Centennial History of the City of Newark and Licking County Ohio, Part 10

Author: E. M. P. Brister
Publication date: 1909
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 913

USA > Ohio > Licking County > Newark > Centennial History of the City of Newark and Licking County Ohio > Part 10

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C. L. V. Holtz was a youth of eight years at the time of the removal of the family to this county, and in the district schools he pursued his education until he was afforded the privilege of becoming a student in the Normal University at Ada, Ohio. He there pursued a scientific course and afterward engaged in teaching for fifteen years. On the 1st of September, 1898, he came to Newark as night watchman in the county treasurer's office and was promoted to the position of deputy treasurer in March, 1899. He did not take the former position merely

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C. L. V. HOLTZ

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for the remuneration which it afforded him, but also that he might study the methods of the office, thereby bringing him in the line of promotion, and instead of sleeping he devoted his time to a study of the work connected with the care of the public funds. He soon gained a comprehensive and accurate knowledge of the duties of the office, and, in fact, manifested such proficiency, that when W. N. Fulton was a candidate for county treasurer, Mr. Holtz's name was used by him as a strong point toward his election, as he gave the promise of making Mr. Holtz his deputy treasurer if he secured the office. As stated, Mr. Holtz received his appointment as deputy in March, 1899, and thus continued through successive administrations until elected county treasurer in the fall of 1905, entering upon the duties of the position in the spring of 1906. He has thus worked his way upward through his own efforts, and has made an efficient officer. That his course met with popular approval is indicated in the fact that he was a candidate for reelection without opposition in the fall of 1908 and was elected by a majority of eighteen hundred votes. He has done excellent work as a public official, and no incumbent in office in Licking county enjoys in fuller measure the trust and respect of those who exercise the franchise. He is also a director and secretary and treasurer of the Licking County Bank & Trust Company.

On the 13th of November, 1905, Mr. Holtz was married to Miss Lillian Kislingbery, a native of Licking county. They have a pleasant and hospitable home and their circle of friends is an extensive one. Mr. Holtz is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the degrees of the lodge, chapter, council, commandery, and Mystic Shrine. He is likewise connected with the Elks and the Modern Woodmen. Wherever known, he commands regard, for he is noted for his fidelity, whether in office or in some quiet position where it is merely a matter of his own conscience and his own self respect. His life record contains many obvious lessons which might profitably be followed by others.

ERNEST JAY BARNES, M. D.

Dr. Ernest Jay Barnes, capable and conscientious in the performance of his professional duties, is by the consensus of public opinion accorded a prominent position in the ranks of the medical fraternity in Licking county. His birth occurred August 18, 1857, on a farm in St. Albans township, about two miles south of Alexandria, and he is a representative of one of the old and honored pioneer families of the county. In the paternal line he is of English and Scotch ancestry, three brothers having come from the north of England during the early period in the colonization of the new world, Dr. Barnes tracing his lineage back to Thomas C. Barnes, who was one of these brothers, and who settled on ground now the site of the city of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1636. Representatives of the family still live in all the New England states. Nathan Barnes, the great-grand- father, was a Revolutionary soldier, who valiantly aided the colonies in their struggle for independence. Most of the members of the family were men of large physique, and because of his small stature and neat appearance the great-grandfather was known

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among his comrades as Nathan the Slick. Joseph Barnes, the grandfather, was a native of Connecticut and was married in Bristol, that state, to Miss Maria Matthews. About the year 1818 he removed westward with his family, having already visited the state in company with his four brothers. He located in St. Albans township, when Licking county was a wild and unimproved district, giving little promise of rapid development. Much of the land was still in its primitive condition, few farms having been placed under cultivation, while the native forest trees were still standing and the streams were unbridged. It was long prior to the era of railroad travel and all of the evidences of pioneer life were here to be seen. Joseph Barnes made three round trips from his home in Connecticut to Ohio and on the fourth trip he remained in Licking county. These journeys were all made with a horse except on one occasion he sold his entire outfit and returned to Connecticut on foot. On these various excursions to the new country he increased his exchequer by selling clocks which he purchased in his native state. He reso- lutely took up the arduous task of establishing a home in the midst of the green woods and as the years passed he not only promoted his own success but also con- tributed to the welfare and upbuilding of the community through his active co- operation with many movements for the public good. He was a deacon in the Baptist church, while his brothers were prominent in the Presbyterian church. Joseph Barnes spent his entire life, from the time of his arrival in Ohio, on the farm on which Dr. Barnes was born. He cleared it from the native forest trees and brought the fields under a high state of cultivation. When he first came to the county, as his resources were very limited, he exchanged labor with a neighbor who owned an ox-team, working for the neighbor for a time in order to obtain the use of the team in breaking his land. As the years passed, however, he prospered and in his later years dealt in farm property and also engaged in loaning money. His family numbered three children : Emaret C., Jane S., and Henry Nathan.

The last named, Henry Nathan Barnes, was the only one of the family who married. His birth occurred on the old family homestead in St. Albans township, September 2, 1831, and he resided on that property and an adjoining farm until 1878, when he came to Granville, where he has since made his home. In 1856 he married Julia L. Bishop, who was born in Union township, about four miles south of Granville, May 1, 1838, and died September 30, 1885. She was a daughter of Zebina and Pluma (Myrick) Bishop, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of New York. They became pioneer residents of Licking county and here reared their family of four daughters and two sons, whose names were as follows: Ellen M., Julia L., Dr. Sylvester P., Estelle C., Caroline A., and Edwin. Two children died in infancy. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Henry N. Barnes there were born three children: Ernest Jay, of this review; Albert Spurgeon, a practicing physician of Columbus ; and Julia B., who for a number of years was superintendent of the Training School for Nurses at the German hospital in Buffalo, New York. and who in 1908 married Professor John W. Adams, now a teacher in the high school at Newark.

No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Dr. Ernest Jay Barnes in his boyhood and youth. He worked in the fields through the summer months and in the winter seasons attended the public schools. Later he entered Denison University. practically making his own way through

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college. Desirous of exerting his energies in a professional career rather than in agricultural life, he became a student in Detroit Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1879. Previous to that time, however, he had read medicine for five years under the direction of his uncle, Dr. Sylvester P. Bishop, of Delta, Ohio. Locating for practice at White House, Ohio, Dr. Barnes there remained until 1884, when he removed to Hebron, where he practiced until 1894. In that year he came to Granville, where he has since given his attention to general prac- tice. During his professional career he has been surgeon for numerous railroads and examiner for a large number of life insurance companies. His practice is of an important as well as extensive character and in all of his professional labor he has displayed marked fidelity to duty, performing his labors with a sense of con- scientious obligation that has gained for him the confidence and good will of his fellowmen. He is a member of the County, State and American Medical Associa- tions, and was honored with the presidency of the county society in 1905.

On the 27th of January, 1881, Dr. Barnes was married to Miss Louise E. Prouty, who was born in Mercer county, Ohio, and was brought to this county by her mother when two years of age. Her grandparents were pioneer settlers here. Her parents were Samuel D. and Ann (Patterson) Prouty, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Vermont. Both came to Licking county with their respective parents in the '30s and settled near Granville. The grand- father, Simon Prouty, afterward removed to Davenport, Iowa, where his only living daughter now resides. In the year 1849 he went to California, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast. The death of Samuel D. Prouty occurred September 1, 1862, when he was thirty-seven years of age, while his widow passed away in 1886, at the age of fifty-five years, her birth having occurred in 1831. After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Prouty they moved to Mercer county, Ohio, and established a home. Mr. Prouty was a stock dealer and farmer. After his death the widow, with her children, returned to the home of her parents in Granville township. They were the parents of six children: Samuel D., who for thirty years has been with the Vandalia Railroad Company and makes his home in St. Louis, Missouri; William, who died at the age of six years; George A., of Toledo; Cora Isabel, the wife of S. T. Budd, of Columbus; Mrs. Barnes; and Burton, also living in the capital city. The home of Dr. and Mrs. Barnes has been blessed with six children: Ernest Fancourt, a machinist; Paul Raymond; Harold Prouty, who owns and conducts the Barnes Pharmacy at Columbus, Ohio; Albert Kenneth, now attending high school; Henry Wendall, who died August 28, 1900, at the age of two years, one month and thirteen days; and Dorothea Louise, who died September 12, 1902, when only a year and seventeen days old.

Politically Dr. Barnes is a republican, interested in the growth and success of his party and recognized as one of its local leaders. He served as a member of the board of education while residing in Hebron and was also a member of the village council there. He is prominent and popular in Masonic circles, being a past master of Center Star Lodge, No. 11, F. & A. M., and is also a past chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias Lodge. For thirty years he has been a member of the Baptist church, devoted to its interests and generous in its support. His has been a well spent life, characterized by honorable principles and straightfor- ward purposes. His success, too, is attributable entirely to his own labors and in order to complete his college course he devoted two years to teaching while engaged

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in the study of medicine. Reading and research have kept him in touch with the advanced thought of the profession and throughout his entire connection with the medical fraternity he has been deeply interested in every question that tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life. In all non- professional relations he is modest and unassuming but his fellow citizens recognize his personal worth and respect him for what he has accomplished.

JAMES BLACK.

Among those deserving of honorable mention for the part they played in assisting in the development of the natural resources of Union township, this county, is James Black, now deceased, whose long life of unremitting energy and usefulness has left behind to preserve its memory evidences both of a noble character and also of a career of enterprise and industry. His birth occurred in Licking township, this county, December 28, 1810, and he spent his entire life in Licking and Union townships, within sight of his birthplace, his death having occurred here November 29, 1894. His parents, Mathew and Nancy (Taylor) Black, also spent their lives here and were among the early settlers of this county, having come to this section when it was thickly covered with forests. They were among others to whom the present generation is indebted for the magnificent farms, which are known throughout the country for their productiveness. Here Mathew Black installed one of the first saw-mills operated in this part of the county and in addition to carrying on general agricultural pursuits he engaged in the lumber business until he departed this life in his forty-eighth year. Among his children were: James, David, Harvey and Margaret.

The natural surroundings amid which James Black was reared were far different from those which appear in this section of the county today. At that time vast woodlands extended on all sides as far as the eye could see and it fell to him in his boyhood days to assist his father in cutting away the timber and in making ready land sufficient for cultivation, that the family might obtain sustenance therefrom. The advantages for acquiring an education being limited, Mr. Black was obliged to be content with what he learned in the neighboring schools, which at that time were far from the standard reached by the district schools of today. When his school days were over he settled down on his father's farm in the pursuit of general agriculture, at the same time assisting his father in operating his grist and sawmills, the latter having been located on Licking creek and known as the Black mills. This enterprise he continued to follow in Licking township until he was about sixty years of age, when he removed to the farm on which he departed this life, and which is located in Union township, the farm consisting of one hundred and fifty acres, which belonged to his wife, the entire amount of land which he had under cultivation being three hundred and seventy-five acres.

On June 12, 1843, Mr. Black wedded Margaret Ferrell, a native of this county, by whom he had one child, David N., who resides in Newark, Ohio. His first wife having passed away, he was united in marriage, on May 21, 1846, to

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MR. AND MRS. JAMES BLACK

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Elizabeth Rees, a native of Granville township, where her birth occurred November 25, 1825, a daughter of John and Barbara (Rhoades) Rees, with whom she removed to a farm in Union township, near the Licking courthouse in 1829. The father, a native of Wales, came here at the age of nine years with his father, Theophilus Rees, while the mother, who was of German extraction and a native of the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, came here with her parents who, after they liber- ated their slaves, sought a free country in which to rear their children. To Mr. and Mrs. Black, the latter having been one of a family of seven children, were born: Martha, wife of Rev. C. N. Harford, residing in Granville; Mary, deceased ; John R., who resides on part of the old farm ; James H., who lives in this township; and Rose Gertrude, who also resides here. Mr. Black, as an early settler of this part of the county, will long be remembered for his beneficial efforts in developing its natural resources and for the part he took in assisting to transform the wild forest land into fertile fields, and, having been a man whose morality was as prominent an element of his character as his industry, his name will long be associated with those of the worthy departed who in their day were the township's strong and substantial citizens.

CHARLES A. PIGG.

One of the most attractive as well as most productive farms of Madison township is the home of Charles A. Pigg, his property comprising one hundred and six acres, a part of which was formerly the old Pigg homestead. Mr. Pigg was born in a pioneer log cabin on what is known as the Wilson farm, the date of his birth being December 29, and the year 1834. He is the eldest in a family of four sons born of the marriage of George and Jane (Knox) Pigg, both of whom were natives of Cumberland county, England. Upon their emigration to the United States they at once made their way to Licking county and the father operated what is now known as the Wilson farm for fourteen years, or until 1848, when he purchased one hundred and twenty-five acres, a part of which is the present home of our subject, and the house which was erected by the father is still standing. He became a successful agriculturist and died September 16, 1862, when he was sixty-three years of age, while his wife, surviving for a long period, died in 1882 at the age of seventy-three. More extended mention of the parents is made in connection with the sketches of George T. and William Pigg, brothers of our subject. The youngest member of the family is David Pigg, who makes his home in Newark.

Charles A. Pigg spent the period of his boyhood and youth in much the usual manner of farm lads of that early period, assisting in the work of the fields during the spring and summer seasons, while through the winter months he pursued his studies in the district schools. He remained under the parental roof until the father's death, subsequent to which time, in connection with his brothers, George T. and William, he continued the operation of the home farm, then comprising two hundred acres. Being young men of enterprise, they eventually added to the home place a tract of one hundred and forty acres, and in addition to the

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cultivation of the soil they also raised sheep on a very extensive scale, often keeping as high as seven hundred head, and in this particular they became widely known throughout Licking county.

In 1875, owing to the marriage of the brother, George T. Pigg, a division of the property was made, and Charles A. Pigg took as his share eighty-five acres of the old homestead, on which stood the house and outbuildings. He then purchased from his brother David twenty-one acres, so that his place now embraces one hundred and six acres. It has been made very productive through the rotation of crops and the careful cultivation of the fields, so that each year he harvests rich crops as a reward for the care and labor which he bestows upon the land. He has also continued the raising of sheep, keeping only thoroughbred animals, and this branch of his business has resulted in an excellent financial return.

Mr. Pigg chose as a companion and helpmate for the journey of life Miss Cyrena Stadden, whom he wedded on the 14th of May, 1878. She was also a resident of Madison township and a daughter of George M. Stadden, now deceased. She has become the mother of one son, Edward Earl, at home. Mrs. Pigg is a most estimable and accomplished lady, ably conducting her household affairs, and it is largely through her encouragement and assistance that her husband has attained to his present degree of success. Both she and Mr. Pigg are consistent members of the Christian church, in the circles of which they are highly esteemed for their many excellent traits of character. Mr. Pigg is a democrat in principle and practice and for nine years served as trustee of his township. In whatever relation of life he is found he is regarded as the same straightforward and honorable man, highly esteemed by neighbors and friends, and his companion shares with him in the high regard in which he is uniformly held.

CHARLES B. ARNDT.

One of the enterprising commercial interests of Hanover is the store owned and conducted by Charles B. Arndt, a leading and highly respected citizen whose worth to the community all men acknowledge. He was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, June 21, 1836, his parents being Elias and Clarissa (Daniels) Arndt, both of whom were natives of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, born near Bethlehem. In that locality they were reared and married and late in the year 1834, or early in the year 1835, they came to Ohio, locating in Pickaway county. There the father engaged in farming for some time and afterward spent a few years suc- cessively in Columbus, Reynoldsburg and Bloomfield. Eventually he became a resident of Zanesville and the greater part of his life was passed in Muskingum county. For years he was a stage driver on the route between Circleville, Chillicothe and Columbus through Zanesville to Wheeling. Later he drove a stage from Zanesville to various points, and his last days were passed in Taylorsville, Ohio.

Charles B. Arndt was reared on the home farm and acquired his education in the common schools, but his opportunities in that direction were somewhat limited, for as early as his tenth year he became a wage earner, working in the

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glass factory in Zanesville at a salary of five dollars per month, receiving two dollars in cash, while the remaining three dollars were to be taken out in trade at the store. Subsequently he went to work in the pottery, where he was employed for some time, and then secured a position as cabin boy on the river. He followed the river for a while and for several years acted as cook, subsequently going on the Ohio canal, driving horses on the tow path. He was afterward made steersman and so continued until 1854, when he came to Newark to enter the employ of the Coshocton Coal Company at that place. For fifteen years he operated a coal boat for the company, taking coal down the canal from Coalport. During a part of this time he owned and operated a boat of his own and thus the profits of his labors came to him direct. In 1871 he removed to Hanover and since that time has been numbered among the merchants of the town, conducting a store here for thirty-eight years. He has always carried a good line of general merchandise and his efforts have been attended with gratifying and well merited success. He was also for some years, in connection with his mercantile interests, engaged in the manufacture of cigars and in the raising of berries, and those pursuits added materially to his annual income. He has always been a man of resolute purpose, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.

On the 17th of November, 1887, Mr. Arndt was married to Miss Mary Fleming, a daughter of Daniel Fleming, of Licking county, and unto them have been born three children, Clarissa K., Margaret F. and Caroline S., all at home. Mr. Arndt is a stanch republican where national issues are involved, but votes for the men irrespective of party ties at local elections. For several years he has served as township treasurer and in this as in every position of public trust that he has been called upon to fill, he has proved most loyal and capable. He is widely known in this section of the state and those with whom he has come in contact entertain for him warm regard. He is numbered among the self-made men of the county, working his way steadily upward from a very humble financial condition. Starting out in life for himself as he did at the age of ten years, he certainly deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, since his diligence and determination have constituted the rounds of the ladder on which he has climbed to the plane of affluence.

J. D. THOMPSON, M. D.

Dr. J. D. Thompson, descended from an ancestry honorable and distinguished, is fortunate in that his lines of life have been cast in harmony therewith. Widely known in Licking county, where his entire life has been passed, the years have chronicled his steady progress since he became a representative of the medical fraternity, and his pronounced ability in the field of his chosen labor has won for him classification among the eminent physicians and surgeons of this part of the state. His birth occurred in 1853 on a farm in Granville township, about two miles northwest of the city of Granville, and there he made his home during the period of his minority. His parents were William M. and Sarah (Dilley) Thompson. A sketch of the lives of Dr. Thompson's parents and grandparents appears on another page of this history.

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Dr. Thompson was one of a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters, and on the home farm his youthful days were passed, while his education was acquired in the public schools of Granville and in Denison University. A liberal literary education, therefore, served as the foundation upon which he reared the superstructure of professional knowledge, and having determined to engage in the practice of medicine as a life work, he entered the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, there winning his doctor of medicine degree in 1878. Returning to Ohio, he located for practice in Johnstown, where he remained until his removal to Granville in 1895. Here he has practiced continuously since and he keeps in touch with the advancement of the profession through his reading and study and through his membership in the Licking County, State and National Medical Associations.

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Centennial History of the City of Newark and Licking County Ohio, Part 10

Author: E. M. P. Brister Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Number of Pages: 913

Author: E. M. P. Brister
Publication date: 1909
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 913