800 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. was then sent by rail to Parkersburg, West Virginia, and from there he took a boat on the Ohio river to Louisville; where, after spending a short time in camp, he went to Columbus, Ohio, being honorably discharged at the last place named in August, 1865. He had served his country faithfully and well. After his career in the army Mr. Tway returned to Mechanicsburg, Champaign county, and engaged in farming until 1871. He then conducted a dray line, and later worked in a machine shop where he was badly injured by falling from a third floor. The last years of his active career were spent in the grocery business. On November 8, 1871, Mr. Tway was married to Loretta Davis, a daughter of Cheney Davis and wife, of Champaign county. To this union two daughters were born, namely : Martha, who married Fred Thompson, .a farmer of Goshen township, Champaign county.; and Lizzie, who married Raymond Folk, of Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Tway is a stanch Republican, believing implicitly in the doctrines of that political creed. He belongs to Stephen Baxter Post, No. 88, Grand Army of the Republic at Mechanicsburg. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant. church. MICHAEL GANNON. Michael Gannon, one of the best-known retired railroad men in Urbana, is a native of Ireland, but has been a resident of this country since the days of his young manhood. He was born in County Mayo on September 25, 1835, son of James and Bridget (Monahan) Gannon, both also natives of County Mayo and who spent all their lives there. James Gannon was a well-to-do farmer and he and his wife were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch is now the only survivor. Reared on a farm, Michael Gannon, after completing his schooling, followed farming in his native land until the year 1863, when he came to this country and proceeded on out to Ohio, locating at Springfield, where he became engaged with the Erie Railroad Company helping in the work of grading the right-of-way from Springfield to Dayton. In 1864. he entered the government employ and was sent South on government construction work, but a short time afterward returned to Ohio and resumed work for the Erie, being stationed at Urbana, and was engaged in the employ of that company, the most of the time as foreman of the local section of the railroad, until 1882, CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 801 after which he worked for the Illinois Car Company at Urbana until his retirement from active labor in 1887, since which time he has been living practically retired, "taking things easy." Mr. Gannon is a Democrat and has ever given his close attention to local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after office. Mr. Gannon has been twice married. It was in 1868 that he was united in Marriage to Mary McLaughlin and to that union eight children were born, James, John, Mary, Kate, Anthony, Margaret, Agnes and Nelle, all of whom are living at Urbana with the exception of James, who is living at Evanston, Illinois, and Margaret, of Springfield, this state, and John, Who in Chicago, Illinois. The mother of these children died on July 27, 1882, and Mr. Gannon married, secondly, Margaret Kelly, and to this union one child was born, a daughter, Bessie. Mr. and Mrs. Gannon are earnest members of the Catholic church, in the various beneficences of which they take a warm interest, and Mr. Gannon is a member of the Holy Name Society of the local parish. Mrs. Margaret Gannon died on January 25, 1915. Despite the burden of his more than four score years Mr. Gannon is alert and vigorous and retains an active interest in affairs. He is one of the veterans of the railway service hereabout and has many an interesting tale to tell of railroading in years gone by. EDWARD FUDGER. Edward Fudger, a well-known and substantial retired farmer of this county, now living at Mechanicsburg, where he and his wife are very comfortably situated, is a native son of Champaign county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in Goshen township on March 31, 1844, son of Peter M. and Esther (Davis) Fudger, the former of whom was born in the state of New Hampshire and the latter in Franklin county, this state. Peter M. Fudger was but a boy when he came to this county with his parents from New Hampshire, the family settling on a farm in Goshen township, about three and one-half miles northeast of Mechanicsburg, becoming substantial pioneers of that neighborhood. Peter M. Fudger grew to manhood in that community and there married and established his home. He became a well-to-do farmer, and there spent his last days, his death occurring in 1896, when he was eighty-two years of age. He was twice (51a) 802 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO married: By his first wife, Esther Davis, he was the father of three children, Minerva, who married Erastus Guy and is now living in Allen County this state, Leroy, who died at the age of four years"; and Edward, the subject. of this biographical sketch. The mother of these children died in 1850, when she was twenty-eight years of age. Peter M. Eudger later married Sophia Perry, to which union three children were born, Alanson; a well to do farther of Goshen township and former county commissioner, who died in 1914; Sarah, Wife. of Thomas Thompson ,of Mechanicsburg, a biographical Sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume, and Horace M., who is farming the old Fudger farm in Goshen township. Reared onthe home farm in Goshen township, Edward Fudger received his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and remained on the farm a Valued aid to his father in the labors of developing and improving the same; until his marriage in the spring of 1883. He then moved to his farm. two and one-half miles north of Mechanicsburg, Where he established 'his home and where he remained, actively. and successfully engaged in farm ing, until In that year he retired from the active labors of the farm. and moved to Mechanicsburg, where he has a very. pleasant home and Where he and his wife are quite comfortably situated. Mr. Fudger. is a. Republican and has ever given a good. citizen's attention to local political affairs, but has not been a holder of public office. It was on April 18, 1883, that Edward Fudger was united in marriage to Lina D. Swisher, who also was born in. Goshen township, this county, daughter of Joseph and Amanda (Bamerger) Swisher, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to this county with their, :respective parents n parentsi days of their youth and grew up and were married in Goshen township. Later Joseph Swisher moved to North Lewisburg and thence to Bellefontaine and is now living at Degraff. For thirty years he was a teacher in the public schools of this county and. of Logan county ; for some years was recorder of Logan county and later 'meted as deputy recorder of that county. He is a stanch Republican and is a member of the Methodist church; Joseph Swisher has been twice. married. By his first wife, Amanda Bamberger, he had four children : Lina D., wife of Edward Fudger ; Argus B., of Maryville ; .Linnie, wife. of I. L. Mitchell, of Urbana, and Will B, who is engaged in the insurance business at Newark. After the death of the mother of these children Mr. Swisher married Mrs. Henrietta Scott i. widow, and to this .union one child was born, a son, Don B. Swisher,. of Columbus. To Edward and Lina D. (Swisher) Fudger two children have been born, daughters. One of them, Edna Gail, widow of Versailles Middleton. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY. OHIO - 803 now makes her home with her parents in Mechanicsburg, and who has two children, Mildred M. and Harold V.; the other is Glenna M., who married Joseph M. Coffey, a well-known farmer of Goshen township, and has one child, a son, Carl Edward. Mr. and Mrs.. Fudger have ever given proper attention to the general social activities of their home community and, have been helpful in promoting good works thereabout. SAMUEL METZ. The late Samuel Metz, who, at the time of his death in the fall of 1915, was one of the best-known and most substantial farmers of Salem township, this county, was a native of the old Keystone state, .but had been a resident of this state since 1867 and of Champaign county since 1876, in which year he settled on a farm in Salem township, where he spent the remainder of his life. There he was one of the useful and influential residents of that community. Samuel Metz was born on a farm in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and there grew to manhood. There he married Eliza Heading, who also was born in that county, and in 1867 he and his wife came to Ohio and located in Wayne county. A year later they moved down into Champaign county and settled on a farm in Salem township. Not long afterward Samuel Metz bought a tract of one hundred and eighty-four acres' in that township and there established his home. Prosperity having smiled upon his operations, he improved his farm, and at the time of his death on November 1, 1915, it was .considered among the well-improved and profitably cultivated farms of the township. At present the farm is being operated, by his sons; Andrew and Milroy Metz, two of the most progressive young farmers in that part of the county. Samuel Metz was twice married. His first wife, Eliza Heading, died in 1883, at the age of forty-two years, and he then married Addie Wise, who also was born in Pennsylvania, and who died in July, 1896. By his first wife, Samuel Metz was the father of seven children, namely : Alice, who married James Robinson, a well-known farmer of Salem township; Harry, also a farmer of Salem township and a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume; William, deceased; Andrew, who, with his brother, Milroy, is operating the old home place; Lewis, a coal dealer. at West Liberty ; Ida May, who died in her girlhood, and Milroy, 804 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. who with his brother Andrew is engaged in farming the old home place. In 1911, Milroy Metz was united in marriage to Lena Mae Ream, a daughter of William Ream, of this county, and to this union two children have been born, Orpha Naomi and Franklin Waldo. Andrew and Milroy Metz grew up on the home farm where they are now living, and in the neighborhood schools received their schooling. From boyhood they were valuable assistants to their father in the labors of developing and improving the home place and continued to live there, running the farm in their father's old age, his death occurring in his seventy-fifth year. After his death they took over the home farm and are now very successfully operating the same, carrying on their farming operations in accordance with modern methods, and, as a result have an excellent and thoroughly up-to-date farm plant, being accounted two of the most progressive and wide-awake farmers in that neighborhood. Both are independent in their political views, but take a proper interest in local civic affairs, being stanch supporters of all movements looking to good government and the betterment of conditions in the community in which they live and have lived all their lives. JOHN V. STEMBEL. John V. Stembel, a well-known farmer living four miles southwest of West Liberty, Harrison township, this county, was born on the farm on which he now lives in that township, on July 24, 1855. He is the son of Joseph and Mary (Zeigler) Stembel, the former of whom was born on July 29, 1828, in Frederick county, Maryland. Joseph Stembel was the son of John and Elenora (Sweringen) Stembel, both of whom were born in Frederick county, Maryland, where they grew to maturity and were married. They came to this county in 1830 and settled in Urbana, making the trip in covered wagons. They lived there from the spring of that year until the fall and then settled on a farm one mile east of where their grandson, John V. Stembel, now lives. John Stembel bought two hundred acres of land and immediately proceeded to bring it into a state of cultivation and presently planted a few crops. At the time he settled on this tract of land, the district was but sparsely populated and neighbors were not very numerous. John Stembel was among the early pioneers of Champaign county and was ever regarded as among CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 805 the best and most progressive men of the period in which he lived. At the time that he settled here, wild animals were numerous and settlers had to be constantly on guard against their depredations. John Stembel was an active member of the Lutheran church, the church services being held in his home for a few years and sometimes in his barn. He was a member of the Masonic order and was always warmly interested in the affairs of that fraternal organization. During his active years, he was an ardent supporter of the Democratic party and had been ever active in its councils. His death occurred in 1861. He was the father of twelve children, six of whom died in infancy and six lived to maturity, Joseph Stembel being the only one living in 1917. Joseph Stembel was two years old when he came to this county from Maryland with his parents. He was reared on the farm and attended the subscription schools of the district, the present public school system not being in operation when he was a boy. After his school days he worked on the farm his father had entered in 1830 and remained there up to the time of his marriage. Joseph Stembel was married to Mary M. Zeigler on January 3, 1851. She was born in Perry county, Ohio, on December 14, 1827, and died on January 23, 1911. In 1851 he built the house in which he now lives and which he has occupied since that date. To Joseph Stembel and wife the following children were born : George, deceased, who lived in the state of Indiana; John V., the subject of this sketch ; Albert F., deceased; William H., of Newport, Kentucky; Melissa, deceased ; Mary L., who married Robert Kirkwood; Catherine E., wife of John Duff, and Addie E., Who married Samuel Brubaker. Mr. Stembel is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and earnestly devoted to its good works. He is a supporter of the Democratic party, but has never been a seeker after public office. Mr. Stembel has in his possession two swords and uniforms worn by his maternal grandfather, who fought in the War of the Revolution and greatly prizes these two reminders of the days when the patriot army carried on the struggle successfully for independence. Joseph Sweringen was a captain under General Taylor in Florida and was an uncle of Mr. Stemble. John V. Stembel was reared on his father's farm and educated in the public schools of Harrison township. He worked on the farm for some years by the month. On June 18, 1879, he was married to Emma E. Barger, who was born on November 13, 1858, in Concord township, where She attended school and was reared. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Stembel six children were born, four of whom are now living, namely : Addie, 806 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO, the wife of Frank Bishop; Maudie, who married Godlieb Siegenthalor; Mattie, the wife of Clarence Roberts, and Willie, who married Leota Mason, of Springfield, Ohio. Mr. Stembel is a member of Mad River Lodge No. 161, Free and Accepted Masons, and is a warm supporter of that order. GEORGE L. BYERS George L. Byers, a well-known retired building contractor of Mechanicsburg, former member of the common council of that city, former city marshall, an honored veteran of the Civil War, lieutenant of Company B, Forty-eighth Regiment., Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and for many years one of Champaign county's best-known citizens, is a native of the old. .Keystone state, but has been a resident of Ohio since he was eight years of age. He was born on a farm in Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, October 29, 1840, a son of George and Harriet (Fry) Byers, the former of whom was a son of Joseph Byers and wife, also natives: of Pennsylvania, who spent all their lives in that state. George Byers was reared in Pennsylvania and there learned the trade of blacksmith, becoming, a skilled workman. He married Harriet Fry and continued to make his home in Pennsylvania until 1848, when he came .to Ohio with his family and settled in Delaware county, establishing a blacksmith shop at Norton. From the fruits of his labor at the forge he made enough money to buy a farm where he established his home and set up a smithy. He was, thus engaged as a farmer and smith when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted for service, as did four of his sons, Lee W., T. M., A. G. and George L., and died in service at Memphis, Tennessee. T. M.. and A. G. Byers, served in the hundred-days service. Lee W. Byers enlisted in the company in which his father and brother George were enlisted; and was promoted to the rank of sergeant. At the battle of Sabine Cross Road he was captured by the enemy and languished for six months in a Confederate prison. Upon the completion of his military service he returned .home and some time later was accidentally drowned. The senior George Byers, who died while in the -service of his country during the Civil War, was one of the founders of Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware and the family still holds a life scholarship in that institution. George L. Byers. was reared on the home farm in the vicinity of Norton and early became a skilled mechanic under the direction of his father. He received his early schooling in the local schools and supplemented the same CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 807 by attendance at Ohio Wesleyan University and was in. his second year in that institution when the Civil War broke out on September 17, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company B. Forty-eighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and upon the organization of that company, was: made a corporal; After the battle of Shiloh he was promoted for meritorious conduct on the field of battle to the post of first duty sergeant and after the battle of Arkansas Post, as a reward of further meritorious service in the field was made orderly sergeant In December, 1864, he was further promoted to the rank of first lieutenant of his company and With that rank was ustered out at the close of the War, after a service of mustered years arid seventeen days, during which period he never was on sick leave. Lieutenant Byers was twice wounded in battle, first at the battle of Jackson, Mississippi, and again in an engagement near Pittsburg Landing. His company took part in twenty-two battles. After the surrender of Vicksburg it was encamped on Jefferson Davis's plantation in Mississippi and while there Lieutenant Byers found his way into the library of the President of the Confederacy and retained as souvenirs of visit set of Byron's poetical works and a Webster's Dictionary these he brought home with him and he still possesses the books still being in an excellent state of preservation. Upon being mustered out, Lieutenant Byers received from his lieutenant-colonel a letter which he still has and which he prizes very highly, commending his courage patience. and bravery, with particular mention of his conspicuous services during the battle of Shiloh and during the siege of Vicksburg. Upon the completion of his military service; Lieutenant Byers returned to his home in Delaware county and not long afterward became engaged there as a general building contractor, giving particular attention to bridge construction. He was thus engaged there until 1870, the year of his marriage, when he came to Champaign county and located at Mechanicsburg, where he every since has made his home and where he was actively engaged as a building contractor until his retirement in 1913, a period of more than forty years. For: many years Lieutenant Byers was one of the best-known building contractors in the eastern part of the county and many buildings in and about Mechanicsburg bear the substantial marks of his handiwork, among these being then K. of P. Hall, the Methodist Episcopal church, the C. L. Burnham livery barn and others of the best buildings in that city. Lieutenant Byers is a stanch Republican and has ever given his earnest attention: to local political. affairs. For six years he serves as a member of the common Council of his home city and also served for some as city marshal. On October 1870, Lieutenant George L. Byers was united in marriage, 808 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. in Delaware county, this state, to Hattie E. Di fang, who was born in that county, and to this union three children have been born, John T. Byers, a commercial salesman, now traveling out of Cincinnati; Edward L. Byers, who is engaged in the furniture business at Mechanicsburg, and Mary E., wife of J. W.- Grubbs, of Columbus, Ohio. Lieutenant Byers is an active member of Stephen Baxter Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Mechanicsburg, and has for many years taken an earnest interest in the affairs of that patriotic organization. He also is a member of Wildey Lodge No: 271. Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Mechanicsburg, and is a past noble grand of the same. BYRON F. HAWLEY. Belonging to Champaign county's enterprising class of twentieth-century agriculturists and stockmen, Byron F. Hawley, one of the representative citizens of Rush township, is deserving of specific mention in these pages. He was born in Union county, Ohio, July 3, 1855. His father, John Hawley, Jr., was born in Stark county, this state, in 1815, and was a son of John Hawley, Sr., a native of northern Ireland, from which country he immigrated to America in an early day. He married a Miss Gregory, who was of Scotch descent. He was a weaver by trade. After living for some time in Stark county he moved to Union county, Ohio, locating two and one-half miles southeast of Milford Center, where he became owner of twelve hundred acres of valuable land and there engaged in general farming on an extensive scale until, his death. His family consisted of the following children : Gregory, who spent his life in Union county; John, Jr., the father of the subject of this sketch; George, who spent his life on a farm in Union county ; Samuel, who was a practicing physician in Kankakee, Illinois, where he died; Harvey, also deceased, and Peggie (oldest of the children), who married. Doctor Wood, one of the first settlers of Marysville, Ohio, and is also now deceased. John Hawley, Jr:, grew to manhood on the home farm in Union county and there he attended school. He was twice married, first, to Zelphya Maynard, a native of this state, and to their union three children were born, namely : Belle, widow of George Davis, now living at Marysville; Delia C., who followed teaching for many years and is now making her home with the subject of this sketch, and Rose, now deceased, who was the life of Edward Bergen, of Bellefontaine. The second marriage of John Hawley, CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 809 Jr., was to Melinda W. Fulton, and to their union two children were born, namely: Byron F., the subject of this sketch, and Dora, born in 1857, who married Herbert Fay, and now lives in Columbus, Ohio. The mother of these children died on April 14, 1902, at the age of eighty-two years, and the father died a few months later, December 17, 1902, at the age of eighty-seven. Melinda Fulton Hawley, mother of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Livingston county, New York. . She came to Union county, Ohio, in '1826. She was a daughter of John Fulton, a cousin of Robert Fulton, inventor of the first steamboat. John Fulton was a native of Scotland, from which country he immigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada, where he learned the shipbuilder's trade. Later he came to the United States and worked in the ship yards in New York City, finally coming West and locating in Union county, Ohio, where he spent the rest of his life on a farm. He married Nancy Wise, a native of Livingston county, New York. Three children were born to them. Mrs. Hawley's sister married John Ross, a kinsman of Betsy Ross, who made the first American flag. Byron F. Hawley grew to manhood on the home farm in Union county. He attended the rural schools and also those in Marysville, which he attended four years, then studied three years in the Ohio State University at Columbus. After leaving college he turned his attention to farming in Rush township, Champaign county, living two years on the Johnson place and on the Kimball place for eight years. He remained on the old home place in Union county until 1883. His parents resided with him until their death in 1902. During the past twenty-three years Mr. Hawley has operated the E. C. Miller place in Rush township, known as the "Pleasant Run Farm," two miles south of North Lewisburg and two miles north of Woodstock. He engages in general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale. He is a breeder of Shorthorn and Polled Angus cattle and Poland China hogs of the large type, also Norman horses. He was the first man to raise "baby beef" in Champaign county. His fine stock always find a ready market owing to their superior qualities. He is one of the best-known stockmen in the county and is regarded a.s an exceptionally good judge of livestock of all kinds. He has been very successful as an agriculturist, and has followed general farming all his life with the exception of three seasons, during which he worked as a civil engineer in Union county when a young man. He raises a fine grade of corn and has made exhibits at corn shows for many years. Mr. Hawley was married on February 28, 1878, to Nellie F. Johnson, 810 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO a native of Champaign county, where she grew. to, womanhood and. attended school: She is daughter of.. Horatio and Jane (Bates) Johnson, who came here from, one of the Eastern states and settled on a farm in Goshen township. Politically, Mr. Hawley is a Republican and is active in local political life. He is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to Rising Star Lodge North Lewisburg; Roper Commandery No. 19, Knights Templar, at Urbana; and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Dayton Mrs. Hawley is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. DENTON CROWL Denton Crowl, who has spent his entire life in this county, a substantial and progressive farther engaged in the general raising of all kinds of stock was born in Harrison township on August 1, 1851. is the son of William and Ruth (Chew) Crowl, the latter being William Growl's second wife, Ruth Crowl died in 1852 when Denton. Crowl was but thirteen months old. She was also the mother of John, living in Urbana, and of Anna, who became the wife of A. J. Pitts: Mr. Pitts served as a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War. He enlisted in the Sixty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served to the end of the War, seeing much active service while with the colors. He was a sergeant and flag bearer. William Crowl who was an active farmer all his life, raised his motherless son; Denton. Denton Cowl, who has spent his entire life in Harrison township, was educated in the school's of Springhills, and, on the completion of his school course, .he taught school for one term. He assisted in the work of cultivating his father's farm and here learned valuable lessons in agricultural matters which proved useful to him when he engaged in farming for himself. Denton Crowl remained at home up to the time of his marriage when he commenced farming operations on his own account and in all his work in agriculture he has met with a commendable measure of success. He is now the owner of three hundred and five acres of land of the best quality to be found in Harrison township and is engaged in general farming and stock In the latter line he is actively engaged in the raising of horses, cattle, sheep and hogs and finds a ready market for the same. Mr. Crowl. has.been twice married. His first .wife was Sarah Calland and CHAMPAIGN COUNTY - 811 they became the parents of three children, namely : Edward S. of Michigan; Carrie Belle, who was graduated from high school and later. from Wooster College, was a teacher for four years, at the end of which time she became the wife of L. M. Norris, of Owensboro, Kentucky, and. Frank D., also a graduate of high school and of Wooster College, ,also of the University of Pennsylvania, and is now a practicing physician and surgeon at Dayton, Ohio. Mrs. Sarah Growl, the mother of these children, died on July 17, 191o, and on September 5,. 1912, Denton Growl married Hester Basore for his second wife. To this second union two children were born, Donald R. and. John N. The Growl family are members of the Presbyterian church at Springhills, this county, and are earnestly interested' in church affairs. Mr. Growl was clerk of the congregation for, several years and has been one of the elders of the church. He has always been active in the work of the church, and has been a teacher in the Sunday school for, a considerable period. Mr. Crowl was a supporter of the Republican party, and of late years he has been an independent in his political views. He has always taken a warm interest in local government and for fifteen years served as a member of the school board and is a persistent advocate of all that stands, for efficiency arid progress in the schools of the district and county. E. R. STOCKWELL, D. V. S. Dr. E. R. Stockwell, veterinary surgeon at Mechanicsburg and one of the best-known practitioners in that line in Champaign county, is a native of tile great Empire state, but has been a resident of this county since 1898, the year of his graduation from veterinary college. He was born at East Wilson, in Niagara county. York, June 5, 1871, son of Herbert R. and Mildred (Turner) Stockwell, the former of whom is still living there, at a ripe old age. E. R. Stockwell grew up in the immediate vicinity of his home village, East Wilson, and received his early education in the schools of' that, place. He early learned the trade of farrier and became an expert horseshoer and gradually also became deeply interested in the treatment of the various ailments to which horseflesh is heir, soon becoming locally known as a self-taught veterinarian of considerable skill. After working for eleven years as a horseshoer he entered the Ontario Veterinary College at Toronto, where 812 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. he took a full course and was graduated in 1898, with the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Surgery. The year following his graduation, Doctor Stockwell opened an office for the practice of his profession. at Mechanicsburg, this county, and has ever since been located there, having .built up an extensive practice throughout the territory adjacent to that city. Doctor Stockwell keeps fully: abreast of modern advances in his important profession and added to his earlier training by taking a post-graduate course in the McKillip Veterinary College, at Chicago. The Doctor is the owner of the establishment he has built up at Mechanicsburg, besides other property in that city. Doctor Stockwell has been twice married and by his first marriage has one child, a daughter, Mildred, born on December 25, 1890. In June, 1898, the year in which he located at Mechanicsburg; the Doctor married Kate Pease, who was born at Wilson, New York, was educated in the schools of that place and who for some years before her marriage had been engaged in teaching school. To this union two children have been born, Donna, born on September 6, 1899, and Herbert R., December 25, 1901, both, now students in the Mechanicsburg high school, The Stockwells have a very pleasant home at Mechanicsburg and take an interested part in the city's social activities. The Doctor is a Republican and, fraternally, is affiliated with Mechanicsburg Lodge No. 113, Free and Accepted Masons, and with Homer Lodge No. 475, Knights of Pythias, at that place. He takes a warm interest in the affairs of both of these organizations. WILLIAM H. HUNT. William H. Hunt, chairman of the board of county commissioners of Champaign county, a retired merchant of Mechanicsburg, for years a resident of that city and one of the best-known and most influential citizens of this county, is a native son of. Ohio and has lived in this state all his life. He was born on a farm in the neighboring county of Clark on December 15, 1868, son of James and Elizabeth Catherine (Welsh) Hunt, the former also a native of this state and the latter, of the state of Virginia, she having come to Ohio with her parents when a girl and later returning to Virginia, where she was living when she was married. After his marriage James Hunt returned with his wife to Ohio and became established on a farm in Clark county. There he made his home until about 1876, when CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 813 he came with his family up into Champaign county, where he became a well-to-do farmer. He also for years followed the calling of auctioneer and became one of the best-known men in the county. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Protestant church. They were the parents of eight children, of whom six are still living, those besides William H. Hunt being John, Frank George, Ella K., wife of. John F. Wright, and Sarah, wife of John W. Murray, of Urbana. Having been but eight years of age when his parents moved from Clark to Champaign county, William H. Hunt has spent practically all of his active life in this county. Reared on the home farm in the vicinity of Mechanicsburg, he received his early education in the schools of that city. From the days of his boyhood he was a valued assistant to his mother in the labors of developing and improving the home farm and after his marriage in 1890 established his home on that farm and continued to live there until 1892. In that year he moved to Mechanicsburg, where he ever since has resided. Upon moving to Mechanicsburg Mr. Hunt engaged in the grocery business at that place and was thus quite successfully engaged until May I, 1911, when he sold his store. In the meantime he continued to look after the management of his farm, which he still owns, and still gives the place, a well-improved farm of one hundred acres. in Goshen and Union townships, considerable of his personal attention. Mr. Hunt has been a successful business man and in addition to his farming and other interests in and about Mechanicsburg is a stockholder in the Farmers Bank of that place and in the local building and loan association, and is a member of the board of directors of the latter institution. Mr. Hunt is an ardent Republican and for years has been regarded as one of the leaders of that party in Champaign county, being the present vice-chairman of the county Republican central committee. In 1897 he was elected marshal and street commissioner of Mechanicsburg and in 1913 was appointed to fill the unexpired term of A. P. Fudger as a member of the board of county commissioners from his district. By successive elections has been retained in that office, present chairman of the board, a position he has held for three years. During the incumbency of Mr. Hunt on the board of commissioners, Champaign county has effected numerous important public improvements, including many concrete bridges, the completion of the county hospital, new equipment for the county treasurer's office, a much-needed extension of the court house, valuable drainage extension and other public improvements of value to the entire county. Mr. Hunt has taken an 814 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO active part in the Ohio State County Commissioners. Association and has served as a member of the executive ind finance committee of the same. He also served as vice-president of the local anti-tuberculosis association of Madison; Clark; Green and Charripaign counties; and in other ways has given of his time and energies to:the service. On October 17, 1890; William H. Hunt was united in marriage to Jennie McLaren, who was born in Morrow county, this state, December 24, 1870, and to this union two children have been born, Florence E., born on August 31, 1895, who is now a student in Denison University, and Louise; March 31, 1903;' now a student in the Mechanicsburg high school. The Hunts are members of the Methodist Protestant church and have for years taken an interested part in church work and in other local good works. Mr. Hunt is a member of Mechanicsburg Lodge No 113, Free and Accepted Masons, and also of Homer Lodge No: 174, Knights of Pythias, at Mechanicsburg, and is past chandellor commander of the latter lodge. For years he has taken a warm interest both in Masonic and Pythian affairs. THOMAS LYNN JOHNSON. The year 1803, two years before Champaign county was organized saw the first members of the Johnson family locating in the county. In this volume is given a very interesting review of the family from the time its first members came here and located in the Mingo valley in Wayne township, and the reader is referred to that sketch for a detailed history of the family, as a whole, during its ,connection with the county for the past one hundred and fourteen years. One of the several members of the family who left the county of their nativity and went forth into the world to make a name for themselves, is Thomas Lynn Johnson, now a practicing attorney of Cleveland, Ohio. Thomas L. Johnson, a son of Alfred and Ann Elizabeth (Stone) Johnson, was born in the Mingo valley of Champaign county on May 29, 1855. The father was born on the same farm; June 10, 1817, and died there on September 9, 1905; the mother was, born in Perry county, Ohio, September 21, 1829, and died at Marion, Ohio, June 28, 1917. The complete genealogy of the family, as above stated, is given, elsewhere in this volume. Thomas L. Johnson was reared on his father's farm and spent his boyhood days in a manner similar to all boys reared on the farm. He CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 815 attended the in rural schools and then entered, the National Normal School, at Lebanon, Ohio graduating therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He at once became a student at Boston University Boston, Massachusetts, where he took up the study of law; graduating in due course of time with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was then twenty-four years of age. a graduate of one of the leading law schoois of the country, and ready. to begin the practice of his chosen profession. The question was where should he locate. After looking over the situation from every angle, he concluded to begin his legal practice in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Accordingly, the year 1879 found him located there, being admitted to the bar in that city in the same year. At first he devoted himself to general practice, but as the years went by, he gradually became more interested in corporation and insurance law. During the past few years, he has given the major portion of his time to "Trade Marks" and "Unfair Competition." He practiced alone until 1900, in which year he became a member of the firm of White, Johnson & Cannon. In 1914 the firm was enlarged by the addition of C. A. Neff, and since that year the firm has been White, Johnson, Cannon & Neff. The offices of the firm are in the Williamson Building:. The career of Mr. Johnson as a lawyer has been one of quiet and undeviating devotion to his profession. He has never cared to take an active part in political affairs although, as a citizen Interested in good government, he has always been ready to co-operate in measures looking toward better civic conditions.. For this reason., he prefers to class himself as an independent voter with. Republican tendencies. He is a Member of the Cleveland and the American Bar Associations, and for two years, 1912-1914, he was president of the former. In addition to his legal activities, he finds time to be a director in several .corporations and is a stockholder in about a dozen more. Mr. Johnson was first married to Isabelle Wilder, who was born at Medina, Ohio, April 13, 1856, and died October 27, 1900. To this marriage was born one son, Roy Wilder Johnson. The son was born at Cleveland on. March 4,. 1882, and after completing the work in the public schools of his home city, became a student in Dummer Academy, South By-field, Massachusetts. He completed his education by graduating from Harvard University and then started out in newspaper and magazine work after leaving college. For a time he was on the editorial staff of Printers' Ink, New York City, but he severed, his connection with this magazine in February, 1917, 816 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO, to enter business as a trade mark adviser and expert. He maintains offices at 32 Nassau street, New York City. Roy W. Johnson was married to Josephine Summer, a daughter of John L. Summer of Marysville, Ohio. They have two children, aged six and four. Their home is in New Rochelle, New York. Thomas L. Johnson was married a second time on February 20, 1912, at Springfield, Ohio, to Stella Reid Crothers, a daughter of W. B. and Martha Reid, of Jackson, Michigan. JOHN HENRY BATDORF. John Henry Batdorf, one of Champaign county's best-known and most substantial retired farmers and merchants, now living at St. Paris, where he has extensive property interests, a member of the board of directors of the Central National Bank of St. Paris, and in other ways identified with the business interests of that city, is a native son of Champaign county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in Johnson township on December 13, 1839, son of Samuel and Susanna (Neff) Batdorf, prominent and influential residents of that township, whose last days were spent there. Samuel Batdorf was born in the state of Pennsylvania and came to this state with his parents in the days of his youth, the family settling in Johnson township, this county. There his father, John Batdorf, bought a farm about a mile and a half west of St: Paris, established his home there and there spent the remainder of his life, a substantial pioneer of that community. Samuel Batdorf married Susanna Neff, a resident of the Dayton neighborhood, and established his home in Johnson township, where, in addition to his general farming he became extensively .engaged in the buying and selling. of livestock and became a quite well-to-do citizen. He also was an auctioneer and crier of public sales and in that capacity became one of the best-known men in this section of the state. He was cut clown in the very midst of his activities, being killed by a train, caught at the railway crossing on his way home from St. Paris one day. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, three of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having two brothers, David Batdorf, a well-known farmer of Jackson township, this county, and Samuel M. Batdorf, a manufacturer of brick and tile at Burlington, Kansas. The deceased members of the family CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 817 were Mary, who was the wife of Samuel Bolinger; Elizabeth, who died unmarried; Susanna, who died in 1916, was the wife of Frank Snapp ; Elmira, who was the wife of Asa Brelsford, and Isabel, also deceased. John H. Batdorf was reared on the home farm west of St. Paris, receiving his schooling in the public schools, and remained at home, a valued assistant in the labors of the home farm, until after his marriage in 1864, when he established his home On an eighty-acre farm he had bought in Jackson township, and there he lived until November 16, 1887, when he retired from the farm and moved to St. Paris, where he engaged in the dry-goods business in a partnership, under the firm name of Mitchell & Batdorf, and was thus quite successfully engaged until his retirement from business in March, 1903, since which time he has occupied his time looking after his various property interests in St. Paris and other business interests he has acquired meantime, never having ceased his business activities, despite his nominal retirement. Mt. Batdorf was one of the organizers of the Central National Bank of St. Paris and is a member of the board of directors of the same. The history of that bank, together with its present officiary, is set out at length in another place in this work. Mr. Batdorf also is a member of the board of directors of the Farmers and Merchants Telephone Company and has done much to extend the telephone service throughout this part of the state during his connection with that company. He is the owner of several business buildings, besides other real estate, in St. Paris, and is one the well-to-do citizens of that town, in the affairs of which he ever has taken a warm interest. Mr. Batdorf is a Democrat and during the time of his residence in Jackson township served for some time as assessor of that township. On October 27, 1864, John H. Batdorf was united in marriage to Johanna Bowersock, who was born in Adams township, this county, September 26, 1843, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Cory) Bowersock, the former of whom was born near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the latter, near Dayton, this state, and who moved from Adams township to St. Paris in 1859 and there spent their last days, Mrs. Bowersock dying on December 25, 1879, and Mr. Bowersock, March 25, 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Batdorf have two sons, William H., born on August 3o, 1865, who married Jennie Pence and now lives at Columbus, this state, and Frank C., May 18, 1867, who married Susanna Brown and is engaged in the dry-goods business at St. Paris. Mr. and Mrs. Batdorf are members of the Baptist church, of (52a) 818 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO which he is a member of the board of trustees and a deacon. He has been active in church work and has helped to build two churches, having been a member of the building committee at the time of the erection of the Baptist church at St. Paris and a member of a similar committee at the time of the erection of the Myrtle Tree Baptist church. FRED L. WILKINS The farmer has a chance to enjoy life to a greater extent, than any other, for reasons that are too obvious to be enumerated in detail. Knowing this, Fred L. Wilkins, of Salem township, Champaign county, has .been content to spend his life: amid rural scenes. He was born in Belmont Ohio, October 21, 1869. He is a son of Howard and Rebecca (Martin) Wilkins, both natives of Virginia, in which state they grew up and married, later establishing their home in Belmont county, Ohio, where they continued to reside until 1880 when they moved to Champaign county and settled in Salem township on a farm. Howard Wilkins devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits. He voted the Republican ticket and took an active interest in the affairs of his neighborhood. His death occurred on February 23, 1903. His widow, however, is still living, making her home among her children, of whom there are eight in number, named as follows : William G., a retired farmer of Kennard, Ohio; James W. also a retired farmer of Kennard ; Maggie, wife of J. T. Woodruff, of Salem. township,: Champaign county; Minerva, who married C. S. Unkerfer, of Salem township: Fred L., of this sketch ; Dora, wife of I. J. Kauffman, a farmer of Salem township; Annie; who married E. B. Thomas and lives in Salem. township. Charles G., who married Ethel Powell, living in Salem township. Fred L. Wilkins grew up on the home farm in Salem township, where he was educated in the common schools. He remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-two years old. On November 8, 1892, he married Maggie Sheehe, born at Mingo, Ohio, May a daughter of Michael and Catherine (McGraw) Sheehe, both natives of Ireland, from which country; they came to America while young. They were married in country and settled in Mingo, Ohio, Mr. Sheehe was a mason bv trade but devoted most of his later life to farming, his deatb occurring in 1878 and that of his wife in April, 1910. After his marriage Mr. Wilkins located at Mingo, Ohio, where he CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 819 worked out by the day for two years, at the end of which time .he moved. to; Wayne township, Champaign county, where he engaged, in farming until;. 1900, then moved, to. Salem, township, locating on the L B. Thomas .farm where he has since resided. During his residence here of sixteen years, he.: has-made a success as a general farmerand stock raiser, feeding each year a large number of cattle and hogs. He farms two hundred and eighteen acres. To Mr. and Mrs., Wilkins ten children have been born, namely : Walter born on November 28, 1895, married Edith Howison, farming with his father in Salem township; Wilbur born July 18, 1898; Lillian R.., March 24, 1901; Linnie F., August 23, 1903; Howard F., September 24, 1905; Arthur T., December 19, 1907;—Roy, May 15, 1910; John, May 8, 1912; Raymond, October 2, 1914; and Norma May, born July 27, 1894, and died, August 18, 1894. Politically, Mr. Wilkins is a Republican, and in the principles and doctrines of which party is a strong believer. He has served the community in an official way; being a member of the school board in Wayne township. He and his wife are members of the Friends church, where they are regular attendants. JOHN M. ALCOTT. John M. Alcott, farmer, of Harrison township, Champaign county, was born on a farm in Liberty township, Logan county, Ohio, November 4, 1873. He is a son of John T. and. Jane. (Secrist) Alcott. The. father was born on the old home farm in Liberty township, Logan county, in 1836, where his parents were pioneer settlers. He devoted his life to farming, and died in 1874. He had only two children, George A., who is farming on the old homestead and John M., of this sketch. After the death of John T. Alcott, his widow 'married D. S.: Pool and they established their home at Bellefontaine, Ohio. John M. Alcott was reared on the home farm and he attended the district schools in Logan county. He was only nine months old when his father died and he remained with his mother until he was twenty-five years. old, assisting in supporting the family. He has devoted his life to general farming and now owns a well kept and productive tract of eighty acres in Harrison township, where he has resided since 1899. Mr. Alcott was married on September 21, 1898, to Gertride Clark 820 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. a native of Union township, Logan county, where she grew to womanhood and attended school. To their union two daughters have been born, twins, Irene and Imogene, the date of whose birth was January 6, 1900. They are now attending high school at West Liberty. Politically, Mr. Alcott is a Republican. He is prominent in lodge circles, belonging to Mad River Lodge No. 196, Free and Accepted Masons, and also to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at West Liberty, in which lodge he is the present noble grand. He belongs to Bellefontaine Chapter No. 6o, Royal Arch Masons, and he and his wife are members of the Order of Eastern Star at West Liberty. MAJOR JOSEPH C. BRAND. In the memorial annals of Champaign county there are few names held in better remembrance than that of Major Joseph C. Brand, former member of the state Legislature from this district, an honored veteran of the Civil War, a consular officer in Europe during the Grant administration, clerk of the common pleas and district courts of this district at the time of the adoption of the new state constitution and for many years one of the most active and influential business men in Urbana. Major Joseph C. Brand was a native of Kentucky, but had been a resident of this county since the days of his young manhood, having located at Urbana in 1830. His grandfather, Dr. James Brand, was a native of Scotland and was graduated from the Edinburgh Medical University about 1756, after which he came to this country and located at Frederick City, Maryland, where he practiced his profession for a number of years, at the end of which time he moved to Ringold's Manor and thence to Augusta county, Virginia, where he died at the age of ninety-six years. Dr. James Brand was the father of several children, one of whom, Thomas Brand, father of the Major, was born in Maryland and with his parents moved to Virginia, where he remained until 1808, in which year he went to Kentucky and vas there married to Fannie Carter, who also was born in Maryland and who had moved to Kentucky with her parents in the days of her childhood. Of. the .eight children born to that, union Major Brand was the eldest. He received an excellent education in Kentucky and for a time followed teaching there and then, in 1830, came up into Ohio and located at Urbana, where he became engaged in the drug business with his CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 821 uncle, Dr. Joseph S. Carter, and was thus engaged until the time of his marriage in 1832, when he moved to Mechanicsburg and there became engaged in mercantile business in association with Dr.. Obed Horr ; remaining there until 1837, in which year he bought a farm on Buck creek and was there engaged in farming until 1851, when he returned to Urbana, established his home there and there continued to reside until his death, with the exception of the time spent in the army and the time spent in the foreign consular service. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War Major Brand was one of the active factors in obtaining the order for the creation of the gallant Sixty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and assisted industriously in recruiting and organizing that regiment, and served with that command until it finally was mustered out, a period of three years and ten months. He was promoted in service from captain to the position of commissary of subsistence of volunteers and saw much active service,. his command being present at and participating in many of the most notable engagements of the war, and he was present at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. He was mustered out at the end of the war with the brevet title of major, "for distinguished service during the war," and upon the completion of his military service returned to Urbana. Not long afterward he was appointed by President Grant United States consul at Nuremberg, Bavaria, and with his wife and two daughters made his residence in that city for three years. Major Brand was an ardent Republican and ever took an active part in local civic affairs. He filled several county offices at one time and another and represented this district in both the House and the Senate of the Ohio state Legislature, serving on important committees in both houses during that important period of service. He also took an active part in the general business affairs of the community and his energy and public spirit did much toward promoting a better business condition hereabout in his day. He was a member of the board of directors of the old Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Company and took an active part in the establishment of the road through this part of the country. In the trying days preceding the Civil War he was a valued contributor to the abolition movement and took a no small part in the operation of the "underground railroad" in this part of the state, in that capacity taking active participation in what came to be locally celebrated as the "Greene county rescue cask.," an incident arising out of the arrest of several Champaign county men who had expressed sympathy for a fugitive slave named Addison White 822 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. and who were rescued from the custody of a United States Marshal, while en route through Greene county for Cincinnati, further and more detailed reference to which incident is made in the historical section of this work. Major Brand was an earnest Methodist and he and his wipe were ever .leaders in local good works. As noted: above, it was in 1832 that Major Brand was united in marriage 'to Lavina Talbot, who was born at Shepherdstown, Virginia, and to that union nine children were born, namely : Thomas T., a captain in the Union' army during the Civil War, who was retired on account of wounds received at the battle of Chickamaugua; Joseph C., who became deputy collector and chief clerk in the United States revenue service, with headquarters at Bellefontaine; William A., for many years co-editor with Joshua Saxton of the Citizen. and Gazette at Urbana, and postmaster of Urbana at the time of his death; Belle, wife of William R. Ross; Mary, wife of Rev. E. D. Whitlock ; John F.; Ella, wile of Charles A. Ross, of Urbana, and Ellen and Irva, who died in young womanhood. WILLIAM H. HILL, D. Ai. S. Dr. William H. Hill, the well-known veterinary surgeon living at Christiansburg, this county, is a native of that village, his birth having occurred there on. August. 15, 1857, the son of Henry and Mary (Benton) Hill, both of whom were natives of England. Henry Hill was born in Derbyshire, England, in December, 1828, and grew to maturity in that country, receiving his education in the English schools. After reaching manhood he learned the trade of a shoemaker, and, there he married Mary Benton, who was born in Cambridgeshire in October, 1828. One daughter was born to them while still living in England, and soon afterward they came to the United States, locating first at Piqua, Ohio, where they lived a few years, after which they removed to Christiansburg, this county, where they spent the remainder of their lives his death occuring on April 21, 1887, while his widow survived him, twelve years, her death occurring, on April 20, 1899. They were the parents of eight children, seven of whom grew to maturity, but only six of whom are now living: Eliza G., widow of Charles Garver, of DeGraff, Ohio; Alice Jane, deceased, who was the wife of Judson J. Long, also deceased, formerly residents of Christiansburg; Charles A., .who is engaged in business in CHAMPAIGN. COUNTY, OHIO - 823 Christiansburg; Williarn H., the immediate subject of this review ; John and Harry both of Christiansburg; one who died in infancy, and Frank of Spring Hills, Ohio. Henry Hill and wife were earnest and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for years he was identified with the lodge of Odd Fellows in Christiansburg. In politics he was a Democrat, firm in his belief of the principles of that party, and was always an enthusiastic and influential worker for the cause of prohibition. For many years he was engaged in the shoe business in Christiansburg, also carrying on an extensive trade in the tree and nursery business. Willitim H Hill was reared in the village of Christiansburg, receiving his education in the public schools of that place and in the Normal school. at Lebanon, Ohio. After leaving school he taught school for a period of seven years, two years in Christiansburg and vicinity, and it was while thus engaged that he became interested in veterinary work, making an. exhaustive study of animal, diseases and their treatment, and promptly became a practitioner, in which he has been very successful and has acquired a large and lucrative patronage in this vicinity. On November 21, 1889, William H. Hill was married to Lola M. erritt, daughter of William and Tabitha (West) Merritt, and to this union one son was born, Herman M., born on May i 1, 1891, who died on April 2, 1903. Mr. Hill's parents were descendants of some of the early pioneers of Champaign county, her father, William Merritt, being born in this county, July 16, 1828, his parents coming in an early day from Virginia. Tabitha West, mother of Mrs. Hill, was born in Jackson township, this county, and was a daughter of John W. West, a very prominent man in the county in the early days. He was a Republican in politics, and always active in the councils of his party and served, the county as sheriff for a number of years, his portrait now hanging on the walls of the sheriff's office in the court house at Urbana. William Merritt was a man of quiet and unassuming demeanor, conservative in his judgment, and well known and highly esteemed in his community. He and his wife were the parents of three daughters : Laura B., wife of Charles Gruver, of Troy, Ohio; Lola M., wife of Doctor and Elizabeth, wife of L. D. Baker, of New York City. Doctor Hill is a member of Mt. Olivet Lodge No. 226, Free and Accepted Masons, and of St. Paris Chapter No. 85, Royal Arch Masons, while both he and his wife hold membership in Diamond Chapter No. 84, Order of the Eastern Star. The Doctor is a Democrat in politics and takes 824 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. an active interest in all local political matters. He served his township ten years as township clerk, and is now a member of the Jackson township board of education. In 1886 and 1887 he served as assistant postmaster of Christiansburg, under C. A. Hill. THOMAS SPEECE. Thomas Speece, a well-known farmer and the owner of two hundred and sixty acres of prime land in Harrison township, this county, was born in that township on March 8, 1839. He is the son of William and Elizabeth. (McIntire) Speece, the former of whom was born in Shelby county, Ohio, and the latter in Harrison township, this county. William Speece came , to Harrison township when a young man and was married to Elizabeth McIntire here. They settled in this township and lived on a farm for the remainder of their lives. When William Speece came to this township. he was poor circumstances, but by steady industry and thrift he added to his land holdings and accumulated over four hundred acres of choice land and was generally recognized as. one of the substantial farmers of Harrison township. He was a member of the United Brethren church and took a. very: general interest in all church affairs. He was affiliated with the Democratic party, but was never a seeker after office. William Speece and wife were the parents of ten children, eight of whom are living in 1917, namely: Thomas Speece, the subject of this sketch: Sarah A., the wife. of David Taylor ; Samantha, the widow of W. R. Hoffman ; Margaret, who married H. D. Pyle; W. H. Speece, of DeGraff, Harrison township; Cyrene, wife of Albert Clark ; Etna, wife of Joseph Barger, and Jacob P., deceased. Thomas Speece was reared on the farm in Harrison township and attended the public schools of the district. On finishing his time at school he -worked :on his, father's farm until he was twenty-one years of age. He then married Lydia A. Robinson on September 16, 1858. His wife was born in Harrison township, Champaign county, a daughter of Rossiter and. Mary (Withers) Robinson. Following his marriage Thomas Speece and his wife began housekeeping in Harrison township on rented laid, which he continued to operate for a few years. He then bought eighty acres on which he farmed in a general way and as he prospered in the work, he continued to add land CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 825 until he finally became the owner of two hundred and sixty acres of fine land. To Mr. and Mrs. Speece two sons were born, namely : Thomas-N., who is the owner of fifty acres of land, married Minnie Stayman, and now lives in Harrison township, and William R. Speece, who married Amanda V. Stayer, and who now lives in the state of Oregon. Thomas N. Speece is the father of the following children : Fay, who married Ernest Wilkeson; Hezie, deceased; Mabel, wife of W. 0. Mohr ; Eva, who married Francis. Buck, of Adams township; Zolu, who married Emerson Cheney, of Spring Hill; Edith and Millard: Mrs. Thomas Speece died on November 15, 1912.. Thomas Speece is a member of the United Brethren church and has. served as class leader and trustee. He has been superintendent' of the Sunday school for several years. He was a member of Spring Hill Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Speece is a supporter of the Democratic party and has been prominent in its affairs for several years. He served as trustee of Harrison township for six years, was a member of the school board. for .a considerable period, and was township assessor for six years, and in each of those offices gave general satisfaction. He has been a member of the Champaign county fair board for the long period of thirty years and is still active. For several years he has been one of the directors of the board and his long experience in that: direction has been of the greatest benefit to the managers of the annual fairs. ISAAC. N. ZERIAN. Isaac N. Zerian, a ,farmer of Harrison township, Champaign county, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, January 4, 1841. He is a son of Daniel and Mary (Trago) Zerian, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. When a young man, the father came to Washington county, this. state, where he was married, later bought a farm in Jackson county on which place he and his wife spent the rest of their lives. He was a Republi can and active in party affairs. He was a member of the Methodist church for many years. To Daniel and Mary Zerian eleven children were born, five of whom survive in 1917, namely : Daniel, Jr., who was a soldier in the Civil War, died in Memphis, Tennessee, while in the service; John E., who went to Texas and died in that state; William, a farmer in Liberty township, Jackson county, Ohio; George, a soldier in the Civil War, dying from wounds received in battle; Charles, who lives in the West; Asa I., 820 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO living in Columbus, Ohio; Mary J., the wife of James Walker and living in California; sand. Isaac. N., of this sketch. Isaac N. Zerian was about eight years old when his parents brought him to Jackson. county,. Ohio, and there he grew to manhood on the home farm. He had little opportunity to .obtain an education. When twenty-one years old he went to Ross county, this state, and later to Jackson county, Missouri, Six years later he returned to Ohio, locating in Madison county where he engaged in farming until .1901 where he took up his residence in Champaign county. He now owns a good farm in Harrison township, consisting of two hundred fifty-one and one-half acres. He is carrying on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale and has a well improved and well-kept farm, a good home in the midst of attractive surroundings. Mr. Zerian was married in 1871 to Charlotte Watson, a native of Ohio, and to their union six children have been born, namely : Alta B., the wife of W. S. Shipley; Ora F., the wife of Joseph J. Busick ; Nettie A., the wife of Pearl Chaney, and living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; Iva M. and Imogene, who are single and living at home; Arno N., also unmarried and home. Politically, Mr. Zerian is a Republican and he has been active in party affairs for some years. OBADIAH E. GRISWOLD. Obadiah E. Griswold, one of the oldest native born citizens of Champaign county, most of whose eighty-five years has been spent in his home locality, in which he has seen many important changes take place is link between the pioneer epoch and the present. He was born here on January 22, 1832, on the old homestead in Goshen township. He is a son of James and Polly (Beales) Griswold, natives of Vermont, where theygrew up and married. They remained in New England until 1812, when they came to Marietta, Ohio, traveling most of the distance by boat, the trip requiring nearly a year. They were delayed chiefly by an attack of smallpox while on their way. Later they located near Columbus, Ohio, and in 1816 came to Champaign county, settling in the wilds of what is now Goshen township. There they built a cabin, cleared and developed a farm, and endured the usual hardships and privations of pioneer life. The death of James Griswold occurred at Irwin Station and there his wife also spent her last days. They were parents of eight children, namely; Boland, CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 827 living in Union county, two miles west of Milford, Mary, wife of Mark Malonea, who died at. Irwin Station; Sarah, who married Samuel Harris of Leroy, Illinois, where .he died, after which event she moved to Texas; Hosea, who moved to Illinois, where he spent the rest of his life; Phedora Jane, who died in 1842; .Sylvania, wife of William Brown, who lived in Illinois and later in Union county, Iowa, where her death occurred; Olive Rebecca, wife of. Ira Jones, of Van Buren county, Iowa, and Obadiah E., of this sketch. Obadiah E. Griswold grew to manhood on the home farm where he worked hard when a boy. He received a limited education in the pioneer schools of GosheN towriship. He lived at home until he was eighteen years old. On January 22, 1863, he married Abigail D. Kimball, who Was' born in Union county, Ohio, in 1837, the daughter of Hiram D. and Catherine (Culver) Kimball, natives of Stowe, Vermont, and New York state, respectively, the latter being born on Lake Champlain. Mr. and Mrs. Kimball came to Union county, Ohio, in 1818, locating on a farm near what is now Milford Center, and later moved to Goshen township, Champaign county, where he established the family home on a farm, which he developed from the virgin soil by perseverance and hard work. After several years the family moved back to .Union county. Hiram Kimball's death occurred in Champaign county, after which his widow went to Kansas and died there. Five children were born. to Hiram Kimball and wife, namely : Abigail D., wife of Mr. Griswold of this sketch; Silas, who was killed at the battle of Shiloh during the Civil War, being a member of Company F, Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; N. J., who served three years in the Thirty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and after the war lived in Union county for some time, then moved to Medicine Lodge, Kansas, where he now resides; Lucy A., the widow of D. W. Rutan, a farmer and stockman, and now making her home at Mechanicsburg, Ohio; Ira C., who served two years in the Civil War, after which he located in Eldorado, Kansas. To Mr. and MRs. Obadiah E. Griswold, one son was born, William J. Griswold, whose birth occurred in 1872. He was reared on the home farm in Rush township, and received his education in the district schools. He has always lived at home and is carrying on general farming, stock raising and dairying. Obadiah E. Griswold located in 1863 at Irwin Station, Ohio, not far from the Champaign county line. After staying there for a period of thirteen years, he located on the old Kimball homestead in Goshen township for a while. Later he moved to Union county, Iowa and engaged in 828 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. farming there nine years, then returned to Champaign county, locating on the A. J. Smith place in Rush township. In 1890 he bought the eighty acres where he now lives in Rush township and has since carried on general farming and dairying there. Griswold-is a Republican; however, he has never been active in public life. HENRY C. ROGERS. Henry C. Rogers, secretary and manager of the Home Telephone Company of Mechanicsburg and one of the best-known farmers and stockmen in the vicinity of that city, was born on the farm which he still owns in the immediate vicinity of Mechanicsburg, this county, September 1, 1863, son of Russell B. and Lydia (Griffin) Rogers, the latter of whom is still living. Russell B. Rogers was born in the state of Virginia and was but six months of age when his parents came to Champaign county and settled on the farm. now owned by Henry C. Rogers. There he grew to manhood, a valued assistant to his father in the labors of improving and developing the home place.. He received his schooling in the local schools and became a school teacher, and he taught for some years in his home community. After his marriage to Lydia Griffin, he established his home on the old home place and there he contiued to live until his retirement from the farm. He removed to Mechanicsburg, where he spent his last days, his death occurring in 1893, and where his widow is still living.. Russell B. Rogers was a successful farmer and at the time of his death ws the owner of six hundred acres of excellent land. He and his wife were the parents of two sons, Henry C. and Francis R. Rogers, now a resident of Gotobo, Oklahoma. Henry C. Rogers was reared on the old home farm from the days of his boyhood gave close attention to the management of the farm, becoming a practical farmer. He received his early education in the local schools and remained at home until he was twenty-four years of age. He then went to California and for seven years thereafter was a resident of the West, engaging there in a variety of pursuits. After the death of his father in 1893, he returned to the home farm and took over the management of the same. Mr. Rogers is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of excellent land and makes a specialty of the growing of alfalfa and the feeding of hogs, shipping the latter in carload lots. He has found much profit in alfalfa cul- ture and annually cultivates from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 829 acres in this admirable forage crop, producing three tons to. the acre. Mr. Rogers has a tract of one hundred and fifty acres planted to catalpa trees and has sold from the same thousands of fence posts and telephone poles. He is the first man in this region to plant high-priced agricultural land to trees as a business proposition and has found the venture profitable. Mr. Rogers was the organizer of the Home Telephone Company of Mechanicsburg and is secretary and manager of the same, having developed the plant from its initial standing of two hundred subscribers to its present list of more than one thousand subscribers. In 1914 Henry C. Rogers was united in marriage to Elsie Bumgardner, who was born in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, and who was graduated from the local high school. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers have a very pleasant home and take an interested part in the general social activities of the community in which they live. Mr. Rogers is an "independent" in his political views and takes an active interest in local civic affairs. REES H. MILLER. The late Rees H. Miller, a soldier of the Union during the Civil War and for years one of Wayne township's best-known and most substantial farmers, who died at his home in that township in the fall of 1909, was born on that same farm, the old Miller homestead, settled by his grandfather, John Miller, in 1830, and which place is still in the possession of the family, and there resided all his life. He was born on July 18, 1839, son of Joshua and Lavina (Wade) Miller, substantial residents of that com munity, whose last days were spent there. Joshua Miller was born in eastern Pennsylvania in 1805, son of John and Margaret (Rees) Miller, both natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio in 1830, driving through with several other families that were seeking new homes in this section at that time, and settled on what has since been known as the Miller place in Wayne township, this county, where they established their home and where they spent the remainder of their lives. It was on December 5, 1830, that John Miller and his family arrived in Wayne township. The land on which they settled had been granted by the government to two Revolutionary soldiers for services rendered in the war and from their assignees was deeded to John Galloway, the old parchment, now in the possession of the Miller family, bearing the signature of James K. Polk, President of the United States. John Miller was the first to make 830 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO improvements on the place; which was in its virgin state when he took passession, and the log cabin: he erected there in 1830 is still standing and in a good state of preservation, a priceless relic of pioneer days in that part of Champaign county. John was of the sturdy, self-reliant type of pioneers and early became an influence for goodin his .community, taking an active Part in proper movements having to do With, the development of the community at large. He and his. wife were the parents of thirteen children, all of whom made their homes in Wayne township. Of these children, Joshua was the eldest, the others being Mrs. Elizabeth Creviston, Mrs. Rebecca Pipple, Thomas Joshua; Mrs. Polly Thompson, Ruth, Emma, Jane, Rees, Lydia, David and Margaret. Joshua. Miller became a substantial farmer in Wayne township and spent his last days on the: old Miller homestead place. He and his Wife (Lavina Wade) were the parents five children; Wilson, John Garland, Rees H., Lydia A. Williams and Mary Jane DeVore. Rees H. Miller was reared on the home farm, receiving his schooling in the local schools and was living at home when the Civil War broke out. He took part in that struggle as a member of Company F. One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry,. attached to Grant's army in Virginia, participating in the activities of that command during the hundred-days service. Upon the completion of his military service he returned to the home farm and after his marriage in 1868 established his there, both he and his wife spending the rest of their lives there, her death oceurring on October 1. 1906, and his,October 2, 1909, he then being, past seventy years of age. Rees H. Miller was a stanch Republican. was a member of the local post of the Grand Armry of the Republic at North Lewisbuq and took an active interest in the affairs of the same. In local civic affairs he also took an active interest and for years was a member of the schhol board, doing much to advance the cause of education in his community. He was a member of the Friends church and his wife was a Baptist. It was on December 15, 1868, in the adjoining county of Union, that Rees H. Miller was united in marriage to Hope Devore, who was born in that county daughter of Morris and Rachael (Inskeep) Devote, natives of Pennsylvania and early settlers in Union county, whose last days were spent in the adjoining county of Logan. Morris Devore and wife were the parent's of ten children, of whom, Mrs. Miller was the last born, the others being as follows: Newton, who moved to Illinois ; Nelson, whose last days were spent in Logan county, this state; John, who died, in Iowa; Aaron CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 831 who became asubsfaniàl farmer of Wayne township, Hester, who lived in the West; Mary Jane, Margaret Elizabeth, of Marysville, this state, and Amazetta, who lives in Kansas. To Rees H. and Hope (Devore) Miller were born six children namely; C. V: Miller, who is farming the old home place, where he always has made his home, and who is a Republican a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge, former trustee of Wayne township and present member of the School board.; Effie M., who died on August 9, 1896; Rollin J., a farmer, also living on the olld home place. Lauzetta C., who for the past twenty years, has been a member of Champaign county's efficient teaching force; one of the leading: teachers in the county, now teaching in the Kings Creek schools, and. who also continues to make her home on the old home place; Lillian M.; also a teacher, engaged as a member of Champaign county's teaching force, for the past fifteen years, teaching at Mingo and Belle Center, and who also continues to make her home: on the old home place, and Dorothy wife of Stanley Strayer, of Akron this state. Mrs. Strayer also was engaged in teaching before her marriage and: for three years: was a teacher. The Millers have a very pleasant home in Wayne township and have ever given their, close attention to the general social and cultural activities of the community, helpful in many ways in advancing movements designed to promote the general welfare, and are held in high esteem throughout the county. CHASE YOUNG. Chase Yoring; a farmer of Union township, Champaign county, was born in Rush township, this county, November 5, 1874; a son of Thomas and Anna (Linville) Young, the former a. native of Clark county, Ohio, and the latter of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. ; Thomas Young grewto manhood in Clark county and attended the common schools there and married a Miss Hale. Not long thereafter they moved from Clark county to Champaign county, locating in Wayne township, on a farm near Cable which Mr: Young rented and farmed there until the death of his first wife. He presently married again and rented a farm west of :Woodstock for eight years, after which he returned to Wayne township; where he farmed for three years, then located in Union township on a rented farm, but later bought sixty-three acres in: Wayne township, where he continued farming 832 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. until his death in 1913. His widow survived until 1916. To these parents four children were born, namely : Hayes, Wilbert, Chase and Elizabeth. Chase Young grew up on the farm and attended the public schools in Union and Wayne townships. He assisted his father with the work during the crop seasons when a boy, and after leaving school he began life for himself as a farmer, renting a place in Wayne township for two years; then moved to the W. S. Madden farm, in Union township, which consisted of two hundred and nineteen acres, and here he has remained to the present time, carrying on general farming and stock raising with very satisfactory results. He raises considerable grain each year, most of which he feeds to live stock, principally hogs, fattening an average of one hundred head for the market every twelve months. He is a breeder of a good grade of live stock. Mr. Young was married December 6; 1900; to Kate Beaty, a daughter of W. C. and Alverna Beaty, and to this union two children have been born, namely : Paul, born on September 16, 1903, and Howard Young, June 6, 1905. W. C. Beaty, father of Mrs. Young, died in 1908 and his widow makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Young. Politically, Mr. Young is a Republican. He is a member of the county fair board and of the local school board. He belongs to the Grange and is overseer of the local lodge. WILLIAM SHERMAN COFFEY. William Sherman Coffey, auditor of Champaign county, is a native son of this county and has lived here practically all his life. He was born on a farm in Goshen township, January 3, 1866, son of Joseph and Lydia M. (Moody) Coffey, well-known and influential residents of that township. the former of whom is still living there. Mrs. Coffey died in 1915. Joseph Coffey, an honored veteran of the Civil War, also was born in Goshen township and has lived there all his life. He was born in 1838, son of Tatom and Rebecca (Rubard) Coffey, early settlers in that part of Champaign county. Tatom Coffey, of English and Scottish descent, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1800, and was but two years of age when his parents, Joseph and Sarah Coffey, came over into this part of Ohio and settled in what later became organized as Clark county, being the second family to settle within the present boundaries of that county CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 833 It was on May 6, 1802, that they settled there and on a pioneer farm there Tatom Coffey grew to manhood. When twenty years of age he married Rebecca Rubard, who was one of the first persons born in Clark county, and in 1829 he and his wife came up into Champaign county and settled in Goshen township, where they spent the remainder of their lives, influential and useful residents of that community. Tatom Coffey died on March 21, 1877. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, two sons and seven daughters, of whom Joseph was the last born. Reared on the paternal farm in Goshen township, Joseph Coffey was living there when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted as a member of Company I, Sixty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and with that command saw much active service, the battles and skirmishes in which he was engaged including Port Republic, Gettysburg, Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, the second battle of Bull Run and Dumfries. He then was transferred to the Army of the Cumberland and was in the battles at Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold, Kenesaw Mountain, participated in the Atlanta campaign and was with General Sherman on the march to the sea, receiving his honorable discharge at Savannah on December 22, 1864. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Coffey returned to his home in this county and on April 13, 1865, was married to Lydia M. Moody and established his home in that township, where he ever since has lived, a well-to-do farmer. Joseph Coffey is an ardent Republican and fraternally, is affiliated with the Masons, a member of the lodge of that order at Mechanicsburg. William S. Coffey received his elementary schooling in the district schools in the neighborhood of his home in Goshen township and at the age of sixteen entered the high school at Mechanicsburg. He later took a commercial course in the normal school at Ada and then went to Kansas, where from 1889 to 1893 he was engaged in teaching school. He then returned to this county and for thirteen years was engaged in teaching here, two years of that time being spent as superintendent of the schools at Lewisburg and two years as a teacher in the schools near Mutual. In 1903 Mr. Coffey became engaged in business at North Lewisburg and was thus engaged when he was elected, as the nominee of the Republican party, in the fall of 1914, to the office of auditor of Champaign county. Upon taking office Mr. Coffey moved to Urbana and has since made his home there. So satisfactory did his service as county auditor prove that he was re-elected to that office in the fall of 1916 for another term of two years. Mr. Coffey is a (53a) 834 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. Republican and for years has given his earnest attention to local political affairs. For four years he served as treasurer of Rush township and all his public service has been animated by an earnest desire to advance the interests of the community at large. On August 26, 1891, William S. Coffey was united in marriage to Mertie Clark, daughter of George W. Clark and wife, and to this union three children have been born, Clark V., who married Esther Gordon; Rut who married Elmer Louden and has two children, Harold Eugene and Mary Elizabeth, and Edward. Mr. Coffey is a Mason, a member of the commandery at Urbana, and is a "member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, in the affairs of both of which orders he takes a warm interest. EDWARD M. THOMPSON. Edward M. Thompson, an honored veteran of the Civil. War and the proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres, the old John Devore place, in Wayne township, where he has made his home since 1869, is a native son of Champaign county, born in Wayne township, and has lived here all his life. He was born on a small farm just south of the village of Cable on September 30, 1844, son of Abraham and Susan (Middleton) Thompson, natives of Brown county, this state, who were married in their native county on August 5, 1831, and who later came to Champaign county and settled south of Cable, where Abraham Thompson got a piece of land and put up a log cabin in the woods, establishing his home there. Abraham Thompson was a cooper by trade and he put up on his place a cooper shop, in which he worked during the winters and during such times as he could not profitably be engaged on his farm, but he was not able to make more than a meager living and when he died in October. 1849, he left his widow and eight children, the youngest of whom was but seven months of age, in sadly straitened circumstances. The Widow Thompson was an expert weaver and after the death of her husband she set up a loom in his cooper shop and made a meager living by weaving linsey-woolsey, a fabric of linen and wool—linen warp and woolen filling —much used by the pioneers. She was of the true type of pioneer mother and reared her children with a high regard for their future welfare, keeping them in school and praying with them night and morning at the humble CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 835 family altar. She survived her husband many years, her death occurring in 1888, she then being seventy-six years of age. To Abraham Thompson and wife, twelve children were born, the subject of this sketch being the sixth in order of birth, the others who grew to maturity being as follow : James, who married Sarah Hatfield, became a well-to-do farmer .in Rush township and died in 1904; Lillie, who died in 1849; Winifred, who married Samuel McAdams and lived in Union township, this county; Thomas, a well-known resident of Mechanicsburg and a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume; William H. H., a veteran of the Civil War, who is farming south of Cable, in this county ; Susanna, wife of J. C. Light, of Lima, Ohio, and Abraham B, a farmer of Urbana township, who has been twice married, his first wife having been Ellen Osborne and his second, Lillie Noyes. Edward M. Thompson received his schooling in the little old log school house in the neighborhood of his boyhood home south of Cable and early began to perform his share in the labors of family maintenance, his mother having been left a widow when he was but four or five yars of age: He was but a boy when the Civil War broke out, but his patriotic fervor was strong and in May, 1862, he then being but seventeen years of age, he enlisted at Urbana for service as a member of Company H. Eighty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was with that command for four months, on duty at Clarksburg, West Virginia, guarding the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. In June, 1863, he enlisted for a second time and again went to the front, serving with Company I, Eighty-sixth Ohio, until mustered out on February 10, 1864, in this latter service aiding in the capture of Morgan's raiders, participating in the skirmish at Eaglesport, escorting prisoners of war to Columbus and taking part in the expedition against Cumberland Gap and the capture of that important point. On May 2, 1864, Mr. Thompson again enlisted and returned to the front as a member of Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Ohio, attached to the middle department, Eighth Army Corps, going with that command to Cumberland, Maryland; thence to Washington, D. C., White House and City Point, and was attached to Pond's Brigade, South Division, Eighteenth Army Corps, Army of the James, from June to August, chiefly on fatigue duty. After the engagement at Port Walthall he moved with his company to the south side of the James and at Deep Bottom was on further fatigue duty, operating with the Army of the James during the siege of Petersburg and Richmond, until August 28, when the command was returned to Camp Chase, where he was for the third time mustered out, August 31, 1864. After a 836 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. bit of a respite at home Mr. Thompson again enlisted in behalf of his country's cause, on January 20, 1865, becoming attached to Company D, One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Ohio, with which command he went to Louisville, then to Nashville and from there to Cleveland, where he was on duty until May .2, when the force with which he was operating was assigned to a second (separate) brigade and after the battle of Etowah river, Georgia, went to Dalton and thence to Chattanooga, where the company was on duty until July 20, protecting the railroad and then was stationed at Nashville, where it was held on duty for some time after the war had closed, Mr. Thompson receiving his discharge there on September 18, 1865. Upon the completion of his military service Edward M. Thompson returned to his home in this county and remained with his mother until his marriage in the summer of 1867, when he made his home at Mingo, where he remained about two years, or until 1869, in which year he bought the old John Devore place of one hundred and twenty acres in Wayne township and has ever since made his home there, one of the substantial farmers and influential residents of that neighborhood. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Thompson has given considerable attention to the raising of high-grade live stock and has done well in his operations. He is a stanch Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, for six years serving as trustee of Wayne township and for four years as a member of the board of directors of the county infirmary. He is an active member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic at North Lewisburg and has for years taken a warm interest in the affairs of that patriotic organization. Mr. Thompson has been twice married. In August, 1867, he was united in marriage to Sarah E. Euans, of Hardin county, this state, and to that union three children were born; Dana Pearl, who died at the age of six months; Anna Belle, who died at the age of nine years, and Dr. Charles E. Thompson, now a practicing physician at Cincinnati. Doctor Thompson was reared in this county and began his medical studies at the Ohio Medical College at Columbus, later entering the medical college of Nashvile, Tennessee, from which he was graduated. Upon receiving his diploma, he was appointed an interne at the Nashville City Hospital and after a period of valuable practical experience there returned home, remaining at home for a year, at the end of which time he opened an office for the practice of his profession at North Lewisburg. Four years later he moved to Urbana and was for some time engaged in practice there, or until his removal to Cincinnati, where he is now engaged in practice and has been CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 837 quite successful. Doctor Thompson was for some time a member of the board of pension examiners for this district and while thus engaged had the honor of being the youngest pension examiner in the United States. He has been twice married. His first wife was Maggie Pence and his second, Catherine McMillan. Mrs. Sarah E. Thompson died in October, 1894, and on July 19, 1900, Mr. Thompson married Bertha S. Ramsey, who was born at Cable, a daughter of Albert and Sophia Ramsey, natives of Virginia, who became early settlers at Cable, Albert Ramsey becoming a substantial farmer of that neighborhood. Albert Ramsey died at the age of eighty-four years and his widow is still living, being now in the ninety-second year of her age, hale and hearty, a great reader and keenly interested in the current events of the day. Mrs. Ramsey attended the funeral at Simon Kenton at Zanesville and retains distinct recollections of that event, as well as of many of the leading events in the pioneer history of this section of the state, and is a most interesting conversationalist on matters relating to the earlier days of this region. She and her husband were the parents of ten children, of whom five are still living, those besides Mrs. Thompson being Gustavus, of Columbus, this state; Cromwell, of Grove City, Pennsylvania; Endora, of Urbana, and Benjamin F., of Cable. WILLIAM B. CRIM. One of the well-known and efficient educators of Champaign county is William B. Crim, at present incumbent of the office of district school supervisor of Union, Wayne, Johnson and Harrison townships. He was born in Goshen township, this county, on April 18, 1870. He is a son of Thomas W. and Mary E. (Evans) Crim. The father is a retired farmer and school teacher of Mechanicsburg, this county. He is also a veteran of the Civil War, and for a period of thirty-five years he was assessor of Goshen township. Thomas W. Crim was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, May 29, 1842, and is a son of William and Cecelia (White) Crim, who spent their lives in the last-named county and state. They were parents. of eight children, Mary E., John Wesley, living in Virginia; Susan N., Samuel Randolph, Trenton Jackson, Benjamin. Franklin, Dollie Jane and Thomas W. When twenty-one years old Thomas W. Crim left his native state and came to Ohio, in April, 1863, locating in Champaign county. A year later he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Ohio 838 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. Volunteer Infantry, but he was prevented from active service by illness and was discharged in October, 1864, for disability. He had received a good education and took up teaching upon coming to Ohio, which work he resumed upon his recovery and he followed teaching and farming in Champaign county until 1907, since which time he has lived in retirement in Mechanicsburg. On November 12, 1863, he married Mary E. Evans, a native of Goshen township, this county, and a daughter of Samuel and Mary Ann (Myers) Evans, both natives of Loudon county, Viriginia, but who removed to Champaign county, Ohio in 1836, locating in Goshen township where they spent the remainder of their lives. They had six children, Mrs. Crim being the second in order of birth, the others being William L., Jacob T., Sarah 'Alice, James S. and Melvina. To Thomas W. Crim and wife five children were born, namely : Ella, wife of James Woolford, of Urbana; William Burton, the subject of this sketch; Elnora C., wife of Evan Perry of Goshen township; Magdalena, who is at home, and Samuel E., who is engaged in the grocery business. William B. Crim received his early schooling in the common schools of Goshen township and later attended the high school at Mechanicsburg. After leaving school he taught for fifteen years in the public schools of .Goshen township and two years in Rush township, and since 1905 has been teaching in Union township, spending eight years of that period at Mutual. In 1913 he was elected district supervisor of schools, the duties of which responsible and exacting position he has continued to discharge in an able, faithful an eminently successful manner, doing much to improve the schools in this section, for he is a man of progressive ideas and has kept well abreast. of th times in all that pertains to educational matters. He has also remained a diligent student and is one of the most proficient educators in Champaign county.. During his long years of teaching his services have been in great demand. and he has been popular with both pupils and patrons. He has introduced improved and modern methods in the schools and placed them under a superb system. Through his efforts quite a number of the district schools have been consolidated. He has been a member of the county board of examiners since 1905. He is the third oldest school teacher, in point of service, in Champaign county, having taught in all thirty-three years. In 1893 Mr. Crim was married to Kate Woodward, a daughter of Kemp and Talitha (Morse) Woodward, natives of Goshen township, this county. Kemp Woodward died in 1875 and his widow married William Craig and now resides on a farm in the north part of Goshen township. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Crim, namely : Mabel and Harold. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 839 Mr. Crim is a Republican. He served as justice of the peace for four years, making an excellent record, his decisions being noted for their fairness to all parties concerned and showing a profound knowledge of the basic principles of jurisprudence. He belongs to the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor commander. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant church, in which he is a deacon, and is active in church work. WESLEY BLAZER. Wesley Blazer, a farmer of Union township, this county, was born on a farm in Stony Creek township, Madison county, Indiana, April 25, 1862, a son of Frank and Melissa (Goul) Blazer. The father was a native of Madison county, and the mother of Champaign county, but they were married in Madison county. Frank Blazer spent his life in his native county, where he followed farming. His death occurred when his son Wesley was a small child. Frank Blazer and wife had five children, John, Martha, Wesley, Kate and Rachael. Wesley Blazer grew to manhood on the farm in Madison county. He attended the rural schools there, and when a young man he worked as a hand on the home place until 1881, in which year he came to Champaign county and hired out as a farm hand for one year, then returned to Madison.county for two years, then again came to Champaign county. After his marriage here. he went to Harper county, Kansas, where he resided five years on a farm, then returned to this county and located in Goshen township, where he worked as a farm hand one year, then farmed as a renter three years. He then lived a year in Indiana, after which he rented a farm for two years in Goshen township, this county.. He then bought sixty-nine acres in Union township and here he has since resided and has been successful as a general farmer and stock raiser. He has added to his original place until he now owns one hundred and seven and one-half acres, all of which is under cultivation. except a few acres of timber. He bought the place in 1899. He has kept it well improved and has a comfortable home and good outbuildings. For a number of years he also operated a saw-mill and threshing-machine, operating the latter all over the county. Mr. Blazer was married on September 12, 1886, to Binnie C. McAdams, a native of Union township and a daughter of Samuel and Jane (Doak) McAdams, natives of Champaign county. Mr. McAdams still lives on the 840 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. home place. Mrs. Jane D. McAdams died in 1865. Samuel McAdams served all through the Civil War, enlisting from Union township. To Mr. and Mrs. Blazer four children have been born, namely: John F., who married Jennie Gout and has two children, Lloyd and Mildred; Ada Dell, wife of Frank Ogg; Owen, who is single and living at home, and Charles; who died at the age of five weeks. Mr. Blazer is a Republican and was formerly a member. of the local school hoard. He belongs to the Junior Order of American Mechanics, and is now serving as trustee of that order. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. ELMER. E. POWELL. Elmer E. Powell, a farmer of Union township, Champaign county, was born in Mad River township, this county, September 9, 1861, a son of Samuel T. and Mary E. (Talbott) Powell, both natives of Mad River township. There the father grew to manhood, attended school, and engaged in general farming until he retired from active life and moved to Urbana, where his death occurred in 1905. His widow is still living there. The father of Samuel Powell immigrated to Champaign county in an early day and was one of the pioneers of Mad River township, where he spent the rest of his life. Elmer E. Powell grew to manhood at Urbana, and was educated in the public schools there. After leaving school he worked at Urbana in the hay and grain business, until he was married; then, in March, 1893, took up farming in Union township, and has continued farming with gratifying results to the present time. He is now farming on an extensive scale, operating about six hundred acres. He raises large quantities of grain which he feeds to livestock, preparing a number of carloads of cattle and hogs for the market each year, and for twenty-five years he has been a prominent breeder of race horses, keeping some of the best stock in this section of the state. He is an exceptionally good judge of live stock of all kinds, especially, horses, and has owned such notable horses as "Robert Milton," 2:08 1/4. ; "Vandola," 2 :09 1/4, and "Kitty Kingston," 2 :16 1/4, as well as various other fine horses, including "Sir Milton," 2 :05 1/4; "Florence Stanton, " 2 :13 1/4.; "Lady Espy," 2 :15 2/4 ; "Dorcas Moore, 2 :14 2/4; "Lucile E." ; "Edna the Great," 2 :15 2/4; "Angie Berry," 2 :20 2/4, and "Alta W.," 2 :08 1/2. Mr. Powell's fine horses are always greatly admired by all who see them, and he has gained a national reputation in his line, being one of the best-known horsemen in the country. He has exhibited his fine stock CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 841 throughout the state, is one of the best of the present-day drivers and has traveled a great many of the race circuits in the United States. Politically, Mr. Powell is a Republican. On March 24, 1893, Elmer E. Powell was united in marriage to Carrie J: Crain, daughter of James L. and Martha Ann (Todd) Crain, of this county, both now deceased, the former of whom was born in this county and the latter in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, fourteen miles from the city of Harrisburg, the capital of that state. James L. Crain was born on Pretty Prairie, in Urbana township, this county, son of Lewis Fisher Crain, who was born near Flemingsburg, Kentucky. Lewis Fisher Crain married Clara Phifer, a native of Virginia, and then came to Ohio, spending the rest of his life in this part of the state. He died in 1834 and his widow died in 1859.. They were the parents of eight children. James L. Crain died on March 26, 1904. His wife had preceded him to the grave eight years before, lacking one day, her death having occurred on March 25, 1896. They were the parents of five children, of whom but two are now living, Mrs. Powell having a sister, Miss Clara A. Crain. Mrs. Lucinda J. Espy, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Mrs. Louise C. Phleger, of Springfield, this state, are sisters of the late James L. Crain. R. M. WERDELL. R. M. Werdell; manager of the Urbana Canning Company at Urbana, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, December 17, 1868, a son of John and Mary (Clearwater) Werdell, the former a native of England and the latter of Pennsylvania; John Werdell immigrated to the United States when a young man and settled in the state of New York, where he worked out as a farm hand for some time, later moving to Ohio and locating in Pickaway county, where he married and bought a farm, on which he spent the rest of his life, dying in 1914, at an advanced age. His wife died in 1881. They were parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only one living in Champaign county. R. M. Werdell grew to manhood on the, home farm in Pickaway county, where he worked during the summer months. He received his education in the rural schools, and after leaving school continued farming with his father for a short time, then worked on the railroad for three years, after which he returned to farming and rented a place for two years. He then engaged in the carriage manufacturing business for a short time and then became connected with the' canning factory business at Circleville, Ohio, 842 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. remaining there until 1904, in which year he located in Urbana and helped to organize the McCoy Canning Company, with which he remained until 1916, when he resigned, and in March, 1917, became manager of the Urbana Canning Company, and is now operating the same with his usual industry and success, building up a large and satisfactory business and equipping the plant with the most modern devices for rapid and high grade work. He understands the canning business thoroughly. In 1899 Mr. Werdell was married to Mary Catherine Reid, a daughter of Andrew and Catherine Reid, and to this union three children have been born, Elouise, Delmar and Elden. Mr. Werdell is an independent voter. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. PEARL S. HANNA. Pearl S. Hanna, a well-known farmer of Mad River township, this county, living on rural mail route No. 1, out of Tremont, was born in that township on March 23, 1878, son of C. B. and Margaret (Nichols) Hanna, who are now living retired at Urbana. C. B. Hanna was born in Virginia, a son of Chyle Hanna and wife, who came into Ohio during the Civil War period, .later returning to Virginia, but after a while came back into Ohio and became residents of Champaign county, where C. B. Hanna grew to manhood and married, settling on a farm in. Mad River township, moving thence, after a while to a farm in Concord township, where he remained until his retirement and removal to Urbana in 1916. To him and his wife two children were born, the subject of this sketch having had a brother, Emmet Hanna, who died when twenty-three years of age. Reared on the home farm, Pearl S. Hanna received his schooling in the schools of Concord township and after his marriage at the age of twenty-two years settled on a farm in Concord township, where he remained until 1911, when he moved to the farm on which he is now living, in Mad River township, and where he and his family are very comfortably situated. Mr: Hanna is a Republican and gives a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office. On June 6, 1900, Pearl S. Hanna was united in marriage to Zalia B. Offenbacher, who was born in Concord township, this county, and to this union three children have been born, Homer, born on March 28, 1904; Lucile, July 4, 1907, and Warren, December 11, 1908. The Hannas have a pleasant home in Mad River township and take a proper interest' in the general social activities of. their home neighborhood. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 843 WILLIAM A. BRAND. No volume of biography in Champaign county would be complete without fitting reference to the life and the services to this community of William A. Brand, an honored veteran of the Civil War, formerly and for years editor of the old Urbana Citizen and Gazette and at the time of his death, in the spring of 1879, postmaster of Urbana, for he was for years one of the leaders in all proper movements hereabout, a man of large influence in civic and social affairs and a citizen who ever had the welfare of the public very close to his heart ; so that at his passing he left a good memory, a memory still precious to the old settlers of this county and to which the biographer here pays passing tribute in order that the present generation may know something of the life and character of this brave soldier and fearless editor. William A. Brand was a native son of Champaign county and here spent all his life save those hard and trying years spent in the service of his country in camp and on the battle fields of the South during the days of the Civil War. He was born on a farm in Union township, July 9, 1837, a son of Joseph C. and Lavina (Talbot) Brand, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Virginia, for many years regarded as among the most influential residents of this county and further and fitting mention of whom is made in a memorial sketch of Major Joseph C. Brand, presented elsewhere in this volume, together With additional details concerning the Brand family in this county and some interesting genealogical data along that line. When William A. Brand was but a boy his parents moved from the farm to Urbana and there he received his early schooling. Upon completing the course in the public schools he entered Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware and after a comprehensive course there took up the study of law under the able preceptorship of Judge John H. James and there qualified for entrance to the Cincinnati Law School, from which he was graduated in 1858. Shortly afterward he formed a partnership for the practice of his profession with Hon. Moses Corwin and that mutually agreeable .arrangement continued until the latter's death. On July 12, 1859, Mr. Brand was united in marriage to Frances R. Saxton, daughter of Joshua Saxton, founder of the Citizen and Gazette, now known as the Urbana Daily Citizen, and established his home at Urbana, where he was living, engaged in the practice of the law, when the Civil War broke out. Responding to the call of the President for volunteers, Mr. Brand 844 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. enlisted for service with the Sixty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which his father, Major Brand, had helped to organize, . and in January, 1862, accompanied that regiment to the field. He served with that command in every campaign in which it engaged and was gradually promoted until he attained the rank of regimental quartermaster, which commission he resigned after the declaration of peace and while the regiment was at Washington waiting to be mustered out. During his long service at the front Mr. Brand was a regular correspondent of one of the home papers, writing, under the anagramatic nom de plume of "D. N. Arbaw,” truthful and graphic description of some of the most important campaigns an battles of the war, a historical service that was greatly appreciated by the readers of that paper and which was regarded as so valuable a review of the war from the. view point of the talented correspondent that his articles were widely copied by the newspapers of the state. The experience gained in that service fitted Mr. Brand for a further service, which he entered upon some years after his return from the army—that of compiling a history of some of the more Important campaigns in which he had participated and a portion of this valuable extension of his war-time letters had been prepared and published at the time of his death; it being a matter of lasting regret among his Grand Army comrades and the public at large that he did not live to complete the peculiarly illuminating series. Upon his return from the army Mr. Brand decided to turn his talents to newspaper work and to that end purchased a -half interest in the Citizen and Gazette and in association with his father-in-law, Joshua Saxton, became editor of that sterling old publication, a service he continued until his death and in connection with which service he became an invaluable personal factor in the promotion of the cause of the Republican party in this county and throughout the state, his strong editorial influence making of his paper one of the most influential organs of that party in the state. In the latter seventies Mr. Brands health began to fail and thinking a change from his long and arduous editorial labors might prove beneficial he accepted a commission as postmaster of Urbana, the first and only civil office he ever held (for he had never aspired to public office, ever feeling that his duties as an editor were more imperative than any others that could be imposed), and he entered upon the duties of that office in January, 1878 and was serving as postmaster of Urbana at the time of his death on May 14, 1879, he then lacking a little less than two months of being forty-two years of age. No man of his period was held in higher regard in Urbana and through- CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 845 out this county than was William A. Brand and when the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic was organized in Urbana in the eighties that post was given the name it still bears, in his honor and as a fitting tribute to his memory on behalf of his comrades. As a man, William A. Brand was chivalrous, generous, charitable and high-minded and was a friend to all, a constant and consistent promoter of all good works. He was active in the work of several of the local fraternal organizations and was a recognized leader in all with which he was connected. He had served as the great sachem for the state of Ohio of the Improved Order of Red Men, was a past chancellor commander of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, was prominent in the ranks of the Odd Fellows, a member of the encampment of that order, and was a past master of the Ancient Order of United Mechanics. AMAZIAH J. McCOLLY. The late Amaziah J. McColly, who died at his home in Wayne township, this county, March 3, 1891, was a native son of Ohio and lived in this state all his life. He was born on a farm in the neighboring county of Logan on March 8, 1847, son of John and Margaret McColly, the former of whom was born in that same county and the latter in the state of Virginia, she having come to Ohio with her parents in the days of her youth, the family settling in Logan county. John McColly died in 1877 and his widow survived until 1886. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom four are still living, namely : James, of Hartford City, Indiana ; Anna, widow of William Johnson, who is now living at Mansfield, this state; Etta, widow of John Jones, of Huntington, Indiana, and Wellington, of this county. Amaziah J. McColly was reared on the home farm in Logan county and remained a farmer all his life. He received his schooling in the schools of the neighborhood of his home and remained at home until his marriage in the fall of 187o, when he located on the farm on which his widow is now living in Wayne township, this county, and there he spent the remainder of his life, one of the progressive and well-to-do farmers of that neighborhood, his death occurring, as noted above, on March 3, 1891. Mr. McColly was an ardent Republican and took an active interest in political affairs, ever doing his part as a good citizen to promote the cause of good government in the community in which he lived, and was for many years director of 846 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. schools in his home district. Fraternally, he was affiliated with the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Cable and took an active interest in the affairs of that organization, as well as in the general affairs of the community. On September 1, 1870, Amaziah J. McColly was united in marriage to Cinderella Wilson, who was born on the farm on which she is now living, in Wayne township, this county, daughter of Thomas and Lockey Wilson, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania on April 4, 1802, and the latter, in Adams county, this state, August 9, 1807. Thomas Wilson was married in Adams county and in 183o he and his wife came to this county and settled on the farm on which Mrs. McColly is now living in Wayne township, starting their housekeeping in a double log house he erected in a clearing there, and set about the difficult task- of clearing a farm in the woods. In 1845 he erected the brick house which still serves as a residence on the place, burning the lime and the bricks for the same on the place, and there he and his wife spent the remainder of their. lives, .useful and influential pioneers of that neighborhood, Thomas Wilson dying in December, 1873, his widow surviving until July 3, 1879. They were members of the Baptist church, holding membership first in the Kings Creek church, then in the church at Middleton and later at Mingo, and ever, took an interested part in church work, Mr. Wilson for years serving as a deacon. Politically, he was a Democrat. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, of whom Mrs. McColly was the eighth in order of birth, the others being as follow: James, who married Marietta Wilson and spent his last days on his farm in Wayne township; Hiram, also now deceased, who married Maria Barley and lived on the old homestead place ; William, also now deceased, who married Macy Winder and lived in Wayne township; Catherine, who married Washington Wilson and died at Laporte, Indiana; Isaac, who was a soldier of the Union during the. Civil War, serving as a member of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and who died unmarried; David, who died at the age of twenty-two years; Hannah, widow of Charles McColly, who is now living at North Lewisburg, and Margaret, who died at the age of six years. Charles McColly, who, married Hannah Wilson, was a well-known farmer of Wayne township, who died on April 14, 1913. During the Civil War he served for three years and eleven days as a member of Company E, Ninety-fifth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and after the war settled on a farm in Wayne township. He and his wife were the parents of three children, John, who died in 1873, at the age of six years ; Lena, wife of John McKillip, of Brooklyn. New York, CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 847 and Albert, a farmer and stockman, of Rush township. Albert McColly has been twice married, his first wife having been Victoria Bates and his second, Maude Enoch, and has two children, Irene and Charles. Of the three children born to Amaziah J. and Cinderella (Wilson) McColly, William R. and Isaac Green are still living. William R. McColly was born on the old homestead in Wayne township on July 1, 1871, and is now farming the home place. He is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. He has two 'children, Ruth Lucile and Don. Isaac G. McColly was born on April 18, 1875, and has been engaged in farming all his life, in addition to which he also operates a threshing rig in season.. He married Edna Grubb and has two children, Walter D. and Dorothy Dale. Another child, Irene, died at the age of eleven years. Mrs. Cinderella McColly is a member of the Baptist, church and has ever taken an interested part in church work, as well as in the general good works of her home community and in the general social activities of the neighborhood, helpful in numerous ways in. promoting the general welfare of the community in which she has lived all her life. JOHN M. DILTZ. John M. Diltz, a farmer of Union township, this county, was born in the locality where he still resides and has been content to. spend his life in his own community. He. is a son of Joseph and Mary (Millage) Diltz, the father a native of West Liberty, Union county, Ohio, and the mother, of Rush township, Champaign county. When fourteen years old Joseph Diltz came to Champaign county and worked out as a farm hand until the breaking out of the Civil War, when he enlisted. in Company I, Sixty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which command he served for four years and eleven months, during which he took part in many of the leading battles of the war and he was regarded by his comrades and officers as a brave, efficient and loyal soldier for the Union. He was a prisoner for five months at Andersonville, Georgia, and was also a prisoner for some time at Wilmington, North Carolina. Antietam was one of the principal engagements he was in. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged and returned to Champaign county and turned his attention to farming in Union township, remaining there until his death, which occurred on July 29, 191o, at an advanced age. He had been successful as a general farmer and took 848 - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO. an interest in the affairs of his neighborhood. His family consisted of five children, three of whom are still living, namely : Joseph, Elmer and John. John Diltz grew to manhood on the home farm in Union township; this county, where he worked when he became of proper age, and in the winter time he attended the rural schools in his district. When a young man he worked out as a farm hand for some time. Upon the death of his father he took over the home place of seventy-two acres, which he has since operated, keeping it well cultivated and well improved. He was married in 1912 to Elizabeth Perry, a daughter of George Perry and wife. Politically, he is a Republican. WILLIAM J. ABBOTT. William J. Abbott, for many years one of Concord township's best:- known and most substantial farmers, now living retired at Urbana, is a native of the neighboring county of Shelby, but has been a resident of this county since he was nine years of age. He was born on a farm in Shelby county on January 17, 1836, son of James and Susan (Slusser) Abbott, the former a native of the state of Pennsylvania and the latter of this state. James Abbott was the son of William and Catherine Abbott, also natives of Pennsylvania, who came over into this section of Ohio in the early days of the settlement of the same and for some years thereafter operated a tavern north of Sidney, later moving to a farm near St. Paris, but still later returning to Shelby county, where they spent their last clays. William Abbott and wife were the parents of five children. James Abbott was but a child when he came to this state with his parents and he grew to manhood on the paternal farm in Shelby county. There he married Susan Slusser, who died in 1839, leaving two sons, John and the subject of this biographical sketch. John Abbott served through the Civil War as a member of the Sixty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and later became a substantial farmer. He married Ella Kiser, who after his death in 1875, married a Mr. Bear and is now living at Lena, this state. After the death of his first wife, James Abbott married Matilda Veach, of Virginia, and in 1845 came over into Champaign county and settled on a farm north of St. Paris, where he spent the remainder of his life. By his second marriage he was the father of five children, namely: Catherine, who married Jerry Carmony and after his death married a Mr. Houton, who also is now deceased ; Jesse, a veteran of the Civil War, who CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, OHIO - 849 married Angeline Evingham and whose last days were spent at Millerstown, where he was engaged as a blacksmith ; Margaret, who is now living near Millerstown, widow of David Kessler; Harriet, who married Doctor Tait and is now deceased, and David, also now deceased, who married Jennie Jenkins and was a farmer near Millerstown. James Abbott was a Whig in his political affiliation and by religious persuasion was a member of the Reformed church. As noted above, William J. Abbott was but nine years of age when his father moved to this county and he grew up on the home farm hi the vicinity of St. Paris. He completed his schooling at the Delaware Academy and at the age of nineteen years began to teach school and was thus engaged, during the winters, for twelve years. In the meantime, in 1877, he bought a farm of seventy-nine acres in Concord township and after his marriage in the spring of 1878 established his home there and continued to reside there, actively engaged in farming, until 1911, when he retired from the farm and moved to Urbana, where he is now living, very comfortably situated. Mr. Abbott is a Republican and during his residence on the farm was for many years a member of the school board in his local district. It was on May 13, 1858, that William J. Abbott was united in marriage to Emily V. Compton, who was born at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1840 daughter of Samuel and Susanna (Weer) Compton, of Virginia: Samuel Compton was a carpenter. He died in the city of Baltimore and his widow and her six children in 1852 came to Ohio and located in Concord township, this county, where she spent the remainder of her life, her death occurring at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Abbott in her eighty-third year. Of the six children of Samuel Compton and wife above referred to, Mrs. Abbott was the fourth in order of birth, the others being as follow : George II., deceased; David H., who was killed at the battle of Ft. Donelson, Tennessee. while serving as a soldier of the Union during the Civil War ; Samuel, a veteran of the Civil War, and Ann and James, who died unmarried. To William J. and Emily V. (Compton) Abbott ten children were born, namely : Charles, who is engaged in the real estate business at Chicago ; John H., a farmer in Concord township, this county; Anna M., who married W. S. Wilson, of Concord township ; Minnie, wife of Dr. W. H. Hinkle, of DeGraff ; Emma Maude, wife of D. H. Taylor, of Urbana ; Oney J., wife of Dr. C. E. Stadler, of Lima; Walter, deceased ; William, deceased ; Ora, wife of Dr. T. E. Barger, of Urbana, and Chester P., a farmer in Concord township. Mrs. Abbott died on February 12, 1917. (54a)