The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2, Part 13

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, pub
Publication date: 1876
Publisher: Cincinnati, Galaxy publishing company
Number of Pages: 760


USA > Ohio > The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2 > Part 13


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the conviction of the leaders in those organizations, he vis- [ a great variety of knowledge. Besides the diffusion of ited on them the extreme penalty of the law ; but such was thought and sentiment which animated his discourse, it was enlivened by ingenions illustrations, pointed sentences, and always seasoned by a vein of good humor, which ever recommended him to favor and attention. Some of the cardinal maximns which influenced the conduct of his life were the following : Always to speak the truth; never to deviate from principle ; and never to give any one expecta- tions that would not be likely to be realized. He was strongly opposed to speculative projects; believing that through patience and industry was the only sure way to happiness and prosperity. A strict and consistent moralist, he granted little indulgence to laxity of morals in others. llis manners were formed in the old school of grace and dignity. Ile disliked familiarity, avoided trifling conversa- tion, and could not tolerate any violation of good manner, in others. Ile was thoroughly versed in the Scriptures and with the history of the church, and well acquainted with the creeds of the sects. Ile had an abiding confidence in the truth of the teachings of Christ, holding His precepts to be the supreme rule for the government of human conduct ; yet he never united with any branch of the church, as he regarded their creeds as but substitutions for a plain self- interpreting gospel. Concerning his domestic manners and private life, old age never presented a more beautiful specta- cle than his devotion to his wife. For many years she had been an invalid, while he was her patient nurse, exhibiting towards her all the tender care and solicitude which marked the love of his early youth. By his grandchildren he was venerated, and indeed by all his relations within the range of his domestic cirele, Of his intimate acquaintances, those who were his friends in his youth remained his companions and friends in his old age .. He was married in 1823 to Eliza, daughter of William Naylor, of Wooster. He died January 25th, 1872, after an illness of but four days. Ilis widow survived him but six months. the state of public opinion, that the hues imposed by him were invariably remitted by the county commissioners. He was one of the true disciples of Jefferson, who enforced, with all the judicial sanction of the bench, the precept of his great exemplar, that " Error of opinion may be safely tolerated where reason is left free to combat it." In the memorable campaign of 1840 he was one of the few Demo- erats elected to Congress from Ohio, and took his seat in that body, March 4th, 1841. He was re-elected in 1842, thus serving in that body for four years. Such was the sense entertained of his merits, that he lacked but one vote of being the choice of his Democratic friends in the Legis- lature for United States Senator, when Benjamin Tappan was chosen. Upon his retirement from Congress, he re- sumed the practice of law in Wooster, and in 1852 took into partnership his son and only child, Ezra V. Dean, whom he had trained for the bar. This relation continued until 1865, when the son removed with his family to Iron- ton, Ohio, and engaged in active practice there, and where he was joined by his father two years later. In the summer of 1870, in company with his oldlest granddaughter, he visited the battle-fields in the vicinity of Niagara Falls, where he had stood for his country in the war of 1812; and thence he went down the St. Lawrence, and viewed the places about Lake Champlain, Plaitsburg, Burlington, Vermont, and other scenes with which his youth had been associated. After an absence of the summer season, during which he carefully observed and noted all the great changes time had wrought, he returned home ready to meet the great change which, in the ordinary course of nature, he was conscious he must soon experience. Ile kept himself thoroughly informed as to all the great social and political movements going on in different parts of the world, and took a profound interest in whatever related to the public welfare within his own or other countries. Ilis memory continued fresh and accurate, so that he never lacked an apt quotation or an illustration from history suited to the subject of his conversation. Few men were better read in ancient and modern history, especially in the history of England and of his own country. Ilis convictions were deep and settled in whatever he believed to be right ; and he adhered to them with a firmness and uttered them with a boldness which neither the war of tumult could drown nor the clamor of opposition modify or subdue. It was the force of these convictions which sometimes gave him the appearance of dogmatism in conversation ; yet he was most tolerant of what he believed to be errors of opinion in others. From the great diversity of life which he experi- enced in the vicissitudes of a soldier's camp, the deck of a revenue cutter, or tracing a boundary line, the practice of the law and its administration among a pioneer people to that of a legislator in the Federal Congress, he had garnered up in the well arranged storehouse of an unfailing memory


EITZEL, GENERAL GODFREY, was born in Cincinnati, Hamilton county, Ohio, November Ist, 1835. His preparatory education was obtained in the common schools of his native city, and he was a member of the senior class of the old Cen- tral I ligh School. At the age of sixteen he was, through the influence of Hon. D. T. Disney, sent to West Point. In 1855 he was graduated, ranking second in a class of over thirty. A Brevet Second Lieutenancy in the Corps of Engineers fell to his lot, and a year later he became a full Second Lientenant. In 1860 he was pro- moted to a First Lieutenaney, and in the spring of 1863 he was made a Captain. From 1855 to 1859 he was with P. G. T. Beauregard, as assistant in the construction and repairs of fortifications in Louisiana, when he was relieved and ordered to West Point as Assistant Professor of Military


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and Civil Engineering. In the winter of 1861 he was ordered to report for duty with Company A, Engineers, and with it proceeded to Washington, where it acted as body- guard to Abraham Lincoln in the inauguration ceremonies, The next month he accompanied it to Font Pickens, Florida. While here he twice reconnoitred within the enemy's lines under confidential orders from the commandant. He re- turned to the academy in the fall, and was from thence ordered to report to General O. M. Mitchel, commanding the district of Ohio, as Chief Engineer, and also for recruit- ing duty. On December toth, 1861, he was transferred to the engineer battalion of the Army of the Potomac, and placed in command of a company. He was also assigned to the special duty of putting together some of the pontoon trains for the army. By this time he had attracted the attention of his superiors to his qualifications as an engineer. When Butler's expedition to New Orleans was being or- ganized, he was appointed its engineer. While with Beau- regard in that city and vicinity, he had become possessed of an intimate knowledge of the country, and this now became of great service to the government. Arriving at Ship Island he was taken into consultation with General Butler and Captain Farragut of the navy, who was after- wards to gain such widespread fame. Acting upon his advice in every movement, these commanders were enabled to reduce the defences of New Orleans, and he then guided Butler and his troops around the marshes and bayous into the city. For his eminent services he was made Assistant Military Commander and Acting Mayor of New Orleans, and also placed in charge of recruiting at that point. After the battle of Baton Rouge he went thither under orders, and laid out the fortifications there. In September, 1862, he was made Brigadier-General of Volunteers, and placed in command of a brigade of raw troops. Ordered by his com. mander to proceed against the enemy, he entered the La Fourche district and routed the rebels in every encounter, and changed the condition of affairs there to one of order and safety. In April, 1863, he proceeded against Port Hudson, and did effective work before reaching and during the siege of that place. After the surrender he was made commander of the ist Division, 19th Corps, and after being engaged in various military undertakings with more or less success, he was sent to Ohio in December, on re- cruiting service. Upon his return he made application to be transferred to Butler's command in Virginia, having a warm regard for the man who had accelerated his promo- tion. Ile was transferred to this department in April, 1864, and was made Chief Engineer and also placed in command of the 2d Division, 18th Corps. In the former capacity he constructed the various lines of defence, works, and bridges on the James and Appomattox rivers, including the ap proaches and piers for the famous pontoon bridge, by which the Army of the Potomac crossed the former. In Septem- ber, after returning from a reconnaissance to the mouth of the Cape Fear river, looking to the reduction of Fort


Fisher, he was placed in command of the 18th Corps. Soon after he was attacked with fierceness by the enemy, but re- pulsed them with great loss. In December he was assigned to the command of the 25th Corps, colored troops, which he held until he was mustered out of the volunteer service. Hle was second in command in Butler's operations against Fort Fisher. In the closing operations against Richmond he had command of a considerable force, and was the first to enter the city, April 3d, 1865, taking up his quarters in the house hastily deserted by Jeff Davis the night before. When President Lincoln visited the fated city, he was re -. ceived by General Weitzel. On the 12th of April he com - menced preparations for the transfer of his command to Texas, where he served under Sheridan until February, 1866, when he was mustered out as Major-General in the volunteer service and returned to the Engineer Corps. While on the Texas frontier he was a warm sympathizer with the Mexican Republicans, in their efforts to throw off the yoke of Maximilian, and strongly protested against the cruelties practised by the Imperialists. A sharp correspond- ence took place between himself and one of the Imperialist generals. After leaving the volunteer service, be engaged in engineering, and, among other duties, made the plans and estimates for a canal around the falls of the Ohio, on the opposite shore fiom Louisville. At present he holds the rank of Major and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel of Engi- neers, and is stationed at Detroit, having charge of the building of a canal at that place. He also has general supervision of the light-house service of the lakes. Toward the end of the war he was married to a daughter of Mr. George Bogen, prominent in the wine trade of Cincinnati. Ile is acknowledged to be one of the best engineers of the United States service, and is to be found only where diffi- cult work is being performed.


OOD, SAMUEL. BRYANT, Wholesale Grocer, was born in 1.829, in the town of Warwick, Frank- lin county, Massachusetts, and received there only a common school education, being reared on a farm, where he labored until he was twenty-one years of age. At this time, in order to gratify his dis -. position for different employment, he left home and repaired to Greenfield, Franklin county, Massachusetts, where he became a hotel clerk. At that place and in that position he won many friends by his urbanity and desire to give satisfaction ; and he was enabled, through habits of steadi- ness and the practice of a strict economy, to accumulate means and become proprietor. Ile continned in the hotel business for a period of fifteen years; and by his superior administrative qualities and assiduous attention to his call- ing, he was enabled to command a respectable amount of funds, with which he removed to the city of Toledo in 1SGS, and there purchased an interest in the firm of Benson


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& Woodberry, wholesale grocers, under the name and style | of the first commissioners of the Water- Works Board. Hle of Benson & Wood, the former junior partner retiring. This business connection continued until 1872, when the firm was dissolved, by the death of the senior member. lle then purchased the interest of the latter, and the busi- ness is now conducted in his own name. Ile is a quiet, practical man, of great force of character, combining a steady perseverance in business, with an easy, gentlemanly deportment, and has thus secured an excellent patronage; while his name is a synonyme for integrity, soundness, and fair dealing, and his life and present position are sturdy witnesses of what perseverance, industry and economical habits will accomplish.


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ILLIARD, RICHARD, Merchant, was born in Chatham, New York, July 4th, 1797. Ilis father, David Hilliard, died when his son was but four- teen years of age. After his father's death he left Albany and resided with his brother in Skeneateles, where he divided his time between clerking in a store and teaching school until he was eighteen, when he removed to Black Rock and became a clerk in the general merchandise store of John Daly. Ile was soon admitted to a partnership without capital. In 1824 the partners removed to Cleveland, Mr. Hayes resign- ing the active management of the business to his junior partner, who, in 1827, purchased Mr. Daly's interest and continued to carry on the business alone. By his unwearied industry and strict integrity he succeeded in building up so large a business in dry goods and groceries that it became advisable to have a partner in New York for the purchase of goods. For that purpose he associated himself with Mr. William Hayes of that city. For a number of years the firm of Hilliard & Hayes carried on a wholesale business in dry goods and groceries that made it one of the foremost houses in that line in the West. Its field of operations was extensive and steadily increasing, and the reputation of the house was of the highest. The New York house was changed to Hopkins, Hayes & Co., Mr. Hilliard still being the principal proprictor. The transactions of this firm were very large. At the same time he was associated with Cortland Palmer, of New York, in extensive purchases of real estate. In 1856, when on the journey home from New York, he took cold; a short but fatal illness followed, when he died on the 21st day of December, 1856. No merchant ever stood higher in the public estimation for ability and integrity. His paper was never dishonored or ever placed in doubt, and his word was as good as a written contract. Ilis financial abilities were very great and appre- ciated by other merchants. In all transactions he was economical, but he was wisely liberal, giving generously, but being careful that his generosity was not unworthily be- stowed. Ile early interested himself in the scheme for supplying the city with water from Lake Erie, and was one


negotiated the bonds of the city for the water works most advantageously. The works were completed under his presiding directions in the most thorough and complete manner, so that they have continued to give the greatest satisfaction to all parties concerned. Ile also took a deep interest in the construction of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad, the first railroad line reaching Cleve- land, and was one of the most successful in procuring stock subscriptions. Although he avoided taking an active part in politics he was a conservative Democrat. Ile was one of the officers of the village of Cleveland previous to its organization as a city, and the first year after it became a city, in 1836, he was elected an alderman, and filled the same office again in 1839. Ile was frequently tendered the Democratie nomination to Congress, but always declined to accept. Ile was courteous and considerate to all, a warm and trustworthy friend, generous and charitable in thought, word and action. He was liberal in his religious views, and was utterly devoid of narrowness or selfishness. Ile was married to Catharine Hayes, of New York, who died four years prior to his death, leaving seven children.


INSLOW, RICHARD, Shipowner, was born in Falmouth, Maine, September 6th, 1769, being descended in a direct line from Knehn Winslow, brother of Governor Edward Winslow of P'ly- mouth colony, and one of the Mayflower Pilgrims. In IS12 he left Maine for North Carolina, where he established himself at Ocracoke, and became largely in- terested in the commerce of that place both by sea and land. In 1830 he determined to investigate the great West, and in May, 1831, he arrived with his family .in Cleveland. Ile became agent for a line of vessels between Buffalo and Cleveland, and also of a line of boats on the Ohio canal. Ile commenced business also as a shipowner on his own account, his first on the lakes being the brig " North Caro- lina," built for him in Cleveland. A few years later he was interested in building the steamer " Bunker Hill," of 456 tons, which was a very large size at that time. Then followed a long line of sail and steam craft, built for or purchased by him alone, or in connection with his sons, who became sharers with him in the business, until the Winslow family ranked among the foremost shipowners on the western likes. In 1854, after twenty-five years of active business on the lakes, and being then eighty-five years old, he retired, leaving his interest to be carried on by his sons, who inherited his business tastes and abilities, Hle enjoyed his retirement but three years, having met with an accident which seriously affected a leg he had injured years before, and resulted in his death. He was a true gentleman, his nature being warm and impulsive, quick to conceive and prompt to act, cordial in his greetings, free


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from even the suspicion of meanness or duplicity, courteous to every one, and strongly attached to those he found worthy of his intimate friendship. Although he neither sought nor desired office he took a warm interest in public affairs as a citizen. He was married to Mary Nash Grandy, of Camden, North Carolina, who became the mother of eleven children, four of whom, N. C., II. J., R. K. and Edward, survived him. Mrs. Winslow died October, 1858, having survived her husband a little over. a year. His son, Rufus King Winslow, was born in Ocracoke, North Caro- lina. Ile removed with his family to Cleveland in 1831, and was sent to school in the old Cleveland Academy. When twenty-one years of age he became associated with his brothers, N. C. and J. II. Winslow, in the shipping business, their father being heavily interested in the owner- ship of vessels on the lakes. His attention being wholly devoted to this business, the Winslow family always being at the head of all shipowners. Since his father's death the business has been carried on with success wholly by him and his brothers, he remaining in Cleveland, while one brother settled in Buffalo and the other in Chicago. In IS59 and 1860 they despatched some vessels to the Black Sea, but most of their operations have been confined to the lakes. lle has ever refused to accept positions of public trust, although he is patriotic and was a liberal supporter of the Union during the rebellion. He is deeply interested in scientific pursuits, and from a boy has been a devoted student of ornithology. In 1869 he was elected President of the Kirtland Academy of Natural Sciences, and was for many years one of its most active and energetic members. HIe is well known to the best artists as a skilful connoisseur in paintings, and a warm and liberal friend of art in all of its branches. He is always ready to take an active part in works of benevolence, and his correct taste and good judg- ment render vatuable service in devising and carrying into execution plans for charitable or patriotic purposes. In 1851 he married Lucy B. Clark, daughter of Dr. W. A. Clark, of Cleveland.


FOL.BROOK, ALFRED, Principal of the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, was born in Derby, Connecticut, February 17th, 1816. Ile commenced teaching when seventeen in Monroe, Connecticut. At the age of eighteen he was en- gaged in New York city manufacturing sur- veyors' instruments. After two years he removed to Kirt- land, Ohio. Subsequently he was occupied one year and a half in surveying in Boonville, Indiana. In 1840 he re- turned to Ohio and taught school in Beren, commencing with three pupils. Ilis school increased very rapidly, and was the foundation of Baldwin University. In 1849 he was appointed Principal of an academy at Chardon, Ohio, where he remained two years. Ile then accepted a posi- tion in the Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary at Kirt-


land. Subsequently he was appointed Superintendent of the public schools of Marlborough, Ohio, and held the position three years. He then removed to Salem, Ohio, and while there he received the appointment as Principal of the South- western Normal School at Lebanon, which position he has occupied twenty years. Professor Alfred Holbrook is the author of two educational works, which have had a very wide circulation, viz. : " Normal Methods " and " School Management." He has recently written two text-books on the English language, which are perhaps the best treatises of the kind ever published, viz. : " Training Lessons " and an " English Grammar." During nearly fifty years Professor Holbrook has had under his instruction not less than twenty- five thousand persons-a greater number probably than can be claimed by any other living teacher. On March 24th, 1843, Professor Holbrook was married to Melissa l'ierson, daughter of Abial and Irene Pierson, of Derby, Connecticut.


WAYNE, WAGER, Lawyer and Soldier, was born in Columbus, Ohio, November 10th, 1834. On April Ist, 1849, he left his home for school in Springheld, Ohio, and in September, 1851, he entered Yale College. A dangerous illness in the fall of 1852 obliged him to suspend his studies for a year. He afterwards returned to Yale and graduated in IS56. From college, he went back to Ohio, and entered the law office of Swayne & Baber, graduating at the Cincin- nati law school in the spring of 1859. In the fall of that year he commenced the practice of law in partnership with his father, the Hon. N. HI. Swayne. On the outbreak of the war, he was tendered a Commission in the Ohio Volun- teer service by the Governor, and entered the army as Major of the 43d Regiment Ohio Volunteers at Camp Chase, on August 31st, 1861. The regiment was recruited with some difficulty, owing to the great number of regiments then organizing, and before the full complement of men was obtained the activity and energy of Major Swayne was recognized by his promotion to be Lieutenant-Colonel, October 31st, 1861. The regiment was filled by January Ist, 1862, numbering then 1079 men, and on February 20th, 1862, it went to Commerce, Missouri, and commenced active service under the command of General l'ope. It participated in the action against New Madrid, Missouri, and was complimented in the orders by General Pope for efficient service. It took part in the operations against Island No. 10 and Fort Pillow, and being called by Gen- eral Halleck to Shiloh, after the battle at that place, it participated in the advance upon and taking of Corinth under General Pope, and marched to Boonville in pursuit of Beauregard's forces, afterwards taking part in the battle of Iuka, September 19th, 1862, in the battle of Corinthi, October 3d and 4th, 1862, and in the pursuit of the rebels under Price to Ripley, Mississippi. The regiment suffered


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severely in the action at Corinth, losing its colonel, adjutant | tion Measures of Congress, coming directly within the and senior captain. Lieutenant Colonel Swayne was struck twice but not injured. Ile was mentioned both in the brigade and division reports for distinguished gallantry and efficiency in action. On October 12th, 1862, he was made Colonel of the regiment. In the spring of 1863 Colonel Swayne was appointed Provost-Marshal of Memphis. This duty was performed with an administrative ability and just discrimination, which afterwards became more widely known. During the winter of 1863-64 the regiment, then under command of Colonel Swayne, received the invitation of Congress to re-enlist for an additional term of three years, while encamped at Prospect, Tennessee ; and it may be cited as illustrating the state of the command that seven- eighths of the men on duty responded promptly to the call. Later in the same year, the regiment, still under his per- sonal charge, formed part of Sherman's army in the march from Chattanooga to Savannah, participating in the move- ments against Resnea, Kenesaw, Atlanta, and afterwards in the attack upon the outworks of Savannah. Later, in February, 1865, Colonel Swayne, who in the meantime had been brevetted Brigadier-General for gallant and meritori. ons services, while preparing for an attack upon the rebel forces at River's bridge, crossing the Salkahatchee river, South Carolina, was struck by an exploding shell, from which he suffered the loss of his right leg, and was obliged to be taken back the next day to Pocatalgo, and thence to hospital at Beanfort, South Carolina. The attack, however, W., successful, and the results of value, as afterwards ex- pressed in a private letter from General Sherman on the subject. March 4th, 1865, he was appointed Brigadier- General of Volunteers, vice Andrew Johnson resigned ; and on his return to Columbus was presented by his fellow- townsmen with a magnificent sword, belt and sash, in token of bi, gallant and effective service. Before he had quite recovered from his wound, he was selected by Gen. eral Howard as one of the Assistant Commissioners of Freedmen's Affairs, and was sent South, and placed in charge of the State of Alabaina. The problems here pre- sented were of extreme interest and importance, the powers of the assistant commissioner involving the exclusive con- trol of all litigation, civil and criminal, to which a negro was a party in that State, as well as the care of vast num- bers of suddenly enfranchised and helpless persons, of whom thousands were aged, infirm or infants; and also the adjustment of the relations of capital to labor wholly con- vulsed and overthrown by the recent fortunes of war. After several months of severe labor in the discharge of these duties, on June 1st, 1866, the military command of the forces in that State was added to his charge ; and on the 4th of Angust, in the same year, he was appointed Colonel of the 45th Regiment of Infantry in the regular army of the United States, in which he afterwards received the brevet rank of a general officer. The administration within the State of Alabama, of what were known as the Reconstruc




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