(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 250 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. In 1875, while he was still serving upon a farm, he was elected assistant cashier of the Third National Bank of Urbana and in March, 1881, he succeeded to the office of cashier. Soon afterward he left the farm and has since resided on Scioto street in Urbana. He served the Third National Bank and its successor, the National Bank, with fidelity and ability and the prosperity of both institutions has been largely clue to his capable management and untiring vigilance. A man of resourcebul business ability his efforts have not been limited to one line alone, for he has been for some years president of the Natural Gas Commission and has been an active and influential factor in public affairs, serving as a member of the board of education of Urbana for three terms, as infirmary director for one term and was elected for another term, but resigned shortly afterward. In February, 1868, Major Vance was united in marriage to Miss Mary Glenn Jamieson, a representative of one of the well known and honored families of Urbana. Their union has been blessed with one child, Louise, now the wife of Charles Brand. The Major is connected with the Masonic fraternity and is one of the most prominent representatives of the craft in the state. He has held the office of master, high priest. thrice illustrious master and eminent commander in all the local organizations. In Harmony Lodge, No. 8, F. & A. M., the Major, his father and grandfather have all served as masters. He has also been grand commander of the Grand Commandery of the Knights Templar of Ohio, and on the 18th of February, 1873, obtained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, while in 1885 he received the thirty-third degree in Boston, Massachusetts, being one of the very few who have attained to that rank in the United States. As a, citizen he is public spirited and progressive, local advancement and national progress both being dear to his heart. He has never allowed the accumulation of wealth to warp his kindly nature, but has a hearty hand clasp, and ready CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 251 smile for all of the old-time friends, as well as those whom he has won in later years. He is indeed an honored and valued native son of Champaign county and his efforts have contributed to the general good as well as to his own individual success. BENJAMIN SNAPP. One of the prominent old pioneer families of Champaign county is that of the Snapps. They have ever borne their part in the upbuilding and development of this region, and have invariably been exponents of progress and liberal ideas upon all subjects. The grandfather of our subject, Rhynard Snapp, was born and reared in Pennsylvania. As early as 1806 he came to the Buckeye state, taking up his abode on a farm in Montgomery county, and shortly afterward came to Champaign county, where he spent the remainder of his life. Daniel Snapp, his son and the father of our subject, was born in the Keystone state in 1804, and when only two years of age was brought by his parents to Ohio. He was reared and received his education in Montgomery county, and when twenty-one years of age located in the wilds of Jackson township, Champaign county, where he secured eighty acres of congress land. While residing in Montgomery county Mr. Snapp was united in marriage to Marguerite Barnhardt, a native also of Pennsylvania, and there she was reared and educated. In that commonwealth her parents also had their nativity, and they subsequently became numbered among the early pioneers of Montgomery county, Ohio. Ten children were born unto this union, nine sons and a daughter, namely : Solomon ; Rhynard, deceased ; Daniel ; William, deceased ; Leonard, deceased ; Benjamin; Simon; Catherine Schumm; Philip, deceased; and Frank. With the exception of one all Were born in Champaign county and all were 252 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. reared in this locality. Throughout the years of his majority Mr. Snapp upheld the principles of the Democracy, and was a member of the German Lutheran church at Saint Paris. He assisted in the erection of the house of worship there, and was one of the founders of the Spring Grove Cemetery Association in Johnson township. He passed away at the old homestead in 1890, after a long and useful career. Benjamin Snapp, whose name introduces this review, is a native son of Jackson township, Champaign county, his birth having here occurred on the 6th of May, 1836. When the old home farm was divided he located on his portion in Johnson township, and as the years have, passed by he has cleared and improved his land and has added thereto until the family is now the owner of two hundred and sixty-four acres. The place is fertile and productive and is considered one of the most valuable homesteads in the county. In the year 1863 he was united in marriage to Barbara Pence, a native of C0ncord township, Champaign county, and a daughter of Simeon and Elizabeth (McMoran) Pence. They also claimed this locality as the place of their nativity, and here they spent their entire lives. Of their two children Mrs. Snapp is the eldest in order of birth, and her brother Russell was killed in a runaway in 1861. By her marriage to Mr. Snapp she has become the mother of one son, Cary, who was born on the 7th of May, 1864. In political affiliations Mr. Snapp inclines to the principles of the Republican party. JAMES W. FULTON. The honored subject of this memoir became a resident of Champaign county in the early pioneer epoch and here he passed the greater portion of his long and useful life, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 255 honored for his sterling character. It is fitting that in this publication be given a brief tribute to the memory of this worthy pioneer, who has now passed to his reward. James William Fulton was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, in the year 1823, being the son of David Fulton, who came from the Old Dominion state to Champaign county, Ohio, in an early day, locating on the farm where Mrs. Fulton, the widow of our subject, now maintains her home, the same being situated on section 4, Urbana townships Here he continued to devote his attention to agricultural pursuits until his death, having been one of the sterling pioneers of the county. He was originally a Whig in politics, and later a Republican, and his religious faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church. James W. Fulton was nineteen years of age at the time of the family's removal to this county, and he drove a team of horses through from Virginia to the new home in the county where he was to pass the remainder of his life. He assisted his father in reclaiming the land, putting in a crop the first year, continued to abide in the paternal home until his marriage, and eventually became the owner of the old homestead, which is now one of the well improved and valuable places of this section. Here he continued. to be successfully engaged in farming for a long term of years, winning the respect of all by his integrity of purpose and straightforward course, and being one of the substantial farmers of the county. In politics he gave a loyal support to the Republican party, and was a ,devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his widow, who still maintains her residence on the old homestead, so endeared to her by the associations of years. Mr. Fulton passed away in the month of April, 1893, having attained the age of three score years and ten and having made his life prolific in good. In the year 1849 Mr. Fulton was united in marriage to Miss Anna Flick, who was born near Northampton, Ohio, in 1828, being the daugh- 256 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. ter. of Jacob Flick, who was born in Jefferson county, Virginia, whence. his parents removed to Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, when he was but four months of age. He died near Northampton, Ohio, in his year. His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Harshbarger, was likewise born in Virginia, and died at the age of seventy-two years and six months, having been the mother of two children. Mr. and Mrs. Fulton became the parents of three children, namely : Catherine Jane, Mary Ann and Frances Elen, the last mentioned being deceased.   JAMES K. CHEETHAM. James K. Cheetham is a well known and prominent representative of business interests in Urbana, and his efforts have been effective in promoting commercial activity here. At the same time he has won success in his undertakings and has ever been honored by reason of his reliable methods. He was born in West Liberty, Ohio, March 5, 1845, a son of Richard H. and Mary H. (McCord) Cheetham. The father was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1819, and was of Scotch descent, the ancestors of the family coming, however, from England to America many years ago. In 1839 Richard H. Cheetham t0ok up his abode in Champaign c0unty and here he was married to Mary H. McCord, a daughter of John McCord, also of Pittsburg, and a soldier of the war of 1812. Her mother was Sally Kenton, a daughter of Simon Kenton, the celebrated explorer. In 1844, two years after his marriage, Richard H. Cheetham settled in West Liberty, Ohio, where he resided for nineteen years successfully engaged in general merchandising. He then returned to Urbana and was an honord and respected resident of this city. In his family were CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 257 the following children : John A., deceased; James K., of this review; Samuel 0., a farmer residing near Urbana; Mrs. Robert Young, of Urbana ; Richard H., who has passed away; and George H. and Mary Catherine, also deceased. In taking up the personal history of James K. Cheetham we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in Champaign county. He was reared and educated in West Liberty and his business training was received in his father's store. When his parents came to Urbana he was eighteen years of age. His father then purchased a bakery and confectionery, doing a wholesale and retail business. He purchased an establishment which had been founded in 1838 by Samuel K. McCord, his brother-in-law. Mr. Cheetham, Sr., had learned the baker's trade in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and here conducted his new enterprise from 1863 until 1882. During that time our subject remained in his father's service and at the latter date became owner of the bakery which he has now conducted for twenty years. He is most proficient in all the details of the trade. His bakery, which is twenty by seventy feet in dimensions, is a model of neatness and convenience and is supplied with the best ovens made. He has a weekly capacity of more than ten thousand loaves of bread, besides cakes and crackers. He manufactures all kinds of breadstuffs, crackers, cakes and pies, and the excellence of his pr0ducts, together with his splendid business ability and honorable dealing, has secured to him. a most liberal patronage. He is also a director in the Ohio Strawboard Company, the Home Loan Company, and is interested in farming. It will thus be seen that his efforts have never been limited to 0ne line, but have been directed along those channels of industry whereby he has won success and has also contributed to the public prosperity. In 1868 Mr. Cheetham was married to Miss Laura J. Coulson, a daughter of Joseph Coulson, and their children are Mrs. Ada L. Downey 258 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. and Joseph K. At the time of the Civil war Mr. Cheetham was connected with the famous "Squirrel Hunters" in 1862, and in 1864 he became a member of Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Volunteer Infantry, which went to the front for 0ne hundred days service and remained for four months. He is identified with W. A. Brand Post, G. A. R., in which he formerly served as commander, and for twenty-three years has been an active member of the Royal Arcanum. He takes a deep and earnest interest in political affairs, supporting the Republican party, and for one term was a member of the council, and is now serving as president of the cemetery board. To him there has come the attainment of a distinguished position in connection with the great material industries of the county, and his efforts have been so discerningly directed along well defined lines that he seems to have realized at any one point of progress the full measure of his possibilities for accomplishment at that point. A man of distinct and forceful individuality, of broad mentality and most mature judgment, he has left and is leaving his impress upon the industrial world. For years he has been an important factor in the development of the natural resources of the state, in the upbuilding of Urbana and in the promotion of the enterprises which add not alone to his individual prosperity, but also advance the general welfare and prosperity of the city in which he makes his home. JOHN P. HANCE. In the attractive city of Urbana resides John Perry Hance, who is a representative of pioneer families of the Buckeye state and who is numbered among the successful and influential citizens of the county. He has been engaged in business in Urbana for a period of twenty CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 259 years, and by his own efforts has attained a success worthy the name and a high place in the confidence and esteem of the community. Mr. Hance is a native son of Ohio, having been born in a pioneer log cabin in Elizabeth township, Miami county, on the 8th of December, 1854, the son of Alfred and Elizabeth (Miller) Hance, of whose family of ten children only one is deceased. The paternal grandfather, Benjamin Hance, was born in Kentucky, whence he came to Ohio in an early day, being one of the pioneer settlers in Miami county, where his son Alfred was born, and where he entered the military service of his country during the war of 1812. Jonathan Miller, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was numbered among the early settlers of Clark county, and there occurred the birth of his daughter Elizabeth, so that both families have been long identified with the annals of Ohio history. Alfred Hance devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, having individually cleared a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the early days, and haying been successful in his efforts, accumulating a good property and being known as an upright man and sterling citizen. Both he and his wife are now deceased. He manifested his patriotism by enlisting for service during the war of the Rebellion, and after its close disposed of his original farm and purchased another, near Fletcher, Miami county, where he passed the residue of his life. John Perry Hance, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared under the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the farm, and his educational advantages were such as were afforded in the district schools of the place and period. In 1876 he left the homestead farm and came to Urbana, having not a penny of capital but being well fortified with energy, self-reliance and determinate purpose. Upon thus coming to Champaign county he secured employment in a country grocery, where he remained for a few weeks. The Centennial exposition, in Philadelphia, was then in progress, and the young man became imbued with 260 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. the desire of seeing the same and learning somewhat m0re of the world, and he valiantly set forth for the "City 0f Brotherly Love," having no money but being successful in working his way through to his destination. He visited Philadelphia and other eastern cities and after an absence of 0ne m0nth returned to Urbana, where he devoted his attention during the ensuing winter to acting as a salesman of sewing machines, while the next year he did effective service in selling agricultural implements. Finally he entered the employ of J. C. Coulson, dealer in groceries and queensware, remaining thus engaged for a period of six years, within which he became thor0ughly familiar with all details of the business and thus laid the foundations for his future success. His marriage occurred in the year 1882, and shortly afterward he engaged in the gr0cer), business on his own responsibility. By careful and discriminating management and correct business methods he made the enterprise a profitable one from the time of its inception, and he has ever since continued operations in the line, controlling a fine trade and having a finely equipped establishment, with a select and c0mprehensive stock. As his resources were augmented Mr. Hance made judicious investments in real estate, and through the same he has realized excellent returns. At the present time he is the 0wner of an excellent farm in this county, is a stockholder in local banking instituti0ns and is known as one of the progressive and public-spirited citizens and business men of his home city. He is distinctively the architect of his own fortunes, and is deserving of credit for the able and upright manner in which he has forged his way forward to the goal of determinate success. In politics Mr. Hance gives his allegiance to the Republican party, and fraternally he is identified with Champaign Lodge, No. 525, A. F. & A. M. He and his wife are members of the First Baptist church and he is trustee of the same at the present time, taking a deep and abiding interest in its work. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 261 On the 19th of June, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hance to Miss Clara Downer, daughter of Rev. John R. Downer, pastor of the First Baptist church in Urbana at that time. She was born in Zanesville, Ohio, but was reared in the state of New York and completed her education in Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. Hance have two children, —Perry and Lillian. GEORGE S. KLAPP, DECEASED. A life of signal usefulness and honor has been that of the subject of this review, who passed the greater portion of his life in Champaign county engaged in agricultural pursuits, and who became the owner of a valuable farmstead in Johnson township. Mr. Klapp was a native of the state of Maryland, having been born in Washington county on the 7th of May, 1826, so that he had passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten, though he retained up to the last marked vigor in both mind and body and was a type of. that virile strength which is begotten of the sturdy and invigorating discipline incidental to the art of husbandry. He was a son of Rev. George Klapp, who was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1801, and was there reared and educated, learning the trade of tailoring. After his marriage he removed to Maryland, where he remained until about 1832, when he emigrated to Ohio, locating at Dayton, where he continued to follow his trade. Finally he went to Miamisburg, Montgomery county, where he studied theology and prepared himself for the ministry of the Lutheran church, of which he had long been a devoted member. He preached his first sermon in Saint Paris, Champaign county, about the year 1839, and thereafter continued in the active work of the ministry, in connection with farming, until his death, in 1842,_ 262 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. having been a man of a high order of intellectuality and having made his life a power for good in all its relations. In Hagerst0wn, Maryland, Rev. George Klapp was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Newman, who was born and reared in that state, and they became the parents of seven children, namely : Mary, deceased; Jeremiah, who likewise is deceased; George S., the subject of this sketch, now deceased; and Lizzie, Luther, Sarah and Martin, deceased. All the children were born in Maryland except the youngest, who was a native of Champaign county. Our subject was a lad of about five years when the family removed from Maryland to Dayton, where he attended the public schools, as did he later in Miamisburg during the family's residence in that place. In 1839 the family located 0n the farm which he afterward owned, and though our subject thereafter made various removals to other farms in the locality and was for one year engaged in the grocery business in Saint Paris he finally returned t0 his late homestead in 1853. He and his father cleared fifty-eight acres and placed the same under cultivation, and the place at the present time comprises sixty-two acres, the land, being of the utmost productivity and the enterprise having yielded to our subject the best of returns for the labors he had expended. On the 10th of January, 1850, Mr. Klapp was united in marriage to Miss Amanda M. Briggs, who was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, on the 3d of November, 1831, and who was there reared to the age of twelve years, when she accompanied her parents on their removal to Champaign county, Ohio, locating in Saint Paris. Her father, Jacob J. Briggs, was born in Pennsylvania October 4, 1804, and there was celebrated his marriage to Ann Eliza Blakey, who likewise was a native of the old Keystone state, and they became the parents of nine children, namely : Samuel B. (deceased), Mary E., George W., Amanda M. (Mrs. Klapp), Letitia W., William Henry, Joseph C. (deceased), Rachel C. and Rose E. All were born in Pennsylvania except the young- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 263 est. To Mr. and Mrs. Klapp eight children have been born, of whom Benjamin E., Florence and Mary L. are deceased. Those surviving are Lydia O., Sarah E., Madora, Susana M. and Margaret, all having been born and reared in Johnson township. The family are members of the Lutheran church at St. Paris, with whose organization our subject was identified, while he was prominently concerned in the erection of the present church edifice and was ever active in the work of the organization. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party, and he served for fourteen years as supervisor of his t0wnship and for sixteen years as a member of the board of school directors of his district. No man in the community commanded more unqualified confidence and esteem, and we are pleased to incorporate this brief tribute to one of the sterling old citizens of Champaign county. WILLIAM R. WARNOCK. With the judicial and political history of Champaign county the name of the H0norable William R. Warnock is inseparately interwoven, and his reputation is not limited by the confines of this district. His course is one which reflects credit upon the state by which he has been honored and his life record constitutes an important element in the events which form the annals of this portion of Ohio. In a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit, upon str0ng intellectuality and close application he 0ccupies a place 0f eminence. Mr. Warnock was born August 29, 1838, and is a son of the Rev. David and Sarah A. (Hitt) Warnock. His father was born in Ireland February 14, 1810, and when eighteen years of age crossed the Atlantic to the new world, continuing his education in Strongsville Academy, 264 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. near Cleveland, Ohio. Determining to devote his life to the work of the ministry, he became a member of the Ohio conference of the Methodist church in 1832. For a number of years he served as pastor of various churches in this state, and about 1857 came to Urbana, making a permanent location here. He had previously been pastor of the church here and now became presiding elder 0f his district. During the last years of his life he occupied superannuated relations to the church, yet was frequently found in the pulpit delivering the message of Christianity to those who s0ught to know its truths. His reputation and his influence were 0f n0 restricted order, and he was widely recognized as one of the leading divines of the Methodist ministry in the middle part of the nineteenth century. In 1837 he married Sarah A. Hitt, a woman whose beautiful Christian character proved a potent element for good in every community in which she lived. By her marriage she became the mother of nine children. That William R. Warnock, one of this family, is a man of scholarly attainments and broad general learning is due entirely to his own efforts, for through the means won by teaching and in other employment he provided for the education which he obtained after completing the common school course. In July, 1861, he was graduated in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, and having determined to make the practice of law his life work he began preparation for the bar as a student in the office of Judge Ichabod Corwin. After a few months, however, lie put aside business and personal interests that he might aid in the preservation of the Union and recruited a company of which he was commissioned captain in July, 1862. It was assigned to the Ninety-fifth Ohio Infantry and after one year's service Mr. Warnock was made major in recognition of his gallant and meritorious conduct on the field of battle. At the battle of Nashville, in December, 1864, he was promoted to the rank 0f lieutenant colonel and assigned to duty CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 265 as chief of staff for the eastern district of the Mississippi, working in that capacity until August, 1865, when he was mustered out of the service. During the three years and two months in which he was connected with the army he was never away from his regiment except on leave of absence for twenty days, and he participated in all the marches, skirmishes and battles in which that command displayed its allegiance to the Union cause. At the close of hostilities, Mr. Warnock returned to Urbana and resumed his law studies, under Judge Corwin, being admitted to the bar in May, 1866. No dreary novitiate awaited him. It was not long before he had acquired a good practice. He entered into partnership with George M. Eichelberger, and the association has been maintained continuously since, with the exception of a period when M. Warnock was on the bench. In 1879 he was elected on the Republican ticket to the position of judge of the court of common pleas, and acted in that capacity until 1889. His decisions were strictly fair and impartial and displayed marked legal knowledge. From 1868 until 1872 he held the office of prosecuting attorney in Champaign county. On leaving the bench he again took up the private practice of law and his clientage is of a distinctively representative character. He has been connected with much of the important litigation brought in the courts of his district and his strength in argument, his logical reasoning and his just conclusions have made him one of the most successful lawyers practicing at the Champaign county bar. In 1868 the Judge was united in marriage to Miss Kate Murray, of Clark county, Ohio, and they have three children: Clifford; Ann Catherine and Elizabeth. The Judge and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and he is identified with W. A. Brand Post, No. 107, G. A. R., and of the Loyal Legion, in which he served for two terms as junior commander, while at the present time 266 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. he is commander, a fact which indicates his popularity among his comrades who wore the blue. Fraternally he is connected with Harmony Lodge, No. 35, F. & A. M., has attained the Templar degree of the York Rites and has taken all of the degrees of the Scottish Rite except the thirty-third degree. He has always been a stanch advocate of Republican principles and aside from the offices in the line of his profession which he has filled he has been honored with other positions of public trust. In 1875 he was elected to represent his district in the state senate and when Governor Hayes was about to leave Columbus and go to Washington, there to be inaugurated as president of the United States, the general assembly of Ohio tendered the president-elect a farewell reception and to Mr. Warnock was unanimously given the high honor of making the farewell address on that occasion on behalf of the senate. In 1900 our subject was elected a member of congress. In the legislative halls of state and nation he has given earnest and careful consideration to every question which has come up for settlement and his course has been marked by loyal patriotism and statesmanship and he has ever placed the nation's welfare before personal considerations and the good of the people before self-aggrandizement. The judicial and political honors and success which he has gained have been well merited and are but the just recognition of superior ability. ROGER H. MURPHEY. In viewing the mass of mankind in the varied occupations of life,. the conclusion is forced upon the observer that in the vast majority of cases men have sought employment not in the line of their peculiar fitness, but in those fields where caprice or circumstances have placed them,. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 269 thus explaining the reason of the failure of ninety-five per cent. of those who enter commercial and professional circles. In a few cases it seems that men with a peculiar fitness for a certain line have taken it up and marked success has followed. Such is the fact in the case of the subject of this biography: He is now serving as postmaster of Urbana. Mr. Murphey was born in this city, December 23, 1852, and is a son of Charles H. and Sophia B. (Long) Murphey. His father was born in Scotland, January 12, 1817, and died in Urbana, January 12, 1891. He was of. Scotch-Irish lineage and his birthplace was within two miles of where Robert Burns was born. In the year, 1843, he came to America, taking up his abode in Cincinnati, Ohio. Shortly afterward, however, he removed to Peoria, Illinois, where he remained for several years, being employed in a distillery, having previously learned that business in his native country. The same line of 0ccupation claimed his attention on Mad River, Ohio, for a number of years. In 1852 he was married in Cincinnati to Miss Sophia B. Long, who was born in Germany and came to the United States when a little maiden of six summers with her father. They landed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and afterward removed to Cincinnati, where she remained until her marriage. Mr. Murphey brought his bride to Urbana and here spent his remaining days. For several years he was superintendent of the James cemetery, subsequently purchased the cemetery property and for several years was engaged in the nursery and greenhouse business, which he followed until about a year prior to his death, when he sold out to his son, the subject of this review. His careful management and keen discernment in business affairs had made him successful and his honorable methods had gained for him the respect and confidence of those with whom he was associated. His death occurred in this city, January 12, 1891. His widow still survives him and is living in Urbana at the age of seventy. years. In their family were five sons and one daughter : Roger H., 14 270 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Charles H., Ella C., Walter T., George C. and Thomas L. The father was a member of- the United Brethren church, while his widow belongs to the Lutheran church. Roger H. Murphey, whose name introduces this record, was born and reared in the city of Urbana, and pursued his education in the public schools. In his youth he assisted his father in the greenhouse and in the conduct of the nursery. At one time he spent five years away from home, visiting France in 1874. He spent some time in the best greenhouses of that country, in order to familiarize himself with the methods of carrying on business there. He is now the owner of one of the three greenhouses of Urbana, having become his father's successor in June, 1890, at which time his brother, W. T. Murphey, also owned an interest in the business, but the following year our subject became sole proprietor. Since that time the volume of trade has largely increased and the facilities he has enlarged to meet the present demands. He now has fifteen thousand feet under glass and the prosperity of the undertaking is continually growing. He raises all kinds of plants and has distributed these through operating florists in Canada and throughout this country from Maine to California. He makes a specialty of raising roses for the wholesale trade. At the present day he is associated with his son under the firm name of R. H. Murphey & Son. In 1878 occurred the marriage of our subject and Miss Anna C. :Keller, of Urbana. They have four children, Charles R., who is his father's partner ; Mary E.; E. Frank ; and William M. In his political views Mr. Murphey is a pronounced Republican, for two years served as chairman of the executive committee of the county and was a member ,of the state central committee. His opinions carry weight in the councils of his party and for thirteen years he served as treasurer of the state central committee. He was appointed by President McKinley a special agent of the rural free delivery service and acted in that capacity for CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 271 eighteen months when in April, 1899, he was appointed postmaster of Urbana. He is now discharging the duties of that office in a most commendable manner, his administration being prompt and business-like. He is connected with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Junior Order of American Mechanics. His connection with any undertaking insures a prosperous outcome of the same, for it is in his nature to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. He has earned for himself an enviable reputation as a careful man of business, and in his dealings is known for prompt and honorable methods which have won him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellow-men. DAVID KENFIELD. Among the agriculturists who became identified with the interests of Champaign county in pioneer days, and with the passing years aided in the development and improvement of this section of the state was David Kenfield, now deceased. He was a worthy, intelligent and enterprising citizen, one of those whom the Empire state furnished to Ohio. He was born in Genesee county, New York, February 11, 1829, but when only eleven years of age he was taken by his parents, Nehemiah and Sallie Ann (Canfield) Kenfield, to Michigan, where the son David grew to years of maturity and was married. At the time of the discovery of gold in California he became imbued with the "fever," and accordingly went overland to the coast, a part of the journey being made on horseback, and there he followed mining for two years, on the expiration of which period he returned to Michigan, five hundred dollars better off than when he started. In 1855 he came with his wife and children to Champaign county, locating at Woodstock. He was a potter 272 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. by trade, having learned that art in Michigan, and in that line he became an expert workman. After his arrival in Woodstock he built the first tile factory ever put into operation in the state, which enterprise proved eminently successful, and •his output was in great demand by the farmers throughout the surrounding country, his efforts thus bringing to him a snug little fortune. His products were often exhibited at the state fairs, where they invariably won first premiums.. Mr. Kenfield continued in this business until 1871, but prior to that time, in 1868, he had purchased one hundred and thirty-one acres of land east of Woodstock, where his widow and children now reside, and from 1871 until the time of his death he devoted his attention to the cultivation of his farm. During that time he also bought and sold other lands. By his first marriage Mr. Kenfield became the father of five children, namely : Frances, who died at the age of twenty years; Sylvia, who married Sylvanus Dix and now resides in Kansas; Sallie Ann, who died in infancy ; Chester, of Lafayette, Indiana; and Marion. The wife and mother was called to the home beyond in 1861, and three years later, on the 24th of May, 1863, Mr. Kenfield married Eusebia Regina Dix, who was born in Uni0n township, Champaign county, Ohio, May 25, 1838. Her father, Clark Dix, was born in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, where he was a shoemaker by trade, and there married Clarissa. Thankful Clough, also a native of that county. Their mrriage was celebrated on the 9th of March, 1837, and in the following spring they started in a one-horse wagon for the Buckeye state, bringing with them their personal effects and a few hundred dollars in money. They reached Columbus at the time the corner-stone of the state house was being laid. Not being pleased with the outlook this section then presented. Mr. Dix left his family here and proceeded on his journey alone to Missouri, in quest of a better location. That was before the day of railroads, and he probably made a part of the journey by stage. Not finding the object CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 273 of his search in that commonwealth he accordingly returned to Champaign county, and for several years thereafter worked as a farm employe. He later purchased a small farm in Rush township, which became their permanent home, and there Mr. Dix passed away in death on the 6th of July, 1890, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife survived him until the 23d of April, 1901, when she, too, was called to her final rest, passing away at the age of eighty-five years. Unto this worthy couple were born nine children, eight of whom, grew to years of maturity, namely : Eusebia Regina, now Mrs. Kenfield; Clark, now a wealthy man of Marion, Ohi0; Clarissa, wife of Frank Willoughby, who was killed at Richmond, Kentucky, during the Civil war after which his widow married D. Fay, of Iowa ; John A., a physician in the state of Washington; Samantha, who married Pearl Smith, of Woodstock ; Sylvanus, who ran away from home at the age of fourteen years to enlist in the Union army : Benjamin, a resident of Kansas ; and Peter, of Iowa. John A. and Clark also served their country during the Civil war, and the former was incarcerated in Andersonville prison for nine months. The latter was in the signal service f0r four years. Mrs. Kenfield attended the common schools of Champaign county during her girlhood, and there fitted herself for the teacher's profession, which she followed for eight years in the public schools. She received her first certificate to teach when only sixteen years of age, and her ability to impart to others the knowledge she had received soon won her recognition in this calling, giving her rank among the prominent educators of the county. She is a prominent member of the Universalist church at Woodstock, and thr0ughout all the relations of life has ever discharged her duties with unswerving faithfulness. Mr. Kenfield was also a worthy member of that denomination, and in his political views was a stanch Republican. During the Civil war he gave freely of his means to preserve the Union, and for a number of years served his town- 274 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. ship with efficiency as its trustee. He neglected no duty of citizenship and was always foremost in support of any movement calculated to prove of public benefit. His death occurred on the 6th of February, 1879, when he had reached the age of f0rty-nine years, eleven months and twenty-six clays, and many friends mourned the loss of one whom they had learned to respect and admire. In his fraternal relations he was a member of North Lewisburg Lodge, F. & A. M., and also of the Woodstock Lodge of Odd Fellows. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kenfield were born nine children, seven of whom are still living, as follows: Clara, the wife of George Hann, of West Jefferson, Ohio, n0w a prominent stock dealer at Woodstock, Champaign county; they have one child, Dorothy Dix, aged ten years; Scott D., a prominent and successful attorney of Akron, Ohio; Lura Dale, Ross and John McDonald, at home; Mary Moore, the Wife of Frank Tulley, of Urbana, Ohio, now an electrician in Chicago; and Melva S., who received her education in the public schools of Woodstock and Milford Center, graduating in the high school at the latter place, and is now a prominent and successful teacher of Woodstock. Two others, twins, died at birth. Ross Kenfield is now carrying on the work of the home farm. He is thoroughly versed in the work of his calling, and is also well informed along other lines, being rec0gnized as one of the leading business men of Champaign county. He was united in marriage to Lucy Huffman, of North Lewisburg, and they have one child, Rene Doris. In his fraternal relations Mr. Kenfield is also a member of North Lewisburg Lodge, F. & A. M. WILLIAM SPEECE. The deserved reward of a well spent life is an honored retirement from business in which to enjoy the fruits of former toil, and now, after a useful and beneficent career, Mr. Speece is quietly living at his pleasant CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 275 homestead in Champaign county, surrounded by the comforts that earnest labor has brought to him. He was born in Harrison township, Champaign county, December 25, 1814. His father, Peter Speece, was a native son of the Old Dominion, where he was reared and received his education, and in an early day came to Champaign county, Ohio, but after remaining here a short time removed to Indiana, there spending the remainder of his life. His wife, who was also a native of Virginia, came to Champaign county with her husband, and she, too, departed this life in Indiana. This worthy couple became the parents of twelve children, eight sons and four daughters. William Speece, the eleventh child and seventh son in the above family, assisted his father in the cultivation of the home farm until he reached his twenty-first year, and for the following ten years he resided on his father-in-law's farm. He then became the owner of eighty acres of partially improved land in Harrison township, on which he made his home for about thirty years, and during that time succeeded in clearing the greater part of his farm and placing it under an excellent state of cultivation. After disposing of his interests there he became the owner of his present valuable homestead of four hundred acres, the most of which he has cleared and improved. Here he continued to direct his energies until 1881', when, having acquired a sufficient competence, he laid aside business cares and retired to private life. The year 1836 witnessed the marriage of Mr. Speece and Miss Elizabeth McIntire. She was born in Harrison township, Champaign county, in 1817, and her entire life has been spent in this locality. Her father, Thomas McEntire, was a native of Virginia, but in a very early day located in Champaign county, where he was one of the first settlers. He was married in his native state to Miss Mary Ann Dick, and she, too, was born in the Old Dominion. They became the parents of twelve children, five of whom were born before the family left their 276 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. southern home. Ten children have blessed the union of our subject and wife, namely : Rose, Thomas, Sally, Samantha, Marguerite, William Henry, Edna Jane, David, Lennie and Jacob. All were born and reared in Champaign county, and with the exception of the eldest, who has passed away, all are married. Mr. and Mrs. Speece are members of the United Brethren church at Rosewood, and its beneficent and helpful principles are exemplified in their daily lives. JAMES M. MUSGROVE, M. D. Fortunate is the man who has back of him an ancestry honorable and distinguished, and happy is he if his lines of life are cast in harmony therewith. In person, in talents and in character, Dr. Mosgrove is a worthy representative of his race, and in his life he is carrying on the noble work begun by his father, Dr. Adam Mosgrove, so long and honored and prominent a physician of Urbana. The subject 0f this review was born in Urbana in 1825 and acquired his early training in the common schools of this city, subsequently studying medicine with his father, and was graduated in the Ohio Medical College in the spring of 1846. Immediately afterward he began the practice of his profession in connection with his father and for many years took an active part in the work of the alleviation of human suffering. Of late years, however, he has gradually withdrawn from active practice and now attends only to the professional duties in the homes where people are loath to give him up, on account of his long service as a family physician. He gained high rank in his profession and now belongs to the Champaign county and Ohio State Medical Societies, also the American Medical Association. Like his father, Dr. Mosgrove, of this review, is an exemplary CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 279 Mason, who in his life closely follows the tenets and teachings of the order. In his political views he is a Democrat, believing firmly in the principles of the party. He has done much to advance the prosperity and stable upbuilding of his native city and is deservedly popular. In I890 he erected the Mosgrove building of Urbana, a large structure, and has otherwise contributed to the development here. For over twenty years he has been connected with the Perpetual Savings and Building Association, and for five or six years has been its president. In 1900 he was elected president of the Citizens' National Bank and has since continued in that capacity. He is also the vice-president of the Ohio. State Strawboard Association. The Doctor is a man of resourceful business .ability, with keen insight and sagacity, and is notably prompt, energetic and reliable and brooks no obstacles that can be overcome by earnest and persistent effort. While his labors have brought to him creditable and desirable success he is a typical American citizen, who, while working for his own advancement, has contributed in no small degree to the general prosperity. His manner is pleasant and he is genial in disposition. ALEXANDER F. VANCE. In the history of Urbana, its upbuilding and its progress, the name of Alexander F. Vance figures conspicuously and honorably. He was born August 25, 1811, and died on the 13th of February, 1889, when in the seventy-eighth year of his age. His parents were Governor Joseph and Mary (Lemon) Vance. His birthplace was what has been known through long years as the Governor Vance Farm. In the usual manner of farm lads of the period the boy was reared and in the district schools of the neighborhood began the education which he continued in 280 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. the old Miami University. After his marriage he lived on what is known as the Eichotz farm. for several years and then removed to Saratoga, Ohio, where he took charge of a mill, conducting its operation until a short time before his father's death. His share of his father's estate was the old farm homestead, and thereon Alexander F. Vance remained until 1859. He removed to Urbana after having sold the farm. From that time until his death he was a well known figure in the city, respected by all for his genuine worth. Mr. Vance took in trade for his farm a hat store which was then located in a frame building which stood in the southeast corner of the public square. He only retained possession of this, however, until the stock was sold out. Called to public office he was long a prominent representative .of the county's interests along judicial lines. It was in 1861 that he was elected probate judge of Champaign county and his service in that office is almost unparalleled in the history of the state, for he continued in the position through six consecutive terms, leaving the office in 1879. He was the second probate judge elected under the new constitution, but that he proved a most capable, faithful and just official is indicated by his long continuance in the position. No higher testimonial of his ability could be given and he left office as he had entered it, with the confidence and g0od will of all concerned. After his retirement from the bench he was engaged in no active or professional business but enjoyed a well earned rest throughout the remainder of his earthly pilgrimage. On the 6th of August, 1835, Judge Vance was united in marriage to Miss Mary R. Ward, a daughter of Colonel William Ward; who resided upon a neighboring farm. Their marriage relation was an ideal one, their mutual love and confidence increasing as the years passed. They celebrated their golden wedding marking the close of a half century of happy married life. The children of this union were William W., CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 281 now deceased; Joseph C., of Chattanooga; A. F., who is represented on another page of this book; John, also a resident of Chattanooga; H. Colwell, who is living in Urbana; 'Mrs. Rev. John Woods, of Ludington, Michigan; Mrs. Thomas C. Berry and Ella P. Five other children have departed this life. One child died in infancy and another at the age of seven, while Ed was accidentally shot about the beginning of the late war. 'Major D. M. Vance died in March, 1887, and Elizabeth in April of the foll0wing year. The relation between father and children was a most happy one, for he was not only their guide and counsellor,. but their friend. Judge Vance took a deep and active interest in every movement and measure calculated to benefit his community and advance its upbuilding.. He was very prominent in military affairs at an early date and under the old military organization of the state served as adjutant general of militia for his district. When the war broke out he raised a company for service at the front and was elected its captain. This command was mustered in at Camp McArthur and offered its services to the government at once, but as the quota was already filled the offer was not accepted and circumstances forbade Judge Vance from again enlisting, but he was ably and nobly represented in the great conflict by four of his sons. His loyalty all through the years of his active and useful life was above question and his devotion to his country furnished an example well worthy of emulation. The Judge was a very prominent Mason, having become a member of the order in Harmony Lodge, May 15, 1845. Steadily he advanced through the various degrees and in his life exemplified the beneficent teachings 0f the fraternity. He also took the degrees of the Chapter, and in that organization filled many offices in a most capable manner. He also received the three degrees of Cryptic Masonry and became a templar in 1869. Again official honors and duties were conferred upon him. He believed most firmly in the teach- 282 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. ings of the craft, which are based upon the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God, and while he was well informed concerning the work of the lodge room he also exemplified in his daily life the true spirit of Masonry. In September, 1850, he became a member of the First Methodist church of Urbana, but later united with the First presbyterian church and his life was that of a faithful, constant Christian. In 1865 he was chosen a ruling elder and remained continually in that office until 1880, when, at his own request, he was omitted from the board. As long as his health remained he was a regular attendant on the church services, but for five months prior to his demise he was not able to leave his home. He had firm and unbounded faith in a future life and welcomed his release from pain not as one who enters upon the unknown, but as one who goes to his old home. Devoted in his attachment to his wife and children, faithful to his friends, loyal in citizenship, honorable in business and conscientious in his church life, his was a noble example which made the world better for his having lived. BENJAMIN F. HARRIS. In the early settlement and subsequent history of Champaign county the prominent of Benjamin F. Harris were prOminent. His grandfather, George Harris, was a native of Virginia, but as early as 1806 came to the Buckeye state, locating in what is now Champaign county. He established his home on Darby creek, in Rush township, five miles above Milford Center, and the family were among the first to locate in the county. Daniel Harris, the father of our subject, was also a native of Virginia, his birth there occurring in 1800, and he was but six years of age when he was brought by his parents to this state. He CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 283 was reared and married in Champaign county, and his last days were spent in Salem township, where he died at the age of eighty-four years. His father was a birth-right member of the Friends church, but he united with the Christian church, and both were lifelong farmers. Daniel Harris married Sibyl B. Lathrop, a native of Connecticut, as was also her father, Benjamin Lathrop, and when she was thirteen years of age her parents located in Union county, Ohio. Her death occurred when she was seventy-six years of age. Of their nine children, six sons and three daughters, six grew to years of maturity, and our subject was the fourth son and seventh child in order of birth. Benjamin F. Harris, the only representative of his family in Champaign county, enlisted for service in the Civil war in 1864, joining Company F, Thirty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until his discharge, in July, 1865. He entered the ranks as a corporal, but for meritorious service was promoted to first sergeant and was later made a second lieutenant. During his military career he took part in many of the hard-fought battles of the war, was with Sherman on his celebrated march to the sea and participated in the grand review at Washington. On his return from the army he located in Union township, Union county, Ohio, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for a number of years, and in 1882 came with his family to his present location, purchasing a portion of the John Enoch farm. His landed possessions now consist of four hundred and six and a half acres. He has improved his farm. and has long been numbered among the practical and thrifty farmers of his locality. On the 6th of April, 1866, Mr. Harris was united in marriage to Laura Webb, a native of Clark county, Ohio, and a (laughter of W. R. and Harriet (Clark) Webb, natives of Connecticut. Their marriage was celebrated in Clark county, and they became the parents of seven children, of whom Mrs. Harris was the third in order of birth. 284 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. She was but three years of age when she was taken by her parents to Union county, Ohio, and in its public schools received her early education, while later she became a student in the Marysville high school. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Harris have been born three sons. The eldest, Emmitt, married Maud Dixon and resides in Seattle, Washington, where he is general manager of an agency for the National Cash Register Company, of Dayton, Ohio. William R. married Leona Black, and they have two daughters, Ina and Ruby. He is also employed with the National Cash Register Company. Charles P. has also left his home and works in connection with his brothers. In his political preference M. Harris is a stanch Republican, and is always loyal in his support of all measures calculated to benefit the community or the general public. For as long period he served as a member of the township school board, and while a resident of Union county served as the trustee of Union township. In his fraternal relations he is a member of Poysell Post, No. 103, G. A. R., in which he has filled many of the offices. DANIEL JAMES. Champaign county is fortunate in the personnel of her farming community and those who here follow the great art of husbandry are alike fortunate in the possession of fine landed estates, where the earth yields forth its increase and where peace and contentment come as the natural sequel, so that there is no occasion to envy the lot of the busy toilers in the thronging marts of trade and commerce. Among the successful and honored farmers of Urbana Township is numbered Mr. James, who is a native son of the old Buckeye state, having been born in Pike county, Ohio, on the 14th day of May, 1835. His father, Perry James, was likewise born in the state, Ross county having been the place of his CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 285 nativity, while the year thereof was 1812, clearly demonstrating the fact that our subject is a representative of one of the early pioneer families of this great commonwealth. Perry James, who devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, became one of the pioneers of Champaign county, as had he also been of both Pike and Scioto counties. He was four times married, there being two children by the first union, one by the second, five by the third and none by the last, the subject of this review having been the elder of the two children born of the first marriage. His mother, whose maiden name was Mildred Daily, was born in Pike county, Ohio, and died when he was a mere child. Daniel James was reared in his native county, where he received his educational discipline in the district schools and so supplemented this by personal application that he became eligible for pedagogic work, having successfully taught three terms of school in Pike county. At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion the young man's intrinsic patriotism and loyalty led him to tender his services in support of the Union, and in 1861 he enlisted as a private in the Fifty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was in command of Colonel Wells S. Jones, while the captain of the company of which our subject was a member, was James R. Percy. Mr. James proceeded to the front with his regiment and was in active service until May 24, 1865, when he received his honorable discharge. He participated in many of the most memorable battles of the great civil conflict, including those of Shiloh, Vicksburg, Jacksonville and Chattanooga, and accompanied Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and the famous march to the sea. His last battle was that, of Resaca, Georgia, where he was wounded, and after partially recovering from his injury was sent to Cincinnati, where he was assigned to light duty and there remained until he was mustered out. He then returned to his home in Pike county, where he devoted his attention to farming until the following year, when he came to Champaign county and took up his abode 286 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. on his present farm, where he has ever since maintained his home. He has made excellent improvements on the place and it is maintained under a high state of cultivation, the area of the farm being ninety-six acres. The same year that he came to this county Mr. James was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Pence, who was born in Champaign county, where her parents were numbered among the early settlers. Mr. and Mrs. James have had eight children, all of whom were born in this county, their names, in order of birth, being as follows : Charles P., Carrie, Augusta, Estella, Orville, Lulu, Margaret and Jacob H. In politics Mr. James is a stanch Republican, having cast his vote for John C. Fremont, in 1856, the first presidential candidate of this grand old party. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church. JOSEPH V. LONGFELLOW, M. D. The profession of medicine, while a very inviting field for the student and the humanitarian, is one that demands much self-abnegation, the exercise of repression and the sacrificing of the ordinary methods of securing personal advancement. It is one of the noblest of all vocations, one of the most responsible and exacting and is the one, above all others, which, while it must needs be prosecuted for legitimate gain, is in its very nature nearest to beneficent charity. One of the prominent representatives of this noble calling in Champaign county is Dr. Joseph V. Longfellow, of Urbana, who is a member of a family that has been identified with the annals of Ohio history from the early pioneer epoch. Thus there is peculiar propriety in making definite record concerning this honored citizen and able physician, who is a native son of Champaign county. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 289 Joseph Valentine L0ngfellow was born on a farm in Concord township, this county, on the list of March, 1858, being the eldest of the four children of Silas N. and Minerva A. (Russell) Longfellow. The other-three children are Mary E., now the wife of H. H. Brower, of Dayton,. Ohio; Margaret W., wife of S. M. Green, of Urbana, Ohio; Victor O., who is completing his medical studies with his brother, the subject of this sketch, and who will graduate at the coming session of college. Silas N. Longfellow was horn in Concord township, Champaign county, on the 5th of June, 1834, being the son of Joseph and Martha (Hull) Longfellow. Joseph Longfellow was born in the state of Delaware, on the 9th of November, 1766, and was there reared to maturity. In May, 1805, he became a resident of Ohio, coming to Champaign county and entering claim to 0ne hundred and sixty acres of government land in section 1s, Concord township, reclaiming the same from the sylvan wilds and there improving a good farm, which continued to be his home during the residue of his life. He attained a patriarchal age, his death occur-. ring in the year 1865, at the age of nearly one hundred years. His first presidential v0te was cast for General Washington, and thereafter he exercised his franchise at each successive presidential election, his last. vote being cast in support of Abraham Lincoln, at the time of his second election to the presidency. Joseph Longfellow was thrice married, his. first union having been with Miss Teresa Merida, who passed away less. than a year after her marriage. About seven years later he wedded Miss Mary Fowler, who bore him thirteen children, her death occurring in the year 1822. In 1826 he consummated his third marriage, being then united to Mrs. Martha (Hull) Crow, the widow of Joseph Crow, to whom she bore six children, one dying in infancy. She was a native of Virginia, whence she accompanied her parents on their removal to Ohio in the early pioneer days, the family settling near Chillicothe. By her marriage to Joseph Longfellow she became the mother of six children, 15 290 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. of whom five survived her, and at present three are living. Lemuel U., David and Silas N. She passed away in 1864, at the age of sixty-eight years. Silas N. Longfellow has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits, and now resides on his homestead farm, of sixty-five acres, in Concord township. In politics he is a Republican and one of the honored and influential citizens of his native county. Possessed of high musical talent he has been a successful instructor in this art, to which he has long been devoted. In 1857 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Minerva A. Russell, who was born in Champaign county, Ohio, on the 27th of May, 1839, the daughter of Valentine Russell, one of the pioneers of this section of the Buckeye state. Dr. Joseph V. Longfellow was reared under the sturdy discipline of the old home farm, and is indebted to the public schools for his early educational training. Later he was for five years a student in the Ohio Wesleyan University, in the city of Delaware, where he practically completed his prescribed course, though failing health prevented him from sully completing his work and thus graduating in the institution. After recuperating his energies he entered vigorously and enthusiastically upon the study of medicine, and in order to thoroughly fortify himself for his chosen profession he finally was matriculated in the Miami Medical College, in Cincinnati, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1886. He soon afterward entered upon the active practice of medicine at Eris, Champaign county, where he continued for four years, at the expiration of which he located in Urbana, where he has ever since been in active practice, having been very successful and holding a supporting patronage of representative order, while he is held in the highest esteem in both professional and social circles, his popularity being based upon his integrity of character, his genial and sympathetic temperament, his professional ability and his power of looking on the bright side of life. The Doctor is a member of the Champaign County Medical Society and CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 291 the American Medical Association, and keeps in close touch with the advances made in his profession through careful study and investigation and through courteous and appreciative association with his professional confreres. In politics he exercises his franchise in support of the Republican party, and his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. J. E. DAVIS. The farming interests of Champaign county are well represented by J. E. Davis. He was born in Goshen township, 0n the old farm' homestead, August 31, 1844. His father, S. C. Davis, was a native of Greene county, Ohio, but when nine years of age was brought to Goshen township, Champaign county, by his parents, Jonathan and Piety (Maxim) Davis, natives of Virginia, who on immigrating to the Buckeye state took up their abode in Greene county. The year 1824 witnessed their arrival in Champaign county, where they were numbered among the pioneer settlers. The father was reared, educated and married in Goshen township and located on the old farm homestead, where he remained until his death, which occurred when he was about sixty-five years of age. His political support was given to the Whig party and later he became a stanch Republican, being recognized as one of the leaders in its ranks. He was also an active and helpful member of the Baptist church and for twenty years served as superintendent of the Sunday-school, his life ever being in consistent harmony with his. professions. He married Jane Brittin, a native of Goshen township, Champaign county, and a daughter of Nathan and Mary ( Jones) Brittin. She was reared in Goshen township and belonged to one of the old pioneer families of the county. Her death occurred when she was eighty-one years of age. In the family of this worthy couple were nine children, three sons and six 292 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. daughters, of whom one son and four daughters are yet living. All are married and are residents of Mechanicsburg. They are: Edrianah, the wife of Mathin Comestock; Emily, the wife of W. W. Legge; Etta, the wife of J. W. Tway; and Callie, the wife of Joseph Mumma. Mr. Davis of this review was the fourth child and eldest son of the family. He was reared in his native township on the old farm homestead and during his boyhood attended the district schools. In 1863 he enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as a private and served until the close of the war, being the last man, with one exception, to be mustered out of the regiment. He was wounded at Kenesaw Mountain on the 27th of June, 1864, receiving a gunshot wound in the shoulder, in the hand and in the finger. He was then taken to the hospital at Columbus and after he had recovered from his injuries was in the mustering-out office at Chicago. He was one of the fifty men who took the United States mail through the Escanaba and Marquette district of Michigan in 1865 and was stationed at Negaunee in the northern peninsula for thirty days, after which he returned to Chicago and was mustered out in September, 1865. Mr. Davis then came back to his home in Goshen township and en gaged in farming with excellent success, following that pursuit until 1898, when he built his present residence in Mechanicsburg, and is now living a retired life. He still owns the old place, however, which has been in the family for three generation's. He was a progressive agriculturist, keeping in touch with modern methods and his system of farming was one which brought to him a good return for his labors. His business methods were ever such as would hear the closest investigation and his responsibility and integrity were above question. On the 30th of January, 1868, Mr. Davis was United in marriage to Sylvia Fox, a daughter of Isaac and Permilla (Rosebery) Fox. The lady was born in Madison county, Ohio, where her people had located- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 293 in pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. Davis had two daughters, but Lulu died at the age of three and a half years. Ella. D. is the wife of John T. Brown and they reside on the old Davis homestead, being the fourth generation of the family to occupy this place, which comprises two hundred acres of rich land. Mr. Davis was superintendent of the Maple Grove Cemetery for several years and was a member of its board and the treasurer. In politics he is a stanch Republican and has never failed to vote at an election since casting his first presidential vote. He also attends the primaries and takes an active part in every measure and movement that he believes will secure Republican success. He is always a leader in the demonstrations of the party, often acting as marshal in its parades. He is a prominent member of Stephen Baxter Post, No.. 88, G. A. R., in which he has filled all the offices. He also belongs to Myrtle Lodge, No. 113, F. & A. M., Caroline Chapter, No. 38, 0. E. S., and of the latter is the present worthy patron. He holds membership relations with. the Methodist Episcopal church and is serving as its steward and as one of its board of deacons. His life has ever been commendable, for he has lived in accordance with upright principles. He was a loyal soldier of his country upon southern battle fields, has ever been known as an honest business man and as a worthy friend, husband and father. EDWIN HAGENBUCH. Few men are more prominent or more widely known in the enterprising city of Urbana than Edwin Hagenbuch. He has been an important factor in business circles and his popularity is well deserved, as in him are embraced the characteristics of an unbending integrity, unabating 294 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. energy and industry that never flags. He is public-spirited and thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of Urbana. Mr. Hagenbuch was born in Salem township, Champaign county, May 8, 1850, and is a son of Henry and Martha J. (Long) Hagenbuch. The father was b0rn in Lyc0ming county, Pennsylvania, about 1809 and comes of a family of Holland Dutch lineage. When a young man he sought a home in the west. At the early age of twelve years he had begun earning his own living by clerking in a store in Pennsylvania, and steadily worked his way upward until he became a partner in a mercan tile enterprise. Thus having accumulated some m0ney, he sought a broader field of labor in the west. He made his way to Kings Creek, Ohio, where he had a cousin living, and there it was that he met the lady who became his wife. He purchased a store and mill there, conducting both business enterprises with success f0r many years. Event ually, however, he sold out and purchased farm land, giving his attention t0 agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining days. His marked energy, keen business sagacity and unflagging enterprise, were the means of bringing to him creditable and gratifying success. In 1865, he removed his family to Urbana, where he spent his remaining days. In politics he was a stanch Republican and a strong Uni0n man, who gave liberally of his means to aid various societies during the war. He held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, to which his wife also belonged. She was born in Champaign county; and was a daughter of James and Susan Long, pioneer settlers of this portion of the state. Tw0 children were born of this marriage that grew to years of maturity. The younger was Ella, now the wife of L. C. Moore, of Urbana. The elder is Edwin Hagenbuch, of this review. He spent the first fifteen years of his life on the home farm and afterward continued his studies in the schools of Urbana, while later he entered the Ohio Wes- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 295 leyan University, where he remained for six months, when he was compelled to leave that institution on account of failing health and was never able to return. He took a deep interest in his father's business and practically managed his affairs for some time, relieving him of all care and responsibility. He was also in the employ of the United States Rolling Stock Company, car manufacturers, acting as clerk and store keeper, and since that time he has been largely interested in farming and stock raising, making a specialty of fine blooded sheep of the Ramboullet breed. In 1880 Mr. Hagenbuch was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Howard, a daughter of George Howard, of Champaign county, and unto them have been born two sons, George Edwin, who is a member of the junior class in the Ohio State University, and Frank, who is a member of the senior class in the high school of Urbana. In his business affairs Mr. Hagenbuch is energetic, prompt and notably reliable. Keen perception and honesty of purpose are among his chief characteristics and have been salient features in this prosperity. He has been successful in business undertakings, yet it has not alone been the goal for which he has been striving, for he belongs to that class of representative American citizens who promote the general prosperity while advancing individual interests. He has rendered effective service to his city and district in public office. He is spoken of as one of the best councilmen that ever served in Urbana. While on the finance committee he was influential in re-adjusting the natural gas debt at a saving to the city of about thirty thousand dollars, and his efforts along other lines were equally beneficial. In 1899 he was elected to the general assembly, and in 1901 was re-elected by an increased majority. He served as a member of the committee on finance, salaries and claims in the seventy-fourth general assembly, and in the seventy-fifth was chairman of the committee on railroads and telegraph and second on the 296 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. finance committee. His ability was early recognized in the general assembly, where out of ninety applicants for membership on the finance committee he was selected for that important position. Socially he is equally proN0.ent. He belongs to Harmony Lodge, No. 8, F. & A. M.; to Urbana Chapter, No. 34, R. A. M.; UrbanCommanderyNo. 59, R. & S. M.; Raper Comm'andery, No. 19, K. T.; and in the Scottish Rite he has attained the thirty-second degree as a member of the consistory at Cincinnati. He is also a member of Antioch Temple of the Mystia Shrine at Dayton. He has presided over the four local bodies and is at the present time grand secretary of the Grand Chapter of Ohio. Mr. Hagenbuch well deserves mention among the most prominent and honored residents of Champaign county. Such, in brief, is the life history of Edwin Hagenbuch. In whatever relation of life we find him—in the government service, in political circles, in business or in social relations—he is always the same honorable and honored gentleman, whose worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly given him. WILLIAM C. PANGBORN. A career whose many-sided usefulness is recalled with pride and gratitude by the citizens of Mechanicsburg is that of William C. Pang-born, a native of the town where he was known in educational, business and professional circles, and where his birth occurred December 4, 1825. His father, Freeman Pangborn, was one of the very early settlers of Champaign county, whither he had removed in his young manhood from his native state of Pennsylvania, and to the development of which he devoted the best energies of his remaining years. In Mechanicsburg William C. Pangborn acquired his education at CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 299 the public schools, and while still young in years evinced habits of thrift and industry. His acquirements were put to the practical test in his native city, where for a number of years he engaged in educational work, the high character of which gained him a reputation among the chief promoters of knowledge of his time and place. After the death of his mother he undertook to learn the trade of tanning, an 0ccupation not sufficiently congenial to warrant long continuance, and which was abandoned entirely for the more ambitious project of law. In the office of .Judge John Corwin, of Urbana, he gained the first insight into the profession to which he devoted himself up to the time of his death, February 14, 1897. He became renowned for his lucid exposition of the principles of law, and for his devotion to its highest and most lasting tenets. Interspersed with his professional duties were numerous business ventures of more or less importance, and for seven or eight years of the best part of his life he engaged in farming and stock-raising in the vicinity of Mechanicsburg. In whatsoever line of activity chosen, he wielded an influence for progress and substantiality, the more s0 because his accomplishments were due rather to his own efforts and wise acceptance of surrounding opportunities, than to any special favor bestowed by a prejudiced fortune. Through his marriage with Martha Spry, in 1851, Mr. Pangborn had yet another incentive for continued success, for his wife proved a helpmate indeed, and a never failing source of sympathy and appreciation. Mrs. Pangborn comes of a family long associated with New York, from which state her father, William Spry, removed to Ohio at an early day. To Mr. and Mrs. Pangborn were born three children, two of whom are deceased. Charles, the only survivor, is now living in Mexico, while his mother continues to reside among the familiar scenes of her youth, marriage, and later life in Mechanicsburg. Mr. Pangborn was politically affiliated with the Republican party, but his conservative nature never