USA > Ohio > Richland County > A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio > Part 15
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Wooster, and the structure was completed in the spring of 1880. Several years later a chapel was erected, the total cost of the building being forty- five thousand dollars.
In the meantime the fame of Dr. Wiles as a minister, pastor and organ- izer became widely known, and during his service in Wooster he was invited to the pastorate of the First church of Cincinnati, First church of Omaha, First church at Indianapolis, First church at Cleveland, St. Matthew's Lutheran church in Brooklyn, and the Third Lutheran church of Baltimore. He was also elected to the presidency of the Lutheran college at Carthage, Illinois, and chosen as the secretary of the board of church extension to the general synod. He declined to accept all of these, wishing to devote his entire time and energy to the upbuilding of the Wooster church.
In 1884 he accepted a call to the English Lutheran church of Mansfield. He had preached here two Sundays and was making preparations to remove to this city when a committee of the Wooster church called upon him at the parsonage and invited him and his wife to attend a meeting at the church, the purpose of which was not explained to him. He felt somewhat bewil- dered upon walking down the aisle to observe that that immense auditorium was filled to its capacity, seating and standing room. The chairman of the meeting, one of the elders, stated that the congregation had assembled in response to a call sent out that afternoon and its purpose was to ascertain whether there was any consideration that would induce him to remain. He replied that there was none; that he felt conscientiously called to a new field and that he was going to Mansfield in answer to his own convictions. And he came.
Dr. Wiles has been the pastor of the. English Lutheran church here since 1884 and has added to it nineteen hundred members. The church has to-day a total of about fourteen hundred members. Three months after he came here he was elected to the presidency of Wittenberg Theological Seminary, his alma mater, the highest position in the gift of the Lutheran church ; but he declined it to pursue his ministerial labors. While at Woos- ter he was the president of the East Ohio synod two terms and since he ยท came to Mansfield he has been the president of the Wittenberg synod two terms, and has, in his time, occupied almost every place in synodical labors. For twenty-five years he was a trustee of Wittenberg College, and nine times he has represented his synod in the general synod of the United States.
In 1890 Dr. Wiles began the erection of the new church building in Mansfield, at the corner of Parke avenue and Mulberry street, it being completed in the year 1894. It is the fifth house of worship built under his
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supervision and is the direct result of his untiring labors. On the Ist of April, 1901, he closed the thirty-seventh year of his service in the min- istry, and seventeen years of that time have been passed in Mansfield, Ohio.
Unto the marriage of Dr. and Mrs. Wiles have been born two chil- dren,-Otis and LaVergne. Both were born at Mount Zion, Richland county, Ohio: Otis July 25, 1866, and La Vergne November 17, 1868. Otis pursued his literary education in Wooster University and Wittenberg Col- lege. at Springfield, Ohio. Subsequently he read medicine for one year in the office of Dr. Craig & Son, of Mansfield, and then entered the medical department of the Western Reserve College at Cleveland, where after three years he was graduated in 1892. He was married, December 6, 1899, to Miss Emma Krabill. LaVergne married Lenora Keen, of Mansfield, and died at the age of twenty-four years.
Mrs. Wiles has ever been to her honored husband a faithful companion and helpmate, sharing his Christian labors and supplementing his work by her counsel and devotion. The Doctor is a man of high scholarly attain- ments. As a speaker he is forceful and eloquent, and his every utterance rings with sincerity and honest conviction. A master of rhetoric, he is enabled to present his views in such a way as to entertain as well as instruct his hearers, and his earnest and impassioned words reveal the deep fervor with which he is imbued in presenting the divine truths, which are thus made to appeal more strongly to those whom he addresses. His mind, carefully disciplined, analytical and of broad ken, his deep perception and quick and lively sympathy, make him a power in his field of labor.
HUNTINGTON BROWN.
Although not a native-born resident of Richland county, his more than thirty years' abode within her borders pre-empts to him all the rights of her original citizens, and he is as jealous of her prosperity and all her rights as though he were a native son.
He was born in Trumbull county in 1849, the son of James Monroe and . Mary (Hicks) Brown, and the grandson of Hon. Ephraim Brown, the original proprietor of Bloomfield township in that county and the coadjutor of those early anti-slavery men of the Western Reserve of the type of Giddings and his like, a member of the house of representatives of the general assembly of Ohio in 1824. Mr. Huntington Brown's parents moved to the town of Massillon in Stark county when he was a child, where his education was
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begun in the common schools, and completed at Nazareth Hall, a Moravian academy in Pennsylvania. His father died in 1867 and a year or so after- ward he came to Mansfield and engaged in mercantile affairs with the late Hon. M. D. Harter, and Mr. Frank S. Lahm, a son of General Samuel Lahm, of Canton.
Arriving at his majority, he celebrated the event by a tour of Europe and the continent. Upon his return he entered the employ of the Aultman- Taylor Company, a widely known and very extensive manufacturing establish- ment, where by the most assiduous devotion to his duties and to the business of the company he elevated himself to the superintendency in 1879, which he occupied for ten years-resigning to assume the management of the Hicks-Brown Company, operating one of the largest flouring mills in the west, where his acute business qualifications fitted him for its vast concerns. After some years devoted to their interests he retired permanently from active business, his accumulations generously permitting him to withdraw from further pursuits, although he still retains considerable interest in several important enterprises, being a director of the Mansfield Savings Bank and the president of the Western Strawboard Company, which company has fac- tories at St. Mary's, Ohio, and Gas City, Indiana.
In all his business life he commanded not only the respect and con- ficence of the commercial public but also the love and esteem of those under his employ. The business career of no young man of the county has been more commendable. Marked by unapproachable integrity, unassailable probity, prompted by a sense of responsibility and conscious rectitude, his record in the business world is of approved excellence, from which he retires with honor and the highest credit.
An ardent Freemason, his love for the craft incited him to obtain its highest knowledge and reach its highest honors; so he attained to the grade of sovereign grand inspector general, or thirty-third degree, in 1886; is a life member of Ohio Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish rite, and a past grand commander of Ohio Grand Commandery of Knights Templar, of 1892. The Masonic bodies located in Mansfield had never a permanent abiding place, but from time to time became renters and were the tenants of property- owners, having their habitat in the lofts and upper stories of such structures as they were fortunate to secure and at such rates of rental as landlords were pleased to charge and surrounded by such comforts as chanced to accompany the inconveniences.
Mr. Brown conceived the idea of a permanent home, to be owned by the
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craft. A temple company was formed, of which he was chosen the president, and in due time the Masonic Temple was erected and dedicated to Masonic uses, a most complete and comfortable structure, where all Masons may find a welcome and which is a lasting monument to his zeal for the brotherhood. He still remains the president of the Temple Company and is its direct- ing spirit.
When an act was passed by the general assembly to erect the Soldiers and Sailors' Memorial Library Building, the court, recognizing his business fitness, appointed him a member of the first board of trustees, which position he has continually occupied, with great credit and eminent satisfaction.
His private character is unimpeachable. He is a man of heroic physique, a distingue figure in any assemblage, and of gracious bearing. He is easy of approach and his open-handed generosity and genial companionship have made him a social and popular favorite with all classes. His friendships and. affectionate attachments are unmovable, and with tender and modest benev- olence he has endeared himself to the lowly and the unfortunate by his covert charities. He hates hypocrisy, despises the spurious pretender and is quick to discern the cheat. Firm of purpose, he is unrelenting in the espousal of a cause he is convinced is just. Innate good judgment has clothed him with a self-reliance which makes him a leader. He has never been ambitious of political preferment and the charms of office have never tempted him; but in 1899 the people of his adopted city called him to the control of its municipal affairs, and although a stanch Republican he was elected by a large majority in a Democratic stronghold. His fearless courage and consciousness of right have made him a model mayor. Bringing to the performance of his official duties a high appreciation of the importance of his trust, he has exe- cuted the laws of state and city with a determination and excellency which have marked him a strong man and gained for him the admiration of all good citizens. In his court he administers the law with the utmost justice, tempered always with that mercy which befits a humane magistrate. He is now in the middle of his official term, and his careful and intelligent manage- ment of the city government has added manifold to its revenues from police control, and his untiring zeal in solving the sewage problem entitles him to the highest commendation. No city in Ohio possesses a citizen at the head of its government uniting more of the elements which go to make up a man possessing the qualities of a gentleman everywhere than does Mansfield in the person of Huntington Brown, and his life's record is filled with honor and the gratitude of the people.
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DR. ARTHUR N. LINDSEY.
Dr. Arthur Nettleton Lindsey, one of the prominent young dentists of Mansfield, was born at Lexington, Richland county, Ohio, September 30, 1870. The Nettletons, from whom he is descended on his mother's side of the family, were from Kenilworth, England, settling first in Killingworth, Connecticut, and were later the first settlers of Newport, New Hampshire. Mary Nettleton married William Lindsey, by whom she was the mother of the subject, an only child. On his father's side of the family it may be stated that Mrs. Mary Lindsey, after the death of her husband, William Lindsey, removed to Lexington, Ohio, from Newville, Pennsylvania, in 1849, and her only child, William Lindsey, was the father of the subject of this sketch.
Dr. Arthur N. Lindsey received a good common-school education in the public schools and subsequently graduated at the Ohio Medical University at Columbus, in 1895, in dentistry. For two years during his course of study he carried along courses in medicine in connection with his studies in den- tistry. After his graduation he located in Mansfield, entering into partner- ship with Dr. E. R. Rumpler, and since then has built up a large and excellent practice.
December 14, 1898, he married Miss Edna Lenox Friedrich, of Mans- field, by whom he had one daughter, who lived but one month. The Doctor is highly esteemed in Mansfield and vicinity, not only as a professional man but also as a citizen and friend of humanity who lives for the good he can do to his fellow man.
JOHN CRAWFORD.
Among the progressive men of Shiloh Mr. Crawford is numbered. He belongs to that class of representative citizens who while promoting their individual success also contribute to the general welfare, and his position in business circles in his section of Richland county is an enviable one. Born in Huron county, Ohio, on the 19th of September, 1848, he represents one of the pioneer families of the state. His grandfather, John Crawford, came to Richland county during the epoch of its early development and located on a farm in Cass township, where he spent his remaining days.
His son, James Crawford, was a native of Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, and upon the home farm in Richland county he was reared. He
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first married Miss Lydia Guthrie, by whom he had two children, one of whom is yet living,-William, of Adario, Richland county.
After his marriage Mr. Crawford located near Planktown, where he followed the carpenter's trade, which he had learned in early life. Subse- quently he engaged in the operation of a sawmill. Some time later his wife died and he afterward married Miss Ella Jane Turbet, who is still living, making her home with her son John. In the early '40s James Crawford re- moved with his family to Huron county, Ohio, locating in Ripley township, where he conducted a sawmill and also worked at the carpenter's trade. In 1850, however, he returned to Planktown and purchased the old family home- stead of one hundred and twenty acres a few miles south of the village, and there he carried on agricultural pursuits until the time of his death, which occurred in 1853. He was a representative of the Democracy and at one time served as justice of the peace. A man of marked energy, the success which he achieved resulted from his own efforts. Of his family of five chil- dren, four are yet living, namely : Taylor, who is the postmaster of Shiloh ; John, of this review; Porter, who is connected with the Clipper Manufactur- ing Company of Saginaw, Michigan; and Bell R., the wife of G. W. Harris, a business man of Bucyrus, Ohio.
John Crawford lost his father when only five years of age. He acquired bis education in the common schools and in his eighteenth year assumed the management of the home farm, which in the meantime had been rented. He cultivated this land until 1872, when he came to Shiloh and in partnership with his brother Taylor built the Shiloh Grist Mills, which they operated for two years. Then they sold that property and thereby acquired the ownership of a tract of timber land. Through the following four years they dealt in lumber and also operated a sawmill. On the expiration of that period they repurchased the gristmill and admitted their younger brother, Porter, to a partnership in the business, the connection between them continuing for some years, when Taylor Crawford withdrew. The other brothers, however, con- tinued in the milling business until 1895, when John purchased the interest of his brother Porter. In 1897 he admitted Mr. Hall and Mr. From to a partner- ship, and in the autumn of that year Mr. Crawford and Mr. Hall purchased the interest of Mr. From. In 1899 the former became the sole proprietor and since that time has carried on business alone. He conducts a sawmill in con- nection with his gristmill and thoroughly understands both branches of the business, so that this enterprise has proved a profitable source of income.
On the IIth of September, 1878, was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
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Crawford and Miss Anna Koerber, a native of Shiloh and a daughter of Jacob Koerber. Four children grace this union : Jesse, who is now a stenographer in Cleveland, Ohio; Florence, an instructor in instrumental music; Hazel and Harry, who are at home. The mother died January 29, 1889, and Mr. Craw- ford was again married, in 1894, his second union being with Miss Lilly McGaw, a native of Shiloh, Ohio, and a daughter of Albert C. McGaw. Three children graced this union, but Grace Corene, their first born, is now deceased. Two sons are J. Mack and Albert Chauncey.
Mr. Crawford is a member of Shiloh Council, No. 374, R. A., and is a Republican in his political views. He belongs to the Lutheran church and for (the past twenty-two years has served as its chorister. His success in business has been uniform. As has been truly remarked, after all that may be done for man in the way of giving him early opportunities for obtaining the re- quirements which are sought in the schools and in books, he must essentially formulate, determine and give shape to his own character, and this is what Mr. Crawford has done. He has persevered in the pursuit of a persistent purpose and gained a satisfactory reward.
BENJAMIN F. LONG.
As the chief executive of the city of Shelby, Benjamin Franklin Long occupies a position open to criticism, but the comments of his fellow towns- men in regard to the manner in which he discharges his official duties is favor- able and commendatory. Honored by election to the office of mayor, his administration has been progressive and business-like and along practical lines which contribute to the city's good. He is also well known as a member of the leading law firm of Shelby, and his prominence at the bar and in office serves to make his history one of more than mere local interest, for he has a wide acquaintance throughout this part of the state.
Mr. Long is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Shiloh, Rich- land county, on the 16th of August, 1865, his parents being William R. and Mary (Hunter) Long, farming people of the county. His paternal grand- parents, David and Emily (Rose) Long, came to Ohio in 1815, taking up their abode in Shiloh. The parents of our subject had but two children, his sister being Florence, who is now the wife of C. W. Marriott, of Mansfield.
In the common schools Mr. Long acquired his elementary education, later entered the high school of Shiloh and subsequently matriculated in the Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio, where he was graduated. He after-
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ward engaged in teaching in the country schools for five winter terms, and then took up the study of law, being admitted to the bar in 1890. At Shelby a year later he entered into partnership with Edwin Mansfield, and the firm of Mansfield & Long has since been one well known in Shelby on account of its connection with the greater number of the important litigated interests that have been tried in the courts of the district. Mr. Long's fellow towns- men, recognizing his worth and ability, have frequently called him to public office. In 1894 he was elected the mayor of the city and served so ably that he was re-elected in 1896. In 1898 he retired from office, but was again elected in 1900, so that he is the present incumbent.
In the year 1893 Mr. Long was married to Miss Nellie F. Clowes, of Shelby, a daughter of J. Q. A. and Mary (Van Horn) Clowes. Mr. Long is a Master Mason. His election and re-election to the office of mayor in a city in which the normal Republican majority is one hundred and fifty is a high tribute to his personal worth and an unmistakable evidence of his ability, for, though he is a Democrat, he enjoys the confidence of men of all parties and creeds.
DR. MOSES DECAMP.
The subject of this sketch, Moses DeCamp, deceased, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1816, and was of French Protestant descent. The family, on coming to America, first settled in New Jersey and afterward some of its descendants located in western Pennsyl- vania. The Doctor's father, John DeCamp, and his mother, Deborah Ross, after their marriage in Pennsylvania came in 1827 to Morrow county, Ohio. Here Moses DeCamp, though but a lad, bore his full share of the heavy task of clearing the forest. By an accident in logging, when eight- een years old, he was incapacitated for doing such heavy work. Naturally quick to learn, ambitious and studious, he had eagerly devoured the few books then within reach of pioneer boys. Such was his success that in 1842 he was teaching the preparatory classes in what is now Delaware University, his work including every branch except Latin and Greek. As he heard the recitations of every student, the work was arduous and his bodily strength broke, resulting in a loss of voice, which compelled his retirement. His fame as an instructor had passed beyond the college at Delaware, and he was offered by a college in Tennessee, at a salary of twelve hundred dollars a year, with an increase shortly to two thousand dollars, the
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place of president. His state of health, however, compelled him to decline; besides, his strong opposition to slavery would have proved a barrier. The salary offered was a high testimony to his ability, when it is considered that at that time President Morrison of Delaware received only six hundred dollars per year.
He now applied himself to the study of dentistry, and was recognized throughout his life as one of the most proficient in that profession to be found in this section of the state.
In 1844 Dr. DeCamp married Miss Almena H. Winters, of Mount Vernon, a daughter of Thomas Winters, who, on his way west from Ver- mont, with his wife and children, was accidentally drowned. The family located at Mt. Vernon, where Mrs. Winters afterward married Joseph Loud. Her maiden name was Susannah Maxfield; her native place, Vermont. She died February 15, 1865, at the age of seventy-two years. Her son, Gilbert E. Winters, studied law with Columbus Delano, of Mt. Vernon, for his preceptor, and was admitted to the bar of Knox county. He married Miss Mary Love, a daughter of Harmon Love, who came to Mansfield from Pennsylvania in the early '40s and operated the only flouring-mill then here. Attorney Winters moved to Illinois and became a firm friend of Lincoln. In the west he turned his attention to mining, but the Indian outbreak caused his return to Ohio. He served in the Mexican war, and on the outbreak of the Civil war was com- missioned by Lincoln as a brigadier-general. After his death his widow, Mary Love Winters, resided in Mansfield and was one of the most gifted and beloved of the teachers in the schools here for some years. Her death took place in December, 1896, at Mount Gilead. Mrs. DeCamp's half-brother, Dr. E. B. Loud, studied dentistry in the office of Dr. DeCamp in Mansfield, and in 1861 located at Madrid, Spain. In 1862 he settled in Paris, and until his death in 1894 he was one of the best known of the men who made. Ameri- can dentistry famous in Europe. His bravery during the siege of Paris in saving the lives of priests and Germans caused Pope Pius IX to make him a Knight Chevalier of St. Gregory. The kaiser conferred upon him the Order of the Iron Cross. Napoleon III had previously constituted Dr. Loud a Knight of the Legion of Honor. After his death in Paris his remains were brought to Mount Vernon, Ohio, for burial.
Dr. Moses DeCamp began the practice of dentistry in Mansfield in 1851 and continued without interruption for a period of twenty-five years, until a few months before his death, which took place April 17, 1876. He was a thorough dentist, highly qualified in every department. At the time of his
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death he was a member of the state board of examiners in dentistry, and for many years had been the president of the State Dental Association: In both his public and private life his aims were for the best interests of his fellow men. For many years he was county president of the American Bible Society. He was an active and prominent member of the Congregational church in Mansfield and for some years one if its deacons. He was likewise of high rank in the Masonic lodge. Throughout his life he was interested in educa- tional matters; was a trustee of the Female Seminary of Mansfield and took an active part in building the college on Third street.
Dr. DeCamp's widow, Mrs. Almena Winters DeCamp, still resides in Mansfield, as also does her eldest son, Dr. Gilbert Winters DeCamp, who studied with his father and has been for some years a prominent dentist of the city. He married Miss Mary Endley, a daughter of Henry Endley, de- ceased, one of the early merchants of this city. Their children are Gilbert DeCamp, of Chicago, where he is engaged in the practice of dentistry ; Mamie, and John, of Mansfield; Charles, of Chicago; and Herbert, of Mansfield. The second son of our subject and his wife is Alphonse Lamartine DeCamp. He, too, is a dentist. For five years he practiced in Paris and is now in Chicago, where he enjoys a high reputation in the profession. The third son, Herbert C. DeCamp, married Miss Cora Stark, a daughter of James N. Stark, late of Mansfield. They reside in Chicago, where Mr. DeCamp is successfully engaged in the dry-goods commission business. The only daughter, Luella Almena, married J. H. Barr, of Mansfield, and they have two children : Louis DeCamp Barr and Bertha Luella Barr.
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