350 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY OLIVER BOSTON SELFRIDGE, manager of the Times-Democrat, was born in Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio, and is the second son of O. B. and E. E. Selfridge. With his parents and the other members of their family, he came to Lima in the autumn of 1865, and this city has since been his home„ He received his education in the Lima Union Schools, and, after completing the course, in order to equip himself for his future work in the newspaper field and to become perfectly familiar with all the details pertaining to the publishers' profession, he entered a local printing office and learned the printer's trade in all of its branches. In 1879, in partnership with E. B. Halladay, he began the publication of a Democratic weekly newspaper called the Democratic Times, and five years later during Grover Cleveland's first campaign launched a daily edition of the same newspaper. Five years later this newspaper was consolidated with the Allen County Democrat and the present name Times-Democrat was adopted. In 1887 Mr. Selfridge was married to Anna E. Brice, the eldest sister of the late Senator Calvin S. Bruce. Their children consist of two sons, Oliver Brice Selfridge and Calvin F. Selfridge, aged respectively i6. and 14 years. They are intelligent and courteous young men, with every indication of a great and useful future. The subject of this sketch, in addition to his newspaper work, is identified with a number of Lima's leading business enterprises. He is the controlling spirit in The 0. B. Selfridge Company, a corporation doing an extensive manufacturing business. He is a stockholder in The First National Bank, The Metropolitan Bank, The Lima Trust Company and other enterprises. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Elks and the Knights of Pythias. He is a consistent member of the Market Street Presbyterian Church. Mr. Selfridge has long been recognized as a trenchant writer. His pen has a power not often found in the hands of the country's able editors. His standing as a citizen is of the highest rank and his influence is always found on the side of the common people, stoutly maintaining the integrity of manhood at all times. His guiding hand is constantly seen in the growing city of Lima, and his usefulness extends to all classes and conditions of life. GEORGE H. METHEANY, secretary and manager of The Lima Telephone & Telegraph Company, and also interested in other successful enterprises, was born at Lima, and is a son of Charles A. Metheany. The father of Mr. Metheany was born at Wapakoneta, Auglaize County, Ohio, and came to Lima in boyhood when the present busy, prospering city was only a village. He served for 21 years as chief clerk for the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway, was a water-works trustee, served in the City Council and for a long period was connected with the old Lima National Bank. After a long and useful life he died in 1903. His three sons are : George. H., of this sketch ; A. L., who is assistant city engineer of Lima ; and C. F., who for 20 years was chief clerk of the motive power department of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway. George H. Metheany was reared and educated at Lima. For three years he was assistant to the city engineer and for two years was in the office of the Board of City Water-Works and then went into the Postoffice and remained there four years under Postmasters George Hall and William R. Mehaffey. When The Lima Telephone & Telegraph Company was organized, he accepted its management. He started with 250 telephones but the number increased rapidly under his management and he now has 2200 telephones in the city and country and gives an entirely satisfactory service to the patrons. In 1903 appreciation of his work was shown by his election as secretary of the company. The Lima Telephone & Telegraph Company was organized and incorporated in August, 1895, with $150,000 common stock and $100,000 preferred. The officers of the company are : Davis J. Cable, president ; William H. Duffield, treasurer; and George H. Me- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 351 theany, secretary and manager. The directors are : William H. Duffield ; Davis J. Cable; C. F. Stolzenbach ; C. H. Cory ; J. R. Sinclair ; J. B. Hoge ; Gustave Hirsch ; A. W. Hoge, and G. W. Beers. Mr. Metheany is also interested in The Crystal Ice & Coal Company. He is a Knight Templar Mason. FRANCIS H. STALLKAMP vice-president of the Delphos National Bank, a venerated citizen and the oldest merchant of the town, has been a resident of the United States for many years, but was born in Hanover, Germany, September 25, 1824, his parents living at that time in the province of Osnabruck. Mr. Stallkamp remained in his native land until past his majority, complying with the laws and securing the education accorded every German child. In 1847 he embarked on a sailing vessel and crossed the Atlantic to the shores of America. His first permanent location was at Buffalo, New York, and he remembers crossing the first iron bridge built in that city, which structure_ was looked upon as being as great a feat of engineering at that day, as some of the notable modern undertakings of the present appeared to be. In 1848 Mr. Stallkamp came to Ohio and found work in a sawmill near Delphos. Game was very abundant in the forests where he was engaged in cutting and hauling logs, and wolves were troublesome and sometimes dangerous. The leading inn at Delphos was the American House, a hostelry which accommodated the traveling public at this trading station. For a time he acted as hostler here and also did other work in the neighborhood, butchering and dealing to some extent in cattle and horses. No railroads had yet been built through this section,but engineers were making surveys, and he recalls driving one party of engineers from Delphos to Elida and Lima. In 1853 Mr. Stallkamp embarked in a grocery and provision business on the bank of the canal, the greater part of the patronage coming from the boats which would stop and provision at his place as they passed up and down. This continued for two years and then Mr. Stallkamp went into partnership in the same line with Theodore Wrocklage under the firm name of T. Wrocklage & Company, which continued until the death of Mr. Wrocklage in 1890. Since that date the firm has been known in business circles as F. H. Stallkamp & Company. When Mr. Wrocklage entered the business, a line of queensware was added, and the firm soon had one of the finest grocery and queensware stores in Allen county. Mr. Stallkamp also bought cattle and prepared them for shipment, supplying the up and down canal trade as mentioned. His first quarters were in the rear of a building right on the canal, and in those days it looked scarcely possible that from that beginning should grow the present important wholesale and retail house. By old traders on the canal Mr. Stallkamp is easily recalled, and the success to which he attained was in great measure the result of his honest dealings and good management. In February, 1903, Mr. Stallkamp retired from the grocery and queensware business in favor of his sons who still carry it on, using the same honest methods and progressive ideas that have marked it from the beginning. Five of Mr. Stallkamp's sons are interested in the business. In 1853 Mr. Stallkamp was united in marriage with Josephine Hedrick, who died in November, 1880, leaving eight sons and one daughter, viz : Theodore J., Frank, Sylvester A., Otto W., Edward L., cashier of the Delphos National Bank ; John H., deceased ; Josephine M., Louis C., George H. and Fred. Mr. Stallkamp has always been interested in the various enterprises which have promised to benefit Delphos, And has contributed liberally in support of public-spirited movements. For many years he was connected with the Ohio Wheel Company. In financial circles he stands high as vice-president and one of the largest stockholders of the Delphos National Bank. He is a consistent member of St. John's Catholic Church. He has never sought political honors. THEODORE J. STALLKAMP, the eldest son of Francis H. and Josephine (Hedrick) Stallkamp, was born in the family home at Delphos, 352 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY on the west side of the canal where his parents lived and his father carried on his business for so many years. Mr. Stallkamp was given excellent educational opportunities, taking lessons in both English and German in the public and parochial schools. Since 1868, with the exception of one year during which he was clerk in a dry goods house, he has been associated with his father; first as assistant and later as partner. With his four brothers he now conducts the largest grocery and queensware business in the county, and is the senior member of the Stallkamp Grocery & Queensware Company. The firm now occupies a fine two-story and basement brick building, with front of 39 by 72 feet and rear of 39 by 38 feet. The first story is devoted to groceries and the second to queensware. A complete stock of staple and fancy groceries of excellent quality is carried and can be supplied in any quantity. Theodore J. Stallkamp is an excellent business man and possesses many of the traits of a father who was for years one of the most successful men in his line in this section. Since 1903 he has been a member of the City Council. For the past 18 years he has been connected with the Delphos fire department, entering as a volunteer, but now only holding honorary membership. He is also a member of the Catholic Knights of America. Theodore J. Stallkamp married Isabel Stevenson and they have an interesting family of four children, viz : Elizabeth, Alexander, Raymond and Florence. Mr. Stallkamp, like his venerable father,, is a valued member of St. John's Catholic Church. R. W. ARGUE, one of the prominent business men of Lima, a leader in the oil-producing business and identified with many of the city's important and successful business enterprises, is a native of Canada, where his early life was spent and where his education was secured. Mr. Argue has been connected with the oil-producing business since the beginning of his business life. From Canada he went to the oil fields of Pennsylvania and thence to Bolivar,. New York, and in 1901 he came to Lima,. where he became largely interested in the oil_ fields. He has other interests in the fields of Kansas, Indian Territory and Oklahoma, hav- ing some 60 wells in the West and about 90 in Ohio. His properties are all wonderfully productive and conveniently located. He is one of the directors of The Lima Trust Company and is a member of its finance committee. In his many business combinations, Mr. Argue has shown the acumen and foresight of a real captain of industry and has a financial standing which has made him a dominating force in the city's commercial life. During his res dence here he has also proven himself a citizen who performs with credit to himself and satisfaction to others, the multiform duties imposed upon a man of . large and important affairs. Mr. Argue was married in 1880 to Eva Allport, formerly of Canada, and they have four children, viz. : May, Edith, Ethel and Walter. The eldest daughter has recently returned from a delightful European trip. The family is. prominent in the city's social life. HON. JAMES LATIMER PRICE. The roster of distinguished jurists who have brought honor to the bench and bar of Ohio contains no better known name than that of James Latimer Price, formerly judge of the Third Judicial Circuit, and now judge of the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio. Judge Price was born at New Hagerstown, Carroll County, Ohio, March 27, 1840, and is a son of Benjamin and Nancy (Douglas) Price. The family came to Ohio from Pennsylvania in 1810, and the children were reared on the home farm, which, in our subject's boyhood, still offered many hard struggles before Nature was finally subjugated. Although his mind was set on other things and his ambitions reached far beyond the tilling of the soil. Judge Price has always recognized the value of that early training. During the win ter months he attended the country schools,. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 353 and later took a full course at the New Hagerstown Academy, where he was graduated in 1859. He entered immediately upon the study of the law under Gen. E. R. Eckley, at Carrolton, where he remained until April, 1865, removing then to VanWert. There he entered into a law partnership with Judge Ira D. Clark, which continued for three years. Ira P. Shissler then became a member of the firm and the business was thereafter continued for some 10 years. In 1883 Judge Price came to Lima and entered into partnership with Judge Geoge W. Overmeyer, which continued until 1887. Since that time Judge Price, when not on the bench, has practiced alone. His first official position was that of prosecuting attorney for Carroll County, in 1862 ; after removing to Van Wert County, he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney three consecutive terms, serving in all six years—from 1868 to 1874. In November,. 1894, he was elected judge of the Third Judicial Circuit for a term of six years, being elected in one of the greatest Democratic strongholds of the State. His election was not in the nature of a Republican triumph, of which party he has long been an active member, but was essentially a tribute to the man. Judge Price was married on January 1, 1862, to Martha Guiney, of New Hagerstown, Ohio, who died in August, 1866. He was married second, on March 8, 1868, to Elizabeth Marshall, of Van Wert, Ohio, a member of a well-known family in the State. His one son, Charles F., is a journalist, who was formerly city editor of the Lima Daily Times and correspondent of the Cincinnati Enquirer, and has also been connected with the Lima Gazette. Judge Price is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Fraternally he is a Mason and a member of Shawnee Commandery, No. 14, Knights Templar. Judge Price was elected a member of the Supreme Court Bench in the fall of 1901 and entered upon the duties of his office in February, 1902. As a lawyer he early took a place among the leading practioners at the local bar, his gifts as an orator and his capacity for close and logical reasoning making him an effective advocate. \\Then called from private practice to assume more onerous duties, his course was marked by the sound judgment required in a jurist, and during the long period in which he has presided as judge he has proven himself to be one of the ablest men who ever administered justice in a State, which points with justifiable pride to its untarnished bench. The people have testified to their confidence by frequent reelections ; he has been honored in every possible way by the bench and bar, and no man stands higher in personal integrity. WALTER B. RICHIE, one of the leading members of the bar at Lima, and senior member, of the law firm of Richie & Richie, is also vice-president of The First National Bank of this city and in every way is a prominent and representative citizen. He was born January 24, 1851, in Van Wert County, Ohio, and is a son of John and Sarah (Eaton) Richie, substantial farmers. Mr. Richie spent his boyhood and youth on his father's farm and obtained his education in the public schools. His natural inclinations led him to desire a professional life and after several years of careful preparation he was admitted to the bar on April 2, 1875. His untiring industry, honest purpose and faithfulness to his clients soon placed him in the path of success where his abilities have kept him until now he stands with the eminent men of the law in this part of the State. His law firm is considered a strong combination and it has the handling of much of the improtant litigation in Allen County. His offices are located on the Public Square in Lima. Mr. Richie was married to Catherine Eaton, who is a daughter. of Reason B. Eaton, of Bucyrus, Ohio. They are leading members of the Presbyterian Church. Their beautiful home is situated at No. 606 West North street. Mr. Richie is one of the city's philan4 thropic and public-spirited men. He is very prominent in fraternal life and is associated with the Odd Fellows, the Masons, the Knights 354 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Royal Arcanum. Politically he is identified with the Democratic party. JOHN DAVISON, superintendent of the public schools of Lima, is an educator of almost 30 years' experience and is well-known and appreciated all over the State. He was born in Allen County, Ohio, on the 22d day of July, 1858, and is one of a family of four children born to his parents, Amaziah and Eliza (Nye) Davison. The Davison family is an old one in Ohio, the parents of our subject having resided on a large estate in the vicinity of West Newton, Allen County, for more than half a century. His grandfather, Joseph Davison, was born in Virginia, and there grew to manhood. Before he came to Ohio, where his last years were spent, he had become prominent in his native State and had served in the General Assembly. Amaziah Davison, father of our subject, was born in Virginia and there followed farming before his removal to Ohio, where he engaged in similar work. John Davison's education was a liberal one, including attendance at the local schools and the Ohio Normal University at Ada, from which noted institution he was most creditably graduated in 1879. From the university Mr. Davison immediately entered the educational field, teaching first in the public schools and later in the normal department of Lima College, where his efficiency was so generally recognized as an instructor of teachers that universal regret was expressed when he left this institution to accept the chair of English literature and language in the Ohio Northern University, where he succeeded Prof. Warren Darst, also a well-known educator. For five years, until he came to Lima to take charge of the schools, Mr. Davison was identified with that great educational institution, where he was instructor to classes which averaged 300 students. In assuming the superintendency of the public schools of Lima. Mr. Davison succeeded Charles C. Miller, now president of Lima College. The schools of Lima have always been of a high order, in keeping with the superior intelligence and high character. of the city's founders. Mr. Davison has proven himself well equipped for the work he has undertaken. He possesses the university training which is almost a necessity, as well as the native ability, the well-balanced judgment and tact, the required social culture and years of experience. In 1886 Mr. Davison was married to Clara E. Hay, a daughter of James Hay, who was a pioneer of Allen County. Her father was born in Ireland and died in this country. Mr. Davison's politics are Republican. He and his wife reside at No. 734 West Market street. JACOB M. HALLER, deceased, formerly one of Lima's leading business men, was well-known all over the county by reason of his connection with an extensive real estate business. Mr. Haller was born March 30, 1838, in Fairfield County, Ohio, and was a son of J. B. and Leah (Myers) Haller. The Haller family is of German extraction and the parents of Mr. Haller, came to Ohio from one of the counties of Pennsylvania, bringing with. them habits of thrift and industry. They settled first in Fairfield County, but after the birth of our subject moved to German township, Allen County, where the remainder of their lives was spent. They reared five children, of whom our subject was the eldest. Jacob M. Haller's boyhood was spent in attending to farm duties and in obtaining his education in the local district school. When he reached the years of discretion, he decided to devote his energies to business pursuits rather than to agricultural, and his tastes also led him into politics to more or less degree. Prior to establishing his large real estate business in 1881, he had traveled extensively while associated with several leading business houses, but after that date he gave his attention exclusively to his property interests. He was succeeded AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 355 in the same line by his son, Jacob W. Haller, who conducts probably the largest real estate business in Lima. His offices are located at No. 237 ½ North Main street. Mr. Haller was married December 10, 1857, to Anna Stevenson and they had three children, viz : Christiana, wife of A. O. Deweese, of Columbus, Grove. Ohio ; Jacob W. and Frank. Mrs. Haller still survives and occupies the comfortable family home at No. 523 North Jameson avenue. In 186o Mr. Haller was elected assistant auditor of Allen County and in 1863 was elected recorder, in which office he served for, six years. He was favorably and widely known, was scrupulously honest as a public official and as a private citizen and at all times endeavored to promote the welfare of the community. OWEN FRANCIS, a substantial and representative citizen of Lima, president of the Citizens' Loan & Building Company, was born in Wales, January 18, 1841, and is a son of Ellis and Catherine ( Jones) Francis, both natives of Wales. Our subject's parents came to America in 1852, settling for a few years in Pennsylvania, but later locating permanently in the rich farming districts of Ohio. Ellis Francis resided in Putnam County from 1855 to 1862, in which year he came to Allen County, where he died in 1879, survived by six of his eight children. Owen Francis, the eldest of the children, was reared a farmer boy, and obtained his education in the localities in which the family was settled during his youth. Almost before he had formed any settled plans for his future, the Civil War broke out, and early in 1861 he donned a suit of Union blue. After three months of service in the 21st Regiment, Ohio Vol. Inf., he reenlisted in the same year in Company A, 57th Reg., Ohio, Vol. Inf., in which he rose from private through successive promotions to be 1st lieutenant, being commissioned on September 19, 1864, these promotions being the result of personal valor and military ability. On March 12, 1865, near Fayetteville, North Carolina, while in charge of a foraging party, he was captured ; he was held as a. prisoner. of war for two months, part of the time in the Bennettsville (South Carolina) jail. He was finally paroled, but as the war closed soon after, he never saw more service with his regiment. At the time of his capture, the colonel of his regiment had forwarded to the War Department a recommendation that Mr. Francis be given a captain's commission, but this he never received. Mr. Francis returned to Allen County after his military service and in 1873 he was married to Annie J. Lewis, a native of Wales, but when married living in Delaware, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Francis have four children : Nannie, Richard Ellis, Edna and Hugh Lewis.- The family home is located at No. 125 South West street. In 1882 Mr. Francis established himself at Lima in the boot and shoe business, which he carried on until April, 1900. He is a business. man whose prosperity well represents the commercial importance of this city. Personally he is held in the highest esteem, the confidence reposed in his reliability as well as capacity being-shown by his selection as president of the Citizens' Loan & Building Company, a flourishing enterprise of Lima, which has been in business. for almost a quarter of a century. The 23rd annual report of the company, given December 31, 1904, showed total assets amounting to $745,822.83, of which $717,040.00 was in loans on mortage security. The increase in amount of assets for the year, was $40,436.02. G. W. HENDERSON, M. D., of West Cairo, was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, June 29, 1857. In early life he worked on a farm and attended school in the country and was left homeless at the age of 15. The following year he taught his first term of school in Ross township, Greene County, Ohio, and continued this vocation for 18 years. He married Emma Diefenderfer, of Hancock County, Ohio, on January 7th, 1885. They taught school after they were married and attended the Ohio Normal 356 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY University at Ada. They have one son, Harry Harold. Dr. Henderson graduated from Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio, in 1892 and located in West Cairo in 1894, having practiced two years prior to this in Vaughnsville, Ohio. He later took a post-graduate course, and so far has made a general practice his specialty. He has ever enjoyed a fair practice and has a large circle of patrons and friends of whom he is justly proud. WALTER H. STANDISH, deceased, for many years a resident of Lima, closely identified with its business, public and social life, died April 15, 1904, a man sincerely mourned by the whole community. Mr. Standish was born in this city, January 4, 1841, and was a son of Henry and Amanda (Beemus) Standish. The parents of Mr. Standish were natives of New York and came to Allen County, Ohio, about the year 1821. Henry Standish secured a large body of land in Amanda township where he lived a number of years but subsequently removed to Lima, where the remainder of his life was taken up in caring for his various investments. He was the father of eight children, seven of whom grew to maturity. Of these, Walter H., Wallaee, Mrs. Angeline Hadsell and Mrs. Malvina Malby are deceased, while Marion and Mrs. Jerome Shockey, of Lima, Ohio, and Mrs. Lemuel Carlisle, of Avoca, Iowa, are living. The late Walter H. Standish spent almost his whole life in Lima. Here he was educated and from here, in 1861, he enlisted in the loth Regiment, Ohio Vol. Inf., and served faithfully through his full term, and was honorably discharged. He returned home but ere long was again in his country's service, this time enlisting in the navy and serving in the Mississippi squadron, under Admiral Porter. During the whole period of his service his duties were faithfully performed and he set an example of obedience as well as bravery. After his second return to Lima. he began to look about for a business location, finally deciding to visit Knoxville, Tennessee, where he spent two years in the dry goods business. In 1865 he came home and followed the same line of business for a year and then engaged for five years in business at Toledo. In 1877 he returned to Lima and settled here permanently, engaging in an extensive merchantile business until 1885, when he established a cooperage manufacturing industry, operating factories in various parts of the State. Mr. Standish was married on February 12, 1872, to Florence Selfridge, who is a daughter of the late 0. B. Selfridge, Sr. They have two children, Harold S. and Miles W. Mrs. Standish still survives and resides at No. 512 West Market street. In all that goes to make a good citizen, Mr. Standish was notable. He was honest and upright in business, was loyal and patriotic both during and following the war, was a sincere friend and a devoted husband and father. Not very active in politics, he still took enough interest to endeavor to bring about good legislation. He was for several terms president of the City Council and chairman of the Board of Equalization. The fraternal organizations to which he gave support were the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and the Masonic order ; in the last mentioned order he held the office of junior warden of Shawnee Commandery, No. 14, K. T., of Lima. GEORGE FELTZ,county auditor of Allen County, was born in Seneca County Ohio, March 18, 1843, and is a son of Florentz and Margaret (Loefler) Feltz. The parents were born in Germany, where the father followed the occupation of gardening. He served in the French Army for nine years and came to the United States in 1840, settling first in Seneca County, Ohio, where he engaged in farming until 185o, when he removed to Mercer County, where he died , aged 85 years and four months. He had two children. George Feltz was liberally educated at St. Mary's College and at other institutions and AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 359 then engaged in teaching for some seven years at Sidney, Ohio, and other points. In 1867 he came to Allen County, engaged in the insurance business and established and was the editor and proprietor of the Lima Courier. He was very active in the organizing of building and loan associations ; the three that he was instrumental in establishing proved beneficial to all concerned. For 3o years he was secretary and manager of building and loan associations at Lima and at present is on the board of directors of The Citizens' Loan and Building Association. Mr. Feltz is serving his second term as auditor of Allen County, having been first elected to the office in 1900 and reelected in 1903. In every way he has been an acceptable official, conscientiously discharging every duty and being faithful to every trust. Mr. Feltz was united in marriage with Elizabeth Holtgreve, who is a daughter of Anthony Holtgreve, of Delphos. Ohio. Mrs. Feltz was formerly a popular and successful teacher in Van Wert and Auglaize counties. They have four children, viz : Leander A., Albin G., Arthur C., and Otmar J. Leander A. is secretary and manager of The Citizens' Loan and Building Association, of Lima ; Albin G. and Otmar J. are managers of the dry goods store of Feltz Brothers & Company, of Lima, while Arthur C. is assistant cashier of The Ohio National Bank, of Lima. The pleasant family home is situated at No. 321 North West street. Mr. Feltz is a finished musician and for 3o years has been organist of St. Rose's Catholic Church, to which he and his family belong. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Elks. ALEXANDER HAMILTON McCOY, deceased, was born in Madison County, Ohio, October 18, 1831, and died at his home, located in section 24, Shawnee township, Allen County, June 15, 1905. after a brief illness of one week. He was laid to rest in Shawnee Cemetery after impressive services by Rev. James Mount of Van Wert, who was pastor when Mr. McCoy united with the church in 1861, and Rev. J. H. Smith, of Allentown, a former, teacher of his children. His death was a serious loss to the community and one from which it will be long in recovering. A man of strong character, sterling worth and uncompromising principles of honor, he was unostentatious and preferred doing his many deeds of kindness in a quiet and unnoticeable manner, thus following the precepts of the Master. He was a Republican and a prohibitionist who based his theories on facts devolved from a careful study of the situation. He was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church to which he was a liberal contributor both of his time and his means. His parents were David W. and Esther (Gillespie) McCoy, the former a native of West Virginia, born in 1805, and the latter a native of New York. They were married in Fayette County, Ohio, in 1830, and in 1837 located in section 26, Ridge township, Van Wert County, where David W. McCoy had entered 36) acres of government land. There were few white families in the township at that time and their family was reared in true pioneer manner. There were four children, viz : Alexander H., the subject of these memoirs ; Sarah Jane, deceased wife of Enoch Longsworth; William C., a resident of Rockford, Ohio ; and Eleanor, widow of David Harnly, of Van Wert, Ohio. Alexander Hamilton McCoy came to Allen County in 1883 in the month of October, and engaged in farming and carpentering: He was married March 7, 1861, to Margaret A. Maltbie, of LaFayette, Allen County. Mrs. McCoy was born in Centerville, Montgomery County, Ohio, and is a daughter of Rev. Harrison and Susannah (Dowling) Maltbie. To Mr. and Mrs. McCoy were born seven children, namely : David Harrison, who married Mollie Whyman, of Spencerville, and resides on the State road : Jennie, wife of Charles Adgate Hover and the mother of two children—Myra Ethel and Harry Howard ; Josephine, wife of Charles Ed-man, who resides near Hume—they have one child, Velma Lenore ; George Albert, who married Ada Roberts, of Van Wert, and has three children, Jesse Ralph, Albert Russell and Margaret—they live on the old McCoy farm ; 360 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Silas Arthur, who lives at home; Myra Luella, who died at the age of seven years; and Francis Maltbie, who married Edith Peters, of Henry, Illinois, and has charge of the home farm. Benjamin Maltbie, the grandfather of Mrs. McCoy, came from Connecticut to Montgomery County, Ohio, where her father, Harrison Maltbie, was born and reared a short distance below Dayton. He attended Lane Seminary on Walnut Hill, Cincinnati, walking a distance of five miles daily, that he might unravel the mysteries of the Greek and Latin languages. It was not his good fortune to graduate from this school, however, as an epidemic of cholera caused a cessation of studies. For several years he was engaged in teaching in Centerville and other places and then took up the work of the ministry, in which he was wonderfully successful. He preached at various places, including, St. Marys, Leipsic, Hardin, Delphos, Wapakoneta and other points. In 1847, either in January or February, he brought his family to Allen County where he had entered a large tract of land some three years before. With the exception of a few years, this was his home from that time until his death and is now the home of his daughter, our subject. He lived with Mr. and Mrs. McCoy from 1889 to May 27, 1892, when the star of his life sank low behind the western hills of life's horizon to shine with increased luster in the vale beyond. To his union with Susanna Dowling were born three children, viz : Silas Benjamin, a minister of the Gospel, who lives in Baltimore, Maryland ; William Francis, who died May 5, 1905; and Margaret A. (McCoy). His second union was with Nancy Jane Wilkerson, by whom he had two children : James Hiram, who died in his fifth year, and Thomas A., who resides in Lima. His third marriage with Emily Jane Wilkerson, a cousin of his second wife, resulted in the birth of one child which died in infancy. He was married again to Ann Moore. Mrs Margaret A. McCoy is a most estimable lady, whose pleasing personality has made her friends wherever she is known. In the church her unselfish devotion to the cause of right has made her an example well worthy of emulation, while as a wife and mother she is without a peer. A portrait of Rev. Harrison Maltbie accompanies this sketch, being presented on a foregoing page. HENRY F. DESENBERG a reputable agriculturist of German township, is a native of Allen County, having been born in Jackson township, October 16, 1867. He is a son of John and Rachel (Dickenson) Desenberg and a grandson of Jacob Desenberg, who came from Pennsylvania to Ohio, settling in Ashland County. The father removed at an early day from Ashland County to Jackson township, Allen County, where he died in 1876. The mother is still living. Henry Desenberg was reared and educated in his native township and it was not until his 19th year that he located in German township and engaged in farming. He owns 40 acres of land in section 15 and resides on a tract of 42 acres, which descended to his children through his first wife. He has been twice married. On December 7, 1889, he was married to Princess East, daughter of Samuel East. She died March 21, 1900, leaving three children,—Harley, Grace and Princess. On August 1o, 1901, he was married to Mrs. Hannah Beckman, widow of the late William L. Beckman and a daughter of Albert and Mary Ann Hunt, of Wood County, Ohio. Mr. Desenberg is a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge at Elida and also of the Eldia Methodist Episcopal Church and is a man who is well liked and popular. FRED L. BATES, M. D., one of the most thoroughly equipped physicians and surgeons of Lima, and the junior member of the important firm of general practitioners, Vail & Bates, was: born at Bryan, Ohio, November 29, 1866, and is a son of Rev. John L. and Mary (Law) Bates, being one of a family of two children. Fred L. Bates received his early education- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 361 al training in the public schools and the Sidney High School, and then commenced his colgiate work in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware. He read medicine with Dr. S. Brumbaugher, of Dayton, Ohio, was graduated at the American Eclectic Medical College in i888, and then matriculated at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, where he was graduated in 1889. In 1896 he spent three months at the great Ormond Hospital for sick children, in London, England. Dr. Bates has built up a fine practice in Lima and the vicinity, and is known and respected as an able member of his profession. He has kept fully abreast of the times and in 1904 took a post-graduate course at the Chicago Polyclinic. He is instructor in anatomy and physiology in the training school for nurses of Lima Hospital, and was formerly professor of chemistry and advanced physiology in Lima College. He is assistant surgeon for the Pennsylvania and Lake Erie & Western railroads and medical examiner for the Canada Life Assurance Association, the Washingt0n Life Insurance Company, the Bankers' Life Insurance Company and the Brotherho0d of Locomotive Firemen. He is a valued member of the Allen County Medical Society, of the Ohio State Medical Society, of the Northwestern Ohio Medical Association and of the American Medical Association, attending their sessions and frequently contributing to their literature. Besides being prominent in his profession, Dr. Bates is also one of the city's clear-headed, public-spirited citizens. For the past eight years he has been a member of the Lima Board of Education and has served as its able president. He has served on the medical staff of the Lima Hospital and in every way has demonstrated a helpful interest in the general welfare of the residents of the city where he makes his home. In political sympathy Dr. Bates is a strong Republican. His fraternal connection is limited to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the 'Woodmen of the World. He has well and the Woodmen of the World. He has well appointed offices in the Opera House Block. J. A. BENDURE, manager of the Lima & Toledo Traction Company, at Lima, and one of the city's foremost citizens, was born in Illinois but was reared and educated in Kansas, to which State his parents removed in his childhood. Ever since entering into business life, Mr. Bendure has been more or less connected with big enterprises. He was first associated in Ottawa, Kansas, with a large flouring mill business, and later at Kansas City ; subsequently he became interested in the manufacture of corn starch and glucose. He operated the first factory at Ottawa, which manufactured sugar from sorghum, and glucose from the ordinary sorghum seed, using 500 bushels of seed per day. The company with which he was interested manufactured granulated sugar that took first premium at the New Orleans Exposition. This factory was operated by the Franklin Sugar Company and the majority of the stock was owned in New York City. In 1881 Mr. Bendure removed from Ottawa to Topeka and became foreman and custodian of the second incandescent electric light plant ever erected west of the Mississippi River. This was followed by an appointment as superintendent of the construction of two electric light plants, one at Ottawa and the other at Cherryvale, Kansas. In addition to these important contracts, Mr. Bendure built and operated, in connection with a gas plant at Pittsburg, Kansas, a third electric light plant and also an electric street railway system. In 1892 he was called to Atchison, Kansas, where he transformed a horse-car line into an electric railway and built a large electric light plant which he operated as general manager for eight years, also contracting for and building water works and electric light plants at other points, his last work in this line in the West being at Paris, Missouri. Then, in 1902, he came to Lima where he accepted a position as general manager of The Lima Electric Railway & Light Company. He built an entire new system, power house, etc. Mr. Bendure is also a member of the executive committee of the National Roofing Tile Company. His location in this city has resulted in much benefit to the city, as he 362 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY is just the type of man needed where enterprise and energy are appreciated and are sought. He is the originator of the Lima Progressive Association, is interested in numberless movements designed for the public welfare and he enjoys to the fullest extent the confidence and regard of the public. For years he has been a Mason. On July 1, 1905, The Lima Electric Railway & Light Company was succeeded by the Lima & Toledo Traction Company, which has leased the property and has powers almost unlimited. CALVIN HALLADAY. Among the early business men of Lima, none was held in higher esteem than the late Calvin Halladay, whose death took place April 3o, 1900. He was born at Suffield, Connecticut, June 4, 1832, and was the second of four sons born to his parents, Edmond T. and Caroline (Noble) Halladay. Although Connecticut was his birthplace, it was in Ohio that Calvin Halladay was developed into the capable young business man and still later into the prominent citizen and capitalist. When he came to Ohio, in 1848, he was 16 years of age, just out of school and dependent on his own resources. He entered into an apprenticeship agreement with a Mr. King, with whom he remained during the stipulated term, providently saving what he could of his meagre salary, so that he was possessed of a small capital when ready to engage in business for himhelf. His first partnership was as the junior member of the firm of Harriot & Halladay, merchants at Lima, which continued but eight months, when he went into partnership first with B. P. Holmes and later with a Mr. Brown, the firm of Halladay & Brown doing business here for 14 years. The firm style was then changed to Halladay & Holmes and this partnership continued with great prosperity, until the death of B. P. Holmes, when Mr. Halladay sold his interest to A. C. Stutson. After closing up his business affairs at Lima, Mr. Halladay went into a mercantile business in Hardin County, where he continued for three years, never removing his residence, however, from this city. Subsequently he returned to Lima and resumed a business here on Main street, in which he was more or less interested until his death. He was a man of exceptional business ability and built up a large estate. Strict honesty in business dealings, loyalty to his friends and care in the promotion of the welfare of his family made him personally respected and esteemed, while his strict sense of justice and responsibility made him an ideal citizen. Mr. Halladay was married on September 19, 1854, to Isabella Kincaid, and they had three children, as follows : Edgar B., residing in Chicago, who has two children—Clara and Calvin ; Fannie K., wife of Thomas R. Shaw, an oil operator of Lima, who has two sons—Ralph and Allan ; Lelia, wife of John C. Winchester, a merchant. clothier of London, Ohio, who has two sons—Fred and James. Mrs. Halladay, one of the city's most highly respected ladies, resides in her comfortable and well-appointed home at No. 751 West Spring street. Mr. Halladay was a 33rd degree Mason and very prominent in the business and social circles of the city. GEORGE H. MEILY, one of the representative members of the Allen County bar, was born at Lima, Ohio, August 28, 1849, and is a son of John H. and Catherine (Fisher) Meily. John H. Meily was a very prominent citizen of Lima and was identified with many of the industries and with public affairs here for many years. He was born in 1817 at Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where he learned the business of weaving. He was skilled in all kinds of machinery as he was also an iron molder and after he removed to Mansfield, Ohio, in 1836, he worked at a foundry business for some 10 years. In 1846 he came to Lima, settling on the site now occupied by the Meily Block on North Main street, where he carried on the business of weaving coverlets. He built the first .foundry in the county, which was located on the site of the Globe Machine Works. Later he engaged extensively in the manufacture of AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 363 brick and did much brick building in this city, including the large brick Meily Block on Main street, the hardware store room on the Public Square and other structures. He was also engaged in the sale of agricultural implements and dealt largely in real estate; in fact, he was a man whose energies were far beyond the average and who succeeded in all he undertook. For some years he was also a political factor and served for six years as county clerk. His busy and useful life closed in 1884, after some years of retirement. He had a family of nine children, all of whom were afforded far better advantages than he was given in youth. He was a man who commanded universal respect. George H. Meily was educated in the excellent schools of his native city and in 1868 he began the study of the law, his preceptors being prominent legal lights of that time—Messrs. Lamison and Ballard. In August, 1871, he was admitted to the bar and to practice in the United States Courts in 1874. He has continued in practice in Lima until the present time and is well and favorably known all over this section. He has been interested at various times in many of the large transportation lines of the State, and was one of the promoters of the Columbus, Lima & Milwaukee, Columbus & Lake Michigan, Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee, Lake Erie & Western, Chicago & Atlantic, Chicago & Erie and Michigan & Ohio. Almost from the outset of his career, Mr. Meily has displayed a helpful interest in civic affairs, though a disinterested one, as he has been in no sense an office-seeker. His clients find him in his well-appointed office at No. 301 Opera House Block. His pleasant and comfortable home is located at No. 541 West Spring street. CHARLES COLLINS, M. D. One of the well-known members of the medical fraternity at Lima, who has won public confidence through professional skill, is Dr. Charles Collins, whose well-appointed offices are located in the Holland Block. Dr. Collins w.as born July 28, 1868, at Lima, Ohio, and belongs to an old family here. After completing the course in the Lima public schools, Dr. Collins entered Wooster College, where he completed his literary train ing. He then read medicine with the well-known physician and surgeon, Dr. Brooks, and from his tutelage went to Rush Medical College, Chicago, where he was graduated in 1894. In the same year he went to London, England,. and studied for the two succeeding years, taking post-graduate courses in the world famed institutions of that great city. Upon his return to Ohio in 1896, Dr. Collins settled at Lima, where he has built up a large .and lucrative practice and is yearly adding to his reputation as a master of his science. He is a valued member of the Ohio State and. Allen County Medical Societies, and of the American Medical Association. Dr. Collins married Coleen Wright, and they have one daughter, Dorothy H. The pleasant family home is situated on the-corner of High and Elizabeth streets. Mrs. Collins is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Politically Dr. Collins is identified with the-Democrat party, but his large practice prevents his being very active in public matters. AMBROSE SNYDER has always resided in Jackson township, where he was born October 8, 1853, and where he is engaged in operating a farm of 120 acres, located in sections 14 and 24. He is a son of William and Elizabeth (Matthias) Snyder, and grandson of Adam Snyder, a native of Pennsylvania, who was still a young man and unmarried when he came to Perry County, Ohio. There he was married and lived until about 1834, when he came to Allen County and entered seven or eight hundred acres of land. His children were William, Rebecca, John, Sarah, Mary, Leonard, Susanna, and Nancy. William Snyder was born in Perry County, Ohio, November 19, 1828, and has always been• engaged in farming. He married Elizabeth Matthias who was born in the same county as he in 1830. They are well-known residents of Allen County, residing on a farm of 8o acres. 364 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY adjoining that of our subject. They are members of the Reformed Church and honorable, upright people. Their children are Leonard, of Paulding County, Ohio ; Ambrose ; Samuel, of Hardin County, Ohio; and Jacob, of Michigan. The maternal grandparents of our subject were Samuel and Elizabeth Matthias, who resided in Allen County during their later years. Ambrose Snyder was married in 1875 to Amelia A. Shrider, who was born in Jackson township, Allen County, Ohio, in 1857, and is a daughter of George and Mary Jane (Clum) Shrider, formerly of Perry County. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Snyder, viz : Lulu, wife of James Zerbe; Pearl, wife of Ira Grant ; Alice ; Lorum ; Clyde; Guy ; Oscar and Paul. They also have three grandchildren. The family are pleasantly located in one of the attractive homes of the township, the result of their industry and thrift. They are members of the Lutheran Church, of which Mr. Snyder was formerly deacon, and is at present trustee. In politics he is a Democrat. GEORGE H. RANKINS, who owns a fine farm of 80 acres in section 16, Perry township, and is one of the representative men of his locality, was born May 11, 1846, at Westminster, Allen County, Ohio, and is a son of John and Anna (French) Rankins, the former a native of Warren County, Ohio, and the latter, of Trumbull County. The Rankins family is of Scotch-Irish extraction ; its founders settled in Virginia at a very early day. There the great-grandfather of our subject, John Rankins, who was a large planter of Stafford County, lived and died. He married Isabel Bryan and to them were born three children, namely : Frances, who married Benjamin Hutchison ; Peter and George. After the death of John Rankins, his widow came to Ohio and lived in Clinton County at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Benjamin Hutchison, until her death. George Rankins, grandfather of our subject was born in Stafford County, Virginia, September 1, 1797, and was 15 years old when he enlisted in the army during the war of 1812. In 1814 he removed to Warren County, Ohio, and it is said that he covered the greater part of the distance on foot, his one-horse wagon being used to carry the household goods. Those were days when a steel cooking range had not yet been evolved, and an iron cook stove was such a rare addition to the kitchen equipment that Mr. Rankins at one stage of the trip was almost a hero. The people with whom he stopped had purchased a cook stove but none of the family had yet learned to operate it. Mr. Rankins had been about enough to have learned its use and construction and he imparted his knowledge to the very grateful owners. In 1839 he came to Allen County and located on what is now the Thomas C. Roberts farm, on the Marion road, which property at that time was still covered by the primeval forest. For the following six years he engaged in teaming. from Cincinnati to Lima for J. W. King. Occasionally the trip in bad weather required 21 days ; as there were no accommodations for travelers on the route, it was often necessary to camp along the road for several days. While engaged for Mr. King, he was gradually clearing his place, his cabin having been built before he located permanently. This log but stood until some four years since and was habitable for a long time. He subsequently moved to another farm south of his first one, misfortune having fallen upon him on account of his going security for a neighbor. With the $300 he saved he secured forty acres of land, the best he could do with his limited capital, and although then 60 years old went manfully to work to clear a second farm. He married Wealthy Ann Tunget, who was born May 14, 1800, and was a daughter of John and Mary Tunget of Stafford County, Virginia. Mr. Rankins died on his farm in Perry township July 14, 1881, while his wife died April 12, 1891, aged 91 years. John Rankins, father of our subject, grew tip in Warren County, Ohio, and accompanied his parents when they moved to Allen County. When he left the home farm and located at AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 367 Westminster, he went into partnership with J. B. Roberts in dealing in stock. He continued to reside there until a few months before his death. He was a Democrat in his political faith. In religious belief he was a Baptist. He married Anna French, who was a sister of Samuel Davison French, of whom a sketch appears in this volume. They had five children, viz. : William, a soldier in the Civil war, who lost his life at the battle of Corinth, in October, 1862 ; Receba ; George H., of this sketch ; Lyman B., who resides in Perry township east of his brother George ; and an unnamed infant, deceased. George H. Rankins lived three years at Westminster and was then taken, with his youngest brother, by grandfather Rankins who reared them both, while the other child was taken by grandmother French. He was years old when his grandfather went on his second farm and assisted him there until he reached his majority. After his marriage in 1867 he resided with his wife's people for nine years and bought his first farm in that neighborhood and lived on it until 1882 when he bought his present farm of 8o acres in section 16. Formerly he owned 28o acres but has sold 200 acres as he could no longer give a large farm the care it required. He has been an extensive stock-raiser but has much reduced his activity within the past three or four years. He has had numerous producing oil wells upon his property and four of these are still in operation. On September 24, 1867, Mr. Rankins was married to Celinda Williams, who was born in Kentucky and is a daughter of J. L. and Nancy (Crain) Williams, old residents of Bourbon County, Kentucky. Their three surviving children are : Minnie, born December 9, 1868, who married George B. McDonald, of Perry township, and has three children—Stella, Helen and Howard ; A. E., born December 29, 1872, residing at Harrod, Ohio, who married Irene Henry, of Hancock County, Ohio, and has two children—Muriel and Ruth ; and Roy, born March 25, 1885, who lives on the home place and assists his father in the management of the farm. Mabel died April 29, 1902, aged 15 years. Mr. Rankins is a good citizen but is not identified with any particular political party, voting independently. He is a member of the Christian Church. JOHN CARNES, founder of the Lima Locomotive Works, is one of the city's prominent and representative men, and is connected with one of the largest manufacturing plants in this section of the State. Mr. Carnes was born in 1822 at Barre, Vermont, and is a son of James Games of that city. John Carnes doubtless inherited mechanical skill from his father, who in his day was a carpenter and joiner of considerable reputation, and this natural leaning was developed from boyhood. He relates with pardonable pride that he had made a pair of shoes and a fine door panel before he was 12 years old. He learned his trade with his father and extended his knowledge to mill construction and, prior to coming to Lima, followed the trade of building sash mills. His mechanical skill covered other lines and after, he came to Lima he made the first pattern for the first locomotive that was ever built here, in the infancy of an industry which has made Lima famous. Mr. Carnes had become acquainted, through a business transaction, with a Mr. Shay, a capitalist, who desired to enter into engine building. The plans and designs made by Mr. Carnes were accepted and the ultimate result was the building of the noted Shay engines, which are known all over the world. Prior to coming to Lima, Mr. Carnes owned a water-mill at Sycamore and a machine shop at Upper Sandusky. In February, 1869, he came to Lima and in association with George Disman, Jesse M. Coe and Frederick Agerter, bought out the establishment of Chatman, Donnelly & Company, and started what is now the great Lima Locomotive Works. The first line of manufactures was threshing machines, then sawmill machinery, but since 1885 the output has been locomotives. This industry is one of the most important of Northwestern Ohio, 368 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY giving employment to an army of workmen and having a weekly pay roll which reaches into thousands of dollars. Mr. Carnes was married in 1847 to Mary Baldwin, a daughter of Samuel Baldwin, and they have three children, viz : Ira P.; Emma, widow of Charles Garrison ; and Homer, who is a skilled pattern maker. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church.. Mr. Carnes is a zealous member of the Prohibition party and to its advancement he has contributed time and effort. Although now 83 years of age, Mr. Carnes has by no means retired into the background, his physical strength having been preserved and his mental outlook being as clear as it was years ago. During the past year, when many of his contemporaries sought the rest and retirement of the fireside, he was looking after the erection of a fine three-story brick building on his property on the corner of Spring and Central streets. His energy and talents have made his life a busy one and he can look back over many years filled with notable achievements. His portrait accompanies this sketch. FREDERICK C. BEAM, auditor of the city of Lima, is recognized as one of the most efficient public officials of the county, and is also a highly esteemed citizen. He was born in Mercer County, Ohio, and is one of a family of four children born to his parents, John H. and Mary A. Beam, formerly of Mercer and later of Allen County. His birth took place September 27, 1871. Mr. Beam was reared and educated in Mercer County, and engaged in business there prior to coming to Allen County in 1892. Until 1902 he was a telegraph operator for the Buckeye Pipe Line Company, which position he gave up upon being elected city clerk of Lima. In 1903 he was elected city auditor and has served in this capacity until the present, making a record for himself for accuracy which has never been excelled in this office. He has been active in the Republican party for a number of years and his election to responsible offices shows a just consideration for his services. Mr. Beam is a man of sterling character and of admirable public spirit. His fraternal connection is with the Masons. Mr. Beam married Bertha Ryan, who is a daughter of George A. Ryan, one of Lima's oil producers. The pleasant family home. is situated at No. 316 North Washington street. EUGENE JACOB BARR, M. D., who is efficiently serving his second term as sheriff of Allen County, was for 15 years a recognized and successful medical practitioner throughout Champaign and Allen Counties, Ohio. He was born in Auglaize County, Ohio, September 21, 1857, and is a son of Dr. Tobias and Margaret (Weaver) Barr. Dr. Tobias Barr was a well-known physician in his day. He died in 1857, leaving two children. Eugene Jacob Barr first attended school in Clark County, Ohio, but when he was 12 years old he went to Lebanon, Ohio, and there continued his studies. For some time he taught school through Clark and Champaign counties and then entered the Medical College of Ohio at Cincinnati, where he was graduated March 3, 1880. In 1885 he settled in Allen County and continued to practice his profession until 1895 when he engaged in the oil and timber business, in which he continued to be interested until he was elected to his first term as sheriff of the county. in 1901. His opponent was William McComb. In 1903 public approbation of his administration was shown by a reelection for a second term of two years. He has always been a strong supporter of the Democratic party. In addition to his duties as a public official, Dr. Barr attends to the management of the Consolidated Bottling Company, of Lima, manufacturers of soft drinks, and he is also largely interested in Southern lumber, and is an official of the Ohio Hardwood Lumber Company. In 1877 Dr. Barr was married to Sadie C. Michael, of Tremont City, and to this union was born one child, Ortha. In 1883 Dr. Barr was married to Mattie A. Miller, who is a AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 369 daughter of John G. Miller, and they have one child, Mabel. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Fraternally Dr. Barr is a Knight of Pythias and an Elk. He is a man qualified for the important position he so efficiently fills. The .work of the sheriff's office requires the assistance of two deputies. He has a large personal following, being popular with all classes, both professionally, personally and officially.   HIRAM A. HOLDRIDGE, president of The Hall & Woods Company, operating the Model Mills, and one of the directors of The Ohio National Bank, is one of the most prominent and universally respected citizens of Lima. He was born in Knox County, Ohio. When Mr. Holdridge was but a child, his parents removed to New York City where his father was engaged some years in business ; but they subsequently returned to Ohio and settled on what are known as the Sandusky Plains, where the father carried on a mercantile business. Our subject was reared in this home until the age of 18 years, and then entered the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, where he was a promising student when the Civil War broke out. Backed by generations of loyal forebears, the young man's patriotism led him to leave the university halls for the camp field at the first tocsin of war. His first service covered six months with the 15th Ohio Regiment, and then he was given an appointment in- the provost marshal's office of the -Fifth Congressional District located at Lima. After one year of office work he reenlisted, becoming first lieutenant of Company I, 192nd Reg.., Ohio Vol. Inf. He was on detached duty, serving as aide-de-camp to the general commanding the brigade, and afterward served in the capacity of inspector general and then as adjutant general of the brigade. When he was mustered out of the service at Winchester, Virginia, it was with the rank of acting assistant adjutant general of his brigade. He is a member of the Ohio Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, at Cincinnati. - 20 - After the war Mr. Holdridge returned to his home at Sandusky and engaged with his father there in the mercantile business for four years, and then removed to Pittsburg and for two years was in the live stock commission business, after which he engaged in a commission and a hotel business in Philadelphia. The latter enterprise was carried on during the Centennial Exposition. In 188o he came to Lima, Ohio, where he renewed old associations and went into a wholesale business which he carried on for three years. Failing health then compelled a rest for a period extending over several years. Later he again became engaged in business, this time in the development of Ohio. oil fields. Other interests also claimed him and in October, 1899, he organized The Hall & Woods Company, with a capital stock of $6o,- 000, for the operating of the Model Mills, which are the largest flouring mills in the cjty of Lima. Mr. Holdridge is president of this company, I. 0. Hover is vice-president and S. B. Douglass is secretary and treasurer. Mr. Holdridge is also a director in the Ohio National Bank and is president of the Northwestern Millers' Association. Although engaged in various important lines of business, he still finds time to take an interest in civic improvements of various kinds and to attend to social and religious duties. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Holdridge was married in September, 1869, to Lenore Roberts, a daughter of the late J. B. Roberts. They have a family of four children, viz. : Mary Alice, wife of Theodore McManus, of Toledo ; W. R., who is engaged in mining at Johannesburg, South Africa; Margaret, wife of W. F. McGuire, of Sarnia, Canada; and Louise, of Lima. SAMUEL LIGHT, one of the most progressive agriculturists of Allen County, owns 80 acres of land in section 23, Monroe township, where he has resided for 30 years. He was born in Franklin township, Richland County, Ohio, February 11, 1837, and is a son of Michael and Catherine (Heinkst) Light. Both parents were natives of Pennsylvania, 370 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY the father of Dauphin County and the mother of York County. When children, they came to Ohio with their parents in wagons. Here they grew up and were married in Richland County, which was their home as long as they lived. He was a man of small stature, while she was a woman who weighed 275 pounds. The paternal grandfather, John Light, was a native of Pennsylvania, of German extraction. Both the grandfather and the father of our subject used the German language almost entirely in their families. The grandfather had a family of two sons and five daughters. He died in Richland County at the advanced age of 93 years. The children of Michael and Catherine Light were as follows : Mary Reppert, deceased ; Daniel, of Oklahoma ; Samuel ; John, who died at the age of 10 years ; Catherine (Bradley), deceased, and Lydia (Urich), of Richland County, who were twins ; George, who died in Oklahoma ; Michael, who died at the age of 18 in Richland County ; and Maggie (Rhodes), of Shelby. George Light served four years as drummer boy in the Civil war, being too young to enlist for regular service. Like his father, he was small of stature but was a man of prominence wherever he lived, popular and of affable manner. He was a .school teacher a number of years and was sent to the Legislature two terms by the Democrats of Putnam County, where he had been engaged in medical practice for 15 years before locating in Oklahoma. Samuel Light made his home in Richland County until he moved to Shelby, Ohio, where he was employed in operating a jack in the woolen mills for five years, his machine taking 150 threads. He also assisted in the office. He then engaged in the grocery business with two partners for about three years and did a large volume of business, buying and shipping practically all the eggs produced in the vicinity of Shelby. In March, 1871, he came to Monroe township, Allen County, and for 10 years ran a threshing machine here, introducing and oprating the first threshing machine engine in Allen County. In 1876 he purchased his present farm of 80 acres in section 23, Monroe township, and the same spring moved into the log cabin which had been built on the property. Since 1881 he has given his entire time to farming and to improving his place which, under his intelligent methods, has become twice as productive as it was originally, and never fails to yield good crops. He has about 77 acres cleared and has beautified it with handsome buildings and other improvements. Mr. Light has been twice married, his first union being with Mary N. Hood, a native of Wayne County, Ohio. Two children were born to this marriage, viz. : Sherman, who resides in Monroe township and is the father of four children ; and Emma Catherine, wife of Rev. W. V. Davis, pastor of the United Brethren Church at Robinson, Utah, and formerly stationed in Monroe township for 15 years. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have three children : Clyde, who is an electrician in the United States ; Army ; Leo, who is a talented musician ; and Virgil E., a minister of the Gospel. Mr. Light's present wife was the widow of Jeremiah Hershiser, her maiden name was Mary Cline. She had three children by her first union, the only one living being Mrs. Jennie Bistline, of Williams County, Ohio. The second union resulted in the birth of two children : Maggie Elizabeth, who married Oscar Weaver, of Monroe township, and has five children ; and Carrie Luella, who married Clark Kidd, of Orange township, Hancock County, and has five children. Mr. Light is a member of the United Brethren Church at Columbus Grove and has been an active worker since his conversion at the age of 23 years. He was class leader during the entire eight years he lived at Shelby and has also acted in that capacity here. He has been a life long Democrat ; has served as justice of the peace and township treasurer two terms each, and for six years was an infirmary director. H. B. WILLOWER, manager of The Bessemer Gas Engine Company, of Lima, was born in Auglaize County, Ohio, in 1877, but has resided in Lima since his fourth year, his father, C. A. Willower, having located here at that time. C. A. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 371 Willower is the efficient manager of the Willower Grocery Company and is one of the influential business men of Lima. The first employment in which our subject engaged was with the grocery firm of Watson & Company, for whom he worked four years. He then accepted the position of foreman of the L. E. & W. freight house in Lima and retained that position about eight years. In June, 1901, he accepted the office of assistant manager of The Bessemer Gas Engine Company and when, in the fall of the same year, A. A. Little, the manager, was transferred to Western territory, Mr. Willower was made manager of the company and has shown that he is well qualified for the place. He is also interested in a number of the leading industries of the city, being connected with the Willower Grocery Company and with the manufacture of gas pumps. Mr. Willower was married December 18, 1903, to Helen Eleanore Whistler, daughter of Mrs. L. E. Whistler, of Lima, and a lady of pleasing personality and a favorite in Lima society. They are attendants of the Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church, to which they are liberal contributors both of their time and means. Mr. Willower is a member of the Knights of Pythias. ELIAS CRITES, one of the esteemed citizens and substantial residents of German township, where he owns a finely improved farm of 228 acres located in sections 7 and 8, was born June 21, 1825, in Salt Creek township, Pickaway County, Ohio, and is a son of John D. and Catherine (Peters) Crites. John D. Crites was born in Linn township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, and moved from there to Berks County, Pennsylvania, where he married Catherine Peters and later moved to Salt Creek township, Pickaway County, Ohio, where both died in the course of time. They reared a family of 13 children, 10 of these reaching maturity, our venerable subject being the only survivor. John Crites and wife were consistent members of the German Reformed Church, in which he was a ruling elder. Elias Crites was reared on his father's farm and attended the district schools. His mother died when he was 17 years of age and he left home and learned the carpenter and cabinetmaking trade at which he worked for some eight years. He then engaged in farming in Pickaway County, Ohio, until 1871, when he came to Allen County and bought 228 acres of land just north. of Elida. This land he has placed under a fine state of cultivation and he has improved it with substantial houses and barns. He served eight years as trustee of Salt Creek township and for eight years was a trustee of German township. On June 18, 1851, Mr. Crites was married to Catherine Mowery, who was a daughter of John Mowery. She died May 3, 1862, leaving three children—John D. and W. W., who operate the home farm ; and Mary Selena, now deceased, who was the wife of Alvin Davis, of Elida. On October 5, 1862, Mr. Crites was married to a sister of his first wife, Mrs. Leannah (Mowery) Reichelderfer. Mrs. Crites by her first marriage had one son—George S. Reichelderfer, a resident of Pickaway County, engaged in the banking business at Laurelville, Ohio ; and one daughter, Sarah Jane, deceased, who was the wife of Hon. S. D. Crites, of Elida. Elias Crites is a member of the German Reformed Church, while his wife is a Lutheran. LAURENS HULL, vice-president and general manager of the Laurens Hull Lumber Company, of Lima, was born in New York in 1861, and is a son of the late Hon. M. A. Hull. The father of Laurens Hull was engaged in the manufacture of woolen fabrics at Pike, New York, for a number of years and was a very prominent citizen of Wyoming County. He served two terms in the New York Assembly, and for 13 years was deputy inspector of customs at Suspension Bridge, New York, his service extending through two years of President Cleveland's first administration ; he was relieved of the position at his own request. After a liberal education which was secured 372 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY in his native State, Laurens Hull began business in connection with the Sioux City Lumber Company, at Sioux City, Iowa, from which concern he went with the Aurora Lumber Company, at Aurora, Illinois. Since then he has been connected with a number of lumbering interests at different points, having made the lumber trade his life work. In 1901 he came to Lima, where he bought out the T. W. Dobbins Lumber Company, which was one of the oldest lumber companies in this city, and for two years he conducted the business under the firm name of Laurens Hull & Company. At the time the business was incorporated its present name—Laurens Hull Lumber Company—was adopted. The company is capitalized at $150,000, with Gilbert B. Shaw of Chicago, as president, and Laurens Hull, vice-president and general manager. Their yards are located at Lima, Tiffin, Ohio ; and Chicago. The business is one of far reaching possibilities and is in a very prosperous condition. It deals extensively, both wholesale and retail, in lumber and building material. The members of the company are all capitalists and men of business experience who command the confidence of the trade and of the public. Mr. Hull was married in 1891 to Anna Howe, who is a daughter of J. W. Howe, a retired locomotive engineer, formerly of Sioux City, Iowa, but who is passing the evening of life with Mr. Hull and wife. Mr. Hull belongs to several of the exclusive social organizations of this section, including the Shawnee Country Club and the Lima Club. SAMUEL W. WRIGHT, county commissioner of Allen County, was born in 1851 in Clinton County, Ohio, and is a son of W. G. and Louisa (Manker) Wright. The father of Mr. Wright was born in Virginia and the mother in Ohio. The father came to Allen County in 1855 when pioneer conditions still prevailed. His life was spent here following agricultural pursuits. Samuel W. Wright was reared on the farm and attending the local schools, graduating from the Delphos High School. He then taught school for some nine years, mainly in Allen and Putnam counties. Subsequently he settled on his present fine farm of 160 acres, which is situated in sections 29 and 32, Marion township, on the Delphos and Lima road, where he has made his home since 1889. He makes a specialty of raising thoroughbred Polled Durham and Short-horn cattle and Percheron horses, exhibiting at the various fairs and carrying off many of the ribbons. Mr. Wright has long been considered one of the substantial men of Marion township and is about completing his first term as county commissioner ; he was elected in November,. 1905, for a second term. In 1873 Mr. Wright was married to Minerva Long and they have one child—Gracie, wife of Jesse Cochran, a resident of Lima. Fraternally Mr. Wright is a member of Hope Lodge, No. 214, F. & A. M., of Delphos, and also belongs to the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. FRANK P. RUSHER, of the Frank P. Rusher Lumber Company, of Lima, is one of the city's active business men. He was born in Hardin County, Ohio, January 1, 1858, and is a son of George Rusher, who was a native of Germany and later became a successful farmer in Hardin County, where he died in 1894. After completing the work in the common schools, Frank P. Rusher at the age of 17 entered the employ of his uncle, Nicholas High. He remained with him three years, working his way up from the bottom to a good position. He then took a course in the Ohio Normal University at Ada, which included civil engineering, sciences and the classics. After this he taught for a time in Hardin and Putnam counties. He was then elected superintendent of the Leipsic schools; but the arduous work and close confinement affected his health, and after one year, during which he established a reputation for great ability, he resigned this position. He then accepted the position of deputy postmaster at Ada, Ohio, but impaired health AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 373 made it necessary for him to resign this position also after one year and to accept a position offered him by the Ada Lumber Company. He remained with that corporation for about two years. Later he managed a lumber yard at another point in Ohio, resigning his position there in order to come to Lima to associate himself in the retail lumber business with John Rossfeld. They established the firm of Rusher & Rossfeld. After two years G. V. Guyton was admitted to partnership and the firm name became the Rusher-Rossfeld Lumber Company, which continued until it was succeeded by the F. P. Rusher Lumber Company, wholesale and retail dealers in lumber, lath, shingles, etc. This company was incorporated with a capital stock of $15,000, with F. C. Jocelyn, of Chicago, president, and F. P. Rusher as manager. The business is on a sound basis and is one of Lima's large and flourishing industries. Mr. Rusher was married October 28, 1886, to Ida Shuster, who is a daughter of Daniel Shuster, deceased, who was a farmer and mechanic of Hardin County. They have three children : Paul W., Ross W. and Virgil. Mr. Rusher takes a good citizen's interest in politics and devotes attention to the forwarding of the various enterprises calculated to build up the city. ROBERT J. PLATE, secretary and treasurer of The Deisel-Wemmer Company, extensive cigar manufacturers, with headquarters and plant located at Lima, is not only prominently identified with this immense business enterprise, but is interested in other Lima concerns of magitude. Mr. Plate was born in 1868 at Miamisburg, Montgomery County, Ohio, and is a son of T. F. and Hannah (Karr) Plate. The father of Mr. Plate was also a native of Montgomery County, Ohio, but his mother came from New Jersey. They have been residents of Lima for some four years. In the year 1886 Robert J. Plate came to Lima and lived with his uncle, Henry C. Heckerman, who conducted a confectionery business. The young man assisted his uncle for several years and during this time he took a commercial course in the Lima Business College, attending the night sessions. Graduating from this institution, he accepted a position in the office of J. A. Chapin, architect, and from there he went into local railroad offices. In all the positions he filled he gained the approbation of his employers and in this way attracted the attention of the then Deisel-Wemmer Company, whose members have been noted, in building up their great business, for surrounding themselves with a most capable and reliable force of assistants. In 1892, when the company required the services of a competent bookkeeper, the offer was made to Mr.. Plate and was accepted. Shortly afterward he came into a still closer business relations, taking over the credit department also, and in 1902, when the business was incorporated, he was elected secretary and treasurer of the corporation, his brother, C. B. Plate, succeeding to the position of head bookkeeper. Mr. Plate was married in December, 1902, to Berenice M. Willaman, who is a daughter of Lee J. Willaman. Mrs. Plate is an accomplished lady, formerly a teacher in the Lima public schools. For a number of years Mr. Plate has been actively identified with the work of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church and for three years was superintendent of the Sunday-school. He has long been deeply interested in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association and has been a member of its working force, serving eight years as treasurer, two years as chairman of the finance committee and is still an active member of its directing board. Mr. Plate is a member of the Lima Business Men's Progressive Association and is very loyal to Lima and her interests. J. H. WAHMHOFF, one of the well-known citizens and the oldest druggist at Delphos, was born March 11, 1851, at Buffalo, New York, and is a son of Y. Stephen and Frederika (Reuter) Wahmhoff. The parents of our subject were born on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the father 374 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY in Hanover, Germany, and the mother in Prussia. They came to America prior to marriage and were united in Erie County, New York. There the father served an apprenticeship to the boiler-making trade and learned draughting, and for many years subsequently was a master mechanic in the employ of the Erie Central Railroad. He lost his life on the road, through accident, on December 9, 1858. His widow, three sons and two daughters survived him. In 1861 Mrs. Wahmhoff and her family moved to Van Wert County, Ohio, where they owned farming land about two miles from Delphos. Here she resided four years and then removed to Delphos. John H. Wahmhoff, was the eldest of his parents' children and he accompanied his widowed mother in her removals and always carefully looked to her comfort. He attended the parochial schools in Buffalo and the country schools in Van Wert County and after locating at Delphos, he attended night school. When 15 years old he entered upon an apprenticeship to the drug business with Hunt & Walsh, and continued with the firm after the retirement of Mr. Walsh. He then became manager for Mr. Hunt, continuing as such until 1878, when Mr. Hunt retired, Mr. Wahmhoff purchasing the business. For 4o consecutive years he. has continued in the drug business and is the oldest in this line here. Mr. Wahmhoff is one of the city's prominent and useful men, and he has always shown the public spirit and enterprise needed in citizens to bring about general prosperity. In 1872 he became a member of the volunteer fire department with which he continued for 18 years, filling every office from private to chief, and holding the latter office some years. In 1885 he was elected to the Delphos City Council from the Second Ward and in 1888 he was re-elected, serving until 189o. In 1894 he was again returned to the Council. During his administration and mainly through his efforts the city secured many improvements and the placing of a number of its utilities. For three years he served with the Board of Health and the Board of Education. Since 1880 he has been a member of the Ohio State Pharmaceutical Association. He was one of the five pharmacists who drafted the old Ohio State pharmacy laws. He is also connected with the pharmaceutical associations of the United States and of Canada. In 1881 Mr. Wahmhoff was married to Christina C. Eich, a native of Indiana. They have six children : Elizabeth, Henrietta, Agnes, John, Anna and Celestine. The family belongs to St. John's Catholic Church. For years our subject has been a contributor to various literary publications and might almost be called the historian of Delphos. He is a very prominent member of the Delphos branch of the Catholic Knights of America, a society organized for beneficial, educational and social purposes. He has been a delegate to its supreme council and State president. Its finely equipped hall in Delphos is located in the Wahmhoff Building on North Main street. Here our subject has delivered many lectures on live topics and has read many papers of more than passing interest. His ideas are clear and decided, whether in address or debate, and he has given a great impetus to the interests in literature and discussion in this society. He has liberally .contributed to fitting up its club-room, making it an inviting place in which young men may pass their evenings. WILLIAM S. EAST, president and manager of The East Iron & Machine Company, of Lima, is a man who possesses mechanical aptitude of a high order and is one of the leading manufacturers of the city. He was born at Lima, December 25, 1866, and is a son of Abraham East. Isaac East, the grandfather of William S. East, was one of the pioneers of this section in the flouring-mill business and in this industry was succeeded by his son Abraham. The latter continued in this business at Lima for a number of years. William S. East completed the common and high school courses at Lima and then learned the trade of machinist, at which he worked for 12 years in shops where his ability was thor- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 375 oughly tested. He has been in business for himself for some eight years. The East Iron & Machine Company was founded a number of years ago and the plant has been established at its present location for the past two and a half years. The officers of the company are : William S. East, president and manager ; J. L. Sampson, secretary and treasurer, and A. D. Neuman, vice-president. The company is capitalized at $100,000. The business is the manufacturing of all classes of structural iron work, a leading feature being steel bridge work. Their trade covers Ohio and a large portion of the territory in adjacent States, particularly Pennsylvania. It is ranked with the large and important industries of Lima. In 1891 Mr. East was married to Blanche Truesdale, who is a daughter of S. D. Truesdale, a prominent retired citizen of Delphos, Ohio. C. H. EAST, secretary and treasurer of The Lima Trust Company, is one of Lima's prominent men. He was born March 21, 1869, near Lima, and was educated in the public schools of this city. Mr. East's ealier business associations were with railroad work, for four years being connected with the freight department of the Pennsylvania Railroad. On July 16, 1889, he accepted a position as bookkeeper in The Ohio National Bank and on January I, 1895, he became assistant cashier. He continued in this position until March, 1903, when he resigned in order to accept that of secretary and treasurer of The Lima Trust Company. He had other important business interests, having organized and founded, in association with his brother, William S, East, The East Iron & Machine Company, one of the leading industries of Lima. The Lima Trust Company was organized and incorporated in February, 1903, with a capital stock of $200,000, fully paid up, and they began business with these officers : Davis J. Cable, president ; J. D. S. Neely, 1st vice-president ; J. Oscar Hover, 2nd vice-president ; and C. H. East, secretary and treasurer. Subsequently J. D. S. Neely was made president and E. R. Curtin, 1st vice-president. A general banking business is carried on, also a savings department ; they hold the largest deposits of any financial institution in the city. Mr. East is a charter member of the Y. M. C. A. of Lima. For years he has been a member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. A. BURKHARDT, joint agent of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton and the Lake Erie & Western railroads, at Lima, was born in Shawnee township, Allen County, Ohio, December 31, 1872, and is a son of George and Mary (Bowsher) Burkhardt. George Burkhardt came to Allen County in 1865 and has since been identified with the agricultural interests and public affairs of Shawnee township. He married Mary Bowsher, a member of one of the old and prominent families of the State. She is a daughter of Benjamin Bowsher, who came from Pickaway County to Allen County in 1836. His father, William Bowsher, was a soldier in the War of 1812, coming to Ohio from Pennsylvania, in 1804. The father of William Bowsher was Daniel Bowsher, who lived in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 1755, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The family has been very conspicuous in Allen County in political, business and social life. For the past to years our subject has been engaged in tracing its ancestral branches and this work, when completed, will possess interest for the family and make a valuable addition to local history. F. A. Burkhardt has been a resident of Lima since he was 20 years old. He was afforded excellent educational advantages and attended the Ohio Normal University at Ada and Lima College, and then taught school for two years in Allen County. He was then made assistant agent for the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway, at Lima, in 1896, and on January I, 190o, became agent for the Lake Erie & Western Railroad ; on June 16, 1901, he was made joint agent of both roads. This position of importance he has filled ever since. Its du- 376 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY ties require special talents and these Mr. Burkhardt is fortunate enough to possess. On June 16, 1896, Mr. Burkhardt was married to Nannie Dearth, a daughter of Samuel Dearth, a prominent farmer of Warren County, Ohio. They have two children, E. Lucile and Lorene. The family belongs to the English Lutheran Church, in which Mr. Burkhardt is a member of the board of trustees. Mrs. Burkhardt is a graduate of the National Normal College, at Lebanon, Ohio. For some time prior to her marriage, she was a successful teacher in the public schools of Lima. Mr. Burkhardt for eight years was a member of the board of trustee of Lima College. He is a member of the board of directors of the Lima Young Men's Christian Association. He is treasurer of The Brunswick Bowling Company, at Lima and is also secretary of the organization known as the Ohio Checker, Association. JOHN B. MORRIS, township trustee, well-known citizen and substantial farmer of Sugar Creek township, resides on his well-improved farm of 80 acres, located in section 23, following farming and stock-raising. Mr. Morris was born in Oneida County, New York, five miles north of Utica, February 16, 1848, and is a son of Edward and Sarah (Breese) Morris. Edward Morris was born in 1818 in North Wales and came to the United States in 1838 immediately following his marriage. He lived a short time in Licking County, Ohio, and then moved to Oneida County, New York, but in September, 1854, came to Sugar Creek township, Allen County, Ohio, and lived the remainder of his life on the farm now owned by our subject. Here he died in March, 1901, a man respected by all who knew him. He was for a number of years one of the leading members of the Welsh Congregational Church at Gomer. He married Sarah Breese, who was born in North Wales in 1820, and who died on the Sugar Creek township farm in 1872. They reared a large family, our subject being the fifth in order of birth. The family record is as follows : Jane, who died in infancy ; Thomas N. ; Jane (Ruggles), deceased; Elizabeth (Well) ; Sarah (Rockey) ; Mary ( Jones), of Vaughnsville, Ohio ; Anna (Buskirk), of Beaver Dam ; Harriet (Garner), of Cairo; George W., who died in childhood ; and William, who died aged 32 years. John B. Morris accompanied his parents from New York to Allen County, the trip being made by way of Buffalo to Toledo, on Lake Erie, and then by canal to Delphos. He remained on the farm assisting his father until his marriage, having also learned the carpenter's trade while working on the farm. After his marriage he rented land for about seven years and then went to Cairo, where he embarked in a mercantile business with Robert Davies, under the firm name of Davies & Morris, which continued about four years. After selling his interest he went to Knoxville, Tennessee, and during the following 11 years worked at farming and at his trade. He then returned to Allen County and rented the homestead of his father and at the latter's death purchased it. It is a valuable piece of property and Mr. Morris carries on large agricultural operations here, giving the greater part of his attention to the raising of corn and hogs. Mr. Morris was married first to Clara J. Ridenour, a native of Sugar Creek township, who was a daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Risen) Ridenour, natives of Germany. They had four children, namely : Sarah Lilian, who died aged 16 years ; Roy B., of Monroe township, who is married and has one child—Walter Lloyd ; Oscar B., who lives at home ; and John, who with his mother, died in Tennessee. Mr. Morris was married, second, at Knoxville, Tennessee, to Scerena Kirby, who was born within nine miles of Knoxville, and who is a daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Harris) Kirby. Mr. Morris has been a Democrat all his life and has been an active member, of his party in Sugar Creek township. As one of the substantial, representative men, he has been frequently elected to office. He has served two years as supervisor and is now serving as one of the township trustees. He is a member of the Odd Fellows, belonging to Lodge No. 464, of Columbus Grove. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 379 SAMUEL DAVISON FRENCH, whose portrait appears 0n the opposite page, is one of the prosperous and influential farmers of Allen County. He has been an honored and esteemed resident of Perry township for upwards of 70 years, having spent almost his entire life upon the 160-acre farm which is still his home. He was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, July 10, 1823, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Davison) French, and grandson of Alexander French. The last named was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and was a soldier in the Revolution before he located in Trumbull County, Ohio. On October 5, 1784, he was married to Elizabeth Morrison ; a family of five daughters and one son were reared, namely : Margaret (Mrs. John Hannah) ; William ; Ann (Mrs. Robert Russell) ; Jane (Mrs. John Sheefleton) ; Betsey (Mrs. John Davison) ; and Sally (Mrs. William Moore). The maternal grandparents of our subject were Benjamin and Ann (Buchanan) Davison. Benjamin Davison, who was from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, came to Ohio and located in Trumbull County May 7, 1800, before Ohio became a State, being then the best known portion of the Northwest Territory. Very few white men had ventured into the new country at that time as it took more than an average amount of pluck to invade the country of the Indians. Benjamin Davison spent the last years of his life in Newton Falls. William French was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1787. In 1834 he located in Allen County, Ohio, where he purchased i60 acres of land. Of this land :80 acres lay in Bath township, where he made his home and the other 80 was situated just across the road in Perry township and upon it is located the buildings of his son, our subject. On August II, 1819, he was married to Elizabeth Davison and a family of eight children were horn to them, as follows : Ann, wife of John Rankin ; Elizabeth, unmarried ; Samuel Davison ; David : John ; Mary Jane; George ; and Newton. Our subject and his brother 'George, who lives in Bath township, are the only survivors. William French had always been a Democrat until the first nomination of William H. Harrison for the presidency, when he decided to give his support to the hero of Tippecanoe in preference to Martin VanBuren, but died in 1836 before the election at the age of 49 years. Samuel Davison French came to Allen County with his parents when he was 11 years of age. It was a memorable journey, contrasting strongly with the present-day travel by electric car over the same land, which is crisscrossed by electric and telephone wires and dotted with every indication of prosperous civilization. The little company of emigrants who started with their ox teams to traverse the long miles which lay between Trumbull and Allen counties numbered 22 people, only three of whom—our subject, his brother George and Hank Agate—are living. It took 13 ½ days to complete the journey.. When they reached Marion County, on the Hardin County line, their provisions were exhausted and they were obliged to remain there three days, unsheltered by a roof while the women of the party were busily engaged in cooking enough to sustain them on the remainder of the trip. The trail was followed with great difficulty as the forest was so dense it was almost impossible to penetrate its labyrinths and it was necessary to proceed with caution. They camped one night at Hog Creek marsh, where the wolves were so numerous it was found necessary to watch the sheep the entire night to keep them from being killed. The Indian was still a menace to the white man and one of the relics which Mr. French prizes as a reminder of those days is a cane made from a log which formed a part of the historic old Council House of the Shawnee's in Shawnee township, the old structure having long since given way to the Allen County Children's Home. Mr. French was married April 23, 1847, to Margaret T. Roberts, daughter of William and Hannah (Morrison) Roberts, and an aunt of Thomas C. Roberts, whose biography will be found in this volume. They have four children, namely : Lois A., who died at the age of one year ; William, who was killed while taking a team of mules to water ; Elizabeth, who is unmarried and is housekeeper for her parents ; and Leola, the wife of Jesse Growdon and the 380 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY mother of six children—Lois, S. D. (who is married and has three children), Walter, Effie, Ross and Eunice. When Mr. French first came to this farm, there was a small clearing and a cabin on the 80-acre tract in Bath township. Shortly after his marriage, he built a cabin on the 80 in Perry township and continued to live in it until 1861 when his present residence was built. He has put all the improvements on this land and has done all the clearing except the first 20 acres. When he took possession, the land was covered with a heavy forest and it required much hard work to convert it into his present well-cultivated acres. In addition to general farming, Mr. French is also engaged in stock-raising, but has lately left the active management of the work to his son-in-law. He is a genial, generous, kindly gentleman who is venerated and loved by all. He has been identified with the Republican party since its organization and before that was a Whig. He has never sought nor desired public office. HARRY H. ADKINS, oil operator and well-known business man at Lima, was born August 21, 1865, in Pickaway County, Ohio, and is a son of Barzillai Adkins, now a resident of Circleville, Pickaway County, who has long been one of the leading men of the county, prominent in political and business life, and who has served two terms in the State Legislature. Completing his schooling in boyhood, Mr. Adkins began to teach when about 16 years of age and continued in the profession for eight consecutive years. He then became commercial traveler, for the American Furniture Company, and in this capacity traveled all through the West, visiting Colorado, Kansas and Missouri in the interest of his house. In 1900 Mr. Adkins came to Lima, attracted by the business opportunities offered in the oil business. In association with his brother he became an operator and producer and is still engaged extensively in operations in the Trenton rock fields of Ohio and Indiana and also, to a smaller ex tent, in Western oil fields. His success has been such as to place him among the prominent oil men of the locality. In 1902 Mr. Adkins was united in marriage with Corda May Burkett, a daughter of Joseph W. Burkett, who is one of the leading farmers of Perry County, Ohio. Her brother., Prof. Charles Burkett has a national reputation as an instructor. Mr. and Mrs. Adkins have one daughter—Anna Louise, born February 9, 1904. Mr. Adkins, like his father, is identified with the Democratic party. Fraternally he is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias. J. LOUIS BARTH, decorator and dealer in wall-paper at Lima, was born in Marion County, Ohio, September 9, 1877. His father, William Barth, residing on Union street, is a native of Saxony, Germany. Our subject's mother, whose maiden name was Rhoda Burrey, was born in Marion County, Ohio. William Barth and his wife reared three children, viz : Elmer, of Lima ; David, of Los Angeles, California ; J. Louis, the immediate subject of this sketch ; and Laura, wife of Harry Thew, of Lima. J. Louis Barth has resided in Lima since his childhood and when old enough to make his own way in the world entered the Monroe factory where he was employed about two years.. He left that work to accept the management of the store room of Carnes, Agerter & Company's car and machine works. After he had been in that position for two years, he decided to engage in business for himself, and to that end learned the trade of decorator. In 1899 he opened a store for the sale of wall-paper, etc., and has given such general satisfaction to his patrons that to-day he is the leader in that line of goods in Lima. In his stock will be found fashionable papers suited to the most fastidious taste and ranging in price from 5 cents to $35 per roll. In addition to his extensive local trade, he has a large outside patronage, and is widely known for his skillful and excellent work. Mr. Barth was married on May 31, 1904, AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 381 to Jessie Eleanor Jenkins, daughter of Dr. J. S. Jenkins, of Venedocia, Van Wert County, Ohio. They have one child, Marvin Jenkins, born May 21, 1905. Mr. Barth is a member of the Presbyterian Church and a man of integrity and worth. JOHN R. HANCE, whose fine farm "Maple Grove," situated in section 1, Spencer township, adjoins the city limits of Spencerville, was born September 9, 1846, in Gallatin County, Kentucky, and is a son of Richard and Margaret Jane (Knox) Hance and a grandson of John and Keturah (Clements) Hance, natives of Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Hance comes of Revolutionary stock and of one of the old-established families of America. His great-great-grandfather, John Hance, who was a large slaveholder, came fr0m England and was one of the, very early settlers on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. His great-grandfather, Richard Hance, took part in the Revolutionary War and removed from Maryland to Kentucky, locating first in Scott County. He was one of the workmen employed in the building of the State House, at Lexington. Later he took up land in Bourbon County and passed the rest of his life there. He was considered a man of prominence and substance. His son John, born at Lexington, was the grandfather of our subject. Of the family of 10 children born to John Hance and his wife, Keturah Clements, Richard Hance, the father of our subject, is the only survivor. He was born September 7, 1824, in Bourbon County, Kentucky, and was reared and educated in that State, where he remained until 1849, when he came to Ohio. During his 18 months of prospecting, he lived on the Auglaize River.. Finally, in April, 1851, he took up a tract of land in Jennings township, Van Wert County, and on its southeast corner erected a round-log cabin, with a stick and clay chimney. The county at that time was still practically unsettled and deer and wolves were plentiful in the surrounding forest and even bear were not unknown. Mr. Hance, with the assistance of his son John, cleared 80 acres of land and fenced his property with rails. All the luxuries and almost all of the necessities of what was then deemed comfortable living were produced at home, each member of the family having appointed tasks. The family continued to occupy the first log cabin for a term of 11 years and then a more comfortable and commodious one was built of hewed logs, the work being done by Mr. Hance and his sons. The old house still stands solid and secure, although the family moved to Spencerville in 1889. While residing on the farm, Mr. Hance was supervisor of his road district at times ; he had much to do with making good roads. In 1844 Richard Hance was married in Henry County, Kentucky, to Margaret J. Knox, who was a first cousin of James K. Polk, elected President of the United States in 1844. The Knox family is of Scotch origin and our subject's maternal grandfather took part in the War of Independence. The family first settled in Virginia and later assisted in establishing the colony on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Prior to the marriage of. Margaret J. Knox, her people had located in Kentucky. She died in 1880. The children of this marriage who reached maturity were : John R. ; William Clements, of Bartlett, Kansas, who married Caroline Masters and has two children living ; Wilkison K., of New Carlisle, Ohio, who married Sarah Allen and has five children ; Austin, a resident of Lima, who married Rebecca Shoemaker and has three children ; Edward, who died aged 25 years ; Icem, a resident of Lima, who married Eliza Snyder, and has three children ; and Ann Eliza, who married Gordon Baker and has two children living. Mr. Hance has 19 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. On October 12, 1882, Richard Hance was married, second, to Mrs. Sarah C. Townsend, who was the widow of Jesse Townsend. Mr. and Mrs. Hance belong to the Baptist Church and reside at Spencerville. John R. Hance accompanied his parents to Jennings township and grew up surrounded with pioneer conditions, these, perhaps, serving to develop both body and mind, for he was but 382 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY 20 years old when he became a successful and popular teacher in the district schools. His first term was taught in the winter of 1866-67. He continued to teach for 12 terms, mostly during the winters as his summers were employed in carrying on agricultural operations. In 1882 he located in Spencer township, Allen County, securing a partly improved farm on the edge of the corporation limits of Spencerville. Here he has continued to make improvements and has built and remodeled buildings so that his property has greatly increased in value. The Chicago & Erie Railroad passes through his farm, the rails having been laid in the year he secured the property. On April 13, 1869, Mr. Hance was married to Margaret J. Van Sweringen, and to this union have been born these children : Sarah Isabelle, who died May 26, 1886, aged 16 years ; Thomas E., who resides in. Peru, Kansas ; Jennie, who married David A. Parrott, of Spencerville, and has two children living and two deceased ; Charles and Franklin (twins), the latter deceased at the age of 17 days—the former married Ellen Rose and has four children living and one deceased ; Mary, who is the wife of Robert Gracely Kossuth ; Millie Ann, who married Clyde Robbins and died July 17, 1905, leaving two children—two other children died before their mother went to her reward; Nora Catherine, who married Webb D. Metzger,, of Spencer township, and has one child; and Martha Rachel, who lives at home. GEORGE McCAULEY conducts a flourishing meat market and grocery store in Lima, where he has been a life-long resident. He first opened his eyes to the light of day in this city in 1873, his father being Joseph McCauley, now deceased, who came here about 4o years ago and engaged in milling. George McCauley became a wage-earner at an early age, first as newsboy and later as a clerk in Adams' grocery store. After clerking about six years, he formed a partnership with a Mr. Biggs, and for the next three years the grocery business of McCauley & Biggs claimed all his attention. At the expiration 0f that time the partnership was dissolved, and during the following three years Mr. McCauley ran the store at the old stand alone. His brother, S. E. McCauley, then bought an interest in the business, and the stock was moved to the corner of Jackson and McKibben streets and conducted under the name of McCauley Brothers for another three years. Since that time our subject has been in business alone at No. 930 East High street, where he continues to cater to an extended and lucrative patronage. An important epoch in his life occurred in 1904 when he was married to Florence Collins, a lady of many accomplishments and of pleasing personality. They have one son, Daniel Joseph, born November 23, 1905. Mrs. McCauley's parents D. E. and Ellen M. Collins, reside on Bellefontaine avenue Lima, and are prominent in the life of the city, the former being an oil gauger and the latter being a well-known dealer in real estate. Mrs. Collins is a shrewd, clearheaded business woman, and in addition to Collins' addition to Lima has various other properties in the city to rent and for sale. Mr. McCauley is a devout member of St. Rose's Catholic Church and a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters.   J. H. HUNTLEY, M. D., who has an enviable reputation as a physician and surgeon, not only in Allen County, but throughout the State of Ohio, is a citizen of Lima where he universally respected and loved. He was born in Hardin County Ohio, in 1851, and is a son of Joseph Huntley, an agriculturist of that section who moved to Allen Couny about 1853 and here engaged in farming. Dr. Huntley was a cripple in his childhood and for more than io years was able to go around only by meant of crutches. This infirmity was overcome only after the' fourth surgical operation had been performed upon his feet and doubtless to this affliction and subsequent relief Allen County is indebted for one of her most skillful surgeons, the desire to enter that profession having entered the mind AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 383 of the child at an early age and taken a firm hold upon it. So much interested was he in surgical work that when he was 12 years of age, he crawled up to a window, where he could command a view of the operating table, and watched Dr. S. A. Baxter amputate the leg of Mr. Shockey an old resident of the county. It was some time, however, before he saw the fruition of his hopes. His first labors were in a saddlery and harness shop where he learned the trade and followed it for three years. He then engaged in teaching school, never for a moment relinquishing his purpose of becoming a surgeon, and was at last able to enter the medical department of the University of Michigan. Having entered upon the work, he left no stone unturned to master the profession. After one year of hard study at Ann Arbor he entered the Eclectic Medical Institute, of Cincinnati, graduating from that institution in 1878. He opened his first office at West Newton, Allen County, later removing to Alger, Hardin County, where he practiced for some time. He continued his studies and in 1890 was graduated from the Starling Medical College of Columbus, Ohio. He has taken two post-graduate courses in Chicago, two in New York City, one in Boston and one in New Orleans. Dr. Huntley located in Lima in 1895, and few surgeons have been better equipped or more efficient in their chosen work than he. Heretofore the Doctor has devoted his time to both medicine and surgery, but after the first of January, 1906, he expects to confine his practice to surgery. His rare skill and almost phenomenal success has made the name of Dr. Huntley a familiar one in medical circles, while it is held in grateful love in hundreds of homes which his service have blessed with health. While he handles all manner of surgical cases, and has an extended and enviable reputation in abdominal surgery, his specialty is in treating diseases of the limbs and feet. Dr. J. H. Huntley was married in 1885 to Mary E. McClung, daughter of Hutchison McClung. Their union has been blessed by the birth of one daughter, Grace Darling, who is a young lady possessing many accomplishments and rare ability as a reader. Graduating from the literary department of Lima College in the class of 1904 with the degree of B. L., she entered the Emerson School of Oratory at Boston, where she is now in her second year and has a reputation as a reader which is excelled by few. Like her father, she is an untiring student and compels success in whatever she undertakes. Dr. Huntley is a member of the Allen County, Northwestern Ohio, State and Ameri can medical associations and is an instructor in the Lima Training School for Nurses. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a man who is looked up to and respected by all. FREDERICK GOODMAN, a representative of one of Allen County's prominent pioneer families, is engaged in farming in Shawnee township, his farm being located in section 4. He was born January 12, 1836 in Ross County, Ohio, and is a son of Peter and Diana (Shaffer) Goodman, and a grandson of Peter-Goodman, Sr., who in 1803, with his brothers, Daniel and Samuel, removed from Reading, Pennsylvania to Ross County, Ohio. The three-brothers were married and brought their families with them. Peter Goodman, father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania in 1803 and was three weeks old when the family came to Ohio and located in Ross County. There in early life he engaged in hauling freight, consisting of all kinds of merchandise, driving six-horse teams. He acquired a piece of land in that county, which he cleared and cultivated until 1860, in which year he came to Allen County. Here he purchased a tract of 160 acres, located five miles-east of Lima. There he farmed and resided until 1880, when he moved to the present Goodman farm in section 4, Shawnee township. He died on this place April 9, 1882, aged 89 years. His wife, Diana (Shaffer) Goodman, was born in Virginia and was 17 years old when she came to Ohio. Her death occurred in February, 1870. Peter Goodman was a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Lutheran Church. Peter and Diana (Shaffer) Goodman had the following children : Harriet ; Caroline, wife 384 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY of Daniel Moyer, living in Arkansas ; Frederick ; Margaret ; Charles, who lived on the home place until his death at the age of 46; Mary, deceased, who was the wife of Albert Hefner, ex-county commissioner of Allen County ; David, deceased at the age of 22 years ; Calvin ; and Oliver who died at the age of two years. There are two houses on the Goodman farm, one of them occupied by our subject and his family and the other by. his sisters, Harriet and Margaret, and his brother, Calvin, who have never married. Frederick Goodman was past 24 years of age when, in April, 1860, he accompanied the family to Allen County. He enlisted in the Union Army in 1862, and served three years in the Pioneer Corps, seeing hard service in the South and West. The work was very hazardous, as it was usually in advance of the fighting line. The detachments of the Pioneer Corps, while engaged at their work of clearing-away obstructions, building roads and bridges, etc., were always subject to attacks by large forces of the enemy. They were in the woods cutting timber upon one occasion when they were attacked by 500 Confederate cavalrymen. Mr. Goodman was shot through the leg and was incapacitated for some time. He was honorably discharged in May, 1865, and returned to Columbus, where for about a year he followed his trade as a mechanic. He had followed his trade in St. Louis for a time before going to the war. Since returning to Allen County he has been engaged in farming, although he has done some carpentering. In working upon the place some time ago, Mr. Goodman ploughed up a silver hair-comb, which Mrs. Goodman or her daughter sometimes wears. Although buried in the ground many years, it is not in the least impaired. Our subject also has an old Indian scalping-knife, which was found on the place, and many other interesting relics of the period of Indian habitation in Allen County. More than a century ago Turkey Foot, a member of the Shawnee tribe of Indians living in this vicinity, built on what is now the Goodman farm a cabin which has since been known as "Turkey Foot's Cabin." It is still standing, although fast succumbing to the elements. On February 5, 1884, Frederick Goodman married' Loureath Hibbets, who was born in Jackson township, Allen County, Ohio, and is a daughter of John and Margaret (Harper) Hibbets. John Hibbets removed to Champaign County, Ohio, at an early date, and in 1830 came to Allen County, locating a farm situated partly in Bath and partly in Jackson township, the house being in the latter. His wife chopped down the first tree for the clearing where the log-cabin was erected. Mrs. Hibbets was born in West Virginia at Harper's Ferry, and was a daughter of Samuel and Sarah Harper, who moved from Harper's Ferry, which was named after this family, to Champaign County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Hibbets had 10 children, namely : Mafia, wife of Jesse Rambaugh, living in Iowa ; Samuel, who lives in Michigan ; Peggy, Sarah, John, Caroline, Rosanna and Jane, all deceased; Loureath, wife of our subject; and Aramitta, wife of Henry Bolton, of Lima. John Hibbets, father of Mrs. Goodman, finally moved from Jackson to Shawnee township, and took up a farm which connects with our subjects. He died December 24, 1889 ; his wife died February 4, 1888. To Mr. and Mrs. Goodman were born two children, as follows : Clara, deceased at the age of two years ; and Alta, born September 28, 1888, who lives at home. Mr. Goodman is a Democrat in politics, and was six years on the township board. Mrs. Goodman is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; Mr. Goodman, while not a member, of the church, has always been a consistent church-goer and has contributed towards building churches. CHARLES E. CRAIG, county surveyor of Allen County, and a popular and efficient official, was born in Auglaize County, Ohio, December 3, 1870, and is a son of Silas and Mahala (Stepleton) Craig, who are natives of Allen County. They reared a family of seven children. Mr. Craig, who is one of a family of seven children, was reared on his father's farm and AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 387 obtained his primary education in the public schools. Afterwards he became a student at the Ohio Normal University and still later, at Lima College. For probably 10 years he followed his profession as surveyor and engineer during the summer seasons in Allen County, spending his winters teaching school. In 1903 he was elected county surveyor of Allen County on the Democratic ticket. This position brings with it many important duties and requires a well-equipped man properly to perform them. Such Mr. Craig has proven himself to be. In addition to his own personal work, two deputy surveyors are required, over whom he has entire supervision. Mr. Craig is looked upon as one of the rising young men of Allen County, and he is personally popular with his fellow citizens, irrespective of party. He is fraternally connected with the Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Golden Eagle. At present writing Mr. Craig is unmarried and resides at No. 789 Oak street, Lima. THORNTON T. MITCHELL, president of The City Bank of Lima, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, belongs to one of the old pioneer families of this section. Mr. Mitchell was born on his father's Ohio farm, on August 27, 1827, and is a son of John P. and Maria (Bentley) Mitchell. The parents of Mr. Mitchell came to Lima when the present city was represented by nothing but a couple of log houses, in fact John P. Mitchell's family was the second one to really establish a home here, this being in 1831. The father died in 1834, leaving four children. Though the little home of logs was a building but 15 feet square, it was quite as pretentious as any of its neighbors for a long time following. Our subject was four years old when his parents came to Lima and here he grew to manhood. He learned the harness-making trade as a means of livelihood and worked at this and the saddlery business until 1878. Since then he has been interested in banking, having bought out the business of Dr. S. A. Baxter. The capital stock of The City Bank of Lima, is $50,000. Under Mr. Mitchell's careful and conservative direction, the bank has become one of the best known institutions of this city. The cashier is Elmer B. Mitchell and the assistant cashier is Ernest T. Mitchell, sons of our subject. Mr. Mitchell was married to Nancy Stevens and they have seven children, as follows : Roena F., widow of A. C. Baxter, Sr. ; Elmer B., mentioned above; Mrs. Emma H. Decker ; Ernest T., also mentioned above-; Dora F., wife of S. K. Blair, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, superintendent of the Western Division of the "Nickel Plate" Railroad ; Mary E., widow of J. A. Hesse; and Thornton W., who is engaged in the oil business. All reside in Lima except Mrs. Blair. The family belong to the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Mitchell is a generous supporter. He is interested in many benevolent institutions and is. one of the most liberal men as well as one of the largest capitalists of Allen County. The beautiful family home at Lima is situated at No. 304 West Market street. Politically Mr. Mitchell is a Republican. Fraternally he is a Mason. DANIEL J. O'DAY. The death of Daniel J. O'Day, which occurred May 28, 1905, at his home on the southeast corner of West and North streets, Lima, removed one of the city's most estimable and beloved citizens, and a man whose rise from a humble position to that of a distinguished one, in close association with the greatest combination of capital and brain that the world has ever known, was entirely through his own inherent ability. Thus his career, his methods, his personality and his victories possess an interest not only for his family and immediate friends, but for the country at large. Daniel J. O'Day was born October 2, 1857, at Ellicottville, Cattaraugus County, New York, and was a son of Daniel and Hannah O'Day, who died some years ago. Mr,. O'Day was born into a large family, in which industry was considered a cardinal virtue, and frugality, a continuous necessity. His boyhood 388 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY was passed on a farm and his opportunities for education and general culture were comparatively slight. No disadvantages however, and no drawbacks were sufficient to discourage one who possessed determination and ambition united with a strong character. When the time came for him to make a choice of career, it led from the farm, and as he had already shown a remarkable aptitude for mechanics, he sought an opening where these inclinations could be properly molded. In 1873 he thus became an apprentice in the boiler shops of Gibbs & Russell, at Titusville, Pennsylvania. Here his work was marked by carefulness, reliability and intelligence, and when his apprenticeship ended, he had a thorough and practical knowledge of machinery construction which, although he did not then know it, was to be of the greatest value to him later, in life. In 1876 he entered the service of the American Transfer Company, at Oil City, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1878, when he was transferred to Bradford, Pennsylvania, and shortly afterward was placed in charge of the United Pipe Line interests at Olean, New York, being at the time of assuming these important relations but 22 years of age. Mr. O'Day's capacity and fidelity were recognized and were still further rewarded in 1885, when he was appointed superintendent of the Macksburg Pipe Line, with headquarters at Macksburg, Ohio, where he remained two years, during that period developing a system which connected the different pipe-lines of this field, and which extended as far as Parkersburg, West Virginia. Not only did Mr. O'Day accomplish a remarkable engineering feat, but by his shrewd, skillful and judicious management of all associated interests, still more fully proved to the company the great value of his services. In January, 1887, Mr. O'Day was called to Lima, which city continued to be his chosen and beloved home until his death. He located here as general superintendent of the Buckeye Pipe Line Company, which then embraced the entire pipe-line system of the great Trenton rock oil field of Ohio and Indiana, the most far-reaching branch of the Standard Oil Company. This most responsible position he continued to acceptably fill until his decease. It was Mr. O'Day who was delegated by the Standard Oil interests to take charge of the great development 0f oil in, Kansas and Indian Territory, in 1902, and, regardless of premonitions of illness, he gave his personal attention to the locating and constructing of the lines. This work was his last great accomplishment. During the many years of close association with men of all degree in the pipe-line business,. he won respect and esteem. His bearing was ever genial and considerate and, knowingly, he never wronged an individual. His patience was remarkable and, as far as he was able, no employee had cause to resent an injustice done him. In fact, his practice throughout his business life evinced the impulses of a man governed by the highest understanding of business integrity and the determination t0 do right to the best of his ability. He never forgot old friends, nor ever attained to such an eminence that he considered it beyond his dignity to extend a friendly hand and give a kindly greeting to an acquaintance, no matter what might be his garments or the condition of his toil-worn hand. In recalling the different events of Mr. O'Day's 18 years of citizenship at Lima, nothing is found to his discredit ; and on the other hand the list is long of honors bestowed and benefits given. It is conceded that he was one of the most public-spirited men who ever resided in a city which has been particularly fortunate in this regard. A reputable charity can not be named which was denied his assistance ; a large amount of his largest, however, was bestowed unostentatiously, and on many occasions the helping hand was extended without the recipient knowing from what source came the lifting of heavy financial burdens. It gave Mr. O'Day keen pleasure to thus regulate his charities. To home enterprises Mr. O'Day was more than liberal in his contributions. He was one of the most actively interested citizens in assisting in the founding of the Lima Hospital, of which he became a trustee at its organization and continued one until his decease, ever looking after its interests. He assisted materially in establishing a free Public Library at Lima, and by advice and funds made it a real AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 389 charity and one deeply and widely appreciated. He was a member of the board of directors of The First National Bank of Lima, and his name gave added strength to the corporation. He was a charter member of the Lima Club and in that, as in other organizations where he met his fellowmen on an equal footing, his judgment was consulted and his wishes considered. Men were proud to know him and cherished his friendship. In 1882 Daniel J. O'Day and Catherine Griffin, of Olean, New York, were united in marriage. Mrs. O'Day and their daughter, Catherine E., survive the deceased and continue to reside in Lima. For some two years prior to his death, Mr. O'Day had been in a physical decline, so in the hope of regaining health, with his wife and young daughter, he made a leisurely tour of the European continent. Upon his return his health was apparently so improved that his family and friends seemed warranted in their anticipation of complete restoration. Shortly afterward, however, disquieting symptoms became apparent and a sojourn in Florida was made, but even that mild climate was insufficient to check the ravages the disease had already made. Hence his departure from life came in his own luxurious home, in the midst of all the comforts and alleviations which love could suggest, With his beloved wife and adored child by his side as he journeyed into the dark valley. The solemn end came as the bright sun of a beautiful Sabbath day broke over the landscape. From his coming to Lima until his death, Mr. O'Day was devoted in his church relationship. He was a Roman Catholic, was a valued member, of St. Rose Catholic Church at Lima, and for a number of years prior to his death, had been a member 0f its board of trustees. He was a charter member of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, Branch No. 64, and of Lima Council, No. 436, Knights of Columbus. Mr. O'Day rose step by step, as. has been briefly outlined. Others have done the same, but few there are whose passing can be recalled with so little to mar a perfect, manly life. His true memorial is written in the hearts and mem- - 21 - ories of his fellow citizens. The influence of his life cannot be lost as long as men honor integrity, virtue and devotion to duty. JOSEPH EDWARD PIERSON is one of the industrious, hard working aggriculturists of Allen County, whose success in life is due entirely to personal and concentrated efforts. His farm, which contains 67 acres of land, is one of the most carefully improved in section 17, German township. He was born June 19, 1862, in Amanda township, this county, and is a son of Joseph and Hannah (DeLong) Pierson, who moved to Allen County from Fairfield County in 1854 and who died there, the mother on May 15, 1886, and the father March 4, 1900. They side by side in the silent city of the dead, in Allentown. The family located in Auglaize County,. where our subject received his education and grew to man's estate. He has always carried on farming and, with the assistance of his estimable wife, saved sufficient means to purchase his present farm in May, 1903. They took possession on the loth of the following October, and have made many very noticeable improvements in the property since. He conducts general farming, and has leased the three oil-wells on his property to the National Consolidated Oil Company, of Lima. Mr. Pierson was married April 20, 1884, to Maggie Esther Anderson by whom he has two children—Bernard Herman, born February 13, 1886, and Harold Throne, born February 3, 1892, who is a student in the Elida schools. Mr. and Mrs. Pierson belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Elida and are straightforward, upright people, who would be-a credit to any community. Mrs. Pierson is a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Walker) Anderson, who came to this section of the State. from Harrison County, Ohio, and are now living in Auglaize County. Her grandfather, Samuel Anderson, came from Ireland to Harrison County. She has five brothers and three. sisters, as follows : Jennie, who married Hardy 390 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Columbus Whetstone, of Auglaize County, and has three children ; Keren, who married John Brown of Auglaize County ; Gertrude, wife of Hubert J. Sunderland of this county, and the mother of three children : William ; James Beatty ; Samuel ; Everett, who died December 22, 1904 and Joseph. JAMES W. HALFHILL, one of the leading attorneys of Lima and the junior member of the prominent law firm of Ridenour & Halfhill, was born at Mercer, Mercer County, Ohio, March 1, 1861, and is a son of Moses and Eleanor (Wood) Halfhill. Mr. Halfhill comes of Revolutionary stock and colonial ancestry. There are many interesting facts connected with the early history of his family, one of these being. the naming of the Plains of Abraham, in the Province of Quebec, once a notable battle-ground, in honor of Abraham Wood, a far-away ancestor. The family has been one distinguished in military life, members having been conspicuous in the War of 1812 and in the Civil War. Mr. Halfhills youth was spent on his father's farm and his preliminary education secured in the common schools. Later he entered the Ohio Normal University at Ada, from which he was graduated with class honors in 1884. In 1885 he entered upon the study of the law at Bellefontaine, Ohio, with Judge West, later attended the Cincinnati College of Law, from which he was graduated in 1887. With a former classmate, now the well known attorney, Jacob C. Ridenour, he formed a law partnership, and they located at Lima where they have become justly eminent, each in his own way. They have offices located at No. 51 Public Square. Mr. Halfhill is stanch in his adherence to the principles of the Republican party, and is proud of the fact that he has attended every State convention since reaching his majority. He has been very active in party organization and management, and in 1889 and 1890 was a member of the Republican State Central Committee. In the latter year he was first elected city solicitor and was reelected in 1892, this being the only public office he has held. Mr. Halfhill is a man rich in scholarly attainments and he has the power to make these effective in his profession. As an orator and pleader before a jury he has a force of personality which sways his hearers and convinces them of the justice of his cause. For years he has been a prominent figure, as has his able partner, in almost all the important legal controversies of the courts. Mr. Halfhill has always taken a great interest in military affairs and particularly in all the organizations connected with perpetuating the fame of the heroes of the Civil War. He has been elected an horonary member of the 46th Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a token of the esteem in which he is held by that and similar, bodies. On numerous occasions he has been invited to deliver patriotic addresses and by word and pen has worked to 'bring about just legislation for every member of the veteran soldiery of the State. On September 23, 1896, Mr. Halfhill was married to Cora A. Miller, the accomplished daughter of Rev. I. J. Miller, of Lima. Mr. Halfhill has a pleasant home and one son, James W. Halfhill, Jr. Mr. Halfhill's efforts are always given to the support of worthy enterprises and, while not formally connected with any church or charitable body, he is liberal in his benefactions to all. Personally he is a man of winning address and his future is bright with promise. PETER T. MELL, county recorder of Allen County, was born in Sugar Creek township, Allen County, Ohio, December 12, 1866, and is a son of John C. and Catherine C. ( Jones) Mell. The father of Mr. Mell was an agriculturist all his life. In 1832 he settled in Allen County and carried on farming in Sugar Creek township until his death in 1901. He had a family of six children. Mr. Mell was educated at Cairo, Ohio, where he was graduated from the High School. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 391 He has been in public life for a number of years, being first appointed deputy treasurer of Allen County ; he was elected to his present position before his term as deputy had expired, passing thus without any interruption from one county office to another, a most unusual occurrence. He was the capable deputy treasurer for four years, and it was while serving in that capacity that he made so wide an acquaintance and gained the great number of friends who rallied to his support in 1889 when he was elected recorder. In 1902 he was honored and his administration endorsed by a re-election. His political affiliation is with the Democratic party. Mr. Mell is a substantial citizen as well as a popular one, owning a fine farm in Allen County, which he has under rental. His city residence is at No. 125 South Metcalf street. Mr. Mell was married November 15, 1905, to Louise C. Hoover, daughter of John Hoover, of Lima. Fraternally Mr. Mell is a Mason and Knight Templar, belonging also to the Elks, Red Men and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is a member of the Christian Church.   JAMES C. PENCE, M. D., one of the experienced physicians and surgeons of Lima, and also one of the city's most highly esteemed citizens, was born March 16, 1859, in New Philadelphia, Ohio, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Conwell) Pence. The parents of Dr. Pence removed in 1864 from Eastern Ohio to Van Wert County, where the father engaged in farming and reared his family. He now lives retired in Buckland, Ohio. Dr. Pence was five years old when his parents settled in Van Wert County, and there on his father's farm he grew to manhood. Having an inclination in the direction of medicine, he read with a local practitioner until prepared to enter the Cincinnati Medical College. He first began to practice in 1885, and in the year following was graduated at the Fort Wayne Medical College. In 1895 he attended lectures and was graduated at the New York Polyclinic. He took a post-graduate course there in 1902, visiting noted clinics and gaining experience in every modern method of medicine and surgery. Dr. Pence's first field of practice was at Spencerville, where he continued for 11 years, coming to Lima in 1898. He ranks high both as a physician and as a citizen, and since January 2, 1905, he has been president of the Board of Education. Dr. Pence married Mary Griswold, a daughter of Delbert Griswold, and they have one daughter—Helen M. Dr. and Mrs. Pence are members of the Presbyterian Church. Politically Dr. Pence is identified with the Republican party. Fraternally he belongs to the Masons and the Elks.   RAYMOND R. KENNEDY, attorney-at-law and secretary of the Spencerville Home & Savings Association, belongs to one of the old established families of the place. He was born here in the house which is now occupied by his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Mary Washburn, on the west side of the canal, south of the Methodist Episcopal Church, on October 12, 1875, and is a son of Claude M. and Handia J. (Washburn) Kennedy. Claude M. Kennedy, father of our subject, was born January I1, 1851, in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, and in the following year was brought to Spencerville by his parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Lawrence) Kennedy. The family is of English, Scotch, Welsh and Irish extraction. In the spring of 1874, Mr. Kennedy was married to Handia J. Washburn, who was a daughter of Thomas and Mary Washburn, the former of whom is deceased. Three children were born to this union, viz : Brice, who died at the age of 11 years ; Bessie, who died aged three years ; and Raymond R., who is the only survivor. After completing the common and High School course at Spencerville, our subject taught one term of district school and then completed his education in the Ohio Northern University at Ada, where he was graduated in the law department, in the class of 1899, being admitted to the bar on October 14th of the same year. He opened his office at Spencerville six days later and has continued in practice 392 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY ever since, although he has also had many political and business interests outside of his profession. Since casting his first presidential vote, in 1896, he has been very active in politics. That year he was secretary of the Bryan Club of Spencerville, which had 400 members, and in the succeeding year he was secretary of the Democratic Executive Committee of Allen County, and until the present he has served as a delegate on many occasions to congressional, judicial and senatorial conventions. In 1898, while still reading law with Attorney J. N. Bailey, at Spencerville, he was appointed to a position in the State Senate at Columbus. Mr. Kennedy has been identified with insurance interests at Spencerville for some years, having purchased the insurance business of J. J. Miller, who had established it in 1891. Mr. Kennedy represents10 of the best companies of New York. In January, 1901, he was elected secretary of the Spencerville Home & Savings Association, and has served in this capacity ever since. The Spencerville Home & Savings Association is one of the important business enterprises of Allen County. It was organized October 3, 1887, by S. L. Ashton, a popular newspaper man of Spencerville. The present. officers are : Dr. L. R. Pence, president ; Raymond R. Kennedy, secretary ; and A. L. Gamble, treasurer. The Board of Directors is composed of the following capitalists : Dr. L. R. Pence ; F. C. Snow, editor and proprietor of the Spencerville Journal-News; J. H. Beach ; C. H. Baum ; D. M. Connor ; C. M. Kennedy and J. M. Beard, all of Spencerville. The officers are all elected annually. Since Mr. Kennedy's first election, on the first Monday in January, 1901, the business has rapidly increased. The June statement for the six months prior to June 30, 1905, showed that the loans and mortgages amounted to $64,590.85, secured by real estate valued at $200,000. Loans are made on first mortgages only and must be well secured. Mr. Kennedy is one of three trustees of the Victoria Colonization Company, which owns 18,500 acres of land outside of Victoria, Texas, a town of 7,000 population. The land has been improved, the company having erected about 40 h0uses and dug as many wells. The locality favors the growing of rice and other products suitable t0 the climate. The venture has been very successful for all concerned. Other property owned by Mr. Kennedy is the Keeth House property at Spencerville. On June 2, 1898, Mr. Kennedy was married to Susie Dunathan, who is a daughter of J. H. Dunathan. For a number of years Mr.. Dunathan was a general merchant in Auglaize County, which he served two years as county commissioner. In August, 1881, he moved his store from. Deep Cut on the canal to the present site just opposite the Keeth House in Spencerville, later selling it to John H. Taft, who is a prominent business man owning three stores in as many towns. Mr. Dunathan died in October, 1899. His wife survives and resides in Spencerville. The survivors of their 11 children are : Mrs. Henry Richardson, of Spencerville, whose husband is the proprietor of the Peoples' Drug Company ; Mrs. F. E. Weining, whose husband is proprietor of the Spencerville Steam Laundry ; Harmon L., who is in the drug business at St. Marys, Ohio ; Susie ; and Thomas R., who resides in Paulding, Ohio. Mrs. Kennedy is a graduate of the Spencerville High School, and is not only a lady of many accomplishments but also of unusual business ability. She has a thorough understanding of the building and loan business and assists her husband greatly in his work in this connection. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Spencerville. With his accomplished wife, Mr.. Kennedy is popular in the literary and social circles of Spencerville. Fraternally he is a. Mason and belongs to Arcadia Lodge, No. 306, of Spencerville. T. C. PENNELL, of the firm of Pennell Brothers & Morrison, is a leading citizen of Lima, and identified with many of the industrial enterprises of this and neighboring towns. He is a native of Erie County, New York, and the son of Rev. Randolph Pennell, who for many years was a minister of the Meth0dist Church and is AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 393 now in his 92nd year and makes his home with his son, Frank, at Lima. T. C. Pennell entered the employ of an oil company at Petroleum Center, Pennsylvania, on April 8, 1865, and has been actively engaged in the oil industry since, being identified with the production of that commodity in the fields of Venango, Butler, Clarion and McKean counties, Pennsylvania, Allegany County, New York, and the Trenton rock fields of Ohio. He has been a producer since 1877 and at one time had as many as 115 oil wells, in which he was interested, in active operation. In 1903 the company of Pennell Brothers & Morrison was organized for the manufacture of pulling ma. chines, and other appurtenances required around oil-wells, and he is also a stockholder in the Humane Horse Shoe Company, of Lima, as well as in the Lima Gas Engine Company, and in banks at Gibsonburg and Lima. Mr. Pennell was married in 1886 to Emma Tabler, of Lima, and is the father of two children, Stella and Hazel. He is a member of Shawnee Commandery, No. 14, K. T., of Lima, and is a man who stands well among his acquaintances. FRANK PENNELL, who has been associated with his brother in most of the enterprises above mentioned, was born in Erie County, New York, in 1847, and was educated at the various places in which his father was stationed. - He was reared on a farm, but has been employed in the oil fields since early youth, and for 20 years past has been an operator and producer in Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio. He is a stockholder in the Lima Gas Engine Company, and Pennell Brothers & Morrison, having located in Lima about two years ago, when the latter company was organized. He is a shrewd, cautious business man, whose straightforward dealings have won him the confidence of his compeers and he is fast adding to the friends already made. In 1876 he was married to Emma C. Chadman, of Center County, Pennsylvania. Their children are as follows, viz : Marie, wife of Dr. R. F. Palmer, a physician who is in the government employ at Roosevelt, Arizona ; Bessie; F. C., who is a senior in the. medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor ; Carrie, wife of R. Fought, a traveling salesman of New York City ; and Clarence, a student in the Lima Business College. Mr. Pennell is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. GEORGE W. HARRISON, district manager of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the Lima field, has been in charge here since September, 1904. Mr. Harrison was born in Defiance County, Ohio, in 1867, and is a son of David Harrison. The father of Mr. Harrison was born in Virginia, and he followed farming there for some years, but later went into railroaad work and subsequently became a superintendent of the Wabash Railroad, having removed to Ohio. Mr. Harrison was reared and educated in Paulding County, Ohio, and at Goshen, Indiana. In young manhood he went to Northfield, Minnesota, and entered into newspaper work, becoming associated with Mr. Heatwole, formerly a member of Congress, in the management of the Northfield News. Mr. Harrison remained here four years and then went to Austin, Minnesota, where he started theDaily Register, conducting it one year. Then he accepted a position on the staff of the Minneapolis Tribune, as political editor, and was sent in this capacity into North Dakota, during the first Republican campaign, in the interests of the late President Benjamin Harrison, and that his ability was recognized was shown by an offer immediately made of the position of city editor of the Morning Argus, the leading Republican newspaper of North Dakota. During the session of the Legislature following, he was the representative of the paper at Bismarck and, through his ability and fair representation of passing events, made. many friends both in and outside his own party. After the close of the Legislature Mr. Harrison bought the Free Press, at Lisbon, North Dakota, which he ably conducted for 10 years. In 1897 he was elected by a large majority, State commissioner of insurance, the duties of 394 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY which office he discharged with efficiency until the end of his term, when he went to Chicago and resumed journalistic work, remaining in that city for 18 months. In the meantime he had been in consultation with capitalists at Faribault, Minnesota, which culminated in the incorporation of the Faribault Printing Company, Mr. Harrison becoming president and manager of the organization, the object of which was the publication 0f a daily and weekly newspaper. His work as insurance commissioner had been of such a chracter 'that it brought him many flattering offers from the various old-line companies, but he declined official connection with them and did not really take up insurance work until, through the death of the Northwestern Mutual's agent at Lima, was left vacant an attractive field in 'his native State. A reorganization of the company having taken place, the main agency of the Ohio business being taken to Dayton, Mr. Harrison accepted the desirable position of district agent, sold out his newspaper and came to Lima. His field is a very large one, covering Allen, Putnam, Auglaize, Paulding and Van Wert counties. In Allen County, alone, this company has written over $2,000,000 worth of business. In 1888 Mr. Harrison was married to Myrta E. Allen, of Northfield, Minnesota, who is a daughter of Edwin Allen, a raiser of -fancy stock. They have four children, viz. : Loraine, George, Jr., Fay and Elsie. Mr. Harrison is a Knight Templar Mason and a Knight of Pythias. He belongs to Christ Protestant Episcopal Church. HARRY O. BENTLEY, city attorney of Lima and junior member of the law firm of Wheeler & Bentley, was born April 14, 1873, and is a son of Winfield Scott and Mary (Anderson) Bentley. The father of Mr. Bentley was born in Allen County, Ohio, and now lives retired at Bluffton. He reared two children. Mr. Bentley attended the public schools of Bluffton and at an unusually early age entered upon the study of the law, entering the office of the well-known firm of Ridenour & Halfhill, at Lima. From their tuition he entered the Ohio Normal University, where he was graduated from the department of law in 1896, in the same year entering into practice at Lima. On July I, 1902, he entered into partnership with S. S. Wheeler, and in April of the same year he was elected city attorney on the Republican ticket. The firm occupies commodious quarters, consisting of four rooms in the Holland Block, these not being, however, too large for the amount of business transacted. His administration of the office of city attorney has distinguished him as a man of far more than ordinary ability. He has many personal and political friends. Mr. Bentley was united in marriage with Blanche Neff, who is a daughter of Henry W. Neff, a well-known citizen of Lima, and they have one daughter—Jane. Mr. Bentley and wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their pleasant residence is situated at No. 317 West North street. WILLIAM H. BENEDUM, one of the well-known, successful farmers of German township, who owns a well-improved farm of 140 acres in section 19, was born February 10, 1854, in Carroll County, Ohio, and is a son of Joseph Thomas and Elizabeth (Holmes) Benedum. Joseph T. Benedum was born in Leesville, Virginia, November 27, 1826, a son of John Benedum, also a native of Virginia. The grandfather of our subject moved to Carroll County, Ohio, when his son, Joseph T. Benedum, was nine years old and there the latter was reared, educated and married. The maternal grandfather, William Holmes, was one of the old settlers of Carroll County. Joseph T. Benedum died in February, 1903, and his wife in 1895. They were both buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, near Allentown. Their children were : William H., of this sketch ; Mary, who died December 10, 1905, the wife of T. C. Long ; John Wesley, who married Lizzie Virbryke and lives in Allentown ;Bertha, who married James Kennedy and lives in Allentown; AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 395 Thirza, wife of Charles Schook ; Charles, unmarried ; O. H., who married (first) Dora McLaughlin and (second) Leona Cahill and resides at Spencerville; Ida, wife of Cyrus Stayer, of German township ; and Margaret, who died in infancy. On February 20, 1881, William H. Benedum was united in marriage with Lydia Coon, who is a daughter of Wesley and Caroline (Hadsell) Coon, and is a sister of Mrs. Scott Rumbaugh. Mr. and Mrs. Benedum have these children : Alva, born February 20, 1882, who married Ethel Post, a daughter of S. A. Post, and has one child, Ruth ; Iva Myrtle, born December 7, 1884, residing at Lima ; Zelma Pearl, born February 21, 1886, who lives at home ; Vilas, born December 16, 1888 ; and Carrie Marie, born April 23, 1897. Mr. Benedum bought his present farm in 1897, a very valuable property. He has been a resident of Allen County since 1864 and has always taken an active interest in its general advancement. He has been a member of the School Board since locating in German township. For many years he has been connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a member of the board of trustees of the church at Allentown. His fraternal connection is with the lodge of Odd Fellows at Elida. He is well known in all these localities, and is held in high esteem as a man of sterling character. WILLIAM KLINGER, prosecuting attorney of Allen County, was born September II, 1870, in this county, and is a son of Philip and Mary (Naas) Klinger. The parents of Mr. Klinger were born in Germany. They came to America and for many years were respected citizens and well-to-do farmers in Allen County. They now live retired in Lima. They were the parent's of five children. William Klinger obtained his early education in the common schools and pursued his law studies in the law department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1895. He returned to Ohio, and has been one of the most successful of the students turned out from the firm of Ridenour & Halfhill, his preceptors. Mr. Klinger is associated in practice with Mr. Secrest, the firm name being Klinger & Secrest. They control a large part of the important litigation coming before the courts of Allen County. Their well-appointed offices are located at Nos. 21-22 Metropolitan Block. Mr. Klinger has a charming home circle consisting of wife, who was formerly Ida Hood, daughter of John Hood of Allen County, and two interesting children—Clarence and Helen. The pleasant family residence is at No. 530 North Elizabeth street. Politically, Mr. Klinger is a Democrat, and on that ticket he was elected prosecuting attorney in 1899 and was reelected in 1902 by a large majority. He has made a fine record in the office, and is entitled t0 the approbation expressed on every hand for his impartiality and for the courage which he has shown in doing his full duty without fear or favor. Mr. Klinger's fraternal connections are with the Odd Fellows and Red Men. FRED CLARENCE SNOW, editor and proprietor of the Journal-News, at Spencerville, the leading newspaper of the southwestern part of Allen County, was born May 8, 1858, at Paw Paw, Michigan, and is a son of Montraville and Fannie Flavilia (Tanner) Snow. Mr. Snow comes of good old American stock. His father was a foundryman and manufacturer at Paw Paw, Michigan, for a number of years. Both he and his wife are deceased. F. C. Snow was reared at Paw Paw and obtained his education in the public schools. After completing the common-school course, he entered his father's foundry for a time, but as he did not like the business he soon turned his attention to one more congenial, and entered a printing office. Mr. Snow came to Lima, Ohio, in 1882, where he worked for a time at molding and then became foreman in the office of the Times-Democrat. In 1889 he started a job printing office at Lima, which he continued 396 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY until the spring of 1900, when he bought the Spencerville Journal. Under Mr. Snow's management this newspaper has made rapid strides and is now numbered with the leading papers of the county. On December 25, 1883, Mr. Snow was married to Fannie Mumaugh, who died June 13, 1903. Seven children—three sons and four daughters—were born to this marriage, of -whom two sons and three daughters still survive. On May 15, 1905, Mr. Snow was married to Mrs. Harriet V. (Watkins) Arter, who is a daughter of Thomas J. Watkins, one of the oldest Welsh settlers of Gomer, and the widow of a prominent physician of Lima. Mrs. Snow is a lady of culture and accomplishments, and is a prominent member of Spencerville's social circles. Mr. Snow is well known in fraternal life, being a Mason, Knight of Pythias and an Odd Fellow, In 1905 he was master of Arcadia Lodge, No. 306, F. & A. M. RICHARD T. SUTTON, proprietor of the "Fountain Farm," one of the best-improved properties in Amanda township, situated in the best part of section 3, belongs to one of the oldest milies of Allen County. He was born in 1852 in the old frame house which stood on the -present farm, one of the first frame structures in the neighborhood. He is a son of Thomas and Susan (Kephart) Sutton, and a grandson of Joseph and Sally (O'Hara) Sutton. Joseph Sutton was one of the greatest woodsmen of his day. He was a scout during the War of 1812, and he it was who blazed the State road through Allen County. He came here from Montgomery and Champaign counties, locating in Allen County in 1822. His life had been one of much adventure and gave him a roving disposition. He was a great hunter and trapper, and took up land in various portions of the county but retained none of it permanently. He was friendly with the Indians and did much bartering with them, his family being one of the very first white ones to settle here. Thomas Sutton was an entirely different man. When he reached manhood, he took up land in section 3 and kept adding to his original tract until he owned a large farm. He was born in Champaign County, Ohio, January 27, 1809, and married Susan Kephart, who was born February 22, 1816, and died July 27, 1891. She was a daughter of George Kephart, a pioneer miller. Mrs. Sutton was one of the little band of worshipers that was faithful to the Amanda Baptist Church, in the pioneer days, when it required loyalty. She was converted, when quite young, and her life was one of consistency to her Christian faith. She was permitted to see her husband also become a member of the same faith, he joining the church November 18, 1869. Mrs. Sutton was affectionately known all through this neighborhood as "Grandma Sutton," and her many acts of kindness endeared her' to both old and young. Thomas Sutton was one of the trustees of Amanda township and b0th he and his brother were school directors for many years. The first school-house was on his farm, located about 50 feet south of where Richard T. Sutton's present residence stands. It was a log structure and its fittings were exceedingly primitive. The early teachers were George Maxom, Pell John and Misses Williams and Vincent. Mr. Sutton died in 1877. Of his eight children, the survivors are: Robert, a veteran of the Civil War and a resident of Spencerville; Mary K. Spencer, of Spencerville; Catherine, wife of Francis Bice; and Richard T. To look back to the childhood and youth of our subject, takes the reader to days of pioneer simplicity. He recalls with lively interest when his father's log house was the center of social life in Amanda township, and after a new plank floor was put in the old log barn that edifice became the favorite meeting place for social gatherings from miles around. While in many ways the life of the pioneers was one of toil, hardship and privation, it was by no means lacking in pleasures, many of them, of course, of a simpler nature than modern life demands, but no less enjoyable. Both father and Mother were industrious ; in fact, with a large farm to clear .. and eight children to rear, there was but little time for idleness. The careful mother made all AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 399 the family clothing by hand from flax, which, in all probability, she sowed and pulled herself and spun into ,thread and wove into cloth, or, from the wool grown on the home farm, and her busy, capable hands also spun the yarn and knitted the stockings and mittens for her family. She made the candles and the soap, tried out the lard at the yearly butchering, and baked those loaves of sweet, wholesome bread which her children still, most likely, believe never to have been equalled ; in fact, in recalling all the good mothers did in those days, their descendants are lost in admiration and wonder. In Mr. Sutton's youth there were no lucifer matches in use, fire being produced with the old flint upon punk or tow, and upon occasion live coals had to be procured from the neighbors. Ploughing was done with the old wooden mold-board plow, which stirred the virgin soil then rich enough to produce without fertilization, and the harvesting was done with a reaping hook and sickle, and later with the hand cradle. Corn was dropped in the long, tiresome rows by the barefooted boys of the family, grain by grain, and was then covered with the hoe. As but J0 acres had been cleared when Thomas Sutton settled here and as the land was heavily timbered, oxen had to be used for the work. Our subject remembers that when bad weather prevented outside work his father was kept busy fashioning the family shoes and even earning an addition to his income by making them for others. Hand mills were in general use as established grinding mills were then far distant, Piqua being the nearest point to the Sutton household. Mr. Sutton has seen all this fair locality developed out of a forest and in his youth did a large part of the work of redeeming this farm. The present home is known as the "Fountain Farm." Mr. Sutton has been an extensive stock-raiser for a number of years and now has 200 head of sheep, 20 head of horses and about the same number of hogs. In its equipments of machinery, cultivation and improvements, it is one of the most modern in all Amanda township. The handsome residence has been built upon a slight elevation which gives a wide outlook in every direction. The grounds are carefully attended to, and the result is a beautifully shaded lawn and a profusion of flowers in their season. In 1882 Mr. Sutton lost his fine home and all his buildings by a destructive fire. They were rebuilt and again burned to the ground, in 1894; by 1895 he had replaced the buildings with still better ones, and in 1903 he erected his new barn, a substantial structure, 48 by 36 feet in dimensions, modern in every particular, He is a man with very practical, sensible ideas and in making his many improvements has built entirely along modern lines. Mr. Sutton was married t0 Amarella Bice, who is a daughter of the late William and Tabitha ( Sunderland) Bice. Mrs. Bice was a daughter of Dye and Mercy (Berryman) Sunderland. Mr. Sunderland was one of the very first settlers at Fort Amanda. The father of Mrs. Sutton was a man of prominence in the county, and served for some years as county commissioner. Mr. and Mrs. Sutton have two children—a daughter and son; the former, Ura Lucretia, is the wife of George Daugherty, of Spencerville ; and the latter, Charles Thomas, assists on the home farm. In religious belief Mr.. and Mrs. Sutton have always been identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church. They are well and widely known all through Amanda township, representing, as they do, two of the old and prominent pioneer families. Their beautiful home is one of great hospitality, its owners showing a hearty welcome to their many friends on all occasions. Mr. Sutton has never been very active in politics but he has always been ready to do his full part in advancing the township's interests in the way of public improvements, and the making and upholding of good laws. LLEWELYN JONES, funeral director and undertaker at Gomer, and also engaged in farming in Sugar Creek township, resides on his farm of 65 acres located in section 32, 45 acres of which belong to the old Jones homestead. Mr. Jones was born on this farm, March 17, 1856, and is a son of Josiah and Mary ( Hughes) Jones. Josiah Jones, whose portrait is shown on