USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 12
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 12
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John J. Hanby grew to manhood on his father's farm, attended the schools of his neighborhood about sixty days each year until he had reached his majority, and then was employed for one year at farm work by the month; he then rented his father's farm for two years, and on September 1, Isso, was married to his first wife, Miss Clara E. Zart- man, who bore to hint the following children: Josie Z., Vernon O., Chester A. and Clara Elsie E. The mother of this family died De- cember 16, 1891, and in April. 1893, Mr. Hanby, for his second wife, secured the hand of Miss Mary E. McCabe, daughter of Joseph and Margaret McCabe, of Van Wert county. and this union has been blessed with one daughter-Ella Ethel.
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
Mr. Hanby came to Van Wert county in 1881, and settled in Ridge township, where he is recognized as a model farmer. He is a gen- tleman of strict integrity and a true Christian, being a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife is a member of the United Brethren congregation. In politics he is a stanch republican, and in the spring of 1895 was appointed superintendent of the county farm, succeeding Dallas Johns. The institution, under his management, is kept neat and clean, both as to buildings and grounds, and the inmates are well cared for in all respects. Fraternally, Mr. Hanby is a member of lodge No. 251, I. O. O. F., uni- form rank, which meets at Van Wert. So- cially, Mr. and Mrs. Hanby are held in as high respect as any of the residents of Ridge town- ship, and the personal regard which is felt for him is not confined to Ridge township alone, but is extended throughout the county.
EORGE S. FREEMAN, the genial and affable proprietor of the Hotel Marsh, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of Flint, Mich., born Febru- ary 22, 1845. His father, Joseph Freeman, was born in New Jersey, in 1804, left his native state in 1836, and made his way to the town of Flint, Mich., where he followed the trade of carpentering. He was married in Flint, Mich., in 1840, to Louisa Kimbal, who was born in the state of New York in 1818, and to this union were born three children, viz: Ellen, wife of J. G. Fisher, a furniture dealer: George S., our subject, and Delaskie D., a grocery merchant of Flint, Mich. The father was a republican in politics, and was a successful business man, and died in 1871, a pious men- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. His widow became the wife of Horace Bristol, and now resides in Milwaukee, Wis.
George S. Freeman was reared in Flint until twenty-six years of age, when he engaged as an assistant with Newell & Co., in the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds, and in 1872 went to Bellevue, Ohio, and there en- gaged as a machinist in a furniture manufactory. where he remained until 1874, when he went to Fremont, and for eight years was clerk in the Ball Hotel; thence he went to Fostoria. Ohio, where he had charge of the Hayes House for two and a half years, when he returned Fremont and for a year and a half was pro- prietor of the Ball Hotel; he next went to Frankfort, Ind., and for six years was proprie- tor of the Coulter House, the leading hotel of that city, and then again went to Fremont, Ohio, and once more conducted the Ball Hotel for a year; he then purchased the Hotel Marsh. in Van Wert, and took possession thereof in May, 1892. This is the finest hotel building in the city, contains forty-five rooms, is steam heated, and is now the best conducted estab- lishment of its kind in northwestern Ohio, its tables being unsurpassed in any particular.
George S. Freeman was united in the bonds of matrimony, in Bellevue, Ohio, April 15, 1873, with Miss Dela Ford, who was born in Bellevue, January 4, 1854, a daughter of John and Thurza (Joint) Ford, and this union has been blessed by the birth of four children, viz: John, clerk in the Hotel Marsh; Harry and Harold, deceased, and Florine. The family are communicants of the Episcopal church, and in politics Mr. Freeman is a republican. Fraternally he is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias.
EVI HARNLY, deceased, was born June 17, 1831, in Richland county, Ohio, a son Christian Harnly. When brought to Van Wert county Levi was but a lad, and it was in this county that
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he was reared to manhood and educated in the public schools. In 1851 he bought forty acres of land in Ridge township, upon which he made his home until 1864, when he was drafted into the army and was assigned to company K, Seventy-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, Seventeenth army corps, and fear- lessly marched and fought with Gen. Sherman to the sea, but on the triumphal progress of the troops to take part in the grand review at Washington, D. C., was drowned in Tar river, N. C., about May 1, 1865. His estate was worth about $2,000, and he had been a most kind and loving husband; and his death was a source of great grief to his sorrowing widow, To her it is now proposed to devote the re- maining portion of this sketch.
Miss Milla Morse was born in Tully, Onon- daga county, N. Y., May 24, 1831, and she is a daughter of Barak and Rhoda (Gurney) Morse, the former a native of Boston, Mass., and the latter of the state of Maine. Miss Milla Morse was married to Levi Harnly in Van Wert county, Ohio, April 14, 1859, the cere- mony being performed by Rev. W. A. Baker. The events of her subsequent life will be re- lated further on in this sketch, a few words being given first to the history of her parents.
After their marriage they located in Onon- daga county, N. Y., where Mr. Morse entered a tract of land, upon which he was engaged in farming for several years; moving thence to the town of Tully, in the same county, he kept a hotel for a few years, and later became a con- tractor for the construction of a section of the great Erie canal, which extends from lake Erie to the Hudson river. Having fulfilled his contract he retired to Tully, where he passed the remainder of his life, making his home with his eldest daughter, Mrs. Mary Strail. The death of his wife occurred at Chenango Forks, Broome county, N. Y. The children born to the marriage of Barak and Rhode Morse, were
ten in number, as follows: John, deceased; Mary, wife of R. Strail, of Tully, N. Y .; Rachel, deceased; Relief, widow of the late Dr. P. J. Hines, of Van Wert; Rhoda, de- ceased; Phebe, deceased; Eliza, widow of L. Russell, of Pennsylvania; William, deceased; Milla, widow of Levi Harnly, and Maria, wife of Peter Hire, of Middlepoint, Ohio. Mr. Morse was in politics a democrat, and Mrs. Morse was a member of the Methodist Episco- pal church. Both always appreciated to a high degree the value of an education for the young, and did all in their power to give the best instruction to their children that they could afford.
Mrs. Milla Harnly was but fifteen years of age when she came to live with her sister, Mrs. P. J. Hines, of Van Wert. Being well educated in the public schools, she began teaching when eighteen years old, her first two terms being in Ridge township, for her services there receiving $1.50 per week. This was in the early history of Van Wert county. That her success in this Ridge township school was observed by those in charge of educa- tional matters is evident from her being called to Van Wert, where she had charge of one of the city school for several terms, after which she went to Washington township and taught there two terms. Then, after the death of her husband, she taught two terms in Tully township, and in 186S moved to Van Wert to educate her children. Soon afterward she es- tablished a select school, and in the following year she was again employed in the union schools of Van Wert, having charge of the first primary grade for about twelve years, at the end of which time she retired permanently from school work.
Mrs. Haruly is the mother of three chil- dren, viz: Mary, wife of D. J. Cable, an at- torney of Lima, Ohio; Clara, deceased wife of J. E. Montgomery, postmaster of Van Wert, 1
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
and David G., decsased. Since the death of her daughter, Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Harnly has taken charge of the three children thus left without a mother, and has been in every possible way a mother to them. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, was a leader in the woman's crusade at Van Wert, of the W. C. T. U., and for eight years was district secretary of the W. F. M. S., of Lima district. She is the owner of three fine res- idence properties in the city of Van Wert, and at the age of sixty-five is passing her days cheerfully and happily, still engaged in active christian work. Mrs. Harnly has a most lov- able disposition, and is esteemed by all her neighbors as one of the most intelligent and gracious ladies of the city of Van Wert.
It will be noticed that David Harnley, a brother of Levi Harnly, and whose sketch fol- lows, spells his name differently, and in his sketch will be found further details of the ancestry of Levi.
0 AVID HARNLEY, of the firm of Collett & Harnley, grocers of Van Wert, Ohio, and a son of Christian and Nancy (Reiff) Harnley, was born near Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio, November 17, 1833. Christian Harnley, the father, was born near Manheim, in Lancaster county, Pa., and by his marriage to Nancy Reiff became the father to nine children, viz: Maria, widow of A. Gilbert, of Kansas; Abra- ham, killed at the battle of Kenesaw mountain, which took place June 27, 1864; an infant, deceased; Levi, a sketch of whose life appears above; David, the subject of this article; Anna, of Kansas; Christopher, who was a member of company H, Fifteenth Ohio volun- teer infantry, was wounded at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, was taken thence to Saint Louis, where he had his leg amputated, and
there died; the ninth child was named Benjamin, and is now a resident of Kansas, where he is engaged in farming. The parents, on coming from Pennsylvania to Ohio, located in Rich- land county, where the father was engaged in weaving until 1848, when he came to Van Wert county and purchased land in Ridge township, where he farmed until his death. They were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church and in politics the father was a republican. They left a finely cultivated farm of eighty acres, beside other valuable property. The father was a man of peace and would sacrifice his own best interests rather than have trouble. He was a great friend of education and gave his children the best he could afford.
David Harnley, the subject of this sketch, at the age of twenty-one years, being released from the legal control of his parents, began learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed until his enlistment, August 4, 1862, in com- pany A, Ninety-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, which was assigned to the Fourth army corps, then to the Twenty-third army corps, and then to the army of Tennessee. He was first under the command of Capt. William S. Scott, then under Capt. W. T. Exline, and then, on the consolidation of his regiment with the Fiftieth Ohio infantry, was under Capt. Williams. Mr. Harnley was appointed orderly sergeant in 1863 and held this rank until discharged at Wilmington, N. C., March 4, 1865, when the consolidation took place and all surplus officers released from duty. The injuries sustained by Mr. Harnley while fighting for his country were caused by a sword-thrust in the groin at Cynthiana, Ky., and by a gun-shot at Kenesaw Mountain in June 1864.
On his return to Van Wert Mr. Harnley resumed carpentering, which he followed until the results of disabilities contracted during his army life, mentioned below, warned him to re-
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frain from hard labor. He then, in 1883, formed a 'co-partnership in the grocery trade in Van Wert, with William Collett, under the firm style of Collett & Harnley, and since then the firin has been doing an excellent trade at their original stand on East Main street, hand- ling choice groceries, provisions, queensware, tinware, and every thing pertaining to their line of business.
The marriage of Mr. Harnley took place November 6, 1856, to Miss Eleanor T. McCoy, a native of Van Wert county, born March 17, 1836, a daughter of D. W. and Esther (Gil- lespie) McCoy, who were the parents of four children, viz: Alexander, a farmer of Allen county, Ohio; Sarah Jane, deceased; Crayton William, a stock dealer of Van Wert, and Eleanor T., the wife of our subject. The parents of this family are now both deceased. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Harnley have been born two children-Harriet Lucretia, wife of William Smith, Jr., and Abigail Franes, wife of Sherman Allen, of the firm of Allen Brothers, grocers of Van Wert. Mr. and Mrs. Harnley are members of the Methodist Episco- pal church, in which he is a class leader, and in politics Mr. Harnley is a prohibitionist. He has been a member of the board of education and also of the town council; he is an Odd Fellow and a member of the G. A. R., and is highly respected throughout the community.
'ILLIAM HARP, a native of Van - Wert county, Ohio, was born in 1861 on the farm he now occupies, which farm his father settled upon in the wilderness forty years ago. Here Wil !- iam Harp grew to manhood, assisting his father, and in 1887 lie married Margaret R. Putman, daughter of Isaac and Sophia Put- man, who were born and grew to manhood
and womanhood in Mercer county, Ohio, and became the parents of the following children : Hughey, Solomon, Alexander, Fidelia. wife of Jesse King: Mary, wife of Date Krick; Rosa, wife of Charles Agler; Margaret, wife of Will- iam Harp; Laura and Frank, both deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. William Harp have been born two daughters-Rosa, who died in in- fancy, and Blanche, now four years of age. Mrs. Mary Harp at present makes her home with our subject, her son. Mr. Harp is the owner of 120 acres of very fertile land, eighty acres of which lay in Liberty township; this land is thoroughly underdrained, Mr. Harp having laid over 2, 500 rods of tile, the whole being now under a high state of cultivation. In politics Mr. Harp is an uncompromising democrat.
Jonas Harp, the father of William Harp. our subject, is a native of Miami county. He has always been a farmer, and married Mary Putman, to which union were born five chil- dren, viz : Commodor; Rosanna, wife of Henry Flager; Andrew, of whom an extended notice is given elsewhere; Lydia, married to Henry Brunni, William, who married Margaret Putman. Jonas Harp first located here when the country was a wilderness and here his family were reared; he was in politics a demo- crat, was an honest, hard-working man, and died on his farm December 25, 1861. The Putman family were early settlers of this coun- ty, also, and were greatly respected by all the pioneers. Mrs. Harp was born in Somerset county, Pa., in the year 1829, and was but eleven years of age when brought to Van Wert county by her parents; she did all the work of a man-grubbed, hoed corn, picked brush and cooked by an old walnut stump that stood in her present door-yard, and, having no table. the family ate their frugal meals on an old wooden chest. This lady is still living, vigor- ous in mind and body, and is still capable of
William Geary
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Anne Feasby
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
doing a hard day's work. Of such material as the Harp family were the early pioneers of Van Wert county, who have wrought out through hard toil-the toil of which their descendants have but the faintest idea- the beautiful fields that now embellish the country, and have erected the elegant mansions that dot the land- scape as far around as the eye can reach.
ILLIAM FEASBY, one of the lead- ing farmers of Tully township, Van Wert county, Ohio, descends from an old English family of farmers, and is an Englishman himself by birth, although. he has no recollection of his native land, having from infancy been reared in the United States. His father, Joseph Feasby, was born on a farm in Yorkshire. England, and there married Elizabeth Robinson, to which union were born two children, Jane and William. In 1851 Joseph Feasby brought his family to the United States, and in June of the same year settled on forty acres of land in the woods in Tully township, which land he cleared up. During the Civil war he removed to Van Wert city, but died in Tully township, on the farm, in 1889, at the age of seventy-five years. He had been a democrat in his politics, and was trustee of Tully and Harrison townships for seven years; had been a trader in and shipped live stock, and at one time was the largest shipper of cattle in Van Wert county. He was widely known as an excellent business man, and was implicitly trusted in for his in- tegrity and straightforward dealing.
William Feasby, whose name opens this biography, was born in Yorkshire, England, July 28, 1848, and was a mere infant when brought to this country by his father. He received a fair education, was reared a farmer, and January 3, 1878, married Anna Kirk, also
a native of Yorkshire, England, born June 26, 1856, a daughter of James and Mary (Elliott) Kirk. James Kirk came from Yorkshire in 1870, and settled on a farm near Van Wert. He now lives near Cincinnati, the father of two children, Joshua and Anna, and a highly respected citizen. After marriage, Mr. Feasby settled on a farm of eighty acres, which he had purchased in 1870, and had partly cleared, and to which he has since added until he now owns 280 acres, all cleared up and improved, excepting forty acres. In 1889 he built his present brick residence, which is two stories high and very substantial. To Mr. and Mrs. Feasby have been born thirteen children, as follows: Mary E., born Sunday, September 7. 1878, at I o'clock A. M., and died September 23, 1878; James, born November 14, 1879, at 3 A. M., on Friday, and died August 20, 1880; Mary J., born at 7 P. M., Saturday, March 5. ISSI; Flora A., born at 6 A. M., Sunday, Feb- ruary 12, 1882: Dorothea H., born June 7, 1883, at 8 p. M., Thursday; Rosa E., born at I P. M., Tuesday, December 9, 1884; Joseph M., born Friday, at 3 A. M., August 21, 1886; First Viola, born January 1, 1888, on Sunday, at I . A. M .; Joshua B., born S A. M., Wednesday, July 24, 1889; Charles C., born at I P. M., Thursday, December, 25, 1890; Benjamin F .. born at 10 P. M., Monday, March 14, 1892, an infant son, unnamed, born at I A. M .. Tues- day, April 19, 1893, and died June 5, 1893, and Willis, born June 6, 1895, at I A. M.
Mr. Feasby is a democrat in politics, and has served as supervisor four terms, and has been a member of the school board nine years, and is yet serving; he is a member of the I. O. R. M. of Convoy, and is highly respected as a useful citizen. He has a good farm and has been a dealer in cattle all his life, and is widely and favorably known throughout Van Wert county as one of its most successful traders in live stock.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
J OHN H. HARR, a deceased pioneer farmer of Van Wert county, Ohio, was born December 30, ISIS, in Fairfield county of the same state. His father, John Harr, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., was of German descent, became an early set- tler of Fairfield county, Ohio, and there mar- ried Miss Martha, daughter of John and Cath- erine (Wise) Stolter. To the marriage of John Harr and Martha Stolter were born two chil- dren-John H., and Elizabeth. After mar- riage, John Harr, Sr., located with his wife on a farm in Fairfield county, where he resided until his death.
John H. Harr, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the home farin, but was a young man when his father died. In 1843, when twenty-five years of age, he came to Van Wert county with his mother and her sister, Fannie, making the journey with horses and wagons. Here, in 1837, he had entered 160 acres in the woods, the deed being signed by M. Van Buren, president of the United States, in August, 1837. This land, after undergoing the usual hardships and privations of frontier life, he succeeded in converting into a bloom- ing farm, improved with modern and substan- tial buildings, that are furnished with all the latest-invented conveniences. The property has also increased to 180 acres, and it is all under a high state of cultivation.
In December, 1850, Mr. Harr married Miss Nancy Henney, daughter of William and Mary (Sands) Henney. The father, William Henney, was a pioneer of Van Wert county, having settled in Tully township in 1838. To Mr. Harr's union with Nancy , Henney there were born thirteen children, viz: William W., who died in infancy, and twelve that grew to maturity and were named: Wilson R., Cor- win, Uriah S., Alice L . Abraham L., Ada- nirum, Franklin (deceased), Newton, Emma John, Perry and Mary E. Of these, Wilson
R. married Etta Leslie, is now a resident of Parsons, Kans., is a machinist, and the father of two children; Corwin is the husband of Della Bronson, and has one child; Uriah S. married Bell Watters, is an employee in the railroad shops at Parsons, Kans., and is the father of four children; Alice L. is the wife of Benjamin Brittson, a farmer of Harrison town- ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, and is the mother of one child; Abraham L., now on the home farm, married Mary Seekings, who has borne him four children; Adanirum, a carpenter, married Nettie Lockman, who is now de- ceased, and is the father of one child; Frank M., a photographer, died in Chicago, and Mary E., is the wife of Ellsworth Snyder, a farmer of Harrison township.
John H. Harr was a stanch republican, always enjoyed the confidence of the people of Harrison township, and for two terms served them as township assessor. He was an hon- ored member of the Lutheran church for many years, and for a long time an elder. He was one of the founders of the Harrison township congregation, contributed liberally towards its church edifice, and was a member of the build- ing committee, His wife was also a devout member of the same congregation. Mr. Harr was one of the first auctioneers of his part of the county and as such became widely and favorably known. He was recognized as a inan of the strictest integrity and as a truly public- spirited citizen. He died October 2, 1895, deeply mourned by the community in which he had so long lived and whom he had done so much to serve.
ILLIAM CLARKSON HASTINGS, B. S., M. D., a leading physician and surgeon, of Van Wert, Ohio, is a native of New Castle, Henry county, Ind., is a son of William and Jane (Reece)
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
Hastings, and was born November 20, 1852. William Hastings and Miss Jane Reece were united in marriage November 30, 1831, and at once located near New Castle, Ind., and en- gaged in farming, and on their farm Mr. Hast- ings died, May 2, 1854. Mrs. Hastings re- tained her residence on the place until 1859. when she removed to Richmond, Ind., in order to avail herself of the educational advantages of Earlham college for herc hildren, her hus- band having assisted it financially in its early history. Here Mrs. Hastings resided until 1873. She now resides with her son, Dr. S. G. Hastings, of Muncie, Ind., a physician of considerable note in that city. Her eight children were born and named in the following order: David, deceased; John R., deceased; Martha C .; Rebecca J .; Dr. S. G .; Dr. A. H., of Winchester, Ind .; Sarah A., deceased, and William C., the subject of this sketch. The parents of this family were reared as members of the Society of Friends, and in politics the father was a whig. The latter was a man of more than ordinary mental ability, took great interest in educational matters, and was very successful in his financial management.
Dr. W. C. Hastings received his literary education at Earlham college, Richmond, Ind., for which purpose he was taken to that city by his mother when he was about seven years of age, and there he pursued his studies until 1873, when he was graduated from that insti- tution. He then entered the office of Dr. O. P. Baer, of Richmond, under whom he studied medicine until his graduation from the Pulte Medical college of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1880, when he located for practice in Winchester, Ind., where he passed one year, and, in 1881, removed to Van Wert, Ohio, where he has since resided, meeting with encouraging suc- cess in his practice and being fully recognized for his professional ability. The doctor was happily married August 26, 1874, in Camden,
Ind., to Miss Anna Grisell, the accomplished daughter of Albert and Rachel (Starbuck) Grisell. Mrs. Hastings was born on the 13th day of July, 1855, and is a lady of culture and many excellent traits of character. The home of Dr. and Mrs. Hastings has been brightened by the birth of two intelligent boys: Albert C., who was born December 26, 1879, and Frederic W., whose birth occurred on the 18th day of October, 1882. Politically the doctor is a republican, and while taking an active interest in public affairs is by no means a partisan in the sense of seeking official posi- tion at the hands of his fellow-citizens, pre- ferring to devote his attention to his chosen calling. He has established the reputation of a successful physician, and has been rewarded with a large and lucrative practice from the beginning of his professional career. The doc- tor is a prominent member of the Homeopathic State Medical association of Ohio and of the American institute of Homeopathy, and as a general practitioner his success nas been most flattering. For the last ten years his practice has been so extensive as to compel him to em- ploy an assistant, and at times two, to aid him in his work. While eminent in his profession the doctor is also a man of varied acquire- ments, of fine esthetic taste and culture, and has done much reading in general literature, having a liberal acquaintance with the best au- thors. He is a man of fine presence, being above the average height and possessing a well-knit frame, and impresses all with whom he comes in contact by his courteous and dig- nified bearing. Fraternally he is a member of the F. & A. M., in which he has taken the degree of sir knight, and for some years has been prominently identified with the order of Odd Fellows. In religion both the doctor and his wife are devout Presbyterians, and their social standing is on par with that of the fore- most citizens of Van Wert city and county.
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