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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
A Standard History of
THE HANGING ROCK IRON REGION OF
OHIO
An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with the Extended
Survey of the Industrial and Commercial Development
Vol. II
ILLUSTRATED
Publishers - The Lewis Publishing Company
1916
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FRED W. GEIGER.
Twice retained as receiver for the Ebert Brewing Company of
Ironton, Lawrence County, Mr. Geiger, who is the
incumbent of this responsible position at the present time, has
shown much discrimination and executive ability in handling the
affairs of this business, through his connection with which and
other important interests in Ironton he has become well known as
one of the representative young business men of his native city.
Mr. Geiger was born at Ironton on the
12th of April, 1886, and is a son of Henry J. and Fannie
(Ebert) Geiger, both natives of Klingenburg, Germany, where
the former was born in 1850 and the latter in 1853. The
father was reared and educated in his native land, where he
learned the brewer's trade with all of the thoroughness common
to the industry in Germany. In 1869 he immigrated to the
United States and after remaining about three months in New York
City he came to Ohio and established his residence in Ironton,
where he was long and prominently identified with the brewing
business and where he has lived virtually a retired life since
1905. He and his wife are well known and popular
representatives of the German element of citizenship in Lawrence
County and they are the parents of seven children, namely:
Leo N., Mathilde B., Henry J., Jr., Fred W., Otto A., Charles T.
and Bertha E.
Fred W. Geiger is indebted to the public schools
of Ironton for his early educational discipline and after his
graduation in the high school, as a member of the class of 1904,
he completed a course in the Davidson Business College, in which
he was graduated in 1905. Accepting a clerical position in
the Iron City Savings Bank, he won advancement through effective
service, having held the position of bookkeeper until his
promotion to that of teller. Of the latter post he
continued to be a valued incumbent until 1908, when he resigned
his position to accept that of receiver of the Ebert Brewing
Company. He served in this capacity until 1911 and brought
the business of the concern into excellent condition.
After his retirement he w^as engaged in the flour and feed
business until 1913, when he was again appointed receiver of the
Ebert Brewing Company, to the affairs of which he has since
continued to give the major part of his time and attention, with
the result that he is again bringing the enterprise into
effective order, with much discrimination in the administration
of the large financial interests involved.
Mr. Geiger is one of the popular young
men in the business and social circles of his native city and is
the owner of the attractive home at 198 South Fifth Street, the
same being made a center of gracious hospitality with his
popular wife as its chatelaine. Mr. Geiger
was first sergeant of the Ironton High School Cadets during
three years of his student life; he is a member of the Ironton
Chamber of Commerce, is affiliated with the local lodge of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and both he and his
wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
On the 2Sth of November, 1911, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Geiger to Miss Minnie
Fuller, daughter of Van Fuller, a
representative citizen of Ironton, and the one child of this
union is Helen Louise.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 746 |
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WILLIAM E. GEORGE.
The fire department of any large and thriving community under
modern organization and conditions is one of the most important
in the municipal service, and to its management the directing
head is called upon to bring high executive abilities, broad
judgment, diplomatic powers and absolute fearlessness.
These qualities are possessed in a high degree by William E.
George, chief of the fire department of Ironton, who for a
continuous period of thirty-two years has directed the work of
the "fire eaters" of this prosperous and important City of the
Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio.
Chief George was born in Bath County, Kentucky,
Nov. 12, 1847, and is a son of Robert and Drusilia
(Raborn) George, natives of that county. The
father was born in 1814, and was engaged in farming there until
the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in the
Eighty-first Regiment, Kentucky Infantry, and upon receiving his
discharge, in 1862, came to Scioto County, Ohio, and continued
agricultural pursuits until his death in 1883. Mrs.
George, who was born in 1818, passed away in 1895, having
been the mother of twelve children, four of whom died in
infancy, while the others were: Henry W. and Francis,
who are deceased; Jane; Levina; William E.;
Alexander; Telitha, who is deceased; and John,
deceased.
The early education of William E. George was
secured in the public schools of his native county, which he
attended until he was fourteen years of age. At that time,
with other youths of his neighborhood, he became a member of
what was known as the "Squirrel Hunters," a youthful military
organization, with which he was associated two years.
After the family moved to Ohio, Mr. George
attended the schools of Portsmouth until he reached the age of
seventeen years, and at that time learned the machinist's trade,
a vocation which occupied his attention during the ensuing five
years. Succeeding this, Mr. George became a
buyer of stave lumber on the Ohio River, but after eighteen
months went to Huntington, West Virginia, and embarked in
mercantile pursuits as the proprietor of a grocery
establishment, which, however, he sold one year later, at that
time going to Gallipolis, Ohio. After two years in the
business there, Mr. George came to Ironton, and
opened an establishment which he conducted with some success for
three years, then selling out and becoming a member of the City
Fire Department. He showed such executive ability that in
1882 he was made chief of the department, a position he has
continued to hold to the present time. Although
sixty-seven years of age. Chief George is a
vigorous and wide-awake man, and promises to maintain the
service of which he is the head at its past standard of
superiority, and to continue to incorporate into the system the
methods and improvements indicated by the advancement of science
and mechanics. He is entitled to take a justifiable pride
in his record as a fire-fighter. His men have the utmost
confidence in his ability and trust him implicitly, knowing that
he will never send them where he himself will not go.
While attending the fierce Ward Lumber Mill fire, in 1911,
Chief George lost his left eye, the extreme heat
causing inflammation which resulted in the loss of sight in that
optic.
Chief George was married Apr. 21, 1871,
at the home of the bride in Niles Township, Scioto County, Ohio,
to Miss Almeda Stover, daughter of David
Stover, a farmer of that locality, and to this union
there have been born five children: Orval D., Alfred
W., Nora J., William A., and Edward
E. Orval D., an electrician of fronton, married
Elsie Conley, and has two children - Irene
and Ralph; Alfred M., also an electrician of
fronton, married Mattie Ferguson and has an
adopted child - Emerson; Nora married Allen
Thuma, superintendent of the Ohio Electric Company, of
fronton, and has one adopted child - Alma; William V.,
an electrician at Ironton, married Jennie DeLong
and has one child - Almeta; and Edward, also an
electrician, is single and resides with his parents.
Chief George is the owner of a
comfortable residence in Ironton, and also has other realty,
including six vacant lots. A republican in politics, his
only public service outside that of fire-fighting was as
post-master at Friendship, Scioto County, some forty years ago.
Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and his religious affiliation is with the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 698 |
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JOHN H. GHOLSON.
A life of steadfast integrity and honor and of large and worthy
achievement was that of the late John H. Gholson, who was
a resident of Lawrence County from the time of his birth until
he was summoned to eternal rest, at his home in the City of
Ironton, on the 6th of October, 1906, secure in the confidence
and high regard of all who knew him. He was long numbered
among the representative business men of Ironton, and the
undertaking business which he here conducted for many years is
continued by his widow and sons. He was a scion of a
sterling pioneer family of Lawrence County, and as an honored
and influential citizen whose course was ordered upon a high
plane in all its relations, it is incumbent that in this history
there be accorded a definite tribute to his memory.
Mr. Gholson was born at Kelley's Mills, in
Elizabeth township, Lawrence County, Ohio, on the 24th of July,
1844, and was the youngest of the nine children of James H.
and Sarah Gholson, early settlers of the county. He
was but six years of age at the time of the family removal to
Ironton, and in this city his parents passed the residue of
their lives, his also being the privilege of continuing to
maintain his home in the metropolis and judicial center of his
native county until he too was called from the stage of life's
mortal endeavors, after having attained to the age of more than
three score years. Mr. Gholson made good use
of the advantages afforded in the common schools, as is evident
when we revert to the fact that when sixteen years of age he was
granted a teacher's certificate, though his active work in the
pedagogic profession was of brief duration. After holding
for a short time the position of storekeeper in one of the
pioneer mills of Ironton, he here engaged in the retail grocery
business, in which he continued until the early part of the year
1871, when he withdrew from this line of enterprise to become
associated with the undertaking business conducted by his
brother-in-law, the late George F. Buchanan. He
entered upon his new duties on the 29th of May, 1871, and at the
time he inscribed the date on the wall of the building in which
the business was established. This inscription remained in
evidence until after his death, more than thirty years later.
Mr. Gholson was soon admitted to partnership in
the business, and upon the death of Mr. Gholson,
about the year 1892, he became the sole owner of the undertaking
establishment and business. Eventually he admitted to
partnership his two sons, Walter W. and John Harvey,
and thereafter the enterprise was successfully continued under
the name of J. H. Gholson & Sons until his death, the
establishment since that time having been conducted under the
original title and under the direct supervision of the sons and
their mother, the stock and facilities, having at all times been
maintained at the highest standard and the sons being recognized
today as the leading funeral directors of their native city.
At the time of his demise Mr. Gholson was the
oldest undertaker in the city, and the community has every
reason to remember his name with reverent affection, for he was
a man whose heart was attuned to deep human sympathy and his
consideration, kindliness and many acts of charity and
benevolence gained to him secure place in the hearts of all who
knew him.
Mr. Gholson manifested his intrinsic
loyalty and patriotism at the time of the Civil war, for he
enlisted in Company I, Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which
he proceeded to the front and with which he participated in many
engagements marking the progress of the great conflict through
which the integrity of the Union was preserved. He served
during the major part of the war and proved a gallant soldier as
well as one popular with his comrades in arms. In later
years he perpetuated the more gracious memories of his military
career by retaining membership in the Ironton Post of the Grand
Army of the Republic. He was a republican in his political
allegiance and was a zealous member of the Presbyterian Church
in his home city. Here also he was affiliated with Ohio
Valley Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternity
with which he was identified for forty years, and with the
Ironton lodge of the Knights of Pythias. Mr.
Gholson had been in impaired health for several years prior
to his death, which resulted from a dropsical affection of the
heart, and he bore his sufferings with characteristic patience
and fortitude, ever showing consideration for those who
ministered to him. The entire community manifested a sense
of personal loss and bereavement when he was summoned to the
life eternal, and his funeral was attended by all classes, the
Grand Army of the Republic and the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows appearing in respective bodies.
The domestic chapter in the life history of Mr.
Gholson was of ideal order, and there can be no wish to
lift the gracious veil that made the home a sanctuary, though it
is incumbent that brief record be made concerning his marriage
and children. In the City of Ironton, on the 10th of
December, 1878, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Gholson to Miss Susan S. Wells, who was born at
Delaware, Ohio, on the 24th of January, 1854, and who is a
daughter of William W. and Mary Margaret (Bogan) Wells.
Her father was born in Germany and died when Mrs.
Gholson was a child, and she was about seven years old when
the devoted and widowed mother likewise was summoned to eternal
rest, in 1861. Mrs. Gholson was reared in
the home of her elder sister, Mary, who is the wife of
Martin Heller, their home being at Delaware, Ohio.
The three eldest children of the Wells family were
Samuel G., Mary and Virginia, all of whom
are now deceased; Anna was the next in order of birth;
Charles is a resident of Delaware, Ohio; Chauncey is
deceased; and Mrs. Gholson is the youngest of the
number. Mrs. Gholson is a woman of most
gracious personality and has been a loved and prominent factor
in the representative social activities of her home city, which
has been endeared to her by the hallowed memories and
associations of many years. She holds membership in the
Wesley Chapel and has been active in the various departments of
church and benevolent work. Mr. and Mrs. Gholson
became the parents of three children, Walter W., John Harvey,
and Grace B., the only daughter having died at the
age of two years. The active management of the undertaking
business so long conducted by the subject of this memoir is now
entrusted to the sons, Walter W. and J. Harvey,
who, with the able co-operation of their mother, are fully
upholding in this line the high reputation of the honored
father. Walter W. Gholson wedded Miss Lydia
Deering, and they have three children, Doris D., John D.,
and Nathaniel R. J. Harvey married
Birdie Sandford.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 768 |
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FRANK F. GOLDCAMP.
Identified with some of the leading commercial and financial
institutions of Ironton, Frank F. Goldcamp is justly
accounted one of the progressive and capable business men of
this place and has also taken an active part in civic affairs.
His career is indicative of the rewards to be attained through a
life of industry and well-directed effort, and as a member of
the firm of Goldcamp Brothers & Company, hardware
merchants, he is contributing materially to the business
importance of the county seat of Lawrence County. Mr.
Goldcamp is a product of this county, having been born at
Lawrence Furnace, October 21, 1858, and is a son of Ferdinand
H. and Mary A. (Monnig) Goldcamp.
Ferdinand H. Goldcamp was born at Old Union
Furnace. Hanging Rock, Ohio, March 9, 1837, to which locality
his father had come as an early settler in 1835. His active
career was passed in agricultural pursuits, but at this time he
is retired and makes his home at Ironton. Mrs.
Goldcamp was born at Pine Grove, Lawrence County, November
18, 1839. There were ten children in the family, viz:
Frank F., of this review; Mary G.; Josephine C.
; John F.; Albert J., who is deceased; Joseph
H.; Henry I.; Fred, who is deceased;
Elizabeth F. and Flora A. Mary G. married F. L.
McCaully, of Ironton, died in 1884, and left one child,
John A., who is a hardware merchant at Lancaster, Ohio;
Josephine C. married Henry C. Rudmann, a member of
the firm of Goldcamp Brothers & Company, and has had
three children, of whom one survives, Charles S.; John F.
married Theresa Laler, is a partner in the
hardware firm, and has two children, Gertrude and
Eugene; Joseph H., a hardware merchant of Lancaster, married
Alice Kreamer and has two children, Lawrence
and Cyril; Henry I., a farmer on the old home
place at Goldcamp Station, on the D. T. & I. Railway,
married Margaret Gallagher and has had nine
children, Charles, Mary, Edward, Mildred, Leo, Joseph,
Alberta and one child deceased; Elizabeth F. married
Dr. Cornelius Gallagher, of Ironton, and has had nine
children, Mary, Genevieve, Charles, Harry, John, Elizabeth,
Marcella, Cornelius F. and one who died in infancy; and
Flora A. married Fred Dearford, proprietor of a
livery and sales barn at Ironton, and has two children, Mary
and John.
Frank F. Goldcamp attended the public schools of
Lawrence County until he was sixteen years of age, in the
meantime assisting his father in the work of the home farm.
He remained under the parental roof until reaching his majority,
when he became a student at Lebanon University, but after five
months left that institution and returned to the farm for five
weeks. At this time he came to Ironton and began his
business career as a clerk in the grocery store of F. E.
Hayward & Co., in whose employ he remained six years,
gaining much valuable experience. He carefully saved his
earnings and in 1887 purchased an interest in the Goldcamp
Milling Company, with which he was identified until 1903.
In 1903 he became actively engaged in the hardware business
which he had bought in 1893, purchasing the stock and good will
of H. D. Newcomb at Second and Lawrence streets, Ironton.
This business is now conducted under a partnership, the members
of the firm being John F. and Frank F. Goldcamp
and Henry C. Rudmann, and the enterprise is possessed of
a stock valued at $16,000. The business has enjoyed marked
prosperity, and much of this is due to the good judgment,
shrewdness and capability of Frank F. Goldcamp, who
attributes his success to his constant application and thorough
knowledge of every detail of the trade. While the greater
part of his attention is given to this enterprise, Mr.
Goldcamp has also interested himself in other ventures and
is at this time a stockholder and director in the Citizens
National Bank, and a stockholder in the First National Bank and
the Martin Iron and Steel Company. He also owns
several valuable pieces of realty at Ironton, including his own
handsome residence. Mr. Goldcamp is a
democrat, but has not been particularly active in politics.
With his family, he attends St. Joseph's Catholic Church.
He has spent much time in travel, and whenever he can spare the
leisure from his business responsibilities takes his family on
extended trips to various points of interest in this country.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 773 |
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FRANK F. J. GOLDCAMP.
Few names have been more conspicuously and worthily identified
with the civic and business activities of the city of Ironton
than that of the Goldcamp family, and it is
pleasing to be able to offer in this publication specific
mention of various representatives of this influential and
honored family of the Hanging Rock Iron District.
He whose name initiates this review is one of the
interested principals and the executive head of the Goldcamp
Mill Company, which represents one of the important industrial
enterprises of Ironton, with a flour mill that is thoroughly
modern in its equipment and facilities. Mr.
Goldcamp was born at Lawrence Furnace, Lawrence County,
Ohio, on the 14th of November, 1861, and is a son of John S.
and Mary (Friska) Goldcamp, members of sterling pioneer
families of this section of the state. Both John S.
Goldcamp and his wife were born at Pine Grove, Lawrence
County, Ohio, the former in 1840 and the latter in 1845.
The father early became a successful contractor in hauling iron
ore from the mines to the mills in Ironton, before this now
thriving city had railroad facilities, and after the building of
the Norfolk & Western Railroad to the city he erected, in 1888,
a flour mill in Ironton. Through circumspection and
honorable policies he built up a prosperous business as a
manufacturer of flour and other mill products and he continued
to be one of the well known and highly esteemed citizens and
influential business men of Lawrence County until his death,
which occurred in 1909, his widow still maintaining her
residence in Ironton. Of the twelve children Frank F.
J., of this review, is the first-born, and the names of the
others are here entered in respective order of birth: Annie
C, Emma I., Ida L., John X., May G., Laura C, Otto F., Victoria,
Lizzie, and two who died in infancy.
Frank F. J. Goldcamp attended the public schools
of Ironton until he had attained to the age of fourteen years,
when he began to assist his father in the latter 's teaming
operations in the handling of iron ore. After the
construction of the flour mill mentioned above he continued to
assist his father in the practical and executive management of
the enterprise until 1902, when he purchased an interest in the
Whiting Soap Company, of Ironton. He was secretary
and treasurer of this corporation for two years, at the
expiration of which he became associated with his brother
John X. in the erection and equipment of their present fine
flour mill, which they have successfully operated since 1904,
under the title of the Goldcamp Mill Company.
Frank F. J. Goldcamp is president of this progressive
company, which has a capital stock of $40,000, and is known and
valued as one of the enterprising and representative business
men and influential citizens of the city that has been his home
from his childhood and to the civic and commercial advancement
of which he has made definite and worthy contribution.
Mr. Goldcamp is a stockholder and director of the
First National Bank of Ironton and he is the owner of valuable
property in Ironton, including a half interest in the mill and
warehouse and also his attractive residence, which is known for
its generous hospitality. He is actively identified with
the Ironton Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Millers'
Association and the Millers' Federation of the United
States. His political allegiance is given to the
democratic party and he and his wife are zealous communicants of
the Catholic Church, in which they are members of the parish of
St. Joseph's Church, in which Mr. Goldcamp is
serving as warden.
On the 24th of April, 1883, was solemnized the marriage
of Mr. Goldcamp to Miss Mary Ann Mauerer,
daughter of Adam and Annie (Chauzle) Mauerer, of Lawrence
County. Of this union have been born six children:
Stephen W., M. D., who is engaged in the practice of his
profession in the City of Youngstown, Ohio, married Miss Edna
Renner; Edward C. likewise is a graduate physician
and surgeon and now resides in the city of Providence, Rhode
Island; Hilda M. is the wife of Edward Weinfurther,
of Ashland, Kentucky; Adam F., died in infancy; Cyril
F. and John S., attending the public schools of Ironton.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 777 |
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GEORGE J. GOLDCAMP.
One of the native sons of Ironton, Lawrence County, whose career
has been marked by consecutive industry and definite advancement
is he whose name initiates this review and who is numbered among
the representative and popular merchants of Ironton, where he is
associated with his brother Robert S. in the ownership
and conducting of the substantial furniture and general
house-furnishing establishment of the Goldcamp Furniture
Company.
Mr. Goldcamp was born in Ironton on the 5th of
October, 1877, and is a son of Isadore X. and Julia Ann
(Kruse) Goldcamp, the former of whom was born at Lawrence
Furnace, Lawrence County, in 1852, and the latter of whom was
born at Pine Grove, this county, in 1852, both families having
been represented in the pioneer settlement of the Hanging Rock
Iron Region of Ohio. Isadore X. Goldcamp held for a
long period the position of salesman for the W. A. Murdock
Wholesale Grocery Company, of Ironton, and since 1901 he has
lived virtually retired in this city, both he and his wife being
earnest communicants of St. Joseph 's Catholic church and his
political allegiance being given to the democratic party.
Of the five children all are living except the youngest,
Edward, the names of the others being here given in
respective order of birth: William J., George J., Robert S.,
and Martha M.
George J. Goldcamp attended the parochial school
of St. Joseph's church until he was fifteen years old, and for
four months thereafter he held a position as salesman in the
retail grocery of J. T. Clark. For the ensuing year
he was employed in connection with a local lumber business and
he then assumed a position in the hardwood finishing department
of the Ironton Wood Mantel Company, with which industrial
corporation he continued to be thus identified for five years.
Then, to fortify himself more thoroughly along educational lines
of practical order, he completed a six months' course in the
commercial or business department of the Ohio Normal University,
at Ada, Hardin county. A few months later he entered the
employ of the United States Steel Corporation, in its mills at
Mingo Junction, Jefferson County, Ohio, where he had charge of
the electric motor utilized in transferring ore to the furnace.
After six months' incumbency of this position Mr.
Goldcamp returned to Ironton, in 1903, and became associated
with the late Frank Mechling in establishing a retail
furniture business in eligible quarters at the corner of Second
Street and Park Avenue. Mr. Mechling retired
from the business about eighteen months later and Mr.
Goldcamp then admitted to partnership in the business his
younger brother, Robert S., who has since continued as
his valued coadjutor in the management of the splendid business
enterprise which they have built up through effective service
and those honorable policies that ever beget popular confidence
and support. The large and well appointed establishment of the
Goldcamp Furniture Company is maintained at the original
location mentioned above, and the stock includes select and
complete lines of furniture and household furnishings, such as
rugs, draperies, carpets, etc.
Mr. Goldcamp is essentially an
enterprising business man, but has not become self-centered to
the avoidance of proper and loyal interest in the general
welfare of his home city, his attitude being that of a liberal
and progressive citizen. He is a bachelor, is a member of
the Ironton Chamber of Commerce, is a democrat in politics, is a
communicant of the Catholic Church, and is affiliated with the
Knights of Columbus and the Society of St. George.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 779 |
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JOHN S. GOLDCAMP.
It was well within the province of the ambition and individual
powers of the late John S. Goldcamp to give to the world
assurance of large and worthy achievement and to so order his
course as to leave a reputation untarnished and a memory that is
revered by those who came within the compass of his generous and
kindly influence. Mr. Goldcamp was a native of Ohio
and a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of
this favored commonwealth, which it was given him to dignify and
honor by his character and achievement. He was one of the
prominent and influential citizens of Ironton, the metropolis
and capital of Lawrence County, for many years prior to his
death, which here occurred on Mar. 5, 1909. In according
to him a brief tribute in this publication it is found expedient
to reproduce the gracious estimate published in an Ironton
newspaper at the time of his death, but in perpetuating
the article certain paraphrase and minor eliminations are
indulged, to make the data more nearly in consonance with the
specific functions of this history.
"Death is, indeed, laying a heavy hand upon Ironton,
and is gathering many of her most prominent, honorable and
influential citizens. The last to be laid low by the Grim
Reaper, who is no respector of age or person, was John S.
Goldcamp, whose name was known throughout the city as a
synonym of honesty, sobriety, industry and all that the term
"good citizenship" implies. His eyes closed in everlasting
sleep Tuesday night, at five minutes past ten o'clock, and the
end came as peacefully and sweetly as could be. As gently
as the breath of spring his pure spirit fled his weary body,
and, with scarcely a noticeable throb, his big heart was stilled
- and John S. Goldcamp was no more. "When the final
summons came, his bedside was surrounded by his devoted wife and
his loving children, with their wives and husbands, a suitable
end for one who loved his family as did he. What a genuine
sorrow this announcement will cause throughout the city!
John S. Goldcamp was a man honored and respected by all and
was a citizen whom the city can ill afford to lose.
"While Mr. Goldcamp's death will cause universal
regret throughout Ironton and Lawrence county, it came not as a
surprise, for he had been in impaired health for the past five
years and his condition had been most grave for the last week.
His death was due to diabetes.
"John Stephen Goldcamp was born at Pine Grove,
Gallia county, Ohio, on the 15th of May, 1840, and resided there
until he reached manhood's estate. On the 12th of
February, 1861, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary
Elizabeth Frische, who was spared to care for him during his
declining years as only a true and loving wife can. In
1862 Mr. Goldcamp and his family removed to Ironton,
where he resided until his death, save for one year passed at
Lawrence Furnace. When Mr. Goldcamp came to Ironton
he was employed as a contractor for shipping iron, but later he
succeeded his father in the milling business. In March,
1887, Mr. Goldcamp organized the Goldcamp
Milling Company, of which he was president and a director from
its inception until his death. He was also president and a
director of the Hannan-Cowden Dry Goods Company,
the name of which was changed to the Bauer Dry Goods
Company only a few days prior to his death. For many years
Mr. Goldcamp was a member of the directorate of
the First National Bank of Ironton and he was closely connected
with and financially interested in many of the city's prominent
business and industrial enterprises.
"Mr. Goldcamp had no political aspirations,
being content to do what he could for his fellow citizens in his
own quiet, unassuming way, but, in deference to the wishes of
his friends, he served for six years as a member of the city
council, with credit to himself and the municipality. He
was a Democrat in his political adherency and was a zealous
communicant and liberal supporter of St. Joseph Catholic church,
where his funeral services were held."
The widow of Mr. Goldcamp still survives
him and is one of the loved and gracious women of Ironton.
Of the twelve children nine are living - Frank, F. J. and
Mrs. Edward F. Hannan, of Ironton; Mrs. James M.
McJoint, of Norwood, a suburb of the City of Cincinnati,
Ohio; Mrs. Hugh J. Loder, John X. and Mrs. Fred
M. McPherson, of Iron Gate, Virginia; Mrs. William D.
Crossing, of Columbus, Ohio; and Miss Victoria, who
remains at the old homestead with her widowed mother.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 682 |
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JOHN X. GOLDCAMP.
Associated with his brother, Frank F. J. Goldcamp, in the
ownership and control of the flourishing industrial enterprise
conducted under the title of the Goldcamp Mill Company,
John X. Goldcamp is one of the prominent business men and
popular citizens of his native city of Ironton, the metropolis
and judicial center of Lawrence County. In the sketch of
the career of his brother, Frank F. J., appearing on
other pages of this work, are given adequate data concerning the
family record of long association with Lawrence County, and thus
it is unnecessary to repeat the information in the present
connection. The Goldcamp Mill Company, capitalized
for $40,000, operates an admirably equipped flour mill of the
most approved modern facilities and the enterprise proves a
valuable adjunct to the industrial activities of Ironton and
Lawrence counties.
John X. Goldcamp was born at Ironton on the 30th
of December, 1872, and is a son of the late John S. Goldcamp,
who was long a prominent
figure in the business life of Ironton, where he died in 1909
and where his widow still. resides. John X. Goldcamp
continued to attend the school of Ironton until he had completed
a two years' course in the high school, and at the age of
seventeen he became actively concerned with the operation of the
flour mill conducted by his father. He served for nine
years as representative of his father's mill in its trade
territory in West Virginia, where he made an excellent record a
a salesman. When, in 1903, the business of the original
mill was sold John X. purchased its retail branch, at the
corner of South Third and Vernon Streets, Ironton, and he
conducted the same until 1905, when he became associated with
his brother Frank F. J. in the organization of the
Goldcamp MilI Company and in the erection of its excellent
plant, at the corner of Second and Ellison Streets. Since
that time he has assumed much of the practical and
administrative management of the substantial enterprise, and
both as a man of affairs and as a liberal and progressive
citizen he is held in unequivocal esteem in his home city and
native county. He owns a half interest in the mill
property, is a director of the Ohio Millers' Association and in
all that touches the welfare and advancement of Ironton he
maintains a loyal and helpful interest . He is a member of the
Ironton Chamber of Commerce, is a democrat in his political
proclivities and both he and his wife are communicants of St.
Joseph's Catholic Church.
On the 18th of October, 1899, Mr. Goldcamp
wedded Miss Isabella L. Sillman. daughter of John and
Martha Sillman, her father being a representative farmer of
Lawrence County. The two children of this union are
Sylvious J. and Siderina I.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 780 |
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CHARLES W. GOLDEN.
Representing a pioneer family in the Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Charles W. Golden has been identified with Lawrence
County practically all his life, was for several years mayor of
the City of Ironton and has a substantial business record as a
merchant. Throughout his career he has manifested a high
degree of public spirit toward all enterprises and movements for
the improvement of his home city.
Charles W. Golden was born in Upper Township,
Lawrence County, Ohio, Oct. 1, 1870. His grandfather
Marshall Golden was one of the very earliest settles of
Lawrence County. The father, whose name was Thomas
Golden, was born in Upper Township in Lawrence County in
1835, and had a long and active career, his business being that
of farmer, and in public affairs he was deputy probate judge of
the county and for over twenty years a justice of the peace.
Judge Golden married Mary Richardson,
born at Ironton in 1838. Their five children were Lena
E., Anna L., Ada P., Charles W. and Thomas
N.
The early life of Charles W.
Golden was spent on a farm, the country schools supplied his
education up to eighteen, and then after two years of active
work on the old homestead he went to work as helper in the
Lamberts Foundry for a year and a half. The following
six months were spent in the machine shops at Palestine, Texas,
and on returning to Ohio he successfully followed the dairy
business in Upper township of Lawrence County for nine yes.
In 1904 Mr. Golden established a grocery business at
Ironton and now has one of the largest and best patronized
establishments in the retail district.
On Nov. 6, 1896, at Ironton Mr. Golden married
Ida M. Abel, daughter of Jesse Abel, who was a
nailer in the nail mills at Ironton. Mr. and Mrs.
Golden are the parents of three children: Harold W.,
Ralph J., and Mary E. The fraternal
affiliations of Mr. Golden connect him with a number of
orders, including the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the
Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Golden Eagle, the
Improved Order of Red Men and the Junior Order of United
American Mechanics. His religious home is the First
Baptist Church. Mr. Golden is a director in the
Iron City Building & Loan Association. It was as a
democrat in politics that he served in the city council and as
mayor of the city from 1908 to 1912, but his public spirit has
been entirely unpartisan, and his record as mayor was one that
should make his name long remembered in Ironton. Under his
leadership, among other important improvements, he secured a
water filter plant for the city, having fought for that
improvement for fully seven years. Mr. Golden
owns a comfortable residence of his own, and some business
property in the city and a small acreage in Upper Township.
He is a member of Lymes Creek Fishing Club and for a time
belonged to Company I of the Seventh Ohio National Guard.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 1210 |
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JOHN C. GORMAN,
now serving as postmaster at Ironton, Ohio, under appointment
from President Wilson, was born in Bulger, Pennsylvania, Oct.
31, 1871. His parents moved to Steubenville, Ohio, when he
was but two years old, and Mr. Gorman received his
education in that city having attended the St. Peter's parochial
school until the age of sixteen. His first practical
business experience was in the moulder's trade in which he
served an apprenticeship and was a journeyman worker for seven
years.
Mr. Gorman came to Ironton in 1893 having
accepted a position with the daily and semi-weekly Irontonian of
which his brother, the late James I. Gorman, was owner
and editor. Mr. Gorman was married June 9,
1899, to Miss Mary A. Smith of Ironton, and they are the
parents of four bright and interesting children: Joseph M.,
Mary A., Rosellen, and John, Jr.
Mr. Gorman and family are members of St. Lawrence Catholic
Church.
Since coming to Ironton, Mr. Gorman has
always taken an interest in the city of his adoption, and an
untiring worker in the advancement of democratic principles.
His appointment as postmaster of the City of Ironton is evidence
of the confidence and good will of his fellowmen and also his
worth as a good citizen.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 761 |
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MOSES GREENBERG.
For many years the United States and its business opportunities
have been exploited in other lands, and to this country 's
shores have come people of every land to take advantage of
these. A welcome has been extended to all, and many of the
prosperous citizens of our most thriving communities are those
of foreign birth. A native of Russia, R. Greenberg
came to America in young manhood, and after some experience in
various other sections, finally settled permanently at Ironton,
Ohio, where he has since developed an excellent business and has
taken his place among the men who are maintaining the city's
prestige in commercial circles.
Mr. Greenberg was born in Russia, Jan. 20, 1866,
and is a son of Joseph Greenberg, who was born in
that country in 1803. The father was a teacher by
vocation, and never came to the United States, dying in his
native land in 1896. Mr. Greenberg never knew a
mother's care, for she died when he was an infant, he being the
youngest of a family of five children. He was educated in
Russia, largely under his father's preceptorship until thirteen
years of age, and at that time began to share responsibilities
with his brothers and sisters in the support of the family.
When nineteen years old he went to Turkey, which country he made
his home until coming to America in 1888. For one year
after his arrival he resided at Cincinnati, Ohio, and then went
to Indian Territory, where he established himself in the general
merchandise business and remained until 1896, meeting with a
fair measure of success. In that year he returned to
Cincinnati, but in 1899 came to Ironton, where he engaged in the
scrap iron and second-hand business, in which he has continued
to the present time. This venture, commenced in a modest
way, steadily grew under Mr. Greenberg's native industry
and business ability, and is now one of the thriving enterprises
of Ironton. He deals in wholesale hides, wools, scrap
iron, metals, furs, roots, ginseng, beeswax, rubber and
second-hand machinery, and is the owner of his own business
property on North Second Street, in addition to a comfortable,
modern residence at No. 208 South Fifth Street.
Mr. Greenberg is a stockholder in the Home Telephone
Company and a director in the Ironton Malleable Iron Works.
He holds membership in the Chamber of Commerce. His
religion is that of the Jewish faith, and his political belief
that of the republican party, although political matters have
played little part in his life here. His success is well
merited and has been gained through constant and sturdy
application, good business ability and honorable dealing with
those who have been associated with him in transactions.
Mr. Greenberg was married June 30, 1890, to
Miss Rosie Lapin, at that time a resident of Covington,
Kentucky, but a native of Germany. They have had one
child, who died in infancy.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 673 |
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EARL GRIFFITH.
Prominent among the capable officials of Lawrence County is
found Earl Griffith, official court stenographer
and reporter, a capacity in which he has been favorably before
the public for six years. Mr. Griffith was
for several years a teacher in the public schools of Lawrence
County, and although still a young man has had wide experience
and training that fits him eminently for the duties of his
office. He is a product of Lawrence County, having been
born near Arabia, May 21, 1887, a son of Samuel D. and Louisa
(Bradshaw) Griffith.
Samuel D. Griffith was born at Sherritts P. O.,
Lawrence County, about 1854, and throughout his life has
followed the trade of carpenter, at which he is still engaged at
Arabia. He is well known in that town, where his
reputation is that of a reliable and industrious man of business
and a good and public-spirited citizen. Mrs.
Griffith was born at Arabia, Lawrence County, in 1856, and
also survives, being the mother of seven children, namely:
James L., Myrta, Maude, George,
Ernest E., Earl and Guy.
The early education of Earl Griffith was
secured in the Griffith School, situated in the
vicinity of Arabia, which he attended until reaching the age of
seventeen years. He then secured a license to teach, and
for two years had charge of the Bradshaw School, in the same
locality, following which, realizing the need of further
training, he entered the Davidson business College at
Ironton, and for one year studied stenography and shorthand.
In 1908 Mr. Griffith was appointed official court
stenographer of Lawrence County, and was reappointed in 1911 and
again in 1914, his present term expiring Apr. 6, 1917. His
career has been characterized by efficient and faithful service,
and his work has been entirely satisfactory to all connected
with the court business of the county. Mr.
Griffith is a rapid operator and has made a thorough study
of his vocation, and holds membership in the National Shorthand
Reporters' Association. Fraternally, he is connected with
the Masons, lodge, chapter and council; the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks; the Knights of Pythias, and the
Knights of the Golden Eagle. He has shown an interest in
the welfare of Ironton and its industries, and is an active
member of the Chamber of Commerce. His political
support is given to the republican party, and his religious
connection is with the Baptist Church. Mr. Griffith
is single.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 694 |
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WILLIAM L. GRIFFITH,
M. D. Both in the character of
his practice and the value of his service to the community,
Doctor Griffith is recognized as the leading physician and
surgeon at Pedro Postoffice in Lawrence County. Dr.
Griffith has been identified with his profession for over
twenty years. He grew up on a farm in Lawrence County, and
for over twenty years. He grew up on a farm in Lawrence
County, and by hard work, with opportunities for schooling only
three months at a time, laid the basis of his education, and
finally succeeded in realizing his ambition to become a
physician. His has been a self-made career in the best
sense of that term, and his accomplishments and attainments are
in the highest degree creditable.
William L. Griffith was born in Aid Township,
Lawrence County, Feb. 2, 1857. His father, Louis A.
Griffith, was born in Center County, Pennsylvania, in 1820,
came to Ohio when a mere boy, and was the son of a charcoal
burner, who operated the kilns for the production of the
charcoal used in the old Union Furnace in Lawrence County.
Louis A. Griffith was one of the first iron moulders to
manufacture the old iron kettles made at the Union Furnace.
He afterwards was a farmer, and a man of unusual prominence and
influence in Lawrence County, serving as county commissioner and
for a number of years as justice of the peace in Aid Township.
Louis A. Griffith married Zerelda Stuart, who was
born in Lawrence County near the French Grant in 1823, and died
in 1906. The father died in 1878. Their ten children
were: Sarah, Amos, Mary, Louanna, Susan, Samuel D.,
William L., Martha, Louis F. and John S.
Doctor Griffith was reared on a farm, and such
education as he was able to acquire up to the age of twenty was
spread over a number of terms, alternating between the periods
of hard work in cultivating the land and performing the various
duties of farm life. After a year spent as a school
teacher in Aid Township, he took up farming on land given him by
his father in Lymes Township for five years. Doctor
Griffith then found the means to enter Miami Medical college
at Cincinnati, and was graduated with his well earned degree
M.D. in 1893. The first practice was at Steece in Lawrence
County for two years, and from there he went out to the
Northwest and was located a year and a half at Tacoma,
Washington. Returning to Southern Ohio, he again practiced
for two years at Steece, located at Etna Furnace in 1897, and
has since continued the work of his profession in that vicinity,
with Pedro as his postoffice. He has a large general
practice extending throughout the surrounding country. Doctor
Griffith is a member of the County and State Medical
Societies and the American Medical Association, and is local
surgeon for the D., T. & I. Railway, having held that post since
1906. Through his long and successful practice he
has acquired considerable property, owns his residence and
twenty-three acres of improved land in Elizabeth Township and
eighty-two acres of good farming land in Lymes Township of
Lawrence County.
Doctor Griffith was married Feb. 2, 1882.
at Gallipolis. Ohio, to Sarepta Wiseman, daughter
of Louis F. and Mary (Carter) Wiseman of Lymes Township,
Lawrence County. They are the parents of three children:
Amos, who married Phoebe Johnson, and is a
railway conductor living at Ironton; Clara A., who is the
wife of Robert Stevens, a railroad man living at
Hanging Rock: and May Erma, who lives at home and
is an assistant rural mail carrier out of Pedro. Doctor
Griffith has taken thirty-two degrees in Scottish Rite
Masonry and is also affiliated with the Improved Order of Red
Men and the Knights of the Golden Eagle. His church is the
Methodist. In politics he is a republican, and has served
as postmaster at Pedro since Nov. 15, 1904.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 1323 |
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CHARLES GUSTIN.
Storekeeper for the Superior Portland Cement Company,
Charles Gustin is a native son of Lawrence County, has grown
up in this industrial region, and has worked in the iron and in
the cement industries practically all his active career.
Charles Gustin was born in Hecla, Lawrence
County, Aug. 19, 1882, a son of James and Maria (Dean) Gustin.
His father was born at Ashland, Kentucky, in 1842, was a young
soldier in the Union Army during the Civil war, spending four
years in the Fourteenth Kentucky Infantry, and afterwards
followed an active career as a farmer in Lawrence County until
his death in 1910. the mother, who was born at Heckla,
Ohio, in 1844, still lives in that vicinity. Their twelve
children are named as follows: anna, deceased;
William; George; Fred, deceased; James; Phillip;
Charles; Ida; Vinton; Mary; Lydia,
deceased and Harry.
Charles Gustin acquired his education up to the
age of eighteen at Hecla, then worked in a furnace as a laborer
for three years, spent one year in the employ of the Ironton
Portland Cement Company, and began his duties at Superior in the
cement plant as assistant manager of the company's store.
After three years, in 1910, he was made manager of the store,
and has looked after the mercantile interests of the company
ever since. He is a man thoroughly trained in mercantile
lines, and is popular with all classes of people.
Mr. Gustin was married May 24, 1912, at Ironton
to Daisy Rowe, daughter of William Rowe, of Steece,
Lawrence County. They have two children, Fred and
Phillip. The family attend the Methodist Church and
Mr. Gustin is a republican. Outside of business he
gets much pleasure from his driving horses, and he has three
find specimens. He is also fond of hunting.
Source: A Standard History of The Hanging Rock Iron Region of
Ohio, Vol. II - Illustrated - Published by The Lewis Publishing
Company, 1916 - Page 1097 |
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