20th century history of Springfield, and Clark County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 93

Author: Rockel, William M. (William Mahlon), 1855-1930, ed
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Biographical publishing co.
Number of Pages: 993

USA > Ohio > Clark County > Springfield > 20th century history of Springfield, and Clark County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 93

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 (link on the Part 1 page).

The father of Mr. Rabbitts settled on a farm near Cleveland, Ohio, and the son completed his edneation in the schools of that section. In 1843 he went to Newark, and was there engaged in a woolen manu- facturing business for three years, then coming to Springfield, in search of a better location. In 1847, in partnership

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with his brother-in-law. L. Il. Olds, he built a woolen mill on Warder Street, fitting it up with machinery which, on ac- count of the lack of other means of trans. portation, had to be hanled by wagon. Here Mr. Rabbitts embarked in a large woolen manufacturing business, making a specialty of "Rabbitts jeans and yarns," which business he carried on for over a quarter of a century, his products becoming widely known and in great de- mand all through Ohio and neighboring states. At various times he was asso- ciated with those other well-known manu- facturers. G. S. and John Foos and Marshfield Steele. In 1875 Mr. Rabbitts retired from the manufacturing business and. in association with William S. Thompson and Amaziah Winger, old and well-known business men, erected the Commercial Building. For a number of years Mr. Rabbitts was a large owner and operator in real estate and several of the most desirable additions to the city were platted by him. He was one of the orig- inal incorporators, and was much inter- ested in the selection and improvement of the grounds of Ferncliff Cemetery. He was a member of the first board of di- rectors of the Second National Bank of Springfield and was active in the move- ment which resulted in the erection of the Lagonda Hotel. He was a citizen who took a large measure of pride in his home eity and was indefatigable in pushing en- terprises which he believed would add to her prestige. On every side, remain monuments to his business capacity and his publie spirit.

Mr. Rabbitts was married May 3, 1848, to Margaret Robison, who was born in Wayne County, Ohio, and they became the

parents of six children, the five survivors being: James H., who is postmaster at Springfield; W. S. who is cashier of the Springfield National Bank; Charles, who is a Springfieltl merchant, and Mary and Auna, residing at home. The death of Mr. Rabbitts occurred at the old family home in Sleepy Hollow, December 16, 1900.

In political sentiment, Mr. Rabbitts wa- thoroughly identified with the Republican party from its organization. He believed in its principles and supported its can- didates, but he never desired office for himself. He was a member of educational and charitable boards and was noted for his liberality. In religions connection he was a member of the Presbyterian Church and was very active in building up the Second Church of this body at Springfield. Few citizens of Springfield more def- initely impressed themselves on the city as promoters of all its best interests.

ALVIN E. WILDMAN, a representa- tive citizen of Madison Township, who owns 235 acres of fine land adjoining the farm on which he lives, was born in Clark County, Ohio, in 1864.

John Wildman, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was the first of the Wildman name to settle in Clark County, Ohio, which he did in 1814, bring- ing his family with him from Virginia. and being one of the pioneer settlers in this section. He secured the land which now constitutes the farm on which his great-grandson. Alvin E. Wildman, lives, and this land has never since left the family. He was twice married, first to

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N. H. FAIRBANKS

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Elizabeth Bond, afterwards to Margaret Fox.

Edward Wildman, grandfather of Alvin E. Wildman, was born in Clark County. He began industrial life in Greene Conn- ty, and later came into possession of the home farm, on which in addition to agri- culture he carried on stock raising. He met an accidental death, being gored by one of his own animals. He married Han- nah Thorn, who was born in Greene Coun- ty, and they had four children, of whom a son and a daughter still survive, viz .: William and Rachel (Hollingsworth).

William Wildman, father of Alvin E., was born in Greene County, and was reared and educated in Clark County, where he has made farming and stock- raising his life occupation. His wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was in maidenhood Eliza Harrison, a daughter of John Fairlamb and Eliza- beth Harrison. She was born in Penn- sylvania, and came with her parents to the vicinity of Springfield, Ohio, about 1838. The parents of Mr. Wildman had six children, four of whom survive, namely: Bertha (Hickman) ; Walter J .; Alvin E .; and Rachel (Elder). Wm. Wildman is still living making his home in Springfield. The mother died April 27, 1907.

Many of the earliest settlers in this section belong to the Society of Friends, and the great-grandfather, John Wild- man, together with Seth Smith, and oth- ers, established the first meeting here, re- ceiving a grant of land from Amaziah Beeson in 1816. The latter died in 1820 and left property for the benefit of the Society. In 1828, owing to certain dif- ferences, the Friends in this vicinity sep-

arated, the Hicksites removing to one lo- cation, and the Orthodox purchasing other property. For a time the Orthodox meet- ings were held in the home of John Wild- man, Mr. Wildman's great-grandfather. Anti-Slavery meetings were also held in this meeting house, and great-grandfather Thorn's home was one of the stations of the Underground Railway.

Alvin E. Wildman has always resided in Madison Township, with the exception of the time he spent at school at Rich- mond. Indiana. He is engaged in operat- ing his father's farm, in connection with his own property. He has a beautiful home here and very pleasant surround- ings. This community is a great ednca- tional center, and Mr. Wildman was large- ly instrumental in bringing about the Cen. tralized School District, which has been a pattern for other sections.

Mr. Wildman married Anna White, who is a daughter of Edmund and Emily White, of Indiana, and they have seven children, all now living, namely: Edith Emily, Edna Eliza, William Wendell, Walter Edmund, Winifred Adda, Philip Embree and Austin. Mr. Wildman and family belong to the Society of Friends. Politically, he is an independent voter.

N. H. FAIRBANKS, vice-pesident and treasurer of the Fairbanks Company, president of the American Trust & Sav- ings Company, president of the Indianap- olis Switch & Frog Company and presi- dent of the Fairbanks Building Company, occupies a very high position in the busi- ness circles of Springfield. He was born in Union County, Ohio.

Graduating in the class of 1884, at the

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Ohio Wesleyan University and from the Cincinnati Law School, in 1880, Mr. Fair- banks was well equipped for professional life and for ten years thereafter he prac- tieed law at Chicago, Illinois. In 1901 he came to Springfield and when the Spring- field Foundry Company became the Fair- banks Company, he assumed its head and he has ever since been prominently iden- tified with the vast manufacturing inter- ests of this city. In addition to the im- portant organizations above mentioned, he is also president of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Springfield. His large interests appear to be easily han- dled, this being owing to his almost per- fert system of management.

In 1887 Mr. Fairbanks was married to Imcy Cruikshank, a lady born at Dela- ware, Ohio, who graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan University in 1883. They have five children, namely: Nellie, George C., Newton H., Marceline and Isabel. Mr. and Mrs. Fairbanks belong to the First Presbyterian Church. He has member- ship with the Lagonda, the Country and the Springfield Commercial clubs.

WILBERT S. JENKINS, township clerk and owner of the Brookside Stock Farm, consisting of one hundred and one neres of fine farm land, located on the Springfield and Troy Pike, two miles west of North Hampton, in Pike Township, is one of the most extensive farmers of this section of the county. He not only over- sees the work on his own place, but on that of his father as well, and of other tracts which he rents. He was born in Addison, or Christiansburg, in Champaign County, Ohio, February 12. 1868, is a son

of Frederick and Rebecca (Sturgeon) Jen- kins, and grandson of Wiley Jenkins.

Wiley Jenkins was nine years old when his parents started from their home in North Carolina in wagons, during the year 1819, destined for Ohio. They stopped at Cincinnati, which was then a small village of but few houses and a log fort, then came on to the northwest part of German Township. There they acquired a tract of land, built a log enbin, cleared and im- proved what is now known as the Clay Bank farm. There Wiley grew to man- hood, experiencing many hardships of pio- neer life. He often worked from sunrise to sunset for a paltry twenty-five cents, and remembered the time when a bushel of wheat varied in price from twenty-five to thirty-five cents. He frequently made trips to Cincinnati with produce, and after a time drifted into the live stock business, buying and raising, feeding and selling. After he was forty years old he followed the profession of a veterinary surgeon, and met with the same success that attended his efforts along other lines. After his marriage he located in Pike Township, and at the time of his death, at the age of ninety-two years and ten months, was owner of four hundred and sixty-five acres of land. He married Charlotte Michael, who died aged about seventy years. They reared eleven chil- dren, all of whom grew to maturity, as follows: William: Catherine, who mar- ried John Maurice: John; Frederick ; Ann, who is the widow of John Ream; Eliza, deceased, who was the wife of Da- vid Shroyer: George; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Sammel H. Deaton; Samnel ; Charlotte, who is the wife of William Gundolph; and Jesse.

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Frederick Jenkins, father of Wilbert S., was born in Pike Township, Novem- ber 2, 1839, and spent most of his days in this township. He has always followed agricultural pursuits and has two farms in this township, one of twenty acres where he lives, and another of eighty acres farther west. He also owns property in North Hampton. He was united in mar- riage with Rebecca Sturgeon, a daughter · of David and Johanna ( Wise) Sturgeon, who came here from Pennsylvania at an early date. Three children were born of this union: Wilbert Sturgeon, Laura (Fisher), and Orrin Clifford. Mrs. Jen- kins died when Wilbert S. was six years of age, and Mr. Jenkins was subsequently married to Mrs. Delilah Rinker, widow of .John Rinker, and a daughter of Sutton Maxson. She was reared on the farm now owned by Wilbert S. Jenkins, and lived all her life in this township, where she died in 1897. She had no children.

Wilbert S. Jenkins was born in Cham- paign County, where his father was then Jocated, engaging in the manufacture of shingles. Wilbert S. was but one year old when the family returned to Pike Town- ship, and here he was reared to maturity and has since lived. He attended the com- mon schools, and later completed a course in Nelson's Business College at Spring- field, Ohio, and also a normal course at Ada, Ohio. Upon leaving school he en- gaged in teaching for ten years, then turned his attention to farming, stock- raising and dealing. In December, 1890, he purchased the farm he now owns, the Brookside Stock Farm, and resided on it for eight years, but now lives at the home of his father. He keeps from forty to sixty head of cattle through the winter,

and carries on farming on an extensive scale. He oversees all the work, and finds this personal attention to details a very necessary adjunct to the high degree of success at which he aims.

On December 25, 1890, Mr. Jenkins mar- ried Clara Ida Getz, a daughter of George and Mary (Bowers) Getz, the former of whom died in 1901. Mrs. Jenkins was one of the following children born to her parents : Elizabeth A. (Lannert) ; Amelia, wife of James Furrow; Jacob; William; Mary Etta (Ryman); Clara Ida; and Lydia, wife of John Ryman. Five chil- dren have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, as follows: Ruth B., Nellie B., Warder B., Glendon H., and Edward R. Mr. Jenkins is a Democrat in politics and has served as clerk of Pike Township since April, 1894. He is a member of White Star Lodge No. 292, K. P., at North Hampton, and has served as master of finance and as keeper of the record and seals for the past eighteen years. The family belong to the Reformed Church, of which Mr. Jenkins is a deacon.

DAVID KING, SR., who was one of the progressive and enterprising men who carried on business enterprises and fostered many of Springfield's early in- dustries, was born at Baltimore, Mary- land, and after completing his education and serving as a clerk in several mer- cantile establishments, settled at Tarle- ton, Pickaway County, Ohio. There he remained until 1841, when he became a resident of Springfield.

Prior to selecting Springfield as his home, Mr. King had been a successful merchant and in the flourishing and grow-

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ing village to which he had come, he had every reason to believe prosperity awaited him. His forecast was a right one and he was soon in the enjoyment of a profitable business on the southeast corner of Main and Limestone Streets, which is the present site of the Gotwald Block. Mr. King invested in property and erected both business and residence buildings. His life at Springfield was one of great activity, but he was not permitted to wit- ness to any adequate degree the results of his public spirit or private effort. When the scourge of cholera visited Springfield in 1849, through his humane desire to assist the sick, he was himself stricken, in August of that year, and did not recover from that attack.

On November 9, 1826, Mr. King was married to Almena Caldwell, of Ports- mouth, Ohio, who is a daughter of Alex- ander and Hannah ( Hamlin) Caldwell. On the maternal side, Mrs. King came from the distinguished Hamlin family of New England. Giles Hamlin came to America from England as early as 1639. The great-grandfather of Mrs. King, Eleaser Hamlin, married Lydia Bonney, of scarce- ly less distinguished ancestry, and one of their sons served as an officer in the Rev- olutionary War, later dying at Water- ford, Maine, leaving to a son his member- ship in the Cincinnati Society. Two other sons had prominent children, one, Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, becoming vice presi- dent of the United States, and the other being the celebrated Rev. Dr. Cyrus Ham- Jin, who was the representative of the American Missionary Board as president of Roberts College, Constantinople,

dence on North Fountain Avenue, where she resided until her death in 1878. The nine children of David King and wife did not all reach maturity, but the survivors are: Mrs. Mary E. K. Gotwald, widow of Luther A. Gotwald: S. Jennie, Robert Quigley, Samuel Noble and David, Jr. The two daughters reside in the old home- stead.

Robert Quigley King is a prominent business citizen of Springfield, giving the most of his attention to handling real estate. In 1857 he married Harriet A. Danforth, and they had the following chil- dren: D. Ward, residing on a farm in Missouri; Thomas D., who died in 1889, was an active medical practitioner; Al- mena, who married H. J. Warrick, resid- ing on a farm in California; and R. Lef- fler, who carries on agricultural pursuits in Hancock County, Ohio.

Samnel Noble King, residing near Bloomington, Illinois, served for three years as an officer of the Twenty-sixth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Hle owns property in Illinois and has been interested in raising fine horses. He mar- ried Mary Reid, of Ottawa, Illinois.

David King, Jr., is president of the Springfield Paper and Merchandise Com- pany, at Springfield, and he is a veteran officer of the Civil War, enlisting twice and leaving the service with the rank of lientenant-colonel. He subsequently en- tered the wholesale paper business. In 1864 he married Mary M. Danforth, of New Albany, Indiana, and they have two children, Noble C. and Mary J.

David King, Sr., was one of the lead- ing members of the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield and was a generous

After the death of David King. his widow erected the present beautiful resi- promoter of its work. His children have

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all remained attached to the same re- number of years. They spent the latter ligious organization. The family is one that has always been identified with all that is best in the business and social circles of Springfield.

JOHN M. ZELLER, who owns some eighty acres of land in Bethel Township, Clark County, Ohio, is an old and respect- ed resident of that community. He is a man who has made his way in the world through hard work and perseverance, making the success he has attained all the more creditable to him. He was born in York County, Pennsylvania, August 31, 1828, and is a son of Henry S., and grand- son of John Zeller. John Zeller was a native of France or Germany, it is not certain which, and upon coming to Amer- ica located in York County, Pennsylva- nia, where he followed his trade as a sad- ler. He subsequently moved to the block- house settlement at the head of the Sus- quehanna River, where he lived until his death.

His son, Henry S., father of John M .. was born in York County, Pennsylvania, and was one of a family of three children. He had a brother, Charles, and a sister, Catherine, the latter of whom was wife of John Giesey, a wagonmaker of York County. Henry S. Zeller was a sadler and painter by trade, which he followed in York County, until his marriage, then in Mount Joy, Lancaster County, Penn- sylvania. While at the latter place he served a number of years as justice of the peace. He later moved with his wife to Northumberland, where he plied his trade, then later removed to Lancaster County and engaged in school-teaching a

years of their life in Clark County, Ohio, near Medway, having followed their son, John, to this county. They were parents of eight children, as follows: John Mil !- er; Henry, who died in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Theodore, who lives in Mi- ami County, Ohio; George, who resides in Kansas; Susan, who is the wife of An- drew Mouk, of Clark County; Margaret, who is the wife of Samuel Brosey of Clark County; Benjamin, who is a physician of St. Paris, Ohio; Martha (Jones), whose home is in Clark County.

John M. Zeller was but a child when his parents moved to Lancaster County, where he was reared and received his edu- cational training in the district schools. When a lad of fifteen years he took up the plastering trade, which he thereafter followed for many years. When about twenty-one years old, he came to Ohio and for a time made his home with Gottleib Brosey, who lived on a farm adjoining that now owned by Mr. Zeller. He started at once to work at his trade and in a short time was able to buy an acre of his pres- ent place, which was then heavily tim- bered. This he cleared and in the course of time erected thereon the brick resi- dence in which he lives. He now has thir- ty-one acres in the home place, in addi- tion to which he has two other tracts in Bethel Township. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was a member of the Ohio National Guards, under Captain MeKen- ney, and went into camp with his regi- ment at Camp Dennison. He was there taken so seriously ill that he was sent back home and for two years was an in- valid. He never followed his trade after that illness, but turned his attention to

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farming and tobacco raising He has community and county, and is always grown and shipped tobacco for the Miami found supporting those measures and en- Leaf Tobacco Company of Cincinnati, for terprises tending to benefit the people. more than forty years, and in 1885 he erected a large warehouse. Mr. Zeller has retired from active work, his sons growing and selling the tobacco at the present time.

John M. Zeller was united in marriage with Esther Harnish, a daughter of Rev. John and Esther (Bowman) Harnish. Her father came from Pennsylvania, where he followed farming. He was one of the pioneer Mennonite preachers of Clark County, Ohio, whither he moved with his family in wagons, in 1840, Mrs. Zeller being six years old at that time. He became owner of large landed inter- ests here. He and his wife were parents of the following children : Henry; Mary, deceased, wife of Jacob Neff; Esther; John, who was a Mennonite minister: Anna, wife of Levi Kauffman; Amos, of Dayton; and Emma, wife of Cyrus Hel- man of this county. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Zeller, as follows: Alonzo, who married Mollie Brosey; Henry; Frank; John; William, a black- smith at Osborn, who married Rose Harnish; Christopher, a graduate of the Ohio Dental College at Cincinnati, who is engaged in practice at Yellow Springs, Ohio; Cyrus, who married Fannie How- ett; and Lorenzo, who died at the age of six years. Politically, Mr. Zeller was a member of the Whig party until the organization of the Republican party. He voted for Abraham Lincoln, and later united with the Greenback party, being the only one in the township. He is a man who takes an active interest in all that pertains to the welfare of his home

JOSEPH A. BECKER, who for more than forty years has been engaged in the butcher business in Springfield, Ohio, oc- cupies stall No. 48 in the Springfield Mar- ket. He has a valuable tract of seven and a half acres situated about three and a half miles west of Springfield on the Na- tional Pike, in Springfield Township, and resides in a fine, large brick house. He has been very successful in a business way, and is held in the highest esteem by a large circle of acquaintances and friends with whom he has had business and social relations for many years.

Mr. Becker was born in Dauphin Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, August 7, 1847, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Zimmer- man) Becker. He was one year old when his parents moved west to Clark County, Ohio, in wagons, settling first in Moore- field Township and subsequently in Eagle City, German Township, where he was reared. When a young man he began learning the butcher's trade with Mr. Reeder, who lived close to the Masonic Home, and continued in his employ for four years. He then bought a lot on the north side of Sugar Creek Hill and start- ed a market in the old brick market-house in Springfield. He later carried on his business in what was known as the Wig- wam, and upon the completion of the new Springfield Market moved there, occupy- ing stall No. 48.

Mr. Becker was joined in marriage with Barbara Lohnes, and they had six chil- dren. four of whom are now living, name-

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ly : Bertha, wife of George Fish, who Fifty-fifth Congress and approval of his has a son-Joseph Irvin; Irvin; Joseph; public conrse was shown by his re-elec- tion to the Fifty-sixth Congress. In July, 1902, he was appointed by President Roosevelt, associate justice of the Choc- taw and Chickasaw Citizenship Court, and his appointment was confirmed on the same day. and Catherine, the last mentioned being the wife of Frank Ross. William, an- other son, died in infancy, and Laura died at the age of four and a half years. Mr. Becker is a stalwart Republican in poli- ties, and has served a number of years as assessor of the west precinct of Spring- field Township. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias.

HON. WALTER L. WEAVER, a prominent attorney at Springfield, who served as a member of the Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth sessions of the National Con- gress, has long been a leading citizen of Clark County. He was born in Mont- gomery County, Ohio, April 1, 1851, and is a son of Rev. John and Amanda (Hurin) Weaver. The father of Mr. Weaver was a well-known minister of the Presbyterian Church. His mother was a daughter of Silas Hurin, a pioneer set- tler of this state and one of the founders of Lebanon, Ohio.

Walter L. Weaver was educated in the public schools of Montgomery County. and at Monroe Academy, and was grad- nated in 1870 from Wittenberg College at Springfield. Ile then entered upon the study of law under Hon. J. Warren Keifer and as he was dependent upon his James Bunyan came from Scotland to this country with his father when a boy. The family located on a farm in New York State, where he was reared, and later he operated a saw and woolen mill. He mar- ried Elizabeth Hume, also a native of Scotland. and they reared a family of eight children: Alice, who married N. our resources, he did newspaper work dur- ing his period of law reading. In the spring of 1872 he was admitted to the bar, and in 1874 he was elected prosecuting at- torney of Clark County. To this re- sponsible office he was re-elected in 1880, 1882 and 1885. In 1896 he was elected on the Republican ticket a member of the. Garrison; William; Jane, who married

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20th century history of Springfield, and Clark County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 93

Author: Rockel, William M. (William Mahlon), 1855-1930, ed Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago, Biographical publishing co. Number of Pages: 993

Author: Rockel, William M. (William Mahlon), 1855-1930, ed
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Biographical publishing co.
Number of Pages: 993