USA > Ohio > Richland County > A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio > Part 56
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attention as any criminal case in the history of the county. Mr. Stevenson's remarkable memory was tested in this trial, when he summed up the case for the state in a speech of four hours, without a single note to aid him. In fact he never relies upon notes, his retentive memory serving him in their place.
On the 8th of January, 1883, Mr. Stevenson, in a speech at the Demo- cratic banquet at Wooster, sounded the Democratic keynote against the civil service bill then pending in congress, resulting in the retirement of the Hon. George H. Pendleton and the election of the Hon. Henry B. Payne to the United States senate. In 1883 Mr. Stevenson was elected to the Ohio legis- lature and served two years. The bill providing for the founding of the Ohio Reformatory was formulated in his committee. He was selected to present the claims of the new institution to the house and senate in joint session. His speech was over one hour in duration, and attracted the at- tention of the entire state. Through his influence the reformatory was located at Mansfield.
In 1897 Mr. Stevenson was married to Miss Sade Weaver, one of Bell- ville's most estimable young ladies.
For three years after Mr. Stevenson's marriage he resided in Bellville, and two years of that time he was the mayor of that village.
As Mr. Stevenson's law practice increased, requiring so much of his time at the county seat, he returned to Mansfield, where he is now in the enjoy- ment of a lucrative practice.
Mr. Stevenson is a large man, of fine physique and appearance. He is a born orator and has made some of the most eloquent pleas ever delivered at the Mansfield bar. Some amusing incidents may also be noted, showing the versatility and spontaneity of which he is capable. Years ago, in de- fending a man for burglary and larceny, and the evidence being against his client, Andy had to rely upon oratory, and made an eloquent plea to the jury. He grew more than usually eloquent, and spoke feelingly of the great wrong the jury would do by giving a verdict that would place the stripes of the convict and the brand of the felon upon the prisoner at the bar. "There he sits," said Stevenson, turning and pointing to the seat where the prisoner had sat, but, lo! the chair was empty-the prisoner was gone-had changed his seat. Stevenson looked around, but could not see him. This might have caused the average attorney to collapse, but Stevenson was equal to the situa- tion, and holding up his hands as in imploration he apostrophized the winds to tell him where his client had gone, and the light to reveal to him his hid- ing place. And, as calling upon the prisoner to come back, Mr. Stevenson
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exclaimed, "Take courage, O fainting heart, and come back and give this jury the opportunity to strike from your brow the shadow stains of wrong." The effect of this invocation and stage acting was so electrical that it not only brought back the prisoner but also obtained for him a verdict of acquittal ! .
The other occasion was when a suit was being tried that grew out of an act of John Fry, of Lexington, putting the hired girl's beau out of the house. Judge Brinkerhoff, who was just then off the supreme bench, and Stevenson were opposing counsels. In stating the case to the jury at the opening of the trial the judge occupied more time than Andy thought was necessary, and to get even concluded to make even a more lengthy reply. Stevenson's speech was in a serio-facetious style, felicitously worded and dramatically delivered and never had its equal before a jury. All present were highly amused and interested in the adroit style in which Andy blended the comic with the pathetic and the humorous with the sublime, capped off with a grandiloquent peroration. John C. Burns was so much pleased with the speech that he stereotyped it on his memory, and at times entertains his friends by giving sections of it as recitations.
Men are but grown boys of older years, and although the bitter bread and water of affliction and sorrow may have been the sustenance of some of us, it is well to look back at times and live over again the amusing incidents of other years.
MRS. ELIZABETH BAUGHMAN.
Mrs. Elizabeth C. Baughman, a daughter of Captain James and Hannah (Stateler) Cunningham, was born near the Black Hand, Licking county, Ohio, March 5, 1805. Her father, Captain James Cunningham, was well known to early settlers of Licking, Knox and Richland counties. The mother of Mrs. Baughman died when Elizabeth was only six months old, and her grandparents on her mother's side took the little child to raise.
Captain Cunningham, marrying the second time, removed to Richland county in 1809, and settled near Beam's Mills, on the Rocky Fork, two miles below Mansfield. In the winter of 1819-20 he returned to Licking county for his daughter, whom he brought to his new home in this county. The trip was made in a sled and took two days. The family lived at that time near the St. John's church, in the Darling valley, below Newville. The change from the home of her wealthy grandparents to a cabin in the Rich- land wilderness could not have been a pleasant one, but the daughter, with filial devotion, obeyed her father's command without a murmur.
L.B.FOLGER.2C.CIN.
ELIZABETH BAUGHMAN.
イ
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September 27, 1825, Elizabeth Cunningham was married to Jacob Baughman. Four daughters and one son in time blessed their home. Jacob Baughman died March 19, 1855, and Mrs. Baughman remained a widow from that time until her death, November 23, 1894,-nearly forty years. Mrs. Baughman's son, Abraham J., and her youngest daughter, S. Elizabeth, remain single and always lived with their mother, and the Baugliman home was always known as one of hospitality.
After her husband's death, Mrs. Baughman removed from Monroe township to Bellville, and when her son established himself in Mansfield a family home was secured, and here she resided for thirty years,-until her death.
Mrs. Baughman's grandfather-John Cunningham-served through the war of the Revolution; her father-James Cunningham-was a captain in the war of 1812, and her son-A. J. Baughman-was a soldier in the war. of the Rebellion.
We copy the following article from the Cincinnati Christian Standard,. relative to Mrs. Baughman's life and death :
"Died, at her home in Mansfield on Friday, November 23. 1894, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Baughman, in her ninetieth year. She was born at Black Hand, Licking county, March 5, 1805. She came with her father to Richland county in 1819, and was one of the pioneer women of the county. She saw it when a wilderness, when the Indian was a frequent visitor at her door. She saw the forests disappear before the sturdy blows of the wood- man's ax, and in their stead towns and villages spring up. As Miss Eliza- beth Cunningham, she married Jacob Baughman, September 27, 1825. He died March 25, 1855, leaving her a widow with five children,-four daugh- ters and one son. Two daughters have preceded her to the Father's house. She remained a widow nearly forty years, and devoted her life to the training and comfort of her children, all of whom early gave themselves to the Lord and who have ever shown their high appreciation of their mother's Christian worth. Over sixty years ago she embraced the Christian religion. She was baptized by Elder Newmyer, near Newville, and the remembrances of that occasion have been most precious to her. When the congregation feelingly sang,
'Come, humble sinner, in whose breast A thousand thoughts revolve ; Come with your guilt and fears oppressed And make this last resolve,'
she arose and went, and as they descended the banks of the beautiful stream for the typical burial they sang,
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'How happy are they who their Saviour obey ;'
and as they came up out of the water her ear caught the strain, 'Now, my remnant of days shall be spent to his praise,' when she exclaimed, 'By the help of the Lord they shall be so spent.' And through all these sixty years she has never wavered nor doubted. Her pastors have received as much spiritual comfort from her as they have been able to impart to her. While her son, A. J. Baughman, and her daughter, S. Elizabeth, filled positions at Washington, D. C., during the first administration of Grover Cleveland, Mrs. Baughman was with them, and while a resident of the Capital City she worshipped with the Vermont Avenue Christian church. By her simplicity of manner and beautiful Christian spirit she won her way to all. hearts; and since her return to Mansfield every year, on the anniversary of her birth, she has received a congratulatory letter from Brother Power, which she es- teemed most highly. The next mutual congratulations will be on the other shore. Her death was peaceful and sublime. The day before, the writer, with the family and friends present, partook with her of the emblems of the Lord's body and shed blood. Shortly after this she repeated the well-known stanza :
'Jesus can make the dying bed Feel soft as downy pillows are; As on his breast I lean my head And breathe my life out sweetly there.'
When the farewell moment came, her son and daughter kneeling by her side, each with a hand clasped, she opened her eyes and looked into theirs with a supernal light. Her radiant orbs flashed forth the intelligence, 'The Lord is with me.' And thus gloriously and triumphantly passed away an- other faithful servant of the Lord."
SAMUEL R. GORHAM.
When a man's purpose has taken definite form and his energies are concentrated on the prosecution of a career which he has marked out, he cannot fail to win a gratifying degree of success. Prosperity results not from favorable conditions or from influence, but must depend upon the man, and certain qualities always bring desired results. Depending upon his own efforts Samuel Gorham has steadily worked his way upward financially and is classified among the substantial citizens of his community.
Mr. Gorham was born in Perrysville, Ashland county, April 7, 1852, his parents being Hezekiah and Charity (Turner) Gorham, of whose family of
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twelve children six are yet living. The father was born at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, September 22, 1807, and in early life went to sea, where he rose from one position to another until he became the captain of a vessel. Some years after his marriage his wife, who did not like her husband's occu- pation, for it kept him so much away from home, removed with the famliy to Ohio, and some months later he left the sea and joined her in Perryville. He was a mason by trade and here he resumed work at his old occupation. At the time of the discovery of gold in California he made his way across the plains to the Pacific slope in 1849, and there, like many others, he acquired considerable money, but lost it through speculation. After two years passed in the Golden state he returned to Ohio and again worked at his trade until his death, which occurred May 18, 1874. He held membership in the Baptist church and exercised his right of franchise in support of the men and meas- ures of the Republican party. His wife was born in Waitsfield, Vermont, November 18, 1811, and was a sister of Gilbert Turner, the noted author, and the aunt of Roswell Horr, who is considered authority on financial matters. She died June 15, 1887. Their surviving children are John G., who is with the house of Aultman-Taylor, of Mansfield, Ohio; William H. H., who is in the real-estate business in Cleveland; Eliza, the wife of William Strimple, a farmer of Richland county; Elizabeth, the wife of Aaron Smith, an agri- culturist of Monroe township; James, a railroad man, of Cleveland, Ohio; and Samuel R., a farmer of Monroe township.
The last named spent his boyhood days in his father's home and in the common schools acquired his preliminary education, which was supple- mented by study in the Perrysville Academy. His close application and his natural aptitude prepared him for a teacher's profession and at the age of twenty-one he entered the schoolroom as a teacher. For eighteen years he was numbered among the successful educators in the common schools in this part of the state, having the ability to impart clearly to others the knowl- edge he had acquired. He was also capable of maintaining discipline, which was an important factor in his successful career. For several years he also taught vocal and instrumental music and to a limited extent still gives instruc- tion in that art. About 1889, however, he purchased his present farm and began the operation of his land, placing the fields under a high state of cultivation and making many excellent improvements. Everything about the place is neat and thrifty in its appearance and the buildings and fences are kept in good repair, the owner thus being classed among the leading farmers of his community. In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Gorham and Miss Clara B. Shanabarger, native of Richland county and a daughter of
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Emanuel Shanabarger, now deceased. Their marriage has been blessed with one son, Ira G., who is now a student in the State University at Columbus, where he is preparing for the bar. Socially Mr. Gorham is connected with the Royal Arcanum Lodge at Perrysville, of which he is the secretary. He also belongs to Hanover Lodge, F. & A. M., of Loudonville, Ohio, and is a faithful member of the Baptist church. He is a Republican and keeps well informed on the issues of the day, as every true American citizen should do. Public-spirited and progressive, he withholds his support from no measure that is calculated to prove of general good and has been particularly active in promoting the educational interests of this section of the state, realizing fully the importance and value of an education as a preparation for life's work.
DR. DAVID R. FRANCIS.
Dr. David Raitt Francis was born in Mifflin township, Richland county, Ohio, March 21, 1837, and his boyhood days were passed upon his father's farm, within sight of the Big Hill. He early took an interest in education and educational work. He read medicine with Dr. Loughridge as his preceptor, and later graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city in 1866, He practiced medicine for several years at Paxton, Illinois, and at Savanna and Shiloh, this state, and finally located in Mansfield, where he has continued to reside. He has a large practice and for a number of years was the physician to the county infirmary, Children's Home and the outside poor.
Dr. Francis married, September 16, 1863, Miss Mary Jane Wallace, of Ashland county. She was born August 8, 1839, in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. Dr. and Mrs. Francis are members of the Presbyterian church and are both pleasant socially. They have no children.
In the preparation of this sketch the writer knows that Dr. Francis would prefer a more extended notice of his grandparents, David and Lillis· Angus Raitt, than he would of himself, as they were prominent Richland county pioneers. They came from Dundee, Scotland, to America, and after stopping a while in Virginia and Belmont county, this state, they came to Richland county in a one-horse cart in 1818, and entered land south of the Big Hill in what is now the northwest corner of Mifflin township.
To show how difficult it was to get money at that time, it is stated that farmers hauled wheat from the Hill and even from greater distances, to the Stewart (now Wickert's) mills, four miles south of Mansfield and sold it for twenty-five cents a bushel and were glad to get even that low price, cash.
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Mr. Raitt, who was a weaver, had to take trade largely for his work: and how to raise fifteen dollars, the annual payment on their land, was for a time a perplexing question in that household. Finally Mrs. Raitt solved the problem and saved the homestead for her family. Mrs. Raitt was fairly educated, and entered upon the practice of tocology and at fifty cents a case had the fifteen dollars to meet the payment when it was due. Her fame in this line of practice spread abroad and as doctors were "scarce and far between" it was no unusual thing for her to receive calls taking her from ten to fifteen miles from home. People rode on horseback in those days as vehicles were few and the roads were mostly but paths cut through the wilderness and streams had to be forded. She had frequently to ride skittish and fractious horses ; was often thrown and several times had bones broken ; but her indomit- able will and energy caused her to persevere, impelled by the love she had for her family and her desire to provide for their comfort and education.
Mr. and Mrs. Raitt died in 1855, within six months of each other, the latter at eighty-two and the former a few years older. They had lived thirty- seven years within a mile of the Hill and now their remains repose in the Bosdock cemetery.
Dr. D. R. Francis' parents, John and Nancy Willison (Raitt) Francis, were married by Rev. James Johnson, April, 1835. John Francis was a farmer and was many years a ruling elder in the United Presbyterian church. His wife was a kind, thoughtful, pious woman and a devoted wife and mother.
SAMUEL SHEETS.
Samuel Sheets has passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey and receives the respect which should ever be accorded to one of advanced years whose life has been straightforward and whose actions have been manly and sincere. There is much in the career of Samuel Sheets that is worthy of emulation, and as one of the leading and influential residents of Monroe township he well deserves mention in this volume.
A native of Ashland county, Ohio, he was born on the 16th of May, 1827, and is one of the seven children of Joseph and Nancy ( Harker) Sheets. The father was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1790, and in early life learned the tailor's trade. On leaving the place of his nativity he removed to western Virginia and thence came to Ohio, locating in what is now Ashland county, but was then a part of Richland, county. Here he pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres of land, on which the town of South
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Ashland has since been built. He erected the third residence in Ashland county and was one of the honored pioneer settlers who aided in laying broad and deep the foundation of the present prosperity and progress of this section of the state. He purchased the land for a dollar per acre and sold it for two hundred dollars. Upon the farm which he developed and improved he spent his remaining days and acquired a handsome competence through the conduct of his business affairs. He voted with the Republican party, believing that its principles contained the best elements of good government and that their adoption would greatly promote the welfare of the nation. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, took an active part in its work and in that faith died in 1866. Four of his seven children are yet living, namely : William, a farmer of Ashland county; Martha, the widow of S. S. Southerland, of Ashland county; Sarah, the wife of Michael Mc- Laughlin, of California; and Samuel.
The last named spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of farmer lads, being early trained to habits of industry and economy and to the work of the fields. The common schools afforded him his educational privileges, and at the age of nineteen he joined the Argonauts who started for California in search of the golden fleece. The journey was made overland, and for two years he remained upon the Pacific slope, returning by way of the isthmus route.
In 1852 Mr. Sheets was united in marriage to Miss Martha E. Mc- Creedy, a native of Ashland county and a daughter of John and Sarah Mc- Creedy. He then purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land a mile and a half northwest of Hayesville and devoted his time to farming there until 1864, when he became the owner of the Royer farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Mifflin township. Upon that place he resided for fourteen years, when he disposed of the property and removed to Cleveland, where he was engaged in the flour and feed business for about five years. He was successful in that undertaking and established a good trade, but his health failed him and he turned over the business to his sons, while he again sought a home in Richland county, purchasing a small farm of forty-five acres, upon which he now resides. He is practically living retired, enjoy- ing a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves.
Mr. and Mrs. Sheets became the parents of four children: John, at home; Loren, who is in the flour and feed business in Cleveland: Elza. a farmer of Monroe township; and James, who is associated with his brother in Cleveland. Mr. Sheets is an advocate of Republican principles, having voted with that party since its organization. He belongs to the Presbyterian church
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and his life has been guided by his Christian belief. He is one of the well known men of the county, respected for his sterling qualities, and he deserves great credit for his success in life, as it is the result of his own efforts. His enterprise, strong determination and careful management have been the means of enabling him to overcome obstacles, and he has worked his way upward until he is now numbered among the substantial citizens of his community.
BENJAMIN BERRY.
The value of character is exemplified in every walk of life, no less fre- quently in the career of the farmer in a rural community than in that of the financier or professional man who makes his mark in the city. Nowhere is sterling character more markedly in evidence or in a broader sense a legacy of the people than in the busy and important farming communities of the middle west. There the sturdy character of the American farmer is as highly developed as anywhere else in the United States. One of the best known representatives of this brand of Americanism in Richland county, Ohio, is the prominent and prosperous citizen whose name supplies a title to this sketch.
Benjamin Berry was born near Canton, Ohio, July 6, 1827, a son of Jacob and Mary (Albright) Berry. Jacob Berry was a native of Lan- caster county, Pennsylvania, and was born March 26, 1800. He removed to Canton, Ohio, in his early manhood, and there married Mary Albright, who had come from Stark county, Ohio. In 1830 he settled in Monroe township, Richland county, on the farm now owned by his son Eli, then an "eighty" of wild and heavily wooded land, on which he erected a two-room hewn-log house, which he improved and on which he lived out the remainder of his days, which ended June 5. 1886, when he was a little more than eighty-six years old. His wife died at the age of eighty-six also, in 1884. They were faithful and helpful members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Berry was an influential citizen who was prominent in public affairs and held several important local offices. They had nine children, of whom three sons are living : Benjamin. the immediate subject of this sketch; and Adam and Eli, twins. Another brother, Samuel, served his country as a federal soldier in the Civil war and died in a hospital as the result of disability incurred in active service.
Benjamin Berry was three years old when he was brought by his par- ents to Monroe township, Richland county, Ohio. His boyhood and youth were spent in attending the public schools near his home and assisting his
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father in the work of the farm. He remained under the parental roof until his marriage to Louisa Smith, of Worthington township, when he moved on the farm in Monroe township, which has been his home for forty- six years .. The worthy woman mentioned died June 18, 1886, after having borne him nine children-Allen B., Emeline C., Frances M., Laura M., Charles O., Mary E., Edward T, and two others who died in infancy. December 24, 1889, Mr. Berry married Lovina Ferguson, who shares with him the honors of his declining years.
Mr. Berry owns a home farm of one hundred and twenty-one acres and a fifteen-acre place in Worthington township, and carries on general farming by modern methods and on a good scale. He is influential in township mat- ters and has held the office of school director and has been township trustee two terms. He is a member and trustee and has been a deacon and elder of the Lutheran church.
ELAM A. PLANK:
Since 1873 Mr. Plank has been engaged in the milling business at his old location in Worthington township, Richland county, and is now a mem- ber of the firm of Plank & Neal. They own the Clear Fork Roller Mills, the largest water-power mill in the county, and the success of this industry is assured by the practical and honorable business methods of the owners.
Mr. Plank is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred near Wooster, in Wayne county, on the Ist of November, 1841. The ancestry of the fam- ily can be traced back to Melchior Plank and his wife, who, as a young couple, came to America from Holland in the year 1744, establishing their home in Berks county, Pennsylvania. Although they sailed from Holland to the new world, they were German people, having previously left the father- land on account of religious persecution, taking up their home in Rotterdam, Holland. The circumstances of their emigration were rather peculiar. They went aboard a vessel at Rotterdam in order to bid goodbye to some friends who were about to sail, and were told by the captain that the ship would not leave harbor before morning. They were then persuaded by their friends to remain on board till morning, but when day dawned they found that the ship was far out at sea and land was no longer in sight. They, of course, had nothing with them but the clothing they wore, and on their arrival in America, they were sold to a Morgan, of Berks county, Pennsylvania, for their passage. However, they made the best of the situation and established
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