Clark County Ohio Biographies

H. W. CALENDAR, photographic artist, Springfield. Mr. H. W. Calendar was ushered on the stage of existence on the 22d of July, 1847, in Union County; came to Springfield first in 1866; he worked with J. E Smith, photographer here, until January, 1870, and, in December of the same year, he married Miss Jennie Baldwin, at her home in Logan County, locating thereafter in Champaign County. In 1875, be returned to Springfield and opened an elegant photographic studio in the “Commercial Building,” with the finest and most modern appliances, and pronounced by some, at the time it was opened, to be the best in Ohio. Mr. Calendar is a man of excellent judgment, nice artistic taste and great particularity, and turns out perfect work. Both of Mr. Calendar’s parents are living in Champaign County and his wife has presented him with one son and two daughters. Our subject is the leader in his profession, and gets, as he deserves, the best patronage of Springfield.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 800

HON. THOMAS L. CALVERT. Clark County is located admirably for the successful prosecution of farming, for the soil is exceedingly fertile and productive, the climatic conditions are almost ideal and transportation facilities are practically unsurpassed. However, although the agriculturist here is possessed of these advantages, he cannot compete successfully with his fellows unless he carries on his operations according to modern ideas, including the use of highly improved equipment. That the majority of the farmers of this region are progressive is proven by the large number of finely-developed farms to be found all over Clark County, a fact that has raised very materially the standard of excellence here and placed Clark County among the leaders in agriculture in Ohio. One of the men who has assisted in bringing about this desirable consummation is Hon. Thomas L. Calvert, the owner of a fine property in Madison Township, on Selma Rural Route 1, and a member of the Ohio State Legislature.

Representative Calvert was born at Georgetown, Maryland, December 20, 1858, and is a son of Thomas L. and Elizabeth (Paist) Calvert. Thomas L. Calvert was born at Newtown, Pennsylvania, in 1824 and removed from his native state to Maryland, where he spent some years, returning to Pennsylvania in 1859. Mrs. Calvert was born at Media, Pennsylvania. Thomas L. Calvert of this review received his early education in Pennsylvania, and had just passed his twelfth year when he came to Clark County with a brother and settled on a farm. After three years he went to Newtown, Pennsylvania, where he entered a select school conducted by the Society of Friends, and remained as a students therein for three years. For two years thereafter he was employed in a general store at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, following which he again came to Ohio and became a clerk in the Hollingsworth general store at Selma and remained one year. Mr. Calvert and his brother then bought Mr. Hollingsworth’s interests, which included a general store, grain elevator and coal yard, and were associated in business until 1892, in which year Mr. Calvert disposed of his holdings to his brother and purchased his present farm in Madison Township, on which he has carried on successful operations ever since. At this time he is the owner of 125 acres, but operates 330 acres, and is an up-to-date agriculturist in every respect. He has made a success of his business through good management and a thorough study of his vocation, backed by incessant industry, and may freely be said to be the architect of his fortunes, for what he owns he has achieved through the work of his own hands.

Mr. Calvert is a member of the Friends Church, and as a fraternalist is affiliated with the Masonic order. A stalwart republican in his political allegiance, he has been one of the wheel-horses of his party in Clark County for a number of years and has been called upon frequently to accept the responsibilities of public office. He was township trustee and a member of the Board of School Directors for some years, and when his agricultural knowledge was recognized was elected secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, a position which he held for four years. He was also chief of the State Dairy and Food Department for a period of three years. In 1920 Mr. Calvert was sent to the State House of Representatives as the representative of his district, and his record in that body has been an admirable one. He has been faithful in looking after the needs of his constituents, and has supported worthy legislation in all cases.

On June 14, 1888, Mr. Calvert was united in marriage with Miss Ella F. Warner, who was born in Madison Township, Clark County, a daughter of Simeon and Elizabeth Warner. Mrs. Calvert was given good educational advantages, and completed her schooling at Baltimore, Maryland. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Calvert: Leland S., a graduate of Earlham College, of Richmond, Indiana, who is now engaged in agricultural operations in Clark County; J. Donald, also a graduate of that institution, who also is farming in this part of Ohio; and Helen F., a graduate of Earlham, who is now teaching in the high school at Selma.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 16

DAVID H. CAMPBELL is postmaster of Plattsburg, and is a member of the firm Campbell and Price, general merchants and dealers in grain, coal and seeds. He has been continuously in business in that rural town of Harmony Township for over thirty years, and is one of the very substantial citizens of that section of Clark County. Mr. Campbell was born on a farm in Harmony Township, January 14, 1858. His father, Samuel D. Campbell, was also a native of Harmony Township, had a public school education there, and married Mary (Jones) Foreman, who was born in Illinois and was married there, she and her husband then locating in Harmony Township of Clark County, where Mr. Foreman died. Samuel D. Campbell after his marriage followed farming, and at the time of the Civil war enlisted at Springfield in the Union Army, and died while in the service. He and his wife were members of the Christian Church. Of their four children two are now living, David H. and Melyne B., the latter of Cedarville, Ohio. David H. Campbell was only a small boy when his father died. He spent several years in Springfield, but about 1865 his mother returned to Harmony Township, and he grew up there. He had a common school education, and as a boy began working for his own support. For a time he was in the employ of the man who owned the store now conducted by Campbell and Price. He was also in the grain business, was employed for a time by Hamilton and Brooks, and for four or five years he operated a tile factory. He then bought the store at Plattsburg owned by John Nicholson & Company, in 1890, and two years later John Price bought into the business and the firm of Campbell and Price has now been in existence for thirty years. In 1879 Mr. Campbell married Jennie Hartman, who was born at South Vienna, Ohio. She died July 29, 1920, and was long a faithful member of the Christian Church. Their two children were Jessie, who died in 1901, and Freeman. Freeman is a graduate of High School and the Ohio Wesleyan University of Delaware, and by his marriage to Jessie Grube has two sons, David A. and Robert. Mr. Campbell is affiliated with Fielding Lodge No. 192, F. and A. M., and has filled the chairs in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. He is treasurer of the Home Telephone Company of Plattsburg, and he has been postmaster under the civil service rules for a number of years. He was formerly a democrat, but is now a republican in politics.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 218

LEWIS C. CARMIN, farmer. Benjamin Carmin, his grandfather, was a native of Maryland, and came to Ohio about 1812, and settled in this county and township. In 1827, he was summoned out of this world by the angel of death; his wife survived him several years. Lewis, the father of our subject, was born April 13, 1800, and was united in marriage with his wife, Mary, in 1825; she was born Oct. 2, 1807. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom eleven are now living, viz.: Elizabeth, Benjamin B., James A., Zilph, William E., Rebecca, David S., Lewis C., Sarah J., Emily D., Abraham B. In 1825, Mr. Carmin purchased the farm, where he resided until his death which occurred in 1874. Mr. Carmin still resides on the farm with Lewis, the subject of this sketch, who has always lived with his parents with the exception of nine years. Emily, now Mrs. William Edmason, also lives with her mother. They were married May 23, 1875, and have had two children, viz., Asa A., born June 4, 1876, and Darrow C., born Jan. 5, 1881.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1015

SAMUEL H. CARR, hotel and livery, South Charleston; was born near Jeffersonville, Fayette Co., Ohio, Dec. 23, 1842; was the son of Michael and Mary Carr. He was a native of Ohio, and his wife of Virginia; a farmer by occupation; his death occurred June 19, 1871, aged 60 years. His wife still survives him, and remains upon the home farm. They were the parents of nine children, all now living, and grandparents of thirty-nine children, and great-grandparents to five children. The subject of this sketch stayed upon the farm with his father until the age of 18 years when he enlisted in Co. C, 90th O. V. I., and served two and a half years, and was engaged in many hard-fought battles, viz.: Perrysville, Ky.; Cross Roads, Ky.; Stone River, Tenn.; Resaca, Ga., and many others of minor importance, and on June 20, 1864, was engaged in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, where he received a wound in his left arm, and on the 13th of July following his arm was amputated three inches below the shoulder joint. He received his discharge at Columbus Sept. 20, 1864. He now receives a pension of $24 per month. On the 28th of January, 1868, he united in marriage with Miss Ardilla A. McIntire, of Jeffersonville, Ohio (and daughter of Lucius and Elizabeth McIntire, natives of Ohio); was born Sept. 13, 1845. They are the parents of three children, all now living, one son and two daughters, viz.: Charles L., born March 31, 1870; Mary M., April 27, 1874; Ada B., Nov. 5, 1878.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1060

WARREN N. CARTER, dealer in cigars and tobacco, Springfield. Mr. Carter, although a young man yet, is possessor of that happy faculty of knowing how to please his customers and drive business. He was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1856; is the son of J. L. Carter, an old and respected citizen of Dayton. Warren came to Springfield, Clark Co., Ohio, in 1877, and opened the Palace Cigar Store, which he sold in 1880 to Ed C. Leffel, and, in February, 1881, again became its proprietor. He is located at No. 37 Limestone street, Lagonda House Block, where he keeps a full and complete stock of cigars and tobacco, all of the purest and best quality.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 801

P. M. CARTMELL, Springfield Cracker Works, Springfield. This gentleman is a native of Clark Co., Ohio, born July 8, 1848, and is the son of Nathaniel and Mary (Lafland) Cartmell, also natives of this county; his grandparents, Nathaniel and Rebecca (Van Metre) Cartmell, were natives of Virginia, and came to this county about 1810, settling in Pleasant Township, where his grandfather, about 1822, built a flouring-mill on the South Branch of Buck Creek, to which he afterward added a woolen-mill and distillery. P. M. is the second in a family of seven children, viz., Sarah A., the wife of William A. Sheets, of Marietta, Ohio; P. M.; Ann E., the wife of William Neer, of Catawba; Marietta, the wife of Henry Erter, of Springfield; Henry C., Charles M. and William M., also of the last-mentioned city. His mother is dead, but his father is a resident of Springfield. The subject of this sketch grew up on his father’s farm in Pleasant Township, and, in 1867, entered Wittenberg College, where he spent three years, and, in 1871, entered the University of Wooster, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1872, being third in his class. He followed teaching six years, the last three of which he was in charge of the high school of Circleville, Ohio. He was married, Aug. 2, 1876, at Bellefontaine, Ohio, to Mary McG. Patterson, a native of Logan County, to whom has been born one child, Edward P. In the fall of 1878, he purchased the old cracker works on Washington street, Springfield, and, the following spring, fitted up the present factory on Center street, where, under the name of Cartmell & Erter, a paying trade has been established. Politically, a Republican. Mr. Cartwell is one of the live, progressive young men of Springfield.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 801

THOMAS J. CASPER, M.D., druggist, Springfield. Dr. Casper is one of the few druggists who have, by study and application, become properly competent to handle drugs. He is a native of New Jersey; his ancestry have been for many years residents of that State. He was born in Salem County in 1838; while a youth, he went to Philadelphia to attend school, and, at 20 years of age, graduated at Union Academy, at that time the best private school in Philadelphia; he then entered upon the study of medicine, and spent the three following winters at the University of Pennsylvania, the oldest and among the best colleges of medicine in the United States, at which he graduated in March, 1861; soon after his graduation, he was offered the position of Assistant Surgeon of the 4th N. J. V., but, having determined to engage in the drug trade, he declined the offer and entered a drug-store, where he had opportunity to obtain practical knowledge of pharmacy; during the following winter—1861-62—he attended a course of lectures at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, under the celebrated Prof. William Proctor, and, during the following spring, purchased a drug store at West Chester, Penn., which he conducted for over three years with marked success, but desiring to “go West,” sold out and came to Ohio, and decided to locate in Springfield, and accordingly commenced in business here in 1868, at his present location, 41 East Main street; his strictly temperate habits, thorough medical knowledge, pharmaceutical skill and business energy, ability and strict integrity, won friends and the confidence of physicians, and thus secured a large and increasing trade. Notwithstanding the jealousy of some physicians on account of his being a graduate of medicine, such is his reputation for keeping none but first-class drugs, and for integrity and care in recommending them, that he has the patronage of two-thirds of the physicians of that county, while his trade in family medicines is unequaled by any other druggist in the city. Thus, while he is just entering the prime of life, he has justly earned and obtained a prominent place among the business men of Springfield, and has enlarging prospects before him. He was a constituent member of the Ohio State Pharmaceutical Association; was its first Secretary, and is now Chairman of the Executive Committee; he is also a prominent member of the National Pharmaceutical Association, and widely known as a pharmacist of rare skill, and a gentleman of more than ordinary culture.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 801

CLARENCE ANDREW CHASE. One of the best-known hotel executives of the country is Clarence Andrew Chase, who for the last five years has been manager of the Hotel Bancroft, Springfield’s leading and most popular hostelry. Mr. Chase’s youthful inclinations were along the lines of a musical career, but circumstances developed that directed him toward his present vocation, one in which he has attained an unqualified success.

Mr. Chase was born at Portland, Maine, May 3, 1872, a son of Andrew J. and Hattie (Lowney) Chase. His father was a native of Sagadahoc County, Maine, and a member of the old Chase family of New England, from which was descended the Hon. Salmon P. Chase, the Ohio statesman. Andrew J. Chase was for many years agent for the Travelers Insurance Company for the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. He was a very prominent public man, a fine speaker and a man of prepossessing appearance, and his services were much sought after in the promotion of welfare work, both local and state-wide. He was an able assistant to Neal Dow in the temperance movement which made the State of Maine “dry,” and his death, which occurred in 1898, removed from his community an able, reliable and greatly-respected citizen. His widow, who is now residing at Dorchester, Massachusetts, is a daughter of William Lowney, the noted candy manufacturer, who originated and manufactured “Philadelphia caramels,” and a sister of Walter Lowney, who manufactured the brand of chocolates which bear his name.

Clarence A. Chase was reared at Woodfords, a suburb of Portland, and was educated in the public schools and at business college. Always musically inclined, and of some talent, he was the leader of his own orchestra when he was but eighteen years of age, at which time he became a student of violin at the New England Conservatory of Music at Boston. About that time business reverses overtook his father and it became necessary for young Chase to go to work. Accordingly, in answer to an advertisement, he secured the position of cashier in the buffet of the old and famous Tremont Hotel at Boston. As soon as his father learned of his employment he arranged to have him transferred to the cafe, where he also served as cashier, and it was while with the old Tremont that he laid the foundation for his later success in the hotel business. He served his apprenticeship in all the different departments of the Tremont, and at the age of twenty-two years was holding the position of chief clerk of that historic hostelry. The Tremont was then under the management of R. A. Stranahan, whose sons, Robert and Frank, are now proprietors of the Champion Spark Plug Company, of Toledo, Ohio, manufacturers of the automobile spark plug of that name. The old Tremont closed its doors four years after Mr. Chase joined its organization, and for a time thereafter he was identified with the Prebble House, of Portland. Subsequently he joined Mr. Stranahan in the management of the old Stuart House, at the corner of Forty-first Street and Broadway, New York City. Later he entered the commissary department of the Pennsylvania Railway Company, and still later of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railway Company. He was commissary agent for this line, in charge of all dining cars and restaurants, but resigned from this position to become chief clerk of the Imperial Hotel, New York City. In 1910 he left the Imperial to join the organization of the Hotel LaSalle, Chicago, where he was chief clerk for four years, leaving that hotel to go to Spokane, Washington, to assist in the equipment and become manager of the Hotel Davenport, then being made ready for opening. This hotel, with only 335 rooms, was built and equipped at a cost of $2,235,000, and is today considered the finest establishment in the United States. In 1917 Mr. Chase returned to the Imperial, at New York City, temporarily, and in July of that year came to Springfield, at the invitation of its New York owners, to take charge of the Hotel Bancroft, which at that time, through mismanagement, was on the eve of closing its doors. Under the supervision of Mr. Chase the Bancroft has been improved in every respect, and has won the reputation of being the best managed hotel not only in Springfield but in the entire state, with improvements being carried forward all the time.

Mr. Chase is chairman of the board of governors for the State of Ohio of “the Greeters of America,” a hotel managers’ organization, and is district vice president of the Ohio State Hotel Association. He was made a Mason in Continental Lodge No. 76, Waterbury, Connecticut, and advanced to the Rose Croix degree by Cascade Chapter, Spokane, Washington.

Mr. Chase married Mary Edith Perry, daughter of Charles S. Perry, one of the men who made possible the manufacture of watches by machinery, and for years connected with the Elgin Watch Company, of Elgin, Illinois.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 404

MILTON CHENEY. One of the most substantial representatives of the farming interests of Clark County is Milton Cheney, of South Charleston. He has devoted upwards of half a century to his tasks and responsibilities, has prospered, owns a fine and well developed farm, and has rendered a great deal of community service in the intervals of his business career.

Mr. Cheney was born on a farm in Madison Township, July 7, 1850, son of Jonathan and Matilda (Harpall) Cheney. His father was born near Mechanicsburg, Champaign County, Ohio, and his mother, in Greene County. Jonathan Cheney after a common school education came to Clark County, located on a farm, arid became widely known as a cattle man and stock trader. He was very successful and left a large property at his death. He was a member of the Universalist Church, was a charter member of the Madison Lodge of Odd Fellows and is also affiliated with Fielding Lodge No. 192, Free and Accepted Masons. He was a staunch republican in politics. His family consists of three children: William, deceased; Rebecca, living in California, widow of Milton Young, and Milton.

Milton Cheney had the training of a farm boy, was educated in the public schools, and was with his parents until the age of twenty-one. On April 27, 1871, he married Addie Sprague, a native of Harmony Township. Five children were born to their marriage: Mollie, wife of G. B. Hicks; Miss Harriet B.; Pearl, who is city manager of South Charleston; Howard L., superintendent and treasurer of a business at Franklin, Ohio; Scott, who lives with his father.

The daughter, Miss Harriet B., has for twenty-one years been superintendent and manager of the local Telephone Company, and has proved an exceedingly capable business woman, handling all the buying and other duties of the management.

Mr. Cheney’s large and productive farm comprises 350 acres. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is affiliated with Fielding Lodge No. 192, Free and Accepted Masons, is a past grand and past chief patriot in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and a republican. His public service comprises thirty-two years of membership on the School Board of Madison Township. For twelve years he served as township trustee, and in 1894 was elected and served two terms as a county commissioner.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 67

JAMES S. CHRISTIE, real estate and insurance agent, Springfield. James S. Christie is one of the oldest business men of Springfield; he was born in New Boston, N. H., Sept. 6, 1798; the maiden name of his mother was Rebecca Smith; her marriage with Robert Christie was consummated in 1796; she died in 1804, leaving four children—James S., Mary, Jesse and Rebecca (deceased in 1845). Mr. Christie married his second wife, Mrs. Sarah Ordway, in 1807; she was the mother of Sewell and John Ordway by her first husband; by her union with Mr. Christie, she became the mother of Sarah and Robert Christie, and one other child, that died in infancy. They emigrated to Vermont, and from there to Springfield, Ohio, arriving in October, 1817. Mr. Christie, being a carpenter, and aided by his son James, the subject of this sketch, built a large flat-boat, and launched it at Olean, the head of navigation on the Allegheny River; they were joined by two other families who wished to come West, and their passengers were thus increased to thirty; the river in many places was very rough, and they were forced to employ Indian pilots; Indian wigwams lined the entire west bank of the river, but they treated our voyagers kindly. They arrived safely at Cincinnati in June, 1817, and, in the fall of the same year, came to Springfield, which was at that time only a small hamlet, containing perhaps 400 inhabitants; there is but part of one brick house now standing that was here when Mr. Christie came; the magnificent city of Springfield, with her population of 21,000, and her large manufactories, have all grown since his coming. James was married to Miss Laura Beardsley, Feb. 22, 1824; her parents were natives of Connecticut, and her father, Elijah Beardsley, was a Revolutionary soldier; his wife was Miss Sarah Hubbell; they came to Ohio in 1811. James and his wife are parents of eleven children, four living—Mary, Edward P., Harlen P. and James B.; all are married and living in Springfield except Harlen, who resides in Decatur, Ill. Mr. Christie engaged in contracting and building until 1847, when he established a planing-mill and sash-factory, which he managed for ten years. In 1860, he was elected Justice of the Peace, and served six years, since which time he has engaged in the real estate and insurance business, etc., etc. He furnished three noble sons to do battle for their country during the late civil war, who enlisted at the first call for troops, and gallantly engaged in several of the hardest-fought battles of the war. One wonderful circumstance connected with the Christie family is in the fact of the celebration of the golden wedding of the three children who came to Springfield in 1817, and all of them are as hale as many persons many years younger. Mr. and Mrs. Christie have been members of the Presbyterian Church nearly half a century, forty-seven years of which Mr. Christie has been an officer in the church; would that we had many more like them. His father, Robert Christie, died in September, 1823, aged 47 years, and his wife in 1852: they were estimable people, and have left a posterity who do honor to their name.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 802

JESSE CHRISTIE; is a resident of Springfield. This venerable gentleman, rapidly nearing the goal of four-score years—nearly sixty-five of which have been passed in Clark County—was born of parents of Irish descent. His immediate parents, Robert Christie and Rebecca (Smith) Christie, were natives of the State of New Hampshire—the former of New Boston, Hillsboro Co., and the latter of Mt. Vernon, same county. The mother died in her native State in 1804, when our subject was a babe. Their children were James S., Mary, Jesse and Rebecca. Mr. Christie was married the second time in 1806, and died in Springfield, Ohio, in 1822, at the age of 47 years. Our subject was also a native of New Boston, N. H., born March 25, 1802. The family removed to Vermont in the year 1811, and, in 1817, to Clark County, Ohio. Mr. Christie’s early youth was passed in the country, his father being a tiller of the soil. In later years, he learned the carpenter’s trade in Springfield, which he followed many years, having assisted in building many of the early-built houses of the city. He also, for a period of years, was engaged in mercantile pursuits. He assisted in constructing the cupola erected on the first court house of Clark County. On the 28th of January, 1829, Mr. Christie was united in marriage with Miss Martha S. Lowry, daughter of David Lowry, and to them were born the following children: David L., James W., Martha S., Charles B., Mary E. and Sarah R.—two dying in infancy without having been named. The parents are members of the First Presbyterian Church of the city, to which Mr. Christie has belonged for more than half a century. During his long term of years as a citizen of Springfield, he has ever been highly respected and esteemed by the community at large.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 953

CHARLES M. CLARK, wool merchant, Springfield; is one of the old residents of Clark County, having resided here from his infancy; he was born in Coshocton Co., Ohio, in 1808; his parents, James and Martha Clark, were natives of Virginia and removed to this county about 1811, settling in what is now Moorefield Township. The subject of this sketch remained with his parents during his youth; they being poor, could not give him any start in life, but, being ambitious, he started for himself, without means, and soon saved enough to get a horse and saddle, which, with a little money, formed the capital with which he commenced a remarkable career as a stock-dealer and wool-buyer, for, although he began poor in purse, by honest effort he won friends, and, by energy and care in business, had accumulated about $25,000 previous to his marriage, which occurred in 1846, and he continued to enlarge his business operations until the “Foos failure,” which involved him and swept away a good fortune; but still he is now in good circumstances, and the firm of which he is a member handled about 125,000 pounds of wool the past season. He owns a handsome residence property on East High street, No. 359, which he purchased in 1869, and which has been his family residence since 1870, his former residence being on a farm of 240 acres in Moorefield Township, which he still owns, and also owns another tract of 200 acres in the same neighborhood. He formerly kept large numbers of cattle, and was the prime mover in forming the company which made the first and only direct importation of fine stock from England to this county; he at one time owned the finest herd of short-horns in this part of the State, and was prominent in getting up the great stock show here; but of late years, he has turned his attention to sheep, and feeds large numbers each winter for the spring market. In his younger days, Mr. Clark was a very active, public-spirited citizen; he was the largest stockholder residing in this county of the first banking association formed here, and continued to hold his stock until the misfortune before referred to compelled him to sell his stock to maintain his integrity, which was his only capital in the beginning. He was also active and prominent in forming the agricultural society, and took an active interest in the society for many years. His wife, Flora, nee Foley, is a daughter of Absalom Foley; her father’s family were also among the early settlers of Moorefield Township. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are the parents of ten children; a daughter died in infancy, and one son, William C., died in his 22d year; four sons and four daughters are living, and all are at home.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 805

JAMES CLARK, capitalist, New Moorefield. A descendant of two old pioneer families of Clark Co.; was born in this county Nov. 21, 1838, a son of John D. and Susannah (Foley) Clark, he a native of Virginia, and she of Ohio, and a grandson of James Clark, also born in Virginia, but who became an early settler of Clark Co., and afterward of Champaign Co., where he resided until death. The maternal grandfather, James Foley, also a native of Virginia, became one of the early pioneers of Clark Co., locating here about 1803 or 1805, while the Indians were still the principal occupants of the then almost unbroken forest, when there was but one store in Springfield, and four or five houses constituted the town. In this county he spent the remainder of his life. Although possessed of only a limited education, from the meager advantages of schools in those days, yet he possessed great natural talent, and was a very active and powerful man, both physically and intellectually. He became thoroughly known and held the respect and confidence of the people; was chosen a representative to the State Legislature two terms, and served his constituents faithfully. We may safely believe that had he in his early life possessed the advantages of our present generation, he would have arisen to distinction. John D. Clark came to this county with his parents when but a child was raised to farm labor, grew to manhood, was married and located upon the farm where he still lives and has resided during his entire business life. He has been a man of great activity, and has not confined himself to the mere routine of farm labor, but his mind carried him into a more active field, that of an extensive stock dealer. For thirty years he did a large trade, buying through this country and the west as far as Illinois, driving large droves of cattle to Philadelphia and the Eastern markets, often throwing into market from two to three thousand head of cattle in a single year; has also dealt extensively in wool and pork, in all of which he was generally successful, as known by the fact that, in 1870, when he retired from business, he was worth over $200,000, which was mostly made by his own labor, skill and good management, which is perhaps a record of success surpassed by but very few in that day, or even since. In 1872, he had a stroke of paralysis, from which he has never fully recovered, although, physically, he still enjoys good health for one of his advanced age. His wife died May 8, 1876. Of an issue of four children, there were three daughters and one son—Mary C. (now Mrs. Pratt), Martha J. (now Mrs. R. A. Calvert, of Portsmouth, Ohio, whose husband now is Judge of the Court of that county), James, and Anna E. (now Mrs. W. M. Yeazell, of Springfield). Our subject, being an only son, has always remained with his father and assisted him in his business, and grew up with the advantages and observations of his father’s plans and successes in business, and as his father advanced in years James gradually took the care and charge of his business affairs, till 1870, when his father retired from active life, since which he has taken the entire control and management. Mr. Clark is engaged in raising and dealing in a moderate yet profitable degree in trotting horses; has raised some of the finest horses in Clark Co.; has raised and trained horses which he has sold at prices as high as $20,000, and is justly recognized as one of the leading men in this line of business in this portion of Ohio. The Clark farm consists of 657 acres of most excellent land in a high state of cultivation, with fine and substantial buildings, with every arrangement for convenience and comfort, and is one of the best grain and stock farms in Clark Co. Mr. Clark is well known not only in his county, but his reputation extends far and wide throughout the country among all the prominent men who are interested devotees in fine horses; has been an active member of the Clark County Board of Agriculture for six years; has held various township offices, and is now Township Treasurer, which office he has held for eight years. He was married, Jan. 20, 1870, to Miss Emma S., only child of Charles and Mary (Taylor) Morgan, he a native of England and she of Ohio, but of English descent. Two children have been the fruits of this union, one of whom is living—Emerson Eugene Clark. Mr. Clark is one of the most pleasant and affable gentlemen it has been our good fortune to have met with in the county. He is an educated, well-read man, who keeps apace with the progress and development of the age; a man imbued with a proper spirit of liberality, taking an active interest in everything tending to the general welfare of his native county, of which he is a worthy and highly respected citizen.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 983

MILTON CLARK, Cashier of the Bank of South Charleston, South Charleston. To the gentleman whose name appear above we are pleased to allot a space in the biographical album of this work. Henry Clark, his grandfather, was born and raised in South Carolina. In 1804, he, with his wife and three children, emigrated to Ohio and settled in Warren Co., where he purchased 600 acres of land, half of which was to be the property of his brother Jonathan on arriving at his majority. He had made some considerable improvement in the way of clearing and erecting buildings, when one Walter Dun contested the title of his land. This put a stop to all improvement, and the barn which he had built, and which was the first frame barn on the Miami River in that county, stood incomplete till after the final decision in 1840, when our subject finished it. The struggle for the rights of his property lasted nearly thirty years, and ruined him financially. He was a Quaker, a man or decisive integrity and vivid intellect. Hard work and exposure broke him down in middle age; these, together with the difficulty before mentioned, made him an early victim for the grave. He died about 1835, having been the father of five children— John, Jonathan, Henry, Cornelius and Elizabeth. Jonathan, the father of Milton Clark, was born in South Carolina in 1797. He was raised to agricultural pursuits, which was his principal occupation through life. For a number of years, however, he was unable to perform manual labor. Owing to an asthmatic affection, he did not sleep an entire night in bed for twenty years. He was identified with the principal offices of the township, and did a great deal of business for other parties. His marriage was celebrated in 1818 with Henrietta, daughter of Daniel and Mary Stump, who emigrated from Frederick Co., Va., in 1817, and located in Warren Co., Ohio. Jonathan and Henrietta Clark were the parents of six children—Milton, Mary, Cornelius A., Daniel W., Eliza and Matilda. The last two died in youth. The survivors are the three sons. Jonathan Clark departed this life July 4, 1842. His wife survived till 1875, and died at the age of 75. Milton, the subject of this memoir, was born in Warren Co., Dec. 18, 1819. Being the oldest of the children, and his father an invalid, he was called upon to take charge of his father’s affairs at a very early period of his life. He and his good mother did most of the rearing of the family. He was engaged in farming principally till 28 years of age. In the mean time, he attempted to read medicine, but his health failed, and he went West to recruit. In 1849, he gave up farming entirely and went into the drug business, which he continued till 1857, when he engaged in the grain and grocery trade. For four years he was railroad and express agent. In December, 1863, he was elected Cashier of the First National Bank of South Charleston, which position he retained after the bank became a private institution, and still holds it with credit to himself and satisfaction on the part of the people. On the 9th of November, 1852, he married Miss Sarah Tibbals. She was born in Montgomery Co. Aug. 5, 1827. To this union three children were given—Flora E., Mary and Bertha. The last two died in infancy. Mrs. Sarah Clark died in 1866, a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. In October of 1868 he married Mrs. C. A. Horney, widow of Lieut. Paris Horney, who died in a rebel prison at Columbia, S. C. She was born Dec. 6, 1836. Kearn was her maiden name. Mr. Clark, wife and daughter are members of the Presbyterian Church, and in the town of South Charleston and surrounding country he is recognized as a man of straightforward business habits, whose character is above reproach.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1061

SAMUEL CLARK, retired grocer, Springfield. The venerable and prepossessing form and features of Samuel Clark are like household words—familiar to all. In Mr. Clark is found a fine illustration of a well-rounded, creditable career and an honorable life, prolonged to a ripe old age, still in the full possession of clear and acute faculties. Mr. Clark was born “in the year one” (1801), in Monongalia Co., W. Va., and came to Springfield in the spring of 1849. Miss Hannah May, whom he married in 1825, came from Butler Co., Ohio, but was born in Warren County; their only son, John H. Clark, born in Butler County, married Miss Lottie Dilce, of Piqua, a lovely and accomplished woman, who has borne him one son. Mr. Clark was for many years prominent here in the grocery trade, from which he retired several years ago, having accumulated considerable wealth, and is now enjoying, in quiet ease, the fruits of his efforts of former years. Mr. Clark is a consistent and honored member of the Second Presbyterian Church. An incident related by Mr. Clark aptly illustrates the growth of Springfield industries and the thrift that follows continued effort in the right direction. He says Mr. W. N. Whiteley, of the firm of Whiteley, Fassler & Kelly, millionaire manufacturers, little more than a score of years ago came into his (Mr. Clark’s) store and asked him to step into his little shop and see a new reaper he had made; complying, Mr. Whiteley pulled it around over the floor of the contracted shop and endeavored to illustrate its excellences, but made no very strong impression on Mr. Clark’s mind. But Mr. Whiteley persevered, and lo! now the Champion works employ hundreds of thousands of capital, thousands of men, and their business is reckoned by millions of dollars. So much for Davy Crockett’s maxim!

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 806

ALFRED L. CLARKE, engraver, Springfield. Thomas P. Clarke, the father of our subject, was born in Providence, R. I., on Nov. 15, 1832; came with his parents to Springfield in 1843, when only 11 years old; attended Wittenberg College, then studied law, and in due course was admitted to the bar. Here he met his wife, Miss Sarah A. _______ , whom he married on the 29th of June, 1856. Mrs. Clarke came to Springfield in 1850, from Lancaster Co., Penn., where she was born May 15, 1835. When the war broke out, Mr. T. P. Clarke recruited the 110th O. V. C., in which he enlisted as Captain on Oct. 1, 1861, serving until April 1, 1865. After the war, he became interested in mining interests in Montana, thus continuing until 1868, after which he served successively as City Clerk and Township Clerk for several years, dying April 1, 1872, at Mound City, Ill. Of Mr. and Mrs. Clarke’s three children, Alfred Louis was born April 6, 1857; Frank Hawthorne, Jan. 2, 1859; and Nellie Hope, Feb. 28, 1861—all in Springfield, and all live with their mother at their home, No. 70 Clark street; Alfred and Frank are engravers, occupying an office in the new Bookwalter Block, and stand high in their art, as well as in the estimation of the community, as young men of excellent morals, strict integrity and sterling qualities. The work of the young Clarke brothers is placed in successful competition with that of New York engravers, both as to quality and price. The late Thomas P. Clarke is too fresh in the minds of his surviving friends to make more extended mention here necessary.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 805

OLIVER C. CLARKE. Veteran honors in the abstract of title business in Clark County go to Oliver C. Clarke, who has lived in Springfield all his life, and two generations of his family preceded him here. Mr. Clarke has been active in the business life of the city for forty years.

His grandparents, Oliver and Elizabeth (Strong) Clarke, were both natives of New England, and they went south to the State of Georgia to teach school. Their own children, however, they could not permit to remain and grow up in an influence blighted by the institution of slavery, and, therefore, in 1837 they came north to Ohio. Oliver Clarke acquired 180 acres of land in Clark County, and practically all of that property is now within the city limits of Springfield. He was a man of much force of character, well versed in general affairs, and was elected and served as one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas. He died in 1855. Oliver Clark also at one time was president of the old Springfield Bank, out of which the present First National Bank is a modern development. Oliver Clark was reared a Presbyterian, but in Springfield became a charter member of the First Congregational Church. He and his wife had nine children, all now deceased.

The son, Charles E. Clarke, was born in Georgia, July 25, 1830, and was seven years of age when brought by his parents to Springfield. He was reared and educated here, began his active career as clerk in a store, and later was in a book and publishing house at Dayton. Early in the Civil war he joined a friend who was adjutant general of the State of Missouri, and was assigned to the commissary department, with the rank of captain. Subsequently he was promoted to major. After the war he established himself in business at Independence, Missouri, and laid the foundation of his fortune in the lumber business. He also lived three years at Fort Scott, Kansas, and from there returned to Springfield, where he spent the rest of his life and where he died in March, 1876.

Charles E. Clarke married Mary Christie, and their two children were Frances, now deceased, and Oliver C. Charles E. Clarke was an able business man, quiet and unassuming in character, and earned the respect and honor of all who knew him.

Oliver C. Clarke, son of the late Major Clarke, was born in Springfield, July 9, 1861. He was educated in the public schools of that city, and graduated from Wittenberg College in 1883. Mr. Clarke has been in the abstract of title business in Springfield for twenty-seven years. He is also one of the directors in the Merchants and Mechanics Savings and Loan Association.

He married Jessie Allen in 1918, and they have one daughter, Emily.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 119

OLIVER T. CLARKE. The wearisome sameness that frequently attends the continuous following of a single line of effort has never been a feature of the career of Oliver T. Clarke, of Springfield, draughtsman for the Hobart Manufacturing Company. His has been a life in which he has followed several lines of industry and in which each step has been a forward one. Mr. Clarke is a native of St. Mary’s Parish, Louisiana, and was born October 25, 1885, a son of Hiram F. and Nelly (Thomson) Clarke, natives of Springfield.

The paternal grandparents of Mr. Clarke, Oliver and Elizabeth (Strong) Clarke, were born in Southampton, Massachusetts, and shortly after their marriage moved to Decatur, Georgia. They resided there for some years, and Mr. Clarke conducted a store in partnership with a Mr. Willard. Later they came to Springfield. Hiram F. Clarke attended the public schools of Springfield, and as a young man went to Cincinnati, where he learned the hardware business with the firm of Henry Hammet & Son. Returning to Springfield, he embarked in the hardware business on his own account and, later, in partnership with his brother Lewis S. Clarke, conducted a sugar plantation in St. Mary’s Parish, Louisiana. Returning to Springfield in 1887, he connected himself with the Springfield Seed Company, subsequently identifying himself with the wholesale paper business. He then became one of the organizers of the Star Paper and Box Company, on West Pleasant Street, and some time later this was changed to the Clarke Paper Box Company, of which he was the head until his retirement. He died June 21, 1914, greatly respected and esteemed by all who knew him. Mrs. Clarke, who survives him, resides at 525 North Wittenberg Street, Springfield. She is a daughter of James I. and Lavinia G. (Snyder) Thomson, natives of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The former for some years was bookkeeper for the firm of Counts & Comeback, early dry goods merchants of Springfield. Mr. and Mrs. Clarke had two children: Oliver T., and James, who died in infancy.

Oliver T. Clarke attended the graded and high schools of Springfield, withdrawing from the latter in 1902, and at that time started to learn the vocation of machinist at the plant of the Owen Machine Tool Company, where he spent three years. After mastering his trade he worked thereat at various places, including the George Rogers Tool Works and the Foos Gas Engine Company, but left the latter in August, 1908, and became identified with the firm of Staley & Bowman, patent attorneys, as a draughtsman, an occupation in which he had become proficient by attendance at the Young Men’s Christian Association night classes and by a course with the International Correspondence School. Leaving the latter in the fall of 1911, he became identified with the American Seeding Machine Company as draughtsman, continuing until April of the following year. On April 13, 1912, he started to work as a tool designer for the Robbins & Myers Company and remained with that firm until September 17, 1921. On November 14 of the same year he became connected with the Hobart Manufacturing Company of Troy, Ohio, who manufacture coffee grinders, meat grinders, food mixers, etc. He still maintains his connection with this concern and is now engaged in doing the company’s experimental drafting. Mr. Clarke is a member of Christ Episcopal Church at Springfield, and is fraternally affiliated with St. Andrews Lodge No. 619, F. and A. M., and Springfield Chapter No. 48, R. A. M.

On June 28, 1916, Mr. Clarke married Miss Blanche Gardner, who was born November 22, 1882, at Springfield, Ohio, daughter of Frank and Kathryn (Garrett) Gardner, the former born at Fredericktown, Maryland, and the latter in Springfield. Mrs. Clarke, who graduated in 1905 from Wittenberg College, traveled in Europe and the United States, followed the educator’s profession for several years, and taught at the high schools of Celina and Springfield prior to her marriage. She and her husband are the parents of three children: Oliver T., Jr., born June 22, 1919; Nelly Kathryn, born November 18, 1920; and Frances, born May 13, 1922. Mrs. Clarke is a member of the High Street Methodist Episcopal Church and of the Springfield Woman’s Club.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 399

WILLIS B. CLARKE. The late Willis B. Clarke was one of the highly respected men of Springfield, where he resided from 1872 until his death. He was born in Rappahannock County, Virginia, May 3, 1851, a son of Robert and Mary (Bradley) Clarke, who came to Licking County, Ohio, when Willis B. Clarke was a lad, and there he continued to live until he came to Springfield. After coming to this city he worked in the wood shop of the Saint John Company, but when the mill burned he became custodian of the Springfield public schools, and continued to be employed in this capacity until his death, which occurred May 14, 1917. In politics he was a republican. A man of high principles, he lived up to his conception of his duty as a good citizen and Christian, and always held the confidence of all who knew him.

On May 1, 1882, Mr. Clarke married Ada M. Wright, born at Catawba, Clark County, Ohio, in February, 1862, a daughter of Lewis and Maria (Davisson) Wright, he was born in Ohio and she at South Champaign, Ohio. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Clarke, Isaac and Sarah (Curl) Davisson, natives of Virginia, traveled overland on horseback with teams at an early day from Virginia to South Charleston, Ohio, where they permanently settled. Mr. and Mrs. Clarke became the parents of the following children: Carrie M., who is a decorator and artistic painter; Nell M., who married Robert Shaw, has two children, Robert Clarke and Elizabeth Jean, and they live at 504 East Madison Avenue, Springfield. Miss Clarke is a valued member of the Fortnightly Club.

Mrs. Clarke owns a fine modern residence at 114 Woodlawn Avenue, Springfield. When the Springfield Day Nursery was founded in October, 1920, she was appointed its matron, and since then has most acceptably held this position, and it is largely because of her efficiency and kindly care of the little ones under her supervision that this enterprise has been so decided a success. She is a consistent member of, and worker in, the Saint Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 102

DR. JOSEPH CLOKEY, D.D., ex-Pastor United Presbyterian Church, Springfield. The Rev. Dr. Clokey came into the theater of existence with the present century, Christmas being his birthday, and, though almost an octogenarian, he is still active, by no means decrepit, in full possession of acute faculties bright, humorous, joyous, the life of the family circle. The Doctor was born Dec. 25, 1801, in Dauphin Co., Penn.; he came to Springfield twenty-six years ago, from St. Clair, Penn., where he had filled a pulpit seven years; being a man of positive nature, great energy and personal magnetism, his influence was widely felt, and he is consequently generally known, respected and beloved. He has been twice married, his first wife being Jane Patterson, of Wheeling, W. Va., whom he married on Oct. 3, 1827, having by this union one son and one daughter, the former of whom they lost, and the latter, Mrs. William G. Henry, now lives in Assumption, Ill. On Feb. 21, 1838, he led to the altar his present wife, Elizabeth Waddle, who has borne him four sons and two daughters, one of the former having passed away; of the Doctor’s three surviving sons, two are ministers—one in New Albany, Ind., and one here temporarily; and one is practicing law in Decatur. The Doctor’s ancestors on his father’s side are Irish. He retired from the active ministry six years ago. The Doctor is one of those men of remarkable elasticity of constitution and spirits, and evenness of disposition, who never appear to grow really old, keeping up with all the questions of the hour and everything new, being fully abreast of the times; whose companionship is sought and loved by the young. The early history of his Irish ancestry is intensely interesting; in a time of persecution there, about 1798, his half-brother was beheaded for refusing to reveal the hiding-place of his father, who was a General in the war of that period in Ireland. Of such sturdy stock did he come. He was fifteen years Professor of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Rhetoric in the Theological Seminary at Xenia, Ohio; has ever taken an active interest in the temperance movement; was a strong Union man during the war, and it is laughingly said of him that he drew the first blood, as, during a few pointed remarks at a prayer-meeting held upon the occasion of the departure for the scene of war of one of the first companies, in making a forcible gesture, he accidentally struck a bystander on the nose, drawing the blood. He thus instituted a series of prayer-meetings, called “Union Prayer Meetings,” that were kept up during most of the war period. At 19, the Doctor was Aid-de-Camp to one of the leading Generals in the Irish revolution. His grandfather was 115 years old at death, and his father 86. Such men as the venerable Doctor are few and far between.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 806

ISAAC COBLENTZ, hardware and stoves, Springfield. Isaac Coblentz, the energetic and well-known hardware merchant, was born in Maryland in 1819; came to Ohio in 1835, when quite a youth, and settled in Springfield in 1866, since which time he has done a thriving business, being a man of great energy and sterling integrity. He married in 1844, and has now a family of four interesting children—one boy of 15 (now at Wittenberg College), and two married daughters, one of whom, Mrs. Rev. D. R. Hanna, is widowed. Mr. Coblentz has been in active mercantile life for more than a quarter of a century; he did a drug business from 1866 to 1872, at the stand now occupied by Troupe & Jacobs, corner of Market and Main, and in 1872 changed to hardware, occupying his present store and doing the leading business in stoves, of which he makes rather a specialty, and also of roofing, having just completed the contract for roofing the new opera house. Mr. Coblentz is a Freemason, being a worthy member of Clark Lodge, No. 101; he is a man of dignified bearing, courteous to all, prompt in fulfilling his engagement, and straightforward in his dealings; has been a member of the City Council for two years.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 807

A. P. LINN COCHRAN, attorney, Springfield; is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Cumberland County June 27, 1836. He received his education at Princeton College, from which he graduated in 1856, and, in the following year came to Springfield, where he entered the law office of Rodgers & Cochran, the latter being a brother; subsequently graduated at the Cincinnati Law School, and in 1859 formed a partnership with his brother, David M Cochran, which partnership existed until the death of David M., in September, 1870, after which the subject continued practice alone until the present partnership with Robert C. Rodgers was formed, in 1877, since which the firm name has been Cochran & Rodgers; their office is located in the block on the southeast corner of Main and Limestone streets. Mr. Cochran was a member of the 152d O. N. G.; is a Republican in politics, but has never taken an active part in public matters, nor sought official distinction, preferring rather to pursue the regular line of his profession, and has established a valuable reputation as a lawyer and citizen. He married, Sept. 17, 1868, Miss Pearle A. B. Wilbur, of Cincinnati; this union has been blessed by four children, three of whom are living—two sons and one daughter; his residence is 301 South Limestone street.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 807

GEORGE W. COFFEY, farmer; P. O. Catawba. George W. Coffey was born July 26, 1837, upon his father’s farm in Pleasant Township; was raised and educated a farmer, and has been engaged in that way and raising stock most of his life. After he attained his manhood, he went West and taught school several terms while there. He returned and enlisted in Company D, 3d O. V. I., and went forward to battle for this great and glorious Union. He was engaged in a great many hard battles, and was in the Belle Isle Prison a short time. After his return from service, he married Miss Margaret A., daughter of Joseph and Jane Furgason, of this county. Their marriage was celebrated Oct. 24, 1865; they have had three children, viz., Bert, Mary and Kemp. He owns a nice farm of 42 acres one mile south of Catawba. He is a son of William Coffey, whose sketch will be found in this work.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 973

WILLIAM COFFEY, Catawba. The first white man who settled within the borders of Pleasant Township, was Joseph Coffey, a native of New Jersey, born Nov. 15, 1776, whose father, Joseph, was a native of the same State, of English descent. The family moved to Pennsylvania, where Joseph, Jr., met and married Jane McCoy, born in the “Keystone State” March 15, 1771, and daughter of John McCoy, a native of Scotland, who, when a young man, emigrated to Pennsylvania and served throughout the Revolutionary war. Joseph Coffey, Sr., and wife, resided in Pennsylvania until death, and the family were members of that peace-loving society known as Quakers. Joseph, Jr., with his wife and one son, Tatom, in the spring of 1802, started for the Western wilds; coming down the Ohio River on a flatboat as far as Cincinnati where they remained until the following spring; Joseph in the meantime taking a trip of observation to what is now Clark Co., at which time he decided to settle in this portion of the State. In the spring of 1803, he started through the dense wilderness with his family and worldly effects in an ox-cart, arriving upon the farm which he made his future home May 6, of that year; here he built a “camp,” which was a rude three-sided structure of logs with an open front, and thus began his pioneer life in Ohio; he soon afterward erected a cabin, the foundation stones of the large fire-place being yet visible, and, in 1807, built a hewed-log house which had a brick chimney, glass windows, sawed-lumber floor and door, and in fact, was the finest house in the township at that date; this building is yet standing, is in a good state of preservation and is yet used by William Coffey for general purposes; here Joseph and wife labored year after year clearing up the land and trying to make a home, and although it was a severe struggle for mere existence for the first few years, yet time and constant, unremitting toil, made a visible change in the dense forest, and comfort came with the passing years; their children were Tatom, born in Pennsylvania; Joseph, near Cincinnati; John, Sarah and William in this county; the two last mentioned are the only survivors; Sarah being the wife of Enos Neer, of Catawba. Joseph Coffey, although raised a Quaker, died a member of the M. P. Church, Sept. 2, 1838, his wife dying Oct. 2, 1845, dying as she had lived—a sincere member of the Presbyterian Church. Joseph Coffey was well fitted by nature for the life of a pioneer, being a man of large, muscular frame, of an iron constitution, and possessed of an invincible courage and determination, which carried him through the trials and dangers of those early days. He served as Township Trustee a number of years; was a much respected citizen, and ever took an active part in all public matters pertaining to the welfare of the community in which he was so long a prominent factor; his wife was always a faithful helpmate, and often in the early days, when his courage would fail him, she would encourage him to still greater efforts, and prompt him onward to success. The subject of this sketch was born in the hewed-log house heretofore mentioned, Jan. 11, 1811, and grew to manhood on the home farm of 280 acres, receiving a very meager education, and helping constantly to fell the forest and clear up the land, which has ever since been his home. He was married, Dec. 15, 1831, to Nancy Curl, daughter of Jeremiah and Cynthia (Romine) Curl, the former being born upon the south banks of the Potomac River, in Virginia, Feb. 14, 1778, and his wife, in Loudoun Co., of the same State, Oct. 15, 1783; her grandfather, Jeremiah Curl, was also a native of the “Old Dominion,” his father being an Englishman, who settled in that State. Mrs. Coffey’s parents came from Virginia to Clinton Co., Ohio, in 1803, coming to Clark Co. in 1811, and settling about half a mile southeast of where Catawba now stands; they had fourteen children, nine of whom lived to maturity; the family being Samuel (deceased), William (deceased), James (deceased), Daniel (deceased), Elizabeth, Mary, Nancy, Jeremiah (deceased), Benjamin (deceased), Cynthia, George, Temperance (deceased), Sarah (deceased) and Lewis. Mrs. Coffey was born within sight of her present home Feb. 28, 1811, and has had four children—John, who now resides in Iowa; George, who lives on a portion of the home farm; Mary, the wife of Thomas Roberts; and Jeremiah, who, while a soldier in the rebellion, took sick at Milliken’s Bend, dying in March, 1863, his remains now resting in the National Cemetery at Vicksburg, Miss. Mrs. Coffey, like most of the pioneer women, is well versed in the use of the spinning-wheel, having spun flax-tow, cotton and wool, and she has woven hundreds of yards of all classes of household fabrics, and yet spends her leisure moments at the old wheel. Politically, Mr. Coffey is a Republican, and has served as Township Trustee twelve years, and Township Treasurer three years; he has been a member of the Masonic Fraternity since Aug. 24, 1847; he witnessed the Presidential election of 1820, in Pleasant Township, and the law requiring the ballots to be strung on a thread, but the clerk of the election being out of thread, he used a timothy straw for that purpose, an incident which demonstrates the shifts often necessary in those early days. Mr. Coffey began in life a poor man, inheriting less than $800 from his father’s estate, but by buying out the heirs, he became the owner of 196 acres of the old homestead, which the family yet own, besides 176 acres in Iowa. In his home, he is kind, generous and the soul of hospitality, and all will find there a hearty welcome—free from cold formality on the one hand or utter neglect upon the other; in every public movement, he has been looked up to as a safe adviser, and all good citizens trust, honor and respect him for his moral integrity, his invincible honesty and his unswerving rectitude in all the relations of life. For nearly fifty years, he and the partner of his joys and sorrows in life’s battle, have walked hand in hand, and now in their declining years are as trusting as in the days of their youthful vigor, while the lingering sunset of life casts its shadows back over long years fruitful of good and usefulness.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 972

GEORGE W. COFFIELD, teacher; Enon. George W. Coffield is the son of John C. and Nancy Coffield. His father was born in Virginia April 30, 1797, and his mother was born in Clark Co., Ohio, April 30, 1816, and still lives on the farm where she was born. Our subject was born May 3, 1843, and was educated in the common schools of Clark Co., and Wittenburg College, of Springfield, Ohio. He has been a successful teacher, holding the highest certificate given in the counties where he has taught, which includes the counties of Clark, Montgomery, Miami and Greene. He also read law in the office of Spence & Arthur, of Springfield, and was admitted to the bar in 1872. After a brief practice, he retired to the farm of his mother, and married Miss Mary B. Bartlett, of Clark Co., June 21, 1874. They are the parents of three children—Carroll D., born Jan. 21, 1877; Ray E., born Oct. 12, 1879; the other dying in infancy.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1040

E. G. COFFIN, Mayor, Springfield. Elijah G. Coffin is one of the most noted men of Clark County; his father, Philander Coffin, was a native of Vermont; he came to this county in 1818, the year of its organization. His marriage to Miss Martha Smith was celebrated in 1830; her parents, Jeremiah and Martha Smith, were natives of New Jersey, and also settled here in 1818. Mr. and Mrs. Coffin were parents of Elijah G., Elishabe, Caroline, Martin L., William H., Elizabeth, Orlevee and George W.; another daughter, Elmira, died when 7 years of age. Their settlement was made in Harmony Township. In 1835, Mr. Coffin moved to Allen County, from there to Shelby County, and again moved to Stark Co., Ind., where his death occurred in 1871. The widow and children all live there, with the exception of our subject, and are married and doing well. Elijah was born Nov. 27, 1830; at the age of 18, he engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes, and continued in this business fifteen years. During this time, he was wedded to Miss Mary Haley; she was born in Ireland in 1825, and came alone to America. Three only of their eight children are now living—Olive, Florence and Cora; Olive is the wife of James J. Kinnane, and Cora wedded Charles Hayward. Mr. Coffin volunteered in the United States service during the late war, and was elected 2d Lieutenant of Co. I, 146th O. V. I.; after his return from the army, he was a number of times elected to official positions in the township, in all of which he gave satisfaction; during this time, he engaged in the hotel and livery business in South Charleston. He was elected Sheriff of Clark County in 1868; re-elected in 1870; was again elected in 1876, and was re-elected the third time in 1878. He was the most popular Sheriff Clark County ever had, and has given universal satisfaction, as attested by his several terms of office. At the recent city election he was chosen Mayor of Springfield by a handsome majority. In connection with Asa Whitehead, an addition to the city of Springfield was made in 1874. Mr. Coffin also laid out another addition in 1880, which lots were soon disposed of; he has also dealt considerably in real estate, and is numbered among Springfield’s substantial citizens. For the past twelve years, he has been Deputy United States Marshal, and Coroner four years. His city residence is a tasty one. He is one of our self-made men, having but 10 cents in his pocket when he first came to Springfield, but, by honesty, industry and economy, has amassed a fortune of $50,000 at least, and will leave a record for his descendants upon which they may look with pride.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 807

GEORGE OWEN COGSWELL, president and general manager of the Cogswell Building Company, one of the important general contracting concerns in the City of Springfield, was born at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, April 28, 1887, and is a son of Dr. George Elmer Cogswell and Czarania E. (Coman) Cogswell. Dr. Cogswell, now a representative physician and surgeon at Springfield, was born at Towanda, Pennsylvania, January 6, 1849, and is a son of Charles and Lucy (Belden) Cogswell, the original American representative of the family having been John Cogswell, who came from England and settled at Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1627. Philander Cogswell, great-grandfather of the subject of this review, was born and reared in Pennsylvania. In 1850 Charles Cogswell removed from Pennsylvania to Carroll County, Illinois, where his family joined him in the following year. A mason by trade, he became a successful contractor in that county, and there he passed the remainder of his life. His wife likewise was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Dr. Lemuel C. Belden, who went to Illinois in 1851 and became the first homeopathic physician in Carroll County. Dr. George E. Cogswell was an infant at the time of the family removal to Illinois, where his youthful educational advantages included those of Carroll Academy. Later he attended Paynesville Academy, at Paynesville, Ohio, and in 1873 he graduated from Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, one of the leading homeopathic institutions of the United States, his technical studies having been advanced under the direction of several of the leading physicians of Chicago and Cleveland. In the year of his graduation, Dr. Cogswell engaged in practice in the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and in 1889 he established his home and professional headquarters at Mount Carroll, Illinois. In 1892 he removed to Waukegan, that state, and in 1902 he engaged in practice at Champaign, Illinois, where he remained until his removal to Springfield, Ohio, where he has been established in successful general practice since 1918. He is an active member of the Clark County Medical Society. For thirty years Dr. Cogswell has maintained affiliation with the Masonic fraternity, in which his basic membership is in Waukegan Lodge, A. F. and A. M. In the same Illinois city he is a charter member of Long Commandery of Knights Templar, and while a resident of Iowa he served as junior warden of the Masonic Grand Lodge of that state. His wife was born at LeRoy, New York, a daughter of Louvane Coman, and the children of this union are three sons: E. Roy, who is identified with the telephone business at Springfield, Illinois; George O., of this sketch, and Robert C, his twin brother, the latter being now secretary of the Vaughn Building Company, Hamilton, Ohio.

George O. Cogswell attended the public schools of Waukegan and Champaign, Illinois, and in 1911 graduated from the University of Illinois with the degree of architectural engineer. Mr. Cogswell has made a record of distinctive success as a contractor and builder at Springfield, where in 1919 he organized the Cogswell Building Company, of which he is the president and general manager. This company has erected a number of the best grade of modern business and residence buildings in Springfield, as well as school buildings, and the business of the concern, based on effective service, is constantly expanding in scope. Mr. Cogswell is a member of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club and St. Andrew’s Lodge No. 619, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

In 1914 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Cogswell and Miss Katharine Saxton, daughter of Charles Saxton, of Pueblo, Colorado. The children of this union are three in number: Eveline, Ruth and Charles Saxton.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 49

MILTON COLE, attorney at law, Springfield. Mr. Cole is a native of Clark County, having first seen the light in 1848; his father and mother, who are still living, at the ripe ages of 74 and 72 respectively, were among the early settlers, coming from Virginia to Springfield in 1830, and his father started the first “gig-shop” of which the then village could boast. Mr. Cole worked on a farm until he reached the age of 16; graduating at Wittenberg College in 1871, he took a term (1871-72) at the law school, Ann Arbor, Mich.; read law in the office of Spence & Arthur until October, 1873, when he was admitted to the bar. In the fall of 1874, he was defeated as Democratic candidate for Prosecuting Attorney, which is not strange, in view of the fact that Springfield is almost solidly Republican; but it was a high tribute to his real worth that he, though a stanch Democrat, was elected to the Mayoralty in 1875, and re-elected in 1877, his second term expiring in 1879, since which he has practiced his profession. During his second term as Mayor, he led to the altar Miss Ella Skidmore, and one fine boy has blessed the union. Mr. Cole is a representative young man, quick, affable and reliable, and enjoys the fullest confidence and esteem of the community.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 808

MILTON COLE was a representative of one of the pioneer families of Clark County, where he passed his entire life and where he gained high vantage-ground as one of the able and distinguished members of the bar of this part of Ohio. He was born in Clark County in the year 1848, and was a son of Arthur Cole, who came from Virginia and established his residence in Clark County in 1830. Arthur Cole opened the first “gig shop” or carriage factory in Springfield, and besides manufacturing buggies of the type then in use he was identified also with farm enterprise in the county. He is recalled as a man of sterling character, industrious and unassuming, and worthy of the unqualified esteem in which he was uniformly held. Milton Cole early gained experience in connection with the activities of the home farm, and his preliminary education was acquired in the common schools. In 1871 he graduated from Wittenberg College, at Springfield, and in 1871-2 he attended the law department of the University of Michigan. Thereafter he continued his study of law at Springfield, under the preceptorship of the law firm of Spence & Arthur, and in October, 1873, he was admitted to the bar. He was a young man of exceptional intelligence and vigor, and in establishing himself in practice at Springfield he soon made his powers felt as a resourceful trial lawyer and well fortified counselor. In 1874, as a democrat, he was defeated for the office of prosecuting attorney, but in 1875, and again in 1878, he was elected mayor of Springfield, his ability and personal popularity enabling him to overcome the large republican majority. He was a close student, gained broad and exact knowledge of the science of jurisprudence, and he long controlled a large and representative law practice, which extended outside the limits of Clark County and involved his appearance in connection with many important cases tried in the various courts of this section of the state. His character was the positive expression of a strong and loyal nature, and he ever commanded the confidence and high regard of his fellowmen. While serving his second term as mayor of Springfield Mr. Cole wedded Miss Elnora Skidmore, and the only child of this union is a son, John M., of whom specific mention is made in the sketch immediately following this. Milton Cole was one of the leading lawyers and honored and influential citizens of Springfield at the time of his death, and his wife likewise is deceased.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 190

JOHN M. COLE has been engaged in the practice of his profession in his native city of Springfield since 1904, and both as a lawyer and a citizen he is well maintaining the prestige which the character and achievement of his father here established, a memoir to his father, the late Milton Cole, being given in the article immediately preceding this.

John M. Cole was born at Springfield on the 21st of May, 1879, and after having duly profited by the advantages of the public schools he here entered Wittenberg College, in which excellent institution he was graduated in 1900, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1903 the college conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts, after he had taken an effective post-graduate course. In 1901-2 he attended the law department of the University of Cincinnati, and upon his admission to the bar in June, 1904, he engaged in the practice of his profession at Springfield. He now has a large and representative general practice but has specialized in corporation and commercial law. Mr. Cole served from 1904 to 1908 as assistant city solicitor. He is a staunch advocate of the principles and policies of the democratic party, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Phi Gamma Delta college fraternity. He was secretary of the local chapter of the Red Cross during the nation’s participation in the World war, and was a member of the Springfield questionnaire board. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

June 29, 1904, recorded the marriage of Mr. Cole and Miss Sarah Hoy, daughter of John F. Hoy, and they have six children: John H., Eleanor E., Fred M., George W., Robert W. and Richard T.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 191

PHILIP J. COLE, wholesale and retail grocer, Springfield. P. J. Cole added one to the population of Clark County on Feb. 11, 1841, being born in this township; he spent his early youth on the paternal farm; at 16, he evinced a disposition to rove, engaging in gold mining in Colorado, which was at that early day a much wilder country even than to-day. Young Cole lived a “rough-and-tumble” life in the Far West six years; returning to Springfield, he became engaged in mercantile pursuits, and has been for ten years continuously in his present business (except two years in Pennsylvania in the oil business, and a short trip to Europe), and is now doing a prosperous business. He is a member in excellent standing of the Knights of Pythias; also of the American Legion of Honor. Mr. Cole is still reckoned among Springfield’s young business men; he is quick, full of energy and push, frank, straightforward and reliable, a true friend and a generous enemy, and enjoys the good opinion of the community; he is the elder brother of M. Cole, the lawyer.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 808

J. LAMAR COLEMAN, Coroner of Clark County, Springfield; was born in Westchester Co., N. Y., in 1836; his father being an invalid, he sustained himself from the age of 9 years; when 13 years of age, he became connected with a minstrel troupe, now known as the “San Francisco Troupe,” with which he remained three years, then went to Chicago to learn the hardware business; remained in Chicago until 1858, when he came to Springfield and opened a grocery and commission house, which he operated about six years. In August, 1865, he bought the interest of the younger Coles of the firm of Coles & Bro., undertakers, and has since been engaged in undertaking. In 1861, he was appointed Deputy United States Marshal, and served in that capacity until 1867, when he resigned on account of differing with Johnson’s policy; in 1876, he was elected Coroner of Clark County, and re-elected in 1878. He married, in 1860, Miss Virginia Hotsenpiller, by whom he had three children; she having deceased, he married Amanda Hamuett, of St. Louis. Mr. Coleman is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and a past officer of the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Council, and Past Captain of the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Ohio.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 809

E. T. COLLINS, physician and surgeon; South Charleston. Of the pioneer medical men of Clark Co., but few are left to tell of the trials and hardships or the early days, nearly all having long since been laid beneath the sod; but in the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, we have one of the few living physicians who practiced his profession since the days when Clark Co. was a wilderness, and he is, with the exception of Dr. McLaughlin, of Tremont, the only one in full practice who can rank as a pioneer. He is a native of Moorefield Township, Clark Co., Ohio, born Jan. 12, 1818, and the son of Dennis and Mary Collins. His father was born at Winchester, Va., March 4, 1771, of Irish parents, who had settled in that State shortly before his birth. His mother’s maiden name was Mary Thomas, born in Princeton, N. J., June 12, 1774, and removing to Virginia with her parents when young, where she was married to Dennis Collins, of which union were born fifteen children, as follows: John, Matthias, Thomas, Catherine, Emily, James, Hannah, Job, Mary, Faris, Milton, Dennis, Elijah T. and two died in infancy. All the balance grew to maturity with the exception of Faris, who died at the age of 15. At the time of the Whisky Rebellion in Pennsylvania, Dennis Collins responded to a call from President Washington, and went out to help suppress the disturbance, which was accomplished without bloodshed. In 1796, he and family removed to Fleming Co., Ky., where they remained until 1811, when they came to Ohio and settled about two miles north of Urbana, Champaign Co., two years later removing south, to what is now Moorefield Township, Clark Co., but at that time a part of Champaign. Here he was engaged in opening up a farm and tilling the soil, until his death, Feb. 24, 1826, his wife surviving him many years, dying Oct. 30, 1843; both had been for years members of the Baptist Church. The subject of this sketch was the youngest in the family, and is to-day the only survivor; his education was obtained in the common schools of his township, and during the winter of 1838-39 he taught school; then began the study of medicine in the office of Drs. Mosgrove and Carter, of Urbana. In the winter of 1840-41, he attended lectures at the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, and on the 16th of April, of the latter year, began the practice of medicine at South Charleston, in partnership with Dr. Robert Houston, who some years afterward moved to Champaign Co., Ill., where he died, but who is still kindly remembered by many citizens of this county. On the 16th of September, 1845, Dr. Collins was married to Miss Sarah L. Houston, daughter of Dr. Robert Houston. Mrs. Collins was born in South Charleston, Aug. 30, 1823, and has had eight children, viz., Elizabeth, Lizzie, Milton, Robert, Charles, Mary, Houston and Louie, only three of whom are living, viz., Milton, who, in March, 1881, graduated at the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati; Robert, a farmer in Ford Co., Ill., and Mary, who is a graduate of the Ohio Wesleyan University, of Delaware, Ohio. Dr. Collins and wife are members of the M. E. Church, and have contributed liberally to the support of religion and morals in their community. The Doctor became a member of the Ohio State Medical Society in 1853, and has been a member of the Clark Co. Medical Society for a number of years. He took an active interest in the building of the Little Miami Railroad, and with the exception perhaps of one or two others, is the only subscriber of stock to that road who is living in this vicinity, and was also a large subscriber to the S. S. R. R. He has been identified with the School Board of the town for several years, and during the rebellion was a stanch Unionist; and though a man of education and good executive ability, he has never sought or wanted office. Politically, a Republican, and a man of the most rigid economy in all his business affairs, he is, yet, strictly upright and honorable in carrying out his promises or fulfilling his contracts; extremely slow and cautious in arriving at a conclusion; he is withal firm as a rock in upholding the result of his deliberations, and those traits have so guided him through life that he has never been engaged in litigation. He is now a stockholder in the Lagonda Bank, of Springfield, owns 1,600 acres of land in Illinois and Iowa, and after forty years of successful practice in his profession, is to-day considered one of the substantial, wealthy men of Clark Co.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1061

DAVID T. COLVIN, farmer and stock-raiser; P. O. South Charleston. Many who are not pioneers furnish the intellect and capital to further the enterprises that have been conceived and put into successful operation since the country was first settled by those energetic men, whose names we revere, and who will have ample justice done them in the pages of this history; therefore, should we fail to represent David T. Colvin among the leading farmers of Clark County, an injustice would be done him. His grandfather, Thomas Colvin, was born in Pennsylvania, of Scotch parents, and there married to Sarah McLaughan, a native of the Keystone State, also of Scotch descent; they moved to Berkeley Co., Va., in 1800, where they remained until death. To them were born the following children: John, Robert, Thomas, James, Sarah, Eliza Ann, Miriam and one deceased. Thomas, the father of David T., was born in Pennsylvania Oct. 16, 1798, grew to manhood in Virginia, and was there married in 1826 to Rachel Taylor, a native of Frederick Co., Va., born Sept. 15, 1805, and the daughter of David and Martha Taylor, natives of the “Old Dominion,” of German extraction. To Thomas and Rachel Colvin were born five children, viz.: Martha A., David T., Sarah E., John T. and Mary V., the latter deceased. And in 1835 he came to Greene Co., Ohio, settling in the vicinity of Cedarville, where he died in 1844, his wife surviving him many years, dying at Jamestown in 1878, both being life-long members of the M. E. Church. The subject of this sketch was born in Frederick Co., Va., Feb. 18, 1829, and has followed farming as his life occupation. He was married April 13, 1853, to Maria Larkin, daughter of David and Nancy (Harper) Larkin, a sketch of whom will be found in the biography of L. W. Haughey. Mrs. Colvin was born in Greene Co., Ohio, July 25, 1831, and has had born to her, six children, viz., Wilber, Estella V., Chase, Metta, George (deceased) and David L.; she is a member of the M. E. Church. During Mr. Colvin’s residence in Greene County, he took a prominent part in every public movement; was actively connected for several years with the agricultural boards of the county in two different societies; was Trustee of this township about ten years; a member of the Board of Education in Cedarville ten years, and filled many minor positions, such as devolve on men of known ability and integrity in every community. Mr. Colvin came to Clark County, locating in Madison Township, south of South Charleston, where he owns 309 acres of land finely improved, besides 150 acres in a separate tract, on the line between Clark and Greene Counties, being partly in both. Politically, a Republican, he was a stanch upholder of the Government in the rebellion, giving his money and labor in that cause, as well as, for the support of the soldier’s families. Since coming to this county he has been Township Trustee four years, and although not seeking or desiring office, he has been frequently solicited to be a candidate for official preferment, but has always refused to allow his name to go before a convention, which is a rare and commendable virtue in this age of office-seekers. He devotes his attention to his farm, and the raising of sheep, hogs and cattle, in which he has been very successful; is a modest, retiring man of good education, and extensive general information, whom it is a pleasure to converse with; a man whose honesty and integrity, coupled with his social, whole-souled and generous character, has made him hosts of friends throughout this portion of Ohio.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1062

WILBER COLVIN, born in Cedarville Township, Greene Co., Ohio, May 3, 1857; removed with his parents to Madison Township, Clark Co., Ohio, April 2, 1867; graduated at the South Charleston, Ohio, High School, May 15, 1874; taught school in 1875-76; in the summer of 1876, was appointed by the Clark County Commissioners to the scholarship at the Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, the first such appointment ever made in the county; twice represented the university in the State rhetorical contests of the Ohio Inter-Collegiate Association, once taking second honors; during his Senior year in college, he was editor-in-chief of the Students’ Magazine, the college journal; graduated, at the head of his class, June 23, 1880. He is at the present time studying law in the office of Keifer, White & Rabbitts, Springfield, Ohio.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 809

WILLIAM COMRIE, farmer and stock-raiser; P. O. South Charleston. This old and respected farmer was born in Perthshire, Scotland, June 18, 1814, and is the son of Alexander and Christine Comrie, natives of that country, where his mother died in 1830, and his father in 1839. William was the fourth in a family of six children, as follows: Peter, Alexander, Catherine, William, John and Jessie, and his youth was spent in his native land, where he grew to manhood, following shepherding and farming as his occupation. On the 19th day of May, 1840, he, together with Catherine and Jessie, embarked at Glasgow for the United States, settling first in Logan Co., Ohio, where he purchased a farm and lived about two years, removing to Madison Township, Clark Co. in the fall of 1842, and, Dec. 1 of that year, was married to Miss Ann Murray, daughter of Mungo and Catherine (McEwen) Murry, natives of Scotland, who came to the United States in 1802, settling finally in Delaware Co., N. Y., where they remained until 1817, when they removed to Madison Township, Clark Co., Ohio, and here resided until death, their remains being interred in Lisbon Cemetery. Mrs. Comrie was born in Delaware Co., N. Y., March 22, 1815, and has had the following children: Mungo M. (deceased), Catherine (the wife of James N. Hawk), Alexander, Peter, Lois A. and Margaret. Mr. Comrie had some means when he arrived in Ohio, and was not what is commonly known as a “poor man,” but his money he put to good use, and by judicious management and constant industry, has accumulated a large estate, being now the owner of 932½ acres of first-class land, 452½ of which he made himself; the balance he received with his wife, took charge of and cleared up, this being almost as great a labor as if he had to buy it. The family name was originally “Montgomrie,” but in the early Scottish persecutions the name was changed to “Comrie,” to baffle detection. In 1850, his brothers Alexander and John came to this country, but Peter remained in his native land. Politically, Mr. Comrie was a Whig, but on the formation of the Republican party, he cast his lot with it, and has ever since adhered to its principles. He, with his wife and four of their children, are members of the Presbyterian Church, and he has ever been in favor of schools, churches and public benefits and institutions of every sort. His home is one of the best in Madison Township, and, surrounded by a happy, contented family, he and his partner in life’s joys and sorrows are now the possessors of every comfort necessary for their enjoyment and happiness. In looking back over the past forty years, we cannot but acknowledge that Mr. Comrie has made a success of life, and his standing to-day, among the people of his township, is that of an honest, upright, straightforward and progressive man, who, by his own efforts, has won a fair place in the ranks of the leading farmers of his adopted county.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1063

JOHN L. CONKLIN, grocer, Springfield; is a native of New Jersey, a son of William W. Conklin, who married Cornelia Goltra, also a resident of New Jersey; they removed to Ohio and became residents of Clark County in 1861; they had a family of six children, two of whom are residents of this county, Mrs. Granville Winger, a daughter, having died here recently; Mr. Conklin also died here, his widow now residing with her son, John L., being in her 79th year. John L. remained on the farm with his parents until he reached his majority, after which he learned the trade of mason and brick-layer, at which he worked several years. He came to Springfield in 1870 and engaged in the grocery trade, becoming a member of the firm of Winger & Conklin, and so continued until April 1, 1880, when he purchased Mr. Winger’s interest, and has since conducted the business; his store is located on Market street, between Main and High streets, where he is doing a flourishing trade. He married, in 1868, Helen Parcells, of Brooklyn, N. Y.; they have three children. Mr. Conklin is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, also of the Masonic fraternity.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 809

CHARLES W. CONSTANTINE, for forty years a well known and highly respected citizen of Springfield, former mayor, attorney and councillor, died at his home, 15 West Jefferson Street, Friday night at 10:40 o’clock, February 11, 1916, from paralysis, following an illness of five months. Although Mr. Constantine has been confined to his home during the winter months, unable to give his attention to his personal affairs, his recovery was confidently hoped for until the last Monday, when he suffered a stroke which followed one of September 2nd. From that time on Mr. Constantine grew worse and his recovery was despaired of.

Charles William Constantine was known to thousands of Springfield people. His activity in all things pertaining to the advancement and welfare of his city and his interest in affairs political as they pertained to the success of the democratic party had given him an acquaintanceship throughout not only Ohio but with the big men in public life throughout the country. For years his advice was sought by men high in civic life both in this city and in Ohio and other states. Although always active in behalf of others, Mr. Constantine held but one public office in his career, that being mayor of Springfield during the years of 1883 and 1884. It was characteristic of him that his efforts politically were always directed for his friends rather than to his own advancement or preferment. To Charles W. Constantine friendship was a sacred institution, and many men in Springfield can attest to this fact.

Mr. Constantine was born at Reading, Pennsylvania, December 25, 1846, the son of Philip and Louise Constantine. While still a boy Mr. Constantine’s parents moved to Cincinnati, where after residing for a short time they came to Springfield, in the late fifties. After a residence here for a time the family removed to a farm near New Albany, Indiana, where Mr. Constantine received his earlier academic education. When about nineteen years of age he returned to Springfield and took employment with the Bushnell and Ludlow drug store. The drug business, however, was not to his liking, and he removed to Chicago, where he studied law in the offices of Charles M. Hadry, an eminent attorney of the Illinois metropolis. In 1872 he was admitted to the Illinois bar, and for a time practiced law in Chicago.

During his residence in Chicago Mr. Constantine was united in marriage with Miss Barbara Fassler, a daughter of Jerome Fassler, of Springfield, Ohio, the date of the wedding having been February 22, 1876. Mrs. Constantine survives him. In 1878 he gave up his practice in Chicago and came to Springfield, being admitted to the Ohio bar. It was after taking up his permanent residence in this city that Mr. Constantine became the legal advisor of John W. Bookwalter, late millionaire manufacturer and philanthropist, who died September 26, 1915, in San Remo, Italy. What was begun as a business association gradually grew into a close friendship, and at the time of his death, Charles W. Constantine was counted one of the most personal in all of Mr. Bookwalter’s wide acquaintances and friendships. At his death Mr. Constantine was named as executor of the Bookwalter will, a distinction which he shared with Frank M. Bookwalter.

Aside from many other activities which caused Mr. Constantine to be reckoned as a man of prominence in his community were those which he constantly exercised in behalf of Springfield. He helped choose the sites for the Ohio Knights of Pythias Home and the Ohio Odd Fellows Home, and was one of the men who were foremost in having those homes located in Springfield. He was instrumental in the organization of the Country Club in this city, and was a member of the Commercial Club. Mr. Constantine was a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine, an Elk and life member of the Loyal Order of Moose. Also he was a member of the Lagonda Club, a member and stockholder of the Springfield Country Club, and he was interested in and worked for the establishing of the Masonic Home at Springfield.

The life of Mr. Constantine is closely interwoven with the history of several of Springfield’s leading industries. He was associated with O. S. Kelly in the development of the O. S. Kelly Company and also assisted Mr. Bookwalter in the organization of the Bookwalter Steel and Iron Company. He was at one time a director in the James Leffel Company, of this city and a stockholder in that concern.

The political activities of Mr. Constantine covered a wide field of endeavor in behalf of many of the most prominent men of the country. He was intimate with such men as William C. Whitney and Daniel Manning, of New York, the men who were credited with having brought Grover Cleveland into prominence. In 1879, in the days of Tom Ewing, Mr. Constantine began to attend state conventions of his party. By 1881 he had risen so high in the councils of his party that he out-maneuvered the then powerful Senator George H. Pendleton, preventing his election as permanent chairman of the Democratic State Convention of that year. It was by this stroke that Mr. Constantine materially assisted in affecting the nomination of Mr. Bookwalter for the governorship on the democratic ticket over Theodore J. Cook, the candidate favored by Senator Pendleton.

It was during the preliminaries of the Bookwalter campaign that Mr. Constantine became associated with Mr. Henry B. Payne, afterward a United States Senator. Mr. Constantine had gone to Cleveland to seek the support of Mr. Payne for Mr. Bookwalter, and likewise the assistance of John H. Farley, then mayor of Cleveland. Mr. Constantine was on his way to call upon Mr. Payne, in company with Mayor Farley, when they learned of the assassination of President Garfield. It was at the conference with Payne that the fear was first expressed that the news of President Garfield’s assassination would bring victory to the republican standard at the coming election, which resulted as had been foreseen. Mr. Constantine served on the Democratic State Central and State Executive Committees, during which he became associated with Durbin Ward, George Hoadley and others of the dignitaries of the party in Ohio. It was at a conference held in this city that an agreement was reached among John R. McLean, Mayor Farley and Senator Pendleton that the two last named were to conduct the Bookwalter campaign in Northern Ohio, McLean in the southern part, and Mr. Constantine became treasurer of the State Executive Committee. He was a stomg supporter of President Cleveland in the campaign of 1884. The first political defeat to be suffered by Mr. Constantine was when in his fight for the election of John A. McMahon of Dayton in 1889 as United States Senator, the latter was defeated by Calvin S. Brice. In 1892 Mr. Constantine was a delegate to the national convention which nominated President Cleveland.

It was through the efforts of Mr. Constantine that the name of Mr. Bookwalter was withdrawn from the active lists of candidates for United States Senator in 1903, after Mr. Bookwalter had declined to permit the use of his name while the forces of Tom L. Johnson were pleading for him to become a candidate.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 84

CHARLES R. CONVERSE, dentist, Springfield. Charles R. Converse was [born] Aug. 4, 1847, among the hills of the old Granite State; he came to Ohio twelve years ago, settling in the pretty little village of Urbana; commenced the study of dentistry in New Hampshire, completing his studies in Ohio, where his success has been steady and enduring. Although only a resident of Springfield less than a year, his superior skill in his profession, coupled with his energy and pleasant address, have made for him a fine and growing business. On the 2d of October, 1872, he married Miss Rose E. Russell, of Urbana, and a fine 4-year-old boy, named Charley Louis Converse, has blessed their union. Mr. and Mrs. Converse are members of the High Street Methodist Church, and he is also a member of the Royal Arcanum and American Legion of Honor; is universally liked, and a rising young man.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 809

SAMUEL COOPER, retired merchant, Springfield; is a native of Ireland, born in County Antrim Sept. 18, 1877. In March, 1828, he left Belfast in the sail ship James Baily, bound for St. Andre, where his party arrived after a voyage of forty-six days, and, after a short stay, took passage on board a coaling vessel and came to Philadelphia; the following winter was spent in the woods of Cumberland Co., N. J., he being associated with a New Yorker in chopping wood for coaleries, during which they “kept bach” in a cabin hastily constructed by themselves; as soon as spring opened, he returned to Philadelphia; having learned to weave Irish linen in the old country, he soon found an opportunity to take a loom with a family who were weavers; the following year, a gentleman with whom he had boarded, who had relatives in Cincinnati and Dayton, induced him to come to Ohio, and they came to Dayton via Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, where he remained about three years, when he came to Springfield the year made memorable as the year of the “falling stars;” here he opened a clothing store in partnership with Samuel McPherson; in a few years, Mr. Cooper bought his partner’s interest and became sole proprietor, and also owner of the building and ground, which he still owns—now occupied as a hardware store by Mr. McCord. He married, in 1839, Minerva Ellen Perrin; she has borne him two daughters, one of whom, now Mrs. Frank J. Grave, is living. Mrs. Cooper is a daughter of John Perrin, an early resident of Springfield Township, his farm being just south of the present city limits. Mr. Cooper is a representative of that thrifty class of Irishmen who had intelligence and principle, and, although he landed in this country a poor man, by his industry and integrity he secured friends and opportunities, and, by economy and judicious management, had in a few years accumulated enough to become a partner in a store in Springfield; like others of his class, he was shrewd enough to early secure real estate, and began housekeeping in his own house, and now owns a handsome residence at the southwest corner of Clifton and Gallagher streets, and owns a considerable amount of city property, the rents from which afford a convenient income, and secures comfort and ease to his declining years. He has been active in religious matters, having been a Sunday school teacher from his youth until his age precluded further service. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have been members of the Presbyterian Church from childhood, and are among the oldest and most respected families of the city.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 810

WILLIAM JOSEPH CORCORAN. Modern advancement develops certain capabilities in men and gives them avenues of expression not opened up a few generations ago. When the latter half of the last century was in its youth men of ability were restricted in a measure in their choice of a life work. If they felt no inclination toward the law, the pulpit or the clinic, they either had to enter the schoolroom, take up farming or engaged in the marts of trade. The thousand and one openings now offered to the ambitious youth had not been discovered. However, as the new possibilities brought about by discovery and invention dawned upon the skilled men of the country it was seen that they were eager to embrace every opportunity and to create new chances for advancement. In this connection one of Springfield’s men of the younger generation who has come prominently to the forefront in recent years through his connection with a modern industry is William Joseph Corcoran, who was superintendent of the Steel Products Company until he organized the Corcoran Engineering Company.

Mr. Corcoran is a native of Lennox, Massachusetts, born May 13, 1890, a son of Michael C. and Mary (Dalton) Corcoran, natives of the same state and of Irish descent, as the names might indicate, and both now residing at Stockbridge, Massachusetts. For generations the Corcorans have been prominent in the medical profession and as mechanics. William Joseph Corcoran was reared at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where his parents had removed in 1897, and received his early education in the public schools there, graduating from the high school in 1910. He then entered Pratt Institute, a technological institution of Brooklyn, New York, and was graduated therefrom in 1912. At that time he went to work as a toolmaker for the Wells Brothers Tap and Die Company, of Greenfield, Massachusetts, and on leaving the employ of that concern associated himself with the Hendee Manufacturing Company, makers of the Indian motorcycle. Mr. Corcoran’s next position was with the General Electric Company at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he contitiued to work as a toolmaker, and it was in the same capacity that he came to Springfield in 1914 and joined the plant of the Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company. He remained with that concern until 1915, when he joined the organization of the Steel Products Company as a toolmaker. Here his ability, fidelity and industry won ready recognition and he was soon promoted assistant foreman of the machine shop. From this position he rose to foreman of the tool room, and in 1919 he was made superintendent of the plant. He resigned from the Steel Products Company June 10, 1922. On June 27, 1922 W. J. and T. M. Corcoran, brothers, started a company of their own, known as the Corcoran Engineering Company, at 231-239 East Main Street. Mr. Corcoran is considered an expert in his line of work, is possessed of much executive ability, and has the confidence of his associates and the friendship and good will of the employes of the plant. He has worked his own way up the self-made road to accomplishment, and is appreciative of the efforts and ambitions of others. He is a member of the Springfield Engineers’ Club, the Springfield Automobile Club, the Knights of Columbus and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce. His religious faith is that of the Catholic Church, he and Mrs. Corcoran being members of St. Raphael’s Church of Springfield. While he has not sought public preferment of any kind, he takes an interest in civic affairs, and always supports all measures calculated to be for the city’s advancement and welfare.

In 1915, at Springfield, Mr. Corcoran was united in marriage with Miss Gertrude J. Arnold, a daughter of John Arnold, of Holyoke, Massachusetts, and to this union there have been born two children: Gertrude A. and William J.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 216

HOMER C. CORRY, one of the younger members of the Clark County bar, and junior member of the well known legal firm of Martin & Corry, with offices at 203 Bushnell Building, Springfield, is a native of Clark County, and a son of Robert F. and Ethel (Stewart) Corry.

Robert F. Corry was born in Greene County, Ohio, in 1857, and died in 1917. He was a son of James Corry, also a native of Greene County, whose parents were pioneers of that locality, they having come from Pennsylvania to the Buckeye State during early days. Ethel Corry was born in Greene Township, Clark County, in 1859, and is now residing at Springfield. She is a daughter of Thomas E. Stewart, who was born in the same township, a son of John Templeton Stewart, who came from Lancaster County. Pennsylvania, in 1805, and settled in Greene Township, where he became a prosperous farmer and large land owner.

Homer C. Corry was born on the farm in Green Township. July 9, 1887, and attended the graded and high schools of Springfield. He graduated from the Clifton High School of Green Township in 1904, and then entered Antioch College from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree as a member of the class of 1910. During 1910 he taught in the Enon High School, Clark County, during 1911 and 1912 was a teacher in the Yellow Springs High School, and during 1913 and 1914 was an instructor in the Ironton (Ohio) High School. During this period Mr. Corry studied in the law department of Chicago University, and was graduated from the law department of the Ohio State University in 1915, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Admitted to the bar in 1915, he entered practice at Springfield in the offices of Chase Stewart. From 1916 to 1918 he taught law in the Law School of the Ohio State University, and in the latter year enlisted for service in the United States Army as a private and during the World war was stationed at Camp Sherman. He was promoted to sergeant and later received his commission as first lieutenant and was assigned to duty in the judge advocate general’s department, serving at Camp Logan, Texas, and at Washington, D. C. He was mustered out and honorably discharged July 5, 1919.

Returning to the practice of law at Springfield, Mr. Corry became associated with Paul C. Martin and in September, 1921, became a member of the firm of Martin & Corry. He is a member of the Clark County, the Ohio State and the American Bar Associations, and holds membership in the Phi Delta Phi and the Order of the Coif, and Harry S. Kissell Lodge No. 674, Free and Accepted Masons. He is president of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and a trustee of Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio.

On January 1, 1920, Mr. Corry was united in marriage with Miss Helene Jobe, daughter of Charles L. and Margaret Jobe, of Xenia, Ohio. Mrs. Corry died at Springfield, December 4, 1920.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 398

HENRY H. CORY, coal-dealer, Springfield; is a son of Joseph P. and Martha (Fearnside) Cory, and was born near New Carlisle, this county, March 31, 1851; both the Cory and Fearnside families were pioneers of this county. Henry lived with his parents on the farm until 1873, when he moved with them to Springfield. He was married, June 24, 1875, to M. Effie Andrews, daughter of Samuel and Margarete Ramsey Andrews, who were pioneers of Montgomery Co., Ohio. He owns a beautiful residence on South Limestone street. In 1874, he established his present business, with a capital of $1,000. His trade has increased until now it amounts to $20,000 per annum. During the seven years he has been in business here, he has established a reputation for truth and honesty beyond reproach.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 810

PELEG COTES, retired merchant, Springfield. Among the few old residents of this city now residing here, we find Mr. and Mrs. Cotes. Mr. Cotes is a native of Oneida Co., N. Y.; he was born in 1803; his father was a farmer, and he remained on the farm assisting his father in his youth, and later farming in connection with his father, until 1835, when he removed to Springfield and entered into a partnership with Philo Birdseye, and engaged in the manufacture and sale of hats, which he continued until 1861, being about the last one to give up the primitive hat-factory; but continued as dealer until 1869, when, having accumulated a competency, he retired from active pursuits. Mrs. Cotes is also a native of Oneida County; their marriage was celebrated Jan. 13, 1831, and they have shared life’s burdens and the enjoyment of much happiness for half a century, during most of this time residing in their present residence, No. 72 East High street, which he built in 1837. Mr. and Mrs. Cotes were formerly members of the Baptist Church, and he was active in the building of their present house of worship; but, for a number of years, both have been members of the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Cotes is one of the few remaining of those who came here when Springfield was a village, and is fully entitled to be recorded among the number who, by their energy and enterprise and public spirit, have developed a city, and he and his amiable wife are among its oldest present residents.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 810

DAVID CRABILL, farmer; P. O. Springfield; son of Thomas V. and Sidney Crabill; was born in Champaign Co., Ill., March 14, 1836; has followed farming all his life, and is engaged at present quite extensively in farming and stock-raising, and pays a great deal to the improvement of his stock, and aims to keep none but the best. He was married, Dec. 2, 1862, to Nancy C. Rock, daughter of Thomas and Leah Rock; they have two children—Emma J., born Dec. 6, 1863; and Thomas V., born Aug. 25, 1865. Mrs. Crabill’s father was a native of Kentucky, and died in Clark Co., Ohio, May 6, 1880; her mother was in this county, and died here July 7, 1847. Mr. Crabill is one of the prominent, rising farmers of this county; he is one of the Directors of his school district, which position he has held for four successive years; he lives in a fine brick house, five miles southeast of Springfield. He and his wife believe in keeping pace with the times, and are making an exertion to so rear their children that they will be an honor to them and useful to the community in which they may live. During the late rebellion, not being able to go himself, he furnished a man to serve in his place during the war.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 811

JOHN CRABILL, farmer; P. O. Springfield. John Crabill, son of Thomas V. and Sidney Crabill, was born on the home farm July 5, 1847; he lives in a beautiful frame house on the home farm; he, like his brother, takes pride in the improvement of his stock; he has always lived on a farm, and is, a young man of excellent character; politically, a stanch Republican. He was married, Dec. 19, 1872, to Barbara E. Zimmerman; they have three promising children—Ada Irene, Clark Rodgers and Pearl Preston. Mrs. Crabill is the daughter of Isaac and Anna Zimmerman; her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, and moved to Ohio and to this county in 1849, and located just north of Lagonda, where they lived until their decease. Mrs. Crabill attended school two years in the Springfield Female Seminary, and at the death of her father was obliged to quit school before she graduated.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 812

JOHN CRABILL, who is now living retired on his attractive little farm homestead in Springfield Township three miles east of the City of Springfield, on the National Road, is a representative of one of the oldest and most honored pioneer families of Clark County and with his two sons is the owner of a valuable farm estate of more than 350 acres on Buck Creek Bottoms, this constituting the old pioneer farm of his paternal grandfather and being locally known as “The Promised Land,” a title which it has held for many years. For the past six years Mr. Crabill has lived retired on a small farm. In all of his relations of life he has well upheld the prestige of a family name that is one of prominence in the history of this county.

John Crabill was born on the old home place and the date of his nativity was July 5, 1847. His entire active career was one of close and successful association with farm industry, and he has stood well to the front as one of the liberal and progressive citizens of his native township. He is a son of Thomas V. and Sidney (Yeazell) Crabill, whose marriage was solemnized in 1833. Thomas Voss Crabill was born in Moorefield Township, this county, November 21, 1810, a son of David and Barbara (Baer) Crabill, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Pennsylvania. In 1808 David Crabill settled on Buck Creek, in Moorefield Township, where he reclaimed one of the productive farms of the early pioneer period. His children were: Sarah, John, Thomas V., David Jr., James W., Mary, Susan, Joseph, Pierson D., William H. and Eliza J. David Crabill served as a soldier in the War of 1812 and in every respect he lived up to the full tention of pioneer life on the frontier.

Thomas V. Crabill was reared on the old home farm and in 1833, as previously stated, he married Sidney Yeazell, she having been a daughter of Abraham and Mary Yeazell, of whose fifteen children those living in 1881 were William, David, James, Thomas V., Milton, Joseph F., Levina and Elizabeth. With 100 acres of land inherited from his father and with the further fortification of $1,000 in cash received by his wife from her father’s estate, Thomas V. Crabill initiated his independent career under favorable circumstances, as viewed from the standards of the locality and period. A man of energy, integrity and constructive ability, he eventually accumulated one of the largest and most valuable landed estates in Clark County, the same having comprised 700 acres in Springfield Township and 320 acres in Moorefield Township.

December 19, 1872, recorded the marriage of John Crabill and Miss Barbara E. Zimmerman, a daughter of Isaac and Anna Zimmerman, who came from Pennsylvania to Clark County in 1849 and who passed the remainder of their lives on their farm near Lagonda. Like her husband, Mrs. Crabill received the advantages of the common schools of Clark County, besides which she was for two years a student in the Springfield Female Seminary, a well ordered institution of its day. Mr. and Mrs. Crabill have three children, concerning whom brief record is here entered: Ada Irene is the wife of William Y. Maher, who is engaged in the practice of law at Springfield, as one of the representative members of the Clark County bar; Clark Rodgers, the elder son, has the active management of the old home farm and is one of the progressive exponents of agricultural and livestock industry in his native county; Pearl Preston, the younger son, resides in Springfield and is actively identified in a managerial capacity with leading industrial enterprises there.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 160

J. W. CRABILL, farmer; P. O. Springfield. In the early settlement of Moorefield Township, we find the name of David Crabill as one among the earliest pioneers. As near as can now be ascertained, he and his family came from Virginia and located here about 1808; he came a poor man, never having received but three months’ schooling in his life. He first located with two brothers by the name of Voss, in Champaign Co.; thence came to this township; for these men he worked some time; thence he entered 80 acres of the northeast quarter of Sec. 13, where he commenced to work for himself, in true pioneer style, building a little log cabin with puncheon floor, etc., but he was industrious and had the true spirit coupled with energy, which knew no discouragements, and he labored on, opening out and clearing up his land, making improvements, and adding more land by purchase; was getting along prosperously in life when, unfortunately, he signed some paper as security, and in the course of time had it to pay, and although at the time his entire property would not half pay the creditors, yet by the assistance of friends, and an indomitable energy, he paid every dollar of about $15,000; this was a heavy blow for a poor pioneer, and probably but very few would ever have gone through it. After this experience, he was better fitted than ever to battle with the struggles of life; he labored on, increasing in his possessions, till at his death he owned over 1,100 acres of land, and worth at least $60,000. This example of prosperity shows the sterling worth and character of Mr. Crabill; a man who never failed to meet every obligation, and had the respect and confidence of all who knew him. He died May 5, 1839, aged only 59 years, yet had done a great work, battled manfully with the obstacles of life, overcame all and became quite wealthy. His wife died Oct. 19, 1863; of an issue of twelve children, seven now survive—Maria, now Mrs. Yeazell, of Illinois; Thos. V., Jas. W.; Mary, now Mrs. Crown, of Springfield; Pearson A.; Eliza, now Mrs. Jones, and William. The old homestead farm is still in possession of, and carried on by, the three brothers Jas. W., Pearson S. and William. They partake of their father’s habits of industry, and are prosperous farmers of the township. William is Township Trustee, and held the office of Land Assessor in 1880.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 984

THOMAS VOSS CRABILL, retired farmer, Springfield. This gentleman is one of the few living pioneers who are left to tell the tale of the trials and hardships of pioneer life, and who have helped to convert the wilds of the Mad River country into the beautiful farms to be seen throughout the county. Thomas Voss Crabill was born in Moorefield Township, Clark Co., Ohio, Nov. 2, 1810, and is the son of David and Barbary (Bear) Crabill, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Pennsylvania, who settled on Buck Creek, in Moorefield Township, in 1808; they were married in Virginia, and had born to them the following children: Sarah (deceased), Maria, John (deceased), Thomas V., David (deceased), James W., Mary, Susan (deceased), Joseph (deceased), Pierson S., William H. and Eliza J. The subject of this sketch grew up in his native township, and was there married, Jan. 31, 1833, to Sidney Yeazell, daughter of Abraham and Mary Yeazell, who was born in Moorefield Township Feb. 6, 1815, her family being pioneers of Clark County; of this union, fifteen children have been born, nine of whom are living, viz., William, David, James, John, Thomas, Milton, Joseph F., Levina and Elizabeth. Shortly after marriage, Mr. Crabill moved to his present farm, which he rented from his father, upon whose death he bought the property from the heirs. The parents of Mr. and Mrs. Crabill died in Moorefield Township, his father, David Crabill, having been a soldier in 1812, fighting the Indians, who were leagued with the English against his native land. Mr. Crabill inherited 100 acres of land, and his wife had $1,000 in money, with which they started in life; but, by constant toil and rigid economy, they have accumulated a large estate, owning 700 acres of land surrounding his home in Springfield Township, and 320 in Moorefield Township. Mr. Crabill is recognized as a man of upright, honest character, whose word has ever been as good as his bond; politically, he was a Whig, but, upon the formation of the Republican party, he joined its standard, and is a “stalwart” in his political opinions, his whole family being of the same faith. He is now in feeble health, having been paralyzed for some years, but, with his partner through life’s joys and sorrows, he patiently awaits the day when he will be called to rest in peace.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 811

WILLIAM CRABILL, farmer; P. O. Springfield; son of Thomas V. and Sidney Crabill; he was born in this county March 15, 1834. He was united in marriage, Nov. 1, 1860, to Sarah E. Wise, daughter of Jesse and Mariel Wise; seven children have been born unto them, viz., Joseph, June 4, 1862; William Edgar, Aug. 4, 1866; Lizzie, May 5, 1868; John, Oct. 15, 1870; Hattie, Oct. 18, 1872; Alice, Sept. 4, 1876; Elza, Feb. 11, 1879. John died when but 4 years old. Mr. Crabill lived at home, working on the farm, until his marriage, when he moved near Charleston, Clark Co., Ohio, on a rented farm; after remaining on said farm two years, he rented and moved to another farm, in Harmony Township, where he lived twelve years, when he moved to his present home; during the fourteen years he was farming rented land, he saved $10,000, which he invested in the farm upon which he now resides. He is a practical farmer, and his stock is all of the best breed, experience convincing him that “the best pays the best.” Mrs. Crabill was born in this county March 6, 1841, and she and her husband have been active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1874, and have been liberal in the support of that denomination. Politically, Mr. Crabill is a Republican, and is one of the go-ahead, progressive farmers of his township.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 812

HENRY S. CRADLEBAUGH, proprietor of Silver Lake Park, two miles northwest of New Carlisle, has done and is continuing to do a most commendable work in the development and upbuilding of this place as one of the most attractive recreation and amusement resorts of this section of the state, and he is one of the popular and representative citizens of New Carlisle.

Mr. Cradlebaugh was born in Seneca County, Ohio, but came to Clark County in 1881 and passed ten years on a farm near New Carlisle. He then removed to this village, where he operated a machine shop and where he eventually added a garage and general automobile repair shop. He has much of native mechanical ability, early gave special study to gasoline engines, and in 1890 he purchased one of the first gasoline engines manufactured at Springfield. In 1902-3 he held the position of designer for the Foos Gas Engine Company at Springfield, and in this connection he devised many improvements on various types of gas engines. For the past twenty-eight years Mr. Cradlebaugh has successfully conducted a well-equipped general machine shop and also an automobile garage at New Carlisle, his original work in connection with automobilies having been initiated in 1899, so that he is a veteran in this industry. He has been granted a number of patents on improvements to gas engines and also on farm implements and machinery. Among his patents is one on a device to indicate low water supply in connection with gas engines; another, now expired, to indicate speed; and a friction clutch pulley which was placed in use by the Foos Company while he was associated with that concern. Impaired health caused Mr. Cradlebaugh to retire from his position with this corporation, in the development of the business of which he contributed in large measure through his admirable inventions.

For the past three years Mr. Cradlebaugh has been actively identified with the improving and developing of beautiful Silver Lake Park, which comprises seventeen acres, the lake being of pure spring water and with shell marle beaches that make it specially attractive for bathing and swimming. The lake is fed entirely by fine springs, its maximum depth is twenty-seven feet, and wooded hills surrounded it and add to its picturesque attractions. The resort is now equipped with modern bath houses, and at the park the summer season of 1922 shows frequently as many as 700 persons bathing and swimming at the beaches. Adequate provisions are made for the serving of meals and refreshments, and a large auditorium has been erected for assembly purposes, with the result that the resort is used by the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A. of Springfield and by other organizations devoted to religious and cultural service. On his lake tract Mr. Cradlebaugh has 850 peach trees that are just coming into bearing. Mr. Cradlebaugh has had no desire for political activity or public office, but for twelve years he gave effective service in caring for the apparatus of the New Carlisle Fire Department. He and his wife are active members of the United Brethren Church in New Carlisle, and their circle of friends in the county is limited only by that of their acquaintances.

Mr. Cradlebaugh married Miss Laura B. Wolf, daughter of the late Jacob Wolf, who was a substantial farmer near New Carlisle. Mr. and Mrs. Cradlebaugh have two daughters: Nellie is the wife of Rev. Galen B. Roger, a clergyman of the United Brethren Church, and Ruth is the wife of Dr. Marion C. Moses, of whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 382

FREDERICK CROFT, retired farmer; P. O. Donneleville. This gentleman is a member of one of Clark County’s representative pioneer families, and is the son of George and Mary (Critz) Croft, he a native of Pennsylvania, and she of Virginia. Frederick was born in Bethel Township, Nov. 25, 1815, and grew to manhood in the pioneer days, when schools and such evidences of civilization were scarce; therefore his education was limited to what he could obtain in a few terms in the rough log school-house of those early days. He assisted his father on the farm and at the mill, faithfully doing his share toward the accumulation of the family estate. On the 24th of February, 1841, he was married to Sophia Kindsmore Smith, who was born in Adams Co., Penn., Feb. 16, 1824, and when a child, came with her parents to Clark County. Here she matured, and has had born to her five children, two married—George (deceased); Clara, now Mrs. Thomas Minnich, of Montgomery Co., Ohio; Abraham, cultivating the old farm; William, still at home; and one died in infancy. Soon after the marriage of our subject, he embarked in farming for himself, on his father’s farm, of which he afterward became part owner; there he judiciously labored until 1870, when he purchased his present lot of ten acres, on the “Dayton and Mad River Valley Pike,” where a fine dwelling decorates the same, in which he lives comfortable and happy, with a wife who is the light of the family, and a kind mother to her children. She is a daughter of Abraham C. and Elizabeth (Dill) Smith, who were natives of Pennsylvania; he was born in Adams County, Dec. 25, 1795; there grew to majority, and was educated in the Pennsylvania College, after which he took a course of medicine, but never entered upon the profession as practitioner. He was an active and valuable the counselor at law, to which much of his time was given. He was married in Pennsylvania and in 1834 he and family located in Clark County; but in 1837 removed to near Camden, Jay Co., Ind. In 1835, he united with the Presbyterian Church, at Carlisle, Ohio, and by his Christian walk in after years gave good evidence that he was a humble follower of Christ. He was a man of integrity of character, upright and honest in all his dealings; and one who possessed the confidence, to the fullest extent, of his fellow-citizens. The people of Jay County elected him two successive terms to the office of Associate Judge of the county, the duties of which he filled with faithfulness and ability. On the morning of his death, when asked by a near member of the family “What his prospects were in view of death?” and he cheerfully replied: “I am willing to go wherever the Lord calls me.” His death occurred Nov. 18, 1863, having attained to nearly his threescore and ten years. He left an aged widow and many warm friends. His wife was born in York Co., Penn., in 1792; she was a faithful companion and worker in the church of her husband; she was the mother of twelve children, of whom nine are now living; Mrs. Croft being the sixth in number, and of Swiss descent on the father’s side, and of English on the maternal side.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1027

GEORGE CROFT (deceased). Few men were better known in the early settlement of Bethel Township than the old pioneer whose name heads this biography. He was born in York Co., Penn., in November, 1771, and his parents, Jacob Croft and wife, were natives of Germany, who settled in the American Colonies, and who espoused the patriot cause in the Revolutionary war; Jacob fighting throughout that struggle against English tyranny. They raised a large family, George being one of the number, and all were reared to farm life. At a matured age, George went to Virginia, where he married Mary Critz, Nov. 18, 1799, she being a native of Botetourt County, born in November, 1779. In 1804, he, wife and two children came to Bethel Township, Clark Co., Ohio, and settled in Sec. 8, on the hill where Martin Snyder now lives. Building a log cabin in the dense forest, he bravely went to work to make a home and competence for his family; and how he succeeded is well known over the county, owning as he did, at the time of his death, over 800 acres of fine land, all the legitimate result of the constant, unceasing toil of himself and family. To George and Mary Croft were born the following children: John, George (deceased), Elizabeth (the deceased wife of Peter Minnich), Jacob, Michael (deceased), Mary Ann (the widow of James Leffel, the noted inventor), Frederick, David and Henry, the latter also a well-known inventor. His wife died Feb. 7, 1846, and he was again married, to a Mrs. Wyland, but enjoyed that companionship only a short time, when death called him from the scenes of his earthly labors, Oct. 16, 1855, in his 85th year; and he and wife now sleep side by side in the beautiful cemetery of Fern Cliff, a handsome monument marking their last resting place, put there by an affectionate family, who still fondly cherish their memory. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, and was the main instrument in the building and support of the “Croft Church,” which has since been moved to Donnelsville. Politically, he was a Democrat, and few men were better neighbors than this sturdy old Pennsylvanian, who was manly, honest, kind and obliging in all things, and his well-known expression of “I say so,” convinced the listener that what he said was true, as well as marked him as a man of integrity, courage and determination.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1027

JOHN B. CROFT, farmer; P. O. Springfield; born on the farm where he now resides, May 19, 1842; is a son of John and Margaret (Leffel) Croft, natives of Virginia, but came to Ohio with their parents about 1804, he being then about 3 years of age; was raised in Bethel Township, and followed the milling and distilling business. Was married there and followed his trade about eleven years; thence bought the place where he now resides; there carried on his former business, milling and distilling, until the war of the rebellion, when he closed up the latter business, but continued the milling till about five years ago when, from his advanced age, he retired from active business. Mr. Croft was one of the early pioneers, and experienced a full share of the hardships, and ups and downs of pioneer life. Industrious and prompt in all his business relations, and ever maintaining an undoubted integrity of character. Of seven daughters and three sons, six now survive—David, Catharine, John B., Jane, Paulina, and Laura B. Our subject always remained with his father. Was married, April 27, 1880, to Miss Sarah, daughter of Aaron Rockafield, a native of Virginia. During the war of the rebellion, on Aug. 16, 1862, Mr. Croft enlisted in the 17th Ohio Battery, and served through the war in the Army of the Mississippi. Was in the conflicts of Vicksburg and Port Gibson, and most of the conflicts of the Mississippi Valley, having in all been in seventy-two days of active, hard fighting, but escaped without a wound, and at the close of the war received an honorable discharge and returned safely to home and friends. Mr. Croft is held in high esteem in his community, having the general confidence of the people. Has held the office of Township Trustee for the last three years.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 985

JOHN C. CROMWELL, who has charge of the Sultzbach Farm of 260 acres in Moorefield Township, one mile north of the corporate limits of Springfield, was born at Frederick, Maryland, July 14, 1880, and is a son of William E. and Catherine E. (Crawford) Cromwell, the former of whom was born in Maryland, in 1834, and the latter in Virginia, in 1843. In 1886 William E. Cromwell came with his family to Ohio and settled in Clinton County, where he purchased a farm.

He there continued his successful activities as a farmer until his removal to the City of Columbus, from which city he worked as a locomotive engineer on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, his early experience in this vocation having been gained before he came to Ohio. He continued in railroad service until his retirement, and he now resides at Springfield, his wife having died in 1915. He is a democrat in politics and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was also his wife. Of their six children three are living, the subject of this review being the youngest of the number: William C. is foreman in an elevator manufactory in the City of Columbus, and Catherine E. is the wife of H. H. Hodge, of Springfield.

The public schools of Ohio’s capital city afforded to John C. Cromwell his early education, which included the discipline of the high school, and after leaving school he was employed in the electric light works of Columbus until 1911. He then came to Clark County, where he has the active management of one of the large and fine farm estates of Moorefield Township, as noted in the opening paragraph of this review. He is a leader in the breeding of registered Jersey cattle in Clark County, the fine herd on the farm being headed by “Majestic Star,” and the farm being also a center for the raising of registered Poland-China swine, with an average herd of forty head.

Though loyal and progressive as a citizen and a staunch advocate of the principles of the democratic party, Mr. Cromwell has had no desire for political activity or public office. He and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian Church.

June 8, 1904, recorded the marriage of Mr. Cromwell and Miss Catherine E. McLean, who attended Oxford Female College and later graduated from Danville College. She is a popular factor in the representative social activities of the home community, and is the gracious chatelaine of the pleasant rural household over which she presides. Mr. and Mrs. Cromwell have one son, John McLean, who was born June 22, 1918.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 81

ALBERT K. CROSSLAND, farmer; P. O. Springfield. He is the son of Jacob and Emily (Otstot) Crossland; was born in this county Feb. 1, 1851; he lived with his parents until his marriage, when he moved to where he now lives. He was united in the holy bonds of wedlock, March 24, 1880, to Laura Rice, daughter of William and Matilda Rice. Although lately married, he and his young wife are nicely located, and well prepared to begin life aright. Mr. Crossland is a promising young man, of good moral and religious habits; he has been a [member] of the First Baptist Church of Springfield since 14 years old. His wife is one of those good, sensible young ladies, well calculated to make home cheerful and assist her husband through life. Politically, he casts his ballot with the Republican party.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 812

ALBERT K. CROSSLAND maintains as the place of his productive activities his excellent farm on the Selma Turnpike, four miles Southeast of Springfield, in Springfield Township, and it has been through his own ability and well directed endeavors that he has gained secure vantage-ground as one of the substantial agriculturalists and stock-growers of his native county. He has made good improvements on his farm of 110 acres, and the same is a center of successful farm enterprise. Mr. Crossland has served for many years as superintendent of the Selma Turnpike, one of the excellent thoroughfares of Clark County, is a charter member of the Farm Bureau of the county, and is one of the charter stockholders in the Farmers Bank at Springfield. His political support is given to the republican party, and he is affiliated with the Junior Order United American Mechanics.

Mr. Crossland was born at Springfield, judicial center of Clark County, on the 1st of February, 1852, and is a son of Jacob and Emily (Otstot) Crossland, both natives of Pennsylvania, where the former was born in 1817 and the latter in 1820, the death of the father having occurred in 1852, when the subject of this review was only a few months old. Jacob Otstot, maternal grandfather of Mr. Crossland, was born and reared in Pennsylvania, and in 1835, accompanied by his wife and their two children, he drove through with team and covered wagon from the old Keystone State to Clark County, Ohio, where he settled on a tract of heavily timbered land in Springfield Township. He cleared a small piece of ground on which to build his pioneer log cabin, and then proceeded with the reclamation and development of his embryonic farm, both he and his wife having passed the remainder of their lives on this homestead. The marriage of the parents of Mr. Crossland was solemnized in Clark County, and after the death of the father the young and widowed mother eventually became the wife of Samuel Hayes, on whose farm the subject of this review was reared to adult age, his educational advantages having been those of the public schools of the locality and period.

Mr. Crossland continued to be associated with the work of the home farm until he had attained to his legal majority, and for a few years thereafter he had the general supervision of the 100 acre farm owned by Rev. Mr. Tuttle in Springfield Township. He then rented a small farm and engaged independently in agricultural and live-stock enterprise. On the 14th of March, 1880, he married Miss Laura Rice, and in the same year they established their home on his present farm. Mrs. Crossland was born in Springfield Township, in 1860, and here she passed her entire life, her death having occurred in 1886, only a few years after her marriage. Of the two children of this union the firstborn, Charles, is deceased, and Walter E. is a successful farmer in Springfield Township. In 1892 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Crossland and Miss Emma Fink, and of this union no children have been born. Mr. and Mrs. Crossland are popular factors in the social life of their home community, and their attractive rural homestead is a center of generous hospitality.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 146

J. S. CROWELL, manager of Farm and Fireside, Springfield. John S. Crowell was born in Louisville, Ky., Jan. 7, 1850; was the seventh child of parents in moderate circumstances, and still living, and members of the Walnut Street Presbyterian Church of Louisville, of which his father, S. B. Crowell, was one of the founders, and elected a Deacon for life. John attended the public schools of Louisville; was an apt scholar, and, although generally the youngest in his classes, stood at their head—completing in six years the usual eight-year course. He evinced early an independent and self-reliant disposition, and essayed to earn his own livelihood; at the age of 11 years, upon his parents objecting to furnish him the necessary capital to a start as newsboy, he held a stranger’s horse, receiving 5 cents therefor, which was immediately invested in newspapers, and formed his paid-up capital stock; for two years he sold papers in the early morning and attended school during the day; in the short interval between the close of school and his last public examination, he secured a situation in a small printing office at $2.50 per week; so desirous was his teacher to have him appear at examination that he secured his attention vi et armis, by the aid of a posse of his larger school-mates, who carried him to the school in his working habiliments; but, even under such untoward circumstances, he acquitted himself with great credit to himself and his teacher. Against parental wishes and advice of teachers, he declined entering college, preferring the avocation of his choice, in which his success was marked and rapid; within six months, he was promoted from $2.50 to $12 per week, then made assistant foreman; but, preferring press-work to type-setting, was, at 16 years of age, made head pressman, and even then his fellow-workmen predicted for him a future large publishing house of his own. While in this office, one of the workmen was caught by the arm between the ceiling and a pulley making 150 revolutions per minute; others looked on in horror, expecting to see him crushed, but young Crowell grasped a belt with one hand, was instantly hurled to the ceiling, where securing a footing, he released his companion, who fainted in his arms; thus an arm—perhaps a life—was saved. He became, early in 1868, foreman of the Courier-Journal job press room, remaining until October, 1869, when about an inch of his right thumb was mashed off while attending a power paper-cutting machine; he quickly adjusted the severed portion of the thumb, while the man who had caused the accident shut his eyes and called for help. While thus disabled, he invented an “elastic hand-stamp,” and the rubber-like material out of which they were made, and, while deeming the invention scarcely worthy a patent, he commenced their manufacture, in which he employed his brothers, and did a very prosperous business for some time, which he discontinued a little before the panic of 1873. He then visited many of the States and Northern lakes, and, on returning to Louisville, entered the office of Messrs. B. F. Avery & Sons, the well-known plow manufacturers, conducting the publication of their agricultural journal, the Home and Farm, on a trip in the interest of which he first met Mr. P. P. Mast, to whom he afterward suggested the idea of publishing a similar journal under the auspices of his manufacturing firm, which eventuated in the present well-known and thriving journal, the Farm and Fireside, of which, as the founder, Mr. Crowell may feel a just and pardonable pride, and of which extended notice will be found in another department of this work. For ten years before leaving Louisville (which he did in the fall of 1877), Mr. Crowell was an active, working member of the Walnut Street Presbyterian Church of that city, and its Sunday school; and at 17 years of age was elected its Librarian; at 20, Assistant Superintendent of the school, and at 21, its Superintendent; and at 25 years of age, was chosen Deacon for life of that church. On Nov. 20, 1877, he married Miss Ella C. Mangold, of an old Louisville family, whose parents are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Crowell have a daughter 1½ years old. They are both members of the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield, which they joined in November, 1877. Mr. Crowell, although not indigenous to Clark County, is worthy of conspicuous mention among its foremost citizens.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 812

REV. EDWARD H. CUMMING, retired Episcopal minister, Springfield.

NOTE.—At Mr. Cumming’s request, the personal mention, without which the pen picture of so graceful a character is but an outline, is reluctantly omitted.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 816

FINLEY O. CUMMINGS, traveling salesman, Springfield; was born in Xenia Jan. 7, 1842; is the youngest son of Dr. James Cummings, who was a native of Virginia, and for a number of years a prominent physician of Xenia. The father having died, the family removed to Springfield in 1849. The mother, whose maiden name was Mary A. Moore, and who was a native of Maryland, now resides here with her son, being in the 69th year of her age. The subject of this sketch was among the first to respond to the President’s call for troops in 1861, and participated in the first Bull Run battle, being a member of the 2d O. V. I.; at the expiration of his three-months term, he enlisted for one year, and became a member of the 60th O. V. I., of which he was Sergeant Major, and which did service under Gen. Fremont in Virginia, the whole regiment being taken prisoners when their time was about to expire; after exchange, was discharged. Mr. Cummings, in the meantime, had been promoted to 2d Lieutenant for meritorious conduct, but, having been discharged with his regiment, he re-enlisted as a private in the 44th O. V. I., which served as mounted infantry until January, 1864, when the regiment veteranized, and was organized as the 8th O. V. V. C., with which Mr. Cummings continued until July, 1864, at which time he was commissioned Adjutant of the 176th O. V. I.; after an acceptable service of about one year in this capacity, July 31, 1865, he received a commission from President Johnson as Captain and Assistant Adjutant General, in which capacity he served until November, 1865, when, there being no further need of the volunteer troop, he was honorably and finally discharged, having been in the service a little more than four years, during which he participated in many battles and received marked notice for his bravery and patriotism. After his return to Springfield, he resumed his law studies, broken off by his enlistment, but which he never completed; finding commercial business more to his liking, in 1866 he became traveling salesman for Foos & Mullikin, manufacturers of furniture, and continued with them until January, 1873, when he accepted a traveling position with John Duer & Sons, of Baltimore, manufacturers and importers of cabinet hardware and upholsterers’ goods, which position he has continued to fill acceptably, and he is now the Western representative of the firm. Mr. Cummings is a member of the Masonic Lodge and Chapter of Springfield, and a gentleman of social and business culture. He married, in 1867, Miss Clara B. Woodward, of Greene County, who was a graduate of the Springfield Female Seminary; she died Feb. 9, 1868, and he again married, May 5, 1875, his wife being Miss Rachel, second daughter of Judge Littler, of this city; she is also a graduate of the seminary here, and possessed of valuable accomplishments as daughter, wife and mother; the issue of this union is one daughter—Kate Logan.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 815