USA > Ohio > Champaign County > A centennial biographical history of Champaign county, Ohio > Part 17
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having been a man of a high order of intellectuality and having made his life a power for good in all its relations. In Hagerstown, Maryland, Rev. George Klapp was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Newman, who was born and reared in that state, and they became the parents of seven children, namely: Mary, deceased ; Jeremiah, who likewise is deceased ; George S., the subject of this sketch, now deceased ; and Lizzie, Luthier, Sarah and Martin, deceased. All the children were born in Maryland except the youngest, who was a native of Champaign county.
Our subject was a lad of about five years when the family removed from Maryland to Dayton, where he attended the public schools, as did he later in Miamisburg during the family's residence in that place. In 1839 the family located on the farm which he afterward owned. and though our subject thereafter made various removals to other farms in the locality and was for one year engaged in the grocery business in Saint Paris he finally returned to his late homestead in 1853. He and his father cleared fifty-eight acres and placed the same under cultiva- tion, and the place at the present time comprises sixty-two acres, the land being of the utmost productivity and the enterprise having yielded to our subiect the best of returns for the labors he had expended.
On the 10th of January, 1850, Mr. Klapp was united in marriage to Miss Amanda M. Briggs, who was born in Berks county. Pennsyl- vania. on the 3d of November, 1831, and who was there reared to the age of twelve years, when she accompanied hier parents on their removal to Champaign county, Ohio, locating in Saint Paris. Her father. Jacob J. Briggs, was born in Pennsylvania October 4, 1804, and there was celebrated his marriage to Aun Eliza Blakey, who likewise was a native of the old Keystone state, and they became the parents of nine chil- dren, namely: Samuel B. (deceased), Mary E., George W., Amanda M. ( Mrs. Klapp). Letitia W .. William Henry. Joseph C. ( deceased ). Rachel C. and Rose E. All were born in Pennsylvania except the young-
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est. To Mr. and Mrs. Klapp eight children have been born, of whom Benjamin E., Florence and Mary L. are deceased. Those surviving are Lydia O., Sarah E., Madora, Susana M. and Margaret, all having been born and reared in Johnson township. The family are members of the Lutheran church at St. Paris, with whose organization our subject was identified, while he was prominently concerned in the erection of the present church edifice and was ever active in the work of the organiza- tion. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party, and he served for fourteen years as supervisor of his township and for six- teen years as a member of the board of school directors of his district. No man in the community commanded more unqualified confidence and esteem. and we are pleased to incorporate this brief tribute to one of the sterling old citizens of Champaign county.
WILLIAM R. WARNOCK.
With the judicial and political history of Champaign county the name of the Honorable William R. Warnock is inseparately interwoven, and his reputation is not limited by the confines of this district. His course is one which reflects credit upon the state by which he has been honored and his life record constitutes an important element in the events which form the annals of this portion of Ohio. In a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit, upon strong intellectuality and close application he occupies a place of eminence.
Mr. Warnock was born August 29, 1838, and is a son of the Rev. David and Sarah A. ( Hitt) Warnock His father was born in Ireland February 14. 1810, and when eighteen years of age crossed the Atlantic to the new world. continuing his education in Strongsville AAcademy,
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near Cleveland, Ohio. Determining to devote his life to the work of the ministry, he became a member of the Ohio conference of the Meth- odist church in 1832. For a number of years he served as pastor of various churches in this state, and about 1857 came to Urbana, making a permanent location here. He had previously been pastor of the church here and now became presiding elder of his district. During the last years of his life he occupied superannuated relations to the church, yet was frequently found in the pulpit delivering the message of Chris- tianity to those who sought to know its truths. His reputation and his influence were of no restricted order, and he was widely recognized as one of the leading divines of the Methodist ministry in the middle part of the nineteenth century. In 1837 he married Sarah .A. Hitt, a woman whose beautiful Christian character proved a potent element for good in every community in which she lived. By her marriage she became the mother of nine children.
That William R. Warnock, one of this family, is a man of scholarly attainments and broad general learning is due entirely to his own efforts, for through the means won by teaching and in other employment he . provided for the education which he obtained after completing the com- mon school course. In July. 1861, he was graduated in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, and having determined to make the practice of law his life work he began preparation for the bar as a student in the office of Judge Ichabod Corwin. After a few months. however, he put aside business and personal interests that he might aid in the preservation of the Union and recruited a company of which he was commissioned captain in July, 1862. It was assigned to the Ninety-fifth Ohio Infantry and after one year's service Mr. Warnock was made major in recognition of his gallant and meritorious conduct m the field of battle. At the battle of Nashville. in December. 1864. he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and assigned to duty
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as chief of statt for the eastern district of the Mississippi, working in that capacity until August, 1865, when he was mustered out of the service. During the three years and two months in which he was con- nected with the army he was never away from his regiment except on leave of absence for twenty days, and he participated in all the marches. skirmishes and battles in which that command displayed its allegiance to the Union cause.
.At the close of hostilities, Mr. Warnock returned to Urbana and resumed his law studies. under Judge Corwin. being admitted to the bar in May, 1866. No dreary novitiate awaited him. It was not long before he had acquired a good practice. He entered into partnership with George M. Eichelberger, and the association has been maintained continuously since. with the exception of a period when Mr. Warnock was on the bench. In 1879 he was elected on the Republican ticket to the position of judge of the court of common pleas, and acted in that capacity until 1889. His decisions were strictly fair and impartial and displayed marked legal knowledge. From 1868 until 1872 he held the office ot prosecuting attorney in Champaign county. On leaving the bench he again took up the private practice of law and his clientage is of a distinctively representative character. He has been connected with much of the important litigation brought in the courts of his district and his strength in argument, his logical reasoning and his just con- clusi ns have made him one of the most successful lawyers practicing at the Champaign county bar.
In 1868 the Judge was united in marriage to Miss Kate Murray, f Clark county, Ohio, and they have three children: Clifford: Ann 'atherine and Elizabeth. The Judge and his wife hold meml ership in the Methodist Episcopal church and he is identified with IT. . 1. Brand Post. No. 107. G. A. R., and of the Loyal Legi'm, in which he served for two terme as junior commander, while at the present time
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he is commander, a fact which indicates his popularity among his com- rades who wore the blue. Fraternally he is connected with Harmony Lodge, No. 35, F. & .A. M .. has attained the Templar degree of the York Rites and has taken all of the degrees of the Scottish Rite ex- cept the thirty-third degree. He has always been a stanch advocate of Republican principles and aside from the offices in the line of his profession which he has filled he has been honored with other positions of public trust. In 1875 he was elected to represent his district in the state senate and when Governor Hayes was about to leave Columbus and go to Washington, there to be inaugurated as president of the United States, the general assembly of Ohio tendered the president- elect a farewell reception and to Mr. Warnock was unanimously given the high honor of making the farewell address on that occasion on behalf of the senate. In 1900 our subject was elected a member of congress. In the legislative halls of state and nation he has given earnest and care -. ful consideration to every question which has come up for settlement and his course has been marked by loyal patriotism and statesmanship and he has ever placed the nation's welfare before personal considera- tions and the good of the people before self-aggrandizement. The ju- dicial and political honors and success which he has gained have been well merited and are but the just recognition of superior ability.
ROGER H. MURPHEY.
Iu viewing the mass of mankind in the varied occupations of life, the conclusion is forced upon the observer that in the vast majority of cases men have sought employment not in the line of their peculiar fit- ness, but in those fields where caprice or circumstances have placed them.
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thus explaining the reason of the failure of ninety-five per cent. of those who enter commercial and professional circles. In a few cases it seems that men with a peculiar fitness for a certain line have taken it up and markedsaccess has followed. Such is the fact in the case of the subject of this biography. He is now serving as postmaster of Urbana.
Mr. Murphey was born in this city, December 23, 1852, and is a son of Charles H. and Sophia B. ( Long) Murphey. His father was born in Scotland, January 12, 1817, and died in Urbana, January 12, 1891. Ile was of Scotch-Irish lineage and his birthplace was within two miles of where Robert Burns was born. In the year, 1843, he came to America, taking up his abode in Cincinnati, Ohio. Shortly afterward, however, he removed to Peoria, Illinois, where he remained for several years, be- ing employed in a distillery, having previously learned that business in his native country. The same line of occupation claimed his attention on Mad River, Ohio, for a number of years. In 1852 he was married in Cincinnati to Miss Sophia R. Long, who was born in Germany and came to the United States when a little maiden of six summers with her father. They landed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and afterward re- moved to Cincinnati, where she remained until her marriage. Mr. Murphey brought his bride to Urbana and here spent his remaining days. For several years he was superintendent of the James cemetery, subsequently purchased the cemetery property and for several years was engaged in the nursery and greenhouse business, which he followed until about a year prior to his death, when he sold out to his son, the subject of this review. Ilis careful management and keen discernment in business affairs had made him successful and his honorable methods had gained for him the respect and confidence of those with whom he was associated. His death occurred in this city, January 12, 1801. His widow still survives him and is living in Urbana at the age of seventy years. In their family were five sons and one daughter: Roger H .. 14
.
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Charles Il., Ella C .. Walter T .. George C. and Thomas L. The father was a member of the United Brethren church, while his widow belongs to the Lutheran church.
Roger H. Murphey, whose name introduces this record. was born and reared in the city of Urbana, and pursued his education in the pub- lic schools. In his youth he assisted his father in the greenhouse and in the conduct of the nursery. At one time he spent five years away from home, visiting France in 1874. He spent some time in the best green- houses of that country, in order to familiarize himself with the methods of carrying on business there. He is now the owner of one of the three greenhouses of Urbana, having become his father's successor in June, 1890, at which time his brother. W. T. Murphey, also owned an interest in the business, but the following year our subject became sole proprietor. Since that time the volume of trade has largely increased and the facili- ties he has enlarged to meet the present demands. He now has fifteen thousand feet under glass and the prosperity of the undertaking is con- tinually growing. He raises all kinds of plants and has distributed these through operating florists in Canada and throughout this country from Maine to California. He makes a specialty of raising roses for the wholesale trade. At the present day he is associated with his son under the firm name of R. H. Murphey & Son.
In 1878 occurred the marriage of our subject and Miss Anna C. Keller, of Urbana. They have four children, Charles R., who is his father's partner : Mary E. : E. Frank : and William M. In his political views Mr. Murphey is a pronounced Republican, for two years servel as chairman of the executive committee of the county and was a member of the state central committee. His opinions carry weight in the councils of his party and for thirteen years he served as treasurer of the state central committee. He was appointed by President Mckinley a speci il agent of the rural free delivery service and acted in that capacity for
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eighteen months when in April. 1899, he was appointed postmaster of Urbana. He is now discharging the duties of that office in a most com- mendable manner, his administration being prompt and business-like. He is connected with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Junior Order of American Me- chanics. His connection with any undertaking insures a prosperous out- come of the same, for it is in his nature to carry forward to successful completion whatever lie undertakes. He has earned for himself an en- viable reputation as a careful man of business, and in his dealings is known for prompt and honorable methods which have won him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellow-men.
DAVID KENFIELD.
Among the agriculturists who became identified with the interests of Champaign county in pioneer days, and with the passing years aided in the development and improvement of this section of the state was David Kenfield, now deceased. He was a worthy, intelligent and en- terprising citizen, one of those whom the Empire state furnished to Ohio. He was born in Genesee county, New York. February 11, 1829. but when only eleven years of age he was taken by his parents, Nehemiah and Sallie Ann ( Canfield ) Kenfield, to Michigan, where the son David grew to years of maturity and was married. At the time of the dis- covery of gold in California he became imbued with the "fever." and accordingly went overland to the coast, a part of the journey being made on horseback, and there he followed mining for two years, on the ex- piration of which period he returned to Michigan. five hundred dollars better off than when he started. In 1855 he came with his wife and children to Champaign county, locating at Woodstock. He was a potter
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by trade, having learned that art in Michigan, and in that line he be- came an expert workman. After his arrival in Woodstock he built the first tile factory ever put into operation in the state, which enterprise proved eminently successful, and his output was in great demand by the farmers throughout the surrounding country, his efforts thus bring- ing to him a snug little fortune. His products were often exhibited at the state fairs, where they invariably won first premiums. Mr. Kenfield continued in this business until 1871. but prior to that time, in 1868, he had purchased one hundred and thirty-one acres of land east of Woodstock, where his widow and children now reside, and from 1871 until the time of his death he devoted his attention to the cultivation of his farm. During that time he also bought and sold other lands.
By his first marriage Mr. Kenfield became the father of five chil- dren, namely: Frances, who died at the age of twenty years ; Sylvia, who married Sylvanus Dix and now resides in Kansas; Sallie Ann, who died in infancy : Chester, of Lafayette, Indiana ; and Marion. The wife and mother was called to the home beyond in 1861, and three years later, on the 24th of May, 1863, Mr. Kenfield married Eusebia Regina Dix, who was born in Union township. Champaign county, Ohio, May 25, 1838. Her father, Clark Dix, was born in Wayne county, Penn- sylvania, where he was a shoemaker by trade, and there married Clarissa Thankful' Clongh, also a native of that county. Their mrriage was celebrated on the 9th of March, 1837, and in the following spring they started in a one-horse wagon for the Buckeye state, bringing with them their personal effects and a few hundred dollars in money. They reached Columbus at the time the corner-stone of the state house was being laid. Not being pleased with the outlook this section then presented. Mr. Dix left his family here and proceeded on his journey alone to Miss uri, in quest of a better location. That was before the day of railroads, and he probably made a part of the journey by stage. Net finding the object
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of his search in that commonwealth he accordingly returned to Cham- paign county, and for several years thereafter worked as a farm em- ploye. He later purchased a small farm in Rush township, which be- came their permanent home, and there Mr. Dix passed away in death on the 6th of July, 1890, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife sur- vived him until the 23d of April, 1901, when she, too. was called to her final rest. passing away at the age of eighty-five years. Unto this worthy couple were born nine children, eight of whom grew to years of maturity, namely : Eusebia Regina, now Mrs. Kenfield: Clark, now a wealthy man of Marion, Ohio; Clarissa, wife of Frank Willoughby, who was killed at Richmond, Kentucky, during the Civil war after which his widow married D. Fay, of Iowa; John A., a physician in the state of Washington; Samantha, who married Pearl Smith, of Woodstock ; Sylvanus, who ran away from home at the age of fourteen years to en- list in the Union army: Benjamin, a resident of Kansas: and Peter, of Jowa. John !. and Clark also served their country during the Civil war, and the former was incarcerated in Andersonville prison for nine months. The latter was in the signal service for four years.
Mrs. Kenfield attended the common schools of Champaign county during her girlhood, and there fitted herself for the teacher's profession, which she followed for eight fears in the public schools. She received her first certificate to teach when only sixteen years of age, and her ability to impart to others the knowledge she had received soon won her recognition in this calling, giving her rank among the prominent edu- cators of the county. She is a prominent member of the Universalist church at Woodstock. and throughout all the relations of life has ever (lischarged her duties with unswerving faithfulness. Mr. Kenfield was also a worthy member of that denomination, and in his political views was a stanch Republican. During the Civil war he gave freely of his means to preserve the Union, and for a number of years served his town-
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ship with efficiency as its trustee. He neglected no duty of citizenship and was always foremost in support of any movement calculated to prove of public benefit. His death occurred on the 6th of February. 1879, when he had reached the age of forty-nine years. eleven months and twenty-six days, and many friends mourned the loss of one whom they had learned to respect and admire. In his fraternal relations he was a member of North Lewisburg Lodge, F. & A. M., and also of the Woodstock Lodge of Odd Fellows. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kenfield were born nine children, seven of whom are still living, as follows: Clara, the wife of George Hann, of West Jefferson, Ohio, now a prominent stock dealer at Woodstock, Champaign county: they have one child, Dorothy Dix, aged ten years: Scott D., a prominent and successful at- torney of Akron, Ohio; Lura Dale, Ross and John McDonald, at home : Mary Moore, the wife of Frank Tulley, of Urbana, Ohio, now an elec- trician in Chicago ; and Melva S., who received her education in the pub- lic schools of Woodstock and Milford Center, graduating in the high school at the latter place, and is now a prominent and successful teacher of Woodstock. Two others, twins, died at birth.
Ross Kenfield is now carrying on the work of the home farm. He is thoroughly versed in the work of his calling, and is also well informed along other lines, being recognized as one of the leading business men of Champaign county. He was united in marriage to Lucy Huffman, of North Lewisburg, and they have one child, Rene Doris. In his fra- ternal relations Mr. Kenfield is also a member of North Lewisburg Lodge, F. & A. M.
WILLIAM SPEECE.
The deserved reward of a well spent life is an honored retirement from business in which to enjoy the fruits of former toil, and now, after a useful and beneficent career, Mr. Speece is quietly living at his pleasant
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homestead in Champaign county, surrounded by the comforts that earn- est labor has brought to him. He was born in Harrison township, Champaign county, December 25. 1814. His father, Peter Speece, was a native son of the Old Dominion, where he was reared and received his education, and in an early day came to Champaign county, Ohio, but after remaining here a short time removed to Indiana, there spending the remainder of his life. His wife, who was also a native of Virginia. came to Champaign county with her husband, and she, too, departed this life in Indiana. This worthy couple became the parents of twelve chil- dren, eight sons and four daughters.
William Speece, the eleventh child and seventh son in the above family, assisted his father in the cultivation of the home farm until he reached his twenty-first year, and for the following ten years he resided on his father-in-law's farm. He then became the owner of eighty acres of partially improved land in Harrison township, on which he made his home for about thirty years, and during that time succeeded in clearing the greater part of his farm and placing it under an excellent state of cultivation. After disposing of his interests there he became the owner of his present valuable homestead of four hundred acres, the most of which he has cleared and improved. Here he continued to direct .his energies until 188r, when, having acquired a sufficient competence. he laid aside business cares and retired to private life.
The year 1836 witnessed the marriage of Mr. Speece and Miss Elizabeth MeIntire. She was born in Harrison township. Champaign county, in 1817. and her entire life has been spent in this locality. Her father. Thomas Mcintire, was a native of Virginia, but in a very early day located in Champaign county, where he was one of the first set- tlers. He was married in his native state to Miss Mary Ann Dick, and she, too, was born in the Old Dominion. They became the parents of twelve children, five of whom were born before the family left their
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southein home. Ten children have blessed the union of our subject and wife, namely: Rose, Thomas, Sally. Samantha, Marguerite, William Henry, Edna Jane, David, Lennie and Jacob. All were born and reared in Champaign county, and with the exception of the eldest, who has passed away, all are married. Mr. and Mrs. Speece are members of the United Brethren church at Rosewood, and its beneficent and helpful principles are exemplified in their daily lives.
JAMES M. MOSGROVE, M. D.
Fortunate is the man who has back of him an ancestry honorable and distinguished, and happy is he if his lines of life are cast in harmony therewith. In person, in talents and in character. Dr. Mosgrove is a worthy representative of his race, and in his life he is carrying on the noble work begun by his father. Dr. Adam Mosgrove, so long and hon- ored and prominent a physician of Urbana. The subject of this review was born in Urbana in 1825 and acquired his early training in the com- mon schools of this city, subsequently studying medicine with his father, and was graduated in the Ohio Medical College in the spring of 1846. Immediately afterward he began the practice of his profession in con- nection with his father and for many years took an active part in the work of the alleviation of human suffering. Of late years, however, he has gradually withdrawn from active practice and now attends only to the professional duties in the homes where people are loath to give him tip, on account of his long service as a family physician. He gained high rank in his profession and now belongs to the Champaign county and Ohio State Medical Societies, also the American Medical Association. Like his father, Dr. Mosgrove, of this review, is an exemplary
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