(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 700 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY In his political affiliations Mr. Hershner belongs to the party which has had among its able leaders and supporters Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Grover Cleveland, and is a firm believer in a tariff for revenue only. He has been active in the management of public affairs, and has served in various official capacities. He was township clerk twelve years and was commissioner of Morrow county three terms, being elected to the position in a Republican stronghold and filling the office with a wide reputation as a man of honesty, integrity and good judgment. For over forty years Mr. Hershner was justice of the peace, and dealt wisely and impartially in the cases brought before him, his decisions being invariably just and satisfactory to all concerned. On one occasion a woman brought an affidavit against a man, and after the evidence had all been taken Squire Hershner found, that if it were true, he could bind the man over to the court. Going to the woman who brought the charge, he plainly told her that if her testimony were correct that he should bind the man over. The woman told him not to do so, and the Squire then accused her of having stolen the money and she confessed her guilt. Neither Mr. Hershner nor his wife are members of any religious organization, but they are liberal contributors towards the support of churches. CHARLES W. THROCKMORTON.—Among the people whose names bear the stamp of industry and thrift, the bearers of which have won for the residents of Morrow county the enviable reputation of "Promoters and character builders" and who have contributed largely to the educational, social and religious progress of the community, we find recorded the family of Throckmorton. He whose name initiates this review was long engaged in farming and stock-raising on his fine estate of two hundred and sixty-five acres, eligibly located some one and one-half miles distant from Sparta, Ohio. He was unusually loyal and public-spirited in his civic attitude and at the time of his death, which occurred on the twentieth of September, 1896, his loss was uniformly mourned throughout the county in which so much of his life had been passed. Charles Wesley Throckmorton was born in South Bloomfield township, Morrow county, Ohio, on the 3d of November, 1838, and he was a son of Archibald and Ruth (Simpson) Throckmorton, the former of whom was a native of New Jersey and the latter of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Throckmorton were the parents of seven children, whose names are here entered tin respective order of birth : Rebecca, Sarah, Mary Jane, Elizabeth, John, Charles W., and Ruth. The Throckmortons were descended from good old Methodist Episcopal ancestry, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch having been taken into the Methodist Episcopal society by John Wesley in Ireland. Charles Wesley Throckmorton was converted to the faith in childhood and he and HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 701 his sister were the first children to unite with the Methodist Episcopal church of Sparta. He received his elementary educational training in the public schools of his native place and as a young man followed in the footsteps of his father and devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits. After his marriage in 1870 he and his wife settled upon a farm in South Bloomfield township, one and one-half miles distant from Sparta, Ohio, and there he continued to live and toil until death called him to his final rest and reward. He was interested in diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock and, his fine estate of two hundred and sixty-five acres was recognized as one of the finest in Morrow county. It is now in the possession of his widow and her children. On the 12th of November, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Throckmorton to Miss Mary J. Hicks, who was born November 2, 1846, and reared in Morrow county and who is a daughter of John and Letitia (Banbury) Hicks, the former of whom was born in Cornwall, England, on the 14th of March, 1813, and the latter of whom was also a native of England. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks were united in marriage on the 7th of October, 1841, and they were the parents of four children—three sons and one daughter, namely : Mardenbro, Thomas, Henry and Mary J. Letitia (Banbury) Hicks was born at Lancell parish, county of Cornwall, England, whence she immigrated with her parents to America at an early day. The trip across the Atlantic was made in an old sailing vessel which consumed six weeks in making the voyage. After landing in this country the family proceeded to Ohio, locating at Gambier, where for a number of years they had charge of the boarding hall of Kenyon College. After Letitia's marriage to John Hicks, in 1845, they removed to the vicinity of Centerburg, which section was then practically an unbroken wilderness. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks were very devout Christians and were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The following clipping taken from an old copy of the Christian Advocate and pasted in the family Bible by Mother Hicks was greatly cherished by Mr. Hicks, its sentiments having been incorporated into his daily life. "My lot in life, I find myself where I am and what I am. My duty is submission. My privilege is enjoyment. Because I am sick or disabled I need not be useless or unhappy. I accept my situation as of divine appointment and will try to be contented with it. Lamenting over the past will do no good ; I cannot recall or change it. My Heavenly Father has permitted matters to be with me just as they are and he knows best ; I know he loves me. No rebellion will be in my heart nor murmur escape my lips. My Saviour has promised his grace sufficient. Trusting all to my Father's loving care, I will do what I can, making the place where my lot is cast as bright and cheerful as possible, and will work and wait with patience till I am permitted to go to my heavenly home." 702 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wesley Throckmorton became the parents of four children : Mabel L., Maud R., Verner C. and Edna M. The children all grew up in a fine moral atmosphere, proved to be studious and early adapted themselves to their work and studies in a most commendable manner. The three daughters were all graduated in the Sparta high school with high honors and the son attended high school until one month prior to his graduation, at which time he was forced to leave school on account of his mother's illness. Mabel L., was married, in 1898, to B. F. Powell, and they maintain their home at Mount Gilead, Ohio. They have one son, Leland T., whose birth occurred in 1904, and who is now attending school. Maude R. fitted herself for teaching and by her adaptability and kindness succeeded in winning for herself the good will of her pupils and their respective parents. After completing high school she taught first in Morrow county and later at Centerburg. She then went to Monroe, Iowa, whence she went to Newcomers-town, Ohio, and finally she engaged in teaching in Minnesota. Returning home in March, 1904, however, with a lingering illness, she was laid to rest on the 7th of September, 1904, at the early age of twenty-eight years. Edna M., the youngest daughter, was also engaged in teaching for a time prior to her marriage to Mr. Carl Patrick, on the 30th of September, 1908. Mr. Patrick is a son of Edward and Ella (Arkins) Patrick, who reside near Vails Corners, and he grew to maturity on the old patrick farm and after completing the curriculum of the district schools was graduated in the Sparta high school. Mr. and Mrs. Carl Patrick have one daughter, Maude Ellen. Verner C., was united in marriage, on the 8th of September, 1909, to Miss Hallie 0. Van Sickle, a native of East Liberty, Ohio, and a daughter of John C. and D. Estella Van Sickle. Mrs. Throckmorton was graduated in the Marengo high school and she is a woman of many accomplishments and rare charm of personality. Mr. and Mrs. Throckmorton have one son, Kenneth. Mr. Charles Throckmorton's health began to fail and after a few months of illness he was summoned to the life eternal. His parting words to his family were : "Make sure of Heaven as it is all there is worth living for." In his fraternal associations he was a valued and appreciative member of the time-honored Masonic Order and while he never manifested aught of ambition for the honors or emoluments of public office of any description he was a stanch advocate of the principles and policies promulgated by the Republican party in his political convictions. He was a man of fine moral fiber and he was numbered among the best known and most highly honored citizens of Morrow county at the time of his demise, on the 20th of September, 1896. His life course was marked by valuable and generous accomplishments along normal lines of endeavor and his measure of success was large, but greater than this was the intrinsic loyalty to principle, the deep human sympathy and the broad intellectuality that designated the man HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 703 as he was. He was in the most significant sense the architect of his own fortunes, having built the ladder by which he rose to high esteem, and he took high ground on the subject of temperance. His heart was attuned to generous impulses and his innate kindliness and generosity made him a power for good in all the relations of life. After the death of her husband Mrs. Throckmorton with the aid of her young son continued to run the old home farm, where she still resides. She is a woman of charm and graciousness, one who is deeply beloved and admired by all who have come within the radius of her gentle influence. CHARLES C. VANNATTA.—Noteworthy among the active and highly esteemed citizens of Morrow county is Charles C. Vannatta. who has been associated with the mercantile interests of Washington township for nearly a quarter of a century, and who, on November 8, 1910, was elected county clerk of Morrow county, the large majority of votes cast at the polls in his favor showing his popularity as a man and a citizen. A son of John Vannatta, he was born September 14, 1863, in North Bloomfield township, Morrow county, Ohio. Born in New Jersey, John Vannatta was there brought up and educated. In 1844, ere attaining his majority, he came westward to Ohio, and subsequently made a permanent settlement in North Bloomfield township, where he spent his remaining years. He married in 1850, Margaret McCallester, who was born in the Emerald Isle. At the age of six months she was brought by her parents to the United States, and in Washington township, Morrow county, Ohio, she grew to womanhood, and was educated. To her and her husband twelve children were born, seven of whom were living in the closing months of the year 1910, as follows : William, of Mount Gilead, Ohio ; David R., a general merchant in Iberia ; Dr. II. L., of Wyandot county, Ohio ; Mattie, widow of Sylvester Price, of Ada, Ohio ; Charles C., the special subject of this brief personal review ; E. E., and Frank, of Marion, Ohio. Remaining a member of the parental household until twenty-one years of age, Charles C. Vannatta obtained the rudiments of his education in the rural schools of his native district, after which he attended the public schools of Ada and the Iberia College. He began life for himself as a teacher, but for the past twenty-four years has been identified with mercantile affairs in Iberia. Mr. Vannatta married, November 6, 1890, Mary E. Kerr, of Marion, Ohio, and they are the parents of three children, namely : Dwight, born April 7, 1892, is a graduate of the Iberia public schools and of the Iberia College ; Forest, born November 5, 1896 ; and Lowell, born April 24, 1900. Politically Mr. Vannatta is one of the leading Republicans of his district, and as a loyal, public-spirited citizen has never shirked the responsibility of office. He has served efficiently as a member 704 - HISTORY. OF MORROW COUNTY of the Iberia Board of Education ; was for twelve years clerk of Washington township ; and on the first Monday of August, 1911, will assume the office of county clerk of Morrow county, a position to which he was elected by a majority of one hundred and thirty-eight votes in his own township, in which the Republicans usually have but thirty-five majority, while his majority of the votes cast in Morrow county amounted to six hundred and two. Fraternally Mr. Vannatta is a member and past chancellor of Iberia Lodge, No. 561, Knights of Pythias. HARRY B. McMILLIN.—Progress is man's distinctive mark alone, and it is fortunate for the world that there have been those who could triumph over the forces of circumstances and environment and through their resourceful energies contribute to the march of development and progress. The efficient and popular cashier of the National Bank of Morrow county, at Mount Gilead, may well be given alignment among those who have bravely met and overcome adverse conditions and have won success and honor through their own sterling attributes and well directed efforts. He has been practically dependent upon his own resources since his boyhood days, and, setting to himself a high standard, none can deny that he has pressed steadily and earnestly forward to the mark or large and worthy accomplishment as one of the world's noble army of productive workers. Mr. McMillin is a native son of Morrow county and here has found ample scope for the accomplishment of marked success along normal lines of enterprise, while his course has been so ordered as to give him secure place in the confidence and esteem of the community that has ever represented his home and in which he thus sets at naught any application of the scriptural apothegm that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country." Harry Bradley McMillin was born in Mount Gilead, the judicial center of Morrow county, Ohio, on the 3d of March, 1870, and is a son of Reverend Milton and Nancy (Mercer) McMillin, the former of whom was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Knox county, Ohio. Reverend McMillin was a man of fine intellectual attainments and was comparatively a young man at the time of his death. He was graduated in Washington and Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, and then prepared himself for the ministry of the Presbyterian church, in which he was duly ordained. He labored with all of zeal and devotion in his high calling for a period of fifteen years, at the expiration of which he was summoned from the scene of life's mortal endeavors, at Lexington, Ohio, in 1876, at which time he was forty-three years of age. He held various pastoral charges, in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and he assumed the pastorate of the Presbyterian church in Mount Gilead about 1866, retaining this incumbency until shortly before his death. His wife, a woman of gracious personality 705 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY NATIONAL BANK OF MORROW COUNTY HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 706 - BLANK HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 707 and much culture, had been a successful and popular teacher in a seminary at Allegheny, Pennsylvania, prior to their marriage, and she long survived him, having continued her residence in Mount Gilead until she was summoned to the life eternal, in December, 1908, at the venerable age of seventy-eight years. She won the affectionate regard of all who came within the sphere of her gentle and kindly influence, and her memory is revered in the little city that so long represented her home. At the time of her husband's death he was left with but slender financial resources and upon her frail shoulders was placed the heavy burden of rearing her five little sons, ranging in age from four to twelve years, to lives of usefulness and honor. Bravely did this noble woman face the grave responsibility thus devolved upon her, and in after years she was not denied her reward, for her children were ready indeed to "rise up and call her blessed," the while they accorded her the utmost filial solicitude. All of her sons have made for themselves places of usefulness in connection with the practical activities of life, and two of the number have followed in the footsteps of their father, in that they have become valued and able members of the clergy of the Presbyterian church : Walter L., the eldest of the sons, is general manager of the Yeomans & Shedd Hardware Company, one of the leading wholesale concerns of Danville, Illinois ; Reverend Edward M. is pastor of the Presbyterian church at East Liverpool, Ohio ; Frank B. is general manager of the Hydraulic Press Manufacturing Company, of Mount Gilead, Ohio ; Harry B., whose name initiates this review, was the next in order of birth ; and Reverend Frederick N., the youngest of the sons, is pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Walnut Hills, a beautiful suburb of the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Harry B. McMillin was about six years of age at the time of -his father's death, and when a mere boy he secured work in a brick yard and tile mill, by means of which occupation he largely provided for his own maintenance, besides assisting his widowed mother. In the meanwhile he was not denied the advantages of the excellent public schools of his native place, though he worked assiduously during the vacation seasons and at other times when the average boy was at play. He has never regretted the discipline thus involved and does not feel that he was is in the least deprived of the heritage of the average youth. He was finally enabled to complete the curriculum of the Mount Gilead high school, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1887, and thereafter he entered Wooster University but abandoned his university course to assume the position of clerk in the National Bank of Morrow County, with which institution he has been connected with continuously for nearly a quarter of a century, within whieh, through faithful and efficient service, he has advanced step by step until he has become its cashier—an office to which he was elected in 1905. The other members of the executive corps 708 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY of the bank are as here noted : M. Burr Talmage, president; Melvin B. Talmage, vice president ; and the directorate includes, in addition to these officers, Dr. Nathan Tucker, Calvin H. Wood, Asa V. Miracle, William Edward Miller, Amza A. Whitney, J. Charles Criswell, Harry S. Cruikshank, and Bryant B. Lewis. The National Bank of Morrow County is recognized as one of the substantial and ably managed financial institutions of this part of the state, and it bases its operations upon ample capital and the representative personnel of its stockholders, all of whom are men of prominence and sterling worth of character. The specific capital stock of the bank is fifty thousand dollars, but through accumulated earnings this amount has been doubled, while during the regime of Mr. McMillin as cashier the deposits and other resources of the bank have increased fully one-half. Conservative policies are followed in all, departments and the resources now aggregate more than five hundred thousand dollars. It is uniformly conceded that Mr. McMillin has been a potent factor in the upbuilding of the splendid business of this bank, and he has gained precedence as one of the essentially representative business men of his native city, where he is also known as a citizen of utmost loyalty and public spirit, well worthy of the unequivocal esteem in which he is held in the community which has ever been his home and in which he has risen to success on the ladder of his own building. His career offers both lesson and incentive to aspiring young men who are dependent upon their own exertions and powers in fighting the battle of life, for like him they may, hold the needle true to the pole-star of faith and hope and thus "work out their own salvation." Mr. McMillin gives his influence and tangible cooperation in the promotion and support of enterprises and measures tending to advance the material and civic prosperity of his home city and county, and in Mt. Gilead he is an interested principal in a number of leading industrial corporations. He is president of the Buckeye Milling Company, is treasurer of the Hydraulic Press manufacturing Company, one of the most important manufacturing corporations of Mt. Gilead, and is manager of the Mt. Gilead Savings & Loan Company. He is also a member of the directorate of the Commercial Savings Bank of Galion, Crawford county, and is the owner of valuable farming land in Morrow county. Though never manifesting any predilection for political office, Mr. McMillin is found arrayed as a stanch supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with Mt. Gilead Lodge, No. 206, Free and Accepted Masons ; Mt. Gilead Lodge, No. 169, Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; and Charles H. Hull Lodge, No. 195, Knights "of Pythias, of which last named organization he is past chancellor. Mrs. McMillin holds membership in the Order of the Eastern Star, an adjunct of Masonry, and also in the Daughters of Rebekah, an HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 709 auxilliary of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both Mr. and Mrs. McMillin are most zealous and devoted members of the First Presbyterian church of Mt. Gilead and are active in the various departments of its work. He is a valued member of the Presbyterian Brotherhood and before the same has given a number of effective addresses, while he has also been frequently called upon to deliver addresses before other church and public assemblies, in which connection he has proved himself an interesting and effective speaker. In the midst of the many exactions of his business interests he finds time to enjoy the social amenities of life, and both he and his wife are prominent in the leading social activities of their home community, their home being a center of cordial and gracious hospitality. On the 27th of June, 1894, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. McMillin to Miss Margaret '_loner, who was born on the homestead farm of her parents, near Chesterville, Morrow county, on the 24th of August, 1870, and who is a representative of honored pioneer families of this county. She is a daughter of S. and Mary (Thomas) Boner, both of whom were likewise born and reared in Morrow county, where her father has long been numbered among the representative exponents of the agricultural industry—a citizen of sterling character and influential in public affairs of a local order. Mrs. McMillin received excellent educational advantages, including a course in the Cardington High School, in which she was graduated, after which she attended the Marion Normal College, at Marion, this state. For some time prior to her marriage she was a successful and popular teacher in the schools of her native county. She is a prominent figure in social, church and literary circles in Mt. Gilead, where she is president of the Mt. Gilead Free Public Library and a charter member of Sorosis, besides which she is treasurer of the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Marion Presbytery. Mr. and Mrs. McMillin have two children, Mary Elizabeth and Edward Milton. SAMUEL S. SNYDER.-As a successful agriculturist of North Bloomfield township, a trustworthy citizen and a man of strict integrity and high moral principles, Samuel S. Snyder is eminently deserving of special mention in this biographical work. A son of David Snyder, he was born March 28, 1862, in Sandusky township, Richland county, Ohio, coming from honored pioneer ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Henry Snyder, came from Pennsylvania to Ohio in the earlier part of the nineteenth century. Locating in Sandusky township, Richland county, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, from which he improved a fine homestead, on which his twelve children were born and reared and on which he and his faithful wife spent most of their remaining years. David Snyder was born on the home farm in Sandusky township in 1825. Soon after his marriage he came to North Bloomfield 710 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY township, and was here successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, in 1884, owning and managing a well improved farm. He married Mary M. McCollum, who was born in Ohio in 1828, and resides in Galion, this state, and they became the parents of four children, as follows : Harriet E., deceased, was the wife of the late Benton Mitchell ; B. W., a prosperous farmer of Congress township, married Eva Dickerson ; Samuel S., the subject of this brief sketch ; and Frank C., who married Flora Day, is a rural mail carrier in Galion, on route No. 1. But a small child when he came with his parents to North Bloomfield township, Samuel S. Snyder attended the district schools during the winter terms and worked on the farm summers until nineteen years old, when he further advanced his education by an attendance at the Ohio Central College in Iberia. Fitted for a professional career, Mr. Snyder taught seven winter terms of school, being otherwise employed the remainder of the years. Preferring the occupation of his ancestors, he then turned his attention to agriculture, and has since devoted his time and energies to the tilling of the soil and the raising of stock, in both branches of industry being prominent and prosperous. He owns a farm of two hundred acres six miles southeast of Galion, and in its care and management is carrying on a thriving business, his operations as a general farmer being extensive and lucrative. On March 16, 1887, Mr. Snyder was united in marriage with Frances R. Flowers, who was born in Sandusky township, Richland county, Ohio, October 8, 1865, and came with her parents, John and Rebecca (Hassler) Flowers, to Morrow county in 1866, and was here educated. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Snyder, namely : David A. and John H., twins, born January 5, 1888. These sons were educated in the public schools, and each taught school three terms when young. David married Rachel N. Rhodebeck. John H. married May Wolford, and they have one daughter, Dale N. Wolford.. A Democrat in his political views, Mr. Snyder has served many years as township treasurer, and is ever interested in the advancement of local affairs. Both he and his wife are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is one of the trustees and in which he has served as Sunday school superintendent. JOHN MCNEAL.—One of the chief sources of the wealth of the world, say the economists, is agriculture ; and in the pursuits of this branch of industry in Ohio are men of ability, enterprise and skill ; men who delve in the soil to good purpose, bringing forth abundant harvests from the richer ground and making the waste places fertile and productive. Prominent among this number is John McNeal, of Morrow county, who is living in Washington township, near Iberia, on the homestead where his birth occurred March 20, 1838. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 711 Joseph McNeal, his father, was born and reared in Washington county, Pennsylvania. Migrating to Ohio in early life, he located first in Marion county, where he established a carding mill and a linseed oil mill. About 1830 he came to Morrow county, which was then in its pristine wildness, deer, bears and wolves being plentiful, while the deep forests were still the Indian's hunting grounds. Entering a tract of land near Iberia, in Washington township, he hewed a homestead from the forest, and was there successfully employed as a tiller of the soil until his death, which was caused by a runaway accident while he was returning from a trip to Mansfield. He was a man of sterling integrity, prominent in the community, and served as justice of the peace many years. He was well educated, and as a young man taught school during the winter terms. He married, March 14, 1833, Martha Struthers, a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and to them five children were born, of whom John, the subject of this sketch, is the third in order of birth. Brought up on the home farm, John McNeal acquired his preliminary knowledge of books in the district schools and in Ohio Central College in Iberia. During the Civil war, in 1861, Mr. McNeal with a company of volunteers in Cardington and Iberia, it being Company I, Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and with his comrades participated in many engagements. At the battle of Stone River he was wounded through the left pelvis, and lay on the battlefield ten days before receiving aid. Notwithstanding his exposure, he recuperated and served in the army three years. His brother, Wallace McNeal, was killed in the engagement at Stone River. He was very popular both at home and in the regiment, and the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Iberia is named in his honor, being Wallace McNeal Post, No. 687. Mr. McNeal was with Company I, Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but four months when it was disbanded, but he joined Battery E, First Regiment Ohio Light Artillery, in which he served three years, and now receives a pension of seventeen dollars a month. He is a member and past commander of the Wallace McNeal Post, which was the first post organized in Morrow county. It was numbered fifty-nine when formed ; but it disbanded and when reorganized was numbered six hundred and eighty-seven. Mr. McNeal has continued in the independent occupation to which he was reared, and now owns seventy-eight acres of rich land adjoining Iberia. He is successful in his farming operations, being one of the leading agriculturists of his community. He raises fine stock, making a specialty of breeding Norman horses, while formerly he raised in addition to these many high grade roadsters. Mr. McNeal married in September, 1876, Mary Feerer, who was born in Morrow county, Ohio, October 5, 1852, and into their household six children have been born, namely : John H., born 712 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY August 11, 1877, was graduated from the Iberia High School and the law department of the University of Alabama, and is now practising his profession in Birmingham, Alabama ; Walace H., born in 1879, is at home ; Neal, born October 27, 1882, is a student in the veterinary department of the Ohio State University, being a member of the class of 1911; Joseph W., born December 27, 1885, is a member of the class of 1911 at West Point ; Ray, born April 12, 1888, is a graduate of the Iberia High School ; and Don, born November 9, 1891, was graduated from the Iberia High School, and is now taking the agricultural course at the Ohio State University in Columbus. Mr. McNeal was brought up in the Presbyterian faith, but is not a member of any religious organization. A prominent member of the Knights of Pythias, he served as the first chancellor of the local lodge and is a member of the Grand Lodge. Politically he is a steadfast Republican, and has filled various offices of trust, having been assessor and trustee and for six years, and from 1887 until 1893, was county commissioner, during which time Mr. A. A. Crawford and Mr. F. A. Welch being the other commissioners, the County Infirmary building was erected. DUANE SWETLAND is one of Morrow county's most prominent and successful representatives of the agricultural industry, which Daniel Webster has called the most important labor of man. His splendid two hundred acre farm is located four miles southwest of Fredericktown and is adorned with a fine country home, which is widely renowned in a region for its fine country homes. As a citizen he enjoys high regard, for his ideas are public-spirited and progressive, and he is ever ready to give his support to all good measures likely to result in the attainment of the greatest good to the greatest number. The name of Swetland is one held in high honor in this part of Ohio, and William Swetland, father of the subject, is one of Morrow county's best known citizens. The family is one which has long been founded in America, the first Swetland having arrived on our shores about 1676, and its history is well worth consideration. At an early date the Swetlands are found on Pennsylvania soil and it was from the Keystone state that the family came to Ohio. The Swetlands seem to have come into unusually interesting and sometimes disastrous contact with the Indians. The great-grandfather of the subject on the maternal side was killed by savages. Luke Swetland, his great-grandfather on the paternal side, was taken captive by the Indians at the time of the Wyoming massacre. The redmen took him with them to Cayuga Lake, New York, their headquarters, and as the winter was severe they suffered with hunger. Before spring, in fact, the Indians had killed and eaten every horse and dog they possessed, and Luke, learning of necessity, came to eat the horse flesh with a relish. Upon one HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 713 occasion the Indians killed a deer, which without being dressed was cut up, hide and all, and put in the camp kettles to boil. He said he could have eaten even that had not the mullen leaves with which they had covered the meat while cooking, given it such an unpleasant flavor that he found it impossible. Luke hunted for his captors and was as useful and faithful to them as he could be and gradually he won their confidence. He often went out alone into the forests and remained longer and longer, but always returned and was apparently reconciled to his fate. In course of time he came to be fully trusted and decided to make his escape. He carefully secreted some provisions and one day, about eighteen months after his capture, when he started cut for a hunt he took these with him and made a break for liberty and home. Facing the perils of the forest and not daring to fire a gun or build a fire, he wandered for a long time and after enduring many days of privation he came upon General Sullivan 's army. The officers doubted his story and believed him to be a spy and at first were unkind to him, but one day one of the soldiers recognized him as an old acquaintance, after which he was treated with every kindness. During his captivity he kept a dairy on birch bark, which many years afterward was published by a Mr. Osborne of Pennsylvania, who had married one of the young women of the Swetland family. Luke's son Artemus, who was a boy at the time of the terrible massacre, came to Ohio in pioneer days. He was a soldier in the war of 1812 and of the stuff that the typically valiant pioneer was made of. He married Lydia Abbott, also a Pennsylvanian. The subject's grandparents were Giles and Sarah (Lewis) Swetland, who located in South Bloomfield township, and it was there that the father, William Sweetland, farmer and stockman, was born, the year of his birth being 1838. The maiden name of the mother was Cornelia. The parents of Mr. Swetland were married in 1861 and settled upon the old homestead which was owned by the grandparents, and their prosperity, worldly and spiritual, has been of the highest character. The subject is one of a family of five children, he being the eldest. Minnie R., married Frank Wolf, of Centerburg, Ohio, and their present residence is in Seattle, Washington. Selinda, deceased, became the wife of Dr. C. A. Levering, of Mohicanville ; Manning L. and his wife reside near the parental home ; and Burton V., engaged in the tinning and roofing business, resides at Centerburg. Duane Swetland was born upon the parental homestead on the first day of August, 1863. He received his education in the Gardner district school and in the matter of choosing a life work followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming a successful farmer and stockman. His fertile and valuable farm is most advantageously situated. He is an optimist in his views and believes in enjoying the good things of life instead of waiting until age hinders him from enjoying them. With his wife he has taken 714 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY several extended summer journeys, their last including the Seattle Exposition, the Pacific coast, Vancouver, Victoria, British Columbia, Portland, Denver, Colorado Springs and many other points of interest in the west. They returned with a particularly interesting collection of pictures and other souvenirs from the places visited. On the 19th day of November, 1884, Mr. Swetland laid the foundation of a happy home life and congenial marital companionship by his marriage to Miss Clara Roods, daughter of Harrison and Maria (Bell) Roods. Their union has been blessed by the birth of three children, Edith, Roscoe A and Florence. The average age of the Giles-Swetland family is eighty years. DANIEL GEORGE WASHINGTON SMITH, familiarly known to his large circle of friends and acquaintances as "Wash" Smith, holds a position of prominence among the prosperous and progressive farmers of North Bloomfield township, his highly productive farm comparing favorably in its improvements and appointments with any to be found in this part of Morrow county. He is a native and to the "manner born," his birth having occurred, January 10, 1855, on the farm which he now owns and occupies, it having at one time been the home of his father, the late William A. Smith, and also of his grandfather, George F. Smith. George F. Smith was born and reared in Pennsylvania, and there married Margaret A. Albauch. A few years later he came to Ohio, bringing with him his young family and all of their worldly possessions, the journey being performed with teams, the only mode of transporation in those days. He located first about two miles east from the present home of "Wash" Smith, and subsequently purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land lying in the southeast quarter of North Bloomfield township. Selling that property to his son, William A. Smith, he continued his residence in the township until his death. Born in York county, Pennsylvania, December 20, 1818, William A. Smith was young when he came with his parents to Morrow county. He assisted in the clearing of the parental homestead, which he subsequently purchased and on which he lived a few years after his marriage, it being the farm now occupied by the subject of this sketch. He was an industrious, energetic man, as a tiller of the soil meeting with much success, and he continued his farming operations until his death, June 12, 1889. He married Catherine Sorrick, who was born August 23, 1824, and died April 5, 1901. They became the parents of seven children, namely : Ephraim, born January 10, 1848 ; Emmanuel, born November 25, 1849; Lydia M. A., born February 7, 1853; D. G. W., the subject of this brief biographical review ; John P., born October 14, 1856 ; Mary A., born May 23, 1858 ; and Levi, born November 3, 1862. Daniel G. W. Smith, the sole survivor of the parental house- HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 715 hold, was reared on the farm where he now lives and educated in the township schools. Finding farming the occupation most congenial to his tastes, he located soon after his marriage on the original homestead, the one which his grandfather hewed from the forest, and was there a resident for two years, when he returned to his father's farm. On March 15, 1890, he once more assumed possession of the old Smith homestead, and continued its management until 1901, when he purchased the farm on which he was born and reared. Here Mr. Smith has one hundred and fifty-seven and a half acres of highly cultivated and productive land, which he is carrying on with very satisfactory results, his yearly crops being abundant and valuable. Mrs. Smith is also a landholder, owning eighty acres of good land about a half mile east of Mr. Smith's farm. Mr. Smith married, December 13, 1877, Catherine Gattner, who was born April 5, 1855, in Morrow county, Ohio. Her father, Jacob Gattner, a native of Baden, Germany, came with his parents to the United States and subsequently resided in Morrow county until his death, July 1, 1901. He married Christenia Cronewerth, a native of Baden, Germany. She is still living; in 1911, as are eight of her nine children, their names being as follows : Catherine, Christenia, Mary A., Jacob, John F., Elizabeth, George and William B. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, namely : Frederick, deceased ; Charles, who married Laura Kinsey, has two children, Louisa M. and Helen I. ; Clara M., deceased ; and Jacob C., a farmer. Politically Mr. Smith is a firm supporter of the principles of the Democratic party. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Smith belong to the Peace Reform church of North Bloomfield township, in which he is an elder, while Mrs. Smith is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society connected with it. SEYMOUR MCANINCH.—One of the native sons of Morrow county and a member of an old and honored family of this favored section of the Buckeye state, Mr. McAninch has gained prestige as one of the aggressive and influential business men of the county and his real estate and business interests are of noteworthy scope and importance. Energy, good judgment and close application have brought him into prominence as a man of affairs, and his careful adherence to the principles of honesty, sincerity and integrity has given him secure vantage ground in popular confidence and esteem. He has won large and definite success, but has not found it necessary to infringe on the rights of others, and he is known as a liberal and loyal citizen and as a man of abiding kindliness and deep human sympathy and tolerance. His residence and business headquarters are in the village of Clima where he is an extensive buyer and shipper of grain, hay and other products .and where he is the owner of commodious and well equipped grain elevators. 716 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY On the old homestead farm of his father, which is endeared to him by the associations of the past, Mr. McAninch was ushered into the world on the 22nd of May, 1861, and the homestead noted is situated in Washington township, Morrow county, at a point five miles north of Mt. Gilead, the county seat. He is a son of John A. and Mary A. (Sipes) McAninch, who continued to reside on this homestead until their death, the father having passed away when about fifty-nine years of age and the mother having been seventy-three years old when she was summoned to the life eternal. John A. McAninch was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and his wife, at Sumerset, Perry county, Pennsylvania. They were early settlers of Washington township, Morrow county, and ever commanded the high regard of all who knew them. The father contributed his quota to the industrial and social development of this section of the state and was influential in public affairs of a local nature. He was originally a Whig and later a Republican in politics, and both he and his wife held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. They became the parents of one child, the subject of this sketch, who still survives them. Seymour McAninch was reared under the benignant influences and discipline of the home farm and even as a boy assumed his share of duties and responsibilities in connection with its operation. The district school of the neighborhood afforded him his early educational advantages, and the lessons thus learned have been effectively supplemented by self-discipline and by association with men and affairs. He continued actively identified with agricultural pursuits for many years and eventually became the owner of the old homestead. This is one of the well improved farms of the county and its owner takes much pride in keeping it up to the highest standard, both in the matter of improvements and facilities and in the various departments of its work. In 1903 he engaged in the general merchandise business at North Woodbury, this county with his son, where he remained about two years. For two years thereafter he was engaged in the same line of enterprise in the village of Climax, where he has since maintained his home. He finally disposed of his mercantile business and turned his attention to the buying and shipping of grain, with which he has since been actively and successfully identified. In 1907 he erected the grain elevators in Climax, and the same have done much to promote the prosperity and growth of the village, while affording valued facilities to the farmers of the adjacent sections. In connection with the elevators is maintained the freight and ticket agency for the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad, on whose line the elevators are eligibly located. Mr. McAninch now controls a large and substantial business as a buyer and shipper of grain and hay and his reputation for fairness and scrupulous honesty in all transactions is unassailable. He is the owner of seven residence properties in the city of Columbus, Ohio. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 717 As a progressive and public spirited citizen Mr. McAninch has naturally taken a lively interest in political matters and he has been an active worker in the local ranks of the Republican party. He is at the present time a member of the board of trustees of Canaan township, having held this position five years, and he gives to his official duties careful and discriminating attention, with the worthy purpose of doing all in his power to promote the best interests of the township and its people. He is affiliated with Caledonia Lodge, No. 299, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is past noble grand of the same. Both Mr. and Mrs. McAninch are zealous members of the United Brethren church in their home village and he has given to the same prolonged and effective service as a teacher in the Sunday School, of which he was also superintendent for two years. On the 8th of December, 1881, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. McAninch to Miss Emma J. Dye, who was born and reared in Washington township, this county, where her father, the late Justice Dye, was a representative farmer. Walter L., the elder of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. McAninch, married Miss Austa Allwein, of North Woodbury, Ohio, and for three years was a teacher in the public school at that place. He is now a resident of Columbus, the capital city of Ohio, where he is freight clerk in the offices of the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad. He was born on the old homestead farm„ on the 6th of October, 1883. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and Knights of Pythias, being a member of Mt. Gilead Lodge, No. 206, Free and Accepted Masons, also of Gilead Chapter, No. 59, Royal Arch Masons, and Iberia Lodge, No. 561, Knights of Pythias. Alta Mae, who was born on the 12th of September, 1891, is a student of music, in which art she has fine talent, and at present she resides with her parents at Climax, Ohio. LAFAYETTE GATES.—The present able and popular incumbent of the office of county commissioner of Morrow county, Ohio, to which position he was chosen for a second term in 1910, is Lafeyette Gates, who is a farmer and merchant of prominence and influence in this section of the fine old Buckeye state. He was born on the 13th of November, 1846, the place of his nativity being a farm located about one mile and a half south of Pulaskiville, in Franklin township, Morrow county. He is a son of John and Polly (Truax) Gates, both of whom are deceased, the former having been summoned to the life eternal on the 19th of January, 1891, at the age of eighty-two years and seven months, and the latter having passed away on the 7th of June, 1886, at the age of sixty-eight years and four months. Mrs. Gates was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, whence she came to Ohio in 1838, at which time she was a child of but five years of age. Her parents located on a farm in Morrow county and continued to be identified with Vol. II-14 718 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY agricultural pursuits during the residue of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Gates were devout members of the Baptist church, with which he was affiliated for a period of thirty-three years. Lafayette Gates, or "Lafe" as he is generally known, was reared to the invigorating influence of the home farm and he was the elder of his parents' two children, both still living. His educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the district schools of the locality and period and he continued to be identified with farming operations en the old homestead until the time of his marriage, in 1871, at which time he located on his mother's old home farm, where he erected a small frame house. In 1873 he purchased an additional tract of nineteen acres and in 1882 he added to the original estate another tract of sixty acres. He has since bought and sold many parcels of land and his present estate consists of some one hundred and sixty acres of most arable I land. All the buildings on the place are of the most modern type and his residence is one of the most beautiful in this township. Residing with him is his son Clay, who is his assistant in the work and management of the farm. In February Mr. Gates and his son, C. Clay, purchased a general store in Pulaskiville, which they operated until 1901, at which time on account of the death of his daughter and the subsequent illness of his wife, Mr. Gates returned to the home farm, where he remained until March, 1903. He then purchased a store at Shauck Post-Office, which he conducted until the 11th of November, 1905. In 1906 he located on a farm of one hundred acres in Gilead township, which he disposed of in 1908, when he again became the owner of a store in Shauck's Post Office. In 1909 he disposed of his interests in town and returned to the old home farm, where he has since resided. On the 12th of October, 1909, he bought an additional tract of forty acres of land. In his religious faith Mr. Gates has ever been aligned with the Baptist church, in whose faith he was reared. In politics he is a stalwart Democrat and he is now serving his second term as county commissioner of Morrow county, to which he was elected in 1908. Just after he had attained to his legal majority he was elected to the office of assessor of Franklin township, of which he continued in tenure for one year. For nine years he was township clerk and for four years was township treasurer. All his public service has been characterized by ardent devotion to duty and as a loyal and public spirited citizen he has no superior. On the 1st of January, 1871, Mr. Gates was united in marriage to Miss Jane E. Mann, and concerning her life and death the following lines from a local paper may be appropriately inserted here : "Jane E. Gates, daughter of John and Christena Mann, was born August 7, 1847, and died September 3, 1901, aged fifty-four years and twenty-seven days. She was married to Lafayette Gates January 1, 1871. To them was born two children, one son who HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 719 remains to mourn the loss of a kind and loving mother, and one daughter who preceded her to the eternal life just five months ago. On the 21st day of February, 1871, she was baptized by Rev. B. M. Marrison and united with the Franklin Baptist church, and ever afterward remained a faithful and consistent member. Many times during her sickness she expressed a willingness to be taken home to heaven. For about two years she was a constant sufferer from that dread disease, consumption, and during the last seven weeks of her life she was confined to her bed, being constantly attended by her friends and neighbors, who rendered to her every kindness in their power, for which the relatives offer their heartfelt thanks. On the fifth day of September, 1901, her body was taken to Bryn Zion, where the funeral was preached to a very large congregation by Rev. W. H. Bedell, whom she had chosen before her death for that purpose, after which she was laid to rest in the beautiful cemetery beside her daughter, with whom she has been reunited on the shores of eternal bliss." She was ever a potent influence for good in the home and was a devoted wife and mother. Cassius C. Gates, the son, was born on the 13th of October, 1872, was educated in the public schools of Morrow county and on the 23rd of December, 1897, was united in wedlock to Miss Augusta McCracken, a daughter of Wayne and Frances McCracken, of Harmony township, this county. They have two children, John M., whose birth occurred on the 26th of August, 1898 ; and Dale W., born October 14, 1903. Cassius Gates is a Baptist in his religious faith and fraternally he is a member of Johnsville Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Cora Anita, the deceased daughter of Lafayette Gates, was born on the 3rd of May, 1877, and she married Clay Snyder, of Denmark, on the 31st of October, 1900. She died April 5, 1901. She was educated in the common schools and was a faithful member of the Baptist church, a worker in both the Sunday School and church. DANIEL J. HALDEMAN.—It is most pleasing to the publishers of this work on Morrow county to be able to incorporate within its pages a brief history of a man whose entire life thus far has been spent in this favored section of the fine old Buckeye state, where his success as an agriculturist has been on a parity with his own well directed endeavors. Mr. Haldeman is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and seventeen acres in Troy township, the same being eligibly located three miles north of Johnsville, Ohio. He is engaged in general farming and the growing of good stock and is recognized as one of the most successful agriculturists in this section of the county. A native son of Troy township, Morrow county, Ohio, Daniel J. Haldeman was born on the 20th of August, 1860, and he is a son of Henry and Lydia (Ettinger) Haldeman, both of whom are deceased. Henry Haldeman was a son of Jacob and Anna 720 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY (Mimick) Haldeman, the former of whom was a native of Berke county, Pennsylvania, where was solemnized his marriage and whence he and his wife immigrated to Ohio about the year 1818. Location was first made near Frederickstown, Richland county, and subsequently the Haldeman family removed to Morrow county, where Jacob Haldeman entered half a section of government land, namely, the northwest quarter of section 29, township 19, and the northeast quarter of section 30, township 20, the date of entry being the 11th of March, 1818. A portion of this land has been in the Haldeman name down to the present day and Jacob passed the residue of his life on one of his farms in Morrow county. Henry Haldeman was born in this county, in 1822, and he was reared to maturity under the invigorating influence of the old home farm, his early educational training consisting of such advantages as were afforded in the schools of the locality and period. After his marriage to Lydia Ettinger they settled on one hundred and forty acres of his father's estate, where he continued to be identified with farming during the greater part of his active career. He and his wife were zealous members of the Evangelical Association and in lieu of a religious place of worship church meetings were held in their home. They were much interested in church work and he was class leader and superintendent of the Sunday School for a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Haldeman became the parents of eight children, five of whom are living at the present time, namely : William Wesley, who married Miss Mary Marshall and who is a traveling salesman by vocation, his business headquarters and home being in the city of Cleveland, Ohio ; Reuben J., married Miss Mary Portner and they reside at Fort Collins, Colorado, where he is engaged in the merchandise business ; Daniel J., is the immediate subject of this review ; Irene is the wife of J. S. Steele, of Loveland, Colorado ; and Ulysses Sidney Grant wedded Miss May Yeager and is identified with the Steam Shovel Company at Marion, Ohio. Daniel J. Haldeman passed his boyhood and youth on the old homestead farm, in the work and management of which he early began to assist his father. He attended the district schools until he had reached his legal majority and after his marriage, in 1882, he settled upon the parental estate, where he has resided during the long intervening years to the present time. Religiously he and his wife are affiliated with the Evangelical Association of Troy township and in the same he is a member of the board of trustees. In a fraternal way he is a valued and appreciative member of the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he carries insurance, and he is also connected with the Johnsville Grange. He is a stanch advocate of the principles set forth by the Republican party in his political proclivities and he has served his township most creditably as treasurer for two terms. His splendid farm is located in Troy township, three miles north of Johnsville, and the same is HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 721 kept in a high state of improvement. It is interesting to note that one of the barns on the farm was erected in 1825 by Mr. Haldeman's grandfather. It is still in splendid condition. On the 12th of October, 1882, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Haldeman to Miss Nettie Ruhl, whose birth occurred in North Bloomfield township, Morrow county, on the 12th of December, 1862. She is a daughter of William H. and Mary (Sorrick) Ruhl, the former of whom was a son of Amos and Catherine (Hoke) Ruhl. The Ruhl family was one of old standing in Pennsylvania, whence Amos Ruhl immigrated to Ohio in the pioneer days. William H. Ruhl was the father of six children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated : Amos F., is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Congress township, Morrow county ; Catherine is the wife of Enos Ruhl, of the same name but no kinship, and they reside at Edison, Ohio ; Charles and Miles are both farmers in North Bloomfield township, this county ; Laura is the wife of William Gattner, of North Bloomfield township ; and Nettie is the wife of him to whom this sketch is dedicated. Nettie (Ruhl) Haldeman received a good common school education in her youth and she is a woman of .innate refinement and most gracious personality. To Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman have been born four children, three sons and one daughter, namely : Charles, born on the 11th of January, 1884, married Miss May Garweick and they live in Troy township ; Irene, born March 26, 1886, is the wife of Walter Stull, of Columbus, Ohio ; Clyde, born November 27, 1889, is unmarried and remains under the parental roof ; and Harry, born June 27, 1899, is enrolled as a pupil in the district schools. EDWARD R. COILE.—The descendant of an honored pioneer family and an honored resident of South Bloomfield township, Edward R. Coile is numbered among the enterprising and thrifty agriculturists of Morrow county, where he owns a well-kept farm, in the management of which he exercises great skill and good judgment. He was born on the homestead where he now lives, March 28, 1867, a son of Reuben Coile and grandson of Abraham Coile, an early pioneer of Ohio, coming to this state from Virginia. Reuben Coile was born in Virginia, but was reared in Morrow county, Ohio, coming here with his parents. He began life for himself in South Bloomfield township, buying forty acres of land, on which he carried on general farming until his death, in 1900. He married, February 13, 1845, Margaret Prosser, who survived him, passing away in 1904. Eleven children were born into their home, as follows : Alonzo, born March 8, 1846 ; Alford, born January 25, 1848 ; Thomas, born January 28, 1850 ; Leroy, born October 17, 1851; Lycurgus, born May 21, 1853 ; Mary, born October 1, 1855, married, August 4, 1874, Judson Smothers ; Riley, born June 13, 1858 ; Luceilia, born January 11, 1860, married, in November, 1878, Thomas James ; Johanna, born February 5, 1862 ; Daniel, 722 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY born April 1, 1864; and Edward R., the subject of this sketch. The father of these children was a Republican in politics and a member of the United Brethren church. Until after the death of both of his parents, Edward R. Coile resided on the parental homestead, which has become his through inheritance. Since a boy of fourteen years he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits, and as a general farmer and stock breeder and raiser has met with unqualified success. For the past five years he has also been running a saw mill in Knox county. On his homestead Mr. Coile has three apple trees and a pear tree that were set out by his Grandfather Coile in 1831. The pear tree, which is sixty-five feet in height and nine feet in circumference, bore fruit every year until 1910, never missing a season. Mr. Coile is a firm supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and has served on the local school board. Religiously he belongs to the United Brethren church. JOHN R. CLARK.—Though not unusual it is always interesting to find in the successful business world a man who has advanced step by step through the various stages of adversity until on the horizon of his visionary dreams he perceives the dawn of success. Such men are the making of the great American republic and it is to them that this country owes its prestige as the foremost nation in the world. Colonel John R. Clark has through his own endeavors achieved a noteworthy success and in addition to his fine farms and other interests in the vicinity of Mount Gilead he is known as one of the best auctioneers in Morrow county, Ohio. Colonel John R. Clark was born in Loudoun county; Virginia, on the 25th of March, 1858, a son of James W. and Martha Jane (Hart) Clark. The Clark family came to Knox county, Ohio, in 1862, locating in Middleburg township, where the father was identified with farming and where the parents passed the residue of their lives. They left their old home in Virginia because it had become a battleground in the Civil war. They were quiet, unostentatious people, honest and upright in principle and highly esteemed in the community. Colonel Clark was but four years of age at the time of his parents' arrival in Ohio. What schooling he received as a boy came in the intervals of a rugged life of farm work and hard manual labor. He continued to attend the district schools until he had attained to the age of eighteen years, when he devoted his entire time and attention to the work and management of the home farm. When he had reached his legal majority he accepted employment with another farmer in the immediate neighborhood and so well pleased was his employer with the service he rendered that he kept him as an assistant for a period of twelve years. During all that time he had saved but little money, less than a hundred dollars in all, and he had met, wooed and married Miss Elizabeth J. Dawson, a young and interesting lady in HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 723 - BLANK 724 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY “SPRING BROOK FARM,” RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. JOHN R. CLAKR HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 725 - BLANK JOHN R. CLARK AND FAMILY 726 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - BLANK HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 727 Morrow county, the ceremony having been performed in 1888. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Clark were very poor in worldly goods and they immediately rented a farm in Franklin township, this county, where-they turned their energy to good account. Both were hard workers, the wife applying herself with the same vigor which characterized her husband, and in the busy seasons she too worked in the field. Through their untiring industry they have now acquired a competency, owning two fine farms of two hundred and fourteen acres in Morrow county and a beautiful residence in Mount Gilead. In 1908 they removed from their farm to Mount Gilead, where they have since resided and where they are esteemed as most useful and influential citizens. Frequently attending public sales, John R. Clark would listen to the auctioneer and coming home on one occasion he remarked to his wife : "I can do auctioneering as well as anybody." Accordingly he hung out his shingle. This was in 1890 and the first year was one of marked success in his new vocation, in which Colonel Clark won for himself an enviable reputation as an auctioneer. He has cried as many as one hundred and ninety-six sales in one year; fifty-nine in sixty working days ; has made sales in six different states and in thirty-two counties in Ohio. His services are required nine months out of the twelve and on this account he finally removed from his farm to Mount Gilead, where his services re constantly in demand. During the fall of 1909 he conducted one of the largest farm chattel sales ever made in Ohio. The sale occurred on the farm of Cepter Stark, at Sunberry, Ohio, and the amount of the sale was over $43,000.00 of chattel property. Mrs. Clark is a woman of splendid business ability and she has managed every branch of the farm with alacrity. She is a woman Of fine native intelligence and refinement and is deeply admired and beloved by all who have come within the sphere of her gracious influence. In addition to his two farms and his residence in Mount Gilead Mr. Clark is an extensive stockholder in the Peoples' Savings Bank and in the Citizens' Telephone Company. He is a liberal hearted man and is always on the alert to back up measures advanced for the general welfare. In July, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Clark to Miss Elizabeth J. Dawson, who was born at Waterford, Knox county, Ohio. She is a daughter of Alfred W. Dawson, who was likewise a native of Knox county, where his birth occurred on the 3d of June, 1840. Alfred W. Dawson was a son of Turner and Lucinda (Tolle) Dawson, both of whom were born and reared in Virginia, whence they came to Ohio in an early day. Mr. Dawson early became identified with the work of the home farm anu although he received but meager educational training in his youth his natural alertness enabled him to acquire extensive information au various subjects and to become a. man of influence in the community in which he resided. On July 9, 1861, he married Miss 728 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Martha J. Stephens, born in Center county, Pennsylvania, who came with her parents to Morrow county, Ohio, in 1849. In Franklin township, this county, she grew to maturity and was educated. Mr. and Mrs. Dawson became the parents of six children, whose names are here entered in order of birth : Mrs. Clark, George W., John S., Franklin T., Charles W. and Burgess, who died in infancy. Bradford Dawson, an uncle of Mrs. Clark, served two terms as sheriff of Morrow county and for a time was deputy state warden in the prison at Columbus, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have one daughter, Martha B., who was born on the 13th of February, 1897, and who is a student in the graded schools at Mount Gilead. Politically Colonel Clark is aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party and he has been most active in the local councils of the party. He is a member of Charles H. Hull Lodge, 'No. 195, Knights of Pythias, and his wife is a devout member of the Christian church. Colonel and Mrs. Clark have achieved a splendid success in life and are recognized as two of the foremost citizens in Mount Gilead, where the number of their friends is coincident with that of their acquaintances. REVEREND SCHUYLER E. SEARS, pastor of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, Mt. Gilead, Ohio, was born in Sharon township, Medina county, Ohio, April 7, 1868. He is the son of Earl B. and Mary E. (Frizzell) Sears. Mr. Sears traces his ancestry back to Richard Sears, of Yarmouth, Massachusetts, one of the early English settlers who located there in 1639. His grandfather's name was Calvin, son of Calvin, son of David, son of James, son of Silas, son of Silas, son of Richard Sears. His grandmother on his father's side was related to Commodore Perry and to Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, the great inventor of telegraphy. His father being a farmer, Mr. Sears passed the first eight years of his life on a farm. Then the family home was changed to Wadsworth, Ohio, where he attended the graded schools and high school. After his graduation from the Wadsworth high school, in 1886, he accepted a position as clerk in that town, and was thus occupied there until the fall of 1889, when he entered Baldwin University at Berea, Ohio. He completed a course in this institution and graduated in 1893, with the degree of A. B. His education was now being directed with a view to his entering the ministry, and following his graduation from the university he went to Drew Seminary, Madison, New Jersey, where he completed a theological course and graduated, in 1896. After this Baldwin University conferred upon him the degree of A. M. In the fall of 1896 he entered the North Ohio Conference, and was assigned work at Perrysville, Ashland county, Ohio, where he filled a charge three years. He was ordained deacon at Wellington, Ohio, September 27, 1896, by Bishop Charles H. Fowler, and received his HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 729 elder's orders at Millersburg, Ohio, September 25, 1898, at the hand of Bishop Daniel A. Goodsell. Reverend Sears was at Creston, Ohio, from 1899 to 1905; at Columbia, Ohio, one year; at Thirteenth Avenue church, Lorain, Ohio, three years; and since the fall of 1909 has occupied his present position as pastor of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church at Mt. Gilead. Unabated zeal for his work, together with his special fitness for the ministry, has made Reverend. Sears a potent force for good in the different pastorates he has filled. He is a writer as well as a speaker. Both prose and poetry from his pen have appeared in religious and secular papers. Mrs. Sears, formerly Miss Inez Gortner, is a native of Shelby, Ohio, and a graduate of the Shelby High School and Baldwin University, she having received the degree of B. L. from the latter institution in 1893. The Reverend and Mrs. Sears have one son, Kingsley G., born August 1, 1902. WILLIAM A. BROLLIER.—Eligibly located at a point six miles northwest of Mount Gilead, in Gilead township, is the fine farmstead owned and operated by Mr. Brollier, who is known as one of the progressive agriculturists of Morrow county and whose standing in the community is such as to entitle him to representation in this historical compilation. William A. Brollier was born in Ashland county, Ohio, on the 13th day of July, 1856, and is a son of Levi and Mary (Rowland) Brellier, the former of whom was born in the state of Pennsylvania, and the latter in Ohio. The father was a farmer by vocation and both he and his wife are deceased, the father dying in Allen county and the mother in Morrow county. They were earnest and industrious folk of sterling character and ever held the esteem of all who knew them. William A. Brollier was about four years old at the time of the family removal to Knox county, this state, where he was reared to adult age on the home farm, in the work of which he early began to lend his aid, the while he duly availed himself of the advantages of the district schools. At the age of sixteen years he came to Morrow county, and at the age of eighteen years he initiated his independent career by securing work as a farm hand. He was thus employed by the month for a number of years and finally lie purchased his present homestead, which comprises one hundred and two and one-half ares of excellent land, nearly all of which is under effective cultivation. Energetic and progressive in his methods, Mr. Brollier exemplifies the best modern systems and methods in the various departments of his 'farming industry, and he gives his attention to diversified agriculture and the raising of high grade live stock. He has been indefatigable in his efforts and his success has been worthily won, the while his course has been so guided as to retain to him at all times the confidence and good will of his fellow men. In politics he accords a stanch support to the cause of the Republican party and he is 730 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY at the present time serving as a member of the school board of his district. e takes a vital interest in all that conserves the industrial and social wellbeing of the community and is one of the representative exponents of the agricultural enterprise in his township. He has made excellent improvements on his farm, including the erection of good buildings, and he avails himself of the best modern facilities in the various departments of his farm work. Mrs. Brollier is a member of the Presbyterian church in Mount Gilead. On the 2nd of September, 1880, Mr. Brollier was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ada Elliott, who was born on her father's farm in the northwest corner of Gilead township, Morrow county, on the 21st of July, 1859, and who is a daughter of the late Asa Elliott, one of the honored pioneers of the county. Concerning the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Brollier the following brief record is given : Lester E., who married Miss Minnie Rife, resides in Bellevue, Huron county, where he is engaged in the restaurant business; Minnie E. is the wife of Rene Dailey and they reside on a farm in the vicinity of Cleveland, this state ; George, who is engaged in railroad work, resides at Napoleon, Henry county; and Miss Nevada remains at the parental home. PROFESSOR ARTHUR C. CORWIN.-A man of scholarly tastes and attainments, possessing a well trained mind and excellent executive ability, Professor Arthur C. Corwin, superintendent of the Iberia High School, holds a position of note among the leading educators of Morrow county, where his experience as an instructor has been largely gained. No calling has a wider-reaching and more potent influence than that of the educator and thus it is a matter of general congratulations to find the duties of an office such as his in the hands of one so well qualified. A son of Charles E. and Lucy (Gantt) Corwin, he was born October 2, 1883, in Sparta, Morrow county, Ohio, and there reared on a farm. Laying a substantial foundation for his future education in the district schools, he was graduated from the Sparta High School, after which he continued his studies at the University of Wooster, in Wooster, Ohio. Having fitted himself for the career pedagogic, Professor Corwin began his career as a district school teacher in his home township and subsequently was engaged by the schools of Mount Liberty, Knox county. In 1904 he was employed as superintendent of the Alum Creek High School, where he remained one year and the following year he was elected to a similar position in the Troy township high school, which position he held two years, resigning to accept his present position. It was in the year 1907 that the Professor was elected superintendent of the Iberia High School and he has ever since been actively connected with the institution. Under his regime the school is in a flourishing condition, sustaining a high rank among similar institutions of learning in this part of the state. Mr. Corwin is highly esteemed in literary HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 731 and social circles and takes deep interest in educational matters, as a member of the Morrow county Board of School Examiners performing the duties devolved upon him most ably and faithfully. On the 6th day of June, 1906, Professor Corwin established an independent household by his marriage, his chosen lady being Mamie E. Cooper, of Williamsport, a former teacher in the public schools and a daughter of E. E. and Jora (Brewer) Cooper. They have one child, a son named Harold, born November 2, 1909. Politically the Professor is a sound Republican. Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the sons of Veterans, and religiously he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. BRYANT M. MEREDITH.—Noteworthy among the active and prominent citizens of Chesterville is Bryant M. Meredith, who for many years one of the leading merchants of the place and is now well known throughout this part of Morrow county as an undertaker. A native of Chesterville, Ohio, he was born August 25, 1870, being a son of the late George Meredith. George Meredith imbibed the spirit of patriotism in his youth, and soon after the breaking out of the Civil war offered his services to his country, enlisting first in Company G, Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and at the expiration of his term of enlistment becoming a member . of Company C, Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. During his service of four years, one month and thirteen days in the army he took part in many campaigns and hard-fought battles. At the engagement of Stone river he was taken prisoner, and first confined at Castle Lightning and later in Libby prison, where, while sleeping, both of his hips were broken by a falling piece of timber. He married Minerva Ralston, and both died in early life, leaving their five children, Addie, Charles, Laura, Emma and Bryant M., to the care of their grandfather and grandmother Meredith. Doubly orphaned when but twelve years of age by the death of his paternal grandparents, Bryant M. Meredith was thrown upon his own resources, his only assets being a brave heart, willing hands and an unlimited amount of ambition and courage. Working faithfully at anything he could find to do, he was successful in his undertakings, and having accumulated some money embarked in mercantile pursuits in Chesterville, becoming junior member of the firm of Bonner & Meredith, which conducted a prosperous business for many years. Subsequently, in partnership with Fred Livingston, Mr. Meredith purchased an interest in an undertaking establishment, and has since carried on a substantial business, being well patronized. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Meredith, although living in a district that is distinctively Republican, has held various local offices, his election to the same being strong proof of the esteem and confidence in which he is held throughout the community, and 732 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY proving his popularity with all classes of people. He has served as town clerk a number of terms; has been a member of the Chesterville Board of Education for eight years ; and has three times been elected township treasurer. Mr. Meredith married, May 12, 1898, Essie Howard, of Chesterville, and they have one son, Miles Howard. Mr. and Mrs. Meredith are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and and numbered among its active workers. Mrs. Meredith was born in Morrow county, Ohio, a daughter of Benjamin Howard and a granddaughter of Jesse and Mary (Burns) Howard, natives, respectively, of Virginia and Pennsylvania, and pioneer settlers of Chester township, Morrow county, Ohio. Benjamin Howard was born October 25, 1837, in Chester township, Morrow county, and during his active career was engaged in agricultural pursuits, being a progressive and prosperous member of the farming community. A man of spotless intergrity, he was held in high esteem by his fellow-men, and his death, April 17, 1907, was a loss to the community. Mr. Howard married, October 28, 1858, Lydia J. Tims, who was born September 17, 1837, coming from substantial pioneer ancestry. Her parents, James and Sarah Tims, natives of New Jersey, located in Ohio in 1839, being among the early settlers of Morrow county. They had a family of ten children, as follows : Phoebe, George, Sanford, Rubina, Jonathan, who became a successful physician ; Watson, Alexander, Josiah, Melinda and Lydia J. Four children were born of the union of Benjamin and Lydia (Tims) Howard, namely : Luther, Clarence D., Jesse and Essie. Luther Tins, who inherited a portion of the home farm and has built a substantial residence just across the road from the house in which his parents lived for so many years, married Hattie George, and they have one child, Ethel Esther, wife of Charles Hildebrand, by whom she has two children, Ruth Marie and Iris Elizabeth. Clarence D. Howard, who occupies a part of the old homestead, has remodeled the house, and is profitably employed in tilling the soil. His first wife, whose maiden name was Jennie M. Stillie, died July 1, 1887. He married second Nellie A. McCutcheon, daughter of James and Elizabeth McCutcheon, and they are the parents of seven children : Oakey, Earl, Bernice, Waldon, Lister, Dorothea and Dwight. Jesse Howard, the youngest son, married Anna Graham, and they have five children, namely : Maurice, Hubert, Lulu, Elsie and Carrie. Essie Howard, the youngest daughter, became the wife of Bryant M. Meredith, the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Benjamin Howard preceded her husband to the life beyond, passing away March 26, 1906. Both Mr. and Mrs. Howard were converted when young and united with the Baptist church in later years, however, uniting with the First Day Adventist church, at Sparta. and thereafter being among its most honored and devoted members. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 733 WILLIAM A. FERGUSON. —Among the decidedly progressive and enterprising farmers of Troy township, Morrow county, Ohio, William A. Ferguson holds prestige as one whose success has been on a parity with his well directed efforts. He is the owner of "Spring Glenn Farm," comprised of three hundred and eighty-eight acres of most arable land and situated fourteen miles northeast of Mount Gilead, Ohio. In addition to his agricultural operations Mr. Ferguson is director in the Lexington Savings Bank, at Lexington, Ohio, and he is a heavy stockholder in the Morrow County Telephone Company. In all his .business ventures Mr. Ferguson has met with unqualified success and he commands the unalloyed regard of his fellow citizens, both by reason of his sterling intergrity of character and his fair and honorable methods. William A. Ferguson was born within the borders of North Bloomfield township, the date of his nativity being the 30th of July, 1858. He is a son of William R. and Mary S. (Morrow) Ferguson, both of whom have long since passed into the great beyond, the former on the 23rd of May, 1874, and the latter on the 19th of October, 1870. Following is a brief history of the Ferguson family. Of four brothers, all of whom were born and reared to adult age in Scotland, one immigrated to the United States; one journeyed to Australia ; one moved to Ireland and the fourth remained a true son of his native heath, passing practically his entire life in Scotland. John Ferguson was the brother who went to Ireland and of his children, four sons and one daughter, all came to the United States, settling in the state of New Jersey, in the early Colonial epoch of our national history. One of the last mentioned, John Ferguson by name, was the great-grandfather of him to whom this sketch is dedicated. He was the father of a number of children, among whom one was David, who married Miss Lydia J. Robertson, who bore him two children, namely : William R. and Lydia J., the latter of whom became the wife of Robert W. White Mr. and Mrs. White were united in marriage on the 18th of February, 1841, and they now maintain their home in Warrick county, Indiana. After the death of his first wife, who died on the 7th of December, 1824, David Ferguson married Miss Nancy A rd. who died without issue. William R. Ferguson, father of the subject of this sketch, was reared to adult age near Newville, in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, to the public schools of which place he is indebted for his preliminary educational training. As a young man he turned his attention to the pedagogic profession and he was engaged in that line of work in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He was a man of broad mind, being very well read, and he was a quick and ready debater. He was married, on the 13th of April, 1843, to Miss Mary S. Morrow, and two years later removal was made to Ohio. Leaving his wife at Mansfield, in Richland county, Mr. Ferguson came to what is now Troy township, Morrow county, 734 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY and after looking about him for a time he purchased a farm in North Bloomfield township, to which he brought his family. In 1857 he erected a fine new farm house on his estate but the family had resided therein for scarcely a year when it was destroyed by fire. He then bought a tract of one hundred and fifty-four acres of land in Troy township, on which he resided during the residue of his life. He was a stock-grower and a wool buyer and he accumulated quite a fortune during the strenuous days of the Civil war. He was one of the leading members of the Presbyterian church, in the various departments of whose work he was an active factor and in which he was an elder for a number of years. He was the father of seven children, all of whom are deceased except William A., of this review. Concerning the others the following brief data are here incorporated : David M. was a member of Company D, Ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, having enlisted for service in the same on his eighteenth birthday, August 8, 1861. He was a gallant and faithful Union soldier and sacrificed his life in defense of his country, his death having occurred on the 1 it h of January, 1862, on board the ship Louisiana. Mary J. died at the age of about eighteen years ; Margaretta died when in her seventeenth year ; Lydia I. passed away when nineteen years old ; Emma was summoned to the life eternal in her sixteenth year; and James B. died at the age of twenty-one years. William A. Ferguson passed his boyhood and youth on the farm on which he was born and his educational advantages consisted of such training as could be procured in the district schools of Troy and Bloomfield townships. When twenty years of age he went west and passed one year in the states of Colorado and Washington. He then returned to Ohio and soon thereafter was recorded his marriage, the date of which was September 9, 1879. After that important event location was made on what is now known as Spring Glenn Farm and which now consists of three hundred and eighty-eight acres of finely cultivated land, the same being located fourteen miles northeast of Mount Gilead, Ohio. Mr. Ferguson is eminently successful as a farmer, the major portion of his time and attention being devoted to general agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock. He is a stockholder and one of the directors of the Lexington Savings Bank, at Lexington, Ohio. This substantial and reliable monetary institution is capitalized with a stock of twenty-five thousand dollars and is one of the best concerns of its kind in Ohio. Mr. Ferguson is also a stockholder in the Morrow County Telephone Company. He is a man of unusual executive ability and finely developed business instincts. On the 9th of September, 1879, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ferguson to Miss Emma J. Shauck, who was born on the 6th of January, 1860, and who is a daughter of Henry L. and Leah (King) Shauck. Henry L. Shauck was a son of Henry Shauck, who came to Ohio from Pennsylvania. Henry Shauck, Sr., located HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 735 in Richland county, where he entered as much as six hundred and forty acres of land. He was a civil engineer by profession and was a man of splendid education and many talents. Leah King was a daughter of Jacob King and as the wife of Henry Shauck she became the mother of six children, concerning whom the following brief data are here recorded : John J. resides in Richland county, Ohio ; Albert K. maintains his home at Shelby, Ohio ; Emma J. is now Mrs. William A. Ferguson ; and Ermina, Ellen and Allen are deceased. Mrs. Ferguson was educated in the public schools of Richland county and she was for one year a student in the seminary at Lexington, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson have been born five children : Lulu Blanche, born July 29, 1881, was graduated in the Johnsville High School and for a time was a student in the state university at Oxford, Ohio, after which she was engaged in teaching for four years prior to her marriage to J. W. Hirth, of Congress township, Morrow county, Ohio ; Ethel B., born on the 17th of July, 1882, was graduated in the Johnsville High School, after which she was matriculated in the Normal School at Columbus, Ohio, and she is now a teacher in the city schools of Columbus, Ohio, as is also Bernice L., who was born on the 8th of February, 1885, and who received excellent educational advantages in her youth. Both daughters will enter the Ohio State University in 1916. William S., born on the 21st of July, 1895, is now a student in the Johnsville High School ; and Mary K., born May 8, 1908, is the beloved baby of the family. In their religious faith the Ferguson family are devout members of the United Evangelical church, in which Mr. Ferguson is class leader and superintendent of the Sunday school, in addition to which he is president of the Troy and Perry Sunday School Association. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with Johnsville Lodge, No. 469, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is past noble grand ; and Johnsville Grange, in which he is past master. He is also a director in the Partons' Mutual Relief Association, of Belleville, Ohio. While he has never been ambitious for the honors or emoluments of public office of any description, Mr. Ferguson has ever manifested that deep and sincere interest in public affairs which is prolific of so much good for the general welfare of the community and county at large. He is a man of fine principle, is conscientiously devoted to his duties as a husband and father and is everywhere accorded that unqualified esteem which is the outcome of sincere admiration and true friendship. LEWIS C. MITCHELL.-It is always pleasing to the biographist or student to enter into an analysis of the character and career of a successful tiller of the soil. Of the many citizens gaining their own livelihood, he alone stands pre-eminent as a totally independent factor, in short "Monarch of all he surveys." His rugged honesty and sterling worth are the outcome of a close association with 736 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY nature and in all the relations of life he manifests that generous hospitality and kindly human sympathy which beget comradeship and which cement to him the friendship of all with whom he comes in contact Successfully engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of cattle, sheep and horses, Mr. Lewis C. Mitchell is decidedly a prominent and popular citizen in South Bloomfield township, where he has resided since 1865. Near Mount Liberty, Knox county, Ohio, on the 6th of April, 1841, occurred the birth of Lewis C. Mitchell, who is a son of Almond and Margaret (Hawkins) Mitchell, both of whom are deceased. The father was a son of Silvenus Mitchell, who was a colonel in the war of 1812, in which several of his brothers served as gallant and faithful soldiers. The grandfather came to Ohio from Connecticut about the year 1800, he having been one of the early pioneers in this section of the fine old Buckeye state. Mr. Mitchell's parents were married in Knox county, Ohio, in 1836, and to them were born a family of fifteen children, twelve of whom grew to years of maturity. The names of the children are here entered in respective order of birth : Harris, Emer, Lewis (of this review), Alice, Betsey, Albert, Welthy, Torrence, Maria, William, Laura, Dana, Mary, and two who died in infancy, unnamed. Lewis C. Mitchell was reared to adult age under the influences of the old home farm in Knox county, in the district schools of which place he received his preliminary educational training. He left school when a youth of fifteen years of age and when nineteen years of age he engaged in farming on his own responsibility. As a young man he enlisted as a soldier in the Civil war, becoming sergeant of Company F, One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was with his regiment until after the battle of Perryville, when he was discharged on account of disability. After remaining at home for one year he had regained his health and then reenlisted for one hundred days service, being later appointed second sergeant. He participated in all the important battles in which his regiment took part and received his honorable discharge and was mustered out of service in 1864. After his marriage in 1861, Mr. Mitchell settled in Knox county, and in 1865 he located on his present fine farm in South Bloomfield township, the same being an estate of one hundred and fifty-seven acres of most arable land. In addition to general farming he devotes considerable attention to the raising of high-grade cattle, Delaine sheep and Percheron horses. He has been decidedly successful in all his business ventures and as a stock-raiser is a man of prominence in Morrow county. On January 1, 1861, Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage to Miss Lenora Orsborn, who was born and reared at Knox county, and who is a daughter of James and Sophronia (Thatcher) Orsborn, the latter of whom was a daughter of Thomas and Mary Thatcher, of New Jersey. The Thatcher family came to Ohio HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 737 from New Jersey in the early part of the nineteenth century and settlement was made in Knox county, where Thomas Thatcher entered a large tract of government land. James Orsborn was a resident of Morrow and Knox counties and is now deceased. He was a mechanic by occupation and was eighty-three years of age when he died. To Mr. and Mrs. Orsborn were born four children, namely : George, Jerusha, Curtis and Lenora, who is now Mrs. Mitchell. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are the parents of six children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated: Charles M., born July 17, 1861, is a mechanic at Bloomfield, Ohio, and he married Miss Carrie Corwin ; Myrtle E., born November 24, 1863, is the wife of Charles Slack, of Sparta, and they have one son, Ray ; Lulu M., born May 12, 1866, is now Mrs. W. E. Wilson, of Sparta ; W. Delano, born May 7, 1871, is engaged in the hardware business at Sparta, and he has three children, Harold, Pearl and Ferne ; Edwin W., born July 9, 1873, is a mechanic at Sparta, and has one son, Donald ; and Elmer C., born July 15, 1875, remains at the parental home. It is interesting to note at this juncture that of the twelve children in Mr. Mitchell's family each became the parent of six children except one. Politically Mr. Mitchell is a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, and while he has never manifested aught of ambition or desire for the honors or emoluments of public office he is ever on the qui vive to do all in his power to advance the general welfare of the community in which he has so long maintained his home. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with various organizations of a representative character and he and his family are devout members of the Disciple church, to whose charities and benevolences he has ever been a most liberal contributor. He is a man of fine moral fiber, is well read and intelligent and as a citizen is deeply admired and respected by his fellow men. DAVID FEIGLEY.—One of the well known citizens and extensive landholders of Canaan township, David Feigley is a scion of one of the honored pioneer families of Morrow county, where his father took up his abode prior to the organization of the county, the major portion of which was then a part of Marion county. The name has been worthily and prominently identified with the development of the agricltural resources of this favored section of the Buckeye state and he whose name initiates this review has well upheld its prestige. He is the owner of a valuable landed estate of three hundred and seven acres in the county and is one of the honored and influential native sons of said county, his fine homestead farm being located in Canaan township. David Feigley was born on his father's pioneer farmstead one mile south of the present village of Climax, in Canaan township, and the date of his nativity was March 17, 1842. He is a son of Vol. II-15 738 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY William and Lucinda (DeWitt) Feigley, the former of whom was horn in the state of Maryland and the latter in Ohio. The father was ninety-two years of age at the time of his death and the mother passed to the life eternal at the age of seventy-three years. They were widely known in Morrow county, which represented their home for many years and which was the place of their death. The mother was a member of the Methodist church and their lives were upright, generous and kindly. Of their sixteen children twelve were reared to years of maturity and of the number only four are now living: Samuel, who is a resident of Canaan township ; David, who figures as the immediate subject of this review ; Mary, who is the wife of Willie Simpson, of Union City, Indiana ; and Lucinda, who is the wife of Mitchell Kilgore, a representative farmer of Canaan township. The father came from Hagerstown, Maryland, to Ohio soon after attaining to his legal majority and he settled in that part of Marion county that is now Canaan township, Morrow county. Here he reclaimed a farm from the forest and on the old homestead he reared his large family of c hildren with all of solicitude and affectionate care, the while he encountered his full quota of the deprivations and vicissitudes which fell to the lot of the pioneer whose financial resources were limited. He was a man of strong character and impregnable integrity, and his name merits an enduring place on the roster of the worthy pioneers of Morrow county. David Feigley's early experiences were those gained in connection with the work of the homestead farm on which he was born, and he has never regretted the discipline that taught him the dignity of honest toil. His educational privileges were those offered in the common schools of the locality and period, and these he attended only during the winter terms, when his aid was not in requisition in conncction with the work of the farm. Upon attaining to his majority he started out to fight the battle of life for himself, and for the first two years he was employed at farm work for others, under yearly contracts. He soon afterwards assumed connubial responsibilities, and he has noted in an appreciative and reminiscent way that when he was married his capitalistic resources were summed up in the amount of three hundred dollars, while he had not yet become the owner of any land. His first purchase of land was made in 1875, when he secured a tract of one hundred and twenty-five acres in Canaan township. He reclaimed this to cultivation and labored with all of zeal and earnestness to improve his status in life. As his resources became more ample he continued to make judicious investments in farm lands in the county and, as already stated, he is now the owner of more than three hundred acres of land, the major portion of which is available for cultivation and provided with the best of improvements. He has a commodious and attractive residence and the home is known for its generous hospitality. The success of Mr. Feigley as one of the world's HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 739 workers is gratifying to contemplate, as is has been worthily won through legitimate avenues of industry. Just and sincere in his relations with his fellow men, he has not been denied the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem in the county that has ever represented his home, and he is to-day one of its substantial citizens and prosperous farmers and stock-growers. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party and while he has never sought or desired public office he has been at all times ready to do his share in supporting measures advanced for the general good of the community. On the 26th of February, 1865, Mr. Feigley was united in marriage. to Miss Mary A. Bailey, who was born in Gilead township, Morrow county, on the 2d of December, 1844, and who is a daughter of the late David and Sarah (Weaver) Bailey, worthy pioneer citizens of this county, where they continued to reside until their death. Mr. and Mrs. Feigley became the parents of two children—Sarah, who is the wife of Victor L. Brooks, a successful business man of the village of Edison, this county ; and William H., who was a farmer by vocation and who died in Canaan township on the 3d of July, 1906, at the age of thirty-seven years and six months. ISAAC SIMON BALLIETT is closely identified with the agricultural interests of Morrow county, being pleasantly located in North Bloomfield township, where he is profitably engaged in general farming on his mother's estate, which he is managing with ability and success. The worthy descendant of an honored pioneer of this county, he is especially deserving of mention in this volume. He was born March 18, 1863, in Crawford county, Ohio, a son of Enoch Balliett. His paternal grandfather, Daniel Balliett, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Ohio in pioneer days and located in Morrow county, where he improved a farm. Enoch Balliett was born in North Bloomfield township, Morrow county, in October, 1830, and was reared to agricultural pursuits. During his early manhood he resided in Crawford county a few years, but in 1867 returned to Morrow county, and having purchased land in North Bloomfield township carried on general farming until his death, March 8, 1883. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Klopfenstein, was born April 17, 1830, in Switzerland, a daughter of John Klopfenstein. Seven children were born of their marriage five of whom are now living, as follows: Samuel E., of Galion, Ohio ; Hannah, wife of M. J. Mackey, of Crawford county, Ohio ; Sophia E., wife of Henry Muth, of North Bloomfield township ; Isaac S., the subject of this brief sketch ; and Amanda E., wife of William Cronowet, of North Bloomfield township. His parents moving from Crawford county to Morrow county when he was a child of four years, Isaac S. Balliett was here educated, attending the rural schools of North Bloomfield township 740 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY until seventeen years of age, when he began doing a man's work on the home farm. A natural mechanic, with a liking for machinery of all kinds, he became interested in threshing machines when young, and for thirty-one years has handled a threshing outfit, doing much of the threshing in his locality and having now one of the best and latest improved threshing machines in this part of the county Mr. Balliett has charge of his mother's farm, which contains one hundred and fifty-one acres of productive land, and constitutes with its improvements one of the best pieces of property in the neighborhood. Mr. Balliett owns one and one-half acres of valuable land in Galion, and has other property interests of value. He is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and for many years has been an active member of the local school board. On April 15, 1883, Mr. Balliett was united in marriage with Mrs. Sirrilley Howard, who was born on a farm in Morrow county, in April, 1862, being a daughter of John Park. Into their pleasant household eight children have been born, seven of whom are living, namely : Grover, living in Crawford county, Ohio, married Lettie Bohl ; Daisy M., who married Alva Walker, of Mahoning county, has one child, Lester; Lloyd R. ; John C.; Alda D.; Hannah V.; and Dewey. All of these children were educated in North Bloomfield township, acquiring their knowledge of books in the same school that their father attended when a boy. Since 1879 Mr. Balliett has been a member of the German Reformed church at Galion, to which his wife also belongs. He is a member of Galion Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., No. 215, of which he is noble grand, and both Mr. and Mrs. Balliett belong to the Rebekah Lodge, No. 284. PLIMPTON B. CHASE.—The name of Chase is one which is held in great honor and affection in Sparta and Morrow county. The family is one of the oldest in the state, the great-grandfather of him whose name inaugurates this review having founded the family here, taking up his abode upon the fair acres which constitute the beautiful summer home of the present generation. The Chases have ever proved useful and admirable citizens, and their true, strong manhood and womanhood has left an indelible imprint upon the history of the section, while those of the name who have wandered farther afield have taken with them the high traditions which are its characteristics. Plimpton B. Chase, son of Beverly W. and Martha Chase, was born April 1, 1860, at what is now his country home, "Beverly," adjoining the village of Sparta. It was originally a farm of one hundred and fifty acres and owned by his grandfather, Benjamin Chase. His great-grandfather, Beverly Chase, after serving in the Revolutionary war received his share of land for his patriotic services at this place, and here maintained his homestead until his HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 741 CHASE FAMILY 742 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - BLANK HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 743 death. "Beverly" is rightly considered one of the most attractive country places in the central part of the state and is occupied in the summer months by Mr. Chase. No part of it is devoted to agricultural purposes, but located upon it is a splendid golf course covering fifty acres, Mr. Chase and his family being enthusiastic devotees of this sport. Next to golf his favorite recreation is hunting wild turkey in Virginia, where he spends the month of November of each. year. The Chase family is of distinguished English origin, being descendants of Sir William Chase, high steward to the household of King Henry VIII. He had four sons, the eldest, Sir Richard, remaining in England, and the other three brothers, William, Thomas and Aquilla, coming to America. William came over in 1630 in the fleet which brought Governor Winthrop and his colony to Massachusetts. From William, Plimpton B., is a direct descendant, being of the ninth generation. Mr. Chase spent his early life on the parental farm. He attended the village school until fifteen years of age, and from then to the age of twenty he was engaged in teaching school and attending Oberlin College. His first charge was the Bethel School, about two miles north of Sparta, when he was sixteen years of age. In 1880 Mr. Chase commenced the study of law with Colonel W. C. Cooper at Mt. Vernon, and was admitted to the bar on April 5, 1881. He remained at Mt. Vernon from that date until 1898, and during those years was engaged in the practice of law, besides being active in commercial pursuits. His originality, initiative and fine executive capacity early became apparent and he was identified with a number of important enterprises. He was the largest stockholder and managing director of the Mt. Vernon Electric Railway & Lighting Company, constructing the street railroad and Lake Hiawatha Park. It was this company which furnished the city with electric lighting. He was also largely interested in the Electric Light Companies at Bryan and Millersburg and managed the same for. a period covering more than twelve years. In addition he held the office of city clerk and secretary of the Water Works at Mt. Vernon. Mr. Chase's identification with Washington D. C., dates from the year 1898, and there he has spent each ensuing year with the exception of the summer months. In the national capital he is well known as the proprietor of Chase's Theatre, and as the inaugurator of polite vaudeville and he has been eminently successful. It has been his earnest endeavor to provide polite and wholesome entertainment for persons of culture and refinement and his pursuance of this policy has been fruitful of the most gratifying results. For five years he held the position of president of the Association of Vaudeville Managers of the United States and Canada. 744 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Mr. Chase's activities have not been wholly confined to professional and commercial pursuits. He has also had the opportunity to engage in philanthropic work, an enumeration of his deeds in this field being indeed remarkable and an eloquent commentary on a particularly admirable character. He furnished one half the sum required for the erection of the Methodist church at Sparta; and gave the initial contribution which made possible the Young Men's Christian Association building at Ml Vernon. He is now at the head of a national movement to increase the salaries of all government employes and to secure for them retirement with pay. This leaves .unmentioned many lesser benefactions. Mr. Chase was united in marriage in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, December 22, 1885, to Miss Anna Bird, the daughter of William and Maria Bird. There are two children, Ethel Bird Chase, a graduate of Bryn Mawr College in 1910, and now engaged in teaching in Miss Maderia's School in Washington ; and Harold Beverly Chase, who was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1911, and is now associated with his father in business, while at the same time taking a three year law course in Georgetown University. Mr. Chase's father, Beverly W. Chase, farmer and stockman, was born in South Bloomfield township, November 21, 1830. His parents were Benjamin and Elvira (McCloud) Chase and he was the fourth in order of birth in a family of nine children, whose names were Cynthia, William, John, Beverly, Huldah, Daniel, Hannah, Reuben and Henrietta. Beverly spent his youth upon his father's farm, attending the schools in the locality and by his studiousness fitting himself for teaching, his pedagogical career including thirteen terms of school in the Gardner district and being of a highly successful character. He was married, April 4, 1855, to Miss Martha Howard, daughter of Elias and Mary (Evans) Howard. Martha had four susters: Susan, who married John Holt; Rachel, who married J. Y. Beers ; Kate, who married Henry W. Ramey; and Esther, (unmarried) deceased. The latter was affectionately known as "Aunt E" by the many to whom she had endeared herself by her sweetness and worth of character. Mary Evans Howard was Welsh, the only one of Mr. Chase's forbears who was not English. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Chase, in ideal companionship and helpfulness, worked together to establish a home for themselves and their children. They were ever noted for their kindliness and generosity, never failing in their ministrations to the sick and needy, and their benefactions being ever of the most quiet and modest sort. They were devout Christians and honored members of the Methodist Episcopal church and always took an active part in all matters looking to the advancement of its good causes. It may truly be said of these worthy people, now gone on HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 745 to their reward, "To live in hearts we leave behind, is not to die." Perhaps no event in their lives was more delightful to them than when Mr. Plimpton B. Chase, upon one of his visits to them, announced his determination to assist the good people of Sparta in the erection of a fine modern church. His generous offer was accepted, the work was begun and in a few months the church was ready for dedication, Mr. Chase bringing his family from Washington to attend the service. The church, by his order, was beautifully decorated with cut flowers, which after the dedication services were sent to every sick and aged person in the neighborhood. This church—the Methodist Episcopal—stands in a fine location and is not only a monument to his generosity but a fitting memorial to the memory of his parents, who a few years later were laid to rest, the father dying March 23, 1908, and the mother February 10, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Beverly W. Chase were the parents of two children—the immediate subject of this review and Blanche, who became the wife of Joseph T. Tarbill and resides in Delaware, Ohio. ADAM CRIDER.—The substantial, progressive and well-to-do agriculturists of Morrow county have no more worthy representative than Adam Crider, who through his own exertions has met with success as a farmer and stock raiser and is now living retired from active pursuits at his pleasant home in Iberia, enjoying the fruits of his years of toil. A son of Daniel Crider, he was born May 9, 1849, in Crawford county, Ohio, not far from Middletown. Born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Daniel Crider came to Ohio in search of a favorable location, and having bought land in Crawford county was there employed in tilling the soil the remainder of his life. He married Mary Horn, a native of Pennsylvania, and of their union eleven children were born, seven of whom are now, in 1910, living, as follows : Anna, wife of Hezekiah McClure, of Crawford county ; Catherine, wife of Nathan Cooper, also of Crawford county ; Lydia, wife of Adam Ashcroft ; Louisa, of Leesville ; Daniel, of Leesville ; Adam, the subject of this brief sketch ; and Joseph, of Denmark. As a boy and youth Adam Crider assisted in the labors incidental to farm life, obtaining a practical knowledge of the various branches of agriculture. When ready to begin work as a wage earner he engaged for a time in railroading, afterwards becoming a tiller of the soil. A man of untiring energy and ambition, possessing good judgment, he has met with more than average success in his labors as a farmer and stock raiser, and is now the owner of one hundred and thirteen acres of valuable land lying one mile north of Iberia, eighty acres being in Tully township. He has been especially successful as a dealer in stock, buying, feeding and shipping hogs, an industry which he finds profitable when carried on judiciously. Mr. Crider married on November 21, 1876, Josephine Holmes, 746 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY and they are the parents of four children, namely : Walter, who is married and lives in Tully township, Marion county ; Clifford, married and living in Morrow county ; Claudia, wife of Jay Auld, of Greene county; and Tamar, wife of James Nelson, of Marengo, Ohio. Fraternally Mr. Crider is a member of Galion Lodge, No. 186, K. of P., and religiously he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. BRYANT B. LEWIS.—The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave the perpetual record establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his fellow men. In addition to his varied interests as stockman and banker, Bryant B. Lewis is the owner of a fine farm of some three hundred acres of most arable land in Bennington township, Morrow county, Ohio, which he rents out to tenants. Mr. Lewis is a native son of Morrow county, his birth having occurred on the parental homestead in Westfield township on the 28th of August, 1860. He is a son of John C. and Hariett (Brundage) Lewis, both of whom are deceased, the former having been summoned to eternal rest in 1911, and the latter having passed away about 1898. Mr. and Mrs. John C. Lewis became the parents of four children, two of whom are now living, and of whom Bryant B. was the first in order of birth. Bryant B. Lewis was reared to maturity on the old homestead farm in Harmony township, to the district schools of which place he is indebted for an excellent common school education. He continued to attend school until he had attained to the age of twenty years, at which time he turned his attention to the great basic industry of agriculture. As a youth he had become quite adept in the handling of cattle and all kinds of live stock and shortly after assuming the responsibilities of life he devoted some time to the stock business: Finding that line of enterprise decidedly lucrative he eventually devoted all his time to it. He made money rapidly and was engaged in the buying and selling of live stock for fully twenty years, during which time he rose to affluence. At the present time, in 1911, he is president of the Marengo Banking Company, which popular monetary institution does an extensive business at Marengo, Ohio. This bank was organized on the 15th of March, 1904, and was incorporated as a state bank with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars. Its official corps is as follows: Bryant B. Lewis, president ; J. D. Vail, vice president; and J. W. Nelson, cashier. Its board of directors consists of J. D. Vail, S. F. Mosier, C. H. Wood, Mell B. Talmage, George Thomas, Dr. F. E. Thompson, William L. West, B. B. Lewis and Dr. J. W. Pratt. The bank is one of the most substantial financial concerns in Morrow county and one of its best assets is the sterling integrity and reliable character of its officers. Mr. Lewis' varied business HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 747 interests in this section of the state are of broad scope and importance. He is the owner of considerable valuable real estate in Marengo and holds a tract of three hundred acres of splendidly improved farming lands in Morrow county. Mr. Lewis wedded Miss Clara Allen, who was born and reared in Licking county, Ohio, and who is a daughter of Frank Allen, long a representative farmer in that section. He is yet living, a resident of Licking county, Ohio. Mrs. Lewis received her early educational training in the public schools of her native place and she is a woman of most pleasing personality, commanding the love and admiration of scores of warm and sincere friends. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have three children: Virgil, who was born on the 26th of April, 1892 ; Howard, whose birth occurred in the year 1897; and Madeline, born in June, 1906. The elder son, Virgil, after a good public school education, entered the Marengo Bank in the capacity of teller, in which connection he is displaying marked business ability and an extraordinary grasp of financial affairs, which augurs well for his future as a prominent and successful banking and business man. The younger son, Howard, is a student in the high school at Marengo. In politics Mr. Lewis is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party and while he has never had any aspiration for public office of any description he is deeply interested in all matters tending to advance the general welfare, giving liberally of his aid and influence in behalf of all such projects. Fraternally he is affiliated with Ashley Lodge, No. 407, Free and Accepted Masons, and with Marengo Lodge, No. 216, Knights of Pythias, in which he is past chancellor. He greatly enjoys home life and takes keen pleasure in the society of his family and friends. He is always courteous, kindly and affable, and those who know him personally have for him a warm regard A man of great ability, his success in business in Morrow county has been uniform and rapid. His life is exemplary in all respects, and he has ever supported those interests which are calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, while his own high moral worth is deserving of the highest commendation. He is yet living, a resident of Licking county, Ohio. ERNEST P. GEORGE.—Proprietor of one of the leading restaurants in Mount Gilead and this section of Morrow county, Ernest P. George is also a fine representative of the young men who have succeeded in business as the result of unvarying industry, sheer determination, straightforward methods and natural ability, trained from early boyhood. Moreover, he comes of a splendid family which for generations has "made good" both on the battlefields of war and in the strenuous conflicts of commerce and trade. Mr. George is a native of Mount Gilead, born on the 12th of April, 1885, to Davies P. and M. Belle (House) George, the parents 748 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY both being children of the Buckeye state—the father born in 1856 and the mother, in 1855. Davies P. George is a retired miller, having been for many years an owner in the extensive business of the House Milling Company. In order to revert to the origin of the company it is necessary to mention the maternal great-grandfather of Ernest P. George, Richard House, who was the founder of the business in the early pioneer days of the city and county. He came to Mount Gilead from Knox county, Kentucky, and became one of the first business men of that place, both in point of time and character. Richard House married Miss Mary Clemons, a native of England, and when their son, John C., was sixteen years of age he was apprenticed in his father's mill. Of this he finally assumed control and conducted it, with the family characteristics of a well trained mind and skillful hands, for a period of sixty-two years, during which the business had grown to firmly established importance among the industries of the region. Davies P. George became a partner of John C. House and in due time his son, Ernest P., of this sketch, was apprenticed to learn the trade and business in the old mill which had been founded by his maternal great-grandfather. Besides this son, who was the second child to be born into the family, Mr. and Mrs. George became the parents of Herbert, who is a farmer in Congress township, this county ; Anna, who married Willard Hatton, a resident of Mount Gilead; John H., deceased; and Miriam. Ernest P. George, of this review, obtained his early education in the public schools of Mount Gilead, and commenced his apprenticeship in the old House mill when twelve years of age. When he had attained his majority he moved to Cresline, and for three years remained in the employ of Weaver Brothers, millers of that place. In April, 1908, he returned to Mount Gilead and became associated with his father in, the operation of a bakery, on the 1st of January, 1909, moving to Caledonia, where he conducted an independent venture in the same line until April 10, 1910. Upon the latter date Mr. George purchased what was originally known as the Candy Kitchen of Mount Gilead, which he has since transformed into a first-class restaurant, where healthful and appetizing food is neatly served and the pleasant surroundings are such as to further account for its wide popularity. Mr. George is a stalwart and progressive Republican in his private opinions, but has never sought to bring himself into public notice, although he is deeply interested in what is of real moment to the general good and advancement. As to his affiliations with organized social and religious movements it should be added that he is an esteemed member of the Knights of Pythias (Charles H. Hull Lodge, No. 195), and is active in the work of the Methodist church. Mrs. George is also earnest in the manifold activities of the latter organization. On the 19th of November, 1903, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. George to Miss Blanche Irwin, a daughter of William A. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 749 and Jeannette (Richardson) Irwin. Her parents reside on their fine farm and country estate four miles north of Mount Gilead. Mrs. George's paternal grandfather was a native of Pennsylvania, whence he came to Ohio in the days of the primitive pioneers and settled upon a wooded tract of six hundred and forty acres, or a square mile of forest land. His first dwelling place in this dense wilderness was a tent, which he occupied until he could throw together a rude log hut; from these rude beginnings he advanced to prosperity along the rugged paths laid out for the pioneer of his day, and eventually became wealthy and prominent. William A., his son and the father of Mrs. George, inherited considerable of the paternal property, and now owns and operates a valuable farm on one hundred and fifty acres in Washington county. Mrs. George has a brother, Clarke Irwin, who lives on an adjoining homestead, as well as three sisters—Cora, Eva and Ina. By her marriage she has become the mother of Richard Irwin George, whose birth occurred on the 19th of September, 1904. As an indication of the intimate connection of the two families with each other and their long identification with the history of Morrow county, it is suggestive to know that nine of Mr. George's great-great-grandfathers, great-grandfathers and grandfathers rest in its mellow and kindly soil ; that his grandfather, E. P. George, and his wife's father, William A. Irwin, both served in the Civil war as members of Company G, One Hundred and Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; and that the paternal great-grandfather, Henry George, was a soldier in the war of 1812, in whose naval fortunes the state of Ohio had so vital an interest. BENTON E. GOODRICH.—On his fine farm of two hundred and thirty-five acres of most arable land in Washington township, Morrow county, Ohio, Mr. Benton E. Goodrich is turning his energy to good account and since engaging as an agriculturist his success has been on a parity with his well directed endeavors. In Harmony township, Morrow county, on the 11th of June, 1858, occurred the birth of Mr. Goodrich, whose parents were Abner J. and Drucilla (Graham) Goodrich. He was the second in order of birth in a family of three children, the others of whom are Marion and William, both of this county. Abner J. Goodrich was engaged in farming during the major portion of his active career and he was summoned to eternal rest in 1869, his wife having passed away October 12, 1909, aged eighty-five years and six months. Mr. Goodrich was a soldier in the Civil war for about a year, and he received an honorable discharge. He was a Republican and a member of the Methodist church. Mrs. Goodrich was a member of the Baptist church. Both are interred in Beulah cemetery in Congress township. When eighteen months old Benton E. Goodrich accompanies his parents on their removal to Congress township, this county, in -Row 1, Cell 1-