(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 550 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY and three daughters are now living. In politics the father was originally a Whig and later a Republican. He was fifty-five years of age at the time of his death and his devoted wife passed to the life eternal at the age of fifty-three years. As already noted, William Brooks was a child of two years at the time of the family removal to Ohio, and he was reared to adult age under the discipline of the pioneer farm of his father in Seneca county. From his boyhood onward there was no paucity of work assigned to his province, and he has ever been appreciative of the lessons of consecutive industry that he thus learned and which he later applied most effectively in fighting the battle of life on his own responsibility. He recalls the old log school house in which he gained his early education and in these days of opulent prosperity and splendid educational facilities it is difficult for the younger generation to understand how primitive were the schools of that time. The puncheon floors and slab benches, the wide fire place and other appurtenances of this old-time "institution of learning" are adverted to by Mr. Brooks in pleasing reminiscence. He assisted in the reclamation and other work of the home farm until he was twenty years of age, and thereafter he worked for others at a compensation of fifty cents a day, and when working by the month as a farm hand he commanded the stipend of thirteen dollars for the month. Honesty, industry and frugality, those great cardinal virtues were much in evidence in those days, in which were solidified the stanch foundations of the great state of Ohio, and these traits were admirably exemplified by him to whom this, review is dedicated. Mr. Brooks was finally enabled to rent a farm in Seneca county, and under these conditions he there continued his assiduous labors as an agriculturist for a period of eight years, at the expiration of which he purchased a farm of forty acres in Eden township, that county, and thus initiated his career as an independent property holder. The land which he thus purchased was in the main covered with virgin forest, and he put forth the reguired labor to compass its reclamation. He finally disposed of this property and in 1863 he came to Morrow county, whre he purchased a farm of eighty acres in Canaan township. As the years passed he developed this into one of the productive and valuable farmsteads of the county, making high grade improvements of a permanent order and so directing his energies as to reach the goal of generous and stable prosperity. Hard work and careful management made of success not an accident but .a logical result, and the active career of Mr. Brooks stands to his perpetual credit as one of the world's noble army of productive workers. There has been no parasitic element in his course and he has put much into life, with the result that he has gotten much out of it. Such a man and such a career discourage pessimism and offer both lesson and incentive. Mr. Brooks continued to give his active attention to the management of HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 551 his farm until 1887, when he removed to the village of Edison, where he has an attractive and comfortable home and where, retired from active labors but well preserved in mental and physical faculties, he is enjoying the rewards of former years of assiduous application, the while. he is surrounded by friends who are tried and true. Mr. Brooks rendered service as a loyal soldier of the Union during the latter part of the Civil war. On May 2, 1864, he enlisted for the one hundred days' service as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he proceeded to the front and with which he was in active service for a period of four months, at the expiration of which he received his honorable discharge. His principal service as a soldier was in the state of Virginia, and he remained with his regiment until the long and sanguinary struggle between the North and South had reached its close. The more gracious memories and associations of his military service are perpetuated through his identification with Hurd Post, No. 14, Grand Army of the Republic, in Mt. Gilead, where both he and his wife are also zealous and valued members of the Presbyterian church, in which he is an elder. A man of broad mental ken and mature judgment, Mr. Brooks has naturally been called to take an active part in public affairs of local order, and no citizen has shown more civic loyalty or public spirit. He has been an active worker in behalf of the cause of the Republican party and in 1876 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners, and by successive re-elections he continued incumbent of this office until 1882. His service was far from perfunctory, as he gave generously of his time, thought and energy to furthering the best interests of the county, the while he advocated progressive policies and due liberality in administering the affairs of the county and in the making of public improvements. His efforts did not lack for popular appreciation and he was one of the best commissioners the county has had. Within his tenure of this office the present county jail was erected and other noteworthy improvements made. He is at the present time a trustee of Gilead township, and his entire service in this office covers a period of fully sixteen years, marked by the same devotion to the general welfare as was his work as county commissioner. On the 18th of December, 1854, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Brooks to Miss Hannah Braden, who was born in Morrow county, Ohio, on the 17th of October, 1836, and who is a daughter of William and Susannah (Mack) Braden, who were numbered among the sterling pioneers of Morrow county, Ohio, where they continued to reside until their death. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks became the parents of three children, and concerning them the following brief data are given in conclusion of this article : Emma S., who was born on the 11th of May, 1857, is the wife of Judge Archibald 552 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY W. Frater, of Seattle, Washington ; Nellie, who was born on the 1st of May, 1861, became the wife of Franklin Coe and died in the state of Washington, in 1908 ; and Victor L. who was born November 20, 1867, and who married Miss Sarah Feigley, of Canaan township, Morrow county, resides upon and has charge of his father's old homestead farm in Gilead township LENO R. JAMES, a teacher in the schools of Franklin township, Morrow county, Ohio, belongs to one of the representative families of the county. He was born February 18, 1888 ; received his early education in the district schools, and pursued his advanced studies in the Ohio Northern University. During the past three years he has been engaged in teaching, and at this writing is employed in the People's district. Mr. James is a son of R. B. and Anna Selma James. R. B. James was born in Franklin township December 28, 1855, a son of Samuel and Ellen (Crothers) James. Samuel in early manhood was a carpenter, but spent the most of his life as a farmer, and is now living retired in Cardington, Ohio. His wife died in 1887. Anna Selma James, mother of Leno R., was born November 23, 1863, a daughter of Abednigo Pittman, a pioneer of Morrow county, who died here in 1885, at the age of eighty-two years. Her mother, Effie Slack Pittman, second wife of Abednigo, died in 1872, at the age of sixty-six years. R. B. James and wife have three sons: Clifton, born in 1886, is engaged in farming in Perry, township. He married, March 7, 1909, Miss Roby Rinehart, and they have children, Leona and Fleetwoods. The subject of this sketch is the second in order of birth, and the youngest, Noble, was born September 12, 1894. The Jameses for the most part have been engaged in agricultural pursuits, and R. B. James is not an exception. His first farm, which he purchased in 1885, was two miles east of his present farm, where he has a commodious and attractive residence, and fifty-one acres of land well-stocked with fine horses and cattle. The James family are members of the Waterford Disciple church. WILLIAM LEPP.—Enterprising, energetic and self-reliant, William Lepp, of Canaan township, is a fine representative of the active and hardy men who are so ably assisting in the development and advancement of the agricultural interests of Morrow county. He has not only taken an important part in promoting the industrial prosperity of his community, but by his sagacity and foresight has at the same time been enabled to accumulate a fair share of this world's goods, his industry and thrift being well rewarded. A son of Henry Lepp, he was born November 15, 1866, in Marion county, Ohio, coming of substantial German ancestry. Born in Germany in 1830, Henry Lepp was brought up and HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 553 educated in the Fatherland, where he lived until after his marriage. In the latter part of the year 1853, accompanied by his bride, he embarked on board the sailing vessel "The Atlantic," and after a rough voyage of forty-two days landed in New York city. Then, by way of Albany, Buffalo and Cleveland, he made his way to Galion, Ohio, where both he and his wife had many friends and relatives. Securing employment with Daniel Eichhorn, he attended to the stock during the winter and assisted on the farm during the summer, receiving for his labor six dollars a month the first twelve months. His employer dying soon after, Henry Lepp rented the Eichhorn estate on which he had formerly worked and was there engaged in general farming for nine years. Saving his money, he purchased in 1861 a tract of land situated a mile and a half from Three Locusts, now Martell, in Marion county, and there continued his operations most successfully for a period of eighteen years. In 1879 he bought seven hundred acres of land in Morrow county, on what is called the Boundary road, paying from forty dollars to sixty dollars an acre for the tract. Assuming its possession, he was there prosperously employed in general farming and stock raising for eighteen years, when he removed to the Beach settlement, four miles west of Galion, Ohio, where he lived for two years. Purchasing then a residence in Galion, Ohio, he has there lived retired from the active cares of business since 1899, being an esteemed and respected resident of that place. On October 14, 1853, in the Fatherland, Henry Lepp married one of his early schoolmates and playmates, Elizabeth Eichhorn. She was born April 15, 1830, in Baiertael, Baden, Germany, a daughter of Adam and Margareta Eichhorn, life-long residents of Germany. John Eichhorn, a brother of Adam Eichhorn and an uncle of Mrs. Henry Lepp, immigrated to the United States in 1835, and with his brother Philip, who crossed the ocean with him, located in Galion, Ohio. Philip Eichhorn subsequently migrated to Indiana, becoming a pioneer of Wells county. He settled in Rock Creek township, where numerous of his descendants now live, among them the Hon. William H. Eichhorn, a prominent attorney of Bluffton, Indiana, and Professor Lewis W. Eichhorn. Of the union of Henry and Elizabeth (Eichhorn) Lepp children were born as follows : Charles, who died at the age of twenty-seven years ; John Henry ; William, the special subject of this brief review ; George ; and Lizzie. The mother passed to the life beyond September 21, 1910, her death occurring at her home in Galion. Both she and her husband united with the German Reformed church in early life and were among its most faithful members. Brought up on his father's farm, which was located two miles east of Martel in Marion county; Ohio, William Lepp worked as a farm hand during the summer seasons, attending the winter terms of school at Bunker Hill., In 1881 he came with the family 554 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY to Morrow county, locating east of Climax, where he assisted in the clearing and improving of a fine farm. Finding both pleasure and profit in tilling the soil, Mr. Lepp has continued his agricultural labors ever since, and has met with genuine success as a farmer and stock raiser. He now owns two hundred and forty acres of rich and fertile land in Canaan township on the Boundary road, his home being four miles north of Edison. It is well located, and in its improvements and appointments compares favorably with any in the community Mr. Lepp is a man of excellent financial ability, and in addition to his valuable real estate holdings is a stockholder in the National Bank of Morrow county and in the Morrow County Telephone Company. Politically he is a steadfast Democrat, active in the party and has served as township trustee. Mr. Lepp married, February 29, 1892, Mina Parks, of Canaan township, Morrow county. She was born in Sandusky, Ohio, February 14, 1870, a daughter of William and Rebecca (Rinehart) Parks, both of whom died when she was a child of twelve years from samllpox, leaving her to the care of relatives. Mr. and Mrs. Lepp have two children, namely ; Harley D., born October 15, 1895, attending the Mount Gilead High School; and Forst, born June 20, 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Lepp are valued members of the German Reformed church, and have brought up their children in the same religious faith. Their beautiful farm is known as "Maple Lawn." GEORGE W. HESKETT.—Civilization will hail riches, prowess, honors, popularity but it will bow humbly to sincerity in its fellow men. The exponent of known sincerity, singleness of honest purposes, has its exemplification in all bodies of men ; he is found in every association and to him defer its highest officers. Such an exemplar, whose daily life and whose life work have been dominated as their most conspicuous characteristic by sincerity, is George W. Heskett, who has resided during the major portion of his long and active career in Morrow county, Ohio, and who is now living virtually retired on his old homestead farm in Harmony township, passing the evening of his life in the enjoyment of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. In Franklin township, two and a half miles east of Mount Gilead, Ohio, on the 24th of December, 1831, occurred the birth of George W. Heskett, who is a son of Norval V. and Massey (Nickols) Heskett, the former of whom was born and reared in the old commonwealth of Virginia, whence he immigrated, with his father, Benjamin Heskett, Jr., to Ohio about the year 1827. The Heskett family was one of prominence and long-standing in Loudoun county, Virginia, the original representatives of the name in America having come to this country in the early Colonial era of our national history. Benjamin Heskett, Sr., was the great-grandfather of him to whom this sketch is dedicated and he was a planter of note in the Old Dominion. After their arrival in Ohio, HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 555 Benjamin Heskett, Jr., settled in Belmont county, and Nathan Nickols„ maternal grandfather of our subject, entered a tract of land in Morrow county, the same being now known as the Jack Gordon farm. Norval V. Heskett made a clearing on his land and there built a house, but after maintaining his home in this section of the state for several years he went to Missouri, later returning to Ohio and settling in the northern part of Cardington township where he passed the residue of his life, his death having occurred in February, 1853, and his first wife, whose maiden name was Massey Nickols, having passed to eternal rest on the 4th of April, 1840. For his second wife Mr. Heskett wedded Miss Emily Howell, who became the mother of four children. Concerning the children born to the first marriage, the following brief data are here offered : Adelaide A., died at the age of nineteen years ; George W. is the immediate subject of this review; Nathan W., deceased, married Miss Louise Parrott and she resides in Morrow county ; Matilda A. wedded Isaac G. Speck and now lives at Lima, Ohio ; Charles S. married Sarah Wood and both are deceased ; John M. married Louise Norval and resides in Missouri ; Benjamin F. was summoned to the life eternal at the age of seven years. George W. Heskett was reared to the age of eight years on a farm in Franklin township and after his father's removal to Cardington township, Morrow county, in 1839, he attended the district schools and the public schools of Hester and Mount Gilead. After attaining to years of maturity he became a teacher, continuing to devote his attention to that line of work from his nineteenth year until 1855. He was one of the pioneer teachers in Morrow and Muskingum counties and for his first term as a teacher he received the munificent salary of twelve,dollars a month of twenty-four days. Subsequently he received fifty cents a day and he then boarded at the homes of his pupils. Eventually he drew a salary of twenty-five dollars a month and out of this he managed to save a round little sum. After his marriage, in February, 1854, he and his wife set up housekeeping in Cardington township, he being the owner of a team of horses and a cow and she having a small "set-out" in the way of household goods. They were very congenial as man and wife and were prosperous from the first. In due time Mr. Heskett purchased a share in the old homestead farm and in 1866 he purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Harmony township, Morrow county, this being the nucleus of his present fine estate of two hundred and forty-four acres. In addition to diversified agriculture Mr. Heskett has been deeply interested in the raising of short-horn cattle _and blooded horses. In 1855 he purchased a heifer that was registered in Volume 4 of the American short-horn herd book, and he still has in his possession descendants of that animal. She was exhibited at the Morrow county fair in 1855, and as a prize for her 556 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Mr. Heskett was awarded a subscription for the Ohio Farmer, to which paper he is still a subscriber. Mr. Heskett and his son Ralph have been extensive breeders of road horses, which have been exhibited at the Ohio State Fair. For one team they were awarded a prize of a silver cup and later the team sold for five hundred dollars. The Heskett place is widely known as the Highland Forest Farm and it is an attractive, eligibly located estate, one of the finest in the country. On the 28th of February, 1854, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Heskett to Miss Margaret A. Jackson, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of April, 1832, and who came with her parents to Ohio in 1835, location having been made in Knox county, where she was reared and educated. She is a daughter of George W. and Mary (Hobbs) Jackson, the former of whom was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of whom was a native of Cumberland, Maryland. To this union were born eight children, seven of whom are living in 1911, namely : Mary E., who is the wife of John Wright ; Norval W., who married Alice Burr ; Clara C., who is now Mrs. George H. Brown ; John W., who wedded Louise Miller ; Charles O., who married Emma Jackson ; George W., Jr., who married Iva Rinehart ; and Jay R., who wedded Edith Ackerman. Mr. and Mrs. Heskett have thirteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, the latter of whom are Margaret and Ruth Long and Clayton and Dorris Wright. Mr. and Mrs. Heskett are charter members of the Harmony Grange and he has served as president of the Morrow County Fair, having represented it at Columbus, Ohio. In his political convictions he is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party and while he has never been desirous of political preferment of any description he has given efficient service as township trustee. He and his wife are old and honored people and while they have reached the age of four score years they are still hale and hearty and are looked upon with admiration and respect in their home community, where they are beloved by all with whom they have come in contact. JOHN W. BARRY.—Ambition is the vitalizing ideal that transforms dreams into deeds, and this spur on the heel of purpose has ever proved a force in the conquest of obstacles. Success represents the attainment of laudible desires, and the successful man is he who faithfully performs his duty toward himself and the world, thus fulfilling the divine purpose of his being. Among the native sons of Morrow county who have well merited the title of self-made man, none is more worthy of such classification than John Wesley Barry, of Mount Gilead, for he lifted himself from the plane of obscurity and ignorance to the lofty level of high accomplishment. He has gained prestige as one of the representative 557 - BLANK 558 - J. W. BARRY 559 - MINNIE BARRY 560 - BLANK HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 561 members of the bar of his native state, and in accomplishing this he overcame the great handicap of previous lack of education, as he began the work of preparing himself for the legal profession when twenty-seven years of age and under conditions that would have baffled a less ambitious and determined soul. His education at the time may consistently be summed up in his ability to read the simpler English, and that haltingly, but he came from the farm, uncontaminated, single of purpose, determined to develop his dormant powers and willing to subordinate all else to the realization of the desired ends. Such men well obey the mandate given in the exhortation to certain Corinthians : "Quit you like men ; be strong." Animated by such a spirit it is impossible to live and not find it worth while, and to such valiant souls success comes as a natural prerogative. It is pleasing to witness the progress of one whose success has been won through such individual effort, and the high standing of Mr. Barry, both as a lawyer and as a man among men, may offer lesson and incentive to others who would likewise wrest success from the hands of fate. The man who fails is he who has not force to sustain him in his purpose, who is lacking in moral fiber and worthy ambition, and in noting the many examples of such supineness and vacillation, it is pleasing to turn aside to the wholesome spectacle afforded in the career of such a man as the one to whom this brief sketch is dedicated. It is much to say that "I am master of my fate ; I am captain of my soul," but the significance of the statement has been shown in the achievement of Mr. Barry, though he has arrogated naught of credit to himself for what he has accomplished. He is the same sincere, earnest, whole-souled man that he was when he left the farm, crude and untrained, but full of possibilities. He searched for and found his "potential," and he believes that every normal man can do the same and thus be of use to himself and to the world. John Wesley Barry is a scion in the third generation of one of the plain but sterling pioneer families of Morrow county, with whose history the name has been identified for more than four score of years. Elisha Barry, grandfather of him whose name initiates this sketch, was a native of Baltimore, Maryland. and in the same state was born his wife, whose maiden name was Rachel Cook, both having been of stanch English ancestry and the respective families having been founded in America in the Colonial era of our national history. Elisha Barry came to Morrow county in the year 1829 and purchased a tract of heavily timbered land in Westfield township, where he reclaimed a farm from the wilderness and where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives—earnest, industrious and God-fearing folk. They became the parents of five sons and six daughters. John W. Barry was born on the homestead of his father in Cardington township, Morrow ocunty, Ohio, on the 17th of Decem- 562 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY ber, 1852, and was the second in order of birth of three sons and two daughters born to Yelverton P. and Hannah E. (Benedict) Barry. Eli, the eldest of the number, is a representative agriculturist of Harmony township, this county ; John W. is the immediate subject of this review ; Jane is the wife of Elliott A. Brenizer, a prosperous farmer of Westfield township ; Charles B. is engaged in farming and stock-growing in Cardington township; and Rachel E. is the wife of James W. Gillett, of Blue Creek, Paulding county, this state. Yelverton P. Barry was born on the pioneer farm of his father in Westfield township, Morrow county, on the 12th of March, 1832, and his wife was born in Morrow county (then Delaware county), on the 13th of December, 1832. They continued to reside in Morrow county until they were summoned from the scene of life's mortal endeavors, his death having occurred on the 21st of October, 1905, and she having passed away on the 10th of the following February, so that in death they were not long divided. Known for their integrity in all the relations of life, earnest and devoted in their labors, they passed side by side down the pathway of life, sustained and comforted by mutual affection and sympathy. No dramatic incidents marked the lives of this worthy couple, save when the husband and father went forth to serve as a valiant soldier of the Union, but "the short and simple annals of the poor" are fruitful in lessons of value when properly interpreted. Yelverton P. Barry reclaimed his farm to effective cultivation and a due measure of prosperity eventually attended his efforts. He gave his entire active career to the great basic industry of agriculture and his old homestead farm, still in possession of the family, is now one of the valuable places of Morrow county. When the dark cloud of Civil war cast its pall over the national horizon he subordinated all other interests to go forth in defense of the Union, though he left his wife and children with but meager resources with which to face the problems of bare existence during his absence.. The eldest son was not more than fourteen years of age at the time, but the devoted mother, aided by her children, provided for the needs of the family and her self-sacrifice proved the deepest patriotism, for during the long and weary period of the Civil war the women of the country endured as much in care and anxiety as did the brave husbands and sons in hardships and dangers of another order. Yelverton P. Barry enlisted as a member of the Sixty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company K, and he continued in active service as a soldier for thirty months, at the expiration of which he received his honorable discharge. He, never lost interest in his old comrades in arms and signified the same by his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party, and both he and his wife were earnest members of the United Brethren church. John W. Barry was reared to the sturdy and invigorating HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 563 discipline of the farm, and, as already intimated, his early educational advantages were of the most meager order. He continued to be identified with farm work until he had attained to the age of twenty-seven years. It would be interesting to study the mental processes through which the sturdy young farmer passed while laboring early and late in the fields and meadows. There must have been somewhat of objective as well as intrinsic inspiration to prompt his desire for a wider sphere of endeavor and to fortify him in the formulating of definite plans. He had the mental ken and alertness, though equipped with little education, to realize the onerous task that confronted him when he determined to leave the farm and begin the work of preparing himself for a profession that calls for the greatest intellectual strength, mature judgment and wise study. He did not falter in his purpose, and that he realized his ambition need not be said, in view of his prominence and success in connection with the work of his profession. When the young man essayed to become a disciple of Blackstone he had not even completed the study of decimal fractions and was unable to read a paragraph in the "Fourth reader" without stopping to spell out some of the words in the text. The specified initial step taken by the young yeoman has been told in an interesting way by a representative of this publication who had the pleasure of a personal interview with him, and the account thus rendered is as follows : "One day in June, 1879, Mr. Barry threw a blanket over one of the work horses on the farm, mounted the animal and rode into the village of Cardington. There he made his way to the office of Robert F. Bartlett, long numbered among the representative members of the bar of Morrow county, where he was engaged in practice, and this honored attorney accosted the young farmer with the query, 'Well, my young man, what can I do for you?' The reply was, 'I want to read and study law.' Mr. Bartlett looked at the youth with almost incredulous amazement, and finally asked, 'Where have you attended school?' It may readily be under stood that his astonishment was not lessened when he learned the limited scope of the applicant's education, but Mr. Bartlett is a judge cf men and evidently had a prescience in regard to the possibilities involved in this connection. He told young Barry to return to him in one week, and when this was done he handed Mr. Barry a copy of Blackstone's Commentaries to read. The embryonic barrister could not read a line in the text-book without stopping to spell out unfamiliar words, the meaning of which was to him of the most vague order, but grit and determination were in full play, and the young student set himself enthusiastically into the study of the text of this prosaic and monotonous tome that has ever been the `Fidus Achates' of the aspiring law student, and he applied himself with all of earnestness and indefatigability not only to the study of law but also to making good his education along the general lines that he had theretofore been unable to 564 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY touch. For the kindly preceptorship, interest and careful discipline given him by Mr. Bartlett, who proved indeed a guide, counselor and friend, Mr. Barry manifests the deepest appreciation and he ascribes much of his success in his profession to his honored preceptor, whose interposition has been secured as one of the associate editors of this history of Morrow county. Four years of incessant application on the part of Mr. Barry brought to him the reward that he had coveted and to the securing of which he had bent every energy. In October, 1883, he was duly admitted to the bar of his native state, and it must be understood that in the meanwhile he had not only gained an excellent knowledge of, the science of jurisprudence but that he had also raised himself from the level of mediocre general education to the standard that justified his entrance into the profession of his choice." Immediately upon his admission to the bar Mr. Barry was admitted to partnership by his honored preceptor, and he continued in the active and successful work of his profession as junior member of the firm of Bartlett and Barry, at Cardington, until October, 1891, when he became the nominee on the Republican ticket for the office of prosecuting attorney for his native county. He was elected by a gratifying majority and his official duties necessitated his removal to Mount Gilead, the judicial center and metropolis of the county, where he has since maintained his residence. In the autumn of 1894 Mr. Barry was elected as his own successor, and this gave the most emphatic and significant evidence of the efficiency of his service as public prosecutor and of the estimate placed upon the same by the voters of the county. He thus served six consecutive years as prosecuting attorney, and since his retirement from office he has been engaged in the general practice of his profession. It may be said without fear of legitimate contradiction that no member of the bar of this section of the state controls a -larger or more representative practice, and this is adequate voucher for the ability and personal popularity of the former farmer boy. His law preceptor has said, "His management of a trial in court, has always exceeded expectations." Directness and earnestness and sincerity are intrinsic attributes of Mr. Barry's character, and these qualities show forth in his professional work. He is not given to recondite or florescent verbal displays in presenting his causes before court or jury, but his arguments are concise, cogent and clothed in forceful verbiage, the while he marshals his facts and evidence with unfailing skill. In cross-examination of witnesses he has gained a specially high reputation, and has few if any peers along this line in this section of Ohio. He is, however, considerate of the feelings of witnesses, and never indulges in rough or unkind methods. His practice now extends throughout central Ohio and he has appeared in connection with important litigations in the courts of the cities of Cleveland and Columbus, both state and federal. He has presented numerous HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 565 briefs before the supreme ccurt of the state, and the same have been models of clarity and incisive evidence. He is widely known as a specially strong trial lawyer, and his experience in the office of prosecuting attorney was of great value to him in developing his powers in this respect. None has a more thorough appreciation of the dignity and honor of honest toil and .endeavor than has Mr. Berry, for he has himself risen from the ranks and thus he places true Valuations upon men and affairs. Democratic in his attitude, genial and cordial, he accords respect and good will to every deserving man, no matter what his station in life. He is generous to a fault and finds pleasure in his association with "all sorts and conditions of men," in which connection it has been well said that he is "known by every man, woman and child in Morrow county." He is big of heart, big of mind, and tolerant of the frailties of others. He is incapable of harsh judgments and his sympathies are an inseparable part of his being, though he can not be made to compromise with expediency or to surrender his honest convictions. His fair spirit of concession, however, is in reality an element contributing to his strength and to his hold upon popular confidence and esteem. Mr. Barry is always ready to help those in affliction and distress, and is one of those who "do good by stealth and blush to find it fame." He values worldly success for what it brings to him and to those whom he can aid, and those who know him best have related instances in which he has given financial assistance and kindly advice to men who were convicted by his efforts and who came to him for succor after their release from prison. His hind and his purse are open, and he would rather aid one undeserving than to feel that he may have missed such service of benevolence or kindness when merited. Such men are steadfast friends, as all who know John W. Barry will testify. In politics Mr. Barry is an effective exponent and supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and he has given to the same yeoman service in various campaigns. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church in their home city and are popular factors in the best social activities of the community. He is affiliated with Mount Gilead Lodge, No. 266, Free and Accepted Masons ; Charles H. Hull Lodge, No. 169, Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor ; and at Cardington, his former home, he holds membership in Cardington Lodge, No. 194, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed the various official chairs. Mr. Barry cast his first presidential vote in support of Hon. Rutherford B. Hayes, and every Republican candidate for the presidency since that time has received his zealous support. He has been .a prominent figure in the local councils of his party and was a delegate to its national convention, in the city of Philadelphia, when the lamented President McKinley was nominated for a second term. Vol. II-6 566 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY On the 2d of October, 1873, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Barry to Miss Minnie Ocker, who was born in Cardington township, Morrow county, on the 15th of November, 1855, and who was the second in order of birth of the three sons and seven daughters of Thomas and Ann (Silvers) Ocker, both of whom are now deceased, the father having been one of the honored citizens and prosperous agriculturists of Morrow county. Of the children two sons and six daughters are living, and all still reside in Morrow county with the exception of Clayton, who is engaged in farming in the state of Kansas, and Margaret, who is the wife of George W. Blayney, of Hereford, Texas. Mr. Barry has no peer in Morrow county in the handling of a jury on an obstinate case. He has one of the finest and most complete law libraries in this part of the state, comprising about eight hundred volumes of standard law and also of choice literature. He made a trip to England, Ireland and Scotland, on business in 1909, and has crossed the American continent twice, visiting California, Washington and Oregon on special cases under his jurisdiction. CHARLES RUTHARDT.—Many of Ohio's most thriving agriculturists came from lands far across the sea, poor in purse but possessing an unlimited stock of energy and perseverance, noteworthy among the number being Charles Ruthardt, a well-known farmer of North Bloomfield township, who by industry and good management has met with excellent success in his labors, winning a fair share of this world's goods. He was born January 22, 1849, in Baden, Germany, where his parents, Charles and Phoebe (Camoror) Ruthardt, were born, lived and died. Educated in the public schools of the Fatherland, Charles Ruthardt was confirmed in the Reformed Lutheran church at the age of fourteen years, and afterwards served an apprenticeship at the barber's trade. Leaving home in 1869, he came to the United States, hoping in this newer land to better his financial condition. Coming directly to Ohio, he located in Morrow county with a very limited amount of money in his pocket, and first found employment on a farm, working for monthly wages. Subsequently securing a position in the railroad shops, he remained in Galion for nearly a quarter of a century, in the meantime saving up money. In 1889 Mr. Ruthardt invested his surplus earnings in land, buying seventy-six acres in North Bloomfield township where he has since been profitably employed in general farming and stock raising, his farm being under a good state of culture and well improved and wisely managed. During his long residence in this locality he has acquired an enviable reputation as an honest, straightforward business man, and has won the respect of the community. Ike is a Democrat in politics, but not an office seeker. Mr. Ruthardt married, January 20, 1876, Elizabeth Sargel, HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 567 who died August 13, 1905, leaving two children, namely : Laura., wife of Calvin Trach, and Emma, wife of Rolland Hershner. JAMES B. LEWIS, D. D. S.—For thirty-six years Dr. James B. Lewis was engaged in the practice of dental surgery at Mount Gilead, Morrow county, Ohio, and during that time he gained and retained the friendship and esteem of the best citizens of the place. He was born in Ohio, on the 22nd of May, 1853, a son of John and Melinda (Boner) Lewis, the former of whom was a Baptist minister and a farmer during the major portion of his active business career. Reverend John Lewis was born and reared at Ohio and his wife was also reared in this state. Both are now deceased. Reverend and Mrs. Lewis became the parents of seven children, and of the number four are now living. Dr. James B. Lewis was reared to adult age on the home farm and as a youth he attended the district schools and the high school at Fredericktown, Ohio. In 1872 he turned his attention to the study of dentistry, and was graduated from his college as a member of the class of 1874, with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. In the fall of 1874 he located at Mount Gilead, where he was engaged in the active practice of his profession during the long intervening years. He controlled a large patronage among the most influential people of Mount Gilead and the territory normally tributary thereto. In politics Dr. Lewis accorded an unswerving support to the cause of the Republican party and for years gave the most efficient service as city councilman. In a fraternal way he affiliated with the Independent Order or Odd Fellows, in which he was a past grand master and in the encampment of which he was at one time patriarch. He represented the above order in the Grand Lodge of the state as a member from the Thirty-second district for a period of seven years and was honored with that distinction at the time of his death. His religious faith was in harmony with the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his family are devout members and in which they are active workers. Dr. Lewis married Miss Anna Barton, of Mount Gilead. To this union have been born two children : Mabel and Charles B. Mabel Lewis was graduated in the local high school and she is now librarian of the free library at Mount Gilead. Charles B. Lewis is a turner by trade and resides at Mt. Gilead, Ohio. He wedded Miss Edna Shaffer. Dr. Lewis was a man of broad learing and sterling integrity. He stood as one of the strong men of Morrow county, strong in his honor and his good name, in the extent of his influence and in the result of his accomplishments. He passed to the higher life in November, 1910. WILLIAM L. SWETLAND.—The world though sometimes slow in acknowledgement of merit, is usually keenly appreciative of those whose recognition of its possibilities in unerring and who possess 568 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY the power to grasp the golden opportunities and mould them for their good and the good of their fellow men. Success when it redounds to the general prosperity is of the highest order and such has distinguished the career of William L. and Cornelia Swetland, of Sparta, Ohio. William L. Swetland, farmer and stockman, was born in South Bloomfield township August 31, 1838, the son of Giles and Sarah (Lewis) Swetland. His grandparents, Artemas and Lydia (Abbott) Swetland, emigrated with their elders from Pennsylvania in pioneer days and located in Ohio, where they established their home and did their share toward paving the way for latter day prosperity. In those days the Indian had not yet abdicated his lordship of hill and dale, and he looked with hostile eyes upon the invasion of what he considered his domain. Artemas, who was a boy at the time of the Wyoming massacre, was in the fort at the time of the frightful affair and escaped death by remaining with his father, Luke, who was on picket duty. In later years he served in the war of 1812. He landed in Delaware county, June 18, 1810, and began work in South Bloomfield township in 1815. He came in February, 1817, to Morrow county. Mr. Swetland's maternal grandfather was shot and tomahawked by the savages. Giles Swetland, father of him whose name inaugurates this review, was a farmer by occupation and he is still well remembered' in the community which was the scene of his usefulness. He and his wife reared a family of six children, five of whom were sons and one, a daughter. Byram L., the eldest, is a retired merchant of Mount Vernon, Ohio ; Joseph Carper is a retired farmer and banker and makes his home in Chesterville, Ohio ; Emily, wife of Carper Helt, is deceased, and she wedded Mr. Abner Bartlett, who is also deceased ; Warren is a prosperous farmer of Sparta, Ohio ; Dannie Lambert is deceased ; and Mr. William Swetland, the subject of this review. William L. Swetland received his education in the district school, and remained until manhood beneath the paternal roof-tree, under his father's excellent tutelage learning many of the secrets of successful agriculture. On December 25, 1861, he laid the foundation of a happy married life by his union to Miss Cornelia E. Hulse, daughter of Jabez and Mariah (Slack) Hulse, and with his bride he settled upon the old homestead and assumed its management and the care of his parents, whose failing health was cared for and declining years made easy by their kind and solicitous ministrations. They lived with the elder people until their demise, and they have continued upon the fine old place until the evening of their own life. In other days they worked with youthful energy to improve and beautify the place, building fine barns and a large commodious house, and to-day they have one of the finest country homes in this part of Ohio. They have prospered exceedingly and are well-to-do and highly regarded. Their union has been blessed HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 569 by the birth of five children. Duane, the eldest son, married Clara Roods and is a successful and progressive farmer and stockman, living in the vicinity of Fredericktown. Their three children are Edith, Roscoe A. and Florence. Minnie R. and Silenda, the two bright and winsome daughters of the household, attended the high school at Sparta and also engaged in the study of music, Minnie attending the Conservatory of Music of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania The latter married Frank Wolf, of Centerburg, Ohio, and their present residence is in Seattle, Washington. Selinda married Dr. C. A. Levering, of Mohicanville, and died June 1, 1900, the mother of one son and one daughter, Burton and Laurel. Manning L. Swetland took as his wife Miss Bessie Rinehart, of Centerburg, Ohio, and they reside upon the old home place not many rods from the home of the subjet and his wife. Their children are Tennie and Ralph. Manning L. has for a number of years superintended the work of the farm, which consists of four hundred and fifty acres. Burton V., the youngest member of the family married Miss Winnie Hewitt, of South Bloomfield township, and they reside at Centerburg, where Mr. Swetland owns and operates a prosperous tinning and roofing business. All of his children the subject endeavored and that successfully to provide with the truest principles of manhood and womanhood. Mr. Swetland, who possesses. a memory of unusual vividness, is able to recall events which happened many years ago, and can give days and dates with remarkable accuracy, this gift having proved useful on numerous occasions not only to himself but to his neighbors. He stands for the highest type of good citizenship and with his estimable wife enjoys the esteem of the community where they have spent their lives, to whose members they are endeared by their never-failing sympathy and kindness. They may thus look back over life's journey with a pardonable degree of pride. Mr. and Mrs. Swetland keep open house the year around for the benefit of their many friends and acquaintances. The Swetland and Lewis reunions are frequently held upon their spacious grounds, and have ever proved occasions. long to be remembered. The family has always taken pride in preserving their genealogical history, which they can trace back through many fruitful years. In many generations those who have borne the name have taken an active part in the building of the great commonwealth. Their immigrant ancestor was a sea captain—William Swetland, who with his good wife, Agnes, became residents of Salem, Massachusetts as early as 1676. DR. SAMUEL VIRTUE, veterinary surgeon, Mt. Gilead, Ohio, owns and occupies a beautiful home on South Main street and ranks as one of the representative citizens of this place, where he has been engaged in the practice of his profession for over twenty years. 570 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Dr. Virtue is a native of Ohio. He was born in Guernsey county October 3, 1841, a son of Robert and Cynthia (Fuller) Virtue, and in 1846, when a lad of five years, was brought by his parents to Morrow county, where his boyhood was passed on a farm and where he attended the district schools. When the Civil war was inaugurated in 1861 his youthful spirit was fired with patriotism, and in the fall of that year he left the farm to enter the army. He enlisted in Company G, Eighty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which became a part of the Army of the Southwest, and where he served under General Halleek and General Grant, his first important battle being that of Shiloh. Near Corinth he was taken ill, and soon afterward was in hospital. His illness incapacitated him for service, and in the fall of 1862 he was honorably discharged and returned to his home in Morrow county. While his army life lasted only a year, it was long enough, with its exposures and hardships, to unfit him for farm work, and on his return home he turned his attention to the study and practice of veterinary surgery. Soon after his return from the army, in the fall of 1862, Dr. Virtue married Miss Samantha Jane McVay, and they are the parents of the following children : Dr. F. M. Virtue, of Sulphur Springs, Crawford county, Ohio; Dr. C. E. Virtue, of MI. Gilead-,. Ohio ; Dr. C. E. Virtue, of Caledonia, Ohio ; Dr. D. B. Virtue, of Iberia, Morrow county, Ohio ; and Maggie, wife of David Douglas, of Iberia. A veteran of the Civil war and a pensioner (being the recipient of a pension of seventeen dollars per month), Dr. Virtue is, of course, identified with the G. A. R., having membership in Hurd Post, No. 114, of which he is a Past Commander. Politically he is a Republican, and he cast his first presidential vote for the ,martyred Lincoln. While he has always been conscientious and prompt as a voter and well posted on political affairs, he has never been an office holder, nor has he ever sought official preferment. Religiously he is a Presbyterian. FRED HARRIS has been a resident of Morrow county, Ohio during most of his life thus far. He owns and occupies a farm of one hundred and fifty-three and one-half acres in South Bloomfield township and is classed among the self-made men of the community. An analysis of his life work shows that he has been dependent upon no inheritance or influential friends for what he has acquired, but has through his continued effort and capable management gained, a desirable property, whereby he is classed among the substantial citizens of this section of the county. Mr. Harris is a native son of this county, his birth having occurred in South Bloomfield township on the 19th of April, 1872. He is a son of Francis M. Harris, who was born and reared in Ohio and who was summoned to the life eternal on the 25th of HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 571 December, 1909, at the venerable age of seventy-one years. He was a son of Burr and Catherine (Shaffer) Harris and he continued to reside in the parental home until he had attained to the age of thirty-four years when, in 1862, he enlisted as a soldier in the Civil war, becoming a member of Company C, Ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Brown and Colonel Vance. He served in all three years and four months ; was present at the seige of Vicksburg and participated in many other important conflicts marking the progress of the war. He received a slight wound in the left leg at Grand Coteau, Louisiana, but never left his regiment. Besides Mr. Harris' father, three of his uncles were soldiers in the Civil war : Michael, Phillip and Daniel. Phillip was killed on the battle field and Daniel was shot through the thigh, and gangrene setting in, this resulted in his death. After the close of the war Francis M. Harris returned to Ohio and on October 26, 1869, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Emiline Osborn, who was summoned to eternal rest December 25, 1909. Subsequently Mr. Harris wedded Miss Eliza E. Osborn, a sister of his first wife, and to the latter union were born two children—Bert, whose birth occurred in May, 1870, and Fred, the immediate subject of this sketch. Bert is also identified with agricultural pursuits in South Bloomfield township. Burr Harris was a Republican in his political convictions, was interested in the public-school system and was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he was a fine Bible student and a most active worker. Francis M. Harris ever retained a deep interest in his old comrades in arms and signified the same by membership in Creighton Orr Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Sparta. The mother survives her honored. husband and is now living at Center-burg, Knox county, Ohio, whither removal was made when Mr. Harris retired from active farm life. To the public schools of his native place Fred Harris is indebted for his early educational training and he continued to reside under the parental roof until his marriage, in 1894. After the latter important event Mr. and Mrs. Fred Harris resided for one year on the estate on which they now live. In 1895 they removed to Delaware county, where they remained for one year and whence they went to Knox county, residing in the latter section for seven years and eventually returning to South Bloomfield township, Morrow county, where they have since resided. The present farm of eighty acres is a portion of the government land entered by Grandfather Osborn. In addition to diversified agriculture Mr. Harris is interested in the breeding of high-grade horses, having commanded as much as four hundred dollars for a pair of yearlings. In politics he endorses the cause of the Republican party, and his wife is a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church in Sparta, Ohio, in which she is also an active worker in the Sunday school. In matters pertaining to the general welfare 572 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Mr. Harris is found reliable and helpful. In business affairs he is energetic, prompt and trustworthy.. He has a good fund of that quality which is too often lacking in the business world common sense. Since starting out in life for himself he has been self-reliant and energetic and is to-day the possessor of a good capital gained through this means. On the 18th of November, 1894, Mr. Harris was united in marriage to Miss Verna Thompson, who was born on the 21st of July, 1876, and who is a daughter of William Americus and Angeline (Robertson) Thompson, both of whom were natives of Knox county where her father was long a prominent and influential farmer. Angeline Robertson had four brothers in the Civil war—Dr. Amza P., Henry Tyler and Jesse Robertson. Mr. W. A. Thompson was ever aligned as a stalwart Democrat in his political adherency and in religious matters he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a strong temperance man and toward the latter part of his life became somewhat interested in the Prohibition party. Mr. and Mrs. Harris have three boys, whose names and respective dates of birth are here incorporated : Lawrence, born September 16, 1899 ; and Homer M. and William II., twins, born November 23, 1903. The children are all in school. At the present time Mr. and Mrs. Harris have a beautiful estate of one hundred and fifty-three and one-half acres lying within one mile of Sparta. WILLIAM G. TABER is successfully engaged in the great basic industry of agriculture on his fine farm of two hundred acres in Gilead township, Morrow county, Ohio. On this splendid estate occurred his birth, the date of the same being May 24, 1874. He is a son of Garrison and Olive (Silverthorn) Taber, the former of whom was likewise born and reared on the above farm and the latter of whom claims Delaware county, Ohio, as the place of her nativity. The father was born on the 16th day of July, 1849, and the mother on the 9th of March, 1851. Mr. and Mrs. Taber became the parents of three children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated : Lillie is the wife of M. S. Adams, of Marion county, this state ; Fordice was summoned to the life eternal at the age of three years ; and William G. is the immediate subject of this review. The parents now maintain their home at Edison, where the father is living virtually retired, in the enjoyment of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. Mr. Taber was reared to adult age on the home farm and he duly availed himself of the advantages afforded in the district schools supplanting this training by a course in the high school at Edison, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1895. For two years he was employed as a teacher in the district schools in Morrow county and in 1898 he engaged in the hardware business at Edison, in which line he built up a large HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 573 and representative patronage and with which he continued to be identified for a period of two years, at the expiration of which he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, locating on the old home farmstead on which he was born. This fine estate consists of two hundred acres of arable land, eligibly located two miles northwest of Edison, Ohio. The farm is splendidly improved and all the buildings thereon are of the most modern type. In politics he is a stanch advocate of the man best suited for the office of trust, in question. On the 14th of October, 1897, Mr. Taber was united in marriage to Miss Lulu Coe, who was born in Gilead township, this county, and who is a daughter of George 0. Coe, concerning whose history data appear on other pages of this volume, in the sketch dedicated to his career. Mrs. Taber was graduated in the Edison high school in 1893 and thereafter she was engaged in teaching for a period of three years prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Taber have four children : Mildred, born December 7, 1898 ; Lawrence, born September 24, 1900 ; Aldeane, born June 11, 1905 ; and Horace, born March 15, 1907. In their religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Taber are Methodist Episcopal, holding membership in the Boundary church, in which they have been most zealous factors. WILLIAM MELVILLE FRIZZELL, ex-sheriff of Morrow county, Ohio, and a prosperous farmer of Franklin township, is familiarly known as "Mellie" Frizzell. He was born January 31, 1858, on the old Frizzell homestead in Franklin township, which he now owns and on which his father settled on coming to this state in 1847. He is of Scotch and French descent, and both his father and mother were Virginians, members of prominent families of the "Old Dominion " His father, Henry Frizzell, died in 1862 of typhoid fever, at the age of forty years.. His mother, Mars (Hutchinson) Frizzell, was a cousin of General Winfield S. Scott. She died in 1896, at the age of seventy years. Side by side husband and wife rest in Norfolk cemetery. Mellie Frizzell has devoted his energies to agricultulal pm, suits from boyhood, with the exception of about twenty-two months, when as a young man he was in Washington, D. C., employed as street car conductor, and during the time he was sheriff. He returned from Washington in 1890, and the prosperity that has attended his efforts has been sufficient to make farming interesting for him. To the thirty acres of land he owned in 1890 he has added by purchase as follows : Forty acres adjoining in 1891; twenty acres in 1897 ; one hundred and eighty acres in 1898 ; ten acres in 1905, and eighty-seven acres in 1908. This, together with the one hundred and five acres his wife inherited, makes their landed estate three hundred and ten acres Mr. Frizzell married, April 23, 1890, Miss Harrie Blayney, daughter of David and Rachel Blayney, natives of West Virginia 574 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY and descendants of the noble Blayney family of Blayney Castle, Ireland.. Her parents reside on a farm northwest of Pulaskiville. She has two brothers, John and Daniel, who live on farms adjoining the old homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Frizzell lost their only child in infancy. Politically Mr. Frizzell has always been a Republican, and for many years has been an influential factor in county politics. He was elected sheriff of Morrow county in 1895, and again in 1897, at each election receivivng the highest vote of any candidate on the ticket, and for two terms he served most efficiently in this capacity. Mr. and Mrs. Frizzell are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Pulaskiville.. CLEMENT MCANALL.—As a worthy representative of the prosperous agriculturists of Morrow county and as an honored and respected citizen of Canaan township, Clement McAnall is especially deserving of mention in a work of this character. A son of John McAnall, he was born December 6, 1858, in Knox county, Ohio, coming from substantial Virginia ancestry. John McAnall was born in Ohio county, West Virginia, April 6, 1828, where he was bred and educated. Subsequently settling in Knox county, Ohio, he lived there a few years and then moved to Morrow county, where he spent his remaining years, dying on his farm in Washington township in September, 1896. He was twice married. His first wife whose maiden name was Sarah A. Levering, died on the home farm in April, 1865. He married second, Minerva J. Logan, who is now living at Mt. Gilead, Ohio. Of the children born by his first marriage but two grew to years of maturity, Clement, the subject of this sketch, and Mary A., deceased, who married D. R. Hammond. By his second union he had five children, as follows : John L. ; Cora, wife of George Blayney ; Agnes M.; Mattie B., wife of Arthur Kerr ; and Hugh W., of Mt. Gilead. Brought up on the home farm in Washington township, Clement McAnall acquired his elementary education in the district schools, after which he attended the =Ohio Central College, at Iberia, for four terms. Selecting for his life work that occupation upon which the wealth and prosperty of our nation is so largely dependent, Mr. McAnall has since devoted his energies to the pursuit of agriculture, as a farmer and stock raiser meeting with unquestioned success. He now owns three hundred and thirty acres of fertile land in Washington and Canaan townships, and is widely known as one of the foremost farmers of Morrow county. A man of sterling worth, he is in all respects a valuable citizen of the township, performing his duties and obligations as such with commendable fidelity. Mr. McAnall married, September 24, 1885, Amy Lyon, who was born in Canaan township, Morrow county, Ohio, June 14, 1861, HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 575 a daughter of Jacob Lyon. She is a woman of culture, having completed her early education in the Ohio Central College, at Iberia. Mr. and Mrs. McAnall are the parents of three children, namely : Esther M., who graduated from the Mt. Gilead High School, and is now an instructor in the Iberia High School ; Hugh R., who graduated from the Iberia High School, and is now attending the Agricultural College at Columbus, Ohio ; and Jay R., a pupil in the Iberia High School. Politically Mr. McAnall is identified with the Democratic party, and he has served as township trustee. He is a deacon of the Presbyterian church of Iberia, to which he and his wife belong. Mr. and Mrs. McAnall are likewise members of Washington Grange, and take an active part in promoting the good of the organization. They have in their possession three of the parchments or buckskin deeds, executed under the hand and seal of President Andrew Jackson and bearing the following dates : October 18, 1834, October 14, 1835 and October 18, 1834. These deeds are valuable heirlooms in the home, and there are only six of these old deeds recorded in the twentieth century history of Morrow county. The pretty estate of Mr. McAnall is known as " Glenmore Springs Stock Farm." In the way of souvenirs they have his mother's spinning wheel and reels, which are at least three quarters of a century old, also a fancy double coverlet which was woven in 1849. ARTHUR CRAVEN is identified with Morrow county, Ohio, as one of its district school teachers, and as son and grandson of its respected citizens. He was born in Franklin township, this county, August 12, 1886. In due time he completed the district school course, and at the age of seventeen successfully passed the examination and received a teacher's certificate. He has taught school five years in Franklin township and two years in Gilead township. In the meantime he attended Wooster University, where he prepared himself for more efficient work as teacher, and in his chosen profession is meeting with marked success. A member of the Franklin Baptist church, Mr. Craven is active both in church and Sunday school work, for the past two years having been superintendent of the Sunday school. Mr. Craven is a son of E. J. and Sarah (James) Craven, who were married October 8, 1885, and who now reside on a portion of the old Craven home place. E. J. Craven was born July. 2, 1858, and began life for himself as a farm hand. By industry and careful economy he saved enough money with which to purchase some land, and he now owns eighty and a half acres, thirty-seven of which are a part of the old homestead. His father, Rodney Craven, a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, was born January 3, 1820; was reared to farm life and had the advantage of a good education. He came west to Ohio in 1843 and settled in Knox county, near Levering Station, where he remained three years. 576 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Then he removed to Harmony township and purchased a 'farm of one hundred and twenty acres ; and he spent three years in Decatur county, Indiana. In his family were eleven children, namely: Virginia, William H., John A., James R., Reuben R., Winfield, Edward J., George, Laura, Alice and one that died in infancy. James R. and John A., at the ages respectively of seventeen and eighteen years, enlisted for duty in the Civil war the former joining Company S, One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and the latter, Company K, Eighty-eighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; both died in the service. Mr. Craven's mother, Sarah E. (James) Craven, was born June 2, 1862, and is a descendant of one of the prominent old Virginia families who owned plantations and slaves. Her parents, Samuel and Ellen (Carrothers) James, were natives of Virginia; the former is now living in Cardington and the latter died in 1889. Arthur Craven married Miss Bernice S. Haldeman on February 22, 1911, and they are living in Troy township. Mrs. Cravens was educated in the common schools and is a graduate of the Johnsville High School, class of 1907. She taught in Perry and North Bloomfield townships about two years. She is a member of the United Brethren church in Troy township. SENECA A. SMITH.—There is all of consistency in entering in this publication a tribute to this venerable and honored native son of Morrow county, where he stands as a worthy scion of a sterling pioneer family of this section of the state, with whose history the name has been identified for nearly a full century. Mr. Smith has been an effective and successful exponent of the agricultural industry, has been loyal as a citizen, and, above all, his personality has been the positive expression of a strong, earnest and noble character, so that he has never been denied the confidence and definite esteem of his fellow men. His entire life thus far has been passed in this section of Ohio, though not entirely within the borders of Morrow county, and he has played well his part in the development and upbuilding of a district that was scarcely more than a wilderness at the time he was here ushered into the world. Seneca A. Smith was born in the village of Westfield, Morrow county, in the section which was then a part of Delaware county, and the date of his nativity was October 5, 1836. The house in which he was born was situated on the property now owned by Oliver E. Richardson, and soon after his birth his parents removed to a farm one mile west of the village, where they continued to reside until the spring of 1849, when they deemed it expedient to seek another location. The farm was accordingly sold and in October of the same year they purchased and removed to what was then known as the Woodbury farm, one and one-half miles west of Westfield, where the parents passed the residue of their lives and where the son was reared to maturity. David Smith, the father 577 - NANCY E. SMITH - SENECA A. SMITH 578 - BLANK HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 579 of him whose name initiates this review, was of Scotch-Irish lineage and was a son of Rev. Simeon Smith, a pioneer minister of the Baptist church and a valiant soldier in the Contintal line in the war of the Revolution. Rev. Simeon Smith imigrated from Chenango county, New York, to Ohio in 1818, and here he not only secured land and engaged in farming but he also labored zealously as a pioneer clergyman in this state until he was summoned to the life eternal. He was twice married and David was a son of the second union. At an early age David Smith was bereft of his father, and as much of the responsibility of providing for the family devolved upon him he gained a discipline that developed and matured the sterling qualities which brought to him success in later years. His wife, whose maiden name was Maria Monroe, was a native of Pennsylvania and was a member of a large family of that name prominently identified with the early history of Delaware and Morrow counties. She died when but forty-seven years of age, just as her children were establishing themselves in homes cf their own. She is to be remembered as a woman of rare domestic ability and beautiful character, and her whole mind and heart were given to her family. Seneca A. Smith was reared amid the scenes and influences of the pioneer days in what is now Morrow county, and his early ail, cational advantages were those afforded in the district schools o the locality and period. As a youth he supplemented this training by attending for several terms a boarding school at Mt. Hesper, and later he availed himself of the privileges of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware. For four years he was a successful and popular teacher in the schools of his native county, but he had the good judgment to subordinate such pedagogic preferment to the great basic industry to which he had been reared and in connection with which he was destined to gain a most generous measure of success. In 1857, on a piece of land given to him by his father in Waldo township, Marion county, he erected a house of hewed logs and thus made ready for his marriage, which was solemnized on the 10th of October, 1858, when Miss Nancy E. West became his wife. She was a young woman of sterling attributes of mind and heart and was well qualified to preside over the affairs of the new home, in which she proved a veritable helpmeet. Her district school training had been supplemented by two terms of study in Mt. Hesper Seminary. Here in the humble log house, surrounded by forest and field, werc born eight of the nine children of Seneca A. and Nancy E. (West) Smith, the youngest of the nine having been born at the home in Lincoln township, Morrow county. Concerning the children the following brief data are entered: Claremont R., who was born in 1859, is a master mechanic by vocation, is married and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana; Dr. Florence R., widow of Theodoric S. White, is a skilled physician and surgeon and is en- 580 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY gaged in the practice of her profession in Cardington, Morrow county; Charles W., a widower, with three children, is a prosperous farmer residing at Ferndale, Washington; James S., who is married, resides upon and has, the active supervision of the home farm of his venerable father; Helen and David died early in life ; Daisy A., is a dressmaker by vocation and resides at Laramie, Wyoming.; Arthur A., is married and is one of the stockholders of the Fall Creek Sheep Company, Limited, at American Falls, Idaho, where he maintains his home ; A. Imogene, who is a trained nurse by profession and who was graduated in the training school of Lakeside Hospital in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, is now a resident of the city of Los Angeles, California. In politics Seneca A. Smith has been continuously affiliated with the Democratic party, except for several years' adherence to the Prohibition party in the early period of its history, and he was the only voter for several years in his township to express in this manner his sentiments in regard to the liquor traffic. He has been ever ready to give his aid and influence in support of measures and enterprises for the general good of the community and has served in the offices of township supervisor, clerk and assessor, as well as in that of school director. Upon attaining to his legal majority Mr. Smith identified himself with the Westfield Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which his father and father-in-law were charter members, and later he became affiliated also with the other encampment branch of the fraternity, as well as with its adjunct organization, the Daughters of Rebekah. In 1874 he became much interested in the farmers' organization, the Patrons of Husbandry, in which he was instrumental in the organization of the grange at Westfield, both he and his wife being charter members of the same. This stanch order has always had his warmest and most devoted service during the period of its existence in Morrow county. Upon his retirement from Westfield Grange, No. 732, he became affiliated with Harmony Grange, No. 411, in which he is still an active member. The religious faith of Mr. Smith is that of the Universalist church, with which he united in his early manhood and of which his wife also has long been a devoted member. He entered this denomination under the leadership of Rev. Charles F. Waite, by whom he and his wife were married. His devotion to the church is fervent and his daily life has ever been consistent with his professions. In 1877, wishing to afford his children better educational and social advantages, Mr. Smith sold his farm in Marion county and returned to Morrow county, where he purchased the farm of Henry Stiner, at the point familiarly known as Stiner's Corners, in Lincoln township He forthwith began to improve and beautify the new homestead, in order to bring the place up to the high standard which he had set. He has made many changes in the HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 581 place, as he believes that the earthly home should be the best possible setting, ideal and inspiration, with the well ordered senti ment that the fullest life is one not given over merely to the sordid accumulation of this world's goods but rather to developing symmetrical character, fitted for the final transition. The keynote to his character is honesty, fidelity to duty, and better than this can be said of no man. As an agriculturist and stock grower Mr. Smith has shown the most progressive policies and has wisely striven to gain the maximum returns from the time, energy and financial expenditures given. He has thus achieved definite independence and prosperity and has made his attractive homestead one of the model farms of his native county. He is a man of broad mental ken and positive views, but is kindly and tolerant in his judgment and always ready to aid those in any ways afflicted or distressed in mind, body or estate. It is fitting that in this connection be given somewhat of detail concerning the cherished and devoted wife of Mr. Smith, and the following data offer a consistent complement to this brief sketch of his career. Mrs. Nancy E. (West) Smith was born at West Rushville, Fairfield county, Ohio, on the 13th of October, 1839. Her father, James Rennison West, was born at Carlyle, England, in 1809, and thus was about nine years of age at the time of his parents' immigration to the United States, in 1818. His father, a silk and wool weaver, located at Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, where he and his son followed the weaver's trade until about 1826, when the family removed to Muskingum county, Ohio, where the son James R. met and married Miss Rebecca Hedges, a daughter of John and Nancy (Neff) Hedges, pioneer settlers who had come to this state from Virginia. The Hedges family has been one of prominence and influence in the civic and material progress of Ohio and members of the same were important factors in connection with the founding of the cities of Mansfield and Tiffin. James R. and Rebecca (Hedges) West located at West Rushville, Fairfield county, soon after their marriage, and there their daughter Nancy E. gained her rudimentary education. Early in October, 1847, they came to Morrow county and established their home on a farm in Westfield township, to which place they made the journey from Fairfield county with a team and wagon. The girlhood days of Mrs. Smith were passed on the farm, where she learned those habits of thrift and industry so pronounced in her character. As previously stated her earlier educational advantages were supplemented by two terms of attendance in Mt. Hesper Seminary, a boarding school for young men and women. This institution was maintained under the able direction of the late Jesse and Cynthia Harkness, and its facilities were of excellent order. After leaving this seminary Mrs. Smith taught .one term in a district school and she received the munificent stipend of two dollars a week, in 582 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY the meanwhile "boarding around" with the various patrons of the school. In the autumn of the same year, 1858, she was wedded to Mr. Smith, whom she had known for years and who was a fellow student at Mt. Hesper, the two families having been long time friends. Mrs. Smith's life has been that of the busy wife and mother, and to her children she has given loving, helpful care and solicitude. Always cheerful and optimistic, ready to aid in sickness or death, she has endeared herself to a large circle of friends and is held in affectionate regard by all who have come within the sphere of her gentle and gracious influence. She is affiliated with the Daughters of Rebekah and Patrons of Husbandry, and she has ably filled the various offices to which 'she has been called in each of these orders. One of the dominant traits of her character is a love of the beautiful, especially as manifested in flowers and in the adornment of her home. This amounts almost to a passion, as may well be noted in a visit to her home in summer She has served as school director and still maintains a lively interest in educational affairs. She is a devoted member of the Universalist church, as is her husband, and both take an active part in the various departments of the work of the church of this denomination at Mt. Gilead, where they attend services with as great regularity as is possible. JAMES W. NELSON.—Conspicuous among the younger generation of Morrow county's substantial business men is James W. Nelson, who is filling the responsible position of cashier of the Marengo Banking Company. A native of Ohio, he was born September 14, 1880, in Washington township, Morrow county, on the farm where his parents, William and Nancy (Post) Nelson, still reside. Spending his early years on the home farm, James W. Nelson attended first the district schools and later continued his studies at the Iberia High School. He subsequently worked with his father on the homestead, becoming familiar with the various branches of agriculture, but did not care enough for the rural occupation to make it his life work. Leaving the farm, therefore, he found employment as clerk in a store, first at St. James and later at Climax. In 1904 Mr. Nelson successfully passed the civil service examination, and for two years and a half was mail carrier on one of the rural routes going out of St. James. Resigning that position, he entered a business college in Oberlin, Ohio, where he was graduated, receiving his diploma in May, 1907. Two months later, on July 9, 1907, Mr. Nelson came to Marengo, and during the following three months was bookkeeper for the Marengo Banking Company, with which he has since been associated. Developing marked ability in that position, he was made assistant cashier of the company in October of that year, and on April 19, 1910, was made cashier of the institution, a position for which he is well qualified and which he is filling to the satisfaction of all concerned. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 583 Mr. Nelson married, March 27, 1907, Tamer Crider, who was born in 1887, a daughter of Adam Crider, and was educated in the Iberia High School. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have two children, namely : Dorothea L. and Mary E. Politically Mr. Nelson affiliates with the Republican party, and fraternally he is a member and past chancellor of Marengo Lodge, No. 216, K. of P. Both Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are members of the Methodist. Episcopal church. Mr. Nelson is a capable business man and owns property of value on Walnut street, Marengo. WILLIAM P. VAUGHAN.—An essentially representative and public spirited citizen, William P. Vaughan is at present the able and popular incumbent of the office of cashier of the First National Bank of Cardington, Morrow county, Ohio, and he has other important financial interests of broad scope and importance in this section of the fine old Buckeye state. He was born in Lincoln township, this county, on the 17th of April, 1862, and is a son of James W. and Rachel A. (Wood) Vaughan, the former of whom is a native of Stark county, Ohio, where he was born in March, 1832, and the latter of whom also claims the state of Ohio as the place of her birth. James W. Vaughan is a son of Mathew Vaughan and Phoebe (Pennock) Vaughan, natives of Virginia, whence they early established their home in Stark county, where they resided until about 1847, when they removed to Morrow county, at that time Delaware county, Ohio. Mathew Vaughan was identified with agricultural pursuits during his entire active business career. He and his wife became the parents of eight children, and of this number James W. is the only one now living in 1910. He is a resident of Lincoln township, where he has long been engaged in farming and though he has attained to the venerable age of seventy-eight years he is still hale and hearty. Mrs. Vaughan is seventy-seven years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan became the parents of four children, Edward J., of Columbus, Ohio ; William P., the immediate subject of this review ; Mary N., is the wife of Charles F. Osborn, of Lincoln township ; and Hon. Walter W., whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work, maintains his home at Cardington. William P. Vaughan was reared to maturity on the old home farm, where he continued to reside until he was eighteen years of age. He attended the district schools of Morrow county and in 1882 was graduated in the Union School at Cardington. For one year thereafter he was a student in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, and in 1886 he entered the Cincinnati School of Law, in the city of Cincinnati, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1887, duly receiving his degree of Bachelor of Law. He initiated the practice of his profession at Carding-ton in 1888, and built up and controled a large and representative clientage until January, 1899, at which time he was proffered and accepted the position of cashier of the First National Bank of Card- Vol. 11-7 584 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY ington. He has been interested in the banking business during the intervening years to the present time and he is interested financially in other important enterprises in Cardington, being a stockholder and one of the directors in the Galion Telephone Company. In politics he is a stanch adherent of the principles of the Republican party and though he has never been anxious for the honors or emoluments of public office he gives freely of his aid and influence in support of all measures and enterprises advanced for the general welfare of the community. In 1897 he was appointed referee in bankruptcy and he holds this office at the present time. Fraternally he has passed through the circle of York Rite Masonry, holding membership in Cardington Lodge, No. 384, Free and Accepted Masons; Cardington Chapter, No. 163, Royal Arch Masons ; Marion Council, Royal and Select Masters ; Marion Cornmandery, No. 36, Knights Templars. He has served as master and as high priest of the Cardington Lodge and Chapter, respectively. He and his wife are devout members of the Presbyterian church at Cardington, in the various departments of whose work they have been active factors. Mr. Vaughan was married in 1890 to Miss Stella Willits, who departed this life in 1893. From this union was born in 1893 a son, James G., who is now a student in a business college at Columbus, Ohio. In 1905 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Vaughan to Miss Iva G. Hindman, who was born and reared in Washington township, Morrow county, and who is a daughter of Matthew Hindman. STEPHEN B. LYON.—Industry and ability invariably win their way to prominence. No matter how small and insignificant the beginning may be, the industrious man who exerts his talents and has the tenacity of purpose to persist in the course good judgment dictates never fails of success. Stephen B. Lyon has been identified with agricultural pursuits in South Bloomfield township, Morrow county, Ohio, for fully three decades, and in the township has been incumbent of some important offices of public trust and responsibility. Mr. Lyon was born on the farm in Morrow county on the 11th of December, 1854, and is a son of Newton and Hannah (Lounsbury) Lyon, the former of whom was a native of the state of Ohio and the latter of whom was born in New York. The mother accompanied her parents to Ohio when a child of but three years of age, the journey having been made overland by wagon. Location was made in the woods in Knox county on a tract of land which the father reclaimed to cultivation. Newton Lyon was a son of Smith and Sallie (Marvin) Lyon, and the former was a son of Walker and Mary Lyon who came to Ohio from Connecticut when Smith was a lad of twelve years of age. The Lyon family settled on a tract of eighty acres of land east of Bloomfield and in the early HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 585 pioneer days they were the only white family but one, that of Peter Kile, between that place and Mt. Liberty. Mr. and Mrs. Newton Lyon became the parents of three children, of whom Stephen B. was the second in order of birth, namely, Smith W., Stephen B. and John F. The father was identified with farming during the major portion of his active business career, and he and his wife are yet living. Stephen, B. Lyon was reared to the invigorating discipline of the home farm and he early availed himself of the advantages afforded in the public schools of his native place. He also attended school for a time at Delaware, Ohio, and as a young man he spent one year in the west in prospecting. When twenty-five years of age he was married and thereafter he, turned his attention to farming, location being made on an estate near his present fine farm. He is engaged in general farming and in late years has become much interested in the raising of Delaine sheep, in which line of enterprise he has been eminently successful. He takes care of flocks numbering up to two hundred head and averages some ten pounds of wool per animal. In politics Mr. Lyon accords an uncompromising allegiance to the cause of .the Republican party and in connection with public affairs he has served the county as deputy state supervisor of elections for some eight years. He has held other minor township offices and for a number of years has been a member of the school board. In their religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Lyon are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Sparta, Ohio, to whose charities and benevolences they have ever been most liberal contributors. As a citizen of sterling integrity of character and eminent reliability Mr. Lyon has frequently been called upon to settle the estates of his neighbors, among them being those of his grandfather, Colonel Brown, Joseph Conway and others. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias at Centerburg, Ohio. On September 1, 1879, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Lyon to Miss Mary Gloyd, who was born in South Bloomfield township December 7, 1856, and who is a daughter of Morgan and Margaret (Jackson) Gloyd, the former of whom was born on the 25th of August, 1826, and the latter on the 5th of October, 1832, both having been natives of Connecticut, whence the respective families immigrated to. Ohio in the early pioneer days, the Gloyds locating in the vicinity of Sparta, and the Jacksons in South Bloomfield township. Morgan Gloyd passed away on the 23rd of November, 1890, and his wife died on the 28th of August, 1892. They had two children, of whom Mrs. Lyon was the second in order of birth. To Mr. and Mrs. Lyon was born one child, Maud, whose birth occurred on the 27th of July, 1880, and who is now the wife of J. M. Wilson of Knox county ; they have one child, Harold who is in school and bright in his studies. Maud was educated in the common and high schools at Centerburg, Knox county, Ohio, having 586 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY been graduated in the latter institution at the early age of fifteen years. After leaving school she taught for two years in South Bloomfield township. CHRIS BITZER.—Examine the life records of self made men and it will always be found that indefatigable industry forms the basis of their success. True, there are other elements that enter in—perseverance of purpose and keen discrimination, which enable one to recognize business opportunities but the foundation of all achievement is earnest, persistent labor. At the outset of his career Chris Bitzer recognized this fact and did not seek to gain any short or wondrous method to the goal of prosperity. He began, however; to work earnestly and diligently in order to advance himself in the business world and though he started out as a factory hand he is now general manager of the Mount Gilead Lumber Company, a branch of the J. S. Peck & Son firm of Cardington, Ohio. Mr. Bitzer is a native son of Cardington, Morrow county, Ohio, the date of his birth being December 16, 1859, and his parents were Chris and Catherine (Mauch) Bitzer, both of whom were born and reared in Germany, whence they came to America in early youth, settling at Cardington, where was solemnized their marriage about the year 1855. The father was a veteran of the Civil war and he died at the Soldiers' Home, Dayton, Ohio, in November, 1898. His wife, who preceded him to the life eternal, died in 1888. To the public schools of Cardington Chris Bitzer, of this review, is indebted for his early educational training. When thirteen years of age he began work in the factory of J. S. Peck & Son. There, in time, be became expert as a woodwork mechanic and eventually was made foreman, a position of which he continued incumbent for a period of fifteen years. When the Mount Gilead Lumber Company, a branch of the J. S. Peck & Son business was opened up at Mt. Gilead, Mr. Bitzer was transferred to this place and made its general manager, in which capacity he has served with all of ability and success for seven years, in fact, from 1904 to the present time, in 1911. In politics Mr. Bitzer is aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party and it is interesting to note here that his first presidential vote was cast in favor of President Garfield. He is not active in politics, however, and never has been, his entire time and attention being devoted to the business in which he is engaged. Fraternally he is a member of the Charles Hull Lodge, No. 195, Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed all the chairs except that of chancellor commander. He is also affiliated with Lodge No. 169, Knights of the Maccabees, at Cardington, and he and his wife are connected with the Pythian Sisters. On the 23rd of May, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bitzer to Miss Addie Poland, who was born in Little Rock, Arkan- HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 587 sas, on the 15th of December, 1870, and who is a daughter of Professor J. C. Poland and granddaughter of Samuel Poland, for many years representative citizens of Morrow county. Samuel Poland was the first county auditor of Morrow county. When a mere child Mrs. Bitzer's parents returned to Mt. Gilead, Ohio, where they had formerly lived, and she was reared and educated in Marion county; Ohio. She is bookkeeper for the concern of which her husband is general manager. She is a woman of rare business ability and is very prominent in the work of the Pythian Sisters. To Mr. and Mrs. Bitzer was born one child, Jesse J., whose natal day was June 10, 1890. He was possessed of an, unusually bright intellect and after completing the curriculum of the public schools of Mt. Gilead he went to Cincinnati, where he began study in art and music. He was not destined to remain long in this world, however, for on the 10th of November, 1907, he died from an attack of appendicitis and resulting peritonitis. Jesse Bitzer had been a student in the Cincinnati Art Academy at Cincinnati for several months prior to his death. On the Monday preceding his demise he was stricken with an attack of appendicitis. Friends telegraphed his parents of his illness and his mother went to him Tuesday, scarcely leaving his side for a moment until his death. The only hope of recovery was through the chance of an operation and before the father had arrived at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati the operation had been performed. The invalid rallied nicely but peritonitis developed and he passed away with great suffering on the ensuing Sunday morning. From the first he did not expect to recover and Saturday morning he said, "Stay with me, Mamma, all the time, for this is my last day on earth." The funeral services were held at the Methodist church at Mt. Gilead and the interment was made in Cardington cemetery. Jesse Bitzer was possessed of most extraordinary talent along the lines of art and music and great things were expected of him. He was a lad of noble character and early manifested those traits which distinguish great personalities. His sudden death was a great blow to his devoted parents. "The sympathy of the Knights of King Arthur, the Sabbath school, his Sabbath school class, Trinity Aid Society, groups of close friends and many individuals was expressed in the mass of floral offerings sent to the desolated home." THOMAS J. HYATT.—The Morrow county citizenship is fortunate in the possession of the Hyatt family, estimable members of society and representatives of the agricultural industry. Daniel Webster once said : "Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. Man may be civilized in some degree without great progress in manufactures and with little commerce with his distant neighbors. But without the cultivation of the earth, he is, in all countries, a savage. Until he gives 588 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY up the chase, and fixes himself in some place and seeks a living from the earth, he is a roaming barbarian. When tillage begins, other arts follow.      The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization."   There is no gainsaying the truth of this and, furthermore, the farmers constitute one of the most independent and wholesome classes. Thomas J. Hyatt, son of Elisha and Polly (Hyatt) Hyatt, was born February 2, 1836. His parents were born in Montgomery county, Maryland, and emigrated to Ohio in 1835, the year previous to his birth. They settled in Liberty township, Knox county, and reared a family of seven children, six of whom were sons and one a daughter, and whose names were William, Jesse, Eli, Washington, Mortimer and Mary E. Washington and Mortimer were soldiers in the Civil war, the latter dying while in the service of his country. The children attended the Liberty township district schools and remained under the parental roof tree until years of discretion had been attained, assisting their father on the farm. At the age of thirty-three years Thomas J. Hyatt took upon himself the duties and responsibilities of married life, his union to Miss Rachel A. Bowman being celebrated March 3, 1869. Mrs. Hyatt's parents were Daniel and Mary (Shoe) Bowman, of Knox county, the former being a farmer. The young girl remained at home until her marriage and received her education in the district schools. After their marriage these estimable young people set about establishing a home for themselves, and their industry and thrift was rewarded with material success. Three children were born to share their home with them, but the only daughter died in infancy. The sons were Orin and Orley. Orin married Miss Elsie May Robinson, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that being their present place of residence. Orley is unmarried and makes his home with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Hyatt own a desirable tract of land north of Hedding Chapel, upon which they maintain their pleasant home. They have for many years been honored members of the Friendship Protestant Methodist church, and although removed from that immediate neighborhood, they still prefer • holding their membership with the church of their early choice. Mr. Hyatt's political affiliations are with the Democratic party, to which he has given his allegiance since his earliest voting days. It is the gratifying portion of these estimable people to be most respected where best known, and in their present home they have resided for twenty-one years an ample test of character and worth. AMOS J. JAGO.—Through his own persistency and well directed efforts Amos J. Jago has gradually worked his way upward in the business world until at the present time, in 1911, he is one of the trusted employes of The Dr. N. Tucker Asthma Specific Remedy Company which is conducted by Dr. N. Tucker, of Mt. Gilead. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 589 Mr. Jago is a native son of Mt. Gilead, Morrow county, Ohio, where his birth occurred on the 9th of June, 1875. He is a son of George and Sarah E. (Cooper) Jago, both of whom are now deceased. The Cooper family was founded in Ohio by William Cooper, grandfather of the subject of this review, who came to this state as early as the year 1826. He was a wheelwright by trade and he erected the Buckeye grist mill, which he owned and operated for a number of years. George Jago was identified with the dry goods business during the major part of his active career and he was summoned to the life eternal in 1898, his cherished and devoted wife having passed away in 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Jago became the parents of two children, of whom Amos was the first in order of birth. When eight years of age Amos accompanied his parents on their removal from Mt. Gilead to Delaware, in the county of the same name, Ohio, where the family home was maintained until 1887, in which year removal was made to the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. To the public schools of Delaware and Cincinnati Mr. Jago, of this sketch, is indebted for his preliminary educational training, which discipline was later supplemented by a commercial course in the Michael Business College, at Delaware, Ohio. After completing his business course he was proffered and accepted a clerical position in the office of Dr. N. Tucker, at Mt. Gilead, Morrow county, Ohio, and in this establishment he has been employed for the past seventeen years. After thoroughly familiarizing himself with the business he was advanced steadily from one position of trust to another. He is a man of marked executive capacity and is known throughout the county as a man of sterling integrity and fair and honorable methods. On June 1, 1907, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Jago to Miss Mary E. Vining, of Marengo, Ohio, where she was born and educated, being graduated in the high school at that place. To this union has been born one child, Mary E., whose birth occurred on the 29th of February, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Jago are devout members of the Presbyterian church at Mt. Gilead. Mr. Jago is a stalwart supporter of the Republican party in his political proclivities and although he has never manifested aught of ambition for the honors or emoluments of public office of any description he is loyal and public spirited in all matters tending to advance the general welfare of the community. Fraternally he has passed through the circle of York Rite Masonry, holding membership in Mt. Gilead Lodge, No. 206, Free and Accepted Masons ; Mt. Gilead Chapter, No. 59,- Royal Arch Masons; Marion Council, No. 22, Royal and Select Masters ; and Marion Commandery, No. 36, Knights Templars. In the Royal Arch Masons he is secretary of the local chapter. Although still a young man Mr. Jago has gained a noteworthy success in the business world of this section of Morrow county. He has through his own exertions attained an honorable position and marked prestige among the 590 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY representative business men of Mt. Gilead and with signal consistency it may be said that he is the architect of his own fortunes and one whose success amply justifies the application of the somewhat hackneyed but most expressive title—a self made man. THE TAYLOR FAMILY —Among the many worthy families who have taken an active part in the improvement and upbuilding of Morrow county, Ohio, we are pleased to record the honored name of Taylor, representatives of which are descendants of Robert and Rachel (Scott) Taylor, both of whom were born and reared in the state of Pennsylvania. From the old Keystone commonwealth Mr. and Mrs. Robert Taylor moved to West Virginia, whence they later immigrated to Morrow county, Ohio, bringing with them a family of twelve children—eight sons and four daughters. The names of the above mentioned children are here entered in respective order of birth : William, Susan, Jane, Alexander, Robert, Joseph, Josiah, Mary, Sammy, Rachel, John and Scott. Location was made on the fine old homestead farm ever since occupied by Robert Taylor's descendants. Mr. Taylor was a miller by occupation and he was identified with that line of enterprise for a period of twenty-seven years, in addition to which he was also interested in farming. Many needed improvements on the new place were installed by the family and the farm was tilled with vigor by the numerous sons, the well cultivated fields being the best proof of their energy and industry. Robert Taylor was summoned to the life eternal in 1876, and the fond wife and mother passed into the "Great Beyond" in 1885. The Taylor children received their educational training in the neighboring district schools and when old enough began to assist their parents in the work and management of the home farm. The old Taylor residence has been the scene of numerous gayeties and happy gatherings as one by one the children married and the weddings were celebrated under the old roof tree. On these occasions a merry company, often numbering a hundred guests, were assembled. William, now deceased, married Miss Martha Holdridge and became a successful miller at Sparta, where he was a decidedly popular citizen, enjoying the esteem of a large circle of acquaintances; Jane, was united in marriage to Fleming Manville; Alexander wedded Harriet Babcock ; Josiah married Betsy Ann Bradfield ; John wedded Caroline Pealer ; and Rachel became the wife of Jason Sprague. To the last union was born one little daughter, Sadie, whose birth occurred on the 9th of July, 1884, and who came to grace the old home with the sunshine of her presence. Sometimes the death angel visited the old home and the hearts of the good people bowed under its gloom. Two loved sisters, Mary and Susan, were laid away to rest. The four brothers, Robert, Joseph, Sammy and Scott, remained at home, Rachel faithfully acting as housekeeper. With the passage of years, the little Sadie HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 591 grew to womanhood, one of the fairest girls in the country round, her presence having been a source of keen pleasure to her uncles, who could not spoil her by their indulgence. Sadie Sprague was united in marriage, on the 12th of April, 1906, to Roy Barr, and they maintain their home at Bloomfield. They are the fond parents of one son, Robert Clay Barr, born on the 13th of July, 1907. Mr. Barr is engaged in farming and stock raising and he is recognized as one of the prominent citizens of Bloomfield, where he is a co-operant factor in all measures projected for the good of the general welfare. The Taylor Brothers, as they are familiarly called, have at different times served the public in various official appointments of important trust and responsibility, including the offices of township trustee, assessor and treasurer, and they are referred to as members of one of Morrow county's most honored and esteemed families, being widely renowned for their hospitality and kindness. Advancing years having unfitted them for active farm duties, they recently purchased a fine, comfortable home at Sparta, where they are passing the evening of their lives in full enjoyment of the fruits of their former years of earnest toil and endeavor, leaving the care of the farm to a niece and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. John Shore. Charity in its widest and best sense has been practiced by the Taylor Brothers and their benevolence has made smooth the rough way of many a weary traveler on life's journey. By reason of their sterling integrity and moral uprightness, they are eminently well deserving of representation in this volume devoted to the history of Morrow county and her representative and public spirited citizens. GEORGE O. COE.—For some thirty years was George 0. Coe engaged in the drug and hardware business at Mt. Gilead and at Edison, Morrow county, Ohio, and he is now residing on his fine farm of eighty acres in Gilead township, where he is identified with diversified agriculture and stock raising. He is a man of prominence and influence in the Republican party, in the local ranks of which he has been an active factor. Mr. Coe was born on the farm on which he now resides on the 23rd of March, 1849, and is a son of Abraham and Margaret (Nichols) Coe, both of whom were born and reared in Virginia, the former in Frederick county and the latter in Loudoun county. The father was born on the 23rd of December, 1806, and his death occurred on the 6th of October, 1893 ; the mother was born on the 4th of August, 1813, and she was summoned to the life eternal on the 21st of September, 1849. After the death of his first wife Abraham Coe wedded, December 28, 1851, Mrs. Joseph Sellers. No children were born to the latter union, but by his first wife Mr. Coe became the father of nine children, of whom George 0. was the ninth in order of birth. Margaret (Nichols) Coe was a daughter of Nathan and 592 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Sarah (Thomas) Nichols, the former of whom was born November 30, 1770, and the latter, June 13, 1782. About the year 1828 Sarah Nichols entered a tract of three hundred and twenty acres of government land in section 26, Gilead township, one quarter of which is now owned by the subject of this review and who also has the original deed of the land. George O. Coe was reared to the invigorating discipline of the home farm and his educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the district schools. When twenty-one years of age he went to Mt. Gilead, where he engaged in the drug business, in which line of enterprise he was eminently successful, continuing to. be thus identified for fully three decades. In 1902, however, having attained a competency, he retired from active participation in business affairs and since that time he has resided on his splendid farm in Gilead township. In politics he is a stalwart Republican and he has ever exerted his influence to further all projects advanced for the general welfare of the community. In 1903 he was elected to the office of precinct assessor, in which he served for two years with the utmost proficiency. He is a man of fine, straightforward principles and sterling integrity of character and as such is highly esteemed in the community which has represented his home from the time of his birth. On the 14th of May, 1872, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Coe to Miss Hannah V. McCormick, who was born in Canaan township, this county, on the 12th of January, 1855, a daughter of Seth and Rachel (Brown) McCormick, for many years prominent farmers in this section of the fine old Buckeye state. Mrs. Coe was reared in Edison, where she was also educated. To Mr. and Mrs. Coe have been born six children, namely : Elbert G., whose birth occurred on the 5th of July, 1874, was graduated in the Edison High School and in Scio College of Pharmacy and he is now a druggist at Hastings, Florida, and married to Emma G. Walker, of Franklin, Pennsylvania ; Lulu M., born January 16, 1877, was graduated in the Edison High School, where she was a successful and popular teacher for a period of two years ; she is now the wife of William G. Taber, of Mt. Gilead ; Ray M., born March 9, 1879, was graduated in the Edison High School and is now a resident of Hastings, Florida ; Anna M., and Amy M., twins, were born April 12, 1884 ; Amy M., died in April, 1897, and Anna M., after completing the prescribed course in the Edison High School, was postmistress in Edison for five years ; she is now Mrs. Chas. I. Van Natta, of Gilead township ; Fred O., born October 14, 1889, was graduated in the Edison High School and was engaged in teaching for two years in the public schools of Morrow county, and is now a student in Wesley College at Delaware, Ohio. The entire family are devout adherents of the Methodist Episcopal church at Edison, in which Mr. Coe is a member of the official board. 593 - BLANK 594 - EDWARD M. WILLITS HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 595 EDWARD M. WILLITS —In view of the nomadic spirit which dominates so many Americans of today, it is pleasing to find a locality whose residents spend their industrious and useful lives in the place of their nativity, give their energies and abilities to the advancement of their home communities, and spend their years in labor and ever increasing comfort, prosperity and mutual respect. A fine representative of this enviable class of American citizens is Edward M. Willits, who was born in Cardington township, Morrow county, Ohio on the 7th of November, 1867, a son of William and Lucinda (Grandy) Willits, the father being a native of the same township and the mother, of the state of New York. William Willits was born January 19, 1831, and Joel, his father, was a Virginian, the date of whose birth was 1804. Tracing the genalogical line still further into the past it is found that the great, grandfather of Edward M., Samuel Willits, emigrated to America at an early day from his native, Wales. When he was a mere boy Joel Willits, the grandfather, accompanied his parents from the Old Dominion to Ohio, and he was reared on a Knox county farm. By his marriage to Cynthia Lewis, daughter of John Lewis and a native of Pennsylvania, he became the father of John, William, Samuel, Elvira, Deborah, Wendell P., Esther Ann, Clayton and Sarah Ellen Willits ; of the sons, William, Clayton and Wendell were gallant Union oldiers, the first named (father of Edward M.) serving in the ranks of Company I, Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. William Willits married Lucinda Grandy, who was born in New York July 12, 1834, a daughter of William and Celinda (Brockway) Grandy, early settlers of Cardington, Ohio. To this union were born Estella and William Arthur, both deceased ; Edward Martin, the immediate subject of this review, and one who died in infancy. The faithful and good father of this family passed to his reward April 20. 1904, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. Edward M. Willits was reared to maturity on the old home farm three miles west of Cardington and received his education in the district schools of his native township and in the high school at Cardington. After leaving school he entered-the First National Bank of Cardington as teller and bookkeeper, continuing in that capacity for six years, or until the organization of the Citizens' Bank. Of this substantial institution he was one of the promoters and original incorporators, his associates being J. S. Peck, W. B. Denman, C. F. Hammond and H. W. Curl. The Citizens' Bank had a large and substantial list of stock holders and was incorporated under state laws with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars. It organized with the following officers : J. S. Peck, president; W. B. Denman, vice president ; and E. M. Willits, cashier. While the grim reaper has removed many of the original stockholders of the bank, Mr. Willits continues to hold and to honor 596 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY his position as cashier. He has also served for nine years as secretary of the Morrow County Building and Loan Association of Cardington, and for six years was locally prominent in Masonry as secretary of Cardington Lodge No. 384, Free and Accepted Masons. He has had unbounded faith in the reliability of his home town ; is a practicing advocate for home investment and has become one of the largest real estate holders in the village. The above outline record of Mr. Willits' life and characteristic activities points to the energies and abilities of an honorable and successful career, which have sprung from a strong and sterling character. A glance at the political and public phases of his life shows him to be a firm Republican, a public spirited citizen, and especially interested in the advancement of public education, his work and influence in the field last named being accomplished and wielded as a member and as president of the Union School Board. Both Mr. and Mrs. Willits are earnest and active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is giving efficient service as treasurer and member of its official board. On the 8th of October, 1890, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Willits to Miss Daisy M. Wolfe, a native of Cardington and a daughter of A. H. Wolfe. Mrs. Willits is a graduate of the Cardington High School, is deeply interested in musical and educational matters, is president of the Public Library Association, and is an energetic, broadly cultured woman whom it is a pleasure and an inspiration to meet. Of the three sons of the family, William H. is 'a graduate of the Cardington High School, class of 1911 ; Rodney W. is still pursuing his course in that institution ; and Howard D. is a pupil in the public school. HUBERT C. LONG.—Among the representative citizens of Cardington, Morrow county, Ohio, who have contributed in generous measure to the progress and development of this section of the fine old Buckeye state is Hubert C. Long, who is a native son of this city, where he was born on the 6th of November, 1868. He is a son of Thomas W. and Sarah (Wolfe) Long, the former of whom was a native of the state of New York, and the latter of whom claimed Maryland as the place of her birth. Thomas W. Long was reared in the Empire state of the Union, whence he immigrated to Cardington, Ohio, about the year 1865, He first engaged in the milling business and subsequently he and his grandfather purchased a harness store at Cardington, being succeeded in this line of enterprise by Hubert C. Long, the immediate subject of this review, and which he still continues. The father was a Democrat in his political convictions and he was an active factor in the local councils of his party. He was elected probate judge of Morrow county and gave most efficient service in this connection for a number of years. He was postmaster at Cardington for a term of four years and as a citizen his loyalty and public spirit were of the most insistent HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 597 order. In 1867 he married Miss Sarah Wolfe, who was a daughter of Henry Wolfe, of Cardington, Ohio, and they became the parents of two children, Hubert C., of this sketch; and Edith A., who became the wife of William Holden and who resides at Denver, Colorado. Mr. Long met death through injuries received from a bull at Mt. Gilead, in 1893, and his cherished and devoted wife was summoned to the life eternal in 1895. Hubert C. Long was afforded the advantages of the public schools of Cardington. After leaving school he became deputy in the post office under his father and in 1889 he became identified with his father in the harness business, which was thereafter conducted under the firm name of T. W Long & Son until the former's death. Prior to his demise Mr. Long had opened a branch store at Mt. Gilead but after his death Hubert C. moved the store to Cardington, combining the two. In politics Hubert C. Long is aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Democratic party. He has served as treasurer of Cardington on four different occasions and at the present time, in 1911, is serving as treasurer. He also served two terms as cemetery trustee. He is a stock holder in the Citizens' Bank at Cardington, besides which he owns and operates a saw mill and handle factory, manufacturing hay, rake and hoe handles. He also has extensive real estate holdings in and adjacent to Cardington. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 194, and he is a charter member of Cardington Lodge, No. 427, Knights of Pythias. He also holds membership in Aerie 738, Fraternal Order of Eagles. He and his wife are devout members of the Presbyterian church and they are popular factors in connection with the best social activities in their community. In the year 1892 Mr. Long was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Tennant, who was born and reared at Edison, Ohio, and who is a daughter of Samuel Tennant, a representative citizen of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Long have one son, Samuel W., who was born on the 15th of May, 1902. THOMAS F. GORDON, ex-sheriff of Morrow county, Ohio, and one of the progressive and up-to-date farmers and stock men of the county, was born in Perry county, this state, June 8, 1852 a son of one of the pioneer settlers of the Western Reserve. Israel Gordon, his father ,was a native of Greene county, Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio in 1818. For a time he worked in the salt mills at McCuneville, Ohio. He subsequently owned four hundred acres of rich coal land, at the place where Shawnee, Ohio, now stands. When he was fifty-three years of age he sold the tract at a good price and moved to Morrow county, where he purchased eight hundred acres of farming land. His wife, Susan, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, but was reared at Bristol in Perry county. They were the parents of eight children, six sons 598 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY, and two daughters, namely : Margaret, Turner, Harriet, Andrew Jackson, George Washington, Thomas F., Robert Samuel, and C. W. C. W. Gordon left home twelve years ago, and his whereabouts are unknown. Thomas F. Gordon is the owner of four hundred and thirty-one acres of productive lead, one hundred acres in Chester and two hundred and forty-six acres in Harmony township, well improved with good fences and buildings, and his home is a commodious and attractive one. Mr. Gordon has for years taken a special interest in stock raising. He has the largest and best herd of Short Horn cattle in Morrow county, and it is a well known fact that wherever he has exhibited his stock at fairs he has never failed to capture premiums. Among his horses are two prize-winning stallions, and he is a large stockholder in the Chesterville Percheron Horse Company. Politically Mr. Gordon has always been a prominent Republican, active and influential in party affairs, and has twice been elected and served as county sheriff, his first election being in 1892, the second in 1896. Mr. Gordon married, November 4, 1896, Miss Anna M. Winters, daughter of Major Gilbert E. Winters, both a Mexican and Civil war veteran and a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil war Major Winters held important commands, at one time being in command of Camp Denison, Cincinnati. He was one of the first law practioners in Morrow county, and at Sycamore, Illinois, where he made his home for some years, he filled the office of prosecuting attorney. He was born in 1823 and died in 1867. Recently, in the summer of 1910, his son-in-law, Mr. Gordon, erected a monument to his memory. Mr. Gordon has no children, and his wife died Septemebr 1, 1907, and is buried in River Cliff cemetery, Mt. Gilead. She was a member of the Episcopal church and a most estimable woman, loved by all who knew her. ADAM HILDEBRAND.—Engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock-raising on his fine farm of ninety acres in Gilead township, Morrow county, Ohio, Adam Hildebrand is recognized as one of the most successful farmers and stock men in this section of the state. He was born in York county, Pennsylvania, on the 15th of December, 1863, and is a son of Henry and Lydia (Tyson) Hildebrand, the former of whom was likewise born in the old Keystone state of the Union and the latter of whom claimed York county, Pennsylvania, as the place of her birth. The paternal grandfather of him whose name introduces this review was Adam Hildebrand, who was an extensive farmer in Pennsylvania during his life time, his death having there occurred. Henry Hildebrand came to Morrow county, Ohio, in 1866, locating in Canaan township, where he continued to reside until 1876, when he was summoned to eternal rest. Mrs. Hildebrand is a resident of Morrow HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 599 county at the present time. They were the parents of nine children, eight of whom are now living, namely : George, Adam, Levi, Grant, Helen, Isabelle, Samuel and Emma. Peter is deceased and of those living, seven are residents of Morrow county. Adam Hildebrand was a child of but three years of age at the time of his parents' removal from Pennsylvania to Ohio. He was reared in North Woodberry, Morrow county, until he had attained to the age of eleven years, at which time his father died. Since that time he has lived in Gilead and Canaan townships, this county, to whose district schools he is indebted for his early education. He continued to attend school until eighteen years of age and he then turned his attention to farming, in which line of enterprise he has continued to be engaged during the long intervening years to the present time. He devotes his time to diversified agriculture and the growing of high grade stock. In politics he is a stanch advocate of the principles set forth by the Prohibition party and his religious faith is in harmony with the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he and his wife are devout members of the church at Boundary, in which he is a steward. Both are active factors in Sunday school work and for a number of years Mr. Hildebrand was superintendent of that department. In Feruary, 1888, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Hildebrand to Miss Flora V. Ewers, who was born in Gilead township on the 10th of October, 1863, a daughter of Samuel and Emily (Coe) Ewcrs, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hildebrand have two children : S. Guy and Helen E. S. Guy Hildebrand was born on the 27th of October, 1889, and was graduated in the Mount Gilead high school as a member of the class of 1909. He taught school for one year after completing the prescribed course in the local high school and he is now, in 1911, a student in Delaware College. Helen E. was born on the 4th of May, 1894, and is a student in the Mount Gilead high school. BENJAMIN C. SMITH.—Among the highly respected and representative citizens whose depth of character and strict adherence to principles excite the admiration of their contemporaries, Benjamin C. Smith is preeminent. For nearly half a century he was actively identified with agricultural and general mercantile interests in Morrow county, Ohio, and he is now living virtually retired at Sparta, this county. His efforts have been of such a nature that while promoting his individual success they have also advanced the general prosperity by increasing industrial and commercial activity. Captain Smith was born in Milford township, Knox county, on the 13th of December, 1840, and he is the son of Preserve Smith, whose birth occurred in the state of Connecticut about the year 1800. The father came to Ohio in 1828, locating in Knox county, where he reclaimed a fine farm of one hundred