USA > Ohio > Seneca County > A centennial biographical history of Seneca County, Ohio > Part 58
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When Mr. Balbian reached the city of New York he was but twenty years old, but he was already a skilled workman and very soon he en- tered upon a business engagement in Lisbon Falls, Maine, where he was superintendent of mills, at a salary of five thousand dollars a year, this connection lasting for four years. His next business association was in Philadelphia, where he managed a large mill for six years, leaving there to assist in the starting of a new plant at Louisville, Kentucky, which ne successfully and satisfactorily managed for the succeeding three years. In the fall of 1892 he returned to the north and became the manager of a mill at North Vassalboro, Maine, remaining with that concern until 1897, when he went to Cleveland, Ohio, there taking charge of the larg- est plant of its kind in America.
The fertile brain of Mr. Balbian was continually busy, seeking out new methods, projecting new plans and preparing for a permanent future for himself. In 1898, in connection with his brother Frederick, he bought the Vassar Woolen Mills and the electric-light plant in Vassar, Michigan, this large enterprise now being under the superintendency of Frederick Balbian. Mr. Balbian still had expansive ideas, and in 1899 he came to Tiffin, Ohio, and considered the advisability of purchasing the old Tiffin Woolen Mills, a plant which had been idle for some years. Mr. Balbian, with the business ability which has always distinguished him, finally determined to take charge of this plant, which formerly had not been successfully conducted, and to put in improved machinery, ap- ply his own enlightened methods of management and to endeavor to make this a valuable and paying property. This he has done, and now the industry is one of the leading ones of the city, employing a very large force of workmen and attracting a great volume of trade. The
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output of the plant consists of all classes of woolen goods, and in con- ! nection with the mills Mr. Balbian conducts a large tailoring establish- ment. His methods are practical, because he is a practical man. He understands every detail of his work and knows just where to expand and where to economize and still to keep his goods up to the standard he has led the trade to expect.
Henry Balbian was married on October 3, 1882, to Miss Lena Ellen Batz, who was born in Connecticut, and they have three daugh- ters, namely : Lillian May, Lena Ellen and Anna Matilda, all well educated young ladies and fitted for the best social circles in Tiffin. Mr. Balbian was reared in the Lutheran church, and his wife is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. In politics he votes more for the man than in the interests of any party, while fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and has attained the thirty-second degree in the Masonic order.
Mr. Balbian is one of the substantial citizens of Tiffin, and his beau- tiful home, on Milmore street, is the center of a genial hospitality. He is liberal and public-spirited and takes pride in the progress of this city, being ever ready to assist in all enterprises which promise to be of benefit. He is recognized as a leader in all matters of business, and is always at home where shrewdness, clear-headedness and sound judg- ment are brought into play. As manager of the Tiffin Woolen Mills he has shown his ability and skill, having a large capacity for work him- self, and possessing those qualifications which enable him to manage large forces of men without friction.
ALBERT L. FLACK.
Albert L. Flack, Sr., the founder of the house of A. L. Flack & Company, wholesale dealers in specialties, cigars, groceries. sundries, etc., in Tiffin, Ohio, is one of the leading business men of this city, as well as one of its most substantial and progressive citizens.
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Mr. Flack was born in the village of Mccutchenville, Seneca county, Ohio, February 8, 1849, being a son of Josiah and Sylvia Ann (Daily) Flack, and a grandson of George Flack, who was one of the early settlers of Seneca county and who was an extensive farmer six miles south of Tiffin, where he died, and for many years was a victim of the cholera epidemic. Josiah Flack, the father of our subject, was born in Frederick county, Maryland, and accompanied his father when he came to Seneca county, learning the tailoring business under the instruc- tion of a Mr. Rose, and following the same for a number of years. In middle life he moved to Adrian, this county, and for several years was engaged in the grain business, handling it in the interests of David M. Arndt, but his last days were spent in Tiffin, where he died at the age of seventy-four. In politics he was an adherent of the Republican party, and in religion was a member of the Methodist church. He was an up- right, honorable man and his memory is respected by all who knew him.
The mother of our subject was a daughter of Samuel Daily, who was a pioneer of this locality, where in those early days he conducted a large tannery, on the site of the present engine house and city hall, on Market street. Mrs. Flack was born in Tiffin and has grown with the growth of the city, and is still surviving, being one of the most highly esteemed members of the Methodist church, with which she has been so long connected. She has always resided in Tiffin with the exception of the period during which her husband was in business in Adrian and some eight years spent in Williams county, Ohio, and is well known to all of the older residents.
The boyhood of Albert J. Flack of this sketch was spent in Adrian, Ohio, and in Williams county, this state, and his education was ac- quired in the public schools. For a period of about three years he en- gaged in teaching in Adrian and Sycamore, and then came to Tiffin, where he engaged at this time in the insurance business. After several years he became identified with a manufacturing industry in this city, known as the Tiffin Union Churn Company, and for a time traveled in its interest, with excellent success. He then purchased an interest in the Oval Wood Dish Company, the general offices of which are located at Delta, Ohio, the large factories being operated at Traverse City, Michi-
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gan, and for the past sixteen years he has been in charge of the sales de- partment, successfully managing the general agency of this business. The increasing demands for the products of this company have made it necessary for Mr. Flack to give much of his time to traveling, the goods finding ready sale all over the United States and in Canada.
As an energetic man of business Mr. Flack has few superiors. He has, in addition to promoting the business of the company which he has so long represented, established in Tiffin the house of A. L. Flack & Company, and has organized a cigar manufactory, located at No. 157 Washington street, the same being the second largest of its kind in the city, although established only three years ago. He is identified with several important business enterprises in addition to those already named, a notable one being the Home Telephone Company, of which he is pres- ident. He is the owner of valuable property in Tiffin, including his beautiful modern residence on Monroe street, the same being one of the most desirable in the city. Recently Mr. Flack has effected the organ- ization of the Knisely-Flack Company, in the city of Toledo, the same being incorporated, and its enterprise being that of the manufacture of custom-made shirts and underwear, while the Golden Elixir Company, whose product is the widely celebrated health tonic of the name men- tioned, is also a recent acquisition of the Knisely-Flack Company, Ralph E. Flack, son of our subject. being secretary and acting treasurer of both companies.
From early manhood Mr. Flack has been an active Republican, but has never consented to become a candidate for office, having no personal political ambition but having been ever ready to promote the interests of his friends and the party cause. He has taken a very active interest in the Masonic fraternity for many years, being identified with Tiffin Lodge, No. 77. F. & A. M., and the various organizations in this city and the Scottish Rite bodies and the Mystic Shrine in Toledo and Cin- cinnati. Both he and his two elder sons are thirty-second degree Ma- sons and are widely and favorably known in the order. Mr. Flack is also a member of Pickwick Lodge, No. 175, Knights of Pythias, and of Tiffin Lodge of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. The religious
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connection of the family is with St. Paul's Methodist church, to which he contributes liberally in the support of all its benevolent work.
On the 28th of March, 1872, Mr. Flack was united in marriage to Miss Amelia Brown, the daughter of Jeptha Brown, residing near Syca- more, Wyandot county, and the three sons of this union are all inter- ested in the business with which their father has so long been connected. They are among the prominent and highly esteemed young men of Tiffin, their names, in order of birth, being as follows: Edgar B., Ralph E. and Clifford J.
Mr. Flack is a self-made man. His entrance into business life was in an indifferent capacity, but his energy and industry soon won him recognition and since then his progress has continually been upward. He understands most thoroughly the many details of his various enter- prises which owe much to his thoroughness. Socially and in a business way he is a man to make friends, and they are legion, not confined to his home in Tiffin, but all over the country where business has called him.
GEORGE STEARNS.
George Stearns is one of the extensive land-owners of Seneca county and now makes his home in Republic, although he yet supervises his agricultural interests. He was born in Ellisburg, Jefferson county, New York, on the 10th of July, 1826, and has therefore passed the spalmist's span of three score years and ten, but old age is not necessarily a syn- onym of weakness and helplessness and need not suggest, as a matter of course, want of action. There is an old age which grows stronger as the years advance and gives out of its rich stores of learning and expe- rience for the benefit of others. Such is the life of George Stearns, one of the honored and esteemed citizens of Seneca county. His father, George Stearns. Sr., was a native of Vermont and after arriving at years of maturity married Sophia Baker. a daughter of Judge Samuel Baker. He removed from the Green Mountain state to New York at an early date and was married in Steuben county, whence, in 1825, he
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came to Seneca county and entered from the government three hundred and twenty acres of land in Scipio township. He then returned to the Empire state and four years later, in 1829, brought his family to Ohio. At that time he took up his abode in Eden township, upon the farm now owned by Dr. Fleet, making it his place of residence until his death, which occurred August 27, 1831, when he was thirty-seven years of age. His wife survived him and became the wife of William Fleet. She re- mained on the homestead, in Eden township, until her death, in 1839, leaving one daughter born of this second marriage,-Sophia, who mar- ried Charles Nolan and now lives at Ottawa, Kansas. Of the four chil- dren of the first marriage who survived their parents we enter the fol- lowing brief record: John B., who lived for many years in Scipio township, moved to South Dakota, where he died in 1890, his remains being brought back to Seneca county and interred in Rock Creek ceme- tery ; George is the subject of this review ; Daniel, who made his home in Garden Grove, Iowa, passed away in 1892; and Alfred, is living at Gar- den Grove, Iowa.
When only five years of age George Stearns lost his father, and at the early age of thirteen he was left an orphan by his mother's death. He remained upon the home farm with his stepfather, Mr. Fleet, through the succeeding year and then went to live with his guardian, Richard Baker, of Eden township, with whom he remained for six years. In the meantime he pursued his education in a log school-house, instruction be- ing given after the primitive manner of the times. When twenty years of age he came to Scipio township and began clearing the farm which his father had entered from the government. He and his brother John inherited this property, comprising three hundred and twenty acres of heavily timbered land, many of the trees being black walnut. Mr. Stearns boarded with a family that he had employed and they lived in a log cabin. With characteristic energy he began clearing away the trees, and the sound of his ax in the forest indicated that one after another those monarchs of the woods were falling before his sturdy strokes. As the land was cleared he plowed and planted it and in course of time his labors were rewarded with good harvests. He remained upon his old homestead until 1887, when he came to Republic. He cleared all of his
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share of the land, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, and made excellent improvements, including the erection of a commodious resi- dence, substantial barns and outbuildings and all other equipments that constitute a model farm. He still owns the property, which has never been out of the Stearns family since it was entered from the government, more than three-quarters of a century ago. As his financial resources increased he added to his property, until he now has three hundred and sixty acres of rich land in the homestead, and he also owns a valuable farm, of one hundred and ninety acres, in Decatur county, Iowa. While living upon his farm he engaged quite extensively in sheep-raising, mak- ing a specialty of Merino sheep.
More than a half a century has passed since George Stearns and Orvilla King started in life together as man and wife. Their wedding was celebrated August 2, 1849, the lady being a daughter of Obediah and Phoebe King, of Scipio township. Two children were born unto them : Frank E., who is now living in Chicago; and Clary S., a banker of Garden Grove, Iowa. The two sons went west as young men and for a few years were engaged in clerking for their uncles, in Garden Grove, Iowa, where they finally engaged in general merchandising for them- selves. Later on they were identified with the organization of the First National Bank in that place, with a branch bank at Leroy. C. S. Stearns now devotes his entire attention to the banking interests, while Frank E. still continues in mercantile pursuits, having a store at Carrollton, Mis- souri, and also being resident buyer in Chicago for a number of country merchants. Mr. and Mrs. Stearns gained a very large circle of friends and acquaintances in Seneca county, for the latter passed her entire life here, and our subject was but an infant at the time he was brought by his parents to this locality. The loved and devoted wife of our subject was summoned into eternal rest on the 9th of October, 1892, having been an invalid for about two years prior to her death. She was a wo- man of fine intellectual gifts, was widely read in the best literature and had that intrinsic courtesy, kindliness and refinement which denote the true gentlewoman. She was ever ready to lend her aid and influence in furthering all that tended to help the community, was charitable and tolerant in her judgment and liberal in her contributions to worthy
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causes. She was a woman of noble and gracious character and held the appreciative affection of an exceptionally wide circle of friends.
When the civil war was in progress Mr. Stearns enlisted for one hundred days' service, becoming a member of Company K, One Hun- dred and Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which command par- ticipated in the defense of Washington. Since the organization of the Republican party, he has been one of its stanch advocates, unswerving in his loyalty to its principles. His worth is widely recognized, for his life has been a busy, useful and upright one. Great changes have oc- curred in Seneca county since he took up his abode here. Time and man have wrought a wonderful transformation, for at the time of the arrival of the family this portion of Ohio was largely a frontier district in which the work of progress and improvement was scarcely begun. The greater part of the land was in its primitive condition, just as it came from the hand of nature, but the labors of the pioneers soon produced a great change in the appearance of the country, the wild forest districts being transformed into rich farms which became the homes of a contented and happy people. In the work of progress and improvement Mr. Stearns has ever borne his part, and his labors have resulted in promoting the public good and at the same time have brought to him prosperity as the reward of his enterprise and diligence.
CAPTAIN JOHN W. CHAMBERLIN.
In the death of Captain John W. Chamberlin, in 1901, the city of Tiffin, Ohio, lost one of her leading citizens. He was at that time the cashier of the Tiffin National Bank, a very prominent member of the Masonic fraternity and a well known veteran of the civil war.
Captain Chamberlin was born on a farm in Crawford county, Ohio, May 21, 1837, being a son of James and Roxanna (Courtright) Cham- berlin, the former of whom was born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and the latter being also a native of the same place. James Chamberlin moved with his family to Ohio in 1832 and embarked in the mercantile
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business in Mccutchenville, on the plank road between Tiffin and San- dusky, and remained there a number of years, where he was well known as a business man and postmaster. His first wife, who was the mother of our subject, spent the whole of her life in this state, dying January 19, 1850, at the age of forty-four years. She was a consistent member of the Methodist church, and he had been a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he was an elder. The only child by this marriage was the late John W. Chamberlin. The second marriage of Mr. Chamberlin was to a Mrs. Hall, by which union there were four children.
After passing his boyhood in farm work John W. obtained a situa- tion in a store in Mccutchenville and began a business career which ended only with his death. He taught school in the vicinity of the vil- lage for one year, going then to Iowa, where also he engaged in teach- ing. On his return to this state he was employed in a store until the outbreak of the civil war.
At the age of twenty-four he set about recruiting a company at and near Carey, and was elected and commissioned its captain. This new organization, which was raised in seven days, was made Company A of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Captain Chamberlin, whose commission was dated August 12, 1862, was mus- tered out of service with the rank of major, his commission as such being dated March 13, 1865. At Winchester, on June 15, 1863, the brigade of which his regiment was a part, while on the advance to Gettysburg, was surrendered to the enemy by an officer temporarily in charge, and Captain Chamberlin and his brother officers were confined nearly ten months in Libby prison at Richmond,-till March 21, 1864. While a prisoner Captain Chamberlin was placed on a board of distribution of supplies sent by our government to the enlisted soldiers and had personal charge of three large hospitals, with twelve hundred inmates. July 6, 1863, he and twenty-three other captives were compelled to draw lots, two to be executed in place of two Confederate captives executed by our government ; but the lot did not fall upon him. He was paroled March 21, 1864, and rejoined his regiment at Newmarket, Virginia, May, 1864, and he was finally discharged June 2, 1865, at Camp Chase, Ohio.
Returning to Carey, Captain Chamberlin resumed his mercantile
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pursuits. In 1874 he came to Tiffin as secretary of the Tiffin shoe fac- tory and held this position until 1878, when he was elected cashier of the National Exchange Bank. Upon its reorganization as the present institution, the Tiffin National Bank, he was retained in the same posi- tion. He took a prominent part in the organization of the State Bankers' Association and was elected its president.
Distinguished as was the late Captain Chamberlin as a soldier, a man of business and a financier, he is chiefly remembered for his emi- nence as a member of the fraternity of Freemasons. Masoary was the rule and guide of his life, and his improvement and excellence therein was with him his highest avocation. His dignity of presence and con- versation, his uprightness of character as well as his erectness of stature, his equable demeanor and his gentleness to all, were outward expressions of the esoteric truths which he not only believed but also lived. He was the only Mason in this part of the state who had attained the thirty- third degree of the craft,-an honor which is held by only a few in each state and which, unlike the thirty-second degree, cannot be obtained by application, but is conferred only for excellent and meritorious work in advancing the cause of Masonry.
His Masonic record will best indicate his standing in the order locally and throughout the whole country, and is here presented in an abridged form: He was made a Master Mason November 9, 1858; a Royal Arch Mason June 9, 1859; a Royal and Select Master Mason June 2, 1865; and a Knight Templar November 28, 1860; and the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite was conferred upon him April 5. 1866, and the thirty-third degree September 5, 1885. He was the master of Carey Lodge six years, of Tiffin Lodge four years, and con- ferred the lodge degrees on forty-nine candidates; was the high priest of Seneca Chapter, R. A. M., three years, and conferred the chapter degrees on thirty-four candidates ; was thrice illustrious master of Clin- ton Council for ten years, conferring the degrees on thirteen candidates ; was eminent commander of De Molay Commandery seven years, and conferred the chivalric degrees upon ninety-three candidates.
At the annual meetings of the grand lodge and grand chapter his
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ability was repeatedly recognized, and he was placed on the most import- ant committees. For six years he was chairman of the committee or charities and dispensation. In the grand chapter he was elected to the several offices, and in 1883 became grand high priest of the grand chap- ter of Ohio. He was elected president of the council of high priests, in which office he continued until his death. During these years as presi- dent he conferred the order of high priesthood on fully six hundred candidates. His efforts toward the founding of the Ohio Masonic Home at Springfield led to his appointment as trustee and treasurer of the in- stitution at the time of its inception, and he was thus incumbent to the day of his death. His lifelong zeal and his conspicuous abilities, recog- nized by the higher authorities, led to his recommendation and election to the thirty-third degree, the first and only time the honor has been enjoyed by a Seneca county Mason. His obsequies were conducted by the Knights Templar.
The first marriage of Captain Chamberlin was solemnized on June 6, 1861, to Miss Mary Cowles, who died May 13, 1867. A daughter, Mary, was born to this marriage and died in girlhood. On November 2, 1870, Captain Chamberlin was married to Miss Livonia R. Buell, who with one son, John W., now in young manhood, survives him. Mrs. Chamberlin was born in Wyandot county. Ohio, a daughter of Hon. William Myron and Laura P. (Starr) Buell, the former of whom was a native of Delaware county, Ohio, and the latter of New Hartford, Connecticut. Mr. Buell became a prominent merchant and grain-dealer at Crawfordsville and Carey, Ohio, and was a captain of militia in 1840, and went to California in 1852. In his political affiliations he was a Democrat, and at one time was a member of the California legislature. His death occurred in that state, when he was aged about fifty-nine years. The mother of Mrs. Chamberlin had an ancestral line reaching to the Mayflower, being a lineal descendant of Elder William Brewster, who came on that historic vessel in 1620, its first voyage to America. Her death occurred in 1849, when she had attained her thirty-seventh year. She had been the faithful and tender mother of six children, Mrs. Chamberlin being eight years old at the time of her decease. The latter was educated at Carey, Ohio, and spent several years in teaching. She
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now resides in the beautiful home left by her husband on Sycamore street in Tiffin, and is an active member of the Methodist church. Her son John is a student at the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland.
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