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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 02487 1896
GENEALOGY
977.101
R39BA
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
OF
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RICHLAND COUNTY
OHIO
9 T7> /0/ ILLUSTRATED
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A. J. BAUGHMAN, Editor.
CHICAGO
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING CO.
1901
PREFACE.
414972
UT of the depths of his mature wisdom Carlyle wrote,
"History is the essence of innumerable biographies."
Believing this to be the fact, there is no necessity of
advancing any further reason for the compilation of
such a work as this, if reliable history is to be the
ultimate object.
The section of Ohio embraced by this volume has sustained within
its confines men who have been prominent in the history of the State,
and even the nation, for a century. The annals teem with the records
of strong and noble manhood, and, as Sumner has said, "the true grand-
eur of nations is in those qualities which constitute the greatness of the
individual." The final causes which shape the fortunes of individuals and
the destinies of States are often the same. They are usually remote and
obscure, and their influence scarcely perceived until manifestly declared by
results. That nation is the greatest which produces the greatest and most
manly men and faithful women; and the intrinsic safety of a community
depends not so much upon methods as upon that normal development from
the deep resources of which proceeds all that is precious and perma-
manent in life. But such a result may not consciously be contemplated by
the actors in the great social drama. Pursuing each his personal good by
exalted means, they work out as a logical result.
The elements of success in life consist in both innate capacity and deter-
mination to excel. Where either is wanting, failure is almost certain in the
outcome. The study of a successful life, therefore, serves both as a source
of information and as a stimulus and encouragement to those who have the
capacity. As an important lesson in this connection we may appropriately
4 PREFACE.
quote Longfellow, who said : " We judge ourselves by what we feel capa-
ble of doing, while we judge others by what they have already done." A
faithful personal history is an illustration of the truth of this observation.
In this biographical history the editorial staff, as well as the publishers,
have fully realized the magnitude of the task. In the collection of the ma-
terial there has been a constant aim to discriminate carefully in regard to the
selection of subjects. Those who have been prominent factors in the public,
social and industrial development of the counties have been given due recog-
nition as far as it has been possible to secure the requisite data. Names
worthy of perpetuation here, it is true, have in several instances been omitted,
either on account of the apathy of those concerned or the inability of the
compilers to secure the information necessary for a symmetrical sketch; but
even more pains have been taken to secure accuracy than were promised in
the prospectus. Works of this nature, therefore, are more reliable and com-
plete than are the "standard" histories of a country.
THE PUBLISHERS.
INDEX.
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
The Pioneers 9
Captain Thomas Armstrong 14
Captain Pipe .... 14
Greentown and the War of 1812 15
The Killing of Tom Lyons 17
First Settlement Again. 19
Indian Civilization 23
Early Day Musters 26
Pioneer Gatherings 29
The Heroes of '76 31
Of Great Prowess 34
Places of Interest 36
The Robinson Castle 40
Caves and Caverns 43
Moody's Hill 45
Ancient Earth-Works • 45
Hemlock Falls 48
Uncle Jonas' Lake 48
Spooks' Hollow 50
Facts versus Fiction 55
Miscellaneous 53
Underground Railroads 55
Richland County In the Civil War 57
Murder Mysteries 59
Towns and Villages 62
Helltown and Greentown .... 66
Potato Region 67
Richland County's Place in the Galaxy of Ohio Poets 68
The Mansfield Lyceum 71
A Hundred Years 72
Our Illustrious Dead 74
Ashland County 77
Greentown 78
The Zimmer Massacre 84
The Fatal Return 88
The Copus Massacre 89
Monuments Reared 93
The Black Fork Settlement 96
Pioneer Incidents 97
Two Battle of Cowpens. 97
Lyons' Falls 100
Ancient Mounds 102
Conclusion 102
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Abbjtt, Frank A., 655
Aby, Byron J., 585
Aby, Solomon W., 362
Ackerman, John C, 556
Ackerman, William, 609
Albertson, Butler, 116
Albertson, William K., 116
Albach, W. H., 572
Alvord, Harrison M., 616
Andrews, Samuel, 557
Andrews, Thomas B. ( 551
Appl gate, Johu, 650
Arehart, Christopher C, 512
Arter, Sarah Jane, 614
Ashbaugh, Ellzy A., 195
Au, Christopher, 424
Avery, Curtis L,., 184
Avery, Rufus L., 185
Backensto, Henry, 196
Bailey & Walters, 163
Balliett, James M., 382
Barnes, Ross R., 661
Barr, Samuel, 374
Barton,. J. Anderson, 696
Baughman, Abraham J., 528
Portrait, 30
Baughman, Elizabeth C, 536
Beam, Henry, 215
Beaver, Harry H., 162
Bell, David, 135
Bell, Thomas M.. 549
Benedict, Abraham, 419
Berno, Edward, 493
Berry, Adam, 550
Berry, Benjamin, 543
Bloom, Samuel S., 203
Boals, Frank L., 325
Boals, James F., 432
Boals, Sarah J., 366
Bonham, William, 452
Bricker, Rilev P., 401
Brinkerhoff, Roeliff, 105
Brook, William, 634
Brown, Huntington, 144
Brucker, Lewis, 504
Brumfield, Charles, 547
Burkholder, John H., 376
Burneson, Andrew, 472
Burns, Barnabas, 406
Bushej-, Abraham, 384
Bushnell, Martin B., 687
Cahall, John, 383
Calhoon, Alexander, 526
Calhoon, Noble, 525
Cappeller, William S., 136
Chamberlain, James L., 234
Chamberlain, Josiah, 645
Chapman, John (Johnny Apple-
seed), 570
Charles, George W., 117
Clark, Samuel C, 497
Cline, Frank M., 663
Close, Erastus S., 284
Clowes, J. Q. A., 222
Cobban, James, 393
Cockley, David E., 319
Cole, John, 327
Colwell, Samuel J., 440
Cook, Carter E., 399
Cook, James H., 520
Corbett, John, 295
Cowan, Mrs. E. R., 464
Cox, George and Hannah, 413
Craig, J. Harvey, 280
Crall, David, 356
Crall, John, 693
Crawford, John, 147
Crutn, Michael, 439
Culler, John F., 209
Culler, Martin L., 694
Cummings, Seth G., 206
Cunningham, James, 608
Darling, John, 531
Darling, John M., 672
Darling, Marion M., 353
Darling, Robert, 692
Davidson, Peter, 514
Davis, Mack H., 479
Dawson, John W. , 307
De Camp, Moses, 150
De Lancv, Jacob, 363
Dick, Ge'orge G., 603
Dickerson, Mahlon, 124
Dickerson, Thomas, 431
Dill, John J., 547
Dill, Thomas T., 371
Dittenhoefer, Mortimer A., 515
Ditwiler, John, 524
Doty, Duane M., 477
Douglass, Augustus A., 286
Douglass, Michael E., 529
Douglass, Silas M., 267
Eastman, Newton R., 166
Eckert-Lawrence, Ida, 70
Ellis, Sidney, 637
Elston, William H., 517
Evarts, Solomon, 435
Ewing, George M., 288
Farber, Olin M., 552
Ferguson, James G., 277
Ferguson, Samuel, 276
Ferrell, Austin M., 629
First, James M., 170
Fisher, Joseph, 589
Fitting, Frederick M., 138
France, Enoch H., 227
Francis, David R., 540
Fraser, Alexander, 223
Frederick, P. W., 214
Freer, Harvey, 598
Freeze, John J., 612
INDEX
French, Charles W., 664
Fullton, J. H., 475
Gans, Mary C, 332
Garber, Jehu L. , 255
Geddes, George W., 263
Portrait, 76
Gerhart, John F., 430
Gilger, John, 574
Goodman, Guy T., 296
Gorhatn, Samuel R.,5 8
Gorham, William H., 235
Grosscup, Charles G., 278
Guthrie, Amberson W., 179
Guthrie, Nathaniel, 486
Hafer, John W., 318
Hale, John, 385
Hall, Thomas, 247
Hamblin, William B , 618
Hammon, Thomas, 256
Hancock, Robert G., 344
Haverfield, Joseph, 265
Haycox, Arthur J., 692
Hazlett, Robert W.. 621
Henry, Joseph P., 224
Herring-, James H. 386
Hersh, Newton, 118
Hess, Isaac, 416
Hildebrant, Hiram W., 297
Hill, Jacob G., 269
Hines, Clark B., 438
Hofman, George W., 461
Hogan, Michael, 510
Holtz, Samuel S., 304
Homer, Barnet, 686
Hoover, Gideon E., 339
Hopp, Francis J., 198
Hout, Clayton B., 349
Hout, George, 350
Hout, Peter, 368
Hubbs, Oscar A., 270
Huber, Charles H., 443
Hughes, Robert, 129
Humbert, Albert W., 658
Humbert, Levi H., 639
Hunter, Amos, 602
Hunter, Joseph M., 470
Hunter, Robert, 306
Huston, Charles H., 322
Her, John, 511
Jesson, William, 502
Kallmerten, Arnold, 392
Kaylor, Henry H., 653
Keating, Charles H., 360
Kingsboro, Hiram E-, 491
Knox, John, 291
Kohler, Perry B., 462
Kooken, Henry C, 176
Kuebler, Louis S., 243
Kuhn Family, The, 508
Kyner, Philip, 623
Laffeity, Uriah, 182
Lanehart, Peter, 630
Lautermilch, John H., 680
Leiter, David S., 685
Leiter, George W., 477
Leiter, Samuel B., 478
Lemley, John, 402
Leppo, James W., 342
Leppo, William, 415
Lewis, John D., 242
Lindsey, Arthur N. , 147
Livingston, James, 456
Loiselle, L. N., 194
Long, Benjamin F., 149
Loose, Nathaniel H., 484
Lybarger, Andrew, 605
Lyon, Ed. D., 675
Manner, Harry T., 311
Mansfield, Edwin, 437
Mansfield Schools, 566
Maring, Jesse, 210
Marriott, Samuel, 460
Marvin, Daniel S., 389
Marvin, Hiram, 451
Marvin, T. S.,625
May, John M., 632-
May, Manuel, 648
McBride, Alexander, 123
McBride, Calvin, 300
McBride, Curtis E-, 200
McBride, Washington, 313
McConkie, John W., 258
McConkie, William, 606
McCormic, David, 274
McCray, T. Y., 216
McCully, Samuel S., 671
McCurdy, Joseph, 679
McDermut, Wesley R.,559
McLaughlin, William, 120
Memorial Library Association, 453
Mengert, Lewis C, 656
Metcalfe, H. H., 312
Metz, Henry P., 422
Miller, David P., 683
Milligan, Albert, 555
Mitchell. George, 186
Moore, Charles S., 503
Morrow, Alexander, 127
Moser, Henry S., 527
Mowry, George H., 587
Myers", John D., 367
Needham, Jerry, 423
Nelson, David, 293
Nelson, Elmore D., 643
Nichols, John H., 396
Noble, John, 379
Noble, John A., 560
Norris, Amos D., 611
Oberlin, Benjamin F., 192
Ohio State Reformatory, 110
Ohler, John C, 678
Ott, Fritz A., 370
Ozier, David, 208
Ozier, Nelson, 272
INDEX.
Palmer, Joseph W., 659
Parker, Silas C, 408
Parsons, Le Roy, 358
Patterson, James N., 240
Pearce, James M., 482
Peterson, Aaron E., 642
Peterson, William, 649
Pitteng-er, Henry O., 337
Plank, Elam A.,544
Poland, Simon, 395
Porch, J. W., 321
Post, J. Harvey, 346
Post, James M., 183
Post, Martin Van Buren, 17:
Potter, Ezra J., 458
Price, James A., 381
Pug-h, Samuel, 330
Pulver, Alfred B., 584
Quinn, Mary, 494
Rabold, James F., 199
Ramsey, Andrew, 691
Ramsey, Thomas B., 160
Reed, George W., 217
Remy, John, £95
Reynolds, James, 244
Ricketts, George W., 173
Roasberry, William H., 352
Robinson, Calvin, 418
Robison, Thomas R., 506
Ropp, William E., 398
Rose, Hiram S., 236
Rummel, James H., 229
Rummel, Silas, 190 ■
Samsel, David D., 631
Schauck, Aaron, 351
Scott, William, 627
Sefton, W. E., 248
Sewell, W. E., 134
Shafer, Samuel, 442
Sharp, Joseph W., 427
Shatzer, Jeremiah W., 582
Shaw, William A., 220
Sheets, Elza, 652
Sheets, Henry E., 484
Sheets, Samuel, 541
Shepard, N. Marvin, 673
Sherman, John, 564
Portrait, 56
Shocker, Thomas J., 364
Simpson, John, 446
Simpson, Joseph, 579
Skiles, George M., 434
Skiles, John C, 397
Skiles, William W., 152
Sloane, Jonathan W., 299
Smart, Harlen F., 676
Smith, Aaron, 473
Smith, Daniel, 597
Smith, Hiram R., 600
Smith, Joseph E., 347
Smith, Peter, 668
Snavely, Joseph, 372
Snyder, Lewis L., 573
Spayde, Daniel, 158
Stake, George W., 444
Stambaugh, David N., 219
Starr, Mitchell, 499
Statler, George W., 403
Stevenson, Andrew, 534
Stober, John P., 401
Stratford, Earl F., 213
Strimple, William, 249
Sutter, Sarah A., 114
Switzer, Edward B., 591
Taylor, Joseph, 670
Taylor, Noble, 450
Thompson, Isaac N., 560
Thompson, James V., 168
Thomson, John C, 455
Todd, John H., 421
Torrence, Jonathan C, 466
Tracy, Frederick E-, 328
Tracy, Lathrop J., 488
Tracy, Rufus A., 490
Trauger Family, The, 251
Tucker, D. F., 690
Tucker, John A., 590
Tucker, Norman W., 279
Uhlich, George, 577
Uhlich, Jonathan, 303
Vanscov, George W., 283
Voegele, William F., 130
Voegele, William F., Jr., 127
Wagner, John W., 568
Walters, Ed B., 481
Walters, George W., 390
Walters, Hiram, 593
Weaver, William H., 316
Weaver, Wilson Shannon, 309
Webber, Frank D., 292
Weiser, Adam H., 230
Welty, Christian, 156
Wentz, Henry, 232
Wentz, Peter, 620
Wharton, Benjamin F., 336
Wharton, John, 133
White, Henry N., 377
White, John F., 596
Wiles, Herman E., 140
Williams, Benjamin J., 355
Williams, James W., 348
Wilson, Daniel W., 682
Wilson, John W., 467
Wilson, Samuel. 562
Winters, Ross C, 516
Wirth, John E., 375
Wise, Christian, 624
Wise, Frederick H., 501
Wise, John, 495
Witt, August F., 331
Wolfe, John R., 238
Wolff, Barnard, 126
Wolford, David, 277
Zehner, James, 636
Zehner, Joseph B., 476
Zook, Mary M., 246
~4?m
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
Concerning that Portion of Ohio Embraced within
the Present Limits of
RICHLAND Al ASHLAND COUNTIES
THE PIONEERS.
"The pioneer was a rugged seer
As he crossed the western river
Where the red man called the Indian
Lay hid with his bow and quiver."
MERICA is the only country of the earth that has pro-
duced pioneers. European countries were peopled by
men moving' in large bodies from one place to another.
Whole tribes would move en masse and overrun, absorb
or extinguish the original inhabitants of a country, dis-
possess them and occupy their territory. But in Amer-
ica we had the gradual approach of civilization and the
gradual recession of barbarism. The white man did not
come in columns and platoons, but came singly as pioneers.
When civilization crossed the crest of the Alleghanies, Ohio was looked
upon as the garden of the west, and soon various settlements were made in
the territory now known as the state of Ohio. Casuists claim that the deer
was made for the thicket, the thicket was made for the deer, and that both
were made for the hunter; and in further correlations state that the soil was
not only intended for those who would cultivate it, but that, if the valley
produces corn and the hillside grapes, people suited to the cultivation of such
products take possession of these localities on the theory of the eternal fitness
of things.
The first white man "to set his foot'' on the land now embraced in Rich-
land county, Ohio, was James Smith, a young man who was captured by the
Indians near Bedford, Pennsylvania, a short time before the defeat of General
io CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL LIISTORY.
Braddock. He was adopted by the Indians into one of their tribes and finally
accompanied his adopted brother, Tontileango, to the shore of Lake Erie,
passing through a part of what is now Richland county.
Next came Major Rogers, who, with his rangers, passed through here
in November, 1760, en route to Detroit.
The next white people to see this county were Moravian missionaries,
who, with their converts, passed this way when they were being removed
from the Muskingum country to that of the Sandusky.
In June, 1782, Colonel Crawford with his army made a halt "by a fine
spring near where the city of Mansfield now stands," while on their ill fated
expedition to the Sandusky country.
Following Crawford's campaign, the next white man in this part of
the state was Thomas Green, a renegade, who was the founder of Greentown,
in 1782.
The successful campaign of "Mad Anthony" Wayne in 1794 and the
peace treaty of Greenville in 1795 secured comparative safety on the frontiers,
and immigration began. The surveys of the public lands, which had been
practically stopped, were resumed and extended to the northwest. Surveyors
tried to keep in advance of the settlers, and land offices were established for
the sale of land in several places. There was not a settler here when the
survey of Richland was begun by General Hedges in 1806.
On the 1 6th of January, 1808, a bill passed the Ohio legislature creating
the counties of Knox, Licking and Richland, with a provision placing Rich-
land under the jurisdiction of Knox county, as it had been before under Fair-
field, "until the legislature may think proper to organize the same;" and on
June 9, 1809, the commissioners of Knox county declared "the entire county
of Richland a separate township, which shall be called and known by the
name of Madison."
At an election in 1809 but seventeen votes were cast in the entire town-
ship (county), showing that but few settlers were here at that time. Rich-
land remained under the jurisdiction of Knox until 1813.
Thomas Green lived at the Indian town of Greentown several years,
but he was not a settler. Other renegade white men may also have lived
there temporarily. But the first bona-fide settler in Richland county was
Jacob Newman, who came here in the spring of 1807. General James Hedges,
a Virginian by birth, was here prior to that date, but he was in the employ
of the government as a surveyor and did not become a resident until some
years afterward.
Jacob Newman was originally from Pennsylvania, but had been living
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. u
at Canton prior to coming to Richland. He was a kinsman of General
Hedges and came here evidently with the view of locating and laying out
the county-seat for the new county.
The site first selected was about two and a half miles southeast of Mans-
field, at what is known in history as Beam's Mills, where Newman had pre-
empted three quarter-sections of land. The site of the first cabin is south-
west of the mill, east of the Rocky Fork, and about three hundred feet west
of the Mansfield-Lucas road. A few rods west of where the cabin stood is
the spring frequently referred to in the history of the county, whose waters
came forth from beneath a beech tree, at the foot of the little bluff. The
spring is now filled up, a little marsh having formed below. The land belongs
to the mill property now owned by Mr. Amsbaugh.
The first cabin was made of round logs, was "chinked and daubed,"
and had a fire-place that occupied nearly all of one end, with a chimney out-
side made of sticks and mortar. There was but one room, with a "loft"
above. Greased paper was used in the window instead of glass and the door
was made of puncheons. After two years a new cabin was built, larger than
the old one and about eight feet from it, the space between being roofed like
a porch. While the first cabin had only an earth floor, a sawmill had been
put up in the meantime and the new building had a floor of sawed boards.
Then, too, it was a hewed-log house, with glass in the windows and an iron
crane took the place of the old lug-pole, all of which was considered quite
aristocratic in those days.
Michael Newman, a brother of Jacob Newman, came with his family
and was the first addition to the new settlement. A Mr. Fountain came
next, and the third was Captain James Cunningham.
Captain Cunningham, who was an Irishman by descent and a Mary-
lander by birth, came to Richland from Licking county, but lived only at the
Newman settlement a comparatively short time until he moved into the first
cabin built in Mansfield (commonly called the Martin cabin) to board General
Mansfield and party while the survey of the prospective county-seat was being
made. After "keeping tavern" here for some time he moved to the Black
Fork, near Greentown. After the close of the war he removed to the Clear
Fork valley, near St. John's, where he taught school several years, and then
bought a farm, part of section 8, in Worthington township, where he lived
the remainder of his life. He died in 1870, aged nearly ninety years.
Captain Cunningham commanded a company in Colonel Kratzer's regi-
ment in the war of 181 2. and the command was encamped on Alum creek in
Delaware county when the news of Hull's surrender was received, which
12 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
threw the army into a frenzy of excitement. Colonel Kratzer wanted to
communicate with Colonel Root, who was farther west, and to reach him
the messenger would have to ford the river, then swollen beyond its banks,
with drift floating upon its swift current. The colonel considered the mis-
sion too perilous to make a detail and asked for a volunteer to carry the
dispatch. Captain Cunningham responded, and taking the message plunged
his horse into the raging torrent, which the noble steed swam bravely through
and landed the gallant captain safely upon the opposite bank; and the cheers
he then heard from his comrades-in-arms must have been gratifying to his
military pride. After a ride of nine miles through the wilderness, the captain
delivered the dispatch to Colonel Root and then returned to his own command.
For his gallant service upon this occasion, Captain Cunningham was com-
mended in general orders. The late Dr. Bushnell informed the writer that
at county musters the head of the battalion was given to Captain Cunning-
ham on account of his fine military bearing and the excellent discipline of
his troops.
Prior to the war, Captain Cunningham was the constable of ''Madison
township," when Richland was yet under the jurisdiction of Knox, which
was equivalent to being the first sheriff of Richland county. Captain Cun-
ningham took in situations intuitively and was prompt and intrepid in action.
He was the son of an Irishman who served in the Revolutionary war and
helped to consecrate the battle-field of Brandywine with his blood.
While our German citizens are no less brave and might more tenaciously
hold a fort or endure a siege, the Irish have that dash and daring which wins
applause, and their bravery is equaled only by their chivalry. Moore, the
great Irish poet, paid a deserved tribute to the honor of Erin's sons in his
ballad, which is as immortal as it is beautiful :
"Rich and rare were the gems she wore,
And a bright gold ring on her wand she bore;
But Oh ! her beauty was far beyond
Her sparkling gems or snow-white wand.
" 'Lady, dost thou not fear to stray.
So lone and lovely through this bleak way?
Are Erin's sons so good or so cold
As not to be tempted by women or gold?'
" 'Sir Knight, I feel not the least alarm,
No son of Erin will offer me harm ;
1 For though they love woman and golden store,
Sir Knight, they love honor and virtue more !'
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 13
"On she went, and her maiden smile.
In safety lighted her 'round the isle ;
And blest forever is she who relied
Upon Erin's honor and Erin's pride.'.'
The first settlement on the Black Fork was made by Abraham Baugh-
man near Greentown, but the date is not definitely known. Dr. Hill, in his
history of Ashland county, says it was possibly as early as 1807. In a paper
written by the late Hon. John Coulter in 1858 and published some years since
in the Loudonville Advocate, Mr. Coulter said : "I came to Green township
in 1 8 10. in company with my father, Thomas Coulter, and Jonathan Palmer,
Joseph Gladden, Otho Simmons, Melzar Tannahill and George Crawford.
We landed at Abraham Baughman's about the 25th of August. He had
settled there the year before and was the only white man on the Black Fork
'from one end to the other.' We were all from Pennsylvania. Mr. Baugh-
man and myself felled the first tree on my quarter-section, for bees, in August,
1810." Therefore, according to this statement, Abraham Baughman was the
only white man living on the Black Fork ''from one end to the other" when
the Coulter party arrived in 1810. The settlement was in Green township,
Ashland countv, then a part of Richland.
Abraham Baughman married Mary Katherine Deeds, and removed from
Cumberland to Washington county, Pennsylvania, and then to Richland
county, this state. His brother, George, also came to Ohio and located at
what is now Gahanna, in Franklin county. Abraham Baughman and wife
were the parents of eight children, — five sons and three daughters. When
they came to the Black Fork their two younger children — Jacob and George —
were single and lived with their parents.
Jacob Baughman was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. February 19, 1792.
While the family resided in western Pennsylvania Jacob, then in his early
'teens, had worked with an apple-mill maker. After the Baughman family
had lived two or three years on the Black Fork and had their farm well
cleared and improved. Jacob received an offer to return to Pennsylvania and
finish his trade. Their postoffice was then at Wooster, fifteen miles east of
which Jacob's brother John had settled and for whom a township was named.
Money was then very scarce, and while they could grow what was needed
for their sustenance, prices were so low that but little cash could be realized
on the sale of farm products, and in fact there was but little, if any, market
for them. A family council was held and it was decided that Jacob should
"buy his time," — the two years he lacked of his majority. — accept the offer
H CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
and remit quarterly installments to his father, which would furnish him money
with which to pay taxes, and so forth.
With his clothing tied up in a bandana handkerchief, Jacob set off alone
on foot on his long journey. His pathetic parting with his mother he often
feelingly described. The war coming on, he returned to Ohio before his
two years were completed. I give this narrative to show that Abraham
Baughman must have located on the Black Fork at least as early as 1809.
Mrs. Baughman died in August, 1820, and her husband the January follow-
ing. On their gravestone in the Perrysville cemetery is the inscription,
"Pioneers of 1810," as the exact date or year is not known.
Mr. Coulter, in the paper referred to, also speaks of the cordial reception
they received "at the hospitable home of Mr. Baughman." Hospitality was
a prominent characteristic of the pioneers. The latch-string was always
out in a literal as well as in a figurative sense. To fasten a door would have
been considered an insult to society — a reflection on the honesty of the
neighbors.
CAPTAIN THOMAS ARMSTRONG.
Captain Thomas Armstrong was a chief of the Turtle branch of the Del-
aware tribe. He was said to have been a white man who had been stolen
when a mere child and was raised by the Delawares and adopted into their
tribe. Other authorities say he was of mixed blood. He was the chief
at Greentown and was aged when he was forced to leave the village. All
the Indians, however, at Greentown were not Delawares. There were a few
Mohegans, Mohawks, Mingoes, Senecas and Wyandots there also.
< CAPTAIN PIPE.
Captain Pipe was a chief of the Wolf branch of the Delaware tribe and
ruled at Mohican Johnstown, and never resided in Richland county. There
was a Captain Pipe at Greentown who was supposed to be the son of the
old chieftain. He was a young man and was described as small, straight and
very affable. He later became a half-chief with Silas Armstrong on the
reservation at Pipestown, six miles from Upper Sandusky, and died in the
Indian Territory in 1839.
Old Captain Pipe was a large man. He had the blandness and oily address
of the cringing courtier, the malignity of the savage and the bloodthirsty
ferocity of the skulking panther. With his own hand he painted Colonel
Crawford black, and by his order he was burnt at the stake. While paint-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 15
ing the colonel the treacherous Pipe feigned friendship and joked about him
making a good-looking Indian, but the black paint belied his words, for it
portended death. It has been stated that Captain Pipe refused to join with
the British against the white settlers in 181 2; but as he was a consummate
dissembler the statement should be received in accordance with the character
of the man. After Hull's surrender, Captain Pipe was never seen in this
part of the state, and his fate is unknown.
GREENTOWN AND THE WAR OF 1812.
At the time of the advent of the white settlers here the village of Green-
town contained from one hundred and fifty to two hundred Indian families
who lived in pole cabins, and in the center of the town was a council-house
built of logs. There were Mingoes there as well as Delawares, and some
writers have confounded Greentown with the "Mingo Cabbins" spoken of by-
Major Rogers; but Dr. Hill thought the "cabbins" referred to were on the
Jerome Fork, near to the place where the Mingo village of "Mohican Johns-
town" was afterward located.
The Indians often hoisted sails to their canoes to glide them over the
dark, quiet waters of the Black Fork. Along the banks the scenery in sum-
mer was said to be of tropical beauty. Verdant plants and beautiful flowers
lined either side and the luxuriant foliage of the forest formed a background
to the enhancing picture, in which light and shadow were artistically blended
and the songs of the birds came melodiously upon the perfume-laden air,
making the valley seem a veritable paradise to the early pioneer.
Two branches of the Delaware tribe — the Wolf and the Turtle — were
represented at Greentown.
By the year 1810 a number of families had .been added to the Black Fork
settlement, among whom were Andrew Craig, James Cunningham, Henry
McCart, Samuel Lewis, Frederick Zimmer and others. A remnant of the
Mohican tribe of Indians from Connecticut settled at an early day on the
western branch of the Muskingum river, and nearly all our streams have
Indian names. Mohican was derived from Mohegan, and from that river we
have the various "forks."
The Indians yearly had a feast in their council-house or upon its campus,
in celebration of some tribal rite or anniversary, to which the settlers were
invited. The ceremonies were opened by singing, with a copper-kettle accom-
paniment. Speaking would then follow and after that was dancing. In these
dances some of the braves attired themselves in the most grotescme manner,
1 6 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in bear and deer skins and cowhides, having the hoofs and claws dangling
about their legs, and upon their heads they wore the skulls and horns, making
them look like animals. The braves and the squaws sometimes danced sep-
arately, according to their idea of decorum or the rules of the dance. After
the dance refreshments were served, consisting of boiled venison and bear
meat. Upon one occasion Captain Cunningham thought the meat was tainted
and concealed his portion in his pocket, as it would have been considered a
grave offense not to eat the food given to him.
When the Indians were encampted temporarily at Mansfield, on their
removal from Greentown to Piqua, a tragedy — incident of war — occurred
that gave the stream that courses through the north part of the city from the
west its name, Toby's run. A Wyandot Indian and his daughter, who had
been visitors at Greentown, escaped, were followed by two soldiers, who over-
took them a mile west of town, tomahawked the man, but let the daughter
go to her own country, which, as "Johnny Appleseed" reported afterward,
she reached in safety. The soldiers had had relatives murdered by the Indians,
and the redskins could not reasonably expect mercy when they had shown
none to the whites.
The settlers maintained friendly relations with the Indians for some time,
but when the war with Great Britain was impending it was noticed that
both the Greentown and the Jeromeville Indians made frequent trips to Upper
Sandusky, and when they returned were always well supplied with blankets,
tomahawks and ammunition, evidently supplied to them by British agents,
who were busily engaged in trying to ingratiate themselves into the favor of
the red man and be thus able to enlist them afterward as allies against the
whites.
On the 1 8th of June, 1812, the United States declared war against
Great Britain, and after that -the estranged relation between the settlers and
the savages developed into threatened rupture and resulted in the forced evacu-
ation of Greentown, followed with the murder of the Zimmers and Copus.
The reason generally assigned for the killing of Copus was that he had
accompanied Captain Douglas to, the Indian village and advised them to sub-
mit to a peaceful removal. It is also stated that the Indians had a grudge
against the settlers up the valley because their horses (which ran at large)
had frequently come from that direction with fire-brands tied to their tails.
The Indians also claimed that the whites made them drunk on metheglin and
then cheated them in trades. Metheglin was made from wild honey, which
was plentiful in those days. Metheglin was a favorite drink, was very intox-
CENTEXNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 17
icating, and it is said that those who indulged in this delicious nectar could
hear the bees buzzing for several days thereafter.
When the pioneers wanted honey they hunted "bee trees," as bees then
used cavities in trees as hives in which to store their "delicious sweets."
The white settlers often joined the Indians in athletic sport on the campus
of their village, in which the "run, hop, step and jump" and wrestling were
the favorite amusements ; but the Indians never took defeat graciously.
"Oh, merrily passed the time, despite
Our wily Indian foe,
In the days when we were pioneers,
Many years ago !
"Yet, while we live, we may all
A backward glance still throw
To the days when we were pioneers,
Many years ago !"
KILLING OF TOM LYONS.
Among the prominent Indians at Greentown were Bill Montour, Bill
Doudy, Jonacake and Tom Lyons. Several stories have been told of Lyons'
death, locating the event in as many different localities. He came to Ohio
soon after the Wyoming massacre. 1778. in which he took a part, and made
his headquarters at Helltown and later at Greentown. He was removed in
1812 with the Greentown Indians to Piqua. and, like other Indians, came
back to Richland county occasionally, after the close of the war, to hunt and
to temporarily sojourn.
Lyons was called Old Leather-lips by the settlers on account of his large,
thick protruding lips, and was considered one of the ugliest human beings
that ever lived. He was reticent about himself, except when under the influ-
ence of fire-water, when he would tell of the part he took in the Wyoming
massacre, and of later having committed other murders, boasting that he had
killed nearly a hundred white men, whose scalps he had tanned, and whose
tongues he had pickled in alcohol.
About 1829 Indians held a hunting- feast two miles bel >w Bellville. on the
north side of the Clear Fork, nearly opposite Gatton's Rocks, in Richland
county. John Gatton, in company with a hired man named Joe Haynes,
attended the feast, as "lookers on in Venice." Tom Lyons was there, drunk
and loquacious. To generalize was not sufficient for him in his maudlin con-
dition; he must particularize and state that he had killed Isaac Mericles, a
1 8 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
relative of young Haynes, and that he lacked but one more scalp to complete
his hundred. About a year previously Isaac Mericles had been found foully
murdered, and Lyons' admission of the crime so incensed young Haynes that
he publicly vowed to avenge his relative's death. Mr. Gatton cautioned
Haynes that it was unsafe to make threats in the presence of the Indians
against one of their number, and succeeded in getting the young man away.
The Indians continued their carousal. A few days later Haynes took his
rifle and went out to hunt, as was the custom: of the times, and when he
returned in the evening he told Mr. Gatton that he had killed Tom Lyons at
Leedy's swamp, and had buried him where he fell; that he had found Lyons
at the edge of the swamp, taking aim with his rifle at an opening in the
thicket, and, without being discovered, Haynes shot Lyons in the back of the
head, thus avenging his uncle's death.
Gatton was shocked, and advised Haynes to leave the country at once,
as the Indians would soon learn of Lyons' death and that suspicion would be
cast upon him on account of the threat he had made. Haynes then bade the
family good-bye, stepped out into the darkness of the night and was never
heard of afterward, the general opinion being that the Indians had made way
with him the same night. The Gattons wisely kept their own counsel, and
it was only within the past year that a daughter of John Gatton, now an
aged lady, told the story, explaining the mysterious disappearance of Tom
Lyons.
Tom Lyons has been described as one of the ugliest human beings that
ever lived. He had coarse features, elephant-like skin, an under-lip very
thick and so long that it drooped over his chin. He frequently called at the
homes of the settlers, and sometimes upon awakening at night they would
see him sitting in front of the fireplace ! He usually went to the cupboard
and helped himself to a lunch ere he left. To lock a door or pull in a latch-
string would have been an insult in pioneer times to both settlers and Indians.
Lyons often got white women to bake bread for him, and he would weigh
the flour he furnished, and then weigh the bread, and unless the weight of
the bread was equal to that of the flour there was trouble. As a rule the
women would add of their own flour rather than run the risk of the bread
being light in weight.
The hunting-feast at which Tom Lyons boasted of having killed ninety-
nine white people was held on the bottoms, across the Clear Fork from Gat-
ton's Rocks, where L. N. Loiselle built several cottages the past summer and
where a number of Mansfield people take their summer outings.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 19
Lyons' Falls was not named for Tom Lyons, the Indian, but for Paul
Lyons, a white man, a recluse, who lived there for many years.
FIRST SETTLEMENT AGAIN.
We return to the first settlement to note what progress had been made
there.
In the spring of 1809 the Newmans built a sawmill— the first in the
county — near the place where the Amsbaugh gristmill now stands. It was
a crude affair, but it could saw a few logs a day, and sawed boards were pre-
ferred to skutched puncheons. The number of families at the settlement
increased and in 1810 a gristmill was built. It was equipped with "nigger-
head" buhrs, and the flour made was not of the roller-process kind, but it
may have been as healthful. It was better, however, to have a mill at home
than to have to pack grists on horseback to the mills at Clinton, Knox county,
as they had previously done. Then, too, things are considered good by com-
parison and in those days, so far as flour was concerned, the positive, com-
parative and superlative adjectives of "good, better, best" were unknown.
The Newmans soon removed to Mansfield and while acting as a guide
to General Crooks, in the winter of 181 2, Jacob Newman contracted a disease
from which he died.
Michael Beam bought the Newman land where the first settlement was
made, including the mills, which he put in better equipment and operated for
several years, and the place has passed into history as Beam's Mill.
But adversity and misfortune often lurk in the pathway of the most
industrious and worthy, as was the case with Mr. Beam. To accommodate
a friend he became surety for a large bill of merchandise, which he had to
pay and that took his all, and he never got a start again. Parties at Pitts-
burg got possession of the property and a Mr. Rogers was sent here to super-
intend the same. Rogers built a more pretentious dwelling than those of the
other residents. This house was situated just east of Mr. Mentzer's residence,
and the ground upon which it stood is now cultivated as a garden. There, a
few years since, a stone mantel was dug up and is now used as a step-stone
at Mentzer's back porch. It is, no doubt, the first dressed stone mantel made
in the county.
The scenery along the Rocky Fork, at different places below Beam's Mills,
was said to have been quite picturesque in those days and is interesting still,
especially where the stream makes a bend to the right, as it approaches the
mound or knoll where the soldiers are buried who gave their lives for their
20 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
country while garrisoning the Beam block-house in 1812; and there the rippling
waters sing a sweet requiem as the) r pass the unmarked graves.
While I speak of the pioneers and their achievements, I mean not only
the men of the two decades from 1808 to 1828, but include the women, also,
for they shared alike with the men the dangers and hardships of that period,
and besides their household duties often assisted in the fields and at times
helped to defend their homes against the attack of the Indians. It was not
"lady" then, but that better word, "woman." Woman the wife, woman the
sister, woman the mother of us all ! And although clothed in homespun and
her hands hardened with toil, she had nobility of soul, and her character
was irreproachable and her courage did not falter at the approach of danger,
and her deeds well deserve to be written in history, to be preserved in tradi-
tion and to be sung in songs.
The pioneers are often spoken of as an unlettered people. A few of them
were, perhaps, while others had scholastic attainments. All classes from the
Atlantic states were represented. But there were no allurements to attract
the worst element of society, as was the case in California in the early settle-
ment of that state.
The impelling force that brought people to Ohio to become pioneers was
that restless spirit so peculiar to the American character, which even to-day
causes some of the most intelligent and energetic to leave homes of refine-
ment and comfort in the east to seek new homes in the west, or to go to the
far-off Klondike in the wild rush for gold.
Colonel Rush Field once told the writer of this first Sunday in Lead-
ville during the mining excitement there. The familiar words of the Venite
greeted them as they entered the improvised church. There was a quartette
choir and the voice of the soprano gave evidence of training and cultivation;
and in the Te Deum the exquisite sweetness of her voice and its wonderful
power and compass were more fully noticed. Upon inquiry afterward it was
learned that she was the daughter of a Boston banker and that her education
in music was the best that two continents could give, and that she had left
her home of luxury in the east to share with her husband, a wealthy mine
operator, the inconveniences of a Leadville camp, and to become a Colorado
pioneer.
The pioneer period was but the prelude to the fuller development of the
county that followed. The settlers who cleared the land and founded homes
and formulated the first laws, builded better than they knew, and as we look
back at their work in the light of to-day award them the plaudit of "Well
done !"
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 21
Within four years after the first settlement in Richland county was
made, war was declared against Great Britain, sometimes called the second
war for independence. The question has been asked whether that war
advanced or retarded the settlement of the county. We have read history to
little purpose if we have not learned that the progress of civilization has been
enhanced by wars. The fighting instincts of human nature have brought
more important results than any other force. Homer, the earliest of the
great poets, began his Iliad by invoking the muse to sing of martial exploits,
and expressed his faith in war as a means of progress. The spirit then dis-
played was not materially different from that which the patriots of colonial
times manifested, which culminated in the war of the American Revolution.
The same impelling tendency was seen in the heroic events of the war of
181 2 and in the war with Mexico in 1848, as well as in our recent civil
strife. The records of the "dull, piping times of peace" do not show the
advance of civilization as do the annals of war. A number of the first and
most important roads in our county were cut out and opened by the troops
of the war of 1.8 12, as they marched through or encamped within our bor-
ders, and grounds were cleared for drill purpose upon which the settlers the
next season raised crops. The highways opened by the army were the avenues
along which emigrant wagons came when the war was ended. Then, too,
the soldiers upon their return to the east after their discharge from the service
told such enticing tales of the richness of our soil and the beauty of our land-
scapes that quite a tide of emigration set in, and many of the soldiers came
also and made their homes here.
But I am not writing the history of the war nor its aftermath, — only
referring to the same now and then in giving incidents in county history, and
to say that the war of 1812 advanced the settlement of the county by driv-
ing away the Indians and by bringing the locality into notice.
"Through the woodland, through the. meadow,
As in silence oft I walk,
Softly whispering on the breezes,
Seems to come the red men's talk."
The second settlement within the present limits of Richland county was
made at Bellville by James McCluer in 1809, and was known as the "McCluer
settlement." James McCluer came to that locality in the fall of 1808, entered
land and built a cabin, but spent the following winter in Pickaway county.
The next spring he brought his family and made his abode in the cabin he had
built the fall previous, making the date of the settlement 1809.
22 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
The first road in the county was known as the Wooster road, running
from Wooster via Greentown to Mansfield, and the second road was from
Mount Vernon via the McCluer settlement, and was called the state road.
James McCluer was so favorably impressed with the Clear Fork country
and gave such glowing description of the same that several relatives and
others joined him the same season. Upon the organization of the county in
1 813 James McCluer was appointed one of the associate judges of the court
of common pleas and sold his land to Robert Bell, who, in 181 5, laid out a
town plat of forty-eight lots, and the town was named Bellville. Judge
McCluer removed to Mansfield and lived in a cabin on the northwest corner
of Main and Fourth streets, the present site of the Mansfield Savings Bank.
The last years of Judge McCluer's life were passed at Leesville, where he died
ripe in years and in honors. The McCluer cabin at Bellville stood on the
lot now owned by David Zent, south of the railroad and east of Main street
and on the part of the lot he now cultivates as a garden. The block-house,
built in September, 181 2, stood near the present site of S. N. Ford's grain
elevator.
The first death in the township was that of Stephen Dodge, in 181 1.
He was buried on Snake Hill, now called Beulah cemetery.
A postoffice at Bellville was established in 1824, with Isaac Hoy as post-
master. 1
Private schools were taught by William Spears in 1 81 5-' 1 6-' 17. The
first public school in the township was taught by Timothy Evarts in 18 18,
and the schoolhouse stood on the old state road, a short distance north of
Honey creek.
Mrs. Oldfield, whose maiden name was Lucy Palmer, was my first
teacher in the schoolhouse that was afterward built near this spot. She was
an exemplary Christian lady and one of the best of educators. My first day
at school seemed a long one, for I was homesick and wished for the closing
hour to come that I might go home to my mother, and a similar wish is' the
theme of my longing to-day.
John Leedy was one of the 1810 settlers, and his descendants live mostly
in the southern part of the township. Mr. Leedy's daughter Catherine mar-
ried Samuel Garber, and of their children, Jehu is perhaps the most widely
known, as he served two terms as county commissioner.
Lewis K. Leedy came in 181 1 and was the pioneer "singing master" of
his time, and it seems but a few years since he attended our pioneer meet-
ings and joined his marvelous gift of voice with those of Joseph Fleming,
William Pollock, I. N. Thompson, John Schrack, Samuel Bell, Mrs. Yingling,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 23
Mrs. Pulver, et al., in singing the old-time melodies of the "Missouri Har-
mony.''
Mention should here be made of Governor Leedy and many, many others.
but at present I must pass on to other matters.
Jefferson township is six miles square, and therefore contains thirty-six
sections of land. It was one of the original townships. Bellville is situated
on section 9, a mile south of the north line of the township.
The Clear Fork of the Mohican is the principal stream of water, and its
north and south branches unite a mile west of Bellville. and after passing
the town courses in a southeasterly direction, leaving the township about mid-
way at its eastern border. There is scenery along the banks of the Clear
Fork at several places that is beautiful in picturesqueness. and the pastoral
charms of the landscape are enhancing, while the valley through which this
clear stream flows is unexcelled in its fertility.
There was a block-house at Bellville for the protection of the settlers,
but no Indian outbreaks ever occurred there. While the savages frequently
hunted game in that locality, they had no abiding place there and therefore
the settlers were not troubled much with them.
INDIAN CIVILIZATION.
Since engaged in writing sketches I have been asked why the pio-
neers did not Christianize and civilize the savages. My purpose has been
to state facts and not to elaborate theories. But. ere dismissing the red man
for the time, will again state that there is an unwritten law that has come
down to us from a period "beyond which the memory of man runneth not to
the contrary," and that is the law that the weakest "goes to the wall," and,
like the edicts of the Medes and the Persians, it is immutable, unchangeable.
It is a science of historical physics that the lesser force yields to the greater.
The Indians themselves acknowledged this rule of fate. When Poca-
hontas went to England as the bride of Rolfe, her father, the great Powhatan,
sent her brother-in-law, Tocomoco, with the party to count the people in Eng-
land to enable him to estimate the relative strength of the white and the red
men ! Upon arriving in England, Tocomoco got a long stick and began to
cut a notch for every man he met, but soon grew weary of the task and threw
the stick away. When Tocomoco returned to America and reported to
Powhatan, he told the Indian chieftain to "count the stars in the sky, the leaves
on the trees and the sands on the sea shore, for such is the number of the
people in England." While Powhatan may, from the report of Tocomoco,
24 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
have seen the "handwriting on the wall," it is often difficult to apply theories
to ourselves and to accept the inevitable.
While a few Indians have been Christianized, they were but isolated
cases, — the exceptions and not the rule. When Pocahontas became a con-
vert to the Christian faith and knelt at the fount and received holy baptism
from the hands of Bishop Whittaker, much good in the missionary line was
expected to follow; but the majority of the Indians are to-day, as they were
then, heathens and savages, notwithstanding the efforts and money expended
to convert them.
Although the Indians could not be civilized, many of them possessed
ability. Take the great Pontiac, who was the chief of the mighty confederacy
of the Ottawas, the Ojibwas and the Pottowattamies. The genius of this
mighty chieftian had spread his fame and influence not only throughout what
is now Michigan, which was geographically the center of his power, but over
the greater part of the continent. His intellect was broad, powerful and far-
seeing. In him were combined the qualities of a leader, a statesman and a
warrior. A writer has said that the world is full of wasted genius; that
great minds can seize opportunities, but cannot create them. That Cromwell
without the English revolution, Washington without the Revolutionary war
and Grant without the Rebellion, would never have risen to fame. Pontiac
was not only great, but had great opportunities. The account of his colossal
conspiracy reads like a tale of fiction. His eloquence was irresistible and he
could both plan and execute. He was a Napoleon in war and a Chase in
finance. As a war measure he issued notes drawn upon birch bark and
signed with the figure of the otter, the totem to which he belonged. These
notes were used as a circulating medium, as were our greenbacks during the
war of the rebellion, and were faithfully redeemed.
With the advance of civilization from the east there was a recession of
barbarism to the west until the red man was relegated toward the setting sun;
but soon there will be no west and the Indian will disappear with his habitat.
To the student of history the process through which a nation passes is an
interesting study, and especially is this true in America, where civilization
started at the Atlantic seaboard and pressed onward across the continent
until it reached the Golden Gate, verifying the oft repeated saying that
"westward the star of empire takes its way."
To study each passing period, with its distinctive features, in the growth
and development of our country, has always been to the writer an alluring
theme, not only on account of family interest in the narrative, particularly
in Richland county, but also from a point of speculative philosophy as to the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 25
correlative means by which the work was accomplished, and as to what the
probable condition of America would be to-day had the foot of the white
man never trodden our soil.
Call it destiny or Providence or what we may, the fiat had gone forth,
and the course had been marked out and the white man had been sent here
to work out a certain process, to accomplish certain results ; for the days
of the Indian had been numbered, his usefulness (if he ever had any) was
gone and the time had arrived for the spear of the hunter to give way for
the plow-share of the agriculturist.
It is not my purpose to narrate the dangers and hardships through which
the pioneers passed, nor to speak of the character traits of the Indian
further than to state that he generally repaid hospitality with treachery and
forbearance with murder. But as a race he was doomed and the hills anfd
valleys of the Buckeye state will know him no more forever. Writers who
have made tribal races a study state as a corollary that if the Indians had
been left to themselves their internecine strife of tribe against tribe would
in time have resulted in the extermination of the race.
The pioneer seemed to have been inspired, and whatever place in the
ranks of that grand army of progress he was called to fill he performed
his duty with confidence and zeal. Whether in fighting the savages, in clear-
ing the forests, in tilling the soil or in carrying the banner of the Cross, he
filled his mission and aided in his way to attain the grand results of whiclii
we enjoy the benefits to-day.
And in this connection I want to speak of the priests and preachers who
kept abreast of the march of civilization' and shared with the other pio-
neers the hardships and privations of that period. With them no sacrifice
was too great, — no enterprise too hazardous to deter them from doing the
Master's work. They could not ride bicycles over paved streets to make
pastoral calls, but went through forests infested with wild beasts to say prayers
for the sick and to give absolution to the dying. From a secular standpoint
the reward of these missionaries was but meager, but in a spiritual view how
different ! A gentleman of that period once spoke to a priest about the
small returns that had accrued from such missionary work, to which the
aged priest replied : "I this day rescued from the burning a dying child, to
whom the mother allowed me to minister the sacred rites of baptism, and
that alone rewards me for all my years of toil." To bring one soul within
the pale of the Church was to him a better reward and more of a solace than
would be all the earthly comforts that a munificent salary could buy.
26 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
But to resume my county narrative : The first site for the new county-
seat was soon abandoned for another location farther up the Rocky Fork,
where General Hedges had entered land, where the city of Mansfield now
stands, and where the town was laid out, June n, 1808. The reason for
the change of location was not given. Perhaps it was water supply, for
the big springs of East Fourth street were much noted in the early times,
and for many years they supplied water for the town. Cisterns, wells and
waterworks are of later creation.
A cabin was put up and its first occupant was Samuel Martin, from New
Lisbon, but he occupied it only a shc/rt time, for, being accused of selling
liquor to the Indians, he soon left the place. The next tenant was Captain
Cunningham.
Mansfield grew slowly for a number of years, and when war was declared
in 1 81 2 not over a dozen families resided in the village. But in time the
town advanced as people came west to seek homes in the new country.
During the war there were two block-houses in Mansfield, both built by
troops, one by Captain Shaeffers company from Fairfield county, the other
by a company, from Coshocton, of Colonel William's command, and were
garrisoned until after the battle of the Thames. One of the block-houses
afterward was somewhat altered and changed to a court-house and it served
that purpose until 181 6. when a larger one was built, as a cost of $1,990. It
was of hewed logs and may be called the second court-house, although it
was the first one built for that purpose.
As the county increased in population and wealth, in time it was deemed
proper to have a more modern temple of justice, and in 1827 the erection of
a brick court-house was commenced. This building cost $3,000, and Thomas
Watt, of Xewville. was the contractor, and William Stoutt the brick-mason.
This building was considered a grand thing in its day, but after twenty-
four years it was thought to be too plain, and in 185 1 $15,000 were expended
upon it, largely in the way of ornamentation.
The present court house was dedicated January 22, 1873, and cost
$177,000. William Stoutt, the mason who did the brick work for the first
brick court-house, came here in 1826 from Hagerstown, Maryland, to build
a two-story brick building for John Wiler, which afterward became a part
of the imposing structure known as the Wiler House.
EARLY-DAY MUSTERS.
Richland county history contains no more interesting feature than the
narration of the military musters under the old laws of Ohio requiring the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 27
militia to meet and train at stated periods. At such times the militia compan-
ies met, usually in Mansfield, where they were formed into a battalion, and,
after being marched through the principal streets, were taken to the "com-
mons," where they were drilled in the tactics of war. Muster-days were
great occasions, where old friends met, where new acquaintances were formed
and the questions of the day discussed.
There were martial bands then as now. The patriotic, inspiring and
soul-stirring music of the fife and drum is a feature of the past that all the
innovating spirit of ages has not been able to turn down. ' Other musical
instruments may come and go, but the fife and drum will abide with us.
There were then a number of noted martial bands in the county, one of
which was in Plymouth township and was composed of Charles and Jesse
Bodley, tenor drummers ; William Dean, bass drummer, and Theason Richard-
son and Robert Bigler, fifers. This band was in great demand on muster
days and at Fourth of July celebrations and other public occasions. The
prominent fifers in the southern part of the county were Jacob Baughman and
Philip Berry.
Militia musters were so attractive that they inspired even small boys to
"muster" also. Such amateur training was aptly described in verse in one of
McGuffey's readers. The first two lines ran —
"Oh! were you ne'er a schoolboy,
And did you never train?"
An encounter the militia boys had during one of their musters is thus
described :
"We charged upon a flock, of geese
And put them all to flight,
Except a sturdy gander,
Which thought to show us fight.
But, ah ! we knew a thing or two ;
Our captain wheeled the van ;
We routed him, we scouted him,
Nor lost a single man."
Many of the boys who participated in such trainings and mimic frays
afterward became real soldiers, heroically met the stern realities of war and
helped to defend and maintain the old flag.
While Mansfield was headquarters for general musters, company drills
were frequently held at other places. The taverns along the state road, north
of Mansfield, were noted places of local rendezvous for the militia of Franklin
28 CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
and adjacent townships. These "trainings" were both calisthenic and patri-
otic in their tendencies.
When a young man, the late Dr. William Bushnell was a militia colonel,
and made a fine-appearing officer. His uniform was of the best broadcloth
and his epaulets glittered in the sunlight. Upon the occasion of his first regi-
mental muster, when his regiment was forming on the public square, fifes and
drums were heard upon the Main street hill, coming from the south. Upon
inquiry the colonel learned it was Captain James Cunningham's company
coming from the southern part of the county. When the company reached
the "North American" corner the Doctor noticed the proud step and military
bearing of the captain, which so pleased him that he thereupon gave orders
that Captain Cunningham's company be given the place of honor in the regi-
ment. After the officers had exchanged salutes, the adjutant sang out : "The
colonel orders that Captain Cunningham place his company at the head of
the battalion !" In after years the Doctor often narrated this incident. "I
shall never forget," said the Doctor, "the proud look of thanks the captain
gave me as he marched his company to the place I had assigned to him. The
captain had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and deserved the recognition
for the services he had rendered his country, as well as for his fine military
bearing." This was the beginning of the acquaintance that ripened into a
life-long friendship.
Dr. Bushnell's fine perceptive instinct, with his business tact and execu-
tive ability made him one of the most capable and efficient officers of his day.
Friendship may exist between individuals and families ; or, taking a
more comprehensive scope, may bind a whole neighborhood together in com-
mon interests, as was the case with the pioneers, and muster-days were grand
reunions, blending friendship with the performance of a patriotic duty re-
quired by the state.
The early settlers, as a class were poor, comparatively. But poverty is
not only the mother of invention but the promoter of industry and enterprise.
Poverty does some of the greatest and most beautiful things that are done in
the world. It cultivates the fields and operates the shops and factories and
carries the commerce of nations upon the high seas. It sees the day break
and it catches the sun's first smile. It inspires the orator and the essayist and
gives pathos to the poet's song.
But while poverty places people upon a certain level,, perfect equality is
impossible. There never has existed a nation without gradation in society,
and it is evident that without grades the business of life could not be carried
on. There could be neither leader nor follower, commander nor soldiers,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 29
director nor operator. The idea that there should be no gradation in position
in life is about as absurd as to expect that all hills should be of the same height.
Providence created an infinite variety, as diversity seems to exist naturally
among men.
There has always been an aristocracy in the world. A century ago it
was the aristocracy of birth. Then came the aristocracy of wealth. Now
there is a trend toward an aristocracy of brains, and thejeaven of the "new
social strata" has even made itself felt at Oxford and Cambridge.
PIONEER GATHERINGS.
It is interesting to recall some of the industrial, social and religious
gatherings of the pioneers of Ohio. In the early settlement of the country
there were cabin and barn raisings, log-rollings, wood-choppings, corn-
huskings, and sewing and quilting parties, and at such gatherings utility and
amusements were usually blended. Rich and poor then met upon lines of
social equality and the old and the young mingled together in those old-time
gatherings. The pioneers were helpful to each other, not only in "raisings"
and "rollings," requiring a force of men, but also in other ways. If a settler
was incapacitated from work by sickness or other cause, his neighbors set a
day and gathered in force and plowed his corn, harvested his grain, or cut
his wood for the winter, as the season or occasion required. And when a
pig, or a calf or a sheep was killed, a piece of the same was sent to the several
families in the neighborhood, each of whom reciprocated in kind, and in
this neighborly way all had fresh meats the greater part of the summer.
Corn-husking were great occasions. Sometimes the corn ears were
stripped from the stalks and hauled to a favorable place and put in parallel
or semi-circular winnows, convenient for the buskers. Moonlight nights
were usually chosen for husking-bees, and sometimes bonfire lights were
improvised. After the company gathered, captains were selected who chose
the men off into two squads or plattoons which competed in the work, each
trying to finish its row first. The captain of the winning squad would then
be carried around on the shoulders of his men, amid their triumphal cheers,
and then the bottle would be passed.
Women also attended these pioneer gatherings and sometimes assisted
at the husking, but more frequently were engaged in the early evening in
quilting or sewing, or in helping to prepare the great supper-feast that was
served after the work was done.
There was a rule that a young man could kiss a girl for each red ear of
30 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
corn found at a husking, and it goes without saying that all the girls were
kissed, some of them several times, for it was surprising how many red-ears
were found — so many that the number was prima-facic evidence that some
of the boys went to the huskings with their pockets full of red corn ears !
Nearly all the pioneer gatherings wound up after supper with dancing,
in which the old joined as well as the young, and, when a fiddler could not
be obtained, music for the occasion was furnished by some one blowing on
a leaf, or by whistling "dancing" tunes. The dancing then was more vigor-
ous than artistic, perhaps, for the people were vigorous in those days —
effeminacy not becoming fashionable until later years.
The pioneers were industrious people. The situation required that the
men must chop and grub and clear the land ere they could plow and sow and
reap. And the women had to card and spin and knit and weave and make
garments for their families, in addition to their household work. A pioneer
minister's wife, in telling about her work upon a certain occasion, said : "I've
made a pair of pants and bed-tick, and washed and baked and ironed six pies
to-day."
Wool had to be carded into rolls by hand, and after the rolls had been
spun into yarn and the yarn woven into flannel, the products of the loom had
to be '"fulled" into thicker cloth for men's wear. As this was a hand, or
rather a foot, process, it necessitated "fulling" or "kicking" parties. Upon
such occasions the web was stretched out loosely on the puncheon floor and
held at each end, while men with bared feet sat in rows at the sides and kicked
the cloth, while the women poured on warm soap-suds, and the white foam
of the suds would often be thrown over both the kickers and the attendants.
Carding and woolen mills and spinning and weaving factories came later,
served their purposes and time, but are no more, and now people go to stores
and get "hand-me-down" suits without either asking or caring where or how
they were made.
While there were social amusements in pioneer times, religious services
were not neglected. As there were but few church buildings then, camp-
meetings were frequently held during the summer season. Camp-meeting
trips were enjoyable outings. The roads to camp-grounds often ran by
sequestered farm homes and through shady woodlands, where the rays of the
sun shimmered charmingly through leafy tree-tops, and the fragrance of the
wayside flowers deliciously perfumed the summer air. At the camp, white
tents in a semi-circle partly surrounded an amphitheater of seats in front
of a pulpit canopied by trees. The Creator of heaven and earth reared the
columns of those camp cathedrals, along whose bough-spanned dome soft
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 31
winds whispered and in whose leafy fretwork birds sang. From the mossy-
floor flowers sent up their perfume like altar incense, and in accord with
place and surroundings the congregation was wont to sing:
"There seems a voice in every gale,
A tongue in every flower,
Which tells, O Lord, the wondrous tale
Of Thy Almighty power."
At the camp visitors were received with cordial greetings, for the campers
had the warmth of friendship in their hearts and of Christian zeal in their
souls, and their frank manner and winsome ways were favorable preludes to
the services that followed.
At these camp-meetings, some of the worshipers would become quite
demonstrative at times, for the personal manifestations of joy or devotion
differ as much as our natures differ. No two persons give expression in
the same way to any human emotion. Religion can come to you only in
accordance with your nature, and you can respond to it only in the same
way. *
Singing was a prominent feature of camp-meeting services. It was the
old-fashioned singing, without instrumental accompaniment. Singing, such
as our dear old mothers sang, and although faulty, perhaps, in note, came
from the heart and went to the heart. The singing of to-day may be more
artistically rendered, but it is the old-time songs that comfort us in sorrow
and sustain us in our trials as they come back to us in the hallowed remem-
brance from the years that are past.
THE HEROES OF '76.
Richland county contains the graves of several Revolutionary soldiers.
While the list in the possession of the Historical Society is not complete, the
following may be noted :
Henry Nail, Sr., is buried on lot 12 18, Mansfield cemetery. He was
born in Germany in 1757; came to America in 1777, and some time later
enlisted in the Continental army and served until the close of the war. He
came to Richland county in 181 6 and remained here until his death. He was
the grandfather of our A. F. Nail, who was soldier in the war of 1861-5, and
is the son as well as the grandson of a soldier.
John Jacobs, another soldier of the war of the Revolution, is buried
32 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in the Mansfield Roman Catholic cemetery. Jacobs died about seventy years
ago and was first buried in the old cemetery, but the remains were later
removed to the present burial-ground.
On the Memorial Day list is the name of Jacob Uhlich as having been
a Revolutionary soldier. The name should be George Uhlich, a soldier of
the war of 1812.
James McDermot, a Revolutionary soldier buried in the Koogle ceme-
tery, east of Mansfield, was a native of Pennsylvania and served two years
at Fort DuOuesne. then marched over the Alleghany mountains and joined
Washington's army at Valley Forge. He was at Princeton and other battles.
He died in Mifflin township, this county, June 25, 1859, aged over one hun-
dred years.
Christian Riblett enlisted in the Continental army in Pennsylvania in
1779, at the age of eighteen years, and served to the close of the war. He
died April 6, 1844, and is buried at the east line of Sandusky township, on the
road leading frcm Mansfield to Gabon. Daniel Riblett, a son of this Con-
tinental soldier, represented Richland county in the. legislature (senate) in
1854.
William Gillespie was a major in the Revolutionary war and is buried
at Bellville, and a headstone marks his grave, which is yearly decorated with
flowers by the comrades of Miller Moody Post, G. A. R. Major Gillespie
died February 17, 1841, aged one hundred and four years.
Samuel Poppleton was one of the Green Mountain boys who fought
under Colonel Ethan Allen, and as color sergeant planted the American
flag upon the walls of Fort Ticonderoga at its surrender and heard the his-
toric words, "In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental con-
gress." Major Poppleton died in 1842, aged ninety-nine years, and is buried
in the Evart graveyard, a mile south of Bellville. The inscription on his
headstone has been somewhat effaced by the frosts and storms of time. The
Major was the. grandfather of the late Hon. E. F. Poppleton.
Adam Wolfe, another Revolutionary soldier, is buried at Newville. He
was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 10. 1760. and came to
Richland county. Ohio, in 181 6, and entered the southeast quarter of section
26 in Monroe township. He died April 24, 1845.
The Memorial list also gives the name of Jacob Cook as a Revolutionary
soldier buried in the Mansfield cemetery. This statement is also incorrect.
On the Cook monument are several cenotaph inscriptions, — those of Jacob
and Jabez Cook. Jacob Cook was the great-grandfather of the late J. H.
Cook, and died in 1796, aged eighty-four years, and was buried in Washing-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 33
ton county, Pennsylvania. Noah Cook, a son of Jacob Cook, served several
terms of enlistment in the Revolutionary war, and at one time was the
chaplain of the Fifth Regiment of Continental troops in General Sullivan's
brigade. He came to Lexington, Richland county, in 1814, and died in
December, 1834, and is buried at Lexington, but has a cenotaph inscription
on the monument of his grandson, the late James Hervey Cook.
While the victories and achievements of our recent wars take the
attention of the people of to-day, the soldiers of other American con-
flicts, especially the Avar of the Revolution, must not be forgotten, for to that
struggle we owe our existence as a free and independent nation. And in no
other period of the world's history were events more deeply fraught with
interest or more full of moral and political moment than in the era in which
American independence was achieved.
It is said that the noblest work of the pen of history is to state facts,
describe conditions and narrate events which illustrate the progress of the
human mind ; that in the coming age the history of wars, even when presented
in the fascinating garb of brilliant achievements, will be read more with
sorrow and regret than with satisfaction and delight. But who would obliter-
ate from Roman history the record of the heroism of those who drove the
Persian hordes into the sea at Marathon? No Englishman desires to take
from the history of his country the deeds of her Wellington or her Nelson.
The French point with pride to the man whose frown terrified the glance
his magnificence attracted. What patriot would rob American history of the
record of the victories of our army and navy in the several wars in which
our nation has been engaged, and deprive the people of the benefits and results
of those grand achievements.
Memorial Day is a tribute to patriotism, a tribute of utility to gratitude,
a confession that war is at times necessary, that life has nobler things in it
than mere business pursuits, and that men sometimes rise to those sublime
heights when life is looked upon as of secondary consideration, and that honor
and liberty and law are the only things for which the heart beats in pulsat-
ing flow. The people of to-day are far removed from the events of the war
of the Revolution, but the principles for which the patriots fought underlie
our political superstructure and permeate every department of the govern-
ment, and the heroism of the Continental soldiers shines with effulgent glory
through the mists of a century.
Thirteen soldiers of the war of 181 2 died while doing their duty at the
Beam block-house, and are buried on a bluff near to the left bank of the
Rockv Fork, three miles below Mansfield. The writer recentlv visited the
34 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
place of their burial. The weather was fair for a December day; the sky
was in misty blue, with the sun's rays shimmering through the hazy atmos-
phere askance upon the bluff. Then the mist cleared away and the full sun-
shine came in sheens of golden glory upon the unmarked graves of the
heroes whose bodies have lain there for well-nigh a century, and where they
will continue to repose, "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," until
the graves shall give up their dead, mortality put on immortality and death
be swallowed up in the victory of the resurrection.
OF GREAT PROWESS.
"Oh, it is excellent
To have a gaint's strength; but it is tyranous
To use it like a giant.''
Richland can compete favorably with other counties in Ohio in the
records of her giants, — not those of world-fame, but of local renown. The
man pre-eminently entitled to be called Richland's giant was Christopher
Burns, although he stood only six feet, two inches in his stockings and
weighed but two hundred and twenty-five pounds. His title as gaint was
not so much on account of his height and weight as in his great strength. A
better appellation, perhaps, would have been a "modern Sampson;" but
"giant" was what the people called him then.
When the Wiler house was being built in 1828, Burns attended the
brick-masons as a hod-carrier, and occasionally gave exhibitions of his strength
and athletic capabilities. A man named Johns, a noted foot-racer, came to
Mansfield and a match was gotten up between him and Burns. Johns
appeared in running undress, while Burns wore his hod-carrier clothes and
heavy boots. Burns ran part of the way backwards, and even then easily dis-
tanced his competitor. A pole was then placed on the heads of two tall men
and Burns jumped over it with apparent ease.
Freight at that time was hauled from the east in heavy wagons, drawn
by from four to six horses. A wagon of this kind, heavily laden, was once
temporary standing in front of the Wiler, where Burns was working. To
show their strength, several men had tried to lift a wheel of the wagon, but
were unsuccessful in their attempts. Burns looked upon their failure with
contempt. He went to the wagon and had three of the heaviest men in the
crowd to add their weight to the wheel, by one standing upon the hub, the
others on the spokes. Burns then lifted the wheel, men and all, with apparent
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 35
ease, after which he filled his hod and climbed up the ladder as though noth-
ing unusual had taken place.
From the sheriff, who 'sought to arrest him for fighting. Burns once made
his escape by jumping over a covered six-horse wagon. This acrobatic feat
was witnessed by our late fellow townsman, Robert Cairns, et al. Numerous
other stories are told of Burns' great strength and athletic attainment. It is
also stated his strength and activity were occasionally used in pugilistic en-
counters.
Burns came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, and married Miss Sallie Pearce,
a daughter of the pioneer James Pearce. Burns' second wife was Rachel
Magner, who lived near where Crestline now stands, and a few years after
their marriage they removed to Indiana. 4 1 4 J I d
As was the custom in those days, pioneers often settled upon govern-
ment lands and were called "squatters." They would put up buildings and
clear land, expecting to bid their tracts in when the land was surveyed and
offered for sale. Burns located in a "squatter" settlement, and in time the
lands were offered for sale at public auction. The "squatters'" had built
homes and had their land under cultivation. They had full larders and gran-
aries, but as there was little, if any, cash market for their products, they had
but little money. Land sharks came from the east to bid against the "squat-
ters," and bidding against them was to rob them of their hard-earned homes
and to take the roof from over the heads of their defenceless families.
It was in the autumn and upon the day of the sale, in the gray sky the
December sun was shining coldly and icicles were pendent from the eaves of
the cabins. A wintry haze hung inauspiciously over those "squatters' "
homes. The settlers were discouraged and disheartened. Here was Chris
Burns', opportunity to become a hero and a benefactor, and he proved equal
to the emergency; as Artemus Ward would have put it, he "caved in the
emergency's head." Whatever his foibles and faults in the past may have
been, his desire to protect the settlers became an inspiration, and. mounting
the auctioneer's improvised platform, he addressed the crowd, reviewing the
situation and stating that the "squatters" had built homes and cleared fields,
intending to buy their several tracts of land when it came into market ; that
land sharks were present from the east with money in their pockets to bid in
the land for speculation, thus robbing the settlers and turning their families
out of their homes at the beginning of winter. "My name," said he, "is Chris
Burns; and this place will become immediately unhealthful to any non-resi-
dent who bids against a settler." Burns' pugilistic reputation emphasized a
36 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
significant meaning to his words, and his style and manner attested his earn-
estness and determination.
The sale was then held, but no land shark offered a bid, and at the con-
clusion of the sale none of them were present. They had disappeared, and
"It seemed as if their mother earth,
Had swallowed up her shark-like birth."
Thus the "squatters" were enabled to keep their homes at government
rates ; and to show their appreciation for the service Burns had rendered them
they gave him one hundred and sixty acres of land and assisted him to build
upon and improve it, and he became one of their most esteemed and respected
citizens. Upon this farm he lived until his death, at an advanced age.
That land sale was the turning point in Burns' career. The tempestuous
sea of life upon which he had been tossed during his younger years became
as calm and placid as a summer lake, and his bark was finally peacefully
moored in the haven of rest.
PLACES OF INTEREST.
On the Leesville road, nine miles west of Mansfield, in Springfield town-
ship, is situated the famous (Craig) barn whose roof forms the watershed
divide between the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio river. The rainfall
from one side of the roof finds its way into the Sandusky river, and thence to
Lake Erie; from the other side, the water runs into the Black Fork of the
Mohican, a tributary of the Ohio river.
The fountain-heads of the Sandusky and the Mohican rivers are less than
a mile apart. The former has its source in the Palmer spring, and the latter
from a pond, near the southeast corner of the Five Corners cross roads, a
mile and a half north of Ontario. About midway between these river-sources
is the Craig barn, the water-shed "divide. The pond is oblong and has an
outlet from each end ; from the east end starts the Black Fork, and from the
west end flows the Clear Fork of the Mohican. The little stream flowing
from the east runs in an easterly direction for about a half mile, then turns
boldly to the north through a gap in the "divide," and parallels the Sandusky
for several miles, but as they near the north part of the township- the San-
dusky veers to the northwest and passes through Tiffin and Fremont to the
lakes. The Black Fork continues almost due north a distance of ten miles,
through and north of Shelby, then turns abruptly to the east, laves the south
side of Holtz's Grove, makes a graceful turn to the north, then again to the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 37
east and after pursuing a tortuous course to the southeast turns to the
south after leaving- the old site of Greentown, then glides slowly through
Perrysville and Loudonville, and five miles below the latter, after a crooked,
tortuous course of fifty miles, it forms a junction with the Clear Fork.
The output from the west end of the Craig pond runs to the southwest
for about a mile, then curves to the southeast, is called the Clear Fork, and,
after a journey of thirty-five miles, passing through Bellville and Newville,
and flowing through a valley noted for its beauty and fertility, it unites with
the Black Fork and forms the Mohican, sometimes called the White-woman
river.
The "Divide" passes through the center of Richland county, extending
from northeast to southwest. This ridge is broken with gaps and spurs.
One of the highest points in the state being at the Settlement church, five
miles south of Mansfield, where the elevation is about one thousand feet above
Lake Erie. The Settlement church has an elevation of 370 feet above the
city of Mansfield. The elevation of Mansfield above Lake Erie is differently
given by the several railroads passing through the city. The profile of the
Baltimore & Ohio gives the eleation as 657 feet; the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne
& Chicago, 592 feet; the Erie, 581. The calculations were taken from differ-
ent locations about the city. It is a safe estimate to give the elevation of
Mansfield as 600 feet, and that of the Settlement church as 1,000 feet — in
round numbers — above the Lake.
Pipe's Cliff is in Monroe township, nine miles southeast of Mansfield
on the Pleasant Valley road, a short distance from the Douglass homestead,
now known as "Green Gables." The Douglass farm has been in the posses-
sion of the family for three generations and is now owned by S. M. and A.
A. Douglass, sons of the late John J. Douglass. The former is now the chief
justice of the circuit court of Ohio, and is well qualified to fill the position.
The latter served as prosecuting attorney for two terms and is a successful
lawyer. The Douglass family is of Scotch-Irish descent, and the lineage
may come down from the Douglass whose Highland clansman crossed blades
with Stirling's knight at Coilantagle's ford. Samuel Douglass, the father
of the late John J. Douglass, bought the Pleasant Valley farm in 1829, and
ever afterward made it his home, and there his son and grandsons were born.
Pipe's Cliff was named for Captain Pipe, an Indian chieftain of pioneer
times, from the fact that his sister (Onalaska) was killed upon the summit
of those rocks. As the story goes, Captain Pipe's sister was married to a
young warrior named Round Head, and that, after the massacre of the Indians
at Gnadenhutten (1781), Round Head, with his wife and child, in company
38 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
dusky country. The party encamped for rest from their journey in the ledge
of rocks, now known as Pope's Cliff, and while there were fired upon by a
squad of soldiers, killing Onalaska and her child and wounding two others
of the party. It is stated that the squaw was standing upon a perpendicular
rock at the south end of the ledge, with her child in her arms, and that when
shot, she fell from the cliff and that her body was buried near its base.
When viewed from the road, this rock presents a monumental appearance, but
can best be seen when the leaves are off the trees. This rock is called Ona-
laska's Tower, in commenoration of the tragic death of the Indian woman.
The squad of troops who fired upon the party belonged to Colonel Broad-
head's expedition against the village of the forks of the Muskingum, known
in history as the Coshocton campaign, and the soldiers were scouts and could
not see through the foilage that they fired upon a- woman. But, as the
warriors of the party were enemies, Onalaska had to share the consequences
of war with her friends with whom she was encamped.
Among the names given to different parts of Pipe's Cliff are Dragon's
Mouth, Hanging Rock, The Porch, Altar Rock, Frowning Cliff, etc. The
cliff rises to a height of one hundred feet above the valley and commands a
fine view of the surrounding country. Around the base and sides of this
ledge of rocks are caves and caverns, whose depths and lengths have never
been explored. There is historical authority to confirm, in the main, the
traditions of the valley concerning the death of Onalaska, as described above.
The Douglass farm contains about three hundred acres. Across the
valley from the old homestead is Green Gables, the summer outing resort of
the Douglass brothers. The Gables is a log cabin with modern improve-
ments, and sits at the base of a forest-covered hill, and near by a spring sends
forth cool, healthful water. Here the Judge can lay aside his ermine and
the practitioner his cases and take their recreation upon their native heath.
And it is a charming spot, where, even upon the hottest August days, cool
breezes are wont to come down the valley and coy around in the sylvan
shades.
The Douglass brothers keep the farm, largely, no doubt, for the associa-
tions that cluster around the old homestead. In appreciating old homes and
log cabins one is wont to listen to stories of the old settlers. The actual
pioneers are all gone. The oldest residents are merely links that connect the
present with the past. People seldom tire of hearing stories of the pioneers,
for over their manner of life hangs a veil of romance. Their conflicts with
the red men of the forests and the savage wild beasts that roamed the woods ;
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 39
the transforming- of the wilderness under their sturdy strokes; the rude condi-
tions under which they labored and the grand work they accomplished, — all
form an interesting chapter in American history.
Mohawk Hill is two miles southeast of Lucas on the Perrysville road.
It is quite an elevation, and the northwestern side is too steep and rocky to
admit of cultivation and is still covered with its primeval forest. The road
winds around to lessen the grade and at the top of the hill there is a table
land of rolling surface, with a dip to the east, extending a mile southeast to
Pinhook, from which point the country is more or less hilly until the Black
Fork is reached at Perrysville. The hill takes its name from the fact that
Mohawk Indians were buried there in the olden time. The road formerly
went straight up the hill; and midway up its rugged side, upon the "bench"
at the side of the rim of rocks, is the reputed burial place of a chief, while
a few rods to the east are a number of graves, from one of which the skeleton
of an Indian was taken about forty years ago. While the dates of the death
of these Indians are not definitely known, there are reasons for supposing that
they antedated the founding of Greentown. in j 782. There is a tradition
that a party of Mohawks from Helltown annually made a summer outing on
this hill for hunting purposes, and that they had a cave in the rocks, which
finally became the sepulcher of their chief and a receptacle for their treasures.
While the Delawares and Mingoes predominated in number in the order
named, there were a few Mohawks and Shawnees at Helltown, also.
Helltown — town of the clear water — was situate a mile below Newville,
on the Clear Fork of the Mohican, in what is known as the Darling settle-
ment. Helltown was abandoned in 1782, after the massacre of the Moravian
Indians at Gnadenhutten, and a new village (Greentown) was founded on
the Black Fork, where a more favorable site for defence was obtained.
Greentown was named for Thomas Green, a white man, who was a Tory, and
who, after aiding the Mohawks in the Wyoming massacre of 1778, sought
retreat and seclusion with the Indians in the west.
The Big Hill is situated in the southeastern part of Weller township,
and has an altitude of about one hundred and fifty feet and a circumference
of four miles at the base. The hill is abrupt on its several sides, and its top
is a level table land, containing a number of valuable farms, the soil being
arable and fertile. Geologically speaking, the hill is of sandstone formation
and the stone is quarried from its sides in large quantities. The hill was
originally covered with a dense forest, remants of which still fringe it like a
border. Topographically speaking, the hill is a huge heap, thrown up or
dumped down in a level country and stands solitary and alone, and, were it
4 o CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
not for its immense size and geological formation, one might be led to believe
it to be a mound, built by the Moundbuilders, — a race of people who inhabited
this country before the advent of the Anglo-Normans on the American conti-
nent and who built mounds in different parts of the country, especially in the
southwest. But this is nature's own handiwork and far surpasses those made
by man. As we stood at its base and gazed at its contour, we thought it
would have answered the triple purpose for that bygone race of a fortress,
an altar and a sepulcher.
From the sides of the hill about one hundred and fifty springs send forth
clear, soft water. A large spring upon the west side furnishes an abundant
supply for the water-works of the county infirmary, and there is sufficient
fall to throw the water over the top of the main building. This water has
been tested and is found to be pure and healthful.
Southwest of the hill there is low, bottom land, which was formerly a
marsh, in which was a deer-lick, making it a favorite hunting ground for
the early settlers, as it had been for the Indians before them.
THE ROBINSON CASTLE.
Castles are wont to figure in legendary tales, and love in cottages is set
forth in sentimental contrast to intrigue, unhappiness and crime in castles.
These are often boldly stated, while at other times they are clothed in such
ambiguity as to be apparent only in insinuations and inuendoes. But in
some phase a hard-hearted, if not villainous, husband and an unloved,
neglected, if not abused, wife are the principal characters in these castle
dramas and tragedies, and among the dramatis pcrsonac figure servants, one
of whom is a big varlet, ever willing to aid his master in any nefarious scheme
he might wish to carry out. And the lady's maid takes her place at intervals
on the stage to try to thwart the plans of those who scheme against her mis-
tress. The plots of these stories vary but little, differing only in names and
in by-play.
Castles, to come up to the novelists' standard, must have a turreted
tower, wide halls, winding stairways, secret passages, underground dungeons,
etc., but the castle of which I write had none of these, and thus falls short
of those of which dime novels speak and which exist only in the minds of
the writers of fiction.
The Robinson castle, on the Big Hill, was a real structure and it actually
stood within eight miles of the city of Mansfield, in Weller township, and was
seen and visited by dozens of people who are living to-day. This castle not
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 41
only attracted attention and elicited comments at the time of its construction,
which were augmented by its subsequent disaster and final fate, but is now
looked back to with mingled interest and awe, for as time advances the tales
that are told of the castle and its ruins become more numerous and seem to
have been multiplied with the years that have intervened until it is rather
difficult to discern where the truth ends and fiction begins.
Thomas Robinson, the builder of that castle, came from England and
settled on the Big Hill about the year 1820, when he entered a quarter sec-
tion of land and later bought sixty acres adjoining it. He was a man of
wealth, and his views and ideas differed widely from those held by the average
pioneer. He was imperious in his style and lordly in his manner, with no
confidant and with but few associates. He adhered to the old style of dress,
wearing knee breeches, and was called King- Tom. Although peculiar, he
was a benefactor in his way, for he gave employment to many people and
always paid them cash for their work, which was a great consideration in
those daVs when money was so scarce that the settlers often did not know
how else to get means to pay their taxes than to go and "dig out stumps for
Robinson," for his notoriety had spread far and wide and men went to him
for work from different parts of the county, and employment was given to
all who applied, and the number of men in his employ would average, it is
said, a dozen the year through. Robinson had not the patience, like the
other settlers, to wait for stumps to rot out, but he hired men to dig them out,
entailing great expense in clearing his land, causing fabulous stories to be
told of his immense wealth.
Robinson was a widower when he came to America, but, after getting
his farm cleared, he returned to England, as he stated, for a wife. He was
absent seven years, returning here just after his marriage, bringing his wife
with him. He never gave any explanation about the delay and no one dared
to question him. His wife, it is said, was a good-looking woman of domestic
tastes, who stayed at home to serve her "lord and master," as was the custom
with English women in those days. She lived about eight years after she
came to America, and her remains were interred in Milton cemetery. In
1843 Robinson returned to England, where he died within a year.
In 1836 Robinson built a large brick building for a residence. The
bricks were of large size, and, on account of the size and style of the building
and the aristocratic habits of the owner, it was called The Castle. It stood
upon the most commanding site of the summit of the hill. Beneath it were
cellars, arched with stonework, intended for wine cellars, and not as sepul.-
chers for his dead, as was alleged. Within a few vears after it was built a
42 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
wing of the castle was blown clown by a storm, and Samuel Robinson, then
a lad of seven years, who was in the wreck, was taken out of the debris. He
now lives on the Olivesburg road, where he has recently built — not a castle —
but one of the finest country residences in the county.
Within a few years after the wing' of the castle was wrecked the arched
foundations began to give way, and the building in time fell in a mass of
ruins, remnants of which can be seen to-day. Parties frequently visit the
ruins of the old castle, and sometimes tourists stop over trains to see with
their own eyes the locality of which they have read and heard so much. Boy
guides are usually employed at the station (Pavonia, on the Erie Railroad) to
conduct the party to the hill. As one of these parties stood gazing at the ruins
a man remarked, "Down in that vaulted cellar is where old "Bluebeard"
buried his four hundred wives."
"No," said the guide, who had an eye to business; "no one is buried
there; 'King Tom' cremated his wives, and if you give me twenty-five cents
extra I'll show you the exact spot where their bodies were burned into
ashes." They paid the extra quarter and the boy took them to a ravine on
the east side of the hill, and, finding a place where some stone quarrymen had
had a fire a year or two before, pointed to it as the place where the bodies had
been cremated and exclaimed, "There are some of the ashes of their remains!"
After they had returned to the station, boarded the cars and the train
had sped onward to the coast, the boy told how he had "worked" the men for
an extra quarter, and ever since that occurrence other guides have "worked"
other parties in a like manner, each telling such tales as his imagination could
invent. And thus many of the "Bluebeard" and other stories about "King
Tom" originated.
Mr. Robinson had a younger brother, Francis Robinson, and when
Francis was making arrangements (in England) to join his brother in Amer-
ica, "King Tom" wrote to him to stop in Philadelphia and hunt up "Aunt
Jane" Dixon and bring her back to keep house for them. Frank did as
requested, but while en route they got married at Pittsburg, and when they
arrived at Big Hill "Aunt Jane" was installed as the mistress of the Robin-
son home. "Aunt Jane" was the sister of Mrs. Ward, and came to America
with that family in 1819, but, becoming tired of life in the New World, had
started to return to England and was visiting for a short time- in Phila-
delphia when Mr. Robinson called upon and persuaded her to return
with him to Ohio. To this couple two sons were born : William Robinson,
recently deceased, and the late General James S. Robinson, who helped to
organize the Eighty-second Regiment of Ohio Infantry, became its colonel
CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 43
and afterward changed the eagie of a colonel for the star of a brigadier on
his epaulettes. And his regiment — what of it? Of the two thousand eight
hundred men enlisted during its term of service, there were but sixty-five left
to answer roll-call the morning after the battle of Gettysburg — maimed in
the service, discharged for disability, died in hospitals, killed in battle —
what a record ! Volumes might be written, but the result, which can be told
in one sentence, expresses it all, and let us stand uncovered when the names
of such heroes are mentioned, to attest our appreciation of their services for
our common country and flag.
General Robinson was himself wounded, but lived until a few years ago
and made his home in Kenton. He served several times as a member of
congress and also as secretary of state, and was held in the highest esteem,
not only by his own party but by his political opponents as well.
CAVES AND CAVERNS.
The caves and caverns that abound around the rocky defile through which
the Clear Fork of the Mohican passes between Butler and Newville have
never been thoroughly explored.
Below the old site of Winchester, at the Whilom Herring-Calhoon grist-
mill, later changed to a woolen factory and now in disuse, the Clear Fork, after
making a graceful bend, is flanked on either side by high rugged bluffs extend-
ing a mile or more down the stream to Greer's bridge, where Noah Watt's
carding 1 machine and fulling-mill stood in the years agone.
The bluff upon the right or south bank is called Prospect Hill, and is the
highest point of land in Worthington township, and a good view of the sur-
rounding country can be obtained from its summit.
On the opposite side of the stream is Watt's Hill, the ascent of which
also is abrupt, the south side being at that place almost perpendicular. Curi-
ous-shaped rocks adorn the side and top of this hill. A huge bowlder called
Dropping Rock, one hundred feet in circumference and fifteen feet high,
stands alone, and from its sides water continuously drops as though its interior
were a troubled fountain, causing its sides to weep copious tears.
In these bluffs are said to be numerous caves, the best known of which
is Fountain Cave in Prospect Hill. Tourists can locate this cave, its mouth
being about midway up the bluff from the water-trough at the side of the
road. The entrance is what miners call a drift, and the passage at first is
only about four feet in height, compelling the explorer to enter upon "all
fours;" but in a short distance the ceiling is higher, enabling a man to walk
44 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
erect. But, even when guided by a light, the explorer must be careful of
his footsteps, for there is a man hole in the passage to a still deeper cavern,
thirty feet beneath. In this lower apartment are larger rooms, — rough, dark,
damp and forbidding, — and water can be heard rippling in an unseen subter-
ranean stream. The upper passage has been explored to a distance of three
hundred feet, part of the way being in the form of a shelf or gallery sur-
rounding a chasm of unknown depths, — depths that have never, and can never
be explored, for lights in lanterns are extinguished at a depth of from fifty
to sixty feet. At the summit of the bluff there is a bowl-shaped depression
in the earth nearly one hundred feet in circumference, evidently formed by
the sinking of the ground among the' rocks of the cavern beneath. This
depression is supposed to be the head of a subterranean passage five hundred
feet in length, passing through the caverns and ending at the outlet at the
spring at the base of the bluff.
Other caves and chasms and fissures have been explored to some extent,
but are of smaller size and dimension.
Caves and caverns are not, strictly speaking, synonymous terms, the
latter being more chasm-like and of greater depth. Natural caves and caverns
were produced by the fracture and dislocation consequent on the upheaval of
strata by water or other causes. The denuding or eroding power of water,
which has produced the materials of stratified rocks, has formed caverns
in the course of streams as well as on the coast-line of the sea. In limestone
regions caverns frequently have a calcareous incrustation lining their interior,
giving' them a light gorgeous appearance; but these Newville rocks, being.
sandstone, have no stalactites pendent from their ceiling, and no stalagmites
rising like pillars from the floor as if to support the roof.
Some of the smaller Clear Fork caves are said to be ossiferous; but the
fossils found are chiefly those of reptiles, some of which were, perhaps, of the
pleistocene period.
The general aspect of the locality about Fountain Cavern is mountain-
ous and wild and the native forest still covers the hills, from whose sides
fountains of pure water gush forth in almost Arctic coldness, while between
the bluffs the river flows onward in its course to the sea.
Strange tales have been told of these caverns having been hiding-places
for counterfeiters and thieves, all of which may be termed romances founded
upon fiction, for no man could live within the damp walls of these cavities,
where venomous snakes, poisonous lizards and loathsome toads only can
exist. But stories are told of men who have disappeared and of whom no
What crimes the unfathomable
. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 4S
depths of Fountain Cavern may hold secret and conceal will never be revealed
until the day dawns when all things shall be made known.
Moody's hill.
Moody's Hill, north of Bellville, was named after John Moody, whose
memory is dear to the people of the southern part of Richland county — and
to the poor everywhere.
John Moody was a preacher of the faith of the Christian denomination.
lie owned a gristmill at Bellville, with a large farm adjoining. He took no
pay for his preaching, and when the country was threatened with a famine
in the '30s, Moody's garners were well filled with grain. When crops failed
and people went to Moody's mill to buy breadstuff, the question was asked
each, "Have you money to pay for it?" If the answer was in the affirmative
they were told to go elsewhere and buy. Those wITo had no funds went
away with well filled sacks, and were told to return again when they needed
more. The product of thousands of bushels of grain was thus given away,
but giving to the poor and hungry did not impoverish Moody, for the blight
of drought did not touch his fields, but each succeeding harvest the crops
yielded grain more abundantly, and Moody was blessed in the giving, as
the people were in receiving his assistance. John Moody needs no monument
in marble, for the memory of his good deeds lives in the hearts of the people
of Bellville, from generation to generation.
Captain Miller Moody was a son of John Moody. Miller Moody
received a college education. He inherited wealth but never engaged much
in business. He represented Richland county in the legislature and served
his country as a soldier in war. Moody was one of the best dressed men in
the county, and his cuffs and Byronic collar were always faultless in their
whiteness. Captain Moody died of wounds received at the battle of Antietam,
after suffering five amputations, and his remains repose in the cemetery of his
native village, and his memory is held in affectionate regard by his old-time
friends and neighbors. Each recurring Memorial day, the Moody monument
is garlanded with evergreen and the grave decorated with flowers, fitting
tribute to a warrior for whom
"The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
The soldier's last tattoo."
ANCIENT EARTH-WORKS.
There is an ancient earthwork two miles east of Mansfield that is but
46 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
little known by our people of to-day, although it was surveyed and mapped
by the county surveyor in October, 1878. It is situate on the Balliett farm,
and is approached by the road leading east from the top of the Sherman hill.
This earthwork was surveyed in 1878 by the county surveyor, John New-
man, who made a report of the same to the Smithsonian Institute at Wash-
ington, and also made his report a matter of county record. This work is
upon an elevation at the ea^t side of the head of Spook Hollow, and consists
of an oval-shaped embankment or fort, five hundred and ninety-four feet
long, by two hundred and tlrrty-eight feet wide in the center, and contains
two and two-thirds acres.
Southwest of the fort seven hundred and ten feet there is a spring at the
side of the ravine from which a copious flow of water issues at all seasons of
the year. Directly south of the fort, upon the side of the hill leading to the
old stage road, is the furnace, which is an excavation walled with stone like
a well and is called a "furnace," as charcoal, charred bones and evidences
that fire had been used there were found at the bottom of the drift with which
the place was filled. This furnace is about five feet across, is circular in form
and its uses and purposes must be conjectured. At the east side of the fort
there were a number of depressions, varying from four to twenty feet, but
they have been so filled up in the tilling of the land as to be nearly obliterated.
In excavating one of these depressions at the time of the survey, at a depth
of eight feet a drift was struck leading toward the fort. Geographically the
fort was platted upon longitudinal lines and upon geometrical measurements,
and the depressions were variously located with relative mathemat'.cal dis-
tances, all giving evidences that the people who planned and made and occu-
pied these works were well advanced in the higher branches of mathematics.
Since their day and occupancy large forest trees have grown upon these
earthworks — trees of at least six centuries growth. These works are relics
of that pre-historic age of which much has been written and but little is
known. The perspective view of the fort in the outline is discernible from the
road and the location was well chosen, as it commands a fine view of the
valley opening to the south. Looking over and beyond Spook Hollow, which
with its wierd traditions lies at the base of the hill, a valley of garden-like
loveliness is presented and the landscape picture extends for miles, embracing
the hills in the far distance, amid which the spire upon the church steeple at
Cesarea can be seen.
The Lafrerty Knoll, four miles below Bellville, in the Clear Fork valley,
has received considerable attention, but the consensus of opinion is that it is
a natural mound.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 47
In the Darling- settlement, in the Clear Fork Valley below Newville,
near St. John's church, is a circular "fort" containing an area of nearly three
acres with embankments leading clown to the steram. When discovered by
Judge Peter Kinney, the embankments of this fort were over three feet
high and were covered by large timber,— evidence of its antiquity. It was
doubtless intended as a garrison of defence. It commands a fine view of
the valley and is worthy of note.
There are a number of mounds in Ashland county, the majority of which
are no doubt of pre-historic origin and were raised by the Mound Builders.
It is claimed by some who have made archaeology a study that these Ashland
mounds are of a more recent period, — that they were built in the seventeenth
century by the Eries to protect their people from the invasion of the Iroquois
tribe.
When the mound on the Parr farm was opened in 1828, according to a
statement made by the late Dr. J. P. Henderson, of Newville, it was found
to contain bones, charcoal, stone implements, a copper wedge, a stone pipe,
the stem of which was wrapped with copper wire, and other relics.
It is claimed by many that the Mound Builders were of Asiatic origin
and were as a people immense in numbers and well advanced in many of the
arts. Similarity in certain things indicate that they were descendants of the
ancient Phoenicians. Of the Mound Builders we have speculated much and
know but little. But the mounds at Greentown are so small and so unlike the
others that they evidently do not belong to that class.
In this asynartete sketch only brief mention can be made of several places
of geographical and historical interest in the valley of the Black Fork. The
Petersburg lakes are well known. There are three and are fed by springs.
They form a chain of lakes, the largest of which covers an area of about
fifty acres ; the middle, about thirty ; and the smallest, ten acres. These lakes
were favorite fishing resorts in Indian times, as they are to-day. The Copus
spring flows from the base of a hill on the east side of the valley, near where
the Copus cabin stood. And when
"Mother earth is full of beauty,
In her summer glories dressed,
Here, upon her lap reclining
- Like an infant, will I rest
And enjoy the healthful current
That is flowing- from her breast."
48 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
HEMLOCK FALLS.
Hemlock Falls, a mile and a half south of Newville, is situate amid pic-
turesque and rugged surroundings, and takes its name from a hemlock tree
which formerly overhung the falls.
The stories that are told of that locality as 'traditions and legendary tales
are largely of the imaginary and visionary kind, mostly of recent manufacture,
and are not even founded on facts. The falls region was never the home of
old Captain Pipe, for he never lived in Richland county. In fact, the place
was never an Indian habitation at any time. There are no conveniences there
to make it a desirable place of abode. There is no spring of cool, sparkling
water, no green swards, no sheltering caves, no shady grottoes, no environ-
ment to entice a prosaic Indian to make the place his home.
The Falls, however, is interesting in the geological formation of the
ledge of rocks over which the water is precipitated; interesting in its topo-
graphical appearance, in the picturesqueness of the scenery and in the grandeur
of the waterfall itself, where the waters pour over slanting rocks for a dis-
tance of fifty feet, then make a leap of twenty feet to the fragmentary rocks
below ; and when the stream is swollen the altisonant roar of the falls can be
heard afar.
The falls also have historical associations from the fact that the first
pioneer meeting in Richland county was held upon the plateau at its summit.
The meeting was held the first Saturday in September, 1856. \Yilliam B.
Carpenter, now a resident of Mansfield, was president of the meeting, and the
late Dr. J. P. Henderson was the marshal of the day. General R. Binkerhorr"
and the late Rev. J. F. McGaw were the principal speakers. A great many
people were in attendance and a bountiful picnic dinner was served to all.
Fleming's Falls is situate in Mifflin township, seven miles northeast of
Mansfield. This fall has picturesque surroundings and is a favorite resort for
picnic parties.
"uncle jonas j lake."
"Uncle Jonas' Lake" is in Mifflin township, seven miles east of Mans-
field. It covers an area of eight acres and its depth is about seventy feet.
This little body of water has been called by different names, such as Sites',
Sweringen's and others, but in the past was simply "Uncle Jonas' Lake," after
Jonas Ballyet, the first owner. It is now more generally known as the lake
where the wagon-load of hay sunk, meadow and all, according to tradition.
In 1 82 1 Jonas Ballyet entered the northwest quarter of section 15 ( Mif-
CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 49
flin township), and near its center he found a lake covering- about an acre.
Its immediate surroundings was level land to the extent of eight acres, all
enclosed with a rim of hills of gentle slope, except a place at the east side
where the ground was lower as though inviting an outlet. Through this
depression "Uncle Jonas" cut a ditch with the view of making the low land
about the lake tillable. The lake lies a mile west of the Black Fork of the
Mohican, and between them is a tract of marshy land called the Black Swamp,
and into this a ditch was cut from the lake.
"Uncle Jonas' " theory seemed quite plausible, but he was later confronted
with a condition he had not anticipated. The ditch was opened on the 25th
day of July, 1846, and was of sufficient depth to lower the surface of the
lake eight feet. On the day following, the greater part of the level land
surrounding the lake, comprising about six acres, was engulfed, — sank out
out of sight, leaving only the tops of the high trees, with which the land
had been covered, visible; and in time the treetops also disappeared. The
opinion was that the lake was of greater size beneath than was apparent upon
its surface, and that lowering the water caused the ground to break off from
the rim of hills and being thus loosened sank to the bottom.
The sinking caused the earth to quake and tremble for miles around,
and alarmed the people of that vicinity ; and some, thinking the "end of the
world" had come, began to pray as they had never prayed before. As this
incident occurred during the Millerism period, people were more prone to
attribute the trembling and jar to heavenly than 1 to earthly causes; for,
although there may not have been a Millerite in that neighborhood, yet the
doctrine and teachings of the Rev. William Miller had been so universally dis-
seminated and propogated that they influenced many unconsciously.
The time set by Miller for the "second coming of Christ" was the year
1843, as l ie interpreted the prophecies; but. as the expected event did not
occur, other dates were given later, and people were admonished to say not
in their hearts, "My Lord delayeth His coming."
Digging this ditch outlet was a losing enterprise to "Uncle Jonas," for
instead of reclaiming land he lost six acres thereof, timber and all!
A few years later there was another sinking of ground into the water,
increasing the lake to its present size of between eight and nine acres ; but
as the low land has all been engulfed, no apprehension is felt that any similar
occurrence will take place in the future, as it is not believed that the lake
extends beneath the hills.
Prior to this land-sinking episode, catfish, sunfish and some other varie-
5° CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ties (abounded in the lake in great quantities, but are not so abundant there
now.
The water of the lake when viewed as a body is an ocean-green in tint
of coloring, yet when dipped up seems pure and clear. The lake is circular
in form and in its hill- frame setting is one of the most beautiful of the many
attractive places in old Richland. The slope at the southeast is covered by
a shady grove, from whose retreat one might imagine some highland maid
might appear and
" — with hasty oar
Push her light shallop from the shore,"
to meet her Malcolm at the other side. But, alas ! no Ellen comes in answer
to the hunter's call. The lake is not only beautiful in sunshine but is inter-
esting in storms, when the thunder's deep reverberations roll like billows
over its waters. And when the gleaming rainbow sheds its luster upon the
placid surface, no artist can sketch its beauty, while in the background of the
picture may be read by faith the eternal promise that the earth shall not again
be destroyed by water. Pleasure parties find "Uncle Jonas' " lake interesting
by day and still more attractive under the pale light of the stars.
spooks' hollow.
"An ancient minstrel sagely said,
Where is the life which late we led?"
After the war some of the Indians returned to Richland county; but,
Greentown having been destroyed, they had no fixed habitation here. Two
young "braves" by the names of Seneca John and Quilipetoxe came to Mans-
field and got on a spree, and at the Williams' tavern, at the site of the present
Park Hotel, got into trouble with some of the settlers. The Indians left late
in the afternoon, intoxicated and swearing vengeance against the whites.
They were followed by five settlers, who overtook the redskins about a mile
east of town and in the battle that ensued both Indians were killed and their
bodies buried in the ravine east of the Sherman hill ; and the place has since
been called "Spooks' Hollow."
It is not my purpose to say that the killing of these Indians was justifiable;
but the settlers would have had to have been more than human not to retaliate
at times for many wanton murders committed bv the Indians. To err is
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 51
human. To be influenced with the desire for revenge is natural. That the
passions of the pioneers, stimulated by the cruelty and outrages the savages
committed did not degenerate into a thirst for revenge, was a credit to their
manhood. Many narratives of Indian treachery and cruelty could be given.
The family of the settler, as they gathered around the evening fireside, could
not feel that their house was their castle, for a murderous foe might then be
in ambush to wreak wrath upon them in the still watches of the night. I have
no desire to exaggerate : the truth is stranger than any coloring of fancy.
Spook Hollow! What of it? Of that locality strange tales have been
told of apparitions seen by belated travelers, sometimes as though two Indians
were lurking in the weird shadows; at other times a number of forms would
appear as warriors plumed for battle, and
"All silent there they stood, and still,
Watching their chieftain's beck and will ;"
and then they would disappear as mysteriously as they came and
"It seemed as if the mother earth
Had swallowed up her warlike birth."
While no one may believe these spook stories now, it is generally known that
they were freely circulated in the past and may have been believed to some
extent. It has even been stated that the road was changed and located farther
south to avoid the hollow where apparitions were said to be seen.
In speaking of the Indians I want to say en passant, that in the ante-
war times we heard and read a great deal of the "irrepressible conflict" be-
tween slavery and freedom; but anterior to that there was another conflict,
also irrepressible in its nature, between the white man and the Indian; and
in that conflict there could be no compromise : the races were too unlike. An
edict was issued from the court of progress that the Indian should disappear,
should be removed to the west and then remanded to the past. And destiny
is blind ; it neither smiles at human happiness or weeps at human woe. Des-
tiny, whether of nations, of races or of individuals, strides onward like a
ferocious Titan, regardless as to who is trampled under its feet. It has been
said that there is a science of historical physics — that the fundamental maxim
in the dynomics of progress is that the greater force oversomes the less.
The student of history has read how the Hellenes exterminated or absorbed
the Pelasgians, that the Oenotrians were overwhelmed by the aggressive
52 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
colonists of Magna Graecia, and that the Gaulish and British Celts sank, as
it were, into the earth under the pressure of the Roman and the Saxon. And
in our own land the Indian was forced almost across the continent and the
remnant of the race stands like a specter on the western horizon of civilization
to-day.
FACTS VERSUS FICTION.
What of Lily Pipe ! History mentions her not, and the name is not con-
nected even with the traditions of that period. The first known of Lily
Pipe was when the romance of "Philip Seymour' 1 appeared in print in 1857.
It is a romantic story, depicting pioneer life, and was entertainingly written
by the gifted author, the Rev. James F. McGaw. A number of the pioneers
then living did not take kindly to the interpolation of fictitious characters, as
future generations might be unable to eliminate the fiction from the facts.
But the work claims only to be "founded on facts," and was written as a
historical novel. It is complimentary to the author's ability that he made the
characters so real that people believe in the verity of their existence.
Philip Zimmer (or Seymour) married a Miss Elizabeth Ballantine, of
Pickaway county, at the close of the war, and she was never in this part of
the state, and she was the only wife Philip ever had. Muniments on file
attest this statement. McGaw needed a character with which to embellish
his story, and that of Lily Pipe was his creation and served well its purpose.
But Lily Pipe was a myth — a myth of composite parts created to represent
certain characteristics and conditions. Braving the dread of being called an
iconoclast, I make the further statement that Martin Ruff net's "bound boy"
was not "Billy Bunting," but Levi Bargaheizer, and that McGaw changed not
only the name but also gave the character "a lisping, stammering tongue,"
which the boy did not possess.
Kate Zimmer was not engaged to be married, and "Henry Martin," like
"Lily Pipe," was a myth. Old Captain Pipe never lived in Richland county,
and was not a cave-dweller. His home was at Jeromeville from 1795 to
181 2 — the period between the signing of the treaty of Greenville and the
war of 1812.
There was a young Captain Pipe, said to have been a son of the old cap-
tain. The younger Pipe lived at Greentown a year or' two, then went to
Pipestown, Wyandot county, then later to Kansas, where he died.
Old Captain Pipe was last seen in these parts at the great feast of Green-
town, in 181 1, the meaning of which was never explained to the white settlers,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 5 3
but which is now understood to have portended the war of 1812, which
soon followed.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The driveway from Mansfield to Shelby passes through a country of
pastoral loveliness and of well-cultivated farms. The land is sufficiently
level to give an extended rirn to the horizon, and at the summer season of the
year, when the morning rays of the sun kiss the dewdrops and make the
broad acres glad, when the birds carol their praise and the leafy branches
of the trees wave their welcome, the scene is one of enchantment, of beauty'
to the eye and pleasure to the heart.
Along this route historic places can be pointed out to those who take an
interest in the events of former years. At Spring Mills, Colonel Crawford
and his army encamped for the night on June 4, 1782, when en route to the
Wyandot country, to defeat and to death, for a few days later the troops were
defeated in a battle by their savage foe, and the gallant Crawford suffered
death at the stake near Tymochtee creek, a few miles from Upper Sandusky.
Jackson township, through which the Mansfield-Shelby road passes in
an oblique course after leaving Spring Mills, was not organized until after
Richland county had been despoiled of part of her territory to help make
new counties, and our original townships in the northern part of the county
were re-mapped to suit new conditions. But some of the land which now
forms a part of Jackson township was entered and settled as early as 1816.
The first house in the township was built by Matthew and Joseph Curran in
the southwest quarter of section 36, a short distance east of the Baltimore &
Ohio crossing. At the same place occurred the first death and the first birth
in the township. Matthew Curran entered the southwest and Joseph the
southeast quarter of section 36. It is related that settlers from the vicinity
of Mansfield assisted the Currans in building the cabin. The family had en-
camped in the woods near where they intended to build, and upon the day of
the raising, while the women were cooking the dinner for the workmen, Cur-
ran's little boy, in attempting to walk the log against which the fire was built,
fell into a large kettle of boiling coffee, scalding him to such an extent that
he died the following day. This was in the spring of 181 6. Hunters and
trappers may have, previously sojourned in that locality, but the Currans
were the first permanent settlers.
The first permanent settlers in the southern portion of the township came
via Mansfield and the state road, while those who settled the northern sections
came along Beall's trail, a number of whom were from Connecticut, bringing
54 CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
New England thrift and enterprise with them. Uriah Matson, the father
of J. S. B. Matson, assisted Joseph Curran and others in cutting the Mans-
field-Shelby road through the forest.
In 185S Uriah Matson was awarded an ax for having been the champion
wood-chopper of the county, at which time he made the following state-
ments: "I came to Richland county the 4th day of August, 1815, and from
that time to October, 1822, I followed chopping exclusively, during which
time I chopped the timber off about one hundred and ninety acres of' land
and did a large amount of other chopping, such as making rails, sawing tim-
ber for frames, getting bark for tanners, etc. Since 1822 I have chopped and
cleared upward of eighty acres on the farm I now occupy. I think I have
done more chopping, assisted in raising more cabins and rolling more logs
than any other man in the county. When I came here there were but four
families living in Springfield township."
Mr. Matson was of Scotch-Irish descent. He was born in 1793 and died
in 1873. He resided in Jackson township many years. J. S. B. Matson is
now living in Shelby and has a large collection of curios and relics.
The Sheriff church north of the road brings to the mind one who wor-
shiped there for many years, — the late hero veteran, — John F. Rice, who was
the last survivor of Perry's victory — a victory that keeps heralding down
from generation to generation in the triumphant words of that immortal dis-
patch, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." John F. Rice had
served in the army before he entered the navy, and later was transferred back
to the land force. He participated in that great battle on Lake Erie when
'many a Britain took his last sleep." He saw Commodore Perry take off
his coat and stuff it into the hole made by a British ball in his vessel, and
looked on with tearful admiration as he rowed in an open boat, under the
fire of the enemy, to the Niagara, where, taking personal command, he turned
the tide of battle and won a victory that has immortalized the name of Perry.
After the victory, Rice was transferred back to the land force under
General William Henry Harrison, and assigned to Colonel Richard M. John-
son's regiment, fought in the battle of the Thames and saw Tecumseh fall.
Twenty years ago the veteran Rice, at a ripe old age, was transferred to the
"army triumphant." His funeral was attended by all the clergy of Shelby,
the Light Guards, a band of music, a squad of artillery, ex-soldiers, the chil-
dren of the public schools and a large concourse of citizens. Colonel Demp-
sey was in charge of the procession.
A sermon was preached from Leviticus xix, 32 : "Thou shalt rise up
before the hoary head and honor the face of the old man." "My Country,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 55
Tis of Thee" was sung by a hundred school children. Interment in Oak-
land cemetery. During the day flags, not only at Shelby but also at San-
dusky. Cleveland and other places, were at half mast.
Let the living honor their soldier dead.
"Let the flags float out above them;
Let the music fill the air;
In the hearts of those who love them
It shall echo like a prayer."
"O, birds ! to other climes that wing,
Repeat the story as ye sing
That ye have found no brighter green.
No softer shade, no rarer sheen,
Thau that which fair Columbia spread
Above her honored patriot dead.''
"UNDERGROUND RAILROADS."
One of the most noted stations of the "Underground Railroad" was at
"Uncle" John Finney's, in Springfield township, four miles west of Mans-
field, on the Walker's lake road, where the Mansfield and Cookton road
crosses the road leading from Spring Mills to Lexington. The farm is now
owned by George F. Carpenter, the well-known lawyer and capitalist.
It was during the administration of Martin Van Buren that the doctrine
of the abolition of slavery began to be propagated. At first there was a dis-
tinction drawn between those who were opposed to the extension of slavery
and those who were in favor of its abolition; but as revolutions seldom go
backward the latter in time absorbed the former. "Uncle" John Finney was
a man of strong convictions and as bitter as Cato was in ancient Utica, when
he denounced the fugitive slave law under the operation of which runaway
slaves were returned to bondage. Finney did not want to simply drift with
the tide, — he was too assertive and strong willed for that, — he wanted to take
an active part in forming public opinion and shaping public events.
The fugitive slave law not only required people to assist in returning
slaves to their masters, but made it a penal offense to refuse to do so, which
rendered it so repugnant to the people of the north that they prided them-
selves more upon its breach than upon its observance.
Politics in those days was largely a matter of sentiment, and that senti-
ment was an anti-slaverv one, — the liberty of the slaves. Politics to-day are
56 CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
a matter of commodity, a question of finance or of the tariff, with a pictur-
esque tinge of "imperialism" at the present.
During the many years that "Uncle" John Finney assisted fugitive slaves
on their way to Canada and to freedom, several thousands were entertained
at his home over night or for several clays and were then taken -by him to
Savannah or Oberlin, from which points they were assisted on to freedom.
At one time the late Benjamin Gass brought five colored men with five or
six women and children to Mr. Finney's. The latter he secreted in the loft
and the men he put in a granary at the barn. Their pursuers arrived the
next morning and demanded a search of the premises, which was denied with-
out warrant. A detachment was sent to Mansfield for the necessary papers
of search and seizure, and the remainder of the party were invited into Fin-
ney's home, where "Uncle" John exerted his great fascinating manners to
entertain them. Breakfast was announced and "Uncle" John, being a Pres-
byterian, and a U. P. at that, proceeded to have family worship. As a matter
of courtesy his guests kneeled with him. The back of the chair at which Mr.
Finney knelt was to the window looking toward the barn. A member of the
family had given the negroes the tip to leave. "Uncle" John literally obeyed
the command to "watch and pray." He prayed long and earnestly and
watched anxiously and did not say "amen" until he saw the last fugitive leave
the barn. He then requested his guests to join him in singing the
119th psalm, which was sung to slow music. Breakfast was then served and
as much time as possible consumed in the different homely courses. After
the close of the meal the party returned from Mansfield with the warrants,
but it was discovered the fugitives had fled. As the house was not sus-
pected, it was not searched, and the women and children in the garret were
not molested.
Numerous incidents might be given of attempts to retake fugitives, but
in the majority of cases the pursuers were outwitted by "Uncle" John, and the
slaves escaped. The condition of affairs which then existed creating this
"underground" mode of traffic is known to the younger generation of to-day
only as a matter of history. John Underwood remembers it was no uncom-
mon sight to see darkies around Finney's house or at work in his fields.
Jacob Laird, the surveyor, saw Mr. Finney coming to town one winter mor-
ning with a "load of wheat" in the sled, but a sudden lurch at 'a gutter on
West Fourth street revealed the true nature of the load. — a number of negroes
covered in the sled, instead of bags of wheat. There were readjusted and
taken on to Savannah, the next station on the "Underground" road. Vie
Dickson, the merchant, remembers of having seen, when he was a boy, fugi-
JOHN SHERMAN.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 57
tives passing from Joseph Roe's to John Finney's. John Finney's first wife
was a Marshall, an aunt of John Marshall, of Bowman street, this city.
James Finney owned the farm south of his brother John's and facing on the
Leesville road, where his daughters, Miss Jennie and Miss Lizzie, yet reside.
Among Mr. Finney's old-time neighbors were John Neal, James Marshall,
John Ferguson, Mr. Maybee and John Bishop, some of whom preceded and
others have followed Mr. Finney where under-ground railroads are unnec-
essary and unknown.
-.■
RICHLAND COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The story of the Civil war, when read a hundred years hence, may not
be credited in its awful magnitude. That sectional strife had become so
bitter that certain states attempted to disrupt the American Union, will
scarcely be believed by future generations. In i860 we heard the mutterings
of the tempest of political hate, but did not then realize that the storm of its
fury would so soon burst upon us with such terrible destruction. When
South Carolina demurred against the general government occupying Fort
Sumter, we stood dazed at such state-rights presumption; but when she pro-
tested against supplies being delivered to the beleaguered garrison and fired
upon the Star of the West when on its mission of mercy, we then realized
that we were at the beginning of a rebellion that would be bloody and ter-
rible. When the rebels fired on Fort Sumter the north became fully aroused
and patriotically determined to fight for the old flag and for the preserva-
tion of the Union of the states.
President Lincoln issued his proclamation for seventy-five thousand
troops, of which Ohio's quota was ten thousand, one hundred and fifty-three,
and within a few days more than thirty regiments were offered and twelve
thousand, three hundred and fifty-seven men were accepted. Richland county
responded promptly to this call, and within five' days six companies tendered
their services to the governor ! General McLaughlin, a veteran of the Mexican
war, manly and erect in his bearing, although then nearly seventy years of
age, raised the first Richland county company. He was the personification
of a soldier and died in the service. Judge M. R. Dickey, then a comparatively
young lawyer, now one of the leading members of the Cleveland bar, raised
a company for the FifteentrTOTiio. John W. Beekman was the captain of a
Plymouth company. He also was a lawyer, a large man of fine physique
and appearance. Colonel George Weaver, of Lucas, who was a captain in the
58 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mexican war and had served a term as sheriff of our county, raised a company
at Ganges and Lucas.
Captain A. C. Cummins, then a young lawyer associated wtih Judge
T. W. Bartley, raised a company at Shelby for the Fifteenth Regiment, and
his company was one of the first at Camp Jackson. Captain Moody, a col-
lege graduate, a man of scholarly attainments, of polished manners and of
faultless dress, raised a company at Bellville. He died of wounds received
at Antietam, after suffering five amputations. The G. A. R. post at Bell-
ville is named in his honor.
Limit will not permit details, or even naming other companies organized
later and for longer terms of service, except to state that Richland county
through the whole conflict did her duty nobly, furnishing two thousand, seven
hundred and twenty-nine men for the war. Many Richland county boys who
then went forth to war never returned. Some were killed on southern battle-
fields, and were Hurled where they fell ; some died in hospitals, others in rebel
prisons. The bodies of a few were brought home and interred in our local
cemeteries, and their graves are annually decorated in the May time.
It would be an honor to write the name of each private soldier in the
Union army in the great war of the Rebellion, but they need no encomium,
for their patriotic deeds speak more forcibly than words — than any words
this poor hand could trace. When we read of their services we recall the
battles of Antietam, of Gettysburg, of the Wilderness, of Shiloh, of Stone
river, of Vicksburg, of Hooker's fight above the clouds and of Sherman's
march from Atlanta to the sea, — history written in blood and emblazoned in
glory. If roses are the tear-drops of Angels, as the Arab belief so beauti-
fully sets forth, then a soldier's grave needs not the sculptured stone, the
fretted column, the ivy, the obelisk; for the fragrance of the rose is perennial
and its beauty is everlasting — fit emblems to commemorate deeds of valor.
What a sublime spectacle was presented at the close of the Civil war
when that grand army of citizen-soldiery laid down their arms and left the
avocation of war to return to their homes and to the vocations of peace!
But even the youngest soldiers of that army are now crossing the "divide" and
will soon begin the descent where the shadows lengthen. They are on their
last march.
"They are marching down the valley,
At the great Commander's call,
Though the way is rough and weary
And the mystic shadows fall;
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 59
But the hearts that beat so bravely
In the battle's fierce affray.
Do not falter at the summons
Nor the dangers of the way.
"They are marching down the valley;
Hark! the sound of tramping feet!
They go on through summer's sunshine,
They go on thro' winter's sleet;
Banners wave and arms a-glitter,
And the music's throbbing breath
Echoes in the solemn valley
That we name the vale of death.
"They are marching down the valley, '
And we follow gladly on.
For the music, sweet and eiry.
Tells the way that they have gone ;
And we'll find them camped in meadows
Where the waters stilly flow,
Where the sward of soft and verdant
And the flowers of heaven grow," , •
MURDER MYSTERIES.
Among the unsolved criminal mysteries of Richland county, that of the
murder of Mrs. Mary Lunsford was the most appalling; for the victim was
a woman and mutilation was added to murder. On the fateful night of
March 12, 1870, Olive street, Mansfield, Ohio, was the scene of one of
those horribly bloody deeds that stain pages in the criminal calendar of the
county. The city was startled by the report that a murder had been com-
mitted, and when people beheld the scene and saw the evidences of the struggle
that had ensued in the poor woman's tragic efforts to save her life, many turned
away sickened by the awful, bloody spectacle.
Mrs, Lunsford, the murdered woman, was a seamstress, was young and
good-looking, and while upon her life there rested the blot of the social sin
she was popular among her few acquaintances, and it was not known that
she had an enemy — surely not one of sufficient deadly hate to take her life;
and as it was apparent that robbery had not even been attempted, the authori-
ties were at a loss for a theory to account for and ascertain the actuating
motive that led to the commission of the murder.
Ms. Lunsford had been a resident of Mansfield less than a year, having
come from Cincinnati at the instance of Ansel L. Robinson, then superintend-
60 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ent of Blymyer, Day & Company's works. About a month before the murder,
Mrs. Lunsford became engaged to a' Mr. Ebersole, and the wedding was to
take place the next week. Robinson, it was said, was opposed to her, mar-
riage. At the time of the murder, Ebersole was taking care of a sick man at
Shelby. Upon searching the murdered woman's trunk, letters were found
from Robinson which betrayed the relations that had existed between them
and led to his arrest. A long imprisonment' followed, but at the final trial —
one of the most memorable in the criminal 'history of the county — he was
acquitted. Soon after his acquittal Robinson removed to the northwest,
accompanied by his wife and children, who had faithfully stood by him through
all his troubles.
Early Sunday morning, September 18, 1881, the community was thrown
into a high state of excitement by a report that a dead body had been found
in Sherman's woods — now a part of Sherman-Heineman park — a few rods
south of Park avenue west. The marshal, coroner and a large number of
•citizens were soon on the ground and the body was recognized as that of
Charles Leonard, a brother of W. L. Leonard. Charles had been employed
as a clerk in Finfrock's drug store and had mysteriously disappeared on the
evening of the 9th. He had left the store between 8 and 9 o'clock and had
been seen a little later on Third street going west. When found the body
was lying in the edge of the woods with the head against a tree. In his
pockets were found the store key and some change. Upon examination of
the body it was found that he had been stabbed in the back, and it was evident
that the deed had not occurred where the body was found.
Charley was a young man of the most exemplary character and was
universally popular, and the motive for his death and by whom the deed was
committed remain in the list of the unsolved criminal mysteries of the
county, although the offer of one thousand dollars reward for the apprehen-
sion and conviction of his murderer is still open and held good by W. L.
Leonard.
The cowardly and premeditated assassination of John Fox occurred
Thursday evening, March 8, 1883, about two miles south of Bellville, on the
road leading east from Honey Creek schoolhouse. John Fox was about
forty years old, was a prosperous farmer and lived within a half mile of the
place where he was killed.
John and Daniel. Fox were brothers. On the morning of the day of
the fatal tragedy they had come to Mansfield together in a two-horse wagon,
and at the City Mills exchanged wheat for flour and bran. They left Mans-
field about 5 o'clock for their home, fourteen miles distant, and at about 8 130
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 6i
o'clock, when in a slight hollow a half mile east of the Honey Creek school-
house, an assassin fired two shots, killing John instantly. Dan claimed that
he jumped from the wagon when John was attacked and that as he essayed
to run he was shot in the leg. The post-mortem examination of John's body
showed, from the course the bullet had taken, that it was evident the assassin
either stood on the back end of the wagon or in it, the shots having been fired
from the rear, and, as the hair on the back of John's head was singed, the
latter seemed the more plausible theory. John was sitting in front driving
the team when attacked.
Dan reached the house of a neighbor by going across fields, where he
gave the alarm and was given attention, as he was suffering from loss of
blood. A searching party found the wagon standing at the cross-roads, dis-
tant about midway between the scene of the tragedy and the Fox residence.
The horses, having become frightened at the shooting, ran that distance,
when the pin of the doubletree jumped out and the team became detached
from the wagon and ran to the barn. John was found lying where he had
fallen, with his face upward and his head in a pool of blood.
The people for miles around were aroused over this cowardly murder
but no evidence was ever obtained sufficient to justify an arrest. Dan Fox
is now dead.
On Sunday, September 20, 1885, Clara Hough was murdered at the
western outskirts of the city in a ravine a short distance south of the Balti-
more & Ohio Railroad. Her body was not discovered for several days. She
had been a domestic in the family of J. W. Dougal, of West Fourth street.
The theory that she was murdered by a tramp was generally accepted. Re-
cent developments, however, may throw some light upon the mystery of this
in the near future.
Samuel Chew was assaulted and robbed on the night of August 25, 1887,
and died without regaining consciousness. He and his wife were alone at
the time, and she claimed the deed was committed by masked men ; but there
was not sufficient evidence to fasten the guilt upon any one. Mrs. Chew
died within the past year. She was Mr. Chew's second wife.
Samuel Chew lived at the top of Mohawk Hill, on the road leading from
Lucas to Perryville, on the farm now owned by the Rev. Mr. Grau. Samuel
Chew was well advanced in years, was an exemplary man, and his tragic
death cast a gloom over the whole community. It is now generally conceded
that this mystery will never be revealed upon earth.
Frederick Boebel was killed and robbed while coming on a freight train
from Crestline to Mansfield on the night of April 28, 1895, and his murder-
62 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ers, supposed to have been tramps, were never apprehended. Boebel was a
contractor and lived in Mansfield.
William Kern left Mansfield July 30, 1895, on a 11:15 a. m. train for
Perrysville to buy stock. He walked from Perrysville back to Lucas, arriv-
ing at the latter place between 4 and 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Upon learn-
ing that he would have to wait about three hours for a train to Mansfield, he
concluded to walk home, and was last seen alive at Chew's Crossing at about
5 130 o'clock. His dead body was found the next morning by a freight crew
going east. It was evident there had been foul play, as his pockets had been
rifled of over one hundred dollars which he was known to have had with him
at the time. Mr. Kern was a highly respected citizen of Mansfield and one of
our most prosperous business men.
J. Albert Hine was assaulted and shot the evening of November 22, 1897,
while going from his grocery on Sturges avenue to his home on Ritter street,
and he died from the effect of the wounds then inflicted September 11, 1898.
Although Mr. Hine saw his assailant, he did not recognize him, and the
assassin and the motive for the assassination remain among the unsolved
criminal mysteries of the county.
Other crimes might be mentioned, the perpetrators of which have also
gone unpunished by the law. But the murderers cannot escape punishment
for their crimes, for if it is not meted out to them here it will be in the life to
come, for "Vengeance is mine and I will repay, saith the Lord." The even-
ing gloaming may come softly, ladened with the perfume of the flowers ; but
the murderer imagines something unnatural in the calmness and something
uncanny in the scent of the perfumed air, for he thinks an avenging Nemesis
is ever following him, and he sees wierd figures in the shadows as the twilight
creeps under the blue arch that was so beautiful at the sunset. And if the
stars, which at first shone with their usual brilliancy, become obscured in
vaporing mists, making moving shapes of inanimate objects, causing flitting
shadows to fade away as swiftly as they took form, they all combine to carry
terror to the souls of murderers — to those who violate the commandment
written upon tablets of stone at Mount Sinai, ''Thou shalt do no murder," for
"although joined hand in hand" the wicked cannot escape the vengeance of
the Almighty.
TOWNS AND VILLAGES.
Shelby is the second town in size in Richland county, and has nearly six
thousand inhabitants. The place was first settled in 1818, and was called
Gamble's Mills. Henry Whitney, Stephen Marvin and Eli Wilson were among
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 63
the first settlers, coming to Ohio from Norwalk, Connecticut. John Gamble
came from New York state, and erected the first mill in Sharon township.
The mill was situate on what is now the southeast corner of Main and
Gamble streets. It was a log building and the mill was run by horse power.
Those who brought grists would hitch their horses or oxen to the sweep, grind
their grist, and then bolt it by hand.
Sharon was organized in 1819, at which time there were but fourteen
voters in the township. A postoffice was established in 1828, called Gamble's
Mills, with John Gamble as postmaster. The town was platted in June,
1834, and the name changed to Shelby, in honor of Governor Shelby, of Ken-
tucky. Shelby grew and prospered in its way, and in time manufacturing
plants were established there whose pay-rolls equal those of any other town
of its size in Ohio. The town has miles of asphalted streets and the town-
ship has well piked roads.
Butler is a thriving village in Worthington township, nineteen miles
south of Mansfield, on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The town was origin-
laly called Independence, but was changed to Butler some years ago, to agree
with the name of the postoffice, named after General William O. Butler,
of Kentucky, who was a hero of the Mexican war and the candidate for
vice-president on the ticket with General Lewis Cass, in 1848. The postoffice
was established before the town was laid out, and was kept at the residence
of 'Squire T. B. Andrews, the first postmaster. The extension of the Mans-
field & Sandusky City Railroad to Newark caused Independence to be laid out,
January 12, 1848, on its line, and, as the business men of Bellville were jealous
of having a rival town spring up within the limits of their trade. T. B. An-
drews suggested that the new town be called Independence, in defiance of the
attitude of Bellville. The town was, therefore, christened according to
Squire Andrews' suggestion, and was called Independence over forty years
ere it was changed to Butler. Worthington township was named for Thomas
Worthington, who was the governor of Ohio in 18 14- 16. The surface is
broken and hilly, especially along the Clear Fork, where in many places the
scenery is picturesque and beautiful. Two tributaries enter the Clear Fork
near Butler, Andrews Run from the southwest and Gold Run from the south-
east. Butler is situate at the great bend of the Baltimore & Ohio road, where
a number of railroad accidents have occurred, the most notable of which was
the terrible collision in September, 1872, during the first state fair at Mans-
field.
Olivesburg sits in the beauty of quiet surroundings on the left bank of
the Whetstone, in Weller township. From the west a good view of the village
64 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
and its environs is obtained from the Shenandoah road, — a view that is varied
in its loveliness, — a landscape picture of an expanse of fields, with fringe of
woodland, which, in the glory of a cloudless summer sunset, would give in-
spiration to artist and poet. And, at eventide, after the sun has set and the
moon, cold and calm, rises, throwing pale light and dark shadows here and
there, and the Whetstone shining like molten silver between its dark banks,
the scene is still more enchanting.
Olivesburg was laid out in 1816 by Benjamin Montgomery and was
named in honor of his daughter Olive. The first schoolhouse in Olivesburg
was built in 1824. It was a hewed-log building, twenty feet square, and had
glass windows, glass panes having superseded the greased paper of an earlier
period. Joseph Ward taught the first school in this building and " took his
pay one-third in corn, one-third in maple sugar and the remainder in money.
Olivesburg is on the celebrated Beall trail, and after Beall's troops re-
turned east and were discharged many of them returned to Richland county
and made it their home, having been attracted here by the beauty of the coun-
try and the richness of the soil, and the pure, cool water that flows so copiously
from Richland's numerous springs.
Winchester was once a promising little village in Worthington township,
this county, but its site is now cultivated fields. The county records show
that it was platted March 31, 1845, but otherwise it exists only in memory.
Winchester was situate on the left bank of the Clear Fork of the Mohican,
half way between Butler and Newville. There were several reasons why
Winchester was founded, the principal one, perhaps, being on account of the
large gristmill at that point. Another reason was that Newville was the only
town in Worthington township then, being near to the north line, making it
inconvenient as a township seat, as some men had to go nearly six miles to
vote at elections. The town of Winchester was only a half mile from the
township center. The mills, then known as Calhoon's, consisted of a grist-
mill, sawmill and a carding-mill, around which several dwellings clustered,
but the land in that immediate vicinity was too rough and uneven for a town
site; therefore the plat was made upon a more eligible location on the opposite
side of the river, where a half dozen or more houses were subsequently built,
and the business of the place, in addition to the mills, was soon increased to
include a store of general merchandise, a smith shop, cooper shop, shoe shop
and a weaver's shop, and the village bid fair for the future.
But soon that great revolutionizer of affairs and annihilator of time and
distance, the railroad, came hard by and upset the old-time calculations of
the founders of the town. The Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Railroad
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 65
went within two miles of Winchester and that sealed the fate of the village
and caused a new town to be laid out January 12, 1848, and called Indepen-
dence.
Lexington has always been noted for the culture and social standing of
its people. The village is beautifully situated upon an elevation of gentle
slope and the Clear Fork of the Mohican laves its eastern boundary. The
town was named for historic Lexington, where the first battle for political
freedom on the American continent was fought April 19, 1775 — a battle that
put an end to the long dispute between the colonies and Great Britain and
inaugurated the war of the Revolution. Lexington was laid out in 181 2, on
land owned by Amariah Watson, who built the first house — a log cabin — in
the place in the spring of 1812, soon after the town was platted. The second
house was built by Jacob Cook. The first cabins had port-holes for purposes
of defense against the Indians. Grist and sawmills were erected on the Clear
Fork at Lexington within the year and contributed to the development of the
prosperity of the new town. A tannery was built and stores of general mer-
chandise opened, and Lexington soon had several hundred inhabitants.
Tan pus fugit, and years went by, and in 1850 the "iron horse" came
puffing along the valley. A railroad may make or unmake a town, but it did
neither in this case : it simply let the village remain as it found it, which status
it still maintains. It is difficult to write of Lexington, — a town with such a
conservative history; of a well-balanced people, free from eccentricities and
vagaries, such as make a town notorious. No people ever treadecTthe paths
of peace with more willing feet, and the law of love has been the rule of their
action and the light by which they have interpreted events. Envy knocks in
vain at the door of their hearts. The people are not jealous of their neigh-
boring towns, but peace and good will have a perfect habitation in the village's
unruffled breast.
When Lexington was founded this was the western border. Since then
civilization has marched westward with rapid strides, across the Mississippi,
over the Rocky mountains and out to the isles of the Pacific, and will soon
meet a similar column advancing from the west and ere long will engirdle the
earth. Then the "border" will be obliterated and previous conditions
changed. Civilization is peregrinatic and capricious, and coming centuries
may verify the prediction of Macaulay that New Zealanders shall sit upon
the ruins of Westminster Abbey and gaze upon the crumbling ashes of for-
gotten London. It is claimed that there was an advanced civilization in
China before Babylon was founded, and before Jerusalem existed even in
prophecy. Yet we now speak of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire as
66 CENTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
"heathen Chinese" and call them "barbarians."' What the future of Ameri-
can civilization may be time alone can disclose.
HELLTOWN AND GREENTOWN.
"All along the winding river
And adown the shady glen.
On the hill and in the valley,
Are the graves of dusky men."
To understand the founding of Greentown we must look at its pred-
ecessor, Helltown. Helltown was an Indian village and was located on the
right bank of the Clear Fork, one mile and a half below Newville. Mounds
are still discernible upon a knoll where it is said Indians are buried. Below
where the little village stood was a native plum orchard.
The name, "Helltown," means the village of the clear stream. How
long the town existed is not known, but in its day it was the home of Thomas
Lyon, Thomas Armstrong and other leading Indians of the Delaware tribe.
The site of Helltown was well chosen ; the ground sloped to the east, and the
river laved the base of the plat upon which the town was built. From the
bank a spring bubbled forth a stream of cool water which rippled down to the
creek below.
"Here the laughing Indian maiden,
Has her glowing lips immersed,
And the haughty forest hunter
Often here has quenched his thirst."
More than a century has passed since the Indians, to whom the hunt and
the chase were so alluring, roamed among the hills and over the valley of
of the Clear Fork and still
"The cool spring is ever flowing,
Through the change of every year,
Just as when the Indian maiden
Quaffed its waters pure and clear."
In 1782 Helltown was abandoned, the inhabitants fleeing in alarm when
they heard of the massacre of the Moravian Indians at Gnadenhutten, some
going to the Upper Sandusky country; and others, joining a party of whites
renegades, of whom a Thomas Green was the leader, founded the village of
Greentown on the Black Fork. The Indians killed at Gnadenhutten were of
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 67
the Delaware tribe and kinsmen of the Helltown squad. The former had
been converted to Christianity, the work of the Moravian missionaries, and
as such were opposed to war and were, therefore, looked upon with suspicion
by both parties to the conflict.
Heckwelder's- Moravian missionaries made a number of converts at
Greentown, whom they baptized into the Christian faith and church, but the
little leaven was not sufficient to leaven the whole lot, and the greater part
of the Indians there remained savages. The Rev. Heckwelder had him-
self preached to the Indians both at Greentown and Mohican Johnstown;
and when James Copus, who had settled further up the valley, held religious
services there, he found the Indians not unaccustomed to Christian forms of
worship.
At the time of the advent of the white settlers here, the village of
Greentown contained from one hundred and fifty to two hundred Indian fam-
ilies, who lived in pole cabins, and in the center of the town was a council house
built of logs. There were Mingoes there as well as Delawares, and some
writers have confounded Greentown with the ''Mingo Cabbins" spoken of by
Major Rogers. Dr. Hill thought the cabins referred to were on the Jerome
Fork, near to the place where the Mingo village of Mohican "Johnstown"
was afterward located.
Two branches of the Delaware tribe — the Wolf and the Turtle — were
represented at Greentown.
By the year 18 10 a number of families had been added to the Black Fork
settlement, among whom were Andrew Craig, James Cunningham, Henry
McCart, Samuel Lewis, Frederick Zimmer and others.
A remnant of the Mohican tribe of Indians from Connecticut settled at
an early day on the western branch of the Muskingum river; and, as nearly
all our streams have Indian names, Mohican was derived from Mohegan and
of that river we have the various "Forks."
POTATO REGION.
Knox's schoolhouse, midway between Lexington and Bellville, is in the
center of a valley of the north branch of the Clear Fork of the Mohican.
This valley is noted not only for its great fertility, but also for the character-
istics of its soil, which is peculiarly and desirably adapted to the cultivation
of the Irish potato.
The composition of soil affects all vegetable products. There is a tract
of country around Berea where the onion is grown with productiveness and
68 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
characteristics that no other part of the country can give or impart. The
muck land east of Orrville produces celery of a tenderness and flavor that
excels the product of the noted Kalamazoo district; and this Lexington-Bell-
ville valley grows potatoes so mealy and fine-flavored that they sell at the
highest price in the market. It is not the purpose of this sketch to give an
analytical or analogical disquisition or attempt to explain the whys and
wherefores of this relative relation between the soil and its products, but to
simply state the facts.
This potato tract is situate in the southwest part of Washington town-
ship, and the dip of the surface of the country along the eastern border of the
valley is to the southwest, forming a pleasing background to the beautiful
pastoral picture presented to the eye from the south bank of the Clear Fork.
It is five miles in length and averages nearly a mile in width, and lies prin-
cipally on the north side of the stream, beginning at Kyner's and ending at
Fry's. About two hundred acres in this strip are annually planted in potatoes,
and the yield is from one hundred and fifty to three hundred bushels per acre.
The average output during the past ten years has been about five thousand
bushels annually of the best potatoes in the world.
The Touby Run valley, to the northeast, cuts through a range of hills
and is attractive in its modest beauty.
What a grand thing it is to be a farmer! The farmer was the first
producer and he is likely to be the last. Before there were towns and cities,
before there were factories and work-shops, before there were doctors and
and lawyers, the farmer was a producer — was earning his own living — and
was enjoying the products of the land. If all the cities of the world, all the
ships of the sea, all the arteries of commerce, all the channels of trade, and
all the manufactories and industries of the country were to perish from the
earth, the farmer would be able to maintain himself by means of the products
of his toil, the cities and towns would be rebuilt, the channels of trade would
be restored and in time the former industries would be revived and recreated.
The government complimentarily recognizes the tiller of the soil, for it
educates for their calling but two classes — farmers, to feed and clothe the
people and enrich the nation, and soldiers and sailors to defend its honor.
RICHLAND COUNTY'S PLACE IN GALAXY OF OHIO POETS.
Richland county can point with pride to her quota in the galaxy of Ohio
poets. "The poet is born, not made," and "the poet alone sees nature'' were
favorite sayings among the ancients. From his very infancy the beauties
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 69
and melodies of the earth impress themselves divinely on the soul of the true
poet. To him the heavens and the earth seem full of spirituality and beauty
and melody, and his instinct indulges in musings, reveries and day-dreams,
and afterward, when his thoughts are put into verse, they come forth with
poetic aroma or crystallize in imperishable luster. It is the province of poetry
to present higher and more divine and spiritual ideals of life, and in this aim
we claim for our local poets the highest meed of praise and honor.
It has been said that our state is not rich in poetry. No new country is ;
and Ohio is new, compared with old New England. The early settlers here
had a forest country to clear and wars to fight — events which furnish materi-
als for romance and poetry only after the mellowing influences of time have
long hung over their history. The pioneers may have had songs, descriptive
of incidents and adventures of backwoods life, but they were not preserved
even in traditions.
The first poem printed in Ohio, so far as is known, was an historical sketch
written by Return Jonathan Meigs and read at a Fourth of July celebration
at Marietta in 1787.
In i860 there were about forty recognized poets in Ohio, the majority
of whom were to the "manor born." They might be divided into two classes
— those who followed literature or newspaper work as a profession and those
who, although engaged in other vocations, in their leisure hours occasionally
wooed the muse. Although some of the productions of the latter class may
exhibit in a greater degree the feeling than the art of poetry, yet this class
has written many poems that are likely to preserve the names of the authors
for generations to come.
The poems of the poets of Ohio may not equal in pretending styles the
poetry of the east, but in noble aspirations, in expressive appreciation of nat-
ural beauty, in revealing and cultivating domestic affections and in breathing
a spirit of morality and religion, the writings of our Ohio authors compare
favorably with those of any other country in the world.
Poetry, in its highest perfection, is thought, "feeling, imagery and music
expressed in the most appropriate language. Poetry is the greatest of the
fine arts and is closely allied to the rest of them. The prominent elements of
poetry are love, beauty and religion. In some poems thought predominates,
as in Pope's "Essay on Man;" in some, feeling, as in Wolfe's "Burial of Sir
John Moore;" in some, imagery, as in Moore's "Lalla IRookh;" in some,
music, as in songs, and in some poetry are happily combined all of these ele-
ments.
It would be a pleasure to write of dozens of Ohio poets did the limit
70 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
admit of such mention. To come to our own county, the first to receive atten-
tion chronologically is Andrew Coffinberry, commonly called "Count." Cof-
finberry was a lawyer, but sometimes courted the muse. Among his poetical
productions was an epic poem called "Forest Rangers," that struck the popu-
lar current at that time.
Salathial Coffinberry was also a Mansfield poet and tale writer. He was
afterward governor of Michigan.
The Rev. James B. Walker, for many years pastor of the Congregational
church, of this city, was a poet and writer of wide reputation. His "Angel
Whispers" and other poems give him a high place among the poets of America.
John Quincy Goss was a Bellville lawyer in the '50s, and his poems were
published in the local papers and in eastern periodicals.
The writer was acquainted with the late Rosella Rice from his early boy-
hood until her death. Her father and his father were friends and neighbors
in the pioneer times. Rosella was born in Green township, then a part of
Richland county, and passed her life at the old homestead of the family, near
Perrysville. Miss Rice's writings, both in prose and poetry, first appeared
in the Mansfield papers in the '40s. They attracted so much attention and
were so well received by the public that she soon received remunerative offers
from eastern publishers. She was for many years a regular contributor to
Arthur's Home Magazine and other publications. Rosella Rice was a born
poet, a child of nature, and loved to roam over the hills and among the forest
trees of her native heath and listen to the revels of the winds and commune
with the spirits of the wildwood. In her later years she wrote more prose
than poetry, and in either line her writings were marked with her own charm-
ing and peculiar individual characteristics.
Mrs. Nancy Coulter Eddy, of Perrysville, formerly lived in Washington
township, this county. Her contributions to the county papers were quite
popular, especially her political songs in the campaign of 1856.
And last, but not least, is Mrs. Ida Eckert Lawrence, of Toledo, a Rich-
land county girl, called the Ohio poet, who is winning laurels in the literary
world by her poems as well as her prose productions. Mrs. Lawrence
writes: "I love old Richland. It always seemed the grass was greener,
the skies bluer and the birds sang sweeter about the old home than anywhere
I have been."
Verily, Richland county is blessed in her sons and daughters who have
won distinction in literary as well as in other pursuits.
IDA ECKERT-LAWREECE.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 71
THE MANSFIELD' LYCEUM.
This institution was organized September 6, 1871, and the officers
elected for the first year were as follows : President, Colonel B. Burns ; vice-
presidents, Hon. Henry C. Hedges, Hon. M. D. Harter and Professor H. M.
Parker; recording secretary, Charles Elliott; corresponding secretary, J. M.
Hillyar; treasurer, E. W. Smith, and librarian, W. S. Bradford.
At this first meeting the directors were instructed to incorporate the
Lyceum under the laws of Ohio, which was duly accomplished, and the pro-
ceedings were filed with the recorder of the county, December 29, 1871, and
recorded in vol. 1, p. 136, of record for the incorporation of societies of this
kind.
General Brinkerhoff was one of the promoters of the Mansfield Lyceum,
and in this work he was ably seconded by the late Colonel James E. Wharton,
a retired editor, who had the leisure and inclination to foster an enterprise
of this kind. In his prime, Colonel Wharton had been the editor and pro-
prietor of the Wheeling Intelligencer, and as the personal friend and cham-
pion of Henry Clay he had been a man of prominence in the old Whig party.
He was, in fact, a man of more than ordinary ability, and giving, as he
did, almost his entire time for several years to the interests of the Lyceum,
he is entitled to grateful remembrance by all its members.
The Lyceum met for some time in the Philharmonic Hall, but was later
given the free use of a room in the basement of the court-house, and on the
completion of the Memorial Library building, the Lyceum transferred its
library of 2,106 volumes to the Memorial Library Association, and in consid-
eration of this transfer the association contracted to give the Lyceum the free
use of a suitable room in said Memorial Library in perpetuity.
The present officers of the Lyceum are : President, Hon. C. N. Gaumer ;
and secretary, A. J. Baughman.
The membership of the Lyceum is limited to forty and the society does
not seek to popularize its exercises with a view to attract the presence or
patronage of the general public, but devotes itself to the educational improve-
ment of its members, and by the publication of its proceedings to educate the
the public sentiment upon all questions pertaining to the general welfare.
The Richland County Historical Society was organized November 23,
1898. Its officers are: President, General R. Brinkerhoff; vice-president,
George F. Carpenter; secretary, A. J. Baughman; and treasurer, M. B.
Bushnell. The society is auxiliary to the Ohio Archaeological and Histori-
cal Society. ,
72 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
A HUNDRED YEARS.
In 1908 Mansfield will celebrate her centennial, and a retrospect of the
years that are gone is almost beyond the grasp of the human mind in the
marvelous achievements accomplished within that period of time. Since
Mansfield was platted, almost each year has seemed to give denial to the
wisdom of Solomon expressed by his words that "there is nothing new under
the sun," unless it be that inventive genius has but discovered and restored
the arts that were lost. During these hundred years man has harnessed the
winds and made of the unseen forces of steam and electricity the creatures
of his will to lighten the burdens of his toil. Even Niagara no longer pours
its mighty flood in sullen roar of idleness. Its mighty force has been con-
quered by the genius of invention and made to obey the mandates of man
in turning the wheels of industry and sending forth along the lightning laden
wires the subtle force that moves the wheels of commerce, and, bursting
forth into light, turns night into clay. The stage-coach that made the jour-
ney to be taken a thing to be feared because of the discomforts and dangers
and the delay in time, has given way to the iron horse hauling its train of
palace cars, giving to the passengers every comfort and convenience, and
rushing across the country with time-annihilating speed. The slow-going
sailing vessel, which was so often made the victim of the caprice of the wind
and wave, has given way to the ocean "greyhound," the leviathan that plows
the deep in scorn of all of Neptune's terrors.
Invention within the hundred years has revolutionized the world. Within
these years, Fulton invented the steamboat, Stephenson the steam engine, Whit-
ney the cotton-gin, Morse the telegraph, Bell the telephone, and Ed;son, the
Wizard of Menlo Park, has caused inanimate things to talk; pain has been
banished by anaesthetics, and all of the sciences have been made to give!
of their secrets by man's investigation and intelligence.
But what of the century to come? There is no telling to what limit the
the genius of invention may reach. The world's progress in the next hundred
years can only be conjectured. It is not in the ken of man to peer beyond the
veil that hides the future. Invention is yet in swaddling clothes, and greater,
stranger things are yet to come than were ever dreamed of in our philosophy.
What of Mansfield! A clearing in the wilderness in 1808, with one
or two log cabins, is now (1900) a city of eighteen thousand people. The
ring of the woodman's ax has given way to the hum of machinery. The
log cabin of our forefathers has vanished into the storied years, and stately
mansions have risen in their places. The log school-house only remains as a
CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 7 3
memory and has been replaced by such temples of learning as are the city's
pride. Where once the ox team labored through the village street, affording
transportation facilities for the business of the country, now the agencies of
steam and electricity, rushing headlong with their burdens, supply the vast
industries, the immense business marts and the people's wants, and the peace
of the village has given way to the turmoil and bustle of a city.
At the recent centenary celebration of the establishment of the seat of
government at Washington, one of the orators of that occasion said with great
truth that the people of the United States found themselves at the closing
of the nineteenth century better clothed, better fed, better educated, better
housed, with more comforts, conveniences and with greater wealth to com-
mand than any people of the years that go to make the history of the world.
Narrowing his remarks to our own locality, Mansfield and Richland county
exemplify their truth.
In nothing else have the people of the nineteenth century grown so fin-de-
siecle as in the character of the amusements and entertainments which they
crave, approve and enjoy. One hundred years ago. when hardy and brave
pioneers were clearing the way for civilization toward the land of the setting-
sun, the chief pleasures of the people centered in the log-rollings, the barn-
raisings, the husking-bees, the spelling and the singing school, and they were
contented and happy, never dreaming of the mimicry, the tinsel and the
make-believe of the present-day theater. Life was all real to the people of
the backwoods of one hundred years ago and they had no time for the frivoli-
ties. In the then larger centers of population, such as Boston, New York and
Philadelphia, the play-houses were beginning to attract their patronage; but
to the average citizen of that time, the play-house was the habitation of all
that was evil and the actor folks were to be shunned by all who were not will-
ing to be in league with evil. There was no place in society for the people
of the play-house such as they now enjoy, and of which they are now
an ornament, and to which they have become a welcome guest. Those were
the days of old Bohemia and the profession had not the social privileges they
have now.
The world moved slowly in those days and the people were not made
world-weary by the rush of affairs and the killing pace for supremacy in the
race for wealth. They were simple folks who lived a life of simplicity and
never complained of ennui, nor sorrowed for things which they did not have.
Care did not hang heavily on them, and they found no time for idleness or
the pleasures of the passing show. In those days the morale of pleasures
sought counted for more than now, — not because the people were more strict
74 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in their morals then than now, but they held to their strict ideas of morality,
while the progress of the world "has given a more liberal construction of what
constitutes morality. But the theater has kept step with the march of years,
and is to-day far removed from what it was in the years agone.
OUR ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD.
Richland county is proud of her illustrious children, living and dead.
In the Mansfield cemetery are buried warriors, journalists, statesmen and
jurists. Among the warriors are General James Hedges, General Robert Bent-
ley, General Robert H. Bentley, General William McLaughlin, Colonel Alex.
Mcllvaine, Colonel Barnabas Burns, Colonel Thomas H. Ford, Colonel Isaac
Gass, Major A. M. Buns, Captain Michael Keiser, Captain Milton W. Wor-
den, Captain J. L. Skeggs, Captain Jacob Christofel, Adjutant A. G. Phillips
and hundreds of others equally deserving of honorable mention,, although
they served in the "rank and file.' ;
Dr. John G. Bowesmith, one of the "Six Hundred" who made the
memorable charge at Baiaklava October 25, 1853, is buried on lot 1287 of our
Mansfield cemetery. The Doctor was a sergeant in Lord Cardigan's light
brigade, and at Baiaklava received two sabre wounds — one in his left arm and
one in his left side. The latter never healed, and finally caused his death on
February 23, 1878. He had lived in Mansfield about eight years. A man may
represent a doctrine, a principle or an event, and the world looks more to that
embodiment than to the man himself. So with Dr. Bowesmith, whose body
rests in an unmarked grave, and who in his life took part in one of the most
famous events in the world's history — a charge that has never been excelled
in dash and daring even in the wildest story of historic romance.
Of the prominent civilians buried in the Mansfield cemetery one was
governor of Ohio, one was lieutenant-governor, one was a United States sen-
ator and six were members of Congress.
Mordecai Bartley was governor of Ohio in 1845-6. He succeeded
his son, Thomas W. Bartley, who served the remainder of Governor Wilson
Shannon's term, who resigned April 13, 1844, to accept an appointment as
minister to Mexico. A father succeeding his son as governor of a state was
a novel occurrence, there being no similar case in American history. Mordecai
Bartley represented this district in congress four terms, serving through the
eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first congresses, — eight years, —
from 1823 to 1 83 1 inclusive. He entered congress during President Mon-
roe's last term and ended his service there under that of John Quincy Adams.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 75
A fine marble monument stands on the lot in the Mansfield cemetery where
this distinguished governor and member of congress is buried, and upon it
is inscribed: "Mordecai Bartley, one of the Pioneers of Northern Ohio.
Representative in Congress from 1823 to 1831. Governor of Ohio from 1845
to 1846. A Christian and a Patriot." Governor Bartley was a soldier in
the war of 1812.
Thomas W. Bartley was a judge of the supreme court of Ohio from
1852 to 1859, died in 1885 and is buried in Glenwood cemetery, Washington,
D. C. He was the father of Mrs. S. Eberle Jenner, of this city.
Thomas H. Ford was on the ticket with Salmon P. Chase, and was
elected lieutenant-governor of Ohio in 1855. He served as a captain in the
Mexican war and as a colonel in the war of the Rebellion. He was the printer
of the national house of representatives at one time — now called "public
printer." As a campaign speaker he had a national reputation. He was the
father of our P. P. Ford. Governor Ford is buried in our cemetery, and a
marble monument shows where the soldier-statesman rests.
William Patterson represented the Richland district two terms, serving
in the twenty-third and twenty-fourth congresses — from 1833 to 1837. He
had previously served as agent for the Virginia military school land, and had
been associate judge of the court of common pleas. He lived in the country
three miles west of Mansfield, on the Ontario road, on what was later known
as the Crouch farm, and the old brick house on the north side of the road
was his residence. While a member of congress Judge Patterson tendered
a West Point cadetship to Hiram R. Smith, but as Mr. Smith had just entered
partnership with Hugh McFall in the mercantile business the appointment
was not accepted. When Patterson was in congress, Andrew Jackson was
president, Benton, Webster and Calhoun were in the senate and Clay and
Houston and Crockett were in the house. Judge Patterson was an active
politician, and the opposition paper often used the term, "Who struck Billy
Patterson?" The later years of Judge Patterson's life were passed in Van
Wert county with his children, where he died August 17, 1868. His re-
mains were brought to Mansfield and were interred on lot No. 209, beside
those of his wife. There is a slab headstone to his wife's grave but none to
his own. Judge Patterson was a soldier of 1812.
Jacob Brinkerhoff was a member of congress from this district from
1843 to J 847 > an d was the author of the celebrated Wilmot proviso. There
were giants in congress in those days, and Judge Brinkerhoff was the peer of
the best of them. On the gray granite monument that marks Judge Brinker-
hoff's grave is inscribed the text of the Wilmot proviso. The inscription on
76 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
the side notes that Jacob Brinkerhoff was born August 10, 1810, and died
July 1 8, 1880, and that he was prosecuting attorney of Richland county in
1839, a member of congress from 1843 to I S47, author of the Wilmot proviso,
and supreme judge of Ohio from 1856 to 1871. Judge Brinkerhoff was the
father of George Brinkerhoff and the cousin of General R. Brinkerhoff.
William Johnston represented the Richland district in the thirty-eighth
congress — 1863-1865. He was scholarly, brilliant and gifted; was a ready
speaker, an eloquent orator. In 1844 Johnston published the Richland Bugle
— a campaign paper — and was afterward often called "Bugle Bill," to dis-
tinguish him from other Bill Johnstons. Johnston lived on South Main street,
at the first house south of the "Hilltop" grocery. He died May 1, 1866, aged
forty-eight years, and is buried in the Mansfield cemetery, but there is not
even a headstone to mark his grave. The lot is a short distance north of
General Brinkerhoff's lot. A shrub bush in the center gives out its perfume
as summer incense, and an evergreen tree guards the grave, typifying im-
mortality.
George W. Geddes served eight years in congress — from 1879 to 1887.
Before going to congress Geddes was for several terms a judge of the court of
common pleas. Judge Geddes died in 1892, and a large, gray granite monu-
ment stands upon his burial lot. At the bar, upon the hustings and in the
halls of congress Geddes was in the front rank as a public speaker, and his
ability was equaled only by his eloquence.
M. D. Harter was a member of congress from the Richland district two
terms — from 1891 to 1895, — and is buried in the Mansfield cemetery. A
fine gray monument has been erected, "In loving remembrance of Michael
Daniel Harter." Harter was born April 6, 1846, and died February 22, 1896.
An inscription on the monument reads, "Patriotism knows no politics, no re-
ligion, no color, no birthplace."
In the journalistic field the late John Y. Glessner was prominent for
many years, not only in Richland county but also throughout the state. For
over forty years he was the editor and proprietor of the Richland Shield and
Banner newspaper, the Democratic organ of Richland county. As a friend,
Mr. Glessner was always constant, as a citizen he was enterprising, and as a
partisan he was ever vigilant. To his party he was ever loyal and as an
editor he was courteous and generous, even to his opponents. Mr. Glessner
had lived such a life that at his death an opposition paper said of him : "John
Y. Glessner was one of the noblest of men. His whole life was a constant
devotion to everything that was good and true, and but few men enjoyed to
a higher degree the respect and esteem of his political adversaries."
JUDGE GEORGE W. GEDDES.
Judge of Common Pleas Court, 1856-66,
and from 1868-73.
Member of Congress, 1879-87.
JUDGE THOMAS W. BARTLEY.
State Senator, 1841-14.
Governor of Ohio, 1844.
Judge of Supreme Court of Ohio, 1851-59.
JUDGE JACOB BRINKERHOFF.
Member of Congress. 1843-47.
Author of "Wilmot Proviso."
Judge of Supreme Court of Ohio. 1K56-7
GOV. MORDECAI BARTLEY.
State Senator. 1816-18.
Member of Congress, 1833-31.
Governor of Ohio. 1845-46.
COL. THOMAS H. FORD.
Lieutenant-Governor of Ohio. 1856-57.
Served his country as Captain in War with
Mexico, and as Colonel of the 32d Ohio
Infantry in the War of the Rebellion.
Public Printer to Congress. 1859-60.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 77
Of the lawyers who in the early days were prominent in their profession,
the most complimentary mention could be made of the Hon. John M. May,
Judge Jacob Parker and Judge James Stewart. Mr. May was the first resi-
dent lawyer in Mansfield, and Parker and Stewart attained distinction upon
the bench as well as at the bar.
The Hon. John Sherman, whose body was interred in the Mansfield
cemetery October 25, 1900, had been congressman, senator and cabinet min-
ister. His public life, extending over a period of nearly fifty years, is so well
known and so closely identified with American history that an extended notice
of his career is here unnecessary.
What a galaxy of distinguished names are among those of our dead !
Governors, jurists, warriors and journalists are gone and statesmen have been
transferred from the American congress to the "parliament of the skies."
ASHLAND COUNTY.
The law to erect the county of Ashland passed the Ohio legislature Feb-
ruary 24, 1846. Of its townships, some were taken from Richland county,
others from Lorain, Huron and Wayne. For many years after its organiza-
tion Richland county contained a larger area than any other county in Ohio.
Historian Knapp states that this fact gave rise to a number of new county
schemes, and the legislature was annually beleaguered with applications for
the creation of new counties. Prominent among these was one for a new
county of Ellsworth, with the seat of justice at Sullivan; the county of Mo-
higan, with the seat of justice at Loudonville ; another for the county of
Vermillion, with the seat of justice at Hayesville. There were also similar
applications — Jerome, Orange and Savannah. At a later date application
was made for the county of Ashland, with Ashland village for the county
seat. The erection of this new county robbed old Richland not only of much
of her most valuable land but also of a part of her historic territory, for some
of the most stirring scenes and tragic events of our early history transpired
and were enacted within that part of Richland which now forms a part of
Ashland county. One of the .most notable places which Ashland county
gained was the old Indian village of Greentown, situate on the Black Fork,
three miles above Perrysville.
78 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
GREENTOWN.
"Were there no works of glory
Done in the olden time?
And has the west no story
Of deathless deeds' -sublime?
"Go, ask yon shining river
And it will tell a tale
Of deeds of noble daring.
Will make your cheek grow pale.
"Go, ask yon smiling valley,
Whose forests bloom so fair;
'Twill tell thee a sad story
Of the brave who slumber there."
For a number of years there was an Indian village on the west bank of the
Clear Fork of the Mohican, a mile below Newville, called Helltown, — signify-
ing "town on the clear water." This village was on the path of travel between
Gnadenhutten and the Sandusky country. After the massacre of the Mora-
vian Indians — ninety-six in number — at Gnadenhutten, March 8, 1782, the
Indians evacuated Helltown and the Clear Fork valley, and founded Green-
town, on the Black Fork, for greater safety. Greentown was situate on the
east bank of the Black Fork, about three miles above Perrysville, and the
buildings were log cabins and pole huts.
Greentown was burned in August, 181 2, by a party of soldiers who were
absent from their commands. To understand the burning of the village it
is necessary, at least briefly, to review the situation of the country at that
time, — the summer and early autumn of 181 2, especially that summer in the
Black Fork valley, a summer in which the earth was bringing forth a bounti-
ful harvest; a summer luxuriant with flowers and musical with the carol of
birds by day, while at night the moon was wont to peer atwixt the leafy
branches of the forest, casting its pale glimmers of light through the languor-
ous atmosphere ere it sailed forth into the open space of the sky to keep
watch and ward over those who slept, as if to say, "Peace! be still." But
those peaceful days and restful nights of nature seemed but a mockery, for
there were clays of toil and nights of watching for the white settlers who
worked hard and dwelt in insecurity, for the Indians were liable to come upon
them, like the proverbial "thief in the night," unawares.
As the times became more threatening, with indications of an Indian out-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 79
break probable at any moment, the several families kept sentinels on guard
to warn them of the approach of stealthy foes. It is easy to conceive how,
from long apprehension of danger, the minds of the whites could be wrought
up until they imagined they could see ominous signs in the rays of the sun as
they glinted over the hills and flecked the tree-tops here and there with touches
of red, and tinted the fleecy clouds with gorgeous hues and colored the west-
ern sky with crimson dye, all of which seemed to foreteM that the red blood
of human life would be shed in the conflict that all realized was then im-
pending.
To understand this state of apprehension and the results which followed,
let us briefly consider the condition of the country and the menacing attitude
of Great Britain, which culminated in the war of 18 12. For years previous
to this period Great Britain had been impressing our seamen and trying to
deprive American vessels of the rights of commerce upon the high seas, and
British ships of war had even been stationed before the principal harbors of
the American coast to board and search our merchantmen departing from or
returning to the United States, and a number of vessels had been captured and
sent as prizes to British ports. From 1805 to 181 1 over nine hundred
American vessels laden with valuable cargoes had been captured by British
cruisers, and hundreds of American citizens had been impressed into British
service. The contempt in which the British officers held the American
navy led to an action prior to the war. The frigate President, commanded
by Commodore Rogers, met a vessel one evening off the Virginia coast, which
he hailed, but for an answer a shot was fired which struck the mainmast of the
President. The fire was instantly returned and was continued until Commo-
dore Rogers ascertained his antagonist was disabled, when he desisted. The
vessel proved to be the British sloop-of-war Little Belt, carrying eighteen
guns. There was no loss on the American side, but thirty-two were killed
and wounded on the British sloop. This was the first lesson.
Early in November, 181 1, President Madison convened congress and
his message to that body indicated apprehensions of hostilities with Great
Britain, and congress passed acts increasing the efficiency of both the army
and navy. Although continuing to prepare for war, the administration still
cherished the hope that a change of policy on the part of Great Britain would
make an appeal to arms unnecessary. But in May, 181 2, the Hornet brought
still more unfavorable news from across the waters, and on the 1st of June
the president sent a message to congress, recounting the wrongs received from
Great Britain and submitting the question whether the United States should
continue to endure them or resort to war. The message was considered
80 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
with closed doors and on the iSth an act was passed declaring war against
Great Britain, and the next day a proclamation was issued by the president
to that effect.
For a while the American army met with reverses, defeat being added
to defeat and surrender following surrender. General Hull, who was the
governor of the territory of Michigan, commanded our troops at Detroit,
then considered the most important on the lakes. With a flourish of trumpets,
he crossed the river on the 12th of July, to attack Maiden, with Montreal as
an ulterior point. But, receiving information that Fort Mackinaw had sur-
rendered to the British, and that a large force of red-coats and red-skins were
coming down to overwhelm the American troops, General Hull hastened to
leave the Canadian shore, recrossed the river and relumed to Detriot. General
Brock, the commandant at Maiden, pursued General Hull and placed batteries
opposite Detroit. The next day, meeting with no opposition. General Brock
marched directly forward as if to assault the fort. The American troops,
being confident of victory, looked with complacency upon the approach of the
enemy and calmly waited the order to fire; but, to their dismay and con-
sternation, Hull ran up the white flag and surrendered. An event so dis-
graceful has no parallel in history.
Later General Van Rensselaer, with headquarters at Lewistown, led
his troops across the Niagara river to attack a fort at Oueenstown, but after
a long and hard- fought engagement was forced to surrender. In that action
General Brock was killed.
"While these reverses prolonged the war and emboldened the Indians
to commit greater atrocities, the Americans never lost confidence in the final
result. While the army suffered defeat, the navy gained victory after victory,
which was particularly gratifying to American pride, for they were won by that
class whose rights had been violated; and these victories were gained over a
nation whose navy was the "mistress of the seas." These naval victories were
extended from the ocean to the lakes, where Perry, on the 10th of September,
(1813), "as we all well remember," won imperishable fame. The army finally
achieved successes, as had the navy, and these led up to the final defeat of
the British by General Jackson, at New Orleans, in January, and to the victori-
ous peace proclaimed February 18, 181 5, just two years and eight months
from the day war had been declared.
In this war the Indians acted as the allies of the British. History states
that Lord Dorchester, then governor general of Canada, industriously insti-
gated the Indians to hostilities on our northern frontier, and that he had
agents throughout Ohio and elsewhere distributing blankets, food, ammuni-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 81
tion and arms among the Indians, and at Maiden a reward was paid for
every white man's scalp brought in by the Indians.
The Indians at Greentown and Jeromeville had received supplies from
the British. This fact, coupled with their suspicious action and warlike
demonstrations, gave the white settlers reasonable cause for believing that
their savage neighbors contemplated a murderous assault upon them.
At the time of which I write Colonel Kratzer, who was in command of
the troops at Mansfield, received orders to remove the Indians from both
Greentown and Jeromeville, as a precautionary measure against an outbreak,
and for that purpose sent Captain Douglas to enforce the order. There were
about eighty Indian "braves" at Greentown, and it has been doubted whether
Captain Douglas could have successfully coped with them. But such ques-
tions are only discussed in "piping times of peace," for in times of war
American soldiers whip the enemy first and discuss the matter afterward !
Armstrong was the Greentown chief, and at first refused to consent to
be removed. Captain Douglas then sought James Copus, who lived a few
miles further up the valley, and requested him to persuade the Indians to
comply peacefully with the order. Copus was a local preacher in whom the
Indians had confidence. He refused to interfere against them. After en-
treaty had failed Captain Douglas is reported to have said, "Mr. Copus, my
business is to carry out the instructions of my superior officers, and if I can't
persuade you to comply with my request, I shall arrest you as a traitor to the
government of the United States." Mr. Copus then consented to go, the offi-
cer assuring him that the Indians should be protected in both person and prop-
erty.
"When the officers returned to the Indian village, accompanied by Mr.
Copus, another conference was held with the chief, at which Mr. Copus re-
peated the assurances that had been given him.
Captain Douglas again explained that his order was mandatory and
that the Indians had to comply with its mandate or take the alternative.
After conferring with his counselors, the old chief reluctantly announced
that they would go, and Judge Peter Kinney and Captain James Cunning-
ham took an inventory of their effects, and the Indians were formed into line
and marched away under guard from the place that had for thirty years
been the home of that part of their tribe. They had not proceeded far when,
looking back, they saw a cloud of smoke ascending from their burning vil-
lage!
The burning of Greentown has been criticised and censured by sentiment-
alists, who regarded it as a breach of faith with the "noble red man," who
82 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
was cruelly driven from his "happy hunting grounds" into a forced exile.
But the burning of that village was not a breach of faith, for the officers did
not sanction the act. It was done without warrant by five or six stragglers
who had dropped out of the ranks for that purpose. They were militiamen
who had suffered wrongs too grievous to be borne from the bloody hands of
the Indians, and it was but human nature for them to retaliate. It seems
like maudlin sentimentalism to dilate upon the wrongs which the white set-
tlers committed against the Indians, for the few misdeeds that may have
been done by the pioneers were too insignificant to be given prominence in
history. In the early history of France we read of the dark and bloody acts
of the Druids and how they immolated human life in their forest temples,
but it was as a religious rite, as an atoning or propitiating sacrifice, and while
we stand appalled at the bloody spectacle, our condemnation is somewhat mol-
lified when we consider the motive that prompted the act. But with the
Indians it was cruelty for cruelty's sake. They were savages, and through
all the civilizing influences of a century they are savages still. Even those
who have been educated at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the expense of the gen-
eral government, drift back into barbarism, as a rule, after they return to
the west. Let those who have tears to shed over the burning of Greentown
read the accounts of the Wyoming massacre and its aftermath of butcheries,
and then consider the Indians' bloody deeds in our own state and county — of
cruelty, torture, death, — these three, and then tell us where is their claim for
charity! Settlers have returned from the hunt and chase and found their
cabins burnt and their families murdered. The bloody tomahawk and gory
scalping knife had done their work, and mutilation had been added to murder.
Notwithstanding the beautifully drawn and charmingly colored word-pictures
given us by novelists, history teaches us that the Indian is cruel, deceitful and
bloodthirsty by nature and devoid of the redeeming traits of humanity.
Greentown was founded in 1782, and was destroyed by fire in 1812, after
an existence of thirty years. The number of cabins it contained lias been
variously stated at from sixty to one hundred. The number of the dead
buried there is not known, but as about three hundred Indians, on an average,
lived there for three decades, the number is no doubt quite large.
The writer recently visited the site of old Greentown in mid- winter, —
an appropriate season to view in its dearth and desolation the former location
of a town that is now no more. The Black Fork had overflowed its banks in
a recent freshet, and, ere the waters could recede from the lowlands, had
frozen into sheets of ice that reflected sparkling gems of crystal purity in the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. S3
gladsome sunshine, and the hills glistened with a white covering of snow,
forming a scene of beauty to be remembered in many a future dream.
To appreciate a place of historic note, one must enter into the feelings
created by reading its history and learning its traditions. Standing upon that
village site, we realized that the valley whose broad and, fertile acres spread
out before us was the place where the civilization of this part of the west was
first planted and from which it extended even to the golden shores of the
Pacific. The events which stirred the souls and tried the courage of the pio-
neers seemed to come out of the dim past and glide as panoramic views
before us. A number of the actors in those thrilling scenes were of our "kith
and kin," who have long since "crossed over the river." But little change has
taken place at the old site of Greentown in the past fifty years, except that
the old-time Indian burial ground, that has withstood the innovations of a
century, is being despoiled of its timber, and one feels like exclaiming,
"Woodman, spare those trees ;
Touch not a single bough."
But sentiment, it seems, must give way to utility. The burial ground is
at the west end of the knoll upon which Greentown was situated and is some-
what triangular in shape. Heretofore, the ground has been held in super-
stitious, if not sacred, veneration. But it will soon be turned over to the
plowshare and the agriculturist.
Greentown was built upon an oblong knoll, of about half a mile in length
and a quarter of a mile in width, running nearly east and west, with an eleva-
tion of fifty feet, and of irregular topography. The Black Fork, after straight-
ening from its tortuous course and running south for a short distance, makes
a graceful curve to the east at the southwest limits of the grounds, courses
along the base of the south side of the ridge, then turns again to the south
and resumes its zigzag wanderings until its waters unite with those of other
"forks" and form the Mohican. The cabins comprising the village stood
principally upon the rolling plateau-like summit of the hill, each Indian select-
ing a site to suit himself, with but little regard for streets or regularity. A
sycamore tree, which in the olden times cast its shade over the council-house
of the tribe, still stands like a monument from the past, grim and white,
stretching its branches like skeleton arms in the attitude of benediction. A
wild cherry-tree stands several rods northeast, around which there was for-
merely a circular mound, evidently made by the Indians, and still discernible;
but whether it was used as a circus ring for athletic sports, or as a receptacle,
84 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
is a matter of conjecture. Many think it was for the latter, as trinkets, if not
valuables, have been taken from it ; but no general exhumation was ever made.
THE ZIMMER MASSACRE.
The Zimmer family, consisting of father, mother, daughter Kate and son
Philip, lived about two miles south of the present site of Mifflin and five miles
north of Greentown. About September 10, a short time after the removal
of the Indians, a party of five redskins were seen one afternoon going toward
the Zimmer cabin. Martin Ruffner, a stalwart German who lived near Mifflin,
heard of the presence of Indians in the neighborhood and that the direction
they were going indicated that the Zimmer home was their objective point.
Ruffner hastened to Zimmer's and as the Indians had made a halt he reached
the cabin first and apprised them of the lurking foe.
Philip Zimmer, leaving Ruffner to protect his family, went to inform
James Copus, John Lambright and other settlers of the approach of the Indians
and to secure their assistance. As the settlers lived some miles apart it took
Philip several hours to make the trip.
Soon after Philip left the house the Indians came and seemed surprised
upon finding Ruffner there. The friendly Kate, thinking to appease them,
got them supper, but they still seemed sullen, showing that they meant harm
to the family. For some time a desultory conversation was held at intervals,
but finally the actors to the impending tragedy sat and eyed each other in
silence, conflicting emotions, no doubt, passing through the mind of each.
Ruffner, the valiant German, sat like a Trojan soldier between the helpless
family and their savage foes. Finally, when suspense could be borne no
longer, the Indians sprang to their feet with a yell of demoniacal fury and
made a rush at the brave Ruffner, who shot his foremost assailant dead, and,
clubbing his rifle, felled another prostrate to the floor. As he struck at the
third, he accidentally hit the stock of his rifle against a joist, and the Indians,
taking advantage of the mishap, fired upon him, two shots taking effect, either
of which would of itself been fatal. They dragged the body of the dying
man into the yard, and inhumanly removed his scalp ere he expired !
At the beginning of the assault Kate fainted. When she regained con-
sciousness she realized that Ruffner had been killed, and, seeing them assault
her aged parents, she again fell in a swoon, unconsciousness kindly veiling
from her sight the horrible spectacle. (I, too, would fain turn a page rather
than prolong this story of blood, but history is remorseless and must be
written whether its narration brings smiles or tears.) "When Kate recovered
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 85
and realized the awful butchery that had been committed, her grief gave vent
in heart-piercing shrieks and lamentations whose intensity should have reached
the calloused hearts of even those inhuman savages. But instead she was
ordered by her relentless foes to give them her father's money and the val-
uables of the family, and as she complied with their demand, her ring was
rudely taken from her finger. But they did not then spare her life, for
Kanotche, raising his tomahawk, buried it in her brains and she fell upon the
hearth, mingling her life's blood with that of her parents!
The account of this tragedy was given some time later by Kanotche him-
self, while he was confined as a prisoner in the jail at New Philadelphia.
The principal motive which led to the murder of the Zimmers was that
of robbery, as they were regarded as quite wealthy and were known to possess
considerable money.
When Philip returned with his party, nature had already thrown her sable
mantle of night over the valley. Except for the occasional hooting of an owl
there was almost deathlike stillness. No breath of wind stirred the leaves
of the forest, and the stars shone with a pale, flickering light. As the party
neared the cabin, no light was seen and all was quiet and still within. After
a consultation, Air. Copus advanced alone to the rear of the house and tried
to peer through its window, but nothing could be seen in the darkness
within. He then cautiously crept upon his hands and knees around to
the front of the building, and, finding the door ajar, endeavored to push it
further open, but found something against it like a body, on the inside. He
then placed his hand through the opening of the door and found that the
floor was covered with blood. Returning to the party, he though it best not
to tell Philip what he" had discovered, fearing that the Indians might still be
in the house awaiting the son's return. Enjoining silence, he led them quietly
away, and when at a safe distance told them that he feared the family had
been taken prisoners, and that they had better go to the block-house for
assistance.
Philip's anxiety for the safety of the family made him want to rush
recklessly inside the house to learn their fate ; but his friends restrained him,
and the weary, groping walk through the darkness to the block-house was
commenced. A halt was made at a Mr. Hill's, where the town of Lucas now
stands, and upon the break of day they proceeded to the Beam block-house on
the Rocky Run, where the first settlement in the county was made, and there
got a detachment of troops and some settlers, who accompanied them back to
the Zimmer cabin, where they found the dead and mutilated body of the brave
Ruffner in the yard, and those of the family inside the house.
S6 CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
The grief of Philip was so great that many of the strong men present
were moved to tears by witnessing his sorrow. Father, mother and sister all
gone, and lie left alone ! Would that he had shared their fate with them,
was his wish. Kind friends tried to console him, while others digged graves
and performed the last office the living can do for the dead. Then they
returned to the block-house.
Philip gave his service to his country during the remainder of the war.
Several years later he sold the farm to a Mr. Culler, whose descendants own it
to-day. and upon the site of the ill-fated cabin a monument now stands,
erected to the memory of the Zimmer family and Martin Ruffner who fell in
their defence.
The Indians who committed these crimes were stragglers from tha
Greentown tribe, who returned for rapine and murder. Of the five who con-
stituted the party, Ruffner killed two, whose bodies were carried away, as
was the custom among the Indians, and the three survivors were afterward
captured about five miles below Xew Philadelphia, on what is now called Fern
Island, a picnic resort on the C. L. & W. Railway, near the Royal Clay works.
The massacre at the Zimmer cabin aroused the feelings of the people
not only in Richland but also in other counties almost to frenzy, and com-
panies were organized at Wooster, New Philadelphia and other places to
protect the settlers. Captain Mullen commanded the Wooster company and
Alex McConnel the one at Xew Philadelphia.
Fern island is an isle in the Tuscarawas river, one of the most poetry-
inspiring streams in the state. It courses through one of Ohio's most fertile
valleys with an ease and grandeur that is both restful and inspiring. As rays
of light shine upon its dark waters they reflect emerald tints as though the
bottom was paved with precious stones. But the Indians had not sought that
locality because of its romantic beauty, nor because the waters of the Tuscara-
was were wont to dazzle one with their diamond-like gleams, but for the pro-
tection the dense forest of that secluded isle would give them. The mark
of Cain was upon them and the avenging Nemesis was following their trail.
In that forest-embowered isle stood armies of ferns with nodding plumes and
crimson falchions, and among these the tired savages lay down to sleep.
Captain McConnel, hearing that Indians were upon the island, marched
his company over the "Plains," and when the destination was reached he left
his men on the bank and swam his horse across the eastern branch of the
river, and, surprising the redskins, took them prisoners. On reaching the
company with his prisoners some of the men suggested that the Indians should
be put to death. "Not until they have a trial according to law," said the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 87
captain. The prisoners were then marched up past the old site of Shoenbrun
to New Philadelphia, and there incarcerated in jail. When the news of this
capture reached Wooster the excitement there became intense and Captain
Mullen marched his company to New Philadelphia to take summary vengeance
upon the captives. Henry Laffer, then sheriff of Tuscarawas county, called
upon the citizens to turn out and protect the prisoners, which they refused to
do. John C. Wright, an attorney from Steubenville, was in town, and vol-
unteered his services to the sheriff. Mr. Wright was afterward judge of the
court of that circuit. Captain McConnel, Sheriff Laffer and Mr. Wright
pleaded with the attacking party for the lives of the Indians and declared if
the prisoners were molested it would be after they had walked over their dead
bodies. The attack was finally abandoned and the company returned to
Wooster.
While in jail there, Kanotche made a confession to the sheriff, detailing
the Zimmer-Ruffner murder and the part he took in the same, admitting that
he had killed Kate, and that the principal motive for the crime was rob-
bery. The other prisoners did not confess and Kanotche refused either to
implicate or exonerate them.
The Indians were kept in jail until Governor Meigs arrived in New Phil-
adelphia, when they were turned over to the military authorities and were con-
ducted by Lieutenant Shane of the regular army to the western part of the
state, where, under the terms of a cartel, they, as prisoners of war, were
released, the charge of murder not being placed against them.
While en route Lieutenant Shane, with his troops and prisoners, stopped
over night at Newark, where an attempt was made by two recruits to buy
drugs to poison the Indians, which shows the deep-seated feeling then existing
against them on account of the atrocities and murders they had committed.
Kate Zimmer was described by the writer's father, who lived a few miles
further down the valley and often saw her, as being a beautiful girl, a brunette,
rather stout in build, and of a cheerful disposition. Tradition says she was
engaged to be married to a man who lived near her former home in the east;
but this is not verified by history. Her reputed lover, Henry Martin, like
Lilly Pipe, was a myth. Both were the creations of that gifted novelist, the
Rev. James F. McGaw.
While June is the month of roses, September is regarded by many as
being the most charming of the year. The hazy halo of the atmosphere with
its languorous warmth are conductive to day dreaming. And, to follow the
romance of the novelist, there were clays of dreaming for the beautiful Kate,
whose betrothed lover was soon to come to claim her for his bride. Days
88 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of roaming in the leafy forest or rowing upon the crystal lake; clays of watch-
ing the crimson sunset shining redly through the darkness of the branches
and glittering away as golden threads to a paradise too sweet to name ; days
when love seemed to fill the air and make music sweet in the rustle of the
leaves; days when Kate wondered vaguely whether she was not dreaming
happy dreams, — dreams too enhancing to last; and they were, for instead of
the bridal robe the winding sheet was soon to be her habiliment.
The news of the murder of the Zimmer family caused the settlers to go
to the block-house for safety, and nearly every cabin was left tenantless, and
the country was filled with alarm, and not without cause, for other deeds of
blood were soon to follow.
The name Zimmer was pronounced by the Pennsylvania German settlers
something like Zemer, and McGaw, in his romance, changed it to Seymour.
The government deed was to Philip Zimmer, and when the land was
transferred to Mr. Culler the deed was signed by Philip Zimmer and Eliza-
beth Zimmer, his wife. Philip Zimmer married a Pickaway county woman
soon after the close of the war, and the deed for the land in Richland county
(now Ashland) was executed May i, 1815, before Thomas Mace, a justice of
the peace in Pickaway county.
Captain James Cunningham dispatched couriers in all directions to inform
the settlers of the Zimmer massacre, and advised them to go to the block-
houses for protection. All the settlers of the Black Fork, Mr. Copus and
family included, took refuge in the block-houses, but Mr. Copus soon became
restless of confinement in the Beam block-house and wanted to return home.
He believed the Indians were all gone, but if any were lurking around he felt
confident they would do him no harm, as he was their friend. When he stated
that he intended to return to his cabin Captain Martin, the commandant at
the block-house, protested against his taking such a step and told him he would
endanger the lives of himself and family by doing so.
Mr. Copus was a man of decided opinions, and on the morning of the
fourth day after the Zimmer murder started with his wife and seven children
to their forest home, a detail of nine soldiers going with them. Captain
Martin, who was going out with a scouting party, promised to call and spend
the night there. Finding no trace of the Indians, and reconnoitering farther
than they had intended to go, they did not get to the Copus home until noon
the next day, too late to avert the fate that had fallen upon that household.
THE FATAL RETURN.
When the Copus party arrived at the cabin they found things undisturbed,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 89
with the stock grazing in the fields. The soldiers indulged in athletic sports
during the day, and, seeing no signs of Indians, ,felt no uneasiness f< >r the
safety of the family. However, Sarah, the twelve-year-old daughter of Mr.
Copus, going into the field for potatoes for dinner, saw some Indians lurking
there. This she did not tell, knowing her father did not believe they were
near, and, being a very strict man, would punish her for trying to raise an
alarm. As evening drew near the sun gave a strange, weird aspect to the sky
that seemed ominous of ill. Its rays melted into a transparent sheen that
stretched over hill and valley, casting a forboding aspect upon the earth, which
was remembered and commented upon in after years by those who witnessed
the phenomenon. Mr. Copus became apprehensive of danger and insisted upon
the soldiers sleeping within the cabin; but, the night being warm, they pre-
ferred the barn, a few rods distant, but promised to come to the cabin at the
morning's dawn. As the night advanced Mr. Copus' fears increased and the
intervening hours were weary, sleepless, restless ones, and he told his family
of his forebodings of dangers. Except the barking of the dogs, silence re'gned
without, but the death angel hovered over the valley.
THE COPUS MASSACRE.
"The Indians shook the morning air
With their wild and doleful yells."
As the dawn of Tuesday morning, September 15, 1812, approached, the
nine soldiers, true to their promise, left their couches of hay at the barn and
went to the cabin. As they grouped around the door amber streaks darted
into golden rays in the eastern sky, heralds of the coming day. The troops,
no doubt, recalled the red-flamed sky of the preceding sunset and were thank-
ful that the night was being succeeded by the glorious light of another day,
so beautiful in its aerial aspect that one might have imagined it presaged the
resurrection and looked for angels to appear and proclaim that "Time was,
time is, but time shall be no more;" but it was the angel of death that was
soon to claim four of that little band.
Mr. Copus, still apprehensive of danger, cautioned the soldiers to be on
their guard, but they laughed at his fears, and, leaning their muskets against
the cabin, went to the spring, a few rods away : but ere they had finished their
lavations the Indians came upon them with demoniacal yells, and —
"On the right, on the left, above, below,
Sprung up at once the lurking foe;"
STORY.
90 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HI
THE ATTACK.
And forty-five painted savages, armed with muskets, tomahawks and
scalping knives, rushed upon the unarmed soldiers and a scene of carnage, of
butchery and death ensued! When the attack was made Mr. Copus hastily
seized his rifle and went to the door and as he opened it a ball fired by an
advancing savage passed through the leather strap that supported his powder
horn and entered his breast, inflicting a wound from which he expired within
an hour.
"When fired upon, being unarmed, the soldiers fled in different directions.
Two attempted to reach the forest upon the hillside for protection, but were
overtaken by the Indians, murdered and scalped. Their names were John
Tedrick and George Shipley. A third, named YVarnock, was shot through
the bowels, but went some distance, and, becoming weak from loss of blood,
sat down by a tree and died. He had stuffed his handkerchief into the wound
to stop the flow of blood. His body was found several weeks afterward, in
a sitting posture. Five of the soldiers who were nearer the cabin got inside
safely, but the sixth, named George Dye, was not so fortunate and was shot
through the thigh as he entered the door, and George Launtz was shot in the
arm, a short time later, while removing a chink to make a port hole in the wall.
Mr. Copus, who realized that he was mortally wounded, entreated the
soldiers to defend, as best they could, his wife and children.
WITHIX THE CABIX.
The scene within the cabin was pathetically dramatic. He who an hour
before stood as the protector of his family now lay in the throes of death,
his grief-stricken wife and seven children grouped about his bedside, and as
the spirit of this just man took its flight the mother, as the center of that
little band of mourners, was seen to gaze upward — heavenward — as if in
prayer, commending her fatherless children to Him who tempers the winds
to the shorn lamb and who alone can bind up the broken heart.
But they had soon to turn from the dead and assist the soldiers in their
defence of the cabin. Early in the contest, Nancy Copus, aged fifteen, was shot
above the knee, inflicting a painful wound. The children were' then placed
up-stairs for greater safety, and that was but poor, for a number of the
Indians were upon the hillside in front of the house and kept up an incessant
firing upon the roof of the house, until the clapboards, it is said, afterward
presented almost a sieve-like appearance. And nearly all that forenoon the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 91
battle raged and the deadly lead was fired not only upon the roof but also
upon the walls, windows and doors of that home, and the yells of the murder-
ous savages were enough to daunt the bravest heart.
THE HEROIC DEFENCE.
The few soldiers within made a heroic defence. They fired through
port-holes and their aim was often unerring, as ': number of the redskins
were seen to fall to rise no more. After five long hours of murderous assault
from outside and of valiant defence from within, the awful contest ended by
the Indians retreating, taking their dead with them and firing a parting volley
into a flock of sheep which had huddled together in terror near the barn.
After the Indians had disappeared, one of the soldiers got out upon the
roof of the cabin, and, cautiously glancing around and seeing no foe, climbed
down and went to the Beam block-house for assistance. About 1 o'clock
Captain Martin and his squad of soldiers who had been expected to arrive the
night before, came upon the scene two hours after the battle had ended, but
before assistance had time to come from the block-house. Captain Martin,
not seeing any Indians in his reconnoitre the day previous, and not expecting
any trouble at the Copus home, had bivouacked for the night at the Ruffner
cabin, near where Mifflin now stands, three and a half miles north of the
Copus settlement.
ARRIVAL OF THE TROOPS.
During the forenoon Captain Martin thought he heard firing, but sup-
posed the troops below were at target practice. When Martin and his troops
arrived at the scene of the tragedy they were appalled at the horrible spectacle
that met their view. Attention was given to the wounded and the dead were
buried. An attempt was made to track the Indians and it was thought they
went east; but as they had three hours start they were not pursued. The
bodies of Copus, Tedrick and Shipley were buried in one grave a few rods
from the cabin and a monument now marks their grave. Stretchers were
made upon which to carry the wounded, and the march of the whole party
to Beam's block-house was commenced. As it was late in the day when the
start was made, they went only a short distance until they stopped for the
night. By that time the number of the party had increased to about one
hundred, and pickets were thrown out to guard against surprise. The march
was resumed the next morning, the route being up the valley to Mifflin, thence
west alone: a trail now known as the Mansfield-YYooster road, and then down
92 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
to the Beam block-house, the distance being about thirteen miles, where they
arrived safely in the evening.
THE MISSING SOLDIER FOUND.
Several weeks afterward a squad of soldiers accompanied Henry Copus,
a son of James Copus, to the cabin, and on the way, some distance from the
Copus cabin, they discovered the missing soldier (Warnock) sitting against a
tree, dead. They buried him near where he was found. They also found
the bodies of two Indians, which were left to their fate.
Mrs. Copus and children remained in the block-house about two months
and were then taken to Guernsey county, where they lived until the close of
the war, when they returned to their home on the Black Fork, and where Mrs.
Copus reared the family and lived to a good old age, beloved and respected
by her neighbors and friends. Sarah Copus, the daughter, became Mrs.
Vail, and lived to be present at the unveiling of the monument, September
15, 1882, erected to the memory of her father and the soldiers who were
killed in that awful tragedy at that humble cabin in the wilderness, September
[15, 1812.
Among the incidents of the fight it is stated that Copus and an Indian
fired at each other simultaneously, the former receiving a mortal wound and
the latter being killed instantly. Copus did not fall when he was shot, but
staggered back across the room to a table, from which he was assisted to the
bed. He told his wife that he could not live and that she would have to rear
the children as best she could.
A number of times while the battle lasted the savages tried to take the
cabin by storm, but the soldiers had taken the precaution to barricade the door
and windows with puncheons removed from the floor.
A GOOD SHOT.
George Launtz, the soldier who had an arm broken by a bullet, caught
sight of an Indian peeping around a tree, and, taking deliberate aim, fired,
and had the satisfaction of seeing the savage bound into the air and then roll
down the hill, dead. Another redskin, who had been shot, fell in the yard.
His groans were heard as he attempted to crawl away, but a well-directed
bullet from the cabin put an end to his suffering. Forty-five scoop-outs where
fires had been, were afterward found in the cornfield, where the Indians had
roasted corn, and from that it was taken that there had been forty-five savages
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 93
in the assault. Of that number, nine were carried away by the Indians when
they retreated, which, with the two bodies found later, made their loss eleven,
killed and wounded. During the greater part of the battle the Indians fought
from ambush, taking refuge behind the trees on the hillside in front of the
house. On the same day that the Copus battle took place the cabins of Newell,
Cuppy and Fry, farther east, were burned, and the Indians who attacked the
Copus family were supposed to have been the incendiaries, as they went in
that direction. Those families were at the Jerometown block-house.
After the close of the war a number of the Indians returned to this
county. Sarah Copus, the girl who had seen the redskins lurking around the
day before the attack was made on their home, did not seem to be in favor
with the savages. Going on the hill beyond the spring one day, after the
family had returned from Guernsey county, she saw one hiding behind a tree.
She ran toward the house, the Indian pursuing her almost to the door. They
' — was too observant of them and their actions.
KNEW ABOUT IT.
Tom Lyons, an ugly old redskin of the Delaware tribe, in a conversa-
tion with Mrs. Copus in 181 6, admitted he knew all about the attack on their
cabin, but denied that he took part in it.
After the times became more secure the settlers returned to their homes,
but affairs were more or less troubled until the close of the war.
MONUMENTS REARED.
'"Ah, alas! imagination.
Ever weaving dream on dream,
Soon forgets the buried red men
For some more congenial theme."
At a meeting of the Ashland County Pioneer Society, held August 18,
188 1, the matter of erecting monuments to those who fell in the Zimmer-
Ruffner and Copus massacres was considered, but no definite action was taken
until at a special meeting held September 10 of the same year, when Dr. S.
Riddle introduced the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted :
"Resolved. That we erect suitable monuments to the memory of those
pioneers and soldiers who were killed by the Indians in the fall of 1812 and
buried in Mifflin township."
A committee was appointed to conduct the canvass for funds, and two
94 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
hundred and fifty dollars were contributed. Dr. Riddle was the secretary of
the Ashland Pioneer Society, and to him credit is due for the conception of
the thought, the formulation of the plans and the raising of a large share
of the funds that finally placed monuments to mark the graves of those pio-
neers and soldiers who fell victims to Indian rapacity, hate and vengeance.
THE FUND RAISED.
\
The fund having been raised, the committee met at Ashland June 10,
1882, and ordered two monuments, at one hundred and twenty-five dollars
each, of Dorland & Kerr. The monuments were put up, one at the Copus
place, and the other on the site of the Zimmer cabin, and were unveiled with
great ceremony Friday, September 15, 1882, in the presence of a multitude
of ten thousand people. The day of the unveiling ceremony was warm and
perfect in the blending of the elements, in the beauty of its light and color,
and in the mellowness of its atmosphere. An early frost had touched the tops
of the trees with its icy fingers and colored the leaves here and there with
shades of red and gold, while in the soft shelter of the hills some yet waved
their green boughs in the mild September air; still others, standing in some
open space, spread out their tremulous panoplies of unbroken amber. And
while the whole landscape was suffused with the loveliness of early autumn,
yet nowhere was nature more replete in its beauty than on the hill where the
exercises were held and at whose base the Copus monument was unveiled.
The exercises were opened with music by a brass band, followed by
prayer by the Rev. J. A. Hall. Short speeches were made by Dr. William
Bushnell and others.
GUESTS OF HONOR.
Mrs. Sarah Vail, aged eighty-four, and Mrs. Elizabeth Baughman, sev-
enty-nine, were given seats of honor on the platform and were introduced to
the audience. Mrs. Vail was the daughter of James Copus and was the girl
who saw the Indians lurking near the corn-field the day before the attack on
the cabin and was in the house when her father was shot at the door. Mrs.
Baughman was the daughter of Captain Cunningham, who was a prominent
actor in the events of the pioneer days.
THE ADDRESSES.
At the noon hour a recess was taken and a picnic dinner partaken of,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 95
and, upon re-assembling, the principal addresses of the day were delivered
by Hon. R. M. Campbell, of Ashland, Hon. Henry C. Hedges, of Mansfield,
and Dr. P. H. Clark, the president of the day. Mr. Hedges' remarks referred
particularly to Martin Ruffner, paying a beautiful tribute to his memory and
character, saying that he possessed the strength and courage of a man and the
gentleness and heart of a woman.
MONUMENTS UNVEILED.
At the close of the services the assemblage repaired to the foot of the
hill, where the Copus monument was unveiled, and then proceeded to the
Zimmer place, a mile and a half distant, and there unveiled the Zimmer-
Ruffner monument. The ceremonies took place just seventy years from the
date of the Copus battle. The names of James Copus, George Shipley, John
Tedrick and Warnock are on the monument at the Copus place, and a cenotaph
to Johnny Appleseed was added at the suggestion of the late Rosella Rice.
On the other monument are engraved the names of Frederick Zimmer and
wife and daughter Kate, and Martin Ruffner.
COUNTY LOCALITIES.
The localities where the soldiers and pioneers were killed by the Indians
were then within the lines of Richland, but in the formation of new counties
in 1846 the boundaries of old Richland were reduced to their present limits
and the fertile valley of the Black Fork was given to Ashland, including the
historic grounds where the Copus and Zimmer-Ruffner monuments stand.
Among the first settlers in that neighborhood were James Copus, Fred-
erick Zimmer, John Lambright, Martin Ruffner, Richard Hughes, Henry
Smith, Michael Ruffner, David Braden, Leonard Croninger, Michael Culler,
Daniel Harlan, Peter Thomas, George Thomas and Jacob Keever, all of whom
settled there prior to 18 16.
James Copus' powder-horn is still in the possession of the descendants
of the Copus family as an heirloom. The ball that killed Copus passed
through the strap that was attached to this horn ere it entered his breast.
Another bullet entered the horn, but was too far spent to pass through and
remains enclosed in it still.
96 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
THE BLACK FORK SETTLEMENT.
The location where James Copus lived is on the east side of the Black
Fork, about midway between Mifflin and the old Indian village of Green-
town. As we look about the place, the various scenes of that bloody battle
come up from the history of the past like panoramic views before us. But
few can walk indifferent and unmoved over fields of bloodshed and strife,
and the lapse of time only serves to enhance the memories of other years.
And these are heightened by the thought that our ancestors shared in the
early struggles and conflicts of the Mohican valley.
LOCALITIES OF HISTORIC INTEREST.
In this asynartete sketch only a brief mention can be made of several
places of geographical and historical interest in the valley of the Black Fork.
The Petersburg Lakes are well known. There are three and are fed by
springs. They form a chain of lakes, the largest covering an area of about
fifty acres, the middle about thirty and the smallest ten acres. These
lakes were a favorite fishing resort in the Indian times, as they are to-day.
The Copus spring flows from the base of a hill on the east side of the valley,
near where the Copus cabin stood.
Early in the summer of 1782 Colonel William Crawford's ill-fated expedi-
tion crossed the valley of the Black Fork on its way to the Sandusky country
and to the defeat and the horrible atrocities that followed. Caldwell's Atlas
says : "Colonel Crawford's^ army passed up the old trail which crossed the
Killbuck some twelve miles south of YYooster; thence to the north side of
Odell's lake ; thence across the southern part of Ashland county to the vicinity
of Greentown, passing from George Guthrie's to the old Baughman farm,
and from there to the point where the Rocky Fork empties into the Black
Fork, where the army crossed the stream and proceeded up the former via the
present sites of Lucas and Mansfield to Spring Mills, and thence west to
the Wyandot country."
General Robert Crooks, with an army of over two thousand men and a
large number of heavy wagons loaded with army supplies, stopped a few days
at Greentown shortly after the Indians had left, and confiscated their green
corn ; and four weeks later Colonel Anderson, with about one hundred and
fifty men, with a train of twenty-five cannon and fifty covered wagons, each
drawn by six horses, hauling munitions of war, made a halt at Greentown,
then followed Crooks' trail to Fort Meigs. All three of these expeditions
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 97
passed over part of the ground where the city of Mansfield now stands, and
camped over night in the vicinity of the big springs on East Fourth street.
One of these springs is at Lampert's and one on the lot on the northwest
corner of Fourth and Adams streets, known for years as the Clapp Spring.
PIONEER INCIDENTS.
Abraham Baughman, the first settler on the Black Fork, bought a calf
from an Indian, paying him the price asked. A year later an additional sum
of money was demanded, as the calf had grown larger, and the amount was
paid to avoid trouble; but still a year afterward another supplemental price
was demanded and paid under protest. To prevent the heifer from growing
bigger still, it was slaughtered for beef, as the owner did not want to pay
for its growth every year.
Abraham Baughman was the first white man to make his home on the
Black Fork; but ere long came the Coulters, the Crawfords and others, and
soon quite a settlement sprang up around him. As the population increased
a distillery was put in operation, as was then the custom in the west.
One evening, when Baughman and wife were at a neighbor's, two Indians
called at the Baughman cabin, and, finding the boys in bed, ordered them to
get up and give them something to eat. After they had partaken of the
luncheon they ordered Jacob, the older son, to go to the ''still house'' — as dis-
tilleries were then called — and get them whisky, and held George as hostage,
threatening to scalp him if Jacob delayed or gave the alarm. For the want
of a more suitable vessel, Jacob took his mother's tea canister and made the
trip as expeditiously as possible. Upon his return the Indians cautiously
smelled the whisky, and, detecting a peculiar odor, suspected it was poisoned,
becoming enraged and flourishing their tomahawks about the boys' heads in a
lively manner. Then they made the boys drink of it and waited to see the
"poison" take effect on them ; but, as no bad symptoms were noticed, the red-
skins finally accepted the tea explanation and proceeded to drink the contents
of the canister and were howling drunk when the parents returned.
TWO BATTLES OF COYYPENS.
There are two battles of Cowpens recorded in history, — one fought in
South Carolina during the war of the Revolution, and the other in Ashland
coun ty — in our own Buckeye state — in the war of 1812. The former was a
terrible reality; the latter a bloodless incident.
98 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
At Cowpens, a village in Spartanburg county, South Carolina, on Jan-
uary 17, 1 78 1, the American army under General Morgan defeated the British
under General Tarleton. The American loss in this battle was but seventy-
two, while that of the British was over eight hundred — making the result a
signal victory for the patriots. The Ashland county incident occurred in what
is now Vermillion township, then a part of Richland county, ere the legis-
lature cut up its original boundaries to create new counties.
When General Beall made his memorable march in the fall of 1812 to
protect the settlements in this part of the state from attacks of the savages
and incursions of the British, he cut a road, called BealFs Trail, through the
wilderness from Wooster to the state road at Planktown, this county. While
en route the army camped for two weeks in the vicinity of Hayes' Cross Roads,
now called Hayesville. The camp was called Camp Musser, after Major
Musser, an officer in General Beall's army.
While the army was at Camp Musser an incident occurred known in our
local history as the battle of the Cowpens. It was on a dark, rainy night
that the soldiers were awakened from their slumbers by the firing of pickets
at one of the outposts and the command to "fall in" soon formed the men into
line to meet the foe, as it was supposed the Indians were coming to attack
the camp in
''The stilly hours of the night."
The pickets reported that the enemy was advancing upon the camp in solid
phalanx and the ground trembled with the tread of forming battalions and
of approaching "foes !"
It was the army's first experience in war's alarms and the soldiers acted
as calmly as veterans of old, and with steady hands opened fire upon the
advancing foe ( ?), lighting up with lurid glare and quickening flash the inky
blackness of the night. The cracking of musketry, the charging of cavalry
over logs and stumps, combined to make night grand and awful with the
pomp and reality of war. Soon, however, the tramp and bellowing of stamp-
ing cattle explained the "attack" — that the stock had broken out of the corral,
and, advancing toward the picket post, had been mistaken by the guards for
hostile Indians. The incident, however, showed the vigilance of the troops,
as well as their coolness and bravery in the face of danger. A sagacious gen-
eral is equal to and ready to meet surprises, midnight attacks and other
emergencies. Napoleon won at least three of his most striking victories —
Marenga, Austerlitz and Dresden — by passing at the right moment suddenly
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 99
from an apparent passive attitude of defence to a vigorous offensive. Well-
ington, after the world had come to regard him as great only on the defensive,
used strictly the opposite tactics, with victorious results, at Victoria, Orthez
and Toulouse, the last of these three actions being one of such apparent
temerity as can hardly be paralleled in modern history. General Beall had
many of the essential characteristics of a commander, and led his troops
successfully through the wilderness in his campaign against both a savage
and an invading foe, and defended himself against the jealous machinations of
West Pointers. General Beall had previously served in the army, having
been an officer in General Harmar's campaign against the Indians in 1790.
He was a congressman from Ohio in 1 Si 3- 15 and died at Wooster February
20, 1843. His campaign was made when Return Jonathan Meigs was gov-
ernor of Ohio, and the story of Governor Meigs' life reads like a romance.
In 1789 he was an attorney at law at Marietta and delivered a Fourth-of-July
address, concluding with a poem, the first ever printed in Ohio :
"See the spires of Marietta rise,
And domes and temples swell into the skies.''
In 1802 Meigs was the chief justice of the supreme court of Ohio; in
1804 he was the commander of the United States troops in the upper district
of Louisiana; in 1805, one of the judges of the territory of Louisiana; in
1807, one of the judges of the territory of Michigan; in 1808, elected a
supreme judge for Ohio; in 1809, chosen United States senator from Ohio;
in 1810, elected governor of Ohio, and re-elected in 1S12; and in 1814,
appointed postmaster-general of the United States. He died at Marietta
March 29, 1825, aged sixty years.
Beall's Battle of the Cowpens has been likened, in its humorous aspect,
to the Battle of the Kegs in the war of the Revolution. In January, 1778,
the American army floated kegs filled with combustibles down the river to
destroy the British shipping at Philadelphia. This was a Yankee trick the
British did not understand and supposed that each keg contained a "rebel,"
and when the kegs were discovered the British opened fire upon them and
"fought with valor and pride." Francis Hopkinson wrote a mock heroic poem
of this episode, from which the following lines are taken :
"Twas early day, as poets say,
Just when the sun was rising,
A soldier stood on a log of wood,
And saw a thing surprising.
ioo CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
As in amaze he stood to gaze,
The truth can't be denied, sir;
He spied a score of kegs or more,
Come floating down the tide, sir."
''The soldier flew, the sailor, too,'' and spread the news that mischief
was brewing, that the "rebels," packed up like pickled herring, were coming
down to attack the town, and the most frantic scenes were enacted.
"The cannon's roar from shore to shore,
The small arms made a rattle ;
Since wars began, I'm sure no man
E'er saw so strange a battle."
LYONS' FALLS.
There are traditions that are not historically correct. For years past it
has been generally believed in these parts that Lyon's Falls were named for
the old Indian chieftian, Tom Lyons. It may seem like uncalled-for icono-
clasm to dispel belief in such a mythical personage as Lily Pipe, or to rob
Lyons' Falls of Indian traditions. But history should be accurately given ;
and its correct narration is more instructive than the erroneous one, and can
be as entertainingly told as though its warp were woven with the woof of
fiction.
Lyons' Falls are situated in Ashland county, about fifteen miles south-
east of Mansfield. There are two falls, and the place, which has been a noted
picnic resort for many years, is wild in its primitive forest and grand in its
rugged picturesqueness. During the past summer a party of ladies and
gentlemen, whose names are conspicuous on the list of Mansfield's "400," took
a day's outing at these falls, and a grave was pointed out to them as that
of "the noted Lyons;" and like many others they inferred that the Lyons
buried there was the notorious Indian chieftain of that name. Upon their
return to Mansfield they told entertainingly of the wooded hills and sylvan
dells, of the overhanging rocks and of the eighty-foot leap of the waters from
the edge of the precipice to the basin at the bottom of the chasm, casting its
sprays into the cool grottos which the hand of nature chiseled out of the ever-
lasting rocks. And the further fact that the party had seen the grave of a
great warrior lent additional interest to the story and to the locality.
With such allurements it was not long until another detachment of the
"400" also visited these noted falls, and the gentlemen of the party fired
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 101
volleys over the grave, danced a war dance and gave Indian funeral whoops
and came home satisfied that they had held suitable commemorative ceremony
over the earthly resting place of the body of an Indian chieftain !
Tom Lyons, the Indian, who took a prominent part in the Wyoming
massacre (1778), and was afterward a notorious character in the early history
of Richland county, was killed by a young man named Joe Haynes, to avenge
the murder of a kinsman, and he buried the old chief in Leedy's swamp in
Jefferson township, Richland county. The Lyons buried at the falls was Paul
Lyons, a white man. He was not a hermit, as one tradition states, for he
took to himself a wife, who bore him a son, and he did not particularly shun
his neighbors, although he did not admit them into his confidence. \\ 'hat
Paul Lyons' object and motives were for leaving the civilization of the east
and seeking a home amid the rocks and hills of that wild and uninhabited
part of the country are matters only of conjecture, for he never gave his ante-
cedents, and refused to explain or to give reasons for hiding himself away
in the forest and leading such a retired life. He had "squatted" on land too
rough to till, and he never attempted to clear off the timber nor to cultivate
the rocky soil. He simply built a cabin amid the trees and passed his time
principally in hunting and fishing; but, as the country became settled around
him and farmers needed help to harvest their crops, he often assisted them in
such work. He never made any exhibition of money, yet always paid cash for
what he bought. He has been described as a large man, and that he had
ability and education is shown by the statement of a lady now living, who
says that he was an intelligent and entertaining conversationalist and that
at the funeral of a neighbor he read a chapter and sang a hymn, and that it
was the best reading and singing she ever heard.
About 1856 Lyons, while assisting in hauling logs, met with an accident
which resulted in his death, and he was buried upon the hill, between the two
waterfalls. The late Rosella Rice had a headboard, painted and lettered,
put up at the grave, but visitors shot at the board for a target until it was
riddled into slivers by bullets, and later the body was exhumed and the skeleton
mounted by a physician. A slight depression in the ground is now the only
sign showing where the body had been interred.
Lyons' wife was not an intellectual woman, and it is said that she was
sent away and died in an asylum. It is also reported that the boy was taken
to an eleemosynary institution after his father's death, and that when he
grew to manhood he went west and prospered.
The most noted personage for many years in the region of the falls was
Lewis M. Lusk, who in his time played the fiddle for hundreds of dances.
102 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
In past seasons there were dancing floors at the falls, and Lusk furnished the
music with his "fiddle and his bow," while the dancers kept step to its
enlivening strains. He is now deceased, but tourists will long remember
seeing him sitting in the door or in the yard of his cabin playing his fiddle,
while the ripples of the waters of the Mohican seemed to echo the refrain of
the music as the current of the stream swept around its graceful bends in
front of the humble dwelling, the rugged rocks forming a rustic background
to the picture framed by the encircling hills, all combing to impress the
passers by with the thoughts how sweet is music, how dear is home and how
inspiring is all the handiwork of the Creator.
AXCIEXT MOUNDS.
There are a number of ancient mounds in Ashland county, the majority
of which are no doubt of prehistoric origin and were built by the "Mound-
builders." It is claimed by some who have made archaeology a study that a
number of these mounds are of a more recent period, — that they were built in
the seventeenth century by the Eries to protect their people from the invasions
of the Iroquois tribe.
It is claimed by many that the "Mound-builders" were of Asiatic origin,
and were as a people immense in numbers and well advanced in many of the
arts. Similarity in certain things indicate that they were descendants of the
ancient Phoenicians. Of the "Mound-builders" we have speculated much
and know but little. But the mounds at Greentown are so small and so unlike
the others that they evidently do not belong to that class.
CONCLUSION.
We should not ignore our obligations to the pioneers, but rather con-
gratulate ourselves that we live in an age of improved utilities. They were
the manufacturers of almost everything they used, not only their farming
implements, but also the fabrics with which they were clothed. How dif-
ferent now !
All earthly things are given to change, and the firesides of the pioneer
period have given place to the furnaces and registers of to-day. Still the
remembrance of the associations of the past has an attractive charm and a
strong hold on our sentiments and affections. Though the scenes of our
memory may be darkened with shadows, yet still it is a sweet indulgence to
recall them. The rose and the thorn grow on the same bush ; so the reraem-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 103
brance of our friends who have "crossed over" is mingled with both pleasure
and sorrow.
The "fireside" is typical of a home and is endeared by many affectionate
recollections. At the fireside our parents recounted the history of their earlier
years, the difficulties they had encountered and the objects they had sought
to attain; and of all the members of the family circle who gathered around
that fireside the mother is the most lovingly recalled. "My mother ! " is an
expression of music, of melody and of love. It takes us back to the days
of our childhood and places us again kneeling by her side to receive her
caresses and loving; benediction.
BIOGRAPHICAL
.uiuiuiuumuuiuULatutuu
GENERAL R. BRINKERHOFF.
^™||0 compendium such as the province of this work defines
in its essential limitations will serve to offer fit memorial
to the life and accomplishments of the honored subject
of this sketch, — a man remarkable in the breadth of his
wisdom, in his indomitable perseverance, his strong'
individuality, and yet one whose entire life has not
one esoteric phase, being as an open scroll, inviting the
closest scrutiny. True his are "massive deeds and
great" in one sense, and yet his entire accomplishment but represents the
result of the lit utilization of the innate talent which is his and the directing
of his efforts along those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimina-
tion lead the way. There is in General Brinkerhoff a weight of character,
a native sagacity, a far-seeing judgment and a fidelity of purpose that com-
mand the respect of all. A man of indefatigable enterprise and fertility of
resource, he carves his name deeply on the records of Ohio.
General Brinkerhoff was born in Owasco, Cayuga county, New York,
June 28, 1828. The Brinkerhoff s of America are all descended from Joris
Dericksen Brinkerhoff, who came from Drentland, Holland, in 1638, with his
wife, Susannah, and settled in Brooklyn, New York, then New Netherlands.
The members of the family are now numerous, for the most part residing on
Long Island and in the valley of the Hudson, but a few of the representatives
of the name can be found in almost every western state. Most of these are
descended from Hendrick, son of Joris Dericksen Brinkerhoff, who settled in
New Jersey in 1685. General Brinkerhoff, of this review, is of the seventh
generation in America. His father, George R. Brinkerhoff, was born near
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but his grandfather, Roeliff Brinkerhoff, came
from Hackensack, New Jersey. His ancestors on his mother's side — the
106 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Bouviers — and on his grandmother's — the Demarests — were French Hu<me-
nots, who, fleeing from religious persecution, found safety and a home among
the tolerant Dutchmen of New Netherlands.
Roeliff Brinkerhoff, the subject of this sketch, was employed as a school
teacher in his native town when but sixteen years of age, and at the age of
eighteen he was in charge of a school near Hendersonville, Tennessee. At
nineteen he was the tutor in the famiily of Andrew Jackson, Jr., at the
Hermitage, and there remained until 1850, when he returned to the north
and became a law student in the office of his kinsman, the Hon. Jacob Brinker-
hoff, of Mansfield, Ohio. In 1852 he was admitted to the bar and entered
the practice, remaining in active connection with the profession until the war
of the Rebellion. During that time, 'from June, 1855, until 1859, he was
also one of the editors and proprietors of the Mansfield Herald. In Septem-
ber, 1 86 1, he entered the military service as first lieutenant and regimental
quartermaster of the Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and in Novem-
ber of the same year he was promoted to the position of captain and assistant
quartermaster. In the succeeding winter he was on duty at Bardstown,
Kentucky, and after the capture of Nashville he was placed in charge of
the land and river transportation in that city. Subsequently to the battle of
Pittsburg Landing he was ordered to the front and placed in charge of the
field transportation of the Army of the Ohio, and after the capture of Corinth
he returned home on a sick furlough. He was then ordered to Maine as
chief quartermaster of that state. Later he was transferred to Pittsburg,
Pennsvlvania, in charge of transportation and army stores and thence to
Washington city as post quartermaster, remaining on that duty until June,
1865, when he was made a colonel and inspector of the quartermaster's
department. He was then retained on duty at the war office with Secretary
Stanton until November, when he was ordered to Cincinnati as chief quarter-
master of the department. In September, 1866, he was bre vetted a brigadier-
general of volunteers and was also tendered a commission in the regular
army, but declined the honor. On the 1st of October, at his own request,
he was mustered out of service, having completed five years of continuous
service in the army. General Brinkerhoff is the author of a book entitled
The Volunteer Quartermaster, which is still the standard guide for the
officers and employees of the quartermaster's department.
On the 3d of February, 1862, General Brinkerhoff married Mary Lake
Bently, of Mansfield, a daughter of Baldwin Bently and a granddaughter of
General Robert Bently, by whom he had four children, — two sons and two
daughters: Robert Bently, Addie Horton, Mary and Roeliff. Robert is a
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 107
lawyer in New York city; Addie is at home; Mary is deceased; and Roeliff
is judge of the probate court of Richland county.
It so happened that the most active years of General BrinkerhofT's life
covered the most important events of the anti-slavery period, commencing
with the repeal of the Missouri compromise and closing with the war of the
Rebellion and the reconstruction and reconstructive incidents growing out
of it. During that period it was his fortune to know intimately many of its
leading men, and again and again he has been at the turning points of history
and has taken a part in shaping events. During all these years, in many
ways, as educator, lawyer, editor, soldier, statesman and philanthropist, he
has been active and prominent. Among the close friends of General Brinker-
hoff at that time, and for years afterward, were Salmon P. Chase, James
G. Blaine, General Garfield and General R. B. Hayes.
For several years after the war General Brinkerhoff was an active factor
in politics, and was prominent in conventions and upon the platform, in many
directions and in many states. In 1873 he retired from active politics and
accepted the position of cashier of the Mansfield Savings Bank, with which
he has been associated ever since, and for years past has been its president.
In 1878 General Brinkerhoff was appointed a member of the board of state
charities and has continued in that position under all administrations and
is now serving his eighth term.
As a philanthropist there are but few men, if any, more widely known.
He has visited and inspected, probably, more benevolent and correctional
institutions than any other man in the world, for he has traveled for that
purpose in every state in the Union except one, South Dakota ; also in the
Dominion of Canada, the republic of Mexico, and all the countries of western
Europe; and the record of his observations in these directions is a history of
all modern progress in dealing with the dependent, defective and criminal
classes. The great advance made in the last two decades in the care of the
insane by the abolition of mechanical restraints, and other improvements,
was inaugurated in Ohio, and no one, perhaps, has done more to educate
public opinion upon these subjects than General Brinkerhoff'. The establish-
ment of the Toledo Hospital upon the cottage system, which really marked
a new era in the treatment of the insane, was largely due to General Brinker-
hoff, who was a member of the commission to locate the asylum and select
plans for its construction, and his earnest advocacy for the segregate or
cottage system secured its adoption. For a time it was known as "Brinker-
hofT's Folly," but it is now recognized as the model asylum of the nation.
io8 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
The Ohio Archeologieal and Historical Society was organized in Octo-
ber, 1875, at General Brinkerhoff's home in Mansfield, and he was its first
president. After serving for several terms he declined a re-election, and was
succeeded by General R. B. Hayes, and upon the death of ex-President Hayes
General Brinkerhoff again became the president of the society, which position
he continues to hold.
General Brinkerhoff early took an interest in historical matters. He
came to Richland county to make it his home in 1850, and conceived the idea
of preserving the annals of its early history. He married the daughter of
one of its best known pioneers, and his associations brought him in contact
with the men and women of those days, and he felt that a record of their lives
should be preserved for the instruction of the generations that would follow
them. With this object in view he began to gather information in regard
to pioneer times. The results of his labors have been given to the public,
not only in newspaper articles but also in book form. Pioneer meetings
were held at irregular intervals and in November, 1898, the Richland County
Historical Society was organized, with General Brinkerhoff as the president
and A. J. Baughman, secretary.
General Brinkerhoff is a charter member of the Mansfield Lyceum, and
for the past thirty years has been one of its principal supporters. He was
also active in the establishment of the Mansfield Library and the Museum.
The Sherman-Heineman park is one of General Brinkerhoff's creations. He
conceived the idea of the park and worked indefatigably until the same became
a beautiful reality, extending for a mile and a half along the western border
of the city. He is one of the park commissioners and is the president of
the board. Future historians will proclaim the fact that General Brinkerhoff
was a benefactor of his day and generation.
Professor A. H. Currier, of Oberlin College, in the April number of
the Bibliotheca Sacra, 1901, reviews General Brinkerhoff's book. Recollec-
tions of a Lifetime, from which the following extracts are taken: "The
'Lifetime,' whose 'Recollections' are here garnered and dwelt upon, has cer-
tainly been filled with memorable, and marked by an extraordinary, public
service. On this account the writing of the book and all that is implied of
personal satisfaction in the record are justified. He would be a captious
critic who would accuse the author of unbecoming egotism. There is no
more egotism here than is needful to give an autobiographical sketch of this
kind an interesting personal flavor, like that given to conversation by a
person of wide experience, who takes us into his confidence and talks with
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 109
us freely of the notable people he has met, the important events he has wit-
nessed, the impressive scenes and places he has visited, and the enterprises
of public concern he has had a hand in promoting. This is in substance
what General Brinkerhoff does in his book. Among the prominent events
he witnessed and describes were the Pittsburg Convention of February 22,
1856, at which the Republican party, previously existing only in a few states,
became national in extent. He was present likewise at the national Republican
convention in Philadelphia, June 17, 1856, where Fremont was nominated
for the presidency. He was present in Washington at the inauguration of
Lincoln in i860. He was present four years later at Ford's theater when
Lincoln was assassinated, — heard Booth's pistol shot, saw the assassin
scramble over the front rail of the president's box and to the stage, run across
it and disappear, and felt the horror and dread that thrilled the audience as
the truth gradually dawned upon them of what had occurred."
"Few men have traveled so much with such open-eyed intelligence as he.
We have interesting accounts of cities and states, east and west, north and
south, and over the sea. He confesses that he has been a man of 'hobbies,'
— using the word 'hobby' as signifying 'a. favorite theme of thought and
study outside of regular business pursuits.' Into these avocations his mental
power and public spirit have overflowed or found congenial employment.
In them, moreover, he has manifested not simply a brief superficial interest,
like that of most men in such things, who take them up to gratify a transient
curiosity or passing whim, but an interest so deep and thoroughgoing that
he has achieved in each a notable success, which has made him through them
a great public benefactor."
"General Brinkerhoff has come to be widely known as one of the fore-
most authorities of our country and times upon the subject of charity organi-
zation, penology and prison reform. The fact that he was selected to write
the article on Prison Discipline, in the American Supplement to the ninth
edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, is proof of this."
While undoubtedly he is not without that honorable ambition which is
so powerful and useful as an incentive to activity in public affairs, he regards
the pursuits of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his
best efforts. His is a noble character — one that subordinates personal ambi-
tion to public good and seeks rather the benefit of others than the aggrandize-
ment of self. His is a conspicuously successful career. Endowed by nature
with high intellectual qualities, to which are added the discipline and embellish-
ments of culture, his is a most attractive personality.
no CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
HISTORY OF THE OHIO STATE REFORMATORY.
The Ohio State Reformatory had its origin in the teachings and con-
tinuous recommendations of the Board of State Charities, commencing with
its first report in 1867. After fully considering the conditions then existing
in the Ohio state penitentiary the board declared that "it has become apparent
that the capacity of the penitentiary is insufficient and that the state must
either enlarge it or build a new prison. There are several very strong rea-
sons why we should establish a new prison instead of enlarging the eld one."
The board then gave, very fully, its reasons for such conclusions, from which
the following are brief extracts :
"In reaching the best method of treating criminals for reform, the first
step in advance of our present system must be classification, made indispens-
ably necessary from this fact, — that among all criminals the inevitable
tendency is for the worse man to drag the better down to his level instead
of the worse rising to the plane of the better. Taking the men now in our
penitentiary, we could safely range them under one or the other of these two
classes, namely : Those who desire to be better men, and who would be
such under favorable circumstances; and men who have no such desire, but
are incorrigibly, willfully bad. But as it is not for man to look into the
heart of man, probably the best basis of classification as a beginning would
be age, antecedents, kind of crime and number of convictions, — scrupulously
keeping young men, and those susceptible of good influence, from those more
hardened in crime.''
"Such a system would require the establishment of one new prison
exclusively for young men. This would give us the foundation of a grand
system of model prisons, with the reform farm on one side of the new prison
for juvenile offenders, and the penitentiary on the other for all the more
hardened and incorrigible class."
This recommendation of the new prison "intermediate" between the
penitentiary and the reform farm was not acted upon by the general assembly.
The next year (1868) the board said "another year's experience of very
close relation with our convicts has only strengthened the conviction that the
plan proposed embodied the foundation of a most successful prison system,"
and additional reasons therefor were given. In 1869 the board again
renewed its recommendations for an intermediate prison and gave the results
of such systems in other countries, and especially of the Crofton system in
Ireland. In response to their repeated recommendations a bill was introduced
by Representative Lewis D. Campbell, of Butler county, to carry them into
effect, but no action was taken upon it. This bill met the hearty approval
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. m
of the board, and in its report for 1870 it urged its passage. Nothing came
of it, however, and in 1871 the board was abolished. In 1876, however,
through the recommendation and influence of Governor Hayes, the board
was reorganized, with the governor as ex-officio president, and in its first
report at again pressed the subject upon the attention of the general assembly;
but no action was taken. Again, in 1877, the reason for such an intermediate
prison or reformatory was fully presented. In 1878 Governor Bishop, in his
first annual message, called the attention of the legislature to the importance
of providing a reformatory, and the board in its annual report gave his
recommendations hearty endorsement.
On the 2 1 st of January, 1879, General R. BrinkerhofT, representing the
board, delivered an address before the general assembly in which, after
referring to the recommendations of the governor, he said : "We take it for
granfed that early action will be taken, and that the present session will not
be adjourned without providing for at least one additional prison. I say
one, for the time is not far distant when two additional prisons will be
needed, and this fact should be borne in mind, in view of the proper location
of the one first built. The best experience of the world condemns our present
system of aggregating all our convicts in one place. It prevents proper
classification and thereby inflicts great harm upon the work of reformation
which, after all, should be the great aim of all proper prison discipline. Two
moderately-sized prisons would cost but little more to build and manage than
one large one like that at Columbus, and the beneficial results would be more
than double. One such prison, accommodating five or six hundred, would
answer for a number of years to come, and should be located near the center
of the north or south half of the state, leaving the other location for occupancy
when another prison is required. Both of these prisons should be reforma-
tory, leaving that at Columbus for the more hardened criminals. The punish-
ment of criminals and the prevention of crime present more difficult problems
for solution than almost any other department for legislation, and they are
now occupying much of the very best thought of the world. The recent
International Prison Reform Congress at Stockholm is an indication of the
interest taken, and it is very evident that we are approaching very revolu-
tionary changes in our existing systems ; but in the line of prison manage-
ment the changes will be in the direction of reformatory classification and a
more intelligent supervision. In fact in all our public institutions, if we
keep pace with the times, we must have a more cultured management. We
cannot extemporize men for that position any more than we can extemporize
navigators for our navy or generals for the army. They should be trained
ii2 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
for their work. Prove their growth upward. To direct efficiently such an
institution as our Ohio penitentiary requires as much capacity and trained
experience as it does to command a ship of war; and, until we recognize this
fact to its fullest extent our public institutions will never be what they ought
to be and are capable of being."
Among the recommendations adopted by the late international congress,
and about which there was no difference of opinion, was this : "Resolved,
That we favor the professional education, in some form, of prison officers and
employes, and the payment of such salaries as will attract and retain com-
petent persons in prison service. Such education, we think, should be in the
prison itself, in the prison service. Those entering it should do so at merely
nominal wages, and their promotion to higher positions and better pay should
be in accordance with their capacity and fidelity."
No action was taken upon these recommendations, and the board in its
next annual report again pressed the subject upon the attention of the legis-
lature and presented very fully the methods in operation at the State Reforma-
tory at Elmira, New York. Nothing, however, was done, and the board in
various ways renewed its recommendations, year by year, until at last its per-
severance was rewarded by the enactment of a law entitled "An act to estab-
lish an intermediate penitentiary and to provide for the appointment of a
board of managers to locate, construct and manage the same." This act was
introduced into the senate by Hon. Elmer White, of Defiance, and was passed
April 14, 1884. (O. S., vol. 81, page 206.)
Section 1 of this act provided "that there be established an intermediate
penitentiary for the incarceration of such persons convicted and sentenced
under the law of Ohio as have not previously been sentenced to a state peni-
tentiary in this or any other country."
Section 2 provided "that, for the purpose of carrying into effect the pro-
visions of this act, there shall be and hereby is appropriated for the years
1884 and 1885 ten per centum of all the moneys received under an act passed
April 17, 1885, entitled 'An act further providing against the evils resulting
from the traffic in intoxicating liquors.' "
Section 3 authorized the governor to appoint, by and with the consent
of the senate, three persons to act as a board of managers, not more than
two of whom were to belong to the same political party.
Section 4 authorized the board of managers to locate and construct said in-
termediate penitentiary, and fixed their salaries at one thousand dollars a year.
The other five sections provided for the government and discipline of
the reformatory.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 113
In compliance with the provisions of this act the governor appointed, as
a board of managers, John M. Pngh, of Columbus; John Ouincy Smith, of
Clinton; and Frank M. Harriot, of Delaware. Various sites in different
portions of the state were proposed for the new institution, and the board
after spending several months in their visitation and consideration finally
selected that now occupied by the reformatory at Mansfield and comprising
one hundred and eighty-two acres of ground. The board then selected as
the architect Captain Levi T. Scofield, of Cleveland, Ohio, and proceeded
to the consideration of plans, and finally selected those which are now (1900)
approaching completion. The estimated cost of the entire structure, includ-
ing all of the different trades, was one million, three hundred and twenty-six
thousand, seven hundred and sixty-nine dollars and ninety-five cents ; and thus
far all contracts have been let inside these estimates.
The corner-stone of the intermediate penitentiary was laid with fitting
ceremonies on the 4th day of November, 1886. The newspaper reports of
this event are as follows : "Fully fifteen thousand strangers were in the city
that day, and over ten thousand were present at the ceremonies. After
prayer by Dr. Bronson, General Brinkerhoff in a short address introduced
Mayor Clugston, who delivered an address, after which Senator Sherman,
the president of the day, was presented and spoke briefly concerning prisons,
and then introduced John O. Smith, the president of the board of managers,
who gave a history of the work done. Governor Foraker and S. Sacker
Williams performed the ceremony of laying the corner-stone, according to
the ritual of Masonry. Governor Foraker then gave a brief address, in which
he said that Ohio had been slow in prison reforms, but that this would be a
new era and the 'intermediate' would be a credit not only to the state but
also to the United States and the civilized world. Ex-President Hayes fol-
lowed with a few remarks, in which he asked all who were in favor of keep-
ing politics out of the penitentiary to lift up their hands, and twenty thousand
hands were lifted up." Ex-Governor Hoadley was on the program for an
address, but was unavoidably absent ; but ten years later, in a long letter pub-
lished in the Columbus Dispatch of December 16, 1896, he gives the genesis
and purposes of the reformatory as follows :
"The Ohio Reformatory at Mansfield has been built since I left the
office of governor. It was started while I was governor. The principal
gentleman engaged in the enterprise was General Brinkerhoff, of Mansfield.
He is not responsible, more than many others, for its location, but he is
responsible that the state of Ohio started to build this institution. That its
completion still lingers a dozen years after the laying of the corner-stone is
ii4 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
due, primarily, to the fact that the law (known as the Scott law) upon which
its appropriations were based was declared unconstitutional, and thereby the
revenues of the state were so badly crippled that only small appropriations
could be secured from year to year, and therefore the completion lingered
and its very existence was often jeopardized. However, patience and perse-
verance again triumphed and at last, in 1896, the institution was ready to
accommodate a limited number of prisoners, and on the 15th of September of
that year it received from the Ohio Penitentiary one hundred and fifty sup-
posed first offenders, and the new era was inaugurated.
"In the meantime the name of the institution was changed to that of
the State Reformatory, and the laws governing it were made to conform
to those governing the New York State Reformatory at Elmira, and a
board of managers was created comprising six members, not more than three
of whom should belong to the same political party. (Vol. 88, page 382.)
On August 29, 1896, the prison proper was occupied, but everything was in
a crude and unfinished condition both inside and outside ; but, as stated by
the board of managers, with hard labor we managed to bring forth partial
order out of the confusion, so that on September 15, 1896, we received one
hundred and fifty prisoners from the Ohio penitentiary. Our first experience
was with a very tough, incorrigible and vicious element, the influence of
which we found to be very undesirable and hard to get rid of.
"On September 30th following we received the first prisoners sentenced
direct from the court to the reformatory. Up to the present time we have
received nine hundred and thirteen, of which number five hundred and ninety-
eight have been discharged by parole and otherwise. So far as we have
been able to learn, over eighty-five per cent, of those boys have become honest,
upright, law-abiding citizens. These young men have been employed prin-
cipally grading and farming. The grounds when we came were in a deplor-
able condition. We have up to this writing a number of industries, such
as carpentering, stone-masonry, tailoring and the manufacturing of gloves.
The occupation is of course varied. We are looking forward now to the
completion of the east cell wing and the construction of new shops, at which
time we hope to be able to adopt a much more thorough system of reforma-
tory work."
Mrs. SARAH A. SUTTER.
Mrs. Sarah A. Sutter, who resides on section 2, Sharon township, Rich-
land county, and whose postofifice is Shelby, is the widow of John Sutter,
who was born in Canton Basle, Switzerland, in 1818, and came to the United
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 115
States in 1840, landing in New York, after a voyage of six weeks on the
Atlantic ocean. Coming to this country with small means, he first began
working on a farm, which he continued for some time. Then taking up the
business of peddling clocks, he worked his way west to Ohio about 1843, an d
was one of the first to volunteer in the Mexican war. After serving in the
ranks fifteen months he returned to this portion of the state of Ohio, where
he had known the family of Adam Hockingsmith, whose daughter, Sarah,
he married. Adam Hockingsmith married Sarah Myers, she being of Penn-
sylvania and he of Maryland. They settled in Ohio in 1830, when Mrs.
Sutter was one year old, and when this entire section was one wild, wooded
wilderness, filled with deer, wild turkey and many other kinds of game.
Mr. Hockingsmith took up forty acres of land, which he cleared of its timber
and made for himself and family a good home. After getting his farm well
under way in the matter of improvements, he began working at his trade,
that of weaver, weaving linen and woolen cloths and renting his fields. He
and his wife were the parents of four children : Sarah, the subject of this
sketch ; Margaret, who died at the age of two years ; Henry Peter, who died
at the age of three years, and Ervilla, the wife of William Smith, who lives
in the same township with Mrs. Sutter. The father of these four children
died at the age of seventy-eight, and the mother about three years later, at
the age of seventy-seven. They both quietly repose in the Myers church-
yard, which was given for a burial place by Mrs. Sutter's maternal grandfather,
Myers.
Mrs. Sutter was married in 1847, on November 9, and settled with her
husband on his forty-acre farm, mentioned above, which he purchased with
such improvements as had been made upon it, which were but few and crude.
Two years later Mr. Sutter rented a one-hundred-and-sixty-acre farm, which
he purchased in 1876; but he died on his old farm in Plymouth township.
Mr. and Mrs. Sutter were the parents of seven children — four sons and three
daughters, — as follows: John A., who died at the age of two years; Sarah
Ann Amanda, the wife of Butler Albertson, who is living on the old home-
stead farm; George F., who is living in West Unity, Williams county, Ohio,
and has one daughter living ; Alice, who died at the age of four years ; Leona
E., who died at the age of three years; Henry F., a farmer, living some dis-
tance south of the old home farm; and William J., living on his sixty-acre
farm.
Butler Albertson was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and
is a son of William K. Albertson, whose biographical sketch appears following
n6 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
this. He married Sarah Valk, and they came to Ohio in 1856, locating in
Richland county. As stated in the brief sketch of William K. Albertson, he
and his wife reared four daughters and one son : Lewis Butler Albertson, who
married Sarah Sutter, January 4, 1872. After living on a rented farm some
time they removed, in 1876, to their present farm, containing sixty acres,
cf which Mrs. Albertson inherited forty acres, to which Mr. Albertson added
twenty more acres. To the marriage of Lewis Butler Albertson and his wife
has been born one son, — John William Albertson, — a musician and salesman
of musical instruments, who received his education first at the home dis-
trict school and later at a business college in Toledo. He is an accomplished
business man in his line, which he has followed for the past six years, and
intends soon to locate in Shelby, where he will establish himself in business
on his own account. Mrs. Sutter is a woman of many fine qualities and is
highly esteemed by all.
WILLIAM K. ALBERTSON.
William K. Albertson, deceased, formerly of Shelby, Ohio, was born
in New York, a son of Cornelius and Margaret (Shiltz) Albertson, who
removed to Columbia county, Pennsylvania, in the early part of the nineteenth
century. The date of his birth was March 13, 1823, and on October 12,
1844, the autumn of the election of James K. Polk to the presidency, he was
married to Sarah Valk, a daughter of Peter and Mary (Parkes) Valk, the
former of whom was a native of Holland and the latter of New Jersey. She
was a member of a family consisting of seven daughters and two sons.
Mr. and Mrs. Albertson were the parents of one son and four daugh-
ters, as follows : Manervia Ann, the wife of Amos P. McBride, and who
died in 1884, at the age of thirty-two years; Mary Matilda, who died in 1882,
aged twenty-four years; two daughters that died in infancy; and Lewis
Butler, who was born in 1848, and has always followed farming for a living.
He married Miss Sarah Sutter, a daughter of John Sutter, of Shelby, and to
this marriage there has been one son, William, in 1871.
William K. Albertson, the subject of this sketch, four years after his
marriage removed to Richland county, Ohio, driving through from his former
home in Pennsylvania with a team of his own. For several years after
reaching this county he followed farming, then buying a home in Shelby,
where he lived the remainder of his years, making his livelihood as a mill-
wright and carpenter. He was a most excellent citizen, was a stanch Demo-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 117
crat in politics, and attended the United Brethren church. His death occurred
on August 25, 1889, when he was sixty-six years of age, and was keenly
felt by all his friends as well as by his family and other relatives. He is well
remembered for his many fine qualities, being an upright, honorable and
highly esteemed member of the community in which he lived.
GEORGE W. CHARLES.
This honored and highly respected citizen of Mansfield has devoted much
of his life to public service, and is now a member of the board of county
commissioners of Richland county. A native of Ohio, he was born in Lake
county, December 17, 1826, and on the paternal side is of Irish descent, his
grandfather, John Charles, having emigrated to this country from Ireland
when about forty years of age. He first located in New York state, on Lake
Cayuga, where he married, and about 1836 moved from that place to Rich-
land county, Ohio, settling in Washington township, where he spent the
remainder of his life, dying at about the age of one hundred years.
John Charles, Jr., the father of our subject, was born in New York, in
1799, and was married near Bedford, Ohio, to Harriet Comstock, a native of
Connecticut and a daughter of George Comstock, who brought his family to
this state when Mrs. Charles was only four years old. Mr. and Mrs.
Charles lived in Lake county, Ohio, until our subject was three years of age
and then moved to Cuyahoga county. On the 28th of March, 1841, they
came to Richland county, and the father secured eighty acres of land in Wash-
ington township, upon which he made his home until called to his final rest
at the age of eighty-one years. He taught school near Bedford, Ohio, in
his younger days, and served as township trustee one term.
George W. Charles attended the common schools near his boyhood
home and at the age of eighteen started out in life for himself as a farm
hand. In the winter of 1840-41 he came to Richland county, and after work-
ing for others for some time was finally able to purchase a farm of one hun-
dred and twenty acres in Washington township, where he employed himself
for many years, but since 1896 has made His home in Mansfield.
At the age of twenty-one years Mr. Charles married Miss Hester Young,
a daughter of George Young, of Madison township, this county. Both her
parents died before her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Charles were born four
children, two sons and two daughters, namely : John Warner, a farmer of
n8 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Washington township, who married Lavina Robinson, a daughter of Thomas
Robinson, of Jefferson township, this county; William Sweeney, a farmer
of Washington township, who married May Frederick, a daughter of Chris-
topher Frederick, of Jefferson township; Harriet Elizabeth, the wife of H.
C. Collins, of Mansfield; and Samantha L., the wife of George Snavely, of
Washington township. The wife and mother, who was a consistent and faith-
ful member of the Christian church from the age of fourteen, died at the age
of sixty-four years.
Mr. Charles also is an active member of the Christian church, to which
his parents belonged. He now makes his home with his daughter, Mrs.
Collins, in Mansfield, and devotes all of his time to public affairs. By his
ballot he supports the men and measures of the Democratic party, and since
attaining his majority has held some office continuously. He was a member
of the school board in Washington township for sixteen years and the presi-
dent of the same most of the time ; for four years he was the treasurer of the
township; was a trustee of the township from 1888 to 1896; was the super-
visor a great many terms; in 1896 was elected a county commissioner, and
was re-elected to the same office in 1899 for another three-years term.
He has now been a resident of Richland county for almost sixty years,
and is a public-spirited and progressive citizen, who has given his support to
all measures for the public good. Over his life record there falls no shadow
of wrong; his public service has been most exemplary, and his private life
has been marked by the strictest fidelity to duty.
NEWTON HERSH.
A student of the history of Richland county cannot carry his investiga-
tions far before he will learn that the Hersh family has, through many decades,
been connected with the agricultural interests of this section of the state.
Newton Hersh is a prominent representative of one of the pioneer families
of Monroe township. His grandfather, Abraham Hersh, was a native of
Pennsylvania, belonging to one of the old Dutch families, and in the '20s he
came to Ohio, locating in Monroe township, where he purchased a quarter sec-
tion of land. The tract was covered with a heavy growth of- wild forest
trees. There he built a log cabin and began the work of clearing the land
and developing the farm, continuing its further cultivation until his death.
Joel Hersh, the father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania in 1806,
and was a young man when his family came to Richland county. Here he
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 119
began work as a farm hand for John Tucker, and after two or three years
he married and Mr. Tucker built a log cabin for him and his bride. Through
the succeeding two years they lived in that cabin home and Mr. Hersh con-
tinued to cultivate Mr. Tucker's farm. He then leased the farm now owned
by Marion Schrack. This proved a profitable business venture, and after four
or five years, with the capital he had acquired through his energy and capable
management, he was enabled to purchase one hundred and sixty acres of land,
the place upon which his son Newton now lives. This was a tract of wild
timber land for which he paid four hundred dollars. Not a furrow had been
turned or an improvement made, but he built a log cabin and soon acre after
acre was cleared and placed under cultivation. Throughout his business
career he continued to work that farm. When the Civil war broke out he
permitted two of his sons, Joel and Albert, to go to the front, as members
of the Sixth Ohio Battery. The troops were almost continually engaged in
skirmishing for one hundred days near Marietta, Georgia, and in an encounter
with the enemy Albert Hersh lost his life, from the explosion of a shell.
While on a visit to Georgia to see his sons, Joel Hersh, the father, contracted
a fever which terminated his life soon after he returned home. He gave
his political support first to the Whig party, and afterward to the Republican
party. He was a strong Abolitionist, and when the Republican party opposed
the further extension of slavery he espoused its cause and became one of its
stalwart advocates. He possessed an observing eye and retentive memory,
and from reading and observation he became a well informed man. He was
a leading member of the Odd Fellows lodge in his place, and in his life exem-
plified the beneficent principles of that fraternity. He died in 1862, at the
age of fifty-six years. His wife bore the maiden name of Catherine Berry,
and by her marriage became the mother of twelve children, of whom seven
are yet living, namely : Newton ; Sarah, the widow of George Alexander,
of Kansas ; Joel and George W., who are residents of Dickinson county, Kan-
sas ; Isabelle, the wife of James Chew, of Dickinson county, Kansas; Monroe
B., who is living in Great Bend, Missouri; and Norman, a carpenter of
Mansfield, Ohio.
Newton Hersh, the eldest of his family, devoted his boyhood days to
the work on the home farm, to the acquirement of a common-school educa-
tion and the enjoyment of pleasures such as claim the. attention of farmer
lads. After he had arrived at the age of maturity he chose as a companion
and helpmate on life's journey Miss Lydia Chew, a native of Richland county
and a daughter of Samuel Chew. The wedding was celebrated in 1858, and
120 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
unto them have been born three children, of whom two are now living, namely :
Lorenna C, the wife of Franklin Andrews, a farmer of Kansas; and Joel G.,
an attorney at Lima, Ohio. The mother died about 1867, and Mr. Hersh
afterward married Miss Hannah Huston, a native of Richland county and a
daughter of John Huston. By the second marriage there were two children :
Willis B., at his parental home; and Mary L., the wife of Lavern Mitchell,
a resident farmer of Monroe township. Airs. Hersh passed away about 1876,
and our subject subsequently wedded Airs. Mary J. Smith, the widow of David
Smith and a daughter of Samuel Henry, who was a native of Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, and one of the highly esteemed residents of Richland
county. By her former marriage Mrs. Hersh became the mother of three
children: Emanuel, who is now in the oil fields of Wood county, Ohio;
Erne, the wife of Marcellus R. Taylor; and Lawrence, a farmer of Spring-
field township, Richland county. By the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hersh
they have one child, Emma E.
After his first marriage Mr. Hersh located on the old homestead, and
after his father's death purchased the property. He has one hundred and
forty acres of rich land and is engaged in general farming, his being one
of the attractive and desirable farms of the community. An unswerving
allegiance he gives to the Republican party. He was at one time a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, holding a dimit from Monroe
township. His business methods are progressive and his labors are guided
by careful management. He deserves the success which has come to him,
for in all his dealings he is honorable. His friends throughout the community
are many, and the record of his life cannot fail to prove of interest to many
of our readers.
GENERAL WILLIAM McLAUGHLIX.
William McLaughlin was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, Feb-
ruary 3, 1802, and his boyhood years were passed on the farm of six hundred
acres upon which his father had settled in 1 792. He attended country schools
until he was seventeen years of age, when he went to Beaver Court House to
read law under the \direction of General Robert Moore, then a member of con-
gress. After his admission to the bar he came to Canton, Ohio,-and entered
upon the practice of his profession. In 1828 he came to Mansfield, where he
resided until his death, July 19, 1862.
General McLaughlin's father, Neal McLaughlin, was a native of Ireland,
who after coming to America was a farmer ten miles from Beaver, Penn-
ffo^^c^gt^*
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 121
sylvania, and his mother, whose maiden name was Isabella Carr, was born
at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, September 17, 1840. General McLaughlin mar-
ried Mrs. Irwin, whose maiden name was Harriet Cairns. She had one child
— Mary Jane — by her first marriage, who became the wife of John E. Ritter.
Mrs. McLaughlin was the daughter of Joseph Cairns, who was a captain in
the war of 1812 and settled in Mansfield soon after Hull's surrender. The
Cairns family is of Irish descent.
Mrs. McLaughlin was born July 31, 1816, in Mansfield, on the north-
west corner of Main and Third streets, where her father had a store. The
family later removed to the northeast corner of the same streets, where Mrs.
McLaughlin was married. General McLaughlin had built a home on the
west side of Main street, about midway between Fourth and Fifth streets,
where he took his bride, .which was ever afterward their home and where
Mrs. McLaughlin lived as wife and widow for fifty-six years, until her
death, April 14, 1896. She was a life-long member of the Presbyterian
church. The home is now owned by the youngest daughter, Miss. Jennie.
General and Mrs. McLaughlin were the parents of four children, three daugh-
ters and one son, namely : Harriet Lucretia, who married George W. Smith,
and resides at Avalon, Pennsylvania; they have one child, Edna by name;
Isabella, who married Alphonse Mennel and resides in Toledo ; they have
two children, — Louis Alphonse and Mark Neal; Virginia, known among her
friends as Jennie, who resides at the old homestead; and William H., of Pitts-
burg, who married Lollie Christian and has two children, — William] and
Marie. Mary Jane Irwin-Ritter was the mother of four children, — three
daughters and one son, — Harriet, Lena, John and Katherine.
The McLaughlin family are Presbyterians in their religious faith. Miss
Virginia, the only representative of the family now in Mansfield, is active in
her church work. She is a prominent member of the Woman's Relief Corps
auxiliary to McLaughlin Post, No. 131, G. A. R., which is honored with the
name of her father. She has served a number of terms as the president of
the corps, and has been a delegate to its state conventions upon several
occasions.
General McLaughlin was a successful lawyer and was also a lawmaker,
having served in the senate of Ohio from 1835 to 1841. — through six general
assemblies. He was the speaker of the senate from 1839 to 1841, as the
presiding officer of that body was called under the old constitution. When
the United States declared war against Mexico General McLaughlin raised
a company of volunteers, of which he became the captain. They left Mans-
field June 9, 1846, for Mexico. This company was put into the Third Regi-
122 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ment, under Colonel Samuel R. Curtis, and took part in the principal battles
of that war. After peace had been declared General McLaughlin left the
vocation of war and returned to the occupations of peace, resuming the pur-
suits of his profession.
At the commencement of the Civil war, when President Lincoln, on
April 14, 1861, issued his proclamation for seventy-five thousand troops to
serve three months, General McLaughlin was the first man in Richland county
to respond to the call and raised the first company and was its captain. He
was a model soldier, tall, erect and manly in his bearing, and patriotic to the
heart's core. This company became Company I, First Ohio Volunteer Infan-
try, and participated in the first battle of Bull Run. A number of men who
were privates in that company later obtained position and distinction in the
war. In October, 1861, General McLaughlin was commissioned to raise a
battalion of cavalry for the Sherman brigade, of which he became the major,
and was afterward brevetted general for brave and gallant service. Although
the McLaughlin squadron was raised as a part of the Sherman brigade, it
was afterward detached from that command. This squadron was through
some of the hardest campaigns of the war.
Owing to the hardships and exposure of the service. General McLaughlin
became ill and was placed upon a hospital boat on the Big Sandy river in
Kentucky, where he died on Saturday, July 19, 1862, at 9 a. m. The remains
were brought to Mansfield and buried with the honors of war. The funeral
took place from the family residence on North Main street, and was one of
the largest ever held in the city.
During his service in the field General McLaughlin sent home to his wife
the request that the flag of his country should be raised and kept floating
over his home during his absence. In compliance with that request Mrs.
McLaughlin and some of her lady friends made a flag, and a pole was raised
on their lawn, from which the stars and stripes floated to the breeze and
streamers of red, white and blue were extended from the windows of the sec-
ond story of the residence to the pole, as beautiful in their artistic arrange-
ment as they were expressive of patriotism. The occasion was an inspiring
one and hundreds of people gathered to witness the ceremony. Colonel B.
Burns was one of the speakers, and paid a handsome tribute to the husband
and father of that home. At General McLaughlin's funeral this flag was
draped around his coffin and buried with him. but the pole stood for many
years as a memorial of the past.
As a citizen General McLaughlin stood second to none in the community.
He was universally respected and beloved. He was possessed of unbounded
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 123
charity and kindness. He was bold, fearless and resolute in his advocacy
of what he thought was right. He was a thorough patriot, who called the
whole country his home and gave his life that the nation might live.
ALEXANDER McBRIDE.
Since an early epoch in the development of Richland county Alexander
McBride has been numbered among its citizens. He was born in Monroe
township, October 8, 1820, and is one of eight children whose parents were
Alexander and Susanna (Pettit) McBride. Only three of the children are
now living, however. The parents are mentioned at length in connection
with the sketch of Calvin McBride on another page of this work.
To know the early life of our subject we have but to picture the condi-
tions common in Richland county six or seven decades ago. Much of the
land was wild, awaiting the awakening energy of civilization to transform
it into richly cultivated fields. Schools were primitive and the curriculum
limited; the now thriving towns and cities were merely hamlets or had not
been founded, and the settlers were deprived of many of the comforts and
conveniences of the older east; but they were people of resolute spirit and
with determined purpose well fitted to the work of making homes in the
wilderness. Alexander McBride bore his part in the task of clearing and
developing the wild land. Through the winter months he pursued his studies
in the little log school house, where he mastered the common branches of
English learning.
On attaining his majority he began work as a farm hand, but con-
tinued to make his home under the parental roof until August 8, 1847,
when he married Miss Hulda A. Keeler, a native of Richland county and a
daughter of Stephen Keeler, one of the honored pioneer farmers of the lo-
cality. By this marriage one child was born, Stephen, who is now a farmer
in La Grange county, Indiana. Mr. McBride and his young wife removed
to Crawford county, Ohio, where he and his brother John owned a farm of
one hundred acres, but soon death came to the little home, for after two years
Mrs. McBride was called to her final rest. Her husband then returned to
Richland county, and in connection with a partner operated a threshing
machine, also working on various farms until his second marriage, which oc-
curred on the 16th of September, 1855, Miss Catherine Plank becoming
his wife. She is a native of Richland county and a daughter of John Plank,
the founder and hotel proprietor of Planktown and one of the leading citi-
i2 4 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
zens of this section of the Buckeye state. In the meantime Mr. McBride's
father made his will and at the wish of the father Alexander McBride pur-
chased from the other heirs their interest in one-half of the farm and upon
the land built his residence. Here he has since resided, devoting his en-
ergies to agricultural pursuits until recent years. He is now living retired,
enjoying a well-earned rest. By the second marriage have been born two
children, but only one is now living, Anna, the wife of William Page, of
Cleveland.
Air. McBride is a member of the Lutheran church, with which he has
been identified for more than half a century. For many years he has served
as one of its officers and is now filling the position of elder. He is a man
of sterling worth, of high moral character, and through his four-score years
he has ever commanded the confidence and esteem of his fellow men. In
the evening of life he can look back over the past without regret and forward
to the future without fear.
MAHLON DICKERSON.
The name of Dickerson has long been prominently and honorably asso-
ciated with the history of Shelby. Mr. Dickerson, whose name appears
above, was for many years an esteemed representative of this locality. He
was born in 1816, in Sullivan county, New York, and was the son of Peter
Dickerson. At the age of twenty he left home and by way of the Erie canal
proceeded to Buffalo, thence to Cleveland by boat and from Cleveland con-
tinued on his way to Richland county, which he found to be an almost
unbroken wilderness. He immediately began work at the carpenter's trade
and followed that pursuit in many sections of the state. When in Newark
he- formed the acquaintance of Miss Mary Calhoon Langiey, a daughter of
Joseph and Margaret Langiey, both of whom were natives of the Shenan-
doah valley in Virginia, and came to Ohio in 181 2, being numbered among
the pioneer farmers there.
After their marriage Mr. and Airs. Dickerson came to Shelby, where the
subject of this review continued working at his trade until 1844. when he
established the first sash, door and blind factory in this part of the state.
He made his own frames and in fact did all of the work. He used a
planing machine cutting ten inches in width, and horse power was utilized
in the operation of the factory, the same being secured from Bolinger &
Keller, of Sulphur Springs, Crawford county, Ohio. His shop was located
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 125
on the rear of lot 93, East Main street, and there he employed several work-
men. The factory was operated by horse power for four years, when he
purchased the William Ling Foundry building, which was supplied with
steam power, and there he continued the business. He secured the most
modern machinery and equipments for turning out a high grade of work,
and employed from ten to fifteen men. His plant was located where the
Easy Spring Hinge manufacturing plant now stands, and Mr. Dickerson
continued there in business until 1859, when he sold out. He then built a
new factory at the corner of Gamble street and Whitney avenue on the
west side of town, and conducted the enterprise until 1873.
Walter L. Dickerson, his son, was born in 1849, an d during his boy-
hood assisted in his father's factory. He acquired his education in the Shelby
high school and remained at home until his marriage. At the age of twen-
ty-three he wedded Miss Lotta M. Hoffstadt, of Shelby, and two children
were born to them: Cora E., who was born February 12, 1873. anc ^
received a musical education in Cleveland, Ohio ; and Roy, who was born
January 30, 1876. and was also a student in the Cleveland Music Conserva-
tory. He was specially proficient as a violin player and was admitted to the
Cleveland Musical Union at the age of fifteen, being its youngest member.
He is now with the Chicago Marine Band, of Chicago. He has played in
all of the principal cities and leading resorts throughout the east, and his
musical proficiency won him rank among some of the ablest representatives
of the art.
In 1896 Walter L. Dickerson became the manager of the Shelby Xews
Company, and has since been associated with the journalistic interests of
the city as one of the proprietors of that paper. He has always been inter-
ested in politics and is in full sympathy with the Chicago platform of 1896.
Socially he is connected with the Masonic lodge, the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees. His pronounced musical
talent has rendered him a leading factor in musical circles of the city and
made him a valued member of many social gatherings. He served as a leader
of the choir and organist of the First Presbyterian church for twenty-five
years.
Mahlon E. Dickerson, the brother and partner of Walter L. Dickerson.
was born May 14, 1858, his parents being Mahlon and Mary (Langley)
Dickerson. He pursued his education in the public schools of Shelby and
at the age of eighteen years entered the printing office of Hon. S. S. Bloom,
who was the founder and publisher of the paper known as the Shelby Inde-
126 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
pendent News, the first issue occurring in 1868. Previous to that time Mr.
Dickerson had acted as mail carrier in Shelby for two or three years. On
the 14th of April, 1882. he established a journal known as the Shelby Free
Press, which he published until December 24, 1882, his office being in the
old Bowman block. His entire plant was destroyed by fire, but he immedi-
ately settled with the insurance company and went to Cleveland, where he
secured a supply of type and other necessary material, and on the regular
publication day the paper appeared as though nothing had happened. The
business continued to grow and in March, 1893, Mr. Dickerson moved his
office to Crestline, Ohio, where he published the Vidette, which had for-
merly been carried on by I. N. Richardson, then deceased. There Mr. Dick-
erson continued until October, 1897, when he sold his paper at Crestline
and purchased an interest in the Shelby News, owned by ten prominent Dem-
ocrats in the town. He has since been doing a thriving business as a part
owner of that paper, being associated in the enterprise with his brother.
When they began business they had only one job press, but now have five
in operation.
Mahlon Dickerson was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie Slaybaugh, a
daughter of William and Sarah Slaybaugh, of Shelby, who were early set-
tlers here. Our subject is socially identified with the Knights of the Mac-
cabees, and in politics is a Democrat.
BARNARD WOLFF.
Barnard AYolff was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1827,
and died at Mansfield, Ohio, September 20, 1896. He was a son of David
and Catherine (Raessler) Wolff. David Wolff died at Mansfield, Ohio,
many years ago.
Barnard Wolff came to Mansfield when very young from Chambers-
burg, Pennsylvania, and soon became prominent here as an architect and
builder. He built the Baptist church, Fire Hall, the Union Depot, the Boston
store block, the Brunswick Hotel and many other large business blocks and
fine residences. He was an industrious, upright and progressive citizen and
an ardent Republican. He had no special liking for an official, career and
was to a considerable extent debarred from a public life by an unfortunate
deafness with which he was afflicted many years before his death.
Mr. Wolff was twice married. His first marriage was consummated
in 1849, m Pennsylvania, Jane McCleary becoming his wife. They came
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 127
to Mansfield in June, 1850, and the wife died October 9, 1875. There were
no children by the first marriage. In 1877, at Plymouth, Richland county,
Ohio, Mr. Wolff married Sarah McClinchey, a daughter of William and Mary
Ann (Rubins) McClinchey. Her mother was a daughter of William Rubins,
who was of English birth and was a pioneer of Plymouth. William
McClinchey's father was a son of a pioneer dry-goods merchant of Mans-
field, who died there about seventy years ago. He came from Scotland and
was of a very good family there. William McClinchey had a tannery at
Plymouth and was in business on a somewhat extensive scale until his retire-
ment. He is now living there, aged seventy-four years, and his wife is in
her seventieth year.
Air. Wolff built a fine brick residence at the intersection of Marion and
Twelfth avenues, in Mansfield, which is a pretty suburban home, over which
Mrs. Wolff presides, happy in the presence and well-being of her three sons,
who are industrious and helpful. William Burt Wolff, the eldest, is a well
known carpenter of Mansfield. He enlisted for the Cuban war in Company
M, of the Eighth Ohio Regiment, and participated in the battle of Santiago
and was a witness of the surrender of the Spanish forces. He contracted
fever, but was brought home convalescent. Fred Barnard and Daniel
Raessler Wolff, two bright and intelligent lads, are members of their mother's
household.
WILLIAM F. VOEGELE, Jr.
Among the young and promising attorneys of Mansfield we record the
name of William F. Voegele, Jr., who was born in Mansfield, Ohio, October
1, 1876, a son of William F. Voegele, whose biographical sketch precedes
this. He was graduated at the Mansfield public schools June 5, 1896, and
entered the law department of the Ohio State University, at Columbus.
September 20, 1897, was graduated there June 13, 1900, and was admitted
to practice law at the Ohio bar on June 20, 1900.
Mr. Voegele is a member of the Sigma Nu Greek letter fraternity of
the Ohio State University.
ALEXANDER MORROW.
Alexander Morrow, of Mansfield, Ohio, is a native of this place and is
well known here, where he has spent nearly all his life and where he was
for a number of years connected with the postoffice, as deputy.
128 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. Morrow was born in 1826. His grandfather Morrow was a Scotch-
man. Matthew Morrow, his father, was a native of York county, Penn-
sylvania, from which place he came to Mansfield, Ohio, in 1822. Here he
was employed as contractor and builder until 1833, when he moved to a
small farm about a mile and a half west of town. He carried on farming
the rest of his life, and died at his rural home in 1846, at the age of sixty
years. Politically he was a Whig, interested in public affairs and recog-
nized as an honorable, upright citizen. He served in the war of 1812, as
a member of a Pennsylvania company, under General Harrison, and was
at the Fort Meigs and Tippecanoe engagements. His grave is marked as
a veteran of that war. His wife, the mother of Alexander Morrow, was
before her marriage Miss Margaret Reed, and she, too, was a native of
York county, Pennsylvania. Her death occurred in 1873, when she was
seventy-eight years of age. Both she and her worthy husband were strict
members of the United Presbyterian church. The children born to them
were named as follows: William R., who resides on the old homestead;
Alexander; and Matthew, who died in 1865. All were in the Civil war,
members of the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Regiment. Matthew had
a son, Horace, who resides in Denver, Colorado.
Alexander Morrow was a small boy at the time his father moved
to the farm, and he was brought up as a farmer boy, receiving his edu-
cation in the township schools and at Mansfield. In 1861 he accepted a
position as deputy postmaster at Mansfield, under Postmaster George Kling.
and was thus occupied until the time of his enlistment for service in the
Civil war, August 13, 1862. Tie went to the front as a member of the
One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Infantry Volunteers, which he had
helped to organize and of which he was commissioned second lieutenant.
The fortunes of this command he shared, in the Department of the Gulf,
until February, 1863, when, on account of disability, he was honorably dis-
charged and returned home. In the autumn of that year he resumed work
in the postoffice. Still, however, he was interested in the war and his con-
stant thought was of military life. That winter he joined the Home
Guards, which organization, in 1864, was made by an act of the legisla-
ture National Guards. With this command he again entered the army, and
was in the one-hundred-day service, after which he again resumed his old
place in the postoffice, and filled the same until the expiration of Mr. Kling's
term. In 1873 he was again appointed deputy postmaster, this time under
Captain Douglas. He continued in the postoffice from 1873 until 1881,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 129
and since that date he has lived somewhat retired in his suburban home
just east of the park, which, being on an elevation, commands a pleasing
view of the city. His residence is surrounded with trees and a garden,
and is withal a most inviting place.
Mr. Morrow married Miss Margaret Scott, a daughter of William
Scott, who came from Washington county, Pennsylvania, about 1839, and
settled on a farm in Springfield township, where he resided until 1855, tne
time of his death. Mrs. Scott, nee Hughes, died in 1878. Mr. and Mrs.
Morrow have three children, viz. : Mary Alice, for nine years the money-
order clerk in the Mansfield postofrke, is now Mrs. Willis Lovelace and
lives in Dakota; Carrie Orelia, the wife of Ed. Wheary, of Mansfield; and
William Scott Morrow, of Dakota.
ROBERT HUGHES.
This worthy and honored resident of Weller township, whose home is
on section 24, is a native of Richland county, his birth having occurred in
Blooming Grove township, March 4, 1833. He is the only survivor in a fam-
ily of ten children whose parents were John and Elizabeth (Rogers) Hughes.
The father was born in 1793, in Pennsylvania, where he was reared and mar-
ried. The mother was born in Ireland in 1796, and when a child of seven
years came to America with her parents, who spent the remainder of their
lives as farming people in Beaver county, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs.
Hughes began their domestic life upon a farm in Beaver county, where seven
of their children were born, and in 1832 came to Richland county, Ohio, locat-
ing in Blooming Grove township, one mile north of Shenandoah, where he
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, but five years later he sold
that place, and removed to the farm on section 24, Weller township, where
our subject now resides. Here he made his home until the fall of i860, when
he sold the place to his son and took up his residence in Shelby, where he
died in August, 1862. The mother of our subject had died in 1852, and for
his second wife he married Mrs. Hester (Hunter) McCready, who survived
him some years. In early life both parents were active members of the
Presbyterian church, but after coming to this comity, there being no church
of that denomination here, they united with the Methodist Episcopal church.
Politically the father was first a Whig and later a Republican.
Robert Hughes attended the public schools of this county in early life,
and. his brothers having left their parental home, he remained to look
130 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
after the cultivation of the farm. In the fall of i860, on his father's removal
to Shelby, he purchased the place, and has since successfully engaged in its
operation.
On the 23d of April, 1861, Mr. Hughes was united in marriage with
Miss Jane Palmer, a native of Franklin township, this county. Her father,
Charles Palmer, was born in London, England, and came to America in
1 8 19, in company with a brother. They were left orphans during childhood
and on attaining their majority received a small fortune, which they brought
with them to this country. Coming to Richland county, Ohio, the brother
located in Weller township, while Mrs. Hughes' father settled on the farm in
Franklin township, now owned by Wesley Ferree, where he made his home
until 1856, when he removed to Washington township, three miles south
of Mansfield. He spent his declining years, however, with our subject and
his wife. He was a man of firm convictions, was an ardent abolitionist and
an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hughes four are living,
namely : Wilbert G., who is now serving as the postmaster of Epworth, is
engaged in general merchandising at that place, and is also interested in farm-
ing, threshing and the sawmill business; Carrie M., at home, is a talented
musician and artist, and many portraits and scenes from her hands now adorn
the home ; Fred C. is living on and operating the old home farm ; and Anna
E. is the wife of Edwin A. Clingan, who runs a farm and stone quarry in
Weller township.
Politically Mr. Hughes is identified with the Republican party, and fra-
ternally is a member of Weller Grange, No. 1070, P. of H. For half a
century both he and his wife have held membership in the Methodist Epis-
copal church, in which he has served as a trustee and steward for many
years. They stand high in the community where they have so long made
their home, and no citizens of Weller township are more honored or highly
respected.
WILLIAM F. VOEGELE.
Prominent among Mansfield's most progressive and successful business
men is numbered William F. Voegele, a member of the well-known firm of
Voegele Brothers, dealers in coal and building material, with office in the
Voegele block on North Alain street. His early home was on the other side
of the Atlantic, for he was born in Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Germany.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 131
December 2, 1850, and is a son of Henry J. and Louise (Hseffner) Voegele,
representatives of excellent German families. When he was four years old
he accompanied the family on their emigration to America and located in
Mansfield, Ohio, where the father, who had come to this country the year
previously, had prepared a home for them. Here he was engaged in mer-
cantile pursuits until 1867, when he was accidentally killed while out hunt-
ing. His career in America up to this time had been very prosperous,
and his tragic and untimely death was a severe blow to the family. His
wife died of pneumonia in the autumn of 1886. Both were devout mem-
bers of the Lutheran church and took great interest in properly rearing
and educating their children. Much of this task fell to the mother, as the
father died when the children were young. He was a genial, whole-souled
gentleman, who was universally esteemed among a very large circle of
acquaintances.
Of their family of ten children, the eldest, Henry, was a member of
the Indianapolis (Indiana) fire department when he died, in September,
1879, leaving a wife and four children, now residing near Crestline, Ohio,
where the widow owns a fine home and farm. Frederick C. is a well-to-do
stock dealer and extensive buyer and shipper of fine draft horses to eastern
markets. He is married and has two children. Gustavus is connected with
the Barnes Manufacturing Company of Mansfield, and is comfortably sit-
uated. He is married and has one daughter. William F., our subject, is
next in order of birth. Charles H., a prosperous citizen of Mansfield, is
a wholesale dealer and extensive manufacturer of confectionery, having-
large factories here and in Omaha, Nebraska. He is married, but has no
children. Albert C, an excellent business man who was universally esteemed,
died in Mansfield February 14, 1899. Louisa S. is the wife of George W.
Meister, the secretary of the board of trustees of the city water works.
Wilhelmina is the wife of George Ludwig, a farmer living near Mansfield.
Rose is the wife of William Tonby, who is in the employ of our subject.
Emma C. is the wife of William A. Remy, a hardware merchant of Mans-
field. The three youngest were born in Mansfield, the others in Germany.
On the death of his father William F. Voegele, though only sixteen
years of age, took charge of the extensive business so suddenly left with-
out a manager. His elder brothers were all employed, so the responsibility
devolved upon our subject, who at that time was just completing the high-
school course. He conducted the business until it was sold by the mother
in 1875. Later, in connection with his brother, Fred C, he embarked in
132 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
the retail coal business, on a very limited scale, but success attended their
efforts and the business was increased to meet the growing demands of
their trade. About 1880 their brother, Albert C, was admitted to the firm,
but our subject withdrew in 1884.
In the fall of 1883 Mr. Voegele was unanimously elected county recorder,
there being no nomination made by the Republican party in opposition to
him, and he assumed the duties of the office January 1, 1884. He was
re-elected in 1886, by a large majority, and served until January, 1890.
Prior to this he had served as the chief of the Mansfield fire department in
1 88 1, and was the first to recommend the establishment of a paid fire depart-
ment, which was adopted two years later and has been the policy since. Mr.
Voegele served two terms as assessor of what was then known as the old
second ward, which embraced a quarter of the city and was strongly Repub-
lican, and he was also a member of the board of equalization of the city.
He has been a life-long Democrat.
In 1890 Mr. Voegele purchased the interest of his brother, Fred C,
and returned to his former business as a dealer in coal, building material,
etc. This enterprise has grown to mammoth proportions and employment
is now given five teams and nine men. In 1897 the three brothers, Albert
C, William F. and Charles H. Voegele, erected the Voegele block, which is
a fine four-story brick structure with a basement, and is sixty by one hun-
dred feet in dimensions. It is a standing monument to the industry and
business ability of the family. The office of the coal firm is located in the
block, and the remainder of the building is occupied by the wholesale con-
fectionery business of Voegele & Dinning.
In Galion, Ohio, Mr. Voegele was married, in 1876, to Miss Mary
Ackerman, a native of Mansfield and a daughter of Adam and Rebecca Acker-
man, who were born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Voegele
have two sons: William F., now twenty-three years of age, is a graduate
of the Mansfield high school, and also the law department of the Ohio
State University, and is now a practicing attorney of Mansfield. For five
years he was a member of the Ohio National Guards, belonging to Com-
pany M, Eighth Regiment, and saw some active service during the labor
troubles in 1893 ; and he attended the World's Fair with his regiment. Frank
A. completed a thorough high-school and business education, and is now the
collector for the firm of Voegele Brothers.
Socially Mr. Voegele is an honored member of Mansfield Lodge, No. 19,
I O. O. F. ; Madison Lodge, No. 26, K. P., in which he has served as the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 133
secretary; and Pearl Lodge, No. 33, K. of H., of which he is a past dictator
and representative to the grand lodge of the state. He is a member of the
board of trustees of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church, and was the
chairman of the building committee which erected the fine house of worship
in 1898, dedicated in March, 1899. As a citizen he ever stands ready to
discharge any duty devolving upon him, and as a business man occupies an
enviable position in the esteem of his fellow citizens. His genial, pleas-
ant manner makes him popular, and he has a host of warm friends in the
city which has so long been his home.
JOHN WHARTON.
For many years this gentleman was prominently identified with the
business interests of Richland county, and he was numbered among the
foremost citizens of Olivesburg, where he died on the 9th of January,
1899, at the close of an honorable and well-spent life. He was born in
Pennsylvania in 1826, and was about three years old when brought to Ohio
by his parents, John and Nancy Wharton, who took up their residence upon
a farm in what is now Clear Creek township, Ashland county. There the
mother died about a year later, and the father subseguently married Miss
Ann McMillen, who survived him many years.
On the home farm our subject grew to manhood, acquiring his educa-
tion in the common schools of the neighborhood. On reaching his twen-
tieth year he began buying and selling stock, and in his career as a stock-
man crossed the Alleghany mountains eighty-four times, driving stock to
Buffalo, Jersey City and New York, his business taking him over a large
territory. In 1865 he was employed by C. W. Cantwell & Company to
go to Texas and buy cattle. After purchasing about five hundred head he
entered upon the arduous task of driving! the herd overland. He pro-
ceeded as far as Baxter Springs, Indian Territory, and the people on the
border of Kansas contested his right to crsss the state with Texas cattle,
claiming that the herd were infected with a certain disease, and their fear
that this might spread being the cause of their opposition to him. After
being detained for several months, however, he was allowed to pass on.
At various points in Missouri he encountered bands of men claiming author-
ity to collect damages for passing through the state, but his genius mas-
tered the situation at all times. He drove his cattle as far as Sedalia, Mis-
souri, and then shipped them by train to Galion, Ohio. The trip was
134 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
fraught with many clangers, but his pluck and determination enabled him to
overcome all difficulties, and in the spring of 1866 he delivered the cattle to
the company for whom they were purchased. He was a man of many
resources, and having prospered in his undertakings was able to live retired
for eight years prior to his death and to leave his widow in affluent cir-
cumstances.
In 1853 Mr. Wharton was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Wright,
a daughter of Jason and Tryphena (Washburn) Wright, natives of New
York, who came to this state about 1835 and settled in Lafayette, Rich-
land county, where the father spent the remainder of his life in retirement
from active labor. He had previously followed the occupation of farming.
In religious belief he was a Methodist, while his wife held membership in
the Presbyterian church. He died in 1856, in his seventy-eighth year, and
she passed away in 1868. at about the age of seventy-five. To this worthy
couple were born five children, three of whom are still living: Eunice, a
resident of Shiloh, Ohio ; Amelia, the widow of John Parcher and a resident
of Bryan, Ohio; and Mrs. Wharton. Three children were born to our sub-
ject and his wife: Amelia, the wife of H. A. Thomas, of Ashland, Ohio;
Emma and Cora. All are now deceased. In 1881 Mr. Wharton erected the
most modern and attractive residence of Olivesburg, and there he delighted
in surrounding his family with all of the comforts and luxuries of life
which he could procure.
Politically Mr. Wharton was an ardent Democrat, and religiously was
a devout and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church. It was
largely due to his influence that the house of worship belonging to that
denomination was built at Olivesburg, and he ever took an active and prom-
inent part in all church work. He was always courteous, kindly and
affable, and it is safe to say that no man in his community was held in
higher regard than John Wharton. His estimable wife still survives him,
and is beloved and respected by all who know her.
COLONEL W. L. SEWELL.
William L. Sewell, United States consul at Toronto, Canada, is a Rich-
land county boy and one of the leading lawyers at the Mansfield bar. He
is the son of a minister, and the boyhood of his life was spent in part in
Washington and later upon a farm in Springfield township. He married a
Miss Carter, and they have one child. — a son, — who is vice consul. From
a local paper we take the following extracts :
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 135
The best story-tellers of the Mansfield bar are the Hon. C. E. McBride,
the Hon. John C. Burns and Colonel W. L. Sewell. It is a diversion both
restful and refreshing for lawyers to throw off sometimes the cares and per-
plexities of their practice and take a good laugh. Colonel Sewell is a man
of both brain and brawn, with sufficient versatility to adapt himself to suit
all conditions and to master situations with a spontaneity that never failed
him. Whether at the bar or upon the hustings, he is forceful and enter-
taining. As a political speaker he has been in demand, not only in Ohio
but also in other states. As a lawyer he has had a large practice, and at
the bar he feared no adversary.
Coming through the park one day, John C. Burns met a stranger who
inquired, "Is there a riot over there?" pointing toward the court-house.
John replied that there was no riot in any part of the city and that such
disturbances do not occur in Mansfield. "Then it must be a ghost dance,"
suggested the stranger. But the councilman from the tenth ward replied
that such amusements are prohibited by city ordinances. "Then what is that
noise?" asked the man from abroad. "That noise! Oh, that's Colonel
Sewell's voice, and he is at the court-house taking a judgment by default,"
answered Burns.
Sewell's stories cannot be effectively reproduced in cold type. His
inimitable way of telling them, with his peculiar diaconate drawl, must be
seen and heard to be appreciated to the full.
DAVID BELL.
David Bell, an octogenarian who is now living retired in Springfield
township, Richland county, on section 24, was for long years connected
with the farming interests of that community. His life forms a connect-
ing link between the primitive past and the progressive present. He was
born in Washington county, Maryland, April 14, 181 5, a son of Jacob
Bell, who was born in the same locality March 26, 1773. The grandfather
was one of the early settlers of Maryland. He bore the name of Anthony
Bell and came to this country from Amsterdam, Holland. A well-to-do
farmer, he was the owner of two hundred acres of land in Maryland,
where he reared his family and made his home throughout his residence in
the new world. Jacob Bell was united in marriage to Barbara Emerick,
who was born in Maryland December 10, 1780. They were married in
1805 and spent the most of their lives on the old homestead in the state
of their nativity, but in 1841 came to Ohio.
136 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
The year previous their son, David Bell, had sought a home in the
Buckeye state, upon which he has resided for sixty years. He was mar-
ried, September 16, 1841, to Miss Catherine Balliete, of Northampton county,
Pennsylvania. She was born December 16, 1823, a daughter of Stephen
Balliete. The children born of this marriage were four sons and four daugh-
ters, but two of the sons died in infancy, while Marietta died at the age
of about three years. Those now living are : Fanny, the wife of Alexander
Scott, by whom she has two children; Samuel, a farmer of Wyandotte
county, Ohio, and has six children; Mrs. Catherine Ritchey, of Mansfield,
who is a widow and has seven children; John Franklin, a farmer of Madi-
son township, who has seven children; and Emma Ella, the wife of John
B. Downs, by whom she has five children.
The mother of the foregoing died December 31, 1891, and her death
was widely mourned by her family and friends. In ante-bellum days David
Bell was a supporter of the Democracy. He has never been an office-seeker,
preferring to devote his energies to his business affairs. The stately ever-
green trees in his front yard were planted by him and stand as monuments
to his enterprise. At his farm work he achieved success and acquired a
comfortable competence, which now enables him to live retired. He has
passed the eighty-fifth milestone of life's journey, and to him is accredited
the veneration and respect which should ever be given to one of advanced
years, whose career has been upright and whose life has been characterized
by fidelity and duty. Living throughout the greater part of the nineteenth
century, he has been a witness of the wonderful progress and improve-
ment of this land, and his mind travels back over the annals of the past
in review of the events which form the nation's history.
■,
WILLIAM S. CAPPELLER.
Hon. William S. Cappeller is a native of Pennsylvania, and through the
years of an active manhood he has been a prominent factor in journalistic
interests and in the political circles of the Buckeye state. His birth occurred
in Somerset county, of the Keystone state, in 1839, and his primary educa-
tion, acquired in the public schools, was supplemented by a course in the
Farmers' College near Cincinnati. Determining to devote his life to journal-
istic work, he came to Mansfield, and in March, 1885, established the Daily
News, the first daily paper published in this city. This was a venture whose
outcome was doubtful, yet to one who is acquainted with the personal char-
acter of the man it would not have been difficult to predict a successful career
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 137
for the new enterprise. Mr. Cappeller is a man of strong determination who
carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes, if it can
be accomplished through diligence and honorable effort. The home of the
Daily News was a modest one. His supplies were limited, but the excellent
character of the paper soon secured a good patronage and the facilities were
accordingly increased. Its circulation steadily grew and to-day the News
plant is a four-story building, especially erected for its use and equipped with
type-setting machines, fast Webb presses and other accessories necessary to
the conduct of a successful newspaper and of a large job printing trade. The
News is one of the leading Republican papers of the central portion of Ohio,
and is widely copied in other journals throughout the state. On account
of its large circulation it is an excellent advertising medium and at the same
time it is a most readable journal owing to the publishing of all matters of
local and general interest. To one at all acquainted with Mr. Cappeller's
history it is not necessary to say that it is Republican in character and that
it has been an active factor in promoting the work of the party in Ohio.
A close and earnest student of the political questions of the day, it would
be difficult to find one, who does not devote his entire time to politics, that is
better informed than Mr. Cappeller. With a just appreciation of the duties
and obligations of citizenship he gives careful thought and consideration to
the interests affecting the weal or woe of the nation. He has labored untir-
ingly in behalf of his party, and the organization recognizes the effectiveness"
of his work. In 1871 he was appointed by the common-pleas court of Cin-
cinnati to investigate the accounts of the county officials of Hamilton county
and on the completion of the work submitted a report which elicited the
hearty commendation of the public. In 1877 and again in 1880 he was
elected county auditor of Cincinnati, leading the ticket by over two thousand
votes at each election, a fact which indicates his personal popularity as well
as the confidence and trust reposed in him by the public. While holding
that office he became the author of the Tax Payers' Manual, a work on
taxation of individuals, banks and corporations which was highly endorsed by-
all the leading judges and lawyers of the state. It requires a generalship of
no less high order to manage a political campaign than is required for a
military commander on the field of battle. In fact a political leader has the
additional duty of harmonizing his forces ; he cannot command and expect
explicit obedience, but must treat his committees and workers for concerted
action through tact, courtesy and an unfaltering devotion to the cause. It
was these qualities that made Mr. Cappeller so successful a leader during the
years 1880, 1886, 1887 and 1888, in which he served as the chairman of the
9
1 38 CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Republican state committee. He was the commissioner of railroads and tele-
graphs of Ohio from 1887 to 1889 inclusive, and while in office he amicably
adjusted matters of difference between railroads and employes, alleged freight
discriminations and many other complicated questions referred to his depart-
ment for arbitration. He is a forceful writer, strong and logical in argu-
ment and his editorials have had marked influence on public opinion both on
questions political and otherwise.
For many years Mr. Cappeller has been prominent in fraternal circles
and in 1878 was honored with the office of grand master of Ohio in the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. For many years a distinguished mem-
ber of the journalistic profession, for several years the president of the Ohio
Editorial Association and in 1892 the president of the National Editorial
Association, honored and respected in every class of society, Mr. Cappeller has
long been a leader of thought and movement in the public affairs of the state.
He inspires personal friendships of unusual strength, and all who know him
have the highest admiration for his good qualities and excellencies of heart
and mind.
FREDERICK M. FITTING.
For many years Mr. Fitting was an active representative of the business
interests of Richland county. He became engaged in merchandising and
speculating, and not in a desultory fashion did he prosecute his business inter-
ests, but with energy and strong determination he carried forward the work
which he planned, and as a result of his well-directed labors won a hand-
some competence. He was born October 3, 1810, just across the line in
Knox county, Ohio, his parents being Casper and Fannie (Markley) Fitting,
the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. The father
farmer who met with verv creditable success in his undertakings. Of
was a
the Presbyterian church he was an active member and an earnest Christian
life was closed when he died, at the age of eighty-three years. He was
buried in Ankenytown. Knox county, and his wife passed away at the age
of seventy years.
Frederick M. Fitting was a boy of about seven or eight years when his
parents removed to Richland county, locating on a farm near Bellville, where
he was reared to manhood. He walked about two miles to a country school-
in order to acquire his education, and after putting aside his text-books
he began driving stage between Bellville. Sandusky and ^'ooster. For sev-
eral years he was thus engaged, after which he conducted a general mer-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 139
cantile store in Bellville for a number of years. He also built a flouring
mill near the town and successfully operated it for ten or twelve years, after
which he sold that property and purchased his father-in-law's farm, that
is now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Schuler. At one time he owned about
two hundred and fifty acres, a part of which has since been divided into
residence lots in Bellville. He laid out a street there and greatly improved
his addition to the city. In his later years he engaged in superintending
his farms and in speculating in stocks and grain, and his business inter-
ests, guided by keen discrimination, resulted in success financially.
In 1836 Mr. Fitting was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Markey,
daughter of John and Mary (Walsh) Markey, both of whom were natives
of Baltimore, Maryland, wdiere they were married. In 1826 they came to
Richland county, locating on a farm near Johnsonville, where they remained
for several years, after which they removed to Bellville, where Mr. Markey
engaged in merchandising. After selling his farm to his son-in-law he pur-
chased another farm in Worthington township. He died at the age of
fifty-eight years. He was an active member of the Methodist church and
his wife also held membership in that church and passed away in Bellville,
at the age of sixty-one. Their daughter, Mrs. Fitting, was only seven
years of age when brought to Richland county, where she spent her remain-
ing clays, passing away on the 28th of April, 1896, at the age of seventy-
seven years. She attended the Presbyterian church and was a lady of many
excellent qualities. She had but two children and one died at the age of
nine years.
The surviving daughter, Jennie E., was born in Bellville, was educated
in Mansfield and married Ferdinand Schuler. She now owns the old home-
stead of fifty-six acres within the city limits and sixty acres near the town.
She has five daughters: Florence, the wife of Edward Kelly, of Bellville;
Ida J., who is the widow of W. P. Jackson and resides with her mother;
Mary, the wife of W. B. Elston, of Peoria. Illinois; Katherine, the wife of
Dr. N. R. Eastman : and Nora, the wife of W. A. Goss, of Peoria. Mrs.
Schuler is a lady of culture and refinement, whose friends throughout the
community are many.
In his political views Mr. Fitting was a zealous Democrat who did all
in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party.
He was recognized as one of its leaders in the state, yet he never sought
or desired office, although several prominent positions were tendered him.
In business he enjoyed a high reputation as a reliable man of marked energy
and sound judgment, and the success which he achieved was the merited
1 4 o CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
reward of his own labors. He died August 18, 1884, at the age of seventy-
four years, and in his death the community lost one of its valued citizens, —
a man whom to know was to respect and honor.
HERMAN L. WILES, D. D.
A man of ripe scholarship and marked executive ability, whose life has
been consecrated to the cause of the Master and to the uplifting of men,
there is particular propriety in here directing attention to the life history of
the pastor of the Lutheran church of Mansfield. He has devoted himself
without ceasing to the interests of humanity and to the furtherance of all
good works. His reputation is not restricted and his power and influence
in his holy office have been exerted in a spirit of deepest human sympathy
and tender solicitude. There has not been denied him the full harvest nor the
aftermath whose garnering shall bring the sure reward in the words of
commendation, "Well done, good and faithful servant." His wide acquaint-
ance in the state and his prominence as an eminent divine of the Lutheran
ministry will make his history one of especial interest to the readers of this
volume.
Dr. Herman Lewis Wiles is a native of Frederick county, Maryland,
born July 15, 1840, his parents being John and Catherine (Long) Wiles.
The paternal grandfather, Thomas Wiles, was a native of Virginia, and prior
to the year 1780 located in Middletown Valley, Frederick county, Maryland.
He had eight children, namely : John, Thomas, George, William, Samuel,
James, Mrs. House and Mrs. Blessing. Of this family John Wiles, the
father of our subject, was married, in 181 7, to Catherine Long, whose
father was a captain in the state militia, and was called into service in the
war of 181 2; but when the troops had proceeded as far as Hagerstown on
the way to the scene of hostilities it was learned that the war had ended.
They had ten children, five sons and five daughters: John Thomas, the
eldest, was married, about 1840, to Elizabeth Smith. They had one daugh-
ter, Ellen, who married William DeGrange and resides near Jefferson,
Maryland. Mr. and Mrs. DeGrange have three sons and one daughter.
Tilghman B., the second member of the family of John and Catherine
Wiles, died in September, 1899. He was a very active member of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He was married, about 1848, to Susan
Baker, a native of Maryland, and until the death of his wife they resided near
Middletown, Maryland. Their children were as follows: Edward C who
resides in Mansfield. Alice became the wife of Cornelius Dye, of Chicago,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 141
Ohio. He was married the second time, on the 1st of January. 1S63. to
Emily Crone. Their living children are: Olive; Herman, who married
Mary Charles, now deceased, by whom he had a son, Roy : he afterward
wedded Mary A. Logan; Charles O., of Lucas, Ohio, who married Miss
Zoda Myers, and has two children: William Otto, who married Miss Doll
Baker, by whom he has one child and resides near Lucas; Effie, the wife
of Frank H. Fike, who resides near Butler, Ohio, and has two children; and
Walter, who is living at the old home near Lucas.
Llovd and one other son of the family died in infancy.
Of the daughters. Elizabeth M. became the wife of George Culler, and
resided near Lucas. She is survived by two of her children: Charles T.,
who is living near Lucas, and married Mary Darling and has two living
children, one being Orton Culler; and Mary A., who is married and resides
in Chicago. Illinois.
Mary J. became the wife of Joshua Rhoads and resided at Frederick,
Maryland. Her children are: Fannie, who is married and lives at
Union Bridge, Maryland, and has two children ; Charles, of Frederick, Mary-
land, who wedded Mary A. Haller and has four children; Shaffer, who is
married and has one child ; Delia, the wife of Mr. Strausner, who lives in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and has five children ; Molly, the wife of Mr.
Hanon, of Cuyahoga. Ohio.
Anna E. is the wife of J. P. Heiteshu. and they lived and died at Clyde,
Ohio. In their family were four daughters and two sons.
Amanda C. married Samuel Anderson and resides in Monroe township,
Richland county. They have five children : Carey married Daisy B. Parry,
and with their family they reside at Shelby, Richland county. Their chil-
dren are: Minnie, Alta and Vina. Alta, the next child of Mr. and Airs.
Anderson, is now the wife of Frank L. Inks. Lloyd, the youngest, resides
at home.
Lydia A. Wiles became the wife of James Valentine and resides in
Mansfield, Ohio. Their children are: William, a railroad engineer, who
wedded Alary Stout, and has three children; Kate, the wife of George
Parry, of Fort Wayne. Indiana, by whom she has one child ; Olive, the wife
of Sherman Harter, of Mansfield, by whom she has one child, Sherman, who
'married Cennie Pollock; and Myrtle, who is at home.
Herman L. Wiles, the youngest member of the family and the immediate
subject of this review, was reared upon a farm, and as soon as old enough
to handle a plow began to work in the fields. He was only four years of
age at the time of his father's death and he lived with a brother until he
142 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
was eighteen years of age, providing for his own support from his tenth
year. He attended the common schools during the winter season and sup-
plemented his knowledge by study at home. At the age of eighteen he
had thus become qualified for teaching. He entered upon his profession with
the intention of using the money thereby gained to fit himself for the prac-
tice of law. About that time, however, he was converted to the Lutheran
faith and united with the church, and feeling called to enter the ministry he
gave up his school and began preparation for the higher calling to which he
has devoted his life. He became a student in the Academy at Middletown,
Maryland, where he remained two years, and in the fall of 1859 he entered
the freshman class of Wittenberg College, in Ohio, in which institution he
was graduated four years later, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, win-
ning the second honors in his class. He immediately afterward began the
study of theology in the same institution, and on the completion of that
course was graduated in 1864. The degree of Master of Arts was con-
ferred upon him by the same college in 1866, and ten years later the hon-
orary degree of Doctor of Divinity was given him by his alma mater. Dr.
Wiles had the honor of taking one of the highest grades ever taken in that
institution.
After completing his theological course Dr. Wiles accepted the pastorate
of the Lutheran churches at Lucas, Mount Zion, St. John's and Mifflin,
officiating at all four churches from 1864 until the fall of 1871. His labors
were attended with splendid results, for during that period he added to the
membership of the four congregations a total of seven hundred and twenty-
eight. The work of the church was earnestly carried on in < all of its
departments and new houses of worship were erected for the congregations
at Mount Zion, St. John's and Mifflin. During that period, in 1864, the
Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Effie Routzahn, daughter of Dr.
Routzahn, of Springfield, Ohio. In 1871 he was called to the church at
Wooster. The congregation was in a disorganized condition, its member-
ship being divided and decreasing numerically. Under his able guidance the
working forces of the church were soon in harmonious and concentrated
action. A revival service was held soon after entering upon his labors and
seventy-five new members were taken into the church, and from that time
forth the growth of the church was steady and continuous, so that the house
of worship soon became too small for the increasing congregation, making
necessary the erection of a more commodious church edifice. With untiring
zeal and devotion to the cause, Dr. Wiles, in 1877, began the erection of the
beautiful church building that belongs to the English Lutheran society in
CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 143
Wooster, and the structure was completed in the spring of 1880. Several
years later a chapel was erected, the total cost of the building being forty-
five thousand dollars.
In the meantime the fame of Dr. Wiles as a minister, pastor and organ-
izer became widely known, and during his service in Wooster he was invited
to the pastorate of the First church of Cincinnati. First church of Omaha,
First church at Indianapolis, First church at Cleveland. St. Matthew's
Lutheran church in Brooklyn, and the Third Lutheran church of Baltimore.
He was also elected to the presidency of the Lutheran college at Carthage,
Illinois, and chosen as the secretary of the board of church extension to the
general synod. He declined to accept all of these, wishing to devote his
entire time and energy to the upbuilding of the Wooster church.
In 1884 he accepted a call to the English Lutheran church of Mansfield.
He had preached here two Sundays and was making preparations to remove
to this city when a committee of the Wooster church called upon him at
the parsonage and invited him and his wife to attend a meeting at the church,
the purpose of which was not explained to him. He felt somewhat bewil-
dered upon walking down the aisle to observe that that immense auditorium
was filled to its capacity, seating and standing room. The chairman of
the meeting, one of the elders, stated that the congregation had assembled
in response to a call sent out that afternoon and its purpose was to ascertain
whether there was any consideration that would induce him to remain. He
replied that there was none ; that he felt conscientiously called to a new field
and that he was going to Mansfield in answer to his own convictions. And
he came.
Dr. Wiles has been the pastor of the. English Lutheran church here
since 1884 and has added to it nineteen hundred members. The church has
to-day a total of about fourteen hundred members. Three months after
he came here he was elected to the presidency of Wittenberg Theological
Seminary, his alma mater, the highest position in the gift of the Lutheran
church; but he declined it to pursue his ministerial labors. While at Woos-
ter he was the president of the East Ohio synod two terms and since he
came to Mansfield he has been the president of the Wittenberg synod two
terms, and has, in his time, occupied almost every place in synodical labors.
For twenty-five years he was a trustee of Wittenberg College, and nine times
he has represented his synod in the general synod of the United States.
In 1890 Dr. Wiles began the erection of the new church building in
Mansfield, at the corner of Parke avenue and Mulberry street, it being
completed in the year 1894. It is the fifth house of worship built under his
144 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
supervision and is the direct result of his untiring labors. On the ist
of April, 1 90 1, he closed the thirty-seventh year of his service in the min-
istry, and seventeen years of that time have been passed in Mansfield, Ohio.
Unto the marriage of Dr. and Mrs. Wiles have been born two chil-
dren. — Otis and LaVergne. Both were born at Mount Zion, Richland
county, Ohio: Otis July 25, 1866, and LaVergne November 17, 1868. Otis
pursued his literary education in Wooster University and Wittenberg Col-
lege, at Springfield, Ohio. Subsequently he read medicine for one year in
the office of Dr. Craig & Son, of Mansfield, and then entered the medical
department of the Western Reserve College at Cleveland, where after three
years he was graduated in 1892. He was married, December 6, 1899, to
Miss Emma Krabill. LaVergne married Lenora Keen, of Mansfield, and
died at the age of twenty-four years.
Mrs. Wiles has ever been to her honored husband a faithful companion
and helpmate, sharing his Christian labors and supplementing his work by
her counsel and devotion. The Doctor is a man of high scholarly attain-
ments. As a speaker he is forceful and eloquent, and his every utterance
rings with sincerity and honest conviction. A master of rhetoric, he is
enabled to present his views in such a way as to entertain as well as instruct
his hearers, and his earnest and impassioned words reveal the deep fervor
with which he is imbued in presenting the divine truths, which are thus made
to appeal more strongly to those whom he addresses. His mind, carefully
disciplined, analytical and of broad ken, his deep perception and quick and
lively sympathy, make him a power in his field of labor.
HUNTINGTON BROWN.
Although not a native-born resident of Richland county, his more than
thirty years' abode within her borders pre-empts to him all the rights of her
original citizens, and he is as jealous of her prosperity and all her rights as
though he were a native son.
He was born in Trumbull county in 1849, the son of James Monroe and 1
Mary (Hicks) Brown, and the grandson of Hon. Ephraim Brown, the original
proprietor of Bloomfield township in that county and the coadjutor of those
early anti-slavery men of the Western Reserve of the type of Giddings and
his like, a member of the house of representatives of the general assembly
of Ohio in 1824. Mr. Huntington Brown's parents moved to the town of
Massillon in Stark county when he was a child, where his education was
....
I
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 145
begun in the common schools, and completed at Nazareth Hall, a Moravian
academy in Pennsylvania. His father died in 1S67 and a year or so after-
ward he came to Mansfield and engaged in mercantile affairs with the late
Hon. M. D. Harter. and Mr. Frank S. Lahm, a son of General Samuel Lahm,
of Canton.
Arriving at his majority, he celebrated the event by a tour of Europe
and the continent. Upon his return he entered the employ of the Aultman-
Taylor Company, a widely known and very extensive manufacturing establish-
ment, where by the most assiduous devotion to his duties and to the business
of the company he elevated himself to the superintendency in 1879. which
he occupied for ten years — resigning to assume the management of the
Hicks-Brown Company, operating one of the largest flouring mills in the
west, where his acute business qualifications fitted him for its vast concerns.
After some years devoted to their interests he retired permanently from
active business, his accumulations generously permitting him to withdraw
from further pursuits, although he still retains considerable interest in several
important enterprises, being a , director of the Mansfield Savings Bank and
the president of the Western Strawboard Company, which company has fac-
tories at St. Mary's, Ohio, and Gas City, Indiana.
In all his business life he commanded not only the respect and con-
fidence of the commercial public but also the love and esteem of those under
his employ. The business career of no young man of the county has been
more commendable. Marked by unapproachable integrity, unassailable
probity, prompted by a sense of responsibility and conscious rectitude, his
record in the business world is of approved excellence, from which he retires
with honor and the highest credit.
An ardent Freemason, his love for the craft incited him to obtain its
highest knowledge and reach its highest honors; so he attained to the grade
of sovereign grand inspector general, or thirty-third degree, in 1886; is a
life member of Ohio Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish rite, and a past
grand commander of Ohio Grand Commandery of Knights Templar, of 1892.
The Masonic bodies located in Mansfield had never a permanent abiding place,
but from time to time became renters and were the tenants of property-
owners, having their habitat in the lofts and upper stories of such structures
as they were fortunate to secure and at such rates of rental as landlords were
pleased to charge and surrounded by such comforts as chanced to accompany
the inconveniences.
Mr. Brown conceived the idea of a permanent home, to be owned by the
146 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
craft. A temple company was formed, of which he was chosen the president,
and in due time the Masonic Temple was erected and dedicated to Masonic
uses, a most complete and comfortable structure, where all Masons may find
a welcome and which is a lasting monument to his zeal for the brotherhood.
He still remains the president of the Temple Company and is its direct-
ing spirit.
When an act was passed by the general assembly to erect the Soldiers
and Sailors' Memorial Library Building, the court, recognizing his business
fitness, appointed him a member of the first board of trustees, which position
he has continually occupied, with great credit and eminent satisfaction.
His private character is unimpeachable. He is a man of heroic physique,
a distingue figure in any assemblage, and of gracious bearing. He is easy of
approach and his open-handed generosity and genial companionship have made
him a social and popular favorite with all classes. His friendships and
affectionate attachments are immovable, and with tender and modest benev-
olence he has endeared himself to the lowly and the unfortunate by his covert
charities. He hates hypocrisy, despises the spurious pretender and is quick
to discern the cheat. Firm of purpose, he is unrelenting in the espousal of
a cause he is convinced is just. Innate good judgment has clothed him with
a self-reliance which makes him a leader. He has never been ambitious of
political preferment and the charms of office have never tempted him ; but in
1899 the people of his adopted city called him to the control of its municipal
affairs, and although a stanch Republican he was elected by a large majority
in a Democratic stronghold. His fearless courage and consciousness of
right have made him a model mayor. Bringing to the performance of his
official duties a high appreciation of the importance of his trust, he has exe-
cuted the laws of state and city with a determination and excellency which
have marked him a strong man and gained for him the admiration of all
good citizens. In his court he administers the law with the utmost justice,
tempered always with that mercy which befits a humane magistrate. He is
now in the middle of his official term, and his careful and intelligent manage-
ment of the city government has added manifold to its revenues from police
control, and his untiring zeal in solving the sewage problem entitles him to
the highest commendation. No city in Ohio possesses a citizen at the head
of its government uniting more of the elements which go to make up a man
possessing the qualities of a gentleman everywhere than does Mansfield in
the person of Huntington Brown, and his life's record is filled with honor
and the gratitude of the people.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 147
DR. ARTHUR N. LINDSEY.
Dr. Arthur Xettleton Lindsey, one of the prominent young dentists of
Mansfield, was born at Lexington, Richland county, Ohio, September 30,
1870. The Nettletons, from whom he is descended on his mother's side of
the family, were from Kenilworth, England, settling first in Killing-worth,
Connecticut, and were later the first settlers of Newport, New Hampshire.
Mary Nettleton married William Lindsey, by whom she was the mother of
the subject, an only child. On his father's side of the family it may he
stated that Mrs. Mary Lindsey, after the death of her husband, William
Lindsey, removed to Lexington, Ohio, from Newville. Pennsylvania, in 1849,
and her only child, William Lindsey, was the father of the subject of this
sketch.
Dr. Arthur N. Lindsey receiyed a good common-school education in the
public schools and subsequently graduated at the Ohio Medical University at
Columbus, in 1895, m dentistry. For two years during his course of study
he carried along courses in medicine in connection with his studies in den-
tistry. After his graduation he located in Mansfield, entering into partner-
ship with Dr. E. R. Rumpler, and since then has built up a large and excellent
practice.
December 14, 1898, he married Miss Edna Lenox Friedrich, of Mans-
field, by whom he had one daughter, who lived but one month. The Doctor
is highly esteemed in Mansfield and vicinity, not only as a professional man
but also as a citizen and friend of humanity who lives for the good he can
do to his fellow man.
JOHN CRAWFORD.
Among the progressive men of Shiloh Mr. Crawford is numbered. He
belongs to that class of representative citizens who while promoting their
individual success also contribute to the general welfare, and his position in
business circles in his section of Richland county is an enviable one. Born in
Huron county, Ohio, on the 19th of September, 1848, he represents one of
the pioneer families of the state. His grandfather, John Crawford, came to
Richland county during the epoch of its early development and located on a
farm in Cass township, where he spent his remaining days.
His son, James Crawford, was a native of Westmoreland county, Penn-
sylvania, and upon the home farm in Richland county he was reared. He
148 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
first married Miss Lydia Guthrie, by whom he had two children, one of whom
is yet living, — William, of Adario, Richland county.
After his marriage Air. Crawford located near Planktown, where he
followed the carpenter's trade, which he had learned in early life. Subse-
quently he engaged in the operation of a sawmill. Some time later his wife
died and he afterward married Miss Ella Jane Turbet, who is still living,
making her home with her son John. In the early '40s James Crawford re-
moved with his family to Huron county, Ohio, locating in Ripley township,
where he conducted a sawmill and also worked at the carpenter's trade. In
1850, however, he returned to Planktown and purchased the old family home-
stead of one hundred and twenty acres a few miles south of the village, and
there he carried on agricultural pursuits until the time of his death, which
occurred in 1853. He was a representative of the Democracy and at one
time served as justice of the peace. A man of marked energy, the success
which he achieved resulted from his own efforts. Of his family of five chil-
dren, four are yet living, namely: Taylor, who is the postmaster of Shiloh;
John, of this review; Porter, who is connected with the Clipper Manufactur-
ing Company of Saginaw, Michigan; and Bell R., the wife of G. \Y. Harris,
a business man of Bucyrus, Ohio.
John Crawford lost his father when only five years of age. He acquired
his education in the common schools and in his eighteenth year assumed the
management of the home farm, which in the meantime had been rented. He
cultivated this land until 1872. when he came to Shiloh and in partnership
with his brother Taylor built the Shiloh Grist Mills, which they operated for
two years. Then they sold that property and thereby acquired the ownership
of a tract of timber land. Through the following four years they dealt in
lumber and also operated a sawmill. On the expiration of that period they
repurchased the gristmill and admitted their younger brother, Porter, to a
partnership in the business, the connection between them continuing for some
years, when Taylor Crawford withdrew. The other brothers, however, con-
tinued in the milling business until 1895, when John purchased the interest of
his brother Porter. In 1897 he admitted Air. Hall and Air. From to a partner-
ship, and in the autumn of that year Air. Crawford and Air. Hall purchased
the interest of Air. From. In 1899 the former became the sole proprietor and
since that time has carried on business alone. He conducts a sawmill in con-
nection with his gristmill and thoroughly understands both branches of the
business, so that this enterprise has proved a profitable source of income.
On the nth of September, 1878. was celebrated the marriage of Air.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 149
Crawford and Miss Anna Koerber, a native of Shiloh and a daughter of Jacob
Koerber. Four children grace this union : Jesse, who is now a stenographer
in Cleveland, Ohio; Florence, an instructor in instrumental music; Hazel and
Harry, who are at home. The mother died January 29, 1889, and Air. Craw-
ford was again married, in 1894, his second union being with Miss Lilly
McGaw, a native of Shiloh, Ohio, and a daughter of Albert C. McGaw.
Three children graced this union, but Grace Corene, their first born, is now
deceased. Two sons are J. Mack and Albert Chauncey.
Mr. Crawford is a member of Shiloh Council, No. 374, R. A., and is a
Republican in his political views. He belongs to the Lutheran church and for
(the past twenty-two years has served as its chorister. His success in business
has been uniform. As has been truly remarked, after all that may be done
'for man in the way of giving him early opportunities for obtaining the re-
quirements which are sought in the schools and in books, he must essentially
(formulate, determine and give shape to his own character, and this is what
Mr. Crawford has done. He has persevered in the pursuit of a persistent
purpose and gained a satisfactory reward.
BENJAMIN F. LONG.
As the chief executive of the city of Shelby, Benjamin Franklin Long-
occupies a position open to criticism, but the comments of his fellow towns-
men in regard to the manner in which he discharges his official duties is favor-
able and commendatory. Honored by election to the office of mayor, his
administration has been progressive and business-like and along practical lines
which contribute to the city's good. He is also well known as a member of the
leading law firm of Shelby, and his prominence at the bar and in office serves
to make his history one of more than mere local interest, for he has a wide
acquaintance throughout this part of the state.
Mr. Long is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Shiloh, Rich-
'land county, on the 16th of August, 1865, his .parents being William R. and
Mary (Hunter) Long, farming people of the county- His paternal grand-
parents, David and Emily (Rose) Long, came to Ohio in 181 5, taking up
[their abode in Shiloh. The parents of our subject had but two children, his
■sister being Florence, who is now the wife of C. W. Marriott, of Mansfield.
In the common schools Mr. Long acquired his elementary education,
later entered the high school of Shiloh and subsequently matriculated in the
Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio, where he was graduated. He after-
150 CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ward engaged in teaching in the country schools for five winter terms, and
then took up the study of law, being admitted to the bar in 1890. At Shelby
a year later he entered into partnership with Edwin Mansfield, and the firm of
Mansfield & Long has since been one well known in Shelby on account of
its connection with the greater number of the important litigated interests
rthat have been tried in the courts of the district. Mr. Long's fellow towns-
men, recognizing his worth and ability, have frequently called him to public
office. In 1894 he was elected the mayor of the city and served so ably that
he was re-elected in 1896. In 1898 he retired from office, but was again elected
in 1900, so that he is the present incumbent.
In the year 1893 Mr. Long was married to Miss Nellie F. Clowes, of
Shelby, a daughter of J. O. A. and Mary (Van Horn) Clowes. Mr. Long
is a Master Mason. His election and re-election to the office of mayor in a
city in which the normal Republican majority is one hundred and fifty is a
high tribute to his personal worth and an unmistakable evidence of his
ability, for, though he is a Democrat, he enjoys the confidence of men of all
parties and creeds.
Dr. MOSES DeCAMP.
The subject of this sketch, Moses DeCamp, deceased, was born in
Washington county, Pennsylvania, October 10, 181 6, and was of French
Protestant descent. The family, on coming to America, first settled in Xew
Jersey and afterward some of its descendants located in western Pennsyl-
vania. The Doctor's father, John DeCamp, and his mother, Deborah Ross,
after their marriage in Pennsylvania came in 1827 to Morrow county,
Ohio. Here Moses DeCamp, though but a lad, bore his full share of the
heavy task of clearing the forest. By an accident in logging, when eight-
een years old, he was incapacitated for doing such heavy work. Naturally
quick to learn, ambitious and studious, he had eagerly devoured the few
books then within reach of pioneer boys. Such was his success that in
1842 he was teaching the preparatory classes in what is now Delaware
University, his work including every branch except Latin and Greek. As
he heard the recitations of every student, the work was arduous and his
bodily strength broke, resulting in a loss of voice, which compelled his
retirement. His fame as an instructor had passed beyond the college at
Delaware, and he was offered by a college in Tennessee, at a salary of twelve
hundred dollars a year, with an increase shortly to two thousand dollars, the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 151
place of president. His state of health, however, compelled him to decline*
Resides, his strong opposition to slavery would have proved a barrier. The
salary offered was a high testimony to his ability, when it is considered that
at that time President Morrison of Delaware received only six hundred dollars
per year.
He now applied himself to the study of dentistry, and was recognized
throughout his life as one of the most proficient in that profession to be f< >und
in this section of the state.
In 1844 Dr. DeCamp married Miss Almena H. Winters, of Mount
Vernon, a daughter of Thomas Winters, who, on his way west from Ver-
mont, with his wife and children, was accidentally drowned. The family
located at Mt. Vernon, where Mrs. Winters afterward married Joseph Loud.
Her maiden name was Susannah Maxfield; her native place, Vermont. She
died February 15, 1865, at the age of seventy-two years. Her son, Gilbert E.
Winters, studied law with Columbus Delano, of Mt. Vernon, for his preceptor,
and was admitted to the bar of Knox county. He married Miss Mary Love, a
daughter of Harmon Love, who came to Mansfield from Pennsylvania in
;the early '40s and operated the only flouring-mill then here. Attorney Winters
moved to Illinois and became a firm friend of Lincoln. In the west he turned
his attention to mining, but the Indian outbreak caused his return to Ohio.
He served in the Mexican war, and on the outbreak of the Civil war was com-
missioned by Lincoln as a brigadier-general. After his death his widow,
Mary Love Winters, resided in Mansfield and was one of the most gifted and
beloved of the teachers in the schools here for some years. Her death took
place in December, 1896, at Mount Gilead. Mrs. DeCamp's half-brother, Dr.
E. B. Loud, studied dentistry in the office of Dr. DeCamp in Mansfield, and
in 1 86 1 located at Madrid, Spain. In 1862 he settled in Paris, and until his
death in 1894 he was one of the best known of the men who made- Ameri-
can dentistry famous in Europe. His bravery during the siege of Paris in
saving the lives of priests and Germans caused Pope Pius IX to make him
a Knight Chevalier of St. Gregory. The kaiser conferred upon him the Order
of the Iron Cross. Napoleon III had previously constituted Dr. Loud a Knight
of the Legion of Honor. After his death in Paris his remains were brought
to Mount Vernon, Ohio, for burial.
Dr. Moses DeCamp began the practice of dentistry in Mansfield in 1851
and continued without interruption for a period of twenty-five years, until
a few months before his death, which took place April 17, 1876. He was a
thorough dentist, highly qualified in every department. At the time of his
152 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
death he was a member of the state board of examiners in dentistry, and for
many years had been the president of the State Dental Association. In both
his public and private life his aims were for the best interests of his fellow
men. For many years he was county president of the American Bible Society.
He was an active and prominent member of the Congregational church in
Mansfield and for some years one if its deacons. He was likewise of high
rank in the Masonic lodge. Throughout his life he was interested in educa-
tional matters; was a trustee of the Female Seminary of Mansfield and took
an active part in building the college on Third street.
Dr. DeCamp's widow, Mrs. Almena Winters DeCamp, still resides in
Mansfield, as also does her eldest son, Dr. Gilbert Winters DeCamp, who
studied with his father and has been for some years a prominent dentist of
the city. He married .Miss Mary Endley, a daughter of Henry Endley, de-
ceased, one of the early merchants of this city. Their children are Gilbert
DeCamp, of Chicago, where he is engaged in the practice of dentistry ; Mamie,
and John, of Mansfield; Charles, of Chicago; and Herbert, of Mansfield.
The second son of our subject and his wife is Alphonse Lamartine DeCamp.
He, too, is a dentist. For five years he practiced in Paris and is now in
Chicago, where he enjoys a high reputation in the profession. The third
son, Herbert C. DeCamp, married Miss Cora Stark, a daughter of James N.
Stark, late of Mansfield. They reside in Chicago, where Mr. DeCamp is
successfully engaged in the dry-goods commission business. The only
daughter, Luella Almena, married J. H. Barr, of Mansfield, and they have
two children : Louis DeCamp Barr and Bertha Luella Barr.
HON. WILLIAM WOODBURN SKILES.
The history of a state as well as that of a nation is chiefly the chronicle
of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon
society. The world judges the character of a community by that of its repre-
sentative citizens and yields its tribute of admiration and respect for the
genius, learning or virtues of those whose works and actions constitute the
record of a state's prosperity and pride ; and it is in their character, as exem-
plified in probity and benevolence, kindly virtues and integrity in the
affairs of life, that we are ever afforded worthy examples for emulation and
valuable lessons of incentive.
To a student of biography there is nothing more interesting than to
examine the life history of a self-made man, and to detect the elements of
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 153
character which have enabled him to pass on the highway of life many of
the companions of his yputh who at the outset of their careers were more
advantageously equipped or endowed. The subject of this review has through
his own exertions attained an honorable position and marked prestige among
the representative men of the west, and with signal consistency it may be said
that he is the architect of his own fortunes, and one whose success amply
justifies the application of the somewhat hackneyed but most expressive title,
"a self-made man."
The life record of Mr. Skiles had its beginning in Stoughstown, Cum-
berland county, Pennsylvania, his natal day being December 11, 1849. His
parents were John G. and Sarah J. (Martin) Skiles, who were also natives of
the Keystone state and were of Scotch and Irish lineage. They had seven
children, namely: Mrs. Mary Caroline Cramer, William W., George M., John
Clark, Mrs. Jennie Smith, Mrs. Valletta Bell and Mrs. Burgetta Crum.
About the year 1854 the parents became residents of Richland county, Ohio,
establishing their home upon a farm near Shelby, where the father followed
agricultural pursuits throughout his entire life. His labors were ended in
death in the autumn of 1893, and the community mourned the loss of one
of its valued citizens. The mother still survives and has passed the seventy-
seventh milestone on life's journey.
William Woodburn Skiles was reared on the old home farm and in the
district schools began his education, where by close application to his studies
he became qualified to teach in the schools in which he had formerly been a
student. A laudable ambition prompted him to gain more advanced education,
and with his earnings in the schoolroom he met the tuition and expenses of
a course in the preparatory department of the Baldwin University, at Berea,
Ohio. Teaching through the winter season, he was thus enabled by the practice
of care and economy to continue his studies in the university throughout the
remainder of the year. Great self-denial was required in order that he might
pursue his school course, but he never faltered in his determined and honorable
purpose and was graduated on the completion of the regular course with the
class of 1876. Throughout his college days and business career he has been
closely associated with his brother, their histories being so inseparably inter-
woven that to write of one is to give an account of the labors of the other.
Together they began the study of law in the office of Matson & Dirlam, a
prominent law firm at Mansfield, and after two years of study, in which he
became familiar with many of the principles of jurisprudence and to some
extent with the practical work of the courts, Mr. Skiles of this review was
admitted to the bar, in the fall of 1878. His brother was admitted at the
10
154 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
same time, and then the law firm of Skiles & Skiles was organized and an
office was opened in Shelby, where together they began their careers as legal
practitioners. They have been continuously associated in practice since that
time, the labors of the one supplementing and rounding out the labors of
the other. Both have risen to high rank in their profession, and, while they
have conducted a large general practice, they have made a specialty of railroad
litigation, their knowledge of railroad law being very comprehensive and
exact. In this rank of jurisprudence they have been particularly successful
and have gained a reputation which extends throughout the state, having
conducted many railroad damage suits of great importance. To the firm of
Skiles & Skiles many a man owes a debt of gratitude for the conduct of legal
proceedings, whereby he has been compensated for injuries sustained. An-
other important element in their success is undoubtedly the fact that they
never enter upon a case which has not real merit. Their devotion to their
clients' interests is proverbial. It is the theory of the law that counsels are
to aid the court in the administration of justice, and no member of the pro-
fession in Richland county has been more careful to conform his practice to
a high standard of professional efforts than W. W. Skiles. He has never
sought to lead the court astray in the matter of fact or of law, nor would
he endeavor to withhold from it a knowledge of any fact bearing on record.
Calm, dignified, self-controlled, free from passion and prejudice, he gives to
his clients the service of great talent, unfaltering industry and profound
learning, yet never forgets that there are certain things due to the court,
to his own self-respect and above all to justice and to righteous administration
of the law which neither the zeal of an advocate nor the pleasure of success
permits him to disregard. He is recognized as a close student, well versed
in the law, and above all he is honest and sincere.
Shelby in a large measure owes its growth, promotion and progress to
him whose name introduces this review. He is a man of resourceful business
ability whose labors have proved effective along many lines. His contribu-
tions in time, money and labor toward the upbuilding of the city have been
extensive and his business affairs have contributed not alone to his individual
prosperity but have also been an important factor in promoting the general,
welfare. He is the president of the Citizens' Bank and the Shelby Electric
Company, is a director of the Shelby Water Company, a director of the
Bail-Bearing Umbrella Company and of the Shelby Stove and Foundry
Company, and was also a director of the Steel Tube Company from the time
of its inception until 1898, when the offices were removed to Cleveland, Ohio.
In matters of education Mr. Skiles has always taken a great interest and
CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 155
the schools find in him a warm friend, ever ready to support any movement
calculated to promote their efficiency. For the past seventeen years he has
served as the president of the Shelby board of education, and no higher tes-
timonial of his able service could be given. He holds membership in the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias fraternity and
various beneficiary orders. In his political views Mr. Skiles is an ardent
Republican and has labored earnestly to promote the growth and success of
the party. He has been a member of the Republican state central committee
and has borne a conspicuous part in many campaigns, yet his labors have
never been performed with the hope of rewards of an official nature. With
a capacity and experience which would enable him to fulfill any trust to which
he might be chosen he has never sought to advance himself in office, but
has been content to do his duty along other lines and leave political honors
to others. In May, 1900, however, there came recognition of his ability
and his fidelity. The most hotly contested nominating convention ever held
in the district resulted in his selection for congressional honors. The con-
vention first met at Wellington, but was unable to agree upon a candidate.
Later the convention adjourned to meet at Norwalk, where ballot after ballot
was taken until two thousand had 'beeen registered, with no change in the
result. It was then that the friends of Mr. Skiles put forth his name as a
candidate. The following is taken from the Shelby Republican of May 24:
"On the twenty-one hundredth ballot a recess was taken. The delegates
were becoming sick and discouraged. The hour was 1 130 Saturday morning
and it looked very much as if the convention would be compelled to adjourn
to the city of Mt. Vernon to continue their labors. At this juncture Morrow
county advised the Richland delegation that in case the)- voted for Mr. Skiles
again they would come and settle the matter. Richland county, acting on
this promise, cast her forty-seven votes for W. W. Skiles. Ashland followed
with twenty-two votes, Huron gave Air. Skiles twenty-nine votes, and when
Morrow county was called there was a breathless stillness throughout the
hall. This was only momentary, for almost instantly nearly half the Knox
county delegation was up pleading, imploring, remonstrating with the Morrow
county men to hold fast and not go to the Richland county man. All was
turmoil, confusion. For five minutes Morrow county refused to give her
vote, but at last the chairman of the delegation arose and announced that
Morrow county cast her twenty-four votes for Skiles, and the great conven-
tion was at an end!"
When Mr. Skiles returned to his home after the convention he received
the most enthusiastic reception ever accorded to a citizen of the town. All
156 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of the business houses were decorated and the various business concerns with
which Mr. Skiles is connected closed their works, and their employes, together
with many other citizens, marched to the depot to receive their fellow towns-
man. There were altogether fifteen hundred in line, and with bands of music
they escorted him to his home. The demonstration was without regard to
political affiliations: it was one freely accorded by the men and women of
Shelby to one whom they had long known and whom they thoroughly re-
spected. The election the following fall made him a member of the house of
congress.
In 1877 Mr. Skiles was united in marriage to Miss E. Dora Matson, of
Shelby, and they now have two children, — a daughter and son, — Zante and
Aubrey M. The former is a graduate of the Shelby high school, has been
a student in the Ohio State University and was afterward graduated at the
Comnock School of Oratory (Northwstern University ]_ in Chicago, while
the son is now a student in Northwestern University, Chicago.
Personally, Air. Skiles is a strong man, of excellent judgment, fair
in his views and highly honorable in his relations with his fellow men.
He is a man of very strong convictions, and his integrity stands as an un-
questioned fact in his career. He has always been a student, and the scope
and amplitude of his knowledge render him a charming converser. He is in
full sympathy with all the great movements of the world about him, and
watches the progress of events with the keenest interest. Though severe at
times toward men and measures deserving criticism, he is nevertheless a
generous friend and a warm advocate of those who are battling for the
right and of principles and policies for the public good.
CHRISTIAN WELTY.
Christian Welty, who is now living a retired life, was for many years
•identified with the agricultural interests of Richland county. He was born
in Washington county, Maryland, April 18, 1814.
The subject of this review spent his early years upon a farm, and at the
age of eighteen was apprenticed to learn the trade of house-builder and
joiner, receiving twenty-four dollars per year as the compensation for his
services, and the privilege of spending two weeks in the harvest fields. At
the expiration of his term of apprenticeship he had saved twenty dollars. He
also earned ten dollars more by performing little services for his neighbors,
and with this capital of thirty dollars in his pocket he started from Washing-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. i$7
•ton county, Maryland, on foot for Ohio. After visiting relatives in Carroll
•and Stark counties, Ohio, he began work as a journeyman carpenter in
Massillon. Remaining there for a few months he then determined to see
more of the world and made his way clown the Ohio canal and Ohio river
to Cincinnati, where he found employment at building steamboats. During
the first summer he replenished his funds and procured a small kit of tools.
He then resumed his travels, intending to meet the expenses of his trip by
working upon the way. He left Cincinnati in the autumn and went to Xew
Orleans and then to New York by way of the Atlantic route, and from the
eastern metropolis proceeded to Philadelphia and Baltimore. Later he
crossed the mountains to Cleveland, returning to Cincinnati and went on
down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Natchez, where he spent the second
winter in work at the carpenter trade. He returned the following year to
Massillon, Ohio, having worked at most of the principal places en route. In
1837, he arrived in Monroe township, Richland county, and for twelve years
he followed carpentering here. Times were dull, prices low and profits small.
He made only about one hundred and fifty dollars per year. Quite a number
of the houses and barns that were erected by him are still standing as a monu-
ment to his handiwork, for he was very thorough in all his labors and his
contracts were executed in a first-class manner.
In 1840 Mr. Welty was united in marriage to Miss Mary Crawford, who
was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in 1819, but in early girlhood
was brought to Monroe township, Richland county, Ohio, by her parents,
David and Lucy (Applegate) Crawford. Her father was one of the first
settlers of the township. He was a man of high moral purpose, strictly tem-
perate in all his habits, and his upright life was well worthy of emulation.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Welty were born five children, four sons and a daughter.
The two older sons, John and Henry, were volunteers in the Union service
during the Civil war and died from disease contracted at the front, one serv-
ing for fifteen months, while the other was a member of the army for nearly
ithree years. Mary is wife of D. F. Tucker, a prominent and wealthy farmer
of Monroe township. James resides on the old homestead ; and Cary. the
youngest member of the family, is also an agriculturist of Monroe township.
After the death of his first wife Mr. Welty again married, in 1884, his second
union being with Mrs. McCully, the widow of John McCully and a daughter
of William McCreary. By her first marriage she had three children : Amanda,
the wife of G. P. Brown, of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania; James M., a rail-
road conductor, who was killed in the yards in Chicago, Illinois, and Alice V.,
158 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
the wife of D. F. Shafer, the principal of the Hedges Street public school at
Mansfield.
Mr. Welty became identified with farming interests of Richland county
in 1846 when he purchased an eighty-acre farm. A few years later he bought
forty acres additional and afterward added to this an eighty-acre tract, so
that in 1861 he was using two hundred acres of land. About that time farm
produce brought excellent prices and he was enabled to save considerable
• money. As the years have passed he has anually augmented his income
through his indefatigable industry and business sagacity. He has thus become
vone of the substantial citizens of this community and the capital he has ac-
quired enables him to live retired. He is one of the stockholders of the
Mansfield Savings Bank and is a member of the banking executive com-
mittee.
In early life Mr. Welty gave his political support to the Whig party and
on its dissolution joined the ranks of the new Republican party. At various
times he has filled nearly all the township offices and has ever been found true
and faithful to the trust reposed in him. For six years he was a justice of
the peace, and his rulings were strictly fair and impartial. For two years he
was the township clerk. His first presidential vote was cast for William
Henry Harrison. He is a broad-minded man whose knowledge, though self-
acquired, is comprehensive, for he has always been a great reader and has ever
kept well informed on the questions of general interest, political or otherwise.
For half a century he has been a member of the Lutheran church, and for a
similar period has been affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Honor and integrity are synonymous with his name and his word is as good
as his bond.
DANIEL SPAYDE.
Daniel Spayde is a retired farmer of Butler and a representative of
one of the pioneer families of Richland county. He was born in Jefferson
township, this county, near Bellville, September 11, 1836. and is of German
'lineage, his great-grandparents having been the founders of the family in
America. His grandfather, John Spayde, was born in the Keystone state
and in early life followed coopering, but later he engaged in farming and
also devoted a part of his time to the manufacture of potash in Richland
county at an early day. He was a member of the Lutheran church and died on
the old homestead farm in this county, when about seventy years of age. His
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 159
son, William Spayde, the father of our subject, was born in Bedford county,
Pennsylvania, and when a lad of fourteen years came to Richland county,
where he spent his remaining days. In early life he learned the cooper's trade
,and for about fourteen years conducted a shop in Bellville. Politically he was
a Republican and religiously was connected with the Evangelical church. His
death occurred in Bellville, when he had attained the age of seventy-seven.
His wife was in her maidenhood Catherine Huston, a daughter of William
Huston, who was a native of the Emerald isle and came to the United States
when a young man. He was married in Pennsylvania and afterward removed
to Richland county, Ohio, carrying on agricultural pursuits near Bellville,
where he died at about the age of eighty-six years. He, too, belonged to
the Evangelical church. His daughter, Mrs. Spayde, was born in Pennsyl-
vania, and during her girlhood came to Ohio. She was a member of the
Evangelical church and died in that faith in Bellville, at the age of sixty-
three years. In the family were eight children, six of whom are still living.
Daniel Spayde, whose name introduces this record, was reared on the
home farm and assisted in the work of the cooper's shop until twenty years
of age, when he was married and entered upon an independent business
career by renting .a farm in Worthington township. He operated that land
until 1859, when he purchased his present farm and for many years he con-
'tinued to cultivate his fields in connection with the stock-raising business;
'but since 1880 he has lived retired. He was at one time the owner of two
hundred acres of valuable land, but a portion of this he has since divided
among his children.
Mr. Spayde was married September 11, 1856, the lady of his choice
toeing Miss Nancy J. Secrist, a daughter of Michael Secrist and a sister of
Mrs. B. F. Oberlin. They now have five children : Clayton, a farmer of
Worthington township; Albina, the wife of Albert Mishey, a farmer and
•insurance agent; Alberta, the wife of Charles McGinley; Samuel C, a farmer
of Worthington township; and Ethel M., at home.
At the time of the Civil war Mr. Spayde was found a loyal citizen who
valiantly espoused the cause of the Union and on the 25th of September, 1861,
he joined the army, becoming a private of Company E, Third Ohio Cavalry,
with which he served as transportation master for eighteen months. He was
discharged October 11, 1864, after serving for three years, one month and
ten clays. He had two horses shot from under him, but he escaped uninjured.
He participated in the battles of Nashville, Pittsburg Landing, Shiloh, Corinth,
Stone River and Chattanooga; and whenever the starry flag led the way into
1 60 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
battle he faithfully followed, loyally defending this emblem of the Union.
He is now a member of Samuel Bell Post, No. 536, G. A. R., and also belongs
to the Knights of the Golden Eagle, while his wife holds membership in the
Methodist Episcopal church. In 1880, on account of failing health, he rented
his farm and came to Butler, where he has since made his home. His business
interests were carefully conducted and brought to him a comfortable com-
petence. He has been found worthy of trust in all of life's relations and
enjoys the warm friendship of a large circle of acquaintances in his native
county. In politics he is a Republican, and for six years has served as a
township trustee and at present is serving as deputy sheriff.
THOMAS B. RAMSEY.
Among those who devote their energies to farming and stock dealing is
Thomas B. Ramsey, of Worthington township. He was born in the neigh-
boring county of Knox on the 26th of April, 1840, his parents being John and
Eliza (Brown) Ramsey. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, born in
181 2. He was only three years of age when brought to Richland county by
[his parents, Andrew and Isabelle (Halferty) Ramsey, both of whom were
natives of the Keystone state, the former born in Westmoreland county. They
•settled upon a tract of timber land in Worthington township and Andrew
Ramsev erected a log cabin, in which the family began life in true pioneer
style. As the years passed his property became a highly improved farm and
■continued to be his place of residence until his death, which occurred when
he was eighty-five years of age. His wife passed away when eighty-six
.years of age. His political support was given to the Democracy and both
were members of the Union church. In his business affairs Mr. Ramsey at-
tained a practical and gratifying degree of success, becoming the owner of
two hundred acres of valuable land.
John Ramsey, the father of our subject, spent almost his entire life in
Richland county, excepting a period of twelve years passed in Knox county,
just across the line. He, too, made farming his life work and at one time
became the owner of five hundred acres of land, which he divided among his
children, thus enabling them to gain a good start in life. He cultivated the
fields through the summer months and during a number of years engaged in
teaching in the winter seasons, having charge of one school for thirteen
terms. He also dealt in stock and during the Civil war engaged in buying
and shipping horses for the government. His carefully conducted business
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 161
affairs brought to him prosperity and he gained a place among the substantial
citizens of Richland county. The Democracy received his earnest allegiance
and on that ticket he was elected and served as a justice of the peace for
twenty-four years, his rulings being strictly fair and impartial. He was also
a school director for several years and for two terms was a county commis-
sioner. His wife was born in Knox county, Ohio, her parents being pioneers
of that portion of the county which adjoined Richland. John Ramsey died
at the age of seventy-seven, his wife when about seventy-eight years of age.
•In their family were four children : Isabelle, who became the wife of Jacob
iSpohn and died at the age of thirty-four ; Thomas B. ; Andrew, a retired
farmer living in Butler; and Albert J., who carries on agricultural pursuits
in Worthington township.
On the home farm Thomas B. Ramsey remained until thirty years of
iage, when he married and settled on one of his father's farms in Ashland
\county, Ohio. Three years later he sold that property and from his father
purchased one hundred acres of land upon which he now resides. His time
and energies have been devoted to farming and stock-raising; and as he is
familiar with best methods of conducting both lines of his business and is a
man of marked energy and strong purpose he has won well-merited success.
Mr. Ramsev married Miss Mary B. Hosfield. who was born in Ohio and
in early girlhood came with her father to Richland county. She died at the
age of twenty-three years, leaving two children: William T., a farmer and
teacher of Jefferson township; and Anna Mary, the wife of John Kunkle, of
Butler. For his second wife Mr. Ramsey married Mrs. Mary R. Harter, nee
McBride, a native of Monroe township, Jackson county, and a daughter of
Jackson and Susan (Douglass) McBride. Her father was born in Richland
county and for eleven years engaged in teaching in connection with the prose-
cution of his farming interests. His father was Alexander McBride, a native
of Maryland. The son gave his political support to the Democracy and
socially was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while
religiously he was connected with the United Presbyterian church. He died
at the age of thirty-two years, while his wife, long surviving him, reached
the advanced age of seventy. She, too, was a member of the United Presby-
terian church. Her mother, Mary E. McCurdy, was born in Ireland. By
the marriage of Thomas Ramsey and Mary McBride two children have been
born, namely : Jessie Weinona and Leo Benton. Mrs. Ramsey's first husband
was Benjamin Harter, by whom she had a son, Walter S. Harter, a tinner
162 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
and roofer of Bellville. Benjamin Harter died a few years after his marriage
just referred to.
Mr. Ramsey votes for men of any party where only questions of local
importance are involved, but at national elections votes with the Democracy.
He belongs to the Grange and both he and his wife are members of the
Evangelical church, in which he has served as a trustee for three years. Their
home is on their pleasant farm of one hundred and seventy-three acres, and
in addition to the cultivation of his land Mr. Ramsey raises some horses,
cattle and sheep. He also has a house and lot in Butler. His entire life has
been passed in this portion of Ohio and all who know him esteem him highly
for his sterling worth.
HARRY H. BEAVER.
Harry H. Beaver, a member of the firm of Williams & Beaver, con-
tractors and builders, was born in the town of Shiloh, Richland county, Ohio,
May 30, 1867. His father, John Beaver, is a retired farmer, of the town of
Shiloh, and was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, in 1832, and came to
Ohio, locating at Tiffin in 1866, and in Richland county in 1867. His father
was also named John and was a tanner, carrying on a large and prosperous
business. He married a Miss Bower, by whom he had eight children, — four
sons and four daughters, — all but one of them, a daughter, having families
of their own. Three of the eight are still living, the father of our subject
and two of his sisters. Grandfather Beaver died at the age of sixty-four and
lies buried in Pennsylvania, his widow surviving him until about 1890, dying
at the age of eighty, in Pennsylvania.
The mother of the subject of this sketch, whose maiden name was Mar-
garet Hewitt, was a daughter of Thomas and' Elizabeth (Miller) Hewitt, and
was born in West Virginia, near the Pennsylvania and Virginia line. July 21,
1835. She was married to Mr. Beaver at Tiffin, Ohio, in 1866. She and her
husband lived in Tiffin one year, at the end of which period they removed to
Shiloh, where they now reside. Mr. Beaver for many years followed the trade
of cooper, being a foreman in the shop in which he worked. He had to
begin with but a few hundred dollars, which he inherited, and is not a
wealthy man to-day. For other years he followed farming, but moved to
town for the purpose of educating his children, of whom he had five, — four
sons and one daughter, the latter dying in infancy. These children are as
follows : Harry H., the subject of this sketch ; Frank L., a commercial traveler
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 163
for a Dayton (Ohio) millinery establishment, and living in Columbus: he
has a wife and one young daughter; Charles R., a commercial traveler living
in Plymouth, Ohio, who is married and has one daughter; and Willard W.,
a machinist connected with the Shelby Spring Hinge Company, of Shelby,
Ohio. Mr. Beaver and his brothers received a good common and high school
education, and at the age of seventeen, after graduating at the high school,
began to learn the carpenter's trade at Shiloh, and being a natural mechanic
soon began earning wages, receiving as high as one dollar and fifty cents per
day, besides his board, the first year. He has been in the business four years,
the firm of which he is a member, being three years old and well established
in the place. They have erected numerous dwelling houses, besides the Car-
michael block, the United Presbyterian church and, notwithstanding they
had strong competition, they received on July 16, 1900, the contract for the
erection of the high-school building, which is to be of stone and brick and to
cost thirty-one thousand dollars. The members of this firm are workers and
thoroughly practical men in their line, employing as many as eight men.
Mr. Beaver was married February 23, 1888, to Miss Jennie Lilian Kerr,
of Crestline, a daughter of Isaiah and Amy (Head) Kerr, farmers of Jack-
son township, the former of whom was from Pennsylvania, but married his
wife in Iowa. Mrs. Beaver has one brother, Thomas A. Kerr, an artist of
Loudonville, Ohio, who is married and has one daughter. Mr. and Mrs.
Beaver have three sons and one daughter, viz. : Fred A., born July 21. 1S89,
and died in infancy; Vera A., born July 20, 1891 ; Franklin Howard, Decem-
ber 12, 1894; and Donald K., December 23, 1899. While Mr. Beaver was
reared a Democrat yet he now votes the Republican ticket. He resides in
his own house, No. 12 Oak street, into which he removed in April, 1896.
He is a thorough gentleman besides being a thorough mechanic, and is by
all who know him highly esteemed.
BAILEY & WALTERS.
The firm name of Bailey & Walters is one ever familiar to the residents
of Mansfield. There James Bailey and John M. Walters, associated in a part-
nership, are engaged in the livery, feed and sale business. They enjoy a
liberal patronage and have a large trade, which is accorded them by reason
of their straightforward dealing, their uniform courtesy and their earnest
desire to please their patrons.
James Bailey was born in Sharon township, Richland county, on the 18th
1 64 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of April, 1868, his parents being James H. and Amanda (Root) Bailey. The
father also was born in Sharon township, his natal day being July 4, 1830.
The paternal grandfather was William Bailey, whose parents were natives
of Ireland. From Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, he removed to Rich-
land county about 1824 and purchased eighty acres of land in Sharon town-
ship. He was a man of excellent education and for a number of years engaged
in teaching in the public schools. By trade he was a tanner, and for some
time after his arrival in Ohio he conducted a tannery on his farm. Later he
removed to Newville and there engaged in the tanning business for a number
of years, but finally returned to Sharon township, where he spent his remain-
ing days. He was a member of the United Presbyterian church, took an
active part in its work and died in the faith of the church, at the age of seventy
years.
Tames H. Bailey, the father of our subject, was reared at his parental
home, and on attaining his majority purchased two farms of forty acres
each near his father's home place. At the age of thirty-five lie married
Amanda Root and located on one of his farms. After his father's death
he purchased the old homestead upon which he was born and reared and con-
tinued agricultural pursuits there until 1872, when he sold his lands and re-
moved to Sandusky township, where he purchased three hundred acres, resid-
ing thereon until the spring of 1900. He then retired from active farming
and removed to Mansfield, where he is now living in the enjoyment of a well
earned rest. He is an ardent Republican in politics. His business career
has been a prosperous one and has been characterized by diligence, capable
management and resolute will. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bailey were born five
children, of whom four are living: Clara, the wife of W. H. Gifford, a promi-
nent attorney of Mansfield; Minnie, James and Mattie. The daughters are
still at home.
James Bailey, the senior member of the firm of Bailey & Walters, passed
his boyhood days quietly in his parents' home and in the common schools
acquired his elementary education, which was supplemented by study in the
Ohio State Normal, at Ada, Ohio. On attaining his majority he entered upon
!an independent business career by operating a part of his father's farm on
the shares. In early life he had manifested special fondness for horses
and had clearly demonstrated that he was a good judge of "horse-
flesh." He began buying and selling horses, gradually extending his
operations in that line of business in connection with his farming interests.
Being an excellent judge of horses he was enabled to make wise purchases,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 165
,that brought to him a good financial return, and as the years passed he be-
came one of the most extensive buyers and shippers of horses in this section
of the country. In 1897 he became associated in the business with John M.
Walters, and in 1898 he went to Kansas as the representative of the firm.
There he purchased a car-load of western horses. This proved a profitable
venture and since that time the firm has made extensive purchases through
(Iowa, Indiana and Illinois. On the 1st of September, 1899, they purchased
the well known livery and sale barn of E. L. Miller and began a general
livery business in connection with dealing in horses. The partners are both
enterprising and progressive young business men, and through their good
judgment have prospered and are now extensive buyers of the Chicago market.
Mr. Bailey is a Republican in his political views and earnestly advocates
the principles of the party, doing all in his power to promote its growth and
success. Socially he is connected with Arcadia Lodge, No. 536, K. P., of
Ontario.
John M. Walters was born in Mifflin township, October 21, 1867, one ot '
the nine children of George and Mary J. (Simpson) Walters. His father,
also a native of Mifflin township, was born in 1840 and was there reared to
manhood. He engaged in farming for five or six years after his marriage
and then moved to Mercer county, Ohio, where he purchased eighty acres of
land, which he cultivated for two years. On the expiration of that period
he sold the property and returned to Richland county, settling in Mifflin
township, where he resided up to the time of his death, which occurred when
he was only thirty-three years of age. He was for some years a constable of
the township and was one of the well known, influential and highly respected
men of the county. His political support was given the Democracy. Of his
children seven are yet living: Frank S., an expert machinist of Dallas, Texas;
Ella, the wife of William S. Brown, an engineer of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road system living at Crestline, Ohio ; Ida, the wife of J. K. Mclntyre, a fruit
dealer of Crestline; John M. ; Cora A., the wife of Fred F. Findley, a wood-
worker, of Galion, Ohio; Laura A., the wife of James Adams, also an engineer
on the Pennsylvania Railroad, living in Crestline ; and Lulu, the wife of
Charles N. Wilson, a farmer of Franklin township.
John Walters was only six years of age when he became an inmate of the
home of Solomon Everett, a prominent farmer of Sandusky township, by
whom he was reared. He pursued his education in the common schools, in
the Galion Business College and in the Lima Business College, being graduat-
ed in the last named institution with the class of 1890. On reaching man's
1 66 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
estate he began operating a portion of his foster father's farm on the shares
and continued his identification with agricultural interests until September i,
1899, when he became associated with James Bailey in their present business.
He is a member of Arcadia Lodge, No. 536, K. P., of Ontario, which he
joined on its organization. He votes with the Republican party and is rec-
ognized as one of its leaders in this locality. For two years he was a member
of the central committee of Sandusky township and for several terms served
as a member of the election board. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
church, and is a young man of ability and enterprise who well merits the
high regard reposed in him.
NEWTON R. EASTMAN, M. D.
Although one of the younger members of the medical profession of
Richland county, Dr. astman's years seem no bar to his progress and suc-
cess. He has well qualified himself for his chosen profession, and in a
calling where advancement depends upon individual merit he has won an
enviable position. Ohio is his native state, his birth having occurred in
Crawford county, near Bucyrus, November 11, 1871.
His father, Rev. James Eastman, was for fifteen years an active
member of the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church and now makes
his home in Mount Vernon, Ohio. He is also prominent as a leading Re-
publican, and his labors in behalf of the party during campaigns have been
very effective. He is an orator of ability, and has delivered many addresses
in support of the party through western states. He was born in the east-
ern part of New York, and in early life became a resident of Seneca county,
Ohio, being reared upon a farm near Tiffin. When a young man he entered
his country's service as a member of the Forty-seventh Ohio Infantry,
and for three years faithfully followed the old flag upon the battle-fields
of the south. At Atlanta, while on horseback, he was wounded in the head
by a sharpshooter, and still carries the rebel lead. For several years he
was engaged in merchandising in Tiffin, Ohio, but is now a well-known
merchant of Lorain, Ohio. At the age of sixty-four he is still very active
in business and maintains a deep interest in all public affairs.
His father, Rev. Ward Eastman, was born in the Empire state, and
became a Baptist minister. In an early day he emigrated to Ohio, where
he carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, which was occasioned
by Asiatic cholera, when he was fifty-five years of age. He belonged to
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 167
an old New England family. The progenitor of the Eastman family in
America was Ward Eastman; he was a native of Wales, and in 1614 sailed
from Wales, landing on the coast of New Jersey, and there is a complete
record of fourteen generations succeeding this progenitor. Rev. Ward
Eastman's wife, Margaret (Pierce) Eastman, was a cousin of President
Franklin Pierce, and died at the age of seventy years. Mrs. Eastman, the
mother of our subject, bore the maiden name of Catherine Vance. She
was born in Crawford county, Ohio, and is still living, at the age of fifty-
four years. Her grandfather Vance was a pioneer of West Virginia, and
at the time of the inauguration of the Civil war he freed one hundred and
forty slaves. Mr. and Mrs. Eastman had four children, three daughters
and one son. Both parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church
and are people of the highest respectability. The Doctor's father had but
one brother, David M., who is now a prominent wholesale and retail grocer
in Tiffin, Ohio. Our subject is the only male representative of his branch
of the Eastman family.
Amid the refining influences of a good home Dr. Eastman was reared,
and his preliminary education was acquired in the public schools of Mount
Vernon and were supplemented by study in the Baldwin University, where
he continued his studies for three years. He then began preparation for
his professional career as a student in Starling Medical College at Colum-
bus, Ohio, and on completing the three-years course in that institution was
graduated in March, 1895. Previous to this time he had pursued a course
of reading for four years under the direction of Dr. John E. Russell, of
Mount Vernon. On the 19th of April, 1895, he opened an office in Bell-
ville, where he has since been extensively engaged in practice. His knowl-
edge of the science of medicine is comprehensive and accurate, and his
efforts have been attended with excellent results, when viewed from both
a professional and financial standpoint. In addition to a large private prac-
tice he is acting as a surgeon for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Com-
pany. He keeps in touch with the progress that is. being made by the fra-
ternity through his membership in the North Central Medical Society, the
Ohio State Medical Association, the Association of Baltimore & Ohio Rail-
road Surgeons, and the American Medical Association. He is an examiner
for the Northwestern Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin;
the Union Central and National Union Insurance Companies; the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, and the Travelers' Insurance Company, of
Connecticut.
1 68 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
The 'Doctor was united in marriage to Catherine Schuler. a grand-
daughter of Frederick Fitting, whose sketch is to be found elsewhere in
this work. They now have two sons. — Russell Vance and Robert. Airs.
Eastman is a member of the Presbyterian church and an estimable lady,
having many warm friends in the community. The Doctor affiliates with
Bellville Lodge, No. 376, F. & A. M., of Bellville, and the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks of Mount Vernon. His political support is given
the Republican party, but he has never sought nor desired office' for him-
self, his time being given to his professional duties. No man has stricter
regard for the ethics of his profession than has Dr. Eastman. He has a
just appreciation of the great responsibility that rests upon the physician
and is very careful in diagnosing disease. His comprehensive knowledge
is manifest in his practice, and the liberal patronage accorded him is well
deserved.
JAMES V. THOMPSON.
Few men who have passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey
can claim the distinction of being one of the native sons of Ohio, but on
the pages of the pioneer history of the state James V. Thompson well deserves
mention, for throughout his entire life, covering a period of more than
seven decades, he has watched with interest the progress and development of
the commonwealth. He was born July 2, 1827, in Guernsey county, Ohio,
his parents being William and Margaret (Raitt) Thompson.
His father was born in Adams county, March 27, 1793. and after attain-
ing his majority he wedded Margaret Raitt, of Fairview, Ohio. In 1828
he removed to a farm in Monroe township, Richland county, near Lucas,
where he spent his remaining days, and in addition to the operation of his
land he conducted a sawmill which was propelled by water power and was
known as the old Mud mill. About 1852 Air. Thompson was disqualified
for further work in that direction by rheumatism and therefore abandoned
the mill.. Not long afterward his eyesight began to fail and in the latter
part of the '60s he became totally blind. He died October 13, 1877. A
member of the United Presbyterian church, he for many years filled various
church offices and at all times did whatever lay in his power to promote
the cause of Christianity. While his educational privileges were limited he
was broad-minded and a liberal thinker, and his word was as good as his
bond. His honesty was proverbial and all who knew him had for him the
utmost confidence. His father, Adam Thompson, died during the childhood
of his son William ; therefore no family records have been preserved.
^dtfUj^ /i^ C2^^^^
^7&^r*^> " c^^^^^<^_
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 169
Mrs. Thompson, the mother of our subject, was a native of Dundee, Scot-
land, born May 3, 1799, and was a daughter of David and Lillis (Angus)
Raitt, who were probably also natives of Dundee. An old volume says that
the Raitt family has for many generations been represented in Dundee.
The parents of Mrs. Thompson were married in March, 1798, and in 1802
emigrated to America, settling in Rockbridge county, Virginia. The voyage
was a long one, owing to the stormy passage. Eleven weeks had gone by
ere they reached the American harbor and they were almost upon the verge
of starvation. They located in the south, but the practice of slavery was so
distasteful to them that in 18 10 they removed to Belmont county, Ohio, and
in 181 5 to Guernsey county. Two years later they loaded their household
effects into a wagon and came to Richland county, settling on a small farm at
Windsor, in Mifflin township, where they spent their remaining days. The
grandfather of our subject was a weaver by trade and' after coming to Ohio
he continued to work at his loom, while his sons ran the farm. His wife
was a woman of most kindly spirit and noble character, beloved by all who
knew her. She acted as a nurse, and her services were in frequent demand
throughout the neighborhood. She always made her trips on horseback.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Raitt were members of the burgher's branch of the
seceders' church in Scotland, then composed of some of the most enlightened
people of the land. Mrs. Raitt died January 10, 1856, in her eighty-third
year, and on the 8th of July, following, Mr. Raitt passed away, in his ninetieth
year. Their daughter Margaret became the wife of William Thompson and
the marriage was blessed with eleven children, of whom four are yet living,
namely: William, a retired farmer, of Blairstown, Iowa; Maria, who lives
with her brother William; Isaac N., a retired farmer of Monroe township,
Richland county ; and James V.
The last named was reared upon the home farm. . The family was a large
one and a liberal share of the work of the farm and mill devolved upon
him. His educational privileges were therefore limited. He was ambitious
to acquire knowledge' and through reading, experience and observation he
became a well informed man. In the month of December, 1851, he decided
to seek his fortune in California, and in February of the following year
he took passage on the steamer Oregon for the Golden state, making the
trip by way of the isthmus of Panama from New York city, and reaching"
California he went through that state and up the Yuba river until he reached
Nevada City, where he spent the greater part of four years. His mining
ventures were reasonably successful, and in the summer of 1856 he started on
the return trip by way of the isthmus route, arriving home in the month of
July.
i 7 o CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. ]
On the 1 8th of December of that year Mr. Thompson was united in
marriage to Miss Haclassah Wilson, a native of Harrison county, Ohio, and a
daughter of William H. Wilson, a prominent farmer and stock dealer of that
county and one of the leading abolitionists of his day. His home was one
of the stations on the famous underground railroad prior to the Civil war,
and he aided many a negro on his way to freedom. Twelve children were
born to Air. and Mrs. Thompson, five of whom are now deceased. Those
living are: John S., a minister of the United Presbyterian church, now located
in Shannon City, Iowa; Margaret L.. the wife of Orin Tucker, a Pullman
car builder, of Xorth Harvey, Illinois; Mary A., the wife of Cary Welty. of
Wooster, Ohio; Lillian L., the wife of C. B. Shorev. of Chicago, Illinois;
Willard Jay, a successful teacher now attending the Ohio Normal University
at Ada, Ohio; Lawrence A., who is operating the home farm; and Ira V., a
farmer of Odessa, Washington.
After his marriage Mr. Thompson purchased eighty acres of land from
his brother and later bought an eighty-acre tract from his father. For forty-
two years he engaged in agricultural pursuits, placing his fields in a high
state of cultivation and adding many modern improvements and accessories
to his farm. In 1898 he turned his farm over to the care of his sons and
removed to Lucas, where he is now residing, in the enjoyment of a well earned
rest. He is liberal in his political views, but usually supports the Republi-
can party. For several years he served as a school director, and the cause of
education has found in him a warm friend. Though not a member of any
religious denomination, he regularly attends Sunday-school and church serv-
ice. His wife is a member of the United Presbyterian church. They are
people of the highest respectability, known and honored fur their sterling
worth. Air. Thompson has witnessed the great changes which time has
wrought in Ohio. He has seen its forests cut down to make place for wav-
ing fields of grain, while towns and villages have sprung up and churches
and schoolhouses have dotted the landscape, giving indication of the advanced
civilization. At all times he has manifested a deep interest in the work of
public progress and has done what he could to promote and substantially
upbuild the community with which he was identified,
JAMES M. FIRST.
One of the veterans of the Civil war. who upon the field of battle mani-
fested his loyalty to the Union cause, is Captain James M. First, now an
esteemed resident of Lucas. He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsyl-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 171
vania, December 11, 1831, his parents being Jeremiah and Ruth M. (Critch-
field) First. Their children were James M. ; Amos, who served for three
years as a private of the Third Ohio Volunteer Cavalry during the war of
the Rebellion; Caroline, the widow of William Switzer; and Elizabeth, the
wife of William A. Hulit, a veteran of the Civil war.
Captain First, of this review, was only four weeks old when his father
brought his family to Ohio, making the journey by team from Pennsyl-
vania. He located in Holmes county, and some time afterward removed
to Knox county, and in 1846 came to Richland county, settling on a farm
in Madison township, where he lived for three years. He then removed
to Lucas, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1878, when
he had attained the age of sixty-five years.
Captain First was a youth of fifteen years at the time of the arrival
of the family in Richland county, and at the age of eighteen he began an
apprenticeship to John Marshall, of Lucas, to learn the shoemaker's trade.
He served two years, during which time he thoroughly mastered the busi-
ness and then opened a shop of his own in Lucas, securing a good trade,
which constantly increased. In 1862, however, he put aside all business
considerations, for he felt that his duty was to his country, and on the 4th
of August, of that year, he enlisted as a private in Company B, One Hun-
dred and Twentieth Ohio Infantry, being mustered in at Mansfield for three
years' service. He was sent to the Covington barracks in Kentucky, and
thence to Tennessee, where the regiment was assigned to the Thirteenth
Army Corps in Sherman's division. Later Captain First took part in the
engagement in the rear of Vicksburg, thence went with Grant into Arkan-
sas, participating in the battle of Arkansas Post, and still later went to
Young's Point, Louisiana, where he remained until March, 1863, when he
was discharged on account of disability and returned to his home in Lucas.
He again enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Sixty-third Ohio
Infantry, on the 2d of May, 1864, thus again offering his service, was
elected second lieutenant, and went to the front for one hundred days' serv-
ice. On the expiration of that period he received an honorable discharge.
For some years following his return to Lucas Captain First devoted
his time to the study of law. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth
and ability, called him to public office, and for seven years he served as the
mayor of the town, discharging his duties most capably. His administra-
tion was progressive, business-like and practical, and resulted to the good
of the town along many lines. He was also a notary public for several
172 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY..
years. In politics he is a Democrat, with a firm faith in the principles of 1
his party. Socially he holds membership in P. A. Swigart Post, G. A. R.,
of Lucas, in which he has served as the commander.
In 1852 Captain First was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Van
Scoyoc, and unto them were born nine children, but three — Elizabeth, Lin-
coln and Van Scoyoc — are now deceased. Those still living are Alice, the
wife of Franklin Gard, of Washington; John C, an electrician; Hattie, the
wife of Dr. John F. Culler, of Lucas; Ellsworth E. ; Clara, the wife of
Harry Gates, of Shelby, Ohio; and James A. The family is one of promi-
nence in the community, the members of the household occupying an envia-
ble position in social circles. The Captain is a man of genial and kindly
disposition, courteous and obliging, and is very popular in Lucas, where he
is regarded as one of the leading and influential men of the town.
MARTIN VAN BUREN POST.
Martin Van Buren Post, a prosperous farmer of section 32, Sharon
township, Richland county, whose postoffice is Shelby, was born on the spot
where he now lives, in the first log house in the vicinity. His father, Dan-
iel Post, was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, in which state
he was married to Hannah Slater, with whom he removed to Ohio in 1832
or 1833, driving through with a team and wagon and settling on govern-
ment land. He and his wife reared seven children.— four sons and three
daughters, — three of whom are still living. These seven children were as
follows : David, who was twice married, by his two wives rearing nine chil-
dren, and dying in 1892, at the age of seventy-two; Phebe Ann, a maiden
lady, aged seventy-nine and living on the old farm; John, who in 1852
went to California and died there a bachelor in 1865; Sarah, who mar-
ried George Raymond, and still survives him, and has six children;
Asher Taylor, who in 1894 was killed by a railroad train at the age of
sixty-four; Jane, who married Henry Shepard and died leaving five sons;
and Martin Van Buren, the subject of this sketch. The mother of these
children died in 1875, aged seventy-two or seventy-three. The father was
for many years a paralytic and died at the age of eighty-seven years, seven
months and twenty-one days. He was an unusually strong man, a plain
farmer, and both he and his wife were hard-working, industrious, honest
people, leaving at their death a handsome property which they had accu-
mulated by their own efforts. The farm on which thev lived, which con-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 173
tained one hundred and sixty acres, was cleared by Mr. Post and his sons,
with the exception of about thirty-five acres of timber, still standing. They
were unusually domestic in their habits, and gave all their children the best
education in their power, first in the early log schoolhouse, with its pun-
cheon floor, seats and desks, and later in better schools.
Martin Van Buren Post and his brother never left their home, he and
his brother Asher carrying on the farm work. Mr. Post still owns the
farm, but the sister has a life interest therein.
Mr. Post is a Democrat in politics, but has not only never sought after
office but has even refused the office of supervisor tendered him by his
Democratic fellow citizens. He carries on general farming, keeping six
head of cattle, three horses and some few hogs. The fine maple trees which
furnish such excellent and delightful shade in the warm summer days and
which are such a pleasant sight to the eye, standing on each side of the
road, were planted by him, he having transplanted them in earlier days,
carrying them on his shoulders from the places where they originally grew.
The residence in which he lives was erected by himself and his brother
some thirty years ago, on the spot where stood the house previously built
by his father and eldest brother. Mr. Post belongs to an excellent family,
and is highly esteemed as an industrious, honest citizen of his town and
county.
GEORGE W. RICKETTS.
Tales of heroism on the field of battle have been the theme of song
and story throughout the ages, and while memory lasts the American peo-
ple will never forget the debt of gratitude which it owes to the soldiers
who went to the front to defend the Union and thus preserved entire the
greatest republic known in the world's history. Among this number was
Mr. Ricketts, whose fidelity on the field of contest was many times dis-
played. In private life he is also as true and faithful to his duties of citi-
zenship as when he followed the stars and stripes through the south.
Mr. Ricketts was born June 19, 1846, in Mansfield, where he still
makes his home. His father, John Ricketts. Sr., was born January 4.
1817, and died in Mansfield in March, 1895. For fifty-five years he resided
in this city and was recognized as one of the prominent and influential men
of the county. His widow is still living, and, although eighty years of
age, is well preserved, retaining her mental and physical faculties unim-
i 7 4 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
paired. Their son, George W. Ricketts, pursued his education in the pub-
lic schools of Mansfield.
No event of special importance occurred during- his early life to vary
the usual routine, but after the inauguration of the Civil war all was
changed, and the patriotic spirit of the boy was aroused. He determined
to aid in the preservation of the Union, and, although only fifteen years
of age, he enlisted on the 18th of December, 1861, as a member of Com-
pany F, Eighty-second Ohio Infantry. He was commissioned as a cor-
poral and went to the front in West Virginia in 1862, becoming a mem-
ber of Schenck's brigade, with which he was connected until September
of that year. He was at the headquarters of the Eleventh Army Corps
until June, 1863, and was with the Second Brigade, Third Division of the
Eleventh Corps, until March, 1864, when his regiment became a part of the
Third Brigade of the First Division of the Twentieth Corps, with which
command it was associated until July, 1865. On the 25th of January,
1862, the regiment moved to Grafton, West Virginia, and on the nth of
April of that year started on the Lost River expedition. On the 8th and"
9th of May occurred the battle of McDowell, and on the two succeeding
days the Eighty-second Ohio participated in the battle of Franklin. With
his command Mr. Ricketts participated in that engagement and also in the
following: Strasburg, June 1st; Cross Keys, June 8th; Cedar Mountain,
August 9th; Rappahannock, August 18th; Waterloo Bridge, August 21st;
Freeman's Ford, August 22d; Great Run, August 23d and 24th; White
Sulphur Springs, August 24th; Manassas, August 26th and 27th; Gaines-
ville, August 28th; Groveton, August 29th; Bull Run, August 30th; and
after that engagement Mr. Ricketts was assigned to provost duty at the
headquarters of the Third Division of the Eleventh Corps, where he re-
mained until December. His command then acted as sharpshooters in the
Third Division until July, 1863, and with his regiment he participated in
the Mud March, January 24, 1863; the battle of Chancellorsville, which
continued from the 1st to the 5th of May, and where he was slightly
wounded on the 2d; Gettysburg, July 1st to 3d; Hagerstown. July 12th;
the movement to Bridgeport, Alabama, from the 25th of September to the
1st of October; the battle of Wauhatchie, Tennessee, October • 27th and
28th; Chattanooga, November 23d; Lookout Mountain, November 23d and
24th; Missionary Ridge, November 25th; Ringgold, Georgia, November
27th; and the march to the relief of Knoxville from the 29th of Novem-
ber to the 17th of December.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 175
Mr. Ricketts' term expired in December, and on the 1st of January,
1864, he re-enlisted and participated in the Atlanta campaign from May
until September, taking part in the battles of Bridge Tunnel Hill and Buz-
zards' Roost, May 5th-nth; Resaca, May I3th-I5th; Cassville, May 19th-
22d; Dallas and Altoona, May 25th to June 4th; New Hope Church. May
27th-28th; Kenesaw Mountain, June 9th-ioth; Galatha, June i6th-27th;
Pine Knob, June 19th; Culp's Farm, June 22; Kenesaw, June 27th; Mari-
etta, July 3d-4th; Chattahoochie River, July 6th- 17th; Peach Tree Creek,
July 20th; Atlanta, July 22d; the siege of Atlanta from the 22^ of July
to the 25th of August ; the occupation of Atlanta from the 2d of Septem-
ber to the 15th of November, when the troops under General Sherman
started on the celebrated march to the sea; Milledgeville, November 12th:
Buffalo Creek, November 25th-26th: Ogeechee River. November 29th;
Savannah, December ioth-2ist; Robert's Mills, February 1, 1865; Salke-
hatchie, February 3d ; Brinker's Ridge, February 7th ; Orangeburg, Febru-
ary I2th-i3th; Columbia. February i6th-i7th; Chesterfield, March 2d;
Bentonville, North Carolina, March I9th-2ist; and Raleigh, April 26th.
Mr. Ricketts was also present at the surrender of General Johnston's army,
on the 26th of April. With his regiment he then marched to Washing-
ton, D. C, by way of Richmond, Virginia, and participated in the grand
review in the capital city, ''where wave after wave of bayonet-crested
blue" passed by the stand from which the president watched the return of
the victorious army. He was mustered out of the service May 26, 1865.
and with a most creditable military record returned to his home. He was
still but a boy. yet on many a hotly contested battlefield he had displayed cour-
age and endurance equal to that of many a time-tried veteran.
Mr. Ricketts remained at his home in Mansfield, Ohio, until 1869.
when he went to Cincinnati, becoming connected with the business inter-
ests of that city for ten years. During that period he was married on the
24th of December, 1872, to Miss Sarah Featherlin. a resident of Cincinnati.
They now have three children: John. Richard and Harry C. the last
named still a student in school. John enlisted in Company L. of the Four-
teenth Regiment of the United States regulars and is now in Manila.
Richard joined Company M of the Eighth Ohio Volunteers during the
Spanish-American war and was with his regiment on the firing line at San-
tiago. He returned with his company when the troops were recalled from
Cuba, and is now in Mansfield. In 1879 Air. Ricketts returned with his
family to this city, where he has since resided, and at the present time he
176 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
is holding the position of custodian of the library. He and his family are
members of the First Baptist church, and they are people of sterling worth,
enjoying the high regard of many friends.
Since its organization Mr. Ricketts has been a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic, being now connected with McLaughlin Post, No.
31, of Mansfield. Courteous, genial and well informed, he is a popular and
highly respected citizen of his native city and well deserves a representa-
tion in this volume.
HON. HENRY C. KOOKEN.
Henry Clute Kooken, a prominent citizen of Mansfield, Ohio, was born
September 3, 1836, in Ashland county, Ohio. He is the eldest of his parents'
family of thirteen children, of whom only three ■still survive, namely: himself,
William H., Jr., of Alabama, and Louise, the wife of William Fulton, of
Lucas. Richland county, Ohio.
The subject of this review was married September 25. 1862, to Miss
Mary E. Pearce, a daughter of Louis K. Pearce and his wife, Elizabeth C.
Pearce ncc Driskell. Mr. and Mrs. Kooken are the parents of six children,
as follows: Landon M., Esther Cedelia, Luella Victoria, Elizabeth Elnora,
Mary Pearce and Louis K. Landon M. was born July 25, 1863, and on
August 14, 1888, married Miss Lamira A. Purdey. by whom he has two
children, namely: Landon M., Jr., born June 16, 1889: and Ruth Elnora, born
January 2, 1892. Esther C. was born July 29, 1864. and married Dr. J. D.
Purdey October 18, 1887. Dr. jand Mrs. Purdey have had two children:
Pledge Kooken, born September 30, 1890, and died October 6, 1891; and
Marietjee Da Lee, born March 24, 1892. Elizabeth Elnora, born August 22,
1867, married Albert Coul August 14. 1882, and has had three children:
Irene Ryford, born December 29, 1883; Ella Eva, born August 29, 1885, and
died March 19. 1892; and Albert Ralph, born May 28, 1888. Louis K. was
born August 25, 1878, and still, remains single. Luella Victoria and Mary
Pearce died young.
William Hills Kooken, the father of our subject, was born October 7,
1 8 10, and died April 1. 1888. Susan Devenbaugh, called by some of the
early ancestors of the family Derfenbacher, was the mother of our subject.
She was born in 1808, and was married to Mr. Kooken in 1836, and, as
stated at the beginning of this sketch, became the mother of thirteen children.
Her parents were Daniel Devenbaugh and Ann Mari? Kooken. The original
name came from Lord Devenbeaux, of France, whose descendants fled from
o<^L^ a /la-cr^c^r
t^vx^.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 177
their native country to Germany at the time of the Huguenot persecution,
and came thence to America with some of their co-religionists. Daniel
Devenbaugh and Maria Kooken were married in Bedford county, Pennsyl-
vania, and were the parents of ten children, but the family records were
destroyed by fire about the time of the beginning of the war of the Revolution.
Their ten children are now all dead. Then name of the grandfather of the
mother of the subject of this sketch was Casper Devenbaugh, a son of Casper
Devenbaugh, who came from Germany to America about 1739 or 1740. The
latter landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and took the oath of allegiance
to the British crown before setting foot on the soil of America, as was learned
from the records of the port of entry in the office of the secretary at Harris-
burg, Pennsylvania.
The maternal grandmother of the subject, Ann Maria Devenbaugh, was
a daughter of John Kooken, who was born in Philadelphia county, Pennsyl-
vania. He was a son of Johannes Kooken, who came to America about 1720.
On January 29, 1729, by vote of the general assembly of Pennsylvania, he was
naturalized under English rule. Being then a citizen of Philadelphia county,
he was granted land and certain privileges under the Northern Liberties and
.William Penn's rights to the state of Pennsylvania. Ann Marie Baker, whom
Johannes Kooken married, was a daughter of William Baker and Marie
(Penn) Baker. Her mother was a daughter of John Penn, a son of William
Penn by his second marriage, to Hannah Callohill. Inasmuch as Johannes
Kooken had married the granddaughter of William Penn he had to be natural-
ized and be acknowledged by the general assembly of Pennsylvania, thus
coming into possession of his land and other property, and holding them under
the ruling authorities of England and Pennsylvania and to the rights ceded
to William Penn, the Free Traders' Society and the Northern Liberties. He
and his wife lie buried in the old Friends' burying-ground in the city of
Philadelphia. The above information was derived from the books of the
old Friends' church in Philadelphia.
William Hills Kooken and his wife were first Cousins. The former was
a son of John Kooken, who was a son of John Kooken and a grandson of
Johannes Kooken and his wife, Mary or Marie Penn. William Penn was of
the royal house of Tudor, his grandfather being John Tudor. William Penn
was buried at Jordan's, near Beckersfield, Buckinghamshire, England, this
graveyard being three miles from the London road, on the lands of a Lady
Young. William Hills Kooken's mother was Margaret Hills, a daughter of
William Hills and his wife, Susannah Engle. They were married in Win-
chester, Virginia, prior to the war of the Revolution. They were both natives
178 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of England, the former having been born in the parish of Kent. The Hills
ancestors were named Jennings, Howe, Innes, Engle and Pennington, accord-
ing to the best knowledge and information that has been handed down from
the past, also according to the history of the Kooken family. John Kooken,
the grandfather of the subject, married a Miss Baker, who was a descendant
of William Baker, who married a granddaughter of William Perm, the
founder of Pennsylvania, this information having been subscribed to on July
9, 1900, by Henry Clute Kooken, as handed down to him by his ancestors.
Mary E. Kooken, the wife of the subject of this sketch, is a daughter of
Louis Kinney Pearce and his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth C.
Driskell. The former was a son of Stephen Pearce and his wife, Mary
Kinney, she being a daughter of Louis Kinney and his wife, Mary Williams.
Louis Kinney was a son of Louis Kinney and his wife, Esther Dubois, a
daughter of Joost or George Dubois, whose mother was a daughter of Louis
XIV, of France. The Dubois family was noted among the Huguenots of
France for their independence and intelligence, and fled from France to
Holland at the time of the persecution of those of their religious faith.
Resolve Waldron came to America from Amsterdam, Holland, about
1645. He was a son of Baron Johannes Wadron, of Waldron Hall, Amster-
dam, and was one of the original patentees of the Harlem land patents under
Governors Nichols and Thomas Dongan, under dates of 1666, 1667 and 1668,
as shown by the official records in the office of the secretary of state at
Albany, New York. Resolve Waldron married Miss Tannekee Yon Nagle
in New York city, in 1654, and among their children were Ruth, born April
12, 1657, and baptized May 10, following. She married Johannes De La
Mater, August 11, 1678, in New York city. Air. and Airs. De La Mater
had seven children, the next to the youngest, Marietjee, or Marie, being born
in New Harlem, New York, July 9, 1696, and baptized July 26, 1696. Ruth
De La Mater died in New Harlem, now New York city, in 1707.
Marietjee De La Mater was married to John Pearce, of Flatbush, Long
Island, June 3, 171 6, and died near Aquanock, New Jersey, October 24,
1734. John Pearce died in New Harlem, June 3, 1744, and was buried in
the New Harlem cemetery, now New York city. James Pearce, the eldest
son of John Pearce, was born August 8, 171 7, and was married to Sarah
Van Horn, of Bergen county, New Jersey, January 19, I74 2 - Stephen
Pearce, a son of James Pearce, was born May 19, 1764, and was married to
Mary Kinney August 29, 1787, and died in Columbiana county, Ohio, in
1810. She died in Richland county, Ohio, in 1843, and lies buried in the
Perry vi lie cemetery in Ashland county, same state.
1 , CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 179
James Pearce was married on his own farm in Elizabeth, Allegheny
county, Pennsylvania, in 1807. His wife, Sarah, died in Columbiana county,
Ohio, and was buried in what was then known as the Bull Creek cemetery,
in 1804. They had ten children. The sixth child, Louis Kinney Pearce, was
born June 19, 1797, and was married to Elizabeth Cedelia Driskell September
19, 1833, the marriage ceremony being performed by Solomon Gladden, Esq.,
a justice of the peace of Richland county, Ohio, as is shown by the records
of said county. They had rive children, namely : James McVey Pearce, born
December 19, 1835, married Katharine Miller, in February, 1898; Mary E.
Pearce, born October 9, 1839, married H. C. Kooken September 25. i8 r >2;
Sarah Sophia, born September 6, 1843, anc ^ married to William S. Banks;
John Reed Pearce, born January 11, 1846, and was married to Ethalinda
J. Johnston; and Louis Kinney, Jr., born May n, 1848. and married to
Lydia Jane Leppo.
Louis Kinney Pearce, Sr., died December 30, 1850, and his wife, Eliza-
beth Cedelia Pearce, died March 15, 1890. Both lie buried in the Ford ceme-
tery in Washington township, Richland county, Ohio.
Mr. Kooken's father was a resident of Ashland county, Ohio, until the
son was past thirteen years of age. The family then came to Richland county
and settled on a farm four miles east of Mansfield, and here our subject's
home was continued until he was past twenty-one years. The father removed
to the village of Lucas, where he engaged in the boot and shoe business for
several years. Later he removed to the southern part of the county, and there
died. Our subject spent most of his boyhood days on a farm. He received a
common-school education, and his first business venture was in the boot
and shoe trade, first at Lucas and then at Newville. In 1880 he came to
Mansfield, which has since been his home. Since then he has been engaged
in the work of genealogical and biographical writing and in the insurance
business. He and his wife and all their children, save the eldest son, are
members of the Christian church.
AMBERSON W. GUTHRIE.
Much as has been written about the pioneer period in the history of
Ohio, it is impossible to consider the record of any family represented
here in early days without discovering new and interesting material which
deserves a permanent place in local chronicles. The family of Guthrie was
represented in pioneer days by early settlers whose peculiar experiences
i8o CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
formed the basis of traditions which have been handed down from father
to son.
Amberson \Y. Guthrie, buyer and shipper of poultry, Shiloh, Cass
township, Richland county, Ohio, is a prominent representative of this
family at this time. He was born in Blooming Grove township, Richland
county, December 2j, 1849, a son °^ Nathaniel S. and Sarah (Turbit)
Guthrie, and is one of seven of their eleven children who survive. Oliver
is a well-known farmer of Cass township. Ransom is an elevator pro-
prietor and a dealer in coal and grain at Plymouth, Ohio. Arkinson is
living the life of a retired farmer at Shelby, Ohio. Lucy is the wife of
A. Cleland, of Tiffin, Ohio. Emma is the wife of James Davidson, the
proprietor of a knitting manufactory at Ashland, Ohio. Frank, of Shiloh,
is a prominent farmer of Cass township.
Nathaniel S. Guthrie was born in Harrison county, Ohio, March 3,
1 8 16, and was brought by his parents to Richland county on the 15th of
September following, when he was six months and twelve days old. The
family settled in the woods and lived in a log cabin which was built after
their arrival. They all lived during the winter of 18 16-17 on "frosted"
corn bread. The next spring Grandfather Guthrie put in two acres of
wheat. Before it was ripe Grandmother Guthrie cut a sheaf, burned the
awns off, rubbed the wheat out and boiled it as rice. The family ate hear-
tily of the dish thus prepared, and in a few hours all were "deathly" sick.
Grandfather Guthrie paid dearly for the first barrel of salt that he brought
to his new home. He made a five-days journey to Sandusky and return
and exchanged twenty-five bushels of wheat, at fifty cents a bushel, and
two dollars and fifty cents' worth of maple syrup and coon skins, a total
value of fifteen dollars, for one barrel of this now cheap and common com-
modity. Their fare now was somewhat improved, consisting of mush and
milk, corn pone, potatoes, venison, wild turkey and other wild game which
abounded in the forests surrounding their wildwood home. Their furni-
ture was as rude and primitive as their log cabin, and it raxed Mr. Guth-
rie's ingenuity to construct it of rough poles and slabs hewn from saplings
and trees cut in the woods near by. Nathaniel S. Guthrie began his school-
ing at the age of nine years. An idea of the privations to which the
members of the family were subjected will be afforded when it is stated
that during the first two winters the boy went to and from the log school-
house barefooted ! Instead of books he had a rude wooden paddle, on one
side of which the letters of the alphabet had been roughly drawn, on the
CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 181
other a few words of one syllable ! His school days were over when he
was eighteen years old, and he began teaching music by the old "buck-
wheat" system of notation.
April 30, 1840, he married Sarah Turbit. and began his married life
almost as humbly as he had lived through the days of his Boyhood. Dur-
ing the ten years succeeding his marriage he was able to save but fifty
dollars, but from that time on he pressed forward with the determination
to have a home of his own, and gradually improved his fortunes until, in
1878, an attack of heart trouble compelled him to retire from farm life
and move to town. He was one of the well-to-do farmers of the county;
and, owing to the loving but hardy discipline under which his sons were
reared they all became men of the strictest integrity and all are well-to-do.
Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie early in life became members of the United Brethren
church, and from that time on were among its most active and substan-
tial supporters. Mr. Guthrie was a class-leader for twenty-one years and
was the superintendent of the first regularly established Sunday-school in
his neighborhood. He was a man of the highest character, esteemed by all
who knew him for his many admirable virtues, and his wife was a worthy
helpmeet to him. Her death occurred August 13, 1889, his January
23, 1896.
Amberson W. Guthrie was reared to farm life and acquired his educa-
tion in the common schools, but he inclined to a business career rather than
farming. At nineteen he began his career as an itinerant jewelry merchant,
visiting state and county fairs and following circuses through the country
and selling his wares on the streets. He pushed his business in that way
for four years, and during that time visited all parts of the United States.
After that he located at his old home and was married November 15,
1874, to Miss Ella McMunn, a daughter of \Yilliam McMunn and a native
of Plymouth, Ohio. William McMunn, an Irishman by birth, came to
America, about his twenty-first year, with his mother and sisters, and set-
tled at Plymouth, where he married. He fought through the entire period
of the Civil war, and died one week after his return home. After his
marriage Mr. Guthrie settled on the Guthrie homestead and managed it for
eighteen years on shares. In 1893 he located at Shiloh, but did not engage
in any active business until the fall of 1894, when he engaged in buying
and shipping poultry to Cleveland commission houses. Later, when the
magnitude of his business justified such an innovation, he established his
son in a stand in the Sheriff street market, Cleveland, where his g-oods
1 82 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
were sold direct. His enterprise has now assumed such proportions that
his shipments average two tons of dressed poultry a week.
Amberson W. and Ella (McMunn) Guthrie have had four children,
three of whom survive. His son. Barton R., has charge of his father's
interests at Cleveland, as mentioned above. Florence became the wife of
Rev. Edward Hermiston, an evangelist of the Baptist faith, and is his assist-
ant. She is a trained elocutionist and an able and impressive speaker.
The}' are known as the "Moody School Evangelists." and their work in
different parts of the country for the salvation of souls has been com-
mended by leading preachers of different denominations. Maud is the
wife of Al. Zeimer, a well-known race-horse man of Chicago, Illinois.
Barton R. was for two years a student at the Western Reserve Dental
College, and was graduated at that institution in June, 1891. In 1896
Mr. Guthrie purchased the home farm of two hundred and twenty acres,
which he rents profitably. He is one of the progressive business men of
of the county and is a leading Republican, who manifests much enthusi-
asm in party work.
URIAH LAFFERTY.
The farming interests of Richland county are well represented by Mr.
Lafferty, who devotes his time and energies to agricultural pursuits in
Worthington township, where he has a valuable tract of land under a high
state of cultivation. He was born in Harrison county, Ohio. February 6,
1825. His father, John Lafferty. was united in marriage to Miss Mary
Leadom, a daughter of Thomas Leadom and a native of the Keystone
state. At an early day John Lafferty removed to Harrison county, Ohio,
where he lived until 1833. when he came to Richland county, casting his
lot with the pioneer settlers of this section of the state. He rented a farm
near Bellville until the following March, when he purchased one hundred
and sixty acres of timber land two miles east of the town. No improve-
ments had been made on the place, but he at once began to clear it and
soon the wild tract was transformed into richly cultivated fields. There
he continued his farming operations until his life's labors were ended in
death, in 1844, when he had attained the age of sixty-six and a half years.
He was very active in Democratic circles, yet neither sought nor desired
the honors or emoluments of public office. His time was devoted to his
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 183
tie and sheep in addition to his general farming pursuits. He was an active
member of the Presbyterian church, as was also his wife, who died in
Richland county, at the age of eighty-five years. In their family were
eleven children, but Uriah is now the only one surviving.
When he was a lad of nine summers Uriah Lafferty accompanied his
parents on their removal to Richland county, and remained at home un-
til about twenty-five years of age. His father died about that time and
the son then moved to his present farm in Worthington township. As a
companion and helpmeet on life's journey he chose Miss Nancy Kanaga,
a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Reem) Kanaga, both natives of Cum-
berland county, Pennsylvania, where they were married. In 1834 they came
to Richland county, locating on the farm now occupied by Mr. and Mrs.
Lafferty, there spending - their remaining days. Her father also owned and
operated a mill, which still stands upon the place, and was a successful busi-
ness man. In politics he was a Whig and was an earnest Christian gentle-
man although he did not belong to any church. He erected and paid for a
house of worship located on his farm in Pennsylvania, and at all times con-
tributed liberally to church work. He died at the age of seventy-nine and his
wife passed away at the age of eighty-seven. She held membership in the
Evangelical church. In her family were six children, including Mrs. Lafferty,
who was born in Pennsylvania, April 30, 1832, and was only two years old
when brought by her parents to Richland county. Almost her entire life has
been spent upon the farm which is now her home. By her marriage she has
become the mother of two children, — Alvin L. and Abraham J., — who oper-
ate the old homestead, which comprises two hundred and thirty acres of land
devoted to general farming pursuits. The fields are highly cultivated and
everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance. Mr. Lafferty
exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
Democratic party, and he and his wife are members of the Evangelical church.
JAMES MADISON POST.
Among the honored veterans of the Civil war and highly esteemed citi-
zens of Richland county may be numbered James M. Post, most of whose life
has been passed here. He was born on the 28th of February, 1840, in Spring-
field township, two miles west of Ontario, on the farm now owned by Nathan
Tyler, and lived there until sixteen years of age, when he removed to the
1 8 4 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
present farm of "Jud" Aton, in Troy township, where he continued to make
his home until he attained his majority.
Mr. Post is a son of William and Rhoda (Poole) Post. His father was
a native of Pennsylvania, of Scotch and Irish descent, and his mother was a
native of Ohio. They had thirteen children. They were early settlers of
Springfield township, Richland county.
Prompted by a spirit of patriotism, Mr. Post enlisted August 10, 1861,
'for three years, becoming a private of Company E, Thirty-second Ohio Vol-
unteer Infantry, and he participated in the engagements at McDowell, Cross
Keys, Franklin and Harper's Ferry, — all in Virginia. At the last named
place he was taken prisoner with his regiment, and after being paroled was
sent into camp at Chicago, Illinois. In February, 1862, they were exchanged
and once more went to the front, taking part in the battles of Vicksburg, Ray-
mond, Champion Hills, Jackson and Baker's Creek. They also participated
in the siege of Vicksburg and were with Sherman on the Atlanta campaign.
During the siege of Atlanta Mr. Post's time expired, and he was honorably
discharged at Louisville, Kentucky, July 27, 1864. Returning to his home,
he resumed farming. In 1871 he removed to Eaton county, Michigan, where
he resided and farmed for twelve years, and in 1883 purchased the farm of
eighty acres upon which he has since successfully engaged in general farming.
On the 10th of December, 1868, Mr. Post was united in marriage with
Miss Isabelle C. Murphy, a daughter of John and Mary Murphy, and to them
were born three children, namely: Minnie O., Mary E., and Gertrude E.
The first two are married. He is a stanch supporter of the men and measures
of the Republican party and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian
church. As a citizen he has always been true and faithful to every trust re-
posed in him, so that his loyalty is above question, being manifest in days of
peace as well as when he followed the old flag to victory on southern battle-
'fields.
CURTIS L. AVERY.
Curtis Lord Avery was one of the earliest inhabitants of Mansfield, Ohio,
where for many years he was a successful merchant and prominent citizen.
He came to Mansfield and was one of the founders and builders .of this pros-
perous and growing city. He was strongly opposed to slavery, believing
it a sin, and that should the nation endure slavery must be abolished.
Refusing to follow the teachings of many of the clergymen of the agita-
tion days, and seeking religious affiliation and teaching in harmony with his
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 185
views, and finding- many of his neighbors and friends in harmony and sympathy
with his sentiments, he became one of the founders of the First Congregational
church in Mansfield, and was a generous contributor of means and effort to
the support of the church. From business activities he retired soon after
the close of the Civil war, and later removed to Wayne, Pennsylvania, where
he now (1900) resides, being yet active in mind and body, notwithstanding
that he has passed the ninetieth milestone in life's journey.
He was born in Groton, Connecticut, June 1, 18 10, and came of an old
and highly respected New England family. His parents were David and
Hannah (Smith) Avery. David Avery was a soldier of the war of 18 12, and
his parents were Rufus and Hannah (Lord) Avery. Rufus Avery was a
soldier of the Revolutionary war, as a captain of Connecticut volunteers,
serving six years. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Griswold, in
September, 1781, He was a son of James and Elizabeth (Allyn) Avery. His
father, James, was a son of James and Elizabeth (Smith) Avery. James,
the fourth, was a son of James and Alary (Griswold) Avery, and James, the
third, was a son of James and Deborah (Stallyon) Avery. James, the sec-
ond, was a son of James and Joanna (Greenslade) Avery, and James, the
first, was the son of Christopher Avery and was born in England, whence
he came with his father to America about 1630, and after residing in Glou-
cester, Massachusetts, located in Groton, Connecticut, and properly became
the progenitor of the family in America.
Thus we have traced the genealogy of our subject back to the first
representative of one of the oldest American families, and one, too, which has
produced prominent men in every generation since the family was estab-
lished in this country. In 1835 Curtis Lord Avery married Sarah Sturgish
Buckingham, born March 15, 181 7, and died February 24, 1851. Curtis L.
Avery had three children, — Rufus Lord, Belinda and Ellen.
Rufus Lord Avery had a short but brilliant career. He was born at
Mansfield, Ohio, April 16, 1838, and was educated in the schools of Mans-
field and at Kenyon College. He left Kenyon College in 1859, returned to
Mansfield and took a position in his father's mercantile establishment. In
the spring of i860 he formed a partnership with F. E. Tracy, as Tracy &
Avery, and engaged in the grocery business, which passed from the retail
to the wholesale trade in 1862. The firm of Tracy & Avery has had a pros-
perous existence of over forty years, but Mr. Avery did not live long after
the establishment of the firm, for with the breaking out of the Civil war
his patriotism prompted him to volunteer his services to the defense of the
Union. He was one of the first to sign the roll of Company C, Fifteenth
12
1 86 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Ohio Infantry, on April 17, 1861. He was first made sergeant, and on the
field was promoted as second lieutenant. After much arduous service in
West Virginia, being present at the battle of Philippi, the first of the war
(after the firing on Fort Sumter), and the term of enlistment expiring, the
regiment returned to Ohio, and was reorganized in August, 1861.
The necessities of Mr. Avery's business demanded his personal efforts,
and therefore he did not return to the field of warfare until May 1, 1864,
but the entire interval was largely spent in assisting in organizing and drill-
ing troops for the field. On rejoining the army, Mr. Avery became the cap-
tain of Company A, One Hundred and Sixty-third Ohio Infantry. The
regiment spent a month in the intrenchments at Washington, and reached
Deep Bottom Bridge June 14, 1864. The next day position in the intrench-
ments before Petersburg was taken by the regiment, and June 16 Captain
Avery commanded the skirmish line in a raid made by five regiments under
the command of Colonel Francis B. Pond, to cut the railroad between Rich-
mond and Petersburg; and. this was successfully accomplished. Captain
Avery contracted Chickahominy fever on an expedition under General Oilman
Martson, and from this disease died on board the hospital receiving-ship
Matilda, off Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, August 2, 1864. He was a true
and affectionate comrade, a brave and devoted soldier and a patriotic citizen.
He gave his life freely and bravely for his country's existence.
He was a Republican in politics, and in church faith a Congregation-
alist.
In 1 86 1 Mr. Avery married Mary D. Tracy, who has since resided in
Mansfield. By this marriage but one child was born, who was named Sarah
Lord Avery. She became the wife of Rev. Alfred Chapman Hand, who
died in 1892 and by whom she has one child, Avery Chapman Hand.
GEORGE MITCHELL, M. D.
Prominent among the successful physicians of Richland county stands
Dr. George Mitchell, of Mansfield, whose devotion to the duties of his pro-
fession, combined with a comprehensive understanding of the principles
of the science of medicine, has made him a most able practitioner, whose
prominence is well deserved.
Dr. Mitchell is a native of Richland county, born in Olivesburg, and
is of good Revolutionary stock, his paternal grandfather, John Mitchell, a
native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, having aided the colonies in
achieving their independence. His father, Dr. George Franklin Mitchell,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 187
was also born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1808, and took up
the study of medicine under the preceptorship of a leading' and distin-
guished physician of Pittsburg, later graduating at a Cincinnati college of
medicine about 1830. In Fayette county, Pennsylvania, he married Miss
Nancy De Vatte, a daughter of John De Vatte, who belonged to an old
French Huguenot family, who on being driven from France sought refuge
in Ireland and later came to America. It was in 183 1 that the father of
our subject located in Olivesburg, Ohio, and in 1846 removed to Mans-
field, where he continued to, make his home throughout the remainder of his
life. No better testimonial of his worth can be given than that written
by H. C. Hedges, who knew him personally :
"Prominent in his profession, and as prominent in his prominence as
any of his brethren, comes George F. Mitchell, born in the year 1808. in
the month of May, a native of the hills of western Pennsylvania, in the
county of Washington, a region which has become classic by reason of its
numerous colleges and seminaries, and the sturdy manhood and beautiful
womanhood of its people, the part of the country that stood the shock of
the early contentions of English and French for supremacy, and the border-
land where savage and civilized life for decades were at variance and doubt-
ful which won the victory, where Braddock fell and where Washington
began his great career. It was there that Dr. Mitchell was born, and after
boyhood began his medical studies, his preceptor being a leading and dis-
tinguished physician of Pittsburg, though he took his degree at the famous
Medical College of Cincinnati.
"In 1 83 1, when only twenty-three years of age, he removed to Ohio
and settled in the village of Olivesburg, Richland county, — a village that
in that day was prosperous and in the midst of the richer part of Richland
county; but his skill was such as to render his service in constant demand
both at home and beyond the lines of a village and country practice, and
in 1846 he removed to Mansfield, and ceased not his laborious life till
death ended at the same time his pilgrimage on earth and his professional
career. On the morning of March 31, 1869, he visited his patients, then
retiring to his home engaged in trimming his vines and trees. Suddenly
the heart ceased its beating and George F. Mitchell's life on earth was
closed. The years of his life were sixty and one. Dr. Mitchell was of
stalwart build physically, and in the '30s was counted a man of prodigious
strength. He was a portly man in his bearing, dignified in character,
learned in his profession, careful in his practice, courteous, prudent, ever
1 88 CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
pursuing the safe course, taking nothing for granted without the most
searching inquiry and examination, and his success was such as might be
looked for in such a conscientious man, and so skillful and careful a phy-
sician. When the great war came on Dr. Mitchell had passed the half cen-
tury of life. His ripe experience, great medical learning and masterly
skill would have been of great service to the country had he been able to
respond to the invitation of the surgeon general of Ohio and enter the
military service. His close-pressing engagements at home and duties he
owed to the community in which he had so long lived, controlled his judg-
ment, and wisely, and he could respond only when emergencies demanded
short terms of service. After the battle of Shiloh he went to the front.
After the conflicts and contests of the armed battalions in the valley of
Virginia he gave his time and skill to the soldiers of the Union.
"Of his family two sons and a daughter preceded him and the same
number survived him. It gratified him that two of his sons followed in
the field of work of their father. The elder. Dr. Milton Mitchell, whose
young life went out years ago, was a man of great brilliancy and
promise. The younger, Dr. George Mitchell, the practitioner of to-day.
so nearly resembles the father that in him the father seems again to appear
in the activities of a successful professional career. — a worthy son of a
worthy sire. His wife, who was Miss Nancy De Yatte, of Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, survived him many years and passed away in the fullness
of age.
"How shall we measure Dr. G. F. Mitchell ? He was a fearless, con-
scientious man, doing and daring always to do the right. Active in the
church of 'his choice, — the Methodist Episcopal, — and one of that brother-
hood on whose great seal is emblazoned the command to 'visit the sick,
relieve the distressed, bury the dead, and educate the orphan,' it was the
great ambition of Dr. George F. Mitchell to serve well his day and genera-
tion and to bless humanity."
Only three of his children are now living: Nannie, the wife of H.
M. Parker, who is the superintendent of the public schools of Elyria, Ohio ;
William, the father of Charles W. Mitchell, a grandson of Dr. G. F.
[Mitchell, is now the manager of the Western Union Telegraph of Mans-
field ; and George. Our subject acquired his literary education in Delaware
county, where he was graduated, at the age of eighteen years, and was gradu-
ated at the Miami University, of Cincinnati, with the degree of M. D.. in
the spring of 1862. Immediately after his graduation in April of that
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 189
year, he entered the army as assistant surgeon of the One Hundred and
Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and remained in the service until the
close of the war, having charge of nine hospitals, boats, etc. He was com-
missioned the surgeon of the One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Ohio Vol-
unteer Infantry, but would not leave his own regiment. After his return
home, in 1865, the Doctor was engaged in practice with his father until
the latter's death in 1869, and later was in partnership with Dr. William
Loughridge for five years, when his partner died, and he has since been
alone in practice. He ranks high among the able practitioners of the state,
and has been called upon to fill some very important positions. For sev-
eral years he was the professor of materia medica and therapeutics at
Wooster College, Cleveland; was a trustee of the central insane asylum
at Columbus during the construction of the building; for over a quarter
of a century was a trustee of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware,
— his alnui mater, — and is now serving his third term as president of the
pension board.
Dr. Mitchell married Miss Mary Burns, a daughter of Colonel Barna-
bas Burns. By this union were born three children, namely : Milton
Burns, the eldest, who died at the age of nineteen years while attending
high school. He took an active interest in sports, was a faithful member
of the Methodist Episcopal church and Sunday-school, and was a most
affectionate and dutiful son. In fact, he was a young man of great promise,
whose purpose it was to enter the medical profession. Paul Caldwell,
after a preparatory course at Delaware, Ohio, entered Williams College,
Massachusetts, where he was graduated, and is now studying law with his
uncle, John C. Burns, of Mansfield, Ohio. Mary De Vatte. the only
daughter, is a graduate of the high school of Mansfield and Dr. Gannett's
school of Boston, Massachusetts. She possesses an excellent soprano voice,
of much power and sweetness, and prosecuted her musical studies both in
Boston and Paris. She is now devoting her talent to concert and choir
work. Mrs. Mitchell takes an active interest in all matters affecting the
welfare of her family and in church and literary work, and has an envia-
ble reputation as a writer, her family being gifted in that line.
Since his boyhood Dr. Mitchell has been an active member of the
Methodist Episcopal church and is now the president of the official board
of the First church. He is -also a prominent member of the Grand
Army of the Republic and of the Loyal Legion, and is connected with the
Odd Fellows Society, to which his father also belonged. The latter sup-
190 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ported the Whig party, and our subject is a stanch Republican, though
not strictly partisan, at local elections supporting the men whom he believes
best qualified for the office, regardless of party affiliations. He is an act-
ive member of the American Medical Association, to which he has been a
delegate, and also holds membership in the State and Northwestern Medi-
cal Associations. The place he has won in his profession is accorded him
in recognition of his skill and ability, and the place which he occupies in
the social world is a tribute to that genuine worth and true nobleness of
character which are universally recognized and honored.
SILAS RUMMEL.
Upon a valuable farm of three hundred acres adjoining the village of
Lucas, Silas Rummel is carrying on general farming and stock raising. He
is one of the leading agriculturists of his community, progressive and prac-
tical in his methods and determined in the prosecution of his work. Such
qualities cannot fail to secure success, and Mr. Rummel is annually augment-
ing his income. He is numbered among Ohio's native sons, his birth having
occurred in Seneca county, on Wolf creek, near Tiffin, on the 6th of July,
1834. His father, Lewis Rummel, was a native of Frederick county, Mary-
land, and a son of Lewis Frederick Rummel, who was born in the city of
Berlin, Prussia. There he was educated for the Lutheran ministry. He be-
longed to a family of nobility, but during his boyhood he ran away from
home and in Berlin made the acquaintance of a tailor who influenced him
to learn the trade. In 1780 he came to America, locating near Harper's
Ferry, Virginia, where he learned the miller's trade, and under his direction
Lewis Rummel, the father of our subject, also became familiar with the busi-
ness.
In the '20s he came to Ohio, locating near Tiffin, where he leased a flour-
mill, continuing its operation until 1839, when he removed to Wyandot
county, Ohio, and purchased a mill on the Sandusky river, near Wyandot.
He operated that for nine years and in 1848 he came to Richland county,
purchasing a farm of one hundred and twenty-six acres in Worthington town-
ship. In 1858 he bought a mill property in Knox county known as the Gilcriest
property, near Amity, and removed to that place, continuing the mill business
until 1864. when he returned to Richland county, here making his home
throughout his remaining days, his last years being spent on the old Mock
farm, in Worthington township, near Bethany Chapel, which he himself
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 191
■built. He died October 8, 1891, at the age of eighty-seven years, his birth
having occurred on the 10th of April, 1804. He married Miss Elizabeth
Nichols, and they became the parents of seven children, all save one of whom
reached years of maturity and reared families of their own. He married a
second time in life, wedding Anna Cregg, by whom there were six children,
one now deceased. Lewis Frederick Rummel was a self-educated man, and
by experience, reading and observation became well informed. Of strong men-
tality and of marked character, he exercised a wide influence in the com-
munity in which he lived and was a citizen of worth. He was very gener-
ous and public-spirited, and was one of the leading workers in the Disciple
church, a strong and typical follower of Alexander Campbell.
Silas Rummel, whose entire life has been spent in Ohio, was reared at
his parental home and learned the trades of miller and millwright. He was
married December 20, i860, and in order to support his family followed both
milling and farming. In 1864 he removed from Knox county to Madison
township, Richland county, Ohio, where he purchased the old Campbell flour-
ing-mill on the Rocky Ford. Five years later he sold that property and
located at his present place, buying a farm of eighty acres near Lucas, the
Oldfield property. He also became owner of a flouring-mill, which he con-
ducted in connection with general farming. He is to-day the owner of three
hundred acres of valuable land adjoining the village of Lucas and there
successfully carries on general farming and stock-raising. In addition he
owns an eighty-acre farm in Madison township, two tenement houses in
Mansfield, one hundred and twenty acres of land in Polk county, Missouri,
one hundred and sixty acres in Kansas and three hundred and eighty
acres of timber land on the White River in Arkansas. As his financial
resources have increased he has judiciously invested his capital in real
estate, which is the safest of all investments. He is a man of keen dis-
cernment and sound business judgment, qualities which have enabled him to
place his money so that it has brought to him a good return.
On the 20th of December, i860, he was united in marriage with Miss
Susan Lahmon, of Knox county, Ohio, and for forty years she has been to
him a faithful companion and helpmate on life's journey. They became the
parents of seven children : William A., deceased, who was a miller of Salem,
Oregon; Delnorta, the wife of O. E. Swigart ; Mary, the wife of Lewis Dickes,
of Butler; George and Otis A., both at home; Edward G., a physician of But-
ler ; and Mrs. Flora Baughman.
Mr. Rummel gives his political support to the Republican party, but the
192 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
honors or emoluments of office have no attraction for him, as he has preferred
'to give his entire time and attention to his business interests, in which he has
met with creditable success. He started out in life empty handed, but has
steadily worked his way upward, overcoming all difficulties by determined
purpose, utilizing obstacles as stepping stones to something higher; and his
good wife has helped him. His resolute will and indefatigable energy have
been the salient features of his success.
BENJAMIN F. OBERLIX.
Among those who at the country's call went to the front and aided in the
preservation of the Union was Benjamin F." Oberlin, now an enterprising and
successful merchant of Butler. Throughout the years of an active business
career he has ever been found faithful to duty, whether upon the field of
battle or in the walks of private life, and he enjoys the respect and con-
fidence of all with whom he has been associated.
A native of Ohio, Mr. Oberlin was born in Stark county. September
25. 1844. His grandparents were natives of Pennsylvania, and in that state
John Oberlin, the father of our subject, was born. In early manhood, how-
ever, he accompanied his parents to Stark county, Ohio, where he was reared
and engaged in farming until about 1848. He then came to Richmond county,
settling five miles south of [Mansfield, where he purchased a tract of land,
continuing its cultivation until his death, which occurred when he was about
sixty-five years of age. In politics he was a Republican and religiously was
connected with the Lutheran church. He married Elizabeth Kelker, a native
of Stark county, Ohio, who died on the home farm in Richland county when
about fifty-seven years of age. She was a consistent member of the Lutheran
church.
Benjamin F. Oberlin was a lad of only four summers when he came to
Richland county. He early became familiar with the labors of field and
meadow and assisted in the work of the home farm until June, 1863, when,
at the age of eighteen years, he responded to the country's call and joined
the "boys in blue" of Company C, Eighty-sixth Ohio Infantry, for six
months' service. He went to the front as a private and remained at the scene
of activity for about eight months, aiding in the capture of Hooker and doing
garrison duty at Cumberland Gap. On the 24th of February, 1864. he
re-enlisted in Company C. Sixty-fourth Ohio Infantry, for three years, as a
private, but was mustered out as a corporal in Texas, on the 3d of December,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 193
1865. He participated in the Atlanta campaign until after the fall of the
city and then went with his troops to Nashville and later to Texas. On his
return home he engaged in farming for his father until 1869, when he was
married and purchased a farm near Butler. There he carried on agricultural
pursuits until 1877 when he sold his land and engaged in merchandising. He
has since devoted his energies to the conduct of his store and is a wide-awake
and progressive merchant. He carries a large and well selected stock of
goods and receives from the public a liberal patronage.
On the 1 6th of November, 1869. Mr. Oberlin was united in marriage
to Miss Sarah M. Secrist, a native of Richland county, and a daughter of
Michael and Elizabeth (Baker) Secrist. Her father was born in Pennsylvania
and with his parents came to Ohio, the family locating in Wayne county when
he was fifteen years of age. When a young man the family removed to Rich-
land county, locating in Washington township, and later he took up his abode
in Worthington township, where he remained until 1872. At that date he
took up his abode in Butler and lived retired until called to his final rest, when
about eighty-six years of age. His business affairs were attended with
success, his industry and perseverance being the salient features in his pros-
perity. He voted with the Republican party, but was not an active politician.
Of the Evangelical association, however, he was a faithful member and
earnest worker. His parents, Henry and Rachel (Crim) Secrist, were
natives of Pennsylvania, but passed their last days in Washington township,
Richland county, the former dying at the age of seventy-five and the latter at
the age of forty-six. Mrs. Secrist, the mother of Mrs. Oberlin, was born
in Baltimore, Maryland, and came to Richland county, Ohio, with her father.
Christian Baker, and settled near Bellville, where he engaged in agricultural
pursuits. In politics he was a Republican, and he lived to be about sixty-
nine years of age. His father, Christian Baker, served in the Revolutionary
war. Mrs. Secrist, who was a faithful member of the Evangelical church,
died at the age of fifty-seven years, leaving eight children. Mr. and Mrs.
Oberlin had a daughter, Eva Elizabeth, who died November 7, 1899, at the
age of twenty-seven years, seven months and ten days.
Mr. Oberlin exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and
measures of the Republican party and is unswerving in his advocacy of its
principles. He served for one term as the township assessor, for two terms
as the treasurer and for several years was a member of the city council, and in
each position he met the obligations resting upon him in a prompt and capable
manner. Socially he is connected with Lucullus Lodge, No. 121, K. of P.,
194 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of which he is a charter member. He also belongs to Samuel Bell Post, G.
A. R., and for four years has been its commander. He is also one of its
charter members and has been earnest in his labors to promote the welfare
of the organization. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church and take an active part in its work. During their long resi-
dence in Butler they have become widely known and enjoy the warm friend-
ship of all with whom they have been associated.
L. N. LOISELLE.
L. N. Loiselle is a Canadian by birth but a loyal American by adoption.
He is now one of the most prominent, influential and successful citizens of
Mansfield, Ohio, where he is carrying on a wholesale and retail bakery. He
was born in Montreal, Canada, November 2, 1858, and is of French lineage.
During his boyhood his parents, Edward and Rose Loiselle. left the English
province and with their family came to the United States, locating at Keene,
New Hampshire, in 1863, where the father and mother lived until a recent
date, now living in Mansfield, Ohio.
Mr. Loiselle, of this review, accompanied his parents on their removal
and was reared under the parental roof. He enjoyed such educational priv-
ileges as the public schools afforded and was thus well fitted for a practical
business career. In the year 1885 he became a resident of Mansfield, and for
several years traveled on the road as a representative of John W. Wagner's
wholesale hardware establishment and later Crawford & Taylor, proprietors
of a wholesale bakery. The capital which he acquired through his own
efforts at length enabled him to engage in the bakery business on his own
account, and in the year 1893 he began operations in Mansfield as the pro-
prietor of a wholesale and retail bakery. From the beginning his business
has proved a successful venture, and his trade has steadily increased until it
has now assumed extensive proportions. He well deserves a liberal patron-
age, for he is systematic, methodical and enterprising, and at all times hon-
orable.
The lady who is now Airs. Loiselle was in her maidenhood Sarah E.
Barton, a resident of Peru, LaSalle county, Illinois.
The Barton family to which she belongs is one of the most distinguished
of the Keystone state. Air. and Mrs. Loiselle enjoy the high regard of
many friends in Mansfield and sustain pleasant relations in social circles.
He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His attention, how-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 195
ever, is chiefly given to his business, which, under his able management, lias
become one of the leading bakeries of the city. A laudable ambition has
characterized his business career, and his advancement has been continuous,
resulting from determined purpose to work his way steadily upward where
a competence would supply him with comforts of life.
ELLZY A. ASHBAUGH.
Ellzy A. Ashbaugh, a prominent agriculturist living in the southeast
corner of section 32, Sharon township, and whose postoffice is Cookton, was
born in Richland county, Ohio, January 31, 1850. His father, Harvey Ash-
baugh, w r as a native of Adams county, Pennsylvania, born there in 181 1,
and came to Ohio in 1836, driving all the way with team and wagon and bring-
ing with him his wife and one child. After reaching Ohio he lived one year
in Mansfield, purchased one hundred acres of woodland in Springfield town-
ship, and in 1850 purchased another farm, containing one hundred and fifty-
two acres, upon which he lived until his death in 1876. In addition he pur-
chased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Crawford county prior to 1848,
and upon which the city of Crestline now stands. The maiden name of his
wife was Eliza C. Elliott, who also was of Adams county, Pennsylvania, born
in 1 81 2, and married to Mr. Ashbaugh August 6, 1833. Mr. and Mrs. Ash-
baugh were the parents of seven children, of whom they reared six, the sub-
ject of this sketch and five daughters. These children were as follows :
Vienna, now the widow of B. F. Lee, living in Genesee county, Michigan, and
who has five sons and two daughters; Margaret, the wife of Orrin Hart, and
living in Flushing, Michigan, having two sons; Jane, who became the wife
of David E. Shepard, and died in Richland county, Ohio, at the age of
thirty-seven, leaving three daughters; Ida M., the wife of Harrison Ralston,
living in Springfield township and having two sons; Harriet, the widow of
W. H. Shea, living in Springfield township, and having one son and one
daughter; Ellzy A., the subject of this sketch; and Alice, the wife of W. J.
Wilkinson, of Shelby, and having a family of four children. The father of
these children died in 1876 and the mother in 1889, and they now rest in
Oakland cemetery. They gave their children an excellent education, believing
that the best legacy they could leave them, and were members of the Baptist
church.
The subject of this sketch lived at home until after his father's death,
and on February 2y, 1877, was married to Miss Amanda M. Everts, who was
196 CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
born in Bellville in October, 1854, a daughter of Solomon C. and Lucy E.
(Coile) Everts. Both of her parents are still living. Their family consisted
of this one daughter and one son — J. M. Everts, of Xemaha county, Kansas,
Mr. and Mrs. Ashbaugh have but one child, Emma A., the wife of William
F. Morehead, Mr. and Airs. Morehead being the parents of a fine boy, born
to them March 3, 1899.
Mr. Ashbaugh settled on his present eighty-five-acre farm in 1887,
inheriting it from his father, who purchased it in 1854. At his death he
owned but one farm, having given his other two farms to his children.
Ellzy A. Ashbaugh is in politics a Republican, but has never held office.
He has a most fertile farm and pleasant home. Upon his farm is an excel-
lent orchard, and he carries on general farming, raising various crops and
keeping a variety of stock. He is a thorough farmer, believing in the old
maxim; that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. He and his wife
are most excellent people and enjoy the confidence and respect of all their
HEXRY BACKEXSTO.
A fitting reward of a well spent life is retirement from labor, — a period
in which one may enjoy the fruits of former toil, and rest from the active
labors of years that have gone by. Such has been vouchsafed to Mr. Back-
ensto, who for many years was identified with agricultural interests, but has
now left the farm and is living in the village of Shiloh.
He was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, on the 31st of October,
1825, his parents being Jacob and Rebecca (Beasore) Backensto. In their
family were ten children. The ancestry can be traced back to one of three
brothers who emigrated from Germany to America some years prior to the
Revolution. One of the brothers settled in the Empire state, another in
Virginia, and the third in Pennsylvania, and it is from the last named that
the branch of the family to which our subject belongs is descended. When
the yoke of British oppression became intolerable, and the colonies resolved to
renounce allegiance to the mother country, the three brothers all joined the
colonial army and loyally aided in the struggle for independence. Jacob
Backensto, the father of our subject, was born in Lebanon county, Pennsyl-
vania, upon a farm. This was one of the historic places of the community,
for it was the scene of an atrocious murder of nine persons, committed by
the Indians prior to the Revolution. On the old homestead Mr. Backensto
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 197
attained his manhood and soon afterward was united in marriage to Rebecca
Beasore. In a short time afterward they removed to Dauphin county, Penn-
sylvania, where five of their children were born. In 1831 the family came
to Ohio, arriving in Franklin township, Richland county, on the 22d of April.
after a journey of twenty-two days, made by wagon. They were accom-
panied by Christ Urick and Benjamin Schiffler, with their respective families.
On their arrival Mr. Backensto purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty
acres and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, .making his home upon
that place until a short time prior to his death. At the time of his second
marriage, to Mrs. John Plank, then a widow, he removed to Planktown, Cass
township, where he died about two or three years later. In connection with
farming he engaged in teaming, a pursuit which he followed throughout much
of his life. When a boy of only twelve years he made many trips to Balti-
more and Philadelphia, with a four-horse team, and was thoroughly acquainted
with the country at the time when railroads were unknown, and when the
work of progress and civilization was scarcely begun beyond the Atlantic
coast. Of the ten children of the family only four are now living, namely :
Henry; Rebecca, the wife of O. J. Rotsel, of Bryan, Ohio; David H., of
Weller township, Richland county; and Sarah, the wife of William H. Jack-
son, a farmer of Williams county, Ohio.
Mr. Backensto of this review acquired a limited education in the old pio-
neer log schoolhouse. On attaining his majority he made a trip through
the east, covering a period of three months, and after his return home was
married, on the 28th of October, 1847, Miss Sarah Clayburg becoming his
wife. She is a native of Butler township, Richland county, a daughter of
Abraham Clayburg, who was one of the first settlers on Whetstone creek,
this county. Soon after his marriage Mr. Backensto erected a log cabin
on the farm of one hundred and sixty acres owned by his father, which stood
in the midst of beech woods in what was then Blooming Grove township, but
is now Butler township. He took his young bride to this primitive home
and at once began the clearing of his land and preparing it for the plow.
At the time of his father's death he inherited eighty acres of the land, and
purchased the other eighty-acre tract from his brother. As the years passed
he added to his farm all the comforts of civilized life, replacing the pioneer
home by a commodious frame residence, also erecting barns and other nec-
essary outbuildings, and to-day he has one of the most desirable and attractive
properties in this section of Richland county. He extended the boundaries
of his place by additional purchases, so that his farm comprised two hundred
198 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
acres of rich, arable land. In 1863,' however, he removed to Shiloh, where he
has since resided. After four ) r ears he sold his farm and since that time
he has bought and sold various farm properties. At the present time he
owns valuable land in Cass township, and from his real estate he derives a
good income. About fifteen years ago he was the owner of a general mer-
cantile store in Shiloh, with his son as a partner and the general manager.
The latter now gives his attention to the direction of the business, while his
father is living retired.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Backensto were born nine children, but five have
passed away. Those still surviving are: John F., a resident of California;
Dorcas, the wife of Elmer Y. Rose, of Richland county; Clement L., who
is engaged in business with his father; and Sadie, the wife of Frank Beaver,
of Columbus, Ohio. On the 4th of July, 1890, the mother died, and on the
20th of May, 1 89 1, Mr. Backensto again married, his second union being
with Mrs. Catherine Crum.
Of the Democratic party Mr. Backensto is a supporter, and was a mem-
ber of the first council of Shiloh. He has also served as a trustee of Cass
and Butler townships, being called to public office by his fellow townsmen,
who recognized his worth and ability. A long and active business career well
entitles him to a rest. He is a man of sound judgment, possessing excellent
business and executive ability, combined with resistless energy and resolute
purpose.
REV. FRANCIS J. HOPP.
Father Francis Joseph Hopp, parish priest of Shelby Settlement Catholic
church, was born at Akron, Ohio, February 23, 1874. His father, Jacob
Hopp, a native of Austria, was born in 1830 and in 1856 crossed the Atlantic
to the new world. In 1862 he married Catherine Cline, of Ohio, and in order
to provide for the support of his family he followed the stone-mason's trade.
At the time of the Civil war he offered his services to the government but was
refused. He and his wife made their home in Akron and they became the
parents of three sons and three daughters. The father died in 1889 and
the mother, surviving him several years, passed away in 1894. Rev. Fran-
cis J. Hopp, of this review, acquired his preliminary education in the parochial
school of Akron and pursued a college course in Buffalo, New York, where
he was graduated in 1891. His preparation for the priesthood was obtained
in the Theological Seminary at Cleveland, and he was ordained in 1897, on
the completion of a six-years course. His first parish work was in connection
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 199
with St. Patrick's church, of Cleveland, as assistant to the Rev. James
O'Leary. There he remained for seven months. Father Hopp was called
to the pastorate of Shelby Settlement Catholic church on the nth of Jan-
uary, 1898. His parish was organized in 1833, and in 1836 the little log
church was built. The brick church now used as a temporary school build-
ing was erected between the years 185 1 and 1853. and the present fine stone
edifice was begun in 1891 and completed and dedicated in 1895, and is now
practically free from debt. There are now two hundred and forty-five com-
municants, or seventy families, in the church. Its beautiful house of worship
is valued at forty thousand dollars. The present board of trustees are : Will-
iam Weaver, Anthony Sutter, Henry Keller and Jacob Rondy. The church
was erected under the pastorate of Father F. A. Schreiber, now the pastor of
St. Peter's Catholic church, of Mansfield, and there is much credit due him,
for few men have accomplished the noble work that he is doing. There
are few, if any, churches in the rural districts that can compare with that of
the Shelby Settlement. It is surrounded by large .and beautiful grounds,
shaded by trees, and affords ample space for holding summer picnics and
Sabbath gatherings. Father Hopp has a promising future before him and
is already accomplishing a splendid work in connection with the church of
which he is the pastor.
JAMES F. RABOLD.
One of the prominent business men of Shelby, Richland county, Ohio,
who is now the junior partner in the firm of D. Rabold & Son, is James F.
Rabold, the subject of this sketch. He was born in this town, in 1856, a son
of Daniel and Mary (Saltzgaber) Rabold, the former of whom was born in
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1822, and the latter in Shelby, Ohio, and is
the daughter of Samuel and Jane (Van Horn) Saltzgaber, residents of Van
Wert, Ohio.
The maternal grandfather of our subject has reached the unusual age of
one hundred and one years, and his anniversary was fittingly celebrated Jan-
uary 12. 1 901. by not only his family and intimate friends but also by the
whole population. For many years he was one of the accommodating and
well known proprietors of a hotel in Shelby, and travelers of forty years ago
hold him in special remembrance. Many evidences of good will were offered
upon this happy occasion, the papers of the county commented upon it, and
none enjoyed it more than did the vigorous centenarian himself.
200 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
The father of our subject has conducted a merchant tailoring business
in this place for nearly fifty years. When of suitable age he connected himself
with his son, forming the present partnership and insuring the continuance of
the old and honorable house. The parents of Mr. Rabold had five children :
Our subject; William, who resides in Washington, connected with the Wash-
ington Post, of that city; Jane Elizabeth, Mary S. and Maude.
In 18S9 our subject was married to Miss Edna Westfall, of Plymouth,
Ohio, a daughter of Jacob and Emma (Clark) Westfall, one of the oldest
families in the state. Mr. and Mrs. Rabold have three children : Xellie F.,
born in December, 1892; Daniel R., born in January, 1894; and Edna, bOrn
in February, 1900.
In politics Mr. Rabold is prominently identified with the Democratic
party, and in 1889 he was elected the treasurer of Sharon township by one
hundred and fourteen majority, the township usually going one hundred
Republican. He has been called upon to serve in several public capacities
in local affairs, and in 1892 was made a member of the election board.
Socially he is popular, being a charter member of the K. of P., also a member
of the uniform rank, and is a member of the K. O. T. M. and of the Colonial
Club.
Mr. Rabold has passed his life in this neighborhood, and possesses the
respect and confidence of all with whom he has social or business relations.
The old house established by his father promises to be carried on with the
same energy and honesty that have made it one of the honorable landmarks
of the place.
HON. CURTIS E. McBRIDE.
Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied
that members of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs
than any other class of American people. This is but the natural result of
causes which are manifest and require no explanation. The ability and train-
ing which qualify one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for
duties which lie outside the strict path of his profession and which touch
the general interests of society. The subject of this record is a man who has
brought his keen discrimination and thorough wisdom to bear not alone in
professional paths, but also for the benefit of his county and state.
A native of Richland county, Mr. McBride was born in Monroe town-
ship, August 11, 1858. and is a son of Union and Nancy J. (Smart) McBride.
C. E. McBRTDE.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 201
Union McBricle was a son of Alexander and Ruth (Barnes) McBride, and
his father was born in Staunton, Virginia, and in 1820 came to this county,
locating on a farm in Monroe township, near the village of Lucas, where
both he and his wife died at a ripe old age. Union and Nancy J. McBride
had four children : our subject is the only survivor, the others having died in
infancy.
Mr. McBride was educated in the country schools up to the age of sixteen
years, spending his vacations on the home farm. In the fall of 1874 he
entered the university at Wooster, Ohio, where he pursued a classical course
and was graduated in 1879. On the 29th of August, that year, he married
Miss Minnie Rhodes, a native of Ashland, Ohio, who was educated in the
public schools of that city and at Perrysville Academy. Two daughters
have been born to them, — Winona and Fay, — the former a graduate of the
Mansfield high school and the latter just entering that institution.
The month following his marriage Mr. McBride began reading law in
the office of Messrs. Burns and McBride, of Mansfield, the latter being his
father's brother, Thomas McBride, now deceased. On the 7th of March,
1882, he was admitted to the bar on examination by commissioners appointed
by the supreme court of Ohio. It was a very rigid examination where but
seven passed in a class of fifteen. For two years he was engaged in practice
at Mansfield with his uncle and former preceptor, the firm of Burns & Mc-
Bride having been dissolved. In the fall of 1884 he formed a partnership
with S. G. Cummings, which still exists. Their practice has been largely
corporation work, and Mr. McBride is the trial lawyer of the firm, while his
partner attends to the office practice. He has been in the employ of the Balti-
more & Ohio Railroad Company as local and district counsel since 1884, and
has been local and district attorney for the Big Four system since 1895. I 11
this capacity he has tried many very complicated cases, usually with success.
Mr. McBride served one term as a member of the Mansfield city council,
and largely through his efforts the Sherman-Heineman Park was added to
the possessions of the city — a most beautiful resort. Its acquisition was hotly
contested, and great credit is due Mr. McBride for the final success. During
his term the franchise was granted establishing the city electric railway.
He served six years as a member of the board of education of the city.
In the fall of 1893 Mr. McBride was elected by the Democratic party as
a member of the lower house of the seventy-first general assembly of Ohio,
and served on the judiciary and ways and means, or taxation, committees,
representing the minority on both. During this term he introduced the Mc-
Bride jury law, which provides for the abolition of the old jury svstem,
'13
202 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
whereby ward heelers and political hangers-on could succeed to places on the
jury list, and provided that the common-pleas judge in each and every county
in the state should appoint a non-partisan commission of four, or two from
each political party, and that the names selected as jurors should be indorsed
by at least three members of this commission. This became a law without
a dissenting vote in either house or senate. Referring to this law, the presi-
dent of the Ohio State Bar Association in his annual address said :
"I had given this subject much thought, and prepared some practical
suggestion looking toward reform, when much to my delight, and no doubt
to the gratification of our profession generally, an act of the legislature passed
on the 23d day of April, 1894, provided for the appointment of a non-partisan
jury commission of four suitable persons in each county, whose duty it is
to select jurors for the ensuing year. Much may be expected from the
improved jury system of the future. It is gratifying also to state that the
measure was introduced in the house of representatives by Hon. Curtis E.
McBride, of Mansfield, an active and honored member of our association.
After passing the house, the bill was concurred in by the senate without a dis-
senting vote. All honors to Brother McBride in this encouraging step in the
direction of legal reform."
In the seventy-first general assembly Mr. McBride introduced a 'bill ex-
tending the time from two to three years which law students must study
preparatory to admission to the bar. This became a law, though it aroused
the ire of many aspirants for easy honors in that direction. Another law which
he secured upon the statute books is the law requiring "special findings" by a
jury as well as a general verdict. If the special findings are inconsistent with
the general verdict, the special findings govern. These were both passed in
the session of 1894.
Mr. McBride was re-elected to the house in November, 1895, beginning
his second term January 1, 1896. At this session he received the unanimous
vote of his party for speaker, but his party being in the minority he was
not elected, though he became floor leader of the minority during the seventy-
second general assembly. During this session he was a member of the com-
mittee on judiciary, taxation and rules, and secured the passage through the
house, but without concurrence in the senate, of the McBride libel- law. This
provided that where a newspaper was sued for libel, the party bringing
the suit must prove malice. It was very popular with the press, and a like
measure was introduced at a subsequent session, meeting the same fate. Mr.
McBride was appointed a commissioner to the Mexican Exposition, which
failed to materialize. In September, 1898, he was appointed by Governor
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 203
Bushnell a member of the Ohio centennial commission for the fourteenth
congressional district. He received these two honorable appointments from
a Republican governor, though an active and influential Democrat himself.
He is the chairman of the transportation and fish committees in the centen-
nial. On the 1st of January, 1900, Mr. McBride was appointed by the
supreme court a member of the examining committee to examine applicants
for admission to the bar, his appointment being for three years.
Socially he is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, being a
member of the blue lodge, chapter and commandery of Mansfield ; Ohio Con-
sistory at Cincinnati ; and Al Koran Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Cleveland.
He is also a member of Mansfield Lodge, No. 56, B. P. O. E. ; Madison
Lodge, No. 26, K. of P.: Mansfield Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F. ; Mohican
Encampment, No. 13, I. O. O. F. ; and the uniformed rank of the same, —
the Patriarchs Militant. His wife is a member of the Round Table, a
ladies' literary society, and also of the Presbyterian church and several socie-
ties connected with it.
HON. SAMUEL S. BLOOM.
Samuel Stambaugh Bloom, a prominent citizen of Shelby, Ohio, was born
in Waterford. Juniata county, Pennsylvania, March 11, 1834. He was the
only child of George and Mary Ann (Stambaugh) Bloom, both of whom
were from near Blaine, Perry county, Pennsylvania. His mother dying when
he was only six clays old. he became a member of the family of his grand-
father, John Stambaugh, Sr. He began to receive his elementary education
in his native state before the common-school system was established therein,
and as soon as it was established he began attending district school and so
continued until 1850. In 1851 he was chosen to teach his own district school,
and after the term for which he was thus engaged he continued his education
at the New Bloomfield Academy- After leaving this institution of learning
he taught school every year, either in his native county or in Shelby, Ohio,
until 1858.
At Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, DecembeV 25, 1855, he was married to
Miss Anna Mary Stambaugh, of Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, a lady of his
mother's name but not of her family. In March, 1S56, he removed with his
wife to Shelby, Ohio, she dying in August, 1857, and he took her remains
back to Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, where she and their only son lie peacefully
sleeping in the cemetery of that place. With the exception of a few years
20 4 CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
spent in Columbus, Ohio, he has lived in Shelby ever since, and is one of the
very few that have lived there that length of time.
Mr. Bloom served as deputy postmaster from May, 1855, to i860, and
as postmaster from 1888 to March, 1S90, being superseded by an appointee
of President Harrison, because he was a Democrat. In 1857 he was elected
township clerk, and soon afterward justice of the peace, and still later mayor
of Shelby, serving in this latter office five years in succession, his series of
terms in this office terminating in 1862, and holding his office at a time when
the Republican party in his town was largely in the majority, which may be
considered strong proof of his popularity and patriotism. In 1863, 1865,
1877 and 1879 he was elected to the state legislature as a representative from
Richland county, thus serving eight years in the aggregate, and longer than
has any other man thus represented the county. In 1880 he was his party's
candidate for the position of speaker of the house, and was in fact the leader
of the Democratic party during the last two years of his connection with the
lower house.
February 29, 1864. he was admitted to the bar by the supreme court
of the state and subsequently in the circuit court and the United States district
court at Cleveland, Ohio, and has been in continuous practice for thirty-six
years. During the sessions of the legislature of 1878, 1879, 1880 and 18S1,
he was much occupied with the codification of the laws of Ohio ; taking
great interest m the work, having himself started the project fourteen years
previously, during his first two terms of service in the legislature. While
a member of the lower house he served on the committee on agriculture and
was of great assistance to the Hon. Columbus Delano in perfecting the laws
providing for the establishment of the Ohio Agricultural College, now the
Ohio University.
Mr. Bloom introduced the first bill providing for the payment of the
public debt of the state of Ohio by installments, he at the time being a member
of the minority; but the idea seemed of so great practical value that it was
promptly adopted and put into operation by the majority. Since the measure
became a law, the public debt of Ohio has been almost extinguished. Like
most valuable discoveries in all departments of human thought, the idea was
a very simple one. The state could not pay six million dollars in one year,
but by dividing the bonds into installments, three hundred thousand dollars
to be paid semi-annually, the payment of the debt became a comparatively
easy task. During the several terms served in the legislature by Mr. Bloom
he was the author of more than one hundred and fifty amendments to the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 205
laws of the state. In 1881 he was named as a suitable candidate for the
office of governor, but he promptly declined to permit the use of his name in
that connection, saying he was "too poor to run." He was also named as
a suitable candidate for delegate to the constitutional convention, but, the
Hon. Barnabas Burns becoming a candidate, Mr. Bloom refused to make the
canvass. While he was the chairman of the congressional district convention lie
was voted for as a candidate for congress, and had nearly sixty votes outside
of his own county, but the delegation from his own county was so devoted
to the regular candidate that neither was nominated. In 1896, at Shelby,
he was again brought forward for congress, and for a time it seemed as
though he would surely be named, but he promptly declined the honor for the
reason that he could not fairly represent the views adopted in the platform
on the silver question, and that he must be permitted to remain in the ranks
of the party, instead of in the lead.
Years ago he served as a member of the Shelby school board and aided
in the erection of the Central high-school building. He was also the pro-
jector of the system of graduating pupils at the Shelby high school, a measure
in which he has always taken great pride. He was also the projector
of the first press in Shelby, the first paper in Shelby being the Pioneer,
established in 1858, and subsequently the Gazette and Enterprise. Finally,
on November 12, 1868, he established the News, with which he was con-
nected until 1889, thus being for many years intimately connected with the
press in his town, as well as having been the founder of the first paper.
On May 15, 1859, he married Mrs. Jennie M. Smiley, the widow of
David Smiley, and the sister of the Hon. Harrison Mickey, now deceased.
By this marriage Mr. Bloom had six children, viz. : Willis Perry ; Lula J.,
the wife of Dr. M. T. Love; Ethel M., the wife of L. J. Dalie, now of Spring-
field, Ohio; and three daughters that died in infancy and youth. Mrs. Dalie
died June 12, 1899, and Mrs. Bloom died in Shelby, April 1, 1896. He has
been heard to say that the birth of all his children and the death of his wives
occurred within a circle of four hundred feet in Shelby and within the past
forty-three years.
In 1 89 1 Mr. Bloom moved his family to Columbus for the purpose of
engaging in the practice of the law, but his youngest daughter married while
there, and, his wife failing in health, he returned to Shelby, where he intends
to pass the remainder of his days. Besides the editorial work performed by
Mr. Bloom, mentioned above, he has published a number of books, among
them being: "Why Are You a Democrat?" "Earth's Angels; or Hidden
206 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Oppression;" "Why We Are Democrats;" "Popular Edition of the Laws of
Ohio." containing nearly one thousand pages; and finally, in 1900. "One Hun-
fears of Platform Principles and Policies of the American Democracy."
In addition to the work outlined above Mr. Bloom carried through the
legislature the insurance laws of the state, in 1865-8, which require state
supervision, and he served as a member of the codification committee, twice
on the judiciary committee, and on several special committees and conferences,
among the latter the one creating the interest in forestry now so widely prev-
alent, that on the investigation of the penitentiary and that relating to the
publication of school-books. He was one of the organizers of the First
Evangelical Lutheran church in Shelby, and also of the Monroe Avenue
Lutheran church in Columbus. For more than twenty-five years he served
as the superintendent of Sunday-schools, in Shelby and Columbus, and has
been a Sunday-school worker for more than fifty years. In 1881 he estab-
lished the first telephone exchange in Richland county, in Shelby, remaining
its manager about seven years.
Thus it will be seen that his life has been not only a very busy one, but
also a very useful one to his fellow men. During all these years as editor,
publisher, author, business man, attorney and last, but not least, a farmer,
he has been fully occupied, and even now, though sixty-seven years of age, he
is by no means idle. But in 1881 he decided never again to be a candidate
for public office, but has ever since remained an honored member of his party
as well as an honored citizen of the state of Ohio. At the age of sixty-seven
he considers himself as enjoying the best years of his life that have come to
him, fully occupied with his business, having perfect health, possessed of his
full mental vigor, and satisfied with his surroundings, even if not with the
success with which he has met. But he can certainly reflect that the great
majority of men have been and are much less useful and successful in life than
himself, and few enjoy to a greater extent the confidence, respect and esteem
of their neighbors and friends.
SETH G. CUMMIXGS.
The subject of this sketch, who has attained distinction as one of the
able members of the Mansfield bar, is now a member of the well known firm
of Cummings & McBride. In this profession probably more than any other
success depends upon individual merit, upon a thorough understanding of
the principles of jurisprudence, a power of keen analysis, and the ability to
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 207
present clearly, concisely and forcibly the strong points in his cause. Pos-
sessing these necessary qualifications, Mr. Cummings is accorded a foremost
place in the ranks of the profession in Richland county, and stands to-day one
of the esteemed members of the Mansfield bar.
He was born in Crawford county, Ohio, October 31, 1839, a son of
Isaac and Sylvia (Reed) Cummings, both natives of Maine, of which state
his ancestors were early settlers. His paternal great-grandfather moved from
Massachusetts to Maine at a very early day, establishing the family in Ken-
nebeck county, where he was subsequently killed by the Indians. He was
one of the defenders of the colonists in the Revolutionary war. The grand-
father and his eldest son were soldiers of the war of 1812, and both died at
Sackett's Harbor, New York, from disease contracted while in the service of
that war. The Reed family, as represented by the mother of our subject, was
early established in Oxford county, Maine. In tracing Mr. Cummings'
genealogy we find that his ancestors were of Scotch and Irish descent and
were residents of Massachusetts in the early part of the seventeenth century.
His parents were married in Richland (now Crawford) county, Ohio, where
the father cleared and developed a farm, making it his home from 1824 until
his death, which occurred December 15, 1880. The mother died in February,
1865, leaving two sons, of whom our subject is the elder. Samuel is still liv-
ing on the old home farm.
Mr. Cummings received a good common-school education, and at the
age of twenty-two years commenced the study of law in Mansfield, being-
admitted to the bar in 1864. From April of that year until November, 1866,
he was engaged in the mining business in Montana, and in 1867 took up the
practice of his chosen profession in Galion, Ohio, where he remained until
coming to Mansfield in October, 1884. Here he formed a partnership with
Hon. C. E. McBride, which still exists, he being the office lawyer of this
well known and successful firm. Since 1887 he has conducted at his office a
thorough system of abstracting, having a complete set of abstract books of
Richland county, and giving employment to two or three men in this depart-
ment, which has become a profitable branch of his business. The firm have
the largest and best selected law library in Mansfield, and do an extensive
businesses commercial lawyers and collectors, doing extensive trial business in
various courts.
On the 24th of January, 1867, Mr. Cummings was united in marriage
with Miss Sarah G. Ruhl, a daughter of Jacob and Sarah Ruhl, of Galion,
where she was born, reared and educated. One son was born of this union,
2o8 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Glenn M., now a young man of twenty-seven years, who is employed in his
father's business. He attended the public schools of Galion and Mansfield,
and was graduated at Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio. In June, 1899,
he was admitted to the bar as an attorney. He married Miss Almena Got-
wald, of Springfield.
Politically Mr. Cummings is a Democrat, and has always taken an active
interest in political affairs. While a resident of Crawford county, he served
as prosecuting attorney two terms. Socially he is a member of the Masonic
order, being a Master Mason, and religiously is a member of the English
Lutheran church, to which his family also belong.
DAVID OZIER.
David Ozier is engaged in the banking business at Shiloh. The institu-
tion with which he is connected, the Exchange Bank, is regarded as one of
the reliable financial concerns in this part of the county, owing to the well
known business ability of the proprietor.
Mr. Ozier was born in Mansfield September 24, 1832, and when three
years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Mifflin, Ashland
county. After a short time spent there, however, the family returned to
Richland county, where our subject was reared until his sixteenth year,
acquiring his education in the common schools. At the age of sixteen he
started out in life on his own account and has since depended upon his own
.resources for all that he has acquired and enjoyed of this world's goods.
Going to West Unity, Ohio, he served a six-months apprenticship at the
shoemaker's trade and then returned to Richland county, locating at Olives-
burg, where he worked for three years as a farm hand. Subsequently he
devoted a year to shoemaking and then entered into partnership with his
brother Nelson for the purpose of dealing in cattle and other live stock.
They disposed of their stock in the New Jersey markets and conducted a
stock farm at Rome, in Blooming Grove township. For thirty years the
business relations between the brothers was continued with excellent success.
They handled between eight and fifteen thousand sheep each summer and
also sold large numbers of cattle. The enterprise proved very successful
and brought the partners an excellent financial return. For three years he
walked from here to New Jersey driving sheep. These trips required sixty
days to make the trip with the sheep. He also put in two winters driving
hogs from here to Buffalo. These trips required forty-two days. He
received for this service fifty cents per day.
DAYID OZIER AND FAMILY.
CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 209
In 1873 Air. Ozier removed to Shiloh, but continued in the stock busi-
ness until 1888, when he went into partnership with John Smith and estab-
lished the Exchange Bank of Shiloh. Four years later he purchased Air.
Smith's interest and has since carried on banking alone.
On the 1 2th of August, 1859. occurred the marriage of Air. Ozier to
Aliss Catherine Snapp. They have two children: Charles E., who is a
member of the Independent Oil Company, of Bloomington. Illinois ; and Cora,
the wife of Frank Armstrong, with whom and their four children she made,
in 1900, a tour of the European countries. Air. Ozier is a Republican who
believes firmly in the principles of protection, expansion and in the gold
standard. His success in business indicates his accurate and reliable methods
and demonstrates the possibilities that lie before men who have the will and
dare to do.
JOHX F. CULLER. AI. D.
In no profession does advancement depend more upon knowledge or
upon individual effort than in the medical ; and when one has attained a posi-
tion of prominence it is an indication of marked ability. Dr. Culler is
known as one of the leading physicians and surgeons in this part of Rich-
land county. He was born in Mifflin township, Ashland county, Ohio,
December 23, 1857, and is one of the eleven children of Samuel and Sarah
(Blust) Culler. The father, a native of Maryland, was born Xovember
17, 1809, and was the son of Philip Culler, who also was a native of that
state. The great-grandfather of our subject was a commissioned officer in
the Revolutionary war. He, too, was probably a native of Alaryland, but
the family was founded in Xew England at an early date. Philip Culler
carried on agricultural pursuits, and when his son was fourteen years of
age he removed to Ohio, taking up his abode in what is now Alifflin town-
ship. Ashland county, where he purchased land and followed farming until
his death.
There Samuel Culler was reared to manhood, and after he had attained
his majority he purchased land and began farming on his own account, his
place adjoining the old homestead. Throughout an active business career
he devoted his energies to the cultivation of his fields. He died at the
advanced age of eighty-four years, being called to his final rest on the 22cl
of Alarch, 1893. In his political views he was a Republican, earnest in his
advocacy of the party's principles, and for more than twenty years he served
210 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
as a justice of the peace, discharging his duties with strict impartiality.
On various other occasions he held township offices and was ever true and
faithful to the trust reposed in him. He held membership in the Lutheran
church and for many years filled church offices. In his business affairs he
was very successful and became the owner of four hundred acres of rich
land. He wedded Miss Sarah Blust, a native of Mansfield, Ohio, and a
daughter of John and Christina (Beck) Blust, both of whom were natives
of Germany. Coming to America in early life, they located in Lancaster,
where they were married, and there Mr. Blust followed the tailor's trade,
which he had learned in early life. His daughter, Mrs. Culler, is still
living, residing on the home place in Ashland county, Ohio. Of her eleven
children all yet survive.
Dr. Culler, whose name introduces this review, was reared amid the
refining influences of a good home, and in the common schools he acquired
his elementary education, which was supplemented by study in the Vermilion
Institute, at Hayesville, Ohio. In 1883 he began .reading medicine, and in
1885 he entered Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, in which insti-
tution he was graduated with the class' of 1887. He then returned home
and some months later located in Lucas, where he opened an office and began
the practice of his chosen profession.
On the 6th of October, 1891, Dr. Culler was united in marriage to
Hattie First, a daughter of Captain James First, of Lucas, and to them
there has been born one child, Laura Alice, whose birth occurred February.
T .j, 1896. The Doctor is a stanch Republican and is now serving as mem-
ber of the town council. His wife is a member of the Lutheran church,
and he contributes liberally to its support, withholding his aid from no move-
ment or measure that is calculated to prove a public benefit. In the twelve
years of his residence here he has built up a large and influential practice
and has gained a very desirable reputation in recognition of his skill and
ability. His knowledge of the science of medicine is accurate and compre-
hensive, and his efforts as a representative of the medical fraternity have
been attended with excellent results.
JESSE MARING.
Through eight decades Jesse Maring has been a witness of the develop-
ment and progress of Richland county. He has reached the age of four
score years and one, and receives the veneration and respect which should
ever be accorded to one whose pathway of life has been marked with good
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 211
deeds and honorable purpose. He has the appearance of a man of much
younger years and is still actively connected with business interests. A
man of ordinary spirit would long since have grown weary of the burdens
and responsibilities of business life, but Mr. Maring has continued an active
factor in the industrial world and is to-day a representative of the fire-
insurance interests of Richland county, his home being in the village of
Shiloh.
He was born in Blooming Grove township February 8, 1S20, and is of
German lineage, his paternal grandparents having been natives of the
Fatherland, whence they came to the new world. Peter Maring, the father
of our subject, was born in New Jersey, in 1783. and spent the first twelve
years of his life under the parental roof, during which time he did not
learn a word of English, as the German language was used in his home.
About that time his father died and the home was broken up. Peter Glaring-
was then bound out to a family in Xew Jersey by the name of Smith and
remained with them until he attained early manhood. He then emigrated
to Ohio, locating in Belmont county, where he learned the blacksmith's trade.
He there married Anna Finch, who was born in Xew Jersey, in 1787, and
was a daughter of Jesse Finch, one of the heroes of the Revolutionary war,
who emigrated to Belmont county, Ohio, casting in his lot with its early
settlers, and there he spent his remaining days. 'Sir. and -Mrs. Glaring
began their domestic life in Belmont county, but after the birth of two of
their children they removed to Richland county in 181 7, the father having
previously entered from the government one hundred and sixty acres of land
in Blooming Grove township. This section of the state was wild and unim-
proved and the work of civilization and progress seemed scarcely begun.
His nearest neighbor on the east was John Freeborn, who lived nine miles
distant, and his nearest neighbor on the north was Mr. "Warren, who resided
eighteen miles away. Thus in an isolated home Peter Glaring began life
in Richland county. He cleared his land and developed his fields. After
a time he sold eighty acres of his farm, but continued to reside upon the
remaining eighty until the time of his death, which occurred in August,
1863. His old home place is now owned by his son Peter. The father was
a veteran of the war of 181 2, loyally serving his country during the second
period of hostilities between the United States and the mother country. He
was an active worker, a consistent member and a faithful officer of the
Methodist Episcopal church for many years. He strongly opposed slavery
in antc-bcUum days, and in early life gave his political support to the Whig
party; but on the organization of the Republican party, which was formed
2i2 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
to prevent the further extension of slavery, he joined its ranks. His wife
died in 1875, in her eighty-eighth year. They were people of the highest
respectability and held in warm regard for their many excellencies of char-
acter.
In a pioneer home, amid the wild scenes of the frontier, Jesse Maring
was reared. He was one of six children, — three sons and three daughters, —
but only two are now living, his brother Peter being one, who is a retired
farmer of Shiloh. The educational privileges which our subject received
were very limited, for the school system of that day was not well organized,
His training at farm labor, however, was not meager, as he early began
work in the fields, assisting in the labor of plowing, planting and harvesting.
In 1843 he was married to Miss Jane Groscost, a native of Madison town-
ship, Richland county, and a daughter of Daniel Groscost, who was born in
Pennsylvania, but became one of the honored pioneer settlers of this local-
ity. He served in the war of 18 12, while both the paternal and maternal
grandfathers of Mrs. Maring valiantly aided the colonists in their struggle
for independence. Soon after his marriage Mr. Maring assumed the man-
agement of the home farm and continued its operation until December,
1 85 1. when he removed to Shiloh and became an assistant station agent to
C. R. Squires. As Mr. Squires was also a merchant and commission man,
the duties of station agent largely devolved upon Mr. Maring, and when
the former resigned his position the latter was appointed to fill the vacancy,
and for twenty-seven years and two months continuously served as the
station agent at this place. Illness then forced him to resign, in October,
188 1. He was always a popular official, courteous, obliging and helpful to
the public and faithful to the interests of the corporation which he served.
A year after his retirement from that position he engaged in the fire-insur-
ance business and is now representing several reliable companies. Although
he is eighty years of age he is a well-preserved man, vigorous and energetic,
and appears to be many years younger.
In 1885 M r - Maring was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife,
who died on the 7th of November of that year. Their only daughter, Anna,
is the wife of Joseph C. Fenner, a prominent merchant of Shiloh, by whom
she had six children, but only two are living: Jesse Albertus,- an attorney
of Cleveland, Ohio, and Virgie Wilella, at home. Mrs. Maring was a devout
member of the Methodist Episcopal church and her loss was deeply mourned
throughout the community.
Mr. Maring became a member of the Methodist church in 1846 and
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 213
for fifty-four years has been faithful to its teachings. He has served as an
officer in the church and has done much to promote its growth and upbuild-
ing. Socially he is connected with Shiloh Lodge, No. 544, F. & A. M.,
and politically he is an ardent Republican. He at one time served as justice
of the peace for a term, but has never been an office-seeker, and, though he
keeps well informed on the issues of the day, prefers that others shall
occupy the official positions.
Great changes have occurred in Richland county during his residence
here. He has seen the wild land transformed into beautiful homes and
farms, while towns and villages have sprung up, and all the industries and
enterprises of the older east have been introduced. He takes a just pride
in what his county has accomplished and his fellow townsmen regard him
as one of the factors in its development.
EARL F. STRATFORD, D. D. S.
This is an age of progress and America is the exponent of the spirit
of the age. Perhaps no greater advancement has been made along profes-
sional lines than in dentistry. New methods have been introduced and the
profession has largely attained perfection. Fully in touch with the advance-
ment which has been made, Dr. Earl F. Stratford stands as a leading repre-
sentative of the dental fraternity in Mansfield. He was born in Lewis-
town, Pennsylvania, and is of German descent. His grandfather, Charles
Stratford, came to America from Stratford-on-Avon, England, in the '40s.
He was a man of superior ability and a graduate of Oxford, and for some
years he was identified with the Episcopal clergy of London before emigrat-
ing to the new world. He located in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, where his
son, J. Frederick Stratford, was born. The latter is now living in Altoona,
Pennsylvania, where he is successfully engaged in business as a granite
dealer. During the war of the Rebellion he twice enlisted in the Union
army, going to the front with the Pennsylvania volunteers. His children
are: Earl F. ; Anna L., the wife of James Latherow, who is engaged in
the granite business in Altoona, and has cine child; and Grace D., who is
now a student in the high school of Altoona.
In his early boyhood Dr. Stratford, of this review, accompanied his
parents on their removal to Altoona, where he pursued his studies in the
public schools. He further continued the acquirement of his literary edu-
cation in the Clarion State Normal, in Clarion county, Pennsvlvania, and
2i 4 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
with the determination to make the practice of dentistry his life work he
entered the office of Dr. J. W. Carter, of Altoona, with whom he was asso-
ciated for several years, acquiring- a practical knowledge of the profession.
He then entered the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, in Philadel-
phia, and was graduated with the class of 1898. On the 26th of April of
that year he came to Mansfield, where he has already built up a large and
lucrative practice. He uses electricity in the various departments of his
work. His methods are modern and are such as are in use by the most
renowned members of the dental fraternity. He is particularly skillful,
and at the same time is patient with his patrons and courteous in his treat-
ment. These qualities have therefore been the means of bringing to him a
practice that many an older representative of the profession might well envy.
The Doctor is identified with the Woodmen of the World and is a member
of the First Presbyterian church. His life has been manly, his actions sin-
cere, his manner unaffected, and he is popular among the residents of his
adopted county.
P. W. FREDERICK.
A well known representative of educational interests in Richland county
is Professor P. W. Frederick, who conducts the Mansfield Business Col-
lege, in the city of Mansfield. He was born in Coshocton county, Ohio,
October 19, 1865, and belongs to one of the oldest families of that portion
of the state. John C. Frederick, his grandfather, was born in Germany
about 1800, and in early life came to the United States, taking up his abode
in Bethlehem, Coshocton county, during the pioneer epoch of its develop-
ment. He was twice married, his second union being with Katherine
DeBerry. By his first marriage he had four children: John G., Mary Ann,
Barbara and Samuel. The children of the second marriage are Alvira,
Isabel, Benjamin and Amanda. John G. Frederick, the father of our sub-
ject, is now living retired at Warsaw, Ohio. He married Miss Amy Curran,
and their children are as follows : Laura is the wife of A. J. Darling, who
resides near Warsaw. They have two sons, — Glenn R. and Lloyd. Sylva
is the wife of Lyman Taylor, a dealer in fine horses at Warsaw, and they
have two children. — Myrle and Audra. Millie is the wife of Dr. R. C.
Edwards, a practicing physician of Coshocton, and they have one son, Clif-
ford F, Carrie A., the youngest of the Frederick family, resides with her
parents in Warsaw.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 215
Professor Frederick, of this review, began his literary education in the
schools of Coshocton, and was afterward a student in the National Pen
Art Hall and Business College, and Zanerian Art College, of Columbus,
Ohio. After his graduation he went to Zanesville, where he was employed
in the Zanesville Business College. Seven months later he purchased a
half interest in that school and continued his connection therewith for two
years. He then came to Mansfield and founded the Mansfield Business
College, in September, 1897. This institution has grown steadily and is a
credit to the city. The work done there is thorough, the methods are pro-
gressive and the Professor is well qualified to prepare young people for the
practical experiences of a business life.
Professor Frederick was united in marriage to Miss May Lauck, at
Zanesville, Ohio, in June. 1895, and they now have an interesting little son,
J. Lowell. Mr. Frederick is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church
and is a gentleman of high moral worth. He has, by force of native ability
and steady perseverance, raised himself to a creditable position in life, and
his history illustrates in a marked degree what may be accomplished by well-
directed efforts and a strict adherence to correct business principles. ,
HENRY BEAM.
In control of one of the most extensive floral enterprises of Richland
county is Henry Beam, who has succeeded in establishing a large and lucrative
trade. Tireless energy and capable management have been salient features
in his success, and he now occupies a leading position in business circles.
A native of Germany, Mr. Beam was born in Hessen on the 13th of
July, 1841, his parents being Henry and Emma Beam. These children
are living: John B., who is now living in Mansfield; Henry; Mrs. Chris-
tina Berno, of Mansfield ; and Barbara, now Mrs. Hutzelman, also of Mans-
field. In 1850 the parents came with their family to the new world, believ-
ing that they might better their financial conditions in America. A settle-
ment was made in Mansfield, and Henry Beam, then a lad of ten years,
entered the public schools, where he pursued his studies for three years.
His father was a gardener, and naturally during his youth he worked among
the plants and became familiar with the best methods of cultivating them.
When the war broke out he enlisted in the Thirty-second Ohio Infantry and
served for two years and seven months, rendering valuable aid to his adopted
country in her hour of need. Upon his return he again worked in his father's
216 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
greenhouses, and about 1880 he began business on his own account by renting
the greenhouse belonging to Senator Sherman. After conducting it for five
years he purchased his present property. He was the first to carry on the
floral business on an extensive scale in Richland county, and his trade has
steadily grown in volume and importance, until it has now assumed extensive
proportions. He began operation with only three greenhouses, but has
enlarged his facilities from time to time until at the present time he has
eight. His knowledge of floral culture is very comprehensive and his
opinions are regarded as authority on everything connected with that line
of work.
On the 28th of February, 1876, Mr. Beam was united in marriage to
Miss Hattie Daubenspeck, whose parents, William and Helen (Schuster)
Daubenspeck, removed from Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, to Illinois about
1855. After three years they became residents of "Mansfield. At that time
Mrs. Beam was only seven years of age. She is one of a family of seven
children, of whom six are now living: Henry, the eldest, married Annie
Echelberge, by whom he has three children, and resides in Ashland county;
William, who is living six miles from Mansfield, married Laura Tucker, and
thev have three children ; Mary was a resident of Hayesville, Ohio ; Fannie
is the wife of William Sickler, of Akron, Ohio; and Susie resides with Mrs.
Beam, who is the third eldest of the family.
Mr. and Mrs. Beam have a wide acquaintance in Richland county and
their friends are many. His has been a busy and useful career. He deserves
mention among the prominent representatives of commercial interests in Rich-
land county and his life record should find a place in the annals of this
section of the state among men whose force of character, sterling integrity,
control of circumstances and success in establishing paying industries have
contributed in a large degree to the solidity and progress of the entire county.
T. Y. McCRAY.
T. Y. McCray, one of the most active and useful citizens of Richland
county, and formerly an exceptionally brilliant lawyer, was burn in Wash-
ington county, Pennsylvania, August 8, 1857. In 1846 he removed to Rich-
land county, Ohio, and was reared upon a farm. In early life he became
crippled, and all through life he suffered more or less with asthma, so that
his full powers could never be brought into activity ; but nevertheless he made
his mark in the world.
After receiving as good an education as the common schools afforded
T. Y. McCRlY.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 217
he attended the Savannah and Hayesville institutes, and afterward taught
school twelve years. In i860 he was appointed a member of the board of
school examiners for Ashland county, and served during the term of four years.
In 1862 he was admitted to the bar in the same county, and in 1863 he was
married to Miss Mary E. Barnhill, of Ashland county. In 1866 he removed
to West Salem, Wayne county, Ohio, where he had charge of the public
schools for two years, and while thus engaged he was appointed a member
of the board of school examiners, remaining on the board until 1875. In
1868 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Wayne county, and was re-elected
in 1870, thus serving in that capacity four years. In 1868 he removed to
Wooster and was there engaged in the practice of law until 1875, when he
removed to Cleveland, there forming a partnership with G. M. Stewart, which
partnership lasted about one year. But being, as was previously stated,
afflicted with asthma, for the last three months of this partnership he lost
the use of his voice, for which reason he returned to Wooster for the pur-
pose of settling up his affairs. On August 20, 1876, he removed to Mans-
field, where ever since that time he has been engaged in the practice of law.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. McCray were born the following children : Robert,
born in Ashland county January 12, 1864; Minnie, born in Ashland county
January 11, 1866; Clarence V., born in West Salem November 5, 1868;
Grace, born in Wooster September 14, 1872; Ella B., born in Wooster July
26, 1875; Thomas, born in Mansfield June 26, 1878. Robert died in 1871;
Clarence in 1870, and Ella in 1876. Mrs. McCray died March 17, 1897.
Mr. McCray is one of the widely known and highly esteemed citizens of
Richland county, a most useful man, and he and his family are highly
esteemed by all.
GEORGE W. REED.
George Willard Reed, editor and proprietor of the Advertiser, of Plym-
outh, was born March 30, 1859, in Salem, Ohio. His father, James Reed,
was a native of eastern Ohio, born in 1819, and was of German lineage.
He died at Attica, Ohio, in 1884. His wife, Mrs. Delilah Reed, was born
in Ohio in 1819, and on the mother's side was of Irish lineage. The grand-
parents of our subject, however, were natives of Pennsylvania, removing
to eastern Ohio at an early period of its development and in that part of the
state spent their remaining days, and when death came were there laid to
rest. Mrs. Reed died in Attica, Ohio, in 1887, in her sixty-eighth year. She
became the mother of four sons and four daughters, of whom all but one
2i8 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
daughter are yet living: James M. Reed, now fifty-one years of age, is a
mechanic living in Clyde, Ohio; William F. is a contractor of Hutchinson,
Kansas, and is forty-nine years of age; Clifford W., aged thirty-two, is in
the service of the Western Union Telegraph Company, of Chicago, Illinois.
The sons are all married and are in prosperous circumstances. The daugh-
ters are Mrs. Alvira Spencer; Mrs. W. O. Heavier, of Attica, Ohio; Mrs.
Charles Hardie, of Clyde, Ohio; and Mrs. John Stark, deceased, formerly
of Rising Sun, Ohio.
George Willard Reed was only a year old when his parents removed
from Salem to Attica. A year later they took up their abode at West Union,
Fayette county, Iowa, where they lived for two years. On the expiration
of that period they returned to Attica and Mr. Reed, of this review, was
a resident of the latter city until 1882. He acquired his education in the
public schools and on laying aside his text-books to learn the more difficult
lessons in the school of experience he entered upon an apprenticeship in a
printing office. He was then seventeen years of age. He soon mastered
the business and was employed for several years on the Attica Journal,
owned and published by Charles Clough. Following Horace Greeley's
advice to young men, to go west and grow up with the country, he made
his way to Pierre, South Dakota, where he was employed on the Daily Signal
for three years. In 1885 he came to Plymouth and began work on the
paper which he now owns. For ten years he was its foreman and for three
years was its editor and manager. He then purchased the paper, on the
1st of April, 1898, and has since conducted it, still acting as its editor. The
Advertiser is a wide-awake and popular journal, independent in politics and
well supported by the citizens of Plymouth and vicinity. It has a circula-
tion of one thousand and its patronage is steadily increasing.
On the 1 2th of May, 1886, in Plymouth, Mr. Reed was united in mar-
riage to Miss Rosa L. Derringer, of Plymouth, one of the popular young
ladies of the city. They now have three children, Evan P., Amy E. and
Kenneth M., aged, respectively, thirteen, eleven and three years. Mrs. Reed
is a daughter of William Derringer, of Plymouth, a cooper by trade, and
one of the most highly esteemed citizens of his town, where he and his
wife have resided since 1863. Mr. Reed is a past chief of the Ben Hur
Tribe of Plymouth. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and his wife
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. They are widely known
in this city and in the county and enjoy the hospitality of many of the best
homes here. Mr. Reed is public-spirited and progressive, and through the
columns of his paper and through personal influence and financial support
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 219
contributes to the advancement of all measures which he believes will prove
of general good. His social qualities and his sterling worth render him
popular and he enjoys the high regard of all with whom he is brought in
contact.
DAVID X. STAMBAUGH.
David Nivens Stambaugh, who has been a trusted employe of the Ault-
man & Taylor Company, of Mansfield, Ohio, for over thirty years, was
born in Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1833, a
son of Michael and Catherine (Coppenhaver) Stambaugh. His paternal
grandfather was Peter Stambaugh, who was born on the ocean while his
parents were emigrating from Germany to America, and his maternal grand-
father was Benjamin Coppenhaver. On first coming to Ohio, in 1841, the
parents of our subject located in Wooster, from there removed to Massillon,
and in 1843 became residents of Cleveland. It was in 1847 that they came
to Richland county, where the father, who was a carpenter by trade, died in
1876, at the age of seventy years, the mother in 1869, at the age of sixty-
seven. They left one daughter, who is still living, Mrs. Elizabeth Ferguson,
of Mansfield.
The subject of this sketch came with the family to Mansfield, where
he attended school for a time, and about 185 1 started out in life for himself,
working at the carpenter's trade until the Civil war broke out. In 1861 he
enlisted in Company E, Thirty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which
he was commissioned first lieutenant, while Judge Warden, of Mansfield,
was made captain of the company. They were under the command of Gen-
erals Milroy and Reynolds, and were on duty in West Virginia. Mr. Stam-
baugh participated in the battle of Greenbrier, but after seven months' serv-
ice was discharged on account of physical disability. After his recovery he
engaged in carpentering and building, and was connected with the Erie Rail-
road construction until 1865. In 1869 he entered the service of the Ault-
man & Taylor Company, in whose employ he has since remained, being the
foreman of the wood department of, the factory during the absence of Will-
iam Ackerman. When he commenced working for the company their
employes numbered only fifty, but to-day there are about eight hundred names
on their pay roll. Mr. Stambaugh has never missed a season since he entered
their service, and in the meantime has built many fine houses in the city of
Mansfield. His own fine residence on Spring Mill street was erected by
him in 1867.
220 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
In 1856 Mr. Stambaugh married Miss Isabella Newbold Ouigley, who
was born in 1832. Her father, Thomas Bunting Ouigley, was a master
mechanic for the Bellefontaine & Indianapolis Railroad at Galion. Ohio,
many years ago, and was an expert engineer and machinist. In i860 he
concluded to go to Arkansas and engage in lumbering. He built a complete
and duplicate outfit engine and machinery, and with- his son-in-law, John
Grabner, started south, but in a collision at Devil's Bend in the Mississippi
river he was drowned and the machinery all lost. Mr. Grabner escaped
and is now living in Warsaw, Indiana. Mr. Ouigley was from New Jersey.
His brother, Philip Ouigley, of Wilmington, Delaware, built many of the
Centennial buildings at Philadelphia. Of the five children born to Mr. and
Mrs. Stambaugh, Alice Emily is at home; Georgiana died in childhood, aged
six years ; Belle is a graduate of the Normal College at Mansfield, and is
now the wife of C. M. Eaton, of Omaha, Nebraska, who is manager of the
Omaha Stove Repair Works; Tilletta is a graduate of the Mansfield high
school and is at home; and D. Rizdon Thompson, also a graduate of that
school, is now in the employ of the Omaha Loan & Trust Company, of
Omaha, Nebraska. All the members of the family belong to the Baptist
church, and are highly respected and esteemed by all who know them. Mrs.
Stambaugh is now an invalid.
Politically Mr. Stambaugh has always affiliated with the Republican
party and has taken an active part in its work since its organization in 1856.
He was a member of the city council of Mansfield one term. Fraternally
he is a member of the Grand Army post of that place.
WILLIAM A. SHAW.
For many years Mr. Shaw was connected with commercial interests
in the town of Shelby, but is now living retired at his present home, which
is situated in the suburbs of Shelby. To his own efforts he owes his suc-
cess, which has resulted from the careful conduct of his business affairs.
He labored so earnestly, energetically and persistently that fortune has favored
him with a competence, and he is now enabled to put aside all the more
arduous cares of business life and enjoy a well merited rest.
Mr. Shaw is one of Ohio's native sons. He was born in Hinckley,
Medina county, July 5, 1840, and is a representative of one of the old New
England families. His father, Jacob Shaw, was born in Chesterfield, Mas-
sachusetts, in 1799, and in 1829 emigrated westward, hoping to improve
his financial condition in the new country, where prices were low, where land
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 221
was cheap, and where opportunity for advancement was offered every indi-
vidual. By water route he made his way to Cleveland, then a mere hamlet,
and by canal proceeded to Boston, Ohio, taking up his abode in Medina
county. By trade he was a goldsmith, and for many years he followed that
pursuit, also devoting a part of his attention to the cultivation and develop-
ment of a small farm which he had purchased. Just before his removal to
the west he wedded Rowena Damon, of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, and in
their Ohio home they became the parents of ten children, of whom seven are
now living. The father became a well-to-do man and at his death left to>
his family a comfortable competence. He passed away in 1877, and his
widow, surviving him for a number of years, died in 1893, at the age of
ninety-two years. In 1870 they became residents of Shelby, and their
remains were interred in Oakland cemetery, in this city.
William A. Shaw, whose name introduces this record, enjoyed the
advantages of a good common-school education and prepared for his busi-
ness career by becoming his father's assistant in the jewelry store. For
thirty-four years William A. Shaw engaged in the jewelry business, being
located in Shelby during - the greater part of that time. He, however, fol-
lowed the pursuit in Medina, in connection with the firm of A. I. Root &
Company, he being the silent partner of the concern. For twenty-eight
years he conducted a jewelry establishment of his own, in connection with
the book and stationery business. Mr. Shaw possessed the qualifications
necessary for the successful conduct of a store. He is a man to whose nature
indolence and idleness are thoroughly foreign. In manner he is obliging
and courteous, and he understood how to meet the varied tastes of the trade.
In all his dealings he was strictly honorable, and he therefore enjoyed the
public confidence and received a liberal share of its patronage.
At the age of twenty-six years, in 1861, Mr. Shaw was united in mar-
riage to Eleanor F. Oakley, of Sandy Hill, New York. Her mother was
in her maidenhood a Miss Garfield, a relative of the martyred president.
Mrs. Shaw was called to her final rest in 1898, at the age of fifty-two years,
and at her death left three children: J. Anna; William, who' is married
and lives in Shelby, and has two sons and one daughter; and Elmer, a widower,
who has one child. Mr. Shaw was again married, the second union being
with Airs. Anna Rogers, nee Ott, of Shelby. She belonged to one of the
old families of Ohio, and her mother was a Miss Marvin prior to her
marriage.
In 1890 Mr. Shaw purchased the Gump farm, adjoining the eastern
boundary of Shelby. The place comprises seventy-four acres and has been
222 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in the possession of but three persons. Mr. Shaw now holds the original
deed, to which is attached the autograph signature of Andrew Jackson. He
has now practically retired, yet gives considerable time and attention to the
improvement and cultivation of his place. His residence is a most com-
modious, substantial and inviting one. It is built of brick and is surrounded
with attractive gardens and lawns. Everything about the place is neat and
attractive in appearance, indicating his careful supervision. Mr. Shaw is a
prominent Mason and has taken the Scottish rite degrees. His political
views are in harmony with the Democratic principles, yet he votes inde-
pendently. For nine years he was a member of the school board, and the
cause of education found in him a warm friend. He earnestly promoted
the welfare of the schools of the community. He was also the township
treasurer for two terms, and in this office discharged his duties with prompt-
ness and fidelity. In all life's relations Mr. Shaw has been true to the trust
reposed in him, honorable in business, reliable in public life and faithful in
friendship. He has enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all with whom
he has been associated and well deserves representation in this volume.
J. O. A. CLOWES, M. D.
Few men are more prominent or more widely known in Shelby and in
Richland county than Dr. Clowes. He has been an important factor in pro-
fessional circles, and his popularity is well deserved, as in him are embraced
the characteristics of an unbending integrity, unabating energy and industry
that never flags. He is public-spirited and thoroughly interested in what-
ever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of his
town and county. The Doctor was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania,
May 18, 1845, an d is one of the thirteen children of James and Rebecca
(Kennedy) Clowes. His father also was a native of Allegheny county, and
upon the home farm spent the days of his childhood. As a preparation for
life's work he learned the cabinetmaker's trade, which he followed through-
out his active business career. He made his home in what is now Cheswick,
but was then Pleasant Shore, a village on the Allegheny river. He was an
active member of the Baptist church, and died in 1867. His wife, who
was born in Warren county, Ohio, passed away in 1862. Of their children
only four are now living: Walter A., who is engaged in the undertaking
business in Springdale, Pennsylvania; Henry R., of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania;
J. O. A. ; and Mary, the wife of William Berwinkle, of Apollo, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Clowes spent the first seventeen years of his life in his parents'
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 223
home and pursued his literary education in the graded schools of Harmar-
ville, Pennsylvania. At the age of sixteen he began reading medicine, often
seeking the seclusion of the woods, where he concentrated his mind on his
studies and mastered many of the fundamental principles of the medical
science. After a year thus passed he began reading medicine under the
direction of Dr. B. F. Reynolds, of Harmarville, with whom he remained
for a year, when he went to Pittsburg and continued his studies under Dr.
G. T. Jacoby, under whose preceptorage he remained for two years. He
then enjoyed the advantages of a college course, matriculating in the Phil-
adelphia University of Medicine and Surgery in the fall of 1868. He was
graduated at that institution in the spring of 1869. Well equipped for his
chosen calling, he started westward to seek a favorable location. He went
to Normal, Illinois, but was not favorably impressed with that section of
the country and came to Richland county, Ohio, locating in Rome. Bloom-
ing Grove township. There he successfully practiced for six years, when,
in 1875, he removed to Shiloh, where he built up a very enviable business.
In October, 1900, he removed to Shelby, where he now continues the prac-
tice of medicine.
In 1872 Dr. Clowes was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary H. Van Horn,
a native of Rome and a daughter of William Van Horn, who at one time
was a leading carpenter and builder, but afterward engaged in the grocery
business in Rome. Unto the Doctor and his wife have been born four chil-
dren, of whom three are yet living: Roselle and Estelle, at home; and
Nellie, the wife of B. F. Long, an able attorney and the present mayor of
Shelby, Ohio. The family is one of prominence in Richland county, and
the hospitality of many of the best homes is extended to the members of
Clowes household. The Doctor is a supporter of Republican principles. He
is one of the well known residents of Richland county, and his career has
been honorable and creditable. He represents a profession where advance-
ment depends upon individual merit, and his high standing is an indication
of his skill.
ALEXANDER FRASER.
Alexander Fraser, wholesale dealer in monumental marble and granite at
Mansfield, Ohio, is of Scotch origin and possesses many of the sterling
characteristics that have distinguished his countrymen wherever they have
settled in the United States.
Mr. Fraser was born in Kincardineshire, Scotland, in i860, and in his
224 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
native land was reared and educated. He is a graduate of Robert Gordon's
College. The marble business, in all its details, he learned under the instruc-
tion of the firm of McDonald, Field & Company, of Aberdeen, Scotland,
where he made a specialty of draughting. He was a draughtsman for five
years in one of the largest shipbuilding establishments of Aberdeen. His
parents, Alexander and Christina (Smith) Fraser, are both still living, and
his father is the manager of a large estate in Scotland. In 1889, the year
following his marriage, Mr. Fraser came to this country and located in
Mansfield, where he at once established himself in his present business, and
from the beginning has met with marked success. His business, constantly
on the increase, now extends throughout the United States and into all parts
of Canada.
In his office Mr. Fraser has the assistance of his entertaining and accom-
plished wife, and to her is due a share of the success they enjoy. Their
business amounts annually to over one hundred thousand dollars.
Mrs. Fraser was formerly Miss Maria Milne, and she, too. is a native of
Kincardineshire, Scotland, and a daughter of John and Jane (Donald)
Milne. She had excellent educational advantages and holds a life certificate
as a teacher in Great Britain. They are the parents of two sons, — Alexander
John and Herbert Freeman.
Mr. and Mrs. Fraser are worthy members of the United Presbyterian
church, and politically he is a Republican, voting with his party on all national
issues. In filling local office, however, he makes it a point to support the
man he believes best fitted for the place, regardless of party lines. Per-
sonally he is a man of fine physical proportions, — a well-developed, rugged
determined, keen, successful Scotchman.
JOSEPH PATRICK HENRY.
This well known and prominent lawyer of Mansfield, a member of the
firm of Henry & Reed, is a native of Richland county, born in Monroe town-
ship April 10, 1854, and is a son of Nicholas S. and Margaret (Yates) Henry.
The Henry family was founded in America by his great-grandfather, Joseph
Henry, a highland Scotchman by birth, who was one of the soldiers who
came to this country with La Fayette to fight for the independence of the
colonies in the Revolutionary war". He was scalped by the Indians in New
Jersey at the age of sixteen, and left for dead, but recovered and lived to the
advanced age of eighty-four years. His home was probably in Washington
county, Pennsylvania. In his family were three sons, of whom Joseph Henry
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 225
was the grandfather of our subject. He married Margaret Zercher, a native
of Switzerland, and to them were born ten children, five sons and five daugh-
ters, of whom our subject's father was the ninth in order of birth. The
grandfather settled in Belmont, Ohio, prior to the war of 1812, in which he
took part. His military duties brought him through Richland county. After
the war he returned to Belmont county, where he remained until 1834,
and then brought his family to this county, locating on a half section of land
one mile south of Lucas in Monroe township, where he died in 1848. On
the maternal side our subject is of English origin, his ancestors having come
to America soon after the Revolutionary war and settling in Baltimore,
Maryland, where they lived until about 1825, when his grandfather, Patrick
Yates, came to Richland county, Ohio, and also settled in Monroe township.
About 1818 he married Elizabeth Dome, of Hagerstown, Maryland, and to
them were born nine children, of whom our subject's mother was the fifth
in order of birth.
Nicholas S. Henry, our subject's father, was born in Belmont county,
Ohio, December 16, 1826, and was married in Richland county, February 10,
18S3, t0 Margaret Yates, who was born in this county, February 28, 1830.
Thev became the parents of six children and the first three born are still
living, namely: Joseph Patrick, our subject; Ursula, the wife of Joseph P.
Scott, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Laura L., the wife of Alonzo G. Warren,
of Mansfield. Those deceased were Alexander W., who died at the age
of twenty-seven years; Mary P., who died at the age of thirty-five; and
Jessie May, who died at the age of eighteen. The wife and mother died
December 12, 1878, and two years later the father married Miss Matilda Ott,
a native of Noble county, Indiana, by whom he has one daughter, Georgia,
now seventeen years of age. The family reside on a farm in Mifflin town-
ship, this county, where the father has made his home for thirty years. Dur-
ing his active years he cleared about fifty-five acres of heavily timbered land.
He served through the war of the Rebellion as a member of Company B, One
Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and on two occasions
received serious injuries, which have disabled him largely since leaving the
army. He was discharged for disability in July, 1863. He is a man of pow-
erful physique, being six feet, four inches in height, and weighing about two
hundred pounds when in health. He is a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic; in politics is a Democrat and in religious belief a Lutheran. .He
is one of the well-to-do, as well as one of the highly respected, men of his
community.
The early education of Joseph P. Henry was acquired in the common
226 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
schools of his native township, and at the age of fifteen years he entered the
Greentown Academy, where he pursued his studies two years less one term.
The removal of the family necessitated his returning home to assist in clearing
up a debt of three thousand dollars which the father had incurred in buying a
larger farm. In four years the farm was free from mortgage, and there was
a snug deposit on the credit side of the family cashbook. Our subject then
told his father he desired a more thorough education and was willing to work
on the farm in later years. His mother favored the boy, as mothers always
do, and after attending school four years and teaching in an academv three
and one-half years, he entered LaFayette College, at Easton, Pennsylvania, in
the last term of the freshman year. He completed the classical course and
was graduated in June, 1880, with the degree of A. B., the degree of A. M
being conferred upon him three years later. LaFayette College is one of the
prominent, well known institutions of higher learning, and was named in
honor of the great philanthropist and lover of freedom, General LaFayette.
On the 20th of September, 1880, Mr. Henry commenced the study of
law in the office of Pritchard & Wolfe, of Mansfield, and by examination at
Columbus, Ohio, in June, 1882, was admitted to the bar. He entered into
partnership with his preceptors, and remained with them until January, 1-885,
when Mr. Pritchard withdrew and the firm became Wolfe & Henry, and con-
tinued such until Mr. Wolfe was elected judge of the common pleas court in
1 89 1. In July of that year Mr. Henry formed a partnership with James
M. Reed, under the firm- name of Henry &,Reed, and they have since success-
fully engaged in general practice.
Mr. Henry was married, October 28, 1886, to Miss Margaret A. Lutz,
who was born in Mifflin township, this county, May 29, 1855, and was there
reared and educated. Her parents, John P. and Catherine Lutz, are still liv-
ing, the former at the age of eighty, the latter at seventy-eight years. Mr. and
Mrs. Henry have two children: Alice, born February 11, 1893; an d Harvey,
born June 3, 1897. The parents are both members of the First Presbyterian
church of Mansfield.
As a Democrat, Mr. Henry takes a very active and prominent part in
political affairs ; is a zealous worker for the supremacy of his party ; and
as a political orator has achieved an enviable reputation. From August, 1890,
to August, 1897, he was a member of the board of school examiners of
Mansfielcl, examining teachers for the city schools; and served as the mayor
from May, 1897, to May, 1899. He is prominently associated with several
secret societies, being a member of Venus Lodge, Xo. 152, F. & A. M. ;
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 227
Mansfield Chapter, No. 28, R. A. M. ; Mansfield Commandery, No. 21, K. T. ;
and the Knights of Pythias, and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Holding marked precedence among the members of the bar of this county,
and as one of Mansfield's most public-spirited and enterprising citizens. Mr.
Henry certainly deserves prominent mention in this volume, whose object
it is to record the lives of the leading citizens of Richland county.
ENOCH HEGG FRANCE.
The venerable citizen whose name introduces this biographical mention
was born in Yorkshire, England, January 6, 1821, and has therefore not only
rounded the psalmist's span of three-score years and ten, but has completed
four-score years upon life's journey. His parents. William and Malinda
(Davenport) France, were both natives of Yorkshire, born near Leeds, and
were of pure English lineage. The father was a weaver by trade and was
especially skilled in the weaving of fancy fabrics. He came to the United
States in 1828 and located in Northfield, Ohio. About a year later his wife
and three children sailed for this country to join him, but on the ocean voy-
age one of the sons died and was buried in the Atlantic. The other chil-
dren were Enoch H., of this review; Ann, now the widow of David Lillie
and a resident of Spokane, Oregon ; Sarah McClure, of Dale City, Iowa ;
Lillie Peters, also of Dale City ; James France, in Iowa ; Walter France, at
Spokane ; and George France, at Hoquiam, Washington. Accompanied by
two children, the mother joined her husband in Northfield, where the family
resided for about five years and then came to Richland county. The father
established a woolen-mill near Lucas and operated it for several years, after
which he sold it to his son and a Mr. Lawnsdale, and removed to Guthrie
county, Iowa, where he followed farming the remainder of his days. He
passed away about twenty years ago, at the age of sixty-nine years.
Mr. France, of this sketch, was about eight years of age when he accom-
panied his mother to the new world and under the parental roof he was
reared, receiving his business training in his father's mill, of which he after-
ward became a half owner. In connection with his partner, Air. Lawnsdale,
he operated the woolen-mill near Lucas until about the time of the outbreak
of the Civil war. He then purchased his partner's interest, becoming sole
proprietor, and for about six years following he continued the manufacture
of woolen cloth, blankets, stocking yarn and other goods in that line.
1
228 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
On abandoning the enterprise he at once became engaged in the busi-
ness of supplying wooden ties to the railroad companies under contract, and
later he took contracts for supplying* crushed stone for railroads, public roads
and street improvement. In that business he met with gratifying success from
the beginning and after a time he admitted to a partnership his sons, who
are excellent business men and in late years have contributed largely to the
success of the enterprise, which has been conducted under the firm style of
E. H. France. At Bloomville and Middle Point they operate two large lime-
stone quarries, where three thousand yards of stone is crushed daily, and
their sandstone quarry is located in Coshocton county. Their trade has
now assumed mammoth proportions, and in addition to contracting in crushed
stone Mr. France and his sons have constructed many miles of railroad.
Mr. France began life with a limited common-school education, as a
son of a poor weaver, from whom he learned the trade, and when he began
what has been a very successful business career he had an extremely limited
capital. His career, however, has been an active and useful one. He has
ever been industrious, energetic and determined, has improved his oppor-
tunities and has utilized his ability to the best advantage. Far-sighted in
matters of business, and with ambition and wisdom, he has directed his affairs
to successful completion, and has established for himself an excellent rep-
utation as a reliable and energetic business man. At the same time he has
secured a handsome competence as the result of his integrity and honorable
dealing, and he has long held the respect and esteem of his contemporaries
in the business world.
On the 9th of October, 1851, Mr. France was joined in wedlock to
Miss Rachel Ross, a daughter of Natcher and Sophia (Arnold) Ross. She
was born near Lucas, Richland county, May 10, 1829. Her parents were
natives of Harrison county, Ohio, and were of Scotch-Irish extraction. At
an early period in the history of this portion of the state they came to Rich-
land county and spent their remaining days within its borders, being num-
bered among its respected and worthy pioneers. Mr. and Mrs. France have
his five children, namely : Mary, now deceased ; Ira Fremont, a contractor,
residing in Bloomville, Ohio ; Myra Myrtle, the wife of R. A. Hale, of Mans-
field ; Natcher Ross, a contractor and a resident of Bloomville ; and Willie
Grant, a contractor who is living in Middle Point, Ohio.
In his political affiliations Mr. France is a Republican, but has never
sought official preferment. To his business affairs he has given his time,
efforts and strict attention. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 229
church and are numbered among the oldest and most highly esteemed citi-
zens of the county seat, where they have long resided and are well and favor-
ably known.
JAMES H. RUMMEL, M. D.
Engaged in the practice of medicine in Lucas and in the conduct of a drug
store, Dr. Rummel is accounted one of the leading business men and representa-
tive citizens of the village. He was born in Worthington township. Richland
county, on the 29th of January, 1856, his parents being William and Elizabeth
A. (Bishop) Rummel, who had four children, the Doctor being the eldest.
Almond, the second child, is now a farmer of Madison township ; Thomas C,
a graduate of the Western Reserve [Medical College of Cleveland, Ohio, is now
a practicing physician of Tacoma, Washington; and Mary J., the only daugh-
ter, is the wife of L. E. Perry, of Lucas.
Dr. Rummel spent the first twelve years of his life in Worthington town-
ship. He was only seven years of age at the time of his father's death, and at
the age of thirteen he was left an orphan. He then started out in' life on his
own account, being employed as a farm hand in Worthington township for
»about two years, when he went to Monroe township, where he worked on
farms until eighteen vears of age." During that time he attended school in the
winter seasons, and, manifesting special aptitude in his studies, he was, at the
age of eighteen, qualified for teaching, a profession which he followed through
the winter seasons for some time. He also attended the Greentown Academy
at Perry ville for two terms and on the completion of his literary course began
reading medicine under the direction of Dr. R. S. Boals, who directed his
studies for three years. He then entered the Wooster Medical College at Cleve-
land and was graduated in that institution with the class of 1881, on the com-
pletion of a thorough course, which well fitted him for the responsible duties
that fall to the lot of the medical practitioner. Coming to Lucas he engaged
in the drug business for three years and then practiced his profession for a
year, since which time he has given his attention largely to the conduct
of his store.
The Doctor has been twice married. He first wedded Miss Sadie Ervin.
the marriage taking place on the 20th of March, 1881. She died May 25. 1 883,
and on the 9th of October, 1884, he married Miss Mary O. Burger. They now
have four children, Carl E., May O., Stella F. and Crete M., and the family
circle vet remains unbroken. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and
230 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ability, have several times called the Doctor to positions of public trust. He
was for three years township clerk and for four years township treasurer.
His political, support is given the Democracy, and socially he is connected with
Mansfield Lodge, No. 35, F. & A. M., Mansfield Chapter, No. 28, R. A. M.,
Commandery No. 21, K. T. and Monroe Lodge, I. O. O. F. He has filled all
of the chairs and is now past master of the last named. Dr. Rummel is a
progressive business man, energetic and capable, and his courteous and oblig-
ing manner render his store one of the popular mercantile establishments of
Lucas.
ADAM H. WEISER.
Adam H. Weiser, who is a farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Cass
township, Richland county, June 11, 1852, and now carries on business on
section 35 of that township. He represents one of the pioneer families of
that locality. His father, Adam Weiser, St., was born in Cumberland county,
Pennsylvania, and was there reared to manhood, acquiring his education in
the common schools. With his parents he came to Ohio and soon afterward
he accepted a position as a farm hand for John Bender, who later became
his father-in-law. He worked for Mr. Bender for several years and during
that time he wooed and won the daughter Susan.
Shortly after their marriage Mr. Weiser purchased a tract of timber
land of eighty acres in Cass township, one-half mile southwest of London.
He then began clearing his land and erected a log cabin, which became the
pioneer home of the young couple. The cracks between the logs in the
upper part of the building had not' been filled up and squirrels frequently
made their way through and engaged in a morning gambol before Mr. and
Mrs. Weiser had arisen. With marked energy the father of our subject con-
tinued the work of clearing and improving his land, making his home
thereon until i860, when he sold that farm and purchased the present home
of our subject, becoming the owner of the one hundred and sixty acres on
which he located, continuing to make it his place of residence until 1877, when
he bought a home in Shelby. There he resided until the death of his wife,
after which he made his home with his children until his demise in 1893.
He was an ardent Democrat, but never accepted an office, although township
positions were frequently tendered him. Of the Lutheran church he was
an active and consistent member, and for a number of years served as a
deacon and elder therein. His life was at all times honorable and worthy
of emulation.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 231
His wife was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and in her
girlhood accompanied her parents on their removal to Madison township,
Richland county, Ohio. Her father, John Bender, purchased and improved
a farm of one hundred and sixty acres four miles northwest of Mansfield.
Later in life he removed to Shelby, where he lived for about six or seven
years, when he and his wife broke up housekeeping", making' their home
among their children. Mr. and Mrs. Weiser became the parents of twelve
children, of whom six are now living: Jacob, a farmer of Williams county,
Ohio ; Barbara, the wife of David Dick, a farmer of Hancock county, Ohio ;
Adam H. ; William, who owns and cultivates land in Hancock county ; Alice,
the wife of William Sherman, a farmer of Hancock county; and Mary, the
wife of George K. Suter, the president of the Suter Furniture Company, of
Shelby, Ohio. The parents were honored pioneer people who experienced
the various hardships and trials of life on the frontier, and also enjoyed the
pleasures incident to a residence on the borders of civilization. They wit-
nessed the remarkable growth and development of this section of the state,
and aided in laying broad and deep the foundation of the present prosperity
and progress of Richland county.
The old homestead was the scene of the boyhood labors and pleasures
in which Adam H. Weiser indulged, and he became familiar with the cur-
riculum in the public schools, where he pursued his studies during the winter
months, aiding in the labors of the farm through the summer season. In
1874 ke was united in marriage to Miss Barbara Lybarger, a daughter of
Louise Lybarger. With his bride he took up his abode at his parental home,
and he and his brother Jacob cultivated the home farm on shares for two
years. On the expiration of that period Jacob Weiser removed to Williams
county, Ohio, and Adam continued to manage the farm alone. After he
had conducted it as a renter for eighteen years, he purchased the old home
place and is now its owner. He engaged in the operation of a threshing
machine from 1893 till 1899, running two threshers much of that time. He
believes in progress and advancement and has upon his place the latest
improved machinery to facilitate the farm work. His buildings are kept in
good repair, and in his business he is methodical and systematic.
To M r. and Mrs. Weiser have been born three children : Archie, who
runs the Wesley Fickes farm in Cass township; Otto Herman, at home; and
Louis Curtis. The last named was killed by lightning July 3, 1900, his death
proving a very great blow to the family and to many friends, for he was
popular in the neighborhood. As every true American citizen should do,
Adam H. Weiser keeps well informed on the issues of the day. He votes with
232 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
the Democratic party, but has always refused to accept office. Of the
Reformed church he is an active member and for eight years has served as a
deacon. He co-operates in all movements for the public good and at the same
time neglects not his business affairs, successfully farming and raising stock.
He is widely known- as a representative agriculturist, and in Richland county
has a large acquaintance, for his entire life has here been passed. The circle
of his friends is extensive and the regard in which he is held is uniform.
HENRY WENTZ.
Henry Wentz, one of the prominent citizens of Shelby, Ohio, was born
two miles from that city, in December, 1839. He is a son of Henry and
Elizabeth (Sheibley) Wentz, who were the parents of thirteen children, two
of whom died in infancy. The eldest daughter of the family, Mary, was
born May 23, 1825, and married John Feiroved, a farmer. Hannah, born
December 25, 1826, married Adam Stine and lives at Crestline, Crawford
county, Ohio; she is now a widow. John was born November 11, 1828, is
a carpenter by trade, and is living in the city of Shelby. David, born June
6, 1830, is a farmer and lives near Shiloh, Richland county, Ohio. Lydia A.,
born January 13, 1832, married George Bloom and died also in Richland
county, October 12, 1889. George, born July 3, 1834, died in 1886. The
next was a daughter that died in infancy. Elizabeth, born October 11, 1837.
Henry, the subject of this sketch, bom December 9, 1839. The next was a
son that died in infancy. Sarah Anna, born September 9, 1843, married
Samuel Miller, of Shelby, and died January 1, 1890. Levi S., born September
8, 1845, uves on the old homestead in Cass township. Priscilla Catherine,
born November 13, 1847, married David S. Stroup, a farmer, and lives in
Cass township.
The parents of these children removed from Perry county, Pennsylvania,
to Cass township, Richland county, Ohio, in April, 1834, the former having
been a native of Little York, Pennsylvania. The Wentz family in the United
States sprang from brothers that came from Switzerland in the early settle-
ment of this country and located in Binghamton, New York. Mr. Wentz
was married June 8, 1865, to Miss Sarah A" Bushey, of Shelby, and by her has
had three children, namely: Harry R., born. March 21, 1867, and died in
November, 1877; Estella Blanche, born October 4, 1869; and George Ralph,
born March 1, 1879, an d died in August. 1886. Estella Blanche was mar-
ried to Dr. D. V. Summers, of Shelby, June 7, 1894.
Henry Wentz remained at home until he was eighteen years of age and
^^C^w^^^^^ —
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 233
then learned the carpenter's trade. When he was twenty-one years of age,
the war breaking out, -he enlisted in Company E, Eleventh Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, under Colonel Lew Wallace, and immediately entered upon active
service. From the ranks he was promoted through different grades up to that
of first lieutenant. Having served three years and a half he resigned, in
December, 1864. He participated in the battles of Forts Donelson and Henry;
the battle of Shiloh; was with his company in Arkansas and Tennessee and
was present also at the siege of Vicksburg; was in the battles of Port Gibson,
May 1, 1863, and of Champion Hills, May 16, 1863; and of the forty-three
men of his company that entered the last named battle only fifteen returned.
the others, twenty-eight in number, being killed or wounded. He himself
was shot with a ball which went through his cap, and the heel shut from his
boot. After the Vicksburg campaign came to a victorious termination fc r the
Union forces, he participated in the Sherman expedition to Jackson, Missi>-
sippi; he was transferred to the Gulf department and took part in the Teche
campaign, and in 1864 went to the Shenandoah valley and fought in the bat-
tles of Hall Town, Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar creek, resigning in
the fall and returning to his home.
After spending one year working at his trade, of carpenter, he engaged
in the hardware, tin and stove business at Crestline, remaining there until
1875, when he sold out and removed to Shelby in 1876. Here he became
engaged in the insurance business and was chosen the secretary of the [Mutual
Fire Insurance Association. In 1885 this association reinsured their fire
insurance business, and, reorganizing, changed the name to the [Mutual Plate
Glass Insurance Association, of Shelby, Ohio, of which organization he is
the secretary. Mr. Wentz is also actively engaged in the real-estate business
in company with Mr. Francis Brucker, in an addition to the town of Shelby,
known as the Boulevard addition, which is destined to be the principal resi-
dence portion of the city. It was laid out in 1896. Mr. Wentz is a director
in the Citizens' Bank, in the Sutter Furniture Company, in the Shelby Elec-
tric Company, and also a stockholder in the Shelby Tube Works, in the Ball
Bearing Umbrella Company, in the New Shelby Stove Company, and Sheets
Printing and Manufacturing Company. He is now a member of the city
council and has been commander of Harker Post, Xo. 146, G. A. R., for many-
years. He is a member of the order of Ben Hur, Royal Arcanum, Knights
of Pythias, Uniform Rank ( in which order he is lieutenant-colone! of the
Ninth Regiment of Ohio Brigade), and of the Lutheran church. He is the
president of the church council and is treasurer of the church. Few men
fill so many positions and in such an acceptable manner as does Mr. Wentz,
all of which tends to show the character and ability of the man.
15
234 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
JAMES L. CHAMBERLAIN.
The history of mankind is replete with illustrations of the fact that it is
only under the pressure of adversity and the stimulus of opposition that the
best and strongest in men are brought out and developed. Perhaps the history
of no people so forcibly impresses one with this truth as the annals of our own
republic. If anything can inspire the youth of our country to persistent, honest
and laudable endeavor it should be the life record of such men as he of whom
we write. The example of the illustrious few of our countrymen who have
risen from obscurity to the highest positions in the gift of the nation serves
often to awe our young men rather than inspire them to emulation, because
they reason that only a few can ever attain such eminence ; but the history of
such men as James Logan Chamberlain proves conclusively that with a reason-
able amount of mental and physical power success is bound eventually to
•crown the endeavor of those who have the ambition to put forth their best
efforts and the will and manliness to persevere therein.
Mr. Chamberlain is to-day one of the most successful men of Richland
countv and certainly deserves great credit for what he has accomplished. He
was born in Butler township, this county, on the 24th of September, i860, a son
of Josiah and Rachel A. (Stratton) Chamberlain, who are much interested in
his work. His boyhood days were spent on the home farm and as soon as he
Avas old enough to handle the plow he assisted in the cultivation of the fields.
The common schools afforded him his educational privileges, conning his les-
sons therein through the winter months when the labors of the farm were
over.
On the 2 1 st of August, 1879. Mr. Chamberlain chose as a companion and
helpmeet on life's journey Miss Catherine E. Ford, a native of Butler town-
ship and a daughter of George Ford, who also was born in the same township,
his parents having come to Richland county from Jefferson county, Ohio.
After his marriage Mr. Chamberlain worked with his father for two years,
and. with the capital he had acquired by his industry and economy, he then
purchased eighty acres of his father's land on section 19, Butler township,
paying twenty-one hundred dollars for the tract. He then began farming on
his own account and continued the cultivation of that place for four years,
when he sold out and with his family removed to Missouri, taking up his
abode in Cedar county. There he purchased a farm of two hundred and eighty
acres, upon which he resided for seven years, when he disposed of that property,
receiving twice as much for it as he had paid. He then returned to Richland
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 235
fcounty and purchased the Hunter farm of eighty acres, making it his place of
abode for two years, when, in 1894, he removed to the farm which is now his
home. It was then known as the William McKibben farm and comprised one
hundred and ninety-nine acres of rich land in Butler township. In 1896 he
became the owner of the old Stratton farm of eighty acres, which had been
entered from the government by G. M. Stratton, who was one of the first
settlers of Richland county. This was the farm upon which Mr. Chamberlain
was born and the place was also dear to him as the scene of his boyhood
days. In 1900 he purchased the Ruth Ford farm of eighty acres, so that his
landed possessions now aggregate four hundred and thirty-nine acres, a very
valuable and productive property. He has engaged very extensively in feed-
ing cattle, sheep and hogs.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain have been born five children, namely :
Mary R., Maggie M., Verdie B., Charles L. and Carrie Ruth. The family
circle remains unbroken by the hand of death and the children are still with
their parents. In his political views Mr. Chamberlain is a stanch Republican
and for one term he served as township treasurer, proving a capable and trust-
worthy officer, yet the honors and emoluments of public office have had little
attraction for him as he prefers to give his attention to his business affairs.
Of the Methodist Episcopal church he is a faithful member, and is serving as
a steward and class-leader and also as superintendent of the Sunday-school.
He is a man of marked influence, owing to his sterling worth and reliability.
His circle of friends is extensive, and all who know him entertain for him a
high regard. In business he sustains an unassailable reputation, and integrity
is synonymous with his name. His business transactions have been attended
with a high degree of success, which may be ascribed to his close application
and untiring industry.
WILLIAM H. GORHAM.
William Harvey Gorham, the foreman of the wood department of the
great manufacturing establishment of the Aultman-Taylor Machinery Com-
pany, at Mansfield, Ohio, is an energetic, up-to-date man in his line and one
whose services are appreciated by the company with which he is connected.
Mr. Gorham has been in the employ of this establishment for eighteen years —
since 1882, and in 1899, in recognition of his valued services, he was promoted
to the position he now occupies, — that of foreman.
A native of the Buckeye State. Mr. Gorham was born in Ashland county,
236 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in 1859, a son of John G. and Susan (Adams) Gorham, the former a native
of Long Island and the latter of Knox county, Ohio. John G. Gorham, when
a boy, came with his parents to Perrysville, Ashland county, where he was
reared and married and where he remained until 1881, when he came with his
family to Mansfield. During the Civil war he served as a member of Com-
pany G, Sixty-fifth Regiment, in Sherman's brigade, the date of his enlistment
being 1861. Like most veterans of that war, he is identified with the G. A. R.
Also he is a member of the Masonic order. He is now and has been for some
time with the Aultman-Taylor Machinery Company, in the same department
with his son.
William H. Gorham was reared and educated in his native county and
there learned the trade of carpenter, under his father's instructions, his father
having been employed for a number of years as a builder in Ashland. Com-
ing to Mansfield in 1881, about the time he reached his majority, he soon
afterward entered the employ of the Aultman-Taylor Machinery Company,
and, as already stated, he has w T orked his way up to the head of one of its
important departments, and now has under his immediate supervision one hun-
dred and twenty-five men, who do all the wood-work of the establishment.
Mr. Gorham was married in Mansfield in 1884, to Miss Carrie Drake, a
daughter of Phineas and Angeline Drake, deceased. They have an attractive
home, which he built in 1885, and their happy union has been blessed in the
birth of three children, — Ruth Charity, Helen L., and Don. G.
Politically Mr. Gorham is a Republican, and fraternally he is identified
with the Foresters.
HIRAM S. ROSE.
A historical work devoted to the pioneer clays in Ohio would be most in-
teresting, and a carefully compiled history of pioneering in Richland county
would be specially valuable. Ohio's part in American wars has been an im-
portant one and the patriotism of the citizens of Richland county has been
proved on many a field of carnage. This biographical sketch will deal not only
with the sacrifices and achievements of pioneers but with those of soldiers.
; It has been often remarked that the same qualities which characterize the bold,
self-denying pioneer characterize the brave and devoted soldier.
Hiram S. Rose, a prominent citizen of Shiloh, Cass township, Richland
county, Ohio, was born in the township mentioned April 23, 1841, a son of
Andrew M. and Mary M. (Green) Rose, and is one of five of their six children
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 237
who survive. These are Hiram S. ; Bentley, of Butler, Indiana: Elmore Y.. a
farmer of Cass township; Osborne B., of Piqua, Ohio; and Sophronia, the wife
of Thomas Swanger, of Angola, Indiana. Andrew M. Rose was born in
Belmont county, Ohio, in 1817, a son of Aaron Rose, a native of Xew Jersey,
who came with his family from Belmont county to Richland county in 1829
and entered the farm of one hundred and sixty acres now owned by Wesley
McLaughlin, where he lived and died. Andrew grew up on the home farm and
about the time of his marriage bought eighty acres of land a mile and a quarter
east of Shiloh, where he began housekeeping and farming in a typical log
cabin. His farm was heavily timbered, but he soon made a clearing which he
gradually enlarged and brought under cultivation. He sold this farm late in
the '40s and purchased another in Mercer county, to which, however, he never
1-emoved, but which he sold soon afterward in order to purchase a farm in
Lorain county. Upon the last mentioned he lived three years, until he removed
to Richland county and bought a portion of the Green farm from his father-
-in-law, which he sold a year later, when he bought fifty acres of the Rose
homestead and fifty acres of the McConnell farm adjoining. There he lived
from 185 1 to 1872, when he died. He worked hard during the earlier years
of his life, doing his full share of the labor of reclaiming the country from the
forest. It is believed by his family that this hard struggle with nature grad-
ually undermined his health and brought him to death years before his time.
Politically he was a AYhig and later a rock-ribbed Republican, and he was
a recognized leader in the work of the Methodist church in his neighborhood.
His widow, now in her eighty-second year, was born in Cass township, en the
old Green homestead, entered by her father, Robert Green, and one of the
first farms settled in this part of the county. Her grandfather Green came to
Richland county from Licking county, entered one hundred and sixty acres
of land, built a log cabin on it and then returned to Licking county, where he
married Miss Susannah Messmore, whose parents were natives of Switzerland.
He then came back to Richland county and located on his farm, where he spent
the remainder of his days. He was a soldier of the war of 1812. The Mess-
more family of Switzerland was a wealthy and influential one, and were
there during a revolution. Mr. Rose's ancestors were compelled to leave their
lands, and, with such money and portable valuables as they could bring with
them, they came to America, whose hospitable shores offered them a refuge
and a hope for the future. In later years they made some effort to have their
lancls restored to them, but their deeds had been lost and for that reason they
were unable to establish their right to the property.
238 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Hiram S. Rose received a common-school, education and was brought
up to farm work. August 15, 1862, when he was some months past his twenty-
first birthday, he enlisted in the first independent Ohio artillery and served in
that organization until the close of the Civil war and was mustered out of the
service June 26, 1865. He participated in fifteen regular engagements. He
was in Washington on the day of the assassination of President Lincoln and
saw the martyr president only a few hours before that tragic event. After his
discharge he returned home and was married, November 1, 1866. to Miss
Mary Hunter, a native of Blooming Grove township, Richland county, and a
daughter of Benjamin Hunter, who came to the count}' from Columbiana
county with his parents when he was a child. For several years after bis
marriage he was engaged in farming. He then took up blacksmithing, without
any practical knowledge of the trade. In 1873 ne bought the blacksmith shop
of John Ward at Shiloh and employed expert blacksmiths, in working with
whom he learned the trade, and he has continued the enterprise with much
success to the present time. To Hiram S. and Mary (Hunter) Rose have been
born children as follows : Adelbert, who is an employe of the dry goods house
of Hunter & Hardy, at Dayton, Ohio; and Cassius E., Flossie M. and Bessie
P., who are members of their father's household. Mr. Rose is a stanch Repub-
llican and wields an appreciable influence in local political affairs. He has
been a member of the town council two years, town clerk ten years and town-
ship clerk four years. He is a comrade of Speigel Post, Xo. 208, Grand
Army of the Republic, and has been its quartermaster during the entire period
of his affiliation with it. He and all the members of his family are members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, of Shiloh, and he is one of its trustees. A man
of much public spirit, he has a real live interest in every movement affecting
the welfare of his fellow townsmen and advocates and assists to the extent of
his ability every measure, which in his judgment tends to the advancement
of the interests of his township and county.
JOHN R. WOLFE.
John Rice Wolfe, one of the prominent and best known citizens of Rich-
land county, and at present the postmaster at Shelby, was born at Ganges,
•this county, October 22, 1837. He is a son of Augustus and Sarah (Rice)
Wolfe, the former of whom was a native of Knox county, Ohio, and the latter
of Juniata county, Pennsylvania. He was born November 22, 1S09, and was
a son of Peter and Sarah (Ayers) Wolfe, who were married at Ganges, Ohio,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 239
[June 6, 1832. To them were born four sons and one daughter, as follows:
Porter Ayers Wolfe, born April 10, 1833 ; James A., born in 1835 ; John Rice,
the subject of this sketch ; Charles T., born in 1840 ; and Amy A., who married
Dr. W. S. McBride, of Lucas, Richland county, Ohio, and died in 1864. James
A. \\ olfe went to California in i860 and died there in 1886. Porter A. lives
in Nebraska, and Charles T. and the subject live in Shelby. The father of
: these children died in 1846 and the mother in 1888, both being well known
people and highly esteemed by all.
John Rice Wolfe was married in 1866 to Miss Nancy English, of Craw-
ford county, Ohio, and a daughter of James and Nancy (Cummins) English,
and to this marriage there have been born eight children, as follows : Amy A.,
born March 29, 1867: she married William R. Brooks, of Shelby, Ohio;
Charles E., born August 6, 1870, and married Miss Jennie Roberts, also oi
Shelby; Sarah N., born April 11, 1873; Zorayda F., born November 3, 1875;
Mary E., born April 3, 1878; Kathryn C, born August 30, 1883; John Rice,
Jr., born August 9, 1885; and Esther Marie, born March 11, 1888. All of
these children are living either at home or in the vicinity.
Mr. Wolfe began life on his own account as a school-teacher in 1856,
and followed that most useful profession until the breaking out of the war of
1861. He enlisted as color sergeant in the Eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
a three-months regiment commanded by Col. W. P. Benton, which was or-
ganized at Indianapolis and was a part of the brigade commanded by Rosen-
crans. But one severe battle was fought by his brigade, namely, at Rich
Mountain. Mr. Wolfe served in the Eighth Regiment from the 18th of April,
1 86 1, to August 6, 1 86 1, being mustered out on the day last named, and re-
turned to Shelby, Ohio, where on the 18th day of the same month he enlisted
in the Second Ohio Cavalry, in which he served until March 10, 1865. when
he was commissioned as adjutant of the One Hundred and Ninety-second
Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served in this capacity until September 7. 1865,
on which day he was mustered out of the service of the government at Colum-
bus, Ohio, having been in the service of his country for a period of four years
and five months.
Returning to his home he resumed his profession of school-teacher, fol-
lowing it for three years. Since that time, so many have been his occupations
and so active the life that he has led, that it would be difficult to trace his
career through them all. Suffice it to say that he has been a most successful
man, and has supported his family faithfully and well, though at times it
seemed that he had all on his hands that he could manage ; but now his fam-
2 4 o CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ily are mostly grown to mature age, and he is capable of living more at his
ease than when in middle life.
While in not any sense of the term an office-seeker, yet he has been
honored by appointment to the office of postmaster of Shelby, first by President
Harrison, at the close of whose administration he removed to Columbus,
Ohio, there holding a position as examining clerk in the state insurance depart-
ment under commissioner W. M. Hahn during Governor McKinley's adminis-
tration of the chief executive office of Ohio. Upon Mr. McKinley's election
to the Presidency of the United States he was again appointed postmaster at
Shelby, and still retains the position. His wife is still living, and both are well
known for many miles around, and are among the best citizens of the county.
JAMES N, PATTERSON.
A worthy representative of that sturdy Irish element which is so important
a factor in the population of Ohio is James Nelson Patterson, of Mansfield,
Richland county, who was born in Springfield township in 1845, a son of
John Patterson, born in Londonderry, Ireland, in 1802, who came to Ohio at
the age of twenty-two and died there at the age of eighty-two.
John Patterson settled in Harrison county, Ohio, and there married Mary
Delaney, who was born in the year 1800 and died in the year 1881. She was a
daughter of Philip Delaney, of Irish ancestry, who married Miss Betts, who
in one line of descent was of French extraction and was a relative of that Betts
who is known in history as an early settler at Cincinnati. That pioneer's
father was killed during the Revolutionary war, and his widow and son, Philip,
the last mentioned of whom was Mr. Patterson's grandfather, lived for sever-
al years under General Washington's roof at Mount Vernon. Later in life
Philip Delaney often talked of Washington and often referred to the fact that
when he was a boy Jack Custis frequently carried him on his back. He became
a man of wealth and influence in Harrison county, Ohio, and died there at
the age of about seventy-five years.
The parents of James N. Patterson came to Springfield township, Richland
county, about 1835, anc ^ the father took up land in the wilderness four miles
west of Mansfield, which subsequently became known as the John Patterson
farm and is now owned by James N. Patterson. There were originally one
hundred and sixty acres in the place. John Patterson had ten children, of
whom James Nelson Patterson and Mrs. James Marshall, of Ontario, are the
only ones living in Richland county. One sister lives in Indianapolis, Indiana,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 241
and there are two others in Iowa. William B. was a member of the Fifteenth
Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and died in the service while participat-
ing in the historic raid in pursuit of Bragg. S. A. Patterson also saw
service in the Civil war, and died in Richland county, leaving no children,
and all others of Mr. Patterson's brothers are dead without issue. Young
Patterson attended the public school near his home and was brought up to
farm work by his father. He left the farm, however, at the age of twenty, and
eight years later went to Missouri, where for a year he was engaged in the
furniture business.
Selling out his enterprise there, he went to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where, in
1873, he married Miss Lucy M. Markley, a daughter of James and Catherine
(Ankeny) Markley, both of whom were of Pennsylvania birth. Her mother's
name has been perpetuated in that of Ankeny, Ohio. James Markley first
located in Knox county, Ohio, and went from there to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where
he became wealthy and influential. Hon. M. D. Harter, late member of
congress from this district and for years at the head of the Aultman-Taylor
Manufacturing Company, was Mrs. Patterson's cousin. Her brother, James
Markley, was a prominent lawyer of Mason City, Iowa. After he was married.
'in 1873, Mr. Patterson returned to Mansfield, bringing his wife with him, and
entered the employ of the Aultman-Taylor Manufacturing Company, as gen-
eral traveling agent for the southern and western states, and was so employed
until 1880, when he accepted a position in the service of the Nichols-Shepherd
Company, of Battle Creek, Michigan, for which he acted as branch manager
at Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he remained until 1883, when he opened a
branch for the same concern at Mansfield, which he has since conducted suc-
cessfully, with jurisdiction over territory in Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have two sons and two daughters: Miss May
Patterson married Sylvester Houston, of Mansfield ; James Markley Patterson
is the name of one son ; Gus. is at Cornell University ; and Bertha is in school
in Mansfield. Associated with his brother, S. A. Patterson, Mr. Patterson
conducted a fine stock farm on the old homestead, breeding many head of fine
trotting stock. They were pioneers in that line at Mansfield and did more
than all others to improve the speed of horses in the county. They brought
the first high-bred stock to Richland county forty years ago, and their farm
produced a number of fast trotters and pacers, some of them representatives
of the celebrated Highatoga family.
Hayden Delaney, a grandson of Philip Delaney and a cousin of James
Nelson Patterson, entered the United States Army at the age of fifteen and
242 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
was orderly to General Logan. In one engagement in which the division par-
ticipated, it ran out of ammunition. The firing had been so hot that the team-
sters had deserted the ammunition wagons. Young Delaney was sent back to or-
der them forward, and, finding them without teamsters, dismounted from his
horse and drove one of them to the firing line, where he distributed ammunition
from his hat. At the close of the war General Logan, at the grand review at
Washington, recommended him to be sent to West Point, and he was one of
twelve chosen to be sent at that time. After his graduation he served in Indian
campaigns and rose to the rank of lieutenant. He was twice wounded and died
in service in California. Cyrus Delaney, Lieutenant Delaney's brother, en-
tered active service in the Civil war at the age of seventeen and was 'mustered
out as adjutant general. He was then appointed captain in the regular army
and served in Indian wars, and, like his brother, died in service. They were the
sons of Samuel Delaney, of Harrison county, Ohio. John Delaney, of the
state of Washington, is the only representative of this family whom death
has spared. He has been an Indian agent on the western frontier and has held
other important government positions.
JOHN D. LEWIS.
A representative of the farming interests of Springfield township, living
on section 8, John D. Lewis, was born in Mifflin township, Richland county,
January 31, 1846. His father is John F. Lewis, also a native of this county,
'born February 4, 1820. His grandfather, Samuel Lewis, a native of New
York, was a Methodist circuit-rider and died at the age of thirty-five years,
' leaving a widow and six children. His wife survived him until eighty-six
years of age, and her death was occasioned by a broken hip. John F. Lewis
was reared in Richland county and here married Christina Peters, who was
born in New Jersey in 1824. She is the youngest of a large family, of whom
six are living, the eldest being eighty-eight years of age. Their parents were
Daniel and Lizzie (Gates) Peters. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were married in 1844
and are still living. They became the parents of five children, their first-born
being John D., of this review; Almond C, a farmer of Franklin township, has
,twice been a widower and has eight children; Charles S., of Mansfield, is
married and has one daughter; Elizabeth died at the age of seventeen years;
and George died at the age of four years.
John D. Lewis was reared to farm life, having assisted in the arduous
task of clearing an eighty-acre farm. At one time his father owned one nun-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 243
dred and eighty acres of land, but sold the property and is now living 'retired
►in Mansfield, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and has been made
possible to him through the competence acquired in earlier years. His chil-
dren assisted him in the work of the farm and John D. remained at home until
twenty-two years of age. He was married October 20, 1868, to Harriet Bell,
who was born in Franklin township, Richland county, a daughter of Samuel
and Martha (Gates) Bell, both of whom are still living. The marriage of
our subject and his wife has been blessed with nine children, of whom eight
still survive, namely : Frank H., a widower of Mansfield, who has two children ;
George, who was hit with a ball which caused his death at the age of ten years ;
Harry C., a farmer of Springfield township, who is married and has one daugh-
ter; Walter, of Shelby; Byron, who is married and engaged in school-teaching
in Springfield township; Roy, who follows school-teaching and assists in the
work of the home farm; Willis, who also is upon the farm; Xellie and Maud
T., who are still with their parents. The children have been trained to habits
of industry and have been provided with good educational privileges, fitting
them for the practical duties of life.
Mr. Lewis holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
the Knights of Pythias, the Pathfinders' Society and the Patrons of Husbandry.
In politics he is a Democrat, but has never sought or desired office, preferring
to give his attention to his business. He has always followed the farm as a
life work, but for the past five years has been extensively engaged in buying
and shipping stock. He rents the large and fertile farm owned by Bell &
Brinkerhoff, and produces stock for William H. Beaver. His business affairs
are prosecuted with marked energy and are bringing to him a comfortable com-
petence.
LOUIS S. KUEBLER.
The Teutonic race has been an important element in framing our national
commonwealth ; its qualities and characteristics have been infused with those
of other races in the development of a strictly American type and the L nited
States willingly acknowledges its indebtedness to the German people for certain
admirable qualities which are found among the representatives of the father-
land and their descendants.
Louis S. Kuebler is of German lineage and is the editor and proprietor of
the Mansfield Courier, the only German paper published in Richland county.
He was born in Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio, in 1854. His father, Anthony
244 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Kuebler, came from Germany to America about 1840, locating in Seneca
county. He married Frances Schabacker, also a native of Germany, and they
reared their family in Tiffin. Mr. Kuebler of this review pursued his
education in the public schools of Seneca county, and there learned the
printer's trade. In 1876 he came from Cleveland to Mansfield and be-
gan the publication of the Mansfield Courier, which was established
in 1872. He has since been its editor and proprietor. This is a Ger-
man paper and has a large circulation among the German-speaking people
of the county. In politics it is Democratic, strongly upholding the principles
of the party as advanced by the Kansas City convention. In connection with
fthe publication of the journal Mr. Kuebler is also doing a large general job
printing business, and in this line his trade is constantly growing. He is rec-
ognized as one of the leading representatives of the Democratic party in
Richland county, takes a very active part in politics and served as chairman
of the Democratic executive committee of the county in 1899.
Mr. Kuebler married Miss Lena Matthes, of Mansfield, a daughter of
Adam Matthes, and they now have two children : Herman and Marie, who are
attending school. Mr. Kuebler is a progressive business man whose life is an
exemplification of the true western spirit of enterprise and progress, and
through the columns of his paper he supports all measures which are calculated
to prove of benefit to the community.
JAMES REYNOLDS.
The great interests of the Aultman-Taylor Manufacturing Company
command the services of some of the ablest business men in America. One of
the most efficient and best known of these is James Reynolds, of Mansfield,
Ohio, who has been connected with the old company and the new since April
1, 1878, and now fills the resposible position of treasurer. His first duties
were in closing up settlements and starting threshing machines. After ex-
perience in such work, he was given charge of collections in Missouri and
Kansas, with headquarters at Kansas City. He came to Mansfield in 1877
and held several positions in the collection department, one after the other, and
October 1, 1891, he was made the treasurer of the concern. The business has
increased greatly during the past ten years. In 1894 the water tube-boiler
department was added, and that alone gives employment to about four hundred
people. A large number are employed in the thresher and other departments.
The Aultman-Tavlor threshers are known the world over and the Cahall ver-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 245
tical boilers and the Cahall-Babcock-Wilcox vertical steam boilers are being
sent to every part of the world where there is use for anything of the kind.
Mr. Reynolds was born in New York city, July 14, 1S46, a son of
William and Ann (Bowden) Reynolds. His parents came from Clare, County
Tyrone, Ireland, about 1836. His mother is still living, but his father died at
Utica, Licking county, Ohio, at the age of sixty-four years, in 1885. He came
to Ohio in 1863 and located in Crawford county whence he removed to Lick-
ing county in 1872. Young Reynolds received a practical education in New
York city. At the age of sixteen he became errand boy in the office of a Wall
street broker. He accompanied his parents to Ohio in 1863, and for eight
years after his arrival taught country school. After that he taught town schools
and was superintendent of high schools and inspector of schools at Crest-
line, Ohio, and Warrensburg, Missouri, and other places. He came to Mans-
field in 1877 as the principal of the Fourth-ward school, now the Tenth-ward
school, and closed his career as a teacher in 1878 to enter the employment of
the Aultman-Taylor Company.
He has been active in Young Men's Christian Association work at Mans-
field and is one of the trustees of the Young Men's Christian Association of
that city, whose fine home on West Park avenue he assisted to build with his
;time and money. He is a member of the Reformed Presbyterian church and
was superintendent of its Sunday-school for four years and taught its bible
class. He addressed the State Christian Endeavor Society at Columbus in
1899 on "Practical Problems in Christian Citizenship," and is to supplement
this address by another on the same subject at the convention at Toledo in
1 901. He is greatly interested in the lines of study indicated.
December 28, 1869, Mr. Reynolds married Miss Charlotte A. Trimble,
a daughter of William and Emma Trimble, originally from Harrison county,
Ohio, who were pioneers in Crawford county. They have had four children :
Emma, who died March 2, 1887, aged fifteen years; Alexander Tully, who is
his father's assistant in the office of the Aultman-Taylor Company; Mary
Bowden Reynolds; and William Fielding, another son, who married Miss
Orpha Staninger, of Mansfield, and is a resident of Galion, Ohio. The family
have a beautiful residence at Mansfield commanding a wide view of the sur-
rounding country, which has the reputation of being one of the most hos-
pitable in the city. Mr. Reynolds is a hard-working business man of much
progressiveness and enterprise, who finds time to devote himself to the interests
of his fellow men along all helpful lines, and he is undoubtedly as go id ; in
example of the up-to-date useful American citizen as Mansfield can boast of.
246 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mrs. MARY M. ZOOK.
Mrs. Mary M. Zook, who is living in section 20, Mifflin township, was
born January 26, 185 1, in the township which is now her home, her parents
being Henry and Lydia (Byers) Hoover. She spent her girlhood clays under
the parental roof, aiding in the work of the household and pursuing her educa-
tion in the common schools. In January, 1872, she gave her hand in marriage
to Joseph C. Zook, a native of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, born August 5,
1844. He was the son of John Zook, who was born in Lancaster county.
Pennsylvania, in December, 181 7, and with his parents removed to Franklin
county during his boyhood. There John Zook was reared, learning the miller's
trade, which he followed until 1850, when his health failed and he engaged in
farming, hoping that the outdoor life might prove a benefit to him. He mar-
ried Miss Elizabeth Clippinger, who was born in Cumberland county, Penn-
sylvania, in February, 18 16. In his business affairs he prospered, becoming
-well-to-do. He was an active churchman whose consistent Christian life com-
mended him to the confidence of all with whom he was associated. His death
occurred in Mary, 1899, and the community thereby lost one of its valued citi-
zens.
Joseph C. Zook spent his youth on the home farm and the schools of the
neighborhood afforded him his educational privileges. The Zook and Hoover
families were neighbors in Pennsylvania, and in 1871, when Joseph C. was on
a visit to friends in Illinois, he stopped in Ohio to see the Hoover family.
His acquaintance with the daughter of the household ripened into love, and
three weeks after his return to Pennsylvania he again came to Ohio to claim
his bride. He took her back with him to the old homestead in the Key-
stone state and then assumed the management of his father's farm, which
he ably conducted up to the time of his death, on the 29th of Decem-
ber, 1 89 1. He was a gentleman of sterling worth, diligent in business,
straightforward in all his dealings and reliable in all life's relations. He, too,
was an earnest church member, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him.
By the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Zook five children were born : David
L., who resides on the old Zook homestead in Pennsylvania; John H., who is
a farmer of Mifflin township. Richland county; and William S., Jacob W.
and Prudence E., who are with their mother. Five years after her husband's
death Mrs. Zook returned with her family to Richland county and located
upon her farm of one hundred and seventeen acres which she had purchased
four years previously. Shortly after her arrival she purchased another farm
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 247
of forty-two acres, and both tracts are now in a high state of cultiva-
tion, yielding a good income, which supplies Mrs. Zook with all the
comforts and many of the luxuries of life. She displays excellent
business and executive ability in the care of her property and at the same time
manifests those truly womanly qualities which everywhere command respect.
Her home is celebrated for its gracious hospitality, which is enjoyed by her
many friends.
THOMAS HALL.
Canada has furnished to the United States many bright, enterprising
young men, who have left the Dominion to enter the business circles of this
country with its more progressive methods, livelier competition and advance-
ment more quickly secured. Among this number is Thomas Hall, the well
known superintendent of tire Mansfield Machine Company, of Mansfield,
Ohio.
He was born in Oxford county, Ontario, Canada, and is a son of Thomas
and Agnes (Robison) Hall, the former a native of Scotland, the latter of
England. He spent six years as a student at Cornell University, where he
was graduated in 1893, and later took a post-graduate course of two years.
He is a member of a Greek-letter society, and received a fellowship at that
college. For two years he. was practically engaged in building steam engines
at the vise and lathe work at the Waterous Engine Works, at Brantford,
Canada, and then was called to Cornell, where he taught steam engineer-
ing, designing and drafting in the mechanical department of that uni-
versity. In 1898 he came to Mansfield, Ohio, and has since filled the
responsible position of superintendent of the Mansfield Machine Com-
pany. This factory builds steam, fire and gas engines, boilers and saw-
mill machinery and does general job work, employing from two hundred to
two hundred and fifty hands. They are now building steam engines from
designs made by Mr. Hall and Mr. Treat, who also is from Cornell
University.
In 1894, in Ontario, Mr. Hall married Miss Mary Perry, of Oxford
.county, a daughter of Andrew and Martha Perry. By this union two chil-
dren have been born, namely: Perry Oliver and Hazel. Mr. and Mrs. Hall
attend the First Presbyterian church of Mansfield, and although their resi-
dence here is of short duration they have made a host of warm friends.
248 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
W. E. SEFTOX.
Occupying the responsible position of superintendent of the Ohio State
Reformatory, W. E. Sefton is indeed well qualified for the discharge of the
important duties which devolve upon him. He was born in Norwalk, Ohio,
February n, 1842, and in 1845 accompanied his parents on their removal to
Ashland county. The common-school system afforded him his educational
privileges and his youth was spent upon a farm where he early became familiar
with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He was
thus engaged until eighteen years of age, when he began learning the black-
smith's trade, following that pursuit until after the inauguration of the Civil
war, when he put aside all business considerations and with patriotic spirit
offered his services to the government in 1861, joining Companv G, of the
Twenty-third Ohio Infantry. The regiment was organized at Camp Chase
and left there on the 5th of July, or the first year of the long war, which was
the call for the sacrifice of thousands of lives, yet was to bring liberty to three
million enslaved people, and the establishment of the Union on a firmer basis
than ever before. Mr. Sefton participated in all of the engagements with his
regiment, including the battles of Carnifex Ferry, West Virginia, September
10, 1861; Princeton, West Virginia, May 15, 1862; South Mountain, Sep-
tember 14, 1862; Antietam, September 17, 1862; Cloyd Mountain, May 9,
1864; Xew River Bridge, May 10, 1864; and Buffalo Gap, June 6, 1864.
He was wounded at the battle of Cloyd Mountain, on the 9th of May, and
was honorably discharged on the 6th of July following, at Columbus, Ohio,
his term of service having expired.
Soon after his return home Mr. Sefton engaged in the manufacture of
mowers and reapers at Salem, Ohio, with the Etna Manufacturing Company.
On severing his connection with that company he became associated with the
C. Aultman Company, at Canton. Ohio, and for thirteen years was the
traveling salesman and general agent of that corporation. His next business
connection was with the Princess Plow Company, in which he served as secre-
tary, treasurer and general manager, occupying those positions for seven
years, when he dissolved his connection with the business, and in June, 1896,
was elected assistant superintendent of the Ohio State Reformatory. In the
following March, W. D. Patterson resigned as superintendent and Mr. Sefton
was elected to that office, assuming the duties of the office on the 1st of April,
1897. He has been most faithful, earnest and efficient in the discharge of the
obligations that rested upon him. The position is a most important and
responsible one, entailing as it does the care of the young who through lack
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 249
of home influences or through a natural tendency toward the wrong have
strayed into paths of crime. In the reformatory opportunity is offered to them
to follow better methods of living, and upon the superintendent much depends.
The discipline and order there maintained must teach the members of the
school that they are amenable to law and at the same time they must not be
deprived of the hope that when they have served their term opportunity for a
different life will not be closed against them. Mr. Sefton is a man of broad
humanitarian principles and deep sympathy, and his work in the institution
is proving of great practical benefit. Among his friends he is a genial, social
gentleman of cordial disposition and has a very large circle of acquaintances,
who esteem him highly for his genuine worth.
WILLIAM STRIMPLE.
Perhaps a large per cent of the business failures is due in greater degree
to the lack of persistency of purpose than to any other one cause. A continual
change in business renders effort futile and labor unavailing, but perseverance
in a given line, if guided by a fair measure of business judgment and practical
common sense, will always result in prosperity. It is this which has brought
to Mr. Strimple a good income, making him one of the substantial farmers
of Richland county. He was born in Mifflin township, this county, on the
10th of September, 1840, being one of the eight children of Aaron and
Keziah (Stout) Strimple. The father, a native of Xew Jersey, was reared in
that state, and as the grandfather of our subject died during the early boyhood
of Aaron Strimple, the operation of the home farm devolved upon him when
he was quite young. He bravely took up the task that fell upon his young-
shoulders and carefully prosecuted his business interests. In his native state
he was united in marriage to Miss Keziah Stout and to them two children were
born ere their removal to Ohio.
On migrating to the Buckeye state they located in New Haven township,
Huron county, where for some time the father cultivated a farm belonging to
his brother. He afterward, removed to Mifflin township, Richland county,
where he rented land for some years and about 1850 he purchased the land
upon which our subject now resides. During the first year of his ownership
he raised six hundred bushels of wheat, which enabled him to pay off nearly
the entire indebtedness upon the place. He was an energetic and progressive
agriculturist and became one of the substantial citizens of the community. A
few years prior to his death he left the old homestead, taking up his residence
16
250 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
upon a farm of eighty-three acres in Huron county, which he had purchased
some years before. Throughout the greater part of his business life he was
an actice member of the Methodist church, having joined that organization
in 1859. He long served as one of its trustees and took an active part in its
work and upbuilding. His political support was given to the Democracy and
several years he served as a trustee of his township. His death occurred in
April, 1891. Of his eight children six are yet living, as follows: John, of
Huron county; Judith, the wife of George W. Yanscoy. of Butler township,
Richland county; Sarah, the widow of Daniel Sizer, of Greenwich, Ohio;
George, of Huron county; Elizabeth A., the widow of E. X. Burgess, of
Huron county; and William.
Upon the home farm William Strimple spent the days of his boyhood,
acquiring in the district schools of the neighborhood his elementary education,
which was supplemented by study in Baldwin University, at Berea, Ohio.
At the age of nineteen he began teaching, but ill health forced him to abandon
that profession after seven weeks' experience in the schoolroom. At the time
of the Civil war he was found among the '"boys in blue" who went forth to
battle for the Union, enlisting on the 2d of October, 1862, as a member of
Company C, Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for
ten months. He participated in the battles of Raymond. Fort Gibson, Jack-
son and Vicksburg, and was mustered out of service in July, 1863.
Mr. Strimple then returned to his home and in the spring of 1865 was
united in marriage to Miss Harriet E. Gorham, a native of Perryville, Ash-
land county, and a daughter of Hezekiah Gorham, who in early life was a sea
captain but later abandoned the sea and worked at the mason's trade. Mr.
and Mrs. Strimple began their domestic life on the old home farm which he
cultivated for a time on shares, but in 1874 he purchased the property of his
father and he has since made it his place of abode. Thoroughly understanding
farming methods, he has a well developed place, and the rotation of crops
keeps his field in a productive condition. Good harvests annually augment
his income and his farming interests have made him one of the well-to-do
residents of Butler township.
The home of Mr. and Airs. Strimple was blessed with seven children,
but only four are now living: Ernest H., who is a graduate of Baldwin
University, at Berea, Ohio, and now a teacher in the Olivesburg schools;
Lenna E., who is a graduate of Savannah Academy, and now the wife of
Rev. F. S. Fancher, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church: Samuel
H., a farmer of Huron county; and Leilla F., who is with her parents. Air.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 2S i
Strimple votes the Republican ticket and is an active member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which he has served as a trustee through various periods
for the past thirty years. He has a wide acquaintance in his native county
and his fidelity to duty in all life's relations has gained him the regard of his
fellow men to a high degree.
THE TRAUGER FAMILY.
When the Trauger family was founded in America this was indeed a
"new world." The colonies were ruled by King George III, and George
Washington, who was to lead his nation from bondage into liberty, was
still a youth; the French and Indian war had not yet occurred and the most
far-sighted could not have foretold the struggle of the Revolution; the Alle-
ghany mountains were in the far west and beyond that the country was an
unexplored wilderness. The earliest family record extant locates Christian
Trauger, the ancestor of the branch of the family to which our subject
belongs, at his home in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, where many of the
same name still reside. The German spelling of the name was Drocker, but
in the change to English the present form was assumed, about 1800. It was
probably in the year 1744 that Christian Trauger, accompanied by his fam-
ily, his brother Henry and a sister, left the fatherland to seek a new home
in America. They located in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, where
they remained until 1767, when the brothers purchased adjoining farms in
Nockamixon township, Bucks county, that state. One of these farms is still
owned by a descendant of the family. In later years some of the Trauger
family located in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and others in Troy
township, Ashland county, Ohio.
Christian Trauger was born in Beckenbaugh, Germany, in 1726, and
died in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 181 1. His wife, Anna Barbara
Trauger, was born in 1729, and died in 1821. They were the parents of
four sons and three daughters. That Christian Trauger participated in the
Revolutionary war seems to be a certainty, and thus his descendants are
rendered eligible to membership in the Revolutionary societies of the present
time. His son, John Frederick Trauger, was born in 1765, and died in
1824. He married Magdalena Harpel. who was born in 1763, and died in
1848. They were the parents of three sons and four daughters, two of
whom — Samuel H. and his sister — became residents of Richland county,
Ohio. The latter, Mrs. Elizabeth Fenner, came with her husband, Felix
Fenner, and their family to Plymouth township. Richland county, in 1833,
252 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
locating on a quarter-section of timber land three miles west of the town of
Plymouth.
Samuel Harpel Trauger was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, Octo-
ber 2, 1795, and was married, in 1825, to Susannah Maust, a daughter of
George Maust, of Tinicum township, with whom he lived for fifty-four
years. In 1835 Mr. Trauger came to Ohio and purchased a quarter-section
of timber land two and a half miles southwest of Plymouth. The entire
region was an unbroken forest and the work of progress and civilization
seemed scarcely begun. In April, 1836, he removed his family and household
goods by wagon from Pennsylvania, fording rivers and crossing mountains,
making the journey over roads which were in very poor condition, the route
by which they traveled covering about six hundred miles. But at length
they located on a farm in Richland county, and there Samuel H. Trauger
resided for forty-three years. He at once began the erection of a log cabin
and through the succeeding twenty years he continued to clear and cultivate
his land. His farm was awarded the first premium at three different county
contests as the best farm in Richland county. Mr. Trauger was a charter
member of the Plymouth Lutheran church, gave liberally toward the erec-
tion of the first house of worship, and also contributed largely to the sup-
port of the church. At the age of twenty-one, while still living in Penn-
sylvania, he was chosen captain of a militia company, which commission he
held until his removal to Ohio. In politics he was a Democrat, cast his first
presidential vote for James Madison and his last presidential ballot for Samuel
J. Tilden. On the 3d of January, 1875. Mr, and Mrs. Trauger had a family
reunion, celebrating their golden wedding, at which all of their descendants
were present except Mrs. Ralston and her family, who had but recently
removed to Illinois. Mrs. Trauger died in May, 1879, at the age of eighty
years, and Mr. Trauger passed away in November of the same year, at the
age of eighty-four. They were the parents of five sons and four daugh-
ters, namely: Jonas; Tobias M. ; Henry; Frank P.; Samuel; Saloma, the
wife of Alexander Ralston; Sevilla, the wife of William Newton Conover;
and two daughters who died in early life.
Jonas Trauger, the eldest son of Samuel H. Trauger, was born May
8, 1826, and in 1836 accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio. He
justly deserves mention among the honored pioneers, for he came to this
state when the greater portion of Richland county was still covered with a
heavy growth of natural forest. He assisted in clearing and cultivating the
homestead until his marriage. Miss Sarah Wyandt became his wife. She
was born January 8, 183 1, the eldest daughter of Joseph Wyandt, one of
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 253
the pioneers of Plymouth township, Richland county. The}- began their
domestic life on a farm adjoining the old homestead, which had recently
been purchased by his father, and there they remained for seven years. On
the expiration of that period Jonas Trauger purchased of William Enderby
an adjoining farm, upon which they erected a dwelling, taking up their abode
in their new home. There they resided together for thirty-three years.
During Mr. Trauger's younger days he spent many seasons in threshing grain
and clover seed and enjoyed the reputation of being the most successful
thresher in the vicinity of Plymouth. He transferred his threshing busi-
ness to his son, Samuel W., who still continues the same, while he is living
retired. His first wife died October 26, 1893. In the year 1895 he mar-
ried Sarah E. Trauger, and removed to the village of Plymouth, since which
time he has been connected with no active business interests. He still owns
his farm of two hundred acres, however, and it is under a high state of
cultivation, yielding him a good income. For several years he held the posi-
tion of township trustee, discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity.
Of the Lutheran church he is a member and is now serving as one of its
elders.
Tobias M. Trauger was born in Bucks county. Pennsylvania, October
11, 1827. At the age of seven years he went to live with his uncle, Henry
Kruger, with whom he remained until his father's removal to Ohio, when
he again joined the family, in 1836. During his minority he aided in the
clearing and cultivation of the fields and after arriving at man's estate he
operated his father's farm on the shares until i860, when he purchased a
farm adjoining the old homestead, then owned by his father. It consisted
of ninety-six acres, to which he afterward added a tract of twenty acres.
Tobias M. Trauger held the office of school director for about twenty years
and the cause of education found in him a warm friend who earnestly pro-
moted the interests of the schools. In the year 1S75 he was the township
treasurer. In i860 he became a member of the Lutheran church, in which
he held the office of deacon for thirty-one years or until 1894, since which
time he has been an elder in the church. On the 20th of May, 1858, he
married Mary Ann King, of Winesburg, Holmes county, Ohio, the eldest
daughter of Elias King, a native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, who
went with his father's family to Wilmot, Stark county, Ohio, in 1822. There
he married Leah Wyandt, the eldest daughter of James Wyandt. They
began their domestic life in Dalton, Wayne county, Ohio, and afterward
resided near Winesburg in Holmes county. Mrs. Trauger was born in
Wayne county and resided with her father's family in Holmes county until
254 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
her marriage, when she became a resident of Richland county. The Trauger
family lived upon a farm two miles southwest of Plymouth for forty-two
years. In early life she joined the Methodist church, but afterward united
with the Plymouth Lutheran church. Her death occurred June 23, 1900.
Mr. and Mrs. Trauger were the parents of one son and two daughters.
The son, Elmer King Trauger, was born October 12, 1861. He early
became familiar with all the labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist,
and in the district schools of the neighborhood he pursued his preliminary
education, which was supplemented by a course in Plymouth high school,
in which he was graduated in 1882. He then entered Wittenberg College,
in Springfield, Ohio, and on the completion of a classical course was grad-
uated in 1886. During his senior year he acted as the editor of the college
journal. Subsequently he began teaching school in Clark county and became
tbe superintendent of the public schools in Leipsic, Putnam county, Ohio,
in 1888. He also taught in the Plymouth public schools in 1893. From
1894 until 1897 he pursued the study of law in the office of F. D. Gun-
saullers, an attorney at Plymouth, and was admitted to the bar in March,
1897. He has since engaged in practice in Plymouth and has attained an
enviable position in the ranks of the profession. He has already gained a
creditable clientage and is now serving as justice of the peace. He takes
a very active part in church work, holds membership in the Lutheran church,
and is the president of the Plymouth Township Sunday-school Union.
He is the secretary of the Lutheran church of Plymouth and the treasurer
of the Plymouth Bible Association. He also belongs to the Knights of
Pythias and is a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Association, a college
fraternity. He received from his alma mater the degree of Bachelor of
Arts in the year 1886, and the degree of Master of Arts in the year 1890'.
In politics he is a stalwart Democrat and is secretary of the Democratic Club
of his township.
Clara Trauger was born August 1, 1869, and died May 9, 1897. She
was a graduate of the Plymouth high school, of the class of 1886. She
engaged in teaching in 1891 and later was elected a teacher of the primary
department of the public schools at Chicago Junction, Ohio, filling that posi-
tion until 1891, when she became the wife of Mr. Monteith, who is now the
cashier of the National Bank of Crestline, Ohio. They established their
home in Shelby, Ohio, and after six months' illness Mrs. Monteith passed
away, in 1897.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 255
Rilla, the younger daughter of the Trauger family, is residing with
her parents and is a graduate of the high school of Plymouth, of the class
of 1891.
JEHU L. GARBER.
Tehu L. Garber, an industrious and enterprising farmer and stock raiser
of Jefferson township, was born on the 29th of October, 1835, in the town-
ship where he yet makes his home. He comes of a family of Swiss lineage,
and his grandfather, John Garber, was probably a native of the land of the
Alps and became the founder of the family in the new world. He was
killed at the battle of York in Upper Canada, in 18 12. Samuel Garber, the
father of our subject, was a native of Morrison's Cove, Pennsylvania, and
was reared there as a farmer and shoemaker. When about twenty-five years
of age he came to Ohio, making the journey on foot, and located in Jefferson
itownship, Richland county, where he devoted his energies to shoemaking
for a time. Later he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and died
upon the farm where our subject now lives, when about eighty-nine years of
age. He was successful in his business affairs and at one time owned an
extensive tract of land, valued at twenty thousand dollars. He was truly the
architect of his own fortune and built wisely and well, for when he came to
fthis county he had only twenty-five cents and with that meager capital began
(life in Ohio. His prosperity was the legitimate outcome of his own earnest
and well directed efforts. In politics he was a Democrat and served as town-
ship trustee for several terms, yet seldom aspired to office. His religious
faith was that of the Universalist church. His wife bore the maiden name
of Catharine Leedy and was a daughter of John Leedy. She died when
about seventy-one years of age. In their family were eleven children : John
L., a farmer of Jefferson township; Levi L., who died at the age of twenty-
one; David L., who passed away at the age of fifty-five; Louis L., a resident of
Bellville; Jehu L. ; Elizabeth, the wife of Aaron Leedy; Jackson L.. whose
home is in Missouri; Washington, a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio; Benton
L., who died at the age of forty years; Mary, the wife of O. B. Rummel,
of Bellville; Theodore L., a farmer of Jefferson township; and Minnie, who
died in childhood,
Xo event of special importance occurred to vary the monotony 61 farm
life for Jehu Garber. He remained at his parental home until he had at-
tained his majority, and in the meantime engaged in teaching in the district
school through three winter terms. On reaching man's estate he worked
256 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
at the carpenter's trade and engaged in cultivating the home farm on the
shares for his father and brother. His time was thus occupied several years,
after which he purchased one hundred and eighty acres of land adjoining the
old home and there continued to reside until 1898, when he purchased his
present farm of ninety-two acres, renting the old place of two hundred and
fifty-five acres to his son. His life has been an active and useful one, and
as a result of his capable business management and indefatigable industry
he has gained prosperity. He owns altogether three hundred and forty-
seven acres of land and derives therefrom a good income. He was chiefly
instrumental in organizing the Patrons' Relief Association and Fire Insurance
Company, which was formed in 1876, and of which he was secretary for
sixteen years. The company now have between three and four millions in-
surance. He was also instrumental in organizing the first farmers' institute
held in the county, in the year 1881, and has been the president of one of these
organizations nearly every year since.
On the 19th of June, 1856, occurred the marriage of Mr. Garber and
Miss Susan Wallace, a native of Knox county, Ohio, and a daughter of
George and Mary Wallace. Their marriage was blessed with nine children :
Ellen, the wife of John Watson; Irene, who was married but is now deceased;
Clara A., the widow of Stephen A. Oyster; Ida M., at home; Horatio S.,
James W. and Wallace, who follow farming; Myrtle, at home; Mamie, who
died at the age of twelve years ; and one who died in infancy.
Mr. Garber held the office of county commissioner from January, 1890,
to September, 1896, there being no opposition to his election at the first term.
He filled the office of township trustee for several years and was a member
of the township school board for ten years. In politics he is a Democrat.
He belongs to the Grange and to Cask's Lodge, No. 382, K. of P., of Bell-
ville, and he and his family are members of the Universalis!: church. His en-
tire life has been passed in Richland county and his many acquaintances know
him to be a man of sterling worth, reliable in business "and trustworthy in all
life's relations.
THOMAS HAMMOX.
Thomas Hammon was one of the representative men of Worthington
township and in his death the community lost one of its valued citizens. He
was a man whom to know was to respect and honor, for his career was ever
an upright one and in all life's relations he was faithful to right and duty.
) 0'2 / ZS[AX7 (^Uirte-YvU^ry^
C/ccu^hj^C <C^^<^7^^n^rriy
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 257
A native of Virginia, he was born in Rockingham county, May 5, 1822,
and with his parents came to Richland county, Ohio, in the fall of 1826. He
was a son of George and Catherine (Hammon) Hammon, the former born
in New Jersey in 1780, the latter in Pennsylvania in 1785. Mrs. Hammon
lived in the Keystone state at the time of the Indian troubles there and later
removed to Virginia, where she was married and made her home for a num-
ber of yeats. As before stated. Mr. and Mrs. Hammon came to Richland
county in the autumn of 1826. and a year later the father purchased the farm
that is now occupied by Mrs. Thomas Hammon and her family. It was
school land and was sold at auction. Upon the place was a log cabin and a
small field had been cleared, but the greater part of the land was still in its
primitive condition, awaiting the awakening touch of the agriculturist to
make it a desirable tract. Throughout the greater part of his remaining days
George Hammon resided there and in his business he accumulated a handsome
competence. He served in the war of 1812 and was ever loyal to all his
duties of citizenship. A leading Jacksonian Democrat in politics, he served
as a trustee for several terms. Both he and his wife held membership in the
Lutheran church and enjoyed the high regard of a large circle of friends.
His father, John Hammon. was a native of New Jersey, but his mother was
born in Germany. Mrs. Hammon. the mother of our subject, died in Rich-
land county, October 9, 1855, at the age of sixty-eight years. In her family
were fourteen children, twelve of whom reached mature years.
At the old homestead Thomas Hammon spent the days of his boyhood
and youth, remaining with his parents for twelve years after his marriage,
when he removed to Jefferson township and bought a farm which he worked
for three years. He then returned and purchased the old home place from
his father, continuing its cultivation and improvement throughout his remain-
ing days. His business was diligently prosecuted. He did not neglect in
the slightest degree his work; and his close application to business, combined
with his excellent farming methods, enabled him to win very desirable pros-
perity. He made a specialty of the raising of shorthorn cattle, and as his
financial resources increased he added to his property until his landed pos-
sessions aggregated over five hundred acres. He was probably the wealthiest
man in "Worthington township and his life record demonstrated the possibili-
ties that lie before men of energy and determination.
On the 8th of June. 1848, Thomas Hammon was united in marriage to
Mrs. Rachel Simmerman, nee Taggart, who was born in Westmoreland county.
Pennsylvania. December I, 1823, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth ( Mc-
Dowell) Taggart, both of whom were natives of "Westmoreland county, in
2 5 3 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
which they were reared. In the fall of 183 1 they came to Richland county,
Ohio, and the father purchased a farm in Jefferson township, of which twelve
acres had been cleared. There he resided for several years, and upon that
farm his wife died, when forty-nine years of age. He afterward removed
to Clark county, Illinois, and purchased a farm, upon which his death occurred,
when he had attained the age of seventy. His success came to him in return
for his own labor and he justly won the title of a self-made man. His wife
was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Unto Air. and
Mrs. Hammon were born five children, namely : Catherine, the wife of Henry
Wolford, of Kansas; Alary, the wife of Erastus L. Calhoun, a farmer of
Worthington township; Ellen, the wife of Abner Dunmire, of Knox county,
Ohio ; John and George H. The last two now own the old homestead and are
among the active agriculturists of the community.
The principles of the Democracy received the indorsement of Air. Ham-
mon and he always voted that ticket, yet never sought or desired office for
himself. He served for several years as a school director, Hut otherwise occu-
pied no official position. He followed closely the course which he believed
to be right and in his business affairs he enjoyed an unassailable reputation,
for he was ever just and honorable. Airs. Hammon proved to her husband
a faithful companion and helpmeet on life's journey, and her sound advice and
assistance were important factors in his prosperity. She possessed excellent
business and executive ability and was one of the world's busy workers.
Both Air. and Airs. Hammon enjoyed the warm regard of many friends and
were both widely and favorably known in Richland county.
JOHN W. AIcCOXKIE.
John Walter AlcConkie, teacher, politician, journalist and insurance
solicitor, is the second and eldest living son of William and Rebecca AlcConkie.
He was born in Worthington township, Richland county, Ohio. April 24. 1864.
As a youth he was quite reserved and did not give much promise of future
greatness, nor did he seem especially devoted to study, but later he developed
a strong inclination for books and for learning and for a time was ambitious
to become a student at the University of Alichigan. During this. time he culti-
vated a love for political history almost marvelous in that it prompted such
wide and comprehensive reading of subjects bearing upon that department
of knowledge. He is often to-day consulted upon various points at issue.
Language, too, was most carefully studied then, as now, and word analysis,
which goes to the origin of words, still finds great favor with him.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 259
At one time he and Professor J. W. Scott, now of Colorado Springs, Colorado,
stood highest in orthography of all teachers then employed in Ashland county,
and that, too, at an examination that passed the critical eye of Professor J. E.
Stubbs, whose success has since made him famous in the educational world.
Mr. McConkie's devotion and close application to study often led him to pore
over his books until the small hours of night, and this, in addition to the physi-
cal strength required to cultivate and conduct his father's farm (adorned with
a log house ripe with age, located by the roadside over which it is said passed
a section of General William Henry Harrison's army in his remarkable cam-
paign against the Indians) told upon the then strong and vigorous young man
and resulted in severe sickness in 1882 and again in a milder form in 1883.
After his recovery, in 1884, having been weakened physically to a consid-
erable extent by a severe attack of inflammatory rheumatism that he had suf-
fered in connection with other ailments which involved the liver and stomach,
he concluded to turn his attention more fully to learning; so, in connection with
James M. Reed, now prominent at the Mansfield bar, and Charlie L. McCiellan,
deputy clerk of courts for Richland county, he entered Greentown Academy, at
Perrysville, where not a few young men and women have found inspiration and
hope that have led on and on to higher and broader fields. After a year's study
at that institution he began teaching, and at intervals during his academic
course he taught in Ashland and Richland counties. In 1889, when Professor
Lycurgus L. Ford severed his connection with the above institution by reason
of its failure to adopt the more advanced methods of the time, Mr. McConkie
promptly sided with that gentleman, who has since grown prominent, and
headed a paper strongly testifying to the Professor's worth and ability. —
a paper which is still held in grateful appreciation.
Later in the year Mr. McConkie was offered and accepted a position in
the public schools of Iowa, and in October he left for that state, where he
was granted a first-class teacher's certificate, that he values most highly.
There he first observed the practical workings of female suffrage in school
affairs. He served successfully under the superintendency of Mrs. A. N.
Filson, whose personal ability and worth won for her a third election as the
county superintendent in a Democratic county, while she was a Republican.
Higher in authority at the state capitol was that noted educator. Henry
Sabin, introducing model methods that have since grown very popular and
have been widely adopted. During this period and under such inspiration Mr.
McConkie was prominent in institute work, and he speaks in enthusiastic
terms of praise of those with whom he was thus associated, and particularly
260 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of the deceased Miss Dora B. Johnston, who ranked high at college and
occupied an enviable position in both intellectual and social circles.
Later, when the economical era was manifest in the Hawkeye state and
made itself felt among Iowa teachers laboring for the advancement and growth
of its people to an extent not usually appreciated, Mr. McConkie, in connection
with L. M. Gerhard, now of South Dakota, and others, left the state. Return-
ing to Ohio, he launched boldly in the field of politics, opposing the "tariff
reform'' ideas of Grover Cleveland, and during the campaign of 1888 he sup-
ported most earnestly and enthusiastically the candidacy of Benjamin Har-
rison, for whom he entertained a most friendly feeling. In 1889 he again
took up teaching*, being employed in Knox county, Ohio. In 1890 he was
associated with the work of the eleventh census and imbibed somewhat the
statistical admiration possessed by Robert P. Porter, then the superintendent
of the census.
In 1 89 1 Mr. McConkie again put on the political armor, and as a mem-
ber of the county central and executive committees he zealously and earnestly
supported William McKinley, who was then the Republican candidate for
governor. That this work was effective, is attested by the fact that his pre-
cinct at that election showed a net Republican gain of fifty-six. Later, when
an attempt was made to lessen the victory by dethroning John Sherman and
place J. B. Foraker in the senate of the United States, he did not hesitate
to take sides with the great statesman from Mansfield, who was so prominently
identified with the financial history of the United States and of the world.
With voice and pen he insisted most firmly that honor demanded the re-election
of Mr. Sherman and he championed his cause with others in a public speech
in the Memorial Opera House in Mansfield, where the friends and neighbors
of Senator Sherman met to resent the charge advanced by W. S. Cappeller and
others that he was unpopular at home.
The following year, having brought himself to the favorable attention
of William M. Hahn, the chairman of the Ohio Republican state executive
committee and a resident of Richland county — where politics have always
taken a deep root — as well as Senator Sherman, Frank W. Pierson, the chair-
man of the local committee. Captain W. S. Bradford and others prominent and
influential, he was made a delegate to the Republican state convention that
assembled in Cleveland. During- this convention, presided over by William
McKinley, now twice chosen the chief magistrate of the nation, he success-
fully widened his acquaintance. Among fast friendships there formed was
one with L. C. Laylin, now the secretary of state, Mr. Laylin at that time
being a delegate from Huron county. Three times in presidential years has
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 261
Mr. AlcConkie been chosen to represent his native county in state con-
ventions.
In 1893 he taught again in Knox county, near Fredericktown, where
ex-Secretary of the Treasury William Windom spent a part of his early
manhood, and it was understood that his devotion to politics would bring a
state appointment from Governor McKinley ; but it was decreed otherwise.
In 1894 he was invited and accepted a place with the Republican state executive
committee, then as now under the leadership of Charles Dick, and participated
actively in the contest that resulted in the re-election of Samuel M. Taylor
by one hundred and thirty-seven thousand and eighty-six, the largest plurality
ever recorded in Ohio. That his services were appreciated during this memor-
able contest is evident from the strong letter in his possession from Chairman
Dick, testifying to his zeal, industry and capability.
Previous to this, in the campaign of 1893, Air. McConkie wrote much in
support of the Republican party and often have articles from his pen found
places in the Xew York Tribune, Philadelphia Press, Cleveland Leader, Ohio
State Journal and the American Economist. The latter, strong and uncompro-
mising in its support of the policy of protection, then as to-day, lifting up the
hands of William McKinley in the bitter struggle for supremacy, sent out
inquiries to leading Republicans asking "Why William McKinley should be
re-elected governor of Ohio?" Among those consulted in the Buckeye state
was J. W. McConkie, of Richland county, and at the head of the list of those
replies we find his ringing", earnest words ; and when the future political his-
torian glances over the pages of that noted publication for words of inspiration
as he writes the life of William McKinley he will see as many as three articles
from the pen of Air. McConkie in one issue. Later the subject of this sketch
branched still more strongly into journalism and the list of articles extant
from his pen is now a long one.
Air. McConkie possesses great command of the English language, and
often his articles along political lines are pointed to a remarkable degree. In
1896 William McKinley, under the leadership of Marcus A. Hanna. having
won the nomination for president over strong and powerful combinations,
there was presented a campaign of unusual activity. Air. Hanna being in
charge of the Republican end. with William M. Hahn, of Mansfield, for the
second time in control of the speakers' bureau. Air. McConkie was invited
into a broader field and participated somewhat in the contest that resulted
in a signal Republican victory. It was quite generally believed that Air. Mc-
Conkie would receive recognition by the national administration, but to the
disappointment of his friends he was forgotten; and when advancement
262 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
seemed probable in the census bureau Congressman W. S. Kerr, whom he
had supported and helped into public life, stood in the way while professing
warmest friendship. This form of conduct extended in other directions, oper-
ating often to the detriment of those worthy and deserving; and this, together
with the selfish, grasping nature developed, led to the defeat of Mr. Kerr in
the convention that followed. President McKinley having been renominated
at Philadelphia, and Marcus A. Hanna, whom Mr. McConkie had supported
with pen and might in the ever memorable Ohio senatorial contest of 1897-8
that sustained, as he believes, the honor of the Republican party and sent Mr.
Hanna to the senate of the United States, the successor of John Sherman,
who had elected to enter the cabinet of William McKinley. being again in
control of the national executive committee, this time with Henry C. Hedges,
of Mansfield, as chief of the speakers' bureau. Mr. McConkie. whom fortune
seems to lead into the fight rather than where remuneration is to be had, was
invited and for eight weeks he participated most actively in the campaign that
resulted so decidedly for the Republican party. That Mr. McConkie possesses
political instinct is evident from the accuracy with which he forecasts results
in both state and nation. In fact, one of the strong features in his makeup
is the reading of public sentiment, and he looks to see it better understood
and recognized in its higher advanced condition. Will his expectations be
realized? Possibly so when the jar of politics bring men to a full realization
of the situation and when deceit and treachery shall mean political death always
and everywhere, — an era when it is to be hoped party platforms will say what
they mean and mean what they say and when wider, broader opportunities
shall encourage the honest legitimate efforts of men and women too.
Mr. McConkie, being a nephew of Professor John McConkie, has imbibed
somewhat of the educational spirit that characterizes that gentleman, as well
as the dead wife and aunt, for whom he cherishes the highest regard. His
close association, too, with the splendid daughters that have blessed that
union, and particularly with Bessie, the younger, and their splendid brother,
who is winning fame and position, has served to broaden and widen the field
that makes womanly instinct shine with a brighter luster. That Mr. Mc-
Conkie's personal and political acquaintance is very large is evident from
the demands upon his time: and that he enjoys and appreciates the value of a
well chosen library is understood from the volumes in his possession, notably
and distinctly along statistical and economic lines ; and that he has even found
time to study the American trotter in a development not yet complete, is
apparent when we see him with Harvest King, or better still with the grand-
daughter of Greenlander. the world's champion two-mile trotter, built, we
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 263
might say, for strength and action, and again when we gaze upon the lifelike
forms in his possession of The Abbott and Crescens, who have made the
closing hours of the nineteenth century ever memorable in the annals of the
American turf. At some future time Mr. McConkie may presenc something
relative to the high degree of intelligence possessed by the American horse.
and the dog, whose instinct and good judgment often make him a fitting
companion.
GEORGE W. GEDDES.
No man was ever more liked in Richland count}- and no man ever more
fully enjoyed the confidence of the public than George W. Geddes, while
none ever better deserved such esteem and confidence. In his lifetime the
people of his state, recognizing his merit, rejoiced in his advancement and
in the honors to which he attained, and since his death they have cherished
his memory. It is an important public duty to honor and perpetuate as
far as possible the memory of the eminent citizen — one who by his blameless
and honorable life and distinguished career reflected credit not only upon his
city and state but also upon the whole country. Through such memorials
as this at hand the individual and the character of his services are kept in
remembrance, and the importance of those services acknowledged. His
example in whatever field his work may have been done thus stands as an
object lesson to those who come after him, and though dead he still speaks.
Long after all recollection of his personality shall have faded from the minds
of men, the less perishable record may tell the story of his life and commend
his example for imitation.
George W. Geddes was born in Mount Vernon. Ohio, July 16, 1824, and
a few years later accompanied his parents on their removal to Richland county.
As the family was in limited financial circumstances, he was early forced to
earn his own living, and the splendid position to which he attained was an
indication of his merit and' splendid ability. His life illustrates the possibili-
ties that lie before the young men of ambition, determination and upright
character. After acquiring a common-school education Mr. Geddes spent a
few years as clerk in a store, and during his leisure hours and at night he
pursued a course of study, including the law. He finally entered the law
office of the Hon. Columbus Delano, under whom he completed his prepara-
tory reading, being admitted to the bar in July; 1845.
Mr. Geddes then opened a law office in Mansfield and continued to
engage in practice at the bar or on the bench until his death. He was not
264 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
long in gaining a large clientage and his ability won recognition in 1856 by
his election to the office of judge of the court of common pleas of the sixth
judicial district. After serving a term of five years he was re-elected in
1 86 1, without opposition, and served a full second term, after which he
retired and resumed the practice at the bar. Two years later he was once
again elected a common-pleas judge for the full term of five years and again
discharged his duty in a manner most highly acceptable to the people. When
this period also had ended he once more took his place among the lawyers
of Richland county and enjoyed an extensive legal practice, being connected
with the most important litigation held in the courts of his district.
Many public honors were conferred upon Judge Geddes. He was a
recognized leader in the Democracy and became a candidate of his party for
supreme judge in 1871, without his solicitation. He was a prominent candi-
date for the nomination for governor in 1877 and at the Democratic con-
gressional convention in 1878, after a contest of five days, and when twelve
hundred and fifty ballots had been cast for the candidates before the con-
vention, Judge Geddes was induced tq accept the nomination and thus recon-
ciled the differences. With reluctance he did so and was elected as a Demo-
crat, receiving fifteen thousand, six hundred and seventeen votes against eleven
thousand and thirty-nine cast for General S. O. Jones, the Republican candi-
date. He was re-elected to the forty-seventh congress by a vote of eighteen
thousand, five hundred and twenty against twelve thousand, six hundred and
fifty-three for his Republican opponent. The district was again changed, this
time being composed of Ashland, Huron, Lorain and Richland, with a Repub-
lican majority of twenty-one hundred, but Judge Geddes was re-elected to the
forty-eighth congress by a majority of more than sixteen hundred votes.
To the forty-ninth congress he was again chosen, serving for four consecutive
terms.
Judge Geddes made his first speech in the council chamber of the nation
on the 22d of April, 1879, against the use of federal officials and military at
the polls. The speech attracted not only the attention of the house, but also
of the entire country and gave prominence in that political proficiency and
usefulness to which Judge Geddes afterward attained, for he served as chair-
man of the committee on war claims during the forty-eighth and forty-ninth
congresses, and was again nominated by acclamation for the fiftieth congress,
but declined to become a candidate.
In 1848 the Judge was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Lemon, of
Ashland county, who died in September, 1878. They had three sons: Sam-
uel Lemon, James I. and George M. The first has passed away. James is
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 265
now successfully engaged in merchandising at Joplin, Missouri, while George
is connected with Shield & Banner, a newspaper published at Mansfield. The
Judge was again married in December, 1880, his second union being with
Mrs. Amelia Gass, the widow of the late Colonel Isaac Gass. Judge Geddes
was always deeply interested in the cause of education, for which he had a sin-
cere love. He was ever a close and discriminating student, analytical in his
study and sound and logical in his reasoning, and his distinction as a repre-
sentative of the bar was well merited. He was also an ardent Democrat,
unswerving in his advocacy of the principles of his party. He was a delegate
to the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church held in Balti-
more in 1876, and was for many years one of the trustees of the Ohio Wesleyan
University, at Delaware, Ohio, and of Mount Union College, at Mount Union,
Ohio. He was of stern integrity and honesty of purpose and despised all
unworthy or questionable means to secure success in any undertaking or for
any purpose, or to promote his own advancement in any direction, whether
political or otherwise. Not even the tongue of calumny ever uttered a word
to the contrary, nor did the malevolence of detraction dare to assail his
private reputation. He was an earnest and consistent Christian. It is our
duty to mark our appreciation of such a man — a man true in every relation
of life, faithful to every trust, a statesman diligent in the service of his country
and seeking only the public good.
JOSEPH HAVERFIELD.
Not in the desultory manner that renders effort without result, but with
steady persistence has Joseph Haverfield carried on his work, and to-day he
is numbered among the substantial farmers of Weller township. At the
time of the Civil war he put aside all personal considerations and lovallv served
his country as a defender of the Union, after which he returned to the farm and
has since devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, with excellent results.
He was born on the farm where he now resides, February 28, 1831. his par-
ents being James and Mary (Allen) Haverfield. The father was probably a
native of Harrison county, Ohio, born January 17, 1784, and there he was
reared to manhood. On the 6th of November, 1806, he married Miss Allen,
and amid the wild scenes of the frontier they began their domestic life, estab-
lishing a comfortable home for their family. James Haverfield served throuo-h
the war of 1812 and after his return came to Richland county, in 18 14, enter-
ing from the government the farm of eighty acres that is now owned by his
son Joseph. Here he built a log cabin in the midst of the forest and beean
266 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
the work of clearing the land and preparing it for cultivation. Throughout
his remaining days he carried on agricultural pursuits. For many years he
served as a justice of the peace, and his dealings were ever fair and impartial.
He was one of the well known and highly respected men of the county, and
his death, which occurred in 1851, was deeply mourned, the community losing
one of its valued citizens.
Joseph Haverfield, whose name introduces this review, spent his youth
upon his father's farm and was early trained to habits of industry and economy
that have proved a substantial foundation upon which to rear the super-
structure of his manhood's success. His education was obtained in the com-
mon schools, and after his father's death he and his brothers conducted the
home farm. On the 26th of April, 1855, he chose as a companion and help-
mate on life's journey Miss Louisa McMillan, a native of Richland county
and a daughter of Alexander McMillan, one of the pioneer settlers of Weller
township. In the meantime his older brothers had married and left the
home place and so at the time of his marriage he brought his bride to the
old homestead and resumed farming. During the succeeding five years at
different times he purchased the interest of the other heirs and the farm
became his own.
But the war cloud gathered over the nation, and feeling that his duty was
to his country he left the plow and took up the rifle. It was on the 25th of
August, 1 86 1, that he offered his services to the government, enlisting in
Company M, Second Ohio Cavalry. Soon afterward the regiment was sent
to the front, going first to St. Louis, Missouri, and thence to Fort Leaven-
worth, where they remained until the spring of 1862, when they went to Fort
Scott and afterward to Carthage, Missouri, Little Rock, Pea Ridge, the Boston
mountains and into Indian Territory as far as Fort Gibson. Mr. Haver-
field's services were of a very arduous nature, consisting largely of an attempt
to keep the guerrillas in subjection. After eighteen months he returned with
his regiment to Columbus, where they were given fresh horses and new sup-
plies and went up the Ohio to Maysville, thence across the river into Kentucky
and proceeded to Danville and. Crab Orchard. He was in Kentucky when
Morgan made his raid into Ohio, and the Second Ohio and other troops were
sent in pursuit of the Rebel leader, who was thus advancing upon the north.
They afterward went to Cumberland Gap, to Knoxville, Tennessee, and to
Lenore Station, where Mr. Haverfield for the first time engaged in a pitched
battle. He participated in the siege of Knoxville and thence returned to
Cumberland Gap under General Burnside, the Union troops capturing two
thousand Rebels who then held the gap. Later they proceeded to Straw-
Oi^^W^^
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 267
berry Plains, winning a victory at that place, and afterward participated in
the battles of Blaine's Cross Roads and Bine Springs. Not long after that
engagement most of the regiment re-enlisted, but Mr. Haverfield felt that his
family now needed him more than his country, but he was, however, put on
detached duty at Knoxville, where he remained until the term of his enlist-
ment had expired, when he was mustered out, on the 10th of September, 1864,
at Columbus, Ohio. He had two brothers, John and Allen, who were also
in the service, and the family was thus well represented in the struggle which
preserved the Union entire.
After his discharge Mr. Haverfield returned to his home and gladly
resumed the work of the farm, for his wife and his sister Jane had done the
plowing and mowing during his absence, and he willingly released them of this
self-imposed task. He has since devoted his energies to the cultivation of his
land and now has a well improved farm, which yields to him a golden tribute
in return for the care and labor he bestows upon the place. The home of
Mr. and Mrs. Haverfield has been blessed with nine children, seven of whom
are yet living, namely: Alexander M., a resident of Benson, Nebraska; James
A., who is conducting the home farm; Elizabeth A.; Emma, the wife of
Frederick Johnston, a carpenter and builder of Ashland county, Ohio ; Cynthia,
the wife of O. F. Stull, of East Mansfield, Ohio; Nettie, a teacher in the
public schools; and Rhoda, the wife of Edward Pugh.
In his political views Mr. Haverfield is a Republican and does what he
can to disseminate the principles of the party and secure their adoption. He
is not a politician in the usual accepted sense of office-seeking, yet has held
a number of minor positions, including that of township trustee. Socially he
is connected with Jacob Ward Post. No. 467, G. A. R., in which he is now
serving as the officer of the day, and with Weller Grange, No. 1072, of the
Patrons of Husbandry. Not only when following the old flag upon southern
battle-fields but at all times has he been faithful to his duties of citizenship
and to the obligations of business and social life. His sterling worth is widely
recognized and his friends in the community are many.
SILAS M. DOUGLASS.
Occupying a prominent position in the circles of the legal profession,
Silas M. Douglass has been called to the bench of the circuit court and is a
lawyer of distinguished ability. An excellent presence, earnest manner,
marked strength of character, a thorough grasp of the law and the ability to
to apply its principles accurately, made him an effective and successful advo-
268 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
cate and has insured him high rank among the representatives of the juris-
prudence of the state.
Judge Douglass was born on a farm in Monroe township, Richland
county, on the ist of January, 1853. His father, John J. Douglass, was of
Scotch-Irish lineage, and his mother was of German and French descent.
Amid rural scenes he spent his boyhood and youth, early becoming familiar
with the labors and duties that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He remained
under the parental roof until he had attained his majority, and his preliminary
education, acquired in the public schools, was supplemented by study in
Greentown Academy. Not content with the knowledge he had acquired he
entered Wittenberg College in 1876, and on the expiration of two years was
matriculated in Heidelberg College, in which institution he was graduated
in June, 1879. In his efforts to secure an education he engaged in teaching-
school and also acted as tutor while pursuing his collegiate course. With
the determination to make the practice of law his life work he began reading
under the direction of Judge May, of Mansfield, and when he had mastered
the fundamental principles of jurisprudence he entered the senior class of the
Cincinnati Law School in 1882, and completed the course with the class of
1883.
In July of the same year Judge Douglass began practicing in Mans-
field, where he was associated with John A. Connelly. Three years later his
brother, A. A. Douglass, was admitted to the bar and became Mr. Connelly's
successor, the firm of Douglass & Douglass being then formed. This pro-
fessional relation between the brothers was continued until Judge Douglass
was elevated to the circuit bench. His success as a lawyer came soon, because
his equipment was good, he having been a close and earnest student of the
fundamental principles of the science. Along with those qualities indis-
pensable to the lawyer — a keen, rapid, logical mind, plus the business sense and
a large capacity for earnest labor — he brought to the starting point of his
legal career certain real gifts, — eloquence of language and a strong personality.
In November, 1896, he was elected to the circuit bench of the fifth judicial
circuit of Ohio for a term of six years. He has here demonstrated his ability
to handle the intricate problems of the law, has shown strict impartiality in
disposing of cases and in his decisions has given evidence of his' comprehensive
and accurate knowledge of legal principles and precedents. He has juris-
diction over fifteen counties. At the annual meeting of Ohio circuit judges
in September, 1900, he was elected chief justice of Ohio circuit courts. He
was also honored with the office of mayor of Mansfield by appointment
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 269
to fill an unexpired term of six months. Later he was elected city solicitor and
served for two terms.
On the 10th of October. 1883, occurred the marriage of Judge Douglass
and Miss May Weagley. a daughter of Captain William H. Weagley, of Bell-
ville, Ohio. To them have been born four children : Stephen Augustus,
Eleanor May. Marian Hilary, and Marion Drexel. Mrs. Douglass is a lady
of marked culture and innate refinement, who presides with gracious hos-
pitality over her pleasant home and displays excellent management in the care
of her household and her children. Socially Judge Douglass is connected
with Alpha Gamma Chapter of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity ; is a member of
Monroe Lodge, Xo. 224, I. O. O. F. ; of Madison Lodge, Xo. 56, K. of P. ;
and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks : and he exemplifies in his
life the benevolent spirit of these orders. In politics he is a stanch Jackson-
ian Democrat, unswerving in his allegiance to those principles. He belongs
to the First Presbyterian church of Mansfield, but is liberal in his views,
believing in the spirit of Christ without regard for creeds. His nature is
kindly, his temperament genial and his manner courteous. He is a student
and a clear and logical thinker. His friends find him a most companionable
gentleman, but when on the bench his attitude at once indicates the student,
earnest and scholarly, fully upholding the majesty of the law.
JACOB G. HILL.
Jacob Grove Hill, a representative of the journalistic interests of Shelby,
was born on the 13th of August, 1839, near Strasburg, Stark county, Ohio,
a son of Peter and Julia (Willard) Hill, the former a native of Virginia and
the latter of Maryland. His father was a shoemaker by trade. In the family
were ten children.
At the age of sixteen years the subject of this review entered upon an
apprenticeship to Robert Wilson, of Xew Lisbon, Ohio, to learn the printer's
trade, serving for a term of three years. When he was twenty-one years of
age a spirit of patriotism prompted his enlistment in the Union army and he
joined the "boys in blue" of Company E, Xineteenth Regiment, Ohio Infantry.
During the first four months of his service he was engaged in skirmishing
at and near Laurel Hill. The first real engagement in which he participated
was at Rich Mountain. He was often in the thickest of the fight, but was
never wounded. He served under Captain Erwin Beam, who was a veteran
of the Mexican war, and under Colonel Samuel Batty, who was afterward
appointed brigadier-general.
270 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Upon his return home Mr. Hill resumed work at the printer's trade and
was thus engaged until May 12, 1864, when he re-enlisted, under Captain
O. M. Todd, as a member of Company K, of the One Hundred and Forty-
third Ohio National Guard. He became a member of Company K, Eight-
eenth Battalion of Ohio Volunteers, which was raised in Columbiana county,
Ohio. The regiment was sent to Wilson's Landing, where Colonel Miller,
of Mansfield, was in command of the post. After one hundred days' service
at Camp Chase, Ohio, Mr. Hill received an honorable discharge, on the 13th
of December, 1S64.
Subsequently our subject returned to New Lisbon, Ohio, and there
worked at the printer's trade until the fall of 1868, when he came to Shelby.
Here he entered into partnership with Hinkly Young, establishing a weekly
paper known as the Shelby Chronicle, which he conducted for about two
years, when the paper was sold to S. S. Bloom, who changed the name to
the Shelby Independent. Mr. Hill acted as its publisher for eight years and
also shared in the profits of the business. On the expiration of that period
the partnership was dissolved, in the fall of 1876. and Mr. Hill established
what has since been known as the Shelby Times. The paperhas a good cir-
culation and is proving a profitable investment. It is Republican in its politi-
cal complexion and is an earnest champion of all measures and movements
calculated to prove of public benefit. He is earnest in his advocacy of the
political principles in which he believes and through his editorials has done
much to promote the cause of the party. Socially he is connected with the
Grand Army of the Republic and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
OSCAR A. HUBBS, M. D.
In the medical fraternity Dr. Hubbs has attained a position of relative
distinction and occupies a leading place as a representative of his profession.
For twenty-one years he has practiced medicine in Butler, and his marked
ability has won for him a large and constantly growing patronage, which
is well merited, for he has qualified himself by a comprehensive and thorough
mastery of the principles of medical science and the best methods of applying
these to the needs of suffering humanity.
The Doctor was born in Fayette City, Pennsylvania, September 25, 185 1.
His grandfather, Charles Hubbs, was also a native of Pennsylvania and was a
successful physician. Edwin Hubbs, the Doctor's father, was born and reared
in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and became a salesman for a jewelry
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 271
and drug firm. In 1856 he came to Richland county, locating in Olivesburg,
where for several years he engaged in the cultivation of rented land. In
politics he was a stanch Republican, but never sought or desired political office.
His death occurred when he had reached the age of sixty-three years. • His
wife, who bore the maiden name of Caroline Storer, was born in Fayette
county, Pennsylvania, and is still living, at the age of eighty-nine years, in the
enjoyment of good health. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. By her marriage she had eight children, of whom five are still living.
Her grandfather, John Davitt, was a native of Ireland and emigrated from
that country to the new world.
Dr. Hubbs was the fifth in order of birth in his father's family. His
early youth was spent in his parents' home and at the age of thirteen he began
learning the printer's trade in Ashland, Ohio. He was employed in a print-
ing office until eighteen years of age in Ashland, becoming familiar with the
various branches of the business. He also worked' on the Loudonville Inde-
pendent, and for five or six years was the publisher of the Loudonville Advo-
cate; but, not content to devote his energies to journalistic work, during
that time he began reading medicine, his studies being directed by Dr. S. S.
Mills. Subsequently he was graduated in March, 1879, at the Pulte Homeo-
pathic College, of Cincinnati, and for six months practiced in Loudonville,
but in 1879 came to Butler, where he has since followed his chosen calling.
He soon demonstrated his ability to cope with disease and his efforts were
attended with very creditable success. This brought to him a constantly
increasing patronage and he now has a large practice among the best citizens
of Butler and the surrounding country. In addition to his home property
he owns a valuable farm of one hundred and fifteen acres, which he rents.
The Doctor married Miss Maggie A. Ruth, of Ashland, Ohio, who was
born in Arkansas and during her early girlhood accompanied her parents to
Ashland. She now has three children: Roy S., who in 1895 was graduated
at the Pulte Homeopathic College and is now associated with his father in
practice; Floyd M., who is an adopted son and who is one of the most talented
pianists in the state; and Hazel E., at home. In his political views the Doctor
is a valiant Democrat, but has always refused to accept public office. He
belongs to Bellville Lodge, No. 376, F. & A. M., of Bellville; to Sturgess
Lodge, No. 357, I. O. O. F., of Butler; and the Lucullus Lodge, No. 121,
K. P. His career is a creditable one, well worthy of emulation. He had
but limited opportunities in his youth, for his parents were poor and he not
only provided for his own support but also assisted his brother and sister.
With undaunted energy he prepared himself for one of the higher callings of
272 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
life and has attained prominence as a representative of the medical fraternity,
having long since left the ranks of the many to stand among the success-
ful few.
NELSON OZIER.
It becomes the duty of every American citizen upon attaining his majority
to support in one way and another the constitution of the United States. By
exercising his privilege of voting he evinces his fealty to his country and his
pride in its citizenship. In this respect Mr. Ozier has never failed to show
his loyalty, and as an uncompromising Republican has taken a most active
part in local and county matters in behalf of his party and friends. He has
himself been honored with public office and is now serving for the second
time as the postmaster of Mansfield. He is an ardent adherent of the prin-
ciples incorporated in the platform of the Republican party and has served
long and faithfully in the ranks of the organization, resolutely following in
the footsteps of the leaders and ever evincing that intelligent discrimination
and integrity which marked the supporters of Republicanism and maintained
the high standard adopted at the inception of the party.
Mr. Ozier is also widely known as a pioneer and prominent and success-
ful business man of Richland county. He was born in Washington county,
Pennsylvania, on the 4th of January, 1823, and is a son of Stephen and Mar-
garet (Nichols) Ozier. His father was born in Delaware and died in Rich-
land county, Ohio, at the age of fifty-two years, having been a resident of the
county from 1824. His wife was a native of Belmont, Washington county,
Pennsylvania, and her death occurred in this county, when she had attained
the age of seventy-two years. They were the parents of four sons and three
daughters, but of the family only two, David and Nelson, are now living.
The latter pursued his education in the primitive schools of Richland
county and was reared amid the wild scenes of the frontier, early becoming
familiar with the arduous duties and labors of farm life at that early period.
He was a youth of only about ten summers when his father died, after which
he aided in supporting his mother and the family. His early business efforts
were in the line of buying stock and wool, in which enterprise he continued
from 1848 until 1863. For twenty years he was associated in partnership
with his brother David, who is now engaged in the banking business in
Shiloh, Ohio. The conditions attending stock-dealing at that time were very
different from the present, when horses, cattle, hogs and sheep are loaded into
cars and shipped to every part of the country. Mr. Ozier has driven sheep
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 273
from this county to New Jersey, taking sixty days to make the trip, often
having charge of from one to two thousand head. He has also driven hogs
from this county to Buffalo, forty days being consumed upon the road. In
his business affairs, however, he prospered. He made judicious investments
in stock and profitable sales. His excellent judgment enabled him to quickly
determine upon the good qualities of the animals and his familiarity with the
market enabled him to dispose of them at a time when he could realize upon
his investment.
From the organization of the party Mr. Ozier has been a stalwart Repub-
lican, unswerving in his allegiance to the principles which have upbuilded
the nation along all lines of advancement. In 1863, unsolicited by him, he
received the nomination for sheriff and was elected to that office by a majority
of three hundred, when the county usually gave a Democratic majority of from
fifteen to eighteen hundred. His election was a tribute to his personal worth,
his ability and popularity. He served for one term during the troublous
times of the Civil war and was perfectly fearless, prompt and decided in the
discharge of his duties. He was a warm personal friend and admirer of
Senator Sherman, and as a member of the convention he gave his influence
and aid toward securing his nomination for his first term in qpngress, the
convention being held in Shelby, Richland county, in 1854. At that time the
congressional district gave a usual Democratic majority of three thousand,
but Mr. Ozier and others labored untiringly for the interests of their friend
who was destined to occupy so prominent a place in the political councils of
the nation, and he was elected by a majority of twenty-five hundred. Ever
afterward our subject continued earnest in his support of the Ohio statesman
and took an active interest in securing for him the large vote he polled in
this locality. When Benjamin Harrison was elected to the presidency Mr.
Ozier was appointed by him to the office of postmaster of Mansfield. In
March, 1898, he was again appointed postmaster of Mansfield by President
McKinley, and entered upon the duties of the office in April, so that he is the
present incumbent. He has made one of the best postmasters that Mansfield
has ever had, has increased the business of the office in volume, has improved
its methods and has made marked advancement in its administration along
many lines.
In 1852 Mr. Ozier was happily married to Miss Margaret J. Snapp, who
was born in Virginia. Her father, Peter Snapp, also a native of the Old
Dominion, was a stalwart Democrat, and at one time was a county commis-
sioner of Richland county. He died in Rome, Ohio, at the ap;e of seventy-
six years. Mr. and Mrs. Ozier have one child, Fred S. Thev occupy a
274 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
pleasant home in Mansfield and also own the old family homestead at Rome.
Mrs. Ozier is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is an estimable
lady.
Mr. Ozier is public-spirited in an eminent degree. National progress
and local advancement are causes both dear to the heart of this thoroughly
loyal son of the republic. His devotion to his country is above question and
his labors have contributed in a large measure to the welfare and progress
of his adopted county. In manner he is pleasant and genial, an approachable
gentleman who enjoys the friendship of a large circle of acquaintances. It
is not alone because of special prominence in public affairs that he has and is
justly entitled to the respect and confidence of his fellow men, for his personal
qualities are such as to make men esteem and honor him.
DAVID McCORMIC.
The county whose history is now under consideration has been well
named, — Richland, — for its broad acres are easily transformed into rich fields
which yield excellent returns for the care and cultivation bestowed upon them.
Mr. McCormic is one who has successfully carried on agricultural pursuits
here for some years and is now classed among the substantial agriculturists
of Blooming Grove township. He was born in Hancock county, Ohio, on the
2d of August, 1842, of the marriage of Daniel and Freelove (Bradin) Mc-
Cormic, whose family numbered nine children. The father was born in
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1822, a son of Joseph and Betsey
McCormic, who came to Ohio when he was a young man, taking up their
abode about a mile east of Petersburg, in what is now Ashland county. After
a short time, however, they removed to Hancock county, where the grand-
mother of our subject died in the year 1870. The grandfather then sold his
farm and returned to Richland county, making his home with Mr. McCormic
of this review up to the time of his death, which occurred three years later.
Daniel McCormic was married soon after his arrival in Richland county,
and when his parents removed to Hancock county, with his wife and one
child he accompanied them, but not being favorably impressed with that sec-
tion of the country he returned with his little family, and some time later
bought a farm of ninety-four acres a mile and a quarter west of Olivesburg,
in Weller township. There he carried on agricultural pursuits throughout
his remaining days, and reared a family that became a credit to his name.
His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, frequently called
him to public office, and in the discharge of his duties he was ever prompt
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 275
and faithful. His political support was given to Republican principles, and
from early manhood he was an earnest member of the Disciple church and
did everything in his power to promote Christian work and to inculcate Chris-
tian principles among his fellow men. He was called to the reward prepared
for the righteous in 1891. His wife was born in what is now Ashland
county., but was then a part of Richland county, in the year 1826, her parents
being Thomas and Freelove Bradin, who were of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock
and came to Richland county among its pioneer settlers, entering a quarter-
section of land from the government four miles southeast of Olivesburg, in
what is now Ashland county, making their home there throughout their
remaining days. The mother of our subject is still living and yet resides on
the old homestead in Weller township. By her marriage she became the
mother of nine children, four of whom yet survive, as follows: David, of
this review; Sarah, the wife of William Smith, of Olivesburg; Lorinda, the
wife of Clark Monyer, of Weller township; and Weller, who is living in
Butler township.
David McCormic spent his boyhood days upon the home farm, working
in the fields from his early youth, and when his father was taken ill the burden
of the farm work largely devolved upon his young shoulders. Thus his edu-
cational privileges were limited, he being permitted to attend school for about
two months through the winter season. Reading and observation, however,
have made him a well informed man on all public questions, and he is a
broad-minded and intelligent conversationalist who talks in an interesting
manner upon the issues and affairs of the day.
On the 24th of November, 1868, was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
McCormic and Miss Lydia Harlan, a native of Ashland county, Ohio, and
a daughter of Samuel Harlan, who was born in Pennsylvania and became
one of the pioneer settlers of what is now Ashland county. After his marriage
he began his independent career as a farmer, renting a tract of land in Weller
township, a mile and a half east of Shenandoah. The year following he
rented land in Clear Creek township, Ashland county, where he met with a
great misfortune, his home being destroyed by fire and almost all his house-
hold effects burned. In 1870, with capital he had acquired through his indus-
try and economy, he purchased eighty acres of his present farm. He was at
that time the possessor of four hundred dollars in money, one horse, two cows
and twenty-five head of sheep. He labored industriously and indefatigably,
however, and prosperity has attended his well directed efforts.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. McCormic was blessed with five children,
as follows: Edmund, who is now a farmer in Blooming Grove township;
276 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Estella, the wife of Perry Noble, of Cass township; Margaret, the wife of
Ransom Huston, of Blooming Grove township; Bertha, wife of Frank Kotz,
of Huron county; and Dora, who is still at her parental home. Mr. Mc-
Cormic is a supporter of Republican principles and has been a member
of the Disciple church since his youth. He has always lived in this sec-
tion of Ohio and has many warm friends who have known him from early life,
an indication that he has ever merited the esteem and respect of those with
whom he has associated.
SAMUEL FERGUSON.
Samuel Ferguson, deceased, was for many years one of the honored
citizens and successful agriculturists of Washington township, Richland
county, Ohio. He was born near Pittsburg, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania,
on the 7th of August, 1816, a son of Samuel and Wilhelmina (Dye) Fer-
guson, in whose family were nine children. His father, who was a soldier
in the war of 1812 and a traveler to a considerable extent, came to Rich-
land county. Ohio, in 1820, and from the government entered the land
upon which our subject's family now reside. He lived to the advanced age
of ninety-eight years.
Mr. Ferguson, of this review, was reared on a farm in his native state,
and continued to reside there until 1842, when he came to Ohio and took
up his residence upon the farm in Washington township, Richland county,
where he made his home up to the time of his death. In the original pur-
chase there were three hundred and twenty acres, and the family still own
two hundred and twenty acres, which, is pleasantly located on section 8,
four miles from Mansfield. Of this tract, one hundred and forty acres have
been cleared and placed under a high state of cultivation.
On the 2d of May, 1844. Mr. Ferguson was united in marriage to Miss
Margaret C. Glasgow, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania,
May 3. 1820. a daughter of James and Betsy A. (Sleator) Glasgow, both
natives of Ireland. Her family removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio by team in
1832, and first settled in Knox county, but a year later came to Richland county.
In June. 1834. there was a heavy frost, which did much damage to the crops.
Mr. Glasgow purchased eighty acres of land where Joseph Hainley now re-
sides, and erected thereon a log cabin. Here he followed farming for some
years, but his last days were spent in Henry county.
Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson began their domestic life in a log cabin on
the farm where the family is still living, and there ten children were born
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 277
to them, namely: James Glasgow, who is mentioned below; Wilhelmina E.,
the wife of William Lawrence; Samuel, deceased; Jennie, the wife of Ervin
Beattie, of Michigan; Lycnrgus E., a resident of Hiawatha. Kansas; Ella,
the wife of Charles Dean, of Cameron, Missouri; Wilda O. and Rilda A.,
twins, the former the wife of John Longshore, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio,
and the latter the wife of John Dean, of Mansfield; Nettie, the wife of
Frank Brown, of Kansas; and one who died in infancy. James G.. the oldest
son, is now successfully carrying on the home farm, and has served as a
trustee in Washington township for three years. He married Louisa Hiskey,
who died October 6, 1900, leaving seven children: Anna L., Ethel W., John
S., Mary O., Nettie M., Alice J. and William. Two children preceded her
in death, namely: Josie, whose death was followed by that of her sister
Maggie a few days afterward.
Throughout his active business life Mr. Ferguson followed farming
and his labors met with well deserved success. He was one of the most
highly esteemed men of his community, and was called upon to serve as a
trustee for several years. Politically he was a strong Democrat, and re-
ligiously was an earnest member of the United Presbyterian church. He died
April 6, 1895. He had won by an honorable and upright life an untarnished
name and the record which he left behind him is one well worthy of emu-
lation.
DAVID WOLFORD.
In David Wolford we find a worthy representative of the agricultural
interests of Richland county, Ohio, his home being on section 26, Weller
township, where he owns and cultivates a valuable farm. A native of Penn-
sylvania, he was born in Dauphin county, February 17, 1825, and is a son of
J. George and Esther (Castle) Wolford. Of their eight children only two
now survive, these being David, and Mary, the widow of Allen Haverfield
and a resident of Mansfield.
J. George Wolford, our subject's father, was also born in Dauphin
county. Pennsylvania, February 2, 1795, his parents having emigrated from
Germany to America shortly after their marriage. On reaching- man's es-
tate he wedded Esther Castle, also a native of Dauphin county, born No-
vember 3, 1798, of German parentage. In 1829 they came to Richland
county, Ohio, and the father purchased a quarter section of land in Weller
township, where our subject now resides, making that place his home until
273
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
called to his final rest December 31. 187 1. A Lutheran in religious belief,
he took an active part in church work, and served either as a deacon or elder
of his church for many years. Politically he was a stanch Democrat; and
for two or more terms held the responsible office of infirmary director, be-
sides filling other minor positions, such as township trustee. His wife, who
died in 1879, was also an active church worker from early life, was a kind
mother and loving wife.
During his boyhood David Wolford received a common-school educa-
tion, and acquired an excellent knowledge of all the details of farm work.
On Christmas day of 1849 h e led t0 ^ ie marriage altar Miss Leah M. Kohler,
a native of Adams county, Pennsylvania. Her father, Jacob Kohler, came
to this county in 1829, arriving in Mansfield on the same evening as the
father of our subject. He located in Franklin township, where he bought
a farm of one hundred acres. To Mr. and Mrs. Wolford were born the
following children: Maria, now the wife of Samuel Pugh. a farmer of
"Weller township; Amos Frederick, deceased; Sarah E., the wife of Henry
Pugh. a farmer of Franklin township; Darius K., a farmer of Xemaha
county, Kansas; Allen H., who now owns and manages the home farm;
Henry, deceased; and William B., at home. The wife and mother, who
was an earnest and consistent Christian and a most estimable laoy. died
August 6, 1885, leaving many friends as well as her immediate family to
mourn her loss.
After his marriage Mr. Wolford took his bride to the parental home,
and for five years he worked with his father upon the farm. The children
having by this time all married and left home, our subject took complete
charge of the place and purchased it after his father's death. Here he has
since resided, his time and attention being devoted to agricultural pursuits.
As a Democrat he has taken an active interest in politics, and on his party
ticket was elected infirmary director, which office he filled for two terms
with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the public. He has
also held other positions of honor and trust. He is a member of the Lutheran
church, and is one of the most highly esteemed men of his community.
CHARLES G. GROSSCUP.
Charles G. Grosscup, a prominent business man of Shelby, Ohio, was
born at Lynnville. Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, in 1849, an d is a son of
Charles and Alary (George) Grosscup, who were of sturdy German extrac-
tion and most excellent people. They were the parents of four sons and
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 279
two daughters, as follows: William, born in 1837; Caroline, in 1840; Owen,
in 1843; Joseph, in 1846; Charles C, the subject of this sketch; and Matilda,
born in 1852. Owen died in 1896; and Caroline, who married Jonas George,
of Germansville, Pennsylvania, died in 1894. The other members of the
family are still living. The parents of these children died at Germansville,
Pennsylvania, each of them at about three-score and ten years of age.
Charles G. Grosscup located in Ohio in 1869, after having spent a year
in visiting the west, especially Kansas and Nebraska. After his return from
the west he married Amelia Neikirk, a daughter of Daniel C. Neikirk, of
Republic, Seneca county, Ohio, the marriage taking place in the year 1873.
To this marriage there has been born one daughter, who is the wife of Dr.
G. A. Metzger, a practicing physician of Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Grosscup
located in Shelby in 1877, and was engaged in the pump business for ten
years, at the expiration of which period he sold his business to J. L. Bloom.
He then became engaged in the sale of creamery butter, being the first to intro-
duce this system throughout this section of Ohio. This business he followed
for nine years, when he purchased the business he had previously sold to
Mr. Bloom, and engaged in the plumbing and pump business, taking as a
partner Mr. Doty, who also had been engaged in the creamery business about
four years with Mr. Grosscup. They put in a full line of plumbing supplies
and are doing a thoroughly modern plumbing business.
Mr. Grosscup so won the confidence of his fellow citizens that they
elected him a member of the city council in 1882, and he served in this posi-
tion until 1886, and again from 1892 to 1899, with the exception of the year
1895, and they showed their confidence in his integrity by electing him, in
1898, the treasurer of Sharon township, which office he still retains.
Politically Mr. Grosscup is a Republican, is a member of the Royal
Arcanum, and attends the Methodist Episcopal church, though in reality he is
what is known as a German Reformed Lutheran, as is also his wife. Both
are among the best citizens of Richland county, and are highly esteemed
by all their acquaintances.
NORMAN WEBSTER TUCKER.
The subject of this review is one of the most enterprising, energetic
and progressive business men of Richland county. He owns and operates
a well-improved and valuable farm on section 15, Mifflin township; is suc-
cessfully engaged in the dairy and stock business, and is also interested in
28o CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
other enterprises which have materially advanced the welfare of his com-
munity.
A native of this county, Mr. Tucker was born in Monroe township May
29, 1867, and is a son of David Franklin and Mary W. (Welty) Tucker,
whose sketch appears on another page of this volume. He grew to man-
hood on the home farm and attended the local schools for some time, later
becoming a student at the National Normal University at Lebanon, where
he pursued a teacher's course and was graduated in 1888. During khe
following nine years he successfully engaged in teaching school during the
winter months, while devoting the summer season to farm work. In 1891
his father purchased the farm of one hundred and forty-five acres upon
which our subject now resides, and he kept the place as a renter until the
spring of 1898, when he purchased it. For the past four years he has been
largely interested in the dairy business, delivering his butter exclusively to
private customers in Mansfield. In connection with his father and brother
he has also engaged in buying and shipping stock since 1897, and in 1899
they organized the Mifflin-Lucas Telephone Company, which has since been
in successful operation.
On the 10th of March, 1892, Mr. Tucker married Miss Marilla Gatton,
a native of Jefferson township, this county, and a daughter of Cyrus and
Mary Gatton, one of the prominent families of that locality. By this union
have been born four children, namely: Cyrus F., Mary E., George C. and
Belva L. Both Mr. and Mrs. Tucker are members of the Lutheran church.
JAMES HARVEY CRAIG, M. D.
For fifteen years a member of the medical profession of the city of
Mansfield, honored and respected in every class of society. Dr. James Harvey
Craig is numbered among the representative citizens of Richland county and
as one of the able medical practitioners of the state. Dr. Craig entered upon
the active practice of his profession here in 1885, immediately after his gradu-
ation at the Western Reserve Medical College, at Cleveland, in which he
completed the course as a member of the class of 1885. He had previously
read and studied in the line of his profession under the careful and discrim-
inating direction of his father, James Wood Craig, M. D., who was one of the
old and honored physicians of the state, having been a graduate of the Western
Reserve Medical College in 1851, about three decades antecedent to his
son's graduation in the same well known institution.
Dr. James Wood Craig was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in the year
Tfr.Jd.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 281
182 1, and in 1830 removed with his father, Joseph Carson Craig, to Rich-
land county. Joseph C. Craig settled in Sharon township, where he was prom-
inently concerned in agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in
1865, at which time he had attained the venerable age of seventy-six years.
He was the son of a Revolutionary soldier, his father having maintained
his home in or near the city of Boston during the great struggle of the col-
onies for independence. He later removed to Pennsylvania, and from that
state his son, Joseph C, the grandfather of Dr. Craig, removed to Ohio.
The grandfather was an active participant in the war of 18 12, and at all
times and in all generations the family name has stood significant of patriot-
ism and loyalty.
As the name implies, the lineage is of pure Scotch extraction. Joseph
C. Craig married Mary Wood, of Belmont county, who died in the year
1880, at the venerable age of eighty-six years. Dr. James Wood Craig
was about twelve years of age when he went to live at the home of his
maternal uncle, William Wood, an able attorney of Belmont county, and
there he remained until he nearly attained his majority, when he began the
study of law under the perceptorship of his uncle, continuing his studies
in the line about a year, after which he removed to the vicinity of Cincin-
nati, where he was engaged in teaching school for a period of two years.
Later removing to Shelby, he there entered upon the study of medicine,
with Dr. John Mack as his preceptor, having decided to abandon the study of
law ; and then matriculating in the Western Reserve Medical College, as noted,
he there completed the course and graduated as a member of the class of
185 1. He forthwith began the practice of his profession in Ontario, this
state, where he remained until the fall of 1870, when he removed to Alans-
field, where he resided until his death. He retired from active practice about
the year 1894, and his death occurred August 15, 1895, he having reached
the age of about seventy-five years. Dr. Craig was one of Ohio's most
distinguished physicians and surgeons, being called into consultation as far
west as the Rocky mountains and to the eastern seaboard, his reputation
being one which bespoke his eminent ability in his profession and his sterling
worth as a man among men. In political matters the Doctor gave a stanch
allegiance to the Republican party, in which he was an active worker, and
in religion he held to the faith of the United Presbyterian church; in his
fraternal relations he was identified with the Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons.
In 1 86 1, at the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, Dr. James W.
Craig entered the Union service as a surgeon, having charge of Camp Mans-
18
282
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
field for a time, after which, not by assignment but as an individual, he went
to the front in order to render his professional services and aid the cause
to the extent of his ability. He was on the ground at the battles of Fort
Donelson, Shiloh and Gettysburg, but was finally compelled to return to his
home on account of impaired health, being relieved of his duties as surgeon.
He chose as his companion on the journey of life Miss Eliza McCon-
nell, who is still living, making her home with her son, the subject of this
review, who accords her the utmost filial solicitude. She is in excellent health
and in full possession of her mental faculties, being a woman of gentle
refinement and noble character. She was the daughter of Hugh and Mary J.
(McCommon) McConnell, of Springfield township, this county, the former
having been born in 1802 and his death occurring in 1885, at tne a g e °f
eighty-three; while the latter, who was born in 1804, died in 1890, at the
venerable age of eighty-eight years. _ Hugh McConnell was a prominent and
influential citizen of Richland county, whither he came as a pioneer from
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.
Dr. James H. Craig, the immediate subject of this review, was born
at Ontario, Ohio, on the 26th of July, 1857, and in the public schools of
that place he received his preliminary educational discipline. Upon attain-
ing his majority he matriculated in Geneva College, at Beaver Falls, Ohio,
where he was a student for three years, after which he read medicine with
his father and later graduated at the Western Reserve Medical College,
as has already been noted. He at once came to his home in Mansfield, and
here was associated in practice with his father until the latter's retirement,
since which time he has been alone in his professional work, having not
only held the extensive general practice of his father as a physician, but also
having established a prestige which is essentially his own, his ability as a
physician and surgeon being widely recognized. He is to-day one of the
representative physicians of the state. The Doctor has been health officer of
the city for the past five or six years.
In social relations the Doctor is identified with the Masonic fraternity
and the Knights of Pythias, in the latter of which he has passed all the chairs,
being also a major in the Uniformed Rank of that order. In religion he is
a member of the United Presbyterian church. The Doctor has. two sisters
who are residents of Mansfield, — Mrs. Dr. Hedges and Mrs. M. O. Gates;
and one, Mrs. L. A. Ewing, who is a resident of Boulder, Colorado,
The Doctor is extremely fond of animals and has many pets about him,
while he also keeps a number of fine standard-bred horses, which have shown
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 283
up well on the grand circuit, making records down to 2:16. Dr. Craig is a
man of genial nature and unfailing courtesy, and enjoys a marked popu-
larity in both professional and social circles.
GEORGE W. VANSCOY.
Of one of the pioneer families of the Buckeye state George W. Vanscoy
is a representative, his birth having occurred in Geauga county, Ohio, on the
1 6th of October, 1822, and his parents being Abraham and Mary (Knapp)
Vanscoy. His father was born and reared in Westchester county, New
York. After arriving at years of maturity he was married to Miss Knapp.
He then engaged in farming in the Empire state and during his residence there
three children were born unto him and his wife. With his family he then came
to Ohio and after remaining for some years in Geauga county he removed to
Erie county, Pennsylvania, where he carried on agricultural pursuits for five
years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Ohio, locating in
Huron county where he purchased a small farm of ten acres, making it the
place of residence up to the time of his death, with the exception of two or
three years spent in New London, Ohio. Of the Democratic party and its
principles he was an earnest advocate. By his marriage to Miss Knapp he had
thirteen children, but only three of the number are now living, namely: Pris-
cilla, who became the wife of a Mr. Jamison and is a widow living in Hills-
dale, Michigan; George W., of this review; and Abigail, who became the wife
of Joseph Eddy, and is now a widow, residing in Calhoun county, Michigan.
George W '. Vanscoy spent his boyhood days at his parental home and
acquired' his education in the common schools, but his educational privileges
were limited, as the school facilities of that day were of a primitive character.
On attaining his majority he entered upon an independent business career
as a farmer, renting a tract of land which he operated on shares. He was
industrious, ambitious and energetic and utilized his leisure time in chopping
wood or at anything he could get to do which would yield to him an honestly
earned dollar. This secured to him the nucleus of his present possessions.
In December, 1850, Mr. Vanscoy chose as a companion and helpmate
on life's journey Miss Judith Strimple, a daughter of Aaron Strimple, who
came to Richland county at an early day from New Jersey. Five chil-
dren have been born unto them : Myron Eugene, now a farmer in Butler
township; Lavila Jane, who died June 27, 1859, aged five years and nine
months; Lester A., who cultivates the home farm; Elliott W., who is engaged
284 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in the cultivation of his father's land in Indiana; and Noris D., who died
December 2j, 1879, aged fourteen years and seventeen days.
After his marriage Mr. Vanscoy purchased thirty-five acres of his pres-
ent farm and began the task of making a pleasant home for his young wife.
Only a very small portion of the land had been cleared and the improve-
ments upon the place consisted merely of a log cabin. As the years passed
and prosperity attended his efforts, he has added to his farm from time to
time until it now comprises two hundred and eighteen acres of land in Rich-
land and Huron counties, and he also owns seventy-four acres of land in
Jennings county, Indiana, which he purchased in 1888. This is one of the
rich farming districts of Ohio and he has a very valuable property which
has come to him as the reward of his own labors. His political views
connect him with the Democracy and on that ticket he was elected a trustee
of his township for one year. He has also served for several terms as a
supervisor and for many years as a school director, doing all in his power
to promote the efficiency of the school. He is now one of the well known
men of the county, having a wide circle of friends who recognize his worth
and accord him their regard.
ERASTUS S. CLOSE.
Erastus S. Close, one of the most widely known citizens of Shelby,
was born September 13, 1833, at Hinckley, Medina county, Ohio, and is a
son of Zaccheus M. and Lydia (Crane) Close, who removed to Hinckley
when there were not more than two dozen houses in the city of Cleveland.
They had formerly lived in Genoa, New York, and traveled from their native
state to Ohio by means of a team' and wagon. Zaccheus M. died in 1840,
and Lydia Close in 1833. Soon after his father's death Erastus went to
live with his uncle. Dr. E. S. Close, of Springdale, Hamilton county, Ohio,
to which place he was taken by his grandfather, the two traveling by way of
the canal' to Portsmouth, Ohio, and thence down the Ohio river to Cincin-
nati. Living with his uncle until 1853, he then went to Columbus for the
purpose of taking a course of lectures in Starling Medical College, having
previously studied medicine three years with his uncle at Springdale. After
one course of lectures in the medical college above named he became tired
of the study and decided to establish himself somewhere in business, and
in order to the better qualify himself for such a career he entered a busi-
ness college, finishing the course of training in due time. Then after work-
ing about Columbus a short time he removed to Shelby in 1856, and was
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 285
there made clerk in the freight office of the S., M. & N. and the C, C. & C,
now the Baltimore & Ohio and Big Four Railroads, and being about the
same time appointed agent for the American Express Company, a position
which he has filled ever since and still holds. About i860 he was made
joint agent for the two railroad companies and also for the United States
Express Company, holding all these positions until within a few years, when
the duties became too onerous for a man of his years and were divided.
Mr. Close was married, March 4, 1857, to Miss Annis M. (Close) Close,
of Sullivan, Ashland county, and a daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth
(Gale) Close, who were among the earliest settlers of Ashland county. To
this marriage there were born seven children, six of whom are still (1900)
living. Their names and the dates of their birth are as follows : Harry
K., born November 19, 1858; Willis Irving. April 14, i860; Anna E., July
20. 1861; Erastus S., Jr., October 29, 1867; Charles, born November 22,
1868, and died February 6, 1869; Harriet E., born May 1, 1870; and Annis
Mary, September 24, 1S71. The mother of the above named children died
in 1873, an d Mr. Close, in November of that year, married Lenora L. Bar-
ber, of Shelby, to which marriage there have been born four children, viz. :
Charles Lilley, November 16, 1874; Zaccheus A., born May 26, 1876, and
died December 2, 1900; Mamie Drake, born December 31, 1878; and Lucian
Mack, January 18, 1881. Of these children Harry K. is the ticket clerk at
the railway station ; Willis Irving is employed in the First National Bank
of Shelby; Erastus S., Jr.. is in Pueblo, Colorado; Charles L. is the chief
clerk in the tube works. The daughters are all employed as bookkeepers or
stenographers. Annis Mary is a stenographer for J. A. Sultzer & Sons.
The youngest daughter and the youngest son are in the office with their
father.
At the last election Mr. Close was chosen city treasurer for two years
by his Democratic friends. He is a thirty-second-degree Mason, and is a
member of the Royal Arcanum and of the Presbyterian church, in the latter
organization holding the office of elder.
In i860 Mr. Close built the house on North Gamble street now occupied
by Charles Holbrook, and in 1865 removed to West Main street, where he at
present resides. In 1872 he erected the large brick residence which still
stands, one of the largest and handsomest in the city. Few men remain
so long in the employment of the same company, to say nothing of filling
the same office. And as agent of the express company he has become
acquainted with almost every one in the vicinity of Shelby, and is highly
286 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
regarded by every one that knows him as an upright, honorable citizen and
a good neighbor and friend, of all of which his long service with the Amer-
ican Express Company bears ample testimony.
AUGUSTUS ALLEX DOUGLASS.
Richland county, Ohio, is fortunate in the possession of a bar of which
any county in any state of the Union might well be proud ; and one of her
able lawyers whose success is most creditable is Augustus Allen Douglas-, of
Mansfield, who as prosecuting attorney for Richland county did a work in
the interest of law and order which made him known throughout Ohio and
adjoining states and set an example for public prosecutors worthy of emula-
tion everywhere.
Mr. Douglass was born in Monroe township, Richland county. Ohio,
October 30, 1850, a son of John J. and Elizabeth (Schrack) Douglass, and
on the paternal side is of Scotch-Irish descent. John J. Douglass was a
son of Samuel and Mary (McCurdy) Douglass, and was born in West-
moreland county, Pennsylvania, December 22, 1821. Samuel Douglass
brought his family and settled in Worthington township, Richland county,
in November, 1829, and in March, 1831, they removed to the southwest quar-
ter of section 28, which Mr. Douglass acquired by purchase. He was an
energetic man who possessed many of the traits that have made the name
of Douglass famous in many lands and in many generations. In Scotland
the Douglass family, from the year 1605, when the first Lord Douglass
appears in history, has furnished to Great Britain and to Europe more men
prominent in war, statecraft and learning than any other family, and in these
later days it has given to America some of its great and influential men.
John J. Douglass, the only son of Samuel, bore his full share in the toils and
achievements of a pioneer life. He possessed indomitable energy and great
decision of character and mental qualities of a high order and lost no oppor-
tunity to improve in a time when opportunities for intellectual improve-
ment were rare in that part of the country. He qualified for the perform-
ance of the duties of a teacher and for a number of years taught school,
successfully, during the winter months. Such predominating traits of char-
acter as he inherited and cultivated, combined with a religious regard for
and a faithful observance of the higher duties of life, have made the Scotch-
Irish a wonderful factor in modern history.
January 1, 1850, he married Elizabeth Schrack, and about that time
became the owner of a homestead, on which they began their married life.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 287
For ten years he was in the employ, in a responsible capacity, of the Chi-
cago, Pittsburg & Fort Wayne Railway Company. His sterling qualities
made him a power in local and county affairs, and during the trying days
of the Civil war he was known as a stanch war Democrat. For four years
he was the auditor of Richland county and discharged the duties of that
important office with the signal ability and devotion he brought to all affairs,
and during that busy period of his life his private business and farming-
interests were so well managed that there was no falling off in any quarter
and his place was a model of cultivation and productiveness. He was an
active member of Monroe Lodge. No. 221, Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, and he and his wife and children were members of the Evangelical
Lutheran church at Pleasant Valley. He had two sons and a daughter, and
Augustus Allen Douglass was his eldest child.
In his youth the subject of this sketch worked industriously on his
father's farm and attended the common school near his home. His father
believed in bringing out the latent powers of his children and insisted that
they should be self-reliant, hew out their own paths to worldly success, and
their careers have justified his judgment and fully rewarded his confidence
in them. At the age of seventeen Augustus Allen Douglass, following in
the footsteps of his father, was a successful teacher. He completed his
English and classical course at Greentown Academy, while yet little more
than a youth, but he has never ceased to be a student and has ever sought
deeper and broader views of all important questions through diligent investi-
gation and reflection. He was for four years the superintendent of public
schools at Shiloh, Ohio, and for three years was the superintendent of the
public schools of Bellville, this state. In 1880 he was elected the school
examiner for Richland county, and his success in the office was recognized
by repeated re-election until he had a record for ten years' faithful and
efficient performance of its duties. In 1882 he secured at Columbus a life
certificate authorizing him to teach at any time in any public school in Ohio
without further examination. His examiners were Prof. H. L. Parker, of
Berea, Ohio; President Williams, of Delaware College; and Prof. A. D.
Johnson, of Avondale, Cincinnati ; and his examination was continued with
searching thoroughness through three whole days. After having accom-
plished the prescribed course of reading under competent professional instruc-
tion he was admitted to the bar of Richland county in 1884.
In 1890, at the expiration of his service as an examiner of schools, he
was elected prosecuting attorney for Richland county, and in 1S93 he was
re-elected, running three hundred and fifty-seven votes ahead of his ticket,
288 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
and he served six years in the office. His administration was characterized
by vigor and crowned with success in the conviction of guilty criminals.
He prosecuted to conviction and landed in the penitentiary for eleven years
each of the members of the Oliver gang, five in all. who had had a career
of robbery and torture of aged people scarcely credible, and had for a long
time eluded the law. Other important cases were handled by Mr. Douglass
with equal success, and it is worthy of remark that only three of his indict-
ments failed during the entire six years of his incumbency of the office.
In his legal practice he has respected the law and the courts and turned his
back On wrong and upheld what he has believed to be the right to an
extent that has given him a most creditable individuality. His brother,
Hon. S. M. Douglass, is the judge of the circuit court of this district and
the chief events in his successful career are set forth in a biographical article
which appears in this work. As a member of the law firm of Douglass &
Mengert (A. A. Douglass and L. C. Mengert) Mr. Douglass attends strictly
to his increasing practice, which includes the local attorneyship of the Penn-
sylvania Railway.
Like his father, Mr. Douglass is a stanch Democrat. He is a Mason
and a Knight of Pythias, in which latter order he has passed all the chairs,
and is an Elk. an Odd Fellow, a member of the Order of the Golden Eagle,
and of the National Union, of which last mentioned society his firm are
local attorneys.
In 1895 ne married Miss Ida Thompson, a daughter of John Thomp-
son, of Mansfield, Ohio. Her mother was a Hughes, of Perryville, Ohio,
where the family is prominent. They have two children : Don Hughes
Douglass, born August 10, 1897; and Ida Corinne Douglass. The family
are attendants at St. Luke's Lutheran church.
GEORGE M.. EWING.
George M. Ewing. who was born in Allegheny county. Pennsylvania,
October 13, 1837, is a son of Samuel and Emily (Miller) Ewing, and a
representative of one of the honored families of the Keystone state. His
father also was born in Allegheny county, June 20. 18 10, and -was one of
nine children, five sons and four daughters, whose parents were Amos and
Letitia (Potter) Ewing. The grandparents spent their entire lives in Alle-
gheny county. None of their children are now living. The great-grand-
father of our subject also bore the name of Samuel Ewing. He was of
Welsh ancestry and became one of the first settlers of Allegheny county,
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 289
where he took up his abode in the days when the Indians roamed through
the forests and disputed the dominion of the land with the white men. He
became the possessor of extensive landed tracts and was long known as a
wealthy resident of his community.
On the farm which he cleared and developed his son, Amos E.,
the grandfather of our subject, was reared, and later in life he came
into possession of a part of the old homestead, upon which he lived
and died. The father of our subject also spent his boyhood days under
the paternal roof and became familiar with the labors of the field and
meadow, but desiring to follow some 1 other pursuit he learned the trade
of a wagon and carriagemaker, and engaged in business in that line during his
residence in Pennsylvania. About 1834 he was united in marriage to Miss
Emily Miller, who was born in Fredericksburg, Holmes county, Ohio, in
181 1, a daughter of George and Anna (Galbreath) Miller. Two children
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ewing in Pennsylvania, and in the fall of 1839,
with his little family, the father emigrated to Ohio, settling in Ashland
county, two miles south of Hayesville, where he purchased a small farm of
eighty acres, giving his attention to the cultivation of the soil. After two
years, however, he removed to the town of Hayesville, where he opened a
carriage and wagon shop, following his trade during the succeeding decade.
He then returned to the farm and was identified with agricultural pursuits
up to the time of his retirement from active business life in 1865. For
thirty years thereafter he made his home in Hayesville, enioying a well
earned rest. Fie was a large, strong man, vigorous and energetic, was per-
severing and diligent. These qualities, combined with good business train-
ing, won him success in all his undertakings. At the time of his retire-
ment his landed possessions aggregated two hundred acres, and he was num-
bered among the substantial residents of the county. In public affairs he
was prominent, giving an earnest support to all measures calculated to be
of public benefit. He was long an active member of the United Presby-
terian church and served for many years as one of its elders. His political
support was given to the Whig party and later he became a stanch Repub-
lican. He died in August, 1895, on the eighty-fifth anniversary of his birth,
but his wife passed away in 1847. They were the parents of six children,
of whom five are yet living, namely : Amos, a practicing physician in Green-
wich, Ohio; George M. ; Ann L., who is living in Bates county. Missouri;
Samuel G., a farmer of Ashland county, Ohio; and Amanda J., who resides
on the old family homestead.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm
290 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
life for our subject during the period of his boyhood and youth. The sun
shone down upon many a field which he plowed and ripened the grain
which he later aided in harvesting, and the common schools afforded him his
educational privileges. At the age of twenty-two he began farming a por-
tion of the oW homestead on shares; and the year following he went to
Bureau county, Illinois, where he was employed as a farm hand by the
month for one summer, returning to his home on the expiration of that
period. This was in 1861, the first year of the Civil war, and two of his
brothers entered the service. Amos became a member of the Thirty-second
Ohio Volunteers and was wounded on Champion Hill, while Samuel was a
member of the Fifty-fourth Ohio Regiment and was wounded after leaving
Corinth, while going with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea.
When the two brothers entered the service of the government George M.
was importuned by his father to remain at home and take charge of the
farm. This he did, continuing the operation of the fields until after the
close of the war. A year later he and his brother, Samuel, who had returned
from the south, together purchased a farm of one hundred acres joining the
old homestead and cultivated their land in partnership for nine years, when,
in 1875, George M. Ewing sold his interest to his brother and invested his
capital in one hundred and fourteen acres of his present farm, whereon be
has since resided. In the years which have come and gone he has replaced
the small buildings by commodious farm structures and has made many sub-
stantial improvements, adding all the modern accessories and conveniences.
In addition to raising the cereals best adapted to this climate, he engaged
extensively in feeding and selling stock.
On the 13th of February, 1872, Mr. Ewing wedded Miss Martha J.
Reed, a native of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Adam
Reed, who in early life was a blacksmith and afterward removed to Ashland
county, Ohio, about 1856, and engaged in farming. Six children blessed
the union, but of this number only three are now living : S. Reed, who is
the proprietor of a grocery in Greenwich, Ohio; Ethel V., the wife of Fred
Mead, a farmer of Ashland county; and Nellie B., the wife of John Mead,
an agriculturist of Butler township. Those who have passed away are
Hortense, Eva N. and Ralph.
A careful consideration of the political questions and issues of the day
has led Mr. Ewing to ally his interests with the Republican party, for he
believes firmly in its principles and gives a hearty endorsement to the pres-
ent administration. He served for one term as justice of the peace and for
one term as assessor of the township, but he prefers to give his attention
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 291
to his farming interests entirely, and has met with signal success. His
religions views are in harmony with the faith of the United Presbyterian
church, of which he is a member. He is one of the well known men of the
county, for he has long resided in this portion of the state, as a worthy
representative of that calling which Washington said is the most useful and
honorable to which man devotes his energies.
JOHN KNOX.
Washington township has no more highly respected or worth}" citizen
than this well-known farmer, who has spent almost his entire life in Rich-
land county. He was born on the 8th of February. 1836, on the old Knox
homestead purchased by his father, John Knox, Sr., in 1820, and now owned
by W r . B. Knox, the brother of our subject. Their father was a native of
Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood and mar-
ried Miss Mary Muncie. In 1822 he came to Richland county, Ohio, and
took up his residence in Washington township on the farm where our subject
was born, and where he successfully engaged in farming throughout the
remainder of his life. When he located here only a few acres of land had
been cleared, and a rude log cabin constituted the only improvement. He was
five feet, ten inches in height, and weighed one hundred and eighty pounds,
was a man of strong character and firm determination, and commanded the
respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. In religious
belief he was a United Presbyterian, and in politics was a strong Democrat.
He died on the old homestead in 1866, at the age of eighty-two years.
In his family were fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters, all of
whom grew to manhood or womanhood.
The boyhood and youth of John Knox, Jr., were passed upon the home
farm, and his early education, acquired in the common schools of the neigh-
borhood, was supplemented by a course at Monroe Seminary at Hastings,
Richland county, Ohio. At the age of seventeen years he began teaching-
school, and during the winter season followed that profession for ten terms,
while the summer months were devoted to agricultural pursuits. At the
age of twenty-two he moved to Morrow county, Ohio, where the following
four years were passed, but at the end of that period he returned to Rich-
land county and has since resided upon his present farm on section 20,
Washington township. It is pleasantly located on the Mansfield and Bell-
ville road, and consists of one hundred and sixty acres, of which sixty-four
acres had been cleared when he located thereon. Xow one hundred and
292 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
twenty acres are under a high state of cultivation, and the place is improved
with good and substantial buildings. Mr. Knox now owns two hundred
acres of valuable land, and is successfully engaged in general farming and
stock-raising, having for many years made a specialty of the breeding of
thoroughbred Poland China hogs.
In 1858 Mr. Knox was united in marriage with Miss Mary M. Camp-
bell, and to them was born a daughter, Eva P., at home. In his political
affiliations he is a Democrat, and religiously is a consistent and faithful
member of the Presbyterian church. His life has been one of industry,
and due success has not been denied him, and his career has ever been such
as to win for him the respect and esteem of a wide circle of friends and
acquaintances.
FRANK D. WEBBER.
The value of honesty and a good name to one who would succeed in
business has been demonstrated in the career of Frank D. Webber, architect,
contractor and builder, Mansfield, Ohio, and also in the careers of his ances-
tors in both lines of descent. Mr. Webber was born in Mansfield February
28, 185 1, a son of Samuel Webber. The latter was born in Cumberland
county, Pennsylvania, in 1818, a son of Jonathan' Webber, who also was a
native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. Jonathan Webber's father, the
great-grandfather of the immediate subject of this sketch, came from Hol-
land, and one of his ancestors was once president of that country. Samuel
Webber came to Mansfield first in 1836, when he was eighteen years old, but
he went back to Pennsylvania and there married Miss Rachel Worthington,
whose father came from England in his youth. He returned to Mansfield
in 1843 an d was master mechanic on the Belief ontaine & Indianapolis Rail-
way, now a part of the Big Four system, which extended from Galion,
Ohio, to Union City, Indiana. Later he was made master mechanic of the
then newly constructed Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, and
was in a position to look back with complacency upon his humble employ-
ment, as stage driver on the old Wooster line during his first stay in Mans-
field. About 1850 he began business for himself as a contractor and builder,
and was prominent in his line in Mansfield until his retirement in 1892.
He built some of the most important structures in the city, and during all
his active years was an enterprising and public-spirited citizen and a leader in
all the important affairs of the town. He was for twelve years a member
of the city council and was for four years the president of that body.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 293
For many years he was the superintendent of the Richland County Agri-
cultural Society, and after his retirement from business served one term
as a justice of the peace, and declined re-election on account of failing-
health. He has now reached the advanced age of eighty-two years, and
though feeble of body he is strong and alert of intellect and a most genial
and interesting companion, full of remininscences of earlier days. He has three
sons and a daughter living in Mansfield : Samuel Webber, carpenter ; Frank
D. Webber ; Hamilton H. Webber, the proprietor of the Mansfield book
bindery; and Elizabeth, who is Mrs. Frank Gregory. Anna (Mrs. S. Starry)
died at Springfield, Ohio.
Frank D. Webber was educated in the schools of Mansfield, learned the
carpenter's trade of his father, studied architecture and for a time carried
on business in connection with his father. Since 1888 he has had no part-
ner. He has been one of the most successful and. popular architects in the
city, and has built the county jail, the children's home, the Blecker block,
the Baxter Stove works, extensive oil works, the Marion avenue, Bowman
street and high school buildings, the M. B. Bushnell residence, the finest in
Mansfield, and many other prominent business buildings and residences. He
now carries a line of all kinds of building material. He is a Democrat in
politics, but is too busy a man to take much part in public affairs. He is a
member of the order of Maccabees and of the First Lutheran church, which
he served nine years as a deacon and the secretary of its board of trustees,
and for six years was the superintendent of its Sunday-school. He mar-
ried Miss Addie Condon, a daughter of the late Elija Condon, a farmer of
Madison township. They have children named Hattie, Lee, Roy, Pearl, Ruth
and Paul, all of whom are members of their household. Lee and Rov assist
their father in his business and the others are pupils in the public schools of
Mansfield.
DAVID NELSON.
On one of the desirable farms in Richland county resides David Nelson,
whose business methods, reliable dealing and progressive spirit have made
him one of the leading agriculturists of his community. His home is sit-
uated on section 23, Cass township, where he owns and cultivates one hun-
dred and fifteen acres of land, the greater part of which is under a high
state of cultivation, bringing to him a rich tribute in return for the care and
labor he bestows upon it.
Mr. Nelson was born in Olivesburg, Richland county, October 8, 1842.
294 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
His father, George Nelson, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1805.
During his boyhood he came to Ohio with his parents, who took up their
abode on a farm near Wooster.- There were only two children in the family,
George and David. The latter went to Macon, Illinois, and engaged in mer-
chandising, becoming one of the leading representatives of commercial
interests in that portion of the country. In early manhood George Nelson
apprenticed himself to the tailor's trade in New Haven, and after complet-
ing his term of service removed to Olivesburg, where he followed his trade
until 1859, when he purchased the farm of eighty acres in Cass township now
owned by Salathiel Bloom. Upon that place he spent his remaining days,
being called to his final rest in 1870. As a companion and helpmate on life's
journey he chose Mary Crabs, who was born in AVeller township, Richland
county, about 1810. Her father, David Crabs, was one of the early settlers
of the county and would frequently relate interesting tales of his experi-
ence with the Indians and the trials and hardships endured when this region
was a frontier settlement. Mrs. Nelson was reared amid the wild scenes of
pioneer life and was always a resident of Richland county. Her death
occurred in 1853, and the father afterward again married, his second union
being with Matilda Alberson, who still survives him and is now in her
seventy-seventh year. By his first marriage he had eight children, six of
whom are living: Elmer Y., a farmer of Madison township; David; George
T., an agriculturist of Cass township; John, who owns and cultivates land
in Jackson township; Silas, a farmer of Franklin township; and Rachel, the
wife of Isaac Dick, of Cass township. The children of the second mar-
riage were five in number, and the following are still living : William, an
enterprising agriculturist living near Shelby, Ohio ; Belle, the wife of Thomas
Forsyth; Butler, of Cass township; and Laura, the wife of Daniel Burn-
heisiel, who lives near Shelby, Ohio.
David Nelson was only eleven years of age at the time of his mother's
death, and through the succeeding three years he found a home with an
uncle. At the age of fourteen he began working as a farm hand in the
employ of John Urich, receiving" four dollars per month in compensation for
his services during the first season. He remained with Mr. Urich for four
years and annually received an increased salary, a fact which indicated that
he was faithful to his duties and capably performed his work. When the
country became involved in civil war he upheld the cause of the Union and
demonstrated his loyalty by his enlistment on the nth of August, 1862,
becoming a member of Company D, One Hundred and Second Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, in which command he served until the close of the war. He par-
CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 295
ticipated in various skirmishes and in the engagement between the armies
of Hood and Thomas. He was discharged in August, 1865, returning to
his home on the nth of that month, exactly three years from the time of
his enlistment. Through the four succeeding years he again worked for
John Urich, and in 1869 he and his brother Elmer purchased seventy acres
of land in Weller township, which they operated for two years.
In 1871 David Nelson was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Swanger,
a native of Richland county, born on the farm which is now her home. She
is a daughter of Peter Swanger, of Pennsylvania, who entered from the
government the tract of land now owned by Mr. Nelson. He made the
first clearing upon the place and transformed much of it into well cultivated
fields. After his marriage Mr. Nelson rented a farm in the southwest corner
of Cass township for a year and through a similar period lived upon a rented
farm two miles north of his first home. In the spring of 1874, with the
capital he had acquired through his exertions, he purchased a tract of sixty
acres a mile south of Shiloh, residing there for eight years. In 1882 he
sold that property and removed to his father-in-law's farm, which he cul-
tivated on the shares for five years, when, in 1887. he purchased the old fam-
ily homestead. In 1898 he extended its boundaries by purchasing thirty-five
acres of the old Mariott farm, and is now the owner of a valuable tract of
one hundred and fifteen acres.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson has been blessed with ten children,
nine of whom are living: Charlie D., a farmer of Blooming Grove town-
ship; Roy J., who is a farmer of Weller township: Taylor A., who is
engaged in the commission business in Cleveland, Ohio; and Lloyd II.,
Martha, Frances, Benjamin L., Wallace A. and Gladys M., all at home.
Mr. Nelson is an advocate of Republican principles, standing by the
party which has ever been the protector of American rights. He maintains
pleasant relationship with his old army comrades through his membership
in the Grand Army post, and his record as a soldier is equaled by his record
as a citizen. Whether upon the field of battle or in private life he is found
true to his country, faithful to his friends and honorable in all his business
relations.
JOHN CORBETT.
This honored and highly esteemed citizen of Lexington is a native of
Pennsylvania, his birthplace being in Clarion county and his natal day April
28, 1830. There he passed the days of his boyhood and youth in much the
296 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
usual manner of farmers' sons at that time,, and in the common schools of that
locality he obtained his education. On leaving home in 1850, he came to
Columbus, Ohio, and soon afterward took up his residence in Delaware county,
where he worked at the carpenter's trade until coming to Richland county in
1876 to take charge of the Ferry woolen mills, which he operated twelve years,
manufacturing cashmere, blankets, satinets, flannel and stocking yarn. The
following three years were spent in contracting in Bellville, and at the end
of that time he removed to Lexington, where he has since worked at car-
pentering. In Troy township he owns a fine farm of eighty-two acres of very
valuable and productive land, which he has placed under a high state of culti-
vation and improved by the erection of good and substantial buildings.
In 1850 Mr. Corbett was united in marriage with Miss Matilda Brown,
and they had four children : Conway W., a resident of Morrow county; Hor-
tense O., Eva C, and Elna I. The daughters are deceased. During the
dark days of the Civil war Mr. Corbett enlisted at Columbus, in January,
1865, as a private in Company G, Eighty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for
two years or during the war, and was on detached duty much of the time.
After serving five months and seventeen days he was honorably discharged
and returned home. He is a member of Ashley Lodge, I. O. O. F.,. in Dela-
ware county, and is an ardent Republican in politics. As every true American
citizen should, he takes a deep and commendable interest in public affairs and
gives his support to every worthy enterprise for the public good.
GUY T. GOODMAN, M. D.
Among the medical practitioners of Mansfield is numbered Dr. Good-
man, who was born in Ashland county, Ohio, in 1871, and is a son of
David B. and Adeline (Lutz) Goodman. His father was born in Cumber-
land county, Pennsylvania, and during his boyhood accompanied his par-
ents to the Buckeye state, the grandfather of our. subject dying when David
Goodman was very young. Since 1890 the latter has been a resident of
Mansfield. His wife is a very active member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, — an earnest Christian woman whose influence on her family and
friends has been most marked. She, too, was born in Ashland county, a
daughter of Martin and Matilda Lutz. The father came to Ohio from
Pennsylvania and was a well-to-do farmer of Ashland county and widely
known in his own section of the state. He was also a prominent Meth-
odist and served as an elder in his church. His death occurred in 1872.
The Doctor's father was a member of Company I, One Hundred and Sixty-
/r-z*-TZ&^z*< mJv.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 297
third Ohio National Guard, during the Civil war, and was ever loyal to his
duties of citizenship. He has been a member of the Mansfield police since
1892.
Dr. Goodman pursued his preliminary education in the public schools,
and in 1890, when nineteen years of age, accompanied his parents on their
removal to Mansfield. During the years of 1888, 1889 and 1890 he was
a student in Baldwin University, at Berea, Ohio, and on coming to this city
he entered the business college in which he was graduated with the class
of 1893. He then went to Chicago and for nine months was employed in
the retail dry-goods house of Siegel, Cooper & Company. Returning to
make the practice of medicine his life work, he began preparation for the
profession by reading medical works, under the direction of Dr. J. Harvey
Craig, of Mansfield, and in 1895 he was matriculated in the Western Reserve
Medical College, at Cleveland, in which he graduated with the class of 1898.
He has since engaged in the practice in Mansfield, and has secured a lib-
eral patronage which many an older representative of the profession might
well envy. He successfully passed the examination for assistant surgeon in
the Lakeside Hospital, at Cleveland, for the treatment of diseases of women.
There were twelve candidates for the position, but Dr. Goodman and a fellow
student were appointed and he served for fourteen months in that institu-
tion. Although he engages in general practice to some extent, he makes a
specialty of the treatment of the diseases of women.
In politics he is a Democrat. Socially he is connected with Madison
Lodge, No. 26, K. of P., is a prominent Mason, belonging to Mansfield
Lodge, No. 35, F. & A. M., Chapter No. 28, R. A. M., and Mansfield Com-
mandery, No. 21, K. T. Dr. Goodman is ambitious, resolute and determined.
He makes a close study of his profession, keeping abreast with its advance-
ment, and his devotion to the duties of his calling, combined with his ability,
both natural and acquired. Has given him already an enviable rank in the
medical fraternity.
In 1899 Dr. Goodman married Miss Lucena Woodward, of Cleveland,
Ohio.
HIRAM W. HILDEBRANT.
Hiram W. Hildebrant, the subject of this review, has risen to a high
position as one of the representative business men of Rjichfland county.
His identification with the industrial and commercial interests of Shelby is
extensive and varied and embraces connection with those interests which in
293 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
their successful control demand the services of men of master minds, of
keen discernment, of reliable judgment and of indefatigable energy.
Mr. Hildebrant was born in Lockport, Niagara county, New York, in
1844, a son of Frederick and Cornelia (Snyder) Hildebrant, both of whom
were also natives of the Empire state. The father died in October, 1848, at
the age of forty-four years, and the mother passed away in January, 1872, at
the age of sixty-six years. In their family were seven children besides the
subject of this sketch, namely: George, now a resident of St. Joseph, Mis-
souri, who for four years served in the army during the Civil war and was
then honorably discharged, with the rank of quartermaster, and was for a
Jong period afterward a well known merchant, but is now living retired;
Emeline is the wife of John L. Mosser, who resides in Fond du Lac, Wis-
consin, where he is engaged in the grocery business; James M., who is a
groceryman in Griffin, Missouri ; Harriett Wallace, who is a resident of Lock-
port, New York; Mrs. Elizabeth Sanders, who died in Lockport, New York,
about 1875; Mrs. Sarah Morris, who passed away in 1868; and Duwan, who
was identified with the Union Pacific Railroad Company, died in Omaha,
Nebraska, about 1894.
Mr. Hildebrant, of this review, was only four years of age at the time
of his father's death. He acquired his education in the public schools of
Shelby, including" the high-school course. He began teaching in 1868 and
followed that profession for about five years. In 1872 he engaged in the
real estate and insurance business, to which he has since devoted his energies.
From its organization he served as the vice-president of the Plate Glass
Insurance Company, and at the latter date was elected its president, since
which time he has been the incumbent. He is also the president of the
Building & Loan Association of Shelby and of the Shelby Stove Company,
which was organized in May, 1900, with a capital stock of fifty thousand
dollars, to manufacture gas and gasoline stoves. Since its organization in
1895 he has been the president and a director of the Citizens' Bank. He
also owns stock in the Shelby Tube Company, the Shelby Electrical Com-
pany and the Sutter Furniture Company. He is public-spirited and pro-
gressive and believes in encouraging the establishment of such enterprises,
realizing that from commercial activity arises the progress and .prosperity of
the nation.
In December, 1869, occurred the marriage of Mr. Hildebrant and Miss
Adelaide Gamble, daughter of Judge Hugh Gamble, of Shelby, one of the
first settlers of this section of the state. Three children have been born
to them. The eldest, Carlos M., was born in December, 1871, and was
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
299
thrown from a horse and killed in October, 1885. Hugh G. was born in
August, 1873. an d is how assistant cashier in the Citizens' Bank; and Bessie
Fay, who was born in 1882, completes the family.
Mr. Hildebrant is a member of the Masonic and Knights of Pythias
fraternities, and of the Presbyterian church. He withholds his support from
no measure or movement which he believes will advance the material, intel-
lectual, social and moral development of the community. He has been called
upon to fill a number of public offices, was elected city clerk about 1874. and,
after filling the position for about half a term, was elected the mayor of the
city, in which capacity he served for three consecutive terms. His admin-
istration was progressive and he exercised his prerogatives in a manner to
commend him to the confidence and regard of all citizens interested in the
welfare, upbuilding and progress of the community. For twenty-one years
he was a justice of the peace, and his decisions were marked by extreme
fairness and impartiality. For eighteen years he was a member of the school
board, and with the exception of one year served as the clerk.
In no other country than ours can the history of a private individual be
written which will touch in various points the public interests, and in fact
prove to be a portion of the political, social and mural growth of his com-
munity, in which the individual himself has sprung from the ranks of the
people, and with no assistance from birth, fortune or environments, has
carved out his own career and made for himself a name. It is a pleasure
to do honor to such men, and their example cannot be too highly commended
to our young men as an incentive to laudable ambition and earnest endeavor.
Mr. Hildebrant has been indeed one of the active factors in the growth and
development of Shelby along many lines and over the record of both his
public and private career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil.
COLONEL JONATHAN \Y. SLOANE.
Among the well known and honored early settlers of Richland county
was Colonel Sloane, who located here when this region was wild and unim-
proved. In the work of development he took an active part in the early days
and aided in opening up the country to civilization. As the years passed
he faithfully performed his duties of citizenship and his interest in the wel-
fare and progress of the community never abated. Becoming widely and
favorably known, he made many friends, and his death was a loss to the
entire community. "^ 9 3
A native of Ohio, the Colonel was born in Jefferson county November
3 oo CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
24, 1805, and in 1827 removed with his father, Oliver Sloane, to Ashland
county, locating near the present site of Hayesville, where the father con-
ducted a saw and grist mill. On the 24th of April. 1828, our subject was
united in marriage with Miss Rocella Bushnell, and the same year they came
to Richland county, taking up their residence in Washington township, upon
the farm now owned by Mr. McCreedy. Here the Colonel's father had
entered eighty acres of government land, and in a log cabin upon the place
the young couple made their home until a more pretentious dwelling could
be erected. At that time the farm was covered with a dense growth of
timber, which had to be cleared away before crops could be planted. To
the improvement and cultivation of his land Colonel Sloane devoted his
attention throughout life, and converted the wild tract into a highly pro-
ductive and well improved farm.
In his family were twelve children, four of whom died in infancy. The
others were Oliver, who went to California in 1849 an( l is supposed to have
been killed by Indians ; Hulda, who first married Martin B. Bowers, who died
in 1875, and three years later she married S. A. Gass. who died in 1888;
Sterling B., a resident of Kansas, who is connected with the secret service;
Lizzie, the wife of William Roland; W'illiam B.. a veteran of the Civil
war and a merchant of White Cloud, Kansas; Oscar, who was a drum major
in the Civil war and is now a resident of Wichita, Kansas ; Rosa, the wife of
S. M. Martin, a real-estate dealer of Arkansas City, Kansas; and Martin
B., an electrician of Mansfield, Ohio.
Colonel Sloane was for many years connected with the state militia,
and won his title in that service. In business he was eminently success-
ful and became well-to-do. He was a public-spirited and progressive man,
who took a great interest in educational affairs, and gave his support to enter-
prises tending to advance the moral, intellectual or material welfare of his
county and state. He died in 1877, and his wife, who long survived him,
passed away in 1898. Both were active and consistent members of the
Presbyterian church, and were highly respected and esteemed by all who
knew them.
CALVIN McBRIDE.
Calvin McBride is a retired farmer and one of the honored pioneers
of Richland county. He was born September 26, 1836, on the farm where
he now resides, and for sixty-four years has been a witness of the growth
and development of this section of the state. Great changes have occurred
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 301
during that time: where there were only great tracts of wild land are now
seen richly cultivated fields, and churches and schools dot the landscape, giv-
ing evidence of the advance of civilization. In the work of improvement
in the county he has taken a deep interest and has cheerfully borne his part.
Air. McBride is of Irish lineage, his grandparents, Alexander and Jean
(Raney) McBride, being both natives of the Emerald Isle, the former born
in county Antrim February 15, 1759. the latter in the same county on the
1st of May. 1761. There they were reared and soon after their marriage
they emigrated to America, the grandfather purchasing land in Hampshire
county, Virginia. Soon after the war of 18 12 he came to Ohio and entered
four hundred and sixty acres of land in Richland county, — the farm upon
which our subject now resides. He also entered land in Monroe township,
and then returned to the Old Dominion, but after a short time he again came
to Ohio, accompanied by his two sons.
The father of our subject, Alexander McBride, Jr., was born in Hamp-
shire county, Virginia, August 4, 1795, and with the father came to the
Buckeye state. He then located in Cass township, where he built a log
cabin and made other improvements. A year later he removed to Monroe
township, where his brother and father had settled. After some years he
returned to the farm which his father had entered in Cass township. Alex-
ander McBride. Jr., purchased two hundred and thirty acres of this land
and made additional improvements and prepared to make the place his home
throughout his remaining days. He was thrice married, his first wife being
Miss Susanna Pettit, by whom he had eight children, three of whom are now
living: Thomas, of Shiloh, Ohio; Alexander, a farmer of Cass township;
and Jane, the widow of Mr. Burner, of Robinson, Illinois. The mother
died, and the father afterward married a Miss Smith, by whom he had one
child, who is now deceased. For his third wife he chose Miss Elizabeth
Calvin, who was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, October 30, 1796,
and was a daughter of Samuel Calvin, who emigrated to what is now Mahon-
ing county, Ohio, but was then a part of Columbiana county. There he
spent the residue of his days. He was a man of quiet, retiring disposition,
but commanded the high regard of all by reason of his upright life, his
inflexible integrity and many noble qualities. By the third marriage of Mr.
McBride there were two children, but Calvin is the only one living.
The father was an active supporter of the Democratic party and held
a number of township offices, in which he discharged his duties in a most
prompt and faithful manner. During the last twenty-five years of his life
he was an active member of the Lutheran church, and was largelv instru-
302 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
mental in the erection of the house of worship for that denomination in
Planktown in the '40s. Later he aided in building the Lutheran church
in Shiloh, and at all times did what he could to promote the work and upbuild-
ing of the church, holding office during almost his entire connection there-
with. He was an active, energetic man, of determined purpose and marked
enterprise, and he not only accumulated a comfortable competence for him-
self, but as; his sons reached manhood assisted them in gaining a start
in life. He was at all times reliable, and his word was as good as his bond.
Calvin McBride, whose name introduces this record, gained a common-
school education and was early trained to habits of industry and economy
upon the home farm. On the 27th of October, 1858, he married Miss Eliza-
beth Gettings, a native of Cass township and a daughter of William and
Mary (Fox) Gettings. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania, and in
an early day came with his family to Ohio, locating in Cass township, where
he spent the residue of his life. His wife came to Ohio from New Jersey,
her native state, with the Opdike family. She intended to return in a short
time, but made the acquaintance of Mr. Gettings and gave him her hand
in marriage. By the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. McBride eight children
have been born : Mary, now the wife of Ross R. Barnes, a resident farmer
of Cass township; Lillies, the wife of Albert Golden, a farmer of Huron
county, Ohio; Owen, who cultivates a tract of land in Cass township; Fran-
ces, the wife of Fred Devier, an agriculturist of Plymouth township; Edith,
the wife of Benjamin Boardman, a farmer of Huron county; Agnes and
Grace, at home ; and Arthur, who follows agricultural pursuits in Cass
township.
When Mr. McBride was nineteen years of age his father made his will
and our subject took one-half of the farm, while his brother, Alexander,
came into possession of the other half, the two brothers purchasing the
interests of the other heirs in the property. To their parents they gave
filial care and devotion until they were called away. Since becoming the
owner of the property Mr. McBride has resided thereon and has made
many excellent improvements upon the place. In 1884 he built one of the
finest residences in the county. There are good barns and 1 outbuildings
upon the land, and the fields are under a high state of cultivation, giving
the indication of bountiful harvests. Mr. McBride finds time to devote
to church work and for forty years has taken an active interest in the Meth-
odist Episcopal church, of which he is a member. During the greater part
of this time he has served as one of its officers. In his political views he is
is liberal. He believes, however, in the free coinage of silver and will vote
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 303
for a party that endorses it. His career has been one of activity, industry
and enterprise, and in all life's relations has been found true to every manly
principle, his word is as good as his bond, and he enjoys the unlimited con-
fidence and regard of all with whom he is associated.
JONATHAN UHLICH.
Faithfulness in public office not only attracts public attention, but also
brings substantial reward in the way of continuance of public favor. This
is a latter-day development of public affairs which has superseded the com-
parative apathy with which the average voter regarded the manner in which
public trusts were administered a generation or more ago, and it has been
impressed on the mind of the writer by the approbation with which the peo-
ple of Richland county regard the management of the Richland County
Children's Home by Superintendent Uhlich.
Jonathan Uhlich was born in Madison township, Richland county, Ohio,
May 14, 1857, a son of Joseph Uhlich, a native of Berks county, Pennsyl-
vania, born December 27, 1818, who arrived in Richland county May 12..
1830, and located in Madison township on a farm just north of the Mansfield
corporation line, now consisting of one hundred and thirty acres, on which
the subject of this sketch first saw the light of day and of which he is at
this time the owner. Joseph Uhlich married Miss Catharine Fiddler, also
a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, born April 30, 1821, whose parents
settled in Madison township. Joseph Uhlich died June 15, 1890, his wife
having died in 1880, aged fifty-six years. Mrs. Ella Fay is their daughter
and Mr. Uhlich's sister.
Jonathan Uhlich obtained an education in the district schools, and after
he had gained some practical knowledge of affairs he engaged in business
in Mansfield and continued with success until he relinquished his enterprise
to assume the superintendency of the Children's Home, in September, 1897. .
He came to Mansfield from the farm in 1873, and from 1873 until 1897 he
carried on business in this city.
Mr. Uhlich married Miss Hettie Caldwell, a daughter of Samuel Cald-
well, born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1818, and died in Mis-
souri m 1880. She is a granddaughter of Samuel Caldwell, Sr.. who died
about 1830. Her mother was Sarah, nee Chambers, of Springfield town-
ship, whose father, James Chambers, was a pioneer settler from Pennsyl-
vania in 1 8 10. Both the Caldwell s and the Chamberses were of Scotch-
3o 4 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Irish descent. Mrs. Uhlich was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania,
September 18, 1858, and was brought to this county by her parents in 1859.
The consensus of opinion in Mansfield is to the effect that too much
cannot be said in praise of the management of the Children's Home by Mr.
and Mrs. Uhlich, who have had the institution in charge, as superintendent
and matron, respectively, since September 1, 1897. The farm consists of
forty acres of well-cultivated land, and the house contains about sixty large
and airy rooms. It has a spacious hall and is in every way splendidly
appointed, an ideal home with an avenue a quarter of a' mile long bordered
by young trees, by which it is: approached from the street. The average
number of children accommodated at the home from different parts of the
county is about sixty, ranging in age from one year to sixteen. At the
latter age the children are placed in desirable homes, where they are cared
for until fully able to take care of themselves. Since Mr. Uhlich assumed
the superintendency of the home it has never had less than forty-two chil-
dren under its roof nor more than eighty-three. Mr. Uhlich is in all ways
an ideal superintendent for an establishment of this kind, for he loves chil-
dren to such a degree that he stands to those under his charge practically
in the relation of a father, and Mrs. Uhlich is a veritable mother to them all
from the oldest to the youngest. Under Mr. Uhlich's supervision the farm
i:> managed exactly as if it were his own personal enterprise instead of a
public institution.
SAMUEL S. HOLTZ, M. D.
Samuel S. Holtz, who is engaged in the practice of medicine and sur-
gery in Shiloh, has attained an enviable position in the circles of the profes-
sion with which he is connected by means of his marked ability and devo-
tion to his work. He was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, Octo-
ber 24, 1850, his parents being John and Elizabeth (Schaeffer) Holtz, who
had two children, but the Doctor is the only one now living. His father
was a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, born March 6, 1826.
Upon the farm he spent his early life and in the Keystone state he was
married. Soon after the birth of his son Samuel he removed with his fam-
ily to Winchester, Scott county, Illinois, where he resided for a year, when
he took up his abode near Shiloh, Richland county, Ohio. He purchased
a farm of eighty acres and continued its cultivation until about six years
ago, when he put aside business cares and removed to the town, where he
is now enjoying a well earned rest. His wife also is living and for fifty-one
years they have traveled life's 'journey happily together. They are both of
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 305
Holland lineage and possess many of the sterling characteristics of that
worthy people.
The Doctor remained at his parental home through the period of his
minority. He attended the common schools of the neighborhood and
further continued his studies in the Baldwin University at Berea, Ohio. In
1870 he began teaching and for four years followed that profession, giving
satisfaction to the directors in the districts in which he was employed; but,
determining to make the practice of medicine his life work, he began to study
under the direction of Dr. J. M. Fackler, of Plymouth, Ohio. In the fall
of 1875 he was matriculated in the Hahnneman Medical College, of Chi-
cago, and in the following year became a student in the Pulte Medical Col-
lege, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in which institution he was graduated in January,
1877. He began the practice of medicine in Plymouth, in partnership with
Dr. Fackler, and four years later removed to Shiloh, where he opened an
office, and his time and energies have been given to the alleviation of the
suffering in this part of the county. His marked ability in the line of his
chosen profession has won him signal success and gained him a very large
and lucrative patronage. For the faithful performance of each day's duties
he finds inspiration for the labors of the next. Cool and collected in the
sick room, at the same time genial and kindly, his labors have proven of
great benefit to those in need of medical assistance, showing that he is
thoroughly familiar with the healing art and the best methods of medical
practice.
On the 4th of July, 1878, Dr. Holtz was united in marriage to Miss
Mattie A. Flora, a native of Maryland, but at the time of her marriage a
resident of Plymouth, Ohio. Their union has been blessed with four chil-
dren, but they lost their first born, Gracie Dell. The others are John Frank-
lin, who is reading medicine under the instruction of his father ; Harry
Wells and Fred Schaeffer. both at home.
The Doctor is a valued representative of Shiloh Lodge, Xo. 544, F.
& A. M.j and has also taken the Royal Arch and Knight Templar degrees,
his membership being in Plymouth Chapter and Mansfield Commandery.
He likewise belongs to Shiloh Council. No. 374, of the Royal Arcanum. His
religious faith is in harmony with the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal
church, to which he belongs, and in his political views he is a Republican.
He is an earnest and discriminating student of his profession and his skill
has been demonstrated again and again in the sick room. His advancement
in his profession is well merited and the high position which he occupies in
social circles is an indication of a well spent life.
306 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ROBERT HUNTER.
Robert Hunter was born on the farm in Blooming Grove township which
is now his home, his natal clay being October 28, 1S55. He is a representa-
tive of one of the honored pioneer families of the Buckeye state, the name
of Hunter being closely interwoven with the history of Ohio throughout
almost the entire nineteenth century. The ancestry of the family can be
traced back to James Hunter, and the family was founded in America in
colonial days by George Hunter, the great-grandfather of our subject, who
was a native of county Tyrone, Ireland, and crossed the Atlantic to America
when the states along the seaboard were possessions of Great Britain. When
the yoke of British oppression became intolerable and the colonists resolved to
sever all allegiance to the mother country, he joined the army for independ-
ence and aided in establishing the republic. His son, Samuel Hunter, the
grandfather of our subject, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania,
November 10, 1790, and was a veteran of the war of 1812, serving under
General Beal. He spent one winter at Camp Council, near Shenandoah,
in Richland county, and was at Detroit at the time of Hull's surrender. He
married Jane Paul, who was born June 6, 1786, and died October 10, 1870.
The father of our subject, Benjamin Hunter, was born in Columbiana
county, Ohio, on the 12th of December, 1815, and when he was nineteen
years of age his parents removed to Richland county, purchasing from
Thomas E. Hughes the farm of one hundred and sixty acres upon which our
subject now resides. A log cabin already erected became the place of their
residence, where a small part of the land had been cleared, the remainder
being in its primitive condition; but soon the plow was set in the furrow,
the work of planting followed and in course of time abundant harvests were
garnered. Benjamin Hunter was reared in this pioneer home, sharing with
the family in the hardships and trials incident to the development of a farm
upon the frontier.
As a companion and helpmate on life's journey he chose Miss Margaret
Irwin, and they had three children, but all are now deceased. After his
marriage he settled on the home farm with his wife, continuing the cultiva-
tion of the land, and after his father's death he purchased the interest of the
other heirs in eighty acres of the old homestead, making it his place of abode
until his life's labors were ended in death, on the 21st of December, 1886.
He was an active member of the Presbyterian church, becoming one of the
earnest workers therein during his boyhood, and throughout his entire life
he used his influence to inculcate its teachings among men. In politics he
was an ardent Democrat, but never sought office and never served in posi-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 307
tions of public trust save as a member of the school board. For many years
he was identified in that way with educational interests, and the schools of
the community found in him a warm friend.
He was twice married, his second union being- with Sarah. Jump, a
daughter of Robert and Jane (Ogden) Jump. Her father was born in
Talbot county, Maryland, of English parentage, while her mother, a native
of New Jersey, was of Scotch extraction. Soon after their marriage they
emigrated westward to Belmont county, Ohio. When Mrs. Hunter was a
child of seven years they came to Richland county, taking up their abode
in the Ogden settlement, in Franklin and Weller townships, on the farm
now owned by Roland Boyce. There the maternal grandparents of our
subject lived and died. Mrs. Hunter became an active member of the Pres-
byterian church, and her admonition and example told forcibly on the lives
of her children in making them honorable men and women. By her mar-
riage she became the mother of seven children, of whom four are living, as
follows: Priscilla, the wife of Fred McCarron, of Knox county, Ohio;
Thomas, of Shiloh, Ohio; Susan, the housekeeper for her brother Robert;
and Rebecca, the wife of Arthur Ferrell, of Blooming Grove township.
Having mastered the common English branches of learning. Robert
Hunter matriculated in Wooster University, Ohio, where he pursued a special
course in civil engineering, and then entered Dartmouth College, leaving
that institution one year before completing his course on account of ill health.
His impaired constitution rendered him unfit for the work of civil engineer-
ing, and he returned to the farm, giving his attention to the development
of the fields. He assumed the management of the home place after his
father's death and continued the cultivation of the fields until after his
mother's death, when he and his sister Susan purchased the old home farm,
upon which they have since lived, neither having married. Mr. Hunter is
an enterprising and progressive agriculturist, whose labors have been crowned
with a creditable degree of success. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Hunter
has served for three years as the township clerk and for six years as the
township treasurer, capably discharging the duties of the offices. Socially he
is connected with Shiloh Lodge, of the Royal Arcanum.
JOHN W. DAWSON.
John W. Dawson, to whom fate has vouchsafed and honorable retire-
ment from labor, as a reward of his active toil in former years, is now living
at his home at No. 49 Second street, in Shelby. He was born in Lincoln-
3 o8 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
shire. England. March 15. 1824. and when in his twentieth year came to
the United States, making the voyage on a sailing vessel, which after thirty
days reached the harbor of Xew York in October, 1844. Soon afterward
he made his way to Plymouth, Ohio, where he had an uncle living who had
come to the United States eight years before. Mr. Dawson crossed the
Atlantic in company with a paternal uncle, William Dawson, who settled in
Aubnm township. Crawford county, Ohio. In that township the subject
was employed as a farm hand. for seven years, and on the 13th of March,
1S50. he was married, securing as a companion and helpmate on life's journey
Miss Alary Briggs. who was born in England and was reared in this country.
They became the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters, but
four are yet living: John EL, a farmer and thresher, who has one son; Ira,
of Cass township, who has two sons and a daughter; George Edward, who
is living in the same township, and has one daughter; and Effie Ann, the
wife of David Hindley, of Huron county, by whom she has two daughters.
The mother of the above named children died in 1893, and on the 26th of
March, 1896. Air. Dawson wedded Airs. Sarah (Kilpatrick) Smith.
The first land which he owned was an eighty-acre tract given him by
his wife's father, who was an early settler of the county. He is to-day the
owner of two valuable tracts of land, one of one hundred and fifty-five acres
in Plymouth township and the other of fifty acres in Cass township. He
has good buildings upon these places and all the modern accessories and
improvements. He does not personally engage in the cultivation of his
land. It is now under the care of tenants, while he lives retired. Always
fond of a good horse, he has seldom been without a fine white horse, noted
for its speed and good qualities. At present he is in possession of a fine
roadster that can pass any other horse in the neighborhood. Although sev-
enty-six years of age. Air. Dawson is still active, and often drives out to his
farm six miles away. In the fall he and his neighbor, George Clark, hitch
their horses together, — one white, the other black, — and bring in their sup-
ply of dry wood for the following year's consumption. In his political
views he is a Democrat, and for two terms has served as a trustee of Plymouth
township. For fourteen years he was a school director of his district, and
did much to promote the efficiency of the schools by employing good teach-
ers and endorsing good methods. For many years he has been identified
with the Alethodist Episcopal church, and has long served as one of its offi-
cers. Air. Dawson is a splendid type of the English gentleman, strong and
vigorous, reliable in business and possessed of many sterling traits of char-
acter.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 309
It may be of interest in this connection to note something of the family
relations of our subject. He belongs to one of the old English families, his
ancestors having for many generations resided on the "merrie isle." His
father was John Dawson, and his mother bore the maiden name of Beacham.
The former passed away about the year 1858, at the age of sixty years, after
which the wife and mother with her daughters came to the new world and
took up their abode in Plymouth, where they spent their remaining- days.
The father had four brothers, and all were yeomen with the exception of
one, who conducted an inn. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dawson were born two sons
rind five daughters who reached mature years. One sister, who was mar-
ried,, died at sea while on her way to Australia. All of her children
have now passed away with the exception of John W. Dawson and his
younger brother, who is now a farmer and freeholder in England, where he
is extensively engaged in the cultivation of his land. He had two sons and
several grandchildren.
WILSON S. WEAVER.
In the history of the representative men of Richland county Wilson
Shannon Weaver certainly deserves mention, for he is numbered among the
leading agriculturists of the county, and the lessons in his life are forceful
and well worthy of emulation, his career demonstrating what it is possible
for men to accomplish through resolute purpose, indefatigable energy, unflag-
ging application and keen sagacity. He was born November 1, 1838, in
Wayne county, Ohio, his parents being Jacob and Elizabeth (Fisher) Weaver,
of whose family of six children he is the youngest survivor excepting his
brother, Jacob Weaver, of Berea, Ohio. His father was born in North-
ampton county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1799, and was there reared, learn-
ing the trade of shoemaker in early life. When a young man he left his
home to seek a place of residence on the western frontier, taking up his abode
in Wayne county, Ohio. A year or two afterward he came to Richland
county and purchased the farm in Blooming Grove township upon which
our subject now resides. A log cabin had been erected upon the place and
a portion of the land had been cleared, the remainder being still in its primi-
tive condition. His labors, however, soon enabled him to transform the
tract into richly cultivated fields, and in connection with farming he also
followed shoemaking for several years. In 1872 he removed to Huron
county, Ohio, and after selling his farm in Richland county to his son Wil-
son purchased a farm a mile and a half southeast of Greenwich, making his
3 io CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
home thereon until his death, which occurred in 1873. He was a member
of the Lutheran church, and in his political faith was a Democrat. On that
ticket he was elected and for six years served as township treasurer of Bloom-
ing- Grove township, his long retention indicating his trustworthiness and
capability. He married Elizabeth Fisher, who was born in Germany in
1805 and came to the new world with her mother when a maiden of ten
summers. They landed in Philadelphia and located in Pennsylvania. Mrs.
Weaver passed away in 1866, and is now survived by four of her children,
namely: Lucinda, the wife of John Rodgers, of Whitley county, Indiana;
Wilhelmina, the wife of John Crouse, of Huron county; Wilson S. ; and
Jacob, of Berea, this state.
There is little to record concerning the early history of men who spend
their days upon a farm. It is a record of work in the*fields from the time
of early spring planting until the crops are garnered and the barns are stored
with the yield of the fields. In the common schools Mr. Weaver mastered
the common branches of English learning and at home performed the tasks
assigned him by his parents, enjoying all the sports in which boys of the period
indulged. On the 22c! of February, 1865, he was united in marriage with
Miss Elizabeth Huston, a native of Richland county, and a daughter of Jesse
Huston, one of the well-known farmers of the county, now deceased. Mr.
and Mrs. Weaver began their domestic life on the farm where Peter Myers
now resides, directly north of the old homestead, his father having purchased
forty acres of land there during the war. For two years Mr. Weaver made
his home thereon, and then, by purchase, became the possessor of a forty-
acre tract three-quarters of a mile north of Shenandoah. It was his place
of residence until his removal to his present home in 1872. For twenty-
eight years he has continued the development of the fields here. In the
'80s he purchased the old Peter Snapp farm of one hundred and eleven acres,
south of Rome, and in 1893 bought the Linsey farm of one hundred and
sixty acres adjoining the home place, so that his landed possessions now
aggregate three hundred and fifty-one acres.
In 1884 Mr. Weaver was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife,
and their only child died in 1887. In May, 1899, he was again married, his
second union being with Miss Sarah Benedict, a native of Richland county
and a daughter of Abraham Benedict, one of the well-known and highly
esteemed farmers of Blooming Grove township. Well informed on the
questions of the day, Mr. Weaver supports the Democracy, believing that
the principles of the party are best calculated to promote the welfare of the
nation. The spirit of self-help is the source of all genuine worth in an
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 311
individual. Unless a man is extremely wealthy he is judged by his charac-
ter, and his acts are weighed on the scale of public opinion. Thus judged,
Mr. Weaver has never been "found wanting," for throughout his business
career he has been honorable and trustworthy in all transactions, has been
loyal to the duties of citizenship and faithful to the obligations of private life.
HARRY T. MANNER.
In the personnel of the bar of Richland county are to be found a number
of young men who have attained prestige and honor, and of this number is
Harry Thaddeus Manner, a popular representative of the legal profession
in the city of Mansfield.
A native son of Richland county. Mr. Manner was born in Monroe town-
ship on the 6th of October, 1872, the son of E. M. Manner, who was born in
Green township, Ashland county, in 1842. From the above statement it
will be at once inferred that our subject is a scion of pioneer stock in the
Buckeye state. His paternal grandfather, Jacob Manner, was a native of the
Old Dominion, having been born in Berkeley county, Virginia, December
9, 1804. His father was Joseph Manner, who married Catharine Mentzer,
and they came to Ohio in 1827, purchasing a tract of wild land in Richland
township (a portion now included in Green township), Ashland county.
On this property was an old mill, one of the first in this section of the state,
and Joseph Manner put the same into repair and operated it successfully
for many years. He died in April, 1840, at the age of seventy-eight years,
and his widow died soon afterward, their remains being interred in Perry-
ville cemetery.
Jacob Manner, the grandfather of our subject, married Miss Jenette
Calhoun, a daughter of Noble and Sarah (Taylor) Calhoun, of Monroe
township, this county, and eventually Mr. Manner abandoned agricultural
pursuits and engaged in the mercantile business in Newville. After a varied
experience as a miller, merchant and farmer, — he having erected three mills
and repaired a fourth. — he purchased of his father-in-law the latters farm
of two hundred and sixty acres, to which he added by purchasing an adjoin-
ing one hundred and forty acres, all located in Monroe township, and he thus
became the owner of four hundred acres of as valuable land as may be found
in this county, or even in the state. Before the advent of the railroads, he
was a pioneer in the live-stock business, driving the stock through to the
eastern markets. He claimed also to have been the first man to ship live
stock by rail from this county. In later years his sons, including the father
3 i2 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of our subject, continued the business on an extensive 'scale, and were known
as the leading live-stock dealers of the county. It is interesting to note the
fact that this line of enterprise is still carried on on the old homestead and
by members of the family, and the industry, as thus effectively promoted,
has proved of incalculable value to this section of the state. Our subject's
mother, whose maiden name was Harriet Ann Johnson, was born in Mount
Vernon, her father being a cousin of President Andrew Johnson.
Harry T. Manner, the immediate subject of this review, received his
more purely literary education in Greentown Academy and at Perryville,
and in the practical utilization of his acquirements engaged in teaching
school for two years, having in the meanwhile determined to prepare him-
self for the legal profession. He prosecuted his legal studies under the
direction of Messrs. Henry and Reed, of Mansfield, devoting himself assidu-
ously to his work and gaining his admission to the bar in 1895, after which
he began the practice of his profession in Mansfield, where his success has
been marked and his clientele of a representative character. In politics he
gives a stalwart allegiance to the Republican party, and he was at one time
a candidate in the Republican caucus for the office of mayor of Mansfield.
Mr. Manner married Miss Essie Miller, a daughter of John A. Miller,
a lumber merchant of Butler, Ohio, and they have a little son, Kenneth.
Mrs. Manner is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church.
Our subject has two brother* and one sister: Noble Calhoun is connected
with the United States Express office in Mansfield; Joseph M. is associated
with his father in the stock business; and Jessie is the wife of W. A. Darling,
of Perrysville, Ohio.
H. H. METCALFE, M. D.
A well known representative of the medical fraternity in Plymouth,
Dr. Metcalfe has attained a position of prominence in the ranks of his
profession in Richland county. He was born in South Marysburg township,
Prince Edward county, Ontario, Canada, on the 25th of February, 1867.
His father, Robert Metcalfe, was also a native of Ontario, born in 1839.
He was of Irish descent and married a lady of English lineage. They are
still living in Ontario and enjoy the high regard of all with whom they
have been associated. The Doctor pursued his education in the place of
his nativity and supplemented his preliminary course in the Queen's Uni-
versity at Kingston, Ontario, where he was graduated in the class of 1895.
He is also a graduate of the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College, and
^■^S^z^i^^. <&^A.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 313
thus well equipped for the practice of his profession he located in Plymouth
in 1827, and has since secured a large and growing patronage. He is one
of the most progressive and popular physicians of the county and his high
rank in the fraternity is well deserved by reason of his thorough knowledge
of medical principles and his excellent ability in applying these to the needs
of suffering humanity. His labors have been attended with excellent results,
and thus he has gained a place of distinction.
The Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Ida Stephens at her
home in Prince Edwards county, Ontario, November 26, 1889. They now
have one son, Arden Bruce, who is nine years of age. Dr. Metcalfe is a
member of several secret societies, including the Odd Fellows, Knights of
Pythias and Ben Hur. Both he and his wife have a large circle of warm
friends in Plymouth and their own home is celebrated for its gracious hos-
pitality. The Doctor is a man of strong character, of marked individuality,
an earnest purpose and laudable ambition, and with these qualities to aid him
we have no hesitancy in predicting that his will be a successful career.
WASHINGTON McBRIDE.
In some respects Washington McBride is a remarkable character. In
this age of urban development and prosperity, few men of his strength of
character and practical business qualifications are content to lead what may-
be called a pastoral life; and certainly few men have had the natural trend
of sentiment and love for mother nature that would lead them to shun the
more glittering opportunities for material advancement in a business or specu-
lative city life; have had in their makeup so blended the rather unique quali-
ties required to harmonize the nineteenth-century spirit of advancement and
adaptation with the quiet life of the husbandman. It is true that his efforts
have not been confined alone to one line, as he is actively connected with the
banking interests of Mansfield, yet for many years he has been accounted
one of the leading farmers of Mifflin township. He makes his home upon
section 20. Through the whole course of his career the primary moving
spirit that prompted his actions seems to have been improvement and advance-
ment.
A native of Monroe township, Richland county, Mr. McBride was born
on the 1st of April, 1840, his parents being Duncan and Elizabeth (Chew)
McBride. He is the only survivor of their family of five children. His
lather, Duncan McBride, was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, Tune 11,
1807, and was a son of Thomas and Alary (McVicker) McBride. The
3 i4 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
former was a native of Callabackey, Ireland, born in 1771, and when a youth
of fourteen years he accompanied his parents on their emigration to America.
His father and mother were descended from Scotch ancestry who fled from
Scotland to Ireland during the religious persecution in their own land. On
the arrival of the McBride family in the United States the great-grandparents
of our subject located on a farm in Hampshire county, Virginia, which was
paid for the following year with earnings from the mother's spinning wheel.
In the old colonial days Thomas McBride was reared to manhood, and in
1797 lie married Mary McVicker. They continued to reside in Hampshire
county, Virginia, until the spring of 18 17. In the previous spring the grand-
father had come to Ohio and entered from the government the south half
of section 1 5 in Monroe township, Richland county. A year later he removed
bis family to this property, which was covered with a dense forest; but soon
the sound of the woodman's ax was heard and the trees fell before his sturdy
stroke. Then came the plow, and soon richly cultivated fields were seen
where once stood the tall trees in their primeval strength. There Thomas
McBride made his home until his life's labors were ended in death. Both
he and his wife were active members of the United Presbyterian church
for many years, and were people of the highest respectability, enjoying the
esteem of all who knew them. He died April 27, 1824, in his fifty-fourth
year, and was the first person buried. in the Odd Fellows' cemetery near
Lucas. His wife, surviving until May 8, 1833, passed away in her sixtieth
year. They were the parents of five sons and two daughters, namely:
Alexander, Agnes, John, Archibald, Duncan, Wilson and Mary. All are
now deceased.
Duncan McBride spent the first ten years of his life in the Old Domin-
ion, and then became identified with pioneer interests in Richland county.
He bore his share in the work of developing the farm and had the various
pioneer experiences. He married Miss Elizabeth Chew, who was born in
Harrison county, Ohio, August 8, 1808, a daughter of William and Lydia
Ann Chew, who were of Welsh descent. Mrs. McBride died January 19,
1874. She was an earnest Christian woman and held membership in the
Presbyterian church until 1864. Owing to her husband's death she then
went to live with a daughter, and as there was no Presbyterian church in
the neighborhood she transferred her membership to the Congregational
church.
\\ ashington McBride obtained his education in the common schools of
the primitive type, the building being constructed of logs and furnished in the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 315
style common on the frontier. When he had reached man's estate he was
married, on the 26th of April, i860, to Miss Mary A. Swan, a native of
Richland county and a daughter of Jesse Swan, a large land owner of Monroe
township. The young couple began their domestic life on a farm on Black
Fork in Monroe township, Mr. McBride giving his attention to agricultural
pursuits. There they lived for three years, but the wife suffered from
malaria and in consequence he sold out and came to Mifflin township, pur-
chasing one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 20, the place of his
present residence. During the succeeding ten years he carried on farming
and stock raising, with excellent success, acquiring a handsome competence,
which enabled him on the organization of the old Mansfield Savings Bank
in 1873 to become one of its leading stockholders. He was a member of the
board of the executive committee during his twenty years' connection with
that institution. About 1890 he became one of the stockholders of the Bank
of Mansfield, and in 1898 he disposed of his interests there in order to pur-
chase stock in the Citizens' Bank. On the organization of the Richland
Savings Bank in 1898 he purchased a large share of the stock in that institu-
tion, was made one of its directors and has since served in that position.
He is a man of sound business judgment, giving careful conideration to all
questions connected with the conduct of the enterprise with which he is asso-
ciated. His opinions are reliable, as is shown by his prosperous career.
By Mr. McBride's first marriage four children were born, of whom
two are now living. Franklin Elmer, the eldest son, was a graduate of the
National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, and of the College of Physicians
and Surgeons, of Chicago. He died in Kalgan, China, where he had gone
as a medical missionary, his death occurring July 6, 1890, at the age of
twenty-eight years, four months and twenty-nine days. William S., born
October 12, 1864, died March 3, 1888. Lilly A. is the wife of John M. Van
Tilburg, a farmer of Madison township. Lora E., the youngest daughter,
is the wife of Ezra Kuenzli, a farmer of Wyandot county, Ohio. The mother
died January 22, 1873, and Mr. McBride was again married December 17,
1874, his second union being with Miss Mary A. Au, a daughter of Jacob
Au, one of the well-known farmers of Mifflin township, who came to the
county in 1855, but is now deceased. By the second marriage ten children
have been born: Margaret E. was born February 5, 1876, and is a student
in the Western Female College, at Oxford, Ohio. Maria May was born
May 8, 1878, and is attending the Western Female College. Charles Wash-
ington was born May 27, 1880; Curtis G., November 16. 1882; Nettie G.,
316 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
December n, 1885; Mary I., October 3, 1888; Thomas F., November 24,
1890; Hubbell R., May I, 1892; Chester W., November 17, 1894; and
Arthur A., September 26, 1896.
Mr. McBride votes with the Republican party, and in 1893 was its
nominee for the position of county treasurer, but Richland county is strongly
Democratic and in consequence he was defeated. He has several times served
as a member of the school board and in other local offices. He holds mem-
bership in the First Congregational church of Mansfield, and is ifot slow to
give his support to interests which contribute to the moral, material, social
and intellectual welfare of the community. He is a man of action rather
than theory. While others might argue in debate he goes to work and
practically demonstrates his position, which in almost every instance is cor-
rect. His success has been well and worthily won, and his fellow citizens
of Richland county entertain the highest regard for Washington McBride.
WILLIAM H. WEAVER.
William H. Weaver is a well-known farmer and stock-raiser of Richland
county and a member of the firm of Weaver Brothers, whose reputation in
the line of their chosen vocation is both wide and commendable. He is a
man of excellent business and executive ability, who forms his plans readily
and is determined in their execution. He carries to successful completion
whatever he undertakes if it can be accomplished by honorable methods, and
as a representative of the great department of agriculture he is well known.
The farm is located on section 26, Sharon township, near Vernon Junction.
Mr. Weaver was born in Wyandot county. Ohio, September 4, 1866.
His father, John Weaver, was born in Crawford county, Ohio. June 12,
1835, a son of John D. Weaver, a native of France. The last named was
born in 1804 and when a young man crossed the Atlantic, locating in Pitts-
burg, Pennsylvania. He followed the butcher's trade and was among the
pioneer settlers of Richland county, who from the government entered eighty
acres of land, for which he paid a dollar and a quarter per acre. He was
married in Pittsburg to Miss Magdalene Ball, a native of France, and they
became the parents of twelve children, eight sons and four daughters. They
lost one son and one daughter in childhood, but nine of the family are now
living; and of this number, with one exception, all are married and have
families of their own, and most of them are farming people. The grand-
parents of our subject began life in limited circumstances amid humble stir-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL. HISTORY. 317
roundings, but by industry and economy they prospered. The grandfather
died in 1880, and his widow passed away in 1892, at the age of eighty-one
years, their remains being interred in the Congregational cemetery in the
Shelby settlement.
Having arrived at years of maturity, John Weaver was married, in the
fall of 1 86 1, to Miss Mary B. Remlinger, who was born in France in 1840,
and during her girlhood was brought to America by her parents, Martin and
Barbara Remlinger, who went to Buffalo, New York. They were farming
people and had a family of ten children, eight of whom reached mature years
and are now married and have families. Soon after his marriage John-
Weaver was drafted for service in the Civil war. He began farming on
one hundred and twenty acres of land in Richland county, owned by his
father, and four years later he removed to Wyandot county, where he carried
on agricultural pursuits for six years. His children are as follows : Will-
iam, of this review; Frank J., who is in partnership with his brother;. John
E., who is married and resides in Shelby; Rosa, the wife of Will Gosser,
of Crawford county, Ohio, by whom she has three children ; Anna, the wife of
Peter Keller, by whom she has two children; and Charles D., who is living
on the home farm. The first three children were born in Wyandot county,
and three upon the old homestead in Richland county.
The farm here comprises one hundred and twenty acres of land, belong-
ing to the widowed mother. The sons, William and Frank, are the owners
of one hundred and ninety-six acres of land on section 31, Shannon township,
and upon this farm a tenant resides. They are now extensively engaged in
buying and shipping hogs, sheep and cattle, William Weaver attending to
this branch of the business, while Frank operates a profitable sawmill, pur-
chasing tracts of timber land from which he cuts the trees, converting them
into lumber.
W'illiam Weaver was married April 30, 1893, to Miss Mary E. Fry,
a native of Richland county and a daughter of Conrad Fry, who was of Ger-
man lineage. By this marriage three children have been born : Edward,
who was born April 24, 1894; Wilfred, born August 31, 1896; and Norbert,
born April 2, 1898.
Mr. Weaver is a Democrat, and has served for two years as a township
trustee. He and his family are connected with the Catholic church. He
believes in having good roads and is a stanch advocate of the pike system.
In the last three years fifteen miles of pike have been laid, the residents being
greatly benefited thereby. Public spirited and progressive, Mr. Weaver
318 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
withholds his support from no measure which he believes would prove for
the general good, and is a valued citizen of his community. In business
affairs he is energetic, prompt and notably reliable. Tireless energy, keen
perception and earnestness of purpose are numbered among his strong char-
acteristics, and have been the means of winning him a place among the sub-
stantial citizens of Richland county.
JOHN W. HAFER.
John W. Hafer, contractor and builder of Shelby, Ohio, who resides at
No. 1 88 West Main street, was born in Sharon township, Richland county,
Ohio, April 28, 1858. His father, Frederick Hafer, was born January 2,
183 1, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, removing thence in 1852 to Canton,
Ohio, driving the entire distance with a team of horses and wagon. By
trade he has always been a carpenter, and has followed the business of con-
tractor and builder for many years, but removed to Shelby in 1854. About
this time he was married, in Mansfield, to Margaret Meeks, who died in
1880, the mother of eight children, five of whom grew to mature years.
Dora, the youngest of the family, married Curtis Willis, and died at the
age of twenty-four, leaving three children. The five that still live are as
follows : Emma, the wife of Marion Taylor, living in Springfield town-
ship and having one son and two daughters; John W., the subject of this
sketch ; Alva, living in Shelby, and having five daughters ; Elsie, living in
Cleveland, Ohio, and having two sons and one daughter; and Frederick J.,
living in Shelby, unmarried. The father is now living with his third wife,
but has no other children than those named above.
John W. Hafer was well educated in the common school, attending
until he was fifteen years of age, when he began to learn the carpenter's
trade with his father. In 1880 he established himself in the building busi-
ness, and has been thus engaged ever since, most of the time alone, but
from 1890 to 1895 he had as a partner a Mr. Slaybaugh. December 2$,
1880, he was married to Miss Emma Wagner in Salem Center, Steuben
county, Indiana, by whom he had one son, born March 28, 1884. and now
a bright young man in school. Mrs. Hafer died October 12,- 1887, at the
age of thirty-one. Mr. Hafer married for his second wife Ida May Taylor,
of Franklin township, a daughter of Robert Taylor, and by this marriage
he has three children, viz.: Nellie, who died at the age of seven years;
a Democrat, but so far has succeeded in escaping office, with the single
Ray, a boy of seven years, born April 14, 1893; an d Carl, born November
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 319
7. 1896. Mr. Hafer is a member of the National Union, and in politics is
exception of county commissioner. His present large frame residence he
erected in 1876; and he has erected most of the blocks and public buildings
in Shelby and has had numerous contracts in other places. At different
times he employs from five to fifty men, according to the work he has on
hand, his father and one of his brothers working for him. Mr. Hafer
is one of the self-made men of his county, has made by his own exertions
what property he now owns, and though not wealthy is well-to-do and carries
on a prosperous business. He is well known to many and well thought of
by all that know him.
DAVID L. COCKLEY.
In this enlightened age when men of energy, industry and merit are
rapidly pushing their way to the front, those who by individual effort have
won favor and fortune may properly claim recognition. That the plenitude
of satiety is seldom attained in the affairs of life is to be considered as a
most grateful and beneficial deprivation, for where ambition is satisfied and
every ultimate aim realized — if such is possible — there must follow individual
apathy. Effort would cease, accomplishment be prostrate and creative talent
waste its energies in supine inactivity. The men who have pushed forward
the wheels of progress have been those to whom satiety lay ever in the
future, and they have labored continuously and have not failed to find in
each transition stage an incentive for further effort. Mr. Cockley belongs to
this class of men and his activity in the business world has not only gained
for him a handsome fortune, but has also been the means of contributing
to the general welfare and the substantial growth and improvement of the
community with which he is associated.
He is numbered among the native sons of Richland county, his birth
having occurred in Lexington on the 8th of June, 1843. His parents were
Benjamin and Fannie (Winterstem) Cockley, both of whom were natives
of Pennsylvania. They had three sons and two daughters. Of their sons,
W. W. was born in 1840, and Allen was born in 1847 an( l c ^ ec ^ m 1882.
Of the sisters, one died in infancy, while the other, Airs. L. A. Corbus, is still
living", now sixty-two years of age.
Under the parental roof Mr. Cockley, of this review, spent his early
boyhood days, and at the age of seventeen years enlisted in the Fifteenth
Ohio Infantry, in which he served for six months. He then enlisted for a
three-years term, was with the Army of the Cumberland and went with
320 CEXTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea. He joined the service as a
private, but was promoted through the various ranks until he became the
captain of Company D, of the Tenth Regiment of Ohio. He received a
special medal of honor from Congress for leading a charge at Waynesboro,
Georgia, on the 4th of December, 1864, and in August, 1865, he was mus-
tered out with a very creditable military record.
After the war Mr. Cockley engaged in buying cattle in Texas, driving
from Dallas to St. James, Missouri, and sending from one hundred to one
hundred and fifty head in a drove. After his marriage, in 1867, he was
engaged in the lumber business for two years and then became connected
with a wholesale house, that of Hart, Bliven & Mead, wholesale hardware
merchants of New York. About that time he established a retail store at
Shelby, but traveled for the wholesale store for seven years. He also con-
ducted the hardware business for about twelve years, when he sold the store
to the firm of Seltzer & Steele. He then purchased a controlling interest in
the Shelby Mill Company, of which he was the president for five years, and
during that period he organized the Shelby Steel Tube Company, of which
he was for six years the president and manager. It was incorporated for one
hundred thousand dollars and became the largest establishment of the kind
in the world, employing seven hundred and eighty workmen. Its financial
affairs were capably conducted by Mr. Cockley and thereby the success of the
concern was largely insured. In 1893 ne established the Shelby Cycle Manu-
facturing Company, which was incorporated with a capital stock of one hun-
dred thousand dollars, but recently the business has been sold to the American
Bicycle Company. In 1898 Mr. Cockley was instrumental in forming what
is known as the Rib Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of umbrella ribs
and other articles in that line. The business was incorporated for one hundred
thousand dollars and work is now furnished to sixty employes, one-third of
whom are women and girls. The enterprise has proved a profitable one, its
trade from the beginning constantly increasing. The plant is splendidly
equipped with first-class machinery and the output is satisfactory in quality,
Mr. Cockley's name always being the guarantee in that line. He is a man
of splendid business and executive ability, resourceful and enterprising, and
has been a leading factor in many concerns which have contributed in a large
measure to the progress and prosperity of this section of the state. He is now
the president of the First National Bank of Crestline, Ohio, is a director in the
Perrysville Banking Company; the Snow Fork & Hocking Valley Railroad
Company ; the Toledo Cash Register Company, of Toledo, and the Railway
Cycle Manufacturing Company of Hagerstown. Indiana. He carries to
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 321
successful completion whatever he undertakes, and his judgment is so sound
and unerring that his counsel carries weight in all business conferences.
In 1867 Mr. Cockley was married to Miss Eunice L. Palmer, of Alans-
field. Ohio. Their eldest son, Willard A., was born April 25. 1869, and is
now traveling for the Magnolia Metal Company, of Philadelphia. Harry
was born in 1872 and is secretary of the Shelby Steel Tube Company. The
daughter, Fanny L., was born in 1880. Willard completed his education in
the Shelby high school ; Harry, in Oberlin College ; and Fanny has been a
student at the People's and Thompson's College in New York. Mr. Cockley
is a trustee of the Toledo State Hospital. He served as a colonel and aid-de-
camp on the staff of Governor Bushnell for four years and has taken consider-
able interest in local politics, but has never had the time nor inclination to
seek public office.
He is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has attained the
Knight Templar degree. He has also attained the thirty-second degree of the
Scottish rite in the Cleveland consistory. He is held in the highest respect
by those who know him best, including Colonel C. A. Vaughn, of Chicago,
who says that he was ever ready for duty and never shirked an order. The
same fidelity has characterized his actions in every walk of life and he sus-
tains an unassailable reputation in business, and in social circles is well
known for those qualities which endear a man to his fellow men. He enter-
tains broad, liberal views, inspires strong personal friendships and commands
the respect of all with whom he is associated. His career clearly illustrates the
possibilities that are open in this country to earnest, persevering young men
who have the courage of their convictions and are determined to be the archi-
tects of their own fortunes. When judged by what he has accomplished, his
right to mention among the representative citizens of Shelby cannot be
questioned.
J. W. PORCH.
For many years this gentleman was actively identified with the business
interests of Mansfield. He is one of the most prominent and influential
members of the Odd Fellows fraternity in this state, and has taken a very
active part in its work.
Mr. Porch was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1834, a
son of David and Catherine (Hess) Porch and a grandson of David Hess,
all natives of the Keystone state. His grandfather became one of the moit
prosperous and successful farmers of Knox county, Ohio. On leaving Penn-
sylvania, in 1836. his father, with his family, moved to Holmes county, Ohio,
322 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in 1844, took up his residence in Knox county, and in 1874 came to Mans-
field, where he died in 1895, at the ripe old age of eighty-six year;. He
was a farmer by occupation, and was well known and highly esteemed. The
Democratic party found in him an active supporter of its principles, and
he efficiently served as justice of the peace in Knox county for many years.
On leaving the home farm J. W. Porch went to Fredericktown, Knox
county, where he attended high school, and then learned the joiner's trade.
at which he worked in that place from 1852 to 1864. In the latter year
he came to Mansfield, which has since been his home and from 1868 ito
1896 was in the employ of the Aultman-Taylor Company in their wood de-
partment, being foreman of the framing department. Since then he has lived
retired.
At Fredericktown, Knox county, Mr. Porch was married, in 1859, to
Miss Mary Jane Baxter, a daughter of David Baxter, a well-known auctioneer
of that comity. By this union were born two children: Lola D., the wife
of J. H. Krause, a grocer; and Annie J., the wife of Milton W. Conley, a
druggist, — both of Mansfield.
By his ballot Mr. Porch supports the men and measures of the Demo-
cratic party. Since 1856 he has affiliated with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows; served as scribe of the local encampment for a quarter of a
century; and was three times elected to office on the state ticket, being grand
junior warden in 1872; grand high priest in 1875; and grand patriarch in
1877. The last named is the highest state office in that fraternity. As an
officer and representative he attended the grand encampment of the state
for about thirty years, and by that body was presented with a gold rope
chain and jewel as a memento. No man in the state is better posted on the
laws of the order, and he has made a splendid record in the lodge. He is
widely and favorably' known, and those who know him best are numbered
among his warmest friends. He also filled the office of township clerk two
terms twenty-three years ago ; for a number of years was a member of the
Mansfield board of education, and in April, 1899, was elected trustee of
Madison township for a term of three years.
CHARLES H. HUSTON.
Richland county, Ohio, has been singularly fortunate in the personnel
of her professional men, who have stood for honor and integrity of char-
acter and for exceptional ability in their chosen fields of endeavor. An able
representative of the legal fraternity in the county is he whose name intro-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 323
duces this paragraph. He is a member of the well-known firm of Laser &
Huston, who control a representative clientage as identified with the bar of
the county, with headquarters at Mansfield.
Charles Henry Huston is a native son of Richland county, having been
born in Butler township, in the year 1870. The year subsequent to his birth
the family removed to Blooming Grove township, where his father, James*
Huston, now resides, aged fifty-eight years. He also claims Richland as
his native county, his birth having taken place in Franklin township, on the
1 8th of February, 1841. He devotes his attention to the basic art of agri-
culture, carrying on operations on an extensive scale and being recognized as
one of the leading and influential farmers of the county. James Huston
has taken a public-spirited interest in all that has conserved the progress
and prosperity of the county, and he has figured as one of the leading factors
in the local ranks of the Democratic party, of whose principles and policies
he has been a stalwart advocate.
Jesse Huston, the grandfather of the immediate subject of this review,
was of good old Scottish stock and was a native of the Keystone state, emi-
grating from Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, to Ohio, when a young man
of twenty years, locating first in Weller township, Richland county, and later
removing to Jackson township, where he was a successful agriculturist for
many years. He married Margaret Thrush, and his death occurred in the
year 1879, at which time he had attained the venerable age of seventy-five
years. Jesse and Margaret Huston were the parents of two sons and four
daughters, James, the father of our subject, being the youngest in order
of birth. The others are noted as follows : Ira Huston, of Blooming Grove
township; Mary, the wife of David Bowls, of Mifflin township; Maggie, the
wife of David Sampsel, of Butler township; Nancy, the wife of John Wolfe,
of Cass township ; and Elizabeth, who married Shannon Weaver, of Blooming
Grove township, now deceased.
The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Dorcas Zeigler,
and she was born in Butler township, this county, on the 25th of January,
1842, the daughter of Henry and Margaret (Miller) Zeigler, who came here
from Pennsylvania in an early day. Mrs. Huston entered into eternal rest
in 1880, aged thirty-six years, leaving four sons and two daughters, of
whom Charles H. was the second in order of birth, a brief record of the
other members of the family being here incorporated : Carrie is the wife of
Jesse Esbenshade, of Ashland county, Ohio; Rufus married Miss Sadie
Oswalt, of Greenwich, this state; Ransom married Miss Maggie McCormack,
324 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
and is a resident of Blooming Grove township, he being the twin brother of
Rufns; and Jesse remains on the old homestead. In 1882 James Huston
consummated a second marriage, being then united to Miss Mary E. Latti-
more, a daughter of James and Nancy Lattimore, of Blooming Grove town-
ship, and of this union two children have been born, — Bertha and Ora, both
of whom are still at the parental home. James Huston served in the trans-
portation corps, at Nashville, Tennessee, during the war of the Rebellion,
and in the same great struggle a brother of his first wife was an active par-
ticipant, being taken prisoner and sacrificing his life in Andersonville prison.
Charles H. Huston grew up under the sturdy and invigorating discipline
of the farm, receiving excellent educational advantages. He secured his pre-
liminary scholastic discipline in the common schools, completing the prescribed
course in the high school at Shiloh, after which he put his acquirements to
the practical test by teaching school for five terms, — covering a period from
1889 to 1892. — being successful in his 1 pedagogic work. His desire for a
more advanced education led to his matriculation in the Tri-State College, at
Angola, Indiana, in the scientific department of which institution he gradu-
ated, as a member of the class of 1894. Having determined to make the
legal profession his life work, he began reading law under the preceptorship of
J. C. Laser, of Mansfield, devoting himself so assiduously to his studies as to
secure admission to the bar of the state in 1 897. He at once entered upon the
active practice of his profession, associating himself with his former preceptor
Mr. Laser, under the firm name of Laser & Huston, and the clientage of the
firm is of a distinctively representative order, the ability and professional
prestige of the interested principals insuring the constant expansion of their
business.
The inherent patriotism of Mr. Huston was signally exemplified at the
outbreak of the late Spanish-American war, when lie enlisted as a member of
Company M, Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, proceeding with his regiment
to Camp Bushnell, at the state capital. Thence they went to Camp Alger,
Virginia, where Company M was detached and assigned to guard duty and
clerkships in the quartermaster's and commissariat department at Dunlow-
ing station. They left camp July 5, 1898, and embarked on the cruiser
St. Paul, at New York, on the following day. On the 10th of the month
Company M and three other companies of the First Battalion landed at
Siboney, fourteen miles from Santiago, and on the following day were or-
dered to the fighting line in the trenches, but owing to the swollen condition
of the San Juan river did not reach their assigned position until the 12th, on
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 325
which clay General Miles arranged the terms of surrender with the Spanish.
On the 17th the entrance to Santiago was made and Company M participated
in the (occupation of the city. Mr. Huston was promoted to corporal at
Camp Alger. Since the return of the Eighth Regiment a reorganization has
been effected, and our subject is now battalion adjutant, with rank of second
lieutenant.
In politics Mr. Huston is an active worker in the ranks of the Demo-
cratic party. Fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks. His family in religious matters are members of the Church of
God, in Blooming Grove township.
Air. Huston was united in marriage, June 21, 1900, to Miss Marie F.
Pettker, of St. Louis, Missouri.
FRANK L. BOALS.
Among the agriculturists of Richland county who have attained a well-
merited success in their chosen calling is Frank L. Boals, one of the leading
agriculturists of Mifflin township, whose home is on section 16. He was
born upon his present farm January 4, i860, and is a worthy representative
of one of the honored pioneer families of the county.
On the paternal side he traces his ancestry back to James Boals. a native
of Ireland, who was the suitor for the hand of a young lady who had emigrated
with her parents to America. Against the wishes of his parents he came to
the new world and was rewarded by her consenting to become his bride. After
their marriage they settled in Jefferson county, Ohio, where they continued
to make their home throughout the remainder of their lives.
Among their children was David Boals, the grandfather of our subject.
He was born in Jefferson county, in tSoi, and on attaining man's estate was
married there to Susan Glover, who was born in the same county, in 1803,
a daughter of Josiah and Susan Glover. Pier father was one of the pioneers
of Jefferson county, having come to this state at an early day from Vermont.
His parents were natives of England. After his marriage David Boals en-
gaged in farming in his native county until 1828, and then removed to Rich-
land county, locating on the southwest quarter of section 9, Mifflin township,
which land had been entered by his father some time previously. In the
midst of the forest he built a log cabin, and experienced all the hardships and
privations incident to pioneer life. In politics he was a Democrat, and for a
number of years he efficiently served as township trustee. Religiously he was
326 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
an earnest member of the Presbyterian church. This worthy pioneer died
upon his farm in Mifflin township, in i860, and his wife passed away in 1858.
James W. Boals, the father of our subject, was born in Jefferson county,
June 20, 1825, and was only three years old when brought by his parents to
this county. He married Miss Elizabeth Parkinson, by whom he had four
children, three still living, namely: Frank L., of this review; Mary L., the
wife of C. L. Reed, a farmer of Madison township, this county; and Wade
P., a farmer of Mifflin township. After his marriage Mr, Boals purchased
the farm on which Gideon E. Hoover now resides, and there he followed agri-
cultural pursuits until 1859, when he disposed of the place and purchased the
farm of one hundred and sixty acres which is now the property of our subject.
Here he spent the remaining years of his life. He met with excellent success
in his farming operations, owning at the time of his death two farms, — one
containing one hundred and ninety-two acres and the other one hundred and
seventy-two acres.
Politically Mr. Boals was an ardent Democrat, but never cared for official
honors. Although he never allied himself with any religious denomination,
he was a liberal supporter of all church and charitable work; was a kind hus-
band and indulgent father, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him.
He died August 5, 1895. His wife, who was born in Jefferson county, Ohio,
about 1837, died about 1869. Her parents were Jacob and Mary (Keller)
Parkinson, natives of Pennsylvania and Maryland, respectively, who came to
this state after their marriage, and spent the remainder of their lives in Jeffer-
son county. Mr. Parkinson was a machinist by trade and had a shop on his
farm, where he manufactured threshing machines, finding a market for his
products throughout different sections of Pennsylvania and Ohio. He was
very successful and became quite well-to-do. He served as a captain in the
Mexican war, and the sword used by him in the service is still in possession of
the family.
Frank L. Boals was reared on the home farm, and his early education
was obtained in the local schools, but later he attended Frazier Business Col-
lege at Mansfield. He was married on the 24th of December, 1889, the lady
of his choice being Miss Josie Brindle, a native of Ashland county, Ohio,
and a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Burns) Brindle. In early life her
father removed from Franklin county, Pennsylvania, to Ashland county, this
state, and for many years was one of the prominent and influential farmers
of Ashland county, where his death occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Boals have five
children, namely : Edwin, Herman, Bryan, Shirley and Mabel.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 327
After his marriage Mr. Boals and his brother Wade took charge of the
home farm, and carried on the same for the father up to the latter's death,
when the home farm was transferred to our subject, while the upper farm
became the property of his brother. Here he has since resided, engaged in
general farming and stock-raising. Being a natural mechanic he also runs
'a machine and wagon repair shop upon his farm, and does all kinds of general
blacksmithing'. Industrious, enterprising and progressive, he has become
one of the substantial men of 'his community, as well as one of its most highly
respected citizens. He uses his right of franchise in support of the Demo-
cratic party, and for the past six years has most capably and acceptably served
as the treasurer of Mifflin township.
JOHN COLE.
John Cole, whose farm in Worthington township comprises two hundred
acres of land, is regarded as one of the leading and substantial residents of this
part of the county. Upon the place stands a beautiful residence erected at'a
cost of five thousand dollars. The farm is improved with all modern acces-
sories and conveniences, including substantial barns and outbuildings, good
machinery and well kept fences which divide the place into fields of convenient
size.
Mr. Cole was born near Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland county, Pennsyl-
vania, March 24. 1824. His father, George Cole, was a native of the same
locality, born about 1803, and there he spent the greater part of his life.
His last three years, however, were passed in the home of his son John, where
he died at the age of eighty-three years and five months. He exercised his
right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democratic party,
and held membership in the Baptist church, taking an active part in its work.
His father, John Cole, was also a native of Pennsylvania, where he followed
farming and lived to an advanced age. He was of German lineage. The
mother of our subject was in her maidenhood Miss Catherine Overly. She
was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1805, and lived to be
more than ninety-one years of age. She held membership in the Baptist
church and died at the home of her son John. In their family were eight
children, of whom five are still living.
John Cole remained upon the old homestead in the Keystone state until he
had attained his majority, and the public schools afforded him his educational
privileges. On reaching manhood he rented land in Pennsylvania and there
328 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
engaged in farming for eight or nine years. In November, 1859, he sought
a home in Ohio and purchased two hundred acres of land, which he yet owns,
lying partly in Richland and partly in Ashland counties. It has since been his
place of residence, the scene of an active and useful business career. He
married Miss Hannah J. White, who was born in Westmoreland county,
Pennsylvania, and died on the -15th of June, 1897, at the age of sixty-eight
years, eight months and seven days. She was a member of the Lutheran
church. In the family were seven children : Alsinas E., of Greene county,
Iowa; Margaret J., the wife of Clark Graven, a prominent farmer of Greene
county, Iowa; Ida C., the wife of M. M. Darling, whose sketch is given on
another page of this work; Wesley, a mechanic of Cleveland, Ohio; Nancy A.,
the wife of McKinley McCurdy ; John E., a farmer of Ashland county; and
Homer, who works his father's farm.
Mr. Cole lost his right arm in a threshing machine about nine years ago,
but since that he has learned to write with his left hand. This is an indication
of his enterprise and determined nature. He has been very successful in busi-
ness and his beautiful home stands as a monument to his thrift and enterprise.
Prosperity has come to him not through speculation, but along well defined
lines of labor and is richly merited. He and his family are members of the
Lutheran church, and he is a Democrat in his political views. He has held
various township offices and in all has discharged his duties capably, promptly
and faithfully.
FREDERICK E. TRACY.
The value of genealogy is now widely recognized and many important
historical facts have been discovered by genealogical research. Family his-
tory is peculiarly interesting and it is especially so when it involves so much
of historical interest as does the history of the family of Tracy, which has
produced men of prominence in all generations since its establishment in
America. Of this notable family Frederick E. Tracy, of Mansfield, Ohio,
is a worthy representative.
Mr. Tracy was born at Painesville, Ohio, May 6, 183 1, the third child
of Judge Josiah and Diantha (Lathrop) Tracy. Judge Tracy was born
at Franklin, Connecticut, October 1, 1796. Diantha Lathrop was a daugh-
ter of Eleazer Lathrop, of Connecticut, who was an early settler at Sher-
burne, New York, and she was born about 1802. Judge Tracy married her
August 18, 1824, and they settled at Painesville, Ohio, where, in- company
Eng by He 1
F'tr>
YtA^AJ
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 329
with his brother, he carried on a mercantile business until 1832. While at
Painesvilledie was appointed a colonel in the-old militia. In 1832 he removed
to Vermillion, Ohio, and was the superintendent of the Huron Iron Works
until 1835, when he located at Huron and became interested in a business
enterprise there. He soon became popular and influential and was elected
a justice of the peace, the mayor of Huron, a state senator and the county
judge of Erie county. His wife died at Huron April 22, 1840, and in 1847
he removed to Mansfield, Ohio, where he died January 11, 1857, but was
buried at Huron beside the remains of his wife. However, in an after year
(1897), the subject of this mention removed their remains and those of other
members of the family to the Mansfield cemetery.
Josiah Tracy, the father of Judge Josiah Tracy and grandfather of
Frederick E. Tracy, was born at Norwich. Connecticut, May 7, 1772, and
was married, January 20, 1795, to Mary Birchard, who was born at Nor-
wich July 25, 1773, a daughter of Jesse and Lydia (Waterman) Birchard.
Lydia Waterman was a daughter of William and Margaret (Tracy) Water-
man. ■ This William Waterman, who was born in 17 10. was a grandson of
Ensign Thomas Waterman and his wife Miriam, nee Tracy, the only daugh-
ter of Lieutenant Thomas Tracy, and from this fact it will be seen that our
subject's grandmother, Alary (Birchard) Tracy, descended from the only-
daughter of Lieutenant Thomas Tracy and his grandfather. Josiah Tracy,
from Captain John Tracy, the eldest son of the same Lieutenant Thomas
Tracy. Captain John Tracy was born in 1642 and was one of the original
proprietors of Norwich, Connecticut, was a justice of the peace and repre-
sented Norwich in the general assembly for six sessions. He married Alary
Winslow, a niece of Governor Edward Winslow.
Lieutenant Thomas Tracy was born at Tewksbury, England, in 1610,
and came to Massachusetts in 1636, in the interest of his friends. Lord Say
and Lord Brook, in whose honor Saybrook, Connecticut, was named : and
his second wife was the widow of John Bradford, a son of Governor Brad-
ford. He was a talented and active man and represented Norwich. Con-
necticut, in the general assembly for twenty-seven years. He was a com-
missary and quartermaster in King Philip's war and assisted in the relief
of L ncas. the sachem of the Mohicans, when he was besieged. • Lieutenant
Thomas Tracy's grandfather, Richard Tracy, was the sheriff at Tewksbury,
England, in 1650, and married Barbara .Lucy, who was a pupil of Fox,
the martyrologist. She was descended in the sixteenth generation from
Hugh De Montfort, a son of Gilbert Gaunt, who was a great-grandson of
330 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Robert II, of France. Through Judith, the wife of Baldwin I, she was
descended from the Emperor Charlemagne, and through his ancestress,
Alfretta. the wife of Baldwin, the second count of Flanders, from Alfred the
Great. The Tracy ancestors of Lieutenant Thomas Tracy were knights and
sheriffs from the time of le sire de Tracy, who came over with the conqueror.
Frederick E. Tracy married. May 10, 1855, Anna Tracy Lord, of Hones-
dale. Pennsylvania, a daughter of Russell F. and Mary Ann (Garrett) Lord.
Her father was the chief engineer of the Hudson & Delaware Canal Com-
pany. Mr. Tracy was a- teller in a bank at Zanesville. Ohio. 1853-57. In
1858 he came to Mansfield and engaged in the retail grocery business. In
1862, as the senior member of the firm of Tracy & Avery, he entered the
wholesale grocery trade. In 1893 the concern was incorporated under the
style of the Tracy & Avery Company, with Mr. Tracy as the president. It
occupies a fine modern brick block on North Diamond street and does a
large and increasing business.
Fraternally Mr. Tracy is a Freemason, politically a Republican, and
religiously a Congregationalist. He is a member of the Young Men's Chris-
tian Association of Mansfield, of which he has been a most earnest supporter,
being a liberal contributor to the maintenance of their institution. Mr.
Tracy's business career has been a conservative, successful one, and he is
numbered among the men who have materially contributed to the prosperity
of Mansfield.
The following facts concerning the children of Frederick E. and
Anna (Lord) Tracy will be found of interest in this connection: Howard
Tracy was educated at Oberlin and at Amherst, graduating at the latter
institution, and married Bessie Lindsley, of Nashville, Tennessee. He is
in the coal and coke business at Chicago, Illinois. Louise Massa Tracy
married Dr. Charles E. \\ nislow. of Los Angeles, California. Russell Lord
Tracy was educated at Oberlin and at Carlton College, Minnesota. He mar-
ried Luella Smith, a daughter of Edward P. Smith, of St. Paul, Minnesota,
and is a prominent financier and resident of Salt Lake City, LTah. Ruth
Maria Tracy is the wife of the Rev. Sidney Strong, of Oak Park. Chicago,
Illinois ; and Waldo Tracy married Fayette Darwin YV'inslow, who is a lawyer
at Aurora, Illinois.
SAMUEL PUGH.
Samuel Pugh is one of Richland county's highly respected citizens, whose
useful and well-spent life has not only gained for him the confidence of his
fellow men but has also secured for him a comfortable competence which
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 33l
enables him to lay aside all business caresand spend the remainder of his
days in ease and retirement. His home is on section 36, Weller township.
Mr. Pugh was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, February 24, 1845,
a son of John and Elizabeth (Pifer) Pugh, both natives of Lancaster county,
that state, the former born in 1801, the latter in 1809. His paternal grand-
parents came to this country from Ireland at an early day, and settled in the
Keystone state. Shortly after his marriage John Pugh moved to Franklin
county, where for a number of years he drove a stage prior to the intro-
duction of railroads, and later engaged in farming, gardening and lime burn-
ing as a means of livelihood. He was one of the influential men of his com-
munity, was an ardent Democrat in politics, and for many years was an active
member of the German Reformed church. He died in 1879, at the ripe old
age of seventy-eight years, his wife in 1897, at the age of eighty-eight. Her
parents were Jacob and Elizabeth Pifer, who emigrated to Ohio at an early
day, becoming pioneer settlers of Franklin township, Richland county, where
her father purchased a small farm, upon which they made their home through-
out the remainder of their lives.
Samuel Pugh is one of a family of twelve children, ten of whom are still
living, namely : George and Mark, both residents of Franklin county, Penn-
sylvania; Mary, the wife of William Poe, of the same place; Jacob, also a
resident of Franklin county; Samuel, our subject; Edward and Henry, twins,
the former a teamster of Shelby, this county, the latter a farmer of Franklin
township; Margaret J., the wife of Adam Henry, a farmer of Weller town-
ship; Emaline, the wife of Manuel Oliver, a farmer of Franklin county, Penn-
sylvania; and James, a farmer of Weller township, this county.
In the county of his nativity, Samuel Pugh passed the days of his boy-
hood and youth, and pursued his studies in the common schools. On reaching
his eighteenth year he left the parental roof and came west, locating in Frank-
lin township, Richland county, Ohio, where he apprenticed himself to the
carpenter's trade. When his term of apprenticeship expired, he began con-
tracting and building on his own account, and during the following nine years
he steadily prospered. In 1874 he purchased ninety-six acres of land on sec-
tion 36, Weller township, where he has since made his home, employing
hired help to operate his farm, while he continued to follow contracting until
1888. Since then he has practically lived a retired life, though he occasionally
does some work at his trade for the accommodation of his neighbors. Suc-
cess has attended his well-directed efforts, and he now owns three good farms,
aggregating two hundred and twenty-three acres. His home place is one of
the best improved and most desirable farms of its size in the township.
332 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
In 1 87 1, Air. Pugh was united in marriage with Miss Maria Wolford,
a daughter of David Wolford, a well-known retired farmer of Weller town-
ship, and they have become the parents of four children. Those living are
Allen W., who has been teaching in the public schools for the past four years;
Arthur E., a graduate of the Savannah Academy, who taught history in that
institution in the year 1 899-1900, and is now teaching in the public schools;
and Carrie Mae. All reside at home.
The cause of education has always found in Mr. Pugh a stanch friend.
He has given his children good advantages along that line, and has efficiently
served as a member of the school board for twelve years. He is an active
and influential member of the Lutheran church, of which he has been a deacon
for about fourteen years, and elder for the past five years. Fraternally he
affiliates with the Patrons of Husbandry, and politically is identified with the
Democratic party. He is now serving his second term as a trustee of the
township. Notwithstanding the fact that he is a strong Democrat, he was
elected to that office in a Republican community, thus showing his personal
popularity and the confidence and trust reposed in him by his fellow citizens.
He is justly numbered among the leading and representative citizens of his
township.
Mrs. MARY C. CANS.
We are now permitted to touch briefly upon the life history of one who
has retained personal association with the affairs of Ohio throughout almost
her entire life and one whose ancestral line traces back to an early epoch
in the history of the state.
Mary Churchill (Weldon) Gans was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl-
vania, October 28, 1865, and died in Mansfield, August 23, 1899. She was
the wife of E. W. Gans, an influential citizen and for many years connected
with the Aultman & Taylor Machinery Company as the manager of its col-
lection department. Her parentage connected her with many of the promi-
nent pioneers of the county, who were potent factors in determining its
progress. Her paternal grandfather, James Weldon, was a pioneer of Mans-
field, and early erected a block on the corner of Fourth and Main streets.
For many years he followed merchandising, confining his business operations
to his own city. His was a long and honorable career, and he had a wide
acquaintance. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Gans was James Purdy,
who was of Scotch-Irish descent, born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and
studied law at Canandaigua, New York. He came from there to Mansfield in
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 333
1823, when the city was a mere frontier hamlet. He owned and edited the
first newspaper, the Mansfield Gazette, and was prominent in the movement
for internal improvement in the state, obtaining the location and partial com-
pletion of the canal through the Mohican valley, and when railroads came
into favorable consideration, as early as 1836, secured a partial survey of the
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago road, but did not secure the charter until
1848. He was also instrumental in the organization of the Mans-
field & Sandusky Railroad and became the president of the company.
In 1856 he was the projector, vice-president and joint owner of the Chi-
cago, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad and many town sites located along its
route. In 1846 he assisted in securing the charter for the State Bank of Ohio
and was a member of its board of control, establishing a branch of the bank
in Mansfield in 1847. Of ^' ls l ie was ^ le president until it was merged into
the present Farmers' National Bank, his presidency covering a period of over
forty years. He also established banks in Chicago and California. He served
in three wars, namely: that of 1812, the Mexican war and the war of the
Rebellion, — surely a record which is scarcely paralleled for patriotism and
active service. His wife, together with other prominent citizens of Mansfield,
was a descendant of the Hodges of Buffalo, New York, who traced their line-
age back through a line of patriots to those who fought in the Revolution.
William Harrison Weldon, father of Mrs. Gans, was born January 8,
1839, and died December 11, 1867, when yet a young man. As a boy he was
of very studious habits, completed the course in the Mansfield city schools and
a business course in Cleveland, and entered the bank of James Purdy at
the age of fourteen years. He made such rapid progress that when, in i860,
Mr. Purdy, Judge William Granger and James Weldon established a bank
in Chicago they placed him in charge of it. On the breaking out of the
Rebellion he was appointed assistant paymaster in the navy, shipping first with
the old Bainbridge, then with the steam sloop Sacramento, filling that po-
sition from February. 1862, until January, 1865. At the close of the Re-
bellion he formed a partnership with Colonel William Painter in the bank-
ing business in Philadelphia, but a form of low fever contracted while on
blockade duty at Panama forced him to return to Mansfield, and he was
never again able to take up business cares. In early manhood he had wedded
Mary Hodge Purdy, the eldest daughter of James Purdy. and on the early
death of her husband she devoted herself to the education of her daughter and
younger son, the latter. William McElroy Weldon, now a successful lawyer.
Mrs. Gans, the daughter, enjoyed the educational advantages afforded
by the Mansfield schools and was graduated in the high school with the class
334 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of 1883. The following years she took a special course at Vassar College,
and the subsequent year studied in Dr. Ganett's school in Chester Square,
Boston. After a year spent among her many friends in the south and some
months passed in Miss Willard's special school in Berlin, Germany, she
joined a party of college mates in a travel and study tour over much of the
old world, the party traveling under the direction of Professor Dorchester,
then famous in this specialty. They visited England, France, the Netherlands,
Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Greece, after which, being joined
by her mother and brother, another year was spent in study and 'travel. She
spent much time in Florence, which city she greatly loved and which was her
favorite next to Mansfield, to which she returned for permanent residence in
1889. Subsequently she traveled extensively in the United States. Her
patriotism was intense. While her journals show careful study and thorough
appreciation of all the old world has accomplished, the love of her own
country and town was ever first and strongest, and her friends often heard
her say that no views in all her travels so thrilled her as the sight of New
York harbor andMansfield. Her religious work was always engaging, as she
was an enthusiastic member of the Presbyterian church and found full oc-
cupation along all lines of its service. But her training and study in foreign
lands led her naturally into great activity in the literary club life for which
Mansfield is justly famous. She was a prominent member of "The Nomads,"
a club for literary study. This club was the first of the now numerous
Mansfield clubs to break away from specific instruction and start on inde-
pendent lines, determining its own course of study and doing its own in-
vestigating. In all its work Mrs. Gans was a prominent figure, and was at
all times and to the end of her life by her gentle and wise counsel a strong
factor in determining the policy of the club. The club gave expression to its
regard in these words : "She was one of the club's most efficient and de-
voted members, — at one time its president and. many times the moving spirit
which directed the course of study. The strength and nobleness of her char-
acter and wise counsel have been an inspiration."
Intimate with literary work and arduous in it and everything of interest
and value to her native city, she was, on the death of Mrs. Perkins Bigelow,
who was one of the charter members of the Memorial Library Association,
elected to fill her place as a trustee. She was elected the treasurer and was
a trustee continuously from her first election until her decease. She knew
this work thoroughly, having acted at intervals as substitute librarian and
given much of her time and attention to it. Though the youngest on the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 335
board of trustees, her opinion had great weight in shaping the wise councils
of that body, which has given the city an auxiliary of which every citizen
is proud, and which undoubtedly is a source of more permanent benefit to
the city than any one of its institutions, the public schools alone being excepted.
In the words of her associates, "She came into the board of trustees in the
grace of girlhood and has grown into the wider influence of a winsome
womanhood. Amid innumerable demands upon her time and attention she
has given most generously of her time and thought to the library. There
was no display, but the strength of practical common sense united with a
large sense of justice. There was a certain poise, the equilibrium of a clear-
thinking mind, that made her a safe counselor. In her earnest character and
conscientious work we have marked 'the high-featured beauty of plain de-
votedness to duty.' " '
Few women of her ability shrank more from the publicity of her work.
Her public work, while engaging her whole heart, always cost her a great
effort of the will. The explanation of this was found in her almost abject
self-depreciation. As is usually the case, this is the truest index of superior
talent and ability: "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." She saw
and heard so much that the whole world calls the best in art, literature and
music, that her own feeble efforts seldom won her reasonable regard. Yet
enthusiastic appreciation and a high regard for the efforts of others was her
strongest characteristic and was the key to her sweet and lovable nature.
Whether in the daily routine, the social function, auxiliary work of the church,
literary club work or neighborly kindness, she showed always the kindly re-
gard for the thought, intent and achievement of others that is the fruit of
true culture and a pure soul, in accord with its environments, physical, mental
and spiritual. Blessed with perfect health, even the mere joy of living was a
daily ecstacy to her; and it has always seemed an inscrutable providence of God
to remove so early a life of such pure and wholesome influence. Though
young and her life potential of much greater good, yet she left on her asso-
ciates and town the indelible stamp of a perfectly symmetrical, sympathetic,
cultured Christian character that is the richest of earthly rewards. "A
personality so strong and well poised leaves an impress that years do not
efface;" and those who knew her best and felt her influence strongest laid
on the smouldering altar of her quenched life the fragrant incense of a sincere
love that is its own best measure.
336 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. "•)
BENJAMIN F. WHARTON.
Actively associated with the farming interests of Richland comity, Mr.
Wharton is the owner of a valuable tract of land of one hundred and sixty
acres in Butler township. He has his place under a high state of cultivation,
the fields being well tilled, while substantial buildings and all modern acces-
sories add to the value and attractive appearance of the place. In his farming
methods he is progressive, keeping the soil productive through the rotation of
crops and thus annually garnering rich harvests.
Mr. Wharton is a native son of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Ash-
land county, on the 28th of February, 185 1. His father, John Wharton, was
born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1781, and in his youth was inured
to the work of the farm. After arriving at years of maturity he wedded
Mary Holtz and later he came to the Buckeye state, locating in Ashland
county, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, on which
he resided until about a year prior to his death, when he sold that property and
bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Weller township, Richland
county, where he died twelve months later. His first wife passed away many
years previously, and he afterward wedded Anna McMillan, who was born
June 6, 1814, in Jefferson county, Ohio, and removed with her parents to
Ashland county during her girlhood. She died March 26, 1900, in the eighty-
sixth year of her age, having spent the last decade of her earthly pilgrimage
among her children. In the family were ten children, of whom three are
living, namely: Thomas, a resident farmer of Ashland county; Hulbert J.,
who is living in Mansfield, Ohio; and Benjamin F. In the community where
they resided the family were prominent and well known. The father gave
hi:, political support to the Democracy and was honored with a number of town-
ship offices. He held membership in the Presbyterian church and his life was
in harmony with his professions. In i860 he was called to his final rest, his
second wife surviving him for about forty years.
Benjamin F. Wharton spent his boyhood days on the old homestead, the
mother caring for her children and keeping the family together after the
father's death. In his early youth he attended the common schools, and at
the age of sixteen began operating the. home farm, continuing its' supervision
for many years. He was married in 1876, to Miss Sarah J. Ward, a native
of Richland county, Ohio, and a daughter of Jacob Ward, who emigrated
westward from Pennsylvania, taking up his abode in the Buckeye state.
He is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Wharton began their domestic life on the
old homestead, which continued to be their place of residence until 1883, when
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 337
they purchased a small farm south of Olivesburg. in Weller township. There
he remained for eleven months, when he sold that property and purchased his
present home place, comprising one hundred and sixty acres of valuable land
in Butler township. In 1894 he erected a commodious and pleasant country
residence, and his farm is one of the best improved in the county, giving
indication of the supervision of a careful and painstaking owner.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wharton has been blessed with seven
children, of whom six are living, namely: Hattie, at home; May, the wife
of Andrew Glenn, a farmer of Butler township; and Etta, Maud, Edna and
Madge, who are still at their parental home. When it comes time to designate
his political belief and indicate his preference of candidates for office, Mr.
Wharton deposits his ballot for the men and measures of the Democracy.
Socially he is connected with Shenandoah Tent, No. 445, K. O. T. M., and
is one of the highly esteemed men of the county, faithful to duty in all
life's relations, whether of a public or private nature.
HENRY O. PITTENGER.
This gentleman, who is one of the most progressive and successful agri-
culturists of Richland county, is the owner of a valuable farm on section 19,
Weller township, and his management of the estate is marked by the scientific
knowledge and skill which characterize the modern farmer. A native of this
county, he was born in Franklin township, November 29, 1839, and through-
out his active business life has been prominently identified with its agricultural
and industrial interests.
Isaac Pittenger, the father of our subject, was born in Harrison county,
Ohio, November 9, 1807, a son of Abraham and Susanna (Osborn) Pittenger.
The grandfather was born in Virginia, of English parentage, and some years
after his marriage moved to Harrison county, Ohio, where he bought a quarter-
section of land, making it his home throughout the remainder of his life.
He was quite an active member of the Methodist church, and his home became
headquarters for Methodism in his community, it being often used, indeed, as
a meeting-house. He died at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years.
On the old homestead in Harrison county, Isaac Pittenger grew to man-
hood, and on the 12th of June, 1832. married Miss Harriet Myers, by whom
he had five children. Those still living are John M., a farmer of Jackson
township, this county; Mary A., the wife of Charles Johnson, of Stark county,
Ohio; and Henry O., of this sketch. The year after their marriage Mr. and
Mrs. Pittenger came to Richland county, and he purchased eighty acres of land
338 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in Franklin township, upon which he erected a log cabin. There the family
made their home while he carried on the work of improving his farm.
After residing there for eighteen years he sold the place and bought one
hundred and four acres in Weller township, where our subject now resides.
In 1865 he disposed of that place, and after one year's residence on Big Hill
he bought eighty-four acres in the northeastern corner of Madison township,
where he lived until his death, which occurred February 14, 1880. For fifty
years he was an active and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and although rather a conservative and unassuming man, he was held
in high regard by all who knew him. He was very decided in his views and
was an ardent supporter of the Republican party.
Mrs. Harriet Pittenger, the mother of our subject, was born in what is
now West Virginia, May 6, 1814, a daughter of George and Catherine
(Starkey) Myers, both natives of Virginia. Her paternal grandfather,
George Myers, Sr., at an early day came to America with his parents and
one brother, the family locating in the Old Dominion, Virginia. George
Myers, Jr., who was a farmer by occupation, came to Ohio in 181 5, and after
a short residence in Licking county moved to> Clinton county. His first
wife died when Mrs. Pittenger was only eight years old, and he then broke up
housekeeping, his daughter finding a home with a neighbor for four years.
The following year was spent with an uncle in Licking county, and at the end
of that time he went to live with an aunt in Harrison county, who had been
visiting in Licking county and persuaded the young girl to return home with
her. Mrs. Pittenger remained with her until her marriage. In early life she
engaged extensively in spinning and weaving, and with her loom materially
assisted her husband in getting a start in life. Her father married for his
second wife Amelia Squires, and later moved to Indiana, where his last days
were passed.
For his early education Henry O. Pittenger is indebted to the common
schools near his boyhood home, but was attending the Hayesville Academy
at the outbreak of the Civil war. He laid aside his text-books to enter the
service of his country, enlisting August 13, 1862, in Company D, One Hun-
dred and Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In September the regiment started
for the front and remained in the service for thirty-three months, being on
detached duty most of the time. Mr. Pittenger was discharged at Camp
Dennison, May 31, 1865, and returned to his home. He assisted his father in
carrying on the farm for about three years, and also operated a sawmill, in
which he owned a half interest.
On the 23d of March, 1871, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Pitt-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 339
enger and Miss Sarah M. Morgan, a native of Weller township, this county,
and a daughter of Simon Morgan, a wealthy land-owner of that locality,
who died in 1855. By this union were born three children, two of whom
survive: Isaac Morgan, who was graduated at the Mansfield high school
and is now engaged in teaching in the public schools of this county; Tracey
Elsworth, who was graduated at Sharp's Business College at Mansfield and is
now at home.
After his marriage Air. Pittenger purchased one hundred and four acres
of land in Weller township, where he now resides, and began his career here
as a farmer. His success has been rapid, and he is now the owner of over
eight hundred acres of fine farming land. He has always given considerable
attention to stock, and to that branch of his business he attributes the greater
part of his success, it having proved quite profitable. He is a wide-awake,
energetic business man, of known reliability, and is to-day numbered among
the leading and representative citizens of his community. He is an honored
member of Jacob Ward Post, G. A. R., and is a stanch supporter of the Re-
publican party, while in religious belief he is a Methodist.
GIDEON E. HOOVER.
Gideon E. Hoover was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, on the
28th of March, 1847. The family is of German descent and was established
in America by Jacob Hoover, the grandfather of our subject, who was born
in Germany and with his parents came to the new world during his early
boyhood, the family locating in Franklin county, Pennsylvania. There he
was reared to manhood and for many years followed farming. In early life
he also became a minister of the Brethren of Christ church and until called
to the home beyond he devoted much of his time to gospel work, carrying the
glad tidings of joy to his fellow men.
Henry Hoover, the father of our subject, was born in Franklin county,
Pennsylvania, in 1820, and upon a farm and in a Christian home he was
reared. Owing to his father's ministerial duties much of the work of the
farm devolved upon him when he was yet very young, and his education was
therefore necessarily limited. He attended school only three weeks, but
through experience and observation he became a man of good general knowl-
edge. After attaining his majority he married Lydia Byers, who was born 1
in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, January 26, 1821. Her father, Andrew
Byers, was one of the well known farmers of that county and was also a
blacksmith by trade. He entered upon his business career with only half an
340 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
acre of land, yet at his death was a wealthy man. At the time of his mar-
riage Henry Hoover purchased a farm in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and
began its development. In 1850 he emigrated to Ohio and purchased in
Mifflin township, Richland county, the old homestead, upon which his son
Jacob now resides. It comprises at the present time one hundred and seventy-
one acres, but at the time of the father's purchase was only one hundred and
twenty acres in extent. Mr. Hoover prospered in his undertakings and adding
to his property from time to time he became one of the leading land-owners
of his township, his possessions aggregating between four and five hundred
acres. He was a member of the German Baptist church and one whose daily
life was in harmony with his Christian profession. He was straightforward
in all his dealings and his honesty was above question. He passed away
March 5, 1884, and his wife died March 24, 1880, at the age of sixty-four
years, ten months and ten days. This worthy couple were the parents of ten
children, of whom six are living: Lydia, the wife of John Lantz, who car-
ries on agricultural pursuits in Madison township, Richland county; Benja-
min, who is a farmer of Mifflin township and also a minister of the German
Baptist church; Gideon E.; Andrew, a resident farmer of Mifflin township;
Mary M., who is the widow of Joseph C. Zook and resides in the same town-
ship ; and Jacob, who occupies the old homestead farm. Catherine married
Christian Brenner, a farmer of Wayne county, Ohio, and she is now deceased.
On the farm Gideon E. was reared, his boyhood days being passed
amid the scenes of rural life. He worked in the fields from the time of early
planting in the spring until crops were harvested in the autumn, and in the
winter season pursued his education in the district schools. He gave his
father the benefit of his services until he had attained his majority, after which
his father gave him twenty dollars per month. He was thus employed for
one year, and on the expiration of that period he was marriegl and located
upon his present farm, a tract of seventy-one acres which belonged to his
father. He operated the place on the shares for five years, during which
time he made enough to purchase the farm by paying one-half down, the
remainder to be paid in five years. About 1880 he bought fifty acres of his
brother Jacob, adjoining his farm, and in 1895 he purchased another tract
of forty-four acres. A month later his residence was destroyed by fire. This
loss, added to the debt he had contracted, would have proved a source of
great discouragement to many men, but the resolute spirit of Mr. Hoover
enabled him to take up his work with renewed energy. He has since built a
handsome residence and to-day he has one of the best improved farms in his
township, supplied with all modern accessories and conveniences.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 341
On the 27th of February, 1869, he married Miss Alary J. Lutz. a daugh-
ter of John P. Lutz, a well known farmer of Mifflin township. They now
have four children : William, a carpenter and pattern-maker of Mansfield,
Ohio; Samuel, who is a bookkeeper for the American Biscuit Company, of
Mansfield; and Anna and George, at home. Mr. Hoover gives his political
support to the Republican party and was made its candidate for the position
of trustee but withdrew his nomination before the election. He belongs to
Madison Grange, No. 63, of the Patrons of Husbandry, and has served as a
lecturer and chaplain of the lodge. He also holds membership in the Lu-
theran church and for the past five years he has served as one of its deacons,
contributing liberally to its support and doing all in his power to advance its
interests. In his business dealings Mr. Hoover has, on all occasions, proven
strictly honest, and wherever he is known his word is as good as his bond.
Strictly temperate, though never allied with any temperance movement or
society, he has by means of his own will power continued throughout his life
an abstainer from the use of both tobacco and liquor in any form ; nor has he
ever paid for tobacco or liquor for any one's use, for what he would not do
for himself he would not do for others. A splendid example to young men
and old alike has been his course as to the use of tobacco and liquors, both of
which are so ruinous to both health and morals.
AUGUST FRED WITT.
Among the leading industries of the thriving city of Mansfield is the
Mansfield Plating Company, which has been consolidated with the Ohio Brass'
Works and which now furnishes employment to no less than two hundred
and fifty men. Its various departments are in charge of competent, up-to-date
mechanics, the plating department being under the direct management of
Mr. E. F. Cook. In this branch of the business all kinds of plating, including
gold, silver, nickel, brass, copper and zinc, is done, and a force of sixteen men
are constantly at work. The shipment from the factory goes to all parts
of the world. Mr. Witt has been connected with this establishment for sev-
enteen years and for the past twelve years, since 1888, has been foreman.
He is a native of Germany, born in 1865. In his early childhood he
was brought to America, reared and educated in Greenfield, Massachusetts,
and there learned his trade. From Greenfield he came west to Ohio, locating
first in Cleveland, where he was employed for a short time, whence he came
to Mansfield. He was married, in Mansfield, to Miss Alice Prosser. a daugh-
ter of Kempley Prosser, who came from Pennsylvania to Ohio at an early
342 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
day. The fruits of their union are three children, — Mary, Minnie and Charles.
Mr. Witt resides with his family in a pleasant home of his own on Bowman
street.
In his political principles he harmonizes with the Republican party and
is also active in local affairs. Fraternally he is a Forester and religiously a
Congregationalist, identified with Memorial church, of Mansfield, of which he
is a trustee.
JAMES W. LEPPO.
James W. Leppo, who lives at No. 35 Second street, Shelby, Ohio, and
who is a retired carpenter and builder, was born in Mount Vernon, Knox
county, Ohio, June 4, "1834. He was, formerly a member of the firm of
Bushey & Leppo, well known for their responsibility and excellent work.
The father of the subject of this sketch was John Leppo, Jr., who was
born near Hagerstown, Maryland, in March, 18 10, he being a son of John
Leppo, who was born in France, while his parents were temporarily sojourning
in that country. John Leppo was born either in 1 779 or 1 780, and came to the
United States late in the eighteenth century, participating later in the war
of 1812, and being present at Fort McHenry. He married an English lady
named Mary Pheasant, by whom he had nine children, — six sons and three
daughters, of whom one son, William, the youngest of the family, is still living
in Springfield township.
The grandparents of the subject of this sketch came to Ohio in 1832.
The father of our subject, in 1833, married Mary Ann Heller, the marriage
taking place near Hagerstown. Maryland, and they soon afterward removed
to Ohio, making the journey, as was customary in those days, by means of a
team, their conveyance being a one-horse carryall. Their route was over
the national turnpike to Jack Town, and thence to Mount Vernon. The
grandfather was a farmer by occupation, and upon reaching Ohio settled on
a quarter-section of land, which had been somewhat improved, and which lay
about one-half a mile south of Spring Mills, upon which he lived till his
death, which occurred in the early part of i860, he being then eighty-four
years of age. He was one of the successful men of his day, beginning life
in a most humble manner and accumulating considerable property, owning
at the time of his death somewhat more than one entire section of land.
The father of the subject was an excellent boot and shoe maker, having
followed this trade in Maryland, learning it when a young man near Hagers-
town, that state, but after settling in Ohio he devoted most of his time to
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 343
fanning. After managing his father's farm five years he settled in 1838 or
1839 on a one-hundred-and-sixty-acre farm adjoining, which he purchased at
nine dollars per acre. At length he became the owner, by successive purchases,
of an entire section of land, and it is within the recollection of the subject of
this sketch that his father carried eggs to market in Mansfield, seven miles
distant, and sold them for three cents a dozen, and butter, which he sold
for five cents per pound, taking pay in sugar and in calico, paying for the
latter thirty-seven and a half cents per yard.
The father and mother of our subject were the parents of nine children,
— five sons and four daughters, — as follows: James \Y., the subject of this
sketch; Sarah, the wife of George Bowman; she died leaving three children;
John and Mary, twins, who died in childhood; Margaret, the wife of Reuben
Hess, living on the old farm upon which her father settled ; Orpha, who died
when twelve years of age; a son and daughter, both of whom died in infancy;
and Thomas EL, who died in Mansfield, in 1890, at the age of forty years,
leaving four children. The mother of these nine children died in 1884. at
the age of seventy-two years, and the parents as well as the grandparents of
the subject are resting in the cemetery at Spring Mills.
James W. Leppo was reared to farm life from boyhood up, obtaining his
education in the log schoolhouse so common in those days, the one he attended
being constructed of round logs, with puncheon floor, desks and seats, and
being 28x32 feet in dimensions. In its construction but few nails were used,
the roof boards being pegged on, and the hinges of the door being of wood.
The "iron age" had not then much more than dawned in this new country.
Mr. Leppo attended this primitive school but three months each winter for a
few years, but he improved his time and opportunities so well that he obtained
a good practical education which has served him well for all practical purposes
throughout his life. His favorite study was mathematics, in which he became
unusually proficient, but he was also a good reader and excelled in pen-
manship.
Remaining at home with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age,
he was married August 31, 1859, to Catherine Hawk, of Franklin county,
Pennsylvania, who was then twenty years of age. She is a daughter of Will-
iam Hawk and his wife, whose maiden name was Miller. Both are now
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Leppo have two daughters: Mary S., the widow of
Michael Rice, now living at home and working in the Lion Laundry; and
Lillie L., also living at home. She is a young woman of great intelligence
and unusually strong common sense and fine musical taste and talent.
Mr. Leppo is a Democrat in politics, but, with the exception of having
344 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
served under Mr. Bloom as assistant postmaster, he has so far escaped official
position and responsibility. He is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Re-
formed church. In March, 1865, Mr. Leppo retired from his farm and located
in Shelby, then erecting his present house at No. 35 Second street, where he
has lived for the past twenty-five years. While a retired gentleman, he yet
goes out occasionally to his farm, which contains one hundred acres, lying
four and a half miles southeast of Shelby, and adjoins the farm upon which
he was reared. The lands formerly owned by the grandfather and also owned
by the father still remain in the family, and are highly prized by them. Mr.
Leppo and Air. Bushey were contractors and builders for twenty-five years,
the firm name having been Bushey & Leppo. Mr. Leppo has always been a
man of strong frame and great endurance and energy, and has done much
hard work during his life-time. His earlier years were spent in chopping
and logging, and later he spent fully thirty-five years working at the car-
penter's trade. But of recent years he merely keeps his fine garden in good
order, cuts his own fire wood, and keeps his own horse, driving to his farm as
occasion seems to require. From long habit he is still an industrious man,
work keeping both body and mind in a healthy and happy state. He is well
known for many miles around his own town, and is highly regarded by all
that know him, as an honest, industrious and excellent citizen and neighbor.
ROBERT G. HANCOCK.
One of the progressive and successful business men of Mansfield and
one who is known as a worthy citizen is Robert Greenway Hancock, to whom
we are pleased to direct attention in the following paragraphs. He is a
native son of merrie old England, to which he owes and pays a devoted
allegiance, but he is thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of American
independence and progress and is loyal to her institutions and zealous in
her cause. Mr. Hancock was born in Wiltshire, England, in the year 1842,
the son of Joseph and Eliza Hancock. His father was a quarry merchant
in that section, where he died in 1851, leaving four small children to the
care of his widow, who ably discharged the maternal duties thus devolving
upon her.
Our subject left his native land in 1870 and came to the United States,
which has ever since been his home. He worked from May until October,
1870, in Columbus, this state, after which he located in Mansfield, where he
has ever since been actively engaged in business as a contractor in cut-stone
work, conducting operations on a large scale and being recognized as one
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 345
of our active and influential business men. Mr. Hancock is thoroughly
familiar with every detail of the business in which he is concerned, having
learned the quarrying and stone-cutting trades in his native land and being
an authority in these lines. He began operations as a contractor in Mans-
field under the firm name of Hancock & Dow, his associate being William
Dow. The first contract executed was the erection of the Congregational
church here, and since that time each successive year has seen further evi-
dences of the professional skill and executive capacity of our subject. Among
the local buildings on which the stone contracting has been held by the firm
may be mentioned the Mansfield Savings Bank building, erected in 1873 ; tne
Plymouth and the Shelby school buildings, the county jail and many other
of our most attractive business and residence structures, while other work
of importance has been done in various sections of the state. Air. Hancock
began work on the state reformatory at Mansfield in 1886, and his skill has
been demanded in connection with the work on the great building each year
since that time, his contracts covering not only the stone and brick work, but
also much of the iron and wood work. The main reformatory building
has walls which will measure three-quarters of a mile as traced about, is
four and five stories high, with seven hundred feet of frontage and four
wings. In the construction of the entire buildings more than fifteen million
brick have been used, the cost of the institution building up to date having
aggregated $1,100,000. Mr. Hancock is scrupulously exact in his dealings,
living up to the specifications of a contract to the slightest detail and demand-
ing of every employe the best service of which he is capable. This inflex-
ible integrity has given to Mr. Hancock a wide reputation and distinctive
prestige in business circles.
Prior to leaving England Mr. Hancock had been united in marriage to
Miss Anna Scutts, who, like himself, was born in Wiltshire. They became
the parents of nine children, of whom five are deceased. Those who sur-
vive are as follows : Airs. Ada Underwood, of Mansfield ; Robert Joseph,
who is employed by the Barnes Manufacturing Company, of this city ; Albert
Edward, who is the secretary of the works of our subject located at the
reformatory mentioned, is a capable young business man; he married Miss
Emma Arley. of Mansfield ; and Miss Anna H. Hancock, who was educated
at Gambier College, and recently wedded to Charles Fausett Goodwm, of
East Liverpool, Ohio.
In his political proclivities Mr. Hancock renders support to the Dem-
ocratic party and its principles, and in religious views he is a thorough
churchman, Protestant Episcopal, being a member of the vestrv of the Grace
22
346 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Episcopal church in his home city. Fraternally Mr. Hancock is- a member
of the time-honored Masonic craft, in which he has advanced to the thirty-
second degree of the Scottish rite. He is also a member of the Knights
of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, having taken a
prominent part in the affairs of each of these organizations. His genial
personality has gained to him a wide circle of devoted friends, his popularity
being unmistakable. Mr. Hancock is a man of fine presence, is unostentatious
m manners and is well worthy of the confidence and regard in which he is
so uniformly held. He is president of the Barnes Manufacturing Company,
and is one of our progressive business men. Mr. Hancock is a trustee of
the Mansfield Cemetery Association, and is also a member of the Mansfield
City Sanitary Board, of which he is the president.
In 1892 our subject and his wife revisited the land of their nativity
and also made a tour of portions of "the continent," deriving great satis-
faction from their outing.
J. HARVEY POST.
Among the leading citizens and prominent farmers of Troy township,
Richland county, we take great pleasure in giving the sketch of this worthy
gentleman whose entire life has been spent there, his birth having occurred
on the farm where he now lives August 22, 1841. His father, Henry Post,
was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in November, 1805, and in
November, 1 819, came to this county with his father, Benjamin Post, the
journey being made by team. The latter took up one hundred and sixty acres
of government land on section 4, Troy township, and began the improvement
of the farm which is now the home of our subject, and which has since been
in possession of the family. Their first home here was a log cabin, but later
a brick house was erected, the first of the kind in the township. The grand-
father was quite a hunter, and game being plentiful at that time he had
ample opportunity to indulge in that sport. He died here in 1830. Through-
out life Henry Post remained on the old home farm and assisted in the
arduous task of clearing the land and transforming it into highly cultivated
fields, his time and energies being entirely devoted to agricultural pursuits.
He died March 14, 1888, and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Annie
Andrews, passed away September 24, 1868. Of the seven children born to
them, three died in infancy, the others being William B., a resident of San-
dusky township; Nancy, the wife of William Palmer, of the same place; J.
Harvey, our subject; and Almeda.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 347
Mr. Post, of this review, grew to manhood upon the old homestead,
and after attending the district school of the neighborhood for some years
he became a student at Baldwin University, where his education was com-
pleted. In the winter of 1863 he began teaching school, and successfully
followed that pursuit for ten consecutive winters, while engaged in farming
during the summer months. For some time he and his father carried on the
farm together, but later he took entire charge of the place and in its opera-
tion has met with marked success, being one of the most skillful and thor-
ough agriculturists of his township. He and Almeda now own sixty-seven
acres of the homestead, and he is engaged in general farming. In politics
Mr. Post is a stalwart Democrat, and has held the office of township trustee
for several years, with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his
constituents.
JOSEPH E. SMITH.
Joseph Edward Smith, the foreman of the paint department of the
Aultman-Taylor Machinery Company, of Mansfield, Ohio, is a man well
known in this city, where he has lived for many years and where his thor-
ough-going, honest, upright life has won for him the respect of all who know
him. A brief record of his life is herewith given.
Joseph E. Smith was born in Canton, Ohio, in 1846, a son of Anthony
Smith, who was a native of Alsace, Germany. In 1868 our subject moved
from Canton to Bucyrus, and in 1869 he became connected with the Aultman-
Taylor Machinery Company, of Mansfield. Since 1871, for a period of thirty
years, he has occupied his present position of foreman. From time to time
the factory has increased its capacity and labor, in 1868 employing two
hundred hands and in 1900 eight hundred hands. With this large increase
in business Mr. Smith's duties and responsibilities have increased. At this
writing he has under his immediate charge thirty men. During the long
time Air. Smith has been identified with this concern he has been almost as
steady and regular as clock work. Only one week in thirty years has he been
absent from business on account of sickness.
Mr. Smith has lived in the same house, No. 396 Spring Mill street, since
1874. That year he was married to Miss Minnie R. Alonas, of Mansfield,
who was born in his own native town, Canton. They have four children,
namely: Rose P., Lester, Anna Blanche and Eva Maria, — all at home. The
son is a graduate of the Mansfield high school, with the class of 1899; and
the youngest daughter is still in school.
348 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
In his views on religion Mr. Smith is broad and liberal. Politically he
is what is known as a Union Reformer, and is one of the leaders of this
party in Mansfield, having carried the party banner in several campaigns.
An active, intelligent citizen, interested in public affairs, always
striving to do what he believes to be right, Joseph E. Smith is valued for his
true worth and is held in high esteem by his fellow citizens.
JAMES W. WILLIAMS.
History and biography for the most part record the lives of those only who
have attained military, political or literary distinction, or who in any other
career have passed through extraordinary vicissitudes of fortune. The unos-
tentatious routine of private life, although in the aggregate more important
to the welfare of the community, cannot, from its nature, figure in the pub-
lic annals. But the names of men who have distinguished themselves in their
day and generation for the possession, in an eminent degree, of those qualities
of character which mainly contribute to the success of private life and to the
public stability, — of men who without dazzling talents have been exemplary
in all their personal and social relations, and enjoyed the esteem, respect and
confidence of those around them, — ought not to be allowed to perish. Their
example is more valuable to the majority of readers than that of illustrious
heroes, statesmen or writers. Few can draw rules for their own guidance
from the pages of Plutarch, but all are benefited by the delineation of those
traits of character which find scope and exercise in the common walks of life,
Among the individuals of this class in the state of Ohio none are better en-
titled to representation in this work than the subject of this sketch. His
record is the account of a life, uneventful indeed as far as stirring incident
or startling adventure is concerned, yet distinguished by the most substantial
qualities of character. His life history exhibits a long and virtuous career
of private industry, performed with moderation and crowned with success.
It is the record of a well-balanced mental and moral constitution, strongly
marked by those traits of character which are of especial value in such a'
state of society as exists in this country. A community depends upon com-
mercial activity, its welfare is due to this, and the promoters of legitimate
and extensive business enterprises may well be termed its benefactors.
Prominent in business circles in Shelby stands James Walter Williams,
who was born in Marion, Ohio, in 1853. His father removed to Missouri
and he pursued his education in Allentown, that state, but had no oppor-
tunity to attend school after he was thirteen years of age. At the time of
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 349
his father's death he was thrown upon his own resources and has since de-
pended entirely upon his own labor for a livelihood. He began selling pa-
pers and when fifteen years of age he commenced studying telegraphy, in
1869, in Missouri, securing a position on the St. Louis & San Francisco
Railroad as shifting clerk. While thus engaged he continued the study of
telegraphy and after mastering it continued with the company until 1878,
filling various positions. In that year he arrived in Shelby and was made
the bookkeeper of the First National Bank. In 1883 he was made assistant
cashier, which position he has since filled. He is a man of unusual business
ability, whose efforts have by no means been confined to one line. He is
the secretary of the Shelby Building & Loan Association, which was estab-
lished in 1895 and was organized with a capital stock of fifty thousand dol-
lars. The entire business of the association is confined to Richland county.
Mr. Williams is also connected with the Shelby Steel Tube Company and
the Easy Spring Hinge Company and has been instrumental in promoting
various enterprises which have contributed not only to the prosperity of
the individual stockholders but have also resulted greatly to the benefit of
the town. He has contributed in large measure to the upbuilding of Shelby,
and as one of a firm erected the Ideal Row, an addition to Shelby, and also
made the Sharon Park addition, which two sections of the city contain sixty
beautiful homes. In 1880 he established an insurance agency and now rep-
resents the Phoenix, of Hartford, the Northern Insurance Company, of Lon-
don, and various other companies, for which he is doing a good business..
In 1882 Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Miss Emma Funk,
daughter of Lewis and Lucy (Gamble) Funk, who were among the early
pioneers of the county. The father died in 1881, but her mother is still liv-
ing. Mr. Williams votes the Republican ticket and from 1886 to 1890 he
served as city clerk. He and his wife attend the Methodist Episcopal church
and are prominent and influential citizens of the community, enjoying the
high regard of an extensive circle of friends.
CLAYTON BUSHNELL HOUT.
Prominent among the successful agriculturists of Mifflin township is the
subject of this review, who was born on the farm on section 7, where he
now resides, his natal day being April 28, 1859. He comes of good old
Revolutionary stock. His paternal great-grandfather, Peter Hout, a native
of Germany, came to the new world when a young man soon after the.
breaking out of the war for independence and entered the continental service,
35o CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
becoming one of the liberators of his adopted country. When hostilities
ceased he settled down to private life and was married November 25, 1786.
to Rosann Miller, also a native of Germany. They made their home near
Martinsburg, Virginia, and the fact that he owned a large tract of land in
that locality leads the family to believe that it was a grant from the colonial
government. There he made his home throughout the remainder of his life.
Jacob Hout, the grandfather of Clayton B., was born near Martinsburg,
Virginia, on the 18th of April, 1794, and in early life migrated to Jefferson
county, Ohio, where he made his home for some years, but in 1820 moved
to Richland county- Though he died at an early age he succeeded in acquiring
a handsome property, becoming the owner of five hundred and forty acres
of valuable land. Throughout life he followed the occupation of farming.
He was twice married, his first wife being Catherine Simpson, by whom
he had four children, of whom Peter is the only survivor, and is represented
on another page of this volume. His second wife was Mary Williams, a
native of New York state, who died October 3, 1862, in her fifty-ninth year.
To them were born two children, but George, the father of our subject, is the
only one living.
George Hout was born September 30, 1829, in Mifflin township, Rich-
land county, Ohio, and was but nine years of age at the time of his father's
death. However, he and his three older brothers attended to the work of the
farm for five years, while his mother managed affairs. There he grew to
manhood, assuming the management of the place at an early day. In 1856
he was united in marriage with Miss Martha Lantz, who was born in Lan-
caster county, Pennsylvania, in 1826. Her father, Abraham Lantz, also
a native of the Keystone state, came to Ohio about 1830, and settled in Madi-
son township, Richland county, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres,
making it his home until called to his final rest. George Hout brought his
bride to the old homestead, and his mother made her home with them up
to the time of her death. Upon that place he still resides, in the house where
he was born over seventy years ago. He is one of the most highly respected
and honored citizens of his community, is a Republican in politics, and is a
member of Mansfield Lodge, No. 35, F. & A. M. In his family were three
children, the surviving members being Byron B. and Clayton B.
At his parental home Clayton B. Hout passed the days of his boy-
hood and youth, and pursued his studies in the common schools of that
locality. On the nth of March, 1881, he was united in marriage with Miss
Fleeta Stillwagon, a native of Ashland county, Ohio, and a daughter of
George Stillwagon, a veteran of the Mexican war and a prominent farmer of
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 35 1
Ashland county, now deceased. By this union was born one child, Cloyd C,
at home.
After the marriage of our subject the father turned the management
of the farm over to him, and in the nineteen years that have since passed
he has demonstrated his ability as a thorough and skillful agriculturist. He
has steadily prospered and is to-day considered one of the progressive and
substantial farmers of the county. Politically he is a stanch supporter of
the Republican party and its principles; has been a delegate to numerous
county conventions; and in the spring of 1900 was a delegate to the con-
gressional convention held at Norwaik. Fraternally he is an hone red mem-
ber of Courtney Camp, No. 3505, M. W. A.; and Matamora Tribe, I. O. R.
M. ; and religiously is one of the prominent members of the United Brethren
church, in which he is serving as a steward.
Byron B. Hout was born in Mifflin township, Richland county, Ohio,
February 9, 1857, and is one of the progressive farmers of this township.
He married Alice G. Kauffman, by whom he has a son and a daughter. He
is a strong Republican and a representative citizen.
AARON SCHAUCK.
The subject of this review, who is now deceased, was for many years
one of the leading farmers and highly respected citizens of Troy town-
ship, Richland county, Ohio. He was born in Maryland on the 5th of
February, 1812. but at an early day came to this county with his father.
Flenry Schauck, and remained with him on the home farm in Troy town-
ship until the latter's death, when he took charge of the place.
On the 1st of March, 1855, Mr. Schauck was united in marriage with
Miss Elizabeth A. Eckert, a daughter of Daniel Eckert, and they became the
parents of one child, Almira C, who was born July 2, 1856, and died Feb-
ruary 19, 1864. After his marriage Mr. Schauck continued to live on the
old homestead for six years, and then removed to the farm on which his
widow now resides. When he located thereon the land was covered with a
heavy growth of timber, which he cleared away, soon placing acre after acre
under the plow until he had one of the most highly cultivated farms in Troy
township. It consisted of eighty-nine acres of arable land, upon which he
successfully engaged in general farming throughout the remainder of his life,
dying there October 30, 1883.
Air. Schauck contributed to the support of churches, and his influence
was always found upon the side of right and order. Politicals he was a
352 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
strong Republican and an ardent advocate of its principles. He was a man
of strong character and firm determination, and his upright, honorable course
in life commended him to the esteem and respect of all with whom he came
in contact. His widow, who still resides upon the home farm, is a member of
the United Evangelical church and is a most estimable lady, whose circle of
friends and acquaintances is extensive.
WILLIAM H. ROASBERRY, M. D.
One of the most exacting of all the higher lines of occupation to which a
man may lend his energies is that of the physician. A most scrupulous pre-
liminary training is demanded, a nicety of judgment but little understood by
the laity. Our subject is well fitted for the profession which he has chosen
as a life work, and his skill and ability have won for him a lucrative practice.
The Doctor was born in Ontario, Richland county, September 21, 1854,
a son of Oliver and Nancy J. (Crabbs) Roasberry, who were natives of
the same place. His paternal grandparents, William and Martha (Booth)
Roasberry, were both natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and in
18 18 came to Ohio, locating on a farm three miles south and west of On-
tario. The grandfather subsequently sold that place and bought another farm
four miles west of Mansfield, where he made his home until death. By
trade he was a stone-cutter, and on first coming to this state he followed that
occupation during the winter months, while engaging in farming during the
summer season. He was twice married, our subject's grandmother being his
second wife.
Oliver Roasberry, the Doctor's father, was reared on the home farm and
educated in the common schools. As he grew up he learned the stone-cutter's
trade of his father, and soon after his marriage he and his brother Michael
established themselves in the monument and gravestone business in Galion,
Ohio, but after a short time spent at that place moved to Mansfield, car-
rying on the business now conducted by E. M. Wolff, at that place. The
father succeeded in business at this place, and was numbered among the
leading citizens of the town. He died in 1869, and his widow afterward
married a Mr. Greenfield, and now resides in Ashland, Nebraska. By her
first marriage she became the mother of four children, three of whom are
still living, namely: William' H., of this review; Franklin, a resident of
Olivesburg, Ohio; and Amelda, the wife of Joseph Case, of Omaha, Ne-
braska.
Dr. Roasberry began his literary education in the home schools, and
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 3 53
for three terms was a student at the normal school in Ada, Ohio. In the
fall of 1876 he took up teaching, and successfully followed that profession
for four years. Having previously decided to make the practice of medicine
his life work, he devoted his holidays and evenings to study along that
line, and during the summer vacations read medicine under the able direction
of Dr. H. Mera, now professor of materia medica and theory and practice
in the Detroit Homeopathic Medical College. In the fall of 1879 Dr. Roas-
berry entered Hahnemann Medical College at Chicago, and was graduated
there in the spring of 1885. After his graduation he located in Olivesburg.
Ohio, where he has since successfully engaged in practice with the exception
of three years spent at Stuart, Holt county, Nebraska. He enjoys an ex-
tensive practice, probably doing more driving than any other physician in
the county, and keeping a number of horses for that purpose. He is thor-
oughly up to date in his methods, keeping abreast with the latest discoveries
and theories in the science of medicine and surgery.
The Doctor has a charming home presided over by an accomplished
wife. He was married, in September, 1879, to Miss Mattie An, a daughter
of Captain Christopher Au, of Ontario, and to them have been born four
children : Morris, a graduate of the Savannah Academy in preparation for
a medical course; Earl, who is attending the same institution; Eunice and
Leota. The older son shows decided talent as an artist, and many specimens
of his work adorn the home. The Doctor and his wife are both active and
prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a trus-
tee, and he also holds membership in Ontario Lodge, I. O. O. F. Politically
he is a Democrat.
MARIOX M. DARLING.
L^pon a pleasant home of one hundred and fifty-seven acres in Monroe
township Marion M. Darling makes his home. He was born on this place
September 15. 1859, a son of Abraham and Rebecca Anne (Manchester)
Darling. He represents an old Virginia family. His grandfather, William
Darling, was born in Virginia, whence he removed with his parents to Co-
shocton county, Ohio, and in the early day took up his abode in Richland
county, entering the land from the government. Not a furrow had been
turned nor an improvement made upon the place, but with marked energy he
began its development and followed farming and stock-raising". He was one
of the most extensive stock dealers in this section of the country and drove
his stock to Pittsburg, Pennsvlvania, before there were any railroads. He
354 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
accumulated considerable land and left a farm to each of his five sons and
two daughters. Prominent in public affairs, he exercised potent influence in
the progress and upbuilding of the community, and his labors were of marked
benefit. He donated the ground upon which was erected the first Lutheran
church, and in many ways contributed to the public good. His death occurred
when he had attained the age of fifty-six years. His father, Robert Darling,
was also a native of Virginia.
Abraham Darling, the father of our subject, was born on the 31st of
May, 1824, on the old family homestead in Worthington township, where he
was also reared. At the time of his marriage his father gave him the farm
now owned by our subject, and upon that place he spent his remaining days.
He wedded Rebecca Ann Manchester, who was born in Holmes county, Ohio,
January 9, 1829, and came to this county during her girlhood. Both Air. and
Mrs. Darling were active members of the Lutheran church, and he was a
Democrat in politics. On the ticket of that party he was elected township
trustee and proved a capable officer. His wife died January 26. 1897, at the
age of sixty-eight years, and he passed away on the 10th of August, 1898.
They had seven children, of whom two died in infancy, the others being Alary
F., the wife of Thomas H. Beavers., a stock dealer of Perrysville, Ohio;
William A., a farmer of Ashland county, Ohio; Luther E., who is engaged in
merchandising in Marshalltown, Iowa; Marion M. ; and Walter A., who is the
proprietor of a fruit farm in Monroe township.
Marion M. Darling was reared under the parental roof and early became
familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist.
He remained at home until twenty-five years of age, when he rented land in
Monroe township and cultivated the same for two years. On the expira-
tion of that period he went to DeKalb county, where he conducted his father's
farm for two years, after which he returned and took charge of the old home
place, continuing its cultivation until his parents' death, when he purchased
the property. He has since given his time to its further development and
improvement, and has now one of the most attractive and desirable farms in
this portion of the county, the fields being well tilled and everything about
the place kept in good condition.
Air. Darling has been twice married. He first wedded Miss Ida Cole, a
daughter of John Cole, of Worthington township. She was a member of the
Lutheran church and died at the age of twenty-nine years, leaving one son,
Howard C, who is now at home. For his second wife Air. Darling chose
Miss Silva, a daughter of Josiah Switzer, of Richland county, and they have
three children — G. Blake, C. Carlton and Bonnie Belle, — all at home. The
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 35 5
parents are members of the Lutheran church, in which Mr. Darling has
served as a trustee and deacon. In politics he is a Democrat and socially is
connected with Letonia Lodge, No. 507. K. of P., of Perrysville. He is one
of the representative young farmers of Richland county, enterprising and
progressive, honorable in all his dealings, faithful in friendship and reliable
in all life's relations.
BENJAMIN J. WILLIAMS.
In modern ages, and to a large extent in the past, banks have constituted
a vital part of organized society, and governments, both monarchial and
popular, have depended upon them for material aid in times of depression
and trouble. Their influence has extended over the entire world, and their
prosperity has been the barometer which has unfalteringly indicated the
financial status of all nations. Of this important branch of business Ben-
jamin J. Williams is a worthy representative, having for a number of years
been the cashier of the First National Bank. He was born in Marion, Ohio,
June 23, 1842, a son of Walter and Jane (Williams) Williams. His father
was a native of Wales and his mother of Ohio. His father died in Missouri,
in 1862, at the age of forty-five years, while his widow survived him until
1899, passing away at the age of seventy-six years. In their family were
four children, three sons and one daughter, namely: John T., James W..
Benjamin J. and Elizabeth J. In 1858 the family removed from Marion to
St. Louis county, Missouri. Benjamin J. Williams became deeply interested
in the incidents which led up to the Civil war, and when hostilities were
inaugurated between the north and the south he resolved to strike a blow in
defense of the Union, enlisting in the home company of Major Inks' battalion,
with which he served for one year. He then came to Ohio and enlisted in the
Ninety-sixth Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, with which he served throughout
the remainder of the war. His command was attached to the Army of the
Tennessee, and after the siege of Vicksburg his regiment entered the Depart-
ment of the Gulf, where they remained until the close of the war.
Mr. Williams then returned to his home in Missouri and was engaged in
railroad work until 1872, when he resigned and came to Shelby, Ohio. Here
he organized the First National Bank and has since served as its cashier.
He is a very popular officer, is prompt in the execution of business, at all times
reliable, and by his honorable methods has secured a liberal patronage. He
assisted in the organization of the Shelby Steel Tube Company, of which he
has been director from the beginning, while for three years he acted as the
356 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
secretary and treasurer. This is a very extensive concern, capitalized for thir-
teen million dollars. He is a director in the Shelby Water Company, which
was incorporated for eighty thousand dollars, and is also a director of the
Easy Spring Hinge Company, which was incorporated and has a capital stock
of sixty thousand dollars.
On the 24th of December, 1868, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Ida
Whiting, of Buffalo, New York, a daughter of D. W. and Susan (Page)
Whiting. In their family are four children — Mrs. Florence Williams
Haynes, Lucia Williams, Beatty B. and Charles Whiting. Beatty is now
a' mechanical engineer in the Tube Works. Both sons are graduates of Ober-
lin College, of the class of 1899, and Florence is a graduate of the Wesleyan
University, at Delaware, *of the class of 1890. Mr. Williams belongs to the
Masonic lodge of Shelby and the Grand Army of the Republic, and the family
attend the Methodist Episcopal church. Over the record of his public and
private career there falls no shadow of wrong or the suspicion of evil, and he
is known as a citizen whose judgment is sound, whose business methods are
honorable and who is also true and loyal wherever he is found.
DAVID CRALL.
David Crall, one of the foremost and most successful farmers of Richland
county, Ohio, whose farm is situated in section 19, Sharon township, and
whose postoffice is Vernon Junction, was born at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
in 1 82 1, on the 25th of November. He is a son of Henry Crall, who was
born at the same place in 1779, and died in Crawford county, Ohio, when
in his eighty-fourth year. His father also was named Henry. The maiden
name of the grandmother of the subject of this sketch was Schopp. The
Crall family came originally from Switzerland and settled in Lebanon county,
Pennsylvania, in 1740, and in this county one of the descendants still lives
and owns a farm. The maiden name of the mother of the subject was Eliza-
beth Henshaw, who was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She married
Mr. Crall in 1809. They were well-to-do and prominent farmers and sold
their Pennsylvania farm in 1845 to the state.
David Crall first came to Ohio in 1844, riding across the Alleghany
mountains on horseback ad consuming nine days in making the journey to
Ohio. After purchasing an eighty-acre farm, upon which had been erected
a log house aii)d barn, he returned in the fall of the same year to his old
home in Pennsylvania, returning to his Ohio farm in the spring of 1845.
This farm cost him in cash thirteen hundred dollars and upon it some clear-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 357
ing had been done and there were a good many girdled trees. Upon his
return in the spring of 1845 ne was accompanied by his eldest brother Simon,
who was married and brought his wife with him to this then new country.
They all three lived in the log house one year, and in the spring of 1846
the subject was married to Miss Maria Stentz, of Harrisburg. Pennsyl-
vania, and a daughter of John and Sophia (Hentz) Stentz, they being also
of Harrisburg, and having settled in the dense forest in that vicinity in
1834. They were industrious, honest and well-to-do farmers, owning two
good farms and having a family of two sons and eight daughters. Mr.
Stenz died at the age of sixty-eight, and his widow at the age of eighty-two.
Both rest from their labors in Oakland cemetery, a beautiful city of the dead.
Air. and Airs. Crall began their domestic life in a hewed-log house and
hewed out a home in the woods, when wild game was plentiful and neighbors
few and far between. To the eighty-acre farm originally purchased in 1844
they have added from time to time other acres, until his landed possessions
amount to two hundred and ninety acres, or did amount to that number of
acres before the construction of the railroads through this part of the county.
Then Mr. Crall laid out the village of Junction City, the plat of which con-
tained about ten acres, and this, together with what has since been occupied
by the railroad, reduced the size of his farm. He and his wife are the parents
•f nine children, three sons and six daughters, as follows : Elizabeth, the
wife of Ezra Kochenderfer, a sawmill owner of Richland county : they have
one son and five daughters ; John, who occupies and manages the old farm
and who married Mattie Sipe ; Sophronia, the wife of William Hollengbaugh,
of Plymouth township; William Rhinehardt, a farmer living in the vicinity,
who has a wife, two sons and one daughter; Susannah, the wife of John
Shrock, of Shelby; Alary Sophia, the wife of Willis Hershiser, a farmer of
Plymouth township, who has a wife, two sons and two daughters; Emily
Alice, the wife of George Sprague, a farmer of Springfield township, who
has a wife, three sons and five daughters; Henry Xelson, a machinist of
Shelby, who is married and has one son and one daughter ; and Anna Eliza*
living at home. All of the above-named children have been well educated
at the common school, and four of the daughters have taught school. All are
unusually intelligent and of unimpeachable morals and habits of life, using
neither tobacco nor intoxicating liquors.
Air. Crall, the father of this interesting family, was the youngest of
his father's family, which consisted of six children — four sons and two
daughters. Simon, born about the year 1810, and who died in Crawford
county in his seventy-fourth year, having reared nine children ; John, who
358 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
died at Bucyrus about 1882, leaving six children living, two or three others .
having died; Elizabeth, who married William Crumb and who died at Har-
risburg, Pennsylvania, leaving eight children; Susannah, who married, first,
John Ely and after his death John Fortney : she reared six children, and died
in Van Wert county, at the age of fifty-eight; Henry, who died in Craw-
ford county, at the age of eighty-two; and David, the subject of this sketch.
The parents died while all of their children were living, the mother about six
months before the father.
David Crall is a member of the United Brethren church, of which his
wife was a most efficient member. In politics he is a Republican. He
has held the office of township trustee several terms, besides having been a
school director and road master. His present fine, large brick house he
erected in 1854, and the large evergreen trees which stand as sentinels around
his residence, and which attract the admiring attention of all passers-by, were
planted by his own hands and will continue to live and remind his relatives
and friends of him long after he has moldered into dust. His son's residence
is an excellent frame structure, erected in 1887 on the farm. Mr. Crall is a
man of unusually strong body and mind, and has a most retentive memory;
and, as his father died before any of his children, so it is altogether probable,
notwithstanding his firm health, that he will do the same, they being, like him,
of unusual bodily health and strength. When he passes away the beautiful poem
"The Old Farmer's Elegy" would be a fitting tribute to his memory, and
might almost be regarded as having been written to commemorate his life
and virtues. All that know him know him but to honor him for the hon-
orable career he has made for himself and the noble character he has always
maintained.
LE ROY PARSONS.
Among the prominent business men of Mansfield none are more pro-
gressive and public-spirited than the subject of this biographical record. He
has been identified with the growth and progress of his adopted city for thirty-
three years, and during this period he has generously contributed of both
means and labor to the advancement of its interests. For some time past he
has been connected with the Chamber of Commerce in Mansfield. — an or-
ganization corresponding to the board of trade in some cities, and having
for its object the advancement of public enterprises in the way of se-
curing manufactories, building railroads into the city and such other in-
dustries as would tend to the material growth and prosperity of the
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 359
city. At the present time Mr. Parsons is the secretary of the Board of Com-
merce, active in securing contributions toward the extension of the Short
Line Railroad into the city. But this is only one item in the man)- that might
be cited to show the public spirit and local pride of our subject in enhanc-
ing the interests of Mansfield. He served four consecutive terms as the clerk
of the city council, — a longer period than any other man has filled that im-
portant office. He has taken an active interest in various social fraternities
and held places of honor and responsibility in them. He is a member of
Madison Lodge, No. 26, K. of P., and Mansfield Lodge, No. 56, B. P. O. E.
Mr. Parsons was born in Bennington, Vermont, May 12, 1843, a son of
Hial K. and Harriet (Robinson) Parsons. The mother died in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, in 186 1, but the father is still living, at the age of eight-
one years, and is now a resident of Mansfield. In early life he was engaged
in commercial business, but spent his productive years in mechanical pursuits.
During his youth Mr. Parsons accompanied his parents on their removal
to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he received his elementary education.
To this he has added by careful reading and stud)- until he is exceptionally
well informed upon current history and public affairs. On the 14th of
September, 1876, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Shumway, a
native of Akron, Ohio. Their only child, Ed Roy, was born in Mansfield,
March 18, 1878, and is now engaged in the manufacture of gloves. He was
educated in the high school of his native city, and at a special art school on
Broad street, Philadelphia, devoting two years to study there. He married
Miss Grace Bowland, of Columbus, Ohio, a representative of a well known
pioneer family of Mansfield.
In 1867 Mr. Parsons came to Mansfield and for five years was engaged
in the sale of manufacturing implements, but during the greater part of his
residence here he has given his time and attention to the insurance and real-
estate business. In fact since 1872 he has been actively and successfully en-
gaged in that business. Perhaps no man in Richland county has a wider or
more favorable acquaintance than Mr. Parsons. This is in a measure due
to his extensive transactions along the lines of his chosen work. Yet his
affable temperament and genial disposition contributes largely to this re-
sult. He has bought and sold thousands of acres of Richland county real
estate, and through his popular agency carries insurance on a vast amount
of the country's destructible property. In all of his varied experiences, the
public — that severest of critics — has found Mr. Parsons an honest, upright,
straightforward business man, whose capabilities have never been questioned,
360 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. Parsons comes of Revolutionary stock, his ancestors settling in
New England prior to the war for independence and participating extensive-
ly in that historic struggle. During the Civil war he served nine months as
a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer
Infantry, and participated in the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Po-
litically he is a stanch Democrat, and has served in the city council of Mans-
field, being president one year. He is a member of the board of trustees of
the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Building, a magnificent edifice erected
to the memory of deceased soldiers, and he is the secretary of the board. He
and his family attend the Episcopal church and stand high socially.
CHARLES H. KEATING.
This well known member of the bar of Richland county has gained a
prominent place among the lawyers of pronounced ability who have con-
ferred honor and dignity upon the profession by their wise interpretation
of the principles of jurisprudence. Mr. Keating' is the only son of Thomas
B. Keating, and he is a native of Mansfield, having been born here in the
year 1870. His father had pome here from Columbia county, Pennsyl-
vania, and contracted for the building of the city water works, successfully
completing the task, after which he also secured other important contracts
with the local municipality, putting clown a large portion of the excellent
brick pavements in our streets, the city having a number of miles of
streets thus improved. The mother of our subject was Sarah Jane
(Hedges) Keating, daughter of Ellsey Hedges, who was a prominent busi-
ness man and influential citizen of Mansfield during his life. Airs. Keating
entered into eternal rest in 1883, deeply mourned by a large circle of friends
in Mansfield, where her entire life had been passed. She was a sister of
Hon. Henry C. Hedges and a niece of Gen. James Hedges, who surveyed and
founded the town of Mansfield. Josiah Hedges, an uncle of Mrs. Keating,
was the founder of the city of Tiffin, Ohio, the name having been long and
conspicuously identified with the history of the Buckeye state. The great-
grandfather of our subject in the maternal line was Charles Hedges, who
was a resident of eastern Virginia, and who had nine sons and two- daughters.
Joseph, Samuel, Hiram and Otto remained in Virginia; Elijah removed to
Fairfield county, Ohio ; John to Muskingum county ; and James and Josiah
first settled in Belmont county, this being in the year 1812. Josiah Hedges
was clerk of the courts of Belmont county, and James was sheriff, while
the youngest of the brothers, Ellsey, the father of Mrs. Keating, served as
t w i
'UC*Zt+*t7 .
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 361
deputy to both. In 181 2 he went on foot to Columbus to carry the presi-
dential election returns from Belmont county, his brother James having been
commissioned a captain of the United States army, for service in the war
of 1812.
Our subject, Charles Hedges Keating, secured his preliminary educa-
tional discipline in the public schools of his native city, graduating in the
Mansfield high school as a member of the class of 1889, after winch he
prosecuted his studies in Amherst College, Massachusetts. Having deter-
mined to prepare himself for the profession of law, he began his more purely
technical study in the office and under the preceptorship of Messrs. Cum-
mings and McBride, representative members of the bar of this county and
well known citizens of Mansfield. He was duly admitted to the bar of the
state in 1896 and immediately entered upon the active practice of -his pro-
fession. His success has been unmistakable and is the direct result of the
inherent ability, thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the law, and
capacity for consecutive application, which Mr. Keating has brought to bear.
He is ambitious and yet is duly conservative in his methods, realizing that
the law is a jealous mistress and will admit of no divided attention or luke-
warm allegiance.
Mr. Keating has rendered a stalwart support to the Republican party
and its principles, and was for some time the efficient chairman of the
county central committee of his party, being at the present time a member of
the county executive committee and also a member of the congressional com-
mittee of the fourteenth congressional district. During the presidential cam-
paigns of 1896 and 1900 his services w T ere in requisition at the Republican
national headquarters, in Chicago, where he did very effective work in the
speakers' bureau, being the chief clerk of that bureau. Other distinctive pre-
ferment came to Mr. Keating in 1898, when Judge Ricks, of the United
States district court, appointed him referee in bankruptcy, for a term of two
years, and to which position he has been reappointed for a second term. He
is a young man of marked ability in his profession and as an executive, and
in the field of legitimate politics it is practically certain that further and
more notable honors await him in case he consents to turn his attention in
that direction.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Keating is a member of the Masonic
order, in which he has attained the Knights Templar degree, and he is also
identified with the Knights of Pythias. His religious faith is that advanced
and maintained by the Presbyterian church. He was married. June 6, 1900,
to Gertrude A. Simpson, the youngest daughter of Professor John Simpson.
23
362 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
SOLOMON W. ABY.
This well known and highly esteemed citizen of Mifflin, .Richland county,
Ohio, was born in Ashland county, three miles east of his present home,
October 6, 1842, and is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families
of that county, his paternal grandfather, Jacob Aby, a native of Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, being one of the early settlers. His father, Ephraim
Aby, was born in Ashland county, where he continued to make his home until
he started for California just prior to the Civil war, since which time nothing
has been heard of him. He was united in marriage with Mary Vail on the
day William Henry Harrison was elected president in 1840. His widow
makes her home near our subject and is a well-preserved old lady of seventy-
nine years. Her parents were James and Sarah (Copus) Vail, the latter a
daughter of James Copus, who was killed by the Indians in 181 2. Mrs. Vail
died in 1884, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. She had four chil-
dren, namely : John, who served as a captain in the war of the Rebellion,
married Fannie Kisling, and from Ashland county, Ohio, moved to Missouri,
where they reared ten children. Nancy married Scott McDennitt, a black-
smith of Ashland county, who died about thirty years ago, leaving three chil-
dren, and a widow, who now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Mary, the
mother of our subject, is next in order of birth. Solomon lives on the place
where his grandfather, James Copus, was shot by the Indians near a spring
of water that flows from the roots of a willow tree. He married Louise
Haney, and they have three children living, — John Wesley, Marida ' and
Elizabeth, — all residents of Ashland county.
The subject of this sketch is the oldest in a family of six children, the
others being as follows : Jacob, who died unmarried in Pittsburg. Penn-
sylvania, in 1877: he was a member of Company E, Seventy-fourth Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and was wounded in the battle of
Chattanooga, but never applied for a pension ; Amanda, now a resident of
Mansfield, Ohio, who married John Beek, a farmer, who died about eighteen
years ago, leaving four children, — Nettie, Rella, Alice and Kittie; Sarah,
who married William Yoh, who died about eight years ago, and his widow
and three children now live in Michigan; Fanny, who married Josiah Will-
iams, of Michigan, and they have one child; and Mina. who married Martin
Hender and lived on a farm adjoining our subject's place, where both died
in the spring of 1897, only fourteen days apart: they had two children, — ■
Clarence and Alice, — who died in June, 1896. Of Amanda's children Nettie
is now the wife of William Daubenspeck, a carpenter of Mansfield; Rella
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 363
is the wife of Jefferson Swengering, of Waterford, Knox county, Ohio; Alice
is the wife of Burr Gettis, a bookkeeper living in Denver, Colorado ; and Kittie
lives with her mother in Mansfield, Ohio.
Solomon Aby, the subject of this review, was reared in his native county
and educated in the common schools. He successfully engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits in Ashland county until the spring of 1883, when he sold
his place and purchased a farm of one hundred acres in Richland county, to
the improvement and cultivation of which he has since devoted his energies
with marked success. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and is highly
respected and esteemed by all who know him.
On the 17th of March, 1870, Mr. Aby married Miss Elizabeth Gongway,
a daughter of Michael Gongway, of Ashland county, who died in 1896, at
about the age of eighty years. By this union six children were born, namely:
Cora B., now the wife of Wesley Keefer, a farmer of Washington township,
Richland county, south of Mansfield, by whom she has two children, — Leta
and Boyd ; and Stella, Charles, Bert, Effie and Elta, who are all at home
with their parents.
JACOB De LANCEY.
For many years Mr. De Lancey was actively identified with the business
interests of Richland county as a contractor and builder, but is now living
a retired life at his pleasant home on section 14, Cass township. He is a
native of Pennsylvania, his birth occurring in Perry county, that state, Jan-
uary 27, 1820, and is one of a family of eight children, of whom he and his
brother Joseph, a retired citizen of Bucyrus, Ohio, are the only survivors.
Francis De Lancey, the father of our subject, was born in France, and
during boyhood came to the United States with his parents, who located in
Perry county, where he grew to manhood upon a farm and married Mary
Rice, a native of that county. There he followed farming until 1826, when
he emigrated to Richland county. Ohio, and bought a farm of one hundred
acres in Cass township, two miles west of Ganges. Four years later he
sold that place and purchased a farm of similar size near Planktown, where
he made his home until death. He died in middle life, being somewhat over
forty years of age, but his wife lived to the age of ninety-two years.
On leaving home, at the age of sixteen, Jacob De Lancey commenced
learning the carpenter's trade of his brother-in-law. James Crawford, and
after completing his apprenticeship continued to follow that occupation for
more than twenty years in this section. Industrious and economical, he
364 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
began saving money early in his career and invested his accumulations in
land, his first purchase consisting of his present farm of ninety-three acres on
section 14, Cass township. At the time it was wild and unimproved. After
erecting a dwelling, he took up his residence there, and while he continued
to work at his trade he hired his land cleared and cultivated. Later he
bought the old Crawford farm of eighty-five acres, south of Planktown, and
subsequently purchased one hundred acres adjoining this on the east. He
rented his land and continued to follow carpentering and building until some
time in the '60s, erecting many of the residences in and around Shiloh, which
still stand as monuments to his skill and handiwork. Since that time Mr.
De Lancey has lived quietly upon his home place, enjoying the fruits of
former toil.
In 1S43 ne wedded Miss Sarah Crawford, a native of Beaver county,
Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John Crawford. By this union he had seven
children, four of whom are living, namely : Joseph, who is operating" one of
his father's farms; Calvin, a blacksmith of Greenwich, Ohio; Mary J., the
widow of William Furney; and Christina, the wife of H. H. Parrish, a shoe
merchant of Belief ontaine, Ohio. The wife and mother died March r8, 1876,
and for his second wife Mr. De Lancey married Miss Ellen J. Guthrie, a
native of Blooming Grove township and a daughter of John E. Guthrie, who
in his 'teens came to this county from Harrison county, Ohio, the place of
his nativity.
Mr. De Lancey is a Democrat in political sentiment, and for the past
twenty-five years has been an active member of the Lutheran church. After
a useful and honorable career he can well afford to lay aside all business cares
and live in ease and retirement. He is widely and. favorably known, and is
honored for his sterling worth and many excellencies of character.
THOMAS J. SHOCKER.
Thomas J. Shocker, a prominent citizen of Mansfield, Ohio, was born
March 4, 1848, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a son of Harry S. and Eliza
Carr (Adams) Shocker, who removed from their old home in Philadelphia to
Salem, Ohio, in i860. During the year 1862 Thomas J. Shocker, after sev-
eral unsuccessful attempts, finally got to the front in the army of the Union.
Too young to be mustered into the service of the government, he went with
Captain Edward Holloway, of Company B, Twelfth Ohio Cavalry, and was
with the company until the close of the war, undergoing all the hardships
of army life in camp, in the field, on the march, in battle and as a prisoner of
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 365
war. After completing his service in the army he returned to SaTem, Ohio,
whence the family removed, in 1865, to Alliance, Ohio.
Thomas J. Shocker in his youth learned civil engineering and was with
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company on its Eastern division. Later he be-
came a fireman for the same company and was soon promoted engineer on a
locomotive, which position he held for many years: in 1887 he left this service
and was given a position as the foreman of the engine house of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company at Mansfield, which position he still retains.
November 1, 1870, he was married to Miss Mary Koons, at her home
in Richland county, and to this marriage there have been born the following
children: Harry Daniel, born August 28, 1871 : Grade, born March I, 1874,
and died when five months old : Emma, born July 14, 1875, grew up a beautiful
girl, graduated at the high school when eighteen years of age, and died August
17, 1895; and Thomas J.. Jr., born August 17, 1881.
Harry Daniel Shocker' is an engineer, beginning work for the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company when but seventeen years of age, and being placed
in charge of a locomotive when twenty-two, since which time he has been
continuously in the service of the company. He was married June
7. 1899, t0 ^ ss Maud Clifford, at her home in Mansfield. Thomas
J. Shocker, Jr., has a good common-school education, and spent two years
in attendance at the high school, and afterward took a commercial course
at the Mansfield Business College, graduating at this latter institution in
1899. He is now collector for the Mansfield Savings Bank.
The father of Thomas J. Shocker died at Alliance, Ohio, and his mother
at Crestline. They reared six children, viz. : Harry, Thomas J., John Sam-
uel. William and Mary. Harry served his country four years during the
Civil war, as the first sergeant of his company. He is now engaged in
building locomotives in the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, hav-
ing been thus employed ever since the close of the war. John Shocker is
a passenger conductor on the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus Railway, having
held his present position for the past twenty years. Mary married C. L.
Jackson, who is a passenger engineer on the Pennsylvania Railroad, having his
position for many years.
Thomas J. Shocker is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers and has held his membership for the past ten years. He is also
a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has been since 1885, having passed
all the chairs but two. Politically he is a Thomas Jefferson Democrat, and
he and his family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
The parents of Mrs. Shocker were Daniel and Jane (Reed) Koons, the
366 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
former born in 1808 and died in 1877, and the latter born in 18 16 and died'
in 1894. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom six still live,,
as follows : John, who is in the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com-
pany, and married Miss Helen Shalters at Alliance, where they now reside;
Jenetta, now the wife of Michael Young; Delilah, who married William
Kerchiee, and is now residing with him in Youngstown; Lillie, now living
at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Abraham, who married Isabella Hoff-
man, with whom he is now living at Crestline, Ohio. Margaret, recently
deceased, married James Hacket, of Shiloh, Richland county, who is now a
retired farmer.
Mrs. SARAH J. BOALS.
Mrs. Sarah J. Boals was born in Richland county, and while she was
still an infant her father, in 1850, went to California to seek his fortune, but
soon after reaching that country died, leaving his wife a widow with four
children, — all daughters, — of whom Mrs. Boals was the youngest. When
she was about five years of age she was taken by Robert Brown, a farmer
of Washington township, and lived with him until she was eighteen years
of age. April 19, 1873, she was married to Mr. Marion Boals. and im-
mediately after their marriage they located in Mansfield. Mr. Boals was
in the service of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway Company,
and on Thanksgiving morning, 1884, while in the line of his duty as con-
ductor, in the yards of that company at Mansfield, was mortally injured, dying
November 27, 1884, almost immediately after receiving his injury. Mr.
and Mrs. Boals were the parents of the following children : William Rich-
ard, born February J x 1874; Marion Herbert, born October 7, 1876, a ma-
chinist in the employ of the Union Foundry & Machine Company; George
Henry, born August 7, 1879; and a daughter, born August 1, 1883, and died
when five clays old. The boys are all at home, William R. being an employee
of the New York, Pittsburg & Ohio Railroad Company, and located in
Mansfield ; and George Henry, a painter in the employ of the Aultman-
Taylor Company. Mrs. Henry Newland, a sister of Mrs. Boals, lives on a
farm in Madison township; Mrs. Martha Culver, another sister, lives in Ne-
vada. Missouri, and Mrs. Mary Mcjunkins, still another sister, lives at Crest-
line, Ohio. The mother of these four sisters, who for some years lived
with Mrs. Mcjunkins at Crestline, died during the summer of 1896, at
the age of seventy-one years. Robert Brown died about twenty-five years
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 367
ago, and Colonel R. C. Brown, his son, with whom Mrs. Boals lived in her
girlhood, died in 1897.
Mrs. Boals is a stanch member of Dr. Niles' English Lutheran church,
of Mansfield, and has been living in her present home. No. 65 Buckingham
street, some nine years. Her son, William R., is a member of the Maccabees
of Mansfield.
JOHN D. MYERS.
The life story of the pioneer is always fraught with interest and the
work of the pioneer in planting civilization and developing the resources
cf any country is a most important one, deserving first place in all local
history and biography. The biographical sketch which follows embraces
every phase of rural life in Ohio and exemplifies the progress of events in
Richland county through several generations of the well-known family of
Myers, of which John D. Myers, of Jackson township, is a prominent repre-
sentative.
John D. Myers was born in Stark county, Ohio, April 24, 1828, a son of
Adam and Elizabeth (Howard) Myers. Adam Myers was born in Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, and grew to manhood and married there. He came*
west as far as Ohio in 1823 and located in Stark county, where he remained
until 1827, when he came to Richland county and took up eighty acres of
government land, on which he erected a one-room log cabin, into which he
moved his family in 1828. It was a most primitive home in which the fam-
ily was first domiciled, with a low split-board roof and a puncheon floor, and
a forest of beech, maple and other native trees extended from it for many
miles in all directions, rarely broken for human habitation and peopled with
Indians and wild animals. In all of Jackson township there were but few
families at that time. Adam Myers had seven children: John D., Sarah,
Elizabeth, Sophia, Catharine, Rebecca and William H. During the pioneer
days Mr. Myers and his daughters manufactured the family clothing, through
all processes from the fleece and the flax to the finished garment, and in all
ways their life was a most primitive and laborious one. Though small of
stature Air. Myers was a man of information and of much force of char-
acter, and was influential in public affairs and active and helpful in the early
work of the Lutheran church here. He died on his home farm, in Jackson
township, in 1855, at the age of seventy-five years, his death being deeply
regretted by all who had known him during his long, busy and self-denying
career.
3 68 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
John D. Myers was about four months old when his father moved to
his farm in Jackson township. The first school he attended was in a log
schoolhouse with slab benches, greased-paper windows and a great fireplace,
and the name of his first teacher was John Upp. He was brought up to the
hard labor of a pioneer farmer's boy of all work, and there was no phase
of backwoods life with which he did not early become familiar. He was
married September I, 1853, to Miss Elizabeth Feighner and rented and
moved upon his father's farm. His father died about two years later, his
mother in 1859, at the age of seventy-two years. His worldly success has
been noteworthy. From a beginning in active life at the age of eight years,
working for his board and clothing, he has, by industry and honesty, ad-
vanced to the position of a first-class farmer, owning the old farm of one
hundred and twelve acres of highly improved and productive land, including
his father's original "eighty," and engaged extensively in general farming.
Ail his life he has lived here, and he is now seventy-three years old. He is
a man of much public spirit, always helpful to every movement tending to the
advancement of the interests of his township, county and state, and he takes
a deep and abiding interest in political affairs, voting and working with the
Democratic party for the prevalence of its principles in all important national
measures. He filled the office of township trustee greatly to his credit and to
the satisfaction of his fellow townsmen for four years, and has been many
times solicited to accept other important local offices ; but he is not merely an
office-seeker: he has a decided disinclination to public life and prefers his
farm and his stock — for he has dealt long and successfully in horses — to
any political honors that might be his for the taking. Forty years he has
been a member of the Lutheran church, and he has served his organiza-
tion as a deacon and the treasurer for twenty-three years and has been the
superintendent of its Sunday-school for ten years.
Air. and Mrs. Myers have had children as follows: Sarah, Frances
(dead), William, Melissa, Curtis, and another who died in infancy.
PETER HOUT.
There is particular satisfaction in reverting to the life history of the
honored and venerable gentleman whose name initiates this review, since
his mind bears impress of the historical annals of Richland county. Here
he has spent his entire life, and has been prominently identified with its
growth and upbuilding. He was born in Mifflin township, on the 17th of
November, 1821, a son of Jacob and Catherine (Simpson) Hout. The fa-
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 369
ther was a native of Virginia, where his early life was passed; and his fa-
ther, Peter Hout, was born in Germany, from which country his parents came
to America at an early day, settling- in the Old Dominion, where they spent
the remainder of their lives. After reaching manhood Jacob Hout came
to Ohio and first located in Jefferson county, where he was united in mar-
riage to the mother of our subject. After a few years' residence there he
came to Richland county, about 1820, and entered the northeast quarter of
section 17, Mifflin township, while his brother John, who came with him,
entered the adjoining quarter section on the west. Some five or six years later
Jacob Hout sold his place and bought the southeast quarter of section 7, the
same township, where he continued to make his home until called from this
life, July 15, 1838, at about the age of forty-five years. Thus passed away
one of the honored pioneers and highly respected citizens of this county. In
religious belief he was a Presbyterian and in politics a Whig. He was twice
married, his first wife having died when our subject was only four years
old. Of the four children born of that union Peter is the only survivor.
The second wife was Mary Williams, by whom he had two children, but
George alone is living.
Amid pioneer scenes Peter Hout passed the days of his boyhood and
youth, and he conned his lessons in a primitive log schoolhouse common at
that time. On the 30th of May, 1843, he was united in marriage with Miss
Sarah A. Boals, a native of Jefferson county, Ohio, and a daughter of David
Boals, one of the early settlers of Mifflin township. Seven children blessed
this union, — five sons and two daughters, — namely: Susanna, the wife of
M. J. Clugston, of Mansfield; William M., a farmer of Madison township,
this county; David W., who is running his father's lower farm; Jacob G., a
molder of Mansfield ; Cyrus B.. the chief engineer of the electric light and
power house of Galion, Ohio; Elmer J., a farmer of Mifflin township, this
county; and one daughter, Mary Effa, who died when about twenty-two years
of age.
After his marriage Mr. Hout settled upon a farm of eighty acres in
Mifflin township, — the west half of the northwest quarter of section 16, —
which was then the property of his father. As it was covered with a heavy
growth of timber, he at once began the arduous task of clearing the land and
fitting it for cultivation. After his father's death he bought the land from
the administrators of the estate, and has since added to it, making a fine farm
of two hundred and two acres. Although now in his eightieth year. Mr.
Hout is still hale and hearty and able to perform considerable work upon the
farm. Politically he is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, has served
37o CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
as infirmary director six years, and as township assessor nine or ten terms.
He can relate many interesting incidents of pioneer life in this region when
the land was all wild and unimproved and when wild game of all kinds was
plentiful. As an honored pioneer and representative man of his community
he is well worthy the high regard in which he is uniformly held.
FRITZ A. OTT.
A prominent and well known German- American citizen, who has accumu-
lated a comfortable fortune in the tanning and saddlery business, now residing
in Shelby, Ohio, is Fritz A. Ott, the subject of this sketch. He was born in
Wertheim, Baden, Germany, December 22, 1832, a son of Seigfried and
Magdalena (Bauer) Ott.
Interchange of letters with a brother established in America created in
our subject a desire to cross the ocean also. This he accomplished in the
spring of 1855, when, with his younger brother, Frederick, he reached New
York and came immediately to Shelby to join his brother George, who had
been here for several years, employed by Stephen Marvin, in the tanning busi-
ness, which house had been established in 1820.
A welcome awaited the lads, and as George had bought the business from
Mr. Marvin they had immediate employment ; but they soon realized the neces-
sity of mastering the English language. They were ambitious and desired
to be able to read, write and converse in it, and as a teacher they secured the
services of the Hon. S. S. Bloom, then a struggling young attorney, willing
in this way to augment his income. In one year Fritz and Frederick bought
the tanning plant, adding to it a saddlery line, and with energy, economy and
honest dealing they made it a very successful business, retiring with a com-
petency. They closed up the tannery in 1892, but continued the saddlery busi-
ness until 1897, Frederick died October 28, 1892.
The marriage of Mr. Ott was celebrated in March, 1864, to Miss Jennie,
the daughter of Stephen and Sarah (Burr) Marvin, who had come to this
place from Connecticut in 1818. Mrs. Ott was born in Shelby, December
22, 1835. One son and four daughters were born of this union: Stephen
S., who is now a resident of Florida; Anna Laura, who married George W.
Rogers, October 20, 1890, and left a widow June 21, 1894, with one little
daughter, Amy^Ott Rogers: Mrs. Rogers married W. A. Shaw on August 1,
1899, and resides in Shelby. The next daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ott is
Emily M., born in 1872; the next Lena Burr, born in 1S78 and died in 1895;
and the youngest child is Georgie E., born in 1882.
CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 37 1
The beautiful home of Mr. Ott is a fine brick residence surrounded by
trees, and it is a privilege to pass time under its hospitable roof. The family
are among the most highly esteemed members of the Methodist church and
are well known to all the residents of this thriving town. In politics Mr. Ott
is a firm supporter of the principles of the Republican party.
GENERAL THOMAS T. DILL.
General Dill, one of Mansfield's best known and most highly esteemed
citizens, was born in Wayne county. Ohio, May 2. 1842, and is a son of
Thomas and Catharine (Kellog) Dill. The father was born in Dillst >wn,
Pennsylvania, in 1800, and during his boyhood was brought to this state by
his parents, who settled in Stark county. After his marriage he removed to
Wayne county, and in 1852 came to Mansfield, Richland county, where his
death occurred in 1877. He was twice married, his second wife being the
mother of our subject. She was born in Northamptonshire, England, in 1808.
The General began his education in his native county, and after the
removal of the family to Mansfield attended the public schools in that city.
He was among the first to offer his services to his country on the outbreak
of the Civil war, enlisting in April, 1861, for three months, at the president's
first call for troops. He became a member of the Sixteenth Ohio Volunteer
Infantry and served under General McClellan in West Virginia, participating
in the battles of Philippi, Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford. He was mustered
out in August, 1861, and almost immediately re-enlisted for three years, in
the re-organized Sixteenth, as a private, but was afterward promoted as ser-
geant and was mustered out as sergeant-major, October 31, 1864. In the
course of two months he agai'n re-enlisted for three years, in Hancock's Vet-
eran corps, becoming a second lieutenant in the First Regiment, United
States Veteran Volunteers, and was afterward transferred to the Ninth
Regiment and promoted first lieutenant and adjutant. During his military
career he served under Generals McClellan, Buell, Sherman, Grant, Banks,
Canby and Hancock, and participated in a great many of the important cam-
paigns and battles of the war, including the siege and capture of Vicksburg.
He was a prisoner in the hands of the enemy for a short time, and was
finally mustered out of service on the 2d of May, 1866, with a war record of
which he may be justly proud.
Returning to Mansfield in the summer of 1866. General Dill has since
made this place his home. For eight years he was connected with the Ault-
man-Taylor Company. In the fall of 1876 he was elected clerk of the courts
372 CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
of Richland county, and so acceptably did he fill that office that he was re-
elected for another three-years term in the fall of 1879. In January, 1884,
after the election of Governor Hoadley, he was appointed assistant adjutant-
general of the state, and served in that capacity with headquarters at Columbus
for two years. In the spring of 1886 he was appointed by Governor Foraker,
now United States Senator, a member of the board of trustees of the Ohio
Soldiers and Sailors' Home, which they located and built near Sandusky. He
was again appointed assistant adjutant-general of the state by Governor
Campbell in 1890, and resigned his position as a trustee of the Soldiers and
Sailors' Home. In 1891 he was made adjutant-general of the state and most
efficiently filled that office until January, 1892. Governor Bushnell re-ap-
pointed him a trustee of the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors' Home in the spring of
1896, and when his term expired, in April. 1900. he was reappointed by Gov-
ernor Nash for a term of five years. His official duties have always been most
capably and conscientiously discharged, winning for him the commendation
of all concerned.
General Dill was married in the summer of 1866 to Miss Malvina Vogel,
of Millersburg, Ohio, and to them were born two sons : Charles F., who died
in the fall of 1889; an d George V., who is engaged in business in Mansfield
as a dealer in coal, lime and builders' supplies.
The General served as the captain of Company B, Seventeenth Ohio
National Guards, in 1878 and 1879, and has been aid-de-camp on the staff
of the commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is also a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masonic fraternity
and the Knights of Honor. His long residence in Mansfield, covering a
period of almost half a century, has placed him among its valued citizens who
have been devoted to the public welfare. He has manifested the same loyalty
in clays of peace as in time of war, and all who know him have for him the
highest regard.
JOSEPH SNAVELY.
Of the farming interests of Worthington township Joseph Suavely is
a representative. He was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, March
30, 1822, and is a son of George and Barbara (Alspaugh)Snavely, who also
were natives of the Keystone state. The father was born in Lancaster
county and in early life learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for
some years. Subsequently he turned his attention to farming, and in 1839
came to Richland county and purchased one hundred and sixtv acres of
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 373
land, now owned by his son Joseph. To the development and cultivation
of that property he devoted his energies throughout the remainder of his
active business career. He died at the age of eighty-three years, and his
wife passed away at the age of sixty-two. They were both consistent and
active members of the United Brethren church, doing all in their power to
promote the cause of Christ among men. In politics Mr. Snavely was a
Democrat, but never sought office. This worthy couple were the parents of
eleven children, but Joseph is now the only surviving member of the family.
In the state of his nativity Joseph Snavely spent the first seventeen
years of his life, and then came with his parents to Worthington township,
Richland county, remaining at home until twenty-two years of age. He
then went to Stark county to learn the trade of making grain cradles, and
followed that business for about two years, after which he returned to the
farm. He worked at his trade for a short time and then assumed the
management of the old home place for his father. Later he purchased
the farm from the other heirs and settled up the estate without employing
an attorney. He has since resided on the old homestead, and as his financial
resources increased he made additional purchases of land, but in later years
has given all of it to his children, with the exception of the original place
of one hundred and sixty acres. His career has been an active, useful and
honorable one, and his well directed efforts have brought to him prosperity.
Mr. Snavely was united in marriage to Sarah Good, of this county, who
died December 29, 1897. They had nine children, namely: Eliza Ann, the
wife of Amos Norris, of Worthington township; Peter, who died in Worth-
ington township, when about fifty years of age; Lucinda, the wife of James
Secrist; George, a resident of Richland county; Sarah Catherine, the wife
of James E. Smith ; Samuel, a teacher and minister of the United Brethren
church, living in Washington; a twin sister of Samuel, who died in infancy;
Daniel H., a farmer of Worthington township; and Larnory Ellen, the wife
of William F. Smith.
Through long years Mr. Snavely has given his political support to the
Democracy, taking great interest in the dissemination and adoption of its
principles. For several terms he served as supervisor, proving an acceptable
officer. He is an active member of the United Brethren church and has
filled almost all of its offices. For twenty years he was the superintendent
of the Sunday-school, and he yet attends through the summer months. He
was a trustee at the time of the building of the house of worship and has
labored earnestly to promote the interests of the church. He had to aban-
don his Sunday-school work on account of his impaired hearing, but his
374 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
interest therein has never flagged. He has passed the seventy-eighth mile-
stone on life's journey and his path has been marked by good deeds, by
fidelity to duty and by faithfulness to friends and family. Such a record
is well worthy of emulation.
SAMUEL BARR.
For almost seventy years Samuel Barr has been numbered among the
enterprising and energetic citizens of Richland county, Ohio, and is now-
residing on the old homestead on section 5, Monroe township, where much
of his life has been passed. He was born on the 25th of May, 1823, in
Bedford county. Pennsylvania, and is one of a family of seven children, but
he and two sisters are the only representatives now living. Nancy is the
widow of David Baker and a resident of Kosciusko county, Indiana, while
Mary is the widow of Henry Statler and a resident of this county.
David Barr, the father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania in
1798, of German parentage, and there grew to manhood. He wedded Alary
Kavlor, who was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1796, and in May,
1830, they started west in company with her father, Frederick Kaylor, who
had been engaged in business as a saddler and harnessmaker in Hagers-
town, but in this state worked but little at his trade. His last days were
spent in Stark county, where the family first located, and there Mr. Barr
planted a crop and spent about five months, and then came to Richland
county, after planting his crop, and purchased a quarter-section of land in
Monroe township. He returned to Stark county to cultivate and harvest
his crop, and in the fall returned to Richland county with his family, and in
the midst of an almost unbroken forest they made their home in true pio-
neer style in the primitive log cabin. Soon afterward he erected a two-story
log house on his farm. Upon his farm here the father died November 4,
1872, and the mother passed away in 1868. In his political views he was a
Democrat.
During his boyhood Samuel Barr pursued his studies in the local schools
and assisted in the arduous task of clearing and improving the home farm.
He remained under the parental roof until he was married, in 1846, to Miss
Barbara A. Beasore, a native of Maryland and a daughter of Daniel Beasore,
who came to Ohio during the '20s and settled in Monroe township, this
county. By that union were born six children, the surviving members being
Mary J., the wife of William Durbin, who is now operating our subject's
farm; Salina A., the wife of Charles Swigart, a farmer of Clay county, Kan-
CEXTEXXIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 37$
sas;and Susan E., the wife of Hon. W. S. Kerr, of this county. The wife
and mother died in January. 1S68. and the following December Mr. Barr
was united in marriage with Miss Susan M. McBride. a native of Richland
county and a daughter of Alexander McBride, now deceased. One child
blessed this marriage, — Hattie, the wife of Sheridan McFarland, a grocer
of Mansfield.
After his first marriage Mr. Barr located upon a small farm of forty
acres belonging to his father and adjoining the old homestead. Five years
later he purchased eighty acres of land in Mifflin township, where he resided
for nineteen years, and then bought the old homestead in Monroe township,
where he has lived uninterruptedly since 1869. Upright and honorable in
all his dealings, he has met with well deserved success in life and is now
quite well-to-do.
In early life Mr. Barr united with the Reformed church, but now holds
membership in the Lutheran church, there being no church of the other
denomination in his community, and lie has served as trustee, deacon or elder
for several years. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat, and he has
been honored with various township offices, such as trustee and treasurer,
the duties of which he has always capably and satisfactorily discharged,
winning the commendation of all concerned.
JOHN L. WIRTH.
John L. Wirth, who owns and successfully manages a fine farm in Troy
township, has for over half a century been identified with the agricultural
interests of Richland county. He is of foreign birth, but his duties of citi-
zenship have ever been performed with a loyalty equal to that of any native
son of America, and he is numbered among the most highly esteemed and
valued citizens of his community.
A native of Germany, Mr. Wirth was born in Bavaria on the 23d of
May, 1823, and his early life was passed upon a farm in that country, aiding
his father in its operation until his emigration to America. In 1849 he
took passage on a sailing vessel, and after a long and tedious voyage of
forty-five days landed in Xew Orleans, whence he proceeded by water to
Cincinnati, and from there came to Mansfield, Ohio. Here he at first
obtained employment in a sawmill, and later worked on a farm by the month
for three years. At the end of that time he was able to purchase a small
farm, which he successfully carried on from 1853 to ^75, and then moved
to his present farm, consisting of one hundred and forty-four acres, one
376 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
hundred acres of which he has placed under excellent cultivation and
improved with good and substantial buildings.
Mr. Wirth was married, in 1853, the lady of his choice being Miss
Catherine Schull, by whom he has had ten children, but only five are now
living, namely: George, John, Lena. Alattie and Catherine. For several
years Mr. Wirth has been an active and earnest member of the Congrega-
tional church and has filled the office of trustee. In his political affilia-
tions he is a stanch Democrat. On reaching Mansfield Air. Wirth was two
dollars in debt, having borrowed that amount to pay his way from Cincin-
nati to the former city, but with a firm determination to succeed he has
steadily overcome the obstacles and difficulties in the path to prosperity and
has become well-to-do, being able to give his children a good start in life.
His success is due entirely to his industry, economical habits and strict atten-
tion to details, and the prosperity that has come to him is certainly worthily
achieved.
JOHN H. BURKHOLDER.
The rapid development of photography during recent years has brought
into the profession and business — for in a broad sense photography is both —
many men of enterprise and ability for affairs such as would scarcely have
connected themselves with it in the earlier years of its history. One of
the prominent representatives of this art in Ohio is John IT. Burkholder,
of Mansfield, who is a popular and influential citizen of Richland county.
Air. Burkholder was born in Holmes county, Ohio. July 17. 1863, a
son of John and Christina (Burky) Burkholder. His father had tanneries
at Dundee and Shanesville, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and is now living
retired at the last named place. He was at one time the postmaster at Wal-
nut Creek, Holmes county, Ohio. Air. Burkholder, who is of Swiss extrac-
tion in both direct family lines, was educated in the common schools at Dun-
dee and Shanesville and entered upon his career as a photographer at Shanes-
ville, whence he removed to Navarre, Stark county, Ohio. From Navarre
he removed to Bellville, Richland county, this state, where he remained five
years. After that he was for seven years at Mount Vernon, -Ohio, where
he had the leading business of the kind in the town. He came to Alans-
field in 1885 anc l opened a gallery on Alain street, and has prospered even
beyond his expectations. He does general photography of all kinds, giving
special attention to portrait and commercial work. A feature of his busi-
ness is portraits in all finishes, such as crayon, india ink, water color and
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 377
pastel portraits, and for this work he has been awarded a number of first-
prize medals at photographers' conventions. In connection with his artistic
work he carries a complete line of photographic supplies, in which he has
a large trade throughout the territory tributary to Mansfield, one of his
specialties being Burkholder's extra rapid symmetrical lens for high-grade
photography. His business, which now occupies a floor space of more than
four thousand square feet, is increasing rapidly, as his goods and straight-
forward business methods become known to the trade.
Mr. Burkholder married, at Bellville, Richland county, Ohio, Miss
Josephine Crumrine, of Nevada, Ohio. He is a Knight of Pythias, a Mod-
ern Woodman of America and a member of the Junior Order of American
Mechanics. His brother, George W. Burkholder, has been associated with
him in his business for seven years as a general assistant.
HENRY N. WHITE.
It is an encouraging fact to know that prosperity is the sure reward of
earnest labor when guided by sound judgment. Comparatively few are they
who come into an inheritance sufficient to keep them throughout a long
career, and individual effort must supply to each that which is needed for his
livelihood and his support. America affords boundless opportunities to one
who wishes to advance and desires to gain success. Mr. White belongs to
the class of earnest citizens who have worked their own way upward to
positions of affluence, and he is now the owner of the farm upon which he
was born, November 2, 1847. His parents were Samuel and Jane (Valk)
White, who had six children. His grandfather, Peter White, was of Eng-
lish lineage and married Miss Britton, who also was of English descent, her
ancestors having come to this country from the merrie isle at an early day.
The grandfather was a farmer and both he and his wife spent their entire
lives in Columbia county, Pennsylvania.
Samuel White, the father, was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania;,
on the 1 2th of February, 1807, and in the place of his nativity grew to
manhood. He afterward located in Orangeville, Pennsylvania, where he
followed farming for six years, and on the expiration of that period he
emigrated to Ohio in 1836, taking up his abode in Richland county. He
purchased forty acres of land in Cass township on the Huron county line,
this property being now a part of the Miller farm. For a year he continued
its cultivation and then sold out, after which he purchased forty acres, upon
which our subject now resides. As the years passed and his financial resources
24
378 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
increased he extended the boundaries of his farm until it comprised one
hundred and eighty-six acres. The father was a Whig in his early political
affiliations, and in ante-bellum days strongly opposed slavery, being known
as a stanch Abolitionist. Accordingly, when the Republican party was formed
to prevent the extension of slavery, he joined its ranks and continued to give
it his support until called to his final rest. Throughout the greater part
of his life he was a member of the United Brethren church and for many
years served as one of its officers. He married Miss Jane Valk, who was
born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, June 6, 1812, a daughter of
and Mary (Parkis) Valk, both of whom were natives of Germany. The
grandfather was a veteran of the Revolutionary war, and after coming to
America he always made his home in Columbia county, Pennsylvania. Five
of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. White are still living, namely : Sarah
J., the wife of John Mellick, a farmer of Cass township: William C, who
owns and cultivates land in Sharon township ; John F., an agriculturist of
Cass township; Anna E., the wife of Martin Hoover, a farmer of Jackson
township; and Henry Newton. The father died February 22, 1886, and the
mother passed away October 22, 1888. They were people of the highest
respectability and their friends throughout the community were many.
In taking up the personal record of Henry Newton White we present
to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known
in Richland county. He acquired a common-school education and spent his
youth at his parental home. As a companion and helpmate on the journey
of life he chose Miss Alice E. Rose, the wedding being celebrated September
22, 1870. The lady is a native of Cass township. Richland county, and a
daughter of Rev. Thomas T. Rose, a minister of the United Brethren church.
The young couple began their domestic life on the old homestead, for Mr.
White's father had reached an advanced age and the management of the
farm largely devolved upon him. In 1873 he purchased fifty-one acres of
land, lying between the homestead and the corporation limits near the vil-
lage, but continued to reside on his father's place and care for the comfort
and welfare of his parents. In 1889, after the mother died, he purchased
from the other heirs their interest in the homestead, where he has so long
resided. He is an energetic farmer, practical in his methods and devoted
to his work.
The marriage of Air. and Airs. White has been blessed with ten chil-
dren, of whom seven are living, namely: Mina J., the wife of Rolla I.
Champion, a minister of the United Brethren church at La Carne, Ohio;
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 379
and Ida, Will C, Earl G., George L., Rose A. and Hazel B., who are all at
home.
Air. White exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and
measures of the Republican party and for two terms has served as a trustee
of his township, called to public office by his fellow townsmen, who rec-
ognize his worth and ability. He belongs to Rome Lodge, No. 158, I. O.
O. F., of Shiloh, and is an active member of the Lutheran church, in which
he has served for five years as an elder, being the present incumbent in that
position.. During a life-time spent in Richland county he has gained a wide
acquaintance, and those who have known him from boyhood are numbered
JOHN NOBLE.
Pennsylvania has furnished to the Buckeye state many of its reliable
and representative citizens and among this number is John Noble, who
resides on section 1, Cass township. He was born in Washington county,
Pennsylvania, on the 23d of February, 1829, his parents being Harvey and
Margaret (Little) Noble. The family is of Irish lineage. The grand-
parents, John and Mary (Harby) Noble, were both natives of the Emerald
Isle, whence they crossed the Atlantic to the new world after their marriage.
Our subject's father was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in
1806, and with his parents removed to Washington county during his child-
hood. There he was reared and from an early age was dependent upon his
own resources. The father died when the son was but twelve years old, and
as the family were in limited circumstances Harvey Noble and his four
brothers worked by the month for neighbors, giving of their wages to the
support of the family. After he had arrived at years of maturity he was
married and engaged in the operation of rented land in Pennsylvania. In
1830, however, he decided to try his fortune in Ohio, and, coming to Rich-
land county, entered eighty acres of land in Blooming Grove township —
the farm now owned by Frank Guthrie. It was then a tract of wild forest
land, but he cleared a small portion, upon which he erected a cabin. During
the succeeding thirteen years he devoted his time to cutting away the timber,
preparing the land for the plow and cultivating his harvests. In 1843 ne
exchanged the farm for the present home place now owned by our subject.
The latter tract then comprised one hundred and eighty acres, but Mr. Noble
has added to his landed interests until he owned three hundred and twenty
acres on section 1, Cass township. Upon the farm he made his home until
3 8o CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
about twelve years prior to his death, when, in 1854, he turned his attention
to manufacturing, forming a partnership with James Little, his brother-in-
law. They established factories in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where they man-
ufactured gun barrels and various tools, but the venture proved a disastrous
one financially, the failure of the firm occurring in 1858. Thus the father
lost the accumulation of many years of labor, together with considerable
money that had been furnished him by his son John. After some litigation
in the courts the old home farm was sold, John Xoble becoming its pur-
chaser. He then gave to his father a comfortable home at the old place,
he there remaining until 1868, when his sons purchased for him a farm of
one hundred and twenty-six acres in Huron county. There he spent his
remaining days, his death occurring in 1880. His wife, who was born in
Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1803, died in 1865. She was a daugh-
ter of John Little. Eight children were born unto this worthy couple, of
whom six are living, namely : Alary, the widow of Jesse Davidson ; John ;
Nancy, deceased; James, a farmer of Fairfield, Huron county; Elizabeth,
deceased; Margaret, wife of Hartley Sibbet, a farmer of Ripley township,
Huron county; William, a retired farmer of Greenwich; and Minerva, the
wife of Richard Homes, who carries on agricultural pursuits in Huron
county.
In the schools of the neighborhood John Xoble mastered the common
branches of English learning. He was trained to farm work, and the busi-
ness with which he became familiar in early life he has since made his chief
occupation. When he was twenty-three years of age he began cultivating
the home farm on shares, and the capital which he acquired was given to
his father to be invested in the manufacturing enterprise before mentioned.
Failure came, and a young man of less resolute spirit would have been utterly
discouraged. With characteristic energy he determined to retrieve his lost
possessions. He had established a reputation for honesty that was indeed
enviable, and it was never a difficult matter for him to get at all times the
money wanted for his later enterprises, for his word was as good as any
bond ever solemnized by signature or seal. When the old home farm was
sold he became its purchaser, and has since made it his home. It now com-
prises two hundred and twenty-one and a quarter acres and is a valuable
tract, being supplied with modern accessories and conveniences, including
the latest improved machinery and buildings that are commodious and sub-
stantial.
In i860 Air. Noble married Miss Isabella Smith, a native of Washing-
ton county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John Smith. She died January
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 381
20, 1897. Their union has been blessed with four children: Harvey R.,
the eldest, is now a physician and grain merchant at Shiloh; Margaret is the
wife of Clarence Horr, also of Shiloh ; Perry W. follows farming in Cass
township; and Mattie J. is still at home. The family is one of prominence
in the community and the members of the household occupy an enviable
position in social circles. Mr. Noble gives his political support to Repub-
lican principles, and for two or three terms has served as a township trustee
and for twenty years has been a member of the school board, his labors
being very effective in promoting the interests of education in this section
of the county. Interests that are calculated to prove of public good receive
his indorsement, and he is regarded as one of the leading citizens of the
township. In business circles he sustains a very enviable reputation and at
all times merits the trust and confidence reposed in him.
JAMES A. PRICE.
James A. Price was born in Monmouthshire, West England, February
11, 1847, an d at the early age of two and a half years he and a younger
brother, William L., were brought by their parents, Mr. and Mrs. James E.
Price 1 to America, the family locating in Perrysville, Ashland county, Ohio,
where one sister, Bess, now Mrs. J. W. Bell, was born. The family after-
ward removed to a farm near Spohntown, now called Butler, and there the
subject of this review spent his boyhood days upon the property of which
he is now the owner. On the 20th of May, 1864, he was apprenticed to
L. Harper, of the Mount Vernon Banner, for three years, for the purpose of
learning the "art preservative," and at the expiration of his apprenticeship he
began journeyman work on the same paper. After four years spent in the
employ of Mr. Harper he went to Cincinnati and accepted a position as a
compositor on the Daily Enquirer, filling that place for a period of about
four years. While at Cincinnati he became a member of the Printers'
Typographical Union, one of the first unions to be organized. Subse-
quently he went to Pittsburg, where he became identified with a large job
printing establishment, the foremanship of which he assumed and retained
successfully for ten years.
After a long period of practical experience in his chosen profession Mr.
Price returned to his old home at Butler and launched his first newspaper.
It was christened the Worthington Enterprise, the initial copy of which
was issued December 6, 1888. The name of the paper was afterward
changed to The Butler Enterprise and enlarged from a seven-column folio to a
382 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
six-column quarto. On the 8th of December, 1892, the Bellville Messenger
was founded by him, and on the 7th of February, 1893, Mr. Price removed
his printing establishment to Bellville, where he has since resided. The pub-
lication of the Enterprise was continued., however, an office being retained
at Butler, and the composition and reporting being done there. Mr. Price
has a fully equipped newspaper and job printing establishment, which is not
excelled by many city offices. A gasoline engine is used to operate the power
presses and nothing but first-class work of all kinds is turned out. The office
is also supplied with telephones and electric lights and is a model one in every
respect. Both the Enterprise and the Messenger are all home print and in
a flourishing condition. They are receiving the substantial support which
they merit, and the circulation of the papers covers an exceedingly large
territory.
On the 8th of March, 1887, Mr. Price was united in marriage to Miss
Leah E. Severns, and unto them has been born one son, James Edward. The
esteem in which Mr. Price is held by the citizens of Bellville and Jefferson
township was fully demonstrated by his election to the responsible position
of justice of the peace, the honor being conferred upon him in April, 1897.
He was re-elected in April, 1900, and in addition to the office of justice lis
received the appointment of police justice, both of which positions he now
very efficiently fills.
JAMES M. BALLIETT.
James M. Balliett was born August 19, 1849, on tne °^ homestead farm
in Monroe township, Richland county. His father, David Balliett, was a
native of Pennsylvania, born near Schuylkill, but removed to the Buckeye
state, where he reared his family. Under the parental roof James M. Bal-
liett spent his childhood days, and his education was acquired in the district
schools near his home and in private schools in Lucas. With the excep-
tion of one year he always resided on the old home farm, where he was
born. Soon after attaining his majority he assumed its management and in
the care of the property displayed excellent business ability.
On the 26th of August, 1886, Mr. Balliett was united in marriage to
Miss Kate Scully, a native of New York city, whose parents died during her
early girlhood. To our subject and his wife were born six children : Cora
E., who was born February 5, 1871, and is the wife of Charles Ecker, of
Canton, Ohio; Effie G., who was born August 26, 1872, and is the wife of
.W. O. Collins, of Lucas; Homer E., who was born December 16, 1876, and
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 3S3
married Miss Emma Barr, of Lucas; Charlie, who was born October 30,
1879, an( l died October 4, 1885; Edna E., who was born January 4, 1882,
and died on the nth of September of that year; and Howard H., who was
born October 3, 1884, and is still with his mother.
Mr. Balliett served as trustee of his township and gave his political sup-
port to the Democracy. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and in
his conduct with his fellow men exemplified his Christian faith. He was the
owner of one hundred and seventy-five acres of land and carried on general
farming and stock-raising, following progressive business methods. He
was very systematic, and his determined purpose enabled him to overcome all
obstacles in his path and work his way upward to a position of affhience.
He was broad-minded, liberal in his judgment and public-spirited, support-
ing all measures calculated to prove of public benefit. He died May 12,
1886, and in his death the community lost one of its valued citizens, a man
whom to know was to esteem and honor. His widow still resides on the
old home farm, and she, too, is a consistent member of the Lutheran church.
Her circle of friends is extensive and she enjoys the hospitality of many of
the best homes in this locality.
JOHN CAHALL.
The subject of this sketch is a worthy representative of the industrial
interests of Mansfield, Ohio, and has been connected with the firm of Ault-
man & Taylor for over twenty years. He was born in Reading, Berks
county, Pennsylvania, June 24, 1846, and is a son of John and Lydia
(Thompson) Cahall, natives of Ireland and Scotland, respectively. Their
marriage was celebrated in Reading.
On leaving his native city at the age of ten years Mr. Cahall went to
a place near Wilmington, Delaware, where he lived on a farm about seven
years, and then returned to Reading, Pennsylvania, where he learned the
trade of boilermaking in the Reading railroad shops. When his apprentice-
ship was completed he went to Harrisburg, same state, and had charge of
Robert Tippett's boiler works about seven years. At the end of that time
he went to Lewistown, the same state, where he was in business for four
years, and in May, 1877, came to Mansfield, Ohio. After two years' con-
nection with the firm of Flannigan & Sullivan he entered the employ of
Aultman & Taylor, in January, 1879, and has since remained with them. He
is an expert mechanic and a fine workman. He and his son William are
384 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
inventors and patentees of the Cahall boilers, now in general use in this
country, and many have been shipped abroad.
Mr. Cahall has been twice married. In 1867 he wedded Sarah Ritner,
of Reading, Pennsylvania, a niece of Governor Ritner of that state, and to
them were born three children: Mary A., now the wife of George O.
McFarland, of Butte, Montana, by whom she has three children; and John
T. and William H., both residents of Racine, Wisconsin. In 1881 Mr.
Cahall married Helen Eliza Holeywell, of Mansfield, Ohio, and by this union
there are also three children, namely: Fred H., who is now with the New
Publishing Company of Mansfield; and Raymond De Vose and Leslie, both
in school.
Religiously Mr. Cahall is a prominent member of the Episcopalian
church, in which he is serving as a vestryman, and socially is a Knight
Templar Mason, a member of Mansfield Commandery, No. 21. He takes an
active interest in public affairs; was a member of the county council two
terms, and has recently been appointed by Mayor Brown as one of the four
members constituting the sanitary and garbage commission for the sanita-
tion of the city.
ABRAHAM BUSHEY.
A prominent and influential citizen of Shelby, Richland county, Ohio,
is Abraham Bushey, the subject of this sketch. He was born April 14,
18 19. a son of Andrew and Mary (Brendle) Bushey, the latter of whom
was born in 1793. and the former in 1795, and was of German descent.
They were married in 181 6 and settled in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania,
where they had a number of children, and next removed to a farm near
Shelby, in 1836. Mr. Bushey was a carpenter by trade and his sons learned
it also, but engaged in farming after locating in Ohio. The family record
is as follows: Hester, Abraham, David, Jacob, Elizabeth (deceased),
Andrew, Anna Mary and Anna Catherine. The last named died in 1863;
Anna Mary married William O wings, and died in 1888; and David died
in 1894.
The marriage of Mr. Bushey took place in November, 1840. to Miss
Barbara Firoved, the daughter of Solomon and Elizabeth (Hawk) Firoved,
who were among the early settlers of Richland county, the father being a
soldier in the war of 181 2 and participating in the battle of Lundy's Lane,
where he was wounded. Two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Bushey: Sarah A., who married Henry Wentz; and Mary J., who married
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 385
Willard Finical. She now resides at Lima, Ohio. Her husband was a
member of the Twentieth Ohio Infantry in the Civil war. Mrs. Bnshey
died March 27, 1897.
Although now retired from the active business affairs of life Mr. Bnshey
has been a very energetic and successful man. For a number of years he
was engaged by the Big Four Railroad in bridge-building, and has worked
hard as a farmer, builder and contractor, becoming in age a wealth}- and
prominent man, secure in a competency earned by his own labor. He has
been interested in educational matters and has served on the various school
boards with efficiency. The family are valued members of the Lutheran
church, where they possess the esteem of all.
JOHN HALE.
John Hale, a substantial and prosperous agriculturist residing on sec-
tion 5, Mifflin township, Richland county, Ohio, was born in that township
on the 30th of April, 1844, and is a son of John S. and Martha M. (Peters)
Hale, in whose family were ten children. Of the five still living, James C.
is a farmer of Weller township, this county; Elizabeth is the wife of Dr.
Reason Shipley, of Mansfield ; John is next in order of birth ; Willard is a
farmer of Mifflin township; and Cora is the wife of J. C. Horn, a retired
farmer of Weller township.
John S. Hale, the father of our subject, was born in Jefferson county
in 18 1 7, and when eleven years of age came with his parents to Richland
county, the family locating in Mifflin township, where the grandfather,
Hugh Hale, purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on sections 5
and 6, which continued to be his home throughout life. He was born in
1791, and died in 1833, while his wife, Mrs. Jane Hale, was born in 1792,
and died in 1881. He met with excellent success in his farming operations
and became the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land. After his
marriage John S. Hale engaged in farming upon his father's place for two
years, and then removed to Windsor, Mifflin township, where he conducted
a hotel for twelve years. At the end of that time he purchased fifty acres
of land just east of town, upon which he made his home while devoting his
energies to agricultural pursuits. A man of great energy and perseverance,
he prospered in his undertakings, and was able to add to his farm from time
to time until he owned four hundred acres of valuable land. In his political
affiliations he was an ardent Democrat, and as a public-spirited and progres-
sive citizen he took a commendable interest in public affairs. He died Feb-
386 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ruary 2, 1872, honored and respected by all who knew him. His wife, who
was born in Newton county, New Jersey, in 1826, was a daughter of Daniel
Peters, who brought his family to this county during her girlhood, and spent
the remainder of his life in Mifflin township, where he was numbered among
the leading citizens.
During his boyhood and youth John Hale, of this review, assisted his
father in the work of the farm, and pursued his studies in the local schools.
He was married, October 6, 1870, to Miss Artie Berry, a native of Monroe
township, this county, and a daughter of Phillip Berry, one of the early set-
tlers of that locality, who died during her childhood. To Mr. and Mrs.
Hale were born five children, namely : Rodney, a farmer of Mifflin town-
ship ; Minnie, Nettie and Tracey, all deceased ; and Avery, at home.
After his marriage Mr. Hale located upon one of his father's farms in
Mifflin township, and has since followed agriculture with marked success.
In 1869 he commenced -buying stock and wool on commission for various
firms, and after thirteen years devoted to that business he formed a part-
nership with Miller Carter. For fourteen years this firm carried on busi-
ness along the same line, and were among the heaviest buyers and shippers
m this section of the state. In 1879 Air. Hale removed to his present farm
on section 5, Mifflin township, and now owns and successfully conducts two
hundred and twenty-five acres of land. He is a very active and progressive
business man, of keen discrimination and sound judgment, and has pros-
pered in all his undertakings.
The Democratic party finds in him a stanch supporter of its principles,
and he has been called to fill the offices of township trustee four years, and
assessor two years. He is both widely and favorably known, and those
who know him best are numbered among his warmest friends, for his life
has been an honorable and upright one, and he has been found true to
every trust reposed in him.
JAMES HENRY HERRING.
Prominent among the business men of Mansfield, Ohio, is this well
known carriage manufacturer and honored veteran of the Civil war, who
was born at Everett, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, November 27. 1842.
His father, George W. Herring, was born near the same place in 181 3,
and was a son of Michael and Mary (Messersmith) Herring, early settlers
of that county. Our subject's paternal great-grandfather was a native of
Holland, who aided the colonies in achieving their independence as a soldier
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 387
of the Revolutionary war, and lived to the extreme old age of ninety-five
years. Our subject's mother, who bore the maiden name of Mary Elizabeth
Dennison, was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, of Scotch descent.
Her brother Barclay was a soldier of the Mexican war and died in Mexico,
but her brother Abraham is still living in Bedford county, at the age of
eighty-five years, and is very wealthy. The great-grandfather Dennison was
of Scotch descent and served as an officer in the Revolutionary war.
In 1849 George W. Herring, the father of our subject, moved from his
native county to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and about 1852 went to Cumber-
land, Maryland, but a year later he came to Salem, Fairfield county, Ohio,
where he spent one year and then removed to Rushville. We next find him
in Lancaster, Ohio, and in April, 1856, he came to Mansfield, where he was
engaged in business as a blacksmith until called from this life, in 1870, at
the age of fifty-seven years. He was highly respected and esteemed by all
who knew him. His wife had died in Bedford, Pennsylvania, in 1850.
Their children were: James H., our subject; Emma, who died in Pittsburg
in 1850; Ann Eliza, the wife of Charles Mountain, an employe of the Ault-
man-Taylor Company, of Mansfield ; and George Barclay, a contractor of
Mansfield.
James H. Herring completed his education in the common schools of
Mansfield, and with his father learned the blacksmith's trade. Prompted
by a spirit of patriotism he enlisted December 11, 1861, at the age of nineteen
years, and spent the winter at Fayetteville, West Virginia, under the com-
mand of General White. He was a member of the First Ohio Independent
Battery, Light Artillery, which was a part of Cox's Kanawha brigade, of
the Army of W r est Virginia, until May, 1862, when it was transferred to
the First Brigade, Kanawha Division, Eighth Army Corps. From July of
that year until the following October it was a part of the Ninth Corps,
Army of the Potomac, and the First Brigade, Army of West \ u'g-inia, until
January, 1863. From that time until July they were connected with Averill's
mountain brigade, or the Second Brigade, Third Division, Army of West
Virginia, and then joined General Crook's division. They advanced to
Princeton April 22, 1862, and later participated in the following engage-
ments : Clark Hollow, May 1 : Princeton, May 5 ; Guilford Court House,
May 10; Princeton, May 15-18; Flat Top Mountain, July 5; Peck's Ferry,
August 6; the march toward Washington, D. C, August 15-24; Bull Run
Bridge, August 2/ ; Monocacy Bridge, Frederick; Middletown, September 13;
South Mountain, September 14; and Antietam, September 16 and 17. They
were ordered back to W r est Virginia October 8, and were in the expedition
388 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
after Stewart into Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia October 13 and
14. They next moved to Clarksburg, Summerville, Gauley Bridge and Kan-
awha Falls, and were on duty at the falls of the Great Kanawha until March,
1863, and at Charleston until April, 1864. They were in active service dur-
ing Crook's raid on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad from May 3 until
June 1 ; were in the engagement at Rocky Gap. May 6; Cloyd's Mountain,
May 9; Xew River Bridge, May 10; Blacksburg, May 11; Union, May 11;
Covington, June 2 ; Panther Gap. June 3 ; Buffalo Gap, June 6 ; Brownsburg,
June 10; Hunter's raid on Lynchburg, from June 10 to July 1; the engage-
ment at Lexington, June 12; Buchanan, June 14; Otter Creek, June 16; Dia-
mond Hill, June 17; Lynchburg, June 17 and 18; Liberty, June 19; Salem,
June 21 ; Rabbletown, July 19; Stephenson Depot, July 20; Winchester, July
2^ and 24; Martinsburg, July 25. They then retreated to Williamsburg
and Harper's Ferry, where they did guard duty; from there were ordered
to Martinsburg, where they did guard duty until mustered out December 11,
1864, being honorably discharged at Martinsburg on the 20th of that month.
Although in. over forty engagements Mr. Herring was fortunately never
wounded.
After leaving the army he joined his father in business at Mansfield,
where the latter had established a carriage, wagon and blacksmith shop in
1856, and remained with him until the father's death. He continued to
carry on the business alone until 1897, when he admitted two of his sons
to a partnership in the business, which is now carried on under the firm
name of the Herring Buggy Company. Their new shops were erected in
1897 and 1899. They employ twenty-five skilled workmen and turn out
first-class work, which finds a ready sale on the market. The firm is com-
posed of enterprising, progressive business men of known reliability, and
their success has been worthily achieved.
On the 19th of December. 1866, Mr. Herring was united in marriage
to Miss Nancy J. West, a native of Mansfield. Ohio, and a daughter of
Sylvester West, and by this union four children were born, namely: John
Allen, who was a conductor on the Pennsylvania Railroad, but is now
engaged in business with his father; George W.. who also is a member of the
firm; Dimon, who is a graduate of the Mansfield high school and is now
secretary of the company: and Le Roy. who is still attending high school.
Religiously Mr. Herring is a member of the English Lutheran church,
and fraternally is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the
Knights of Honor. In his political affiliations he is an ardent Republican,
and is now a member of the election board of Mansfield, being appointed
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 389
by the secretary of state for a term of six years. He also served as a
trustee of the Soldiers and Sailors' Memorial Library Building- at Mansfield
for seven years, being first appointed for two years, April 13, 1887, and
reappointed for live years. In 1S97 he was the commander of McLaughlin
Post, No. 131, G. A. R., in which he has filled all the minor offices, and
has ever taken an active part in its work. He was a member of the staff
of the department commander of Ohio, and has often served as a delegate
to Republican state conventions. In all the relations of life he has been
found true to every trust reposed in him, and is justly regarded as one of
the most useful and valued citizens of his community.
DANIEL S. MARVIN.
Prominently known as a representative of one of the honored pioneer
families of Richland county is Daniel Sherwood Marvin, who also deserves
mention in. this volume by reason of his own worth and prominence. He
was born in the old family homestead in Shelby November 5, 1825, a son
of Stephen and Sarah (Burr) Marvin, who became residents of Shelby in
1818, emigrating westward from Connecticut. In this county they spent
their remaining days, the father dying in 1868, at the age of seventy-one
years, while the mother passed away in 1878, at the age of seventy-eight
years.
Daniel Sherwood Marvin, whose name introduces this record, having
acquired a good preliminary education to serve as a foundation for pro-
fessional knowledge, began the study of law at the age of eighteen years,
in the office and under the direction of John M. May and Downing H.
Young, of Mansfield, Ohio. After a thorough preparation, covering a period
of three years, he was admitted to the bar and began practice. Believing
that the west afforded better opportunities than the older states of the east,
he crossed the plains in 1850 and located at Park's Bar, California, where
he entered upon the practice of his chosen calling', being largely concerned
with mining suits. For two years he remained at that place and then went
to Forest City, Sierra county, same state, where he was a successful prac-
titioner for several years. On the expiration of that period he returned to
Kansas City, where he had charge of various litigated interests until after
the inauguration of the Civil war, in 1 861. He then returned to Shelby,
and, prompted by a spirit of patriotism, volunteered for service. Offering
his aid to the government, he was assigned to Company H, of the Sixty-
fourth Ohio Infantry, and the first regular battle in which he participated
3QO CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
was at Shiloh. He was wounded at Stone river, and this caused his
discharge.
Returning to his home, Mr. Marvin afterward went to Watertown, New
York, in the year 1863, remaining at that place until 1897. During his resi-
dence in the Empire state he was engaged in the nursery business, which
he successfully followed until 1897. That year witnessed his return to his
native town. He was married to Miss Caroline Sherman, of Watertown,
New York, in 1863, and he became a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic at that place, being identified with Joseph Spratt Post. On again
coming to Ohio, however, he transferred his membership to Harker Post.
Mr. Marvin now resides in what in the early days was known as the Marvin
mansion. It was erected sixty-five years ago. His wife died in 1896, and
as he has no children of his own he and his sister occupy the old home-
stead, entertaining the host of friends of former years. He is a very enter-
taining converser and an agreeable companion, having traveled over the
greater part of this country. His interesting relics afford him much pleas-
ure, being mementoes of his travels and souvenirs of bygone times, and they
are also objects of interest to his visitors. Mr. Marvin is now living retired
in the enjoyment of a well earned rest, honored and respected by all who
know him. He organized the Jefferson County (New York) Historical
Society at Watertown, of which he was librarian for many years. In April
of the present year he gave to Shelby a munificent gift — a house and lot to be
used for library purposes. He has always been deeply interested in the in-
tellectual development of the city, and at a cost of six thousand and five hun-
dred dollars he purchased a residence and grounds at the northwest corner of
Gamble street and Whitney avenue, to be used for library purposes, with a
frontage on the former street of one hundred and twenty feet and on the latter
of one hundred and sixty feet. This generous donation well indicates the
spirit of interest in the city's welfare which he has always manifested, and the
citizens of Shelby may well feel grateful to him for thus giving a permanent
home to one of its most worthy public institutions.
GEORGE W. WALTERS.
Prominent among the citizens of Richland county who have witnessed
the marvelous development of this section of the state in the past three-
quarters of a century and who have taken an active part in its development
and progress, is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch — a well
known and influential farmer of Troy township.
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 391
Mr. Walters is a native of this county, his birth occurring here on the
2 1 st of June, 1826. His father, Moses Walters, was a native of Fayette county.
Pennsylvania, and a son of George Walters, who brought his family to Ohio
in 1802 and first located in Jefferson county, later removing to Richland
county and entering land in Jefferson township. This tract of one hun-
dred and sixty acres of government land he converted into a good farm,
it being now the property of Frank Coursen. The grandfather died at the
ripe old age of seventy-five years. In his family were thirteen children— six
sons and seven daughters, — all of whom grew to manhood or womanhood
and married, but only two are now living.
Throughout his active business life Moses Walters followed farming,
and in his undertakings met with marked success, so that he became wealthy,
owning several hundred acres of land. He was an earnest member of the
Baptist church and a man highly respected and esteemed by all who knew
him. He was born May 27, 1800, and died October 5. 1890. In early
manhood he married Miss Annie Montice, by whom he had the following
children: Jacob, George W., Solomon, Alfred (deceased). John, William,
Moses, Aaron, Silas, Thomas M. and Allen. The father gave to each of his
children a good start in life.
Upon the home farm George W. Walters passed his boyhood and youth,
and he remained under the parental roof until he attained his majority, when
he started out in life for himself, working at the carpenter's trade for three
years. His first purchase of land consisted of a farm in Sandusky county,
this state, but after residing there for three months he bought a farm in
Jefferson township, Richland county, to the cultivation and improvement of
which he devoted his energies for two years, and then moved to Morrow
county, where he purchased land and made his home for eighteen years,
from 1856 to 1874. Since then he has resided upon his present farm in
Troy township, Richland county. He also owns another farm, of one hun-
dred and sixty acres, in Morrow county, and is successfully engaged in gen-
eral farming and stock-raising. The neat and thrifty appearance of his
place indicates his careful supervision and shows conclusively that he thor-
oughly understands the occupation he has chosen as a life work.
Mr. Walters has been four times married, and has children by each
union, save the first. By his ballot he supports the men and measures of the
Republican party, and takes a deep and commendable interest in public affairs.
He is a prominent member of the Grange, takes an active part in its work,
and has efficiently served as master.
392 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ARNOLD KALLMERTEN
