Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio, Part 1

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 570


USA > Ohio > Delaware County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 1
USA > Ohio > Morrow County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 1
USA > Ohio > Union County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 1


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68


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Gc 977.101 D37m 1217060


MVi. L


GENEALOGY COLLECTION


V


GEN


ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02410 4744


Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016


1


https://archive.org/details/memorialrecordof00unse_0


MEMORIAL RECORD


OF THE


COUNTIES


.. OF . .


Delaware, Union and Morrow,


OHIO.


1 ILLUSTRATED


CHICAGO: THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY,


1895.


1217060 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.


A


Adams, C. B. 349


Adams, Ziba. 492


Amrin, Henry 211


Andrews, Bertrand.


456


Asman, J. C 126


B


Baker, H. L. 47


Bales, Walter W 196


Bales, William W 193


Banker, A. L. 370


Barry, J. W. 282


Barry, Y. P. 496


Bartlett, Henry. 254


Bartlett, R. F ..


49


Bashford, J. W


29


Beacom, Matthew


307


Beatty, R. A. 96


Bell, G. W


179


Benedict, Aaron,


348


Benedict, Martin


158


Curl, F. M. 345


Curl, W. H .. 245


Curtis, Presley 172


Cutler, James. ¥460


D


Dalrymple, C. L. 487


Dart, J. B. 421


Davis, C. E 403


Davis, J. H. 484


Davis, Joseph, Jr. 112


Davis, Michael. 177


Davis, W. F 151


Davis, W. S.


114


Dean, A. H.


279


Deets, George.


298


Demuth, Samuel 268


Denman, William. 94


Denton, G. R. 224


Deposit Banking Company. 418


De Witt, Hiram.


217


Dickey, Jabez. 497


Donavin, J. W 1


Duncan, T. E 145


E


Edwards, Henry 246


Edwards, H. H.


325


Edwards, John .. 325


Edwards, Lewis 500


Edwards, Rosel. 139


Evans, L. H.


231


F


Fay, D. C. 123


Field, Marshall. 342


Finch, John. 288


Finley, J. E 113


Fleckner, H 238


Fleming, Benjamin 351


Fleming James 396


Fleming, Nelson 94


Fleming, Siuney 276


Fowler, S. W ..


203


Freshwater, B. F.


267


Fulton, James 346


G


Gabriel, J. J .. 269


Gage, William F 308


Gallant, J. W. 310


Gano, Mahlon. 201


Gardner, A. M. 373


Gardner, John. 371


Gardner, R. B. 260


Gardner, Washington. 329


Genier, Abner. 469


Gillespie, J. H. 394


Goodwin, A. H. 263


Gordon, A. J.


334


Gordon, T. F. 163


Gorsuch, J. E. 297


Gorsuch, Noah 492


Gorsuch, Samuel. 279


Gosnell, J. N. 208


Graham, John


473


Granger, George


159


Gray, E. G .. 403


Griffith, J. E. 110


Griffith, J. H ..


337


Griffith, T. H 337


Griffith, T. R .. 79


Griswold, B. H. B 108


Grove, J. G. 88


Groves, Joseph. 225


Greiner & Shirk 314


Chapman, C. S. 391


Chidester, C. W. 284


Clark, Henry 350


Clark, Shepherd. 75


Cole, P. B. 377


Comins, A. B. 190


Condit, E. J. 271


Condit, L. S. 138


Conklin, E. M 357


Conner, T. J 450


Coomer, D. G 275


Cowgill, D. E. 463


Cowles, G. E. 493 89


Cox, Robert J.


Crane, Elbert.


154


Cranston, Peleg


265


Cratty, D. G.


444


Cross, J. W.


118


Culbertson, J. A.


445


Culbertson, S. D. 297


Culver, H. S 410


Culver, J. W. 259


Cunard, L. M 168


Curl, E. S. 259


Bennett, Samuel 207


Benson, L. L. 45


Bigelow, A. R. 176


Blackledge, Robert. 302


Blayney, William B 481


Boerger, J. L. 360


Bolinger, G. W


415


Brodrick, Isaac.


90


Brodrick, J. M.


60


Brodrick, S. J


116


Brown, D. W.


424


Brown, E. P.


252


Brundige, William 102


Buck, H. E


63


Buck, J. T.


467


Budd, John. 493


Burkam, Stephen. 100


C


Cady, P. R. 385


Caris, M. W. 311


Carpenter, Rufus. 153


Caryl, William S. 344


Caton, Andrew. 420


Chamberlin, C H. 183


Greiner, J. W.


314


Guthrie, J. C.


397


..


0


0


iv


CONTENTS.


II


L


Newcomer, J. K 68


Newson, A. B. 164


Newson, John. 148


Nicholson, Wi


303


0


O'Kane, T. C. 365


Olds, James. 185


Osborn, J. H. 220


Osborn, Win. N 486


Ousey, James


121


Henderson, D. H


439


Henderson, D. W.


6


Lincoln, O. E 86


P


Pattan, Wm. 371


Paul, C. B 57


Paul, E, N. 299


Peck, J. S. 191


Perfect, Leroy 409


Perkins, Peter. 284


Phillips, Marcus. 230


Piersol, George. 434


Piper, L .. 281


Pollock, G. F


414


Poppleton, E. F.


363


Porter, E. W. 291


Porter, H. W 167


Porter, J. L. 70


Pringle, J. M 203


Pugh, J. W.


369


R


Ream, G. W. 181


Reed, Norton 457


Reed, Thomas 122


Reyner, J. R .. 256


Reyner, Theodore. 247


105


Ritchie, Jerome.


216


Robinson, A. B


97


Robinson, J. W.


18


Jones, G. W


67


Jones, H. D


1.52


Jones. J. S.


9


Metzger, C. N


139


Rowe, William .. 490


Rowland, Robert. 501


Ruhlman. G. H 219


Russell, C. L


406


K


Mills Bros. 382


Mills, C. D. 431


Mitchell. G. D


215


Kennedy, J. M


123


Moody. J. M 272


Moore. S. A. 487


Morey, Abraham 464


Morse, J. P 226


Mosher, R. F 380


Shaw, Jonathan, Jr 300


Shelton & Ford. 3.59


Shelton. C. D 359


Shirk, H. A. 314


Shirk, J. H. 315


Shoemaker, Adam 277


Shoemaker, Frank. 389


Shoemaker, J. A. 388


Needels, J. C. 491 Shoemaker, M. B .. 278


I


Mann, S. J. 343


Marriott, F. M.


35


Martin. Benj


210


Ingalls, P. P.


324


Inskeep, H. S. 476


Mathews, W. D 3.55


Maxwell, Johnson 423


McAdow, O. W 299


McCabe, L. D. 28


MeCloud, J. B 354


Jackson. J. H. 440


James, L. W. 485


Jarvis, Emanuel 471


M Cracken. John


244


Jenkins, C. W. 156


Jewell, W. S 229


McGinnis, J. S. .


336


McIlroy. Lafayette


438


Johnson, H. A


416


McMaster, W. A


250


Jones, A. H.


165


McNeil, S. A McPeck, G. M.


453


Rogers, H. G. 248


Rosevelt, Solomon 326


Michael, G. W 150


117


Miller, W. D. 135


Milligan. Wmn. 214


S


Salisbury, J. A. 436


Semans, W. M. and E. M. 482


Shaw, A. H. 353


Shaw, Evan 386


Shaw, H. H. 425


King, W. A 419


King, William. 305


Kingman, Orman 330


Klotz, R. B. 152


Kollefrath. A. H 222


Kratt. Adam. 390


Kreis, Daniel. 405


Kritline, J. P 127


Kyle, D. H. 137


Laird, Moses 80


Lane, Jolin.


140


Hamilton, G. B. 289


Layman, L. N. 150


Hamilton, H. C. 234


Levering, R. B3 312


Harlan, H. HI. 379


Lewis, James. 182


Lewis, Joseph 306


Harter, A. J ..


495


Lewis, L. P.


274


Hatch, Enos


176


Lewis, Samuel


53


Hathaway. E.


73


Liggett, N. E


103


Heller. E. M. .


441


Lincoln, C. P. 165


Lincoln, D. H. 368


Henderson, W. C.


82


Linn, A 493


Herd, Thomas


335


Lockwood, D. B. 446


Hildreth, David.


451


Hill, Waterman


54


Hobson. Joseph.


407


Lowther, W. M.


200


Hoffmire, S


374


Luellen, E. 238


Lupton, L. S 234


Lytle, J. R


383


Howard, WI


155


Hughs, D. E ..


442


Hull, Benjamin


328


Hunt, M. A.


500


Main, A. E 229


Main, J. C.


286


Ingalls, Joseph B 324


J


Jackson, J. B. 258


McCloud, S. N 458


McCracken, C. 280


McCracken, J E. 32


221


Rodgers, J. E.


373


Jones, J. W.


437


Jones, T. C. 477


Julian, Aaron


402


Kehrwecker, J. G 292


Kennedy, H. C. 273 Moodie, J. A.


429


Kilgore, S. D 187


Kinikin, Minerva. 233


Kinkade Family 394


Mullen, T. L 136


Myers, J. H. 482


N


Neal, C. H. 247


Neal, E. E. 243


Lockwood. J. W 119


Lower, H. J. 112


Holloway, George 376


Howard, Nathan.


161


M


Mather, E. L


218


Merrick, Frederick 14


Miller, J. B.


Rhoades, W. W


Jolinson, Denison. 495


Hale, Olford. 338


Ilalzmiller, L. H 435


Harraman, W 362


V


CONTENTS.


Sidebottomn, W. H. 448


V


Wood, J. D 253


Wood, L. A. 436


Singer, G. S. 375


Wood, Richard. 261


Wood, T. A. 387


Woods, J. F. 140


Worden, Richard. 426


Wright, J. N. 443


Wurtsbaugh, T. F. 427


Smith, J. O.


257


W


Snider, Philip. 11


Y


Young, W. B.


285


Zimmerman, C. H. 262


Zwerner, J. F


469


ILLUSTRATIONS.


Amrin, Henry 211


Amrin, Mrs. Henry 211


Residence. . 213


Bales, William W. 193


Bartlett, Robert F


49


Davis, Michael. 177


Davis, Mrs. Michael 177


Davis, W. S. 114


Donavin, J. W 1


Duncan, T. E. 145


Henderson, W. C. 82


Howard, Nathan 161


Thornton, Z. R.


412


Tilton, J. W.


317


Timmons, Calvin


447


Turner, E. B


95


Wills, W. H. 430


Wolfley, J. L


84


Robinson, J. W. 18


Southard, J. Q. . 130


Venneman, J. G 241


Ulry, Daniel. 496 Wood, G. J 339


Zimmerman, C. H. 262


Z


Southard, J. Q. 130


Welch, F. A. 144


Spearman, John 78


205


Spicer, H. V. 295


Staley, William


433 40


Whipple, Lewis.


232


Stanley, F. C.


White, J. D.


Stark, Cepter. 249 293 174


Stickney, F. A.


494


White, W. F.


64


Stillings, William


251


Stratton, W. W 298


Swisher, A. B. 129


Whitney, A. J ..


26


Wiechers, F. W. C.


48


Wight, W. E.


347


Wilcox, Robert. 228


Wilcox, S. M. 266


Wiles, C. W 287


Willey, S ..


499


Thompson, F. A. 408


Williams, S. F.


267


Williams, W. G 15


Williamson, S 490


Willis, R. K. 416


Jones, George W 67


Marriott, F. M. 35


Willits, William 309


Morse, J. P 226


Robinson, A. B 97


U


Van Briminer, C. L. 240


Van Tassel, A 494


Vaughan, E. J. 189


Slough, C. J 454


Smart, A. R.


352


Vaughan, J. W. 198


Smith, C. W


395


Vaughan, W. P 189


Smith, H. E


399


Venneman, J. G. 241


Snodgrass, William G 400


Watson, Joseph 452


Snuffin, Levi 92


Watts, J. W. 468


Southard, J. M. 23


Wear, Noble 426


Welch, H. A. 419


Westbrook, A. E


White, W. W.


294


Whitney, A. A.


405


T


Taber, Williamn 196


Talmage, D. S. 106


Taylor, J. B. 320


Thompson, L. 120


Thomson, A. 43


Willits, C. N. 255


Wolfley, S. D 372


Wood, A. S. 204


Simpson, J. R. 304


Singer, W. H. 142


White, T. S.


your w. Don


DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.


J OHN W. DONAVIN, deceased, for- merly proprietor of the Hotel Dona- vin, Delaware, was born in Ship- pensburg, Cumberland county, Penn- sylvania, on the 18th day of February, 1833, and died in Delaware, Ohio, June 28, 1893, in the sixty-first year of his age. He was the second son of Levi K. Donavin and Mary K. Donavin, née McConnell. His parents were born in the same village, his father in 1799, and his mother in 1800. His father died in 1882 in Delaware, and his mother passed away August 18, 1894, in her ninety-fourth year.


J. W. Donavin's forefathers came from the north of Ireland, counties Tyrone, Arm- agh and Down. The McConnells emigrated to the United States in 1713, spent a few years in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, and then crossed the Susquehanna river, and settled on a tract of land containing four thousand four hundred acres, lying near the Conojoquimet creek, forty miles west of the Susquehanna river. The settlement of the region was very sparse at that day, and was made up principally of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, of which the head of this branch of the McConnell family, David Mc- Connell, was a prominent and devoted


member. On the banks of the creek run- ning through his estate, he erected a flour- ing mill, in the year 1724, which was the first structure of the kind in that section of the Cumberland valley. He became a prominent and influential member of society and prospered in worldly as well as in spir- itual affairs. David McConnell was twice married. Mr. Donavin's mother was a de- scendant of the third son of the second mar- riage. Her father's father was William Mc- Connell, and her father bore the same name.


Two of the sons of William McConnell, Sr., were soldiers in the Revolutionary war. William McConnell, Jr. (Mary McConnell's father), was too young to enter the service. When the patriotic army was lying at Val- ley Forge in the winter of 1777, William McConnell, Sr., determined to visit the army that he might see his sons. Accord- ingly he put twenty-one barrels of flour into a large English wagon-bed (which he had imported) and started for Valley Forge, over a hundred miles distant. The weather was very severe, snow and intense cold prevail- ing. He delivered the flour and was given a receipt therefor, the flour being valued at £20 ($100) per barrel. When he met the


1


MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD OF


younger of his two sons in camp, he found him marking the snow with blood from his feet. The father took the boots from his own feet, and placed them on those of his suffering boy. Tying up his own feet with pieces of blankets, he started with his six- horse team for home. On reaching Harris- burg he was taken with the pleurisy, and runners were dispatched to carry the news of his illness to his wife, forty miles west. On hearing of the distress of her husband, the wife took her baby girl in her arms, got into the saddle and started for Harrisburg in a driving rain storm. On reaching the river the waters were so high that she was compelled to remain three days on the west bank, unable to communicate with Harris- burg. On the fourth day she rode upon a flat-boat and was ferried across the river. As she rode up the street of the town, she met a funeral. Stopping the driver of the hearse she inquired, "Whose body does that coffin contain ?" The driver replied, "Will- iam McConnell's !" She turned her horse's head and took position immediately behind the hearse, and, with her baby girl asleep in her arms, followed the body of her hus- band to the grave and saw him buried. She did not long survive her husband, but within two years died, leaving three sons and a daughter. She was of the family " McCal- lister."


In the early forties a young man, a clerk in the State Auditor's Department of Penn- sylvania, with a penchant for delving into musty records, discovered an open account in the books of the Colonial period, unset- tled, in favor of William McConnell, amount- ing to $2, 100, for twenty-one barrels of flour delivered to the Pennsylvania troops at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777. The attention of J. W. Donavin's father was


called to this by the young clerk of the aud- itor's office, and Mr. Donavin, accompanied by the clerk, called on his father-in-law. The old gentleman was sitting on his front porch when the young clerk told him of his discovery, at the close of which Mr. Mc- Connell said, "O, yes; that twenty-one barrels of flour marks an important incident in the history of my family-my father's death. I have the receipt in iny secretary which was given for that load of flour." Rising from his seat he walked into his library and in a few minutes returned with the receipt. On learning of the incident, the member of the legislature from Cumberland called on Mr. McConnell and induced him to visit Harrisburg. The old gentleman was introduced to the House and the Senate. Im- mediately a bill was introduced directing the Auditor of State to draw his warrant for $2, 100 in favor of William McConnell in payment for that flour. The rules were sus- pended and the law enacted, so that Mr. McConnell returned to his home in the eve- ning with the $2, 100 in his pocket.


The Donavin family came from county Armagh. They were landed gentry. John, the grandfather of J. W. Donavin, got mixed up in the Irish rebellion of 1797-8, and was compelled to leave the country. He arrived at Philadelphia in March, 1798, but remained in the city but a day or two, going to a point in Lancaster county, where he lived a short time and where he married Jane McElroy, who had accompanied to America her brother, Rev. William McEl- roy, an ordained priest of the Church of England, but who had quit the established church and was a follower of John Wesley. John Donavin had been converted when a boy of sixteen, under the immediate preach- ing of the great Wesley, and was personally


3


DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.


acquainted with the brothers, John and Charles. He accompanied Mr. Wesley on one of his trips through Ireland, and was full of sweet reminiscences of the founder of Methodism. He erected the first log church in which the Methodists worshiped in Ship- pensburg. He was full of piety and zeal, and his home was the home of the itinerant.


L. K. Donavin, J. W.'s father, was a highly honored citizen of the people with whom he was reared, sharing in the honors of local government, and was Postmaster of the town during the administration of. James K. Polk. For years he was the foremost Methodist of Cumberland valley, and enter- tained the pastors, from the bishops to the humblest circuit riders. He spent the last twelve years of his life in Delaware, where he died in 1882.


It was from this sterling stock that John W. Donavin sprung. He had all the char- acteristics, strong qualities, and peculiar traits which distinguish the Scotch-Irish race. He was honest in all things, small as well as large, and in his dealings and inter- course with his fellow men, was innately prompted to justice; was fervent in his at- tachments, persevering in his intents, full of conscience, the approval of which he de- manded for every action of his life, was fast in his friendships, loving and lovable, gentle and sympathetic, the latter always accom- panied when necessary by tangible evidence of sincerity ; was courageous without bravado, and tender without weakness. He was a complete exemplification of the lines,


" The bravest are the tenderest, The loving are the daring."


John W. Donavin was a successful man in business. From his early youth he mani- fested a disposition for business pursuits. At the age of ten he insisted on his father let-


ting him have money with which to make money. He was not in love with books, and attendance at school was akin to pun- ishment. He acquired his lessons easily and rapidly, but still the work was irksome. He was always glad when Saturday came, and the preceding days of the week were employed in devising some matter of trade or pursuit whereby he could make money on Saturday. At the age of twelve he was in the live-stock and butchering business. His native town was located on the principal highway between the East and the West, and daily droves of swine, sheep and cattle passed through it. He would go out a mile or two on the road and meet the droves, with the hope of finding some animal that was lame or suffering from some temporary injury which care and attention would soon restore, and which could be bought at a figure much below its real value as a well animal. He secured pasture lots, and it was no unusual thing to see a number of crippled animals corraled and under his care. In this way he made money. When about seventeen years of age he went into his father's hat and cap store as a salesman. In another part of the town his father had a cigar manufactory. John was not long in picking up the business, and in a brief time he had a bench erected back of the counter in the hat and cap store, on which he rolled cigars. He was soon an expert cigar-maker. During these years and up to his leaving home, his pleasures were found in music and horseback riding. As a vocalist he excelled all other persons in the village. He was passionately fond of it, and selecting three companions he formed a quartet which was known from the Shenandoah to the Poto- mac. He was the best horseman in the valley, and was always in possession of a


4


MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF


saddle horse which obeyed not merely his command, but the nod of his head or the wave of his hand.


In 1853 he came West, stopping briefly at a number of points until he reached Mt. Vernon, Knox county, Ohio. There his necessities compelled him to come to a per- manent halt. He had but sixteen cents in his pocket. He sought work and found it in a woolen mill. He was unfamiliar with the work and about a week after his first employment he came near severing the fingers of his left hand while he operated a large pair of shears, which moved by ma- chinery. His escape from the accident startled him. He held up his hand and soliloquized, " On you and your mate large- ly depend my success in life. Some other body may take the hazard of losing his fingers : I will not." He.stopped the ma- chinery, walked to the office and remarked, "I have resigned," assigning the reason for doing so. He found employment in a cigar manufactory run by Reuben Kendrick. In a brief time Kendrick and he became part- ners and the business was greatly enlarged. Mr. Donavin took charge of the sale depart- ment, and with a span of horses and a wagon he sold the entire out-put, covering all of northern. Ohio and southern Michi- gan. In 1855 he returned to Shippensburg and married Laura C. Trone, who survives him. She was his boyhood's sweetheart and his manhood's wife, and in the thirty- nine years of their married life he never had a disloyal thought. In 1856 he retired from the firm of Kendrick & Donavin.


The Fremont campaign was on that year. There was a grand rally of Republi- cans in Mt. Vernon. Mr. Donavin had been a Democrat, but a visit to the valley of Vir- ginia, where he witnessed slavery as it was,


changed all his politics. He returned to his home an abolitionist. When the Re- publican party was formed he united him- self to it. On the morning of the grand Re- publican rally, Mt. Vernon was filled with people. A man was present endeavoring to sell at a dollar a copy a large and well bound life of Fremont, which also contained fifty campaign songs. The man was doing but little business. Mr. Donavin stepped up to him saying, "Hand me one of those books, and I will show you how to sell them." He opened the volume and the first song was the tune, "Do they miss me at home." Turning a box over he jumped on top of it and in a voice " sweet as silver bells" he commenced singing. In a few minutes several thousand people had gath- ered around him, and in less than one hour the stock of books was all sold. Among those who gathered to listen was George B. Potwin, the largest wholesale and retail dealer in groceries in the town. As Mr. Donavin stepped from the box, Potwin came up and said, "Donavin, what are you engaged in?" "Selling the life of Fre- mont," he replied with a laugh. "When does your engagement close ?" "To-mor- row after the speaking at Fredericktown." " Well," remarked Potwin, "I need you in my business." "I'll call on you to-morrow night," replied Mr. Donavin. On that night business arrangements were made between the two men, which lasted until within a few days of the death of Mr. Potwin, first as head clerk, then as partner and conductor of the retail store, and afterward, in the spring of 1864, in the establishment of a branch store in Delaware with Mr. Donavin in control.


In 1873, at the instance of the officers of the Freedmen's Bureau of the Methodist


5


DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.


Episcopal Church, he went into the South- ern States and organized a troupe of colored Jubilee Singers to raise money to complete the Central Tennessee College buildings at Nashville. The troupe organized and drilled, he brought it North and commenced a most successful tour. "Donavin's Original Ten- nesseeans" became famous throughout all the land. He sent $18,000 to the college, which completed the college buildings, and in May, 1876, this work was accomplished; and the inembers of the troupe being anx- ious to continue their pursuit; Mr. Donavin reoganized them and conducted the concerts for his own benefit.


In 1882 he purchased a one-half inter- est in the American House property, and two years later, in conjunction with his sons, L. K. and George B. Donavin, he purchased the other half. In 1885 the building was thoroughly remodeled and greatly improved, and in August of that year, under the firm name of J. W. Donavin & Sons, it was opened for business under the name of "Ho- tel Donavin," with Mr. Donavin and his sons in charge. John W. Donavin was a "host" in the full meaning of the word. His aim was to make the hotel a home for the traveling public, and no man ever suc- ceeded better. He was unusually beloved by the traveling commercial life. When a guest who was a frequent visitor of the house entered and J. W. had not met him, the registry was scarcely completed when the question came, "Where is the old gen- tleman?" His guests were his friends, and many of them, not having heard of his death, when in answer to the almost invari- able inquiry they were informed that he was dead, manifested the most profound and tenderest sorrow, many of them weeping like children. His death was from apo-


plexy. Its suddenness shocked the com- munity. As the news spread rapidly through the town, it aroused the deepest sympathy in all hearts. His departure developed the beauty of his life. Scores of the poor who had been the recipients of his benevolence came to weep at his bier and mourn their loss. His left hand had not known what his right one had done, and death was nec- essary to prove the sweetness of his every- day walk. None mourned him more than the youth of the city. He had touched their lives and they were better and stronger that John W. Donavin had lived. Tele- grams and letters from all parts of the country came from traveling men, express- ing sorrow and sympathy, many of them assuring the family that their success in life was largely owing to the counsel and tender- ness they had received from him. He was an earnest, honest Republican, and though not given to seeking office, he was not averse to the appreciation of the confidence of his party friends. In 1887 he was Republican nominee for Senator in the district. His plurality in Delaware county was 1,056, while the normal plurality of his party was 350.


He was strong in his convictions, but was not intolerant. Was always firm in the defense of right, but there was no room in his heart for revenge. With him forgiveness was a cardinal virtue, and compassion and pity dwelt in him as constant guests. Flat- tery could not cajole him into compromise, nor power awe him into silence. All men were his brothers, when their cause was just, and all sufferings were his own when they arose from affliction, misfortune or dis- aster. It may be truly said that " he wept with those that wept, and rejoiced with those who rejoiced." He attracted the


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young who were struggling with the con- trary currents of life, as the sun lifts the flower which the storm has prostrated. Young people loved him because they felt that his strong arins were ready to sustain them. He was always cheerful, Loving God, and trusting to the uttermost in the saving power of the "Man of Sorrows," there was no moment of his life when he was not ready to attest the cause of the Master. On one occasion when surrounded by friends who were rejoicing over a politi- cal victory, he was urged to sing a song. He complied, and the song was,




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