650 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. secured a limited common-school education. On the 29th of April, 1842, he married Miss Esther H. Gladden, also a native of Monroe township and a daughter of Solomon and Rachel (Young) Gladden. Her father was born in Virginia November 9, 1791, and when five years old moved to Jefferson county, Ohio, with his parents, Joseph and Hannah (Munn) Gladden, the former of Scotch, the latter of Irish descent. In Jefferson county he attained to man's estate, and in 1814, with a wagon load of supplies and a team of oxen, he drove to Richland county, where he entered three quarter-sections of land, and erected thereon a bark hut. Returning to Jefferson county he was married in the fall of the same year, and in 1815 returned to his Richland county home with his bride. The remainder of his life was devoted to the improvement and cultivation of his land. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson became the parents of four children, namely : Raselas G., deceased; Aaron E., who is represented on another page of this work ; Ursula J., the wife of John Coulter, of Mansfield, who is in the railway mail service; and Lester W., deceased, who was a popular hardware merchant of Perrysville and a member Of the Knights of Pythias. Mrs. Peterson, her children and grandchildren were all educated in the same district school in Monroe township. She is a member of the Baptist church and a most estimable lady. For six years after his marriage Mr. Peterson ,engaged in farming upon rented land, and then, in the fall of 1848, purchased his present valuable farm of one hundred and thirty-five acres, upon which he has made many excellent improvements. Prospering in his farming operations,. he has added to his landed possessions, tracts of thirty, twenty-seven and one hundred and sixty-five acres, and besides this property he owns a good brick business block in Perrysville. In politics he is a Democrat, but has never been an office-seeker, preferring to devote his entire attention to his business interests, in which he has been so remarkably successful. JOHN APPLEGATE. On the farm where he now resides on section 14, Monroe township, John Applegate was born February 10, 1843. His father, Joseph Applegate, was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and after arriving at years of maturity he was married to Miss Sophia Dunn. In 182o he came to Ohio, making the journey by team, accompanied by his wife and two children. On their arrival in Richland county the father entered two hundred acres of land in Mifflin township, paying the usual government CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 651 price of a dollar and a quarter per acre, and on his land he erected a log cabin and then began the arduous task of clearing his fields. The sound of the ax was followed by the gleam of the shining plow, and as the years passed acre after acre was highly cultivated and returned a golden tribute for the care and labor bestowed upon them. On the old homestead the father resided until his death, which occurred in 1878, when he had attained the age of eighty-two years. The family circle was increased in Ohio until there were eleven children,—seven sons and four daughters,—of whom five are still living : James, a retired farmer now living in Chicago, Illinois; Sarah J., the wife of John Marks, of Indiana; Lucy, the wife of William Rodman, of Monroe township, Richland county ; and John and Sylvanus, who live on the farm. The father was a member of the Swedenborgian church. As soon as he was old enough to handle the plow John Applegate began work in the fields, assisting in all the work until the crops were harvested in the autumn, and pursued his studies in the district schools of the neighborhood, conning the lessons which usually formed the curriculum of that day. As a companion and helpmeet on life's journey he chose Miss Hannah Winters, their marriage being celebrated February 10, 1868. Soon after their marriage they removed to Ashland county, where Mr. Applegate engaged in farming for eleven years. He then returned to the old homestead, for his father had died one year previously, and he assumed the management of the place. He has since resided on the old farm, and in addition to this property of one hundred and eighty acres he owns eighty acres of land in Ashland county and is regarded as one of the progressive and enterprising agriculturists of his community. Mr. Applegate is numbered among the veterans of the Civil war, for in response to his country's call for aid he enlisted, on the 15th of October, 1861, as a private in Company E, Sixty-fourth Ohio Infantry. He was mustered in at Mansfield for three months, and on the expiration of his term-he re-enlisted in the same company and regiment for three years, serving until the close of the war. He participated in the engagements of Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and the siege of Knoxville. About that time his second term of service expired and he was granted a thirty-day furlough. He then visited his family, and when the month had passed rejoined his regiment at Cleveland, Tennessee, and participated in the battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Adairsville, Kingston, Georgia, and Dallas, being wounded in the last named by a minie ball in the right leg. After some days spent in the field hospital he was transferred to the hospital at 652 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Chattanooga and thence to the Nashville hospital, where he was confined for three months. He was then placed on convalescent duty until the siege of Atlanta, when he joined his regiment, then engaged in the pursuit of Hood. Later he was in the battles of Franklin, Spring Hill and Nashville, Tennessee, receiving an honorable discharge at Columbus, on the 6th of January, 1866. Wherever duty called Mr. Applegate was found, whether upon the picket line, on the tented field or in the midst of a hotly contested engagement. When the war was over he gladly returned to his home and family and has since been identified with agricultural pursuits in Richland county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Applegate have been born three children : William S. and George W., twins, and Harriet, at home. Mr. Applegate is a valued member of the Grand Army of the Republic, also belongs to Monroe Grange and holds membership relations in the Lutheran church. His life has been characterized by fidelity to duty, and as a citizen he is as true to his country in times of peace as when he followed the stars and stripes through the south. ELZA SHEETS. Elea Sheets is one of the prosperous farmers of Richland county, now being in charge of the Kling farm. He was born in Ashland county, Ohio, January 28, 1856, and is a son of Samuel and Emaline (McCready) Sheets. His grandparents, Joseph and Nancy Sheets, came to the Buckeye state from Virginia after their marriage and took up their abode in Ashland county, where the grandfather purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. Upon that place the city of Ashland has since been built. He was successful in his business affairs and his energetic prosecution of his farm work brought to him a very desirable competence. He became one of the influential residents of Ashland county and was an active member of the Presbyterian church, in which for many years he held office. All who knew him respected him for his sterling worth. His honesty was proverbial and he bore an unassailable reputation. The father of our subject was born in Ashland county in 1828, and was there reared and married, after which he began farming on his father's land. About 1867 he removed to Richland county, purchasing the old Patrie farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Mifflin township. There he made his home for ten years, when he sold that property and removed to Cleveland, where he lived retired for four years. Then he returned to Richland county and bought forty-five acres CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 653 of the old Lambright farm in Monroe township, having since that time made it his place of residence. In his political views he has long been a Republican and is a member of the Presbyterian church. He married Miss Emaline McCready, who was born in Ashland county, Ohio, about 1835, a daughter of John and Sarah (Carter) McCready, who came to Ohio from Pennsylvania and were among the early settlers of Ashland county. To Mr. and Mrs. Sheets were born four children, all of whom are yet living, namely : Elza ; John, at home; Loren S., who is engaged in the flour and feed business in Cleveland, Ohio; and James, who is a partner of his brother Loren. Elza Sheets, whose name forms the caption of this review, spent his childhood days with his parents, and to the common-school system of his native county he is indebted for the educational privileges which he received. On attaining his majority he came to Richland county, where for three years he was employed as a farm hand. In 1879 he was united in marriage to Miss Alice Kling, daughter of Ephraim and Lucinda Kling, and soon afterward he took charge of the Kling farm, which he has since successfully managed and operated. His business methods are progressive and commendable and in all his dealings he is strictly honorable. He is a member of the Lutheran church and in his political affiliations is a Republican. He belongs to Pomona Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, and enjoys the high esteem of all with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact. HENRY H. KAYLOR. Among the native sons of Richland county is Henry Harman Kaylor, whose birth occurred in Mifflin township February 25, 1870, his parents being Frederick and Rachel (Masden) Kaylor. The Kaylor family is of German lineage and was founded in America by the great-grandfather of our subject, who crossed the Atlantic and located in Pennsylvania. Frederick Kaylor, the grandfather, was born in Germany and during his early boyhood was brought to the new world. He was reared in the Keystone state and after his marriage began farming there on his own account. In the '30s he came to Richland county, Ohio, settling in Monroe township, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, just east of the farm upon which Henry H. Kaylor now resides. There he cleared and developed the fields, continuing to improve the place until his death. As his financial resources increased he added to his property until within its boundaries were comprised three hundred and seventy-two acres. He thus 654 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. became well-to-do, his property being very valuable. He was recognized as one of the influential men of the neighborhood, and his sound judgment proved an important factor in the conduct of public affairs. In politics he was a Democrat, and was an active member of the church. He died in 1881, respected by all who knew him. Frederick Kaylor, Jr., the father of our subject, was reared to manhood on his father's farm, and after his marriage resided for one year in the old log cabin built by his father on coming to Richland county. He then removed to the Henry Blust farm in Mifflin township, which was at that time owned by Frederick Kaylor, and there he resided for twelve years, when he purchased the present Kaylor farm, which also was the property of his father. Throughout his remaining days he lived upon this place, and the well tilled fields indicated that his was a life of active labor. He was a man small of stature, but was unusually strong and robust, and prosecuted his work with diligence. He, too, was a stanch Democrat, and was a member of Mount Zion Lutheran church. He also belonged to Lucas Lodge, I. O. O. F. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted in the country's service, but his father forced him to return home. He was a man of sterling character, whose many excellent qualities commanded the respect of all with whom he came in contact. He died February 3, 1881, and the community mourned the loss of one of its valued citizens. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rachel Masden, was born in Monroe township, Richland county, September 22, 1845. Her parents, William and Sarah (Enyard) Masden, came to Richland county about 1840, and located on the farm now owned by Washington Smith. He, however, was a miller by trade, and for several years operated the mill at Lucas. The Democracy received his unswerving allegiance and he was honored with a number of positions of public trust and responsibility. He held various township offices and for many years was a justice of the peace. Mr. and Mrs. Kaylor became the parents of four children : Effie M., the wife of William Rummell, of Salem, Oregon; Henry H., of this review ; and two who are now deceased. Henry Harman Kaylor spent his boyhood days with his parents, and in the common schools near his home gained his preliminary education, which was supplemented by study in the high school of Lucas. He was only eleven years of age at the time of his father's death. His mother managed the farm until he was old enough to relieve her of its duties and labors, since which time he has been in control of the work upon the place. He is recognized as one of the representative and progressive young farmers of CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 655 the community. His fields are highly cultivated and the place indicates his careful management and supervision. Mr. Kaylor is a stanch Democrat, and is a member of the Lutheran church. He also belongs to the Mohawk Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, and in social and business circles is highly esteemed for the possession of those qualities which in every land and in every clime command respect. FRANK A. ABBOTT. There is, in the anxious and laborious struggle for an honorable competence and a solid career of the business or professional man fighting the every-day battle of life, but little to attract the idle reader in search of a sensational chapter ; but for a mind thoroughly awake to the reality and meaning of human existence, there are noble and immortal lessons in the life of the man., who, without other means than a clear head, a strong arm, and a true heart, conquers adversity, and toiling on through the work a day years of a long career finds that he has won not only wealth but also something far greater and higher,—the deserved respect and esteem of those with whom his years of active life placed him in contact. Such a man, and one of the leading citizens of Shelby, Ohio, is Frank A. Abbott, who was born in Spencer, Medina county, Ohio, March 8, 1857, his parents being Arby Jennings and Martha M. (Thorp) Abbott. The Abbott family is one well known in America, for the name figures conspicuously on the pages of her history in connection with important events. The subject of this review is descended from one of three brothers who came from England in 1648, settling in Massachusetts, and of the same family the celebrated George Abbott was a representative. The paternal grandparents of our subject were Daniel and Sally Bellows Abbott, who removed from the Empire state to Ohio in the year 1833. The father was a farmer and blacksmith, but he was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, his death occurring in February, 1837. In his family were ten children, namely : Daniel, who was born November 3, 18o5, and died February 1, 1836 ; Charlotte, born November 2; 1807, and died September 1, 1836 ; Leverette, who was born July 15, 1809, and died February 8, 1878; Eliza A., who was born April 20, 1811; Sally, who was born August 5. 1813 ; Abigail, born March 27, 1815; Charles, born March 8, 1817; Arby Jennings, born November 10, 1819; Elvira, who was born August 10, 1821, and died at the age of ten years, ten months and twenty days; and Sidney, who was born March 8 1825. 656 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Arby Jennings Abbott, the father of our subject, was born in Lebanon, Madison county, New York, November 10, 1819, and in 1833, when fourteen years of age, he came with his parents to Ohio. In 1846 he was united in Marriage to Miss Martha M. Thorp, of New York. Their eldest son was born in May, 1853, and died September 1, 1879. Mr. Abbott was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a man of the highest respectability. Frank A. Abbott, whose name introduces this review, has spent his entire life in Ohio. The year 1875 witnessed his arrival in Shelby, where he. has made his home for a quarter of a century. With his brother, William L., he engaged in the drug business, the partnership continuing until his brother's death in 1879. Mr. Abbott was then alone in business for two years, when he sold his store to J. Frank Rhooks' and turned his attention to the hardwood lumber business, to which he has since given his energies. At the present time he is also dealing in carriages and is interested in the patent-right business, under the firm name of Bevans & Abbott, his partner being Dr. Bevans. He has maintained a lively interest in the advancement of the industrial and commercial interests of the city of his adoption and has contributed largely to its progress and substantial upbuilding. In all business transactions he is reliable, energetic and determined, and these qualities have insured him a gratifying success. In 1884 occurred the marriage of Mr. Abbott to Miss Amy Myers, a daughter of Professor John and Lydia (Hurksler) Myers. Their union has been blessed with three children : William Jennings, born August 2, 1885, and Martha and Myers, twins, born in September, 1886. While Mr. Abbott has not been an aspirant for political honors, he has twice been elected to serve as township treasurer, being chosen for the position on the Republican ticket. A man of genial and social nature and one who is most appreciative of the amenities which go to make up the sum of human happiness, he has identified himself with the Knights of Pythias. He attends the services of the Methodist Episcopal church, and as one of the public-spirited men of the town he withholds his support from no interest or movement calculated to pr e of general good. LEWIS C. MENGERT. Upon a farm in Washington township, Richland county, and in a log cabin, the subject of this sketch, Lewis C. Mengert, was born, on the 27th of August, 1858. His parents, William and Sophia (Griebling) Mengert, CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 657 were of German nativity. His father was born in Oberbieber, Kingdom of Prussia, June 18, 1818, and in Freilinger, province of Nassau, the mother of our subject was born January 2, 1813. They were married in Germany, and in the fatherland seven children were born unto them. Five of the children died there, and in 1853 the parents and two children, a son and daughter, set sail for the United States. Finding their way to Richland county, they settled in Washington township, where the father began farming on rented lands. Some five or six years after coming to this country the daughter, who bore the name of Henrietta, died. The son grew to manhood, and at this writing resides in Knox county, Ohio. Two sons were born in the family of this worthy couple in this country. They are Frederick Mengert, a resident of Ashland county, Ohio, and Lewis C. Mengert, whose name forms the caption of this article. As already stated, the parents first located in Washington township. There they resided until 1861 or 1862, when the father purchased eighty acres of school land, and thither removed. Here the subject of this mention was reared to farm labors. In 1883 the parents removed to the town of Butler, where the' father still resides, but in the same year of the removal to Butler the mother passed away in death. Both of the parents were of the Evangelical. Reformed church faith. The father has been a life-long Democrat, and served some three or four years as a trustee of Worthington township. In the country schools, the Butler village school and the Mansfield Normal school Lewis C. Mengert received a fair education. At the age of seventeen he began teaching in the country schools, and was thus engaged in teaching for seven years. For six years thereafter he taught in the Butler schools, and was the principal in charge of the schools. As a teacher he established for himself an excellent reputation. In 1883 Mr. Mengert began the study of law in the law office of Donnell & Marriott, of Mansfield. In December, 1886, he was admitted to the bar, and locating in Butler, began his career in the legal profession. His practice has been general, and In his profession Mr. Mengert has already gained an enviable reputation. He remained at Butler until 1892, when he came to Mansfield. Until 1897 he was a member of the law firm of Bell, Brinkerhoff & Mengert, but since 1897 he has been a member of the well-known law firm of Douglass & Mengert. In politics Mr. Mengert has been an active worker in behalf of the Democratic party. In the years 1898 and 1900 he was the chairman of the Richland county Democratic executive committee. In 1883 he was united in marriage with Miss Clara V. Gongwer. This union has been blessed by the birth of four children, namely : Portia, Gladys, 658 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Karl and Paul. Mr. and Mrs. Mengert and children are members of St. Luke's Lutheran congregation, and fraternally he holds membership in the Knights of Pythias and Independent Order of Foresters. ALBERT W. HUMBERT. The farm upon which Albert W. Humbert resides has Tong been in possession of the family and there his birth occurred on the 28th of September, 1863, his parents being William and Margaret (Wolf) Humbert. The father, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in 1821 and while yet a boy came with his parents to Ohio, the family settling in what is now Ashland county, but was then a part of Richland county. There he secured employment with Andy Proudfoot, a butcher and farmer, working on the farm and assisting in the butcher shop whenever he was needed there. That he rendered faithful service to his employer is indicated by the fact that, he remained with Mr. Proudfoot until his marriage. Miss Margaret Wolf became his wife and they then located on her father's farm, where they resided for three years, when Mr. Humbert purchased a farm north of Loudon in Cass township, Richland county. He was also a shoemaker by trade and followed that business during the winter season when the work of the farm was practically over. He would occasionally work at it in the morning and evening, but during the summer months the most of his attention was given to the development of the fields, in which work he was assisted by his sons. He was indeed a very industrious and energetic man and his success was attributable entirely to his own efforts. After living upon his farm for some years he sold that property and purchased the land upon which our subject now resides, there spending his remaining days, his death occurring in 1889, when he was in the sixty-ninth year of his age. In early life he was a member of the Methodist church, but in latter years was not identified with any religious denomination. His career, however, was permeated by Christian principles and the golden rule was exemplified in his daily conduct so that he commanded the respect and confidence of all who knew him. In politics he was a stanch Democrat. As a companion and helpmeet on life's journey he chose Miss Margaret Wolf, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1821, and during her girlhood came to Ohio with her parents, the family locating in Ashland county, where her father purchased a farm. His death occurred soon afterward and he thus left to the care of his widow their family of children, seven of whom were daughters. There was also an incumbrance upon the land and the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 659 mother made great efforts to meet her obligations and supply her family. Her daughters were forced to work in the fields and in her girlhood Mrs. Humbert, the mother of our subject, spent many days on a harrow or performed other such tasks as were suited to her age and strength. She died December 12, 1899, at the advanced age of seventy-eight years, having reared a family of eight children who were a credit to her in many ways. Most of the number are still living, as follows : Levi, an agriculturist of Bloom-. ing Grove township ; John, a farmer of Fulton county, Ohio ; Mary, wife of William Adams, a farmer of Plymouth township, Richland county ; Melissa, wife of Samuel Kissler, who is operating a tract of land in Madison township; William, a farmer of Williams county, Ohio ; and A. W., of this review. Mr. Humbert, whose name introduces this review, was trained to habit of industry and honesty upon the old homestead and acquired his education in the common schools, but his privileges were somewhat meager as he was obliged to assist in the work of the farm. Observation and reading, however, combined with experience in the practical affairs of life, have greatly supplemented his knowledge. In 1884 Mr. Humbert was married to Miss Lucy Hubley, a native of, Butler township and a daughter of Adam Hubley, whose birth occurred in Pennsylvania. They began their domestic life on the old homestead, in a building which had been erected some time before, and Mr. Humbert continued to cultivate the fields on the shares. After his father's death he purchased the interests of the other heirs and is now sole owner of the place, having a rich and productive tract of land. The home has been blessed with a family of two children, Clyde and Rhea. Both Mr. and Mrs. Humbert are members of the Disciple church and his political support is given the Democracy. He is now classed among the substantial, wide-awake and enterprising farmers of his community. What he has accomplished in life is indeed creditable.' With few advantages in youth, he has worked his way upward, brooking no obstacles that could he conquered by honorable and determined purpose. JOSEPH WARD PALMER. The subject of this sketch, who is one of the representative farmers of Washington township, has spent his entire life in Richland county, his birth having occurred in Franklin township July 24, 1841. His father, Charles. S. Palmer, was a native of London, England, and a son of John 660 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. E. Palmer, who died when Charles S. was only three years old, leaving con. siderable property. In his family were three children,—John E., Charles S. and William. The father of our subject completed his education at the age of sixteen years, and for the following two years he was employed in a bank as a collector. He then acted as a collector and bookkeeper for his guardian, who was an auctioneer. In 1819 he and his brother, John E., came to the new world and the same year located in Mansfield, Ohio, boarding for three months at the Wiler House, which was then a log structure. They brought with them a stock of dry goods, expecting to engage in mercantile business, but finding no favorable opening sold the stock to E. P. Sturges. In 1820 Charles S. Palmer purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, at a dollar and a quarter an acre, 'and erected thereon a log house, inwhich he made his home while clearing and breaking his land. Later he erected more substantial buildings and continued to make his home in Weller township. until 1856, when he purchased the farm in Washington township upon which our subject now resides. In 1821 he married Miss Annie Ward, and they had twelve children, namely : Charles S., of Wyandot county, who died at the age of seventy years; Francis, a fruit-grower of Davenport, Washington; Mary, who died at the age of nineteen years; John E., of Wyandot county, who died at the age of sixty-eight; Elizabeth, the deceased wife of Michael Depler, of Upper Sandusky, Ohio; Fanny, the wife of David Hughes, of Weller township, this county; Martha, the deceased wife of Henry Gallady, also of Weller township; Amanda, the deceased wife of William Watson, of Iowa ; Phoebe J., the wife of Robert Hughes, of Weller township; Henry G., a resident of Mansfield ; Joseph W., our subject; and Anna M., the wife of Jacob Gallady, of New Lisbon, Ohio. Eleven of the twelve children lived to be over fifty years of age. None of the five sons used tobacco or drank intoxicating liquors, and were well worthy of the high regard in which they were uniformly held. The first fourteen years of his life Joseph W. Palmer passed in his native township, and then accompanied the family on their removal to Washington township, where he has since made his home. He received a good practical education in the high school of Mansfield and the Normal School at Bucyrus, and at the age of nineteen years commenced teaching, a profession which he successfully followed through the winter months from 1860 to 1870, while during the summer season he engaged in farming. In the latter year he purchased his present farm of seventy acres in Washington CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 661 township, which is conveniently located three miles from Mansfield. Since then he has given his attention principally to farming, and since January, 1896, has also acted as agent for the State Grange Insurance Company in Richland county. Mr. Palmer's wife was formerly Miss Mary Kelso, a daughter of William Kelso, a druggist of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Jane Knox Kelso, a sister of John and Wilson Knox, of this county. Miss Kelso was a teacher and for a number of years previous to her marriage was employed in the public schools of Lexington. Their children are Grace and Alice, both graduates of the Mansfield high school and teachers in the city ; Charles, an employe in Tracy & Avery's wholesale house ; Fred, who graduated at the high school in 1900 and is now teaching in Washington township; Edward, who is still in school ; and William, who died in infancy. Mr. Palmer was in the one-hundred-day service during the Civil war, enlisting as a private in May, 1864, in Company E, One Hundred and Sixty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. With his command he went first to Washington, D. C., and from there to Richmond and Appomattox, in Virginia. Politically he is a supporter of the Republican party. In 1897 he was appointed by the county commissioners as a trustee of the Children's Home, and is now serving his second term of four years in that capacity. For many years Mr. Palmer has been a consistent member of the Congregational church at Mansfield, and he is also a member of the order of Patrons of Husbandry. ROSS R. BARNES. On a farm on section 3, Cass township, Ross R. Barnes makes his home, devoting his energies to agricultural pursuits. He was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, on the l0th of May, 1852, his parents being Joshua and Sarah (Strayer) Barnes. His father was a native of Maryland, born in 1803, and when eleven years of age he accompanied his parents on their emigration to Jefferson county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood on the home farm, experiencing all the hardships and trials of Pioneer life. In his early manhood he spent two or three years as a clerk in a general store in the village near his home, but soon after his marriage he removed to Richland county, settling near Lexington. After a year, however, he returned to Jefferson county to take care of his wife's parents, who were then well advanced in years and needed the assistance of younger people. Upon the Strayer farm 662 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Mr. Barnes then spent his remaining days, passing away on the 11th of March, 1878, in his seventy-fifth year. In early life he endorsed the principles of the Whig party, and on its dissolution became a Republican and was an ardent Abolitionist, and three of his sons became Union soldiers and fought to free the slaves. Amos was killed in an explosion in Newbern, North Carolina, and thus gave his life in defense of his country. William was also one of the "boys in blue," and the third son, Philander, was wounded at Peach Tree Creek. The father was a Lutheran in his religious belief and died in the faith of that church. He had eleven children, of whom eight are yet living, namely : Cyrus, a farmer of Jefferson county, Ohio; William, who also is engaged in farming in that county ; Philander, who makes his home in Shiloh; Albert, an agriculturist of Cass township; George, who owns and cultivates land in Butler township; Samantha, the wife of Rev. William Eaton, a Presbyterian minister of Chicago; Samuel, a practicing physician of Massillon, Ohio; and Thomas, who follows farm ing in Jefferson county. Ross R. Barnes was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads of the period and in the common schools became familiar with many branches of the English language. After his father's death he had charge of the holm; farm for two years. On the l0th of September, 1879, he was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary McBride, a native of Richland county and a daughter of Calvin McBride, one of the prominent farmers of Cass township, this county. In the spring following his marriage Mr. Barnes removed to Richland county and for three years engaged in the cultivation of rented land, the tract being now comprised in Clear Creek township, Ashland county. In the spring of 1883 he removed to his present home, at that time purchasing fifty acres of land, to which he added a tract of thirty-six acres the following year. Here he has since given his time to the further development and cultivation of his fields, and now has a well improved place, his labors annually augmenting his income. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Barnes has been blessed with seven chil dren, namely : Mabel E., Elsie P., Amy M., Lena B., Sylvia M., Fred A. and Elda M. The family circle yet remains unbroken and the children are still at their parental home. Mr. Barnes and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is an earnest and consistent member and in which he is now serving as recording steward. Of the Republican party he is an ardent supporter. He is now filling the position of president of the school board, the cause of education finding in him a warm friend, for he realizes its importance and value in the work of life. He belongs CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 663 to Highland Court, No. 53, of the Tribe of Ben Hur, at Shiloh, and is one of its popular and highly esteemed representatives. He is a self-made man, and whatever he has achieved in life is due to his own efforts. He is now in possession of a very good farm and is accounted one of the well-to-do agriculturists of the community. FRANK M. CLINE. Frank M. Cline, an agriculturist living on section 3, Franklin township, was born July 15, 1863, on the old Cline homestead which was entered from the government by his great-grandfather, William Foulks, at an early period in the development of Ohio. William Foulks was born in Pennsylvania, a native of Beaver county. When he was only ten years of age he and his younger sister were captured by the Indians, who at the same time killed their elder brother. He was held captive by the red men until he was twenty-one years of age, when he finally made his escape. They allowed him many privileges, permitting him to hunt, and on. one such occasion he stole away, rowed over a stream in a stolen canoe, and on the other side met a young lady who assisted him to escape. His romantic history was further heightened by his marriage to the young lady some time afterward. On coming to Ohio he secured wild land on the Indian trail between Sandusky and Pittsburg. It was situated near Hilton, half a mile below the camping ground of the Indians. He afterward took up a claim which he had seen in Ohio when he was with the red men as a captive. Jacob Cline, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was born in Maryland, near Hagerstown, and married Elizabeth Foulks, the daughter of William Foulks, thus mentioned. About 1815 they came to Richland county. They had eleven children : George F., William, Alfred, Charlotte, Henry, Eli, Standard, Louisa, Pressley, Catherine and Elizabeth. Henry Cline, the father of our subject, was born on the old family homestead in Richland county September 4, 1826, and became a general farmer. His death occurred February 5, 1900. He married Harriet Miller, who was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, October 29, 1830. They had five children : Neotia. born in November, 1855, became the wife of W. H. Morris, of Shelby, and unto them were born five children,—Ada J., wife of William D. Turner, of Shelby; Jeffra C., who married Sarah Roberts and lives in Shelby ; Pearl H., Wade H. and Jack S.; George F., the second of the family, died at the age of two years; Carrie O., born July 2, 1861, became the wife of Charles Black, and they had one child,. Roy C., who was drowned about three year 664 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. ago, at the age of thirteen ; Mrs. Black resides with her mother in Shenandoah, Ohio; Frank M. is the next of the family ; and Judson J., the youngest, born October 12, 1869, resides in Franklin township. He married Ella Zehner, who was born in Mifflin township, Ashland county, September 6, 1872. They, had one child, Martha Lucilla. Frank M. Cline, whose name introduces this review, obtained his educe cation in the common schools and in Bethany (Virginia) College, where he pursued his studies for one term. He also spent one term in the Geneva (Ohio) Normal School, and after putting aside his text-books he entered upon his business career, engaging in the grain trade in Shelby in connection with his brother-in-law, W. H. Morris, for nearly three years. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to farming and has since resided on the old homestead on section 3, Franklin township, where he carries on agricultural pursuits in a very successful manner. As a companion and helpmeet on life's journey he chose Miss Anna Lodema Urich, who was born in Weller township October 16, 1863. They now have an interesting little son, Hugh L., who was born January 3, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Cline are widely known in the county of their nativity and enjoy the warm regard of their many friends. CHARLES W. FRENCH. Charles W. French was born on a farm beside what is now known as the southern division of the Lake Shore road, near Wakeman, Huron county, Ohio. September 2, 1862. His progenitors on the side of both father and mother were of Connecticut stock, and it is not known for how many generations they had lived in America. The eldest son of .parents who were indebted for much of the purchase price of their farm, he cheerfully assumed a share of their burden of toil while yet a child. At the age of eleven years he loaded and stacked forty-four acres of grain, his father pitching both ways. He was patient and careful in his work. He was kind to domestic animals and pets, with all of which he was a welcome playfellow. He would sometimes work in summer with as many as three chipmunks playing about him, each one ready to scamper into his pockets if alarmed. A fine, yet spirited, young horse used to carry him on errands to the village at a dead gallop without so much as a rope on. He was deeply attached to his mother, who died just before he was fourteen years old, and to a few other good women with whom he came in contact in childhood. Their influence has survived the shock of nearly a score of eventful years. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 665 Neither liquor, tobacco nor profanity has he ever indulged. in. He scorned the so called lighter follies of youth. A reverence for womanhood has always been one of the strongest traits of his character. There has not been anything in his private life from which a good woman would need to shrink or a little child should avoid. This was not so much because he resisted allurement of evil, to which, in fact, he never paid serious attention, as it was that he yielded to a craving for good. His opportunities for attending school were limited to a rural district and later a village high school. After he was ten years old he did not attend school in summer, and did not average quite sixty days per year in school from the age of ten to that of nineteen, after which he attended no school whatever. To a misfortune that clouded his early years he is indebted in a large measure for a mental training that widely influenced his later life. As a child he was frail in body and shy in spirit, naturally diffident to a painful degree. He was born a stammerer and so seriously was he thus afflicted that it was often difficult to understand his attempted speech. The usual fellowships of childhood were therefore shunned by him. He was not without compensation. He had access to a good library. Early driven by the wounds to which a sensitive spirit was ever exposed to the society of his own thoughts and the fellowship of his own mind, the history of the world was his playground, its episodes his toys. The senate of Rome, the assemblies of France, the parliaments of England and the congress of the United States had much more to do with forming his character than did either the precepts of his elders or the examples of his fellows. He delved into the lore Of ancient Greece, southern Asia and all vanished peoples. He marched with the legions of Rome from the Euphrates to Gibraltar. He cried himself to sleep over the ruin of the Roman empire. He paced the corridors of the great hall, watching the growth of that spirit of personal liberty which is the crowning glory of the Anglo-Saxon. He walked the aisles of the great abbey, musing upon the record of generations that have made our race illustrious forevermore. Thus a shy, nervous boy, dressed in home-made clothes, grew up under the shadow of characters that have ennobled human life in all ages. As a youth he had almost no social life. His attempts to make the acquaintance of other young people usually resulted painfully to him. An incident of his childhood will illustrate the degree of misunderstanding to which he was subjected when seeking social intercourse. At a revival in a village church a woman who was a zealous worker approached him with the query, "My boy, are you prepared for death ?" With grave simplicity this child, who had lived with the centuries, stammered, "Yes, ma'am ; I would be will- 666 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. ing to die if I thought that I could then talk with William of Orange for a few minutes." The effect produced by this peculiar profession of faith so abashed the boy that he fled from the church. At the age of sixteen he began attending debating societies in the school districts and villages of Huron county. To his surprise, when addressing an audience the bonds of the stammerer seemed to fall away from him. The faces before him often appeared to fade away and in their place there assembled about him the famous dead of all ages with whom he had been familiar rather than with the living. As a public speaker he attained some degree of success. At the age of nineteen he began life for himself, commencing with a job of cutting stove-wood in the winter of 1881-2. During most of the summer of 1882 he worked on a farm. In the fall of that year he began blowing stumps with dynamite. He rapidly became skillful in the use of this explosive, of which little was then known. Within a few months his operations extended over much of northeastern Ohio. He introduced the use of dynamite in the stripping of sandstone quarries and the working of limestone quarries in northern Ohio and on the islands of Lake Erie. He engaged in submarine work to some extent. He was always successful in his calculations respecting the use of high explosives. He sometimes fired single charges containing nearly a ton of dynamite! Lack of practical knowledge of men proved to be fatal to his early business career. At the age of twenty-two he failed for twenty thousand dollars. The assets then in his possession, consisting of property, contracts and plans, would have yielded a fortune had he then been able.to control men as well as he handled nitro-glycerine. The result of this failure was to discredit him almost entirely among ordinary people. The next few years of his life were passed in a ceaseless struggle to regain such a standing as would enable him to reduce to practicable operation the industrial projects with which his mind was usually filled. Repeated failures gave a somber hue to his mind but did not crush his spirit. In the summer of 1881 he succeeded in acquiring considerable property at Sandusky, Ohio. He designed and built a novel barge for taking up reef rock in submarine work. This apparatus cost seven thousand dollars, and every sea captain who examined it declared it to be an utter failure. It was a success, doing all that it had been planned to do. He began the construction of a mill for crushing limestone into rock ballast. This plant was located about four miles south of Sandusky, on the Lake Erie division of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and before this mill was CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 667 completed he organized the Sandusky Stone Company, which finished the plant and operated it for several years. It was finally sold to the Lorain Steel Company and is now the property of the United States Steel Trust. In the spring of 1889 Mr. French and his associates bought a tract of sandstone quarry land near Lucas, Richland county, Ohio, and began the development of the same. Nearly one hundred thousand dollars was expended upon this property. In the winter of 1892-3 nearly all of the men who were associated with Mr. French in this project failed disastrously. The property was involved in a tangled mass of litigation. It was finally sold and now belongs to a corporation controlled by Mr. French. On June 27, 1890, Mr. French was married to Miss Alberta Walker, of Sandusky, Ohio. Miss Walker's father had been at first a foreman lor Mr. French and afterward the superintendent for the Sandusky Stone Company during the summer of 1888. He was killed by an accidental explosion of dynamite in Sandusky, on Thanksgiving day, 1888. At the time of her marriage Miss Walker was the secretary of the Baker Stone Company, of which Mr. French was then the president. Their domestic life has been in the main a very happy one. One child, a son, died at the age of four months. The mother and two younger sisters of Mrs. French find a home with them. They have taken three little girls, whom they are trying to train into Christian womanhood. Mr. French's career is greatly influenced by the peace and affection of his domestic life. In the summer of 1896 Mr. French began planning the construction of a steam road to be used as a branch of the Big Four, from Shelby to Mansfield, Ohio. This section of road is now graded and ready for track-laying. The project gradually grew until he finally undertook to create practically a new system that should link existing Vanderbilt lines by two trans-Ohio divisions through territory yielding a heavy tonnage. He is now at the head of several railway companies, holding Ohio charters, the Youngstown & Cleveland Railway Company, the Richland & Mahoning Railway Company and the Chicago Short Line Railway Company being the principal ones of this combination of corporations. Including new roads to be built and existing lines to be bought, lie is projecting about five hundred and fifty miles of main line road and perhaps two hundred miles of belt lines. He has gathered about him an official staff of capable men, all of whom work harmoniously to a common end. The new system will reach from a point near Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, to New Washington, Ohio; from Youngstown to Delphos, Ohio; from Carey, Ohio, to Fort Wayne, Indiana; from Youngstown to Cleveland, Ohio; and from New London to 668 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Norwalk, Ohio. This system will link the Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad, which is practically the Pittsburg terminal, direct with the Lake Shore at Cleveland, with the Lake Shore at Norwalk, and with the Nickel Plate at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The southern division will pass through Salem, Alliance, Canton, Massillon, Wooster, Mansfield and Shelby. The nothern division will pass through Youngstown and Akron. Mr. French and his staff have succeeded in interesting such support for this project as insures the completion of the system. It may be extended after its lines as now projected are finished. At the age of thirty-nine it would seem that Mr. French is destined to complete a work that will at least leave a record of his career. In his private life he is eager to add to the sum of human joys before earth shall have passed. In his public career he is ambitious to do a man's work while it is yet day, PETER SMITH. Peter Smith, one of the prominent farmers of Sharon township, whose farm is a part of section 36, and whose postoffice is Crestline, was born in a log cabin standing on the identical spot where he now lives, December 25, 1842. He is a son of Martin Smith, who was born in December, 1807, near Heidelberg, Germany, and who was a son of Jacob Smith, of the same place. Jacob Smith was a man of wealth and when he entered the service of Napoleon furnished his own outfit as a member of a regiment of cavalry. His family consisted of his wife and three sons, viz. : Martin, the father of the subject of this sketch, and Jacob and Philip. The latter are still in Germany, if living. The father of these three sons died at the age of eighty-four, surviving his wife, who was the daughter of a minister of the gospel. Martin Smith was liberally educated in Germany, was reared to an agricultural life and was married in his native country to Catherine Weidner in 1836. In 1838 they emigrated to the United States, landing in New York city in what was then considered a remarkably short or quick voyage, of thirty-six days. At the time of coming across the sea he had considerable capital and made his first purchase of land in the fall of 1838, consisting of eighty acres of land, now a part of the farm of Peter Smith, the subject of this sketch. Upon this first purchase he spent the remainder of his days, engaged in farming and enjoying the respect and confidence of his neighbors and friends. His family consisted of seven children,—four sons CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 669 and three daughters,—as follows : A daughter that died in Germany ; Martin, now living at Vernon Junction, a merchant in business and the postmaster of the place; .Phillip, living in New York city, carrying on the business of a commission merchant ; a daughter that died in infancy ; Julius, who died in Richland county, Ohio, at the age of fifty-two years ; Peter, the subject of this sketch ; and a daughter that died in infancy. The father of these children died in September, 1871, and the mother in the autumn of 1878, at the age of sixty-three years. Peter Smith was educated in the common schools, receiving as thorough a course of instruction as they could then supply, being given his time at the age of eighteen, as were the other sons of the family. For three years thereafter he managed the home farm on shares, and then for some time worked for Abraham Farrington in the egg-packing business. In 1868 he went to Chicago, where he was employed by his -two brothers in the commission business for four years. For the four subsequent years he was located in Vernon county, Iowa, engaged in the business of packing eggs. Next he returned to the old farm, in 1877, where, on December 30, 1878, he was married to Margaret Krishbaum, who was born March 16, 1864, in Sandusky City, Ohio. She is a daughter of Jacob and Kate (Mathias) Krishbaum, the latter of whom died at the age of seventy-five, leaving five children, and the former of whom is now seventy-five years of age, a widower and following farming for a livelihood. Peter Smith and his wife lived on their present farm ever since their marriage, eighty acres of which he purchased in 1892, which added to the original eighty acres purchased by his father brings the total acreage up to one hundred and sixty acres. For the eighty acres Mr. Smith paid three thousand, four hundred and seventy-five dollars. The brick house in which he now lives was erected by his father in 1858. Mr. Smith carries on a general farming business, raising mainly wheat and corn,—from seven to eight hundred bushels of wheat and about one thousand bushels of corn each year, besides keeping about twenty head of cattle and five or six horses. He is one of the most industrious men of his part of the state, and one of the most practical and successful farmers. Politically he is a Democrat, and has served on the school board for twelve consecutive years. He is a member of the local Grange, of which he has served as a director. All the above items, taken together, are an indication of the confidence placed in him by his fellow citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have three children, viz. : Katie, wife of William Klaun and the mother of a fine baby boy named Jacob Klaun ; Amy Amanda, 670 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. a young woman at home, sixteen years of age, well educated and with great practical common sense. She is one of the industrious young women of the neighborhood, devoid of false pride, willing to work wherever there is work for her to do, in the house or in the field, and has a fine musical education and tastes. The other child is named Phillip Leroy, a fine, manly little fellow of eleven years. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Smith have always stood high in the estimation of their neighbors and friends. and are most excellent people. JOSEPH TAYLOR. One of the substantial farmers of Richland county, Joseph Taylor is now practically living retired in Springfield township, where he owns a valuable tract of one hundred acres. His life has been one of marked activity in business affairs and his present rest from labor is therefore well merited. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, February 9, 1814, a son of Robert Taylor. The days of his youth were passed in his native land and in the year 1851 he sailed for America on the three-masted vessel, Constantint of the Swallow Tail line, making the passage in four weeks and five days from Liverpool to New York. He did not tarry in the eastern metropolis but went to Albany and thence to Buffalo by rail. In the fall of the same year he came to Mansfield, accompanied by his brother, Robert Taylor, who died in this county, at the age of forty seven years, leaving two daughters and six sons. When they arrived in Richland county they had a capital of a few hundred dollars. They worked at ditching or anything that would yield them an honorable living. After three years had passed the father came to America with his children, the mother having died in England. Here he spent his remaining days, passing away in 1887, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. Up to the time of his death he was still active in mind and body. At the age of thirty-two Joseph Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Maria Scott, a native of England, and unto them were born six children, but only two survived the mother's death. One son, Joseph W., is now managing his own and his father's farms. He has one son and two daugh. ters. After the death of his first wife Mr. Taylor was again married, his second union being with Sarah Ann Scrofield, of England. They became the parents of a daughter, Nellie Josephine, who is still at home. They reside on the farm of one hundred acres, which is one of the best properties in this section of the county. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 671 Mr. Taylor has led a very energetic and busy life, performing much hard work. He has cleared eighty acres of his land, but still has a good timber tract, which supplies him with all the fuel used on the place. At present he is living retired, his son working the farm. His rest is well deserved, for he has reached the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey. In politics he has long been a stalwart Republican and for twenty-five years he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In the evening of his days he is surrounded with many comforts which have come to him as the result of his earnest toil in former years. He can look back over the past without regret and forward to the future without fear, and to-day he is regarded as one of the most venerable and highly esteemed residents of his adopted county. SAMUEL S. McCULLY. Samuel S. McCully, an agriculturist, enterprising and progressive, living in Sandusky township, is numbered among the native sons of Richland county, for his birth occurred in Mifflin .township March 29, 1841. When two years of age he was brought to the neighborhood in which he now lives. His father, William McCully, has reached the advanced age of eighty years and for fifty-seven years has resided upon the farm. In early manhood he wedded Mary Simpson, a daughter of Samuel Simpson, whose wife was a Miss Hout prior to their marriage. The parents of our subject lost a son in early childhood, who was named Milton, but they have four living children, as follows : Samuel ; Sarah J., the wife of D. B. Leavett ; William, of Dayton, Ohio ; and John W., a farmer and manufacturer of tile and lumber. Mr. McCully, of this review, acquired his education in the common schools and for two terms was a student in Hayesville College. He remained at his parental home until the time of his marriage, in 1866, to Mary McGreggor. She died two years later, her infant child also passing away at the same time. Mr. McCully was again married, April 12, 1870, when Helena Livingston, of Crestline, became his wife. She is a daughter of Rensselaer and Rachel (Patrie) Livingston, both natives of Columbia county, New York. In 1870 Mr. McCully located on one of his farms, a mile from his present home, and there resided until 1894, when he removed to the farm on which he now resides. He has here thirty acres of good land near the village of Crestline and the place is improved with a fine brick dwelling, good barns, and a house for his tenant. His other farm consists of one 672 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. hundred and ten acres, on which he also has good buildings, and both properties are under his management. He carries on general farming, raising corn, oats and wheat in rotation and "seeding down" his fields every fourth year. He also keeps cattle and hogs, raising and buying both and preparing them for the market, and he has two fine apple orchards. He is one of the most progressive and enterprising agriculturists in the community. The home of Mr. and Mrs. McCully has been blessed with three children : Mary Simpson:, the eldest, is the wife of Rev. Albert Beal, of North Brockfield, Massachusetts. He is a minister of the Methodist church and was educated in Delaware, Ohio, and in a theological seminary near Boston. Rev. and Mrs. Beal now have one daughter. Charles W., the second of the McCully family, is living in Peoria, Illinois. Samuel S., the youngest, is a druggist of Boston. All three are graduates of the Crestline high school and the daughter is a graduate of the Oberlin school and the Ohio Wesleyan University. She is a lady of superior musical taste and talent, noted for her instrumental and vocal skill. The son, Samuel, was educated in Moss College of Pharmacy, at Boston, and graduated with the highest honors in the class of 1901. Mr. McCully is a Knight Templar Mason, and in politics is a Republican. He has taken an active interest in school matters and in everything pertaining to the welfare of his county. He was reared in the Presbyterian faith and has contributed to the support of various churches. He was at one time a director in the Richland County Agricultural Society, filling the position for eight years, and is still accounted one of the active factors in agricultural affairs. In 1899 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 9th of March at the age of fifty-three years. He still occupies his beautiful home near Crestline. His life has been characterized by energy in business affairs and signalized by success in his ventures. Although he inherited his farm from his father, he has added largely to its value and at the same time he has manifested a resolute and determined spirit which has enabled him to work his way steadily upward to a plane of affluence. JOHN M. DARLING. John M. Darling, an enterprising farmer and miller of Worthington township, was born on the farm where he now lives February 25, 1829. His father, Jonathan Darling, was born in Virginia and was a son of Robert Darling, who was probably a native of the Old Dominion, and died at an CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 673 advanced age. Jonathan spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the state of his nativity and in early manhood removed to Coshocton county, Ohio, where he remained until after his marriage to Miss Catherine Butler, a native of Coshocton county. With his young wife he came to Richland county, locating in Worthington township. From the government he entered the land now owned by our subject, and cleared it ready for the plow. His labors transformed it into highly cultivated fields and he continued his farming operations until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-nine years of age. He was an earnest adherent of Democratic principles, but was not an office-seeker, and was an active member of the Lutheran church. He served his country in the war of 1812. His wife died on the old family homestead, when about sixty-five years of age, in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which she was a prominent member. This worthy couple had ten children, but only three are now living, namely : Squire of Putnam county, Ohio ; John M. ; and Jonathan P., a farmer of Richland county. In his parents' home, John M. Darling spent the days of his boyhood and youth, remaining there until his marriage, which occurred when he was twenty-eight years of age, Miss Mary Henry becoming his wife. She is a native of Pennsylvania, but in early girlhood became a resident of the Buckeye state. They had nine children, of whom three have passed away. At the. time of his marriage Mr. Darling's father gave him a part of- the home place and he has since resided on that land. He here owns one hundred and sixty acres and in addition has a sixty-acre farm in Ashland county. Upon the latter property stands his gristmill, which he purchased in 188o and which he has since operated. In both branches of his business he is meeting with good success, and his labors have been carefully prosecuted, his methods are practical and progressive and his energy and sound judgment have made his career a prosperous one. His entire life has been passed in Richland county, and those who have known him from boyhood are numbered among his stanch friends,—a fact which indicates that his career has ever been an honorable one. N. MARVIN SHEPARD. On a farm on section 5, Springfield township, the citizen named above devotes his energies to the cultivation and improvement of his fields, and is classed among the wide-awake, practical farmers of the neighborhood. He was born in this township August 14, 1835. His father, Henry 674 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Shepard, was a native of Berkeley county, Virginia, born about 1844, and the mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Jane Post. and was a sister of M. V. B. Post. The parents were married in 1832, the bride being then only fourteen years of age ; but she had been well trained in the work of the home and became a most competent housekeeper and thus, with her amiable qualities, became a worthy wife. They began life in humble circumstances, upon a rented farm, and for some years Mr. Shepard also engaged in teaming. He was a man of natural mechanical ability and aided in building the first gristmill, for Nathan M. Tompkins. Of their seven children one died in infancy and one in childhood. The five reaching adult age were E. Y., who for forty years has been a railroad man and is living in Crestline, where he has a wife, two daughters and a son; N. Marvin, of this sketch ; Willis H., of Topeka, Kansas, who has a son and two daughters; Riley, a farmer in Springfield township; and Eliza, who died at the age of twenty-six years. At his death the father left a farm of sixty acres, on which his son Marvin now resides. Mr. Shepard, the subject of these paragraphs, obtained his education in the common schools and remained at his parental home assisting his mother until her death. She was a noble woman, devoted to her family, and her memory is enshrined in the hearts of her children and friends. For many years Mr. Shepard was connected with the railroad service, for twenty-two years acting as line-repairer for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Dur ing that entire time he was never censured,—a fact which indicates his fidelity and competency. He now carries on general farming and has placed his land under a system of high cultivation and improved it with many modern accessories. In April, 1862, he was married to Isabella Leiter, a native of Richland county and a daughter of Samuel and Caroline (Ricksecker) Leiter. Her father, a native of Maryland, was a tailor by trade and is still living. In his family were seven children. Mr. Shepard was a member of the Grange. He left the Democratic ranks to become a supporter of the Prohibition party, and though he has always kept well informed on the issues of the day ha has never sought or desired office. In 1894 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 11th of July, leaving the household very desolate. She was a loving and faithful wife, an earnest friend and a consistent Christian woman, being a member of the Methodist church, to which Mr. Shepard also belongs.