USA > Ohio > Licking County > Newark > Centennial History of the City of Newark and Licking County Ohio > Part 74
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On February 14, 1886, Mr. Smoke wedded Miss Mary Rickley, a native of this township where her birth occurred September 1, 1867, and a daughter of Frederick and Sarah (Hagy) Rickley, both of whom reside here. To Mr. and Mrs. Smoke have been born ten children : Grover, who lives in Columbus; Walter, Oliver, Myrtle, Ora, Helen, Irma, Carl, Earl and Elmer. In politics Mr. Smoke has always been a republican and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belongs to St. Jacobs German Reformed church, of Germantown. He is a man of noble traits of character, of industry and enterprise, and these qualities have always enabled him to stand high in the respect and confidence of the community.
SAMUEL J. PARR.
Samuel J. Parr, a prosperous and well known farmer of Franklin township, a member of a family that for more than a century has been identified with the agricultural interests of Licking county, was born in Franklin township, October 10, 1851. His parents were George D. and Leanah (Hisey) Parr, the former being a native of this county where his birth occurred on September 3, 1818. Here he was reared and educated and engaged in tilling the soil until he departed
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this life in the year 1898, at the ripe old age of eighty years. He was considered one of the substantial and representative citizens of the county, was recognized as a leader in politics on the democratic side and served the community in a number of township offices. His wife was a native of Shenandoah county, Vir- ginia, where she was born in the year 1821, and when a girl removed to this county, where she was united in marriage and where she passed away on September 29, 1898, and was laid to rest beside her husband, who passed away in the same year. She came to this county with her father, Jonathan Hisey, who was one of the early settlers of the community, having located here in the year 1828. Mr. and Mrs. Parr had the following children: Jonathan, deceased; Elizabeth, wife of T. E. Osborn, a retired farmer of Newton; and Samuel J.
In the old-time log schoolhouse Samuel J. Parr acquired his education and then remained on the home farm until he was twenty-two years of age, when he located on a farm in Franklin township, where he has since followed agricultural pursuits. His farm embraces one hundred and fifty acres of excellent land, the soil being rich and very productive. When he took hold of this tract it was prac- tically undeveloped and without any buildings but Mr. Parr at once industriously applied himself to the task of development and has since improved the property with an excellent residence and the necessary outbuildings and modern machinery so that his farm is now as fine a piece of land for agricultural purposes as there is in the county. In addition to producing hay and the various kinds of grain, Mr. Parr makes a specialty of breeding and feeding Chester White hogs and he has as fine stock in that line as can be procured.
Mr. Parr, on May 7, 1874, wedded Miss Sybilla C. Motherspaugh, a native of Franklin township, and a daughter of Samuel and Mary Ann (Swisher) Mother- spaugh, who were also born in Franklin township, their births occurring in 1825 and 1830 respectively. Both passed away in the year 1889, on their farm in Franklin township near the Lutheran church, which is now occupied by their son. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Parr have been born the following children: William C. and Orville G., deceased ; Bessie, wife of Charles Tavener, a farmer of Franklin township; and Maud. In politics Mr. Parr has always been associated with the democratic party and for several years served as township trustee. He is a member of the agricultural board of Newark and in Masonry of the blue lodge, chapter and consistory. He is also affiliated with Rowland Lodge, No. 305, Knights of Pythias. Mr. Parr is a man of acknowledged integrity and one of the enterpris- ing and representative men of the community. It has been through his own exertions and careful management that he has attained to his present position of independence and prosperity.
MILTON L. MONTGOMERY.
Milton L. Montgomery, one of the pioneer agriculturists of Perry township. this county, who for upwards of three-quarters of a century has been actively engaged in tilling the soil and is now living a retired life in the enjoyment of the fruits of his long season of honest and carnest toil, was born here March 30.
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MR. AND MRS. M. L. MONTGOMERY.
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1828, a son of Henry and Mary (Grimes) Montgomery, his father having been a native of county Tyrone, Ireland, where his birth occurred January 8, 1790. With other members of the family Henry Montgomery landed in America in 1803, locating in Augusta county, Virginia, where he remained until his marriage with Miss Mary Grimes, who was born there. Removing to Licking county, he located in this township, where he lived in the active pursuit of agriculture and stock- raising until he departed this life. He was among the early pioneers of this county and was numbered among those who hewed down the forests and trans- formed the rough and arid acres into the vast expanse of fertile fields which today make the state known throughout the country for its fruitfulness. For sixty-four years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, having united with that organization in the year 1807. Among his children were: Margaret, Wesley G., James S., Catherine, Nancy, William W., Sarah Ann, John H., Milton L. and Samuel H.
. The boyhood days of Milton L. Montgomery were spent upon his father's farm, where he engaged in the daily routine of agricultural life during the summer season and in the winter attended the district school, where he obtained the rudiments of an education, for at that time the school system in the county was far from its present state of development and offered few advantages of anything like what would approach a complete course of training, but with this Mr. Montgomery was obliged to be satisfied, and he remained on the home farm until he was united in marriage, at which period of his life he left home and purchased the farm upon which he now resides. When he located upon this land it was in a raw condition, most of it being covered with timber and the remaining portion in a rough and undeveloped state and it was only by hard work, perseverance and patience that he succeeded in putting it into shape for cultivation. His first dwelling house was a small log cabin, having a clapboard roof, puncheon floors and the usual latch string upon the door. In this he lived for two years. Subse- quently he erected a frame dwelling house which he vacated after fourteen years and constructed an elegant brick residence, consisting of thirteen rooms, which is considered one of the finest residences in Perry township. He owns three hundred acres of land, all of which is highly cultivated and on which he has made many improvements. The farm is provided with every convenience with which to carry on the work to the greatest advantage. While Mr. Montgomery has always paid attention to producing general crops he is engaged especially in raising and feeding stock and during his career he has shipped large quantities of horses, cattle, sheep and hogs throughout this and adjoining states.
He was united in marriage to Miss Matilda J. Fleming, a native of this township, where her birth occurred August 26, 1833, and a daughter of T. D. and Rebecca (Hall) Fleming, both of whom were natives of this county, where they spent their days and departed this life. To this union have been born three children, namely : Quinn, the eldest, living in Perry township; Emma I., widow of John Wintermute; and Anna R., deceased. The mother died in March, 1909. Mr. Montgomery is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which le has been affiliated for over fifty years, and in which for over forty years he was a leading factor in all departments of the work. His long life in this township has been one beyond reproach and now in his declining years, surrounded by the
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prosperity-the fruits of his days of activity-he can now look back upon a well spent life and forward without fear, knowing assuredly that for his goodness, the interest he has taken in spreading the gospel of his Master and the exemplary life he has spent in the community, there can await nothing short of a glorious immortality.
ADAM EMSWILER.
Among the worthy citizens and substantial agriculturists of Etna township, is Adam Emswiler, whose influence has been felt not only in local public affairs but also in the part he has taken to develop the natural resources of the township and enhance its best interests. He has spent his entire life on the farm in Etna township on which his birth occurred March 12, 1855, and is a son of William Emswiler. He was a son of George and Frances (Corbin) Emswiler, natives of old Virginia, who in 1837 came to this county, where they spent their remaining days and reared the following children : William, John, Joseph, Elizabeth, Kather- ine, Frances and Susan. William Emswiler was born in Rockingham county, Vir- ginia, January 6, 1818, and came to Licking county with his parents in 1837, mak- ing the journey by means of wagon and on horseback and locating on a farm ad- joining the one now cultivated by the subject of this review. Here he spent his remaining days, having entered into rest November 25, 1889. When he came to this county he was practically without capital and upon his arrival secured em- ployment as a farm hand at thirty-five cents per day, but, having been a man of health and vigor and naturally endowed with business ability, he gradually bet- tered his circumstances until at the time of his death he owned seven hundred and eighty acres of the finest land in this township and also had a section in Marion county, Kansas, on both of which tracts he pursued general farming and stock- raising, feeding all of his own stock and driving his herds to market. He did not care for public or social life, preferring rather to live in the quietude of his home circle. Consequently he was not affiliated with any fraternal organizations nor did he interest himself in political affairs, the only public life in which he took an in- terest being that of the church and he was a faithful attendant on the services of the United Brethren denomination. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Susan Goss, was a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, born in November, 1828, and a daugh- ter of George and Barbara Goss. She remained at home until her marriage and during her latter years resided with her son William of Etna township, in whose home she departed this life July 2, 1900. She reared a family of ten children, five of whom lived to maturity, namely: Maggie, deceased, who was the wife of J. O. Snyder; Lida, who lives with her husband, James O. Prior, in Etna town- ship : Adam ; and John and William, agriculturists of Etna township.
Adam Emswiler's educational advantages were those afforded by the neigh- boring schools and upon completing his studies he remained upon the home farm. Here he has since resided and acquired quite a reputation as a breeder of horses and hogs. His farm embraces three hundred and twelve acres and aside from this tract of land he also owns another farm containing seventy-one acres in Lima town- ship. both of which properties are highly improved and cultivated. The home
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farm is widely known throughout the state by reason of the fact that when the pike was built in the early days there was located on it a tavern, which transacted an immense business and which accommodated the entire volume of travel from the east to points farther west. While Mr. Emswiler produces general crops his spe- cialty is stock-raising and he buys and feeds stock of all kinds, having at present on hand sixteen head of high grade horses, one hundred head of hogs and thirty head of cattle, shipping at least two carloads of cattle annually. His stock farm is the equal of any in this part of the state and, having had a wide experience in the breeding of the various animals, he is recognized as an authority, particularly on horses and cattle.
On May 21, 1890, Mr. Emswiler wedded Lizzie D. Seever, a daughter of George W. and Caroline (Eversal) Seever, both of whom spent their entire lives in Fairfield county, where they reared five children, namely : Charles M., a resident of Baltimore, Ohio; David M., who lives near Millersport, Ohio; George C. and Bertie, who also reside near Millersport ; and Lizzie D., who was born near that place. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Emswiler are Owen H., Byron S., Lee E., Zoa B., Mary C. and Delmas D. While Mr. Emswiler is not an active politician he has always been loyal to the republican party and uses his influence in behalf of the election of its candidates. He has served for the past ten years as a school director and for several terms as a road supervisor. His business relations have always been conducted on the basis of honesty and his general demeanor being such as to command the confidence and respect of his neighbors he merits a place among the township's worthy citizens.
IRA E. KELSEY.
Ira E. Kelsey, deceased, who for many years was numbered among the most prominent, prosperous and leading business men of Licking county, was born in Newport, New Hampshire, in 1816, a son of Ezekiel and Mary (Goodwin) Kelsey, who were natives of the old Granite state. The former at one time had extensive interests there, owning five hundred acres of land in New Hampshire. Later he became a planter in the south. His family numbered four children but Ira E. Kelsey was the only one who lived to marry, the others being Dr. Willard Kelsey, Harriet A. and Mary A.
In the state of his nativity Ira E. Kelsey remained until 1837, when, at the age of twenty-one years, he came alone to Ohio, which was then the "far west." Necessity rendered it imperative that he secure immediate employment and he worked east of Newark and in the vicinity of Hebron. He also engaged in teach- ing in the country schools for about ten years, as his own intelllectual develop- ment qualified him for this work. He also clerked in warehouses in this county when the canal was the main artery of trade here. At the time of the Mexican war he joined Captain Duncan's Licking Rangers and served at the front in defense of the interests of this country. After the war he established himself in business as a merchant but later the fertility of his resource enabled him to extend his efforts into various lines and at different times he handled lumber, grain and
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other commodities and in the management of his interests met with well merited prosperity. After the close of the Civil war, about 1867, a man from Zanesville erected the second tile factory in the state of Ohio and after it had been in opera- tion for nine months Mr. Kelsey, with a partner, purchased this tile factory, which he conducted until his death. He withdrew from mercantile fields in 1870 and concentrated his energies upon industrial interests. The title which he manu- factured was of such excellence that it brought to him a wide reputation in that line and his trade extended throughout the United States, while some shipments were made to Mexico. His business became one of the most important and exten- sive productive concerns of the county and he ranked with the leading business men. In public affairs he was also prominent and his efforts constituted a factor in the substantial growth and development of this part of the state. He became one of the charter members of the Disciple church of Hebron and the influence of his life was always on the side of justice, truth and advancement. He was an active Mason, being in sympathy with the basic principles of the order, and was a stalwart republican and on the party ticket was elected to a number of village offices, the duties of which he discharged with promptness and fidelity.
As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Kelsey chose Miss Sarah Marsh, who was born in Herkimer county, New York, in 1829, and in 1832 was brought to Ohio by her parents, Lyman and Laura ( Mayhew) Marsh, who were natives of the Empire state. They had four children when they came to Ohio and four were born here. They located at Hebron and Mrs. Kelsey remained throughout the rest of her days a resident of this village, her death occurring in May, 1908. By her marriage she became the mother of three chil- dren : Isadore, the wife of Captain J. T. Millhouse, of Hebron; Milton, who is mentioned on another page of this work; and Mary, the wife of Lemuel Baum- gardner, living near Hebron in Union township. There were also two children who died in infancy.
ROBERT B. ALSDORF.
For almost the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten has Robert B. Alsdorf been a resident of this county. Great changes have occurred during this period. At the time of his arrival here in his early childhood there were still many log cabins in the county, the native forest trees were in places uncut and while the work of improvement was being steadily carried forward, there was a vast amount to be done ere the county would take on its present evidence of an advanced and progressive civilization. Many changes have been made in the manner of living and in the way that business is conducted. In his youthful days the old time farm machinery was yet in vogue and it is within his memory when the modern riding plow, thresher, cultivator and mowing machine were introduced. In his home com- munity he has borne an active part in the work of general improvement and has long figured here as an influential citizen. The birth of Mr. Alsdorf occurred in Schenectady county, New York, July 26, 1837. The ancestry is traced back to Law- rence Alsdorf, who came to America in 1760 from the north of Germany, near Hol-
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land, and settled on the Hudson, near Newburg, New York. He served under Gen- eral Washington in the Revolutionary war and came of a family of patriots that rendered much assistance to the new republic. After the war he took up his abode on a farm in Schenectady county, New York, where he died at the age of ninety years. He held membership in the Presbyterian church and donated land for the site of the church and cemetery. He was married twice and both wives preceded him in death. He left two sons, Sylvester and Seaman.
Sylvester Alsdorf was a soldier of the war of 1812. He married Lydia Brown of Saratoga county, New York, and later followed farming near Schenectady. He and his wife were Presbyterians in belief although identified with the Methodist church for a number of years while living at Clifton Park. In politics he was a democrat in early life, but afterward became independent, supporting for office only the men best qualified for the services required. He died at the Glenville home- stead, in New York, at the age of more than four score and ten years while his wife passed away only a few months previous. They were the parents of eleven children, eight of whom attained adult age: Sarah, who became the wife of John Huffman and died at Glenville, New York: Jacob, a farmer who died in Schenec- tady county, New York : Elias T., who passed away in the same county ; Elizabeth, who became the wife of Nelson Cole and died in Saratoga county, New York ; Maria, who wedded William Hayes and died in Saratoga county, New York; Val- entine, a farmer and grain dealer, who died in Utica, Ohio, in 1861; Lawrence, who died at Mount Vernon, Ohio, in 1897, and William Alsdorf, who died at Utica in 1899.
William Alsdorf, son of Sylvester Alsdorf, was born in Schenectady county, New York, September 17, 1814-spent his early years on the home farm and acquired his education in the pioneer schoolhouses of that day. He married Sarah Reed, a native of Ireland, who had come to America from County Donegal in 1834, in company with her widowed mother, Mrs. Susanna Buchanan Reed, three sisters and a brother, John Reed. Her father, James Reed, died in County Donegal, where he spent his entire life. Sarah Reed was born in 1815 and in 1836 became the wife of William Alsdorf. In 1839 they removed to Licking county, Ohio, in company with Valentine and Susanna ( Reed) Alsdorf, the latter a sister of Mrs. Sarah Alsdorf. The journey was made by way of the Erie canal, Lake Erie and the Ohio canal. William Alsdorf settled on a farm of one hundred and fifty acres in Washington township and, after living for five years in a log cabin, erected a substantial residence which is still standing. He also built a sawmill which he operated for about eight years. For a time he was in partnership with his brother-in-law, John Reed, but eventually purchased his interests. In 1858 he decided to remove his family to Utica and, on the death of his brother, Valentine, in the spring of 1861, took charge of the warehouse and elevator business on a lease. A year later he bought the property and conducted a general grain and live- stock business, also acting as station master for the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Railroad, which later passed into the control of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. His youngest son, Wylie C., succeeded him in the railroad business, while his three elder sons, Robert B., John R. and William A., took charge of the shipping business, which they conducted under the firm name of Alsdorf Brothers. for more than thirty years.
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Mr. and Mrs. William Alsdorf were parents of eight children, seven of whom lived to maturity, Robert being the eldest. The others are: John Reed, of Johns- town, Ohio; Fannie C., who became the wife of Levi Knowlton and died in Utica in 1900; Charlotte Collin, who married William McClelland and died in Utica in 1869; William A., who is associated with his brother, Robert, in the grain busi- ness and who, in 1887, married Lilian Miller, at Utica; Wylie, who married Emma D. Moore in 1881 and is station agent at Utica; and Nannie, wife of Frank R. Simmons, of Erie, Pennsylvania. The father, William Alsdorf, was a man of strong temperance views and he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church, as are their immediate descendants. He served as president of the Licking County Agricultural Society for many years, laid the present racing track on the grounds, was a member of the board fourteen years and did much for the advance- ment of its work. He lost his wife November 1, 1894, when she was seventy-nine years of age and he died in 1899, aged eighty-five years, greatly honored and respected by all because of his sterling integrity of character, excellent judgment and upright principles.
Robert B. Alsdorf was a little child of but three years when brought by his parents to Ohio in 1839. The family home was established on a farm about two miles south of Utica on Lake Fork, the father having there one hundred and fifty acres of land, which he cultivated, and also a sawmill, operated by him for a number of years. Robert B. Alsdorf there remained until about twenty years of age, when the family removed to Utica, the father afterward purchasing the ware- house and conducting the warehouse and the railroad station until he turned over the business to his sons,-Robert B., John R. and William A., taking charge of the shipping business while Wylie C. became station master. Robert B. Alsdorf has remained in Utica since 1858 and since his marriage has lived continuously in one house. He engaged in the grain business with his brothers here, buying and shipping grain, stock and wool. The three brothers, Robert B., John R. and William A., were partners in business for about thirty years, when John R. with- drew and is now a business man of Johnstown. A few years later the other two brothers divided their interests, William A. continuing to deal in wool and grain while Mr. Alsdorf, of this review, took as his share the real-estate interests of their business. He has continued, however, with his brother, William, in the hay trade and their sales return to them a gratifying annual income. As an operator in real estate he has handled considerable valuable property and has enjoyed well- merited success. He now owns sixty-two acres of land near the town of Utica, upon which the first gas well in the vicinity was sunk. He likewise has a nice residence property in the town, and other valuable property.
In 1864 Robert B. Alsdorf enlisted in the one hundred days' service and was mustered out with the rank of sergeant, after having served four months in Com- pany A, One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Ohio Infantry. He was also one of the "squirrel hunters," who aided the state in 1861. He participated in two engage- ments, in which a number of his comrades were taken prisoners and sent to Andersonville prison.
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