CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 125 on the rear of lot 93, East Main street, and there he employed several workmen. The factory was operated by horse power for four years, when he purchased the William Ling Foundry building, which was supplied with steam power, and there he continued the business. He secured the most modern machinery and equipments for turning out a high grade of work, and employed from ten to fifteen men. His plant was located where the Easy Spring Hinge manufacturing plant now stands, and Mr. Dickerson continued there in business until 1859, when he sold out. He then built a new factory at the corner of Gamble street and Whitney avenue on the west side of town, and conducted the enterprise until 1873. Walter L. Dickerson, his son, was born in 1849, and during his boyhood assisted in his fathers factory. He acquired his education in the Shelby high school and remained at home until his marriage. At the age of twenty-three he wedded Miss Lotta M. Hoffstadt, of Shelby, and two children were born to them : Cora E., who was born February 12, 1873, and received a musical education in Cleveland, Ohio.; and Roy, who was born January 30, 1876, and was also a student in the Cleveland Music Conservatory. He was specially proficient as a violin player and was admitted to the Cleveland Musical Union at the age of fifteen, being its youngest member. He is now with the Chicago Marine Band, of Chicago. He has played in all of the principal cities and leading resorts throughout the east, and his musical proficiency won him rank among some of the ablest representatives of the art. In 1896 Walter L. Dickerson became the manager of the Shelby News Company, and has since been associated with the journalistic interests of the city as one of the proprietors of that paper. He has always been interested in politics and is in full sympathy with the Chicago platform of 1896. Socially he is connected with the Masonic lodge, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees. His pronounced musical talent has rendered him a leading factor in musical circles of the city and made him a valued member of many social gatherings. He served as a leader of the choir and organist of the First Presbyterian church for twenty-five years. Mahlon E. Dickerson, the brother and partner of Walter L. Dickerson, was born May 14, 1858, his parents being Mahlon and Mary (Langley) Dickerson. He pursued his education in the public schools of Shelby and at the age of eighteen years entered the printing office of Hon. S. S. Bloom, who was the founder and publisher of the paper known as the Shelby Inde- 126 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. pendent News, the first issue occurring in 1868. Previous to that time Mr. Dickerson had acted as mail carrier in Shelby for two or three years. On the 14th of April, 1882, he established a journal known as the Shelby Free Press, which he published until December 24, 1882, his office being in the old Bowman block. His entire plant was destroyed by fire, but he immediately settled with the insurance company and went to Cleveland, where he secured a supply of type and other necessary material, and on the regular publication day the paper appeared as though nothing had happened. The business continued to grow and in March, 1893, Mr. Dickerson moved his office to Crestline, Ohio, where he published the Vidette, which had formerly been carried on by I. N. Richardson, then deceased. There Mr. Dickerson continued until October, 1897, when he sold his paper at Crestline and purchased an interest in the Shelby News, owned by ten prominent Democrats in the town. He has since been doing a thriving business as a part owner of that paper, being associated in the enterprise with his brother. When they began business they had only one job press, but now have five in operation. Mahlon Dickerson was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie Slaybaugh, a daughter of William and Sarah Slaybaugh, of Shelby, who were early settlers here. Our subject is socially identified with the Knights of the Maccabees, and in politics is a Democrat. BARNARD WOLFF. Barnard Wolff was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1827, and died at Mansfield, Ohio, September 20, 1896. He was a son of David and Catherine (Raessler) Wolff. David Wolff died at Mansfield, Ohio, many years ago. Barnard Wolff came to Mansfield when very young from Chambers-burg, Pennsylvania, and soon became prominent here as an architect and builder. He built the Baptist church, Fire Hall, the Union Depot, the Boston store block, the Brunswick Hotel and many other large business blocks and fine residences. He was an industrious, upright and progressive citizen and an ardent Republican. He had no special liking for an official career and was to a considerable extent debarred from a public life by an unfortunate deafness with which he was afflicted many years before his death. Mr. Wolff was twice married. His first marriage was consummated in 1849, in Pennsylvania, Jane McCleary becoming his wife. They came CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 127 to Mansfield in June, 185o, and the wife died October 9, 1875. There were no children by the first marriage. In 1877, at Plymouth, Richland county, Ohio, Mr. Wolff married Sarah McClinchey, a daughter of William and Mary Ann (Rubins) McClinchey. Her mother was a daughter of William Rubins, who was of English birth and was a pioneer of Plymouth. William McClinchey's father was a son of a pioneer dry-goods merchant of Mansfield, who died there about seventy years ago. .He came from Scotland and was of a very good family there. William McClinchey had a tannery at Plymouth and was in business on a somewhat extensive scale until his retirement. He is now living there, aged seventy-four years, and his wife is in her seventieth year. Mr. Wolff built a fine brick residence at the intersection of Marion and Twelfth avenues, in Mansfield, which is a pretty suburban home, over which Mrs. Wolff presides, happy in the presence and well-being of her three sons, who are industrious and helpful. William Burt Wolff, the eldest, is a well known carpenter of Mansfield. He enlisted for the Cuban war in Company M, of the Eighth Ohio Regiment, and participated in the battle of Santiago and was a witness of the surrender of the Spanish forces. He contracted fever, but was brought home convalescent. Fred Barnard and Daniel Raessler Wolff, two bright and intelligent lads, are members of their mother's household. WILLIAM F. VOEGELE, JR. Among the young and promising attorneys of Mansfield we record the name of William F. Voegele, Jr., who was born in Mansfield, Ohio, October I, 1876, a son of William F. Voegele, whose biographical sketch. precedes this. He was graduated at the Mansfield public schools June 5, 1896, and entered the law department of the Ohio State University, at Columbus, September 20, 1897, was graduated there June 13, 1900, and was admitted to practice law at the Ohio bar on June 20, 1900. Mr. Voegele is a member of the Sigma Nu Greek letter fraternity of the Ohio State University. ALEXANDER MORROW. Alexander Morrow, of Mansfield, Ohio, is a native of this place and is well known here, where he has spent nearly all his life and where he was for a number of years connected with the postoffice, as deputy. 128 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Mr. Morrow was born in 1826. His grandfather Morrow was a Scotchman. Matthew Morrow, his father, was a .native of York county, Pennsylvania, from which place he came to Mansfield, Ohio, in 1822. Here he was employed as contractor and builder until 1833. when he moved to a small farm about a mile and a half west of town. He carried on farming the rest of his life, and died at his rural home in 1846, at the age of sixty years. Politically he was a Whig, interested in public affairs and recognized as an honorable, upright citizen. He served in the war of 1812, as a member of a Pennsylvania company, under General Harrison, and was at the Fort Meigs and Tippecanoe engagements. His grave is marked as a veteran of that war. His wife, the mother of Alexander Morrow, was before her marriage Miss Margaret Reed, and she, too, was a native of York county, Pennsylvania. Her death occurred in 1873, when she was seventy-eight years of age. Both she and her worthy husband were strict members of the United Presbyterian church. The children born to them were named as follows : William R., who resides on the old homestead; Alexander ; and Matthew, who died in 1865. All Were in the Civil war, members of the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Regiment. Matthew had a son, Horace, who resides in Denver, Colorado. Alexander Morrow. was a small. boy at the time his father moved to the farm, and he was brought up as a farmer boy, receiving his education in the township schools and at Mansfield. In 1861 he accepted a position as deputy postmaster at Mansfield, under Postmaster George Kling, and was thus occupied until the time of his enlistment for service in the Civil war, August 13, 1862. He went to the front as. a member of the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Infantry Volunteers, which he had helped to organize and of which he was commissioned second lieutenant. The fortunes of this command he shared, in the Department of the Gulf, until February, 1863, when, on account of disability, he was honorably discharged and returned home. In the autumn of that year he resumed work in the postoffice. Still, however, he was interested in the war and his constant thought was of Military life. That winter he joined the Home Guards, which organization, in 1864, was made by an act of the legislature National Guards. With this command he again entered the army, and was in the one-hundred-day service, after which he again resumed his old place in the postoffice, and filled the same until the expiration of Mr. Kling's term. In 1873 he was again appointed deputy postmaster, this time under Captain Douglas. He continued in the postoffice from 1873 until 1881, CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 129 and since that date he has lived somewhat—retired in his suburban home just east of the park, which, being on an elevation, commands a pleasing view of the city. His residence is surrounded with trees and a garden, and is withal a most inviting place. Mr. Morrow married Miss Margaret Scott, a daughter of William Scott, who came from Washington county, Pennsylvania, about 1839, and settled on a farm in Springfield township, where he resided until 1855, the time of his death. Mrs. Scott, nee Hughes, died in 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Morrow have three children, viz. : Mary Alice, for nine years the money-order clerk in the Mansfield postoffice, is now Mrs. Willis Lovelace and lives in Dakota; Carrie Orelia, the wife of Ed. Wheary, of Mansfield ; and William Scott Morrow, of Dakota. ROBERT HUGHES. This worthy and honored resident of Weller township, whose home is on section 24, is a native of Richland county, his birth having occurred in Blooming Grove township, March 4, 1833. He is the only survivor in a family, of ten children whose parents were John and. Elizabeth (Rogers) Hughes. The father was born in 1793, in Pennsylvania, where he was reared and married. The mother was born in Ireland in 1796, and when a child of seven years came to America with her parents, who spent the remainder of their lives as farming people in Beaver county, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes began their domestic life upon a farm in Beaver county, where seven of their children were born, and in 1832 came to Richland county, Ohio, locating in Blooming Grove township, one mile north of Shenandoah, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, but five years later he sold that place, and removed to the farm on section 24, Weller township, where our subject now resides. Here he made his home until the fall of 186o, when he sold the place to his son and took up his residence in Shelby, where he died in August, 1862. The mother of our subject had died in 1852, and for his second wife he married Mrs. Hester (Hunter) McCready, who survived him some years. In early life both parents were active members of the Presbyterian church, but after coming to this county, there being no church of that denomination here, they united with the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically the father was first a Whig and later a Republican. Robert Hughes attended the public schools of this county in early life, and, his brothers having left their parental home, he remained to look 130 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. after the cultivation of the farm. In the fall of 1860, on his father's removal to Shelby, he purchased the place, and has since successfully engaged in its operation. On the 23d of April, 1861, Mr. Hughes was united in marriage with Miss Jane Palmer, a native of Franklin township, this county. Her father, Charles Palmer, was born in London, England, and came to America in 1819, in company with a brother. They were left orphans during childhood and on attaining their majority received a small fortune, which they brought with them to this country. Coming to Richland county, Ohio, the brother located in Weller township, while Mrs. Hughes' father settled on the farm in Franklin township, now owned by Wesley Ferree, where he made his home until 1856, when he removed to Washington township, three miles south of Mansfield. He spent his declining years, however, with our subject and his wife. He was a man of firm convictions, was an ardent abolitionist and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hughes four are living, namely : Wilbert G., who is now serving as the postmaster of Epworth, is engaged in general merchandising at that place, and is also interested in farming, threshing and the sawmill business ; Carrie M., at home, is a talented musician and artist, and many portraits and scenes from her hands now adorn the home; Fred C. is living on and operating the old home farm ; and Anna E. is the wife of Edwin A. Clingan, who runs a farm and stone quarry in Weller township. Politically Mr. Hughes is identified with the Republican party, and fraternally is a member of Weller Grange, No. 1070, P. of H. For half a century both he and his wife have held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as a trustee and steward for many years. They stand high in the community where they have so long made their home, and no citizens of Weller township are more honored or highly respected. WILLIAM F. VOEGELE. Prominent among Mansfield's most progressive and successful business men is numbered. William F. Voegele, a member of the well-known firm of Voegele Brothers, dealers in coal and building material, with office in the Voegele block on North Main street. His early home was on the other side of the Atlantic, for he was born, in Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Germany. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 131 December 2, 185o, and is a son of Henry J. and Louise (Haffner) Voegele, representatives of excellent German families. When lie was four years old he accompanied the family on their emigration to America and located in Mansfield, Ohio, where the father, who had come to this country the year previously, had prepared a home for them. Here he was engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1867, when he was accidentally killed while out hunting. His career in America up to this time had been very prosperous, and his tragic and untimely death was a severe blow to the family. His wife died of pneumonia in the autumn of 1886. Both were devout members of the Lutheran church and took great interest in properly rearing and educating their children. Much of this task fell to the mother, as the father died when the children were young. He was a genial, whole-souled gentleman, who was universally esteemed among a very large circle of acquaintances. Of their family of ten children, the eldest, Henry, was a member of the Indianapolis (Indiana) fire department when he died, in September, 1879, leaving a wife and four children, now residing near Crestline, Ohio, where the widow owns a fine home and farm. Frederick C. is a well-to-do stock dealer and extensive buyer and shipper of fine draft horses to eastern markets. He is married and has two children. Gustavus is connected with the Barnes Manufacturing Company of Mansfield, and is comfortably situated. He is married and has one daughter. William F., our subject, is next in order of birth. Charles H., a prosperous citizen of Mansfield, is a wholesale dealer and extensive manufacturer of confectionery, having large factories here and in Omaha, Nebraska. He is married, but has no children. Albert C., an excellent business man who was universally esteemed, died in Mansfield February 14, 1899. Louisa S. is the wife of George W. Meister, the secretary of the board of trustees of the city water works. Wilhelmina is the wife of George Ludwig, a farmer living near Mansfield. Rose is the wife of William Tonby, who is in the employ of our subject. Emma C. is the wife of William A. Remy, a hardware merchant of Mansfield.. The three youngest were born in Mansfield, the others in Germany. On the death of his father William F. Voegele, though only sixteen years of age, took charge of the extensive business so suddenly left without a manager. His elder brothers were all employed, so the responsibility devolved upon our subject, who at that time was just completing the high-school course. He conducted the business until it was sold by the mother in 1875. Later, in connection with his brother, Fred C., he embarked in 132 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. the retail coal business, on a very limited scale, but success attended their efforts and the business was increased to meet the growing demands of their trade. About 188o their brother, Albert C., was admitted to the firm, but our subject withdrew in 1884. In the fall of 1883 Mr. Voegele was unanimously elected county recorder, there being no nomination made by the Republican party in opposition to him, and he assumed the duties of the office January I, 1884. He was re-elected in 1886, by a large majority, and served until January, 1890. Prior to this he had served as the chief of the Mansfield fire department in 1881, and was the first to recommend the establishment of a paid fire department, which was adopted two years later and has been the policy since. Mr. Voegele served two terms as assessor of what was then known as the old second ward, which embraced a quarter of the city and was strongly Republican, and he was also a member of the board of equalization of the city. He has been a life-long Democrat. In 1890 Mr. Voegele purchased the interest of his brother, Fred C., and returned to his former business as a dealer in coal, building material, etc. This enterprise has grown to mammoth proportions and employment is now given five teams and nine men. In 1897 the three brothers, Albert C., William F. and Charles H. Voegele, erected the Voegele block, which is a fine four-story brick structure with a basement, and is sixty by one hundred feet in dimensions. It is a standing monument to the industry and business ability of the family. The office of the coal firm is located in the block, and the remainder of the building is occupied by the wholesale confectionery business of Voegele & Dinning. In Galion, Ohio, Mr. Voegele was married, in 1876, to Miss Mary Ackerman, a native of Mansfield and a daughter of Adam and Rebecca Ackerman, who were born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Voegele have two sons : William F., now twenty-three years of age, is a graduate of the Mansfield high school, and also the law department of the Ohio State University, and is now a practicing attorney of Mansfield. For five years he was a member of the Ohio National Guards, belonging to Company M, Eighth Regiment, and saw some active service during the labor troubles in 1893 ; and he attended the World's Fair with his regiment. Frank A. completed a thorough high-school and business education, and is now the collector for the firm of Voegele Brothers. Socially Mr. Voegele is an honored member of Mansfield Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F. ; Madison Lodge, No. 26, K. P., in which he has served as the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 133 secretary; and Pearl Lodge, No. 33, K. of H., of which he is a past dictator and representative to the grand lodge of the state. He is a member of the board of trustees of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church, and was the chairman of the building committee which erected the fine house of worship in 1898, dedicated in March, 1899. As a citizen he ever stands ready to discharge any duty devolving upon him, and as a business man occupies an enviable position in the esteem of his fellow citizens. His genial, pleasant manner makes him popular, and he has a host of warm friends in the city which has so long been his home. JOHN WHARTON. For many years this gentleman was prominently identified with the business interests of Richland county, and he was numbered among the foremost citizens of Olivesburg, where he died on the 9th of January, 1899, at the close of an honorable and well-spent life. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1826, and was about three years old when brought to Ohio by his parents, John and Nancy Wharton, who took up their residence upon a farm in what is now Clear Creek township, Ashland county. There the mother died about a year later, and the father subsequently married Miss Ann McMillen, who survived him many years. On the home farm our subject grew to manhood, acquiring his education in the common schools of the neighborhood. On reaching his twentieth year he began buying and selling stock, and in his career as a stockman crossed the Alleghany mountains eighty-four times, driving stock to Buffalo, Jersey City and New York, his business taking him over a large territory. In 1865 he was employed by C. W. Cantwell & Company to go to Texas and buy cattle. After purchasing about five hundred head he entered upon the arduous task of driving the herd overland. He proceeded as far as Baxter Springs, Indian Territory, and the people on the border of Kansas contested his right to cress the state with Texas cattle, claiming that the herd were infected with a certain disease, and their fear that this might spread being the cause of their opposition to him. After being detained for several months, however, he was allowed to pass on. At various points in Missouri he encountered bands of men claiming authority to collect damages for passing through the state, but his genius mastered the situation at all times. He drove his cattle as far as Sedalia, Missouri, and then shipped them :by train to Galion, Ohio. The trip was 134 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. fraught with many dangers, but his pluck and determination enabled him to overcome all difficulties, and in. the spring of 1866 he delivered the cattle to the company for whom they were purchased. He was a man of many resources, and having prospered in his undertakings was able to live retired for eight years prior to his death and to leave his widow in affluent circumstances. In 1853 Mr. Wharton was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Wright, a daughter of Jason and Tryphena (Washburn) Wright, natives of New York, who came to this state about 1835 and settled in Lafayette, Richland county, where the father spent the remainder of his life in retirement from active labor. He had previously followed the occupation of farming. In religious belief he was a Methodist, while his wife held membership in the Presbyterian church. He died in 1856, in his seventy-eighth year, and she passed away in 1868, at about the age of seventy-five. To th i s worthy couple were born five children, three of whom are still living: Eunice, a resident of Shiloh, Ohio ; Amelia, the widow of John Parcher and a resident of Bryan, Ohio; and Mrs. Wharton. Three children were born to our subject and his wife : Amelia, the wife of H. A. Thomas, of Ashland, Ohio; Emma and Cora. All are now deceased. In 1881 Mr. Wharton erected the most modern and attractive residence of Olivesburg, and there he delighted in surrounding his family with all of the comforts and luxuries of life which he could procure. Politically Mr. Wharton was an ardent Democrat, and religiously was a devout and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church. It was largely due to his influence that the house of worship belonging to that denomination was built at Olivesburg, and he ever took an active and prominent part in all church work. He was always courteous, kindly and affable, and it is safe to say that no man in his community was held in higher regard than John -Wharton. His estimable wife still survives him, and is beloved and respected by all who know her. COLONEL W. L. SEWELL. William L. Sewell, United States consul at Toronto, Canada, is a Richland county boy and one of the leading lawyers at the Mansfield bar. He is the son of a minister, and the boyhood of his life was spent in part in -Washington and later upon a farm in Springfield township. He married a Miss Carter, and they have one child,—a son,—who is vice consul. From a local paper we take the following extracts : CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 135 The best story-tellers of the Mansfield bar are the Hon. C. E. McBride, the Hon. John C. Burns and Colonel W. L. Sewell. It is a diversion both restful and refreshing for lawyers to throw off sometimes the cares and perplexities of their practice and take a good laugh. Colonel Sewell is a man of both brain and brawn, with sufficient versatility to adapt himself to suit all conditions and to master situations with a spontaneity that never failed him. Whether at the bar or upon the hustings, he is forceful and entertaining. As a political speaker he has been in demand, not only in Ohio but also in other states. As a lawyer he has had a large practice, and at the bar he feared no adversary. Coming through the park one day, John C. Burns met a stranger who inquired, "Is there a riot over there ? " .pointing toward the court-house. John replied that there was no riot in any part of the city and that such disturbances do not occur in Mansfield. "Then it must be a ghost dance," suggested the stranger. But the councilman from the tenth ward replied that such amusements are prohibited by city ordinances. "Then what is that noise?" asked the man from abroad. "That noise! Oh, that's Colonel Sewell's voice, and he is at the court-house taking a judgment by default," answered Burns. Sewell's stories cannot be effectively reproduced in cold type. His inimitable way of telling them, with his peculiar diaconate drawl, must he seen and heard to be appreciated to the full. DAVID BELL. David Bell, an octogenarian who is now living retired in Springfield township, Richland county, on section 24, was for long years connected with the farming interests of that community. His life forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present. He was born in Washington county, Maryland, April 14, 1815, a son of Jacob Bell, who was born in the same locality March 26, 1773. The grandfather was one of the early settlers of Maryland. He bore the name of Anthony Bell and came to this country from Amsterdam, Holland. A well-to-do farmer, he was the owner of two hundred acres of land in Maryland, where he reared his family and made his home throughout his residence in the new world. Jacob Bell was united in marriage to Barbara Emerick, who was born in Maryland December 10, 1780. They were married in 1805 and spent the most of their lives on the old homestead in the state of their nativity, but in 1841 came to Ohio. 136 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. The year previous their son, David Bell, had sought a home in the Buckeye state, upon which he has resided for sixty years. He was married, September 16, 1841, to Miss Catherine Balliete, of Northampton county, Pennsylvania. She was born December 16, 1823, a daughter of Stephen Balliete. The children born of this marriage were four sons and four daughters, but two of the sons died in infancy, while Marietta died at the age of about three years. Those now living are : Fanny, the wife of Alexander Scott, by whom she has two children ; Samuel, a farmer of Wyandotte county, Ohio, and has six children; Mrs. Catherine Ritchey, of Mansfield, who is a widow and has seven children ; John Franklin, a farmer of Madison township, who has seven children ; and Emma Ella, the wife of John B. Downs, by whom she has five children: The mother of the foregoing died December 31, 1891, and her death was widely mourned by her family and friends. In ante-bellum days David Bell was a supporter of the Democracy. He has never been an office-seeker, preferring to devote his energies to his business affairs. The stately evergreen trees in his front yard were planted by him and stand as monuments to his enterprise. At his farm work he achieved success and acquired a comfortable competence, which now enables him to live retired. He has passed the eighty-fifth milestone of life's journey, and to him is accredited the veneration and respect which should ever be given to one of advanced years, whose career has been upright and whose life has been characterized by fidelity and duty. Living throughout the greater part of the nineteenth century, he has been a witness of the wonderful progress and improvement of this land, and his mind travels back over the annals of the past in review of the events which form the nation's history. WILLIAM S. CAPPELLER. Hon. William S. Cappeller is a native of Pennsylvania, and through the years of an active manhood he has been a prominent factor in journalistic interests and in the political circles of the Buckeye state. His birth occurred in Somerset county, of the Keystone state, in 1839, and his primary education, acquired in the public schools, was supplemented by a course in the Farmers' College near Cincinnati. Determining to devote his life to journalistic work, he came to Mansfield, and in March, 1885, established the Daily News, the first daily paper published in this city. This was a venture whose outcome was doubtful, yet to one who is acquainted with the personal character of the man it would not have been difficult to predict a successful career CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 137 for the new enterprise. Mr. Cappeller is a man of strong determination who carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes, if it can be accomplished through diligence and honorable effort. The home of the Daily News was a modest one. His supplies were limited, but the excellent character of the paper soon secured a good patronage and the facilities were accordingly increased. Its circulation steadily grew and to-day the News plant is a four-story building, especially erected for its use and equipped with type-setting machines, fast Webb presses and other accessories necessary to the conduct of a successful newspaper and of a large job printing trade. The News is one of the leading Republican papers of the central portion of Ohio, and is widely copied in other journals throughout the state. On account of its large circulation it is an excellent advertising medium and at the same time it is a most readable journal owing to the publishing of all matters of local and general interest. To one at all acquainted with Mr. Cappeller's history it is not necessary to say that it is Republican in character and that it has been an active factor in promoting the work of the party in Ohio. A close and earnest student of the political questions of the day, it would be difficult to find one, who does not devote his entire time to politics, that is better informed than Mr. Cappeller. With a just appreciation of the duties and obligations of citizenship he gives careful thought and consideration to the interests affecting the weal or woe of the nation. He has labored untiringly in behalf of his party, and the organization recognizes the effectiveness of his work. In 1871 he was appointed by the common-pleas court of Cincinnati to investigate the accounts of the county officials of Hamilton county and on the completion of the work submitted a report which elicited the hearty commendation of the public. In 1877 and again in 188o he was elected county auditor of Cincinnati, leading the ticket by over two thousand votes at each election, a fact which indicates his personal popularity as well as the confidence and trust reposed in him by the public. While holding that office he beCame the author of the Tax Payers' Manual, a work on taxation of individuals, banks and corporations which was highly endorsed by all the leading judges and lawyers of the state. It requires a generalship of no less high order to manage a political campaign than is required for a military commander on the field of battle. In fact a political leader has the additional duty of harmonizing his forces ; he cannot command and expect explicit obedience, but must treat his committees and workers for concerted action through tact, courtesy and an unfaltering devotion to the cause. It was these qualities that made Mr. Cappeller so successful a leader during the years 1880, 1886, 1887 and 1888, in which he served as the chairman of the 138 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Republican state committee. He was the commissioner of railroads and tele graphs of Ohio from 1887 to 1889 inclusive, and while in office he amicably adjusted matters of difference between railroads and employes, alleged freigh discriminations and many other complicated questions referred to his depart. ment for arbitration. He is a forceful writer, strong and logical in argument and his editorials have had marked influence on public opinion both or questions political and otherwise. For many years Mr. Cappeller has been prominent in fraternal circles. and in 1878 was honored with the office of grand master of Ohio in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. For many years a distinguished member of the journalistic profession, for several years the president of the Ohio Editorial Association and in 1892 the president of the National Editorial Association, honored and respected in every class of society, Mr. Cappeller has .ong been a leader of thought and movement in the public affairs of the state. Fie inspires personal friendships of unusual strength, and all who know him lave the highest admiration for his good qualities and excellencies of heart and mind. FREDERICK M. FITTING. For many years Mr. Fitting was an active representative of the business interests of Richland county. He became engaged in merchandising and speculating, and not in a desultory fashion did he prosecute his business interests, but with energy and strong determination he carried forward the work which he planned, and as a result of his well-directed labors won a handsome competence. He was horn October 3, 1810, just across the line in Knox county, Ohio, his parents being Casper and Fannie (Markley) Fitting, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. The father was a farmer who met with very creditable success in his undertakings. Of the Presbyterian church he was an active member and an earnest Christian life was closed when he died, at the age of eighty-three years. He was buried in Ankenytown, Knox county, and his wife passed away at the age of seventy years. Frederick M. Fitting was a boy of about seven or eight years when his parents removed to Richland county, locating on a farm near Bellville, where he was reared to manhood. He walked about two miles to a country school in order to acquire his education, and after putting aside his textfbooks he began driving stage between Bellville, Sandusky and Wooster. For several years he was thus engaged, after which he conducted a general mer- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 139 cantile store in Bellville for a number of years. He also built a flouring mill near the town and successfully operated it for ten or twelve years, after which he sold that property and purchased his father-in-law's farm, that is now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Schuler. At one time he owned about two hundred and fifty acres, a part of which has since been divided into residence lots in Bellville. He laid out a street there and greatly improved his addition to the city. In his later years he engaged in superintending his farms and in speculating in stocks and grain, and his business interests, guided by keen discrimination, resulted in success financially. In 1836 Mr. Fitting was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Markey, daughter of John and Mary (Walsh) Markey, both of whom were natives of Baltimore, Maryland, where they were married. In 1826 they came to Richland county, locating on a farm near Johnsonville, where they remained for several years, after which they removed to Bellville, where Mr. Markey engaged in merchandising. After selling his farm to his son-in-law he purchased another farm in Worthington township. He died at the age of fifty-eight years. He was an active member of the Methodist church and his wife also held membership in that church and passed away in Bellville, at the age of sixty-one. Their daughter, Mrs. Fitting, was only seven years of age when brought to Richland county, where she spent her remain-in days, passing away on the 28th of April, 1896, at the age of seventy-seven years. She attended the Presbyterian church and was a lady of many excellent qualities. She had but two children and one died at the age of nine years. The surviving daughter, Jennie E., was born in Bellville, was educated in Mansfield and married Ferdinand Schuler. She now owns the old homestead of fifty-six acres within the city limits and sixty acres near the town. She has five daughters : Florence, the wife of Edward Kelly, of Bellville; Ida J., who is the widow of W. P. Jackson and resides with her mother ; Mary, the wife of W. B. Elston, of Peoria, Illinois ; Katherine, the wife of Dr. N. R. Eastman; and Nora, the wife of W. A. Goss, of Peoria. Mrs. Schuler is a lady of culture and refinement, whose friends throughout the community are many. In his political views Mr. Fitting was a zealous Democrat who did all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party. He was recognized as one of its leaders in the state, yet he never sought or desired office, although several prominent positions were tendered him. In business he enjoyed a high reputation as a reliable man of marked energy and sound judgment, and the success which he achieved was the merited 140 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. reward of his own labors. He died August 18, 1884, at the age of seventy-four years, and in his death the community lost one of its valued citizens,— a man whom to know was to respect and honor. HERMAN L. WILES, D. D. A man of ripe scholarship and marked executive ability, whose life has been consecrated to the cause of the Master and to the uplifting of men, there is particular propriety in here directing attention to the life history of the pastor of the Lutheran church of Mansfield. He has devoted himself without ceasing to the interests of humanity and to the furtherance of all good works. His reputation is not restricted and his power and influence in his holy office have been exerted in a spirit of deepest human sympathy and tender solicitude. There has not been denied him the full harvest nor the aftermath whose garnering shall bring the sure reward in the words of commendation, "Well done, good and faithful servant." His wide acquaintance in the state and his prominence as an eminent divine of the Lutheran ministry will make his history one of especial interest to the readers of this volume. Dr. Herman Lewis Wiles is a native of Frederick county, Maryland, born July 15, 1840, his parents being John and Catherine (Long) Wiles. The paternal grandfather, Thomas Wiles, was a native of Virginia, and prior to the year 1780 located in Middletown Valley, Frederick county, Maryland. He had eight children, namely : John, Thomas, George, 'William, Samuel, James, Mrs. House and Mrs. Blessing. Of this family John Wiles, the father of our subject, was married, in 1817, to Catherine Long, whose father was a captain in the state militia, and was called into service in the war of 1812 ; but when the troops had proceeded as far as Hagerstown on the way to the scene of hostilities it was learned that the war had ended. They had ten children, five sons and five daughters : John Thomas, the eldest, was married, about 1840, to Elizabeth Smith. They had one daughter, Ellen, who married William DeGrange and resides near Jefferson, Maryland. Mr. and Mrs. DeGrange have three sons and one daughter. Tilghman B., the second member of the family of John and Catherine Wiles, died in September, 1899. He was a very active member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was married, about 1848, to Susan Baker, a native of Maryland, and until the death of his wife they resided near Middletown, Maryland. Their children were as follows : Edward C., who resides in Mansfield. Alice became the wife of Cornelius Dye, of Chicago, CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 141 Ohio. He was married the second time, on the 1st of January, 1863, to Emily Crone. Their living children are : Olive; Herman, who married Mary Charles, now deceased, by whom he had a son, Roy : he afterward wedded Mary A. Logan ; Charles 0., of Lucas, Ohio, who married Miss Zoda Myers, and has two children : William Otto, who married Miss Doll Baker, by whom he has one child and resides near Lucas; Effie, the wife of Frank H. Fike, who resides near Butler, Ohio, and has two children ; and Walter, who is living at the old home near Lucas. Lloyd and one other son of the family died in infancy. Of the daughters, Elizabeth M. became the wife of George Culler, and resided near Lucas. She is survived by two of her children : Charles T., who is living near Lucas, and married Mary Darling and has two living children, one being Orton Culler ; and Mary A., who is married and resides in Chicago, Illinois. Mary J. became the wife of Joshua Rhoads and resided at Frederick, Maryland. Her children are : Fannie, who is married and lives at Union Bridge, Maryland, and has two children ; Charles, of Frederick, Maryland, who wedded Mary A. Haller and has four children ; Shaffer, who is married and has one child ; Della, the wife of Mr. Strausner, who lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and has five children ; Molly, the wife of Mr. Hanon, of Cuyahoga, Ohio. Anna E. is the wife of J. P. Heiteshu, and they lived and died at Clyde, Ohio. In their family were four daughters and two sons. Amanda C. married Samuel Anderson and resides in Monroe township, Richland county. They have five children : Carey married Daisy B. Parry. and with their family they reside at Shelby, Richland county. Their children are: Minnie, Alta and Vina. Alta, the next child of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, is now the Wife of Frank L. Inks. Lloyd, the youngest, resides at home. Lydia A. Wiles became, the wife of James Valentine and resides in Mansfield, Ohio. Their children are : William, a railroad engineer, who wedded Mary Stout, and has three children ; Kate, the wife of George Parry, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, by whom she has one child ; Olive, the wife of Sherman Harter, of Mansfield, by whom she has one child, Sherman, who married Cennie Pollock ; and Myrtle, who is at home. Herman L. Niles, the youngest member of the family and the immediate subject of this review, was reared upon a farm, and as soon as old enough to handle a plow began to work in the fields. He was only four years of age at the time of his father's death and he lived with a brother until he 142 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. was eighteen years of age, providing for his own support from his tenth year. He attended the common schools during the winter season and supplemented his knowledge by study at home. At the age of eighteen he had thus become qualified for teaching. He entered upon his profession with the intention of using the money thereby gained to fit himself for the practice of law. About that time, however, he was converted to the Lutheran faith and united with the church, and feeling called to enter the ministry he gave up his school and began preparation for the higher calling to which he has devoted his life. He became a student in the Academy at Middletown, Maryland, where he remained two years, and in the fall of 1859 he entered the freshman class of Wittenberg College, in Ohio, in which institution he was graduated four years later, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, winning the second honors in his class. He immediately afterward began the study of theology in the same institution, and on the completion of that course was graduated in 1864. The degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by the same college in 1866, and ten years later the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was given him by his alma mater. Dr. Wiles had the honor of taking one of the highest grades ever taken in that institution. After completing his theological course Dr. Wiles accepted the pastorate of the Lutheran churches at Lucas, Mount Zion, St. John's and Mifflin, officiating at all four churches from 1864 until the fall of 1871. His labors were attended with splendid results, for during that period he added to the membership of the four congregations a total of seven hundred and twenty-eight. The work of the church was earnestly carried on in all of its departments and new houses of worship were erected for the congregations at Mount Zion, St. John's and Mifflin. During that period, in 1864, the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Effie Routzahn, daughter of Dr. Routzahn, of Springfield, Ohio. In 1871 he was called to the church at Wooster. The congregation was in a disorganized condition, its membership being divided and decreasing numerically. Under his able guidance the working forces of the church were soon in harmonious and concentrated action. A revival service was held soon after entering upon his labors and seventy-five new members. were taken into the church, and from that time forth the growth of the church was steady and continuous, so that the house of worship soon became too small for the increasing congregation, making necessary the erection of a more commodious church edifice. With untiring zeal and devotion to the cause, Dr. Wiles, in 1877, began the erection of the beautiful church building that belongs to the English Lutheran society in CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 143 Wooster, and the structure was completed in the spring of 1880. Several years later a chapel was erected, the total cost of the building being forty-five thousand dollars. In the meantime the fame of Dr. Wiles as a minister, pastor and organizer became widely known, and during his service in Wooster he was invited to the pastorate of the First church of Cincinnati, First church of Omaha, First church at Indianapolis, First church at Cleveland, St. Matthew's Lutheran church in Brooklyn, and the Third Lutheran church of Baltimore. He was also elected to the presidency of the Lutheran college at Carthage, Illinois, and chosen as the secretary of the board of church extension to the general synod. He declined to accept all of these, wishing to devote his entire time and energy to the upbuilding of the Wooster church. In 1884 he accepted a call to the English Lutheran church of Mansfield. He had preached here two Sundays and was making preparations to remove to this city when a committee of the Wooster church called upon him at the parsonage and invited him and his wife to attend a meeting at the church, the purpose of which was not explained to him. He felt somewhat bewildered upon walking down the aisle to observe that that immense auditorium was filled to its capacity, seating and standing room. The chairman of the meeting, one of the elders, stated that the congregation had assembled in response to a call sent out that afternoon and its purpose was to ascertain whether there was any consideration that would induce him to remain. He replied that there was none ; that he felt conscientiously called to a new field and that he was going to Mansfield in answer to his own convictions. And he came. Dr. Wiles has been the pastor of the English Lutheran church here since 1884 and has added to it nineteen hundred members. The church has to-day a total of about fourteen hundred members. Three months after he came here he was elected to the presidency of 'Wittenberg Theological Seminary, his alma .mater, the highest position in the gift of the Lutheran church; but he declined it to pursue his ministerial labors. While at Wooster he was the president of the East Ohio synod two terms and since he came to Mansfield he has been the president of the Wittenberg synod two terms, and has, in his time, occupied almost every place in synodical labors. For twenty-five years he was a trustee of Wittenberg College, and nine times he has represented his synod in the general synod of the United States. In 1890 Dr. Wiles began the erection of the new church building in Mansfield, at the corner of Parke avenue and Mulberry street, it being completed in the year 1894. It is the fifth house of worship built under his 144 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. supervision and is the direct result of his untiring labors. On the 1st of April, 1901, he closed the thirty-seventh year of his service in the ministry, and seventeen years of that time have been passed in Mansfield, Ohio. Unto the marriage of Dr. and Mrs. Wiles have been born two children,—Otis and LaVergne. Both were born at Mount Zion, Richland county, Ohio : Otis July 25, 1866, and LaVergne November 17, 1868. Otis pursued his literary education in Wooster University and Wittenberg College, at Springfield, Ohio. Subsequently he read medicine for one year in the office of Dr. Craig & Son, of Mansfield, and then entered the medical department of the Western Reserve College at Cleveland, where after three years he was graduated in 1892. He was married, December 6, 1899, to Miss Emma Krabill. LaVergne married. Lenora Keen, of Mansfield, and died at the age of twenty-four years. Mrs. Wiles has ever been to her honored husband a faithful companion and helpmate, sharing his Christian labors and supplementing his work by her counsel and devotion. The Doctor is a man of high scholarly attainments. As a speaker he is forceful and eloquent,. and his every utterance rings with sincerity and honest conviction. A master of rhetoric, he is enabled to present his views in such a way as to entertain as well as instruct his hearers, and his earnest and impassioned words reveal the deep fervor with which he is imbued in presenting the divine truths, which are thus made to appeal more strongly to those whom he addresses. His mind, carefully disciplined, analytical and of broad ken, his deep perception and quick and lively sympathy, make him a power in his field of labor. HUNTINGTON BROWN. Although not a native born resident of Richland county, his more than thirty years' abode within her borders preempts to him all the rights of her original citizens, and he is as jealous of her prosperity and all her rights as though he were a native son. He was born in Trumbull county in 1849, the son of James Monroe and Mary (Hicks) Brown, and the grandson of Hon. Ephraim Brown, the original proprietor of Bloomfield township in that county and the coadjutor of those early anti-slavery men of the Western Reserve of the type of Giddings and his like, a member of the house of representatives of the general assembly of Ohio in 1824. Mr. Huntington Brown's parents moved to the town of Massillon in Stark county when he was a child, where his education was CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 145 begun in the common schools, and completed at Nazareth Hall, a Moravian academy in Pennsylvania. His father died in 1867 and a year or so afterward he came to Mansfield and engaged in mercantile affairs with the late Hon. M. D. Harter, and Mr: Frank S. Lahm, a son of General Samuel Lahm, of Canton. Arriving at his majority, he celebrated the event by a tour of Europe and the continent. Upon his return he entered the employ of the AultmanTaylor Company, a widely known and very extensive manufacturing establishment, where by the most assiduous devotion to his duties and to the business of the company he elevated himself to the superintendency in 1879, which he occupied for ten years—resigning to assume the management of the Hicks-Brown Company, operating one of the largest flouring mills in the west, where his acute business qualifications fitted him for its vast concerns. After some years devoted to their interests he retired permanently from active business, his accumulations generously permitting him to withdraw from further pursuits, although he still retains considerable interest in several important enterprises,. being a director of the Mansfield Savings Bank and the president, of the Western Strawboard Company, which company has factories at St. Mary's, Ohio, and Gas City, Indiana. In all his business life he commanded not only the respect and confidence of the commercial public but also the love and esteem of those under his employ. The business career of no young man of the county has been more commendable. Marked by unapproachable integrity, unassailable probity, prompted by a sense of responsibility and conscious rectitude, his record in the business world is of approved excellence, from which he retires with honor and the .highest credit. An ardent Freemason, his love for the craft incited him to obtain its highest knowledge and reach its highest honors ; so he attained to the grade of sovereign grand inspector general, or thirty-third degree, in 1886 ; is a life member of Ohio Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish rite, and a past grand commander of Ohio Grand Commandery of Knights Templar, of 1892. The Masonic bodies located in Mansfield had never a permanent abiding place, but from time to time became renters and, were the tenants of property-owners, having their habitat in the lofts and upper stories of such structures as they were fortunate to secure and at such rates of rental as landlords were pleased to charge and surrounded by such comforts as chanced to accompany the inconveniences. Mr. Brown conceived the idea of a permanent home, to be owned by the 146 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. craft. A temple company was formed, of which he was chosen the president, and in due time the Masonic Temple was erected and dedicated to Masonic uses, a most complete and comfortable structure, where all Masons may find a welcome and which is a lasting monument to his zeal for the brotherhood. He still remains the president of the Temple Company and is its directing spirit. When an act was passed by the general assembly to erect the Soldiers and Sailors' Memorial Library Building, the court, recognizing his business fitness, appointed him a member of the first board of trustees, which position he has continually occupied, with great credit and eminent satisfaction. His private character is unimpeachable. He is a man of heroic physique, a distingue figure in any assemblage, and of gracious bearing. He is easy of approach and his open-handed generosity and genial companionship have made him a social and popular favorite with all classes. His friendships and affectionate attachments are unmovable, and with tender and modest benevolence he has endeared himself to the lowly and the unfortunate by his covert charities. He hates hypocrisy, despises the spurious pretender and is quick to discern the cheat. ..Firm of purpose, he is unrelenting in the espousal of a cause he is convinced is just. Innate good judgment has clothed him with a self-reliance which makes him a leader. He has never been ambitious of political preferment and the charms of office have never tempted him ; but in 1899 the people of his adopted city called him to the control of its municipal affairs, and although a stanch Republican he was elected by a large majority in a Democratic stronghold. His fearless courage and consciousness of right have made him a model mayor. Bringing to the performance of his official duties a high appreciation of the importance of his trust, he has executed the laws of state and city with a determination and excellency which have marked him a strong man and gained for him the. admiration of all good citizens. In his court he administers the law with the utmost justice, tempered always with that mercy which befits a humane magistrate. He is now in the middle of his official term, and his careful and intelligent management of the city government has added manifold to its revenues from police control, and his untiring zeal in solving the sewage problem entitles him to the highest commendation. No city in Ohio possesses a citizen at the head of its government uniting more of the elements which go to make up a man possessing the qualities of a gentleman everywhere than does Mansfield in the person of Huntington Brown, and his life's record is filled with honor and the gratitude of the people. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 147 DR. ARTHUR N. LINDSEY. Dr. Arthur Nettleton Lindsey, one of the prominent young dentists of Mansfield, was born at Lexington, Richland county, Ohio, September 30, 1870. The Nettletons, from whom he is descended on his mother's side of the family, were from Kenilworth, England, settling first in Killingworth, Connecticut, and. were later the first settlers of Newport, New Hampshire: Mary Nettleton married William Lindsey, by whom she was the mother of the subject, an only child. On his father's side of the family it may be stated that Mrs. Mary Lindsey, after the death of her husband, William Lindsey, removed to Lexington, Ohio, from Newville, Pennsylvania, in 1849, and her only child, William Lindsey, was the father of the subject of this sketch. Dr. Arthur N. Lindsey received a good common-school education in the public schools and subsequently graduated at the Ohio Medical University at COlumbus, in 1895, in dentistry. For two years during his course of study he carried along courses in medicine in connection with his studies in dentistry. After his graduation he located in Mansfield, entering into partnership with Dr. E. R. Rumpler, and since then has built up a large and excellent practice. December 14, 1898, he married Miss Edna Lenox Friedrich, of Mansfield, by whom he had one daughter, who lived but one month. The Doctor is highly esteemed in Mansfield and vicinity, not only as a professional man but also as a citizen and friend of humanity who lives for the good he can do to his fellow man. JOHN CRAWFORD. Among the progressive men of Shiloh Mr. Crawford is numbered. He belongs to that class of representative citizens who while promoting their individual success also contribute to the general welfare, and his position in business circles in his section of Richland county is an enviable one. Born in Huron county, Ohio, on the 19th of September, 1848, he represents one of the pioneer families of the state. His grandfather, John Crawford, came to Richland county during the epoch of its early development and located on a farm in Cass township, where he spent his remaining days. His son, James Crawford, was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and upon the home farm in Richland county he was reared. He 148 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. first married Miss Lydia Guthrie, by whom he had two children, one of whom is yet living,—William, of Adario, Richland county. After his marriage Mr. Crawford located near Planktown, where he followed the carpenter's trade, which he had learned in early life. Subsequently he engaged in the operation of a sawmill. Some time later his wife died and he afterward married Miss Ella Jane Turbet, who is still living, making her home with her son John. In the early '40s James Crawford re- moved with his family to Huron county, Ohio, locating in Ripley township, where he conducted a sawmill and also worked at the carpenter's trade. In 1850, however, he returned to Planktown and purchased the old family homestead of one hundred and twenty acres a few miles south of the village, and there he carried on agricultural pursuits until the time of his death, which occurred in 1853. He was a representative of the Democracy and at one time served as justice of the peace. A man of marked energy, the success which he achieved resulted from his own efforts. Of his family of five children,. four are yet living, .namely : Taylor, who is the postmaster of Shiloh; John, of this review ; Porter, who is connected with the Clipper Manufacturing Company of Saginaw, Michigan; and Bell R., the wife of G. W. Harris, a business man of Bucyrus, Ohio. John Crawford lost his father when only five years of age. He acquired his education in the common schools and in his eighteenth year assumed the management of the home farm, which in the meantime had been rented. He cultivated this land until 1872, when he came to Shiloh and in partnership with his brother Taylor built the Shiloh Grist Mills, which they operated for two years. Then they sold that property and thereby acquired the ownership of a tract of timber land. Through the following four years they dealt in lumber and also operated a sawmill. On the expiration of that period they repurchased the gristmill and admitted their younger brother, Porter, to a partnership in the business, the connection between them continuing for some years, when Taylor Crawford withdrew. The other brothers, however, continued in the milling business until 1895, when John purchased the interest of his brother Porter. In 1897 he admitted Mr. Hall and Mr. From to a partnership, and in the autumn of that year Mr. Crawford and Mr. Hall purchased the interest of Mr. From. In 1899 the former became the sole proprietor and since that time has carried on business alone. He conducts a sawmill in connection with his gristmill and thoroughly understands both branches of the business, so that this enterprise has proved a profitable source of income. On the 11th of September, 1878, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 149 Crawford and Miss Anna Koerber, a native of Shiloh and a daughter of Jacob Koerber. Four children grace this union : Jesse, who is now a stenographer in Cleveland, Ohio ; Florence, an instructor in instrumental music; Hazel and Harry, who are at home. The mother died January 29, 1889, and Mr. Crawford was again married, in 1894, his second union being with Miss Lilly McGaw, a native of Shiloh, Ohio, and a daughter of Albert C. McGaw. Three children graced this union, but Grace Corene, their first born, is now deceased. Two sons are J. Mack and Albert Chauncey. Mr. Crawford is a member of Shiloh Council, No. 374, R. A., and is a Republican in his political views. He belongs to the Lutheran church and for (the past twenty-two years has served as its chorister. His success in business has been uniform. As has been truly remarked, after all that may be done for man in the way of giving him early opportunities for obtaining the requirements which are sought in the schools and in books, he must essentially formulate, determine and give shape to his own character, and this is what Mr. Crawford has done. He has persevered in the pursuit of a persistent purpose and gained a satisfactory reward. BENJAMIN F. LONG. As the chief executive of the city of Shelby, Benjamin Franklin Long occupies a position open to criticism, but the comments of his fellow townsmen in regard to the manner in which he discharges his official duties is favorable and commendatory. Honored by election to the office of mayor, his administration has been progressive and business-like and along practical lines which contribute to the city's good. He is also well known as a member of the leading law firm of Shelby, and his prominence at the bar and in office serves to make his history one of more than mere local interest, for he has a wide acquaintance throughout this .part of the state. Mr. Long is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Shiloh, Richland county, on the 16th of August, 1865, his parents being William R. and Mary (Hunter) Long, farming people of the county. His paternal grandparents, David and Emily (Rose) Long, came to Ohio in 1815, taking up their abode in Shiloh. The parents of our subject had but two children, his sister being Florence, who is now the wife of C. W. Marriott, of Mansfield. In the common schools Mr. Long acquired his elementary education, later entered the high school of Shiloh and subsequently matriculated in the Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio, where he was graduated. He after-