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HON. AZARIAH W. DOAN.
The brilliant career of the late Hon. Azariah W. Doan, who was a distinguished soldier and officer in the Civil War and who later arose to an eminent position in the legal profession and political life of this state, is one which may be referred to with pride by his descendants. Eulogy and encomium cannot overdo the worthy deeds of the Doan family in Clinton county, for at least two generations of the family have been prominent in the public life of this county and of the state of Ohio.
Azariah W. Doan was born on December 17, 1824, at Wilmington, and died on August 22, 1911, at that place. He was the son of Jonathan and Phoebe (Wall) Doan, the former of whom was born in North Carolina and the latter in Pennsylvania. Jonathan Doan was a blacksmith by trade and came to Ohio in 1804 with his parents, Joseph and Jemima Doan. Joseph Doan located in what is now Union township, Clinton county. He gave to the county thirteen acres in the center of Wilmington for a county seat. Phoebe Wall, the mother of Azariah W. Doan, was brought from Pennsylvania to Ohio by her parents in 1808. She died in November, 1869, and her husband in July, 1874.
Reared in Wilmington, Ohio, Azariah W. Doan, before reaching his maturity, worked on farms in the vicinity of Wilmington and attended the public schools of the village. Later he attended the Wilmington Seminary, taught by David S. Burson, of New York City, and noted for his attainments in the mastery of the language of ancient Greece. He taught school for a short time and then read law in the spring-house now on the Fife farm. He studied law in Frank Corwin's office and was admitted to the bar in 1846, at Wilmington. Previously. he had been appointed deputy clerk of the common pleas court, and while serving in that capacity devoted his spare time to the study of law. At different times he was in partnership with different lawyers, first with L. C. Walker, later with R. E. Doan, then with Madison Betz, and finally with D. T. White. He was deputy clerk under C. N. Osborne and served as prosecuting attorney subsequent to that time.
In April, 1861, he assisted Judge R. B. Harlan in raising Company B, Twelfth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was the first company offered to the state in reply to President Lincoln's call for seventy-five thousand volunteers. He was made first lieutenant and served during the three months' service. When the company was reorganized for a three-year campaign. Lieutenant Doan was made captain of the company and in 1862 was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Seventy-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving in the latter position until the close of the war. Subsequently, he was commissioned colonel and was breveted brigadier-general for meritorious service on the battlefield of Averysborough, North Carolina. During that battle Colonel Doan took charge of two regiments and made a vigirous assault on the enemy's right wing, capturing in a short time the batteries of artillery on that wing of the Confederate forces. He was a gallant soldier during this war and participated, in all„ in twenty-three battles and skirmishes. He first served in West Virginia under General Rosecrans and was afterward attached to the Army of the Cumberland and subsequently, to the Twentieth Army Corps when Sherman marched from Atlanta to the sea. He participated in the Grand Review at the close of the war and was honorably discharged in July, 1865, after which he returned to Wilmington and resumed the practice of law.
On October 21, 1847, Azariah W. Doan was married to Amanda M. Stratton, a native of Wilmington. Five children were born to this union, of whom only one, Corwin F. W., a merchant at Doans, Texas, is living. Mrs. Amanda Doan died of cholera on August 6, 1854. This fatal disease also carried off a greater number of the children. Judge Doan was married, secondly, 011 June 5, 1856, to Martha G. Taylor. of Pennsylvania,
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who had been previously married to Samuel Hale, who died about 1851, leaving one child, Fred. By his second marriage, Judge Doan was the father of six children, namely : Will, the first born, who died in April, 1914, was a farmer in Texas; Joe T., a lawyer in Wilmington ; Mrs. Alice Green, who is assistant matron of the Clinton county infirmary; Walker J., who is a reporter and printer in Wilmington; Fannie, who married Frank L. McDonald, superintendent of the Clinton county infirmary, and Charles, who died in infancy.
Mrs. Martha Doan, the wife of Judge Doan and the mother of Joe T., was the daughter of Jacob and Margery (Gwinn) Taylor, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, and lived in Washington county. About 1835 they came to Wilmington, Ohio, where he was a builder and contractor. He died at the age of thirty-five and she lived to be seventy years old. They were members of the Christian church.
In the fall of 1865, Judge Doan was nominated in the primary convention of the Republican party and subsequently elected to represent the people of his district in the state Senate for a period of two years. In April, 1875, he was elected judge of the court of common pleas by a special act of the Legislature and was triumphantly re-elected in 1879 for a term of five years, commencing on May 3, 1880. Altogether he served as judge of the common pleas court of Clinton county for fifteen years. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Ohio in 1873 and served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention which nominated President Harrison. He was an ardent Republican and mixed in politics all of Ms life. He was a great campaign speaker and orator. In 1890 he formed a partnership with his son, Joe T., which continued until his death, in 1911. He was a generous-hearted man and a public-spirited citizen. For many years he was a member of the Friends church and a trustee of tills church. He was a member of Wilmington Lodge No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons, and also a member of the chapter. He was a member of Morris McMillan Post No. 38, Grand Army of the Republic, at Wilmington, and served as its commander for many years.
As a lawyer, no one ever prosecuted a case more vigorously than Judge Doan when he considered himself in the right. He always discouraged litigation, however, if a fair settlement could be made. On the bench, Judge Doan observed the strictest impartiality in his rulings and his strongest desire was to satisfy contesting parties of the fairness of his decisions.
ULYSSES M. MORGAN.
Ulysses M. Morgan, of Sabina, Ohio, is one of the most prominent citizens of Clinton county. He is descended from a distinguished line of forbears, his great-grandfather, Charles Morgan, having been an early settler in Pennsylvania, and the land agent for Gen. George Washington. From the earliest times when anything was known about the Morgan family, they have been extensive landowners in the East and in the Middle West. The great-grandfather owned a great tract of land in Clinton county, Ohio, for which he received a patent as early as 1796. He also owned a large estate in Kentucky and another in West Virginia. He made his home in Pennsylvania.
Here in Richland township, U. M. Morgan is rated as one of the wealthiest citizens in this section of Clinton county. He was born in Brown -county, Ohio, in December, 1841, and is the son of Simon Morgan, who was born near Clinton, Pennsylvania. The grandfather of Mr. Morgan was John Morgan, who was also a native of Pennsylvania. John Morgan, who was a farmer by occupation, inherited his father's large estate. He had nine children, Charles; Daniel, Jeremiah, Simon, James, William, Frances, Mary and Elizabeth.
Simon Morgan, the father of U. M., was educated at Washington, Pennsylvania, and during his father's life, managed his business for him. He studied law in eastern
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Ohio and, after his admission to the bar, lived in Clinton, Pennsylvania. He was an extensive landowner in Virginia and Ohio and had, in all, about eight hundred acres in 'Illinois; five hundred acres in Virginia, and six hundred in Clinton county, Ohio. Simon Morgan had but one child, U. M., who is the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Morgan divides his time between Sabina, Ohio, and Clinton, Pennsylvania, living a part of the time in one place and a part of the time in the other. He owns one hundred and twenty-two acres of land in Pennsylvania and about one thousand acres in Clinton county. Besides this he owns one hundred and eighty acres near Ashley, Illinois.
Mr. Morgan is a man of retiring disposition, modest and unassuming in all of his ways and unpretentious in his living. He has made farming his life occupation.
HENRY C. PRICE.
What a wonderful heritage a man leaves his children in passing from this life, when he leaves behind him the knowledge of an active life well spent, and evidences of the good he accomplished for his age, community and generation. To be considered among the foremost men of a county, a leader in all things having to do with the county's welfare, does not fall to the lot of many men, and only those who are truly great in heart and mind and possessed of indomitable energy and unfailing optimism are capable of winning the trust and confidence which advances them to positions of leadership. This cheering knowledge is possessed by the son of the late Henry C. Price and by his beloved widow. He was a valiant soldier in the Civil War and one of the leading farmers of Clinton county.
Henry C. Price was born in Franklin county, Indiana, on April 15, 1841, and died on July 10, 1910, survived by his widow and one son, Moody H. Another son had died in 1908. The father of the late Henry C. Price was Thomas Price, who married Mary Hutchinson, he a native of Wales and she of England. They emigrated to America on the same ship at the time he was thirty years old, and their acquaintance was first made on the voyage to America. After their marriage in this country, they located in the eastern part of Franklin county, Indiana, where he owned and operated a farm. Mary (Hutchinson) Price died in 1856. Four years later Thomas Price sold the Franklin county farm and with his children emigrated to Clinton county, where he purchased a farm in Vernon township, near Villar's chapel. He and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church and were the parents of two children, Henry C., the subject of this sketch, and Jane, who married William Lowes, of Connersville, Indiana, where her death occurred in January, 1910. Thomas Price lived to he seventy-one years old.
The late Henry C. Price was nineteen years old when, in 1860, 'he accompanied his father and sister to this county. About two years later in the month of August, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, Seventy-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until the end of the war. He had a splendid record for efficiency and bravery as a soldier, and at the time he was mustered out received an honorable discharge from the Union army.
On October 14, 1866, Henry C. Price was married to Martha J. Humphreys, who was born on January 25, 1843, in Warren county, Ohio, the daughter of John L. and Julia Ann (Sidels) Humphreys. Her father, who was the son of James and Elizabeth (Long) Humphreys, was born near Clarksville, in Warren county, on October 1, 1815. He grew to manhood and was married in Warren .county and then moved to Vernon township, Clinton county, where he purchased a farm. He was married in 1837 to Julia A. Sidels, the daughter of Israel and Nancy (Morrison) Sidels, to which union were born twelve children : Hannah A., James W., Martha J., Israel S., Mary E., A. Fillimore, Nancy E., John, David, Joseph, Sarah L. and Julia H. James and Elizabeth
(37)
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(Long) Humphreys had come from New Jersey to Warren county, Ohio, in 1814. Israel Sidels was a native of Pennsylvania and his wife, Nancy Morrison, was a native of Clinton county. John L. Humphreys owned about four hundred acres of land in Vernon township, Clinton county, and died at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife died at the age of seventy-one on the farm. They were ardent members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
To Henry C. and Martha (Humphreys) Price were born two children: Charles T., who died on
May 9, 1909, and Moody II., born on March 25, 1875, who lives on the home farm in Union township.
Three years after the marriage of Henry C. Price his father, Thomas Price, passed away, and at his death Henry C. received the home farm, where he lived until 1872, when he traded the farm for one hundred and twenty-five acres of land on the Clarksville pike in Union township. To this farm he added land from year to year until he was the owner of two hundred and forty acres in that farm and two hundred and fifty acres near Beech Grove. In 1904 he retired and removed to Wilmington, where he lived until his death, in 1910. His beloved widow, Martha J. Price, still lives in Wilmington.
During the active years of his life the late Henry C. Price was extensively engaged in buying and shipping live stock, and most of his farming land was set in blue grass for pasture. For many years he raised large numbers of sheep, ordinarily keeping from seven hundred to eight hundred head on the farm.
Although Henry C. Price was identified with the Republican party and voted its ticket, he never aspired to office, but devoted his time and ability to his private business. He was a strict member of the Society of Friends, as is also Mrs. Price, who survives him. In the history of Clinton county he will go down as one of its foremost farmers and business men, as a man who lived an honorable, upright life and who maintained friendly relations with the people of his day and generation.
JOHN RANDOLPH CLEVENGER.
John Randolph Clevenger was born on a farm near the village of Cuba, in Washington township, Clinton county, on June 19, 1858, the son of Peter and Mary E. (Mitchel) Clevenger, members of pioneer families of this county, the former of whom was the son of Enos Clevenger, a native of Frederick county, Virginia, and one of the earliest settlers of Washington township; a man of large and beneficent influence in that community in his day and generation.
Enos Clevenger grew to manhood in Frederick county, Virginia, and there married Christina Crouse. He and his bride emigrated to Clinton county, Ohio, in 1824, coming on horseback and carrying their meager possessions in saddle-bags. They established their home in the wilderness and reared their family, inculcating in the minds of their children a regard for the Christian virtues which is bearing noble fruit today in the third and fourth generations of their descendants. Enos Clevenger was easily one of the foremost men in his community. His dominant character early gave him a commanding position among his pioneer neighbors and he exerted a wholesome influence in the formative period of that now well-established farming region. His neighbors made him a justice of the peace not long after his arrival in Washington township and retained him in that important position for many years, ever conceding the justice and equity of his decisions in such matters of dispute as arose in the community. He became a large land owner and a citizen of substance, his life of diligence being amply rewarded in a material way, so that he left a substantial estate, as well as the more valuable legacy of a good name, to his children at his death, in 1867. His widow did not long survive him, her death occurring in 1870. She was a true helpmeet, a woman whose life was devoted to good works, and both she and her husband were sincerely
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mourned in the community to whose best interests their lives had been so long and unselfishily devoted.
Enos and Christina (Crouse) Clevenger were the parents of eight children, namely: Sarah, John, Catherine, Peter, Emma, Mary, William and David.
Peter Clevenger, the fourth of these children, in the order of birth, was reared on the paternal farm in Washington township, receiving such educational advantages as the place and times afforded. Trained in the ways of the farm from childhood, upon reaching man's estate he entered seriously upon the life of a farmer and became one of the most substantial and influential men of his community. He was united in marriage to Mary E. Mitchel, daughter of John Mitchel, and to this union was born one son, John R. Clevenger.
Peter Clevenger surveyed perhaps more of the land and roads of Clinton county than any other man. His notes and maps are on file and still used in the county records.
John Randolph Clevenger was reared on the home farm in Washington township, receiving his elementary education in the Ireland district and the Brown district schools of that township and in the public schools of Cuba, supplementing the same by a course of one year and six months in the normal school at Buchtel, following this by a course of one year in the normal school at Lebanon. Following his marriage, in 1880, Mr. Clevenger began farming and was successful from the beginning. For twenty years after his marriage he and his father pooled their interests, working together in the most perfect accord and to their mutual advantage. His enterprising spirit gave to his farming efforts an impetus which soon made him one of the most substantial men in the county and his father presently was the possessor of several hundred acres of land in this county.
John R. Clevenger and his father began, early in the history of manufacturing in Wilmington, to acquire considerable interests in that direction, and, largely through the advice of the father, acquired large interests in several prominent manufacturing concerns in Wilmington. The latter interests gradually absorbed so much of Mr. Clevenger's attention that, in 1911, he retired from the farm and moved to the county seat, buying a very comfortable house on West Main street, in which he and his family have since made their home. Mr. Clevenger is president of the Farquhar Furnace Company, of Wilmington, and treasurer of the Irwin Auger Bit Company, of the same city ; also being a member of the directorate of these several important manufacturing concerns, positions of trust and responsibility, which keep him pretty well occupied, but which afford a fine scope for the proper exercise of his energy and business enterprise. Despite the close attention which Mr. Clevenger is compelled to give to his large interests, he is never too busy to take a hand in the promotion of all movements designed to promote the best interests of his home town and he is generally recognized as one of the most public-spirited citizens of Wilmington, his influence extending far beyond the confines of his home county.
On September 8, 1880, John Randolph Clevenger was united in marriage to Belle Moon, who was born in Clark township, the daughter of J. W. and Jemima Moon. To this happy union three children have been born, namely : Bessie Hortense, who married Dr. A. D. Blackburn, of Cuba, this county, and has two children, Dorothy and Eve Belle; Earl E., who died at the age of fourteen years; and Herbert P., who lives on the old home farm In Washington township, married Capitola West, and has one child, Barbara.
Mr. and Mrs. Clevenger are members of the Universalist church at Cuba. They are devoted to the best interests of the community and are held in the highest esteem by their large circle of friends and acquaintances. Mr. Clevenger holds an important position in the industrial development of his home city and he possesses in an unusual degree the confidence and respect of his business associates. He is a Democrat and
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takes a proper interest in the political affairs of the county, having been elected one of the Presidential electors from Ohio in 1912, and was one of the men who actually elected Woodrow Wilson President. He is a member of the Masonic order and is prominent in the affairs of Wilmington Commandery No. 92, Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in both of these popular fraternal societies lie takes a warm interest.
WILLIAM M. BUCKLEY
Few, men were more prominent in the religious life of Clinton county than the late William M. Buckley, who as a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, was a teacher of the young men's class in Wilmington in the Sunday school for many years, and also county superintendent of the Sunday schools of Clinton county for a considerable period; but his prominence was not confined to religious activities. He was prominent in the politics of his county, and was an enterprising and successful farmer practicallly all his life. Although he spent the last year of his life on the farm, the period of ten years before that was spent in Wilmington, where he lived more or less retired. History is largely a record of commercial activity and personal annals and in this respect it is fitting that the life work of this good man be accorded a place in this volume.
The late William M. Buckley was born on October 8, 1855, in Chester township, Clinton county, Ohio, and died on May 29, 1913. He was the son of John and Jane (Dix) Buckley, the former of whom was born in 1807 in Dutchess county, New York. and died in 1891, and the latter of whom was born in 1825 near Winchester, Virginia, and who died in 1888. The parents of John Buckley were George and Ruth (Barnes) Buckley, both of whom were natives of Dutchess county, New York, where he was a farmer. After their marriage in 1816 they came to Chester township, Clinton county, where he purchased a hundred and sixty-eight acres of land for eight hundred dollars. He was an active man in the local militia of his day and reared a family of six daughters and four sons, passing away at the age of eighty-four years. The father of Jane (Dix) Buckley was Peter Dix, a native of Virginia, who after his marriage in that state about 1833 settled in Clinton county, where he was a farmer.
The late John Buckley remained at home and worked on his father's farm until the family was able to pay off the indebtedness on the farm. He then purchased fifty acres of his own and later added more land, making a specialty of raising Poland China hogs. He was a Republican in politics and as such was elected to the office of township trustee of Chester township. Mrs. John Buckley was a member of the Methodist church. Although he was a lad when the family came to Clinton county, at the time of his death his remains were buried on the identical spot where the family first unloaded their goods for a temporary habitation in Clinton county. He and his wife had six children: Arthur, a farmer, died at the age of fifty-one; George D., who married Alda S. Mann, is a grain dealer in Wilmington; William is the subject of this sketch; Clara is unmarried and lives with her brother, Stephen Park Buckley, who is the partner of George D. in the grain business in Wilmington; Charles is a farmer in Arizona.
The late William M. Buckley attended the Sharon district school in. Chester township and there received rudiments of an education. He remained at home on his mother's farm until his marriage, after which he purchased a small farm. Two years later he bought sixty-five acres adjoining his mother's farm in Chester. township and became a stock buyer, managing his farm principally for pastime. As the years went by he became a large shipper of live stock, hogs, sheep and cattle, but in 1901 Mr. Buckley sold his farm and moved to Wilmington, where he lived until 1912. In the latter year he purchased the Woods farm on the Washington pike in Union township, consisting of a hundred and thirteen acres, and died unexpectedly on May 29, 1913.
Mr. Buckley was married on January 5, 1888, to Mary Anna Van Tress, who was
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born on September 13, 1857, in Randolph county, Indiana, and who is the daughter of Henry and Louisa (Howell) Van Tress. Mrs. Buckley's father was born in Chester township, Clinton county, Ohio, January 20, 1832, and is still living and makes his home with Mrs. Buckley. Her mother was born on April 7, 1838, in Randolph county, Indiana, and died on August 3, 1870. She was the daughter of William and Anna Howell, both of whom were natives of Wayne county, Indiana. William Howell was a well-known farmer of Randolph county, Indiana. The parents of Henry Van Tress were Archibald and Mary (Rockhill) Van Tress. The former was a native of New York state and the latter of New Jersey. Mary (Rockhill) Van Tress' parents were John and Elizabeth Rockhill, who were born in New Jersey and when Mary was two years old came by wagon to Clinton county, Ohio, settling on Todds Forks on a place now owned by Walter McMillan. Archibald Van Trees grew up in New York state and came to Clinton county, Ohio, with his brother, Richard, who had already settled on Dutch creek. He worked in Wilmington and on nearby farms by the month, subsequently purchasing a hundred and eighteen acres in Chester township, where he died.
Mrs. Buckley's father, Henry Van Tress, began learning the carpenter's trade at the age of nineteen years. He lived nine years in Randolph county, Indiana, working at the trade, and later nine years in Springfield, Ohio. After eighteen years therefore he returned to live on his father's farm. He married the second time in 1886 to Emma Kline, a native of Warren county. Henry and Louisa (Howell) Van Tress had four children, of whom Mrs. Buckley was the eldest; Emma married Joseph D. Haven; Allie married Levi Brannon, of Frederick county, Virginia ; Charles is a carpenter and cabinetmaker of Muncie, Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Buckley had three children. Clara, who was born on December 29, 1888, attended Wilmington College, graduating in 1912; Millard, September 7, 1890, is a stock buyer; Cecil, August 8, 1894, is in partnership with his brother Millard. They are among the largest live stock shippers in Clinton county.
The late William M. Buckley was elected as a Republican to the office of township trustee and also held the office of school director for some time. For many years he was a member of the Republican county central committee of Clinton county and a man whose advice and counsel were freely sought, especially in matters of organization. He had the good will of everybody and was deservedly popular, and his death was deeply deplored.
JOE T. DOAN.
Among the distinguished lawyers of Wilmington, Clinton county, Ohio, is Joe T. Doan, who has long occupied a position of eminence before the bar of this county and who, besides other positions of trust and responsibility, has filled the office of prosecuting attorney for more than a decade. Moreover, he has been prominent for a number years in the councils of the Republican party in this section of the state.
Joe T. Doan was born on April 10, 1862, in Union township, Clinton county, Ohio, the son of Hon. Azariah W. and Martha G. (Taylor) Doan, whose biographies are presented elsewhere in this work.
Joe T. Doan attended the public schools of Wilmington and also Wilmington College and subsequently entered the Cincinnati Law School, from which he was graduated with the class of May 28, 1884. After his graduation, he formed a partnership with L. J. Walker, and in 1890 formed a partnership with his father, which continued until 1911. After his father's death, Mr. Doan formed a partnership with H. G. Cartwright, which still continues. Mr. Cartwright had been identified with the law firm of Doan & Doan previous to Judge Doan's death.
Since 1904 Joe T. Doan has been prosecuting attorney of Clinton county, and as a Republican has served as secretary of the Republican central committee of Clinton
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county for several years. He is associated with several fraternal orders. He is a director and solicitor for the Savings and Loan Association.
On October 13, 1886, Joe T. Doan was married to Bertha Hill, daughter of Dr. G. S. and Louise S. Hill, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Doan are the parents of three children, as follows : Louise, who born on December 19, 1888, and married J. Albert Thomas, a Methodist minister at Eden, Ohio; Charles S., 'June 30, 1890, is a graduate of Wilmington College and Swarthmore, and at present is employed as a teacher of mathematics in the Friends select school; and Esther E., October 31, 1892, who is still at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Doan are members of the Friends church. They are popular in the social life of Wilmington and have a hospitable home.
CHARLES L. HAWORTH.
The Haworth family have held an honorable place in the history of the state of Ohio for over one hundred years, since one branch of the family came to Clinton county, Ohio, as early as 1810. Charles L. Haworth, the son of James Haworth, Jr., was born in Highland county, Ohio, on September 2, 1860. His parents, James, J., and Harriet Haworth, were born near Martinsville, in this county.
The paternal grandparents of Mr. Haworth were James and Amelia (West) Haworth, the former of whom was born in Tennessee and came to Clinton county when ten years f age with his parents, who were Absalom and Phoebe (Wright) Haworth. The paternal great-grandparents were born in Guilford county, North Carolina, marrying there and moving to Tennessee. When James Haworth was two weeks old his mother died and his Grandmother Wright reared him. Absalom Haworth was a first cousin of Mahlon Haworth, who was an early settler of this section f the state, and the founder of this branch of the Haworth family in Clinton county. He was a descendant of George Haworth of Pennsylvania, who was a Quaker.
In 1810 James Haworth, then only ten years old, came with his Grandmother Wright and his uncle, Isaac Wright, to this county. Some of the. Wrights first settled near Martinsville, but Isaac Wright and wife located in the Dover neighborhood, in Union township, where James lived with his Grandmother Wright until he was of age, when he married and went to the farm of his father, Absalom Haworth, south of Wilmington. Their religious belief was that of the orthodox Quakers.
The parents of James Haworth's wife, Amelia West, were Owen and Elizabeth West, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Georgia. Amelia's father was a wealthy plantation owner in Virginia, who had fine ideals of human rights and determined to realize his ideals by freeing all slaves who belonged to him. Then he, left his native state, loyal to his high principles, and came to Ohio, settling in this county, where be purchased one hundred acres of land for each of his children, including his son-in-law, James Haworth, who settled on his share, one mile north of Martinsville, in Clark township. There James Haworth became a prosperous farmer, finally owning eight hundred acres in the township, where he reared his children without moving until 1851, when he went to New London, Indiana. There he planned large interests, having bought a hotel and farm lands, and started in the dry-goods business, but .death stepped in and closed his active, honorable career in 1852, his wife also dying in the same year.
The children of James and Amelia (West) Haworth, eleven in all, are as follow: Morris, a farmer, who died in Howard county, Indiana; Phoebe, of Howard county, also deceased; May, who married William S. Easter, of Howard county; Louisa, who married a second time after the death of her first husband, lives in Red Oak, Iowa, and is a Quaker preacher; John, who did not marry, died in this county; James, who was
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the father of Charles L., now living in Wilmington, this county; Gilbert, who died aged twenty, in Howard county, Indiana ; Clarkson, who is dead, was a farmer in Howard county, Indiana; Amelia, who was eighty-four years old on December 22, 1914, lives in Wilmington, Ohio, the widow of Asa H. Jenkins; Sarah, who married Jesse Hiatt, who is now retired from business and lives in Washington, D. C., and Harriet, the widow of Marcus Pickering, who lives in Elwood, Indiana.
Charles L. Haworth's father, James Haworth, Jr., spent his early years on a farm in this county until his father moved to Indiana, where he spent four years, after which he returned to Ohio, locating in Highland county. During the Civil War he was engaged in the dairy business in Cincinnati, but moved from there to Highland county and became a farmer. Later he farmed in Clinton county, where he remained for several years. After Charles L. Haworth's mother died, his father married a Mrs. Hawkins and resided in Richmond, Idiana, until his death at the age of sixty-nine. The brothers and sisters of Charles L. Haworth were: Thomas Clarkson, deceased, who was a farmer in Howard county, Indiana; Z. G. A., who is an attorney residing in Cincinnati; Jennie, who married John Bodkins, lives in Jeffersonville, Indiana ; Harriet, who died in infancy, and Harry Clinton, who works in the American car shops at Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Charles L. Haworth received his education in the schools of Highland county. Burtonville, this county, and in Wilmington, and began his business career as a clerk in the dry-goods and clothing store owned by F. S. Broomhalls, in Wilmington, where he worked for eighteen years, after which he clerked in C. A. Rannells' clothing store for a short time. In 1905 Mr. Haworth formed a partnership with Mr. Cast under the firm name of Haworth & Cast and conducted a men's clothing and furnishing store in Wilmington. In 1912 Mr. Haworth bought his partner's interest in the store, and has since been successfully conducting the store himself.
On August 24, 1888, Charles L. Haworth was married to Lona E, Barrett, who was born in Martinsville, this county, the daughter, of Peter D. and Lydia Barrett.
Peter D. Barrett was born In Waynesboro, Ohio, on April 15, 1845, the son of Dr. William S. and Nancy (Walker) Barrett, the former of whom was born in Virginia in 1800 and died in 1857, and the latter of whom was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1820 and 'died in 1895., Peter D. Barrett's father, who was a noted physician, stayed in Cincinnati, at his post of duty, during the scourge of cholera. Afterward he moved to Rainsboro, Highland county, Ohio, where he had an extensive practice until he died from exposure of severe weather.
In August, 1862, Peter D. Barrett and his brother, John, enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served two years and ten months in the Civil. War, participating in twenty-three battles. At the close of the Civil War, Peter D, Barrett, who played the spare drum, took part in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C., in General Fuller's First Brigade, First Division, Seventeenth Army •Corps, On November 27, 1867, Peter D. Barrett married and went to Martinsville, this county, where he lived until 1883, when he moved to Wilmington, where he is still living, being engaged in the shoe business. Mr. Barrett is a stanch Republican and a .member of the city council, also, secretary, of the soldiers' relief commission of Clinton county. He is a charter member of the. Morris McMillan post of the Grand Army of the Republic and also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the encampment and the Daughters of Rebekah, and is a loyal member of the Christian church at Wilmington.
Charles L. Haworth is an active worker in the Republican party and has served as treasurer of Union township for many years. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, including the encampment; the Royal Arcanum; the Knights of Pythias, in which he is a past chancellor commander;. the Benevolent and Protective
584 - CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.
Order of Elks, of which he is a past exalted ruler, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, of which he is a past president.
He is a member of the Friends church at Wilmington and his wife is a member of the Christian church.
EBERLE D. TRICKEY.
Very few county officials of Clinton county have performed their official duties with a more conscientious regard for the needs of the public, or have proved themselves more popular with those whom they have thus served, than the present efficient county civil engineer, Eberle D. Trickey, who for nearly ten years has been connected with the county surveyor's office, eight years of which time he has been the duly elected incumbent. He first entered the surveyor's office as a deputy in 1907, shortly thereafter being appointed to fill an unexpired term. During the succeeding campaign the Republicans made him their candidate for the office he was then holding and he was elected by a most flattering majority. He has since been elected for four successive terms, certainly a notable compliment to his eminent fitness for the difficult and trying position.
Eberle D. Trickey was born on a farm near the village of Blanchester, Marion township, Clinton county, Ohio, on September 20, 1875, son of Thomas R. and Sarah A. Trickey, the former of whom was born on June 25, 1852, in Warren county, this state, and the latter of whom was born on February 11, 1857, in Marion township, Clinton county, Ohio, both of whom are still living and making their home with their son in Wilmington, this county.
Thomas R. Trickey's parents, John K. and Theodocia Trickey, were natives of Warren county, Ohio, the former of whom was the son of William Trickey, a Virginian, born about the year 1810, who emigrated to this state in his young manhood, becoming one of the earliest settlers of Warren county. He entered an extensive tract of land from the government and there he reared his family, the Trickeys becoming one of the most influential families thereabout. From the beginning of his residence in Warren county, William Trickey took a prominent part in pioneer affairs and at the time of his death was reckoned as among the substantial men of the county. It was amid such home influences that John K. Trickey was reared, and it was but natural that he, too, should take a leading part in affairs during his day and generation. During the period of the Civil War, John K. Trickey performed a most valuable and distinct service to his community as provost 'marshal of the district in which he lived, being one of the most prominent figures in that part of the state during war times. In addition to farming, he devoted much of his time to surveying and work along the general lines of civil engineering, his services in that connection being called for throughout that section. He was an ardent member of the Universalist church, having been reared in that faith, and he brought up his family in the ways of dutiful observance of the tenets of the same faith. He lived to be seventy-three years of age and at the time of his passing was deeply and widely mourned throughout the section of the state in which he had for so long been a dominant factor in general affairs.
Under such conditions of family life and rearing, it is not to be regarded as remarkable that Thomas R. Trickey grew up to be a citizen of sterling worth and admirable traits of character. It was during his early childhood that his parents moved from Warren county to this county, and it was thus that Thomas R. Trickey received his rearing in Clinton county. Upon nearing the period of manhood, he learned the carpenter trade and for many years was engaged in the business of general building and contracting, many houses in and about the town of Blanchester testifying very visibly to the substantial character of his work, even to this day. In 1908, Mr. Trickey retired from further active labors and moved to the county seat, where he and his wife since have made their home with their son, the county surveyor, who is their only child.
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Mrs. Trickey, mother of the subject of this sketch, is the daughter of Joseph and Lucetta Laymon, who were residents of Marion township, this county, the former of whom died shortly after the close of the Civil War from diseases contracted in the army. Thomas R. Trickey is a Republican and for years has been an active worker in the ranks of that party. He and his wife are members of the Universalist church, as is their son and his wife and all are interested participants in the 'activities of the congregation of that church.
Eberle D. Trickey has been interested in the abstruse problems of civil engineering since childhood. Even during the days of his boyhood schooling, he began to pick up the rudiments of the surveyor's profession and gradually enlarged his knowledge until he became one of the best-equipped surveyors in this part of the state. His first practical work in this connection was done with the engineering department of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, during which period of service he received much excellent and valuable instruction and experience. Following this engagement with the railroad service, he was for several years engaged as foreman for a firm of general contractors at Lima, Ohio, and in the spring of 1907 returned to Clinton county and accepted the position of deputy surveyor in the office of Mr. Brown. Shortly thereafter he was appointed to fill the unexpired term and at the end of this appointive term of service, was elected on the Republican ticket to fill the office of surveyor, and has since been elected four successive terms, certainly a most flattering commendation of the ability he has displayed in disposing of the intricate affairs of his office. Mr. Trickey occasionally finds time from his official duties to handle difficult engineering problems outside the public service and many are the calls made upon him throughout this section.
On June 29, 1904, Eberle D. Trickey was united in marriage to Mary L. Lauer, daughter of Charles A. and Molinda (Reynolds) Lauer, of Wapakoneta, Ohio, the former of whom is now deceased. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Trickey and they have adopted two little girls, Opal, born in 1908, and Hazel, born in 1910.
Mr. Trickey is not only popular in the official circles of Clinton county, but has the entire confidence of the community, the utmost reliance being placed in the accuracy of his surveys, and he holds the highest regard of all who know him. In fraternal circles he also is quite popular, being an active and influential member of the Masonic lodge, the Elks lodge, the Odd Fellows lodge and the Eagles at Wilmington, doing cheerfully his part in promoting the interests of these popular fraternal associations.
HORATIO B. HAYNES.
Horatio B. Haynes, a prominent citizen of Clinton county and a retired farmer living in Wilmington, was born on July 8, 1859, in Sabina, Clinton county, and is the son of Joshua R. and Nancy (Geffs) Haynes, the former of whom was born on May 26, 1827, in Wayne township, Clinton county, Ohio, and the latter was born in Virginia. Nancy Geffs was the daughter of John and Tamar (Faucet) Geffs, natives of Ireland and Pennsylvania. respectively. John Geffs, with his parents, James and Elizabeth Geffs, immigrated to America, when John was but a child and located in Virginia, where the father died and where John grew to manhood and married. He learned the tanner's trade in Hagerstown, Maryland, which business he followed until the fall of 1830, when, with his family, he immigrated to Ohio and passed the winter near Chillicothe. In the spring of 1831 he came to Clinton county and purchased and located upon the farm later owned by his son, Thomas Geffs. There he lived until his death, in 1840, when he was fifty-one years old. His mother also became a resident of :Milton county and died while living with her grandson, at the age of eighty-six years. )n one occasion she walked ten miles to hear John Wesley preach. Mrs. Geffs remained ipon the home place with her children until her death, on March 25, 1881, when she vas ninety-two years old. They were the parents of thirteen children, of whom five,
586 - CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.
Jacob, Thomas, James, Margaret (Grove) and. Nancy, lived to advanced ages. Jacob and James moved to Illinois. Nancy married Joshua R. Haynes. Robert, the eleventh child, was a soldier in the Mexican War and died in the service near Jalapa, Mexico, at the age of twenty years. Thomas became a prominent man in the political life of Clinton county. He served as township trustee, county commissioner and member of the Ohio Legislature. He was married to Mary West on February 9, 1843.
The paternal grandparents of Horatio B. Haynes were Pleasant and Millie Haynes, both of whom were natives of Virginia. The paternal great-grandfather was William Haynes, a native and resident of Virginia and a large slaveholder. Pleasant Haynes, after coming to Ohio, married and settled in Fayette county. Later he moved to Clinton county and engaged in farming. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had nine children, among *whom were: Joshua R., Isaac, Alfred, Mahala, Sarah and Elizabeth. Joshua R. Haynes was educated in the common schools and for seven years was engaged in teaching and business in Sabina, Ohio. He and his wife were prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died near Sabina on March 22, 1871, and his wife on July 31, 1883. They were the parents of eight children.
Horatio B. Haynes was educated in the common schools of this state and reared on a farm. On November 11, 1885, he was married to Jane Morris, a native of Fayette county, and the daughter of Jonathan and Sarepta Morris, who were farmers and members of the Friends church. Two children were born to this marriage, Herbert and Frank, both of whom are unmarried.
Mr. and Mrs. Haynes are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They have a comfortable home on Walnut street in the city of Wilmington. Mr. Haynes has been a progressive and very prosperous farmer, but has always held character above wealth.
FRANK MURPHY.
Many years ago a child was born in County Cork, Ireland, and as he grew up his ambitions to get on in the world led him to seek a home in America. Even though he did not find fame or fortune in the new country, he was able to rear a family of children and earn an honorable living. Among his sons was one who has become known throughout the sporting world in this country and who has become in addition to this one of the wealthiest citizens of our great metropolis of the Middle West. The Irish lad who many years ago sought a home and fortune in this favored land, was the late Patrick Murphy, and his son, who is a brother of the subject of this sketch and who has become famous in the sporting world, is Charles Murphy, the former president of the Chicago Cubs.
Frank Murphy, the subject of this sketch, who is well known to the citizens of Clinton county, has in his veins the blood of this ambitious Irish lad, who left his home in County Cork, Ireland. Frank Murphy was •born in Wilmington, Ohio, January 24, 1870; the son of Patrick and Bridget (O'Donnell) Murphy, the former of whom was born in County Cork in 1841, and who died in 1896, and the latter of whom was born in County Tipperary, Ireland in 1850. and, who is still living. Mr. Murphy's paternal grandparents lived and died in Ireland. They were devout members of the Catholic church. His maternal grandparents also lived in Ireland, his grandfather having died when a young man and his widow, after his death, married Daniel Credan. They followed Mrs. Credan's daughter, Bridget, to America.
Patrick Murphy grew up on the farm in Ireland and when a lad still in his teens came to the United States and located at Madisonville Ohio, where he learned the plastering trade, at which he worked for many years. Subsequently, he came to Wilmington and as married and here worked as a plasterer on all of the main buildings of the city, including the churches, college buildings, schools and the business houses. He was a "rock-ribbed" Democrat and a devout member of the Catholic church, as were all
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of the members of his family. Mrs. Patrick Murphy is still living in the house on South Mulberry street, in Wilmington, to which she and her husband moved after they were married in 1866. Frank Murphy is one of four children born to his parents: Charles, the eldest, who has heretofore been referred to as the former president of the Chicago Cubs; Frank, who is the subject of this sketch; James, who is employed as a scout for the Chicago Cubs; and Katie, who died at the age of thirty-three.
Frank Murphy attended the public schools of Wilmington and learned the plasterer's trade from his father, which he followed more or less until 1907, when he started a moving picture show in Wilmington, called the West House Show. Previously, he and his brother, Charles, had operated a restaurant in Wilmington for four years. In 1909 Mr. Murphy started the Cub theatre and in the same year moved the West House Show into another building and called it the Gem theatre. These two shows were operated until 1914, when he sold out
On January 12, 1893, Frank Murphy was married to Anna Fahey, the daughter of Thomas Fahey and who was born in Texas, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Murphy have been born four children: Thomas, who was born in 1894, is a bookkeeper ; Joseph, April 4, 1899; Charles, April 6, 1903 ; and Frank, February 2, 1908.
Mr. Murphy is a Democrat He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy and all of the members of their family are stanch supporters of the Catholic church
JOHN WILLIAM VANDERVORT.
In the early days the Middle West was often a tempting field to energetic, ambitious, strong-minded men, and Ohio was filled with them during the time she was struggling to a respectable position in the sisterhood of states. Many of the families whose progeny has since become prominent in the life of this state were founded in Ohio shortly after the state was admitted to the Union. There was a fascination in the broad fields and great promise which this newer region presented to activity and which attracted many men, inducing them to brave the discomforts of the early life here for the pleasure and gratification of constructing their fortunes in their own ways and after their own methods. It is this class of men more than any other which has given shape, direction and character to the great state of Ohio. J. W. Vandervort, formerly a well-known farmer of Clinton county and a member of the board of county commis sioners for two terms, is a member of one of the families which had to do with the early history of this county.
John William Vandervort, who is now living retired in Wilmington, was born near New Antioch, in Green township, this county, on July 21, 1850, the son of Paul H. and Matilda (McKenzie) Vandervort, the former' of whom was born near Starbuck, in Clinton county. on January 1, 1815, the son of Jonah and Jane (Tibbs) Vandervort and the latter of whom was the daughter of John and Isabelle McKenzie.
The ancestry of the Vandervort family goes back to Michael Paulus Van Der Voort, who came from East Flanders, region of Dendermonde, prior to the year 1640 and located in New Amsterdam, now New York. The records show that Michael Paulus Van Der Voort was married to Marie Rapalye on November 18, 1640, their marriage being the fifth recorded in New Amsterdam. Among their children was Paul Van Der Voort, baptised on January 3, 1649, who married Lysbeth Paulus Dincksen, to which union was born a son, called Paul, who was born at Bedford, Long Island, and was baptised in 1681. He married Nultze Staats, and they had a son, Nicholas, born at Bedford, Long Island. Subsequently, the family moved to Orange county, New York, where Nicholas married Abigail Halstead, to which union six children were born, John. Martha, Paul, Peter, William and Jonah, the latter of whom was the grandfather of J. W. Vandervort, the subject of this sketch. Jonah Vandervort settled in Clinton
588 - CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.
county, Ohio, in 1810, the year in which the county was organized. He was born in Shepherdstown, Virginia, on May 30, 1765, and was married to Jane Tibbs on March 29, 1796. They moved to the Northwest Territory in 1800, and located at Columbia, which is now within the city limits of Cincinnati, Ohio. Later, in 1810, they came to Clinton county.
Nicholas and Abigail (Halstead) Vandervort, both of whom were natives of New York state, became residents of Virginia after their marriage and emigrated from Virginia about 1800, the objective point being Green river in Kentucky. On their way down the Ohio river, upon arriving at Columbia, near Cincinnati, they anchored their boat for the night. A large limb from a tree overhanging the boat broke and fell, damaging the boat so much that it was unfit for further travel with safety. After some investigation of the surrounding country they became so well pleased with it that they concluded to settle there and it is believed that Nicholas and Abigail (Halstead) Vandervort spent the rest of their lives there. Jonah Vandervort's wife, who before her marriage was Jane Tibbs, was the daughter of John and Mary 'Tibbs, natives of Ireland. The latter, when a girl, was kidnapped and taken on board a vessel and brought to America, where she grew to womanhood and was married, subsequently becoming a resident of Virginia, whence she emigrated to Columbia, Ohio, where she died. Jonah and Jane (Tibbs) Vandervort resided at Columbia until 1809, when they came to this county, locating on. Todd's fork, where they lived for six years, at the end of which time they removed to near New Antioch, where they spent the remainder of their lives. They were among the earliest settlers in that region and assisted in the organization and establishment of the first Christian church at Antioch, in which they were leading members and in the good works of which they assisted with their purses and with their influence. Jonah Vandervort became of great strength to the church and was a very upright Christian man. He was a man of good judgment and one of the first jurymen of Clinton county. Jonah Vandervort and his wife were the parents of six sons and five daughters. He died in January, 1842, and his widow died three years later, in 1845.
Paul H. Vandervort, who was one of the six sons and one of the eleven children born to his parents, was two months old when his parents moved to the farm near New Antioch. It was there he was reared and grew to manhood and spent his • entire life until August, 1879, when he retired from the farm and located in New Antioch. He was one of the most prominent and useful citizens of that community and served as commissioner of Clinton county for twelve years. He was also one of the managers of the Clinton County Agricultural Society for thirteen years and served as president of the same for many years. He also held other minor offices and was a leading member and supporter of the Christian church. At the death of his father he was elected to fill the latter's place as deacon in the church, which office he held for a quarter of a century and was then made elder.
On October 19, 1896, Paul H. Vandervort was married to Matilda McKenzie, the daughter of John and Isabelle McKenzie, natives of Kentucky, who became residents of Ohio, and who died in Clinton county and were interred in the old burying ground at New Antioch. To this union four children were born, namely : Mary Emily, the wife of E. W. Marble; Alpheus, who served three years and three months in the Civil War, enlisting in Company B, Fortieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in December, 1861, and was engaged in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and others, and served under 'General Garfield in his celebrated conquest of the Big Sandy and through eastern Kentucky; Samantha, who married Dr. W. W. Canny and with him removed to Camden, Preble county, Ohio, where he died, and J. W., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Matilda (McKenzie) Vandervort died on June 20, 1876, and three years later, on August 26, 1879, Paul H. Vandervort married, secondly, Mary Ann Mitchell, daughter of James and Mary (Fleming) Mitchell, natives of Pennsylvania, but who, in 1828, settled near
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Wilmington, in Clinton county, where he died in 1836, his widow living to be eighty years old.
J. W. Vandervort attended the public schools at New Antioch and subsequently was a student for one year at the Normal school at Lebanon, Warren county. In the meantime he was engaged in assisting his father on the farm and after his marriage lived on the home place until he retired in 1905, he having 'purchased the interest of the other heirs when his father died. He still owns this farm, the farm which his grandfather reclaimed from the wilderness. It now consists of one hundred and fifty-one acres. Upon his removal to Wilmington, Mr. Vandervort purchased a home at the corner of Mulberry and Vine streets, where the family now lives.
On September 24, 1874, J. W. Vandervort was married to Maria E. Walker, who was born in Green township, this county, the daughter of Nathan and Jane (Phillips) Walker, the former of whom was born near Lexington, Kentucky, on February 26, 1806, and died on September 1, 1876, and the latter of whom was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, July 21, 1816, and died on February 8, 1866. Nathan Walker's parents were Robert and Nancy Walker, early settlers in Kentucky, who reared a large family. Jane (Phillips) Walker's parents were Joshua and Lucinda (Irvin) Phillips, who were farmers by occupation and early settlers in Bourbon county, Kentucky. Nathan Walker married in Kentucky and came to this county, locating in Green township, where he owned a farm. He belonged to the Christian church, and was a Republican in politics. He had a family of three daughters and two sons.
To J. W. and Maria E. (Walker) Vandervort four children have been born, as follow: Paul. H., Jr., who was born on September 10, 1876, teller in the First National Bank of Wilmington, married Mary A. Robbins, and has three children. Mary, Anna and Eleanor; Ada E., April 25, 1881, who died on May 5, 1904; Arthur W., June 20, 1883, a minister in the Christian church at Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 23, 1915, married Anna R. Robinette, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Robert D, December 27, 1895, who died in August, 1896.
J. W. Vandervort is a Republican and served two terms as a member of the Clinton county board of commissioners, having been elected on the Republican ticket. All of the members of the Vandervort family are actively identified with the Christian church. Mr. Vandervort was identified officially with the church at New Antioch and later with the Central church at Wilmington. No one can deny that Mr. Vandervort has worthily upheld the traditions of his family, or that, in both public and private life, he has discharged every duty which may reasonably be expected by the public at large. He is highly respected in Clinton county, where he is well known, having a host of friends in this section of the state.
ISIDOR KAUFMAN
It is a pleasure to investigate the career of a successful, self-made man. Peculiar honor attaches to that individual, who, beginning the great struggle of life alone and unaided, gradually overcomes unfavorable environment, removes one by one the obstacles from the pathway of success and, by the master stroke of his own force and vitality, succeeds in forging his way to the front and winning for himself a competency and a position of esteem and influence among his fellowmen. Such is the record of the popular citizen of Wilmington, to a brief synopsis of whose life and character, the following paragraphs are devoted.
Isidor Kaufman is a native of Russia, having been born on the very edge of the German frontier on October 1, 1883. He is the son of Samuel and Rachel (Supowitz) Kaufman, both of whom were also natives of Russia and both of whom are deceased. Samuel Kaufman was a merchant in his native land and a very strict Jew in his religious .belief, being held in high esteem in the community where he lived. To him and his
590 - CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.
wife were born six children, four sons and two daughters, all of whom immigrated to the United States.
Isidor Kaufman received some education in the schools of his native land and when old enough entered his father's store, where he received some business experience. When fifteen years old, he immigrated to the United States, coming at once to Bellefontaine, Ohio, where his elder brother, Max, was engaged in business, conducting a large dry-goods and house-furnishing store. Here Isidor Kaufman was employed for five years, during which time he applied himself indefatigably to the mastering of the English language and also to the acquiring of a practical knowledge of American business methods. In 1905 Mr. Kaufman came to Wilmington and opened a store in which he has met with splendid success. Starting with a limited stock of goods, he so conducted his business and so won the good will of the community that his patronage rapidly increased and his stock of goods was increased accordingly, so that now he has one of the best stores of the kind in Wilmington. The store, which is called the Syndicate Store, contains a complete line of dry-goods, hardware, shoes, furniture and house furnishings and occupies two regular-size store rooms, which are joined by wide-open arches. Mr. Kaufman shows a deep interest in the business affairs of his community, in the advancement of which he has borne his share. He is a member of the Commercial Club and is held in high esteem by his fellow business men, who recognize his splendid personal qualities and his business ability. Honest and liberal, he stands for all that is best in every line of large activities and is an aggressive worker for the public sentiment in civic, school and governmental affairs. Mr. Kaufman belongs to the orthodox Jewish church in Cincinnati.
On March 10, 1907, Isidor Kaufman was united in marriage to Ida Supowitz, a native of New York City. To them have been born two children: Bernard, who was born in 1908, and Samuel, in 1910.
ABSALOM BORING.
Among the many excellent farmers of Clinton county who are now living retired in the county seat, Wilmington, Absalom Boring, who is a native of Green township, and who owns a farm of one hundred and sixty-one acres in that township, should be mentioned. He comes of a family who settled in Clinton county in pioneer days, emigrating to this state from Virginia.
Absalom Boring was born in Green township, Clinton county, Ohio, on February 10, 1848, a son of Lafayette and Elsie (Collett) Boring, the former of whom was born in Virginia in 1812, and died in 1883, and the latter of whom was born in Kentucky, and died in 1852. Mr. Boring's paternal grandparents were Thomas and Ruth Boring, both of whom were born and married in Virginia, and who, in 1824, settled in Green township, this county, where they purchased a farm. They were members of the Baptist church and prominent and influential in the affairs of that church in pioneer times. The grandfather died in 1864 after living to rear a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters. Mr. Boring's maternal grandparents died In Kentucky.
Lafayette Boring was only twelve years of age when he was brought to Ohio from Virginia by his father and mother. Some time after attaining his majority and after his marriage, he purchased the home place and paid for it by his savings and profits from year to year. Subsequently he added fifty-two acres to the home farm. He was a Republican in politics, and was identified with the Baptist church. Mr. Boring's mother died when he was but four years old, and after her death his father married, secondly, in ,1864, Mrs. Mary (Hall) Lieurance, widow of William Lieurance, and she also is now deceased. To the first marriage of Lafayette. Boring six children were born, three of whom are now deceased. Harriett died when a small child; Mary died in 1864 at the age of twenty, and Elizabeth, the second born, died in 1910. The living children are
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Ruth, who is unmarried and makes her home with her brother, Absalom; John, who lives in Green township, this county, and is a farmer, and Absalom, the immediate subject of this review. To the second marriage of Mr. Boring's father four children were born, all of whom are living : William, a farmer living in Liberty township, this county ; Alice, who is the wife of George Skinner, is a resident of Wilmington ; Lydia, the wife of Squire Beaty, lives in Green township, and Susan, the wife of Darius Morton, lives in Wilmington.
Absalom Boring attended the public schools of Green township, but his educational advantages were limited, as he was compelled to assist his father with the work on the farm during the period when he might have attended school. After living at home until he had reached his majority, he purchased, with the aid of his father, forty-eight acres of land in Green township, adding to this tract until he was the owner of one hundred and sixty-one acres. He lived on this farm in Green township until 1904, when he retired from active farming, purchased a home on High street in Wilmington, and moved to that city. He still owns his farm and gives to it his personal supervision.
On February 20, 1896, Absalom Boring was married to Catherine Mitchell, who was born in New Antioch, this county, a daughter of William and Ann Mitchell, both of whom are deceased. William Mitchell was a well-known cabinetmaker of this county. Mrs. Boring died on August 3, 1912, leaving her husband and one son, Carl M., who was born on March 25, 1897.
Absalom Boring is a Republican, but has never taken any special part in political affairs. He has always been rated as a good citizen, a man of strictly moral habits, honorable and upright in all of the relations of life and enjoys the full confidence and esteem of his neighbors.
STEPHEN PARKER BUCKLEY.
As a man who enjoys pre-eminent prestige among the successful business men of Wilmingf on Stephen Parker Buckley deserves honorable mention. As a grain dealer he has been distinctively representative in this field of endeavor and has established for himself and for the firm of which he is a member a reputation for integrity and honor. He is a member of the firm of Buckley Brothers and they buy grain and handle flour and feed in large quantities. He is one of the worthy citizens of Clinton county and none more than he deserves representation in a work of this character.
Stephen Parker Buckley was born on November 17, 1861, in Chester township, Clinton county, Ohio. He is the son of John and Jane (Dicks) Buckley, the former of whom was born in 1807 in Dutchess county, New York, and who died in 1891, and the latter of whom was born in 1825, near Winchester, Virginia, and who died in 1888.
The paternal grandparents of Stephen Parker Buckley were George and Ruth (Barnes) Buckley, both of whom were natives of Dutchess county, New York, where he was a farmer. After his marriage in 1816 he came to Chester township, Clinton county, and purchased one hundred and sixty-eight acres of land for eight hundred dollars. He went in debt for practically the entire amount. He died at the age of eighty-four, having been an active man in public affairs during his day and generation. He was especially active in the local militia. He and his wife had six daughters and four sons. In those days they were homespun clothes and the six daughters were all able to use spinning wheels and worked in rhythm, singing at the same time.
Mr. Buckley's maternal grandparents were Peter Dicks and wife who were born and married in Virginia and who about 1833 settled in Clinton county; Ohio, where the former was a farmer.
John Buckley, father of Stephen Parker, remained at home and worked on his father's farm until the family had paid off the indebtedness. He then purchased fifty acres of his own and later added more land. He made a specialty of raising Poland China hogs.
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This proved very profitable. He was a stanch Republican and a township trustee of Chester township. His wife was a Methodist. He was a mere lad when the family came to Ohio. It is a coincidence that his remains were buried on the spot where the family first unloaded their goods in Clinton county.
John and Jane (Dicks) Buckley had six children, as follow : Arthur, who died at the age of fifty-one, was a farmer ; George D., who is Stephen Parker's partner, married Alda F. Mann and they live in Wilmington; William, who is a stock dealer of Wilmington, Ohio, died in 1913; Clara is unmarried and lives with her brother, Stephen P., who was the fifth in the family; Charles is a former resident of Arizona.
Stephen Parker Buckley attended the public schools of Chester township when a young man and worked by the day on the farm. In 1904, he removed to Wilmington, Ohio, and with his brother, George D., purchased the Mitchell & Hague grain elevator, which they have successfully operated now for a period of fifteen years under the name of Buckley Brothers. They buy grain and handle flour and feed.
In 1804 Stephen Parker Buckley was married to Martha Eubanks, who was born near Danville, Kentucky, and who is the daughter of John W. Eubanks, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Buckley have had two children: Karl, who was born in 1894, is a student at Wilmington College; John Wesley, 1898, is a student in the Wilmington high school.
Mr. Buckley is a Republican, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Buckley is also a member of this church. He served as clerk of Chester township at one time and filled the office with credit.
HERBERT P. CLEVENGER.
Herbert P. Clevenger, a well-to-do farmer and business man, of Washington township, Clinton county, Ohio, owns one hundred and twelve acres of land in Washington township and is the scion of an honorable and distinguished family of this county. The Clevenger family came originally from the Old Dominion state and was established in Clinton county by Enos Clevenger, a native of Frederick county, Virginia, who was one of the earliest settlers in Washington township. He was the great-grandfather of Herbert P. Clevenger, the subject of this sketch.
Herbert P. Clevenger was born on the farm where he now lives on ,June 3, 1887, the son of John Randolph and Belle (Moon) Clevenger, the former of whom was born on a farm near the village of Cuba, June 19, 1858, the son of Peter Clevenger, who, in turn, was the son of Enos Clevenger. Enos Clevenger grew to manhood in Virginia and married Christina Crouse. He and his bride came to Clinton county in 1824 on horseback. He was a dominant character among the pioneer citizens of his neighborhood and exerted a wholesome influence during the formative period of his neighborhood. At the time of his death, he left considerable property. He died in 1867 and his wife three years later. Peter Clevenger, the second generation of the family in Clinton county, was also a well-known farmer.
John Randolph Clevenger received a liberal education in the public schools of Cuba, the normal schools at Buchtel and Lebanon. He married in 1880 and immediately devoted himself to farming. From year to year he added to his farm holdings but gradually became interested in industrial enterprises at Wilmington. He is president of the Farquahar Furnace Company, of Wilmington, and vice-president of the Champion Bridge Company, also treasurer of the Irwin Auger Bit Company, of the same city. His wife, the mother of Herbert P., before her marriage was Belle Moon, the daughter of J. W. and Jemima Moon. She is a native of Clark township, Clinton county. They were married on September 8, 1880, and are the parents of four children: Bessie Hortense, who married Dr. A. D. Blackburn, of Cuba ; Earl E., who died at the age of thirteen years; and Herbert P., the subject of this sketch; John Randolph, Jr., who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. John R. Clevenger are members of the Universalist church
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at Wilmington. He is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Masonic fraternity, being prominent in Wilmington Commandery No. 92. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Herbert P. Clevenger obtained the rudiments of an education in the common schools of Cuba, but later spent three years at Buchtel College, at Akron. After finishing his college education, he began farming with his father and in 1912 became the owner of a farm of one hundred and twelve acres. He engages in general farming and stock raising, but specializes in breeding Duroc-Jersey hogs.
In 1908 Mr. Clevenger was married to Capitola West, the daughter of William and May West. To this union there has been born one child, Barbara May, who was born in 1910.
Mr. Clevenger is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. Like his father, he votes the Democratic ticket. Mr. Clevenger owns an attractive home in attractive surroundings.
H. B. PATTERSON.
While the professional man of high ideals makes his contribution to his time and age, it must not be forgotten that the business man, by reason of his organizing ability, also is a true benefactor when honorable in motive and practice. Especially is that merchant to be respected who is honest in his purpose, fair in his dealings, and willing to use his ability for the building up of the commercial and industrial life of his town or city, as well as his own more personal prosperity. The commercial standing of a community may be said to depend upon the number and quality of its business men—men who have initiative, energy, enthusiasm, and business integrity. According to the above standard, the man whose name heads this biography is of such a type. Born on a farm and a member of a large family, early inured to those realities which make life to many a struggle, he acquired those habits of industry and endurance which had much to do with his present place in the commercial and social world.
H. B. Patterson was born in Jackson county, Ohio, November 5, 1868, a son of Robert and Mary (Cunningham) Patterson, both natives of Ireland, who came with their parents to America in 1835, locating in Philadelphia, where they were married and lived for fifteen years. About 1850 they immigrated to Ohio, traveling on horseback, in true primitive style. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson located in Jackson county, on a tract of land which they bought and cultivated, and this farm became their home for the remainder of their lives. The father died there in 1885, his faithful wife passing away five years later.
Four of the eight children born in this humble home are still living. These are, R. C. Patterson, of Wilmington, Sarah A. Castle and Jane F. Fields, both of Willston. Ohio, and our subject, who is the youngest.
H. B. Patterson received a meager education in the country schools and while yet a lad helped with the work on the farm. At sixteen years of age he went to clerk in a store at Hamden, Ohio, his first employer being John Dill. After two years he bought the business for himself, and for the following three years was owner and manager of this general store in the village. In 1890, he sold out and removed to Wilmington, where for seven years he and his brother, R. C. Patterson, were prominent clothing merchants, located in the Odd Fellow building. Selling out, Mr. Patterson became a traveling salesman for Bischof, Stem & Stein, a Cincinnati firm of cloak manufacturers. For them he traveled three years.
In 1900 Mr. Patterson founded the present. partnership with G. E. Watts under the firm name of Watts & Patterson. Since that time, these men have been leading dry-goods merchants of Wilmington. For some years they were located on the corner oppo-
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site the Clinton County Bank, and on September 5, 1912, they removed to their present location in the Masonic temple. Their store room has a floor space of twenty-two thousand feet, and thirty-one employees are engaged there.
On August 8, 1895, H. B. Patterson was married to Flo Granthan, of Wilmington. Mrs. Patterson died five years later on August 8, 1900. There were no children.
Besides his commercial holdings, Mr. Patterson owns considerable quantities of coal lands located in Jackson county, Ohio.
Mr. Patterson is an Elk, and a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is a Republican. Mr. Patterson is a member of the Presbyterian church. In all of these organizations, he does not merely hold membership, but uses his time and his talent and means to further the purpose of their existence.
H. B. Patterson has a wide circle of friends in Clinton county, and his successful business attests the esteem in which he is held in this locality.
H. N. HENDERSON.
It is as one of Clinton county's most alert and progressive business men that the name of H. N. Henderson appears among those citizens whose achievements are recorded in this collection of biographies. Though born and reared on a farm, his ambitions early led him to seek other pursuits and he carried into these enterprises the traits of character that would have made him conspicuous in almost any walk of life. Mr. Hen= derson has displayed great self-reliance and from the very beginning of his independent career after he left the parental roof, he aimed high and considered himself capable of great things. H. N. Henderson, one of Wilmington's most prominent real estate dealers, was born near Hillsboro, Highland county, Ohio, August 31, 1873.
Christopher Henderson, father of the subject of this sketch, came from Virginia to Highland county, Ohio, and located on a farm where he remained the balance of his life, dying in 1876. As wealth was estimated in those days, Mr. Henderson was considered a wealthy man, being owner of eleven hundred acres of farm land. By his first wife, who was a Miss Hetherington, he was the father of five children. Several years after her death he married again, his second wife being Amanda Turner, who was a widow. H. N. Henderson was the only child born of this marriage. Christopher Henderson died in 1875.
H. N. Henderson grew to manhood on the home farm, attending the public schools, and becoming versed in both the principles and practice of agricultural pursuits. In 1898 he removed to Wilmington and started in the green-house business, continuing successfully for four years. For a similar period of time he engaged in the general merchandise business, later, opening up a real estate and investment office. One of the important features of this business is the sale of farm lands. Mr. Henderson is representative of Geiger-Jones Company, investment bankers, of Canton, Ohio, his territory being Clinton and Fayette counties. He owns a farm in Hocking county, Ohio, to which he gives careful attention.
On December 31, 1895, H. N. Henderson was married to Mettle A. Booth, daughter of Ira and Elizabeth Booth, of Hillsboro. Mrs. Henderson is a native of Green county, Ohio. To this marriage four children were born, Elizabeth Lucile, Katherine Mermet, William Turner and Henry Theodore. The home life of Mr. and Mrs. Henderson has been a happy one, and both they and their children have taken an important place in the social life of the city. The family are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church. While Mr. Henderson's life is one of more than the average activity, he has never neglected his home, and has been both a devoted husband and a kind, thoughtful father.
Mr. Henderson is a believer in social and civic organizations, and as' a business man of ability, has done much to advance the commercial interests of his city. The extent to
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which these endeavors are appreciated by his business associates is shown by the fact that he is now the assistant secretary of the Commercial Club, and in this capacity gives much of his thought and time to the club. Mr. Henderson is a Republican. He is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Royal Arcanum.
By his untiring zeal for the commercial welfare of his city, Mr. Henderson has given distinctive impetus to its economic advancement, and the success and prestige he has achieved is splendid evidence of the scope and importance of the enterprise which he is directing. His work as an officer of the Commercial Club is worthy of especial commendation, as is also his steady adherence to the principles of honor and integrity as applied to business.
JOHN LEONARD SEITZ.
One of the most substantial citizens of the Lynchburg neighborhood in Clinton county is the gentleman whose name the reader notes above. He has lived all his life in that neighborhood and is regarded as one of the most important factors in the community interest thereabout. Controlling more than five hundred acres of valuable land in this county, beside much valuable property in the village of Lynchburg, he is a man of substance who is giving good account of his trust, doing well his part in life.
John L. Seitz was born in Jefferson township, Clinton county, Ohio, on September 10, 1860, son of John and Elizabeth B. (Sigling) Seitz, both natives of Berne, Germany, who came to America in 1854, later making their home in this county.
John Seitz was the son of a shoemaker and grew up as a farmer, becoming the owner of a small place of twenty-six acres in his native land. Deciding to take advantage of the more promising outlook offered in this country, he disposed of his holdings in 1854 and came to America. On the same vessel, also seeking a new home and wider opportunities in this land of the free, was the girl who presently became his wife, Elizabeth Sigling, daughter of Frederick and Margaret (Fitzdum) Sigling, also natives of Berne. Frederick Sigling followed his children to this country, after the death of his wife, when in his eighty-fourth year, and his last days were spent with his children in this county. Shortly after their arrival in Cincinnati John Seitz and Elizabeth Sigling were united in marriage and for a year made their home in that city, at the end of which time they came to Clinton county, making their home in Jefferson township, where John Seitz eventually became a farmer in a large way. In association with his brother-in-law, Michael Sigling, he bought three hundred acres in Jefferson township, the two of them operating the farm until about the time of the Civil War, when Michael Sigling sold his interest. John Seitz continued his farming operations and prospered, adding to his holdings until he became the owner of more than five hundred acres of fine land lying on the line of division between Clinton and Highland counties, one hundred and sixty-one acres of which was situated in the latter county, the home, however, being situated in Jefferson township, this county. Both John Seitz and his wife were earnest members of the Lutheran church and were prominent factors in the development of the neighborhood in which they lived. They were the parents of but two children, both sons, John, who died at the age of twenty-seven years, and John L., the immediate subject of this sketch. The father of these children died in the year 1901, and his widow since then has made her home with her only surviving son.
John L. Seitz received his education in the common schools of his home neighborhood and was carefully trained in the ways of farming by his industrious and energetic father, upon whose death he assumed full control, on behalf of his widowed mother, of the large land holdings of his father and has since operated the same quite successfully. He and his mother remained on the home place until 1905, in which year they moved to their present home on the outskirts of Lynchburg, in Clark township.
Various changes have been made in the original Seitz holdings, and John L. Seitz
596 - CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.
and his mother now own five hundred and ninety-one acres, all of which, save sixty-five acres lying in Highland county, is located in this county. Mr. Seitz is a very successful farmer, giving much attention, in connection with his general farming operations, to stock raising, and has prospered, being regarded as one of the most substantial citizens of the Lynchburg neighborhood. In addition to his large farm, he is the owner of seven houses and a cooper shop in Lynchburg and is deeply concerned in the development of the best interests of that community.
Mr. Seitz and his mother are faithful members of the Lutheran church and are held in the highest esteem by all in their large circle of acquaintances in that part of the county.
FRANK M. BALDWIN, M. D.
It is not often given to men to do a multiplicity of things and yet be so richly endowed that they may do each of them well. But here and there, rare though it be, are to be found a shining few, whose native ability coupled with quiet, but grim and purposeful determination spells success in any attempt or endeavor to achieve. Of such a number is the subject of this sketch, Dr, Frank M. Baldwin, of Blanchester, Ohio.
Frank M. Baldwin was born in Blanchester, Ohio, on September 6, 1842. He was the son of Joseph Baldwin, whose father, Jonathan Baldwin, a native of Virginia, having been born and reared in Morgantown, Virginia, married a Miss Blancett, of Virginia, whose brother Joseph, filled with the vision of new land and new enterprises, came "West" as Ohio was termed in that early day, and with true pioneer zeal, helped to lay out the town of Blanchester, Ohio.
Later, Mr., and Mrs. Jonathan Baldwin came West, and were among the earliest settlers of Clinton county. Their son, Benjamin, was the first white child to be born in Marion township. They were the parents of the following nine children Judge William H. Baldwin, who is now deceased; Benjamin, who is now deceased; Josina, who is now deceased; Joseph, who is now deceased; Samuel, who is now deceased; John, a resident of Blanchester; Harriet, who is still living at the age of ninety-one; Louisa, who is now deceased, and Celissa, deceased. Several years after the death of Mrs. Baldwin, Jonathan Baldwin contracted a second marriage with Mary Villars. To this union were born three children : Rebecca ; Mary, and Thomas. Thomas Benton is the only survivor of this union.
Jonathan Baldwin, true to his country and for the humanitarian principles for which she has always stood, heard the call of his native land in her grievance against England, and was one of the valiant defenders of the young republic in the War of 1812.
Joseph Baldwin, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born on March 7, 1817, in Clinton county, Ohio. He was reared in this county, attending the public schools, but learning even more from the pioneer efforts on all sides of him to make Clinton county the pleasing and habitable place that it is today. He was married in early manhood to Valeria Shank, who was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, in 1824. She was the slaughter of Henry and Mary (Mann) Shank, who were both among the earlier settlers of Clinton county. Henry Shank served his country in the War of 1812; a pioneer in the principles of justice as well as of the frontier, and so when England persisted in seizing American seamen, and in searching American vessels, he was one of the very first to enlist. He lived many years to enjoy the freedom for which he had fought. He died in 1864, at the age of eighty-seven years, which years had been of constant devotion to his fellow men. His wife, Mary (Mann) Shank, died in 1882, and was buried on her ninety-first birthday. Joseph Baldwin was a prosperous merchant in Blanchester, always broad in his ideas. He was a stanch Democrat, politically, although he was liberal enough to see the good in other parties. He was a Universalist in religion, interpreting the Universe and God in the broadest terms; kind and sympa-
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thetic to all about him. Dr. Frank Baldwin, the subject of this sketch, was the only child born to Joseph and Valeria (Shank) Baldwin.
Doctor Baldwin was educated in the public schools of Blanchester. True to the ideals of his ancestors, both paternal and maternal, he assiduously followed the Emersonian maxim : "Hitch your wagon to a star", and let no opportunity go by to make him= self more useful to the community. He taught school in Blanchester for a year and a half. The teaching profession, always a noble one within itself, in this instance. led to wider fields of endeavor. His analytical mind led him to the study of medicine, and in the years 1863-64 he attended a medical school, taking the greatest interest and advantage in the many fine lectures connected with the course. Dr. Baldwin later embarked in the drug business, buying out an established drug firm in Blanchester where he conscientiously served the people for twenty-seven years. During this time, he met, and later married, Elmira Ferguson, of Warren county. They were married in 1864, and were the parents of the following children : Sherman and Sheridan, twins, who were born in 1866; Gladis May, who was born in 1872, and who died in infancy ; Carrie, who was born in 1874, and Stanley, who was born in 1878 and who died in infancy. This union proved a most helpful and happy one until the death of Mrs. Baldwin in February, 1879. In June of 1880, Doctor Baldwin was united in marriage to Anna E. Van Duzen, of Newport, Kentucky. To this union were born three children, two of them dying in infancy, and the third being Frank Van Duzen, who was born in 1891.
During all of the years that Doctor Baldwin meted out drugs and sundry other necessaries to the people of Blanchester, he held constantly in mind the early intention of becoming a doctor, and during these busy years he attended two more sessions of a series of lectures, and finally, in 1888, graduated from the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati. Since that date be has ably filled the medical needs of his community with the same constancy and zeal which marked his efforts to fit himself for the service. He is now a member of the Southwestern Electic Medical Association.
But in his many business activities Doctor Baldwin has not neglected his social duties. For half a century he has been a Master Mason in Blanchester, and past master of this lodge; a Royal Arch Mason, and past high priest since 1882. Since 1882, he has also been a Knight Templar and since 1887, a thirty-second degree Mason. In 1888 he became a member of the Shriners. His wife is a member of the Eastern Star, and he is a past worthy patron of that organization. Mrs. Baldwin shares with her husband the many fine fraternal duties involved in these finely-organized and helpful lodge affiliations.
In religion, Doctor Baldwin is a Universalist, although his activities in church work are decidedly non-sectarian and not confined altogether to his own church. He became a member of the Universalist church in 1867, and has been a faithful attendant and participant in its affairs ever since. Doctor Baldwin's father died in 1894. but his mother is still living, having reached the advanced age of ninety-one years.
Always interested in education, Doctor Baldwin has served that worthy cause in many ways, offering and putting into effect many constructive ideas. The people of the community have shown their good judgment and their trust in Doctor Baldwin's ability and his progressive ideas, by electing him to the office of school director for twenty-seven years. On the expiration of his present term in 1917 in that office, he will have served continuously for twenty-seven years. During that time Doctor Baldwin has seen the old methods of the "little red school house," give place to the more modern methods and ideals demanded by the complexity which surrounds us on all sides in our American life. Doctor Baldwin has shown himself to have kept steady pace with the onward march, and in nothing so much as by his able work as a director of schools.
Dr. Frank M. Baldwin typifies the new meaning of life—spelled in terms of service. His life, with its multiple demands, has ever been devoted not only to his own, but to
598 - CLINTON COUNTY, OHIO.
all—the real brotherhood of man. A few have lived this glorious and ultimate solution of life, and Dr. Baldwin is among this few who have talked little but have done much; who know what human brotherhood means through the only possible avenue of knowing it—practicing it and living it.
WILL B. WOOD.
Union township, in Clinton county, is rich in history. Its now valuable lands were opened for settlement by earnest pioneers who wrought well,. and the descendants of these pioneer families are now ably carrying on the good work inaugurated by their forefathers. In all the history of this township the families of the Woods, the Colletts and the McKays are very definitely associated. The gentleman whose name is noted above, a scion of a union of the three families above named, is a native of this county, born on the farm which his grandfather wrested from the forest wilderness, and has lived there all his life; having faithfully carried on the noble tasks of diligent husbandry set him by his grandfather and bequeathed to him by his father. The Wood family had its origin in America with the coming to this new land of freedom of the famous colony of William Penn, the first of the line from which Will B. Wood sprang having been a member of the Penn colony and a devoted adherent of the faith of the Friends; a faith maintained by the family up to the last generation, when their religious affiliations were transferred to the Baptists. Diligent in business, serving the Lord, the members of the Wood family have performed well their parts in the development of Clinton county, bringing to all their relations in life a faithful exemplification of those fine qualities of integrity of purpose and singleness of mind so sturdily handed down by the founders of the family in this country, and it is a pleasure on the part of the biographer here to set out a few of the salient points in the history of the Wood family in this county.
Will B. Wood was born on the old Wood homestead, on the Washington pike, in Union township, Clinton county, Ohio, on December 13, 1863, son of Jesse H. and Tamson (Collett) Wood, the former of whom was born on the same farm on July 14, 1835, and died on April 27, 1902, and the latter of whom was born on a farm near the village of New Burlington, in Chester township, this county, on November 30, 1863, and died on September 1, 1911.
Jesse H. Wood was the son of Robert P. Wood, who was born in Frederick county, Virginia, on January 14, 1812, the youngest of the five children of Isaac and Lydia (Grubb) Wood, the former of whom was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, the eldest of five children born to his parents, the others being John, Nathan, Lydia and Mary, and the latter of whom was born in Jefferson county, Virginia. The other children of this family were: Susan, who married Benjamin Glass; William, who married Mary Campbell; Hannah, who married Christopher Probosco, and John, who married Elizabeth Edmondson. All these children were married in Virginia except Robert, the youngest. who was not married until after the family had settled in this county. John Wood emigrated from Virginia to Ohio in 1831, locating in Springfield, whence he sent back such glowing reports to his father that the latter decided to put in his lot with the settlers in this then promising region, and, with his entire family, came here the next year, arriving at Wilmington on the evening of November 12, the day before the presidential election of that year. There were seventy members of the party which made the toilsome journey by wagon train across the mountains and rivers. The party was nineteen days on the way, having crossed the Alleghany mountains on the National pike and the Ohio river at Wheeling. On arriving in Clinton county the Wood family all settled within a radius of two miles east of Wilmington, the two sons-in-law of Isaac Wood, Benjamin Glass and Christopher Probosco, settling in the same colony, much of this land still being retained in the family, in the third and fourth generation,
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the numerous progeny of the parent stock now forming a no inconsiderable element of the population thereabout.
Amid these pioneer conditions, Robert P. Wood secured a new start in life. Taking a farm nearby the central farm located by his father, he entered upon the task of clearing the forest wilderness and quickly prospered. His original holdings amounted to one hundred and thirteen acres, but, as he prospered, he gradually added to this until he became the owner of about five hundred acres of fine land in Union township and was accounted one of the most substantial farmers in that section of the county. Reared in the Quaker faith, he adhered to the Friends church during his early manhood, but, as a matter of convenience in securing a nearby house of worship, allied himself with the Baptists and was one of the thirteen charter members of the first Baptist church organized in Wilmington and served the congregation of that church as a deacon the rest of his life, being as faithful in his relations to the church as he was in all his relations in life.
Robert P. Wood was united in marriage to Mary D. Hughes, who was born in Union township, this county, daughter of Judge Jesse Hughes, and to this union were born six children, namely : Jessie, father of the immediate subject of this sketch; Nathan, now deceased, a former well-known farmer of Union township, this county; Lydia, who died in her young girlhood; William, a prosperous Union township farmer, now living retired in the city of Wilmington; Isaac, deceased; and Lavenia, now deceased, who married J. F. Woods, a well-known farmer of this county, who survives her. The mother of these children died on March 3, 1881, and in 1882 Robert P. Wood married, secondly, Phebe Hildreth.
Jesse Wood was reared on the home farm in Union township, his brothers and his father all working together on the home place, even after the former were grown and married, their father having promised to each a fine farm if they would stick to the home farm. This arrangement continued until 1875, in which year Jesse H. retired from the home farm and moved to one of the Custis farms of one hundred and twenty-live acres, which he had received as his share of the estate of his pioneer father, Robert Wood. Jesse Wood was a quiet, reserved man; a man of the strictest integrity and known far and wide for his careful attention to his own business. During the Civil War he was enrolled with the famous band of "squirrel hunters" and with this company of zealous volunteers was encamped at Camp Denison. He was a Republican and gave a good citizen's attention to the political affairs of his home county, but never was an office seeker, his duty to the public being performed in the quiet walks of private life. He was an earnest member of the Baptist church, as was his father before him, and for many years served the congregation of the Baptist church at Wilmington as a deacon, also performing the duties of treasurer of the church.
In March, 1862, Jesse Wood was united in marriage to Tamson Collett, daughter of Daniel H. and Maria (McKay) Collett, the former of whom was born in Warren county, this state, and the latter of whom was born in Chester township, this county, a daughter of one of the prominent pioneers of Clinton county. Daniel H. Collett came to Clinton county in his young manhood, married here and became one of the most substantial farmers of Chester township. He was the owner of more than four hundred acres of land and was a leader in the affairs of his community. He and his wife were members of the Jonas Run Baptist church and were prominent in all good works thereabout. Daniel H. Collett and his wife were the parents of seven children who grew to manhood and womanhood and became useful factors in their respective communities. Daniel H. Collett died at the age of sixty-three, his widow surviving him some years.
To Jesse and Tamson (Collett) Wood were born three children, namely: Will B., the immediate subject of this sketch; Daniel C., who lives at Tarkio, Missouri ; and Mary, who married W. Corey and lives in Greenfield, Ohio.