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Phoebe George, prominent citizens of Mount Gilead during their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have no children of their own but have one adopted daughter, Annetta A., who was born on the 5th of November, 1878. She was educated in the common schools of Mount Gilead and was graduated in the local high school. She is now the wife of R. C. Lockridge and they reside at Las Vegas, Nevada. To Mr. and Mrs. Lockridge was born on May 13, 1910, a little son, Robert Miller Lockridge.
COLONEL E. WAGNER.—One of the prominent residents of Mount Gilead, Morrow county, Ohio, is Colonel E. Wagner, who, in company with his brother, 0. S. Wagner, is engaged in the buying and shipping of grain. He is a loyal and public-spirited citizen, whose influence has ever been exerted in behalf of the general welfare and whose contribution to progress and development is of the most insistent order. He was born in Wyandot county, Ohio, the date of his birth being November 14, 1874, and he is a son of Cyrus and Lydia (Wildermood) Wagner, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Ohio. John Smith Wagner, grandfather of him whose name initiates this review, was likewise born in Germany, whence he came to America with his family in an early date. He settled on a farm in Wyandot county, Ohio, where his death occurred about 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Wagner are still residents of Wyandot county, where the father is identified with agricultural pursuits and where he has maintained his home during his natural life.
Colonel E. Wagner, the fourth in order of birth in a family of nine children,, was reared to maturity on the old home farm in Wyandot county, to whose public schools he is indebted for his educational training. He received a good, practical common education, and entered a railroad office at McCutchenville, where he learned telegraphy. In 1889 he entered the employ of the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad Company in the capacity of telegraph operator. After working at different places in that capacity he finally came to Mount Gilead in 1894, and here he has since resided. In 1906 he and his brother 0. S.. Wagner purchased the N. J. Cover warehouse and elevators and since that time they have been engaged in a general feed business, also buying and shipping grain of all kinds. In this line of enterprise the Wagner Brothers are doing a thriving business and the same is most gratifying to contemplate inasmuch as it is the direct result of their own well directed endeavors.
On April 25, 1901, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Wagner to Miss Dora Huffman, who was reared and educated at McCutchenville, Ohio, and who is a daughter of William and Rose (Baker) Huffman, prominent residents of Wyandot county, Ohio. No children have been born to this union. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Mount Gilead.
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In politics Mr. Wagner is a Democrat and he is an influential factor in the local councils of that party. At the present time he is serving as a member of the city council of Mount Gilead and it may be stated here that he has ever been deeply interested in all matters projected for the general welfare of the community. Fraternally he is affiliated with Mount Gilead Lodge, No. 206, Free and Accepted Masons, and with Charles H. Hull Lodge, No. 195, Knights of Pythias, in the latter of which he is the present master at arms. Mr. Wagner is a man of fine natural intelligence. His genial manner, his unfaltering courtesy, his genuine worth of character and strong personal traits have won for him the regard and friendship of the vast majority of those with whom he has come in contact and made him a representative citizen of Morrow county.
LAFAYETTE BARTLETT SHURR.—Simon Augustus Shurr with his brother Lafayette Bartlett Shurr are to be numbered among Ohio's well-known summer resort men, and they are exhibiting a spirit of enterprise which bids fair to make of Rogers Lake, near Chesterville, one of the most attractive and popular summering places of this part of the state, sparing neither time nor money in the efforts which will result in additional prosperity to the whole community. The name of Shurr and that of the maternal side of the houseBartlett—are among the most distinguished and honorable to be encountered in this section, and for many years they have been identified with Morrow county interests. The name of Bartlett, in particular, figures in most interesting fashion in early American history. Hugh and Margaret (Shurr) Bartlett, grandparents of the subject, were natives of Salem, New York, and of Pennsylvania, respectively. Their daughter Mary, mother of Mr. Shurr, was born December 24, 1825, and was affectionately called by her parents their Christmas present. Hugh Bartlett's father was Bartholomew Bartlett, and his brother, Josiah, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Bartholomew Bartlett's wife was Elizabeth Webb, an aunt of Mrs. Lucy Webb Hayes, the one-time popular and noble mistress of the White House. Besides the daughter mentioned there were five sons in the family of Hugh Bartlett and his wife, namely : W. F., G. V., and C. T., who passed their lives as successful business men in New York city; Edwin W., deceased; and D. Lafayette.
Hugh Bartlett migrated with his parents from his native Empire state during the' war of 1812, and they located near Mount Vernon, Ohio. At that time the country was principally dense forest, with blazed trails for roads, and many hardships were endured, which assisted in developing that sturdy manhood and womanhood which distinguished Morrow county's pioneer stock. William Bartlett was detailed to do patrol work from Zanesville to Mansfield and Upper Sandusky, the country at that time swarming with hostile Indians. This William Bartlett had been a captain
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in the war of 1812, and Samuel Nye, who married his sister Mary, (Called by her adoring relatives Aunt Polly), was also made a captain in that service.
On March 6, 1844, Mary Bartlett, above mentioned, was united in marriage to George W. Shurr, a son of Simon and Margaret (McCracken) Shurr, natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania. The Shurrs had come to Ohio from Claysville, Pennsylvania, in 1836, bringing with them their two sons, John and George. The late George Shurr was a farmer and merchant and one of the well-known citizens of the county. He was the proprietor of the old and well-known Shurr General Merchandise Establishment, which for many years did a large and prosperous business in Chesterville. To the union of George Shurr and Mary Bartlett were born two sons, named Simon Augustus and Lafayette Bartlett, and a child who died in infancy. The boys received their education in the common and high schools of Chester and subsequently Simon Augustus went to New York city, where he engaged in business for thirty-five years. In that metropolis he was united in marriage to Irene Durkee, and there they passed their wedded life until the death of the wife. For several years after that lamentable event Mr. Shurr continued in business, but not long ago he disposed of his interests in the East and returned to his native Chester. He has purchased Rogers Lake, a summer resort, and he is doing all in his power to improve and beautify this beautiful spot to make it attractive to those who desire to spend the heated season in healthful and delightful surroundings.
Lafayette Bartlett Shurr, who owns Rogers Lake with his brother, was married on the 11th day of June, 1902, to Mary Gordon, a daughter of Sidney and Mahala Gordon, of Chesterville.
The Messrs. Shurr, among their other important improvements, have erected a number of fine and commodious cottages, and the fame of Rogers Lake is constantly growing. It promises, indeed, to become one of the most popular resorts of Central Ohio. The father died several years ago and the widow resides with her children, who tenderly care for her. She is an intelligent, fine woman, of winsome personality. She and her family are united with the Presbyterian church. Mr. L. B. Shurr is an enthusiastic lodge man, with membership in the Masonic Lodge and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which latter the father was a charter member.
As suggested before, .the names of Bartlett and Shurr stand for a spirit of progressiveness, and any community with which these families are identified profits therefrom.
JACOB RULE.—Among the influential and highly honored agriculturists of Perry township, Morrow county, Ohio, Jacob Rule holds distinctive prestige as a man of worth and impregnable integrity. He is the owner of a splendid farm of one hundred and
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sixty acres of most arable land in Perry township and he also has a tract of eighty acres of land in Congress township, all of which is in a high state of cultivation.
A native son of Perry township, Mr. Rule has passed practically his entire life thus far within its bounds, and the fact that he has always commanded the high regard of his fellow citizens who have known him from earliest youth is sufficient voucher for his estimable character. Mr. Rule was born on the 24th of November, 1842, and he is a son of George and Mary (Rule) Rule, both of whom are deceased. Both parents were natives of the state of Pennsylvania, whence they immigrated to Morrow county, Ohio, at an early day, location having been made on a farm, where they passed the residue of their lives. They became the parents of eight children, three of whom are living in 1911, namely: Jacob, the immediate subject of this review ; Margaret, who is the wife of John Gaunt, and who maintains her home in Marshall county, Indiana, and George, a business man of Goshen, Indiana. George Rule, the father, was eminently successful as a pioneer farmer in Ohio, and he was summoned to the great beyond about the year 1900.
Jacob Rule, of this review, was reared to the strenuous influences of the home farm, in connection with the work of which he waxed strong both mentally and physically. He remained an inmate of the parental home until he had attained to the age of twenty-one years, at which time he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits on his own account. He is, now the owner of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Perry township and the thrifty, prosperous condition of his place well indicates his ability as a practical, conscientious farmer. He has long been identified with diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock and in addition to his estate in Perry township he has a fine farm of eighty acres in Congress township. He is a man of fair and honorable business methods and he stands four-square to every wind that blows.
In 1865 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Rule to Miss Catherine Ruhl Fall, who was born and reared in Morrow county, Ohio, and who is a daughter of H. H. Fall, who has long engaged in agricultural pursuits in Morrow county. To Mr. and Mrs. Rule have been born four children, concerning whom the following brief record is here entered: Eva is the wife of Riley Brewer and they reside in Morrow county; Hernie married George W. Dawson, of Mount Gilead; Dellie is the wife of Bert Zollman, of Mount Gilead ; and Heilman H. remains at home, where he assists his father in the work and management of the farm. Mrs. Rule was called to the life eternal on the 15th of January, 1911, and her death was uniformly mourned by a wide circle of relatives and friends. She was a woman of high ideals and sweet personality and was deeply beloved by all who knew her.
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In his religious faith Mr. Rule is a devout member of the Lutheran church, to whose charities and good works he has ever been a most liberal contributor, and in a fraternal way he is connected with various organizations of a local nature. Politically he endorses the cause of the Democratic party and in connection with public affairs he has given most efficient service as a member of the township board of supervisors and as a school director. His genial kindliness and unfailing courtesy have won him a secure place in the hearts of his fellow citizens and no one commands a greater degree of popular confidence and esteem than does he.
MELLVILLE PARROTT.—A representative business man of Mount Gilead, Morrow county, Ohio, and one whose loyalty and public spirit have prompted him to do all in his power to conserve the progress and development of this section of the fine old Buckeye state is Mellville Parrott, who is a native son of Mount Gilead and a scion of an old Pennsylvania family. He was born on the 4th of March, 1854, and is a son of Simeon S. and Mary (Hiddleson) Parrott, the former of whom was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of whom claimed Monroe county, Ohio, as the place of her birth. Both were born in the year 1818, and the father came to Morrow county, Ohio, in the year 1837, settling on a farm near Mount Gilead. Mrs. Parrott came to this county with her parents, as a young girl, and her marriage was solemnized in September, 1840. To this union were born the following children : Nelson, Clark, Mellville, Louise and Dora. Nelson and Clark are both deceased ; Mellville is the immediate subject of this review; Louise is the wife of N. N. Hiskett, and resides in Morrow county ; and Dora married I. M. Lautz, of Vinton county. Simeon S. Parrott died in 1904 and his cherished wife was summoned to eternal rest in 1901.
Mellville Parrott was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm which was situated one mile southeast of Mount Gilead, and during the busy seasons he assisted his father in the work and management thereof, attending school during the winter terms. When eighteen years of age he gave his entire time to farming and the raising of high-grade stock and he continued to be thus engaged until 1910, in which year he opened a coal yard at Mt. Gilead. In the latter line of enterprise he has been most successful, controlling a large trade and conducting a prosperous business. He owns forty acres of fine land in Gilead township, one quarter of a mile southwest of Mount Gilead, and on the same raises corn of exceptional quality, samples of which have been exhibited in many states of the Union. He makes a specialty of the Johnson county white and the Reed yellow corn and for the same has been awarded premiums in many of the state fairs. Mrs. Parrott is the owner of one acre of real estate in Mount Gilead, the same being located on West High street, near the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad.
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Mr. Parrott has been twice married, his first union having been to Miss Addie McAllister, by whom he had three children: Ethel, who is the wife of Ellery Newson, of Morrow county; Nellie, who passed away in 1882; and Florence, who is the wife of Charles Markham, of Mount Gilead, Ohio. Mrs. Parrott was summoned to the life eternal in 1880, and in 1893, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Parrott to Miss Lillie F. Elliottt, who was born and reared at Marion. No children have been born to this latter union.
In politics Mr. Parrott accords an unswerving allegiance to the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor and although he has never been desirous of political preferment he has been sincere and energetic in his efforts to promote the general welfare. He served for a number of years as a member of the Morrow County Agricultural Society. His wife is a devoted member of the Presbyterian church, and they hold a secure place in the esteem and friendship of their fellow citizens.
DANIEL S. MATHER.-A worthy representative of an honored pioneer family of Morrow county, Daniel S. Mather is one of the most highly esteemed residents of Chesterville, and is now rendering appreciated service as mayor of the village. During his long and active life he has been prominently identified with the development and progress of his community, and as opportunity has occurred has given his influence to encourage the establishment of beneficial enterprises. He was born June 29, 1838, in Chesterville, which has ever been his abiding place.
James Mather, his father, was born and reared in New Jersey, and there married Phoebe Struble, a daughter of Peter I. and Annie Struble. Shortly after his marriage, accompanied by his wife and her parents, he came to Morrow county, Ohio, locating, in 1837, on Owl creek, in Chester township, where Mr. Struble entered a large tract of government land. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children, none of whom are now living. James Mather was a shoemaker, and followed his trade in Morrow county for twenty-five years, his home being in Chesterville. To him and his good wife six children were born and reared, namely: Daniel S., the special subject of this brief personal review ; Elsie, widow of James Clink, a highly respected citizen of Chester township, who served in the Civil war ; Noama, wife of R. B. Conant, of Chesterville, who was also a soldier in the Civil war; John P., of Chesterville, married Ella Auker, and their only child, Blanche B., married Maynard Frizzell, of Mount Gilead, has one child, Hutchinson ; Emma, wife of David Virtue, of Chesterville ; and Charles W., a farmer, married Martha Smiley, of Chesterville.
Spending the days of his boyhood and youth beneath the parental rooftree, Daniel Mather worked with his father at the shoemaker's bench and also learned the trade of a stone mason and brick layer. At the age of twelve years, in 1851, he worked on the
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Methodist church building as an assistant carrying brick, and saw the first brick and the last brick used in its construction laid. He subsequently followed the mason's trade until August 22, 1862, when he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Captain David Lloyd, of Chester township, being mustered into service on September 11, 1862.
Going with his regiment to Cincinnati, he crossed the river to Covington, Kentucky, and on October 8, took part in the engagement at Perryville. On September 20, 1863, Mr. Mather was at the front in the battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, where he was wounded. Two months later, on November 24 and 25, he fought in the battle of Lookout Mountain, and was also in the battle of Missionary Ridge. He was subsequently with his comrades at the siege of Knoxville ; was at Buzzard Roost during the engagements that there took place on May 8 and 9, 1864 ; at Snake creek May 12 and 13. Following the brave commander, William T. Sherman, Mr. Mather took part in the many engagaments of the Atlanta campaign, being at Resaca ; at Rome, Georgia, on May 17 and 18, 1864; taking part in the fearful assault upon Kenesaw Mountain, June 27, of that year; and participating in the seige which led to the fall of Atlanta. He was with the regiment at Jonesborough, on September 1, 1864, and continued with Sherman in his "March to the Sea," being at Savannah on December 21 and passing northward through the Carolinas, taking part in the engagements at Averysboro, March 15, and at Bentonville, May 19 and 20, and finally witnessing the surrender of Johnston's Army, in April, 1865. He was present at the Grand Review held in Washington, D. C. and was mustered out of service on June 8, 1865. At the battle of Chickamauga Mr. Mather was wounded in the head, and after an absence of sixty days rejoined his regiment before his wound was entirely healed, and served until the close of the conflict.
During the Atlanta campaign, while Mr. Mather, with some of the other boys of his regiment, was foraging, a large rooster was captured, and was afterwards kept as a mascot, being named "Bill Sherman." The rooster was captured July 25, 1864, and during the march to the sea rode a pack mule. At Bentonville, North Carolina, as related above, the regiment had a skirmish with the Rebels, lasting from two o'clock until after dark, and the mascot, which stood upon the back of the mule, kept up a constant crowing during the fight. After the Grand Review the mascot was brought to Chesterville, Ohio, and a fine painting of the bird was made by Mrs. D. V. Wherry, of Mount Gilead, who painted it for the brave One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment. It is four feet by five feet in dimensions, and is now in the possession of Mr. Mather, who prizes it highly, and no reunion of the regiment is considered complete without this picture of the rooster. Mr. Mather now receives a pension of a dollar a day.
At the close of the war Mr. Mather engaged in the livery
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business at Chesterville, but later had charge of the star route between Mount Gilead and Fredericktown for twelve years, four years of the time having also the route to Centerburg. At three different times he has been forced to give up active work for a while on account of the wound he received in battle.
Mr. Mather married, December 20, 1860, Caroline French, who was born July 12, 1844, a daughter of James French. Two children were born into their household, namely : Jewett A., born in Chesterville December 14, 1861; and William, born Otober 17, 1864. Jewett A., general agent at Oklahoma, married Mary Andress, and they have one son, Jewett A. Mather, Jr.; William. a jeweler in Chicago, Illinois, married Virginia Cobbs, and their only child, a daughter, is named Caroline. Mrs. Mather has passed to the higher life, her death occurring May 7, 1891.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Mather cast his first presidential ballot in favor or John C. Fremont. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he has served as deacon for ten years. For forty-one years he has been a member of the Masonic Order, and belongs to lodge, chapter and commandery, in all of which he has filled the various chairs. He also belongs to the Order of the Eastern Star, and is past worthy patron of his chapter. He is ever ready to perform his full duty in regard to the public, and for more than twenty years has been a member of the village board, and at the present time is serving as mayor.
ELLSWORTH W. CLEVENGER.-A resident of Morrow county since his childhood days, Mr Clevenger has attained to precedence as one of the representative agriculturists and stock-growers of Canaan township, where he is the owner of a finely improved farm of seventy acres in sections 27 and 34. Farming is a prosaic and monotonously arduous vocation to one who fails to bear progressive ideas and discrimination such as are demanded in other lines of enterprise, but to the one who knows and appreciates its details and is willing to put forth a due amount of efforts it offers the most independent position and the most generous returns. Mr. Clevenger is one who has thus taken advantage of the gracious opportunities offered in connection with the great basic industry, and his success has been on a parity with the well directed effort he has put forth.
Mr. Clevenger was born in Morgan county, Ohio, on the 23d of October, 1872, and is a son of Lorenzo C. and Esther (Pletcher) Clevenger. The mother was born in Morgan county, this state, and was a daughter of the late Eli Pletcher, who passed the closing years of his long and useful life in Morrow county, where he died at the age of seventy-seven years. The mother of the subject of this review died March 31, 1896. When Ellsworth W. Clevenger was two years of age his mother and her parents came from Morgan county to Morrow county and located on a farm one mile and a half
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northwest of the village of Edison, in Canaan township, where he was reared to maturity and where his honored grandparents passed the residue of their lives. He was afforded the advantages of the public schools until he was twenty-one years of age. Soon after attaining to his legal majority Mr. Clevenger became associated with his mother in the purchase of a farm of twenty acres, located a half a mile north of the village of Denmark, this county, and he had the supervision of the same for the ensuing six years, at the expiration of which the property was sold and he removed to his present farm, upon which he has made good improvements, the while everything about the place is kept in good repair and excellent order, indicating the thrift and enterprise of the owner. The place is devoted to diversified agriculture and stock-growing, and is one which is constantly increasing in value, as are other farms in this favored section of the old Buckeye state. Mr. Clevenger gives his support to those projects and measures that tend to conserve the general welfare of the community along both material and social lines and he is at the present time school director of his district. In politics he gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, and he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Denmark, Lodge No. 760. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 27th of December, 1894, Mr. Clevenger took unto himself a wife, Miss Lola C. Apt, who has proved a devoted companion and helpmeet. She was born in Canaan township on the 2d of February, 1877, and is a daughter of Jacob Y. Apt, who was a prosperous farmer of this township. Mr. and Mrs. Clevenger have four children, as follows: Alta L., Gladys M., Harold J., and Charles E. The eldest daughter, Miss Alta, is a member of the class of 1913 in the high school at Edison, and the two children next younger are attending the school of their home district.
PERRY M. PIERCE.-A venerable and highly respected citizen of Morrow count, Perry M. Pierce, of South Bloomfield township, has long been identified with the advancement of the agricultural growth and prosperity of this part of the state and holds a noteworthy position among its substantial farmers. He is of pure English descent, the founder of the branch of the Pierce family to which he belongs having come with a brother across the Atlantic in the Mayflower, landing in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. His posterity are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the land, the name "Pierce" being known in many a town, county and state. Perry M. Pierce was born December 5, 1827, in South Bloomfield township, in the rude log cabin here erected by his father, Barnabas C. Pierce. His grandfather, Reverend Daniel Wildman Pierce, a Baptist minister, devoted his life to the ministry, holding pastorates in New York state. He married a Miss Wildman, who was of New England ancestry, her parents having been born and bred in Connecticut.
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PERRY M. AND LOIS AMMANDA PIERCE
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Barnabas C. Pierce was born September 30, 1792, in Putnam county, New York, and was there reared. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812, and eight years later, in 1820, migrated with his family to Ohio, locating in South Blomfield township, in what was then Knox county, but is now included within the limits of Morrow county. He took up his residence on the farm of fifty acres which his wife inherited from her father, who had taken up five hundred acres of land from the government, and there carried on general farming until his death, at the age of eighty-six years. The maiden name of his wife was Nancy Wildman. She was born in Bristol, Connecticut, February 5, 1803, and died on the home farm in Morrow county, Ohio, at the age of eighty-two years. They were the parents of seven children, as follows : Thomas J., born December 26, 1820, in South Bloomfield township ; Mary, born May 12, 1823, died in childhood ; Nathan W., born March 10, 1825: Perry M., the subject of this brief biographical sketch ; Betsey J., born April 1, 1831 ; Daniel H., born August 1, 1837; and Columbus D., born November 1, 1839. During the Civil war Columbus D. Pierce, the youngest son, enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until receiving his honorable discharge at the close of the war.
A man of scholarly attainments, fitted for a professional career, Perry M. Pierce located after his marriage in Hartford, Ohio, where he studied and practiced medicine for a few years, after which he traveled extensively throughout the state. Locating then on the homestead of his father-in-law in Morrow county, he was extremely successful in his occupation of a general farmer and has here continued his residence until the present time. He is a great reader, keeping himself well informed on the current topics of the day, and is not only an interesting conversationalist but is said by his neighbors and friends to be one of the best orators in the county.
Mr. Pierce married, June 12, 1864, Lois Amanda Gano, who was born in Morrow county, Ohio, A pril 10, 1845, a daughter of Elijah Gano, a life-long resident of this state. Elijah Gano married Chloe D. Stephens, who was born in Tompkins county, New York, and for four years thereafter lived on a farm in Perry township. He then moved with his family in 1848 to South Bloomfield township, locating on the farm now owned and occupied by Mr. Pierce, and there both he and his wife spent their remaining years. Mr. and Mrs. Gano became the parents of five children, as follows: Lois Amanda, born April 10, 1845; David, born February 27, 1848; Lorenzo Bruce, born November 30, 1850, died June 25, 1851; Ann Eliza, born November 4, 1853, died at age of fourteen ; and Ora Z. T., born February 4, 1860.
Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Pierce four children were born, namely : Ida died in infancy ; Sumner, born May 18, 1867; Linneus, born August 17, 1869; and Clinton L., born December 23, 1871.
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Educated in the district schools and at the Sparta High School, Sumner Pierce taught school twelve years, and having passed the civil service examination with an unusually high record of scholarship, secured a position in the United States post office service,, and is now considered one of the most expert clerks of that department. Linneus Pierce, educated in the district schools, is now located on the home farm, which he manages with much success. Clinton L. attended the Sparta High School, and subsequently taught school ten years, and is now identified with various industries. Mr. Pierce is a member of the Lutheran church while Mrs. Pierce and the oldest son, Linneus, are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Bloomfield.
WILLIAM H. COUNTERMAN.—An enterprising and practical agriculturist, Wiliam H. Counterman is prosperously engaged in his independent vocation in one of the pleasantest and most desirable sections of Westfield township, Morrow county. His farm is finely located, and its fifty-two acres of rich and fertile land are in an excellent state of cultivation, bearing evidence of his thrift and good management. He is a systematic and thorough farmer, and from his father, who was a skilled mechanic, has inherited decided mechanical talent. Skillful in the use of tools of all kinds, he can turn his hand to good advantage in many directions, being a good blacksmith, and in addition to having a smithy has a well-furnished machine shop, in which he does a great deal of the necessary repairing of tools and machinery, saving not only much valuable time but large sums of money. A son of P. S. Counterman, he was born January 3, 1865, in Marion county, Ohio, but was brought up and educated in Morrow county.
P. S. Counterman came from Marion county, Ohio, to Morrow county with his family in 1873 and located very near Westfield, where he followed his trade of a mechanic. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Creglow, eight children were born, namely: One child, a daughter, died in infancy ; Sarah J., wife of Levi Luke ; Mary A., wife of Moses Slack ; Mrs. Martha Lomos, of Toledo, Ohio ; Ella, wife of Jerry Claypool ; William H., the special subject of this personal notice ; James, a resident of Westfield township, married Clara Foust ; and Ida, wife of Charles Foust, of this township.
Coming with his parents to Morrow county when a small lad, William H. Counterman attended school until twenty years of age, obtaining a good education. Under his father's instruction he became proficient in the use of tools and is a veritable genius, in his shop doing all kinds of iron work and wood work, as mentioned above. When ready to settle in life he bought land in Westfield township, and as a general farmer has found both pleasure and profit.
Mr. Counterman married, February 18, 1893, Orra Worline,
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who was born in Marion county, Ohio, September 5, 1844, a daughter of Isaac and Catherine (Whisler) Worline. When she was a girl her parents moved to Delaware county, Ohio, from there coming to Morrow county and locating in Westfield township, where she was brought up in the same neighborhood as Mr. Counterman, who wooed and won her for his bride. Mr. and Mrs. Counterman are genial, affable people, living honorable, upright lives, attending to their own affairs, and are highly respected throughout the community. They are generous and hospitable, in love with life and its reasonable pleasures, and in order that they may see as much as possible of the country roundabout have purchased a fine Brush automobile, in which during the summer seasons they take many an enjoyable trip.
Politically Mr. Counterman votes the Democratic ticket, but he takes no active part in public affairs. Fraternally he is a member of Ashley Lodge, No. 421, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. and Mrs. Counterman have by their industry and frugality accumulated all this property. They began by the week and month wage, saved their wages and purchased their present farm, which is known as "Ingleside" and located on the old Delaware and Mansfield pike, four and one-half miles from Cardington and three and one-half miles from Ashley, Ohio.
JOSEPH MCFARLAND, M. D.—The state of Ohio, with its extensive industrial interest.% has attracted within its confines men of marked ability and high character in the various professional lines, and in this way progress has been conserved and social stability fostered. He whose name initiates this review is a native son of the fine old Buckeye state and during fully half a century's connection with the medical profession in Blooming Grove, Ohio, he has gained recognition as one of the able and successful physicians of the state. By his labors, his high professional attainments and his sterling qualities he has justified the respect and confidence in which he is held by the medical fraternity and the local public. It it interesting to note here that Dr. McFarland has not confined his attention to the material welfare of humanity but has also given considerable thought to their spiritual well being. He was ordained as a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church in 1859 and has been a licensed elder in the church since 1870.
Dr. Joseph McFarland was born in Richland county, Ohio on the 29th of August, 1827, and is the eldest child of John and Sarah (Schlosser) McFarland. He traces his ancestry back to stanch English extraction, his great-grandfather, William McFarland, having come to America as a soldier in the English army to fight in the French and Indian war, prior to the war of the Revolution. The next in line of direct descent to the Doctor was Robert McFarland who was the father of John McFarland, whose son is the immediate subject of this review. John McFarland was born in the state
Vol. II-19
814 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY
of Virginia, whence he came to Ohio in the year 1825, first locating in Mansfield, Richland county, but later establishing his home in Washington township, that county. He was married in June, 1826, and he and his wife raised a family of nine children, of whom six are now living. He continued to maintain his home in Richland county until 1868, in which year he removed to Morrow county, where he was summoned to the life eternal in the year 1896. The mother passed away in 1856.
To the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the home farm Dr. McFarland is indebted for his fine, robust constitution, which has weathered the storms of many years and which even to-day at the venerable age of eighty-three years, is alert and splendidly preserved. After completing the curriculum of the common schools of his native county he entered College Hill Academy, at Ellsworth, Ohio, in which he pursued his studies with unusual brilliancy for one year. Thereafter he was identified with the pedagogic profession for a number of years and in the meantime he conscientiously devoted all his leisure moments to the study of medicine. Eventually he was matriculated as a student in a medical school, and completed his professional education at the Homeopathical College at Cleveland, Ohio, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1852, duly receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. Immediately after his graduation Dr. McFarland located at Blooming Grove, Morrow county, where he has been engaged in the active practice of medicine and surgery during the long intervening years to the present time, in 1911. This is an age of progress and the Doctor has kept abreast with the advances made in his profession and his contribution to the alleviation of human pain and suffering has been of most prominent order. About 1859 Dr. McFarland became interested in the Methodist ministry and after devoting considerable time to theological studies he was licensed to preach in the Methodist Episcopal church in 1859. Since 1870 he has been a licensed elder in the church and it is interesting to note at this point that during his connection with the ministry he has performed as many as seventy-six marriages and has officiated at over three hundred funerals. The Doctor is also a fine musician possessing a wonderful voice of peculiar richness and purity of tone.
On the 26th of August, 1845, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. McFarland to Miss Samantha Norton, who was born February 7, 1821, in Trumbull county, Ohio. To this union were born five children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated: Ermina Alcesta, became the wife of Thomas M. Cantwell, of Blooming Grove ; Roderick N. resides in Los Angeles, California; Sarah S. wedded James Wilcox, of Lima, Ohio; Martha Eulalia is the wife of Zadok Beard, of Jackson county, Kansas, and Mary F. is the wife of F. E. Dille, of Olympia, Washington. Mrs. McFarland has ever been a good, true and
HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 815
sweet companion and mother. She is a woman of most gracious personality and is deeply beloved by all who have come within the sphere of her gentle influence.
In politics Mr. McFarland has ever been aligned as a stanch supporter of the cause of the Prohibition party and though he has never manifested aught of desire for public office of any description he.. has ever been alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with all measures advanced for the good of the community. He was commissioned major of the Fifty-sixth Battallion of Infantry O. V. M., of Morrow county, by Governor Todd September 25, 1863. He is affiliated with various professional and fraternal organizations of representative character and he and his family are devout members of the Methodist Episcopl church, as already intimated. He is a man of fine mentality, extensive information and broad human sympathy. The list of his personal friends is said to be coincident with that of his acquaintances and if his every kind act and charitable impulse were known and were entered in print they would cover many pages. Progressive and kindly in spirit the success which Dr. McFarland has attained is not of the ordinary kind. It is not to be reckoned in dollars and cents but in kind and generous deeds and thoughts.
JAMES H. KELLY.—Since 1903 has James H. Kelly been a resident of Mount Gilead, Morrow county. Ohio, and his influence and strength of character have always wielded toward progressive lines and for the upbuilding of the county and state. His success in life is not attributable to any element of chance but to persistency of purpose and a strong determination to forge ahead.
Mr. Kelly is a native of Zanesville, Ohio, where his birth occurred on the 12th of November, 1867.. He is a son of Peter J. and Mary E. (0 'Neal) Kelly, both of whom are now deceased. Peter J. Kelly was a merchant and he was a faithful and gallant soldier in the Civil war. Mr. Kelly was reared to adult age in Zanesville, in the public schools of which place he received his education, after which he entered upon a four years' apprenticeship at the machinist's trade in the office of the Mansfield Machine Works, at Mansfield, Ohio. Thereafter he was engaged as a machinist in different cities in Ohio, among them being the Bucyrus Shorel Company, at Bucyrus, Ohio, and the Carroll Foundry & Machine Works, in the same place, of which latter concern he was for a time superintendent. In 1903, as already noted, he located in Mount Gilead, where he began to operate the old butter-tub factory, which he equipped with modern facilities of the best order and which he has continued to run with considerable success to the present time, in 1911. In J908 he established a plant for plumbing and electric and gas fitting in connection with his factory, the offices of the same being on North Main street. He owns a tract of valuable land on the site of the Short-Line railroad
816 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY
and has other interests of broad scope and importance in Mount Gilead.
In the year 1894 Mr. Kelly married Miss Anna Linlon, of Bucyrus, Ohio, and they have one son, James L. Kelly, who was born on the 26th of October, 1896, and who is now enrolled as a pupil in the public schools of Mount' Gilead. In religious matters Mr. and Mrs. Kelly are devout communicants of the Holy .Trinity Catholic church, at Bucyrus, Ohio, and in the same have been prominent factors in connection with charitable matters..
By reason of his father's service in the Civil war Mr. Kelly holds membership in Lemuel H. Breese Camp, No. 64, Sons of Veterans, besides which he is also connected with other social and fraternal organizations of a local character. In his political convictions he is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party and he takes a deep and sincere interest in all matters touching the civic life of the community. Among his friends he is highly esteemed for his sterling integrity of character and his genial disposition and he has ratified strong friendships by his deference for the opinions of others and his kindly consideration.
ELIJAH CONARD.—The memory of Elijah Conard, Chesterville's well-known wagon maker, will long remain green in the hearts of the many who knew and loved him. His quiet, industrious life was consecrated to the good, the true and the beautiful, and it is but natural that he should have won the abiding confidence and respect of the people in whose midst he lived and labored. His years were more than those allotted the majority of mankind, for he was born June 4, 1822, and died March 10. 1906, the mortal part of him being laid to rest in the Chesterville cemetery. Mr. Conard was the son of Edward and Mary (Bowman) Conard, both of whom were natives of Knox county, Ohio, their immediate forbears having been pioneers in that locality. There were seven children in the family, an enumeration of whom is as follows: Mary, Bowman, Samuel, Rhoda, Elizabeth, Raymond and Elijah. Elijah Conard's first marriage was to Mahala Simmons, and one son was born, Lewis N., and he wedded Miss Mary A. Potter, daughter of Joseph Potter, of Delaware county. Two children were born to this union—Bessie Luella and Don Lamerton. The second marriage was with Miss Nancy Stark, November 11, 1852, and she was the daughter of John and Cornelia (Wilcox) Stark, natives of Pennsylvania.
Shortly after their marriage, the young couple commenced life together at Homer, Ohio, where Mr. Conard engaged in work at his trade. Later they removed to Chesterville, which was to prove their permanent residence, Mr. Conard here conducting a wagon shop for the rest of his life. He was a good workman, careful and conscientious and was a careful repairer. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Conard was blessed by the birth of four children, the youngest
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of whom—Martha Luella—died at the age of seven years. The others are Henry, Charleton, Cornelia and Rozilia. The only son married Mary E. Ralston, of Knox county, and their present residence is at McBain, Michigan. Their seven children are as follows: Nancy L., John R. (deceased), George (deceased), Cora, Henry, Helen G. and Virginia.
Mr. Conard was generally recognized as a useful citizen, a good man and a kind neighbor. His widow still remains in 'their pleasantly situated Chesterville home. She is tenderly eared for by her dutiful daughter, Cornelia, whose presence and thoughful attention comfort her mother in the evening of life. Mother Conard is an interesting woman with a remarkable memory and although now in her ninetieth year she takes great pleasure in repeating by the hour beautiful favorite poems pertaining to Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, the home of her childhood. One of the best loved of these is the following:
"How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood ;
What fond recollections their memories recall.
The days, happy days, I spent in thy wildwood,
Watching in springtime the cataract's fall.
" Their memories I treasure, it still gives me pleasure
To think of those moments of sweet long ago,
When from the proud summits and loftiest limit
I gazed on thy beauty and glory below.
"Enchanted I sat in the shade of thy bower,
Inhaling the sweet-scented breeze from the hills,
Made sweet with the breath of the wild, fragrant flowers,
Swelled with the sound of the murmuring rills.
"Forget them I'll never; my heart's longing ever
To visit once more the historical ground;
And roam in the wildwood, as oft in my childhood,
And view from thy hillside thy diamond dust mound
Oh lovely Wyoming, oh fairest Wyoming,
My joy and my home."
Like her beloved husband, Mrs. Conard is esteemed by neighbors and friends among whom she has passed a long and useful life. She can look back with particular satisfaction over the fact that she and her husband always endeavored to implant in the minds of their children a desire for true and honest citizenship. Mr. Conard was a faithful and consistent member of the Baptist church and his venerable widow and daughter Cornelia are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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CHARLES C. YOUNG.—The estimable citizen whose name forms the caption for this article is most successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits in Perry township, Morrow county, Ohio. Mr. Young has been identified with various lines of enterprise during his eventful career and in all of them has proved his mettle as a man of worth and ability. From his thrifty German ancestors he inherits that stern sense of duty and conscientious industry which have ever characterized natives of the old Fatherland.
Charles C. Young was born in Johnsville, Morrow county, Ohio, the date of his nativity being the 30th of January, 1864, and he is a son of Caspar and Louisa (Lieb) Young, both of whom were born and reared in the great Empire of Germany, whence they immigrated to America about the year 1857. They made the uneventful but wearying trip across the Atlantic in the same' sailboat, and during the eighty-two days consumed by the journey their friendship waxed strong and gradually grew into love. After disembarking at New York city they proceeded to Findley, Hancock county, Ohio, where was solemnized their marriage and where they maintained their home for a number of years. He served as deputy sheriff of Hancock county, but he was a harness maker by trade and was engaged in that line of work during practically his entire lifetime. Subsequently removal was made to Morrow county, where Casper Young became a man of influence in public affairs. In 1861 the family home was established in Johnsville, Ohio, where he passed the remainder of his life. At the time of the inception of the Civil war he gave evidence of his intrinsic loyalty and patriotism to the cause of his adopted country by tendering his services as a soldier in the Union army. He enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he won renown as a faithful and gallant soldier. After serving for some time with his company and regiment he joined Company F, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he remained one year. To Mr. and Mrs. Casper Young were born thirteen children, eight of whom are living in 1911, namely : August E. and George, both of Mount Gilead; Sophia, who is the wife of James Pinyard, of Mount Gilead; Charles C., the immediate subject of this review; Anna, who is the wife of George Fullhart, of Geneva, Ohio ; Frank, who resides at Montpelier, Indiana; Sarah, who married Fred Renshaw and who now maintains her home in California ; and William, of Los Angeles, California. The children who are deceased are : Joseph, Eliza, Mary, Maggie and Elmore. The father of the above children was summoned to the life eternal November 1, 1890, and the mother is a resident of Los Angeles, California, aged seventy-five years.
After completing the curriculum of the common schools of Johnsville Charles C.. Young entered upon an apprenticeship at the harness maker's trade under the able preceptorship of his
HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 819
father, and for nineteen years he devoted his entire time and attention to the work of that line of enterprise. Subsequently he worked at his trade in Galion, Ohio, for a period of two years, at the expiration of which he directed his energies to the transfer business at Galion. In 1906 he returned to Johnsville, where he was employed on a farm for some three years. In 1909 he rented the Jesse Stilwell farm in Perry township, Morrow county, on which he has continued to reside to the present time. He has proved eminently successful as a farmer and his finely equipped estate, with its splendid buildings and well cultivated fields, show that he possesses considerable ability as an agriculturist and stock-raiser.
On the 20th of June, 1890, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Young to Miss Laura B. Walters, who was reared and educated in Richland county, Ohio, the date of her birth being the 22nd of September, 1870. To this union have been born four daughters: Ima, who was graduated in the Johnsville High School and who is now the wife of Edward Shier, of Morrow county; and Mary, Bertha and Maggie, all of whom remain at the parental home. In their religious adherency the Young family are devout and zealous members of the United Brethren church, in the various departments of whose work they have long been active factors. They are popular and prominent in connection with the best social activities of the community and their home is widely renowned as a center of genial and most gracious hospitality.
In his political convictions Mr. Young is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and while he has never been ambitious for the honors or emoluments of public office he was at one time prevailed upon to serve as justice of the peace of Morrow county, in discharging the duties of which important office he acquitted himself most creditably. He is a man of decided worth and undoubted integrity and as such commands the unalloyed confidence and high regard of his fellow citizens. In the •various enterprises with which he has been connected his conduct has ever been faultless and he is recognized as a true friend and strictly reliable business man.
SAMUEL R. WORDEN.-It is gratifying to note in the personnel of the representative agriculturists of Morrow county so large a number of the native sons of the county have had the judgment and appreciation to maintain a stanch allegiance to their "native heath" and have here found ample opportunity for effective and profitable effort along normal lines of industrial and business enterprise. Such a one is Mr. Worden, who is one of the substantial farmers and stock-growers of Canaan township, where his home is the same residence in which he was born, and he is not only held in high esteem in the community where he is best known but he has also been an influential factor in public affairs in his native county and stands exemplar of the highest civic loyalty and progressiveness.
820 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY
Samuel R. Worden was born on the farm which he now occupies, in section 28, Canaan township, on the 4th of September, 1856, and is a son of Richard and Lucinda (Schooly) Worden, the former of whom was born in Seneca county, New York, on the 29th of April, 1822, and the latter of whom was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1824. Their marriage was solemnized about the year 1844. As a child Richard Worden was virtually adopted by Alexander Purvis, with whose family he came to Ohio when a lad of six years. Mr. Purvis established his home in Morrow county and there Richard Worden was reared to maturity under the discipline of the farm, in the meanwhile attending at intervals the pioneer schools of the locality. He continued to be associated with his foster-father in the work of the home farm until he married and initiated his independent career. Soon after his marriage he and his young wife established themselves upon a farm in Cardington township, Morrow county, and in the following year, 1845, they removed to Canaan township and settled upon part of the farm now owned by their son Samuel R., of this review. Here Richard Worden reclaimed his land to effective cultivation and developed a valuable farm, the place having been but slightly improved at the time when it came into his possession. He continued to reside on this homestead until his death, at the age of seventy-four years, and his cherished and devoted wife was summoned to eternal rest at the age of seventy-seven years and six months, both having held at all times the high regard of all who knew them. Of their large family of children two sons and four daughters are still living and the subject of this sketch was the fifth in order of birth of the nine children.
Like the average youth of the locality and period, Samuel R. Worden gained his early experiences in connection with the mani- fold duties pertaining to the work of the home farm, the while he duly availed himself of the advantages of the district schools, where he laid the foundation for the broad and practical knowledge which he has since gained through self-discipline and through active association with men and affairs. He was long associated with his honored father in the work and management of the farm on which he was born and a portion of which he now owns and operates. His homestead comprises one hundred acres of most arable land and to the original improvements on the same he has made many additions, bringing it up to the best modern standard. He has rented his farm to his son Carl and he and his wife will locate in Marion, Ohio, where he has property. He has shown mature judgment and discrimination in the various departments of his farm industry and is one of the essentially representative agriculturists and stock-growers of his native county, throughout which he is well known and held in unequivocal esteem.
In politics Mr. Worden has ever been found arrayed as a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party, and he has taken an
HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 821
active part in its Meal work. He has been zealous in supporting such enterprises and measures as have conserved the advancement and general prosperity of the community and he served five years as treasurer of Canaan township. He is affiliated with Denmark Lodge, No. 760, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the village of Denmark, which is three-fourths of a mile distant from his home, and of this lodge he is not only past noble grand but has also represented the same in the Grand Lodge of the Order in the state. Mrs. Worden was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Denmark, Ohio.
On September 24, 1879, Mr. Worden married Miss Olive P. Bratton, who, like himself, was born and reared in the old Buckeye state and who was a resident of Canaan township at the time of her marriage. She was born in Marion county, on the 12th of December, 1859, and was a child at the time of her parents' removal to Morrow county. She was summoned to the life eternal on the 26th of April, 1903, and is survived by one son, Carl C., who was born on the 27th of February, 1883, and who is now one of the popular and prosperous young agriculturists of Canaan township. He married Loretta M. Sycks, and they have one child, Paul C. On the 1st of January, 1906, Samuel R. Worden contracted a second marriage, being then united to Mrs. Alice (Miller) Gillson, widow of Charles Gillson, of Morrow county. She was born in Marion county, and is a daughter of the late Obediah Miller, who was a representative citizen of Marion at the time of his death.
Mr. Worden has shown a vital interest in the exploiting of the fine agricultural resources of his native county and in his operations has had recourse to the most modern and most scientific methods, as well as the best facilities in the line of farm machinery and implements. He has been active in the affairs of the Morrow County Agricultural Society and is a member of its directorate.
SAMUEL T. POLAND.—An essentially loyal and public-spirited citizen of Congress township, Morrow county, Ohio, is Samuel T. Poland, who has filled with utmost efficiency many important offices of public trust and responsibility in this section. Mr. Poland was born on the 30th of April, 1842, a son of Samuel and Mary (Truer) Poland, both of whom are now deceased, the former having passed away in 1865, at the age of sixty-five years, and the latter, in 1864, at the age of fifty-four years. The father was a prominent farmer and was the first recorder of Morrow county, having been elected to that office in 1848 and serving therein for two terms. Mr. and Mrs. Poland became the parents of ten children, namely : David, Benjamin, William R., John C., Daniel, Joseph, Samuel T., Elizabeth (Mrs. Parsons), Mary C. (Mrs. Early) and George W. Of the above children all are deceased except John C., Samuel T. and George W.
As a youth Samuel T. Poland attended the district schools of
822 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY
this county and he early began to assist his father in the work and management of the home farm. When seventeen years of age he entered upon an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's trade, serving for a period of three years and becoming a most skilled workman. During the war he was an ardent Union sympathizer and in May, 1864, he enlisted as a private in Company G, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for one hundred days, at the expiration of which he reenlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war. He saw much active service in the war; was under General Thomas at Nashville and later joined Sherman at Goldsboro, North Carolina, being under that renowned. general at the surrender of General Johnston. He participated in many important conflicts marking the progress of the war, including the battle of Murfreesboro, Nashville, the battle of the Cedars, the evacuation of Decatur, Alabama, Wise Forks, North Carolina and others. HE received his honorable discharge in August, 1865, and was mustered out of service at Charlotte, North Carolina. After the close of his brilliant military career Mr. Poland returned to Morrow county, where he initiated his active business life as a grocer in the town of Mount Gilead, his partner in business being D. G. Poland. He continued to be identified with that line of enterprise for the ensuing nine years and in 1876 he came to the farm owned by his father-in-law in Congress township, where he remained for two years. He then, in 1878, purchased a tract of one hundred and forty acres of most arable land at an administrator's sale, the same being located in Congress township. He engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock and has continued to devote the major portion of his time and attention to agricultural pursuits during the long intervening years to the present time, in 1911. In 1908 he purchased an additional tract of land, some eighty-seven and a half acres adjoining his homestead on the south. As a farmer Mr. Poland is thrifty and industrious and his splendid estate is finely improved, all the buildings being of the most modern type.
In politics Mr. Poland is aligned as a stanch supporter of the Republican party and he has been incumbent of many important offices in Morrow county. For nine years he was a school director and for eleven years he served as justice of the peace. In 1904 he was elected county commissioner, to which office he was reelected in 1906, serving until 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Poland are highly esteemed citizens in their home county, where they are deeply admired and beloved for their sterling integrity of character and their sincere devotion to all matters tending to enhance progress and development. Mr. Poland has ever retained a deep interest in his old comrades in arms and signifies the same by membership in Hurd Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Mount Gilead.
In June, 1865, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Poland to
HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 823
Miss Rachel J. Lyons, a daughter of Peter and Sophia (Bell) Lyons. She was born in this county on the 24th of January, 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Poland have two children : Sarah A., who is the wife of Charles B. Hull, of Edison; and William H., who married Miss Iva Long and who resides in Congress township. William H. has two sons: Samuel, who was born In 1905, and John, whose birth occurred in 1907.
ALBERT L. JEFFREY.—Widely and favorably known as a prosperous business man of Marengo, Albert L. Jeffrey is numbered among the citizens of good repute in Morrow county, where Ms life has thus far been spent. As proprietor of a saw mill and a lumber yard, he is carrying on a substantial and profitable business and is an important factor in the promotion of the industrial interests of this part of the state. A native of Morrow county, he was; born September 14, 1866, in the village of Iberia, Washington township, being a son of F. M. and Adelaide (Myers) Jeffrey.
On leaving the district school, in which he gleaned his early education, _Albert L. Jeffrey began work in his father's saw mill, remaining thus employed until attaining his majority. Starting then in life for himself, he was engaged in the hardwood business at Harmony township, Morrow county, until 1894, when he located in Marengo. Buying the Marengo Lumber Yard, he at once began to enlarge its business, and soon' after added a saw mill to its equipments, also opening a handle factory, which he has since disposed of. In the management of his mill and yard, Mr. Jeffrey has met with satisfactory success, handling lumber and building materials of all kinds on an extensive scale.
On November 3, 1895, Mr. Jeffrey was united in marriage with Lillian Gordon, a daughter of G. W. Gordon, and their only child, Sylvia Jeffrey, is now a pupil in the Marengo High School. Although a stanch Republican in politics, Mr. Jeffrey has never been an aspirant for public office, his business demanding his time and attention.
THOMAS A. PATTEN.—A representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Morrow county, Mr. Patten is here one of the effective exponents of the agricultural industry in this favored portion of the Buckeye state and he is the owner of a fine landed estate of one hundred and forty-four acres located in Gilead township, five miles northwest of Mount Gilead, the county seat, and three miles north of the thriving village of Edison. Well known in his native county, Mr. Patten is a citizen whose career has been marked by unflagging application and productive energy, the while his sterling attributes and genial personality have gained to him the confidence and good will of those with whom he has come in contact. As one of the representative citizens of Gilead township and as a citizen whose influence is given in the support of all
824 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY
worthy objects conserving the general welfare, he is well entitled to recognition in this volume.
Thomas A. Patten was born in Canaan township, this county, on the 19th of June, 1861, and is a son of Joseph and Sarah (Coe) Patten, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Ohio. Joseph Patten was a boy of six years of age at the time when the family removed from the old Keystone state to Ohio. He was a son of Thomas Patten, who came to this state in 1826, making the overland journey with ox teams and wagons, by means of which he transported his family, household effects and a modest equipment of farming implements. In the year mentioned he established his home in Morrow county, which was then a part of Marion county, and located on a farm now owned by William Lepp, in Canaan. township. This land was a forest wilderness at the time he secured the same from the government and his first arduous labors were directed toward making a clearing in the woods and erecting therein his primitive log cabin, which was the family home for many years. He reclaimed much of his land, which was a quarter section, to cultivation and continued to reside on this homestead until his death, as did also his noble and devoted wife. They became the parents of eleven children, of whom Joseph was the second in order of birth, and these children were reared to lives of usefulness and honor. The parents lived up to the full tension of the pioneer days and were earnest, sincere and God-fearing folk whose names merit a lasting place on the roster of those who assisted in laying the foundations for latter-day prosperity. Thomas Patten, the elder, was a very strong man physically as well as morally and his children were strong and active. Shortly after settling here in the woods he found that he needed a heavier log chain and he went to Mount Vernon on foot and, purchasing the iron, carried it back to Mount Gilead on his shoulder, a substantial chain being made therefrom. His wife, who was also a very strong and determined woman, once killed a deer with a chopping ax. The deer had been crippled at some time and had come to the spring for a drink. The dog scented it and the deer went close to a large log to guard off the dog. Mrs. Patten stole up to the log and struck the deer's head over it, splitting it open. Mr. Patten still has one of the horns in his possession as a memento of his grandmother's prowess. His father, James Patten, used to ride an ox and carry to the mill, a long distance away, a sack of corn sufficient to supply the family with meal. Quite a difference now in the matter of accommodation !
Joseph Patten was reared to maturity amid the scenes and influences of the pioneer epoch in Morrow county and his youth gave to him ample experience in connection with the herculean work of developing a farm in the midst of the forest. He finally, however, determined to direct his efforts along other lines, and served an effective apprenticeship to the trade of blacksmith, in
HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 825
which he became a skilled artisan and to which he continued to devote his attention for fully forty years, during much of which time he was associated in partnership with the late Jonathan Masters, under the firm name of Patten & Masters. They conducted a large and representative business and had a well equipped shop in Mount Gilead. Their characters were as stanch as the vocation which they followed and they had a wide acquaintanceship in this section of the state, where both ever commanded secure place in popular confidence and esteem. Vigorous in mind and body, cheerful, optimistic and whole-souled, Joseph Patten was a man of influence in the community and his friends were equal in number to his acquaintances. He attained to the age of eighty-five and one-half years and his cherished and devoted wife 'was summoned to the life eternal at the age of seventy-three years. They became the parents of seven children, three sons and four daughters, all of whom attained to years of maturity and two of whom are now living. The subject of this review is the younger, and his brother, J. R., is a representative citizen of Brown county, Kansas, where he is in business.
Thomas A. Patten was reared to manhood on the old homestead which his father owned in Canaan township and conducted in con: nection with his blacksmithing business, and he remained there until he became twenty-two years of age. The public schools of his native county afforded him his early educational advantages and he continued to attend the same at intervals until he had attained to the age of eighteen years. Virtually his entire active career has been one of close identification with agricultural pursuits, and through the same he has gained a definite and secure success, giving him place as one of the independent and substantial citizens of his native county, of whose manifold advantages and attractions he has ever been deeply appreciative and to whose interests he is signally loyal. His present fine farm is well improved with substantial buildings and is under a high state of cultivation. It is devoted to diversified agriculture and the raising of excellent grades of live stock and the thrift and good management of the owner are in evidence on every side. He has been the owner of this farm since 1902 and the same was formerly owned by Jonathan Masters, his father's old and valued partner in the blacksmith business.
In politics, though never ambitious for official preferment, Mr. Patten is found arrayed as a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party and in local affairs of a public order he gives his support to all measures and enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of the community. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church at Boundary, and he is a valued member of Denmark Lodge, No. 760, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past noble grand. He has belonged to the foregoing organization for twenty years.
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On the 17th of May, 1883, Mr. Patten was united in marriage to Miss Eda Hann, who was born in Canaan township, this county, on the 19th of January, 1862, and who is a daughter of the late Noah Hann, an honored citizen and prosperous farmer of Canaan township. Sylvester P., the elder of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Patten, was born on the 27th of November, 1866, and was educated in the public schools of the county. He is one of the successful young agriculturists of Gilead township and is a young man of sterling character and exceptionally industrious habits. He married Miss Mary Clouse and they have one child, Francis A., who was born on the 26th of August, 1909. Pansy, the younger of the two children of the subject of this review, was born on the 9th of August, 18g2, and was afforded excellent educational advantages. She remains at the parental home and is one of the popular factors in the social activities of her home community.
JESSE B. CULVER.—Prominent among the leading citizens' of Morrow county is Jesse B. Culver, who owns and occupies one of the most desirable homesteads in Bennington township. It comprises two hundred and seventy-five acres of fertile land under excellent cultivation, and with its comfortable and convenient set of buildings is very attractive, indicating to what good purpose the proprietor has employed his time and means. Here his entire life has been passed, his birth having occurred on this farm July 15, 1846. He is desended from a New England family of stability and worth, his father, William Culver, having been born in New Haven, Connecticut.
Left fatherless when but two years old, William Culver remained at home until sixteen years of age, when he was seized with the wander lust, and traveled through a large part of the southern portion of the United States. Returning from the Southland, he passed through what is now Morrow county, Ohio, making the entire journey on foot and becoming well acquainted with the country. While in the South, at a hotel in Big Springs, Alabama, he was robbed by his landlord of the four hundred and fifty dollars money that he had, but friendly Indians subsequently recovered his money for him, returning it intact. In 1822 he again visited Morrow county, with which he had been so pleased when passing through, and here entered eighty-four and one-half acres of land from the government. Erecting a log cabin in the midst of the wilderness, he began the task of clearing a farm, and on the homestead which he improved spent the remainder of his days, dying at a venerable age, in 1881. He was a successful farmer and trader, and also loaned money. After the formation of the Republican party, he was one of its strongest supporters, and as a public-spirited and able man was held in high esteem. He married, in what was then Delaware county, Ohio, but is now Morrow county, Elizabeth Bennett, who was born in Orange county, New York, and
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JESSE B. CULVER
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came with her parents to Ohio when a girl. Of their family of five boys and 'four girls, but two children are now, in 1911, living, namely : Jesse B., with whom this sketch is chiefly concerned, and Mrs. Sarah M. Chase, of Marengo. The mother survived her husband about four years, passing away in 1885.
Brought up on the home farm, Jesse B. Culver attended the public schools quite regularly until fifteen years old, when he began assisting his father in the management of the homestead property. He subsequently commenced buying and selling stock, building up a thriving business as a trader and continuing it until 1908, when he retired from active pursuits, being forced to do so on account of ill health. Mr. Culver has since lived retired from active business, his previous accumulations of money enabling him now to enjoy a well-deserved leisure. He has other interests, however, being one of the stockholders of the Marengo Banking Company. He has been influential in agricultural matters, and for fifteen years was one of the directors of the Morrow County Fair.
Mr. Culver married, September 17, 1878, Nettie Boner, who was born March 6, 1855, in Utica, Licking county, Ohio, and was there reared and educated, attending the common and the Union schools. She subsequently taught school several terms before her marriage, for a time teaching in South Bloomfield township, Morrow county. Their only child, Daisy, born March 16, 1880, is now the wife of A. E. Osborn, of Bennington township.
Mr. Culver is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Bloomfield, which he has served as trustee, and he is now treasurer of the Bloomfield Cemetery Association. He is prominently identified with the Republican party, and has never shirked the responsibilities of public office. He has filled various township offices, serving as county commissioner for six years and nine months, from early in 1892 until the latter part of 1898, and at the present time is justice of the peace. Fraternally Mr. Culver is a member of Chester Lodge% No. 238, Free and Accepted Masons; of Sparta Lodge, No. 268, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past grand ; and of Marengo Lodge, No. 216, Knights of Pythias.
WILLIAM TAYLOR.—The substantial and well-to-do citizens of Marengo have no more worthy representative than William Taylor, who has accomplished a satisfactory work as an agriculturist and is now living retired from the active cares of business, having by industry and thrift accumulated a competency. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born May 28, 1844, in Washington county, a son of David C. and Margaret (Phillips) Taylor.
Moving with his family from Pennsylvania to Ohio, David C. Taylor lived for a short time in Columbiana county, where he followed his trade of a miller. Subsequently locating in Morrow county, he purchased land and was afterward for many years en-
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gaged in tilling the soil. He spent the closing days of his long and useful life in Sparta, Ohio, passing away at the venerable age of eighty-four years and ten months. His wife preceded him to the life beyond, passing away December 13, 1866. They were true Christian people and faithful members of the Chester Baptist church. Seven children blessed their union, as follows: Robert, William, David, Benjamin, Albert, Nancy A., wife of John A. Showalter, and Mary, who died unmarried.
The second child in order of birth of the parental household, William Taylor, obtained a limited education in the district schools, and on the home farm was well drilled in agricultural pursuits. In May, 1863, his patriotic ardor being aroused, he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned for duty at Fort Williams. At the expira tion of his term of enlistment, Mr. Taylor veteranized, enlisting, September 14, 1864, in the One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he was connected until thee close of the war. On December 7, 1864, at the second battle of Stone river, he was severely wounded, and was granted a furlough of thirty days, after which he rejoined his regiment. Mr. Taylor is now a member of Hurd Post, No. 114, G. A. R., of Mount Gilead, and for three years was a member and the commander of Creighton Orr Post, No. 501, G. A. IL, of Sparta, Ohio.
Receiving his honorable discharge from the army in 1865, Mr. Taylor returned to the home farm in Chester township, Morrow county, and continued a tiller of the soil for three years. In October, 1868, lured westward, he went to De Kalb county, Missouri, where he resided for upwards of twenty years. Returning to Morrow county in 1890, Mr. Taylor located in Chester township, and was there engaged in general farming and stock raising for a number of years, having a fine farm of one hundred and eighty acres, which he still owns. In November, 1902, he removed to his present home in Marengo, and has since enjoyed a well-earned leisure from business cares.
Mr. Taylor has been twice married. He married first, October 3, 1871, in Missouri, Martha E. Taylor, a native of that state. She died on the home farm in De Kalb county„ Missouri, January 13, 1889, leaving three children, namely: Harry E., born August 1, 1874, married Cora E. Stumph, of Chester township; Maggie, born November 19, 1875, died July 22, 1901, and John C., born May 8, 1877, married Florence Salisbury. Mr. Taylor married for his second wife, Angeline Bradfield, who was born in South Bloomfield township, Morrow county, Ohio, May 10, 1845, a daughter of David and Mary E. (Jernigan) Bradfield. Both Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Sparta, and are active workers in that denomination. Politically identified with the Republican party, Mr. Taylor has taken an active part in local affairs, and has served as trustee of the townships in which he has resided.
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GEORGE F. MASTERS.—This well known citizen and representative agriculturist and stock-grower of Morrow county is a scion of the third generation of the Masters family in this county, with whose annals the name has been identified since the pioneer epoch in its history. The representatives of this family have contributed materially to the industrial and civic upbuilding of this favored section of the state and have ever stood exemplar of the most loyal citizenship and of inflexible rectitude in all the relations of life. He whose name initiates this paragraph is well upholding the prestige of the honored name which he bears and he resides upon his splendid homestead farm of one hundred and thirty-eight and one-half acres, in Canaan township, where in addition to general farming and stock-growing he gives special attention to the breeding of high-grade Merino sheep, in which line of enterprise his reputation, based upon distinctive success, far transcends local limitations.
George F. Masters was born in Canaan township, Morrow county, on the 13th of January, 1856, and is a son of Jonathan and Ruth (Ewers) Masters, the former of whom was born in Knox county, Ohio, on the 27th of April, 1823, and the latter of whom was born in Virginia in 1823. The father died on his farm in Gilead township on the 29th of April, 1900, and the mother passed away on the 22nd of March, 1871, aged forty-eight years, three months and twenty-five days. Jonathan Masters was twice married and the maiden name of his second wife was' Evaline Roland. Five children were born of each marriage, and of the number four sons and four daughters survive.
Jonathan Masters was a son of Robert Masters and the maiden name of his mother was Boyle. His father was born in 1790, and died in Canaan township, Morrow county, Ohio, in 1834. Robert Masters was one of the sterling pioneers of this county, where he instituted the reclamation of a farm from the wilderness, though he did not live many years after his removal to the county. The names of his children are here given : Ezekiel, Elizabeth, William, Jonathan, James, Triphena, Susan, Hannah, Cassie A. and Robert. All of the number are now deceased except Hannah, Cassie and Robert. .
Jonathan Masters was a child at the time of the family removal from Knox county to Morrow county, and he was reared to maturity in Canaan township. He received such limited educational advantages as were afforded in the pioneer schools and as a youth he learned the blacksmith's trade, to which he continued to devote his attention for a period of fully eighteen years. When he initiated his independent career his worldly possessions were summed up in what few necessary articles he could carry in a large and knotted handkerchief, and the timber of the man is clearly shown when it it stated that through his own efforts he accumulated a fortune of more than fifty thousand dollars. He had great shrewdness and
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business capacity and his investments were invariably made with perspicacity and good judgment. so that he made of success not an accident but a logical result. His course was guided by the strictest principles of integrity and honor and he wronged no man. On the contrary he was generous and kindly and his genial personality gained to him friends in all classes. He gave his support to the cause of the Republican party from the time of its organization until his death and was well fortified in his opinions as to matters of public import, keeping himself well informed concerning the questions and issues of the hour. He was a zealous member of what is known as the Boundary Methodist Episcopal church in Gilead township, and his life was one of signal usefulness and honor. His name merits an enduring place on the roll of the worthy pioneers of Morrow county, where he so long lived and labored to goodly ends.
George F. Masters was but two months old at the time of the family removal from Canaan township to Gilead township, where he was reared to adult age on the homestead farm—a place that is now owned by Thomas A. Patten. The district schools afforded him due opportunities for gaining a good practical education of basic order, and this he has effectively supplemented through self discipline and through the varied experiences of an active and successful life. Upon attaining to his legal majority he located on the farm which now constitutes his home and the greater portion of which was given to him by his honored father. This is one of the fine landed estates of Canaan township and its improvements are of the best order, including a large and attractive residence equipped with modern facilities. Mr. Masters is known as one of the enterprising, progressive and resourceful agriculturists of his native county, and as previously stated, he has made a specialty of the raising of fine Merino sheep, being one of the leading breeders of the same in this section of the state and having registered stock entirely. He became one of the influential members of the Ohio Merino Sheep Register Association, and is still an influential factor in the amplified organization, which is known as the Vermont, New York & Ohio Merino Sheep Register Association, of which he was a director and a member of its pedigree committee. Though never a seeker of political preferment Mr. Masters accords a stanch allegiance to the Republican party and his influence and cooperation are given in support of all undertakings that tend to benefit the local community, as well as the state and nation. Mrs. Masters is a member of the Methodist Episcopal, church in the neighboring village of Denmark.
On the 13th of February, 1878, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Masters to Miss Florence E. Adams, who was born in Morrow county, Ohio, on the 5th of February, 1860, and who is a daughter of John and Lavina (Miles) Adams. Her parents removed to Morrow county from Marion county and her father died July 11,
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1892. Her mother is still living in Canaan township. Mr. and Mrs. Masters have two children : Autha, who was born November 30, 1880, and who is now the wife of Benjamin H. Talmage, a representative young farmer of Canaan township ; and J. Wesley, who was born May 18, 1892, and who was graduated in the Mount Gilead High School as a member of the class of 1911.
WILLIAM E. AUKER.—Among the essentially representative business men of Johnsville, Morrow county, Ohio, William E. Auker holds prestige as a man of considerable ability and as a citizen whose loyalty and public spirit have ever been of the most insistent order. He has been identified with various lines of enterprise during his active career and since 1909 he has been eminently successful in the management of his finely equipped hardware store at Johnsville, the same being one of the best of its kind in this section of the county.
A native son of Perry county, Ohio, William E. Auker was born on the 1st of February, 1862, and he is a son of Jacob and Sarah (Walker) Auker, both of whom claimed Ohio as the place of their birth. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Auker became the parents of six children, of whom the subject of this review was the fifth in order of birth. The father was identified with farming during the major portion of his life time and he passed to eternal rest in 1896, his cherished and devoted wife having died in 1867. William E. Auker was a child of but five years of age at the time of his mother's death and at that time he was placed in the family of William Richels, where he was reared to the age of fourteen years. His preliminary educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the district schools of Perry county and when fourteen years old Mr. Auker left the Richel home and began to work as a farm hand. He continued to be engaged for the ensuing five years and when nineteen years of age he established his home in Lincoln township, Morrow county, where he worked for different parties for a number of years. After his marriage, in 1888, he located on a farm in Lincoln township, which he rented for a time. Subsequently he went to Wood county, Ohio, locating near Bowling Green, working in the oil fields for a period of nine years, during the latter two years of which he was foreman in the fields. Later he was foreman of the Hartley Lumber Company for two years. In 1905, however, he decided to go into business for himself and accordingly he went to Chesterville, in the vicinity of which place he farmed for five years. He then, in November, 1909, purchased a hardware store at Johnsville, which he has conducted with noteworthy' success to the present time.
In December, 1888, Mr. Auker was united in marriage to Miss Stella Burns, who was born and reared in Chesterville, Ohio, and who is a daughter of Ross and Ann (Shaw) Burns, both of whom still maintain their home at Chesterville. Mrs. Auker was
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educated in the common schools of Chesterville and she is a woman of rare charm and most gracious personality. In her religious faith she upholds the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal church. To this union have been born three sons, namely : Charles, educated in the common and high school at Bradner, Ohio, married Miss Ola Bosti and, they live at Johnsville, Ohio ; Frank and Hubert remain at the parental home, both deing associated with their father in the hardware business.
Mr. Auker is a man of prominence and influence in this part of Morrow county, where he holds a secure vantage ground in popular confidence and esteem. He is affiliated with Chesterville Lodge, No. 238, Free and Accepted Masons, Bradner Lodge, No. 676, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the latter of which he is past grand master. Politically he accords a stalwart allegiance to the principles and policies promulgated by the Republican party and although he has never manifested aught of ambition for the honors of public office, he is ever ready to give his aid in support of all worthy measures projected for the good of the general welfare. He is the owner of a beautiful home in Johnsville and his business is in a most flourishing condition. As an upright, honest, affable citizen he is popular with all classes of people and he is decidedly worthy of the unqualified regard accorded him by his fellow men.
JOHN M. MOORE.-If those who claim that fortune has favored certain individuals above others, will but investigate the cause of success and failure, it will be found that the former is largely due to the improvement of opportunity, the latter to the neglect of it. Fortunate environments encompass nearly every man at some stage of his career, but the strong man and the successful man is he who realizes that the proper moment has come, that the present and not the future holds his opportunity. The man who makes use of the Now and not the To Be is the one who passes on the highway of life others who started out ahead of him, and reaches the goal of prosperity in advance of them. It is this quality in John M. Moore that made him a leader in the business world at Chesterville, Ohio, where he was long a popular and prominent factor in the general merchandise business and where he is now living virtually retired from active affairs. He is a fine old veteran of the Civil war and is widely renowned as one of the most admirable citizens in Morrow county.
John M. Moore was born on Duncan's Island, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of February, 1837, and he is a son of James R. and Priscilla (Martin) Moore, both of whom were born and reared in the old Keystone state of the Union, whence they immigrated to the commonwealth of Ohio about the year 1846. Settlement was made by the Moore family on a farm of some one hundred and sixty acres, eligibly located four miles west of Chesterville, in Mor-
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row, county. James R. Moore traced his ancestry back to stanch Scotch extraction and his wife was of Irish descent. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were the parents of six children—three sons and three daughters—and of the number the subject of this review was the second in order of birth. The names of the above children are here entered in respective order of birth : James A., John M., Jane E., Rebecca M., Perry M. and Margaret E. Both the father and mother were summoned to the life eternal in the year 1885.
Under the invigorating influences of the old homestead farm John M. Moore was reared to adult age and his early educational discipline consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the neighboring district schools. Subsequently he was a student in the high school at Chesterville and during his high school course was engaged as a clerk in the general merchandise store of W. F. Bartlett, assisting him after school hours and on Saturdays. He proved so capable and willing a clerk that he was retained as such for a period of seven years. In the meantime the dark cloud of Civil war had cast its pall over the national horizon and in response to the first call for troops, Mr. Moore left his work and enlisted immediately as a soldier in the Union army. He was the second man in Morrow county to sign the muster roll and he became a member of Company B, Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under command of Captain Banning, of Mount Vernon. With his comrades Mr. Moore was stationed at Camp Dennison and after his first term of enlistment expired he returned home and raised a company at Chesterville, the same becoming known as Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This company was commanded by Captain Meredith with James McCracken as first lieutenant and John M. Moore as second lieutenant. Mr. Moore with his regiment participated in a number of the most important engagements marking the progress of the war and in every possible respect he proved himself a faithful and gallant soldier.
After the close of the war and when peace had again been established throughout the country John M. Moore returned to Chesterville, Ohio, where he again entered the employ of Mr. W. F. Bartlett. Later he launched out into the general merchandise business on his own account at Lima, Ohio. In 1867 he purchased a general store at Upper Sandusky, remaining there for a period of seven years. After his marriage, in 1868, he entered into a partnership with his father-in-law and former employer, Mr. Bartlett, to conduct a mercantile establishment at Chesterville. This concern was known as the Bartlett & Moore General Merchandise Business and a very extensive and successful business was controlled for the ensuing seventeen years. Mr. Moore gained recognition as a business man of fair and honorable methods and as a citizen he is essentially loyal and public spirited.
On the 1st of September, 1868, was solemnized the marriage of
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Mr. Moore to Miss Margaret E. Bartlett, a daughter of W. F. Bartlett, Mr. Moore's former employer, who used to remark that "John served faithfully seven years for his wife." The maiden name of Mrs. Moore's mother was Sarah P. Shurr. The Bartlett family consisted of six children, two of whom died in infancy. The names of the others are : H. Murray, Margaret E., Flora M. and Mary B. Mr. and Mrs. Moore became the parents of three children : William Bartlett, James Thaddeus and Florence Belle. The above children attended and were graduated in the high school at Chesterville. William Bartlett married Miss Marie Dehn, of Toledo, and he is vice president of the Union Supply Company, of Toledo, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. William B. Moore are the parents of three children: Thaddeus J., John D. and George E. James T. Moore launched his boat on the commercial sea as a young boy, his first lucrative work having been that of selling papers on the streets of Chesterville. Later he obtained a position at Delaware, Ohio, where he became the proud possessor of a salary of three dollars a week and to-day he is sales manager for the Quaker City Rubber Company, of Philadelphia, he having charge of sixty-five salesmen in a territory extending from Philadelphia to the Gulf of Mexico. Florence Belle is the wife of John G. Swindeman, president and general manager of the Union Supply Company ,of Toledo, Ohio.. They have two children : Marjorie L. and John Moore.
In politics Mr. John M. Moore accords an uncompromising allegiance to the principles and policies promulgated by the Republican party, and while he has never participated actively in politics he is deeply and sincerely interested in community affairs, giving freely of his aid and influence in support of all measures and enterprises projected for the general good. Mr. and Mrs. Moore are honored members of the Presbyterian church of Chesterville, to whose good works they have contributed liberally of their time and means. In a fraternal way Mr. Moore is affiliated with Chester Lodge, No. 238, Free and Accepted Masons; with Mount Gilead Chapter, No. 59, Royal Arch Masons; and with Clinton Commandery, No. 59, Knights Templars. He retains a deep and abiding interest in his old comrades in arms and signifies the same by membership in Creighton Orr Post, No. 501, of the Grand Army of the Republic. Although he has reached the venerable age of seventy-four years he retains in much of their pristine vigor the splendid mental and physical qualities of his youth. He is possessed of a cheerful, genial disposition, is ever ready to lend a helping hand to those less favorably situated than himself and he and his good wife command the unqualified confidence and esteem of all who know them..
PERRY L. FOUST.—Prominent among the active and esteemed residents of Westfield township is Perry L. Foust, a successful agriculturist and land appraiser for the township. He is a native
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and to the "manner born"; his birth having occurred in this part of Morrow county October 24, 1867. He is a son of Samuel Foust, Jr., and grandson of Samuel Foust, Sr., who was born in Pennsylvania, of German ancestors, and subsequently became one of the early pioneers of Morrow county, settling here when the country roundabout was in its pristine wildness.
Samuel Foust, Jr., was a life-long resident of Morrow county, his death occurring while he was yet in the prime of life, in 1881. His wife, whose maiden name was Jennie Fisk, was born near Nelsonville, Athens county, Ohio, and is now living in Ashley, Delaware county, Ohio. To her and her husband three children were born and reared, namely : Perry L., Harry L., of Ashley ; and Claudia, wife of James Warline, of Ashley.
Brought up on the home farm, Perry L. Foust acquired his early education in the district schools, which he attended during the winter terms until fourteen years old, when he had the misfortune to lose his father. At the age of twelve years, however, he had begun work for an uncle, William F. Smythe, with whom he remained until ready to begin life on his own responsibility. A young man of energy and ambition, with excellent business capacity and tact, Mr. Foust steadily climbed the ladder of attainments, and now holds an assured position among the successful agriculturists of Westfield township, his snug little farm of forty-eight acres being under a good state of culture, and responding to his magic touch. Politically identified with the Democratic party, Mr. Foust represents Westfield township on the Democratic Central Committee. He has served as township supervisor, and in 1909 was elected to his present position as land appraiser. Fraternally he is a member of Ashley Lodge, No. 421, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past grand, and likewise belongs to the Encampment.
On March 31, 1887, Mr. Foust was united in marriage with Carrie Russell, who was born and educated in Westfield township, being a daughter of Evan Russell. Five children have been born into the happy home of Mr. and Mrs. Foust, namely: Clifford, who married Mabel Roosevelt, of Delaware county ; Harley, who was graduated from the Cardington High School with the class of 1910; Doris, born March 5, 1901; Fern, born February 26, 1904; and Clio, born November 22, 1905.
GEORGE A. SHAW, the substantial hardware merchant of Marengo, is a native of Bennington township, Morrow county, where he was born on the 6th of October, 1866. His parents were James and Kezia (Allum) Shaw, and his genealogical pride is allowable over the fact that his mother was related to Sir Isaac Newton, the great man who would have been recorded in history as a master financier had he not achieved world-wide fame as a mathematician and scientist. Mr. Shaw's father was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of November, 1822,
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and his grandfather, John Shaw, was also a native of that state. 1111 Several years afterward the latter brought his family to what is now Morrow county, locating on a farm three miles south of the present Marengo, where he resided until his death. Besides James, the eldest in the family of children, there were Joseph, Henry, Mary J., Rebecca, Lavinia and Elizabeth, all of whom were reared in Bennington township. Lavinia is the widow of David Jenkins and resides in Sparta, Ohio, while Elizabeth is the widow of James Kile, of Centerburg, that state.
The father of George A. Shaw came to Bennington township as a boy of eleven years, 1833 marking the time when he commenced to do his share in helping along the family and making himself generally useful to everybody. In 1844 he married Kezia, daughter of Robert and Fannie Allum, who was born at Deepen Fens, England, January 23, 1823, and was brought by her parents to the United States in 1829. After an ocean voyage of sixty-four days the family landed at Baltimore, Maryland. When Kezia was sixteen years of age she accompanied her parents to Knox county, Ohio, and in her twenty-second year became the wife of James Shaw. Of the seven children who were the fruits of this marriage these three have survived to the present time : Mary E., who is now the wife of Abram Bellis, of Bennington township ; Issacar A., who lives at Ashley, Ohio ; and he whose life-story has been commenced in this sketch.
George A. Shaw was reared on the Bennington township farm, but received his education in the common schools of Peru township, which he attended until he was sixteen. At that period of his life his father died, and as he was thrown completely on his own resources he applied himself as a mouthy farm laborer until he reached his majority. The succeeding six years were spent as a locomotive fireman on the Erie railroad, from Galion to Dayton, Ohio. Such confining work was so distasteful to him that he returned to Peru township and was there employed in the threshing and saw mill business until January, 1898.
By economy and self-denial Mr. Shaw had saved sufficient money to venture into an independent field, and at the time mentioned came to Marengo and purchased an interest in C. S. Dun-ham's hardware business. The partnership continued until January 1, 1911, when Mr. Dunham withdrew from the business and H. R. Hicks became the junior partner with Mr. Shaw. They still conduct the business with old-time energy and sound judgment. Although a pronounced Democrat in a strong Republican precinct, Mr. Shaw's personal record and character have inspired such confidence among all classes that he is a man of public affairs, as well as a business leader. He has served for several years as assessor and is now a member of the city council. He is also a prominent Knight of Pythias, being the keeper of records and seals of the Marengo Lodge, No. 216.
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In 1885 Mr. Shaw was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Martin, who has borne him three children: Glenn, Charles and Gertrude. Their daughter, who was born December 22, 1890, graduated from the Marengo High School and is teaching in Bennington township. Mr. Shaw's present wife, whom he married April 22, 1896, is a native of Limaville, Stark county, Ohio, where she was reared and educated. They are both earnest members of the Methodist church.
RAY L. MCFARLAND.-AS a citizen of the younger generation of Mount Gilead Ray L. McFarland is early acquainting himself with the intricacies of local politics. At the present time, in 1911, he is ably filling the position of deputy auditor of Morrow county, to which he was appointed in April, 1907.
Mr. McFarland was born on a farm in Marion county, near Iberia, Ohio, on the 16th of September, 1887, and is a son of Willis C. and Florence M. (Crane) McFarland, both of whom are now residing at Mount Gilead. The father is an auctioneer by occupation and served two terms as auditor of Marion county, from 1902 to 1909. Ray L. McFarland was reared to the age of eleven years on the home farm, attending the district schools until he moved to Iberia, a small village in the northern part of Marion county, where he attended the graded schools. In 1901 he located in Mount Gilead, the county seat, whither the family had come, to allow the father to assume his duties as county auditor, the following year. He immediately enrolled as a student in the public schools at Mount Gilead, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1904. After graduating Mr. McFarland worked in his father's office as a clerk until September, 1905, when he was matriculated in the University of Wooster, at Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio. After completing the college year, 1905-6, he sought his fortune as a book agent in the state of Indiana, from whence he returned to Mount Gilead at the urgent request of his father to again take up work in the auditor's office in July, 1906. In April, 1907, he was promoted to the deputyship, which position he held during the remainder of his father's term of office, at the expiration of which, in October, 1909, he was reappointed deputy under the present auditor, Mr. Clifton Sipe.
In politics Mr. McFarland accords a stalwart allegiance to the principles and policies of the Republican party. He has been an active participant in political affairs since attaining to his majority and is now secretary of the County Central Committee. In July, 1910, he was a delegate to the Republican state convention, which nominated the Hon. Warren G. Harding, of Marion, for governor.
Fraternally Mr. McFarland is affiliated with Charles H. Hull, Lodge, No. 195, Knights of Pythias, and he is also a valued and appreciated member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, No. 1191, Galion, Ohio. He is a conscientious member of the
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Presbyterian church. He is a young man whose energy is on a par with his ambition and one for whom the future holds forth bright promises. His genial, accommodating personality is one of his best assets and as a citizen of Mt. Gilead he is accorded a high place in the confidence and esteem of his fellow men.
JAMES H. PLACE.—Morrow county, Ohio, figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of the state, justly claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive development and marked advancement in the material upbuilding of this section. The county has been and is signally favored in the class of men who have contributed to its development along commercial and agricultural lines and in the latter connection the subject of this review demands recognition, as he has been actively engaged in farming operations during practically his entire life thus far. He has long been known as a prosperous and enterprising agriculturist and one whose business methods demonstrate the power of activity and honesty in the business world.
James H. Place is a native son of Morrow county, his birth having occurred in Westfield township, on a farm near his present home, on the 27th of August, 1839.. He is a son of Ethan F. and Charity (Smith) Place, the former of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter of whom claimed Germany as the place of her nativity. Ethan Place was a son of John Place, who was likewise born and reared in the old Empire state of the Union, in which place was solemnized his marriage and whence he removed to Ohio in an early day, location having been made on a farm in Westfield township. His cherished and devoted wife, whose christian name was Sally, was summoned to the life eternal in Westfield township in 1836, and John passed away in 1848, at Caledonia, where he spent the closing years of his life. To them were born the following named children : John, Sullivan, Ethan, Anson, Margie, Sallie and Elizabeth, all of whom are now deceased. To Ethan and Charity Place were born : Lydia E., whose birth occurred on the 22nd of November, 1833 ; Philo D., born March 5, 1836; George P., March 3, 1838 ; James H., August 27, 1839; Henry and Henrietta, twins, born June 27, 1841; and Mary E., born October 13, 1849. Ethan Place died on the 3rd of May 1881, and his noble wife was called to her reward on the 8th of May, 1885. He was a stanch Republican in his political convictions and he was ever on the alert to do all in his power to advance the general welfare of the community in which he maintained his home. The father was a Baptist and the mother a devout member of the Presbyterian church in their religious faith, and they were active and zealous participants in all benevolent and charitable movements advanced in the township.
Mr. Place, the immediate subject of this review, was reared
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JAMES H. PLACE
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to the invigorating discipline of the home farm, in the work and management of which he early became associated with his father. During the winter terms he attended the district schools in Westfield township and there managed to eke out a fair education, which he has since supplemented with extensive reading and varied experiences. In 1867 he initiated operations as an independent farmer and he has resided upon his present splendid estate, comprised of one hundred acres, since 1867. In the midst of highly cultivated fields are beautiful and substantial buildings and the general atmosphere of thrift and prosperity which pervades the place is indicative of good management on the part of its practical owner. The Place farm is eligibly located six miles distant from Cardington and it is accounted one of the finest estates in Morrow county. In his political convictions Mr. Place accords an uncompromising allegiance to the cause of the Republican party and while he has never manifested aught of ambition for the honors or emoluments of public office he is always willing to contribute his share to all matters projected for progress and development. He is affiliated with the social organizations of representative character and while he is not formally connected with any religious organization, he has the highest feeling of respect for Christianity and attends and gives his support to the United Brethren church, of which his wife is a devout member.
On the 25th of April, 1867, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Place to Miss Ruth R. Shaw, who was born in Westfield township, this county, on the 13th of November, 1845, and who is a daughter of Jonathan Shaw, born in Pennsylvania, and of Mary A. (Barry) Shaw, born in Maryland, whence they came to Westfield township at an early period, they having been the first white settlers in this section of Morrow county. Jonathan Shaw, the father of Mrs. Place, lived and died on the old farm entered by his father and he was summoned to eternal rest on the 19th of November, 1901. Mrs. Place is a scion of one of the most worthy families in Morrow county and a lady of most pleasing address and personality. Her parents, Jonathan and Mary A. (Barry) Shaw, were the parents of the following children : Susanna, who is the wife of William Curl, a prominent citizen of Cardington, Ohio ; Rachel, who was the widow of Andrew Redd prior to her marriage to T. J. Holloway, of Morrow county, Ohio ; Sarah J., who was the wife of Oliver Sharp at the time of her death, on the 9th of September, 1902 ; Ruth R., who is now Mrs. Place, wife of the subject of this review ; J. W. Shaw, a successful business man at Cardington, was twice married, first to Eva Ensign, who is deceased, and second to Miss Imo Shunk ; James S., who married Miss Alma Lewis, is a resident of Carthage, Indiana, where he is the proprietor of a jewelry establishment and where he also conducts an undertaking business ; Aaron is deceased, as are also Mary E. and Alfred A.; Melissa is the wife of Loran Curren, of
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Westfield township ; John L. wedded Minerva Oliver and they reside in the northern part of Morrow county, near the city of Galion, Ohio ; Martha E. is deceased; and Dorothy is the wife of W. C. Brenizer, one of the prosperous farmers of Westfield township. Mrs. Place was reared and educated in what is now Shaw-town, Ohio, and prior to her marriage she was one of the successful and popular teachers of Morrow county. Mrs. Place, as well as her husband, came from sterling families and there has never been a blot on the escutcheon of the family name. To
Mr. and Mrs. Place have been born two children : Walter W., whose birth occurred on the 17th of May, 1872; and Carrie M., born November 4, 1874. The son was married on the 25th of October, 1893, to Miss Ada Cecil and they are the parents of three children ; Ralph L., Ivan L., and Irene E. The daughter, Carrie M., was married to Lewis Howard on the 25th of February, 1897. and they reside in Westfield township.
Mr. Place is a man of fine mentality and broad human sympathy. He thoroughly enjoys home life and takes great pleasure in the society of his family and friends. He is always courteous, kindly and affable, and those who know him personally accord him the highest esteem. Mr. and Mrs. Place's lives have been exemplary in all respects and they have ever supported those interests which are calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, while their own high moral worth is deserving of the highest commendation.
W. ODELL MASTERS.-A man of enterprise and ability, W. Odell Masters, of Canaan township, ranks well among the practical and business-like farmers who are so ably conducting the agricultural interests of Morrow county. A native of Ohio, he was born in Morrow county January 6, 1873, and was reared on the home farm. His father, Jonathan Masters, was twice married. To him and his second wife, whose maiden name was Eveline Rolen, five children were born, namely : W. Odell, the special subject of this brief biographical sketch ; Lillian M., of Marion, Ohio ; Maude, Claude, a twin brother of Maude, has passed to the life beyond; and Delta Vivian, who died at the early age of two years.
Obtaining his first knowledge of the three "r's" in the district schools, W. Odell Masters completed his early education in the high school at Edison. Becoming a farmer from choice, he subsequently resided for a number of years on the home farm, and then moved to the present farm for three years, and then lived in Denmark, Ohio. Returning to his farm in December, 1909, Mr. Masters assumed possession of his acres in Canaan township, and in its management has been highly successful. He carries on general agriculture, and is specially interested in the breeding of Scotch Polled cattle, Humphrie hogs and horses, owning two fine registered road horses and keeping a large flock of Delaine sheep. He finds both pleasure and profit in stock raising, and keeps in touch with
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the more modern methods used in that branch of his industry. His farm is well improved and well kept, and among his buildings is a large circular barn, conveniently arranged, the only barn of the kind in the entire county.
Mr. Masters married Miss Ruby Swickheimer, who was born February 25, 1882, in Delaware county, Ohio, a daughter of John Jacob and Anna (Basiger) Swickheimer. She is a Delaware High School graduate and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Denmark. Their only child, Wilton Thurlow Masters, was born July 10, 1908. Politically Mr. Masters is a steadfast Republican and has served as township clerk. Fraternally he belongs to Gilead Lodge, No. 169, Free and Accepted Masons; to Morrow Chapter, No. 59, Royal Arcanum Masons; and is a member and past chancellor of Edison Lodge, No. 434, Knights of Pythias.
LAFAYETTE T. TURNEY.—One of the oldest native-born citizens of Bennington township, Morrow county, Lafayette T. Turney was born on the farm which he now owns and occupies, November 19, 1838, a son of John Turney. During his many years of residence in this community he has witnessed wonderful changes in the face of the country, and likewise in the methods of farming and carrying on business of all kinds. In his boyhood days substantial school buildings, churches, and costly residences were unknown in the county, while railways, telegraph and telephone lines were conspicuous by their absence, few, if any, evidences of the present civilization existing. In the grand transformation that has taken place he has been actively interested, many of his best years having been spent in helping to redeem a portion of this beautiful country from its original wildness.
John Turney, a native of Pennsylvania, was born May 19, 1802, in Westmoreland county, and died, about 1900, in Morrow county, Ohio. In Franklin county, Ohio, April 27, 1838, he married Rebecca Ayers, who was born, December 13, 1808, in Sussex county, New Jersey. Of their three children, one, Thomas L., died in infancy, and two are living, as follows: Lafayette T., the special subject of this brief review, and George A., born September 27, 1842, in Delaware county, Ohio.
Beginning when young to perform his share incidental to life on a farm, Lafayette T. Turney became familiar with the theory and practice of agriculture, and continued to follow this branch of industry throughout his active career. Meeting with good success in his undertakings, he is now living on his farm retired, however, from active pursuits. His farm contains sixty-seven and one-half acres of land, and is under a good state of cultivation, yielding profitable harvests each season.
Mr. Turney married, January 4, 1866, Lavina Cox, a native of Fredericktown, Knox county, Ohio, born December 6, 1845, and
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into their household three children have been born, namely: Viola, wife of Lyman Ashley, of Mount Gilead, Ohio ; Debbie, wife of John Pinder, of South Bloomfield township, Morrow county; and May, wife of Arthur Sipes, of Bennington township, Morrow county. Politically Mr. Turney is a sound Republican, loyal to the interests of his party, and religiously both Mr. and Mrs. Turney are members of the Advent church.
CHARLES B. SMITH.-A prominent and prosperous farmer and stock-raiser of Morrow county, Charles B. Smith is the owner of a large, well-appointed and well-managed estate in Bennington township, where he holds a good position among the active and progressive men who are contributing largely toward the development of the industrial interests of this part of the state. A soh of David Smith, Jr., hr: was born in Peru township, Morrow county, October 20, 1864, of pioneer ancestry. His paternal grandfather, David Smith, Sr., a native of Pennsylvania, married Fannie J. Moore and settled in Bennington township, Morrow county, in pioneer days, and was here engaged in clearing and improving his land for many years, residing here until his death.
David Smith, Jr., was born on the parental homestead in Bennington township and was educated in the pioneer schools of his day. Following in the footsteps of his ancestors, he became a tiller of the soil from choice, and having bought land in Peru township when ready to settle in life, was there successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death. He was a quiet, unassuming man, and enjoyed to a high degree the respect and esteem of -the neighborhood in which he so long resided, his influence as an honest, upright citizen being felt throughout the community. He married Martha Powers, a daughter of Reverend Erastus Powers, a preacher in the United Brethren church, and of the five children born of their union, one child, a son, lived but six months. The four now living are as follows: Fannie J., Mary I., wife of Hamilton Butters; Lucy, wife of Samuel Smith. of Peru township ; and Charles B., the subject of this brief personal record.
Charles B. Smith received excellent educational advantages, attending school much of the time until twenty years old. Thoroughly enjoying the pleasures of rural life, he early turned his attention to agriculture, and when ready to establish a home of his own bought land in Bennington township, where he has since been extensively engaged in general farming, stock raising and dealing and in poultry growing. in each and all branches of industry receiving satisfactory returns for his labors. Mr. Smith now has title to one hundred and ninety acres of land, all in his home farm, from which he reaps abundant crops each year. He is a farmer of well known ability, and his extended practical experience has made him an authority on the various branches of agriculture. He is a man of sound judgment, upright in his dealings, and is
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often called upon to settle estates, and has served several terms as justice of the peace. He is a Republican in politics, and an earnest worker in party ranks.
Mr. Smith married, November 25, 1886, Miss Minnie Conn, who was born March 15, 1856, in Delaware county, Ohio, where her father, B. F. Conn, was a well-known farmer. Two children have blessed their union, namely : Stanton, born July 29, 1889, was graduated from the Marengo High School, and is now devoting his energies to general farming; and Anna, born March 19, 1891, was graduated from the Marengo High School, was a student in the Ada Normal School, and is now a teacher in Bennington township. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are trustworthy and valued members of the Wesleyan Methodist church at Fargo, Ohio, and are active in its work, Mr. Smith being one of the trustees of the church and its treasurer.
DAVID BRATTON.—One of the best known and most highly respected residents of Canaan township, Morrow county, is David Bratton, who is distinguished not only for his manliness and good citizenship but for the brave service which he rendered his country during the Civil war, taking active part in many of its most hardly contested battles, willing, if need be, to sacrifice his life to save the honor of his country's flag. A son of James Bratton, he was born March 22, 1843, in Delaware county, Ohio, coming on the paternal side of old Virginia stock.
A farmer by occupation, James Bratton, lived in Delaware county, Ohio, until 1853, when he removed with his family to Marion county, Ohio, where he bought land and was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death. He married Mary Kyle, a life-long resident of Ohio, and she proved a true help-mate, sharing with him the toils and privations incidental in those days to farm life and assisting him in training their children to habits of in dustry and thrift.
Brought up on the parental homestead, David Bratton assisted on the farm during seed time and harvest, attending the long winter terms of the district school, where he acquired a practical education. In the early part of the year 1863, although a beardless boy of eighteen years, his patriotic ardor was aroused, and he enlisted as a private in Company D, Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to General Sherman's army. Under command of this brave general he fought in numerous engagements, being with his company in the battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Peach Tree Creek, Franklin and many others of note, fearlessly meeting the foe whenever opportunity occurred. At the close of the conflict, being honorably discharged from the service, Mr. Bratton returned to Ohio and continued work on the home farm for about three years after being mustered out on December 3, 1865.
Coming to Morrow county in 1868, Mr. Bratton settled in
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Canaan township, about six miles northwest of Mount Gilead, where he owns and occupies a finely improved and productive farm of eighty acres. Here he is carrying on general farming with good results, his estate comparing favorably in its appointments with any in the vicinity.
Mr. Bratton married, in 1868, Charity Reed, who was born February 28, 1852, in Morrow county, Ohio, a daughter of William and Margaret (Linder) Reed, who owned and occupied a farm in Canaan township. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bratton, namely : Ida, who died in 1894 ; Elizabeth, wife of Frank Martin; Fremont; Oscar; and Hannah L., living with her parents on the home farm.
A stalwart Republican from his youth up, Mr. Bretton takes an intelligent interest in local and national affairs, and is a loyal supporter of the principles of his party. He is still as true to the interests of his country as in those days when the dark clouds of war overshodawed our fair land, and is a faithful member of Hurd Post, G. A. R., of Mount Gilead, a patriotic organization whose members are every year decreasing in numbers, each season death claiming many veterans of the Civil war.
WILLIS C. MCFARLAND.—From the participation of Willis C. McFarland in the varied affairs of Mount Gilead and Morrow county, the well-sustained inference may be drawn that an honest, able, progressive busines man is the best timber for the efficient and faithful public official. Mr. McFarland has made a worthy and prominent record in both fields of activity, as will be fully maintained by the following facts, which constitute but an outline of what he is and what he has done.
A native of Morrow county, he was born January 5, 1859, the third child in a family of three sons and three daughters. His father, Newton McFarland, who was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and a pioneer of Morrow county, is deceased; the mother (previous to her marriage, Caroline Burton) is a resident of Iberia. She also came to this section of Ohio at an early day. She was born at Manchester, Vermont, April 24, 1830, and moved to Ohio in 1838. Six children were spared to the worthy widow, as follows: Ada, who is now herself a widow, formerly the wife of M. H. Henderson and a resident of Iberia, Ohio ; Charles N., who also lives near that place and is an agriculturist; Willis C., of this sketch; C. W., of Mount Gilead, who is a prominent farmer, president of the Ohio State Fair Association in 1910 and one of the oldest and most active members of the organization ; Ella B., who married Charles F. Noble, a leading grain and coal dealer of Hawarden, Iowa ; and Clara M., who became the wife of J. H. McClarren and died September 27, 1896.
Willis C. McFarland received his early education in the public schools of his home township and of Iberia. When eighteen
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years of age he entered the Ohio Central College, at the latter place, where he pursued a course of study and then taught faithfully and well for a period of ten years ; during this chapter of his career he also took special advanced studies at Ada College.
After his marriage in 1885, Mr. McFarland purchased a small farm in Tully township, Marion county, which he worked during his summer vacations, but eventually sold the property, located in Iberia and became interested in the auctioneering business. This has been his chief business line since 1890 and of late years it has expanded to such dimensions that practically his entire time is now devoted to its management and promotion. In politics he is actively and firmly Republican, as he has always been since he was qualified to vote the regular ticket. In the fall of 1901 he was elected, by a plurality of two hundred and fifty-one votes, to the office of county auditor, and at the expiration of his first term he was returned to office with a plurality of four hundred and fifty-one ; and speaking facts these are to his official faithfulness and ability. Mr. McFarland served altogether for seven years in the capacity named; one term of three years and (by a change in the law) another, of four years. In October, 1909, his second term as county auditor having expired, he returned to his private interests, which were pressing him for attention. As stated, most of his time is now devoted to his duties as an auctioneer, a portion of his attention being also directed toward the management of a fine farm in Gilead township. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church at Mount Gilead.
On January 8, 1885, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. McFarland to Miss Florence M. Crane, who is a daughter of the late E. J. Crane, of Morrow county, but a native of Muskingum county. Mrs. McFarland was also born in the latter county, but was reared and educated in the former. After completing the curriculum of the district schools she attended Iberia College for some years and prepared herself to assume her place in the community as an educated and gracious woman. The only child, Ray L. McFarland, is now serving as deputy auditor of Morrow county, and as an able and coming citizen is accorded a review in other pages of this work.
JOHN W. COOK, superintendent of the Buckeye Milling Company, is a representative business man and one of the most popular and highly respected of the citizens of Mount Gilead and Morrow county. The industrial activities of any community form one of its chief sources of material prosperity and the fair capital of Morrow county is particularly fortunate in having at the head of an enterprise of such broad scope and importance a man as progressive, independent and upright as he. He has won the success
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