USA > Ohio > Richland County > A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio > Part 30
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January 1, 1850, he married Elizabeth Schrack, and about that time became the owner of a homestead, on which they began their married life.
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For ten years he was in the employ, in a responsible capacity, of the Chi- cago, Pittsburg & Fort Wayne Railway Company. His sterling qualities made him a power in local and county affairs, and during the trying days of the Civil war he was known as a stanch war Democrat. For four years he was the auditor of Richland county and discharged the duties of that important office with the signal ability and devotion he brought to all affairs, and during that busy period of his life his private business and farming interests were so well managed that there was no falling off in any quarter and his place was a model of cultivation and productiveness. He was an active member of Monroe Lodge, No. 221, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and he and his wife and children were members of the Evangelical Lutheran church at Pleasant Valley. He had two sons and a daughter, and Augustus Allen Douglass was his eldest child.
In his youth the subject of this sketch worked industriously on his father's farm and attended the common school near his home. His father believed in bringing out the latent powers of his children and insisted that they should be self-reliant, hew out their own paths to worldly success, and their careers have justified his judgment and fully rewarded his confidence in them. At the age of seventeen Augustus Allen Douglass, following in the footsteps of his father, was a successful teacher. He completed his English and classical course at Greentown Academy, while yet little more than a youth, but he has never ceased to be a student and has ever sought deeper and broader views of all important questions through diligent investi- gation and reflection. He was for four years the superintendent of public schools at Shiloh, Ohio, and for three years was the superintendent of the public schools of Bellville, this state. In 1880 he was elected the school examiner for Richland county, and his success in the office was recognized by repeated re-election until he had a record for ten years' faithful and efficient performance of its duties. In 1882 he secured at Columbus a life certificate authorizing him to teach at any time in any public school in Ohio without further examination. His examiners were Prof. H. L. Parker, of Berea, Ohio; President Williams, of Delaware College; and Prof. A. D. Johnson, of Avondale, Cincinnati; and his examination was continued with searching thoroughness through three whole days. After having accom- plished the prescribed course of reading under competent professional instruc- tion he was admitted to the bar of Richland county in 1884.
In 1890, at the expiration of his service as an examiner of schools, he was elected prosecuting attorney for Richland county, and in 1893 he was re-elected, running three hundred and fifty-seven votes ahead of his ticket,
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and he served six years in the office. His administration was characterized by vigor and crowned with success in the conviction of guilty criminals. He prosecuted to conviction and landed in the penitentiary for eleven years each of the members of the Oliver gang, five in all, who had had a career of robbery and torture of aged people scarcely credible, and had for a long time eluded the law. Other important cases were handled by Mr. Douglass with equal success, and it is worthy of remark that only three of his indict- ments failed during the entire six years of his incumbency of the office. In his legal practice he has respected the law and the courts and turned his back on wrong and upheld what he has believed to be the right to an extent that has given him a most creditable individuality. His brother, Hon. S. M. Douglass, is the judge of the circuit court of this district and the chief events in his successful career are set forth in a biographical article which appears in this work. As a member of the law firm of Douglass & Mengert (A. A. Douglass and L. C. Mengert) Mr. Douglass attends strictly to his increasing practice, which includes the local attorneyship of the Penn- sylvania Railway.
Like his father, Mr. Douglass is a stanch Democrat. He is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias, in which latter order he has passed all the chairs, and is an Elk, an Odd Fellow, a member of the Order of the Golden Eagle, and of the National Union, of which last mentioned society his firm are local attorneys.
In 1895 he married Miss Ida Thompson, a daughter of John Thomp- son, of Mansfield, Ohio. Her mother was a Hughes, of Perryville, Ohio, where the family is prominent. They have two children: Don Hughes Douglass, born August 10, 1897; and Ida Corinne Douglass. The family are attendants at St. Luke's Lutheran church.
GEORGE M. EWING.
George M. Ewing, who was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, October 13. 1837, is a son of Samuel and Emily (Miller) Ewing, and a representative of one of the honored families of the Keystone state. His father also was born in Allegheny county, June 20, 1810, and was one of nine children, five sons and four daughters, whose parents were Amos and Letitia (Potter) Ewing. The grandparents spent their entire lives in Alle- gheny county. None of their children are now living. The great-grand- father of our subject also bore the name of Samuel Ewing. He was of Welsh ancestry and became one of the first settlers of Allegheny county,
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where he took up his abode in the days when the Indians roamed through the forests and disputed the dominion of the land with the white men. He became the possessor of extensive landed tracts and was long known as a wealthy resident of his community.
On the farm which he cleared and developed his son, Amos E., the grandfather of our subject, was reared, and later in life he came into possession of a part of the old homestead, upon which he lived and died. The father of our subject also spent his boyhood days under the paternal roof and became familiar with the labors of the field and meadow, but desiring to follow some other pursuit he learned the trade of a wagon and carriagemaker, and engaged in business in that line during his residence in Pennsylvania. About 1834 he was united in marriage to Miss Emily Miller, who was born in Fredericksburg, Holmes county, Ohio, in 18II, a daughter of George and Anna (Galbreath) Miller. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ewing in Pennsylvania, and in the fall of 1839, with his little family, the father emigrated to Ohio, settling in Ashland county, two miles south of Hayesville, where he purchased a small farm of eighty acres, giving his attention to the cultivation of the soil. After two years, however, he removed to the town of Hayesville, where he opened a carriage and wagon shop, following his trade during the succeeding decade. He then returned to the farm and was identified with agricultural pursuits up to the time of his retirement from active business life in 1865. For thirty years thereafter he made his home in Hayesville, enjoying a well earned rest. He was a large, strong man, vigorous and energetic, was per- severing and diligent. These qualities, combined with good business train- ing, won him success in all his undertakings. At the time of his retire- ment his landed possessions aggregated two hundred acres, and he was num- bered among the substantial residents of the county. In public affairs he was prominent, giving an earnest support to all measures calculated to be of public benefit. He was long an active member of the United Presby- terian church and served for many years as one of its elders. His political support was given to the Whig party and later he became a stanch Repub- lican. He died in August, 1895, on the eighty-fifth anniversary of his birth, but his wife passed away in 1847. They were the parents of six children, of whom five are yet living, namely : Amos, a practicing physician in Green- wich, Ohio; George M .; Ann L., who is living in Bates county, Missouri ; Samuel G., a farmer of Ashland county, Ohio; and Amanda J., who resides on the old family homestead.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm
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life for our subject during the period of his boyhood and youth. The sun shone down upon many a field which he plowed and ripened the grain which he later aided in harvesting, and the common schools afforded him his educational privileges. At the age of twenty-two he began farming a por- tion of the old homestead on shares; and the year following he went to Bureau county, Illinois, where he was employed as a farmi hand by the month for one summer, returning to his home on the expiration of that period. This was in 1861, the first year of the Civil war, and two of his brothers entered the service. Amos became a member of the Thirty-second Ohio Volunteers and was wounded on Champion Hill, while Samuel was a member of the Fifty-fourth Ohio Regiment and was wounded after leaving Corinth, while going with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea. When the two brothers entered the service of the government George M. was importuned by his father to remain at home and take charge of the farm. This he did, continuing the operation of the fields until after the close of the war. A year later he and his brother, Samuel, who had returned from the south, together purchased a farm of one hundred acres joining the old homestead and cultivated their land in partnership for nine years, when, in 1875, George M. Ewing sold his interest to his brother and invested his capital in one hundred and fourteen acres of his present farm, whereon the has since resided. In the years which have come and gone he has replaced the small buildings by commodious farm structures and has made many sub- stantial improvements, adding all the modern accessories and conveniences. In addition to raising the cereals best adapted to this climate, he engaged extensively in feeding and selling stock.
On the 13th of February, 1872, Mr. Ewing wedded Miss Martha J. Reed, a native of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Adam Reed, who in early life was a blacksmith and afterward removed to Ashland county, Ohio, about 1856, and engaged in farming. Six children blessed the union, but of this number only three are now living: S. Reed, who is the proprietor of a grocery in Greenwich, Ohio; Ethel V., the wife of Fred Mead, a farmer of Ashland county ; and Nellie B., the wife of John Mead, an agriculturist of Butler township. Those who have passed away are Hortense, Eva N. and Ralph.
A careful consideration of the political questions and issues of the day has led Mr. Ewing to ally his interests with the Republican party, for he believes firmly in its principles and gives a hearty endorsement to the pres- ent administration. He served for one term as justice of the peace and for one term as assessor of the township, but he prefers to give his attention
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to his farming interests entirely, and has met with signal success. His religious views are in harmony with the faith of the United Presbyterian church, of which he is a member. He is one of the well known men of the county, for he has long resided in this portion of the state, as a worthy representative of that calling which Washington said is the most useful and honorable to which man devotes his energies.
JOHN KNOX.
Washington township has no more highly respected or worthy citizen than this well-known farmer, who has spent almost his entire life in Rich- land county. He was born on the 8th of February, 1836, on the old Knox homestead purchased by his father, John Knox, Sr., in 1820, and now owned by W. B. Knox, the brother of our subject. Their father was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood and mar- ried Miss Mary Muncie. In 1822 he came to Richland county, Ohio, and took up his residence in Washington township on the farm where our subject was born, and where he successfully engaged in farming throughout the remainder of his life. When he located here only a few acres of land had been cleared, and a rude log cabin constituted the only improvement. He was five feet, ten inches in height, and weighed one hundred and eighty pounds, was a man of strong character and firm determination, and commanded the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. In religious belief he was a United Presbyterian, and in politics was a strong Democrat. He died on the old homestead in 1866, at the age of eighty-two years. In his family were fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters, all of whom grew to manhood or womanhood.
The boyhood and youth of John Knox, Jr., were passed upon the home farm, and his early education, acquired in the common schools of the neigh- borhood, was supplemented by a course at Monroe Seminary at Hastings, Richland county, Ohio. At the age of seventeen years he began teaching school, and during the winter season followed that profession for ten terms, while the summer months were devoted to agricultural pursuits. At the age of twenty-two he moved to Morrow county, Ohio, where the following four years were passed, but at the end of that period he returned to Rich- land county and has since resided upon his present farm on section 20, Washington township. It is pleasantly located on the Mansfield and Bell- ville road, and consists of one hundred and sixty acres, of which sixty-four acres had been cleared when he located thereon. Now one hundred and
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twenty acres are under a high state of cultivation, and the place is improved with good and substantial buildings. Mr. Knox now owns two hundred acres of valuable land, and is successfully engaged in general farming and stock-raising, having for many years made a specialty of the breeding of thoroughbred Poland China hogs.
In 1858 Mr. Knox was united in marriage with Miss Mary M. Camp- bell, and to them was born a daughter, Eva P., at home. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat, and religiously is a consistent and faithful member of the Presbyterian church. His life has been one of industry, and due success has not been denied him, and his career has ever been such as to win for him the respect and esteem of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
FRANK D. WEBBER.
The value of honesty and a good name to one who would succeed in business has been demonstrated in the career of Frank D. Webber, architect, contractor and builder, Mansfield, Ohio, and also in the careers of his ances- tors in both lines of descent. Mr. Webber was born in Mansfield February 28, 1851, a son of Samuel Webber. The latter was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1818, a son of Jonathan Webber, who also was a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. Jonathan Webber's father, the great-grandfather of the immediate subject of this sketch, came from Hol- land, and one of his ancestors was once president of that country. Samuel Webber came to Mansfield first in 1836, when he was eighteen years old, but he went back to Pennsylvania and there married Miss Rachel Worthington, whose father came from England in his youth. He returned to Mansfield in 1843 and was master mechanic on the Bellefontaine & Indianapolis Rail- way, now a part of the Big Four system, which extended from Galion, Ohio, to Union City, Indiana. Later he was made master mechanic of the then newly constructed Pittsburg. Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, and was in a position to look back with complacency upon his humble employ- ment, as stage driver on the old Wooster line during his first stay in Mans- field. About 1850 he began business for himself as a contractor and builder, and was prominent in his line in Mansfield until his retirement in 1892. He built some of the most important structures in the city, and during all his active years was an enterprising and public-spirited citizen and a leader in all the important affairs of the town. He was for twelve years a member of the city council and was for four years the president of that body.
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For many years he was the superintendent of the Richland County Agri- cultural Society, and after his retirement from business served one term as a justice of the peace, and declined re-election on account of failing health. He has now reached the advanced age of eighty-two years, and though feeble of body he is strong and alert of intellect and a most genial and interesting companion, full of remininscences of earlier days. He has three sons and a daughter living in Mansfield : Samuel Webber, carpenter; Frank D. Webber; Hamilton H. Webber, the proprietor of the Mansfield book bindery ; and Elizabeth, who is Mrs. Frank Gregory. Anna (Mrs. S. Starry) died at Springfield, Ohio.
Frank D. Webber was educated in the schools of Mansfield, learned thie carpenter's trade of his father, studied architecture and for a time carried on business in connection with his father. Since 1888 he has had no part- ner. He has been one of the most successful and. popular architects in the city, and has built the county jail, the children's home, the Blecker block, the Baxter Stove works, extensive oil works, the Marion avenue, Bowman street and high school buildings, the M. B. Bushnell residence, the finest in Mansfield, and many other prominent business buildings and residences. He now carries a line of all kinds of building material. He is a Democrat in politics, but is too busy a man to take much part in public affairs. He is a member of the order of Maccabees and of the First Lutheran church, which he served nine years as a deacon and the secretary of its board of trustees, and for six years was the superintendent of its Sunday-school. He mar- ried Miss Addie Condon, a daughter of the late Elija Condon, a farmer of Madison township. They have children named Hattie, Lee, Roy, Pearl, Ruth and Paul, all of whom are members of their household. Lee and Roy assist their father in his business and the others are pupils in the public schools of Mansfield.
DAVID NELSON.
On one of the desirable farms in Richland county resides David Nelson, whose business methods, reliable dealing and progressive spirit have made him one of the leading agriculturists of his community. His home is sit- uated on section 23, Cass township, where he owns and cultivates one hun- dred and fifteen acres of land, the greater part of which is under a high state of cultivation, bringing to him a rich tribute in return for the care and labor he bestows upon it.
Mr. Nelson was born in Olivesburg, Richland county, October 8, 1842.
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His father, George Nelson, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1805. During his boyhood he came to Ohio with his parents, who took up their abode on a farm near Wooster. There were only two children in the family, George and David. The latter went to Macon, Illinois, and engaged in mer- chandising, becoming one of the leading representatives of commercial interests in that portion of the country. In early manhood George Nelson apprenticed himself to the tailor's trade in New Haven, and after complet- ing his term of service removed to Olivesburg, where he followed his trade until 1859, when he purchased the farm of eighty acres in Cass township now owned by Salathiel Bloom. Upon that place he spent his remaining days, being called to his final rest in 1870. As a companion and helpmate on life's journey he chose Mary Crabs, who was born in Weller township, Richland county, about 1810. Her father, David Crabs, was one of the early settlers of the county and would frequently relate interesting tales of his experi- ence with the Indians and the trials and hardships endured when this region was a frontier settlement. Mrs. Nelson was reared amid the wild scenes of pioneer life and was always a resident of Richland county. Her death occurred in 1853, and the father afterward again married, his second union being with Matilda Alberson, who still survives him and is now in her seventy-seventh year. By his first marriage he had eight children, six of whom are living: Elmer Y., a farmer of Madison township; David ; George T., an agriculturist of Cass township; John, who owns and cultivates land in Jackson township; Silas, a farmer of Franklin township; and Rachel, the wife of Isaac Dick, of Cass township. The children of the second mar- riage were five in number, and the following are still living: William, an enterprising agriculturist living near Shelby, Ohio; Belle, the wife of Thomas Forsyth; Butler, of Cass township; and Laura, the wife of Daniel Burn- heisiel, who lives near Shelby. Ohio.
David Nelson was only eleven years of age at the time of his mother's death, and through the succeeding three years he found a home with an uncle. At the age of fourteen he began working as a farm hand in the employ of John Urich, receiving four dollars per month in compensation for his services during the first season. He remained with Mr. Urich for four years and annually received an increased salary, a fact which indicated that he was faithful to his duties and capably performed his work. When the country became involved in civil war he upheld the cause of the Union and demonstrated his loyalty by his enlistment on the IIth of August, 1862, becoming a member of Company D, One Hundred and Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which command he served until the close of the war. He par-
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ticipated in various skirmishes and in the engagement between the armies of Hood and Thomas. He was discharged in August, 1865, returning to his home on the IIth of that month, exactly three years from the time of his enlistment. Through the four succeeding years he again worked for John Urich, and in 1869 he and his brother Elmer purchased seventy acres of land in Weller township, which they operated for two years.
In 1871 David Nelson was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Swanger, a native of Richland county, born on the farm which is now her home. She is a daughter of Peter Swanger, of Pennsylvania, who entered from the government the tract of land now owned by Mr. Nelson. He made the first clearing upon the place and transformed much of it into well cultivated fields. After his marriage Mr. Nelson rented a farm in the southwest corner of Cass township for a year and through a similar period lived upon a rented farm two miles north of his first home. In the spring of 1874, with the capital he had acquired through his exertions, he purchased a tract of sixty acres a mile south of Shiloh, residing there for eight years. In 1882 he sold that property and removed to his father-in-law's farm, which hie cul- tivated on the shares for five years, when, in 1887, he purchased the old fam- ily homestead. In 1898 he extended its boundaries by purchasing thirty-five acres of the old Mariott farm, and is now the owner of a valuable tract of one hundred and fifteen acres.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson has been blessed with ten children, nine of whom are living: Charlie D., a farmer of Blooming Grove town- ship: Roy J., who is a farmer of Weller township: Taylor A., who is engaged in the commission business in Cleveland, Ohio; and Lloyd H., Martha, Frances, Benjamin L., Wallace A. and Gladys M., all at home.
Mr. Nelson is an advocate of Republican principles, standing by the party which has ever been the protector of American rights. He maintains pleasant relationship with his old army comrades through his membership in the Grand Army post, and his record as a soldier is equaled by his record as a citizen. Whether upon the field of battle or in private life he is found true to his country, faithful to his friends and honorable in all his business relations.
JOHN CORBETT.
This honored and highly esteemed citizen of Lexington is a native of Pennsylvania, his birthplace being in Clarion county and his natal day April 28, 1830. There he passed the days of his boyhood and youth in much the
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usual manner of farmers' sons at that time, and in the common schools of that locality he obtained his education. On leaving home in 1850, he came to Columbus, Ohio, and soon afterward took up his residence in Delaware county, where he worked at the carpenter's trade until coming to Richland county in 1876 to take charge of the Ferry woolen mills, which he operated twelve years, manufacturing cashmere, blankets, satinets, flannel and stocking yarn. The following three years were spent in contracting in Bellville, and at the end of that time he removed to Lexington, where he has since worked at car- pentering. In Troy township he owns a fine farm of eighty-two acres of very valuable and productive land, which he has placed under a high state of culti- vation and improved by the erection of good and substantial buildings.
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