USA > Ohio > Knox County > The Biographical record of Knox County, Ohio : to which is added an elaborate compendium of national biography > Part 24
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plex organism will become correspondingly intelligible. The world to-day is what the leading men of the last generation have made it. From the past has come the legacy of the present. Art, science, statesmanship and government are accumulations. They constitute an inheritance upon which the present generation have entered, and the advantages secured from such) a vast be- queathment depend entirely upon the fidel- ity with which is conducted the study of the lives of the principal actors who have transmitted the legacy. This is especially true of those whose influence has passed beyond the confines of locality and per- meated the national character.
To such a careful study are the life, char- acter and services of Columbus Delano pre- eminently entitled, not only by the student of biography but by every citizen who, guided by the past, would in the present wisely build for the future. To have at- tained to the extreme fulness of years and to have one's ken broadened to a compre- hension of all that has been accomplished within the flight of many days, is of itself sufficient to render a detailed consideration of such a life in a work of this order ; but in the case at hand there are more pertinent, more distinguished elements-those of use- fulness in positions of high public trust and confidence, of marked intellectual ability, of exalted honor, of broad charity-which lift high in reverence the subjective personality of this veteran statesman, who in his de- clining days rested secure in the esteem of those among whom so many years of his life had been passed, his beautiful country- seat, Lakehome, near Mount Vernon, Ohio, being a most fit abiding place for one wlio thus sought release from the pressing cares
Oplano
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and responsibilities attending a long and distinguished career as an eminent lawyer, an able business man and one intimately identified with the governmental affairs of both state and nation.
As the name implies, the lineage of the Delano family traces to French origin, through the original American representa- tive. Philip Delano, who came hither from Holland in the Fortune, the first vessel that landed at Plymouth Rock after the May- flower, and thus the family have been identi- fied with the annals of the nation from the early colonial epoch, contributing true and noble men and women to each successive gen- eration through the long intervening years.
Columbus Delano was born in Shore- ham, Vermont, on the 5th of June, 1809, be- ing the son of James and Lucinda ( Bate- man) Delano. His father died when he was about six years of age, and thereupon he was committed to the care of his uncle, Luther Bateman, with whom he removed to Mount Vernon, Ohio, in the year 1817. It will thus be noted that Mr. Delano was but a lad of eight years when he came to the locality which afterward continued to be his home and to whose development and substantial upbuilding he contributed in so large a measure. Here was his home for more than a half a century, and these years were to him full of ceaseless toil and en- deavor and of distinguished honors. Very early in life Mr. Delano was thrown upon his own resources, and even then did he rise to the exigencies of the situation with that same self-reliance and self-respect which have been characteristic of his entire career. He made good use of such educational fa- cilities as were available, and his keen and alert mentality enabled him to derive more
from little than perhaps the average person could accomplish. Before attaining his ma- jority he had given definition to the course which he should pursue in life, having de- termined to adopt the profession of law, and bent every energy toward preparing himself for the practice of the same. In the meantime he was compelled to find such incidental occupation as would enable him to meet the current expenses, so that his time was fully filled and his leisure moments few and far between. In 1830 he became a student in the law office of Hosmer Cur- tis, of Mount Vernon, and under the effec- tive preceptorage implied continued until 1831, when he realized his ambition in be- ing admitted to the bar of the state. As has been said of him by another biographer : "His ambition, talents, excellent habits and exemplary deportment gave assurance of success and distinction in his chosen profes- sion, and his early promise as a lawyer was fully realized in later years. He became eminent as an advocate and criminal lawyer, and no less so as a criminal prosecutor, for soon after he was admitted to the bar he be- came, by popular election, the prosecuting attorney of Knox county. The prosecuting attorney became an elective officer by act of the legislature in 1832, and Mr. Delano, although a Whig, or rather a National Re- publican, was elected to that' office in a county then decidedly and strongly Demo- cratic, which shows that he was then very popular with both parties."
The safety of the republic depends not so much upon the methods and measures as upon the manhood from whose deep sources all that is precious and permanent in life must at least proceed. Throughout his entire career Mr. Delano showed himself
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to be of stern integrity and honesty of pur- pose, despising all unworthy or questiona- ble means of securing success in any under- taking or for any purpose, or of promoting his own advancement in any direction, whether political or otherwise. The tongue of calumny has been perforce silenced and the malvolence of detraction has not as- sumed to assail his private reputation. It is our duty to mark our appreciation of such a man-a man true in every relation of life, faithful to every trust, a statesman diligent in the service of his country and seeking only the public good. His character was of the sturdy American sort, and his patriot- ism was stalwart, and he had the strongest attachment to our free institutions and was ever willing to make any personal sacrifice for their preservation.
Continuing the tracing of his public ca- reer, we find that after a three years' service as prosecuting attorney of Knox county he was elected as his own successor, but that he resigned the position shortly after enter- ing his second term, finding that his increas- ing and important civil practice placed ex- acting demands on his undivided attention. His devotion to the profession, his thor- oughness and integrity as a lawyer and his uniform success as an advocate soon placed him in a foremost position as a member of the Ohio bar, then justly distinguished for the great ability of its personnel. It was but to be expected that such a man would be uncompromising in his opposition to hu- man slavery, and one who would bring to bear the full force of his strong individu- ality when this institution threatened the integrity of the nation. In the troublous days attending the war of the Rebellion he was a stalwart exponent of the views of the
Whig party, and, while seeking no official preferment, his influence was thrown act- ively into supporting the principles and poli- cies of this organization. As has been said in this connection, "surrounded by a cordon of Democratic constituencies in the immedi- ate vicinity of his congressional district, there seemed but little hope of his popular preferment," However, in the year 1844, without solicitation on his part, Mr. Delano was placed in nomination as the Whig can- didate for congress from his district. The contest was vigorous, and the personal strength and popularity of our subject were most clearly shown in the results of the election, since he secured a majority of twelve votes over the Hon. Caleb J. McNul- ty, a Democratic politician of marked pop- ularity and extensive resurces and power. The emphatic endorsement thus accorded Mr. Delano is evinced by no one fact more perfectly than in that at the same election the Democratic candidate for governor car- ried the identical district by six hundred majority. The original Whig candidate from the district comprising the counties of Knox, Licking and Franklin was Hon. Sam- uel White, of Licking, who had effected the canvass of a portion of the district when a sudden illness finally terminated in his death. He had been considered the ablest and most popular Whig in the district, and he and his opponent were well matched as orators before promiscuous assemblies. The death of Mr. White demanded a careful de- liberation on the part of the leaders of the Whig forces in the district, since the emer- gency 'was somewhat difficult to meet. Mr. Delano was complimented as being finally selected as the most eligible man in the dis- trict to conduct the campaign against Col-
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onel McNulty. Each of the opposing candi- dates felt that he had a foeman worthy of his steel, and the canvass was a most spir- ited one and the issue one of doubt, as is manifest in the fact that the election was so close that the result was not known until returns had been received from the last township in; the district, when the vic- tory was found to be Mr. Delano's, who thus took his seat as a member of the twenty-ninth congress. In this congress he served with signal fidelity to the interests of his state and his constitu- ents, recognizing the important charac- ter of the trust conferred and assum- ing the duties involved with all the poten- tiality of his sterling and resourceful nature. He served as a member of the committee on invalid pensions, and his speech depreciat- ing the Mexican war policy was a most vig- orous one and so cogent in its argument as to demand the consideration of all, without regard to party lines. This speech was widely circulated and did much to establish his reputation throughout the nation. In the Whig convention of 1846 Mr. Delano was a candidate for governor of Ohio, but failed of nomination by two votes, his suc- cessful competitor for this position being Seabury Ford.
In 1850 Mr. Delano retired from ac- tive practice of the legal profession, in which he had attained to so signal priority, and thereupon removed to the city of New York, where he became a member of the banking firm of Delano, Dunlevy & Com- pany, and where he was concerned in the conducting of a very successful business for a term of five years, after which he returned to his old and cherished home at Mount Ver- non, and here turned his attention to exten-
sive agricultural operations and; to other business interests of important character.
The interest which Mr. Delano had shown in matters political hid shown no signs of waning, and he was very naturally soon brought into prominence. His politi- cal adherency had continued with the Re- publican party, the normal successor of the Whig organization, and in 1860 he was a delegate to the national convention, in Chi- cago, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency ; and he rendered valiant service in behalf of the martyred president, seconding his nomination in a speech alive with patriotic utterances and earnest en- dorsement of "the man who could split rails and maul Democrats." He took an active part in the ensuing campaign. In 1861, at the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, a recognition of Mr. Delano's stalwart patriot- ism and marked executive ability was ac- corded in his appointment as commissary general of Ohio, in which office he served with signal efficiency until the time when the general government assumed the subsistence of the state troops. In the succeeding year he became a candidate in convention for the United States Senate, and on one ballot lacked but two votes of the nomination. In 1863 official preferment again came to Mr. Delano in his election to the house of rep- resentatives in the Ohio legislature, in which body he became prominent through his well directed efforts in shaping the important legislation of the state during the last two years of the war, having been chairman of the committee which determined upon the question relative to the voting of the sol- diers in the field.
Mr. Delano was chairman of the Ohio delegation in the national Republican con-
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vention held at Baltimore in 1864, and here again it was his to render a zealous support to President Lincoln, for whose nomination he labored earnestly. Within the same year he was elected a member of the thirty-ninth congress, in which he served as chairman of the committee on claims. He was nomin- ated as his own successor in the fortieth congress, but refused to become again a candidate from his district. Of his work in congress we can not do better than to in- corporate a summing up which has hitherto been made. "As a legislator he was op- posed to free trade, and advocated a pro- tective tariff. He was strongly opposed to the extravagant claims of railroad compan- ies for land grants and government subsi- dies. His views were regarded as most im- portant on questions of tariff, of taxes and of public debt. To his speech of July 24, 1866, was given the credit of carrying the tariff bill of that session against what has been considered the sense of the house."
When President Grant became president of the United States. he conferred upon our honored subject the appointment as com- missioner of internal revenue, and in his administration of the affairs of this office he showed the same fidelity and the same disregard for fear or favor as derogating against such fidelity that had ever been typ- ical of his services in positions of public trust. It demanded fortitude and inflexi- bility of principle to bring about the needed reforms in this department of public service, and it will stand to the perpetual credit of Mr. Delano that he effected a thorough re- organization of the department and cor- rected many abuses which had been held as privileges by certain powerful organizations which preyed upon the nation. In the year
1870 there came to Mr. Delano a fit- ting crown to his zealous endeavors in the service of his country, since in that year he became a member of the cabi- net of President Grant, succeeding Gov- ernor J. D. Cox as secretary of the interior. This conspicuous and import- ant office he filled with signal ability for a term of five years, when he tendered his resignation in order to devote his attention to private pursuits, doubtless feeling that he was entitled to respite from public service after the lapse of so many years. This res- ignation was accepted by the president with expressions of satisfaction with the manner in which Mr. Delano had performed the duties devolving upon him in the incum- bency, and with manifestations of regret in view of his desire to retire from public life.
After his retirement from the dignified cabinet office of secretary of the interior, Mr. Delano returned to the place which for more than seventy years he had delighted to call his home. His beautiful country seat, Lakehome, situated about one mile south of Mount Vernon, is one of the finest in the entire state, and to its cultivation and improvement he devoted his attention with that energy which was so characteristic of the man. A more ideal home than this can scarcely be imagined, and the stately de- mesne, with its fifteen acres of lawn, with its noble trees, winding drives and opulence of floral tributes, can not fail to appeal to the sentiment of any beholder, while the utilitarian aspect is equally insistent in com- manding attention, the great area of five hundred acres of well tilled fields or far- stretching meadows adding to the pastoral charms of Lakehome. while the improve- ments and modern accessories are of such
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extent and character as to make the place a veritable model. Mr. Delano did much to advance the agricultural and stock rais- ing interests of the locality, and in his ven- erable age he did not abate his active con- cern. Another has written as follows touching the declining years of the hon- ored subject of this memoir: "There, amid the elegance, the quiet, the contentment of a well ordered home, among cherished friends of earlier and later times, he en- joyed the philosophic composure, the sage- like dignity, the leisure, the retirement be- coming one whose years of activity, of suc- cess, of honor have so largely outnumbered those of mankind generally, whose ways of life have been such that his retrospections would be pleasurable, be recalled with de- light and cherished with complacency." So noble and well spent a life manifestly mer- its immunity from all that is implied in the beautiful litany words, "In any way affected the mind, body or estate," and Co- lumbus Delano, the veteran statesman, the patriot, the noble citizen, commanded the respect and veneration of all who had cog- nizance of his fruitful and worthy life.
In all that concerned the well being and the advancement of his fellow men Mr. De- lano maintained an abiding interest, and this was an interest not only of words but of deeds. As success attended his efforts he had recognition of the higher duties which were imposed upon him in its attaining and the practical philanthropy which he showed stands in evidence of the sympathetic na- ture, the charity of judgment and the earn- est devotion of the man. Temperate and the friend of temperance in all things, the sup- porter of education and good morals, the schools, colleges and churches always found
in him an advocate. A zealous churchman, he was for many years one of the wardens of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal church in Mount Vernon, being such at the time of his death, and to his beneficence the pres- ent prosperity of the parish is in a large measure due. He always maintained a lively interest in the well-known church in- stitution, Kenyon College, at Gambier, Ohio, and was for many years a member of its board of trustees. To this school he gave a munificent bequest in a fund for the en- dowment of the grammar department, and the institution conferred upon him the hon- ary degree of doctor of laws. He also pro- vided for the erection of Delano Hall at this school.
After retiring from public life Mr. De- lano did not abate his interest in the issues and affairs of the day, but kept closely in touch with all questions touching the pros- perity of the nation. His advice was sought in regard to the provisions of the Mckinley tariff bill, and incidentally he devoted much time and labor to the interest of protection, especially on wool, and until within a few years past was president of the National Wool Growers' Association.
On the 14th of July, 1834, was solemn- ized the marriage of Columbus Delano and Elizabeth, the daughter of M. Martin and Clara (Sherman) Leavenworth, of Mount Vernon, Ohio. Of their children one is liv- ing, Elizabeth, who was born in 1839, and who is the wife of Rev. John G. Ames, of Washington, District of Columbia.
On Friday morning, October 23, 1896, amid the scenes hallowed by long and ten- der associations, came the final summons to one of nature's noblemen, for, full of years and well earned honors, Columbus Delano
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entered into that eternal rest to which he had looked in triumphant faith. The silver cord of life was loosed suddenly and at a time when he was giving directions in re- gard to his affairs and preparing for the du- ties of the day. The life infinite took on a new glory when thus was set the seal upon the mortal lips. The cause of death was heart failure, superinduced by advanced age. Columbus Delano lived, labored and died like the truly great man that he was, and the solemn strains of the Nunc Dimittis was never intoned as a requiem to a more faith- ful and noble servant. His work was done, and the merging of the mortal into immor- tality was but the consistent end-thus bear- ing its measure of reconciliation and conso- lation to those most deeply bereaved.
ALBERT G. BLACK.
Albert G. Black, who wore the blue in the Union army during the Civil war, is now successfully engaged in farming on section 17, Jefferson township. His entire life has been passed in Knox county, his birth hav- ing occurred in Union township, October 16, 1840. He is the seventh child and fourth son of Andrew and Sarah (Huff) Black, under whose roof his boyhood days were happily passed. He acquired his edu- cation in the district schools of the neigh- borhood and was trained in the work of the fields and meadows, assisting in the la- bors of the home farm until 1862, when he could no longer content himself with farm work and enlisted in Company H, Twen- tieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he remained for three years as a private. He took part in a number of very important
engagements, including the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Iuka and the siege of Vicksburg, being present when the Confederates surrendered that city. He was never wounded or taken prisoner and through his three years' service was only off duty for one week. His was indeed a cred- itable military record, marked by unfalter- ing fidelity to the cause he espoused.
When the war was over Mr. Black re- turned to his home and engaged in general farming in Union township. He has also taught school in the same township, has op- erated a threshing machine and engaged in the manufacture of cider, but all these have been supplemental to his principal work of tilling the soil. In 1900 he took up his abode on his present farm in Jefferson township, where he owns and operates eighty acres of rich land, and the thrifty ap- pearance of the place indicates to the passer- by his careful supervision.
On the 7th of December, 1872, Mr. Black was married to Miss Nancy J. Slaight, a native of Knox county, born in Union township, and a daughter of Henry G. and Lovina (Statlar) Slaight, who were early settlers of Knox county, emigrating from New York to the Buckeye state. They were the parents of ten children, of whom Mrs. Black was the second in order of birth. By her marriage she has become the mother of five children: Nellie M., the wife of Charles Snow, of Danville, by whom she has one son, Harold G .; Henry E., Ida C., H. Wendall P. and Willard B., all at home excepting H. Wendall P., who is in California. In his political views Mr. Black has always been a Republican, and warmly advocates the principles of the party, although he has never sought or de-
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sired public office. His attention has mainly been given to his business affairs, and his enterprise and unflagging industry have made him the owner of a desirable prop- erty.
NICHOLAS ST. CLAIR TOLAND, M. D.
It is not probable that many physicians in Knox county, Ohio, more fully realize the popular conception of the duties of the family doctor than Nicholas St. Clair To- land, of Martinsburg, Clay township, who has ministered to the medical and surgical necessities of the people of that vicinity since 1867.
Doctor Toland was born in Carroll county, Ohio, December 8, 1832. Benja- min F. Toland, his father, was born in Maryland, and was of Irish descent. He married Martha Denbow, also a native of Maryland, but of English extraction, and soon afterward removed to Ohio. Doctor Toland, the youngest of his parents' chil- dren, was reared in his native county and received his primary education in the dis- trict school near his home, later attending a special school at Oldtown, Ohio. At the age of eighteen years he went to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and three years later he be- gan teaching school, and thus he obtained means with which to pay for his medical education. He began his professional stud- ies in the fall of 1856 at New Philadelphia, Ohio, and in due course of events attended lectures at the medical department of the University of Wooster. He began active practice at Bakerville, Coshocton county, Ohio, in the spring of 1858 and remained there with considerable success until the fall
of 1864, when he removed to Gnadenhut- ten, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where he re- cruited a company which became known as Company E, One Hundred and Ninety- fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he did creditable service as first lieutenant until the close of the war, having been mustered out with that rank. In 1867 he resumed his professional work at Mar- tinsburg, Knox county, where he has prac- ticed continuously to the present time. He is the oldest practicing physician in his vicinity and perhaps the oldest in the county in point of unbroken service.
Doctor Toland in 1858 married Miss Rosana Simmons, now deceased, who bore him eight children, but only one is now liv- ing-Effie J., the wife of J. Mitchell, of Falls City, Nebraska. Doctor Toland's present wife was Miss Martha Mozelle Ewart. The Doctor keeps alive recollec- tions of his experiences of war by member- ship with the Grand Army of the Republic, he having filled all the chairs in Updyke Post, No. 486, of Martinsburg, which he has served as post surgeon since its organi- zation. He is a member of the Disciples' church, of Martinsburg, and is well known throughout Knox county as a prominent and influential Republican.
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