HISTORY OF Champaign County OHIO ITS PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS JUDGE EVAN P. MIDDLETON Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Second Sub-Division of Second Judicial District of Ohio. Supervising Editor With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED 1917 B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY, Inc. Indianapolis, Indiana. BIOGRAPHICAL SHERMAN S. DEATON. Sherman S. Deaton, head of the law firm of Deaton, Bodey & Bodey, former prosecuting attorney for Champaign county, member -of the Ohio state Senate, and for many years one of the best-known and most influential lawyers at Urbana, is a Hoosier, a fact of which he never has ceased :to be proud, but has been a resident of Champaign county since the days of his young manhood and of Urbana since the year 1894 He was born in a little log cabin on a pioneer farm in Kosciusko county, Indiana, February 23, 1865, son of George W. and Frances (Fortney) Deaton, both natives of Ohio, whose last days were spent on their farm in Indiana. George W. Deaton was born on a farm in Clark county, Ohio, October 16, 1833, son of William and Catherine (Leffel) Deaton, the former of whom was born in Botetourt county, Virginia, and the latter in Ohio, daughter of pioneer parents in Clark county. William Deaton's father, George Deaton, died in Virginia, at the age of thirty-six years, leaving his widow, Susan (Reams), with nine children. She was so bitterly opposed to. the institution of slavery, the evil consequences of which she had' seen so- much in her baffle state, that she determined her children should not grow up amid the condi-tions entailed by -that institution. Accordingly, she came with her children,- William, Andrew, Nathan, Levi, George, Samuel, Susan, Mary and Martha, to this state and located in Clark county, where she spent the remainder of her life. Upon arriving in this part-of the state the widow Deaton was practically without money and her sons at once started out to. make a living for the family. William Deaton, the eldest of these children, naturally became the main-stay of his widowed mother and he did well his part in the work of establish-ing the family in their new home. He became a farmer and saw-mill proprietor in Pike township and there married Catherine Leffel, member of one of the pioneer families of that neighborhood. His farm and mill were (3a) 34 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. located six miles north of New Carlisle and there he and his wife spent the remainder of their days, useful and substantial residents of that community William Deaton died at the age of forty-four years. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, namely : George W., father of the subject of this biographical sketch; John, who died in 1916, at the age of eighty-one years; Calvin, who died in infancy; James, who is still living; Mary, who married Thomas Drake and is now deceased; Lydia, still living, wife of Dr. L. Baker; Susan, still living, wife of Henry Bright, and Elizabeth, also living, wife of Ezra Drake. Reared on the home farm north of New Carlisle, George W. Deaton grew to manhood there and married Frances Fortney, who also was born in Clark county, May 5, 1835. After his marriage he established his home on a farm in that county and remained there until 1863. In that year he disposed of his interests in this state and moved to Kosciusko county, in the northern part of Indiana, where he established his home on a pioneer farm and where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. His death occurred on June 30, 1878 ; his widow survived him many years, her death occurring on December 12, 1894. They were the parents of eight children, those besides the subject of this sketch, the fifth in order of birth, being as follow : William Sabin, who died at the age of fifteen years; Jacob, who is living on the old homestead farm in Kosciusko county, Indiana ; Mary Belle, who died in infancy; John E., a grain dealer at Sidney, Indiana; Dr. U. S. Grant Deaton, of Toledo, Ohio ; Cyrus, a farmer in Kosciusko county ; Indiana, and Charles, a merchant at Toledo. Reared among pioneer conditions in Indiana, Sherman S. Deaton experienced all the joys and pleasures incident to farm life as it existed in Indiana at the close of the war. He cleared much swamp land, in which work he drove oxen, of which his father owned three yoke ; he also bound wheat, following the cradle, and performed many of the arduous tasks which fell to the lot .of the farmer of that period. He received his elementary schooling in the district schools and supplemented the same by the course given in the high school at Warsaw, the county seat of the home county. He then began teaching school, teaching during the winter months and going to school in the summer, attending a Methodist college at Ft. Wayne, Indiana.. While attending the college, he lived as economically as possible, receiving food from home and doing his own cooking. He had two young friends, who were in the same financial straits as himself, and one of them, Harvey White-shield, a Cheyenne Indian, did the mending for them all. Their clothing, of the "hand-me-down" grade, was characterized by numerous patches, but CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 35 these discomforts did not deter them from their earnest purpose to secure an education. Mr. Deaton worked on Saturdays from seven A. M. to eleven P. M. in the fruit house of congressman J. B. White, for one dollar a day. At first he received only twenty dollars a month for teaching, but later was given better wages. Mr. Deaton was now twenty-two years of age and at this point of his life began the second chapter of his active career in the world. In 1887 he came to Ohio and began teaching in Jackson township in Champaign county, teaching during the winter time and attending the Northwestern Ohio Normal University at Ada. In all, he taught seven years in Champaign county and during four summers of this time (1887-90) he was in the normal school at Ada, giving particular attention to the study of law, to which profession he had decided to devote his life. In the summer of 1889 he began the systematic study of law under the able preceptorship of Judge E. P. Middleton at Urbana and on December 7, 1893, was admitted to the bar. He continued teaching the rest of that winter and in the following June opened an office at St. Paris for the practice of his profession. The third chapter in the life of Mr. Deaton had opened. As soon as he was fairly launched in the practice he began to lay his plans for the nomination of prosecuting attorney of the county. He had been reared to manhood in Indiana and in that state politics plays an important part in every man's life. It is said, and truly so, that there is more politics in Indiana in proportion to its population than any other state in the Union. Under the influence of Hoosier politicians and schooled in their astute methods of maneuvering, Mr. Deaton secured the Republican nomination for prosecutor of Champaign county and was elected in the fall of that year by an overwhelming majority, receiving two thousand and twenty-five votes more than his opponent. His record in the office was such that he was reelected in the fall of 1896, without opposition, leading the ticket in the county. His entry into the political field via the office of prosecuting attorney induced him to make the race for a seat in the upper house of the General Assembly of Ohio in the fall of 1908. In order to secure the nomination he had to make a campaign in the counties of Champaign. Clark and Madison, these three counties constituting the eleventh senatorial district. He secured the nomination and was triumphantly elected in the fall of that year and served with such satisfaction to his constituency that he was reelected in the fall of 1910 for a second term.. He was an active member 36 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. in the Legislature and took a prominent part in the enactment of temperance measures. Another point of interest in the career of Mr. Deaton was his appointment in June, 1901, by Gov. George K. Nash as a member of the Ohio state board of pardons, a position which he filled for four years. In January, 1895, Mr. Deaton became associated with the late George Waite in the practice of law, under the firm name of Waite & Deaton, which was terminated by the death of Mr. Waite on July 27, 1913. In December of the same year Mr. Deaton entered into a partnership with E. L. Bodey, under the firm name of Deaton & Bodey, and that arrangement continued until June. 1916, when Mr. Bodey's son, Lowell C., was admitted to the firm, which is now practicing under the name of Deaton, Bodev & Bodey, with offices on West Court street, across from the court house. Mr. Deaton has been active in the councils of the Republican party for a quarter of a century. Even before reaching his majority, he was mingling with the politicians of Indiana, than whom there are no more skillful in the United States. From such men as Oliver P. Morton, Schuyler Colfax, Isaac P. Gray, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas A. Hendricks, Conrad Baker, "Blue Jeans" Williams and other renowned men of Indiana, Mr. Deaton learned his first steps in political affairs. He remembers distinctly the campaign of 1876, when Williams and Harrison were opponents for the governorship of Indiana. He was personally acquainted with the late Senator Shively, of Indiana, Albert G. Porter and Ira Chase, governors of the Hoosier state, William H. Calkins, congressman from the thirteenth district of Indiana, and many other of the most prominent men of the state. While acting as chairman of the Champaign county Republican committee, Mr. Deaton came into contact with William McKinley, Hanna, Sherman and Governor Nash. He took a very active part in the election of Theodore E. Burton to the United States Senate when he was in the state Legislature. For thirteen years Mr. Deaton was a member of the Republican county committee, seven years of which he served as chairman. He was an alternate delegate to the Republican national convention at Chicago in 1912. As an orator Mr. Deaton ranks not only among the best in his own community, but is frequently called upon to make addresses in all parts of the state. His Decoration Day address in Urbana in 1917 was pronounced one of the best patriotic addresses ever heard in the city. Mr. Deaton was married to Mabel West, December 23, 1898. Mrs. Deaton was born in Jackson township and is the daughter of George W. and Ellen (Breslin). West, both of whom also were born in that township. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 37 Her parents were members of pioneer families in that part of the county, and spent all their lives there, her mother dying on March 5, 1916, at the age of fifty-nine years, and her father about five weeks later, April 13, 1916, at the age of sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. Deaton have a pleasant home at Urbana on Lafayette avenue. They have always taken an earnest interest in the general social and cultural activities of the community. Mr. Deaton is a Royal Arch Mason, a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. CHARLES D. CON OVER. The Hon. Charles D. Conover, of Urbana, twice representative from this county to the Ohio state Legislature and former speaker of the House of Representatives, is a native son of Champaign county and has lived here nearly all his life. He was born on a farm in Salem township on March 21, 1881, son of Nicholas and Mary (Murphy) Conover, the former of whom was born in the state of New Jersey and the latter in this county, whose last days were spent at Bellefontaine, in the neighboring county of Logan. Nicholas Conover was but a lad when his parents came to Champaign county from New Jersey and settled on a farm in Salem township. There he grew to manhood and married, starting farming operations on his own account in Salem township. He later moved to the adjoining county of Madison, but after a brief residence there moved to Logan county and began farming in the Middlesburg neighborhood, but presently returned to Salem township, this county, and was there engaged in farming until his retirement and removal to Bellefontaine, where he spent his last days, his death occurring there in February, 1905. His widow survived him for more than twelve years, her death occurring on April 20, 1917. They were the parents of five children, those besides the subject of this sketch, the fourth in order of birth, being Clarence, Edgar, John and Mattie. Charles D. Conover's early schooling was received in the district schools of Salem township and in the high school at Middlesburg, after which he for some time was in attendance at the Ohio State Normal at Ada and at Ohio Wesleyan University. Upon leaving college Mr. Conover became engaged in teaching school and was for ten years thus engaged, seven years of which time was spent as superintendent of the schools at Kings Creek, 38 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. there conducting the first consolidated township school established in Champaign county. Meanwhile, Mr. Conover had been giving considerable attention to the reading of law during his vacations and was also giving his close attention to local political affairs and the affairs of the state in general. In 1912 he was elected to represent this district in the state Legislature and his service in the succeeding session was so eminently satisfactory to his constituents and the public at large that he was re-elected in 1914 and in the following session was elected speaker of the House, the first time such an honor had ever been conferred upon a representative from Champaign county. In 1903 Charles D. Conover was united in marriage to Florence Gail Stokes, daughter of George W. and Marie Elizabeth (Cowgill) Stokes, and to this union two children have been born, Richard and one who is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Conover are members of the Methodist Protestant church and take a proper part in church affairs, as well as in the general social and cultural affairs of the community. Mr. Conover is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and takes a warm interest in the affairs of the same. Politically, he is a Republican and has for years been regarded as one of the leaders of that party in this county and throughout this part of the state. BISHOP S. E. ALLGYER. The Rev. S. E. Allgyer, pastor of the Oak Grove Mennonite church in Salem township, this county, a Mennonite bishop, field worker of the Mennonite board of missions and charities in the United States and Canada and for years one of the best-known figures in that communion in this country, is a native of the old Keystone state, but has been a resident of this county since he was sixteen years of age. He was born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1859. son of Joseph and Barbara (Zook) Allgyer, also natives of that state and earnest members of the Mennonite colony in Mifflin county, who came to this county in 1875 and settled on a farm in Salem township, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Upon coming to Champaign county, Joseph Allgyer bought a farm of one hundred and fifty-four acres in Salem township and there established his home, farming there until his death in 1884. His widow survived him for about eighteen years, her death occurring in 1902. They were the parents of five children, four of whom are still living, but of whom the subject of CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 39 this sketch is the only one now residing in this county, he having three sisters, Mrs. Nancy Harshberger, Mrs. Hannah Mattler and Mrs. Joseph E. Zook, residing in the neighboririg county of Logan. S. E. Allgyer was about sixteen years of age when he came to this county with his parents from Pennsylvania in 1875 and his schooling was completed in this county. From boyhood he was an earnest student and in addition to his labors on the home farm, after he left school, he continued his studies, with particular reference to the work of the church, and in 1905 he was chosen by the congregation of the Oak Grove Mennonite church to serve them as pastor. and he was formally ordained to the ministry of the Mennonite faith. In that new relation he rendered such faithful and val-uable service, that he soon began to attract the attention of the church at large and in 19̊8 he was created a bishop in the church at Oak Grove. In the meantime Bishop Allgyer had been continuing his farming operations on the home place and some time after the death of his mother bought the interests of his sisters in the place, becoming proprietor of the same. He not only is a good preacher, but an excellent farmer and as he prospered in his operations added to the home place until he became the owner of two hundred and forty-two acres of excellent land there. In 1912 Bishop Allgyer retired from the active labors of the farm and has since been devoting his undivided attention to the affairs of the church, his evangelistic labors calling him to all parts of the country, his services as bishop also taking him into Canada, and he thus has become one of the most widely recognized features in that communion in the country. The Bishop also is field worker of the Mennonite board of missions and charities, an international organi-zation covering both the United States and Canada. His work consists of looking after the missions of the church and soliciting funds. The Men-nonites have a strong organization at Oak Grove and during his active min-istrations there Bishop Allgyer has done much to extend the cause of the church locally, as well as throughout the country at large. On January 18, 1883, Bishop Allgyer was united in marriage to Pris-cilla Umble, (laughter of Jacob and Barbara Umble, of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and to that union eight children have been born, Eva May, Barbara E., Maude, J. Roy, Anna M., Ruth E., S. Maurice and John Mark. Eva Allgyer married N. E. Troyer and has two children, Luella and Ray-mond. Barbara E. Allgyer married Earl M. Yoder and has two children, Olive and Roy. Maude Allgyer married Daniel C. Yoder and has three children, Geneva. Richard and Marie. J. Roy Allgyer was graduated from the agricultural department of Ohio State University in 1917 and then was 40 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. chosen as instructor in agriculture in the schools at Plattsburg, Ohio, for the following school year. All the children have had good educational advantages and J. Roy and Barbara have taught school in their home town ship. The Bishop and his family have a delightful home and have ever taken a proper part in the general social and cultural activities of the community in which they live, helpful in many ways in promoting movements designed to advance the common welfare thereabout. DAVID McMORRAN. The biographical section of this work will contain no more interesting account of any citizen of Champaign county than that of David McMorran, president of the Central National Bank at Paris, and who for many years engaged in general farming. He was born in Johnson township, this county, July 18, 1850, the son of Christian and Sarah (Loudenbach) McMorran. Christian McMorran was born in Jackson township, this county, and Sarah McMorran was born in Mad River township. Samuel T. McMorran father of Christian, was born in Scotland and came to the United States when a boy. He married in Indiana and some time later settled in Jackson township, south of St. Paris. He acquired large and valuable tracts of land, north and south of that place. Samuel McMorran was the father of five sons and one daughter, all of whom are now deceased. He was an active member of the Baptist church and rendered valuable services in many directions to the neighborhood in general. Christian McMorran grew up in the vicinity where he was born and attended an old log school house.. After his marriage he settled down on part of his father's farm. He finally accumulated an excellent farm of about six hundred acres of prime land and became prosperous in all his undertakings. He was the father of eight children, as follow : Ellen, who became the wife of Jason Kiser ; David, the subject of this sketch; Barbara, the wife of Sebastian Nixon, and Simeon, born to his first marriage. By his marriage to Susan Loudenbach, he became the father of John P., of Johnson township; Stella, wife of O. P. Mitchell, Huntington county, Indiana; Mary, wife of William Heater, of St. Paris, and Abraham, deceased. David McMorran was reared on a farm in Johnson township and educated in the common schools of the district. He remained at home until he was about twenty-one and then worked out at farming, being thus CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 41 engaged for about two years. On October 26, 1873, David McMorran was united in marriage to Susan Norman, who was born in Johnson township on June 24, 1850, and who was educated in the common schools. About that time Mr. McMorran bought thirty-six acres of land, for which he paid three thousand six hundred dollars, going in debt for the purchase money and paying interest at the rate of ten per cent. for the debt. He later added ninety-eight acres to his original purchase and is now the owner of two hundred and seventy acres of prime land. To Mr. and Mrs. McMorran three children were born, one of whom died in infancy, the others being, Dollie B., who became the wife of C. A. Wiant, of Johnson township, and Don, who married Pearl Perfect and now lives in Jackson township. The McMorran family are members of the Baptist church of St. Paris, of which Mr. McMorran has served as one of the deacons for several years and has always been active in church work. Ile is a Republican and has served as trustee of his township. Mr. McMorran was one of the founders of the Central National Bank at St. Paris and helped to organize it. He was the first president, which official position lie still holds. He is also a director in the St. Paris Grain Company and owns three business rooms in the same town. He is a stockholder in the National Insurance Company and is interested in other local business interests. also owning a half section of land in Texas. ISAAC ARROWSMITH The late Isaac I. Arrowsmith, for years one of Champaign county's best-known and most substantial farmers, who was living retired in the city of Urbana at the time of his death on November 13, 1913, was a native son of this county and was an honored veteran of the Civil War. He was born on a pioneer farm in Mad River township, February 6, 1844, son of Wesley and Susanna Arrowsmith. Wesley Arrowsmith was a farmer and mill owner, living four miles west of Urbana, and he and his wife were the parents of four children, those besides Isaac, the youngest, being Mary Jane, Elizabeth and Miller, all deceased. Upon completing the course in the local schools, Isaac I. Arrowsmith took a course in a commercial college. Though but a boy when the Civil War broke out he enlisted for service in the Union army and served during the hundred-days service as a member of Company A, One Hundred and 42 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. Thirty-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He later became a farmer on his own account and on November 3, 1868, married Amanda J. Powell, daughter of James D. and Minerva (Hill) Powell, members of pioneer families in Champaign county and further and fitting mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume. After his marriage Mr. Arrowsmith farmed the old Arrowsmith farm in Mad River township until 1909, when he retired from the active labors of the farm and he and his wife moved to Urbana, where he spent his last days, his death occurring, as noted above, in 1913, and where she is still living. She is a member of the Presbyterian church and has ever taken an earnest interest in church work. Mr. Arrowsmith was a Republican and ever gave a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but was not included in the office-seeking class. He was a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and took a warm interest in the affairs of that organization. As a member of Brand Post No. 98, Grand Army of the Republic, at Urbana, he took an active interest in the affairs of that patriotic organization and in all ways did his part as a good citizen in the promotion of the best interests of the community in which he spent all his To Isaac I. and Amanda J. (Powell) Arrowsmith two children were born, James I., living on the old home place in Mad River township, who married Bessie Craig and has one child, a son, Marion Powell Arrowsmith, and Minerva A., who married Jesse Lewis, living on the old Powell homestead, and has two children, Emma Jane and Charles Richard Lewis. DUNCAN BURTON McDONALD. The late Duncan Burton McDonald, former treasurer of Champaign county and for many years one of the best-known merchants at Urbana, who died at his home in that city in the summer of 1915 and whose widow is still living there, was born in that city and there spent all his life, an important factor in the commercial and political life of the community, even as his father before him had been. He was born on April 7, 1844, son of Duncan B. and Hester (Heylin) McDonald, both of whom were born in this state, the former in Ross county and the latter in Urbana, members of pioneer families, and whose last days were spent in Urbana, the latter dying in 1887 and the former in 1891. Elsewhere in this volume, in a memorial sketch relating to the senior CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 43 Duncan B. McDonald, who for many years was one of the leading merchants of Urbana, there is set out at considerable length the history of this branch of the McDonald family in America and the reader is referred to that narrative in this connection, it being sufficient here to state that the senior Duncan B. McDonald was a son of Archibald and Margaret (McDonald) McDonald, natives of Scotland, the former born in Glencoe and the latter in Sutherland, who were married in this country and became early residents of Ohio, settling on the banks of Paint creek, in the vicinity of the present city of Chillicothe, in Ross county, about the beginning of the past century, and it was there, in that pioneer home, that Duncan B. McDonald was born in 18̊2. Archibald McDonald was born in 1759 and was but a boy when he came to the American colonies with his parents, William and Elizabeth (Douglas) McDonald, also natives of Scotland, born in Sutherlandshire. Though but sixteen years of age when the colonists began their war for independence, Archibald McDonald shortly afterward enlisted his services in behalf of the patriots and served in that cause until the end of the war. When eighteen years of age, in 1820, Duncan B. McDonald en-tered upon his commercial career at Urbana, as a clerk in the store of Marcus Heylin, whose daughter he later married, and he presently became a part owner of the store, later, in association with his brothers, William and Colin McDonald, establishing the dry-goods store, which came to be the leading mercantile establishment in Urbana. Marcus Heylin, father of !fester Heylin, mother of the subject of this sketch, was one of the early merchants of Urbana and in the days of the beginning of his commercial activities there, his place was one of the most popular Indian trading posts in this whole region. Reared in Urbana, Duncan Burton McDonald received his schooling in that city and upon leaving high school entered his father's mercantile establishment and was for a short time there engaged, but after awhile decided to take up farming as a vocation and with this end in view began farming' on a quarter of a section of land south of Urbana and was thus engaged for several years, at the end of which time he disposed of his fanning interests and moved to Muncie, Indiana, where he became engaged in the grocery business. Several years later he returned to Urbana and opened a grocery store on "the Square" and there continued actively engaged in the grocery business until his retirement from business thirty years 'later. In the meantime he had been elected treasurer of Champaign county, serving in that public capacity for five years. Not long after his retirement from office he 44 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. sold his store and the rest of his life was spent in quiet retirement, his death occurring in July, 1915, he then being in the seventy-second year of his age. During the Civil War Mr. McDonald participated in the hundred-days service as a member of Company K, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was an active member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic, in the affairs of which organization he took a warm interest. Politically, he was a Republican* and by religious persuasion and inheritance 'was a Presbyterian, for years serving as a deacon of the local congregation of that church. In 1866 Duncan Burton McDonald was united in marriage to Laura E. Lamme, who was born in Bethel township, in the neighboring county of Clark, daughter of William A. and Eliza (Harr) Lamme, the former of whom was born in that same township and the latter in Urbana, a daughter of Daniel Harr, .a pioneer tavern-keeper at Urbana, his tavern having been located on the present site of the postoffice in that city, but who later moved to Springfield. David Harr was a son of James Harr, a soldier of the patriot army during the Revolutionary War. William A. Lamme was a son of John and Sarah Lamme, natives of Virginia, the former of whom took part in the War of 1812, serving in Hull's army, and who became pioneers of Clark county, this state. William A. Lamme continued farming in Clark county until the death of his wife, after which he made his home with his children, his death occurring at the home of a daughter in Chicago. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, of whom but three are now living, Mrs. McDonald having a sister, Caroline, living at Portland, Oregon, and a brother, Edwin H. Lamme, a successful lawyer at San Diego, California. To Duncan B. and Laura E. (Lamme) McDonald were born two sons, Robert Heylin and William Lamme, the latter of whom died years ago. Herbert H. McDonald married Helen James, of Memphis, Tennessee, and has two sons, Clarence Heylin and James Duncan. Clarence H. McDonald married Isabel Wagar and has one child, a daughter, Elizabeth. 'Nagar. James D. McDonald married Irene Gardner. Since the death of her husband Mrs. McDonald has continued to make her home at Urbana, where she is very pleasantly situated. She is a member of the Presbyterian church and has ever taken an interested part in the work of the church, as well as in the general good. works and social and cultural activities of her home city, she and her husband having been helpful in promoting such movements as were designed to advance the common welfare of the community. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 45 GRIFFITH ELLIS. The late Griffith Ellis. who for years was one of the best-known merchants and public men at Urbana, who died at his home in that city in the fall of 1912 and whose widow is still living there, was a native of the principality of Wales, but had been a resident of this country since the days of his boyhood, the greater part of his life having been spent at Urbana, where lie entered upon his successful business career at the age of sixteen years. He was born in the year 183o and when ten years of age came to the United States with an uncle, who settled on a farm in the vicinity of Columbus, this state. When he was sixteen years of age Griffith Ellis was offered a position as a clerk in the old Gwynn mercantile establishment at Urbana and accepted the same, his residence at Urbana dating from that time. Displaying an unusual aptitude for business, two years later he was given a partnership in the firm and several years later became the sole owner of the store, which he continued to operate for a short time and then sold out and went to New York City, where he became engaged in the wholesale shoe business. A few years later Mr. Ellis returned to Urbana and .there opened a merchant-tailoring establishment, which he continued to operate until his election to the office of county treasurer of Champaign county in 1880. He served the public in that important capacity for four years and was then elected clerk of court, a position he occupied for six years. Mr. Ellis was a stanch Republican and for many years was regarded as one of the leaders of that party in this state. He voted for John C. Fremont, the Republican party's first nominee for President, and ever after took an active part in the affairs of the party. serving for some time as chairman of the Champaign county central committee. Governor Foster appointed him a member of the hoard of governors of the Ohio state penitentiary and he also served for some time as financial officer of the state institution at Dayton, later returning to his established home at Urbana, where he spent his last days, his death occurring there in November, 1912. At one time Mr. Ellis was nominated by the congressional convention as the Republican candidate for Congress from this district, but he declined the nomination. He was a member of the First Presbyterian church at Urbana, a York Rite Mason and a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1857 Griffith Ellis was united in marriage to Jane Hoge Woods, daughter of Robert T. Woods and wife, of Urbana, and to this union nine 46 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. children were born, of whom five are still living, namely : Mrs. Jennie E. Gibbons, of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Miss Sophia R. Ellis, a teacher of Latin in the Brooklyn high school for girls at Brooklyn, New York; Griffith Ogden Ellis, of Detroit, Michigan, publisher of the American Boy, a popular magazine for juveniles and in which company he owns the controlling stock ; Miss Melvina K. Ellis, of Urbana, and Mrs. Louise R. Inslee, a member of the faculty of the Emma Willard School for Girls at Troy, New York. HENRY M. PEARCE, M. D. Dr. Henry, M. Pearce, of Urbana, former county physician and city health officer and for years the local surgeon for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, was born in Urbana and has lived there all his life, continuously engaged in the practice of his profession there since receiving his medical degree in 1890. He was born on December 20, i868, son of Dr. Henry C. and Sarah Jane (Morgan) Pearce, the former of whom for many years was one of the best-known physicians and medical instructors in the state of Ohio. The late Dr. Henry C. Pearce, who died at his home in Urbana on December 2, 1891, also was a native son of Champaign county, born on a farm in Union township, on April 1o, 1833, son of Harvey C. and Beulah (Barrett) Pearce, both of whom also were born in this county, members of pioneer families. Harvey C. Pearce was born in 1805, son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Collins) Pearce, who were among the very earliest settlers of Champaign county. Thomas Pearce, a soldier of the patriot army during the Revolutionary War, moved from New York State to Maryland after the war and later came to Ohio and settled in the then wilds of Champaign county, he and his wife becoming influential pioneers of the new community and here spending the rest of their lives. Harvey C. Pearce grew to manhood on the pioneer farm on which he was born and married Beulah Barrett, who also was born in this county, in 1809, a daughter of Capt. Abner Barrett, one of the very early settlers of Champaign county, who later served as an officer during the War of 1812. For some time after his marriage, Harvey C. Pearce continued farming and then moved to Urbana and was for many years thereafter engaged in the shoe business in that city, the rest of his life being spent there, his death occurring in 1891. His wife had preceded him about six years, her death occurring in 1885. Harvey CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 47 C. Pearce took an active interest in local civic affairs and for some time served as justice of the peace in his home township. He was a duly licensed "local" minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and was widely known hereabout as a preacher of convincing power. To him and his wife eight children were born, Henry Clay, Lucas E., Abner B., John W., William Raper, Mary E., Richard S. and Harvey C. Henry Clay Pearce received his elementary schooling in the local schools and at the age of twenty turned his attention seriously to the study of medicine, under the preceptorship of Doctor Carter and later under Doctor Daw-son, and thus duly prepared for entrance to college entered Starling Medical College at Columbus, from which institution he was graduated in 1863, though for five years previously he had been engaged in practice during vacations at Mutual, this county. In 1864 he opened an office for the practice of his profession at Urbana and ever afterward regarded that as his established home, though for many years much of his time was spent in Columbus as a medical instructor. From 1866 to 1874 Doctor Pearce served as professor of physiology and microscopic histology in Starling Medical College and then, for a period of seventeen years, served as professor of obstetrics and surgical diseases of women in Columbus Medical College. For many years he was an active member of the Ohio State Medical Society and of the American Medical Association and in 1866 was appointed local sur-geon for the Pennsylvania Company, a position he held until his death, the longest period of such service on the records of that company. For nine-teen years the Doctor was a member of the local school board at Urbana, and for more than a half century he was a consistent and active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Dr. Henry C. Pearce was twice married. In 1854 he was united in marriage to Sarah Jane Morgan and to that union five children were born, namely : Laura Etta, who married C. E. Macher, of Piqua; Ella, who married George E. Lee and is now deceased ; Charles W., of Urbana ; Henry M., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch, and a daughter, who died in infancy. The mother of these children died in 1872 and in the following year Doctor Pearce married Binnie A. Keller, daughter of William Keller, former mayor of Urbana, and to that union two sons were born, Dr. Frank C. Pearce, deceased, and William K., who died at the age of twenty-two years. The elder Doctor Pearce was a Scottish Rite Mason and a Knight Templar and for years took a warm interest in Masonic affairs in this state. Henry M. Pearce received a practical education in the schools of his 48 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. home city and early entered upon the study of medicine under the able preceptorship of his learned father. Thus prepared for college he entered Starling Medical College in 1887 and on March 4, 1890, was graduated from that institution, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Thus equipped for the practice of his profession, Doctor Pearce engaged in practice at Urbana, in association with his father, and has ever since remained in that city, long regarded as one of the leading practitioners in this part of the state. In addition to his general practice he has served for twenty-five years as local physician and surgeon for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. For eleven years he served as county physician and also for some time in the capacity of city health officer. The Doctor is an active member of the Champaign County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society and of the American Medical. Association and in the deliberations of these learned bodies takes a warm interest. He is a York Rite Mason and takes an active interest in Masonic affairs ; he is past master of Champaign Masonic lodge and is past commander of Raper Commandery No. 19, Knights Templar. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. For six years he served as member of the school board, of which he was president for one year. In 1890 Dr. Henry M. Pearce was united in marriage to Anna M. Sleffel, a native of Australia, and to this union two children have been born, Linda Etta and Edwin Clay. Doctor and Mrs. Pearce are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and take a proper interest in church work, as well as in the general good works and social and cultural activities of their home town. JOHN PRINGLE NEER. John Pringle Neer, one of Champaign county's most substantial farmers and landowners, an honored veteran of the Civil War, and former member of the board of county commissioners, now living retired at Urbana. where he has extensive banking and manufacturing interests, is a native son of this county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in Concord township on April 27, 1842, son of Joseph and Margaret Susan (Monroe) Neer, early settlers in that section of the county, whose last days were spent on their farm there. Joseph Neer was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, August 7, 1804, and there grew to manhood, remaining there until after he had attained his majority, when, in 1826, he came over into Ohio. locating near Catawba, CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 49 working as a cabinet-maker. He returned to Virginia then in 1831 and bought a tract of school land in Concord township. He set about clearing and improving the same, early becoming recognized as one of the most substantial and influential pioneers of that section. That pioneer farm is now held by the subject of this sketch. Joseph Neer was also a wagon-maker by trade and did considerable work in that line in early days, as well as a good deal of carpentering in the neighborhood of his home. On November 1o, 1835, nine years after he came to this county, Joseph Neer married Margaret Susan Monroe, who was born on November 27, 1819, daughter of David Monroe and wife, who came to this county from Virginia in pioneer days, and after his marriage he established his home on his Concord township farm. He and his wife were members of the Methodist church and ever took an earnest part in church work, as well as in the general good works of the community in which they lived. Mr. Neer originally was a Whig, but upon the formation of the Republican party espoused the principles of the same and cast his vote for John C. Fremont. His death occurred on January 26, 1869, and his widow survived him for more than ten years. her death occurring on October 8, 1880. They were the parents of twelve children. of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth in order of birth, the others being as follow : David C., a successful farmer in Allen county, Kansas: Ann F., who is now living at Bakersfield, California, widow of James W. Ellis; Eliza M., who died in southern Colorado October 6, 1875. wife of Judge Joseph Van Offenbacker, who died at Washington. D. C., in January. 1895; Martha J., who died on September 16, 1870 Nathan A., a retired farmer now living at Pasadena, California; Sallie C. living at Los Angeles, widow of Lowell T. Clemans; Joseph T., who married Lydia A. Bricker and is a well-known farmer in Concord township this county: Mary F., wife of Charles W. McMaster, of Los Angeles: Samuel J., a fruit grower at Green River, Utah; Elizabeth, who died in infancy, and James M., a farmer and stockman in Cowley county, Kansas. John P. Neer was reared on the old home farm in Concord township, receiving his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood, and was nineteen years of age when the Civil War broke out. Ou August 19, 1862, then being but twenty years of age, he enlisted for service in the Union army as a private in Company H, Forty-fifth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, being mustered into the service at Camp Chase at Columbus, and served with that command until he was mustered out with the rank of first lieu- (4a)