USA > Ohio > Crawford County > A centennial biographical history of Crawford County, Ohio > Part 5
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CHARLES KINNINGER.
The subject of this review is one of the best known and most active workers in the ranks of the Democratic party in Crawford county, and has rendered most effective service in the party cause. But recently his second team as probate judge of the county closed. In this office he acted as deputy previous to his election to the office for a period of six years, and then having been elected twice to the position he served as the incumbent six years, and is now holding a clerical position in the same office. As a man of splendid character and much ability he has been conspicuous in public affairs, and has made a record which commends him to the public confidence and assures him the esteem of the community.
Judge Kinninger is numbered among the native sons of Crawford county, his birth having occurred at Sulphur Springs, in Liberty township, July 22,
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Charles Avinninger
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1853. His parents, John and Caroline (Schindler) Kinninger, were both natives of Germany, and took up their abode in Liberty township, Crawford county, many years ago. They resided in Sulphur Springs, where the father followed wagon-making. He was a hale and hearty man at the age of ninety- two years, at which time, in 1881, he met with an accident which resulted in his death. His wife passed away in 1879, when seventy-two years of age. She was twice married, Mr. Kinninger being her second husband. By her first husband, Christian Sexauer, she had four children: William F., Chris- tian, Frederick and Lewis, all of whom are now deceased. By the second marriage there were also four children: Caroline, who has passed away : Rosa, wife of W. D. Mewhort, of Sulphur Springs; John, deceased; and Charles.
The father was not in very affluent circumstances and therefore could not give his children more than a common-school education, hence our sub- ject received only such advantages of mental discipline as he could obtain in the village schools of his native town. He learned the trade of carriage painting in the carriage factory of his half-brother's at Sulpher Springs, con- ducted under the name of the Sexatier Carriage Works. He eventually became superintendent of the factory, for. although he began work in the humble capacity mentioned, he was advanced through various positions as he demonstrated his ability to perform the work entrusted to him. In early life much responsibility devolved upon him in connection with the support of his parents. He was employed in the factory until he was made deputy probate judge, but his first public service was in the capacity of clerk of Liberty township, in which he has served for several years. In 1888 he became deputy probate judge under Judge J. C. Tobias, and he made a splendid record. continuing in that position for six years, when in 1893 he was elected probate judge and entered upon his duties in 1894. He was re-elected in 1896 and served as probate judge through six consecutive years, retiring from the office on the 9th of February, 1900, as he had entered it-with the confidence and good will of the public. On that occasion the members of the bar presented him with a fine silver tea and water set,-a compliment to his efficiency in office and an expression of their friendly and high regard for him as a man and citizen. He has always taken a very active interest in political affairs as a worker in Democratic ranks, has served as a member of the county central committee, and for three years was a member of the county executive committee.
In Liberty township Judge Kinninger was united in marriage to Miss
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Alice Bickley, a daughter of Joseph Bickley, of Sandusky, Ohio, and their living children are Emma E., George E., Edna M. and Grace Alice. Their first born, Harry W., died at the age of seventeen years. The son George E. enlisted in 1896 as a member of Company A, Eighth Ohio National Guard, and at the time of the Spanish-American war he volunteered with his regi- ment in the United States service, in which he was mustered in as a corporal. The command was sent to Cuba and participated in active service there, being present at the surrender of Santiago. He recently received an hon- orable discharge from the company after five years' connection therewith. The family now reside upon a fine farm two miles south of Bucyrus, in Bucyrus township, where the Judge owns one hundred acres of land. He is successfully carrying on stock-raising, and the fine grades of cattle which he raises enables him to command a ready sale on the market. In whatever work he undertakes he is energetic and industrious, and thus he has advanced to a position among the affluent citizens of Crawford county. He belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Honor, of Bucyrus, and is also a member of the German Lutheran church. The cause of education has ever found in him a warm friend, and while residing in Bucyrus he served for several years as a member of the city school board. During his residence at Sulphur Springs he was the leader of one of the best bands in the county, and his love of music is one of his salient character- istics and is a source of pleasure not only to himself but also to his many friends, enabling him to become an active factor in entertainment and social circles.
JOHN A. SHERER.
Professor John A. Sherer, principal of the East End schools of Galion, is one of the most competent and successful educators in this portion of Ohio, a man of strong mentality, whose careful preparation has well qualified him for his work and who has a just comprehension of the importance of the duties devolving upon him.
Professor Sherer was born on a farm a few miles northwest of Galion and is of ancestry well known in Crawford and adjoining counties. His father, John C. Sherer, is mentioned on another page of this volume. His mother belonged to the distinguished and numerous Helfrich family, so closely allied with the history of this locality. Mr. Sherer was born in 1873, and in his early youth attended the district school near his home, while later
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he enjoyed the privilege of a course in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware. On its completion he began teaching and had charge of a number of schools in Crawford county through a period of ten years. His success in a general way attracted the attention of the school board of Galion and he was called here to take charge of the East Side schools in 1900. The able manner in which he discharged his duties in that scholastic year recom- mended him for the position for the succeeding year, and through his two years' service he has won the highest commendation.
In 1899 Professor Sherer was married to Miss Viola Kiess, the daughter of a prominent and well known family of Whetstone township. Professor Sherer is one of the county board of school examiners, and has the acquaint- ance and friendship of the majority of teachers in the county. He is also one of the board of trustees of the Crawford County Historical Association, and his literary contributions to the history of Crawford county, in various news- paper articles, have attracted not only local attention but also that of the State Historical Association.
At this point it would be almost tautological to enter into any series of statements as showing the Professor to be a man of broad intelligence and genuine public spirit, for these have been shadowed forth between the lines of this review. Strong in his individuality, he never lacks the courage of his convictions, but there are as dominating elements in this individuality a lively human sympathy and an abiding charity, which, taken in connection with the sterling integrity and honor of his character, have naturally gained to him the respect and confidence of men.
CHARLES F. SCHABER.
Charles F. Schaber is one of the younger representatives of the bar of Bucyrus, but those who are acquainted with him and are familiar with his ambitious and resolute spirit have no fear in predicting for him a successful future. Bucyrus may well be proud to claim him among her native sons. His birth occurred in this city July 30, 1873. his parents being John A. and Bertha W. (Margraff) Schaber. The paternal grandparents were John George and Fredrica Schaber, who with their family, consisting of John A. and Frederick, came to Crawford county in June, 1854. The last named died in Bucyrus several years ago. The father of our subject, after following the blacksmith's trade in Bucyrus for several years, took up his abode at
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Sulphur Springs, where he established and conducted a dry-goods and grocery store. He subsequently became identified with the mercantile interests of Bucyrus, and in 1877 he became an active factor in official life, being elected in that year to the position of county sheriff, in which capacity he served for two terms. After his retirement from office he engaged in the insurance busi- ness until 1896, when he put aside all business cares and is now quietly rest- ing in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. In his political views he is a Democrat, unswerving in his advocacy of the principles of the party, and he and his family are members of the German Lutheran church. Charles F. Schaber is their only living son (one dying in childhood), but there is one daughter, Sophia M., who is a graduate of the high school and is now a successful teacher in the schools of this city. She is also a trustee of the Bucyrus Memorial Library and a member of several literary societies.
Mr. Schaber has always been a resident of Bucyrus, and the public- school system of the city provided him with his educational privileges. In January, 1892, he became a clerk in the county probate office, under Judge J. C. Tobias, and later served through a period of six years as deputy probate judge, under Judge Charles Kinninger. His labors in that position proved to him an excellent training school in the line of law and probate work. He read law under the direction of the firm of Finley & Gallinger, of Bucyrus, . and after mastering many of the principles of jurisprudence he successfully passed an examination and was admitted to the bar in December, 1900. He immediately opened an office, in partnership with W. J. Schwenck, with whom he has since been associated in the active practice of law, the firm meeting with complimentary success, although they are the youngest members of the Bucyrus bar. Mr. Schaber is resolute and determined, and such qualities cannot fail to secure success.
His labors were at one time interrupted by military service. In 1892 he enlisted in the Eighth Ohio National Guard as a private, but was soon advanced to official positions. At the time of the Spanish-American war, in 1898, he was mustered into the United States service as lieutenant and adjutant of the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was also ordnance officer of the regiment. He was sent to Cuba with his command, which joined the Fifth Army Corps, participating in the battle of Santiago, and was present at the capitulation of that city. At length the regiment was recalled to the United States, and Mr. Schaber was honorably discharged from the service.
Socially he is connected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, being the exalted ruler of Bucyrus Lodge, No. 156, also is connected
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with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees. He is a young man of genial manner, unfailing courtesy and many sterling qualities, and is very popular in social circles.
BENJAMIN SEARS.
Richard Sears, the progenitor of the American branch of the Sears fam- ily, landed at Plymouth Rock in 1632. He and his descendants after him bore their share as pioneers in the subjugation and settlement of the new world and in those events which culminated in the independence of our nation.
Benjamin Sears, the subject of our sketch, is descended on both sides from Revolutionary ancestry. His great-grandfather. Captain Elkanalı Sears, was a conspicuous figure in Massachusetts during the Revolutionary war. He was distinguished for his activity in promoting the cause of free- dom, and was a member of the committee appointed to provide necessities for the Continental army. After the breaking out of hostilities he equipped a war vessel, which he commanded. Many personal anecdotes are related of him in family history and tradition, which illustrate his character as a man of great enterprise and courage. His son, Benjamin Sears, following the line of descent to the Crawford county family, was born at Chatham, Con- necticut, in 1771, and removed thence to New Durham, New York. He filled with honor various military offices, and among the papers now in pos- sesion of the family is his commission as major, signed by Governor De Witt Clinton. He became a minister in the Baptist church, and in that capacity distinguished himself by his zeal and fidelity. He felt much drawn toward mission work among the Indians, and in 1821, in company with his two sons, John and Benjamin, all having received appointments as missionaries among the Indians, journeyed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and established there the first Baptist church in that territory. While returning to his family in New York the next year, he was taken sick with fever at Delaware, Ohio, and died there October 11, 1822, much lamented as a man of energy and piety. He was buried in the old grave yard east of the college campus at Delaware, and a monument marked the last resting place of the pioneer missionary. Eighty years afterward, when the grave yard at Delaware was abandoned, the remains were removed to the family lot in Oakwood cemetery at Bucyrus, Ohio. Letters written by him in his last illness, now in possession of the
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family, show with what resignation, hope and courage he entered "the valley of the shadow."
His oldest son, Elkanah Sears, the Crawford county pioneer, was born in Meredith, New York, in 1795, and died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Aminda Nicholson, in East Rockport, Ohio, November 15, 1886, aged ninety- one years. His mother, whose maiden name was Ann Biglow, was a woman of remarkable character, and belonged to a family; members of which have attained national distinction. Elkanah Sears came to Crawford county in 1836 with his family, consisting of a wife and four children, three sons and one daughter. He moved upon a farm two miles west of Bucyrus. For several years the family occupied a log cabin on the place, and afterward a two-story log house, which in the course of time was weather-boarded, and thus became, for that period, one of the most pretentious dwellings in the neighborhood.
Elkanah Sears continued to live for many years on the farm where he originally settled, occupied with the duties of a pioneer farmer. His wife, whose maiden name was Desair Phelps, came of a distinguished family, and was a very superior woman. She proved herself an efficient helpmate and in those early days of limited school privileges she assisted in inculcating into the minds of her children that desire for knowledge and ambition for improve- ment to which, doubtless, much of their success in life is owing. These children, now all living, the eldest over eighty years of age and the youngest nearly seventy, venerate their mother long since gone to her reward. The eldest of the family. John Dudley Sears, is living a retired life at Upper Sandusky, Ohio. For more than half a century he practiced law. He was not only the acknowledged leader of the bar in his county, but by many was regarded as the best legal authority in this section of Ohio. He was equally successful in a business way, and in a green old age now enjoys, in the esteem of his fellow citizens, the rewards of a life well spent.
Cyrus, the youngest son of Elkanah Sears, grew to manhood in Crawford county. He graduated at the Cincinnati Law School, and began the practice of law in Cincinnati, where he also lectured in the law school. When the war of the Rebellion broke out he entered the army, where he continued in service throughout the war, and greatly distinguished himself in many battles. He rose to the rank of colonel. For distinguished gallantry at the battle of Juka he received a medal of honor from congress. After the close of the war he practiced law for a time at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and later engaged in manufacturing and mercantile business, also in farming and real estate.
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He now resides in Harpster, Wyandot county, Ohio, in which locality he has large real estate and other interests. He married a daughter of David Harpster, long known as the wool king of Ohio.
The only daughter of Elkanah Sears. Mrs. Lewis Nicholson, is a widow living at Lakewood, Ohio.
Benjamin Sears, the second son of Elkanah Sears, is the only member of the family who has made his permanent home in Crawford county. He continued to reside on the farm where his father settled until 1876. Since that time he has lived in Bucyrus. He was successful as a stock-raiser, fruit-grower and nurseryman, and in these pursuits laid the foundation for an estate now one of the most considerable in the county. He is largely interested in real estate and in banking, and is a man of great business sagacity and judgment. He is quiet and unostentatious, simple in his habits and style of living, and although his early education was limited he has always been a great reader, and is one of the most widely informed and best-informed and best-read men in the community. On subjects in which he has taken a special interest, such as horticulture and botany, he is recognized as one of the best local authorities.
He has a family of seven children living, three sons and four daughters. His oldest daughter, Annie, who was for fourteen years a missionary in China, died in 1894. His oldest son, R. V. Sears, is a successful lawyer at Bucyrus. His second son. Frank O. Sears, is a leading farmer and stock- man, residing with his family on the old family homestead, two miles west of Bucyrus. The third son, Hiram B., is unmarried, and was for some years in the newspaper business in Bucyrus. He is at present assisting his father in the management and care of his property. Of the daughters, who are all ladies of culture and education, the eldest, Alice, is living at home, and is an ornament in the literary and social life of the city. Minda P. is a graduate in medicine and a woman of superior ability. Bertha is a successful teacher in Cleveland ; and Ruby D., the youngest daughter, is married to Mr. Otto Carpenter, a prominent insurance man of Cleveland, Ohio.
RUFUS V. SEARS.
Rufus V. Sears is the oldest son of Benjamin and Melissa (Minich) Sears. His mother is the granddaughter of a Revolutionary soldier and a descendant of one of the early settlers of Maryland. He was born at the old family homestead, two miles west of Bucyrus. After graduating at the
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Bucyrus high school he followed farming for several years, in the meantime pursuing the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1886. He imme- diately began the practice of law in Bucyrus. In 1888 he married Sallie J. Harris, the accomplished daughter of Hon. S. R. Harris, of Bucyrus. In 1893 Mr. Sears formed a partnership with Mr. Harris, the leader of the Crawford county bar. The firm enjoys a large and lucrative practice, being retained in many cases of importance both in the state and federal courts.
Mr. Sears, while not personally ambitious in politics, has always been a Republican, and in 1894 was elected city solicitor of Bucyrus, by a large majority over his Democratic opponent, although the city was strongly Dem- ocratic. He has been as successful in business matters as in professional life, and is interested in various investments and enterprises, taking an active part in every movement for the benefit and prosperity of the city and com- munity. He is a director of the Bucyrus board of trade, a director in the First National Bank of Bucyrus, and president of the Buckeye Traction Company, now constructing several electric railway lines.
Mr. Sears is the father of three sons : Paul Biglow, born December 17, 1891 ; Demas Lindley, February 6, 1894; and John Dudley, December 4, 1897.
JULIUS J. BLISS.
No compendium such as the province of this work defines in its essential limitations will serve to offer fit memorial to the life and accomplishments of the honored subject of this sketch, who is numbered among the prominent educators of Ohio, and for six years has been superintendent of the public schools of Bucyrus and previous to this time was for more than a decade a successful teacher in Crawford county.
Professor Bliss was born on a farm in Bainbridge township, Geauga county, Ohio, May 16, 1854, and traces his lineage back through many gen- erations to the founder of the family in America-Thomas Bliss, who came from Devonshire, England, in 1635. and was a member of the Plymouth colony. Representatives of the name were active and leading citizens of the communities in which they resided, and took an important part in shaping the events which go to form the colonial history and early annals of the Republic. Ephraim Bliss, Sr., joined the Colonial army at the time of the war of the Revolution, serving as a member of the company commanded by Captain John Pain. His son. Ephraim Bliss, Jr., was a member of the com- pany commanded by Captain Israel Hix. He joined the service in 1775,
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J. J. Bliss.
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and loyally aided in the cause of independence. His home was in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. His son, Benjamin Bliss, the great-grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in 1760, and when the yoke of British oppression became intolerable the same patriotic and liberty loving spirit which prompted his grandfather and his father were manifest in him and caused his enlistment as a member of the company commanded by Captain Sylvanus Martin. He lived to enjoy republican liberty for more than half a century, passing away in 1823.
Otis B. Bliss, the grandfather of our subject, resided in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, at North Adams, in his early manhood, and thence came withi the family to Ohio in 1833, locating in Bainbridge township, Geauga county, where he secured a tract of wild land. With characteristic energy he began its improvement, transforming it into a rich and fertile farm, upon which he resided until his death, which occurred in 1873, when he was sixty-five years of age. He married, in 1831, Julia Elma Maria Potter, a daughter of Olney and Mary ( Richardson) Potter, of Gloucester. Rhode Island. Mrs. Bliss was born November 26, 1809. Her grandfather, James Potter, was also a Revolutionary hero, serving as lieutenant in a Rhode Island regiment under command of Colonel Christopher Smith. His father, Samuel Potter, was captain of a company in Colonel Dyer's regiment of Rhode Island troops. The celebrated divine, Bishop Potter, is also a member of this family. Among the children of Otis B. and Julia E. M. ( Potter) Bliss was Olney R. Bliss, the father of our subject. He, too, was born in Geauga county, in the year 1833, and is still living at a ripe old age, his home being in Brookville, Kan- sas. His has been a useful, active and honorable career, and he is still well preserved. He married Mahala J. McFarland, a daughter of John Wesley McFarland, of Bainbridge township, Geauga county, and took up his abode in that county in 1816, emigrating westward from Berkshire county, Massa- chusetts. The McFarlands are of Scotch lineage, and the first members of the family in America, leaving the land of hills and heather in 1719, took up their abode in what was then the Massachusetts colony.
Professor Julius J. Bliss has spent his entire life in the Buckeye state. He acquired his education in the district schools of his native county, receiv- ing instruction from some very capable instructors from New England. At an early day he entered Hiram College, during the presidency of B. A. Hinsdale, a learned man who for some years was the leading professor of pedagogy west of the Alleghanies. There he frequently saw and heard that great teacher who afterward became the chief executive of the nation, James
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A. Garfield, and the spirit of the master found lodgment in the character of the pupil. However, wishing a more complete course of study than Hiram College then afforded, Professor Bliss matriculated in Oberlin College, where he completed the full classical course and was graduated in 1881, with the degree of bachelor of arts. Five years later, in 1886, his alma mater con- ferred upon hin the degree of master of arts. Throughout his entire busi- ness career he has been connected with the profession of teaching. For two and a half years, from 1883 until 1885, he was one of the teachers in the high school of Bucyrus, and then went to Crestline as superintendent of the schools of that city, continuing in charge through the succeeding decade. The schools there grew rapidly during his incumbency and marked improve- ment was seen in the methods of teaching and in the work done in the schools. He not only kept abreast of the times in thought, but had the bravery to put that thoughit into practice. He carried forward his investigations along orig- inal lines, and introduced into the schools valuable methods of great utility. The School Journal, published in 1894, contained the following :
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