USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume III > Part 45
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by resignation of Judge C. C. Converse, and in the ensuing October was chosen to fill the unexpired term. In 1860, he was one of the Ohio electors who elected President Lincoln. As a financier he, in 1853, in connection with Columbus De- 'lano, Charles T. Sherman, and others, opened the Central bank, at Indianapolis, but sold out his interest in the same three years afterward. On the 17th February, 1833, Judge Bowen married Miss Lydia Baker, daughter of his partner in business at Marion, and after her death in June, 1847, he, in the spring of 1848, married Miss Eliza M. McIntyre. By these marriages, Judge Bowen became the father of six chil- dren who grew to maturity, but five of whom are living. The second Mrs. Bowen died in May, 1870, and in April, 1871, Judge Bowen married Miss Emma M. Wilson, at Coldwater, Michigan, the daughter of M. B. Wilson, of Philadelphia. Five months afterward Judge Bowen died of congestive typhoid fever. As a lawyer, he was highly distinguished. He made no pretensions to the graces or talent of the orator, but was noted for his great industry and thorough preparation of his cases. Contemporaries accord him the praise of being an excellent chancellor, readily getting at the justice, and caring more for the fundamental equities than the legal tech- nicalities of a case. On the bench he exhibited much dignity, and was by the legal profession held in the highest respect. His mental characteristics were strength and depth, rather than brilliancy. His intellect had none of the eccentricities of the individual usually termed "genius," but the sturdy qualities of the methodical practitioner. He was courteous and dignified at all times; and, though strict as a disciplina- rian, was always pleasant and affable. Very few of his decisions were reversed, and the general opinion pronounced upon him by those of his profession who knew him best was that as a judge he was one of the best that ever, within their knowledge, sat on the bench.
BODMANN, FERDINAND, of Cincinnati, Ohio, to- bacco merchant, was born July 16th, 1801, near Frankfort- on-the-Main, Germany, died July 29th, 1874, at Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the son of Lewis Charles Bodmann, judge of the supreme court in a German principality, residing in Hanau, near Frankfort. Ferdinand graduated with honor at the Bamberg College, in 1817, after which he was employed in a large banking-house in Frankfort, conducting the foreign correspondence of the house and becoming fitted for a busi- ness career. The father of our subject, possessed of an ample fortune, having witnessed the desolating wars of the first Napoleon, and being himself a staunch republican, deter- mined to leave his native country for the more tranquil and congenial shores of America. He arrived in this country, with three sons, early in 1822, his wife having died about eleven years previously. Hagerstown, Maryland, was his first place of settlement, and here, the subject of this sketch was successfully engaged in business until the death of his father, in 1828. Soon after this event, he disposed of his business in Hagerstown and moved to Cincinnati, at that time a very small place compared with its present dimen- sions. He at once commenced the erection of a large to- bacco factory on Main street, between Sixth and Seventh streets, and by close attention he soon built up a large and lucrative trade. The business flourished and profit accrued, and by the time railroads and telegraphs became tributary to commerce,' Mr. Bodmann was in a condition to retire from active business, while still in the vigor of manhood. He
always had faith in the future greatness of the city of his choice, and accordingly invested largely in real estate, which has since become very valuable ; and by the erection of busi- ness and dwelling houses did much toward the growth of Cincinnati. During the civil war, he gave the government practical support. Mr. Bodmann married December 14th, 1825, Miss Kate Poepplein, daughter of George M. Poepplein, of Baltimore, Maryland, from which union were born six children, of whom two only survive-a son and daughter. The eldest son, Charles, died May 10th, 1875. He was the founder of the leaf tobacco trade of Cincinnati, and lived to see it assume great proportions. The surviving son is a merchant in Brussels, Belgium, and the daughter, widow of the late Joseph Reichart, lives at the homestead at Mount Auburn, with her mother.
NEFF, PETER, retired merchant, born March 31st, 1798, at Frankford, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His ances- tors emigrated to this country from Switzerland before the American Revolutionary war. When he was very young his father died, and all the means of the family being required for the support of his mother and sisters, he was under the necessity of making a living for himself. Having received careful instruction in the plain branches of an English educa- tion, he left school at the age of fourteen, and obtained a clerkship in a Philadelphia firm, but embraced every oppor- tunity for self-improvement. In arithmetical calculations he attained to a marked preeminence. When the war of 1812 broke out, he was thrown out of employment, owing to the paralysis of trade; but when peace was proclaimed he again obtained a clerkship, and from that time was enabled to sup- port himself without depending upon the family for assist- ance. His assiduity and business ability attracted the atten- tion of Mr. Charles Bird, a prominent hardware merchant of Philadelphia, who was contemplating the establishment of a branch house at Baltimore. Mr. Neff was then twenty years of age. Receiving a favorable proposition from Mr. Bird, he entered into partnership with him. He was unacquainted with the business, but soon mastered its détails, and by his strict integrity soon obtained an extensive credit, which he preserved untarnished during more than fifty years of active business life. In June, 1824, Peter Neff, with his brother William, visited Cincinnati. Although the city contained only about 15,000 inhabitants, he formed a favorable opinion of its future prospects. He proposed to his brother, that if he would leave Savannah and remove to Cincinnati, he would join him in the wholesale hardware business. They entered into partnership, and Mr. Peter Neff continued to reside in Baltimore to buy the goods, while Mr. William Neff, together with John and George, the only remaining male members of the family, united with them in establishing the first import- ing hardware house west of the Alleghanies. Only Peter was acquainted with the business. He went to Cincinnati when the goods were unpacked, marked them, and fixed the price, which was firmly adhered to. The mercantile facilities of the new firm, and their high commercial credit, soon led to fortune. In 1827, Mr. Neff married Mrs. Isabella Lamson (Freeman), a lady as remarkable for her mental ability as for her personal graces, whose advice and assistance through life were of very great value to him. Her death occurred March 6th, 1844, and was the severest trial he ever experienced. He never re-married. In 1828, Mr. Neff established a busi- ness house in Louisville, Kentucky, which was very success-
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ful, and in 1838 it was united with the Cincinnati house. In 1835, he removed from Baltimore to Cincinnati. At the time of the death of his lovely and accomplished wife, his atten- tion was directed to the necessity for a cemetery for the city, and by his exertions and the assistance of other gentlemen, Spring Grove cemetery was purchased by subscription. Temperance reform found in him one of its best friends and most strenuous advocates. He earnestly supported the es- tablishment of the chamber of commerce, and was appointed one of its first vice-presidents. He always manifested a deep interest in the education of the young, especially in their re- ligious training, and the Sabbath schools ever found in him a liberal benefactor and wise counsellor. The organization and establishment of the Poplar Street Presbyterian church is due to him, and he devoted to it his personal supervision, and with his funds liberally supported it. During the war of the Rebellion he took very decided ground in favor of the United States government. As chairman of the finance com- mittee of Hamilton county, he took a very active part in raising $250,000, which prevented a draft in the county. During the "Kirby Smith" raid, he was untiring in his efforts, and the records of the Ist reserve regiment bear wit- ness to his devotion and zeal. For more than thirty-five years he was a member of the Presbyterian church, and for many years president of the board of trustees. Mr. Neff, during his long residence in Cincinnati, was always a liberal, public-spirited citizen, ever ready to aid in promoting the welfare and prosperity of the city, and the cause of good morals and religion.
WATMOUGH, PENDLETON GAINES, lieutenant- commander United States navy, was born May 3d, 1828, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and living, April, 1879, at Cleveland, Ohio. He was the son of Hon. John G. Wat- mough, an officer of the war of 1812, and member of Con- gress. In his fourteenth year he was appointed midshipman, joining the line of battle ship " Delaware," under Commodore Morris and Commander David G. Farragut, in 1841, in which he cruised off the coast of Brazil, in the Mediterranean, and in 1844, being transferred to the " Portsmouth " and subse- quently to the "Savannah," on both in the Pacific. In the latter vessel he took part in movements which, in conjunction with Fremont's army operations, resulted in the annexation of California. In 1847 he was ordered to Annapolis for the completion of his studies, passed in 1848, and in the following year served on the steam frigate " Mississippi " in the Medi- terranean. From that frigate he was transferred to the " Fredonia," stationed at Valparaiso, remaining on her until the fall of 1853, when he was promoted to a lieutenancy, and returned home. In February, 1856, he was ordered to the United States steamship " Portsmouth " for a cruise to China, which lasted two years. When the " Portsmouth " sailed there were grave apprehensions of a war with England grow- ing out of the diplomatic differences concerning the enlisting of men for Russia in the Crimean war. Those apprehensions were ill-founded, but the United States ships found work to do in Chinese waters during the war between England and China, in 1856. The Chinese fired upon Captain Foote, who commanded the United States expedition, and in retaliation for this outrage the " Portsmouth " and " Levant " stormed, car- ried and occupied the barrier forts and destroyed the guns, war material and forts. The Chinese government apologized and admitted the justice of these retaliatory acts, which gave
the United States a strong position in China which it had not previously held. His conduct in these engagements was highly complimented in a letter addressed by Captain Foote to the father of Lieutenant Watmough, under date of De- cember, 1856. In the same cruise he visited Siam, where friendly relations between that country and the United States were established. In 1858, having returned, he was ordered to the steamer " Michigan " on the lakes, but resigned in the spring of 1859. At the breaking out of the war of Secession he promptly tendered his services to the Navy Department and took charge of a battery at Havre-de-Grace. In May, 1861, he was with the " Union" off Charleston. In com- mand of the "Curlew " he took part in the captures of Port Royal, Fernandina, Fort Pulaski, and Brunswick, and in the engagements before Savannah, where he commanded the " Potomska." In the fall of 1862 he commanded the cap- tured blockade-runner "Memphis," with which he aided in the blockade of Charleston. His vessel being sent home for repairs he was detailed to command the "Kansas," and, whilst she was being fitted out, took a battery with volunteer sailors to protect Harrisburg from Lee's invasion. With the " Kansas" he blockaded Wilmington, North Carolina, under Admiral Lee, captured and destroyed several blockade-run- ners. He subsequently participated in Butler's unsuccessful attack on Fort Fisher, and in the successful attack under Terry, took command of the post at Smithville, at the mouth of the Wilmington river, participated in Grant's attack on Petersburg, and went to Richmond at the fall of that place. After endeavoring to cut off the escape of Confederate troops when Richmond was taken, and to aid in the capture of Wilkes Booth, he returned to Philadelphia and resigned from the service in August 1865. On leaving the service he came to Cleveland and was appointed collector of customs by President Grant in 1869, and reappointed in 1873. In ad- dition to that position he was interested in the Leader daily newspaper, and in several business enterprises; a director in the Northern Ohio Fair Association, a stockholder in the Steel Screw Company, Rocky River Railroad Company, and West Side Loan and Saving Institution. In the navy he achieved a fine reputation for personal bravery and patriotic services, while in civil life he was esteemed as a public- spirited citizen. He was always an active republican in politics. He married in Cleveland, in 1862, Miss Mary M. Merwin, grand-daughter of Governor Reuben Wood. One son and three daughters were the issue of this union.
PAYNE, NATHAN P., merchant, of Cleveland, Ohio, was born there August 13th, 1837. He was the oldest son of Hon. Henry B. Payne. His elementary education was re- ceived in the public schools of Cleveland. It was proposed that he should take the scientific course at Brown University, and, to fit him for entering on this course, he attended Pierce Academy, at Middleborough, Massachusetts ; but a severe illness prevented him continuing his studies, and he returned home. In 1855, his health being somewhat improved, he took charge of the McIntosh nurseries at Cleveland, hoping the exercise and open-air occupation would tend to fully re- store his health. In 1857, having received benefit from his two years' rest from study, he entered the employ of Perry, Cross & Co., coal dealers, at Cleveland. In course of time_ the firm was changed to Cross, Payne & Co., and finally to Payne, Newton & Co., he being the senior partner. The firm is widely known throughout the lake region for its
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extensive business of mining and shipping Brier Hill and Massillon coal. He is an active and enterprising business man, a patriotic and public-spirited citizen, and enjoys great popularity with all classes of citizens and with men of all shades of political opinions. This fact was strikingly demon- strated at the spring election of 1875, when he was unani- mously nominated for mayor of Cleveland by the democrats and liberals, and was elected by a majority of about two thousand, although the city had for a long series of years been republican, and he was a decided democrat. His in- augural message was comprehensive and incisive, and bore strong indications that jobbery and corruption would be rooted up, and that important reforms and investigations would be entered upon. Though a thorough business man, keenly alive to every thing in the way of business enterprises, he has done a large amount of public service, and always to the satisfaction of his constituents. He served two terms in the board of education and six years in the city council, and his record in both these bodies was that of a hard-working, able and influential member. In business and public life he has always favored and aided enterprises calculated to foster and develop the prosperity of Cleveland. He has fully maintained the high character for honor, integrity and incorruptibility, which, in business or politics, has ever dis- tinguished the Payne family of Cleveland.
Foos, JOSEPH, was born in Chester county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1767. His father was a native of Germany, and his mother a native of Wales. He removed with his parents to Tennessee, and afterward to Harrison county, Kentucky, where in 1797 he married Lydia Nelson, and the following year moved to the locality then called Franklin, that is now Columbus, Ohio, where he possessed a ferry over the Scioto, then a valuable privilege, and kept a house of entertainment for travelers. He was a man of much natural ability, and though he spoke German and English with fluency and that elegance which proceeds from observation, his early educa- tion was defective. He had a remarkable memory, and his perceptive faculties large and so powerful that they enabled him to make the best use of the slight advantage afforded him by the forced stay in his tavern of an Irish schoolmaster who came to him in want. After a short course of lessons from this man, he made himself so proficient in writing that he subsequently carried on quite a voluminous correspond- ence with such men as Henry Clay, Thomas Ewing, Thomas Corwin, and General Harrison. He was a member of the first Ohio legislature, and in all served twenty-five sessions in house and senate. From so small a beginning in the educa- tion of the schools, he came to be regarded as a man of un- usual acquirements, and as a speaker he was regarded effect- ive and eloquent. Mainly by his persistent efforts the capital of the State was moved to Columbus, and in recognition of this fact the owners of the land on which the city now stands east of the river presented to him a square of ground, allow- ing him to select its locality. In the war of 1812, he served with distinction as an officer, being promoted for meritorious conduct from the rank of captain to that of brigadier general. During this war and the Indian war that followed, Franklin was an important military post, and his tavern the resort of the army officers. His opportunities at this time for making money were very great. The river was much wider then than it is now, and deeper. It lay across the high-road of travel for emigrants to Illinois, and the great caravans of
emigration tending westward frequently brought him for ferriage and entertainment three hundred dollars a day. But his liberality was equal to his resources. His house was the rendezvous for political agitators, and they were always needy. Even in entertaining such men as Henry Clay there were times when more distinction than profit was the result. At this time the influence of Mr. Foos was great within the bounds of the State, but on offering he.was defeated for Con- gress, and his property having depreciated by the changed circumstances of the country, he removed to Madison county and began farming. In 1825, he was appointed major-gen- eral of the State militia, and held the office until his death. When the subject of canals was in agitation, after the inspec- tion of the course of the Ohio and Erie Canal, and which followed upon the completion of the New York and Erie Canal under the lead of Dewitt Clinton, Mr. Foos directed his attention to the feasibility of a ship canal across the Isth- mus of Darien. He opened correspondence with the Spanish authorities, and found them civil enough to furnish him the required information in furtherance of his plan for a grand passage between North and South America that would shorten the voyage to the Indies, and which as early as the sixteenth century attracted the attention of navigators, and thus while it gained the distinction among the ignorant of being called "Foos' folly," this idea, embodied in pamphlet and illustrated with a map, indicated the direction of his read- ing to be expansive, and after his death reflected credit on his name. When a controversy occurred in after years be- tween England and the United States on the subject of the correct and only feasible route via the Atrato river, and which route has been but recently surveyed, Tom Corwin arose in Congress and directed attention to the fact that the proposi- tion had originated years before with a citizen of Ohio. General Foos' first wife died in 1810, leaving two sons and two daughters; and in 1812 he married Margaret Pfifer of Madison, from which union there resulted six children, five sons and one daughter .. He died in 1832 and was buried at Columbus.
MOORE, REV. WILLIAM THOMAS, one of the most successful, scholarly, progressive, and popular clergymen of the Disciples' or Christian church, was born in Henry county, Kentucky, August 27th, 1832. He is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, his parents being Virginians. From them he in- herited great physical strength, and remarkable traits of character. The lofty forehead and heavy brows lend a pro- phetic aspect to one whose controlling virtue is benevolence; while his tall, angular figure, supporting a head so marked, indicates a man of uncommon natural ability. Many of the circumstances of his boyhood have helped to form his re- markable character. His father, dying when this son was in his ninth year, left him and five other children dependent upon their mother and themselves; and the rugged discipline of toil and poverty, and the early struggles which naturally followed upon such conditions, led to the development of those elements of character which have placed him among the first preachers of his day. Having at an early age given evidence of mental vigor, and distinguished himself among his youthful associates by self-denial and perseverance, he obtained at home the rudiments of an English education, and at an early age entered the academy at Newcastle, Kentucky, where he studied and taught until 1855, when he entered Bethany college, Virginia. In 1858, he there gradu-
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ated, was assigned to the duty of valedictorian of his class, and shortly afterward was called to the pastorate 'of the Christian church, at Frankfort, Kentucky. This position he held until 1864, when he resigned it on account of failing health, the result of over-study and continuous labor. In this year he married Miss Mary A., daughter of Governor R. M. Bishop, of Ohio. In 1865, after a few months rest, he was called to the pastorship of Jefferson Avenue Christian church, Detroit, Michigan. This charge, however, he resigned in the following year, to occupy a chair in the Kentucky univer- sity, when he was also invited to the charge of what is now the Central Christian church of Cincinnati. He accepted both positions, and delivered a brief course of lectures in the university every season while performing the duties of his pastorate, until 1869, when the growing importance of his work in Cincinnati compelled him to resign his chair in the university. Mr. Moore's church, with a membership at pres- ent of about nine hundred, is the largest Protestant church and one of the most important in the city. In 1868, he made a trip to Europe, where he visited the principal cities and remarkable places, and on his return, resuming his posi- tion as pastor of the Central Christian church, he began the publication of the Christian Quarterly. A number of poems written by Mr. Moore and received with much public favor have been published from time to time. While they indicate pathetic power, tender beauty, and delicacy of feeling, he has chosen to satisfy his love of poetry and music by his appre- ciation of the excellencies of others, rather than by creations of his own. In religious literature, Mr. Moore excels, being a voluminous writer, and having produced a great many sermons, lectures, addresses, and controversial papers, those which have a prominent place among his literary productions being "Views of Life," a book of beautiful and practical thoughts of an entertaining character, devoid of what is called the cant of the pulpit, and the "Living Pulpit of the Chris- tian Church." He was several years literary editor of the American Christian Review, one of the compilers of the "Christian Hymn Book," and editor of the "Christian Hymnal," where his hand and taste may everywhere be seen. He edited Alexander Campbell's "Lectures on the Penta- teuch," and was until recently editor in chief of the Christian Quarterly, a periodical largely composed of doctrinal and polemical discussions, and regarded as one of the ablest of its kind in this country. Its editorial reviews were liberal and scholarly, and, in short, represented the theological ability of the denomination. At the close of the eighth volume he was compelled to suspend the publication of the Quarterly, mainly because he was simply not able to bear the burdens it im- posed. Its suspension was much regretted by a wide circle of readers. With other distinguished ministers of the Chris- tian church, Mr. Moore is also engaged in the preparation of a "Commentary on the New Testament," the book of "Acts" having been assigned to him as his share of the work. One of the great labors of his life, as an executive officer of his church, is the part he took in the erection of that beautiful temple of worship, the Central Christian church of Cincin- nati. It is as an executive officer, in every arrangement requiring efficiency and energy in its execution, that he has been found to excel. When it became apparent that the Disciples should organize a uniform plan of church coopera- tion, he first indicated the methods necessary to attain that object. In the general convention, held in St. Louis in -1869, he offered a resolution submitting the whole matter of church C -- 21
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