Clark County Ohio Biographies

HERMAN JACOB FAHIEN. One of the most perfect organizations of its kind in the State of Ohio is the Fahien & Tehan Company, dry goods merchants at Springfield. The president of this business is H. J. Fahien, who has been a resident of Springfield for over thirty-five years, and whose life since early boyhood has represented a complete devotion to the ideals and the practical service of merchandising.

He was born at Richmond, Indiana. His parents, Jacob and Mary Fahien, were natives of Germany, came to America as young people, were married in Cincinnati and soon located at Richmond, Indiana, where his father spent the rest of his active life in the contracting business.

H. J. Fahien was only 6 years of age when his father died, and when he was 11 he became self-supporting as a cash boy in the dry goods store of George H. Knollenberg at Richmond. His business apprenticeship was served in the dry goods establishment, and before he left there, in 1886, he had risen to the responsibilities of head of the silk department.

With this degree of successful experience to his credit Mr. Fahien came to Springfield in 1886 and began work in the dress goods department of the old firm of Kinnane & Wren. When this firm dissolved, Mr. Fahien continued with its successors, Kinnane & Brothers. The business still later was incorporated, the principal members being Edward, John and James Kinnane, while Mr. Fahien and his present partner, Edward A. Tehan, were minor stockholders in the enterprise. Edward Kinnane died in 1899 and his brother in 1907.

Soon after the latter event, Mr. Fahien and Mr. Tehan withdrew from the old house and organized, and in July, 1908, incorporated the Fahien & Tehan Company. They secured quarters for their business in three floors and basement of the recently completed Fairbanks Building. In this building their store was opened in 1908, and from the first it enjoyed a substantial trade and rapidly built itself into a favored position in the retail business section. In 1914 the Kinnane Brothers Company went out of business. In the meantime, the Fahien & Tehan Company had outgrown their quarters in the Fairbanks Building, and they therefore secured the old location of Kinnane Brothers in the Bushnell Building, and in addition they secured the services of the more efficient salespeople of the old firm, some of whom are still with the Fahien & Tehan Company. The last year Fahien & Tehan were in their location in the Fairbanks Building their business aggregated $286,000. In 1921 the volume of their business reached the imposing figure of $1,250,000.

Mr. Fahien married Carrie Frances Bonner, of Springfield, who came from Maryland. They have one of the very attractive homes of the city, built on a street of fine homes, East High Street. The architectural features of their house may be described as a California bungalow, built of solid concrete, and on a lot 120 by 400 feet, surrounded by 1,000 feet of specially trimmed hedge fence and roses.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 48

JOHN J. FAWCETT, brass founder, Springfield; is one of the manufacturers of Springfield; he was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, in 1836; served a regular apprenticeship at his trade in England, and came to the United States in 1862, and has since followed the above business; he was engaged in the business in Chicago a number of years, and was one of the unfortunates who were made penniless by the great fire; After which he worked at his trade in different places, and came to Springfield in 1873, and started a brass foundry in connection with J. H. Kelly; subsequently purchased Mr. Kelly’s interest, and has since conducted the business alone. His foundry is located on the alley between Main and High, and Market and Center streets. He is the first man to make a success of this business as a specialty in this city, and has an increasing trade. He is thoroughly acquainted with all the details of his business; is active and respected in business and social circles. He married, March 16, 1876, Miss Mary J. Barry; she is a native of Ireland; was a resident of Indianapolis at the time of her marriage, but was formerly for a number of years a resident of Dayton.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 825 - Transcribed by Sharon Wick

HENRY L. FEIRSTINE, farmer; P. O. Enon. Mr. Feirstine is the son of George and Sarah Feirstine, of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio in 1863, purchasing a farm of 143 acres in Clark Co., on which the subject of this sketch now resides. He was born Oct. 30, 1849, and received his education in the common schools. He married Miss Mary Rockfield, of Green Co., Ohio. They are the parents of two children—Cora and Maude. Cora was born March 28, 1878; and Maude born July 2, 1879.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1041 - Transcribed by Sharon Wick

PETER FERREE, farmer; P. O. Springfield; born in York Co., Penn., March 9, 1818; is a son of Peter and Catharine Ferree, natives of Pennsylvania, and who lived and died in their native State. They were parents of seven children; five now survive—Andrew, Leah, Peter, Catharine and Mary. Our subject lived with his parents till the death of his father, which occurred when he was only about 8 years of age, and from this time he was thrown upon the world among strangers, and found a home and work the best he could till about 19 years of age, when he and an older brother came west to Ohio, locating first in Stark County, where he remained about two years. Thence, in the spring of 1839, he came into Clark County, where he has since resided. Was married Dec. 24, 1840, to Elizabeth, daughter of Adam Baker, whose history appears in sketch of his son Adam, of German Township, in this work. By this union they have had four children; three now survive—Adam W., Mary C. and Anna. Mr. Ferree started in life a poor boy, and by his own industry, economy and good management has become independent. Is owner of 250 acres of land on Mad River Valley; of excellent quality, under good cultivation, with fine buildings and improvements; also owns 320 acres of land in Illinois and Missouri. Mr. Ferree’s credit is undoubted. He owes no man; works on the cash system, consequently has the confidence and friendship of all who know him; and as an example of success, upright dealing and prominence in his community is worthy of imitation by the young in all generations.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 986

HARRY B. FIDLER is the efficient and popular manager of the fine farm of the Ohio State Home maintained by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in section 35, Greene Township, Clark County, and he takes great pride in keeping this farm up to the highest standard and making it a credit to the noble fraternity under the auspices of which it is operated.

Mr. Fidler claims the old Buckeye State as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Shelby County, Ohio, on the 21st of September, 1868. He is a son of James and Lucinda (Epler) Fidler, the former of whom was born in 1847 and the latter in 1849. James Fidler was born in Miami County, this state, a representative of a sterling pioneer family, and after his marriage he established his residence on a farm six miles east of Sidney, Shelby County, his wife having been reared in that county. After remaining a comparatively short period on the farm in Shelby County Mr. Fidler and his wife removed to Michigan, where he found employment at Charlotte in Eaton County. After the return to Ohio he remained for a time in Shelby County, and he then removed to Auglaize County, where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, both having been earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Fidler was a staunch advocate of the principles of the republican party, and was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. Of their seven children two are deceased: Harry B., of this review, is the eldest of five surviving; Emma is the widow of M. A., Carnes; Gertrude is the wife of William Rose; Judson H. is a carpenter by trade and vocation and resides in Logan County; and Maude is the wife of Frederick Simpson.

To the public schools Harry B. Fidler is indebted for his youthful education, and he remained at the parental home for some time after attaining to his legal majority. In the passing years he gained broad and practical information concerning all of the details of farm enterprise, and thus he is most thoroughly fortified for the responsible position of which he is now the incumbent. He has been long and prominently affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is a past noble grand of Mosgrove Lodge No. 754; past chief patriarch of Champaign Encampment No. 29; a member of the Daughters of Rebekah, Lodge No. 188, at Urbana; and past captain of Canton Occidental No. 21. He has been a representative of his lodge in the Ohio Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows. He is a republican in political allegiance. It should be noted that the father of Mr. Fidler represented Ohio as a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, he having been a member of Company K, Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and having been in active service three years and four months. In later years he vitalized the memories and associations of his military career by active affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic.

The maiden name of the first wife of Mr. Fidler was Emma Kennedy, and no children were born of this union. In 1916 he contracted a second marriage, when Miss Nellie Liston, of Adams County, became his wife. They have no children.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 209

JOHN FISHER, farmer; P. O. Springfield; born in Maryland, Aug. 18, 1801; is a son of Philip and Margaret Fisher, also natives of Maryland, who lived and died in their native State. They were parents of six children; three now survive—John, Philip and Henry. Our subject removed from his native State to Ohio in September 1852, locating in Clark County, residing in Springfield about six months; he then bought and located upon the farm where he now lives, in spring of 1853, where he has since resided, a period of twenty-seven years. He was married March 26, 1826, to Mary Ann Alexander, a native of Maryland, by whom he has had twelve children; ten now survive—John Lewis, Jacob H., Alexander, Elizabeth, Daniel M., Frances Ann, Martha, Joshua F., Thomas Jefferson and James William. Mr. Fisher, in his early life, followed his trade as a stone and brick mason. This he followed up to a few years prior to his coming to Ohio, when he gave up his trade and devoted his attention to farming. Mr. Fisher has 100 acres of excellent land, with good buildings and improvements, and is pleasantly situated, having a good home and residence. This farm and property Mr. Fisher has made and accumulated by his own industry and hard labor, making his first start by his daily labor at his trade, laying by dollar by dollar till he was able to buy his farm, and now he is well and comfortably fixed to pass the balance of his life in the enjoyment of the fruits of his labors. Mr. Fisher and wife are members of the Reformed Church, having been such for the remarkable period of fifty-four years. And they have had the pleasure to see the most of their children become members of some branch of the Christian Church.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 986

JAMES FLEMING, Superintendent of Clark County Infirmary, Springfield. His paternal grandparents were both born, raised and married in Virginia, but soon after located in Westmoreland Co., Penn., where they raised one child. They both died there at a medium age. The maternal grandparents were also both born, raised and married in Virginia. Afterward located in Indiana Co., Penn., where they raised a family of five children. There the grandfather died, and the grandmother afterward in Delaware, Ohio. The father of our subject, was born in Westmoreland Co., Penn., where he grew to manhood, and married Miss Margaret Walker, who was born in Indiana Co., Penn. They had born to them in Pennsylvania three children; thence the family, in 1833, located in Clark Co., Ohio, where two more were born to them; though he being a practical stock dealer never remained in Ohio but short periods, as his business was mostly in Pennsylvania and New York; his death occurred at New Orleans of yellow fever in 1853; his wife survived many years, and died in Clark County when nearly fourscore years of age. James being the eldest, was born April, 1825, in Westmoreland Co., Penn., but from the age of 8 years has mostly been in Clark Co., Ohio. Here he grew to manhood, received his education, and, in 1845, married Sarah McIntire; he continued at the plasterers’ trade until 1859; one year later was elected Sheriff of Clark County, and re-elected to the second term. In 1866, was elected to fill a vacancy in the City Mayor’s office of Springfield; re-elected to second term, but before it expired resigned his official duty, and took charge as conductor on the Hastings & Dakota Railroad, where he remained until 1870; one year later was appointed Chief of Police of Springfield, which position he filled until 1875, and, in 1878, was appointed to his present position, which he creditably fills. Mrs. Fleming was born in Clark Co., Ohio, and has had born to her three children, of which one, James, Jr., survives; he was born in 1848, and now remains at home.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 825

JAMES FOLEY (deceased). Since the first settlement of Clark Co., there were, perhaps, none of its pioneers more widely known throughout its length and breadth than James Foley, who was born in Virginia Oct. 4, 1779, and was the son of William Foley, of that State, who was married twice and was the father of eighteen children, eleven of whom came to this county, viz., Lettie, Marian, William, John, James, Rose, Thomas, Absalom, Stephen, Catharine and Fanny, all being now dead. In 1803, James Foley came on horseback from his native State, being possessed of very little money, but determined to make a home in a country where slavery was unknown, and where a poor man would have every advantage that liberty and equality guarantees. He finally, in 1805, settled in Moorefield Township, upon land that he had previously selected. He was married, at Darby Plains, Ohio, about 1808, to Mary Marsh, daughter of Joseph and Susannah Marsh, natives of Virginia, where Mrs. Foley was born Sept. 4, 1784, and of which union were born five children, as follows: Griffith, Catharine, Susan, John and James; Catharine, the widow of Charles Ward, being now the only survivor. Mrs. Foley was a sincere member of the Presbyterian Church, and died April 17, 1855. Mr. Foley was one of the most successful men of Clark Co. Coming from a State where an education was difficult to obtain, he yet managed to pick up the common rudiments of reading, writing, etc., and this, added to his shrewd, natural abilities and his business experience through life, rendered his judgment safe, and therefore led to success. His views on slavery may be judged from the fact that, after settling here he went back to Virginia and, with the consent of his brothers, brought four slaves which they owned to this country and gave them their freedom. Quite an early emancipator was this rugged old pioneer, who began the work of emancipation before Lincoln was born, having inherited that love of freedom from his Irish forefathers, which is such a marked characteristic of that race. Mr. Foley was a Captain in the war of 1812, and was among those who went to the relief of Hull at Detroit, and his grandson, James Foley, the present Sheriff of Clark Co., has now the sword which he carried in that war against English tyranny. Politically, he was a Whig, and afterward a Republican. Was one of the first Commissioners of Clark Co., serving several years, and was a member of the Ohio Legislature two terms, and also a member of the Masonic fraternity. At the time of his death, which occurred Oct. 5, 1863, aged 84, he was the owner of 2,800 acres of land in the county, 160 close to Columbus, beside a large amount of money in bank and on interest, all of which was the result of his own efforts as an industrious, economical and honest man. He was a man of robust constitution, invincible courage and determination, affable in his manners, fond of a joke, even in his old age, whose companionship was pleasant, retaining his spirits to the last, and exhibiting that same vigorous, unyielding will and force of character which were his stepping-stones to prosperity.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 986

JAMES FOLEY, Sheriff, Springfield; is a native of Clark County, and descendant of a pioneer family; his paternal grandfather, James Foley, came from Virginia a single man in 1806, and located in Moorefield Township, where he entered a large tract of land and subsequently married Mary Marsh, daughter of John Marsh, also a pioneer of that township. Mr. Foley was a Captain in the war of 1812, and a member of the first Board of Commissioners of Clark County; afterward was a member of the Legislature from this county, and a prominent, useful and worthy citizen; his decease occurred about 1866 in the 87th year of his age; he had a family of four children, two sons and two daughters, of whom Mrs. Catharine Ward is now the only survivor. John Foley was the oldest son, and was born in Moorefield Township and grew to manhood in the pioneer days, and married Emily Dunlap, daughter of the Rev. James Dunlap, a pioneer Baptist minister of Champaign County. They had two children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only survivor; he was born in Moorefield Township Aug. 31, 1838. His father died when he was quite young, and his home was afterward with his grandfather Foley. He received a rudimentary education in the district school under the charge of John W. Weakly; afterward was a dry goods clerk. In 1862, he married Mary, daughter of John Marsh. After his marriage, he located on a farm in Moorefield Township, and continued farming until 1875, when he removed to Springfield, having received the appointment of Deputy Sheriff, which position he held till elected Sheriff. He has a family of five children, four daughters and a son.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 826 - Transcribed by Sharon Wick

JOHN FOOS, manufacturer and capitalist, Springfield; was born in Madison Co., Ohio, in 1826; came to Springfield in 1848 and became connected with the mercantile interest of the place; in 1861, he purchased the Barnett oil-mill, and, soon after, the Steel, Lehman & Co. Mill, and has since been a large dealer in seed and oil. During the war period, he was engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods, being then connected with the woolen mill, since discontinued. In 1870, he became connected with P. P. Mast, the firm now being Mast, Foos & Co.; in 1876, he took hold of the St. John Sewing-Machine Factory, which, up to that time, had had a rather doubtful existence of about one year. Under his control and management, the business has grown to large proportions; further notice of this manufactory will be found elsewhere in this work. It will be seen Mr. Foos has been an important factor in the successful development of several important interests of the city, and is now one of its leading business men. He married, in 1856, Samantha Marks; from this union they have five children.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 827

WILLIAM FOOS, banker and farmer, Springfield; is one of the residents of Springfield, and prominently identified with its business and growth. He is a son of Gen. Joseph and Margaret (Phifer) Foos, who were early residents of Franklin, the then county seat of Franklin Co., Ohio; he was a man of great energy, and took an active part in public affairs, and received the appointment of Brigadier General of Militia; he was the first man to suggest the feasibility of a ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien, it being known and spoken of in those days as “Foos’ folly.” The subject of this sketch was born in Franklin County in 1814; he received a fair education in his youth, but was required to labor for the support of the family after he became 14 years of age, and commenced at that age farming as a renter; his first business experience was as a clerk in a dry goods store, and, at 23 years of age, he embarked in that business in Springfield, but, finding he had an unsafe partner, he sold out and afterward engaged in the same business in Logan County. After two or three years, he removed to London, Madison Co., where he continued in the same trade. During his stay in Madison County, he purchased and improved a farm near London; In 1846, he returned to Springfield and again engaged in merchandising, which he continued until 1854, during which he was also engaged in a number of outside business enterprises; buying wool, operating a cotton-mill, and, in connection with his brother, laid out a tract of 90 acres, and made additions to the city, which now contains some of the handsomest residence property in the city. In 1859, he in connection with his brother Gustavus, established a private banking house, which, in 1863, became the present Second National Bank, of which he is President, and his son, Fergus W., Cashier, the two owning the large majority of the stock. The stock of said bank is now worth double the capital stock, notwithstanding, they have generally made an annual dividend of 12 per cent. From 1866 to 1877, Mr. Foos was a member of the firm of James Leffel & Co., manufacturers of the celebrated Leffel turbine water-wheel and other mill machinery. It is but just to say that the success attained was largely due to the energy and ability of Mr. Foos and his son Lamar, who was in charge of the branch house in New York City. It is a well known fact that all concerned became rich. The establishment has since passed into the hands of John W. Bookwalter. When Mr. Foos sold out his mercantile interests in 1854, he purchased 4,000 acres of wild land in Champaign Co., Ill.; built himself a good house on High street, and concluded to take it easy the remainder of his life ; but a short trial at that sort of life convinced him that loafing was not his forte, and so the banking house of Foos Brothers was established. Soon after he commenced the development of a plan for the improvement and remunerative culture of the land in Illinois, which was his intention when he purchased it. In this enterprise he spent thousands of dollars, and although the distance from his home precludes his personal visit oftener than three a year, when a complete invoice is taken and balance sheets made, which show a good annual dividend on the capital invested and expenses incurred. It will be interesting for cattle men to know that Mr. Foos sold, in the spring of 1880, 200 head of fat cattle at 5 cents in his yard. The average weight was 1,747 pounds. He has a system of monthly reports, and the ground is so laid out and numbered that the farm virtually receives his weekly personal supervision. It now has thirty-two miles of fence, twenty-five of which is fine Osage orange hedge, fifteen miles of open ditch, and, in addition to this, $3,000 worth of tile drains, while Lone-Tree Creek and the Sangamon River pass through it, affording excellent natural drainage and abundance of water. He has from $30,000 to $40,000 worth of stock, constantly cared for by his steward and assistants, and, in 1880, cultivated 1,500 acres besides his meadows and pastures, some seasons cutting and putting up over five hundred tons of hay. His tract of 4,000 acres is known in that vicinity as the model farm. This achievement stamps Mr. Foos as a remarkable man, for the successful improvement and remunerative cultivation of such a tract of land, is beyond question a work of which but few men are capable even when giving their personal attention and entire time. Mr. Foos began life’s battle when but 14 years of age as the manager of a farm, which he rented of his grandfather Phifer, and which his two younger brothers assisted him to cultivate. During the years that have passed, he has not only proved himself a superior farmer, but also a business man of care, discretion and ability, and has contributed much toward the prosperity of his adopted home. The grand farm in Illinois which is cut through the center by the Wabash Railroad, and upon which is located the station and village of Foosland, laid out and built mostly by Mr. Foos’ means and enterprise, will remain to remind future generations of the wisdom and liberal enterprise of the founder. He married, in 1837, Sarah, daughter of James and Nancy (Van Kirk) Mark, of Madison Co., Ohio.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 826

JOHN L. FORRER, carpenter. This gentleman was born in Lebanon Co., Penn., Sept. 23, 1833, to Christian and Elizabeth Forrer, who were both natives of Lancaster Co., Penn., the former born Sept. 5, 1793, and dying Oct. 20, 1854; the latter born Nov. 5, 1800, and dying May 25, 1841. John L. was educated in the common schools of Pennsylvania. He is a carpenter, and is still following that trade. During the rebellion he enlisted in the 44th O. V. I., Sept. 12, 1861; was veteranized and re-enlisted in the 8th O. V. C., January, 1864. He participated in several severe engagements, was wounded at the battle of West Liberty, Va., for which he draws a half-pension. On Nov. 23, 1865, he was married in Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio, to Miss Catharine Strausburg, a native of Wayne Township, Montgomery Co., born Oct. 27, 1843. Their children consist of: Eva May, born Sept. 17, 1866; John, born Sept. 12, 1868, died Oct. 30, 1868; Edgar Earl, born Sept. 28, 1869; Christian L., born Oct. 10, 1872; Etta Irene, born Jan. 31, 1875, and Minnie, born Aug. 24, 1880.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1028

JOSEPH W. FOSTER, farmer; P. O. Springfield. He lives on the old homestead, now owned by himself, where he was born Jan. 15, 1845. His father, John Foster, was born in Yorkshire, England, June 20, 1805, where he lived until 25 years of age, when he sailed for America and came direct to Springfield, and went into partnership with his brother-in-law in the blacksmith and wagon trade; he also had an interest in the stage line; he continued this business until 1844, when he bought the above-named farm, removing to the same, where he followed his trade and carried on farming until his death, July 10, 1876. His mother, Sarah (Gedlin) Foster, was also born in England Aug. 5, 1812, and emigrated with her parents to America in 1831, locating in Springfield, this county, where she became acquainted with Mr. Foster; they were married Sept 5, 1835; they lived happily together to a good old age, she departing this life June 11, 1872. By this union they had four children—Catherine A., Sarah J., Joseph W. and Mary E. Joseph lived with his parents until their death. He was married, Oct. 10, 1871, to Josie M., daughter of Lewis C. and Anna Smith. William L. and Clarence J., their only children, are still the joy of the household. John, the father, was an upright citizen, enjoying the good will and confidence of his neighbors; he held the office of Trustee for quite a number of years. Joseph, like his father, has tried to live a consistent, honorable life. In politics, he is a stanch Republican.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 828

WILLIAM FRANCIS, M. D. There is one vocation, that of the physician, which opens to its devotees an extremely wide range of usefulness. Its avenues are numerous, and that particular phase of its sphere which accomplishes the more than splendid work of preserving God-given life says nothing of the world of sorrow that is banished or of the happiness which is re-enthroned through health restored at the exercise of the divine art. It is indeed a divine art, and those who study and follow it, mellowed and enriched as they are through their association with unmasked humanity, are possessed of a priceless ability to answer the command to “heal the sick.” Among the leaders of the profession at South Charleston, Clark County, is Dr. William Francis, who since engaging in practice in this community has gained the confidence of all and the gratitude of many.

Doctor Francis was born on a farm in Franklin County, Ohio, October 6, 1869, and is a son of Frederick and Eliza A. (Heath) Francis. Frederick Francis was born in County Kent, England, in 1833, and was a babe of three years when brought to the United States by his parents, the family locating in Franklin County, Ohio, where the youth was given his educational training in the public schools and reared to stalwart manhood. Brought up as a farmer’s son, he adopted that vocation when he reached years of maturity, and was engaged in the pursuits of the soil at the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in a volunteer infantry regiment of Ohioans, in the Union Army, and fought gallantly until the close of the struggle. After his military career he resumed his operations as an agriculturist, and continued to be engaged therein during the rest of his life. He had a successful, useful and honorable career, and died at the ripe old age of seventy-eight years. Mr. Francis was a popular comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic, and always attended the meetings of his old brothers-in-arms who wore the Blue. He was a democrat in his political allegiance, and at one time served as a member of the Board of Township Trustees. Of the nine children born to him and his worthy wife eight were living in 1922.

William Francis was educated primarily in the district schools and was reared on the home farm, where he learned the dignity of labor and the value of honesty. Later he attended the Northern Ohio Normal School at Ada, where he prepared himself for a career as teacher, but after three years spent in the school-room entered Starling Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1897 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. At that time he located for practice at Sedalia, Ohio, where he spent nine years, then going to southwestern Missouri, where one year was passed in professional work. Returning then to Ohio, he took up his residence and practice at South Charleston, which has since been his home and the scene of his material and professional success. During the fifteen years of his residence here he has acheived prosperity and atracted to himself the confidence as well as the patronage of a large clientele.

Doctor Francis by a former marriage has three children: Dona, who was educated in the high school and at Wittenberg College, and is the wife of Paul R. Jones, of Springfield where he is Teller in the First National Bank; Ruby, who is attending high school; and Mary E., a graded school pupil. In 1917 Doctor Francis married Mrs. Maud (Yeazel) Hodge.

Doctor Francis holds membership in the various organizations of his calling, including the Clark County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and is a close and careful student of the many advancements being made constantly in his calling. As a fraternalist he belongs to the Masonic Order and is a Past Master of Leanore Lodge No. 512, Free and Accepted Masons, of Sedalia, Ohio. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, at Springfield, in both of which he is popular. He has several business connections, and is president of the Paint Creek Oil and Gas Company, an enterprise for the product on these commodities, and the owner of a valuable and well-cultivated farm near South Charleston. A democrat in politics and a man who has always accepted his public responsibilities and duties cheerfully, he has been prominent in civic affairs and a supporter of public-spirited movements, and during his one term as mayor of South Charleston he gave his city a businesslike administration.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 205

REV. GEORGE W. FRASER. The older generation remember the late Rev. George Wilson Fraser as a gifted man, a learned educator and eloquent minister of the Lutheran denomination, whose life was a well-spent one and a fine example of Christian humility and moral uplift. Mr. Fraser was born at Lincoln, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1841, a son of William J. and Catherine Fraser, natives of Pennsylvania. Deciding upon a ministerial career, George Wilson Fraser early began to prepare for it, and studied at the Millersville Normal School, from which he was graduated in 1869. He enlisted from Millersville in the Union Army August 2, 1862, as a member of Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-second Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was discharged May 3, 1863, at the expiration of his period of enlistment. Immediately thereafter he re-enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and received his second discharge January 31, 1866, with the rank of first lieutenant, which commission was bestowed upon him by Governor Andrew G. Curtin of Pennsylvania. Following his last discharge he resumed his studies and completed his course. He was a student in the seminary of the Lutheran denomination at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and was ordained a minister of the Lutheran Church in 1872. In the meanwhile he had taught school in Pennsylvania, and was principal of the schools of Lena, Illinois. It is interesting to note that the commanding officer of Company E and its organizer, Captain Bierly, was principal of the Millersville Normal School, of which Mr. Fraser had been a student.

In December, 1876, Mr. Fraser married Fannie Breneisen, born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in October, 1852, a daughter of Israel and Amelia (Bruebaker) Breneisen, natives of Pennsylvania. Following his marriage Mr. Fraser took a charge at Loogootee, Illinois, and remained there for two years, when he went to Grand View, Indiana, on the Ohio River, for a time. He then returned to Pennsylvania and taught school for two years. It was then that he was sent on a mission to the Quapaw Indians of Indian Territory, and was very successful there. For a year he was stationed at Bloomington, Nebraska, and was then placed in charge of an academy at Wayne, Nebraska, where he had remained for one year. For two years thereafter he had charge of the church at Dongola, Illinois, and then for live years was at Shipman, and for four years was at Olny, both in Illinois. This last terminated his ministerial life, and he went to Springfield, Ohio, and lived retired for four years. He was, however, still too active a man to be satisfied to remain idle, and so went to Omaha, where he became file clerk in the general offices of the Union Pacific Railroad, and held that position until 1911, when he returned to Springfield, and here he died in December, 1912. His widow survives him and lives with their daughter in the fine residence they own at 227 Stanton Avenue.

Mr. and Mrs. Fraser had the following children: John Howard, who lives at Centralia, Illinois; Emma B., who lives with her mother; Willard G., who lives at Columbus, Ohio; Martin Luther, who is a scientific teacher at Cedarville College. Ohio; and Alice Ruth, who is Mrs. Wendell Dysinger, of Los Angeles, California. Mr. Fraser was a republican, but was not active in politics. Until his death he remained an earnest member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Fraser’s work is completed, but its influence remains and lives on in the hearts and lives of those whom he helped, and the world is better and saner for his passage through it.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 383

GEORGE H. FREY, Ex-President of Board of County Commissioners, Springfield. Mr. Frey is a native of New York, being born in Philadelphia, Jefferson Co., Dec. 19, 1825, his parents, Samuel C. and Susan C. (Calhoun) Frey, coming to Stark County, Ohio, in 1838; they were the parents of Mary A., George H. and Andrew C.; Mary and George were born in New York, and Andrew in Canada; when the rebellion in Canada was at its height, in 1830, Samuel Frey was living in Brockville, engaged in the wholesale and retail jewelry business; being an influential man, and in sympathy with the cause of the Reformers, he was very obnoxious to the British crown, and, upon the destruction of a ship used in transporting Her Majesties soldiers, the British Government, attempted his arrest; he escaped to Ohio, where he was afterward joined by his family. George, the subject of this sketch, came to Clark County in 1847, having previously studied law with Hiram Griswold, of Canton, Ohio; he was admitted to the bar at Xenia, Ohio, in June of the same year, and associated in business with Gen. Charles Anthony, of Springfield; he afterward formed a partnership with R. R. McNemar; during this time, he became connected with the Cincinnati & Sandusky Telegraph Company, first as operator, then Superintendent, and finally President of the company, while its organization was maintained. In 1854, he purchased an interest in the Springfield Republic, and had for eight years almost exclusive management of its business interests, and also of the editorial department; the steady work of from twelve to sixteen hours daily, together with the close confinement, told upon his health until he was compelled to relinquish the business, and he disposed of his interest, as did also W. C. Frye (another member of the firm), to W. T. Cogehall, late Minister to Ecuador; since that time, Mr. Frey has devoted his time in the management of his extensive limestone quarry, and has adopted the latest improved methods for the manufacture of lime, thus largely increasing the production and decreasing the expenses of its manufacture, until the business has become moderately remunerative. He has been, at different times, a Director of the S., J. & P. R. R., of which corporation he was President during the last year of its existence; he was the originator of that enterprise, and was certainly in at the death. Since coming to Springfield, he has held official positions, and greatest pride is taken in helping forward the business enterprises for which Springfield is noted. For two years, he has been President of the Board of Commissioners, having been connected with that body during the past five years; they have built the Children’s Home, made valuable improvements to the County Infirmary, and built the best jail and court house in the State, at a cost only $100,000; the jail is unexceptionably good, all sanitary conditions, as well as security for prisoners, being taken into consideration, and to Mr. Frey belongs the credit of perfecting the plans, which he has so successfully carried out. This board have so managed that Clark County has 1 per cent less taxation than the general average of taxation in other counties in the State. The marriage of George H. Frey and Miss Jane Q. Ward was solemnized July 8, 1851; their union has been blessed with twelve children, eight of whom are now living; Isaac W., the oldest son, is the husband of Miss Annie M. Wilson; George H., Jr., is a student at law; Frederick H., Albert C., Robert R., and Andrew B. (twins), Susie (a survivor of a pair of twins), and Rachel J. (also a survivor of a pair of twins). The children have all been highly favored in an educational way, and are an honor to their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Frey are both members of the Second Presbyterian Church, and enjoy the highest esteem of a large circle of acquaintances.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 828

I. WARD FREY. An old Colonial family in America that has been identified with Springfield interests for seventy-five years bears the name of Frey. It was established on American soil by one Heinrich Frey, a native of Germany, and afterwards a man of great enterprise at Zurich, Switzerland. From that ancient city he is supposed to have come to this country in 1688, locating at Palatine Bridge on the Mohawk River, opposite the present town of Canajoharie, New York. It was there he built a durable stone dwelling house, prudently providing it with convenient loopholes through which those inside could use rifles in the event of an attack by hostile Indians. The old stone house still stands, in a remarkable state of preservation.

Henry Frey son of the founder, married a Miss Keyser, and their son, also named Henry, chose for his wife Elizabeth Herkimer, a sister of Gen. Nicholas Herkimer, a noted early family of the State of New York. Philip Rockel Frey, son of Henry and Elizabeth Frey, married Elizabeth Tyrell.

Samuel Challott Frey, son of Philip R. and Elizabeth Frey, was born at Johnsville, New York, February 7, 1799. He married Susan C. Calhoun, and they were the grandparents of I. Ward Frey, who has long been one of Springfield’s business men. Samuel C. Frey was a watchmaker and jeweler, and additionally was a man of education. In 1830 he moved across the border to Brockville, Canada, where he lived during the next seven years. The history of the Canadian revolution of that time is well known, and, as in all revolutions, innocent people often suffer with the guilty. Mr. Frey at heart was in sympathy with the reformers, but kept a neutral attitude as far as possible, but he became a suspect and when his arrest became imminent, closed up his affairs and returned to the United States. In 1838 he came to Ohio and embarked in the jewelry business at Canton in Stark County; going thence to Springfield, and later removing to Decatur, Alabama, where he died at a venerable age.

George H. Frey, son of Samuel C. and father of I. Ward Frey, was born in Philadelphia, Jefferson County, New York, December 19, 1825, and acquired his earlier education in the City of Brockville, Canada. In 1838 he accompanied his parents to Ohio, and remained in the family home at Canton until 1847, when, on being admitted to the bar, he came to Springfield, and became a leading factor in business and political life. Among a variety of business enterprises he had an interest in one of Springfield’s banks; was a prime mover in the construction of the Delaware branch of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad; was instrumental in setting on foot the construction of the Ohio Southern Railway, which is of the greatest importance to Springfield, connecting, as it does, the city with the Jackson coal fields and ore producing regions, and for one year was president and for many a director of this company. In 1854 he became owner of an interest in the Republic newspaper, and was the able editor of this journal for eight years, during that time wielding an influence in political circles second to none in the state. In 1856 he was appointed one of the delegates to the convention held at Pittsburgh for the purpose of organizing the national republican party and to provide for the selection of delegates to the first National Republican Convention for nominating presidential candidates, which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 19, 1856, and to which Mr. Frey was also a delegate. Among his many notable political friends was Horace Greeley. At Springfield Mr. Frey was a vigorous leader, as elsewhere. He served on the School Board and in the City Council, and presided over the construction of the city water works, and it was during his period of service as county commissioner that the new court house was built and other public improvements brought about.

In the old Ward home at Springfield, on July 8, 1851, George H. Frey was united in marriage with Jane Quigley Ward, who was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1831, and died at Springfield, April 12, 1881. Her parents, Isaac and Mary (Rodgers) Ward, came from Cumberland County in 1833. Isaac Ward was born October 2, 1796, and died at Springfield, April 3, 1863. In Cumberland County he had been a manufacturer of woolen goods, but his health failed and after coming to Springfield was never active in business. Isaac Ward was a son of William and Elizabeth (Harrison) Ward, who moved from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, to Portsmouth, Ohio, with their son Isaac and their daughter Sarah. William Ward was accidentally drowned in the Ohio River, and following this domestic calamity the brother of his widow came to Ohio from Pennsylvania and escorted his sister and her children back to the old home, the journey being made on horseback. Subsequently she returned to Ohio, and she died at Springfield.

I. Ward Frey was born November 22, 1852, at Springfield, in the home of his maternal grandfather, which is now the Frey home. He attended the public schools and Wittenberg College, after which he spent three years at the Highland Military Academy, Worcester, Massachusetts. Soon after leaving school he was called upon to take over the management of his father’s quarries, and soon proved himself a capable business man, for years afterward being actively identified with the construction of the Springfield, Jackson & Pomeroy Railway, a narrow gauge road which is now the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway. His health failed, and for six years he was practically out of business, but subsequently he was associated with Governor Bushnell in the building of Springfield’s first interurban traction line. Since then Mr. Frey has mainly devoted his time and attention to the development of his own city real estate and the management of his valuable farm properties in Clark County and Indiana.

Mr. Frey married Miss Anna Wilson, who was born at Cadiz, Harrison County, Ohio, a daughter of William W. Wilson, whose father, the Rev. Alexander Wilson, was born in Ireland and was a minister in the United Presbyterian Church. Mr. and Mrs. Frey have one daughter, Helen Wilson, who is the wife of Clarence B. Schmidt, of Xenia, Ohio.

Mr. Frey has been more of a business man than politician, although never failing in vigilance as a citizen. He has been one of the most active members of the Chamber of Commerce. For many years he has been a trustee and member of the Oakland Presbyterian Church, has been a generous contributor to many charities, and is a highly esteemed member of the Country Club.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 32

C. C. FRIED, jeweler, Springfield. Charles Christian Fried is essentially a Springfield product, and a creditable one. He was born May 13, 1842, in this city he lost his father when 10 years of age, and his mother seven years ago; he has two sisters—Mrs. Schertzer and Mrs. Weaver, both residents of Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Fried has been twice married—first, to Miss Sarah J. McBeth, on Aug. 6, 1863, who bore him a daughter on July 23, 1867, whom they named Jessie Lavinia; he lost his wife Nov. 13, 1873; on Feb. 25, 1875, he married Miss Anna Knott, by which union he had one daughter, born Feb. 24, 1877, whom they were so unfortunate as to lose on the 7th of July following; their last visitor is a little son, dating from Sept. 15, 1879. Mr. Fried commenced at the very bottom round of the ladder, being apprenticed in 1858 to Mr. W. Grossman, a jeweler, with whom he worked four years; before the end of his apprenticeship, the war had commenced, and young Fried responded to the President’s call for 75,000 volunteers for three months, enlisting in Capt. Ed Mason’s company, Springfield Zouaves, of the 2d O.V.I.; served three months, and then worked at his trade in Cincinnati, Ohio; returning to Springfield, he worked successively for B. Allen one and a half years, John P. Allen, his successor, eight years; then formed a copartnership with B. Allen, which continued two year’s, and in 1872 he opened his own store in a little frame house, and with less than $500 worth of goods; his prosperity has been marked and rapid; he bought the site of his present place of business and built the store in 1878, and is now doing about the leading jewelry business of the city, besides having acquired his home, No. 20 West Columbia street, and several other properties. Mr. Fried is a member of Ephraim Lodge, I. O. O. F., of which he was Treasurer eleven years, and is also a member of the Encampment, being Junior Captain; he is a member of Clark Lodge of F. & A. M.; the order of United American Mechanics; Improved Order of Red Men, and the Murphy Club; he is, last, but not least, a member of good standing of the First Presbyterian Church, and one of its Trustees, and a member of the City Council for the Second Ward. Mr. Fried is wide-awake, progressive, public-spirited, and right abreast of the times, thoroughly a self-made man, and one whom all like.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 829

CHARLES C. FRIELDS, teacher. This gentlemen was born in Williamsport, Penn., March 4, 1828. His father, Charles, Sr., was a native of Belfast, Ireland, and emigrated to this country in 1820. He settled in Pennsylvania, and married Elizabeth Sceifers, a German lady, who died in Williamsport, Feb. 25, 1828, leaving one child, our subject, then at the tender age of seven days. The father afterward moved to Perry Co., Ohio, with his infant son, and in two years was again married in Rahobeth, a small town, in which he died in 1835, leaving his boy of seven years an orphan among strangers. After the death of his father, our subject went to South Charleston, this county, where he entered the family of Mr. Wright, a brickmaker, in whose yard the youthful wanderer was put to work. He afterward lived two years in the family of Absalom Mattox, a merchant of the same town, but Mrs. Mattox’s cruel treatment drove him from her hearth-stone, and he was compelled again to pursue his wanderings. In September, 1838, he became a member of the family of Benjamin Strong, a gentlemen who lived south of Jamestown, Greene Co. Here he received the treatment of an own child, until his benefactors were both called from their earthly home. By this calamity our subject was again left to his own resources. His checkered life had endowed him with a will uncommon in one so young, and with a determination to gain an education, be commenced a life of the strictest industry and economy, working at day labor. He soon was enabled to obtain a common school education, and in the autumn of 1847, taught a four months’ school at Cedarville. In 1848, he took a year’s course in the High School at Springfield, and during the three following winters, taught in the Black Horse Schoolhouse, District No. 1, this township. He has ever made teaching his life work. He was married to Mary Flick Oct. 12, 1851. Her parents, William and Mary Flick, were esteemed citizens of this township. In thirteen years after marriage, she died from that dread enemy of man, consumption. On Oct. 29, 1865, Mr. Frields was again married to Rebecca Ream, daughter of Andrew and Anna Ream, of this township. Her parents were highly respected people, and were among the first settlers of the county. Her mother’s maiden name was Horner; she was of German descent, born March 6, 1804, and died Nov. 12, 1868. Her father was of Dutch descent, born October 15, 1797, in Harrisburg, Penn.; came to Clark County with his parents when he was a boy. Our subject, by his last marriage, became the father of one child, Charley, born Feb. 1, 1872.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1016

WILLIAM C. FRYE, accountant in Second National Bank, Springfield. William C. Frye was born Dec. 5, 1815, at Winchester, Va.; emigrated to Ohio in 1833; located first in Hillsboro, and subsequently in Greenfield, Highland County, where he married Mary K. Bell, daughter of Charles Bell, of that village. In the year 1848, he removed to Springfield, where, from 1849 to 1856, was the book-keeper in the Mad River Valley Branch of the State Bank. At the election of 1855, he was elected County Treasurer; was re-elected in 1857, and served two full terms, which expired September, 1860, when he became joint owner and publisher, with George H. Frey, of the Springfield Republic. In March, 1864, he was appointed Cashier of the Second National Bank, which position he held until July, 1869, when be retired, and associated himself, in 1870, with the Commercial Bank, and afterward with the Lagonda National Bank, from which he retired to the office of County Treasurer by appointment of the Commissioners, and was, at the October election of 1874, elected Treasurer, and continued to discharge the ditties of that office until September, 1877. In January, 1880, he became an officer in the Second National Bank. Mr. William C. Frye is, in all the relations of life, one of the most excellent and thoroughly respected men of Springfield, enjoying the unquestioning confidence of all who know him.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 829

J. C. FULLER, farmer and stock raiser; P. O. New Carlisle.

Source: The History of Clark County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., 1881, page 1016

FRANK E. FUNDERBURG is proprietor of the Shawnee View Farm, where he carries out an extensive program as a practical farmer and a stock man. This farm is in Bethel Township, west of Springfield, on the National Pike. Mr. Funderburg is undoubtedly one of the best known and most influential citizens of Clark County. He is now filling the office of county commissioner, and has played a prominent part in many county movements, including the Grange.

He was born in Bethel Township, near New Carlisle, September 12, 1871, son of Anthony and Susannah (Heck) Funderburg. His mother was a daughter of Samuel and Barbara (Klick) Heck, and the Heck homestead adjoins that of Anthony Funderburg and is now owned by Herbert Funderburg, whose wife is a granddaughter of Samuel Heck. Anthony and Susannah Funderburg spent their married lives on the farm above mentioned, and started there with about a hundred acres, improved with a log house and barn, and made it a farm of unusual building equipment. Anthony Funderburg eventually owned five hundred acres, including his father’s old home and a portion of the Heck homstead. He was a successful sheep and hog raiser, a good business man, and never concerned himself with public office. He finally retired to New Carlisle. He was very active in the Church of the Brethren, at first in the old church at Donalds Creek and later in its offshoot, a church at New Carlisle, and he served as a deacon in both congregations. Anthony Funderburg died in New Carlisle, May 14 [15], 1916, at the age of seventy-three, having been born March 24, 1843. His widow is still living at New Carlisle and takes an active part in church work. They have five children: Frank E.; Samuel H., who owns the old homestead; Daniel H., owner of a farm in Darke County and a resident of Brookville; Emma, wife of John B. Gump, of New Carlisle; and Clara, wife of Herbert T. Barnhart, owner of the original Funderburg farm.

Frank E. Funderburg was reared at the old home, attended the Bethel Township High School, and on December 20, 1893, married Anna Hiestand, daughter of Christian and Catherine (Leffel) Hiestand, who came from York County, Pennsylvania, prior to the Civil war and were farmers in Bethel Township. Her father died at his home on Sugar Grove Hill, April 25, 1920, at the age of eighty-one, and his widow is still living, at the age of eighty. Mr. Hiestand was a school director, and the Bethel Baptist Church stood on his farm and has occupied three successive buildings on that site. The hundredth anniversary of this church was celebrated April 20, 1922, and the original minutes of the church are now kept by Frank E. Funderburg, the present clerk. The organizers of the church in 1822 were Joseph Morris, William Sutton and Luke Byrd.

Mr. and Mrs. Funderburg were classmates in high school. After their marriage they spent five years on the old Heck farm, then moved to a farm belonging to his wife’s father, and lived there on Troy Pike for sixteen years, and in 1915 Mr. Funderburg bought the Shawnee View Farm, located four and one-half miles west of the center of Springfield, on the National Road. This contains ninety-five acres of the old Gordon homestead, a place occupied by three generations of the Gordon family. Mr. Funderburg had erected a fine country home here. He was engaged in the dairy business for sixteen years, and for ten years he supplied milk to the Knights of Pythias Home. He is also owner of a hundred sixty acres of his father’s old farm, including part of the Heck homestead, but this property is under the management of a tenant. Mr. Funderburg has made a success of raising registered stock, though he is not in the fancy stock business, growing rather for practical use. He has long been prominent in the Grange, serving as county deputy, as master of Pomona Grange, as delegate to the State Grange and has also attended the National Grange Convention. His service as clerk of the Bethel Baptist Church began in 1903. He also acted for a number of years as trustee of the School Board, and during the World war he was president of the County Draft Board for two and a half years. Mr. Funderburg takes great pride and satisfaction in the record made by Clark County as exhibited from the records of the Draft Board. All calls for troops were promptly met. Mr. Funderburg became a member of the Board of County Commissioners in September, 1921. This board is looking after the rebuilding of the courthouse and road building in addition to the routine of county fiscal affairs. While Mr. Funderburg has been rather active in public affairs he is not a politician. He is affiliated with St. Andrews Lodge No. 619 of the Masonic Order. Mrs. Funderburg shares with him in interest and enthusiasm for the work of the church and the Grange. They have no children of their own but have given home to three, and two of these remained with them until their marriage. For six years Mr. Funderburg was one of the four trustees of the County Children’s Home, an institution that had in Mrs. Funderburg one of its ablest supporters, and she is still much interested in it.

Source: A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Benjamin F. Prince, 1922, page 150