400 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Johnson, Catharine A. Miller, Fred Hoke, Fanny Lehman, Mary Windel, Elizabeth Ritz. At the end of two years and six months, Rev. Ritz resigned the Wooster church, having served it from its organization. The pulpit was vacant for seven months then, though supplied occasionally by Rev. A. H. Myers and a Rev. Mr. Dixon. November I, 1843, Rev. George Leiter commenced his labors as pastor of the church. August 17, 1844, it was determined to add two more Deacons to the church council, and at a selection of officers on the above date, the choice was as follows : George Reiner, Abraham Fox, Elders ; Wm. Bacher, Israel Windel, John Beall, J. A. Lawrence, Deacons, At the expiration of a year, Rev. Leiter resigned, the resignation dating November 1, 1844. January I, 1845, Rev. W. J. Sloan assumed the pastorate of the congregation. In the winter of 1846-47, twenty persons united with the church. In 1849, January 8; the old Elders were re-elected, and the following persons were chosen Deacons : J. A. Lawrence, Conrad Oiler, David Bissel, Alex. Bivens, April 1, 1851, Rev. W. J. Sloan severed his ministerial connection with the church. After this, and during an interval of six months, Rev. J. Hamilton favored the congregation with supplies. November 1, 1851, W. A. G. Emerson became its pastor, resigning after a service of one year. Up to this time eighty-nine members had been added to the original sixteen. June 1, 1853, Rev. J. B, Baltzly was installed as pastor. The office of deaconship having been vacated by removals, the vacancies thus created were filled, to wit : Abraham Fox and J. A. Lawrence, Elders ; Alexander Bivens and Martin Smith, Deacons. October 17, 1853, Simpson S. Goodspeed was excommunicated from this church for theft. A number of excommunications appear for intemperance and other immoralities. The Incorporation Act requiring three Trustees, and there being but two, Martin B. Weaver was chosen to constitute the third, or legal number. Having disposed of their old church edifice and lot on Alley Square, directly east of in-lot No. 107, on North Market street, to Albert McFadden, and having no place of worship during the erection of the new church, the German Lutheran congregation kindly offered the use of their house, which offer was thankfully accepted. September 13, 1855, the corner-stone of the new church edifice was laid on North Market street. This ceremony was con- WOOSTER-CHURCHES - 401 ducted by Rev. John Crouse, and the following ministers were also present at the dedicatory services: Rev. Ruthraff, of Canton ; Rev. S. Feeman, of Mansfield ; Rev. J. S. Lawson, of Pittsburg, Pa.; and Rev. Benjamin Pope, of Wooster, June 1, 1856, services were first held in the lecture-room of the new church, where Rev. J. B. Baltzly was ordained. Rev. W. C. Weaver delivered the first sermon in it. September 24 to 30, 1857, the East Ohio Synod held its Twenty-second Annual Convention in the church. July 3, 1859, service was first held in the new church, Rev. Baltzly preaching from Genesis xxxv, 11 On the l0th of July it was dedicated, the sermon being preached by Rev. F. W. Conrad, of Dayton, Ohio, assisted by Rev. Baltzly and Rev. Feeman. In 1860 the following officers were elected : J. H, Keslar, George Plumer and M. Funk, Elders ; A. Bechtel, J. Bechtel and G. W. Althouse, Deacons ; George Plumer, William McClelland and Henry Rockey, Trustees ; Thomas F. Wildes, Secretary ; R. Bechtel, Treasurer. February 11, 1860, the Wooster congregation and the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran church of Franklin township, agreed, by preamble and resolution, to constitute themselves as one body, to be called the Wooster Charge, assenting and subscribing to various regulations and conditions. October 10, 1860, the East Ohio Synod confirmed the act of union, at its session at Manchester, Ohio, by a unanimous vote.* April 10, 1864, it was resolved to dissolve the union between Zion's Evangelical Lutheran church, of Wooster, and Trinity Evangelical Lutheran church, of Franklin township, subject to the ratification of the Synod, and to make way for the formation of a new charge-the Wooster Charge by a union of the Wooster and St. Paul's church, of Smithville. April 12, 1864, the union was consummated, and October 18 it was ratified by the Synod, in session in Ashland. During the year ending April 1, 1866, there were admitted into the church 40 members. April 1, 1867, the union between the Wooster and Smithville charges was dissolved, when Wooster was constituted a separate one. June 7, 1868, Rev. Baltzly tendered his resignation on account of declining health, to take effect on the 1st of July, after a prosperous ministry of many years. * In October, 1861, Margaret Mowry, a member, was 103 years old. 26 402 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. August 29, 1868, the council, authorized by a vote of the church, presented a call to Rev. Ira C. Biliman, to become pastor of the congregation. Said call was accepted, and Rev. Billman was duly installed. The council for 1870 was : J. A. Lawrence, Philip Wiler, Q. A. Kieffer, Elders; D. W. Matz, Z. L. Numbers, J. Ottman, Deacons; H. Rockey, William Bentz, L. G. Hays, Trustees ; Lewis Wenger, Treasurer. June 12, 1870, Rev. Billman tendered his resignation, "to take effect immediately upon settlement." April 23, 1871, Rev. H. L. Wiles, D. D., was chosen pastor by a unanimous vote of the church, and still continues in charge. He is a zealous minister, a faithful worker and a brilliant divine. Present officers-Elders, Albert McFadden and Joseph Snyder; Deacons, S. R. Roller, Jacob Frick, ; Trustees, Henry Rockey, Jesse Smith and Isaac Bechtel. Church of Christ. The Church of Christ, meeting in Wooster, was organized July 26, 1835. The following statements are taken from the records of the church : At a meeting on Lord's Day, July 26, 1835, the persons whose names appear below extended to each other the hand of Christian fellowship, and organized themselves into a worshiping assembly, under the following pledge : We, the Disciples of Jesus Christ, living in and near the town of Wooster, being desirous of attending to all the ordinances of the Lord's House, do unite ourselves together in a congregated capacity, taking for our guide or discipline the New Testament of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we prupose, as soon as practicable, to appoint Bishops and Deacons, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the temporal and spiritual interests of the congregation, according to the Holy Scriptures. And in order to protect ourselves from imposition, we further agree not to receive any person claiming to be a Christian who is not known by us, or who does not present a letter of commendation from some congregation. To the above we have authorized our several names to be affixed : Wm. F. Pool; Peter Willis and Elizabeth, his wife ; Frederick Kauke and Elizabeth, his wife; John Miller and wife; Jacob Wachtel and Elizabeth, his wife ; Samuel Zimmerman and Mary, his wife; George K. Zimmerman, Griffith L. Jones, Elizabeth Scott, Eleanor Jones, Mary McCurdy, Elizabeth Hickman, Rebecca Hull, Sophia Zimmerman, Kimball Porter and Susannah, his wife. From the time of this initiatory movement until May, 1847, there is no record of the proceedings of the church. But from some of the older members we learn that the little band continued to meet from week to week to " break the loaf " and to join in WOOSTER—CHURCHES - 403 social exercises, whenever preaching could not be obtained. As an evidence of the zeal which characterized the members, we mention the fact that during their interval of twelve years the little company of twenty-one had increased to nearly one hundred. There is no record to be found of the election and ordination of officers until 1850. On Saturday, December 7, in that year the church met and unanimously selected the following persons as its officers : Elders, Kimball Porter, William Grim and Constant Lake ; Deacons, George K. Zimmerman, Michael Miller and Martin Rowe. The following sisters were chosen as Deaconesses : Almira Grim, Mary Bartol, Barbary Hickman, Eleanor Lake, Mary Porter, Rebecca White, Arta Porter, Harriet Harbaugh and Hester Snook. On the next day, Lord's Day, December 8, at 2 o'clock P. 1v1., the church met to attend to the ordination of these officers. Elder J. H. Jones was the officiating minister on this occasion. For several years the church had no house of worship. And indeed, it had no regular place of meeting. Part of the time it occupied the old Court House, where it had been organized. Sometimes it assembled in a brick school house in the south part of town, located on what is now known as South Market street. Another place of meeting was the residence of Frederick Kauke. And occasionally it worshiped in the dwelling houses of other members. For a time it occupied a cooper shop, situated on what, at present, is called Grant street. Then again, in a large room in J. S. Lake's building on West Liberty street. Finally, in the year 1847, the church completed a house of its own on the corner of Walnut and South streets, which house it has continued to occupy until the present time. The first regular pastor was J. H. Jones, who began his labors for the congregation in the year 1845. He remained in this position until 1857, and was succeeded in the pastoral work by the following persons in the order named: John W. Errett, Samuel R. Jones, Robert Moffett, N. A. Walker, J. H. Bauserman, J. N. Lowe, D. J. White and H. D. Carlton. In addition to its regular preaching, this church has frequently enjoyed the pulpit ministrations of eminent Evangelists. Prominent among them may be mentioned Alexander Campbell, Wm. Hayden, A. S. Hayden, John Henry, Wm. Pool, A. B. Green, James Porter, John Rigdon, John Secrist, Wesley Lamphere, C. E. 404 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Van Voorhes, Adamson Bently, John Whitacre, D. S. Burnett, Jasper Moss, M. Wilcox, Walter Scott, Isaac Erritt, W. K. Pendleton, C. L. Loos and Benjamin Franklin. It may be mentioned, as a matter of interest, that during the time that has elapsed since its organization about seven hundred persons have been members of the church ; but the growth in numbers has been largely counteracted by removals, Many have been removed by letters to other congregations ; some have died, and some have been excluded. The following persons are at present the officers of the church : Elders-Constant Lake, James W. Hughes, Silas H. Sharp, H. D. Carlton ; Deacons—Alex. Garing, Wm. H. Smith, Henry Myers, Jehu L. Grafton; Deaconesses— Elizabeth Sharp, Mary Bartol, Hannah Miller, Elizabeth Yarnall, Anna P. Lake. H. D. C. The Church of God. The founder of this church was Rev. John Winebrenner, a German Reformed minister, who, some half a century ago, preached in Harrisburg, Pa. He is represented as a forcible, logical and effective debater and orator, whose eloquence introduced what is denominated " revivals " among his different congregations, a feature of boisterous excitement and reciprocal religious heat, which heretofore was not specifically characteristic of the Germanic church in America. The result of this unusual and explosive demonstration of the spirit was that of interminable, irreconcilable and wrathful schisms and oppositions to the propriety of these measures, and the insinuation of such novelties into the church. So violent and demonstrative became these controversial tilts that Rev. Winebrenner withdrew from the Reformed organization and its so-called " hypocrites and false professors." This separation occurred about 1825. His views undergoing some material changes, he united with others in 1830, and formed an association composed of six preachers and some elders, and this assembly they called the First Eldership. He accepted what he called the apostolic plan, and established free and independent churches, " consisting of Christians only, without any human name or creed or laws ! " and was at variance with authoritative constitutions, rituals, catechisms, discipline manuals, church standards, adopting the Bible alone as the only test and text book acceptable to the great Head of the Church. WOOSTER-CHURCHES - 405 The membership are supposed to exemplify the morality they inculcate, and the Eldership wage incessant, headlong and persistent battle against wars, national conflicts, slavery, the fiends of intemperance and the ogres who traffic in liquor. This church was organized in Wooster, Ohio, in the month of May, 1848, by Elder A. Megrew, it then consisting of but 16 members. The officers chosen were Charles Hoff, Elder, and J. P. Winebrenner, Deacon. The ministers appointed to the Wooster circuit for the ensuing year were Thomas H. Deshiri and H. Soule. In the autumn of 1849, Rev. Soule abandoned the circuit, going to Pennsylvania, when the Eldership released Rev. Deshiri, Mr. Megrew serving the year in their stead. On the 2d of January, 1850, Lewis H. Selby was elected as Elder, and William Tawney as Deacon. In the year 1850 Elder A. Megrew was stationed at Wooster to dispense the Gospel there and at Moreland, John Huff and S. P. Stuller, serving as Elders, and S. Keely and A. Hummer as Deacons. June 27, 1850, the lot and Bethel were purchased of J. P. Winebrenner. On the 5th of July, 1850, five Trustees were appointed. Rev. G. U. Harn commenced his pastoral labors April 1, 1851, preaching his first sermon Sabbath morning, April 20, 1851. Rev. Deshiri ministered to the congregation in 1852 and in 1853, in the latter year dividing his services with the Moreland and Dalton churches. In the succession, Elder John Heickernell appears next, and began his labors, April 1, 1854. After his appointment to the Wooster charge conjointly with Rev. Harn, Elder L. B. Hartman on April 1, 1860, relinquished the same. Agreeably to his appointment, Elder Martin Beck assumed the pastoral office, April 7, 1861, the following year preaching in Wooster and Smithville, and the one still following, in Wooster, resigning his labors, April 1, 1864. Simultaneously with the retirement of Rev. Beck, Elder A. H. Long assumed the ministerial function, remaining with the congregation for two years. On the 24th day of January, 1866, they rented their house to the United Presbyterian church, till they could erect a building of their own. April first, of the before mentioned year, Elder J. B. Soule commenced his ministerial work, continuing in active service for several years. On the 30th of May, 1866, the officers of the church convened at the residence of William Shives and organized a church vestry. The Eldership of East Pennsylvania, on the 23d of Feb- 406 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. ruary, 1869, appointed 0. H. Betts to the Wooster Station, arriving on the 2d of April, 1869, and at the expiration of less than a year he returned East again. The Vermillion chapel, of Ashland county, Ohio, appointed Elder M. Beck to assume charge of the church forthwith. His successor was G. W. Wilson, who preached his first sermon, October 16, 187o, resigning December 25, of the same year. John A. Ploughman was next presented, assuming pastoral responsibilities, December 22, 1871. The present pastor (1878) is Rev. Little. Their first church property was purchased for the sum of $69.50, by J. P. Winebrenner, from Lindol Sprague and John Hanna, administrators of the estate of James Clendennen. It was the old building, to the east of the present Bethel, where, in the pristine days, stood the old carding factory. It was repaired and fitted up for a church, and sold for that purpose for $530. The new building was commenced in 1854, and finished in 1855, by David Atkins, contractor and builder, at an expense of $4,730. Its dimensions are about 45 by 65 feet, with a vestibule and basement above ground. The Sabbath-school and lecture-room are in the front part of the basement. The wood-work is tastefully grained with an oil finish, in imitation of English oak. The dedication rites occurred August 5, 1855, before a large audience, the services conducted by Elder J. Winebrenner and Elder A. Swartz. On the morning of the 7th of August, 1854, a serious accident occurred to the workmen employed on the structure. About ten o'clock the girders and rafters of about half of the building, with the men, quite suddenly fell-some the distance of nineteen feet— to the first floor, two passing between the joists of the first floor to the ground, a distance of twenty-eight feet. The citizens soon flocked to the theater of the disaster. The voices of pain, the mangled bodies, gashes and bruises presented a saddening spectacle. Physicians soon arrived, and all were speedily cared for. The following is a list of casualties : Mr. — Henderson, of Milbrook, killed ; John Cope, of Massillon, wounded ; Henry Miller, hurt ; Joseph Kimber, hurt ; David Atkins, collar-bone broken ; Henry Harris, badly bruised; Charles Pond, bone broken and bruised ; John Hamicar, Charles Hickman, John Vanmeter, D. Baker, A. Hummer and a Mr. Smith, hurt. WOOSTER-CHURCHES - 407 St. Mary's Church (Catholic). St. Mary's church was built in 1847. The corner-stone was laid in September of this year, Archbishop Purcell performing the ceremonies. The first priest in charge was Father Campion, succeeded by Fathers Brennan, Haley, O'Neal, Arnold, Gallaher and Ankly, the latter taking control of the church October 27, 1865. When the building was erected there were but fifteen families in attendance, there being now over one hundred church-goers and practical members. In connection with the church there is a Sunday-school, with an average attendance at this time of 160. In 1864 a schoolhouse was erected, under the auspices of Rev. J. F. Gallaher, and the school opened in the spring of 1865 with an attendance of 90 pupils. The routine of study is about the same as in the other schools of the city, with the exception that they introduce the catechism, which is an epitome, or abridgement, of their religion, inculcating a spiritual as well as a secular education. The old burial-ground was south of the church and near to it, and was so occupied until January, 1871, when, on the tenth of that month, the first lot was sold in the new cemetery to Joseph Holland. In 1869 Father Ankly purchased these grounds from David Robison, Jr., paying therefor $200 per acre for ten acres. The church is a two-story building of brick, twenty feet in the clear to the ceiling, the nave 34x65 inside, the sanctuary 18x26. A gallery extends the width of the building on the east end, where is situated the organ, put there in December, 1867, and played the first time by Gordon French, December 29, 1867. It was bought in Westfield, Mass., and cost $1,000. The bell was purchased in St. Louis, in 1866, weighing, with appendages, 3,500 pounds, and costing $1,400. It was consecrated on the 15th of July, 1866, and elevated to the tower on the following day. Bishop Rappe, of Cleveland, consecrated it, and Rev. S. Bauer, of Fremont, delivered a festive oration. St. James Episcopal Church. The parish of St. James church, Wooster, was organized in December, 1840, by Hon. Levi Cox, J. W. Schuckers, Henry Lehman, James Johnson, J. C. James, David Sloane, George James, 408 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. John A. Holland, R. H. Catherwood and other associates, of Wooster and vicinity, who adopted the constitution and canons of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States of America. The parish was incorporated by an act of the Legislature of the State of Ohio in February, 1841. On the 1st day of February, 1841, the following persons were duly elected as Wardens and Vestrymen of said church: R. H. Catherwood, Senior, and J. W. Schuckers, Junior Wardens; and Henry Lehman, James Johnson and William Childs, Vestrymen; David Sloane, Treasurer ; and John A. Holland, Secretary. April 26, 1841, the Rev. Ervin Miller, was called to the rectorship of the parish, and entered upon the duties of his office on Whit-Sunday, of that year, holding service in the Court House until the 25th of December, 1841, when services were held for the first time in the new church edifice, on West South street, erected by said parish, on a lot donated by James L. Bowman and wife. Services continued to be held in said church until May, 1860, when the building was regarded as unsafe, and was abandoned and sold by the parish, and services held temporarily in the basement of the English Lutheran church, and subsequently in "Arcadome Hall," until November 15, 1860, when their present church edifice, on the corner of Market and North streets, was completed, and services were held therein. The first church edifice was consecrated in May, 1842, by Bishop Mcllvaine, and the new Gothic in 1867, by assistant Bishop Bedell. The Rev. Orrin Miller resigned the charge of the parish in May, 1842, and Rev. J. Carpenter Smith was called to succeed him, and entered upon his official duties October, 1842, Rev. William Fagg temporarily supplying the parish for several months previous thereto. The Rev. J. Carpenter Smith remained in charge until March 11, 1844. March 29, 1844, Rev. T. B. Fairchild accepted the charge, and officiated until October 20, 1845, when he resigned and was succeeded by Rev. George Thompson, September 19, 1846, who officiated until September 23, 1847, when he resigned and was succeeded by Rev. J. M. Waite, January 15, 1849, who remained in charge, and officiated one year, and was succeeded by Rev. J. J. McElhenney in May, 1850, who remained in charge until May, 1852 ; the parish was then temporarily supplied by Rev. J. E. Pattison until April, 1854, when Rev. R. K. Nash accepted the charge and officiated therein until Easter, 1857. WOOSTER- CHURCHES - 409 The church then remained without a Rector until February 28, 1858, when the Rev. James Trimble was called and accepted the charge, and officiated until March, 1864, when he resigned and was succeeded by Rev. J. McElrey, who remained in charge until April, 1866. The church was then without regular services until October, 1867, when Rev. L. L. Holden was called and accepted the Rectorship of the church, and continued until March, 1869, when he resigned and was succeeded by Rev. James Moore. In 1869 and '70 the parish erected a two story frame building as a Rectory. Rev. W. B. French is the present Rector of the church. Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. This church was organized November 23, 1872, with a membership of thirty-five. The St. James Episcopal church was rented for the use of the society, and the Rev. John Tonner, of Canton, was appointed first pastor. The first Official Board of the church was as follows : Stewards-Daniel Black, Henry C. Harris, C, M. Amsden, J. C. Koble, F. L. Parsons, John Van Meter, W. S. Ley- burn ; Trustees-D. Q. Liggett, B. Barrett, John H. Silvers, J. H. Carr, M. W. Pinkerton, J. B. Power, T. Y. McCray, M. K. Hard, C. V. Hard. In the fall of 1873 Rev. John Whisler was appointed pastor, to succeed Rev. Tonner. During the next year it was determined to erect a new church edifice, and about the middle of June, 1874, work was inaugurated on the lot on the corner of North Market and Larwill streets, where a new and handsome church structure rapidly rose to completion. Its dimensions are 92 by 58 feet. The main audience-room has a seating capacity of 400, while the Sunday-school rooms in the rear can be added, so as to supply space for z00 more. The church was dedicated January 24, 1875. The Rev. D. S. Gregory, D. D., of Wooster University, preached the first sermon in the new church, on the evening of January 23, and on the next day (Sabbath) the Dedicatory Sermon was preached by Rev. W. X. Ninde, D. D., of the North-western University, Evanston, Ill. The three years pastorate of Rev. John Whisler ended in the fall of 1876, and on the 18th of September of the same year, Rev. W. G. Ward was appointed pastor. 410 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. The church is in a prosperous condition, with a membership of nearly 200. The officers of the church are the same as those named, with the addition of J. C. France, S. S. Shilling and J. A. Gann, M. D., to the Board of Stewards. THOMAS WOODLAND. * The earnest men are so few in the world that their very earnestness becomes at -once the badge of their nobility.—Dwight. It is not the men most opulently endowed by nature with brilliant intellects, or the genius of oratory, that in the rounded space of a human life achieve the greatest good. The history of the world from the beginning to the present time has emblazoned upon its roll of honor the deeds and doings of an illustrious army of plodding, faithful toilers and zealous men, with whom nature was not especially prodigal of her gifts, and who never sought the martyrdom of fame. Life to them was not a passing dream, startled by apparitions of disappointment, and broken by spectres of gloom, but a settled and serious reality, accompanied with ever-recurring duties, which required for their performance a sturdy earnestness and unrelaxing zeal. Conscious of their mission in the world, and with confidence in the brotherhood of man, their work became their delight, their labors their reward. The employment of their energies consisted not in an exclusive devotion to themselves, but to humanity, religion, truth ; and noble enterprises challenging the friction of their natures, their objects were largely and steadily advanced. They had no motive but duty, no ambition but its earnest fulfillment, and the fragrance of their quiet, useful lives breathes upon us through the summer violets upon their graves. They achieved, and were better deserving the world's applause, and fame's sweet echo, than the brazen orators of the forum, the fulsome haranguers of the Senate, who ignore humanity and neglect mankind. But history has saved for our delight and recollection the names of many of these earnest, silent toilers. With this class of enthusiastic men, seeking the useful, advancing the right, tenderly contemplating the past, and sanguine of the future and the ultimate adjustment of all things to a universal standard of right, we * Died since this was written. WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 411 take leave to associate Thomas Woodland, a native of Chatham, County Kent, England, who was born May 15, 1803. Of a family of seven children, he is the only one remaining. A temperament such as his, a disposition so self-reliant, a mind so independent and so tenacious of its opinions-we were almost going to say, bordering upon prejudice—with aspirations for a broader freedom and a vaster domain of thought and action, could not long submit to a policy of government that withheld a public right or restricted a personal privilege. It is but natural, therefore, that an individual, the subject of a government against which there existed such mental negations, should separate himself therefrom and turn to another, whose boon and promise is the utmost freedom to all. Impelled by such considerations, the love of adventure, the desire to obtain a home, and to gratify his cherished and pre-conceived convictions of the grandeur of the great Republic, in the fall of 1832, at the age of twenty-nine, with his wife and two children, he made his exodus to the New World. On his arrival in New York he immediately sought employment, which he procured. Here he tarried 18 months, during which time he connected himself with the Baptist church of the city of Brooklyn, then under the pastorate of a Welshman named Jacob Price, who had just arrived from Wales. And it was during this time that he made his first contribution to a public institution in America, viz : one dollar to Granville University. In the summer of 1834, Mr. Woodland and his family, in company with Bishop Mcllvaine, formerly Rector of St. Ann's church, Brooklyn, arrived at Gambier, Knox county, Ohio, the Bishop coming to assume the Presidency of that college. At the close of a few years residence in Gambier, he concluded upon a change, when a visit to Wooster was made, which resulted in the permanent settlement in our midst of him and his family, in June, 1838. Priest Jones was the minister of the Baptist church at that time, with which he immediately became identified, retaining his membership to the present hour. He first found employment with Joseph Larwill, after his arrival in Wooster. For many years he has been an extensive manufacturer of brick, for which he always found a ready market, but being now far advanced on the declivitous slope of life, has partially abandoned the eager and active pursuits of the world. He was married to Martha Woodward, of London, in November, 1824. Mr. Woodland has many deserving and salient points of char- 412 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. acter. He has long been an advocate of the present school system, and a champion of popular education and reform. In his more vigorous days he bore a conspicuous part in the public lyceum, and was a fair and honorable antagonist in the debating club. He has been a member of the church for over forty years, has strong religious convictions, a firm faith in the Bible and the great promise it embodies to the enlightened and believing soul. The external testimony and practice of religion will avail little, when " Wisdom shall be justified of her children," and when human nature must appear cleansed, unsullied and purified. Sincerity and plainness, a generous integrity of purpose and honesty of disposition, are the components of the man. To him are we indebted for the inception and organization of the Wayne County Historical Society, and Dr. Firestone has appropiately named him, " the Father of the Society." He first agitated the movement through the papers, _ talked it up on the streets, urged it in the public offices, and finally succeeded in getting an organization. When members grew disheartened at the prospect, and prognosticated failures and delays, he clung to his fancied project, with rare old English pluck ; and when the work was in progress, when the battle was being fought, he did not hide in his tent until it was over, or shrink at the call of the muster roll, but performed his part like a hero. SAMUEL NORTON BISSELL, M. D. Samuel N. Bissell was born, January 22, 18139, in the village of Vernon, Oneida county, State of New York. He was a nephew of Hezekiah Bissell, M. D., and a son of Eliphaz Bissell, a native of the old English borough of Torringford, Litchfield county, twenty-five miles north-west of Hartford, Connecticut, who subsequently removed to Oneida county, New York, where he became an excellent medical practitioner, and where in the discharge of professional duties he unfortunately met death by drowning. The subject of this sketch, Dr. Samuel Norton Bissell, was named after his grandfather, Samuel Norton, an old citizen of Goshen, Connecticut, with whom he spent a considerable portion of his early life. Under the careful guidance and management of his father and grandfather, and withal being a bright, promising, intellectual young man, ever ready to embrace opportunities of mental culture and development, and appropriate them to the best WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 413 possible uses, he succeeded in procuring a more than ordinarily fair education. To this emphatic mental achievement of S. N. Bissell is due, not simply the liberal interposition of parental concern, but the quick, energetic seizure of opportunity which too many allow to escape, but which, in his case, was perseveringly utilized. He was a student and investigator from the beginning, and herein consisted the basis of his future, unfolding life. The idea sought to be advanced is not that he was precocious, although he was brilliant, but that he seemed to possess, in a remarkable degree, a responsible consciousness, even when a young man, of his relations to the world, and of what the world in after years would exact from him. With this vivid realization of things was it possible for him to do anything else than to fortify himself for a conflict with men and the forces which men set up against each other? Happy is he who, at the earliest moment, discovers this mighty secret, for, in the end, the discovery will be made, and then too often with disappointment, vexation and disaster. For, conceal it as you will, the whole path of life is beset with foes who compass your downfall and oppose your elevation. He, too, found that there were other " Serpents in the world Than those which slide along the grassy sod, And sting the luckless foot that presses them." Of this Samuel N. Bissell had early foresight, and wisely prepared for the approaching struggle. While his grandfather, with true New England shrewdness, endeavored to impress him with the necessity of education, he found an apt and appreciating pupil in his nephew. So that, we affirm, Samuel N. Bissell embarked upon life a good scholar and signally qualified to explore the domain of physic. Feeling that the wide universe was his, and that " no pent up Utica confines our powers," he adopted the rational and intelligent conception of " going West," which determination, pushed to an issue, introduced him in Wooster, the field and scene of his future professional labor. Arriving hither, he at once entered the office of his uncle, Hezekiah Bissell, then a successful practicing physician of the village. With him he remained, pressing his studies with indefatigable courage, " scorning delights and living laborious days." Here he remained until he had completed his elementary and college 414 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. course, when he entered upon the active duties of his profession, flinging out the banner of the healing art. He was married September 25, 1832, to Eliza, daughter of Hon. John Sloane. He pursued the practice of medicine in Wooster, until his death, which occurred June 13, 1848. The circumstances and occasion of his death are both painful and affecting, His youngest sister, Mrs. Eunice C., wife of Harvey Howard, then residing in Tiffin, Ohio, was seriously sick. A courier was dispatched to Dr. Bissell, summoning him immediately to her bedside. With characteristic promptness he obeyed the request. There being no railroad direct to the point, he had to cross the country, from which exposure he was prostrated with pneumonia, from the effects of which, absent from his own home, and in the house of his suffering sister, he suddenly died. Verily, indeed, was he a martyr to his friends, his profession, to which he was devoted, and the behests of duty. While he had rescued many a sufferer from the darkness of the camps of death, his arm was powerless, as was that of his friends, to save himself. He consecrated himself to a glorious work, but in the mingling splendors of a growing fame he fell beside the altar he had built. His remains were conveyed to Wooster, and deposited in the old Presbyterian graveyard, but were subsequently transferred to the Wooster cemetery. By his marriage with Eliza Sloane, there resulted two sons, J. S. and H. H. Bissell, both of whom are living. His wife survived him until June 14, 1871. She was a faithful member of the Presbyterian church, and a pious, exemplary woman. The unexpected and sudden death of Dr. Samuel N. Bissell, to the people of Wooster and Wayne county, fell like a thunder-burst from a clear sky. All remembered him that knew him, as a hale, vigorous and robust man, with an undoubted lease of three score and ten upon his life. His hight was not imposing, but he was a fine specimen of physical manhood, built up squarely and firmly as granite rock, and weighing about two hundred pounds. Our rapid and hasty review of Dr. Bissell presents him as a man of marked character and distinctive cast of mind. He qualified himself for his profession before he entered upon it. There was no superficial learning or pedantry about him. In the ways of conceit or audacious assumption he was poorly gifted ; for in his temper and disposition vanity and self-confidence had no place whatever. He was not, we dare say, unconscious of his power, WOOSTER-SKETCHES - 415 but naturally modest and retiring, and altogether devoid of popular art, he could not advance himself by practices which, when adroitly played, seldom fail to promote the fortune of inferior minds. He did not, however, have to wait long for the public to appreciate or patronize him, but soon established his reputation by the united and irreversible judgment of his compeers. In our worldly affairs it sometimes pleases Fortune to lend a capricious smile where neither true merit, nor wisdom, nor industry entitle an unworthy object to the grateful concession. But less fickle in her gifts and good will than the sportive goddess is famed to be, that poetic deity seldom fails to add her grace and blessing wherever virtue, constancy and qualification unite to aid the good man in a heroic struggle for honest promotion. The truth of this reflection was powerfully and handsomely illustrated in the career and progress of Dr. Bissell. His armor consisted of courage and fairness, integrity and intelligence. Great, indeed, was his triumph—not greater than the measure of his high and indisputable claims do justly challenge. He was practical and observant from the very outstart of his studies. He did not contemplate the human frame from the vital standpoint, but simply as a grand mechanism ; a complex structure, whose builder must have been none less than God. Hence to understand this mechanism—its essential and perfect action—the harmonious unison and melody of all its parts, or to be able to detect its discords, or to adjust its derangements, was, with him, the objective purpose of his investigations. The mystery and origin of life were not comprised in his motive ; simply the perfection and healthy, symmetrical preservation of that life. It matters not to Blind Tom who makes his musical instruments ; his mission is to elicit its harmonies, correct its discords, and make it perform a perfect work. With this interpretation of his duties, Dr. Bissell practiced medicine, and in the various walks of his profession distinguished himself as one of the most popular and scientific physicians and surgeons of Northern Ohio. He was a man of strong attachments and of amiable and benevolent disposition ; of kind heart and strong brain. In politics he was a Whig, and had he taken to it would have made a skillful manager. He served in the capacity of Associate Judge of Common Pleas Court in 1845. In his general manner and bearing he was quiet and unobtrusive. While he was practical and business-like, those who knew him best testify to his warm 416 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. feelings, his generous and noble disposition, and to the happy and interesting fervor which, in a circle of cherished and confiding friends, oftentimes turned his natural gravity into echoes of joyous mirth, or accents of animated and excited hilarity. Such is the short history of the subject of this memoir ; such his virtues and his skill and learning ; such the traits of his attractive, unblemished character. Some may equal—all should emulate, but few will rival or excel his sterling worth, either as a citizen or a professional man. John Sloane Bissell, his oldest son, named in memory of his worthy and illustrious grandfather, Colonel Sloane, reproduces some of the characteristics of his father, and gives promise of demonstrating the possibilities to be attained by devotion to business, and the promotion to be achieved by adhesion to a single pursuit. He was born in the city of Wooster, and is a Buckeye to the manner born. When but a lad of tender years he was dispossessed of the paternal guardianship, and had for his guide and counselor only the kind and gentle admonitions of his mother. With her he remained during the years of his minority, and in fact until her death, a constant witness of her dutiful and exemplary life, daily receiving the benefits of her instruction and the inspiration of her affectionate attentions. Opportunity was furnished him early of going to the village schools, and subsequently the Academy of Professor Hill, all of which he cordially embraced, so that by the time he was ready to engage in business he was quite profrcient in his studies. His first introduction to business was in the capacity of clerk, in the house of Plumer & King, in which relation he continuously served until his embarkation in business enterprises upon his own account. It will be observed from what is written that Mr. Bissell has deviated from the traditional tendency of his father and uncle toward the profession of medicine, and has seen proper to launch his life-vessel upon the waters of mercantile speculation. In this respect he has been the arbiter of his own occupation. He is now at the head of one of the largest, best appointed and most judiciously arranged mercantile establishments in the city, of which himself and brother are proprietors. In his commercial transactions he has, as far as possible, adopted the cash basis—the true principle underlying all business, whereby the purchaser receives a greater equivalent for his money WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 417 and the seller a more rapid realization of his profits. He buys his goods himself; pays little attention to valise-bummers, sample men and commercial tramps, who subsist by recognized frauds, and who fizzle or fatten, as the case may be, by duplicity and misrepresentation. He is his own accountant and book-keeper ; foots up the columns and knows they are right without further inquiry, and works behind the counter when there is a rush. In short, Mr. Bissell is an enterprising, accommodating business man. He has keen perceptions, is a quick thinker and a vigorous worker. After sleeping six or eight hours his eyes are open the remainder of the twenty-four. If he makes a bad bargain to-day, it will teach him a lesson, and he will make none to-morrow. To sum it all up, he understands the mental arithmetic of calico, muslin and silk. His experiences, all of them, whether good or bad, are a decided advantage to him. He is a man of nerve and force, somewhat excitable, but with confidence enough in himself to be his own master. He is kind hearted and liberal where he is justified in it. He knows how to appear free and open without danger of intrusion, and to be cautious without seeming reserved ; is a warm and generous friend ; an honest man, and an incorruptible citizen. SAMUEL HEMPHILL. The citizens of Wooster were shocked on Thursday morning, March 3, 1853, on the reception of a letter announcing the death of Samuel Hemphill, Esq., a distinguished member of the Wooster bar, which took place in Hart county, Kentucky, on the 22d day of February, 1853. On the 15th of March, and soon after the intelligence of his sad fate, the members of the bar convened at the office of McSweeney & Jones, Hon. Edward Avery being appointed to the Chair, and J. H. Harris Secretary, to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting upon the sudden and melancholy death of their brother. Levi Cox, Ezra Dean, William Given, John McSweeney and Enos Foreman were appointed the committee, with the further authority to adopt suitable measures in reference to attending his funeral. This committee reported on Thursday evening, March 17, from which we extract a single resolution: Resolved, I. That in this unexpected death of Mr. Hemphill, we have lost 27 418 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. an intelligent, talented and honorable member of the legal profession, and that we deeply regret and deplore the loss of his society, individually and professionally, of which, by this melancholy dispensation, we have been so early and suddenly deprived. On Monday, March 28, 1853, Hon. Levi Cox moved the Court, Hon. Martin Walker on the bench, to order the proceedings and resolutions of the Wooster bar concerning the death of Mr. Hemphill, to be entered upon the journal of the Court. Mr. Hemphill was born in Bedford county, Pa., on the 26th of April, 1817. When about ten years old—in 1827—he removed with his father to Wayne county, Ohio. At about seventeen years of age he was sent to college at Athens, Ohio, where he entered the Sophomore class. He spent two years at college, and then commenced reading law with Hon. Levi Cox, of Wooster, with whom he was associated as partner after his admission to the bar. He was about nineteen years old when he commenced the study of law, reading two years prior to his admission. On the 5th of November, 1844, he was united in marriage, by Rev. William McCandlish, to Miss Mary S. Bentley, daughter of Benjamin Bentley, Esq. He died in the thirty-sixth year of his age. His remains reached the family residence in Wooster on the l0th of March, and on the 13th they were committed to the grave in the old Seceder church burial-ground, by the Masonic Order, brethren of the bar, and a vast concourse of the citizens. In November, 1858, he was removed from this place of rest, and buried in the Masonic lot in the cemetery, the second person buried there. Had Mr. Hemphill lived, he would have greatly distinguished himself as a lawyer. He was a man of noble personal mien ; had a grand, generous nature, an original and superior order of genius, great tenacity of purpose, and was a brilliant and magnetic orator. With general and universal lamentation he was prematurely consigned to the grave. " There let his majestic, noble form and nature repose in peace, far beyond the reach of the ills and storms of this life, until he shall be called away to a higher, better and happier home. He has gone from us forever ; his tongue is motionless in death, and that voice which so much pleased and delighted men with its powerful argumentation and elocution is now mute and hushed in the silence of the tomb. It will no more respond to the calls of another earthly court. It will no more resound in anecdote or joke, social converse, bleeding satire or WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 419 forensic strifes, but respond in joy to the calls of the peaceful, glorious heavenly courts on high." WOOSTER CEMETERY. The patriarchal language of four thousand years ago remains unchanged. We are "strangers and sojourners" here, in need of "a possession of a burying-place, that we may bury our dead out of sight." It is the duty of the living thus to provide for the dead. It is not a mere office of pious regard for others ; but it comes home to our own bosoms, as those who are soon to enter upon the common inheritance. " If there are any feelings of our nature not bounded by earth, and yet stopping short of the skies, which are more strong and more universal than all others, they will be found in our solicitude as to the time and place and manner of our death ; in the desire to die in the arms of friends ; to have the last sad offices to our remains performed by their affection ; to repose in the land of our nativity; to be gathered to the sepulchres of our fathers." Gray, in his Elegy—the most incomparably beautiful of all human poems-enforced this solemn truth when he wrote- " For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, This pleasing, anxious being e'er resigned, Left the warm precincts of the cheerful clay, Nor cast one longing, Iing'ring look behind ? On some fond breast the parting soul relies ; Some pious drops the closing eye requires ; E'en from the tomb the voice of nature cries ; E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires." That we are dust, and shall to dust return, does not suggest indifference to the place of burial of the dead, or that it matters not where the lifeless body is deposited. The dead have not been without their preferences, and the living must know where their kindred are laid away, " that the spot where they shall lie will be remembered with a fond and soothing reverence ; that their children may visit it in the midst of their sorrows, and their kindred in remote generations feel that a local inspiration hovers around it." Said the patriarch Jacob, " Bury me not, I pray thee, bury me not in Egypt : but I will lie with my fathers. And thou shalt 420 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. carry me out of Egypt ; and bury me in their burying-place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife ; there they buried Isaac and Rebecca, his wife ; and there I buried Leah." Prior to 1852 the dead of the village of Wooster and its vicinity were promiscuously buried in the different church-yards of the town, and here the " fathers of the hamlet sleep." On the 12th of July, 1852, a number of the citizens of Wooster, prominent among whom were Hon. Levi Cox, John Larwill, Cyrus Spink, E. Quinby, Jr., Constant Lake, R. B. Stibbs, K. Porter, James Johnson, Harvey Howard, and others, agreed to form themselves into a cemetery association, to be known by the name of " The Wooster Cemetery Association," and for that purpose signed and published a notice. In pursuance of the publication of the notice, and at the time specified therein, a majority of the members of the Association convened at the Court House, and there resolved to elect, by ballot, from their number five persons to serve as Trustees and one as Clerk of the Association, and otherwise consummate the organization as provided by law. The Trustees chosen were Henry Lehman, James Johnson, Constant Lake, R. B. Stibbs and E. Quinby, Jr. The original grounds, thirty-two acres, were purchased of Joseph H. Larwill, the price to be paid being $100 per acre. Five promissory notes were executed to Mr. Larwill, and in the event of a sufficient number of lots not being sold to indemnify the executors of the five promissory notes, the following persons agreed to assume their respective proportions of the notes the same as if they had been original signers to them : Samuel Woods, John H. Harris, J. M. Robison, E. Avery, J. A. Anderson, E. Quinby, Jr., Samuel L. Lorah, Thomas Stibbs, William Spear, William Henry, John P. Jeffries, J. N. Jones, John McSweeney. J. S. Spink, J. H. Kauke, William Belnap, Benj. Eason, Enos Foreman, E. Dean, The first meeting of the Trustees of the Association, after its formation, occurred November 6, 1852. Superintendents being appointed, the grounds were surveyed and graded. November 13, 1853, it was ordered that a public sale of lots be had in the cemetery on the 25th of said month, commencing at ten o'clock. The officers of the Association consist of a board of five Trustees, a Clerk and Treasurer. WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 421 R. R. DONNELLY. * R. R. Donnelly was born in Northumberland county, Pa., October 29, 1820. His parents soon afterwards removed to the neighborhood of Wooster, Wayne county, in which city, and on the same corner of the public square, the greater part of his life was spent in the vigorous prosecution of business pursuits. He died February 20, 1874, of cancer of the head, from which he had suffered for many years. ISAAC NEWTON JONES. Isaac Newton Jones, second son of Benjamin Jones, was born in Wooster, December 7, 1818. Having regularly attended the Wooster schools, and being an apt and eager learner, at the age of twelve years he first entered upon business life by accepting a clerkship from William Childs, in a dry goods store in the village. His father engaging in mercantile business with a Mr. Hatch, at Old Hickory, Canaan township, the subject of this sketch was transferred thither, but in a short time removed to Petersburg, Ashland county, where his father had made a similar investment, and in the prosecution of which he desired his son to take part. In 1836 Benjamin Jones having withdrawn his commercial interests, removed to his farm, two miles west of Wooster (yet known as the old Jones homestead), taking with him his whole family. The farm, however, was not Newton's field of activity, and probably no one better knew this than his father. The bent of his mind was emphatically in a mercantile direction. In the same year (1836) he returned to Wooster and entered the store of Joseph S. and Constant Lake, in the capacity of clerk. In this relation he served until 1840, when he and Theodore Loomis purchased the goods of the firm and for a period conducted the business. Several changes occurred in the management up to 1860, when Constant Lake again entered into partnership with Mr. Jones. But from 1836 to 1870 Mr. j ones, with the exception of four years, was a member of the firm. For thirty-four years—a period longer than the average life of man—he met the whirl and bustle of business in the same town * We had a full sketch of Mr. Donnelly prepared for publication, but his present wife objecting to any notice of him, we insert only the above lines. 422 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. and on the precise spot, until the old corner took the aspect of one of the eternities of trade. Here he toiled, tugged, and served for nearly half a century,- wearing off the fire and finish of his manly years, a true friend of the deserving world. and securing a friend. ship parallel with his vast acquaintance. Beyond the circle of his commercial life, however, Mr. Jones was a valuable and active factor in the community. There was no public enterprise of the utility of which he was convinced but with which he identified himself. In the composition of his nature there were no negative qualities or quantities. That lithe, athletic body of his enshrined a magnet. Whatever he touched grew vital. Enterprises floated in his enthusiasm. He had faith in railroads, and the people of Wayne county know how, with other enterprising citizens, he advocated their construction ; how he exerted himself as solicitor, how earnestly and zealously he spoke in their behalf. The cause of education had no more earnest defender. With him men were imperfect organisms without it. In the building of the old Ward School-houses he took an active part, and in locating the ;grounds for the present High School building, all remember the prominent part he enacted. During the rebellion Mr. Jones was a war Democrat, and the cause of the Union felt the impression of his positive nature. In public life, to the honors of which he did not aspire, he compassed the welfare of the whole community. Whether as Mayor of the city of Wooster, as member of the City Council, or Infirmary Director, he was ever the same faithful servant. In the capacity of Infirmary Director he served for nine years, a position whose compensation was paltry, but which, nevertheless, involved much labor. So faithfully and with so much attentive industry, however, did he perform his duties, that it became fashionable among the lawyers of Wooster to refer all legal matters touching that institution to Mr. Jones ; and hence, he became known as the Infirmary Lawyer." Mr. Jones was married May 23, 1843, at Bethany, West Virginia, by Alexander Campbell, the distinguished divine, to Miss Susan Gillespie, of Wooster, a lady of marked qualities, who survives him. By this union there resulted six children, four only of whom are living. He died of apoplexy, at his residence, in the city of Wooster, January 1, 1878. As a citizen he was devoted to the common good ; as a man his WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 423 relations to his fellow men were pleasant, co-operative and cordial; as a neighbor he was the very soul of accommodation ; as a husband and father he was devoted and indulgent, the home circle being hedged by a mutual confidence and affection. His nature was decidedly social and genial, and by a sort of unconscious influence he won many friends. He was a man of ripe judgment and excellent native sense. Like his father, he dispensed a generous hospitality. For the poor, as well as the rich man, he had recognition and smiles. With the young men he was an especial favorite, and the country boys knew him because he knew their fathers or had performed some kindness toward them. If a neighbor or friend was sick he was first in attendance, and at the house of death last to abandon it. It is said of him that he attended more funerals than any man in the county. Here is a private ministry, uncommissioned of creeds or priests, and the virtues which it illustrates shine all the brighter, because, like the sun, they involuntarily shine. Here is an entire gospel full of " on earth peace and good will to men " such as was announced when the New Era began, and when He was born of whom the prophesies had said. JOHN K. MCBRIDE. John K. McBride, son of Alexander McBride, deceased, was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., on the 8th of December, 1811, and immigrated to Ohio with his father early in the spring of 1814. From the period at which he was able to perform physical labor until he was seventeen years old, he toiled industriously and indefatigably upon the farm with his father. He distinctly recollects conveying oats to Wooster in sacks, on horseback, and selling them at eight and ten cents per bushel, and hauling ashes on an old-fashioned sled to the asheries of the town and disposing of them at five cents per bushel. He endured the usual hardships and privations of the farm until the year above designated, when he went to learn a trade—the wheelwright and chair-making business—with Moses Culbertson, with whom he remained four years. He then went to Millersburg, in debt about one hundred dollars, and embarked in business upon his own responsibility. His brother James, then a clerk for Benjamin Bentley, and having some experience in the dry goods business, proceeded to 424 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Millersburg, where he and John purchased the dry goods store of Benjamin Jones and Edmund Hatch. This business they conducted for three years, when they sold out. Mr. McBride then repaired to Canaan Centre, Wayne county, working at his trade one year, when he removed to Jackson, on the pike, for a similar length of time pursuing his trade, when he "shut up shop," sold out his tools, and invested the earnings of his persistent toil in a store. Here he handled goods and merchandise until 1842, when he came to Wooster, continuing in business till 1850. He then proceeded to New York city, engaging largely in the wholesale trade of groceries, which line of speculative enterprise he prosecuted for 11 years, returning to Wooster in 1861, his present and permanent residence. His next investments were in real estate, buying several farms, which, although living in the city, he visited daily, and over which he exercised personal supervision. In 1863 he was nominated for the Probate Judgeship of the county, but was defeated at the election by the soldiers' vote. In 1866 he was a candidate for the same office, and was elected, and in 1869 was re-nominated, and re-elected. His term of six years in that honorable office expired in February, 1873. He was twice married, on the 1st of May, 1844, to his second wife, the eldest daughter of Thomas Robison. He had three children, Harry, James and Thomas McBride. Harry is a merchant in New York. James entered the army in 1861, volunteering in the three months service, subsequently enlisting in the 16th 0. V. I. for three years, and serving out the whole period. He received a wound in his head in the battle of Vicksburg, and contracted disease in the service, which culminated in his death in the fall of 1868. Thomas A. McBride, M. D., his youngest son, a graduate of Kenyon College, studied his profession with Dr. Firestone of Wooster, attended four courses of lectures in New York, and graduated with credit and honor at the Physician's College of that city. For some years he has been practicing his profession in Bellevue Hospital, New York. He is a skilled physician and destined to distinguish himself. Hon. John K. McBride, though he has attained his three score years, is still in the vigor of ripe manhood and promises fair to attain a very advanced old age. His intellectual power is just at its zenith, and a long career of activity and usefulness is still be- WOOSTER-SKETCHES - 425 fore him. Being a man of remarkably regular and temperate habits, his physical constitution is robust and unimpaired. As Judge of the Probate Court none dare to gainsay his impartiality, probity, fairness and sound judgment. In the discharge of his duties no stain fell upon the ermine of his judicial character. By his indomitable will and inflexible energy and industry ; by his straightforwardness in the line of duty and the exercise of a mature judgment, he has acquired a competence of this world's goods, and has left an example not only to his friends, but the community generally of what in the absence of fortune, or a paternal inheritance, can be accomplished by a brave perseverance and a dauntless spirit. MICHAEL TOTTEN. John Totten, the father of Michael Totten, was born in County Derry, north of Ireland, in the year 1749, and in 1765, emigrated to America. The war between Great Britain and the Colonies breaking out, he immediately joined the Colonial army, in which, under Generals Washington and Wayne, he served seven years. After the close of hostilities, he removed to Kishacoquillas valley, in Pennsylvania, where he married Nancy McNair. He next went to Virginia, thence to Raccoon creek, Pa., and thence to Columbiana county, Ohio. He and Johnny Gaddis, a Scotchman, and Charles Hoy built the three first cabins that were built in Columbiana county, near Liverpool. But prior to his removing to Ohio, he joined General Wayne's army, operating in the west, and remained with him a year, until the treaty of Greenville, in Darke county, Ohio, August 3, 1795. He removed to Stark, now Carroll county, Ohio, in 1805, five miles south-east of Osnaburg, on the Little Sandy, settling on what was long known as the Baum farm. In 1809 he removed, with his family, four miles west of Massillon, and in May, 1812, at the age of sixty-three years, he died. He was a massive, muscular man, who performed gallant service for his country in two of its wars, always enjoying good health and never confined to a bed of sickness until prostrated by the disease that ended his life. On one occasion he was shot in a fight with Indians, and had his thigh broken. Hon. Michael Totten was born May 11, 1800, and had five brothers and four sisters, all of his brothers and two of his sisters being dead. After his father's death, in February, 1813, Michael removed to Wooster, in company with his mother and the rest of 426 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. the family. They remained in Wooster during 1813-14, Michael occasionally hauling logs for his brother-in-law, Isaac Poe, then owner of the Henry- Myers farm, for the purpose of building a cabin, which was afterwards known as the "haunted house." The house was built in 1814, Jacob Matthews doing the hewing, assisted by Archibald Totten, the Driskels being present at the raising of it. From Wooster Mr. Totten's family removed to, and located one-half mile east of the village of Congress, the entire country then being a perfect wilderness; and in February, 1815, and with no assistance but George Poe, Henry Totten and John Meeks, he erected his cabin in the woods. After they had left Wooster, and prior to their removal to Congress township, they lived in a double log shanty, which they erected where the old brick kiln stood, on the Mansfield road, on the Myers farm, and close to their door were three Indian graves. Mr. Totten lived in Congress township seventeen years, and in 1832 removed to Chester township, where he purchased lands, and for many years devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. A number of years ago he removed to Wooster, where, with his family he has since continued to reside. Mr. Totten has been twice married ; first to Louisa Crawford, of Congress township, by which marriage there resulted two children, Matilda and Henry, the former marrying James Freeman and dying in Illinois; the latter, Henry, being joined in marriage to Jane Ramsey, and living in Chicago; second, November 16, 1830, to Mrs. Susanna Ramsey, of Washington county, Pennsylvania, daughter of William Ewing, deceased, of Canaan township, and wife of Samuel Ramsey, of the aforenamed county, who died in November, 1824. By her first marriage, with Mr. Ramsey, she had four children, George, William, Jane and Samuel, the latter a retired physician in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, and a man of wealth, culture and education. By this second marriage of Mr. Totten there resulted the following issue: Nancy, Susan, John, Enoch, Hiram E. and Melissa A.* *John and Hiram are dead. Hiram was a Lieutenant in the 120th Regiment, and in the battle of Jackson, Miss., after the surrender of Vicksburg, was struck with a shell from the effects of which he died with his parents, in Wooster, in about twelve weeks. He was a young man of decided mental endowments and was fitting himself for practice at the bar when he enlisted. He was a brave soldier—bore his sufferings like a martyr and marched into the Great Presence as consciously and heroically as though he had picketed the spaces of eternity and measured the depth of the Infinite. WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 427 Mr. Totten has been a citizen of Wayne county for 65 years, and can be properly classed with the oldest of the living pioneers, there being but few indeed who have lived so long as he within the limits of the county. His settlement in it dates back to the year immediately succeeding the organization of the county. Wooster then was but a dim spot in the wilderness, and Wayne county, much larger than it now is, contained but four townships. He has witnessed its advance from disorder to order ; from darkness to light ; from license and confusion to prudent restraints and remarkable civilization. His life has been an extremely active and eventful one, replete with hazardous adventures, many hardships and exciting situations. He was a man well suited to the times in which his activities were exerted. His courage no man dared to question, and, the associate of the Poes and other brave spirits of the early days, he learned daring in the shadow of danger, and neither wild beast, Indian nor tomahawk possessed terror to him. He entered Congress township when it was in the wilderness of the centuries preceding it, and many are the acres of forest that fell before his strong arms, and the fields that he cleared, that now blossom and ripen with bountiful harvests. In his more vigorous days he bore a conspicuous part in the progressive enterprises and measures of the community, and was an aggressive, public spirited citizen and man. As early as 1829 he served with Michael Funk and John Vanosdall as one of the Trustees of Congress township, and in all his local positions of public trust sustained a reputation for zeal in the fulfillment of his duties. In 1836 he was elected to the office of Auditor of Wayne county, and re-elected in 1838. He served in the Ohio Legislature from December 1, 1845, to December 7, 1846, and from December 6, 1847, to December 4, 1848, in all of which capacities he acquitted himself with credit and honor. Since Mr. Totten's residence in Wooster and retirement from the public his life has been spent in quiet and rest in the circle of his family. His wife came to Wayne county with her father, William Ewing, in 1812. She is an exemplary, Christian woman, and though but a few days since passing her eightieth birthday, her cheeks wear the rosy freshness of youth, and she is in the enjoyment of fine health, and cheery as a maiden of sixteen. Fifty years ago Mr. Totten was one of the best specimens of the heroic backwoodsman ; a stout, athletic, daring adventurer, and a hunter 428 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. whose delight was in the thickets and ravines of the woods. He encountered the Indians in contests for game, met them in their camps and settlements, slept in their bark huts, well knowing their treachery, but too brave a man to fear them. He frequently met old Captain Lyon and Tom Jelloway ; knew Baptiste Jerome,* after whom Jeromeville, in Ashland county, was named, and threshed wheat at his house. Identified as Mr. Totten has been with the first settlement of the county and its heroic period, and with his vivid and unfailing recollection of events of half a century ago, he has proven a most valuable auxiliary to us, and we are largely indebted to him for much of the incident that appears in the history. His recollection of the Fulke massacre ; his knowledge of the Driskels, and his association with and relationship to the Poes, being a brother-in-law to Isaac, son of Adam Poe, divest our narratives and descriptions of all romance and semblance of fiction. MICHAEL TOTTEN CHALLENGED BY A BEAR. When his mother and the family were living in the cabin which stood on the old brick kiln site, he went up on the hill, about half a mile from the house, to look after the cows, and while sitting on a log, listening for the cow bell, a big black bear passed close by him, pausing a moment and looking at him, and then going on. He ran at the top of his speed back to the house and gave the alarm, whereupon Archibald Clark, John, George, Elijah and William Glasgow started in pursuit of bruin with dogs and guns, Mr. Totten also accompanying the party. The dogs tracked it some distance, and treed it about half a mile west of where John McKee, Esq., lives—a mile north of the University. All that had guns fired at it, and, after receiving thirteen bullets, it tumbled to the ground. This was in August, 1814. A TERRIBLE NIGHT IN THE WOODS. While Mr. Totten was living in Congress township, and soon after his removal there, Isaac Poe, who then lived on the Henry Myers farm, had been up in Congress township, where he afterward moved, and on his return home he found that his horses had strayed away, and were for two weeks lost, as he supposed. Mr. Totten, then but fifteen years of age, being in the woods in search of the cattle, came in contact with Mr. Poe's horses, and knowing that they were his, concluded to take them home. He got elm-bark and made halters for them, and started toward *Jerome was a Canadian Frenchman, and, says Knapp, "was a man of posilive character, impulsive, generous and brave, devoted in his friendships, and bitter in his enmities. His natural gifts of mind were good. He could converse fluently in French and Indian, and so as to be understood in English. To the early settlers he was of great service in furnishing them with provisions, some having expressed the opinion that they would have incurred the hazard of starvation, had it not been for the aid afforded by him." WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 429 Wooster on the line of blazed trees. A storm came up and darkness overwhelmed him. In his wanderings he got into the Killbuck bottoms, to the rear of the residence of the late Samuel Funk, and could go no further. Here, through the rain and wind and lightning of the storm, he remained during the night, holding on to the horses and reaching his brother-in-law's in the morning. PACKING SALT ON HORSEBACK. Michael Totten's brother William, and James Gaff, of Stark county, bored for salt on Killbuck— went down 440 feet and broke the augur. They procured salt water, but could not manufacture over a half bushel of salt per day. Michael packed it from the well up to the farm in Congress township, on horseback. Salt was then worth four dollars per bushel and wet at that. In 1813 he was water-boy to the harvest hands cutting wheat on the Avery farm, then owned by George and Isaac Poe. The crop consisted of about ten acres, and it was principally " sick wheat." He has no explanation of the cause of this sick wheat. On the Byers farm, then owned by a Scotchman, named Billy Clark, a harvest was cut that year. A LOST BOY IN THE OLDEN TIME. As an incident of the year 1820, Michael Totten relates the excitement created by the search for a lost boy, named James Durfee, eight years old, whose parents , lived near Perrysburg, seven miles north-west of Congress, then in Wayne county, but now in Jackson township, Ashland county. It appears that the child accompanied his uncle, David Souls, in search of some hogs in the woods. Becoming tired, his uncle told him to remain at a gap until he returned from more extended search. When the uncle at length came back, the boy was gone, and it having snowed heavily in the meantime, no trace of " Little Jim" could be seen. He made a wide search for him, hallooed, but without result, then gave alarm to the family and neighbors. Everybody turned out, Mr. Totten among the number, and for three days the hunt was vigorously prosecuted, but finally had to be abandoned as hopeless. Weeks afterwards, in March, two miles from where he was lost, the body of the little fellow was found in the woods, near a brook, into which it is supposed he had fallen, and, getting out, had frozen to death, covered by snow. His eyes had been picked out by ravens, and locks of his hair were afterwards found strewn over the snow, by Mr. Totten, when out coon hunting. During the search for the boy Mr. Totten entered a "Yankee slash," and there shot a huge buck. SAVES A BOY'S LIFE. In 1815 he saved John Mowry from drowning, who was then a lad of 16, in Little Killbuck. He had sunk in the water when Mr. Totten sprang in after him and, assisted by John Shinneman, succeeded in getting him out of the water. When taken out he was speechless, but recovered. Michael Totten's mother was the second white person who died in Congress township (1820, Amasa Warner's wife being the first, dying on the farm now owned by Royce Summerton, his mother being buried in the Rumbaugh graveyard. His earliest neighbors in Congress township were Isaac and George Poe, James Carlin, Matthew Brewer, Peter Warner, John Nead, John Jeffers, Walter Elgin, etc. 430 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. He helped to build the first Presbyterian church in Congress township, on the corner of section 27. His brother, John Totten, taught the first school in the township, in the cabin in which his mother lived, the Brewers, Ewings, etc., sending their children to the school. After him a Mr. Beatty taught, Elmer Yocum, Sally Totten, etc., etc. GENERAL WILLIAM GIVEN. 0 ! why has worth so short a date ? While villains ripen gray with time, Must thou, the noble, gen'rous, great, Fall in bold manhood's hardy prime! —Burns. In our off-hand ink-Takings of the various individuals whom we have drawn together and seated at random in this volume, we have at times been embarrassed almost to the verge of despair. The vagueness or incompleteness of all knowledge concerning the substance of the shadow left us ; the absence of essential data which would serve to illustrate mental traits, or be indicative of disposition, or character, has too often rendered our pen-portraiture and sketch-work not only a difficult, but an irksome and unenviable toil. We have even lamented the misfortune of our years, and regretted that we had not lived in the days when intimacy would have been possible with many who have been blotted from the breathing roll. In regard to that worthy assembly of pioneers with whom "life's fitful fever is over," we have had too often to rely upon others for information, whereas the Takings should be a mirror of the man, and such a one as should reflect the broader outlines of character, which are perceivable by all, and draw out those peculiarities visible only to a few. In some instances we have been relieved of this embarrassment by our personal knowledge of the dead, but we are free to admit that in a majority of instances we have been destitute of that knowledge, so powerful in giving effect and strength to characterization. With General William Given the writer of this memoir had some personal acquaintance, and concerning him entertains some pleasing and undying recollections. He remembers him in the healthy, vigorous flush and activity of his physical manhood ; in the full possession of his bright, sparkling intellect ; in his natural adjustment to all charities ; his generous, benevolent, royal na- WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 431 ture ; his compass and vastness of soul ; but, better than all, for the tender, sympathetic heart that pulsated in his genial, glowing bosom. He was born on the 4th day of September, 1819, in the town of Newville, Cumberland county, Pa. His father and mother came from County Tyrone, Ireland, although they were of Scotch extraction, belonging to the Clendenning clan of the Camerons, who were a religious sect which separated from the Presbyterians and continued to hold their religious meetings in the open air. They were resolute maintainers of the unblemished purity and rights of the Reformed church. They had hovered for many years about the mountainous regions of the parish of Kirkmahoe, in Dumfrieshire ; and as they began to confide in the kindness of their less rigid brethren they commenced descending, step by step, from a large hill to a less, till they finally swarmed on a small, sterile mount, with a broomy glen at its foot, beside a little village, which, it seems, one of their number named " Graceless Quarrel-wood." This settlement was chosen with some skill, and, in the period of the persecution, might have done honor to the military tactics of John Balfour, of Burley. It is a long, straggling village, built in open hostility to regular lines or the graceful curves of imaginary beauty. The cottages which compose it are scattered, as if some wizard had dropped them down at random ; and through the whole a streamlet winds, and a kind of road, infinitely more crooked than the stream. They were a sect of religious enthusiasts who entertained peculiar views, and were distinguished by an intense and overflowing devotion, which appeared to be the result of the consciousness of direct communication with Divine Powers. They were rigid, conventional and austere—made few converts, as few people are fond of inflicting on themselves willingly the penance of controversial prayers and interminable sermons. When but a child the parents of Judge Given removed from Newville, to Westmoreland county, Pa., and settled at the village of Murryville. His father being a blacksmith, the deceased, when he was only a lad, commenced to learn his father's trade, and so determined was he to do so that his father had to erect a platform by the side of the anvil in order to give the youthful genius an opportunity to display his skill. He was so expert and apt in learning that, at a very early age, he was considered a good workman and prepared to perform the different labors of the village blacksmith. 432 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. His early education was limited, it being acquired while he was learning his trade. He attended the village school during the day and " blew the bellows " in the shop at night. In paper cap and leather apron, by the blaze of the forge, he read his books and first gave discipline to his mind. So far as the benefits of a regular education are concerned, it was, to a great degree, neglected. By persevering energy and diligent industry, he had, by the time he came to Ohio, qualified himself to take charge of a common school. In 1836 he left Murryville and went to Pittsburg, to try the experiment of living, where he followed his trade in an extensive machine shop until 1838, when he emigrated, with his father, to Holmes county, Ohio, and settled on a farm, then in the woods, three miles west of Millersburg. Here a smithy was at once erected, and.here Judge Given successfully bloomed and struck for two years. From here he removed to Petersburg, in Ashland county, where he swung the noisy hammer for another year. In 1841 he returned to Holmes county, and began investigating Chitty, and unlocking the secrets of Blackstone. During the summer he pursued the study of the law; during the winter taught school. He was admitted to the bar at the July term of the Supreme Court, 1843, at Sandusky, Ohio. November 23 of the same year he was married to Miss Susan Croco, of Holmesville, Holmes county, Ohio. During the autumn of his admission to practice he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Holmes county before he had a single case in the court, to which office he was re-elected. At the termination of his prosecutorship he stood at the forefront of the Millersburg bar, having proven not only the peer, but the superior of Hoagland, Tannyhill and Sapp. In 1849 he was elected to the House of Representatives from Holmes county, and served in that body for one term with marked distinction. In 1850, in the month of November, he came to Wooster, forming a partnership with John P. Jeffries in the legal practice, which continued till the spring of 1855. Subsequently he became associated in the law with John McSweeney, remaining with him until 1858, when he was elected Judge of the Common Pleas Court, of the Sixth Judicial District of Ohio, his commission bearing date of January t0, 1859. He remained on the bench until 1862, when he resigned, and on the 18th of August, 1862, was commissioned Colonel of the 102d 0. V. I., serving in the army for nearly three years. March 13, 1865, he was commissioned Brigadier WOOSTER-SKETCHES - 433 General by brevet, for his gallant defense of Decatur, Alabama, and was mustered out of service June 13 of the same year. On returning from the army he again began the practice of his chosen profession, in which he was engaged when the voice of the grim escort said to him, "Tarry no longer ; come with me." He died Sabbath morning, October 1, 1866, at Wooster, in the 47th year of his age. As is apparent from what is above written, Judge William Given was, in the highest sense, a self-made man. Like his linguistic prototype, the Worcester blacksmith, he was the founder, builder and maker of himself. The university and the academy were unknown to him, and showered upon him no honors. What he possessed he gathered by " the process of accretion, which builds the ant-heap, particle by particle, thought by thought, fact by fact." Did we not know his ancestry, we would nationalize him as a true son of Erin. His character supplied many of the conventional characteristics of the Irishman. He was sensitively tender and warm-hearted, generous and impulsive, ever ready to impart of his substance to a friend, to perform a charity or do a kindness to the lowliest and humblest of his fellow-men. His heart-goodness was exercised in behalf of no class or grade of the community—it extended to all , but the devoted sphere for its exercise was in the sacred circle of home and family. Here he was priest and king by the ministrations of perennial kindnesses and that sweeter authority which is conceded and justified of affection. We have heard him say, whilst in the army, that, though it was a needful and noble service, the thought of home and loved ones there nearly over- , whelmed him, and that his " heart ached with its desolation." Socially he was one of the most agreeable of men. He had extraordinary qualities of conversation, possessed the keenest perception of a jest or anecdote, and withal, had a streaming, luminous wit which floated everything he looked upon. He had the piquant, scorching repartee of Foote, and the bonhommie and exuberant humor of Maginn. We might almost infer that, somewhere in his early wanderings, he had found old Ponce de Leon's fountain of youth and drank of its waters, for he: enjoyed a remarkable juvenescence of feeling, freshness and elasticity of temperament. His mind, however, at times, was of the self-contemplating, introspective order ; he had vivid impressions of the vanity, hollowness and shortness of life, and it is possible that melancholy may have stolen 434 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. upon him in those seasons when he turned his mind back upon itself, and wheeled his thoughts around to inspect his soul. This was a part of the higher consciousness of which we know William Given was capable, and which forms a portion of the suffering experiences of every contemplative mind. He was well versed in English and American literature, and especially in the poetry of the two countries. Poesy had given to him her finer ear. Burns, to him, was a bread-tree in a garden of roses. He believed in the genius and inspiration of him who had —" left his land her sweetest song, And earth her saddest story." His psalms had the fragrance of Israel's singer, and to him " Mary in Heaven " was true Love's collar of jewels. His poetic fancy was scintillant, intense and real, and under culture would have burst in song. In the department of law was manifested his vitalized force and power. He was not a Judas to his client, like the professional thieves and confederated scalpers that go unhemped at nearly every bar, but he was an honorable lawyer. He did not belong to that class of licensed book-whackers—" men that hire out their words and anger ; that are more or less passionate, according as they are paid for it, and allow their client a quantity of wrath proportionable to the fee which they receive from him." His manhood was the bond of fidelity betwixt him and his client, and he allowed no profanation of it by the unclean vulgar hands that sell the most sacred rights of their neighbors. In the arena of the law he allowed no man to beat him down. More than that, he was the equal, in many respects, of any man that ever confronted him at the Wooster bar. As Judge Dean said in his eulogy of him in court, November 20, 1866: As an advocate he had few superiors in the State. He was a master in forensic skill. He sometimes appeared as forcible as Curran, " Whose words had such a melting flow, And spoke of truth so sweetly well, They dropped like the serenest snow, And all was brightness where they fell." His excellency and the various elements of strength which constituted him a good lawyer were not confined to a single department of practice, or any special branch of the profession. He WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 435 was an accomplished and able lawyer in every walk of it. In eliciting evidence he was fair and manly. In cross-examination he was thorough, searching and exhaustive. There was no harshness indulged toward the witness, unless he proved refractory or impudent, or took to prevarication or falsehood, and then woe to the man or woman against whom was directed the fury of his glance and the caustic of his tongue. A keen anatomiser of character and subtle penetrator of the springs of human motive, he seldom allowed the rogue to escape conviction. His wit was wonderfully wise and detective ; it flashed upon a knave and lighted up a rascal like a policeman's lantern. In the dissection of testimony he was adroit, crafty and dextrous. To the Court he was uniformly gentlemanly and dignified ; to opposing counsel respectful and courteous. The rights of his client were maintained at all hazards. Incivilities and indecorums he heartily abhorred. He gave no insults ; he took none. His motto was,  " _____ Beware Of entrance to a quarrel ; but, being in, Bear it, that the opposer may beware of thee." When aroused there was heat and gallantry in his onsets. " His dynamic brain hurled off his words as the revolving stone hurls off scraps of grit." In his arguments there was force, centrality, cogency and massive structural expression. He never was surprised and was powerful in sudden efforts. His word-facility was unusual, and his diction animated and fluent. When he employed sarcasm he did not use the pen-knife, but the falchion and the rapier. Bombs of wit flashed from his batteries of speech like sparks from hot Vesuvius. He was the Hudibras of the Wooster Bar. Says Mr. Dean in his eulogy: As a jurist, he was highly eminent. Though naturally impetuous at the bar, he presided upon the bench with remarkable coolness, never yielding to the impulse of the moment in the most exciting cases. His well-balanced mind held his tongue in check until his deliberate judgment spoke the words of truth and justice. His mind appeared to be perfectly fitted for the duties of Judge, and he appeared to delight in the dispensation of justice; was never at a loss in the determination of a case. Even in pronouncing the sentence of the law upon criminals, his words were so tender and kind as to greatly relieve the culprit's punishment. He presided with dignity, yet with a stern kindness remarkable. " His look drew audience still as night, Or summer's noon-tide air. " 436 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Though several times elevated to places of public confidence and positions of decided honor, in nothing but a remote meaning of the word was he a politician. He contemned the oozy, mucky lowlands, in whose noxious atmosphere breathed this ungrateful brood. His patrician nature shrank from its festering airs. To such a man as William Given the descent was too steep from his plane of manhood to the stagnant lagoon-levels of the politician. In remembrance of his virtues, and not unconscious of his frailties, we have woven this chaplet of memory with the only privilege left us, of laying it upon his grave. He may have had faults. In church, or camp, or state, who has not ? We would not hide them in a cloud of periphrasis. He was of our house of flesh, of the tenement of a common blood, and we write rememberingly and lovingly of him in the name of the brotherhood of all. He has realized the sorrows of living, and the pains and bliss of dying. " Breathe for his wandering soul one passing sigh, 0, happy Christian, while thine eye grows dim;. In all the mansions of the house on high, Say not that Mercy has not one for him." It can be said of Judge Given that when he departed he " took a man's life along with him." As Thackeray wrote of Dick Steele : " Peace be with him ! Let us think gently of one who was so gentle ; let us speak kindly of one whose own breast exuberated with human kindness." CONSTANT LAKE, SR. Constant Lake is a scion of the Buckeye State, being born in Brookfield, Trumbull county, Ohio, August 30, 18 12. His father at that time was in the military service, having a contract to furnish supplies to the army then resisting the encroachments of Great Britain. When but 10 years of age he was so unfortunate as to lose his mother, which resulted in a temporary disbanding of the family, when Mr. Lake went to his sister, Mrs. Mary Black, then living in Vermillion township, in what is now Ashland county, where he had his home until 1826. He then removed to Wooster, taking his residence with his brother, J. S. Lake, then engaged in mercantile pursuits. Constant, then a youth of 14 years, entered the store situated on what is now George Brauneck's corner, but WOOSTER-SKETCHES - 437 subsequently removed to the lot now occupied by D. D. Miller, hardware merchant. Serving in the relation of a clerk until 1832, a partnership was formed between him and Joseph, under the style of J. S. & Constant Lake. This partnership lasted to 1838, when Joseph withdrew from the firm, three years thereafter removing to Cleveland, Constant prosecuting the business, and afterward receiving as a partner Isaac N. Jones. Mr. Lake's life has been spent in commercial pursuits, entering upon the same in boyhood and continuing therein until the spring of 1870, having conducted at times an extensive business, and been largely interested in branch establishments in Toledo, Loudonville, Hayesville and Shreve. He was married May 25, 1836, to Eleanor Jones, only daughter of Hon. Benjamin Jones, by whom he had ten children, and whose death is recorded June 20, 1852. He was re-married August 18, 1853, to Anna P. McDonald, of Philadelphia, Pa., by which union he has 6 children. Of his rather numerous family but 7 remain-5 boys and 2 girls. Three of the first marriage are living, Benjamin, Constant and Mary, the latter marrying William D. Banning, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Of the second marriage there are living one daughter and three sons. Joseph, the second son of the first marriage, was among the first of the volunteers from Wayne county in the three months service, and at the expiration of which, in Camp Dennison, endeavored to re-enlist in Company E, Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for the three years' term, but was declined and rejected upon the grounds of corpulency. Determined, however, to be a participant in the war, he was permitted to join the artillery service, enlisting in Hickenlooper's Fourth Ohio Battery. His ambition was soon gratified. At the battle of Pittsburg Landing his battery was called into action, and though he had been sick in hospital the three previous days, when the fire opened he hastened to his position, remaining by his gun until he was observed to fall, and was carried to the rear. He wandered to the river bank, where his condition was frequently remarked, when by some means he got on board a boat and was carried to St. Louis, where in the hospital he died. Benjamin Lake received a commission of Captain in what was popularly known as the McLaughlin squadron, organized at Mansfield, recruited a company in Wayne county, and was in General Garfield's engagement at Prestonburg, Ky., where he encountered Humphrey Marshall, yclept " the greasy knight," sadly and em- 438 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. phatically .to his discomfiture. As an appreciation of his services, General Garfield made him one of his Aids, holding said position one year and a half, when, on account of ill-health, he resigned, separating from the command in Eastern Tennessee. Mr. Lake still lives in our midst, and is esteemed as a generous, polite, benevolent and Christian gentleman. If, as Alexander Smith says, "Time gives for what he takes," Mr. Lake has little occasion to be dissatisfied or regretful over the exchange. If he has aimed a blow at the elasticity of the body, in its place he has given him a tranquil cheerfulness and spirit buoyancy, the mild autumnal weather of the soul. Non-emotional and seldom yielding to excitements or perturbations, he is nevertheless sympathetic and full of charities. His hospitalities in his own home are recognized and conceded by all, friend and stranger uniformly finding a welcome there. He has been a member of the Church of Christ for over thirty years and an Elder for more than twenty-five. THE WOOSTER GAS LIGHT COMPANY. June 18, 1856, the Council of the incorporated village of Wooster passed an ordinance "To provide for lighting the incorporated village of Wooster with gas," by which it was provided that William Stephenson, of the city of Cleveland, and his associates, their successors, and asignees, should use the streets, lanes, alleys, and other public grounds of said village, for the purpose of laying down and maintaining therein pipes for the conveyance of gas in and through the same for the use of said village and the inhabitants thereof. This ordinance also gave Messrs. Stephenson & Co. the exclusive use of the streets for gas pipes for the period of 10 years, and restricted the company to three dollars per thousand cubic feet for gas to citizens, and two dollars per thousand for city, except lamp-posts, three dollars whilst the company owns the posts and lights and extinguishes them. On the 20th of June, 1856, J. H. Kauke, J. H. Baumgardner, Isaac N. Jones, D. Robison, Jr., H. R. Harrison, John P. Jeffries and C. C. Parsons, Sr., duly incorporated, under the laws of Ohio, the Wooster Gas Light Company, with a perpetual charter, and said company was duly organized January 14, 1857, by electing J. H. Kauke, Daniel Black, J. H. Baumgardner, I. N. Jones and J. P. Winebrenner Directors, and by-laws were enacted for its government. The capital stock of the company was $20, 000, divided into WOOSTER-SKETCHES - 439 800 shares of $25 each. The gas works were erected in 1856 and 1857, and the village of Wooster was lighted with gas in February, 1857, there being then 105 consumers and twenty street lamps. In 1859 the capital stock was increased to $23,700. The demand for the elastic fluid so greatly increased that in 1864 the company pulled down the old arches or ovens and erected larger ones, and greatly increased the gas-producing capacity of the concern. In 1867 they extended the pipes and increased the capital to $30,000. In 1871 the old works, having become entirely too small to supply the demand, ,the Directors resolved to erect new works. They purchased the old oil well lot on East Henry street, from the heirs of William Henry, deceased, and four lots adjoining from E. Quinby, Jr., giving them a frontage on Henry street of 310 feet, on which they have erected new works with all modern improvements, and which are of sufficient capacity to supply a city of 15,000 inhabitants. JACOB FRICK. Jacob Frick was born four miles east of West Newton, Westmoreland, county, Pa., on the 17th of December, 1834. His parents were of German ancestry, his father being in limited circumstances, and pursued the vocation of a blacksmith during the entire period of his life. Jacob was among the younger members of the family. At the early age of eighteen he was cast upon his own resources, it being his frrst advent upon the great ocean of life. Not having acquired a knowledge of his father's trade, and unaccustomed to any other mechanical pursuit, there was no alternative but hard work. To this he set himself, and equipped both nerve and spirit. He first hired himself out upon a farm for two years at low wages, but made it a maxim to economize his earnings from the start. He adopted the Ben Franklin idea of saving the pennies and letting the dollars take care of themselves. He argued that if his wages were but a pittance, the greater necessity for a wise economy. After the expiration of the stipulated two years, and in the year 1855, he removed with his father to Hancock county, Ohio. During this year his father died. But little time elapsed after his corning to the Buckeye State until he was again engaged. He now hired himself to drive a team, in and about the village of Van- 440 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Buren, in said county, for six dollars per month, which employment he followed for twelve months. He next entered a produce and dry goods establishment, as a clerk and general subaltern, being detailed principally as lard-receiver, egg-packer, etc., etc. Here he continued about a year, during which time the proprietor died. Adopting the very practical, but somewhat hazardous commercial maxim of, "nothing ventured nothing won," he resolved to engage in business for himself. In pursuance of this determination he opened a provision store of his own, and in a year thereafter connected with him in business his brother, when they enlarged their sphere of business and embraced within its circle a dry goods department. This condition of things existed about three years, during which period he was married to Elizabeth Shelly. Having resolved upon a change of territory for the advancement of his commercial and speculative aims, he came to Wayne county in April, 1859, locating in Smithville, and embarking without delay in the dry goods trade. In this enterprise he persisted for a year, when he relinquished all other pursuits to embrace the favorite project of his life—that of grain merchant. He first began the purchase of grain at what is known as the "Summit," north-east of Wooster, but desiring a point where conveniences would be more ample and facilities more inviting he removed to Wooster in the spring of 1865, where, for the last twelve years he has been engaged in the grain and milling business. WILLIAM STITT. William Stitt is a Buckeye by birth, first seeing the light in Jefferson county, Ohio, and settled in Wooster, in May, 1832. November 13, 1839, he was married, by " Priest " Jones, to Miss Margaret Bartol, a native of Pennsylvania. He engaged in the manufacture of saddle-trees, harness, etc., on his arrival here, and has successfully and profitably prosecuted that vocation to the present time. He is a prominent and zealous member of the Methodist church ; a man of scrupulous integrity ; unobtrusive but firm and radical in his opinions ; an earnest advocate of truth, and distinguished for a rigid morality and an upright life. WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 441 MARKET-HOUSE DESTROYED BY A " MOB." In 1833 a market-house, the first and last that Wooster ever had, was erected on the south-west side of the Public Square, under direction of the Town Council, whereof Thomas Wilson was President, and J. H. Harris Recorder. Andrew Bostater, Joseph Fox and John Swain were contractors for its construction, the painting by David Barr. The structure was about 75x40 feet, one story high, paved with brick, with ceilings arched and plastered. It was supported by fourteen columns of brick, about two feet square, twelve feet high, firmly set on stone corners, eight or ten feet apart, between which were the stalls, each numbered. In a few years, however, the citizens doing business around the Public Square pronounced a market-house located in such a prominent position a nuisance that ought to be abated ; but the town authorities refused to remove it. As a result it narrowly escaped " purification by fire " at the hands of an incendiary. Finally, on Monday night, August 9, 1847, a number of men disguised beyond recognition, and said to be among the "first citizens," assembled at the market-house armed with axes, hooks, rope and tackle, and a horse of strong pulling qualities, with which they assailed it on all sides with destructive energy, so that when morning came the "garish blaze of day" rose upon its prostrate columns, " Its broken arch, its ruined wall," and the " market-house," as such, was known no more forever. This nocturnal act created considerable excitement, and much declamatory discussion about "mobs." The Mayor offered a reward for the apprehension of the mysterious vandals who had so sacrilegiously profaned this Temple of Mutton and Soup Bones, but without resulting in anybody being arrested, although, of course, the perpetrators were known to many, hut whose crime was condoned by the "public improvement" it was considered they made in demolishing the market-house. A number of those who had a hand in this escapade are now living in Wooster, and will take pleasure in telling you, as they have us, how the thing was done. THE FULLER SISTERS. It may not be inappropriate to here introduce briefly the names of Francis and Metta Fuller. They were sisters, between whom 442 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. a devoted attachment existed, and whose poetical creations were first collected in the same volume. Francis, the older of the two, was born at Rome, New York, and Metta, the third child of the family, was born in Erie, Pa., March 2, 1831. In 1839 the family removed to Wooster, Ohio, where, under the influence of good schools and interesting social relations, Francis made gratifying literary acquisitions, and at the tender age of fourteen she was supplying the press with acceptable rhythmic gems and prose contributions. She rose rapidly to popularity, and soon established a reputation in the belles lettres literature of the land. Willis and Morris, of the Home Journal, once the court paper of New York city, the columns of which teemed with the sweet lyrics of Francis and the gracious melodies of Metta, pronounced her as amongst the most brilliant of our female writers. Edgar Allen Poe, leering from the soul-chaos and spirit charnel which begat the " Raven," classed her with the most imaginative of our poets. Her poems are characterized by a marvelous individuality' and great strength of diction, as well as a signal originality of thought and uniqueness of versification. In 1853 she was married to Jackson Barrett, of Pontiac, Michigan, to which State she had removed the previous year ; thence a few years later she went to the sunset side of the Father of Floods, and is now on the western slope, " where rolls the Oregon." She has written much prose, some beautiful poetry, and a tragedy entitled " Azlea," instinct with the fire of the drama. Here is a stanza—a rare gem indeed—which we extract from " The Post Boy's Song : " " Like a shuttle thrown by the hand of fate, Forward and back I go ; Bearing a thread for the desolate To darken their web of woe; And a brighter thread to the glad of heart, And a mingled one to all ; But the dark and the light I can not part, Nor alter their hues at all." Francis obtained a divorce from Mr, Barrett, and is married a second time to a Mr. Victor, brother to the husband of Metta. Luxuriating in the soft, grateful climate of the Pacific Coast, breathing its thrilling, invigorating mountain air, inspired by its weird and wondrous scenery, the snow-turbaned Sierras, the enchanting Dalles and the impetuous Columbia—the Canyon Wizard of the WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 443 North—her muse will quaff the foaming Parnassian wines, and strange, indeed, will it be if poesy is not enriched, and prose enthroned, as upon some Shasta summit, by the exquisite sorcery of her pen. Metta, like her sister, was a precocious child, and attended with her the Wooster schools. At fifteen she composed a romance, founded upon the supposed history of the dead cities of Yucatan, entitling it " The Last Days of Tul." Jointly eulogizing the sisters, N. P. Willis writes concerning them : " We suppose ourselves to be throwing no shade of disparagement upon any one in declaring that in Singing Sybil,' her not less gifted sister, we discern more unquestionable marks of true genius, and a greater portion of the unmistakable inspiration of true poetic art than in any of the lady minstrels—delightful and splendid as some of them have been—that we have heretofore ushered to the applause of the public. One in spirit and equal in genius, these most interesting and brilliant ladies—both still in the earliest youth—are undoubtedly destined to occupy a very distinguished and permanent place among the native authors of this land." Metta's nom de plume was the " Singing Sybil." A glance at her numerous productions, prose and poetical, humorous and satirical, presents a striking record of faithful and unremitted labor. She is surely a woman of singular endowments, and her career has been a most remarkable one. " The Senator's Son ; A Plea for the Maine Law," produced at the age of twenty, shared an unprecedented success, and thousands of copies were acknowledged by foreign publishers. In July, 1856, she was married to 0. J. Victor, removing the following year to New York City, since which time she has been devoted to miscellaneous literary labor and authorship. Wooster may well cherish a consistent pride over the recollection that these two stars of song received most of their education at our public schools. The world is better for their rich thoughts, vivid creations and jeweled fancies. We confess to a pleasing fascination in the perusal of their song, or in following the silent glidings of their trusty shallops over the deep blue lakes that sit like coronals in dim and haunted waters. Many of our citizens remember them. " Body and Soul," by Metta, is a divine communion. The annexed excerpta will illustrate: "A living soul came into the world— Whence came it? Who can tell ? Of where that soul went forth again, When it bade the earth farewell? 444 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. A body it had this spirit knew, And the body was given a name. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Whether the name would suit the soul The giver never knew, Names are alike, but never soul, So body and spirit grew Till time enlarged their narrow sphere Into the realms of life, Into this strange and double world, Whose elements are strife. JOSEPH H. DOWNING. Joseph H. Downing, a native of Belmont county, Ohio, removed with his parents to Wayne county in the autumn of 1826. The following season the family settled upon a farm in Wayne township, three miles north-east of Wooster, where the subject of this sketch remained with his parents until their deaths, in 1838 and 1839. His earlier years were spent in the severe labors of the farm, and with all the rough and hard experiences of felling forests, swinging the woodman's ax, cutting cord-wood, rolling logs, etc., he soon experienced memorable participation. After the death of his parents, instead of obtaining a release from work, or having his labors mitigated, they but multiplied and became more oppressive. A mere lad in his teens, three members of the family younger than he and dependent, with the conflict for a living to be met, the alternative of toil had to be confronted. With a comprehension of the situation remarkable for a youth of his years he resolutely faced the responsibility, believing with Franklin that " Diligence is the mother of good luck, and that God giveth all things to industry." For several years he was a day-laborer, a hireling by the month, in his neighborhood, and until he was twenty-one years of age did not average over three months of schooling per year. His surplus moneys and earnings were judiciously invested in such books as, in his judgment, would most materially aid him in attaining a useful and practical education. His appreciation of the value of time and the necessity of improving it, early manifested itself, and in his boyhood, his leisure, and the intervals between hard labor, were sedulously employed in reading and study. By this process of industry, aided by the limited opportunities afforded him by the public schools, he succeeded in acquiring a good English education. PICTURE OF JOS. H. DOWNING WOOSTER—CHURCHES - 445 In 1843 he entered the Canaan Academy, where he profitably devoted two years to the study of Latin, philosophy, mathemetics, etc., his determination to take the full collegiate course only being thwarted by a general failure of health. In the year 1848 he commenced the study of law, under the care and direction of Hon. Ezra Dean, of Wooster. In 1853 he was elected to the Ohio Legislature, and was a member of the House of Representatives during the session of 1854—there being but one session during his term. From the spring of 1854 to 1860 he was engaged in teaching school, and during the latter year he was admitted to the practice of law, by the Supreme Court of the State. In May of that year he opened an office in Wooster and began practice, forming a partnership with Ben Douglass. In August, 1862, he was appointed Captain by the Governor of the State, and commissioned to recruit a company under one of the startling calls, for "300,000 more." In seven days precisely from the date of his commission, his company was full and subject to orders. On the 29th of August, 1862, he took his company to " Camp Mansfield," Ohio, and on the 14th of October he was mustered into the United States service, as Captain of Company "A," 120th 0. V. I. He bore his part firmly and with unflinching fidelity ; shared the perils and privations of his men-in-arms; participated in all the battles of Chickasaw Bayou and at Arkansas Post, saw open and close, "the bloody testament of war." As a consequence of exposure and subjection to the malarial influences which decimated regiments, brigades and divisions of the army in that locality during the winter of 1862-63, he became prostrated and so seriously diseased as to render him wholly unfit for military duty, whereupon, in the spring of 1863 he was honorably discharged from the service. He returned home, wasted and emaciated; a mental and physical wreck ; a living, breathing skeleton ; with an imperfect recognition of his own family and friends, and by physicians and all who saw him, pronounced a hopelessly prostrated and doomed man. By most careful medical attention ; by constant vigilance of family and friends; by the exercise of an heroic patience and fortitude on his part, and after nearly a year's suffering and confinement, he sufficiently recovered to again enter upon his profession. It may be remarked of Judge Downing that he never has been fully restored to health, and that the fang of the malarial monster of the Mississippi has never relaxed its hold on him. 446 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. In a few years after he had resumed the practice, and in the fall of 1866, quite 'unexpectedly on his part, he was appointed, by Governor J. D. Cox, of Ohio, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the third subdivision of the Sixth Judicial District of the State of Ohio, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Hon, Wm. Sample. After the expiration of his Judgeship he returned to the legal practice, continuing therein until 1872, when he was elected Judge of the Probate Court of Wayne county. At the termination of his official duties, in 1876, he engaged in his old professional pursuits, forming a partnership with Charles M. Yo- cum, Esq. He was married to Elizabeth C. Douglass, daughter of James Douglass, of Plain township, October 14, 185o, by which marriage he has three living children, to wit : Mary A., wife of William Liddell, and Edward and William Downing. Judge Downing is now in the full vigor of his manly years, his intellectual faculties susceptible of their highest play and most vigorous exertion. He stands six feet and one inch in hight, is well proportioned, has a reflective forehead, a meditative and expressive face, overgrown with a massive and luxuriant crop of hair. He is, by every rule of construction, emphatically "a self-made man." His life is an exposition of what work, industry and resolute purpose can and may accomplish, and presents some features worthy of thoughtful consideration by all men, especially young men. He began life friendless, penniless. His education he obtained himself; he toiled for it, struggled for it. There was, as his biography exhibits, a force in him, and a terrible one it is when properly directed ; it is the will-power, the motor of action. He determined to do and be, and he succeeded. Why this success? He had an exalted aim ; he pursued it with close, persistent application ; he allowed no man to impeach his integrity ; his character was as sensitive to suspicion as the tenderest flower to the touch of a profane hand. He inclined to plod and study, which he did incessantly, nor was he ashamed to work. To the assurance of success he furnishes more of the testimony of labor. “Honor and shame from no condition rise, Act well your part, there all the honor lies." As a school-teacher he has left his impression upon the county, and not a few men, who, to-day, occupy enviable positions in community, ascribe to him the inspiration of their aims and destiny. WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 447 As a representative in the Ohio Legislature, he was a working, vigilant member. A logical, matter-of-fact speaker and debater, when he arose to a question, he spoke to the point and with clearness. He discharged his duties with a steadiness, ability and firmness always equal to the occasion, never allowing himself to be seduced into chicanery or duplicity by the hopes of ulterior ends. His career as Judge of the Common Pleas, though short, was one, nevertheless, to which he can refer with satisfaction. In this character he manifested a rare combination of urbanity, inflexibility, courtesy and independence ; an admirable self-control ; a patient spirit of endurance ; a sharp, instinctive repugnance to what was wrong, balanced by a superior conception of right. His dispassionate, discerning reason ; his sober judgment ; his fearless inclination in the direction of the right, were acknowledged by his compeers, and elicited the applause of the bar. As Judge of the Probate Court, he was accessible, dignified and just, performing his duties to the entire satisfaction of his constituents and the public. As a lawyer, in the trial of causes he wins the confidence of the jury, the esteem of adverse counsel, and commands the respect and attention of the court. His professional integrity is not called into question. In the defense of a knave or rascal he never compromises his character by an undue or inordinate desire for his acquittal. His legal opinions are characterized by clearness and accuracy. His speeches are groupings and condensations of law and fundamental principles, and in his efforts at the bar he never descends to blackguardism. Law to him is a supreme philosophy, which he studies with delight, and, animated by an exalted sense of the dignity and grandeur of his profession, he addresses himself to the higher feelings and principles of human nature. He relies more upon investigation than genius. His mathematical brain makes him a calculator, and he is strong in concentrations and analyzations. He conducts his excavations at the roots of a legal proposition with the calm assurance of a woodsman digging out a tree. He bores through a labyrinth of reports and judicial decisions with the patience of the engineers tunneling through the Sierras. Tie him to a pyramid of figures, and he will burst the tether and climb to the top of it. There is no cant or sentimentalism about him. He has no fancy for the fanciful, and the birds of his imagination were caged when they left the nest. 448 - HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Poetry, tropes, figures of rhetoric, similes and metaphors concern him but little. He deals in facts and the principles of the legal science. Thought always predominates over expression. He is a lawyer of matured intellect and ripe judgment, and, by industry, energy and perseverance, has achieved an honorable distinction at the bar. As a man and citizen Judge Downing is universally respected. He is noted for his uniform courtesy toward his fellow-men ; his personal integrity ; his generous and sympathetic nature ; his consistent and temperate life ; his zeal in the cause of education ; his private charities and benefactions. In morals and religion he is fixed and firm. With him there is a right and a wrong. Between the affirmative and the negative there is no border-land with him. You can not hover with him upon the confines of truth, or wander in the maze of a probable argument. He always keeps the path. You can not make excursions with him, for he sets you right. His taste never fluctuates. His morality never abates. He has been a member of the United Presbyterian church of Wooster for thirty-five years, and an elder since 1850. JOHN BRINKERHOFF. The common ancestor of the Brinkerhoff family in America emigrated from Holland and settled in what is now New York City in 1638. The island of Manhattan, which is now entirely occupied by the great city, was discovered September 3, 1609, by Hendrik Hudson. The settlement of New Amsterdam was commenced in 1613 ; in 1621 the Dutch West India Company commenced operations, and it is claimed in 1626 the whole island was purchased for $24.00; in 1652 New Amsterdam was incorporated, and the government passed from the West India Company into the hands of two Burgomasters and five assistants called Schepens, and one Schout or Sheriff ; in 1664 the English took the province, and the name was changed to New York. It will thus be seen that the common ancestor above referred to, of the Brinkerhoff family, came to America before the title of New York had been conferred upon the great seaboard city of the Western World ; fifty years before James II. had abolished the representative system ; seventy years before the slave market was established in Wall street ; eighty-seven years before the New York WOOSTER—SKETCHES - 449 Gazette was published, and 137 years before the farmers of Concord raised the war shout of the Revolution. His name was Derickson Brinckerhoff, and his wife's maiden name was Susanna Dubbles. The ancestor of the Wayne county, Ohio, branch of the family was born in the city of Philadelphia, and there married a Scotch George, Irish woman named Campbell. He had three sons, Ge, Daniel and William, all of whom are deceased, the latter dying at the advanced age of ninety-one years. Daniel, the second of these three brothers, had three sons, John, James and William, the latter for many years one of the distinguished educators of the State, and now Principal of the McNealy Normal school. James is a resident of the county, an industrious and prosperous farmer and an excellent citizen. John Brinkerhoff, the oldest of the three sons, was born June 9, 1813, and was educated near Dillsburg, York county, Pa., at a private institution. Two of his instructors were men of marked and decided ability, and for whom their pupil has ever entertained agreeable memories and a high regard. He began his career as a teacher at the early age of eighteen, near Mechanicsburg, Cumberland county, Pa,, where he remained one year, when he removed with his father to Wayne county. Upon his arrival in Wayne county he very naturally inclined to the occupation for which he had best qualified himself and began teaching in Canaan township, where the village of Golden Corners now stands. He was married November 18, 1833, to Rebecca Sommers, the issue of which union being three sons, George S., Daniel 0. and Joseph William Brinkerhoff. The two oldest served in the Union army, George in the 47th Indiana regiment, Daniel in the 4th Ohio, who after a service of nine months became prostrated with fever, was brought home and died. Joseph W. Brinkerhoff, the youngest, is practicing medicine in Burbank, Wayne county. After a married life of 18 years nearly his wife Rebecca died, and he was united in marriage a second time, November 17, 1852, to Miss Mary Robison, daughter of William Robison of Wooster township. Mr. Brinkerhoff is a resident of Wooster and is one of the intelligent, enlightened, upright, honorable and substantial men of the city. We do not know the number of terms of school he has taught in Wooster and the community since his advent to the county, but he has been, if not exclusively devoting his time to it, identi29