300 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 24, 1805, and in 1827 removed with his father, Oliver Sloane, to Ashland county, locating near the present site of Hayesville, where the father conducted a saw and grist mill. On the 24th of April, 1828, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Rocella Bushnell, and the same year they came to Richland county, taking up their residence in Washington township, upon the farm now owned by Mr. McCreedy. Here the Colonel's father had entered eighty acres of government land, and in a log cabin upon the place the young couple made their home until a more pretentious dwelling could be erected. At that time the farm was covered with a dense growth of timber, which had to be cleared away before crops could be planted. To the improvement and cultivation of his land Colonel Sloane devoted his attention throughout life, and converted the wild tract into a highly productive and well improved farm. In his family were twelve children, four of whom died in infancy. The others were Oliver, who went to California in 1849 and is supposed to have been killed by Indians; Hulda, who first married Martin B. Bowers, who died in 1875, and three years later she married S. A. Gass, who died in 1888; Sterling B., a resident of Kansas, who is connected with the secret service; Lizzie, the wife of William Roland; William B.. a veteran of the Civil war and a merchant of White Cloud, Kansas; Oscar, who was a drum major in the Civil war and is now a resident of Wichita, Kansas ; Rosa, the wife of S. M. Martin, a real-estate dealer of Arkansas City, Kansas ; and Martin B., an electrician of Mansfield, Ohio. Colonel Sloane was for many years connected with the state militia, and won his title in that service. In business he was eminently successful and became well-to-do. He was a public-spirited and progressive man, who took a great interest in educational affairs, and gave his support to enterprises tending to advance the moral, intellectual or material welfare of his county and state. He died in 1877, and his wife, who long survived him, passed away in 1898. Both were active and consistent members of the Presbyterian church, and were highly respected and esteemed by all who knew them. CALVIN McBRIDE. Calvin McBride is a retired farmer and one of the honored pioneers of Richland county. He was born September 26, 1836, on the farm where he now resides, and for sixty-four years has been a witness of the growth and development of this section of the state. Great changes have occurred CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 301 during that time : where there were only great tracts of- wild land are now seen richly cultivated fields, and churches and schools dot the landscape, giving evidence of the advance of civilization. In the work of improvement in the county he has taken a deep interest and has cheerfully borne his part. Mr. McBride is of Irish lineage, his grandparents, Alexander and Jean (Raney) McBride, being both natives of the Emerald Isle, the former born in county Antrim February 15, 1759, the latter in the same county on the 1st of May, 1761. There they were reared and soon after their marriage they emigrated to America, the grandfather purchasing land in Hampshire county, Virginia. Soon after the war of 1812 he came to Ohio and entered four hundred and sixty acres of land in Richland county,—the farm upon which our subject now resides. He also entered land in Monroe township, and then returned to the Old Dominion, but after a short time he again came, to Ohio, accompanied by his two sons. The father of our subject, Alexander McBride, Jr., was, born in Hampshire county, Virginia, August 4, 1795, and with the father came to the Buckeye state. He then located ih Cass township, where he built a log cabin and made other improvements. A year later he removed to Monroe township, where his brother and father had settled. After some years he returned to the farm which his father had entered in Cass township. Alexander McBride, Jr., purchased two hundred and thirty acres of this land and made additional improvements and prepared to make the place his home throughout his remaining days. He was thrice married, his first wife being Miss Susanna Pettit, by whom he had eight children, three of whom are now living: Thomas, of Shiloh, Ohio; Alexander, a farmer of Cass township; and Jane, the widow of Mr. Burner, of Robinson, Illinois. The mother died, and the father afterward married a Miss Smith, by whom he had one child, who is now deceased. For his third wife he chose Miss Elizabeth Calvin, who was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, October 30, 1796, and was a daughter of Samuel Calvin, who emigrated to what is now Mahoning county, Ohio, but was then a part of Columbiana county. There he spent the residue of his days. He was a man of quiet, retiring disposition, but commanded the high regard of all by reason of his upright life, his inflexible integrity and many noble qualities. By the third marriage of Mr. McBride there were two children, but Calvin is the only one living. The father was an active supporter of the Democratic party and held a number of township offices, in which he discharged his duties in a most prompt and faithful manner. During the last twenty-five years of his life he was an active member of the Lutheran church, and was largely instru- 302 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. mental in the erection of the house of worship for that denomination in Planktown in the '40s. Later he aided in building the Lutheran church in Shiloh, and at all times did what he could to promote the work and upbuilding of the church, holding office during almost his entire connection therewith. He was an active, energetic man, of determined purpose and marked enterprise, and he not only accumulated a comfortable competence for himself, but as his sons reached manhood assisted them in gaining a start in life. He was at all times reliable, and his word was as good as his bond. Calvin McBride, whose name introduces this record, gained a common-school education and was early trained to habits of industry and economy upon the home farm. On the 27th of October, 1858, he married Miss Elizabeth Gettings, a native of Cass township and a daughter of William and Mary (Fox) Gettings. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania, and in an early day came with his family to Ohio, locating in Cass township, where he spent the residue of his life. His wife came to Ohio from New Jersey, her native state, with the Opdike family. She intended to return in a short time, but made the acquaintance of Mr. Gettings and gave him her hand in marriage. By the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. McBride eight children have been born : Mary, now the wife of Ross R. Barnes, a resident farmer of Cass township ; Lillies, the wife of Albert Golden, a farmer of Huron county, Ohio ; Owen, who cultivates a tract of land in Cass township; Frances, the wife of Fred Devier, an agriculturist of Plymouth township; Edith, the wife of Benjamin Boardman, a farmer of Huron county ; Agnes and Grace, at home; and Arthur, who follows agricultural pursuits in Cass township. When Mr. McBride was nineteen years of age his father made his will and our subject took one-half of the farm, while his brother, Alexander, came into possession of the other half, the two brothers purchasing the interests of the other heirs in the property. To their parents they gave filial care and devotion until they were called away. Since becoming the owner of the property Mr. McBride has resided thereon and has made many excellent improvements upon the place. In 1884 he built one of the finest residences in the county. There are good barns and outbuildings upon the land, and the field's are under a high state of cultivation, giving the indication of bountiful harvests. Mr. McBride finds time to devote to church work and for forty years has taken an active interest in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a member. During the greater part of this time he has served as one of its officers. In his political views he is is liberal. He believes, however, in the free coinage of silver and will vote CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 303 for a party that endorses it. His career has been one of activity, industry and enterprise, and in all life's relations has been found true to every manly principle, his word is as good as his bond, and he enjoys the unlimited confidence and regard of all with whom he is associated. JONATHAN UHLICH. Faithfulness in public office not only attracts public attention, but also brings substantial reward in the way of continuance of public favor. This is a latter-day development of public affairs which has superseded the comparative apathy with which the average voter regarded the manner in which public trusts were administered a generation or more ago, and it has been impressed on the mind of the writer by the approbation with which the people of Richland county regard the management of the Richland County Children's Home by Superintendent Uhlich. Jonathan Uhlich was born in Madison township, Richland county, Ohio, May 14, 1857, a son of Joseph Uhlich, a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, born December 27, 1818, who arrived in Richland county May 12, 1830, and located in Madison township on a farm just north of the Mansfield. corporation line, now consisting of one hundred and thirty acres, on which the subject of this sketch first saw the light of day and of which he is at this time the owner. Joseph Uhlich married Miss Catharine Fiddler, also a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, born April 30, 1821, whose parents settled in Madison township. Joseph Uhlich died June 15, 1890, his wife having died in 1880, aged fifty-six years. Mrs. Ella Fay is their daughter and Mr. Uhlich's sister. Jonathan Uhlich obtained an education in the district schools, and after he had gained some practical knowledge of affairs he engaged in business in Mansfield and continued with success until he relinquished his enterprise to assume the superintendency of the Children's Home, in September, 1897. He came to Mansfield from the farm in 1873, and from 1873 until 1897 he carried on business in this city. Mr. Uhlich married Miss Hettie Caldwell, a daughter of Samuel Caldwell, born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1818, and died in Missouri in 1880. She is a granddaughter of Samuel Caldwell, Sr., who died about 1830. Her mother was Sarah, nee Chambers, of Springfield township, whose father, James Chambers, was a pioneer settler from Pennsylvania in 1810. Both the Caldwells and the Chamberses were of Scotch- 304 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Irish descent. Mrs. Uhlich was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1858, and was brought to this county by her parents in 1859. The consensus of opinion in Mansfield is to the effect that too much cannot be said in praise of the management of the Children's Home by Mr. and Mrs. Uhlich, who have had the institution in charge, as superintendent and matron, respectively, since September 1, 1897. The farm consists of forty acres of well-cultivated land, and the house contains about sixty large and. airy rooms. It has a spacious hall and is in every way splendidly appointed, an ideal home with an avenue a quarter of a mile long bordered by young trees, by which it is approached from the street. The average number of children accommodated at the home from different parts of the county is about sixty, ranging in age froth one year to sixteen. At the latter age the children are placed in desirable homes, where they are cared for until fully able to take care of themselves. Since Mr. Uhlich assumed the superintendency of the home it has never had less than forty-two children under its roof nor more than eighty-three. Mr. Uhlich is in all ways an ideal superintendent for an establishment of this kind, for he loves children to such a degree that he stands to those under his charge practically in the relation of a father, and Mrs. Uhlich is a veritable mother to diem all from the oldest to the youngest. Under Mr. Uhlich's supervision the farm is managed exactly as if it were his own personal enterprise instead of a public institution. SAMUEL S. HOLTZ, M. D. Samuel S. Holtz, who is engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Shiloh, has attained an enviable position in the circles of the profession with which he is connected by means of his marked ability and devo tion to his work. He was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, "October 24, 1850, his parents being John and Elizabeth (Schaeffer) Holtz, who had two children, but the Doctor is the only one now living. His father was a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, born March 6, 1826. Upon the farm he spent his early life and in the Keystone state he was married. Soon after the birth of his son Samuel he removed with his family to Winchester, Scott county, Illinois. where he resided for a year, when he took up his abode near Shiloh, Richland county, Ohio. He purchased a farm of eighty acres and continued its cultivation until about six years ago, when he put aside business cares and removed to the town, where he is now enjoying a well earned rest. His wife also is living and for fifty-one years they have traveled life's journey happily together. They are both of CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 305 Holland lineage and possess many of the sterling characteristics of that worthy people. The Doctor remained at his parental home through the period of his minority. He attended the common schools of the neighborhood and further continued his studies in the Baldwin University at Berea, Ohio. In 187o he began teaching and for four rears followed that profession, giving satisfaction to the directors in the districts in which he was employed ; but, determining to make the practice of medicine his life work, he began to study under the direction of Dr. J. M. Fackler, of Plymouth, Ohio. In the fall of 1875 he was matriculated in the Hahnneman Medical College, of Chicago, and in the following year became a student in the Pulte Medical College, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in which institution he was graduated in January, 1877. He began the practice of medicine in Plymouth, in partnership with Dr. Fackler, and four years later removed to Shiloh, where he opened an office, and his time and energies have been given to the alleviation of the suffering in this part of the county. His marked ability in the line of his chosen profession has won him signal success and gained him a very large and lucrative patronage. For the faithful performance of each clay's duties he finds inspiration for the labors of the next. Cool and collected in the sick room, at the same time genial and kindly, his labors have proven of great benefit to those in need of medical assistance, showing that he is thoroughly familiar with the healing art and the best methods of medical practice. On the 4th of July, 1878, Dr. Holtz was united in marriage to Miss Mattie A. Flora, a native of Maryland, but at the time of her marriage a resident of Plymouth, Ohio. Their union has been blessed with four children, but they lost their first born, Gracie Dell. The others are John Franklin, who is reading medicine .under the instruction of his father ; Harry Wells and Fred Schaeffer, both at home. The Doctor is a valued representative of Shiloh Lodge, No. 544, F. & A. M., and has also taken the Royal Arch and Knight Templar degrees, his membership being in Plymouth Chapter and Mansfield Commandery. He likewise belongs to Shiloh Council, No. 374, of the Royal Arcanum. His religious faith is in harmony with the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he belongs, and in his political views he is a Republican. He is an earnest and discriminating student of his profession and his skill has been demonstrated again and again in the sick room. His advancement in his profession is well merited and the high position which he occupies in social circles is an indication of a well spent life. 306 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. ROBERT HUNTER. Robert Hunter was born on the farm in Blooming Grove township which is now his home, his natal day being October 28, 1855. He is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of the Buckeye state, the name of Hunter being closely interwoven with the history of Ohio throughout almost the entire nineteenth century. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to James Hunter, and the family was founded in America in colonial days by George Hunter, the great-grandfather of our subject, who was a native of county Tyrone, Ireland, and crossed the Atlantic to America when the states along the seaboard were possessions of Great Britain. When the yoke of British oppression became intolerable and the colonists resolved to sever all allegiance to the mother country, he joined the army for independ ence and aided in establishing the republic. His son, Samuel Hunter, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1790, and was a veteran of the war of 1812, serving under General Beal. He spent one winter at Camp Council, near Shenandoah, in Richland county, and was at Detroit at the time of Hull's surrender. He married Jane Paul, who was born June 6, 1786, and died October io, 1870. The father of our subject, Benjamin Hunter, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 12th of December, 1815, and when he was nineteen years of age his parents removed to Richland county, purchasing from Thomas E. Hughes the farm of one hundred and sixty acres upon which our subject now resides. A log cabin already erected became the place of their residence, where a small part of the land had been cleared, the remainder being in its primitive condition; but soon the plow was set in the furrow, the work of planting followed and in course of time abundant harvests were garnered. Benjamin Hunter was reared in this pioneer home, sharing with the family in the Hardships and trials incident to the development of a farm upon the frontier. As a companion and helpmate on life's journey he chose Miss Margaret Irwin, and they had three children, but all are now deceased. After his marriage he settled on the home farm with his wife, continuing the cultivation of the land, and after his father's death he purchased the interest of the other heirs in eighty acres of the old homestead, making it his place of abode until his life's labors were ended in death, on the 21st of December, 1886. He was an active member of the Presbyterian church, becoming one of the earnest workers therein during his boyhood, and throughout his entire life he used his influence to inculcate its teachings among men. In politics he was an ardent Democrat, but never sought office and never served in posi- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 307 tions of public trust save as a member of the school board. For many years he was identified in that way with educational interests, and the schools of the community found in him a warm friend. He was twice married, his second union being with. Sarah Jump, a daughter of Robert and Jane (Ogden) Jump. Her father was born in Talbot county, Maryland, of English parentage, while her mother, a native of New Jersey, was of Scotch extraction. Soon after their marriage they emigrated westward to Belmont county, Ohio. When Mrs. Hunter was a child of seven years they came to Richland county, taking up their abode in the Ogden settlement, in Franklin and Weller townships, on the farm now owned by Roland Boyce. There the maternal grandparents of our subject lived and died. Mrs. Hunter became an active member of the Presbyterian church, and her admonition and example told forcibly on the lives of her children in making them honorable men and women. By her marriage she became the mother of seven children, of whom four are living, as follows : Priscilla, the wire of Fred McCarron, of Knox county, Ohio ; Thomas, of Shiloh, Ohio; Susan, the housekeeper for her brother Robert ; and Rebecca, the wife of Arthur Ferrell, of Blooming Grove township. Having mastered the common English branches of learning, Robert Hunter matriculated in Wooster University, Ohio, where he pursued a special course in civil engineering, and then entered Dartmouth College, leaving that institution one year before completing his course on account of ill health. His impaired constitution rendered him unfit for the work of civil engineering, and he returned to the farm, giving his attention to the development of the fields. He assumed the management of the home place after his father's death and continued the cultivation of the fields until after his mother's death, when he and his sister Susan purchased the old home farm, upon which they have since lived, neither having married. Mr. Hunter is an enterprising and progressive agriculturist, whose labors have been crowned with a creditable degree of success. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Hunter has served for three years as the township clerk and for six years as the township treasurer, capably .discharging the duties of the offices. Socially he is connected with Shiloh Lodge, of the Royal Arcanum. JOHN W. DAWSON. John W. Dawson, to whom fate has vouchsafed and honorable retirement from labor, as a reward of his active toil in former years, is now living at his home at No. 49 Second street, in Shelby. He was born in Lincoln- 308 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. shire, England, March 15, 1824, and when in his twentieth year came to the United States, making the voyage on a sailing vessel, which after thirty days reached the harbor of New York in October, 1844. Soon afterward he made his way to Plymouth, Ohio, where he had an uncle living who had come to the United States eight years before. Mr. Dawson crossed the Atlantic in company with a paternal uncle, William Dawson, who settled in Auburn township, Crawford county, Ohio. In that township the subject was employed as a farm hand for seven years, and on the 13th of March, 1850, he was married, securing as a companion and helpmate on life's journey Miss Mary Briggs, who was born in England and was reared in this country. They became the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters, but four are yet living : John H., a farmer and thresher, who has one son; Ira, of Cass township, who has two sons and a daughter ; George Edward, who is living in the same township, and has one daughter; and Effie Ann, the wife of David Hindley, of Huron county, by whom she has two daughters. The mother of the above named children died in 1893, and on the 26th of March, 1896, Mr. Dawson wedded Mrs. Sarah (Kilpatrick) Smith. The first land which he owned was an eighty-acre tract given him by his wife's father, who was an early settler of the county. He is to-day the owner of two valuable tracts of land, one of one hundred and fifty-five acres in Plymouth township and the other of fifty acres .in Cass township. He has good buildings upon these places and all the modern accessories and improvements. He does not personally engage in the cultivation of his land. It is now under the care of tenants, while he lives retired. Always fond of a good horse, he has seldom been without a fine white horse, noted for its speed and good qualities. At present he is in possession of a fine roadster that can pass any other horse in the neighborhood. Although seventy-six years of age, Mr. Dawson is still active, and often drives out to his farm six miles away. In the fall he and his neighbor, George Clark, hitch their horses together,—one white, the other black,—and bring in their supply of dry wood for the following year's consumption. In his political views he is a Democrat, and for two terms has served as a trustee of Plymouth township. For fourteen years he was a school director of his district, and did much to promote the efficiency of the schools by employing good teachers and endorsing good methods. For many years he has been identified with the Methodist Episcopal church, and has long served as one of its officers. Mr. Dawson is a splendid type of the English gentleman, strong and vigorous, reliable in business and possessed of many sterling traits of character. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 309 It may be of interest in this connection to note something of the family relations of our subject. He belongs to one of the old English families, his ancestors having for many generations resided on the "merrie isle." His father was John Dawson, and his mother bore the maiden name of Beacham. The former passed away about the year 1858, at the age of sixty years, after which the wife and mother with her daughters came to the new world and took up their abode in Plymouth, where they spent their remaining clays. The father had four brothers, and all were yeomen with the exception of one, who conducted an inn. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dawson were born two sons and five daughters who reached mature years. One sister, who was married, died at sea while on her way to Australia. All of her children have now passed away with the exception of John W. Dawson and his younger brother, who is now a farmer and freeholder in England, where he is extensively engaged in the cultivation of his land. He had two sons and several grandchildren. WILSON S. WEAVER. In the history of the representative men of Richland county Wilson Shannon Weaver certainly deserves mention, for he is numbered among the leading agriculturists of the county, and the lessons in his life are forceful and well worthy of emulation, his career demonstrating what it is possible for men to accomplish through resolute purpose, indefatigable energy, unflagging application and keen sagacity. He was born November 1, 1838, in Wayne county, Ohio, his parents being Jacob and Elizabeth (Fisher) Weaver, of whose family of six children he is the youngest survivor excepting his brother, Jacob Weaver, of Berea, Ohio. His father was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1799, and was there reared, learning the trade of shoemaker in early life. When a young man he left his home to seek a place of residence on the western frontier, taking up his abode in Wayne county, Ohio. A year or two afterward he came to Richland county and purchased the farm in Blooming Grove township upon which our subject now resides. A log cabin had been erected upon the place and a portion of the land had been cleared, the remainder being still in its primitive condition. His labors, however, soon enabled him to transform the tract into richly cultivated fields, and in connection with farming he also followed shoemaking for several years. In 1872 he removed to Huron county, Ohio, and after selling his farm in Richland county to his son Wilson purchased a farm a mile and a half southeast of Greenwich, making his 310 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. home thereon until his death, which occurred in 1873. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and in his political faith was a Democrat. On that ticket he was elected and for six years served as township treasurer of Blooming Grove township, his long retention indicating his trustworthiness and capability. He married Elizabeth Fisher, who was born in Germany in 1805 and came to the new world with her mother when a maiden of ten summers. They landed in Philadelphia and located in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Weaver passed away in 1866, and is now survived by four of her children, namely : Lucinda, the wife of John Rodgers, of Whitley county, Indiana; Wilhelmina, the wife of John Crouse, of Huron county; Wilson S. ; and Jacob, of Berea, this state. There is little to record concerning the early history of men who spend their days upon a farm. It is a record of work in the fields from the time of early spring planting until the crops are garnered and the barns are stored with the yield of the fields. In the common schools Mr. Weaver mastered the common branches of English learning and at home performed the tasks assigned him by his parents, enjoying all the sports in which boys of the period indulged. On the 22d of February, 1865, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Huston, a native of Richland county, and a daughter of Jesse Huston, one of the well-known farmers of the county, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver began their domestic life on the farm where Peter Myers now resides, directly north of the old homestead, his father having purchased forty acres of land there during the war. For two years Mr. Weaver made his home thereon, and then, by purchase, became the possessor of a forty-acre tract three-quarters of a mile north of Shenandoah. It was his place of residence until his removal to his present home in 1872. For twenty-eight years he has continued the development of the fields here. In the '8os he purchased the old Peter Snapp farm of one hundred and eleven acres. south of Rome, and in 1893 bought the Linsey farm of one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the home place, so that his landed possessions now aggregate three hundred and fifty-one acres. In 1884 Mr. Weaver was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, and their only child died in 1887. In May, 1899. he was again married, his second union being with Miss Sarah Benedict, a native of Richland county and a daughter of Abraham Benedict, one of the well-known and highly esteemed farmers of Blooming Grove township. Well informed on the questions of the day, Mr. Weaver supports the Democracy, believing that the principles of the party are best calculated to promote the welfare of the nation. The spirit of self-help is the source of all genuine worth in an CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 311 individual. Unless a man is extremely wealthy he is judged by his character, and his acts are weighed on the scale of public opinion. Thus judged, Mr. Weaver has never been "found wanting," for throughout his business career he has been honorable and trustworthy in all transactions, has been loyal to the duties of citizenship and faithful to the obligations of private life. HARRY T. MANNER. In the personnel of the bar of Richland county are to be found a number of young men who have attained prestige and honor, and of this number is Harry Thaddeus Manner, a popular representative of the legal profession in the city of Mansfield. A native son of Richland county, Mr. Manner was born in Monroe township on the 6th of October, 1872, the son of E. M. Manner, who was born in Green township, Ashland county, in 1842. From the above statement it will be at once inferred that our subject is a scion of pioneer stock in the Buckeye state. His paternal grandfather, Jacob Manner, was a native of the Old Dominion, having been born in Berkeley county, Virginia, December 9, 18o4. His father was Joseph Manner, who married Catharine Mentzer, and they came to Ohio in 1827, purchasing a tract of wild land in Richland township (a portion now included in Green township), Ashland county. On this property was an old mill, one of the first in this section of the state, and Joseph Manner put the same into repair and operated it successfully for many years. He died in April, 1840, at the age of seventy-eight years, and his widow died soon afterward, their remains being interred in Perryville cemetery. Jacob Manner, the grandfather of our subject, married Miss Jenette Calhoun, a daughter of Noble and Sarah (Taylor) Calhoun, of Monroe township, this county, and eventually Mr. Manner abandoned agricultural pursuits and engaged in the mercantile business in Newville. After a varied experience as a miller, merchant and farmer,—he having erected three mills and repaired a fourth,—he purchased of his father-in-law the latter's farm of two hundred and sixty acres, to which he added by purchasing an adjoining one hundred and forty acres, all located in Monroe township, and he thus became the owner of four hundred acres of as valuable land as may be found in this county, or even in the state. Before the advent of the railroads he was a pioneer in the live-stock business, driving the stock through to the eastern markets. He claimed also to have been the first man to ship live stock by rail from this county. In later years his sons, including the father 312 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. of our subject, continued the business on an extensive scale, and were known as the leading live-stock dealers of the county. It is interesting to note the fact that this line of enterprise is still carried on on the old homestead and by members of the family, and the industry, as thus effectively promoted, has proved of incalculable value to this section of the state. Our subject's mother, whose maiden name was Harriet Ann Johnson, was born in Mount Vernon, her father being a cousin of President Andrew Johnson. Harry T. Manner, the immediate subject of this review, received his more purely literary education in Greento wn Academy and at Perryville, and in the practical utilization of his acquirements engaged in teaching school for two years, having in the meanwhile determined to prepare himself for the legal profession. He prosecuted his legal studies under the direction of Messrs. Henry and Reed, of Mansfield, devoting himself assiduously to his work and gaining his admission to the bar in 1895, after which he began the practice of his profession in Mansfield, where his success has been marked and his clientele of a representative character. In politics he gives a stalwart allegiance to the Republican party, and he was at one time a candidate in the Republican caucus for the office of mayor of Mansfield. Mr. Manner married Miss Essie Miller, a daughter of John A. Miller, a lumber merchant of Butler, Ohio, and they have a little son, Kenneth. Mrs. Manner is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. Our subject has two brothers and one sister : Noble Calhoun is connected with the United States Express office in Mansfield ; Joseph M. is associated with his father in the stock business; and Jessie is the wife of W. A. Darling, of Perrysville, Ohio. H. H. METCALFE, M. D. A well known representative of the medical fraternity in Plymouth. Dr. Metcalfe has attained a position of prominence in the ranks of his profession in Richland county. He was born in South Marysburg township, Prince Edward county, Ontario, Canada, on the 25th of February, 1867. His father, Robert Metcalfe, was also a native of Ontario, born in 1839. He was of Irish descent and married a lady of English lineage. They are still living in Ontario and enjoy the high regard of all with whom they have been associated. The Doctor pursued his education in the place of his nativity and supplemented his preliminary course in the Oueen's University at Kingston, Ontario, where he was graduated in the class of 1895. He is also a graduate of the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College, and CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 313 thus well equipped for the practice of his profession he located in Plymouth in 1897, and has since secured a large and growing patronage. He is one of the most progressive and popular physicians of the county and his high rank in the fraternity is well deserved by reason of his thorough knowledge of medical principles and his excellent ability in applying these to the needs of suffering humanity. His labors have been attended with excellent results, and thus he has gained a place of distinction. The Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Ida Stephens at her home in Prince Edwards county, Ontario, November 26, 1889. They now have one son, Arden Bruce, who is nine years of age. Dr. Metcalfe is a member of several secret societies, including the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Ben Hur. Both he and his wife have a large circle of warm friends in Plymouth and their own home is celebrated for its gracious hospitality. The Doctor is a man of strong, character, of marked individuality, an earnest purpose and laudable ambition, and with these qualities to aid him we have no hesitancy in predicting that his will be a successful career. WASHINGTON McBRIDE. In some respects Washington McBride is a remarkable character. In this age of urban development and prosperity, few men of his strength of character and practical business qualifications are content to lead what may he called a pastoral life; and certainly few men have had the natural trend of sentiment and love for mother nature that would lead them to shun the more glittering opportunities for material advancement in a business or speculative city life; have had in their makeup so blended the rather unique qualities required to harmonize the nineteenth-century spirit of advancement and adaptation with the quiet life of the husbandman. It is true that his efforts have not been confined alone to one line, as he is actively connected with the banking interests of Mansfield, yet for many years he has been accounted one of the leading farmers of Mifflin township. He makes his home upon section 20. Through the whole course of his career the primary moving spirit that prompted his actions seems to have been improvement and advancement. A native of Monroe township, Richland county, Mr. McBride was born on the 1st of April, 1840, his parents being Duncan and Elizabeth (Chew) McBride. He is the only survivor of their family of five children. His father, Duncan McBride, was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, June 11, 1807, and was a son of Thomas and Mary (McVicker) McBride. The 314 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. former was a native of Callabackey, Ireland, born in 1771, and when a youth of fourteen years he accompanied his parents on their emigration to America. His father and mother were descended from Scotch ancestry who fled from Scotland to Ireland during the religious persecution in their own land. On the arrival of the McBride family in the United States the great-grandparents of our subject located on a farm in Hampshire county, Virginia, which was paid for the following year with earnings from the mother's spinning wheel. In the old colonial days Thomas McBride was reared to manhood, and in 1797 he married Mary McVicker. They continued to reside in Hampshire county, Virginia, until the spring of 1817. In the previous spring the grandfather had come to Ohio and entered from the government the south half of section 15 in Monroe township, Richland county. A year later he removed his family to this property, which was covered with a dense forest; but soon the sound of the woodman's ax was heard and the trees fell before his sturdy stroke. Then came the plow, and soon richly cultivated fields were seen where once stood the tall trees in their primeval strength. There Thomas McBride made his home until his life's labors were ended in death. Both he and his wife were active members of the United Presbyterian church for many years, and were people of the highest respectability, enjoying the esteem of all who knew them. He died April 27, 1824, in his fifty-fourth year, and was the first person buried in the Odd Fellows' cemetery near Lucas. His wife, surviving until May 8, 1833, passed away in her sixtieth year. They were the parents of five sons and two daughters, namely : Alexander, Agnes, John, Archibald, Duncan, Wilson and Mary. All are now deceased. Duncan McBride spent the first ten years of his life in the Old Dominion, and then became identified with pioneer interests in Richland county. He bore his share in the work of developing the farm and had the various pioneer experiences. He married Miss Elizabeth Chew, who was born in Harrison county, Ohio, August 8, 1808, a daughter of William and Lydia Ann Chew, who were of Welsh descent. Mrs. McBride died January 19, 1874. She was an earnest Christian woman and held membership in the Presbyterian church until 1864. Owing to her husband's death she then went to live with a daughter, and as there was no Presbyterian church in the neighborhood she transferred her membership to the Congregational church. Washington McBride obtained his education in the common schools of the primitive type, the building being constructed of logs and furnished in the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 315 style common on the frontier. When he had reached man's estate he was married, on the 26th of April, 1860, to Miss Mary A. Swan, a native of Richland county and a daughter of Jesse Swan, a large land owner of Monroe township. The young couple began their domestic life on a farm on Black Fork in Monroe township, Mr. McBride giving his attention to agricultural pursuits. There they lived for three years, but the wife suffered from malaria and in consequence he sold out and came to Mifflin township, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 20, the place of his present residence. During the succeeding ten years he carried on farming and stock raising, with excellent success, acquiring a handsome competence, which enabled him on the organization of the old Mansfield Savings Bank in 1873 to become one of its leading stockholders. He was a member of the board of the executive committee during his twenty years' connection with that institution. About 1890 he became one of the stockholders of the Bank of Mansfield, and in 1898 he disposed of his interests there in order to purchase stock in the Citizens' Bank. On the organization of the Richland Savings Bank in 1898 he purchased a large share of the stock in that institution, was made one of its directors and has since served in that position. He is a man of sound business judgment, giving careful conideration to all questions connected with the conduct of the enterprise with which he is associated. His opinions are reliable, as is shown by his prosperous career. By Mr. McBride's first marriage four children were born, of whom two are now living. Franklin Elmer, the eldest son, was a graduate of the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, and of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of Chicago. He died in Kalgan, China, where he had gone as a medical missionary, his death occurring July 6, 1890, at the age of twenty-eight years, four months and twenty-nine days. William S., born October 12, 1864, died March 3, 1888. Lilly A. is the wife of John M. Van Tilburg, a farmer of Madison township. Lora E., the youngest daughter, is the wife of Ezra Kuenzli, a farmer of Wyandot county, Ohio. The mother died January 22, 1873, and Mr. McBride was again married December 17, 1874, his second union being with Miss Mary A. Au, a daughter of Jacob Au, one of the well-known farmers of Mifflin township, who came to the county in 1855, but is now deceased. By the second marriage ten children have been born : Margaret E. was born February 5, 1876, and is a student in the Western Female College, at Oxford, Ohio. Maria May was born May 8, 1878, and is attending the Western Female College. Charles Washington was born May 27, 188o; Curtis G., November 16, 1882 Nettie G., 316 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. December 11, 1885; Mary L, October 3, 1888; Thomas F., November 24, 189o; Hubbell R., May 1, 1892; Chester W., November 17, 1894; and Arthur A., September 26, 1896. Mr. McBride votes with the Republican party, and in 1893 was its nominee for the position of county treasurer, but Richland county is strongly Democratic and in consequence he was defeated. He has several times served as a member of the school board and in other local offices. He holds membership in the First Congregational church of Mansfield, and is not slow to give his support to interests which contribute to the moral, material, social and intellectual welfare of the community. He is a man of action rather than theory. While others might argue in debate he goes to work and practically demonstrates his position, which in almost every instance is correct. His success has been well and worthily won, and his fellow citizens of Richland county entertain the highest regard for Washington McBride. WILLIAM H. WEAVER. William H. Weaver is a well-known farmer and stock-raiser of Richland county and a member of the firm of Weaver Brothers, whose reputation in the line of their chosen vocation is both wide and commendable. He is a man of excellent business and executive ability, who forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution. He carries to successful completion whatever he undertakes if it can be accomplished by honorable methods, and as a representative of the great department of agriculture he is well known., The farm is located on section 26, Sharon township, near Vernon Junction. Mr. Weaver was born in Wyandot county, Ohio, September 4, 1866. His father, John Weaver, was born in Crawford county, Ohio, June 12, 1835, a son of John D. Weaver, a native of France. The last named was born in 1804 and when a young man crossed the Atlantic, locating in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He followed the butcher's trade and was among the pioneer settlers of Richland county, who from the government entered eighty acres of land, for which he paid a dollar and a quarter per acre. He was married in. Pittsburg to Miss Magdalene Ball, a native of France, and they became the parents of twelve children, eight sons and four daughters. They lost one son and one daughter in childhood, but nine of the family are now living; and of this number, with one exception, all are married and have families of their own, and most of them are farming people. The grandparents of our subject began life in limited circumstances amid humble stir- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 317 roundings, but by industry and economy they prospered. The grandfather died in 1880, and his widow passed away in 1892, at the age of eighty-one years, their remains being interred in the Congregational cemetery in the Shelby settlement. Having arrived at years of maturity, John Weaver was married, in the fall of 1861, to Miss Mary B. Remlinger, who was born in France in 1840, and during her girlhood was brought to America by her parents, Martin and Barbara Remlinger, who went to Buffalo, New York. They were farming people and had a family of ten children, eight of whom reached mature years and are now married and have families. Soon after his marriage John Weaver was drafted for service in the Civil war. He began farming on one hundred and twenty acres of land in. Richland county, owned by his father, and four years later he removed to Wyandot county, where he carried on agricultural pursuits for six years. His children are as follows : William, of this review ; Frank J., who is in partnership with his brother; John E., who is married and resides in Shelby ; Rosa, the wife of Will Gosser, of Crawford county, Ohio, by whom she has three children ; Anna, the wife of Peter Keller, by whom she has two children; and Charles D., who is living on the home farm. The first three children were born in Wyandot county, and three upon the old homestead in Richland county. The farm here comprises one hundred and twenty acres of land, belonging to the widowed mother. The sons, William and Frank, are the owners of one hundred and ninety-six acres of land on section 31, Shannon township, and upon this farm a tenant resides. They are now extensively engaged in buying and shipping hogs, sheep and cattle, William Weaver attending to this branch of the business, while Frank operates a profitable sawmill, purchasing tracts of timber land from which he cuts the trees, converting them into lumber. William Weaver was married April 3o, 1893, to Miss Mary E. Fry, a native of Richland county and a daughter of Conrad Fry, who was of German lineage. By this marriage three children have been born : Edward. who was born April 24, 1894; Wilfred, born August 31, 1896; and Norbert, born April 2. 1898. Mr. Weaver is a Democrat, and has served for two years as a township trustee. He and his family are connected with the Catholic church. He believes in having good roads and is a stanch advocate of the pike system. In the last three years fifteen miles of pike have been laid, the residents being greatly benefited thereby. Public spirited and progressive, Mr. Weaver 318 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. withholds his support from no measure which he believes would prove for the general good, and is a valued citizen of his community. In business affairs he is energetic, prompt and notably reliable. Tireless energy, keen ,perception and earnestness of purpose are numbered among his strong characteristics, and have been the means of winning him a place among the substantial citizens of Richland county. JOHN W. HAFER. John W. Hafer, contractor and builder of Shelby, Ohio, who resides at No. 188 West Main street, was born in Sharon township, Richland county, Ohio, April 28, 1858. His father, Frederick Hafer, was born January 2, 1831, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, removing thence in 1852 to Canton, Ohio, driving the entire distance with a team of horses and wagon. By trade he has always been a carpenter, and has followed the business of contractor and builder for many years, but removed to Shelby in 1854. About this time he was married, in Mansfield, to Margaret Meeks, who died in 188o, the mother of eight children, five of whom grew to mature years. Dora, the youngest of the family, married Curtis Willis, and died at the age of twenty-four, leaving three children. The five that still live are as follows : Emma, the wife of Marion Taylor, living in Springfield township and having one son and two daughters ; John W., the subject of this sketch ; Alva, living in Shelby, and having five daughters ; Elsie, living in Cleveland, Ohio, and having two sons and one daughter ; and Frederick J., living in Shelby, unmarried. The father is now living with his third wife, but has no other children than those named above. John W. Hafer was well educated in the common school, attending until he was fifteen years of age, when he began to learn the carpenter's trade with his father. In 188o he established himself in the building business, and has been thus engaged ever since, most of the time alone, but from 1890 to 1895 he had as a partner a Mr. Slaybaugh. December 23, 188o, he was married to Miss Emma Wagner in Salem Center, Steuben county, Indiana, by whom he had one son, born March 28, 1884, and now a bright young man in school. Mrs. Hafer died October 12, 1887, at the age of thirty-one. Mr. Hafer married for his second wife Ida May Taylor; of Franklin township, a daughter of Robert Taylor, and by this marriage he has three children, viz. : Nellie, who died at the age of seven years ; a Democrat, but so far has succeeded in escaping office, with the single Ray, a boy of seven years, born April 14, 1893 ; and Carl, born November CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 319 7, 1896. Mr. Hafer is a member of the National Union, and in politics is exception of county commissioner. His present large frame residence he erected in 1876; and he has erected most of the blocks and public buildings in Shelby and has had numerous contracts in other places. At different times he employs from five to fifty men, according to the work he has on hand, his father and one of his brothers working for him. Mr. Hafer is one of the self-made men of his county, has made by his own exertions what property he now owns, and though not wealthy is well-to-do and carries on a prosperous business. He is well known to many and well thought of by all that know him. DAVID L. COCKLEY. In this enlightened age when men of energy, industry and merit are rapidly pushing their way to the front, those who by individual effort have won favor and fortune may properly claim recognition. That the plenitude of satiety is seldom attained in the affairs of life is to be considered as a most grateful and beneficial deprivation, for where ambition is satisfied and every ultimate aim realized—if such is possible—there must follow individual apathy. Effort would cease, accomplishment be prostrate and creative talent waste its energies in supine inactivity. The men who have pushed forward the wheels of progress have been those to whom satiety lay ever in the future, and they have labored continuously and have not failed to find in each transition stage an incentive for further effort. Mr. Cockley belongs to this class of men and his activity in the business world has not only gained for him a handsome fortune, but has also been the means of contributing to the general welfare and the substantial growth and improvement of the community with which he is associated. He is numbered among the native sons of Richland county, his birth having occurred in Lexington on the 8th of June, 1843. His parents were Benjamin and Fannie (Winterstem) Cockley, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. They had three sons and two daughters. Of their sons, W. 'W. was born in 1840, and Allen was born in 1847 and died in 1882. Of the sisters, one died in infancy, while the other, Mrs. L. A. Corbus, is still living, now sixty-two years of age. Under the parental roof Mr. Cockley, of this review, spent his early boyhood clays, and at the age of seventeen years enlisted in the Fifteenth Ohio Infantry, in which he served for six months. He then enlisted for a three-years term, was with the Army of the Cumberland and went with 320 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea. He joined the service as a private, but was promoted through the various ranks until he became. the captain of Company D, of the Tenth Regiment of Ohio. He received a special medal of honor from Congress for leading a charge at Waynesboro, Georgia, on the 4th of December, 1864, and in August, 1865, he was mustered out with a very creditable military record. After the war Mr. Cockley engaged in buying cattle in Texas, driving from Dallas to St. James, Missouri, and sending from one hundred to one hundred and fifty head in a drove. After his marriage, in 1867, he was engaged in the lumber business for two years and then became connected with a wholesale house, that of Hart, Bliven & Mead, wholesale hardware merchants of New York. About that time he established a retail store at Shelby, but traveled for the wholesale store for seven years. He also conducted the hardware business for about twelve years, when he sold the store to the firm of Seltzer & Steele. He then purchased a controlling interest in the Shelby Mill Company, of which he was the president for five years, and during that period he organized the Shelby Steel Tube Company, of which he was for six years the president and manager. It was incorporated for one hundred thousand dollars and became the largest establishment of the kind in the World, employing seven hundred and eighty workmen. Its financial affairs were capably conducted by Mr. Cockle), and thereby the success of the concern was largely insured. In 1893 he established the Shelby Cycle Manufacturing Company, which was incorporated with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, but recently the business has been sold to the American Bicycle Company. In 180 Mr. Cockle), was instrumental in forming what is known as the Rib Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of umbrella ribs and other articles in that line. The business was incorporated for one hundred thousand dollars and work is now furnished to sixty employes, one-third of whom are women and girls.. The enterprise has proved a profitable one, its trade from the beginning constantly increasing. The plant is splendidly equipped with first-class machinery and the output is satisfactory in quality, Mr. Cockley's name always being the guarantee in that line. He is a man of splendid business and executive ability, resourceful and enterprising, and has been a leading factor in many concerns which have contributed in a large measure to the progress and prosperity of this section of the state. He is now the president of the First National Bank of Crestline, Ohio, is a director in the Perrysville Banking Company the Snow Fork & Hocking Valley Railroad Company the Toledo Cash Register Company, of Toledo, and the Railway Cycle Manufacturing Company of Hagerstown, Indiana. He carries to CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 321 successful completion whatever he undertakes, and his judgment is so sound and unerring that his counsel carries weight in all business conferences. In 1867 Mr. Cockley was married to Miss Eunice L. Palmer, of Mansfield, Ohio. Their eldest son, Willard A., was born April 25, 1869, and is now traveling for the Magnolia Metal Company, of Philadelphia. Harry was born in 1872 and is secretary of the Shelby Steel Tube Company. The daughter, Fanny L., was born in 1880. Willard completed his education in the Shelby high school ; Harry, in Oberlin College ; and Fanny has been a student at the People's and Thompson's College in New York. Mr. Cockley is a trustee of the Toledo State Hospital. He served as a colonel and aid-de-camp on the staff of Governor Bushnell for four years and has taken considerable interest in local politics, but has. never had the time nor inclination to seek public office. He is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree. He has also attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite in the Cleveland consistory. He is held in the highest respect by those who know him best, including Colonel C. A. Vaughn, of Chicago, who says that he was ever ready for duty and never shirked an order. The same fidelity has characterized his actions in every walk of life and he sustains an unassailable reputation in business, and in social circles is well known for those qualities which endear a man to his fellow men. He entertains broad, liberal views, inspires strong personal friendships and commands the respect of all with whom he is associated. His career clearly illustrates the possibilities that are open in this country to earnest, persevering young men who have the courage of their convictions and are determined to be the architects of their own fortunes. When judged by what he has accomplished, his right to mention among the representative citizens of Shelby cannot be questioned. J. W. PORCH. For many years this gentleman was actively identified with the business interests of Mansfield. He is one of the most prominent and influential members of the Odd Fellows fraternity in this state, and has taken a very active part in its work. Mr. Porch was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1834, a son of David and Catherine (Hess) Porch and a grandson of David Hess, all natives of the Keystone state. His grandfather became one of the most prosperous and successful farmers of Knox county, Ohio. On leaving Pennsylvania, in 1836, his father, with his family, moved to Holmes county, Ohio, 322 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. in 1844, took up his residence in Knox county, and in 1874 came to Mansfield, where he died in 1895, at the ripe old age of eighty-six years. He was a farmer by occupation, and was well known and highly esteemed. The Democratic party found in him an active supporter of its principles, and he efficiently served as justice of the peace in Knox county for many years. On leaving the home farm J. W. Porch went to Fredericktown, Knox county, where he attended high school, and then learned the joiner's trade, at which he worked in that place from 1852 to 1864. In the latter year he came to Mansfield, which has since been his home and from 1868 to 1896 was in the employ of the Aultman-Taylor Company in their wood department, being foreman of the framing department. Since then he has lived retired. At Fredericktown, Knox county, Mr. Porch was married, in 1859, to Miss Mary Jane Baxter, a daughter of David Baxter, a well-known auctioneer of that county. By this union were born two children : Lola D., the wife of J. H. Krause, a grocer ; and Annie J., the wife of Milton W. Conley, a druggist,—both of Mansfield. By his ballot Mr. Porch supports the men and measures of the Democratic party. Since 1856 he has affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; served as scribe of the local encampment for a quarter of a century ; and was three times elected to office on the state ticket, being grand junior warden in 1872 ; grand high priest in 1875 ; and grand patriarch in 1877. The last named is the highest state office in that fraternity. As an officer and representative he attended the grand encampment of the state for about thirty years, and by that body was presented with a gold rope chain and jewel as a memento. No man in the state is better posted on the laws of the order, and he has made a splendid record in the lodge. He is widely and favorably known, and those who know him best are numbered among his warmest friends. He also filled the office of township clerk two terms twenty-three years ago ; for a number of years was a member of the Mansfield board of education, and in April, 1899, was elected trustee of Madison township for a term of three years. CHARLES H. HUSTON. Richland county, Ohio, has been singularly fortunate in the personnel of her professional men, who have stood for honor and integrity of character and for exceptional ability in their chosen fields of endeavor. An able representative of the legal fraternity in the county is he whose name intro- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 323 duces this paragraph. He is a member of the well-known firm of Laser & Huston, who control a representative clientage as identified with the bar of the county, with headquarters at Mansfield. Charles Henry Huston is a native son of Richland county, having been born in Butler township, in the year 1870. The year subsequent to his birth the family removed to Blooming Grove township, where his father, James Huston, now resides, aged fifty-eight years. He also claims Richland as his native county, his birth having taken place in Franklin township, on the 18th of February, 1841. He devotes his attention to the basic art of agriculture, carrying on operations on an extensive scale and being recognized as one of the leading and influential farmers of the county. James Huston has taken a public-spirited interest in all that has conserved the progress and prosperity of the county, and he has figured as one of the leading factors in the local ranks of the Democratic party, of whose principles and policies he has been a stalwart advocate. Jesse Huston, the grandfather of the immediate subject of this review, was of good old Scottish stock and was a native of the Keystone state, emigrating from Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, to Ohio, when a young man of twenty years, locating first in Weller township, Richland county, and later removing to Jackson township, where he was a successful agriculturist for many years. He married Margaret Thrush, and his death occurred in the year 1879, at which time he had attained the venerable age of seventy-five years. Jesse and Margaret Huston were the parents of two sons and four daughters, James, the father of our subject, being the youngest in order of birth. The others are noted as follows : Ira Huston, of Blooming Grove township ; Mary, the wife of David Bowls, of Mifflin township; Maggie, the wife of David Sampsel, of Butler township; Nancy, the wife of John Wolfe, of Cass township ; and Elizabeth, who married Shannon Weaver, of Blooming Grove township, now deceased. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Dorcas Zeigler, and she was born in Butler township, this county, on the 25th of January, 1842, the daughter of Henry and Margaret (Miller) Zeigler, who came here from Pennsylvania in an early day. Mrs. Huston entered. into eternal rest in 188o, aged thirty-six years, leaving four sons and two daughters, of whom Charles H. was the second in order of birth, a brief record of the other members of the family being here incorporated : Carrie is the wife of Jesse Esbenshade, of Ashland county, Ohio ; Rufus married Miss Sadie Oswalt, of Greenwich, this state; Ransom married Miss Maggie McCormack, 324 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. and is a resident of Blooming Grove township, he being the twin brother of Rufus; and Jesse remains on the old homestead. In 1882 James Huston consummated a second marriage, being then united to Miss Mary E. Lattimore, a daughter of James and Nancy Lattimore, of Blooming Grove township, and of this union two children have been born,—Bertha and Ora, both of whom are still at the parental home. James Huston served in the transportation corps, at Nashville, Tennessee, during the war of the Rebellion, and in the same great struggle a brother of his first wife was an active participant, being taken prisoner and sacrificing his life in Andersonville prison. Charles H. Huston grew up under the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the farm, receiving excellent educational advantages. He secured his preliminary scholastic discipline in the common schools, completing the prescribed course in the high school at Shiloh, after which he put his acquirements to the practical test by teaching school for five terms,—covering a period from 1889 to 1892,—being successful in his' pedagogic work. His desire for a more advanced education led to his matriculation in the Tri-State College, at Angola, Indiana, in the scientific department of which institution he graduated, as a member of the class of 1894. Having determined to make the legal profession his life work, he began reading law under the preceptorship of J. C. Laser, of Mansfield, devoting himself so assiduously to his studies as to secure admission to the bar of the state in I 897. He at once entered upon the active practice of his profession, associating himself with his former preceptor Mr. Laser, under the firm name of Laser & Huston, and the clientage of the firm is of a distinctively representative order, the ability and professional prestige of the interested principals insuring the constant expansion of their business. The inherent patriotism of Mr. Huston was signally exemplified at the outbreak of the late Spanish-American war, when he enlisted as a member of Company M, Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, proceeding with his regiment to Camp Bushnell, at the state capital. Thence they went to Camp Alger, Virginia, where Company M was detached and assigned to guard duty and clerkships in the quartermaster's and commissariat department at Dunlowing station. They left camp July 5, 1898, and embarked on the cruiser St. Paul, at New York, on the following day. On the loth of the month Company M and three other companies of the First Battalion 'landed at Siboney, fourteen miles from Santiago, and on the following clay were ordered to the fighting line in the trenches, but owing to the swollen condition of the San Juan river did not reach their assigned position until the 12th, on