USA > Ohio > Crawford County > A centennial biographical history of Crawford County, Ohio > Part 13
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Mr. Chaney's educational advantages were limited to those afforded by the public schools of his day, but he possessed an active mind that was in- clined to the acquisition of knowledge and by reading he became well in- formed in a general way, and by careful attention to business and a constant study of economic conditions and influences became one of the ablest busi- ness men in his part of the county. One of his marked traits was caution and he brought it into use often with most gratifying results. Eminently fair in all of his dealings, his integrity and probity were never questioned and he is remembered as one who in all his relations with his fellow men was fair and honorable. Of keen perception and liberal views, his grasp of all ques- tions was certain and comprehensive and his gift of language was such that he was noted for the clearness and force with which he presented his views of any question. that he discussed, and he was no less convincing in argument than entertaining in conversation.
Though not a member of any church Mr. Chaney attended religious services frequently and, with a leaning toward Presbyterianism, was a liberal supporter of churches of various denominations. An advocate of popular education, his influence upon schools in his neighborhood was very marked and his public spirit was so great that it may be said of him that during all his active years he withheld his encouragement and financial support from
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no measure that promised good to the general public. In politics he was an uncompromising Republican and as such he was elected to numerous local offices, and in the capacity of township trustee he served his fellow citizens with noteworthy ability and fidelity. A man of deep conviction, he possessed courage and force of character to maintain any position to which he was brought by his view of any question. He was a true and faithful friend and nobly filled his obligations to his fellow men, and as a husband and father he was loving, generous and in every way helpful, a blessing to those who depended upon him and who mourn him with tender affection and reverence.
In September, 1858, Mr. Chaney married Mary J. Lones, daughter of Joseph and Jane (Bowman) Lones. Mrs. Chaney's father was born in Berke- ley county, Virginia (now West Virginia), March 17, 1801, a son of John and Mary (Spahr) Lones. It is a singular historical fact that he was born in the same house in which his mother was born. John Lones, also a native of Virginia, was a son of one of three brothers who early came from Ger- many to America, and, locating in different parts of the country, lost knowl- edge of one another's whereabouts and fortunes. John Lones' father served his adopted country in the Revolutionary war and was killed in battle. John, who was at that time but ten years old and spoke only in the German language, was bound out to an English speaking family, with whom he re- mained until he attained mature years, entirely forgetting his mother tongue.
In 1810, when Joseph Lones was nine years old, his father moved to Columbiana county, Ohio, and settled about six miles from the Ohio river. Upon Joseph, who was the oldest of eleven children of parents who were comparatively poor, much farm work devolved early in his life and he aided his father very materially in improving and cultivating his farm and in rear- ing his large family. In 1828, Joseph Lones removed from Columbiana county, Ohio, to Crawford county, Ohio, with John Bowman, his father-in- law, and settled in Holmes township. There is a tradition in the family that the journey consumed eleven days, John Bowman and his family coming to the county in a large wagon drawn by five horses, while Mr. Lones drove a sixth horse attached to a small Dearborn wagon. This journey was made in the month of March, through a wild country so nearly impassable that on some days not more than ten miles were traveled.
Mr. Lones built a cabin of poles, fourteen by sixteen feet inside, in a locality near Bucyrus, Ohio, known as Ludwig's bottoms. There he spent the summer, entering one hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining the Quaintance farm in Holmes township. Having only twenty-five dollars in
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cash, he worked on the streets in Bucyrus at twenty-five cents a day to earn money with which to pay for his farm. Later he worked on the canal in Co- lumbiana county and from time to time at whatever his hands found to do. In the fall succeeding his arrival in the county he penetrated the dense forest which included his land to a point where he made a small clearing, in which he intended to erect a cabin. Attempting to return to the place a few days later, he was utterly unable to find it and accordingly made a new clear- ing, in which he built a home for himself and family, and it was not until years afterward that one day he came unexpectedly to his original clearing. For some years he lived there in a primitive way until he replaced his log cabin with a more modern frame residence. After a time he bought sixty-six acres of the old Eli Quaintance farm, which extended his holdings to the road on the west side; and not long afterward he bought sixty acres more of the Quaintance farm, on the east side of the road, and where he erected a resi- dence and good farm buildings and lived out the remainder of his days.
A few years after Mr. Lones came to Crawford county he entered eighty acres of land north of his home farm for his father, who soon came to the county, of which he was a citizen until his death. To enter the tract of land just mentioned Mr. Lones was obliged to walk to the land office at Tiffin, twen- ty-seven miles distant. He had completed his business and had covered seven miles of the return journey by dinner time of the day on which he had left his home, and by the time he had eaten dinner the muscles of his legs were so badly swollen that he was unable to resume his journey until the following day and he remained over night at Melmore, Seneca county, Ohio. He died at the age of eighty-six, in the year of 1886. He was married three times.
Mr. Lones was a man of remarkable constitution, but the strenuous life of his earlier years told upon him and in his later years he suffered much from rheumatism. His early political affiliation was with the Whigs, for he was a strong anti-slavery man, and from the organization of the Republican party until his death he was a member of that virile and influential political party. His interest in public education was such that, though he was not an office seeker, he was repeatedly elected a member of the local school board, and his ad- vocacy of road improvements made him so popular with his fellow citizens that he was several times elected supervisor, in which office he served most willingly and efficiently. For many years he was an active member of the Protestant Methodist church. By his first marriage Mr. Lones had eight chil- dren, of whom three survive. One of these is Mrs. Sylvanus Chaney, who was born in Holmes township, on her father's farm, on which she now lives,
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on the eighteenth day of December, 1832. She has borne her husband five children, of whom the following survive: Emma C., wife of J. M. Herron, of Perry, Iowa ; Laura J., who is a member of her mother's household : Lambert J., a farmer of Holmes township, and Rush A., who is the manager of his mother's farm. Johnson Chaney, another of her sons, died in infancy, at the age of two years and four months.
WALLACE B. FORREST.
Wallace Byron Forrest, who is occupying the position of clerk of the courts of Crawford county, was elected to the office in 1897 and entered upon the discharge of his duties on the Ist of August, 1898. In the fall of 1900 he was re-elected, so that he is now serving for the second term. If all public officers were as true and faithful to duty as Mr. Forrest there would be no complaint of corruption in politics, for his public service is above reproach1.
Mr. Forrest was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, May 3, 1853, and is a son of James and Margaret ( Aston) Forrest. On the paternal side he is of Irish lineage, for his grandfather was a native of county Derry, Ireland, whence he emigrated to the new world, becoming a resident of the Keystone state. James Forrest was born in Huntingdon county. Pennsylvania, in the year 1799, and died at Oceola. Ohio, in 1880. at the ripe old age of eighty-one years. His wife, who was born in the same county, in 1805, passed away in 1881, at the age of seventy-six years. She was of Scotch lineage for the Astons came to the new world from the land of hills and heather. In 1854 the parents of our subject came to Ohio, taking up their abode in Todd township, Crawford county, upon a farm, where they spent their remaining days. They became well known and highly respected. citizens of the community.
Wallace B. Forrest was an infant at the time of the removal. and thus within the boundaries of Crawford county he was reared. To its public school system he is indebted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed in his youth. In 1872 he began teaching school and for seventeen years followed that profession in Oceola. He was acknowledged to be one of the mnost competent instructors in this portion of the state, was enthusiastic and zealous in his work and has the ability to impart clearly and accurately to the students the knowledge which he had acquired, and to forcibly impress upon the young minds the lessons which prepare them for life's practical
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duties. He also served as school examiner for six years and was long an active member of the Crawford County Teachers Association, and served as its president for two years.
Mr. Forrest was married, in Oceola, to Miss Lottie E. Stull, a daughter of J. M. and Mary E. (Smith) Stull, who removed from Stark to Craw- ford county. The marriage of our subject and his wife has been blessed with the following named children : Edith S., who is now acting as deputy clerk for her father; Nina, the wife of Charles Mclaughlin, of Oceola; Fannie, who is in school ; Bruce and Irene. The family took up their abode in Bucyrus in 1898, removing hither from Oceola. Mr. Forrest is a mem- ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Junior Order of American Mechanics. In politics he is a Democrat and takes con- siderable interest in political affairs, doing all in his power to advance the growth and success of his party. Todd township many times honored him by electing and re-electing him to office, he having held the offices of clerk and treasurer for ten and five years, respectively. In 1880 he was a census enumerator for Todd and Dallas townships, having been appointed by a Republican president over three Republican rivals. In 1890 and 1891 he acted as deputy county treasurer under Frank Blicke. For five years he was proprietor of a general store, which he closed out in order to assume the duties of county clerk, and during four years of the time he spent in merchandising he was also postmaster, appointed to the office by President Cleveland in 1892. During the fiftieth congress he was an index clerk in: the house of representatives, having been appointed to the position by Gen- eral Clark, of Missouri, who was at that time clerk of the house. In the . spring of 1901 Mr. Forrest was elected a member of the Bucyrus city coun- cil, a position he now holds. His election to this office, he being not long a resident of Bucyrus, indicates the highi esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens of Bucyrus. Called to the position of county clerk by popular ballot, he discharged his duties so faithfully through one term that he was re-elected to the office. His public career is one over which there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, and as a man and citizen Mr. Forrest commands uniform respect.
JAMES KERR.
James Kerr, deceased, resided in Crawford county for many years, and so active was he in affairs that contributed to the material growth of the community and so extensively did he engage in farming and wool-growing 8
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that no biographical record of Crawford county would be complete without mention of this honored and venerable gentleman, who through a long and useful career ever commanded the respect and esteem of his fellow men.
Mr. Kerr was born in Knox county, Ohio, February 18, 1818. His parents were James and Elizabeth ( Arbuckle ) Kerr, natives of Pennsyl- vania, whence they removed to Knox county, Ohio, at a very early day. In that county their son James was born and there he spent his youth, working on the home farm, but when seventeen years of age he left his father's fireside to take up the battle of life for himself. His mother had passed away in death and his father had married a second wife, and it was a disagreement with the step-mother that caused Mir. Kerr to leave home. He came to Craw- ford county and made his home with his elder brother, "Bobbie" Kerr, for whom he worked on the farm for about three years. On the expiration of that period he began farming for himself and completed his arrangement for a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Nancy Towers, on the 5th of November, 1840. They began their domestic life upon a farm of forty acres, which he had purchased in Dallas township. Not long afterward, however, he sold that tract of land and purchased another farm in Whet- stone township, taking up his abode thereon and making it his home for many years. He prospered in his undertakings and became an extensive land- owner, at one time his possessions aggregating nearly nine hundred acres. For years he engaged in trading and raising sheep, carrying on the busi- ness on a very large scale, finding it a profitable source of income. For five years he lived with his son, George T. Kerr, but in 1897 he removed to Ma- rion, Ohio, where his wife died July 12, 1900, and he himself passed away October 22, 1901.
Mrs. Kerr was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, January 14, 1820, and was a daughter of Thomas and Nancy ( Sullivan) Towers, both of whom were natives of Maryland, whence they removed to Pickaway county in an carly day. In later life they came to Crawford county and here made their home until called to their final rest. The father was a soldier in the war of 1812 and was a farmer by occupation. following that pursuit in order to provide for his family. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. Unto James and Nancy Kerr were born the following children: Susan, the wife of William Arbuckle, a resident of Crawford county ; George T., who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume: and James F., who died when four years of age. The mother was a most noble woman. She was a pioneer
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daughter, a pioneer wife and bore bravely the struggles and hardships of pioneer life. She worked with an energy equal to that of her husband and ma- terially assisted him in gaining a competence in life. She passed away in the eightieth year of her age, but her memory remains as a blessed benediction to all who knew her. Like her husband she was for many years an active and faithful member of the Disciples church, located in Bucyrus, an organiza- tion which owes much to their support. They were liberal contributors to the erection of the church building, and to the work as it was carried on along various lines. Upon the death of Mrs. Kerr her remains were laid to rest in the beautiful cemetery at Bucyrus. Mr. Kerr passed the eighty-third mile- stone on the journey of life. He certainly deserves great credit for the ex- emplary life he lived and the success he achieved. A man of strong con- viction, yet charitable in his opinions of others ; honest in his business rela- tions and at all times living in harmony with upright principles and honorable manhood, he not only gained wealth, but also won that good name which is rather to be chosen than great riches.
GEORGE A. SPAHR.
A familiar and well-known figure in all of the important and progressive agricultural movements in Holmes township. Crawford county, for many years past, has been George A. Spahr, a highly respected citizen and most substantial farmer. The birth of Mr. Spahr was in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 1825. He was a son of Jesse and Margaret (Peterman) Spahr, and is one of three surviving children. His two sisters are: Catherine, who is the wife of Urias Smith, of Defiance county, Ohio; and Sarah A., who is the wife of Richard Knisley, of Liberty township, in this county.
Jesse Spahr, the father of our subject, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and grew up on a farm there, married in his native vicinity and there four of his family of children were born. In 1830 he emigrated to Crawford county, Ohio, and after farming for some years as a renter he purchased eighty acres of land in Liberty township, six miles east of Bu- cyrus, and there he resided until the time of his death in his eighty-fifth year. In politics he was an adherent of the Democratic party, became prominent in public affairs in the township and efficiently filled the office of trustee for several terms. Both he and his wife were life-long, devoted members of
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the English Lutheran church, and he is still remembered as one of the most upright citizens of Crawford county. The mother of our subject also was born in Pennsylvania and survived her husband several years, dying at the age of eighty-four.
The subject of this biography, who is so well and favorably known through this section of Crawford county, grew up on his father's farm and received the best possible schooling of the time and locality, in the little log school house in the vicinity of his birth. At the age of twenty-one he began his own career as a farmer, and on December 10, 1846, he was married to Miss Catherine Cover, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth ( Zent) Cover, who came to Crawford county from Pennsylvania at an early day and set- tled in Liberty township, where they lived and where their worthy lives closed.
After marriage our subject continued to work as a farm hand for one vear and then removed to his father-in-law's farm and managed that estate for a year, during which time the latter was on a visit with his friends in Pennsylvania. The following year Mr. Spahr purchased eighty acres of his present home farm and in subsequent years has continually added to the original tract, until he now owns one hundred and fifty-four acres of some of the most productive farming land in the county.
Our subject's family consists of five surviving children, one son, Joshua, having passed from life; but all the others are comfortably settled, their names being: Daniel: Rev. Moses, a minister of the Methodist church, located in Sedan, Kansas; Julia .A., the wife of Eli Miller, a prosperous farmer of this county ; Lovina, the wife of Elias Crall, of Defiance county ; and Eliza, the wife of David Schlosser, of Todd township.
In early life Mr. Spahr managed a threshing machine through the neigh- borhood for a number of years. His farming operations have been con- ducted with thoroughness and good judgment and he has been eminently successful. While a stanch and life-long Democrat, he respects the opinions of others and with satisfaction to both parties served the township several times as trustee. Repeatedly he has served on the election board, and in mat- ters of public interest he is very generally consulted. Mr. Spahr is an active and useful as well as consistent member of the United Brethren church, to which his wife also belongs, and has long been a trustee of both church and parsonage, and he has also served as class-leader at various times. His circle of personal friends comprises every one in his locality, while his standing be- fore the public is that of the highest.
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ADAM J. WISMAN.
Adam John Wisman, one of the progressive young farmers and stock- raisers of Crawford county, was born in Bucyrus township, February 12, 1863, a son of Christian and Elizabeth (Conkle) Wisman. The father was born in Waynesboro, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, September 15, 1827, and was a son of Frederick and Elizabeth ( Heinlen) Wisman, both of whom were natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, from which country they came to America in childhood. They were married in Pennsylvania and resided in that state until their removal to Crawford county, Ohio, in the year 1828. The father was a wagonmaker by trade, but after establishing his home in the Buckeye state devoted his energies to farming. He was an industrious man, reliable in business and was greatly respected by his neighbors and acquaintances. His wife died about fifteen years after their arrival in Ohio, and his death occurred on the 18th of February, 1867. They were the parents of nine children.
Of this number Christian Wisman, the father of our subject, spent his youth and early manhood in assisting his father upon the farm, and in the primitive log school house, such as was common at that time, he obtained his education. On the 17th of October, 1850, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Conkle, who was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, Septem- ber 30, 1830, and by her marriage became the mother of three children, name- ly : Adam J., Elizabeth and Amanda, the last named now deceased. Upon a fine farm situated on the west bank of the Sandusky river the father farmed for many years, but is now living retired in Bucyrus, where he had made his home for several years. He started out in life with no capital save a stout heart and willing hands, but by means of industry and frugality he gained a good estate and ample competence. In politics a stanch Democrat, he, how- ever, never sought office, preferring to give his attention to other interests. He was esteemed for his honesty, his integrity standing as an unquestioned fact in his career.
Mr. Wisman, whose name forms the caption of this review, was reared upon the home farm and educated in the neighborhood schools. He lived with his parents until twenty-three years of age and was then married and established a home of his own in Bucyrus township. In March. 1890, he took up his residence on the Sandusky road, about two miles southeast of Bucyrus, where he has a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres of fertile land. The place is splendidly improved with all modern equipments usually
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found upon a model farm. There is a pleasant and attractive residence, a large and substantial barn and other outbuildings and the latest improved ma- chinery. In addition to the home farm he also owns another tract of land in Bucyrus townshp, consisting of eighty-six acres, and a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Sandusky township. A man of marked energy and enter- prise, he carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes and as the result of his perseverance and business ability his capital is annually increasing.
In 1886 Mr. Wisman was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Brown, a daughter of John G. and Catherine ( Christman) Brown. Her father was a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, and when a young man came to America. For several years he was employed in Bucyrus, and in this locality he was mar- ried. He then located in Holmes township, where he became a prosperous farmer and useful citizen, respected by all who knew him for his sterling worth. He died there in 1892, but his widow still resides on the old home- stead. They were the parents of one son and nine daughters, and they reared their children in the faith of the German Lutheran church, of which they were members. Mrs. Wisman was born and reared in Holmes town- ship and by her marriage she became the mother of three children, namely : Cleo L., Ruth and Mabel. In his political views Mr. Wisman is a Democrat and as every true American citizen should do he keeps well informed on the issues of the day. Although he has never sought or desired political pre- ferment to any extent, his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to public office in 1888, when he was chosen town- ship trustee, and for six consecutive years he was continued in that position through re-election. He is a good citizen, liberal and public-spirited and by all who know him he is highly esteemed for his genuine worth of character.
JAMES P. BEALL.
For almost half a century James Perry Beall has been a resident of Crawford county, and throughout the greater part of the period has been identified with agricultural pursuits, but at the present time he is living re- tired. He has passed the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten, and in the evening of life is enjoying a well earned rest-the fitting crown of many years of labor.
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