USA > Ohio > Champaign County > A centennial biographical history of Champaign county, Ohio > Part 30
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and Wyandotte tribes. One of their towns was located on Mr. Enoch's estate, called Macachuk, situated a short distance from his home, on the site where Mr. Nash's residence stands. Wappatomica was sit- uated near the village of Zanesfield. These towns were deserted. when Mr. Enoch came to Macachuk. A mound is still distinguishable on Mr. Enoch's farm where the young warriors performed their athletic sports or tested the speed of their horses, while the older members of the cribes sat on the mound to witness and pass judgment on their skill and dexterity. At the declaration of war the friendly Indians moved to the northern part of Ohio, making Upper Sandusky their liucleus. Mononcue was the head chief of the Wyandotte tribe. Be- tween-the-Logs and Jocco were other chiefs of the same tribe. The subject of this sketch told me he was personally acquainted with them and frequently met them when he visited Upper Sandusky. In 1833 he was a guest of Chief Jocco, who entertained him in the most hospitable man- ner. His residence was neat and comfortable in all of its appointments. In the evening before retiring he called all of his household together and offered up a most earnest and devout invocation to the "Great Spirit." Mr. Enoch was a lover of fine horses and owned several fine representa- tives of the race course. His son remarked to me that the first service he ever performed was to take stems ont of corn blades to feed his father's race horses. Mr. Enoch learned the trade of milling in his father's mill at West Liberty, and served a large patronage, many of them being Indians. In 1820 Mr. Enoch cut the first road from Belle- fontaine to Fort Finley. In this undertaking his son aided him by carry- ing supplies and superintending the preparation of them for use. At this period Mr. Enoch's business career began under the espionage of his father, who sent him to the markets on the northern frontier with herds of beef cattle to be disposed of by him at Monroe, Browns Town and Detroit, Michigan, to French and British traders. These journeys in-
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volved much danger and many hardships, but Mr. Enoch's undaunted courage and strong determination carried him through successfully. At one time he was obliged to cross his cattle at the head of Lake Erie over the ice a distance of seven miles. This was a hazardous venture, but he succeeded without harm.
On July 25, 1822. Mr. Enoch married Miss Elizabeth Kelly, a native of Augusta county, Virginia. She was born April 9. 1803, and was of German extraction, endowed with rare qualities of mind and heart. a woman of remarkable powers of administration, and one in whose character the Christian graces were beautifully illustrated all through her long, active and useful life. A short period after their marriage they established a permanent home on a tract of four hundred acres in the Macachuk valley, in Salem township. Champaign county. Ilere Mr. Enoch followed his chosen vocations of farming and stock raising. By reason of his industry, keen foresight, strong purpose and unfalter- ing energy he became the possessor of one of the finest stock and grain farms in the state of Ohio, besides a desirable farm in Illinois. In the early period of his career lie traveled extensively over the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, buying herds of cattle and driving them to his home farms, where they were fed and grazed for the eastern mar- kets. Before the day of railroads Mr. Enoch drove several of his herds to the markets at Philadelphia and New York City. These journeys required a duration of over two months, leaving his home usually about the first of April and reaching their destination the middle of June. Mr. Enoch followed his business of preparing some of the best herds of beef cattle that went from this part of the west to the eastern markets for over a half century. He was a fine judge of a bullock, and his judg- ment and opinions were sought after and had high standing during the whole of his long life given to this business. In conjunction with Gov- ernor Vance and other noted stockinen he was conspicuous in breeding
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Shorthorn cattle, and in encouraging the farmers to improve their stock. He was a lover of well-bred horses and owned many specimens of that class, and few men could handle a team with the skill or sit a saddle horse with the grace and elegance that Mr. Enoch could. At the age of eighty years a lady friend decorated his horse in the streets of West Liberty with a wreath of beautiful flowers as an expression of her ad- miration of his high order of horsemanship. The subject of this sketch had natural fitness for other pursuits. His intelligence, high character, prominent and wide acquaintance, coupled with his great energy and fme social qualities, would have made him a favorite candidate for political honors in his party, but he shrank from such notoriety. He took, however, an active part in political matters and did all that a liberal- minded, honorable man could to promote the welfare of his party. As a Whig he voted his first presidential ticket for John Quincy Adams in 1824. and continued to vote for Whig candidates until the dissolution of that party. He then became an enthusiastic member of the Repub- lican party, probably never allowing an election to pass without record- ing his vote during his long and active life. The same golden prin- ciple that distinguished him as a business man characterized him as a Christian and made him a sincere and reliable citizen in all the walks of life. Mr. Enoch's educational facilities were limited, but his strong common sense and keen powers of observation overcame this de- fect in a large degree and made him a most agreeable conversa- tionalist and fair scholar. Ile was of Welsh extraction and was said to bear a strong resemblance to that type. In personal ap- pearance John Enoch was tall and commanding, having a strong body, well organized in every way to endure the active outdoor life which he led and which was not interrupted by any illness worthy of mention for a period of over three-quarters of a century. He was a man of courtly manners and warm friendships, and had a pleasant greet-
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ing for all he met. In his home a generous hospitality and warm wel- come was extended to all by himself and his amiable wife. The last twelve months of his life he was confined to his room by severe illness, with much suffering, which he bore patiently until the end, which came one peaceful Sabbath day, the 7th of July, 1889, when he passed over to where "the wicked cease to trouble, and the weary are at rest," clos- ing a good and useful life at the age of four score and seven years.
JOHN P. KNIGHT.
We of this electrical twentieth century, with its strenuous energies and magnificent potentialities, can not afford to hold in light esteem the record of worthy lives and noble deeds, and it is duty for every man to be mindful of those of his ancestors who have wrought well in the days past. The subject of this review is one of the representative citi- zens of Urbana township, Champaign county, where he has spent the greater portion of his life, being now a retired farmer. His genealogy is such as to offer to him a source of just pride and gratification, and in this article a resume of the same will be given.
John P. Knight traces his lineage back through three generations to Rev. John Corbly, the father of his great-grandmother, Priscilla (Cor- bly) Knight. Rev. John Corbly was born in England, in 1733, and, emigrating to America in his youth. he became identified with those early Christian pioneers who labored amid the dangers of a new country to establish the gospel. He first labored in Virginia, and here he was not only persecuted in divers ways for his preaching, but was also thrown into jail. But the jail bars could not confine his missionary ambition nor restrain his zeal, for he preached from the jail to thousands who
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were attracted by his native eloquence and unabated enthusiasm. The violence of his persecution in Virginia finally becoming intolerable, he removed into southwestern Pennsylvania, which was then a veritable wilderness, and there he assisted his colaborers in the establishing of churches. This necessitated the dangerous task of traveling from place to place through forests infested by the treacherous Indians. On one Sunday morning he and his wife and five children started from their home at Grand Station, near Redstone Fort. to hold services at a meet- ing-house about one and one-half miles distant. Before they had reached their destination Mr. Corbly discovered that he had forgotten his hymn book, and returned to his home for the same, his family in the mean- while continuing on their way to the church. During the short period of his absenee his unprotected wife and five children were fired upon by Indians concealed in the woods, and all were shot except two daugh- ters, who were caught, scalped and left for dead. These two girls, named Elizabeth and Delilah, aged six and eight years respectively, were after- ward found and resuscitated, this tragie event occurring about the year 1788. John Corbly died about 1815. having had a very successful min- istry, despite the obstacles that were imposed in his pathway. He was married three times. The wite thus killed was his second wife, and the five children were all born of this marriage. His third wife sur- vived him and became the wife of Matthias Corwin, father of Hon. Thomas Corwin, the distinguished statesman of Ohio, who served as governor of the state, as United States senator and as secretary of the treasury. Of the two daughters who survived the massaere. Elizabeth never married, while Delilah became the wife of Levi Martin, and they were the grandparents of Delilah Martin Knight, wife of Stephen Knight, who lived in Troy, Ohio, where his death occurred July 6, 1895, while she passed away in 1836.
The lineage of John P. Knight, the subject of this sketch, thus goes
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back to Priscilla Corbly, daughter of Rev. John Corbly and his first wife. His great-grandfather. William Knight. married Priscilla, and of their children we are enabled to incorporate the following data: John, who first married a Miss Wilson, and after her death a Miss Green : David, who married Patsey Clark: Elizabeth. who married Paul Fenster ; Rachel, who married James Frazer: Jonathan, who married Catherine James: William C., who married Matilda Frizell: Priscilla, who mar- ried General John Webb ; Nancy, who married George W. Green : Mary. who married John Corry: and Delilah, who married Enoch McFarland. William and Priscilla Knight lived at Redstone Fort, Pennsylvania, whence they eventually removed to Ilamilton county. Ohio, this being at the period when General Wayne was here in conflict with the Indians. William Knight here died in 1815 or 1816.
Jolm P. Knight's grandparents in the agnatic line were Jonathan and Catherine ( James) Knight, whose children were as follows: Will- iam D., who married Elizabeth Palmer, they being the parents of the immediate subject of this review : Stephen, who married Delilah Mar- tin: Paul. who married Charlotte Enseminger: Corbly, who married Catherine Babb: Mary Ann, who married John Green : Elizabeth, who married Isaac Clyne ; and Priscilla, who married George Clyde. Jona- than Knight died in Hamilton county in 1822, and after his death his widow and their six children were induced by William C. Knight, a brother of the deceased husband and father, to come to Miami county. where the children eventually all married and settled. except William D., who removed to Champaign county in 1853. his son John P .. the subject of this sketch, being fourteen years of age at the time.
Of the children of William D. and Elizabeth ( Palmer ) Knight ve incorporate the following brief record : John P .. who married Jen- nie Rawiings: Wilford O., who married Sallie McDonald, daughter of Hugh and Sarah MeDonald. of Urbana : Stephen C., who was first mar-
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ried to Elizabeth Morgan, of Champaign. Illinois, and later to Jennie Doty, of the same place; Catherine, who married Ezekiel Sayres, of Miami county ; Sidney, who remained unmarried : and Maggie, who died in August, 1879, at the age of twenty-three years. William D. Knight died in December, 1890, and his wife, Elizabeth ( Palmer ) Knight. still survives him, being in her eighty-second year at the time of this writing ( May, 1902). She is a daughter of John and Margaret ( Hance) Palmer, the former of whom was born near Bristol, England, on the 19th of September. 1791, having been the eldest son of Robert and Hannah (Anthony) Falmer; his death occurred December 11, 1882.
From the time of his father's removal from Miami to Champaign county, in 1853, John P. Knight has been a resident of Urbana town- ship. He began his independent career as a school teacher, giving incep- tion to his pedagogic endeavors at the age of nineteen years. He was considered to be very successful, holding at the close of his five years of service as a teacher the best certificate offered by the school examiners of Champaign county, and having risen to the position of principal of the Central-ward school in the city of Urbana.
On March 17, 1864, he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie E. Rawlings, daughter of James and Susana ( McRoberts) Rawlings, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work, in connection with the sketch of their son Thomas. Soon after his marriage Mr. Knight removed to the farm where he now lives, this being the homestead upon which Mrs. Knight's father settled in his early manhood, in 1829, moy- ing into a log house of those primitive times. Mr. Knight has always been an exemplary citizen, standing ready at all times to lend his aid in fortifying every good cause, whether it be social, religious or political in its nature. He has never aspired to gain the honors or emoluments of public office ; nevertheless he has been a member of the board of edu- cation in Urbana township for a period of thirty years, being at the
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present time the president of that body. He was elected and served as decennial land appraiser for the township in 1900.
John P. and Jennie R. Knight are the parents of four children. William J., the eldest, was educated at Oberlin College, where he com- pleted the classical course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1889. Soon after finishing his education he abandoned professional ambitions, on account of failing health, and settled on the home farm. Since regaining his health he has become a member of the firm called the Urbana Hardware & Supply Company, located at Urbana, Ohio, where he is doing a nice business. In 1899 he married Florence Dempcy, born December 29, 1864, daughter of Ezra L. and Lucretia (Pennington) Dempcy, and of this union one child has been born,- Paul Dempey Knight. Edwin Stanton, the second son of John P. and Jennie R. Knight, is at present a resident of Chemulpo, Korea. „Asia, where he is with the Oriental Consolidated Mining Company as superintendent of transportation. Though only a little past thirty years of age he has traveled over all parts of the United States. At the time when the Spanish-American war was precipitated he was a resident of the city of Chicago and enlisted in the First Illinois Infantry. with which he proceeded to Cuba, having been on the fighting line at Santiago when the city capitulated. Harley E., the third son, born January 18, 1872. married, in his twentieth year, Fannie Clark and settled on the home farm. They are the parents of three promising children .- Stella, Harold and Ruth. Earl R., the youngest son, born .April 30, 1876, was educated at Purdue University, at Lafayette, Indiana, where he com- pleted the course in electrical engineering and was graduated in 1899. Ile has since been incumbent of two good positions, being at the present time employed as assistant chief draftsman with the Bullock Electrical Manufacturing Company at Cincinnati. He is not married.
John P. Knight, though a retired farmer, still remains on the farm
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which has been the family homestead for three-quarters of a century. He has taken great pride in improving it with excellent buildings and all the modern conveniences pertaining to the business of agriculture.
CLARENCE M. MCLAUGHLIN, M. D.
The father of the subject of this review was numbered among the pioneer physicians and surgeons of Champaign county and attained dis- tinct prestige in his profession, while he was honored as one of the ster- ling citizens of the county, devoting his life unreservedly to relieving suffering and distress and gaining the affection of an exceptionally wide circle of friends. lle maintained his home in Westville and was here engaged in active practice for more than thirty years, and it is most consonant that the work which he laid down after the years of earnest toi! and endeavor should be taken up by his son, who is one of the rep- resentative young medical practitioners of the county and who figures as the immediate subject of this brief sketch. Dr. Clarence M. Mc- Laughlin was born in Westville, where he now maintains his home, the date of his nativity having been August 19, 1864. He is a son of Dr. Richard R. McLaughlin, who was born in Clark county, this state, and who was reared on a farm in Green county, Wisconsin, whither his par- ents removed from Indiana, where they had lived for about six years. When he was a child of about ten years, and after attending the con- mon schools of the period and place, he began reading medicine under the preceptorage of his uncle and thus prepared himself for the active work of his profession, and began the practice in Illinois, and then in Wisconsin. In 186; he established himself in the practice of medicine in Westville, and here he continued his zealous and beneficent labors until his death, in the year 1891, representing a period of thirty-three years. He was one of the leading physicians of the county and his practice extended over a wide radius of country and implied the endur-
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ance of many hardships, but he never refused to go to the bedside of the suffering, no matter how distant or how tempestuous the weather or dark the night or seemingly impassable the road. The old time "country doctors" should be held in grateful memory for all time, for their lives were self-abnegating and selfishness was foreign to their natures in the average case. The senior Dr. MeLaughlin was a member of the Chain- paign County Medical Society and one of its organizers, while he ever commanded the confidence and high regard of his professional confreres. His religious faith was that of the Universalist church, and he was one of the charter members of the church in Westville, ever taking a deep interest in its work and in all that conserved the welfare of his fellow- men. He was a prominent temperance worker, and in this line made many able speeches throughout the county. He married Charlotte S. Wilson, who was born in Champaign county, the daughter of Rezin C. Wilson, who was one of the pioneers of this county, whither he is supposed to have emigrated from Virginia. Mrs. McLaughlin survives her honored husband and makes her home with her son, the subject of this review. She became the mother of two sons and three daughters, one of the daughters dying at the age of two years. Of the other chil- dren we enter brief record as follows: Minnie B. became the wife oi Charles D. Ogden, of Columbus, Ohio, where she died on the 8th of July, 1900; Rev. Ira W. is a clergyman of the Universalist church and is now residing in North Hatley. Quebec, Canada; Clarence M. is the subject of this sketch; and Lottie J. is the wife of Richard K. Fox. a photographer of Dayton, this state.
Dr. Clarence MI. MeLaughlin received his preliminary education in the public schools of Westville and thereafter continued his literary studies in the Urbana University. In fortifying himself for the work of liis chosen profession he was matriculated in Starling Medical Col- lege, at Columbus, where he completed a thorough technical course in medicine and surgery and was graduated as a member of the class of
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1886, receiving his coveted degree of Doctor of Medicine. He forth- with became associated with his father in practice, and this professional alliance continued until the death of the latter, since which time our subject has carried forward the work individually. his unmistakable ability and the prestige of the name having enabled him to build up a large and representative practice, while he enjoys marked popularity and esteen in the community where practically his entire life has been spent. The Doctor is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty-seven acres in Mad River township, and here he devotes special attention to the raising of thoroughbred Jersey cattle, his farm having a high reputa- tion in this line, while he takes great interest in the same. He is a mem- ber of the Champaign County Medical Society and of the Universalist church, while fraternally he is identified with Harmony Lodge. No. 8. A. F. & A. M .; Urbana Chapter, No. 34. R. A. M., at Urbana; with Magrew Lodge, No. 433, Knights of Pythias, and with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, in Urbana. He is a Democrat in his political proclivities, but in local affairs maintains an independent atti- tude, giving his support to men and measures rather than being guided by strict partisan lines.
On the Ist of September, 1897, Dr. Mclaughlin was united in mar- riage to Miss Nellie B. Denny, the daughter of Dennis and Sally ( Nichols) Denny, natives respectively of Logan and Champaign coun- ties, Ohio, and now residents of Logan county.
SAMUEL L. P. STONE.
In this age of colossal enterprise and marked intellectual energy the prominent and successful men in any community are those whose abil- ities, persistence and courage lead them into undertakings of large scope, and to assume the responsibilities and labors of leaders in their respective
& LA Stone
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vocations. Success is methodical and consecutive,-the result of the determined application of one's abilities and powers along the rigidly defined line of labor. Prominent among the progressive and representa- tive business men of the city of Urbana is numbered Mr. Stone, who stands at the head of the extensive hardware house conducted under the firm name of Stone Brothers and who has been consecutively identified with this enterprise for more than a quarter of a century, the interest of his deceased brother, the late Ferdinand F. Stone, being still retained in the business, which involves both wholesale and retail operations and which is one of the most important of the sort in central Ohio. Inde- fatigable, honorable and well directed industry has been the conservator of the marked success which has attended the efforts of our subject, and he has long been a factor in the commercial and civic life of Ur- bana, where he commands unequivocal confidence and esteem, by reason of his sterling manhood and useful life.
Samuel Lukins Pigeon Stone is 1 native of the Old Dominion, having been born in Hampshire county, Virginia, on the 24th of July, 1838, the son of Ferdinand and Mary ( Pigeon) Stone, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, of German lineage, and the latter in Lynchburg, Virginia, her ancestral line tracing back to English origin, while both were birthright members of that gentle and noble religious sect, the Society of Friends. They became the parents of five children, namely: John H. P., a prominent citizen of Urbana; Joseph S., who was a leading physician of Denver, Colorado, and who is now deceased ; Saran E., who died at the age of eight years: Ferdinand Fairfax, who was associated with our subject in business and who died in 1898; and Samuel L. P., to whom this sketch is dedicated. The father was born in 1803 and died in Urbana in 1874, his widow, who was born in 1804. passing away in 1884. They came to Urbana in July, 1858, and here passed the remainder of their lives, the father having been engaged in
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the milling business here during the entire period of his residence. He was a Democrat in his political proclivities, and his religious faith was that of the Lutheran church, while his wife, though a Quaker by birth. became a devoted member of the Presbyterian church.
Samuel L. P. Stone was a youth of nineteen years when the family came to Urbana, and his educational discipline involved the curriculum of the public schools of the day, and this was effectively supplemented by a course of study in Edwards College, at Piedmont, Virginia, where he was graduated prior to his coming to Ohio. He learned the milling tra le under the effective direction of his father, being connected with the enterprise in Urbana for four years, at the expiration of which he here engaged in the grocery business, under the firm name of Stone & O'Con- nor, thus continuing one year, after which he individually continued in the same line of enterprise for the ensuing decade, from 1862 to 1872, in which latter year was given inception to the important business of which he is now the head. He was associated with his brother Ferdinand in the establishing of a hardware business, under the firm name of Stone Brothers, which has ever since been maintained, the enterprise being capably managed and expanding in scope and importance with the development of the city and county. It is now one of the best equipped concerns of the sort in this section of the state and the business has extensive ramifications, being both wholesale and retail in character and implying the handling of a most complete and comprehensive stock. including heavy and shelf hardware, glass, paints and oils, builders supplies, implements, glass, etc. The commodious headquarters are most 'igibly located at 107 North Main street, where three stories of a sub- stantial business block are utilized, and also a two-story warehouse. giv- ing an aggregate floor space of sixty-one thousand square feet. from which statement may be gleaned an idea as to the stock carried. As has been well said of Mr. Stone, he "has during his active business
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