USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume III > Part 47
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Un. L. Perkins
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tion, being for the protection of the wife's interest, was that protecting the property of the wife against execution levied to satisfy the debts of the husband. This also was opposed but was carried through to the statute-book. In the legislature and out of it he was the voluntary champion of woman's rights and the zealous worker for the remedying of woman's wrongs, although not by any means an advocate of "wom- an's rights" in the later and more "advanced " acceptation of the term. The women of Ohio were placed under great obligations to him by his energetic and steadfast efforts in their behalf, and those obligations were very generally ac- knowledged by them. In 1844, he was nominated by the whigs as one of the Presidential electors, and in 1848 was a member of the whig convention that nominated Zachary Tay- lor for the Presidency. He was for many years prosecuting attorney of Geauga county, and also of Lake county after it was formed out of a portion of Geauga. He was for three years mayor of Painesville; was an active and earnest mem- ber of the local school board, and his services were in fre- quent demand as adviser, advocate, and arbitrator in matters of local importance and controversies arising from them. In 1868, an attack of paralysis impaired his capacity for hard work and he contracted his legal practice, but without en- tirely abandoning it until 1874, when his last argument was made before the supreme court of Ohio, after a full half cen- tury of successful and honorable legal practice. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, always active in its affairs, and contributing liberally to its support. He took special interest in the Sunday-school, with which he was for many years intimately and laboriously connected. He was regarded as a peace-maker and general adviser for the set- tlement of local disputes and troubles of all kinds; a good lawyer, quiet and unassuming, whose long and honorable career in public, professional, and private life secured him general respect and esteem. He was twice married; first in 1827 to Miss Julia Gillette, of Connecticut, by whom he had one son, William, in the employ of Pratt & Co., of Buffalo; and again in 1837 to Margaretta S. Waite, a widow, by whom he had six children of whom four died. The survivors were, Mary L., married to Charles H. Morley, of Fort Scott, Kan- sas, and George, assistant editor of the Chicago Times. Mr. Perkins died December 2d, 1882.
JACKSON, WILLIAM JONES, Columbus, is a civil engineer. He was born August 25th, 1820, at Washington, Pennsylvania, and is the second son of James and Salina (Jones) Jackson. His parents immigrated to that State from Colerain, Ireland, in the year 1817. His father engaged in merchandising in Pennsylvania for seven years, when he removed with his family to Henry County, Tennessee, where he resided until 1832. He then removed to Ohio, and settled at Maumee City. Prior to the date of his removal to Ohio he had been appointed agent of the Ottawa Indians by Pres- ident Andrew Jackson, which position he held for four years. He died in 1835 at Maumee City. His widow survived him until 1855. There were born of this union two sons and four daughters. Richard, the eldest son, is dead, and Will- iam J. is the second son. Eliza M., the eldest daughter, was married to H. W. Horton, of Tennessee. Anna M., the second daughter, became the wife of Dr. O. White, of Mau- mee City. Charlotte T., the third daughter, was married to James H. Forsyth, also of Maumee City. She is the mother of General James W. Forsyth, of the United States regular
army. Susannah D., the fourth daughter, was married to George W. McCann, of Napoleon, Ohio. Two daughters died in childhood. In 1838 the subject of this sketch was ap- pointed to a position in the engineering department for the construction of the Miami and Erie Canal, and served in all capacities during the progress of that work from axman up. In 1844 he was married to Miss Susannah D. Burlin, of Damascus, Henry County, Ohio, where he settled and en- gaged in farming. The offspring of this union were four sons and one daughter. Andrew, the eldest, is now located at Sault Ste-Marie, Michigan, where he is in government em- ployment upon the canal locks. He is thirty-nine years of age and is unmarried. Albert S., the second son, is now en- gaged as a railroad engineer. Frederick W., the third son, was drowned at Piqua, Ohio, July 3d, 1867. Daniel T., the fourth son, is in mercantile business at Cleveland, Ohio. Fannie S., the only daughter, is the wife of A. M. Bowdle, who resides at Piqua, Ohio. Mr. Jackson was elected auditor of Henry County, O., in 1849, and removed to Napoleon, the county-seat. He discharged the duties of that office four years. In 1853 he was appointed resident engineer on the middle di- vision of the Miami and Erie Canal, and served three years. In 1857 he engineered the construction of an enlargement of the Lewistown reservoir. In the Fall of the same year he was elected on the Democratic ticket as the representative of the counties of Henry and Putnam in the Lower House of the Ohio Legislature, and during its sessions was chairman of the Committee on Public Works, and was also a member of other important committees. In 1860 Mr. Jackson was one of the lessees of the public works of Ohio, and so remained until 1872. He was, for a portion of the time, superintendent of the middle division of the Miami and Erie Canal, and after- ward the general superintendent for all the canals of Ohio. He subsequently sold out his interest as a lessee of the pub- lic works and resigned the office of general superintendent and engaged in general railroad and canal contracting. In May, 1878, he was appointed Chief Engineer of Public Works by Governor R. M. Bishop and served for two years. He was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1858, but never engaged in active practice. He has been a prominent member of the Free and Accepted Order of Masons, having taken all the degrees up to and including that of Knights Templar. Mr. Jackson has spent the best years of his life in connection with the public works of Ohio. The present generation does not look with favor upon inter- nal communication by canals. It must be remembered, however, that the Ohio canals contributed more toward the rapid development of the State than all other causes combined. There were a few men of broad and deep minds who figured conspicuously in the early history of the State, and to whom we owe a deep debt of gratitude. Among other measures of great wisdom they conceived the project of connecting Lake Erie and the Ohio River by a canal. Among the most thoughtful, practical, and zealous advo- cates of this grand scheme was Governor Ethan A. Brown. In his inaugural address, delivered December 14th, 1818, he sounded the key-note that finally gave to Ohio a system of water communication which contributed to the health, hap- piness, and prosperity of the people of the State to an extent that will only be appreciated and believed when a complete history of the public works shall be written. He said: " If we would raise the character of our State by increasing in- dustry and our resources, it seems necessary to improve the
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internal communications, and open a cheaper way to market for the surplus produce of a large portion of our fertile country." Governor Brown, in his message to the Legisla- ture on January 8th, 1819, strongly urged legislative action in favor of constructing canals. Among other things he said: "The evidence in the Old World is ample, in the United States sufficient. Massachusetts, Virginia, North and South Carolina have proved the usefulness of artificial navi- gation. New York is making progress in a work in gran- deur not surpassed by the achievements of art that con- nect by water the North Sea with the English Channel, the Caspian with the Baltic, or the Mediterranean with the Bay of Biscay." Mr. Kerr, a representative from Ross County, on the 14th day of January, 1820, moved a resolution re- questing the Governor to communicate to the House any information in his possession which he thought proper, re- specting the practicability of connecting the Ohio River and Lake Erie by a canal. On January 20th, of the same year, the Governor communicated to the Speaker of the House the information sought. That State paper proved to be one of the ablest, most thorough and comprehensive of all the canal documents of the State. Mr. Williams, of the House com- mittee, to whom was referred so much of the Governor's message as relates to canals, made an elaborate-report on the 3d day of January, 1822, and also introduced a bill entitled, "An act authorizing an examination into the practicability of connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River by a canal." The bill was passed, and was signed by John Bigger, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Allen Trimble, Speaker of the Senate, January 3Ist, 1822. Section second enacted that Benjamin Tappan, Alfred Kelly, Thomas Worthington, Ethan A. Brown, Jeremiah Morrow, Isaac Minor, and Eben- ezer Buckingham be appointed a Board of Canal Commis- sioners. The Board filed its first report January 4th, 1823. This, in brief, was the first beginning of that important movement in favor of a system of internal improvements by and through which Ohio was enabled, in a comparatively short period of time, to reach the third place in the sister- hood of States, though her population was only fifteen inhab- itants to the square mile, and the northwestern portion of the State was little less than a wilderness when the system was inaugurated by State authority. The genius of internal improvements in this country was, probably, DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York, who, by his individuality of char- acter, boldness of conception, great executive ability, and thorough and practical knowledge of the best modes of devel- oping the resources of a new country, attracted the attention of the ablest and most energetic men of his time. Among these were Governor Brown, of Ohio, and his earnest co-la- borers. The "Civil Engineer and Herald of Internal Im- provement," edited and published at Columbus, by John Kilbourn, was a product of the spirit which prevailed among the people of that day. It was especially designed "to pro- mulgate new discoveries and improvements, and the progress of works in this branch of human pursuit." The first num- ber was issued June 28th, 1828. Although Mr. Jackson had no connection with the public works system until it had long been in operation, he quickly imbibed the progressive spirit which animated its most zealous advocates. He says: "The greatest speech and strongest argument I ever read in favor of an internal canal system was delivered by Horatio Seymour, of New York, before the Canal Committee of the Legislature of his State, April 9th, 1878." The speeches and correspond-
ence of that great man upon this subject, now in the possession of Mr. Jackson, would make an important addition to the ar- chives of the public works of this State. Mr. Jackson, in com- mon with Horatio Seymour and other men who thoroughly understand and appreciate the importance of the canals to a State, believes that "their perpetuation for purposes of trans- portation and hydraulic uses are of inestimable value. Aside from his official reports made while connected with the public works Mr. Jackson has contributed to the press much rare and important information concerning the Ohio canals. His views in regard to their preservation are regarded as emi- nently sound and practical, and have been received with high favor by all who have taken an interest in their main- tenance. The magnificent men who contributed so largely to the prosperity and greatness of the State by pushing to completion this grand system of internal improvements have nearly all passed away. No truer or fitter representa- tive of those stalwart spirits is now on the stage of action than William J. Jackson. He possesses not only the accumulated knowledge of over forty years of close observation of the con- struction and the operation of the Ohio canals, but is familiar with the relations which they sustain to hygiene, agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing. He may, therefore, be re- garded as a man eminently qualified to write such a history of the public works of Ohio as will prove of incalculable value to the people of the new States which will rise up and become members of our confederation as well as to those who are building up free and independent commonwealths in remote countries. Mr. Jackson is a Democrat of the order of "Saint Hickory," whose name he bears. In every position which he filled, whether in connection with the public works, whether as a county officer, legislator, or private citizen, his record is untarnished.
SWAYNE, WAGER, soldier and lawyer, was born in Columbus, Ohio, November 10th, 1834, son of Chief Justice N. H. Swayne. He was educated at Yale, graduating in 1856 ; he also graduated at the Cincinnati Law School, and in the fall of that year he commenced the practice of law in partnership with his father, Hon. N. H. Swayne. He entered the army as major of the 4Ist regiment Ohio Volunteers, at Camp Chase, on the 31st August, 1861, and for his activity and energy in recruiting the regiment he was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel. The regiment, then under the command of General Pope, participated in the actions against New Madrid, Missouri, Island No. 10, Fort Pillow, and after the battle of Shiloh, in the taking of Corinth, in the pursuit of Beauregard's forces, and in the battles of Iuka, Corinth, etc. He was made colonel of the regiment for distinguished gal- lantry and efficiency. In the spring of 1863 he was appointed provost-marshal of Memphis. This duty was performed with an administrative ability and just discrimination which afterward became more widely known. He reënlisted his regiment for the three years' service, and it formed part of Sherman's army in the march to the sea. In 1865 he was brevetted brigadier-general for gallant and meritorious ser- vices, and soon after was struck by an exploding shell, from which he suffered the loss of his right leg. March 4th, 1865, he was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, vice An- drew Johnson, resigned, and on his return to Columbus was presented by his fellow-townsmen with a magnificent sword, belt and sash, in token of their admiration and esteem ; and before he had quite recovered from his wound he was
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W. M. Diction,
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selected by General Howard as one of the assistant commis- sioners of freedmen's affairs, sent south, and placed in charge of the State of Alabama. The military command of the forces in that State was afterward added to his charge ; and a little later he was appointed colonel of the 45th regiment of infantry in the regular army of the United States, in which he afterward received the brevet rank of a general officer. In June, 1872, he removed to Toledo, Ohio, where he at once formed a partnership with John R. Osborn, of that city, in the practice of law, and afterward took a very active part in developing and increasing the railroad facilities, and as a member of the board of education in promoting the educa- tional interests of the city. In December, 1868, he married Miss Ellen Harris, daughter of Alfred Harris, Esq., of Louis- ville, Kentucky.
DICKSON, WILLIAM MARTIN, lawyer and jurist, Cincinnati, Ohio, was born in Scott county, Indiana, on the 19th September, 1827. He was the son of Richard L. Dick- son, a farmer, and grandson of Rev. Jacob Dickson, who for more than half a century served and was beloved by the people of Mouswald parish, near Dumfries, Scotland. His mother, a native of Virginia, was a woman of much force of character, and took great interest in the proper education of her children. First passing through Hanover College, Indi- ana, next through Madison University, into which the former had been merged, he finally entered Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, whence he graduated in 1846, fifth in a class of nineteen. The expenses of his education were defrayed by the proceeds of work he performed himself. During the two years following his graduation he studied law while teaching school for a living, and was admitted to practice in Lexington, Kentucky. He then attended Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 1850. . In that year, as an entire stranger and without a friend, he arrived in Cincin- nati, where his scholastic attainments soon secured for him the position of teacher of Greek in St. John's College. In 1853 he was elected on the independent free school ticket, prosecuting attorney of the police court. The year following he resigned that position to enter the law office of Taft & Key, and by mutual arrangement his interest in this firm being the following year transferred to A. F. Perry, Mr. Dick- son then established himself in business alone. In 1859 he was, to fill a vacancy, appointed by Governor S. P. Chase, judge of the common pleas court, and in 1860 was nominated Presidential elector for Mr. Lincoln. In 1862 he declined the proffered appointment of assistant judge advocate, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel on the staff of General George B. McClellan, but during the threatened siege of Cincinnati in 1863, by Kirby Smith's troops, he was appointed com- mandant of the negro forces, and organized the famous "Black Brigade of Cincinnati," the first organization of the colored race for military purposes in the United States. Its services in the defence of Cincinnati became an important chapter in the war history of the city, and its gratitude and admiration for the unselfish and patriotic action of its com- mandant were shown by the presentation to him in Septem- ber, 1863, of a sword accompanied by resolutions of thanks and esteem for his course, advocating and insisting upon the recognition of the colored man's right to defend his country in a military capacity on an equal footing with his white fellow- citizens. Judge Dickson has been for many years a trustee of the Ohio Medical College, and has taken great interest in its
welfare. In 1867 his health broke down, and although relax- ation and foreign travel were sought to restore his accustomed vigor, he was not enabled to again engage in regular prac- tice. Always influential in politics and a student of political history, he was never an office-seeker. Bred an abolition whig, and one of the first to engage in the organization of the republican party, he advocated the freedom of the slave, his enlistment as a soldier, and the recognition of his civil and political equality. In August, 1862, one month before Presi- dent Lincoln issued his emancipation proclamation, Judge Dickson wrote to the Secretary, Mr. Chase, counseling that a measure of universal amnesty be sent to the confederate president and government, conditioned upon the return of the rebel States to their allegiance, with the alternative, if not done in a given time, of freedom for the slaves, and the gift to them in certain States of their master's lands. Mr. Chase responded in a tone of discouragement, and made no allusion to his suggestion. Nevertheless, on the 22d of the following September, the terms embodied in his letter were by Presi- dent Lincoln offered in his celebrated proclamation to the Southern States. Judge Dickson held close and friendly re- lations with both Secretaries Stanton and Chase, and received from them letters of thanks for the valuable support and advice he frequently gave them. His able services in the legal profession, and undoubted advance to the front rank of advocates were prevented by the failure of his health while in the prime of life. Not alone in the ranks of his profession was he an exceptionally progessive and useful citizen, but as a writer his frequent contributions to the press of the country were marked by deep thought, originality of conception, and sound logic, while his addresses to educational institutes were conspicuous for erudition and sound scholarship. A man of large brain and nervous power, he was a determined and successful worker in everything which enlisted his active sympathy and labors. On the 19th October, 1852, he mar- ried at Lexington, Kentucky, Miss Annie Marie, the daughter of Dr. John T. Parker, a lineal descendant of General Benja- min Logan, of Kentucky pioneer memory, and of Colonel John Allen, who fell in command of the Kentuckians in the massacre at River Raisin, in 1812. Six children were the issue of this union, three of whom at present survive, and whose names are, respectively, Parker, William L., and Jennie Dickson.
THORNE, WILLIAM F., a leading merchant of Cin- cinnati, was born at Higham, England, November 24th, 1822. He was born and reared to the shoe trade, his father being a shoemaker and dealer before him. When he was thirteen years of age his father died, leaving hin the eldest son of a family of seven children. After his father's death, he went to Claybrook to finish learning his trade with an uncle, a shoemaker of that place. Afterwards returning to Higham, he worked at his trade in the shop of a Mr. Luke Marvin, with whom he remained a year or two. During this time, having read many letters and other favorable accounts from America, he, with six other young men, determined to try his fortune in the United States. Accordingly, obtaining his mother's consent, on April 7th, 1841, he embarked on the ship Rochester for America, the Eldorado. of his hopes. Thinking that if Cincinnati were the "Queen City of the West," it would be the place for him, he decided to locate in that city, and nothing could turn him from his purpose, although he had two excellent offers through the country
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from New York to Cincinnati, that almost any young man without money might have been expected to accept. On June 7th, 1841, on the steamer Pilot, he arrived in Cincinnati from Pittsburg. The first night in the Queen City he spent at Colt's Temperance Hotel, on Sycamore Street. In the early days of Cincinnati this house and its sign were land- marks. Of the seven who started from England, young Luke Marvin and himself came to Cincinnati, the others located elsewhere, according to their fancies. Their joint capital, summed up in their quarters at Colt's, was Marvin, one five-dollar gold piece; Wm. F. Thorne, one five-franc piece. Marvin designing to start for Danville the next morning, should have just five dollars for his fare. Without breakfast their two lodgings and supper would take Mr. Thorne's five-franc piece. Marvin paid his stage fare and Mr. Thorne paid their hotel bills. They bade each other God- speed, Marvin took the stage, Mr. Thorne turned into the strange streets, penniless and friendless. Opposite the old National Theater he found Abel Dougherty, one of the most energetic shoemakers of his time. He proposed to work for Mr. Dougherty for his board and lodging. The offer was accepted. In a few minutes, having removed his trunk to the shop and eaten his breakfast, he began his first work in this country. In a short time he had worked out his board for the week. Not wishing to be idle, he worked the rest of the week for dry-goods. To money this was the nearest ap- proach he could then make with Mr. Dougherty. At the end of the first week, having kept the Sabbath according to the custom of his fathers and his home in Old England, at- tending Sunday-school and all the services at Wesley Chapel, he made an engagement with Mr. Dougherty for six months to take charge of his sales and general business, Mr. Dough- erty seeing that a young man of such habits was the person to fill the most responsible place in any business. At the expiration of this time, he made an engagement with Mr. Shadford Easton to work in his leather and findings store and live in his family. After remaining two years, and having saved most of his earnings, he concluded to start business for himself on Lower Market, with a capital of less than five hundred dollars. Mr. Easton very kindly gave him all the assistance he needed in supplying his shop with leather; and Mr. Abraham Taylor gave him a letter to Wm. Claflin & Co., of Boston, Mass. This afforded him all the accommo- dation in Eastern markets. In this shop the first calf and kip boots were made and sold by the dozen in Cincinnati. Mr. Thorne has always been an advocate of thorough, ener- getic business advertising, which he did largely at that time, using chiefly the Cincinnati Commercial, then a small and not very powerful sheet, as the medium. Thus he soon got the name of the enterprising shoe man and led the business of the city. His fortunate circumstances now justifying it, on September 10th, 1845, he married Miss Sarah E. Collins, member of Wesley Chapel, and daughter of Henry E. Col- lins. She proved to be, in every sense of the word, a help- meet. He now found it necessary to take a large store, thus giving a new impetus to his business, which developed into an exclusively wholesale trade in 1851. Notwithstanding that his business has always been what is termed legitimate job- bing custom, yet by using great energy, in every honorable way, he has increased his sales to enormous proportions, reaching over $1,000,000 per annum. Although he is now ranked among the wealthy men of Cincinnati, and his career has been one of remarkable success, reverses have not been
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