350 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. becoming one of the liberators of his adopted country. When hostilities ceased he settled down to private life and was married November 25, 1786, to Rosann Miller, also a native of Germany. They made their home near Martinsburg, Virginia, and the fact that he owned a large tract of land in that locality leads the family to believe that it was a grant from the colonial government. There he made his home throughout the remainder of his life. Jacob Hout, the grandfather of Clayton B., was born near Martinsburg, Virginia, on the 18th of April, 1794, and in early life migrated to Jefferson county, Ohio, where he made his home for some years, but in 1820 moved to Richland county. Though he died at an early age he succeeded in acquiring a handsome property, becoming the owner of five hundred and forty acres of valuable land. Throughout life he followed the occupation of farming. He was twice married, his first wife being Catherine Simpson, by whom he had four children, of whom Peter is the only survivor, and is represented on another page of this volume. His second wife was Mary Williams, a native of New York state, who died October 3, 1862, in her fifty-ninth year. To them were born two children, but George, the father of our subject, is the only one living. George Hout was born September 3o, 1829, in Mifflin township, Richland county, Ohio, and was but nine years of age at the time of his father's death. However, he and his three older brothers attended to the work of the farm for five years, while his mother managed affairs. There he grew to manhood, assuming the management of the place at an early day. In 1856 he was united in marriage with Miss Martha Lantz, who was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1826. Her father, Abraham Lantz, also a native of the Keystone state, came to Ohio about 1830, and settled in Madison township, Richland county, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres, making it his home until called to his final rest. George Hout brought his bride to the old homestead, and his mother made her home with them up to the time of her death. Upon that place he still resides, in the house where he was born over seventy years ago. He is one of the most highly respected and honored citizens of his community, is a Republican in politics, and is a member of Mansfield Lodge, No. 35, F. & A. M. In his family were three children, the surviving members being Byron B. and Clayton B. At his parental home Clayton B. Hout passed the days of his boyhood and youth, and pursued his studies in the common schools of that locality. On the II th of March, 1881, he was united in marriage with Miss Fleeta Stillwagon, a native of Ashland county, Ohio, and a daughter of George Stillwagon, a veteran of the Mexican war and a prominent farmer of CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 351 Ashland county, now deceased. By this union was born one child, Cloyd C., at home. After the marriage of our subject the father turned the management of the farm over to him, and in the nineteen years that have since passed he has demonstrated his ability as a thorough and skillful agriculturist. He has steadily prospered and is to-day considered one of the progressive and substantial farmers of the county. Politically he is a stanch supporter of the Republican party and its principles; has been a delegate to numerous. county conventions; and in the spring of 1900 was a delegate to the congressional convention held at Norwalk. Fraternally he is an honored member of Courtney Camp, No. 3505, M. W. A. ; and Matamora Tribe, I. 0. R. M.; and religiously is one of the prominent members of the United Brethren church, in which he is serving as a steward. Byron B. Hout was born in Mifflin township, Richland county, Ohio, February 9, 1857, and is one of the progressive farmers of this township. He married Alice G. Kauffman, by whom he has a son and a daughter. He is a strong Republican and a representative citizen. AARON SCHAUCK. The subject of this review, who is now deceased, was for many years one of the leading farmers and highly respected citizens of Troy township, Richland county, Ohio. He was born in Maryland on the 5th of February, 1812, but at an early day came to this county with his father, Henry Schauck, and remained with him on the home farm in Troy township until the latter's death, when he took charge of the place. On the 1st of March, 1855, Mr. Schauck was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth A. Eckert, a daughter of Daniel Eckert,. and they became the parents of one child, Almira C., who was born July 2, 1856, and died February 19, 1864. After his marriage Mr. Schauck continued to live on the old homestead for six years, and then removed to the farm on. which his widow now resides. When he located thereon the land was covered with a heavy growth of timber, which he cleared away. soon placing acre after acre under the plow until he had one of the most highly cultivated farms in Troy township. It consisted of eighty-nine acres of arable land, upon which he successfully engaged in general farming throughout the remainder of his life, dying there October 30, 1883. Mr. Schauck contributed to the support of churches, and his influence was always found. upon the side of right and order. Politically he was a 352 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. strong Republican and an ardent advocate of its principles. He was a man of strong character and firm determination, and his upright, honorable course in life commended him to the esteem and respect of all with whom he came in contact. His widow,who still resides upon the home farm, is a member of the United Evangelical church and is a most estimable lady, whose circle of friends and acquaintances is extensive. WILLIAM H. ROASBERRY, M. D. One of the most exacting of all the higher lines of occupation to which a man may lend his energies is that of the physician. A most scrupulous preliminary training is demanded, a nicety of judgment but little understood by the laity. Our subject is well fitted for the profession which he has chosen as a life work, and his skill and ability have won for him a lucrative practice. The Doctor was born in Ontario, Richland county, September 21, 1854, a son of Oliver and Nancy J. (Crabbs) Roasberry, who were natives of the same place. His paternal grandparents, William and Martha (Booth) Roasberry, were both natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and in 1818 came to Ohio, locating on a farm three miles south and west of Ontario. The grandfather subsequently sold that place and bought another farm four miles west of Mansfield, where he made his home until death. By trade he was a stone-cutter, and on first coming to this state he followed that occupation during the winter months, while engaging in' farming during the summer season. He was twice married, our subject's grandmother being his send wife. Oliver Roasberry, the Doctor's father, was reared on the home farm and educated in the common schools. As he grew up he learned the stone-cutter's trade of his father, and soon after his marriage he and his brother Michael established themselves in the monument and gravestone business in Galion, Ohio, but after a short time spent at that place moved to Mansfield, carrying on the business now conducted by E. M. Wolff, at that place. The father succeeded in business at this place, and was numbered among the leading citizens of the town. He died in 1869, and his widow afterward married a Mr. Greenfield, and now resides in Ashland, Nebraska. By her first marriage she became the mother of four children, three of whom are still living, namely : William H., of this review ; Franklin, a resident of Olivesburg, Ohio ; and Amelda, the wife of Joseph Case, of Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Roasberry began his literary education in the home schools, and CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 353 for three terms was a student at the normal school in Ada, Ohio. In the fall of 1876 he took up teaching, and successfully followed that profession for four years. Having previously decided to make the practice of medicine his life work, he devoted his holidays and evenings to study along that line, and during the summer vacations read medicine under the able direction of Dr. H. Mera, now professor of materia medica and theory and practice in the Detroit Homeopathic Medical College. In the fall of 1879 Dr. Roasberry entered Hahnemann Medical College at Chicago, and was graduated there in the spring of 1885,, After his graduation he located in Olivesburg, Ohio, where he has since successfully engaged in practice with the exception of three years spent at Stuart, Holt county, Nebraska. He enjoys an extensive practice, probably doing more driving than any other physician in the county, and keeping a number of horses for that purpose. He is thoroughly up to date in his methods, keeping abreast with the latest discoveries and theories in the science of medicine and surgery. The Doctor has a charming home presided over by an accomplished wife. He was married, in September, 1879, to Miss Mattie Au, a daughter of Captain Christopher Au, of Ontario, and to them have been born tour children : Morris, a graduate of the Savannah Academy in preparation for a medical course ; Earl, who is attending the same institution ; Eunice and Leota. The older son shows decided talent as an artist, and many specimens of his work adorn the home. The Doctor and his wife are both active and prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a trustee, and he also holds membership in Ontario Lodge, I. O. O. F. Politically he is a Democrat. MARION M. DARLING. Upon a pleasant home of one hundred and fifty-seven acres in Monroe township Marion M. Darling makes his home. He was born on this place September 15, 1859, a son of Abraham and Rebecca Anne (Manchester) Darling. He represents an old Virginia family. His grandfather, William Darling, was born in Virginia, whence he removed with his parents to Coshocton county, Ohio, and in the early clay took up his abode in Richland county, entering the land from the government. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made upon the place, but with marked energy he began its development and followed farming and stock-raising. He was one of the most extensive stock dealers in this section of the country and drove his stock to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, before there were any railroads. He 354 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. accumulated considerable land and left a farm to each of his five sons and two daughters. Prominent in public affairs, he exercised potent influence in the progress and upbuilding of the community, and his labors were of marked benefit. He donated the ground upon which was erected the first Lutheran church, and in many ways contributed to the public good. His death occurred when he had attained the age of fifty-six years. His father, Robert Darling, was also a native of Virginia. Abraham Darling, the father of our subject, was born on the 31st of May, 1824, on the old family homestead in Worthington township, where he was also reared. At the time of his marriage his father gave him the farm now owned by our subject, and upon that place he spent his remaining days. He wedded Rebecca Ann Manchester, who was born in Holmes county, Ohio, January 9, 1829, and came to this county during her girlhood. Both Mr. and Mrs. Darling were active members of the Lutheran church, and he was a Democrat in politics. On the ticket of that party he was elected township trustee and proved a capable officer. His wife died January 26, 1897, at the age of sixty-eight years, and he passed away on the loth of August, 1898. They had seven children, of whom two died in infancy, the others being Mary F., the wife of Thomas H. Beavers, a stock dealer of Perrysville, Ohio ; William A., a farmer of Ashland county, Ohio ; Luther E., who is engaged in merchandising in Marshalltown, Iowa ; Marion M. ; and Walter A., who is the proprietor of a fruit farm in Monroe township. Marion M. Darling was reared under the parental roof and early became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He remained at home until twenty-five years of age, when he rented land in Monroe township and cultivated the same for two years. On the expiration of that period he went to DeKalb county, where he conducted his father's farm for two years, after which he returned and took charge of the old home place, continuing its cultivation until his parents' death, when he purchased the property. He has since given his time to its further development and improvement, and has now one of the most attractive and desirable farms in this portion of the county, the fields being well tilled and everything about the place kept in good condition. Mr. Darling has been twice married. He first wedded Miss Ida Cole, a daughter of John Cole, of Worthington township. She was a member of the Lutheran church and died at the age of twenty-nine years, leaving one son, Howard C., who is now at home. For his second wife Mr. Darling chose Miss Silva, a daughter of Josiah Switzer, of Richland county, and they have three children—G. Blake, C. Carlton and Bonnie Belle,—all at home. The CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 355 parents are members of the Lutheran church, in which Mr. Darling has served as a trustee and deacon. In politics he is a Democrat and socially is connected with Letonia Lodge, No. 507, K. of P., of Perrysville. He is one of the representative young farmers of Richland county, enterprising and progressive, honorable in all his dealings, faithful in friendship and reliable in all life's relations. BENJAMIN J. WILLIAMS. In modern ages, and to a large extent in the past, banks have constituted a vital part of organized society, and governments, both monarchial and popular, have depended upon them for material aid in times of depression and trouble. Their influence has extended over the entire world, and their prosperity has been the barometer which has unfalteringly indicated the financial status of all nations. Of this important branch of business Benjamin J. Williams is a worthy representative, having for a number of years been the cashier of the First National Bank. He was born in Marion, Ohio, June 23, 1842, a son of Walter and Jane (Williams) Williams. His father was a native of Wales and his mother of Ohio. His father died in Missouri, in 1862, at the age of forty-five years, while his widow survived him until 1899, passing away at the age of seventy-six years. In their family were four children, three sons and one daughter, namely : John T., James W., Benjamin J. and Elizabeth J. In 1858 the family removed from Marion to St. Louis county, Missouri. Benjamin J. Williams became deeply interested in the incidents which led up to the Civil war, and when hostilities were inaugurated between the north and the south he resolved to strike a blow in defense of the Union, enlisting in the home company of Major Inks' battalion, with which he served for one year. He then came to Ohio and enlisted in the Ninety-sixth Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, with which he served throughout the remainder of the war. His command was attached to the Army of the Tennessee, and after the siege of Vicksburg his regiment entered the Department of the Gulf, where they remained until the close of the war. Mr. Williams then returned to his home in Missouri and was engaged in railroad work until 1872, when he resigned and came to Shelby, Ohio. Here he organized the First National Bank and 'has since served as its cashier. He is a very popular officer, is prompt in the execution of business, at all times reliable, and by his honorable methods has secured a liberal patronage. He assisted in the organization of the Shelby Steel Tube Company, of which he has been director from the beginning, while for three years he acted as the 356 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. secretary and treasurer. This is a very extensive concern, capitalized for thirteen million dollars. He is a director in the Shelby Water Company, which was incorporated for eighty thousand dollars, and is also a director of the Easy Spring Hinge Company, which was incorporated and has a capital stock of sixty thousand dollars. On the 24th of December, 1868, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Ida Whiting, of Buffalo, New York, a daughter of D. W. and Susan (Page) Whiting. In their family are four children—Mrs. Florence Williams Haynes, Lucia Williams, Beatty B. and Charles Whiting. Beatty is now a mechanical engineer in the Tube Works. Both sons are graduates of Oberlin College, of the class of 1899, and Florence is a graduate of the Wesleyan University, at Delaware, of the class of 1890. Mr. Williams belongs to the Masonic lodge of Shelby and the Grand Army of the Republic, and the family attend the Methodist Episcopal church. Over the record of his public and private career there falls no shadow of wrong or the suspicion of evil, and he is known as a citizen whose judgment is sound, whose business methods are honorable and who is also true and loyal wherever he is found. DAVID CRALL. David Crall, one of the foremost and most successful farmers of Richland county, Ohio,. whose farm is situated in section 19, Sharon township, and whose postoffice is Vernon Junction, was born at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1821, on the 25th of November. He is a son of Henry Crall, who was born at the same place in 1779, and died in Crawford county, Ohio, when in his eighty-fourth year. His father also was named Henry. The maiden name of the grandmother of the subject of this sketch was Schopp. The Crall family came originally from Switzerland and settled in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, in 1740, and in this county one of the descendants still lives and owns a farm. The maiden name of the mother of the subject was Elizabeth Henshaw, who was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She married Mr. Crall in 1809. They were well-to-do and prominent farmers and sold their Pennsylvania farm in 1845 to the state. David Crall first came to Ohio in 1844, riding across the Alleghany mountains on horseback ad consuming nine days in making the journey to Ohio. After purchasing an eighty-acre farm, upon which had been erected a log house and barn, he returned in the fall of the same year to his old home in Pennsylvania, returning to his Ohio farm in the spring of 1845. This farm cost him in cash thirteen hundred dollars and upon it some clear- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 357 ing had been done and there were a good many girdled trees. Upon his return in the spring of 1845 he was accompanied by his eldest brother Simon, who was married and brought his wife with him to this then new country. They all three lived in the log house one year, and in the spring of 1846 the subject was married to Miss Maria Stentz, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John and Sophia (Mentz) Stentz, they being also of Harrisburg-, and having settled in the dense forest in that vicinity in 1834. They were industrious, honest and well-to-do farmers, owning two good farms and having a family of two sons and eight daughters. Mr. Stenz died at the age of sixty-eight, and his widow at the age of eighty-two. Both rest from their labors in Oakland cemetery, a beautiful city of the dead. Mr. and Mrs. Crall began their domestic life in a hewed-log house and hewed out a home in the woods, when wild game was plentiful and neighbors few and far between. To the eighty-acre farm originally purchased in 1844 they have added from time to time other acres, until his landed possessions amount to two hundred and ninety acres, or did amount to that number of acres before the construction of the railroads through this part of the county. Then Mr. Crall laid out the village of Junction City, the plat of which contained about ten acres, and this, together with what has since been occupied by the railroad, reduced the size of his farm. He and his wife are the parents of nine children, three sons and six daughters, as follows : Elizabeth, the wife of Ezra Kochenderfer, a sawmill owner of Richland county: they have one son and five daughters; John, who Occupies and manages the old farm and who married Mattie Sipe; Sophronia, the wife of William Hollengbaugh, of Plymouth township; William Rhinehardt, a farmer living in the vicinity, who has a wife, two sons and one daughter; Susannah, the wife of John Shrock, of Shelby; Mary Sophia, the wife of Willis Hershiser, a farmer of Plymouth township, who has a wife, two sons and two daughters; Emily Alice, the wife of George Sprague, a farmer of Springfield township, who has a wife, three sons and five daughters; Henry Nelson, a machinist of Shelby, who is married and has one son and one daughter; and Anna Eliza; living at home. All of the above-named children have been well educated at the common school, and four of the daughters have taught school. All are unusually intelligent and of unimpeachable morals and habits of life, using neither tobacco nor intoxicating liquors. Mr. Crall, the father of this interesting family, was the youngest of his father's family, which consisted of six children—four sons and two daughters. Simon, born about the year 181o, and who died in Crawford county in his seventy-fourth year, having reared nine children; John, who 358 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. died at Bucyrus about 1882, leaving six children living, two or three others having died ; Elizabeth, who married William Crumb and who died at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, leaving eight children; Susannah, who married, first, John Ely and after his death John Fortney : she reared six children, and died in Van Wert county, at the age of fifty-eight ; Henry, who died in Crawford county, at the age of eighty-two ; and David, the subject of this sketch. The parents died while all of their children were living, the mother about six months before the father. David Crall is a member of the United Brethren church, of which his wife was a most efficient member. In politics he is a Republican. He has held the office of township trustee several terms, besides having been a school director and road master. His present fine, large brick house he erected in 1854, and the large evergreen trees which stand as sentinels around his residence, and which attract the admiring attention of all passers-by, were planted by his own hands and will continue to live and remind his relatives and friends of him long after he has moldered into dust. His son's residence is an excellent frame structure, erected in 1887 on the farm. Mr. Crall is a man of unusually strong body and mind, and has a most retentive memory ; and, as his father died before any of his children, so it is altogether probable, notwithstanding his firm health, that he will do the same, they being, like him, of unusual bodily health and strength. When he passes away the beautiful poem "The Old Farmer's Elegy" would be a fitting tribute to his memory, and might almost be regarded as having been written to commemorate his life and virtues. All that know him know him but to honor him for the honorable career he has made for himself and the noble character he has always maintained. LE ROY PARSONS. Among the prominent business men of Mansfield none are more progressive and public-spirited than the subject of this biographical record. He has been identified with the growth and progress of his adopted city for thirty-three years, and during this period he has generously contributed of both means and labor to the advancement of its interests. For some time past he has been connected with the Chamber of Commerce in Mansfield, an organization corresponding to the board of trade in some cities, and having for its object the advancement of public enterprises in the way of securing manufactories, building railroads into the city and such other industries as would tend to the material growth and prosperity of the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 359 city. At the present time Mr. Parsons is the secretary of the Board of Commerce, active in securing contributions toward the extension of the Short Line Railroad into the city. But this is only one item in the many that might be cited to show the public spirit and local pride of our subject in enhancing the interests of Mansfield. He served four consecutive terms as the clerk of the city council,—a longer period than any other man has filled that important office. He has taken an active interest in various social fraternities and held places of honor and responsibility in them. He is a member of Madison Lodge, No. 26, K. of P., and Mansfield Lodge, No. 56, B. P. O. E. Mr. Parsons was born in Bennington, Vermont, May 12, 1843, a son of Hial K. and Harriet (Robinson) Parsons. The mother died in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1861, but the father is still living, at the age of eight-one years, and is now a resident of Mansfield. In early life he was engaged in commercial business, but spent his productive years in mechanical pursuits. During his youth Mr. Parsons accompanied his parents on their removal to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he received his elementary education. To this he has added by careful reading and study until he is exceptionally well informed upon current history and public affairs. On the 14th of September, 1876, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Shumway, a native of Akron, Ohio. Their only child, Ed Roy, was born in Mansfield, March 18, 1878, and is now engaged in the manufacture of gloves. He was educated in the high school of his native city, and at a special art school on Broad street, Philadelphia, devoting two years to study there. He married Miss Grace Bowland, of Columbus, Ohio, a representative of a well known pioneer family of Mansfield. In 1867 Mr. Parsons came to Mansfield and for five years was engaged in the sale of manufacturing implements, but during the greater part of his residence here he has given his time and attention to the insurance and real-estate business. In fact since 1872 he has been actively and successfully engaged in tHat business. Perhaps no man in Richland county has a wider or more favorable acquaintance than Mr. Parsons. This is in a measure due to his extensive transactions along the lines of his chosen work. Yet his affable temperament and genial disposition contributes largely to this result. He has bought and sold thousands of acres of Richland county real estate, and through his popular agency carries insurance on a vast amount of the country's destructible property. In all of his varied experiences, the public—that severest of critics—has found Mr. Parsons an honest, upright, straightforward business man, whose capabilities have never been questioned, and whose word is as good as his bond. 360 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Mr. Parsons comes of Revolutionary stock, his ancestors settling in New England prior to the war for independence and participating extensively in that historic struggle. During the Civil war he served nine months as a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and participated in the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Politically he is a stanch Democrat, and has served in the city council of Mansfield, being president one year. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Building, a magnificent edifice erected to the memory of deceased soldiers, and he is the secretary of the board. He and his family attend the Episcopal church and stand high socially. CHARLES H. KEATING. This well known member of the bar of Richland county has gained a prominent place among the lawyers of pronounced ability who have conferred honor and dignity upon the profession by their wise interpretation of the principles of jurisprudence. Mr. Keating is the only son of Thomas B. Keating, and he is a native of Mansfield, having been born here in the year 1870. His father had come here from Columbia county, Pennsylvania, and contracted for the building of the city water works, successfully completing the task, after which he also secured other important contracts with the local municipality, putting down a large portion of the excellent brick pavements in our streets, the city having a number of miles of streets thus improved. The mother of our subject was Sarah Jane (Hedges) Keating, daughter of Ellsey Hedges, who was a prominent business man and influential citizen of Mansfield during his life. Mrs. Keating entered into eternal rest in 1883, deeply mourned by a large circle of friends in Mansfield, where her entire life had been passed. She was a sister of Hon. Henry C. Hedges and a niece of Gen. James Hedges, who surveyed and founded the town of Mansfield. Josiah Hedges, an uncle of Mrs. Keating, was the founder of the city of Tiffin, Ohio, the name having been long and conspicuously identified with the history of the Buckeye state. The great-grandfather of our subject in the maternal line was Charles Hedges, who was a resident of eastern Virginia, and who had nine sons and two daughters. Joseph, Samuel, Hiram and Otto remained in Virginia ; Elijah removed to Fairfield county, Ohio ; John to Muskingum county ; and James and Josiah first settled in Belmont county, this being in the year 1812. Josiah Hedges was clerk of the courts of Belmont county, and James was sheriff, while the youngest of the brothers, Ellsey, the father of Mrs. Keating, served as CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 361 deputy to both. In 1812 he went on foot to Columbus to carry the presidential election returns from Belmont county, his brother James having been commissioned a captain of the United States army, for service in the war of 1812. Our subject, Charles Hedges Keating, secured his preliminary educational discipline in the public schools of his native city, graduating in the Mansfield high school as a member of the class of 1889, after which he prosecuted his studies in Amherst College, Massachusetts. Having determined to prepare himself for the profession of law, he began his more purely technical study in the office and under the preceptorship of Messrs. Cummings and McBride, representative members of the bar of this county and well known citizens of Mansfield. He was duly admitted to the bar of the state in 1896 and immediately entered upon the active practice of his profession. His success has been unmistakable and is the direct result of the inherent ability, thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the law, and capacity for consecutive application, which Mr. Keating has brought to bear.. He is ambitious and yet is duly conservative in his methods, realizing that the law is a .jealous mistress and will admit of no divided attention or lukewarm allegiance. Mr. Keating has rendered a stalwart support to the Republican party and its principles, and was for some time the efficient chairman of the county central committee of his party, being at the present time a member of the county executive committee and also a member of the congressional committee of the fourteenth congressional district. During the presidential campaigns of 1896 and 1900 his services were in requisition at the Republican national headquarters, in Chicago, where he did very effective work in the speakers' bureau, being the chief clerk of that bureau. Other distinctive preferment came to Mr. Keating in 1898, when Judge Ricks, of the United States district court, appointed him referee in bankruptcy, for a term of two years, and to which position he has been reappointed for a second term. He is a young man of marked ability in his profession and as an executive, and in the field of legitimate politics it is practically certain that further and more notable honors await him in case he consents to turn his attention in that direction. In his fraternal relations Mr. Keating is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has attained the Knights Templar degree, and he is also identified with the Knights of Pythias. His religious faith is that advanced and maintained by the Presbyterian church. He was married, June 6, 190o, to Gertrude A. Simpson, the youngest daughter of Professor John Simpson. 362 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. SOLOMON W. ABY. This well known and highly esteemed citizen of Mifflin, Richland county, Ohio, was born in Ashland county, three miles east of his present home, October 6, 1842, and is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families Of that county, his paternal grandfather, Jacob Aby, a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, being one of the early settlers. His father, Ephraim Aby, was born in Ashland county, where he continued to make his home until he started for California just prior to the Civil war, since which time nothing has been heard of him. He was united in marriage with Mary Vail on the day William Henry Harrison was elected president in 184o. His widow makes her home near our subject and is a well-preserved old lady of seventy-nine years. Her parents were James and Sarah (Copus) Vail, the latter a daughter of James Copus, who was killed by the Indians in 1812. Mrs. Vail died in 1884, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. She had four children, namely : John, who served as a captain in the war of the Rebellion, married Fannie Kisling, and from Ashland county, Ohio, moved to Missouri, where they reared ten children. Nancy married Scott McDennitt, a blacksmith of Ashland county, who died about thirty years ago, leaving three children, and a widow, who now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Mary, the mother of our subject, is next in order of birth. Solomon lives on the place where his grandfather, James Copus, was shot by the Indians near a spring of water that flows from the roots of a willow tree. He married Louise Haney, and they have three children living,—John Wesley, Marida and Elizabeth,—all residents of Ashland county. The subject of this sketch is the oldest in a family of six children, the others being as follows : Jacob, who died unmarried in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1877: he was a member of Company E, Seventy-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and was wounded in the battle of Chattanooga, but never applied for a pension; Amanda, now a resident of Mansfield, Ohio, who married John Beek, a farmer, who died about eighteen years ago, leaving four children,—Nettie, Rella, Alice and Kittie; Sarah, who married William Yoh, who died about eight years ago, and his widow and three children now live in Michigan; Fanny, who married Josiah Williams, of Michigan, and they have one child : and Mina, who married. Martin Hender and lived on a farm adjoining our subject's place, where both died in the spring of 1897, only fourteen days apart : they had two children,—Clarence and Alice,—who died in June, 1896. Of Amanda's children Nettie is now the wife of William Daubenspeck, a carpenter of Mansfield; Rella CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 363 is the wife of Jefferson Swengering, of Waterford, Knox county, Ohio; Alice is the wife of Burr Gettis, a bookkeeper living in Denver, Colorado ; and Kittie lives with her mother in Mansfield, Ohio. Solomon Aby, the subject of this review, was reared in his native county and educated in the common schools. He successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits in Ashland county until the spring of 1883, when he sold his place and purchased a farm of one hundred acres in Richland county, to the improvement and cultivation of which he has since devoted his energies with marked success. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and is highly respected and esteemed by all who know him. On the 17th of March, 1870, Mr. Aby married Miss Elizabeth Gongway, a daughter of Michael Gongway, of Ashland county, who died in 1896, at about the age of eighty years. By this union six children were born, namely : Cora B., now the wife of Wesley Keefer, a farmer of Washington township, Richland county, south of Mansfield, by whom she has two children,—Leta and Boyd; and Stella, Charles, Bert, Effie and Elta, who are all at home with their parents. JACOB DE LANCEY. For many years Mr. De Lancey was actively identified with the business interests of Richland county as a contractor and builder, but is now living a retired life at his pleasant home on section 14, Cass township. He is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth occurring in Perry county, that state, January 27, 1820, and is one of a family of eight children, of whom he and his brother Joseph, a retired citizen of Bucyrus, Ohio, are the only survivors. Francis De Lancey, the father of our subject, was born in France, and during boyhood came to the United States with his parents, who located in Perry county, where he grew to manhood upon a farm and married Mary Rice, a native of that county. There he followed farming until 1826, when he emigrated to Richland county, Ohio, and bought a farm of one hundred acres in Cass township, two miles west of Ganges. Four years later he sold that place and purchased a farm of similar size near Planktown, where he made his home until death. He died in middle life, being somewhat over forty years of age, but his wife lived to the age of ninety-two years. On leaving home, at the age of sixteen, Jacob De Lancey commenced learning the carpenter's trade of his brother-in-law, James Crawford, and after completing his apprenticeship continued to follow that occupation for more than twenty years in this section. Industrious and economical, he 364 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. began saving money early in his career and invested his accumulations in land, his first purchase consisting of his present farm of ninety-three acres on section 14, Cass township. At the time it was wild and unimproved. After erecting, a dwelling, he took up his residence there, and while he continued to work at his trade he hired his land cleared and cultivated. Later he bought the old Crawford farm of eighty-five acres, south of Planktown, and subsequently purchased one 'hundred acres adjoining this on the east. He rented his land and continued to follow carpentering and building until some time in the '6os, erecting many of the residences in and around Shiloh, which still stand as monuments to his skill and handiwork. Since that time Mr. De Lancey has lived quietly upon his home place, enjoying the fruits of former toil. In 1843 he wedded Miss Sarah Crawford, a native of Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John Crawford. By this union he had seven children, four of whom are living, namely : Joseph, who is operating one of his father's farms ; Calvin, a blacksmith of Greenwich, Ohio; Mary J., the widow of William. Furney ; and Christina, the wife of H. H. Parrish, a shoe merchant of Bellefontaine, Ohio. The wife and mother died March 18, 1876, and for his second wife Mr. De Lancey married Miss Ellen J. Guthrie, a native of Blooming Grove township and .a daughter of John E. Guthrie, who in his 'teens came to this county from Harrison county, Ohio, the place of his nativity. Mr. De Lancey is a Democrat in political sentiment, and for the past twenty-five years has been an active member of the Lutheran church. After a useful and honorable career he can well afford to lay aside all business cares and live in ease and retirement. He is widely and favorably known, and is honored for his sterling worth and many excellencies of character. THOMAS J. SHOCKER. Thomas J. Shocker, a prominent citizen of Mansfield, Ohio, was born March 4, 1848, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a son of Harry S. and Eliza Carr (Adams) Shocker, who removed from their old home in Philadelphia to Salem, Ohio, in 186o. During the year 1862 Thomas J. Shocker, after several unsuccessful attempts, finally got to the front in the army of the Union. Too young to be mustered into the service of the government, he went with Captain Edward Holloway, of Company B, Twelfth Ohio Cavalry, and was with the company until the close of the war, undergoing all the hardships of army life in camp, in the field, on the march, in battle and as a prisoner of CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 365 war. After completing his service in the army he returned to Salem, Ohio, whence the family removed, in 1865, to Alliance, Ohio. Thomas J. Shocker in his youth learned civil engineering and was with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company on its Eastern division. Later he became a fireman for the same company and was soon promoted engineer on a locomotive, which position he held for many years ; in 1887 he left this service and was given a position as the foreman of the engine house of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Mansfield, which position he still retains. November 1, 1870, he was married to Miss Mary Koons, at her home in Richland county, and to this marriage there have been born the following children : Harry Daniel, born August 28, 1871 ; Gracie, born March 1, 1874, and died when five months old ; Emma, born July 14, 1875, grew up a beautiful girl, graduated at the high school when eighteen years of age, and died August 17, 1895; and Thomas J., Jr., born August 17, 1881. Harry Daniel Shocker is an engineer, beginning work for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company when but seventeen years of age, and being placed in charge of a locomotive when twenty-two, since .which time he has been continuously in the service of the company. He was married June 7, 1899, to Miss Maud Clifford, at her home in Mansfield. Thomas J. Shocker, Jr., has a good common-school education, and spent two years in attendance at the high school, and afterward took a commercial course at the Mansfield Business College, graduating at this latter institution in 1899. He is now collector for the Mansfield Savings Bank. The father of Thomas J. Shocker died at Alliance, Ohio, and his mother at Crestline. They reared six children, viz. : Harry, Thomas J., John Samuel, William and Mary. Harry served his country four years during the Civil war, as the first sergeant of his company. He is now engaged in building locomotives in the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, having been thus employed ever since the close of the war. John Shocker is a passenger conductor on the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus Railway, having held his present position for the past twenty years. Mary married C. L. Jackson, who is a passenger engineer on the Pennsylvania Railroad, having his position for many years. Thomas J. Shocker is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and has held his membership for the past ten years. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has been since 1885 having passed all the chairs but two. Politically he is a Thomas Jefferson Democrat, and he and his family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The parents of Mrs. Shocker were Daniel and Jane (Reed) Koons, the 366 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. former born in 18o8 and died in 1877, and the latter born in 1816 and died in 1894. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom six still live, as follows : John, who is in the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and married Miss Helen Shalters at Alliance, where they now reside ; Jenetta, now the wife of Michael Young; Delilah, who married William Kerchiee, and is now residing with him in Youngstown; Lillie, now living at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Abraham, who married Isabella Hoffman, with whom he is now living at Crestline, Ohio. Margaret, recently deceased, married James Hacket, of Shiloh, Richland county, who is now a retired farmer. MRS. SARAH J. BOALS. Mrs. Sarah J. Boals was born in Richland county, and while she was still an infant her father, in 1850, went to California to seek his fortune, but soon after reaching that country died, leaving his wife a widow with four children,—all daughters,—of whom Mrs.. Boals was the youngest. When she was about five years of age she was taken by Robert Brown, a farmer of Washington township, and lived with him until she was eighteen years of age. April 19, 1873, she was married to Mr. Marion Boals, and immediately after their marriage they located in Mansfield. Mr. Boals was in the service of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway Company, and on Thanksgiving morning, 1884, while in the line of his duty as conductor, in the yards of that company at Mansfield, was mortally injured, dying November 27, 1884, almost immediately after receiving his injury. Mr. and Mrs. Boals were the parents of the following children : William Richard, born February 7, 1874 ; Marion Herbert, born October 7, 1876, a machinist in the employ of the Union Foundry & Machine Company; George Henry, born August 7, 1879 ; and a daughter, born August 1, 1883, and died when five days old. The boys are all at home, William R. being an employee of the New York, Pittsburg & Ohio Railroad Company, and located in Mansfield ; and George Henry, a painter in the employ of the AultmanTaylor Company. Mrs. Henry Newland, a sister of Mrs. Boals. lives on a farm in Madison township; Mrs. Martha Culver, another sister, lives in Nevada, Missouri, and Mrs. Mary McJunkins, still another sister, lives at Crest-line, Ohio. The mother of these four sisters, who for some years lived with Mrs. McJunkins at Crestline, died during the summer of 1896, at the age of seventy-one years. Robert Brown died about twenty-five years CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 367 ago, and Colonel R. C. Brown, his son, with whom Mrs. Boals lived in her girlhood, died in 1897. Mrs. Boals is a stanch member of Dr. Niles' English Lutheran church, of Mansfield, and has been living in her present home, No. 65 Buckingham street, some nine years. Her son, William R., is a member of the Maccabees of Mansfield. JOHN D. MYERS. The life story of the pioneer is always fraught with interest and the work of the pioneer in planting civilization and developing the resources c f any country is a most important one, deserving first place in all local history and biography. The biographical sketch which follows embraces every phase of rural life in Ohio and exemplifies the progress of events in Richland county through several generations of the well-known family of Myers, of which John D. Myers, of Jackson township, is a prominent representative. John D. Myers was born in Stark county, Ohio, April 24, 1828, a son of Adam and Elizabeth (Howard) Myers. Adam Myers was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and grew to manhood and married there. He came west as far as Ohio in 1823 and located in Stark county, where he remained until 1827, when he came to Richland county and took up eighty acres of government land, on which he erected a one-room log cabin, into which he moved his family in 1828. It was a most primitive home in which the family was first domiciled, with a low split-board roof and a puncheon floor, and a forest of beech, maple and other native trees extended from it for many miles in all directions, rarely broken for human habitation and peopled with Indians and wild animals. In all of Jackson township there were but few families at that time. Adam Myers had seven children : John D., Sarah, Elizabeth, Sophia, Catharine, Rebecca and William H. During the pioneer days Mr. Myers and his daughters manufactured the family clothing, through all processes from the fleece and the flax to the finished garment, and in all ways their life was a most primitive and laborious one. Though small of stature Mr. Myers was a man of information and of much force of character, and was influential in public affairs and active and helpful in the early work of the Lutheran church here. He died on his home farm, in Jackson township, in 1855, at the age of seventy-five years, his death being deeply regretted by all who had known him during his long, busy and self-denying career. 368 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. John D. Myers was about four months old when his father moved to his farm in Jackson township. The first school he attended was in a log schoolhouse with slab benches, greased-paper windows and a great fireplace, and the name of his first teacher was John Upp. He was brought up to the hard labor of a pioneer farmer's boy of all work, and there was no phase of backwoods life with which he did not early become familiar. He was married September 1, 1853, to Miss Elizabeth Feighner and rented and moved upon his father's farm. His father died about two years later, his mother in 1859, at the age of seventy-two years. His worldly success has been noteworthy. From a beginning in active life at the age of eight years, working for his board and clothing, he has, by industry and honesty, advanced to the position of a first-class farmer, owning the old farm of one hundred and twelve acres of highly improved and productive land, including his father's original "eighty," and engaged extensively in general farming. All his life he has lived here, and he is now seventy-three years old. He is a man of much public spirit, always helpful to every movement tending to the advancement of the interests of his township, county and state, and he takes a deep and abiding interest in political affairs, voting and working with the Democratic party for the prevalence of its principles in all important national measures. He filled the office of township trustee greatly to his credit and to the satisfaction of his fellow townsmen for four years, and has been many times solicited to accept other important local offices; but he is not merely an office-seeker : he has a decided disinclination to public life and prefers his farm and his stock—for he has dealt long and successfully in horses—to any political honors that might be his for the taking. Forty years he has been a member of the Lutheran church, and he has served his organization as a deacon and the treasurer for twenty-three years and has been the superintendent of its Sunday-school for ten years. Mr. and Mrs. Myers have had children as follows : Sarah, Frances (dead), William, Melissa, Curtis, and another who died in infancy. PETER HOUT. There is particular satisfaction in reverting to the life history of the honored and venerable gentleman whose name initiates this review, since his mind bears impress of the historical annals of Richland county. Here he has spent his entire life, and has been prominently identified with its growth and upbuilding. He was born in Mifflin township, on the 17th of November, 1821, a son of Jacob and Catherine (Simpson) Hout. The fa- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 369 ther was a native of Virginia, where his early life was passed; and his father, Peter Hout, was born in Germany, from which country his parents came to America at an early day, settling in the Old Dominion, where they spent the remainder of their lives. After reaching manhood Jacob Hout came to Ohio and first located in Jefferson county, where he was united in marriage to the mother of our subject. After a few years' residence there he came to Richland county, about 1820, and entered the northeast quarter of section 17, Mifflin township, while his brother John, who came with him, entered the adjoining quarter section on the west. Some five or six years later Jacob Hout sold his place and bought the southeast quarter of section 7, the same township, where he continued to make his home until called from this life, July 15, 1838, at about the age of forty-five years. Thus passed away one of the honored pioneers and highly respected citizens of this county. In religious belief he was a Presbyterian and in politics a Whig. He was twice married, his first wife having died when our subject was only four years old. Of the four children born of that union Peter is the only survivor. The second wife was Mary Williams, by whom he had two children, but George alone is living. Amid pioneer scenes Peter Hout passed the days of his boyhood and youth, and he conned his lessons in a primitive log schoolhouse common at that time. On the 30th of May, 1843, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah A. Boals, a native of Jefferson county, Ohio, and a daughter of David Boals, one of the early settlers of Mifflin township. Seven children blessed this union,—five sons and two daughters,—namely : Susanna, the wife of M. J. Clugston, of Mansfield ; 'William M., a farmer of Madison township, this county; David W., who is running his father's lower farm; Jacob G., a molder of Mansfield ; Cyrus B., the chief engineer of the electric light and power house of Galion, Ohio ; Elmer J., a farmer of Mifflin township, this county; and one daughter, Mary Effa, who died when about twenty-two years of age. After his marriage Mr. Hout settled upon a farm of eighty acres in Mifflin township,—the west half of the northwest quarter of section 16,— which was then the property of his father. As it was covered with a heavy growth of timber, he at once began the arduous task of clearing the land and fitting it for cultivation. After his father's death he bought the land from the administrators of the estate, and has since added to it, making a fine farm of two hundred and two acres. Although now in his eightieth year, Mr. Hout is still hale and hearty and able to perform considerable work upon the farm. Politically he is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, has served 370 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. as infirmary director six years, and as township assessor nine or ten terms. He can relate many interesting incidents of pioneer life in this region, when the land was all wild and unimproved and when wild game of all kinds was plentiful. As an honored pioneer and representative man of his community be is well worthy the high regard in which he is uniformly held. FRITZ A. OTT. A prominent and well known German-American citizen, who has accumulated a comfortable fortune in the tanning and saddlery business, now residing in Shelby, Ohio, is Fritz A. Ott, the subject of this sketch. He was born in Wertheim, Baden, Germany, December 22, 1832, a son of Seigfried and Magdalena (Bauer) Ott. Interchange of letters with a brother established in America created in our subject a desire to cross the ocean also. This he accomplished in the spring of 1855, when, with his younger brother, Frederick, he reached New York and came immediately to Shelby to join his brother George, who had been here for several years, employed by Stephen Marvin, in the tanning business, which house had been established in 1820. A welcome awaited the lads, and as George had bought the business from Mr. Marvin they had immediate employment; but they soon realized the necessity of mastering the English language. They were ambitious and desired to be able to read, write and converse in it, and as a teacher they secured the services of the Hon. S. S. Bloom, then a struggling young attorney, willing in this way to augment his income. In one year Fritz and Frederick bought the tanning plant, adding to it a saddlery line, and with energy, economy and honest dealing they made it a very successful business, retiring with a competency. They closed up the tannery in 1892, but continued the saddlery business until 1897. Frederick died October 28, 1892. The marriage of Mr. Ott was celebrated in March, 1864, to Miss Jennie, the daughter of Stephen and Sarah (Burr) Marvin, who had come to this place from Connecticut in 1818. Mrs. Ott was born in Shelby, December 22, 1835. One son and four daughters were born of this union : Stephen S., who is now a resident of Florida; Anna Laura, who married George W. Rogers, October 20, 189o, and left a widow June. 21, 1894, with one little daughter, Amy Ott Rogers : Mrs. Rogers married W. A. Shaw on August 1, 1899, and resides in Shelby. The next daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ott is Emily M., born in 1872 ; the next Lena Burr, born in 1878 and died in 1895; and the youngest child is Georgie E., born in 1882. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 371 The beautiful home of Mr. Ott is a fine brick residence surrounded by trees, and it is a privilege to pass time under its hospitable roof. The family are among the most highly esteemed members of the Methodist church and are well known to all the residents of this thriving town. In politics Mr. Ott is a firm supporter of the principles of the Republican party. GENERAL THOMAS T. DILL. General Dill, one of Mansfield's best known and most highly esteemed citizens, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, May 2, 1842, and is a son of Thomas and Catharine (Kellog) Dill. The father was born in Dillstown, Pennsylvania, in 1800, and during his boyhood was brought to this state by his parents, who settled in Stark county. After his marriage he removed to Wayne county, and in 1852 came to Mansfield, Richland county, where his death occurred in 1877. He was twice married, his second wife being the mother of our subject. She was born in Northamptonshire, England, in 1838. The General began his education in his native county, and after the removal of the family to Mansfield attended the public schools in that city. He was among the first to offer his services to his country on the outbreak of the Civil war, enlisting in April, 1861, for three months, at the president's first call for troops. He became a member of the Sixteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served under General McClellan in West Virginia, participating in the battles of Philippi, Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford. He was mustered out in August, 1861, and almost immediately re-enlisted for three years, in the re-organized Sixteenth, as a private, but was afterward promoted as sergeant and was mustered out as sergeant-major, October 31, 1864. In the course of two months he again re-enlisted for three years, in Hancock's Veteran corps, becoming a second lieutenant in the First Regiment, United States Veteran Volunteers, and was afterward transferred to the Ninth Regiment and promoted first lieutenant and adjutant. During his military career he served under Generals McClellan, Buell, Sherman, Grant, Banks, Canby and Hancock, and participated in a great many of the important campaigns and battles of the war, including the siege and capture of Vicksburg. He was a prisoner in the hands of the enemy for a short time, and was finally mustered out of service on the 2d of May, 1866, with a war record of which he may be justly proud. Returning to Mansfield in the summer of 1866, General Dill has since made this place his home. For eight years he was connected with the Aultman-Taylor Company. In the fall of 1876 he was elected clerk of the courts 372 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. of Richland county, and so acceptably did he fill that office that he was reelected for another three-years term in the fall of 1879. In January, 1884, after the election of Governor Hoadley, he was appointed assistant adjutant-general of the state, and served in that capacity with headquarters at Columbus for two years. In the spring of 1886 he was appointed by Governor Foraker, now United States Sena tor, a member of the board of trustees of the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors' Home, which they located and built near Sandusky. He was again appointed assistant adjutant-general of the state by Governor Campbell in 1890, and resigned his position as a trustee of 'the Soldiers and Sailors' Home. In 1891 he was made adjutant-general of the state and most efficiently filled that office until January, 1892. Governor Bushnell re-appointed him a trustee of the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors' Home in the spring of 1896, and when his term expired, in April, 1900, he was reappointed by Governor Nash for a term of five years. His official duties have always been most capably and conscientiously discharged, winning for him the commendation of all concerned. General Dill was married in the summer of 1866 to Miss Malvina Vogel, of Millersburk, Ohio, and to them were born two sons : Charles F., who died in the fall of 1889; and George V., who is engaged in business in Mansfield as a dealer in coal, lime and builders' supplies. The General served as the captain of Company B, Seventeenth Ohio National Guards, in 1878 and 1879, and has been aid-de-camp on the staff of the commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Honor. His long residence in Mansfield, covering a period of almost half a century, has placed him among its valued citizens who have been devoted to the public welfare. He has manifested the same loyalty in days of peace as In time of war, and all who know him have for him the highest regard. JOSEPH SNAVELY. Of the farming interests of Worthington township Joseph Snavely is a representative. He was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, March 30, 1822, and is a son of George and Barbara (Alspaugh) Snavely, who also were natives of the Keystone state. The father was born in Lancaster county and in early life learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for some years. Subsequently he turned his attention to farming, and in 1839 came to Richland county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 373 land, now owned by his son Joseph. To the development and cultivation of that property he devoted his energies throughout the remainder of his active business career. He died at the age of eighty-three years, and his wife passed away at the age of sixty-two. They were both consistent and active members of the United Brethren church, doing all in their power to promote the cause of Christ am ong men. In politics Mr. Snavely was a Democrat, but never sought office. This worthy couple were the parents of eleven children, but Joseph is now the only surviving member of the family. In the state of his nativity Joseph Snavely spent the first seventeen years of his life, and then came with his parents to Worthington township, Richland county, remaining at home until twenty-two years of age. He then went to Stark county to learn the. trade of making grain cradles, and followed that business for about two years, after which he returned to the farm. He worked at his trade for a short time and then assumed the management of the old home place for his father. Later he purchased the farm from the other heirs and settled up the estate without employing an attorney. He has since resided on the old homestead, and as his financial resources increased he made additional purchases of land, but in later years has given all of it to his children, with the exception of the original place of one hundred and sixty acres. His career has been an active, useful and honorable one, and his well directed efforts have brought to him prosperity. Mr. Snavely was united in marriage to Sarah Good, of this county, who died December 29, 1897. They had nine children, namely : Eliza Ann, the wife of Amos Norris, of Worthington township ; Peter, who died in Worthington township, when about fifty years of age; Lucinda, the wife of James Secrist ; George, a resident of Richland county ; Sarah Catherine, the wife of James E. Smith ; Samuel, a teacher and minister of the United Brethren church, living in Washington ; a twin sister of Samuel, who died in infancy; Daniel H., a farmer of Worthington township; and Larnory Ellen, the wife of William F. Smith. Through long years Mr. Snavely has given his political support to the Democracy, taking great interest in the dissemination and adoption of its principles. For several terms he served as supervisor, proving an acceptable officer. He is an active member of the United Brethren church and has filled almost all of its offices. For twenty years he was the superintendent of the Sunday-school, and he yet attends through the summer months. He was a trustee at the time of the building of the house of worship and has labored earnestly to promote the interests of the church. He had to abandon his Sunday-school work on account of his impaired hearing, but his 374 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. interest therein has never flagged. He has passed the seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey and his path has been marked by good deeds, by fidelity to duty and by faithfulness to friends and family. Such a record is well worthy of emulation. SAMUEL BARR. For almost seventy years Samuel Barr has been numbered among the enterprising and energetic citizens of Richland county, Ohio,. and is now residing on the old homestead on section 5, Monroe township, where much of his life has been passed. He was born on the 25th of May, 1823, in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and is one of a family of seven children, but he and two sisters are the only representatives now living. Nancy is the widow of David Baker and a resident of Kosciusko county, Indiana, while Mary is the widow of Henry Statler and a resident of this county. David Barr, the father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania in 1798, of German parentage, and there grew to manhood. He wedded Mary Kaylor, who was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1796, and in May, 1830, they started west in company with her father, Frederick Kaylor, who had been engaged in business as a saddler and harnessmaker in Hagerstown, but in this state worked but little at his trade. His last days were spent in Stark county, where the family first located, and there Mr. Barr planted a crop and spent about five months, and then came to Richland county, after planting his crop, and purchased a quarter-section of land in Monroe township. He returned to Stark county to cultivate and harvest his crop, and in the fall returned to Richland county with his family, and in the midst of an almost unbroken forest they made their home in true pioneer style in the primitive log cabin. Soon afterward he erected a two-story log house on his farm. Upon his farm here the father died November 4, 1872, and the mother passed away in 1868. In his political views he was a Democrat. During his boyhood Samuel Barr pursued his studies in the local schools and assisted in the arduous task of clearing and improving the home farm. He remained under the pa-rental roof until he was married, in 1846, to Miss Barbara A. Beasore, a native of Maryland and a daughter of Daniel Beasore, who came to Ohio during the '20S and settled in Monroe township, this county. By that union were born six children, the surviving members being Mary J., the wife of William Durbin, who is now operating our subject's farm ; Salina A., the wife of Charles Swigart, a farmer of Clay county, Kan-