USA > Ohio > Richland County > A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio > Part 71
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For a time Jacob Ohler lived in Ashland county, and on his return to Richland county he located on the farm now owned by Newton Hersh. He died in Monroe township in 1889, having lived a life full of honor. He was a member of the Lutheran church, active and helpful in all its work, and was respected by his fellow citizens for his good judgment and the integrity of his entire career.
John C. Ohler was reared to the every-day work of the farm and edu- cated in the public school and at Bellville, Ohio. At the age of twenty-one years he began to work by the month for A. Tucker, on the same farm which
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is now his homestead, and was thus employed for three years. At the expira- tion of that time he rented the farm of Mr. Tucker, whose daughter, Miss Jane M. Tucker, became his wife in 1870. He had married Miss Elizabeth Baughman in 1867, and she had died a year later, leaving one child, Marion M. By his present marriage he has eight children, as follows: Lena B .; Horace A., who lives in Sandusky county ; Ivan D., who is a resident of Mon- roe township; Le Roy C .; Emma E., who married John Culler; Tracy T .; Charles C .; Jessie Day ; and Lena, Le Roy and Tracy are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Ohler own two hundred and thirteen acres, one hundred and forty of which is under cultivation, and he is a successful stockman and general farmer. Politically he is identified with the Reform party. He was formerly a Democrat. He was eighteen years a deacon and has been six years an elder in the Pleasant Valley Lutheran church.
JOSEPH MCCURDY.
Of the farming interests of Richland county Joseph McCurdy is a repre- sentative. He was born August 9, 1851, on a farm in Worthington township which he now owns, and is a representative of one of the pioneer families of the community. His grandfather, William McCurdy, was a native of Pennsylvania, in which state he was reared and married. He worked as a day laborer until he came to the west. About 1819 he emigrated to Ohio and from the government entered the land upon which Joseph McCurdy now resides. In 1824 he removed with his family to the new home, built a log cabin and in true pioneer style began life on the frontier. He added to his first purchase until he became the owner of two hundred acres of rich land. He was of Scotch and Irish lineage. His father, William A. Mc- Curdy, was a native of Scotland, and his mother was born on the Emerald isle. The grandfather of our subject was a member of the United Presby- terian church and died on the old homestead farm, when about seventy-two years of age. .
John McCurdy, the father of Joseph, was born in Pennsylvania, near Latrobe, and when two years of age accompanied his parents to the Buckeye state. He has since been a resident of Worthington township, and upon the farm which his father entered from the government he is still living, al- though for seven years he has been an invalid. He is an inflexible adherent of Democratic principles and is deeply interested in the success of the party, yet has never sought or desired office. He, too, holds membership in the United Presbyterian church and his life has been in harmony with his pro-
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fessions. He married Miss Christina Goon, a native of Pennsylvania, and came to Worthington township with her parents about 1830. She died in 1893, at the age of sixty-eight years, in the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which she had long been a member. In the family of this worthy couple were five children, namely : Joseph ; Malinda, the wife of J. M. Hosfield, a blacksmith of Worthington township; Elizabeth, the wife of Alfred Scarbro, of Knox county, Ohio; Martha J., who acts as her father's housekeeper ; and William L., an enterprising farmer of Knox county.
Joseph McCurdy spent the days of his boyhood and youth on his father's farm and was early trained to habits of industry and economy, thus forming the foundation of a substantial business career. The country schools afforded him his educational privileges and he worked in the fields with his father until twenty-nine years old, when he was married and took charge of the home- stead farm, upon which he has since resided. For the past ten years he has relieved his father of all business cares. A wide-awake, practical and pro- gressive agriculturist, his labors are earnestly prosecuted and have brought to him a good financial return. In addition to general farming he carries on stock-raising to some extent.
Mr. McCurdy married Miss Lucy Fritz, of Ashland county, Ohio, and unto them have been born eight children, two of whom died in infancy. The others are Laura R., Hugh E., Mabel E., Zoda May, Esta F. and Mary M. Mr. McCurdy votes with the Democracy and is now serving for the third term as a trustee of the township,-a fact which indicates that he has discharged his duties in a prompt and capable manner. He holds membership in Han- over Lodge, No. 115, F. & A. M., of Loudonville, and is identified with the Maccabees, of Perrysville, and with the Lutheran church.
JOHN H. LAUTERMILCH.
In a witty after-dinner speech Chauncey M. Depew once said: "Some men achieve greatness, some are born great and some are born in Ohio." To this last class Mr. Lautermilch belongs, for Ganges, in Blooming Grove township, is the place of his birth, his natal day being August 20, 1844. His parents, Conrad and Sarah (Bucher) Lautermilch, had three children, of whom two are living. John H. and Elizabeth, now the wife of Reuben St. John, of Franklin township. The father was born in Baden, Germany, in 1808, but when sixteen years of age left the land of his nativity for America, settling in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade of saddler and harness-maker. In the '3os he removed from the Keystone
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state to Ohio, taking up his abode in Richland county. He worked for some time at his trade as a journeyman in Shelby and Ganges and then settled in Planktown, where he established a business of his own. While residing there he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Bucher, who was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, about 1811, and came to Richland county with her parents in her childhood. Her father, John Bucher, was a native of Pennsylvania and on his arrival in Ohio purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Blooming Grove township, near the village of Ganges, his re- maining days being spent upon his farm. About 1843 Mr. Lautermilch re- moved from Planktown to Ganges, where he conducted a saddlery and harness shop for a number of years. In 1853, however, he located on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which was his wife's patrimony and which is now the home of their son John. There the father resided until 1872, when he purchased forty-five acres in Franklin township, a few miles south of Ganges. He then removed to the new home, leaving our subject upon the old home- stead. At his more recently acquired home he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in 1893. He was an ardent supporter of Demo- cratic principles, and while in Blooming Grove township was elected on that ticket to the office of trustee. In early life he held membership in the Christian church and later became a member of the Reformed church.
John H. Lautermilch spent the days of his childhood under the parental roof and the common schools afforded him his educational privileges. In 1867 he was married to Miss Mary A. Bricker, a native of Franklin township and a daughter of Levi Bricker, now deceased, who was one of the well known farmers of Richland county. Our subject took his bride to the old home place, which he operated on the shares until his mother's death, in 1894, when he came into possession of the farm, and in 1895 he purchased the Wesley Fickes farm, a small tract of land upon which stands a handsome residence. It was his intention to take up his abode there and leave his sons to care for the old homestead, but ere he had opportunity to carry out his intention he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 8th of November, 1895. This changed his plans and his eldest son took possession of the new home, while Mr. Lautermilch resided quietly at the old homestead, the land being cultivated by tenants.
Mr. and Mrs. Lautermilch had two children,-George W., a farmer of Cass township; and Austin F., who is living with his father. A Democrat in politics, he has always supported the men and measures of that party, but has never sought office. He has always been systematic in his business methods, prompt and notably reliable, and has followed progressive ideas. 43
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His efforts have therefore been attended with a high degree of success and he is now one of the substantial agriculturists of the community. At present he is practically living retired, enjoying such a rest as should ever follow years of active and honorable connection with business interests.
CAPTAIN D. W. WILSON.
[We are endebted to A. J. Baughman, Esq., for the following sketch. ]
Captain Daniel Webster Wilson, of Bellville, is one of the most success- ful self-made men in Richland county. He was born in Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania, April 21, 1840, his parents being James and Jane (Gass) Wilson. His father was the son of a Virginia slaveholder, but was an abolitionist from his youth up, and emigrated to Pennsylvania on account of his dislike of slavery. Subsequently he removed to Steubenville, Ohio, where he died. Soon after- ward the widow, with five small children, moved to Bellville, when Daniel W. was about nine years of age, and there he spent his boyhood and youth. While still a mere boy he was employed to carry the mail from the postoffice to the cars at Bellville, and was also employed by the late John W. Strong in his store, where by application to his duties and faithfulness in the perform- ance of them he continued in his employ until the breaking out of the Civil war.
When the president issued his call for troops to maintain the Union and uphold its flag, D. W. Wilson resigned his position in the store and was one of the first to volunteer. Impelled by the same patriotic impulse which led so many thousands of our young men to exchange their pleasant homes for the tented field, on his twenty-first birthday he enlisted as a private in Com- pany I, Sixteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. When his term of enlistment expired he re-enlisted, in Company E, Thirty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which regiment he served until the close of the war, rising successively from the rank of a private to that of sergeant, orderly sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant and captain. He took part in nearly all of the battles in which both of the regiments to which he belonged were engaged. At Harper's Ferry the regiment was captured, but was immediately paroled. After serving over four years he was honorably discharged, at Columbus, Ohio, in July, 1865.
Returning then to his home he resumed the duties of civil life, in which he has had a notable career, being successful both in business and public life. In politics he is a faithful representative of his father, being a stanch Republican from the organization of the party, has been an important factor
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in its ranks, has been successful in helping to elect many of his friends to office and has also been successful in helping to defeat many to whom he was opposed in politics at the polls. Soon after the close of the war he accepted a position as an officer of the United States senate, which position he held until the administration of President Hayes, when he was appointed an officer in the treasury department, where he remained four or five years. He was then again appointed an officer in the senate, which position he has held, in- cluding his two terms of service in the office, for over thirty years, resigning in March, 1901, in order to devote his time to his heretofore neglected busi- ness at home. He was a member of the Republican executive committee of his county, often served as a delegate to the county, district and state con- ventions, and in 1876 represented his district in the Cincinnati convention, that nominated General Hayes for the presidency.
In all matters concerning the interests of Bellville Captain Wilson has taken a prominent part. He was one of the promoters of its electric-light plant and the president of its street-fair association for four years of its suc- cessful management. When the great fire of September 22, 1882, burned two squares of the business portion of Bellville, Captain Wilson bought four lots in the burned district and built four of the twelve new brick business houses which now adorn the village. By judicious management and invest- ment of his means he is now considered one of the careful business men of Bellville, and the village where he toiled as a poor boy has been benefitted by his prosperity. He is charitable to the poor, and the needy always find in him a faithful friend.
DAVID P. MILLER.
David P. Miller, a practical and enterprising agriculturist of Troy town- ship, Richland county, formerly owned and cultivated about three hundred acres of land, constituting one of the valuable and highly improved farms of the locality. His possessions were mainly acquired through his own efforts; . and as the result of his persevering endeavor he has won a place among the substantial citizens of his native county.
Mr. Miller was born upon his present farm, March 12, 1832, died August 12, 1900. He was the only survivor of the five children born to George M. and Elizabeth (Palmer) Miller. The birth of his father occurred November 24, 1789, in county Kent, England, where he grew to manhood, learning the trade of carpenter and wheelwright, which he followed for some time. In 1830 he emigrated to America, and after a short residence in Mansfield, Ohio,
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he purchased thirty-one acres of the farm upon which our subject now re- sides. Soon after his arrival here he erected a sawmill upon his place, and for many years manufactured practically all the lumber used in this section of the county. As a Methodist he was very active in church work, for many years serving as a class-leader. He was one of the best known men of his community and was highly esteemed and respected. His death occurred Jan- uary 19, 1873, while his wife, who also was born in county Kent, England, August 20, 1787, lived to the advanced age of ninety-nine years and three months, dying from the effects of a fall which broke her hip. She, too, was an active and consistent member of the Methodist church.
David P. Miller grew to manhood on the home farm, acquiring his literary education in the old pioneer log schoolhouse of the neighborhood. On reaching his eighteenth year he assumed the management of the farm and sawmill, which he conducted until 1864, when the dam was destroyed and the mill abandoned. Soon after this he opened a stone quarry, which he worked, until 1871, He extended the boundaries of his farm from time to time until they contained two hundred and ninety-five acres, which he placed in a high state of cultivation, and now is one of the best improved farms of the locality. His handsome residence was erected in 1871, and is now occupied by his daughter, Ranie L. Abernethy.
In 1855 Mr. Miller married Miss Harriet L. Beverstock, a native of Monroeville, Huron county, Ohio, and a daughter of Allen B. and Laura M. (Reed) Beverstock. Her father, who was born in Vermont, moved to Huron county when about fourteen years of age, and in 1832 came to Lex- ington, Richland county, where he established a mercantile business, being largely instrumental in making that place what it is to-day. He was born December 23, 1804, and died March 2, 1882. Mr. Miller has three children, namely : Laura A., the wife of Louis M. Campbell, of Troy township, this county ; Ranie L., the wife of J. L. 'Abernethy, also of Troy township; and Fannie B., the wife of S. J. Colwell, of the Colwell Hardware Company, of Mansfield.
During the dark days of the Rebellion Mr. Miller enlisted, on the 2d of May, 1864, in Company B, One Hundred and Sixty-third Ohio National Guards, and for a time was stationed in front of Petersburg. He was hon- orably discharged from the service April 12, 1867. Prior to this he was a member of the famous Squirrel Hunters, and received his discharge in Sep- tember, 1862.
In his political views he was a stanch Republican. He served as a school director for twenty years and as a township trustee one term. For many
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years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church; but after the house of worship in Troy township was destroyed by fire he never renewed his membership in that denomination but afterward attended the Congrega- tional church, where he was a Sunday-school teacher for several years. He was a worthy representative of that class of citizens who lead quiet, indus- trious, honest and useful lives and constitute the best portion of the community. Wherever known he was held in high regard, and is certainly deserving of honorable mention in the history of his native county.
DAVID S. LEITER.
David S. Leiter was born on the farm where he now resides, March 27, 1861. His father, Jacob Leiter, a native of Washington county, Maryland, was a son of David Leiter, who came to Ohio at an early day, locating on the farm in Monroe township where G. W. Leiter now resides.
After his marriage Jacob Leiter spent two years outside of Monroe town- ship and then removed to the home farm, upon which he spent his remaining days. His life's labors were ended in death November 30, 1897, at the age of seventy years. For twenty years he was a member of the school board and greatly advanced the cause of education. In politics he was a stalwart Repub- lican and in early life he was a member of the Lutheran church, but afterward united with the Congregational church. He served as an elder and deacon for many years and always did everything in his power to promote the cause of the church and secure the adoption of Christian principles among his fellow men. His widow is still living, in her seventy-fourth year, and makes her home with her son David. She is a member of the Congrega- tional church and an earnest Christian woman whose upright life has com- mended her to the respect of all.
David S. Leiter, whose name introduces this review, was reared on the old family homestead and received his education in the public schools. His entire life has been passed at the old home place with the exception of ten months, which he spent in Mansfield. His practical experience at farm work in his youth enabled him to assume the management of the land.
Mr. Leiter was married in February, 1886, to Miss Margaret Fishack, and they have had four children, of whom three are living, -- Grace, Rex and Jacob. Mr. Leiter has served for three terms as a member of the school board, and for two terms was the chief deputy of the county election board. The Republican party is the one of his choice, and he keeps himself well posted on the issues of the day. Socially he is connected with Monroe Lodge,
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No. 224. I. O. O. F., and has filled all its chairs. He was the special deputy of installation for three years. He is a member of the Congregational church, and is a young man of earnest purpose and sterling worth whose attention is untiringly given to his business affairs and to his faithful discharge of the duties of citizenship.
BARNET HOMER.
Upon a farm on section 13. Monroe township, Barnet Homer resides, his time and attention being given to the cultivation of his land. He was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg, on the 12th of Sep- tember, 1827. his parents being John and Eliza Homer, who were natives of the same locality. In 1837 they left the Keystone state and with their family came to Ohio, locating in Holmes county, where the father spent his remaining days. He first purchased forty acres of land and later added to this until, in connection with his sons, he owned one hundred and ninety-six acres. He had passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey when called to his final rest.
Barnet Homer remained in Holmes county until 1863, when he came to Monroe township. For ten years he rented land and then purchased his pres- ent farm, comprising one hunded and one acres. When he took possession of this place it was but little improved. There was a small log cabin, into * which he moved, and then, with characteristic energy, began the further development of his land. He has eighty acres under a high state of culti- vation and has good buildings which furnish shelter for grain and stock. His methods are at once practical and progressive and have resulted in bringing to him a gratifying success.
Mr. Homer was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Wyneman, and they had two children, of whom one is living, Margaret, now the wife of John Oswald. Mr. Homer, as the result of his investigation of political ques- tions, gives his support to the Republican party, but has never sought office, his attention being fully occupied by his business affairs. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he has served as an elder. All his busi- ness affairs have been conducted in an honorable, straightforward manner that has commended him to the confidence and regard of those with whom he has come in contact. He has been the architect of his own fortunes and has builded wisely and well. His life stands in exemplification of the op- portunities that are afforded in this country to men of determined purpose who are willing to improve their advantages and labor earnestly for the prosperity-which all men desire.
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HON. MARTIN B. BUSHNELL.
Hon. Martin Baldwin Bushnell is a worthy representative of a pioneer family which settled in Ohio in 1805 and whose history has been identified with the growth and development of Richland county since 1820, at which time Sterling G. Bushnell, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, set- tled in Vermillion township, then in Richiland county.
The Bushnell family is distinctively a pioneer one, having been identified with American history since the sixteenth century. Francis Bushnell came from England to Connecticut, where he died in 1646, being the founder of the family in America.
Martin B. Bushnell is the only son of Dr. William Bushnell, who located in Mansfield in July, 1828, where he spent a long and eventful life, became eminent in his profession, prominent in public affairs and successful in finance. He was thrice honored by election to the general assembly,-the forty-ninth, fiftieth and fifty-eighth general sessions, in 1850-1 and 1869-70. While in the legislature he was associated with the Hon. Henry B. Payne, General E. R. Eckley, Hon, Harvey Rice, Hon. John F. Follett and others who later attained national fame. But Dr. Bushnell did not seek political honors ; he accepted office only to serve his constituents, and, declining fur- ther preferment, returned to his practice, for his profession was his mission and a work of love. He attained a ripe old age, dying January 13. 1894. at the age of ninety-four years.
Martin B. Bushnell is well known to the people of Richland county, who hold him in the highest respect and esteem. When he was the Democratic nominee for state senator in 1897 he ran ahead of his ticket. He has been engaged in the railroad business as well as in banking, and he has always been so equitable in his dealings that he has never been accused of oppressing labor in the interest of capital.
In person Mr. Bushnell is tall and graceful, and the ease and courtesy of his manners and the dignity and simplicity of his style reflects the noble qualities of his mind and heart.
M. B. Bushnell was born in Mansfield, Ohio, July 13, 1837, educated in the public school, with the exception of one year ( 1852), when he was a stu- dent in Norwalk Institute, at Norwalk, this state, and one year ( 1856) at Dennison University, at Granville, this state. During the interval of these school years he clerked in the dry-goods store of Scattergood & Penrose and the book-stores of Ticknor & Sturges and Ticknor & Bowland. Then he accepted a position in Crestline, Ohio, as a clerk in the ticket office of the
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Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, being promoted to the freight department, and was soon advanced to the yard-master's office. The experi- ence in these various lines of duty qualified him to accept the position of con- ductor and he ran trains on the east division,-between Crestline and Pitts- burg,-starting with a freight train, but very soon was in charge of the finest and fastest express and passenger trains. This period of train service was during the war of the Rebellion. His first through stock train was one of government mules from the west destined to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He also had charge of several trains of Union soldiers, ticketed both east and west by way of various junction stations ; also many special car-loads of valu- able and important munitions of war, for which great care was demanded by the general war department and the railroad company. He was one of four conductors chosen by the superintendent to run special trains promptly to handle government business, in both small and large consignments. He was in charge of two extra trains from Pittsburg loaded with Rebel prisoners destined to Johnson's island, Sandusky City, Ohio, via Mansfield. These prisoners were loaded in box and stock cars, a single coach being for the accommodation of the officers and soldiers in charge.
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