Association, of the Natural History Society and of the Literary Club of Cincinnati, and was one of the originators of the Peter Claver Society, in 1867, for the education of poor negro children. During the Franco- German war, in 1870-71, he wa's President of the Sanitary Aid Society of Cincinnati, and presided at the Peace Jubilee lehl in that city. He was lately a member of the University Board of Cincinnati, and is still one of the Board of Exam- iners of Public Schools. Dr. Bruhl is a man of scholarly culture, both in the arts and sciences. He is a patient, though an enthusiastic, investigator, and his labors have thus far been highly beneficial to his profession, and through this profession to the public. He has taken a deep interest in the improvement of popular education, and has suggested and helped to carry out many reforms. He has supported all steps for the material and moral welfare of his adopted city, and in this manner has earned the esteem of the community. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party, and in a number of campaigns he has been one of the most eloquent and effective of its German speakers, While absent in California, in 1871, his party honored him with the nomination for State Treasurer,
CKEL, HERMANN, was born, March 27th, 1826, in Woellstein, Rheinhessen, near Bingen. His father, John Peter Eckel, was the county drug- gist in this wealthy and beautifully situated little town, and was widely known in the community as a gentleman of high professional attainments, liberal views and humane principles. His prominent trait was a tender love for his children, united with a peculiar ability to impress them strongly with a sense of the beanti- ful in nature. Until his eleventh year Hermann had no other schooling than that afforded by the country school of his native village. In the spring of 1837 he was sent to Darmstadt, and there undertook the higher curriculum of the " Realschule," and afterwards that of " Polytechnicum." The records of both these higher institutions show that he advanced and graduated with honors. At the desire of his parents he chose the fields of pharmacy in which to serve the usual apprenticeship. Hle was accordingly articled at Knonberg, Nassau. In 1844 he passed, before the Faculty of the Medical College of the Grand Duchy of Hesse- Darmstadt, the examination necessary to qualify him as pharmaceutist's assistant. After serving in this capacity in different cities he returned to Darmstadt in 1852 and com- pleted his pharmaceutical course in the laboratory of the Polytechnic School, under his former teacher and paternal friend, Professor F. Moldenhauer. Ilere in the autumn of 1852 he had become the dur in his class and the orator for the chemical section at the public exhibition. This duty he performed in a manner that elicited for him flattering notice in the Darmstadt Gazette. In IS53 he passed the " Staats Examen," an ordeal which qualified him to set up for himself as a regularly licensed pharmaceutist or drug- gist. This same year, 1853, he came to America. It was llermann's great love of freedom, probably, above every- thing else that induced him to come to this country. Soon after arriving in Cincinnati he began work in his profession, and in a few years, with some of the customary thrift of his countrymen, he was able to do business for himself. For nearly twenty years he has had his store where it now is. Ile is one of the most scholarly and spirited of our German population, and ranks among leading men of his country in Cincinnati. For ten years at least it is bnt fair to say that he has been the champion of German in the public schools. Mr. Eckel maintains that while English is the language of this country, such a respectable number of the German patrons of the school desire their children to speak and read the German that it is but just that the German shoukl be thoroughly taught, as any other branch, in the schools.
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During the memorable crusade, in 1874, Mr. Eckel was one of the first to speak, at a public meeting of Germans, against interference by sumptuaty enactments against what was termed the right of the citizen. In i861 he was first elected a member of the School Board of Cincinnati. With an intermission of one year he has been a member of that body ever since. Several times he has been favored by the nominations from both political parties. His anti- Catholic and liberal educational views, and his bok advocacy of the cause of the Germans, doubtless, above everything else, produce this in his favor. Mr. Eckel has won the reputa- tion of a skilful druggist. He engages in nothing in a half- way manner, but devotes himself earnestly to anything he undertakes. While this is the true state of the case, it is also true that he has not accumulated wealth to such a degree as most of his countrymen. By his keen insight, indomitable will and his great pluck, together with his knowledge of German pedagogics, he has probably more than any other member of the School Board been instru- mental in eradicating many supposed errors in the English and German methods of teaching. Although he is, in a sense, the patron of the German in the schools, he came into the Board not for the Germans as an element, but as a citizen, with a deep interest in the schools and a determina- tion to do all he could for their highest good. His work, therefore, in the schools has been as an American. In the famous Bible question Mr. Eckel made one of his greatest efforts against the continuance of the Bible in the schools. On the great question of the division of the fund in favor of the Catholic Church he was one of its bitterest opponents, and on the visit of nineteen members of the Board to the residence of the archbishop he was the spokesman. Ile is not a church member or a Christian in any sense of the word. This position of course makes him a target for all parties ; yet the boldness, address and good humor, as well as the ability and earnestness of the man, insure his success. A year ago, realizing his insufficient provision against the changes of the future, he began to study modern alchemy, and thinks he has been rewarded by finding the philoso- pher's stone. He has now perfected a process for enamel- ling iron, from his own manipulation, without aid from any similar process. This be justly deems the greatest work of his life, and thinks " there is a tide in the affairs of men that leads to fortune," and believes that a competency now awaits him and his children. Although not a Christian, he is yet disposed to the view that "there is a Providence that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we may." Mr. Eckel is thoroughly republican, and in adventurous times would be a leader of radical forms of right or thought; he is scholarly and has a strong literary tendency; has written considerable and belongs among the members of the ration- alistic school of ideas. He is as full of hope and vigor as life itself, and believes, as he belongs to a family of men noted for their longevity, that his friends and country may demand his service, with propriety, thirty years hence.
RAHAM, WILLIAM A., Wholesale Druggist, was born in Westchester county, New York, Jan- may 9th, 1821, where he spent his early years 4. and received his education. Removing to New York city in 1839 he entered upon a clerkship in € the drug house of Gralunn & Co., and remained connected with this establishment until March, 1845, when he went to Zanesville, Ohio. In company with David Maginnis he started a drug house, under the firm-name of Magiunis & Graham, in that place, and the partnership was continued until 1850, when Mr. Maginnis retired, leaving the control of the business entirely to his partner until the latter admitted Messrs. Willis Bailey and J. D. Porter to an interest in the house. Under the able direction of Mr. Graham and his associates the establishment largely in- creased its transactions, and earned the reputation of being one of the best and most reliable drug houses in the State. In IS47 Mr. Graham married Sarah V., daughter of Dr. John Hamm, an ex State Senator of Ohio, and, under the administration of President Jackson, Minister of the United States to Chili. From the date of its organization, in 1864, he has been a large stockholder and a director of the First National Bank of Zanesville, and was one of the most en- ergetic promoters of the Ohio Iron Company, of which for many years he was a director. He is a gentleman of un- usually brilliant business qualifications, possessing excellent financial ability and the requirements of efficient executive management of mercantile and industrial works. His cx- perience has been a varied and valuable one, and as the senior member of one of the oldest wholesale drug houses in the West he has become known to and esteemed by the business community of Ohio and neighboring States. Hle has at all times manifested great interest in the improve- ment of Zanesville, and erected a large warchouse on Main street, as well as one of the handsomest residences in that section, which his family now occupies. His support to meritorious business as well as municipal enterprise has always been willingly given, and in his entire career as a merchant and private citizen he has acted in a manner to win and retain the respect of the community in which he lives. lle has amassed a large fortune, and is at the same time one of the most liberal as well as one of the most prominent citizens of Zanesville.
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