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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History
Source:
A History of Scioto County, Ohio
together with a
PIONEER RECORD
of
SOUTHERN OHIO
by
NELSON W. EVANS, A. M.,
Life Member of The Ohio state Archaeological and Historical Society.
Member of the Virginia Historical Society, and of the
American Historical Association
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Published
Portsmouth, Ohio
by Nelson W. Evans
1903
Charles A. M. Damarin |
CHARLES A. M. DAMARIN
was one of the foremost citizens of his time in the city of
Portsmouth. He was one of the most enterprising, - one of the
most successful. He was a man of the very strongest purpose.
He never undertook anything except he had carefully considered it
before hand, and approved it. He would undertake nothing
unreasonable, nothing he did not believe he could accomplish, and
when he undertook it, he did not believe he could accomplish, and
when he undertook it, he succeeded. The word “failure” was not
in his copy of the dictionary. He was a Frenchman, but without
the excitability of a Frenchman. He was always calm, cool and
collected. He never lost his presence of mind, or equipoise.
He maintained a supremacy over other men in business, because he had
the genius and talent which deserved it. He was born in Paris,
France, Apr. 10, 1797. His father was Antonius M. M.
Damarin and his mother was Mary Le Brun. He was the
eldest of three children. He received a liberal education in
France. On Mar. 16, 1817, he, his father and his brother
concluded to come to the United States. They landed in New
York, May 2, 1817, and went to Gallipolis, Ohio. He went into
the employment of John Peter Romaine Bureau, as a clerk; and
subsequently he became a partner in the business.
In 1830, he returned to France, and was in the city of
Paris at the time when Charles X was dethroned. He brought
back his mother and sister with him. He felt that he wanted
another field than in Gallipolis, and in 1831, located in
Cincinnati, and engaged in business. In 1833, he was induced
by Captain James W. Davis to locate in Portsmouth, Ohio, and
did so. He embarked in the grocery business and expanded it
till he became a wholesaler. Part of the time he had as
partner Charles Henking of Gallipolis. He took
the lead in his business in Portsmouth and maintained it all his
life. While he was in active business, which was the whole of
his life in Portsmouth no enterprise of any public consequence was
undertaken unless he was in it, and at the first of it. He was
one of the founders of the Commercial Bank and one of its directors.
He was one of the first to start the Scioto Rolling Mill, afterwards
the Burgess Steel & Iron Works. If he and J. V.
Robinson had not endorsed the Scioto & Hocking Valley Railroad,
it would never have been built. He was also in the Portsmouth
Insurance Company and its President.
In 1853, he built the Hamden Furnace. To show the
character of the man, in 1835, when he had only been in Portsmouth
two years, he was selected to obtain a loan of $10,000 to build the
present Court House. The Commissioners left the money with him
and checked it out as they needed it, preferring to do that rather
than trust the County Treasurer on his bond or any Bank. Mr.
Damarin amassed
a fortune, as he deserved to. He had four sons, and three
daughters. Two of the sons died in infancy, and one in youth and one
is surviving, Augustus M. Damarin. Of his three
daughters, two survive, Mrs. Mary E. Voorheis, wife of A.
B. Voorheis of Cincinnati, and Mrs. Harriet, wife
of George D. Scudder of Portsmouth.
Mr. Damarin wanted a lateral canal to
Portsmouth, a dam at Bear Creek and the canal on the east side.
He planned for a great basin, or canal boat harbor, where the
Burgess Mill stood at the west end of the city. It was a
wonderful plan and had it succeeded, Portsmouth would have been a
city of 75,000 people today. But it was turned over to the
State and dropped. Had it been turned over to Mr.
Damarin, the enterprise would have been carried through.
Had he lived in our day, with his business talent, for organization,
he would have found ample opportunity for their employment. He
had a strong will, great powers of endurance both mental and
physical. His integrity shone above all his other qualities.
He was public spirited to the highest degree, and his energy knew no
limits except time in which to act. He was charitable and
benevolent, and was pleased with opportunities to display those
features of his character. His native French courtesy made him
courteous to all whom he met. He had a wide business
acquaintance and enjoyed the confidence of its entire circle.
His credit was as good away from home as at home. Had he
offered to buy the town and council had accepted the offer, he would
have been ready to pay the money down at the time appointed.
He never made a business proposition, which he did not mean to be
accepted, and, if accepted, he always had the means to comply with
it.
He did as much as any man who ever lived in Portsmouth
to contribute to its growth and prosperity. The writer and no
one else is responsible for the idea, but he believes that C. A.
M. Damarin and J. V. Robinson made Portsmouth what it is:
that they laid the foundation for the town's prosperity and success.
Source: History of Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. 1907 - Page 686 |
Louis Charles Damarin |
LOUIS CHARLES DAMARIN
was born Sept. 24, 1827. He received his education at St.
Xavier's College, Cincinnati, Ohio, and at Kenyon College, Gambier,
Ohio. At the age of twenty, he entered the wholesale grocery
house of C. A. M. Damarin, at Portsmouth, Ohio. He soon
became a partner. and after the death of C. A. M. Damarin in
1860, he was the head of the house which prospered greatly under his
management. The remarkable rise in iron that had done so much
to promote the prosperity of the firm of Damarin & Company,
afterward, became the cause of reverses in the private fortune of
Mr. Damarin. In 1881, he retired from the firm of
Damarin & Company, and entered the insurance business.
He was postmaster at Portsmouth from 1882 until 1886. During
his term as postmaster, he was stricken with paralysis from which he
never recovered. Other strokes followed the first one and he
died Nov. 12, 1888.
He was married Dec. 27, 1852, to Mary Catlin Peck,
daughter of Judge William V. Peck. His wife and three
daughters survived him: Mary, the wife of William C. Gregg
of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Louise, the wife of James
Huston Varner of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Jessie, the
wife of Henry T. Bannon of Portsmouth, Ohio.
Mr. Damarin's life was an eventful and
energetic one. He was a public spirited man and while health
lasted, was either at the head, or an active participant in all the
schemes for the prosperity and good of Portsmouth. He was for
many years a member of the city Council and was ever ready to assist
in municipal reforms. He was the father of the steam fire
service of Portsmouth. He was a member of All Saint's church
and one of its vestrymen for nine years. Kind and courteous,
he made friends everywhere. Those who knew him best, admired
him most and loved him for his sterling qualities. He was
always a republican, a man of strong will, conservative in his
views, calm and respectful in the expression of his opinions and
firm in his convictions. His friendship was of the strongest
character and could be relied upon at all times. His intense
application to business in the period of his activity, caused the
failure of his health. When in his prime his energy and
activity was limitless.
Source: History of Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. 1907 - Page 945 |
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LOT DAVIS was born Nov.
8, 1856, in Gallia county, Ohio. He was educated at Gallia
Academy, Gallipolis and Rio Grande College. He began the study
of law under his brother David Davis, at Jackson, in 1881.
While studying he removed to Chillicothe, Missouri, and was admitted
there in June, 1883. He practiced there until 1884 when he
located in Ironton, Ohio, in the month of April. He held the
office of Probate Judge of Lawrence county, Ohio, from February,
1888 till February, 1894, since which time he practised law until
1891, when he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and engaged in the
manufacturing business. He manufactures a compound for
cleaning boilers. the firm is H. Kohlsurd & Company of
Norwood, Ohio. As a lawyer and a business man. Mr.
Davis has been energetic, enterprising and thorough in
everything he has undertaken.
He was married in August, 1883 to Ellen I. Salter
of Thurman. Gallia county, Ohio. The children of this
marriage are: Margaret E. attending St. Mary's school
at Columbus, Ohio; Benjamin H. attending school at
Philadelphia. His wife died in August, 1891. In
September, 1893, he was married to Ida W. Dean, daughter of
L. T. Dean, of Ironton, Ohio.
Source: History of Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. 1907 - Page 948 |
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ROBERT KENTON DAY
was born Nov. 11, 1859. He was the son of David Day,
and the grandson of David Day, a native of New Jersey, who
came to Mt. Joy, with his family, about 1854, from Venango county,
Pennsylvania. His mother was Mary Elizabeth (Jones) Day,
daughter of James and Eliza (Smith) Jones. He
attended the public schools and prepared himself to teach. He
entered the profession and has taught regularly ever since. He
attended school a short time at the National Normal University at
Lebanon, Ohio, and at the Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio.
During all this time, he has improved himself and has become one of
the best teachers in the county. He has been employed at past
two years as principal of the public schools at Otway, Ohio, giving
good satisfaction. He was elected Mayor of Otway in 1902, and
also Justice of the Peace of Brush Creek township the same year.
He is a follower of the democratic faith, but votes for the man and
the measure as often as for the party. He is a member of the
Christian church at Mt. Joy, Ohio. On June 4, 1885 he was
married to Malina Adams, daughter of Hugh and Emily
(Long) Adams, of Mt. Joy. Their children are:
Monford Earl died at the age of ten; Millie
Belle, age twelve; Mettie, deceased in infancy; and
Ruth, age six.
Source: History of Scioto Co., Ohio - Publ. 1907 - Page 948 |
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