USA > Ohio > The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 36
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tionary steam engines, portable saw-mills, etc., was inang- urated with a borrowed capital of but tive thousand dollars. Finally, through persevering industry, inflexible integrity, and careful management, the enterprising partners grasped a glorious success. Now, the products of their shops-two of which take rank as the largest and most perfectly equipped establishments of the kind in the country-are scattered throughout the American continent, and are to be seen also in many parts of Europe. "At this time their business partakes of the common malady ; they have done but little, comparatively, since the panic of 1873, and until the financial policy of our government is changed, they do not expect their business, or the business of the States in general, to be very prosperous." . .. He entered on his political career with the memorable Whig campaign of 1840, and steadfastly supported his party until its disintegra- tion. Ile then united with the Republican party, and from the day of its organization labored earnestly to promote its welfare, and spent his means freely to secure the victorious establishment of its principles, and the accomplishment of its noble purposes. " But now, at last convinced that the politieal principles and policies of the Republican party are based on error-ruinous to the interests of the mass of the people-I have placed myself utterly against it on all vital issues." Ile is now a member of the Greenback party, and stands on the same ground with Peter Cooper, Ilon. W. D. Kelley, Ilon. A. Campbell, and other experienced financiers and statesmen. His religious faith is based on the Uni- tarian- Universalist doctrines, as set forth in 1872 or 1873 by Dr. Bellows, of New York, in the Liberal Christian. Ile was reared in the bosom of the Church of England, and at the age of fifteen years was swayed by deep religious feel- ing, painful and distressing in the extreme. The thought that " endless woe " should exist for so great a part of humanity filled him with fear and horror. "Time and active physical labor brought some relief, but being endowed with an ever-present consciousness of responsibility, this dreadful doctrine hung like a dark pall over my life." Later, unable to subscribe conscientiously to the doctrine of the Trinity, he left the Church of England. The belief of " endless misery " did not leave him, however, until the winter of 1842, when he heard a discussion between Rev. G. T. M'landers, a Universalist minister, and Rev. Mr. Kellog, a Methodist minister, by which he was led to a very careful, earnest and exhaustive examination of the subject. Finally, he became satisfied of the truth of the doctrine that ultimately, by the infinite wisdom and beneficence of God, good will triumph over evil, and that all will be purified, and in the end brought into the kingdom of heaven. Ile was married in June, 1860, at the residence of Andrew L. Grimes, of Mansfield, Ohio, to Amelia Adeline Douglas, of Lowell, Massachusetts, By her he had three children, Amy Louise, Nellie Frances, and Douglas Chapman. IIer decease occurred, December 1st, 1867, at St. Paul, Minne- sota, where she was sojourning for the purpose of strength-
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ening her enfeebled health. In the following year he was | interests have won for him the esteem of the general com. again married to his deceased wife's sister, Nellie B. Douglas, by whom he has had one child, Roswell Dougla ..
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AKEMAN, JOSEPH F., now Merchant, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, September 19th, 1812, and was the second son of Captain Daniel Lake- man and Susannah Lakeman. His father was a prominent sea captain. From his thirteenth to his fifteenth year he was placed out to live, and subsequently was apprenticed to learn the trade of wagon- making at Hamilton, Massachusetts, He finished his term of apprenticeship in Salem, in the same State, in his twenty- first year, and afterward worked as a journeyman in Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts. Having imbibed in early life a strong desire to make the West his home, he started in May, 1837, from Boston with Cincinnati as an objective point, then possessing neither friend nor relative west of his native State. He arrived at Cincinnati, June 11th, 1837, with a chest of tools, various articles of clothing, and a three- lollar broken bank bill of Michigan. Upon coming to Cumminsville he formed the acquaintance of E. Knowlton, who assisted him greatly in his business relations, and was instrumental in aiding him to erect a wagon shop, the only one then in existence at this place, on what is now the north- east corner of Spring Grove avenue and Ludlow street. At the opening in IS51 of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad he was appointed Agent of Cumminsville station, and about the same time officiated as Postmaster, which positions he held for thirteen years, when he resigned both. During that time he held the office also of Trustee of Cum- minsville Special Road District for a period of two years, and later was for six years Clerk in the same body. Ile was also elected Trustee of Mill Creek township, serving two years; and later was elected Clerk of the same town- ship, and served in this capacity for ten years. The latter office mide him also Clerk of the Mill Creek Township School Board, and for two years he was Supervisor of its schools. In those days great energy and activity were needed to insure the successful establishment there of schools, and he was a prime mover in having established in 1852 a special school district, serving successively as Di. rector, President, Clerk and Treasurer, with but two inter- vals of one year each, for a period of eighteen years. In 1863 he was elected a Director of the Hamilton County In- firmary, and served six years; he was also Clerk of the Board. In 1872 he was again elected to the same office, and served for a further period of three years. In 1869 he was elected Mayor of the incorporated village of Cumminsville, a position which he occupied during the ensuing three years, At the present time he is engaged in the paint and wall paper business in Cumminsville, where his integrity of character and generous interest in the local religious and educational
munity. He was married, Maich roth, 1841, to Sarah Langlands, of Cumminsville, who died without isne, Feb- romy 4th, 1843; and again, October 15th, 18.46, to Mary Goodnow, also of Cumminsville, by whom he has had ten children, six of whom are now living, three sons and three daughters.
AMES, ELIAS WILLIAM, Attorney- at-Law, was - born in East Union, Coshocton county, Ohio, February 11th, 1837. llis parents, who are still living, are natives also of Ohio. Ilis father has followed through life agricultural pursuits. Ilis preliminary education was obtained in a common school located in the vicinity of his home. Ile then pur- sued a higher course of study in the following educational institutions : the academy, at West Bedford, one year; the college, at Oberlin, Ohio, one year ; after which he attended the Spring Mountain Academy (for a time) ; and then went to Allegheny College, at Meadville, Pennsylvania, which institution he left in 1859. Until he had attained his seven- teenth year he was engaged in farm labor. At the termina- tion of his sojourn in the last-named place he returned to his home, and found employment in teaching in the Iligh School, West Carlisle, Coshocton county, for a term of nine months, after which he applied himself to the study of law under the guidance of Nicholas & Williams, well-known practitioners of his native county. In August, 1861, he en- tered the Union service as a private in Company K of the 32d Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for the term of three years. Ile was then appointed Orderly Sergeant; in January, 1862, was appointed by the Governor to a Second Lieutenancy, and in the course of the same year was pro- moted to the rank of Captain. During the fall and winter of 1863 he acted as Judge Advocate of the 3d Division, 17th Army Corps, at Vicksburg, and held this office until his regiment returned to the North and was reorganized, acting with General Leggett's division. Ile served three months longer than the term of his enlistment, and then re- signed only on account of the sickness of two sisters, who died shortly after he reached home in the fall of 1864. Ile participated in the following battles and engagements : those of western Virginia, under Fremont, including Cross Keys; of the Vicksburg campaign, when he was engaged for a time on staff duty ; and of Sherman's campaign, in the ad- vance on Atlanta and at the actions before that place. After the capture of Atlanta he resigned his position in the any and returned to Coshocton, Ohio, where he resumed the study of law under his former preceptors. He was admitted to the bar in Carrollton, Ohio, in 1867, after having taken a law course at the Michigan University, graduating in the class of 1867. Hle first located in his profession at Kansas City, Missouri, where he resided abont four months, at the expiration of which time he returned to Coshocton, and in
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connection with John D. Nicholas entered upon the active | worked efficiently to increase the store of general welfare practice of his profession. Ilis present honorable position and happiness. He was married in 1855 to Caroline A. Totten, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has now a family consisting of six children. as a leading legal practitioner is the legitimate result of his unthing diligence and perseverance, since, defraying in a great measure the expenses attending his early training by his own exert ons, he was compelled to rely upon himself alone for success in life. He was married, May 26th, 1870, to Cornelia A. Denver, of Wilmington, Ohio, by whom he has had one child.
UNT, REV. WILLIAM ELLIS, M. A., was born in Pedricktown, Salem county, New Jersey, Feb- ruary 24th, 1833. His parents were Dr. William F. Hunt and Surah ( Ellis) Hunt. Ile is of Scotch hish extraction, and is akin to Rev. C. C. Beatty, D D., of Steubenville, Ohio, and Hon. Thomas Ewing, late of Lancaster, Ohio. He was educated in Pedricktown, New Jersey, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Steubenville, Ohio, in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, and in Allegheny City of the same State. Ile took the degrees of B. A. and M. A. at the Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1853 and 1856. In the latter year he graduated also at the Western Theological Seminary, Al- legheny City, Pennsylvania. In 1848 he had united with the Second Presbyterian Church of Steubenville. Ile was soon thereafter engaged for a year in clerking in a store, and also for a brief period in 1851 acted in the capacity of clerk on a Ohio river steamboat. In 1855 he was licensed by the Presbytery of Steubenville, and in 1857 ordained by the Presbytery of Coshocton (now Zanesville), Ohio. Since that date he has continued uninterruptedly in charge of the church at that place. He superintended the erection of a very handsome village church and parsonage here, and in various ways has been importantly instrumental in advance. ing the interests of his church in the region where he lives and labors. In addition to other work, he has served with ability and zeal as City Councilman, and County School Examiner. He has been a Director of a banking associa. tion, and also a Director of the Coshocton Gas Company, having been chiefly instrumental in the establishment of that enterprise, and of a number of others admirably calculated to promote the general prosperity and welfare. lle was a member of the Presbyterian General Assembly in 1861; and was a member also of the Presbyterian Union Convention of 1867, both of which were held in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania; was elected a member of the Assembly of 1874, but did not go. In the Synod of Columbus of 1875 he served as Moderator, and for many years has been a Director of the Western Theological Seminary, at Allegheny City, Penn- sylvania. During his career he has contributed extensively to various newspapers, and has also published several articles in American magazines of good standing. Ile has labored faithfully and with fair snecess as a spiritual guide and teacher, and also, apart from his strictly clerical duties, has
ELL, JOIN EDWIN, Operator in Real- Estate, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 26th, 1831. His parents, Walter and Jane Bell, moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, arriving in that city February 11th, 1832. His father's decease oc- curred, March 17th, 1838, at New Orleans, Louisiana, he then being engaged trading between Cincin- nati and New Orleans. His mother died in Cincinnati, July 23d, 1$75. Ile received his early education in the public schools of Cincinnati, and, at the completion of an allotted course of study, was placed to learn the trade of pattern. making, which calling he followed until 1853. In this year he sceured employment in the office of the Auditor of Ilam- ilton county, Ohio, and in the capacity of Clerk and Deputy remained there until March 6th, 1863. Ile then assumed the duties as Auditor of the county, having been elected to that position at the preceding October election. At the ex- piration of his term he gradually withdrew from the scenes of the political arena and its affairs, and engaged in the busi- ness of operations in real estate. During his career as an official and public man he has been the recipient of many important trusts both of a public and private nature, in the conduct and management of which he has evinced invariably the possession of entire capacity and sound integrity. Ile is a Freemason of high standing, having attained all the de- grees of the several grades, also that of Honorary Inspector- General of the thirty-third degree A. A. Scottish rite. In the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he has exhibited a notable zeal and activity. He has filled with credit the several positions of trust in the State, including that of Grand Master, and at this time is the Hon. Representative to the Grand Lodge of the United States, He is a valuable man among the number of leading citizens of Cincinnati, and has been importantly instrumental, either as prime mover or as auxiliary, in pushing to completion enterprises calculated to benefit the community in general.
EART, JOSEPHI E., Operator in Real-Estate, member of the firm of Okden & Heart, was born near Chambersburg, Franklin county, Pennsyl- vania, November 22d, 1823. Ile was the third child in a family of nine children, whose parents were Henry Waggoner Heart and Rachel ( Ed- wards) Heart. His father, a native of Chambersburg, Penn- sylvania, followed through life the trade of blacksmithing, and enme to Carthage, near Cincinnati, in the fall of 1848, where he still lives at the age of eighty years. Ilis mother,
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a native of Virginia, near Wheeling, moved with her hus- | Tector, in Ripley, Ohio, and after a pupilage of eighteen band to Ohio in ISIS, and died at Carthage in 1869. The former was born March 6th, 1797, the latter, June 9th, 1797, the fathers of both having died before their births, Itis early education was limited to a seven-months' term at the log school-houses of frontier settlements. While in his eighteenth year he began the learning of the blacksmith trade at Mercersburg, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, where he remained for about six years. Hle subsequently moved with his wife and parents to Carthage, Hamilton county, Ohio, where he was engaged at his trade until 1863. Dur- ing his residence there he was intimately identified, in various positions, with the welfare of the Carthage schools, and for three years acted as a member of the Township Board of Education. In 1863 he entered the Provost Marshal's office of the First Congressional Ohio District, and remained there, in the enrolling department, for a period of about sixteen months. In 1865 he was appointed Deputy Sheriff under Richard Calvin, and held that position for two years. From 1861 to 1865 he was elected four times successively to the office of Trustee of Mill Creek township. From 1865 to IS69 he acted as one of the Directors of the County Infirm- ary; and from 1867 to 1869 officiated as Chief Deputy Sheriff under Henry Schlotiman. From 1869 to 1871 he was Chief Deputy under Colonel Daniel Weber. In 1871 he was elected Sheriff of Hamilton county, Ohio, and served in this capacity for two years. In 1875 he engaged in the real estate business. Politically he has been attached to the Whig and Republican parties, and voted first for General Winfield Seott. He was married, November 20, 1847, to Catherine Krebs, of Washington county, Maryland, who died May 20th, 1851, at Carthage, lewing issue of two children. He was again married, July 26th, 1855, to Sarah Ann Hayden, a native of Hamilton county, Ohio.
months, during which he made some progress in all its branches, be commenced its practice, and has continued in it up to the present time. In the pursuit of this favorite profession he remained in Ripley one year, and then re- moved to Xenia, Ohio, residing at this place until 1858. During this period he did something to increase the re- sources and facilities of the profession, then but imperfectly developed, and in 1848 entered the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, and, after completing two courses, graduated in 1850 from that institution. In 1854 he was appointed as Professor of " Operative Dentistry" in this college, and has now completed his twenty-first year in this chair, and has taught longer without interruption in this capacity than per- haps any one else now living. For the greater part of this period he has been Dean of the Faculty of this institution, and has been a member of the Ohio Dental College Asso- ciation since its organization in February, 1852, having been for twenty years its Secretary. In October, 1856, in co- partnership with Dr. George Watt, he became part proprictor of the Dental Register of the West, and one of its editors and publishers, and in a few years became its sole pro- prietor, remaining in this position ever since, with the ex- ception of a short period. For the past eight years he has held its entire editorial management and control, and has devoted more than twenty years of unceasing effort to the interests of this publication, which has been the recognized organ of the profession in Ohio, and to some extent through the West. This publication was issued quarterly until July, 1865, when it became a monthly. It has been issued for twenty years without the failure of a single number. In 1866 the title was changed to the Dental Register. In 1857 Dr. Taft removed to Cincinnati, his connection with the college and this journal having much to do with this change, though for two years prior to this removal he had practised his profession in Cincinnati, having a business connection with Drs. George Watt and J. Hamill in both that city and Xenia. Previous to his editorial work on the Register he had written a number of articles in the interests of his pro- fession, but the bulk of this labor was greatly inferior to what he has subsequently accomplished. Ile kept an ac- curate record of experiments and modes of practice, which be- I came of invaluable service to him in his subsequent literary work. During the winter of 1858-59 he wrote a treatise on "Operative Dentistry," which was received so well that it was adopted as a text-book in the colleges, and has been relied on as an authority wherever the science is known. It has been translated into German and other languages. The second edition, revised and greatly enlarged, was issued in 1868, and obtained a very large sale. During the last twenty years Dr. Taft has devoted his attention and most earnest efforts towards the organization and support of dental associations, regarding them as of incalculable benefit for the development and progress of the profession. He was
AFT, JONATHAN, D. D. S., Dental Surgeon, was born, September 17th, 1820, in Russelville, Brown county, Ohio. After a residence of two years in this plice the funily moved to the mountainous regions of Adams county, Ohio, where they re- mained ten years. Ilis father, Lyman Taft, was a native of Massachusetts, who emigrated to Ohio in 1818, and his mother was a native of Ohio. Both were of New England stock, and of Puritan ancestry. Up to the age of fourteen he enjoyed but meagre advantages for education, and at that time entered an academy where he studied two years, gaining some knowledge of Greek and Latin and of mathematics. The succeeding two years were devoted to farm labor, and at eighteen he engaged as teacher in a com- mon school, continuing in this capacity about four years. Ile commenced in this period the study of natural sciences, and pursued his researches with industry and spirit. In the spring of 1841 he studied dentistry under Dr. George D. | a member of the American Society of Dental Surgeons in
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1$52; became a member of the American Dental Con. vention at its second meeting in 1856; was chosen its Presi- dent in 1863, and continued in his attendance at these anmal gatherings for many years. He was one of the twenty four gentlemen who organized the American Dental Association in 1859, and was its Secretary from the date of its inception until IS68, when he was chosen as its presiding officer. Ile has been a member of the Mississippi Valley Dental Society for twenty-seven years, and has not been absent from its an- nual meetings, with perhaps one exception, during that time. His labors have been conspicuous in over fifty different pro- fessional associations, and has during the past twelve years been in attendance at from fifteen to thirty societies an- nually. In 1867-68 he was engaged with some of his pro- fessional brethren in obtaining the passage of a law to regu. late the practice of dentistry in the State of Ohio, which was enacted May 8th, 1868, and it has proven, as was anticipated, of the highest benefit to the public and the profession. This act created a Board of Examiners, to a membership in which he was at once appointed, and this post he has filled with honor ever since, occupying during the entire period of the existence of the Board the chair of presiding officer. In July, 1875, he was appointed Professor of the " Principles and Practice of Operative Dentistry " in the Dental College of the University of Michigan, where he devotes part of the time in professional teaching. He has been a patient in- vestigator into the science of dentistry, and has accomplished the most beneficial results in his study of the best methods of treatment. Ile has been an earnest advocate of the right of women to study and pursue this profession, and has won the esteem of his fellow-citizens for his candor, his industry, his publie spirit and profound learning. For seventeen years he has been connected with the Cincinnati Bethel, and for ten years has been connected with its Board of Directors. lle has always been as conscientious a churchman as an investigator in the domain of science. In 1842 he married Ilannah Collins, of Ripley, Ohio, and has three el.ildren living, one of whom is Dr. William Taft, dentist.
City Engineer, holding the office for several years. Ile re- mained there until the outbreak of the war, when he raised Company D of the 26th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, of which he became Captain. He was sent with his command to Virginia, where he was attached to the 11th Army Corps. In the antinon of 1862 he was detailed upon the staff of General Carl Schurz as Chief of Topographical Engineers. lle participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancel- lorsville, Gettysburg, Wauhatchie, Missionary Ridge, and in many other important engagements and skirmishes. In the fall of 1864 he resigned on account of ill health and settled in Cincinnati, where his family had been for some time living. Ile became the local editor of the Cincinnati Volksblatt in 1865, and distinguished himself as a skilful and enterprising news collector and as a graceful writer. Ile remained in this capacity until elected City Treasurer of Cincinnati, in April, 1875, on the Democratic ticket. Mr. Ligowsky is a gentleman of scholarly attainments, and of great natural ability for the discharge of official duties. Ilis career as a civil engineer and journalist was distin- guished by a thorough comprehension of the character of the work committed to him, and by thorough competency to perform it. Ilis record as a soldier is a meritorious oue, and he was, while in the army, held in the highest estima- tion by his brother officers. Since entering upon the City Treasurership he has given ample evidence of his ability to discharge its duties, and of his intention to allow no blemish to occur on the integrity of his official career.
HORNHILL, FRENCH W., Judge of the Probate Court, in Coshocton, Ohio, is a Virginian by birth, having been born in Culpepper county, in that State, on the 21st of September, 1804. He is of Irish-English descent, although his parents were both native Virginians, Ilis general education was received at Harrisonburg, Virginia. Ile attended school there until he was sixteen years of age; then he left school and began the reading of law with Colonel Hall. After pursuing this course of reading for a time he abandoned the law temporarily and commenced the study of medicine. This profession seems not to have found favor with him, for when he was seventeen years of age he gave it up and went to learn the gunsmith's trade with MeGilvary, of Bucking- ham. Ile remained with him, working at this trade, for a period of ten years. Then, in the year 1830, he went to
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