USA > Ohio > Champaign County > A centennial biographical history of Champaign county, Ohio > Part 19
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EDWIN HAGENBUCH.
Few men are more prominent or more widely known in the enter- prising city of Urbana than Edwin Hagenbuch. He has been an import- ant factor in business circles and his popularity is well deserved, as in him are embraced the characteristics of an unbending integrity. unabating
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energy and industry that never flags. He is public-spirited and thor- oughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of Urbana.
Mr. Hagenbuch was born in Salem township, Champaign county, May 8, 1850, and is a son of Henry and Martha J. ( Long) Hagenbuch. The father was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, about 1809 and 'comes of a family of Holland Dutch lineage. When a young man he sought a home in the west. At the early age of twelve years he had be- gun earning his own living by clerking in a store in Pennsylvania, and steadily worked his way upward until he became a partner in a mercan- tile enterprise. Thus having accumulated some money, he sought a broader field of labor in the west. He made his way to Kings Creek, Ohio, where he had a cousin living, and there it was that he met the lady who became his wife. He purchased a store and mill there, con- ducting both business enterprises with success for many years. Event- ually, however, he sold out and purchased farm land, giving his attention to agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining days. His marked energy, keen business sagacity and unflagging enterprise, were the means of bringing to him creditable and gratifying success. In 1865, he re- moved his family to Urbana, where he spent his remaining days. In politics he was a stanch Republican and a strong Union man, who gave liberally of his means to aid various societies during the war. He held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, to which his wife also- belonged. She was born in Champaign county, and was a daughter of James and Susan Long, pioneer settlers of this portion of the state. Two children were born of this marriage that grew to years of maturity. The younger was Ella, now the wife of L. C. Moore, of Urbana.
The elder is Edwin Hagenbuch, of this review. He spent the first fifteen years of his life on the home farm and afterward continued his studies in the schools of Urbana, while later he entered the Ohio Wes-
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leyan University, where he remained for six months, when he was com- pelled to leave that institution on account of failing health and was never able to return. He took a deep interest in his father's business and practically managed his affairs for some time, relieving him of all care and responsibility. He was also in the employ of the United States Rolling Stock Company, car manufacturers, acting as clerk and store keeper, and since that time he has been largely interested in farming and stock raising, making a specialty of fine blooded sheep of the Ramboullet breed.
In 1880 Mr. Hagenbuch was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Howard, a daughter of George Howard. of Champaign county, and unto them have been born two sons. George Edwin, who is a member of the junior class in the Ohio State University, and Frank, who is a member of the senior class in the high school of Urbana.
In his business affairs Mr. Hagenbuch is energetic, prompt and notably reliable. Keen perception and honesty of purpose are among his chief characteristics and have been salient features in this prosperity. He has been successful in business undertakings, yet it has not alone been the goal for which he has been striving, for he belongs to that class of representative American citizens who promote the general prosperity while advancing individual interests. He has rendered effective service to his city and district in public office. He is spoken of as one of the best councilmen that ever served in Urbana. While on the finance com- mittee he was influential in re-adjusting the natural gas debt at a saving to the city of about thirty thousand dollars, and his efforts along other lines were equally beneficial. In 1899 he was elected to the general assembly, and in 1901 was re-elected by an increased majority. He served as a member of the committee on finance. salaries and claims in the seventy-fourth general assembly, and in the seventy-fifth was chair- man of the committee on railroads and telegraph and second on the
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finance committee. His ability was early recognized in the general as- sembly, where out of ninety applicants for membership on the finance committee he was selected for that important position. Socially he is equally prominent. He belongs to Harmony Lodge, No. 8. F. & A. M .; to Urbana Chapter, No. 34. R. A. M .; Urbana Council. No. 59. R. & S. M .: Raper Commandery, No. 19. K. T .: and in the Scottish Rite he has attained the thirty-second degree as a member of the consistory at Cincinnati. He is also a member of Antioch Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Dayton. He has presided over the four local bodies and is at the present time grand secretary of the Grand Chapter of Ohio. Mr. Hagenbuch well deserves mention among the most prominent and hon- ored residents of Champaign county. Such, in brief, is the life history of Edwin Hagenbuch. In whatever relation of life we find him-in the government service, in political circles, in business or in social relations- he is always the same honorable and honored gentleman, whose worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly given him.
WILLIAM C. PANGBORN.
A career whose many-sided usefulness is recalled with pride and gratitude by the citizens of Mechanicsburg is that of William C. Pang- born, a native of the town where he was known in educational. business and professional circles, and where his birth occurred December 4. 1825. His father, Freeman Pangborn, was one of the very early settlers of Champaign county, whither he had removed in his young manhood from his native state of Pennsylvania, and to the development of which he devoted the best energies of his remaining years.
In Mechanicsburg William C. Pangborn acquired his education at
UNG, Pangborn
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the public schools, and while still young in years evinced habits of thrift and industry. His acquirements were put to the practical test in his native city, where for a number of years he engaged in educational work, the high character of which gained him a reputation among the chief promoters of knowledge of his time and place. After the death of his mother he undertook to learn the trade of tanning, an occupation not sufficiently congenial to warrant long continuance, and which was aban- doned entirely for the more ambitious project of law. In the office of Judge John Corwin, of Urbana, he gained the first insight into the pro- fession to which he devoted himself up to the time of his death, February 14. 1897. He became renowned for his lucid exposition of the prin- ciples of law, and for his devotion to its highest and most lasting tenets. Interspersed with his professional duties were numerous business ven- tures of more or less importance, and for seven or eight years of the best part of his life he engaged in farming and stock-raising in the vicinity of Mechanicsburg. In whatsoever line of activity chosen, he wielded an influence for progress and substantiality, the more so because his accom- plishments were due rather to his own efforts and wise acceptance of sur- rounding opportunities, than to any special favor bestowed by a prejudice l fortune.
Through his marriage with Martha Spry, in 1851, Mr. Pangborn had yet another incentive for continued success, for his wife proved a helpmate indeed, and a never failing source of sympathy and apprecia- tion. Mrs. Pangborn comes of a family long associated with New York, from which state her father. William Spry, removed to Ohio at an early day. To Mr. and Mrs. Pangborn were born three children, two of whom are deceased. Charles, the only survivor, is now living in Mexico, while his mother continues to reside among the familiar scenes of her youth. marriage, and later life in Mechanicsburg. Mr. Pangborn was politically affiliated with the Republican party, but his conservative nature never
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lent itself to the feverish uncertainties of office-seeking and general politics. He was a Mason fraternally, and was connected with innumer- able efforts for the general upbuilding of his native town.
GEORGE W. PICKERING, M. D.
The noble profession of the physician and surgeon affords to the students in these branches of science a never failing source of investi- gation and experiment. New remedial agents are constantly being dis- covered and practically applied in therapeutics; wonderful progress is being made in the domain of surgery; and new methods of treatment are being evolved. It is needless to say that the physician who would keep in touch with the advances made must be a close student of his profession, devoting much time and thought to specific reading and in- vestigation, in addition to meeting the practical demands placed upon him by the work of his chosen vocation. In the noble army of workers in this humane field may be found Dr. Pickering, who is one of the rep- resentative members of the medical profession in Champaign county and whose success indicates his personal popularity and his ability in his profession, with which he is thoroughly en rapport, sparing no pains to keep abreast of the advanced thought and knowledge pertaining thereto. The Doctor is a sterling type of the self-made man, to whom our republic points with just satisfaction and pride, and his is the strength and prestige which is begotten only of definite personal ef- fort.
Dr. Pickering is a native son of the Old Dominion state, that cradle of much of our national history, having been born in Rockingham county, Virginia, on the ist of July, 1859, the seventh in order of birth of the
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nine children of Richard and Jeanette (Smith) Pickering, both of whom were likewise born in Virginia, where the death of the former occurred soon after the close of the Civil war, while the latter passed away March 12. 1900. Richard Pickering was a farmer by occupa- tion, and his son, the Doctor, grew up under the sturdy discipline of the homestead, receiving his preliminary education in the schools of his native state and early beginning to contribute his quota to the work of the farm. As his father died when he was a mere child. the Doctor early became dependent upon his own resources, and upon attaining the age of nineteen years left his native state and came to Urbana, Ohio, where he continued his studies in the high school until he be- came qualified for pedagogic work. being a successful teacher in the country schools of this section for five terms, within a period of three years. In the meanwhile he had formulated decisive plans as to his vocation in life, having determined to prepare himself for the profession of medicine. He began his technical reading in the office and under the preceptorship of Dr. William J. Sullivan, of Urbana, and in order to. properly fortify himself for his chosen work then entered Starling Med- ¿cal College, in the city of Columbus, where he was matriculated in the year 1883. completing the prescribed course in this celebrated institution. where he was graduated, with the coveted degree of Doctor of Medi- cine, as a member of the class of 1886.
Dr. Pickering instituted the practical work of his profession by locating in the village of Eris, Champaign county, where he remained for a period of nine years, securing precedence as a devoted and capable physician and surgeon. In seeking a wider field of endeavor he then came to Urbana, where he has ever since been established in a practice of representative character and where he has gained still further prece- dence in his chosen life work. He is a member of the Champaign County Medical Society and takes a lively interest in its affairs, while
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he is a close and receptive student of the best medical literature and thus keeps fully in touch with the advances made in the various branches of this most exacting of all professions. In April, 1901, the Doctor was appointed a member of the board of examining surgeons for pensions in his county, and is rendering efficient and faithful service in this capacity. In politics he exercises his franchise in support of the principles and policies of the Democratic party and fraternally he is identified with the local lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men, and Harvey Lodge. A. F. & A. M.
On the 5th of March. 1886, Dr. Pickering was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Rinaker, who was born in Champaign county, the daugh- ter of Simeon Rinaker, and they have two daughters .- Jeanette and Helen, aged fifteen and nine, respectively.
PETER BLACK.
In the best development of Champaign county Peter Black bore an important part. He was identified with the agricultural interests of this section of the state from pioneer days and while promoting the material welfare et the community also gave an active and liberal support to those measures which tended to advance its intellectual and moral status. His life was filled with good deeds and kindly thoughts, and all who knew him entertained for him the highest regard. by reason of his upright. honorable life.
Mr. Black was born in Wayne township, Champaign county, May 14, 1828. His father, Peter Black, Sr., was of German descent and was born in Pennsylvania, but he became one of the early pioneers of Cham- paign county, Ohio, taking up his abode in Wayne township. le fol-
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MR. AND MRS. PETER BLACK.
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lowed the tilling of the soil as a life occupation. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Hughes, was also a member of a prominent old family of this county, her father, Abram Hughes, having located here in a very early day. Of their seven children Mr. Black, of this review, was the sixth child in order of birth, and he was reared and educated in Wayne township, and when but a boy he began the active battle of life for him- self alone and unaided. On the 9th of March. 1851. he was united in marriage to ( atherine Felger, who was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, July 27. 1832. Her father. Samuel Felger, also claimed that locality as the place of his nativity, but as early as 1834 came to the Buckeye state, locating in Allen county, where he resided on a farm until 1840, and in that year took up his abode in Henry county, Iowa, where he passed away in death in 1892. For his wife he chose Lucretia Trout, and she. too, was a native of Pennsylvania of French descent, her parents having emigrated to the United States and located in the Keystone state. Of the nine children, hive daughters and four sons, born unto Mr. and Mrs. Felger, Mrs. Black is the eldest. She was reared in Allen county, Ohio, and in Henry county, lowa, and in the latter place, in 1850. gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Black. They began their married life on a farm in Wayne township. Champaign county, but five years later they removed to Henry county, lowa, where they made their home for a year and a half. Returning thence to Champaign county, they located on the farm on which Mrs. Black now resides, consisting of one hundred and ninety-eight acres. Since her husband's death she has given a careful supervision to the property and is an excellent business woman. By their thrift and economy they succeeded in gaining a competence for old age. and at one time they owned as high as eight hundred and seventy acres of land. Together they worked very successfully. In any business trans- actions of importance he always consulted his wife and well he did. as her business ability has been well tried since he passed away.
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Vine children came to brighten and bless the home of our subject and wife, but one died in infancy, the others being Samuel. Freemont, Henry E., Granville, M. Lucretia, the wife of William Berry: Emma. deceased ; Charles B. : and Cora, who died in 1896. The living children are all married and have good homes of their own. Mr. Black spent his last days at his pleasant home in Wayne township, and there closed his eyes in death in 1899. A prominent representative of industrial inter- ests. a popular factor in social life, a faithful friend, a kind husband and father and a consistent Christian, he left behind him an untarnished record.
THOMAS DENTON CROW.
That adverse conditions build up the strong and break down the weak is a truism emphasized in the life of Thomas Denton Crow, lawyer, educator, and erstwhile man of affairs of Urbana and Champaign county. Though at present retired from the strenuous activity which has characterized a well directed career, and a serene spectator of the pros- perity of which he has been a developing force, no more convincing example is available for those who are discouraged and beset with limi- tations, of the possible preponderance of mind and determination over obstacles however great or deterring.
A native son of Ohio, Mr. Crow was born in Harrison township. Champaign county, October 21, 1821, and comes of paternal German and maternal New England descent. Ilis father. Joseph Crow, was born in Virginia, October 1, 1790, while his mother, Marita ( Hull) Crow, was born January 4. 1796. The parents were married in 1813, and there- after settled on a farm in Harrison township, of which the paternal grandfather Crow had been a very early settler. Joseph Crow was a
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man of more than ordinary intelligence and education, and a devoted member of the Methodist church, in which he was a class leader and exhorter. His death in 1825 left to the care of his widow one daughter and four sons, over whose irresponsible youth the shadows of loneliness and unhappiness were docmed to fall. A desire to further the interests of her children induced the mother to remarry the following year. and through a union with Joseph Longfellow, an old resident of Con- cord township, she hoped to relieve the financial and general depression under which they were laboring. This marriage proved something of a disappointment to one of the noblest of pioneer mothers, who lives in the memory of her children as one who possessed unusual faithful- ness and piety, and whose death, August 2, 1864. closed an existence crowded with toil and deprivation. Six children were born of the second union, but the futility of her sacrifice must have embittered her heart at the beginning of her life with Joseph Longfellow, for one of her first husband's children was sent away at once, and two others soon followed them to exile from her care and tenderness. Thomas D). be- came a bound boy on the farm when eight years of age, and during the five years of hardship which followed, experienced little of the joy and expectancy of youth. The school privileges stipulated in the contract were ignored altogether, and it was with a sense of loosened chains that his release came at the end of the allotted time. Henceforth he was at least free, and the world lay before him full of chances to be seized by his streng arms and intellect and courageous young heart. Foremost in his thought was the desire for an education, and as the money left him by his father had disappeared under the management of his step-father, he was obliged to plan a combination of work and study in order to meet the expense of tuition. . At the age of fourteen he began to learn the trade of tailoring at Urbana, and while thus employed for several years occupied his leisure in acquiring the desired knowledge. So studious
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was he that at the age of eighteen he had qualified as a teacher, and at. nineteen he entered the Ohio Conference High School, at Springfield, and met his current expenses by teaching during vacation, doing janitor work and performing such other tasks as yielded needed remuneration. By the practice of the most rigid economy, and a large portion of the time subsisting on brown bread and water, he was able, at the end of four years, to pass the preparatory examination required of students at Augusta College. Here again his tact and resourcefulness were truly surprising, for though he entered the institution somewhat in debt, at the time of graduation in 1846 he was not only out of debt but had saved four hundred dollars out of his salary as principal of the prepara- tory department of his Alma Mater.
On his return to Urbana Mr. Crow found the Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church in session at Piqua, and into this body of enthusiastic workers he was admitted as a member, and subse- quently filled several important charges. For two years he was a mem- ber of the faculty of the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware. Ohio, and by 1860 had determined to devote his career to the practice of law. The following year he graduated in April from the Cincinnati Law School, and thereafter practiced for two years in Monticello, Indiana. In the meantime the pressing need of his stricken country had not fallen on unconscious ears, for he had been busily engaged in raising troops for the Union army, and would himself have enlisted had it not been for his three motherless children. The year 1864 found him again in Urbana working up a law practice, and the next year his enthusiastic advocacy of education found an outlet as superintendent of public schools of Urbana. For a number of years he served as county examiner, and from 1869 until 1872 he was chief clerk and acting state commissioner of schools, and temporarily resided at Columbus, Ohio. After the com- pletion of this responsibility Mr. Crow returned to Urbana, and not until
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a few years ago did he terminate a vigorous and capable professional career, liis retirement being actuated by a compelling need of rest.
Thrice married, the union of Mr. Crow in 1847 with Henrietta Downs, who died in Cincinnati in 1858, resulted in four sons and one daughter. Of his second marriage there was one daughter, and in 1868 he married Mrs. Eliza M. Crabill, nec Hedges. Since the organization of the party Mr. Crow has allied his political fortunes with Republican principles and issues, and has stanchly supported the same in city and county. Innumerable enterprises for the general upbuilding of the community have received his practical support and been benefited by his far-sighted council, for few can more fully realize the benefit of progressive measures when backed by wise conservatism. Out of a life containing much of success as well as grief and misfortune he has evolved philosophies optimistic and helpful in the extreme, and the city is fortunate in the possession of a citizen who has so deftly fashioned harmony out of discord and so unfalteringly based his actions upon the principles of truth and humanity.
ROBERT HENDERSON, M. D.
Dr. Henderson is a most skillful and successful physician of U'r- bana and is a popular and highly respected citizen. He was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, March 22, 1851, and is a son of Richard H. and Anna Maria ( Shanklin) Henderson, both of whom were natives of the Old Dominion. The Doctor was reared in his native town dur- ing the greater part of his youth, but for a time resided with his par- ents in Wheeling and in the schools of those two cities he acquired his literary education. Determining to devote his attention to one of the
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most important and valuable professions to which man can give his at- tention-the alleviation of human suffering-he began the study of med- cine while clerking in Parkersburg and afterward matriculated in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of Baltimore, Maryland. being graduated in that institution with the class of 1878.
The Doctor then located in West Virginia, where he remained for only a brief period, and then took up his abode in New Moorefield. Clark county. Ohio, where he retained his residence until the fall of 1884. when he came to Urbana. having since remained . continuously in this city. He is a member of the Champaign County Medical Society. the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. The interchange of thought and knowledge and the importance of investiga- tion and experiment. given in these organizations, have enabled him to keep in constant touch with the progress that is continually advancing the practice of medicine toward perfection.
111 1875 the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth S. Thomas, of Point Pleasant. West Virginia. They have two children, Richard T. and llelen. the latter yet in school. The son was born in Parkersburg. West Virginia, in 1878, and after attending the public, schools of Urbana, entered the Urbana University. Ile studied medi- cine under the direction of his father, was graduated in the Starling Medical College of Columbus in the spring of 19oo, and has since been associated with his father in practice, the firm having a large and lu- crative patronage. Dr. Henderson of this review is an active Democrat, unfaltering in his advocacy of the party principles and during Presi- dent Cleveland's second administration he served as a member of the pension board. Fraternally he is a Master Mason. but he has never sought political or fraternal henors, preferring to give his attention in an undivided manner to his professional duties, which are steadily in- creasing.
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