USA > Ohio > Champaign County > A centennial biographical history of Champaign county, Ohio > Part 33
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The great loss and bereavement of Mr. Powell's life was that en- tailed by the death of his cherished and devoted wife, on the 9th of February, 1902. Their wedded life had been protracted over more than half a century, marked by mutual love and confidence and help- fulness, and how idyllic that life was none can know save those who were of the immediate family circle, whose sacred precincts we would not wish to violate by lifting the veil. None but the venerable and bereft liusband of her youth and her declining years can appreciate to the full the deprivation which has come, and yet there is a tender chalice of consolation from which he may ever drink. in the memory of a life
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of so signal beauty and devotion, in the memory of a loving com- panionship which was so long vouchsafed him. One who knew her long and well paid the following tribute at the time of her death, the same having been published in a local paper : "She joined the Methodist Episcopal church at Concord sixty-five years ago and was happily con- verted by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and for all these years she proved a faithful member of the church. Though not in any way dominated by extreme emotionalism, in the walks of Christian life she showed herself to be a true and faithful follower of our divine Lord. and in all these years I never heard her say one word or saw her do one act unbecoming a Christian woman. True and faithful as a wife, kind and loving as a mother, if she could speak to-day she would say to her husband and children, follow me as I have followed Christ, and meet me in heaven, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. She will be missed by all her neighbors and friends, for her kind and benevolent acts of life were many ; she ever remem- bered the poor by acts of charity and the distressed by a word of com- fort, and their hearts have been made better thereby, so that they would to-day rise up and call her blessed."
James D. Powell may be justly styled a self-made man, for he began life at the foot of the ladder and by his industry and definite purpose, his integrity and discretion he has attained a high degree of prosperity, being now the owner of a landed estate of more than eiglit hundred acres and being known as one of the representative farmers of the county in which his entire life has been passed. This success is the result of determined and consecutive application in his youth and of the judicious investment of his earnings, which he saved with provident discrimination. In all his labors his wife stood ever ready to lend a helping hand and to cheer him in his efforts, being a true help- meet and coadjutor. He now has one of the finest homes in Cham-
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paign county, and there a gracious and sincere hospitality has ever been in evidence. Mr. Powell is a man of temperate habits and in favor of temperance laws, and his political support is given to the Republican party, while his religious faith is that of the Methodist Epis- copal church. In his business affairs he has ever shown marked sa- gacity and discrimination and no man could be more honest and up- right in every transaction. Hle is a man of broad information and strong individuality, is genial and courteous in all the relations of life, and has ever commanded the confidence and high esteem of all good citizens. Though he has passed the age of four score years Mr. Powell retains marked physical vigor and gives his personal supervision to his large and important business interests. It is signally consistent that this record be perpetuated for coming generations, and the accompany- ing portraits of Mr. Powell and his devoted wife, now passed into the life eternal, most properly find place in the connection.
CHRISTOPHER BEHNEY.
For many years Christopher Behney was a prominent figure in the annals of Champaign county and aided materially in its develop- ment. By a life of uprightness, industry and honorable dealing,-a lite devoted to the support of whatever was good and true .- he won the admiration and genuine regard of a large circle of acquaintances. who sincerely mourned his loss when, upon the 15th of May, 1896, he was called upon to lay aside the burdens, joys and sorrows which had fallen to his share, as to all, in the journey of life.
Mr. Behney was born in Myerstown, Pennsylvania. January 13, 1830. a son of Isaac and Sarah Behnev. also natives of that state. They were the parents of four children. of whom our subject was the second
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in order of birth. When a small boy he was deprived of a father's pro- tecting care, and was reared by his mother, remaining at home until a young man, and then served an apprenticeship at the cabinetmaker's trade. In 1865 he came to Champaign county, Ohio, and five years later began dealing extensively in horses, buying and selling throughout this section of the state, in which branch of business he met with a very high degree of success. In 1870 he was united in marriage to Malinda Richards, a native of Champaign county, her birth having occurred on the farm on which she now resides. Her father, William Richards, was also born on this old homestead, and his father, Andrew Richards, was a native of Champaign county, his death occurring on the old family homestead. He was a very active worker in the Whig party. The father of Mrs. Beliney followed the tilling of the soil as a life occupation, was independent in his political views, and was a mem- ber of the Baptist church, having greatly assisted in the erection of the house of worship of that denomination in Urbana. He was united in marriage to Martha Powell in Champaign county, where she was born, reared and educated, and they became the parents of twelve chil- dren: Elizabeth, deceased; Henry, deceased ; Mrs. Behney: Ruth, de- ceased. Mary: Phoebe: Florence, deceased : Sally : Kate Bell, deceased ; Fannie. deceased : Emma: Charles, deceased, and all were born on the farm where Mrs. Behey now resides. The place consists of a tract of one hundred and thirty acres, all of which is under an excellent state of cultivation and is one of the valuable homesteads of the county.
The union of our subject and wife was blessed with three sons .- I'red, Frank and Ralph .- who are still with their mother. Mr. Behney was a Republican in politics, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Masonic fraternity. His religious preference was indicated by his affiliation with the German Reformed church, while Mrs. Behney is a member of the Baptist denomination.
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JAMES F. SPAIN.
The spirit of a pure and noble life burned within the earthly tene- ment of the man of whom we write, and when the soul took its fight to purer regions and a better state those who mourned most deeply were those who knew him best. Mr. Spain died in the prime of a prolific and useful manhood, and though more than thirty-five years have passed since he journeyed to "that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns." his name is still held in grateful memory in his native county, while appreciation of his loyal services as a sur- geon in the Union ranks during the war of the Rebellion, that greatest of all civil and internecine conflicts, will not be forgotten by his old comrades in blue or by others cognizant of his loyal and devoted service in a cause whose victory he did not long survive.
James F. Spain was born in the village of Mechanicsburg. Chain- paign county, Ohio, on the 26th of June, 1832. He was reared in his native town, securing his early educational discipline in the local schools and preparing himself for the vocation of a teacher. He took up the study of medicine and finally entered one of the leading medical col- leges of the city of Chicago, where he was graduated, defraying his expenses by teaching and being principal of the Mechanicsburg public school at the time of his marriage, his wife having been simultaneously a teacher in the schools of that village. He was in the active practice of his profession for only a comparatively brief interval and was incum- bent of the office of treasurer of Champaign county in 1865, when his patriotism led him to enlist as a surgeon in the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the regiment was mustered out, when he resumed his official duties as treasurer of his native county, being re-elected to this office, of which lie was incumbent at the time of his death, which occurred on the 4th
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of October. 1867. He was a member of the Masonic lodge at Me- chanicsburg and at the time of his death a Knight Templar, always being very zealous and enthusiastic in the cause of his order. He was a Republican in his political views, and his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church, of which his widow is also a devoted mem- ber. He was a man of high intellectuality and inflexible integrity, his untimely death ending an honorable and useful career.
On Christmas day. 1855. Mr. Spain was united in marriage to Miss Ellen R. Wilson, an associate teacher in the Mechanicsburg schools, as has already been stated. She was born in Geauga county, Ohio, the daughter of S. L. and Lydia Wilson, natives of New York. Mrs. Spain completed her education in the Ohio Wesleyan University, in the city of Delaware, and thence removed to Mechanicsburg to engage in pedagogic work, in which she was popular and successful. She became the mother of one child, Lydia AA., who was but seven months of age at the time of her father's death and who is now the wife of John R. Ross, a representative business man of Urbana, in which city Mrs. Spain has maintained her home since the death of her husband. She takes an active interest in the work of the Presbyterian church, is a woman of gentle refinement and gracious presence and retains the love of a wide circle of friends in the community where she has so long made her home.
GEORGE REAM.
George Ream, now deceased won a place among the representative citizens and leading farmers of Union township, Champaign county, and is yet remembered, as he will be for years to come, by many who claimed him as a friend. He was born in Dayton, Clark county, Ohio, May 28, 1842. llis father, Andrew Ream, was a native of Pennsylvania, reared
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and educated there and when a young man came west, locating in Clark county. Here he was united in marriage to AAnnie Horner, a native of that county, who spent her girlhood days within its borders. This worthy couple became the parents of ten children of whom George Ream was the ninth in order of birth. All were born and reared in Clark county and the family record is one of which the members have every reason to be proud. George Ream began his education in the district schools near his home and during the summer months worked in the fields, thus becoming familiar with all the duties and labors that con- stitute farm life. At the age of twenty-one he left school and home. coming to Champaign county, where throughout his remaining days he made his home and won honor as a public spirited and progressive citi- ven. He first stopped in Wayne township where he was employed as a farm hand through the autumn. He afterward removed to Union town- ship and there took up his abode upon the farm upon which he spent his remaining days and where his widow is yet living. He was married on this farm to Miss Sarah Madden, a native of Union township, who has a vivid recollection of the pioneer days of the county. She pursued her education in a log schoolhouse where the methods of instruction were somewhat primitive. Her father, Perry Madden, was a native of Virginia and after arriving at years of maturity came to Champaign county, settling in Union township. There he remained for several years after which he removed to another farm, making some improvements thereon. Mr. and Mrs. Ream began their domestic life upon what is known as the old farm in mestead, then comprising seventy-five acres, but the united efforts of this worthy couple resulted in the accumulation of a comfortable competence and they extended the boundaries of their farm until it comprised four hundred and forty-four acres of richly im- proved land. Mr. Ream was a well known stock dealer, making a spe- cialty of the raising of horses and cattie, of which he always had some very fine grades upon his place.
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Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ream were born two sons, Perry, whose birth occurred on the old homestead and is now deceased : and George, who owns an interest in the farm and looks after the cultivation and improve- ment of the land. The father served as justice of the peace for many years and was ever loyal to his official duties, his opinions being char- acterized by strict impartiality. He was a stanch Democrat and was well known throughout the county as a man of sterling worth who enjoyed and merited the friendship of all with whom he became associated. His son, George Ream, is well known as an enterprising citizen and is suc- cessfully carrying on the work instituted by his father. He was born on the old homestead December 16, 1873. and received his education at the Ludlow District School No. 8. He assisted his father on the farm until the latter's death. since which time he has devoted his attention exclu- sively to the management of the estate. May 31. 1897. he was mar- ried to Miss Ann L., daughter of David and Emma ( Faulkner ) Taylor. both of whom are still living, the father being a farmer of Salem town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. Ream have had four children, all boys: Warren, born November 9, 1895; Pearl; Earl, who died shortly after his birth on June 7, 1896: Otho, born June 2, 1809. Grandfather Thomas Taylor was a native of Virginia who came to this county in pioneer days and died about twenty-one years ago. Grandmother Lucy ( Chamberlain ) Taylor died in July, 1845, and if she had lived until the day of her burial. her age would have been ninety-nine years.
JOHN R. BLACK.
The residents of Salem township who have long remained within its borders and have been prominent in promoting the public welfare know that John R. Black deserves to be accounted among the number. Ile was born February 20, 1848, in this township and has a large circle
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of friends and acquaintances throughout Champaign county, who esteem him for his genuine worth. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to Ireland, where lived Alexander Black, the great-great-grand- father of our subject. Attracted by the opportunities of the new world he left the green isle of Erin and braving the dangers of an ocean voyage at that time made his way to the new world, taking up his residence in Virginia. William Black, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a captain during the war of the Revolution and valiantly aided in the struggle of the colonies which resulted in the establishment of this republic.
Alexander Black, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Au- gusta county. Virginia, on the 14th of October, 1765. He, too, was loyal to the cause of liberty and when only fifteen years of age joined the colonial forces, but was not in active service during that period. . At the age of twenty years he crossed the mountains into Kentucky and lived in a fort called Stroud's Station, three miles from Winchester, for a period of three years. While there he became well acquainted with Daniel Boone. the great Kentucky hunter and Indian fighter. In those days one heard nothing but the howl of the wolf and the whoop of Indians in "the dark and bloody land," as Kentucky was then calle.1. in 1792 he was married to Jane Crocket in Rockbridge county, Vir- ginia, and returned to Kentucky to make that his future home. He was with General Scott's Kentucky Volunteers, which marched to the front, and was with General Wayne when he gained his famous victory over the Indians on the Maumee in August, 1794, being wounded in the face in that battle. In 1809 he moved with his family to Champaign county, Ohio. During the war of 1812 he was a captain and with his company guarded the frontier settlers against the attacks of Indians Tecumseh with his tribe of Shawnees and Bateast with his tribe of Wyan- ‹lottes having rebelled against the government and gone with the English.
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gave the settlers much trouble and they had to be on constant guard against them all the time of the war. Captain Black was always a warm personal friend of General Simon Kenton, of pioneer fame in Ohio, they having lived neighbors for years. Like all of the old Indian fighters, he had no love for an Indian, as he had spent all of his younger days on the frontier fighting them. Captain Black died in 1854. his wife passing away five years later.
James Black, the father of our subject, was born in Clark county, Kentucky, February 8. 1798, and he was a youth of eleven years when he accompanied his parents to Champaign county, Ohio, in the year 1809. As a boy he enjoyed the experience and pleasure of pioneer life and at the same time bore his part in developing and improving the home farm. From the time of his arrival in this country he resided continuously in Champaign county, and being very successful in farm work, his labors brought to him an excellent return in golden harvests. Being a man of powerful buikl he was well calculated to stand the hardships of an early pioneer life. After the close of the war of 1812 he was engaged in driving cattle and hogs for two hundred miles through an unbroken wilderness to Detroit. They had to ford all the streams and rivers on the way, build fires at night to keep the panthers and wolves at bay, lie on the ground in rain or snow and all kinds of weather during the trip and had to go on foot all the way there and back. In early life James Black was a Henry Clay Whig, and had a per- sonal acquaintance with that celebrated leader and statesman. Later he joined the ranks of the Republican party, to which he had ever given his stanch support. He was a second cousin of Davy Crockett, the humorist and member of congress from Tennessee, through his mother, Jane Crockett Black. After arriving at years of maturity he married Caroline Culbertson, a native of Erie county, Pennsylvania, born Janu- ary 26, 1810. Her father, James Culbertson, was a native of Lancaster
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county, Pennsylvania, and died in 1835. He served as a private in the war of 1812, and in 1813 came to Champaign county. His father, Samuel Culbertson, was of English lineage and at the time of the Revo- lutionary war joined the colonial troops, fighting to throw off the yoke of British oppression. His death occurred in Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania. Mrs. Black, the mother of our subject, died in Champaign county, Ohio, in the seventy-third year of her age. She was married in 1832 and became the mother of three sons and five daughters, all of whom reached years of maturity, while seven of the number married. Three of the family are now deceased. The death of James Black occurred July 3, 1882.
John R. Black, whose name forms the caption of this review, was the sixth child and second son. He was reared in Salem township and no event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for him in his early youth. He worked in the fields and attended the district schools, while later he became a student in the high school at West Liberty. On putting aside his text-books he gave his time and energies to farming and stock-raising, making a specialty of the latter, and with that branch of business he was connected until igor, when he put aside business cares and is now living in honorable retirement from labor.
December 9, 1886, occurred the marriage of Mr. Black and Miss Belle Robbins, a native of Hunterdon county, New Jersey, born Sep- tember 21, 1856. She is a daughter of John and Rebecca ( Huff) Rob- bins, the former of whom died in West Liberty in 1887. but her mother is still living. In the family are three children, one daughter and two sons : Maud, Wayne C. and Yale D., aged respectively twelve. ten and eight years.
In connection with his brother, James W. Black, Mr. Black, of this review, owns about six hundred acres of good land, and our subject
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also has town property in West Liberty. He is likewise a stockholder in the Farmers Bank of that place, and his brother is one of its directors. In politics he is an earnest advocate of the Republican party, taking an active interest in its growth, and many times he has served as trustee of his township, having ever been efficient and faithful in the discharge of his official duties. For fifteen years he has been one of the board of managers for the Champaign County Agricultural Society and is vice- . president at the present time. He has given much time and attention to the advancement of agriculture and the live stock industry for the Champaign county fair. Socially he is connected with the Masonic fra- ternity, in which he has attained the Templar degree, and he also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of West Liberty, being one of its most progressive and active representatives. His life has ever been an exemplification of the beneficent spirit of those organizations. It has been in conformity with manly principles and has been guided by all that is true and bright. He has always resided in Champaign county, and those who have known him from boyhood are numbered among his stanchest friends.
ISAAC N. DILTZ.
Among the citizens of Cable to whom is vouchsafed an honored retirement from labor, as the reward of a long, active and useful busi- ness career, is Isaac Newton Diltz, who through an extended period was prominently connected with the agricultural interests of Champaign county. He was born in Union township, this county, August 27, 1833. and is descended from Joseph Diltz, his grandfather, who came from Pennsylvania to Ohio in a very early day. Wesley Diltz, the father of our subject, was a native son of the Buckeye state, his birth occurring in 1801, and he became one of the carly pioneers of Champaign county.
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and here his death occurred in 1882. He was a very active church worker, holding membership with the Methodist Episcopal denomina- tion, and was identified with Republican principles. For his wife he chose Cynthia Kennard. a native of Shelby county, Ohio, her father. John Kennard, having removed from Kentucky to that county in a very early day. She passed away in death at the age of eighty years. They became the parents of nine children, six daughters and three sons, and all but two reached years of maturity and four are still living, but our subject and his brother, John H., the latter of Urbana, are the only representatives of the family in Champaign county.
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Isaac N. Diltz, whose name introduces this review, was early inured to the labors of the farm, and throughout his active business career was extensively engaged in agricultural pursuits. His energy and enterprise, capable management and honorable dealing brought to him a comfortable competence, and therefore in 1899 he was able to put aside all business cares and rest in the enjoyments of the fruits of his former toil. He now rents his valuable little farm of eighty-four acres and resides in Cable. In 1879 Mr. Diltz was united in marriage to Alice Woodward, and after her death Laura E. Diltz became his wife. She is a native daughter of Champaign county. The Republican party re- ceives Mr. Diltz's hearty support and co-operation. Ile has ever labored earnestly for the progress and advancement of his locality, and in all the walks of life he is found true to duty and to the trusts reposed in him.
WILLIAM MOORE.
The coming of William Moore, the gunsmith. to Champaign county in 1799 was brightened by no greeting from isolated neighbors, nor was there any indication that a pale-face would be a desirable acqui-
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sition to lands hitherto the undisputed possession of the Indian. Locali- ties were marked by notches upon the primeval trees rather than by the calculations of a government surveyor, and wigwams furnished a style of architecture from which no departure had as yet been dreamed of. Yet this courageous forerunner of civilization, sturdy in heart and character as the oaks under which he slept at night, created in the wil- derness a home and competence for those dependent upon his care, and while clearing and cultivating his land reared to maturity a large family of children.
The father of William Moore emigrated from Ireland long before the Revolutionary war and settled near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, where William was born. The latter married in his native state with Mary Temperance, and thereafter removed to Washington county, Kentucky. where he met one Simon Kenton, enthusiastically in favor of removal to Ohio. It is not surprising that the searchers after better things listened with dawning faith to the tales of larger opportunities by which they were to be surrounded, predictions amply verified by the trend of subse- quent events. Conveyed to their destination by ox-teams and wagons. the travelers settled near the present site of Urbana, from which location Mr. Moore in after life removed to Logan county, this state, where his death eventually occurred. Innumerable evidences of his presence in the early days is the heritage of those who now profit by his pioneer struggles. Numerous streams were named by him, notably Mad river and Buck creek, and upon the latter sprang into existence the town of Moorfield. the name a tribute to the honor in which he was held. The children born into the family inherited to a large degree the thrift and industry of their sire. as well as a share of the patience and endurance of one of those pioneer mothers upon whom the trials and deprivations of the times fell with such resistless force.
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