MSS 142 Janney Family - Page 1 |
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K I S T O R Y Biographical Sketch John Jay Janney ( April 25, 1812- December 11, 1907) was born near Goose Creek Meeting House, Loudon County, Virginia-- now Lincoln, Virginia. The son of Quaker parents, he grew up in t h a t f a i t h . A s a boy he attended a F r i e n d ' s school a t the Goose Creek Meeting House from h i s s i x t h u n t i l h i s nineteenth year, and worked several summers on the farm. A t the age of twenty, he enrolled a t the day school a t Alexandria. For s i x months he devoted himself t o " Euclid's Elements," and " algebraic equations of the t h i r d degree," a f t e r which he gave up h i s formal s t u d i e s . " Dissatisfied with s l a v e r y and its i n f l u e n c e , " Janney l e f t h i s native Virginia while s t i l l only twenty years old. S e t t l i n g in Springboro, Warren County, Ohio, he spent f i f t e e n years ( 1833- 1848) there teaching, surveying land, and for a short period merchandising. I n a d d i t i o n , he served f o r twelve years as town-ship c l e r k . Appointed a s s i s t a n t clerk i n the Ohio House of Representatives in 1844, Janney m e t and made friends with many of the s t a t e ' s leading men 6uring h i s four year tenure. In 1847 Samuel Galloway, Secretary of S t a t e and Commissioner of Common Schools, appointed Janney to be his chief clerk and the following year Janney moved h i s family to Columbus. Under Galloway, Janney wrote an opinion granting Negroes admission to the public schools. A t the end of Galloway's term in 1851, his successor, Henry W. King, asked Janney to stay on. Janney, however, had been elected, without h i s knowledge, Secretary o f the Board of Control of the S t a t e Bank of Ohio-- a position he accepted and held from 1851- 1865. Thereafter, he served for one year as the a s s i s t a n t postmaster in Columbus; afterwards he became the f i r s t secretary and t r e a s u r e r of the Columbus and Hocking Valley Railroad Company-- a position he held u n t i l 1881. A Quaker with strong anti- slavery sentiments, Janney was f i r s t a Whig and then a Republican. He was f o r a number of y e a r s s e c r e t a r y , t r e a s u r e r and chairman of the Whig and Republican c i t y and county committees. In the campaign of 1863 and 1864 he was on the repub-l i c a n s t a t e committee. During t h e C i v i l War he was also secretary and t r e a s u r e r of the State Union Executive Committee. Janney also held a number of a d d i t i o n a l p o s t s during a half century of public service in Ohio. In Columbus, he was on the Board of Education ( 1852- 1855), City Council ( 1868- 71 or 7 2 ) , and Board of Health ( 1887), f o r example. He served the s t a t e as a d i r e c t o r of the Ohio P e n i t e n t i a r y , a s a member of the Board of Police Commission-e r s , and as a member of the S t a t e Board of Health, a l l during the decade of the 1860s. Janney also found t i m e t o teach a Sunday School c l a s s a t the Ohio Penitentiary ( 1850- 1865), and t o a c t a s t h e t r e a s u r e r of the Prisoners Aid Society-- forerunner of the Board of S t a t e C h a r i t i e s . This energetic Quaker took stands against not only slavery, but l i q u o r , tobacco, and war; while f r e e public schools, suffrage and l i b r a r i e s a11 had h i s support. Married on September 29, 1835, t o Rebecca Anne Smith, M r s . Janney, l i k e her husband, was active in s o c i a l reform movements. They were t h e p a r e n t s of four children, Anne ( M r s . C. Gaylord ~ e m i n g ) , S i b b i l l a ( Mrs. William L. James), Frances ( M r s . Samuel C. ~ erby), and a son, Thomas J. Janney. OBI0 BiSTORiCAL SOCiETY 1' 382 VelmE Avenue. Columbus. Ohio 43211- 2447 ~ h 6: I4 . Lg7.23oo jx: 6 11,247.241~ ...... .,.:. L:
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Title | MSS 142 Janney Family - Page 1 |
Full Text | K I S T O R Y Biographical Sketch John Jay Janney ( April 25, 1812- December 11, 1907) was born near Goose Creek Meeting House, Loudon County, Virginia-- now Lincoln, Virginia. The son of Quaker parents, he grew up in t h a t f a i t h . A s a boy he attended a F r i e n d ' s school a t the Goose Creek Meeting House from h i s s i x t h u n t i l h i s nineteenth year, and worked several summers on the farm. A t the age of twenty, he enrolled a t the day school a t Alexandria. For s i x months he devoted himself t o " Euclid's Elements," and " algebraic equations of the t h i r d degree," a f t e r which he gave up h i s formal s t u d i e s . " Dissatisfied with s l a v e r y and its i n f l u e n c e , " Janney l e f t h i s native Virginia while s t i l l only twenty years old. S e t t l i n g in Springboro, Warren County, Ohio, he spent f i f t e e n years ( 1833- 1848) there teaching, surveying land, and for a short period merchandising. I n a d d i t i o n , he served f o r twelve years as town-ship c l e r k . Appointed a s s i s t a n t clerk i n the Ohio House of Representatives in 1844, Janney m e t and made friends with many of the s t a t e ' s leading men 6uring h i s four year tenure. In 1847 Samuel Galloway, Secretary of S t a t e and Commissioner of Common Schools, appointed Janney to be his chief clerk and the following year Janney moved h i s family to Columbus. Under Galloway, Janney wrote an opinion granting Negroes admission to the public schools. A t the end of Galloway's term in 1851, his successor, Henry W. King, asked Janney to stay on. Janney, however, had been elected, without h i s knowledge, Secretary o f the Board of Control of the S t a t e Bank of Ohio-- a position he accepted and held from 1851- 1865. Thereafter, he served for one year as the a s s i s t a n t postmaster in Columbus; afterwards he became the f i r s t secretary and t r e a s u r e r of the Columbus and Hocking Valley Railroad Company-- a position he held u n t i l 1881. A Quaker with strong anti- slavery sentiments, Janney was f i r s t a Whig and then a Republican. He was f o r a number of y e a r s s e c r e t a r y , t r e a s u r e r and chairman of the Whig and Republican c i t y and county committees. In the campaign of 1863 and 1864 he was on the repub-l i c a n s t a t e committee. During t h e C i v i l War he was also secretary and t r e a s u r e r of the State Union Executive Committee. Janney also held a number of a d d i t i o n a l p o s t s during a half century of public service in Ohio. In Columbus, he was on the Board of Education ( 1852- 1855), City Council ( 1868- 71 or 7 2 ) , and Board of Health ( 1887), f o r example. He served the s t a t e as a d i r e c t o r of the Ohio P e n i t e n t i a r y , a s a member of the Board of Police Commission-e r s , and as a member of the S t a t e Board of Health, a l l during the decade of the 1860s. Janney also found t i m e t o teach a Sunday School c l a s s a t the Ohio Penitentiary ( 1850- 1865), and t o a c t a s t h e t r e a s u r e r of the Prisoners Aid Society-- forerunner of the Board of S t a t e C h a r i t i e s . This energetic Quaker took stands against not only slavery, but l i q u o r , tobacco, and war; while f r e e public schools, suffrage and l i b r a r i e s a11 had h i s support. Married on September 29, 1835, t o Rebecca Anne Smith, M r s . Janney, l i k e her husband, was active in s o c i a l reform movements. They were t h e p a r e n t s of four children, Anne ( M r s . C. Gaylord ~ e m i n g ) , S i b b i l l a ( Mrs. William L. James), Frances ( M r s . Samuel C. ~ erby), and a son, Thomas J. Janney. OBI0 BiSTORiCAL SOCiETY 1' 382 VelmE Avenue. Columbus. Ohio 43211- 2447 ~ h 6: I4 . Lg7.23oo jx: 6 11,247.241~ ...... .,.:. L: |
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