A CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
OF
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO
EDWARD P. FYFFE.
Edward P. Fyffe was horn in Urbana, April 23, 1810, and was a son of William H. and Maximilla (Petty) Fyffe. The father was a native of Virginia and emigrated to Kentucky, whence he afterward came to Urbana in 1805. Here he was married to a daughter of Joseph Petty, one of the first settlers of the city.
In the early schools of Urbana, Colonel Fyffe acquired his preliminary education and was later a cadet at \Vest Point for a short time. In 1846 he was graduated in medicine and was engaged in practice at the time the Civil war was inaugurated. He served with distinction, rose to the rank of colonel and was brevetted brigadier-general.
Dr. Fyffe was united in marriage to Sarah Ann! Robinson, a native of Franklin county, Ohio. but a resident of Urbana at the time of her marriage. They became the parents of four children, who reached years of maturity: Joseph; Max F., the widow of Frank James Crawford; Mrs. Mary F. Thornton, of Pontiac, Illinois; and Mrs. Sarah A. Gee, of Cleveland, Ohio.
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In his political views Colonel Fyffe was a Republican, strongly endorsing the principles of the party and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died September 25, 1867, and Mrs. Fyffe survived him for five years. During the Civil war he was a most brave and loyal officer and his utter fearlessness in the face of danger often inspired his men to deeds of valor. In his chosen profession he won distinction by the superior skill and ability which he acquired as the result of his study and investigation, as well as practical experience. In the first half of the nineteenth century he was a prominent figure in social and professional life of Urbana and well does he deserve mention in her history.
REAR ADMIRAL JOSEPH FYFFE.
The history of the American naval service contains a record of no greater loyalty, valor and capability than that of Rear Admiral Joseph Fyffe, who devoted the long years of his manhood to his country's service. He was born July 26, 1832. His father, General Edward P. Fyffe, is mentioned above and his record as a brave and loyal defender of the Union was a stimulus to the son. When he was fifteen years of age, however, Joseph Fyffe was appointed to the navy on the 9th of September, 1847, being in active service for over forty-seven years, and was then retired at the age limit of sixty-two years in July, 1894. His first duty was on the Cumberland and afterward on the bomb vessel Stromboli in the Gulf of Mexico. He saw active, service in the Mexican war, although not yet sixteen years of age. The following year he was ordered on duty off the coast of Africa on the sloop-of-war Yorktown, and was serving on her when she was wrecked off the Cape Verde Islands.
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Later he was highly commended for his gallant conduct on that occasion. His third cruise was in the frigate St. Lawrence, which was sent to England to represent the United States at the time of the World's Fair in London. Subsequently he returned to the Naval Academy at Annapolis for one year, and on the 15th of July, 1854, was promoted to the rank of passed midshipman. In 1855 he made a special cruise in the San Jacinto. In 1856 he volunteered for and was detailed on the Grinnell expedition to the Arctic regions under Lieutenant Hartstine on the ship Release, in search of Sir John Franklin, rescuing and bringing home Dr. Kane and his party while on that trip. For his services in this expedition the queen of England decorated him with the medal of the Arctic Order of Victoria. On his return to the United States he was commissioned master and lieutenant on the same day—September 16, 1856.
Admiral Fyffe next served on the Relief in the Brazil Squadron in 1856 and 1857, which was followed by a three-years cruise in the East India Squadron on the sloop-of-war Germantown. In 1860 he was ordered to the steam sloop Lancaster on the Pacific station and then to the frigate Minnesota, the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. He was commissioned lieutenant commander in July, 1862. On the Minnesota he experienced two years of active service, during which time he took part in the destruction of the blockade runner Hebe and commanded the landing party which captured the two-gun battery that protected the blockade runners near Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in August, 1863. He also took an active part in the destruction of the Ranger, another blockade runner, and was in an engagement with infantry below Fort Casewell, North Carolina, in January, 1864. In 1864-5, Admiral Fyffe commanded the double-ender gunboat Hunchback on the James river with brilliant success.
The Civil war being over, he took part in his first shore duty at the Boston yard in 1866. The next year he was ordered to the Oneida,
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sailing for the Asiatic station. On the 2nd of December, 1868, he was commissioned commander and placed in command of the monitor Centaur of the North Atlantic Squadron. Later he was lighthouse inspector of the fourteenth district. He next commanded the Monocacy on the Asiatic station in 1875, continuing there until 1878 and in 1879 he was promoted to the grade of captain and commanded the receiving ship St. Louis, from which, in 1880, he was transferred to the Franklin, acting as its commander for eighteen months. Through the succeeding six months he was captain of the flagship Tennessee, of the North Atlantic Squadron, followed by service as commander of the flagship Pensacola in the Pacific station.
Admiral Fyffe was then sent home on sick leave. In 1888 he was ordered as captain to the Boston Naval Yard, remaining there for more than three years. He was promoted to the grade of commodore in February, 1889, and was assigned to special duty at Boston in 189o. During the succeeding summer he was ordered to command the New London naval station until July 13, 1893, when he took charge of the Boston Naval Yard: his last duty ending with his retirement July 20, 1894. His name was on the navy register for forty-nine years and his active service continued for over forty-seven years, while his actual sea service covered twenty years. No more patriotic and thoroughly American officer ever sailed under the stars and stripes; no officer took better care of his men or maintained discipline with less severity. As a sailor he had few equals and no superiors. His fighting qualities were unsurpassed, as is his war record. Tender in all his sympathies, he was yet a man in dignity and strength. His strong personality impressed all who came in contact with him. Generous, kindly, chivalric and brave,—those were the qualities that drew men toward him and made them love him. His last year of duty was one of great happiness. He was, endeared to every one—officers and their families, subordinates, sailors and ern,
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ployes,—in fact, all connected with the Boston station, and he thoroughly delighted in the kindly feeling which all entertained for him Then came the promotion to the rank of rear admiral—the ambition an culmination of an officer's career.
At Pierce, Nebraska, on the 25th of February, 1896, Admiral Fyffe died of acute gastroenteritis, from which he had long suffered in a chronic form, the result of fevers contracted in tropical countries during active service in earlier years. He was buried at Urbana, Ohio, his birthplace and for many years his home.
FRANK JAMES CRAWFORD.
Deeds of bravery have been the theme of song and story from the earliest days, and the world pays a tribute of respect and admiration to the man who fights for his country and his principles. One of the distinguished officers of the Civil war was Frank James Crawford, who was born in Birmingham, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, July 12, 1834. He was educated in Alleghany College, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he won the degree of M. A. A short time after his graduation he engaged in teaching school in Maryland and in Pennsylvania but predilection for the law led him to prepare for the bar. Going to La Salle county, Illinois, in 1835, he studied law in Ottawa and was admitted to practice 1858. He then opened an office there and steadily rose to prominence. No bitter novitiate awaited him. Natural bountifully endowed him with the peculiar qualifications that combine to make a successful lawyer. Patiently persevering, possessed of an analytical mind, and one that is readily receptive and retentive of the fundamental principles and intricacies of the law; gifted with a spirit of
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devotion to wearisome' details; quick to comprehend the most subtle problems and logical in his conclusions; fearless in the advocacy of any cause he may espouse, and the soul of honor and integrity, few men have been more richly gifted for the achievement of success in the arduous and difficult profession of the law.
At the time of the Civil war, however, Mr. Crawford entered his country's service, enlisting as a private of Company E, Fifty-third Illinois Infantry, on the 28th of December, 1861. The same day he was appointed quartermaster sergeant of the regiment. On the second clay of the battle of Pittsburg Landing, he displayed marked gallantry as well as knowledge of military tactics, and for this reason was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. On the loth of November, 1862, he was appointed by President Lincoln. commissary of subsistence with the rank of captain, in which position he served throughout the Tennessee and Vicksburg campaigns with marked distinction. Later he was on duty at Port Hudson, Louisiana, where he was stationed unto the close of the war, having served for three years and eight months. When hostilities were ended he was brevetted major of the United States Volunteer Infantry for meritorious service in the field.
Returning to Ottawa, Illinois, in December, 1865, Mr. Crawford there resumed the practice of law, but in 1872 sought a broader field of labor in the growing metropolis of the west, and became a distinguished, prominent and honored member of the Chicago bar, where he practiced successfully, enjoying a large and distinctively representative clientage until his death, which occurred in Urbana, October 14, 1898.
Major Crawford had married in Urbana, Ohio, in 1865, the lady of his choice being Miss Max F. Fyffe, a daughter of Brigadier-General Edward P. Fyffe. She now resides in Urbana and has one daughter, Mrs. Annie Crawford Merritt, of Highland Park, Illinois.
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CALVIN FLETCHER COLWELL.
When a citizen of worth and character has departed this life it is proper that those who survive him should keep in mind his life-work and hold up to the knowledge and emulation of the young his virtues and the characteristics which distinguished him and made him worthy of the esteem and confidence of his fellow men. We therefore are gratified in having the privilege of entering at this point a memoir of the representative citizen of Urbana whose name appears above. He lives in the memory and affection of his family and friends as a devoted husband, kind father and public-spirited citizen and as one whose life was one of singular beauty and nobility. He passed his entire life in Urbana and was always liberal in his contributions to aid the social, material and religious advancement of the city and county of his home, while his prominence in local business circles was through enterprises of marked importance.
Mr. Colwell was born in Urbana, Champaign county, Ohio, on the 26th of February, 1831, the son of Peter R. and Lavina (Fitch) Colwell, the former of whom was born in New Jersey, whence he came to Ohio and located in Urbana in 1815; while the latter accompanied her parents on their removal from her native state, Kentucky, to Urbana about the year 1806, so that in both the agnotic and maternal lines the subject of this memoir was identified with pioneer families of this favored section of the Buckeye state. He had such educational advantages as were afforded in the early schools of his native town, and then learned the trade of chairmaking under the direction of his father, who was here engaged in that line of enterprise for many years. Calvin F. worked at his trade up to the time of his marriage, soon after which event he became interested in the manufacturing of flooring and in the cabinetmaking and furniture business, being first associated with his brother,
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the late Robert Colwell, and later having other partners, while the nature of the business underwent various changes, meeting the exigencies of trade and expanding in scope and importance. Finally was effected the organization of the Colwell Lumber Company, which conducted a flourishing business for a long term of years, our subject standing at the head of the enterprise, whose affairs were guided with that discrimination and ability which marked his entire business career, in its varied avenues of usefulness. He continued to be identified with this concern until within a few months prior to his death, while for a score of years he was president of the Citizens' National Bank, in which he was the chief stockholder and to which he gave the benefit of his mature judgment and distinctive executive talent, doing much to give it its high reputation as a solid financial institution.
As has been before stated, Mr. Colwell was imbued with the deepest public spirit and was ever ready to lend his aid and influence in support of all legitimate measures advanced for the general good, and though he gave an unwavering support to the principles and policies of the Republican party, he never sought nor consented to accept the honors or emoluments of political office. His interest in the cause of Christianity was vital and unflagging and his faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was one of the charter members of Grace church, whose spiritual and temporal affairs received his devoted care and support until the close of his honorable and useful life. He held various official positions in the church, and a quarter of a century practically represents the period of his incumbency as class-leader of his church. He was a man of lofty ideals and spotless integrity, and in his death, on the 16th of June, 1900, the community in which he had passed his entire life was called upon to mourn the loss of one of its noblest and most valued citizens, while to those associated with him in the sacred
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ties of the home his memory will ever rest as a benediction that follows after prayer and bespeaks true spiritual exaltation.
On the 22d of November, 1855, was solemnized a marriage which united the life destinies of Mr. Colwell and Miss Malinda M. McComsey, who survives him and who remains in the home so hallowed by the associations of the past. She was born near Mechanicsburg, Chaimpaign county, Ohio, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Burnside) McComsey, who were early settlers of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Colwell became the parents of two children,—Elizabeth, who died at the age of six years; and Max F., who is the wife of Frank Ross, of Chicago, Illinois.
ISAIAH P. KIZER.
Isaiah P. Kizer, a member of the firm of Kizer & Long, prominent lumber dealers of Saint Paris, is a member of a prominent old pioneer family of Champaign county. His paternal grandfather, Joseph Kizer, was born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, and was there married to Catherine Corner, a daughter of David Comer also of the Old Dominion. Two children were born to them in that commonwealth, Peter and Daniel, and afterward the family started with teams and wagons for the Buckeye state, arriving about 1811, and on the journey they were accompanied by the Corner family. They took up their abode in the locality near Millerstown, where a few Virginia families had previously settled, and there Mr. Kizer entered a tract of heavily timbered government land, on which he erected a cabin and began life in true pioneer style. Five children were added to the family circle in this state,—Benjamin, Philip, Charles, Martin and Polly. The daughter became the wife of Jacob Rhoades, but the children are now all deceased.
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Joseph Kizer was a representative and progressive citizen and a very prominent man in his locality. For many years he held the office of justice of the peace, and in the latter part of his life became a member of the Baptist church, dying in that faith at the age of eighty-nine years. His wife was called to her final rest when she had reached the eightieth milestone on the journey of life.
Benjamin Kizer, the father of him whose name introduces this review, was born on the old Kizer homestead near Millerstown, Champaign county, in 1813. and was there early inured to the labors of field and meadow. He was a very studious youth, and largely through his own efforts succeeded in fitting himself for the teacher's profession, proving himself an able instructor along the lines of mental advancement. On the 21st of November, 1844, he was united in marriage to Mary, a daughter of Isaac and Catherine (Wiant) Pence, and three children were born of that union,--Isaiah P., Sarah C., who married Samuel McMorran, and Ira, deceased. The wife and mother was called to the home beyond on the 2d of December, 1853, and on the 4th of February, 1855, the father married Matilda Guss, by whom he had three children—Frank, Charles 0. and Elmer Grant, but the eldest is now deceased. For twenty-one years Mr. Kizer served as a justice of the peace in Johnson township, and also held many other township offices. He was a practical and successful farmer, and at his death left to his family about three hundred acres of land. lip to the time of the Civil war he gave his political support to the Democracy, but from that time until his death voted for the men and measures of the Republican party. He was a man of deep religious convictions, and from early life a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, having been active in the organization of that denomination in Saint Paris and also in the erection of its house of worship. He filled every office within the gift of that church with
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the exception of Sunday-school superintendent, and in its faith he passe away on the 6th of December, 1884, but is still survived by his widow.
Isaiah P. Kizer, of this review, supplemented the knowledge gain in the common schools by a year's course in the Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio. On the 2d of May, 1864, while serving as a memb of the Ohio National Guard, Governor Brough called for troops to ser one hundred days and his command was organized into the government service, becoming the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and Mr. Kizer became a member of Company I. With his regiment Mr. Kizer was on duty principally in Virginia, in the vicinity of Richmond and Petersburg, and, on the expiration of his term of enlistment received an honorable discharge and returned to his home. On again taking up the duties of civil life he resumed the teacher's profession, which he followed until his marriage: On the 27th of February, 1868, he came to Saint Paris, where he embarked in the lumber business with H. H. Long, which relationship has continued through; thirty-four years. For twenty years Mr. Kizer has also been a director in the First National Bank of Saint Paris. Few men have become more prominent or widely known in this enterprising little city than he. In business circles he has long been an important factor and his popularity is well deserved, for in him are embraced the characteristics of an unbending integrity, unabating energy and industry that has never flagged
On the 14th of November, 1867, he was united in marriage to Asenath Carey, a daughter of Isaac and Rosana Carey, and six children have blessed the union, namely : Alta, now Mrs. J. E. Kite; Elma, wife of W. L. Hunt; Della, at home; and Mary, Benjamin and Grace, who have passed away. Since their early youth Mr. and Mrs. Kizer have been members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has filled all of the offices and for ten years was superintendent of the Sunday-school. He has ever been loyal to the duties of citizenship and has
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given an unwavering support to the principles of the Republican party, while for nine years he served as a member of the school board and for a time was the efficient city clerk. Socially he is a member of Pharos Lodge, No. 355, F. & A. M., and of H. C. Scott Post, No. 111, G. A. R.
LEWIS BRITTIN.
Lewis Brittin is one of the pioneer farmers of Champaign county, his home being pleasantly and conveniently located a mile east of Mechanicsburg on the Milford and Mechanicsburg pike. For four score years he has been a witness of the growth and progress of this portion of the state, for he was born in Goshen township, Champaign county, May 12, 1820. His father, John Brittin, was a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania. When a young man he went to Virginia and subsequently came to Ohio, settling on the Scioto river in Ross county, nine miles south of Chillicothe. About 1804 he arrived in Champaign county and was one of the first men to take up his abode in what is now Goshen township. He settled in the midst of the green woods and built a log cabin, in which he lived in true pioneer style. The Indians in motley garb still stalked through the forests, claiming dominion over this porton of the country and wild animals were numerous, but gradually the accessories of civilization were introduced and the animals and red men were driven further. westward. He was quite prominent in an early day and gave the land which was used as a burying ground. His death occurred in May, 1846. He gave his political support to the Democracy, served as a justice of the peace and was a very prominent and influential man of his day. In the Baptist church he held membership. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Parker, was of German lineage,
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her parents having come from the fatherland to the new world, making a settlement in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Brittin lived to be about eight years of age and by her marriage became the mother of three children.
Lewis Brittin is the eldest and only one now living. He was reared in Goshen township and when a boy pursued his education in an old log school house, into which light was admitted through greased paper windows. The seats were made of slabs and the floor of puncheons, and the large fireplace occupied almost one entire end of the building. It was so large that a log five feet long could be placed therein. Mr. Brittin spent about three months each year in school during a period of five years and each winter was under the instruction of a different teacher. When eleven years of age he began to plow corn and from that time forward was an active factor in the work of the fields. He remained at home, assisting in the farm work until his marriage and for one year thereafter.
It was on the 22d of March, 1840, that Mr. Brittin was united in marriage to Elizabeth Brittin, who was born in Franklin county, Ohio ten miles northwest of Columbus, in a place called Dublin, her natal day being March 17, 1815. Her father, Benjamin Brittin, was born in Virginia and her mother, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Grace, was also a native of the Old Dominion, in which state they were married, removing thence to Franklin county about 1812. In their family were eleven children, Mrs. Brittin being the seventh in order of birth, James Smith Brittin, who resides in Columbus, is her brother. She was reared in her native township and she, too, pursued her education in a log school house. The young couple began their domestic life upon his father's farm, but after a year removed elsewhere. Soon, however, they returned to the old homestead in order to take care of the aged father and mother, with whom they lived until John Brittin and his wife passed away. Our subject and his wife are now the oldest couple
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of the county, having lived together for more than sixty-two years. Four children came to bless their union, but only one is now living. Eda, a daughter married James Sceva and had one daughter, Dollie, who is the wife of Dell Gross. Margaret is the deceased wife of Jacob Chidester and they have had three children, Walter, Eda and Emma. Walter, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Brittin, married Lizzie Clark. The only surviving member is Wilson Shannon, who resides upon a farm in Goshen township and is an enterprising agriculturist. He served for three years as a Union soldier in the Civil war. He married Elizabeth Laferty and they have three children—Clark, Alice and Lewis. There are also three great-grandchildren, namely : Dorothy Guy, Brice Brittin. and Isabell Brittin.
Mr. Brittin, of this review, gave his political support to the Democracy until Franklin Pierce became a candidate of the party. He then joined the ranks of the new Republican party, casting his vote for Abraham Lincoln in 186o and again in 1864. Since that time he has never failed to vote for the Republican presidential candidates with the exception of one time when he voted the Prohibition ticket. For ten years he served as township trustee, at one time was justice of the peace and in all positions of public trust has been most faithful and loyal. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Christian church. He was a member of the Methodist Protestant church for some years and burned the brick to build the first church in Mechanicsburg. He is one of the pioneer settlers of Champaign county and one of its most honored and respected men. He to-day owns d valuable farm of one hundred and eighteen acres, upon which he has long resided. He has now reached the age of eighty-two years and because of his upright, useful and honorable life, he can look back over the past without regret and fonvard to the future without fear.
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FRANKLIN PRINTZ.
From a very early period in the history of the Buckeye state Franklin Printz has been prominently identified with this section, and now in his declining years he is practically living retired, crowned with the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded to honorable old age. His paternal grandfather, Frederick P. Printz, was born in Germany, but in a very early day he came to this country, taking up his abode in Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary war he served for eight years as a brave and loyal soldier, and his death occurred in the Keystone state when he had reached the age of seventy years.
Daniel P. Printz, the father of him whose name introduces this review, also claimed Pennsylvania as the state of his nativity, and as a life occupation he chose that of a farmer. In 1825 he left his Pennsylvania home for Clark county, Ohio, where for three years he farmed on rented land, and then purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Miami county. Later he became the owner of a farm, which is now included in the corporate limits of the city of Springfield, and there he passed away in death at the age of sixty-eight. years. His life was most honorable and upright, and commanded the respect of all who knew him. For his wife Mr. Printz chose Lizzie Heaton, a native of Pennsylvania, whose parents also came to this country from the fatherland. Unto this union were horn twelve children, namely : Angeline, deceased; Franklin; Elizabeth, deceased; Sarah; Daniel, deceased; Susan; Mary; John, deceased ; Rebecca, deceased; Catherine, deceased ; Henry; and James K.
Franklin Printz, of this review, was but five years of age when he was taken by his parents to Clark county, Ohio, and in the common schools of his locality received the educational advantages which he enjoyed in his youth. On taking up his abode in Champaign county he
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located on the farm which is still his home, and as an early pioneer and successful agriculturist is well and favorably known throughout the community. He has been twice married. His first wife bore the maiden name of Catherine Gordan, and she was born in Clark county, Ohio. On the 14th of March, 1877, she was called to her final rest, leaving one son, Scott, who is now a prominent resident of Champaign county. September 4, 1879, Mr. Printz was united in marriage to Emma Brusman, a native of the city of Dayton, where she was also reared and educated, and at the age of sixteen years she accompanied her parents on their removal to Urbana. Her parents were both natives of Pennsylvania, but were among the early pioneers of Clark county, Ohio. In their family were five children, as follows: Charles, deceased; Mrs. Printz; Elda and Elizabeth, deceased; and Horace. Mr. Printz gives his political support to the Democracy, and religiously he is an active worker and leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Urbana.
ADAM NEER.
Adam Neer, living in Saint Paris, Champaign county, was born in Logan county, Ohio, May 7, 1843. His father, George Neer, was born in Licking county, Ohio, in 1817, and his death occurred at his home in Bellefontaine, on the 18th of November, 1901. He was of German descent, his father, Adam Neer, having been born in that country. For his wife he chose Anna Karnes, their wedding having been celebrated on the 4th of August, 1842, and she was called to the home beyond March 18, 1894. She was the eldest of eight children, six sons and two daughters, born unto Michael and Rhoda Karnes, and during her early life she lived among the Indians near Cherokee, Logan county.
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Adam Neer, the eldest son of his parents' ten children, six daughters and four sons, received his elementary education in the district schools of Logan county and later became a student in the school in Bellefontaine, while during the summer months he assisted his father in the work of the farm. In early life he evinced a talent for mechanics, and as he grew in stature and years his bent in that direction was correspondingly developed and when yet in his "'teens" he conceived a
number of original mechanical ideas which later on took practical and definite form. On the 3oth of April, 1867, he was granted a patent on a dumping device for unloading wagons, and with this he traveled for a number of years, selling territorial rights. In 1872 he was allowed a patent on a pitman connection for reapers and mowers, a device of unquestionable merit, and in 1882 he perfected and had patented an anti-rattling buggy coupling. On the 7th of June, 1898, he was allowed a patent on a corn harvester, a machine which easily takes precedence over any other of its kind' in use. It is of one-horse draft, cuts. two rows at a time and with it two men can easily cut and set up two hundred shocks in a day. It works equally well in large or small corn, and Mr. Neer has testimonials from farmers over the entire country who speak in words of highest praise of this invention. In 189.7 he arranged with a manufacturing company to introduce his machine on a royalty contract, but this company succeeded in defrauding him of the royalty on several hundred machines, they having put out the harvesters under their own name and rendered no account whatever to Mr. Neer. In December, 1901, he brought suit against this company under the original contract, and although he was successful in the suit he only obtained a settlement for fourteen machines, and now has a suit pending in the federal court for forty thousand dollars damages against H. L. Bennett & Company, one-half of which is in favor of the United States for violation of the patent laws.
2
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After his marriage, in 1873, Mr. Neer moved to a farm three miles east of Saint Paris, but in 1877 sold this place to George W. Kite and purchased a tract of fifty acres just west of his first farm, purchasing the land of William Kite. Disposing of this farm to Simon Snapp in the spring of 1880, he bought ninety-five and a quarter acres two miles southwest of Bellefontaine, on which he took up his abode on the 1st of March of that year. On the 16th of August, 1883, he again disposed of his possessions, after which he bought sixty-five acres of land three and a half miles southeast of Saint Paris, purchasing the property of his father-in-law, William Kite, and on which he erected an attractive and commodious residence in 1884, while later, in 1888, he further improved the place by building a substantial barn. In the spring of 1887, however, he left his farm and moved to Urbana, where for a short time he was engaged in the restaurant business, but again desiring to take up the quiet duties of the farm he disposed of his restaurant and returned to his country home. From August, 1893, until the 1st of November, 1893, he was employed by the Milsom Rendering and Fertilizer Company, of Buffalo, New York, whom he represented in western Ohio and Indiana, his work being to establish agencies and to look after collections. On the l0th of February, 1896, he removed to Saint Paris, where he is now living. Mr. Neer is now extensively engaged in the manufacture of the corn harvester in the Neer Manufacturing Company, of Saint Paris, Ohio, of which G. P. Shidler is president ; A. C. Brow, secretary ; Grant McMorran, treasurer, and Adam Neer, superintendent and general manager.
On the 1st of October, 1873, Mr. Neer was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Kite, a daughter of William and Catherine Kite, who reside in Champaign county. Unto this union three children have been born, two sons and a daughter. Warren, the eldest son, was born July 6, 1875, and now resides on his father's farm southeast of Saint Paris.
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He was married to Miss Anna Wiant, and they have one daughter Lois. Catherine was born November 28, 1880, and William Alonzo was born March 10, 1885. In his social relations. Mr. Neer is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Lodge No. 344, of Saint Paris, and is also a charter member of the United Commercial Travelers, Urbana Council No. 139, in which he is junior counsellor. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy, has held the office of road supervisor of Mad River township, Champaign county, and while residing in Logan county was a member of the school board. His religious preference is indicated by his membership in the Myrtle Tree Baptist church.
JOSEPH COFFEY.
Joseph Coffey, who carries on agricultural pursuits in Goshen township, was born in this township on the 11th of November, 1838. His father, Tatom Coffey, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster county, whence he came with his parents to Ohio, settling in Clark county. After the family located there a daughter—a sister of Tatom Coffey___ was born, being the first while child born in Pleasant township. The grandfather of our subject was Joseph Coffey, an honored pioneer settler of Clark county, who developed a farm there in the midst of the forest. It was upon that place that Tatom Coffey was reared, and in 1821 he came to Champaign county, locating in Goshen township where he spent his remaining days, passing away at the age of seventy-seven. In politics he was a Whig and a stanch Republican, becoming identified with the latter party after the dissolution of the former. In religious faith he was a Baptist and took an active and helpful interest
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in the work of the church to which he belonged. He married Rebecca Roberts, who was born in Clark county, Ohio, where her parents had located in pioneer times, her father being William Roberts. Mrs. Coffey died in 1842. She had become the mother of eight children, six sons and two daughters, of whom seven reached mature years, while five of the number were married.
Joseph Coffey was the youngest and was only five years of age at the time of his mother's death. He remained with his father, however, until the fall of 1861, when, prompted by a spirit of patriotism, he responded to his country's call for aid, enlisting in Company I, Sixty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as a private. He was promoted to the rank of corporal, however, and served for three years, two months and eight days, participating in fifteen of the most hotly contested battles of the war, including Port Republic, Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Gettysburg, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold, Kenesaw Mountain and the siege of Atlanta. He also went with Sherman in the celebrated march to the sea, and received an honorable discharge at Savannah, Georgia, December 22, 1864. returning to his home with a most creditable military record.
Mr. Coffey then resumed farming upon the old homestead, where he remained until his marriage, which important event in his life occurred in 1865, the lady of his choice being Lydia A. Moody, a daughter of Moses and Maria (Guy) Moody. She was born in Madison county, Ohio, and there remained until twelve years of age, when she came to Champaign county with her parents. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Coffey have been born seven children : William S., born January 3, 1866; John V., born August 2, 1867 ; Guy U., born July 17, 1869; Sarah E., born September 12, 1873; Martha A., born August 21, 1877; Mary E., born November 17, 1881; and Joseph M., born September 17, 1885. Of this number Mary E. died on the 27th of August, 1896.
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After his marriage Mr. Coffey remained on the old family homestead for about four years and then located on a claim in Goshen township, but after a year took up his abode on another farm, which was his home for two years. He next removed to a place east of Mechanicsburg, where he continued for four years and then settled upon the farm which is yet his place of residence. He here owns one hundred and seventy acres of well improved land, upon which is a pleasant dwelling, which he erected in 1894. He carried on general farming until within recent years, but is now largely living retired. He belongs to Baxter Post, No. 88, G. A. R., and is a stanch Republican in politics.
SAMUEL K. SOWERS.
In section 12, Mad River township, is found one of the fine farmsteads for which Champaign county is justly celebrated, and this is the property of Mr. Sowers, who is known as one of the progressive of agriculturists and representative citizens of this section of the state.
Samuel Kosier Sowers claims the old Keystone state as the place of his nativity, having been born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, near the city of Harrisburg, on the 28th of November, 1834. His father Henry Sowers, was born in Maryland and was about six months of age when his parents removed thence to Perry county, Pennsylvania where he was reared to maturity. He became a potter by trade, but devoted the greater portion of his life to agricultural pursuits, continuing his residence in Pennsylvania until his death, at the age of four score years. He was a son of William Sowers, who likewise was born in Maryland, whence he removed to Pennsylvania in 1804, being a farmer by occupation, and there he and his wife, who was also born
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in Maryland, of German lineage, continued to make their home until their life labors were ended in death. The maiden name of our subject's mother was Elizabeth Kosier, and she was born in York county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Jacob Kosier, who was born in Adams county, that state, of German descent. Mrs. Elizabeth (Kosier) Sowers died in her eighty-second year, having passed her entire life in the Keystone state. Her two sons and three daughters all grew to years of maturity, and of them we give the following epitomized record : Isabel is the wife of George Bernheisel, of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania; Samuel K. is the immediate subject of this review ; Jacob is a resident of Perry county, Pennsylvania, as is also Amanda, who has never married; and Mary Ann is deceased.
Samuel K. Sowers was reared in his native county and there received a common-school education, attending the district schools during the, winter months and assisting in the work of the farm during the summer seasons. At the age of nineteen he gave inception to his independent career by securing employment in a gristmill, and he was thus engaged for a period of about three years, after which he secured a clerkship in a mercantile establishment at Oxford, Pennsylvania; where he remained about one year. In the spring of 1859 he came to 'Champaign county and became a clerk in the general merchandise establishment of Jacob Aulabaugh in Westville, being thus employed about a year, when he entered into partnership with his employer, the association continuing about two years, at the expiration of which time, in 1861, Mr. Sowers was married, and soon afterward located on his present -farm, where he has ever since maintained- his home, having been energetic, progressive and far-sighted in his methods and having attained a high degree of success in his farming and stock-raising, while the improvements on his place are those characteristic of a model farm of the twentieth century epoch. Mr. Sowers has a fine farm of one
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hundred and Sixty-eight acres, and he carries on diversified farming and also raises a high grade of cattle, horses and swine. In politics he has ever given a stanch allegiance to the Democratic party, and served as treasurer of Mad River township for one term, having been elected to this office for two terms and having given a most capable and economical administration of the fiscal affairs of the township. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in Urbana, and is one of the substantial and popular men of the county.
On the 12th of December, 1861, Mr. Sowers was united in marriage to Miss Eunice E. Blose, who was born in Mad River township on the 28th of July, 184.1, being the daughter of Daniel and Susan (Pence) Blose. Her father was an infant of about six weeks when his parents came to Mad River township, from Virginia, and located in the forest wilds of the early pioneer days, and here he was reared to maturity and passed the remainder of his life. Susan (Pence) Blose was born in Mad River township, whence her parents came from Virginia and became numbered among the early settlers in this township, which was then practically a virgin forest, while the Indians far out numbered the white settlers in the locality. She became the mother of four children, of whom Mrs. Sowers was the third in order of birth and about three years of age at the time of her mother's death. Mr. Blose subsequently married Miss Louisa Colbert, and they became the parents of eight children. Mrs. Sowers was reared in this county, attending the district schools in her childhood and completed her educational discipline in the Urbana Seminary. Mr. and Mrs. Sowers have had five children, and of them we here enter brief record, in order of birth: Lillie V. is the wife of Andrew J. Broyles, a merchant of Westville, this county, and they have five children,--Jean S., Lucy M., Homer D., Eunice and Elizabeth; Daniel H. Sowers (who has one son, David D.), who is a representative member of the bar of Columbus, married
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Elizabeth Deshler, a daughter of William G. Deshler, a prominent business man of that city; Mary L. is the wife of Edward Taylor and the mother of three children, Helen M., deceased, Harry 0. and Edgar S. Mr. Taylor is a successful farmer of this township and the son of Simeon Taylor, of whom mention is made on another page; John K., who is not married, is engaged in the lumber business in Columbus; and Emory, who is a graduate of the Ohio State University, at Columbus, is a scientific electrician and now located in Columbus.
Since the above was written Mr. Sowers has passed away, having died June 24, 1902.
DAVID W. TODD.
David W. Todd, best appreciated as a lawyer, politician and soldier, and for many years a resident of Urbana, was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, December 31, 1835, a on of David and Sarah (McCormick) Todd, natives also of Pennsylvania. The father brought his family to Ohio in 1846, and while prospecting in Champaign county left them in the care of a brother in Warren county. Greatly impressed with the advantages to be found in this part of the state he settled the following year in Pretty Prairie, near Urbana, where his death occurred in 1868.
The first impressions of life and work gained by David W. Todd were on his father's farm, where he performed his share of the arduous duties, attending at the same time the district schools. His higher education was acquired at Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, from which he graduated in 186o, and he thereafter studied law in the office of Shellabarger & Goode, of Springfield, being admitted to the bar in 1863. Almost from the beginning of his practice in Urbana a fair measure of
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success came his way, and in the fall of the same year he was elected county prosecutor, and re-elected in 1865. From 1873 until 1875 he embarked upon a business venture as superintendent of the Urbana Machine Works, but this proving somewhat disastrous, he returned to law, and in October of 1878, was elected probate judge of Champaign county, serving in all four consecutive terms of three years each. This service performed, he again returned to his former professional allegiance, and has since assembled under his erudite and capable banner many important cases in the county and city.
The same energy and devotion to duty apparent in the general life of Mr. Todd found emphatic expression in his Civil war career, during which he won the rank of colonel. He joined Company F, of the Second Ohio, which was organized at Springfield, Ohio, and went to Columbus, from. which they were ordered to Washington, D. C. At Lancaster they were mustered into the United States service. His enlistment occurred April 29, 1861, and he was mustered out of the three months' service July 31, 1861, at Columbus, Ohio. In 1862 he assisted in the organization of Company B, Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which he was commissioned second lieutenant June I, 1862, and later first lieutenant, after which he served as regimental quartermaster from June 16, 1862, until September 25, of the same year. He was mustered out at Camp Delaware, Ohio, and May 6, 1864, was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After participating in the first battle of Bull Run and many minor skirmishes, and in 1864 in the advance on Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, he was again mustered out, August 31, 1864. &nee the war Mr. Todd has been very active in Grand Army circles, and is a member of the W. A. Brand Post, Number 98, department of Ohio.
In 1863 Mr. Todd married Virginia H. Hamilton, who died in 1868, leaving two children, Lee H., who is a merchant in Urbana; and
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Robert M., a resident of Columbus, Ohio. In 1869 Mr. Todd married Ella W. Hovey, and of this union there are two children, Nancy H., the wife of Clarey Glessner; and Frank W., a newspaper reporter of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Todd are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Todd is one of the foremost progressive elements of Urbana, and his professional standing is an enviable one. Courteous and faithful to clients, attentive to business, measuring professional duty and effort by recognition of obligations and ends attainable, together with available knowledge of legal principles and an aptitude in their application, all combine to bring him a creditable place among the positive forces of the bar.
JOHN N. SMITH.
John N. Smith, who is residing in Mad River township, was born in Warren county, Ohio. March 1, 1846. His father, Stafford Smith, was a native of the same county and was a farmer by occupation, lowing that pursuit throughout his entire life. He died at the age of seventy-two years. The family had been founded in the Buckeye state by the grandfather of our subject, who emigrated westward from New Jersey. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Letitia Morgan and was also a native of Ohio. Her life span covered seventy years. Her father, Reese Morgan, was a native of Virginia and a brother of John Morgan, who made the raid into Ohio at the time of the Civil war. Unto. Mr. and Mrs.. Smith were born nine children, five sons and four daughters, all of whom reached mature years, with the exception of one daughter who died when about fourteen years of age.
John N. Smith is the eldest son and second child, and when about
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two years old was taken by his parents to Clark county, Ohio, where he was reared and educated, attending the common schools. He remained at home until 1863, when he enlisted in the Civil war, responding to the country's call for aid as a member of Company F, Forty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Later he enlisted in the Eighth Ohio Infantry and served for about two years and eight months as a private. He took part in many important engagements, including the battles of Lynchburg and Liberty. His command then proceeded to the Shenandoah valley and he was under fire at the engagements of Cedar Creek and Winchester when Sheridan made his famous twenty-mile ride, rallied the Union forces and thereby turned the tide to victory. He was taken prisoner on the 11th of January, 1865, at Beverly, West Virginia, an sent to Libby prison, where he remained for forty days. When captured he weighed one hundred and eighty pounds, and when released weighed but ninety-six. Afterward he was sent to Columbus, on a thirty days' furlough, and on the expiration of that period he rejoined his regiment at Philippi, West Virginia, being mustered out at Clarksburg, Virginia, on the 5th of August, 1865. He received an honorable discharge at Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, and with a most creditable record for valiant service he returned to his home in Clark county, Ohio. Mr. Smith there engaged in farming until 1868, when he came tp Champaign county, settling in Mad River township, and here on the 9th of September, 1869, he was united in marriage to Miss Martha E. Goddard, whose birth occurred in Mad .River township, Champaign county, April 18, 1850. Her parents were the Rev. Jesse and Mary (Edmiston) Goddard. Her father was born in Kentucky and when a young man came to Champaign county, settling- in Mad River township. He was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and his influence was marked throughout the community. His wife was born in Tennessee and there spent the first ten years of her life, after which she came to
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Ohio, her people settling in Pike township, Clark county. In the family were two sons and three daughters, of whom Mrs. Smith was the fourth in order of birth. She pursued her education in the district schools and was reared upon the home farm. Four children grace the union of our subject and his wife: Emory H.; Elliott G., who married Edith Lutz; Nannie, at home; and Minnie, deceased.
Mr. Smith is well known throughout Champaign county. Here he engaged in the operation of a threshing machine for thirty-six years and was also engaged in the agricultural implement business, selling
farm machinery for more than twenty years. He likewise conducted a feed mill and sawmill for a number of years, and is now agent for Reeves & Company, threshers and engineers of Columbus, Indiana. He has given his time and attention also to the development and cultivation of his own farm, and is a representative agriculturist of his township. He votes with the Republican party and is a member of Powell Post, No. 381, of Tremont, Ohio, and is likewise identified with the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the blue lodge and chapter in St. Paris and the commandery in Urbana. He holds membership relations with the Knights of Pythias fraternity in Tremont; the Junior Order of American Mechanics and with Storm Creek Council, T. H., of Ohio. He is popular in fraternal circles and esteemed in social circles, and in all life's relations commands the respect and regard of those with whom he has been brought in contact.
JAMES HENRY CHENEY.
Collectively the farmer in whose hands has rested the fundamental development of communities, however great their ultimate commercial inclination, needs no epitaph to sound his praises in the ears of posterity.
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His accomplishments are an ever present blessing, and it is sufficient that the acres wrested from primeval inactivity yield of their abundance with the coming of every summer, and that while factories burn and industries are crowded out of existence by the progress of science or the amalgamation of interests, the husbandman comes into his own with the sole hindrance of his own incapacity or the inclemency of the weather. And because of his inestimable services in all lands it may be ssid that the monument of the agriculturist is the luxury and opulence of the world, no matter how remote this happy state from his own fireside, and his enduring fame is the dignity of labor and the nobility of collaborating with nature. Individually his sphere is enlarged or narrowed by his ability to cope with the political and governmental elements by which he is surrounded, and his personality is reflected in the condition of his fences and barns, his sanitation and cattle, his appreciation of modern improvements, and his tact and enterprise in bringing within the borders of his possession the pleasures and conveniences of present day existence. But the stable prosperity of this or any other section of the country cannot be noted solely from the standpoint of generalization. In the early days more than ordinarily astute and progressive minds came to Champaign county, and with splendid faith in its possibilities not only guided the plow, hut raised their voices in the legislature in behalf of the most intelligent welfare of the community. A name associated with agricultural and political advancement through all the succeeding years since 18̊8 is that of Cheney, a family of pioneer and present distinction, and of which James Henry Cheney, one of the large land-owners of Champaign county, is a typical representative.
In Union township, first pioneered by the Cheneys, James Henry Cheney was born in this county, December 1, 1839, a son of Jonathan and Rachel (Williams) Cheney, and grandson of Benjamin and Sarah (Cochran) Cheney. Accompanied by his wife, Benjamin Cheney left
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his native state of Virginia in 1808, and on the backs of horses made the journey to his future home in Union township. He inherited no wealth, his best possessions being an honest name, good business ability, strong intellect and nobility of purpose. The unsettled conditions had need of just such. material for the furtherance of general activities, and Mr. Cheney soon made his influence felt to a conspicuous extent. His unsurpassed thrift and sagacity resulted in the accumulation of an estate. comprising nearly two thousand acres, but up to the time of his death, in 1834, he never moved from his first location. As a politician he entered into all the important county undertakings, and was not only a justice of the peace for many years, but was a member of the lower house of the Ohio legislature for twelve years. His political career was characterized by incorruptible integrity, and his duties were discharged with rare discretion and fidelity and commendable zeal. The wife, whose life terminated soon after his own, was the mother of seven sons and one daughter, and of these Jonathan, the father of James Henry Cheney, possessed many of the admirable traits of his father. Jonathan Cheney was born on the paternal farm in Union township in August of 1816, and in 1836 married Rachel, daughter of "John W. and Eleanor (Duval) Williams. Of this union there were eight sons and three daughters. The life occupation of Mr. Cheney was stock-raising, and, like his sire, his interests extended beyond his fertile fields to the general improvement of the county. He also was a justice of the peace for many years, and for two years he represented his county in the state legislature. He had the faculty of recognizing and improving opportunities, and his death, March 6, 1864, removed one of the honored, progressive and popular members of the community.
At the present time James Henry Cheney controls nearly a thousand acres of fine farm land in Champaign county, and his operations are on an extensive scale, both as to general farming and stock-raising. His
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life has contained many elements of interest, and his many capabilities have connected him intimately with the latter clay advancement of the locality. During the Civil war he served for a short time in Company E,. One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and is now a member of the Stephen Baxter Post, No. 88, Department of Ohio, Grand Army of the Republic. In 1860 he married Beatrice S. Tullis, daughter of Ezra C. and Sarah Elizabeth (Edmondston) Tullis, natives respectively of Champaign county. Ohio, and Maryland. The paternal grandfather, Ezra Tullis, was a Virginian who removed to Ohio in the early days, and after living a few years in Warren county settled in Champaign county, which remained his home until his death. The parents of Mrs. Cheney were married in Champaign county, thereafter settling in Goshen township, where she was born, and where her early days were spent. Her father was a very successful farmer and large land-owner, and he was an influential man in the county up to the time of his death, in 1869, at the age of fifty-four years. His wife, who is now living with her daughter, Mrs. James Henry Cheney, still retains the mental alertness which rendered her such an invaluable aid to her husband in his early struggles, and a large share of his energy is devoted to work in the Methodist Protestant church, of which she has been a member for many years. She is seventy-four years old, and is the mother of one son and one daughter, of whom the former, William F. Tullis, died in the service of his country, July 9, 1864, while a soldier in Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. To Mr. and Mrs. Cheney have been born the following children: E. E., of whom a personal sketch appears elsewhere in this work ; Broole E., who died at the age of twenty-seven; Lizzie R., who is the wife of Marion L. Burnham; and William H., who is living with his parents.
In 1875 Mr. and Mrs. Cheney left the farm near Mutual, upon which they had settled after their marriage, and took up their residence
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in Mechanicsburg that their children might receive better educational training. Both were fortunate in inheriting landed possessions, which, however, have been increased by wise management, and a scientific study of agricultural methods. For many years the Cheney home has been the center of gracious hospitality, the chatelaine thereof being a woman of sterling traits of character and much tact, and who for years sang in the choir of the Methodist church. Mr. Cheney has maintained and even exalted the prestige established by earlier members of his family, yet he is withal an unassuming gentleman of the old school, and modestly bears his honors as one of the most public spirited and substantial citizens of the town and county. He is a Republican in national politics.
ABSALOM C. JENNINGS.
The history of a state as well as that of a nation is chiefly the chronicles of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon society, whether in the broad sphere of public labors or in the more circumscribed, but not less worthy and valuable realm of individual activity through which the general good is promoted. The name borne by the subject of this memoir is one which has stood exponent for the most sterling personal characteristics, the deepest appreciation of the rights and privileges of citizenship, and is one which has been identified with the annals of Ohio history from the early pioneer epoch, when this now great and prosperous commonwealth lay on the very frontier of civilization. Upon the personal career of our subject rests no shadow of wrong. His life was one of signal activity and usefulness, his efforts being disseminated iri various fields of endeavor and his success being the direct sequel of his own discriminating and well
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directed efforts. He did much to promote the industrial prestige of champaign county, and here his name is held in lasting honor by all who know him. As a detailed record of the ancestral history appears in connection with the sketch of Edward Jennings, brother of our subject, on another page of this work, it will not be necessary to recapitulate in this article.
Absalom C. Jennings was a native son of the Buckeye state, having been born on a pioneer farm in Clark county, Ohio, on the 28th of February, 1815, being the second in order of birth of the five children of George and Jane (Chenoweth) Jennings, who emigrated from Virginia to Clark county, Ohio, in the year 1814. Further details concerning them will be found in the sketch to which reference has already been made. All of the children are now deceased. Our subject was reared on the homestead farm and his early educational privileges were such as were afforded in the primitive district schools of the day. When a young man he came to Urbana, Champaign county, and here entered the employ of E. B. Cavalier, who was engaged in the general merchandise business. Here also he learned the saddlery and harness trade, and eventually he engaged in business in this line, at Marysville, Union county, Ohio, where he conducted a successful enterprise for a period of four years, being a natural salesman and a progressive and able business man, as was manifest in every portion of his long and honorable business career. In 1844 Mr. Jennings removed to New York city, where he was for two years in the employ of a leading merchant, J. L. Cochran. At the expiration of this period he associated himself with T. B. Read, under the firm name of Jennings, Read & Company, and engaged in the wholesale hat, cap, straw goods and fancy millinery business, the enterprise being conducted with consummate skill and discretion and proving successful. In 1859 Mr. Jennings disposed of his interests in this concern and returned from the national metropolis to Cham-
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