USA > Ohio > Richland County > A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio > Part 45
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John F. Gerhart was only two years old when brought by his parents to Richland county, and upon the farm in Troy township he grew to manhood. He assisted his father in his farming operations until the latter's removal to Bellville, when he took charge of the farm. He was educated in the com- mon schools and early acquired an excellent knowledge of every department of farm work, so that he has met with good success in his chosen occupation. His farm comprises eighty acres of well improved land.
On the 14th of October, 1858, Mr. Gerhart married Miss Elizabeth Chronister, a native of Bellville, Ohio, and they have become the parents of eight children, namely: Mary E., deceased; William F .; Andrew L., de- ceased ; Charles S., John O., Daisy B., and David W. and Rosha A., both deceased.
Religiously Mr. Gerhart is a member of the Evangelical church, and politically is identified with the Democratic party. He has always taken quite an active and prominent part in local affairs, and has been honored with several
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offices of trust and responsibility, serving first as township clerk from 1871 to 1877, later as county commissioner for two terms, and again as the clerk of Washington township to fill a vacancy, and again as township clerk for one term. For over fifteen years he has been a member of the school board, and a justice of the peace for fourteen years, the duties of which offices he has most faithfully 'and conscientiously discharged.
THOMAS DICKERSON.
This biographical sketch will be found especially interesting for the reason that, in "beginning at the beginning," it has been found necessary to go back to the days of primitive things in Ohio, when the best houses were log cabins, neighbors were few and scattered over a large territory, Indians were more plentiful than white men, and wild beasts-those now extinct terrors of the forest-were more numerous than Indians and whites together. Those were the days in Ohio's history that literally "tried men's souls."
Thomas Dickerson, a well known citizen of Cass township, Richland county, Ohio, was born near Cadiz, in Harrison county, this state, July II, 1822, a son of Thomas and Mary (Chew) Dickerson. Thomas was a son of that other Thomas who was numbered among pioneer settlers in Ohio as early as the year 1802. Thomas, the pioneer, came out from Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where Thomas the second was born, and with his family set- tled in Harrison county. There the younger Thomas grew to manhood, learning not largely from books but much from nature and more from experi- ence, and courted and married Miss Chew. They had seven children, four of whom were sons, and three of the sons are living. In October, 1822, when the immediate subject of this notice was about three months old, his father brought his family and settled in Blooming Grove township, on one hundred and sixty acres of land which Thomas Dickerson, Jr., had acquired from the government by legal entry in 1818. He erected a log cabin,-a primitive affair,-one-storied and with one floorless room. A blacksmith by trade, he had a primitive shop on his farm, and it is related of him that he was such an indefatigable worker that he kept his anvil ringing or was fol- lowing the plow from daybreak until long after dark. He was the only worker in iron in that part of the county and he was patronized not only by the settlers round about but also by the Indians, who often called upon him to repair their hatchets and metal tomahawks, their knives and other weapons and utensils. This pioneer artisan-farmer died at the age of fifty-
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five years,-perhaps not worn out by hard work, but probably years before death could have claimed him had he taken life easier.
As a boy Thomas Dickerson, the third of the name in direct line, helped his father in the work of the farm and the blacksmith shop. All his school- ing was obtained in a log schoolhouse two miles from his home. This simple educational edifice had slab benches and was otherwise primitive and inconvenient, but it represented the beginning of the development of Ohio's present splendid educational system, and though the work it did was limited it paved the way for larger and better things. Young Dickerson was his father's assistant until the latter's death, and after that event he remained on the home farm until he was twenty-six years old. He then bought a farm of sixty-eight acres in Cass township, on which there was a log house and some small improvements, including a four-acre clearing. After some years' residence there he moved to a farm in Franklin township, where he lived one year, and then he acquired the interest of all other heirs in his father's old home farm and again took up his residence upon it and remained there until 1897, when he removed to Shiloh. His. farm consists of one hundred acres, well improved and productive.
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November 30, 1843, Mr. Dickerson married Miss Susan Miller, and she has borne him nine children, named as follows in the sequence of their nativity : William C. (dead), born March 25, 1845; Manuel W., born May 22, 1847; Angeline N., born January 13, 1849, now deceased; George O .. , born August 23, 1852; Ambrose H., born October 14, 1854; Irene B., born May 26, 1857, now deceased ; Mary E., born June 17, 1859; Elmer E., born August 22, 1861, now deceased ; and Amon G., born March 27, 1866.
A Republican in political creed, Mr. Dickerson has always wielded a considerable influence upon the affairs of his township, which he served officially for some years as a trustee. He has been for forty years an active and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His solicitude for the public welfare has been such as to distinguish him as a public-spirited citizen, and he has done as much as any man in his township to improve the schools, the highways and the general administration of public affairs.
JAMES F. BOALS.
James Francis Boals, formerly the sheriff of Richland county, is descended from two of the pioneer settlers of the county. His grandfather, James Boals, an Irishman by birth, came to this country in early life, and was one of the primitive settlers of Weller township, this county, where he
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entered a tract of government land and developed the same into a farm. On this farm, in 1830, his son John was born. John Boals grew up here and for a number of years made this place his home, taking an active part in local affairs and being recognized as one of the leading spirits of the community. He married Miss Eliza Ashton, also a native of Weller town- ship. Her parents were Francis and Elizabeth Ashton, the former an Eng- lishman, who, on coming to this country, at once located in Weller town- ship. He entered the land now known as the A. L. Martin farm. Subse- quently he moved to Hardin county and thence to Allen county, Ohio, and during his active, useful life he accumulated a fortune, most of it, however, in Allen county. At his death his estate was valued at two hundred thou- sand dollars. John Boals and his wife reared six sons and four daughters. One of the latter, Esther, is the wife of William G. Hughes, and resides in Weller township, she and the subject of this sketch being the only members of the family now living in Richland county. The parents and other chil- dren are residents of Hardin county.
James F. Boals was born July 30, 1854, in the same house, in Weller township, in which his father was ushered into life. Reared on the farm, and early giving his assistance to its various kinds of work, he developed a rugged constitution and a fine physique. He remained at home until he was twenty-two years of age, when, in 1877, he married and started out in life on his own account. His first business venture was with a sawmill and threshing machine, which he operated for some years in Weller and Frank- lin townships, and with which he was successful, running the Aultman- Taylor machinery. Selling out in 1884, he went to work for the Aultman- Taylor Machinery Company, with which he was connected from that time until 1896, as a traveling representative. His travels covered all parts of the United States and numerous foreign lands, including England, Holland, Germany, Turkey, Roumania, Egypt, South America and Mexico. On one occasion he was shipwrecked. That was in 1887, in the North sea. He had sailed from Amsterdam at noon on Sunday, for South America, and at 2 A. M. the next morning the vessel collided with another vessel, both sink- ing shortly afterward. Passengers and crew, numbering in all six hundred and two people, were saved in life boats and were picked up at 4 P. M. on Monday by a vessel bound for Hamburg. A keen observer with a just appre- ciation of the variety and novelty of travel abroad, Mr. Boals has a fund of information that is seemingly inexhaustible, and he has a pleasing way of recit- ing the incidents which occurred on his various trips. A description of his travels would make a volume of much interest and no small proportions.
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In November, 1896, Mr. Boals was elected sheriff of Richland county, and in performing the duties of this office gave such general satisfaction that in 1898 he was elected for a second term, without any opposition whatever. His term of office expiring January 1, 1900, he became connected with the Twentieth Century Manufacturing Company, of Mansfield, with which he is at present identified. He is a member of the board of directors of the Mansfield, Savannah & Wellington Electric Railway Company.
Mr. Boals was married March 29, 1877, to Miss Eunice Cline, a daugh- ter of Louis Cline, one of the pioneers of Weller township. They have no children.
Of a genial social nature, Mr. Boals has identified himself with fraternal organizations. For fifteen years he has been an Odd Fellow, having advanced through the various I. O. O. F. degrees, and both he and his wife are men- bers of the Rebekah-degree Lodge. From his boyhood he has been a lover of fine horses, and has seldom, if ever, been without one or more; at this writing he has seven. He is a member of the Mansfield Driving Association, which has two race meetings each year, and he is now serving his third term as the president of the association. Also at this writing he is serving as a member of the Mansfield city council, to which office he was elected in April, .1900.
GEORGE M. SKILES.
George M. Skiles, of Shelby, was born in Stoughstown, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of February, 1852, and was a child of two years when brought to Richland county by his parents, John G. and Sarah J. (Martin) Skiles. He was the third in order of birth in their family of seven children, the others being Mary Caroline, William Woodburn, John Clark, Jennie, Valletta and Burgetta. His parents were of Scotch-Irish extraction. His father was a farmer by occupation and to farm labor George M. Skiles and his brothers were reared. In the public schools he acquired an education which fitted him for teaching, and with the money he obtained in that way he was enabled to defray the expenses of a collegiate course. In order to pursue a more advanced education he entered Baldwin University, at Berea, Ohio, where he was ultimately graduated. The manner in which he obtained his education indicated the elemental strength of his character and gave promise of a successful future, for through the winter months he con- tinued teaching and during the remainder of the year was a student in college. In 1876 both he and his brother William were graduated in Berea University, and almost immediately afterward they began the study of law in the office
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of Matson & Dirlam, of Mansfield. In the fall of 1878 they were admitted to the bar, and in the same year opened a law office in Shelby, when the city was an unpretentious town, its population not exceeding fifteen hundred. Under the firm name of Skiles & Skiles the brothers entered upon what has been a very successful professional career. As the years passed and their reputation grew they became known as leading lawyers of Ohio. Besides conducting a general practice they have made a specialty of railroad litigation, and by means of their ability many a man who has been injured through the railroad has been compensated. Both brothers possess marked ability, arising from thorough preparation and close and discriminating study in subsequent years. They prepare their cases with great care and precision and are thus well equipped for forensic combat. They have ever been closely associated in their professional labors and are self-made men whose advancement is due in no measure to the aid or influence of wealth or friends, but has resulted from personal worth and their skill in handling intricate problems of juris- prudence.
The brothers have also been closely associated in the advancement of many business concerns, which have contributed not only to their prosperity but also to the welfare of the city along many lines. They are stockholders in the Citizens' Bank, the Shelby Electric Company, the Shelby Water Com- pany, the Ball-Bearing Umbrella Company, the Shelby Stove & Foundry Company, the Shelby Steel Tube Company and other organizations whose success are due in no small degree to their wise counsel.
In 1877 George M. Skiles was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Clark, and their union has been blessed by the following children: Roscoe, Blanche G., Grace A. and Glen G. Mrs. Skiles is a daughter of Samuel A. Clark and a granddaughter of Calvin Clark, a pioneer of Richland county. In politics Mr. Skiles is a stanch Republican and fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and prominent in its circles, having for seven years been a member of the grand tribunal of the order in the state of Ohio.
SOLOMON EVARTS.
Solomon Evarts, who follows farming in Sandusky township, was born in Jefferson township, Richland county, April 19, 1829. and thus for more than three-score years and ten he has been a witness of the progress and de- velopment of this section of the state. His father. G. C. Evarts, was born in Vermont, in 1813, and was reared in Canada. The grandfather, Timothy Evarts, came to Ohio about 1817 and died on his farm south of Bellville, about
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1846, at a very advanced age. He married Hannah Bigelow and they had a large number of sons and two daughters.
G. C. Evarts was the second eldest of the seven sons, all of whom were married and had children. His brother Reuben had twelve chil- dren, ten of whom reached mature years, and the father of our sub- ject also had twelve children, ten of whom grew up to manhood or womanhood. His wife bore the maiden name of Catherine Walters and was born in Jefferson county, Ohio. They were married in Jefferson town- ship. Richland county, about 1827, the bride being fifteen years of age .. Their eldest child, Mary Ann, is now Mrs. Paxton, a widow, of Robinson, Kan- sas ; Solomon is the next younger ; Susan, the wife of Thomas Bull, had five children and died in 1899, at the age of sixty-eight years; Mrs. Sarah Beal had two children and died at Bellville, May 2, 1867: Gilbert, who engaged in railroading, died in Fort Wayne, Indiana, leaving three sons and two daughters ; George, of Murphysboro, Illinois, has four sons and three daugh- ters; Mrs. Rebecca Reed died in Crestline, Crawford county, Ohio, leaving four children; Mrs. Lucy Baer is living in Robinson, Kansas, and has four daughters and two sons; Matilda is the wife of H. Hiskey, of Kansas, and has two sons ; and Harriet, the wife of James Stough, Bucyrus, this state, has one son and one daughter grown up. One child, Reuben, died in infancy and a daughter also died in early life. The father's death occurred in Robinson, Kansas, March 12, 1886, when he was eighty-two years of age.
Solomon Evarts was reared to farm life. He began following the plow when only nine years of age and when it got fast in the furrow he had to hitch the team to the rear of the plow to pull it loose. His educational priv- ileges were limited, for his services were needed on the home farm and he remained upon that place, comprising one hundred and ninety-two acres, until he was twenty-five years of age. He was then married, on the 6th of Octo- ber, 1853, to Lucy Ellen Coile, a daughter of David Coile, of the Shenan- doah Valley, in Virginia. He was born April 25, 1811, and came to Ohio in 1830, following farming in Morrow county. He married Amanda Osborne, of Knox county, Ohio, and to them were born nine children, of whom four sons and four daughters are yet living. The mother was born in 1819 and died March 12, 1888, and the father, whose birth occurred in 1811, was called to his final rest on the 10th of June, 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Evarts have but two children: Amanda Melvina, who was born October 14, 1854, and is the wife of E. A. Ashbaugh; and John M., who was born August 10, 1857. He wedded Sarah Harris, of Springfield township, Richland county, and
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they have a daughter, who is now living in Baileyville, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Evarts have one great-grandson, Eugene A. Morehead.
For thirteen years Mr. Evarts rented land in Springfield township and in 1882 took up his abode on his present farm of eighty acres in Sandusky town- ship. He also owns another tract of twenty-seven acres near by, and has timber upon both of these. He carries on general farming, raising crops and stock, making a specialty of horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and, though living in a Democratic stronghold, he has served as road supervisor and school director. He and his wife hold member- ship in the Methodist church in Blooming Grove. He is a man of .even temper and genial disposition, possessing many admirable qualities that have gained him warm friendship.
EDWIN MANSFIELD.
Edwin Mansfield, a prominent attorney of Shelby, Ohio, was born June 9, 1861, and is a son of Martin H. and Anna ( Saeger) Mansfield, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of the state of Pennsylvania. They removed to Ashland county, Ohio, about 1842, where Mr. Mansfield was engaged in the manufacture of clover hullers. He was a member of a family of six sons and four daughters, the sons being Martin H., Cloyd, Henry and Newton, all of whom are living, and two others that died in infancy. The daughters were Mary E., who remains single; Belle, the wife of S. G. Weist: Portia, who died in 1888, at the age of twenty-two; and Myra E., the wife of E. R. Swett. The father of our subject died in 1880, at the age of fifty-eight, and the mother in 1899. at the age of seventy-four, her death occurring at Ashland, Ohio.
The school life of the subject of this sketch was passed in the Ashland public schools and at Ashland College, and afterward for some time he was in railroad service at Zanesville, Ohio, for the Zanesville & Southeastern Railroad Company, returning to Ashland in the latter part of the year 1881. Remaining there until 1882, he then removed to Shelby, Ohio, where he became the night clerk in the Junction hotel. While serving in this capacity he began the study of the law with Skiles & Skiles, and after two years thus spent was admitted to the bar in 1886. After practicing alone until 1891 he then formed a copartnership with B. F. Long, whose biographical sketch ap- pears on another page in this work, the firm having made a specialty of municipal law.
Mr. Mansfield was married in October, 1891, to Mrs. Ada E. (Davis)
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Low, and by her has one daughter, born March 23, 1897. Mr. Mansfield was elected the mayor of Shelby in 1886, and for four years has been a mem- ber of the board of examiners of the city schools of which he is now president. For the past nine years he has been the city attorney of Shelby, in which capacity he is still serving. He is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, and also of the Maccabees and National Union. While his father was a member of the Lutheran church, Mr. Mansfield attends the Presbyterian church. Henry Davis, the father of Mrs. Mansfield, died June 17, 1896, and Homer Davis, a brother, died June 10, 1892. Henry Davis was for many years one of the most prominent and successful business men of Shelby, and is well and favorably remembered by many of the citizens of the present day.
CLARK B. HINES.
Among the prominent representatives of professional life of Bellville is Clark B. Hines, a leading attorney. He was born February 6, 1860, in the house in which he yet resides, his parents being Benjamin F. and Mary J. (Armstrong) Hines. He represents an old southern family, his grandfather, Phillip Hines, having been born in Maryland, whence he came to Ohio at an early day, settling near Palmyra on the Fredericktown road. He was a farmer by occupation and died at an advanced age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lydia Root, also belonged to a prominent family living near Hagerstown, Maryland. Their son, Benjamin F. Hines, was born in Rich- land county, September 26, 1829, on his father's farm three miles south of the present home of his son Clark, and died in Bellville, March 23, 1893. Having arrived at years of maturity he married Mary J. Armstrong, who was born in this county, four miles south of Bellville on the old state road. and is still living, her home being in this city with her son Clark. She is a daughter of Isaac Armstrong, who removed from Maryland to the Buckeye state and became identified with agricultural pursuits in Richland county. In 1850 Benjamin F. Hines removed to Bellville, where he engaged in the manu- facture of boots and shoes until 1881, when he retired to private life. He was very successful in his business undertakings and deserved great credit for his prosperity, for it was due entirely to his own labors. In addition to his store he owned valuable farming lands. In politics he was an active Demo- crat and held various township and municipal offices, while fraternally he was connected with Bellville Lodge, No. 376, F. & A. M., and the I. O. O. F. lodge of Bellville, No. 306. In the family were two sons and one daughter, but Clark B. is the only one living, the others dying in childhood.
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Amid the refining influences of a good home Clark B. Hines was reared and in the public schools he acquired his education. He early became familiar with the work of his father's shoe shop and when only ten years of age made a pair of shoes. He worked in the shop at various intervals, his labors there being alternated with pursuance of his studies. His preliminary studies were supplemented by a course in the high school at Mansfield and subsequently at a college in Cleveland, Ohio. The following years he succeeded his father as the proprietor of the boot and shoe store in Bellville and managed that enter- prise with good success until 1899, when he sold out.
In the meantime he took up the study of law, beginning his reading in 1885. As opportunity offered he devoted his time to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence under the direction of Hon. C. E. McBride, of Mansfield, and in March, 1897, was admitted to the Ohio bar. He has elegantly furnished offices in Bellville and a good law library, and has a large practice in Richland, Morrow and Knox counties, and is a member of the federal bar. He is a member of the county, the state, the American and International Law Associations. He carefully prepares his cases and pro- tects every point of attack. He is keen to note the salient features in a suit, and, while neglecting not the slightest details, gives due prominence to the important points upon which the case finally turns. From his father he inherited three good farms in Richland county and he personally superintends his property interests. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat, and from 1890 until 1894 he served as the mayor of Bellville, discharging his duties in a very capable manner, his administration being practical and busi- ness-like and proving of marked benefit to the city.
MICHAEL CRUM.
Michael Crum was born in Adams county, Tennessee, in 1832, a son of Moses and Margaret (Rex) Crum. In their family were four sons and two daughters,-three sons still living. The sons have always followed farming, which was the life work of the father, who removed to Sharon township with his family in 1840. The year previously the father walked the entire distance to see the country where he intended to settle, and on return- ing hitched his four horses to the wagon and with his family and household goods started for the then new country. Both he and his wife have passed away.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Mr. Crum in his youth. He assisted in the labors of the field and gar-
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