Henry Wickham

As printed in 1902

HENRY WICKHAM.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

. „ Springfield, being a member of the firm of

_ Wickham, Chapman € Company, manufacturers of piano plates for grand and upright pianos. Their foundry has been enlarged until the plant now-covers seven acres, furnishing employment to several hundred workmen.

Mr. Wickham was born in New York city in 1854, and on the paternal side he comes of English ancestry, while in the material line he is of Irish lineage. He was an only child and pursued his education in De LaSalle Institute of his native city. He has been identified with manufacturing interests since 1876, in which year he became con-.nected with the St. John’s Sewing: Machine Company of Springfield, Ohio. He was in the japanning and ornamenting department, having forty workmen under his control. He also lived in Brooklyn for a time and on the ist of September, 1889, he returned to Springfield, where he established the piano plate manufacturing business, which he had formerly conducted in Brooklyn. The company was incorporated in that year, John Chapman, of Newark, New Jersey, becoming a partner. The plant was removed to Springfield because of the facilities of this city as a distributing point. Eight acres of land were purchased and the various buildings erected according to special designs fitting them for the uses of the company. They manufacture piano plates and piano hardware, including action brackets, pedal feet, pedal guards, bearing bars, organ pedal frames and other accessories to the: line. The business has steadily. grown and the plant has been enlarged in order to afford facilities to meet the demands of the trade. Each department is thoroughly equipped with the latest improved devices and machinery for carrying on the work and the plant now covers about seven acres, while the number of workmen employed reaches four hundred. These are experienced foundrymen and polishers, together with other men well qualified for executing work in the various departments. Shipments are made to all points of the United States and Canada, and a very high grade of plates and also piano hardware is manufactured. Mr. Wickham and Mr. Chapman give their personal supervision to their constantly increasing business. The business relation between them has been a most harmonious one and the efforts and labors of one fully supplement and round out the work of the other, so that the firm is a strong one. They have labored earnestly and continuously for the success of their enterprise, which has become an important industry of the city and the largest of its kind in the world.

On the 15th of October, Mr. Wickham was united in marriage in Springfield to Miss Theresa Murphy, who was born in-West Jefferson, Ohio, and is a daughter of John Murphy. They now have five children: Grace, who was born in Springfield and is a graduate of the Cedar Grove Academy at Cincinnati, Ohio; Edna, who was born in Brooklyn and is a student in Notre Dame Academy of South Bend, Indiana; Frank, a native of Brooklyn; and John and Henry, who were born in Springfield. Mrs. Wickham was educated in St. Raphael’s School of this city and the family are communicants of the St. Raphaels church. Their home is at the corner of Burnett road and Harrison street, where

Mr. Wickham has improved a fine property and now has an elegant country residence. He has watched with interest the material growth and improvement of the city and has co-operated in many movements for the general good. He votes with the Republican party and belongs to the Knights of Columbus of Springfield. His life is a type of the utilitarian and progressive spirit of the age when maximum results are accomplished by minimum effort, business having been so systematized and all forces so utilized that the rapidity of growth and increase of business seems almost phenomenal.

lt is an important public duty to honor and perpetuate as far as is possible the memory of an eminent citizen, one who, by his blameless and honorable life and distinguished career reflected credit not only upon the city but also upon the state and upon the profession which he represented. John C. Miller was long a distinguished member of the Clark county bar. A man of irreproachable private life, his example is indeed well worthy ot emulation. The memory of his upright career should serve as an inspiration to those who knew him. A well known jurist of Illinois said: “In the American state the great and good lawyer must always be prominent, for he is one of the forces that move and control society. Publie confidence has generally been reposed in the legal profession and it has ever been a defender of popular rights, the champion of freedom regulated by law, the firm support of good government. No political preferment, no mere place can add to the power or increase the honor which belongs to the pure and educated lawyer.” Judge Miller was one honored by and an honor ta the legal fraternity of Ohio. He stood prominent among the representative members of the bar of the state and he attained to his position through marked ability.

Sprinefield may be proud to number him among her native sons. He was born in this city when it was but a village, his natal day being’ April 13, 1834. He came of an ancestry honorable and distinguished. In the material line he was a lineal descendant of Sir Charles Hedges, an English statesmen of the seventeenth century and a member of the cabinet of Queen Anne, the last reigning sovereign of the house of Stuart. In America the Miller family has figured prominently in public affairs establishing the history of the nation. The great-great-grandparents of the Judge were Robert and Elizabeth Millér, who, in 1738, left their home in Scotland and sailed to the new world, taking up their residence in Prince George county, Maryland. David Miller, the great-grandfather of the Judge, became a soldier of the Colonial army during the Revolutionary war and in 1778 gave up his life as a ransom for the liberty of the people. His son, Robert Miller, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Prince George county, Maryland, in 1767, and at the age of about thirty years became a resident of Kentucky, making his way into that state when the work of progress and improvement had scarcely been begun there, andere its admission to the Union. During the journey of the family to the new home in the western wilds Reuben Miller, the father of the Judge, was born, his birth occurring in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, January 19, 1797. At that time the emigrant company were constructing keel boats to carry them down the Monongahela and Ohio rivers to their destination—the town of Limestone, Kentucky, now known as

Maysville, Kentucky. Robert Miller took up his above in Fleming county, that state, and became a prosperous landowner and slaveholder. He was also accounted one of the prominent and influential residents of his community. His was an irreproachable life in consistent harmony with his professions as a member of the Methodist Episcopai church, which he joined at an early age. In 1809, through the appointment of Bishop Asbury, he became a licensed local preacher and his strong, logical and convincing utterances made him a power in his denomination. He was a man of remarkable originality of thought and his diction was concise and forcible. His sermons were famous for graphic descriptions and illustrations and his words seldom failed to arouse his hearers in a way that left a deep impress upon their lives. With a keen sense of justice, it became apparent to him that the system of slave holding was wrong, and acting upon his conviction, in 1812, he liberated all of his bondsmen and with his family removed to Champaign courity, Ohio, settling upon a large tract of land on Pretty Prairie, which is now within the limits of Clark county. Reuben Miller, the father of the Judge, was reared upon the old homestead farm here and acquired his education in the schools of this portion of the state. He also bore his part in caring for the home farm and in controlling the property, giving his father the benefit of his assistance until he reached his majority. About this time Reuben Miller was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hedges, a native of Berkeley county, West Virginia, and they became the parents of seven children: Mrs. Caroline H. Harris, who resided near Monticello, Illinois, but is now deceased; D. B., who was a physician of Covington, Kentucky, but has also passed away; Mrs. Elizabeth N. Ogden, of Keokuk, Iowa, also deceased; Robert Tabb, who died in Springfield just as he was entering upon what appeared to be a very successful business career; John C., the subject of this sketch; Joseph N., a rear admiral of the United States navy, who is now living retired; and Henry R., who is now a prominent citizen of Keokuk, Iowa. In order to provide for his family, Reuben Miller, the father of our subject, engaged in teaching In 1826 he received the appointment of surveyor of Clark county and acted in that capacity for On the expiration of that period he was elected county auditor and his fidelity to duty and the confidence reposed in him is indicated by the fact that for eighteen consecutive years he filled that position. He inherited his father’s talent for speaking and his zeal tor religion, and during all the years of his public service he also acted as a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and filled various pulpits of central Ohio on Sabbath days in the absence of the regular pastor. His public utterances were earnest, thoughtful, logical, and carried weight wher- AS a writer, too, he school and in surveying land.

nine years in a most creditable manner.

ever he was heard. possessed more than ordinary ability and was a most entertaining conversationalist, These many being noted for his wit and humor.

characteristics have been found in members of. the Miller family and representatives of the name have therefore been of more than local prominence and importance as well as influence.

In taking up the personal history of

Judge John C. Miller we present to our readers the life record of one of the distinguished sons of Clark county. His early education was supplemented by study in the Ohio Conference High School of Springfield, at which time the Rev. Solomon Howard was principal—a man of great learning, who afterward became president of the Ohio University of Athens. pleted his course by graduation when only fifteen years of age and after leaving school he entered a printing office where he learned the trade. When he had mastered it he became anxious to prepare for professional life and at the age of eighteen he entered upon the study of law under the direction of the Hon. Samuel Shellabarger, who in later years became very prominent, both in the profession and on the floor of congress, where he represented his district for several terms and was one of the most prominent attorneys in the famous Hayes-Tilden contest. In April, 1855, after a thorough preparation, Mr. Miller was admitted to the bar of Ohio and a few years later began practice in Springfield. He entered upon his chosen work at a bar which numbered many distinguished members, but his ability, close application and indefatigable efforts soon won recognition and he gained a very desirable reputation for a young man—a reputation that increased as the years went by, gaining hin distinction as a leading jurist’ of the state. In public affairs he was prominent and honored. In April, 1861, he was chosen mayor of Springfield by a very flattering majority and when the Civil war broke out, less than a month later, he immediately became identified with all of the measures for the promotion of recruiting, for relief to soldiers’ families, and for everything that could certain to the Union cause in defending its

Judge Miller comwelfare. He was chairman of the citizens’ military committee of Clark county, and he afterward served as a private in the One Hundred and Fifty-second Regiment of Ohio Infantry, in the company of Captain Bushnell, who was later governor of Ohio. In the fall of 1861 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Clark county and was several times reelected to that office. In 1869 he was chosen city solicitor of Springfield and was retained in that position by continued re-elections until 1876, when he resigned to accept the office of probate judge, to which he had been elected in the previous October. Four times he was chosen for that position and before the close of his fifth term he was elected one of the judges of the court of common pleas of the second judicial district, at the general election in the fall of 1890. Taking his place upon the bench of that court, he there served until his death in 1900. A man of unimpeachable character, of natural intellectual endowments, with a thorough understanding of the law, patience, urbanity and industry, he took to the bench the very highest qualifications for this responsible office of the state government, and his record as a judge was in harmony with his record as a man and a lawyer—distinguished by unswerving integrity and a masterful grasp of every problem which presented itself for solution. He had a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the published decisions of courts, but he was not a case lawyer. His own decisions were founded upon principles of law and attracted the attention of the profession throughout the state. Possessed of a keen, incisive intellect, the controlling points of a case were quickly perceived by him and his strong, thoroughly trained and logical mind enabled him to present his conclusions

HAB BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD: tersely and concisely and in a manner to harry conviction. In the exercise of these high judicial qualifications Judge Miller was entirely impartial and independent, and yet always courteous and considerate.

On the 4th of October, 1860, was celebrated the marriage of John C. Miller and ‚Miss Marianna T. Hoglen, a daughter of James R. Hoglen, of Dayton, now deceased. They; became the parents of two children: Robert J., who married Miss Freda Bretney, of Lebanon, Kentucky, and has a son, Robert Wickliffe; and Eleanor C., the wife of Louis E. Niles, of New York city. The Judge's interest centered in his family and he considered no personal sacrifice on his behalf too great if it would promote the welfare and happiness of his wife and children. He was a member of Clark Lodge, No. 101, F.& A. M., and Palestine Commandery, No. 33, K. T. He also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and Mitchell Post, No. 45, G. A. R. In the line of his profession he was connected with the county and state bar associations and he was regarded as a valued representative of each social, political or professional organization with which he was connected. While he was inflexible in support of everything which he considered to be right and of political principles which he endorsed, it can truly be said that Judge Miller was never an office seeker, but that political preferment came to him in recognition of his marked ability and superior merit. A contemporary biographer has said of him: “The irreproachability of his private life contributed to fix and maintain his place in public esteem and his great popularity was due to his recognized ability and magnetic personality.”

He voted with the Republican party, and his religious faith was that of the Methodistchurch, in which he long held membership. He was never narrow, however, but was found as the friend of all deserving people irrespective of creed or belief. When death claimed ¡him the different societies with which he was connected attended his funeral in a body. Deep indeed was the regret felt throughout the community. It is said of an eminent man of old, that he has done things worthy to be written; that he has written things worthy to be read; and by his life has contributed to the welfare of the republic and the happiness of mankind. This eulogy can well be pronounced upon Judge Miller and the many who looked up to him and respected him realized as fully as did his social friends that a true man had fallen.

As printed in A Biographical Record of Clark County Ohio (1902). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.