USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume III > Part 38
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the Government any and all extraordinary measures were justifiable in the Government to suppress it, and that whether the exercise of this power was strictly within constitutional limits or not, was a question the rebellion could not raise. He believed that the measures and policy adopted by the administration in power to put an end to the rebellion should be carried out by the party responsible therefor. He, there- fore, gave his support to Mr. Lincoln and to General Grant for both terms, believing them the right men for the times and the occasion. When, however, the war was over, the issues settled, and political principles were again exerting their influence, he resumed his place in the Democratic party. During the years for the maintenance of the Gov- ernment and the issues of the war he was very active in ad- dressing the people, but never taking any part in the ma- chinery of politics. Since then he has paid but little attention to politics in any manner, but has devoted himself exclu- sively to his profession. Judge Jordan is a lawyer of very de- cided ability and integrity. During the schism which degener- ated the Democratic party into paper money inflation, he was an uncompromising hard-money Democrat. When the re- bellion closed, his hand was at once extended in fellowship to the South, and he looked upon all antagonism to the South as unwise. Judge Jordan has been a man of strong religious convictions, in so far as religion has to do with the habits, character, and conduct of men, and reverence to God, but, unrelenting to bigotry. With him religion is not an intel- lectual function ; it is a moral function. With him faith and opinion are synonymous, obligatory upon none, optional with all, with a high regard for religion and a very questionable re- gard for theology. The life of Judge Jordan has been one of hard labor, and has been attended with success in his pro- fession, and its whole purpose has been to see his family and his father's family permanently intrenched upon high social, intellectual, and moral ground ; and to this end he has made many sacrifices.
LE BLOND, FRANCIS C., lawyer and ex-Congress- man, residing at Celina, was born in Knox County, Ohio, February 14th, 1821. The first of the name in America, Everah C. Le Blond, was of French origin. He was a native of Paris, and came to this country, while a youth, about the time France ceded Louisiana to the United States. Ohio had then but lately been admitted into the Union. It was attracting a good deal of attention, and the young emigrant went there, with the rest, and settled in Knox County. In 1811 he married Elisabeth Halderman, who was a Pennsyl- vanian by birth, of German descent. From that marriage sprang a family of nine children-seven boys and two girls; of which family the subject of this sketch was the fourth child. Until his seventh year, Francis C. passed his boyhood on the farm on which he was born. In 1828 his parents moved with him to Richland County, where he grew up until he was seventeen. At that age, aspiring to extend his edu- cation, he went to Norwalk and became a student in the academy there. His teacher was that eminent scholar and true Christian, Edward Thomson, late Bishop of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, of Ohio. Getting through with the curriculum of that institution, he turned his attention to the study of law. He was entered as a student in the office of John Whitbeck, a practicing attorney of Norwalk. Whit- beck had a large and fine library by which the pupil profited through diligent and extensive reading. In due time he
passed an examination (the late Edward M. Stanton was one of the examining committee), and in 1844 he was ad- mitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of the State. Mr. Le Blond commenced practicing his profession in Mercer County, with office at_St. Marys, St. Marys being then a part of that county. He remained at that place until 1849, when, being elected Prosecuting Attorney, he moved his office to Celina. Among the first cases he tried as Public Prosecutor was one for wife murder against a colored man by the name of Johnson. He succeeded in convicting the criminal, and carried himself so well through the trial that he added to his reputation, and assured him, if he desired it, an election to the office of another term. He was re-elected in 1855, and, through elections by the people and appoint- ment by the Court, he held the position of Prosecuting At- torney nearly eight years. The urbane and genial nature inherited from his father, and the staying element derived from his German mothier, seem to have adapted him for pub- lic life. At the expiration of the first term of State's Attor- ney he was, in 1851, elected to the Legislature of Ohio, and again elected in 1853, at which session he had the additional honor conferred of being chosen Speaker of the House. Those were the first two terms held under the new Constitu- tion, and they involved the revision of State laws and the creation of the present excellent system of education by com- mon schools. He was an active and efficient legislator; was assigned the special guardianship of the Senate School Bill during its consideration in the House, and acquitted himself throughout in a manner satisfactory to his constituents and for the welfare of the State at large. In 1856 he was nomi- nated by his party a candidate for Common Pleas Judge. That was the year of the "Know-nothing" rage. The novel methods of that masked organization rendering ineffectual an open and fair contest, his friends came within sixty-four votes of electing him. In 1862 he was elected to the United States Congress, and, having served acceptably, was re- elected in 1864. Mr. Le Blond was a thorough Union man. He would not tolerate the heresy of secession, and, at all times during his Congressional career, was on the side of the Government, and by voice and vote stood by it in the dark-, est hours of the great Rebellion. In politics he has been a steadfast adherent of the Democratic party. In 1868 he was chosen a delegate to the National Convention which placed in nomination Horatio Seymour for President; and also in 1876 to the National Convention in St. Louis, which nomi- nated Samuel J. Tilden. In the former body he was on the Committee of "Rules and Order of Business," and in the campaigns which followed both of those Conventions he stumped the country and bore his full share in the work done for his party's success. Mr. Le Blond bears the repu- tation of being a careful and reliable counselor, an energetic attorney, and a forcible public speaker. He is the leading lawyer of the Celina bar. For a number of years he was the law partner of Judge Day, and is at present senior member of the legal firm of "Le Blond, Le Blond, and Laughridge." He is public spirited, and has always lent a helping hand to projects having for their purpose the good of the people. He was the main instrument in securing the right of way through Mercer County for Lake Erie and Western, and also the Toledo, Cincinnati, and St. Louis Railroads, and he contributed to the encouragement and construction of the Cincinnati, Van Wert, and Michigan road. He helped to establish the " Handle Manufacturing Company," which gave
Yours Truly D.J. Ring
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employment to many men; and he was one of the origina- tors and is still one of the members of the banking house or "Citizen's Bank of Celina." In 1853 he was married to Louisa E. McGinly, daughter of Ebenezer McGinly, of Elyria, Ohio, and niece of Congressman E. S. Hamlin, and also of Judge E. M. Phelps. Mr. Le Blond has had three children, two sons and a daughter, all living-Charles M., Francis C., and Emma E. After forty years at the bar, he is still devo- ted to his profession, and with unabated vigor is in the active practice of law, associated with his son, Charles M. Le Blond, a promising young member of the bar.
KING, DAVID S., of Wilmington, was born in Liberty Township, Clinton County, Ohio, February Ist, 1822. His maternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution, and received a pension from the Government. He is a son of John King, who was a soldier in the war of 1812, and Anna (Shields) King, the former born in Washington County, East Tennessee, and the latter in Green County of the same State. John King, the father of our subject, removed to Ohio in 1819, and died when David S. was quite young. He held the office of Justice of the Peace, and was also a prominent business man, who became well known and universally re- spected. After his death the Government granted a land- warrant to his widow for his meritorious services in the war of 1812. Mr. King's means of obtaining an education in early life were limited, but by making the best use of his opportunities-by reading and studying evenings, and odd spells while resting from the hard work of the farm-he managed to pick up sufficient knowledge of geography, mathematics, and other branches, to qualify himself as a teacher. He obtained a position in one of the district schools, receiving at first the sum of forty-five dollars for three months' services, but subsequently he obtained a more lucrative po- sition at the advanced price of sixty dollars per quarter. In the course of time other positions were tendered him, where he taught, both with advantage to himself and profit to his pupils, during a period of four successive years. The certif- icate that he received, to the effect that he possessed all the necessary qualifications as a successful instructor, was granted by the first school examiner appointed in Clinton County. While teaching, he availed himself of every opportunity to acquire a knowledge of dentistry, but, having married, he abandoned the idea of entering upon that profession and turned his entire attention to agricultural pursuits, as it would bring in a more immediate income, and in 1849 moved to his farm situated in Clinton County. While thus support- ing himself and his aged mother, he gained a knowledge of the details of public life to some extent, and acquired as well methodical and diligent habits, which proved service- able to him in the various offices which he subsequently was called upon to fill. In the Spring of 1850 he was elected Township Assessor of personal property, and twice succes- sively re-elected to the same office. In 1854 he was elected Justice of the Peace of the same township, in which position he acceptably served for three years, and was re-elected to the same office in the Spring of 1857. In the Fall of that year he was nominated and elected Probate Judge, and en- tered upon the duties of that office in February of the year following. In the Spring of 1879 he received the nomination for a member of the Ohio Legislature, and was elected by a large majority, serving for two years. During his connection with the House he served on the committees of "Pikes and
Public Roads," and "Temperance." The cause of temper- ance has always found in Judge King a strong advocate, and a very earnest worker in its behalf; and while in the House he adhered to his principles and presented a bill known as King's Bill for "regulating the sale of intoxicating liquors by restricting the sale thereof to medicinal, pharmaceutical, and sacramental uses, and submitting the question of its enforce- ment to the citizens of the several counties, townships, cities; villages, or wards of cities, in the State of Ohio." It is said to have been the wisest and best local option bill ever offered upon that subject, and came within three votes of being adopted He occupied an important position in the House, and was one of its able and useful members. judge King is also President of the Clinton County Agricultural Society, or what is otherwise known as the "Farmer's Club," which was or- ganized for the advancement of agriculture, horticulture, and to promote social intercourse among the farmers. While he is connected with no religious denomination, his wife is a communicant member of the Baptist Church. In politics he was originally a Whig and afterward a Republican, and has always taken an active interest in the welfare of that party. From 1848 until the close of the war of the rebellion he was an anti-slavery man, taking a resolute and pronounced po- sition against the system of slavery, and, upon proper occa- sions, endeavored to influence the popular sentiment to har- monize with his own convictions. Mr. King was married to Miss Nancy Ellen Smalley, April 3, 1849. Her paternal grandfather, Wm. Smalley, when but a youth, was captured by the Indians, with whom he remained until he had arrived at the age of manhood. He was then commissioned by them to bear tidings of peace to the whites. It was under these circumstances that he happened to fall in with his people liv- ing near Pittsburg, Pa., from which place he was captured. At first he could not be prevailed upon to remain, but finally influences were brought to bear that induced him to do so, and he soon married and settled on the Ohio River where .. the city of Cincinnati now stands. He finally removed to Warren County, where he reared a large family, and became the owner of an extensive tract of land, situated near Clarks- ville in Clinton County, where the wife of Judge King was born. While Judge King has been actively engaged in polit- ical matters, and has frequently taken part in important cam- paigns, he has never allowed politics to interfere with the imperative duties of his farm life. His greatest ambition has been to become a successful farmer and stock-raiser, and to this end the chief labor of his life has been devoted. His farm contains 325 acres, and is largely composed of rich black soil, well underdrained with tile, and is in the highest state of cultivation, producing the finest blue grass and abundant crops of all kinds of grain. For the past thirty years Mr. King has paid particular attention to the improvement of his stock by the introduction of the Loudon Duchess blood. The result has been the production of a superior breed of short-horn cattle, many of which have been on exhibition at our county and union fairs of Southern Ohio, and have attracted much attention. These cattle are known as King's Loudon Duch- ess, in order that they may be readily distinguished from the Loudon Duchess cattle owned by other parties. Thus the name they bear is not only significant of the family of short- horns to which they belong, but also makes known the breed- er's name. The Judge has also been devoting considerable time to the breeding of fine trotting horses, lineal descendants of "Rysdyk's Hambletonian," the most celebrated horse the
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world has ever produced. These horses show great speed for young animals, and will ultimately take their place among the fast trotters of the country. The oldest horse the Judge has is a grandson of "Rysdyk's Hambletonian" on his sire's side, and great grandson on his dam's side. He measures sixteen and one-half hands high, showing fine style and action, and is proving himself to be a grand stock horse. He is familiarly known by the name of "Surveyor." Considering the vast experience that Judge King has had in the breeding of stock, he justly merits the well earned reputation of being authority on all questions pertaining to the breeding of fine stock. Judge King is a man of native force of character, genuine good sense, excellent judgment, unbending integrity, and good moral character. These elements, combined with his indefatigable energy and adap- tation to agricultural pursuits, have contributed to his suc- cess in spite of his early disadvantages, and gained for him an extended reputation as a leading agriculturist. His social qualities are good, and, as he possesses a general knowledge of current topics and is also well versed in literature pertain- ing to agriculture, he converses with freedom and in a highly instructive manner. Being strictly honorable in all his deal- ings, and prudent in his business matters, he has acquired a competency ; and now resides in a beautiful brick residence, situated on Main Street, Wilmington, where he enjoys the esteem, respect, and confidence of his fellow-citizens.
DAVIES, EDWARD W., lawyer, Dayton, Ohio, was born in New York city, January 16th, 1802, and died in Day- ton, December 11th, 1873. In 1804, the family came to Will- iamsburg, Hamilton county, Ohio, and removed to Cincin- nati in 1806. Here our subject studied law and was admitted to practice. In 1826, he became a member of the Dayton bar. Here, during the early days of his practice, he had all the experience of the pioneer lawyer. Then the members of the profession traveled to the courts of the different counties on horseback, along Indian trails, through woods and thickets ; and many and amusing were the transactions that occurred during these journeys, in the courts and in the log-cabin taverns, where the bench and bar rested from their labors. Our subject was the last of the Dayton lawyers of that primitive period. In 1829, he married Mary, daughter of Joseph Peirce, a pioneer merchant of Dayton, and had a family of eight children, four living. In 1832, he was appointed clerk of the common pleas court, and held the office for a number of years. He was afterward professionally associated with the late Judge Joseph H. Crane, whose biography will be found in this work. For many years also, Mr. Davies was attorney for the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton railroad. Promi- nently among the local services which he rendered his adopted city was his connection with the late Alexander Grimes, (also noticed in this work,) as agent for the extensive Cooper es- tate of Dayton. In this position he developed excellent judgment, enlarged views, great public spirit and striking liberality. Through the management of these gentlemen, the interests of this mammoth estate were made subservient to the interests of the city. Mr. Davies was instrumental in securing the passage of the bill creating the board of police commissioners for Dayton, was one of the organizers of the board, and president of the same for some years. Although for nearly fifty years he maintained a high position at the Dayton bar, he never courted popularity. With broad and extensive views, firm convictions and purity of motives he
was unremitting in his efforts to accomplish an object which he believed to be right. He possessed a deep sympathy with the laboring classes, and was ever ready upon all occasions and in every way in his power to assist them in their struggles, and to relieve their sufferings. As a friend he was steadfast and unwavering, as a husband and parent, none were more affectionate and devoted. For all occupying these relations, he was a model. The following is an extract from the testi- monial of the Dayton bar just after his death. "Mr. Edward W. Davies deserved and maintained without reproach, throughout his long, active and useful life, the character of a diligent and able lawyer, an energetic, public-spirited and patriotic citizen, a sincere and upright christian, and a pure and honest man. By unswerving integrity, and force of character, he commanded the confidence and respect of the entire public, but to those only who were intimately associated with him, were known the purity and excellence of his so- cial qualities, and those still higher and more sacred attributes that adorn with grace and happiness the domestic circle, and belong to the cultivated private christian gentleman. With a dignity that naturally pertained alike to his personal ap- pearance and his character, he blended a generous and ge- nial kindness, that never failed to respond when a proper oc- casion called it forth; and such were the sterling qualities of his nature that no temptation could shake his fidelity to truth, manhood and duty."
WARREN, J. T., merchant, was born at Hartford, Connecticut, July 27th, 1811, and died in Cincinnati, May 19th, 1877. He was descended from one of the pioneer fami- lies of New England, that traced its lineage back into the early days of English history. He received a fair education, and then commenced his business career in a mercantile house at Philadelphia, but in Detroit he subsequently in- creased his business knowledge, and in that city, in 1838, married Miss Caroline A. Hartwell. He removed to Cincinnati in 1842, where he founded a large and prosperous firm, the largest of its class in the city, who were engaged in the impor- tation and jobbing of foreign fruits and fancy groceries, which was continued in his name until his death, which occurred from paralysis of the brain. In his youth he acquired an intense delight in books, which he retained all through his life; the study of books gave him the keenest relish of his existence. He was well versed in English literature, and it was a great pleasure to him, after the business anxieties of the day, to take up a volume of Goldsmith, Bancroft, Long- fellow, or Macaulay. He entertained a thorough dislike to contemplate even the idea of his entering into public life; al- though he was solicited on various occasions by parties high in office to allow his name to be brought before the public as a candidate, he invariably refused to listen to the voice of the siren. He was of opinion that whatever a man undertook to do he should do thoroughly; he did not believe in a man that could only half perform his duty; whatever he began himself, he completed, and he commenced nothing without he deemed it worthy of accomplishment. When he entered into business on his own account, he was determined to suc- ceed; he knew no such word as fail. It was this tenacity of purpose that affected those who were in his employ, and insured his mercantile success, in spite of all difficulties. He scorned aught that savored of an approach to prevarication in business; he believed the affairs of every day life in a merchant's office could be carried on with as punctilious a
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sense of honor as those of a clergyman in his private studio. He practiced what he believed, and left an enviable record of what an honest merchant can be. "Do unto another as you would be done by," was his practical motto; he shunned the man who would knowingly commit an act of injustice to his fellow-man. He did not believe in time being frittered away in objectless pursuits ; he regarded life as too serious for that. And gazing into the future, he regarded death as a relief from necessary evil, ever present with us. Such were some of the the characteristics of Mr. Warren. Death came to him sud- denly, as he trusted it would, and "at work in the harness," as he often expressed it; it took him hence, having lived an honest man, an affectionate husband and father, and a high- minded and generous citizen. He left two children, Samuel B. Warren, and Caroline, wife of Major-General Merrett.
MATHERS, JOHN H., lawyer, born in Mifflintown, Juniata county, Pennsylvania, about 1830, died April 27th, 1875, in Sidney, Ohio. He was the son of James Mathers, an eminent lawyer in Mifflintown, who represented that town in the State senate, and of Jane Mathers, whose maiden name was Hutchinson. She was the daughter of the Rev. John Hutchinson, a distinguished Presbyterian minister in Central Pennsylvania. The subject of our sketch was educated at Cannonsburg college, Washington county, Pa., where he graduated with high honors. He then commenced the study of law, to which he devoted himself with great assiduity, and on the completion of his studies, was admitted to the bar. He then visited the State of Texas, where he was engaged for a short time in teaching school. In October, 1850, he came north, and settled in Sidney, where he commenced the practice of law in partnership with the Hon. Jacob S. Conklin, and in a very short time obtained a leading position at the bar. For seven years he remained associated with Mr. Conklin, but in 1863 the partnership was dissolved, when for a brief period he was in partnership with Judge H. Thompson. This connection ended, he practiced alone until the spring of 1870, when he again entered into partnership with Judge Thompson, which continued until Mr. Mathers' death. He was elected prosecuting attorney for his county in 1860, and was reelected, serving altogether six years. Mr. Mathers was thoroughly devoted to his profession, in which he had acquired an extent and accuracy of learning, which justly placed him in its higher ranks. His energy and attainments had in a few years given him legal prominence and a lucra- tive practice. His success as a practitioner was owing to his indomitable energy and ardent devotion to the interest of his clients; his legal acumen, and thorough preparation of the facts and the law of a case before he went into court, com- bined with a remarkable skill in meeting unexpected emer- gencies arising in the course of a trial. Another marked characteristic was his high moral rectitude, and his utter detestation of chicanery and trickery in the practice of law, or in politics, as well as in any of the multifarious affairs of life. His bold opposition to the violation of the laws for the sup- pression and prevention of intemperance made him some- what unpopular in the discharge of his duties as prosecuting attorney, but he resolutely and unflinchingly remained stead- fast in maintaining the dignity of the law, and in prosecuting offenders. In politics he was ardently attached to the demo- cratic party, and took an active interest in state and national affairs. Mr. Mathers received a Presbyterian training, but did not attach himself to the church until near the close of c-18
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