KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 575 preparing the following history of such a progressive young business man of Fredericktown, Knox county, whose name appears above, it is with the hope that it will prove an incentive to others who hesitate at the parting of the ways, for it shows that energy, right principles and close application to one's chosen vocation will accomplish definite results even in the face of seeming discouragements of large magnitude. Frank B. Zeig. who is known in various parts of the world as a manufacturer of road graders, was born on March 31, 1879, in Marion, Ohio, and he is the son of Christian and Margaret (Knickle) Zeig, the father a native of Ohio and the mother of Pennsylvania. The elder Zeig is an extensive live stock dealer in Marion county, this state. The son, Frank B., grew to maturity in Marion county and attended the common schools of Marion. He began his business career when but a young man, by dealing in timber and lumber, operating in Marion county, and for a time engaged in the hoop business somewhat extensively, operating a mill of his own, and, in fact, manufactured all kinds of lumber. In 1903 he came to Fredericktown and established a saw mill here in which he manufactured many varieties of lumber, becoming widely known as a lumberman, until 1907, when he disposed of his saw mill and engaged in the foundry business, building a new plant which has grown under his able and judicious management to large proportions. Here are manufactured road graders and road drags of four different styles, also cast iron culvert pipes and hardware specialties. The products of this excellent plant are sold by traveling salesmen all over this country and a large export trade is carried on, mostly with Africa, South America and Australia. The grading machines and culvert pipes have met with a ready market wherever offered, being of a superior design, quality and workmanship. His foundry is modern in its equipment, well arranged. everything under a superb system and only skilled artisans are employed. Mr. Zeig gives it his careful attention, every detail being carefully considered, no stone being left unturned whereby any of his products may be made better, more serviceable or desirable. He has proven himself to be a man of rare executive and mechanical ability, of keen discernment and foresight. Besides his foundry he has other business interests. He works about sixty men in his foundries. On November 27, 1902, Mr. Zeig was united in marriage with Elizabeth Borth. daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Borth, of Marion county, one of the highly respected and influential families of that locality. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Zeig has been graced by the birth of two children, a son and a daughter, Harold and Stella. 576 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. Politically, Mr. Zeig is a Republican, but he has never found time from his business interests to take an active part in politics ; however, he may always be depended upon to lend his support to all movements haying for their object the betterment of local conditions. He has served as a member of the town council. Fraternally, he is a Mason, belonging to the chapter and commanders at Mt. Vernon. Personally, Mr. Zeig is a gentleman of fine attributes of head and heart. sociable, genial and obliging, entirely, honorable in all his relations with his fellow men, consequently enjoys their good will and esteem. He is of the quality that counts for progress in any community. HENRY A. ALLEN. Henry A. Allen was born on April 3o, 1855, on the farm, one mile southwest of Mt. Vernon. where he has always lived. He is the son of Asahel and Content ( Wing) Allen, the father born in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, November 18, 1803. Soon after his birth the family moved to Benson, Vermont, and in the fall of 1833 they came to Knox county. Ohio, and lived a year in Mt. Vernon, then purchased the farm where the subject of this sketch was born and which has ever since remained in possession of the family and on which the father spent the remaining years of his life, having become very well established and a highly esteemed citizen. His death occurred on April 13, 1887. His wife was born in Glens Falls, New York, November 1o, 1812. The Wing family came to Knox county in 1817 when this country was heavily timbered and sparsely settled. The death of Mrs. Allen occurred on December 29, 1898. They are both buried in Mound View cemetery, Mt. Vernon. To these parents five children were born, one dying in infancy ; the four that grew to maturity were : Belinda E., who married John B. Steinmetz, of Clinton township; Alice A. is single and lives with the subject of this sketch; Charles R. is also living with Mr. Allen of this review. Henry A. Allen has spent his entire life on the home farm, as above indicated, and he was educated in the country district schools. He was married on December 19, 1900, to Clara B. Myers, daughter of Harry and Melinda (Shinnaberry) Myers: the father is still living, the mother having died in 1904. The union of the subject and wife has been without issue. Mr. Allen has kept the home place of one hundred and sixty-three acres well improved and well cultivated, so that he has kept the land strong and KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 577 productive, and his crops from year to year bounteously attest to his skill as a husbandman. In connection with general farming he carries on stock raising. His sister, Alice A., is one-fourth owner of the home place. He has in addition to that, one hundred acres in a nearby neighborhood. Politically, Mr. Allen is a Republican, but he has never been an office-seeker, but always interested in public affairs and a voter for the best men and measures. He is an advocate of public improvements, good roads, better schools and public buildings, in short, everything that added to the beauty and benefit of the community. The Allen family has long been conspicuous in the social life of the community, and all its members from the early pioneer times have borne good reputations. The grandfather, Asahel Allen, who came here with his family in 1833, built on his farm one of the first brick dwellings in this section of the state, at present used as a tenant house, and here he resided until his death, on April 22, 1850. His wife, who was known in her maidenhood as Rhoda Tillson, died on December 1, 1857. The elder Allen possessed a strong and vigorous intellect and his advice and opinion were frequently sought in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the community. The residence of the family at the present time is in the commodious frame structure erected by Asahel Allen, Jr., in 1843. WILSON WORKMAN BUTLER. In examining the life records of self-made men it will inevitably be found that indefatigable industry has constituted the basis of their success. True there are other elements which enter in and conserve the advancement of personal interests,—perseverance, discrimination and mastering of expedients.—but the foundation of all achievements is earnest, persistent labor. One of Knox county's citizens. Wilson Workman Butler, realized at the outset of his career that there was no real road to success and that to reach the goal of prosperity and independence one must not permit obstacles to thwart an earnest resolve, consequently he began to work earnestly and diligently to advance himself, and the result is that he is one of the wide-awake, enterprising men of the times, fully alive to the dignities and responsibilities of citizenship, and is peer of any of his contemporaries in the business world, all through his individual effort. Courteous, genial, companionable and unassuming, he commands the respect of all with whom he comes into contact, and his friends are as the number of his acquaintances. He is universally 578 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. esteemed in all the relations of life, and his career has been creditable to himself and an honor to the locality of which this history treats where most of his life has been spent. He is a worthy representative of one of our sterling pioneer families. the escutcheon of whose honored name he has been careful to keep untarnished. Mr. Butler was born on the old homestead two miles east of Danville, Union township, Knox county, Ohio, on December 9, 1862. He is the son of Squire John and Mary Jane (Workman) Butler, the father born on August 12. 1820, and he died at Oberlin, Ohio, on December 22, 1897. The mother was born February 9, 1824, and her death occurred on March 19, 1870. Their family consisted of one son and two daughters : Wilson W., of this review ; Florence, who died when two years of age; and Ida Josephine. who married John R. Payne, of Danville, Ohio ; her death occurred about eight years ago. Wilson W. Butler, of this sketch, was reared on the home farm and when old enough he assisted with the general work about the place and attended the district schools until he was twelve years of age, then moved to Danville to reside with his sister, Mrs. Payne, and there attended what was called a select school, conducted by teachers who had only a class of selected pupils. He subsequently attended a business college in Danville for one term. This was all the schooling he was permitted to obtain; however, always remaining a student and being a keen observer, he has made up for this early lack by miscellaneous home study and by actual contact with the business world. When sixteen years old Mr. Butler accepted a position in a general merchandise store at Olive Green (Kingston Center), Delaware county, Ohio, and remained there for ten months, then secured employment in Z. L. White's dry goods store at the town of Delaware, Ohio, where he remained eighteen months ; he then went with the John Shillito Dry Goods Company, of Cincinnati, where he remained for approximately a period of three years. He had by this time mastered the ins and outs of the mercantile business, performing his duties in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the entire satisfaction of his employers. He then engaged with his brother-in-law, J. R. Payne, also J. M. Clifton and E. V. Wells, in the granite business at Lima, this state. After spending approximately five years in the granite business, in which he met with a large measure of success, he went to New York and accepted a position as secretary of the Westerly Granite Company there, remaining with them about a year, after which we find him in the employ of the Sterlingworth Railway Supply Company, of KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 579 Easton, Pennsylvania, and he went to Chicago, as their western manager, the duties of which position he filled creditably and acceptably for a year and a half, then went. to the American Car & Foundry Company, representing this firm in Chicago as their western sales agent for about eighteen months. He then purchased an interest and accepted a position as second vice-president of the Simplex Railway Appliance Company, of Hammond, Indiana. He went to New York city soon afterwards to take charge of their eastern business. He remained with this firm for about four years, when the business of the company was sold to the American Steel Foundries, of which company he was elected second vice-president, and remained with this concern in New York for about seven years. For the past two years he has been located in Montreal, Canada, as first vice-president of the Canadian Car & Foundry Company, Limited, and the Canadian Steel Foundries, Limited, and he still spends the major part of his time in that city. He has been very successful in a business way and has long been regarded as an expert in the line of endeavor to which his present energies are devoted, having a national reputation in the business world. Mr. Butler owns the old home place where he was born in Knox county and this he is placing under a high state of modern improvement and cultivation. fitting it up as a gentleman's country residence, where he intends spending considerable time in the future years, as his business affairs will permit. He takes a great pride in this picturesque old home and when his present plans of improvement are carried out this will be one of the "show places" of the county and a most desirable rural estate, equipped with modern, commodious and attractive buildings and well stocked. Mr. Butler's daughter, Gladys, a young lady of many estimable attributes, was married on June 10, 1910, to Hurlbert C. Phillips, of Carthage, Ohio, and to this union a daughter was born on September 18, 1911. Mr. Butler is a specimen of well rounded, symmetrically developed, virile manhood, moving among his fellows as one born to leadership, and he has directed his life along lines which could not fail to affect favorably the physical as well as the mental man, having from his youth advocated wholesome living and right thinking. With duties that would crush the ordinary man, he has his affairs so systematized that he experiences little or no inconvenience in disposing of his routine work and in carrying to successful issue large and important undertakings. He is a. vigorous and independent thinker, a wide reader, and he has the courage of his convictions upon all subjects which he investigates. He is essentially cosmopolitan in his ideas, and in the best sense of the word a representative type of that strong American 580 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. manhood, which commands and retains respect by reason of inherent merit, sound sense and correct conduct. Measured by the accepted standard of excellence, his career, though strenuous, has been eminently honorable and useful, and his life fraught with great good to those with whom he has come in contact and to the world. ISAAC S. HARMER. The gentleman to whom the reader's attention is directed in this review. Isaac S. Harmer. has attained prestige by reason of native and acquired ability in agricultural circles and high standing in the domain of private citizenship. He is one of the representative men of Hilliar township, Knox county. He takes a deep and abiding interest in everything pertaining to the material advancement of his township and everything intended to promote the advancement of this locality is sure to receive his hearty support. He is rated as one of the progressive citizens of his community and the high respect in which he is held by all classes of people is a deserving compliment to an intelligent, broad-minded and most worthy man of affairs. Mr. Harmer was born on July 27, 1855, in Summersville. Somerset county, New Jersey. He is the son of John L. and Mary E. ( Brokow) Harmer. The parents came to Ohio with their family in 1859 and settled on a farm in Morrow county. After successfully engaging in farming for some time the father finally moved to Centerburg, where he was engaged in the meat business. His death occurred on June 15, 1903. His widow still lives in Centerburg. Isaac S. Harmer spent most of his youth on the home farm assisting his father with the general work about the place and he received his education in the country district schools. and after the family moved to Center-burg he attended the public schools here. He was married on October 11. 1883, to Joanna Murphey, daughter of William and Julia A. (Smith) Murphey, the father being a substantial and well known farmer of Hilliar township. The mother, a widow, now eighty-seven years of age, and her daughter, Mrs. Harmer, are the only survivors of the Murphey family. To Mr. and Mrs. Harmer three daughters have been born. namely : Marie. Mabel and the oldest, who died in infancy. Mr. Harmer began his married life on the home farm of the Murpheys. he having purchased all the interests of the heirs, and here he has since resided, having brought the place up to a high state of improvement and culti- KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 581 vation and managing it with such skill as to render it one of the choice farms of the township. and here he has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser. This excellent place is located one mile west of Centerburg. Mr. Harmer has made a 'specialty of thoroughbred Delaine sheep. He has been very successful in a business way and besides his farming interests he is a director and stockholder in the First National Bank of Centerburg. Politically. Mr. Harmer is a Republican and is active in public affairs. He served eight years as township trustee and he was land appraiser for Hilliar township in 191o. He has been a frequent delegate to party conventions. He has frequently been urged to become a candidate for county offices, but has always declined. He favors public improvements. good roads, better schools and public buildings. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he has been a trustee of the church for fully twenty years, and has long been active in church and Sunday school work. He is a man of high character and standing. a genial, broad-minded, charitable gentleman whom it is a pleasure to know, and Ile and his family are held in high esteem by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. JOHN R. CLAYPOOL, M. D. While yet young in. years. Dr. John R. Claypool, of Gambier. Knox county, has shown what may be accomplished by the youth who diligently and conscientiously tries to advance himself, whose ideals are high and whose principles are correct. He has laid a broad and deep foundation for his life work and future years must needs accord him abundant success. Doctor Claypool was born on March 30, 1887. in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and he is the son of Charles S. and Rosa ( Redman) Claypool. both born in Muskingum county, this state, and both are still living. The father is a contracting painter and decorator, and, owing to his superior skill, his services have been in great demand for many years. He is a highly regarded citizen. The son, John R., was educated in the public schools of Mt. Vernon, being graduated from the high school. He then entered the University of Louisville, where he made a splendid record and received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After his graduation he taught one year in that institution. which is a criterion of his ability and of the high confidence reposed in him by its management. 582 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. He then entered the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and in due time received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Thus exceptionally well equipped for his vocation, he came to Gambier, Knox county, in August, 191o, and began the practice of his profession. He was successful from the first and his practice has constantly grown until he now occupies a conspicuous place among his professional brethren of this section of the state, having met with continued and pronounced success as a general practitioner. He also practices surgery, in which he is very skillful, consequently successful. He has a conveniently, modernly and systematically equipped office with a full line of latest designed instruments and electrical appliances. The Doctor is a young man of fine physical development, engaging presence and affable demeanor, always a student and profound investigator. He is a member of the County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society and the National Medical Association. He is a member of the Masonic order and is medical examiner for the Bankers' Life, the John Hancock, the Midland Mutual and the German Commercial Life insurance companies. Politically, he is a Republican, but he has not found time to take a very active part in political affairs or be a candidate for office. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. While in the university he was a member of the Alpha Kappa Kappa and the Theta Nu Epsilon societies. Doctor Claypool was married November 1, 1911, to Mary Neil Schaad, of Columbus, Ohio, daughter of Oswald and Louise (Neddemier) Schaad. CLAYTON H. BISHOP. The history of Knox county is the record of the steady growth of a community planted in the wilderness a century ago and has reached its magnitude of today without other aids than those of industry. The people who redeemed its wilderness fastnesses were strong-armed, hardy sons of the soil who hesitated at no difficulty and for whom hardships had little to appall. The early pioneers, having blazed the path of civilization to this part of the state, finished their labors and passed from the scene, leaving the country to the possession of their descendants and to others who came at a later period and builded on the foundation which they laid so broad and deep. Among this class of sterling pioneers were the progenitors of Clayton H. Bishop, one of the successful citizens of Centerburg, Ohio. While their arrival was not KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 583 so early as some, yet they came in the formative period and each succeeding generation has done much to develop and advertise to the world the wonderful resources of a county that now occupies a proud position among the most progressive and enlightened sections of the Buckeye state. Mr. Bishop was born on June 11, 1860, in Mt. Liberty, Knox county, Ohio. He is the son of Allen S. and Ann Jennette (Wayland) Bishop, both natives of this county, and here they grew up, were educated in the old-fashioned schools and were married, spending their lives on a farm. Grandfather Smith Bishop was a very large land owner, who came with the early pioneers from Providence. Rhode Island, to Knox county about 1820, when the land was covered with a vast forest in which were Indians and wild game, the point of supplies for the people here then being at Zanesville. In such environments the father, Allen S. Bishop, was born and here he grew to manhood and spent his life. He was a man of fine personal character and a hard worker and he became one of the substantial farmers of his community. Politically, he was a Republican and he kept well informed on general topics, being fairly well educated for his day and a loyal party man. He was fond of good literature and had a remarkable memory. He lived to an advanced age, dying on June 17, 1909 ; his widow survives and is making her home near the town of Mt. Liberty. Clayton H. Bishop spent his childhood and youth on the home farm and he attended the district schools and the graded schools of Mt. Liberty. His father operated a butcher-shop at Centerburg in connection with his farming and when the son, the subject, was eighteen years of age he was placed in charge of the same and later he engaged in this line of business for himself there. •In 1884 he purchased the insurance business of Critchfield & Ashley, and he is now the senior member of Bishop, Bishop & Darling. He has been very successful in this line of endeavor and has built up a large and ever-growing business. The Bishop Insurance Agency was organized many years ago and the subject's son, Ray B. Bishop, and Samuel A. Darling became interested in the same. They carry on a general insurance business, including life insurance: they also included real estate, in which they do a very large business. Mr. Bishop was the promoter of the Centerburg Building and Loan Association Company, which was organized in 1894. and ever since he has been the secretary and general manager of the same. The company is the largest in a town the size of Centerburg in the state, having assets of more than eight hundred thousand dollars. This is a prosperous and prominent concern. being known all over this section of Ohio, and is a great credit to the community. Mr. Bishop was prominent in the organization of the Cen- (38) 584 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. terburg Savings Bank Company in 1906, being the successor of the Centerburg Bank, the first institution of this kind in the town. He has been president of the same since 1908 and has discharged the duties of the same in a most able and praiseworthy manner, giving entire satisfaction to the stockholders and patrons of the same, and doing much to increase the prestige of this popular, sound and conservative institution. Mr. Bishop is also president of the Farmers Fertilizer Company, of Columbus, Ohio. He is a director in the Capital Limestone Company of Columbus. the Louisa Coal Company of Louisa, Kentucky, and the Johnstown & Croton Telephone Company, the Pataskala & Hebron Telephone Company, the Central Ohio Telephone Company. He is also president of the Centerburg Gas and Oil Company, secretary of the Little Sandy Gas and Oil Company. and is active in all these organizations, being by nature a man of keen discernment. sound judgment and a promoter and organizer. He has been very successful in whatever he has turned his attention to and ranks among the virile, progressive, and modern business men of this part of the state, whose influence in the business and commercial world is far reaching. Mr. Bishop is prominent in Republican politics and a leader in public matters, but he has never been an office holder. except town councilman. He was appointed postmaster at Centerburg in 1897. It was then a fourth-class office, but is now in the third-class division. The duties of this office were managed in a manner that reflected much credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the department and the people. It now has four rural routes. He has been a member of the county committee and the central committee of his party and has been a frequent delegate to district, county and state conventions, making his influence felt in all for the good of his community and the party in general. Mr. Bishop was married on September 14, 1882, to Elizabeth Bennington, daughter of Demas and Margaret (Greenlee) Bennington, a prominent family of Washington county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Bishop is a lady of culture and refinement and was formerly a successful school teacher. This union has been graced by the birth of two sons, Ray B., who was educated in the Centerburg high school, and Guy C., a student in the Ohio Wesleyan University. Fraternally, Mr. Bishop is a member of the Knights of Pythias. and a charter member of Hawthorne Lodge No. 228. He also belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons, Bloomfield Lodge, and to the Sons of Veterans, by virtue of the fact that his father was a soldier in Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war. The 585 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. subject and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a trustee and a member of the building committee of the same and a Sunday school worker. Mr. Bishop is the owner of over five hundred acres of valuable farming land in Milford township, this county, which is well improved and under a fine state of cultivation, and in addition to his many other interests he is an active and successful farmer. He raises much live stock, paying special attention to sheep and horses, and employs modern methods in all his farming and stock raising. He has one of the most attractive, commodious and modernly furnished homes in southwestern Knox county, in the midst of beautiful surroundings. As a recreation he engages in automobiling. He is a strong advocate of public improvements in every way and he is a leader in all movements looking to the general advancement of his community. He is a large owner of valuable and desirable town property. The Bishop home is the mecca of the social life of the community, being widely known as a place of good cheer and oldtime hospitality and here the many friends of the family frequently gather. With duties that would crush the average man, Mr. Bishop has his business so systematized that he carries forward his diversified affairs in an easy manner and with little trouble. Personally, he is unassuming, genial, obliging, charitable and a man of the people in all that the term implies. He has so directed and ordered his course that he has won and retained the universal confidence and esteem of a vast circle of acquaintances. He is a student of the world's best literature, keeping his home well ell supplied and he is therefore a man of education and culture, a genteel gentleman whom to meet is to admire and respect. JOHN M. EWALT. In placing John M. Ewalt, well known banker of Mt. Vernon, in the front rank of Knox county business men, simple justice is clone to a biographical fact, universally recognized throughout this and adjoining counties by those at all familiar with his history. A man of judgment, sound discretion and business ability of a high order, he has managed with tactful success important enterprises and so impressed his individuality and sterling characteristics upon the community as to gain recognition among its leading citizens, judicious financiers and public-spirited men of affairs. Mr. Ewalt was born on May 7, 184o, one mile west of Mt. Vernon in 586 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO Clinton township. He is the son of a sterling old pioneer family, Henry and Elizabeth (Pratt) Ewalt. The paternal grandfather, John Ewalt, came to Knox county in 1813 from Bedford county, Pennsylvania, with his wife, seven sons and four daughters, and they settled two miles west of what is now the city of Mt. Vernon, on land he bought from the government and began life as a pioneer. In due course of time he became one of the prominent and well-to-do farmers of this section of the state. He gave his sons each one hundred and sixty acres of land as they came to manhood. For many years he was prominent in the affairs of this locality. He and his sons were all farmers except the oldest son, John, who was a blacksmith and who built a shop on the lot where the Knights of Pythias hall now stands on West Gambier street in Mt. Vernon, and it was the first blacksmith shop in the town. Henry Ewalt, father of John M.. of this review, was a farmer and he developed two good farms from the woods west of Mt. Vernon and became one of the leading farmers and stock men of the county, and he was prominent in local public matters. He was a great supporter of James K. Polk for the Presidency in 1844. He was a man of positive convictions and took a delight in forwarding any worthy movement looking to the general good of his community, and while he was always active in public affairs he was no office holder. He voted the Democratic ticket straight. His family consisted of three sons and four daughters, namely : Ann married Samuel Bartley, who moved to Iowa; Mary married Benjamin Iles ; Andrew Jackson, who went to California as a gold hunter, _being a member of the famous band of "forty-niners ;” Henry, who first moved to Illinois. later to Kansas ; Sarah A. married Frederick Rodgers; Caroline remained single: John M., of this review, is the only member of the family now living. The parents of these children were Presbyterians and devout church people. The father's death occurred in 1878 and the mother died in 1872 ; they are buried in Mound View cemetery. John M. Ewalt spent his youth on his father's farm and attended the district school until he was nineteen years of age. He began life for himself by teaching school in the home district when he was nineteen years of age. Later he attended the Mt. Vernon schools and the high school, he being the first boy to enter= the new high school building. It still stands, but has been enlarged and remodeled. He also attended the private school of R. R. Sloan prior to entering the high school. While a senior in the latter, the Civil war ,came on. William Mitchell, principal of the high school, organized a company of which he became captain, Company A, Ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 587 Infantry, and Mr. Ewalt enlisted in the same, in August, 1862, and he served very faithfully until the following April, when he was discharged on account of physical disability. He was sergeant of his company. He participated in Sherman's repulse from Vicksburg and other engagements, including the battle of Arkansas Post, January I I, 1863. He was sent to St. Louis with a boat load of three hundred sick and wounded soldiers, one hundred of whom died on the way. He was discharged from the service at Jefferson Barracks, eleven miles below St. Louis. Upon leaving the army he returned home and was married on November 5, 1863. to Sarah Ward, daughter of Levi B. and Mary ( Freeman) Ward, a prominent pioneer family of Mt. Vernon, where Mr. Ward was successfully engaged in the mercantile business for many years. He and his wife are both deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Ewalt two sons and one- (laughter have been born, namely : Harry, an optician in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania M. Cora is at home : J. Lewis is practicing dentistry at Lorain. Ohio: both sons are married. the (laughter having remained single. After his marriage Mr. Ewalt engaged in farming and teaching school, alternating the two with the seasons of each year up to 1871. Mrs. Ewalt's death occurred in December, 1890. and she is buried in Mound View cemetery. Mr. Ewalt was married a second time, in October, 1893, his last wife being Bell S. Scott, daughter of John and Mary (Ankeny) Scott, an excellent family of Cambridge. Ohio. This union has been without issue. Mr. Ewalt has always taken an abiding interest in local affairs, and in 1871 he was elected county auditor on the Democratic ticket and he served two terms of four years. In 1865 he was appointed one of the county school examiners and he served in this capacity until 1876. He was a member of the city board of education for a period of three years. He discharged his duties very faithfully in every position of public trust. In 1874 Mr. Ewalt was one of the organizers of the Mt. Vernon Bridge Company, of which the present bridge company is the continuation. Mr. Ewalt was then the first secretary and treasurer of the company, which position he held with much credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the stockholders for several years. In 1875, while still serving as county auditor, he was elected cashier of the then Knox County National Bank, and he served with much success in that capacity until the expiration of the bank charter in 1885, when the institution was chartered as the Knox National Bank. and he continued as cashier' until the expiration of that charter in 1905. With the new charter the bank became the New Knox National Bank, under which charter it is now operating. Mr. Ewalt retired. from the cashiership with the 588 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. expiration of the Knox National Bank, after a most faithful and commendable service of thirty years, during which time he became one of the county's leading figures in banking circles and won a wide reputation for his able, conservative and judicious ability and services, which were always of a very high order and his pleasing personality, courtesy and straightforward dealings with the thousands of patrons won the confidence and respect. Since his retirement as cashier he has been vice-president of the New Knox National Bank. Of the thirty-seven stockholders in the bank when Mr. Ewalt became cashier, he is now the only one remaining. He is a banker of the old school, yet he has all the while kept fully abreast of the times in all matters pertaining to his line of endeavor, and all modern methods of banking are familiar to him. Liberal, yet conservative. his bank has had a very successful career, and is one of the sound and safe as well as popular financial institutions of Ohio. Politically, Mr. Ewalt is a Democrat, but in 1896 he voted for William McKinley as President; since then he has called himself an independent Democrat. He is a member of Joe Hooker Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and he and his family belong to the Baptist church and are active in church work, Mr. Ewalt being a deacon and a Sunday school teacher. The family home is a modern, commodious and attractive one, located at NO. 1 20 East High street in one of the choice residence districts of the city, and it is an important factor in the best social life of the community. Mr. Ewalt is a strong and likable character of sterling worth and is highly regarded by all classes. JOHN B. STINEMETZ. For nearly three score and ten years, or indeed all his life, an esteemed and worthy resident of Clinton township, Knox county, John B. Stinemetz is entitled to special mention with the successful and representative men of the western part of the county. His name has long been inseparably connected with the agricultural and industrial growth and development of the community and in the equally important matters of education and public morals he has taken more than a passing interest. He has lived to see the great development of this favored section of the great Buckeye state and has played well his part in the same, for here, on his ancestral hills, he has been content to spend his life and he has so ordered his footsteps in the paths of rectitude that he has kept untarnished the escutcheon of the worthy pioneer name of Stinemetz. KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 589 Mr. Stinemetz was born on the farm where he still resides in Clinton township, this county, two miles west of the city of Mt. Vernon, on November 21, 1842. He is the son of George and Rachael (Liter) Stinemetz, both born in Washington county, Maryland, where they grew to maturity and were married, soon afterwards coming to Knox county, Ohio, in 1826, when the country was sparsely settled and little improvement had been made. They settled just west of Mt. Vernon and two years later bought the land which is still in possession of the family. It was then all timbered. The elder Stinemetz first cleared just enough for a place on which to build his cabin, then began the work of carving out a farm in the woods, and here he became very well established, the log cabin giving way to a more pretentious home in due course of time and he followed farming all his life, becoming one of the substantial men of his neighborhood, and he was a man of upright character and a most worthy citizen. His death occurred in June, 1873, his widow following him to the grave a few months later, on December 7th of the same year, and both are buried in Mound View cemetery, Mt. Vernon. They were the parents of nine children, only three of whom are now living, namely : Mary. who married Reason Welsh, is now a widow, as is also Ellen, who married Clark N. Craig; John B., of this sketch. John B. Stinemetz grew up on the home farm and received his education in the district schools of the locality and his opportunities for an education were meager, but he made the best of what he had. He was married on October 29. 1868, to Belinda _Alen. daughter of Asahel and Content (Wing) Allen. A sketch of the Allen family will be found on another page of this volume. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stinemetz, namely : Charles E., deceased ; George A. A., married Jennie M. McGagin, and is living on a farm in Monroe township; Cora E. married Clinton M. Graham and she lives with her parents on the home farm. The subject and his wife began housekeeping on the old home place and here they have continued to reside to the present time and they have kept the old place Well improved and well tilled, so that it has lost none of its old-time fertility. His place of one hundred acres has yielded him a very comfortable annual income as a result of his industry and good management. Politically, Mr. Stinemetz is a Republican and he has ever been a careful, intelligent voter, but never an office seeker. However, he has served his community as road commissioner- and school director. He is a member of the Clinton Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. He and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal church and are devout church people. 590 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. HIRAM W. WORKMAN. Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and as a usual thing men of honorable and humane impulses. as well as those of energy and thrift, have been patrons of husbandry. The free outdoor life of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence of mind and self-reliance which characterizes true manhood, and no greater blessing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the healthful, life-inspiring labor of the fields. It has always been the fruitful soil from which have sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country and the majority of our nation's great statesmen, famous warriors, renowned scholars and distinguished men of letters were born on the farm and are indebted to its early influence for the distinction which they have attained. Hiram W. Workman, of Union township. Knox county. is a farmer and he comes of a family of tillers of the soil, who haye een thus engaged for a livelihood for generations. He was born on February 26, 1861, in Tiverton township, Coshocton county, Ohio. the son of Stephen and Mary (Johnson) Workman, both natives of the same vicinity in which the subject was born and there they were reared, grew to maturity and married, the father spending his entire life on the old homestead on which his birth occurred. He farmed all his life and was a substantial and influential citizen. Politically, he was a Democrat and adhered to the Baptist belief religiously. His death occurred in December, 1907, having survived his wife thirty years, she having preceded him to the grave on February 12. 1877, and they are both buried in the Baptist cemetery, near Tiverton Center, Coshocton county. Sixteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Workman, six of whom are living at this writing, four having died in infancy, and twelve grew to manhood and womanhood, namely : Hiram W., of this sketch; Robert W. lives in Holmes county, Ohio; Elizabeth married William R. Parsons, of Holmes county; Emma married Charles Englehart, of Howard township; Allen Thurman lives in Holmes county, and Asa is a resident of Orville, Wayne county. Hiram W. Workman was reared on the home farm and there worked in the summer months as soon as he was old enough, attending the public schools in the winter time. He remained under his parental roof-tree until he was married, on November 17, 1881, to Alice Singer. daughter of John and Ellen (Prost) Singer, the mother having died when Mrs. Workman was an infant. The father is now a resident of the state of Idaho. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Workman, named as KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 591 follows: Sadie, who married Earl Ackert, of Tiverton township, Coshocton county; Grover C. is at home assisting with the work on the place; Walter is deceased. Hiram W. Workman began farming on the home place in Tiverton township, Coshocton county. and in 1886 he came to Union township, Knox county, locating One mile west of Cavilla, where he is the owner of eighty acres of good land which he farms and on which he raises live stock and feeds considerable stock each year. Politically, Mr. Workman is a Democrat and he has always been an active party man. He was assessor of Union township for two years. His popularity in his home community is shown by the fact that this is a strong Republican district and that he was elected on the Democratic ticket. He has also served as a member of the township board of education for several years, and he has been a frequent delegate to party conventions where he has always made his influence felt for the good of the community which he represents and the party in general. HENRY M. JACOBS. One of the honored young men of Knox county. a native son who has been content to remain in this favored section of the great Buckeye commonwealth, is Henry M. Jacobs, the present efficient and popular postmaster at Gambier. In all the relations of life he has commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been brought into contact as is evidenced by his selection to fill the important trust which he now holds. Mr. Jacobs was born in the town of Gambier, this county, on October 6, 1875, and he is the son of Charles W. and Minerva (Benedict) Jacobs, both natives of Knox county. where the father devoted his life to farming. In later life he was a Republican in politics. but not active, though he filled a number of the township offices. He was a highly respected gentleman who led a clean, industrious life. His death occurred in December. 1906: his widow is living in Gambier. where. like her husband before her, she has many warm friends. The son, Henry M., of this review, was educated in the public schools of Gambier. His first employment after finishing school was in the office of the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus railroad at Gambier, remaining with the company four years. rendering high grade and eminently satisfactory service. In 1897 he became assistant postmaster at Gambier. and served in 592 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. this capacity in a most capable manner until November, 191o, when he was appointed postmaster, succeeding E. P. Webster, whose death occurred at that time. He has given both the department and the people faithful and conscientious service and proven to be one of the best postmasters the town has ever had. Politically, he is a Republican and has been active in party matters since attaining his majority. He vas the representative from Gambier on the Republican county central committee for several years, and he has been a frequent delegate to county and district conventions. He has served as township clerk for thirteen years, from the time he became old enough to vote until he was appointed postmaster. He is now a member of the board of education of Gambier. This postoffice is a presidential third class office and three rural routes start from here, Route No. 1 being one of the first in the county. Mr. Jacobs was, married on July 26, 1901, to Eva Webster, daughter of Erwin P. and Sarah (Chaney) Webster. Mr. Webster was for many years agent for the Cleveland. Akron & Columbus railroad at Gambier and from 1897 until his death, in the fall of 1910, he was postmaster at Gambier. His wife preceded him to the grave several years. They were highly respected people. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs have one child, Edwin W. Mr. Jacobs is a member of Mt. Zion Lodge No. 9, Free and Accepted Masons, at Mt. Vernon, also a member of the chapter. He affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal church. of which his wife is a member. They are popular in the best society of the county and are pleasant people to meet. WILLIAM M. CARLISLE. One of the progressive and respected men of affairs in the county of Knox is William M. Carlisle, of Gambier, a man who has always taken a great interest in the advancement of his locality and endorses every movement which he believes will prove a benefit to humanity. He is a sociable gentleman and is held in the highest regard by all who know him. His achievements represent the result of honest endeavor along lines where mature judgment has opened the way. By pluck and energy, controlled by correct principles and founded upon unswerving honor, he has attained to a position meriting the respect and admiration of his fellow men which they gladly give. Mr. Carlisle was born on March 28, 1861, in Olive Green, Delaware KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 593 county, Ohio, and is the son of Zachariah and Jennie (Caldwell) Carlisle. The father was born in Licking county, Ohio, and the mother in England, from which country she emigrated to the United States when seven years of age. The father vas a physician and during the early years of his professional career he lived at Newark, Licking county, Ohio. He served through the Civil war, enlisting as a musician, having been connected with a band in Newark as a young man, but later was transferred to the hospital corps. He enlisted at the first call for troops and was at the front all through the struggle. After serving three months, he re-enlisted in the Eighteenth Infantry, regular army and served in the hospital service, in this splendid body of fighting men until the close of the war. Following the war, he gave up his practice and settled in Gambier for a few years, then went to Arkansas City, Arkansas, and there he continued the practice of medicine and there he spent the balance of his life, dying in 1904; his widow is living in Oklahoma. William M. Carlisle grew to manhood in his native community and he went to Arkansas with the family. later returning to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and here he studied medicine with Dr. J. F. Hess and was admitted to practice in 1884, then went to Arkansas City where he engaged in practice for about one year, then returned to the home of his uncle. William Oliver, in Gambier. in whose family he had spent so much of his childhood. Mr. Oliver was a prominent factor in the affairs of Gambier for many years. His wife died in 1885 and the subject returned to Gambier to be with Mr. Oliver, who was thus left alone. On May 28. 1885, Mr. Carlisle was married to Adelia Hanlen. of Columbus. Ohio. After his marriage he moved to one of Mr. Oliver's farms in Monroe township, Knox county, and there engaged in farming. The subject has one daughter, Mary Olive, now the wife of Wilfred Perry, of Cleveland. Mr. Carlisle lived on this farm until November, 1905, when he built a modern home in Gambier where he has since resided. It is an attractive, commodious and modernly equipped residence, the equal of any in this part of the county. He has engaged most successfully in general farming and stock raising. making a specialty of shorthorn cattle and tine hogs. By diligence and good management he has met with a large measure of success and laid by a competency. He owns over two hundred acres of as fine land as the county can boast, all well improved and under a high state of cultivation. He employed all modern methods in his agricultural work, believing in keeping abreast of the times and for years he has been regarded as one of the most progressive of local farmers. As a physician, he met with success and enjoyed a large practice. as did his .father. but the freer life of the country appealed to him most and he gave up practice. 594 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. Politically, Mr. Carlisle is a Republican and he has long been actice and influential in public matters. In 1910 he was land appraiser for Gambier and College township. He has served as a member of the Republican county central and the executive committees and has been a frequent delegate to county, district and state conventions. He was one of the promoters of the Knox County Agricultural Fair and was a member of the board of directors until 191o. Much of its success was due to his efforts. His support may always be depended upon in the advancement of all matters pertaining to the general good of the community and county, and his advice is often sought in public matters. Mr. Carlisle has been much interested in improved conditions of farming and stock raising and has done as much. if not more, than any other man in his locality to bring about a better condition. He has made a careful study of soils, rotation of crops. fertilizers, climatic conditions, grains and the relation of each to the other, and has long been an advocate of scientific and "intensive" farming, employing such methods as would bring the maximum returns for the least amount of labor and expense. Mr. Carlisle is a member of the Sons of Veterans, William Harding Camp No. 63, at Gambier: he also belongs to Pleasant Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, and has been active in Grange affairs as well as in all organizations of farmers. He is an enthusiastic advocate of farmers' institutes. corn associations and all organizations calculated to improve farms and the condition of farmers, and he is frequently a speaker at these meetings. He and his family are members of the Episcopalian church and are active in church work. Mr. Carlisle finds recreation about his own home. He is fond of a good horse and also all athletic games and out-door amusements. He is also a chicken fancier, making a specialty of raising brown Leghorns and keeps a large number in his poultry yards. The Carlisle family is prominent in the social life of the community, and their pleasant home is the frequent gathering place for their many friends. WILLIAM L. WARD. Among those men of Knox county who, by the force of their personality, have forged their way toward the front ranks of the class of citizens who may justly be termed progressive, is William L. Ward, the well known liveryman of Mt. Vernon. and who also has a fine farm in this vicinity which he has taken a great interest in and which he has improved in a most system- KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 595 atic way until it is the equal of any in the community where it is so admirably located. He is a man who has dealt honestly with his fellow men and therefore has their confidence and friendship. Mr. Ward was born on October 24, 1870, in Miller township, this county. He is the son of Joe M. and Alethea (Rowland) Ward, the father a native of Ashland county, Ohio, and the mother of Richland county, this state. After their marriage they came to Knox county, Ohio, in 1863 and located in Milford township, later moving to Miller township, where the subject was born. The father was a carpenter and contractor and owing to his skill and fair dealings his services were in great demand and he turned out many important jobs from year to year, and many of the substantial buildings of various kinds throughout the locality stand today as monuments to his ability in this connection. He also farmed a great deal during the latter years of his life. He was a soldier in Company B, One Hundred and Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, serving gallantly until the close of the struggle. Politically, he was a Democrat and while he was always a voter, was never an office seeker. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife was a member of the Baptist church. He was a man of exemplary character, and his death occurred on August 28, 1903, his wife having preceded him to the grave in September, 1896. Three sons and three daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Joe M. Ward, five of whom are living, namely : Sarah F. is deceased ; Laura A. married W. W. Stockbridge, of Croton, Licking county, Ohio; John E. is married and is living in Mt. Vernon Mary J. married M. J. Clutter, of Milford township : Herman is married and is living in Miller township; 'William L. of this sketch. William L. Ward was reared on the home farm, where he assisted with the general work about the place when he became of proper age, and he received his education in the public schools of the township. For a time prior to his marriage he was engaged in the coal business in Mt. Vernon. On July 8, 1899, Mr. Ward was united in marriage with Anna Belle *Graham, (laughter of DeWitt C. and Rebecca (Behanna) Graham, of Miller township. but natives of Pennsylvania, a highly respected family. Four children have been born to the subject and wife, namely : Lucy E:, Charles G.. Louie Cladys is deceased; Wilma Beatrice. Mr. Ward began his married life on the home farm in Miller township, where he remained two years, then went to Hunt's Station, where he engaged in the grain. hay and coal business for a period of seven years, and 596 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. for about four years of this period he operated in this vicinity for the J. S. McConnell Company of Mt. Vernon. He soon built up an extensive trade in this line and met with much success. In 1907 he came to Mt. Vernon and engaged in the livery business and here he has remained, enjoying an ever-growing patronage. He has a large, well-stocked barn, good horses and modern equipment. everything kept up to date, in fact, he spares neither pains nor expense in rendering the public prompt and efficient service. Mr. Ward is also the owner of a fine farm a half mile west of Mt. Vernon, which is \yell improved and under a high state of cultivation and which he supervises in a general way. Politically, Mr. Ward is a Democrat and he has served his township as clerk and he has been clerk of the board of elections for two years in Miller township. He takes much interest in local party affairs. In his fraternal relations he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Mt. Vernon lodge. and he also belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church and have long been active in church and Sunday school work, he having been superintendent of the Sunday school and a deacon in the church. Mr. and Mrs. Ward are pleasant people to meet, and they have many friends throughout the county. HARRY HOLMES. Agriculture has been the true source of man's dominion on earth ever since the primal existence of labor and has been the pivotal industry that has controlled, for the most part, all the fields of action to which his intelligence and energy have been devoted. In a civilized community no calling is so certain of yielding a compensatory reurn as that which is culled from a kindly soil, albeit at times the husbandman is sorely taxed in coaxing from mother earth all that he desires or even expects; yet, she is a kind mother and seldom chastens with disappointment the child whose diligence and frugality she deems it but just should be rewarded. One of the farmers of College township, Knox county, on whom the aforesaid Mother Nature seems to have been unsparing in her largesses is Harry Holmes, who was born one mile north of Gambier in Monroe township. and who has spent his life in his home community. He is the son of Josiah and Sarah (Wasson) Holmes. The father came to Monroe township with his parents when he was seven KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 597 years of age and here he was reared, residing on the same farm until his death. Lemuel Holmes, grandfather of the subject, came from Baltimore, Maryland, to Coshocton county, Ohio, in an early day and there settled on a farm. Grandfather Wasson was also a farmer all his life. Josiah Holmes, mentioned above, was one of the most progressive farmers of his township and one of the first to make an effort to improve his live stock, especially horses, and he bought the first Percheron stallion for that purpose and did much to improye the breed of horses in this county. He was one of the substantial and highly esteemed men of his community. He was a Republican in politics and his religious faith reposed with the Episcopalians, though a few years prior to his death he united with the Methodist Episcopal church. His death occurred in April, 1892, his wife having preceded him to the grave several years. She was a native of Delaware county, Ohio. Harry Holmes, of this sketch, spent his childhood and youth on the home farm and there assisted with the general farm work. attending the district schools in the winter, in Monroe township and in the town of Gambier, also Kenyon Military Academy. Mr. Holmes was married on August i6, 1883, to Celestie Wolfe. daughter of Jacob and Mary Ann (McArtor) Wolfe, a prominent family of Harrison township. The Wolfe family came from Pennsylvania, John Wolfe, Mrs. Holmes' grandfather. having been one of the pioneers of this country. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, Ethel R., who married Jasper F. Walker. The latter is associated with the subject in farming and is a young man of much promise. He is extensively engaged in raising American thoroughbred Delaine sheep and his flocks are regarded as among the best in the country, in fact, are not surpassed in the state. His sheep find a market in all parts of the country for breeding purposes. He is an exhibitor at county and state fairs, also at the National Stock Exhibit at Chicago, and he has won on many prizes wherever he has shown his fine stock. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have two children, a son and a daughter, Ruth M. and Harlow H. After his marriage, Harry Holmes turned his attention to farming on his own account, which he followed several years, then became steward for three years at the Harcourt Seminary at Gambier. Following this he engaged in the grocery business in Mt. Vernon for three and one-half years. But he was never fully satisfied away from the farm, so he returned to husbandry. In connection 'with general farming he raised thoroughbred sheep. In 1907 he and Mrs. Holmes left the farm and moved to a fine home in Gambier, attractively and modernly finished, surrounded by spacious, well- 598 - KNOX COUNTY, OHIO. kept grounds. His farm contains two hundred and seven acres of fertile and well kept land, under a high state of improvement and cultivation. The grounds surrounding his Gambier home consist of thirteen acres of valuable land. Mr. Holmes spends considerable time raising chickens, and his brown Leghorns are much admired by all who see them. Mr. Holmes is a Prohibitionist and was mayor of Gambier in 1911. the duties of which office he discharged in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned. He has served on the Gambier hoard of education. He is thoroughly in touch with public matters and lends his support to all measures having for their object the general good of the people of his community. He and his family are members of the Disciples church, and he is an elder in the same. Mrs. Holmes is a refined and cultured woman and they are prominent in the social life of the community, their friends being numbered only by the limits of their acquaintance. CHARLES W. COE. The popular citizen and enterprising business man whose name furnishes the heading of this review needs no formal introduction to the people of Knox county. Long identified with the agricultural and business interests of the community, he has taken an abiding interest in the welfare of the same in all phases of its development. and has forged to the front ranks as a man of affairs, besides earning an honorable reputation as a man of integrity and wholesome ideals. He represents a sterling pioneer family. Charles W. Coe, well known president of the Building and Loan Association of Centerburg, was born on December 25, 1848. in Washington township, Licking county, Ohio, and is the son of Charles H. and Eliza Ann (Conard) Coe. The father came to Licking county when three years old with his parents, Joshua and Mary (Burgone) Coe, from Maryland in 1826, and the grandfather, Joseph Conard, came here from Virginia in 1805. settling in what is now Morgan township when the country was a wilderness, and here he remained a number of years, finally selling out and moving to what is now Washington township, Licking county, settling where the town of Utica now stands. He was a farmer and he established the first tannery in the locality. When the father of the subject married he also engaged in the tanning business, following the same for many years, later turning his attention to farming, finally giving up the tanning business. He was a soldier KNOX COUNTY, OHIO - 599 in the Civil war, a member of the First Ohio Independent Sharpshooters. He was an exceptionally good shot, and prior to this service of about two years he was a recruiting officer. While in the service he was captain of a company of the sharpshooters and was attached to different regiments at various times, and he saw some hard service with the different armies. After the close of the war he came to Hilliar township, Knox county, Ohio, in 1865 and engaged in farming, in which he prospered. both as a general farmer and a sheep raiser. He died December 20, 1911, at the age of eighty-eight years, on his fine three-hundred-and-fifty-acre farm, a half mile north of Centerburg. His first wife died in December, 1873, she being the mother of the subject, and the father married again, his second wife surviving at this writing. Four children, two sons and two daughters, were born to Charles H. Coe and his first wife, namely : Alice, now the wife of George Rinehart, her husband being now deceased ; Charles W., of this sketch; Jennie married Joseph Sutton, a farmer of Hilliar township; and Judson C., of Center-burg, all living. Charles W. Coe grew to manhood on the home farm and his first activities were in his father's tannery. He attended the public schools and one year in the normal school at Lebanon, Ohio, also attended Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, then spent one year at Michigan University at Ann Arbor. Thus well equipped for his life work, he left college and began life by clerking in a drug store in Springfield, haying taken the course in pharmacy at Ann Arbor, Michigan, for one year. After spending a year at Springfield, he returned to the home farm, undertaking the management of the same, and for a period of twenty-seven years he operated the same in a most successful manner, carrying on general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of sheep. During the latter years of his farming operations. in 1893. he moved to Centerburg for the purpose of making his future home, but retained his farming interests. He vas one of the organizers of the Building and Loan Association and after two years he became president of the same, which position he still holds, haying discharged the duties of the same in a manner that reflects much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned, in fact his judicious management has been largely due to its large success. It is one of the most successful of its kind in the state. In Igor Mr. Coe became associated with the Centerburg Bank, and was made vice-president of the same and has filled this position with rare ability ever since. The hank has since been reorganized and is now known as the Centerburg Savings Bank Company, under the state laws. Mr. Coe is (39)