USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume II > Part 11
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property, and the Davis brothers soon took rank among the heaviest land-holders of Scioto county. Mr. Davis is now the owner of a number of farms, aggregating nearly four thousand acres of valuable land, including large tracts admirably adapted to farming purposes, while others are covered with valuable timber, and others still are rich in deposits of iron ore and coal. Being a son of the soil and a practical farmer, he takes special pleasure in superintending these agricultural interests. In 1859, in company with his brother Charles, he purchased a half interest in the Scioto Distillery, near Ports- mouth, and after his brother's death, in 1862, became its sole proprietor, together with the flouring-mill attached. The chief product of this establishment is a very superior quality of high-wines, which find an extensive sale both in this country and in Europe. He is also proprietor of an extensive ware- house in Portsmouth for the sale of flour, meal, lime, oats, corn, cement, etc. In 1873 he became a stockholder in the Burgess Iron and Steel Works, of Portsmouth, and for two years past has been president of the company. He is also a large stockholder and director in the Scioto Fire Brick Com- pany. He was one of the organizers of the Farmer's National Bank, of Portsmouth, in 1865, and has been its president since 1870. In politics he has always been a republican, and in religious belief a Methodist. He has been twice married. His first wife, whom he married in September, 1853, was Sarah Claypool, daughter of Wesley Claypool, of Ross county, Ohio. By this union he had one son, Charles W. Davis, and one daughter, Emma, who is now the wife of Frank Connolley, a dry-goods merchant of Portsmouth. Mrs. Davis died in May, 1864. In February, 1871, he married Martha Lewis, daughter of Thomas Lewis, of Portsmouth. The issue of this union has been two children, Edna and George Davis, Jr. As his record shows, Mr. Davis is very prominently identified with a goodly number of the industries of Portsmouth. Be- ginning life poor, and with but limited facilities for educa- tion, he has made his way by industry, energy, and perse- verance. His business career has been a grand success, and he now ranks among the wealthiest capitalists and business men of his adopted city. He is plain and unassuming in manners, genial in disposition, generous in his sentiments, and commands the confidence and respect of his fellow- citizens.
ZIMMERMAN, JOHN, of Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, president of the National Bank of Wooster, was born in Richen, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, April 11th, 1829, and came to America in 1845. His parents were Paul and Katherine (Stein) Zimmerman. He landed at New York, and went direct to Canal Dover, Ohio, to which place a brother had preceded him. A short time after, he removed to Canton, Ohio, where for two years he was employed as a druggist, in the store of C. C. A. Whittings, and where he devoted much attention to experiments in his employer's chemical laboratory. From 1847 to 1849 he was employed in a drug and book store in Massillon, Ohio, returning to Canton in the latter year, to enter the employ of Dr. R. H. McCall, a druggist of that place. From there he removed to Wooster, to commence what has proved to be a highly suc- cessful business career. In 1852, in connection with a gentle- man whose interest he three years later bought out, he estab- lished himself in the drug business in Wooster. In 1867 he erected the magnificent block which he occupies. In 1868 he took as partner, for a term of years, Mr. Lewis P. Ohljer,
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a native of Hesse, Germany, who had shown his fitness for the position by his ability developed in ten years' employ by Zimmerman. In February, 1873, Mr. Zimmerman admitted to partnership his eldest son, J. R. Zimmerman. This busi- ness has grown to be of great magnitude, and compares favorably with the large concerns of larger cities. The com- plete knowledge of all matters pertaining to the business, by the head of the firm and his junior partners, the thoroughness of detail in its management, all speak highly of the controll- ing spirit and executive ability of its chief director. In De- cember, 1871, the National Bank of Wooster was organized, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. The charter was granted, the company incorporated, and commenced business January Ist, 1872, Mr. Zimmerman being one of the stockholders and a director. At the stockholders' meeting January, 1876, he was elected vice-president ; at a similar meeting in January, 1879, he was elected president, which position he has ever since held, being re-elected at each annual meeting since. The bank was originally a small private bank. Under the skillful, prudent, and wise presi- dency and control of Mr. Zimmerman, it has grown to be a large, prosperous, and solid corporation. Through periods of more or less financial stress it has passed with unimpaired eredit. In addition to attending to his large business in- terests, he has held many offices of public trust. Twice he has been elected County Treasurer, and has been for eight years a member of the Board of Education, and a member of the City Council, besides filling other minor offices. Mr. Zimmerman is a man thoroughly alive to the interests of his adopted country. Bringing with him that love for freedom, right, education, honesty, and equity for which the people of his native land are so justly noted, he has made himself a power in the community which now claims him as her own. He has devoted not only of his time and ability, but also of his means, for the benefit of his fellow-citizens. He has always been distinguished by his devotion to the institutions of our republican government, being a special advocate and promoter of our public school system, whose local interests he has specially labored to advance. He is one of those citizens of foreign birth who are an acquisition to our country, and who have added so much to its prosperity by their en- terprise and activity. In politics a Democrat, he has always been an ardent laborer in behalf of his party. In the fur- thering of the interests of the political party of his choice no word of unfairness or lack of integrity can be raised against him. In political, as in social, life, his word is as good as his bond, and his record is beyond reproach. Thoroughly alive to all the active duties of life, imbued with that spirit of progress for which we, as a nation, are so noted, he brings to bear on all matters of interest that spirit of devotion, calm, cool, unerring judgment, that leads to success and a right decision. Keen-sighted, firm, decisive, pronounced, staunch in character, he is a man of marked powers of physical and mental caliber, happy, genial disposition, dignified withal. He inherits largely those sterling qualities for which his race are remarked. Successful in the career on which he has brought his energies to bear, he is firm as a friend, an ardent advocate of right, and a strong denouncer of wrong in whatever form it may be found. His native talent, in- dustry, application, and perseverance, have raised him to affluence. He is one of the solid men of the State, and a man whose advice and counsel is much sought. He is a member of the Lutheran Church, in which he has held
official positions. He was married February 26th, 1850, to Barbara, daughter of Jacob Held, who emigrated to this country from Germany when his daughter was three years of age, and located at Massillon, Ohio. They have had born to them eight children, five of whom are now living-four sons and a daughter, J. R., the oldest son, being in business with his father.
ROY, ANDREW, State inspector of mines for Ohio, was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, July 19th, 1834. He is a son of David and Mary (McLean) Roy, coming to the United States with his parents in 1850, and settling in Alleghany county, Maryland. He began working in the mines of Scot- land when but eight years of age, and attended such schools as were available to him at night and in the evening after work hours in the mines, and at home, where he devoted himself to the study of mine engineering. After coming to the United States he was employed in mining until the beginning of the civil war, when he enlisted as a private in company "F," Ioth Pennsylvania Regiment Volunteer In- fantry, traveling a distance of forty miles on foot to the place of enlistment. At the battle of Gaines's Mill, in the seven days' fight in front of Richmond, June 27th, 1862, Mr. Roy was severely, and it was thought mortally, wounded by a ball passing through the left pelvis bone. After remaining sixteen days on the battle-field he was taken to Richmond, and, in August, 1862, was paroled. The evening following the battle in which he had been wounded the captain of his company and two sergeants visited him, and supposing that he was dying, remarked: "What a pity for him to die so young, and so far away from home and friends." Mr. Roy, overhearing the exclamation, replied: "Had I as many lives as I have hairs I could not wish them a fairer death." His mother was wearing mourning, supposing her son dead. In 1863, he was discharged from the service and re- turned home. In consequence of this wound Mr. Roy is now drawing a pension from the government of eight dollars a month. In 1864 he was married to Janet Watson. This union has been blessed with six ehildren, all of whom are living. In 1872 he was appointed by Governor Hayes com- missioner to inspect the coal mines of the State, and to report upon their condition to the General Assembly. In 1874 he was appointed mine inspector by Governor Allen, holding the office four years. In 1880 he was appointed to the same office by Governor Charles Foster, and is now discharging its duties in an efficient and highly satisfactory manner. Mr. Roy was a republican from the foundation of that party down to 1878, when he became a candidate for secretary of state on the greenback-labor ticket, and for auditor of state in 1879, in the same party, and in both instances he ran three hundred ahead of the ticket. When John C. Fremont was a candi- date for the presidency Mr. Roy walked twenty miles in order to cast his vote for him. At that time he was working in Virginia, but his home was in Maryland. In his official ca- pacity Mr. Roy has always taken an active interest in im- proving the sanitary condition of the mines throughout the State. He is the author of a work entitled "Coal Mines," published in Cleveland, in 1876. His knowledge of mining adapts him, in a pre-eminent degree, to the duties of his office, and especially in the department of coal mining. Mr. Roy is now forty-seven years of age, is a genial, intelligent gentleman, and greatly respected by those with whom he is called in contact.
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RICHARDSON, ALONZO BLAIR, M. D., superin- tendent of the Athens Asylum for the Insane, was born in Scioto county, Ohio, September 11th, 1852, and is the son of Edward Warren and Mary Blair Richardson. He is of En- glish extraction on the paternal side of his house, being the grandson of Thomas Richardson, a preacher of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, in Virginia, whose family originally came from England. The early education of Mr. Richard- son was acquired in the district-schools of Scioto county, and at the age of sixteen he entered the Ohio University, at Athens, but did not complete his course. He then attended Wesleyan University, Delaware. Subsequently he read med- icine under Dr. D. B. Cotton, of Portsmouth, remaining with him for three years, and alternating his studies by an attendance on the medical lectures at the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati. He then entered Bellevue Medical Col- lege, graduating from that institution in the spring of 1876. On his graduation he repaired to the Athens Asylum in the capacity of assistant physician, and held that post till the fall of 1878, when he and his principal, Dr. Rutter, became politically unacceptable by reason of the accession of the democracy to power in this State. He then located in Ports- mouth, and there practiced his profession till March 15th, 1881, when he was summoned to assume charge of the asylum, to succeed Dr. Rutter. Dr. Richardson was mar- ried October 25th, 1876, to Miss Julia D. Harris, of Athens. He is a prominent and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is highly esteemed for his many good qualities.
PRATT, REV. E. PERKINS, D. D., of Portsmouth, Ohio, was born in Athens county, Ohio, February 17th, 1816. His parents, David Pratt and Julia Perkins, were both natives of Connecticut, and came to Ohio in the last decade of the eighteenth century. The subject of this sketch is the oldest of a family of six children, all of whom are living at the present date, March, 1882. Born in a log-cabin, his educa- tion began by learning the letters of the newspapers which were pasted on the walls. As he grew older, daily work on the farm and nightly study, often by the blaze of the wood fire or torch of hickory bark, were preparing him, body and mind, for future usefulness. His father and mother were both Presbyterians, and at an early age he sat under the ministry of the Rev. John Spaulding, whose sermons have influenced him all through his life. Graduating in 1837 at the Ohio University, Dr. Robert G. Wilson, president, he soon after went to Tennessee, where he taught a private school one year. Returning to Ohio as a resident graduate at Athens, he studied theology and reviewed mental and moral science with Dr. Wm. H. McGuffey ; studied Hebrew with Professor Elisha Ballentine, D. D .; and acted as tutor in Greek in the university. In 1841, in company with his oldest sister, now Mrs. Hay, of Marietta, he started the female seminary in Dayton which afterwards became the Cooper Seminary. He continued his theological studies with Rev. J. W. Hall, D. D., and was licensed to preach the gospel by the presbytery of Dayton, October, 1841. The following year he received a call to the New School Presbyterian Church of Paris, Kentucky. He was ordained by the Harmony presbytery, the charge to the pastor being delivered by the Rev. Joseph C. Stiles, D. D. He remained pastor of this church for ten years. At this time there were two Presbyterian churches in Paris, the Old School being ministered to by Rev. N. L. Rice, D. D. The
two congregations worshiped alternately in the same house. In the winter of 1852 he came to Portsmouth. The Ohio river freezing so that steamboats could not run, he was de- tained here beyond his expectations. The Presbyterian Church desired a pastor, and, after hearing several sermons from Mr. Pratt, concluded that he had been sent to them providentially, and gave him a call, which was accepted, and he was installed pastor, May, 1852, by Scioto Presbytery. He has remained pastor of this church for more than thirty years, during which time there have been added to the church ten hundred and seventy-nine members. While pastor of the church in Paris, Kentucky, he was accustomed to preach extempore; but during his residence in Portsmouth nearly all of his sermons have been written. Twice during Dr. Pratt's last pastorate his health has failed, and his people have given him leave of absence, continuing his salary while he was away. It is due to the generous spirit of his church to mention that on one of these occasions the expense of an entire winter in the South was defrayed by one of the elders, and in the summer of 1875 he was sent to Europe for three months by another of his church members. The member- ship of the church had increased from one hundred and nineteen, in 1852, to six hundred, when the Second Presby- terian Church was formed, as a colony from the First, in 1875. In 1860 he was tendered a professorship in the Ohio University, but, preferring pastoral work, he refused to accept the position. The same institution conferred upon him the degree of doctor of divinity. Dr. Pratt has always taken a great interest in the cause of education. For many years he served as examiner in the public schools of Portsmouth. For twenty years he has been a trustee of Marietta College; of Lane Theological Seminary; and of the Western Female Seminary, Oxford, Ohio. Since 1870 he has been a director of Danville Theological Seminary, Danville, Kentucky. He has received calls from several other and wealthy churches, but strong attachment for his charge forbade his leaving them for another field. During the war of the rebellion Dr. Pratt gave his hearty support to the government, preaching patri- otic sermons, aiding the Sanitary and Christian Commissions, and giving his only son to the service of his country. In 1844 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Mills, daughter of . Judge Mills, of Frankfort, Kentucky. She died in 1850, leaving one child, David P. Pratt, who for many years has been superintendent of public schools in Bridgeport, Ohio. In 1853 he married Miss Elizabeth Loughry, daughter of James Loughry, of Rockville, Ohio. She died in 1870, leaving three daughters. In the summer of 1876 he married Miss Mary E. Urmston, only daughter of the Rev. Nathaniel M. Urmston, of Highland county, Ohio, who was born in April, 1799, being the first white male child born in Chillicothe, Ohio. Dr. Pratt has seen Portsmouth grow from a small town of forty-three hundred inhabitants to a city of over twelve thousand, and the number of churches increase from eight to twenty. He is still strong and vigorous, and discharging the full duties of his pastorate, although in his sixty-seventh year. Dr. Pratt has been a frequent contributor to the press, and for ten years was corresponding editor of the Christian Herald, of Cincinnati.
LASH, WILLIAM D., educator, superintendent of the Zanesville union schools, was born in Athens county, Ohio, July 24th, 1846. His parents were Jacob and Susan (Morrison) Lash, residents of Athens county. Our subject is of German-
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Irish extraction, his ancestors on both the paternal and maternal sides early locating in the United States. His early education was acquired in the common schools of Athens county, and completed in the Ohio University at Athens. He entered the institution named in 1866, graduating in 1871. Immediately after graduating he took charge of the Jackson (Ohio) high- school, and continued at its head for one year. On the Ist of January, 1872, he was promoted to the superintendency of the union schools of that place. He removed to Zanes- ville in September, 1872, to accept the position of first assist- ant in the high-school, in which capacity he continued until June, 1875, when he was made principal. Subsequently he was made superintendent of the public schools, which posi- tion he continues to fill with marked acceptability to the public. Professor Lash's appointment to the superintendency of the schools marked an era in their administration highly creditable to himself and satisfactory to the general public. At no time within the last quarter of a century have the schools been directed with the efficiency that is now apparent. This statement involves no invidious comparisons, but is a just tribute to a deserving object. Possessing a rare concep- tion of requirements and indefatigable industry, he has brought both to bear in increasing the efficiency of the schools, and has added largely to his professional reputation. He was married, October, 1873, to Jennie W. Griffin, daughter of Carvil and Edith Griffin, by which union he has one child.
MOORE, ELIAKIM HASTINGS, ex-collector of in- ternal revenue and ex-member of Congress from the fifteenth district, was born in Boylston, Worcester county, Massachu- setts, June 19th, 1812. The maternal side of his family, Hastings, is from illustrious stock, and the race to which the name applies is of Danish origin. Hastings, a Dan- ish chief, was a formidable enemy to Alfred the Great. He took possession of Sussex; and the castle and seaport were held by his family when William the Conqueror landed in England, and they held it from the crown for many gen- erations. Thomas Hastings, aged 29, and wife, Susanna, aged 34, embarked at Ipswich, England, April roth, 1634, and came to America, settling at Watertown, Massachusetts, then known as "The Massachusetts Bay Colony." In 1817 the subject of this sketch accompanied his father to the then far west, locating in Athens county, this State. His early associations were such as to develop a hardihood and self- reliance characteristic of those pioneer days. Trained in a school whose discipline was hard labor and disadvantages, he early appreciated his position, and sought to supply by energetic application what circumstances denied him in the acquirement of his early education. He attended the dis- trict schools of the day, and as a pupil was rated among the most apt and proficient in the elementary branches there taught. His later education was eminently practical, being acquired in the rounds of active business life, by intercourse and association with business men. Decidedly positive in his character, he soon formed pronounced views on the lead- ing moral and political questions of the day. Always a sym- pathizer with the cause of temperance reform, he joined the first temperance organization in 1828, and has continued to preserve his interest in the welfare and advancement of the cause. During the agitation of the slave question he was very emphatic in his condemnation of the institution and be- came more confirmed in his opposition by witnessing many disgraceful and cruel scenes attendant upon the pursuit and
recovery of fugitives by brutal masters and slave-hunters. In politics he was a whig until the formation of the republican party, with which he has ever since acted. In the winter of 1834-5 he taught school, alternating his duties as school- master with the study of surveying, under the auspices of Hon. S. B. Pruden, who, in the spring of 1836, appointed him deputy county surveyor. In 1838 he was elected county sur- veyor, and was re-elected in 1841 and 1844. In 1846 his acquaintance with the subdivisions of the lands recommended him as a suitable candidate for county auditor, and he was duly elected by a large majority over an independent candi- date. In this capacity he performed his duties to the utmost satisfaction of the people, and was re-elected by large majori- ties in '48, '50, '52, '54, '56, and '58. His private business hav- ing become largely increased, he then declined further service. During the late Rebellion he was active and prominent in the measures taken for its suppression. He served on the mili- tary committee of Athens county and gave unstinted con- tributions of time and money and personal influence to help secure the perpetuation of the Union. When the system of internal revenue was adopted, he was appointed collector for the fifteenth district of Ohio; but his political predilections being diametrically opposed to those of Andrew Johnson, he was removed. He was for many years a director of the Athens Branch State Bank of Ohio, and, as its president, superintended its conversion into the First National Bank of Athens. He is at present (1881) vice-president of the insti- tution. Mr. Moore has become widely known by reason of his activity in the matter of public improvements and the development of the mineral resources of his county. He was among the first to inaugurate the great mining interests in the country adjacent to Nelsonville. In 1852 the project of constructing the Columbus and Hocking Valley Railroad was agitated, and Mr. Moore, in company with D. Talmadge, William Dennison, and others, filed a certificate and opened books for the subscription of stock. An organization was attempted at Logan, but through disaffection among roads which would be benefited, or otherwise affected by its con- struction, the scheme was defeated. He served some years as a director of the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, and joined in the construction of the Columbus and Hocking Val- ley Railroad as one of the projectors and incorporators. In 1868, by the voice of the people, he was unexpectedly re- called to political life. The campaign of 1867 had resulted disastrously to the republicans, who, though they had secured the governor, lost the legislature, entailing the election of a democrat to the United States Senate in the person of Allen G. Thurman. Most of the close congressional districts had also gone democratic, including the fifteenth, by 427 majority. Mr. Moore's wide acquaintance and great popularity, united with well-known business qualifications and a rare concep- tion of requirements, rendered him a fit candidate for Con- gress. Accordingly, in 1868, to redeem the fifteenth district, the nomination for Congress was urged upon him and reluc- tantly accepted. He entered the campaign with characteristic vigor and defeated his democratic competitor, M. D. Follett, by 956, running 136 ahead of the State ticket. During the Forty-first Congress he served on the committee on territories, and consistently voted for every measure of retrenchment and reform. He declined a renomination in 1870, by reason of the growing proportions of his private business. Mr. Moore was largely instrumental-in fact, was the prime mover -- in securing the location of the asylum for the insane at Athens.
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