USA > Ohio > Ross County > A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio > Part 9
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dians were numerous, and deeply resented the invasion of the pale- faced whites. From Volume I, "Howe's History of Ohio," we make the following extract :
"Adam and Andrew Poe.
"In 1782 seven Wyandotte Indians invaded the section some dis- tance below Fort Pitt and killed an old man living alone. Among them was a Wyandotte chief. Eight men, including Adam and Andrew Poe, started in pursuit. They used every precaution against an ambuscade. A short distance before they reached the river, Adam Poe left the party, and went ahead to the river, and there saw the Chief, a very powerful man, and a small Indian. He raised his gun to shoot the Chief, but the gun missed fire, the click, however, attracting the attention of the Indians. Being too near to successfully retreat, he sprang upon the Indians, and threw them both to the ground. The smaller Indian got away and tried to tomahawk him, but he kicked the Indian and knocked the tomahawk from his hand, then broke from the Chief, picked up the Indian's gun, and shot the smaller one. Then the Chief seized him, and they struggled and fell into the river, where each tried to drown the other. After struggling for some time Adam Poe drowned the Indian."
Andrew Poe, Jr., was born in Penn County October 21, 1781, the year prior to his father's encounter with the Wyandotte chief. He was subsequently one of the earlier settlers of Chillicothe, where he lived several years. IIe then removed to his farm, in West Scioto Township, and there he died, October 30, 1861, his body being buried in Grand View Cemetery. Mrs. Catherine (Poe) Robinson died in November, 1875, leaving two children, Elwynn S., and Andrew P.
Receiving his elementary education in the rural schools of his native township, Andrew P. Robinson continued his studies for a while in the Circleville schools, later taking a course at the Chillicothe Business Col- lege. Returning then to the home farm, he assumed its management, and was there profitably engaged in cultivating the soil until 1905. when he removed to his present home in Chillicothe, where he is living retired from active pursuits, enjoying a well deserved leisure. Mr. Robinson did not sell his land, however, but still owns, in Union Town- ship, two farms, aggregating 386 acres, which he operates through ten- ants, and he also has an interest in valuable farming property in Logan County, Illinois.
Mr. Robinson married, in 1886, Jennie Isabelle Woodside Clark, who was born in Chillicothe, a daughter of Hon. Milton Lee Clark, of whom a sketch may be found elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have three sons, namely: Elwynn Wilson ; John Drew, who served for three years in the Regular Army, having been sergeant of Company B, First United States Infantry, one year in Vancouver bar- racks, State of Washington, and two years at Schofield barracks, Ha- waiian Territory ; and Clark Woodside.
HON. MILTON LEE CLARK. On the long roll of illustrious names that have conferred honor upon the Ohio bar, not one shines with more
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dillon R. Clarke,
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brilliant luster than that of Hon. Milton Lee Clark, late chief justice of the Supreme Court. Possessing a profound knowledge of law, and with justice as his constant motive, his judicial ermine was ever free from the shadow of suspicion, and his name will hold a lasting place among those of his predecessors. A son of Col. William Clark, he was born in Clarksburg, Ross County, Ohio, April 21, 1817, of honored Scotch ancestry.
John Clark, his grandfather, immigrated to America from Scotland, settling first in Pennsylvania. In 1800 he came with his family to Ohio, locating in that part of Ross County that is now included within the boundaries of Deerfield Township, where he cheerfully endured all the hardships and privations incident to frontier life. He began the pioneer labor of redeeming a farm from the forest, and until his death, while in manhood's prime, was engaged in general farming. He married, in Pennsylvania, Mary Blair, who survived him. She moved with her children, in 1838, to Indiana, locating on the Wabash River, near Wil- liamsport, where she continued to reside until her death, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. She reared a family of eleven children, as follows: William, Thomas, John B., Samuel, James B., Daniel, Stephen, Joseph, Alexander, Wesley, and Elizabeth. Thomas, the second son, wandered to Texas when young, and was never again heard from. John B., a physician, located first in Kentucky, later settling permanently in Indiana. Samuel, an attorney, became an associate judge in Indiana. Daniel, Alexander and Wesley spent the larger part of their lives in Indiana, the latter becoming a successful physician, and an extensive landholder. Joseph died at an early age, unmarried. Stephen, said to have been "the handsomest man in Ross County," was accidentally killed by a fall from a horse. James B., for many years one of the more prominent lawyers and chancellors of Alabama, reared a highly educated and distinguished family. Elizabeth, the only daughter of her parents, married James Beard.
The oldest son of the parental household, William Clark, began as a boy to assist his father in eliminating a homestead from the wilder- ness. After his marriage he settled on the farm adjoining his father's, and in addition to tilling the soil carried on tanning to a considerable extent, having established a tannery on his land. During the War of 1812, he served as colonel of the Second Regiment, Sixteenth Division, Ohio Militia, equipping his regiment almost entirely at his own ex- pense, and never being reimbursed by the Government. He resumed farming and tanning at the close of the war, and in 1816 laid out, on his own farm, the Village of Clarksburg. He was active in public affairs, serving many years as justice of the peace, and his death, August 10, 1824, was a loss to the entire community. The maiden name of the wife of Colonel Clark was Keturah Brown. Her father, James Brown, a wealthy landholder and slave owner of Maryland, for many years extensively engaged in domestic and foreign commerce, died in early life, and his widow subsequently came with her children and her brother,
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White Brown, to Ohio, locating in Ross County, where her daughter Keturah met and married Colonel Clark.
Left fatherless when but seven years old, Milton Lee Clark began working on the farm as soon as strong enough to be of use, attending school in the meantime as opportunity offered. In 1833, a lad of six- teen years, he began clerking in the store of his brother, Edward B. Clark, who was then located in Chillicothe, but who, in 1834, removed to Clarksburg, where he subsequently formed a partnership with a Mr. Williams, and the new firm established a branch store at Williamsport, putting the young clerk in charge of the establishment. Returning to Clarksburg in 1837, Mr. Clark taught school there one term, and the following year clerked in the store of Radcliff & Shaughnessy, at Wil- liamsport. Coming to Chillicothe in 1838, Mr. Clark was a clerk in the dry goods house of John C. Scott, and his successors, Douglas & Ander- son, until May, 1839, when he migrated to Louisville, Kentucky. He was taken ill soon after reaching that city, and on recovering his health entered the employ of John Watson, first as bookkeeper, and later as general manager of the entire business, in the latter capacity having been given the power of attorney to sign Mr. Watson's name to checks and drafts, and supervision of the other employes. At the end of three years Mr. Clark was offered a position as bookkeeper in the large wholesale dry goods house establishment of W. C. Fellows & Company, with a salary of $1,000 a year, and was advised by his employer to accept it, but preferred remaining with Mr. Watson if he was to continue as a clerk.
Strongly resolved, however, to enter upon a professional career, Mr. Clark returned to his home in Ohio, and on August 9, 1842, began reading law with Col. Jonathan T. Woodside, and made such rapid progress in his studies that on November 23, 1844, he was admitted to the bar. Beginning the practice of law in Chillicothe, his legal ability was soon recognized, his clientage becoming cumulative, and his business one of the largest and best of any lawyer in Ross County, for many years he having been the leading criminal lawyer in this part of the state. During his later years, however, he was more particularly in- terested in civil practice, his cases in that branch having been many and important.
Becoming prominent in public affairs, Mr. Clark, as a whig, stumped the state in 1844 for the presidential candidate of that party, Henry Clay. In 1845 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Ross County, and re-elected in 1847. In 1849 he had the distinction of being elected as a representative to the State Legislature, in which he served with ability and fidelity. He became a republican at the formation of that party, and in 1860 was a delegate to the convention that met in Chicago, and was the first member of the Ohio delegation to cast his vote for Abraham Lincoln. In 1884 Mr. Clark was elected circuit judge for a term of six years, and having been re-elected in 1890 served two full terms in that position. At the annual convention of the circuit judges of the state, September 18, 1894, he was elected chief justice of the
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Supreme Court, a position for which he was exceptionally well fitted, not only by natural gifts, but by great learning, and incorruptible integrity. His death which occurred June 11, 1897, was deeply deplored by all who knew him.
Mr. Clark married, October 11, 1849, Jane Isabel Woodside, a daughter of Col. Jonathan and Eleanor (Bailey) Woodside, of whom further mention is made an another page of this volume. Their union was blessed by the birth of nine children, namely : Milton Lee; Eleanor Woodside; Jonathan Woodside; William; Walter Scott; Nannie Wood- side; Jennie Isabel Woodside; Cynthia Keturah; and Arthur Addison.
CHARLES ALBERT FROMM. One of the most enterprising and success- ful newspaper men of Ross County, Charles Albert Fromm, of Chilli- cothe is widely known as editor and publisher of the Unsere Zeit, and has the distinction of being the third in direct line of descent to hold that position. A son of the late Charles Fromm, he was born in Chilli- cothe, March 8, 1877, of excellent German ancestry.
John Balthaser Fromm, grandfather of Charles Albert, was-born about 1818, in Meiningen, Saxony, Germany, and there spent his early life. A man of great intelligence, and of decided opinions, he took much interest in public affairs, and as a co-worker with Carl Schurz and Franz Sigel took an active part in the revolutionary movement of 1848-9. Forced, on that account, to leave his native land, he came to Ohio in the latter part of 1849, locating at Cincinnati, where for nearly a score of years he edited a lodge paper. Going to Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1868, he, with his son, established the Unsere Zeit. There having been at that time two German papers published in Portsmouth and none in Chilli- cothe, he removed the entire plant to Chillicothe, bringing all its equip- ments on a canal boat. Meeting with encouraging success in his journal- istic work, he continued as editor of his paper until his death, in 1872. He married, in Germany, a Miss Albright, and they became the parents of five children, as follows: Charles, Dorothy, Henry, Bertha, and Kossuth.
Born in Meiningen, Saxony, Germany, in 1847, Charles Fromm was scarce two years old when brought to this country by his parents. He was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati, and began his career as a newspaper man in the office of the Volksblatt, with which he was associated until 1868. Going then to Portsmouth with his father, he assisted in the starting of the Unsere Zeit in that city, and after its removal to Chillicothe was assistant editor and manager of the paper for the remainder of his comparatively short life of but forty-six years, after the death of his father, however, having entire control of the sheet. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Ringwald, was born in Spring- field Township, Ross County. Her father, Jacob Ringwald, a native of Germany, emigrated from Baden to America in the early '30s, settling in Ross County, Ohio. Purchasing a tract of heavily timbered land in Springfield Township, he hewed a farm from the forest, and there he and his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Kessinger, and who was
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likewise a native of Baden, spent their remaining days. Mrs. Charles Fromm, who resides in Chillicothe, has four children, namely : Charles Albert, Adolph, Carl, and Frederick.
Acquiring a practical education in the schools of Chillicothe, Charles Albert Fromm early displayed a natural taste and talent for journalism, and at the age of sixteen years entered the office of the Unsere Zeit, where he obtained a thorough knowledge of all the departments con- nected with the making of a good newspaper. Since the death of his father, Mr. Fromm has had entire control of the paper, both as editor and general manager, and has met with unquestioned success in his labors, the Unsere Zeit, the only German newspaper of Ross County, having a large circulation, which is constantly increasing. In 1900 Mr. Fromm enlarged his operations by adding to his publishing business that of job printing, his plant being now amply supplied with all of the most approved appliances and machinery for carrying on his work.
On September 19, 1914, Mr. Fromm was united in marriage with Ida Margaret Cochrane, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, a daughter of S. II. B. and Mary Ellen Cochrane, the former of whom was born in Virginia, and the latter in Illinois. Mr. Fromm is a member of the Eintracht Singing Society, in which he takes great interest. Fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and to the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Religiously he is a member of the Salem Evangelical Church.
JAMES V. SHOOK, a resident of Ross County more than twenty years, has become especially well known as a dairyman, and is the owner of the picturesque and historic estate at Chillicothe known as the Wood- bridge Homestead-Dun Glen Farm.
He has had a career of varied environment and achievement. He was born at Bremen, Fairfield County, Ohio, October 13, 1855. His grandfather was born in Pennsylvania of early German ancestry, and was one of the pioneer settlers of Fairfield County, where he met his death by accident when in his prime. John A. Shook, father of James V., was also born in Fairfield County, was reared there, and from early youth found his greatest pleasure in handling horses. After reaching manhood he trained many noted horses for the track. On February 10, 1864, John W. Shook enlisted in Company M, of the Twelfth Regiment of Ohio Cavalry, being appointed sergeant of his company. He went to the front, and during more than a year of active service was present at the following battles: Mount Sterling and Cynthiana, Kentucky ; Sall- ville, Virginia; Kingsport and Bristol, Tennessee ; Abingdon, Wytheville and Marion, Virginia; second battle of Sallville, Virginia; Salisbury, Dallas and Catawba River in North Carolina. With the close of actual hostilities his regiment was engaged in guard duty until honorably dis- charged at Nashville on November 14, 1865. After his army career John W. Shook returned to Fairfield County, and died there about one year later. The maiden name of his wife was Elenora Crooks and she died still earlier in life, leaving four children named Charles, John W.,
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James V. and Elizabeth. The son Charles died young; John W. is an active physician at Canal Winchester; Elizabeth is married and lives in Zanesville.
James V. Shook was little more than an infant when his mother died, and he was only about ten years of age when his father passed away. In the meantime after his mother's death he went to live with Solomon Berry at North Bern, and became a member of that family. He received his education in the district schools, and early found employment at the home of his foster father. Mr. Berry was an extensive land owner, operating his land through tenants, and he also made a business of buying and feeding cattle. In this latter department James V. Shook began taking an active part at an early age, and he continued a member of the Berry household until he was twenty-six. He then moved to Chillicothe, and four years was associated with his brother-in-law in the millinery business. In the meantime his foster father had moved to Upper San- dusky, and there Mr. Shook joined him.
In 1889 Mr. Shook returning to Chillicothe engaged in the livery business and was active in that line until 1896. At that date he made his first venture as a dairyman. With only one cow he supplied five customers, but in a short time was at the head of a growing business, and he now keeps a herd of from forty to fifty cows. In 1907 Mr. Shook bought the estate formerly known as Dun Glen, which for many years was the home of John Woodbridge, president of the first bank ever estab- lished in Chillicothe. It is one of the most picturesque suburban homes in Ross County, and under Mr. Shook's management is both a beautiful home and a fine business plant. His is one of the leading dairies of this section of Ohio, and he and his family reside in an attractive home sur- rounded with extensive grounds kept in the best repair.
In April, 1883, Mr. Shook married Elizabeth Dydarman, who was born in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio. Mrs. Shook is an active member of the Walnut Street Methodist Church at Chillicothe. Frater- nally Mr. Shook is affiliated with Chillicothe Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
JOSEPH L. SCHILDER. The name Schilder has been closely and promi- nently identified with business affairs in Chillicothe for more than fifty years. One of the largest produce and seed houses of Central Ohio is Schilder Brothers, one of whose members is Joseph L. Schilder, a son of the founder of the business.
Born August 13, 1869, in Ross County, Joseph L. Schilder is a son of Martin and Caroline (Oberer) Schilder. Martin Schilder was a native of Germany and was twelve years of age when brought to America in 1836 by his parents. The family located in Chillicothe and they and their descendants have lived here continuously now for fully eighty years. In 1853 Martin Schilder became associated in partnership with Mr. Eichenlaub under the firm name of Schilder & Eichenlaub in the milling business. The firm conducted one of the leading enterprises of the city up to 1875. In 1876 Martin Schilder went into the produce
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business with his sons under the name M. Schilder & Sons, and his active connection with the firm continued fifteen years.
Since he withdrew the business has been conducted under the name Schilder Brothers. They are not only extensive shippers of produce and seeds but also grow large crops for the market, and in addition to handling large quantities of potatoes and other staple commodities they specialize in onion seeds and onion sets, and they supply immense quanti- ties to onion growers all over the Middle West. Martin Schilder died in 1893. He had long been one of Chillicothe's prominent citizens, was a member of the city council for twenty years and president of the council six years. He also served as a member of the board of public works for two terms. In politics he was a democrat.
In the Schilder family were eleven children, and seven of them are still living. Joseph L. Schilder grew up in Chillicothe, attended St. Mary's parochial schools and was also a student in two private schools and a business college. He has for upwards of thirty years been an active member of the firm of Schilder Brothers, and has been largely responsible for its success. He is a democrat, and is married and has a family of three children.
HIRAM STREITENBERGER. For more than thirty-five years Hiram Streitenberger has conducted one line of business at Chillicothe and there are hundreds of citizens and patrons who accord him the distinc- tion of being the master tonsorial artist in the city.
He was born December 31, 1860, in Pike County, Ohio, a son of John and Margaret Streitenberger. His father John and his grandfather Peter were natives of Germany, and the latter brought his family to America in 1832 and located three miles north of Waverly on a farm. John Streitenberger followed farming all his active career in Pike County and died there February 28, 1892.
The ninth in a family of ten children, Hiram Streitenberger had to begin the struggle for a livelihood at an early age and after attending the district schools of Pike County and remaining at home until he was sixteen, he went to Circleville and spent two years in learning the barber's trade. Then in 1878 at the age of eighteen he came to Chilli- cothe, and for more than a generation he has quietly followed his vocation and while providing for his family and home has also acquired a host of friends. In 1910 he began the manufacturing of toupees, and in that he excels and his shop has become noted all over this section of Ohio. He employs a force of expert operators, and the best of workmanship and the best quality of goods are his business motto. He also conducts one of the largest and best equipped tonsorial parlors in the city.
Mr. Streitenberger is a member of the U. C. T. Council, is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and is affiliated with Scioto Lodge, No. 6, Free and Accepted Masons. In politics he is now independent though reared and for many years a democrat. For two years he served as coroner of Ross County.
On June 10, 1885, Mr. Streitenberger was married in Ross County to
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Miss Mary R. Hess, whose people were also of German nativity. To their union have been born six children, and the five now living are: Clara R., born May 8, 1886; Bertha R., born February 18, 1888, and a stenog- rapher; Leona M., born January 8, 1891, and also a stenographer ; Freda K., born November 25, 1894, and clerking for her father; Elinor T., born November 30, 1897, a graduate of the Chillicothe High School and now a nurse in the Mount Carmel Hospital at Columbus, Ohio.
"COL." RICHARD ENDERLIN. A citizen in whom any community might justly take pride, is Col. Richard Enderlin of Chillicothe. For half a century he has been usefully identified with the business and civic welfare of Ross County, and his name for all time in the future will be perpetuated in one of the best institutions of philanthropy in the State of Ohio.
He was born in Germany and spent part of his early life in Ohio on a farm in Ross County. His birth occurred at Eichstetten in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, January 11, 1843. He was brought to this country by his parents, John M. and Barbara (Eberlin) Enderlin, who arrived in Chillicothe, Ohio, January 11, 1854, accompanied by nine children. His father was a resident of Ross County and Chillicothe until his death in 1897. Altogether there were eleven children, four of whom are still living.
For more than fifty years Colonel Enderlin's home has been in or near Chillicothe. His life work began as a boy on the farm. By work- ing as a farm. hand he employed his services to good advantage for a time, and at the age of eighteen, though considered too young to enlist regularly in the service of his adopted country, he managed by dint of ingenuity to get enrolled as a drummer boy in Company B, then en route from a neighboring county to Chillicothe, in the fall of 1861. Com- pany B was attached to the Seventy-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which company he served except for a time in a hospital with a bullet wound, and both in the East and in the West until his honorable dis- charge on May. 30, 1865. For an act of valor performed on the battlefield at Gettysburg the Congress of the United States voted him the Congres- sional Medal of Honor, and he was promoted to duty sergeant of his company. The congressional medal is one of Colonel Enderlin's most prized relics. Since its organization Colonel Enderlin has been a member of the A. L. Brown Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. The valor and enthusiasm which he displayed during the war for the Union have been characteristic of his work as a business man and citizen.
After the war he returned home to Chillicothe and became a member of the Union Coal Company, a concern which is still in existence at Chilli- cothe. Colonel Enderlin is now president of The Union Shoe Manufac- turing Company, which was incorporated in 1896 and succeeded the Union Shoe Company. He is president of The Carbondale Coal Company of Athens County, with headquarters in Chillicothe. He is a Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Order of Elks, in politics is a repub-
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