USA > Ohio > Hancock County > A centennial biographical history of Hancock County, Ohio > Part 34
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grandfather of the subject of this sketch. William and Mary (Anderson) Stephenson became the parents of six children, of whom Ada M. died when she was fifteen years of age. The five survivors are: Viola, wife of Frank Bigelow; Laura S., wife of Samuel B. Sneath; Marian, unmarried; Anderson L., and William E. Stephenson. The latter, who is the youngest of the fam- ily, was born in Findlay township, Hancock county, Ohio, in 1862, was reared on the farm and received his education in the township and Findlay schools. He dropped his books at the age of seventeen and returned to the farm, where he continued to work for seven years, and then decided on a new line of business. In 1887, in connection with others, he helped to or- ganize the Mabel Flint Glass Company, which put up a factory near Findlay, and for the four following years Mr. Stephenson filled the place of shipping clerk for the new concern. At the end of that time there was such a diminu- tion in the gas supply that it was decided to remove the plant to Albany, Indiana, after which Mr. Stephenson spent a year on the road as traveling salesman for the company, subsequently taking charge of the sorting and packing department of the factory. After holding this position for one year, he retired and entered the business of producing oil, which has since been his occupation up to the present time.
June 1, 1887, Mr. Stephenson was united in marriage with Miss Jennie, daughter of Jacob B. Wagner, a member of a well known family of Findlay. In his political affiliations Mr. Stephenson is a Democrat, but he belongs to no church nor any secret society.
WILLIAM MILLER TAIT.
The above name is one that has long been familiar in the famous oil regions of Pennsylvania and later in connection with that industry in West Virginia, Indiana and various parts of Ohio. In fact, Mr. Tait has spent the entire period of his active life as a producer of this wealth-giving product to the new world. William Miller Tait was born on a farm in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1859, and received his education in the common schools and at Grove City College, in his native county. In 1880 he left home and proceeded directly to the oil country of Mckean county, Pennsyl- . vania, where he worked three years as an employe of his uncle, J. S. Patter- son, of Jamestown, New York, and at the end of that time was taken into partnership by Mr. Patterson, which was the real beginning of his business career. The firm of Patterson & Tait operated for ten years as oil producers in Allegany county, New York, at the end of which time they acquired inter-
WM Fait
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ests in Hancock county, Ohio. About 1889 Mr. Patterson had formed a partnership with Charles Wade, of Findlay, Ohio, and they had oil interests in the territory near the last mentioned place, which were managed by Mr. Wade. The latter, however, died in 1892, and shortly thereafter Mr. Tait came to Findlay, purchased Mr. Wade's interest and continued the business in partnership with Mr. Patterson until the latter's death in 1899. W. C. Patterson, of Jamestown, New York, who up to this time had been a silent partner, joined with Mr. Tait in forming the firm of Tait & Patterson, under which title the business at Findlay has since been carried on. Besides the property heretofore mentioned Mr. Tait is interested in oil wells in West Virginia and in Wood and Sandusky counties, Ohio.
In 1884 Mr. Tait was married to Miss Laura Z., daughter of Robert M. and Martha Harkness, of Fairview, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and they now reside in one of the most pleasant and hospitable homes in the city of Findlay. Mr. Tait is a very enthusiastic member of the Masonic fraternity, but has no connection with any other secret society. In politics he is a lead- ing Republican, and is always found doing his full share in promoting the interests and principles of that party. As an evidence of the appreciation accorded Mr. Tait, it may be stated that he was selected as a member of the building committee entrusted with the task of erecting the new First Pres- byterian church in Findlay, and this confidence was amply proven by the fact that this building has recently been completed at a cost of sixty-two thousand dollars and turned over for dedication entirely free from debt.
JAMES R. CLARK.
A great many Pennsylvanians have made their homes in Findlay, and among the number who claim the Keystone state as a birth place is Mr. James R. Clark, who has for so many years conducted an undertaking estab- lishment in Findlay.
Mr. Clark is of Irish parentage, his father, Forbes Clark, having been born in Ireland in 1758. He came to America in early life and settled in Pennsylvania, where he died in 1832, when the subject of this sketch was eight years old. He was a coppersmith by trade.
Our subject was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1824, and after his father's death was reared by an aunt in Cumberland county of that state. His early life was spent on a farm, and his education was in the coun- try schools. At the age of eighteen he desired to learn a trade and went to Gettysburg, where he learned cabinet making. He remained there for three
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years, perfecting his trade and from there went to Philadelphia, where he lived about a year. He afterward returned to Gettysburg for a short time, and in the fall of 1848 moved to Findlay, then a small village of about eight or nine hundred inhabitants. He found opportunities at hand for carrying on his trade, and in about a year was able to open a cabinet shop of his own. In 1849 he added undertaking to his business on the site where he is now operating and has continued in that line ever since. He has done well and made many friends while accumulating a competence for his late life.
Mr. Clark was united in marriage in 1851 in Findlay to Mary Ann De- vine. To this couple have been born four children, as follows: Sarah A., who died in her sixth year; Charles M .; John F. and Walter S. Mrs. Clark died in July, 1898. Our subject is a member of the English Lutheran church of Findlay, and is connected fraternally with Hancock Lodge, No. 72, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he has been a member for over fifty years.
HARRISON BROOKS.
We have here one of the gentlemen who at the inception of the Cival war patriotically responded to his country's call and served her faithfully through that dark and bloody period. He is a well known and practical farmer residing in Cass township, where he conducts a farm of seventy-two acres. Mr. Harrison Brooks is a son of Jonathan and Rebecca Brooks, and was born near Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio, in the year 1838. His parents were natives of New York state, and were farmers of more than ordinary prominence in their day in Seneca county. Jonathan was a man of consider- able influence, possessed of energy and activity, and by toil and perseverance made a large place for himself in society, both from moral and a financial standpoint. He adhered to the doctrines of the Presbyterian faith. Politi- cally he favored the Republican party, and held some of the minor offices in the township. He and his wife were laid to rest in Seneca county.
Harrison Brooks, the son, passed the period of adolescence in Seneca county, and was educated at the common schools in the village of Tiffin. The parents died early, and his educational advantages were thus limited. He was forced to the choice of a vocation earlier in life than the ordinary boy. He adopted that of a farmer, and so thoroughly did he master the principles of agriculture that he has always been a success. In 1864 he laid aside the plow and went to the front as a private soldier in Company B, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving his
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time and being honorably discharged at the close of the war. In 1866 Mr. Brooks took unto himself a partner in the person of Miss Mary Morris of Seneca county, this lady being a native of old England. She became the mother of seven children, Jennie, Frank (deceased), Ralph, Ida, Rowley, Grace and Harry. The two sons are well-to-do farmers of Hancock county. The mother of these children died in 1896. Mr. Brooks with his family re- moved from Seneca to Hancock county, and after residing in another sec- tion of the township for a few years purchased in 1898 his present farm. He is a public spirited and progressive citizen, and his sterling worth and high moral character attract to him the good offices of a large circle of friends.
ALEXANDER B. POWELL.
Among the many emigrants contributed by Pennsylvania to the pioneer settlement of Ohio, none have earned a better name or contributed more to the development of their respective localities than the original family of Powell and their descendants. Daniel and Eliza Powell took up their resi- dence in Fairfield county when it gave little promise of becoming the rich and prosperous agricultural community into which it later developed. This Pennsylvania couple, however, who had been trained to hard work and inured to the customs prevailing, soon surrounded themselves with the comforts of a country home and lived lives of usefulness which secured them general respect. Their son, Alexander B. Powell, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, March 14, 1842, and grew to manhood in the place of his nativity. He was fairly well educated in the country schools, but the best part of his training was obtained on the farm where he learned those habits of industry and mastery of details which were to stand him in good stead in after life. It was in 1869 that Mr. Powell determined to remove to Hancock county and in January of that year he purchased a tract of land in Blanchard township. This farm, consisting of one hundred and forty acres, was at the time Mr. Powell obtained possession only partly cleared, but under his deft manipula- tion it has been much improved and placed in a high state of cultivation. Among the numerous improvements may be mentioned the erection of a handsome residence and various out buildings adapted to a modern Ohio farm of the best class. Mr. Powell has not indulged in what is called "fancy farm- ing, but has adhered to the cultivation of the cereal crops adapted to his latitude, besides the breeding and raising of suitable stock of various kinds for domestic purposes and the market.
December 6, 1868, occurred the nuptials of Alexander B. Powell and
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Miss Rebecca L., daughter of Jacob and Rebecca Jackson, the bride being a native of Wyandot county, where she was born in 1840. This union proved an ideally happy one and has been blessed by the births of some unusually bright and promising children whose names are thus recorded: Webster H., Elmer A., Eva G., Ross W., Ora L. and Virgil D., deceased. Webster H. Powell, the eldest of these children, has already chosen his life's work and gives promise of a career of usefulness and brilliancy. After finishing in the common school he entered the State Normal at Ada, from which insti- tution he graduated with high honors. Subsequently he took a course in Delaware College and there also was graduated at the head of his class. He expects, as a rounding out of his educational accomplishments, to receive a diploma from the Boston Theological Institute in 1903. He is a student there at the present time and also fills one of the neighboring pulpits in a manner so acceptable as to encourage the prediction that he will eventually reach high rank as a minister of the gospel. He is a member of the Central Ohio conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, and after his graduation will be actively engaged in the work of that great denomination. He married Miss Clara Walter, an accomplished young lady of Ohio, and their home has been brightened by the advent of one child, Aver D., whose birth occurred in 1902.
Elmer Powell, the second son of this interesting family, is ambitious to be a physician, and is now a diligent student in the medical department of the Chicago University. Mrs. Rebecca L. Powell, after a life devoted to doing good, passed away from earth on the 21st of February, 1901. She was a consistent member of the Benton Ridge Methodist church, of which Mr. Powell is an honored trustee. No family stands higher in Hancock county than that of the Powells, who circulate in the best society and rank among the most progressive citizens. In politics Mr. Powell is a Democrat, though in local affairs he is rather independent and gives his suffrage to those whom he considers the best men.
BENEDICT LICHTY.
For a number of years past Benedict Lichty has been a prominent figure in the annals of Hancock county and has aided materially in its upbuilding. By a life of uprightness, industry and honorable dealing-a life devoted to the support of whatever is good and true-he has won the love and esteem of a large circle of acquaintances. He was born in the far-off land of Switzer- land, on the 8th of July, 1848, being a son of Christ and Anna (Lugibihl)
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Lichty, also natives of the land of the Alps. The father followed the till- ing of the soil as a life occupation, and in his family were ten children, six sons and four daughters, and all were born in Switzeralnd.
Benedict Lichty, the fourth child and third son in the above family, spent the early years of his life in his native land, but in 1880 he left the home of his childhood and youth and came to America, locating first in Allen county, Ohio. Shortly afterward, however, he cast in his lot with the settlers of Hancock county, locating on the farin on which he now resides, where he has erected commodious and substantial buildings and has made all the improvements necessary to a well regulated farm. His homestead consists of eighty acres of fertile and productive land, located on section 7, Orange township, and there he is engaged in general farming. In his native land he was united in marriage to Mary Sommer, who was also born in Switzerland, and they have become the parents of nine children, as fol- lows: Pauline, Caroline, Jacob (deceased), Emanuel, Martha, Katie, Noah, Lena and Dinalı, twins. Mr. Lichty is a valued member of the Men- nonite church. His many admirable qualities of heart and mind have gained for him a large circle of friends, and he is widely and favorably known in Hancock county.
DANIEL E. SWITZER.
Daniel E. Switzer was born on a farm, and there lived and received his education until he was twenty years old, at which time he came to Findlay, farm life having little attraction for him. Our subject's father is Henderson Switzer, who was born in Richland county, this state, but who later moved to Hancock county, where his son Daniel was born in 1868. The elder Switzer is a farmer.
In 1895 Mr. Switzer established the bakery of Switzer Brothers, he hav- ing learned the baker's trade soon after coming to Findlay. He has built up 2. large and flourishing trade, which is a credit to Findlay. He was married in 1891 to Clara, daughter of Daniel Alspach, and they have four children, as follows: Jessie, Walter, Glenn and Ruth. Mr. Switzer is a member of the Order of Elks, and also the Order of Maccabees. In politics he is a Republican.
JAMES T. ADAMS.
In commercial circles at Findlay no name is more familiar than that of Adams Brothers, the members of which have for many years been identified in a conspicuous way with the industries of the city. Both individually and
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collectively these brothers have contributed much toward the growth and de- velopment of the municipality, being active in connection with the social and educational as well as the business life of the community. The family is one of ancient origin and honorable record, the founder of the American branch having come over while the present New England states were still loyal sub- jects of the king. Richard Adams, son of this English emigrant, was born in Massachusetts, took part as a soldier of the line in the epoch making strug- gle for American independence, and after the war located in Pennsylvania. The late Rev. William Adams, son of this Revolutionary patriot, was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, in 1798, removed in 1837 to Wayne county, Ohio, and in 1860 located at Findlay, where he continued to reside until his death in 1882. Originally a member of the Presbyterian, he became in later life a minister of the Church of God, in which capacity he was widely and favorably known among religious workers. This divine was the father of the Adams' Brothers, referred to above, and whose lives and business careers it is the intention to set forth in this and the subsequent biography.
James T. Adams was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1825, and was ten years old when his parents removed to Richland county, Ohio. Such education as he received in childhood was obtained in the schools of Massillon, but it was quite limited as necessity compelled him to go to work for a living when fourteen years old. He became apprentice to a tinner and after learning the trade was engaged in business at Massillon until :845, after which he went to Plymouth, Ohio, and worked as a tinsmith for sixteen years. In 1854 he came to Findlay, resumed his old business as a tin- ner and continued at that trade for the following ten years, when he decided to abandon this line of work and change his occupation. His next venture was the establishment of an exclusively hardware store, which he carried on with more or less success for five or six years, when he disposed of his interests and began the manufacture of linseed oil. This venture proving profitable, he continued it for eighteen years, or until 1878, when Mr. Adams joined his brothers in organizing the foundry and machine business which goes by their name. The business was carried on as a partnership until 1890, when it was incorporated as a company with James T. Adams as president and his brother Newton as treasurer. These relations have continued up to the pres- ent and meanwhile the company has steadily grown in favor and prosperity tintil their work is familiar in all the marts of northern Ohio devoted to that class of goods. During his residence of forty-eight years at Findlay, Mr. Adams has been a familiar feature in the city's life and he has aided in many ways the general advancement. The people elected him to the city council
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and he did such good work in that position that there was a general insistence on his retention, and the consequence was that Mr. Adams had to serve six- teen years before he was allowed to retire. In addition to his councilmanic career, he also did good work on the Findlay school board, of which he was a member about six years. In 1902 Mr. Adams erected the Adams building- 60x140 feet, five stories-which is constructed of pressed brick and stone and modern in all of its appointments. Mr. Adams' religious convictions are in line with Presbyterianism and in politics, though unobtrusively an earnest Republican, he avoids the turmoil and bickering of ultra-partisanship. He is the oldest Odd Fellow in point of service in Hancock county, also belongs to the Encampment and has filled all the chairs in his lodge. In 1849 Mr. Adams was married to Harriet L., daughter of Peter Bodine, of Richland county, and of the three children resulting from this union, the two sur- vivors are Charles F. and Lizzie, wife of John A. Meeks of Findlay.
NEWTON M. ADAMS.
This gentleman is the treasurer of the well known Adams' Brothers Company, of which his brother James is president, and they have been con- nected in business at Findlay for thirty-four years. But his activities are by no means confined to his duties with the foundry firm, his regular occupation being varied by service in the city council, as chief of the Findlay fire depart- ment, and as president of the City Banking Company, which position he holds at the present time. As the family history has been given in the sketch of James T. Adams, presented above, it will not be necessary to repeat it further than to say that the name of Adams has been a respected one in the various states where its representatives have resided and nowhere else so much as in Ohio, with whose interests they have been identified for more than half a century of active business life.
Newton M. Adams was born at Plymouth, Ohio, December 3, 1844, and remained at home until the age of fourteen, when the family necessities com- pelled him to seek work for a livelihood. Going to Corunna, Indiana, he succeeded in getting employment as clerk in a store, which position ·he re- tained until the turmoil incident to the opening of the Civil war turned his attention in other directions. In short he caught the war fever, and in De- cember, 1863, enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Regi- ment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war and meantime rose to the rank of corporal. Mr. Adams took part with
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his regiment in Sherman's memorable "on to Atlanta" campaign in the spring and summer of 1864, but when Hood made his famous break toward Nash- ville, the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth formed part of the troops sent in pursuit. The most important battles in which Mr. Adams fought were those at Franklin, Nashville and Spring Hill, Tennessee, subsequent to which his regiment was sent to North Carolina where it took part in the closing scenes, including the engagement at Bentonville. After obtaining his final discharge, Mr. Adams returned directly to his old place at Corunna, re- mained there three years and in 1869 came to Findlay where he embarked in the stove and tin business. This venture occupied his attention until 1871 when he joined his brother in organizing a partnership to conduct the foundry and machine business at Findlay, which nine years later eventuated in the corporation since officered by the Adams Brothers. He has been one of the important factors in the success of this popular plant, as he is not only a man of great energy and perseverance, but is noted for the clearness and coolness of his business judgment. These qualities caused him to be elected to the council, where the city needed his services, also made him a gas trustee and led to his appointment to the responsible post of chief of the fire department.
In 1868 Mr. Adams was united in marriage with Mary J., daughter of Levi Brown, and they have four children : Bestor E .; James T .; Donald B. and Jeannette. Mr. Adams has long been an enthusiastic Odd Fellow and by virtue of his military services is a welcome comrade of Post No. 54, Grand Army of the Republic. -
CHARLES F. SMITH.
1
The career of this gentleman, now manager of an important traction sys- tem at Findlay, is both interesting and instructive, inasmuch as it is typically American, and illustrates a distinctive phase of our national life. Students of our great transportation systems, to which the United States owes more for its rapid development than any other cause, are always struck with the fact that its great captains and ruling spirits almost invariably rise from the "bot- tom of the ladder" up through the various grades until they reach the top. When this pinnacle has been reached its duties are discharged with a capacity usually measured by the thoroughness of the educational process undergone in attaining it, and generally the one who has been faithful in small things is rewarded by being placed in charge of the larger affairs. In the case under consideration, it may be mentioned in passing that Mr. Smith acquired his
Theo 7. Damit
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· first taste as well as his first knowledge of transportation by electric propulsion while serving as an office-boy for one of the Cincinnati inclined plane rail- ways. When the opportunity and the man meet and the man has the qualities in him to take advantage of the opportunity, the result follows as a matter of course, and what pessimistic fault-finders are in the habit of denouncing as "special privilege" or "favoritism" is really nothing more than the bright boy or man proving himself equal to the occasion which is constantly presenting itself to the deserving in this country of unequaled opportunities.
Though of German extraction this branch of the Smith family has long been thoroughly acclimated by naturalization upon American soil. John C. Smith, father of our subject, came over in infancy with his parents, who located at Cincinnati, and there passed the remainder of their lives. After reaching manhood he became a mechanic, served through the Civil war in one of the Ohio regiments of infantry, and died in Cincinnati in 1893, aged fifty-three years. Charles F. Smith was born at Cincinnati, November 6, 1863, and got such academical education as he was destined to receive in the schools of that city. But he was one of those boys who do not need much "schooling" of the ordinary kind, they having a way of their own for learn- ing those things which are calculated to be most useful and valuable. When the youthful Smith had reached his fourteenth year he secured a position as office-boy with the Mt. Adams and Eden Park Inclined Plane Railway Con- pany, and stuck closely to his position for the next ten years. He became assistant superintendent of the company, in which position he continued until he came to Findlay, in September, 1887. Without unnecessary delay he purchased the material and superintended the building of the Findlay Street Railway, with a single trackage of eight miles at first, which has since been more than doubled. Mr. Smith continued as manager of the street railway until its absorption by the Toledo, Bowling Green & Southern Traction Company, after which he was made manager of the latter and has since re- tained that position. Inasmuch as he has gone through every department he understands the business from the ground up, and consequently makes an invaluable employe both for his company and the people. But his activities have not been confined to one line of work. In 1892 he became one of the organizers of the Hancock Light and Power Company, of which he was president for three years, and after the reorganization in 1895 he held the vice-presidency until the company was absorbed by the Findlay Street Rail- way Company in 1899. In June, 1901, Mr. Smith secured the franchise for heating houses by the hot-water system, which will be carried on by the trac- tion company under his management. It will be seen from the foregoing
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