USA > Ohio > Putnam County > A Portrait and biographical record of Allen and Putnam counties, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Ohio, pt 2 > Part 34
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).
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
W. F. McClane, the subject of this sketch, came to Putnam county in 1850, while yet a single man, and for a year worked out by the month; he then rented land and farmed as a tenant for three or four years; next bought
forty acres of unimproved land, and in 1855 married Miss Elizabeth Guffy, who was born in Franklin county, Ohio, February 20, 1830, a daughter of John and Nancy A. (Penington) Guffy, the former a native of Kentucky, in which state his father was killed by Indians. After his father's death John Guffy came to Ohio, was married in Franklin county, and in 1831 came to Putnam county, entered a large tract of land, cleared up a farm from the wil- derness and reared a family. In 1866 he lost his wife, and from that time on lived at the home of our subject until his own death, which took place about the year 1874. To Mr. and Mrs. McClane have been born four children, viz: George, who is yet single; John J., en. gaged in lumbering and farming, and who married Emma Dinsmore, who died in Sep- tember, 1893; Margaret A., wife of George Safford, a fariner; and Ella J., who was first married to Jonn Clevenger, and after his death, to John Hunt.
Mr. McClane still lives on a farm of seventy-one acres, which he purchased in 1858, of which but fifteen acres were then cleared, but which is now all under cultivation. with the exception of a few acres, and is well tiled and ditched and improved with a fine residence, barns and commodious out-build- ings. He has, however, had several other tracts of improved land in the meantime. which he has given to his children, although, when he came to the county, he had no cap :- tal excepting his willing heart and hands. He is now a prominent farmer, takes much inter . est in public affairs, has served as township trustee and in some of the minor offices. Ir politics he is a republican, and he and wife are members of the Christian church, moving in the best circles of the society of the township As to his political faith, Mr. MeClone is as conscientious as he is in his religious belief holding steadfastly to both, with equal zeal.
335
OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
0 AVID U. MCCULLOUGH, deceased farmer of Blanchard township, Put- nam county, Ohio, was born in Jef- ferson county, in the same state, in 1816, a son of James McCullough, an early settler. After reaching manhood David U. went to Zanesville and other points and was employed by an uncle, John McCullough, who was engaged in the hotel business. Subse- quently David U. located in Hancock county, where he purchased a farm and also entered eighty acres, and there made his home until 1856, when he came to Putnam county and settled on 120 acres, in section No. 21, in Blanchard township, later adding to this tract, by purchase, a tract of 120 acres, and still later adding three tracts of eighty, forty and eighty cach, in the order named, and in sec- tion No. 22 purchasing a tract of ninety acres, and in section No. 27 a tract of 200 acres. On the original 120 acres he made his perma- nent home, and transformed it into one of the finest farms in the township, on which he erected a handsome dwelling and all the neces- sary out-buildings. Besides being a thorough farmer, he was an expert veterinary surgeon and did a large and lucrative professional bus- iness throughout the surrounding country.
In politics Mr. Mccullough was first a whig, but on the disintegration of that party fell into the republican ranks; he filled the office of justice of the peace for many years, and township trustee, and also filled several other offices of less importance. He was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he had been a class leader for over twenty-four years, was trustee and Sabbath-school superintendent; he was most liberal in his contributions to this religious de- nomination, was one of the founders of the Gilboa congregation, and donated the muniti- cent sinn of $1,200 toward the erection of its church edifice. His death was a sad event
and a tragic one, and was caused by the giving way of the stonework of a bridge on the Ma- honing railroad, on his own farm, he at the time standing on the bridge and being precip- itated with the wreck. His loss was deeply deplored by the community, as he was ever foremost in aiding every enterprise of public benefit and was progressive in every sense of the word.
Mr. Mccullough was twice married -- first to a Miss Rutledge, to which union were born Fannie, wife of Joshua Powell, and Elizabeth, wife of Albert Simpson. The second marriage was with Matilda, daughter of Elisha Brooks, of Hancock county, Ohio, and to this union were born Andrew S .; Margaret, wife of Wel- lington Conine; Catherine was married to David Frantz-both now deceased; David T., of Blanchard township; Frank; Alexander; Jen- nie, wife of Otho Hall, and two that died in infancy.
David T. Mccullough, son of David U. and Matilda (Brooks) Mccullough, whose bio- graphical memoir appears above, was born May 7, 1855, in Hancock county, Ohio, but was reared on the home farm, where he passed his years until he reached the age of twenty, when he settled on his present place, in section No. 22, which then comprised ninety acres; he has added to this another tract of sixty-six acres, situated in section No. 21; but the ninety acre tract is his homestead, and this he had made convenient with every modern im- provement and made productive by aid of the most recent devices in agricultural implements, being fully recognized as one of the most pro- gressive agrienlturists of Blanchard township.
In his politics Mr. McCullongh wielded quite an influence for the republican party for many years, but of late has become quite inde- pendent in his views, believing that the inter- ests of the people are best served by voting for competent and honest men rather than for
336
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
strictly party nominees. While not an office seeker for the sake of emolument, or for the vain purpose of being a figure-head, he has done his duty as a citizen by serving as con- stable, and has filled the position conscien- tiously and efficiently. In his religious con- victions he is a Methodist, and is a member of the congregation at Gilboa, in which he has, for thirteen years, served as superintendent, and has also been one of the trustees for thir- teen years, and for twenty years a class-leader. Mr. Mccullough married Miss Maggie, daugh- ter of John Norton, of Columbus Grove, and this felicitous union has been blessed by the birth of ten children, viz: Bessie M., David U., Pearl, Harry, Mabel, John, Roy, Eddie, and Lena and Leona (twins). The family en- joy a high degree of the respect and esteem of the citizens of Blanchard township, and well deserve the good opinion in which they are held.
J OHN CALVIN McCLUNG, M. D., one of the most successful physicians of Putnam county, Ohio, with his resi- dence at Leipsic, is a native of the Buckeye state, was born in Eden township, Seneca county, January 26, 1843, and is of sterling Scotch-Irish extraction, having de- scended from James McClung, who, with his wife and children, about the year 1720, came to America from one of the counties of the province of Ulster, in the north of Ireland, landed in Philadelphia, Pa., and later settled in Cumberland county, in the same state.
The ancestors of James McClung, this American colonial immigrant, were Scotch Cov- enanters, who fled from their native land to the north of Ireland, to escape religious perse- cution, probably about the close of the seven- teenth century. Of the children of James McClung little is positively known, but there
is a family tradition to the effect that severa! of the sons settted in one of the Scotch-Irish psalm-singing communities of either Virginia or one of the Carolinas. It is known, how- ever, that John McClung, one of the sons of James, remained in Pennsylvania and settled in Northumberland county, in the Susqua- hanna valley, and that to his marriage wer. born five sons and five daughters, in the fol- lowing order: Sarah, in 1740; John, 1742. James, 1744; William, 1746; Sara, 1748; Re- bekah, 1750; Esther, 1752; Elizabeth, 1755. Matthew, 1757, and Charles, 1761. Of these, all, with the exception of Sara, married and had children of their own, although William was killed during the Revolutionary war, by Indians and tories, in the massacre of Wyo- ming, in 1773.
Charles McClung, youngest son of John and the progenitor of the McClungs of Ohio, first settled in Westmoreland county, Pa., be- tween 1782 and 1785; he married Margaret Martin, March 10, 1785, and in 1799 they came to Ohio, being among the earliest settlers of Fairfield county. To their union were born the following-named children: Elizabeth, born in 1785-died in 1798; Sarah, born in 1787- died in 1798; John, born in 1790-died in 1879; he was a soldier in the war of 1812. was married, was a pioneer of Iowa, afterward a pioneer of Oregon, and died in the latte: state, where his descendants still make their homes; William, born in 1793-died in 1856: he, also, was a soldier of the war of 1812, and died in Fairfield county, Ohio, where his de- scendants still abide; David, born in 1795- died in 1867, in Leipsic, Ohio, a stanch repub- lican, although at first a whig; Charles, born in 1798-died in 1880; he married, but has no living descendants, James, born in 1800 -- died in 1831 ; he was a physician, but never married. Mrs. Margaret Me( Iung, the mother of this family, died in 1842.
339
OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
David McClung, one of the children enu- merated above as born to Charles and Margaret (Martin) McClung, married, 1824, Elizabeth Brown, who was born in 1804, a daughter of David and Margaret (McLyre) Brown, some- time of Juniata county, Pa., and afterward of Fairfield county, Ohio. In 1826, David Mc- Clung and wife settled in Seneca county, where Mr. McClung purchased a tract of land, which he cleared and converted into a fine farm, on which he passed twenty-seven years of his life, and then, in 1863, came to Putnam county and purchased a tract of land which now forms a part of the western section of the town of Leipsic. To David and Elizabeth (Brown) McClung were born twelve children; viz: Phobe, born in 1824, widow of A. Leonard, of Loveland, Colo .; William Clark, born in 1826 -- died near Warrensburg, Mo., in 1881; Robert Brown, born in 1828-died in 1888 at Pawnee City, Nebr .; James D., born in 1830 -- died in 1873 or 1874, near Warrensburg, Mo .; David Waddle, born in 1831-a promi- nent politician and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio; Charles, born in 1834 -- died in 1845; Margaret, born in 1836-died in 1878; Sarah, born in 1838-died in 1842; Harvey, born in 1840- died in 1842; John Calvin, subject; Martha, born in 1846-died in 1875; one, a daughter, died in infancy. Mrs. Elizabeth (Brown) Mc- Clung, mother of this family, was called to her final rest in 1876-dying in Leipsic, Ohio.
Dr. John Calvin McClung, the subject proper of this biographical memoir, was reared on his father's farm and educated in the com- mon and high schools, and for several years was a teacher in public schools of Hancock and Putnam counties. In 1866 he began the study of medicine, but, owing to the death of his father the year following, he was obliged to relinquish for a time his medical course of reading to take charge of the paternal estate; in 1870, however, he resumed his studies,
under the preceptorship of Dr. C. E. Tupper, of Ottawa, Ohio, and in 1873 was graduated from the medical department of Western Re- serve university at Cleveland, Ohio; he at once began practice at Leipsic, Ohio; and here he has since remained with abundant success.
In politics the doctor has always been a republican, and in 1878 was elected a member of the village council of Leipsic and served un- til 1884; since 1878, also, with the exception of three years, he has been a member of the board of education and is now president of the school board; in 1885 he was elected mayor and filled the office until 1889, was re-elected at a subsequent period, and is the present mayor of Leipsic. He was postmaster at Leipsic from May 1, 1884, to September, 1885, and from April, 1890, to May, 1894, and no more obliging or competent official ever filled the position. The doctor, in the societies of his profession, is a member of the American Medical association, the Ohio State Medical society, the Northwestern Ohio Medical soci- ety, and the National Association of Railway Surgeons.
Like his ancestors, the doctor has adhered to the Covenanter faith, and has been a life- long member of, and a ruling elder for more than a quarter of a century in, the United Presbyterian church of North America. The marriage of Dr. McClung was solemnized, in 1868, with Miss Sarah Margaret Newlin, who was born, in 1845, in Westmoreland county, Pa., a daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth (Funk) Newlin, of Liberty township, Putnam county, Ohio. To this felicitous union have been born the following children: David Al- bert, January 27, 1869; Anna, October 17, 1870; John Brown, January 23, 1872, died March 24, 1895; Nathan Boyd, born February 28, 1874; Robert Clark, born September 23, 1876, died October 5, 1877; William Hartley
340
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
and Sarah (twins), born March 19, 1878; Elizabeth, born February 12, 1880; James D., born March 10, 1882; Charles Harvey, born July 10, 1885; and a son and daughter, who died in infancy.
Whatever the doctor has done, either in private or for the benefit of the town in which he has spent the best years of his life, is done without any ostentation. When public or pri- vate enterprises are discussed or organized he is one who is always counted upon to bear his part in carrying them out. He is a represent- ative, now, of a class to whom more than any other is due the growth and prosperity of inany of the thriving cities of the west. Con- temporary biography exercises its highest most consistent function when it enters record touch- ing the career of any who, animated by noble ambition and maintaining lofty ideals, essay the task of making a place in the world. In such a life there is both lesson and incentive, and innate modesty should not deprive such men of the benefits to be derived from such lessons. The subject whose name initiates this review is, as may be well inferred, a man of distinguished professional attainments and un- swerving honors, and probably no one in Leipsic deserves a more honorable place in this history than does Dr. John C. McClung.
APT. GEORGE D. MCCLURE, a faithful soldier, an enterprising citi- zen, an excellent and progressive farmer, of Jackson township, Putnam comity, was born in Kalida, Putnam county, Ohio, July 23, 1843. He is the son of Thomas R. and Faithful (Ditter) McClure (see sketch of Nathaniel McChire). He lived on his father's farm and attended school until he was fifteen years old, and then learned the printer's trade, at which he worked for two years, when the war broke out; he then dropped all work,
and though little more than sixteen years of age, he responded to the first call for troops, and enlisted in company E, Twenty-first regi- ment Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months. On September 2, 1861, he enlisted in com- pany A, Fifty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, and was elected second lientenant when the company was organized, though he was but eighteen years of age. February 8, 1862, he was promoted to the first lieutenancy. and to the captaincy, July 23, 1863. He fought in the battles of the Morning Sun, Wolf's Creek bridge, Chickasaw Bayou, and in all the en- gagements in which his brother Nathaniel took part, except those of Corinth and shiloh, Miss. Typhoid fever kept him from partici- pating in these two momentous battles ont he followed Sherman in his triumphant march to the sea. He was ever in the thickest of the fight, knew no fear, never shirked any duties, and was a good disciplinarian. When he war was over, he, on being mustered out on Au- gust 14, 1865, was honored with the @ mmis- sion of lieutenant-colonel. When peace again reigned over this land he returned to peaceful pursuits at home, where he had, while on a furlough in 1864, on November 2, married Susan, the estimable daughter of Sammel and Margaret (Hardin) Myers. This lady was born in Perry township, September 2, 1845, and had been educated in the public schools of Kalida, and afterward taught for six terms in the same school.
After marriage, the young couple located in Kalida, where he worked at his trade (printer's) at times, and was in business for seven years. In 1871 he moved to Perry township and farmed for four years; he then sold his farm and bought the farm in Jackson township, on which he now lives. This farm at that time was still in its wild state, no trees having been cut. He set to work, as bravely fell- ing the trees as he had fought in battle; soon a
341
OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
large space was cleared, the log heaps burned, and he could call it a farm. But he did not stop here; he has continued to improve it and keep it in a high state of cultivation. Eight chil- dren have come to bless their union: Sher- man, a teacher for seven years in Nebraska, and now a resident of the Cherokee strip; George M., of Jackson township, Putnam county, Ohio; Faithful, who taught school for five years, and is now the wife of John E. Shirley, of Perry township; Dottie, the wife of C. R. Comer (see his sketch); Adeline, a teacher, at home; Thomas, who is a farmer at home; Julia and Charles, who still live at home. In politics, Capt. McClure is a demo- crat and has been intrusted with numerous offices. In 1872, he was assessor, and ap- praiser in 1880. He has been justice of the peace since 1885, and at the present time also holds the office of township clerk, and is a member of the school board. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian Union church. He is known to all as a genial, pub- lic spirited man, looking well to the interest of the neighborhood and that of his family.
ATHANIEL C. MCCLURE, the prom- inent real estate dealer of Kalida, Putnam county, Ohio, is a son of Thomas R. and Faithful (Ditter) Mc- Clure, and was born September 5, 1845, in Kalida, where he has been reared and has risen to eminence as a business man. Thomas R. McClure, the father, was born in Maryland in 1805, a son of John McClure, a native of Ireland, who was but fourteen years of age when he reached America, and made his home near Baltimore, Md., where he grew to man- hood and was married, becoming the father of five sons and one daughter, all of whom are now deceased. Thomas R. McClure was
reared a farmer, was educated in his native state, and was still a young man when he came to Ohio and located in Licking county, where, about 1831, he was married to Miss Faithful Ditter. This lady was a native of Ohio, born, in 1816, in Pennsylvania, of Ger- man parents, and was reared and educated in Licking county, Ohio. From the age of thir- teen years she was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a steady and faithful worker in its cause. She became the mother of eleven children, viz: John, an at- torney at Little Rock and formerly chief just- ice of Arkansas; Callender, Jane and Thomas, all of whom died in childhood, within the space of ten days; Milton E., of Kalida, who represented this district two terms in the state legislature, and is now an official in the pen- sion office at Columbus, Ohio; George D., justice of the peace and farmer of Jackson township, Putnam county; Nathaniel C., the subject of this sketch; Andrew J., an attorney at Continental; Thomas R., a deceased physi- cian of Paulding county; Charles G., a school- teacher of Hedges, Paulding county, and Will- iam D., a teacher of Kalida, Putnam county. It will thus be perceived that all the children of this family that grew to maturity attained positions of great respectability, if not promi- nence. The heroic devotion to the Union of the above children who were capable of bear- ing arms in defense of their nation's flag during the late Rebellion must also be here recorded as a necessary tribute to their worth.
Jolin McClure enlisted, September 27, 1861, in company A, Fifty-seventh Ohio vol- unteer infantry, and served until December 21, 1864, holding the rank of lieutenant, quarter- master, captain and major, to which positions he rose from that of private through meritori- ous conduct. He took part in the battles of Arkansas Post, Vicksburg and Jackson (Miss.), Snake Creek Gap, Reseca, Dallas, Kenesaw
342
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Mountain, Atlanta and Jonesboro. Milton E. enlisted in company E, Twenty-first Ohio in- fantry, April 6, 1861, at the first call for vol- unteers, and served three months. George D. enlisted, first, in company E, Twenty-first regiment, served three months, his full term, and also one month longer, and then enlisted, September 2, 1861, in company A, Fifty-sev- enth Ohio volunteer infantry, and when the company was organized was elected second lieutenant; February 8, 1862, was promoted to be first lieutenant, and July 23, 1863, was advanced to a captaincy, and with this rank was mustered out August 14, 1865. He fought at Shiloh, Morning Sun, Wolf's Creek Bridge, Chickasaw Bayou, and in all the engagements in which his regiment took part, and in which his elder brother was also engaged. The mili- tary career of Nathaniel C. will be related below.
.
Thomas R. McClure, the father of these worthy children, after his marriage, settled, abont 1834, on government land he had en- tered near Gilboa, Putnam county, cleared from the woods an admirable farm and be- came a prosperous farmer and a very popular and influential citizen. About 1842 he was elected sheriff, which necessitated his removal to Kalida. He performed the duties of that office in a most satisfactory manner for four years, and for a number of years thereafter was engaged in mercantile trade and in the hotel business. In 1854 he was elected county treasurer, which office he held with his char- acteristic ability for four years. About this time his health began to fail, and he retired from active business, resting in peace until the day came for him to join the "universal cara- van," March 8, 1864, when he died in the faith of the Methodist church, of which he had keen an active and prominent member. Po- litically he was a war democrat. Fraternally he was a charter member of Kalida lodge, No.
280, F. & A. M., and socially no man in Put- nam county stood higher than he.
Nathaniel C. McClure, the subject proper of this sketch, received an excellent education in his native city of Kalida, doing little else but study until his enlistment, September 28, 1863, in company A, Fifty-seventh Ohio vol- unteer infantry. He participated in the bat- tles of Snake Creek Gap, Resaca, Dallas, Ken- esaw Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesboro, States- boro and Fort McAllister, and March 11, 1865, was taken prisoner at Fayetteville, N. C. For twenty days he was immured within the walls of Libby prison at Richmond, Va., was then paroled, and was mustered out of the service at Camp Chase, Ohio, June 27, 1865. On his return to Putnam county Mr. McClure tanght school in the country districts of Union township until 1874, during which year he was appointed deputy sheriff, an office lie most faithfully filled for six years. In 1888
he married Miss Gertrude Laubenthal, daugh- ter of Adam and Mary Laubenthal, natives of Germany, who early settled in Lorain county, Ohio, where Mrs. McClure was born in 1853, but about twenty-five years ago became resi- dents of Putnam county. Notwithstanding the fact that her parents are devout Catholics, Mrs. McClure is a strict Presbyterian.
After his marriage Mr. McClure resumed his vocation of pedagogue, and continued to teach until 1890, ending his useful occupation in Continental. This year (1890) he returned to Kalida, and since then has been engaged most successively in the real estate business. In 1892 he was elected mayor, an office he held until the expiration of his term with much credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. He is at present a notary pub- lic and city solicitor, and is one of the sub- stantial and truly public-spirited men of the town. He is a member of Masonic lodge, No. 325, of Ottawa, and, although not an adher-
1
OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
343
ent of any church, is recognized as a gentle- man of the strictest integrity. Politically he is a democrat.
NDREW J. MCCLURE, who is one of the representative attorneys of Continental, Putnam county, Ohio, and whose ancestors have been men prominent in the affairs of this portion of the Union, has practically passed his entire life in Putnam county, where he has grown from boyhood to attain a position of prominence and usefulness in the line of his profession and as a man among men.
Nathaniel McClure, his paternal grand- father, was born in Scotland, but when a mere youth he removed to Dublin, Ireland. At the adventurous age of twenty years he embarked on an English man-of-war, but when the American colonies, in 1776, declared their independence from the yoke of Great Britain, such was was his innate love of liberty and his sympathy for the embryonic republic that he at once proffered his services in the cause of freedom. He joined the colonial army and for eight years fought valiantly in the noble cause. After the war he settled in Baltimore, Md., and united his life destinies with those of Miss Jane Donin. In after years they removed to Peachbottom, York county, Pa., where they remained until his death. He was in politics an old-line whig, and in religious affil- iations the family were identified with the Methodist denomination. After the death of the head of the family, the mother and her children removed to Muskingum county, Ohio.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.