BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 525 of her residence and elsewhere. Though Mr. Beery's marriage was without issue, he has reared and educated two children and given to each a substantial start in life. They are James Shook and Louisa Ham, mack, the former now a resident of Chillicothe, Ohio, and the latter now Mrs. James J. Turner, residing in this county. He still looks after their interests with fatherly care and in every way possible contributes to their happiness and success. He is a man of large wealth, but believes in using his means for the advancement of all commendable enterprises. A liberal patron of movements having for their object the material and moral good of the community, he is a model citizen and in many respects a benefactor of his kind; He has added luster to Upper Sandusky, while the city is proud to number him among its most intelligent, enterprising and successful men of affairs. Mr. Beery is a Republican in politics. DAVID BOWER Many of the first settlers of Ohio came from the state of New York. The distance was not great to northern Ohio and could be made very often by boat from Buffalo to Cleveland or elsewhere, and then the journey into the interior was a much easier matter. The most of these settlers had previously come to New York from the New England states, had tarried there for a while, and later had continued their journey westward to, find a still cheaper home. This gave to Ohio an excellent class of people, many of whom, together with their parents, had been born and bred in this country, and took great interest in its institutions and its welfare. It thus came to pass that, in the course of time, the northern part of this state was settled; mostly by native Americans, the most of whom were of English or of Scotch-Irish descent. Among the settlers who came from the Empire state and located in this vicinity was the subject of this memoir. He was born in Cayuga county, N. Y., on the 19th of March, 1821, and is the son of David and Susana (Kepner) Bower, the former of whom was a native of Mifflin county, Penn. To these parents were born a family of eight children, of whom six were sons and two daughters. David and his brother, Michael, are the only ones now living. In 1829 the father of subject moved to Livingston county, N. Y., where he remained until 1835, when he came by team with his family to Wyandot. county and located in Marseilles township, then in Marion county. There the father bought a tract of land, containing two hundred and forty acres, upon which was the usual log cabin of the pioneer and a small clearing. He went to work and was soon. in comfortable circumstances. After a long and useful life he died in 186o at the age of seventy-four years. His wife also died the same year and at the same age. Both were exemplary people, excellent neighbors and good citizens. When the subject of this notice was fourteen years of age he was brought to Wyandot county and put to work on his father's farm. There was the timber to clear off, the stumps to uproot, the brush to burn, and the crops to sow and reap. Work was waiting on every corner of the place and the lad was required to do as much of it as he could without many questions asked. In the winters he attended the subscription schools of his neigh- 526 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. borhood, and from that primitive source came the greater portion of his education. Later in life by reading he very greatly supplemented the education received in his youth. He remained on his father's farm until he had attained the age of twenty-four years, when he married Miss Susana Stayner and by her had twelve children, of whom ten are yet living, as follows : William, deceased; Sobiah; Elizabeth, deceased; Mary, the wife of John Fink ; Francis A.; Maria, the wife of J. W. Young; Thomas F.; Stephen A. David M. ; Jacob M. and George. Immediately succeeding his marriage the subject rented a farm for one year in this county, but then removed to Marion county and again rented, continuing to occupy 'that place for the space of six years. During this time he managed by hard work and good management to save a considerable sum, of money. He then returned to this county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of excellent land in Mifflin township, where Mrs. Chineworth now resides, of which tract about seventy acres were prairie. On this farm he erected a cabin of two rooms and in this rude domicile placed his family. The present farm: was formerly owned by a singular character denominated "Lumpy," who conducted a country hotel at an early day. Mr. Bower bought two hundred and forty acres and located on the same in 186o. Here he has continued to reside down to the present time, except for three months. He has gradually added to his holdings until he now owns in addition another farm of one hundred and thirty-seven acres and another one of eighty acres, in all four hundred and fifty-seven acres. Notwithstanding his advanced age, he is still well-preserved and still engaged in cultivating the soil and in rearing stock, principally sheep. His life has been a busy one, filled with hard work, but it has not been without its bright scenes. Amid his labors he has found time to read his newspaper and keep himself in: formed on the happenings in the county, state and nation. He is a Democrat and takes a keen interest in the success of his party. He is a member of the Christian Union church and he merits and receives the respect of all who know him. SAXTON A. CHESEBROUGH. This gentleman, now in the prime of life, was born on his present homestead in section 1, Ridge township, Wyandot county, Ohio, September 13, 1849, and is a son of William and Charlotte L. (Kaple) Chesebrough, whose family is one of the most respected in .Ridge township. William Chesebrough was born in Albany county, N. Y., April 9, 1806, and Charlotte L. Kaple, his wife, was a native of Massachusetts and was born May 15, 1809. Their marriage took place. in the Empire state, January 7, 1835. Saxton Chesebrough, the father of William, was also a native of New Vork state and died in Ridge township, and Arunah Kaple, the grandfather of Mrs. Charlotte L. Chesebrough, was for a long time a resident of New York and afterward of Oakland county, Mich., where he also died. William Chesebrough first came to Wyandot county, Ohio, by team, in 1835, stayed over one night only, then returned to New York State and remained two years. He came back to Wyandot. county again by wagon in 1837, and located in Crawford township, where he worked for an uncle BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 527 two years and then bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, Which he had increased to two hundred and seven acres at the time of his death, There were no roads in the neighborhood when he first settled here, and the only improvements on his original purchase consisted of an old log house and a barn, but he eventually cleared. up all his land converted it into one of the most profitable farms in the township. He became one of the most influential and popular citizens of the township, was a Democrat and served as township trustee and in other minor offices, and died August 8, 1873, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His widow survived until October 21, 1890, when she, too died in the same faith. To William and Charlotte Chesebrough were born twelve children, namely : Saxton, born in January, 1835, died in July, 1836; Mary, born April 24, 1836, died June 13, 1897; Matthew, born February 7, 1838, died November 24, 1884; Huldah, born October 28, 1839, died October 24, 1890; William H., •born October 14, 1841, is living in Detroit, Mich.; Harriet E., born March 31, 1844, died January 21, 1900 ; George W., born January 18, 1846, is a grocer in Carey, Ohio ; Eliza B., born .August 17, 1847, died December 14, 1890; Saxton A. is the subject of this sketch; Sarah N., born September 10, 1851, is the widow of Joseph Shuman,. of Crawford township; Samuel, born March. 4, 1853, died August 31, 1853 ; and Charlotte M., born March 7, 1837, is still living at home in Carey, Ohio. Saxton A. Chesebrough lived on the home place until twenty-two. years old, then went on a trip to Kansas, Nebraska and California to inspect the country. He was gone two years, returning in 1874. Mr. Chesebrough has been twice married, first in March, 1876, to Miss Amanda Loy, of Wyandot county. This lady was called away in January, 1877, and Mr. Chesebrough next married, March 2, 1879, Miss Avis C. Taylor. Mrs. Chesebrough was born in Oakland county, Mich., January 29, 1856, the daughter of David and Jane (Smith Taylor. Her father was a native of New York and her mother of Ireland.. The subject's wife was their only child and she was reared and educated in Michigan. There was no issue to the first marriage, but to the second there have been born three children, namely: Jennie Lucretia, September 2, 1880 ; Mary May, November 4, 1883; and David Saxton, NOvem. ber 3o, 1889. Jennie is an intelligent young lady, possessing a keen mind for business: affairs and is capable of attending to her father's business affairs in all its details. She is now a student at the Ada Normal University and is also taking instruction in: instrumental music and physical culture. Mary is also in attendance at the Ada Normal and besides the regular course is studying elocution and instrumental. Music. She possesses a most remarkable memory regarding names and faces. David Saxton, who is. a bright little fellow in his studies and fond of music, has been promoted each year in school and his average per cent.. of scholarship during 1902 was eighty-eight and one-eighth. Mr. and Mrs. Chesebrough have wisely determined to give their children the benefits of thorough education. Mr. Chesebrough is a very successful farther and raises all products possible to the climate, besides considerable stock. He built a fine barn, 40x80 feet, in 1899, and 528 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS has made all the other improvements on his farm. A Republican in political sentiment, the subject stands squarely with his party in all national elections, but in local elections votes for the man whom he deems best qualified to fill the office, regardless of party. Conscientious in all his actions, he takes high ground on the subject of temperance and his influence is ever cast on the side of morality. He has never sought the doubtful honor of holding office, being satisfied • with the casting of an honest ballot. In religion they are devout Methodists, he having been a class-leader in the Methodist Episcopal church at Bigelow chapel many years and a trustee and steward. He is a very public-spirited citizen and has been foremost in every enterprise for advancing the prosperity of his township, contributing liberally from his means and exercising his personal influence with others, and his name is the synonym of all that is good and true wherever it is known. Mi. Chesebrough has in his possession the oldest parchment deed, excepting one, in this county. It bears the date of December 30, 1835, and is signed by President Andrew Jackson. The following reprint, referring to the subject's mother, is apropos in this connection : "October 21, 1890, Mrs. Chesebrough passed away at her home in Carey, Ohio, aged eighty-one years, five months and six days. A peculiarity of her family was the fact that the first child was a boy and the second a girl and the subsequent births were alternately a boy and a girl until six sons and six daughters were born to her. The first three girls had black eyes and the first three boys had: blue eyes the last three girls had blue eyes and the last three boys had black eyes, excepting George W., the fourth son and seventh child, who possessed one blue eye and one black eye. Mrs. Chesebrough throughout her long life was ever a true, kind hearted Christian lady and excellent mother. She had been a devoted member of the Methodist church a number of years." WILLIAM DICKEY. This well-known citizen is a native of near, New Lisbon, Columbiana county, Ohio, where he was born on the 19th of June, 1834. He was born and raised on a farm, obtaining, a fair education at the common schools and learning the business of farming in all its details. His early life was not unlike that of other farmer boys. Farm life in the United States, particularly in the west, is very similar and very exacting, but it must be said, in justice to that occupation, that the condition of the farmer has vastly improved within the last half of a century. Many farmers now living first started with the old sickle in reaping grain, and a little later took up the cradle for the same purpose, and still later took up the old reaping machine, which required a driver and a man to rake off the grain and a half dozen or more men strung around the field to bind the grain that had been raked off in bundles, and required still another gang of men to go around the field and put the bundle or sheaves into shocks. But this is all past. Now electricity and steam do away with many of the old conditions. The subject of this sketch well recollects many of the old surroundings, which still existed when he was a boy. He remained with his BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 529 father until he was twenty-four years of age, working on the farm and beginning to accu mulate property for himself. At that age he began working out by the month and so continued for the period of seven years. In 1865 he came to Wyandot county and for six years rented land in Crane township and conducted the operations of farming with success, saving and laying by his earnings.. At the end of that time he came to Mifflin township and bought seventy-eight acres, where he now resides. At that time there was on the land a double log cabin and a log stable, but only four acres had been cleared. He moved into this rude house and began the irksome task of clearing the land of its timber and of properly draining the wet spots. At the present time he has seventy-five acres cleared, of which he has cleared seventy-four acres himself. Mr. Dickey is one of the substantial citizens. of the county, and a man who is well-informed on the questions of the day. In politics he is a Democrat. He lives seven miles from Upper Sandusky, and conducts a general business of farming and. stock raising. On December 16, 1858, Mr. Dickey married Miss Nancy Fisher, by whom he has three children, as follows : Wherry, who lives in Marion county and is a farmer; Eva and Etta, twins; the former is the widow of John Ragan, of Fostoria, and the latter is the wife of Sherman Moore, of Pitt township. EPHRAIM STANSBERY. One of the first settlers to come to this portion of the state when the land was thrown. into the market by the government was Samuel Stansbery, father of the subject of this sketch. Previous to coming here he had lived in Stark county, this state, but wishing to go where land was cheaper, in order to secure a home of his own with less hard work and time, he took his wife and his three little children and, putting all his household goods and his family into a wagon drawn by Oxen, came through the woods in 1832 to the place where he now lives. He settled in Mifflin township on eighty acres of land, which he entered from the government, which tract is now owned by Hamilton Dean. On that land, which was covered with heavy timber, he erected a single log cabin, and began the task of clearing. Two years later he bought eighty acres where his son, Samuel, now lives, which land was likewise covered With dense timber. Here he resided until his death, which occurred in 1854 or 1855. Amid many discouraging circumstances he cleared this land and made of it a garden spot. When he first came here he was obliged to go to Seneca, county to have his grain ground. He was fairly well educated and taught several terms of school both before and after he came, to this county. He possessed more than ordinary intelligence and strength of character, and for a number of years was the western agent of land for prominent and wealthy eastern, capitalists. He died at the age of fifty-five years, having made life a success in the best sense of that term. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and at all times was active in religious work and deeply interested in all important questions affecting the public welfare. His; wife was formerly Miss Sarah Leonard, by whom he had eight children, as follows : Elizabeth, deceased; 530 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. Mary, deceased; 'Ephraim, subject; Lewis, who lives in Mifflin township; Lydia, the wife of William R. Woolly, of Forest; Iverson, who lives: in Mifflin township; Orrila, the widow Of Burton Dawson; Samtiel, who resides in Mifflin township. In politics the father was an old-line Whig. His widow died in 1884, at the age of eighty-one years. When the subject of this memoir was brought to this county he was but six months old. He grew up on his father's farm, receiving the ordinary education at the district schools and being from an early age put to hard and continuous work. But he received a sound constitution from his parents, which he still further strengthened by good habits and right living. In 1853 he was united in marriage, to Miss Charlotte O'Niel, arid to these parents have been born the following children,: William, who lives in Chickasaw county, Iowa; Henry, Who lives in Mifflin township; Harvey, who lives in Mifflin township.; Eliza, wife of E. Dome, the present postmaster at Brownstown, where he conducts a mercantile establishment; Willard; Joseph A.; s George; Lawrence : and Ephraim. Two other children died in infancy. Upon his marriage the subject settled on a part of the old home farm, which he rented, and upon which. he continued to reside until 1858, when he removed to Brownstown and conducted a combined grocery and hotel for the period of six years, during which time he was postmaster of that town. In 1864 he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Forty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was soon afterward sent to the front. He participated in the battle, of Frederick City, Md., and after having served for five months was honorably mustered out of the service and sent home. He returned and settled on his present place, where he has since been engaged in farming and stock raising. Mr. Stansbery is qualified by reason of sound judgment and strict honesty to fill any position of trust tendered him by his fellow citizens. As a member of the Republican party, he was chosen to fill the office of justice of the peace for nine years, which he did to his own credit, and the benefit of his constituents. His a member of the Christian church. He well recollects the first school house he attended—a log structure, with greased paper windows and rude slab benches and desks. To this house he was obliged to go at a tender age the distance of a Mile amid the severe cold and heavy snows of winter. Mr. Stansbery now owns a total of five hundred acres of good land, the same being in five different farms and all in Mifflin township 'except eighty acres. CAPT. JOHN GREER. Distinguished as a civilian and as a brave soldier in the war of the great Rebellion, the subject of this review occupies a prominent place in the history of: Wayndot county. For many years. he has been a prominent farmer and stock raiser of Crawford township, and his long residence in this part of the state entitles him to mention as one of the few remaining pioneers of the county who by their' energy and self-sacrifice did so much to promote the material interests of this highly favored-section of the commonwealth. Thomas Greer, the Captain's father, was BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 531 a native of Pennsylvania and grew. to manhood on a farm in the county of Lancaster. When a young man he went to Co. lumbiana county; Ohio, where he worked at carpentering until 1833, at which time he entered a tract of land in Big Springs township, Seneca county, and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. The place which Mr. Greer purchased. was thickly wooded and required much hard labor to bring it to a state of cultivation. After residing on the farm ten years, he sold it and bought one hundred and sixty acres. in Crawford township, Wyandot county, which he improved and made his home the remainder of his life. Thomas Greer was a good. farmer and successful business man. He acquired a Comfortable: competence and is remembered as an active factor in the affairs of the township. He was a stanch Whig in politics, afterward A.T.epublican, and was a devout member of the Christian (or Disciples) church. He married, in Columbiana county, Catherine Rhodes, aL native of Virginia, who came to Ohio with her parents when quite young. She bore her husband children,. as follows:, Joseph, John, Francis, William, Margaret A:, Sarah J., George W., Mary A. and Abigail M. William and George lost their lives in the war of the Rebellion While bravely fighting for the old flag; Joseph also losing an arm in the service. Mrs. Greer departed this life in 1876 at the age of seventy-two; her husband preceded her to the grave; dying in 1867, having lived the same number of years as his wife. Thomas Greer's father, also named Thomas, a native of Ireland, came to America at an early period and settled in Virginia, where he died a great many years ago. John Greer; whose name appears at the beginning of this article, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, on the loth day of July, 1828. He assisted his father with the work of the farm until twenty-two years of age, at which time, in company with a number of parties as daring as himself, he joined the exodus to the California gold fields and for a period of three years thereafter was engaged in mining in various parts of that faraway territory. Unlike the large majority that sought fortunes in the far west at that time, he met with good success, accumulating sufficient means to give him a good start in life. Returning to Ohio in I856, he purchased two hundred and forty acres of timber land in Wyandot county, but did not improve the same, locating on a small place in Crawford township, which forms part of the farm where he now lives. On the 7th day of January, 1857, Mr. Greer was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann Crooks, daughter of Andrew C. and Mary (Arnold) Crooks, who came with her parents to Seneca county in 1849. Mrs. Greer died in August, 1883, the mother of seven children : Thomas W., who died at the age of twenty-two; Kittie, wife of Wellington Baker, formerly of Crawford township; Andrew C., of Cincinnati, an employe of the Big Four railroad ; Asa B, now living in California ; Harry A. resides at Bucyrus and is an engineer on the Ohio Central railroad.; Guy E., of Seneca county; and Rutherford Hayes, a telegraph operator, residing at Castalia, Ohio. On February 5, 1885, Mr. Greer entered into the marriage relation with Miss Etta B. Luzader, of Seneca county, his present companion and devoted helpmeet. She was 532 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. born in Seneca county, Ohio, March 12, 1864,and is the daughter of John and Cynthia (Dible) Luzader. Mr. Greer was one of the first of Wyandot county's patriotic young men to respond to the President's call for volunteers when our gallant ship of state was threatened with destruction by the rugged rocks of disunion, He enlisted August 14, 1861, in Company D, Forty-ninth- Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until honorably discharged November 22, 1864, participating in some of the bloodiest battles of the war, including Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh; Corinth, Lawrenceburg, Stone. River, Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Dalton, Resaca, Picketts Mills, Kenesaw Mountain and. various minor engagements. Upon the organization of Company D, Mr. Greer Was. elected second lieutenant and for bravery displayed at Shiloh was promoted first lieutenant immediately after the battle. Subsequently, January I, 1863, at the battle of Stone River, he was made captain of Company C, Forty-ninth Ohio Infantry, and served as such until the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, where he received a shell wound in the left leg, just below the thigh, this missile tearing away a large portion of the limb; making a painful and dangerous in jury. He was picked up on the field and with a number of other wounded men put on a cattle car and taken to Chattanooga, Tenn., where he lay several months in a hospital. When sufficiently recovered, he was permitted to return home and while here received his discharge, as before mentioned, by order of the war department, as unfit for further duty. Mr. Greer suffered much discomfort from his wound and for nearly two years following his discharge was obliged to use crutches to assist his locomotion. He has never entirely recovered from his injury, being daily reminded by it of the thrilling and dangerous scenes through which he passed while helping to save the beloved union from disruption. On regaining his wonted strength he resumed farming and soon became one of the largest and most agriculturists and stock raisers of Crawford township. He added to his original purchase and spared neither pains nor expense to make his place as nearly possible an ideal country home. He now owns a valuable property of one hundred and ninety-three acres, the greater part under a high state of cultivation, the rich fields yielding to the owner a golden tribute in return for the care and labor bestowed upon them. In 1880 he erected a large and elegant residence, one of the finest in Crawford township., and. three years later further improved his farm by building a commodious barn. He pays considerable attention to live. stock, raising a fine grade of sheep, shorthorn cattle, Poland-China hogs, and several breeds of horses. He has met with encouraging success as a stock raiser, in fact all of his business enterprises have resulted to his financial advantage and he is now classed with the most substantial and progressive men of the township in which he lives. Mr. Greer is an uncompromising Republican and for a number of years has taken a very active interest in the political affairs of Wyandot county. He served twenty years as trustee of Crawford township, three years as justice of the peace and as an official discharged his duties faithfully and effectually, proving himself worthy the honor conferred upon him by his fellow BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 333 citizens. He was made an Odd Fellow at Upper Sandusky over fifty years ago and is still an active member of the order, belonging at this time to the lodge and encampment at Carey. He is also a leader in the Grand Army post at the latter place and has filled the most important offices within the power of the organization to confer. Mr. Greer's career has been marked by the exhibition of those qualities of manhood which make success almost a certainty and as a citizen in the private walks of life, as an official pursuing the unlimited confidence of the public, or as a veteran at the head of his men on many bloody battlefields, his course has been honorable and upright and he stands today a conspicuous example of an intelligent, broad-minded, self-made man. He possesses a generous nature, kind and benevolent, ever ready to extend a helping hand to a friend or to those in disease, and in his social relations he is genial and affable. By long residence, as well as by upright walk and conversation, he has won the esteem of nearly every man, woman and child in Crawford township and other parts where known and his hospitality has for years been proverbial in his community. In a word, he is a representative gentleman of the old school and the hiStory of Wyandot county would be sadly incomplete without complimentary reference to his life and achievements. CONRAD BRODMAN. Salem township, Wyandot county, is honored by the substantial farmer and enterprising citizen whose name appears above. He comes from the romantic mountains of faraway Switzerland, where his ancestors for many generations have lived, and he first saw the light of day on the 7th day of March, 1823. His parents, John and Ollie (Deinger) Brodman, were also Swiss, and they grew to maturity and married in the land of their nativity. In the month of March, 1832, they bid farewell to the ancestral home and, making their way to Antwerp, set sail for America, which they reached after a voyage of fifty-five days, duration. Landing in New York, Mr. Brodman and family went by canal to Buffalo, thence overland to Mansfield, Ohio, near which place he entered forty acres of wild land and began the life of a pioneer. In his younger days Mr. Brodrnan worked at coopering, but after coming to the United States he abandoned the trade and devoted all his time to improving his land, which at that time .was as nature had created it. The first habitation was a very small and rude log cabin, but it answered the purpose for which intended until a number of acres could be cleared and fitted for tillage. In due time the greater' part of the dense forest growth was removed and a new and more commodious dwelling, better adapted to the wants of the growing family, replaced the primitive structure that served for a shelter during the first few years of pioneer experience. Mr. Brodman made a good farm, ac cumulated considerable property, and when he died, on the 21st day of March, 1859, the family were left in comparatively comfortable circumstances. He lived a long and useful life, being in his eighty-fourth year when summoned to the life beyond. Mrs. Brodman, like her husband, was reared in the Catholic faith and throughout a life extending over a 534 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. period of ninety-one years she never wavered in her allegiance to the Holy Mother church. She was the mother of twelve children; two dying in infancy, and of the other ten the subject, of this review is the only one living. Conrad Brodman was a lad of nine years when he looked for the last time upon the snow-capped hills and peaceful vales of his native Swissland, and from that time to the present he has been a true and loyal citizen of the great republic. He grew to manhood's estate accustomed to honest toil and to him life early meant diligent labor, frugality and a determined purpose to make the most Of such advantages as came in his way. In 1859 he came to Wyandot county and began working on a farm of eighty acres in the township of Salem, which he had bought five years previously, going in debt for the greater part of the purchase price. Addressing himself manfully to the. task of improving the place, he labored early and late in the woods and not infrequently the echoes of his ax could be heard far into the night, so intent was he upon removing the gigantic forest trees and getting the soil in readiness for the plow. Earnestly and perseveringly he continued to toil, taking little time for rest or recreation, and finally the reward came to him that comes to all who are content to labor and to wait. As years went by the area of cultivable, land: gradually enlarged until in due season the woods gave place to well tilled fields, and a farm containing many valuable improvements and supplied with the latest modern devices for the successful prosecution of agriculture now occupies the space formerly covered with a dense wilderness solitude. Mr. Brodman has met with well-earned success as a farmer and stock raiser and by perseverance, industry, economy and good management he has attained a position among the substantial men of his: adopted county. Personally his worth is acknowledged by those familiar with 'his honorable business methods and ever since becoming a resident of Salem his character has been above reproach. No one was ever known to couple his name with anything savoring, even remotely, of disreputable practice. In his political views Mr. Brodman is a Democrat, manifesting an intelligent interest in the party of his choice and keeping well informed upon the issues of the day. He has never sought nor desired public station of any kind, preferring to devote his time and attention to his farming interests. At the present time he owns one hundred and twenty acres of land lying in one of the most fertile sections of Salem township, which with the valuable improvements hereon and other property in his possession are the fruits of his earnest and long continued labors. Mr. Brodman is by birthright a Catholic and his loyalty to the church is attested by the fact of his having contributed liberally of his means. to the construction of five temples of worship, besides assisting freely in the promotion of various enterprises in which religion has been entered as a prominent factor. With his family he belongs to the St. Joseph congregation in Salem township, being one of its pillars financially and otherwise and always alive to any good work for the advancement of a higher order of morals in the community. The marriage of Conrad Brodman and Catherine Eberly was duly solemnized according to the beautiful ceremony of the Catholic church in 1847, but the union was BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 535 rudely severed by the death angel, which called away the devoted wife and loving mother on the 16th day of June, 1875. She died as she lived, a devoted Catholic, and left five children, namely : Harry, a farmer and stock raiser of Salem township; Elizabeth, an inmate of a convent in the city of Cincinnati; May, wife of Amos Arnold, a resident of the township of Salem; Lowisa, who married Frank Paul, of this county, and Joseph L., manager of the homeplace for his father ; one child, the first born, died in infancy before being. named. WILLIAM B. HITCHCOCK. It is a fact conceded by all that no man in Upper Sandusky has contributed more to the material prosperity of the city than the well-known and justly popular gentleman by whose name this. sketch is introduced. The subject's father was John Hitchcock, a native of Dutchess county, N. Y., where his birth occurred about the year 1786. In early life he learned the shoemaker's trade and at the breaking out of the war of 1812 he entered the American army as fifer. He worked at shoemaking in his native state until 1847, when he came to Wyandot county and opened a little shop at the town of Bowshersville. Subsequently he removed to Little Sandusky, where he followed his vocation until 1851, and then changed his residence to Upper Sandusky, where he worked at his trade until his death, a few months later. John Hitchcock married, in New York, Mary Horsner, who was born in Dutchess county in 1796. She survived her husband some time, dying at the age of eighty-nine years, three months and twenty-five days. Mr. Hitchcock was sixty-five years old when he died and is remembered as an intelligent and well-informed man, an active Democratic politician and a useful citizen. He was the father of four children, only one of whom, the subject of this article, survives. The birth of William B. Hitchcock occurred March 4, 1828, in the town of Fishkill, Dutchess county, N. Y., and his boyhood days were spent in his native place and in the county of Tompkins. He early attended the public schools. and also a select school at Edfield center, N. Y., and while still a youth formed well-defined plans for the future, in which a career of great activity was outlined. By reason of a serious illness, which resulted in a white swelling, he was not permitted to carry to successful issue his premeditated ideas. This illness, occurring when he was about sixteen, terminated in the loss of his leg, a disaster which interfered materially with many of his plans and for some time thereafter greatly hampered him in his various undertakings. As soon as sufficiently recovered, he began teaching school, which vocation he followed off and on for about five years. After teaching for one year in Tomkins county Mr. Hitchcock came to Wyandot county, Ohio, and the winter following he had charge of the School at Bowshersville. Subsequently he taught three terms in Little Sandusky and in. 1851 was elected recorder of Wyandot county, immediately after which he changed his residence to Upper Sandusky. Leaving the office at the expiration of his three-years term of service, he engaged in the boot and shoe trade in the. city, in connection with Which he also car- 536 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. tied on the livery business, meeting with encouraging success in both enterprises. Mr. Hitchcock was identified with the commercial interests of Upper Sandusky until 1866, when he disposed of his stock to take. charge of the. postoffice, to which position. he Was appointed that year. After serving two years as postmaster, he again entered. the political field as a Democratic candidate for clerk of the court, being triumphantly. elected to the office in the fall of 1869 and discharging the duties of the same in an able and praiseworthy manner for a period of seven years. Retiring from the clerkship at the expiration of his term, Mr. Hitchcock turned his attention to real estate transactions and in a short time he built up a large and lucrative business in Wyandot and other counties, his operations frequently extending beyond the confines of the state. Meanwhile he succeeded in ,accumulating. a liberal fortune, which by judicious investments was greatly augmented as the years went by. A portion of his capital was expended in the erection of what was known as the Thurman hotel, which he ran for nine years and which under his management became the most popular resort for the traveling public in Upper Sandusky. He also built several large business blocks, which added greatly to the stability, beauty and attractiveness of the city, and he also put up a number of other buildings and in diverse ways contributed to the growth and prosperity of the place. Mr. Hitchcock's public spirit has long been a subject of comment and, as already stated, it is doubtful if any other man has done as much to promote the City's material interest or advertise its advantages as a favorable place for the investment of capital. As a public servant Mr. Hitchcock discharged his functions ably, while as a party leader he is popular and efficient and has always exerted great influence in the councils of his party. Socially he is exceedingly popular, possessing fine conversational powers and genial manners, which with other amiable qualities have been the means of winning and retaining many warm personal friendships. In 1900 Mr. Hitchcock was elected to the office of county commissioner, which position he at present holds. In 1852 Mr. Hitchcock went to Endfield Center, N. Y:, where he was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Darrah; and shortly afterward returned to Upper Sandusky. This lady died three months after their marriage and in 1855 Mr. Hitchcock and Miss Lucy Boynton, of Cedar Rapids, Ia., were united in marriage, and their union has been blessed with children, as follows: John L. died at the age of twenty-six; Mary F., wife of Charles I. Jones, of Lincoln, Neb.; William B., of Upper Sandusky; Nettie married Paul Brann, a jeweler of this city; Eva B. married Joseph Ross and resides at Bucyrus, Ohio; Hattie, at home; and Frank, cashier in a cracker factory at Lincoln, Neb. WILLIAM B. HITCHCOCK, JR. William B. Hitchcock, Jr., an enterprising citizen of Upper Sandusky and proprietor .of the Thurman hotel and cafe, the most popular, place of the kind in the city, is the son of William B. Hitchcock, a review of whose life precedes this article. He was born in Upper Sandusky January 17, 1863, and here spent his youthful years, attend- BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 537 ing first the graded schools and later completing the prescribed course of the city high school. His first practical experience was as assistant to his father in the hotel business where, by coming in contact with the traveling public, he early developed a native, shrewdness and became popular with the guests who made the well-known Thurman house their stopping place. Subsequently he became deputy probate judge, under Hon. D. D. Clayton, in which capacity he continued for some years, meanwhile acquiring a thorough knowledge of every detail of the office and proving himself in every respect capable, painstaking and courteous in the discharge of the duties coming within his sphere. Mr. Hitchcock early manifested a lively interest in athletic sports and healthful outdoor exercise and in many ways became a leader among his companions. and play-fellows. Full of bodily spirits and energy, his inclinations naturally, led him to look with favor upon anything pertaining to the military ; consequently, when of proper age, he joined the Ohio National Guard, with which he served fourteen and a half years, during eight of which: he was a commissioned officer. While member of this organization he assisted to quell the great Cincinnati riot of 1884, and latter spent nineteen days with his company in checking the Hocking Valley strike, after which he spent two days at Ashland quelling the riot at that place. For a period of twenty years he has been a member of the fire department of Upper Sandusky and to him more than to any other individual is the organization indebted for its present high degree of proficiency. He has been untiring in his efforts to promote more systematic work among the firemen and through his influence many obsolete features have been abandoned, new and improved appliances have been added which, with other improvements, have resulted in strengthening the department and greatly augmenting its usefulness. Born and reared a Democrat Mr. Hitchcock has always remained loyal to the principles and traditions of the party and since old enough: to exercise the election franchise has been a potent factor in local politics. Mr. Hitchcock is a shrewd campaigner and never fails to make his presence felt both as an adviser in 'the councils of the party and as a worker in the ranks. At the suggestion of his many friends he was at one time induced to permit his name to go before the county convention as candidate for recorder, but before the balloting began gracefully withdrew in favor of a friend whose claims for the place he considered paramount to his own. This consideration for another was not without its influence, as, it, greatly strengthened him with the 'party and increased his popularity which, at this time, is second to that of no other man of like political faith in the county of Wyandot. In 1891 Mr. Hitchcock served as message clerk of the sixty-ninth general assembly of Ohio and as such discharged the duties incumbent upon him in an able and praiseworthy manner, winning the confidence of many party leaders and greatly extending the sphere of his acquaintance among the prominent Democratic politicians of the state. For some years past he has been an active worker it the Pythian fraternity, representing Wyandot Lodge, No. 174., in the grand lodge of Ohio, besides serving in various official capacities, being at the present time past chancellor of the organization. He is now 538 - BIOGRAPHICAL, MEMOIRS. serving his third term as captain of the Uniform Rank in this city, in addition to which he is also prominently connected with the Improved Order of Red Men, holding at this time the position of deputy past sachem of the local tribe at Upper Sandusky. As already stated, he is an ardent admirer and enthusiastic champion of all manly sports and exercises and for several years was manager of the Upper Sandusky baseball team, one of the best organizations of this kind in this section of the state. Under his direction and control it became widely and favorably known and came out victorious in a number of contests with some of the leading professional teams of Ohio and other states. Since about the year 1895 Mr. Hitchcock has been owner and manager of the Thurman hotel and cafe, during which time the place has become a popular resort, being conducted strictly upon business principles and winning for the genial proprietor a liberal share of public patronage. The place is clean and eminently respectable, and no pains are spared to make the premises inviting to frequenters who wish to spend a leisure hour in agreeable social conversation or pleasing healthful pastime. Mr. Hitchcock is a "hale fellow well met" and the very soul of genial, good natured companionship. He numbers his friends by the hundreds, and is highly esteemed by all who know him. Those who know him most intimately are loudest in their praise of his many sterling qualities of manhood and the individual is yet to be found who has ever, even remotely, questioned his personal honor or integrity. The married life of Mr. Hitchcock began, on the 4th day of April, 1884, at which time was solemnized the ceremony which united him in the bonds of wedlock with Miss Marie Shumaker, of Upper Sandusky. This union, a most happy one, has been blessed with five children, Charles, Lottie, Carlton, Dorothy, and an infant daughter, unnamed. SAXTON C. VAN BUREN, DECEASED. Among the earnest men whose depth of character and strict adherence to principle excite the admiration of his contemporaries Saxton C. Van Buren was numbered. He was prominently. interested in the manage.: merit of one of the leading industrial concerns of Carey and stood among the representative business men who overcame difficulties and obstacles that barred the path to success and steadily advanced until before his death he left behind the many and stood among the prosperous few. Yet he was ever ready to reach down helping hands to assist others in the long and tiresome struggle of life. His life was indeed a struggle and from early boyhood, when he Avis. thrown upon his own resources with a mother and several children dependent upon him for support. He met and triumphed over obstacles that would have discouraged many men of less determination and won for himself, not only a comfortable fortune, but also a prominent place among the enterprising men of his state. Such a man is a credit to any community and his life forcibly illustrates what energy and consecutive effort can accomplish when directed and controlled by correct principles and high moral resolves. Daniel H. Van Buren, the subject's father, was a native of New York state and BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 539 followed carpentering and agricultural puruits for a livelihood. Catherine Cheesebro, who became his wife, was also born in New 'York. Saxton. C. Van Buren was born June 7, 1836, in Otsego county, N. Y., and spent his boyhood days with his mother, who was early left with a family of six children dependent upon her for support. To furnish them with the means of a livelihood she was obliged to rely largely upon her relatives and friends, and when but ten years of age our subject went to live in the home of his grandfather. A little later, while still a mere boy, he hired to a farmer at four dollars per month and on receiving his first six months' wages turned all but fifteen cents over to his mother, whose interests he made paramount to his own.. The winter following he received no compensation; working for his board and clothes, while attending school. With the advent of spring he found employment near the city of Albany with a farmer add gardener with whom he worked for a period of seven months at seven dollars and fifty cents per month, and the following winter attended school at the town of Greenbush, paying his way by doing odd jobs in a dairy owned by the man with whom he boarded. Ever mindful of the comfort of his mother and younger brothers and sisters, Mr. Van Buren contributed nearly all his earnings: toward their support, retaining barely sufficient to clothe himself respectably and defray his. few personal expenses. During the following year he worked. for his former employer at farming and gardening and so pleased was the man with his services that he advanced his wages to twelve dollars per month, although the lad performed the labor of a full grown hand. The greater part of the next two years he was employed on a lumber yard as teamster, hauling lumber to and from the canal and attending to the loading and unloading of boats. The better to look after his mother's interests, he rented a small house near where he worked and for two. years thereafter lived with the family and furnished the means of subsistence. Meanwhile his: industrious habits, manly conduct and filial devotion attracted the notice of some of his friends. who began to manifest considerable interest in the lad's welfare. With their assistance, he was enabled to purchase a horse and. wagon, by means of which he expected to earn.more than he was then receiving as a laborer at monthly wages. Unfortunately, however, for his fair dreams the animal soon sickened and died and within a short time he was taken down with a severe attack of typhoid fever which kept him abed a number of weeks, incurring a. great expense by reason. of loss of time and the piling up of doctor's bills. As soon as sufficiently recovered he again went to work and subsequently engaged with a lumber dealer to go to Canada at twenty dollars per month and expenses. After working for one year in that country and saving the greater part of .his earnings the subject, in partnership with a friend, took charge of a sawmill and there engaged In, the manufacture of lumber for a certain per cent. of the amount cut. As soon as fairly started in this enterprise Mr. Van Buren moved his mother and, family to Canada and lived with her during the time he was engaged in the lumber business. After operating the mill two years with fair success he leased from the same man a mill in another part. of the country, which he ran one year. Subsequently: 540 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS while operating still another mill, he met with a Severe financial reverse, caused by the winter being so open that he could not get his timber to the mill, the consequence of which made him unable to meet certain obligations when they came due. This caused him. great embarassment, but with characteristic energy he at once secured employment as head sawyer of a large mill, at forty dollars per month, while his younger brother also added somewhat to the resources of. the family. After spending one season as sawyer he again ventured into. the lumber trade upon his own responsibility and continued the business with varying success until, the breaking out of the Civil war, when he sold out and moved to Wyandot county, Ohio, locating in the town of Carey. Here he repeatedly tried to enlist as a defender of his nation's flag, but was refused actmiSsion on account of physical disability. Settling his family at this place Mr. Van Buren turned his attention to carpentering and continued the trade about three years, accumulating during that time six hundred dollars in cash, which he applied as part payment for a half interest in a foundry and Machine shop owned by James Carothers, going in debt for the balance of the two thousand dollars, at which his share was valued. He subsequently bought the interests of the several heirs in the concern and in 1895 became sole proprietor and manager. On taking full control he enlarged the capacity of the foundry, supplied new machinery and in. due time built up a large and. remunerative business in the manufacture of steam engines; boilers and various kinds of mechanical appliances, besides doing an immense amount of work in all lines of general repairing. In addition to manufacturing and repairing he was also local agent for the McCormick reapers and mowers, and connection with his son, C. J., he ran a grinding and corrugating plant. In his various enterprises Mr. Van Buren displayed the judgment and ability of a broad-minded, far-sighted business man and the prominent position he occupies in the industrial world marked him as possessing energy which no obstacles could check and determination of purpose which overcame all opposition. Reared in adverSity and trained in the school of experience, he refused to become discouraged by unfavorable environment and no difficulties, however numerous or formidable, were sufficient to check his onward. and upward course to the goal of success., which he set out in an early day to reach. His zeal for public interests was one of the leading features of his career and it is readily conceded that much of the present prosperity of the thriving little city in which he lives is due to no man more largely than to Saxton, C. Van, Buren. As a typical business man he was characterized by tenacity of purpose and sturdy independence to a remarkable degree. Always thrifty and progressive, having great power of physical endurance, pluck and acumen almost akin to genius, it is not at all strange that he rose from poverty to affluence and won for himself a position in the present rank of Wyandot county's most enterprising and substantial men.. Mr. Van Buren possessed valuable property in Carey and elsewhere, his foilndry alone representing a capital considerably in excess of ten thousand dollars: While not an active. partisan, he took a lively interest in political affairs; supporting the Democratic party in state and national: issues, BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 541 voting for the man of his choice in local elections. Aside from serving one term in the Common council, he held no office and it was never. his aim to aspire to public honors of any kind. He became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church when sixteen years' of age, and was ever afterward a zealous Christian and an active worker in that society. His sad and untimely death, which occurred October 3, 1901, was caused by an accident, being killed by a "Big Four" train as he: was crossing the track. Mr. Van Buren was united in marriage in Carey Jannary 17, 1867, to Miss Margaret Jackson, who was born in Wyandot county, Ohio, December 13, 1834, and a daughter of Jacob and Rebecca (Amorine) Jackson. This union was blessed with the birth of three children, viz. : Emma A., born January 17, 1869, married O. M. McMurray and resides in Carey ; Ida B., born November 1871, is the wife of M. A. Jackson, also resides in Carey, and Charlie J., born July 17, 1873. The mother of this family died March 11, 1889, and the father subsequently married Mrs. Sarah Shapley, but this union was without issue. Charlie J. Van. Buren began as an apprentice at the machinist trade when twelve years of age. Completing his trade he became an expert machinist and has engaged in that vocation ever since. For the past three years he managed the business and after his father's death he and his two sisters became sole owners in the enterprise, and are now doing business under the firm name of S. C. Van Buren's. Son & Company, in which he is. general manager. Mr. Van Buren., now at the head of one of Carey's most prosperous and enterprising industries, is a gentleman of pleasing address,- easily approachable and his confidence once worthily gained he is ever thereafter a warm and devoted friend. Though yet comparatively a young man he has demonstrated himself in business capacities to: be abreast the times and in his dealings, which are straightforward and honorable, he has made many friends. JAMES M. POOL James M. Pool, one of the substantial farmers and respected citizens of Wyandot county, Ohio, springs from Puritan ancestry, and was born in Richland county, near Mansfield, January 11, 1823, the son of William and Mary (Harris) Pool. William Pool came from New Jersey to Washington county, Penn., when. quite young, and there married Mary Harris, of the same county. They lived on a farm in Pennsylvania until about 1809, when they moved to Knox county, Ohio, and was there about two years, then moving to Richland county, Ohio. They were among the first settlers of that county, and at the time they settled there there were but two log cabins where the city of Mansfield now stands. Mr. and Mrs. Pool located about five miles southwest of Mansfield. He took a claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government, put up a log cabin and cleared a part of the land. In 1846 while Mr. Pool was conducting a barrel of cider down a cellar, the barrel fell upon him, which accident resulted in his death November 30, 1846. His wife died in Mansfield. June 16, 1863. In politics he was first a Whig and later a Republican. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, in which. denomination 542 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. he was an elder for many years and a very active worker. The marriage of Mr., and Mrs. Pool resulted in the birth of nine children : Mary, deceased; Rhoda, deceased; Anna, living in Delaware, Ohio; Elma, deceased; John, deceased; James Madison; subject of this biographical review; William H., deceased; Ira, deceased; and Elizabeth, also deceased. James M. Pool, the subject, spent his boyhood days upon his father's estate and during his early life while there, at intervals received the rudimental education common with many of the farmer lads of those days, attending school in a pioneer log schoOl house and walking two miles 'through a forest. From his tireless energy and his limited advantages he can be readily classed as a self-educated man. At the age of sixteen he went to Mansfield, Ohio, where. he learned the carpenter's trade. at followed this trade for five years, and at his father's death he returned to his old home in Richland county. In 1847 Mr. Pool was married to Mary E. Hartupee, of Richland county, Ohio, and to this union were born ten children. The eldest son, William F., now deceased, was a popular attorney of Upper Sandusky, and married Miss Anna Eaton; Verdie, wife of Marion Welty, residing in Eden township; Wilber, who is an editor and at Luther, Mich.; Albert, deceased; Ora, the second daughter, is at home and keeps house for her father ; Elmer is a successful gardener and lives in Mansfield, Ohio; Curtis is in the hardware and- undertaking business, and lives in Eveleth, Minn.; Frank is married to Mary Hilderbrand and is living on the old, homestead ; Avery is a machinist and resides at Lima, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Pool lived on his father's old place, in Richland county, Ohio, until 1850 when they moved to Wyandot county, Ohio, and purchased an eighty acre farm in Crane township, and later bought an additional eighty, making a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. This is one of the oldest farms in that part Of the county and is admirably' adapted for general farming and stock raising. In politics Mr. Pool is a decided Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Pool were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which they freely contribute. He. is a liberal supporter of all movements designed for the good of the public. In' the spring of 1891 Mr. Pool retired from agricultural pursuits, going to Upper Sandusky, where the death of his beloved wife occurred March 11, 1896. Mr. Pool is one of the best-known and highly esteemed citizens of Wyandot county. RAYMOND C. COBURN, B. A., M. D. Professional success results from merit. Frequently in commercial life one may come into possession of a lucrative business through inheritance or gift, but in what are known" --as the learned professions advancement is gained only through painstaking and long continued effort. Prestige in the healing art is the outcome of strong mentality, close application., thorough mastery of its great underlying principles and the ability to apply theory to practice in the treatment of diseases. Good intellectual training, thorough professional knowledge and the possession and utilization of the qualities and . attribute's essential to success, have made the BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 543 subject of this review eminent in his chosen calling and he stands today among the scholarly and enterprising physicians in a county noted for the high order of its medical talent. Dr. Raymond C. Coburn is a representative of one of the oldest families of Ohio and traces his ancestry back to an early period in the history of America. His ancestors were among the original settlers of the "northwest territory" at Marietta, 1787, emigrating from Massachusetts. His father, Richmond L. Coburn, is still living in Morgan county on the large and valuable farm which has been in possession of, the family for over a hundred years. Like many of his antecedents, his occupation is that of a tiller of the soil. Richmond L. Coburn has been a successful Man in his business affairs and stands high in the esteem of all who know him. His, wife, formerly Miss. Patience A. Hill, was born. in Waterford, Ohio, and departed this life August 29, 1899. Dr. Raymond C. Coburn was born in the town of Beckett, Ohio, November 12, 1875, and spent his youthful years upon the ancestral homestead. His early education, acquired in the common schools near his home, was supplemented by a course in the Marietta Academy, which he entered at the age of sixteen and from which he was graduated a year later. With a desire for a more liberal intellectual training he subsequently became a student of Marietta College, the prescribed course of which he completed in four years, graduating with the degree of A. B., Curs Laude, on the 17th of June, 1897. Following this he accepted the superintendency of the public schools in Clarksville, Mo., and after one term there returned to Ohio in the fall of 1898 and began his professional studies in Starling Medical College, Columbus. On the iith day of April, 1901, he was graduated from that institution with honorable mention, being second in a large class of exceptionally bright young men, nearly all of whom have started upon professional careers with good prospects of success. Four days after receiving his degree Dr. Coburn came to Upper Sandusky and effected a partnership with Dr. E. W. Doherty, which lasted two months, the subject purchasing his associate's interests at the expiration of that time. Since then he has succeeded in building up a large and satisfactory practice, demonstrating his ability by the successful results that have followed his efforts. His knowledge of the science of medicine is comprehensive and accurate and by constant perusal of the best medical literature he has kept thoroughly abreast the times and won for himself a conspicuous place among his professional brethren of Wyandot county. The Doctor'a thorough literary and professional training, together with his, skill and tact in reducing his knowledge to practice, have gained him the confidence of the people of Upper Sandusky and adjacent country and his career from the beginning presents a series of Continued successes which bespeak for him a prosperous future. He numbers among his patients many of the best families of, the city, while his fidelity to every duty in the time of need in his chosen calling has won him the respect and confidence of medical men whose practice covers a longer period than the years he has lived. With a full appreciation of the responsibilities resting upon him as a physician, he is aggressive, though extremely careful, and his counsel 544 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. and advice in many difficult and critical cases have demonstrated that he is a growing man and not one satisfied with past achievements. Personally his. courteous manner, pleasing presence, genial disposition and genuine worth have made him one of the popular young men of the city and all with whom he has relation, professional "or otherwise, speak of him in most complimentary terms. Dr. Coburn was married on the 8th day of May, 1901, to Miss Bertie G. Howdeshell, of Clarksville, Mo., a young lady of culture and refinement whom he first met when in charge of the schools of that place. Mrs. Coburn is a Baptist in her religious faith, while the Doctor subscribes to the Methodist creed. In his fraternal relations he is a member of the Masonic brotherhood, and upon graduation from college was elected to the membership of the Phi Beta Kappa society, Marietta College. CAPTAIN HENRY W. PETERS. The subject of this sketch, a prosperous and well-known agriculturist living in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, was born in Pickaway county, this state, April 25, 1840. His father, Lewis S. Peters,. was a native of Maryland, having been born in 1816. In 1825 he was taken, to Fairfield county, Ohio, by his parents, Samuel and Rebecca (Stevenson) Peters, also natives of Maryland. Samuel Peters was a hotel man and a tanner in his native state, but upon coming to Ohio took up government land in Fairfield county, where he made his home, and died at the age of about fifty years. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was fairly successful in his business affairs. He was the father of thirteen children, all of whom, lived to advanced years. Samuel Peters. had three. brothers, one of whom, Henry Peters, became a very wealthy man in Baltimore, Md., and established a home in that city for the poor. Lewis S. Peters, our subject's father, was reared in Fairfield county, Ohio, and when he attained his, majority he married and moved just across the line into Pickaway county, where he bought a farm and passed the remainder of his days. He had learned the wagonmaking trade when a boy, but his later years were mostly devoted to farming and stock raising, in which he was very successful. He was a life-long member of the. Methodist Episcopal church and that he was active in his religious life is attested by the fact that for sixty years he was a local preacher in that denomination. In politics. he was originally a Whig, but later, upon the organization. of the Republican party he transferred his allegiance to it and was ever afterward a firm supporter of its principles, though he could never beinduced toy accept public office. His death occurred January 27, 1897, when he had reached the age of eighty-one years. The subject's. mother, who in her maidenhood bore the name of Margaret Ritter, was a native .of Ohio, having been born in Pickaway county, and in that county she spent her entire life. She also was a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church. She died in 1861, aged forty-two years. Seven children survived her, as follows.: Mary became the wife of Philip Weaver and lives. in Pickaway county; Henry W. is our subject ; Samuel R., a prominent attorney of Newton, Kan., served three. terms in congress, was for two terms BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 545 judge of the district court, and was the Republican candidate for governor of that state; Wilson L. is a practicing physician in Circleville, Ohio; Samantha J. died when eighteen years old, and two children died in childhood. The boyhood days of Henry W. Peters were passed upon the home farm, and at the age of eighteen years he entered the Ohio Wesleyan, University at Delaware. He remained in that institution. four years, graduating with the class of 1862. He then returned home, but in May, 1864, feeling that his country needed his services, he recruited Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was made its captain. The regiment performed service at Martinsburg, Va., Washington, D. C., Norfolk, Va., and in North Carolina, and were at Petersburg, mostly on. skirmish duty, while Grant's army was operating against that stronghold. The regiment was out one hundred days and our subject received his discharge in October, 1864. Upon his return from military service Mr. Peters came to Upper Sandusky and engaged in mercantile pursuits and in farming, but in 1886 he .disposed of the former interests and has since confined his attention to agriculture. March 22, 1866, Mr. Peters was united in marriage with Miss Mary M. White, who was born in Marietta, Ohio, February 4, 1845. To this union has been born five children, as follows : Fred W., born March 8, 1867, is operating a farm near Upper Sandusky; Earl H., born August 8, 1869, is at home ; Orrin R., born February 1, 1871, is a merchant at Bucyrus, Ohio; Avery W., born May 16, 1878, is at present in the employ of the government; Anna M., born November 27, 1884, still under the parental roof, is a student in the high school of Upper Sandusky, and is also studying music. Politically Mr. Peters is a stanch Republican, though he does not seek the honors or emoluments of public office. Socially he is a member of Warpole Lodge, No. 176, F. & A. M., and McCutchen Chapter, of Upper Sandusky, and is also identified with the Knights of Honor, and Robbins Post, No. 91, G. A. R. Religiously our subject and his wife are worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church and take a deep interest in all the departments of church work, he having held various offices - in the society to which he belongs. The farm which Mr. Peters now cultivates adjoins the city of Upper Sandusky and consists of one hundred and twenty acres of productive and well-improved land. He also owns another farm of eighty acres, upon which his son, Fred. W., now resides. A few lines referring to the life and ancestry of our subject's wife will not be amiss at this point. Her parents were John W. and Anna (Williams) White. The family record. can be traced back to the time of (I) Bishop. White, who died in England in 1623. In his will he mentioned his son (II) William White. The latter a member of the Plymouth colony and was the eleventh signer of the Mayflower compact. He died soon after landing at Plymouth Rock. (III) Peregrine White, son of William White, was the first child born in the Plymouth colony and died on a farm adjoining the subsequent home of Daniel Webster. (IV) His son, Daniel White, resided at Duxbury, 546 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. Mass., and the latter's son, (V) Deacon John White; settled in Marshfield, the same state. (VI) John White, Jr.,. son of Deacon John White, settled at Skowhegan, Me., on the Kennebec river, and his son, (VII) John Salmon White, settled at Bloomfield, Me. The next in line of descent, also known as (VIII) Deacon John White, lived in Palmyra, Me., and his son, (IX) John Whitney White, married Anna, the daughter of Hosea and Charlotte (Avery) Williams, the former a native of Massachusetts, and the latter of Connecticut. Their parents were .natives of the Old. Bay state. Anna was born in Delaware, Ohio, July 6, 1818. Her husband, John William White, was a native of Palmyra, Me., born on the 2d of November, 1812. He was reared there upon a farm until 1832, when he came to Ohio, and for forty years traveled in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was known as the "old man eloquent," and in his day exerted a powerful influence for right living. He had four brothers, all ministers of the gospel. At the age of seventy years he was given a superannuated relation and rested quietly at his home in Delaware, Ohio, until his death, which occurred May 1, 1886: To this worthy couple were born three children : Anna C. became the wife of Gen. I. M. Kirby, whose sketch will be found elsewhere in this volume; Mary Margaret is the wife of our subject; John Williams White, the eleventh in the line of descent from Bishop White, is an author and professor of Greek in Harvard University. He received a thorough education, attending institutes of learning in Delaware, Ohio, Berlin, Germany, and Athens, Greece. JOSEPH A. MAXWELL, DECEASED. Prominent as a business man .and well-known as a citizen, the late Joseph A. Maxwell, of Upper Sandusky, left the impress of his strong individuality deeply stamped upon the community where he figured so conspicuously as a merchant. He was a native of Cumberland county, Penn., where his birth occurred August 5, 1829, and his parents. were. George and Mary (Fulton) Maxwell, both born in that state. The family was of sturdy Scotch-Irish origin, the sterling qualities of thei two nationalities being reproduced in the descendants to the present time. George Maxwell, a farmer by vocation, died in his native state in 1847, at the age of sixty-six; his wife was called away in 1853, when sixty-six years old. They were the parents of a large family, eleven in all, the subject of this Sketch being the youngest of the number. After receiving a good education in the schools of his native county, Joseph A. Maxwell began teaching near his old home and continued the profession until 1856, when he removed to Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and accepted a clerkship in a drug store kept by Dr. Orrin Ferris. He continued in that capacity six months and subsequently . purchased Dr. Ferris's interest in the business and formed a partnership with J. H. Holton. Two years later Mr. Holton was succeeded by George J. Maxwell and the firm thus constituted lasted two years, at the end of which time the subject bought his brother's interest and became sole proprietor. After continuing the drug trade with fair success for six years he disposed of the stock in 1866 and became one of the' incor- BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 547 porators of the Wyandot County Bank, Of which he served at cashier for a period of eighteen months, he was also a large stock holder in the concern and did much to establish the bank upon a firm basis and make it one of the most popular financial institutions in this part, of the state. , In September, 1869, Mr. Maxwell entered into a partnership with T. E. Beery iri the dry goods trade, in connection with which they also dealt extensively in grain and wool. This relationship lasted three and a half years, being dissolved by mutual consent at the end of that time, Mr. Maxwell continuing the dry goods business, in which he met with most encouraging success. The better to carry op his large and constantly increasing trade, he erected the Centennial block, a commodious two-story building on Wyandot avenue, the main room being forty by eighty feet and the grocery department twenty by eighty-five feet in dimensions. Mr. Maxwell. occupied the main room with a large and valuable stock of drys goods, carpets, etc., and also owned a half interest in the grocery store, which was one of the most extensive business houses of the kind' in the city. In many respects Mr. Maxwell was much more than an: ordinary man in the business world and to him as. much as to any other is clue the commercial prosperity which Upper Sandusky now enjoys. He was a man of large business experience and ability, thoroughly versed in all the various branches of his vocation and met with success such as few achieve. For about three years he served as cashier of the First National Bank, of Upper Sandusky, in which capacity he displayed clerical ability of a high order, being reckoned a skillful accountant and thoroughly conversant with every detail of banking coming within his sphere. Personally he was a gentleman of unblemished character, easily approachable and was entitled to a position in the front rank of citizenship, not only for his superior ability as a business agent, but also by reason of his inherent. as an individual. He was the very embodiment of honor in all his dealings and throughout a long and .signally successful career established a character which his descendants prize as of far greater value than the heritage of wealth which he left to them. In politics he was a Republican and while not identified with any religious organization, he contributed liberally of his. means to the Presbyterian church, of Upper Sandusky, to which his wife belonged. Mr. Maxwell was married November 17, 1857, to Miss Mattie A. Edwards, daughter of Hampton H.. and Laura (Beam.) Edwards, of Upper SanduSky, a union blessed with six children, five living,. namely : Mary M., bOrn June 3o, 1859; Anna B.; October 18, 1861; Ella J., June 19; 1864; Joseph E., August 16, 1869, and Lottie B., January 8, 1875. The deceased is Charles, who was born: May 5, 1868, and whose death occurred on the 27th day of the same month and year. Mr. Maxwell continued actively in business until failing health compelled him to turn over his large concern to other hands. He was pre-eminently the leading merchant of Upper Sandusky, carrying a stock in excess of twenty thousand dollars, and did a business of greater, magnitude than that of any man in the county similarly engaged. He performed well his part in life and after a long, successful and eminently honorable 548 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. career, passed to the bourne from which no traveler ever returns February 13, 1895. Joseph E. Maxwell, third child and oldest son of Joseph A. and Mattie A. Maxwell, was born August 16, 1869, and spent his boyhood days. in Upper Sandusky; he received his preliminary education in the city schools. Subsequently he took a course in a Chicago training school, and in due time entered his father's store, where he obtained his first knowledge of business as a clerk. In the year 1892-3 he started a branch store in Nevada, this county, and continued to carry on the same until his father's death, when he took charge of the latter's large business interests in Upper Sandusky, which he has since successfully managed. Mr. Maxwell is a well-qualified business man, keen of perception and of sound judgment, and he has demonstrated remarkable ability as executive head of one of the leading commercial enterprises of Wyandot county. He is far-seeing and progressive, exceedingly careful in his undertakings, but never fails to push to successful issue any business transactions, with which he is connected. Ranking with the representative merchants of Upper Sandusky, he is a fit successor to his father as a promoter of large concerns, and his influence upon the business interests of the place has been marked by an aggressiveness, remarkable in one of his years and experience. The extensive establishment which he manages has lost none of its importance since he took control and it is destined to continue in the future, as it has been in the past, the leading enterprise of the kind in the city. Mr. Maxwell was married December 12, 1893, to Miss Marietta Blair, daughter of William, L. Blair, a banker of Nevada, and maintains one of the most beautiful homes. in Upper Sandusky. He is a member of Warpole Lodge, F. & A. M., McCutchen Chapter, R. A.. M., and is also identified with: the Pythian fraternity and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was one of the trustees of the Presbyterian church in Sandusky when the present handsome temple of worship, costing eighteen thousand dollars, was built, and he manifested the same energy in pushing forward the work on the building that he displays in prosecuting his business enterprises. In addition to managing the mercantile establishment he looks after his. father's large estate, as yet undivided, and everything coming within his sphere of activity is conducted with the utmost exactness, proving that he is not only progressive as a business man, but also safe and reliable. Mr. Maxwell's continued industry has been rewarded with well-earned financial success and he stands to-day among the wealthy men of his city and county. His manner is courteous and gentlemanly and one soon feels at ease in his presence. Of broad views and decided opinions he exerts a, wholesome influence in the community and may be taken as a marked example of the intelligent and progressive man of affairs. He is fond of social intercourse, numbers. his. friends by the hundreds in, Upper Sandusky and elsewhere and, his popularity is only bounded by the limits beyond which his name is not known. Mrs. Mattie A. Maxwell, widow of the late Joseph. A. Maxwell, still lives in Upper Sandusky, occupying an elegant and commodious home on the corner of Walker and Eighth streets. Her benevolent mind is active and she constantly seeks for wider fields, of usefulness. for the exercise of that BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 549 charity for which she has so long been noted. For many years she has been a faithful worker in the Presbyterian church of the city and her frequent visits to the homes of the poor are proverbially welcome, for she carries with her not only sympathy and wise counsel but equally needed food and raiment. It may be said that no woman in Upper Sandusky is known to a greater number of people than is she, and her life has indeed been a series of duties well and faithfully performed. MAJOR J. H. POWELL. There is no positive rule for achieving success, and yet in the life of the successful man there are always lessons which might well be followed. The man. who gains prosperity is he who can see and utilize the opportunity that :came in his path. The essential conditions of human life are ever the same, the surroundings of individuals differ but slightly ; and when one man passes another on the highway of life to reach the goal of prosperity before others who perhaps started out before him, it is because he has the power to use advantages which probably encompass the whole human race. Today among the prominent citizens and successful business men of Upper Sandusky stands Major. Jeptha H. Powell. The qualities of keen discrimination, sound judgment and executive ability enter very largely into his make up and have been contributing elements to the material success which has come to him. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Abraham Powell, was a native of the Old Dominion and participated in the struggle for American independence. He held an ensign's commission, signed by Patrick Henry, third governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. At the close of the war he went to Kentucky; and remained there a number of years, in 1811 removing to Champaign county, Ohio. He was one of the honored early pioneers of that county, and entered land about one mile from Urbana, dying there at the age of sixty-five years. Our subject's father was Elijah Powell. He was born in Hampshire county, Va., in 1789, and was about twenty years old when brought by his parents to Ohio. In this state he followed farming, and also engaged largely in breeding and raising horses and cattle. He has a fine farm, consisting of about five hundred acres, and upon this place he made his home until his death, at the age of seventy-seven years. He was in early life a Whig, but upon -the formation of the Republican party he affiliated with that organization and was always interested in politics, though never an active participant in campaign work. He served his country faithfully as a soldier during the war of 1812. He was a member of the Baptist church and in all life's relations was held to be a successful man. The maternal great-grandparents of our subject were William and Rebecca (Robinson) Dunlap. The former was one of the brave soldiers of the war of the Revolution, serving faithfully until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in October, 1784. In that year, at the close of his army service, he removed west with his family and settled in the wilderness of Kentucky. It was a wild and rugged country, with no schools and few other advantages of the eastern civilization.