BIOGRAPHIES

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

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	HENRY O'KANE, president of The O'Kane Insurance Agency Company in this connection bends his efforts to constructive work and administrative direction that have resulted in the development of an enterprise of large proportion and important interest.  He was born in Reynoldsburg, Franklin county, Ohio, Aug. l, 1843.  The family is of Scotch-Irish lineage, coming to America from the north of Ireland. Leaving that section of the Emerald isle in 1789 the grandfather of our subject established his home in North Carolina and afterward removed to Rockingham county, Virginia.  He was a man of considerable prominence in his native country, nor was he unknown to local fame in the land of his adoption.      The father of our subject, James O'Kane, was a native of Rockingham county, Virginia, and the year 1820 witnessed his arrival in Pickerington. Fairfield county, Ohio, whence he removed to Reynoldsburg in 1836, coming to Columbus in 1849.      He engaged in merchandising and met with gratifying prosperity until the Civil war brought reverses.  He was an ardent advocate of the Union cause, an honest, upright man of the. old school of merchants, and in every relation of life he commanded the confidence and good will of those with whom he was associated.  His death occurred Mar. 10, 1875.  His wife bore the maiden name of Julia Ann Williams. Her parents were natives of Wales and as children became residents of Cayuga county, New York.  Later they settled at Pickerington, Ohio, and while there residing their daughter, Julia Ann, formed the acquaintance of James O'Kane, who sought her hand in marriage, the wedding ceremony being performed in June, 1829, in the old First Presbyterian church in Columbus, by the late Dr. Hoge.  In September, 1849, Mr. and Mrs. James O'Kane removed to the capital city, where their remaining days were passed, the death of the wife occurring January 4, 1861.      Coming to Columbus when but six years of age, Henry O'Kane pursued his education in the public schools, passing from grade to grade to his graduation from the high school in the days of 1859 when but sixteen year of age.  He afterward attended the. Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, graduating in 1863.   The following year he served for one hundred days as a soldier in the Union army of the Civil war, acting as corporal of Company H of the One Hundred and Thirty-third Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  He was on active duty in the siege of Petersburg and participated in several engagements.  The company which he joined was largely made up of clerks from the banks and leading mercantile houses of the city and included E. K. Stewart, Robert Sheldon, George Bright, and Phillip Brook.  Mr. O'Kane was honorably discharged Aug. 20, 1864, and returned to his service as cashier in the banking house of Rickly & Brother.  He had previously been appointed to that position but put aside his business cares and duties to aid his country.  He returned, however, to the institution which is now the Capital City Bank, and there remained until July 1, 1872, when he resigned and entered the fire insurance business, succeeding to a local agency that had been in existence for eight years.  The business has shown a steady and healthy growth since Mr. O'Kane assumed management more than thirty-seven year ago.  He has a. profitable clientage among the most substantial citizens of Columbus and his business has now assumed extensive proportions, being the oldest and one of the largest agencies of the city.  Mr. O'Kane was also secretary and manager of the Franklin Insurance Company during the thirty years of its existence.      In early manhood Mr. O'Kane was married to Miss Cassie Van de Water, of Columbus, who died Feb. 15, 1878, leaving a daughter and a son, Mrs. Frank Raymond of this city, and Walter C., who is now with the Dispatch.  On the 25th of November; 1880, Mr. O'Kane was again married, his second union being with Miss Mary L. Cooke, of Sunbury, Ohio. Their children are James, who is with his father in business, Louise, Elizabeth, and Russell. born in 1894.      Mr. O'Kane holds membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church and his loyalty to its teachings and his generosity in its support have made him one of its most helpful members. He has also filled the various, offices in the church, has been Sunday school superintendent. secretary, steward, librarian and trustee.  He belongs to the Arlington Country Club and is well known in fraternal circles.  He is a trustee of the Odd Fellows temple and is a past grand of Capital lodge and past chief patriarch of Junia encampment. He has also held offices in the Grand Encampment and is a prominent representative of Odd Fellowship.  He has also been prominent in Masonic circles and is a life member of the different Masonic bodies.  He is a past master of the lodge and a past eminent commander of the commandery and a charter member of the Scottish Rite.  He likewise belongs to the Aladdin temple of the Mystic Shrine and is in hearty sympathy with the beneficent spirit of the craft.  His political belief has been in accord with the principles of the republican party since he cast his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln.  He has always declined to hold office but he is interested in good government and casts his ballot for the men whom he thinks will prove competent and trustworthy officials.  Such, in brief, is the life history of Henry O'Kane, a man respected by all who know him. (Source: Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. II - 1909 - Page 36)
	C. T. OKEY, M.D., who for eleven years has been a representative of the medical fraternity in Columbus, was born in Caldwell, Ohio, Mar. 5, 1870. His father, F. G. Okey, was a native of Noble county, Ohio, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1906, when he was seventy-eight years of age. For many years he conducted business as a druggist, thus providing for the support of his family, while in the community where he lived he gained recognition as one of the reliable and enterprising merchants.  He married Miss Minerva Myers, a native of Ohio, who died in 1906, at the age of sixty-nine years.      Dr. Okey was a pupil in the public schools of Caldwell prior to entering Marietta College, where he pursued his literary education, being graduated in 1892. He received his professional training in the Starling Medical College, being numbered among its alumni of 1896.  Twelve years later he opened an office in Columbus for the general practice of medicine, having devoted the intervening two years after his graduation to service as interne in Mt. Carmel Hospital.  He now gives his time and energy to the duties of a general practice and is assistant surgeon in the Starling-Ohio Medical College.  He also lectures before the Nurses School of Mt. Carmel Hospital and he gains knowledge and inspiration through his attendance at the meetings of the Academy of Medicine, the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.      Dr. Okey is well known in Masonic circles and is a worthy exemplar of the craft, having many opportunities to use its basic principles of brotherly kindness and helpfulness in his practice.  He now belongs to the lodge of Columbus, has taken the thirty-third degree of the Scottish Rite and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine.  The substantial qualities of his manhood, his citizenship and his professional skill have gained him the warm regard of those with whom he has been brought in contact. (Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. II - 1909 -  Page  86)
	REV. THOMAS J. O'REILLY, pastor of St. Dominic's Catholic church in Columbus, was born in Stanhope, New Jersey, Dec. 23, 1855, of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. William O'Reilly, both of whom were natives of Ireland, but were married in the United States.  The son attended the common schools to the age of twelve years, when he went to Providence, Rhode Island, and continued his studies in the high school.  He next entered Christian Brothers High School for Boys at that place, and after graduation from the institution pursued born advanced study at Manhattan College in New York city, where he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts.  He prepared for the ministry in Seton Hall College, at South Orange, New Jersey, where he pursued a course in teh classics and in theology, the present Archbishop Messner of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then being professor of this college.  Rev. O'Reilly completed his theological course in St. Mary's Seminary at Baltimore, Maryland, and was ordained to the priesthood April 22, 1885, by Bishop Brondel, of Helena, Montana.  Rev. O'Reilly was the third clergyman ordained by this distinguished gentleman, and his ordination forms a coincident feature from the fact that the other two ordained bore the name of O'Reilly, one having come from Louvain, Belgium, while the other claimed Paris, France, as his place of residence.      In the discharge of his priestly office, Rev. O'Reilly came to Columbus during the administration of Bishop Watterson, and by him was appointed assistant pastor of the Cathedral, while in 1885 he was made chancellor and secretary of the Columbus diocese, being retained in the important position for four yeas, or until September, 1889, when, extending the field of his labors and influence, he founded the parish of St. Dominic, which, under his guidance has developed into one of the largest and most important parishes in this city.  The parish consists of one of the finest church structures, besides a school, parochial residence and the Sisters of St. Joseph Convent.  Under his excellent management the parish has enjoyed a rapid growth and is in fine financial condition.  Father O'Reilly is a man of earnest purpose and of scholarly attainments, and is extremely popular among his parishioners. The church work is being carried steadily forward along all its varied lines, and is proving a potent force in the moral development of the Catholic population of the section of the city in which the church is located. (Source: * Centennial History of Columbus, and Franklin Co., Ohio by William Alexander Taylor - Vol. II - 1909 -  Page  537)

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