hamilton county

Charles Clinton Agin Page 906, Cincinnati, The Queen City

        Dr. Charles Clinton Agin, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Cincinnati, was born in Green Township, Hamilton County, Ohio on the 25<SUP>th</SUP> of August, 1851, a son of Dr. Burroughs and Sarah J. (Smith) Agin. The father was a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Bucks County, in 1837. Coming to Ohio, he taught school in what is now Price's Hill, and which thus engaged took up the study of medicine under the direction of his father-in-law, Dr. Thomas Smith. His preliminary reading proved so attractive that he determined to continue his preparation for the profession, and in due course of time was graduated from the Miami Medical College, winning a diploma from the institution and also from Ohio Medical College. He then entered upon the active work of the profession and remained a practitioner of Green Township until 1873, when he opened an office in Cincinnati, where he remained until his death in 1891. He was for many years closely associated with the practice of medicine and at all times followed a most progressive policy, keeping in close touch with the advanced work made by the medical fraternity. He held membership with the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine and was also a member of Cheviot Lodge, A.F.& A. M. He and his wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church and lived earnest Christian lives, devoted to the welfare and upbuilding of the church and humanity. In their family were nine children, of whom four reached years of maturity: Charles C.: Frances Ann; Emma Kansas; and Edward L.
        Dr. Charles C. Agin was a pupil in the public schools near his father's home and was also a student in Farmer's College for three years. He then began reading medicine and with his father and their professional connection continued until the latter's death.. Dr. Charles C. Agin has since practiced alone and has continually progressed in his profession, doing work that entitled him to the high regard and gratitude of the general public and to the admiration and good will of his professional brethren. It was he who organized the West End Medical Society, of which he has continuously been the President, covering a period of about eighteen years. He belongs to the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
        Aside from his professional connect, Dr. Agin is well known in different membership relations. He belongs to McMillan Lodge, F. & A. M., Willis Chapter, R. A.M., Hanselman Commandery, K.T., Cincinnati Council, the Ohio Consistory, S. P. R. S., and Syrian Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise holds membership with the Maccabees and is medical examiner for Brighton Tent.
        Dr. Again was married in 1882 to Miss Rose Rebmann, of Cincinnati, and they have three children; Elma Burroughs, wife of Dr. W. Bailey of Cincinnati; George Rebmann, who is practicing veterinary surgeon; and Boyd, an actor. The Doctor is a man of strong social instincts. He likes the good things of life and is ever courteous and genial, and possesses in large measure that quality which for want of a better term has been called personal magnetism. In other words, he readily draws to him those whom he meets and friendship is never sacrificed by an unworthy act on his part.

Philip Hurley Cincinnati, The Queen City, Volume III, 1912 Pages 33 - 35 Transcribed by: Paula Carle Bosch         Colleges and universities confer their degrees, and after the names of many men are written initial letters which indicate what they have accomplished in educational lines. The work to which Philip Hurley gave his life confers no degree, but after his name should be written the word Hero. Tale of early chivalry and the stories of warfare present no stronger picture of heroism than is found in the lives of the men who constantly face danger and death in fighting fires. The dread messenger stalks side by side with them when they are on active duty and Philip Hurley at last gave his life as a sacrifice to the cause which he had so long valiantly served, his death resulting from an accident at a fire in December, 1910.
        Mr. Hurley was born in Cincinnati in 1855. He was educated in the public schools, and up to the time he went into the fire department was connected with the rolling mills, of which this city had many in those days. Mr. Hurley first became identified with the fire department in 1880, passing away the day before the thirtieth anniversary of his connection therewith. Three years he was on duty as an ordinary fireman and then his ability won him promotion. In 1884 he was commissioned a lieutenant and five years later was promoted to a captaincy. Beginning in 1889, he was in charge of Fire Company No. 2 at Freeman avenue and Ninth street for twelve years, and in 1901 he came to his final promotion as district fire marshal, after which he continued to make that fire house his headquarters.
        Throughout the years of his service Mr. Hurley was again and again engaged in active and arduous duty, being the veteran of numerous hard-fought fires in which he sustained many accidents. At different times he was badly hurt, and on other occasions his injuries were more slight, but never did he falter in the face of danger and death. He went where duty let, responding with promptness and alacrity that showed that his whole interest was in the preservation of property or life endangered by the fire. At length, in the week between Christmas and New Year of 1910, when holiday festivities were at their height, he was called to fight a fire on Sycamore Street. In this fire there was in use what is known as a deluge nozzle, and arrangement whereby water is thrown in three different directions, which requires an enormous pressure. The deluge had been placed in position but the water was not striking the fire exactly right and Marshal Hurley himself gave the order to change it. In lowering the affair the support was weakened and it collapsed, knocking Mr. Hurley from the building on which he was standing. He was immediately taken to the City Hospital, where at first it was thought that his injuries were comparatively slight, but after a few days he passed away. During the brief period of his stay in the hospital his pleasant manner and his cheery smile had endeared him to physicians and nurses and the same kindly, genial nature had gained him friends throughout his entire life.
        In 1881 Philip Hurley had been united in marriage to Miss Mary Hussey, who survives him, as do their tow sons, Edward M. and Walter, aged respectively twenty-five and twenty-three years. He was most devoted to his family, was loyal in his friendships, faithful in his church relations and unfaltering in his devotion to the work to which he ultimately gave his life.
        His chief said of him: "Philip Hurley, besides being a fireman of the highest possible quality, was a fire marshal in every capacity of that official position." The following tributes came from his assistants and the office force: "In the office of the fire department his advice never failed to be regarded by the chief and his associates as other than most valuable, and in consultation concerning changes of apparatus, transfers of members, etc, Hurley's counsel was always regarded as expedient." "As Marshal Ney was to Napoleon, so also was Hurley to Chief Archibald." "He was a powerful commander of his men as well as kind and most considerate. He was generous to a fault and his charitable and sympathetic disposition won for him the admiration of all who knew him." "He was especially well liked in the office of the department, where his jovial disposition will be missed for a long time to come." "He had keen sympathy for sadness, as well as a full appreciation for the droll and ludicrous; in all he was high keyed, both intellectually and physically. His loss will long be mourned."
        Mr. Hurley belonged to the Congress Club and to the Catholic Knights. He long held membership in St. Edward's church, and it was there that the funeral services were held. While his remains lay in state in his home and afterward in the church, thousands of people passed by in review. His death was most deeply mourned outside of his family among his comrades in the service, where he had the love and esteem of all who knew him. As a mark of respect the west end business houses were closed when the funeral cortege was passing on it way to the cemetery.
        In the funeral service Father Welch, a personal friend of the dead fire hero, said: "His life was filled with noble deeds, with acts of kindness, of charity and sweet tenderness. To know him was to admire and to love him. His home life was a beautiful song--it was an example of love and devotion. His life was devoted to those dear ones at home and he was ever ready to sacrifice for them; and then it was devoted to his fellow citizens and ever ready for a sacrifice for the protection of them and their property. Captain Hurley was a man of God. What nobler tribute can be paid a man than to say that he is a man of God? He was a man who was a true Catholic but who respected the rights and the conscience of others. He was as broad-minded as he was brave and as noble as he was broad-minded. He was a man not afraid to follow the dictates of his own conscience and he respected other men, no matter what their religion, their creed, their race or their color, who were not afraid to follow the dictates of their conscience. What more can be said of him than his chief said of him? 'He was a man!'"
        There are many who bear testimony to the bravery of Philip Hurley, some claiming that they owe their lives to his heroism, others acknowledging their indebtedness for property saved through his devotion to duty. In other relations of life he displayed qualities of equally noble mold, and an indication of the esteem and love entertained for him was found in the hundreds of beautiful floral emblems which were laid upon his coffin and later rested around his burial place. His name will be forever inscribed upon the pages of Cincinnati's heroes--men whose personal bravery in the performance of duty o'ertopped every other consideration.

General James Findlay Cincinnati, The Queen City, Volume III, 1912 Pages 26-28Transcribed by: Paula Carle Bosch

        The name of General James Findlay is inseparably interwoven with the early history of Cincinnati, where his labors constituted an element in growth and progress and in shaping the public policy. A man of irreproachable integrity in public as well as in private affairs, he did much to stimulate interest in this section of the country and to introduce into the early system of government such methods and measures as would work, not only for immediate benefit, but took account of future exigencies and possibilities. In all of his public service he was actuated by an interest in the general welfare that none questioned.
        A native of Pennsylvania, General Findlay was born in Franklin county, October 28, 1770, and was one of a family of seven sons--John, William, James, Samuel, Jonathan, Thomas and Nathan--whose parents were Samuel and Jean (Smith) Findlay. With the exception of Samuel Findlay, Jr, who died in early life, all of the sons reached adult age and became prominent, especially in connection with political interests. They were supporters of democratic principles and held leading offices, John Findlay serving as a member of congress from the Chambersburg district of Pennsylvania, while William represented his district in the national halls of legislation from 1803 until 1817, and was governor of Pennsylvania from 1817 until 1820. The following year he was chosen to represent his district in the United States senate, of which he was a member for six years. Thus he was connected with congress in the lower and upper houses altogether for twenty years.
        James Findlay, of this review, spent his youthful days in the Keystone state, there acquired his education and, while still a resident of Pennsylvania, was married. Accompanied by his wife, Mrs. June (Irwin) Findlay, he left Pennsylvania in 1793 and, traveling on horseback by way of Virginia and Kentucky, at length reached Cincinnati, which was then a tiny village on the western frontier. This was not only long before the era of railroad building, but long before the national road was built across the mountains to the west, furnishing a highway of travel, so that most of those who sought to penetrate into the interior of the country made the journey down the Ohio river, and the arrival of a boat was always a matter of deep interest to the early citizens, bringing them the news from the old and more thickly settled east.
        General Findlay was a lawyer by profession, and for a number of years after his arrival held the position of receiver of public moneys in the land office. In 1802 he was made marshal of the district of Ohio, his commission being signed by Thomas Jefferson and Charles Madison. In 1805-6 he served as mayor of Cincinnati, and that his fellow townsmen appreciated the worth and value of his service during that term is indicated in the fact that he was reelected and again served in 1810-11. The following year saw the country again involved in war with England and, with military ardor, General Findlay responded to the country's call and served as colonel of a regiment, which was present with the American forces at Detroit at the time of Hull's surrender. The family correspondence includes a letter from Uncle Nathan to Aunt Findlay, reading in part as follows: "They wanted James to put Hull in irons but he would not, as he said there is no precedent for it." For his meritorious conduct in war General Findlay was shortly promoted to the rank of brigadier general of the Ohio State Militia, with which he served for a long term, taking part in those military movements which were so necessary during the early period of our country's development as civilization was extended westward and the settlers needed the protection of military companies against the marauding and hostile bands of Indians. While connected with the state militia General Findlay erected Fort Findlay, from which the town of Findlay in Hancock County, Ohio, derives its name.
        General Findlay continued throughout his life a prominent factor in public connections. From 1819 until 1821 he was representative of the Cincinnati district of Ohio at Washington, and again served in that capacity from 1825 until 1828. His brothers, Governor William Findlay and Colonel John Findlay were also in congress at that time, "presenting the unusual spectacle of three brothers sitting in the congress of the United States at one time--a spectacle only once paralleled in the history of the government, namely: the Washburn brothers." General Findlay was one of the proprietors of Liberty Hall and the Cincinnati Gazette. He was a man of fine presence and "looked as one born to command."
        Jane F. Torrence Sargent has written as follows: "He was very generous in his religious ideas. At that time no Roman Catholic could buy land in Cincinnati. Uncle Findlay bought and gave the first piece of land owned by the Roman Catholics in Cincinnati. This was told me by an old Miss Perry, who once a year until she died made a pilgrimage to his grave and prayed for his soul. Another story tells of General Findlay and Nicholas Longworth. The latter owned the house of poor tenants who had made all but one payment and begged for more time. Foreclosing was old Nick's long suit. The General listened and finally said: 'May it please your Honor, a gentleman would not do this, a humane man would not, and I'll be damned if a rascal shall.' The General then paid the money and gave the tenants their land."
        From an earlier history of Hamilton county we quote as follows: "The public territory immediately west of the great Miami was surveyed in 1799 and 1800 and the first sales under the act of congress, putting it into the market were held at the newly established land office in Cincinnati under the direction of the receiver, General James Findlay, beginning the first Monday in April 1801, by public vendue." Colonel Israel Ludlow was the first register and General James Findlay the first receiver. In 1819 the latter had his office in the hotel at No. 30 North Front Street. From the same history we quote the following: "Early in the spring of 1812 the president made a requisition upon the state of Ohio for twelve hundred militia. . . . Another Cincinnati soldier, James Findlay, although a general in the militia, consented to take a colonel's place. . . . General Meigs formerly surrendered the command of the Ohio to a disgraceful surrender at Detroit. . . . The entire regiment commanded by General Findlay was from Miami county. . . . Joseph Longworth, in an after-dinner speech on the occasion of the forty-fifth anniversary of the settlement of Cincinnati and the Miami country, which was celebrated on the 26th of December, 1833, by the natives of Ohio, said: 'It is unnecessary for me to speak of the military services of my long-tried and valued friend immediately on my right--General Findlay. It is well known that at the head of a gallant regiment of volunteers disciplined by himself, he served in the first northwestern campaign of the late war. It is equally well known that if his advice and that of his gallant compeers had been adopted, the campaign would have had a different result and the honor of our arms would not have been tarnished by an inglorious surrender." The first members of a legislative council in 1799 included Jacob Burnet, James Findlay, Henry Vandenburgh, Robert Oliver, David Vance and Dr. Tiffin, the last named being speaker of the house.
        A historian of an earlier day says of General Findlay: "Naturally reserved in manner, he presented to strangers and air of austerity, but to those who knew him he was the soul of kindness and geniality. He possessed great decision of character, was just in all his dealings with men and maintained through life an unsullied reputation. It was such men who established Cincinnati upon the substantial foundation upon which it rests and thus, unconsciously yet surely, wrote their names indelibly upon the pages of history.