CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 525 Bank, of Mansfield ; and Harold R., a bright boy of seven years ; Hulbert W., who is forty-six years of age, married Helen Corlies in 1889, and they have two children, Herbert C. and Dorothy, aged, respectively, ten and seven years; Homer B., who is now forty-two years of age, married Miss Hattie H. Johnson in 1884; in 1897 she departed this life, leaving two children : Ethel May, who is now fifteen years of age, and John Chester, a youth of thirteen. Since the father's death the three sons have continued the business which he established, being now successfully engaged in the manufacture of ,skirts and suspenders on an extensive and growing scale. All are enterprising and progressive men, the labors of the one supplementing the efforts of the other, so that the firm is a strong one and its success is assured. The sons and their families are communicants of the Congregational church of Mansfield. Hulbert W. is the only one connected with a secret society and he belongs to the Odd Fellows fraternity. The .brothers follow in the political footsteps of their father and have been stalwart Republicans throughout the period of their majority. Mr. Ditwiler was called to his final rest August 21, 189o, after having been a member of the Congregational church for many years, and he was one of the deacons at the time of his death. He was also a member of the Odd Fellows order from early manhood. His was a busy, useful and honorable career, and his labors resulted in bringing a comfortable competence to the family. In 1867 he came with his wife and children to Mansfield, which has since continuously been the home of Mrs. Ditwiler, whose residence is located at No. 46 West Third street. She is a well known lady, for through more than a third of a century she has continued in Richland county and has ever won the love and respect of those with whom she has come in contact through: her many excellent qualities. NOBLE CALHOON. For eighty-four years Noble Calhoon traveled life's journey, and each year that passed was marked with good deeds and the record of an honorable career ; and in the evening of life he received the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded those who live worthily, faithfully performing each duty and following their honest convictions of right and wrong. He was born November 29, 1816, in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, his parents being Noble and Sarah (Taylor) Calhoon. His father was born near Cork, Ireland, and when about twenty-two years of age crossed the 526 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. briny deep to the new world, settling in Pennsylvania, where he followed farming. He there met and married Miss Taylor, a native of that state, and in 1831 they emigrated) with their family to Richland county, where, the father became the owner of a large tract of land. He was also the proprietor of a mill in this neighborhood, and in the conduct of his business affairs gained a good capital. He died when about eighty-four years of age, and his wife passed away when seventy-seven years of age. She was a member of the United Presbyterian church. When a youth of fifteen the subject of this memoir accompanied his parents to Ohio and ever after that was a resident of Richland county. He assisted in the arduous task of transforming the wild land into richly cultivated fields, and to his father he gave the benefit of his labor until his marriage, after which he operated the mill for several years. When his father dial he became the administrator and settled up the estate, and when the property was disposed of Mr. Calhoon bid in his present home of two hundred and twenty-nine acres, to which he has since added a tract of forty acres. The cultivation of his fields and the improvement of the farm occupied the greater part of his time and energies and in this manner he has added continually to his income, his constantly augmented capital making him one of the substantial residents of the community. Mr. Calhoon was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Willick, a native of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. She was a member of the United Presbyterian church, and died in that faith at the age of sixty-eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Calhoon became the parents of five children : Mary J., the eldest, is the widow of J. Newton Pritchard and resides in 'Worthington township. Alexander still occupies the home place, superintending its interests. During the Civil war he responded to the call for aid, enlisting on the 2d of May, 1864, for one hundred days as a member of Company D, One Hundred and Sixty-third Regiment of the Ohio Volunteers. For five years he was the postmaster of Butler. He belongs to Bellville Lodge, No. 376, F. & A. M., of Bellville, and is a wide-awake, enterprising business man. Sarah died when forty-three years of age. D. L. is a farmer of Worthington township. Margaret, the youngest of the family, died at the age of seventeen years. In his political views Mr. Calhoon was early a Whig and on the dissolution of that party and the organization of the Republican party he joined the ranks of the latter. In earlier days he took quite an active part in political affairs, and after serving for two terms as justice of the peace, refused to hold the office any longer. Many years ago he became a mem- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 527 ber of the Masonic fraternity of Mansfield, and probably lived to be the oldest Mason in Richland county, dying October 4, 1900. He was a man of strong individuality, of marked force of character and of decided opinions. He had no use for any one or anything he did not like, and was very strong in his friendship when he believed that it was given to one worthy of it. His career was an active, useful and honorable one, and his life record contained many lessons that are worthy of emulation. HENRY SMITH MOSER. Henry Smith Moser was born in Monroe township, Richland county, Ohio, January 15, 1823. His father, Henry Moser, was a soldier of the war of 1812. His mother's maiden name was Marie E. Smith. His parents were Pennsylvanians who came to Ohio and settled in Monroe township in 1820. H. S. Moser was married to Miss Rebecca Marlow in 1843. They became the parents of six children,—three boys and three girls, as follows : Mary M., who married Samuel Geddes McDermott in 1861 ; she is now a widow and since the death of her mother has kept house for her father ; James Henry, who married Deborah Meek in 1867, and they live in Denver, Colorado ; Austin Clark, who married Rebecca Jane Martin and they live in Blooming Grove township, this county ; Elivia Frances, who wedded Dorefu Turbett, and they live in California ; Edward Smith, who married Martha Swigart, and they live in Mansfield ; and Artemisa, who married George D. Middlesworth, and they live in Blooming Grove township, this county. The subject of this sketch lived in Monroe township, this county, for thirty-nine years, then removed to the northern part of Blooming Grove township, where he resided until he retired from the farm and took up his residence in Shiloh. While Mr. Moser was always a farmer, owning one or more good farms, he has also given attention to other lines of business, one of which was silver mining in Colorado. He has traveled extensively and has hosts of friends. He is a member of the Lutheran church and of the Masonic fraternity. He is large in stature and fashioned like the pioneers. Comrade Moser served his country in the war of the Rebellion as a member of Company K, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was enrolled September 28, 1862, and was discharged September 28, 1865—three years of hard service. He was severely wounded in the siege of Vicksburg. Two 528 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. of his sons were also in the service. Comrade Moser is now enjoying the competence previously acquired and the respect and esteem of a large circle of friends. ABRAHAM J. BAUGHMAN. Abraham J. Baughman, the only son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Cunningham) Baughman, was born on section 22, Monroe township, Richland county, Ohio, September 5, 1838. Abraham Baughman, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born on the Atlantic ocean during the sail voyage of his parents from Germany to America. He married Mary Katherine Deeds and they were the parents of eight children,—five sons and three daughters. Jacob Baughman, the fourth son, was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1792, and came to Ohio with his parents about 1808, and the family settled in the Black Fork valley, near the old historic Indian village of Greentown, now in Ashland county. Jacob Baughman married Miss Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Captain James Cunningham, in September, 1825. They were the parents of five children,—Mary K., Hannah L., Margaret A., Abraham J. and Sade Elizabeth. Jacob Baughman died February 21, 1855, and his widow survived him nearly forty years, being called away November 23, 1894, in the ninetieth year of her age. The three older children having been married before the death of the husband and father, Mrs. Baughman and her two younger children—A. J. and Miss Sade - lived together during the remainder of her life. Four decades may seem long when counted by their forty several years, but all too short when blessed with the happiness of a mother's love, making the bereavement at the close the more heartfelt and severe. Soon after being left a widow Mrs. Baughman removed to Bellville, and later to Mansfield, where the son and youngest daughter still reside, at the old home on South Adams street. A. J. Baughman taught school and read law in his 'teens, but upon the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion he volunteered in Captain Miller Moody's Company I, Sixteenth Ohio Infantry, in 1861, and later enlisted for three years in the Thirty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry but was discharged for physical disability before the expiration of his term of enlistment. Mr. Baughman and his sister are printers and have spent the greater part of their lives in the newspaper business. In 1885 Mr. Baughman was appointed a clerk in the United States senate, and his sister, Miss Sade, was appointed to a clerkship in the treasury department at Washington, which positions they held for several years, Mr. Baughman during that time writing for New York and Chicago papers. Upon his return to Ohio Mr. Baughman devoted his time largely to historical work and the writing of feature CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 529 articles for the press, and during a three-years engagement on the Mansfield News he wrote over two hundred feature articles for its Sunday edition, covering, perhaps, a hundred different topics. Upon the unveiling of the Johnny Appleseed monument in the Sherman-Heineman park, Mr. Baughman delivered the address of the occasion, and the same was copied in whole or part by the leading magazines and in over a thousand newspapers. He has edited and published the Canal Fulton Herald, the Medina Democrat, the Mansfield Call and the Democrat, and the New Philadelphia Evening News ; and of the papers upon which he has been engaged mention may. be made of the Marion Star, the Steubenville Gazette and the New Philadelphia (Ohio) Democrat ; and while the editor of the latter, during the Bryan campaign of 1896, he thinks he did his best political writing and editorial work, the Democracy regaining the county and electing its entire ticket by majorities ranging from five hundred to one thousand. Mr. Baughman has written biographical histories and sketches of several counties, and is conceded to be the best informed man on local history in Richland county ; and he knows its townships as a farmer knows his fields. Through the efforts and work of Mr. Baughman the Richland County Historical Society was organized in November, 1898, and he became its secretary, which position he continues to fill. He is also the secretary of the Mansfield Lyceum. Although German in name Mr. Baughman, in sentiment, is inclined to his mother's (Irish) people, but is thoroughly American in thought, purpose and patriotism, and is a Buckeye, "to the manor born." In his religious views. he is a "churchman," believing in the apostolic succession, and was confirmed by the late Rt. Rev. G. T. Bedell, bishop of Ohio, in 1876. Mr. Baughman is five feet, nine inches in height, with an average weight of one hundred and fifty-five pounds. He has blue-gray eyes, and the dark hair of his youth silvered before he had reached the age of fifty years. MICHAEL E. DOUGLAS. Michael E. Douglas was born in Springfield township, Richland county, Ohio, October 21, 1831, a son of William and Margaret (Edgington) Douglas. His father was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1798, and died in Springfield township, this county, in 1857. He was a son of Michael and Lydia (Pollock) Douglas, both of whom were natives of Scotland, were married in Ireland and emigrated to America, taking up their abode in Pennsylvania. By this marriage there were eight sons and 530 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. six daughters. In 1823 the grandparents of our subject came to Richland county, taking up their abode in Springfield township upon a farm which had previously been secured by their son William and his brother who had come to the county before the immigration of the family. The journey was made from Pennsylvania in an old "schooner" wagon. After arriving at years of maturity William Douglas married Miss Margaret Edgington, of Richland county, Ohio, in 1803, a daughter of Thomas and Mary Edgington. Her mother, however, was usually known as Pollie. They came to Richland county in the fall of 1815, accompanied by Jonathan Beach and his family. The Edgington and Beach families were the first to locate in Springfield township, and in Richland county William Douglas and Margaret Edgington were married. They had a number of children, as follows : Alexander J., a Lutheran minister living in Monroeville, Indiana; Thomas E., a veteran of the Civil war, who makes his home in Mansfield ; Michael E. ; Elizabeth, of Columbia City, Indiana; and Nancy, who resides in Riverside, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Michael E. Douglas, the subject of this review, was reared upon a farm and pursued a common-school education. He studied during the winter months and in the summer worked in the plowed fields and fragrant meadows, assisting in the early spring planting. He taught school through five consecutive winter seasons; but, desiring to enter the legal profession, he studied law under the direction of L. B. Matson, a practicing attorney of Mansfield. He was then admitted to the bar in 1860, but was soon afterward elected secretary of the Richland Mutual Insurance Company, a position which he filled for ten years, interrupted, however, by service in the Civil war. As an organizer of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Mutual Insurance Company, he became its secretary in 1876 and has since held that position, so that during the greater part of his career he has been connected with the insurance business. He is a man of keen discrimination, who forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution. He possesses much executive force, is reliable, prompt and persevering and his labors have brought to him creditable success. In the year 1861 Mr. Douglas was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Zimmerman, of Mansfield, a daughter of Levi Zimmerman, who came to this city from Pennsylvania.  Their children were Levi Ernest, of Boston ; and Mary and Lucretia, of Mansfield. Two years after his marriage—in October, 1863—Mr. Douglas assisted in organizing Company G, of the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry, of which he was made first lieutenant, thus entering the army service. In May, 1865, he was pro- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 531 moted to the captaincy of the company and resigned front that position in November of the same year, the war having ended. He was a brave and loyal soldier, being advanced through meritorious conduct, inspiring his men by his own bravery and valor. He is now a member of McLaughlin Post, G. A. R., of Mansfield, and in his political views is a Republican, giving a warm support to the principles of the party. In 1868 he served as mayor of the city by appointment and was a capable officer, his administration being businesslike and progressive. Socially he is connected wtih the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Although his life has not been filled with a large number of thrilling incidents it contains lessons of value, showing marked fidelity to duty in every relation of life. He is a man of his word, and his genial disposition, unfailing courtesy and kindness have made him popular with a host of warm friends. JOHN DARLING. In every community are found quiet and retiring men who seek no public honors or public notice, yet exert a strong influence on the community by reason of their upright lives, their fidelity to principle and their devotion to the duties of citizenship. Such a one was John Darling, who was long a representative of the agricultural interests of Monroe township, and his life in many respects was worthy of emulation. He was born in Worthington township, Richland county, August 9, 1819. He was the eldest son of William and Mary (Ravenscraft) Darling. His father, William. Darling, was born in Hardy county, Virginia, now a part of West Virginia, October 6, 1789, and was the son of Robert and Mary (Passence) Darling. With their family the parents removed to Muskingum county, Ohio, in 18o6. This part of the state was then in its primitive condition, few settlements having been made, while the work of improvement and progress was scarcely begun. William Darling remained with his father and assisted him in clearing and improving the wild land until the breaking out of the war of 1812, when he responded to his country's call and served with credit during the term of his enlistment. He came to Richland county in the spring of 1817 and purchased a quarter-section of land, on which a block-house stood, in the fertile valley of the Clear Fork, about one and a half miles northeast of Newville, near the site of the Indian village of Helltown. Soon after his arrival in the county William Darling was united in marriage to Miss Ravenscraft, a young lady of the 532 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. neighborhood who was possessed. of a strong constitution and such courage as was needed by pioneer women. These qualities rendered her a fit companion for the energetic frontiersman who became her husband, and with him she endured the trials and hardships incident to the settlement of an unimproved region. Mr. Darling was a man of marked enterprise and almost indefatigable industry. He devoted his time to the cultivation and improvement of his farm until met with an accident which disqualified him for hard manual labor. He then turned his attention to the feeding and breeding of stock, which he drove to the eastern markets, making a specialty of fine cattle. He introduced into this part of the state some excellent breeds of cattle, including the shorthorn Durham, being the first owner of such cattle in Richland county. Through the earnest labor, excellent financiering and close application to business on the part of Mr. Darling and his wife they were enabled in the course of time to acquire a very handsome competence. He became an extensive land-owner, his possessions aggregating eleven hundred and eighty-five acres in one body of the rich and alluvial soil in the valley of the Clear Fork. He also made judicious investments in other property, owning a number of farms in different parts of the county and state. It afforded him great pleasure to assist his children, to whom he Was very generous. The following is a copy of an appendix to his will : "Having been one of the pioneers in this part of Ohio, the maker of this will, having emigrated from Hardy county, Virginia, in the year 1806, with his father and family to Muskingum county, Ohio, and endured all the hardships, trials and privations incident to the settling and improving of the new country, I do give and bequeath my love, respect and good will to all my associates, and hope by the intelligence, energy and untiring industry of growing posterity the prosperity of my beloved country may continue to increase as surely and rapidly as though the old pioneers were still here to look after their country's welfare, for next to my love for my God and my family is my love for my country, these blessed United States. May prosperity and peace ever be the lot of our happy land." The above well indicates the loyal and patriotic spirit of Mr. Darling. As before stated, he located on a farm in Richland county in the year 1817, continuing its cultivation until seven years later, when he had the misfortune of having his right leg crushed by the falling of a log. The member was so badly injured that it necessitated amputation. He therefore became extensively interested in stock-breeding, winning through an upright business course a large share of this world's goods. In all transactions he was strictly honorable and he thus enjoyed the unqualified confidence and good CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 533 will of those with whom he was associated. Of his family of seven children only one is now living, Catherine, the wife of Aaron Quick, a farmer of Ashland county. John Darling was early inured to the labors of the farm. Owing to the extensive realty possessions of the father, and to his own inability for farm work the burden of caring for the land devolved upon the sons, and thereby John Darling developed habits of industry and enterprise which became salient features in his own success in later life. The father could never tolerate idleness or indolence, and the sons. were early trained to perform the work of improving the fields and caring for the stock. From the time of the early planting in the spring until the crops were harvested in the autumn John Darling was busy in the fields, and it was only through the short winter season that he was occasionally able to enjoy the privileges afforded by the common schools. After his marriage his father gave him one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 36 in Monroe township, and with his young bride he removed to the farm, on which there was much work to be done, for the buildings were old and dilapidated and the fences were down. With characteristic energy Mr. Darling began the improvement of the place, erecting thereon a large substantial barn and making other additions to the buildings, while he divided the place into fields of convenient size by well kept fences. All the improvement and accessories of a model farm were added until the place became one of the most attractive and desirable in this part of the county. On the 16th of January, 1851, occurred the marriage of Mr. Darling and Mary J. Rea, a daughter of William Rea, who was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, June 23, 1772. He was for a time a resident of Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and in 1816 came to Ohio in company with others, locating in Richland county, where he entered the north half of the southeast quarter of section 35, Monroe township. He provided a home for himself by erecting a log cabin and then began the task of clearing his land for the plow. For a few years he lived alone, and was then united in marriage, in 1821, to Miss Eliza Swendel, a native of the county of Down, Ireland, and a daughter of Richard and Susan (Fox) Swendel. Mrs. Rea came to the United States when but twenty-five years of age. She had a brother living in this country. but several years passed before she was enabled to find him through the assistance of friends. She had in the meantime provided for her own support, manifesting a courageous spirit in meeting with the difficulties which beset her in the new world. With her brother she came to Richland county, where her marriage occurred. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rea were devoted 534 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. members of the United Presbyterian church from early life. They spent their declining years with their daughter, Mrs. Darling. The father passed away at the age of seventy-five, while the mother lived to the advanced age of eighty-eight years. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Darling was blessed with eight children, of whom six are now living, namely : Mary E., the wife of Charles T. Culler, a farmer of Richland county ; William W., a carpenter and farmer of Worthington township, Richland county ; Alfred W., who also carries on agricultural pursuits in the same county ; Harmon L., who is living on the old homestead ; Emma I., the wife of Charles Switzer, of Worthington township; and Effie G., wife of Frank Weingarden, of Monroe township. In his political views Mr. Darling was a Democrat. Both he and his wife were active, consistent members of the Lutheran church and always contributed very liberally to its support. Mr. Darling took a deep interest in the public affairs in his native county, endorsing all measures which he believed would prove of public good. There was much in his business career worthy of commendation. He applied himself closely to his work and at all times followed business methods that gained for him the confidence of his fellow men. He died March To, 1895, and in his death the community lost a valued citizen, his church a faithful member, his neighbors an accommodating friend, and his family a devoted husband and father. HON. ANDREW STEVENSON. Andrew Stevenson was born April 1, 1844, at the confluence of the Whetstone and Black Fork, in Weller township, of pioneer parentage. After attending the common schools of the neighborhood until he was fifteen years old, he was sent to the academy at Hayesville, where he remained one year and a half. On leaving the institution he enlisted in the army, Company M, Second Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, but after serving four months—being under age—was taken out and placed in the law office of Bartley & Johnston, where he remained two years. After his admission to the bar in Ohio he went to Pittsburg and studied commercial law for eighteen months, under the celebrated Swartzwelder. Returning to Richland county, he was elected prosecuting attorney in 1869 and served two years. It was during his term of office that the celebrated murder case of Ansel L. Robinson, charged with the murder of Mrs. Lunsford, was tried. Mr. Stevenson led the prosecution, assisted by several attorneys, and opposed by a number of distinguished lawyers. The trial lasted eleven days, and, perhaps, attracted as much public CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 535 attention as any criminal case in the history of the county. Mr. Stevenson's remarkable memory was tested in this trial, when he summed up the case for the state in a speech of four hours, without a single note to aid him. In fact he never relies upon notes, his retentive memory serving him in their place. On the 8th of January, 1883, Mr. Stevenson, in a speech at the Democratic banquet at Wooster, sounded the Democratic keynote against the civil service bill then pending in congress, resulting in the retirement of the Hon. George H. Pendleton and the election of the Hon. Henry B. Payne fo the United States senate. In 1883 Mr. Stevenson was elected to the Ohio legislature and served two years. The bill providing for the founding of the Ohio Reformatory was formulated in his committee. He was selected to present the claims of the new institution to the house and senate in joint session. His speech was over one hour in duration, and attracted the attention of the entire state. Through his influence the reformatory was located at Mansfield. In 1897 Mr. Stevenson was married to Miss Sale Weaver, one of Bellville's most estimable young ladies. For three years after Mr. Stevenson's marriage he resided in Bellville, and two years of that time he was the mayor of that village. As Mr. Stevenson's law practice increased, requiring so much of his time at the county seat, he returned to Mansfield, where he is now in the enjoyment of a lucrative practice. Mr. Stevenson is a large man, of fine physique and appearance. He is a born orator and has made some of the most eloquent pleas ever delivered at the Mansfield bar. Some amusing incidents may also be noted, showing the versatility and spontaneity of which he is capable. Years ago, in defending a man for burglary and larceny, and the evidence being against his client, Andy had to rely upon oratory, and made an eloquent plea to the jury. He grew more than usually eloquent, and spoke feelingly of the great wrong the jury would do by giving a verdict that would place the stripes of the convict and the brand of the felon upon the prisoner at the bar. "There he sits," said Stevenson, turning and pointing to the seat where the prisoner had sat, but, lo ! the chair was empty—the prisoner was gone—had changed his seat. Stevenson looked around, but could not see him. This might have caused the average attorney to collapse, but Stevenson was equal to the situation, and holding up his hands as in imploration he apostrophized the winds to tell him where his client had gone, and the light to reveal to him his hiding place. And, as calling upon the prisoner to come back, Mr. Stevenson 536 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. exclaimed, "Take courage, O fainting heart, and come back and give this jury the opportunity to strike from your brow the shadow stains of wrong." The effect of this invocation and stage acting was so electrical that it not only brought back the prisoner but also obtained for him a verdict of acquittal! The other occasion was when a suit was being tried that grew out of an act of John Fry, of Lexington, putting the hired girl's beau out of the house. Judge Brinkerhoff, who was just then off the supreme bench, and Stevenson were opposing counsels. In stating the case to the jury at the opening of the trial the judge occupied more time than Andy thought was necessary, and to get even concluded to make even a more lengthy reply. Stevenson's speech was in a serio-facetious style, felicitously worded and dramatically delivered and never had its equal before a jury. All present were highly amused and interested in the adroit style in which Andy blended the comic with the pathetic and the humorous with the sublime, capped off with a grandiloquent peroration. John C. Burns was so much pleased with the Speech that he stereotyped it on his memory, and at times entertains his friends by giving sections of it as recitations. Men are but grown boys of older years, and although the bitter bread and water of affliction and sorrow may have been the sustenance of some of us, it is well to look back at times and live over again the amusing incidents of other years. MRS. ELIZABETH BAUGHMAN. Mrs. Elizabeth C. Baughman, a daughter of Captain James and Hannah (Stateler) Cunningham, was born near the Black Hand, Licking county, Ohio, March 5, 1805. Her father, Captain James Cunningham, was well known to early settlers of Licking, Knox and Richland counties. The mother of Mrs. Baughman died when Elizabeth was only six months old, and her grandparents on her mother's side took the little child to raise. Captain Cunningham, marrying the second time, removed to Richland county in 1809, and settled near Beam's Mills, on the Rocky Fork, two miles below Mansfield. In the winter of 1819-2o he returned to Licking county for his daughter, whom he brought to his new .home in this county. The trip was made in a sled and took two clays. The family lived at that time near the St. John's church, in the Darling valley, below Newville. The change from the home of her wealthy grandparents to a cabin in the Richland wilderness could not have been a pleasant one, but the daughter, with filial devotion, obeyed her father's command without a murmur. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 537 September 27, 1825, Elizabeth Cunningham was married to Jacob Baughman. Four daughters and one son in time blessed their home. Jacob Baughman died March 19, 1855, and Mrs. Baughman remained a widow from that time until her death, November 23, 1894,—nearly forty years. Mrs. Baughman's son, Abraham J., and her youngest daughter, S. Elizabeth, remain single and always lived with their mother, and the Baughman home was always known as one of hospitality. After her husband's death, Mrs. Baughman removed from Monroe township to Bellville, and when her son established himself in Mansfield a family home was secured, and here she resided for thirty years,—until her death. Mrs. Baughman's grandfather—John Cunningham—served through the war of the Revolution; her father—James Cunningham—was a captain in the war of 1812, and her son—A. J. Baughman—was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion. We copy the following article from the Cincinnati Christian Standard,. relative to Mrs. Baughman's life and death : "Died, at her home in Mansfield on Friday, November 23, 1894, Mrs.. Elizabeth C. Baughman, in her ninetieth year. She was born at Black Hand, Licking county, March 5, 1805. She came with her father to Richland county in 1819, and was one of the pioneer women of the county. She saw it when a wilderness, when the Indian was a frequent visitor at her door. She saw the forests disappear before the sturdy blows of the woodman's ax, and in their stead towns and villages spring up. As Miss Elizabeth Cunningham, she married Jacob Baughman, September 27, 1825. He died March 25, 1855, leaving her a widow with five children,—four daughters and one son. Two daughters have .preceded her to the Father's house She remained a widow nearly forty years, and devoted her life to the training and comfort of her children, all of whom early gave themselves to the Lord and who have ever shown their high appreciation of their mother's Christian worth. Over sixty years ago she embraced the Christian religion. She was baptized by Elder Newmyer, near Newville, and the remembrances of. that occasion have been most precious to her. When the congregation feelingly sang, `Come, humble sinner, in whose breast A thousand thoughts revolve ; Come with your guilt and fears oppressed And make this last resolve,' she arose and went, and as they descended the banks of the beautiful stream for the typical burial they sang, 538 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. `How happy are they who their Saviour obey ;' and as they came up out of the water her ear caught the strain, 'Now, my remnant of days shall be spent to his praise,' when she exclaimed, By the help of the Lord they shall be so spent.' And through all these sixty years she has never wavered nor doubted. Her pastors have received as much spiritual comfort from her as they have been able to impart to her. Whiie her son, A. J. Baughman, and her daughter, S. Elizabeth, filled positions at Washington, D. C., during the first administration of Grover Cleveland Mrs. Baughman was with them, and while a resident of the Capital City she worshipped with the Vermont Avenue Christian church. By her simplicity of manner and beautiful Christian spirit she won her way to all. hearts ; and since her return to Mansfield every year, on the anniversary of her birth, she has received a congratulatory letter from Brother Power, which she esteemed most highly. The next mutual congratulations will be on the other shore. Her death was peaceful and sublime. The day before, the writer, with the family and friends present, partook with her of the emblems of the Lord's body and shed blood. Shortly after this she repeated the well-known Stanza : `Jesus can make the dying bed Feel soft as downy pillows are ; As on his breast I lean my head And breathe my life out sweetly there.' When the farewell moment came, her son and daughter kneeling by her side, each with a hand clasped, she opened her eyes and looked into theirs with a supernal light. Her radiant orbs flashed forth the intelligence, 'The Lord is with me.' And thus gloriously and triumphantly passed away another faithful servant of the Lord." SAMUEL R. GORHAM. When a man's purpose has taken definite form and his energies are concentrated on the prosecution of a career which he has marked out, he cannot fail to win a gratifying degree of success. Prosperity results not from favorable conditions or from influence, but must depend upon the man, and certain qualities always bring desired results. Depending upon his own efforts Samuel Gorham has steadily worked his way upward financially and is classified among the substantial citizens of his community. Mr. Gorham was born in Perrysville, Ashland county, April 7, 1852, his parents being Hezekiah and Charity (Turner) Gorham, of whose family of CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 539 twelve children six are yet living. The father was born at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, September 22, 1807, and in early life went to sea, where he rose from one position to another until he became the captain of a vessel. Some years after his marriage his wife, who did not like her husband's occupation, for it kept him so much away from home, removed with the famliy to Ohio, and some months later he left the sea and joined her in Perryville. He was a mason by trade and here he resumed work at his old occupation. At the time of the discovery of gold in California he made his way across the plains to the Pacific slope in 1849, and there, like many others, he acquired considerable money, but lost it through speculation. After two years passed in the Golden state he returned to Ohio and again worked at his trade until his death, which occurred May 18, 1874. He held membership in the Baptist church and exercised his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party. His wife was born in Waitsfield, Vermont, November 18, 181 i, and was a sister of Gilbert Turner, the noted author, and the aunt of Roswell Horr, who is considered authority on financial matters. She died June 15, 1887. Their surviving children are John G., who is with the house of Aultman-Taylor, of Mansfield, Ohio ; William H. H., who is in the real-estate business in Cleveland ; Eliza, the wife of William Strimple, a farmer of Richland county; Elizabeth, the wife of Aaron Smith, an agriculturist of Monroe township ; James, a railroad man, of Cleveland, Ohio; and Samuel R., a farmer of Monroe township. The last named spent his boyhood days in his father's home and in the common schools acquired his .preliminary education, which was supplemented by study in the Perrysville Academy. His close application and his natural aptitude prepared him for a teacher's profession and at the age of twenty-one he entered the schoolroom as a teacher. For eighteen years he was numbered among the successful educators in the common schools in this part of the state, having the ability to impart clearly to others the knowledge he had acquired. He was also capable of maintaining discipline, which was an important factor in his successful career. For several years he also taught vocal and instrumental music and to a limited extent still gives instruction in that art. About 1889, however, be purchased his present farm and began the operation of his land, placing the fields under a high state of cultivation and making many excellent improvements. Everything about the place is neat and thrifty in its appearance and the buildings and .fences are kept in good repair, the owner thus being classed among the leading farmers of his community. In 188o was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Gorham and Miss Clara B. Shanabarger, native of Richland county and a daughter of 540 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Emanuel Shanabarger, now deceased. Their marriage has been blessed with one son, Ira G., who is now a student in the State University at Columbus, where he is preparing for the bar. Socially Mr. Gorham is connected with the Royal Arcanum Lodge at Perrysville, of which he is the secretary. He also belongs to Hanover Lodge, F. & A. M., of Loudonville, Ohio, and is a faithful member of the Baptist church. He is a Republican and keeps well informed on the issues of the day, as every true American citizen should do. Public-spirited and progressive, he withholds his support from no measure that is calculated to prove of general good and has been particularly active in promoting the educational interests of this section of the state, realizing fully the importance and value of an education as a preparation for life's work. DR. DAVID R. FRANCIS. Dr. David Raitt Francis was born in Mifflin township, Richland county, Ohio, March 21, 1837, and his boyhood days were passed upon his father's farm, within sight of the Big Hill. He early took an interest in education and work. ork. He read medicine with Dr. Loughridge as his preceptor, and later graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city in 1866, He practiced medicine for several years at Paxton, Illinois, and at Savanna and Shiloh, this state, and finally located in Mansfield, where he has continued to reside. He has a large practice and for a number of years was the physician to the county infirmary, Children's Home and the outside poor. Dr. Francis married, September 16, 1863, Miss Mary Jane Wallace, of Ashland county. She was born August 8, 1839, in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. Dr. and Mrs. Francis are members of the Presbyterian church and are both pleasant socially. They have no children. In the preparation of this sketch the writer knows that Dr. Francis would prefer a more extended notice of his grandparents, David and Lillis Angus Raitt, than he would of himself, as they were prominent Richland county pioneers. They came from Dundee, Scotland, to America, and after stopping a while in Virginia and Belmont county, this state, they came to Richland county in a one-horse cart in 1818, and entered land south of the Big Hill in what is now the northwest corner of Mifflin township. To show how difficult it was to get money at that time, it is stated, that farmers hauled wheat from the Hill and even from greater distances, to the Stewart (now Wickert's) mills, four miles south of Mansfield and sold it for twenty-five cents a bushel and were glad to get even that low price, cash. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 541 Mr. Raitt, who was a weaver, had to take trade largely for his work ; and how to raise fifteen dollars, the annual payment on their land, was for a time a perplexing question in that household. Finally Mrs. Raitt solved the problem and saved the homestead for her family. Mrs. Raitt was fairly educated, and entered upon the practice of tocology and at fifty cents a case had the fifteen dollars to meet the payment when it was due. Her fame in this line of practice spread abroad and as doctors were "scarce and far between" it was no unusual thing for her to receive calls taking her from ten to fifteen miles from home. People rode on horseback in those days as vehicles were few and the roads were mostly but paths cut through the wilderness and streams had to be forded. She had frequently to ride skittish and fractious horses ; was often thrown and several times had bones broken; but her indomitable will and energy caused her to persevere, impelled by the love she had for her family and her desire to provide for their comfort and education. Mr. and Mrs. Raitt died in 1855, within six months of each other, the latter at eighty-two and the former a few years older. They had lived thirty-seven years within a mile of the Hill and now their remains repose in the Bosdock cemetery. Dr. D. R. Francis' parents, John and Nancy Willison (Raitt) Francis, were married by Rev. James Johnson, April, 1835. John Francis was a farmer and was many years a ruling elder in the United Presbyterian church. His wife was a kind, thoughtful, pious woman and a devoted wife and mother. SAMUEL SHEETS. Samuel Sheets has passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey and receives the respect which should ever be accorded to one of advanced years whose life has been straightforward and whose actions have been manly and sincere. There is much in the career of Samuel Sheets that is worthy of emulation, and as one of the leading and influential residents of Monroe township he well deserves mention in this volume. A native of Ashland county, Ohio, he was born on the 16th of May, 1827, and is one of the seven children of Joseph and Nancy (Harker) Sheets. The father was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 179o, and in early life learned the tailor's trade. On leaving the place of his nativity he removed to western Virginia and thence came to Ohio, locating in what is now Ashland county, but was then a part of Richland. county. Here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, on which the town of South 542 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Ashland has since been built. He erected the third residence in Ashland county and was one of the honored pioneer settlers who aided in laying broad and deep the foundation of the present prosperity and progress of this section of the state. He purchased the land for a dollar per acre and sold it for two hundred dollars. Upon the farm which he developed and improved he spent his remaining days and acquired a handsome competence through the conduct of his business affairs. He voted with the Republican party, believing that its principles contained .the best elements of good government and that their adoption would greatly promote the welfare of the nation. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, took an active part in its work and in that faith died in 1866. Four of his seven children are yet living, namely : William, a farmer of Ashland county ; Martha, the widow of S. S. Southerland, of Ashland county; Sarah, the wife of Michael McLaughlin, of California; and Samuel. The last named spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of farmer lads, being early trained to habits of industry and economy and to the work of the fields. The common schools afforded him his educational privileges, and at the age of nineteen he joined the Argonauts who started for California in search of the golden fleece. The journey was made overland, and for two years he remained upon the Pacific slope, returning by way of the isthmus route. In 1852 Mr. Sheets was united in marriage to Miss Martha E. McCreedy, a native of Ashland county and a daughter of John and Sarah McCreedy. He then purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land a mile and a half northwest of Hayesville and devoted his time to farming there until 1864, when he became the owner of the Royer farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Mifflin township. Upon that place he resided for fourteen years, when he disposed of the property and removed to Cleveland, where he was engaged in the flour and feed business for about five years. He was successful in that undertaking and established a good trade, but his health failed him and he turned over the business to his sons, while he again sought a home in Richland county, purchasing a small farm of forty-five acres, upon which he now resides. He is practically living retired, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. Mr. and Mrs. Sheets became the parents of four children : John, at home; Loren, who is in the flour and feed business in Cleveland ; Elza, a farmer of Monroe township ; and James, who is associated with his brother in Cleveland. Mr. Sheets is an advocate of Republican principles, having voted with that party since its organization. He belongs to the Presbyterian church CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 543 and his life has been guided by his Christian belief. He is one of the well known men of the county, respected for his sterling qualities, and he deserves great credit for his success in life, as it is the result of his own efforts. His enterprise, strong determination and careful management have been the means of enabling 'him to overcome obstacles, and he has worked his way upward until he is now numbered among the substantial citizens of his community. BENJAMIN BERRY. The value of character is exemplified in every walk of life, no less frequently in the career of the farmer in a rural community than in that of the financier or professional man who makes his mark in the city. Nowhere is sterling character more markedly in evidence or in a broader sense a legacy of the people than in the busy and important farming communities of the middle west. There the sturdy character of the American farmer is as highly developed as anywhere else in the United States. One of the best known representatives of this brand of Americanism in Richland county, Ohio, is the prominent and prosperous citizen whose name supplies a title to this sketch. Benjamin Berry was born near Canton, Ohio, July 6, 1827, a son of Jacob and Mary (Albright) Berry. Jacob Berry was a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and was born March 26, i800. He removed to Canton, Ohio, in his early manhood, and there married Mary Albright, who had come from Stark county, Ohio. In 183o he settled in Monroe township, Richland county, on the farm now owned by his son Eli, then an "eighty" of wild and heavily wooded land, on which he erected a two-room hewn-log house, which he improved and on which he lived out the remainder of his days, which ended June 5, 1886, when he was a little more than eighty-six years old. His wife died at the age of eighty-six also, in 1884. They were faithful and helpful members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Berry was an influential citizen who was prominent in public affairs and held several important local offices. They had nine children, of whom three sons are living : Benjamin, the immediate subject of this sketch ; and Adam and Eli, twins. Another brother, Samuel, served his country as a federal soldier in the Civil war and died in a hospital as the result of disability incurred in active service. Benjamin Berry was three years old when he was brought by his parents to Monroe township, Richland county, Ohio. His boyhood and youth were spent in attending the public schools near his home and assisting his 544 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. father in the work of the farm. He remained under the parental roof until his marriage to Louisa Smith, of Worthington township, when he moved on the farm in Monroe township, which has been his home for forty-six years. The worthy woman mentioned died June 18, 1886, after having borne him nine children—Allen B., Emeline C., Frances M., Laura M., Charles O., Mary E., Edward T, and two others who died in infancy. December 24, 1889, Mr. Berry married Lovina Ferguson, who shares with him the honors of his declining years. Mr. Berry owns a home farm of one hundred and twenty-one acres and a fifteen-acre place in Worthington township, and carries on general farming by modern methods and on a good scale. He is influential in township matters and has held the office of school director and has been township trustee two terms. He is a member and trustee and has been a deacon and elder of the Lutheran church. ELAM A. PLANK. Since 1873 Mr. Plank has been engaged in the milling business at his old location in Worthington township, Richland county, and is now a member of the firm of Plank & Neal. They own the Clear Fork Roller Mills, the largest water-power mill in the county, and the success of this industry is assured by the practical and honorable business method's of the owners. Mr. Plank is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred near Wooster, in Wayne county, on the 1st of November, 1841. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to Melchior Plank and his wife, who, as a young couple, came to America from Holland in the year 1744, establishing their home in Berks county, Pennsylvania. Although they sailed from Holland to the new world, they were German people, having previously left the fatherland on account of religious persecution, taking up their home in Rotterdam, Holland. The circumstances of their emigration were rather peculiar. They went aboard a vessel at Rotterdam in order to bid goodbye to some friends who were about to sail, and were told by the captain that the ship would not leave harbor before morning. They were then persuaded by their friends to remain on board till morning, but when day dawned they found that the ship was far out at sea and land was no longer in sight. They, of course, had nothing with them but the clothing they wore, and on their arrival in America, they were sold to a Morgan, of Berks county, Pennsylvania, for their passage. However, they made the best of the situation and established CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 545 a home in the Keystone state. At a later date other members of the family crossed the Atlantic to the new world. Melchior Plank and wife became the parents of six children. In the course of time he and his family removed to Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where Jacob Plank, the great-grandfather of our subject, was married Subsequently he removed to Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, where he reared his twelve children. In 1821 he and his family, including three married sons and their families, came to Ohio, settling in the little Apple Creek valley and in the vicinity of Wooster, Wayne county, where they built gristmills, sawmills and shops of various kinds, for nearly all of them were mechanics. Jacob Plank and his son Jacob, the great-grandfather and grandfather of our subject, spent their remaining days in that locality, but others of the family removed to different sections of the country, so that their descendants are now widely scattered. The great-grandfather died at the extreme old age of eighty-three years. The grandfather was a cabinet-maker by trade and died at the age of sixty-one years. John Plank, the great uncle of our subject, removed to Iowa in 1846 and died there at the age of ninety-seven years, having never been ill but once in his entire life. The Planks are now scattered from New York to San Francisco and from the great lakes to the gulf of Mexico. The family in all its direct and collateral branches would probably number several thousand members, representing nearly every honorable occupation and profession. Jonathan Plank, the father of him whose name introduces this review, was born in Pennsylvania and was only four years of age when his parents came to Ohio. He was reared in Wayne county and engaged in the milling business there until 1846, when he removed to Holmes county, where he conducted a mill for eleven years. In the fall of 1856 he came to Richland county, locating near Butler. For several years he was interested in the mill of which our subject is now the proprietor, and managed that enterprise until his retirement to private life. He spent his last thirteen years in Butler, enjoying a well earned rest, and at the age of eighty was called to the home beyond. In politics he was reared a Whig, but became a Democrat. He took no very active part in political affairs, serving, however, in several minor offices in Holmes and Richland counties. He belonged to the Sons of Temperance and was an active and consistent member of the Evangelical church. A self-made man, all that he possessed in life he acquired by his own efforts, and in his business affairs he met with a creditable degree of success. He married Miss Lydia King, also a native of Pennsylvania, whence she came to Wayne county with her parents during her early girl- 546 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. hood, the family there casting in their lot amid the pioneer settlers of that portion of the Buckeye state. By that marriage there were born ten children, four sons and six daughters, of whom one son and five daughters are yet living. The mother died in 1859, at the age of forty-three years, and Mr. Plank afterward married Mrs. Sarah Teeter, by whom he had two sons, both of whom are living. The second marriage was celebrated in 186o, and Mrs. Plank still survives. Elam A. Plank was largely reared in Holmes county, but when about fifteen years of age came to Richland county. At an early age he began working in his father's mill and thus gained a practical knowledge of the business. Soon after attaining his majority he began milling on his own account and has made it his life work. In May, 1864, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Sixty-third Ohio Infantry. He belonged to the National Guard and served for about four months at the front during the Civil war, spending most of the time on the James river and at Washington and Fort Pocahontas. After his return to the north he went to Decatur, Illinois, thence to Danville, same state. Subsequently he removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was ,engaged in the operation of a mill for six years. In 1873, however, he returned to Ohio and purchased a half interest in his father's mill in Worthington township, Richland county. The business connection between them continued eleven years, and since that time Mr. Plank has had other partners, having for the last nine years been associated with his brother-in-law, John B. Neal. Mr. Plank owns a two-third interest in the business and is enjoying a liberal patronage. The mill is one of the best equipped in the county, having a full roller process and all modern facilities for the successful conduct of the business. He has a very practical and exact knowledge of milling, and his close application and earnest purpose have enabled him in his business career to steadily work his way upward to a position of affluence. His efforts have been .by no means confined to one line. He was one of the promoters, stockholders and directors in the Richland County Bank, of Butler. Mr. Plank was united in marriage to Miss May A. Woodham, who was born in London, England, and came to the United States about 1849. Their home is now blessed by the presence of three children,—Angie Mabel, Lulu L. and Olive E.,—and they also have an adopted daughter, Madeline G. Mr. Plank and his family are members of the Evangelical church, and in politics he is a Republican, but has never been an aspirant for the honors or emoluments of public office, preferring rather to devote his energies to his business affairs. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 547 CHARLES BRUMFIELD. Charles Brumfield was born at Logan, Ohio, January 2, 1863. His father, T. D. Brumfield, was a native of Lancaster, Fairfield county, this state, and his mother was Margaret J. Wise, of Mansfield. The subject lived at Lancaster until he was eleven years old, when the family removed to Richland county, locating first in Madison and later in Springfield township. Charles Brumfield went to work for the Mansfield Savings Bank as messenger boy when he was eighteen years old, and later was promoted as bookkeeper. After service for this bank for five years he resigned to accept a position in the county treasurer's office, under Edward Remy, and after a service there of two years he resigned and entered the employ of the Tracy & Avery Company as bookkeeper and confidential clerk. After a service of four years in the employ of this firm he resigned to become cashier of the Bank of Mansfield upon its organization, January 1, 1893. In 1897 Mr. Brumfield received the Democratic nomination for treasurer, and was elected, and is now serving his second term. October 22, 1884, he was married to Miss Nettie M. Coulter, and there are three children of this union, namely : Marie C., Lewis Brucker and Charles, Jr. When the tax inquisitor claimed in his report that the Aultman-Taylor Company and the M. D. Harter estate had not correctly listed their property and holdings, Mr. Brumfield with the county auditor wanted to refer; the matter to the court for adjudication, claiming that the case could not be legally decided by speech-making nor by employees marching in procession. This position he has successfully maintained, which shows the stamina of his character. Mr. Brumfield has filled the several positions he has held with credit to himself and satisfaction to his employers, and socially he is an affable, agreeable gentleman. JOHN J. DILL. John J. Dill is one of the wide-awake, progressive young men of Worthington township, prominently identified with agricultural and educational interests. He is a son of Jerry M. Dill, who was numbered among those substantial citizens whose characters are of sterling worth and who contributed to the material growth and advancement of the community, and in his death Worthington township lost one of its representative and highly respected farmers. He was born in Stark county, Ohio, and there spent his child- 548 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. hood and youth. When a young man he went to Ashland, but after a short time he took up his abode in Mansfield, where his father, Thomas Dill, conducted a blacksmithing shop for many years. The latter was born in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, and lived to be seventy-eight years of age. His political support was given the Democracy and in the conduct of his business affairs he was successful. Under his father's direction J. M. Dill learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for a long period. When the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Railroad, now the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, was built through this section of the state, he secured a position as fireman for the company, and within a short time was promoted as engineer, running between Sandusky and Newark for several years. On the expiration of that period he came. to Worthington township, Richland county, and later to Jefferson township and purchased a small farm, where he resided till 1890, when he removed to Worthington township upon a farm purchased by his sons, J. J. and J. E. Upon this he spent his remaining days, his energies being given to agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-seven years of age. In his political views he became a Republican in 186o and supported that party throughout the remainder of his life. Mr. Dill married Miss Lydia Donaugh, a native of Holmes county, Ohio, and a daughter of Amos Donaugh, who was born in Pennsylvania and was of German lineage. Mrs. Dill is still living, at the age of sixty-seven years, and is one of the highly respected ladies of Worthington township. By her marriage she became the mother of four children : John J. ; Jerry E., who follows farming on the old homestead ; Minnie J., who married Herman Berndt, and died leaving one child, Herman Dill Berndt ; and Charles F., a farmer of Worthington township. The first named, John J. Dill, was born in Mansfield, Ohio, where he spent the first six years of life, when he was taken by his parents to the farm on their removal to that place. He has since remained at the old homestead and much of the labor of cultivating the fields has devolved upon him. He was educated in the public schools near his home, in Bellville and in Ada. His aptitude in his studies enabled him to successfully pass the teacher's examination, and he engages in teaching through the winter months, and during the summer works the home farm. He and J. E. own eighty acres of valuable land and their mother resides at the old home place with them. Their fields are under a high state of cultivation and everything abort the place is neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating his careful supervision. In his political views he is a stalwart Republican, laboring earnestly to disseminate the principles of the party and to secure their adoption through elective measures. He was CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 549 chosen by popular ballot appraiser of Worthington township and now fills that office. He is a prominent member of Sturges Lodge, I. O. O. F., and Silver Star Lodge, Daughters of Rebekah, both of Butler, Ohio, and of Jefferson Grange, of Bellville, this state. He is a man of good business judgment, is enterprising and progressive and lends his co-operation to all movements and measures calculated to prove of benefit to the ccunty along material, social, moral and intellectual lines. THOMAS M. BELL. Thomas M. Bell was born in Washington township, Richland county, Ohio, September 6, 1870. His father, Robert Bell, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, May I, 1820, and came to Richland county, Ohio, in October, 1821, with his parents, to a farm in section 7, in Washington township, where he resided (except one year in Mansfield) until his death, March 13, 1898. T. M. Bell's mother's maiden name was Elennor Jane Cook, and she was a daughter of William and Eliza Cook. The subject of this sketch lived with his parents during the years of his minority, working on the farm in the summers and in the winters attending school at the Sandy Hill schoolhouse, and later the public schools at Lexington. He early took an interest in literary work, and for several years was the president of the society at Sandy Hill. In 1892 he left the farm in Washington township to live with his sister, Mrs. Mary B. Finney, whose husband died in August of that year, on the Cook farm two and one-half miles west of Mansfield, where he continued to reside until 1898, when, being a member of Company M, Eighth Ohio National Guards, he felt it his duty, when the call came for troops for the Cuban war, to go with his company, and in May, of that year, was mustered into the service of the United States and served with his regiment in Cuba. He returned home in September, and was married November 2, 1898, to Georgia May Mosier, a daughter of William Mosier, now living in California. She is the granddaughter of Henry Dickson, of Troy township, with whom she formerly lived, her mother having died when she was less than a year old. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have one child, Lilian Elennor Bell, born May 21, 1900. Mr. Bell is now deputy sheriff of Richland county, and is a capable and efficient officer. When Mr. Bell's grandfather settled on the Mansfield-Lexington road the county was in its pioneer period.—twenty-five years before the first railroad entered Richland county. The Bells lived on a stage route. The law