Biographies

Source:
The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio
To Which is Added an Elaborate Compendium of National Biography
Illustrated
Publ. Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Company
1902
 

	EDWIN J. CAMPBELL.   This influential citizen of Morgan township, Knox county, Ohio, is a son of James and Eliza A. (Sperry) Campbell, and was born on the farm on which he now lives May 8, 1849.  He was educated in the public schools of district No. 3, Morgan township, and in a Cincinnati college, where he was a student for one year.  After leaving school he engaged in farming on the old Campbell homestead and soon developed into one of the most successful farmers in the township.  He now owns two hundred and ninety-six acres of rich farm land, nearly all of which is under cultivation, and besides raising general crops gives much attention to stock-raising.  His home is one of the most attractive in this vicinity.      In religion Mr. Campbell affiliates with the Baptist church. In politics he is a Republican, and he is an active and influential Patron of Husbandry.  He has filled the offices of secretary, overseer and master of his grange, and is thoroughly devoted to all its interests.  He was married, May 24, 1893, to Margaret D. Lewis, daughter of Samuel and Mary J. (Gallant) Lewis, a woman of high character and many accomplishments, who had been to him in every sense a worthy helpmeet.      David Campbell, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, emigrated to Ohio from Virginia and settled in Butler township, Knox county, afterward removing to Morgan township, where he lived until his death, which occurred Mar. 14, 1820. James Campbell, father of Edwin J. Campbell, married Eliza A. Sperry and died Mar. 21, 1894, aged seventy-four years.  They had seven children, as follows: David Presley; Mary Angeline; Martha; Elizabeth, who married William Sellers and died in February, 1894; Hugh S.; Edwin J.; and Clyde Ernest.  Samuel Lewis, father of Margaret D. (Lewis) Campbell, was a son of John Lewis and was born in Wales, Aug. 8, 1832.  He married Mary J. Gallant, a daughter of Elisha and Eleanor (Moore) Gallant, and had five children, as follows Ella, who married Edward E. Jones and lives at Richwood, Ohio; Elisha Judson; Minnie, who married Walter Cox, of Radnor, Delaware county, Ohio; Margaret D., wife of the subject of this sketch; and Elizabeth, who married Chauncey Prouty and is now a widow living at Radnor, Ohio.  The father of these children died Feb. 21, 1891, aged sixty-nine years; and the mother died Aug. 20, 1900, aged sixty-four years. Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 297
	JAMES PERRY COLLINS, farmer and stone mason of Miller township, Knox county, Ohio, is one of the most widely known brick and stone contractors in Knox and adjoining counties.  He is a son of Washington and Susan (Hunter) Collins, and was born at Brinkhaven, Knox county, Ohio, Feb. 2, 1853.      Washington Collins, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, 1826.  He was served four years in the Civil war was as a member of Company G, One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and is now residing with his son, James P.  By his marriage with Susan Hunter he became the father of five children, named as follows in the order of their birth:  James Perry; Jackson, of Newcastle, Ohio; and George, Edward and Adaline, who are dead.  Mrs. Collins died at about the age of seventy years.      James Perry Collins is a member of Mt. Zion Lodge, No. 9, Free and Accepted Masons, of Mount Vernon, and is also a Chapter Mason there, and is a member of Sycamore Valley Lodge, No. 553, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  He married Miss Angeline Dripps June 14, 1876, and she has borne him two children, Minnie, wife of Benjamin Wright, of Miller Township, and Gertrude, at home.  Mrs. Collins is a daughter of Harrison and Rachel (McFarland) Dripps, and was born in Milford township, Knox county.      Mr. Collins is a citizen of public spirit,,, who has the best interests of his township and county at heart, and his fellow citizens have learned that they may safely depend upon him to encourage earnestly and substantially any movement for the general good.  His patriotic inclinations cause him to feel a deep interest in all national affairs, and he is an intelligent observer of all passing events. Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 ~ Page 88 SHARON WICK'S NOTE: Perry Collins, a widower was married a second time at ca. ae 53 years of age on Mar. 23, 1906 to Christine Lugenbeal ae 50 at Muskingum Co., Ohio.  (Copy of marriage license, etc. at www.familysearch.org)
	HENRY B. CURTIS.   It was in 1885 that Henry B. Curtis passed from this life—full of years and of honors, but the result and influence of his life work still lingers. There has been no resident of Mount Vernon who has taken a more active or helpful interest in the welfare and progress of the city and for years he was numbered among its distinguished lawyers and capitalists.  He was born near the village of Champlain, New York, Nov. 28, 1799, a son of Zarah and Phalley (Yale) Curtis. The former was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, in 1762, and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, loyally fighting for independence.  His wife was the eldest daughter of Aaron and Anna (Hosmer) Yale and was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1762.  They were married in 1785 and removed to Charlotte, Vermont, where some of their daughters were born, while Hosmer Curtis, an older brother of our subject, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut.  His death occurred in Keokuk, Iowa, in 1874, at the advanced age of eighty-five years.  From Charlotte, Vermont, the family removed to a farm on the west side of Lake Champlain, near the village of that name, where they resided until 1809, when they went to Newark, Licking county, Ohio.  A few years later the father purchased a farm at the South fork of the Licking river, where the family were living when Henry Barnes Curtis started out in life on his own account.  That property was afterward sold and another farm purchased, on which the father died in 1849, in the eighty-eighth year of his age, beloved and respected as a member of the Christian church.      Henry B. Curtis was a lad of only nine years when he came to Ohio.  At that time Newark was a village of but fifty or sixty rude houses, mostly log cabins.  The opportunities for a thorough education were somewhat limited, yet the private schools of Roswell Mills and Amos H. Coffee gave to the diligent and faithful students facilities for an education, not only in the common school studies, but also in the higher English branches.  Under these faithful teachers and some private instructors in a partial classical course Mr. Curtis, by hard study, gained a liberal education.  During the whole period he assisted his father in the farm work and even after leaving home he continued to pay his parents all his wages except what was necessary for his expenses until he was twenty years of age.   When a youth of seventeen he left the farm and came to Mount Vernon, where his brother, Hosmer, was then practicing law.  With his assistance he obtained a position in the clerks office, where his assiduity and ready skill soon secured him the appointment of deputy clerk.  Thus he became acquainted with the distinguished lawyers of that day and won their friendship.   Familiarized with courts and legal forms of proceedings in this way, he was naturally directed to the law as a life work.  In the fall of 1820 he became a law student in his brother's office and on the 9th of December, 1822, he was admitted to the bar.      As an evidence of the kindly estimation in which he was held by the judges of the court, after he had retired from the deputy clerkship and while yet a student, the four judges on the bench appointed him recorder of the county, a position which he filled for seven years.  This advancement in the outset of life was a material aid to him.  It gave him position and with the general acquaintance he had previously secured, his familiarity with the forms of legal proceedings, a well-read knowledge of the law and a diligent application to the study of his cases and preparation of his briefs, he soon fell into a large and profitable practice.  When he entered upon the practice of the law there were but two other resident lawyers in the county, but others soon came—men of ability and prominence—and it was the capable lawyer that held a foremost position at the bar, as did Mr. Curtis.  In the earlier years of his practice his professional circuit embraced besides Knox the counties of Licking, Richland, Delaware and Coshocton, with frequent extension in special cases to more remote courts.  On the 9th of January, 1863, he was admitted to the bar of the United States supreme court in Washington and at different times his practice took him to this court as well as to the supreme court of the state and the United States circuit and district courts.  In December, 1872, he celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his admission to the bar by giving a supper at his residence, "Round Hill," to the resident members of the profession and many old time friends.  He announced on that occasion that he would decline all new retainers thereafter, and leave the field to his younger brethren and thence forward he would try to give better attention to his private business.  Mr. Curtis never deserted his profession to seek political preferment.  In view of the success that crowned his career it is evident that in the choice of his profession he acted wisely.      On the 2d of July, 1823, Mr. Curtis married Miss Elizabeth Hogg, daughter of Percival and Elizabeth Hogg, of Mount Pleasant, Jefferson county, Ohio.  Her family had but recently arrived in this country from Durham, England, where she was born June 22, 1803. She died in Mount Vernon July 17, 1878.  They had six daughters and two sons, but only one is living, Ella, the wife of Joseph C. Devin, a lawyer of Mount Vernon, who at one time was state senator from Knox county.      In politics a Republican, Mr. Curtis was present and took part in the convention in which the party was organized in Ohio.  Although he believed firmly in the principles of the party and always voted therefor he would never become a candidate for office, save in 1840, when he accepted the Whig nomination for congress and succeeded in reducing his opponent's previous majority by overdone thousand.  Although he desired not political office he was honored with many public trusts.  He represented Knox county in the state board of equalization in the winter of 1840-41, a body legislative in form of organization and in which many vital and important question in regard to the material interests of the state were discussed and settled.  For twelve years preceding the dissolution of the board he held the office of trustee of the Central Lunatic Asylum.  At the time of the transfer of its powers to three commissioners of the building, and for sometime previous, he was acting president of the board.  This trust involved the care of over five hundred insane, the administration and general government of its affairs, and after the burning of the old buildings the carrying forward the construction of the immense new edifice for the institution.      About the summer of 1823 Bishop Chase first visited Mount Vernon with a view of finding a suitable location for a proposed institution, now known as Kenyon College.  Through the influence of Mr. Curtis, a tract of about eight thousand acres was purchased.  He gave all the aid he could toward building up and advancing the interests of the school, and in 1881 he received from the institution the degree of Doctor of Laws.  He served for a long period as a member of its board of trustees and in 1881 he made it a munificent donation, by the terms of which he established and endowed a perpetual and growing fund for free scholarships, and to aid, when needed, deserving students.      When Mr. Curtis became a member of the bar the court docket was full of cases against the Owl Creek Bank, of Mount Vernon, or rather against its members, for it had no corporate existence.  The subject was finally referred, after many judgments had been rendered and bills filed, to a special commissioner and receiver, to which honorable position Mr. Curtis was appointed by the supreme court.  After years of investigation and arduous labor the intricate affairs of the bank were brought to a satisfactory conclusion.  Every dollar of outstanding liability was paid and the losses adjusted and equalized among the several members of the unfortunate association. Ion acknowledged principles of equity and justice.  Mr. Curtis' proceedings and their results were fully approved and confirmed by the court, with flattering commendations.  In 1848 he organized and established the Knox County Bank, of Mount Vernon, a branch of the State Bank of Ohio, its capital stock being one hundred thousand dollars.  He was its president during its existence, nearly twenty years, and for about the same period was an active member of the state board of control.  In 1865 he organized the Knox County National Bank, of Mount Vernon, capitalized for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and continued as its president until his death.      During the Civil war Mr. Curtis was active in raising volunteers and assisting in forming companies and regiments that were organized in the county.  He gave pecuniary aid freely as well as his personal influence, and often presided at the public meetings called forth by the various successes or disasters of the Union forces.  Holding at the period of the war the appointment of United States commissioner for the northern district of Ohio, his judicial services were often required in disposing of cases connected with the military movements and restraining the outbreaks of those who, sympathizing with the south, would sometimes venture to obstruct the operations of the laws for raising and organizing troops for the public service.      Mr. Curtis was active in every enterprise for the improvement of Knox county and especially of Mount Vernon.  He drew up its charter, secured its passage through the legislature and filled its various municipal offices, including those of councilman and mayor.  His taste and study of architecture enabled him to give shape to many of the public buildings, and especially to two successive court houses, and to encourage a more tasteful style of private residences.  During his life he constructed many new houses, now among the most ornamental and pleasant residences of the city.  He was active in forwarding every railroad enterprise of his city and was a director of the first railroad that entered the city.  He was a director in the Lake Erie division of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at the time of his death.      In the spring of 1873 he was appointed by President Grant a member of the board of visitors at West Point.  The board held daily sessions from the 28th of May until the 12th of June.  While in this service Mr. Curtis learned that some eighty children of professors, Officers and employes at West Point were destitute of the usual means of common school education, except as a few had the advantage of private instruction. Being on a military reserve the jurisdiction of which belonged to the United States, it was held that the residents were not included within the provisions for the benefits of the common school system of the state. He therefore introduced and advocated a resolution in the board recommending congress to make provision for this want by a suitable appropriation for maintaining at the Point a common school for the benefit o-f the children.  The resolution was unanimously adopted and incorporated in the report.      Mr. Curtis was a man of pronounced views, possessed of social and genial qualities and ever accessible to the poorest member of the community.  His beautiful home, Round Hill, was the seat of elegant refinement and hospitality.  The habit of self control and the genial disposition which he ever cultivated made his life a serene and happy one.  Naturally of quick and warm impulses, he has clearly demonstrated that "he who governs himself is better than he who takes a city."  He reached the age of eighty-five, a venerable man, honored and respected, for his had been an unblemished character. Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 18
	HENRY LAMBERTON CURTIS.   From the earliest period in the development of Mount Vernon, Ohio, the name of Curtis has been associated with the history of the progressive old town.  The excellent work instituted by the father, HENRY B. CURTIS, was carried forward by the son, Henry Lambton Curtis, who, faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation, added new lustre to the family record.      Mr. Curtis was born in Mount Vernon, May 7, 1 1841, a son of HENRY B. and Elizabeth (Hogg) Curtis and the youngest of their eight children.  His birth occurred at the old homestead at the corner of Main and Chestnut streets, now occupied by the Hon. and Mrs. J. C. Devin.  At the usual age he began his education in the public schools, of Mount Vernon and was for a time a student at Sloane's Academy.  In 1856 he entered the Kenyon grammar school, now known as Kenyon Military Academy, where he was prepared for Kenyon College, which institution he entered in 1858 and at which he was graduated in 1862.  While in college he became a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, in the welfare of which he was deeply interested during the remainder of his life.  The Civil war broke out while Mr. Curtis was yet in college and after he was graduated he enlisted.  May 13, 1864, as: a private in the One Hundred and Forty-second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and went to the front.  He was soon promoted to be quartermaster sergeant, a position which be ably filled until he was mustered out of the service at the expiration of his term of enlistment, Sept. 21, 1864.  May 7, 1892, be was mustered into Joe Hooker Post, No. 21, Grand Army of the Republic, of Mount Vernon, of which he was a member until his death.      After his return from his service in the war Mr. Curtis entered the law office of Curtis & Scribner, and having mastered the principles of jurisprudence be was admitted to the bar in 1866.  He was identified with the law firm mentioned for a number of years and after Mr. Scribner's removal to Toledo and his father's retirement from active practice be practiced independently until he formed a partnership with the Hon. J. C. Devin, which existed seven years, until the death of Henry B. Curtis, when be retired from the profession to assume charge of his father's estate.  His devotion to his clients' interests was proverbial and he prepared his cases with great thoroughness and precision.  While practicing his profession he was never an active pleader at the bar but devoted his time and attention to office work, for which he was especially adapted and in which he was remarkably proficient.      Mr. Curtis was a man of resourceful ability and his attention was by no means confined to one line of labor.  Upon the death of his father in 1885 he was elected the letter's successor as a member of the board of directors and president of the Knox National Bank and remained at the head of that sound financial institution until his own death twelve years later, and during that period his admirable business policy fully sustained the high reputation which the bank had always enjoyed.  He was one of the alumni trustees of Kenyon College and a member of the executive committee of the Kenyon Alumni Association, and was a director of the Mount Vernon Gas and Coke Company.  He was a member of the various Masonic bodies of the city, and he was one of the original incorporators of the Masonic Temple Company, serving from the time of its organization as a member of its board of trustees and as a member of its building committee, thus having much to do with the erection of the Masonic Temple.      The marriage of Mr. Curtis to Miss Lucia B. Chittenden, of Keokuk, Iowa, was celebrated Oct. 28, 1868.  Of this union four children were born: Ada B. Curtis; Carita Belknap Curtis, who died in 1895, at the age of twenty-one years; HENRY BARNES CURTIS, of Mount Vernon; and Walter Chittenden Curtis, who was graduated at Kenyon College in 1901, and is now in the real-estate and insurance business at Mount Vernon.  Lucia B. (Chittenden) Curtis died in 1880, and June 10, 1885, Mr. Curtis married Elinor C. Shaw, who survives him.  He is also survived by one sister, Mrs. Ella C. Devin.      Mr. Curtis, whose death occurred at his home, Round Hill, Mar. 27, 1897, was prominently identified with the best interests and welfare of the city and was a leader in all good works in the community.  A broad-minded, public-spirited man, he acquired large business interests in a legitimate way and exerted a marked influence upon his fellow citizens.  Quiet and unostentatious, his opinion upon many public questions was eagerly sought and had great weight.  In his business relations he was scrupulously honest and in his home life he was a model husband and father; to everyone he was a polished and courteous gentleman.  He was ever a loyal citizen, interested in the welfare of his county, state and nation, and at the time of the Civil war, as has been seen, he gave evidence of his patriotic spirit by doing a soldier's duty.  He was prominently connected with church work and was a liberal supporter of religion, giving generously toward the maintenance not only of St. Paul's Episcopal church, of which he was a life-long member and for more than twenty-five years was connected with its vestry, but also to other churches of various denominations.  In educational matters also he took an active part, assisting not only Kenyon College but doing much in a general way to promote popular learning.  It has been said of him that he never withheld his support and co-operation from any movement or measure which he believed would promote the general good and it seems untimely that a career of such wide usefulness and helpfulness should have so soon been brought to an end; yet Mr. Curtis accomplished more in the business world and more for his fellow men than many useful men whose lives span a much longer period than his.  He left to his family and friends an untarnished name which they consider not the least of their heritage from him. Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 262
	L. B. CURTIS Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 262
	WALTER C. CURTIS Source: The Biographical Record of Knox County, Ohio - Publ. 1902 - Page 262

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