THE BENCH AND BAR - 375 of Almon Hall, Esq., of Toledo,, Ohio; Caroline C., wife of Hon. W. R. Steele, of Wyoming territory, and Louisa Annette, the youngest. Mr. Pennington has resided in 'Tiffin for forty' years, and has directed his time and energies chiefly to his profession, yet, in the meantime, has given much of his means and attention to enterprises useful to the growth and prosperity of Tiffin. Amongst these are railroads, banks, and manufacturing interests, in which he was largely interested as stockholder. In 1847, with Benjamin Tomb and others, he organized the Seneca county bank, the first bank in the county, and was sits first cashier. He also, with Edward Gywn, organized and put into operation the Gas Light Company of Tiffin, and for seven years was its president. In 1856 he was the presidential elector for this congressional district, and took an active part on the stump in the canvass and cast his vote for J. C. Fremont for president. He was from time to time candidate of his party for several places of trust and honor, amongst which were those of representative for the state legislature and .member of the late constitutional convention. In all these cases he Was unable to overcome the large Democratic majorities in the county and district. In 1861, at the breaking out of the war, he took a deep and active interest in the perils that threatened the life of the nation, and with Colonel Lee, Major Dewalt, organized the 55th regiment O. V. I., and accompanied the regiment to the field as its quartermaster. In 1862 he was made adjutant general on the staff of General McLean, and after a service of two years, resigned on account of lameness and ill health. He returned to his profession, banking and manufacturing, suffering very severely in his finances by the revulsions during the last few years. As a lawyer he is a better pleader than advocate. He is industrious, gentlemanly and polite, courteous and friendly. Aside from his legal and business qualifications, he is a great student of the popular sciences of the day, a clear thinker and profound reasoner on every subject he ever investigated. His friendship is warm and lasting, and the great beauty of his " make up" is the fact, that he is always the same, to himself as well as to others. GEORGE E. SENEY Was born in Uniontown, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1831. He is the oldest 'son of Joshua Seney, a short sketch of whose life elsewhere. He graduated at the Norwalk seminary, read law in 376 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. the office of L. A. Hall, and was admitted to practice in 1852. In 1857 he was elected judge of the court of common pleas. In 1858 the office of district attorney of the United States was tendered him, which he declined. He was the quartermaster, of the 101st regiment O. V. E, and after' serving two years returned to his profession. In 1874 he was the Democratic candidate for congress in this district and was beaten by only 139 votes. He was a delegate to the Democratic national con vention at St. Louis. He is the author of " Seney's Code," and is a successful practitioner and an able and forcible advocate. My venerable and distinguished old friend, the Hon. James Purdy, the veteran lawyer of Mansfield, Ohio, who is the only survivor of that pioneer band of lawyers that attended the sittings of the first courts in Seneca county; was kind enough to furnish the writer a few anecdotes and descriptions of a. few .scenes in connection with the practice in those early days, but it took some urging to induce Major Purdy (as he is familiarly called) to do so. Finally he penned, for the use of the writer, the following: MANSFIELD, May 1, 1880. W. Lang, Esq.: DEAR SIR - At the age of 87 I retain vividly in my memory amusing anecdotes of the bar in those early days, a few specimens of which I give, that you may, if you desire, incorporate in proper language in your history of Seneca county. In those days each circuit. had a president judge—a lawyer—and in each county there were three associate judges—country gentlemen. The lawyers called this the "Demarara team." A sailor was fined, and as he stepped up to the clerk to pay, said he hoped the Demarara team was now satisfied. He was asked to explain, when he said: " In the Island of Demarara a team is composed of three mules and a jackass." Some of the members of the bar traveled the circuit with the judge. This, the second circuit, was composed of the counties of Richland, Huron, 'Sandusky, Seneca, Crawford, Marion and Wood, the latter being organized in the winter of 1823-4: The members of the bar that traveled with Judge Lane were: Parish, of Columbus, Purdy, Parker, May and Coffinberry, of Mansfield, and Bolt, of Norwalk. All these practiced in Seneca cOunty. The two first named. handled the whole circuit, except Wood county, which was then inaccessible on horseback a great portion of the year. That county was reached by the members of the bar of Norwalk by sail-boats from Sandusky City. These circuitizers were called " Judge Lane's gang." They traveled on horseback, and in the spring term had muddy roads and deep streams to ford, sometimes nearly- covering their horses, often affording amusing incidents. Coffinberry, May, Parker and myself left Tiffin for New Haven one day on the then traveled road. Two well-to-do farmers on that road had a suit tried at that term, Purdy for plaintiff and Coffinberry for the defendant. contrary to his usual practice, Coffinberry abused the THE BENCH AND BAR - 377 plaintiff personally. Six miles out they found a branch of Rocky creek more than mid-side deep to their horses and overflowing its banks. Coffinberry having been a sailor in his day, deemed it prudent to head up stream, and making allowance for lee-way, got out of the road and ran his horse against a tissue which was covered with water; his horse, " Old Tom," fell, the girt broke, rider, saddle and saddle-bags went. over his head into the water. He got out as best he could and the journey was resumed. We reached the main stream, which was considered too deep to venture across that day. Here the plaintiff resided. In sight on the other side was the residence of the defendant. The gang determined to ask the hospitality of the plaintiff, but Coffinberry vehemently protested. Judge Clark, the plaintiff, most cheerfully received us, took Coffrnberry into a room and gave him a suit of dry clothes, treating him more kindly than the rest of use, and would not permit him to apologize. They left Tiffin for Norwalk on Sunday morning with Judge Lane, and reached " Strong's ridge " and " Strong's tavern," tired, hungry and thirsty.. The family was absent, and the house closed. They went to the barn,. where they found oats and fed their horses. Then they got, into the house and into Aunt Molly's cupboard, where they found plenty of good, fresh baked bread, biscuits, pies and all necessary accompaniments for a good dinner of which they heartily partook. The bar was locked also, but the contents of a bottle that had the appearance of brandy attracted their attention, With the tongs, through a hole in the window, they caught the decanter by the nozzle and pulled it to the opening, where the thirsty customers. were accommodated. It was emptied. Leaving in the bar double the amount of the usual charges they closed the house. mounted and left. They soon met Mr. Strong and lady coming from church with quite a number of friends to partake of Aunt Molly's nice dinner, which they had just consumed. They left the Judge to apologize as best he could and went on their way. Fort Ball, on the west side of the river, had been an Applicant for the county seat and failed ; consequently there were frequent Controversies between citizens of the two places. Mr. Hedges bought Fort Ball and comdbined their interests. A log jail was built in Tiffin, in which was left a very heavy piece of timber, hewed. The proprietor of Fort Ball was a tall, handsome man, and full of mettle. Parish had been his attorney. One day during a term of court, Parish commenced a suit against him for fees, and had him imprisoned. He raised the heavy timber, smashed the door to pieces, and made his way down street. Parish saw him and asked him how he got out of prison. He answered, " took myself out on a writ of habeas' corpus." Parish, learning the facts, dismissed the suit and forgave the debt. Members of the bar played cards at night for small sums of money, and sometimes were indicted for the same. One morning in court a jury was sworn to try a case in which Parish was of counsel. The prosecuting attorney, Mr. Sea, interrupted business and asked leave to arraign a person then in court, against whom an indictment had just been found. Leave was. granted. He called Mr. Parish to stand up, and read to him an,indictment containing two counts for gambling with cards. PariSH promptly responded to one count, which he said was a gentleman's game, and plead guilty. To 378 - HISTORY. OF SENECA COUNTY. the other he ead " not guilty," and said, " that d—d shoemaker's game, I never play." (Sea formerly was a shoemaker by trade.) J. Boyd, a farmer and early pioneer on Honey creek, boxed a young fellow's ears at a log rolling, for which he was indicted. William Clark, also an early pioneer and a farmer, had an old fashioned fisticuff with a neighbor, for which he was indicted also. Their trials came on at the same term ; each determined to defend himself. Mr. Boyd's case was first heard. The witnesses were examined and the prosecuting attorney addressed the jury. Uncle Jimmy, .although a very intelligent man, found himself very much embarrassed. in examining the witnesses, and his speech in defence was a failure. He sat down discomfited. 0. Parish volunteered to reply on behalf of the state, and scared him severely. He was found guilty and fined $5.00, the ordinary charges in such cases at that time. Uncle Billy was intelligent and had practiced in justice's courts, besides he was naturally shrewd. His case came on. In examining the witnesses he did well. The prosecuting attorney made a short speech intending to :give Parish full space to reply to Uncle Billy. The judge said, "Mr. Clark, do you wish to address the jury ?" Having the fear of Parish before his eyes, he answered : "No, your Honor, that little speech is not worthy of an .answer." Parish was disappointed, being cut off in this manner. A large portion of the early pioneers of Seneca county emigrated from New York. In that state grand juror's receive no pay. The sheriff selected them from the most independent free-holders, who could afford to spend their time and money. They organized and adopted certain rules for their government. For absence at roll call they were fined a bottle of brandy. The .Seneca county grand jury adopted the same rule, and the full bottle was .always on the table. Judge Lane was notified of the rule, gave the grand .jury a blowing up, ordered its repeal, and the practice discontinued. Now these things were quite amusing to us, but whether the present generation will take any interest in them is for you to judge. Very respectfully yours, etc., J. PURDY. Another case, in fact, one of the first jury cases in our common-pleas court, should also be remembered: It was the case of Bennett against Knight for .false imprisonment. The plaintiff had been arraigned before Knight as a justice of the peace, for stealing calves, and was by him sent to prison. Parish for plaintiff, Purdy for defendant. In his argument, Parish regretted that he had claimed in his declaration but $500. The small room in which court was held was densely crowded. A. wag called out, " If the Bennetts can make $500 stealing calves they had better quit the hog business." The judge could not find the disturber In the crowd, and the contempt of court was necessarily left unpunished. About two months before the death of Mr. Rawson, he visited the writer and requested him to insert in the history of Seneca county—if he should ever write one—the writer's response to a toast at a bar THE BENCH AND BAR - 379 meeting, held in the Shawhan House, on the evening of the 3oth of November, 1855. The meeting was an exceedingly pleasant affair. There is no merit in the poetry, and nothing but my respect for Mr. Rawson's request can apologize for the room it takes here. [From the Tiffin Tribune of December 28, 1855.} "THE TIFFIN BAR." The above toast, read at the lawyer's festival, on the evening of the 30th, and assigned to Judge William Lang, called out the following poetical jeu d'esprit from the Judge: When vulgar minds with epithets have done, And spent on us their last of common fun; When poets, statesmen, warriors, one and all, Have run their course on this terrestrial ball, The fame of Tiffin's green bag knights shall stand, Comparing well with any. in the land. There's John J. Steiner, and our brother Scott, The former now enjoys a farmer's lot, The latter, charmed by Kate and Cupid's tune, Has left the earth and moved to honeymoon, Because, for law he never cared a feather, So off he went with love, shoes, boots and leather. Whenever ye in business counsel need, Or need another in your cause to plead, And ye in custody, and charged with crime, And ye whose creditors no prose or rhyme Can soothe;—and ye whose debtors stubborn be, (Provided you always come with 'a fee,) Here Rawson lives, and Watson, Pillars, too, Johnson and Stem, Hall, Seney, Lamareaux; Noble, Cronise, Dildine, Griffith, Ike, Say nothing of the self-made lawyer Pike; Here's Wilson, who once prosecutor, late, Was chosen our own senator of state; And he who much abounds in words and fun, Of ready action, T. C. Tunison; Here's Johnny Payne, the man who, by-the-by Was representative—near six feet high; And Landon, Lee, who always for a song Will make wrong right, and change right into wrong;            . Omnipotent John Smith, and Stickney, Way, Pittenger, Martin, Hedges, who, they say, Has left the law—the higher, nobler rank, And gone astray, with money—into bank. Patterson; Birnside, at last, not least, There's no such man as Welch, from west to east While on the bench of people's probate court, 380 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. Sits our esteemed and worthy John K. Hord; Robert G. Pennnigton, poor fellow, gone To see the railroad matters all alone; And Gibson—so agreed among the gods, Is treasurer of state by many odds. Let satire scoff, and wicked critics frown, There's no such galaxy from congress down Represented well in every station, Look first to the counsel of the nation, Then to the officers of state—then see The senate's chairman—one of us was he; And in the lower house, our Noble sat, While we at. home supplied the bench at that; Made school directors, and encouraged science, Turned stumpers and set statesmen at defiance; Practiced philanthropy in christian meekness, Made money, too, from other people's weakness, Attended fairs and studied agriculture, In short, watched everything from pink to vulture. So onward, brethren, let us stand together, In fortune's rays; in adverse, stormy weather; Now push about the social flowing bowl, Drink lusty draughts, fraternal-flow of soul, And may he now, and ever be a beast, Who feels no joy in this fraternal feast. And one and all, take counsel, be advised, By no temptation let us be enticed To lose the secret of thiS earthly life, So full of blessings, full of peace and strife; May each and every noble, honest heart Be truly man, and bravely act his part; And when we've finished every case below, When nature's law shall bid us hence to go, To meet the Judge of nations at the bar Of His tribunal in the world afar; May each in peace, prepared to close the race, Make out himself a good, conclusive case. The name of every lawyer then in Seneca county is here given; except the writer's. WARREN PERRY NOBLE Was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, June 14, 182o. His father's name was William Noble, and his mother's maiden name Rebecca Lytle. .The parents moved to Wayne county, Ohio, when they had three little children, and located in Salt Creek township, some ten miles east of Wooster. In 1834 the family moved to Medina county, THE BENCH AND BAR - 381 where father Noble had bought a farm. He lived there about two years, when he sold the farm, and taking with him his oldest son, came to Jackson township, where he had previously entered 120 acres, and built a small cabin upon it. Then he returned for the family and brought them here in 1836. The cabin proved to be too small for so large a family, and some of the boys had to sleep in the wagons until another adjoining cabin could be constructed. By this time they had nine sons and one daughter. The daughter, Mary, is the wife of Mr. Histe; one of the present county commissioners. Of the sons but four are still living: the subject of this sketch, Warren Perry Noble, Harrison Noble, the present mayor of Tiffin, Captain Montgomery Noble, and John Noble, clerk of the court in Clay county, Kansas. Warren P. lived with his father on the farm, and as he grew up to boyhood, received such school education as 'the country afforded ; but nature had endowed him with a good physique, with a more than average amount of brain, and above all, with a spirit of industry and perseverance that knew no tiring. He applied himself to his books, and was soon enabled to teach school in the neighborhood of his home, embracing Fostoria. Mr. John Lawrence, Hon. Charles Foster, Rev. Jacob Caples, Junius V. Jones, were among his scholars, and others who have also become eminent in life. In February, 1842, he entered the law office of Rawson and Pennington, in Tiffin, and in 1844 was admitted to the bar. From that time to this day he has faithfully applied himself to the practice. In 1847, on the 17th day of August, he married Mary E., oldest daughter of Mr. F. Singer, of Tiffin. Mrs. Noble died on the 9th of March, 1853, leaving Mr. Noble with three 'little children; two little girls and a baby boy but a few days old. He raised and educated his children, and the girls are both married. Belle is Mrs. William L. Bates, of Dayton, Ohio; Mary Ellen is Mrs. Silas W. Graff, residing at Tiffin, Ohio; Warren Frederick, the son, is a graduate of the Ohio State university, of the class of 1879, and is now reading law in his father's office. After living the life of a widower more than seventeen years, and raising his children until they were able to take care of themselves, Mr. Noble was married to Miss Alice M. Campbell, of Tiffin, Ohio, on the 27th day of September, 1870, and two most interesting little girls are the fruit of this marriage. In 1846 Mr. Noble was elected a member of the house of representatives of the general assembly of Ohio, and re-elected in 1847. In the fall of 1848 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Seneca county, and 382 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. re-elected in 185o, serving four years, except a short time before the expiration of his term, when he resigned. In 1860 he was elected to the thirty-seventh congress over Judge Carey, the Whig candidate for his second term, and was re-elected to the thirty-eighth congress over Judge Wooster, of Norwalk, who was his colleague in the previous term, having been thrown into this district by the change of districts prior to the election. Mr. Noble was a war Democrat, and served as such during the war to March 4th, 1865. He was one of the trustees of the Ohio state university for ten years, having been first appointed by Governor Hayes. After the death of John. T. Huss and the failure of the First National bank in Tiffin, Mr. Noble was appointed as its receiver. He settled claims against the institution, amounting to $240,000, paying sixty cents on the dollar, arid settled. up the concern with the least litigation and in the shortest time of any bank that failed since the inauguration of the present banking system. He has been the president of the Commercial. bank ever since it started, in June, 1876, and is the president also of the Tiffin Mutual Aid association, and a member of the Tiffin board of education. During the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio and the Mansfield and Cold Water railroads, he took a very active part, as he always did in all public enterprises. Mr. Noble owes his great success in life to that indomitable industry, integrity and perseverance that have marked his whole life from his boyhood. WILLIAM H. GIBSON Was born in Ohio, May 16th, 1822, and soon thereafter his parents moved to Seneca county, in the same year. His paternal grandparents were from Ireland, and his maternal grandparents from Wales. He was reared on a farm on Honey creek, in Eden, and worked with his father, John Gibson, at the carpenter trade. After he had attended the common schools, he attended one year at the Ashland academy. He read law in Tiffin in the office of Rawson & Pennington, and was. admitted to the bar in 1845. He was the Whig candidate for attorney general in 1853, but was defeated. He was elected treasurer of state in 1855, and resigned in 1857. He entered the army as colonel of the 49th 0. V. I., in 1861, and commanded a brigade and division of the army of the Cumberland, leading his command in forty-two conflicts. Re left the army with the rank of brigadier-general, and resumed the practice of the law in Tiffin. He quit the practice in 1872, and applied himself very industriously to railroad enterprises. He bore a very conspicuous part in all the political campaigns ever. since the organization THE BENCH AND BAR - 383 of the Republican party. He is an orator of no ordinary calibre, and during the past two years he preached under a license in the M. E. church. When Governor Foster was inaugurated governor of Ohio on the second Monday in January last, General Gibson was appointed adjutant-general of Ohio, which office he holds to this day. G. B. KEPPEL Was born May 8th, 1845, in Hopewell township, Seneca county, Ohio. He graduated at Heidelberg college in 1869; was admitted to the bar in 1871, and is now the prosecuting attorney of the county. NELSON L. BREWER Was born in Washington county, Maryland, September 17th, 1832; graduated at Heidelberg in 1855; was admitted to the practice in 1858, and immediately located in Tiffin. JACOB K. HUDDLE (HOTTAL) Was born October 8th, 1846, in Bloom township, Seneca county, Ohio. He is the seventeenth child of a family of eighteen children. He was 'admitted to practice law in 1871. In 1873 he edited the Tiffin Star with much ability. Upon the failure of this enterprise, he returned to the practice. Tracing, back his family record he became satisfied that the family name is Hottal. JOHN M'CAULEY Was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, December loth, 1834. He was educated at the university at Delaware, where he finished his course in 1859. He was admitted to the bar in 1860, when he located in Tiffin. He was elected prosecuting attorney in 1865, and held the office four years. He was elected a member of the late constitutional convention to fill the vacancy created by the death of Dr. O'Connor. In October, 1879, he was elected judge of the court of common pleas for this district. JACOB BUNN Was born June 6th, 1847, in Thompson (Seneca county). He graduated at Heidelberg college in 1870, and was admitted to the bar the year following, when he located in Tiffin. He was elected probate judge of.Seneca county in the fall of 1878. FRANK DILDINE Was born in Tiffin, October 15th, 1849; graduated at the Tiffin high school, and afterwards attended the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, and graduated from the Heidelberg college in 1869; was admitted to the bar in 1872. 384 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. HARRISON NOBLE Was born in Wayne county, Ohio, on the 28th of January, 1826, and was admitted to the bar in 1849, when he located in Tiffin. He was city solicitor four years, and is now the mayor of the city. NELSON B. LUTES Was born in Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, March 1st, 1848; came to Tiffin in 1870, and was admitted to the bar in 1872. JOHN H. RIDGELY Was born August 16th, 1845, in Allegheny county, Maryland. He is a graduate of Heidelberg college, and was admitted to practice law in December, 1869. H. C. KEPPEL Was born in Hopewell township, March 20th, 1847. He is a graduate of Heidelberg college, and was admitted to practice law in 1872, and is now of the law firm of H. C. & G. B. Kepple; was married at Indianapolis to-day, June 29th, 1880. J. H. PITTENGER Was born December loth, 1828, in Frederick county, Maryland; came to Tiffin with his father's family in 1830; was admitted to practice law in 1850, and for very many years was, and now is, of the law firm of Hall & Pittenger. RUSH ABBOTT Was born in Seneca county, Ohio, and was admitted to practice April 12th, 1877, when he located in Tiffin. NETTIE CRONISE AND FLORENCE CRONISE, Sisters, and graduates of Heidelberg, natives of Tiffin, some six years ago were admitted to practice law; probably the first ladies in Ohio that entered the legal profession. They are both in the practice now. One is practicing by herself, without a partner, and the other is in partnership with another lawyer. Among the very many remarkable things already related about Tiffin and Seneca county, the most remarkable of all is the fact, that here in Tiffin, two lawyers married each other, and are now raising two most lovely little daughters about three and four years old. Let any other town in the United States say the like. PERRY M. ADAMS Was born December 2, 185o, in Wood county, Ohio, read law in the THE BENCH AND BAR - 385 office of W. P. Noble, was admitted to the bar April 13, 1876, and is now of the firm of Noble & Adams.  UPTON F. CRAMER Was born in Clinton township, Seneca county, Ohio, January 19, 1842; graduated at Heidelberg college. He was admitted to practice law in 1867. He was elected probate judge three times, and was succeeded by Judge Bunn in 1877. CHARLES H. CRAMER Was born in Seneca county, Ohio, August 20, 1847; was admitted to practice in Mansfield, in June, 1875, and located here. LA FAYETTE L. LANG Was born April 10, 1851, in Tiffin; attended Heidelberg college and Cleveland commercial institute. He was teller in First National bank, read law in his father's office, and was admitted to practice in 1877, when he became the law partner of his father. JOHN B. SCHWARTZ Is the son of Augustus and Littia Schwartz, and was born in Austin, Texas, November 1, 1854. His mother is a Massony, whose father's family were among the early settlers in Hopewell, and came from Belgium. She went with the family of Jesse Stem from here to Texas, where Stem was Indian agent, and where he was killed by some Indians. John B. Schwartz was admitted to the bar in 1879 and located in Tiffin. W. L. KERSHAW Was born in New York city in November, 1856; was admitted to practice in Mansfield, Ohio, July 20, 1879, and settled in Tiffin soon thereafter. H. J. WELLER Was born January 21, 1856, in Thompson township, in this county, and was admitted to the bar June 2, 1880, at the supreme court in Columbus. He located in Tiffin immediately thereafter. GERALD E. SULLIVAN Was born June 20, 1856, at Tiffin, Ohio; was admitted to the bar and located in Tiffin December 12, 1878. JAMES F. LEAHY, Was born May 14, 1855, in the county of Kerry, Ireland; was admitted to the bar in Tiffin December 3o, 1879, and then located here. - 25 - 386 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. The following are the names of young men who are reading law in Tiffin now, with a view of pursuing the profession, viz: j. Calvin Royer, Walter S. Cramer, John C. Rickenbaugh, Ira E. Strong, Warren F. Noble, Henry J. Weller, James H. Platt, R. B. Reed, David W. Spellman, John W. Leahy, Charles W. Repp, Frank Hess. There is also a young lady reading law—Miss Edith Sams. After the commencement of this work two members of the bar of. Tiffin died very suddenly and unexpectedly. Mr. ,Alfred Landon died at his residence after a few hours' illness, in a sinking chill, and a few weeks after, near the close of the fall term of the court of common pleas, Mr. George W. Bachman was found dead near his gate, having fallen out of his buggy. Mr. Landon died Saturday morning, October 4, 1879. Mr. Bachman died October 21, 1879. Mr. Landon was a member of the Tiffin bar for twenty-five years and held the offices of prosecuting attorney and mayor of Tiffin. Mr. Bachman was also mayor of Tiffin, prosecuting attorney and one of the directors of the Seneca County Infirmary. He was a member of the Tiffin bar since 18'67. It is a most remarkable fact that all the lawyers who have died in Seneca county passed away very suddenly, without being sick any length of time. Mr. Seney dropped dead on the floor; Richard Williams died suddenly; Jesse Stem was shot dead in Texas; Joel W. Wilson was not considered seriously ill when he died; Thomas C. Tunison was sick only a day or two; Leander Stem was killed in the battle of Stone River; Afred Landon and George Bachman died as related above, and Luther A. Hall passed away before the brethren knew that he was seriously ill; Mr. Rawson was complaining only a few days before he died; William M. Johnson expected to get well the day before he died, but had been suffering from consumption for years. JAMES PILLARS Promised a half dozen times to furnish the writer with a little sketch of himself, to be entered here, and having neglected to do so, I can only say of him that he is a very able jurist, and that since he has served on the common pleas bench ten years, he has returned to the practice in Tiffin. WILLIAM LANG. Want of room and want of desire to write my biography will make the story of the writer a very short one. Mont Jarvis is the end and the highest peak of the Vosges moun- THE BENCH AND BAR - 387 tains in the Palatinate in Germany. A little south of its foot, and where the Vosges slope away by low hills into the bottom lands of the Rhine, and on its left bank in the Canton of Weimweiler, is the pleasant little town of Sippersfeld. Here I was born on the 14th day of December, 1815. I was the seventh child and the first son of Henry and Catherine Lang. Father kept me at school until we started for America. It was his intention to prepare me for the profession of. school teacher. When we arrived in Tiffin on the 18th of August, [833, my German education could not be utilized very well, and I entered the cabinet shop of D. H. Phillips, as an apprentice. I worked at the trade seven years, when, in the spring of 1840, I entered the office of Mr. Joshua Seney to read law. Mr. Seney gave the practice no attention, and when Mr. Cowdery located in Tiffin late in the fall of the same year, at the suggestion of Mr. Seney, I entered Mr. Cowdery's office as a student. On the 25th day of July, 1842, I was admitted to the practice at Lower Sandusky, Ohio. Judge E. Lane administered the oath to me. Judge D. Higgins was the chairman of the committee that examined me. Brice J. Bartlett, John C. Spink, Cooper K. Watson, R. P. Buckland and others were members of the committee. In the fall of 1844 I was elected prosecuting attorney of Seneca county, and re-elected in 1846. In 1851 I was elected the first probate judge of Seneca county, with the highest majority that Seneca county ever cast for any man to office. In the fall of 1854 I was re-nominated by my party and would have been re-elected had it not been for the storm of Know-Nothingism that swept the country like a mad cyclone, in the fall of that year. Seneca gave a majority of 1,400 for the Know-Nothings. In 1859 I was nominated by the Democrats of Seneca county as, a candidate for representative to the legislature, with Mr. Morris P. Skinner, Seneca county being entitled to two members that time. Mr. Skinner (Democrat) and Mr. Jones (Republican) were elected. It will interest but very few to relate the causes that led to my defeat. In 1861 I was elected to the senate of Ohio from the counties of Seneca, Crawford and Wyandot, and re-elected in 1863, serving four. years and during the war. In 1865 I was nominated by the Democratic party of Ohio as its candidate for lieutenant-governor, on the ticket with General G. W. Morgan for governor. In the fall previous the state went Republican some 6o,000 majority. The campaign was a quiet one; there was no hope of a Democratic success, but with all, the Republican majority was reduced one-half. General Morgan and myself made a vigorous campaign, and had but very little local aid, 388 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. working against hope. In 1869 I was elected treasurer of Seneca county, and re-elected in 1871, serving four years. I was the first mayor of the city of Tiffin, and the first president of the school board of Tiffin, and being a member of the same board now, I take great pride in holding the highest office that the law gives to any man. I havenow been at the Tiffin bar longer than any other lawyer connected with it, except it be brother Pennington. Just in time, and before these sheets go to the printer, I can add the fact, that at the Democratic state convention, held in Cleveland on Thursday, the 22d day of July. 1880, I was nominated by acclamation as the candidate for secretary of state. On my return to Tiffin on the day following, a large party of my friends and neighbors, some five hundred, with a band of music and carriages, met me at the depot in Tiffin and escorted me home. Dr. J. A. Norton announced my nomination to the assembled crowd in front of the court house; W. P. Noble made a speech of welcome in glowing terms, and Republicans and Democrats joined in their hearty congratulations. It was a scene the like of which Tiffin never witnessed before. The ovation was a personal compliment, without distinction of party. I record it here in gratitude as the happiest day of my life. The good opinion of one's neighbors is a price far beyond the emoluments of office. CHAPTER XXIV. DRS. DRESBACH, KUHN, FISHER, O'CONNOR—TIFFIN MEDICAL SOCIETY— INDUSTRIES IN TIFFIN—SENECA COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY—THE PRESS: MESSRS. LOOMIS, NAYLOR, GROSS—THE SENECA COUNTY INFIRMARY—THE TIFFIN GAS LIGHT COMPANY—AGRICULTURAL WORKS, ETC.—THE SENECA COUNTY PIONEER ASSOCIATION—DER BRUDERBUND —THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY—MRS. HARRIET CRAWFORD. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OE DR. ELY DRESBACH. [1837.J.A. McFaland.] DR. ELY DRESBACH was born n Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1802. While he was yet quite young, his parents, David and Catherine Dresbach, removed With him to Pickaway county, Ohio, where they lived to a good old age. As he grew up, young Dresbach was engaged, for some time, in the mercantile business, but this occupation was not to his taste, and at an early age he resolved to qualify himself to enter the medical profession. Unlike many young men, he was fortunate in choosing the vocation for which nature had eminently fitted him. He pursued his studies with great assiduity and success in the office, and under the direction of Dr. Luckey, an eminent physician of Circleville. After the usual time, thus spent, he attended a course of lectures, at the' Medical college of Ohio. He then decided on trying his fortune among the pioneers of northwestern Ohio, and' finally settled down in Fort Ball; and after a few years he crossed over the river to Tiffin, the seat of justice for the newly organized county of Seneca. His old office in Fort Ball, a small, one-story brick building, is still standing on Sandusky street; a few rods north of McNeal's storeroom. The rooms he occupied as an office, for some years before his death, were on Washington street, where the Commercial bank now stands. The winter of 1827-8 was passed in Cincinnati, attending a second course of lectures, at the close of which he took the degree of doctor of medicine. Again in his chosen field of labor, his popularity went on increasing, till, at the end of the next decade, it was immense and well merited. "None knew him but to love him, None named him but to praise." And his name is still a household word in many of the old families of this county. In the practice of medicine and obstetrics the Doctor took rank with the foremost men of his time; in surgery his standing was only fair, as he 390 - HISTORY OF SENECA, COUNTY. had no ambition to venture upon the more brilliant operations; these he turned over to such men as Mott and Mussy, who made surgery a specialty. Dr. Dresbach was of medium height, stoutly built, and a little inclined to corpulency. His brain, though not very large, was active, with a good anterior development. His temperament was sanguine; hair light, auburn, eyes blue, nose large and slightly aquiline, neck short, chest and limbs well developed, and his whole appearance that of an elegant gentleman, as he was. In the matter of dress, he was scrupulously careful, always wearing the finest and most fashionable garments. His kind, courteous, graceful demeanor insured him a hearty welcome wherever he went, whether in the sick chamber or the drawing-room. The Doctor was fond of books, and was well posted in current literature; he was a most agreeable companion, indulging freely in anecdotes and personal reminiscences, and-had good conversational powers, though he made no pretentions as a public speaker. While a general favorite with the ladies, and fond of their society, and, at one time matrimonially engaged, he lived all his days in single blessedness. He was a lover of the fine arts, and of music especially; and many a leisure half hour was filled with sweet strains from his favorite instrument—the violin; and to his love of music, and to the encouragement he generously gave to resident professors and amateurs, our city is, in some measure, indebted for its present high culture in music. And now, kind reader, would you have some glimpses to illustrate the dual character of poor human nature; to SHow, side by side, its good and its bad qualities, in the life under review? Well—but no matter—'tis enough to say that while the Doctor was not sinless, most of his faults were not of a malignant type, but rather of the kind that are said " to lean to virtue's side." But whatever they were, a most ungracious task it would be, to dwell upon their unpleasant memory; and the writer must ask to be excused, prefering, as he does, the reversal of the custom indicated in the following lines: "The evil that men do, lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones." The Doctor was a member of the Masonic order. In politics he was a Whig, and took a leading part in every campaign. In 1846 he was the Whig candidate for congress, and, though defeated, had the satisfaction to know that he had run considerably ahead of his ticket. Rodolphus Dickinson was his opponent. David Tod was defeated for governor at the same election. Vigorous as his constitution naturally was, it had its limit of endurance. Overtasked, mentally and physically, for thirty years, in a malarious climate, it is not surprising that his life was cut SHort, in his fifty-first year. His end came not suddenly; the way to it was through long suffering, extending over a period of several years. Gradually declining health induced him to, try the effect of a milder climate. The winter of 1851-2 was spent in the south, visiting a brother and making the acquaintance of many of the leading medical men of that region. With the return of the spring, however, there were no signs of returning DR. HENRY KUHN - 391 health; and early in May, he set out for his loved home, stopping a few days in Richmond, to attend the meeting of the American Medical Association. The last year of his life was one of great suffering. He died April 14, 1853. The immense multitude that attended his funeral was evidence of the sincere regard and affection of the community for which he had labored so long and faithfully. DR. HENRY KUHN Was one of the pioneer physicians in Tiffin, and took a very active part in the development of the town and country. He was born in Frederick City, Maryland, in 1802, and attended the Frederick college, the oldest institution of western Maryland. He was there so pious and attentive to his studies and so sedate as to have acquired from the teachers and school-mates the soubriquet of "Bishop." After he left the college he read medicine in the office of Dr. Tyler, the leading physician of Frederick City, and finished under Dr. Henry Staley, in Frederick. He graduated with the highest honors from the University of Maryland, at Baltimore, in 1825, and soon thereafter commenced the practice at Woodsboro, in Frederick county, near which place Lewis Baltzell lived. Here he made the acquaintance of Catherine, one Of the daughters of Mr. Baltzell, whom he married. Of that union Mrs. William Holt, of Tiffin, and Mrs. Kate Toner, of Canton, Ohio, are the only children living. The exact time when the Doctor arrived in Tiffin I have not been able to ascertain, but it must have been in 1831. I often heard him say that he helped to cut the first tree in Market street, between Washington and Monroe. He was very popular in his younger days among his schoolmates and acquaintances. His manly personal appearance, his dress and address, his family relationship and their position in society, all added to make the young doctor a distinguished character. He came here into the woods and at once became the compeer of Drs. Dresbach and Carey, with whom he divided the practice among the scattered cabins for many miles around.". He was often called to visit the Wyandots, on the Sandusky plains, and became highly esteemed among the chiefs, of whom Sum-mon-de-wat was a special friend, as already mentioned. One time he was called to amputate the leg of a squaw. She sat at the foot of a tree and fanned away the flies with a fox's tail during the operation, without a wince or a groan. Whenever the Wyandots visited Tiffin they would call on the Doctor. at his little frame office, on East Market street, and have a chat. The old office is still standing, back of the new jail, but unoccupied. 392 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. The father of Dr. Kuhn was for many years the most important and distinguished man- in Frederick county. He was the leader of the Republican (Democratic) party for many years (from 1798 to 1824). He had read law but preferred farming. He had 700 acres well stocked with slaves. The abolitionists stole nine of them at one time, Dr. Kuhn brought a slave boy to Tiffin with him. He was a present from some friend. I often heard Dr. Kuhn speak of him but have no knowledge of what became of him. The name of Dr. Kuhn's father was Christian; his mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Browning, daughter -of Jeremiah and Cassandra Browning. The old folks, after they were eighty years of age, rode horseback to Steubenville; Ohio, where they bought a farm. The old lady was highly intellectual and -one of the most scholarly women in Maryland. They were of English stock. Christian Kuhn was a German, wealthy and popular. He was the first mayor of Frederick City, and frequently a member of the general assembly of Maryland. He traveled to the sessions in his own carriage. He was then a leading spirit in most all leading matters, and for many years held the office of chief judge of the orphans' court of Frederick county. Dr. Kuhn held his reputation in the esteem of the people and the profession up to his death. Nature seemed to have made him for a physician, but with all his skill he had his weaknesses, too, like many other men. His occasional indulgences in strong drink interfered materially with his practice, while his habitual indifference about his finances kept him poor. He earned money enough in his profession to be one of our wealthiest men, but he seemed to set no value upon it. He would become security for anybody that asked him the favor, and it was no lesson to him when he was compelled to pay. He was warmhearted and generous, hospitable, sympathetic, benevolent, kind. He could refuse no favor in his power to grant; never learned to say "no." His wife died about 1843. Sometime thereafter he married Miss Maria Pennington, a sister to Robert G. Pennington, of Tiffin. This union was blessed with three children: Robert D. Kuhn, Mrs. Emma Kimball and Louisa, the late Mrs. Fast, of Canton, Ohio. Mrs. Kuhn is still living. Dr. Kuhn attained to the highest honors in ancient Masonry and often represented the old Sandusky lodge in the Grand Lodge of Ohio. He died at his residence on Clay street, in Tiffin, October 16, 1878. DR. ROBERT C J. CAREY Was a native of Maryland, and located in Fort Ball about the time Dr. Dresbach came here, and the two formed a partnership in the practice. DR. JAMES FISHER - 393, They had their first office in the small yellow brick, on Sandusky street, still standing. Dr. Carey was considered a very good physician He was very polite, and neat about his person. He died on the 9th day. of November, 1836, aged 35 years, 11 months and 20 days. DR. JAMES FISHER. The subject of this sketch filled quite a space in public affairs in Tiffin, at an early day, both as a physician and as a man of energy and. enterprise. He was born in Westminster, in Frederick county, Maryland, on theist day of January, 1801, and graduated at the Medical University of Maryland, in April, 1823. He commenced practice in Abbottstown. and Oxford, Pennsylvania. After practicing a few years, he took a trip., through the west and south and returned to Westminster in 1829, when, he made the acquaintance of the family of Dr. Thomas Boyer, of Uniontown, Maryland, and especially that of the Doctor's daughter,. Elizabeth M. This acquaintance with this daughter ripened into their marriage, which took place in July, 1829. The name of the other daughter was Mary R., who married Mr. Lloyd Norris. Both couple were married on the same day, the Rev. Daniel Zollikoffer solemnizing, the marriages. Dr. Fisher then practiced medicine at the Union Bridge, four miles from Uniontown, in a neighborhood of excellent people. The families of Drs. Boyer and Fisher moved to Tiffin in 1832, where Dr. Boyer died in 1835; and Mrs. Boyer died here in 1847. Dr. Fisher held the postoffice here, kept a drug store at an early day, practiced medicine, speculated in lands and handled a great deal of money. In 1866 he removed with his family to Springfield, Missouri,. where Mrs. Fisher's health declined; they never felt satisfied with the. change ; but their children were married and settled there and they remained. Mrs. Fisher died September 19, 1878, and was buried in Maple Grove cemetery, having lived in happy wedlock with the Doctor 49 years. She was a splendid lady, highly cultivated, kind and sociable. They have four daughters: Hannah E., wife of Charles A. Wright;. Mary E., wife of James Patterson; Laura, wife of Joe M. Steiner, and Pattie D., wife of R. L. McElhany, and one son, Thomas B. Fisher, all living. Dr. Fisher, at nearly four score, is still enjoying excellent health, but since the death of his wife, feels himself alone in the world. The family of Dr. Boyer was highly cultured and much esteemed. The same air of old-style Maryland and Virginia aristocracy, mentioned 394 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. on former occasions, was well marked in this family also, but here, as everywhere, it was always associated with politeness, kindness and broad and generous hospitality. Among the physicians practicing medicine in Tiffin at this time, Drs. J. A. McFarland (who located here in 1837), J. N. Heckerman, A. B. Hovey,. H. B. Martin, E. J. McCollum, and S. S. Bricker are pioneers. There are also in the practice now, Drs. W. Crawford, W. G: Williard, J. T. Livers, J. F. E. Fanning, J. P. Kinnaman, W. H. Hershiser, J. Breidinger, J. Huss, F. H. Lang, W. H. Stover, D. Wells, and Maurice Leahy. SENECA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY. This is an auxiliary to the State Medical society, and is governed by the same code of ethics, but has its own constitution and by-laws. The state society was organized in a parlor of the old Neil house, in .Columbus, May 14th, 1846; the first Seneca county society at Dr. E. Dresbach's offrce in 1852. Dr. McFarland was elected president, and Dr. George Sprague secretary. The present society was organized in one of the parlors Of the Shawhan house, in Tiffin, on the 25th day of September, 1878, with Dr. A. B. Hovey as president, and Dr. A. L. Waugaman as secretary. The society has its regular meetings on the fourth Wednesday of every month. Of the members of this society some minutes have been collected and are here noticed: J. U. HECKERMAN Was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, November 22d, 1825; graduated at Washington college in 1846, and located in Tiffin. H. B. MARTIN Was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, November 15th, 1823; graduated at Charity Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, in 18540. F. W. SCHWAN Was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 3d, 1843; graduated at Rush Medical college, Chicago, in 1867. E. W. SULLIVAN Was born in Tiffin, Ohio, March 22d, 1856; graduated at the medical department of the Wooster university in 1878. E. J. M'COLLUM Was born June loth, 1826, in Richland county, Ohio; graduated at the THE MEDICAL PROFESSION - 395 Jefferson Medical college, Philadelphia, in March, 1853, and soon thereafter located in Tiffin. H. B. GIBBON Was born March 12th, 1852, at Big Prairie, Wayne county, Ohio; graduated at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery in June, 1877, and located in Seneca county 'in July the same year. J. B. BLAND Was born in Muskingum county July 22d, 1840; graduated at Starling Medical college, Columbus, and. located at Benton, Crawford county, in 1869. L. E. ROBINSON graduated at Rush Medical college, Chicago, in 1873, and settled in Republic in 1876. BENJAMIN S. STOVER Was born June 13th, 1856, at Brooklyn, Cuyahoga county, Ohio; graduated at Jefferson Medical college in 1878; located in Republic the same year. W. H. PAUL Was born in Richland county, Ohio, April 14th, 1848; graduated at Miami Medical college, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1872; located in Adrian in 1876.' DR. ARIEL B. HOVEY. Was born in Albany township, Orleans county, Vermont, February 9th, 1829. When a boy fourteen years of age, he started for Ohio, and entered Oberlin college, where he remained six years, and during this time read medicine with Dr. Homer Johnson, of Oberlin. In 1850 he entered the office of Prof. Ackley, in Cleveland, and graduated in March, 1852, and in the same year located in Tiffin, where he has remained ever since in the successful practice of his profession. While Dr. Hovey is regarded as a very able practitioner, he excels as a surgeon, in which branch his skill and courage have made him eminently successful and greatly celebrated. He is a member of several state societies, as well as of the National Medical society. MAURICE LEAHY Was born March 14th, 1853, in the county of Kerry, Ireland; graduated in the medical department of the Wooster university, in Cleveland, Ohio, February 27th, 1878, and located in Tiffin in July, 1878. JOHN D. O'CONNOR, M. D. Snow covered the earth; the air was very cold; the sky was overcast with heavy clouds; all nature looked gloomy and dreary, and so did 396 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. the senate chamber of Ohio, when, at ten o'clock in the morning of the first Monday in January, A. D., 1862, the senate was called to order. The city of Columbus was full of soldiers; regiment after regiment was organized and sent to the front. The sound of martial music rang in the streets day and night, and here met the first legislature of Ohio after the breaking out of the rebellion. The condition of the country on that morning seemed to combine with nature to cast a gloom and a sadness over the senate. The Hon. Benjamin Stanton, president of the senate, took his seat; the members were sworn and seated, and the saddest countenance in that body was that of Senator John D. O'Connor, of Monroe. He was then about forty years of age, about six feet high; he had black hair, brushed back from a high forehead, deeply set dark eyes, a chiseled face; a black beard covered his mouth and chin. Heavy black eyebrows gave powerful expression to the white of his eyes, making his countenance wonderfully striking. He was lean of flesh. The paleness of his face and his entire "make up" were calculated to arrest the attention, if not excite the sympathy, of the most careless observer. Add to this a prudent reserve, close observation, quiet demeanor and polished manners, and you have a fair picture of Dr. O'Connor on that morning. Party spirit ran high during the war, and the few members of that body who were elected by Democratic constituencies, were treated with indifference, for their votes were not necessary to carry any measure; yet that senate 'contained many distinguished gentlemen from all parts of the state, some of whom became noted in other high positions which they filled. Dr. O'Connor and the writer belonged to that small number, and as misery loves company, and for higher reasons, it was not long until mutual respect warmed into 'mutual friendship that grew brighter as time rolled on, and lasted for life. Dr. O'Connor's father was an Irishman who had served under Wellington in Spain, and after he was transferred with a portion of the British army to Canada, he ran away with some of his comrades, came to the United States, and settled in. Woodsfield, Monroe county, Ohio, in 1817 or 1818. Here he was married to Rebecca Corothers, and elected to the office of county recorder, which office he held for thirty years. Here in Woodsfield, John D. was born, September 24th, 1822, and here he received such education as the schools of the settlement afforded and the private instructions of Mr. Franklin Gale were able to confer. He entered the office of Dr. Dillon, where he read medicine, THE MEDICAL PROFESSION - 397 and afterwards located at Clarington, a little hamlet situate on the banks of the Ohio, in Monroe county, where Sunfish creek enters the river. To the boatmen of the river the place is best known by the name of " Sunfish." There, in 1845, he was married to Ruth C. Neff, and soon built up a large and extensive practice. He attended a course of lectures in the Miami Medical college, and graduated from it in 1858. Here he had the benefit of the instructions of the elder Mussey, Murphy, Dawson, Davis and other distinguished men in the profession. In 1861 he was elected to the senate of Ohio from Guernsey, Monroe and a part of Noble, and re-elected in 1863. After he had served out his second term as senator, in the summer of 1865, the writer visited him at Clarington, and made the acquaintance of his interesting family, consisting of Mrs. O'Connor, four beautiful young daughters, and a little son. The doctor's practice extended along the river bank and over the rough hills and mountains of Monroe, where he had nearly worn out his life in the pursuit of his' profession. The children needed 'education, and there was no good school nearer than Wheeling, twenty-five miles away. I suggested to him the propriety of selling out and removing to Seneca county, which I described as it was, and pictured to him the situation of the Tiffin schools, its society, health, market, topography, etc. A visit from the doctor and Mrs. O'Connor was enough to prove all I said, and in 1866 the doctor bought the old Biggs farm, on the Mel-more road, a short distance south of Tiffin, where he lived until shortly before he died. Here at Tiffin he stepped at once into the front rank of his profession, where he was highly esteemed, and became so popular among the people that they elected him the delegate from this county to the constitutional convention. The condition of his health scarcely warranted the task this position required, but to prove his gratitude to the people who elected him, he served the session of the convention in Columbus, and attended the adjourned session in Cincinnati the following winter. The only answer he gave his friends who tried to persuade him not to go to Cincinnati, wag that he would rather wear out than rust out, and preferred to die at his post. And he did die at his post, worn out. Nothing but his iron will kept him up for months. Ordinary men would have succumbed to disease long before; but with all his will power, Dr. O'Connor gradually wasted away, when on Saturday, the 21st day of February, 1874, at nine o'clock P. M., " tired 398 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. like a child in the arms of its nurse, he fell asleep," as Judge Okey expressed it in his eulogy of the doctor in the convention. During his short association with the members of the convention he won the love and esteem of them all, and on the morning when the committee who had been appointed to prepare suitable resolutions expressive of the sense of the convention on his death, were about to report, several gentlemen made remarks attesting their love and esteem for the doctor, full of fine feeling and warm appreciation of the good man he was. Judge Okey, Messrs. Voris, Albright, Neil, Cook and others spoke very eloquently. It is to be regretted that space will not permit a reproduction of those eulogies here. His body was brought to Tiffin by a committee appointed by the convention, on the 24th of February, and kept at the house of the writer in Tiffin, from whence, on the next. day, it was taken to the First Methodist Protestant church, where the Rev. J. C. Ogle delivered a very appropriate sermon from Rev. 14: 13v., to a large concourse of friends. He was buried at the new cemetery, near Tiffin, under the beautiful and impressive ritual of the F. & A. M. Mrs. O'Connor is still living; the girls are all happily married. D. O'Connor, his son, is attending school. Dr. O'Connor was an excellent physician, possessed of a finely cultured mind; he was a true friend, a devoted patriot, a christian gentleman and an honest man. THE TIFFIN GAS LIGHT COMPANY Was organized in 1856 as a joint stock company, under the statute of Ohio. The enterprise was originated by Edward Gwyn, of Springfield, Ohio, who came to Tiffin in that year, and induced several of our citizens here to aid him. The capital stock was $3o,000, of one thousand two hundred shares, each twenty-five dollars. Mr. Gwyn subscribed all the stock except about fifty shares, which were taken by others. The city council of Tiffin granted to the company and its successors and assigns forever, the use of the streets, alleys and public grounds in Tiffin, to lay pipe and all other appliances to distribute and carry gas throughout the city. The works are built on the Old tannery lot near Rocky Creek, on Perry street. The company contracted with Mr. Gwyn to build the works for the stock he had subscribed and $1o,000, to be secured by mortgage on the works, and Mr. Gwyn was virtually the owner of the whole, as the fifty THE TIFFIN GAS LIGHT COMPANY - 399 shares were subscribed more as a donation than for profit, and were soon transferred to him. The original works were small, having only two miles of pipe laid in the streets, having fifty street lamps, and charging $4.5o per i,000 cubic feet, $3 per year for rent of meter, and $25 per year for street lamps. In 186o Mr. Gwyn sold the works to his brother, John Gwyn, who continued to be the owner until 187o. Between 186o and 187o less than one-half mile of pipes were laid, and the old prices maintained. In 187o John Gwyn sold out to George E. Seney and John T. Huss. On the death of Huss in 1875, Judge Seney became and stillis the owner. Within the past ten years the works have been greatly enlarged and improved. All that now exists of the purchase from Gwyn is the old building and, about one mile of pipe; all else is new. The capital stock now is $100,000, gas $2.50 per 1,000 cubic feet, and no rent charged for the use of meters, with a prospect further to decrease the price of gas as the number of consumers increase. There are now about ten miles of gas pipe in the streets, and one hundred and seventy-four street lamps.. It requires two men and a horse to light and extinguish the lamps, who must travel twenty-four miles to do the work. The works consume from 1,200 to 1,500 tons of the best Youghiogheny, gas coal, yearly. Five men and two horses are employed at the works. The annual production of gas is from five to six millions of feet.' Judge George E. Seney is president, and John M. Bate secretary and superintendent. THE OHIO STOVE WORKS. Amongst the various industries of the city may be mentioned the Ohio Stove works, a joint stock company, whose works are located near the Baltimore and Ohio depot. The company is now well organized and in successful operation. THE TIFFIN AGRICULTURAL WORKS Is a joint stock company. The works are located at the corner of Water and Minerva streets, where they cover an area of about four acres. They have a capital stock of about $100,000, and the institution is under the control of efficient officers, and is in a flourishing condition. THE TIFFIN WOOLEN MILLS Are also in successful operation, now employing about seventy hands.