USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume III > Part 52
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sense, good judgment, clear penetration, and knowledge of human nature, and his sympathy with whatever was manly and humane. He was a student, all his life, of human and divine law-the Bible was his great moral and spiritual text- book. Judge Caldwell was straightforward and manly in all his impulses, and in his intercourse with others, and had a kind word for all-especially the younger members of the bar. The opinions of Judge Caldwell will be found in the 18th, 19th, and 20th Ohio Reports and the first three vol- umes of the Ohio State Reports. They are marked by plain common sense, forcible language, and great learning. Per- sonally, no man more fully enjoyed the esteem and confi- dence of the judges and members of the bar, and we know we express their feeling of regret when he was called from them by grim death. He married, in 1844, Agnes Corry, a sister of the late Hon. William M. Corry. One son survives, bearing his honored name, who is now a member of the bar of Cincinnati and a State Senator from Hamilton County, in the Ohio Legislature.
MCDONALD, JOSEPH E., late Senator from Indiana, was born in Butler County, Ohio, on the 29th of August, 1819. His father, John McDonald, was of Scotch extraction, a na- tive of Pennsylvania, and by occupation a farmer. He was a man of sterling worth, determined, industrious, and self- sacrificing. He died when his son was still in infancy. His mother, Eleanor (Piatt) McDonald, was a Pennsylvanian. Her ancestors were French Huguenots, who located first in New Jersey, and afterwards settled permanently in Ohio. She was a woman of a superior order of intellect, of refined tastes, a pleasant writer, and, for the amusement and ad- vancement of her children, wrote many sketches and scraps of song. She and her husband were both earnest members of the United Presbyterian Church. Several years after the death of John McDonald she was married to John Kerr, of Butler County. Mr. Kerr was a native of Ireland, a frugal, industrious farmer, always out of debt, a just and courte- ous neighbor, a firm but kind parent, and the father of seven children, four sons and three daughters. He moved with his family to Montgomery County, Indiana, in the Fall of 1826, entered land and opened a farm. He was a mem- ber of the Old School Presbyterian Church. He died in 1856. Joseph was seven years of age when, in 1826, his parents located in Montgomery County, then an almost unbroken forest. He remained on the place until the age of twelve, excepting two years spent at Crawfordsville attending school. Such spare time as he could command from his labors on the farm was occupied in pursuing a course of study, which aided much in laying the foundation for the eventful future in store for him. At an early age he conceived a strong love for the law, and when ten years old he had determined upon making that profession his life-work, at the cost of any per- sonal hardship or sacrifice. In his twelfth year the ambi- tious aspirant for future honors at the bar became an apprentice at the saddler's trade at Lafayette, Indiana. In that capacity he served five years and nine months, except three months spent in attending school. For fidelity to their interests his employers released him from the last three months of his apprenticeship, which time he spent in prosecuting his studies. Following the resolution made before going to learn a trade, he pursued his studies with vigor at such times as he could snatch from work or rest. He had already become quite proficient in the English branches and rudiments of
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learning. His favorite study was history, in which he became well versed. During his apprenticeship he had access to the extensive and well selected library of Dr. Israel T. Canby, who was then receiver of the public moneys of the land office at Crawfordsville, Indiana. This opportunity was well im- proved, and he was prepared on leaving there, in 1838, to enter upon advanced fields of knowledge. At the age of eighteen he entered Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, and began the study of the higher branches of learning with success, supporting himself mainly by plying his trade at such times as it was possible to do so. He continued his studies at college till the Spring of 1840, except for a short period in the Spring of 1839, when he acted with the engineer corps of the State of Indiana, who were then surveying the bed of the Wabash and Erie Canal. In 1840 he entered Asbury University, at Greencastle, Indiana, and remained six months, returning to Crawfordsville for the rest of the year, where he taught school one term. In the Spring of 1841 he went to Williamsport, Indiana, accepting a posi- tion as clerk in the store of James McDonald, his brother, for one year. In the Spring of 1842 he began the study of law at Lafayette, Indiana, with Zebulon Beard, one of the first lawyers in the State, as his preceptor. He advanced with rapid strides, his quick and firm grasp of its prin- ciples being remarkable. He was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Indiana, consisting of Judges Black- ford, Dewey, and Sullivan, in the Spring of 1843. He was nominated for the office of prosecuting attorney before he received his license to practice, and was elected to that posi- tion at the August election following, over Robert Jones, a Whig, and a prominent member of the Lafayette bar. This was the first election of that class of officers by the people, they having formerly been chosen by the Legislature. On the 25th of December, 1844, he was married to Nancy Ruth Buell, at Williamsport, Indiana. She was the daughter of Dr. Buell, a practicing physician and surgeon. The issue of this union was Ezekiel M., Malcolm A., Frank B., and Annie M. McDonald, afterwards Mrs. Caldwell, who died June 2d, 1877. He was re-elected prosecuting attorney over Robert Evans, a prominent lawyer and politician, in August, 1845, serving in all a period of four years. In the Fall of 1847 he moved to Crawfordsville and entered on the prac- tice of the law, where he lived until 1859. He was elected to the Thirty-first Congress" from the old Eighth District in August, 1849, and served one term. In 1856 he was elected Attorney-general of Indiana, being the first chosen to this office by the people, and was re-elected in 1858, serving in all four years. He was not a candidate for a third term. In the Spring of 1859 he removed to Indianapolis, forming a partnership with Addison L. Roach, ex-judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana. In 1864 McDonald was nominated for Governor of Indiana by the Democratic State Convention, and made a joint canvass with Oliver P. Morton, the Repub- lican nominee. At the election he received six thousand more votes for Governor than the Democratic State ticket did in 1862, when the entire Democratic State ticket, together with a majority in both branches of the General Assembly, was elected. Mr. Morton was elected, however, by nearly twenty thousand votes. In 1868 E. M. McDonald became the law partner of his father, and the next year Addison L. Roach retired from the firm. E. M. McDonald died January Ist, 1873. Frank B. McDonald, his youngest son, has since become the law partner of Mr. McDonald. Senator McDon-
ald's wife died September 7th, 1872. On the 15th of Sep- tember, 1874, he married Araminta W. Vance, of Crawfords- ville, who died February 2d, 1875. He has been married for a third time. Throughout his entire life he has strictly adhered to his resolution to follow the law and make a suc- cess of his profession. He has been engaged in some of the most important cases that have been tried in the State since his admission to the bar. He was of counsel for the de- fendants in the celebrated case of The United States vs. Bowles, Milligan, and Horsey, tried for conspiracy and treason by a military commission at Indianapolis, and sen- tenced to be hung. The case was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, where several important constitu- tional questions arose as to the relation of the general government to the States, the war power of the govern- ment, and the rights of the citizen. The defendants were released by the Supreme Court. He was of counsel for de- fendants in the noted case of Bebee vs. The State, in which the Supreme Court decided that the enactment, which was known as the Maine liquor law, was unconstitutional. He was one of the attorneys for the parties who assailed the con- stitutionality of what was known as the Baxter liquor law. In the Supreme Court of the State and the federal court he has taken an active part in many important cases, one of the most important being the case of The Pittsburg, Cincinnati, and St. Louis Railroad Company vs. The Columbus, Chicago, and Indiana Central Railway Company, in which was involved a network of railroad interests and large sums of money, de- pending upon the validity and construction of a ninety-nine years' lease. He made the principal argument for the objectors in the count of the electoral vote of Louisiana, be- fore the Electoral Commission appointed to determine the result of the Presidential election of 1876. Mr. McDonald thinks that the creation of this commission was the exercise of a doubtful power in a case of apparent necessity. Mr. McDonald was elected to the United States Senate for six years, to succeed Daniel D. Pratt, and took his seat March 5th, 1875. He was chairman of the Committee on Public Lands, and the second member of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate, and ranked as one of the best lawyers of that body. He is, and has always been, a firm, consistent Demo- crat, of the Jefferson school, as personified in the political life of Andrew Jackson. He was a member of the Senate committee which visited New Orleans to investigate the count of the vote of Louisiana in the contest of 1876. He was also on the Teller-Wallace committee to investigate frauds in elections in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He was chairman of the Democratic State Convention in 1868, and of the Democratic State Central Committee during the campaigns of 1868 and 1874. As an orator, both at the bar and on the hustings, he is cool, logical, and forcible; as a citizen, he has the confidence and respect of all who know him, regardless of political creeds. He has traveled exten- sively in his own country, and is thoroughly acquainted with its institutions and people. He is a member of the Episco- pal Church. He is regarded by all parties as a statesman of acknowledged merit. His views are broad and comprehen- sive on all questions of public interest ; not a man of expe- dients, but stating his views clearly and boldly, leaving the result to the candid judgment of the people. The opinions of his most bitter opponents are never treated with disdain. Few men have enjoyed the uniform confidence of their fel- low-citizens to the extent that he has.
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HANNA, MARCUS A., President of the Union Na- tional Bank, of Cleveland, was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, September 24th, 1837. His parents, Dr. Leonard, and Samantha Hanna, removed with their family to Cleveland in 1852, where the Doctor became a merchant, being the senior member in the large wholesale firm of Hanna, Garretson & Co. M. A. Hanna attended the public schools, and graduated from the Cleveland High School. At the age of twenty he entered into his father's business. After the decease of his father, in 1861, he assumed control of his interest. He continued in the business until 1867, when he entered the firm of Rhodes & Co., successors to Rhodes, Card & Co., the great pioneer coal and iron firm, of Cleveland, of which firm he is now the senior member. He is also largely identified with the vessel transportation, manufacturing, and banking interests of Cleveland. In 1872 he organized and equipped the Cleve- land Transportation Company, one of the largest on the lakes. Of the Chopin Bolt and Nut Co., one of Cleveland's important manufactures, he is president. He is a large share- holder and vice-president of the Hubbell Stove Company, of Buffalo, New York; president of the West Side Street Rail- road Co., of Cleveland, and president of The Herald Pub- lishing Company, of Cleveland. The Union National Bank of Cleveland was organized in February, 1884, and at a meeting of the directors, in March, he was elected its presi- dent. This bank is one of the largest in the State, with a capital of one million dollars, its share-holders and directors comprising the solid business men and capitalists of Cleve- land. In politics Mr. Hanna is a Republican, and always takes active part in the more important political moves among the business men of the city. He was married Sep- tember 27th, 1864, to Miss C. Augusta, the estimable daug- ter of Dan. P. Rhodes, Esq., one of Cleveland's foremost inen, of whom a sketch appears in a former volume. Mr. Hanna is a man who stands high in the estimation of his associates for his marked business ability, tact, foresight and integrity. He is a man of fine deportment, calm, easy, and agreeable manner, of good personal appearance and pleasing address-a court- eous gentleman. In his various undertakings he has been uniformly successful. Under his management and presidency the affairs of the various companies have been conducted in a highly satisfactory manner, and have developed and as- sumed immense proportions. He is a man of versatile and general ability, equally at home in all of his multifarious af- fairs, whether it be mining, shipping, manufacturing, or bank- ing. And, to the development of her interests as a city, it is to such men as Mr. Hanna that Cleveland is largely in- debted. Of her charitable institutions he is a stanch up- holder and liberal donator.
ALLEN, MARSTON, pioneer merchant of Cincinnati, was born May 11th, 1789, at Barnstable, Cape Cod, Massa- chusetts. His father, John Allyn, was of a Welsh family, which emigrated to this country about the year 1600. His ed- ucational advantages were limited. At fourteen he obtained a situation in a hardware store in Boston ; next became a salesman in a paper-hanging store in that city, where, by special industry, he soon acquired a knowledge of the busi- ness, and, by rigid economy, accumulated a little sum of money by which he was enabled to go into partnership with a friend in the same business. In 1818 Mr. Allen emigrated to Ohio and located at Cincinnati, and engaged successfully in dry goods, pork-packing, and the manufacture of nails.
After long study and general preparation, he entered into the drug business in 1824. He lost every thing in 1826 by fire ; but not discouraged, he built upon the ruins another warehouse, in which the firm of Allen & Co. originated, which is still a prominent house in the drug business of Cin- cinnati. This firm founded the Cincinnati Laboratory, and in 1840, the business being divided, Mr. Allen took the store at Fifth and Main, its present location. A second fire swept every thing away again, and again another and larger struc- ture rose upon its site. As time passed on, his integrity and perseverance were rewarded-he amassed a fortune. Mr. Allen was a man of sterling qualities. He never aspired to office, but devoted all his energies to business pursuits, the training of his sons for usefulness in life, and the promotion of such Christian and charitable objects as commended them- selves to his judgment. He was one of the originators and patrons of the Ohio Mechanics' Institute. Subsequently, when it was financially embarrassed, he and Miles Greenwood, by munificent donations, assured its future usefulness. The In- stitute recognized its debt of gratitude by placing his portrait in the proscenium of Greenwood Hall "to remind young and old of the value and durability of the lessons inculcated by pure hearts in noble lives." He was long an active member of the New Jerusalem Church, and for some years previous to his death, lived in retirement in Glendale, surrounded by his family and a large circle of friends. He died August 12th, 1868. He was a noble, pure, and upright man ; was honored by the great and loved and deplored by those in the humbler walks of life.
BALL, HON. FLAMEN, lawyer, register in bank- ruptcy, and ex-United States Attorney Southern District of Ohio, was born in New York City, January 5th, 1809. He is a lineal descendant of Allen Ball, who in 1643 removed with his family from London and became one of the found- ers and proprietors of the colony of New Haven. He is a grandson of the Rev. Eliphalet Ball, who graduated at Yale College in 1748; was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian denomination in 1750; removed from New York City to Sar- atoga County, New York; founded the town of Ballston ; erected, at his own cost, the first Presbyterian Church ever built in that region of the State of New York, and after a faithful discharge of his pastoral duties for about fifty years, died at the close of the last century. His son, Flamen (the father of the subject of this sketch), was by himself fitted. for Yale College, where he graduated in the class of 1787. He became an eminent lawyer ; practiced for nearly twenty years in New York City, and was noted for his learning, fidelity, ability, and honesty. He married Miss Anna Wes- tern, the eldest daughter of Thomas Western, Esq., of Es- sex, England, in 1803, and Flamen was their only son. The father died March 19th, 1816. The son was then but seven years of age, and had never seen a school; although, under the father's tuition, he had learned to read, write, and cipher. He was then sent to school, and his progress in the classics and other preliminary studies was so thorough that at the age of fourteen he received from Mr. Walsh, his preceptor, a certificate that he was qualified to enter any college; but by the advice of his guardian, he continued his academic education until shortly before his marriage. In 1832 Mr. Ball removed to Cincinnati. In 1838 he graduated in the law department of the Cincinnati College, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the same year he formed a law part-
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nership with the late Hon. Salmon P. Chase, which existed until 1858, when it was dissolved by reason of the public ca- reer upon which Governor Chase then entered. The warm personal friendship between these partners, which was formed in 1834, continued unbroken until the death of Mr. Chase, who was then Chief-justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The firm of Chase & Ball became known throughout the United States. The old sign still remains over the old office, but Mr. Ball alone conducts it. As a member of this firm, Mr. Ball was particularly interested in several slave cases-the "Rosetta" case, in which Rosetta, a colored servant girl, was declared free, and for his services in which Mr. Ball refused compensation ; the "Ferrie" case, in which he secured for his client property worth $100,000, after weeks of laborious research and prolonged contest in the Surrogate Court of New York City, and in which he met, as opposing counsel, Hon. Charles O'Conor, Hon. John Jay, and.Mr. C. E. Whitehead, of the New York bar. This case is reported in 26th Barbour's South Carolina Reports, and in Smith's New York Reports. Mr. Ball's reputation is well known to the profession for his logical accuracy as a pleader and for his power of analysis and research. The reports of the Supreme Courts of Ohio and New York and of the United States give evidence of this. In 1854 Mr. Ball was tendered a seat upon the Supreme Bench of Ohio, by Gov- ernor Medill, which he declined. In 1861 President Lincoln appointed Mr. Ball attorney for the United States in South- ern District of Ohio, a position which he filled with distin- guished ability and acceptance during the war. In 1843 Mr. Ball removed his family to a small farm he had purchased in Mill Creek Township, Hamilton County. In 1849 he in- augurated the movement to incorporate Clifton, and carried it to completion, thus becoming the pioneer of that famous suburb of Cincinnati, and served as its Mayor for nearly twenty years, doing much, out of public spirit alone, to make it the beautiful, orderly, and popular village that it is. In 1834 he assisted in organizing the Young Men's Bible Society of Cincinnati, and served as its secretary for six years. In 1831 he united with the Bleecker Street Presby- terian Church of New York. He is at present a member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati. In 1867 he was appointed register in bankruptcy, an office he still holds. He is a great friend to the cause of education. He is a trustee of the Medical College of Ohio, and for the past twenty-five years has been President of its Board of Di- rectors. He assisted in instituting the Resor Academy and Literary Institute of Clifton, and is one of its trustees.
STRATTON, ELDER WILLIAM PERRY, son of William and Mary P. Stratton, was born in Franklin, War- ren County, Ohio, December 12th, 1807. His parents came to Cincinnati from New Jersey, in 1805. His mother dying when he was but twelve days old, his grandmother, Martha Perry, took him to her home in Cincinnati. She was a most excellent Christian woman, of the persuasion of the Friends. To this training may be ascribed the long career of useful- ness as a minister of the Gospel which Mr. Stratton entered upon in later years. At thirteen he became a teacher in a Methodist Sunday-school, and was also a teacher in the first school ever held in Cincinnati for the instruction of the col- ored people. In November, 1826, he joined the Union Bap- tist Church (now Court Street Baptist Church, Cincinnati). When fourteen years of age he was indentured an apprentice
to the printing business in the office of the Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette, and for more than twenty years he fol- lowed that calling. In 1832, in connection with John H. Wood, under the firm name of Wood & Stratton, he published a literary paper called the Cincinnati Mirror and Ladies' Re- pository. He was a delegate from Cincinnati to the first Typographical Convention held in the city of New York. For fifteen years he was a member of the Board of Educa- tion of Cincinnati, and for several years its vice-president. He inaugurated the uniform system of penmanship now existing in those schools ; was the prime mover of the estab- lishment of the Intermediate Department; was for many years trustee of the First Intermediate, and a delegate to the Union Board of High Schools ; was nine years a member of the City Council, and one year president of the Board : assisted in selecting the present site of the city buildings ; assisted in superintending the erection of the House of Ref- uge-was one of its first directors; and was chiefly instrumental in changing the Voluntary Fire Department to a "Pay De- partment." For five years he was editor and publisher of the Rising Sun Journal, of Indiana. He was also pastor of the church at Rising Sun, and of the churches at Petersburg and Burlington, Boone County, Kentucky. He preached with much success, many hundreds having received the ordi- nance of baptism at his hands. He was also known as the "Marrying Parson," more than a thousand couples having been united by him. July 2d, 1829, he was married to Miss Catharine E. Stebbs, a daughter of Samuel Stebbs, who was a pioneer of Cincinnati. In 1850 he was appointed surveyor of the City Insurance Company, and upon that company's be- ing merged into the Enterprise Insurance Company he re- tained that position until his death. He was a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd-fellows, becom- ing a member thereof in 1832. Mr. Stratton was a man of generous impulses and unswerving integrity, and by his genial temperament and well-balanced mind secured the re- spect and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. He was long a member of the Pioneer Society of Hamilton County, and was its chaplain at his death. His funeral was largely attended, his remains being escorted to Spring Grove Cemetery and deposited in that quiet resting-place by the several societies of which he was a useful and an honored and lamented member.
KEYES, ALVAH E., M. D., physician and surgeon, Mansfield, was born in Eagle, Allegheny County, New York, August 2d, 1825. His father, William D. Keyes, was born in Plymouth, New Hampshire, October 23d, 1794, and was the seventh child of Peter Keyes and Rhoda Durkee. September 3d, 1816, William D. Keyes married Lydia Evans, born July 25th, 1798, oldest daughter of John Evans and Nancy Goodwin. Of this marriage eight chil- dren were born-four sons and four daughters: Sidney W., born May 24th, 1818, and now living in Waupun, Fon du Lac County, Wisconsin; Chauncy, born November 14th, 1819, at present residing in Mayville, Chautauqua County, New York; Benjamin G., born September 18th, 1828, and who was surgeon with his brother Alvah E. in Finlay General Hos- pital at Washington, D. C., during the rebellion, and where he died, September 22d, 1863; Nancy, born July 8th, 1822, and died at the age of thirteen; Rhoda, born in July, 1831, and died at forty-nine, in Depere, Wisconsin ; Julia A., born Jan- uary 29th, 1836, and now the wife of George Putnam, West-
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