USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume II > Part 72
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SEASONGOOD, LEWIS, merchant and banker, of the city of Cincinnati, and since January, 1880, Quartermaster- general and Commissary-general of the State of Ohio, was born August 3d, 1836, at Burgkundstadt, in the kingdom of Bavaria. His father, Emanuel Seasongood, was a manufacturer of cot- ton and part woolen fabrics, and died in the year 1848. His mother, Johanna Seasongood, is still living, in Bamberg, Bavaria, and only recently celebrated her seventy-fourth birthday. Our subject received a public school education in Germany. Though his father had but limited means, and was thrifty and economical in all things, he was by no means saving in the education which he endeavored to give to his children ; and having in their younger years afforded them the common school learning, he furnished private tutors to teach them the French and English languages and other higher branches of education. Besides fostering the education of his children, our subject's father impressed them at an early age with ideas of business and the teachings and intricacies of his profession. His elder brother, Philip Seasongood, and himself assisted in the management of his father's factory, and in the business transactions, acting as his clerks, book- keepers, and secretaries. This early training was of great advantage to the family, for when the dear parent was removed from them by death it enabled his widow, with the aid of her two elder sons, Philip and Lewis, to take charge of the business and conduct it and enlarge it, and it is con- continued to this day by the elder brother, Philip Seasongood, who occupies a prominent position as a manufacturer and merchant in the city of Bamberg. Our subject at an early age became a great admirer of the institutions and government of the republic of the United States, and it seemed his frequently expressed wish and hope that he could at no distant time mi- grate to the land of the free ; and although after his father's death it was a great sacrifice for him to leave his mother, brothers, and sisters, he resolved, with his mother's consent and blessing, to embark for the United States, and seek his fortune in a country where he knew every one had an equal chance. At the age of fifteen years he shipped from the city of Bremen, in the steamer Hermann, accompanied by a casual acquaintance, then visiting Europe, and residing in Baltimore, and on his arrival in New York proceeded at once to Cincinnati, where his uncle, Jacob Seasongood, had lived for many years, and had established one of the largest and most extensive cloth jobbing and clothing concerns in the West. Although he was familiar with the English tongue, his uncle deemed it best that he should further perfect him- self in that language and other branches of education, and the years of 1851 and 1852 were spent at St. Xavier's Col- lege, of Cincinnati, where he received distinction in all the studies he was engaged in, and where he completed his education under Father Carroll, subsequently Bishop of Cov- ington, who ever afterward took much interest in his welfare, and extended a warm friendship to his pupil. After finishing his studies in college, his uncle gave him an opportunity of entering the employ of the firm of Heidelbach, Seasongood & Co., with this admonition: "I shall be your friend and relative at my hearth and home, but I shall be no uncle to you while I am your employer. If, with this understanding, you desire to enter our firm, you are perfectly welcome." His former experience in business soon enabled him to familiarize himself with the details of his employers' interests, and although he received a mere beggarly compensation for the first few years while in their employ, they soon gen-
erously appreciated his services and energy, and in the year 1858 gave him an interest in their business, which yielded him a handsome share of the profits, and in 1860 he was admitted as a general partner in the old and well established firm of Heidelbach, Seasongood & Co., which partnership yielded him annually a handsome return for his labor and energy. He remained in that firm until it was dissolved, by the retirement of the two Messrs. Heidelbach and Mr. Samuel Thorner, and in the year 1869 the firm of J. & L. Season- good & Co. was formed, composed of his uncle, Mr. Jacob Seasongood, himself, his brother, Alfred Seasongood, and Mr. Elias Moch. This firm was subsequently dissolved by the retirement of Mr. Jacob Seasongood, in the year 1877, and the admission of his son, Charles Seasongood, since which time our subject has continued as senior member to this date. In the year 1870 himself and Jacob Seasongood formed a partnership with Messrs. Netter, under the firm name of Seasongood, Netter & Co., establishing a banking business at No. 37 West Third Street. This firm was dissolved by the death of Mr. Jacob Netter and the removal to New York of Mr. Netter's two sons, in the year 1875, when the firm of Seasongood, Sons & Co. was formed, composed of Jacob Seasongood, Lewis Seasongood, Adolph J. Seasongood, and Charles Mayer, which is continued to this time, and is re- garded as one of the soundest and strongest financial insti- tutions of this city, doing a large conservative banking business, having the confidence and good will of their fellow-merchants, bankers, and patrons generally, not alone in this city, but all over the West and South, where they are particularly well and favorably known. Our subject has not only iden- tified himself throughout his entire career actively in his own business, but he has been a constant and indefatigable worker for the growth and development of his adopted city; and it may safely be said that there has been no public enterprise of any moment for the advancement and glory of Cincinnati with which he has not in some degree been identified and an active co-worker. To such men as Mr. Seasongood a good part of the glory and renown which Cincinnati has received by reason of her industrial expositions, her progress in music, art, and in other directions has been largely due. He, with a number of his fellow-merchants, suggested the first Textile Fabric Exposition, in the year 1869, held in a block just then completed by Mr. David Sinton, and which gave Cincinnati a national renown, textile fabrics from Maine to California being exhibited at that Exposition. It was really the beginning of the subsequent Cincinnati Expositions, which have made it so justly famous. He was treasurer of the Cin- cinnati Exposition in 1872. In 1873 he was appointed, by President Grant, as one of four United States Executive Com- missioners to the Vienna Exposition, and directed to interest the Western and Southern manufacturers in that exposition. His success in that particular was so marked, that on his retire- ment from the honorable position he received from the Secre- tary of State, Hon. Hamilton Fish, a letter of thanks on behalf of the President for the services rendered to the United States at that exposition. As a merchant, and feeling the great want of Cincinnati to have a line of railroad which would the better connect it with the South, himself, Mr. George W. McAlpin, and Mr. Acton were the first parties to suggest to Mr. Ferguson to draft an act which might be passed by the Legislature, and which would enable the city to build the Southern Railroad. And though the projectors of that enter- prise, during the time that the burden of the taxes created
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by the issue of bonds for the building of the road fell heavily upon the citizens, were for a time severely criticised, yet our subject always had an abiding faith in the final outcome, and the great benefits which would inure to the city by its completion-and time has proved that his hopes and antici- pations were not chimerical. He faithfully assisted the trustees appointed by the city, encouraged them in their arduous duties, taking a most active part in the elections which resulted in voting the necessary amounts to complete the road, and presided at a meeting at Arbeiter Hall in favor of the issue of bonds, which was attacked almost by a mob of those who were opposed to the building of the road or the fur- ther issue of the bonds of the city. In 1877 Mr. Seasongood was elected, by the City Council, as a Director of the University of Cincinnati, which board was composed at that time of such eminent men as Hon. William S. Groesbeck, Hon. Alphonso Taft, Judge J. B. Stallo, Hon. Rufus King, ex-Governor J. D. Cox, and others. At the expiration of a six-year term, against his consent, he was re-elected for another term of six years. During almost his entire service in the board he was at the head of its most important committee, namely that of Funds and Claims, and managed its financial affairs with ability and success. In 1875 Mr. Seasongood was appointed as one of the Sinking Fund Commissioners of Cincinnati. The board was then composed of Hon. Joseph Longworth, Hon. A. F. Perry, James H. Laws, Esq., Mr. William F. Thorne, and himself; and to the credit of that board it may be said that they have saved the city of Cincinnati from bank- ruptcy, and brought its credit up to the highest level of any municipality in this country. By reason of his removal be- yond the city limits he became ineligible for reappointment at the expiration of his two years' service, and the Judges of the Superior Court, in joint session, caused to be entered upon the minutes of that court their regrets for his inelig- ibility, and thanking him for having freely given his time and talents to the best interests of Cincinnati. Mr. Seasongood is president, vice-president, treasurer, or director in some dozen financial corporations, having been one of the pro- jectors of the Eighth Street Railroad, also one of the project- ors and builders of the Elm Street inclined Plane and Belle- vue House; from 1878 to 1880 he was president of the Ross Road Machine Company ; he is now vice-president and treas- urer of the Brush Electric Light Company, of Cincinnati; an active director in the Cincinnati Street Railway Company ; treasurer of the Bell Waterphone Company; director and treasurer of the Cincinnati Dessicating Company; he has served for ten years as financial secretary of the United Jew- ish Cemetery Association, of Cincinnati, and is now a di- rector of that institution, and was chairman of the building committee having in charge the erection of the beautiful mortuary chapel, which they have just completed and con- secrated, on the occasion of which he delivered a very interesting and beautiful address. Mr. Seasongood has been an active member and director of the Young Men's Mercantile Library Association, of Cincinnati; he was one of the projectors of the great American Saengerfest held in Cincinnati in the years 1870 and 1875, for which the great original Music Hall was first built on the Cincinnati Orphan Asylum Lot ; he has been connected with the vari- ous operatic festivals ; he has rendered active services in the furtherance of a plan for raising an Art Museum ; and he has been a member of the Masonic Fraternity since the year 1858. On the occasion of a visit to his Fatherland,
in 1866, he delivered a beautiful address at the Masonic celebration held at Kessingen on St. John's Day, and also presided over an elegant banquet and reunion of the Amer- icans then in that famous Spa, on the national Independence Day. He has served on many important committees in the Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce, and has upon various occasions represented Cincinnati as a delegate in commercial conventions in New York, Louisville, and various other cities throughout the United States. Mr. Seasongood, being of the Hebrew faith, has taken an active part, not alone in the charities of his own people, but those of all other sects and denominations. He was one of the most active members of the Executive Committee of the Sanitary Fair held in the Fifth Street Market-space during the war. He has been a trustee and one of the building committee of the Mound Street (Dr. Lilienthal's) Temple. He has for many years been one of the Executive Committee of the Union American Hebrew Congregations, and has taken an active part in the growth and development of the Union Hebrew College of Cincinnati. Mr. Seasongood is also a member of the Alliance Israel, of which the late Adolph Cremieux, of Paris, and Sir Moses Montefiore, of London, were for many years the respective heads, and whose mission it is to ameliorate the condition of the Jews wherever op- pressed or persecuted. In his mercantile and banking rela- tions he is well and favorably known throughout the United States, having correspondents and customers in almost every city in the Union. His mercantile house has for almost half a century been connected with the largest manufactories of Germany, France, Belgium, and England, most of whom showed him marked attention during his visits to those countries. He has a happy faculty of dispatching business in a systematic and rapid manner, and those who know him or have had dealings with him regard his word equal to his bond. The volume of his mercantile transactions annu- ally amounts to millions of dollars, the house being one of the oldest-established firms of manufacturers of clothing in the city, and being one of the few which, with the changes of time and the progress of business, has by the infusion of young blood constantly preserved its energy and extended its ramifications of business. Its credit has always stood at the very highest, and, practically unlimited, it conducts to-day a live, active business in almost every Western and Southern State of this continent. Some years ago a branch establish- ment was started in St. Louis, Missouri, which supplies the States of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Arkan- sas, Louisiana, etc. None of the panics have in any way affected the finances or credit of the house. During the war the house furnished to the Government of the United States large supplies of clothing, and the officers in charge of the department of equipage of the army have uniformly spoken in high terms of the exactness, fidelity, and integrity with which it complied with its contracts and obligations to the Government. The senior members of the firni of Heidel- bach, Seasongood & Co. contributed large sums of money for the raising and equiping of Ohio regiments. As bankers they have been both loyal and patriotic by supporting and upholding the credit of the Government at the time of its need and peril, both partners at that time being members of prom- inent banking houses in this city. Mr. Seasongood has al- ways liberally supported and encouraged the building and development of railroads entering Cincinnati, and is at pres- ent largely interested in many properties of those which have
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made Cincinnati a great commercial center of the West. It has been his policy to invest his surplus mostly in real estate, both in Cincinnati and in the city of New York, where his father-in-law and himself at this time are the owners of some of the finest business blocks to be found in either city. In politics Mr. Seasongood is a staunch and loyal Republican, and while at Vienna, attending to his duties as Commissioner, the Republicans of this district nominated him for State Sen- ator, which nomination, by reason of family and business affairs, he was reluctantly compelled to decline. Though at no time seeking office, he has for many years been a valua- ble member of the Republican State Executive Committee. In the year 1877 he was again nominated by the Republicans of Cincinnati as State Senator, which he likewise declined, feeling it impossible, owing to his manifold business engage- ments, to give that attention which every one occupying a public office should devote to the State. He has participated in almost all of the political conventions, and since 1870 has taken part in the campaigns at almost every election, pre- siding over many of the mass-meetings, and especially dur- ing the Presidential campaign. In 1879 and 1881 his name was presented to the Republican conventions at Cincinnati and Cleveland for the nomination of Lieutenant-governor. Although unsought for by him, he came within a very few votes of receiving the nomination. Though not receiving it, he immediately and cordially congratulated his successful compet- itors, and gave that same hearty, cordial support to his party which he would have done had he been the nominee. To the reflecting mind must be apparent the great difference that exists among men who have made their mark in the world, either in art, science, finance, war, or peace, between this country and the countries of Europe. We find that in Europe rank, title, and fortunes have passed from generation to generation, though on investigation it is apparent they have been perpetuated solely by the laws of primogeniture, or by the inheritance of rank or titles. In this our glorious repub- lic we find those who in some sphere of life gained renown and eminence are mostly humble citizens, who have excelled in some walk of life, having gained such eminence by their integrity, industry, and energy, and by their constant appli- cation to learning and research, with an indomitable deter- mination to succeed, and have thus hewn and carved out their fortune and position. This is especially the case with our subject in this biographical history. In 1861 Mr. Seasongood married Emma, daughter of Jacob Seasongood. Eleven children have been born to them, three of whom are dead. The remaining eight are bright and intelligent children, and a pleasanter home and a happier family can not be found in this State. The eldest son, Philip Sheridan, is now attending Kenyon College, at Gambier; the two eldest daughters, Misses Alma and Cora, have completed their education in the public schools, and have spent three years at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Clifton. All the children of Mr. Season- good have been taught in the public schools, in which sys- tem he thoroughly believes. In 1868 he bought at Avondale, a suburb of Cincinnati, a handsome piece of real estate, where in 1876 he erected a palatial residence, which is the present home of his family, where he and his wife make it pleasant and agreeable at all times for their many friends and acquaintances. Besides his mercantile and business pursuits, Mr. Seasongood is a constant reader, and has kept abreast of the sciences and literature of the day. In his earlier years he was President of the Shakspeare Union Club,
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and has been President for many years of the Allemania and Phoenix (literary and social) Clubs of the city. He hasalso been. an active member of the Literary Club at Avondale, giving fre- quent readings and essays from Shakespeare and other au- thors. Though Mr. Seasongood is by birth an Israelite, and is a member of the Mound Street Temple, he is by no means a sectarian in his views or acts. He supports and encourages at all times all denominations, counting many of his friends, perhaps thousands, who, though not of the same faith, are his intimate associates, friends, and well-wishers.
FOLLETT, JOHN FASSETT, lawyer, Cincinnati, is the son of a new England farmer, the youngest but one of a family of nine children, and was born in Franklin County, Vermont. Of the nine children six were boys, all of whom have become exceedingly strong and able men. Three have honored the law-Charles, Martin D., and John F .; Charles having been elected for two terms Judge of the Common Pleas Court, and Martin D. having been elected Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, in October, 1883. One, Alfred, has chosen the field of medicine; while the other two, George and Austin W., have been unusually successful in mercantile pursuits in New York City. In 1837, when the subject of this sketch was less than five years of age, his father removed to Ohio, and settled in Licking County. His early education was received in the log school houses, and such academies as the county of Licking then afforded. Ambitious for a higher and broader culture than was afforded by these primitive in- stitutions, he determined to procure for himself a classical edu- cation, and entered Marietta College in 1851, and graduated with the highest honors of his class in 1855. After leaving college he taught school for two years-the first in the Asylum for the Blind, at Columbus; and the second as the principal of the Columbus High School. The income derived from teaching enabled him to liquidate the debt which he had contracted in obtaining a collegiate education. In July, 1858, he was admitted to the bar, at Newark, Ohio, and at once entered into a partnership with his brother, the Hon. Charles Follett, which continued until the fall of 1868, when he re- moved to Cincinnati, where he has since resided. In 1865, he was elected as a Representative to the Fifty-seventh Gen- eral Assembly, from Licking County, and was re-elected in 1867. Upon the organization of the Fifty-eighth General Assembly, in January, 1868, he was nominated by acclama- tion, by the Democrats in caucus, and afterward was elected, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the duties of which office he discharged with signal ability. Before the opening of the adjourned session, in the fall of 1868, he had removed to Cincinnati, to engage in the practice of the law, and con- sequently resigned the Speakership as well as his office as Representative. Destined to be a leader, he has risen rap- idly in his profession, and, upon going to Cincinnati, took rank immediately with the foremost men of that unusually able bar, amongst whom it is doubtful if he has a superior as an advocate. His practice has been very large and lucrative, and he has been identified as counsel in much of the most important litigation in both the State and federal courts in Southwestern Ohio. Thoroughly devoted to his profession, he has steadfastly declined to be led away from the law by the allurements of public office until his fame as a lawyer was firmly established. In 1880, he was nominated by acclamation, by the Democratic State Con- vention, as one of the Electors at large for Ohio, on the
John F. Follett.
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Hancock and English Presidential ticket. In 1881, although he was very prominently mentioned for Governor, no canvass was made in his interest, and, preferring to let the nomina- tion seek him, rather than to seek it, he was not the selection of the convention. In 1882, he was made the temporary chairman of the Democratic State Convention. In the fall of 1882, he was nominated by acclamation, by the Hamilton County Democratic Convention, to represent the First District of Ohio in Congress. His opponent was the Hon. Benjamin Butterworth, a candidate for a third term, and probably the best campaigner in the State of Ohio, and whom, after a most gallant and hotly contested canvass, he defeated by a majority of 819. In politics he has been a life-long Demo- crat, one of the old school, whom shadows and reverses have not changed. Gifted and eloquent as a speaker, he has few, if any, equals on the stump in Ohio. For years he has cheerfully devoted weeks to every campaign, and his services are in constant demand at the Executive Committee rooms of his party. There is scarcely a county in the State where his voice has not been heard, and where he does not number his friends by the score. Of wonderfully popular manners, and of brilliant parts, he will command such atten- tion in the nation's councils as to endear him to every true Democrat in Ohio. At the commencement of 1879 his Alma Mater, in recognition of his scholarly attainments and public services, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
STEEDMAN, JAMES BLAIR, soldier, was born July 29th, 1817, in Chillisquaque Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, of Scotch parentage, and died at Toledo, Ohio, October 18th, 1883. He received his education in a village school house in Lewisburg, Union County, in the same State. He became an orphan when thirteen years old, and was obliged to labor hard to earn a support for himself, sister, and two brothers, and after leaving school became an apprentice to the printing business. He next became en- gaged on the public works, as a contractor, in which voca- tion he continued for eight years. He was elected a member of the Ohio Legislature in 1841, and re-elected in 1842. In 1851 he was elected a member and President of the Board of Public Works of Ohio, and served for a period of four years in that office. In 1857 he was elected printer to the House of Representatives of the United States. On the out- break of the Rebellion he was elected by the votes of the members of the 14th Regiment Ohio Volunteers the colonel of that command, and immediately left for the field. With this regiment he took the town of Parkersburg, Virginia, in May, 1861, capturing a large amount of rolling stock in the railroad depot. He then moved with his command on the Northwestern Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, to Webster, rebuilding the bridges over Petroleum and Toll- gate Creeks, which had been destroyed by the enemy-this work was completed in thirty hours. He participated with his regiment in the battle of Philippi, June 3d, 1861, and led the advance in the pursuit of the enemy, under General Garnet, from Laurel Hill to Carrick's Ford, where his reg- iment attacked Garnet's command, fighting it alone for forty- five minutes, killing the general and routing his forces. In July, 1861, he returned home and reorganized the regiment, of which he was appointed colonel, and with his command went to Kentucky, in September, 1861, reporting to General George H. Thomas, commanding Camp Dick Robinson. He
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