USA > Ohio > Richland County > A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio > Part 57
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a home in the Keystone state. At a later date other members of the family crossed the Atlantic to the new world.
Melchior Plank and wife became the parents of six children. In the course of time he and his family removed to Lancaster county, Pennsyl- vania, where Jacob Plank, the great-grandfather of our subject, was married Subsequently he removed to Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, where he reared his twelve children. In 1821 he and his family, including three married sons and their families, came to Ohio, settling in the little Apple Creek valley and in the vicinity of Wooster, Wayne county, where they built gristmills, sawmills and shops of various kinds, for nearly all of them were mechanics. Jacob Plank and his son Jacob, the great-grandfather and grandfather of our subject, spent their remaining days in that locality, but others of the family removed to different sections of the country, so that their descend- ants are now widely scattered. The great-grandfather died at the extreme old age of eighty-three years. The grandfather was a cabinet-maker by trade and died at the age of sixty-one years. John Plank, the great uncle of our subject, removed to Iowa in 1846 and died there at the age of ninety-seven years, having never been ill but once in his entire life. The Planks are now scattered from New York to San Francisco and from the great lakes to the gulf of Mexico. The family in all its direct and collateral branches would probably number several thousand members, representing nearly every hon- orable occupation and profession.
Jonathan Plank, the father of him whose name introduces this review, was born in Pennsylvania and was only four years of age when his parents came to Ohio. He was reared in Wayne county and engaged in the milling business there until 1846, when he removed to Holmes county, where he conducted a mill for eleven years. In the fall of 1856 he came to Richland county, locating near Butler. For several years he was interested in the mill of which our subject is now the proprietor, and managed that enterprise until his retirement to private life. He spent his last thirteen years in Butler, enjoying a well earned rest, and at the age of eighty was called to the home beyond. In politics he was reared a Whig, but became a Democrat. He took no very active part in political affairs, serving, however, in several minor offices in Holmes and Richland counties. He belonged to the Sons of Temperance and was an active and consistent member of the Evangelical church. A self-made man, all that he possessed in life he acquired by his own efforts, and in his business affairs he met with a creditable degree of success. He married Miss Lydia King, also a native of Pennsylvania, whence she came to Wayne county with her parents during her early girl-
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hood, the family there casting in their lot amid the pioneer settlers of that por- tion of the Buckeye state. By that marriage there were born ten children, four sons and six daughters, of whom one son and five daughters are yet living. The mother died in 1859, at the age of forty-three years, and Mr. Plank afterward married Mrs. Sarah Teeter, by whom he had two sons, both of whom are living. The second marriage was celebrated in 1860, and Mrs. Plank still survives.
Elam A. Plank was largely reared in Holmes county, but when about fifteen years of age came to Richland county. At an early age he began work- ing in his father's mill and thus gained a practical knowledge of the business. Soon after attaining his majority he began milling on his own account and has made it his life work. In May, 1864, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Sixty-third Ohio Infantry. He belonged to the National Guard and served for about four months at the front during the Civil war, spending most of the time on the James river and at Washington and Fort Pocahontas. After his return to the north he went to Decatur, Illinois, thence to Danville, same state. Subsequently he removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was engaged in the operation of a mill for six years. In 1873, how- ever, he returned to Ohio and purchased a half interest in his father's mill in Worthington township, Richland county. The business connection be- tween them continued eleven years, and since that time Mr. Plank has had other partners, having for the last nine years been associated with his brother-in-law, John B. Neal. Mr. Plank owns a two-third interest in the business and is enjoying a liberal patronage. The mill is one of the best equipped in the county, having a full roller process and all modern facilities for the successful conduct of the business. He has a very practical and exact knowledge of milling, and his close application and earnest purpose have enabled him in his business career to steadily work his way upward to a position of affluence. His efforts have been by no means confined to one line. He was one of the promoters, stockholders and directors in the Richland County Bank, of Butler.
Mr. Plank was united in marriage to Miss May A. Woodham, who was born in London, England, and came to the United States about 1849. Their home is now blessed by the presence of three children,-Angie Mabel, Lulu L. and Olive E.,-and they also have an adopted daughter, Madeline G. Mr. Plank and his family are members of the Evangelical church, and in politics he is a Republican, but has never been an aspirant for the honors or emoluments of public office, preferring rather to devote his energies to his business affairs.
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CHARLES BRUMFIELD.
Charles Brumfield was born at Logan, Ohio, January 2, 1863. His father, T. D. Brumfield, was a native of Lancaster, Fairfield county, this state, and his mother was Margaret J. Wise, of Mansfield. The subject lived at Lancaster until he was eleven years old, when the family removed to Richland county, locating first in Madison and later in Springfield town- ship.
Charles Brumfield went to work for the Mansfield Savings Bank as messenger boy when he was eighteen years old, and later was promoted as bookkeeper. After service for this bank for five years he resigned to accept a position in the county treasurer's office, under Edward Remy, and after a service there of two years he resigned and entered the employ of the Tracy & Avery Company as bookkeeper and confidential clerk. After a service of four years in the employ of this firm he resigned to become cashier of the Bank of Mansfield upon its organization, January 1, 1893. In 1897 Mr. Brumfield received the Democratic nomination for treasurer, and was elected, and is now serving his second term. October 22, 1884, he was married to Miss Nettie M. Coulter, and there are three children of this union, namely : Marie C., Lewis Brucker and Charles, Jr.
When the tax inquisitor claimed in his report that the Aultman-Taylor Company and the M. D. Harter estate had not correctly listed their property and holdings, Mr. Brumfield with the county auditor wanted to refer the matter to the court for adjudication, claiming that the case could not be legally decided by speech-making nor by employees marching in procession. This position he has successfully maintained, which shows the stamina of his character.
Mr. Brumfield has filled the several positions he has held with credit to himself and satisfaction to his employers, and socially he is an affable, agreeable gentleman.
JOHN J. DILL.
John J. Dill is one of the wide-awake, progressive young men of Worth- ington township, prominently identified with agricultural and educational interests. He is a son of Jerry M. Dill, who was numbered among those substantial citizens whose characters are of sterling worth and who contributed to the material growth and advancement of the community, and in his death Worthington township lost one of its representative and highly respected farmers. He was born in Stark county, Ohio, and there spent his child-
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hood and youth. When a young man he went to Ashland, but after a short time he took up his abode in Mansfield, where his father, Thomas Dill, con- ducted a blacksmithing shop for many years. The latter was born in Dills- burg, Pennsylvania, and lived to be seventy-eight years of age. His polit- ical support was given the Democracy and in the conduct of his business affairs he was successful.
Under his father's direction J. M. Dill learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for a long period. When the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Railroad, now the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, was built through this section of the state, he secured a position as fireman for the company, and within a short time was promoted as engineer, running between San- dusky and Newark for several years. On the expiration of that period he came to Worthington township, Richland county, and later to Jefferson town- ship and purchased a small farm, where he resided till 1890, when he removed to Worthington township upon a farm purchased by his sons, J. J. and J. E. Upon this he spent his remaining days, his energies being given to agricult- ural pursuits until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-seven years of age. In his political views he became a Republican in 1860 and supported that party throughout the remainder of his life.
Mr. Dill married Miss Lydia Donaugh, a native of Holmes county, Ohio, and a daughter of Amos Donaugh, who was born in Pennsylvania and was of German lineage. Mrs. Dill is still living, at the age of sixty-seven years, and is one of the highly respected ladies of Worthington township. By her marriage she became the mother of four children: John J .; Jerry E., who follows farming on the old homestead; Minnie J., who married Herman Berndt, and died leaving one child, Herman Dill Berndt; and Charles F., a farmer of Worthington township. The first named, John J. Dill, was born in Mansfield, Ohio, where he spent the first six years of life, when he was taken by his parents to the farm on their removal to that place. He has since remained at the old homestead and much of the labor of culti- vating the fields has devolved upon him. He was educated in the public schools near his home, in Bellville and in Ada. His aptitude in his studies enabled him to successfully pass the teacher's examination, and he engages in teaching through the winter months, and during the summer works the home farm. He and J. E. own eighty acres of valuable land and their mother resides at the old home place with them. Their fields are under a high state of cultivation and everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating his careful supervision. In his political views he is a stalwart Republican, laboring earnestly to disseminate the principles of the party and to secure their adoption through elective measures. He was
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chosen by popular ballot appraiser of Worthington township and now fills that office. He is a prominent member of Sturges Lodge, I. O. O. F., and Silver Star Lodge, Daughters of Rebekah, both of Butler, Ohio, and of Jef- ferson Grange, of Bellville, this state. He is a man of good business judg- ment, is enterprising and progressive and lends his co-operation to all move- ments and measures calculated to prove of benefit to the county along material, social, moral and intellectual lines.
THOMAS M. BELL.
Thomas M. Bell was born in Washington township, Richland county, Ohio, September 6, 1870. His father, Robert Bell, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, May 1, 1820, and came to Richland county, Ohio, in October, 1821, with his parents, to a farm in section 7, in Washington town- ship, where he resided (except one year in Mansfield) until his death, March 13, 1898. T. M. Bell's mother's maiden name was Elennor Jane Cook, and she was a daughter of William and Eliza Cook.
The subject of this sketch lived with his parents during the years of his minority, working on the farm in the summers and in the winters attending school at the Sandy Hill schoolhouse, and later the public schools at Lexington. He early took an interest in literary work, and for several years was the president of the society at Sandy Hill.
In 1892 he left the farm in Washington township to live with his sister, Mrs. Mary B. Finney, whose husband died in August of that year, on the Cook farm two and one-half miles west of Mansfield, where he continued to reside until 1898, when, being a member of Company M, Eighth Ohio National Guards, he felt it his duty, when the call came for troops for the Cuban war, to go with his company, and in May, of that year, was mustered into the service of the United States and served with his regiment in Cuba. He returned home in September, and was married November 2, 1898, to Georgia May Mosier, a daughter of William Mosier, now living in Cali- fornia. She is the granddaughter of Henry Dickson, of Troy township, with whom she formerly lived, her mother having died when she was less than a year old. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have one child, Lilian Elennor Bell, born May 21, 1900. Mr. Bell is now deputy sheriff of Richland county, and is a capable and efficient officer.
When Mr. Bell's grandfather settled on the Mansfield-Lexington road the county was in its pioneer period,-twenty-five years before the first rail- road entered Richland county. The Bells lived on a stage route. The law
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of demand and supply governs the world. Hungry passengers and teamsters passed that way who wanted food for themselves and feed for their horses, and the Bells were soon induced to open a public house. Accordingly the sign of "Bell's Tavern" was put out, and stables and feed sheds erected and accommodations provided for "man and beast," as it was idiomatically expressed. This Lexington-Bellville road was a feeder of the State road, which was the great route for both passengers and freight between the north and the south, and teams loaded with grain and other farm products were driven from the Ohio river and intermediate points to Huron and Sandusky. and there exchanged for merchandise, which was taken upon the return trip. This tavern soon became an important way station on the route. Deputy Sheriff Bell has the sign of this tavern, which he keeps as an heirloom. Bell's Tavern was opened to supply a want and served its day, fulfilled its purpose and as a hotel is now no more. It belonged not to the earliest pioneer epoch, but to a later era-to a period that spans the past with the present-to which we can look back at what might be termed the drama of events, without taking the time to unveil the farce of particulars, and be thankful that we live in an age of inventions, improvement and advance- ment far superior to the stage-coach days of other years.
ADAM BERRY.
An attractive farm of one hundred and twenty-two acres, supplied with all the modern improvements and accessories, located on section 33, Monroe township, is the property of Adam Berry, who has a wide acquaintance in Richland county, and is highly esteemed as a citizen of worth. He was born near Canton, Ohio, July 6, 1827, his parents being Jacob and Mary (Albright) Berry. His father was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, March 26, 1800, and in early manhood removed to Canton, Ohio, where he married Miss Albright, a native of Stark county, this state. They located in Monroe township, upon a farm where the son now makes his home, and he was there reared, sharing with his family in the experiences incident to the development of a farm upon the frontier.
He obtained his education in the common schools and afterward went to live with his grandfather, with whom he remained until the latter's death. Subsequently he began working for his uncle, J. Hersh, at five dollars per month. In the following summer he was given seven dollars per month in compensation for his service. Through the five succeeding years he worked as a farm hand in the neighborhood, and during the construction of the
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Baltimore & Ohio Railroad he for some months assisted in the work on that line. In 1851 he was married, and in the spring of 1852 he removed to the tract of fifty-seven acres that is now a part of his home farm, beginning life here in a log cabin. At a later date he cultivated his mother-in-law's farm for ten years, and now he has one hundred and twenty-two acres of land on section 33, in Monroe township, where he is successfully carrying on agricultural pursuits in connection with the raising of hogs. He has a well equipped farm, is practical and progressive in his methods, and from his well tilled fields he derives a good income.
On the 19th of October, 1851, occurred the marriage of Adam Berry to Miss Susan Stimely, a native of Pennsylvania. She was three years of age when brought to Ohio, her people locating in Wayne county, whence they afterward came to Ashland. Unto- Mr. and Mrs. Berry have been born four children : Franklin P., at home : George W., a farmer of Monroe township; Mina O., the wife of Charles Smith, an agriculturist in the same township; and Jeanette, who is still with her parents. Mr. Berry belongs to the Mohawk Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry and in politics is a Democrat. His has been an active and useful career, demonstrating the power of industry in winning success. Such a career amply proves that suc- cess does not depend upon inheritance or influence, but upon the efforts of the individual, his close application, indefatigable diligence and his keen business sagacity.
THOMAS B. ANDREWS.
Thomas B. Andrews, Esq., was one of the most prominent men in Rich- land county in his day and generation. He was the first postmaster at But- ler and had the honor of naming the office for General William O. Butler, candidate for vice-president of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1848. He was a justice of the peace in Worthington township for many years, and was a county commissioner from 1845 to 1851, and during his terms remodeled and enlarged the old brick court-house by adding a story and extending the same beyond the ends of the original building, and for the support of these extensions heavy brick columns were erected, making the edifice more imposing in appearance.
'Squire Andrews was of Scotch-English parentage. He was born near Canton, Ohio, May 17, 1807, and came to Richland county in 1823. He married Marilla Pollard in 1829, and they reared a large family of chil- dren. He resided upon his farm near Butler, and his home, a commodious
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brick building, was always hospitably opened to his friends. His life was an active, earnest one; he was influential in public affairs and enjoyed the respect and confidence of his neighbors. He died February 28, 1889, aged eighty-one years, nine months and eleven days. His widow still survives.
OLIN M. FARBER.
Mansfield has long been distinguished as the center of a law practice as brilliant as it has been solid and substantial. It has afforded good op- portunities for advancement to young lawyers of ability, and many such have sought worldly success and professional distinction in its courts. Among the more prominent young lawyers of the Richland county bar during recent years none has been more deservedly successful and popular than Olin M. Farber. His thorough preparation for admission to the bar, his recognized ability as a public speaker and tact in the trial of cases, have given him pro- fessional prestige, while a strict adherence to the ethics of his profession and his manifest interest in the public welfare, coupled with a warm geniality, have made him popular.
Olin M. Farber is the eldest of three children of Harmon Farber and Esther J. (Olin) Farber, both natives of Richland county, and was born at Bryan, Ohio, June 15, 1869, where his father was operating a stave mill in partnership with a brother-in-law, M. C. Moores. When this son was about six months old his parents returned and his father engaged in the business of blacksmithing and carriage building in Bellville, and so con- tinued until the fall of 1883, when he opened a hardware store and is now the senior member of the firm of H. Farber & Son, of that town. Harmon Farber served as a private of Company C. Sixty-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the war of the Rebellion. He has been honored by the people of Belleville and Jefferson township with the office of town- ship trustee for two terms, township treasurer three terms, and member of the Bellville board of education for two terms. As a member of the Demo- cratic county executive committee and otherwise he has exercised an ap- preciable influence in county politics. His son and partner, Harry Benton Farber, is now serving as the township clerk.
Peter Farber, the father of Harmon Farber and grandfather of Olin M. Farber, was a substantial farmer of Richland county. He in turn was a son of Harmon Farber, a millwright, who died at the Hammond home near Butler while on his way overland with his family from Blair county, Penn- sylvania, to the state of Indiana, where he had purchased a large tract of land. He was buried in the Mount Carmel church cemetery, and his fam-
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ily returned to Pennsylvania with the exception of Peter, who married Mar- garet Ramsey and located in Perry township. His wife, the grandmother of Olin M. Farber, came of old Revolutionary stock, whose names grace the muster roll of the continental army. Besides Harmon, another of their sons, William H. Farber, when but nineteen years of age enlisted as a private in the war of the Rebellion and by valiant service attained the rank of captain of Company F, Sixty-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served during the whole war. After the war he made an excellent record as a public official, having filled the positions of deputy clerk and deputy auditor of Richland county, and after moving to Columbus, the position of statistician under State Auditor Poe for two terms. He was then transferred to the office of State Insurance Commissioner Matthews, where he remained until his death in February, 1898, and was buried at Mansfield. He left one son, Charles, who resides at Columbus, in the employ of The State Savings & Trust Company.
On the maternal side Olin M. Farber's ancestry can be traced for cen- turies. His grandfather, Nathaniel Green Olin, attracted by the golden promises of the "west," moved with his then growing family. from Shafts- bury, Vermont, to the county of Richland. He was an industrious farmer and stock man, and was the owner of a large and beautiful tract of land in the Clear Fork valley, three miles west of Bellville. He was directly descended from John Olin, the founder of the Olin family in America, and, for that mat- ter, in the world, as he was the first of that name. The family of Olin, there- fore, is not large nor of many branches, but all of that name are closely related. John Olin's real name was Llewellyn, a direct descendant of Prince Llewellyn and his wife Eleanora, the last of the royal family of the Welsh when Wales passed under the dominion of the English crown. History says : "In the last struggle for Welsh independence Prince Llewellyn fell in a sudden skirmish at Builth, in the valley of the Wye; his head was sent to Edward, who placed it on the walls of the Tower of London crowned with an ivy wreath in mockery of a prediction of Merlin, that when the English money should become circular the Prince of Wales should be crowned in London." After six months David, a brother of the prince, was tried be- fore a parliament summoned to meet at Shrewsbury and suffered the penalty of treason. The family was scattered and persecuted by English rulers for generations.
In 1678 John Llewellyn, a youth of fourteen years, was seized on the coast of Wales and pressed on board a British man of war, where he was forced to act as "powder monkey." On the arrival of the vessel in Boston Harbor the youngster deserted, took to the woods, changed his name to 35
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Olin and finally settled at East Greenwich, Rhode Island. From his loins has sprung an able family, many of whom have distinguished themselves in the higher walks of life. Among them may be mentioned Stephen Olin, D. D., once the president of Wesleyan University and a leading divine of the Methodist church; Job S. Olin, a brother of the grandfather of Olin M. Farber, one of the judges of the court of the District of Columbia; while of the present generation there is Stephen H. Olin, of the law firm of Olin, Rives & Montgomery, New York city; also John M. Olin, an uncle of Olin M. Farber, who, in connection with his extensive law practice, is a lecturer in the law department of the University of Wisconsin, at Madison. Some years ago he was a candidate for governor of the state of Wisconsin on the Prohibition ticket and received an enormous vote. Another of this name is a professor in Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio.
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