USA > Ohio > Hardin County > A twentieth century history of Hardin County, Ohio : a narrative account of its historical progress its people and principal interests, Vol. II > Part 13
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In September. 1864. Mr. Tidd tendered his services in defense of the Union. He enlisted in Company HI. one Hundred and Eigthy- third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Twenty-Third Corps of the Army of the Potomac, and with which he participated in the various engagements in which the command was involved, including the battles of Franklin and Nashville. Ile continued with his regiment until the close of the war, being mustered out on the 17th of July, 1865, and duly receiving his honorable discharge. Mr. Tidd retains a deep interest in his old comrades in arms and signifies the same by his mem- bership in the Hatfield Post, No. 420, Grand Army of the Republic, at Roundhead, of which veteran organization he was formerly chaplain.
In polities Mr. Tidd is arrayed as a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and while a resident of MeDonald township, he served as a member of its board of trustees for two terms. He was a trustee of Roundhead township for one term and for six years was a member of the board of directors of the county infirmary. In addi-
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tion to his farm property he is also the owner of improved real estate in the village of Anger, and he is also a stockholder in the Alger Savings Bank. In that village he and his wife are zealons and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 20th of September, 1860, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Tidd to Miss Margaret MeElhany, who was born in Marion town- ship, this county, on the 14th of April, 1838. and who was reared on the farm of her father, Isaac McElhany, a worthy pioneer of this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Tidd have been born four children, concerning whom the following brief record is given in conclusion of this sketch : Arilla E. died at the age of thirteen years: Frank, who died at the age of thirty years, in 1905, married Miss Leota Poe, who survives him and resides in Marion township, and has one son, Wilbur; Albert, who was born August 16, 1876, and who married Miss Mary Irwin, is a representative farmer of Marion township and they have two children, Mary E. and Blanche E .; and Hallister S., who was born October 17. 1881. is simi- larly engaged in Roundhead township. He married Myrtle Davis, and their two children are Helen R. and Margaret I. Mrs. Tidd died suddenly March 28, 1910.
JAMES M. ILIVELY .- Among the successful farmers of Cessna town- ship, Hardin county, Ohio. none is more prominent than James M. Hively, a native of the township, born November 22. 1863, a son of David and Rebecca (Mathews) Hively. David Hively was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, and there grew to manhood. He located in Hardin county before his marriage, moved several times, and finally bought the Mathews farm, which had been entered by the Mathews family about 1835, and here Mr. Ilively and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. He and his wife were devont and earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and had the highest respect of all who knew them. They had nine children, four sons and five daughters, all now deceased but two, Mrs. H. J. Huggett. of Huntersville, Ohio, and James.
James M. ITively was born on the farm where he now lives and was educated in the district school, attending school winters and helping with the work of the farm through the summers. ' When about twenty years of age he entered Ada College and spent two terms there. Ile then turned his undivided attention to agricultural pursuits, in which he has taken great pleasure and reaped a good profit. He has made a careful study of scientific farming and has become very proficient in this line. IIe deals extensively in stock, buying cattle to feed and ship. For the past ten years Mr. Hively has grown alfalfa quite extensively. and in this line he has also met with gratifying success. He carries on his work in an able manner, making a careful study of rotation of crops and all other subjects which affect the fertility and productiveness of his land. Ile is a great admirer of fine stock and is a good judge of the same.
Mr. Hively is one of the progressive and enterprising farmers of Cessna township, where he owns three hundred and seventy acres of
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land in a fine state of cultivation. He and his wife are members of Pleasant Hill Grange. and belong to the Methodist Episcopal church of Huntersville, of which he is a steward. Politically he is one of the stalwart Republicans of Hardin county, and takes an active interest in public affairs. He and his wife are well known in the community, where they are well liked and exceedingly popular with all.
In 1892 Mr. Hively married Hattie A. Cessna, danghter of J. D. and Eliza A. Cessna, and who was born in the township, where she was reared and educated, attending the district school. She has spent her entire life on the farm, and takes an intelligent interest in everything that goes on in her home. She is one of the highest type of farmer's wives, always ready to give her assistance where possible. They are the parents of three children : John D., Carrie A., and Wilber J.
EUROTIS S. NEELEY .- The career of this honored citizen of Hardin county stands in patent exemplification of what may be accomplished by one who is endowed with such determination, ambition and energy that he can hurl back impotent the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" and through his own efforts rise superior to circumstances and bend fate to his will. Judge Neeley initiated his independent career when a mere boy; his educational advantages has been most meager; he had no fortuitous aid of any kind,-and yet in the face of this he gained a liberal education, became a successful educator, and finally was called upon to serve in the important office of judge of the probate court of Hardin county. The tangible evidence of the material snecess which he has gained is that given by his ownership of one of the fine farms of Marion township, this county, where he is now living the generous and independent life of the husbandman and finds that his "lines are east in pleasant places." In offering record concerning such worthy and honored citizens this publication exercises one of its most important functions.
Eurotis S. Neeley was born on a farm in Berlin township, Knox county, Ohio, on the 7th of July, 1862, and is a scion of one of the sterl- ing pioneer families of the old Buckeye state. Ilis father, the late William Neeley, was born in Holmes county, this state, from whence he eventually moved to Knox county, where was solemnized his marriage to Miss Rebecca JJ. Durbin, daughter of John Durbin, who was a native of Pennsylvania, of German lineage, and who early settled in Knox county, Ohio, where the mother of Judge Neeley was born and reared. In 1862 William Neeley moved with his family to Hardin county and located in Marion township, where he became the owner of a farm, to whose culti- vation he gave his attention during the residne of his active career. Both he and his wife died in this county, the former having passed away in 1879 and the latter in 1901.
Judge Neeley was but four weeks old at the time of the family re- moval to Hardin county, and he passed his boyhood days on the home farm, beginning to give the major part of his time to its work while still a mere boy and being enabled to attend the district school only until he was eleven years of age,-and that during the winter terms only. There-
Ourotis geely.
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after he gave all of his time to the work of the farm until he was sixteen years of age, when his mother died and he set forth to face the battle of life on his own responsibility. He went to Wells county. Indiana, and here he earned his first dollar by strenuous work of cutting timber. He thereafter continued to devote his summers to farm work and his winters to attending sehool until he had made sufficient advancement in his studies to become eligible for pedagogic honors. He remained in Wells county. Indiana, about two years and thereafter worked and attended school at various places in Ohio until 1883, when he secured his first position as a teacher. in a district school in Allen county. In the meanwhile he so earefully conserved his resources that he was finally able to complete a course in the Ohio Northern University at Ada. Hardin county, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1898. and from which he received his well earned degree of Bachelor of Science. He was engaged in educational work, with unvarying success, for a total of fifty-seven terms, and his career as a teacher thus covered a period of about twenty years. during the last eight of which he was principal of the Central school of Kenton, the county-seat of Hardin county. When thirty-two years of age he re- ceived a life certificate as a teacher in Ohio.
In 1902, while still a teacher in the Kenton schools. Judge Neeley was elected to the office of judge of the probate court of Hardin county, being the candidate on the Republican ticket and receiving a majority of ninety-eight votes. Three years later, at the expiration of his first term, he was re-elected, and the manifestation of popular approval of his administration was made most significant at this time, as he was re-elected by the gratifying majority of eight hundred and two votes. He served as judge of probate for six years, retiring from office on the 9th of February, 1909, and in April. 1909, he removed to his farm in Marion township, where he has since continued to devote his attention to the great basie industries of agriculture and stock-growing and where he is carrying forward his operations with marked enterprise and dis- crimination. availing himself of the practical experience of earlier years as well as of his admirable intellectual powers, which here come into effective play, even as they would in other lines of business enterprise. The homestead farm, improved with substantial buildings and equipped with modern machinery and implements, comprises one hundred and seventy-one acres of land, and the Judge gives his personal supervision to all details of operation. Incidentally it may also be stated that the attractive home is a center of gracious and refined hospitality, and that it is a favored rendezvous for the wide circle of friends that JJudge Neeley and his family claim as their own.
In politics Judge Neeley is admirably fortified in his convictions and gives an unyielding adherence to the Republican party. in whose cause he has given effective service. Ile was one of the staunch supporters of the local option movement which reached so favorable culmination in Hardin county, and was chairman of the local option leagues of the county. He is an appreciative member of the time-honored Masonic fraternity, in which his affiliations are with Latham Lodge, No.
Vol. II-7
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154. Free and Accepted Masons; with the Chapter, Royal Areh Masons ; with the Conneil, Royal and Select Masters and with Commandery, Knights Templars,-all of which organizations are established in Kenton, this county. He is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 21st of June, 1891, Judge Neeley was united in marriage to Miss Byrd Turner, who was born and reared in Hardin county and who is a daughter of the late Lee Turner, a representative and honored citizen of this section of the state. Judge and Mrs. Neeley became the parents of seven children, of whom five are living, their names, with respective dates of birth, being here noted. Lois, Angust 11, 1894; Helen, January 17, 1900; Samuel W., June 4, 1901; Eurotis P., Angust 9, 1903; and James L., June 18, 1905. Richard K. was born June 21, 1908, and died on the 19th of August, 1909, and John Howard, who was born on October 20. 1909, died on the 25th of October, following.
RICHMOND JOHNSON, formerly a prosperous farmer but now retired from active life, resides in Forest. Ile was born in Richmond, New York, in 1828, and is a son of Michael and Permelia (Standish ) Johnson, both natives of New York state. The parents were married in New York and later moved to Hancock county, Ohio. Michael Johnson was a tailor by trade, and had children as follows: Emily, Sarah (deceased), Horace (deceased), and Richmond. The only two surviving are Richmond and Emily. Horace served in the Civil war, in the Eighty- second Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; he was wounded and made a prisoner of war, and never recovered from its effects.
Richmond Johnson received his education in the public schools of his native county; he was reared on a farm and has spent most of his life in agricultural pursuits, in which he has been more than ordinarily snecessful. He moved with his parents to Hancook county, Ohio, in 1839, and by his industry and close attention to his financial interests he was able to purchase one farm after another until he was possessed of three hundred acres of land, and besides had a good bank account. Besides his holdings in Hancock county he now owns twenty acres in Forest, where he resides. He is highly esteemed by his fellow citizens, and has been honored with some township offices. Mr. Johnson is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Ile is a publie- spirited citizen, and actively interested in publie affairs.
Mr. Johnson has been twice married, first, in 1863, to Amanda Burrell, by whom he had five children, two of whom survive, namely : William and John. In 1878 Mr. Johnson married Sarah Spencer, who was born in Richland county, Ohio, in 1846; to this union were born children as follows: Addie, wife of D. Conover; Ethel. Mrs. R. Thomp- son ; Harlow and Clifford. Mr. Johnson has had eleven grandchildren. He uses his influence for all good canses, and is a useful member of society.
JOHN F. HIGHSLIP .- Among the representative citizens of Cessna township is numbered John F. Highslip, who was born within the
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borders of the township on the 11th of January, 1858. a son of Andrew and Sarah A. (Lee) Ilighslip, the father born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, and the mother in London, England. They were married in Cessna township of Hardin county, and of the seven children which blessed their marriage union only a son and daughter are now living. the latter, Phoebe J., being the wife of John Sharf.
John F. Highslip, the only living son. was reared in his native township of Cessna, receiving his educational training in its district schools, and in his later life he has become one of its most influential and best known business men. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land within the township. and is extensively engaged in the breeding of Rambouillet sheep. His sheep have won many premiums at the state fairs and at other exhibits, and he is a member of the Sheep Breeders Association. During 1886 and 1887 Mr. Highslip served in the capacity of a fireman on the Erie railroad. but aside from this his energies have been mostly directed toward his farming and stock raising. He is one of the active workers in the local ranks of the Democratic party and is a member of the present board of trustees of Cessna township.
On the 29th of September, 1880. Mr. Highship was married to Martha A. Jackson, a native danghter of Cessna township, born on the 7th of April. 1857. and they have become the parents of five children : Elva. born September 6, 1881. and now the wife of Clarence Steiner : Cary II .. deceased; Goldie B., born March 3. 1888, the wife of Earl Bowman: William R., born January 15. 1892; and Corolena E., born April 9. 1897. Mrs. Highslip belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church at Huntersville. Mr. Highslip finds his chief recreation from business in hunting, and has several fine specimens of deer which he has killed in the forests of Michigan.
WILLIAM W. RUNSER, attorney at law and general manager of the Water, Ileat & Light Company at Ada. Ohio, ocenpies a place among the leading citizens of the town. He was born in Marion township. Ilardin county, Ohio. March 4. 1870, son of Charles W. and Martha M. (Lawrence) Runser. the former a native of Massillon, Stark county. Ohio, and the latter. of Pennsylvania. Charles W. Runser when a hoy rame with his parents. Andrew and Isabel Runser. to Hardin county and settled on a farm in Marion township. his father being the second owner of this land after it passed out of the hands of the government. Ilere Charles W. spent his boyhood days and grew to manhood. assisting his father in clearing and cultivating their pioneer farm. The Lawrence family came from Pennsylvania to Ohio in the early history of the state and settled in Hardin county, where they lived for several years and from whenre they subsequently moved to Champaign county, Illinois. It was in Champaign county that Charles W. Runser and Martha M. Lawrence were married. The same year they were married they returned to Ohio and settled on a farm in Marion township. Hardin county. where they are still living. They have five sons, all of Hardin county. namely: Clarence D. and William, of Ada: Charles C .. of Marion township; and Roscoe A. and Franklin J .. of Liberty township.
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William W. Runser was reared at the old homestead and received his early training at Rising Sun school in Marion township. Later he entered the Ohio Northern University at Ada, where he graduated in the elassical course in 1897. and in the law department in 1898. In October of the last named year he was admitted to the bar, and from that time until July. 1904. he was a teacher in the department from which he had just graduated. After teaching for six years he engaged in the practice of law, in which he has since been occupied in connection with other business. Ile was one of the organizers of the Ada Water, Heat & Light Company, and is now its secretary and general manager. Also he is interested in a building and loan business.
Fraternally Mr. Runser is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and with the Free and Accepted Masons, having membership in the lodge and chapter at Ada and in the commandery at Lima.
JUDSON A. RAREY .- Energetic and enterprising, Judson A. Rarey is extensively engaged in agricultural pursuits in Hardin county, his home farm in Pleasant township being one of the best managed and finest improved of any in the neighborhood, the estate having an air of pros- perity that invariably attraets the attention of the passer-by. and gives evidence of the excellent judgment he displays in his operations. A son of the late Nicholas Rarey, he was born August 16, 1865, in the township where he now resides, and where his life has since been spent. Ilis paternal grandfather, Parker Rarey, a native of Virginia, was a pioneer of Franklin county. Ohio, locating there early in the nineteenth century. He married Mary Burgett, who was born in Maryland, and of the eight children born to them two are now living, namely: Clorinda and Martha A.
Nicholas Rarey was born, March 2. 1824. in Franklin county. Ohio, which was likewise the birthplace of his cousin, John S. Rarey, who achieved a world-wide reputation as a horse tamer and trainer. A farmer by occupation. he settled in Pleasant township. Hardin county, and on the land that he improved spent his last years, dying November 12. 1903. He was twice married. by his first wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Johnson, having five children. as follows: Aroh M., Ann E., Franeis M .. Jefferson P. and Parker A., all of whom are deceased save Ann E., who is the wife of J. C. Johnson. He married seeond, Novem- ber 23. 1854. Maria L. Allen, who was born in Ohio, on the banks of the Scioto river. January 4, 1834, and died December 6, 1906. She was a daughter of A. H. and Rebecca Allen. To her and her husband five children were born, namely: Iva R., deceased, was born October 24. 1855; Clarinda E., deceased. horn March 18, 1858: Maria L., born March 20. 1860. is the wife of J. Bishop ; Judson A., subject of this brief sketch ; and Edmund M., born May 19, 1871. Mr. Rarey served in the Civil war from May, 1864, until September. 1864, being a member of Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Ohio National Guards.
Developing into a sturdy manhood on the home farm, Judson A. Rarey received his elementary education in the distriet schools, after
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which he took a classical and business course at the Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, He has since devoted his energies mostly to agricultural pursuits, and in his operations has met with marked success and now owns two valuable farms, his home estate of one hundred and eighty-seven aeres, and a farm of one hundred and fifteen acres in Dudley township.
Mr. Rarey married, in 1889, Iva A. Marshall, who was born August 11, 1867, in Union county, Ohio, a daughter of J. C. Marshall, who served as a soldier in the Civil war for three years, being a member of the Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, from which he was honorably discharged at the close of the conflict. Ile was born, December 26. 1841, in Union county, Ohio, a son of Joshua and Annetta (Coolidge) Marshall. On April 1. 1866, Mr. Marshall married Sarah Ann Evans, whose birth occurred, February 4. 1845. in Champaign county. Ohio, and to them five children were born. as follows: Iva Annetta, wife of Mr. Rarey; Fred E., born December 22. 1869; Joseph, born July 29, 1873; Vietor J., born May 4, 1880; and Park, born August 2, 1885, who died March 7, 1889. J. C. Marshall died October 12, 1908. and his wife in 1892.
Francis M. Rarey, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Rarey, was born August 23, 1890, in Pleasant township, Ilardin county. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
ALFRED T. SPONSLER, a prominent farmer and stockman of Cessna township, Ilardin county, Ohio, was born in Taylor Creek township. Hardin county, November 22. 1847, a son of Jacob and Margaret (Slonaker) Sponsler, both natives of Pennsylvania. Jacob Sponsler and his wife were reared in their native state and after their marriage settled in Hardin county, Ohio, spending the remainder of their lives in Taylor Creek township. Ile became prosperous and well-to-do. clearing and improving his land. He was the father of nine children, of whom seven are still living (1910).
The boyhood and youth of Alfred T. Sponsler were spent on his father's farm in Taylor Creek township; he went to the district school winters and helped with the farm work as soon as old enough. Ile was an ambitious student and acquired sufficient education to enable him to teach, which he continued six winter terms. Ile received his profes- sional training in the normal school in Lebanon, Ohio.
In 1873 Mr. Sponsler married Joanna Baldwin, and they had three children, as follows: Minnie, wife of Alfred Il. Fulton ; Ora, a graduate of Kenton high school and also of Delaware College; and Francis C .. of Denver, Colorado. Mrs. Sponsler died October 14. 1896, and Mr. Sponsler married for his second wife Mrs. Minnie ( Roby ) Cessna, widow of Grant Cessna, by whom she had one child. Meva. Of the second marriage one child was born. Inez S., attending school. Mr. Sponsler and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Fairview. in which he is a trustee, and he has served many years in the capacity of superintendent and assistant superintendent of Sunday schools. Politi- eally he is a Republican and has served as a member of the school board.
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He owns three hundred and twelve acres of fine, fertile farm land in Cessna and Lynn townships, which he has all under cultivation, and looks carefully after the conduct of his farms. He makes a specialty of stock raising and has a good grade of stock. HIis present handsome residence was erected in 1903. and it is well situated on a pleasant site; the house has every modern convenience and is equipped with a hot water plant. Mr. Sponsler makes a study of modern methods and is an enterprising, up-to-date farmer. Ile is actively interested in public affairs and is a publie-spirited, useful citizen.
CHARLES W. LEASE is one of the representative farmers of Washing- ton township, where he owns a splendid estate of one hundred and eighty acres. He has owned this land since 1893, and he has made many needed and valuable improvements thereon since it has been his home. and during these years he has also served his township as trustee. Born in Logan county, Ohio, July 10, 1854, he is a son of George and Johanna Lease, who moved from Logan county to Taylor Creek township, in Hardin eounty in 1863, and their names are therefore enrolled among the pioneers of this county. Mr. Lease was a son of Samuel Lease, who had moved from Ross county, this state, to Logan county in the early year of 1826. On locating in Hardin county George Lease purchased ninety acres of wild and unimproved land, and moving into a little log cabin he set to work to clear his land and prepare it for cultivation, and all this he succeeded in accomplishing in due time. He bought land from time to time till he had two hundred and twenty-seven acres. Of the three children which were born of his marriage the two now living are Margaret, wife of C. E. Beckett, of this eonnty, and Charles W.
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