USA > Ohio > The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2 > Part 49
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CHAEFER, LOUIS, Lawyer, was born, 1815, in the Department of Moselle, France, and is a son of Phillip and Catharine (Loehr) Schaefer. Ile , was educated chiefly at the public schools of his native place, but also received much valuable in- struction from his father, who was a teacher by profession. lle accompanied his parents in their emigra- tion to the United States in 1830, locating in Stark county, Ohio. Having selected the legal profession for his future career, he entered the office of Griswold & Grant, counsel- lors and attorneys-at-law at Canton, in 1840; and after the usual preparatory course, was admitted to practise in 1842,
and has since been actively engaged in the duties of his profession, having succeeded in placing himself among the leaders of the bar in that vicinity. While he has closely ap- plied himself to his legal labors, he bas also found the to promote the public interests of Canton in various duections. Recognizing the vital importance of education, he has been for many years identified with the Board of Education of that town, and has devoted much of his time to its public schools. In 1868 the members of the board saw fit to pass a rule prohibiting any and all religious exercises in the schools, believing that, as the parents and guardians of the pupils, as well as the children themselves, were composed of numerous denominations and creeds, conflicting with each other in opinion, and as the spirit and intention of the public-school laws were adverse to the introduction, either directly or indirectly, of any religious dogmas or views, it was wise to leave the same outside of the school room. The action of the board, which was composed of gentlemen of various creeds, on this subject, brought forth a protest from a number of the clergymen in Canton, who requested the rule to be rescinded. Their petition was respectfully re- ceived by the board, and replied to, point by point, by Louis Schaefer, whose sound views on the subject were unanin.ously indorsed by the board, and the rule which emanated from him became a law; and it is but justice to say that, after years of trial of its operation, the morals of the children attending the Canton schools will bear com- parison with those of any school in the country, and that by leaving these tender questions to the parents of the children, the cause of education has not suffered with any class, and harmony has prevailed among all. In the establishment of water-works he was the leading spirit. Appreciating the nu- merous benefits which Cantonwould derive from having good and reliable water-works, he agitated the matter for a long time, and though he met with much opposition from some who were not alive to the demands of a growing borough, he overcame these obstacles, and, ou March 27th, 1869, and in connection with others, he was instructed to proceed in the construction and completion of the Canton City Water- Works. This improvement was finished to the credit of the committee, and the entire approval of the citizens. Owing mainly to his efforts, several large manufacturing establish- inents, employing over 600 hands, were added to the indus- tries of Canton within five years past. He has also added to the beauty of the place by the erection of a fine business block, which includes a first-class Opera Ilouse. Aiming, as he has ever done, to promote the welfare of the com- munity at large, he enjoys their respect and esteem. Ile has been connected with the Board of Education for nine years past, and has served as one of the City Council for twelve years. In 1866 he was a candidate on the Demo- cratic ticket for Congress, although, as a rule, he has eschewed politics. He was married, in May, 1849, to Catharine Anna, a daughter of Rev. Stephen A. Mealy, of Savannah, Georgia.
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ASH, HON. SIMEON, was born at South Hadley, Massachusetts, September 2151, ISO4. Ile was the son of a millwright, whose wife was of more than counnon mind and force of character. Our subject received his early education at the district school near his home, thoroughly grounding hin- self in the elementary branches. During his school days he was an eager devourer of books of a solid character, mainly such as dealt with history. Ile was fond of tracing the marches and battles of armies; among the favorite books of his early days were Goulon's " Ihistory of the War of our Revolution " and Campbell's " Lives of the English Ad- mirals." In his efforts to store his mind with useful knowl- edge he was greatly encouraged and stimulated by his mother. Ilaving tasted the sweets of learning, he was filled with a desire for increased knowledge that no obstacle could repress. Ile spared no effort, wasted no time in improving his mind. Hle read, digested and put on paper whatever impressed him as being of value. This plan he has parsued through life. In the practice of the law he has found this system of great value, enabling him to analyze and arrange evidence rapidly, and adding strength to his arguments. This has made him a ready and effective speaker, often, when called upon suddenly to discuss some question, receiv- ing credit for what appeared to be extemporaneous, but which was in reality the result of long and intense thought. At the age of seventeen years he went to Hopkins Academy, in Old Hadley, where he remained six months, beginning his immediate preparations for college. In 1825 he entered Am- herst College. He had not the means to meet all expenses, and was therefore obliged to teach school during the winters of his collegiate life. After graduating at college in 1829, he returned to South Hladley and remained there two years, during which time he read law with the late Edward Ilooker, Esq., and taught part of the time in a school for boys at South Hadley. Ile read law as he did everything, thoroughly and systematically. Having finished his law course, le accepted an invitation from the late Ilon. S. F. Vinton, a native of South Hadley, to take up his residence in Gallipolis, Ohio. He made the journey from South Had- ley to Gallipolis by stage, arriving there January 9th, IS32, where he has since made his home. It was necessary to re- side one year in Ohio before he could be admitted to the bar, and this year he passed with his friend, Mr. Vinton, to whom he was indebted for much good counsel. He was admitted to practise in April, 1833. There was not a rush of business when he opened his law office in Gallipolis, and he had ample time to improve his mind. This he did by devoting his leisure hours to reading law and miscellaneous books of value. As he began to gain a little money from his practice, it was his hahit to buy a book and read it thor- onglily. In this way he has accumulated a law library of nearly eight hundred volumes, and a miscellaneous library of over a thousand. While at college Mr. Nash began the study of French, in which he has since perfected himself, so | appears in the United States courts at Cincinnati. During
| that he now reads it as readily as he does his mother tongue. In 1839 he was a successful Whig candidate for the State Senate, representing his district in that body for two succes- . sive terms of two years cach. They were stormy years. I'nty politics tan high and questions of great moment were under discussion, among them the tariff and the currency. The Democrats, under the leadership of Benton, advocated a currency exclusively of eoin. The Whigs, following Clay and Webster, favored a currency composed of bank notes and coin. While Mr. Nash was in the State Senate the financial question was fully discussed. By law the charters of the Ohio banks expired January Ist, 1843, and in the session of 1840-41 an effort was made to extend the time for winding up the banks in order to keep their paper at par until redeemed. Mr. Nash advocated this policy, and wrote an elaborate speech in its favor. In the following summer, after the banks had gone into liquidation, he wrote an article showing the disastrous results to the people of forced resump- tion. These two documents were largely circulated in the summer of 1842, and were thought to have aided in bring- ing about a change in the Legislature and in the policy of the State on the banking question. In the session of 1842 lic made a strong speech against the Democratic hard-money doctrine, thereby adding to his reputation as a financial economist. At the close of his second term, in 1843, he de- clined a re-election, feeling that he could not afford the pro- fessional sacrifice. In the winter of 1844 the Legislature elected him one of a commission of three to investigate the expenditures on the public works of Ohio, which were then completed. This preferment came without Mr. Nash's knowledge, and it was only at the carnest solicitation of his friends that he was induced to accept. The investigation proved to be a laborious work, and lasted from May, 1845, to January, 1847. Beside two voluminous reports made by the commission, Mr. Nash prepared a separate report on the debt contracted in constructing the National road, rec- ommending a just course to be pursued in paying claims. The Legislature adopted his suggestion and closed up the matter. Money, which would otherwise have been lost, was recovered by the commission, and was more than sufficient to pay all the expenses of investigation. Mr. Nash was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1852, in which his ripe experience in public affairs proved of great value. The new Constitution having been adopted, he was elected Judge of the Third Subdivision of the Seventh Dis- trict, composed of Gallin, Meigs, Athens and Washington counties. IIe went on the bench in February, 1852, and remained there for ten years, at a salary of $1500 per an- num. Retiring from the bench he resumed his practice at the bar. In his early days he practised in the counties of Lawrence, Gallin, Meigs, Athens, Washington, and occa- sionally in Scioto and Jackson ; now he limits his practice mainly to Gallin and Meigs counties, with an occasional visit to other counties in Ohio and West Virginia. Ile also
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the years of a busy professional and public life Judge Nash | of Probate Judge. He has for ten years been the Secretary has found time to do a great deal of literary work and legal of the Butler County Agricultural Society, and also a mem- ber of the Democratie Central Committee. reporting. Ife is the author of a digest of the twenty volumes of the " Ohio Reports," published by II. N. Derby in 1853; of a digest of the first ten volumes of the " Ohio Reports," published in 1861 by Follet Foster & Co .; of " Nash's P'lead- ing and Practice under the Civil Code," published in 1856 by 1I. N. Derby, of Cincinnati, which ran through three editions, the two latter, with additions, being published by Robert Clarke, of Cincinnati. In 1875 he rewrote most of his " Pleading and Practice," adding largely to it, making two volumes of the work, which was also published by Robert Clarke & Co. Judge Nash is the author of a work on " Morality and the State," and has been a frequent con- tributor to the Western Law Journal, the Western Law Monthly and other periodicals. In the August number of the Boston Low Monthly of 1864 appeared an able article from his pen on the status of the Southern States before and after the rebellion. The blessings of constant health and a well-preserved constitution have enabled Judge Nash to ac- complish all that we have recounted, and yet retain the full mental vigor of his earlier days. Ile is still in active prac- tice, and is capable of doing as much work now as ever. December 16th, 1831, he married Cynthia Smith, of Granby, Massachusetts, who lives to enjoy with him the result of his life of toil.
OIINSTON, WILLIAM S., one of the early and successful business men of Cincinnati, was born in Middletown, Connecticut, March 13th, 1791, and died at Lake Forest, Illinois. Ile received a fine education, and with fair prospects started for the West. 1Ie located in Cincinnati, where he lived for nearly fifty years. Soon after his arrival in that city he began business as a dry-goods merchant, and was very suc- cessful. But in a few years he abandoned mercantile pur- suits entirely, and devoted his attention to investments in real estate. Ile made large purchases in Covington, Ken- tucky, and in the western parts of Cincinnati; and when Chicago first began to attract attention as presenting fine opportunities for real estate speculations, he invested largely there. In his various real estate investments of thirty or forty years ago, Mr. Johnston displayed rare judgment and foresight. Ile acted on the principle that the time to sell was when others wanted to buy, and the time to buy' was when everybody wanted to sell. But as a rule he was a buyer. IIe believed that money in real estate in growing Western cities would, in the end, yield a larger return than
OCHIRAN, HON. WILLIAM R., was born in {if invested in any other species of property; so that, in Adams county, Pennsylvania, March 17th, IS11. times of commercial revulsion or temporary depression in
His parents were William and Rebecca ( Morrow) prices, he would never sacrifice his real estate. The result showed his wisdom. Most of his investments were in Chicago, which, from a struggling village of three thousand inhabitants, in his time became a proud metropolis. Cin- cinnati, too, has increased more than ten-fold in population and value of property since Mr. Johnston began his career in the West. M.my years ago he owned the property on which the Grand Hotel of Cincinnati' now stands; and the Igreater part of his life in that city was spent with his family in the old homestead on the southwest corner of Fourth and Vine streets, now the Custom House property. In 1825 he became a member of the Cincinnati Water Company, which was composed of William Greene, John P. Foote, George Graham, D. B. Lawler and himself. Ile retained his membership and interest in the stock of , the company for fifteen years. Finally, after a long negotiation, the water works were sold to the city in 1840, on the most fa- vorable terms to the people, the company operating the works one year free of charge. This property is worth now nearly twenty-fold more than the city paid for it. Mr. Johnston was concerned in most of the business and social movements of his times, and in a very wide sense was one of the pioneers of the West. Few men were more generous and princely in their gifts and charities, and none were Cochran. Ilis mother was a sister of the late IIon. Jeremiah Morrow, Governor of Ohio from 1822 to 1826; member of the United States Senate from 1813 to 1819, and Representative in Congress from 1So; to 1813, and again from 1840 to 1843. The parents of Mr. Cochian immigrated to Ohio in 1814, settling in Hamilton county. In 1825 they removed to Butler conuty, where their son attended the Miami University, graduating in the class of tNgt. It was the singular felicity of this school, now fallen into obscurity and disrepute, to have graduated at about this period of its history a greater mum- ber of young men who achieved a contemporary fume in the history of their country than any other institution of learning in the United States. During the period of the civil conflict, besides several officers of high reputation in the volunteer army, there were at one time not less than four Governors of States and fifteen members of Congress who claimed the institution for their Alma Mater. After leaving school Mr. Cochran read law with the Hon. John Woods, of Hamilton, and was admitted to the bar in 1834. He at once began practice in Ilamilton, but the failure of his health soon compelled him to relinquish all thoughts of a professional career, and he engaged in farming, at which he continued up to 1872, when he was elected to the office [ more indifferent to public recognition. Among the early
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founders of the commerce and prosperity of Cincinnati, he | branch, for which he is eminently qualified by his native will ever hold a prominent place. Ilis advanced age at the time of his death attests his exceptionally good personal habits, and his long life of business successes was marked by the strictest honor and integrity in all his dealings with his fellow-men. In 1821 he was married to Clarina Bartow, of West Chester, New York. From this union five chil- dren remain-two sons and three daughters : William, who lives in Chicago, was married to Jane Butterfield; Samuel, a bachelor, also resides in that city ; Cornelia married Simeon B. Williams; Emily married Robert L. Fabian, and Augusta married Horatio G. Shumway, a prominent lawyer of Chicago, and after his death she was married to llenry D. Huntington, one of the most respected and suc- cessful retired business men of Cincinnati.
RIMKE, HION. FREDERICK, Lawyer, Jurist and Author, was born, September Ist, 1791, in the city of Charleston, South Carolina. He com- pleted his education at Vale College, graduating UC in the class of 1810, and subsequently studied law. Ile removed to Ohio in his early manhood, and engaged in the practice of his profession. He subsequently served for several years as Presiding Judge in one of the circuits of that State. In 1836, without any solicitation on his part, he was elected a Judge of the Supreme Court, which position he held for the next seven years, discharging his duties with ability and inflexible integrity. Ile pub- lished a work entitled " Considerations upon the Nature and Tendency of Free Institutions " (Cincinnati, 1848), and " An Essay on Ancient and Modern Literature," He left a fund to his executor to provide for the publication of a collection of his various writings in two volumes. lle died in Chillicothe, Ohio, March Sth, 1863.
genius and quick perception. His public career began by This election to the City Council in 1861, when only twenty- five years of age, and, except for a brief period, he has since been a member of that body by successive re-elections. Ile was elected County Commissioner of Hamilton county in 1864, and in 1868 was elected a Representative in the State Legislature. lle was elected President of Council in the spring of 1869, and was confirmed as Assistant Prosecuting Attorney of Hamilton county in the fall following. Under the new law he was elected President of the Board of Coun- cilmen in 1872; served as Vice-President of the same body in 1874, and was re-elected President in 1875. That was his seventh term in Council, and he has served the city in that body for a longer period than any one of the seventy- two members of which the Council is composed. llis pres- ent prominence and influence may be attributed to the early political training he received from his employer, Charles Rule, who was one of the prominent Democratie politicians of the West. Ile was the nominee of the Democratic party for Police Judge in 1875, and few men of his age have received more marks of the confidence and esteem of his party and the general public.
OORHIES, RICHARD M., Lawyer and Soldier, was born, October 6th, 1838, in Ilarrison county, Ohio, His parents were both natives of Pennsyl- vania, his father being a farmer by occupation. Ile received his preliminary education in the Normal School at Hopedale, and also attended the Damascus, Ohio, Academy Amtil he was nineteen years old. Ile then taught school in Ilolmes county for two terms, reading law in the vacation with the firm of Barcroft & Voorhes, of Millersburg, and was admitted to the bar in that town July 6th, 1860. Ile commenced the practice of his profession during the same month, being associated with Thomas Campbell, of Coshocton, and so remained until April 15th, 1861, the date of President Lincoln's proclama- tion calling for 75,000 men to suppress the rebellion. He was the first person to sign enlistment papers in Coshocton as a private, and was assigned to Company A, 16th Regi- ment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was also among the first body of troops that crossed the Ohio river into Virginia, acting as Orderly Sergeant. These troops were under the command of General Mcclellan. He was mustered out of the service in August, 1861, and on his return home re- enlisted in the three years' service, October 28th, 1861, as a private in Company F, 56th Ohio Volunteers, under Colonel Charles Harker. On November 6th following he was elected First Lieutenant, and on the 30th of the same month was promoted to the rank of Captain. Ile was subsequently transferred to the United States service, being commissioned
FITZGERALD, HON. JAMES W., Lawyer, was born at Queenstown, Ireland, February 15th, 1836. Ile attended the schools of his native city, and was a student of the college at that place when he embarked for Canada in 1851. Ile re- mained in Quebec until the fall of 1853, when he removed to Cincinnati, where he became a clerk in a grocery store. In 1854 he engaged as bookkeeper for the well- known marble firm of Charles Rule & Co., at Fifth and Broadway, and entered upon a systematie course of reading and study, devoting mueh of his spare time to the law. Ile began the grocery business on his own account in 1861, but still pursued his studies, and was admitted to the bar in 186.4. Ile at once engaged in practice in Cincinnati, where he has continued to the present time, except as interrupted by official duties, being especially devoted to the criminal | by President Lincoln, and served until November, 1865.
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Ile was an active participant in the battles of Pittsburgh Landing (or Shiloh), Corinth, Mississippi, Perryville, Ken- tucky, and Stone River, Tennessee. In this latter engage- ment he was wounded in the hip, which disabled him from active service in the field. Ile was appointed Postmaster of Coshocton in 1867 by President Johnson, and held that position until 1869. Ile was elected, in 1868, Prosecuting Attorney of Coshocton County, and re-elected in 1870, holding that position for four years. In December, IS75, he was admitted to practise in the United States Courts of Ohio. He has been a zealous and consistent member of the Presbyterian Church since July, 1866. He was married, November 27th, 1862, to Georgeanna, second daughter of Washington Burt, of Coshocton, and is the father of two sons.
EWIS, HON. EDWARD C., M. D., Senator from the Eighteenth District to the Sixty-second Gen- eral Assembly of Ohio, was born in Ilolmes county, Ohio, December 26th, 1838. Ile is the son of William Lewis and Nancy (Crawford) Lewis. Ilis father, a native of Pennsylvania, and a descendant of Major Lewis, of revolutionary fame, moved to Ohio in IS31, and there engaged in agricultural pursuits ; his mother belongs to the celebrated Canby family. Ile received his preliminary education at the Berlin High School, in Holmes county, Ohio, was placed in the Fredericksburg Academy, in Wayne county, Ohio, at the age of fourteen, and finished his education at New Wilmington, Delaware. Ile subsequently commenced the study of medicine, and for four years remained as a student under the renowned Professor J. W. Hamilton, of Colum- bus, Ohio, having also the daily clinical advantages of the hospital in the Ohio Penitentiary. The succeeding two years he was a pupil of the eminent Professor Joseph Pan- coast, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he also gradu- ated with Grst honors at Jefferson Medical College, in 1862. While studying at that institution the opportunities fur- nished him for clinical instruction were exceptionally good. The hospitals of the city were crowded with sick and wounded soldiers and every description of physical disease, and surgical operation came under his observation; and it is doubtless in a great measure to the experience then ac- quired, under the guidance of his renowned instructor, that he owes the great success which has attended his practice and given him so distinguished a place in the profession. In the spring of 1862 he passed a successful 'medical and surgical examination before the United States Navy Board, in the city of New York. After leaving Jefferson Medical College, in 1862, he was offered, and declined, the position of Surgeon to a regiment of Ohio volunteer infantry. In the same year he accepted the commission of Surgeon to one of the United States army hospitals at Louisville, Ken. tucky, but, after a brief experience with hospital gangrene,
| resigned the place and established himself at New Phila- delphia, Tuscarawas county, Ohio. While there he was Physician to the County Infirmary, whence, at the expira- tion of two years, he removed to Canal Dover, in the same county, where he still resides. He has officiated as Presi- dent of the Tuscarawas County Medical Society, and is a member of the Ohio State Medical Society. Ile has aided the Democratic party by serving as Chairman of the County Democratic Central Committee, and has always furnished labor and means for the honest advancement of his friends. As a literary essayist Senator Lewis has acquired an envi- able reputation, while his many valuable contributions to the medical journals of the country reflect great credit upon his scientific and professional attainments. Having an as- sociate in practice, and living in the enjoyment of ample means, he has been enabled to take an active part in public affairs, and his name has been identified, consequently, with every recent project of importance designed and pro- jected in order to further the developments of his county. For the past ten years he has served as a member of the Agricultural Society of Tuscarawas County, is Surgeon for two of her important railroads, and has given efficient sup- port to the important lines of railway connecting the county with the Cleveland and Ohio river markets. In 1873 he was nominated by acclamation, and elected on the Demo- cratie ticket, to represent his county in the Sixty-first General Assembly, where he was a member of several important standing committees, and was Chairman of the Standing Committee on Benevolent Institutions. Declin- ing the renomination to the Ilouse of Representatives, in 1875, he was nominated by acclamation in the Joint Con- vention of the Eighteenth Senatorial District, and elected by a larger majority than was given to any one upon State or county ticket in his district. lle is the author of several important reformatory measures, and, as a Senator, has won a reputation and an influence which must be as gratifying to his constituency as creditable to himself. Ile was mar- ried, October 22d, 1862, to Mary E. Slingluff, the highly accomplished and only daughter of the late lamented Dr. Joseph Slingluff, of Canal Dover, by whom he has two daughters, Anola and Josie Lewis.
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