BIOGRAPHIES

Source:
* Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio
 by William Alexander Taylor
 - Vols. I  & II -
1909
 

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	ALEXANDER E. N. JANTON.  Death is regarded as the natural conclusion of old age, but there is always a feeling of protest when it carries off the young, especially when the individual possess notable abilities and marked promise.  When death claimed Alexander E. N. Janton, then thirty-two years of age, a feeling of most deep and widespread regret was felt throughout the city of Columbus, where he had spent his entire life, and where his salient qualities of heart and mind had gained him the friendship of all who knew him.      He was a representative of a well-known German-American family, was educated in the city schools, was reared under the parental roof, and after completing his education had joined his father, George Janton, Sr., in the soap manufacturing business. This was one of the leading productive industries of the city, and after familiarizing himself with the business in various ways, Mr. Janton, of this review, was elected to the presidency of the company, operating under the name of George Janton & Sons Company.  He displayed good business ability, keen discernment and unfaltering enterprise, and accomplished what he undertook.  He did not follow along the methods which others had marked out, but initiated new plans and was recognized as a strong and forceful factor in business circles.      It was in 1902 that Mr. Janton was united in marriage, at Covington, Kentucky, to Miss Ella Wagner.  She was a native of Columbus and much of her life was passed in this city, although she was a resident of Covington at the time of their marriage.  Her father was Philip Wagner, long well known here, but now residing in Waverly, Ohio.      Unto Mr. and Mrs. Janton were born two children, Alexia and Minnie.      Mr. Janton, like most people of German nationality, or descent, was fond of music and possessed considerable talent in that art.  He was a member of the Columbus Maennerchor, and also held membership with the Bismarcks.  He was like wise one of the organizers of the Schwasteka Club, and fitted out the club rooms himself.  He held membership with the Eagles, and in all these different organizations enjoyed the friendship and good will of those with whom he came in contact.  Although for many months prior to his death he was incapacitated for business, in was only during the last two weeks of his life that he was confined to his bed, passing away April 27, 1908.  For years to come his memory will be enshrined in the hearts of those who knew him, for he had a cordial disposition and friendly manner that endeared him to his business and social associates. (Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. II - 1909 -  Page 44)
	JOSEPH A. JEFFREY.  The manufacturing interests of this country have no more worthy representatives than Joseph A. Jeffrey, president of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, of Columbus, and a man who has been actively connected with various other business enterprises to the benefit of all.  There is no man in Columbus who occupies a more enviable position than does Mr. Jeffrey in industrial and financial circles, not alone on account of the brilliant success he has achieved, but also on account of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever followed.  He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution, and his close application to business and his excellent management have brought to him the highest degree of prosperity which is today his.      Mr. Jeffrey was born at Clarksville Clinton county Ohio Jan. 17, 1836.  His father, James Jeffrey, was a native of Monmouth county, New Jersey, and was a farmer and trader.  He married Angeline Robinson, a daughter of David Robinson, one of the early settlers of Warren county, Ohio, who was well known at Lebanon.  Joseph A. Jeffrey passed his school days at St. Mary's, Ohio, where he completed his education in the high school after which he spent four years as a clerk in a general store.  Later in life he removed to Columbus, where on the 21st of August, 1858, he secured a position in the office of Rickley & Brother, private bankers.  There he remained until 1866 in the various positions of bookkeeper, teller, and cashier, and in the year mentioned he left the capital city and removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he engaged in the wholesale and retail carpet and furnishing business until 1869, as a member of the firm of Rickley, Howell & Company, having a fourth interest in the concern.  He disposed of his interest in the carpet business to J. J. Rickley and returned to Colu8mbus, where, in connection with S. S. Rickley, then of the firm of Rickley & Brother, bankers, he organized and established the Commercial Bank at High and Long streets, now the Commercial National Bank.      A year later Mr. Rickley sold his interest in the Commercial Bank to Orange Johnson and F. C. Sessions, these gentlemen, with Mr. Jeffrey forming a general partnership under the name of the Commercial Bank, with Mr. Sessions acting as the president, while Mr. Jeffrey became cashier.  HE held that position until 1883, when he disposed of his interest to Mr. Sessions and acquired a controlling interest in the Lechner Mining Machine Company of Columbus.  This enterprise was incorporated in 1878 with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, which has since been increased successively to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to three hundred thousand dollars and to three million dollars; and Mr. Sessions, who was previously connected with Mr. Jeffrey in the banking business, became the first president but was succeeded by Mr. Jeffrey, who has since been the president and general manger of the enterprise.  The company has been known successively as the Lechner Mining Company, the Lechner Manufacturing Company and the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company.      The scope of its operations has been broadened a good deal in successive stages of this history and it now manufactures all kinds of heavy mining and electrical machinery, which is shipped throughout the United States and to foreign countries.  The company ahs an extensive manufacturing plant housed in large stone, brick and steel buildings and employs from twenty-five hundred to three thousand men, a large majority of whom of necessity are skilled workmen, as some of the machinery turned out requires the highest possible finish.  The plant covers about thirty acres of ground and is located on the tracks of the Big Four Railway system, which affords first-class shipping facilities.  The company manufactures electrical machinery, dynamos, motors, under-cutting coal-mining machinery, electric and airpower drills, chain belting, elevators, conveyors, rope transmissions and coal washing and crushing machinery.      The efforts of Mr. Jeffrey have not been confined alone to one line, for his opinions carry weight in business circles generally, where he is known as a man of sound judgment and unquestioned ability.  He is president of the Ohio Malleable Iron Company of Columbus, Ohio; he is a stockholder, vice president and director in the Commercial National Bank of Columbus; is also a stockholder and director in the Ohio Trust Company; and is connected directly and indirectly with many other business enterprises of Columbus.      Mr. Jeffrey was united in marriage to Miss Celia C. Harris, daughter of Joseph and Deborah (Clark) Harris, the wedding being celebrated on the 2d of October, 1866.  They now have sic children:  Minnie G., Florence, Robert H., Agnes, Joseph Walter and Malcolm Douglas.   The eldest son, Robert H., is vice president and assistant general manger of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company.  Joseph Walter is vice president and manager of the Ohio Malleable Iron Company, and the youngest son is assistant manager of the advertising department of the Jeffrey Company.  The eldest daughter, Minnie G., is a graduate of Gannett Institute, of Boston, Massachusetts, and is the wife of R. G. Hutchins, vice president of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Companyh.  Florence was graduated in the Smith College of Northampton, Massachusetts, and is now the wife of William Wilson Carlile, a lawyer of Columbus, Ohio.  Agnes is a graduate of Smith College and is now the wife of Frederick Shedd of Columbus.      Mr. Jeffrey served for five years as a trustee of the Protestant Hospital of Columbus, the Godman Gild House of Columbus, the Humane Society of Columbus, the Children's Hospital of Columbus, and also fo the Woman's Hospital of this city.  He is a director and trustee in the First Congregational church, of which he and his wife and children are members.  HE likewise holds membership in the Columbus Club, the Ohio Club of Columbus, the Arlington Country Club, the Columbus Country Club and the Middle Bass Club of Lake Erie.  In politics he is an outspoken republican.  His business career has been indeed very creditable, having established his present business, the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company and mainly through his efforts and direction having seen it grow from a very small beginning, the employment of a half dozen men, to its present large proportions with a capital and surplus of over four million dollars, employing when running full over-three thousand men, demonstrating the truth of the saying that success is not the result of genius but the outcome of a clear judgment and experience. Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. II - 1909 -  Page  790
	ALFRED L. JOHNSON, M. D.     Dr. Alfred L. Johnson, of Worthington, successfully engaged in the practice of medicine, the extent of his patronage being indicative of the ability which he displays in his professional services, was born July 18, 1866, in the city which is yet his place of residence.  He is a son of Dr. Orville Johnson, for many years one of the most honored and respected residents of Worthington.  The father was a native of Henderson, Jefferson county, New York, born Dec. 4, 1822.  It is not definitely known in what year he arrived in Ohio but in 1843 he was residing in Maumee City, now South Toledo, where he published the Maumee River Times.  It was during his residence there that he formed the acquaintance of Mrs. M. R. Waite, the wife of Judge Waite, afterward chief justice of the United States supreme court, and Dr. Johnson always said that it was due to her influence that he became a member of the Episcopal church.  She was peculiarly adapted to influence young men and used this power toward ennobling and enriching their lives by all that was high and worthy.  In 1844 Dr. Johnson resumed his education as a member of the freshman class at Kenyon College, where he pursued his studies for a little more than two years.  In the meantime he had become acquainted with the printer's trade and through following that pursuit by setting type upon the Gambier Observer, he partially paid the expenses of his college course.  Early in his work as a compositor he manifested concentrated attention and marked heed to the minute details, and the same qualities characterized his entire life.  In 1847 he removed from Gambier to Columbus and secured a position as compositor on the Ohio State Journal.  He also became connected with the publication of the Lutheran Standard, Dr. Johnson being at that time a member of the Lutheran church.  Meanwhile he was pursuing his studies in Starling Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1852.  During his college days he became a member of the Episcopal church and from that time until the close of his life was one of its most faithful communicants, active in various lines of the church work.      For a year following his graduation Dr. Orville Johnson engaged in the practice of medicine in Columbus in company with Dr. B. F. Johnson but in 1853 removed to Worthington, where he opened an office.  For a brief period he was in partnership with Dr. Andrus and was then alone until he was joined by his son.  Dr. Alfred Johnson of this review. In his professional career he was thoughtful, studious, painstaking and persistent and as a result of these qualities met success in his chosen profession.  He was one of five physicians who founded the Central Ohio Medical Association, and that he enjoyed in full measure the confidence of his brother physicians in that association was evidenced by his frequent election to the position of secretary - the working officer of such societies, the one upon whose ability, carefulness and faithfulness the success of the meetings largely depends.  He also acted as its president for one year and was a member of the County and International Association of Physicians.  He kept in touch with the current literature of the profession and at all times was interested in whatever tended to bring to man the key to that complex mystery which we call life.      In community affairs he was deeply interested and Worthington owes much to his progressive efforts and influence.  From 1858 until the time of his death he filled the office of village clerk.  He was a worker in everything that he believed was for the upbuilding of the community, whether religious, moral, educational or political.  For years he was clerk of the board of education of the Worthington school district and for many years he was a trustee of St. John's church and was also senior warden of the parish.  Upon the organization of the Anti-Saloon League of Worthington he was made its treasurer and collector and remained one of its most active workers.  In fact, he was always a worker in every organization with which he was connected and was, moreover, a student and diligent man in his profession.      On the 17th of June, 1856, Dr. Orville Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Ellen M. Armstrong, and the family circle, which in the course of years included six children, remained unbroken until the death of Mrs. Johnson in 1893.  He was always most devoted to the welfare of his wife and children, counting his greatest happiness to minister to their interests.  His sons and daughters were: Edward C., who is now connected with mining interests at Salmon City, Idaho, where he has remained for seventeen years; Mary E., who is the widow of Herbert C. Wing and resides with her brother Alfred; Charles U., of Wisconsin; Anna, who is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music and is now supervisor of music in the schools of Sidney, Ohio; and Lucy, who is a bookkeeper at Newark in the branch office of the Chicago firm of Sears, Roebuck & Company.  To his family Dr. Johnson left public service and his social relations brought him into close contact with the life of the community and for forty-three years he went in and out among the people of Worthington practicing his profession and at all times was known as "a good man."   This is the expression of the consensus of public opinion regarding him, so that his life was an inspiration and his memory is a benediction.      At the usual age Dr. Alfred L. Johnson became a pupil in the public schools and in the course of time completed the high-school course.  He after ward took a preliminary course at the State University and in 1891 matriculated in Starling Medical College, where he spent two years, while in 1895 he was graduated from the Ohio Medical University.  In 1893 he began assisting his father in active practice in Worthington and has since been connected with the profession in this city, doing good work here by reason of his intimate knowledge of the principles of medicine and his ready adaptability of this knowledge to the needs of his patients.  He is a member of the Academy of Medicine at Columbus and of the State Medical Society and the American Medical Society.  He has attained high rank in Masonry, belonging to New England Lodge, No. 4, A. F. & A. M., while in the Scottish Rite he has become a thirty-second degree consistory Mason.  Well known here, his personal worth as well as his professional skill commend him to the good will and patronage of his fellow citizens, among whom he has always resided. Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. I - 1909 -  Page 704
	CHARLES FOSTER JOHNSON.     Charles Foster Johnson, engaged in the practice of law and in the real estate business of Columbus, Ohio, demonstrates in his life record the possibilities for successful accomplishment to him who recognizes the fact that the present and not the future holds his opportunity.  He has ever utilized the passing moments to the best advantage and has gradually worked his way upward until now he is one of the prominent representatives of financial interests in the capital city.  Mr. Johnson is a native of New Albany, Franklin county.  He was born Oct. 14, 1879, on the day on which Charles Foster was elected governor and was named in his honor.  His parents were William H. and Mary R. Johnson. The paternal grandfather was Thomas Johnson, who had three sons: George W., Charles W. and William H.  The youngest learned and followed the shoemaker's trade, but interrupted his business interests by active service in the Civil war as a defender of the Union cause.  He wedded Mary R. Hall, a daughter of Andrew Hall and a sister of Andrew B. and Lavonia Hall.  Unto Mr. and Mrs. William H. Johnson were born ten children: Blynn, who died at the age of six months; Willis G., now deceased, who was married and had two children, Chester P. and Helen; Laura, who has one son, Everett; George D.; Herman H., who has one daughter, Louise; Belle L.; Charles F., of this review; Minnett E.; Mary C.; and Andrew B.      Charles Foster Johnson completed his public-school education in the high school of Ithaca, New York, and afterward attended the Ohio State University, being graduated from the law department in 1902 with the degree of Bachelor of Law.  For two years he was trust official with the State Savings Bank & Trust Company of Columbus but is now engaged in the general practice of law and in the real-estate business, making a specialty of development of allotments.  He has made steady progress in the various branches of his business and deserves much credit for what he has accomplished as he has depended entirely upon his own resources from the age of seventeen years.  At that time he left home and later provided the funds necessary for his professional education.  He became a permanent resident of Columbus in 1899 and since that time has made steady progress in his chosen field of labor.  Ambition and enterprise have led him on and on until he occupies a position among the men of affluence and the substantial citizens of the capital.      On the 16th of June, 1904, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Mary Jane Pinney, a daughter of Perry Pinney, of Westerville, Ohio, and they have one child, Mary Katharyn, two and one-half years of age.  Mr. Johnson has always given his political allegiance to the republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him.  He be longs to the Masonic fraternity and has taken the chapter and council degrees.  The demands of a growing business, however, leave him little opportunity for participation in public affairs and yet his influence is always given on the side of municipal advancement and general improvement. Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. I - 1909 -  Page 679
Edward Johnson	EDWARD JOHNSON.     Edward Johnson, earning his living in the mine at nine years of age, is now president of the Lorain Coal & Dock Company, one of the most extensive enterprises of this character in the state.  Strong in his ability to plan and to perform, through his own efforts he has reached a position that has made his opinions authoritative among his business colleagues and associates, and that causes his cooperation to be sought in the management of various undertakings.  His life history furnishes an inspiration and incentive to others in that it is proof of the opportunities that lay before an individual who fears not to dare and to do.      A native of England, he was born near Birmingham, Aug. 26, 1855, a son of Thomas and Ann (Slater) Johnson, but has resided in the United States since the age of eight years, when his parents brought the family to the new world and settled at Niles, Ohio.  His education was largely acquired in attending night schools, and he thus displayed the elemental force of his character, giving to the study hours which most youths, busily employed in the day, would have devoted to pleasure.      He started to work in the mine when he was nine years of age, and his boyhood was a period of earnest and unlimited toil.  That he was diligent and faithful is indicated in the fact that he became a practiced miner when he was thirteen years of age.  His experience in the mines, his knowledge of the methods employed in getting out the coal and the ability which he gained in judging the value of the material all constitute elements in his present day success.  He was also in his early life engaged in farm labor for four or five years.      When his industry and careful expenditures had brought him a little capital, he joined his brother in leasing nine acres of coal at Nelsonville.  This was his .start as a mine operator and with it a« a nucleus he has developed a business of mammoth proportions.  The product of the Nelsonville mine was delivered to boats on the canal; one or two cars a day loaded; this, together with the coal sold to the town people, consumed the entire output.  The reliable business methods used, combined with the keen judgment and discrimination in the management brought success to the undertaking and the result was the organization of the New Pittsburg Coal Company, of which Mr. Johnson was general manager.  Later the Johnson Coal Company was formed, and coal acquired in the Pittsburg district in Pennsylvania.  These companies both were sold to the Pittsburg Coal Company.      In 1900 Mr. Johnson together with others, organized the Lorain Coal & Dock Company, which now owns over sixteen thousand acres of coal and mines from twelve to fifteen hundred thousand tons of coal annually.  The business has been developed to magnificent proportions largely through the efforts and enterprise of Edward Johnson.  He has been general manager of the company since its organization and upon the death of A. C. Saunders of Cleveland, in 1907, was elected president.      Mr. Johnson is a director of the Citizens Savings Bank, a director of the Ohio Trust Company and of the Columbus Merchandise Company, thus extending his efforts into various fields.  Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more enviable position in industrial and financial circles, not alone by reason of the splendid success he has achieved but also owing to the straightforward business methods and undaunted enterprise which he has ever displayed.      Mr. Johnson was married to Helen T. Musser, of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and their children are Goldie, now Mrs. Roy L. Wildermuth of Columbus; Charles C.; Stanley B.; Frances E.; and Edward S.  Mr. and Mrs. Johnson hold membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Johnson is a member of the Columbus Country Club.  He also belongs to the Masonic bodies, being a Knight Templar and having taken the thirty second degree in the Scottish Rite.      Such in brief is the history of Edward Johnson.  The record seems a marvelous one when we measure the distance between the starting point and the position he now has reached, yet his progress has been made along legitimate lines of trade and through the exercise of qualities which anyone might cultivate.  Anyone meeting him face to face would know at once that he is an individual embodying all the elements of what in this country we term a "square man," one in whom to have confidence in any relation and in any emergency.  His quietude of deportment, his easy dignity, his frankness and cordiality of address, with the total absence of anything sinister or anything to conceal, foretoken a man who is ready to meet any obligation of life with the confidence and courage that come of conscious personal ability, right conception of things and an habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities. Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. I - 1909 -  Page 530
	ROBERT R. JOHNSTON.     The history of Westerville would be incomplete and unsatisfactory with out mention of Robert R. Johnston, who has resided here for only two years but had previously been a resident of Columbus for twenty-eight years.  He has had broad experience in business life and in all of his different connections has proved competent and reliable.  He is now at the head of the Westerville Creamery Company.  He was born near Newark, in Perry county, Ohio, Dec. 2, 1848, a son of Joshua and Mary Johnston, who removed to Muskingum county, Ohio, when their son Robert was but eight years of age.  He had two brothers who were soldiers of the Civil war.  Josiah W., who enlisted from Zanesville as a member of the Eighteenth Regulars, was taken prisoner, afterward paroled and died in the service at Nashville.  M. B. Johnston was a member of the Seventh Ohio Cavalry, was wounded at Munfordville, Kentucky, during the Morgan raid, and now resides at Beverly, Ohio.      Robert R. Johnston was reared in Muskingum county, Ohio, to the age of twenty years and pursued his education in the public schools of Zanesville, while in that city he also learned the confectioner's trade, becoming quite expert in that business.  He afterward went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked at his trade for five years.  He was the youngest of eight children and lost his mother when quite young.  Early thrown upon his own resources, the success that he has achieved is the merit of tribute of his industry and enterprise.      On the 16th of January, 1872, Mr. Johnston was married to Miss Josephine Kirk, of Zanesville, after which they removed to Columbus, where they resided for twenty-eight years. In 1906 they came to Westerville, where they now reside.  In the capital city Mr. Johnston was engaged in the bakery and catering business and was quite successful in that undertaking, becoming well known to the trade there, but after more than a quarter of a century he sold his interests in Columbus and came to Westerville, joining his son in the creamery business.  Mr. Johnston had established this enterprise six years before and it was being managed by his son.  A stock company was now organized and the business was extended, creameries being established at Centerburg, Richwood and Magnetic Springs as well as Westerville.  The company has also inaugurated a condensing plant and an ice plant in the creamery at Westerville and supplies the town with ice.  The business is now one of the important industries of this part of the country and its trade has reached extensive proportions, bringing a gratifying and substantial financial return.      Mr. and Mrs. Johnston became the parents of but one child, William B. Johnston, who is now manager of the Westerville Creamery.  He was born in Covington, Kentucky, Dec. 4, 1872, but the most of his life has been spent in Columbus from the age of seven years.  He was in school there until sixteen years of age, when he entered business life as a clerk with the Bancroft & Sheldon Dry Goods Company, which he thus represented for five years.  On the expiration of that period he began business on his own account, establishing a general store at Bradford Junction.  He conducted the business there successfully for some time but in 1900 sold out and came to Westerville, where he took charge of the creamery established by his father.  The business was incorported on the 4th of March, 1906, under the name of the Westerville Creamery Company.  After building a plant the business was started, receiving nine hundred and fifty-two pounds of milk the first day, while at the present time thirty thousand pounds are received.  This indicates in a measure the growth of the business, which is now capably managed, the facilities having been increased to meet the growing demands of the trade.  The creamery is conducted after the most approved methods, the utmost care being given to cleanliness and sanitation and the product of the plant, because of its excel lence and superiority, finds a most ready sale on the market.      In 1895 William B. Johnston was united in marriage to Miss Ethel Mason, who died in 1905, leaving two children, Laura and Roberta.  In 1903 Mr. Johnston was again married, his second union being with Nellie Martin, by whom he has one son, William Lawson.      Previous to 1908 William B. Johnston was a member of the board of public affairs of Westerville and both father and son are members of the Board of Trade, while the latter is a director.  They are also both members of the Masonic fraternity and the son is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.  They are both widely recognized as men of excellent business ability, capacity and enterprise and their success has been achieved along most honorable and creditable lines.  They are also advocates of the republican party and in all matters of citizenship are progressive, lending their aid and influence to many measures for the public good. Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. II - 1909 -  Page 489
	ROBERT W. JOHNSTON.     Robert W. Johnston was born near Hayesville, Ashland county, Ohio, where he resided until 1876, when he became a student in the law office of the late H. C. Carhart, at Galion.  After the usual time spent by farmer boys at district school, he attended Vermillion Institute, at Hayesville, and pursued his professional studies during the full course at the law school of the Cincinnati College.  Upon graduation at the latter institution in May, 1879, he entered into partnership with his preceptor, Mr. Carhart, and later became a member of the firm of Johnston & Lewis, which partnership continued for several years.  Mr. Johnston served the city of Galion as city solicitor and mayor.  Since 1904 much of his time has been devoted to real-estate interests in Columbus and more especially to the development of that portion of the "West Side." adjacent to the "Old National Road," commonly known as the "Hill Top." Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. II - 1909 -  Page 544
	GEORGE HEREODH JONES.  Among the members of the Columbus bar whose records reflect credit and honor upon the history of the judiciary of Ohio George H. Jones is numbered and his reputation bas been won through earnest effort in a calling which demands keen intellectuality. ready discrimination and careful analysis. He was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, June 9, 1857. The family comes of Welsh ancestry, the father, David D. Jones, having been a native of Wales. When seventeen years of age he became a resident of Nashville, Tennessee, and in 1843 removed to Ohio, engaging in merchandising at Portsmouth. He was for many years closely identified with the commercial interests of that city. where he maintained his residence until his death, which occurred in 1889 when he was eighty years of age. He held some local political positions and was well known in his county as a. substantial and prosperous citizen, noted as well for his uprightness and sturdy character. He wedded Margaret Griffith. who was of Welsh descent. and died February 21, 1904, at the age of eighty-nine years and six months.      George H. Jones, continuing his education through successive grades in the public schools of his native city, eventually completed the high-school course and tool: up the study of law in the office of Jones & Thompson, the senior partner being Colonel H. E. Jones; who commanded the Fifty-sixth Ohio Regiment, while the junior partner was Judge Thompson of the United State.- district bench. He afterward went to Cincinnati, where he attended law school and at the same time received practical training in the office of Judge Harmon. He was graduated from law college with the class of 1877, but as he had not as vet attained his majority he could not be admitted to the bar. At the invitation of Judge Slack, circuit judge at Huntington, Indiana, he went there to practice law and remained for a year, He then received a sub-judicial appointment with the collector of customs at Puget Sound, making his headquarters at Port Townsend, Washington. Shortly afterward he entered upon the practice of law and was chosen deputy prosecuting attorney for the entire section of western Washington, filling the position until 1883. He then devoted hi. energies to a. private law practice and was accorded a liberal clientage that was indicative of the ability which he displayed in handling the work of the courts.      Mr. Jones had come to he recognized as one of the leading representatives of the republican party and therefore was prominent in public affairs. In 1889 he was elected a member of the constitutional convention and while thus serving aided in framing the present organic law of the state. He represented an historic district. a part of which was San Juan islands. His knowledge of law and his study of the science of government well qualified him for the excellent work which he did in connection with the constitutional convention. He was very active in politics, attended all of the conventions of the republican party and was influential in shaping its policy. He also did considerable correspondence for the managers who sought to nominate William McKinley for the presidency. A chairman of the Jefferson county executive and central committees he called the first republican convention in the state of Washington, which endorsed the candidacy of Major McKinley and elected delegates to the state convention and sent delegates to the national convention which nominated McKinley in St. Louis in 1896. In 1898 President McKinley tendered him an appointment as special United States attorney in the judiciary department and he accepted it. After completing this appointment he was tendered an appointment as an assistant attorney at Washington, D. C., in the same department, but declined to serve. He was called to local office as president of the school board, and was also city attorney of Port Townsend for two terms. His practice extended to all parts of the state of -Washington and he also did considerable admiralty practice before the United States courts.      It was in 1900 that Mr. Jones established his law office in Columbus and has since been numbered among the ablest members of the capital city bar. In November 1902, he was appointed, without solicitation on his part, to the office of assistant attorney general by Attorney General Judge Sheets, and continued in that capacity until the close of the term in January. 1904. Mr. Jones was then made first assistant attorney general by Wade Ellis and served during his first term or until March, 1901, when he resigned to enter the active practice of law. He makes a specialty of corporation law and has a large and distinctively representative clientage of this character. He is also special counsel for the Columbus, New Albany & Johnstown Railroad, an electric interurban line. Few men have more intimate knowledge of corporation law or are more accurate in applying its principles. Both as an advocate and counselor Mr. Jones enjoys a high reputation and as an honored member of the Ohio State Bar Association.      On the 25th of October, 1883, in Portsmouth, Ohio, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Ada B. Finch, of that city. He is fond of fishing and makes it his principal source of recreation. While in the west he served as captain of Company I, of the First Regiment of the Washington National Guard for three years. Strong in his individuality he never lacks the courage of his convictions but there are as dominant elements in his individuality a lively human sympathy and an abiding charity which, as taken in connection with the sterling integrity and honor of his character, have naturally gained to him the respect and confidence of men. In whatever relations of life he is found in the government .service, in political circles, in business or in social relations -he is always the same honorable and honored gentleman, whose worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly given him. Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. II - 1909 -  Page  15
	CHARLES E. JUSTICE.    Charles E. Justice, a member of the Columbus bar, specializing in the department of real estate law, was born in Perry county, Ohio, Jan. 11, 1860, his parents being James R. and Cathrin (Pletcher) Justice, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Ohio.  Seven brothers of the Justice family, natives of Ireland, were driven from that land through political persecution and went to Holland.  After twenty years they returned to the Emerald Isle and thence sailed for America.  At the time the colonies attempted to throw off the yoke of British oppression three of them enlisted in the defense of American interests and two of them were never heard from  again.  The paternal grandfather of Charles E. Justice loyally served as a soldier in the war of 1812 and died at the age of ninety years.     James R. Justice, the father, was an educator, devoting his entire life to school work, but in 1884 was killed by accident.  His wife still resides in Columbus.  She is a representative of a family of German origin that for many years numbered its members among the residents of Pennsylvania.      Charles E. Justice acquired a public school education and afterward engaged in teaching school in Fairfield county for eight years.  The hours which are usually termed leisure were by him closely devoted to the study of law until he had mastered many of the principles of jurisprudence and, successful in passing the required examination, was admitted to the bar Dec. 5 , 1889, before the supreme court of Ohio.  He has since been admitted to practice in the United States circuit court and in following his profession in Columbus has given unmistakable evidence of his ability in his chosen vocation.  The court records show that he has won a number of notable cases and also that he confines his attention largely to real estate law.  He has not dissipated his energies over the entire field of jurisprudence but has concentrated his forces along one particular line with the result that his ability is continuously increasing.  His offices are located in the Wesley Block where he has remained for almost nineteen successive years.      Mr. Justice is a member of the Columbus Board of Trade and is well known in Masonic circles, having taken the degrees of the Ancient York Rite.  He is also a very prominent and active worker in the blue lodge of masonry, and is connected with the Knights of Pythias and in fraternal circles, as in other relations of life, enjoys the warm regard in which he is held. Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. II - 1909 -  Page 313

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