USA > Ohio > The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 45
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ARDLE, SAMUEL, D. D. S., was born in Ici- cester, England, in 1822, and came to America in 1832. During the succeeding five years he worked on a farm. At the age of fifteen he be- came a regularly indentured silversmith's appren- tice to George K. Childs, in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, but served only two years and six months of his time. Running away from his master he went to New York, spurred on by a determination to go to sea. Upon presenting himself at navy head-quarters he was surprised at being tokl that no runaway apprentices from Philadelphia were wanted. Unshaken in his purpose, however, he soon made satisfactory arrangements with the whaler " Wm. C. Nye," commanded by Captain Buddington. On the same ship and voyage was Sidney O. Buddington, who was sail- ing-master on Dr. Hall's Arctic expeditions. The officers on this vessel were relatives, and were known collectively as " the crew of cousins." The voyage lasted twenty-two months. The " Win. C. Nye " sailed around Cape Horn
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and made for the Sea of Kamtschatka, where a great cargo | practice. He, on the contrary, has not only always made of sperm was obtained. Returning, she entered the harbor the teeth required in his own practice, but also those in- tended for peculiar or difficult cases taken in charge by his brethren. At his office the whole process of working the crude material into finished and beautiful teeth may be seen daily. Ile has received the first premium on artificial teeth every year in the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition, and also the first premium on dentistry on the single occasion when he chose to enter the lists as a competitor. Ile received the first medal for artificial teeth from the Mechanics' Insti- Inte, at Cincinnati, and the first medal also from the State Board of Agriculture. In 1851 he received a certificate and a medal at the World's Fair, in London, England. Ile has also received premiums from New York, Phila- delphia and Baltimore. Ile is an active member of the Mississippi Valley Dental Association and an honorary member of the Pennsylvania Association of Dental Sur- geons. Ile is a member of the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. Ile was married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1846, to Margaret A. Little, by the Rev. Dr. William Suddards, of Grace Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. of San Francisco in 18.1.3. The site of the present splendid city of the Pacific coast was then dotted here and there with miserable mud huts. On this trip out two brothers, remembering the posthumous glories of Alexander Selkirk, concealed themselves, and were left on an uninhabited place, called by Captain Buddington Fanning's island. On the return the vessel stopped at the beautiful island Juan Fernandez, the romantic abode of " Robinson Cru- soe." The stoppage occurred on St. Patrick's day, 1843, and the island abounded in ripe and mellow peaches. That evening he, with two boat-loads of jolly tars, spent on the ground hallowed by the pen of the famous English writer. Ile finally returned with his ship to New London, Connecticut, and thence returned to Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania. Being then in his twenty-second year, and desirous of embracing a profession, he called to mind an old ac- quaintance, Dr. Elijah N. Neal, with whom his brother, Thomas Wardle, had studied dentistry. Possessing con- siderable mechanical ability he was kindly received by the doctor, for whom he then labored temporarily at a salary of fifty cents per week. During the ensuing year, although - he was a skilful metal workman, he did not receive at any time a higher compensation than two dollars per week. After working one year with Dr. Neal and one year with his brother he opened a laboratory for the purpose of doing mechanical work for other dentists. In that venture he en- countered great and unexpectedly rich success. In the course of the first year he opened his own office to patients, while continuing his separate business relations with his professional brethren. He was thus successfully employed for about seven years. In 1853, having determined to leave Philadelphia, the profession, appreciating his mechani- cal skill and personal characteristics, deemed it fitting to present him with a gold medal as " a token of appreciation of his skill in mechanical dentistry." The medal contains the names of fourteen prominent dentists. Ile then settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, and here established his dental fur- nishing house and the manufacture of artificial teeth, at 256 Walnut street, relinquishing entirely his professional labors. At the end of three years, however, finding Cincinnati un- suited to the manufacture of teeth, on account of the costli- ness of materials, he was compelled to fall back again on his profession to secure a livelihood. In 1859 he received a diploma from the Cincinnati College of Dental Surgery. That institution was then the second dental college in America. The facilities for learning the mysteries of the dental art were poor in those days, and in the absence of a college in Philadelphia Dr. E. Townsend taught gratis those who took a pleasure in gathering abont his rooms. It is now a conceded and an established fact that American dentists are, as a rule, far superior to those of other parts of the world. Also, few practical dentists now manufacture, or can manufacture, the teeth used by them in their own
UDLOW, JOIIN, Banker, was born near Spring- field, Ohio, December 8th, 1810, being the son of Cooper and Elizabeth ( Reeder) Ludlow, both of whose families came originally from the State of New Jersey. Ilis grandfather, John Ludlow, was brother to Israel Ludlow, one of the founders of Cincinnati, who emigrated to Ohio in 1790 and was the first sheriff of Hamilton county. Ilis maternal grandfather, Jacob Recder, also emigrated to Ohio, then a part of the Northwestern Territory, about the year 1790, and settled in Clarke county in 1804, about the same time that Cooper Ludlow took up his residence near Springfield. Mr. Lud- low was educated in the common schools of his native village, and when sixteen years of age was sent to Cincin- nati to learn the drug business. In 1835 he returned to Springfield and established himself in the drug trade, in which he continued nearly thirty years. During a period of twelve or fifteen years, while thus engaged, he practised dentistry, for which he was in every way competent. Upon the organization of the Springfield Bank, in 1851, he was chosen one of its directors, and on December 11th, 1857, became President of the institution, an office which he still holds. In 1864, under the operation of the acts of Con- gress, the institution was erected into the First National Bank of Springfield. Mr. Ludlow's career, while it has not been an exciting or varied one, has been exceedingly busy and useful. Ile has been closely identified with the growth and commercial prosperity of his county, and has given re- peated evidence of his public spirit in advocating and sup- porting local improvements. Since the year 1842 he lias been a communicant of the Episcopal Church, and has
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always been active in the work of building up and sustain- f inventor and patentee of numerous improvements on agri- ing its parish. For more than twenty years he has been the cultural machinery. Though a strict man of business, the accumulation of money has not absorbed more than it; proper share of Mr. Dyer's interest. He has found time for books and self improvement, and is the owner of one of the most beautiful houses in Hamilton, situated on a height overlooking the Miami river and the city, and sur- rounded with orchards and flower-gardens. On February ISth, 1845, he was married, at Columbus, to Margaret, daughter of the Rev. William Terer, a native of Wales. They have had eight children, five of whom are living. One daughter and one son died in infancy, and one son, Rufus M., died at the age of twenty-one. senior warden of that church, and is one of its most influ- entiad members. In all Christian work he has been fore. most. For fourteen years he was Treasmer of the Clarke County Bible Society, and has organized and given liberal aid to many benevolent movements. Mr. Ludlow wa, originally an old-line Whig, but upon the organization of the Republican party he became identified with it, having always been an anti-slavery advocate. He has kept aloof from political life, and has only held such municipal offices as the duty of a citizen plainly required. Some time since he placed in the Ohio Historical Society's library, at Cleve- . land, many interesting records of the pioneers of Clarke county, which he had preserved. He published in the Springfield journals a series of biographical sketches, drawn from his recollections of the old settlers, which were very interesting. He was married on August 31st, 1835, to Elmira, daughter of General Frederick Gitman, of llerkimer county, New York. They have had three children, Frederick G., Charles and a daughter named Ellen, who married Asa S. Bushnell, of Springfield.
YER, ELBRIDGE G., Manufacturer and Inven- tor, was born in the State of Maine, November C 3.1, 1$15. Ilis parents were Thomas and Hlep. zibah ( Whitney ) Dyer. After receiving an edu- cation in the common schools of his native town he was apprenticed at the age of sixteen to the trade of machinist. Soon after the expiration of his ap. prenticeship he came to Ohio, settling at Columbus, where for seven or eight years he followed his trade as a journey. min. About 1847 he came to Hamilton, and in connection with two other machinists embarked in the manufacture of agricultural implements. The firm was then Owens, Eb- bert & Dyer, but a few years later, upon the death of Mr. Ebbert, his place in the establishment was taken by Mr. Line, and the firm launched out on a scale of enterprise that made the names of Owens, Lane & Dyer familiar in every part of the central and Southern States. From the first their business had been a success, and starting as they did, with scarcely any capital beyond their skill, its history affords a most encouraging example to young mechanics ambitious to rise above the sphere of journeymen. Their attention has of later years been given almost exclusively to the manufacture of all descriptions of portable and stationary engines, and their business has swelled to such proportions that the partnership has changed into a joint stock com- pany, known as the Owens Lane Dyer Machine Company, the shares of which are held by a limited number of indi- viduals. Mr. Dyer occupies the position of Vice- President of the company. From the commencement of the enter- prise he has been superintendent of construction, and is the
URDY, JAMES, Attorney-at-Law and President of the Farmers' National Bank of Mansfield, Ohio, was born, July 24th, 1793, in Ilopewell, York county, Pennsylvania. His paternal ances- tors emigrated from the north of Ireland in 1762, and settled in Hopewell, his maternal ancestors, coming from Scotland, locating in the same place about the year 1750. The latter were among the first settlers of that section after the removal of the Indians. His mother came from the Wallace family, and his maternal grandmother from the Hlamilton family. Both of his parents claimed descent from the Scotch Covenanters, and both died as they had lived, in the faith and communion of the United Pres- byterian Church. His father in ISHI sold his property, in the shape of a farm and mills, at Hopewell, and moved to Ontario county, New York, where he purchased an estate near Canandaigua, and placed it under excellent cultiva- tion. It was in the academy at this place that his son James received his rudiments of a classical education, studied with care and application, and made rapid progress in the various English branches, He commenced reading law in Canandaigua, and soon fitted himself for profes- sional duties. In r823 he located in Mansfield, Ohio, where he opened an office, and in a short time gained a respectable standing as a practitioner not only at the bar, but in the estimation of the general public. Mansfield was then a new town, being the farthest west in that latitude in the State. While a resident of Canandaigua the Erie canal was surveyed, and a very considerable portion of it constructed. The subject of internal State improvements, of which it was one of the chief, was then a ripe theme for discussion. He was a warm advocate of all projects which were of practical utility and which promised to ably con- serve the material interests of the great body of citizenship, and the action which he took on these public questions in this early time had its marked influence in his subsequent career. Prior to his arrival in Mansfield an unsuccessful effort had been made to establish a paper in that place. At | the earnest solicitations of a large number of citizens he
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undertook to publish a journal, and purchased a press. The result of his labors was the publication of the Mans- field Gazette, which he owned and edited, with an excel. lent conception of the duties of an enterprising journalist, for a period of nine years. In this paper he strongly advo- cated local as well as State improvements, home industry and domestic manufactures, and in this public service was rewarded with the respect of all classes. He became influ- ential in all important civil proceedings, and his voice, as his pen, was potential in the consummation of projects for the development of local as well as State resources. Upon his arrival at Mansfield, in 1823, he discovered that the produce of the country was shipped in flat-boats on the Mohican, and, via the large rivers, sent to New Orleans. Ile shortly after procured the survey of a route for a canal up the Mohican valley and into a rich agricultural district, and this was partly constructed before the subject of rail- roads was introduced. Ilis object was to open a cheap and easily accessible route of transportation of the products of that section of the State, and his efforts in this behalf were generally applauded. In 1836 the State, at his interven- tion, made a survey of what is now part of the Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne Railroad, but this labor proved premature from a number of circumstances. The importance of rail- road traffic was not wholly conceded, because the people had only recently been called to notice it. Pittsburgh had its river and its canal, and the capitalists and business people of that city declined an active participation in a railroading scheme, the profits of which by very many were decmed visionary only. The public mind was gradually educated up to a true comprehension of the necessity of railroad transportation, and in 1848 the leading business men of Pittsburgh issued a notice to all in Ohio interested in the matter to meet in convention at Massillon, to discuss the measures necessary to the establishment of a line. This convention was held, and Mr. l'urdy was delegated by it to secure a charter from the Legislature, then holding it's sessions at Columbus. Ile succeeded in his mission, and, under the provisions of the charter he obtained, a company was organized and the Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne Railroad constructed. Meanwhile another charter was secured, and mainly through his instrumentality a company was organized to construct the Mansfield & Sandusky Rail- road, now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Ile was chosen President of the company, and in this position he exhibited great energy and executive ability, and ren- dered the road services that were essential to its future prosperity. But there were other public labors awaiting his attention, and one of these, and perhaps one of the most important, was suggested by the necessities of his own practice, This was very large, extending over a circnit that covered a very large section of country. He had frequently to make remittances to his Eastern clients, and this duty became one of some difficulty and annoyance, as there was no banking establishment within thirty miles
of Mansfield. In 1846 he was principally concerned in securing the charter of the State Bank of Ohio, and during the existence of that well-known institution under that chanter he was a member of its Poard of Control. In 1847, in company with a few friends, he procured enough of this bank's stock to establish a branch, which, upon the organi- zation of its stockholders, became known as the Farmers' Bank of Mansfield. He was appointed President and at- torney, and held those offices until the expiration of the charter under which the bank was erected. Then the Far- mers' National Bank of Mansfield was organized by the stockholders in the old company, and Mr. Purdy was chosen President, and in that capacity still conducts the management of the bank, which is very prosperous and in- fluential. His relations with monetary institutions were, however, more extended. Ile established a banking house in California, which had a very successful career. Since his residence in Mansfield Mr. Purdy has been an eye- witness to its growth from a small hamlet, on the borders of civilization, to a large and flourishing city, through the energy as well as the liberality of its citizens. It has be- come a railroad centre, and the concentration of traffic from all sections of the State within its limits has raised it high in the scale of commercial importance. With some few exceptions, it is the most important city in the State. Mr. Purdy has aided largely in its development. He has been prominently identified with all its interests, and has been one of the rendiest supporters of all measures of public policy, and especially of those which immediately con- cerned the growth of trade and the consummation of public improvements. In 1836 he purchased a tract of land in Wood county, Ohio, adjoining the Grand Rapids of the Maumee river, and an island in the rapids, becoming thus the owner of three-fourths of the water-power at that point. Here he constructed mills, which he filled with the best ma- chinery obtainable at the time. The result was very speedily shown in the building of a town on his own lands and the quick development of the surrounding agricultural district. In IS56 he aided in organizing, in Iowa, the Chicago, lowa & Nebraska Railroad Company, and was appointed its Vice- President. Ile took an active part in the location and con- struction of the road, which proved a success. He was one of the proprietors of Clinton City, on that road. Along the line of the projected road he, in company with others, pur- chased large tracts of lands and laid out the sites of what are now flourishing towns, Clinton being noticeable among the number. This town is located on the Mississippi, and according to the census of 1870 contained Sooo inhabitants, and among its public institutions are an enterprising paper and a street passenger railway, both well supported. Mr. Purdy has been a soldier, and a participant in three wars. In that of 1812-15 he served in the army. In the war with Mexico he raised four companies by special anthority from the Governor of Ohio. In 1861, when the Governor, on the first call, sent him a despatch asking for troops, he
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appeared in Columbus within forty-eight hours with one | siding Elder in the Cohimbus, Chillicothe, East Cincinnati, hundred men, who took the field. He was prevented from accompanying them by physical disability. He was ap- pointed Commissioner to draft the militia, and ably and readily performed his duties. Ile recruited men under a First Lieutenant's commission, with which he was furnished. Upon the close of the war compensation was tendered him for his services during the entire period of its continuance, but he declined all save the sum of his actual expenses when called from his home. Mr. Purdy's career has been one of varied experiences, but of continued honor and usefulness. In his eighty-third year he is still engaged in the practice of his profession and the management of his private property, of which he has accumulated a competence.
RIMBLE, REV. JOSEPH MCDOWELL, D. D., was born, April 15th, 1807, in Woodford county, Kentucky, and is a son of the late Allen Trimble, formerly Governor of Ohio. He was educated in the village school of Hillsborough, the county. sent of Highland county, Ohio, and the place of the family residence. When fifteen years of age he was sent to the Ohio University, at Athens, from which he graduated in 1828, and was shortly after admitted to the Ohio Con- ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church as a travelling minister, contrary to the wishes of his father, who had in- tended him for another profession. In 1827 he was con. verted and connected himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he felt his mission to be in the ministry. In 1834 he was elected Secretary of the Conference, in which capacity he served for the unprecedented period of thirty- one years. He filled the same office during two sessions of the General Conference. In 1835 he was appointed Pro- fessor of Mathematics in Augusta College, Kentucky, a position which he accepted and filled until 1840, when he resignedl. In 1864 he was elected Second Assistant Mis. sionary Secretary for the West, for a period of four years, und in the discharge of the duties of this office he visited the Conferences of Mine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Dela. ware, Pennsylvania, Manyland, West Virginia, Ohio, Michi- gin, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, lowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Tennessee, besides a very large number of the prominent congregations of the church, where his services were solicited in furtherance of the interests of the work he represented. For the last five ยท years he has served the Ohio Wesleyan University as Finan- cial Agent, and has been an active member of the Board of Trustees of that institution since 1852, giving both time and money to place it upon a more permanent basis. In addition to the varied duties already enumerated, Dr. Trimble travelled three circuits, spent thirteen years in stations in Zanesville, Columbus and Cincinnati ; was Pre-
Zanesville, Marietta and Lancaster districts, making in all forty-eight appointments which he has received from the church authorities, every one of which has been filled with signal fidelity and success. Dr. Trimble is probably the most widely-known Methodist minister in the State of Ohio. llis ministry has been one of extraordinary labors in the conversion of unbelievers, and of extraordinary success in increasing the membership of the church. He possesses the elements necessary for a life of distinguished usefulness and honor. As a speaker he is fluent, earnest and persuasive, having a clear, penetrating voice, under excellent control, and a magnetic influence which is wonderfully effective upon his audiences. His sermons are of the popular type, which avoid abstruse problems, and present the vital truths of the gospel with such glowing power that the heart of the listener is stirred to its depths. Ile is thoroughly learned in the history, polity and traditions of the church to which he is allied. He is esteemed as a safe counsellor by the bishops, presiding elders and ministers of the church, and his views and suggestions have always commanded marked respect. The confidence of the ministry, which he has always enjoyed in the fullest degree, may be attested by the fact that he has been elected to nine quadrennial sessions of the Gen- eral Conference, consecutively, beginning with that of 1844 and extending to that of 1876. For seventeen years he has served on its General Missionary Committee, which disburses the moneys raised by the church for the support of missions. It is very doubtful if there is any man living who has per- formed a greater amount of ministerial labor, or who has carried into his work more enthusiasm and zeal than Dr. Trimble. His name is conspicnous on the roll of the church, and he certainly is entitled to the admiration and affection which the membership everywhere have for him.
ROWN, JOSHUA K., Auditor of Guernsey county, Ohio, was born, August 13th, 1839, in Belmont county, of the same State. His parents emigrated from England in 1830, locating first in Pennsylvania and then in Ohio. His father was by trade a carpenter, and was in only moderate circumstances. Joshua was educated in the common schools of belmont county, studying in the winter and working as a farmer in the summer seasons. When seventeen years of age he removed to Cambridge, Guernsey county, and for two years worked with his father in flouring mills. Ile then read law with Judge Evans for one year, and in 1859, during the gold fever, went to Pike's Peak, where he re- mained six months and met with nothing but misfortune, Ile then studied telegraphy, and became a skilful operator. As such he was employed until September, 1861, when he joined the 1 5th Ohio Volunteer Infantry as First Lieutenant. Ile was advanced in a short time to the office of Major of
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