USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume I > Part 49
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was a Lincoln elector in 1860, and was one of the martyred President's most enthusiastic partisans and adherents. He filled the office of justice of the peace nearly a quarter of a century, and served on the board of county commissioners for a time. While acting in the latter capacity he performed invaluable service to the country. The practice of "bidding off" the county's paupers was in vogue when Mr. Stewart first entered upon his duties-a method of caring for them which was repugnant to his feelings of humanity ; and his practical mind at once sought means to remove the abuse. He had taken the pains to acquaint himself with the way in which these unfortunates were treated by parties undertaking to care for them, and in a majority of cases found that the responsibility was assumed by speculative and unscrupulous persons who were desirous of profiting by their labor, and who almost invariably abused them. He therefore stren- uously urged that an infirmary building be secured large enough to house the poor in comfort; and, notwithstanding a determined popular opposition, he, with the assistance of one other member of the board, carried his point. Accordingly a large farm with a suitable building was purchased at a considerable outlay and immediately taken possession of for the purpose stated. The wisdom of Mr. Stewart's plan was afterward appreciated and commended by all. He has acted with the republican party continuously since its organization, and has very pronounced views upon all the leading ques- tions discussed. Before the organization of the republican party he was an old-line whig, but left that party to assist in organizing the republicans. During the late war Mr. Stew- art supplied means for establishing a sutler's shop, and as it required his attention for a time he went south. While there his sympathies were enlisted in behalf of wounded soldiers, and he devoted his time largely to alleviating their sufferings. Although a non-combatant, he was much exposed to the enemy's fire, and often escaped capture at the hands of the Confederates. In one instance he was so hard pressed, being hemmed in on all sides, that he took refuge in a clus- ter of evergreens. Having a large amount of money on his person-about three thousand dollars-he concealed it under an old rail fence, trusting to memory to guide him to the place of concealment when danger should have passed. He then started on foot and succeeded in reaching Nashville in safety. After a lapse of several days he returned to the place and found his money intact. He has been twice mar- ried; first to Miss Sarah Carter, April 7th, 1836, who died October 16th, 1874. He had nine children by this marriage, six of whom are still living. His second marriage was with Mrs. M. E. Pearce, widow of the late Dr. T. J. Pearce, of the United States army. She was well known throughout the war for her charitable work and afterward officiated as matron of the Dayton Asylum for the Insane. Mr. Stewart is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, having joined that organization early in life, and has continued an active and efficient member. Stewart's Chapel, near his old home- stead, takes its name from him. At this writing he continues active in business, and his time is fully occupied in looking after his multifarious enterprises. He is an extensive land- owner and the largest individual tax payer in the county.
WIKOFF, ALLEN T., United States pension agent, Columbus, Ohio, was born in Adams county, Ohio, Novem- ber 15th, 1825. He was the son of John and Nancy (Jones) Wikoff. His father was a farmer, and Mr. Wikoff himself
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was brought up on a farm. After receiving a common school education, he continued to improve himself by study at his own home. When Mr. Wikoff started in life on his own ac- count he engaged in farming, an avocation he continued until 1862, when he enlisted in the army, and was made lieutenant of Company A, 91st O. V. I., serving in the army three years. In 1863 he was promoted to the captaincy of his company, and served to the close of the war. In 1871 he was appointed chief clerk in the office of the secretary of state, which position he held until he was himself elected secretary of state in 1872. In 1874 he was renominated by acclamation for the same office, but was defeated, with the remainder of the republican state ticket. While sec- retary of state Mr. Wikoff devoted much time to the study of State statistics. The result of his labor was tabulated in the form of a report, which greatly aided in the subsequent development of the resources of the State. After Mr. Wikoff returned from the army he read law, and was admitted to the bar at Columbus, Ohio, but never actively engaged in practice. In 1874 he was made chairman of the republican state committee, and continued its chief officer until 1876, when he was appointed adjutant-general of the State of Ohio by Governor Hayes, and also elected as the Ohio member of the National Republican Committee, a position he, however, resigned, after attending one meeting. He retained the office of adjutant-general until 1877, when he was appointed United States pension agent for the State of Ohio by President Grant, and again reappointed by President Hayes, an office he still holds. In December, 1852, General Wikoff was married to Angeline Collier, daughter of John Collier, of Adams county, Ohio. They have four children living, Wheeler C., John B., James E., and Charles A. Wikoff. He moved his family from Adams county to Columbus in 1873, and still resides in that city. General Wikoff is a man of high character. His record as a business man, as an army officer, and as a public official is without a stain or blemish. In his private life he is a kind- hearted, plain, and unassuming gentleman, and is highly es- teemed by all who have come in contact with him.
RICHARDS, REES G., lieutenant-governor of Ohio, is the son of William G. and Sarah Richards, and was born July 22d, 1842, near Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Wales, where he lived until he was ten years old. He attended school in Swansea; and this early portion of his life was spent like that of the average boy. At ten his parents, filled with the desire to test the truth of the wonderful stories told them of America, packed their lares et penates, and bidding farewell to Wales, crossed the Atlantic, and landed in Canada, settling at first near Hamilton, Ontario, where they resided a year or more, then moving to Tioga county, Pennsylvania, near Wellsboro. Here young Richards, now a lad of nearly twelve years, took his first lessons under American tutorage, and, with the laudable ambition of securing a collegiate edu- cation, he bent every energy to the task, studying with a per- severance which gave him precedence over his fellow-students. As he grew older he felt the need of more money than was at his command to meet his increasing expenses, and during the winter he taught school, to raise the requisite funds. He studied hard, with a view of preparing himself for the practice of law; but his ambition was turned in a different direction when, in 1861, the first of war's alarms rang through the country, and he joined his fortunes to that of both old and young in defense of the nation. In September of that year he enlisted
as a private in Company G, 45th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infan- try, Thomas Welsh, colonel ; J. A. Beaver, lieutenant-colonel ; and went immediately after with his regiment to Harrisburg, where he was mustered into the service. Shortly after, he was promoted to orderly sergeant, and the regiment was ordered to Washington, and thence to Fortress Monroe. In the spring of 1862 lie took part in the campaign against Charleston. His regiment was in reserve at the battle of Secessionsville, and here he got his first smell of burnt powder. After doing duty with his regiment in fort-building and other service along the Carolina coasts he was moved into Maryland, where, in September, 1862, he engaged in the battle of South Mountain, commanding his company, although still an orderly. After this battle Orderly Richards was promoted to captain for "gallantry on the field," and two days later he led his men into the desperate battle of Antietam. He was on the left with Burnside, and crossed the Antietam bridge in a brilliant charge on Sharpsburg. He was now only twenty years of age, and a mere boy in appearance; but he was a captain by commission, and a man and soldier in action, and had won golden opinions from his superiors. After campaigning through Virginia he went into the battle of Fredericksburg, and, not- withstanding the Union forces were defeated, such a masterly retreat was effected as to win almost the praise of victory. In the spring of 1863 Captain Richards's field of duty was transferred to Kentucky, in the department of Ohio, under General Burnside. From Kentucky he proceeded further south, and was at the capture of Vicksburg. The day the city fell his regiment was ordered, under General Sherman, in pursuit of Johnston, toward Jackson, Mississippi. At the battle of Jackson he commanded the left wing of the regi- ment, and received a slight wound in the knee, but remained upon the field. He returned to Vicksburg, thence going to East Tennessee, participating in the battle of Blue Springs, Lenore's Station, Campbell's Station, and the siege at "Knox- ville. During the winter of 1863 his regiment was encamped at Blaine's Cross Roads, Tennessee. In February, 1864, the entire regiment re-enlisted. The men had passed a misera- ble winter, and they were almost in destitute circumstances, but they bravely stuck to the cause by again responding to the nation's call for help. After a furlough of thirty days, the regiment went into the campaign of the Wilderness, un- der General Grant, and fought with him the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania. The day after the Spottsyl- vania fight Captain Richards was attacked with the fever, and, notwithstanding he pleaded for leave to stay with his company, the physicians ordered otherwise, and he was car- ried to the field hospital, where he remained for several weeks. His life was despaired of a number of times; but an iron will and a good constitution brought him out all right, and he re- joined his company before Petersburg in July. He was pres- ent at the explosion of the mine in front of the city, July 30th, and commanded the regiment in the fight. In this battle he was knocked down, and as he rose, sword in hand, he was confronted by a rebel, who stuck a cocked revolver in his face and demanded his surrender. The two stood face to face for a time, both ready, but neither making a move, until a Union officer came to his rescue, and the rebel, with two others, was captured. In the same battle Captain Richards was shot at by a rebel not over fifty feet away, and, although his foe had missed his aim, the captain dropped to the ground, and, being seen from the fort, was in consequence officially reported among the killed, and his effects were sent home;
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but he escaped again, and kept on at his work in the ditch, getting closer to the enemy, until he was within sixteen feet of the foe, where it was certain death to show one's self above the ground. But while a small force was engaged in throw- ing up an earthwork the whole rebel horde dashed down upon them, and captured almost the entire body, including Captain Richards. The next day they were taken into Petersburg, and as a mark of contempt they were forced to march through the town in alternate files with negro prisoners. Captain Richards remained in captivity for a term at Danville and at Columbia, in the Richland county jail, and later was moved to an open camp near Columbia, where, without shelter or protection of any kind, and with the most miserable food, he passed the months of December and January. On the 15th of February, knowing Sherman was approaching, the pris- oners were removed by their captors, in stock cars, to Char- lotte, North Carolina, and on the 17th of the month the captain, after an experience of all the horrors of rebel prison- pens for nearly seven months, succeeded in slipping past the pickets, escaped to the woods, and started north on foot. After he had gone a short distance he met Adjutant Hastings, of the 7th Pennsylvania Reserves, and Lieutenant Cooper, of the 7th New Jersey Volunteers, who had also taken Captain Richards's style of furlough, and were bound north. The three fugitives formed a tripartite alliance, and agreed to see each other through, and the march was begun. They laid up during the day, and traveled at night, when danger was probable ; and after four weeks of incredible hardships, in the mount- ains, in crossing swollen streams, in valley and in plain, in constant danger of being shot down, meeting the enemy often, and escaping by some plausible story, these three in- trepid officers, with the assistance of friendly negroes and a few daring Unionists, reached, on the 16th of March, 1865, the Union lines in Tennessee, accompanied by eight other fugitives they had picked up, having traveled over three hun- dred miles on foot. Their story reads like a romance, and is one of the thrilling incidents of the war. Once more report- ing for duty, Captain Richards was made inspector on General Curtin's staff, and, the rebellion closing shortly afterward, his duties as a soldier were at an end. In August, 1865, after almost four years of dangerous service, Captain Richards re- turned home, and in November following was married to Miss Kittie C. Rees, a bright and winsome young lady of Tioga county. Immediately after his marriage he removed to Youngstown, Ohio, and embarked in merchandising, contin- uing there until 1867, when he transferred his business to Irondale, Jefferson county, and resumed in connection there- with the study of law. About this time he also turned his attention to politics, and, as was very natural, enlisted heart and soul in the ranks of the republican party. His repub- licanism was pure and simple, and he worked for it and loved it; and in 1873 he was elected to represent his county in the State Legislature of Ohio. In 1875 he was re-elected; and in 1877, so well pleased were his constituents that he was nominated as a candidate for the State Senate in the 22d district, composed of the counties of Jefferson and Colum- biana, and, as usual, was elected. The same year he removed to Steubenville, his present home. In 1879 he was re-elected senator; in 1880, was chosen by the Senate as its president pro tem., and during almost the entire two terms of the Sixty- fourth General Assembly he presided over that body. Dur- ing the eight years of Senator Richards's career as a legislator he was always active in furthering bills for improving the con-
dition of the community, and was considered one of the closest and most conscientious workers in the upper house. As a presiding officer his record is unexcelled. It is a remarkable fact that during his entire presidency not a single appeal was taken from his decisions. He was always fair and honest in judgment, and won the confidence and respect, not only of his own party, but of his opponents as well. At the close of the session two years ago, the members of the Senate, as a token of their appreciation of his services as a presiding officer, a gentleman, and a friend, presented him with a magnificent set of silver table-cutlery, spoons, etc. On that occasion Senator Salizgaber, a democratic member, in mak- ing the presentation speech, pronounced a handsome eulogy on Senator Richards, which was doubly acceptable, coming as it did from a political opponent. After the adjournment of the Legislature the question of selecting the most available man as a candidate for the office of lieutenant-governor, to second Governor Foster on the republican ticket, arose, and all eyes turned upon Mr. Richards as that man. He made no effort to secure the high honor, but expressed himself as willing to accept if called upon, or to use his influence and power in behalf of any man who might be chosen. At the mass convention in his own county, in May, he was enthusi- astically indorsed for the position. June 8th, 1881, the repub- lican State convention was held in Cleveland, and it was seen in the outset that Mr. Richards was a great favorite with the delegation, and, as a result, he was nominated on the second ballot-an honor to himself, to his county, to all Eastern Ohio, and to the entire republican party of the State. His home is still in Steubenville, where he is a member of the firm of Martin & Richards. Mr. Richards is not a man of wealth, and lives in a plain, unpretentious way in a pleasant home on Third street. His wife is a cultured lady, of gentle manners, and is possessed not only of beauty of person, but beauty of heart, being an ornament to any circle in which she may ap- pear. Lieutenant-governor Richards is five feet eight and a half inches in height, and weighs one hundred and fifty pounds ; has clear, blue eyes, dark hair, auburn whiskers, and a firm face, and impresses most favorably by his pleasing manners, cordial bearing, and determination of character. He is a Presbyterian of liberal views, of a generous nature, and is a man to be respected and admired by all. His record for the past two years as presiding officer of the Senate is a sufficient guarantee as to his efficiency as lieutenant-gov- ernor, so that the State need have no fears relative to its interests in his department ; nor is there a question but they would be equally well attended to it by the chances and changes incidental to politics he should succeed to the first office in the State.
ROBERTS, ANSEL, Cleveland, banker and manufac- turer, the eldest child of Chauncey and Lydia (Albro) Roberts. His father was of a Welsh family, though born in Vermont. His mother was a native of Newport, Rhode Island. Soon after marriage they removed to a farm in Mendon, Ontario County, New York, where the subject of this sketch was born October 17th, 1807. 1n 1818 the family removed to Ohio, trav- eling overland to Buffalo, and by sail vessel thence to Ashta- bula, where they settled. The father engaged in business, which he continued until 1825, when he sold out, and the following year removed to Lower Sandusky (now Fremont), purchasing an interest in the pioneer stage line between that place and Cincinnati, of which he was the superintendent.
Alusel Robert,
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John F. Brases,
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In that connection he owned and conducted the hotel and stage-house, near the Sandusky River bridge, which very recently (1882) has been removed to give place to the depot of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway. His was the prin- cipal stage-house between Cleveland and Detroit, and was favorably regarded by the traveling public. Mr. Roberts died in 1838, leaving his wife and eight of the ten children born to them. He was a man of generous and genial impulses, liberal and public spirited to a high degree, and died with the warm regards of a large circle of acquaintances. The son's educational and social advantages were those common to the children of the pioneers of that day-meager in extent and moderate in quality. Hence, mainly, he was compelled to make his way in life with such acquisitions in these respects as were consistent with the devotion of time and thought to the more pressing demands of livelihood. When the family left Ashtabula for Lower Sandusky, he made his final separa- tion from the home of childhood, and after spending a short time in Rochester, New York, he engaged as a merchant's clerk for Mr. H. J. Reese and W. W. Reed, at Ashtabula, where he remained until 1831, when he again went to Rochester to engage in merchandising on his own account, which business he followed for fourteen years. In 1845 he was for a short time in New York City, and in 1846 he re- turned to Ohio, making his permanent home at Cleveland, where he engaged in the wool business, in which he had a large trade and was successful until his retirement therefrom in 1867. Since that date he has been identified with the Cleveland Paper Company and its president for several years. He was for some time a director in the Ohio National Bank and a trustee for the Cleveland Society for Savings. Mr. Roberts has shown a sincere interest in the welfare of his fellow-citizens, by devoting a liberal portion of his time to gratuitous service in different public capacities. In 1860 he was elected a member of the Cleveland Board of Education, and was re-elected, where his labors were highly appreciated. He was for seven years a member and the secretary of the City Sanitary Board. In 1864 he was elected auditor of Cuyahoga County, and re-elected in 1866, in which impor- tant position he rendered the county highly valuable service, which, in its direct and indirect results, is yet seen and felt. In 1862 he was chosen as city councilman for his ward, and re-elected in 1864 and 1866, in which body, as chairman of the committee on finance and otherwise, his careful attention to the details of business, not of his immediate constituents only, but of the city, was specially valuable. He was ap- pointed and served as assistant assessor of internal revenue for the Eighteenth District of Ohio. In 1867 he was nominated by President Johnson and confirmed by the senate as collector of internal revenue for the same district, but declined the office. Mr. Roberts was ever decided and clear in his political con- victions, and active in the support of the same. Originally a whig, upon the organization of the republican party he gave to it his earnest and unvarying support. During the rebellion of 1861-65 his sympathies were wholly and pos- itively with the Union and the war for its defense, to which he contributed his best active support. In that, as in all other relations with his, fellow-men, he was guided by con- victions of duty, from which, in the presence of whatever temptation, he never swerved. At an early period in his life, Mr. Roberts united with the Protestant Episcopal Church, to which was given the unqualified devotion of his heart and hands. Connecting himself with Trinity Church, at Cleve-
land, he was from the first a chief reliance in both its coun- cils and its works, having now (1882) been for twenty-five years its senior warden. October 20, 1836, Mr. Roberts was married with Miss Sarah J. Hatch, daughter of Orrin Hatch, Esq., of Genesee County, New York. Their daughter, Sarah Louisa, was born July 30, 1837, and is the wife of John M. Sterling, Jr., of Cleveland. Mrs. Roberts died in October, 1863. Mr. Roberts and Mrs. Amanda Bartlitt Cowan were married in October, 1867.
BRASEE, JOHN TRAFFORD, lawyer, deceased, was born in Hillsdale, Columbia county, New York, December 24th, 1800, and died in Lancaster, Ohio, October 27th, 1880. His life was a remarkable one. His origin was of the most humble character, he being the son of a mechanic of small means; but for many years prior to his death Mr. Brasee was a peer of some of the strongest legal gentlemen of the State. At the age of seven he suffered the loss of his mother by death, and soon after that of his father by absence, and was therefore practically an orphan throughout the re- maining part of his childhood and youth. Thus left to the dictation of guardians and overseers in whose charge he was placed, his boyhood was one of privations and hardships that have few parallels in history. It will readily be inferred from the foregoing that opportunities for intellectual training were exceedingly small. He seems to have been endowed by na- ture with a mechanical turn of mind, since he always con- templated machinery and the use of mechanics' tools with great pleasure, and, to use his own words, even in the latter stages of his life, "the ring of an anvil was the sweetest of music" to his ears. Circumstances, however, threw him into another mode of life. His first full term of school was in 1817, when he applied himself with such persistence to his studies that his progress was something remarkable, becom- ing a proficient and rapid calculator. In 1819 he emigrated to Wilmington, Ohio, where he was employed for a time in the clerk's office at that place. Here he was brought in con- tact with the legal gentleman of that town, and it is thought that it was through their counsel he determined to prepare himself for the profession of the law. July, 1819, he entered the Ohio University, at Athens, Ohio, where he zealously pur- sued a course of study for two years subsequent, employing any spare moment that might offer in the clerk's office at that place. After this he taught a village school ; and in 1824, at the instance of Thomas Ewing, Sr., and other prominent citizens of Lancaster, he removed to that place, and took charge of the academy, where he remained for six months, after which time he returned to Athens in 1824, in time to participate in the commencement exercises of the university at that place, receiving the honors of that institution with the members of the graduating class. Soon after he began read- ing law in the office of Joseph Dana, Esq., which continued for two years. In 1826 he removed to Gallipolis, Ohio, and in the same year visited Burlington, Ohio, where, at a session of the supreme court, he was admitted to the bar, and entered regularly upon the practice of law. His rise in his calling was remarkably rapid, and he soon had a large practice in several counties. In 1829 he was married to Miss Mary J. Schofield, daughter of Judge Schofield, of Lancaster. In 1833, at the urgent solicitation of his father-in-law, he moved to Lancaster, Ohio, where, with the exception of a few years, he ever after resided. His contemporaries at the Lancaster bar were among the most powerful in this country ; and here he
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