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BRADY TOWNSHIP.

JASON AYRES was born in Richland County, Ohio, April 13, 1826, the second in a family of seven children born to Abner and Clara (Garrison) Ayers: Abner Ayers was married in Richland County, where he followed coopering until the fall of 1835, when he moved to this to ship with his wife and children, and settled on 160 acres of land he had entered the previous year, which he cleared up, undergoing all the h ships of frontier life. In 1858 or 1859, he went to West Unity, when he engaged for a time in the dry goods trade, and later in the boot shoe business. Some time during the last war, he sold his farm and bought another east of West Unity, on which he resided for about two years, then returned to town, and there lives in retirement. In his ear years, he was one of the Associate Judges of Williams County for sew terms. Jason Ayres attended the log schoolhouses of his youthful only two winters, and consequently his education was somewhat limi He was passionately fond of hunting, and his rifle was his constant panion. During one fall and winter, eighty-four deer fell before deadly aim, besides any number of wild turkeys and other game. began hunting at the age of fourteen, and each fall and winter, down 1878, lye has gone on a hunting excursion, and has never failed to 5.,, his share deer and other game. At the age of seventeen, he was married, and. for several years thereafter, farmed for his father on sh About 1850, he bought eighty acres in Fulton County, Ohio, cleared and resided thereon till 1862, when he sold out and came to Brady To ship, bought seventy acres, farmed until 1876, sold out again, and bo nine lots of ground in Lockport, where he has ever since resided. He married, November 7, 1843, to Martha Aldridge, a native of New Y who bore him nine children, of whom eight are still living—seven and one girl—and died in Lockport, December 10, 1877, a member of the Disciples' Church. In politics, Mr. Ayres was first a Whig, b now a Republican.

JOSEPH BARKDOLL was born in Washington County, June 6, 1818, the second child in a family of ten born to George Susanna (Branstetter) Barkdoll, natives of the same county and S

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and of German descent. The father, who received only three months' schooling, became a man of extensive self-instruction and a master of several languages. He served in the war of 1812, and during that struggle, was married. He afterward engaged in farming on the Western shore of Maryland until 1836, when he moved with his family to Richland County, Ohio, and bought a farm of 175 acres near Mansfield, on which he resided until his death in the summer of 1860. Mr. Barkdoll was at one time offered the nomination for Congress by the Democrats of his district in Maryland, but he declined the honor and withdrew from the State on account of his abhorrence of slavery. Joseph Barkdoll is a self-educated man, but has given his children a thorough education, and nearly all of them have been school-teachers. After leaving his father's farm at the age of twenty-one, he worked out for two years, and rented a farm for five years, and then in October, 1847, came with his wife and children to Brady Township and settled on 160 acres of forest land, which he had bought about two years before. This land he has cleared up and improved in every detail. March 11, 1840, he married Margaret Augustine, a native of Germany, whose father, Jacob Augustine, died at the home of Mr. Barkdoll, in 1881, in his eighty-seventh year. To Mr. and Mrs. Barkdoll have been born ten children—George E., Susan L. (now Mrs. R. ,D. Ford), Jacob W., Margaret J. (who was married to John Ditrick, and died in April, 1878, leaving two children), Marquis D. L., Benjamin F., Joseph A., Sophronia M. (who died April 30, 1882), Mary and Francis M. George E. enlisted as private in the One Hundredth Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the late war, and was at first thought to be mortally wounded in the left lung at Atlanta, Ga., but he recovered, and when mustered out wore the chevron of a Sergeant. Joseph W. served in the Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Mr. Barkdoll has served as True of Brady Township several terms, and he is a charter member of Springfield Grange, No. 399.

GARRETT H. BAUM was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, July 18, 1816, the eldest of the seven children of George and Elizabeth (Packard) Baum, natives of Pennsylvania and Virginia. George Baum, when a small boy, was brought to Ohio by his parents. He was married in Mahoning County. His wife's parents were the first white settlers of Berlin Township, that county, and she was the first white girl married therein. Mr. George Baum died in Mahoning County, in 1854, aged sixty-two, and his wife in Pottage County, in April, 1877, in her seventy-eighth year. She had been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for more than sixty years. Garrett H. Baum went to school and worked on his father's farm till twenty-one years of age, and then, his only earthly possession being an ax, went to work in a saw-mill at $10 or

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$12 per month. At the end of three years, his father gave him thirty acres of land in Mahoning. This he worked for nine years, so bought fifty acres in the same county, sold out again in 1853, removed to Fulton County and bought 100 acres, which he subsequently increased to 150 acres, and in 1877 rented the farm to his eldest son and removed to West Unity, where he owns a handsome property and where he now resides in retirement. Mr. Baum was married, October 10, 1839, to Esther Kime, who was born in Dauphin County, Penn., February 20, 1817, and was the daughter of Samuel and Esther (Beaver) Kime. Mr. Baum thus became the father of five children, of whom three are yet living —Sylvester, Angeline and Curtis H. In politics, Mr. B. is a Democrat, and has held the office of Township Trustee in both Mahoning and Fulton Counties.

GEORGE BEATY is the son of James and Mary (Kahl) Beatty, of Irish and German extraction, and was born in Berks County, Penn., December 8, 1809. He came, with his parents, to Stark County, ohio in 1817, and remained with them until twenty-two years of age, and then engaged in alternately running a threshing machine and in lumbering. March 15, 1838, he married Mary Jane Wiser, who was born in Cumberland County, Penn., and came to Ohio, with her parents, about 1835. His mother, Mary Beaty, died about 1825, and his father, James Beaty was thrown from a buggy and instantly killed, in 1849, while on his way to a camp-meeting near Massillon. He was a consistent member of the Disciples' Qhurch. George Beatty came to this township and entered eighty acres of land on Section 10, in 1834, returned to Stark County, was married there in 1838, and came back to Brady, with his family, in 1845, and settled on his land. There were five sons and four daughters born to him; three Of the boys died in infancy, and one—Frank T. at the age of nineteen; the fifth—M. T. Beaty, is now superintending the home farm. This son takes much interest in live stock, and is the owner of a Mambrino colt that promises to become a trotter of some note, and which he calls Red Cloud, Jr. The daughters are all married, excepting one. Mr. Beaty is a member of the Disciples' Church, and in politics he is a Republican. His maternal grandfather, George Kahl, was as soldier of the Revolution.,

MRS. SUSANNAH BOHNER, of Welsh descent on the paternal side and French on the maternal, was born in Dauphin County, Penn., February 19, 1807. January 16, 1828, she was married to Jacob Bohner, of German descent, and born in Northumberland County, Penn., August 2, 1848. In 1831, they emigrated to Richland County, Ohio, and in June, 1835, moved to this township, settled in the woods, and hewed out of the wilderness a farm. They had a family of ten children born to

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them, as follows—Emmanuel, on June 17, 1829 ; Catharine, January 31, 1831; John, October 17, 1832 ; George W., February 22, 1834 ; Elizabeth, May 18, 1836 ; Mary, March 5, 1839 ; Jacob, February 5, 1841; William, October 2, 1842 in Susannah, July 1, 1844, and Levine, August 10, 1846. Of these four are dead, viz : William, who was wounded at the battle of Murfeesboro in September, 1864, and died in the hospital October 3 ; Levina, who died in the blind asylum, at Columbus, January 15, 1865 ; Emmanuel, who died at West Unity, April 23, 1877, and Elizabeth (Bohner) Summers, who died in Hillsdale County, Mich., May 29, 1882. Mrs. Bohner has had sixty-three grandchildren, forty-eight of whom are now living, and nineteen great-grandchildren, of whom there are sixteen now living. Jacob Bohner, Sr., died April 25, 1881, of dropsy, after an illness of about eleven weeks, at the age of seventy-three. He had been considered the strongest man in the county, and had never been ill until he met with his fatal attack. Mrs. Bohner has been partially blind the last twenty-eight years, and for the last sixteen totally deprived of sight.

JOB BORTON, son of Bethuel and Rebecca (Clifton) Borton, was born in Burlington County, N. J., November 29, 1818, the eighth of a family of eleven children. He traces his genealogy to one of three brothers who came from England to this country before the Revolutionary war. In the fall of 1836, Job Borton, in company with his mother, four brothers and two sisters, came West in wagons, and located in Fulton County. Here Job bought some land, but soon after sold and selected the farm on which he lives in this township, but for seven years resided with his brother John, until he had paid for his land, engaged in raising peppermint and distilling its oil. September 9, 1845, he married Mary R. Clifton, daughter of Samuel Clifton, of Welsh ancestry. They have three children and twenty-one grandchildren, and have, besides, reared four children by adoption. The family are Quakers, and Mrs. Borton, at a monthly meeting at Rollin, Mich., four years ago, was appointed an Evangelist. The patent to Mr. Borton's original land was signed by Andrew Jackson, and the farm was increased to 400 acres, all of which have been deeded by Mrs. Borton to his children, with the exception of eighty, on which he and Mrs. Borton are now living in quiet retirement.

JACOB BOWERS was born in Northumberland County, Penn., January 26, 1804, one of nine children of Frederick and Hannah (Wolf ) Bowers, also natives of Pennsylvania. About 1827, Frederick Bowers, who was a farmer as well as a shoemaker, moved to Stark County, Ohio, and thence, five or six years later, to Steuben County, Ind., where he entered 400 acres of land, a part of which he subsequently deeded to his children. On this farm he died on his ninetieth birthday. Jacob Bowers

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learned the shoemaker's trade in his youth, and also became skilled as an agriculturist. After reaching his majority, he worked out by the month for two years, at $4.50 per month, and for two years more farmed on shares, in his native State. In 1830, he moved to Richland County, Ohio, where he bought eighty acres of land, and there remained till 1860, when he sold out and came to Brady Township, and bought his present farm of eighty acres. He was married, in 1827, in Pennsylvania, to Miss Elizabeth Bohner, daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Dibler) Bohner, and a native of Northumberland County, Penn. To Mr. And Mrs. Bowers have been born eleven children, of whom nine are still living. The parents are members of the German Baptist Church.

WILLIAM S. BROWN, the youngest of the eight children of Philip and Elizabeth (Schuler) Brown, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, December 25, 1838. The elder Brown came from Centre County, Penn., to Ashland County (then in Wayne), in 1828, and followed his trade of carpenter till his death, December 23, 1873. William S. Brown received a good education, and, for two terms, taught school in Ashland County, and in De Kalb County, Ind. At the age of fourteen years, he began clerking in a dry goods store at La Fayette, Ashland County ; then served one year at the harness-maker's trade; then attended school at Delaware, Ohio, for a time; again went to clerking in La Fayette for a year and a half, and, September 10, 1861, enlisted in Company C, Forty-second Volunteer Ohio Infantry. He was on detached duty most of the time, serving as Military Postmaster six months at Plaquemines, La., as Street Commissioner at Baton Rouge, La., and was Commissary Clerk during his entire term, and yet was with his regiment in all its engagements until mustered out in September, 1864. He took part in the battles at Tazewell, Tenn., Champion Hills, Thompson's Hill, Black River Bridge, Arkansas Post and the Vicksburg campaign. His was the regiment which James A. Garfield recruited and commanded till promoted to the rank of General Mr. Brown, on his return home, carried on his trade at various points till May, 1872, when he started a grocery at New Pittsburg, Wayne County, at which point he was Postmaster; two years later, he took in a partner and added dry goods to the business. In March, 1876, he sold out and came to West Unity, worked at his trade two years, clerked in Davies & Pancher's dry goods store two years, and then opened a clothing store in partnership with Prof. E. P. Ewers, under the firm name of Ewers & Brown. He was married, February 22, 1874, to Kate Worth, a native of Pennsylvania, and daughter of John and Mary (Jenner) Worth, of Germen birth ; and to this union were born three children—Tulla E., Hattie and Frank. Mr. Brown is a member of Superior Lodge, No. 179, A.,

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F. & A. M., and Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R.; he is a Republican, and a thoroughgoing and enterprising business man.

SAMUEL A. BROWNEWELL was born in Cumberland County, Penn., September 16, 1827, the second child of seven born to John and Nancy A. (Grill) Brownewell. He received a fair education in his youth, •and is a man well read in the ordinary branches of knowledge. At the age of nineteen, he was apprenticed to the milling business, at which he worked in his native State until 1853, in the spring of which year he came to West Unity, this township, and the following fall moved to Pulaski Township, where he took charge of the Lick Creek Mills, and ran them nearly three years. In the fall of 1856, he removed to Bryan, and, in the spring of 1858, returned to West Unity, and, for two years, had 'charge of the mills there. Another year was passed at Bryan in the ,Fountain City Mill, and, in 1860, he came to Lockport and rented. the mill here. In 1865, he bought one-half interest in this, the Lockport Mill, which was the first ever erected in the township and probably the second in the county. That firm name of the present owners is Brownewell & Mohn. The mill is supplied with " new process " machinery, and does excellent work. Mr. Brownewell was married, December 28, 1851, to Susan E. Wolf, a native of Cumberland County, Penn., and daughter of John and Sarah (Swartz) Wolf, and to this union have been born four children—Maria L. (afterward Mrs. Roland E. Boothman, now deceased), John A., Sarah E. (now Mrs. Lewis A. Altman), and James F. Mr. Brownewell has served as Trustee of Brady Township for four years, and, for three years, also served as County Infirmary Director. He and wife are members of the German Reformed Church, and he is also a member of Superior Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M. In politics, he is a Democrat, and he is one of the prominent business men of the township.

T. CLARKSON CHANDLER, son of Joshua and Patience (Wance) Chandler, was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, January 9, 1820, and remained on the home farm till twentytfive years of age. His father - came from Fayette County, Penn., was of Quaker ancestry, and died in Columbiana County in 1861, aged about eighty-two years ; his mother died in the same county in 1855 ; his grandfather, Enoch Chandler, is also buried in the same county. March 26, 1846, Mr. Chandler married , Miss Mary Ann Richardson, daughter of Richard G. and Ann Richardson, and born in Columbiana County October 22, 1826. She bore her husband three children—Mary Acenath, who died September 13, 1849 ; Alvin W., who died near West Unity, August 23, 1861, and Marion R. Mr. Chandler came to this township in 1852, and settled on his present farm about half a mile north of West Unity. Being now a widower, he married, November 8, 1855,, Catherine Bushong, who was born in the

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Shenandoah Valley of Virginia September 22, 1830. She bore him one child, Alice E., April 12, 1858, and died August 8, 1880. His son, Marion R., was married to Miss Alice Cavnah, March 10, 1880. She is the daughter of Samuel and Mariah (Pecher) Cavnah, of Bourbon, Ind., and was born October 5, 1858, and to this union Mary L. was born September 22, 1881. Mr. Chandler's farm is in a fine state of cultivation, and is improved with a superior -building, barns, sheds, etc. In politics, he is strongly Republican, and he is a moral, temperate and straight forward man, and a valuable citizen.

JACOB V. COLLAMER, the youngest of the six children of Elisha and Mary Collamer, is a native of Rochester, N. Y., and was born July 5, 1832. His father was a ship-carpenter, which trade he followed until his death by drowning, near Petersboro, Canada, in 1846. Jacob V., at the age of eighteen, entered a foundry and thoroughly studied the art of melting and mixing metals and the construction of machinery, and has followed the business up to the present time—a period of thirty-two years. In 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served until December, 1864, taking part in the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, the seven days' fight, Malvern Hill, Second Bull's Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and in all the engagements of the forty days' advance on Petersburg. On being mustered out, he returned to his old situation as foreman of a foundry at Greenville, Penn., which position he had held for seven years previous to the opening of the war, and which he retained for three years after its close. In 1867 he was elected Constable and appointed Policeman and Deputy Sheriff of Greenville, and re-elected in 1870, but declined serving. The same spring, he went to Fort Collins, Colo., and to Wyoming Territory, where he and sons engaged in farming and engineering. In 1878, he returned to Pennsylvania, and soon after came to West Unity, where he has ever since been employed as engineer in an oar factory, saw and planing mill. He was married in Trumbull County, Ohio, August 18, 1856, and has had left to him five children. He is a member of Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R.; West Unity Lodge, No. 638, I. 0. 0. F.; Brady Lodge, No. 1786, K. of H., and of Superior Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M.

WILLARD W. COMBS was born, January 9, 1842, in Richland County, Ohio, the son of Benjamin F. and Amelia (Smith) Combs, who came to Brady Township in 1845, and located on 160 acres of unimproved land. Here the father died, February 18, 1875, his wife surviving him, and still residing on the old homestead. Willard W. worked on the farm until 1862, when he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served till September, 1863, when he

was

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discharged on account of failing health. In October of the same year, he enlisted in Company I, Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served till the close of the war. Of the three of his brothers who served in the army—George W., Reason C. and Benjamin C.—the first was killed at the battle of Stone River, and the last was wounded in the same engagement, but recovered. On his return, Willard resumed farming on the old homestead, and still resides there. He was married, July 25, 1865, to Miss Mary M. Beaty, a native of Williams County, and daughter of George and Jane (Wiser) Beaty, and their union has been blessed with two children, a boy and a girl. Mr. Combs is a member of West Unity Lodge, No. 638, I. 0. 0. F., and of Superior Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M. In politics, he is a Republican, and Mrs. Combs is a member of the Disciples' Church.

WILLIAM C. COSLET, Mayor of West Unity, and dealer in boots, shoes and leather, is the sixth of a family of nine children, and was born in Fayette County, Penn., September 10, 1832. His father, James Coslet, was of Scotch-Irish descent, and his mother, Maria (Linn) Coslet, of German extraction. His paternal grandfather, Coslet, was a Revolutionary soldier, and his maternal grandfather, Linn, was killed in that struggle. William C., when but eight years of age, came with his parents to Stark County, this State, and received his early instruction in the common schools of Bethlehem. At the age of fourteen, he began to help support himself, and at seventeen shipped as cook on board the schooner " Star of the West," on Lake Erie, which vessel was sunk in a collision four months later, six miles from Cleveland. In this disaster he lost all his worldly goods, and barely escaped with his life. He then acted as steersman on the Erie Canal one season, and in 1855 engaged as fireman on the Air Line Railroad, at which he continued until 1858. July 25, 1855, he married Miss Elizabeth Stanley, of Pulaski Township, this county, but native of Richland County, Ohio. At the breaking-out of the late war, he enlisted for three months in Company C, Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and at the expiration of his term enlisted in the Third Ohio Cavalry. He took part in the siege of Corinth and in other engagements, up to July, 1862, when he was discharged on account of disability. In the fall of 1864, he recruited Company F, One Hundred and Eighty-second Ohio Volunteers, and went out as its Captain. It took part in the Hood campaign and the battle of Nashville, and was mustered out July 11, 1865. On his return, he entered the shoe and leather trade at West Unity, in which he is still engaged. He has held the offices of Constable and Marshal, and is now Mayor of West Unity. He has a family of eight children, five girls and three boys, all living. His daughter,

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Rosella, is married to the only son of R. P. Hallington. Maria is the wife of John W. Hamilton, of West Unity.

EPHRAIM DAWSON, son of William and Hannah (Acus) Dawson, natives of Kentucky and Virginia respectively, was born in London, Madison Co., Ohio, March 7, 1825. His parents came to Northwestern Ohio about the year 1830 and settled in Defiance. Soon after, William Dawson was elected County Treasurer, but declined a second nomination. He engaged in milling for a number of years, and then turned to farming, which he followed as long as he was able to work, when he retired, and died in 1881, aged eighty-four years. His wife had preceded him in 1867. Ephraim Dawson learned the miller's trade when quite young, having commenced to work with his father at the age of sixteen ; he is now head miller in the Unity Mills at West Unity. He was married, June 1, 1848, to Margaret Rodabaugh, daughter of Samuel and Rhoda Rodabaugh, and to this union was born a son-John W. May 7, 1850. The mother died the same day, and her remains now rest in the cemetery at Brunersburgh. February 15, 1852, Mr. Dawson married Adelia Wolverton, daughter of John A. and Maria Wolverton, and born May 1, 1836. By this marriage, he became father of six children-Clara A., born July 23, 1853 ; Frances M., January 10, 1855, and Lulu M., May 14, 1874, all deceased; the living are Ellen Jane, born May 31, 1857 ; Mary Alma, December 6, 1859, and Emma Belle, April 23, 1864.

LORENZO J. DEGROFF, son of William and Margaret (Myers) Degroff, was born in Richland County, Ohio, August 22, 1842, and came with his parents to this county in 1848. They first settled in Brady, but afterward moved to Jefferson Township, where the father died in May, 1872 ; the mother died in November, 1880. Lorenzo passed his early days on the farm, receiving his education at the common schools. He married Miss Mary Ann Rittennour, daughter of George and Sarah Rittennour, of Jefferson Township, and to their union seven children have been born-Eva Arabell, December 6, 1864; Sadie Margaret, January 5, 1866 ; Minnie 'Caroline, May 26, 1869 ; Mary Ettie, December 14, 1872 ; William Burtie, May 4, 1875 ; George Franklin, December 4, 1878, and Louessa Dell, November 14, 1880. September 3, 1864, Mr. Degroff enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Eighty-Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served in the Army of' the Cumberland. While in the service, he lost the hearing of one ear, and contracted other disorders, which annoy him to this day. Mr. Degroff is a member of Brady Lodge, No. 1786, Knights of Honor, and of Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R. In politics, he is a Republican. He had two brothers, Ezekiel and Samuel, in the Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Ezekiel died in hospital, after having undergone the amputation of his left leg, necessi-

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tated by a wound received in front of Atlanta. Samuel was slightly wounded in his left hand a few days prior to the expiration of his service.

WILLIAM M. DENMAN, M. D., was born in Knox County, Ohio, September 16, 1846, and is the eldest of the four sons of Elisha G. and Elmira (Morrison) Denman, both natives of Ohio. In the fall of 1852, the elder Denman settled on eighty acres of unimproved land in Mill Creek Township, this county, and from time to time added to it until he became the owner of between three hundred and four hundred acres in this and the adjoining county of Fulton. a great portion of which he subsequently deeded to his sons. Here he died March 21, 1877. Although a Democrat, he was elected in this, a Republican county, to the office of County Treasurer, and as Representative for four years of Williams, Defiance and Paulding Counties in the General Assembly, and besides held several other offices of trust and honor. William M. Denman in early life went through a select course of studies at Adrian College, and for several terms taught school in this county and in Fulton. In 1867, he began the study of medicine with his uncle, W. C. Morrison, of West. Unity, and graduated from Starling Medical. College of Columbus in 1870. He then practiced a year at Bridgewater Centre, in company with Dr. Lamson ; then one year at Lyons, Fulton County, with Dr. Mann, and in September, 1872, came to West Unity and purchased a drug store, which he has since conducted in connection with his practice. In 1881, he took a half-interest in a dry goods store, in partnership with his brother, Leroy Denman, at Montpelier, which interest he still retains. September 30, 1875, he married Miss Mary Skiles, daughter of John Skiles, of Huntington. Mr. Denman is a member of Superior Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M., of North West Chapter, No. 45, R. A. M., and of Defiance Commandery, No. 30, K. T.

ADAM DRUM was born in Bavaria, Germany, March 10, 1827, and is next to the youngest child in a family of ten born to Frederick C. ''and Catharine E. (Bower) Drum, both also natives of Germany, where Frederick was accidentally drowned in a river on his own farm, when Adam was about seventeen years of age. Adam, who had received a fair education in his native land, emigrated to America in 1845, and settled in Lycoming County, Penn., where he worked at farming and lumbering for two years. On his way to Lycoming, he took a canal-boat at Harris, burg for Williamsport, but had a misunderstanding with the Captain about the fare, when a German passenger happened to mention the name of a contractor at Williamsport whom Mr. Drum supposed he knew. He at once offered to pay the man to find this contractor, then in Harrisburg, who, when found, proved to be an old friend from Germany. The question of fare was soon settled by him, and all arrangements made for

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the comfort of Mr. Drum and other German passengers on their trip to Williamsport. In 1847, Mr. Drum, with his mother and sister, came to Brady Township, where he worked at Johnson's Mill for three months; he then returned to Lycoming County, Penn., where he bought a farm, and resided there until 1863, when he sold out and came back to Brady Township with his wife and family, and bought a farm of eighty acres upon which he has ever since resided. He was married, June 21, 1852; to Mary Beech, a native of Lycoming County, Penn., and daughter of Baltes and Rosanna (Metzger) Beech, both natives of Pennsylvania. To Mr. and Mrs. Drum have been born twelve children, nine of whom are still living. Mr. Drum was a member of the Lutheran Church when he came from Germany, but became convinced of the necessity of a change of heart, and for two years strove to this end by the abandonment of sundry had habits, but to no avail. Finally, however, he was converted to and became a member of the Evangelical Church, a course which the lady who afterward became his wife had long urged him to take, declining to marry him otherwise. After he came to Williams County, both he and wife united with the German Methodist Church, of which they are still members. Mr. Drum was a Democrat until the breaking-out of the late war, when he became a Republican. His neighbors in Lycoming at this time were strong Democrats, and frequently threatened, and once attempted, to mob him on this account, and this is one reason why he came back to Brady Township. In 1874, Mr. Drum, with four others, organized the "Brady Insurance Company," which now does an extensive business in all the counties of the Maumee Valley, Mr. Drum having been the originator of the scheme

JOHN DRUM was born in Lycoming County, Penn., May 14, 1841, one of the five children now living of Peter and Catharine (Fisher) Drum, natives of Germany. Peter Drum was a farmer and weaver, and came to this country in 1837, and for five years worked in a saw-mill in Lycoming County, then bought and cleared up a farm of 100 acres. In 1853, he sold out and bought another, on which he resided until the fall of 1866,when he came to this township with his family, bought the Ridenhour farm of 145 acres, and prospered until July 23, 1880, when he died from the effects of a fall from a cherry-tree. He was a member of the German Methodist Episcopal Church, and in all his long life never had a lawsuit. John Drum worked for his father until twenty-five years old. He then bought a small, partially improved place in Lycoming County, on which he built a house and resided one year. In the spring of 1867, he came to Springfield Township, this county, where he farmed on shars one year ; then came to Brady Township, and farmed on shares two years ; then went to Mill Creek, and farmed on shares one year. He

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and a brother then bought a farm in Fulton County, and worked it two years, and then, in the spring of 1873, he returned to this township, where he bought a partially improved farm of eighty acres, on which he now lives, having replaced the log cabin with a comfortable dwelling, and thoroughly cleared and improved the farm. He married, in November, 1865, Rachel Dunlap, a native of Centre County, Penn., and to their union have been born six children, of whom five are living, viz., Allen E., Catharine E., Leuellen, Peter and Cora M. Mr. Drum is a member of the German Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics is a Democrat.

AARON C. EATON was born in Belmont County, Ohio, November 19, 1838. His paternal grandfather was born in Loudoun County, Va., and his maternal grandfather, Combs, in New Jersey. His father, Jesse Eaton, is a retired farmer and member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His mother, Mrs. Deborah (Combs) Eaton, died in February, 1873. Aaron Eaton, in his youth, began a preparatory course of study for a professional life under the tutorage of Robert S. Hogue, in Belmont County, Ohio, but his failing health admonished him to avoid sedentary pursuits, and he chose the more healthful occupation of farmer. In January, 1863, he married Miss Caroline Jackson, daughter of James Jackson, of Monroe County, Ohio, and born in 1837. To this marriage were born three boys and two girls---one boy, Willie L., dying in infancy. In the fall of 1866, Mr. Eaton came to this township, and bought the land on which he now resides. His farm is well cultivated and improved with good buildings, and he is surrounded with everything that tends to make life enjoyable. He is a member of the School Board, District No. 4, and his daughter Hattie is a successful teacher.

THOMAS G. ELLIOTT was born in York County, Penn., September 1, 1816, and is the eldest of six children born to William and Ann (Underwood) Elliott. William Elliott was a militia Captain during the war of 1812, but was not in active service. He was afterward Colonel of militia both in Pennsylvania and in Ohio. He brought his family to Stark County, Ohio, in 1817, and located on 163 acres of wild land, which, by hard toil, he converted into a productive farm. Here he died, on his eightieth birthday, February 15, 1860. Thomas G. Elliott rereived a very good education in the district schools and seminaries of Stark County, and at the age of nineteen began clerking in a dry goods store, at which he continued for three. years. He then passed a year at Norwalk Seminary, after which he was engaged as book-keeper in a forwarding and commission house, at Huron, Ohio, and on the lake steamers "Sheldon Thompson," " Columbus" and Great Western," and was thus employed when the last-named vessel was burned in 1840. He then returned to Stark County and entered the dry goods trade, and served

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there as book-keeper about six years; then went to Massillon for three years ; then returned to Stark and adjusted the accounts of his old employers, who had become insolvent. This task he performed to the satisfaction of all concerned. In 1851, he went to Cleveland as book-keeper for Gardner, McMillan & Co., wholesale grocers, whom he served nine years. In 1860, he joined Dr. Morrison in the dry goods business at West Unity ; sold out in 1864 to R. P. Hollington, and then, in 1866, joined that gentleman in the trade, under the firm name of Hollington & Elliott. In 1881, they sold out to Ely & Smith. Mr. Elliott was married, in 1842, to Narcissa Pearce, a native of Norwalk, Ohio, and daughter of Dr. Pearce, of Angola, Ind. For the past eleven years, Mr. Elliott has been both Town and Township Treasurer, and also Treasurer of the American Bible Society. He has had three children born to him - Madison H. (deceased) George P. and William G.

GEORGE ELY traces his descent from Joshua Ely, who came from England in 1685, and purchased a large tract of land in the Province of Western New Jersey, including the site of the present city of Trenton, Joshua Ely had born to him six children by his first wife, one of whom George, was the grandfather of the grandfather of George, the subject of this sketch. George, the grandfather of this subject, was an officer under Washington in the Revolution, and died at Shamokin, Penn., in 1820. His youngest son, Asher, was born in New Jersey, in 1787, and was

the father of our subject, who was born in Shamokin, Penn., March 1, 1812. He came to Knox County, Ohio, in 1826, George coming with him March 5, 1833, George Ely married Elizabeth Folck ; November 1, 1835, be moved to the farm he now occupies in this township, then quite a wilderness, with but $5 in cash. Here he has reared a family of seven children, all yet living except one, George W., who was killed in the battle in front of Atlanta, Ga., in 1864. Mr. Ely was elected Trustee at the first election held in this township ; was afterward twice elected Justice of the Peace. He has also served one term as County Auditor, and for twenty. It years, about, has held the office of Trustee. Mr. Ely's maternal grandfather, Robert Campbell, was of Scotch birth. He was wounded at the battle of Long Island, and carried a musket ball in his thigh till his death, in 1833.

ROBERT W. L. ELY was born in Hunterdon County, N. J., July 2, 1844, and is the fourth of six children born to Ralph and Elizabeth (Wolverton) Ely, natives of the same State and county. In 1848, the elder Mr. Ely brought his family to Brady Township; bought 120 acres of land altogether in a state of nature ; moved into a shed and began clearing up. He soon built himself a fine frame dwelling, which was the first erected in the county. In 1866, he traded this farm for another, a

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mile and a quarter southwest of West Unity, where he now resides ; he has carried on, in addition to farming, wagon and carriage making, undertaking, and for forty years has been an auctioneer, and has also served two years as Township Trustee for Brady. Robert W. L. Ely worked with his father on the farm and in the factories till the age of sixteen. February 14, 1861, he was thrown from a horse and sustained injuries that afflicted him over two years. In June, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under the six months' call, and was mustered out in February, 1864, wearing a Corporal's chevron. In September, 1864, he enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he was a Sergeant, and with which he served till the close of the war. On his return, he engaged in the drug business at West Unity, in "partnership with his brother, George W. They sold out at the end of six months, and Mr. Ely engaged as clerk in the dry goods store of Hamlin & Wiingson ; then clerked for Yesbera & Rolland, and then for Hollington & Elliott. In April, 1881, he and George Smith bought the firm out, and are now conducting the business under the firm name of Ely & Smith, and carry a stock of dry goods, etc., valued at $12,000 to $13,000. November 22, 1868, Mr. Ely married Miss Mellie J. Dowe, of Iinglinois, the daughter of John E. and Bellinda (Rice) Dowe. He is a member of Superior Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M., and of Northwest Chapter, No. 45, R. A. M., and is a self-made man, having acquired all of his property without having received a dollar in assistance.

ARMSTRONG ERVIN was born in. Stark County, Ohio, April 25, 1814, the son of William and Elizabeth (McDowell) Ervin, natives of Pennsylvania and of Irish extraction. At the age of sixteen, he moved with his parents to Wayne County, Ohio, where, October 18, 1836, he married Miss Mary Ann Mowry, daughter of Henry and Catharine (Dampman) Mowry, natives of the Keystone State. Soon after marriage, he moved to Cranberry Township, Crawford Co., Ohio, and, with only an ax as a farming implement, commenced to hew out of the woods a farm, which he finally cleared up. On this land he remained about nineteen years, and moved to Brady Township in November, 1855, and cleared up another farm, on which he is now residing, in the enjoyment of the fruits of his labor, and surrounded with every comfort. He has reared a family of nine children, of whom five only are now living, and none of these are left at home. 'Mr. Ervin is an elder in the Presbyterian Church, of which he has been a member since 1832. In politics, he is a Democrat, and has served as Township Trustee. He is one of Williams County's substantial men, whose word is as good as his signature. He is a successful farmer and stock-raiser, and deals only in the best

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breeds of live stock. His eldest son, William, served two years during the rebellion, in the One Hundred and Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company F, took part in the battle of Nashville and other fights, and returned home unscathed.

JONATHAN FIDLER is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born October 25, 1830. His earlier days were passed in his native State and in Richland County, Ohio. In April, 1852, he came to William County, and March 31, 1853, he married Miss Nancy Lister, who was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, September 1, 1832. This lady's father was born in Delaware April 4, 1792, and her mother in Maryland December 9, 1798, and they were married, May 11, 1815. In 1848, they came to Williams County, where they ended their days. Mr. and Mrs. Fidler began their married life in the village of Pulaski, where their eldest son, William, was born February 16, 1854. The next year they moved to Bryan, where two sons and one daughter were born—Milton, September 18, 1856 ; Joseph, September 16, 1857 ; Ella, August 14, 1860. In 1861, they came to West Unity, and here there have been born to them six children—Susie, November 11, 1862 ; Samuel, March 31, 1864 ; Walter, May 5, 1867 ; Effie and Ettie, September 1, 1869 and Laura, February 4, 1874. These children have all been spared to their parents, with the exception of Ettie, who died in October, 1871 William Fidler was married to Miss Samantha Schooley, December 24, 1879, and has his residence in West Unity ; Joseph Fidler married Miss Callie Swisher in 1880, and resides in Defiance.

EMANUEL FIGGINS is the fourth of a family of five children born to Samuel and Lydia (Fiddler) Figgins ; is a native of Brady Township, and was born October 30, 1855. His father and mother are natives of Richland County, Ohio, and of Pennsylvania. They were married in Richland County, April 16, 1846, and there the father worked for a time in a woolen factory, near Mansfield, and afterward engaged in farming on shares. About 1850, he came with his wife and family to this township, bought eighty acres of unimproved land, built a cabin, and cleared up a farm, which is now highly improved and is owned by Emanuel, Mr. Figgins having died August 16, 1879, a prominent member of the M. E. Church. Mrs. Lydia Figgins, also a member of the Methodist Church, died May 8, 1877. Emanuel Figgins received a fair education in his youth, and on June 4, 1876, married Sophena Altaffer, a native of Jefferson Township, this county, and daughter of Frederick and Sarah A. (Meng) Altaffer, natives, respectively, of Virginia and Richland County Ohio. The three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Figgins are named Samuel F., Clinton 0. and Bertha May. Mr. Figgins is a Republican in politics, and he is one of the enterprising young farmers of Brady.

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GEORGE W. FINCH, M. D. (deceased). Something over thirty-six years ago, Dr. George W. Finch and wife came to West Unity, his worldly possessions consisting of a horse and $10 in cash. The cash, with the exception of 50 cents, he expended for medicines, and immediately began the practice of his profession. He rapidly rose in the confidence and esteem of the people, and erelong had an extensive and lucrative practice. The year following his arrival, he erected an office, and soon after, on the same lot, constructed what at that time was thought a fine residence. Dr. Finch was born in Belmont County, Ohio, June 15, 1819, and was a son of Nathaniel Finch, a native of New Jersey, and of Scotch and Irish descent. At the age of three, George W. was taken by his parents to Richland County, where his youth was passed on his father's farm. He was educated at Delaware College, and at the age of twenty-two commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Teagarden, of Mansfield ; and, after graduating, began practice at Frederickstown, Ohio. He was first married to Mary Morrow, a native of Richland County, who bore him five children, two of whom only ate now living—George W. and Mary M. Mrs. Finch died at her home in West Unity, in September, 1865, a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. January 1, 1877, .Dr. Finch married Mrs. Lucy E., widow of Dr. Samuel Eckis, but shortly after died at his home, July 13, 1879. He was a member of the order of A., F. & A. M., and was a fine scholar, a superior physician and a high-minded gentleman. His widow, Mrs. Lucy E. Finch, was born in Ellsworth, Mahoning County, Ohio, April 17, 1823, and -is a daughter of James and Mary (Smith) Byers, American born, but of Scotch ancestry. She was educated at an Academy in Atwater, Ohio, and at the age of twenty-three married Samuel Eckis. They read medicine together, and graduated in the same class at Cincinnati, in 1852, and together practiced medicine for several years in Southern Illinois, where, in 1859, Dr. Eckis died. After his death, Mrs. Eckis taught school for several years in Southern Ohio and Indiana. In 1864, she came to West Unity, and was employed as the Principal of the High School for three years—until her marriage with Dr. Finch—after which she became the almost constant companion of the Doctor in his office and in his practice. At ilia death, she took up and has since continued the extensive practice left by him, and has met with marked and unusual success. She is well skilled in her profession, and is a lady of fine literary attainments.

GEORGE W. GRINDLE was born in Wayne County, Ohio, March 16, 1836, and is the oldest of the five living children of Abraham and Susanna (Gill) Grindle, of Cumberland County, Penn. Abraham Grindle tame to this State when a young man ; was married in Wayne County ; -was engaged in various pursuits in different parts of the State until 1864,

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when he came to West Unity, where he is living, retired, at the age of seventy-four. He is now, and has been for fifty years, a member of the Church of God. George W. Grindle enlisted in August, 1861, as a private in Company I, Sixteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the greater part of which company he had recruited. In August, 1862, he was promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant, and transferred to the regular Quartermaster's Department ; next, he was detailed as Orderly on Gen. Nelson's staff, and at the commencement of the Vicksburg campaign, in 1863, was attached to the staff of Gen. Dacorda as Orderly, and afterward to that of Gen. McClernand, by whom he was promoted to a Second Lieutenancy. In December, 1863, he was appointed Deputy Provost Marshal of the Fourteenth Ohio District, under Capt. Drake ; was returned to the Quartermaster's Department at Nashville in August, 1864 ; he resigned in November, and in January, 1865, came back to West Unity and recruited three companies in this and Fulton Counties ; he was commissioned First Lieutenant, April 13, 1865, and was mustered out in September, 1865. Mr. Grindle has been three times married, and is now engaged in the stationery business at West Unity. He is one of the charter members of Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R.

WILLIAM B. HAGER was born in Vermont, March 15, 1819, one of the seven children of Simeon and Mary (Baldwin) Hager, natives respectively of Massachusetts and Vermont. The father was a Revolutionary soldier, and was under Washington at the battle of Yorktown, Va. He came to Union County, Ohio, in 1820, and afterward moved to Madison County, where he died in 1843. W. B. Hager, though receiving only the ordinary education in the log schoolhouse of his youth, is a man of extensive reading, and is well informed in general matters. In 1848, he left the homestead, which had been willed to him and his youngest brother, and engaged in the tanning business in Union County, Ohio with a brother-in-law, William McCune. In 1855, he came to Montpelier, this county, and operated a flouring-mill and woolen factory till September, 1861, when he enlisted in Company E, Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; was soon appointed Drum Major, and as such served till October, 1862, when failing health necessitated his discharge. Immediately thereafter, he received a Lieutenant's commission and was detailed to recruiting service, and so served till the close of the war. In 1862, he moved to West Unity, and operated a woolen mill at that point from 1865 to 1880, when he was appointed to his present position of second assistant engineer at the State House in Columbus. He was ma in 1843, to Miss Amanda Pennington, of Union County, Ohio, daughter of Thomas and Ann E. (Holliway) Pennington, and by became the father of three children. Mr. Hager has been a Notary

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Public and Township Clerk for Brady Township for several years. He, as well as his wife, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a local preacher. Also a member of Superior Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M., and of Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R. He is a local writer of some note, and in 1853 published a volume of poems, entitled " The Green Mountain Buckeye's Lament."

FRANK O. HART, M. D., was born in Pulaski Township, this county, May 22, 1855, and is the eldest of the three children of Julius Q. and Martha M. (Fish) Hart. Julius C. Hart was of New England ancestry, and a direct descendant of John Hart, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. One of the Hart family received a large military land grant on the Western Reserve, in payment for services rendered during the Revolutionary Struggle, and to this, with many of his relatives, he emigrated at a very early day. Julius C. Hart came to this township with his parents when but a small boy, and was here reared amid all the hardships and privations of a frontier life. He taught several terms of school in this and Fulton Counties, and in the fall of 1861 he enlisted as a private in Company E, Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served till the close of the war, when he was appointed United States Detective for Tennessee. He died at Nashville, May 1, 1870, and was buried with Masonic honors. Frank 0. Hart was educated at the Shelby High School, in Richland County, Ohio, and in September, 1873, commenced the study of medicine with Dr. J. C. Clay, at Shelby He graduated at Cincinnati in 1877, and at once began practice at West Unity, where ever since he has been meeting with every success. He has a fine library, and is a posessor of one of the rarest collections of relics of the Mound-Builders to be found in the United States. December 19, 1878, he married Celesta A. Arter, a native of Crawford County, Ohio, and daughter of C. M. and Harriet (Beam) Arter. The Doctor is an Odd Fellow, and a member of the Patriarchal Circle, and in 1880 was elected Coroner of the County by the Republicans. He is the father of one child—Lena M., born January 1, 1882.

BENJ. HARTMAN is the second of a family of ten children, six of whom are still living, born to Henry H. and Leah (Lookinbill) Hartman, natives respectively of Perry and Berks, Counties, Penn. He was born in Berks County, Penn., January 15, 1831. Henry H. Hartman, between the ages of sixteen and twenty, worked at the carpenter's trade, and for two years after at coffee-mill manufacturing, near Pottsville ; he then went to Perry County, bought an eighty-acre farm, sold out in 1846, and went to Cumberland County, where he engaged in farming until 1854, when he came to West Unity and operated an ashery for two years ; he then built a distillery at t e place, which he ran for about two years,

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and then retired from active business to his farm of eighty acres northwest of the town. He was three times married—first, in Pennsylvania, to the mother of Benjamin, who died in 1843 ; second, to Anna McFarlin, who died at West Unity, in October, 1878 ; third, to Mrs. Susan Crum, in April, 1879. Benj. Hartman worked with his father until twenty-one years of age ; then worked for a year in a tan factory, and then, in 1852, came to Brady Township, where he worked out for years. In 1856, he bought an unimproved farm, which now comprises 110 acres, all under a high state of cultivation and well improved. He also purchased other land, which he has deeded to his children. He was married in January, 1858, to Lavinia A. Shoemaker, a native of Summit County, Ohio, and daughter of John and Anna (Belford) Shoemaker, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Hartman have had six children, five of whom are still living—John H. George R., Edward, Jacob and Cora M. In politics, Mr. H. is a Democrat, and is an enterprising citizen.

ALMON W. HAYES is the eldest of five children born to Almon and Esther C. (Betts) Hayes, natives of Hartford County, Conn. Almon Hayes, Sr., was a blacksmith, and came with his wife to Richland County, Ohio, in July, 1820, where, on the 13th of September following, Almon W. Hayes was born. Mr. Hayes entered a tract of 100 acres in Richland, then an unbroken forest, built a log cabin and cleared up a farm and there resided until his death in 1856. He had been School Examiner for five years, and for many years was a member of the M. E. Church, of which his widow, who still resides on the homestead, is also a member. Almon W. Hayes worked oil his father's farm and in the blacksmith shop until 1844, when he came to Brady Township, where he bought eighty acres of unimproved land, built a cabin, and put in a crop of wheat, and in 1846, brought in his family. He still occupies this land, which is well improved. Mr. Hayes. assisted in building the first schoolhouse in his district, which was the third built in the township. He dug the first grave in the cemetery near his home in September, 1849, and the last one July 25, 1882; in all, he has dug 412 graves in this cemetery. Mr. Hayes was the first to discover, concealed in a hollow log, the body of of little David Schamp, who was murdered in 1847, by Daniel Heckerthorn and Andrew Tyler, an account of which will be found on page 241 in the historical department of this volume; and also assisted in the arrest of Tyler. Mr. Hayes was married, March 4, 1846, to Angeline Warren, a native of Geauga County, Ohio, and daughter of Orrin and Experience (Bartlett) Warren, natives of Vermont and Connecticut. Mr. Hayes is a Republican, and he and wife are members of the Evangelical Association. They have had born to them nine children, the youngest four of whom are still living

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HINMAN & SON, undertakers. Richard Hinman, the senior partner of this firm, was born in Hartford County, Conn., June 25, 1805. His parents, Ared and Polly (Richards) Hinman, also natives of Connecticut, came to Ashtabula County, this. State, in 1831, but, owing to the hostility of the Indians, returned as far as New York State, where they remained four years, and then came back to Ashtabula ; resided there thirteen years ; moved thence to Beaver County, Penn., and then to Licking County, Ohio, where the father died in 1850 ; the mother died, November 1, 1858, at West Unity. At the age of nineteen, Richard Hinman began to learn the carpenter's and joiner's trade at Morgan, Ohio ; served two years and a half, and then joined Lester Stevens in the manufacture of farming-mills, and subsequently carried on the same business at various other points. October 1, 1829, he married Miss Electa Root, daughter of William and Abigail Root. She was born in Connecticut, May 12, 1811, and bore her husband a daughter and a son—Caroline, born August 21, 1829 (died May 8, 1843), and William, born in Medina County, Ohio, October 1, 1831. Richard Hinman came to West Unity in 1852 ; commenced work at carpentering, but soon after started undertaking, at which he is still engaged. Wiingliam Hinman, the junior partner, married, September 28, 1875, Miss Viola Coffee, daughter of Milton and Tacy (Haycock) Coffee, and to their union three children have been born—K. Pearl, Fidelia and Blanch Clio. William enlisted in the Third Ohio Cavalry August 20, 1861 ; took part in the battle of Shiloh, the pursuit and capture of John Morgan, the battle of Missionary Ridge, and many other skirmishes and light engagements. He was discharged under General Order No. 126, War Department, in August, 1862. He re-enlisted in the same company and regiment in 1864, and served till the close of the war, and was in the party that pursued and captured Jeff. Davis. He was mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., June 17, 1865. In politics, he is a Republican, a member of Lodge, No. 179, F. & A. M., and of Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R.

RICHARD P. HOLLINGTON, retired merchant, was born in Worcestershire, England, March 28, 1822, the eldest of five children of Joseph and Mary (Perry) Hollington. The Hollingtons were remarkable for their longevity, and the grandmother of Richard P. reached the age of one hundred and four years. On her one hundredth birthday, she walked one mile and a half to visit her daughter, returning also on foot. Joseph Hollinger was a soap and candle manufacturer, and also a wholesale grocer at Redditch. In 1833, he came with his wife and five children to this country and settled in Wood County, Ohio, then a wild country, where he entered 400 acres of land one mile south of Bowling Green, built a two-story log house and cleared a farm, and here died in

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1848. Although not a member, he was a regular attendant at church, was strictly moral and deeply religious. He was a fine scholar, an excellent actor and a wonderful vocalist, having a strong, clear and melodious voice that ranged through three octaves, and at one time he had been offered liberal inducements to appear on the London stage. Richard P. Hollington received a very fair education in his native land, and in the seminaries of this country, and at the time of his father's death was at Berea, Ohio, attending school. He was appointed administrator of the estate, and performed his duties to the satisfaction of all concerned. He then engaged in the stock business for two and a half years on his own account, and as agent for a Cleveland firm ; and then went to Delta, Fulton County, and entered a general mercantile business and the man manufacture of pot and pearl ash, in company with J. P. Gates, under the firm name of Gates & Hollington ; a year later, moved to Johnson's Mills, same county, and took charge of a branch house, under the firm name of Hollington & Gates ; two years afterward, engaged in the same business in Burlington with John Lutes, under the style of Hollington & Lutes; four years after, he sold out and bought Johnson's flouring-mill and saw-mill in the same county, which he ran about three years. In the fall of 1860, he came to West Unity and resumed general merchandising, and in 1865 or 1866, associated with him Mr. Elliott, under the firm name of Hollington & Elliott ; in April, 1881, he disposed of his mercantile business and retired. During all this time, he had been transacting a real estate business on his own account, having bought and sold over twenty farms in Fulton and Wood Counties, besides property in Toledo, Wauseon, and Burlington. He is at present owner of several large farms in Williams, Wood and Fulton Counties and much valuable town property, and his residence at West Unity is the finest in the county. Mrs. H. was married, in 1849, to Mary A. Cummings, a native of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and daughter of Joseph and Lucy Cummings, of New England descent. To this marriage there has been left but one child, John A. Both Mr. and Mrs. H. are members of the M. E. Church, of which for about twenty-five sears he has been a Steward, and never yet has he permitted a pastor to depart without receiving his salary. He is a Freemason, and in politics is a Republican, but no office seeker, and has repeatedly refused any remunerative office in town, county or State.

ANDREW J. HOOVER was born in Cumberland County, Penn., October 1, 1846, the second child in the family of six born to George W. and Rebecca M. Hoover. The family came to Williams County in 1852 and at the age of eighteen Andrew was apprenticed to Davis & Snedaker, tinners, at West Unity, and served three years. He then made a trip for a year to Kansas and Nebraska, and on his return entered the employ

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of the same firm. Two years later, he formed a copartnership with W. H. Shepherd, and bought out Davis & Snedaker; ran the business. about eighteen months, and then sold to Grisier Brothers in 1874. He purchased the stock of tin and tools, and is now conducting a first-class hardware, tin and agricultural implement store. From 1876 to 1880, he served in the Common Council ; in 1879 and 1880, was Township Trustee ; in 1881, was Township Clerk, and was re-elected in 1882. October 20, 1872, Mr. Hoover married Miss Alice Ronk, daughter of James and Mary (Money) Ronk, and born in Fairfax County, Va., January 13, 1853. The children born to this marriage are Claud Earle and Arthur Guy. George W. Hoover, father of our subject, served during the late war in the One Hundred and Ninety-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was in the army of the Potomac. His mother, Mrs. Rebecca M. Hoover, died in Mill Creek Township, December 1, 1877, and her remains lie in the Master's Cemetery, four miles northeast of West Unity. His maternal grandfather, David M. Baird, died in 1873, and was buried in the Schiffier Graveyard.

ALONZO R. HYATT was born in Lockport, Brady Township, September 7, 1846, and is the eldest of the four children of Seth B. and Eleanor (Bodel) Hyatt, natives of Wayne and Ross Counties, this State. Seth B. Hyatt came to Brady Township about 1843 ; taught school a few years ; was elected County Surveyor, which office he filled for fifteen or sixteen years, and here was married. Mrs. Eleanor Hyatt died in February, 1855, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Hyatt then moved to Bryan, and engaged in the grocery trade. In May, 1856, he married Miss Emily Keeler, a native of Huron County, Ohio, and daughter of Louis and Rebecca (Stephens) Keeler, of England. In the spring of 1857, Mr. Hyatt withdrew from trade, and retired to his farm in the township ; but in 1864 returned to town, where he has since been engaged in the brokerage business. Alonzo R. Hyatt received a fair education when young, and worked on his father's farm until January, 1864, when he enlisted in Company C, Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served with his regiment until the close of the war, participating in all the battles of the Atlanta campaign, and receiving a severe wound in the left thigh at Jonesboro. He was mustered out at Cleveland, in August, 1865, and then worked at various points in Ohio and Indiana for several years. December 2, 1873, he married Emily L., daughter of Lemuel M. and Melisendra (Hart) Boothman, and native of Jefferson Township, this county. In March, 1874, he moved upon the old farm in Brady, and there he still resides. He is the father of two living children --Donald A. and Conroy E., and there was one born to him now

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deceased. In politics, Mr. Hyatt is a Republican, and his family is among the highly respected of the township.

MATTHIAS KELLY, son of John and Christina (Brothers) Kelly, was born in Stark County, Ohio, October 18, 1827. He is a woolen manufacturer, and began learning his trade at fifteen, and followed it until he came to this county in 1851. Then he went into the lumbering trade in Pulaski Township, and was quite successful for thirteen years. In 1866, he engaged again in the wool carding, cloth dressing and dyeing business in Pioneer, and in 1868, with others, erected a large mill. This last venture did not prove satisfactory, and Mr. Kelly sold out and moved to Bryan. Eighteen months later, he returned to Pioneer, and with a partner again ventured in milling. This did not pay as well as expected. He sold his interest and came to West Unity, in 1878, and took charge of the woolen mill here, of which he has had the superintendence ever since. In the spring of 1881, he started eight hose-knitting machine which were destroyed by fire, August 14, 1882, but soon replaced. Of these machines Mrs. Kelly has sole charge. December 5, 1850, he married Miss Caroline L. Allis, born in Hampshire County, Mass., October 3, 1831, and daughter of Lemuel and Lydia L. (Beals) Allis. She came to Ohio at the age of three, had the advantage of an academic education began teaching at the age of fifteen, and so continued until her marriage. She has borne her husband six children, three of whom are living - Edwin R., Ida P. and Howard Burt.

STANLEY KENT, Postmaster of West Unity, was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, August 3, 1832. He is a son of Dr. Thomas Kent of Bryan, one of the foremost physicians of Williams County, whose biography will be found in another part of this work. Stanley Kent was educated at Bryan, and at the age of sixteen began to learn to be a cabinet-maker. After finishing his apprenticeship, he worked two years as journeyman and then set up in business for himself. In 1851, he came to West Unify and entered the dry goods store of A. J. Tressler as clerk and remained with him till he sold out in 1860; then engaged with Mr. R. P. Hollington, successor of Mr. Tressler, with whom he remained till 1866; then formed a copartnership with D. C. Baxter and carried on trade under the firm name of Baxter & Kent until 1871, when Mr. Baxter accepted the position of cashier in the First National Bank of Bryan ; he then formed a partnership with E. C. Orton in the dry goods and general merchandise trade, and in 1874 bought out his partner's interest and continued the business until 1876, when reverses caused him to suspend until 1880, when he resumed the business and continued it till he sold out to A. P. Grisier. In August, 1881, he started the grocery trade in connection with the post office, the appointment to which latter he re-

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ceived in November, 1871, and which he still retains. March 16, 1859, he married Miss Sarah J. Baxter, who was born in Richland County, Ohio, in 1835, and to their union have born two children, viz.: Leland B., September 13, 1861; and Frank A., June 19, 1864. Mr. Kent is an active business man and a public-spirited citizen, and in politics is a Republican.

JOHN H. KUNKEL, a native of Perry County, Penn., was born January 26, 1826, and was the second of the six children of Henry H. and Catherine (Stone) Kunkel, both natives of Reading, Penn. Henry H. was a soldier in the war of 1812, and his father, Jacob Kunkel, served seven years as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. In 1852, Henry H. came to Williams County, and here made his home with his children until his death in 1876. John H. Kunkel learned the trade of a tailor, and also acquired a knowledge of farming in his youth, and, at the age of seventeen located in Shelby, Ohio, and then went to Mansfield, where he learned the carpenter's trade. In 1841, he came to Brady Township, where he bought eighty acres of unimproved land, cleared up, and built a cabin, and by degrees increased his farm to 255 acres, eighty of which he has deeded to his son. In 1844, he returned to Shelby and married Sarah Blocker, a daughter of Jonas and Catharine (Oler) Blocker, and born near Shelby. This lady died in 1845, leaving one child. In 1848, Mr. Kunkel married Lavinia Bargahiser, a native of Virginia, and daughter of Levi Bargahiser, of the same State. To this union have been born five children—George, Susan (now Mrs. Samuel Swisher), Lavinia (now Mrs. Jacob Denen), Hattie and Levi. For several years Mr. Kunkel served as Township Trustee of Brady, and in politics has always been a Democrat. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, while his wife adheres to the Universalists.

GEORGE L. MARTIN was born in Beaver County, Penn., December 11, 1818, and was the sixth in a family of nine children born to James and Mary (Leasure) Martin, natives of Westmoreland County, Penn. George L. Martin's early days were passed on his father's farm and in attending subscription schools, until, at the age of twenty, he apprenticed himself to a cabinet-maker for three years. For two or three years he followed the business at Darlington, in Beaver County, and then, in the fall of 1843, he came with his wife to this township, where he bought 160 acres of unimproved land, cleared up, and improved his place, so, that now it is one of the best in the township, containing probably the finest fountain in the county. Mr. Martin was married, September 11, 1843, to Miss Mary A. Mahan, a native of Washington County, Penn., and daughter of John B. and Mary (Brown) Mahan, natives of the same county. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have had born unto them seven children,

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viz., Anna (now Mrs. Webster H. Bailey), James E., Robert M., Clarkson F., Mary, Cassius C. and Jessie B. (who died August 31, 1878, in her sixteenth year). Mr. Martin, who is one of the old pioneers, is a stanch Republican, and is and has been for the past nineteen years Trustee of Brady Township. His grandfather was a soldier in the war of the Revolution.

WILLIAM HENDRICKS McGREW, son of Finley and Mary McGrew, was born February 22, 1796, in Adams County, Penn., where he received a very fair education. In 1828, his father, a native of England, with his family came West, halting at Columbiana County, Ohio, where, on the 2d day of March, 1831, William H. married Miss Mary Smith, daughter of Benjamin and Deborah (Yates) Smith, and born August 25, 1810, her parents being native Virginians. In Columbiana County, Finley McGrew died in 1830 ; his wife died in Franklin County, Penn., some years before. W. Hendricks McGrew is the only survivor of a family of six children, of whom he was the youngest. He came to Williams County with his wife and children in 1836, and settled about two miles south of West Unity. Not a stick had been cut by way of clearing the land. He put up a cabin, into which he moved before doors or windows had been put in, and here, surrounded by wolves and other wild animals, he resided until he had cleared up 140 acres. Mr. McGrew has served nine years as Justice of the Peace of Brady, and as Township Trustee fifteen consecutive years, and has always been a public-spirited man. There have been born to him ten children, of whom Finley died in infancy, and Mary at the age of nine ; Nathan and Abraham are living in Iowa, and William in Minnesota; John and George are in the drug trade at West Unity, which they began in 1871, and still continue with increasing patronage. In October, 1865, Mr. McGrew retired from his farm to West Unity, where he enjoys reasonably good health and the repose that comes of well-doing.

WILLIAM C. MILLER was born in Richland County, Ohio, November 10, 1834, next to the oldest of a family of nine children born to John and Rebecca (Carl) Miller, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio John Miller settled in Brady Township when William C. was but six months old, and entered 160 acres of wild land, which he rescued from the wilderness ; sold thirty years later, and moved to Pulaski Township where he resided till 1876 ; sold out again and moved to Waterloo, Ind.; resided there till 1881, and then came to Edgerton, this county, where he now lives. William C. Miller worked with his father till twenty-one years of age, and then began to work out on his own account. He made a trip to California in 1859, and visited Oregon, Washington Territory and Idaho. In the fall of 1863, he returned to Brady Township via

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Panama and New York, and bought 175 acres of land, on which he has ever since resided, increasing it to 255 acres, and bringing it up to the highest standard of cultivation. March 10, 1864, he married Miss Martgaret L. Rowles, a daughter of Alfred M. and Matilda (Green) Rowles, nd a native of Ashland County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the Universalist Church, and are the parents of five children— Edwin U., Carrie B., John, Otis R. and Hernando C. Mr. Miller, when a boy of thirteen, was the first to suggest to Mr. Schamp that his child had been murdered by Heckerthorn and Tyler, a detailed account of which crime will be found in the historical department of this volume.

GEORGE WESLEY MONEY was born on the 16th of March, 1824, in Fairfax County, Va. His father was descended from an intermixture of Irish and English blood ; he was a than of upright character, distinguished for his zeal and fidelity in his religious life, and his patriotic devotion to the perpetuity of the Government and Union of the States, voting against secession in his native State; he soon after forfeited his life, having been shot dead in his own dooryard by a rebel gun. His mother's maiden name was Johnson, descended from an old English family—a familiar name in English history. His maternal grandmother was descended from an intermixture of English and Indian blood. Thus the subject of our sketch is distinctly connected with the " first families of Virginia." In early life Mr. Money, imbibing a hatred for the institution of slavery, left his native State and sought a home in Ohio, living for awhile in Richland County. On the 18th of October, 1849, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Cook, in the village of Waterford, Knox Co., Ohio ; and, in April, 1850, he came to West Unity, living there some eighteen months ; he then removed on the land on which he now resides, then a unbroken forest. His early education was confined to the log schoolhouse of his day, with the addition thereto of a five months' term at the Martinsburg Academy, in Knox County, under the tutorage of Charles Martin in the winter of 1846 and 1847, his room-mate being William Windom, now in the United States Senate from Minnesota, whose friendship has been abiding ever since. Soon after his removal to West Unity, he was elected to the office of Township Clerk, which office he filled for several years until, in 1854, he was elected Justice of the Peace of Brady Township (his commission being signed by Gov. Medill and Secretary William Trevitt), which office he has held nearly twenty-one years. He now holds a Justice's commission signed by Charles Foster, Governor of Ohio. On the 19th of June, 1875, the Republican party placed Mr. Money at the head of their county ticket as a candidate for Representative in the State Legislature. He was elected, at the following October election, carrying the full Republican vote of the county. At the

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end of his official service in the Legislature, the Bryan Press, in an editorial article relative to the work of the Sixty-second General Assembly, closed by saying : " Our own Representative, Hon. George W. has been always been a most attentive and conscientious member. He has always been in his seat, and has voted right in every instance, so far as we have been able to judge. He has been somewhat of a silent member, but an active one nevertheless—and this is the highest order of usefulness. If we are always as well represented, we shall never have much reason to compplain.” In 1875, Mr. Money assisted in organizing the Mutual Brady Fire Insurance Company, which is still in a prosperous condition. He was elected its first Treasurer, and has held that office ever since. While a member of the Legislature he drafted the law under which it and all similar companies in the State have received their charters, and by the active co-operation of the Hon. John Fenton of Fulton County, who introduced the bill, secured its passage, and no Legislature has since sought to amend its provisions. In 1880, he also assisted in organizing at Wauseon, Fulton Co., Ohio, the Tri-State Cattle-Breeders' Association for the improvement of stock in general, by encouraging the introduction and raising of thorough bred cattle, and has been one of its Directors and also its Treasurer since its organization. Mr. Money ranks among the most industrious and enterprising farmers of Williams County. Of him, the late John Rings, of West Unity, said it was a pity that such men as Money should ever grow old in this world, he loves to work so well, while we have so many that do not like to work at all." On the 19th of January, 1870, Mr. Money lost by death the wife and companion of his early manhood , who left two children—a daughter and son, the daughter dying May 17, 1876. On the 18th of October, 1870, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Thrap, of Putnam County, Ohio, a lady near his own age. But this biographical sketch will be but an imperfect record of Mr. Money's life-work without some allusion to his moral worth and religious life and character, for these are the essential elements of every true and noble record. And it is but a just tribute to his sainted mother to say that to no human instrumentality is he so much indebted for that moral and religious manhood, he who has attained in life as to the vivid and ever living presence of a mother’s fidelity to the moral and religious law of her being—her prayers have been like an ever-present altar of burning incense all along the pathway of his life—that has kept burning as an inspiration for a better life in heaven, and a rejoicing together with that mother over victories won on the battlefields of earth. From his earliest recollection both his parents were members of the M. E. Church, so that it may be said, that, according to primitive Methodistic usage, he was baptized and born in that church; and, at the age of nineteen, by voluntary choice he became a communicant in

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the church in which his parents had found a religious home. Yet in all his religious life he never has cultivated any very strong affiliations for any one religious body or organization, but, wherever in the wide brotherhood of man he has been able to see Christ's image and likeness, there his heart has responded to the Christian brotherhood of a universal Christian Church. Of his religious life, a Brother minister has thus written : " Brother G. W. Money, by an earnest and devoted life to the cause of the Master, and the manifestation of powers sufficient in the eyes of the Church to mark him as one fit for the sacred duties of the ministry, she licensed him as a local preacher February 29, 1852, which relation he sustained for four years, when, in the fall of 1856, he entered the traveling connection, and, for five years, performed the arduous duties incidental to large circuits, preaching at private dwellings and in log schoolhouses in Northwestern Ohio. And through the labors and exposures confronting him in his path of duty, bronchitis seized him in a very acute form for its victim, compelling him to quit the active work for a season until health would be restored ; and, in the meantime, he gave up his chosen vocation—the active ministry. But while he has not been subject to the call of the Conference and the appointing power, he listened and gave heed to the voice of the people ; and, at their call, he has and is still going over a large circuit,' to speak words of consolation and hope to those bereft of their loved ones; and, in this relation, he is indeed the servant of the people—especially the non-church-going people. And it will fall within the bounds of truth to say that, for the last twenty years, Brother Money has attended as a minister more funerals than any other man in the county." And now, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, the active powers of his mind and body have been able to meet the varied responsibilities of life, and discharge them in a way that has met the voice of an approving conscience and the general approbation of the public mind. And now his highest aspiration is to so fill up the residue of his earthly life as to leave an untarnished record and character to all his fellow-citizens that shall. survive him. Of the membership of the church, with whom he united in April, 1850, in West Unity, all have either died or removed away, so that he only now lives as a representative of the organization of that date.

GEORGE H. MORE, born in Bavaria, July 12, 1830, was the second son of a family of six children, five boys and one girl. His father, George More, died December 22, 1862, aged sixty-four years, and his mother in 1868, aged sixty-seven. At the age of fifteen, George H. began working out in his native land. May 12, 1848, he took a steamer at Bingen on the Rhine, and at Rotterdam embarked for London ; there he took passage on a sailing vessel, and after a boisterous voyage reached

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New York June 24, 1848 ; thence he went by rail to Buffalo ; thence by way of the lakes to Toledo, and from the latter point came to West Unity on foot, arriving here July 5. October 31, 1852, he married Miss Catherine Bohner, whose father, Jacob Bohner, was one of the first settlers of Williams County. She was born in Pennsylvania January 31, 1830. To this marriage nine children have been born as follows : Jacob Ellwood, June 2, 1834 ; George W., November 12, 1856 ; Frank Emerson, January 22, 1859 ; Charles Plemon, July 22, 1861; Wilson Elllsworth, February 15, 1864 ; William B., May 16, 1866 ; Cora Bell, August 31, 1868 ; Nora Alice, November 5, 1872 ; Wilford Clement, January 23, 1874. Of these, Charles Plemon came to his death August 22, 1866, by kick from his horse ; George W. died February 8, 1882. Their remains lie interred in the German Grove Cemetery, two miles south of West Unity. Mr. More, in conjunction with his son Ellsworth, carries on a foundry and machine shop. The son is admitted to be one the best machinists in the State, and is the inventor of several useful machines. Both father and son are musicians and members of the West Unity Band.

LOUIS E. NEIL was born in Wayne County, Ohio, November 28, 1844, and is one of the six children of James and Mary (Noggle) Neil, both natives of Pennsylvania. James Neil, when eight years old, was brought to Wayne County by his parents ; here he was married, and shortly after moved to Richland County and became an itinerant preacher in the Church of God ; in 1857, he came with his wife and family to Jefferson Township, this county ; bought 100 acres of wild land, which he cleared and improved, and recently sold for $7,000. He is still living in the county. Louis E. Neil worked with his father till September, 1863, when he enlisted in Company H, Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; served through the war, and was mustered out at Cleveland in July, 1865. He was in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, in the Atlanta campaign, and with Sherman in his great " march to the sea." At Chattanooga, he contracted a lung fever, from which he has never fully recovered. On his return home, he worked on his father's farm, and at carpentering and painting for several years ; in 1876, he came to Bridgewater Township, this county, where he bought a farm of eighty acres, on which he lived till 1878, when he sold out and went to Cloud County, Kan.; bought forty acres of wild land, on which he built a house, raised a crop, and then, eight months later, moved to St. Clair County, Mo.; worked awhile at his trade and farmed on shares, and in December, 1879, returned to his father's, in Williams County, January 1, 1881; he bought one third interest in a saw-mill, planing-mill and oar factory at West Unity, and is doing a thriving business under the firm name of Grindle & Neil.

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Mr. Neil was married, March 23, 1876, to Julia, Cutshaw, a native of Cook County, Ill., and daughter of Jesse and Polly (Peach) Cutshaw, natives of Pennsylvania. The two children born to Mr. Neil are named Norman E. and Morton J. Mr. Neil is a member of Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R., and he and wife are members of the Church of God.

ELWOOD ALBERT PIFER, son of Michael and Caroline E. Pifer, was born in Williams County March 9, 1854. His parents came from Pennsylvania and settled in Richland County, Ohio, about the year 1830. In 1850, they came to West Unity, where Mr. Pifer opened a harness shop, which he conducted till his death, November 10, 1881. He was born February 7, 1829, and his wife was born April 24 of the same year. Elwood A. Pifer was married March 30, 1875, to Mary E. Zeigtler, whose father came from Pennsylvania, and mother from Germany. Three children are the result of this union--Somerton, born February 14, 1876 ; Clara, December 12, 1877, and Bertha Belle, August 20, 1879. Mr. Pifer learned harness making with his father, and followed that business until May 20, 1882, when he went into the hotel business at the Kenyon House, West Unity, where he remained three months, then purchased the McIntire House and its appurtenances, and is now conducting that famous establishment in a most successful and popular manner.

JAPHETH L. PRICKITT was born in Burlington County, N. J., twenty miles east of Philadelphia, Penn., August 5, 1815, and his ancestors, as far back as he can trace them, were also natives of New Jersey. He was reared a farmer, and came on foot nearly all the way to Clinton County, Ohio, in April, 1838. He was married to Miss Phebe Borton in Wilmington Ohio, December 27, 1838. For four years he worked at cabinet-making in Lumberton, and then moved to a farm he had purchased in Lucas County. Four and a half years later, he came to West Unity, where he had bought the first saw-mill erected in the place, and ran it about twelve years ; he then bought a portable mill, which he ran two years, and then moved on his farm on Section No. 4, where he still resides. Mrs. Prickitt was born in Clinton County, Ohio, on the same day with her husband, August 5, 1815, and her parents also came from New Jersey. She has reared to maturity six children, and has lost three. Two of the sons, Daniel J. and James H., served in Company H, Third Ohio Cavalry, four years, lacking sixteen days, during the late war. James H. sustained such injuries by falling from his horse while on duty as to almost incapacitate him for work since, but otherwise the brothers were uninjured, although always at the post of danger.

REV. JOHN POUCHER was born in Lincolnshire, England, December 10, 1824. His ancestors were English farmers, with the excep-

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tion of his maternal grandmother, who was of French descent, and whose father was a celebrated Baptist minister, and died about the year 1818, Grandfather John Puncher died at Digby, Eng., about 1840 ; father John Poucher died at Cunningsby, Lincolnshire, in 1876. Mother Poucher died in 1854. Rev. John Poucher has been twice married. First of Mary Colton, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Colton, of Lincolnshire November 8, 1842, and to this marriage five children were born—Elizabeth, John Colton, Mary Ann, Sarah Ann and Laura. Mrs. Poucher died in Bowling Green, Wood Co., Ohio, July 19, 1868. His second marriage was with Mrs. John Poe, March 30, 1869. She was born in Massachusetts December 15, 1836; her first husband died during the late war, a prisoner in the hands of the enemy. To this union there were five children born—Frank Carver, Edward Thompson, Nellie Naomah, George Wesley and Robert Colton. Mr. Poucher came to America in the fall of 1854, and passed the winter following in Shanesville, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. In the spring of 1855, he engaged in milling at Bridgewater, this county, and has ever since continued the business, and is now one of the proprietors of Unity Mills, West Unity. He joined the Central Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1857, and is still an honored member, and has charge of the Montpelier Circuit. At the outbreak of the recent war, Mr. Poucher was elected by his regiment, and commissioned by Gov. Tod, Chaplain of the Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which capacity he served till the close of the war. While acting as Post Chaplain at Nashville, Tenn., he received a severe internal injury while assisting a wounded soldier to the cars, and is still a sufferer therefrom ; otherwise he escaped unscathed.

J. C. POUCHER, son of Rev. J. and Mary (Colton) Poucher, was born in Lancashire, England, March 23, 1847. Previous to coming to America, his father was engaged in keeping a bakery and confectionary in Manchester, England. Business reverses, consequent upon the Anglo-Russian war in 1854, caused him to emigrate to our country. On the voyage he experienced a shipwreck, the passengers and crew being rescued by a passing vessel, and carried back to England. He made a second attempt, and arrived in safety in New York, when he moved West living in portions of Ohio and Indiana until 1868, when he came to Williams County. He has been engaged in the ministry for many years. Our subject came to America the same year as his father, but not with him. Previous to coming to Williams County, he had attended school and acted as book-keeper. On coming into the county he settled at West Unity, engaging as book-keeper and salesman for the late G. H. Pearce, during eight years, afterward opening a store, which he still continues, in

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West Unity, having one of the leading dry goods and notion trades in the place. During the present year, he has charge of the late G. H. Pearce's store in Columbia, Ohio. On May 7, 1872, he was married to Clara Stephens, daughter of C. A. Stephens. They have three children— James L., Clara and Pansy. Mr. Poucher is a member of Superior Lodge, 179, A., F. & A. M., West Unity Lodge, 638, I. 0. 0. F. and of Brady Lodge, 1676, K. of H.; also of the Uniformed Camp, of Bryan.

JASON F. RICHARDSON was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, March 15, 1824, the second of the seven children of Richard G. and Anna (Hendrix) Richardson, natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania. Richard G. Richardson was left without a father at the age of fifteen, when he, the eldest child, assumed the care of his widowed mother and three younger brothers and sisters. He bought the interest of the younger children in the homestead of sixty acres, to which he added until he was possessor of 201 acres of well-improved land. This he sold in 1850, and came to this township with his wife, whom he had married in Columbiana County. Here he bought 160 acres, known as the Ridenour farm, on which he resided till his death in 1880. He and wife were members of the Society of Friends, and he had filled the office of Justice of the Peace in Columbiana County for fifteen years. His widow survives him at eighty-three, and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Webb, near West Unity. Jason F. Richardson came, with his parents, to this township, and bought 160 acres of land in its wild condition, on which he erected a small frame house, and has continued to improve the farm down to the present time. In March, 1847, he married Miss Hannah, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Miller) Hester, and a native of Columbiana County, Ohio, and to this union there were born four children—Giddings L., Byron H., Olive B. and Ida M. April 5, 1879, Mrs. Richardson died, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. June 20, 1880, Mr. Richardson married Mrs. Virginia, widow of Dr. Wheeler, and daughter of Thomas and Celeste (Vermilion) Tulley, of Loudoun County, Va. Mr. Richardson was Justice of the Peace for Brady Township for three years, Trustee for several terms, and for a number of years has been a member of the Board of Education. In politics, he is a Republican.

GEORGE RINGS was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., April 25, 1834, and is the son of John and Anna (Brinker) Rings, of German ancestry. His father, John Rings, was born in the same county, September 2, 1804, was a farmer, and also a teamster in the days of six- horse teams. He came to this county in. 1835, and settled on land now partially occupied by the town of West Unity, then a dense forest. Some years after, he had a portion of his land surveyed and laid out into town

lots, started the village July 20,1842, and named it after Pleasant Unity,

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a town in his native county and State. December 8, 1831, he married Miss Anna Brinker, who became the mother of his four children, viz. Catherine, who died in 1840, aged about eight years ; George, the subject of this sketch ; Susannah, now Mrs. Samuel Shafer, of Montcalm County, Mich., and Margaret, now wife of James W. Howard, present Treasurer of Fulton County, Ohio. Mrs. Rings died August 25, 1840, in her thirty-fourth year, and September 7, 1841, Mr. Rings married Rachel C. Hanzey, daughter of Samuel Clifton, and to this marriage six children were born—Anna, now Mrs. Dixon Sindel; William C., who, at the age of seventeen, enlisted in Company H, Third Ohio Cavalry, and died of typhoid fever at Murfreesboro, Tenn.; his remains were brought to West Unity and buried with the honors of war ; John C., of Gratiot, County, Mich. ; Harriet, now Mrs. Fred Spade, of Hillsdale County, Mich. ; Joseph, who died September 7, 1852 ; and Mary E., who married James Walkup and died in February, 1874. Mr. Rings was the first Justice of the Peace elected in Brady Township ; he was elected County Commissioner in 1837, County Treasurer in 1852, re-elected in 1854, and died in his second term, April 18, 1855. He was the part owner of the first saw-mill erected in the village, also one of the owners of the first grist-mill ; at the time of his death was engaged in mercantile pursuits, and was at all times foremost in enterprises tending to the improvement or development of his town and county. George Rings, our subject, has grown to manhood in this township, being hardly a year old when his parents came to the county. He is a farmer and miller, and one of the proprietors of the Unity Woolen Mills and Flouring Mills. He was educated in the first schoolhouse erected in Brady Township, but was able to attend only two or three months in the year ; however, experienced has given him a thoroughly practical education. In politics, he is a Democrat, and in 1858 was nominated for County Auditor, but, neglecting his canvass, was defeated by a small majority in a strongly Republican district ; in 1877, however, he was elected to fill the office by a handsome majority. August 6, 1862, he enlisted as a private in the One Hundredth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but, before being mustered in, was elected First Lieutenant and then appointed Adjutant. He was captured by the enemy near Jonesboro, Tenn., September 8, 1863, incarcerated in Libby Prison for eight months, then taken to Danville, thence to Macon, thence to Charlestown, S. C., where, with about 1,200 Federal officers, he was put under fire of the Union batteries then bombarding the city. Under this fire he was held one month, when the yellow fever broke out, and in September, 1864, he was removed to Columbia. At this point he and O. G. Doughton managed to escape, and after many privations made their way to Sherman's army in front of Savannah. During his

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captivity, he was promoted to a Captaincy, was ordered from Savannah to New York and thence to Washington, where he was granted leave of absence for thirty days. At the expiration of this time, he rejoined his regiment at Wilmington, N. C., and remained with it till the close of the war, when he was mustered out at Cleveland. February 16, 1871, he married Mrs. Kate L. Miller, widow of James H. Miller, daughter, of James Casebeer, of Hicksville, Ohio, and mother of one son, James Haywood Miller, who was born June 29, 1867. By this lady Mr. Rings became the father of five children, viz., George C., born December 4, 1872 ; Mary E., May 25, 1874 ; John Edward, July 20, 1875 ; William C., March 9, 1877 ; and Lucy A., April 6, 1878. Of these, William C. died of cerebro spinal meningitis, April 21, 1882. Mr. Rings is Post Quartermaster of Royer Pogt, No. 109, G. A. R., and is one of the most prominent of West Unity's business men.

JAMES N. RUNNION, M. D., was born in Richland County, Ohio, July 21, 1830, and was next to the youngest of seven children of Joseph and Rachel (Logan) Runnion, natives respectively of Sussex County, N. J., and Washington County, Penn. When a young man, Joseph Runnion crossed the Allegheny Mountains on foot to Washington County, Penn., where he was afterward married. In January, 1820, he moved with his wife and family to Belmont County, Ohio, and settled on eighty acres of land in the wilderness, and passed the first winter in a cabin without either doors or windows. In 1826, he moved to Richland County, and in 1863 came to this township, where he died April 15, 1874. His wife died in Richland County in 1862. Mr. R. was a soldier in the war of 1812, and his father, Conrad Runnion, served seven years in the Revolutionary war under Gen. Washington. James N. Runnion received a good early education, and worked on his father's farm and taught school until 1853, when he began reading medicine with Dr. J. W. Craig, of Ontario, now of Mansfield, Ohio, and graduated at the Western Reserve Medical College of Cleveland, in 1856. After a short practice at Lexington, Johnsville and Shelby, he came to West Unity in 1863, and is now the oldest practitioner in the town. He was married, October 11, 1850, to Minerva A. Dunham, of Richland County, and daughter of Lucius and Mary (Clark) Dunham, and of their offspring there are left two boys and one girl. Mrs. R. died in 1873, a member of the Baptist faith. December 17, 1874, the Doctor married Isabel V. Long, of Knox County, and daughter of Gideon and Sarah (Conaway) Long, and to this union have been born one boy and three girls. The Doctor was a member of the first Town Council of West Unity, and continued a member for several years ; for six years he was Clerk to the

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Board of Education, He belongs to lodge and encampment in the I. O. O. F., is a K. of H., and with his wife is a member of the M. E. Church.

WILLIAM HENRY SHILLING is the son of John Shilling, Jr. and Anna (Hoffmester) Shilling, and was born October 9, 1850. John Shilling, Jr., was born June 24, 1825, the son of John and Catharine (Shillinger) Shilling, natives respectively of Wurtemberg and Lauterbach, Germany. John Shilling, Sr., was married January 22, 1822, and born to him a family of four sons and four daughters, of whom John, Jr., was the second. John, Sr., died at Columbiana, Ohio, August 17, 1880, aged eighty-seven years ; his wife had died at the same place, February 11, 1878, aged seventy-eight years. They came to America when John was about twenty-five years old, and settled in Mahoning County, Ohio. John Shilling, Jr., was reared on the home farm until he was twenty-two years old, and then he learned the milling business at Poland, Mahoning Co. October 25, 1849, he married Miss Hoffmester, by whom he has had the following children-William, born October 9, 1850 ; Matilda, October 4, 1854 ; Celestia Jane, December 2, 1856 ; Curtis E., September 24, 1858 ; Leander S., May 30, 1860 ; Clarissa, September 16, 1862 ; Rachel Catherine, November 10, 1864 ; Mary Etta, February 27, 1868, and John Franklin, November 22, 1871. Mr. Shilling remained it milling until 1853, and then went to farming, which he followed until 1869, when, in addition to farming, he engaged in the sale of agricultural implements. In June, 1875, he formed the project of organizing a mutual fire insurance company, to be known as the " Brady Mutual Fire Insurance Company," and the scheme proved a success, the company now carrying a risk of $1,200,000. Mr. Shilling was made its President, but is now acting as its general agent. William H. Shilling spent his youth on his father's farm, and received a good common-education. January 2, 1869, he married Miss Levine McLaughlin, who was born in Williams County, April 3, 1850, and has borne her husband three children-Charles William, born July 26, 1871; Rachel Catharine. June 10, 1874, and Joseph Edwin, December 16, 1880. Charles William died of spinal fever at West Unity March 13, 1882. In the spring of 1881, William H. Shilling entered into a partnership with his father in the sale of agricultural implements. They erected a suitable building in West Unity, but this was soon after destroyed by fire. With remarkable energy and ceaseless labor, they had another erected, and, ever since the trade has been conducted in a most satisfactory manner. William H. Shilling is also 'Secretary of the "Brady Mutual Fire Insurance Company."

EDMON SHUTT was born irk Lebanon County, Penn., February 20, 1840, and is the second of five children born to George and Lucy A.

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Shutt, natives of the same county. Edmon's mother died when he was eight years old, and until fifteen he worked out for his board and clothes, and then by the month till 1866, at from $6 to $22 per month, when he began farming on shares in Richland County,- Ohio, and so continued for about seven years. In 1874, he brought his wife and children to this township ; bought eighty acres of land ; improved it, and now owns 100 acres in first-class condition. He was married, In Richland County, Ohio, January 18, 1866, to Polly, daughter of Leonard and Catharine (Wertz) May, And a native of Richland County. To this marriage have been born three children—Henry, who died in June, 1868, Anna and Jennie May. Mr. Shutt commenced life with no other fortune than good health and a stout heart, but by industry, economy and integrity, has acquired a competence. He at first went in debt for his farm in this township, but he has not only paid for the original plat, but also for the added acres, which are all now highly improved. In politics, he is a Republican, and he is looked upon as an enterprising farmer.

HENRY J. SMITH was born in Fayette County March 7, 1819, to Jonathan G. and Rachel Smith, and is of German ancestry ; he was reared on a farm, inured to hard labor, and is of remarkably strong constitution. Though now past sixty-three, the gray does,not show in either his hair or beard. Jonathan G. Smith was born in Germany April 22, 1795, and came to America when quite young, locating in Fayette County, Penn., and moving thence to Wayne County, Ohio, in 1822; in 1841, he moved to Richland County, where he died November 20, 1876. Henry J. Smith was married, March 9, 1842, to Miss Mary Ann Moore, and has by her six children—Elizabeth, Mary, Jonathan, Samuel, Margaret and Anna—all now living. Mrs. Smith died February 22, 1876, and in September, 1879, Mr. Smith married Mrs. Lydia (Deauel) Smith, widow of William Smith, who died in Michigan, in 1878. Mr. Smith came to Williams County in May, 1844, and settled in Madison Township, where he resided about five years, and then came to Brady Township ; here he owns a fine farm one and a half miles north of West Unity, well-improved and cultivated ; he gives considerable attention to the rearing of Southdown sheep and other stock, in addition to general farming. Mr. Smith is a member of the Baptist Church, and was baptized by Elder Jones, near Wooster, Ohio, in 1836 ; on, coming here, however, he found no church of his denomination convenient, and so united with the Disciples ; he is the possessor of numerous heirlooms, including a pair of spectacles worn by his great-grandmother, the frames of which contain sufficient metal to furnish six or eight modern pairs, and bas, besides, many similar curiosities hundreds of years old.

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ALLEN SPENCER, born in Harrison County June 8, 1822, was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Turner) Spencer, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Maryland. They were. married in July, 1821, , in Jefferson County, Ohio, and died February 4, 1863, and March 11, 1880, respectively. Allen Spencer married, October 12, 1843, Jane Rockwell, daughter of Justice K. and Miriam Rockwell, and born in Richland County, Ohio, August 7, 1827. To this union seven children have been born, two of whom have been taken by death. Mr. Spencer came to Williams County with his parents at an early day, and remained with them on their farm until his marriage. December 4, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company G, Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served till July 21, 1864, when he was discharged on account of disability incurred in the performance of duty, and now draws a pension, but not one sufficient to support a man unable to do any kind of work he was at the capture of Fort Donelson, the battles of Shiloh, Vicksberg, Champion's Hill, Black River, Jackson, etc. He is a member of Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R.; a member of the United Brethren Church; and in politics is a Republican. In 1839, Mr. Spencer assisted in the survey of the first east and west road laid out through Williams County.

JOHN D. STEIBE is the third in a family of five, and was born in Lycoming County, Penn., October 13, 1841. His parents, Charles L. and Mary (Waltz) Steibe, are natives of Germany, where the father was a baker. In the spring of 1833, Charles L. married, and immediately emigrated to America, arriving with his wife in New York City, where he remained a year and a half; then moved to Lycoming County, Penn., bought a small farm, which he cultivated until 1873, when he came to this township and purchased another farm, which he worked until his death, in 1878. He was at first of the Baptist belief, but afterward united with the Germain Methodists, and died in this faith. John D. Steibe worked with his father until twenty-two years of age, and then engaged for about six years in milling and lumbering. He then a seventy-acre farm in Lycoming County, Penn., on which he resided till 1867, when he sold out and came to Brady Township, where he farmed on shares for two years. In 1869, he bought eighty acres, to which he has since added forty more, and now has as well an improved farm of 12b acres as there is in the township. January 25, 1866, he married Mary A. Drum, a daughter of Peter and Catharine (Fisher) Drum, and a native of Lycoming County, Penn., who has borne him five children—Peter W., Mary E., Gertrude, George W. and Clara E. Mr. and Mrs. Steibe were once members of the Evangelical Church, he having been converted at the age of twenty and she at the age of seventeen; but in 1867 they both found reason to change their religious convictions,

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and joined the German Methodist society, of which they are still consistent members. In politics, Mr. Steibe is a Republican.

TUNIS STIRES is the second of a. family of eleven children, ten now living, born to Jacob and Hannah Stires, and was born in Hunter- don County, N. J., January 16, 1824. He is of German and Scotch descent, and his ancestors, as far as he can trace them, died in Hunter- don County—his father in 1878 and his mother in 1874. Mr. Stires has been three times married—first to Elizabeth Starnar, by whom he had two children (Mary H. A. and John Jacob); second, to Margaret Ann Ely, by whom he had four children ; and third, to Mrs. Nancy J. Olmstead, the daughter of John II. and Lydia B. Cameron, natives of Pennsylvania. Simon M. Cameron, father of John H. and grandfather of Mrs. Stires, was half-brother of the father of ex-Secretary of War, Simon Cameron. Mrs. Stires has four brothers and one sister living, viz.: Robert B. and John S., practicing physicians at Evansport, Ohio ; Simon M., Deputy Clerk of Defiance County ; John W. P., attorney and Clerk of the Court of Defiance County. John S. was wounded at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, and is now a pensioner. Mr. Stires is a member of the Town Council of West Unity and is considered to be one of the reliable business men of the place, and does a thriving trade in pianos, organs, other musical instruments of various descriptions, fancy goods, etc.

JAMES STEVENSON, son of William and Jane (McAlpin) Stevenson, was born in County Down, Ireland, May 27, 1842. His grandfather, James Stevenson, was a Lieutenant of British cavalry, and was wounded at the battle of Corunna, in which Sir John Moore was killed, and his father, William, was born just prior to said battle and during the retreat of the British forces, the wife of Lieut. Stevenson having accompanied her husband on the campaign. William Stevenson came to America in 1831, but returned to Ireland in 1836, was married there in 1841, and again came to this country in 1851 and settled at Pittsburgh. In 1855, he moved to New Lyme, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, where his wife died September 9, 1858, and January 5, 1880, he also died. James Stevenson, at the outbreak of the recent war, was among the first to enlist in the army of the Union. April 25, 1861, old Ben Wade made a speech at West Jefferson, Ohio, calling for volunteers. Wade was the first to sign the enlistment paper's and James Stevenson immediately followed. He was assigned to Company I, Nineteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Capt. W. J. Hoyt, under the first call for 75,000 men. He was at the battle of Rich Mountain and in several skirmishes, and was discharged the following August. The 22d of the same month, he enlisted in Company F, Second Ohio Cavalry. This company had its first engagement

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with Quantrell's guerrillas, near Independence, Mo., next with Marmaduke's forces, at Newtonia, Mo., and next at Cane Hill, Ark. Returning to Columbus, Ohio, to recruit, the regiment subsequently joined Burnside's army, and was all through that officer's campaigns. Mr. Stevenson fell into the hands of the enemy December 22, 1863, and was held prisoner at Andersonville and other points until January, 1865, when he made his escape, rejoined his regiment at St. Louis in July and was mustered out September 18, 1865. He was married, September 30, 1878, to Miss Amanda Stump, who has borne him one - William F., born July 1, 1879.

JOSEPH C. STROCK, son of John and Susan Strock, was born in Franklin County, Penn., May 28, 1830, and came with his parents to' Richland County, Ohio, when but two years old, where he was educated in a log schoolhouse and reared to grubbing, chopping, log-rolling and brush-burning and other hard work. At the age of eighteen, he entered an apprenticeship with Miller & Emerson, harness-makers, of Shelby, Ohio; served two and a half years, then worked as a journeyman two' years, when, his health beginning to fail, he was forced to resume out-door work, and has ever since employed himself at farming. June 17, 1852, he married Miss Rebecca Bargahiser, who was born in Richland County, Ohio, June 9, 1830, the daughter of Levi and Susan Bargahiser, natives of Virginia ; this lady has borne him four children—Charles, Samuel,: Susan and Levi. In 1857, Mr. Strock came to this township and settled on Section 10, where he now has a pleasant and attractive home. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company C, One Hundredth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served as teamster until discharged n 1865, having taken part in the campaigns of Kentucky, East Tennessee and North Carolina.

WILLIAM SWISHER is the seventh of nine children born to John and Barbara (Henry) Swisher; is a native of Cumberland County, Penn., and was born March 8, 1819. His father was a blacksmith and farmer and came with his family to Crawford County, Ohio, in 1826. In 1839, he died while on the road to his old home in Pennsylvania, which he had thought to visit once more, and his widow expired at her home in Crawford County. William Swisher, at the age of twenty-one, cleared up a tract of land his father had given him in Crawford, and seven or eight years later bought the interest of the other heirs in the home farm, which he rented out for a series of years. In 1863, he sold the old farm, and in 1865, disposed of his own and came to Brady Township, where, the previous fall, he had bought a farm of 344 acres. This he has increased to 525 acres, and owns, besides, valuable property in West Unity. In 1840, he married Miss Rebecca Kniseley, a native of Tuscarawas

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County, Ohio, and a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Shanks) Kniseley, also natives of Tuscarawas County. To this marriage ten children have been born, of whom nine are still living. One of these, Samuel K.; served for three years during the late war. Mr. Swisher and wife are members of the U. B. Church, and in politics he is a Democrat. His farm is probably the largest in the county, and it is also the best tilled. Live stock is largely dealt in by Mr. S., and his position as a business man and agriculturist is an enviable one.

EDMOND THOMAS was borne in Bedford County, Penn., March 4, 1810, and is the eighth child of a family of ten born to Frederick and Susan (Koffman) Thomas, natives of the same State. Frederick Thomas, a farmer, came to Wayne County, Ohio, with his wife and family in 1847, and farmed on shares for five years. In the spring of 1852, he came to Springfield Township, this county, and in the following fall moved to Brady, farmed on shares for five years, then for three years in Fulton County, and then, in 1860, bought the farm of eighty acres in this township, on which Edmond now lives, and on which he died April 23, 1881, a member of the German Reformed Church. Edmond Thomas worked for his father till twenty-one, and in October, 1861, enlisted in Company K, Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; took part in the battles of Fort Donelson, Champion's Hill, Raymond, siege of Vicksburg,.. all the battles of the Atlanta campaign, the fight at Jonesboro, and was with Sherman on his famous march ; he was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., in July, 1865, and on his return bought his father's farm in this township, where he has since resided. He was married, September 20, 1869, to Mary M. Kek, a native of Crawford County, Ohio, and a daughter of Andrew and Lavinia Kek, natives respectively of Germany and New York. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have two children—James A. and Charles F. In politics, Mr. T. is a Republican, and is now one of the Trustees of Brady Township.

JOSEPH P. THRUSH was born in Richland County, Ohio, March 22, 1842, and is the son of Jacob and Anna (Nazor) Thursh, natives of Pennsylvania. When a young man, Jacob Trush came to Richland County, where he was afterward married. He bought a small piece of land near Mansfield, on which he built a cabin and began clearing, but sold out in 1831 or 1832, and bought 160 acres about eleven miles west of Mansfield. Here, in the woods, he built another cabin, and in this he and wife passed their lives, she expiring June 5, 1876, and he June 15, 1881. Joseph P. Thrush received an academic education, and has taught six terms of school in Wabash County, Ind., and in Richland and Crawford Counties, Ohio. In August, 1867, he came to West Unity, and was employed as a clerk in the dry goods store of S. Pierce & Son for ten

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years ; then in the store of A. P. Grisier for three years ; then for nearly a year in the store of S. Kent. In the spring of 1880, he took charge of A. P. Grisier's store as business manager, which position he still holds. In 1871, he married Melvina Gamber, a native of this county, and daughter of George W. and Mary A. (Miller) Gamber, of Pennsylvania. One boy and two girls have been the fruit of this union. Mr. Thrush is a member of Superior Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M., of which been the Secretary for the past eight or nine years ; in politics, Democrat, and he is one of the most popular of the rising young business men of the town.

JOHN P. VAUS was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, December 12, 1830, and is the oldest child of Tilghman W. and Elizabeth (Towers) Vaus, both natives of Caroline County, Md. Tilghman Vans went to Pickaway County when a young man, and was there married. In 1837, he came to Brady Township, entered 160 acres of land, built a cabin with puncheon floor and clapboard roof, and here he and family underwent all the privations of pioneer life, but lived to see all the vast forest about him yield to the advance of civilization, and closed his eyes on the regenerated scene March 31, 1880. Mrs. Elizabeth Vaus is still living and residing on the old homestead with her son, our subject. John P. Vaus was reared on the farm till twenty-one, receiving his education in the old log schoolhouse of the district. He cleared up and worked a piece of land he and his father jointly owned in this township, and on this he resided a number of years. April 22, 1855, he married Mary Fickle, a native of Crawford County, Ohio, and daughter of Isaac H. and Nancy (Young) Fickle. To this union have been born three children - Amelia A., now Mrs. Charles B. Cromer ; Nancy E., now Mrs. S Fogle ; Mary E., now Mrs. Samuel Sylvester A. Hillard. In February, 1865, Mr Vans enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until mustered out at Cumberland, Md., July 24, 1865 ; he then resumed farming on his old place, but in 1868 moved to Hillsdale County, Mich, where he bought and cleared up forty acres unimproved land, and farmed until March, 1875, when he returned to Brady Township, where he has ever since resided on the old homestead. Mr, and Mrs. Vaus are members of the Church of God, and in politics he is a Republican. He belongs to one of the oldest families in the township, and is one of its most prominent citizens.

CHARLES VOGLESON, the son of Philip and Elizabeth Vogleson, was born in Adams County, Penn., August 31, 1816. There hearned shoemaking, which trade he followed till 1870. At the age of twenty-two, he married Elizabeth P. Pettit, who was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, September 15, 1816, the daughter of Jacob and Jemima

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(Filler) Pettit, who were born in Pennsylvania in 1775. Her maternal grandfather, Philip Filler, served in the Revolutionary war. To Mr. Vogleson were born eight children, of whom five are still living. One of the deceased, Nelson D., was a Sergeant in Company F, Eighteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and died in June, 1865, from disease contracted in Southern prisons. The names of the other two deceased were Jacob and Daniel. Mr. Vogleson came to Williams County from Hillsdale County, Mich., in 1866. While in Michigan, he was twice elected to the office of Township Clerk and three times elected as School Inspector. He has served two terms as Mayor of West Unity and also has served as a member of the School Board. He is a man of good education, excellent judgment and executive ability. In politics, he is a Republican, and a member of Superior Lodge, No. 179, F. & A. M. He is now carrying on the only bakery in West Unity, supplying this town as well as selling regularly in Stryker.

DAVID M. WEBB is the youngest of twelve children of Thomas and Naomi (Smith) Webb, and was born in. Columbiana County, Ohio, July 20, 1829. Thomas Webb, a native of Virginia, came to Columbiana County, Ohio, when quite a• young man, and here married Miss Smith, a native of Maryland, and both died in Columbiana. David M. Webb left the homestead at the age of nineteen, and for two years hired out as a drover. In 1850, he started a general merchandise business at Fredom, now Alliance, and in 1852, came to West Unity, and built a steam saw-mill, in partnership with his cousin, John M. Webb, and ran it about five years ; then sold his interest and bought fifty-five acres of land, on part of which the town of West Unity now stands. From 1861 or 1862 till 1864, he clerked for George H. Pearce, in his dry goods store in West Unity, and was then employed, till the summer of 1865, in the Quartermaster's Department at Knoxville, Tenn. About 1866, he built, in company with George Ringo and Isaac Grant, the grist-mill at West Unity. A year and a half later, he sold his interest, and went into partnership with W. E. Davidson in the livestock business. In October, 1881, they went into the grocery business together, under the firm name 'of Webb & Davison, and are now carrying on trade in West Unity, making clover seed one of their main staples. Mr. Webb married, October 15, 1853, Miss Nancy A. Grant, a distant relative of Gen. Grant, and daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Chance) Grant, the latter a sister of the famous temperance lecturer, " Broadax." Mr. Webb has no children of his own, but has reared two—a niece, Emma Webb, and Ida Loveless. He has held many public offices and is now a Trustee of Brady Township. He is also a Mason and is quite a prominent business man.

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OSCAR S. WEBB, son of Thomas S. and Sarah (Pinnock) Webb was born in Salem, Columbiana Co., Ohio, July 22, 1846, and came with his parents to this county about 1853, locating first in Jefferson Township, then moving to Fulton County, and thence coming to West Unity about 1858. Oscar was married, in the year 1864, to Miss Julia A. Royer, daughter of George and Susan Royer, and born in Wooster, Wayne Co., Ohio, November 5, 1846. Their children number four, as follows: John C., Worn May 24, 1865; Naoma Della, March 9, 1868 ; Lida May, March 16, 1871; and Arthur Smith, August 12, 1878. Mr. Webb enlisted, September 12, 1864, in the One Hundred and Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and, was assigned to the engineer corps at Nashville, Tenn., and was there present at the defeat of Hood's army in December. At the close of the war, he received his discharge at Columbus, Ohio, July 11, 1865. On his return, he worked at harness-making about nine months; then farmed a year ; then worked four years in the Unity Mills. He then clerked four years in the dry goods store of E. S. Davis, and then returned to the mill, where he has ever since been employed. He is a member of Superior Lodge, No. 179 A., F. & A. M., and also of Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R. A brother of Mr. Webb, John P., was captured at Limestone Station, August 8, 1863, and died a prisoner of war at Belle Island about February 10, 1864. John Royer, a brother of Mrs. 'Webb, was killed in a skirmish near Decatur, Ala., August 7, 1862. Mr. Webb's father, T. S. Webb, died near West Unity, November 9, 1880. His mother still survives.

ALBERT M. WILBER, M. D., was born in Scottsville, Monroe Co., N. Y., October 9, 1836, the son of David S. and Sophronia (Eaton) Wilber, of New York and Vermont, the mother being a descendant of Gen. Eaton, of Revolutionary fame. The elder Mr. Eaton was a cooper and farmer, and is now living retired, at the age of eighty-three. Albert M. Wilber was well educated in his youth, and while a student at Hillsdale College, quit in the middle of the course, in June, 1861, to enlist in Company E, Fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and was with his regiment in all its engagements till the fight at Antietam, where he was wounded in the right leg. He received his discharge December 2, 1862, went to Adrian, Mich., and began the study of medicine with Dr. Charles Rynd. He graduated from the Michigan University in 1865, and in April of that year came to West Unity, where he has been ever since engaged in practice, and has met with excellent success. In February 1867, he married Miss Susan Orton, a native of Richland County, Ohio, and daughter of Treat and Rosetta (Du Bois) Orton, and to this marriage have been born four children—Laura, Orton E., Inez and Edith. The Doctor is a member of Superior Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M., of

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Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R., and of Brady Lodge, No. 1,786, K. of H., of which last he is and has been several years medical examiner. In politics, he is a Republican.

JAMES WIRICK is a native of Richland County, Ohio ; was born April 3, 1817, and is the eldest of sixteen children born to Peter and Deborah (Huntsman) Wirick, natives of Pennsylvania. Peter Wirick went to Richland County when a young man, and was there married. The country was a wilderness and full of Indians, and during the war of 1812 Mr. Wirick and the other settlers were compelled to build and occupy a block-house for self-protection. Mrs. Wirick died in Richland in 1880, and Mr. Wirick in 1882. James Wirick attended school and worked on his father's farm until twenty-one ; then worked out for ten years, and afterward farmed on rented land until 1849, when he came with his wife and family to Brady Township, bought eighty acres of unimproved land, built a cabin and cleared up his farm, which is now well improved. He was married, in 1841, to Miss Mary Shafer, a native of Bedford County, Penn., and daughter of Henry and Catherine Shafer, natives of the same State. James Wirick and wife became the parents of ten children, of whom seven are still living. Mr. Wirick is not a church member, but sympathizes with the Universalists. He is a Republican in politics, and is one of the old settlers of Brady Township.

ADAM YESBERA, a native of Mentz, Province of Darmstadt, Germany, was born August 18, 1829. He received a fair education in his native land, learned the tailor's trade, and after his father's death, in 1848, came to West Unity, where he worked at his trade from 1853 to 1865, when he started a dry goods store, which he conducted in conjunction with tailoring. In 1868, he moved his stock to Edgerton, and there, under the firm name of Yesbera & Rolland, did business till 1869, when he sold his interest in the business and returned to West Unity and opened a clothing store. He was married, May 3, 1851, to Susan Rolland, a native of France, and daughter of George Rolland. She became the mother of four boys and two girls, and died at West Unity December 16, 1862, a member of the Lutheran Church. In 1872, Mr. Yesbera married Mrs. Elizabeth, widow of John Sprague.