USA > Ohio > Fairfield County > A Biographical record of Fairfield County, Ohio, illustrated > Part 41
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William E. Finck was born in Somer- set. Perry county, Ohio, September 1, 1822. a son of Anthony and Mary ( Spurck) Finck. His father came to this county at a very early day from Pennsylvania and cast his lot with the early pioncer settlers, entering from the government a tract of land upon which the city of Somerset now stands. The ancestry of the Finck family can be traced back to an aide-de-camp of General Washington. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Finck were born seven children: William E., of this review: Austin A., who was mayor of Somerset and filled all of the town- ship offices of Reading township but is now deceased: Elizabeth, the wife of Hon. Henry C. Filler, now of Columbus, Ohio, but her death occurred in 1901 at the age of seventy-eight years : Martha, the wife of James McCristal, a prominent merchant of Somerset : Bernard L., who was at one time a leading business man of Somerset, but is
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now deceased; Harry, who was a business man of Peoria, Illinois, but has also passed away; and Gertrude, the wife of John H. Blakeney, assistant postmaster of Bing- hamton, New York.
William E. Finck pursued a common school education, being largely a self-edu- cated as well as a self-made man, but he was endowed by nature with strong men- tality and he developed his latent talents. He read extensively and broadly and had the ability to make what he read his own. He became a law student in the office and under the direction of Josiah Lovell, a prominent pioneer attorney of this state. He began practice in Somerset when about twenty-two years of age and soon afterward moved to Lancaster, Ohio, and entered into partnership with Hocking H. Hunter, the most noted lawyer of his day in Ohio. The firm enjoyed splendid success and after a few years Mr. Finck resigned the practice to Mr. Hunter and returned to Somerset. his native home, for which he had a great attachment. He was known as a most con- scientious man, ever loyal in his devotion to those who reposed trust in him. He was scon the acknowledged leader of the Perry county bar, Somerset being then the county seat. The zeal with which he devoted his energies to his profession, the careful regard evinced for the interests of his clients, and an assiduous and unrelaxing at- tention to all the details of his cases brought him a large business and made him very successful in its conduct. His argu- ments always elicited warm commendation. not only from his associates at the bar but also from the bench. He was a very able
writer; his briefs always showed wide re- search, careful though and the best and strongest reasons which could be urged for his contention, presented in cogent and logical form and illustrated by a style un- usually lucid and clear.
It would have been impossible for a man of Mr. Finck's nature and ability to refrain from activity in public life. His fellow citi- zens demanded his services and he was elected state senator, filling the position for two years. He also served for a short time as attorney general of the state, being ap- pointed to that office. He was only twenty- six years of age when he became a candi- date for congress on the Whig ticket in a district having a large Democratic ma- jority, and although so young his popularity and ability were such that he received a largely increased Whig vote, failing of elec- tion by only eleven votes. In 1860 he again became a candidate and this time was more fortunate. In 1862 he was re-elected, and a third time in 1870, serving altogether for six years in the council chambers of the na- tion. In Blaine's "Twenty Years in Con- gress" the Maine statesman mentions the fact that Mr. Finck led the fight on the Democratic side against Thaddeus Stevens' confiscation measure. Mr. Finck made three speeches against the bill which were able and convincing. Although differing from President Lincoln on many points of political importance, Mr. Finck became a warm personal friend of Lincoln, who had no greater admirer in congress. Mr. Finck believed thoroughly in the cause of the Union and in the president's right to main- tain that Union unbroken. He was twice
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nominated by the Ohio Democratic party for the position of judge of the common pleas court in his district but invariably de- clined to serve in that office. During his lifetime he was an intimate friend and asso- ciate of such distinguished national char- acters as Thomas Ewing. Allen G. Thur- man, George H. Pendleton, William S. Grosebeck and others.
The private life of Hon. William E. Finck was honorably and happily spent. He was married to Cecilia R. Garaghty, a daughter of Michael Garaghty, now de- ceased, who was at one time a resident of Lancaster and became very prominent, being an honored pioneer and leading busi- ness man there. actively associated with banking interests not only in Lancaster but also in other parts of the state. The chil- dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Finck were four in number and the eldest is the namesake of the father. Mary E. is the widow of Frank A. Dittoe, a prominent business man of Somerset, who died in Columbus. Michael G. is living in Somerset. Martha is the wife of Martin Gallagher, who is promi- nently connected with the Congo Coal Com- pany of Somerset, Ohio.
At the time of the golden wedding of the parents was celebrated, April 20, 1897. at which all the children were present, the following communication came from the bar of Perry county :
"To the Hon. W. E. Finck, Sr .: Upon this. the date of your golden wedding, we, your associates of the Perry county bar, send you our most hearty greeting and" con- gratulations. Being mindful of your long,
useful and honorable course as a citizen and a member of the legal profession. we deem this a fitting and proper occasion to express to you the admiration and esteem in which you are held by your legal brethren and we greatly desire that your venerable life may be extended in health and usefulness for many years to the end that your upright life as a citizen, your love and devotion as a husband and father, your able advocacy at the bar, your honesty and fairness between citizens, your always earnest and diligent efforts to arrive at justice, truth and equity between parties, your desire to aid the court and jury and guide them unbiased to cor- rect solutions of pending controversies,. your ever affable and courteous demeanor, may be always actually before us, a guide- and example for us to imitate and follow, that we, too, may in the end go down in the shades of life honored and respected by bench, bar and people. In extending con- gratulations to you we are not unmindful of her whose life has been for fifty years in- separably linked with yours, and to her we also extend congratulations." This was signed by the members of the Perry county bar.
Mr. Finck died at Somerset, January 25. 1901, when about seventy-nine years of age. Thus his life record covered a long span, and throughout all the years of his active manhood he so lived as to win the re- spect and confidence of all with whom he was associated. His legal learning, his analytical mind, the readiness with which he grasped the points in an argument, all com- bined to make him one of the most success-
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ful and capable lawyers that has ever prac- ticed at the bar of this county. Nature be- stowed upon him many of her rarest gifts. He possessed a mind of extraordinary com- pass and an industry that brought forth
every spark of talent with which nature had gifted him. He was in every way a most superior man. His widow still survives him and resides in her beautiful home in Somerset.
HON. WILLIAM E. FINCK.
Fortunate is the man who has back of him an ancestry honorable and distin- guished, and happy is he if his lines of life are cast in harmony therewith. In person, in action and in character William E. Finck is a worthy representative of his race and is to-day regarded as one of the capable at- torneys at law of Somerset, where his fa- ther was for many years a most distin- guished practitioner. He was born in this town January 8, 1858, being a son of Hon. William E. and Cecilia R. (Garaghty) , whose reputation and patronage were al- Finck.
In the public schools here he gained his education and after acquiring a good pre- liminary knowledge he entered the St. Louis University, of St. Louis, Missouri, in which he was graduated with the class of 1874. With broad general knowledge to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the super- structure of professional knowledge, he then took up the study of law under the direction of his father and after a thorough and systematic course of reading, covering two years, he was admitted to the bar in 1876. For a quarter of a century he has been a practitioner in Somerset and his 23
clientage is now of a very extensive and in- portant character. He at once entered upon the practice of his chosen profession where- in he was destined to rise to an honorable. and prominent position. He began the work for which the previous years of study had been a preparation, becoming a mem- ber of the bar where sham reputation and empty pretenses were of no avail in the forensic combats. The young man, in his contest with older and experienced men ready secured, found it a hard school, but it afforded excellent training and as he meas- ured his strength with the best his mind was developed and his intellectual powers. were quickened and strengthened and he ac- quired a readiness in action, a fertility of resource and a courage under stress that have been essential factors in his successful career.
Mr. Finck has also attained distinction in political circles. In 1896 he was nomi- nated for congress in the eleventh district .. running against General Charles Grosvenor, of Athens, Ohio. During that campaign he made over two hundred speeches and suc-
ยท
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ceeded in reducing the Republican majority more than one-half. In 1897 he was elected state senator in the fifteenth and sixteenth districts of Ohio and changed the Republi- can majority of twenty-seven hundred. given two years before, to a Democratic ma- jerity of fourteen hundred. He carried his county, although strongly Republican. In 18go he was nominated to the position of representative against his protest and was elected, although the rest of the county went Republican. Ile was made chairman of the senate judiciary committee and proved a most active and able working member of the house as well as the senate.
He was a recognized leader on the Demo- cratie side of the senate and is known in political and professional circles throughout the state.
On the 4th of May, 1901. Hon. Will- iam E. Finck was united in marriage to Miss Orpha E. Ilelser, a daughter of .A. H. Helser, of Somerset. Socially he is identi- fied with the Benevolent and Protective Or- der of Elks in Newark, and is a member of the Catholic church. Earnest effort, close application and the exercise of his native talents have won him prestige as an able lawyer at a bar which has numbered many eminent and prominent men.
JOHN E. EVANS.
John E. Evans is well known in political ther was killed at the battle of Waterloo. His wife passed away to the spirit world in 1869. circles in Perry county and is now accept- ably filling the position of county recorder. maintaining his residence in New Lexing- In 1879 our subject removed to Perry county, taking up his abode here in the month of October. He was then eighteen years of age. He located at New Straits- ville, where he became connected with mining operations and thus continued in business until 1895, when he became weigh master with the Sunday Creek Coal Com- pany. Recognized as a citizen of worth, deeply interested in the public progress. his fellow townsmen called him to positions of public trust, and for four years, from 1896 ton. He was born in Meigs county, Ohio, September 22, 1861, and is a son of William K. Evans, a native of Wales, who, leaving the little "rock-ribbed" land, sought a home in the new world, making his way across the country to this state. He settled in Pomeroy, Meigs county, where he worked in the rolling mills as a puddler. Hle fol- k wed that occupation till about 1872 and then accepted the position of night watch- man until 1877. when he retired from act- ive labor. He died July 3. 1883. His fa- to 1000, he served as clerk of the village of
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New Straitsville. In the fall of 1899 he was elected county recorder and entered upon the duties of that position the following fall. So capably has he served that in 1901 he was re-elected and has now entered upon his second term.
Mr. Evans has been a member of the Republican central committee of New Straitsville and has long taken an active part in politics, doing everything in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party. He has made a close study of the political issues and questions of the day and is thus enabled to uphold his position by intelligent argument. As a public official he is most prompt and faitli- ful in the discharge of his duties. His re- election to office is an indication of his capa- bility. He belongs to the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, holding membership in
the lodge.at New Straitsville, in which he is a past grand. He also has membership relations with the Knights of Pythias lodge at New Lexington and is a prominent Ma- sen, identified with the lodge, chapter and commandery at that place.
Mr. Evans was united in marriage to Miss Catherine J. Lloyd. a daughter of David Lloyd, of New Straitsville, now de- ceased, who was a soldier of the Fourth Virginia Infantry in the Civil war. Unto our subject and his wife have been born four sons and two daughters: William K., Sylvanus, David, Norman, Mary and Beatrice. Mr. Evans and his estimable wife have a large circle of friends in the county and although they have but recently become residents of New Lexington the hospitality of many of the best homes has been ex- tended to them.
JAMES F. McMAHON.
Few men in Perry county have a wider acquaintance than James F. McMahon, who is now living a retired life, but for many years he was an active factor in journalistic circles and owned and edited the New Lex- ington Tribune, making it a paper of much value to the community. Mr. McMahon is a native of Coshocton county, Ohio; and when a young man he came to Perry county in 1851. He first embarked in merchan- dising in Somerset and continued business
along that line for twenty years, or until 1871, when he established the Somerset Tribune. In 1873 he removed the paper to New Lexington and changed its name to the New Lexington Tribune. continuing the publication of the journal until 1900. He made this paper a strong influence in Re- publican circles in Perry county. His edi- torials were strong, forceful and presented facts in a clear and logical manner. At the same time he labored earnestly for the pro-
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motion of all interests contributing to local advancement and progress. His paper was one of the best country journals in the state and had a very wide circulation. Through the columns of the Tribune Mr. McMahon was largely instrumental in securing the buikling of the Cincinnati. Sandusky and Hamilton Railroad from Columbus to the coal fields of Perry county, a work that has proven of great practical value in the de- velopment of the rich mineral industries of this state.
Mr. McMahon was united in marriage in this county to Miss Charlotte Maines, a daughter of Frederick Maines, one of the old and respected citizens of Somerset. Two children have been born unto them: Sallie Emma and R. R. McMahon. For a half century Mr. McMahon has been a repre- sentative of the Masonic fraternity, taking nearly all of the degrees in the various branches of the order. In his life he ex- emplifies its beneficent and helpful spirit. recognizing the brotherhood of man.
C. A. BARROW, M. D.
C. A. Barrow, M. D., is engaged in a boy he began working in the coal mines practicing medicine in New Straitsville. A careful preparation for the calling. combined with his close attention to his professional duties, has made him a very successful and capable representative of the medical fra- ternity. The Doctor was born in England, his birth occurring seven miles from Man- chester, on the 21st of March, 1865. When a boy he came to Perry county with his par- ents, William and Elizabeth ( Hawkins) Barrow, both of whom are still living in New Straitsville at the age of seventy-three years. For twenty-six years the father worked in the coal mines, but is now living retired.
The Doctor pursued his education in the public schools at New Straitsville, but his advantages were somewhat limited. When
and he also carried the chain for the sur- veyors for six years. Being ambitious, en- ergetic and resolute he determined to enter professional life and often studied nights until one or two o'clock in order to counter- act the defect of the lack of early educa- tional privileges. . At length he was prepared for entrance into college. Hle is a graduate of the Kentucky School of Medicine, of Louisville, having completed the course there in 1893. He also took a two years' course in the College of Physicians and Sur- geons, of Baltimore, Maryland. In 1893 he opened his office in New Straitsville, where he has since been engaged in general prac- tice, and his reading and investigation are continually broadening his knowledge and promoting his efficiency. He has invested
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to some extent in oil wells, but his profes- sion claims the major part of his time.
The Doctor was married in 1894 to Miss Adda Sayre, a daughter of Williamson Sayre, who was born in Bearfield township and still lives upon the old home farm there. He and his brother, Daniel Sayre, are worthy farmers of this county, while Edwin D. Sayre, the brother of Mrs. Barrow, is serving as prosecuting attorney for Athens county, Ohio. She has another brother, Milton, who is a resident of St. Mary's, West Virginia. He is a very prominent and influential resident there. Unto the Doctor and his wife have been born two children:
Charles Sayre and Edith. Perry county figures as one of the most attractive, pro- gressive and prosperous divisions of the state of Ohio, justly claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive de- velopment and marked advancement in the material upbuilding of the section. The county has been and is signally favored in the class of men who have controlled its affairs in official capacity, and in this con- nection the subject of this review demands representation as one who has served the county faithfully and well in positions of distinction, trust and responsibility.
LEWIS COOPERIDER.
Upon a farm in Thorn township resides Lewis Cooperider, who is widely known in the county as a practical, progressive and re- spected agriculturist. He is numbered among Ohio's native sons, his birth having occurred in Bowling Green township, Lick- ing county, on the 13th of April, 1826. His parents were David and Magdalina ( Smith) Cooperider. The father was born in Fay- ette county, Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio when about sixteen years of age with his brother, locating in Licking county, where he engaged in farming. His parents after- ward removed to this state and located in Licking county, where they lived and died. The father of our subject remained a resi-
(lent of that county until 1829, when he re- moved to Perry county, locating in Thorn township. His father had taken up land in Perry, Fairfield and Licking counties for his children, and David Cooperider settled on a part of this land in Perry county, where there were three quarter sections, each one occupied by one of the brothers. It was wild and unimproved but they cleared it and placed it under a high state of cultiva- tion, put up good buildings and made very desirable homes for themselves. David Cooperider spent his remaining days upon his old home place, which he developed and was engaged in general farming and stock- raising. As the years passed his labors
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brought to him creditable success and he became the possessor of a comfortable com- petence. In all his business dealings he was honest, straightforward and commanded the Confidence and good will of those with whom he was associated. He died at the age of seventy-two years, in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which he had long been a member. In his political views he was a Democrat. but never sought or desired office. He married Magdalina Smith, who was born in Pennsylvania and with her par- ents came to Ohio. She was the eldest in the family of Andrew Smith, one of the early settlers of Hopewell township, Perry county, who died there at an advanced age. Mrs. Cooperider was a member of the Ger- man Reformed church and lived a consistent Christian life. She died at the age of eighty-two years. In their family were five children, two daughters and three sons, of whom Lewis was the eldest. The sons are all yet living but the daughters are deceased. Jacob is a resident of Millersport, Fairfield county, where he is following blacksmithing. Peter resides in Reading township, Perry county, and is also a blacksmith by trade. Elizabeth became the wife of Jacob Daniels. of Indiana, but is now deceased, and Eve passed away at the age of two years.
Lewis Cooperider accompanied his par- ents on their removal from Licking to Perry county when he was a little lad of three sum- mers, and in the common schools of Thorn township he acquired his education and spent his boyhood days, remaining upon the home farm until he had attained his ma- jority. Ile engaged in farming until the
death of his father, after which he learned the blacksmithing trade, which he followed for many years. He removed from the home place to his present farm, which was willed to him by his father and which com- prises a quarter section of land on section 13. Thorn township. It is all under culti- vation and highly improved, with splendid modern equipments, all of which are an in- dication of the enterprise and thrift of the owner, as they were placed there by him. Much of the land was cleared by Mr. Cooperider, who then cultivated the fields and planted the crops and in course of time he garnered rich harvests. He also put up good, substantial buildings, and now has a modern farm. His attention is devoted to the cultivation of grain best adapted to this climate, and to some extent he also follows blacksmithing.
In 1849 Mr. Cooperider was united in marriage to Elizabeth Klingler, who was born in Hopewell township, Perry county. a daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Klingler, who were also settlers of this township. coming to Ohio from Pennsylvania, people of culture and refinement. They became prominent and influential in the community in which they made their home and both died at an advanced age in Hopewell town- ship. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cooperider were born eight children, of whom seven are yet living: Thomas Jefferson, a farmer resid- ing in Nebraska, married Miss Basore; Leah is the wife of Henry Case. of Upper Sandusky, Ohio: Elizabeth is also living in U'pper Sandusky: Amanda is the wife of Hamer King, a farmer of Licking county;
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Ida became the wife of Henry Yaeger and mer state. He married Miss Jennie Hern died, leaving two children; Rufus, who re- and has a family. sides in Colorado, where he is engaged in farming and cattle-raising, is married and has a family; the seventh child died in in- fancy; and Adam was the eighth in order of birth. The mother of this family died at the age of thirty-five years and for his second wife Mr. Cooperider chose Susan Crist, a daughter of Philip Crist. She was born in Thorn township, Perry county, and has become the mother of four children: MI. Magdelene resides at home and has charge of the farm; Emmet, a resident farmer of Arkansas, married Miss Almeda Mechling, a daughter of William Mechling, of Hopewell township; Chauncy, who fol- lows farming in Thorn township, married Miss Minnie Bear, of Hopewell township; and Noble, who is a land owner in Missouri and California, makes his home in the for-
Mr. Cooperider holds membership in the Lutheran church, and in politics is a Demo- crat, taking quite an active interest in the work of the party. He has served as trustee of his township and for many years has been school trustee, the cause of education finding in him a warm friend who does all in his power to promote the grade of the schools. Having spent almost his entire life in this county, he has become widely known and enjoys in a high degree the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been associated, for his life has been characterized by indefatigable industry, by fairness in all business transactions and by reliability in friendship. He has, therefore, gained the respect of a large circle of acquaintances and well deserves representation in this volume.
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