USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume III > Part 65
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74
-
802
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPÆDIA AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
BROWNE, GENERAL THOMAS MCLELLAN, of Winchester, Indiana, was born in the village of New Paris, Ohio, April 19th, 1829. His father, John A. Browne, was a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and his mother was born in Cane Ridge, Bourbon County, Kentucky. He re- mained with his parents, at New Paris, until the death of his mother, which occurred in 1843. That misfortune broke up his father's family, and Thomas Browne, then thirteen years of age, was apprenticed to a merchant in Spartansburg, Randolph County, Indiana. Leaving him there, his father removed to Grant County, Kentucky, where he died in the year 1865. The rare ability, energy, and probity that formed the basis of the character of his master impressed themselves upon the mind, and ultimately upon the life, of the young lad. In this situation he learned the rudiments of success in business- attention, method, energy, dispatch, and a strict adherence to truth. He learned more. Being brought into daily contact with the people, he acquired a knowledge of their modes of thought and action which has been of great advantage to him throughout his career as a professional and public man. In the Spring of 1848 he removed to Winchester, and began the study of law. While thus engaged he attended, during one short session, the Randolph County Seminary. This was his only opportunity of going to school, except his casual and brief attendance on those in the village before going to Winches- ter. Such, however, has been his faithfulness in study, that few persons unacquainted with his early life and advantages would ever be led to think from their intercourse with him, either in public or private life, that he had not enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education and thorough culture. Few public men in the State now possess a wider or more thorough legal, political, and general knowledge than he, and none are better able to convey it to others. Once fairly engaged in the profession of law, being a gifted and eloquent pleader, he soon acquired a large and profitable business. In 1863 he entered with zeal and energy upon the graver and more trying duties of a soldier. He assisted in recruiting the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, was elected captain of Company B, and before leaving the State for the field was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. With his regiment he served in Western Kentucky, in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. He took part in the raids of Generals Grierson and Smith through Tennessee and Mississippi. In the battle of Guntown, Mississippi, June Ioth, 1864, he was wounded, and his horse was shot from under him. His com- manding officer, by special order, commended both him and his command for gallant conduct in that action, and he was soon afterward promoted to the colonelcy of his regiment, re- ceiving the rank of brigadier-general by brevet, "for gallant and meritorious conduct," from the hand of President Lin- coln. During the Winter of 1865-66 he was in command of the United States forces at Sherman, in the northern part of Texas. In this position he was brought into frequent and interesting relations with the people of that State, and, while holding the reins of authority with firmness, he manifested so much moderation, gentleness, and kindness, as to win "golden opinions from all sorts of people." He returned to his home, leaving in the State of the "lone star" many de- voted friends among those whom he had lately met in the field as foes. Mr. Browne was admitted to the bar of the Circuit Courts of Indiana in August, 1849, and to that of the Su- preme Court in May, 1851. When it is remembered that these advances were the results of his professional attain-
ments, ascertained by judicial examination, and not, as at present, a constitutional right secured to every voter,it will be manifest that he had diligently improved his brief novitiate. Before he was twenty-one he was elected as Prosecuting Attor- ney of Randolph County, in which position he served two years. In 1855 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit; he was re-elected in 1857, and again in 1859, and discharged all the duties of the position with marked ability and success. This, at a time when the bar of the circuit was among the ablest of the State, was a high compliment. In 1862 he was elected to the Senate, and took a leading part in its proceedings and debates during the session. The correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette thus describes him at this time :
"Thomas M. Browne, senator from Randolph, is a young man of sanguine complexion, an excellent speaker, full of fun and irony. There is a vim about him that tells in a popular audience, and brings down the house. Now a burst of eloquence surprises you, and now a flash of fun ; at times a torrent of indignation comes out that is startling. This young man will make his mark in our country yet.'
In April, 1869, he was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Indiana by President Grant, but resigned his po- sition in August, 1872. He filled this office with distinguished ability, and established a high reputation throughout the State as a sound lawyer and an able advocate. General Browne was nominated for Governor in 1872, by the Repub- lican State Convention of Indiana, on the second ballot, over two of the ablest and most deservedly popular men in the State, Godlove S. Orth and General Ben Harrison, and was defeated by only about one thousand votes. He was elected to Congress from the Fifth District in 1876, and again in 1878, defeating the popular Democratic nominee, W. S. Holman, by a handsome majority. General Browne's public services have ever been highly satisfactory to his constituency. He is a Master Mason, and has taken all the degrees of Odd-fel- lowship. While not a member of any religious denomination, his preferences are in favor of the Christian Church, of which Mrs. Browne is a member. He married Miss Mary J. Austin, at New Paris, Ohio, March 18th, 1849. But one child has been born to them, a son, who died at the age of about twelve years. This brief outline of General Browne's career, tracing his prog- ress from an humble station in life to some of the highest offices in the government, shows to the young men of the nation what possibilities are within their reach.
SCHENCK, JAMES FINDLAY, rear admiral, United States navy, was the son of General William C. Schenck, who was born in New Jersey, but came in 1795 at a very early age to Cincinnati. He served for a short time as clerk in the land office under General James Findlay, and afterward under John Cleves Symmes, as surveyor, which became his profession. In 1798 he married Betsey Rogers, of Hunting- ton, Long Island, and reached Cincinnati with his wife Janu- ary Ist, 1799, where they resided till about 1803, when they removed to Franklin, Warren county, of which place, as of Newark, Licking county, General Schenck was the founder and proprietor. He died January, 1821, on his forty-eighth birthday, at Columbus, while serving as a member of the leg- islature from Warren county. Of his numerous family Ad- miral Schenck, the Hon. R. C. Schenck, and a brother in lowa, are the only survivors. Admiral Schenck was born in Franklin, June IIth, 1807. He received his education in the
803
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
schools of his native village, and at the grammar school of the Rev. Matthew G. Wallace, for a short time being under the instruction of Francis Glass, A. M., a man of high literary attainments. On the 4th May, 1822, when not quite fifteen years of age, he started for West Point making the journey on horseback, and was admitted as cadet in the military school, where he remained two years, when he left without graduat- ing. In March, 1825, he was appointed a midshipman in the United States navy, and in July rode from Franklin to Wash- ington on horseback. Soon after his arrival he was ordered to report for duty on the sloop of war "Hornet," then lying at Norfolk, Virginia. In this and other ships he cruised in the West Indies and Gulf of Mexico, with occasional short leaves of absence till 1832, when he went to the Mediterra- nean, and again to the West Indies, to the coast of Africa, to the coast of Brazil, around Cape Horn to the Pacific ocean, and several times to the Sandwich islands. His last foreign cruise was made in the United States steamer "Saginaw," in China and Japan, and terminated in March, 1862. In May of the same year he took command of the frigate "St. Law- rence," and joined the South Atlantic blockading squadron at Key West. In 1864, having reached the rank of commo- dore, he hoisted his flag on board the frigate "Powhatan," at Hampton Roads, assigned to the 3d division of Admiral Por- ter's fleet. This division was engaged in each bombardment of Fort Fisher, and after its capture he returned to Norfolk, his ship having been much injured in the engagement. In May, 1865, he took the "Powhatan " to Key West, and trans- ferred her to Admiral Stribling as his flagship; returning to New York in a transport vessel, he has not been afloat since. In 1867 he was ordered to the command of the naval station at Mound City, Illinois, which position he retained about a year. Was made rear admiral September 23d, 1868, and in conformity with an act of Congress, having attained the age of sixty-two years, was placed on the retired list June IIth, 1869. In 1829, in Smithtown, Long Island, he married Dolly, daughter of Woodhull Smith, with whom he removed to Dayton in 1836, and lived happily until her death, which oc- curred September 7th, 1876. Their surviving children are : Sarah, widow of Captain and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Crane, United States army, who while acting as mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, before the reconstruction of that State, was assassinated June 8th, 1869, by E. M. Yerger, who plunged a bowie-knife through his heart as he was walking unarmed at midday on the street; Jane Findlay, wife of A. Barr Irwin, of Kuttawa, Lynn county, Kentucky; Caspar, pay inspec- tor, United States navy, and Woodhull, an officer in the Im- perial maritime customs of China.
FEARING, BENJAMIN DANA, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was born in Harmar, Washington county, Ohio. His pa- ternal grandfather, Hon. Paul Fearing, moved to the West with the first colony of the "Ohio company," and at the first court organized in the Northwest Territory, was admitted an attorney, thus being the first lawyer in the territory. He was also the first delegate from the territory to the national Con- gress. Through his maternal grandfather, Benjamin Dana, who was also a member of the "Ohio company," and one of the first colony that founded Marietta, the subject of this sketch is a lineal descendant, of the fourth generation, from General Israel Putnam. His youth was spent in his native place, mostly in attendance upon schools, and at the age of nineteen, in 1856, he graduated from Marietta College. He
then spent two years in business in Cincinnati, and the three following in Philadelphia. In 1861, while on a visit to Cin- cinnati, news came of the firing upon Fort Sumter, and on the second day following he enlisted in the " Zouave Guards," and started with them to Washington, District of Columbia. At the subsequent organization of regiments at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the " Guards " became company D, of the 2d Ohio volunteer infantry. With this regiment he proceeded to the imperiled capital, and thence to Virginia, under the command of General Schenck. On this march he won his first promotion, being made fourth corporal of his company. He next entered the camp of the 36th Ohio infantry, to assist in drilling that regiment, and afterward he accompanied it to West Virginia. While in this service he received the ap- pointment of first-lieutenant and adjutant to the 63d Ohio vol- unteer infantry, and, soon after, the appointment of major, with orders to report to Colonel Hildebrand, then recruiting the 77th regiment of Ohio volunteer infantry at Camp Put- nam, Marietta. While General Grant was in front of Fort Donelson, orders came for the regiment to move at once to Paducah, Kentucky, and report to General Sherman, with a request to know " how soon the regiment would be ready to march." The superior officers being absent at the time, Major Fearing answered: "In an hour." By the first train and the first boat he was off, and his regiment was the first, out of nine ordered from Ohio, to report at Paducah to Gen- eral Sherman. While Sherman was making an expedition for destroying the railroad bridges near the luka, heavy rains caused a sudden rise in a bayou, which, taking effect upon Yellow creek, threatened to cut off the return of his division to the boats. Major Fearing was detailed to construct a bridge, and executed the work with such promptitude and effectiveness as to draw forth a complimentary notice from the general in command. At the battle of Shiloh, Colonel Hildebrand being in command of a brigade, the command of the regiment devolved upon Major Fearing, who was posted at Shiloh church, which was regarded by General Sherman as the key-point to his position. Realizing the im- portance of his post, he held it, gallantly repulsing the des- perate charges of the enemy, until the lines, upon his right and left, were broken. The general commended the con- duct of this regiment in its determined and protracted strug- gle for the position of the church, and in baffling the enemy in all his attempts to capture the battery. Major Fearing was now promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and re- ported to his new command in Ohio, the 92d Ohio volunteers. Colonel Van Vorhees being compelled by ill-health to resign, Lieutenant-Colonel Fearing was promoted to the colonelcy. After the fight at Hoover Gap, in which he participated, and the several engagements of the 4th division, 14th corps, his regiment formed a part of General Turchin's brigade at the battle of Chickamauga. While advancing to repel a charge of the enemy, Colonel Fearing was severely wounded, a minié ball having passed through the front part of his right, and the thick portion of his left thigh. When sufficiently recovered for partial duty, he was detailed on several courts- martial at Cincinnati and Louisville, where he remained until March, 1864, when he returned to his command at Ringgold, Georgia. In the Atlanta campaign, Colonel Fear- ing's regiment took part in the several engagements, fighting in Turchin's brigade and Baird's division, and also in those following in the march to the sea. At Savannah he received a commission from President Lincoln as brevet brigadier-
804
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPÆDIA AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
general, dating from December 2d, 1864, for "gallant and meritorious service during the long campaign from Chatta- nooga to Atlanta, and from Atlanta to Savannah." General Fearing was then assigned to General Morgan's division of the 14th corps, as commander of the 3d brigade. He par- ticipated in the campaign in the Carolinas, and at Averys- boro held the left of the line. General Davis ordered Gen- eral Fearing to " check the enemy and hold them if it cost the whole brigade." The charge of Fearing was made with spirit and the fighting severe. The general had his horse shot under him, and was himself wounded, a ball having passed through his right hand, carrying away the thumb, fore- finger, and a portion of the hand. Being permanently disabled for service in the field, he was mustered out of the service. As a private he took part in the first, and as commander of a brigade in the last, important battle of the war. On his retirement, he purchased an interest in a manufacturing com- pany, and settled in Mansfield, Ohio, for a time. From 1866 to 1871, he traveled from seven to eight months during each year, in the interest of his firm, and in 1872 relinquished his iclations with it. He then associated himself with Mr. T. J. Cochran, an old comrade in the army, in the manufacture and sale of oils, and in a general commission business, under the firm name of Cochran & Fearing, at Cincinnati, Ohio. General Fearing died December 9th, 1881.
AIKEN, SAMUEL C., D. D., Presbyterian minister, was born in Windham, Vermont, September 21st, 1791. He entered Middlebury College in 1813. Among his classmates who afterwards became distinguished were Silas Wright, gov- ernor of New York and senator in Congress, and Justice Samuel Nelson, of the supreme court of the United States. His resolution to become a minister of the gospel having been taken during a revival which occurred while he was at the college, he entered Andover Theological Seminary and spent three years there in his studies for that profession. He was then called by the " Young Men's Missionary Society," in New York, to labor under its auspices in that city. His first call to the pastorate was from the First Presbyterian So- ciety of Utica, New York, where he was ordained and in- stalled February 3d, 1818. He continued to minister to that society for over sixteen years. From a handful of struggling people, in what might then have been called a frontier town, his congregation grew to be one of the largest in number and highest in culture in the State. The Erie canal had been built and finished during that time, and an humble village, whose chief trade was in furs borne in bateaux down the Mo- hawk to tide-water, had become a large and prosperous city. With it, also, the subject of this sketch had ripened into a strong and vigorous manhood, and wielded a wide and bene- ficient influence upon the people of that community and in the councils of the ecclesiastical body to which he belonged. The removal of many enterprising men of that vicinity and of his church to Ohio led to his receiving a call to remove to Cleveland in 1835; and in the spring of that year he ac- cepted the invitation to become the pastor of the First Pres- byterian Society in that city. The society had just completed a small stone edifice at the corner of Ontario street and Pub- lic Square. He was installed as its pastor in November, 1835. A large and commanding figure, fine features, a dig- nified carriage, a clear, strong voice, a mind somewhat slow to act, but, when roused by a great occasion or event, acting with surprising power and effect, were among his peculiar
gifts. His traits as a public speaker were especially adapted to the work which seemed to be before him. The tide of emigration had precipitated a population of great diversity of character and sentiment within the circle of his influence. It was unsettled and unorganized. Society and opinions, religious and moral, seemed strangely chaotic. His great talents and cultured mind attracted to him the most able and thoughtful of the professional and business men of the com- munity, and through them the influence of his elevated piety and wisdom went out to form the new institutions and correct the baleful tendencies of this unformed community. He pub- lished addresses on public education, on theaters, on social crimes, his articles of controversy on Romanism, his ser- mons on the leading topics of temperance, Millerism and slavery testify to the ripeness of his scholarship, the steady purpose of his mind, the enormous weight of his argumen- tative blows, and the careful and judicious expenditure of his great personal and pastoral influence. He was unim- passioned, but yet profoundly in earnest, and his steady and increasing labors operated, not swiftly, but not less surely, the elements of society upon which his influence was expended. He delivered, at Utica, a discourse before Governor De Witt Clinton and the New York canal commissioners on the oc- casion of the opening of the Erie canal, an event recognized by him as signaling as well great designs of Providence as great enterprise and sagacity of statesmen. Again, his dis- course before the officers and guests of the Cleveland, Col- umbus and Cincinnati Railroad Company, at the completion and opening of this road in 1852, was worthy of the occasion, as it was the commencement of a new era in the history of Western civilization, and of the city where his greatest har- vests had been reaped. At the Presbyterian General As- sembly which convened in Cleveland in 1857, and which is memorable for its warm and able debates on slavery, the in- fluential position to which he had attained by a long life of public work was most forcibly illustrated. Nearly all the States of the Union were represented. The debates between the Northern and Southern ministry were stormy and por- tentous of the great coming strife. Dr. Aiken had been known as a conservative and a sustainer of the laws of the country when in conflict with the so-called " higher law." At the close of the great debate he reviewed his own past course on the subject, and, finally, declaring that slavery was too flagrant and heinous to be condoned or ignored, threw his great influence and character into the scale against the Southern brethern, carrying with him a large body of the ministry and laymen. He continued his relation to the Stone Church Society, of Cleveland, without any interruption until 1858, when he resigned on account of the infirmities of age ; and Dr. Goodrich, who had been for several years his asso- ciate in the pastorate, became the sole minister of the church. He continued, however, for perhaps ten years after this time to take temporary charge of churches and to perform more or less ministerial work in the neighborhood of Cleveland, and assisted largely in the organization and building up of new churches. His purity of life, faithful labors, superior talents and great influence endeared him to thousands and gave him a national reputation. In April, 1875, after fifty- three years' work in the ministry, his majestic form, bent under the weight of over fourscore years, was to be seen occa- sionally in public, and always received marks of respect and esteem from men of every degree in life and of every shade of religious opinion.
1.
Menuel Mayo
805
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
MAY, MANUEL, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Mansfield, Ohio, was born in that city, the son of John M. May, who was the first lawyer that settled there, and where, in 1815, he married Artemisia Wolfe, a daughter of one of the pioneer families, whose parents settled there as early as 1806. During his residence subsequently, and which con- tinued until his death in 1869, John M. May practiced his profession as a scrupulously conscientious lawyer. He was a careful and prudent adviser, and well read in the princi- ples of law. Neither an ambitious politician nor office-seeker, he threw the whole weight of his influence on the side of honesty and capability, and eminently a public-spirited citizen he took an earnest interest in those civic, State, and national affairs, in which the welfare of the community was the im- portant consideration. His son, the subject of this sketch, was educated at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. He grad- uated at the Cincinnati Law School, and after his admission to practice, engaged in business with his father. He was county Prosecuting Attorney from January, 1858, to January, 1862, and from 1866 to 1869, and served two terms as a State senator. His career in the senate was satisfactory, as he faithfully represented the interests of his constituents, and presented their views on all public questions. A hard worker in committee, and excellent debater, during the last term he served as a prominent member of the judiciary committee, to the entire satisfaction of his fellow-senators. He has since been repeatedly urged to permit his nomi- nation for Congress, but has uniformly declined, inasmuch as he is aware fully that, were he elected, his extensive and important law practice would be permanently sacrificed to the possibilities, always such, of higher and more ad- vanced political position. Mr. May possesses one of the best law libraries in his part of the State, and is an earnest stu- dent. As a jury advocate he ranks high, being possessed of fine oratorical powers, as well as an openness of manner and frankness indispensable to him who would win the confi- dence of a jury. The Mansfield bar has been distinguished for its ability, and has produced several able jurists and states- men. Among them we may instance Hon. John Sherman, Governors Bartley, father and son, and Judge Brinkerhoff ; also, Hon. Samuel J. Kirkwood, ex-United States Senator from Iowa. In social life he is a courteous gentleman, genial companion, and warm friend. In the Fall of 1882 Mr. May was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, which position he still holds, and in which he has proven himself eminently qualified.
BROOKE, JOHN THOMPSON, D. D., Episcopal min- ister, was born at Frederick, Maryland, February 4th, 1800, and died at Springfield, Ohio, August 19th, 1861. His pa- rents were Roman Catholics, and he was brought up in that faith; but, having associated very freely with Protestants during his youth, he was led, under the preaching of Bishop Johns, of Virginia, to adopt the Protestant tenets, and his conversion, which is said to have been rather sudden and striking, took place in January, 1821, when he united himself with the Episcopal church. He was educated in a good class- ical school in Frederick, and, having studied law in the office of Hon. Roger B. Taney, late chief justice of.the United States supreme court, he was admitted to the bar and practiced law for two or three years, when he determined to abandon that profession and prepare himself for the ministry instead. For this purpose he entered the theological seminary at Alexan-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.