county commissioner, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania September 28, 1825. By the death of his father, which occurred five years later, Isaac was cast upon the world. He found a home with a farmer, and here he acquired such education as could be obtained by an attendance at district school two months in the years. At the age of seventeen, he began to learn the "art preservative;" after serving one year, his employer closed out the establishment, and the boy was again left to his own resources. Believing that the West afforded superior advantages, to one without means, he started for Ohio, in April, 1845, and, on foot, in due time, reached Columbus, his present place of residence. Finding no employment, as a printer, he learned the carpenter's trade, and has since followed the vocation of contractor and builder, by aid of which he has accumulated a comfortable competency. In politics, Mr. Beekey has always been a decided Democrat, and his fidelity to the party has been rewarded by frequent elections to important and responsible positions. His first appearance in public life was in April, 1866, when he was elected to the city council, from the fourth ward. Two years later he was re-elceted, and at the expiration of this term he was mae real estate appraiser for the fourth, fifth, and sixth wards. In April, 1873, he was again elected to the city council, from the fourth ward, and the following year was made president of the city council. In October, 1874, he was elected to his present position, and re-elected in 1877. Mr. Beekey has always been an active and faithful official, whose acts are characterized by firmness and integrity, both in private and public transactions. He was united in marriage on April 23, 1857, to Miss Catharine, daughter of Charles and Catharine Obitz [Obetz], by whom two children were born--Ida and Mary.

NOTE:  Isaac S. Beekey died 15 November 1893 and is buried at Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus.
Catharine Obetz Beekey died 6 April 1916 and is also buried at Green Lawn Cemetery.

county commissioner, was born in the State of New Jersey, on May 20, 1824. He is the second of a family of eleven, the children of Abraham A. and Dulcena Strait, who removed to Franklin county in 1839. They located in Plain township, and here the mother died, not long after.¹  The father died in June, 1862.²

The education of the gentleman who is the subject of this sketch, was acquired at common schools, and was quite limited, owing to the fact that his parents were in indigent circumstances, and his being obliged, at an early age, to seek his own living. At the age of twenty years he struck out to battle with fortune, having rough but strong hands, and a brave heart to aid him. Accumulating some means he sought and obtained the hand of Miss Ann, daughter of Caleb and Eliza Farber, to whom he was married on November 20, 1851. Soon after he purchased one hundred acres of land in Plain township, this county; this, by industry and economy on the part of Mr. Strait, aided by his good wife, has been added to, until he now owns six hundred and twenty-five acres, the greater part of which is under a profitable state of cultivation. His life work has been that of a farmer and stock raiser. Of the public life of Mr. Strait, the writer learns that he was first elected county commissioner in the fall of 1860, and served two terms of three years each Upon the expiration of the second term he was appointed auditor of Franklin county, and in this capacity he served two years. In the fall of 1876 he was a third time elected to the office of commissioner, his term expiring in the fall of 1879. Politically, Mr. Strait is a firm adherent to the teachings of the Democratic party. For the past twenty years he has been a member of the society of Free and Accepted masons.

His children are:  Whitney, Cordelia (Mrs. B. Ranney), Ann Eliza, and Dulcena,³ and Edward L.,⁴ who are deceased.

1.  Dulcena, wife of Abraham A. Strait, died March 23, 1845; aged 39 years, 8 months, 13 days; buried Maplewood Cemetery, New Albany. (The Franklin County Genealogical Society a Chapter of The Ohio Genealogical Society, comp., Franklin County, Ohio Cemeteries; Blendon & Plain Townships, vol. 4 of 11 (Columbus, 1981), pages 11, 38.)

2.  Abraham A. Strait died August 1, 1861, aged 70 years, 5 months, 5 days. Ibid.

3.  Edward L. Strait, son of D. B. & A., March 4, 1864-October 4, 1864 Ibid.

4.  Dulcenia [Sic.], daughter of D. B. & Ann, January 28, 1861-September 16, 1876. Ibid.

The subject of this sketch has an ancestry of the old pioneer stock. He was born September 9, 1823, in Pickaway county, Ohio, and was left an orphan, at the age of eight years, by the death of his father, and about the only inheritance left him was a sound constitution and a strong physical development. The education he acquired was of the most practical and useful kind, and he soon became the main stay of his widowed mother. His early life was spent in agricultural pursuits, with its variety of sunshine and shadow, from all of which he took his practical lessons. Subsequently he became engaged in dealing in stock, and it soon became apparent that "Uncle Dan," as he was familiarly called, was as good a judge of horses, cattle, and hogs, as any man in the country. After locating in Franklin county, he was connected with the blacksmithing business for about three years, at the town of Dublin, but dealing in stock was his principal business, and many have been the droves of cattle he has taken over the mountains, when from sixty to sixty-five days were considered good time from here to New York city. He has also shipped stock, by the more modern transportation, when five or six days are regarded as moderate time, over the same route. For many years, during the war, he was engaged in furnishing horses and other supplies to the army, and in all his transactions he was regarded as a man of good judgement and strict integrity. During his life he has held many positions of trust, and has always discharged his duty with fidelity and credit to himself. In 1875, he was elected to the office of county commissioner, and at the expiration of his term of office, in 1878, he was re-elected to the same office for a second term, which was a public approval of his previous course in the office. He has been twice married, first to Martha Hutcheson, May 12, 1843, who died February 14, 1873; he was again married, to Ruth Hutcheson, March 25, 1875, with whom he is now living, at their comfortable home, near the city of Columbus. During his whole life, good faith and fair dealing have been his guiding star, and he is so regarded in this community, that his word is as good as his bond. He never engaged in wild or visionary speculations, in which there was great risk, but preferred the natural growth and legitimate profits of his business; and thus, by perseverance and industry, he has accumulated, not great wealth, but a handsome competency. He is widely known in this and adjoining counties, and is highly esteemed as one of the substantial men of Franklin county.