USA > Ohio > Hancock County > A centennial biographical history of Hancock County, Ohio > Part 48
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As a man Dr. Firmin was widely known and highly respected and from a local paper printed at the time of his death we quote the following as a
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just tribute to his memory : "He was a man of marked mental and physical ability and energy, and maintained his clearness of mind and largely his vigor of body to the very last, giving personal attention and supervision to all his affairs. During his career as a physician, when roads were poor, as well as the people of this county, he was known as the physician who never refused a call, no matter how dark or stormy the night, or how muddy the road. Throughout life he carried the same energy into all his affairs. Al- though he never sought or allowed offices to be thrust upon him, he was ever interested and active in all public affairs, and earnest in the best inter- ests of the community in which he lived. In early life and until the can- didacy of Fremont, he was in politics a Democrat, but became a Republican with the organization of that party and so remained until the time of his death." He enjoyed that popularity which comes to those generous spirits who have a hearty shake of the hand for all those with whom they come in contact from day to day, and who seem to throw around them in conse- quence so much of the sunshine of life.
GEORGE W. PHIFER.
A very successful farmer and stockraiser of Hancock county is George WV. Phifer, who operates a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in Liberty township, particularly well adapted to the breeding of Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs, in which business Mr. Phifer, by his unusual success, has gained quite a reputation.
The birth of George W. Phifer occurred December 28, 1844, and he is a son of Emanuel and Emily ( Bowling) Phifer, the former of whom is a son of Jacob and Mary ( Ellinger) Phifer, who came to Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1806, from Pennsylvania. Jacob, Phifer was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, while his wife was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania. By trade he was a tanner, and he followed this business in Pittsburg, and after locating in Lithopolis, Fairfield county, Ohio, he acquired considerable prop- erty. His family numbered five children. one of whom, Catherine, lived to the unusual age of ninety-eight years, eight months and eight days.
Emanuel Phifer was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, on March 14, 1808, and learned the tanning business with his father, following the same until 1834, when he located in Hancock county and entered a farm of eighty acres. His long residence in the same locality has made him one of the pioneers, who is most highly estcemed. He is a leading member of the Baptist church. In political matters he votes as his judgment indicates.
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In 1830 he married Emily Bowling, who died in 1875. The children born to them were eight in number, five still surviving, namely: Sarah E. and Annie, who reside at home with their father, who is in his ninety-seventh year; Emeline; John S., who lives retired in Kentucky; George W .; and Edwin, who is a civil engineer located in Richland county, Ohio.
George W. Phifer was reared and educated in Findlay township, and adopted farming as his vocation. In 1872 he purchased one hundred acres of good land, removing to it in 1875, and in 1880 he began to raise Shorthorn cattle and a high grade of hogs, his success being encouraging from the very beginning.
In 1866 Mr. Phifer was united in marriage with Miss Almenia Insley, who is a daughter of T. F. and Emelia Insley, who were old settlers in Mt. Pleasant township, but who finally moved out of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Phifer are both valued members of the Methodist church at Findlay, and are much esteemed by a large circle of friends.
PHILEMON B. MORRISON.
The narrative of a life which has been filled with useful deeds and with duties well performed cannot lack interest, even to the casual reader or the stranger. Such a career has been that of Philemon B. Morrison, who has been an honored resident of Findlay throughout his entire life. His great- grandfather was William Morrison, and his grandfather, Alexander Mor- rison, was a native of the Keystone state, but subsequently came to Ohio, and here he devoted his energies to the tilling of the soil until his life labors were ended by death. John H. Morrison, our subject's father, was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1802, and in 1836 became a resident of the Buckeye state, casting in his lot with the citizens of Findlay. He became a worthy representative of the legal profession, and his name was a familiar one in political and professional circles throughout this portion of the state. The remainder of his days were passed in this city, where he closed his eyes in death in 1854.
Philemon B. Morrison is indebted to the public school system of this city for the educational privileges which he was permitted to enjoy in his youth. In 1864 he embarked in the mercantile field, entering the stove and tinware business in this city, which vocation he continued to follow until 1878. For the three succeeding years his attention was devoted to the retail furniture business, and on the expiration of that period he entered the foundry and machine business, to which he devoted his efforts for the following six
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years. In 1898 he entered the vocation which has since claimed his time and attention, and in which he has met with a high degree of success, being now engaged in the sale of feed and builders' supplies. The business is now one of the most profitable industries in the city of Findlay, and is a monument to the thrift and enterprise of the owner, whose persistent purpose and dili- gence have enabled him to gain a prominent position among the substantial business men of the city.
In Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1868, occurred the marriage of Mr. Morrison and Miss Rebecca C. Reed. The lady is a daughter of Samuel Reed, and by her marriage with Mr. Morrison she has become the mother of five children, three sons and two daughters. The Republican party re- ceives Mr. Morrison's active support and co-operation, and on its ticket he has been elected to many positions of honor and trust. In 1876 he became a member of the city council of Findlay, to which position hie was re-elected two years later, serving in all for four years. In 1888 he was elected one of the water-works trustees, and while a member of the board the present water-works system was built, at a cost of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Morrison is also a director in the City Banking Company, and in all movements for the development and upbuilding of his town and county has been an active and tireless worker.
A. W. STEVENSON.
Few men have had more opportunity to thoroughly learn practical farming in all its branches than the worthy citizen above named, and who at present is one of the representative agriculturists of Blanchard township. Like Jacob of old, whose story is so beautifully told in the book of Genesis, Mr. Stevenson had to work twice seven years for others before he was able to enter into his own as a proprietor of stock and land and all the other be- longings of a farm. While, like Jacob, the prize offered him as a reward for faithful service was not a beautiful Rachel, it proved valuable on account of the experience which was to be the basis of success in future ventures on his own account. Mr. Stevenson is descended from pioneers who came into Ohio shortly after its organization as a state and through direct or col- lateral branches furnished representatives in the agriculture of various coun- ties. Originally the family was of Irish and German extraction, but the founders of the Ohio branch were George and Eliza Stevenson, who located in Champaign county during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Among their children was Isaac Stevenson, whose birth occurred in Fairfield
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county, Ohio, in 1819, while his wife Eliza was born in Licking county in 1830. They resided a while in Franklin and moved thence to Spaulding county, where Isaac died November 11, 1888, and his wife on the 12th of April, 1872.
A. W. Stevenson, son of the foregoing couple, was born in 1854, dur- ing the residence of his parents in Franklin county, Ohio, and went with them on their subsequent removal to Paulding county. In that locality he was reared and educated, and there he resided until the twenty-second year of his age. In 1876 he left the parental roof to face an arduous strug- gle for existence, as his only capital was a disposition and capacity for hard work. Going over to Hancock county, he secured employment as a farm hand with Charles Reese, of Blanchard township, and put in two years of faithful service on that place. At the end of that time he engaged with Jasper Dukes in the same line of work, followed by eight years of agricul- tural labor of various kinds on the farm of John J. Moffitt. In 1888 Mr. Stevenson concluded to make a change both in locality and labor, and going over to Michigan, he embarked in the lumber business, which he followed with varying fortunes for seven years and then abandoned it to return to his original pursuit as a tiller of the soil. After sojourning a short time in Allen county, Ohio, with no definite results, he repaired again to Hancock county, where he found a safe and permanent anchorage on the farm in Blanchard township which constitutes his present homestead. . He cultivates three hundred and thirty-two acres of land, which is valuable both on ac- count of its productive qualities and its high state of improvement, and it is devoted to general farming, including the cereal crops suitable to that local- iy and stock raising for domestic uses. As previously stated, Mr. Steven- son is a successful farmer, practical and progressive in his methods, pains- taking in his plans and cautious in his contracts. He enjoys general es- teem as a neighbor, is regarded as a man of reliability and integrity, and ful- fills every requirement involved in the duties of good citizenship.
November 27, 1895, Mr. Stevenson was happily married to Miss Katie M. McClure, a native of Gilboa, Putnam county, Ohio, where her birth oc- curred March 25, 1874. She was a daughter of Thomas and Alice Mc- Clure, her mother being a daughter of John J. Moffit, one of the original settlers of Hancock county. The latter's grandparents. Hugh and Hannah Moffit, were natives, respectively, of Ireland and Wales, who emigrated to America in the latter part of the eighteenth century and located in New York. Their son Joshua was born in Chatham county, New York, in De- cember. 1774, and his wife Sarah was born in the same county June 6, 1783.
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The last mentioned couple removed to Ross county, Ohio, early in the nine- teenth century, and there on January 11, 1819, was born their son, John J. Moffit, who subsequently became an early settler of Hancock county. The latter's daughter, Alice, was born October 13, 1852, married Thomas Mc- Clure May 8, 1873, and Mrs. Katie M. Stevenson was their only child.
Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Stevenson have had five children : Wilmer M., Alice B., Edith, Thelma and one who died in infancy.
LEVI B. NEWCOMER.
Every man to his trade. The city bred man says "The best farm in Cliistendom could not tempt me to be a farmer. The fact is that it ap- proaches the occupation of a gambler. He sows his seed in the spring to see it promise abundant yield only to watch its destruction by the ruthless storm. On the other hand he enters June with a despairing cry of 'no crop,' and passes out of July with the exultant whoop of '80 bushels, if an ear.'" Then the city man goes down town and buys a block of stock upon which he has not the slightest idea whether he will make or lose. Such is life, and, as said before, every man to his trade.
The gentleman's nanie which initiates this paragraph is a man who has "stuck to his trade," that of farming. He has lived to see his efforts in that line crowned with success. He lives on a farm in Big Lick township, which he devotes to general farming. He was born in Stark county, Ohio, July 14, 1843, and is the son of Adam and Margaret (Bender) Newcomer. His parents were both natives of Columbiana county, Ohio, and came to Hancock county in 1852, after their marriage, where they settled in Big Lick township. They purchased a quarter section of land, partially improved. Subsequently they prospered and added eighty acres to this original farm. In connec- tion with his agricultural interests Adam Newcomer operated quite ex- tensively in lumber, having a saw mill in those early days. He was a good farmer, a loyal citizen and a man of usefulness in his community. His re- ligious preferences induced him to join the Dunkards, in which body he was highly respected for his integrity and soundness of faith. He was the fa- ther of sixteen children, four of the eight now living residing in Hancock county. This family of children were reared in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and became useful members of latter day society. The father died January 21, 1897. his wife having preceded him by eleven years.
Levi B. Newcomer was but a lad eight years old when he removed to Hancock county. He continued to reside with his parents until fully grown,
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becoming familiar with the fields and meadows and assisting in the work of the home farm as he grew up. During this time he received a limited educa- tion in the country schools, and upon arriving at maturity was given eighty acres of timber land by his father, upon which he took up his residence. After clearing twenty-five acres of this property he sold it and bought another eighty in a higher state of cultivation. He continued to improve this land, and in 1868 bought the farm which he now operates. Here he has erected first-class buildings of modern construction, and of commodious size. His dwelling house is a substantial brick structure of thirteen rooms, including halls, Mr. Newcomer also has a holding of real estate in the city of Find- lay. In 1863 he wooed and won the heart and hand of Miss Mollie Thomas, who has presented him with eight children: Maggie, Henry. Clint, Fran- cis Diana, Jess, Louis and Sadie. Mrs. Newcomer died in February, 1901, and on the 9th of March, 1902, Mr. Newcomer was united in wedlock to Mary Keller. Mr. and Mrs. Newcomer are worthy members of the Dunk- ard church, in which he has been a deacon for thirty-five years. During his residence in Hancock county he has ever held himself ready to engage in the activities of his district. He has served on the school board for ten years and filled other township offices acceptably. £ He has the reputation of being one of the best farmers in the county, and has the confidence and es- teem of his neighbors.
EDGAR WILCOX.
As far back as history records, the real strength of the nations of the past has depended not on the armed might of the warrior class nor on the subtlety and dominion of the rulers, but on those who have, figuratively speaking, been at the bottom of the great pyramid of civilization, those who have tilled the soil, sown the grain and reaped the harvests, by their com- munion with the forces of nature imbibing a power irresistible when used in the mighty conflicts for the betterment of the social and moral condition. of mankind. And today the index of the true character and strength of our country is to be found not from inspection of the cities, the gathering places for the rich and the rabble, but in the vast stretches covered by the prosper- ous and highly cultivated farms, where men grow up to develop the best and highest traits of character. And in that excellent agricultural region of Hancock county, Ohio, one of the successful and highly regarded farmers is Edgar Wilcox, a brief review of whose life deserves a place in this history.
His parents were Martin and Charlotte Wilcox, the former a native of
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New York state and the latter of Virginia. At an early day they came to Ohio and took up their residence in Delaware county, where they became prominent citizens; he held the office of justice of the peace in his township. Martin Wilcox's death occurred in April, 1886, and his wife passed away in June, 1872; they had eight children, of whom seven are now living.
Their son, Edgar, was born in Orange township, Delaware county, January 3, 1852, and is the only one of the family living in Hancock county. He was reared and educated in his native county and when yet a boy decided to follow agricultural pursuits, in which he has made an excellent success, now operating two hundred and forty acres of good land in Amanda town- ship and conducting it in such a way as to bring good returns. He took up his residence in this county in 1879. On the 23d of January of the same year he was united in marriage to Miss Einma L., the daughter of Major and Sarah S. Bright ; she was born January 23, 1860, and was accordingly just nineteen years of age when she became a wife. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox have three children, Florence M., born December 5, 1879; Edwin S., born June 4. 1883; and Delcie B., born June 23, 1888. Florence is now the wife of Clarence Cross. Mr. Wilcox is a member of the board of education, and he and his wife are communicants of the United Brethren church. He has held various offices in church and Sunday school, and in politics is an ardent Republican.
MATHEW M. ALEXANDER.
The above named, one of the prominent and well known farmers of Hancock county for many years, is the son of Peter Alexander, an early pio- neer of Hancock county. He came to this county in 1848 and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he proceeded to clear, and upon which he placed many fine improvements, making it one of the best farms in the county. He was a prominent and practical farmer, a Democrat in politics and held nearly all of the township offices during some period in his life. He was born in Belmont county, Ohio, October 15, 1818. His father Peter Alexander, was a native of Maryland, where he was born October 15, in the year of the Declaration of Independence. January 17, 1805, he married Jane Mitchell, born September 3. 1786, and to them were born twelve children : Jennie, James, John, Nancy, Peter, Robert, Mathew, George, Isabel, Margaret, Betsey, and Mary. Margaret Alexander is the only surviving member of this large family. Peter Alexander, the senior, was a blacksmith by trade, and his son Peter also learned the same trade.
Matthew I Mexander
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but after his removal to this county he confined his time entirely to agricul- tural pursuits. October 28, 1841, he was married to Nancy Hoffman, in Belmont county, Ohio, where she was born October 5, 1818, and by this union there were the following named children: Clark, deceased, born May 7, 1843; Jane, May 30, 1845; and Mathew M., September 25, 1847. Peter Alexander, Jr., died on the 19th of July, 1891, but his widow survives. Jane, the only daughter, married Jacob Franks, of Findlay, where she now resides. Mathew M. Alexander, the only surviving son, was reared in Hancock coun- ty and received an excellent education in the common schools. He has al- ways followed agricultural pursuits, and is one of the practical kind of farm- ers that always make that business a success. July 4, 1870, he married Cla- rissa E. Trout, who died in 1872, after giving birth to a daughter, Laura M., who is also deceased.
Mathew Alexander has held various local offices, having for a long time been supervisor of the township. He now resides in Liberty township on a tract of two hundred and forty acres of land, on which there are many oil wells. In 1889 he was unfortunate enough to meet with an accident that deprived him of the use of a limb, which so incapacitated him for general farming as to make his retirement desirable. He, however, made hay while the sun shone and in the evening of life finds himself in independent circum- stances.
PHILIP WILBUR EWING.
The gentleman above mentioned, who is at present clerk of Hancock county, is a sample of the class of men who come up from the country to infuse new blood into their city brethren. This process is a common one in the United States, where it is remarked that the leaders in nearly all the great municipal enterprises, as well as the captains of industry, were originally farm boys born and bred in the free air and trained to work on "father's plantation." But for this fresh blood to recruit from constantly, sociologists fear that the city population would become anaemic and gradually deteri- orate. However this may be, it is always a pleasure to record the success of such country boys as Mr. Ewing, who came up from the farm to take the lead of their fellows in the cities and show remarkable adaptability for the duties of public life. The family came originally from Germany and ser- tled in Pennsylvania, the first of the name to come to Ohio being Jacob Ew- ing, grandfather of Hancock county's clerk, who died in Liberty township, at the age of sixty-eight. His son, Cornelius Ewing, was born in Ashland,
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county, Ohio, April 16, 1824, and came to Hancock county in 1850. So far as can be ascertained the Ewings for generations back have been farmers, and Cornelius is no exception to the rule, as he is now and always has been a. tiller of the soil. He married Elizabeth, daughter of T. F. Inzley.
Philip Wilbur Ewing, son of Cornelius, was born on his father's farm in Pleasant township, Hancock county, Ohio, December 29, 1863, and re- mained at home until his sixteenth year. His training and educaton were . precisely similar to those received by thousands of other country boys, con- sisting chiefly in school attendance during the winter months, "doing chores" after hours and work on the farm in summer. Yet this is precisely the train- ing alluded to above, which has proved valuable for so many men who have risen to the highest rank in all the walks of life. Another almost inevitable step. as it seems, in cases of this kind, is that the first business venture in life must be as a teacher, that apparently being a prerequisite to other pur- suits. At any rate, Mr. Ewing followed this example by turning pedagogue when sixteen years old, his first school being taught in Liberty township in 1879. After devoting two terms to this occupation Mr. Ewing naturally turned his face toward the city, that mecca of all am- bitious farm boys. Coming up to Findlay in 1881, he secured a clerkship in a dry-goods store and retained it about three years, when he decided to go into business for himself. Accordingly he opened with a stock of dry- goods and devoted the next seven years to "working up a trade." in which he was measurably successful, but in 1891 decided on a change of plan. Dis- posing of his dry-goods holdings, he renewed his investment in a line of fur- niture and carpets for the retail trade, and since that time has continued to conduct this business at Findlay with success.
Meantime Mr. Ewing had been getting in touch with politics, and soon showed his capacity both as a worker and leader. In 1897 his first honor came in the shape of an election to the city council from the Fourth ward of Findlay on the Democratic ticket, the notable feature being that he triumphed in a ward usually Republican by about one hundred and forty votes. He re- ceived sixty-six majority, served in the council with satisfaction to his sup- porters until April, 1899, and accumulated a stock of popularity to draw on for liigher and more valuable honors. As a general thing it is what the poli- ticians call "hard sledding" for Democrats in Hancock county as the Repub- licans usually roll up majorities somewhere around four hundred. So when in 1899 Mr. Ewing was given the nomination as candidate for county clerk by his party, the impression prevailed that he was leading a " forlorn hope," "but when the votes were counted November 8, it was found that he had been
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elected by a majority of seven hundred and sixty votes. This striking vic- tory, in which a Republican margin of nearly four hundred was nearly doubled the other way, was something akin to a revolution which greatly astonished the political wiseacres, but it was also a signal manifestation both of Mr. Ewing's hold on the people and his ability as a leader. In November, 1902, Mr. Ewing wes re-elected clerk of the courts by a majority of 2,093, while the county gave 239 majority for Laylin (Republican) for secretary of state.
October 8, 1885, Mr. Ewing was married to Miss Nettie, daughter of Nelson Poe of Liberty township, and has two children: Mary E., born April 21, 1887, and Edgar P., born September 22, 1892. Mr. Ewing's father is at the present time the oldest resident of Hancock county. Mr. Ewing is a member of the Presbyterian church, of which he has served as trustee for seven years, and his fraternal connections are with the Elks, Knights of Pythias, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
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