(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 650 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY On December 22, 1904, Mr. Harrod married Mrs. Amy (Julian) Stith, who was born, August 30, 1869, a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Bump) Julian, her father, a native of Fairfield county, Olio, having been one of a family of six children born to John and Margaret (Hedges) Julian, as follows : Aaron, Sarah, Washington, Maria, Samuel and Margaret. Samuel Julian during the Civil war served three years in Company G, Eighty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His wife, the mother of Mrs. Harrod, died May 10, 1895, and the daughter Amy took her place in the home as housekeeper. Mrs. Harrod wedded Franklin B. Stith, and they were the parents of three children, one of whom, Frankie, the second-born, lived but five months. The other children are Laura H., born December 14, 1898, and Francis Julian, born February 5, 1901. Both of these children have remarkable musical talent, and began singing in public when very young, Laura having been but six years old when she and her brother, two years younger, made their first appearance as vocalists, surprising and pleasing the large audience with their wonderfully sweet, rich tones of melody. Mr. and Mrs. Harrod and their daughter Laura are members of the Primitive Baptist church. In his political views Mr. Harrod is a Democrat, and has held numerous township offices, formerly serving as township assesor and trustee. In the care of his fine farm of two hundred and sixty-five acres Mr. Harrod has the assistance of Mr. Marion Hughes, who has been with him for many years. Mr. Hughes was born August 18, 1874, in Kent county, Delaware, a son of William Hughes, a native of Ireland. His grandfather Hughes, who was born in Ireland, was sent to London, England to complete his education, and while attending a banquet in that city was made drunk on wine and placed by his companions aboard a sailing vessel bound for America. He subsequently married a Welsh lady, and having taken up one thousand acres of land in Delaware resided there until his death. William Hughes married Amy Price, who was also a native of Wales. Marion Hughes was educated in the district schools of Delaware, and was there trained to habits of industry and thrift. Coming to Ohio in 1893, he entered the employ of Mr. Harrod on January 2, 1894, and with the exception of one year spent in Illinois, one year in Iowa, and a few months in Oklahoma, has since been in his service, proving himself an able and faithful assistant. THOMAS N. HICKMAN, who has been a resident of Morrow county, Ohio, since 1866; is a representative citizen of this section of the fine old Buckeye state and is a veteran of the Civil war, in which he sacrificed an arm in defense of the Union. He has been identified with various lines of enterprise during his active business career, but for the past fifteen years has been an invalid. Mr. Hickman traces his paternal lineage to the English, and the Hick- HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 651 mans immigrated to the United States in 1862 with William Penn. The Nickols family came from Holland about the same time as the Hickmans. He was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio, on the 6th of August, 1842, and is a son of Robert F. and Harriet (Nickols) Hickman, the former of whom was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of whom claimed Loudoun county, Virginia, as the place of her birth. The father was born in 1806 and was a child of seven years of age at the time of his parents' removal from the old Keystone state of the Union to Chester township, Morrow county, Ohio. He was a Methodist minister from, 1827 to 1839 and in the latter year he turned his attention to the legal profession. He was a lawyer of note in Ohio and practiced his profession at Somerset and New Lexington, Perry county, for a number of years. He was the first probate judge of Perry county and in that office served with distinction for fully twelve years. Willis G. Hickman, brother of Thomas N., served two terms as county commissioner and two terms as treasurer of Athens county, Ohio. Robert F. Hickman became the father of seven children, three of whom are living at the present time, namely : Emma M., who is the widow of Hector B. Keeler, and she resides in Seattle, Washington ; Willis G., of Nelsonville, Ohio where he is a druggist ; and Thomas N., of this review. Mrs. Robert F. Hickman was summoned to the life eternal November 2, 1842, at which time Thomas N. was an infant of three months. After the death of his mother Thomas N. Hickman was taken into the home of his paternal grandparents, who resided at Mount Vernon, Ohio. He was reared and schooled by them until he had attained to the age of ten years, when he returned to his father. As a youth he was apprenticed to the printer's trade and he was thus engaged until the fall of 1860, when he entered St. Joseph's College, at Somerset, Ohio, in which he was a student until the following April. He then, with Mike V. Sheridan and several others, enlisted as a private in the Seventeenth Ohio Infantry, in which he was enrolled until the 27th of April, 1861, at which time he reenlisted in the Eighteenth United States Infantry. He was a dashing and gallant soldier and participated in one of the important battles marking the progress of the war, that of Stone river. On the 31st of December, 1862, he was wounded at this engagement and was discharged for disability on the 16th of March, 1863. As a result of his wound he lost his right arm, this representing one of the infinity of sacrifices made for the cause of the Union in the Civil war. After completing his military service, Mr. Hickman returned to Perry county, where he read law for a time under the able preceptorship of his father. Subsequently he became a painter, traveling from town to town, painting signs and fences, he being a pioneer in that particular line of enterprise. In 1866 he came to Morrow county, where he devoted his time and attention to the trade of painting until 1895, when he 652 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY was stricken down with anchoylosis, or disease of- the joints, and has been an invalid for the past fifteen years. In politics Mr. Hickman maintains an independent attitude, giving his support to the men and measures meeting with the approval of his judgment. For two years he was incumbent of the office of coroner of Morrow county and in all his dealings in public and private life he has been most honorable and straightforward. As a reward for his loyal service to the Union in her time of need he now receives a pension of fifty-five dollars a month. Fraternally he is affiliated with Cardington Lodge, No. 194, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In the year 1867 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Hickman to Miss Jane S. Mosher, a daughter of John and Deborah (Andrews) Mosher, both of whom are deceased. To this union were born six children, five of whom are living : Halwin is engaged as a stone mason in Morrow county ; Lefa is the wife of James S. Randolph of Marion, Ohio ; John W. is a minister in the Friends church and resides in the city of Cleveland, Ohio ; Robert F. died at the age of thirty-two years; George is a farmer in Morrow county, Ohio; and Thomas S. is a student in the Cleveland Bible Institute, at Cleveland. JAMES R. WYKER is recognized as one of the most progressive farmers of Franklin township, Morrow county, Ohio. He believes in up-to-date, scientific methods in farming as well as in other lines of business, and with his son is engaged in operations according to this plan. Mr. Wyker was born in Knox county, Ohio, April 20, 1851, a son of William and Catherine (Struble) Wyker, both natives of New Jersey. William Wyker when a young man of twenty-one years came west to Ohio, and here married and reared his family. After the death of his wife, which occurred in March, 1906, at the age of seventy-seven years, he went to. Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he now makes his home, at this writing being eighty-five years of age. Their family consisted of four sons and three daughters, namely : James R., John D., Kate L., Hattie, Hulda, Okey and Edward. James R. Wyker passed his boyhood days not unlike those of other farmer boys in Knox county and received his education in the Luzern schools. When he reached his majority he hired out to his father to work on the farm by the month, and continued thus occupied for years after his marriage, which event took place on October 9, 1878. His wife, formerly Miss Sylva Blair, is a daughter of John Blair and a granddaughter of William and Mary Blair, who were of Pennsylvania-German origin and who migrated to Ohio from Pennsylvania as early as 1810. John Blair was the first white child born west of Fredericktown, the date of his birth being 1812. He died in 1899. Mrs. Wyker's mother, HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 653 Arthmisa (Stevens) Blair, died in 1880, at the age of seventy-four years. As her inheritance, Mrs. Wyker received from her father's estate one hundred and fifty-five acres in the northeast corner of Franklin township. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wyker, three in number, are as follows: Herbert (who died in infancy), Calvin Homer and John Blair. Calvin H. was born February 4, 1883 ; is a graduate of the Fredericktown high school, and took a course in the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, preparatory to fitting himself for the medical profession. He pursued his medical studies at ,Starling Medical University, Columbus, Ohio, where he graduated in 1908. He is now engaged in the practice of his profession at Rushville, Ohio. The other son, John Blair, is engaged in' farming with his father. He was born June 1, 1889. After his graduation, in 1908, from the Fredericktown high school he entered the State University and began an agricultural course which he expects to complete. A special feature of the John Blair farm is the maple orchard, a grove of four hundred and fifty trees, from which they manufacture maple syrup, for the purity and excellent quality of which they have made a reputation, their average syrup yield being about one hundred and seventy-five gallons. Their brand is "Wyker's Pure Maple Syrup." While the majority of farmers in this locality are denuding their land, the Wykers take the opposite course, and have recently planted two hundred young maples, thus adding to the value of their grove. Mr. Wyker and his family are members of the Waterford Presbyterian church, and politically he is a Democrat. DANIEL J. DONOVAN certainly deserves representation among the men who have been influential in public affairs in Cardington, Morrow county, Ohio. He has done much to advance the wheels of progress, aiding materially in the development of business activity and energy, on which depend the prosperity and growth of this state. He has found in each transition stage opportunity for further effort and broader labor and his enterprise has not only contributed to his individual success but has also been of marked value to the community in which he makes his home. Mr. Donovan was born in Cardington on the 15th of August, 1868, and is a son, of Jerry and Anna (Bradley) Donovan, both of whom were born and reared in Ireland, where their marriage was solemnized and whence they' immigrated to the United States about the year 1851, locating at Cardington, where the father secured employment as a mechanic for the Big Four Railroad Company. Later he opened a shop of his own and he continued to be identified with the work of his trade during the remainder of his life, his death having occurred in the year 1882. His cherished and devoted wife survives him and is now maintaining her home with her son, Daniel J., of this review in Cardington, Ohio. Mr. 654 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY and Mrs. Donovan became the parents of eleven children, all of whom are now deceased except the immediate subject of this sketch. Daniel J. was reared in the town of Cardington, to whose public schools he is indebted for his educational training. At the age of fourteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship at the telegrapher's trade in this city, and after completing it he had charge of an office in Dellington, Ohio. In 1884 he resigned his position and returned home where he entered into the grocery business with his brothers. In 1884 the brothers purchased the establishment of W. H. Marvin & Company and a few years later they purchased the building in which the business is now located, on the corner of Marion and Second streets. Mr. Donovan has the leading grocery establishment in Cardington and does a large business in retail and also some wholesale business. He has a large, clean, fresh stock of merchandise and his cordial and genial manner makes him a favorite with the people. All of his brothers are deceased. Aside from his other interests he is a stockholder and director in the First National Bank of Cardington and he owns a half interest in the Kries block, on Main street. He owns some valuable residence property in the city, one of his holdings being the Kries homestead. In the year 1899 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Donovan to Miss Nellie Cleary, of Delaware, Ohio. She is a lady of pleasing address and personality, and ably fills her place as hostess in their comfortable and hospitable residence. To this union have been born three children, namely : Eustelle, Joseph and Robert. In politics Mr. Donovan accords a stalwart allegiance to the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor and he and his wife are devout communicants of the Catholic church, St. Mary's, at Cardington, Ohio, in the various departments of whose work they have been most active factors. While undoubtedly he has not been without that honorable ambition which is so powerful and useful as an incentive to activity in public affairs, Mr. Donovan regards the pursuits .of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. In the community affairs he is active and influential and his support is readily and generously given to many measures projected for the general progress and improvement. His life history is certainly worthy of commendation and emulation, for along honorable and straightforward lines he has won the success which crowns his efforts and makes him one of the substantial residents of Cardington. ALPHEOUS L. PIPES.—Honored and respected by all, there is no man in Morrow county who occupies a more enviable position in commercial, industrial and financial circles than does Alpheous L. Pipes. not alone on account of the brilliant success he has achieved, but also on account of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever followed. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 655 - BLANK 656 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY PICTURE OF A. L. PIPES HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 657 PICTURE OF IONA M. PIPES 658 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY PICTURE OF RESIDENCE OF A. L. PIPES HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 659 perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution, and his close application to business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is his today. He stands as one of the foremost merchants in this part of the state and in other lines his business has assumed large proportion, but while laboring for his own success he has also promoted the general prosperity by pushing forward the wheels of progress and advancing the commercial prestige of the county in which he makes his home. Alpheous L. Pipes was born in Harmony township, Morrow county, Ohio, on the 7th of March. 1864, a son of Harod and Mary J. (Sellers) Pipes, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Harod Pipes was identified with agricultural pursuits during the major portion of his active business career and he was summoned to the life eternal on the 20th of June, 1903 ; his wife passed away on the 29th of September, 1909. They were the parents of six children : three sons and three daughters, concerning whom the following brief record is here inserted : Allie is the wife of Ed Vance and resides at Cardington, this county ; Alpheous L. is the immediate subject of this review ; Joseph H. and Jeremiah are both prominent farmers in Harmony township ; Cora is the wife of W. F. Hildebrand, of Morrow county, and Mertie is now Mrs. Lyman P. Ulrey and maintains her home in Morrow county.. Alpheous L. Pipes was reared to adult age on the home farm in Harmony township and after completing the curriculum of the district schools of his birth place he was for two years a student in the high school at Chesterville. After leaving school he devoted his entire time and attention to farming until 1891, in which year he engaged in the hotel business at Fulton, continuing to be identified with that line of enterprise for about one year, at the expiration of which he launched forth in the hardware business. In 1904 he added to his original concern a general stock of groceries, dry-goods, boots and shoes and notions. His establishment is practically a well equipped department store and it has been said concerning him that he handles everything from a needle to an automobile or threshing machine. His fine line of business and the large patronage to which he caters are the result of his own well directed endeavors. In addition to his store enterprise he is a stockholder in the People's Savings Bank at Mount Gilead, and is also a stockholder in the Ohio State Life Insurance Company. On the 31st of October, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Pipes to Miss Iona M. Graham, who is a daughter of Benton and Candace (Selover) Graham and whose birth occurred on the 27th of May, 1865. Benton Graham was born in Congress township, Morrow county, and his wife was born in Franklin township. Benton is a son of Samuel Graham, who was born and reared in the state of Pennsylvania, whence he came to the fine old Buckeye state of the Union. Mrs. Pipes is from a large family of eleven 660 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY children and all living but the mother. Mr. Graham is seventy-four years old and in good health. Mrs. Pipes grew up on the old home farm in Congress township and she early availed herself of the advantages afforded in the district and high school at Mount Gilead. She was very studious and bright and for seven years prior to her marriage was a popular and successful teacher in the public schools of Morrow county. Mr. and Mrs. Pipes have three children, namely : Delta Mae, born July 8, 1891, was graduated at the Cardington high school in 1909. She attended school at Granville one year and will pursue a business course in the following year. Mabel F., whose birth occurred on the 31st of January, 1894, is now a student in the Cardington high school. Pliny P., born April 12, 1896, is attending public school at Fulton. All the children are at the parental home. In politics Mr.. Pipes accords an unswerving allegiance to the principles of the Democratic party and while he has never been anxious for the honors or emoluments of political office of any description he has ever manifested a keen interest in all matters touching the general welfare. He is a member of Fulton Lodge, No. 433, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his wife is affiliated with the Daughters of Rebecca, in which she is vice grand of the Fulton Lodge. Mr. Pipes is a man of distinct and forceful individuality, of marked sagacity, of undaunted enterprise, and in manner he is genial, courteous and easily approachable. His career has ever been such as to warrant the trust and confidence of the business world and as a citizen he holds no mean place in the confidence and esteem of his fellow men. PROFESSOR MILTON C. LEHNER.-A man of scholarly tastes and ambitions, Professor Milton C. Lehner has met with much success in his career as an educator, and as superintendent of the Blooming Grove school is filling the position with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned. A son of C. F. Lehner, he was born November 19, 1889, in Cardington township, Morrow county, Ohio, of excellent German stock, his grandfather, Christian F. Lehner, having been born in Germany, near Heidelburg. C. F. Lehner, a prosperous farmer of Cardington township, married Catherine D. Kuehner, a daughter of Joseph and Magdalena Kuehner, natives of Germany, and into their household five children were born, namely : George J., of Marion, Ohio ; Emma, wife of Hollie Fate ; Milton C.., the special subject of this brief biographical sketch ; Mary C., and Clara M. Brought up on the home farm, Milton C. Lehner obtained his elementary education in the district schools of Cardington township, and was graduated from the Cardington high school with the class of 1907. Entering upon a professional career, he taught in the district school for two years, and in 1909 and 1910 was principal of the Edison school. Professor Lehner was then elected super- HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 661 intendent of the Blooming Grove school for the school year of 1910 and 1911, and is performing the duties resting upon him in this capacity most successfully. This is a special district school and has two teachers and thirty-six pupils, all of whom are making good progress under the Professor's instruction and superintendence. Professor Lehner has continued his studies at the Wooster Summer school, in Wooster, Ohio, and now holds a high school certificate good for three years. The school of which he has charge is a third grade chartered high shool, and when a school of higher rank is needed here it will, without doubt, he raised to a first grade high school. The Professor is independent in politics, voting as his conscience dictates, without regard to party prejudices. He will enter school at Wooster in the summer of 1911. ANDREW M. ROSE.—The history of Andrew M. Rose shows how potent an element is persistent purpose in the active affairs of life. Dependent upon his own resources at an early age, he went into debt for land in Lincoln township, Morrow county, where he applied himself vigorously to the work at hand and where he steadily worked his way upward. Being imbued with a laudable ambition to attain something better than ordinary success he gradually advanced in those walks of life demanding business ability and fidelity to duty and to-day commands the respect and esteem of all with whom he has come in contact. Mr. Rose is a native of Cass township, Richland county, Ohio, where his birth occurred on the 23d of February, 1839. His parents, Thomas T. and Elizabeth A. (Armstrong) Rose, were born in Sussex county, New Jersey, and Erie county, Ohio, respectively. The father was born on the 13th of July, 1814, and was a son of Aaron Rose, whose birth occurred in New Jersey on the 5th of October, 1782. Aaron Rose came to Richland county, Ohio, with his family in 1828, and he was identified with agricultural interests in that section during the remainder of his life, his death having occurred on the 27th of September, 1849. He was the father of the following named children : Frederick, Thomas T., William, Andrew, May A., Emily, Margaret, Martha and Isabelle, the father of the subject of this review being the second in order of birth. Aaron Rose was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church and he was an active participant in the public affairs of Richland county during his lifetime. Thomas T. Rose was afforded good educational advantages in his youth and as he reached man's estate he turned his attention to the ministry, becoming a preacher in the United Brethren church and traveling in connecton with his calling for some ten years. He married Miss Elizabeth A. Armstrong on the 12th of July, 1837, and they became the parents of eight children : Andrew M., Catharine, Mina, Eliza, Seaberry Ford, Alice E., Emma and Charles H. Catharine and Eliza are deceased and Mina is the widow of Judson Benton, of 662 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Shiloh, Ohio. Mr. Rose was summoned to eternal rest on the 8th of October, 1864, and his cherished and devoted wife, who was born on the 1st of March, 1818, survived him for fully two-score years, her death having occurred on the 3d of August, 1905, at the venerable age of eighty-seven years. Andrew M. Rose, the immediate subject of this review, was sixteen years of age at the when his father was appointed to the United Brethren church at Cardington, where the family resided for a period of five years. He had been educated in the public schools of Richland county and after his marriage, in 1859, he worked by the day for a time and eventually went into debt for land in Lincoln township, where he continued to be engaged in diversified agriculture until 1903, in which year he retired from active business affairs and removed to Cardington, where he is now living in the enjoyment of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. With the passage of time Mr. Rose became a most successful farmer and after paying for his land he raised the same to a high state of cultivation and introduced the best of improvements. At the time of the Civil war he was an ardent Union man and on the 24th of October, 1863, he enlisted as a member of Company F, Eighty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He saw much active service in the Sixteenth Army Corps in the Army of the Tennessee, participating in many of the important conflicts marking the progress of the war, and after the fall of Atlanta he was transferred to the Fifteenth Corps, accompanying General Sherman on his ever memorable march to the sea. He was never wounded while in service and at the close of war received his honorable discharge. He retains a deep and abiding interest in his old comrades in arms and signifies the same by membership in James St. John Post, No. 82, Grand Army of the Republic. He is the recipient of a pension of fifteen dollars a month as a reward for his services to the country in the time of her direst need. In politics Mr. Rose accords a loyal allegiance to the cause of the Republican party, and although he was never anxious for political preferment he gave most effficent service as clerk of Lincoln township for a period of twenty-five years, acquitting himself most creditably in the demands of that office. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with Bennington Lodge, No. 433, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Fulton, Ohio, and in the same is past grand. He and his wife are most worthy citizens and their home is a recognized center of refined and generous hospitality. On April 6, 1859, Mr. Rose was united in marriage to Miss Catharine Click, who was born in Franklin county, Ohio, on the 13th of January, 1840, and who is a daughter of Andrew and Sarah (Alspauch) Click, who established their home in Lincoln township, this county, when Catharine was a child of four years of age. She was educated in the public schools of this county and is a woman of most gracious personality, being deeply beloved by all who have HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 663 come within the sphere of her gentle influence. Mr. and Mrs. Rose became the parents of two children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated: Ada A., born on the 11th of January, 1860, is the wife of James R. Sage, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Lincoln township ; and Judson H., born on the 25th of March, 1863, resides on his father's farm in Lincoln township. He married Miss Sarah J. Ocher and they have one son, Avon M., whose birth occurred on the 3d of November, 1897. The grandson is attending school at Fulton, Ohio. In every sense cf the word Mr. Rose and his estimable wife are representative citizens whose loyalty and public spirit have been of the most insistent order. He is a man of extensive information and broad human sympathy and no one in the community holds a higher place in popular confidence and esteem. BYRON DAVIS, a well known and highly respected farmer of Franklin township, Morrow county, Ohio, was born in Richland county, this state, August 12, 1846, a son of Thomas J. and Caroline M. Davis. Thomas J. Davis, a native of the "Keystone state," born December 4, 1821, left Pennsylvania when he was eighteen years of age and came to Ohio, making settlement near Fredericktown. Here for a time he rented and leased land, and finally he bought a two acre tract near Hagerstown. By hard work and careful economy he saved enough money with which to purchase eighty acres of land in Richland county. This gave him a start. Then he bought, developed and sold other tracts, and in 1890 bought his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Franklin township. In his youth he took advantage of his educational opportunities and was more or less of a student all his life. In addition to conducting farming operations, he taught school for a time at Woodbury. On December 4, 1845, he married Miss Caroline Hipsley, daughter of Caleb and Charlotte Hipsley, natives of Maryland and pioneers of the Western Reserve. Her maternal grandfather —Grandfather Nelson— was a noted Methodist minister in early days. It was in 1830 that the Hipsley family crossed the mountains cn their way to the new home in Ohio, the journey being made in a covered wagon. Arrived in Knox county, the elder Hipsley purchased a hundred acres of land near Fredericktown, where he settled and prospered exceedingly. His children were George, Elizabeth, Caroline M., Hannah and Lottie America, all now deceased. Caroline M. Hipsley was born September 19, 1823, in Frederick City, Maryland, and was a child of nine years when the family came to Ohio. After her marriage to Thomas J. Davis they resided for a time in Richland county, coming from there to Morrow county, which was ever afterward their home. To their union were born four children, namely : Byron, whose name introduces Vol. II—11 664 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY this review, and Henry R., George and Mary, all deceased, Mary having died in infancy. Henry R., the youngest son, was drowned while bathing in the river at Delaware in June, 1883. He was twenty-four years of age, and at the time of his death was a student in the Ohio Wesleyan University. George lived to be forty-two years of age and died at home February 27, 1900. The father died after a lingering illness, December 29, 1890. He was buried in the Baptist cemetery. The remains of the son Henry R. who was interred at the "Shauck" cemetery near Johnsville, were brought from there and placed by the father's side at the same time Mrs. Davis died February 28, 1911, aged eighty-seven years. Her own testimony was that she was converted to God one Sabbath on her way to Sabbath school and united with the church when fourteen years of age. It was her delight to hear the word of God expounded, and on the occasion of pastoral calls she was always very appreciative of the comfort and counsel given. She had the adornment of a meek and quiet spirit, refined and purified through much tribulation. Her later years were passed amidst comfortable and happy surroundings, and, mellowing in experience with the increase of her years, when the end came she was as a shock of corn, ready for the garner of God. At home in the midst of her family she had much peace, and her very last years were filled with delight in the possession of her grandchild who was named for her. Besides her son and his family, there were twenty-four neices and nephews on both sides who share in their sorrow. Byron Davis and Verna V. Watson were united in marriage December 31, 1903, and they were the parents of one child, Mary Caroline, born July 13, 1907. Mrs. Byron Davis was born January 22, 1880, a daughter of William and Rosanna (Elder) Watson, who reside in Perry township and aged, respectively, seventy-one and sixty-four years, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. IRA E. COOMER.—Through well directed efforts in connection with the great basic industry under whose effective discipline he was reared Mr. Coomer has gained precedence as one of the representative farmers and stock-growers of his native county and township, where he has so guided his course as to retain at all times the unqualified esteem and confidence of all who know him. His finely improved farm of one hundred acres, known as "Pinehurst," is eligibly located in Peru township, and on every side are patent evidences of thrift and prosperity. Mr. Coomer is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of this favored section of the old Buckeye state, with whose history the name has been identified for more than four score years, and his personal standing as well as his ancestral prestige render most consonant a review of his career within the pages of this history of his native county, where he has applied his energies as to gain success and independence of no uncertain order. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 665 On the old homestead of his father in Peru township, Morrow county, Ira E. Coomer was born on the 19th of April, 1858, and thus it may be well understood that this fine section of his native county is endeared to him by the gracious memories and associations of the past as well as by those of the present time, involving his connection with both civic and industrial affairs. He is a son of William and Barbara A. (Place) Coomer, the former of whom was born in Delaware county, Ohio, a son of Ira W. 'Coomer, who was born in the state of New York, as was also his father, Benjamin Coomer. The family was founded in America in the Colonial era of our national history and the major number of its representatives have followed agricultural pursuits. Ira W. Coomer came prom the old Empire state to Ohio in 1828 and numbered himself among the pioneers of the central part of this commonwealth. Here he reclaimed a productive farm from the forest wilderness and here both he and his wife passed the residue of their lives. Of their thirteen children William was the eldest, and of the number six are now living, namely : Leander, Adelbert, Sophia, Mary E., Viola and Priscilla. William Coomer was reared to maturity on the old pioneer homestead and contributed his quota to its reclaimation and development. He never wavered in his allegiance to the great industry of agriculture and through the same he eventually became numbered among the representative farmers of Peru township, Morrow county, where he commanded secure vantage ground in the confidence and good will of his fellow men. He was a man of sterling character—honest and industrious and loyal to all the duties of citizenship. He was summoned to the life eternal in 1884, and his venerable widow still resides on the old homestead, secure in the affectionate regard of all who have come within the sphere of her gracious influence. Wiliam Coomer and Barbara A. Place were married in Morrow county and here they reared their seven childen, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth : Elmore, Ira E., Leonora, Irene, Emma, Frederick and Willington. All of the children are still living except' Leonora, whose death occurred in 1896. Ira E. Coomer's early experiences were those gained in connection with the work of the old homestead. farm, which was the place of his birth, and thus he learned the value and dignify of earnest toil and endeavor, the while he duly availed himself of the advantages afforded in the public schools of the locality. He continued to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to his legal majority, and he then went to Illinois, where he found employment at farm work and other occupations, as' did he later also in the state of Kansas. He was absent from his native state somewhat more than three years and in the meanwhile he carefully conserved his earnings, so that he had, a modest capital upon his return to Ohio, in 1883. In 1885 666 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY he married and he and his bride established their home in a two-room log cabin, in which they resided for a short time. Mr. Coomer then rented a farm in Peru township, and there he initiated his independent efforts as an agriculturist and stock-grower. Indefatigable industry and careful management marked his course under these conditions and he bent every energy to the work in hand, with dip laudable purpose of securing eventually a farm of his own. Economy ruled in the household and all other departments of the farm, and in 1890 he had accumulated sufficient capitalistic reserve to justify him in the purchase of twenty acres of land in section 2, Peru township. This formed the nucleus of his present fine farm of one hundred acres and it may readily be understood that the advancement made was through consecutive industry and determined purpose. His present homestead, "Pinehurst," was purchased by Mr. Coomer in 1900, and the property is most eligibly located two and one-half miles east of the village of Ashley. The buildings on the place are of substantial order, with modern equipment and facilities, and the owner has shown much discrimination in improving the property, which has been brought up to high standard, though he still consults ways and means to increase still further the productivity of his land and to gain the maximum returns from his various operations, in which he makes use of the best modern appliances and scientific methods. In connection with diversified agriculture Mr. Coomer raises high-grade live stock, and in this latter department he is devoting special attention to the breeding of registered Merino sheep. That one animated by such definite ambition in connection with personal affairs should also be liberal and progressive as a citizen is a foregone conclusion. Thus Mr. Coomer has ever been ready to give his influence and cooperation in the furtherance of measures and enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of the community, and he is well fortified in his opinions as to matters of public import. He accords a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, and the confidence and esteem reposed in him in his native township have been significantly shown, since he served for a number of years as a member of the board of trustees of Peru township, of which he is assessor at the time of this writing, in 1911. He and his wife are active and valued members of the local organizations of the fraternity known as the Gleaners, and the family is distinctively popular in connection with the best social activities of the home community. In the year 1885 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Coomer to Miss Allie E. Eckles, who was born and reared in Delaware county, this state. She attended the public schools of Ashley, that county, until she had attained to the age of sixteen years, and later came with her parents to Morrow county, where she remained at the parental home until her marriage to Mr. Coomer. As already intimated, the honeymoon of the young couple was passed in HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 667 their little log cabin of two rooms, where they lived one year, and then lived on a rented farm until 1890, when they removed to their small farm of twenty acres, where the household accommodations were of better order. Their present home is far different than that in which they initiated their married life and they are fully appreciative of its advantages and attractions, the while they here find pleasure in extending a generous hospitality to their wide circle of friends. In conclusion of this brief sketch is entered the following record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Coomer : Joseph, who was born on the 1st of January, 1886, was graduated in the high school at Cardington, this county, as a member of the class of 1906, after which he taught school for a time, and he is now a student in the Bliss Business College at Columbus, the capital of the state, in which institution he will have completed his course before this publication is issued from the press ; Carrie B., who was born September 12, 1890, is an expert stenographer but she is now married to Guy Legg and lives in Ashley, Ohio ; the three younger children are to be found beneath the home rooftree, their names and respective dates of birth being as here noted : Elbert, May 10, 1892; Frederick M., November 16, 1898; and. Margaret E., July 22, 1904. JOSEPH H. YEAGER.-A representative agriculturist of Morrow county, Joseph H. Yeager is a well-known resident of North Bloomfield township, where his finely cultivated and well appointed farm gives substantial evidence of the excellent care and skill with which it is managed. He was born October 12, 1844, in Lancaster, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, coming from sturdy German ancestry, his paternal grandparents having been born, reared and educated in Germany. William Yeager, his father, spent his earlier life in Pennsylvania. In 1850 he came with his family to Ohio, making the journey through the forests with teams, bringing with him, all of his worldly possessions. Locating in Troy township, Morrow county, he there rounded out a long life, passing away in the ninetieth year of his age. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Harriet Dase, seven children were born, five of whom grew to years of maturity and four are now, in the spring of 1911, living, as follows : Amanda, wife of Levi Texter ; Belinda, wife of Wesley Texter ; Mary, widow of Alonzo Carpenter ; and Joseph H. Joseph H. Yeager, a lad of six years when he came with his parents to Morrow county, well remembers the long ride in the covered wagon and the camping and cooking by the wayside. He obtained a practical education in the district schools, and soon after the breaking out of the Civil war ran away from home to join the army. His father realized that he was not old enough or strong 668 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY enough to endure the hardships of a soldier's life and refused to allow him to enlist. Beginning life then as a wage-earner, he worked by the day or month until twenty-five years old, when, having been wise in his savings and prudent in his expenditures, he found himself with a bank account amounting to eight hundred dollars. Then, in partnership with his brother-in-law he bought eighty acres of land in North Bloomfield township, and was busily employed in its management for four years, when he sold his interest in the place. He subsequently bought forty acres iii the same township, and has since added to his landed possessions and now owns eighty acres of well tilled land, and has a half interest, besides, in ninety-one acres. In his agricultural operations Mr. Yeager has met with uniform prosperity and is one of the leading men of his community. Enterprising and active, he invested in a threshing outfit many years ago, being one of the first men in this part of the county to own a threshing machine, and each harvest season finds him one of the busiest of men, his services being in demand throughout the neighborhood. Mr. Yeager has been twice married. He married first Mary E. Klinefelter, a daughter of Jacob and Catharine (Kiefer) Klinefelter. She passed to the life beyond May 1, 1890, leaving six children, as follows : May, wife of Grant Haldeman, of Marion, Ohio ; Daisy D., wife of Edwin Croft, of Mansfield, Ohio ; Edith, wife of Charles Garverick, of Troy township ; Clara, wife of Ira Garverick ; Carlson J., living at home ; and Bertha. living at home. Mr. Yeager married for his second wife, January 26, 1893, Jennie F. Stull, who was born April 28, 1868, in Morrow county, a daughter of George Stull. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Yeager, namely : Cloyd, born November 2, 1896 ; Glenn, born May 3, 1899 ; Kenneth, born July 8, 1906 ; and Jennie M., born September 1, 1908. In his political affiliations Mr. Yeager is a Democrat, and has filled various local offices, having been township trustee, assessor for eight years and land appraiser for North Bloomfield township. He is a member and one of the directors of the Morrow County Agricultural Society, and both he and his wife belong to the Johnsville Grange, of which he has been master, while she is now lecturer for the local grange. Both Mr. and Mrs. Yeager are members of the United Evangelical church of Troy township, and liberal contributors towards its support. Fraternally Mr. Yeager belongs to Johnsville Lodge, No. 469, I. 0. 0. F., of which he is past noble grand. The pretty homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Yeager is known as "The Maple Grove Farm." UPTON J. COVER, who has for years figured as one of the representative business men of Mt. Gilead, Ohio, is now engaged in the seed business, with headquarters in the Center Block, on Center street. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 669 Mr. Cover was born in Morrow county October 10, 1853, a son of Jason J. and Catherine (King) Cover, and was reared in the village of Johnsville in Perry township, this county, where his father was both a farmer and merchant. After completing his common school studies he went to Westerville, where he entered Otterbein University and pursued a course of study. Returning home, he worked for his father on the farm and in the store until 1878, when he engaged in the grain business at Edison, Ohio. After two years spent at that place he sold his interests there and then, in 1880, associated himself as a partner with Mozier Brothers in the grain and seed business at Mt. Gilead. In 1890 Mozier Brothers sold their interest in the business, and the firm became Levering and Cover, which continued five years. Afterward Mr. Cover continued the grain business, which claimed his attention until 1905, when he sold out to Wagoner Brothers. Since that time he has conducted a seed business. He has a three-fifths interest in the building in which his store in situated, and where he has a prosperous business, and he owns several residences in Mt. Gilead and one in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Cover married Sarah Held, of Johnsville, Ohio, in 1879, and they have two sons : Donn, a clerk in the post office at Mt. Gilead, was born October 30, 1883, and Franklin, born October 22, 1895, has entered Mt. Gilead high school. Politically Mr. Cover is a Republican. Religiously he is identified with the Methodist Episcopal church of Mt. Gilead, in which he is prominent and active, being a trustee and member of the official board. GEORGE W. MODIE was for many years a leading and influential citizen of this section of the fine old Buckeye state and his activity in business affairs, his cooperation in public interests and his zealous support of all public objects that he believed would contribute to the material, social or moral improvement of the community kept him in the foremost rank of those to whom this county owes its development and present position as one of the leading commercial and agricultural regions of Ohio. His life was characterized by upright, honorable principles and it also exemplified the truth of the Emersonian philosophy that "The way to win a friend is to be one." His genial, kindly manner won him the kind regard and good will of all with whom he came in contact and thus his death was uniformly mourned throughout this district. He was a fine old veteran of the Civil war and during the major portion of his active career was engaged in agricultural operations on his fine farm east of Chesterville. He was summoned to the life eternal on the 27th of May, 1885, and is survived by his cherished and devoted wife. At Mansfield, Ohio, on the 8th of October, 1832, occurred the birth of George W. Modie, who was a son of William and Margaret 670 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY (Gates) Modie, both of whom were natives of this state. William Modie was twice married, and by his first union was the father of two sons—Milton and Wesley. His second marriage was prolific of nine children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth : George, Sanford, Martin, William, Mary, Martha J., Margaret A., Minerva I. and Emma. George W. Modie, the immediate subject of this review, recived his elementary educational training in the Washington district school and at the age of twenty-two years, when President Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers to defend the cause of the Union, his intrinsic loyalty to his country caused him to enlist as a soldier in Company A, Twentieth Regiment, Third Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps. He immediately proceeded to the front and after the expiration of his three years' term of enlistment he reenlisted for the remainder of the war. He participated in a number of important engagements marking the progress of the war and he also accompanied Sherman on that general's memorable march to the sea. After the close of the sanguinary conflict he went to Washington, where he took part in the Grand Review, in which the hosts of brave veterans marched up Pennsylvania avenue in the Capital city and lay down their arms, the worthy recipients of a nation 's gratitude and praise. Returning home to Ohio in 1865, Mr. Modie was variously engaged until after his marriage, in 1868, when he turned his attention to farming on the old home estate three miles east of Chester- This farm comprises forty-three acres of most arable land and on it Mr. Modie was engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock. He was a blacksmith by trade and worked at that occupation off and on as long as his health would permit. In his political adherency he was a stanch supporter of the cause promulgated by the Democratic party. In his religious faith he was a consistent member of the Chesterville Baptist church, and he was for twenty years the efficient incumbent of the office of church treasurer. He was a man of fine moral caliber, broad information and charitable impulses, and in all the relations of life he so conducted himself as to command the unalloyed regard of all with whom he came in contact. On the 20th of October, 1868, Mr. Modie was united in marriage to Miss Isabel E. Nye, of Chester township. She is a daughter of W. W. and Martha (Ball) Nye, the latter of whom was a daughter of Uzell and Penina (Lyon) Ball. Mr. Nye's mother was a school teacher in New York prior to her marriage to Samuel Nye, of New Hampshire. She was related to Josiah Bartlett, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. While Mr. and Mrs. Modie were never blessed with any of their own children they took into their home and reared to maturity a boy named Lewis Howell, who was a soldier in the Spanish-American war. After his return home from Porto Rico Mr. Howell contracted dyptheria and died, at "he age of thirty-two years. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 671 Through their energy and industry Mr. and Mrs. Modie had been enabled to build for themselves a fine and comfortable home, but as a result of debts arising from his long illness and subsequent death the grief-stricken widow found herself facing a debt of two thousand dollars. Determined to retain her home, she borrowed enough money to eradicate the indebtedness and after a number of years of close and persistent management she was enabled to cancel the debt against her property. After her husband's death she took a young girl, Rose Dement, into her home and cared for her until her twenty-seventh year, when she became the wife of Wilbur Buckmaster. Mrs. Modie is a woman of unusual liberality and being very much interested in homeless boys and girls she has frequently harbored orphans and helped them to places of independence. In connection with her varied interests she is an extensive contributor to a number of newspapers. She has traveled extensively and visited each of the following expositions : Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis and Jamestown, and she is an annual attendant at the World's International Stock Show at Chicago. She is a brilliant woman, an interesting conversationalist and an exceedingly popular hostess. She is a member of the local lodge of the Order of the Eastern Star and recently gave a memorial recitation to her fraternity sisters, the name of her selection being "The End of the Labyrinth." She also holds the office of state inspector of the Ladies Grand Army members, having been elected thereto at the last state encampment of that organization at Florida. She passes her winters at Kissimmee, Florida, where the southern sunshine and flowers have won her heart. EDWARD D. MECKLEY.-A man of ability and scholarly attainments, Edward D. Meckley, of Troy township, has for many years been actively associated with the development and advancement of the educational interests of Morrow county, and has won a far more than local reputation as a faithful and efficient educator. A son of Andrew Meckley, he was born September 12, 1863, in Crow-ford county, Ohio. His paternal grandfather, David Meckley, came with his family, sometime in the early forties, to what is now Troy township in Morrow county, Ohio, from Pennsylvania, his native state, and here spent his remaining days. To him and his wife seven children, four sons and three daughters, were born, and of these six children were living in the spring of 1911. A lad of ten or eleven years when he accompanied his parents from York county, Pennsylvania, the place of his birth, to Ohio, Andrew Meckley was brought up in what. is now Morrow county, and during his active career has been prosperously engaged in agricultural pursuits, his well-improved and highly cultivated farm being advantageously located in Troy township. He is an influential member of the community, and has served as township trustee, assessor and treasurer, in each and every official capacity 672 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY proving himself worthy of the trust reposed in him by his fellow-citizens. He married Mary Hassler, and they became the parents of five children, as follows : Laura A., wife of Dr. J. W. Davis, of Anderson, Indiana ; Edward D., the subject of this sketch ; Emma, who became the wife of C.. M. Hershner, of Galion, Ohio, has passed to the higher life ; and two children that died in infancy. Brought up on the old home farm in Troy township, Edward D. Mecley obtained his rudimentary knowledge of books in the district schools of his township, and later continued his studies at the Upper Sandusky High School. Scholarly in his tastes and ambitions, he then entered the Ada Normal School, at Ada, Ohio, where he became well qualified for a professional career, and has since pursued his chosen vocation most successfully, for twenty-eight years having been one of the leading educators of Morrow county, his ability and skill as an instructor being widely recognized. Mr. Meckley married, September 26, 1888, Winnie May Miller, who was born and educated in Troy township, being a daughter of J. A. and Nancy (Stull) Miller.. She died June 9, 1897, leaving three children, namely : Orrie H., a graduate of the Troy township High School and the Anderson (Indiana) High School, is now a teacher in Iberia, Ohio ; John E., who was graduated from the Troy township High School, is teaching in North Bloomfield township ; and Marie, a pupil in the Troy township High School. Mr. Meckley married for his second wife, Mary B. Lewis, and to them three children have been born, namely ; Blanche F., Ruth L. and Mary L. Politically a Democrat, Mr. Meckley has served continuously as township clerk since 1898. Fraternally he is a member of Lucullus Lodge, No. 121, Knights of Pythias, at Butler, Ohio ; and of Live Oak Camp No. 11321, Modern. Woodmen of America. JOHN WILLIAM LEWIS —A man of good business enterprise and much intelligence, John William Lewis, a prosperous farmer of South Bloomfield township, is a fine representative of the self-made men of our times, his life furnishing to the rising generation a forcible example of the material success to be obtained by persevering industry and a wise system of economy. A son of John V. Lewis, he was born February 11, 1862, in Belmont county, Ohio, where he was bred and educated. He is of pure English ancestry, his paternal great-great-grandfather having emigrated to the United States during the later years of the eighteenth century. He was a blacksmith by trade, an occupation which has since been followed by his descendants for five generations, and brought with him from his English home an anvil which is still in possession of the Lewis family. John V. Lewis, a son of Theodore Lewis, a native-born citizen of Ohio, was born in 1837, in Belmont county, Ohio, and until his HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 673 marriage lived with his parents, being, so as to speak, raised in his father's smithy. Succeeding to the ancestral occupation, he became an expert blacksmith, and followed his chosen trade throughout his active life. His wife, whose maiden name was Julia A. Luke, was born April 26, 1841, in Belmont county, Ohio, where her parents, Robert and Ellen Luke, spent their lives, her father attaining the venerable age of ninety years. After the death of his mother, which occurred when he was eighteen years old, John William Lewis left home, going first to Cardington and later settling in Stantontown, where he operated a blacksmith's shop for a time. After his marriage he lived first in South Woodbury, from there going to Cardington with his family. In 1897 Mr. Lewis purchased in South Bloomfield township his present farm of eighty-five acres, and has since been actively engaged in agricultural pursuits. His estate, with its valuable improvements, constituting one of the most attractive and desirable homes in this part of Morrow county. Mr. Lewis married, April 4, 1885, Emma Clark, who was born June 24, 1860, in Morrow county, Ohio, which was likewise the birthplace of her father, George W. Clark, who was born October 21, 1832, in that part of the county then included in Delaware county. Her great-grandfather, Nathan Clark, was born June 20, 1756, in New York state, and there married, May 25, 1791, Jemima Daggot, who was born June 18, 1771. They became the parents of ten children, all of whom lived to years of maturity. Early in the nineteenth century, his two older children being married and settled in Pennsylvania, he came to Ohio with his wife and the other eight children, coming down the Allegheny river on a raft. Coming to Morrow county, he located on East Alum creek, near a spring, not far from Stantontown, and in the midst of the dense wilderness took up one hundred acres of land from the government. With the assistance of his sons he redeemed a farm from the forest, it being the estate now occupied by Mrs. Lewis' father. His son, Dr. Nathan Clark, a practicing physician, was the father of George W. Clark. Dr. Clark was born in New York state July 18, 1796, and came with his parents to Ohio. He married, January 10, 1830, Eleanor Britt, whose father, John Britt, was a noted pioneer school teacher, some of the text books which he used being now in the possession of his granddaughter, Mrs. Lewis. George W. Clark succeeded to the ownership of the old Clark homestead, near Stantontown, and as an agriculturist has met with excellent success, his farm being under a good state of cultivation and well improved. He married, August 11, 1859, Mary McGregor, who was born June 26, 1840, and died February 20, 1900. She was of Scotch ancestry, as her name indicates, having been a daughter of James L. and Thankful (Thompson) McGregor, who had four sons in the Civil war, one of whom, Rob Roy McGregor, served as captain of a company, while another son, Dr. Leander McGregor, 674 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY was a surgeon in the Union army and in later years was a member of the Missouri State Legislature. The McGregors are lineal descendants of Robert McGregor, or Rob Roy, the hero of Scott's novel of that name, a celebrated freebooter of the Scotch Highlands who incurred the displeasure of Robert Bruce, of Scotland, and after the outlawry of his clan assumed the name of Campbell. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. George W. Clark, namely : Emma, now Mrs. Lewis ; Ella, deceased ; William ; Alfred ; Lettice ; deceased ; Lutitia ; McGregor ; Myra, Mary J.; and George. Ten children have brightened the union of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, namely : Mattie, born February 1, 1886, taught school six years, and at the age of twenty-three years on August 9, 1909, became the wife of Prof. Wm. A. Danford ; Lillie born August 23, 1887, taught school three years, and wedded William 0. Bishop on October 16, 1907 ; Estella, born June 26, 1889, was graduated from Sparta, from the Ashley high school at the age of seventeen years, from the Ohio University, at Ada, with the class of 1908, and has been engaged in teaching for eighteen months, at the present time, 1911, being superintendent of a buiness college at Washington, C. H., Ohio ; Luella, born February 23, 1891, was graduated at Sparta and at Centerburg, and is now engaged in teaching at Bethel ; Charles W., born January 17, 1893, graduated at Sparta and took the scholarship and is now a student in Delaware College ; Carrie M. and Callie M., twins, born February 4, 1895, are attending the Sparta high school, being members of the senior class ; William Le Roy, born October 20, 1896, is a bright pupil in the public schools ; Emma Alma, born November 4, 1898, is a pupil in the district school near her home ; and Flossie I., born August 29, 1903, died January 5, 1904. These children, as their record reveals, are bright and brainy, and have inherited, without doubt, much of the talent of their gifted mother, who was a successful teacher for ten terms prior to her marriage, and taught one year after becoming a wife. Mr. Lewis and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Sparta, Ohio. Fraternally Mr. Lewis belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees, and Mrs. Lewis is a member at large of the Ladies of the Maccabees. JACOB C. McCORMICK, M. D.—A man who is well versed in the science of his profession and one who has gained distinctive prestige as an able physician and surgeon at Mount Gilead, Morrow county, Ohio, where he has been engaged in active practice since 1900, is Dr. Jacob C. McCormick, who was born at Millsboro, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of September, 1861, and who is the son of Reverend J. B. and Sarah (Crawford) McCormick. Reverend J. B. McCormick was a minister in the Methodist Protestant church during the major portion of his active career and he was a man of extensive learning and broad human sympathy. For a number of years he was engaged as a preacher in the Methodist church at HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 675 Cardington, this county. The McCormick family traces its ancestry to stanch Scotch-Irish stock and Dr. McCormick is a descendant of Colonel William Crawford who was burned by the Indians in Wyandot county, Ohio. His parents came to Ohio from the old Keystone state in 1868. Reverend and Mrs. McCormick became the parent of eight children, five of whom are now living. The mother died in 1876. Dr. Jacob C. McCormick was a child of even years of age at the time of the family immigration to Ohio and in the district and graded schools of Morrow county he acquired his preliminary educational training, which was later supplemented by a course of study in the high school at Cambridge, Ohio, in which he was graduated. In 1881 he was matriculated in the academy at New Hagerstown, where he was enrolled as a student for some time, after which he entered Adrian College, at Adrian, Michigan. Subsequently to his leaving the latter institution he was a popular and successful teacher in the public schools at Denmark and Iberia, Morrow county, Ohio, for a period of four years. Developing a desire to study the science of medicine he became a student in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, but after two years' attendance there he entered the Western Reserve College of Medicine, at Cleveland, Ohio, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1890, duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He began the practice of his profession at Tosco, Michigan, where he maintained his home for some ten years and where he gained recognition as a skilled physician and surgeon. In 1900 he severed his business connections in that place and returned to Morrow county, Ohio, settling at Mount Gilead, where he has been eminently successful in building up a large and representative practice and where he is known as one of the leading doctors in this section of the state. In connection with his profession he is a valued and appreciative member of the Morrow County Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He has kept abreast with all the advances made in his particular line of work and holds a high place in the regard of his fellow practioners as the result of his close adherence to the unwritten code of professional ethics. In addition to his extensive practice Dr. McCormick has various financial interests of important order in Mount Gilead. He is a stockholder and director in the Peoples' Savings Bank and is the owner of considerable valuable real estate. Dr. McCormick has completed two post-graduate courses in medicine and surgery in the Post-Graduate College of Chicago—one in 1890 and the other in 1893. Besides his professional duties he is examiner for the following well known insurance companies, the Mutual Life, the New York Equitable, the John Hancock, the Travellers,' the Home, the Ohio State and the Union Central. He has a fine medical library and an excellent selection of standard works, his shelves containing five hundred volumes. He is a constant student of his profession. 676 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY On March 20, 1884, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. McCormick to Miss Emma J. Ward, of Livingston county, Michigan, where she was reared and educated, she being a daughter of Guerdon and Rachel (Miller) Ward, of that county. Mrs. McCormick, who is excellently educated and a former Michigan school teacher, is a woman of most gracious refinement and magnetic personality and she and her husband are prominent and popular factors in ocnnection with the best social activities of Mount Gilead. Dr. and Mrs. McCormick became the parents of six children ; John, Blaine and Rachel are deceased. The others are : Ward, born in 1888, who was graduated in the Mount Gilead high school and who is now a student in the University of Michigan ; Willie, who was born in 1890, and who is now a student in Oberlin College ; and Rose, born in 1896, a student in the Mount Gilead high school. Ward is pursuing a course of study in medicine and surgery and will graduate in the class of 1913. He received his degree from the literary department of the University of Michigan with the class of 1911. Politically Dr. McCormick is a stalwart adherent of the principles of the Republican party and as a citizen he has ever been prompted by intrinsic patriotism and public spirit to do all in his power to advance the general welfare of the community. He is a man of wide experience and broad information, is honest and upright in all his dealings and his life in every respect is worthy of commendation and emulation. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with Mount Gilead Lodge, No. 167, Free and Accepted Masons. His wife is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to whose charities and benevolences both are liberal contributors. JOSEPH CARPER SWETLAND.—It is decidedly a matter of gratification to the publishers of this work to here enter a brief sketch of the Swetland family, one of prominence and long standing in connection with the development of Morrow county. Joseph C. Swetland at one time owned as much as nine hundred acres of most arable land in Chester and South Bloomfield townships, and in connection with his extensive operations as a sheep raiser he has handled as many as one thousand head. His participation in public affairs has extended to the office of county commissioner, of which he was incumbent for a period of six years, during which time he was influential in securing various important improvements to the county. Although he has attained a ripe old age Mr. Swetland is alert on all matters touching the general welfare, and his almost boyish enthusiasm makes him a popular and well beloved citizen. In South Bloomfield township, Morrow county, Ohio, on the 5th of June, 1828, occurred the birth of Joseph C. Swetland, who is a son of Giles T. Swetland and a grandson of Artemus and Lydia (Abbot) Swetland. Giles Swetland was born on the 19th of HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 679 August, 1799, and in 1822 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Sarah Lewis, whose birth occurred in 1798. The father died in 1881 and the mother, who preceded her honored husband to the life eternal, passed away in 1864. The grandparent of him to whom this sketch is dedicated were in the Wyoming Massacre, in 1777, they being children of nine and seven years of age at the time. They were the only ones spared by the Indians and subsequently they removed to Ohio, where was solemnized their marriage. Of their grandchildren five are now living, namely : Byron L., who has attained to the age of eighty-six years and who lives at Mount Vernon, Ohio ; Joseph C., the immediate subject of this sketch, eighty-two years of age ; Emily, who is in her eightieth year and who maintains her home at Evansville, Indiana ; Warren, aged seventy-six, a sketch of whose career appears elsewhere in this volume and William, a resident of Sparta, aged seventy-two years. Lambert died aged twenty. Giles Swetland was identified with agricultural operations during the major portion of his active business career and he was a man of prominence in Morrow county during his lifetime. Joseph C. Swetland was reared to maturity on the old home farm and his preliminary educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the schools of the locality and period. He remained under the paternal roof until he had reached the age of twenty-five years, at which time he was married. After that important event he turned his attention to farming on his own account, the scene of his operations being in Chester township. As time passed he accumulated an estate of nine hundred acres of fine farming land and gave the same his personal supervision. In 1878 he was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of county commissioner, remaining in tenure thereof for some six years, during which time the present county jail was erected. During the process of construction the architect died and Mr. Swetland finished the work at a cost of twenty-four thousand dollars. Mr. Brooks and George Hershner were the other commissioners that Mr. Swetland served with during the early part of his incumbency of that office. .Later he was associated with Mr. Atkinson who was subsequently elected a commissioner and William G. Brenizer, and these were connected with Mr. Swetland in the building of the county jail at Mount. Gilead. In addition to his farming interests Mr. Swetland and his brother William conducted a general merchandise business at Mt. Vernon for nine years. They .were eminently successful as merchants and their large and representative patronage were good indications of their popularity in that section of the country. Mr. Swetland continued to reside on his farm in Chester township, until 1906, in which year he established his home in Chesterville, where he and his wife are passing the declining years of their lives in full enjoyment of former years of earnest work and endeavor. While on his farm 680 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Mr. Swetland had all the latest devices introduced in order to simplify the work thereof. He had pipes carrying water from the many springs to different parts of the estate, making it convenient for the raising cf stock, he having had as many as one thousand head of sheep at one time. He has won renown for his many excellent exhibitions in the stock shows at the county fairs. Mr. Swetland has been thrice married, his first wife having been Miss Emily Howard, a daughter of Jesse and Mary (Burns) Howard, of West Virginia. She was born in 1832 and prior to her marriage she taught school for two terms in Morrow county. Mrs. Swetland spun the last tow in this part of the country. Her Grandmother Howard was a woman of remarkable vitality. She would knit and sew on her travels to and from different places, and while at home would walk a mile and a half to milk every day. To. Mr and Mrs. Swetland were born six children, whose names are here incorporated in respective order of birth : one child who died in infancy ; Truanna, Averilla, Elzina, Henry W. and William H. Mrs. Swetland was summoned to her reward on the 2nd of January, 1892, and subsequently Mr. Swetland was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Gordon, a daughter of Silas Gordon. She died in 1904, without issue. For a third wife Mr. Swetland chose Mary E. (Slater) Struble, who was born on the 14th of October, 1847, and who is a daughter of John and Sarah A. (Jones) Slater, of Licking county, Ohio. The Slater family consisted of three daughters—Carrie, Belle and Mary. Mrs. Swetland was first married to J. A. Struble, by whom she had two children—Charles and Laura Mae, both of whom are now deceased. Charles Struble married Miss Adda Jcnes, of Cardington, and they became the parents of two sons—Richmond and Lloyd, both deceased. The father died on the 8th of November, 1902. Laura Mae Struble passed away on the 9th of March, 1902. In his political convictions Mr. Swetland accords a stalwart allegiance to the principles and policies promulgated by the Republican party, in the local councils of which he has ever been an active and interested factor. As previously noted, he held the office of county commissioner for six years and in discharging the duties thereof he acquitted himself with all of honor and distinction. He has held other important offices of public trust and in the early days paid out seven hundred dollars to clear the township draft. He has always manifested a great concern for the welfare of the community and county in which he resides and no citizen in Morrow county is accorded a higher degree of confidence and esteem by the inhabitants of this section of the state than he is. He is eighty-two years of age at the present time, in 1911, but his activity makes him pass for a man much younger.. In their religious adherency he and his wife are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the various departments of whose work they are deeply and sincerely interested. Mrs. Swetland is a woman of HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 681 gracious refinement and she is affiliated with the Missionary and Ladies Aid Society and the Women's Christian Temperance Union. DEXTER J. BABSON.—Among the various profitable industries of our country that, of the poultry fancier, raiser and dealer is fast forging to the front, the breeding of fine blooded birds having become both a science and an art. Acquiring by observation and experience a practical knowledge of this business, Dexter J. Babson, whose name we have placed at the head of this brief sketch, is carrying it on successfully in Cardington, Morrow county, where he has a model chicken farm, which he devotes to the breeding and raising of pure blooded White Plymouth Rock and Langshan chickens. A native of Ohio, he was born March 3, 1869, in Washington county, where the birth of his father, Hezelton Babson, occurred in 1841. Hezelton Babson has been engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout his active career, and has met with a fair share of success, being an extensive landholder in Washington county, one of his farms containing seventy-five acres of choice land, while his home estate is still larger and more valuable. He is a citizen of worth, highly esteemed as a man, and is an active member of the Republican party and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Diantha Johnson, who was born in the same county as himself and in the same year. She is a woman of refine. ment and a valued member of the Universalist church. Of the seven children born of their union six are living, namely: Daniel T., engaged in the insurance and loan business in Kansas ; Dexter J.; Nora, .the wife of John E. Pfaff, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Ashley, Ohio ; Sylvester, a prosperous manufacturer in New York city ; Clark, of New York city, manager of an extensive manufacturing business ; and Ellen, of Washington county, Ohio. Reared on the home farm, Dexter J. Babson obtained the rudiments of his education in the district schools, after which he was graduated from the Normal School at Lower Salem and from the R. M. Bartlett Business College in Cincinnati. For two years after his graduation Mr. Babson was engaged in professional work, teaching in Washington county. Turning his attention then to mercantile pursuits, he spent two years as a grocer in Marietta, Ohio. In 1894 he embarked in a new line of business in Cleveland, for ten years being a dealer in poultry food, in his venture making quite a sum of money. On November 4, 1904, Mr. Babson located in Cardington, Morrow county, and having purchased ten acres of land within the corporate limits of the village has since built up a fine business as a poultry fancier, breeder and raiser. He takes great pride as well as much pleasure in his operations, and as breeder of fancy stock has made fine exhibits at various state fairs and winter shows. In January, 1909, at the poultry show in Cleve- Vol. II-12 682 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY land, Mr. Babson carried off three first prizes on three different birds of the Langshan breed, of which he makes a specialty, another of his favorite breeds being the White Plymouth Rocks, both of which are good all-around birds, well worthy of a place in any modernly equipped poultry yard. Mr. Babson is likewise identified with an industry which has made rapid strides in regard to its development within the past few years, and has to a large extent changed the mode of life in both city and country, the automobiles having made their mark in agricultural as well as in manufacturing and commercial circles. Interested in motor cars from the time cf their introduction, Mr. Babson has represented different manufacturers, and is now agc' for two firms, handling successfully the Maxwell automobile and the Brush. Mr. Babson married, August 7, 1902, Mary I. Williams, who was born May 15, 1880, in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Harberson) Williams, neither of whom are now living. She is a talented and accomplished musician, both in vocal and instrumental music, and is well educated, having completed her early studies at Berea College. Four children have been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Babson, namely : Hezelton, a bright and ambitious student for his age, shows especial talent in drawing; G. Alton, Helen, and Daniel. Mr. Babson cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison, and has since been a loyal supporter of the principles of the Republican party. Fraternally he belongs to Cardington Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of which he was formerly master of the exchequer, and his wife belongs to the Rathbone Sisters, of Cardington, Ohio. Religiously Mrs. Babson is a consistent member of the Congregational church, while Mr. Babson is identified by membership with the Baptist church. Both are highly esteemed throughout the community in which they reside, and their pleasant home on Mount Gilead street is a center of social activity, its hospitable doors being ever open to their numerous friends and acquaintances. PROFFESSOR CLINTON O. HIGGINS.—Talented and cultured, possessing the mental temperament, tastes and caliber that naturally incline one towards a professional career, Professor Clinton 0. Higgins wisely chose teaching as a vocation, and is now successfully employed as superintendent of the Troy Township High School and as superintendent also, of the district schools of Troy township. A son of Enoch Higgins and his first wife, whose maiden name was Leah Lovett, and their only child, Professor Higgins was born on a farm in Franklin township, Morrow county, Ohio, and there spent his earlier life. Laying a substantial foundation for his future education in the district schools of Franklin township, Clinton 0. Higgins afterward continued his studies at the Mt. Gilead High School. On HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 683 leaving that institution he began life as a teacher and taught school several terms. Desirous of further fitting himself for his life work, he subsequently entered the Ohio Northern University, at Ada, and there completed the scientific course, receiving the well-earned degree of bachelor of science. Since his graduation from the university Professor Higgins has devoted his entire time and energies to teaching, having taught in the district schools and serving as superintendent of the Congress township district schools for two years. He was subsequently elected by local board of education as superintendent of the Troy Township High School and of its district schools, and is now serving his fourth year in that capacity, his retention in this position from year to year being proof of his ability and success as an educator and superintendent. Politically the Professor is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and has served as chairman of the Morrow County- Convention and as president of the Republican Central Committee. He has also been clerk of Franklin township. Fraternally he is a member of Chester Lodge, No. 283, A. F. and A. M., of which he is past master ; of Gilead. Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M. ; of Eveline Chapter, No. 146, 0. E. S., of Chesterville ; and of the Charles H. Hull Lodge, No. 195, K. of P. He is also a member of the Sons of Veterans Camp at Mt. Gilead, Ohio. Religiously Professor Higgins belongs to the Pulaskiville Methodist Episcopal church, and has served as superintendent of its Sunday school. For six years he was one of the members of the board of school examiners for Morrow county, retiring from the position in August, 1910. He is one of the stockholders of the Morrow County Telephone Company, one of the more important enterprises of this part of the state. Professor Higgins makes his home in Franklin township, where he was born, reared and educated, and where he is held in the highest esteem for his sterling worth and high integrity of character as a cultured gentleman and faithful teacher. JAMES B. LANNING.—Among the many worthy families of Morrow county, Ohio, whose genial manner and progressive spirit have won for them the confidence and esteem of the community and a conspicuous place on the record of Morrow county's representative families, we find the name of Lanning. Situated on a fine, rolling tract of land on the banks of Owl creek, southeast of Chesterville, is the Lanning homestead, which is recognized as one of the finest little farms in this section of the state. James B. Lanning, farmer and stockman, was born in Morrow county, Ohio, on the 16th of August, 1869, and he is a son of Steven E. and Hannah E. (Bebee) Lanning, the former of whom was born and reared in the state of New Jersey and the latter of whom claimed Ohio as the place of her nativity. During the major portion of his active career Steven E. Lanning was engaged in 684 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY agricultural pursuits and he and his wife were the parents of two children—James B., the immediate subject of this sketch ; and Mary M , who is now Mrs. Lewis Caton. Mr. Lanning, of this notice, was reared to maturity under the invigorating influences of the old homestead farm and his elementary educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the public schools of Morrow county. After his marriage, in 1900, he and his wife settled down on the old Lanning estate that has been in the possession of the Lanning family since 1854. Through persistency and unusual industry Mr. and Mrs. Lanning have succeeded in modernizing their farm and in raising it to an exceedingly high state of cultivation. He devotes his attention to general farming and to stock-growing and in both lines of enterprise has achieved noteworthy success. On the 30th of August, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lanning to Miss Minerva Black, who was reared and educated in the fine old Buckeye state of the Union and who is a daughter of Frederick and Rebecca J. (McQuistian) Black. Mr. Black was born in the state of Pennsylvania and his wife is a native of Ohio. Mrs. Lanning had one brother and a sister and one half brother and two half sisters. For a time after their, marriage Mr. and Mrs. Lanning lived in Chesterville, where they gained prominence and popularity, making many new acquaintances and friends. They are widely known as very courteous, sociable and wholesouled people, whose genial manners and deep human sympathy command to them the love and esteem of all with whom they have come in contact. Mrs. Lanning is an energetic woman and like many of her country women is a great lover of horses and dogs. In 1911 the Lannings returned to their farm from Chesterville and this beautiful place, comprised of seventy-five acres of most arable land, has since represented their home. The finely cultivated fields and substantial buildings afford ample proof of Mr. Lanning's ability as a practical farmer and his fat, sleek horses and well fed stock show that he is a kind and considerate master. In his political convictions Mr. Lanning accords a stanch allegiance to the cause of the Democratic party and while he is no office seeker he is ever on the qui rive to do all in his power to advance the best interests of the community in which he has long maintained his home. He and his wife are affiliated with social organizations of a local character and in their religious faith they are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Chesterville, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Lanning, by virtue of their exemplary lives and genial kindliness, have won for themselves a high place in the hearts of their fellow citizens and they are every where accorded the unalloyed regard which is so indicative of sterling worth and integrity. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 685 MILES BYRD, of the firm of Byrd & Company, liverymen, Mt. Gilead, Ohio, was born in De Kalb county, Missouri, January 10, 1867, a son of John and Jane (Hull) Byrd. When a babe he was brought by his mother to Morrow county, Ohio, and here, in the village of Williamsport, he grew to manhood, attending the local schools until he was eighteen years of age. Then he obtained employment in a general store in the village, and subsequently ran a huckster wagon for Mark Cook and bought and sold produce. Next we find him at Mt.. Gilead, in charge of the livery barn of Vanatta & Weiland, with whom he remained one year, following which he spent three years in a similar business at Marion, Ohio, and was for a time in the livery business at Newark, this state. Disposing of his business at the last named place he returned to Mt. Gilead, and has since conducted a livery establishment here, under his own name, with a barn on East Center street. And in connection with the livery business he gives some attention to farming, owning and operating forty-one and a half acres in Gilead township. He built the barn occupied by his livery, and he owns the comfortable home he lives in on Union street. Mr. Byrd married Miss Rose M. Rule, of Woodview, Morrow county, daughter of Dr. Amos Rule. They are the parents of eight children : Roma, born January 15, 1887 ; .Caroline, March 4, 1889 ; John A., June 15, 1891; Charles M., December 15, 1893 ; Glenn N., September 14, 1897 ; Harold R., August 17, 1898 ; Anna R., August 27, 1901, and Robert W., March 5, 1910. Caroline is a graduate of the Mt. Gilead High School. Although not active in politics, Mr. Byrd has always been a conscientious voter, and has cast his franchise with the Democratic party. Mrs. Byrd's religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, of which she is a consistent member. ADAM E. SELL.-A prominent and prosperous citizen of Morrow county, Adam E. Sell has been for several years prosperously engaged in agricultural pursuits in North Bloomfield township, where he owns and occupies a highly improved and attractive farm of eighty acres. Industrious, far-sighted and progressive, he has met with well merited success in his undertakings, and is held in high regard, his integrity and worth everywhere recognized. A son of Adam Sell, Jr., he was born in North Bloomfield township, Morrow 'county, Ohio, January 24, 1863, coming from pioneer ancestry, his paternal grandfather, Adam Sell, Sr., having migrated from Pennsylvania to Ohio many years ago. Adam Sell, Jr., was born in Pennsylvania, and came with his parents to Ohio when young. He became a farmer from choice, and was engaged in tilling the soil in North Bloomfield township until after the breaking out of the Civil war. Enlisting then for service in the army, he, with other of his comrades, was captured at the battle of Chickamauga and died in Andersonville prison. 686 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY He married Lucy Garverick, a Pennsylvania girl, and to them were born the following children : Jacob G., a farmer in Jackson county, Missouri ; Wesley, deceased ; Mary, wife of Arthur Book-waiter, of Galion, Ohio ; Franklin, deceased ; and Harriett, deceased. Making the best of his opportunities to obtain an education, Adam E. Sell attended the winter terms of school, during the summer seasons helping in the care of the home farm. Scholarly and ambitious, he made excellent use of his time, and at the age. of twenty years was granted a teacher's certificate. Instead of entering upon a professional career, however, he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for ten years. Subsequently turning his attention to agriclture, he bought forty acres of land where he resides. Succeeding well in its management, he afterwards bought the forty acres across the road from where he resides, and is carrying on general farming and stock raising with satisfactory pecuniary results, his eighty acres of land yielding bountifully of the productions common to this region. Mr. Sell married, January 1, 1894, Clara Hirth, who was born in Morrow county, Ohio, June 28, 1870, a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Shire) Hirth, both of whom were born in Germany, came to this country when young, and were married in Morrow county, Ohio. Mrs. Sell was educated in the district schools of Johnsville and at the Mount Gilead High School. At the age of eighteen years she began teaching school, and taught eight terms in Morrow county, being a successful and popular teacher. Mr. and Mrs. Sell are the parents of three children, one of whom died in infancy, while two are living, namely : Eugene, born November 17, 1900 ; and Mary E., born September 10, 1910. An active member of the Democratic party, Mr. Sell has served as township clerk six years, and is now filling that office. Both he and his wife are valued members of the Reformed church, in which he is one of the deacons and in which he has served as Sunday school superintendent. The attractive homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Sell is known as "Englewood.." BYRON H. OSBORN.—Byron H. Osborn, one of the most intelligent and thriving agriculturists of Morrow county, owns and occupies a valuable homestead in South Bloomfield township, which is his native place, his birth having here occurred on Wednesday, February 4, 1846, at half after nine in the morning. He is a son of the late John H. Osborn, and grandson of Thomas Osborn, who settled in Ohio in pioneer days. Thomas Osborn was born and reared in Connecticut, and as a young man followed the sea, being captain of a vessel. In 1814 he was wrecked and cast on the Isle of Jimairi. He subsequently landed in New York, and having determined to abandon seafaring pursuits was engaged in farming in Connecticut for a year. A brother-in-law, a Mr. Manning, who was then surveying land in HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 687 Knox county, Ohio, induced him to come to this state in search of a home. He located in the late fall of 1815 in Knox county, and having taken up one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land cleared and improved a homestead, on which he spent the remainder of his years. He married Olive Manning, and to them two children were born, a son and a daughter. John H. Osborn was born in October, 1815, in Connecticut, and as an infant was brought by his parents to Ohio. He remained beneath the parental roof-tree until eighteen years of age, assisting in the farm labors, and then served an apprenticeship of three years at the carpenter's trade, which he subsequently followed until seventy-five years old, being active in business pursuits until his death. He married Nancy Severe, whose father was Jesse Severe, who came from his home at Point Pleasant, Virginia, to Knox county, Ohio, in 1805, making the long journey on horseback, and being the second householder to locate in Liberty township. Seven children were born to their union, as follows : Thomas E. Laduska E. ; Byron H., the special subject of this sketch ; William D., deceased ; Mary J. ; Rose L. ; and Clarinda, deceased. Educated in the district schools and acquiring a practical knowledge of the science of agriculture while young, Byron H. Osborn subsequently assumed the management of his father's farm, of which he had charge until 1871, three years after his marriage. Lured then to the fertile fields of the west, he spent a year in Illinois, but not at all satisfied with his prospects in the Sucker state he returned in 1872 to Ohio, and located on his present fine estate in South Bloomfield township. Mr. Osborn has one hundred and seventy-six acres of highly productive land, which he has placed under excellent tillage and on which he has made substantial improvements. He makes a specialty of stock growing and raising, breeding Short-Horn Durham cattle from the registered stock of John Lyle. On October 16, 1861, Byron H. Osborn, then a lad of fourteen years, enlisted as a drummer in the Forty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until honorably discharged in 1862. In 1864 he enlisted, in the same capacity, in the One Hundred and Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was at the front in the battle of the Wilderness, in the engagement at Coal Run and at the seige of Petersburg. For fifteen years he was engaged in the lumber business, but has since confined his attention to farming. A stanch Republican in politics, he has served on the local school board, and he is a member of Joe Hooker Post, No. 21, G. A. R., at Mount Vernon, Ohio. Mr. Osborn married, October 24, 1867, Emma Brokaw, who was born in Knox county, Ohio, November 28, 1847. Her father, Henry Brokaw, born February 10, 1814, died December 12, 1897, and his wife, whose maiden name was Louisa Coffin, was born August 30, 1816, and died October 13, 1875, her birth having occurred in Pennsylvania, and his in New Jersey. They became the 688 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY parents of thirteen children, as follows: Joshua, born May 11, 1836, died April 13, 1870 ; Johanna, born June 11, 1840, died June 14, 1876 ; Marie, born December 13, 1841; Mary G., born October 28, 1843 ; William H., born September 11, 1845 ; Emma, wife of Mr. Osborn ; Jackson C., born August 7, 1849 ; Jane A., born February 9, 1851; Effie E., born April 13, 1853 ; Abraham, born March 30, 1855; Charles B., born February 28, 1857; Frank, born June 27, 1858; and Delmar, born January 25, 1863. Ten children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Osborn, namely : Burton A., born October 9, 1868 ; Lola G., born January 27, 1870 ; Laura T., born October 24, 1872 ; Eugene Alphonse, born March 11, 1875; Maud L., born April 18, 1878, died May 15, 1892 ; Mary L., born September 26, 1881; William D., born May 7, 1883 ; Estella L., born September 18, 1886 ; Ben J. H., born October 18, 1888 ; and Clarence R., born April 16, 1892. Mrs. Osborn is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and takes an active interest in its work. SAMUEL BISHOP.-A prominent and successful agriculturist of North Bloomfield township, Samuel Bishop has spent his entire life within its boundaries and holds a high position among the active and progressive men who have contributed largely towards the development of its industrial interests. Ever interested in local affairs, he has served ably and faithfully as township trustee, and is now filling the office of township treasurer with characteristic ability. A son of James Bishop, Jr., he was born in North Bloomfield township March 12, 1845, coming of substantial Irish ancestry. His grandfather, James Bishop, Sr., was born, reared and married in Ireland. Emigrating a full century ago to this country, he located first in Washington county, Pennsylvania, where all of his children were born. Deciding to make another change of residence, he loaded all of his worldly goods into a wagon and started with his family for the Buckeye state, finding his way through the almost trackless roads by means of blazed trees. He bought a tract of wild land in what is now North Bloomfield township, five and one-half miles from his nearest neighbor, his purchase consisting of two hundred and forty acres of timber. Clearing a space, he began the erection of a log cabin, living in the meantime in the wagon until the cabin was completed. In common with the few inhabitants of Morrow county, he endured all the privations of pioneer life, and on the farm which he redeemed from the wilderness spent the remainder of his years. His wife came with him from the Emerald Isle as a bride. She survived him, attaining the remarkable age of one hundred and one years. James Bishop, Jr., was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and as a boy came across the country with his parents to Morrow county, Ohio. At the age of fourteen years he began teaming on the pike. Industrious and thrifty, he accumulated money HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 689 and embarked in farming on his own account, improving the estate now owned and occupied by his son Samuel. On April 4, 1844, he married Elizabeth Henton, and to them eight children were born, as follows : Samuel, the special subject of this brief personal record ; Mary E., wife of Craig Logan ; Eliza J., wife of Hiram Keeler, of Galion ; James, of Congress township, married Alice Hiskey ; John, married Elizabeth Scrafield, of Kansas ; William, married Ida Baldwin, of Toledo ; Archibald, living in the west; and Arkenson, of Troy township, married Mollie Fultz. Brought up on the farm where he now lives, Samuel Bishop attended the district school regularly until eighteen years of age, since which time he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. His farm of one hundred and sixty-five acres is pleasantly located two and one-half miles south of Blooming Grove, and the improvements which he has placed upon it are of a good, practical and substantial character.. Mr. Bishop is a man of superior business qualifications, earnest and thorough in his work, wise in his judgments and well merits the esteem and respect accorded him by all neighbors and friends. On September 3, 1868, Mr. Bishop was united in marriage with Mary Schenefield, who has proved a true helpmate to him in every sense implied by the term. She was born September 28, 1846, in Pennsylvania, and at the age of ten years came with her parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Painter) Schenefield, to Morrow county, where she was brought up and educated. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop are the parents of nine children, namely : Irvin, born March 30, 1872, is a resident of Mansfield, Ohio ; Myrtle, born August 29, 1873, is the wife of Webster Garverick ; Melvin, of North Bloomfield township, was born May 9, 1875 ; Earl L., is a mechanical engineer in Rock Island, Illinois ; Clarence, born November 1, 1879, is foreman in the Twist Drill Works, in Cleveland ; Floyd, born August 5, 1881, is in the employ of the Baxter Stove Works, in Mansfield ; Elizabeth, born October 24, 1882, is the wife of H. S. Kelley, of Franklin townhip ; Mabel, born September 28, 1884, married J. K. Appleman, of Troy township ; and Grover, born August 29, 1886, lives at home. Politically Mr. Bishop is a straightforward Democrat, and takes an intelligent interest in local matters. His farmstead is known as "The Pleasant View Farm." HENRY LEPP, who is ably filling the office of county commissioner of Morrow county, Ohio, is a native son of the fine old Buckeye state and he is descended from stanch German stock, both his parents having been born and reared in Germany, where was solemnized their marriage and whence they emigrated to America in 1843. Henry Lepp was born in Tully township, Marion county, Ohio, on the 16th of January, 1864, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Eichhorn) Lepp, the former of whom was born June 12, 1830, and the latter April 14, 1840. After their arrival in the United 690 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY States Mr. and Mrs. Lepp located in Crawford county, Ohio, and they became the parents of ten children, four of whom are now deceased. Those living are : Elizabeth, who is the wife of S. B. Messmore, of Edison, Ohio ; Maggie, who married Leopold Long, of Crestline, Ohio ; and John, Henry, George and William, all of Edison, Ohio. The father of the above children is now living in virtual retirement at Galion, Ohio, and the mother was summoned to the life eternal on the 21st of September, 1910. Henry Lepp, the immediate subject of this review, passed his boyhood and youth on the home farm and his educational training was completed with a course in the high school at Galion, Ohio. When twenty years of age he left school and turned his attention to general farming. In 1885 he went to Kansas, where he was employed as a clerk in a general store for the ensuing three years, at the expiration of which he returned to Ohio, where he purchased a fine farm of one hundred and thirty acres, eligibly located five miles north of Edison, in Morrow county. He has been eminently successful in all his business ventures and at the present time, in 1911, is an extensive stockholder in the Peoples Savings Bank at Mt. Gilead, besides which he is also a stockholder in the Citizens Telephone Company at Edison. In politics he accords a stanch allegiance to the principles and policies of the Democratic party, in the local councils of which he has been an active factor. For three years he was a member of the board of trustees of Washington township and in 1907 he was given further mark of the confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens in that he was then elected to the office of county commissioner of Morrow county. On the 8th of November, 1910, he was reelected to this office, the various duties of which he has discharged with the utmost efficiency. On October 1, 1894, at Beloit, Kansas, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lepp to Miss Clara Sponsler, who was born and reared in Kansas. She is a daughter of Charles and Mary E. (Haight) Sponsler, both of whom are now residents of Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Lepp have three children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here incorporated : Oscar, January 5, 1897; Inez, March 24, 1899 ; and Mary, August 15, 1901. Mr. Lepp is a devout member of the German Reformed church, in which he is a trustee, and Mrs. Lepp belongs to the United Brethren church. In a fraternal way Mr. Lepp is affiliated with Iberia Lodge, No. 561, Knights of Pythias. He is a man of marked business ability and good judgment. As a citizen he has never been lacking in public spirit and loyalty but has always been a leader in all matters projected for the general welfare. JOSIAH F. SHUMAKER.-A man of broad and enlightened views, taking an intelligent interest in local and general affairs, Josiah F. Shumaker stands high among the substantial and well-to-do citizens of North Bloomfield township, where he is prosperously en- HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 691 PICTURE OF REV. JOSIAH F. SHUMAKER AND FAMILY 692 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - BLANK HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 693 gaged in agricultural pursuits, his farm lying three and one-half miles from Galion and three miles from West Point. He was born June 24, 1852, in Crawford county, a mile and a half northwest of Galion, on the farm occupied by his father, Daniel Shumaker. He is of thrifty German ancestry, being a direct descendant of one of seven Shumaker brothers that emigrated from Baden, Germany, to America in 1742, locating in Berks county, Pennsylvania, from whence their descendants have scattered to various parts of the Union. A son of Jonas and Elizabeth (Van Hogenshell) Shumaker, Daniel Shumaker adopted farming as his chief occupation, locating not far from Galion, in Crawford county, where he was actively engaged as a tiller of the soil for many seasons. He married Elizabeth Beltz, a daughter of Christopher Beltz, whose father was born and bred in Germany, from there coming to the United States when young. Four children were born of their union, as follows : Eli, engaged in farming near Bourbon, Indiana, married Lizzie Smith ; Sarah, wife of George Burger, of Crawford county, Ohio ; Josiah F., the special subject of this brief personal review ; and Simon, who married Mary Seif, and is carrying on general farming near Defiance, Ohio. Brought up on the home farm in Polk township, Josiah F. Shumaker received a practical education in the district schools, while at home he was trained to habits of industry and economy. At the age of twenty-one years he began life on his own account, and has since been busily employed in agricultural pursuits, finding both pleasure and profit in his chosen occupation. Mr. Shumaker's farm, lying in North Bloomfield township, as above mentioned, contains ninety-eight and one-half acres of rich and fertile land, which he is managing in a systematic and scientific manner, raising the cereals common to this section of the country and growing stock, making a specialty of raising hogs, an industry which has proven especially renumerative. For upwards of twenty-five years Mr. Shumaker has owned and occupied his present farm, having come here in 1884, and during that time has won the respect and esteem of the community, and has faithfully performed his duty as an honest, law-abiding citizen. He is independentin politics, voting for the best men and measures, regardless of party restrictions in local affairs, although he sustains the principles of the Democratic party in national elections and has served to the satisfaction of all concerned as township trustee and as a member of the local school board. Mr. Shumaker married, November 2, 1875, Catherine E. Seif, who was born February 22, 1856, in North Bloomfield township, Morrow county, where her parents, Michael and Elizabeth Seif, settled on coming to this country from Germany, their native land. Mr. and Mrs. Shumaker have four children living, namely : Della, wife of Webb W. Seif, of Bloomfield township ; Grover M., of 694 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Marion, Ohio, is cashier in the office of the American Express Company; Mary, living at home, and James J., also at home, is a bright lad of twelve years. Mr. Shumaker is a licensed exhorter in the Free Methodist church, and with his family belongs to the church of that denomination at West Point and is superintendent of its Sunday school. ANDREW J. KELLER.-A skillful and practical farmer of North Bloomfield township, Morrow county, Andrew J. Keller is meeting with excellent success in his operations, his agricultural labors being systematic and thorough, insuring the best possible results. A native of Morrow county, he was born November 29, 1864, in South Bloomfield township, and was there reared on a farm. His father, Peter Keller, served as a member of the One Hundred and Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, and died about four years after its close. He married Eliza A. Everts, who was born in .Knox county, Ohio, and died in Morrow county in 1907. Four children were born of their union, as follows : Belle, wife of Joseph Mills ; Jesse C., of Kansas City, Missouri, married Eva Stromborg ; and Anna M., twin sister of Andrew J., is the wife of C. E. Buckingham, of Galion, Ohio. Spending his boyhood days in South Bloomfield township, Andrew J. Keller obtained his early education in the Red Hill district, attending the winter terms of school until sixteen years old, when he began working for wages. Two years later he began farming for his Grandmother Everts, having charge of her estate for about four years. Coming to North Bloomfield township in 1889, Mr. Keller has since been advantageously engaged in agricultural pursuits, his farm of one hundred and forty-three acres being one of the best-managed and most productive in the township. It is pleasantly located about three and one-half miles southeast of Galion, and is devoted to the raising of grain and stock, profitable industries. Mr. Keller has been four times married. He married first, December 28, 1886, Ora Howard, a daughter of Morgan and Mary (Potts) Howard, of Bennington township, Morrow county. She died May 8, 1888, and their only child, Mary D., died in infancy. Mr. Keller married second„ November 16, 1889, Mrs. Mary (Loveland) Cronenwett, who was born in Kansas August 9, 1869, a daughter of Lafayette and Sarah (Southert) Loveland, natives of Huron county, Ohio. She passed to the life beyond October 9, 1901, having borne him five children, namely : Howard J., born December 11, 1890; James P., born October 31, 1892; John L., born November 27, 1895 ; Anna M., born March 6, 1900; and Lafayette, born October 2, 1901, died October 7, 1901. On November 26, 1902, Mr. Keller married for his third wife Mrs. Mary (Van Buskirk) Long, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, in 1872, and she died in March, 1905, leaving no children. Mr. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 695 Keller married on August 19, 1908, Miss Carrie Holman, who was born in Crawford county, Ohio, July 15, 1872, a daughter of John and Hannah (Brown) Holman, and they have one child, Edna L., born July 27, 1909. Mrs. Keller's father, John Holman, was born in Ross county, Ohio, November 7, 1828, and subsequently settled in Crawford county, Ohio. To him and his wife five children were born, as follows: Lucilia, deceased, was the wife of Edward Norris ; J. B. Holman, of Findlay, Ohio ; Guy C., deceased ; Carrie, now Mrs. Keller ; and Mertie, wife of Allen Shoup. Mr. and Mrs. Keller are trustworthy members of the United Brethren church of Galion. They belong to the Polk Grange at Galion, also being active and interested members. Politically Mr. Keller casts his vote irrespective of party relations, being independent. HENRY C. LYMAN, who is ably filling the office of treasurer of Canaan township, Morrow county, Ohio, is engaged in the general merchandise business at Climax, where he has resided since 1902. He was born in Canaan township on the 6th of September, 1864, and is a son of Luke C. and Mary A. (Garsler) Lyman, both of whom are natives of „Ohio. The parents now maintain their home at Edison, where the father is living in virtual retirement after a strenuous business life devoted to the shoemaking line of enterprise. Mr. and Mrs. Lyman became the parents of six children and of the number Henry C., of this review was the first born. To the district schools of his native county Mr. Lyman is indebted for his early education. He continued to attend school until he had reached the age of sixteen years, at which time he assumed the responsibilities of life by becoming a farm hand, working out by the month. He saved his spare money and in 1883 he became a clerk in the general store of Iden Brothers at Denmark, Ohio, where he was employed for a period of about twenty years. Thereafter he was a partner of M. M. Iden at Caledonia, Ohio, for seven years, at the expiration of which he disposed of his interests in that place and came to Climax. Here he purchased the general store of David White and is now the proprietor of the thriving business known under the name of H. C. Lyman. On the 30th of September, 1896, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Lyman to Miss Anna Shipman, of Franklin township, Morrow county. She is a daughter of Coleman and Editha Shipman, representative citizens of Morrow county. To this union has been born one child, Gladys, whose birth occurred on the 25th of September, 1897. She is enrolled as a student in the high school at Edison, in which she is a member of the senior class. In his political convictions Mr. Lyman endorses the cause of the Republican party and he has always evidenced a deep and sincere interest in all matters touching upon the general welfare of the community. While a resident of Caledonia he was treasurer of that place for two years and in the fall of 1909 he was elected 696 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY treasurer of Canaan townhip, in which office he is giving a most efficient administration of the fiscal affairs of the township. In the time honored Masonic organization he is a member of Oliver Lodge, No. 477, Free and Accepted Masons, besides which he is also affiliated with Denmark Lodge, No. 760, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is past noble grand ; and Charles II. Hull Lodge, No. 195, Knights of Pythias. He and his wife both hold a high place in the confidence and regard of their fellow citizens. S. THOMAS HICKS.-A representative of the worthy agriculturists of Morrow county and an honored and respected citizen of South Bloomfield township, S. Thomas Hicks ranks among the more skilful and prosperous agriculturists of central Ohio, his farm being well improved and amply supplied with substantial buildings and all the necessary appliances for carrying on his extensive operations. A son of John Hicks, he was born, December 22, 1844, at Gambier, Knox county, Ohio. John Hicks, in 1812, in England, immigrated when a young man to the United States, and soon after coming to Ohio found employment in Gambier, on the College farm, with which he was afterwards connected for many years, serving long and well as its superintendent. While at the College he married Letitia Banbury, who was born in Cornish, England, in 1812, a daughter of Thomas Banbury, their union being solemnized in 1840. To them four children were born, namely : Martin W., who died May 12, 1910; S. Thomas, the special subject of this brief personal record ; Mary, wife of Wesley Throckmorton, deceased ; and Henry. Martin W. Hicks, the oldest son, served as a soldier in the Civil war, being a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He became well known as an educator, having taught in every school building in Hillyar township. He became an extensive landholder, and for a long time was president of the First National Bank of Centerburg. He married Mary Ann Rogers, and his five daughters all became successful school teachers. Mary Hicks, who married Mr. Throckmorton, was also a teacher when young, and of her four children two became teachers. One of her daughters died in early life, and as a memorial to her she placed a very handsome window in the Methodist Episcopal church at Sparta. Henry Hicks taught school as a young man, but has since traveled extensively in different parts of the world, and for some time was in the mercantile business, representing the O'Brien Land Company. Obtaining a good common school education in the district schools, S. Thomas Hicks became thoroughly acquainted with the various branches of agriculture while living with his parents, and chose for his life work the independent vocation of a farmer. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 697 After his marriage he settled in South Bloomfield township, on the farm which he now owns and occupies, and has since been profitably engaged in agricultural pursuits. His place contains one hundred and twenty acres of rich arable land, well improved and judiciously cultivated, his annual yield of crops being large and remunerative. On January 12, 1868, Mr. Hicks married Eva Conway, who was born in Bloomfield township, Morrow county, July 6, 1850, a daughter of Joseph Conway. Mr. Conway came from Virginia, his native state, his birth occurring there September 25, 1816, to Bloomfield townhip, Ohio, when eleven years of age, and here spent the remainder of his life. He began life with no other capital than strong hands, a willing heart and high ambition, and by dint of industry, energy and wise forethought became the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and fifty acres, which he managed with excellent pecuniary results. The maiden name of the wife of Mr. Conway, to whom he was married in 1842, was Melvina Sanford. She was born in Ohio, June 21, 1823, a daughter of William Sanford, the first school teacher in this part of Morrow county. Joseph Conway was one of the original members of the first Methodist Episcopal church established in his township, was a well known teacher, and was for many ,years a leading man in public affairs. To him and his wife six children were born, as follows: Benson Conway, born in 1843, served as a soldier in the Civil war, enlisting at the age of eighteen years and he died the following year ; Melville, a farmer in Morrow county, was born in 1848; Eva wife of Mr. Hicks ; William, born in 1853, died in Cleveland, Ohio ; Olie B., born in 1858; and Wesley G., born in 1860, is engaged in the real estate business in Columbus, Ohio. All of these children were well educated, and one taught school several years. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks have two children, namely : 0. J., born October 27, 1871, and Earl H., born October 27, 1881. 0. J. Hicks, who was educated at Sparta, Centerburg and Columbus, is now state agent for the Page Fence Company, and has the distinction of being the best-paid agent in Ohio, his salary being one hundred and fifty dollars a month. Earl H., who is likewise finely educated, is engaged in business at Fredericktown, where he is a manufacturer of steel gates and fencing. Mr. Hicks is a prominent member of the Republican party, and has held various township offices. He was a member of the first County Fair Board for twenty-seven years, over one quarter of a century, and a member of its first Building Committee. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, No. 422, F. and A. M., of Chesterville, in which he has passed all the chairs ; and of Sparta Lodge, Knights of Pythias, in which he has held a few of the offices. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hicks are active and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Sparta. 698 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY LLOYD DYE, who is engaged in the grocery business at the corner of Main and Center streets, Mt. Gilead, Ohio, is one of the enterprising and prosperous business men of the city. A brief review of his career gives the following facts : Lloyd Dye was born at Williamsport, Ohio, May 18, 1879, a son of Russell and Jennie L. (Kraut) Dye.. Russel Dye, also a native of Ohio, passed his life and died in this state, his death occurring August 26, 1890. He married at Mt. Gilead, Ohio, and his only child is the subject of this sketch. At the time of his father's death Lloyd was only eleven years of age ; his mother was poor and it was by her industry and good management that the boy was given the advantages he enjoyed. He attended the public schools at Williamsport and Mt. Gilead until he reached his eighteenth year, meanwhile working nights and mornings and summer vacations in a grocery store, and thus assisting in the support of himself and his mother. This early experience gave him a knowledge of the details of the grocery business and laid the foundation for success when he opened up a store of his own, which he did at the corner of Main and Center streets, where he now carries a fine line of groceries and caters to a first-class trade. Before engaging in the grocery business on his own account Mr. Dye was for some time manager of the theatre at Mt. Gilead, where he also met with success. He is a stockholder in the People's Savings Bank and Telephone Company. In politics he has always been more or less active, affiliating with the Democratic party, and he now holds the office of deputy supervisor of Morrow county. Fraternally Mr. Dye is connected with various organizations, including Eagle Lodge of Aerie No. 665, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, No. 1191, of Galion, Ohio, and the Home Guards of America, No. 11, He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Dye and his wife, formerly Miss Anna B. Terry, are the parents of two children : Clara J., born February 12, 1909, and Russell Terry, April 23, 1910. Mrs. Dye is a daughter of Chauncey E. Terry, and was educated at the Cardington high school. Previous to her marriage she was a teacher in the public schools of Morrow county. The Dyes trace their lineage to the "Land of the Thistle," or Bonnie Scotland. GEORGE W. HERSHNER.—The worthy representative of an honored pioneer family of Morrow county and one of its most highly esteemed citizens, George W. Hershner has been prominently identified with its agricultural development and progress during his long and useful life, and as opportunity has occurred has given his influence to encourage the establishment of enterprises conducive to the public welfare. He was born October 12, 1833, in Troy township, Morrow county, which has ever been his abiding place, HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 699 and in the growth of which he has been intimately associated, as a contractor and builder during his earlier years having erected many of its residences and public buildings. His father, Andrew Hershner, who was of thrifty German descent, was born in Maryland, and as a youth came with his parents to the Buckeye state, journeying across the country in the customary prairie schooner. He was a well educated man and became one of the pioneer school teachers of Morrow county. When ready to assume the duties of a married man he turned his attention to agriculture and walked all the way to Wooster, Ohio, and back to enter eighty acres of land in Troy township, where he was afterwards engaged in general farming until his death. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Murray, was born in Maryland, of English and Irish ancestry, and accompanied her parents to Ohio when a girl and was here married. Nine children, seven of them being sons, blessed their union, and of these the following named were living in the spring of 1911: David M., born in 1832, resides in Troy township ; George W., the special subject of this sketch ; Elizabeth, wife of Michael Meckley ; Andrew ; William ; and Mary, wife of Samuel Brickley. Growing to manhood on the home farm in Troy township, George W. Hershner was educated in the district schools, which he attended during the winter terms only until seventeen years old. Subsequently learning the carpenter's trade, he followed it successfully for thirty years, during which time he built not only many churches and school houses but many residences and many barns, making a specialty of the latter. Acquiring a goodly sum of money while working at his trade, Mr. Hershner has since invested in land, and now has a finely cultivated farm of one hundred and seventy-four acres, in the management of which he takes much pride and pleasure and likewise finds much profit. In the accumulation of his valuable property he has had the able assistance of his wife, and feels that he owes much of his success to her kindly encouragement, counsel and advice. Mr Hershner married first, January 1, 1857, Louisa Fensler, a native of Pennsylvania. She passed to the life beyond in 1862, leaving three children, as follows : Reverend John L. Hershner, who was graduated from Corvallis College, Oregon, and is now pastor of a Congregational church in Oregon ; Professor A. F. Hershner, superintendent of schools in Portland, Oregon ; and Allen Hershner, a farmer and railroad man in Nebraska. Mr. Hershner maried on May 4, 1865, Sarah C. Markward, who was born in Pennsylvania February 26, 1843, of German descent, and came with her parents, Samuel and Mary (Browneller) Markward, to Ohio in 1852. Of this union three children have likewise been born, namely : Arthur, a farmer and stock buyer living near Williamsport ; Cora, wife of Charles Cole ; and Lottie, a graduate of the Lexington High School and of the Mansfield Business University, and now a stenographer in Mansfield, Ohio. Vol. II-13