History of Franklin County Ohio United States of America

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Biographies:

Irvin McDowell, soldier, was born in Franklin county, Ohio, Oct. 15, 1818; son of Abram and Eliza (Lord) McDowell. The McDowells, shortly after the siege of Londonderry, 1689, in which they took part, immigrated to America, locating first in Pennsylvania and then in the valley of Virginia, and members of the family removed thence to Kentucky about 1790, where Abram McDowell enlisted in the war of 1812, his uncle commanding a regiment of Kentucky volunteers, in which he served, and at the close of the war he removed to NewColumbus, Ohio, and settled there. Irvin attended the college of Troyes, France, and was graduated from the U.S. Military academy in 1838. He served on frontier duty during the Canadian border disturbances in 1838; on the Maine frontier, 1838-41; was assistant instructor of infantry tactics of the U.S. Military academy in 1841, and was promoted 1st lieutenant, Oct. 7, 1842. He served in the war with Mexico and was brevetted captain for Buena Vista, Feb. 23, 1847. He was assistant adjutant-general to General Wool's division, "Army of Occupation," 1847-48, and assistant adjutant-general in the war department at New York city, Washington and Texas, 1848-61. He was married in 1849 to Helen Burden, of Troy, N.Y. He was brevetted major of staff and assistant-adjutant-general, March 31, 1856, and in 1861 he organized and mustered volunteers into service at Washington, D.C., was in command of the military district of Washington, was promoted brigadier-general, U.S.A., May 14, 1861, and commanded the department of N.E. Virginia, and the defences of Washington, south of the Potomac. He commanded the Federal army at the first battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; was in command of the army of the Potomac in the defence of Washington, 1861-62; was transferred to the command of the 1st corps, Army of the Potomac in 1862, and was promoted major-general of U.S. volunteers, March 14, 1862. He commanded the army of the Rappahannock, April 4 to Aug. 12, 1862; the 3d corps, Pope's Army of Virginia, Aug. 12 to Sept. 6, 1862, taking part in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Aug. 9, Rappahannock Station, Aug. 25, and Manassas, Aug. 29. He was retired from active duty, Sept. 6, 1862. He was president of the court for investigating alleged cotton frauds, May to July, 1863, and president of the board for retiring disabled officers at Wilmington, Del., 1863-64. He was in command of the Department of the Pacific, 1864-65; the Department of California, 1865-68; the Department of the East, 1868-72, and of the Division of the South in 1872. He was promoted major-general, U.S.A., Nov. 25, 1872, having received that rank by brevet, March 13, 1865, for Cedar Mountain, Va., Aug. 9, 1862. He was retired from active service, Oct. 15, 1882, and resided in San Francisco, Cal., where he died, May 5, 1885.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Samuel Beach Axtell, governor of Utah, was born in Franklin county, Ohio, Oct. 4, 1809. His father was born in New Jersey, but removed to Ohio, and was one of the earliest settlers in Franklin county. He was a farmer and had twelve children. His grandfather (Axtell) was a colonel of a New Jersey regiment in the war of 1812, and his great-grandfather (Axtell) was a major in the revolutionary army. The family trace their lineage to Daniel Axtell, the regicide, who was beheaded under Charles II. of England. Samuel studied at Oberlin, supporting himself by manual labor. He was graduated at the Western Reserve college, and admitted to the bar in Ohio. In the gold excitement of 1848 he sought his fortune in California, and engaged in practical mining. As soon as counties were organized he was elected district-attorney of Amador county, and was twice re-elected. He removed to San Francisco in 1860, and was elected to represent his district in the 40th Congress in 1866 as a Democrat, and re-elected to the 41st Congress. He was an admirer of General Grant, united with the Republican party, and in 1874 was appointed governor of Utah, and in the next year was transferred to New Mexico, becoming governor in 1875. In 1876 he was one of the judges at the centennial exposition at Philadelphia; in 1878 was superseded as governor by Gen. Lew Wallace; and in 1882 he was appointed chief-justice of New Mexico, assuming the office in August of that year, and served till May, 1885. In 1890 he was elected chairman of the Republican territorial committee. He died in Morristown, N.J., Aug. 7, 1891.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

John Wesley Hoyt, educationist, was born in Franklin county, Ohio, Oct. 13, 1831; son of Joab and Judith (Hawley) Hoyt, and grandson of Nathan Hoyt, a Revolutionary patriot of Massachusetts. He was graduated at the Ohio Wesleyan university, A. B., 1849; A.M., 1852, and studied both law and medicine at Cincinnati. He was graduated, M.D., at the Eclectic Medical college in 1852, and was professor of chemistry and medical jurisprudence therein, 1852-56, succeeding Judge J. B. Stallo when sent as U.S. minister to Italy; also lecturer in Antioch college by invitation of President Horace Mann, 1854-56, and professor of chemistry in Cincinnati College of Medicine, 1854-56; having meantime, in 1854, been married to Elizabeth Orpha Sampson, Ph.D., of Athens, Ohio. After taking an active part throughout the western and northwestern states in the Fr?mont presidential campaign, he settled at Madison, Wis., 1857; published the Wisconsin Farmer and Northwestern Cultivator, 1857-67, having a leading part in securing the congressional endowment of colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts; was secretary and manager of the Wisconsin State Agricultural society and vice-president of the U.S. Agricultural society, 1860-72; U.S. commissioner to the World's exhibition, London, 1862; to the Paris Universal exposition, 1867, afterward making an educational tour of both Europe and America, and by request of Secretary of State Seward, submitting the report published by congress in 1870. In 1869 he was made chairman of a committe of the National Teachers' (now Educational) association on a national university, and submitted three annual reports, which were unanimously adopted, besides offering a bill to congress which was unanimously reported by the house committee on education, 1872. He founded the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, 1870; reorganized the Chicago Historical society's great library, 1871; was prime mover in the efforts which secured the enlargement of the Wisconsin State university. In 1873 he was U.S. executive commissioner at the Vienna Universal exposition, and final acting chief commissioner, as well as president of the international jury for education and science. He was commissioner of water-routes to the seaboard and state railway commissioner for Wisconsin, 1873-76, submitting voluminous reports which led to a revision of the railway laws, and receiving the formal thanks of the governor in the name of the people, and of all railway presidents in behalf of the corporations. He was U.S. commissioner to the Centennial exposition at Pliladelphia, 1876, and final president of its international jury for education; submitted the educational report published by order of congress in 1877, and by invitation of the President, assisted in planning reforms in the civil service. Having declined the President's offer of the Spanish and other foreign missions, he accepted the office of governor of Wyoming in 1878, so discharging it's duties that his reappointment was unanimously petitioned for by joint resolution of the legislature, one house being Democratic and the other Republican. He was president of the international jury for education, New Orleans Universal exposition, 1884-85; originator of development enterprises, public libraries, the Wyoming Academy of Sciences and the University of Wyoming, of which last he was first president, 1887-91; meanwhile, as member of the constitutional convention, assisting to secure the admission of Wyoming into the union of states, and, though not a candidate, receiving generous support for the U.S. senate. Repairing to the seaboard in 1891 for reasons of health he was successively vice-president of the Pan-Republic congress at Philadelphia, 1891; chairman of the Russian famine relief committee of the United States, 1891-92; the World's Columbian commission's special representative for foreign affairs at Chicago, 1893, so settling the differences between the American and foreign world that he received the grateful acknowledgments of all the national commissions; commissioner plenipotentiary of his majesty the king of Korea to the universal postal congress of Washington, 1897; and chairman of a national committee of four hundred to promote the establishment of the University of the United States. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Missouri in 1876, medals front the French trod German governments in 1867 and 1893, and was decorated with the commander's cross of the imperial order of Francis Joseph in 1873. He was elected officer of the leading national educational, scientific and patriotic organizations, and is the author of many published writings.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Franklin County Ohio

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