USA > Ohio > The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 1 > Part 56
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for the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, the former of which commanded the Tennessee river, and the latter the Cumberland. The gun-boats of Commodore Foote, assisted by Grant's army, compelled the surrender of Fort Henry ou February 6th. Fort Donelson was only captured after a severe engagement on February 15th, in which the land forces under Grant distinguished themselves. The title of " Unconditional Surrender Grant," which he bore through- oat the war, dates from this event. His terms of capitula- tion to the rebel General Butler being, " No other than an unconditional and immediate surrender ean be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works." The capture of this stronghold, and a very large portion of its defenders, may be regarded as the first substantial triumph of the Federal arms. Grant became the hero of the day, and the admiration of his martial skill was no less general than the admiration for the terse and pointed manner in which he couched the terms of capitulation. Ile was com- missioned Major- General of Volunteers for his great services rendered in these engagements, the commission dating from February 16th, 1862, and in a very few days an army of 40,000 men, which had been sent up the Tennessee by General Ilalleck, was placed under his command. The memorable battle of Pittsburg Landing commenced at day- break on April 6th, 1862, when Grant's army which was preparing for an attack on Corinth was itself surprised by an overwhelming force under General A. S. Johnston and routed from its camp with heavy loss. Grant did not arrive on the field until S A. M., when he succeeded in re-forming the lines, and having been reinforced during the remainder of the day by General Buell, renewed the battle himself on the following morning, completely defeating the enemy at every point and recovering the prisoners and stores which had been lost on the previous day. In a few days he began the siege of Corinth, to which the Confederate troops had retreated after the battle, and in the latter part of May, 1862, succeeded in driving them from that stronghold, By the recall of Ifalleck to Washington on July 11th Grant became commander of the Department of Tennessee, with his head- quarters at Corinth, and on September 17th he ordered an advance from that place to intercept General Price, who had concentrated a large force at Iuka. Here on Septem- ber 19th a hot battle was fought, and a complete victory for the Federal arms gained. Grant pushed to the Ohio river to obstruct General Bragg's force, leaving General Rose- crans in command of Corinth, where he was attacked by the Confederates, Price and Vandorn, and succeeded in re- pulsing them with heavy loss. General Buell with a por- tion of Grant's command intercepted Bragg at Perryville October 8th, and routed his command in a hot engagement, and compelled his retreat to East Tennessee. The fall of 1862 was devoted by Grant to efforts for the reduction of Vicksburg, the Gibraltar of the Mississippi, which were un- successful. In December he moved his army down the east side of the river, defeating in the ensuing April the
enemy in the actions of Raymond, Jackson, Champion's HIill and Big Black, and preventing the junction of the Con- federate Johnston's forces with those of Pemberton at Vieks- burg. On May 18th, 1863, he laid siege to that city, and on July 4th it fell into his hands, together with 27,000 pris- oners of war. For that strategie action he was promoted to the rank of Major-General in the regular army, and in the succeeding October assumed the command of the Military Division of the Mississippi, which then comprised the de- partments commanded by Sherman, Thomas, Burnside and Ilooker. Ifis reinforcement of Sherman on the Big Black river enabled that General to drive the Confederate forces under Johnston out of Jackson, Mississippi. Chattanooga being threatened by Bragg, Grant concentrated his forces for its defence, carrying by assault the Confederate positions on Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, respectively, on November 24th and 25th. Upon the retreat of Bragg's forces Grant sent relief to Burnside, then at Knoxville, which was closely invested by Longstreet, who was quickly com- pelled to retreat. Congress in its session of 1863-64 passed a resolution providing that a gold medal be struck for Gen- eral Grant in honor of his achievements, and returning thanks to him and his army. New York and Ohio passed similar measures. On March Ist, 1864, Congress revived the grade of Lieutenant-General, and President Lincoln at once nominated General Grant for the position, the Senate confirming the nomination on the following day. On his arrival in Washington March 9th, 1864, Grant received his commission from the President, and on the 17th issued his first general order announcing that he had assumed com- mand of the armies of the United States, with his head- quarters in the field, and until further orders with the Army- of the Potomac. This was the first time during the Rebel- lion that one General commanded all the national troops ; and with nearly 700,000 men at his disposal, Grant planned two campaigns which were to be directed simultaneously against vital points of the Confederacy. One of these cam- paigns was to be under General Meade, with orders to operate against Richmond, then defended by Lee; the other to be under General Sherman, and to be directed against Atlanta, defended by General Johnston. At midnight on May 34, 1864, the advance was made towards Richmond, and the army under Grant of 140,000 men pushed into the Wilderness and commenced that series of terrible engage- ments which are better known as the Seven Days' Fight. Lee was apprised of this movement on the 4th, and boldly taking the offensive tried to strike the Federal forces on their march. The immediate result was a bloody battle, which temporarily foiled Grant's attempt to interpose his army between Lee and Richmond. Ile made a second ad- vance by the left flank, being again met by Lee at Spottsyl- vania, and after a terrible struggle, which was only a partial success, he repeated the movement and was again con- fronted by Lee on the North Anna river. A fourth advance brought him before the impregnable rifle-pits of Cold Harbor,
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and after an unsuccessful assault on these, he once more | government, and the people. Although their report was moved his army by the left flank, crossing the James river, favorable to annexation, the Senate refused to confirm the treaty. During 1872, the last year of his first term as Presi- dent, the Count of Arbitration, which, with the approval of the English Government, had been appointed to decide the Alabama claims, concluded their labors at Geneva on Sep- teniber 14th, awarding the gross sum of $15,500,000, to be paid by the British Government to the United States for damages to American commerce by Confederate cruisers fitted ont in British ports. The treaty with Great Britain providing for- this international arbitration was negotiated by the cabinet appointed by President Grant. The President enforced the provisions of the 14th amendment to the Con- stitution, and on October 17th, 1871, suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the northern counties of South Carolina, which had been the scene of what are called the Ku-klux outrages. In the same year he appointed a Commission on Civil Service Reform, which devised a plan for rendering the civil service of the Government more efficient; this, after trial, has been abandoned. On June 5th, 1872, the National Republican Convention, at Philadelphia, renominated Presi- deut Grant by acclamation, Henry Wilson, of Massachu- setts, being selected as nominee for Vice-President. Horace Greeley and B. Gratz Brown were the candidates of the Liberal Republicans and Democrats. The result of the election was a popular majority for Grant of 762,991 over Greeley. The Forty-second Congress doubled the President's salary, making it $50,000 per aumim, increasing the salaries of the Vice-President, Speaker of the Ilouse, Justices of the Supreme Court and Heads of Departments 25 per cent. sending a despatch to the Government at Washington, " 1 propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." Ilis lowses in the campaign from the Rapidan to the James, covering the period from May 3d to June 15th, amounted to 54,551 in killed, wounded and missing, while Lee's losses were about 32,000. When Grant made his first advance toward, Richmond, he announced that fact by despatch to General Sherman, who then opened his cam- paign against Atlanta, and commenced his historie " March to the Sea." Grant's flanking movements being foiled, with Lee still in the open field before Richmond, with which he had constant communication, the problem of the war in Grant's estimation was narrowed down to the siege of Peters- burg, which he now began. While this siege was in pro- gress there were other diversions of the campaign in Mary- lind and Virginia, in which Sheridan figured prominently. Johnston in Georgia was unable to check the advance of Sherman, and his successor in command, General Ilood, was compelled to evacuate Atlanta and lost his army before Nashville. The siege of Petersburg ended after the Federal victory at Five Forks. In April, 1865, Richmond was evacuated by the Confederates, and Lee retreated westward toward Danville closely pressed by Grant, who finally com- pelled his surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9th, Sherman foreing Johnston's surrender only a few days before. These unconditional surrenders of the only two Confederate forces then organized in the field virtually closed the war. On July 25th, 1866, Grant was commis- sioned General of the United States Army, Congress having created the rank for him. On August 12th, 1867, he acted as Secretary of War ad interim, when President Johnson suspended Secretary Stanton from office, holding the posi- ILLMORE, ELISHA E., Wholesale and Retail Ilsudware Merchant, was born in Clinton connty, New York, May 23d, 1812. llis parents, natives of Connecticut, moved thence to New York in 1793. Ilis father was a farmer in moderate cir- cumstmces. He was the recipient of the ordi- uary education obtainable in the country schools of his day, and pursued his studies during the winter, while in the sum- mer monthis he assisted in the labor of the farm. Upon attaining his fifteenth year he went to what was then called " Black Rock," now a portion of Buffalo, New York, where he found employment as a clerk in a store with the firm of McPherson & Bird. At the expiration of seven years spent in this capacity, he was offered a position as bookkeeper and salesman in the hardware store of Patterson Brothers, in Buffalo, which he accepted and occupied for about one tion until January 14th, ISGS, the Senate having refused to sanction the removal of Mr. Stanton. President Johnson desired Grant to retain the office notwithstanding the action of the Senate, but the General closed a tangled correspond- ence relating to the after in a terse and very plau letter announcing his refusal. The National Republican Con- vention on May 21st, 1868, at Chicago, made, on the first ballot, the unanimous choice of General Grant as its nominee for President of the United States, selecting Schuyler Col- fax as his associate on the ticket. The result of the electoral vote was as follows : Grant and Colfax, 214; Seymour and Blair, 80. President Grant after his inaugural commenced to carry out the policy of reconstruction of the lately rebel- lious States which Congress had mapped out. In IS71 he urged the annexation of Santo Domingo, and secured to the United States a lease of the Peninsula and Bay of Samana | year. At this time, 1835, the firm opened a branch house for fifty years, but it being claimed that the treaties con- in Zanesville, Ohio, and he was intrusted with its manage- nient, the firm then consisting of Patterson Brothers, E. E. Fillmore, and John B. Graham, of New York, under the style of Fillmore, Pattersons & Co. At the expiration of two years Mr. Graham purchased the interest of Patterson cerning Santo Domingo had not been confirmed by a popular vote of its people, President Grant, in conformity with a re- solution of Congress, appointed a commission to visit Santo Domingo and report upon the condition of the country, 32
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Brothers, and the firm was continued under the name of | quished for the business of the lawyer. Ile was successful Fillmore & Co. Three years later he became the owner, in the practice of his profession, and grew rapidly into the favor of a large and influential class of patrons, so that in a comparatively short time he was in the enjoyment of an ex- tended and lucrative practice. He continued his residence in Miami county, and was several times called upon to fulfil the duties of Justice of the Peace there, and throughout all the many terms during which he held that office he per- formed all its duties in the ablest and most satisfactory man- ner. In 1854 he was elected Sheriff of the county, and held the position until 1858. In 1860 he was elected Probate Judge, and was re-elected to the position in 1863. During the six years that he served in that capacity his official acts were such as to win the highest commendation of all parties. Judicial honors were accompanied by military, and he rose to the rank of Colonel in the State militia. Ile was married in the year 1838 to Maria Ludlow, of Cincinnati ; five chil- dren, four sons and one daughter, resulted from the union. The daughter died in childhood, but the sons all survive, Ilon. Joseph E. Pearson being the third. by purchase, of his partner's interest, and sustained the busi- ness alone until 1803, when he associated with him his son, William A. Fillmore, and his nephew, William A. Cassel, adopting the firm-name of E. E. Fillmore & Co., by which the house has since been known. For eight consecutive years he was a Director of public schools, and in 1859 was elected County Commissioner. To the latter position he was re- elected in 1863, and in 1866 was again re-elected, vacating the office finally in 1869. Ile was instrumental in organizing the First National Bank of Zanesville, and has been one of its Directors from the date of organization down to the present time. In 1857, in connection with other co. workers, he assisted in reorganizing, under the name of the Ohio Iron Company, an iron works which had previously been projected and established. Of that company he was elected a Director, and ultimately he was selected to fill the Presidential chair, an office still held by him. The company started with a capital of seventy-five thousand dollars, and now has over a half million of dollars invested in its works. Its products find a market throughout the entire Western country. He is also a stockholder in the Cincinnati & Mus- kingum Valley Railroad, of which he was a Director from 1870 10 1873. He has recently completed a very large ware- house on Main street, Zanesville, which is one of the orna- ments of the city, and as a mercantile building unsurpassed in the State. Ile is intimately identified with the real-estate interests of his town, and owns a very handsome country residence, situated on the outskirts of the city. Ile was married, August 30th, 1836, to Margaret Arthur, daughter of Rev. William Arthur, a prominent and able Presbyterian minister of Zanesville. By her he has had five children, three of whom are now. living ; of these, one son is asso- ciated with him as a business partner ; another is employed in his house as a clerk ; the third is a daughter.
EARSON, JOSEPII, Lawyer and ex-Judge of Pro- bate for Miami County, Ohio, was born, in 1SOS, at Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. Ilis early education was obtained at the common schools of his native place, and when he had ar- rived at the proper age he was apprenticed there to learn the trade of saddler. When he was nineteen years old he removed to Ohio and settled at Troy, in Miami county ; there he worked industriously at his just-acquired trade, but he was equally industrious aside from his me- chanical calling. All his leisure time was occupied in add- ing to the limited education he had heretofore been able to secure. After a while he began to read law in the hours when he was not working at his trade. Ilis reading was so thorough and effective that eventually he was admitted to the bar. The business of making saddles was then relin-
AJOR, FRANCIS W., Physician and Surgeon, was born, April 20, 1814, in Franklin county, Kcn- tucky. Ilis father, George Major, was a native of Virginia, and removed with his father to Ken- lucky in 1790, studied law, and practised for many years at the Frankfort ber. Of his four children Francis was the only son. The family is of Ner- man origin, and of very ancient lineage, tracing its ancestry back directly to Archbishop Major (pronounced Mauger), of Rouen, the uncle of William the Conqueror. The Arch- bishop, on account of Papal despotisms, abdicated his sec, and removed to the island of Guernsey, where he met with and formed an attachment for a lady by the name of Guilte, who was greatly renowned for her beauty and accomplish- ments; and without the sanction of the church they were married and raised a large family of children, some of whom accompanied the Conqueror to England, where they re- mained. From one of the family sprang Sir Mathias Major, who obtained a grant of arms (see " Patronymica Britan- nica " ), and was lineal ancestor of Richard Major, Esq., of Ilurdsley, Hampshire county, England, whose daughter, Dorethy Margaret, married Richard, afterwards Lord Pro- tector Cromwell. After the restoration of Charles Il., Richard Major migrated to America and settled in York- town, Virginia, in the year 1660. Francis, the fifth in de- scent from the American founder of the family, and whose name heads this article, after completing his education en- tered the Transylvania Medical College, and graduated from that institution in 1834. He soon afterwards located in Paris, Kentucky, where he enjoyed a very select and remu- nerative practice until 1847, when he removed to Coving- ton, in the same State ; in that city he remained in the prac-
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tice of his profession until 1861. In that year he removed | immediately entered the house of Mack & Brothers, after- to Lexington, and remained there for a period of three years. In 1864 he was banished from the State of Kentucky ou ac- count of his sympathy with the cause of the rebellion, al. though he had committed no overt act against the govern- ment. Ile then took up his residence at Hamilton, Ohio, and speedily gained an extensive professional practice, and a wide circle of friends. At Hamilton he has continued to reside ever since. He occupies a high and enviable position in his profession ; is a man of cultivation and learning, and enjoys the confidence and respect of the entire community. In 1845 he married Ann F. Smith, of Paris, Kentucky ; she died in 1847, leaving him two sons. In 1854 he married his present wife, Ellen C. Dudley, of Cincinnati, and the
fruit of this marriage has been two children, a son and a he was again married to Carrie Katzenberger, daughter of daughter.
BOLDSMITH, ALBERT, Wholesale Clothing Mer- chant, was born in the city of Hanover, Germany. Ilis father, Moses Goldsmith, was a successful llamoverian merchant ; twenty years ago, after putting his estate and business interests in the hands of his children, he retired from active life. This is a practice largely in vogue in parts of Germany. The parent gives up his entire estate to his children, secur- ing a sufficient amount against uncertain changes, on which a certain annuity is to be paid by the children for his sup. port. A similar plan night in many instances be followed in this country. The subject of this sketch is the youngest of a family of six children, and until the age of fifteen most of his time was spent in school. Leaving his studies he was put in a mercantile house to learn business. For this business education and learning his father paid a regular fee, which practice yet exists to a very great extent in that and other parts of Germany and Europe generally. At the age of eighteen he entered a dry-goods jobbing house in Hanover as a travelling salesman, which position he occu- pied for six years. Before Prussia extended her authority over the kingdom of Hanover it was customary for a young man starting in any business to serve a regular apprentice- ship, perfect himself in his trade by travel and work, and undergo an examination as to his ability and fitness before a regularly authorized board. This wise regulation was car- ried out in all pursuits, and although a slow process, it pro- duced a superior, reliable and skilful race of business men, and doubtless largely accounts for the remarkable thrift of American Germans. Mr. Goldsmith now began to con- sider the propriety of emigrating to the United States. The opportunities to make great fortunes in the dominions of King William are few and far between. The man of mod- crate means seklom, and the poor man never, rises there. Through the urgent demands of a brother who had pre- cerled him and his own ambition, he at length determined to come to America. In 1864 he landed at Cincinnati, and
wards Mack, Stradler & Co. In this establishment he re- mained as a travelling salesman until 1870. In travelling among Western merchants he soon discovered one of their greatest inconveniences-the necessity of going East for their youths' and boys' clothing. Then there was only one house in Cincinnati doing but a small business in that line; none in St. Louis, and, in fact, little of the trade was sup- plied anywhere in the West. This induced him to plan the establishment of a manufactory of youths' and boys' clothing in Cincinnati on a scale suited to the demands of the West. During his travels as a salesman in 1865 he became ac- quainted with and married Sarah Wolff, of Mount Vernon, Ohio. The following year this good lady died. In 1868 1 .. Katzenberger, of Cincinnati. Ilis business plans were approved by his father-in-law, who joined him at once with his own capital, and the house of Katzenberger & Goldsmith was formed. Their capacity to supply the want long felt in this line of goods soon became known, and in a few months their trade sprang up far beyond their expectations, which induced them in 1871 to add to their firm Mr. 1 .. Loch, a merchant of large experience and considerable means. After the success of this house was seen to be as- sured, other establishments of the kind started up in Cincin- nati and other Western cities, but this establishment has maintained its position as first house of the kind of any im- portance west of the Alleghenies. The manufacture of youths' and boys' clothing has become one of the large busi- ness interests of Cincinnati, and in it this house takes the position of pioneer. They now give employment to five or six hundred men, women and children, and extend their trade over the greater part of the Territories and Western and Southern States. Mr. Goldsmith is a member of many social associations, and has held many prominent positions in the societies of the church of which he is an active mem- ber. Few men, hardly yet passed into the prime of life, and certainly fewer commencing at such a late date in this country, can present such a career of business success, or occupy so enviable a position in business and social circles.
IGELOW, LORIN, M. D., was born in Vermont, February 12th, 1792. Ile is of English extrae- tion. His father was a preacher, a mechanic and a larmer. Ilis early educational advantages were few, but at the age of eighteen he attended the Chesterfield Academy, in New Hampshire, where he became acquainted with the languages. Having a love for the profession of medicine, he resolved to enter upon a course of study. Having accomplished his purpose, he com . menced to practise in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. Twelve years of his early life were passed in Pennsylvania, but he had formerly resided in Ohio. Ile returned to Ohio,
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and settled on the same farm at Palmyra, Portage county, [ loaded with iron and ready to descend the river. He took where he now resides with a son. He was married in 1St4 to Amy 11. Oldhan, a native of New Hampshire, and six children blessed the union, only three of whom ----- all sons-survive. He practised at Palmyra with great success, and is now one of the most venerable of its retired citizens. In politics he is a Democrat. During the years 1849-50 and '51 he represented his fellow-citizens in the State Legislature, and assisted in the adoption of the revised State Constitution. Ile was quite prominent in local politics, and as a member of the Legislature performed an important part in the regulation of the school law, an instrument which was the subject of much agitation at the time. IIe was twice married.
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